(2024-02-26) Another Scarlet Recruitment

Details

Author:	Luridel
Summary:	The Paladin from the Nightmare, Dame Lydia Harcourt, finally finds Sir Elohad Ference. ~1800 words.
Rating:	T for Teen

Chain: Cobalt Company Interviews

Lydia descends the stairs of the Ironforge headquarters in full plate armor.

Elohad is sitting in his usual chair, filing some paperwork. He looks up, and his eyes widen as though a big star has stepped on stage in a play.

Elohad sets aside his paperwork and slowly rises from his chair, as though he half expects the apparition to vanish.

Lydia steps forward. "You look older." She sounds much like she did in the dream, minus a bit of otherworldly echo. "But it's Elohad, is it not?"

Elohad winces subtly at her first words, but then a slow smile spreads across his face, making his eyes crinkle at the corners. "You're real!"

[Lydia]: Ha! I am real, yes.

[Elohad]: You look exactly as you did in the dream. Forgive me if I thought for a moment I had dozed off or - was receiving some sort of vision.

[Elohad]: But er, yes, I'm Elohad Ference.

Lydia stops at the edge of the carpet and gives him a formal bow. "I am Dame Lydia Harcourt, knight-errant."

Elohad bows before Lydia.

[Elohad]: I told you to seek me out in the real world, didn't I? My memories of that dream are already fading, but I remember that.

[Lydia]: You did. And I have. I recall you fought with others. They rallied to you.

[Elohad]: Many of them were members of my Cobalt Company. Do you know of us?

[Lydia]: I do. I have heard tales of your deeds for years now. Is it true that your people slayed the Dreadlord posing as Sir Dathrohan?

[Elohad]: It's true.

Elohad studies her, perhaps trying to make out the significance of that feat in particular to her in particular.

[Elohad]: We had the assistance of one of the founders of the Argent Dawn, but yes, it was my people.

Lydia nods. Based on the fact that she mentioned it, and the fact that she hesitated to strike down the mirage of a Scarlet Crusader during the Nightmare, it might have great significance to her.

[Lydia]: It is an honor.

Elohad studies her some more, possibly putting the pieces together in his shrewd and strateeeejory way.

[Elohad]: You may sit, if you wish to stay a while.

Lydia picks the seat where she doesn't have to step on the carpet - perhaps her greaves aren't the cleanest - and leans her sword against the side of the chair.

[Elohad]: There's bread and cheese, and rather watered-down ale, if you need some refreshment. Apples as well. But I'm afraid I finished off the sausage.

[Lydia]: Thank you for your hospitality, though I have little appetite at the moment.

Elohad studies her a moment longer, seeming at a loss for words for once. After a moment he says, "This is not a situation I'm used to. Asking someone in a dream to come see me and then… them showing up."

[Lydia]: I am a woman of my word. I have inquiries about your company. Do you have a statement of purpose, or a code of conduct?

[Elohad]: I do, in fact!

Elohad reaches to fumble through the file drawer next to him.

[Elohad]: I remember, in the dream, thinking I wanted you for Cobalt Company, but… it was such a heightened situation. I didn't stop to think if you might already have other commitments or plans for your future…

[Elohad]: But uh, here, take a look. *He passes her the CoC.*

Lydia removes her gauntlets. "Thank you." She takes her time actually reading the Code of Conduct in detail.

Elohad waits, trying to return his attention to the paperwork he was working on when she came in, but not making much progress.

[Lydia]: The laws of the Kingdom of Stormwind. Yet you are based in Ironforge?

[Elohad]: Yes, that's per my lawyer.

[Elohad]: Well, I chose the headquarters for convenience, but my lawyer said that we were technically still a Stormwind company, because of where I filed the documents when I founded it.

[Lydia]: I see.

[Elohad]: So she said we're beholden to Stormwind laws, not Ironforge, though they're not all that different for the most part..

Elohad shrugs at Lydia. Who knows?

Lydia nods. She flips back two pages to study the section on demons again.

[Elohad]: Obviously anything we do while in Ironforge still has to be Ironforge-legal.

[Elohad]: We have a headquarters in Dalaran as well, and their laws are quite strict, and we observe those as well while there.

[Lydia]: This looks to be in order.

[Lydia]: May I keep this copy?

[Elohad]: Of course.

[Elohad]: So are you thinking you'd like to join?

[Lydia]: I have considered the matter, and I am leaning towards yes. But I do feel I should disclose some of my history.

[Lydia]: That you might decide whether or not you want me in your company after all.

[Elohad]: You might be surprised. But go ahead and tell me whatever you feel I should know.

Lydia nods. "For years I served as one of the Scarlet Brotherhood, misled by the Dreadlord wearing Sir Dathrohan's face. I did not question my duties, or the righteousness of what I was called upon to do in the name of ridding the Scourge from this world."

