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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | The Cobalt Blade (Arthur, Tadget, Thalstan, Vesyllah, and Zaara) ventures into the memory of the Halls of Stone, where the amazing Brann Bronzebeard made shocking discoveries about ancient history that remains relevant today. ~3200 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
Arc: The Cobalt Blade
Chain: ECHO
The Cobalt Blade materializes in the entrance to the Halls of Stone.
[Tadget]: Aw, this is so cool.
[Tadget]: I could've been here for this one but I like… wasn't.
Thalstan looks around the chamber, amazed.
[Thalstan]: It's one of those titan complexes! Brann himself was here!
Vesyllah squints at the decor and architecture. "It's so blocky. Kinda boring."
Tadget giggles.
A trio of dark iron dwarves charge in and attack the team immediately. One shoots lightning at us, like it wants us to eat a storm or something.
Thalstan is so taken in by the surroundings that he reacts slowly to the attacking dark iron constructs.
[Tadget]: … Rude.
[Tadget]: WE WEREN'T READY YET!
[Zaara]: It made lightning. I will frog it if it tries lightning again.
Tadget cheers at Zaara!
[Thalstan]: It's amazin', Ves. You jus' wait, ye'll see.
Tadget has a peculiar zealous light in her eyes as well.
[Thalstan]: Wow… these were our creators. Or uh… mine and Tadget's?
[Tadget]: Glad I brought a hammer this time. Stabbing stone stuff is hard.
[Tadget]: Have you not seen a Titan facility before, Valor?
[Tadget]: You've seen Uldaman right? In the Badlands?
[Tadget]: The ones in Northrend are SO much cooler though
[Vesyllah]: We all saw Uldaman. That was boring and blocky, too.
[Zaara]: I did not see it!
Vesyllah smirks slyly at Zaara.
[Thalstan]: Aye, Uldaman was a ruin. This place is somethin' else.
[Tadget]: It's only boring if you only care about elf stuff.
[Zaara]: Everything in Northrend is much cooler.
[Zaara]: Because of the snows.
Tadget giggles at Zaara.
Thalstan chuckles at Zaara, rustling his mustache.
[Vesyllah]: I don't only care about elf stuff. Most elf stuff sucks. The Nerubians, though. They know how to build.
[Tadget]: Ugh, you're -never- gonna stop talking about the spider people are ya.
[Thalstan]: Maybe we'll get lucky an’ there'll be titan spiders.
Thalstan fights his way through memories of dark iron dwarves while they chat.
[Thalstan]: Oooh, lookit the stars… *Thalstan stares at a floating archway of stars in a nearby opening*
[Zaara]: There is stars?
[Thalstan]: Aye, they're all floatin' in space like magic.
[Thalstan]: Titan magic.
[Tadget]: I wish you could see it. The Titans have such a great aesthetic.
[Zaara]: Oooooh.
[Vesyllah]: You're not missing much, Zaara.
[Zaara]: But I enjoy stars and a great aesthetic.
The team heads into a more cavernous area, where a narrow walkway curls above an unfathomably deep pit.
[Thalstan]: Oh, careful here. There's… it's a little narrow walkway. Can ye sense it, Zaara?
[Thalstan]: I can no' see how far down the fall is.
[Tadget]: I bet the air talks to her and stuff.
[Zaara]: Yes I feel the stone and not-stone.
[Thalstan]: Stay on th' stone.
Tadget giggles at you.
[Zaara]: Oh it is very far away down. Very, very far into the mountain.
[Thalstan]: Probably nothin' down there. I don't think the Cobalt team fell, ta remember it.
[Zaara]: If they did we still would probably not know about it!
As we pass through, we fight dark iron dwarves that seem to be doing some stoneshaping, and smatterings of little spiky stone constructs. Here and there are larger spiky constructs, in various states of construction.
[Vesyllah]: Are they making stone giants there?
[Arthund]: I was wondering that too.
[Tadget]: Yep.
[Tadget]: Or they were.
[Thalstan]: Huh. That's wild.
[Tadget]: Obviously this is all history, but yeah.
[Thalstan]: Aye I can see 'em with the beams, buildin' em up.
[Tadget]: Cobalt Company took care of it.
