In Want for a Wand

by Leila Drake

Level 7 - Wolves

Jonathan watched the lakewater rise and fall in small waves, washing the closest rocks clean. The parts of the rocks constantly below the water surface were covered by algae and moss.

He felt dirty. And it wasn't because of the three days he hadn't taken a shower.

Twilight had hit a sore spot when she had scolded him. Not too long ago, he had looked fairly intimidating - just like Houndslayer. He was in no place to judge the death knight. But the fact remained that they didn't know jack about him.

He dropped his cloak and turned around to make sure the others were busy. Jonathan wanted to remain in earshot but preferably not in a direct line of sight. Getting rid of his remaining clothes, he gave an exasperated sigh and squeezed his eyes shut.

A great group leader he turned out to be. He kept making one mistake after another. It was a good thing the ponies were this tolerant. If Twilight had been more familiar with the area Jonathan would have had no problem with her being in charge instead of him. She already started making friends again. He, on the other hand, had managed to let the bats fly around freely, he offended a forest nymph and almost lost Arcus in the ruins of Lordaeron, and all of this in three days.

He was in no place to judge the knight. Being careful was one thing, being paranoid another.

Jonathan took a hesitant step towards the water, tiptoeing into the cold liquid. There was no way in hell he was going to go in further than knee-depth.

After washing himself with a wet cloth and quickly putting his clothes back on, he drew his tin cup out of his backpack and filled it with lake water. Time to make use of one of the glorious achievements of Equestrian civilization.

Jonathan brushed his teeth like Spike had taught him, them spat unceremoniously into the lake water and rinsed his mouth with the water from the tin cup. He washed the toothbrush and put it away, along with the cup. He rubbed his chin. It was weird; Jonathan had thought that after coming back to life his facial hair would start growing again. For some reason there was still no stubble - and it had been weeks. Not that it bothered him; at least he didn't need to shave anymore. Jonathan knew he was not a beard kind of guy.

He already felt much better - and definitely more awake than before.

It was beginning to grow dark. Thin clouds covered the sky like zhevra stripes, a beautiful picture. In two hours, the sky would probably glow in the orange light of the setting sun. They could still make it to Andorhal before that.

Jonathan hurried back to Twilight and the others. When he saw only the knight and Twilight, he got a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Where's Arc?"

Darren pointed with his thumb at the trees. "Taking a leak."

"Oh. Good idea actually." Jonathan grinned at Twilight, then went away as well.

•°

"Come to think of it", muttered Twilight, "Arcus is taking very long."

Darren smirked. "He does know how to... ?"

Twilight shot him a glance. "Please, don't go there."

"Calm yourself, Twilight. He will be fine."

"I hope so", she sighed. Then her ears perked up. There was a strangely familiar sound coming from the forest. A rhythmic pounding, creaking branches, then the rustle of leaves moved by a creature. Twilight had to think of Applejack for some reason, then she realized it almost sounded like her applebucking.

"What is that?" Darren stood up, alarmed, and tried to figure out the source of the noise. Twilight left her saddlebags where they were and ran towards the trees. Branches brushed her face as she skipped towards the noise.

"Arcus! Where are you?", she called with a hint of panic in her voice.

The noise stopped. "Over here!" His voice was closer than she had expected. She turned right and followed his call.

"Arcus?"

"Hey, Twilight. You look tense. Is everything all right?" Arcus seemed perfectly fine, save for a bead of sweat on his forehead. He was drawing short breaths as if he had been running.

"What are you doing?", demanded Twilight, both worry and relief audible in her question.

"Errr..." Arcus hesitated.

"Come on, you can tell me", she encouraged him.

Arcus frowned, then he heaved a deep sigh. "I guess it's unavoidable anyway. I've been training."

"Training?" Twilight raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, training. Look." He pointed at a nearby tree. Twilight registered that the poor tree had been through a lot. Its bark was cut, dented and in some places it had even fallen off completely.

"Have... you been fighting a tree?"

Arcus nodded. "Yes. Pinius here is my makeshift training dummy." He smirked and winked at her. "Are you sure you are okay?"

Twilight glowered at him. "We were worried something might have happened to you. You said you wanted to relieve yourself. It's been an hour since you left!"

