(2023-01-05) The Plucky War Orphan

Details

Author:	Mishell
Summary:	Elo officially invites mage and "plucky war orphan" Arthur Reeves to the Cobalt Blade.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: The Cobalt Blade

Elohad peers at you searchingly.
Elohad waves at you.
[Elohad]: Hey there! Arthur Reeves?
[Arthur]: *to Archmage Malin* It's fifteen minutes in the special collections. I-oh, Excuse me.
Arthund waves goodbye to Archmage Malin. Farewell!
Arthund bows before Élohad.
[Elohad]: Hey! Got a minute?
[Arthur]: from your tabard, you're my new employer, so definitely.
[Elohad]: Yeah, I thought that'd help with introductions. Elohad Ference.
Elohad puts out his hand.
[Arthur]: Ahh.
Arthur takes it to shake. "You're the other boss."
Elohad shakes his hand vigorously, eyes crinkling warmly at the corners as he smiles.
[Elohad]: Have a seat! Can I get you something to drink?
Arthur nods. "I appreciate it. Whatever you're having."
Elohad waves over the server. "Bring us another one, would you? Thanks."
Elohad turns his attention back to Art, studying him with friendly curiosity. "So you're a mage and an engineer, huh?"
Arthur nods. "I don't know why I chose two expensive pastimes, but I did. Though tinkerers are freer with their knowledge."
[Elohad]: Jo must adore you. Uh, Captain Sparkwire. Sorry, she's an old friend.
Elohad turns briefly to smile at the server as he puts down a couple of classic Stormwind ales.
Elohad tips him and turns back to Art.
[Arthur]: Captain Sparkwire couldn't help but overhear me muttering over a new schematic and an arcane principle at the same time. I would have talked to me too.
[Elohad]: Isn't she great? I met her during the siege of Gnomeregan. My unit was with the ones driving the orcs off, and she contacted us via mechanical squirrel. And uh, portal. Or something.
[Elohad]: Thanks to her we were able to get in some medical supplies and stuff while they waited for the siege to break.
[Arthur]: That was clever! so she altered the mechanical squirrel with a recording device? was it remote-controlled?
[Elohad]: I uh…. you'd have to ask her. All I know is that it brought me a letter, and I was able to send one back with it.
[Arthur]: Possibly remote controlled. or sympathetically attracted to you. Did she ask you for some hair or anything like that?
[Elohad]: Uh… no. So maybe that…. remote thing you said. The letter implied that she was sort of probing blindly for help.
[Elohad]: So I wrote back, since I was the most writing-inclined in my unit, and that was how we met. Only, she signed the letters "Jo," so I thought she was a guy gnome the whole time.
[Elohad]: Imagine my surprise when I saw her!
[Arthur]: I can imagine. But there she was, all resourceful and stuff.
[Elohad]: Instant friends. We wrote letters back and forth for years afterward.
[Arthur]: and so, after tending a friendship in the fallow time between that war and this…
[Elohad]: …then when I decided to start Cobalt Company, she was one of the first people I thought of.
[Elohad]: It was me, Niris Hazan, and Auralind Mistwalker. My friends from all three wars, heh.
[Elohad]: I uh, ended up marrying Nir, so she's a bit semi-retired from the company. We have a new baby, and we also adopted her nephew. But the others are still in leadership.
[Arthur]: Are you semi-retired too?
[Elohad]: Far from it! I'm actually healing one of the main squads, out in Outland. But the problem is… I'm out in Outland. You know?
[Elohad]: There's been a problem recently where Cobalt Company is starting to be seen as "out there" somewhere far away, as opposed to actually helping out at home.
Arthur nods. "Captain Sparkwire had said you wanted to start a new squad here, to show that support is everywhere."
[Elohad]: Yes! For months I've been figuring out the finer points of solving the problem, and I'm this close - *he holds his thumb and finger a quarter-inch apart* - to making that happen. You'd fit in just right.
[Arthur]: And so you wanted to meet me for this new squad?
Elohad nods.
[Elohad]: The team is going to be called Cobalt Blade, and there are two important aspects to it. The first is that you are a functional unit, with all necessary skills covered, in as few bodies as possible.
[Elohad]: We need a mage. So… check.
[Arthur]: That's me.
[Elohad]: Second is the, let's say, public relations aspect.
[Elohad]: I want it to be clear that Cobalt Blade, and by extension Cobalt Company, represents the entire Alliance.
[Arthur]: Oh, the captain mentioned that too
[Elohad]: I want them to make Cobalt Company look good, both literally - you're all nice looking folks - and also as far as interspecies cooperation.