Thalstan nods to Tadget. "Did good work of it. An' you were in the area at the time?"
Something unexpected happens in combat.
[Arthund]: Wow. Sorry, I don't know what happened there.
[Zaara]: What? Where?
Thalstan looks to Arthur curiously.
[Tadget]: Everything's always strange.
We turn back to fighting dark iron dwarves.
[Tadget]: But yeah, I was around Northrend during all this. Occasionally.
[Zaara]: Everything is always strange all the time everywhere!
Tadget nods at Zaara.
[Tadget]: Indubitably.
[Zaara]: Indoo bitly.
Tadget giggles at Zaara.
[Tadget]: It means, *draenei accent* Without a doubt!
Vesyllah nods solemnly. "Indoo bitly."
[Zaara]: WITHOUT A DOUBT!
Tadget giggles at Zaara.
[Thalstan]: Indoo bitly, aye. *Thalstan smiles, his beard rustling.*
The team approaches Krystallus, a large and very animate stone giant.
[Thalstan]: Looks like this fella was fully built. Reckon they had to break him. Which means we do, too.
Tadget cracks her knuckles.
Do not punch the rock, Tadget.
Thalstan charges in to break the rock giant.
Krystallus yells: Crush….
He tries to crush, but we are too powerful. He soon crumbles.
Krystallus yells: Uuuuhhhhhhhhhh……
[Tadget]: Did he just yell "uhhhhh?" Is that historical or did the ECHO glitch?
[Thalstan]: Ye'd think they'd have a bit better lines, but maybe he's a bit stone-headed.
Tadget giggles at you.
Vesyllah boggles at the fallen giant's backside. "That thing has some serious glutes."
[Tadget]: Vengeance, stop ogling the dead rock.
[Vesyllah]: Shan't.
[Thalstan]: I'd say rock hard abs, too.
[Tadget]: Ugh.
Thalstan chuckles. He seems in high spirits today.
Tadget grins at Thalstan wickedly.
[Zaara]: And a very hard — what is the word?
[Tadget]: Man… look at the size of those — Zaara!!
[Thalstan]: I'm no' sure, Zaara, what word are ye lookin' fer?
[Tadget]: Let's not look too hard. So to speak.
[Zaara]: Bone.
Tadget giggles.
Thalstan chuckles.
The team heads down a new hallway, and six dark iron dwarves attack. Thalstan falls back to try to prevent it from becoming nine, but one of them just wants to stand where he is and cast lightning. He is, abruptly, a frog. The team defeats the dark iron dwarves, and then smacks the frog, who turns back into a dark iron dwarf.
[Thalstan]: Nice frog!
[Zaara]: Thank you!
[Thalstan]: I prefer bein' on this side o' the frogging.
[Tadget]: I… did not know you could do that, Booty.
[Zaara]: Frogs? I can do many frogs!
[Zaara]: But only one at a time.
Tadget giggles.
[Thalstan]: That's quite a skill.
[Zaara]: I enjoy it.
Ahead is a statue much like Ironaya from Uldaman. It is the Maiden of Grief.
Thalstan peers ahead. "This looks like… I've seen statues like her before, aye?"
[Tadget]: Yeah.
[Tadget]: Keeper thingie.
[Thalstan]: Aye, exactly. Keeper thingie.
Maiden of Grief, Keeper thingie, same difference.
[Vesyllah]: Okay, she's only a little blocky. At least she's kinda hot.
[Thalstan]: Too bad she's evil an' we've got ta fight her, Vengeance.
Maiden of Grief yells: You shouldn't have come… now you will die!
The maiden attacks. She gestures, and a circle of black rises ominously from the ground around Thalstan.
Thalstan backs hastily out of a dark circle on the ground.
Maiden of Grief yells: I hope you all rot! I never… wanted… this.
The black circle lingers.
[Thalstan]: Well, I don't think I've seen that sort o' attack before.
[Tadget]: Yeah, that was weird.
[Thalstan]: Not sure what it was, exactly. Dark shadow.
[Tadget]: She just made like… a big black hole in the floor.
[Tadget]: Touching it felt kind of like staring deeply into my husband's dead soulless eyes.
[Vesyllah]: I need to learn how to do that….
