(2026-07-07) A Brewing Storm

Details

Author:	Alli
Summary:	Arric, Atley, Gwenivene, Maisha, Mi Shu, Oranna help out Brewmaster Blanche in the creation of her famous Boomer Brew… which must be made during a thunderstorm. And why are there always saurok? ~1900 words
Rating:	T for Teen

Chain: Mists of Pandaria Scenarios

Everything is ready. The team is arriving at the top of the highest peak of Jade Forest, where Brewmaster Blanche stands in a circle of brewkegs and lightning rods. The storm is already picking up, and the wind is strong.

Arric's carroty hair is blowing about wildly - his hat blew off on the way up.

Luckily, they've brought their very own Stormbreaker. Oranna squints up into the rain. "Aye, that's a righ' storm, that is."

Maisha looks around the flashing lightning with delight. Bael is a little less delighted to be on a high peak in a thunderstorm. He has instincts about this sort of thing.

"I told you the weather here was dramatic, Maisha!" says Arric, who has totally been hanging out with his friend a lot since she arrived.

"Aye!" Maisha laughs, giving Arric's shoulder a playful shove. "I never thought o' brewing in a storm like this."

Gwen tugs her hat lower to shield her face from the rain. Padrick however, is perched out on the brim, soaking it up.

Tago's tongue wobbles out to catch some rain, and then he spots a delicious barrel — not the inside, just the barrel. Mmm. Fiber. "Ach, no, lad, noooo," Oranna says, setting out a stop hand command. Tago reluctantly leaves off his barrel ideas.

Thunderaan's essence in Thunderfury seems to strobe and pulsate in time with the distant flashes of lightning. Atley performs a brief headcount before he approaches Brewmaster Blanche.

Mimi is wearing a straw hat to make at least a small attempt to keep out of the rain. Fusheng rests on top of it soaking up the cool droplets.

“You made it!” Blanche shouts over the commotion of the rising storm, waving at everyone. “The boiler and the brewkegs are in place. Now all we need is for Mother Nature to work her magic. What do you say? Are you ready for some fireworks?”

Oranna grins. "Oh, aye, and I've brought some meself, if we need extra," she says, patting not one, but two bags.

Arric's Cobalt Company cloak flutters dramatically. He has goggles on to protect his eyes from the rain, at least. "Ready!" he says.

"You bet I am!" Mimi replies enthusiastically.

Arric grins at Mimi.

Maisha claps her hands, making a little splash. Bael flinches, and goes to stand over by Stormy where it's safer.

Stormy, despite her name, clearly hates this weather.

Atley nods. "Ready!" he yells over the storm.

“The storm is already going, so get ready!” Blanche says brightly. “If the brewkegs catch fire, I need you to help put them out. And watch out for lightning strikes!”

"Of course!" says Arric

Lightning strikes a nearby brewkeg, and Maisha hastens over to pat it out.

Atley uses Thunderfury to deflect a stray lightning strike from a brewkeg.

Suddenly, a patrol of saurok swarms the peak.

“…Saurok?” Blanche asks in dismay. “What are they doing here? Keep the away!”

Maisha calls, and Bael attacks the saurok, while Maisha keeps her focus on the kegs.

Stormy handles saurok while Arric grabs a barrel of rainwater to toss onto a burning keg.

"Saurok! Look alive!" Atley yells over the storm, charging down hill to meet the lizard men.

"Might be a singe-y brew!" Maisha calls.

Lightning strikes near Blanche. “Yow, the storm is more intense than I thought! Be careful!”

Gwen pants from rushing around extinguishing kegs. "This is bonkers!"

Oranna is on high alert for saurok, and her breaths are clear and slow as she fires.

When the saurok are dead and the brew is finished, Blanche beams at the team. “You did it! Let’s get this brew to the monastery… rest up for a second while I prepare the keg.”

"The things these people go through for brew!" Arric says, half admiringly, half baffled.

"But I just know it'll be worth it!" Mimi says optimistically.

Arric nods at Mimi. "You're the expert," he says. "I'll trust you on that!"

Blanche cheerily loads her boomer brew on her back, and then looks over. “Everyone ready? Let’s roll.”

"We are with you!" Atley says.

The team starts to make a slow and careful journey down the winding cliffside staircase that leads between the monastery and the high peak.

“Ho boy, more saurok,” Blanche says, as a few more leap onto the path. “They always seek high ground when the rains hit!”

Atley spots a Viletongue Raiders scaling the sheer cliff side. He winds up at the top and drives his boot into the reptilian jaw, sending the saurok flying towards the ground below.

Arric cheers!

“They’re scaling the cliff walls!” Blanche says grimly. “This is going to get dirty.”

"Persistent little pests," Arric says a bit haughtily.

Maisha fires shot after shot at the swarming saurok. "Never knew the sauroks were so inta brew."

“I’ve got you…” Blanche says, summoning a little circle of mistweaver healing, after another wave of saurok.

Atley grunts loud enough to be heard over the rain.

“Keep an eye on the rear!” Blanche says, and then reconsiders her word choice. “No - Not MY rear. Behind us!”

Arric coughs.

Gwen giggles…and can't help glancing at Blanche's rear.

Maisha chortles.

Arric wasn't looking, he wasn't looking, he promises.

Atley nods slowly, unaware or at least unresponsive to any unintentional innuendo, and turns to watch the flank.

Bael charges in toward a nearby saurok, careless of rears.

"Oh, no, now I'm looking," Oranna says as she looks at Blanche's rear.

