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cuthie · 5 years ago

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Omru: Dazar’alor Roleplay

(( This is just copy/pasted discord roleplay that I’m archiving for my own records. Might be a boring read or too long for most. But then again, who’s reading my short stories anyways, right? Just me. :p )) Dazar’alor, city of gold, capital of Zuldazar and once the center of the world spanning Zandalari empire of old. The ancient troll home somehow survived the Sundering, survived the prophesied sinking of the island, the Cataclysm, the Burning Legion and threats both foreign and domestic over thousands of years. In modern day it was a melting pot of all Troll races, each tribe carving out it’s own nook, bringing new cultural celebrations, rituals and perspectives. Trade was booming, crime was at an all time low, and the King was beloved by all… Most.. Many… Even with the loss of Rezan, Loa of Kings, the empire withstood the power of the gargantuan C’Thraxxi warbringer, Mythrax. Furthermore, the city banded together with the Horde to rid Azeroth of the Old God Titan experiment, G’huun the blood God. Nothing and no one could keep this city nor it’s people down for long.

And then came the Alliance. Jaina Proudmoore led the Kul’tirans and the factions of the Alliance into the city, tricking it’s armies into leaving the King’s side for the swamps of Nazmir. Neigh defenseless, the Zandalari lost thousands. Their soldiers, their navy, and even their king. It was a bloodbath the likes they had never known.

Time passed, people trying to move on with their lives, and the former Princess now Queen of the Zandalari formally joined the Horde, seeking retribution. From those descended of royal blood, all the way down to the most lowbourne of guttersnipes, depression and anguish was palpable in the once bright city of riches. Joining the Horde would provide a small comfort, but the Bilgewater Cartel seemed capable of stimulating economic growth. Their own goblin designed ships weren’t as glamorous nor dependable as the Zandalari fleet had been, but with them they brought imports and money. It was one such merchant vessel that Omru had made contact via Goblin engineered walkie. His ticket to the lush jungle paradise of Durotar.

For a brief moment the people near the docks had a flicker of, not hope, but at least mild curiosity and entertainment. Off in the distance, a topless Zandalari man held onto a viney set of reigns attached to not one but two large speckled sea turtles as he stood atop their shells. Wind rushing through his beard, the troll laughed, accompanied by loud acoustic music. On the troll’s shoulders was our beloved fox boy, Omru, strumming away on his father’s guitar. As zany as the idea had been, Om knew that the only way to combat his family curse was to, of course, hire a navigator. That man’s name was Ja’ku. Ja’ku Spearo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b_53XplhZE

By the time the duo had made it to the docks, a small crowd had gathered to see what the spectacle was all about. For the first few minutes, the pair were all smiles, Omru hopping down onto the wooden floorboards, still playing his music. Then came an untimely, “Ey, dat mon owes me money!”

Then another. “Ja’ku, you mudda fugga, ya dare show you face round’ere!”

Ja’ku raised his hands defensively, “Now, now. I dun mean no ‘arm in- Oh, what be dat ova dere!?”

Predictably, a handful of accusers turned to look and in that split second, Ja’ku was off on foot, running further into the city, leaving Omru there to suffer the eyes of the crowd.

“Uh… I’m not with him. Just.. Passing through…”

-- “No… I don’t get it. Please explain to me again why this is ‘proper animal husbanding’ as you put it?”

The ebony haired Sin’dorei boy blew an annoyed breath out through pursed lips and rolled his eyes dramatically. Returning his haughty glare to the Vulpera girl with the deep red fur and too much eyeliner sitting on the crate, he shook his head.

“Listen fuzzball, there’s a lot of things someone like you just won't understand. It’s not your fault, you’ve basically been frying in the desert forever with nothing but bugs to play with. Sure, all that sun can make for a great tan but too much can rot your brain. Just like too many vegetables. Here’s a live lesson for you. If someone like me.. Well, there’s really no one like me but I mean a Sin’dorei tells you something you should just listen. We’ve been around for a billion years, maybe longer. We’ve seen everything, tried everything, are smarter than most, better looking than most and basically just better at everything.”

He leaned down to look her in the eye and winked.

“And that includes animal husbanding tricks.”