[Tadget]: Stare into my husband's eyes?
[Tadget]: High recommend.
[Zaara]: Stare into — yes.
[Thalstan]: Ye say the sweetest things about yer fella. *Thalstan says dryly*
Tadget giggles.
[Tadget]: They're as blue as the sea off Tanaris and as empty as the void. It's awesome.
[Vesyllah]: If his eyes are like that pool of black…then yeah.
[Tadget]: He's super hot.
[Thalstan]: Oranna's are more dark and deep.
[Tadget]: And all soft and warm and gooey and stuff. Ew.
[Thalstan]: No' much like a circle o' void, so I'll have a look at yer fella for comparison if I meet him. *Thalstan grins*
They come around a corner to see none other than Brann Bronzebeard, standing with a group of earthen friends!
[Tadget]: HEY LOOK!
[Thalstan]: Hm?
Thalstan abruptly goes starry-eyed. "HM!!! Brann Bronzebeard hisself!!!"
[Tadget]: I didn't think they'd be THIS detailed!
[Tadget]: Do you think he gave permission?
[Thalstan]: Oh wow, oh wow.
Tadget giggles at you.
[Thalstan]: D'ye think I could get his auto… no, no, it'd jus' be an illusion…
Tadget giggles at you.
Tadget pokes Brann Bronzebeard. Hey!
[Vesyllah]: What's the big deal, anyway?
[Thalstan]: He's a genius! And an' explorer! And a hero!
[Tadget]: He's only like, the world's greatest archaeologist.
[Thalstan]: He's been right near everywhere on Azeroth. Ye never know where he'll pop up next.
[Tadget]: Though I guess archaeology isn't a big deal to elves, since if they want to know what the world was like ten thousand years ago they can just like, ask their mom.
Vesyllah shrugs and nods in agreement with Tadget.
[Zaara]: Vengeance can I ask your mom about history? I was not here for ten thousand years.
Tadget giggles at Zaara.
[Vesyllah]: My mother is dead.
[Zaara]: Oh, I am very sorry. Mine also is.
[Tadget]: Same.
[Tadget]: Anyone here have a living mom?
[Thalstan]: Aye, my ma runs the Thirsty Dragon back at Ironforge. She's no' ten thousand years old, though.
[Vesyllah]: It's fine. We weren't close.
[Tadget]: This is Azeroth after all.
[Zaara]: They are all in history together.
Brann smiles. "Well now, I'm surprised to see other adventurers in a place such as this. Now that you're here, you can help me get to the Tribunal!”
[Tadget]: IT TALKS.
Tadget pokes Brann Bronzebeard. Hey!
Tadget pokes Brann Bronzebeard. Hey!
Tadget pokes Brann Bronzebeard. Hey!
[Tadget]: GUYS IT TALKS.
[Thalstan]: Brann, can ye do dialogue, or is it jus' what folks remember? I have so many questions.
Tadget cackles maniacally at you.
Tadget dances with Brann Bronzebeard.
[Brann]: If my research theories about these halls are correct, information pertainin' to the creation o' the entire dwarven race lies within!
[Thalstan]: Aww, I guess it's jus' what they said back then. But still… still.
[Arthund]: Oh. that's too bad!
[Tadget]: Pretty neat, yeah.
[Tadget]: They should have the real Brann show up sometimes here just to mess with people.
Thalstan just beams at Brann.,
[Thalstan]: Oh, that'd be somethin'. Quite a treat.
Tadget cheers at Brann Bronzebeard!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Time to get some answers! Let's get this show on the road!
Tadget nods at Brann Bronzebeard.
[Thalstan]: Oh, he's going!
[Thalstan]: Fella's a sprinter!
The team comes to the entrance of a chamber with three statues of heads arrayed along the wall.
[Brann]: If only my dear brothers could be with me at this moment in time!
Tadget gently pats Brann Bronzebeard.
[Tadget]: Brothers are overrated.
[Brann]: The Tribunal are the librarians for titan discs, in this very room!
[Tadget]: Ooooooooh.
[Brann]: The greatest discovery of dwarven kind is up ahead! Take a moment and relish this with me. Soon… all will be revealed.
