The Book of Vinwald

Sorry for the long delay folks. Life interrupted. =

And before anyone asks, Yssa is pronounced "Yiss-uh."

Also... Please review? It lets me know I'm writing for other people's enjoyment, and not just for myself.









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Vinwald moved slowly through the deserted hall of the monastery, trying to be as stealthy as possible in his conglomeration of chain and plate armor, his massive war hammer held at the ready. He had been separated from the rest of his party and was trying to find his way back to them while avoiding members of the Scarlet Crusade. When he came across them in ones and twos they were easy enough for him to dispatch, but anything more than that was difficult for him to handle without the aid of a healer. And as he had chosen the route of a warrior instead of that of a paladin, he had precious few options when it came to healing himself. Those options consisting mainly of potions and bandages.



I should have listened to Ma and trained some more before coming out here. He thought grimly, hearing voices coming from a small room at the other end of the hall. He tightened his grip on his war hammer (which he had fondly named Maeve) moving slowly closer.



“… shirking your duty back here!” The first voice, a man, was snapping. His tone was firm and no-nonsense, and Vinwald almost felt sorry for the person on the receiving end of it. He quickly quashed those feelings; the person on the receiving end was another member of the Scarlet Crusade; the whole lot of them were nothing but fanatics.



“I’m not shirking my duty!” A woman’s soft, almost pleading voice replied. Vinwald was taken aback. There was an almost desperate undertone to her words, not the hard fanaticism he expected. It was almost the voice of a young girl. “I’m… Guarding the door to the stables!”



Vinwald tensed slightly, hearing the sound of flesh connecting with flesh in a sharp blow, and the girl gave a sharp cry of pain. It didn’t take a genius to deduce that the man had struck her.



“This is not your assigned post. You should be in the cathedral, patrolling the halls and making certain that no-one breaches our defenses! Not mooning around here.”



“I’m sorry, sir,” The girl spoke softly, sounding as if she was near tears. “But I thought…”



“Thought what?” The man demanded impatiently. “Well? Spit it out, sorcerer!”



Vinwald almost groaned. The girl was a caster. Of course. She’d probably send a fireball directly at his face if he made a move to attack. He started to back away, pausing in surprise when he heard her response.



“… I thought that no-one would come back here.” She admitted, sounding ashamed, and also afraid. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, and High Inquisitor Whitemane said that-”



“You don’t want to hurt anyone?” The man demanded, sounding incredulous and furious. “They carry the taint of the scourge! Anyone who is not of our order is suspect, and you…” He trailed off, before continuing, realization, accusation and fury in his voice, “You are a scourge sympathizer! You would topple our order from within and see the scourge menace spread!”



“No!” The panic in the girl’s voice did not surprise Vinwald in the least. “I-”



“Do not try to lie to me, sympathizer!” The man snarled, “You carry the taint of the scourge!”



Vinwald knew that phrase. It had been hurled at him often enough the past day while he moved through the monastery. Those who spoke the words were usually dead after encountering him, though it seemed the one on the receiving end would be the one to die this time unless he did something. Letting out a muttered curse, he rounded the corner and swung Maeve hard, the war hammer connecting with the ribcage of a man in the familiar white tabard with the red symbol of the crusade upon it, a tall, peaked abbot’s hat upon his head. Unrelenting, Vinwald swung his war hammer twice more, until the man was no longer moving, and was obviously quite dead. Had Vinwald not caught him by surprise, the abbot no doubt would have put up more of a fight and been far more difficult to kill. Vinwald looked at the body a moment, before he turned his attention to a female figure half sitting, half lying on the ground. She was propped up on one arm, looking from the corpse of the abbot to Vinwald in white-faced wide-eyed horror, but made no move to attack him or defend herself.



Vinwald looked her over, noting her red robes and the staff that lay on the floor beside her. She was a pretty enough thing, he decided as he met her gaze after looking her over, before mentally giving himself a kick. This was not the time to be noticing attractive women, he told himself.



She had wide, almond shaped eyes the color of amber, hair the pale golden brown color of dried wild grasses pulled into a low tail at the nape of her neck. Her features were fine and delicate, her skin obviously pale under normal circumstances, but now almost chalk white with terror.



“You killed him.” She finally managed, continuing to stare up at Vinwald. He knew he must look a sight; his large frame was imposing normally, but in armor that was spattered with blood and a large war hammer practically coated in the stuff in his hands, he knew he was an intimidating sight.



