//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Not Home but a Hearth // Story: The Pony Loa // by Leila Drake //------------------------------// The so-called landing platform for flying mounts was a room literally inside the city walls. One side was open, facing Elwynn Forest and allowing Darren and Tarik to make their gryphons land with ease. The hall was guarded by armed humans and dwarves. Some of them tended to gryphons that sat on piles of hay, others overlooked the landing and taking off of gryphons and gigantic birds. Eclipse spotted a rolled-up carpet in the corner that reminded him of Darren's flying one. Darren, Nylene and Eclipse climbed off Kansan's back and shouldered their sparse belongings. Darren talked to one of the guards, a human in red and golden leather armour with a large book in his hands and a strange, melodious accent. Eclipse shifted closer to Darren's side, holding his shield more tightly. All these big flying creatures towered over him; there were at least two dozen of them here. Eclipse could feel the curious gazes of both the creatures and people on him. His tail twitched nervously. Darren told the gryphon master, because that's who that man had to be, that he did not need Kansan anymore. The creature was led away by a dwarf lady. It sat down on a pile of hay. The dwarf walked off, probably to get the gryphon some food and water. Once Tarik had also made an arrangement with the gryphon master, in his case to have them look after his undead gryphon until he needed her again, he waved for Darren and his friends to follow him. They gladly accepted; following someone who knew his way around made things easier. They went down a ramp and some stairs. There was a wide archway and more stairs, then, they had left the city walls and were on a street. Eclipse looked back: Two human guards stood on each side of the entrance to the aviary, staring straight ahead. Eclipse smiled at the foreign yet strangely familiar sight. He almost tripped over his hooves on the cobblestones. "Whoops!" he muttered, bumping into Darren. "Want to sit on my shoulders?" Darren offered. Eclipse considered that for a moment. He liked walking on his own and Darren had to carry his own backpack. But Eclipse would not be able to see much if he stayed down here. His head was at the height of Darren's hands. "Yes, please," he said. "Let me take these, then," said Nylene, freeing Eclipse from his saddlebag and shield. "Alright then. Up you go." Darren bent his knees and offered his arm. Eclipse grabbed it with a hoof and Darren helped him to climb onto his shoulders. Eclipse's tail brushed the sword hilt behind Darren's right shoulder. He held on to Darren's head with his foreleg to steady himself. With the other hoof, he pushed his teacher's white hair aside - it was once again bound into a ponytail. "Are you ready up there?" Darren asked. "Yep." Eclipse spread his wings halfway to keep his balance when Darren moved. This was fun, he could see much more up here on his trusty mount. He giggled and an amused snort escaped Darren. Tarik eyed Eclipse, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged and resumed walking, with Darren and Nylene trailing behind. Both Eclipse and Darren looked around curiously. Houses made of bricks and wood seamed the street left and right. The lower halves were plastered, the roofs were covered with colored tiles and the windows had glass in them with a warm light shining through. Lamp posts and torches added to the glow and plants and banners decorated the streets, giving the city an inviting appearance. All in all, it looked like Canterlot would have if it had been built by big earth ponies. It was loud even though it was late. Many people, mostly human, were on the streets, trading, talking, walking or riding from one place to another. There was the occasional Night Elf or dwarf and a few other creatures. They were all dressed, something that Eclipse had gotten used to by now. Some wore armour, some cloth robes or shirts and pants. And they all had shoes on their feet. "The hay are these?" Eclipse exclaimed, pointing at a mount that looked a lot like a pony. They were much larger, with spindly legs, small eyes and a long snout. They wore a weird expression on their muzzle, strangely neutral or even dumb. Darren cleared his throat. "That's a horse. They aren't sentient." "Oh. Okay." Eclipse grimaced uneasily, unsure what to make of that information. "Is that - is that normal?" "Yes. There are no intelligent ponies on Azeroth." "That must have been strange for you when you arrived in the Empire," Eclipse realized. "No," said Darren, "not really. I already knew Twilight and Arcus back then." "Right. I forgot." Eclipse felt heat rushing up his cheeks. "So, where to?" Darren asked Tarik. "The Gilded