"Oops. Sorry." At least he had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Come on, let's go back", requested Twilight.

"Of course." Arcus followed her without hesitation. "Sorry again", he offered.

"I'm just glad that you're safe." She thought back to losing him in Undercity and shivered.

Maybe Arcus thought the same thing because he simply said, "Me too", then cleared his throat as if he had already said too much.

•°

They easily found their way back, thanks to Arcus who had memorized the path, and emerged from the forest a few steps away from the humans.

Jonathan was already back and patting Redwing's side while Darren stood a few steps away, eyeing the forest. He was the one who spotted the ponies. The knight raised his hand, then beckoned them to hurry.

"The sun is setting", he said as soon as Twilight was close enough. "Let us make haste."

Arcus grimaced. "Sorry", he repeated. "I lost track of time."

Before Darren could ask, Twilight quickly said, "He was taking a walk. We ponies are not used to sitting on a mount for such long periods of time."

Darren accepted the explanation and walked over to his griffin.

"Thanks", muttered Arcus. Twilight just smiled innocently.

When Arcus grabbed the strap of his saddlebags with his teeth, there was a howling that sounded suspiciously like a wolf.

"That was pretty close", observed Jonathan.

"Too close. Get your things!", urged Darren. Twilight floated her own saddlebags to Finn and tied them to his saddle, together with Arcus' supplies.

"Watch out!", shouted Arcus suddenly.

Jonathan spun around and instantly found himself face to face with an enormous wolf. It had shaggy fur so dark that it seemed black in the evening dusk. The animal bared its sharp teeth and growled at the surprised human.

"Whoa!" Jonathan quickly said a prayer to conjure a protective sphere around himself.

The wolf charged, scratching at the sphere with its paws. The sphere flickered, apparently it was not very stable.

"Twilight, a little help?" Jonathan drew his knife, the only weapon he was carrying, and crouched down into a defensive stance.

"Coming!" Twilight turned to run over to him but another wolf had managed to creep up on her. She gasped and shot a beam of arcane energy from her horn to scare it off.

The wolf was not impressed. It approached her, its head low and claws at the ready.

She fired up her horn, creating a transparent pink sphere around herself and Arcus. The two of them stood fairly close to each other. "Sorry, I can't help you right now!", she warned Jonathan. "Kind of busy here."

Jonathan nodded and braced himself, praying for courage. His first prayer had been a bit too sloppy, it seemed. He had to concentrate more. The moment his shield broke, the wolf jumped forward - and into Darren's sword.

"What are you doing?", barked the knight. "Get to the mounts! Let me handle this!" Darren moved his sword in a low arc, striking the beast's side at an impressive speed. The runes on his blade glowed as it absorbed the wolf's lifeforce. The animal crumpled to a heap, its fur covered by a thin layer of ice.

"Right!" Jonathan retreated, running over to Twilight.

The pony was busy with two wolves at once, shooting beams of arcane energy at them. The wolves howled when they got hit but Twilight's attacks could not incapacitate them or scare them off.

"It's no use!", cried Arcus. "We have to actually injure them or they won't leave us alone!"

"You're right." Now that he had time to focus, Jonathan was able to engulf one of the wolves in light. This time, however, it was not the warm glow that Twilight had seen before. Instead, he had conjured a blinding flash of yellow fire that burned the wolf's flesh. It whimpered and flinched backwards, then stumbled and fell.

Arcus glared at the other wolf, then ran directly towards it. He was afraid of it but he was also angry, mostly at himself for keeping the truth from his friends. But who cared where his strength came from? Trying to direct that anger at the wolf, Arcus let out a wild scream.

Twilight quickly used a blinking spell to teleport out of the way and reappear close to Finn. She flapped her wings, took off and stood on his saddle. Once again she shot beams at the remaining wolves to keep them at bay until Darren had the time to handle them.

Arcus hit his wolf's side with his front hooves, then ducked to avoid the paws. The wolf snapped at him with his jaw so he raised his front leg. The animal bit into the hoofguard, its teeth sliding off the metal. It repeatedly tried to bite Arcus's neck or barrel but the pony kept blocking its attacks, then swiftly turned around to buck it into the face.