“Fairly certain I did.” He rumbled, continuing to look at her evenly.



“Are… Are you going to kill me?”



“That depends.” He countered, “Are you going to try and kill me?”



She gaped at him, “I don’t think I could even make a dent in your armor if I tried!” She flushed then, embarrassed by those words, before quickly continuing, almost stumbling over her next words. “Besides, you did save my life just now.”



“I figured as much.” He couldn’t help but give a chuckle, before hefting Maeve over one shoulder, reaching out a hand to help the girl up. “They’ll figure it out and kill you if you stay, you know.” He pointed out, seeing her uncertainty. When she finally took his hand to allow him to help her up, he gave a faint smile. “I’m Vinwald.”



“I’m Yssa.” She said softly as she stood, still looking at him uncertainly. “Are you here alone?”



He shook his head, “I got separated from my party. I was looking for them when I overheard your conversation.”



“Oh.” She bit her lower lip, glancing to the corpse and giving a bit of a shudder, “I’m rather glad you got lost, then, but I can help you find them if you’ll help me get out of here.” She ventured, looking up at him worriedly, earning a low chuckle from him.



“I consider that deal more than fair. We were headed for the Cathedral when we got separated. We’ve come to kill Commander Mograine and High Inquisitor Whitemane.”



Yssa grimaced. “Well, there are only a few ways to get to where you were headed, so your companions should be easy enough to find.” She peeked out of the room, before turning and heading in the direction he had come from, obviously trying to move with assurance, but she kept looking about nervously, almost jumping out of her skin at the slightest sound.



“I take it you haven’t been here long.” He remarked drily, earning a faint, nervous smile from her.



“Is it that obvious?”



“Fairly.” He agreed, “I’d imagine that anyone who has been here for any extended length of time wouldn’t be quite so jumpy. Used to having adventures come in and slay them for fun and profit, but not quite as nervous as you are.”



She made a face at that, wrinkling her nose and sticking the tip of her tongue out. “I’ve only come here recently from New Avalon.” She admitted, “I wanted to serve the crusade and the Light. I just… Didn’t quite realize what that meant at the time. I haven’t been here long enough to deal with any adventurers. Well, until now.”



“And I’m not what you expected.” He gave her a roguish grin, earning a small smile in return.



“Not in the least.” She agreed, before moving to a tapestry that hung on the wall, a banner for the crusade, before pushing it aside and opening a small wooden door hidden behind it.



“We’ll cut through the living quarters.” She said quietly, “No one should be there this time of day; they’ll all be at their posts or preparing to attend vespers. Um…” She trailed off, before looking to him nervously, “Do you mind if we stop at my cell? If I’m going to be leaving for good, there are a few things I would like to take with me.”



Vinwald had a feeling that if he said no, she would accept his answer and grudgingly leave her belongings behind, but he knew that it wouldn’t do for her to leave the monastery with nothing to her name other than the clothes on her back.



“If you’re quick.” He finally agreed, “I don’t want to take too long and risk getting caught, or of losing my party.”



“I’ll be quick as can be.” She promised, slipping through the doorway, holding the door open for him to follow. She led him down a flight of stairs, and then a narrow, featureless stone corridor that had multiple wooden doors on either side, each door with a small grated window near the top that could be opened to see what the occupant was doing inside. They moved through several corridors like this, leaving Vinwald completely befuddled as to where they were, or how his guide was able to figure out where she was or where she was going. For a moment, he even toyed with the idea that she was leading him into a trap, but discarded that out of hand. She and the abbot might have known that he was nearby, that he would hear their exchange, but they wouldn’t have been able to count on him saving her, when most adventures would, as he had put it bluntly earlier, kill them for fun and profit.



She paused at a door that looked no different from any of the others they had passed (to his eyes, at least). “This is my cell.” She said quietly, almost unnecessarily, before opening the door and stepping inside.



He followed her into the room, and then wondered if he should have waited outside. Cell was too generous a term for the small room, barely more than a cubbyhole, that they were in. The sole contents of the room were a short, narrow bed with a mattress and pillow that looked hard (they made his back ache just looking at them), a small stand beside the bed, a chest for personal belongings and storage, and a small shelf for books. The room was barely big enough to hold the scant contents, and it felt oppressively small to Vinwald.



“This is where you sleep?” He asked, looking around the room as she knelt by the small chest, pulling out a backpack and quickly putting items into it. Mostly clothing, but a few battered, well worn books, and small personal items made their way in, he noted.