Elohad nods gravely.

[Lydia]: It was not my place to question, I told myself. It was not until…

[Lydia]: There were rumors that reached us, in Tyr's Hand. Dismissed as rumors, for the most part, but I wondered.

Elohad peers at Lydia searchingly.

[Elohad]: There is always a balance between duty, following the chain of command - and exercising one's own critical thinking. It is easier to decide the right balance in hindsight, unfortunately.

[Lydia]: There was a priestess who risked… everything, trusting me, to tell me the truth. I could easily have reported her. She was walking a very dangerous line.

Elohad nods again, eyes solemn.

[Lydia]: Still, my duty at the time was as a protector of Tyr's Hand and the civilians within. After the Battle of Light's Hope, I… was lost, for a time. I cut ties with my order and wandered.

[Lydia]: But I think the world would be better served had I brethren to fight alongside once more.
Elohad sits back in his chair, lacing his fingers together as he regards her thoughtfully.

[Elohad]: I am going to be honest with you in that former membership in the Scarlet Crusade is a red flag for me. I can explain why in more detail, because it's more complex than simply "You might have done some bad things once." That, well, that's all of us.

[Elohad]: You can see from our Code of Conduct how important it is that our members follow orders quickly and even unthinkingly in the field of battle, and so your history of obeying a questionable leader is, in some ways, not a detraction.

Lydia nods. "I understand, which is why I thought it important to mention."

[Elohad]: But in my experience, there are two types of former Scarlet Crusaders, and each cause a different sort of issue in our group.

[Elohad]: First there are the sorts who look back on their time in the Crusade with revulsion and anger. Those people seem reluctant to trust any leadership again, because the trauma of being fooled once makes them see hidden demons wherever they look.

[Elohad]: Then there are those who retain a sense of loyalty to the group, who have not fully left it. They… have difficulty integrating with more free-thinking groups like ours.

[Elohad]: I have yet to find anyone who falls in the middle, but that does not mean there is not such a person. Generally they are either a bit too anti-authority or a bit to distressed by debate and shades of gray, and secretly long to return to… well…

[Elohad]: A slightly more cultlike environment, where there are no questions to be asked, only orders to follow and feel righteous about.

[Elohad]: You do not seem like either sort. But… this is the reason for my hesitation. Just some difficult past experience.

[Lydia]: Thank you for sharing your concerns. There are other ex-Crusaders in Cobalt Company, then…?

[Elohad]: A number. Some remain with us. Some do not.

[Elohad]: One of them was my best friend's daughter, and possibly haunts me the most.

[Elohad]: Her trust issues became so intractable that she left us and ran off the the Plaguelands, where she was killed and raised as a Death Knight.

Lydia lowers her eyes. "A tragic fate. I am sorry for your loss."

[Elohad]: So am I. So am I.

Elohad looks at his laced hands for a moment.

[Elohad]: Do you believe yourself capable of following orders with the same loyalty and zeal, when the leadership has proven themselves stable and honorable for over three years, but also giving yourself room to question and reflect when not in the field?

[Lydia]: I do.

[Elohad]: Now, normally we run applications by all the lieutenants for a vote, but as I am the founder of Cobalt Company I am given a special dispensation to unilaterally approve applications when I feel strongly about them.

[Elohad]: If you are willing to fill out an application, I can give it to you pre-approved. Our meeting had the ring of Fate about it, and when the Light speaks to me in that way I try to listen.

Lydia nods. "I am of course willing to fill out an application, but if you believe it might be wise to have the others sign off on it, I am comfortable waiting for their assent as well."

[Elohad]: I will forward it to them once you've completed it, so they can raise any concerns if they have them, but it will arrive already marked "approved," and they know what that means. They take it seriously, because I have earned their trust.

[Elohad]: This means that if you like, you can start work for us even before they have reviewed your information.

[Elohad]: Is there anywhere in particular you would like to be sent? You may also simply come by either headquarters and check regularly for new postings.

Lydia considers this. "I am best suited to fight the Legion or the Scourge."

[Elohad]: Plenty of work to be done there. I'll include a few open postings along with your application. *he starts rummaging through the drawer again.*

[Elohad]: How this works is you show up wearing the tabard and offer to help. They pay us, you come back to either HQ to collect your share.

[Elohad]: Our Dalaran Headquarters is accessible through a portal in the Violet Citadel.

[Lydia]: Thank you for the opportunity, Sir Ference. I shall strive to be a boon to your company.

[Elohad]: You can actually collect a tabard from the cupboard in the corner over there before you leave, if you like. Since you're approved. They're also available at various city visitors' centers if you show identification and match our list of names.

[Lydia]: I shall do so, in that case. But first, the application.