(2025-02-11) The Cult and the Cobalt Faire

Details

Author:	inkie
Summary:	Lords Fallon, Ference, and Tennerow gather once more to interview Erixa, Cobalt Company's Twilight infiltrator, on what she knows about one of the dead assassins. Then they start planning a street fair. As one does.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: Twilight In Stormwind

Siamus Fallon arrives at the Cobalt Company headquarters in Ironforge in casual style, no sign of his navy uniform or Admiral's hat, no aristocratic businessman suit. He is wearing a peacoat and coarse woolen trousers with work boots, and even in the cavernous halls of the underground city he manages to look a little windblown.

He does not knock at the upstairs door but simply lets himself in and calls, "Ference? Ye at home?" He's already on his way down the stairs, regardless of the answer.

"Home," Elohad says wistfully from his usual chair by the files, looking over some reports. "If only," He looks up at Siamus long enough to give him a bit of an eye-twinkle from over his papers. He's long since ceased to stand — on ceremony or otherwise — when Siamus enters a room he's in. (Perhaps from all the experience sitting on him in the House chamber.)

Devon, dressed in a similarly casual manner, hears the voices and simply enters the room behind Siamus. Perhaps from all the experience backing him and Ference up in the House chamber.

"Hello, gentlemen," Devon says with a slight smile. "Your draenei employee will be joining us soon, I take it?"

"I've never known her to be particularly late," Elohad supplies.

True to Elohad's assessment of her, the clip-clop of draenei hooves can be heard on the stairs. As the gentlemen settle themselves, Erixa appears at the top of the stairs, a draenei with light blue-grey skin, loose black hair, two arching horns and a respectable number of tentacles dangling from her neck. "Lord Sir Paladin Ference?" Erixa says by way of greeting. "I am here."

Now Elohad does put aside his papers and stand. "Vindicator Erixa," he says with a little bow. "Please take a seat."

Siamus rises to his feet again as well, because Lady, and surveys Erixa with interest.

Elohad gives Siamus a brief not TOO interested, please kind of look.

Sir, he would never. Probably

Erixa gives a little bow in return. That seems right. Then another one to Siamus, who she addresses as, "Admiral Navy-man Fallon. And… " She peers at the third.

"Lord Tennerow," Devon supplies.

Erixa blinks, surprised by the relative dearth of names.

"…of Redrige," Devon continues, and glances at his compatriots.

"Lord Tennerow of Redridge," Erixa repeats, with another little bow. She'll mix it up later. "I am here to tell you about the Twilights."

"Thank ye for joining us," Siamus tells her. "And for agreeing to share your information. We appreciate it."

Elohad and the other two remain standing, waiting for Erixa to be seated. Gemblemans.

"I am happy to," Erixa says, though her smile trembles a little. She takes a seat. Not because she realizes the men are waiting for it. She just wants to sit down, and she does so. "We must stop the Twilights. I am sorry I could not bring you a living Twilight, turned back to our side to talk with us. That was my goal."

Siamus sits once Erixa has. "An ambitious, if noble goal. The cults… a cult gets a peculiar hold on a person, aye? Hard to break."

Devon takes a nearby seat as well.

"It is," Erixa sighs. "Once they have been too close to the Old Gods, or they have drunk a will-stealing potion, there is nothing. But I thought… I thought maybe Cassie… they left her mostly free in mind, from what I could tell. So she would seem more sympathetic for recruiting, I think. More reasonable. Fit in more, in Stormwind." Erixa sighs again. "Maybe if I'd had more time."

"How long did ye know her?" Siamus asks. "In the city."

"A few months," Erixa says, crossing her legs. "When I came back from Vashj'ir, I thought maybe I have met so many Old Gods I would look like a good recruit. They might trust me. I did not join them, I only just talked to her. Met up with her regularly. She liked to brag about how powerful was the Hammer."

"And you encountered her how? She was one of their street-corner preachers? Or something subtler?" Siamus folds his arms, watching Erixa.

Elohad is watching her as well, his expression sad.

"I first approached various preachers at street corners, acting hesitant and curious," Erixa says, tapping a hand on her leg. "I told them enough truth that they would believe my despair — they like despair — and I could tell they liked idea of recruiting a draenei vindicator. Big blow to the Light, I think. And then she approached me one day. We discussed… philosophy, maybe you call it. And each others lives. I know she thought to corrupt me, but… well, if the Old Gods couldn't do that, I'm probably fine. I do not know if she realized I meant to save her."