His opponent retaliated by biting his left hind ankle which was unprotected by his armor. Arcus gasped as the pain shot up his leg. He kicked again. This time, he managed to hit the beast's snout and was awarded with a pained yip from the wolf.

It was finally enough to make the wolf run away with its tail between its legs.

Darren already had a body count of three. He ran over to Arcus, grabbed him roughly around the barrel and shoved him onto Finn's back before the earth pony could utter a word of protest.

Twilight secured Arcus with the rope. "You're hurt!"

"Later", panted Arcus, keeping his eyes peeled for Jonathan.

The priest was currently busy with two wolves, bathing one in the burning light. The other wolf growled fearfully, the tone rising and falling, and ran for the trees. He panted, exhausted from using so much magic in quick succession.

Only a few wolves were left now. As they realized that the other members of the pack were scared, injured or dead, they dashed out of sight.

Jonathan spun around to assess the situation. Darren seemed to be all right, though creepily delighted, if the sadistic grin that distorted his face and the bright blue glow that his eyes emitted were any indication. He appeared to be the only one who had enjoyed the fight. Twilight and Arcus were on the mount - good. Arc was shivering with pain - not good.

"Jon, Arcus is hurt!", said Twilight. "What do we do?"

Jonathan said a last prayer. He asked the Light to heal the earth pony's wounds and thanked it for surviving the attack. The priest felt the last of his magical resources leave him as he channelled the spell.

Arcus gasped with surprise. He relaxed as the pain in his leg subsided.

"Whoa", he muttered. "That feels nice." He tentatively moved his leg and, to his joy, it did not hurt at all. "Thanks, I think I'm okay now. Somewhat."

Jonathan nodded curtly, then ran over to Redwing and climbed into the saddle.

"Let's get out of here before something else comes after us", he said.

He roughly put his hood up over his ruffled hair and made Redwing flap his wings and take off. Finn and the griffin followed right away, dashing to the east, in the direction where the sky was the darkest.

•°

They flew across a mountain ridge and left Lake Lordaeron behind. The forest soon thinned out into plains with more mountains on the horizon. Small groups of deciduous trees were strewn about the landscape and snow covered everything. Twilight was glad; she had enough of pine trees for the moment.

Jonathan landed his bat as soon as he spotted a farm below. There was a single shaggy one-story house next to a small garden, surrounded by a fence. It was hard to make out what kinds of plants grew there even though Finn set down pretty close to the farm. The plants rustled in the chilling wind. Apparently they were resistant to the cold.

As soon as Finn hit the ground, Twilight loosened the safety rope and helped Arcus down. The earth pony was still feeling a strange stiffness in his limbs and he was pretty sure that it was not from the flight.

Jonathan dismounted and jogged over to the ponies. "How are you doing? I only cast a quick healing spell."

"Physically? I think I'm okay. But I can still see that wolf ripping my flank apart." He shivered. "Again... and again. But... give me a few more fights and I think I will get used to it." He smiled bravely even though he would have preferred to whimper instead.

Maybe his smile was not convincing enough because Jonathan raised his eyebrows and stepped closer. "I'm sorry", he said. "I didn't react quickly enough. I'm not the best fighter and Houndslayer can't be everywhere at once. I messed up."

Arcus shook his head. "Darren fought well and so did you. We were too far apart for him to keep control over the threat. Next time, we should stay closer together."

"Hear, hear", said the death knight. "Any other conclusions?"

"Maybe", Arcus admitted hesitantly.

"So?" Now Twilight was curious as well.

"You meant well with your barrier, Twilight, but it also kept me from interacting with the wolf. Maybe it would make more sense if you only cast it on yourself. You're able to fire your spells through it, right?" Twilight nodded. Arcus turned to Jonathan. "It's good to know that the Light answers to your prayers again. That offensive spell of yours is something else. What did you do to the wolf that wimpered so much?"

"I said a Shadow Word. It caused him pain. How did you observe all of that during just one fight?" Jonathan was perplexed.

"I -" Arcus stopped, then he hung his head. "Twilight, remember what I did just before we returned to the bats?"

"Yes, you were training. Fighting, apparently. Why did you try to hide it anyway?"

