(2025-09-01) Chapter X: Auchindoun Atrocities, Part 3 (Cobalt Blade)

Details

Author:	OzmaAsimov
Summary:	The Cobalt Blade continues their search for the Tailfeather of Anzu in Sethekk Halls.
Rating:	T for Teen

Arc: The Cobalt Blade

Zaara greets the stone in front of her with a wave. "Hello, Vengeance!"

Vesyllah clears her throat. "Over here, babe."

Zaara turns to wave at the sound of Vesyllah's voice, unperturbed. "Okay, babe!"

Vesyllah smirks in amusement.

Thalstan nods to Zaara and Vesyllah. "Good ta see ya, lasses. I hope today we can find that tailfeather."

Zaara giggles.

Vesyllah sighs and nods. "It's felt like a wild turkey chase so far."

[Zaara]: What is this? Wild turkey chase?

[Vesyllah]: Do you know what a turkey is?

[Thalstan]: Type o' bird. Good eating. Impressive feathers on 'em too.

[Zaara]: I have had this at the holiday with the berries and hams.

[Vesyllah]: Exactly. Every Pilgrim's Bounty you see people running around Elwynn Forest like lunatics, chasing wild turkeys. Hence, a wild turkey chase.

[Zaara]: Oh!

[Zaara]: I did not see this.

Zaara laughs.

[Vesyllah]: Right….

[Thalstan]: Quite th' sight. I wonder if that blood elf fella's been watchin' our progress in the same way.

[Zaara]: We are turkeys? Or he is turkey?

[Vesyllah]: Probably laughing his stupid ass off as we flail around trying to stop him.

Tadget roars with bestial vigor. So fierce!

[Zaara]: Oh no! I have heard a roar with bestial vigor! *Zaara pretends to cower.*

[Thalstan]: He'll stop laughin' when he's the one gets stopped.

Vesyllah greets Tadget with her usual vocal fry, "Hi, Tadget."

[Tadget]: Sup, nerds.

[Thalstan]: Tailfeathers! And wild turkey chases.

[Vesyllah]: Just bitching about that Savar bastard probably laughing at us.

[Thalstan]: But today we're goin' ta show 'im up, I bet. You ladies ready?

[Zaara]: Bitching!

Tadget nods at Thalstan.

[Vesyllah]: Ready as always.

Tadget salutes Thalstan with respect.

[Thalstan]: That elf bastard'll rue th' day he got the Cobalt Blade after 'im.

[Zaara]: Ruth day!

[Vesyllah]: Gonna rue so fuckin' hard.

[Thalstan]: So much rue, aye.

[Thalstan]: Alright, we're up against Arakkoa today, it seems.

[Vesyllah]: Goddess, these things are ugly.

[Thalstan]: Does no' seem like we'll have any trouble, 'less they get tougher as we get further in.

Sethekk Initiate says: Arak-ha!

Time-Lost Controller says: Ssssekk-sara Rith-nealaak!

[Vesyllah]: I am vengeance!

[Thalstan]: I am valor!

[Zaara]: I am booty!

[Vesyllah]: You are dorks.

[Thalstan]: Heh, you started it, Vengeance.

[Zaara]: Dorks!

[Tadget]: Everyone knows who I am.w

[Thalstan]: Did ye all hear that we got a new race joinin' th'Alliance?

[Tadget]: Oh yeah, the pandaren!

[Tadget]: They really know how to party.

[Thalstan]: I heard they're like super smart furbolgs!

[Vesyllah]: Some kind of new breed of furbolg, I heard.

[Tadget]: Also how to kick ass.

[Tadget]: They are NOT furbolgs. UGH.

[Zaara]: Panbearan?

Thalstan nods at Vesyllah. "Ye heard th' same as me."

Vesyllah shrugs. "It's what I heard."

[Tadget]: You heard wrong.

[Thalstan]: What are they, then?

[Tadget]: Pandaren.

[Thalstan]: Which means… furbolg… like?

[Tadget]: It's like, if someone called you a tall muscley gnome, and you said, "I'm not!" and they said "What are you then?"

Vesyllah chuckles.

[Tadget]: You're a freakin dwarf is what.

[Thalstan]: Okay, okay. But it's kind of a reference, ta what a person might know.

[Tadget]: They're pandaren. They dont' have to be some other thing you already understand.

[Tadget]: Just like, adapt, man.

[Thalstan]: If ye only knew gnomes, then tall muscly gnome would give ye an idea of what dwarves look like, aye?

[Tadget]: But it would be wronnnnnnnnnng.

[Thalstan]: Okay, but ye could also just say 'it's dwarf, an' I know ye've never seen one, but I'll no' describe 'em further'.

[Tadget]: It's okay, I get it, your head is made of rocks.

[Thalstan]: An' ye don't like explainin' things, I know.