The Vulpera girl’s left eyebrow rose as she took the guy in. Her eyes flicking from his ‘better than you’ expression to the large black bird he had pinned under one arm as he went on. “…You mean life lesson?”

He rolled his eyes again.

“No.. Live lesson. Because you live the lesson, duh.”

She looked to the huge bird again. Intrigued by how it seemed to make eye contact with anyone paying attention, as if pleading for help. It’s eyes were locked onto her, beak parted slightly as it panted from the struggling she had interrupted. She spoke to it, if anything just to get under the guys skin a little.

“Is he always this spectacularly unintelligent and conceited?”

To her surprise, the bird let out a croaky sound as if to answer. The boy’s face lit up and he beamed at her.

“Aaaw, you didn’t have to say that. I am pretty spectacular, aren’t I? You know, you little guys aren’t so bad. I mean, you have that whole cute thing going on, I’m sure that helps.” Giving her another flash of his pearly whites, he reached for the scissors again. Seeing the flash of metal, the bird flew into a fit of struggling again. Pecking, kicking, clawing and doing anything in its power to get out of his iron grip. One enormous wing popped free, causing him to drop the scissors to wrangle it with both hands again. The flaps from just that single wing were enough to knock over a stack of smaller boxes and send dust and debris flying about. “See!?! I have to clip its wings! It’s nuts and it’s gonna fly off before I can get it home to give my wife!”

She squinted and held up a hand against the torrent of dust, watching the scene with mixed feelings. She had traded critters before, plenty of times. What were the odds any of those had ended up in the hands of someone like this? The more the poor thing struggled, it’s eyes pleading with her, the more she felt sick about it. Maybe living things should be off the list going forward.. Unless it was food stuff anyway. Trade, that’s it! She quickly pulled her pack off her back and into her lap, rummaging through her things. “Hey Cinder-eye! What about this? I got something way better than some dusty old unruly bird for your wife. You know they carry parasites, right? Kind of a gross gift if you ask me. But this! This would surely win you some brownie points, buddy.”

With much flair, she pulled an ornate looking scroll case out of her bag and held it up. With tiny practiced movements, she twisted it this way and that. Just enough for the sun to glint off the golden embossed lettering along the side that read Old “Pirate” Map, in fancy scrawl. “You two probably like date nights, right? How about an adventure?! When’s the last time you two went off into the wild blue yonder together and had some fun, eh? I’ll trade you this for that ratty old bird, straight over. No haggling or anything.”

The boy’s eyes were locked on the thing, he and the bird both no longer struggling. After a long moment of staring, he finally blinked and looked to her with suspicion. “Wait… Why would you trade something like that for a bird if you think it sucks so much?”

She blinked, having honestly pegged him for being too dumb to think that far into it. Thinking quickly she looked down at the case, ran a finger over the thick gold (plated) carving on its cap and nodded. “…Yea… Good point. I know a good place for a bird like that is all buuuuut… Yea, I’m not sure it’s worth the fun this might lead to. You’re right, I should pro-“

Before she could finish her sentence he snatched the case out of her hand and shoved the huge raven into her arms.

“Nope!! You said straight over! A deals a deal, no take backsies!” As if expecting her to put up a fight he quickly grabbed up his pack, turned on his heel and rushed off towards his ship. Mumbling something about cute, dumb Vulpera idiots..

She watched with a smirk as the guy walked off with her most worthless item. Sure, he might get a little money for the case. But the map itself was just directions to some rundown tavern her and her buds made as a joke one night. “Dumbass…”

It was then she realized she was still holding the bird in her lap, cradled like a toddler. A large toddler.. It was damn near as big as she was but oddly enough, wasn’t struggling. Instead, the two just eyed each other for a long moment, neither moving. Somehow the look in it’s eyes as it stared back seemed.. thankful? She carefully slid off the crate she had been sitting on and set the creature down.

“Uuuh, there you go bird. You’re welcome.”

The thing flicked out its wings a little but otherwise just sat there, it’s head tilting left and right as it watched her. She made a shooing motion, suddenly wondering what exactly a bird that size might eat.. Smaller furry creatures maybe? She shuddered, remembering more than one run in with the vulture flocks back in the sands. One large red ear twisted then at the sound of music coming from farther down the docks. She glanced back to the bird and gave an uneasy nod.