"Phew! I need a breather. Let's rest here a momen - wha?" Blanche says. Suddenly, saurok are visible, leaping into the monastery courtyard ahead.

"This is just like one of Granny's stories." Mimi comments to herself and smiles.

"Up ahead! The refuge is under attack!" Blanche calls. "Quickly! We've got to help them!"

In the monastery courtyard, monks are in intense combat with a raiding party of sauroks.

Atley charges into the courtyard, shield and Thunderfury raised.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Arric exclaims.

Maisha stands near the door, taking careful shots at sauroks in melee with pandaren. Bael is less careful, teeth tearing into reptilian flesh.

Oranna gets herself into position and starts firing, squinting through the rain.

Stormy is enjoying herself quite a bit. Mmm, carnage.

Mimi rushes in alongside Dane. She sweeps into a swirl of jade energy, striking at the saurok.

Arric pauses in his shooting to admire Mimi's technique.

It may be disturbing that Tago also seems to be enjoying himself. Mmm. Carnage. (You're a GOAT, Tago.)

Atley slices through one saurok with near perfect horizontal alignment, just above the pectorals.

"Oh, capital job, Sir Atley!" Arric calls out.

Maisha pauses between shots to admire everyone's combat prowess. "The pets are having a good day," Maisha says fondly at the carnage.

An enormous blue saurok lands in the center of the courtyard, swinging around a massive sword.

“Let’s go be heroes!” Blanche says, hoisting up her boomer brew and heading in. “Last call, you forked-tongue dip-slithers!”

Tago is ready to be a hero! Wait, did that goat just…growl? That can't be right.

Arric mouths "dip-slithers" to himself - then pales and looks up, up, uuuuup at the arriving saurok.

Bael leaps protectively in front of Maisha to attack the giant saurok.

Atley knits his brow in angry disbelief at the size of the saurok before he charges in at a full sprint. "Bring it down!"

"Monkeyfeathering cheese and crackers!" Gwen spews shocking profanity at the giant saurok. "That thing is stinkin' massive!"

Maisha cracks off a shot nervously, it goes wide. "Be careful, Bael!"

"Yes sir!" Arric says weakly. But his aim is true enough despite his obvious dismay.

Blanche laughs as she dives into the fight. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here!”

Arric laughs a little at Blanche's comment, seeming to rally somewhat.

Smaller saurok begin swarming again, seeing the success of their large companion.

Gwen conjures up her runes and starts a-blastin'! "Pew pew pew!" Not powerful enough. "PEW PEW PEW!"

"Keep your paws off the brew!" Mimi leaps forward and cracks the saurok across the noggin with her staff.

Tago bleats loudly, and it's just a coincidence, surely, that a strike of lightning hits a saurok.

Maisha starts shooting into the crowd of saurok, and then pauses as she observes a goat with apparent lightning magic.

Oranna aims for the eyes, because no matter how big the target is, eyes are eyes.

Arric pulls a lever on his over-engineered rifle and a spray of bullets fans out to hit a nearby group of saurok.

"You get 'im!" Maisha calls to Mimi and Dane in melee. Bael darts around to dodge the two of them as he snaps at the large saurok.

Stormy would be a terrifying sight to anyone not familiar with her, as she snarls and bares red-drenched fangs before savagely mauling another saurok.

All of the smaller sauroks who were emboldened to attack the small monastery flee when they see the enormous lead saurok fall before the team, dead.

Maisha shoots the big one, just one more time, for safety. Bael ambles back over to her side, already cleaning off the blood in the rain.

Arric lets out a loud cheer! Then immediately finds a place to sit down and put his head between his knees.

“You did it! Thunderpaw Refuge is saved!” Brewmaster Blanche says. “And I’ve got just the brew to celebrate with. First round is on me. Thank you, friends!”

Mi Shu cheers. Free brew!

Maisha walks over to pat Arric on the shoulder. "A beer sounds nice after a battle, aye?"

Arric slowly sits up and gives Maisha a wan smile. "I think I'll hold off on the brew for now, but I'll enjoy the fireworks!" Arric looks a little pale and queasy to be chugging beer at the moment.

Maisha smiles back at Arric. "Brew'll keep, I'm sure."

Atley slowly walks around the gigantic slain saurok and peers at Brewmaster Blanche, gesturing to the corpse. "You ever seen one this size?"

Gwenivene pants. "Mustard burps! That thing was tough! And huge. Did you notice how huge it was?" Yes, Gwen. Everyone noticed.

"Can't say I have," Blanche says, eyeing it. "I'd be happy to be able to say I never have again, after today. Have a beer, sir knight?"

Atley scoffs with amusement. "You'll not have to ask me twice." he says, as rain pitter-patters endlessly off of his armor.

Maisha nods at Gwen. "Aye, right huge. I've almost a crick in my neck from th' aiming." She looks over to Oranna, to see if she feels the same way.

Gwen scurries into the refuge's central building, out of the rain.

Arric belatedly notices there IS a place to get out of the rain, and heads there as well. "Good show everyone," he says tiredly but sincerely.

Atley marches over to Arric and clasps him on the shoulder. "All sorted…?"

Oranna waves a hand. "Oh, ah, aye, thank ye, but I'm no' a drinker. I mean, I drink, I don't just — I. Water. I drink water. So, I'm…good ta go," she says, and Tago bleats.

Blanche waves agreeably. "There's plenty of water about! And also we have some to drink inside, if you'd like."