Rose. The best inn you can find - moderate prices, tolerable food, or so I've heard, and discretion." "Been there before?" "For a drink or two." "But you don't need to -" Darren began. Tarik gave him an annoyed look. "I do have friends." "Right," Darren muttered. It was not a particularly long way to the inn - which made sense. If you wanted a lot of travelling customers to come you needed to set up your business close to the main streets and near the points where they arrived and left. The inn faced a large paved plaza with a fountain in the middle of it. To the left, a broad staircase led up to an official-looking building. "Bank to the left, Auction House to the right," Tarik said curtly. He halted and turned around to face Darren. "I will join you for dinner if you don't mind," he said. "Sure." Darren nodded. "Cool!" Eclipse smiled happily. He knew that Tarik was not interested in food but in company. They would not get a more explicit declaration of friendship from him - this request was a close as it got. When Tarik entered the inn, a young human woman approached him. She had short, brilliantly red hair that curved outwards at the ends, kind brown eyes and a knowing smile. Her simple blouse that had been washed many times and long purple skirt gave her occupation away: she had to be the innkeeper. "Long time no see," she said with a grin. Her voice was a solid alto, used to making herself heard over a crowd. "Indeed," said Tarik. They shook hands. The woman did not seem bothered by the fact that Tarik did not smile even now that he greeted her. Somehow, Tarik's movements were more fluid than usual and his voice sounded a little deeper. There was a small crowd in the large room which served as both an entrance hall and a lounge, with bookshelves and wooden tables and comfortable chairs all about. Eclipse's eyes widened. This was not a tavern, really just an inn, a place where you could sleep and hang out. But apparently it was still popular in the daytime. Most of the guests were eating and drinking, others read books or played card games. They had arrived at a time when the innkeeper probably had her hands full. "Are these friends of yours?" she asked politely, smiling at Darren and Nylene. Her smile wavered for the fraction of a second as she noticed Nylene's bandaged eyes and the bulge in her cloak where the demonic wings were hidden. "Allison," said Tarik, "meet Nylene Felbane, Darren Houndslayer and Eclipse." He hesitated. "Does Levinia count?" he asked Darren, raising an eyebrow. Eclipse frowned. "Of course!" he said even though he had not been asked. Darren cleared his throat. "No, I suppose not, at least in this case. She does not eat or sleep." He turned to Allison. "Nice to meet you." They shook hands; Nylene simply nodded a greeting. Allison did not seem to mind. "We have one more traveller with us," said Darren, "but Levinia's... different. I'll introduce you later if you wish." "She dangerous?" Allison asked curtly, unconsciously hugging herself. Darren shook his head. "No. But when you don't know her and see her for the first time, you might get... startled." "Well, she's welcome here. Anybody who abides by the house rules and doesn't scare off guests is welcome." Allison's frown warped into a smile again. It seemed to be her most comfortable facial expression. "How long are you going to stay?" she asked. "Ah." Darren put his hands on his hips, hesitating. "A week, for now," Nylene jumped in. "I wish to have a room separate from the men. And book it separately, please." Allison nodded. "Follow me, please," she said, walking over to a high table in the corner of the room. There was no chair but right next to the table stood a sturdy closet. Allison reached for a keyring at her belt. The many keys on it jingled as she picked out the correct one and opened the closet. Withdrawing a large book, she asked, "What about you, Mr. Houndslayer?" "Just Darren," Darren gently corrected her. "Let's say two weeks for now. I'll pay in advance for each week if that's alright." "Sure, no problem." Allison readied a pen and wrote down the names. "What about the little one?" "Eclipse is with me," Darren said matter-of-factly. "The charge for pets is -" "Hey!" Eclipse interrupted her angrily, his fur bristling. Allison closed her mouth. She seemed to think fast. "The charge for beings that share a room with the patron is free if the... being is... peaceful. Food and drinks are extra and..." She eyed Eclipse who frowned at her, daring her to insult him again. "Well, I guess you'll figure out the rest," she added lamely. "All in all, that would be twenty Silver each night, plus five if you want breakfast and a snack in the day." Darren and Nylene nodded. Tarik already had his wallet at the ready. "Five days for me," said Tarik. They payed