“Heh, yeeeea… So, see yu!”

Tossing her pack over her shoulder she quickly trotted off towards the strumming then shoved her way through the crowd of knees and butts to see what was up. A grin crawled across her face as she eyed the strange duo coming to shore.

“What in the sands?!”

Omru looked around, noting that there were just as many oddball races down at the docks as there were Zandalari, maybe even more so. A set of glowing yellow eyes stared down at him from a rotting face, it’s urine colored skin peeling off to reveal white maggots squirming underneath. Gulping, he changed the strumming of his guitar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN57L9HcZsQ

“Listen… We don’t need to make a scene here, in fact.. ~Something told me long ago, there’s a calm before the storm and I know! It’s been comin’ for some time.” Giving a confident smile and wink, Omru began to half walk half dance as he continued playing and singing, “When it’s over, so they say.. It’ll rain a sunny day, I know! Shinin’ down like water!”

Tauren, Trolls, Zombies, Orcs, Tortollan and even talking Bears all seemed to nod at him or tap their feet. Well, those who had feet anyways. Regardless of the few who seemed to be enjoying the show, at least half of the crowd had already lost interest, and another quarter just stared at him before running after Ja’ku.

“I wanna kno- OW-FUCK!”

Omru rubbed at his head, a rock having hurled it’s way right between his ears. The small sect of listeners that were less parted, revealed four very tall Zandalari women. Everyone knew that the women were the most fierce fighters of the empire, making up the majority of their guards. Or was that the Naga? Omru squinted his eyes up at them as they approached, towering over him.

“Ey, fox boy. You dun sing on our turf. We be de Bang Drum Gang, de only ones what be allowed te perform on dese docks. So take ya geetar an beat it, befo we beat you.”

As if to emphasize their point, the three drummers standing behind their leader began to bang on their drums, harnessed over their shoulders and down to their waists. Simultaneously they would beat their drums twice, then stomp the ground with their feet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onJQ1dpsAF8 The snarling leader sung out in a gruff albeit totally in tune voice, “Foxy be a boy, makin big noise, playin on de docks, gonna be a big Mon some day. Ya got mud on face, ya lil disgrace, dun make us kick ya ass all ova’ de place!”

Wadding up her fists, the three drummers began chanting, “We will, we will, rock you! We will, we will, rock you!”

It was his calling. It was beautiful, it was amazing, it was destiny. Before he could even think, Omru began to shred on his father’s guitar, grinning at the crowd and wiggling his eyebrows. For ten seconds, he was a rock star and all of Dazar’alor was his stage. And then a two toed dirty foot connected with his jaw, sending him and all of his stuff flying through the air to land with a plop in the ocean water below.

The drumming stopped, “Ey, dat weren’t no invitation! We told ya ta scram, Vulpera!”

Grumbling and slightly humiliated, Omru swam back to shore as the Bang Drum Gang continued their song, parading down the docks and further into the city, crowd at their heels. Making his way back onto the wooden walkway, Omru dumped the water out of his guitar. His pack was enchanted to be waterproof, no worries there, but water could certainly warp the wood of his instrument.

“Assholes…”

“Man, you got it in weird with these trolls, buddy. How are you gonna come riding in on the shoulders of one, who’s riding in on freaking sea turtles no less.. then immediately get booted back out to sea by others? You have a rep around here or just bad luck?”

She watched as he tidied his things and fiddled with his now soggy guitar. Moisture damaged instruments wasn’t something she had much personal experience with. Not a lot of risk of that in the sands and she had only recently been venturing out past that to the isles. Her first rescue mission, impromptu as it was, delivering her all the way here to the Zandalari city of Dazar’alor. But.. She had seen people dry out waterlogged driftwood next to a fire so maybe…

“Hey, I got a thing that’ll help dry that out!”

With a wide grin spreading across her ‘of course I have something for that’ expression, she pulled her pack off her shoulder and squatted over it to dig around inside. After a moment, she pulled out a metallic canister about as long as her forearm and held it up triumphantly.

