![](http://cobalt-company.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/writing:2026-02-18-tanaris:find-of-the-century/style="margin:/medium.jpg) |
| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | Cerethan, Glyphe, Kalhidai, Lihua, Natlee, and Slicket help out at an Explorer's League site in the south of Tanaris. Cerethan is thrilled and Natlee is bored. Glyphe and Lhilhi like explosions. Lihua is curious and Slicket is practical. ~3900 words |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Arc: Kalimdor Newbies
Lihua is enjoying a nap in the shade. Noodle is just waking up and streeetching his long body.
Natlee reaches to fluff a pigtail, then remembers her nails aren't quite dry and aborts the gesture. The polish is the exact purple of her outfit.
Cerethan periodically checks that Lihua is still breathing.
Slicket lands at the gryphon station and hits the ground running, looking around for who might be there.
Glyphe stands awkwardly to one side, as always. She seems to be focused on Natlee's manicure. Self-consciously, she wipes her gloved hands on her tabard.
Lihua is breathing…and occasionally murmuring in her sleep. Something about dumplings. Speaking of…Dumpling waddles out from behind the crates. Some poor worker will soon discover what he was doing back there.
Cerethan's nose wrinkles at a… smell.
Dumpling tries to look innocent.
"Hey, everybody!" Slicket calls out. "Ready for some titan stuff?"
Glyphe jumps a little. "TItan stuff? Yeah!"
"Always," says Natlee, showing her dimples.
Cerethan pushes his turban up from his eyes. He yawns. "I am, absolutely. Titan… stuff… sounds fascinating.
Natlee waves her hands dramatically. "FORTITUDE upon you all or whatever!"
Slicket makes a kind of roaring sound. "There, that'll sharpen you up too."
"Yes, very inspiring," Natlee says dryly.
Glyphe thinks about it, then casts a Cone of Cold. "Here, to help with overheating!"
Natlee giggles.
Cerethan stays in the shade. The cone of cold hits him a little too hard, though, and he takes a few steps backwards with the blast.
Slicket makes an aaaah sound with the nice chilly breeze.
"Someone should probably um, wake up Lihua?" Natlee says, with a little scrunch of her nose.
Slicket waddles over to poke Lihua gently on the shoulder. "Hey, it's titan time."
"Ah, right!" Cerethan turns to Lihua, who's right beside him. "Lihua, get up before this smell gets any worse," he says, not raising his voice, not touching her, keeping the same distance between them.
A fox joyfully bounds up to the party, followed by her draenei. "Finder has found you once more!"
Natlee makes a soft little squeal and claps for Finder.
"Lhilhi!" Slicket shouts, right next to Lihua. "Awesome, that's all of us here."
Glyphe waves happily to Finder.
Natlee gently pokes Lihua.
[Kalhidai]: "I could have found you by following the scent of mayhem! What has occurred?"
"Greetings, Lhilhi," Cerethan waves. "Nothing, yet, though mayhem… doesn't smell like I expected."
"Oh, that's not mayhem, that's pig poo," Natlee says. Epic nose scrunch.
"That's WHAT?" Cerethan jumps away from the crates.
Lihua stirs with a mumble of "Ma po tofu…hmm?" She pushes herself up with a big stretch…then her nose crinkles. "Dumpling!"
Glyphe sniffs experimentally. Mayhem smells like Natlee's nail polish.
Dumpling hangs his head in shame…wait, no, he just sniffing the sand for edible bugs.
Slicket doesn't seem to have noticed the smell. That might say something about him.
It really does.
"I was about to go say hi to the Prospector," Slicket says, waddling in that direction with a casual hey-how-ya-doin wave.
Natlee falls into line behind Slicket, giving her almost-dry nails a little shake.
Cerethan runs to Slicket, far from the dreaded tent.
"Did everyone have a good nap?" Lihua seems to assume it was communal nap time.
"Too bright to sleep," Natlee says.
