Greyhawk - Casefile: High Treason for Low Characters (Part One)

I sat in my usual table under the stairs in the Pig & Whistle, a seedy dive in the Old Town section of Stormwind, a half-eaten bowl of Mystery Stew (don't ask what is in it - they might be mean and actually tell you) and a second tankard of what the humans laughingly called ale when she walked into the Common Room. She was tall for a dame.. oh, who am I kidding? Given my rather mixed heritage, with a dwarf or two in the family woodpile, most of the dames in Stormwind were either my height or taller. Her long, red hair probably betokened a short, fiery temper, but there are some burns worth the pain. She sauntered to the stairs, saw me, and smiled. I was probably in a lot of trouble. She was exactly the kind of woman that lead to complications, mayhem, and occassionally murder. Her face was strong, with an aquiline nose, luminous brown eyes that sparkled with mischief, and a smile that threatened to fulfill all the promises made by the black mageweave she wore. She was drop-dead gorgeous, and she knew it, from the tip of hwe mages' staff to the bottom of her knee-high leather boots.

"Hello Greyhawk... Fancy seeing you here. It's been some time, hasn't it?" Her grin widened, and she slid into the chair opposite me, staff leaning against the table. Her legs neatly crossed themselves as she leaned forward.

I did my best not to become too distracted by her gorgeous legs, and barely managed not to disgrace myself. "Madame D'Arque, always a pleasure. What brings you to this little patch of paradise?" Melissa D'Arque was a fire mage, and more likely to be found in the Mages section of the city, near the amenities of the mages' academy. She was a classy woman, and probably had expensive tastes - and worth every copper penny. I could not remember precisely when I'd met Melissa D'Arque, but I remembered the place. She was part of an organization called Phoenix Ascendant, a mercenary group based in Theramore, a beautiful little city on the edge of the Duskwater Marsh, on Durotar. It was run by the top mage in the Alliance, Jaina Proudmoor, and enjoyed a semi-official truce with the Horde, courtesy of their leader, Thrall.

That didn't stop most of the Horde from killing, skinning and eating anyone from the Alliance - mostly metaphorically, but with trolls and the Forsaken, you could never quite tell.

“A refill, a favor, and hopefully, a job.” Mel leaned back in the chair to order a drink from Reese, and I focused on food rather than compromise myself further. Mel continued unprompted, “My flask is enchanted so I never run out of Langston’s delicious bourbon, but it’s not perfect. It goes... stale, after a time. So, every so often I come back to get a fresh refill.”

"Fair," I said. "So that explains the refill. What about the favor and, even more importantly, the possible job?"

Mel took her drink as it was delivered, and started pouring it into her flask,”I am here as beset by a very close friend. I believe you and Keynala have met?”

"I have had the honor of meeting Keynala, yes."

“What do you think of her?” Mel asked, pointedly.

"Personally or professionally?" I replied.

“Either. Both.”

"Ok, professionally... She is a Dwarven female of mixed heritage - I am guessing Bronzebeard and Dark Iron - about four and a half feet tall. Chestnut hair. Slightly wide-set blue eyes. Speaks her Common with a slight accent. Often wears a floppy red sun hat. Has Light-based healing powers, but resists being called a Priestess of the Light, reason unknown. Personally, she seems like a very sweet, very clever dwarf with trust issues," I concluded.

Mel nodded, more to herself than what I said, “Then you should know that I come here to you as a personal favor for her, and tell you this in confidence. Keynala has been arrested by the authorities in Ironforge and charged with treason. I don’t know anything for certain, except that this all smells like rat shit, and Key is not a traitor.”

"...says every friend of everyone accused of any crime, ever... but that said, I agree with you. Unless the Dark Irons have some level of coercion, maybe. But just to be clear, who, exactly is my client here? You? Or Keynala? If its Keynala then I need her to engage me, but that is a detail; either way I need to make a trip to Ironforge."

"That's exactly why I need your help; I don't know if this is just a prejudice finger pointing because of her heritage, or if the Dark Irons have something they're using to get this done. For now, let's say that I'm your client, until we can reach Keynala and get to the bottom of this. Will make paying you easier, at least..." Mel refastened her flask to the holster, wrapped around her upper thigh with dark leathers. "So, will you take the job?"

"Well, normally, my fee is 20 silver a day plus expenses, but since it's for Keynala, I am going to work this one pro bono, as they say," I responded. I didn't add that if I was doing the case for free, if I discovered something bad that might harm Keynala, or if I needed to avail myself of... extra-legal remedies, I didn't want to have to report that to my client.

When anything had to do with Dark Iron dwarves, it tended to get bloody.