![](http://cobalt-company.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images/writing:2026-03-02-relics-and-rivals:the-waystone-cobalt-bla/style="margin:/medium.jpg) |
| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | The Cobalt Blade (Arthur, Tadget, Thalstan, Vesyllah, and Zaara) meet with Kerlo and then head into Utgarde Keep for their first mission in conjunction with the 7th Legion, retrieving a titan-forged waystone from the vrykul. They're not the only ones after it… hints of a mysterious new rival arise. ~3300 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Arc: The Cobalt Blade
The team assembles at Ironforge HQ.
[Tadget]: Sup nerds.
[Thalstan]: Sup, indeed. *Thalstan rustles his mustache* I'm ready to get back inta th' field!
[Tadget]: Fel yeah.
Vesyllah looms in the corner, wrapped in shadow. Then just sort of flops into the nearest (conveniently most shadowed) chair.
[Quarterflash]: Ah good, you're all here.
Quarterflash seems to have mistaken the water elemental for Zaara.
[Tadget]: Dude.
[Thalstan]: Ready to hear about our new mission in Northrend!
[Quarterflash]: Indeed!
[Quarterflash]: So as you may or may not know, after the death of the Lich King the vrykul are no longer allied with the Scourge. They're just squabbling among themselves, with occasional warlords grabbing power.
[Quarterflash]: One of these, a Warlord Garvin, has secured the lower levels of Utgarde Keep and is unfortunately… in possession of a Titan-forged waystone.
[Vesyllah]: What's that?
[Thalstan]: A what?!? *Thalstan says in horror* Aye, what is it?
[Quarterflash]: Well… we don't know exactly, but the current belief is that it might guide the user to existing Titan complexes, which could be extremely valuable, provided anyone is er, able to figure out how it works. But the good news is…
[Quarterflash]: This Warlord Garvin has no idea what he has. It's just a shiny object to him.
[Zaara]: Hello! Hello! I am on time!
[Quarterflash]: Oh, hello there.
[Zaara]: I am on time!
Quarterflash looks briefly confused by Zaara's arrival. There was a large blue thing here already.
[Vesyllah]: Super on time.
Thalstan waves to Zaara. "Aye, yes. More or less, yes. So what's the good news?"
Zaara whispers loudly, "Vengeance, we are twins!"
[Vesyllah]: We're what now?
[Zaara]: I am sexy black clothes! They say you are sexy black clothes? Twins!
[Zaara]: I mean… uniforms!
Vesyllah squints at Zaara moving in on her style.
[Quarterflash]: Well the good news is that since Warlord Garvin has the intellectual capacity of a large vry'kul shaped brick, he can't really use the waystone for anything useful and is just sort of… stashing it away like a random shiny treasure.
[Thalstan]: Ah, that is good news. I take it we're ta take it from him?
[Quarterflash]: It should not be that difficult to retrieve. In theory. But there is some… not terrible but not great news.
[Arthur]: So it's a stone that makes anyone capable of translocating to the place it's attuned to, if I have to guess. Or maybe multiple places?
Quarterflash blinks at Art's theory, distracted for a moment.
[Quarterflash]: We should certainly have you examine it once it's retrieved, Mr. Reeve.
[Quarterflash]: Reeves?
[Arthur]: Reeves.
[Thalstan]: Aye. For sure. So what's the not great news?
[Quarterflash]: Anyhow the not great but not terrible news is that the Alliance military isn't the only group interested in the artifact.
Vesyllah sighs. "Ugh. Of course."
[Quarterflash]: There is a three-person salvage team calling itself the 'Greymark Crew' who is also apparently making plans to enter Utgarde Keep and acquire the waystone.
Zaara frowns.
[Quarterflash]: We've been looking into who this team's backers are, but it's been peculiarly difficult to trace.
[Thalstan]: So we're ta beat them to it?
[Quarterflash]: We can assume they will be hostile, should you encounter any of them, but do not initiate combat unless this is proven. Just… yes. Try to get there before they do. Now, preferably.
[Quarterflash]: Any questions?
[Vesyllah]: Yeah. Did you bring our pies this time?
Quarterflash blinks in dismay.
[Quarterflash]: I… I will have them ready for your return.
[Quarterflash]: Same order?
[Vesyllah]: Alright. But seriously, we should carb-load before a mission, not after. Just saying.
[Quarterflash]: Noted.
Quarterflash stands at attention and salutes.