"Sure," says Slicket, who just arrived by gryphon.
Cerethan ignores the question and stares at Dumpling. His familiar would NEVER.
Lihua blinks at Natlee like she just spoke a foreign language (which, in a way, she did).
Prospector Gunstan looks up from his own work distractedly. “What, you here to help?”
Slicket says, "Yeah, we're the Cobalt team, here to help."
Glyphe holds her tabard away from her chest a little so Gunstan can see it. See? Cobalt Company.
Prospector Gunstant nods gruffly and gestures the team over.
Natlee points to her Cobalt Company pin.
“I’d studied the gate here for years, trying to find a way of entry that wouldn't disturb any of the ancient architecture just behind it,” Prospector Gunstan says, staring towards the gates to Uldum with a sigh. “It figures a few overgrown earthquakes decided to muck the whole thing up! But what's done is done, and the entrance to Uldum is open.”
"Oh!" Lihua smiles brightly. "What is Uldum?"
"Nature is wonderful!" Cerethan exclaims, forgetting what caused the earthquakes for a moment.
"It's like a whole country," Natlee informs Lihua. "Recently rediscovered by Cobalt Company!"
"Giant cat people live there," Natlee informs her.
"Have ye not heard?" Gunstan's eyes might pop out of his face, they're so wide. "It's a wondrous place of archaeological discovery! And also the people are still living there, aye!"
Natlee gives the dwarf a flat look at his priorities.
"So… you're gonna head into Uldum to study?" Slicket asks, looking from Gunstan to the gate.
"Cat people?" Lihua looks skeptical about this notion of animal people.
“Thanks to Cobalt, looks like the Ramkahen, uh, cats are gonna let us study the artifacts in Uldum,” Prospector Gunstan says. “But there’s still plenty to learn on this side of the gate, as long as those golems don’t smash everything!”
"Oh, golems," says Natlee. "Wonderful."
"These… what golems?" Slicket asks. "I guess that's our first job, huh?"
"As someone well versed in the practice of archeology, you, sir, are speaking my language," Cerethan's eyes shine brighter than ever. "Oh, golems," he also says.
"Golems!" Glyphe says so she's not left out.
"Aye, they came in here from Uldum," Prospector Gunstan scowls. “A whole mess of golems are running amok in the valley now, let loose from inside. Someone needs to clean them up.”
"Yes, I see." Lihua pauses a beat. "What are golems?" She does not see.
"Big rock people," Natlee says.
Lihua's eyes widen. "Oh…oh no. That is bad."
"They're constructs," Gunstan says. "Made of stone, aye, like the lass says. You can knock 'em out no problem, I'd wager. And then our find will be safe."
"Stone? Explosives," Lhilhi says, and nods.
Natlee nods back at Lhilhi in agreement.
"I mean technically our ancestors were also constructs? So like, kind of a squishy line there." Natlee shrugs.
Glyphe brightens at the mention of explosives.
"Your find, huh?" Slicket asks. "Gold? Or uh… knowledge?"
“We've had our first big find in years here at the Southmoon ruins,” Prospector Gunstan says, brightening. “My lads have dug up stone tablets, engraved with ancient writings. The glyphs on the tablets are like nothing we've ever seen, but I have a hunch we can connect them with titanic scripts found at other digsites,” Prospector Gunstan claps his hands. “Imagine what a breakthrough like that could mean!”
Cerethan rubs his hands. He's visibly excited about this mission.
"Yeah, that sounds super cool," Slicket says, nodding along.
“While you’re out, I need you to go to the Southmoon ruins and help us collect the tablets; the other lads can't leave, lest the blood elves take our site!” Prospector Gunstan says, and then adds, “Which I probably should’ve mentioned earlier."
"Blood elves?" Slicket asks. "What've they got to do with any of this?"
"They are so pretty," Natlee says, irrelevantly.
Cerethan shrugs.