“I traded some goblin guy a ride for this thing. He was desperate to get out of the desert ASAP so was all for the trade when I asked about it. They may be a bit weird, funky looking and kinda suspicious but those guys have the best toys, let me tell you. Cool thing was, the girl with the wagon I set him up with owed me anyway so it was basically free. It’s called a dragon gun, or dragon’s breath gun or something like that. Sounds awesome right? Just uh, hold out that soggy guitar of yours a moment while I fire this thing up. Maybe away from your face, just to be safe. I know it’s small but this’ll be the first time I’m using it and I’m not up for BBQ’d boy.”

She aimed the nozzle at the guitar and fiddled with the little red valve knob, then flicked the two switches on the side up and down. As nothing happened, she repeated the process a few times, trying to maintain her ‘let me show you something amazing’ face. Nothing… Not even a burp of heat..

“Sssssshhhit… That little butthole, no wonder he traded it so willingly, its broke!”

With that, she chucked the thing aside, teeth momentarily bared with a growl of frustration. The metallic -clang- as it hit the stone ground a little ways away echoed off nearby surfaces and a couple heads turned to look. It bounced once then landed again with another clang, this time smacking down on the valve end. Upon impact the nozzle blasted out an enormous cone of fire, the heat of it felt even yards away where they stood. Despite the items diminutive size, had that been aimed at the Vulpera boy and his guitar, it would have engulfed him fully and anyone else standing too close to him…

Eyes wide, the little red vulpera girl just stared as the flames bellowed out for a full ten seconds before cutting off again. Luckily nothing of note and no one had been in front of it. What grass, flowers and small plants had been in its path were now gone. Only a bit of wafting smoke and a wide scorch mark left in its wake. Somewhere between amazed and horrified, she turned back to him. Remembering to close her mouth finally, she cleared her throat and scratched at the back of her head.

“Uh yeah.. Sooo… What, umm, what brings you to the city?”

Saltwater still dripping from his fur, Omru stared at the red Vulpera girl as she began chatting about her stuff. A smile instinctively formed. He hadn’t exactly been welcomed into the city, but almost right away he had found someone who understood him. Someone who got him, someone with stuff.

“You want me to hold my most precious family heirloom out while you blast it with that goblin thingy?” Omru looked from the girl, to his guitar and back again. He then nodded his head, trusting in this stranger fully as he held out the instrument with both hands, “Letterip!”

Anticipation bubbled, coursing from the back of his head down to his shoulders as he gripped his guitar tight. Click. Click-click. Nothing. Omru’s bright orange eyes flickered to the side as he tried to maintain a good natured smile. Sometimes people’s stuff, just wasn’t up to snuff. It happened to the best of Vulpera, right? But should he say something comforting, should he just ignore it like it’s no big deal, should he avert his eyes and pretend he didn’t notice?

“Uh.. You know, I think-”

FWOOSH!

The goblin contraption had been carelessly chunked over shoulder, only to trigger a moment later. Fortunately they were near enough the streets and away from the wooden docks, where the blasts of fire only seemed to damage the greenery. If that had been directed at him, his guitar would have been toast. He would have likely been toast too, even with his depleted sunstone. At the thought of the stone, he stowed the wet guitar away and rummaged about his pack. As much as he collected things, people might expect him to take on hoarder tendencies. Nope. Everything either server a purpose or was just really cool. And everything was organized. It never took him more than a moment to rummage through his pack to find things.

Regardless of how fast he had managed to procure the stone, by the time he was ready to use it, the fire expulsions had ceased. The small grey rock in his hand was cool to the touch, and had darkened carved runes all around it. “I uh.. Was gonna use this, but unnecessary now. It absorbs flames and heat, storing the energy so that you can use it again later. In theory.”

Om placed the stone back in its place, then tossed his knapsack strap back over his shoulder. “I’m actually just here to catch a boat. The Horde, I’m sure you’ve heard of them, come from a tropical paradise with engineered vehicles and super models, whatever those are, in a magical place called Durotar. I was gonna go check it out, meet with a friend there. Buuut, I guess now I need to find a shop that can work guitar repairs. This city is coastal, can’t be the first time something was flung into the ocean, right? What about you?”

Om paused to look around, validating his assumption, “Not many Vulpera here at all. Might be just us and one or two more in the entire city.”