"I can't imagine anything about this whole endeavor was easy for you," Elohad says softly.

Erixa turns her luminous gaze to Elohad directly, and gives a short nod. "It was… it was not. I wish it had ended different. I wish she had made better choices, and not conspired to kill our king."

"The Scarlet Monastery and the Defias are the only cults we've ever managed to successfully save anyone from," Elohad says grimly, "and even those were hit and miss. It's just very, very hard to unravel what these groups do to people's minds. You did the best you could."

He frowns, then. "Lescovar wants to paint us as a cult. Completely leaving out that people come to us these days; we don't go dragging people from their families. And we let anyone go who wants to leave, and don't follow up."

"Yes, people come, people go… a tabard does not a cult make," Erixa nods. "And if we are, it is a cult of making the world a better place."

"I'd say they all think that, but the Cult of the Damned and the Twilight's Hammer are both very up front about wanting to destroy everything." Elo sighs and leans back in his chair.

"Which seems an odd thing to recruit people for," Siamus adds dryly. "Though evidently it works for them."

"They are," Erixa agrees. "Cassie would talk about destruction like it was beautiful, how we would all fall in the hour of twilight. It makes sense, though. Yogg-Saron and Squiggles have that same feel, same pull to darkness."

"Indeed," Devon says, his brow furrowed. "I can see why they target people in despair."

Siamus knits his brow and mouths Squiggles to himself, and then his eyebrows go up as he remembers. He nods to himself. Squiggles.

"Did she ever name her conspirators?" Devon asks, peering at the draenei. "Or indicate what contacts the cult might have undercover in Stormwind?"

Erixa shakes her head slowly, thinking. "I did not know she was going to try to kill the king, so I do not know the others who also tried. She said she was looking forward to Remembrance Day. I thought it was for remembering her family, but maybe it was more sinister. As for the rest… she used to brag, say that the Hammer had people at all levels of Stormwind. I do not know if it was true."

"Half of me wants to point the finger at Lescovar," says Elohad. "But honestly I think he just hates me personally and is an entitled twat besides."

(Siamus is that half.)

"Yes, it would be too simple, if he were a cultist," Devon says with a dry smile. "Some people do not need the excuse of a cult to engage in ill-mannered behavior."

"Now his father, he was involved with both the Defias and the Twilight's Hammer. But I think he barely talked to the boy, much less involved him in his plans."

"So the son is not much like the father?" Erixa says. "Maybe he needed a father growing up, but a different one. But no, I do not know if someone in the House of Nobles is in the cult. You would think they woud be extra careful after the dragon."

"So, you all know Cobalt Company took out Lady Prestor." Elohad leans forward onto his knees. "This doesn't leave this room, but… at least one piece of Lescovar's paranoid ramblings is true. We're also the ones who took out his father."

Siamus looks, frankly, delighted by this news. He leans over to clasp Elo briefly on the shoulder. Good man, Ference.

Elo nods grimly in acknolwedgement.

Devon raises his eyebrows. "Cobalt Company? Truly? I had thought that a conspiracy theory."

"And we'd like to keep it that way," Elohad says. "It's very rare that SI:7 asks us to assassinate someone, but on very rare occasion we're the best people for the job, in large part because we do not have the reputation of being a guild of assassins."

Erixa raises her head, looking proud. She didn't do the assassination, but she's still proud.

"Above all," adds Elohad, "we do what it takes to keep the people of the Alliance safe."

Siamus nods more seriously at that. "Aye. Everyone in this room knows how that is, and appreciates the work ye do." He looks to Erixa as well and nods to acknowledge her.

Elo straightens in his chair. "So what's next?"

"Erixa, d'ye have any sense of — ye say ye met others besides this 'Cassie': the preachers and so on. Did ye meet more than her and their street faces? Did ye ever have a sense of how cult members identified one another, or passed messages about? I'm guessing the answer to all is no, but worth asking." Siamus pauses. "And ye say that ye think they felt a draenei Vindicator would be a proper catch for their cause. Did they ever ask ye about any of your fellows? Express any interest?"