“Pretty, but annoying. We're not the only ones interested in these ruins, it seems – the blasted blood elves are, too,” Prospector Gunstan says.
"They are so skinny," Lihua says.
Glyphe says, "I've never seen one."
"Yeah, they are weirdly skinny," Natlee agrees. "But fabulous hair."
"You're going to see one today, young lady," Gunstan says. "because I'll need you to crack a few heads."
Gunstan adds with scorn, “I'd expect them to wilt in the heat without all their fancy fountains and cushy pillows, but they're surprisingly scrappy, and they're trying to drive us out of the Southmoon Ruins by force.”
Cerethan sighs. "Fancy fountains and cushy pillows…" he whispers to himself.
"You know," says Natlee testily, "just because a person has a taste for finer things it doesn't mean they can't also be tough as nails."
Gunstan sighs. "Reckon I'm learning that one today. But ye can handle 'em?"
"Yeah, yeah, we can handle elves," Slicket reassures him.
"Are nails especially tough?" Lihua tilts her head.
Natlee stares at Lihua.
Lihua smiles at Natlee.
"So uh," Natlee says with exaggerated diplomacy, "Do… pandaren not… use nails?"
Cerethan examines Liihua's hands from afar.
"Of course we do," Lihua says. "But I just never thought of them as 'tough'. Maybe a whole lot of nails together. So…yes, tough as nails. Just not tough as nail."
Natlee giggles.
"Also I suppose it depends on the nail?" Natlee says. "Like, are we talking finishing nails, box nails, roofing nails?
"Oh, yes. I suppose some tails are tougher than others." Lihua shrugs. "I am a chef, not a carpenter."
"I'm a gnome," Natlee explains.
"Fingernails are traditionally less tough," Slicket nods.
Cerethan tilts his head. "It never even crossed my mind to imagine 'tough as nail' was referring to fingernails. This would be ridiculous."
"I'm sure you know the pain of breaking a nail," Slicket nods seriously at Cerethan.
Lihua looks at her claws. "I suppose they could be thought of as tough. But not as tough as a carpenter's nail."
"Of course not. If I were to break a nail, I'd do it with magic which would be absolutely painless for me," Cerethan frowns a little.
"I'm just very careful with mine," Natlee says, showing off her purple manicure.
"I keep mine short," Slicket nods. "So.. ready to go bonk some golems and elves?"
"… Oh, you meant fingernails,not… nails," Cerethan bites his lower lip.
"Well to be fair," Natlee says to Cerethan, "we were kind of talking about both, switching back and forth. A little confusing."
Cerethan straightens up and clears his throat. "Yes, you made this confusing, that is true. Anyways." he shows off his own, manicured hand, with his fingernails painted dark blue.
"That is such a good color for you," Natlee says appreciatively.
"Oooh, your nails are so pretty." Lihua examines her own again. "Maybe I should paint mine."
"It is indeed! I had centuries to find the right colors with the one accessible in exile, and I haven't changed since," Cerethan says proudly.
"We can try it later, Lihua," says Natlee. "I've got um… I think 13 different colors?"
"Oooh, look," Slicket says, as we approach the ruins. "Those are blood elves, indeed."
The team commences the plan to drive the blood elves out of the ruins.
Glyphe watches the elf fall dead. "Kinda dramatic, aren't they?"
"I know right?" Natlee mimics the dramatic death fall.
"Wonder what's out here that's so special the elves are into it?" Slicket asks. Gunstan already kind of said, Slicket.
"Well, there are simply plenty of things 'elves' might be into in this type of ruins," Cerethan explains.
"Who knows," says Natlee, who was definitely not listening to Gunstan.
"You seemed pretty keen on the Prospector," Slicket says, looking at Cerethan. "Is this your sorta thing?"
"Absolutely! I was trapped in what you call Dire Maul for centuries, reading the same books over and over again," Cerethan shakes his head. "Now that I'm free, I wish to learn more about the past of this world!"