“Where I sleep, study, and pray to the Light when I’m not seeing to other duties in the Monastery.” She agreed quietly, looking around with a rueful smile, “It’s not much, but at least I don’t have to share it with anyone else.”



“I don’t think you could share it with anyone else.” He rumbled, causing her to let out a brief laugh, which she quickly silenced by clapping a hand over her mouth.



“No, probably not.” She stood, before suddenly tugging off her tabard and shoving it to the bottom of her pack, noting his puzzled look. “Well, I’m not a crusader any longer, and I don’t want your friends to mistake me for one, but… It’s been a part of me for so long that I don’t think I can just leave it here…”



“Ah.” Was all he said, watching as she slipped the straps of the pack over her arms and adjusted them on her shoulders.



“Here, go out and turn left in the hallway.” She advised, “I’ll take the lead once we’re out of here, but I don’t think I can get around you to get through the door.”



It was his turn to chuckle as he stepped out of her small stone room, looking around the corridor outside. “Are all the living quarters underground?”



“Oh yes.” Yssa agreed as she shut the door, and took off down the hall once more, “There are two floors of living quarters beneath the main buildings of the Scarlet Monastery, including the kitchens and dining hall. Forgive me, but we’ll need to take a sort of long way through the living quarters to the Cathedral; this place is such a warren that I get lost if I stray from the few paths through it that I know.”



He laughed at that, unconcerned with anyone else hearing him. As she said, the living quarters were all but deserted, “I’m almost glad you’re confused by this place,” He admitted, “I’m so turned around in here I can barely figure out which way is up, let alone which direction North is in.”



She flashed him a smile over her shoulder as they walked, “I think that way is up.” She remarked, pointing down at the floor, causing him to chuckle again. She then sighed, motioning down the hall, “And I am pretty sure this way is North, but whether it is or isn’t, this is the way we want to go.”



He gave a nod, moving to follow her, his war hammer held at the ready as they moved through the halls. Finally, she led him up a flight of stairs, then through another series of narrow corridors, before pushing open a door and peeking out from behind a tapestry, letting out a squeak of alarm and ducking back.



“Don’thurtmeI’monyourside!” She managed to say as an arrow thudded into the wooden doorframe.



“Alassiel! She’s with us.” Vinwald called in relief, before pushing past Yssa and stepping out the door, finding him faced by two night elves (only one of whom was in proper elf form; the other was in the guise of a powerful nightsaber) a large white lion, a dwarf, and a gnome. Thankfully, they were all people he recognized; members of his adventuring party.



Alassiel, the night elf huntress who had let loose the arrow, lowered her bow, frowning slightly. “She looked like a Crusader to me.” She pointed out rather sharply, “Nice of you to join us again, Vinwald.”



“She was a crusader until about ten minutes ago.” Vinwald countered, his words causing everyone in the party to tense, and Yssa, who had been stepping out of the doorway, to freeze, looking at the party with a very worried expression.



“And what,” Alassiel demanded, teeth gritted, her white lion crouching down, preparing to pounce at his mistress’ command, “Made you think that it was a good idea to bring a Crusader along with you?”



“I’m goin’ tae agree with Alassiel on this,” The dwarf, a cautious priest in heavily enchanted cloth armor, said after eyeing Yssa a moment. “She could still be one o’ them, waitin’ tae lead us into a trap or bring us to the attention of other crusaders.”



“But I’m not!” Yssa protested, “Besides, I owe Vinwald my life; I couldn’t hurt him or his friends.” She spoke with honest conviction, “Abbot Vectus was going to kill me because I think he thought I was one of you…”



“From what I gathered of the conversation I overheard, before I turned him into a bloody mess on the floor, was that she had abandoned her post and was hiding, pretending to guard the door to the stables, so she wouldn’t have to fight anyone.” Vinwald added, moving to stand between Yssa and his friends, blocking her from any attacks they might launch against her.



“I was just sent here from New Avalon, I didn’t know what it was like, what the Crusade was really like.” Yssa hastened to add, peeking out at them from behind Vinwald, who scowled and shoved her back behind him. He trusted his friends with his life, but he wasn’t certain he would trust them with hers just yet. “Pleasedon’thurtme.”



