Commander Braghaman Larethian

Exchanging Information

Erik watched as the last crate on the dock was picked up and loaded onto the ship. Moments later, the plank to the deck was pulled up and secured on the boat as men on the dock began untying the boat from the moorings. Eventually, he watched as the ship pulled away from the docks and slowly made its way out to sea. 

With the ship leaving, Erik turned from the water and started making his way back into Stormwind. His tunic rippled in the breeze as he moved up the ramp away from the docks, and his sword slapped against his thigh as he walked. Anyone watching him would’ve thought from his clothes that he was nothing more than a merchant seeing his shipment off.

As he reached the top of the ramp, Erik turned and followed the pathway back into the city. As he passed under the archway at the top of the ramp and walked along the sidewalk, he suddenly came to a stop next to the opening of an alley between two of the buildings. The rogue looked down at the ground for a moment then, without a word, he turned towards the alley. Taking a step into the shadows of the alleyway, he drew his sword and then stopped. Everything was quiet.

Then from the far end of the alley, a figured stepped out from behind some boxes. Wearing brown robes, his face was covered with a mask. In his hand, he carried a long scythe that had a red glow along the blade.

“How did you know I was here?” the robed man asked, his voice muffled by the mask.

“Where are your minions?”

“They’re around. They’ll come if they’re needed.”

“If your intention is to attack me, they will be needed,” Erik said, gripping his sword and raising its tip from the ground.

“I’d hoped we could have a conversation, not a fight.”

“What do you want?” Erik replied, not answering the robed man’s question.

“The monster tried to attack the..  tried to attack in Duskwood again. It was a death knight.”

“When?”

“Two nights ago.”

“You are certain.”

“I saw it with my own eyes. He was in the same area of the woods as before.”

“Why were you there?” Erik asked, slowly taking a step further into the alley.

“I was searching for clues about the first attack. It was my luck to run across him.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say I owe this monster and leave it at that for now.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“The death knight has a personal grudge against.. your commander. He talked about how how warlocks are always protecting him.”

“Given the commander’s family history, that is not surprising. Nor is it a secret.”

“What do you mean?” the robed figure asked hesitantly.

“It is well known. His late, first wife was a warlock. So was her father. So was his son.” 

There was a tense pause between the two for several moments.

“His son is still young,” the robed man finally said. “I can’t imagine he’s much of a warlock at that age.”

“He had another son,” Erik responded, tilting his head slightly as he did so.

“I see.”

“What now?” the rogue asked, his feet shifting slightly.

“What do you know about the death knight?”

“It has attacked before. I tracked it to Icecrown,” the rogue added, unconsciously flexing his left hand as a phantom spasm of pain hit where his smallest finger had been cut off.

“You already knew who it was?” the robed figured asked with surprise, but the rogue did not move or respond. “Why didn’t you stop it then?”

“It was prepared. The opportunity was missed.”

“What about now?”

“I went back to the site. It had fled, leaving no traces of where it went.”

“Maybe it stayed in Icecrown. Its a good place to hide among all the other undead still roaming around there.”

“I had considered that as well. But there are numerous caves along the mountains there. Locating its current lair, if it is indeed there, would be difficult.”

“True,” the robed figure said, his grip on his scythe relaxing a bit.

“What will you do now, warlock?”

The robed figure’s head twitched slightly as he turned to look at Erik.

“First I want to see if I can figure out who this death knight is. I got a pretty good look at his armor.”

“It is not an old design,” Erik offered. “Perhaps even someone raised by the Arthas himself.”

“Well that’s a start at least. And if I can’t find anything else out, I may go look around Icecrown. What about you?”

“I was ordered not to hunt for the death knight on my own again. I also have immediate obligations here.”

“Of course,” the robed man said in response. “Thank you for the information.”

Erik watched the man for a moment before nodding. “And thank you for the information as well.”

“You’re..  wait, what?”

Erik did not answer. Raising his sword, he slid it back into his scabbard. Then without another word, the rogue turned his back to the robed man. Stepping back onto the street, he turned towards the city and disappeared from view.

“Just like always,” Banagan muttered to himself. Taking a deep breath, he spoke a word of magic and disappeared, leaving a faint magic symbol on the ground that quickly faded.