Thalstan shoots a look at Vesyllah, and then salutes Kerlo. "We'll get that waystone, sir!"
Zaara nods solemnly.
[Quarterflash]: I would wish you luck, but I doubt you will need it.
[Vesyllah]: We're the Cobalt Blade. We've got this.
Quarterflash gives them each a crisp little nod, then toddles out.
Time Passes: Cobalt Blade travels to Utgarde Keep in the Howling Fjord, Northrend!
Thalstan looks around the way too large architecture. "These vrykul were weirdly tall."
[Tadget]: Even more weirdly tall than most of you guys.
Vesyllah wraps herself in shadow.
We fight a gaggle of vrykul.
[Thalstan]: Looks like the taller they are, the harder they fall.
Tadget giggles.
We enter a wide hall with furnaces shooting fire out of their ‘mouths’.
[Vesyllah]: The style is pretty cool. I could live in a place like this.
[Tadget]: Maybe you can move in after we clean it out.
[Zaara]: It smells bad.
Tadget agrees with Zaara.
Tadget does NOT take the opportunity to imply that Ves also smells bad. What the heck?
Thalstan eyes the fire-spurting furnaces. "I'd say a bit fiery for my taste, but then I do live in Ironforge."'
Vesyllah considers it. "Hmm."
Over to the left, past a wall of flame, the bodies of vrykul are scattered across the floor.
[Tadget]: Uh oh, did someone get here before us?
[Zaara]: What?
[Tadget]: Oh, there are dead vrykul.
Thalstan peers in that direction. "Looks like Greymark Crew might be in the building, aye. Might be taking another path."
[Tadget]: Like a lot of them.
[Tadget]: Dammit.
[Zaara]: Oh no!
[Thalstan]: We'll just hafta catch up.
[Tadget]: I wonder what they're like? I bet they're big jerks.
[Vesyllah]: What were our orders about the Greymark Crew again?
[Tadget]: Not to strike first.
[Vesyllah]: Ugh. Fine.
[Tadget]: I say if one of them even looks like they MIGHT be about to strike we strike.
Vesyllah agrees with Tadget.
[Thalstan]: We've got ta catch up to 'em first.
[Tadget]: It's possible if they see they're up against the COBOLT BLADE they might just pee themselves and give up.
[Zaara]: COBOLT! BLADE!
Tadget giggles at Zaara.
The team comes to a larger, protodrake training hall. It is well-fortified, but there are vrykul bodies tossed in one of the drake stalls. They seem to have been dispatched by someone with daggers.
[Tadget]: Okay one of them's using daggers.
[Tadget]: Not as well as I do though.
[Tadget]: Too many marks.
[Thalstan]: I'd trust ye to know yer dagger marks.
[Tadget]: Mmmm hm.
Dragonflayer Strategist says: You come to die!
More like we come to kill. The protodrake hall is soon cleared out.
[Thalstan]: This looks like a vrykul war room.
[Tadget]: Let's do some war.
Tadget cheers at Zaara!
[Tadget]: New and improved military-approved version!
[Thalstan]: Aye. Must be a leader o' some sort.
[Tadget]: Let's get him.
They get him.
[Tadget]: I don't think that was the guy with the stone though.
[Thalstan]: No, I did no' see anything like that. I feel like he would ha' said somethin' taunting, if so.
The doorway into the next hall is smashed off its hinges. It looks like someone bashed it in with a shield.
[Tadget]: Hmmm. Either the vrykul are rowdy or the mercs got a big brute with them.
[Tadget]: The mercs I mean.
[Vesyllah]: Let's assume brute.
Thalstan eyes the door and holds up his own shield to judge. "Taller than me, anyway. The angle's wrong."
[Thalstan]: Probably a different one to the' dagger wielder.
Dragonflayer Runecaster says: I will feed you to the dogs!
[Tadget]: Getting really tired of these stairs.
And the vrykul we have to kill to make our way up them.
[Thalstan]: Aye. Not great for short legs. I suppose they're great big fellas.
Zaara frowns.
[Arthur]: So. A rogue. And a heavy fighter. Is our third a healer, do you think?
[Tadget]: Would make sense.
[Tadget]: Unless they're really stupid, which would be nice.
[Zaara]: I think a shaman.
[Thalstan]: Aye? What makes ye think that?
[Tadget]: Yeah?
[Zaara]: The air is disturb. Someone is making negotiation with it.