There is not so much time for relishing.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Okay then, let's do this!
Tadget 's eyes sparkle with excitement.
[Thalstan]: Ohhh, I heard about this in the newsletter!
[Vesyllah]: Are there gonna be some Titan spiders, or what?
[Tadget]: I guess we'll find out!
[Thalstan]: We'll see! But I think this is where we found out more about the dwarves origins, like they did in Uldaman before!
[Tadget]: Oooooooooh.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Now keep an eye out! I'll have this licked in two shakes of a—
[Thalstan]: Let's watch 'is back!
Abedneum yells: Warning: life form pattern not recognized. Archival processing terminated. Continued interference will result in targeted response.
[Tadget]: Creepy.
[Tadget]: TARGETED RESPONSE.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Oh, that doesn't sound good. We might have a complication or two…
Kaddrak yells: Security breach in progress. Analysis of historical archives transferred to lower-priority queue. Countermeasures engaged.
[Thalstan]: Oh no, lower priority!
[Tadget]: That lady is shooting eyeball stuff at us.
[Thalstan]: Rude.
Tadget gets out of its eyeline.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Ah, you want to play hardball, eh? That's just my game!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Couple more minutes and I'll–
Marnak yells: Threat index threshold exceeded. Celestial archive aborted. Security level heightened.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Heightened? What's the good news?
[Thalstan]: That does no' sound good.
[Thalstan]: More eybeams.
[Tadget]: Get out of her eyeline, you sillies.
[Tadget]: … or not.
[Tadget]: She can see through walls apparently.
[Vesyllah]: This place is the worst….
Brann Bronzebeard yells: So that was the problem? Now I'm makin' progress…
Abedneum yells: Critical threat index. Void analysis diverted. Initiating sanitization protocol.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Hang on! Nobody's gonna' be sanitized as long as I have a say in it!
[Thalstan]: That's not even remotely fair!
[Thalstan]: I refuse to be sanitized!
[Tadget]: Same.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Ha! The old magic fingers finally won through! Now let's get down to–
[Vesyllah]: Phrasing….
[Tadget]: Oh THOSE are some eyebeams.
Abedneum yells: Alert: security fail-safes deactivated. Beginning memory purge and…
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Purge? No no no no no.. where did I— Aha, this should do the trick…
Abedneum yells: System online. Life form pattern recognized. Welcome, Branbronzan. Query?
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Query? What do you think I'm here for, tea and biscuits? Spill the beans already!
Tadget giggles at Brann Bronzebeard.
[Tadget]: I could use some biscuits, if I'm being honest.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Tell me how the dwarves came to be, and start at the beginning!
Abedneum yells: Accessing prehistoric data… retrieved. In the beginning the earthen were created to–
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Right, right… I know the earthen were made from stone to shape the deep regions o' the world. But what about the anomalies? Matrix non-stabilizin' and what-not?
Tadget listens intently to Brann Bronzebeard.
Abedneum yells: Accessing… In the early stages of it's development cycle, Azeroth suffered infection by parasitic necrophotic symbiotes.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Necrowhatinthe— Speak bloody Common, will ye?
Abedneum yells: Designation: Old Gods. Old Gods rendered all systems, including earthen, defenseless in order to facilitate assimilation. This matrix destabilization has been termed "the Curse of Flesh". Effects of destabilization increased over time.
[Tadget]: I KILLED ONE OF THOSE.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Old Gods, huh? So they zapped the earthen with this Curse of Flesh… and then what?
[Thalstan]: Aye, aye, this is where we learned about the where Curse o' Flesh came from! Or blessing, dependin' on yer perspective.
[Tadget]: I sort of like having flesh.
Kaddrak yells: Accessing… Creators arrived to extirpate symbiotic infection. Assessment revealed that Old God infestation had grown malignant. Excising parasites would result in loss of host–
[Thalstan]: We've uh… killed two of them since then.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: If they killed the Old Gods, Azeroth would've been destroyed…
[Tadget]: Yeah, I should probably look into if killing the old gods is gonna end the world.
[Thalstan]: I hope that does no' mean bad things for Azeroth.