[Elohad]: We've got a night elf priestess - a sort of shadow priestess you might say, though it's more complicated. We have a gnome scout, actually a 7th Legion veteran! And we have a stout dwarven warrior to lead from the front. And I have a plan to go to the Exodar to interview a healer named Zaara. One of their shamans?
[Elohad]: So we just need a human to round out the group, appearance-wise. And here you are, a human mage.
[Arthur]: So symbolically, we're the Alliance.
[Elohad]: Exactly.
[Elohadj: And…. you guys will kind of be the face of Cobalt Company as well.
[Elohad]: I will be putting you on posters and such. There might even be…. uh…. true-event inspired fiction.
[Elohad]: I happen to have an in with bestselling author Elanor Steelbloom, you see.
[Arthur]: So we're… being marketed? And I'm the plucky war orphan who couldn't resist a good book.
Arthur plainly only heard half of that.
Elohad's eyes light up. "Ooh, I love it!"
[Elohad]: And we have the beautiful elf priestess, razor-focused on justice…. and revenge! We have the 7th Legion veteran who is also a mother of three!
[Arthur]: So we'll look good on the posters.
[Elohad]: Precisely. And it sounds silly, but these things matter.
Elohad looks at him earnestly, eyes shining.
[Elohad]: Half of helping people is giving them hope.
[Arthur]: oh no, they do. what people believe about a thing is powerful.
Elohad nods emphatically.
Arthur glances over at Archmage Malin. "I understand why he doesn't want me in the library. I'm bad for business."
[Elohad]: What makes you bad for business? *Elohad tilts his head*
[Arthur]: I couldn't afford training. So I studied. asked questions. and I'm a mage, but I didn't pay for training. If people hear about that, they will start thinking that if I could do it, so could they.
[Elohad]: Ha!
[Elohad]: Well the good news is, if you come to work for us you won't have to scrape by on what you can get for free unless you just want to.
[Elohad]: I expect Cobalt Blade in particular to be well paid. Some of what we make from selling books and so on will go to you.
[Elohad]: And given that Elanor Steelbloom will be doing most of the writing, sales won't be a problem I don't think.
Arthur gasps. "Elanor Steelbloom? ‘Just one more page oh no it's morning’ Elanor Steelbloom?"
[Elohad]: That's the one!
Elohad beams proudly.
[Elohad]: I've been a friend of hers for a long time. Since before she was famous and anonymous and all that.
[Elohad]: I'm a bit of a writer myself!
[Elohad]: But uh, she's definitely going to be in charge of that bit.
[Elohad]: I was more of a playwright.
Arthur nods. "So we're going to be in stories!"
[Elohad]: Exactly. Based on true events! Everyone's favorite.
[Elohad]: If need be we can just make some stuff up to supplement it, but we'll always be clear which is which.
[Arthur]: That's kinda neat!
[Elohad]: I thought so, yeah. So can I count you in? *He grins hugely, obviously confident in his sales pitch.*
[Arthur]: oh you bet. Fieldwork, tuition, and a book club? it's like you followed me around!
[Elohad]: Nice.
[Elohad]: So assuming all your paperwork's in order, just wait for us to contact you about your first assignment. I'm actually hoping to head out to Westfall as soon as the team is fully assembled, because there is more Defias nonsense going on.
[Elohad]: I'm hoping everyone can meet and get oriented as soon as maybe next weekend. Not this coming weekend, but the 13th or so.
[Elohad]: You think you'd be free then to meet up with the others on Sentinel Hill and hear the details of the job?
Arthur shrugs his shoulders a little as the Defias is mentioned, but puts on a smile. "I'll be there to meet everyone."
[Elohad]: Great! Well, I should head back to Ironforge then, but feel free to hang out and finish your drink; I've got you covered.
Elohad waves the server over again.
[Arthur]: Thank you! And-should I go get all the paperwork to officially join arcane studies? It's not that I don't want to be part of them….
[Elohad]: Yeah, go ahead and do that, for sure. You won't have to worry about funds, and it'll be nice to get the formal training in.
Elohad says to the server when he approaches: "Get this young man anything he wants to eat or drink. This should cover it." He hands the server enough coins to make him blink.
Arthur blinks too. Hot damn, here comes the surf and turf platter!
[Elohad]: Keep whatever he doesn't spend, hm?
Elohad winks at the server, then again at Art.
[:Arthur]: just to warn, I'm gonna spend as much as I can.
[Elohad]: I'd be disappointed if you didn't.
Elohad grins at you wickedly.
[Elohad]: Great meeting you, and I look forward to hearing how you get on with the rest of the team!
[Arthur]: thank you so much, Sir Elohad!
Elohad bows before you.