and Allison put the money into a chest in the closet. When she turned the key, there was a resounding clack that made Eclipse's hair stand on end. There had to be a spell woven into the lock, something to make sure nopony tried to pry open the closet and run off with the valuables. "Reading the books is for free," said Allison, pointing at the shelves, "but don't read them while eating. Any damage to a book and you have to pay for a replacement. Breakfast is from six to ten, lunch is at midday and supper from six to nine in the evening. If you want to eat here for lunch or dinner, please tell me early, like at the meal before that. You can get coffee and other drinks anytime. Just ask for me or for Frank, my son. He helps out on busy days." Allison gave them three keys. "There's a recall spell on these keys but for your own sakes, do not lose them. There's a map of Stormwind on that shelf over there if you need one." She thought for a moment. "I think that's it." Darren inspected the key he had been given. A small tag with the number Three was attached to it. Tarik's tag said, "4" and Nylene's, "8". "Thank you," said Darren. "Have a nice stay," Allison said politely. Then she turned to Tarik, her eyes twinkling. "How about some catching up?" Tarik nodded curtly. "See you later." He raised his brows at Darren and Nylene, his way of saying Goodbye, and left for his room. Allison gave them another smile and went into a room adjacent to the lounge. Darren looked at Nylene. "She seemes to be used to death knights," he said dryly. "Indeed. At least one particular death knight. He was downright cordial with her." Nylene rubbed her neck, her other hand holding both her key and Eclipse's things. "But she grew nervous around me. Her aura flickered like a wildfire." "She called me a pet," grumbled Eclipse. Darren winced. "Sorry," Eclipse said quickly, loosening his grip on Darren's head. They went up the stairs and found their rooms. The sturdy wooden doors were each labeled with numbers. There seemed to be a total of eight rooms, all on the upper floor. Nylene put Eclipse's shield and saddlebag on the floor, bid her friends a good night and disappeared into room number Eight. They heard the key turning in the lock and a metallic thud, probably her weapons hitting the floor. "Let's have a look." Darren unlocked the door and they found themselves in a relatively large one-person room. Eclipse huffed and jumped down from Darren's shoudlers. He snatched his things and dropped them on the blue carpet right in the middle of the room. He had to admit that the place looked comfy - there was a table with two chairs, a small closet, a counter with a water bowl and jar and a window - but one thing was missing. His own bed. There was only one big bed standing at the wall. "Where do I sleep?" he asked slowly. With a grunt, Darren set his backpack down. He opened the closet and found a few blankets. He took two of them and rolled a third one up. Then, Darren removed the bedspread. He put the rolled-up blanket in the middle of the wide mattress as a symbolic wall, then, he spread the other two blankets on the divided bed. There were two pillows. One went to the newly created sleeping spot, the other remained where it was. "Oh, okay," Eclipse said with a shrug. "Guess that works." "Please put the saddlebag and shield someplace where I don't fall over them," Darren remarked as he put his sword into the closet, along with his cloak. He sat down on his half of the bed and took his left boot off with an expression of relief. "Okaaay..." Eclipse drawled. "You're not my Dad, you know," he added glumly. Darren froze mid-movement. He ever so gently put down his boot. Eclipse's ears folded back and his stomach tied into a knot as he realized he had said something bad. "No, I'm not," Darren said quietly. "But I'm responsible for you." Eclipse sighed and put his saddlebag down on his side of the bed. He felt like a jerk. They unpacked in silence, storing their things in the closet side by side. The knot in Eclipse's stomach grew until it pressed against his throat. His vision blurred. "Sorry," said Eclipse, his voice shaking. "I just miss them so much. I wanna go home..." Tears fell from his cheeks and dropped onto the carpet. "Come here," Darren invited him, holding out an arm. Eclipse ran over to him and they hugged. Darren held him tightly and Eclipse felt even more guilty as he remembered that was almost exactly how White Alloy always held him. They let go, awkwardly looking away from each other. Darren cleared his throat. Eclipse sat down next to him on the edge of the bed, watching the human take off his other boot. "Let's go downstairs in an hour, get something to eat," said Darren. Eclipse hummed his agreement. Darren said nothing else for a while. He seemed to