Glad to see the guy wasn't running for the sands or ready to give her a load of crap for the honest mistake of nearly frying him, her attention was drawn to the little stone. Curious, she cocked her head to try and get a better look at it just before he tucked it away again. As he spoke, she turned her attention back to the city around them, nodding.

"Yea, this place is HUGE too. I've been here three days and have only seen the lower section of this one side. Can you imagine building something like this? What if they get sick of the spot? And yea, I've only seen a trio of us waiting on a ride back out and one boy waiting in line for a ship last night. He was all suited up in the hordes red and black too. Like they had recruited him for some big face bashing gig. Honestly he might have looked pretty good if it weren't for the spiked shoulders.. Those just kinda made him look dumb and out of place. Eh, still, I'm sure he'll have some awesome stories when he comes back, though."

She glanced at his guitar then back up at the city steps nearest them, thinking a moment.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you bumped into me then. I'm one of my family's best pathfinders. I guess you could even say the best now. Well, I mean if my grandma could still get around well and my dad wasn't stuck helping out Last Wind they would be the best but you know how it is.."

She seemed to pause to consider that thought. Shrugging it off just as quickly, she shot him a sideways look and a confident smirk.

"C'mon, I'll find you the place you need, no problem!"

Without waiting for the soggy boy to respond, she turned on her heel and marched for the stairs leading up into the lower merchants area of the city, fully expecting him to follow.

"Like I said, I've only been here three days so it won't exactly be a direct route. Buuuut I know a guy that'll help. He lives here."

Omru fell in line as soon as the help was offered. He didn’t really consider himself biased, but he just naturally felt more trusting of his own kind. This girl who hadn’t even introduced herself yet had almost roasted him like a desert lizard on a pike, yet here he was following her through the sprawling streets of the Zandalari capital.

“Well, they did get the inkling for a change in locale. The sands have plenty of their old homes and temples from thousands of years ago. According to legend, they used to rule the entire world, the first conquistadors of Azeroth. Then there was war with.. Uh, someone. Bugs? I don’t really remember. Point is, they ruled the world, built everywhere, lost it, then the world split in two.. Twice. I dunno if you remember it, but like six years ago or so Zandalar was rumored to be sinking. Lots of shaking, tectonic plates of something-something. I think they fixed that too, the Zandalaris. I’m not exactly a history buff, but I’ve been around a Tortollan or two, you know?”

Bright orange eyes darted from left to right as his black furry ears twitched, listening to the crowds around them. Om’s nostrils flared out in quick little sniffs. This place was a cacophony of sounds, sights and smells. It was a little overwhelming, honestly. Oooh! The fox boy grinned wide as he spotted something magnificent at a corner stall.

“One minute!”

It was a small round mirror, neatly polished. Seeing his own reflection, he had to take the opportunity to primp just a little. It was nothing compared to what the sin’dorei had been doing since their arrival many months before, and so the merchant just shrugged the gesture off. “You buy, Vulpera?”

Hearing the offer, another stall merchant called from across the street, “Ey dere rich mon! Ya tink ya look good now, wait til ya get some’a my wares. Come take a look!”

The first merchant didn’t seem to mind the intrusion at all, “Good idea, bruddah. Listen ‘ere shortie, you buy dis mirror full price an my friend dere will give you a deal.”

In the span of fifteen minutes, Omru had traded in a dozen trinkets, knick knacks and old coins. In return he had the silver zandalari mirror, and a full set of horde themed leather armor. Rushing back to his new Vulpera friend’s side, he did a little spin in his new hooded attire, “This is an authentic Horde militia armor, fitted for goblins. It’s a little snug in the buttocks, but the Zandalari back there is a leather worker and made room for my tail. Way better than what I had been carrying around. We should see if they have any enchantments, never know when you’ll need to get revenge on a Drummer girl for kicking you into the ocean, you know? Ha, just kidding.”

It then dawned on Om that the two of them hadn’t even made proper acquaintances yet. “Oh, sorry, the city’s so big and distracting I almost forgot. I’m Omru, by the way. And you?”

Nohko leaned against the carved stone archway that marked the entry to that section of vendors, waiting patiently for the boy to eyeball whatever he was after. Lifting a large claw that dangled from a strap of leather around her neck, one of many such adornments, she used the thing to clean under her fingernails. Suddenly, a loud rather juicy sounding splat on the ground next to her made her jump and dodge away from whatever it was.