[Zaara]: To move fast.
[Tadget]: Oooooh.
[Tadget]: Oh that's cheating!!
[Thalstan]: Ach. No wonder they ran ahead.
[Tadget]: You gotta cheat when you're up against the COBOLT BLADE!
[Thalstan]: Clearly.
[Vesyllah]: Because we cheat better.
Tadget giggles at Vesyllah.
[Thalstan]: O' course… wait.
Thalstan smiles at Ves, rustling his beard. "Ye best tell Elune that, when the time comes."
Tadget winces slightly.
Thalstan catches Tadget's wince and falls silent.
Vesyllah glances away with a distant expression. "Yeah…"
[Tadget]: Hey so Ves when you move in here are you gonna redecorate or leave it all full of weird vrykul crates and chains and stuff?
[Vesyllah]: The mess is half the charm.
[Tadget]: Totally.
[Tadget]: Finn says that about me all the time.
Tadget giggles at Vesyllah.
[Vesyllah]: Vrykul stink.
[Tadget]: Maybe it's hard to find bathtubs their size?
[Thalstan]: A few more special looking ones here. I think one's a caster, so watch out.
[Tadget]: I'll KICK HIM IN THE MOUTH.
The two die very swiftly, and we continue on to more large vrykul enemies.
[Tadget]: No woman should be that tall.
[Zaara]: What?
[Thalstan]: It's uncanny, aye. Any person I'd say.
[Tadget]: The vrykul have girls too.
[Vesyllah]: I like a tall woman. Maybe not…THAT tall.
Dragonflayer Runecaster says: I spit on you!
Well, that’s rude.
[Tadget]: They make you and Ves look like gnomes.
[Tadget]: It's just not right.
[Thalstan]: An' then they spit at us, which is no' fair from so high up.
[Zaara]: I will be a very cute gnome.
[Tadget]: I mean their men are grotesquely tall too, but I just care less how men look.
[Thalstan]: Ye would make a very cute gnome, Zaara.
[Tadget]: OH. MY. GOSH.
[Tadget]: Can you imagine.
[Tadget]: Like, all proportioned right but still with the little horns and stuff? SO CUTE.
[Thalstan]: Aye, the cutest.
[Tadget]: Finn would be in DANGER.
[Thalstan]: Next to you o' course, Mayhem. And maybe our Captain? Uh…
Tadget giggles at you.
[Tadget]: She is dang cute.
[Tadget]: I've seen her naked.
Zaara gasps.
Thalstan blinks at Tadget.
[Tadget]: … Oh did you guys not know that
[Tadget]: It was before either of us were married.
[Thalstan]: I uh, do no' think ye ever said.
[Tadget]: Welp.
[Tadget]: Anyway, the cute goes all the way down.
[Thalstan]: Alrigh', I reckon that's uh… good ta know.
Tadget cackles maniacally at the situation.
[Zaara]: Yes!
[Tadget]: It's very important that Zaara be up to speed on all the visual stuff.
[Arthur]: Zaara. You're married?
[Tadget]: No, not Zaara.
[Tadget]: Me an' Jo. Uh, not to each other.
[Arthur]: Ohhhh.
[Zaara]: I am never married!
[Tadget]: A crime.
[Tadget]: But yeah, Jo's married to that nerd who sent us here and I'm married to the hottest guy on several planets. So.
[Zaara]: But. I am cute all the way down.
[Arthur]: I believe it.
[Tadget]: I bet you are.
[Thalstan]: An' I'll trust ye both on the cute all the way down, because I'm a bit taken m'self.
Tadget giggles at Thalstan.
[Arthur]: Thalstan!
[Tadget]: I'm glad she's finally over me.
[Arthur]: No one tells me anything!
Tadget giggles at Arthur.
The vrykul warlord roars at the team, unimpressed by husbands and girlfriends!
[Tadget]: Yeah, he's seeing this REALLY cute dwarf who used to be super into m- oh.
[Thalstan]: Oh, aye, Oranna — we're official, but–
[Tadget]: Thaaaat might be our guy.
[Vesyllah]: He's always going goo-goo over her.
[Arthur]: Ah! Well that's great! I'm glad.
Warlord Garvin calls out, "What's this? Back for another round of pain?”
[Zaara]: BE QUIET. WE ARE TALKING.
Tadget cackles maniacally at the situation.
[Tadget]: I HOPE YOU HURT EM REAL BAD.