"About the others? Oh, yes. I told them I was very lonely and had no friends," Erixa says promptly. Then she quickly clarifies. "That one is a lie. I very much have draenei friends, and friends in Cobalt Company. But the lie was good because I looked vulnerable, and because it protected other people from getting involved. Cassie did seem interested in Cobalt, which I thought might be a sign of her looking to get out? But maybe just another strategy on her side. As for identification…"

Erixa frowns, considering, "…I think they say some of the same things sometimes, certain phrases, like they are normal. Stuff like pain being the reward, not the cost, or despair being true hope, or saving the world by burning it. Silly things that make no sense. But then, I would bet that anyone undercover would not slip like that. There was not a badge, or a secret handshake. Or maybe there was, and no one taught it to me yet, because I did not join. I can identify some recruiters, if you like, but I do not know the masterminds. If there are masterminds."

"What, if anything, did you tell her about Cobalt Company?" Elohad leans forward again.

Siamus has also sat up slightly at that information and is watching Erixa intently.

"I did not betray our Company," Erixa says, meeting Elo's gaze. "I would never. She asked sometimes about you and the other officers, but I said I did not know you well. Even though I know Ben pretty well, I think, I did not tell her so. I told her only things everyone knows, like that we are great heroes and fight in great battles to protect the world. I pretended like all the apocalypses we averted made me realize the world would never be saved for good. That is also a lie, since it will be saved for good once we defeat the Burning Legion."

"Very well done," Elohad says with a solemn nod. "I would say that you seem to be very skilled at this type of work, despite how that ended. I won't ask you to do it again, though, because I don't want to burn you out. You're valuable to us."

Siamus looks impressed despite himself. "Aye, that was clever. The bit about the apocalypses. Good."

Devon nods, looking at Erixa. "If only you could have infiltrated them further — but then with the consideration of… will-stealing potions? I can see how that would not be wise. I commend you for keeping yourself safe."

Erixa smiles at the gentlemen. "Thank you. It is what I am for, to protect how I can. Even if it is not a straightforward thing."

Siamus is frowning absently. "And ye didn't know about the Remembrance Day plan… d'ye happen to know if they have or did they mention having any contacts among the guard, at all? Did ye ever see any of the street preachers or Cassie herself talking with a guard?"

"Yes, they did talk to guards sometimes," says Erixa, "but I do not know if they had contacts. Cassie said so, but I bet she would have said anything to make them sound stronger. She also said I was marked by the Old Ones, which scared me, but Estel said I was safe. Anyway, the guards. The obvious recruiters, the ones that were a nuisance, the guards would gather them up and move them out of the city sometimes. That could be a true duty, or perhaps sometimes it was for passing messages. They could easily have."

Siamus frowns. "Interesting. Good, all right. I can start wi'that, anyway."

Elohad rubs his forehead and eyes, seeming a bit overwhelmed at the guard possibilities.

"There are many guards in Stormwind," Erixa says, clasping her hands together. "And they all dress so similar. But maybe they have records of who took the people out."

"I'm still trying to cut through this business of the provincialism between districts, but aye." Siamus nods at Erixa. "I have enough lads in the guard that I can ask that they may be able to get me a name or two there, at least."

"Good luck." Erixa nods, and darts a look at Elohad. "And if I can help — if there's anything I can do. Just tell me. I will not burn me out."

"What's my next move?" Elohad asks, looking to Siamus and Devon.

"Ye were in Northrend," Siamus says thoughtfully, "and your people did work wi'the… dragons. D'ye suppose you could pass word round among your contacts there so we can confirm Benedictus is up there and what he's doing?"

Elohad nods somberly. "I'll talk to some of the folks that worked with them directly, see who's up for nosing around."

"Good," says Siamus. "Good. Tennerow, ye had any luck with the source of that bad intelligence?"

Devon shakes his head. "If it was intentional, they covered their tracks well. It's entirely possible it was simple incompetence, but I don't believe it. I'm just glad it wasn't worse — at least they let the civilians flee."

Siamus nods wearily. "Having the same trouble wi' the guards. Might have been simple incompetence, but… feels unlikely. Too much had to go wrong at once. And with everyone pointing fingers at everyone else, hard to dig to the roots of it."

"We'll just have to keep our eyes open," Devon says with a sigh. "Wait for them to trip up or make another move."

"Bloody hate having to wait on them to move," sighs Siamus irritably.

"You have many fine qualities, my friend," says Elo dadly, "But patience with your enemies is not among them."

Siamus snorts and then gives Elo a wry smile. "What I need is some less patient enemies, that's all. Ye get me a group of bold, decisive cultists and I'd've been done wi'them last week. It's all this bloody skulking I can't stand. Haven't got all year to wait for ye lads to finish your skulking; let's have a fight and be done with ye."