be thinking about something. "We need to establish a few rules," he said eventually. "For your safety." Eclipse nodded. "When we go outside, don't trail behind or get distracted - I might lose you in the crowd. Don't walk in front of carts or mounts. People are not as considerate as ponies in the Empire and might not even notice you. And don't go with people you don't know. Even if they tell you it's an emergency or that I know them. Alright?" Eclipse nodded. "Don't get lost, don't get run over, don't get ponynapped," he summarized. "Got it." Darren raised his eyebrows. The corners of his mouth twitched. "Sharp as a knife," he muttered, then he smiled encouragingly. "And if you still get lost you can ask a guard for help." "Are they the people with the lion on their tabard?" asked Eclipse. "Exactly. They all wear the same plate armour, you cannot miss them." "Okay." They heard a single bell tolling in the distance, probably marking the sunset. Darren's look became distant, his eyes glistened in the light of the small chandelier. He sniffed, shook his head slightly and then stood up, declaring, "Going to the toilet." Eclipse nodded absent-mindedly. He frowned as he looked at the cozy but boring room. What would he do with his time while they waited for Princess Luna's help? Darren was back soon and after Eclipse had relieved himself, too, they went downstairs to order dinner. They found Nylene sitting at a table with her legs crossed, looking bored. Eclipse slid onto a chair next to her while Darren strolled over to Allison. "An'dorei," Nylene said warmly. "Getting settled?" "I guess." Eclipse shifted his weight around on the chair. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Waiting for my soup. And watching people." Eclipse turned to look at the other guests. Most of them were done with their dinner and had resorted to playing that card game he had noticed before. Sometimes they would cheer or groan depending on the players' luck. "They're playing a new game that's apparently all the rage," Nylene explained. "They call it Hearthstone." "What's a heartstone?" "Hearthstone. It's a stone imbedded with a spell to take you to a certain location. Like an inn. Or back home." "I need one of those," Eclipse sighed immediately. Nylene smiled wryly. "It only works if you enchant it in the place you wish to return to." "Aw, crap." "But if you want the game I can help you with that. The cards are not that expensive. It might be a fun way to pass the time, don't you think?" Nylene's smile turned into a grin that Eclipse mirrored. They looked up when someone joined them. It was Tarik. "Hi," said Eclipse. "Hi," Tarik echoed, sitting down next to Nylene. He was out of his armour. "What's the news?" "Nylene is getting me a game!" Eclipse said happily. "That's nice of her. But I meant your plans for tomorrow." "We haven't decided yet. I suppose we'll do that after a good night's sleep." Nylene put her head on her folded hands. "What's your business in Stormwind anyway?" she asked curiously. "Vacation," Tarik said, nodding at Darren who sat down on the last remaining seat. "Five days. Then I'll see what work I can do on the Broken Isles. Heard they still need help pushing back the remaining demons." Eclipse's eyes widened. "Demons?" "The Burning Legion tried to invade recently. Sargeras was defeated. But there's still a lot of his minions left," Tarik explained. "I'm too late to join the Ebon Blade in Northrend. Broken Isles, that's the next best choice." "A noble aspiration," Nylene praised him. "You learned about Tirek at school?" Darren asked Eclipse. The colt nodded. So Darren went on, "Demons look a bit like him. Or like Nylene. That depends. No offense, Nylene," he quickly added. "None taken," she said gracefully. "Not from you, anyway." She grinned, showing her pointed teeth. "You know, An'dorei, that game has pictures on the cards. They might clear up some of your questions." Eclipse giggled as he browsed through the cards. He and Darren sat in their room, their bellies full, and inspected Nylene's gift to the colt. Nylene had decided to go to sleep, Tarik had excused himself to meet the innkeeper and Levinia was nowhere to be seen. "The pictures are funny," he observed, poking Darren's side. "Look!" He showed him a card. The upper half was the coloured image of a rather cute, bone white dog with glowing blue eyes. It was the same blue glow that Tarik's eyes had and Darren's used to have. The bold text underneath the image read, "Play Dead - Ability." "Get it?" Eclipse grinned. A short chuckle escaped Darren. He did not comment on the picture any further but still picked up a few cards to look at them. Eclipse spread the cards out on the table and began to sort them by category. "I think I'll play a Shadow-Frost deck with many minions," he