Natlee looks at Cerethan with huge eyes. "You were trapped there? For centuries? OMT."
"Why, yes. My people were exiled. I was born and lived there up until very recently," Cerethan explains. "I'm certain you can't understand what it feels like."
"Uh… I mean, we're currently exiled, technically," Slicket points out. "But not trapped anywhere."
"See? You can't understand," Cerethan looks off in the distance.
Glyphe mostly stares at the blood elves. She's mostly silent. Mostly.
"I guess we are working on reclaiming Gnomeregan, and it's not like I lived there before," Slicket nods. "But the group is kinda called the Gnomeregan Exiles."
"Longest I was ever trapped anywhere was the cargo hold of the Sharkracer, and that was only liike…" *she counts on her fingers* "Seven months."
"What is the Sharkracer?" Lihua asks.
"Pirate ship," Natlee answers Lihua succinctly.
"Yikes," Slicket says. "Worst for me was probably the time I was in a tunnel my mom closed off. She realized I was missing before I ran out of air, though, so all good."
"My people have been far from our homeland for ten thousand years. But we were not trapped," Lihua says. "The Wandering Isle is a wonderful place to live!"
"Why, yes, but you're not shunned by the rest of your people," Cerethan waves dismissively. "The Highborne had done so much for Kaldorei society, and one mistake led to our exile. Can you believe it?"
[Kalhidai]: "I am from Telaar. I hope we will all visit."
Lihua frowns for Cerethan. "What was the mistake?"
Slicket raises an eyebrow. "The one was a pretty big one. And yeah, Lhilhi, I'd love to see Telaar."
As they talk, the team leaves the now-cleared ruins and heads south, into the golem-filled valley.
"Making friends with the king of demons and blowing up the entire world," Natlee answers Lihua dryly.
"Demons don't make a habit of being open about who they are and what they want," Lhilhi says.
"Yeah and also like, now we know what demons are. The poor elves back then had never even seen one." Natlee looks sympathetic.
"Well… our leader at the time summoned the burning legion and— To be fair! It's closing the portal for the Burning Legion that sundered the world, so we're not entirely to blame here," Cerethan specifies.
Glyphe nods wisely. "That'll do it."
Lihua's big eyes go even bigger. "Your people are the sorcerers that broke the world?! Even my people know that tale!"
"Ye-ep," Slicket says. "They did that one."
"As I said, we didn't 'do that one'. We started the chain of events that lead the world there, that's all," Cerethan raises a finger as he explains.
"So basically, they were like Eredar," Slicket nods casually. "The ones that got tricked by the demons."
[Kalhidai]: "Indeed."
All the while, Slicket casually smashes golems, with violence.
"So here's a thing a lot of people don't understand," says Natlee solemnly. "You do not have to be stupid to get tricked. Even to get tricked bigtime. People who are good at it can trick literally anyone. And I bet demons are really good at it."
Lihua nods solemnly. "Natlee speaks wisdom."
[Kalhidai]: "Smart people are actually easier to trick than you assume, I think."
"Indeed," Cerethan nods. "I have to confess I have been tricked in the past, and I'm not stupid at all."
"Yeah, well said," Slicket nods. "But I think it's important to also admit when it's happened. That's how you make sure it doesn't happen again. Like me with the goblin debt, right?"
"Sometimes smart people are even easier to trick than stupid people," says Natlee, "if you know what you're doing. Because a lot of stupid people are used to not trusting themselves."
"Stupid people," Natlee goes on, "are more likely to double check with their mom, or their big brother, or whoever, whereas smart people are proud and think they know everything."
Glyphe tries not to look super smart.
"And then their mom will be like…" Slicket frowns. "Or maybe their big brother. My mom would probably just say 'I'm sorry, did you say something?' But yeah, somebody who'll double-check."
A frown flickers over Natlee's face at Slicket's mom comment, but she doesn't say anything.