"It's... complicated." His ears splayed back.

Jonathan put his hands on his hips. "Care to enlighten us?"

"I've decided to take this armor seriously. I want to become a warrior."

"Indeed." Darren stepped forward. "You analyzed the fight well. Now I see why. Somebody taught you some basics, am I correct?"

"Yeah." Arcus nodded and smiled weakly.

Twilight lowered her voice. "Who taught you? Priest? Another Forsaken? Or did you already know those moves before we came to Tirisfal?"

"I can't tell you. Sorry, Twilight." The corners of his mouth went down. He looked to the ground, poking at it with his hoof.

She huffed, disappointed. "I see. Well, in that case, I won't force you to tell us. But please think about it. Honesty is always better in the long run."

"Gotta agree with that", said Jonathan, huddling up under his cloak. "Damn, it's cold."

"It is going to snow soon", said Darren.

Arcus sighed and his frown deepened. "I really want to tell you guys, but I can't", he insisted.

Jonathan smiled. "Then don't. Maybe later, eh?"

He nodded hesitantly, more to appease Jonathan and Twilight than anything else.

"So", said Jonathan, "what now? It's too dark to keep flying. We need to set up a camp."

"What about that house?", asked Twilight. "Somebody seems to be inside, there's a light shining through the window."

"We don't know if they're friendly", pointed Arcus out.

"Then we should find out." Twilight shook her head. "Or else we stay out here in the cold, freezing to death."

"All but one", smirked Arcus, eyeing Darren.

The corners of Darren's mouth twitched, then he got serious again. "It is a small house. There are probably only a few people inside. We can depart in the morning before they call for help. Or we could simply dispose of them."

Twilight frowned, her disapproval almost tangible. "What I meant was that we should knock and ask nicely if we can stay for the night."

"Let's do that", agreed Jonathan. He went over to the door, but before he could knock it opened by a few inches. His fist remained in the air for a second, then he quickly dropped it. "Hi", he said evenly.

He had to look downwards to meet the eyes of the person that had opened the door. It was a goblin. The nightcap on his big green head indicated that he had not expected guests at this hour.

"Yes?", the goblin said cautiously, taking the nightcap off. He peered through the door crack. "What are two humans doing here after dark? We're closed! Come back tomorrow."

"Closed? I... we don't want to buy anything", said Jonathan.

The goblin frowned and grunted, about to close the door in Jonathan's face.

Jonathan quickly put a foot into the crack. "But maybe we can come to an agreement? My name is Jonathan Baker, this is Darren Houndslayer. We need a place to stay for the night and we are willing to pay for the trouble."

"Huh." The door opened again. "How much?"

"One gold", offered Jonathan.

"Two gold", raised the goblin, "for each of you."

"Three, for all of us, and we brought our own food."

"Alright." The goblin opened the door. "Hurry up, get inside. Put the mounts over there." He pointed at a small shack that was sitting at the side of the building.

Darren took care of that while Jonathan and the ponies followed the goblin inside.

"I'm Brazie", said the goblin, his large ears bopping up and down as he walked through the single room that was the entire house. "Sit down, I'll get you water. The one thing I have plenty of." He let out a short cackle.

"Thanks", said Jonathan.

"Sure, how could I have left you outside with the zombies walking around? You must not be from around here, friend."

"Well", said Jonathan, frowning at the self-righteous comment, "I haven't been around for some time."

Darren returned from the shack, closing the door.

"Zombies?" Twilight sat down next to the fire in hope of warming her bones.

Brazie yelped and almost dropped the jar he was holding. "It can talk?!" He pointed at Twilight and Arcus, his eyes wide open. "Holy crap!"

"It", said Twilight, "has a name. I am Twilight Sparkle and this is Arcus Tangens. We are a group of four, not of two." She gazed at Jonathan accusingly.

He winked at her, a gesture which caught her off guard. "Huh?", she muttered. What was he up to?

"Hey, that's not fair!" Brazie narrowed his eyes. "You said, 'three gold'!"

"He said, 'three for all of us'", clarified Arcus. "You agreed to that. I don't see the problem. You saw us when you peeked outside, didn't you?"

"Hmpf, yes, but..."

