Stuck

In an exercise to develop the personalities of two of my major characters, I decided to kill two birds with one stone (figuratively) and lock the two in a room (literally) to see what happened from there. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did envisioning it.

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"The lock is fortified by magic, you realize."

Thallis gave a sour stare to the night elf behind her.

"A lock is a lock."

Kestil sighed in mock defeat but continued to watch the human girl prod and poke at the padlock with her tools. The tools were eventually discarded and Thallis pulled a dagger from her boot. She jammed it into the keyhole and pushed her whole weight against it, turning the blade as far as it would go, and back again, and again and in and out and gods, it stuck.

Thallis stepped back and looked down at her handiwork; the padlock was whole, but from it the dagger stuck out straight. Kestil looked on as well and raised an eyebrow, amused, fighting to keep a grin off her face.

"Shut up."

The grin was released. Kestil held up her hands in defense. "I said nothing."

Letters

Thallis leaned against a crate and pulled the crumpled letter from her shirt pocket, careful not to draw too much attention from the other dock workers. She unfurled the note and smoothed it out, its edges weathered from its trip in the clutched talons of a carrier bird. Cannonball stood at Thallis’ feet; his round, black eyes gazed intensely at his owner in expectancies of payment for a job well-done. Thallis raised an eyebrow at him.

“You expectin’ somethin’, then?”

She dug a nut from the leather satchel on her waist and flicked it at the macaw; he snatched it with his beak and began to bite and peck at his treat. Thallis turned her attention back to the letter.

Daughter—

Report received, request approved. Keep fourty.

Heading underground, contact T. in the main base.

Love, Da

She pulled a match from her pocket and struck it against her boot. It ignited instantly, and she held it to the corner of the letter. Soaked in kerosene and left to dry before applying ink, the note was gone in seconds.

The first half of the letter came as no surprise. Thallis knew her request to work on the Stormwind docks would be approved, so she hadn’t waited for the answer. After all, good coin and better information were too tempting to pass up. The second half, however… There was only one “T.” that was of any consequence, and Thallis grinned; she knew she had struck gold.

She toed Cannonball with her boot. “Go home,” she told him. “You’re makin’ me look suspicious.”

Topaz

He held the bronze stone in his fist and clenched it tight. A swirling mist inside the stone’s jagged cuts moved in agitation, and a voice inside growled.

What be de meaning of dis?

Nusuth opened one finger from his fist and looked petulantly at the rock.

“You be talkin’ too much.”

The mist churned tumultuously.

You think I be talkin’ too much? I show you talkin’ too much! I be talkin’ all night ‘n’ day, “talkin’ too much…”

Nusuth stuffed the topaz stone into his sachet and pulled the strings tight. His long, troll ears flattened.

“Crazy talkin’ spirit.”