“SHIT! FU-“

Her startled cursing halted and a look of confusion set in as she registered what she was looking at. A half rotted fish carcass that had splattered into a sloppy mess on impact next to her. Brows furrowing, she looked up to see where it had fallen from. There, sitting high up on the arch was the huge black bird. It’s head was cocked to the side, one dark eye staring in her direction. Were such a thing common here she would have simply dismissed it. Some feathered sky rat turd who can't keep a handle on their lunch. But birds didn’t come in solid, shiny black like that around here. None she had ever seen anyway. The closest thing were the darker colored vultures back in the sands but most around here were bright blues, reds and greens. So what, was it following her? Attempting to bomb her with rotten fish? What the sands, all she had done was help! She narrowed her eyes at the thing, pondering for the briefest moment reaching for the tiny hand crossbow she kept tied to her pack. Naaa, why save it just to-

“…never know when you’ll need to get revenge on a Drummer girl for kicking you into the ocean, you know? Ha, just kidding.”

The thought was interrupted as she realized the Vulpera boy was back and had apparently been trying to show her his new stuff. She turned her attention back to him and eyed the outfit up and down, offering a smile.

“Heeeey, nice getup. Wait, you didn’t go get that just because I said that other guy looked awesome in it, right? Not that you don’t look good. Better in some ways even, since you didn’t go with the dumb oversized shoulders he had. He was super ripped though so could probably have made an old barrel look good.. Anyway, yeah sorry, Noh, nice to meet you Omru.”

She stuck out a hand to shake. The bright red of her fur darkened into a deep purplish color from wrist to fingertip. Rings decorated just about every finger, some sporting more than one. Some were typical looking while others appeared crafted from miscellaneous things she had apparently liked enough to turn into jewelry. Her wrist was likewise covered in jewelry and trinkets. From solid, etched metal cuffs to tiny hand carved scrimshaw dangling on loose chains or straps to braided.. hair? Was that hair? ..well some kind of braided organic, -hair like- material with bits of glass and such woven in..

“Oh, you -were- just talking about another vulpera in Horde armor, huh? Nah, I got this because that Troll was a good salesman, honestly. I mean, he had me pegged for an explorer and adventurer, someone who risks his life for great treasure. Read me like a book, told me my armor was scuffed and in need of repairs. I had a lot of stuff on me reserved for trading anyways, plus I dig the black and red. Maybe that other guy wasn’t exactly affiliated with the Horde either. Mayhap they just talked him into upgrading his armor like they did me. I’m not a big fan of the skull and bones aesthetics, though. Cultural thing, I’m sure. Proud of their kills, wear it as jewelry or something. I dunno.”

Omru snatched the extended hand, giving it a squeeze and a shake as proper etiquette called for. He himself had a single black ring on his left index finger. It didn’t really have a meaning or purpose, and in fact it blended in with his fur, so it wasn’t very noticeable. Still, he liked it and that was all that mattered. In the little three second handshake, his fingers had felt the rigid bands on Noh’s fingers and the clatter of her wrist ornaments was audible. “Whoa, cool. You gotta lotta jingly jangles, as my Uncle calls them. Where’d ya get’em?”

Continuing through the city, Om looked around from shop to shop. The streets weren’t packed, but the architecture and pathway spacing certainly felt designed for such high foot traffic. In more than a few places there were still crimson smears being scrubbed away by Zandalari trolls dressed in rags. Blood? How long ago had the city been sacked? A few months, right? He wasn’t really one to keep a calendar nor an appointment. Everything he had ever signed up for, he had been late. So why disappoint people when he could just commit himself to being obligation free. Heh. Despite the sparse customers, the shops still lined the streets, merchants seeming to outnumber clientele for the time being.

“Imagine what this place was like before the Alliance attacked it. They said they lost thousands, including the King. Mm. I’ve heard tales of them burning our wagons down for even being friendly with the Horde. Haven’t met any besides a few drunks, but so far they all sound like total scum. I hope the Zandalari wipe them out.”

#WRA RP #wrarp #Warcraft Roleplay #warcraft #vulpera

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