"Then there is no reason to change the agreement", said Darren, who was still standing.

Brazie gulped, then waved his hand.

"Okay, okay, whatever. If you brought your food then I guess it's all right." He tried to sound annoyed but did not remember to hide his trembling hands. He hurried to the door, locked and barred it, and sat down on one of the only two chairs.

Darren nodded contently and sat down on the other chair. Brazie twitched but stayed put.

Twilight laughed inwardly. So that was why Jonathan had not introduced them all. Right, Goblins were generally known for being greedy. Twilight had thought it to be just some prejudice. She winked back at Jonathan. Surely Brazie had also agreed because a death knight was towering over him. His hood was up again but the chill in the air and the sword could not be overlooked that easily. Twilight just hoped that Darren would keep an eye on him while they slept.

Brazie regarded the ponies again. "What are you exactly?" He eyed their coats and Twilight's horn. Her wings were hidden by her cloak.

"What do you think?", asked Twilight, her voice friendly.

"You look like small horses to me, except for the unusual colors", said Brazie slowly.

Twilight kept her smile even though she was confused by his comment. He was only slightly taller than Arcus. Did he think of himself as a small person? Or had he seen Azerothian horses before? They were much taller than Equestrian ponies.

"Close enough", grinned Arcus. "We're ponies. Not from around here, mind you. Just passing through."

Brazie raised an eyebrow. "To where?"

"Plaguelands", said Jonathan.

"Ugh. Fine, fine, I've heard enough. I don't want to be associated with anything Plague-related. No offense, death knight." Brazie raised both hands defensively and trotted over to a short bed in the corner of the room. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He slapped the nightcap onto his head and sat on the bed. "I've been sleeping. I intend to keep doing that until the sun comes up again."

"We'll try to keep it down", promised Twilight. "But you said something about zombies."

"Just don't leave before it's daytime again, keep the door and windows locked and the light on", grunted Brazie. "Then you'll be fine. The walls are tough and zombies are stupid, they can't figure out locks. And don't stab me in my sleep."

"What?!" Twilight was offended. "I would never -"

"It was a joke", Jonathan cut her off.

"Oh." She grinned sheepishly. "Of course." She sighed inwardly.

"Well, partially", commented the goblin, then covered himself with a blanket, his face towards the visitors. "Sleep well... if you can." He grinned, then the grin faded as he closed his eyes and relaxed.

"Yeah, mon, da fastest way to a man's heart is through his ribcage", muttered Jonathan, grinning to himself and spreading his blanket out before the fire.

"That is barbaric!", whispered Twilight. "And is goes, 'the fastest way to a pony's heart is through their stomach'."

"No", said Jonathan, "it's not barbaric, it's anatomy. In all seriousness, though, can I have some bread?" He kept smirking.

Arcus giggled and Darren let out an amused scoff.

"Sorry, we ran out", said Twilight. "I can conjure a mana cupcake if you like."

"Please."

Twilight lit her horn. With a magical pop, a single cupcake, complete with chocolate frosting, appeared out of thin air.

"Cool! Can I have one, too?", asked Arcus.

Twilight cast the spell again. "Here you go."

"Thanks!", Arcus beamed.

Both males enjoyed their sugary supper while Twilight consumed the last cheese leftovers. "We really need to buy food tomorrow", she said.

Jonathan nodded, chewing happily on his cupcake. Memories of Pinkie Pie's daily cupcakes seemed to return to him. He smiled.

"Who told you this macabre version of the saying anyway?", wondered Twilight.

Jonathan swallowed, still smiling. "Ah, that was Vol'shalai", he said. "A Darkspear troll I once met in Northrend", he explained when he saw Twilight's confused expression. "We went through the ruins of Zul'Drak... fighting banshees, along with an orc. I think his name was Gardok. Anyway, Vol'Shalai was a shaman and witch doctor. A pretty good one, too." Jonathan shuffled around on his blanket to get more comfortable.

"Was?", asked Twilight.

"Haven't seen him ever since. That was... oh, Light, five years ago, I think? He was kinda cool, great with potions, definitely had a better sense of humor than Gardok. Even though I was not the nicest guy back then." He grimaced uncomfortably.