[Tadget]: It's always better when people just understand immediately.

[Tadget]: Real time-saver.

[Thalstan]: If only the mages could get mind-talkin' all sorted. *Thal chuckles*

[Tadget]: Anyway, they're pandaren. There's nothing like them in the EK or Kalimdor because they're not from either of those places.

Lakka says: Thank you for freeing me, Vesyllah! I'm going to make my way to Shattrath!

[Tadget]: They are extremely civilized and intelligent.

[Thalstan]: What do they look like, then? Fur? Tentacles? Feathers?

[Tadget]: They've got white fur with black or red patches.

[Tadget]: They're kind of squishy and their faces are very cute.

[Zaara]: Awww!

[Thalstan]: Ah… then I can see while people thought… *Thal coughs*

[Tadget]: They have little round ears and paws.

[Vesyllah]: Squishy and cute. They sound unbearable.

[Thalstan]: Sound verra huggable.

[Tadget]: Their fur has an ENTIRELY different texture from furbolgs and their facial structure could not be more different.

[Tadget]: They do have round ears though, so I can see why people who aren't very smart might be confused.

[Tadget]: Definitely having the same ear shape means two things are the same thing.

[Tadget]: Trolls and elves, for example.

[Thalstan]: Arright, arright, I can see that. Th' elves would fer sure not like that misunderstandin'.

[Tadget]: He can be taught!

[Vesyllah]: Someone said they look like bears. So do furbolgs. You know how these things go when information passes from one person to the next. It gets corrupted.

[Tadget]: Yeah, like that game I used to play as a kid.

[Tadget]: Buzzbox.

[Vesyllah]: Exactly: Whispering Wi-…buzzbox?

[Thalstan]: Oh, aye? A game wi' machines?

[Zaara]: What do bears look like?

[Tadget]: Whispering Wisps? Okay that's a way better name.

[Tadget]: Bears have round ears. Thus the confusion I guess.

[Tadget]: Oh and fangs.

[Thalstan]: Oh! I see, my ma called it Pass the Butter. Cause one person asks the person next to 'im, then the next, and the next, and before ye know it someone passes ye a boar pelt instead of butter.

[Tadget]: Oh wow, I had no idea everybody had different versions of that game!

[Vesyllah]: So, what's their deal? I heard some pretty ridiculous things. Like, they live on a giant frog.

[Tadget]: A turtle. Or so they say. I'm pretty sure that part is b.s.

[Tadget]: It's probably like, a metaphorical turtle.

Vesyllah nods. "Probably."

[Tadget]: Probably it's an island shaped like a turtle. And green.

[Thalstan]: I can see that, so ye might call it a turtle island.

[Tadget]: Yeah.

[Thalstan]: I sure hope the end o' this tunnel is not just a wild turkey comin' our way.

[Zaara]: Delicious!

A sly smirk spreads across your face.

[Tadget]: I wonder if arakkoa taste like chicken…

[Thalstan]: I think I'll no' try eatin' arakkoa. Just in case.

[Thalstan]: Because, ye know, sapient.

[Tadget]: I'd do it.

[Tadget]: Provided enough motivation.

[Vesyllah]: Say hello to my little fiend!

[Thalstan]: Alright, I think this next room's the last.

[Zaara]: Turkey time!

[Vesyllah]: That bird looks fancy. Still ugly, but fancy.

[Tadget]: Fugcy.

[Thalstan]: Might be our target. Shall we move in straight to the attack?

[Thalstan]: Or attempt a parley?

[Tadget]: I'm for stabbing.

Talon King Upekk says: RRAWWWK! The Tailfeather of Anzu is mine! The Bloodless cannot have it! Now you suffer its power!

Talon King Upekk clutches a massive feather in one gnarled hand. Holding it high, it crackles with raw arcane energy!

[Tadget]: Well that settles that.

[Vesyllah]: He doesn't sound like he wants to parley.

[Tadget]: Stab him and take his stuff.

[Thalstan]: Let's get it!

Tadget ducks behind a pillar as he channels massive energy through the feather.

[Tadget]: Okay that guy was really a pain in the ass.

[Tadget]: Where's the thing?

Tadget looks around for the feather.

[Tadget]: He dropped it…

[Tadget]: Anyone see it?

[Tadget]: I know Zaara doesn't.

Thalstan looks around the floor for the big feather. Surely it can't be hard to find.

Talon King Upekk loses his grip on the feather as he collapses, and it wafts gently to the floor.

[Thalstan]: Ah, there it is!

[Tadget]: Good eye.

Thalstan grabs it up quickly, let any other arakkoa swoop in.

The feather tingles to the touch. Even inactive, it is brimming with raw power.

[Thalstan]: We've got it. Now, maybe we head back to our friendly arakkoa?

[Tadget]: Okay.

[Tadget]: I'm going to confess — I don't even really like the friendly ones. They're creepy.