Garvin peers at the team. "Them? You are… not the same people. It is hard to tell, as you are all so very small."
[Tadget]: Maybe the Greymarks are now grey stains on the tile here?
[Vesyllah]: We should be so lucky.
[Zaara]: Also we are not here to receive pain. We bring you pain!
[Tadget]: Yeah!!
Tadget shows him her pain-bringers.
[Arthur]: And also great embarrassment, for being defeated by people so small!
Tadget nods at Arthur.
[Zaara]: Small and medium-size!
Warlord Garvin howls. "Try your luck then! It will be the second time today I will make you weaklings flee in terror! I would chase you down the pit, but it's not worth my time!"
[Tadget]: Aw, they ran like cowards.
[Tadget]: We're gonna kill you and take your stuff!
[Thalstan]: Let's get him!
[Arthur]: Get 'em, Tadge.
Thalstan charges right in, bashing his shield into Garvin and drawing away his attention from the others.
Tadget flits from here to there, poking holes in the big guy.
Zaara casts a shield of earth around Thalstan and then summons a cool mist of rain to weave around the fighters.
Arthur weaves the already chilly air into a bolt of ice, and lobs it at the Vrykul. "Snowcone time, stretch!"
Vesyllah grips her crown, focusing her psychic power through it and sending a piercing lance of pain into the warlord's brain.
He has a brain?
Not anymore I guess.
It isn't long before it is clear Garvin's confidence is misplaced. Under the damage of ice, psychic pain, daggers and sword, he falls.
[Tadget]: I almost wish that had taken longer.
[Tadget]: Can someone bring him back so we can do it again?
[Arthur]: I guess we're going to need a bigger villain.
Just then, a female rune priest runs into the room and cries, "No, not Garvin!" Horror radiates outward from her, as she hastily calls his spirit back from the dead.
Zaara sighs.
[Tadget]: Oops, sorry guys.
[Vesyllah]: You just had to say it…
Garvin calls, "I return! A second chance to carve your skulls."
[Tadget]: I sometimes forget how terrifyingly powerful I am.
Zaara strikes him with a lightning bolt. Eat a storm, pal.
[Arthur]: We can always depend on you Tadge. Well, second verse, same as the first!
[Tadget]: Little bit louder, a little bit worse.
The rune priestess eyes the team and then jumps off the cliff, floating peacefully away under the influence of a levitate.
Arthur laughs and starts hurling ice again.
[Tadget]: Did you see that coward priestess? Shameful.
Thalstan roars back at the vrykul, and levels a devastating strike at his torso.
Vesyllah conjures up dark particles of shadow, hurling them at Garvin to "infect" him with a Devouring Plague.
The rain Zaara cast earlier still hangs in the air, so she focuses now on lightning.
Tadget stabs.
[Arthur]: I wonder if we'll meet that priestess again.
[Tadget]: Maybe she's hanging with the Greymarks. Coward party.
Arthur is chitchatting when he should be pew-pewing. Focus!
Garvin's second attempt doesn't go any better than his first. He falls.
Thalstan looks around to see if any more priestesses appear.
Tadget turns and stares in the direction the priestess came from.
No one comes.
Zaara zaps the corpse with another lightning bolt, just in case.
[Tadget]: Well I guess he only gets one do-over.
[Thalstan]: Alright, so he's probably got it on 'im? And aye, the one lady seemed attached, but not… attached enough.
[Tadget]: Right. Look for shiny things!
[Arthur]: All right. Now if I was a Titan Waystone, where would I hide?
Thalstan starts rifling through his pockets.
Tadget seems fine letting him touch the stinky vrykul.
Thalstan holds up a stone with an unfamiliar rune carved into its face. It glimmers faintly. "Reckon this is it? About the size of a hearthstone."
[Zaara]: I reckon!
Zaara can't see it.
[Vesyllah]: Huh. Figured it would be bigger. Titan stuff and all. *She glances at Tadget.* Well…maybe not.
[Tadget]: Yeah, I'm Titan stuff.
[Thalstan]: Art, you want to carry it? Jus'… if ye do figure it out, don't teleport to any Titan places without us. Might be Old Gods there.
[Tadget]: Or angry Titan constructs.
[Tadget]: Or both.
[Vesyllah]: Yeah, we don't have the best history with Titan places. They tend to be full of cultists and guardians.
Thalstan holds the waystone out to Arthur.
