//------------------------------//
// Level 9 - A Town and a Half 
// Story: In Want for a Wand 
// by Leila Drake 
//------------------------------//

As they passed the Alterac mountains, the air around them grew colder with each moment. Jonathan was now completely relying on his flight training from Northrend, firmly clutching the straps that secured his saddle and hugging Redwing tightly to keep his exposure to the icy wind at a minimum. The bat appeared to be all right, though. Jonathan was jealous; the cold was beginning to seep into his marrow. They would not be able to keep flying for much longer.

He doubted the ponies were doing any better. Maybe Twilight had a spell against the cold, like that protective force field she had conjured up before. How long did those things last anyway? One way or another, they would have to walk once they were over the mountain ridge. Alterac was maybe the coldest place on this continent, granted, but being aware of that did not make it easier to bear the cold.

Jonathan groaned, a sound that got lost in the howl around him, and moved his face closer to Redwing's furry neck. The bat itself stank like hell, but the wind carried the smell away quickly so it wasn't too bad. Jonathan glanced over the bat's neck and spotted the snow line. 

They were almost there. Just a few more miles north, down the mountains, and then he could finally get off this mount and stretch his trembling legs.


•°


Twilight realized that something was wrong when Jonathan landed a few hundred yards away from the town. Finn and the griffin landed next to Redwing but the human did not get off his mount.

"What's going on?", asked Twilight. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. There's just one problem", explained Jonathan. He jerked his head towards the settlement. "Look."

She had not noticed it before but Andorhal appeared to be a town consisting of suspisciously different houses. On the left and beyond the river, where the road would lead them first, bright sturdy stone houses stood along a paved street. Their roof tiles shone in a bright blue, giving this part of Andorhal a friendly, inviting appearance. Towers, a wall and a big gate separated the town from the area around it. The buildings on the other side of the town were built in the same dark material as the halls of Undercity. They were slimmer than the bright houses, more gloomy and crooked. The picture was completed by a cloud of greenish mist that hovered above them. The road in between was paved but it, too, was much darker than the 'light' road. Twilight came to the conclusion that the dark half was a place where Forsaken lived whereas the light part was for the living inhabitants of Andorhal.

The strangest thing was the area in between. The buildings resembled the bright ones but they were neglected and mostly in ruins. The roofs had fallen in, entire walls were missing. The wood was rotten, cracked and crumbled as if all the water had been sucked out of it. The ground was scorched and upheaved. Just like the Forsaken half, this part of town looked like it was haunted.

Arcus's eyes lit up as he understood. He muttered something, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Andorhal is divided. And the area between the two parts, it's deserted and serves as a buffer. Is that it?"

"Pretty much", agreed Jonathan. "Now: Alliance or Horde?"

"Well, what's the difference? I can see that the Horde people seem to have a different taste in Architecture", laughed Arcus. "And their weather team is apparently terribly incompetent. But that aside... just pick one, Jon."

Darren cleared his throat. His griffin dug at the ground as the knight explained, "The Alliance and the Horde are enemies. While Mr Baker still claims to be a Forsaken, he is not actually undead anymore."

"I don't know which side to choose", admitted Jonathan, "because I don't know which side would take me." He made a sour face. "Either the Alliance reject me because I am Horde - or the Horde rejects me because I am alive."

"Wow, this sucks", was Arcus's contribution.

Twilight tapped her chin. "Well, you are a human by species", she said. "How would you feel if we went to the Alliance half?"

"Okay, I guess", he said. "I'd have to keep quiet about my past. It's not helping that we've got bats as mounts. They are a trademark mount of the Forsaken."

"Couldn't you have gotten them in Northrend?", offered Twilight. "Didn't both factions join forces to defeat the Scourge? You could use that as an explanation."

Jonathan shrugged uncomfortably.

Darren lowered his hood and faced Jonathan. "There are Death Knights who are members of the Alliance. However, as far as I am concerned, I only took one side: The Knights of the Ebon Blade. Our only objective was to destroy the Lich King. Which means that now that this is done I can go wherever I wish. You should be free to do the same. Or do you, despite your claims, still bear a grudge against the living?"

"No... honestly, I just kept my distance. But maybe I can face'em now. - Alright, Alliance it is. Let's release the bats, they will find their way home. It's probably best if we arrive on foot."