"What does a shaman do? Do they use Light magic like you do?", asked Arcus.

Jonathan shook his head. "It's more primal than that. But they can heal, too. Shamans communicate with the basic elemental spirits; air, water, fire and earth, usually with totems. Think of them as... talismans for focusing."

"Like a wand", said Twilight.

"Yeah, a bit like a wand. Though they are more than just tools. Shamans consider their totems sacred. And the elements are wild, totally different from arcane magic. You need to keep your mind and soul in check if you want to work with them, maybe even more than as a priest or paladin."

Twilight lied down, resting her head on her crossed forelegs. "I'm glad you've been healed", she said.

"Do you have any idea how it happened? I thought about it but couldn't come up with an explanation", admitted Jonathan.

Twilight hummed. "I think it might have to do with the ambient magic of Azeroth. Or, to be exact, the lack thereof in Equestria. Basically, it's a similar reason why your enchanting magic was blocked."

"I don't get it. The Light was never really gone, I just couldn't focus it. Only the arcane magic returned after a while - and I still can't use that in Equestria."

"I have the theory", Twilight said slowly, "that the Light was 'busy'."

"What?", chuckled Jonathan incredulously.

"Hear me out", requested Twilight. "It was busy healing you. Do you remember how, during your first week in Ponyville, you got an almost uncontrollable appetite and raided the fridge?"

"...Yes?"

"I think the Light could finally heal you because, by travelling to Equestria, you entered an environment where the curse could not be maintained. And you ate a lot to keep your mana up. It's quite possible that the curse only works when there is enough ambient magic that it can draw energy from. We've already established that the magic threshold in Equestria is higher than in Azeroth."

"In laypony's terms?", cut Arcus in.

"There wasn't enough dark magic around to keep the curse going. Apparently, the Light is the only kind of magic that is present in any dimension - and always at the same level. Even Friendship magic has different ways of manifesting itself."

"Oh", said Arcus. "Heh. So, basically, Jon's got the failsafe class. That's kinda cool." He rummaged in his bag, sorting his supplies. With a thoughtful look, he drew a small red crystal ball from it, then shrugged and put it back into the bag.

Jonathan snorted.

Twilight grinned. "Well, considering that my magic is stronger here than it is in Equestria, I am probably more powerful, but yes. He's got the failsafe class."

"Interesting theory", said Jonathan. "One way or another, it's nice to be able to breath, eat and sleep and... pee again." He lowered his voice somewhat at the last part of the sentence.

Darren heaved an unexpected sigh, almost startling Twilight. "That Equestria sounds very appealing."

They turned their heads. The knight looked back, saying nothing.

"Sorry." Jonathan grimaced with discomfort, he had actually forgotten that the death knight was still with them in the room. He was sitting too far away for his cold aura to reach them.

Darren removed his hood, looking at Twilight with his blue glowing eyes. His expression was surprisingly soft. "Do you think it may be possible that I... accompany you once this is over?"

"Wow. Er, I... I think so, maybe", stammered Twilight. She paused for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I don't know you very well and Jonathan ended up in Equestria by accident. I never planned for anyone else to return except for us. Though it's possible. But we better keep this to ourselves or I might end up opening a portal for half the population of Tirisfal. The Pri-, I mean, my superiors might have to say a word about that."

Darren forced a smile. "I can't ask for anything more. I do not intend to impose - but to be alive again... Mr Baker could heal me... I could leave you alone after that."

"I think we're getting ahead of ourselves", said Jonathan, frowning at the knight. "First things first. Let's talk about it after we got the gem, okay?"

Daren nodded. "Very well."

"Will you finally shut up?!", hissed Brazie from his bed. "Whisper in the morning and let me have my shut-eye!"

They decided to heed his advice and soon quiet snoring filled the tiny house.

Comments

[Mother3Forever]

I say let the Death Knight come back with them. If only long enough for him to recover.

[ProjectRabbid]

Darren showed some really interesting stuff about himself here.

[Timuri]

Their secret may not keep long after this. Arcus still has the Sin'dorei scrying orb, so they know now....and that information is exceedingly valuable. A certain goblin who's sleep was interrupted could make a lot of money off of that info.