The group of four stared at Vinwald and Yssa for a moment, looks changing from skeptical and wary to amused. The priest was the first to break the silence. He let out a chuckle that turned to outright laughter, the others joining in after a moment. “Now this is a new one!” He finally managed to say, reaching up to wipe away tears of mirth, “A Crusader who didn’t want tae hurt anyone? Ach, girl is hardly more than a wee one still, attitude like that.”



“A babe lost in the woods.” Alassiel agreed, a faint smile gracing her features. “Good thing you were able to save her from the wolves, Vinwald.”



The green haired gnome warrior spoke up, also smiling, “Better to be saved by a bear than be fed to the wolves. Now get out of the way so we can get a good look at her!” She demanded of Vinwald, who gave a chuckle, stepping aside so the others could see Yssa more clearly.



“A caster, huh?” The gnome asked, looking her over. “Well, we can always use more firepower! I’m Ixel.”



“Sometimes, we just call her bait.” Vinwald told Yssa, who had to bite her lips to keep from laughing while the green haired gnome woman scowled up at Vinwald. She was petite for her race, and wore her emerald hair in two secure buns, one on either side of her head. Her emerald eyes sparkled with mirth, despite the mock scowl she was giving Vinwald, pale skin in stark contrast to the vivid coloring of hair and eyes. “She’s our main tank; she’s able to keep everyone’s attention on her better than I ever could.”



“Comes from bein’ such a wee thing, not tae mention bein’ fostered by dwarves.” The priest chuckled into his crimson beard, looking up at Yssa. “I’m Dorlin, ‘tis my job tae keep this lot alive; whole an’ hale the lot of ‘em. Well, relatively speaking, of course.” He had the peach complexion and dark red hair typical of most Ironforge Dwarves, and quite the buoyant personality. Not that anyone in this group was generally ever less than cheerful; even Alassiel was merely stoic.



“I am Alassiel.” The tall huntress said, giving an almost imperceptible motion with her hand, her pet settling into a more relaxed posture. Her hair was long and white, and she wore it loose, her flesh among the palest shades commonly seen among Night Elves, a faint pink/purple color that could almost have left her looking as if she were a human woman… Were it not for her glowing eyes, long pointed ears, and the darker purple marks tattooed onto her face, the tattoos looking like three claw marks raking down over each eye from brow to cheek. “This is my companion, Mizo.” She motioned to the white lion, who shook his mane and gave a large yawn. She then motioned to the other night elf, who still remained in feline form. “This is my younger sister, Kisna. Please pardon her, she prefers to remain in her other forms, though I can hardly fathom why most times.”



The nightstaber, its pelt so dark green it was nearly black, with faint purple undertones, hissed in Alassiel’s direction, before padding towards Yssa, nudging the human girl’s thigh with her head. Yssa tentatively reached down to stroke Kisna’s head, earning a soft purr from the druid.



“It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.” Yssa said softly, looking at them all, “I’m Yssa.”



“I take it you’re a mage of sorts?” Alassiel asked, earning a nod from Yssa.



“I am. I only know a few spells though…”



“Fire, right?” Ixel asked curiously, hefting her shield. “Everyone likes fire.”



“I think I may be the one person who prefers frost, then.” Yssa admitted sheepishly, “Though I was instructed to use only fire spells defending here, since they tend to do more damage.”



“Well, we’re not going to tell you what you can or cannae use, lass. They’re yer own spells, after all, so if ye want tae use frost spells, ye can go right on ahead, but only iffin’ yer usin’ them on the ones we’re fightin’!”



Yssa positively lit up at Dorlin’s words, obviously thrilled at the thought of being able to use her preferred school of magic, which caused Vinwald to chuckle.



“Now, if we’re done with introductions, why don’t we get a move on so we can finish what we’re here for?” He suggested. “Yssa doesn’t have a hearthstone, so we’ll need to leave here the way we came in, and I don’t want to encounter patrols on the way out.”



“Agreed.” Alassiel gave a nod, before striding confidently forward. “Are the rest of you coming or not?”



Vinwald smiled reassuringly at Yssa as the others started to move forward, placing a hand on the small of her back and giving her the slightest of pushes to get her moving. “Come on. We’ve got some work to do.”



“I don’t know how you can call killing people work.” She said softly, looking up at him with a nervous, worried look in her soulful amber eyes.



“Don’t think of it like that.” He told her gently, “Think of it as preventing harm from coming to other, more innocent people. Can you do that?”



She paused, before giving a slow nod. “I think so.”



“Good. Now, let’s go.”