Oh look, a distraction! The team arrives back at the camp.
Prospector Gunstan waves a hand. "Did ye get the elves, the golems…?"
"Both," Cerethan exclaims.
"Those elves are so skinny," Glyphe says, eyes wide.
"They are, aren't they? Makes ye wonder where they put the muscle," Gunstan nods, brandishing his own muscley arms. "But good work. You showed 'em whose ruins these were. And my boys brought me back some tablets!"
"I'd say they are regular skinny for elves, you know," Cerethan says, looking a little upset. He wants to be told he's skinny too. He's much more broad-shouldered than they are, though.
Gunstan peers at the tablets. “Would you take a look at these…not troll, not qiraji, just pure mystery waiting to be unlocked. These aren't going anywhere now that they're safely in our hands.”
"But you are an elf also, yes?" Lihua looks Cerethan up and down.
"You're pretty longish, too," Slicket nods.
"I am, absolutely," Cerethan nods to both Lihua and Slicket, while staring at the tables, trying to read them over Gunstan's shoulder.
"You are very skin as well," Lihua says. "You should probably have a pie. But the blood elves are even skinnier. I worry about them. I mean…the ones we did not kill."
"Anything else we can help you with?" Slicket asks.
Gunstan startles and looks up at the group. He was immersed in tablet. "Eh? OH! YES! The earthquakes of the Cataclysm didn’t only open a way into Uldum – they cracked open some caves that must not have been open on either side for thousands of years!"
"Hooray, a musty cave," says Natlee, glancing skyward.
“I’ve found one just to the south o’ here. Head on in there and see if anything's been left uncracked,” Prospector Gunstan says excitedly, completely missing Natlee’s lack of enthusiasm. “Be careful though… there's no telling what, or who, might be stirring in there.”
Glyphe pats Natlee on the shoulder, comfortingly.
"Sure thing, buddy," Slicket nods. "We know our way around caves."
"Onwards!" Cerethan says excitedly.
They reach the cave, but it is actually a clearly sapient-made construction, the mouth of it only recently unearthed.
"Whoa this is less a cave more a… fancy chamber," Slicket looks around as they enter.
Glyphe gazes around. "Moly, look at those spider webs! They're huge!"
"Look at those pillars!" Cerethan exclaims. "Those doors!"
"So…this is Uldum?" Lihua scratches her head.
"Not exactly," Slicket says. "It's a cave on the border anyway. Sealed away for thousands of years, a little like Cerethan!"
[Kalhidai]: “I'm sure it looks very nice when it's cleaned up a bit."
"Now that you mention it, I do feel some sort of kinship with this cave," Cerethan nods.
Natlee looks almost terminally bored.
"And a chest…" Slicket peers at it. "This seems really convenient… should we open it?"
"This place smells like spider poop," Natlee says, nose wrinkling for the 400th time today.
"It's not the smell of spider poop, it's the smell of discovery!" Cerethan says.
Glyphe eyes the chest. "You open it, Slicket. You're the toughest one."
"Okay, here goes nothing," Slicket says.
"Hooray," says Natlee dryly. "I've discovered spider poop."
Glyphe giggles at Natlee.
Dumpling perks at the poop talk.
As Slicket opens the chest, a stone guardian rumbles into being and stomps towards the group. Slicket jumps in surprise, dropping the lid.
[Kalhidai]: "Ai!"
"Eep!" says Glyphe, firing an inferno blast at the thing.
Natlee yelps in surprise, then says, "Oh one of those Titan thingies!" and helps blast it.
"Careful!" Cerethan slow falls the lid as the giant stomps right beside him.
Slicket whirls around and belatedly draws his sword, shouting to get the stone guardian's attention.
Natlee switches to keeping Slicket patched up once the giant statue begins whomping him.
Finder jumps in to defend everyone.