"That would be better," Erixa agrees with a laugh. "I have been learning the skulking, but a clean fight is always easier."

Siamus flashes her a smile.

"Is there anything further we might put together today?" Devon asks, looking at each person in turn. "For my part, I will simply keep in contact with the military, and have my brother keep eyes on the field where I cannot."

"Ah, did we ask ye — Erixa, did she mention anything to ye that told ye anything of her background? Ye mentioned ye thought she wanted to remember her family at Remembrance Day — so she'd told ye they were dead? Or was that surmise? D'ye have any idea where she was from? Native to the city?" Siamus has folded his arms again, waiting.

"Not of Stormwind," Erixa shakes her head. "I do not know if it was all lies, but we did speak of our pasts, our families. She said she was of Lordaeron originally, escaped south with her father and brother. They both joined Stormwind military and died in Northrend, fighting in the early days. If it was true, I think… it was the Scourge that stole her hope, in the end."

Siamus nods somberly.

"We've got to bring hope back," Elohad says, sitting up straight and clenching a fist. "It's what Cobalt Company was made for."

Siamus turns to Elohad and studies him. After a moment, he sits up again himself. "Aye. That's what ye lot — aye. More important in the face of this than ever. Ye have proposals, Ference? Ye know you and Cobalt have my support."

"I think anything we can do to show people that we have their back, fighting the Hammer and Deathwing," says Elohad. "And maybe something to give them a little joy, hm? Something simple. Pass out free Cobalt Blade books. Put on a comedy or romance play. Remind them about laughter and love."

Devon smiles. "We can certainly get an appropriate play in preparation, I think."

"Oh, aye, like that play of Amerith's we did, Ference. Well, you did. I was carpentry. The children were in it, had great fun. What was the bard woman called? Could hire her to do up some songs, maybe. Or — " Siamus trails off for a moment, gazing into space. "A what d'ye call it? A street fair. Your people and ours have all been fighting… under the sea itself, in the heart of the earth, in a desert full of strange cat-men. What if we had a street fair and exhibition to show the common folk some of what ye've seen and done? Tell them the stories properly? Wonders people've never seen before, carried safe out of Deathwing's grasp for them to view."

Elo's eyes light up. "What a fantastic idea! Show them how much there is in the world to love and preserve."

Siamus spreads his hands at Elohad in a modest et voila! gesture. He can’t suppress his smile.

"The Cobalt Faire," Elohad says dramatically, making a horizontal gesture in the air as though presenting the sign.

"I would be happy to fund as needed," Devon nods. "That might be just what people need."

Erixa claps.

Elo claps his hands together once, briskly, and rises. "Too many ideas," he says. "I've got to tell Nir, and get started."

Siamus grins. He shifts to rise to his feet as well. "Ye let us know what ye need, aye? If ye want the navy to offer an exhibit about the Llane's Oath and her rescue by your people, and our new vessel Moody, I don't mind offering it. It'll serve the navy and the air force as well as your people in garnering the public interest. Have that bard woman write the 'Ballad of Angus Moody' or the like.

"I wonder what ye could use to build a life-sized model of an Abyssal kraken…." Siamus muses. He may be wandering off, brain-wise.

"Life-sized?" Erixa says with a laugh. "We want to inspire, yes? Not scare. But the kraken is impressive… just maybe smaller."

"Maybe a little diorama of us killing one!" Elo suggests cheerfully.

Siamus looks like he really has his heart set on a life-sized Abyssal kraken, but he could maybe be talked down a little. A little.

"Send me letters with details of what you want!" Elo says, heading toward the stairs. "I've got to get this rolling. With Nir's permission, of course."

"Give the Lady Ference my regards!" Siamus calls after him.

"I'll send along anything I think of as well," Devon says, rising. He murmurs, "The siege engine speech went over well…"

Erixa smiles, rising as well. "I will be happy to contribute Vashj'ir things and knowledge."

"Excellent. Oh, and we'll have to talk wi' Knockfathom!" Siamus is gleeful.

"Niksi?" Erixa says brightly. "Yes, she is very smart with water."

Devon turns to the stairs and bids farewell with a small wave. "I will leave you to your brainstorming, Admiral."

Siamus looks around the room. This is not his room. This is someone else's headquarters. "Right. Aye," he says. "I'd best… get along. Brainstorming, et cetera."

Erixa tilts her head with an amused smile and gives a little wave. "I will hold down fort here, no worries."