//------------------------------// // A Fistful of Confusion // Story: Love And Warcraft // by Alexander Bolt //------------------------------// Aldorose, Brewmaster, Lorewalker, and some time Ashen Verdict member, woke with a splitting headache. This was nothing special, being a brewmaster, but nonetheless it still hurt. The human groaned as he leaned up, not sure where'd he find himself. Maybe Ironforge, that would explain the headache, and the marble columns. He made a mental note to scratch that, as he realized there were windows allowing light into the building. Maybe it was Stormwind, in the cathedral, in which case he would be in loads of trouble, both with the authorities and his own brother, who happened to be quite fond of cathedrals, or churches for that matter. He made another mental note when he realized what the stained glass depicted, which utterly confused the man, as it happened to be colored horses. Not just any kind, but winged ones, horned ones, and simple yet brightly colored normal horses. Maybe it was a secluded, deranged cult that worshiped ponies. Would still have more premise than the Twilight's Hammer. As his senses began to return more, he noticed he was in a long room, large doors on one end, and two ornate thrones on the other. The floor was marble, with a few small cracks under where Aldorose had landed, he noted indicating he had fallen fairly hard. He was still midway through thinking of possibilities when he heard the doors at the end of the hall open, and, in the non-stealthy fashion he was used to, he simply looked and stared, squinting as his mind was still slightly numb. He was dumbfounded, which was rare for one in his line of work, when it was a tall, ivory horse who happened to be the one walking through. The horse had both wings and a horn, strikingly similar to one of the depicted equestrians in the windows. She, as Aldorose could guess from her voice, seemed oblivious to his presence as she entered, as there was a heavily armored unicorn beside her, conversing with a deep voice. It only occurred to Aldorose later that it was strange horses were talking. As they walked, or cantered, rather, towards the throne, the monks senses didn't quite kick in fast enough, as the thought to hide came just after he realized the unicorn had noticed him. "Ahem," the horned horse commented to his apparent superior, whom appeared lost in thought. "Princess, we appear to have an early visitor. One of, uh, strange tidings." The tall ivory equestrian turned her head, an eyebrow raised, as she finally noticed the monk. Her eyes widened as she recognized the stature, and her voice became a slight tone more commanding as she responded to he assistant. "Inform Luna at once. We have something here that most certainly does not belong." ... Luna happened to already know of things that didn't belong, as there were two of them shouting at each other in her room. Her patience had taken backseat to her curiosity, however, as these were no two average nobles arguing over pudding, but rather two heavily armed and armored humanoids in an all out shouting match over things incomprehensible. One, which appeared a slight bit taller, was coated in golden armor, a shield over his back and a hammer sheathed on his belt, was pointing out things wrong with his counterpart, a bulkier, yet still tall, blue-armored man, was pointing out things wrong with the situation, with a voice coated with enchantment. "In case you haven't noticed, we're arguing in an occupied room!" Yelled the latter. "Oh, your human mind actually notices things besides yourself? Or perhaps it's the light case of death you seem to have gone through!" Retorted the former. "You're one to talk about humility, elf, as I recall half your race can't fight as their too busy checking their reflection!" Came the response. The two seemed to argue for awhile, and had no end in sight, even as Captain Permafrost walked through the door and stared. He walked over to Luna, who happened to be watching from her bed, completely ignored by the two aliens. "I see you already know of our 'visitors', milady?" He asked. "Of course. I assume your presence means that there are more, Captain?" Luna confirmed. "Aye, Princess. One. Princess Celestia is bringing him over as we speak. Might I ask if you know how they got here?" The unicorn answered. "I know not. I was awake, brushing my mane, and suddenly they were just there, on the floor. They both got up and began fighting almost instantly, but that seemed to end in a stalemate. They promptly began shouting at each other, at which point I casted a dampening spell around the room to avoid their presence being revealed. It has been like this since." She summarized, not taking her eyes off of the two buffoons of warriors in the middle of the room. "I could take the elf, madam, but that would just get blood on the walls." The blue behemoth turned and said. "The only thing you would get on the walls is your undead human filth, death knight." The elf retorted. "Shut it, paladin." "Are you two quite done?" Luna interjected. The elf huffed and the human shrugged, but otherwise they looked at the princess as if waiting for orders. At this point, the door opened once more, this time with Celestia cantering through, a robed humanoid behind her. "Aldorose?! What the hell are you doin' here?!" The other human exclaimed as he noticed the latter of the new arrivals, striding over to meet him. "Arvenell? I'd ask you the same, brother. Last I heard you were out with that night elf 'hunting' in Pandaria." The monk chuckled, hugging the armored behemoth as he chuckled. Celestia, for her part, had a shocked expression on her face, as Luna strode over to her side, Permafrost following. "Well, sister, I'd say we have a problem, but I see this as an adequate time to see how those outside our planet act." Luna asked, an adventurous tone in he voice and a slightly cocksure smile on her face. "If that is how you see it, Luna, then I'll leave them in your care. I, for one, will not stand them in the castle nor the country if they begin to kill one another. The media will hear of it an we'll never hear the end of it. Not to mention that cleaning day was yesterday, and the staff are quite content with shining walls and spotless floors." Celestia relented. "Captain Permafrost. I want you to put the guard on full alert, these three may not be the on-" Celestia was cut off as an explosion sounded from elsewhere in the castle, muffled yet still definite. Permafrost coughed, dread in his voice for the job to come. "Any ideas on how to go at this, Princess?" Luna was the one to answer, as the elf and the humans had began to resort to insults, and she had once more focused on them. "Improvise."