Lihua loads an arrow with packed black powder and aims for its knee. Thwip! BOOM! It explodes on impact, sending stone shards flying.
Glyphe beams at Lihua.
Lhilhi grabs an explosive arrow and puts a dent in the walking statue.
"Boom!" Glyphe says enthusiastically at all the explosions.
Slicket smashes the statues… ankle?… with his shield.
Cerethan is too distracted by the antediluvean chest to fight. He draws a constellation in front of it and protects it in an ice cube. NO EXPLOSIONS near the precious artifact.
The explosions and magic and smashing is enough that the guardian crumbles.
"Alright, let's check out this chest," Slicket says, still staring at the guardian. "Or Cerethan? You can do the honors. I think the trap is already tripped."
"Well that was a little better than just staring at a bunch of scribblings on slabs of rock," Natlee concedes.
Glyphe nods at Natlee. "And no spider poop," she says solemnly.
Natlee giggles.
"I would be honored to!" Cerethan unfreezes the chest and takes a look inside.
At the bottom of the chest, there is a large tablet. Made of a material resembling stone, but completely smooth and flawless, it is covered in strange writing. While some resembles the writing on the walls, other scripts appear completely different.
Natlee is immediately and obviously bored again.
"Huh," Slicket says, peering over at Cerethan. "What is it?"
Cerethan levitates the large tablet and begins examining the writing. "Fascinating."
"Whoa. We should take that back to the dig guy," Slicket says. "The Prospector."
[Kalhidai]: "But what is it?"
"A… new book?" Slicket suggests.
"I have no idea," Cerethan shrugs. "Some sort of primitive text on a stone tablet.
Glyphe hops up and down so she can peer deeper into the chest, in case anything cool is in there. Stones with scribbles don't count.
Sorry Glyphe, stone with scribbles is your treasure today.
Glyphe sighs. No more booms.
"At least we're getting paid," Natlee says.
"Levitate it with us, Cerethan?" Slicket suggests. "You can read as we walk."
Cerethan didn't wait for Slicket's instruction to read and walk. His familiar ratatouilles him by pulling on his ears so he doesn't die on the way there.
“You're back! What have you found?” Gunstan asks in excitement as the team approaches.
Natlee's eyes rove the camp as they return, searching for anything, anything at all more interesting than some dwarf and his scribbly rocks.
Cerethan doesn't answer Gunstan. He's trying to decipher the thing.
"This tablet thing, if it matters at all," Slicket says, jerking his thumb at it.
Gunstan gasps, and rushes over to examine it with Cerethan.
“This is amazing. These hieroglyphs are undoubtedly titan, but the markings below it…” Gunstan examines it. “If I had to hope, this is the same passage written over and over again in an entire assortment of ancient languages.”
Slicket shrugs. "So… it's a boring read? Just the same thing over and over again? What use is that?"
Glyphe whispers to Natlee, "Your nails are pretty."
"It's absolutely not boring! This could open the way to learning the alphabet of several ancient languages, thus allowing us to translate more and more texts!" Cerethan exclaims.
"Exactly!" Gunstan says, slapping Cerethan on the shoulder. "We might be able to use this to decipher so many hieroglyphs! If the antechamber was covered in them as you say, who knows what else we'll learn. This could be the find of the century!”
"Great," says Natlee with false enthusiasm.
Cerethan is so excited he's jumping from one foot to the other. He's trying to contain this movement as much as possible, though. He just sways
“I’m gonna keep working on this translator tablet,” Gunstan nods distractedly. “Elf fella, want to work with me?”
Natlee smiles at Cerethan, genuinely happy for him.
"It would be a pleasure for me to do you the other of leading your research, sir," Cerethan bows his head in humility.
[Kalhidai]: "That sounds very important, Cerethan! How lovely."
Natlee immediately looks less happy for Cerethan after he speaks. A common occurrence.
"Eh?" Gunstan says, blinking. "Sure, fella… let's get to work."