Commander Braghaman Larethian

There He Is

“If he’s still in Shattrath, I cannot find him.”

Braghaman looked at Erik for a moment before nodding. Turning his gaze, he looked over to the memorial for King Varian. Even in a crowded, busy city like Stormwind, this area was calm and quiet. “Are you sure he’s still in Shattrath?”

“No, I’m not,” Erik answered with a shrug. He followed the paladin’s gaze and looked at the large monument. “If he is, he has found some place I cannot access. If he’s not, then he managed to slip past the portal keepers.”

“Or he found a different way back here.”

“That is also a possibility.” Erik paused for a moment, then looked back at the paladin. “Why would he hide from you?”

“I don’t know. If he is, I’m sure there’s a reason for it. That’s assuming that it’s really him.”

“I’ll keep looking around.”

“Thank you.”

“How did you’re meeting at the Cathedral go?”

“About as expected,” Bragh answered with a grin.

“Did they support your decision?”

“Didn’t really have too much choice on the matter. It was part of the deal; I’m in charge and if a recruit doesn’t accept that they get sent back.”

“Did the recruit deny what happened?”

“Wouldn’t have mattered if he did. There were witnesses. But it was his mistake that he admitted to all of it. He described the exercises that we were doing and his unwillingness to participate. He seemed to expect that the trainers here would have supported his belief that they were a waste of time.”

“It must have been a rather rude awakening for him.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Lord Shadowbreaker dressed him down rather loudly. I wouldn’t be surprised if people passing through the great hall could hear it.”

“What will happen to the young man?”

“I imagine they’ll put him with one of the other trainers here. And if his attitude doesn’t change,” Braghaman started and then shrugged.

“Will he be expelled?”

“Its remote, but I’d imagine it is a possibility. Either way, I don’t expect he’ll be getting to the front as quickly as he imagined.”

“Sounds like that would be safer for everyone involved.”

“Agreed,” Bragh replied before pushing himself up off the bench. “I should be getting back home. Got to make sure none of the other trainees are getting into trouble in my absence.”

“Will the Cathedral send a new person to be the fifth of the group?” Erik asked as they started up the steps away from the memorial.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure which would be worse. Trying to catch one person up to fill in with the other four, or leaving it as a four-man group.”

“If the point is to train them as a unit, leaving the unit incomplete could be dangerous.”

“True. Maybe I’ll..”

“There he is! That’s him!”

Braghaman and Erik turned to see a man in a fancy coat pointing at the two of them. Behind the man were four of the city guards.

“He’s the one!” the man shouted again. 

One of the guards placed his hand on the man’s shoulder, as if to calm him, and then looked to the others. The four guards stepped around the excited man and walked up to the paladin and rogue.

“Please identify yourselves,” the lead guard said, obvious that it was not a request but a demand.

“I’m Bragh and this is Erik. Can we help you?”

“We’ll need you to come with us,” the guard said to the paladin.

“Why?”

“You’ve been identified in a crime. We need to speak with you to clarify the situation.”

“What crime?” Bragh asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Theft and menacing.”

“You’re making a mistake,” Erik said. His hands slowly began making their way to the daggers hanging from his belt. The movement wasn’t missed by anyone. Bragh reached over and placed his hand on Erik’s forearm.

“Relax,” the paladin said calmly. “I’m sure its a simply misunderstanding. Please take this back to Niviene and let her know what’s going on.” Braghaman unhooked his mace from his belt. The guards all took a step back and began drawing their weapons, but Braghaman ignored them and handed the mace to Erik. The rogue took the weapon and nodded before casting a glance at the guards, daring them.

“Come with us, sir,” the lead guard said.

“Of course. I’d like to get this cleared up as soon as possible.”

Erik watched as the guard’s surrounded Braghaman and began to lead him away. The rogue frowned slightly, then turned and began jogging towards the trade district.