said. "Here, these symbols show the kind of damage each card deals." "You'll need to learn the rules if you want to play properly with someone else," Darren muttered. His mouth twitched as he looked at the exaggerated gesture of a minion card depicting a warrior. The stance of the axe-wielding human on it was inefficient and wide open for long-range attacks. There was a symbol on top of the card, the lion of the Alliance tabard. "Hm. You probably need to build a deck made solely of Horde or Alliance characters," Darren said. "Why?" "So that the game mechanics work." "I know why, but why?" Eclipse said, not really getting any clearer with his question. "The two factions are at war," Darren said. "Yeah, but why?" Eclipse asked a third time. Darren heaved a tired sigh. "Long, long story, kid. Just... past mistakes on both sides. I'll tell you later, alright?" "Everypony makes mistakes. They could still try and be friends." "Sometimes the pain runs deeper than a childhood squabble or something of the like," Darren rasped. He put the cards down, folding his hands. Leaning onto the table, he watched Eclipse. "I'll build a neutral deck," Eclipse decided. "With humans and Night Elves and trolls and Forsaken. And they're gonna make each other stronger and - bam! - summon, like, loads of battle mages..." Eclipse showed Darren another card. "Look! That one looks a bit like Vol'Shalai but it's a mage; the magic is pink." His ears went down and he lowered the card. Supporting his chin with a hoof, Eclipse sighed. "I hope he's okay..." "He sure is," Darren said firmly. He pulled himself together and sat up. "So, if you want to summon minions you'll need a card that boosts these summons..." He shuffled through the pile on the table. "Like this one. It's a 'legendary' card. Probably means that it's rare." Darren handed the card to Eclipse. "Twice as many minions? Cooool!" Eclipse stretched the word, forgetting about his sadness. "'Khadgar'. The picture looks awesome, too. He's got a magic staff. A..." he squinted his eyes to catch all the details. "...raven. Huh." "Khadgar is a very powerful mage," Darren agreed. "His mentor could turn into a raven but he's long gone." "So he's basically a high-level wizard," Eclipse stated. Darren nodded. He frowned. He could not shake the feeling that he was overlooking something. "So cool," Eclipse kept muttering as he arranged the cards into a grid to get an overview of what he had been given. Levinia, as a wisp, flew high above the roofs and towers of Stormwind, once again bathing in the moonlight. It was still early night and the many lights of the city probably did not help with a clear view. The air was clean and a fierce wind from the west brought dark clouds that blotted out the few stars that had appeared. Levinia began to understand where Stormwind's name came from. From up here, she could see a system to the streets. Canals separated the districts and bridges lead across the water. The park was now void of activity and the ships in port had rolled up their sails. Levinia transformed into her original shape and spread her wings - just because. She smiled and dove for the district with purple roofs and a tall tower in its centre. It reminded her a little of Twilight's Castle of Friendship. She wished she could do more to help Eclipse and Darren. It was her fault that they were in this situation. At least, in a way. Darren had tried to save her from the rift and now here they were. And the poor colt, he was supposed to be in the Empire, going to school, playing with his sister, not sleeping in an Alliance inn and playing cards with his teacher because nobody else was there to take care of him... nothing against Darren, of course, he did a great job... She sank down until she could have a closer look at the tower. Vines spiraled around it, using the round stone walls as support, but it was very decorative and did not look abandoned at all. Golden light shone through the latticed windows, sometimes turning red or green. Was it a magical fire? Landing on a roof next to the tower, Levinia folded her wings and sat down on her haunches. She could turn into a wisp and explore it some more but it was probably too risky. Better not. She dug at the tiles she was sitting on and sighed. A caw startled her out of her thoughts. She looked to her right. The raven was back. In the city! Levinia stood up, eyeing the bird suspiciously. "Hello, Spunky," she said cautiously. "Sorry, I don't have any food on me." She grimaced. "You're the strangest raven ever. How in Celestia's name do you keep finding us?" To her utmost shock and surprise, the raven replied. "You magical signature is quite unique," it said. "Y-y-you can talk?!" Levinia stammered. "But even in - at home - birds don't talk!" "I'm not a bird," said the bird.