The others nodded. Everyone except for Darren climbed off their mounts and recollected their bags which they had tied to the saddles. Jonathan counted some coins from his purse and placed them in a tiny leather bag that was attached to Redwing's saddle. He stroked the bat's fur, giving the mount a friendly pat on the side.

"They were reliable", he said, frowning at the beasts. "I'm gonna miss Redwing."

Arcus grinned. "How could you not after hugging him for days?"

Twilight gave Finn a friendly hug which looked a bit funny since the alicorn was so much smaller than him. The bat stretched its wings but did not flinch away. It squeaked and shook its head.

"Have a safe journey home", said Twilight, smiling at the beast.

Jonathan gave Redwing a slap on the flank. The bat jumped with surprise but understood the signal. It gave an ear-piercing squeak, then flapped its wings in quick succession and took off. Finn swiftly followed the alpha. A few moments later they were only tiny dots in the western skies, disappearing above the brown band of mountains.

"Sooo - Let's go." Jonathan adjusted his backpack and put the hood down. It was still cold but, compared to the sky, the ground was still warmer. After a moment of hesitation, he retied his purple scarf and smiled awkwardly at the ponies. He bent down and picked up the second bag, the paper bag that contained his new pet. After taking a peek inside, Jonathan nodded. The flower was undamaged.

Twilight smiled back at him. "A new town. It's going to be fun", she reassured him.

"I hope they've got something decent to eat", mused Arcus.


•°


"So, Jon", said Arcus, walking next to the priest, "got a name for your flower yet?"

"Errr, no. Should I? It's a plant." Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "I never named what stood on my windowsill."

Arcus rolled his eyes, smirking. "Whatever you say."

Twilight quickened her step to catch up with them. "I think it should have a name. It has a face after all. And it reacts to seeing you. Maybe she likes you already. My plant has a name, too, you know." She smiled encouragingly.

"Huh?" Jonathan was confused.

"Golden Oaks Library", explained Twilight.

"Riiight", snorted Jonathan. He peered into the bag. The wide smile of the flower greeted him.

He frowned down on it. The smile faltered.

He forced a smile and the flower seemed happy again.

Jonathan heaved a sigh and closed the bag. "Fine, I'll give it a name."

"Great", beamed Twilight.

"So?", repeated Arcus expectantly.

"I dunno yet. Let me think about it." 

They approached the broad gate. It was open, the drawbridge down. Apparently, they only closed it at night. Guards, most likely humans, flanked the entrance, standing at attention with spears and swords in their hands. Arcus wondered whether all the guards were warriors. Probably not. Arcus noticed the shine their armor gave off in the sunshine. Their blue tabards depicted a lion's head in golden outlines. He nudged Jonathan's side.

"Is that the Alliance's coat of arms?"

Jonathan nodded. "Yes." He snorted and rubbed his mouth; Arcus could not really tell whether the human was amused or annoyed. "I'm used to avoiding that tabard. It's weird as hell to just... casually take a stroll towards them." He quickly fell silent as they came into earshot. Then he nodded at the guards, who nodded back.

"King's honor, travelers. Your business?", asked one of the guards, a dark haired man with a slightly bored expression.

"Passing through to the Plaguelands", gave Jonathan back in the same even tone.

The guard waved them through.

"That's it?" Arcus could not keep the tinge of disappointment out of his voice. "I had somehow expected more procedure."

"Well, there's a shitload of guards in town anyway, why bother to thoroughly control visitors when they can randomly do that anyway? Besides, we're not members of Horde races. Nobody is that stupid to just try and sneak in here. And Houndslayer's wearing his own Ebon Blade tabard."

"Nevermind then."

"I am hungry", complained Twilight. "Can we please go to the inn first?"

"Sure", said Jonathan. "As soon as I - ah, over there."

He headed for a two-story building at the right side of the street. Arcus huffed reluctantly. He hoped he could have a closer look at the buildings later. It was rare to see three so blatantly different styles this close to each other. Even in Griffonia they usually built similar houses, with the official buildings such as town halls as an exception to the rule.

His body, however, begged for a rest. His feet were heavy, the saddlebags weighed his body down and his ears felt numb despite the cloak. He tentatively flopped them up and down. Well, at least nothing had died up there. Arcus sighed. It had not been wise to ride on a bat for hours directly after the fight. Sitting in roughly the same position and trying to stay firmly in the saddle had been anything but easy, safety rope or not. He did not dare to complain though - Twilight had endured the ordeal with dignity and so should he.