Arthur considers it.
[Arthur]: It's not surprising that it's the size of a hearthstone. This rune, though…have I seen this before?
[Tadget]: How would I know what you've seen?
[Thalstan]: I've no'. Maybe you have?
Tadget giggles.
Arthur tries to remember.
Tadget experimentally pokes his water elemental while she waits.
The water elemental makes a slow gesture to poke back.
Tadget giggles and dodges.
[Arthur]: Maybe not. But I could look into it?
[Tadget]: You're the only one with half a chance of understanding it, so please do.
[Thalstan]: Aye, ye can try. And whether ye work it or no', at least it'll be safely with the 7th Legion.
[Tadget]: Yep.
[Arthur]: Let me just…
Arthur gets out a sheaf of papers to take a rubbing of all the surfaces.
[Tadget]: Art's awfully pretty for being such a nerd.
[Thalstan]: Now let's see if we can find where those Greymarks jumped down…
[Tadget]: Cowards.
[Tadget]: More like YELLOWmarks amirite? In their pants.
Thalstan chuckles.
They come to a large pit with water at the bottom.
[Thalstan]: Must be here, aye?
[Tadget]: I'll go first!
Tadget jumps.
Thalstan jumps after her.
Sploosh.
There is another drop, into another pool of water.
[Thalstan]: An' another drop. It's a long way down.
[Tadget]: Dang.
[Thalstan]: All those stairs.
At the bottom, there's no sign of dead Greymarks. There is, however, a little ribbon of blood in the water, and an axe with a shattered haft.
[Arthur]: shamans use axes, don't they?
[Tadget]: I dunno.
[Zaara]: Some, yes.
[Thalstan]: Hmmm
[Tadget]: But so do a lot of people.
[Zaara]: Also they have blood. Well. Many people have blood.
[Arthur]: but usually the ones who fight toe to toe.
[Zaara]: But someone has less blood.
[Tadget]: I feel like the brute ripping doors down might be the axe guy. Or girl. Could be a brutette.
[Thalstan]: Well, they got in before us, and they got out before us. Maybe next time we'll have a chance to meet 'em.
[Tadget]: I'm going to mock them mercilessly if we do.
[Tadget]: I'll need to practice my mockery.
[Thalstan]: I'd expect nothin' less. Let's learn what we can from what we see of 'em, ta sharpen yer mockery.
[Tadget]: Any other conclusions about 'em Mr. Big-Brain?
[Tadget]: My main conclusion is that they are cowards but they are also cheaters so they could still be a problem.
[Vesyllah]: There also might be more of them. Could be that the team they sent here wasn't enough to take on the warlord. But they might come with reinforcements in the future.
[Thalstan]: Aye, the coward thing helped us this time, but they could well ha' scooped us.
[Arthur]: Well, they got here faster, but they ran. WAIT.
[Thalstan]: If they do, they'll find they're too late.
[Thalstan]: Wait?
Tadget peers at Art.
[Arthur]: They might be waiting for us.
[Tadget]: Ooooh I hope so!!! Let's check!!
[Arthur]: Let us do the dirty work, take the goods from us.
[Tadget]: Where would you wait for us, if you were them?
Tadget pulls out her daggers again.
[Arthur]: Right out the front door.
Tadget goes all stealthy and sneaks out there to scout it out.
There's no sign of the Greymark crew outside. Nothing but wet, muddy footprints, already starting to dry.
Tadget examines them.
[Thalstan]: Any cowardly killers out there, Tadget?
[Tadget]: *yells back* Just some footprints!
[Tadget]: *more yelling* Hey Zaara does the earth tell you anything or whatever??
[Zaara]: Someone was walking on it!
[Tadget]: Gee thanks Zaara!
[Zaara]: You asked!
[Arthur]: Okay, so they really did retreat.
[Thalstan]: Ah! Then I reckon they haven't waited for us…
[Thalstan]: Whatever Quarterflash sends us after next, I bet they'll be on it, too. We'll have our chance.
[Tadget]: Well, maybe that's the last we'll see of them, though I have a feeling not. They seem to have a well informed patron and I know what those kinds of people are like. Married to one.
Thalstan nods. "I do hope it's not yer husband. Their patron. Ye could ask?"
[Tadget]: Yeah I'll ask later.
[Thalstan]: Fer now, good job team! Cobalt Blade, one point, Greymark, zero.
Tadget cheers!