(2024-11-16) A Scholar's Request

Details

Author:	inkie
Summary:	Aitne Windwright contacts Cobalt Company with an offer-slash-request.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: Archaeology 101

Dear Captain Sparkwire -

If I may introduce myself — my name is Aitne Windwright, and I am a member of the Explorers' League as well as a Wildhammer shaman of the Earthen Ring. My esteemed colleague Brannagen Stillwall is one of your number and has spoken highly of your group as a general matter. I am not usually in the business of hiring mercenaries, but I have a present project with which I need assistance. Paid assistance, that is. I would pay you, that is.

The shattering of the world and subsequent elemental upheaval have disturbed a number of sites where I believe relics of some historical — not to mention magical or elemental — import lie. The cultists of the Twilight's Hammer are themselves in pursuit of certain powerful relics, and naturally I believe it would be to the general benefit of life on Azeroth if they were not to get their hands on such things. I intend to excavate some of the newly-exposed sites in search of relics and artifacts which would be better entrusted to the Explorers' League rather than a nefarious doomsday cult.

There are three sites that are of particular interest to me at this time, and I trust you will not be offended if I do not reveal their locations in this letter as they are a matter of some confidential significance to our current reality. Suffice it to say that I expect I will require security for my excavations at all three sites, and would like to hire some of your people to provide it.

My specific proposal is that I engage some members of Cobalt Company and train them in the finer points of archaeology themselves before embarking on my ultimate expedition. Not only will I thus be assured of security for the final excavations, but as the saying goes, many hands make for more efficient thwarting of apocalypse. (It is a lesser-known saying, translated literally from the original Titan.)

I would add the caveat that any of your members I hire should possess some basic familiarity with the concepts of Void and shadow, as well as prior familiarity with and/or desire to perform work involving Old Gods. Work against Old Gods, that is. Not with them. I definitely would not be interested at this time in hiring anyone who has previously worked on behalf of an Old God.

Yours cordially,
Aitne Windwright