The ground felt strange. Every time he set a hoof down, Arcus could not shake the feeling that something was off. As if the ground was hollow. He shook his head and followed Jonathan inside the inn.

The inn was bigger and brighter than Arcus had expected. This was certainly a nice change after the gloomy Undercity. A warm fire crackled in the hearth and candles along the walls and on the tables illuminated the room. It was divided into smaller sections with stairs and wooden railings in between, giving it a comfy atmosphere. The subdued buzz of dozens of conversations filled the inn. Somebody played on a flute, an instrument that Arcus had occasionally seen griffins and unicorns play. The melody rose and fell to a harmony he was not familiar with. It was the first time that he heard music in Azeroth. He smiled, feeling the tension in his back subside.

Jonathan approached the counter and asked for the price for two nights.

Arcus waited patiently, observing the other guests. Mostly humans, he noticed, some smaller, more sturdy people which were probably dwarves, also pale purple-skinned elves with long ears that resembled the dark rangers from Undercity. They were wearing plate or leather armor, chainmail or long robes. Many were eating and drinking since it was late in the day. Most stopped to ogle the newcomers. He ignored them, being used to strange looks from his job. When the guests saw that the ponies did not do anythingout of the ordinary, they turned away again.

However, as Darren entered the inn, silence fell. There was some rustling as people shifted around in their seats. Arcus half-expected a tumbleweed to roll across the inn floor. Then a human cleared his throat and the silence broke. People averted their heads again and the buzzing of conversations returned.

Somebody touched Arcus's back. He flinched involuntarily, then relaxed as he realized it was Jonathan. "We've got the room upstairs, to the left", said the human. "Two keys." He held one of them out to Twilight who levitated it into her bag.

Arcus nodded and eyed the inn again. "I wanna go to the blacksmith if you don't mind. There are some uncomfortable dents in my armor."

"Okay, but I'd prefer if you didn't go alone", replied Jonathan.

"I will join him", volunteered Darren. Arcus cringed uncomfortably when he noticed Twilight's stiff smile.

"See you later", said Arcus.

Darren opened the door - it was easier for the human to do that since it opened inwards and had a doorknob - and they stepped outside.


•°


"You know", began Arcus as he followed Darren, "I never really liked that part."

"What part?" Darren's voice was level, almost disinterested. His cloak flapped in a gust of wind that rushed through Andorhal.

"That part when you come to a new town and enter the inn. That moment of awkward silence. They evaluate and assess you and you never know what conclusions they draw. Ever."

"You did not solely work in your own people's lands", assumed Darren.

"Correct."

They passed the town square. A few townspeople - mostly soldiers but also a few civilians - stared at them. A pointed, icy look from beneath Darren's hood and they returned to their respective business.

"The Griffin Empire was kinda awesome and once I even had to go to the borderlands. But other than that it's been Equestria most of the time. For what it's worth, you are way nicer than some ponies I've met. The herd mentality can mess us up sometimes." Arcus rotated his hoof next to his head and grimaced. "I began to notice the difference when I first met other species."

"Noted." Darren sounded slightly less sullen. Arcus made a mental note of success.

"We have arrived." Darren pointed at a one-story house with a roof. This one was different from the other buildings by having red roof tiles instead of blue ones. Smoke rose from an extraordinarily large and dented chimney. "The Andorhal Forge."

Arcus smirked. "That's... a boring yet appropriate name. Is everybody here this original?"

"Do not let the Blacksmith hear that. She is", hinted Darren, "very devoted to her craft."

"Okay, okay, I'll play nice. Besides, I do want her to repair my armor. It would be really dumb to upset someone if I want to conduct business with them."

"I concur."

Arcus chuckled. "I see we understand each other."

He pushed the door open. As they entered it felt like walking into an oven, especially compared to the cold outside. The room was well-lit at the front and darker next to the fire. Arcus remembered that it needed to be that way for the blacksmith to recognize certain temperatures. When the iron was too cold it had to be reheated.

He jumped with surprise when a sharp hiss and a small cloud of steam greeted him. A blonde muscular lady, her hair bound in a ponytail, had just pushed a spear blade into a water filled trough. She drew it out with a pair of black tongs and eyed it with pursed lips, turning it this way and that. She nodded curtly, satisfied with the result, and put the blade on top of a pile of other half-finished weaponry. The woman wiped her hands on her leather apron, then looked straight at Darren. 

"Hi", she said nonchalantly. "And welcome. Never seen ye here before. Not that death knights usually come to an ordinary forge. I hope yer runeblade isn't what needs fixing - I don't do Saronite."