Kaddrak yells: Correct. Creators neutralized parasitic threat and contained it within the host. Forge of Wills and other systems were instituted to create new earthen. Safeguards were implemented, and protectors were appointed.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: What protectors?
Kaddrak yells: Designations: Aesir and Vanir. Or in the common nomenclature, storm and earth giants. Sentinel Loken designated supreme. Dragon Aspects appointed to monitor evolution on Azeroth.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Aesir and Vanir… Okay, so the Forge o' Wills started makin' new earthen… but what happened to the old ones?
Tadget listens intently to Brann Bronzebeard.
Marnak yells: Additional background is relevant to your query: following global combat between Aesir and Vanir—
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Hold everything! The Aesir and Vanir went to war? Why?
Marnak yells: Unknown. Data suggests that impetus for global combat originated with prime designate Loken, who neutralized all remaining Aesir and Vanir, affecting termination of conflict. Prime designate Loken then initiated stasis of several seed races, including earthen, giants and vrykul, at designated holding facilities.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: This "Loken" sounds like a nasty character. Glad we don't have to worry about the likes o' him anymore. So… if I'm understandin' ye right, the original earthen eventually woke up from this stasis, and by that time the destabili-whatever had turned 'em into proper dwarves. Or at least… dwarf ancestors.
Marnak yells: Essentially that is correct.
[Tadget]: Loken was the worst.
[Thalstan]: Cobalt killed him, too, back in the day.
[Thalstan]: I wonder if we'll see that memory someday.
[Tadget]: Probably!
[Tadget]: I think they're having us test out all the ECHOes.
[Tadget]: And they gotta be at least working on that one. Epic moment.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Well, now… that's a lot to digest. I'm gonna need some time to take all this in. Thank ye.
Abedneum yells: Acknowledged, Branbronzan. Session terminated.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: I think it's time to see what's behind the door near the entrance. I'm going to sneak over there, nice and quiet. Meet me at the door and I'll get us in.
Brann runs off. The team follows, tracing back through the now-empty halls. They find Brann in front of a big door, right near the entrance. When he sees them, Bran opens up the door and runs through. Inside, an iron vrykul awaits.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Don't worry! Ol' Brann's got yer back! Keep that metal monstrosity busy, and I'll see if I can't sweet talk this machine into helping ye!
[Thalstan]: Ready ta fight this fella?
[Zaara]: Yes!
Sjonnir The Ironshaper yells: Soft, vulnerable shells. Brief fragile lives. You cannot escape the curse of flesh!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: This is a wee bit trickier than before… Oh, bloody—incomin'!
Troggs charge into the arena. We keep them off Brann.
Brann Bronzebeard yells: What in the name o' Madoran did THAT do? Oh! Wait: I just about got it…
Blobs ooze into the arena. We try to keep their attention.
Sjonnir The Ironshaper goes into a frenzy!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Ha, that did it! Help's a-comin'! Take this, ya glowin' iron brute!
The iron vrykul Sjonnir and his lightning frenzy is put to an end.
Tadget cheers!
Sjonnir The Ironshaper yells: Loken will not rest… until the forge is retaken! You change… nothing!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: Loken?! That's downright bothersome… We might've neutralized the iron dwarves, but I'd lay odds there's another machine somewhere else churnin' out a whole mess o' these iron vrykul!
Brann Bronzebeard yells: I'll use the forge to make batches o' earthen to stand guard…But our greatest challenge still remains: find and stop Loken!
[Tadget]: TO BE CONTINUED THEN!
[Thalstan]: Aye, that's what Cobalt did next. We'll have ta see if they've got that one available.
[Tadget]: They can't end an ECHO on a cliffhanger like that and NOT do the next bit.
[Thalstan]: For sure.
Vesyllah sighs. "I guess that was kinda cool. In a way."
[Tadget]: See?
[Tadget]: Titan stuff is EPIC.
[Arthund]: We are doing the next bit, right?
[Tadget]: I hope so!!
[Tadget]: I gotta see that Loken jerk go DOWN.
[Vesyllah]: I didn't say epic. I said 'kinda cool'.
Tadget sighs at Vesyllah.
[Zaara]: Cooooooooool.
[Thalstan]: That's basically Vengeance enthusiasm though, isn't it?
[Tadget]: Totes.