Tadget mimics their lurching walk.

[Vesyllah]: It's nice that some are on our side. But still…I'd rather not look at them.

[Thalstan]: They seem ta me like they were meant ta be in th' air.

[Thalstan]: Maybe more graceful if they could fly.

[Tadget]: Supposedly they used to be beautiful or something. But I can't get any of them to tell me the details.

[Tadget]: Sucks for them. Me, I'll always be beautiful.

[Vesyllah]: Speaking of the nice ones, we should probably get the feather to Kirrik.

Thalstan nods.

[Tadget]: Yeah, that was the name. Kirrik.

[Vesyllah]: Kirrik the Awakened, if we're being fussy about titles.

Thalstan | He doesn't clarify whether he's nodding to Tadget or Vesyllah. Or both, why not both?

[Tadget]: Zaara, you can probably sense it, but just in case you can't, I'm extremely beautiful.

[Zaara]: I sense this, yes!

[Thalstan]: I'm quite attractive meself, too. I don't know if a curse would have any effect on that.

[Vesyllah]: Pretty sure Lord Ference picked us all because we're pretty. The old perv.

Tadget cackles maniacally at the situation.

[Thalstan]: Ach, it's not a perv thing. It's a PR thing.

[Thalstan]: And I hafta admit, our bein' attractive probably does help smooth th' way a bit, on our missions. That an' havin' a reputation.

[Tadget]: Hey buddy.

Tadget waves at Kirrik the Awakened.

Vesyllah gives Kirrk a nod of greeting.

Thalstan waves a greeting with the Tailfeather of Anzu in his hand.

Kirrik the Awakened says: Cobalt Blade. Rawwk!

[Tadget]: We do.

Vesyllah snickers.

Kirrik the Awakened says: Can it be? Anzu's Tailfeather. To see it safe fills me with such relief I could almost fly.

Kirrik the Awakened looks sad for a moment.

[Tadget]: Now you made me sad.

[Thalstan]: What is it, Kirrik?

Tadget sighs at Thalstan.

Kirrik the Awakened says: Do not be concerned. Merely long lost history.

Tadget whispers to Thalstan, "HE CAN'T FLY." A little too loudly, maybe.

Kirrik the Awakened extends a hand toward Thalstan. "Please…may I have the feather?"

[Thalstan]: Oh! Oh, right.

Tadget tries not to giggle, under the circumstances.

Thalstan hands over the feather with all due reverence.

Kirrik the Awakened says: The power in the feather is remarkable. Holding it, I can sense the flow of Outland's ley lines. Oh my…this is very strange.

[Tadget]: It was quite a fight but we got it for you, buddy.

[Tadget]: Uh oh, what?

Kirrik the Awakened says: It seems as if there is an unusual amount of ley energy flowing rather rapidly through the lines…seemingly converging somewhere. The last time a fluctuation of this magnitude occurred, Draenor was torn asunder.

[Thalstan]: Oh, uh. That's not good.

[Zaara]: What.

Zaara steps back.

Kirrik the Awakened says: I am concerned as well. We must determine where this energy is flowing and put a stop to it. Or we may face another catastrophe.

[Thalstan]: Can ye trace it to a particular spot?

Kirrik the Awakened says: It may take some time to pinpoint where the energy is converging. Until then, I implore you to be vigilant. I may need to call upon you urgently once I have identified the destination.

[Tadget]: Is it going to explode like… soon? Or…

[Zaara]: You must call for us right away.

[Tadget]: Yeah, that'd be good.

[Thalstan]: We'll be vigilant, and ready ta move at a moment's notice.

[Tadget]: I'd hate to get there a few minutes after it exploded.

Kirrik the Awakened says: I agree. As soon as I have information, I will send for you immediately.

[Tadget]: But we are Doom Prevention Specialists, so it should be okay with our help.

Tadget shows him her Tadget Sharpgear, D.P.S. card.

Vesyllah rolls her eyes with a silent 'ugh'.

[Thalstan]: Don't worry, Kirrik. We'll make sure th' rest o' Outland is no' torn asunder.

[Tadget]: Yeah it's already had enough of that kind of thing.

[Zaara]: Yes, *Zaara says quietly.*

Kirrik the Awakened says: I must go meditate on the feather right away. I will speak with you again soon.

[Thalstan]: Good luck, Kirrik.

[Thalstan]: Good work, team. We made some real progress today. We'll protect this land, I'm sure of it.

Vesyllah sighs. "Don't worry, Zaara. We won't let it happen again."

[Tadget]: Yeah.

[Tadget]: We got this.

[Tadget]: If we'd been around last time it wouldn't have exploded last time.

[Zaara]: Zaara nods unhappily. "Yes. Cobolt Blade."

Tadget gently pats Zaara.

Tadget cuddles up against Zaara.