"That will not be an issue", replied Darren. "It is not I who requires your assistance."

Arcus cleared his throat. The dwarf slowly looked at the pony, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"Yeah, that would be me. Arcus Tangens, nice to meet you." The earth pony raised a hoof to greet her, then put it down again when he did not get any reaction. He tugged at his cloak to pull it off his back, revealing the scratches and dents in his armor.

The woman blinked, then she seemed to get her thoughts back together as she cracked a smile and put her hands on her hips.

"Likewise. Ingamura Ironfolder - but only the Mayor, newbies and idiots use my full name. Call me Inga. What'che got that needs work?"

"You see, there's some damage here, here and there", said Arcus as he pointed at the respective spots. "I need it fixed if you would be so kind." He smiled politely.

Inga's gaze darted from Arcus to Darren, who remained silent, to Arcus. "Er. Right. Sure. I can tell ye a price once I've taken a closer look. Care to take the parts off?"

"On it."

The dexterity with which he removed the parts of his armor surprised Inga; her eyes widened as she watched the pony with amusement and interest. She eyed Darren for a moment.

"I'm afraid ye have me at a disadvantage."

"Apologies", said Darren, bowing slightly to her. "My name is Darren Houndslayer, Knight of the Ebon Blade."

"Pleasure."

Arcus set down the last piece, the cuirass that protected his back, and sat on his haunches. "Nice workshop", he said, looking around.

"Thanks. Inherited from my father. Good man, Light bless his soul." She snatched the smallest piece of armor from the pile and eyed it, tilting it in her hands. "Those shoulderplates are tough", she observed. "So what happened?"

"Zombies."

"Urgh, don't get me started. All right, shouldn't be too hard. Six Silver. That one's a bit worse, ten Silver if I just remove the dent, fifteen with a polish. And - what the hell?"

She held up the last piece. "That's a nasty one all right. I mean, the first ain't so bad, Elven blade, but this one tore right through. I'd say Forsaken dagger? Or a sword. Never underestimate the Horde, eh, laddie?" She smirked and raised an eyebrow.

Arcus shrugged. "Yeah, well, that one stung the worst."

"Stung? Judging by the width of the cut, I'm surprised ye could still walk. Must know one hell of a healer. Anyway, that one's twenty."

Arcus nodded. "Fine with me. Go ahead." He leaned over to Darren and nudged him.

The knight bent down to hear what the pony muttered into his ear.

"I forgot to bring my money. Would you mind...?" Darren nodded and straightened up again.

"How about fourty Silver?", he asked as if he had planned to pay all along.

"Agreed." She stoked the fire and started removing the cloth straps from the plate.

Again, a hint of confusion was in her eyes. She must think it weird that no leather was used. Pony armor - what would you expect? Arcus frowned. Leather was a sturdy material but having to kill a sentient being for wearing their skin? No way. Here, of course, many of the animals were not sapient. He had noticed that Twilight's blue saddlebags were made of leather. She probably got them on her last adventure in Azeroth.

"Did you say 'Elven blade'?" Darren stepped closer, making Inga snort and lean backwards.

"See the angle of the dent? That was a curved sword, though prob'ly dulled. The shape of the damage hints towards a hard alloy, something not all races can produce. I recognize a dent from a Blood Elf blade when I see it, mate. It was prob'ly nothing more than a training weapon. Ye were lucky, horse."

"Pony."

"Anyway, shouldn't be too hard to fix. Ye can wait here 'til I'm done, or take a short walk."

"Oh, okay. See you later, then."

They did not walk far off; there was a bench a few feet away from the forge. Both knights sat down on it and watched the people walking around town. The sky was getting darker already, the shadows grew long. It would be night in less than an hour.

Arcus pursed his lips as his thoughts began to wander. Inga's comment had reminded him of his day in Silvermoon. Did Darren suspect anything? Maybe not; he probably thought that it had been an involuntary fight like the one with the zombies. Arcus still had not told Twilight or Jon about the Elves.

How would they react? Arcus had managed to hide the damage but now Twilight knew that he had been training. The alicorn was smart: She might have connected the dots already.

Even though Blood Elves were lighter in build than the average human, Beldis had given Arcus a hard time. At first it had been easy; Arcus had no problem following the verbal instructions. Then there had been the actual sparring. Arcus smiled when he remembered how the warrior trainer had noticed that his reflexes were as quick as his mind. The Elf had started to include weapons in the training. The blades had been dull but, as Beldis had explained, heavier than actual ones. Arcus had to fight against swords, spears, staves and melee weapons. Tartarus, he even dodged fireballs thrown by a mage who had stood nearby and agreed to help with the training.

It had been fun. And dangerous; but yet again that was part of the fun. Arcus had been able to use his newly acquired knowledge in the fight at Brazie's garden. That had to count for something.

Still, lying about it sucked. Arcus's ears flopped down as his insides clenched together. He forced himself to breathe normally.

Why did the magical path to Silvermoon have to remain a secret? Weren't the Blood Elves allies of the Forsaken? What political situation made them close down the connection? If a pony could still get through, what about other creatures? Spies, for instance? There might be a good reason why Beldis asked him to keep his mouth shut.

He shuffled around on the bench, absent-mindedly tapping his left hind leg in a steady rhythm. Darren tilted his head. Arcus could see a short flash of his icy blue eyes under the hood.

"Is everything in order?"

He froze. The tapping ceased. "Er, I -" He nodded slowly. "Yeah. Don't mind me. I'll be okay. But... I'd be grateful if you didn't tell Twilight anything about the damage from the elven blade", pleaded Arcus. "I want to take care of it when the time comes."

"Very well." 

"About the money..."

"As far as I understand it, you borrowed your money from Mr Baker. I will simply ask him for it when we return to the inn."

"Right! Makes sense. Thank you, though. Really." Arcus sighed and relaxed a little.

"Worry not."

And with this, the conversation was over. Everything important had been said.

They waited in peaceful silence until they returned to the forge.


•°


Jonathan took a sip from his mug. "Look", he said, "I'm not saying that it's easy to retake a town. Andorhal used to be a lich's base of operations. Among other things. Anyway, why would they try to keep it? Because it's a strategic point. If you take control of key locations, you are able to control an entire region."

Twilight hummed and swallowed the piece of bread she had been chewing on. "I think I saw Forsaken walking around in the middle part. It sure doesn't look to me like the Alliance controls it."

"Guess not." Jonathan picked up his spoon and dabbed at the still hot soup. "That's probably the reason why they are talking about getting reinforcements."

"We should get out of here as soon as we can", muttered Twilight, her ears down. "The last thing we need to get involved in political affairs... or worse, a battle."

"Yeah." The human took his own lump of bread and started to rip off little pieces. They talked in hushed voices, trying to avoid people overhearing their conversation. They would have preferred going upstairs but guests were not allowed to take the food to their room. Jonathan sighed and eyed the soup.

"Still too hot to eat?", asked Twilight, raising her eyebrows.

He grinned and drowned four pieces of bread in the soup, then tried to eat a spoonful. He nodded and swallowed happily. "Bearable. Definitely better than that slimy mud they give you in the Undercity Trade Quarter." He whispered the last two words and stuck out his tongue.

Twilight giggled, then her expression turned serious again. "I'm glad you warned me about it... What's taking them so long? Didn't Arcus just want to repair some armor?"

"Maybe the damage was worse than he led on", asssumed Jonathan.

"Maybe", she agreed. "I've got the feeling that Arcus is overexerting himself."

"Hm, okay, we better keep an eye on that. But hey, if we get in a tough spot again, bin mog g'thazag cha. So no worries."

Twilight blinked dumbly. "Excuse me, could you repeat that?"

Jonathan frowned, then said something in a strange guttural language. Then he stopped and said something else in a different speech.

"Oh dear. I think I know what is happening", muttered Twilight.

Jonathan replied in the third language he knew; again, she could not understand a word, except for her name. He grimaced, rolling his eyes, then pointed at his soup. Twilight nodded and finished her meal, pretending nothing was amiss, then she quickly led Jonathan to the staircase, thankful that the food had been paid for in advance. They went to their room and closed the door.

"Okay, it's obvious the translation spell wore off", said Twilight to Jonathan She facehooved as she realized what she had just said. Twilight pointed at the floor. "Just stand there, please."

Jonathan waited patiently with his arms crossed until she had cast her spell. A flash of light later he said, "Is it working?"

"Yes! Perfect!" Twilight beamed at him. "Oh goodness, I'm glad that happened in a harmless situation. Imagine what would have happened if we couldn't communicate in a fight!"

"You'd be surprised", countered Jonathan, snorting. "Come on, let's go back to the table before someone else takes it."