Suspicions

Suspicions

=Chapter One= By Krelle

Krelle smiled over at the emaciated man next to her as the meeting broke up. "So, you're the new priest, eh? I'm Krelle."

He blinked, then smoothly nodded to her and smiled. "I guess I am the new guy. Pleased to meet you, Krelle. I'm Gerfank."

And why did the Lady send you here, Gerfank? "It's nice to meet you," she said brightly. "Hey, how 'bout we go for a drink? I'll buy you one, to celebrate your first meeting. Sound good?"

She chatted idly about the weather on the way to the bar. Buying them each a large glass of jungle-wine, she led him upstairs to one of the quieter rooms. The other tigers had business to attend to for the moment, which suited her fine. She and the priest sat at a table near the back of the room, chatting briefly about the taste of the wine.

"So," she said eventually. "How'd you hear about the Tigers?" It was an innocuous way to start a conversation, and she wanted to be friendly. She tuned out the rest of the bar, giving him her undivided attention.

"Well, in my past… life… I had some dealings with them," he said, with the characteristic awkwardness of the Forsaken when speaking of their human lives. Her interest was immediately piqued.

"Ohhh, really? Before you died? Were you a client? Who'd you deal with?" she asked him a flurry of questions, though she was already answering most of them in her head. Obviously before he died. And he must have been a client - he'd hardly try to get hired by the organization that had wronged him or killed him. He must have dealt with one of the alliance folk. Still, the plague had been years ago, so it must have been one of the older ones. "Ohh, was it Tai?"

Gerfank was looking increasingly uncomfortable. He shook his head. "Was quite some time ago, really. I uh, really shouldn't name names. It was my understanding that my dealings with him were somewhat under the table." Krelle noticed that he shifted in his seat slightly as he spoke. She immediately backed off - no need to pressure him now. Besides, she could just ask the others later.

"Ah, no worries," she said, waving it away easily. "I just think it's neat. I don't remember my human life at all, so I guess I get nosey with other Forsaken sometimes." She grinned at him a bit, looking bashful.

He nodded. "Understandable. I probably wouldn't were it not for my journals," he said, patting a stack of parchments hanging by his side.

A small part of Krelle was disappointed that he didn't remember his own life better - she loved hearing stories of Lordaeron before the plague - but most of her was immediately gripped by a powerful curiosity. She started thinking of ways to get into those books. Meanwhile, she kept him talking.

"Ah, so your journals were talkin' bout the tigers, and you wanted to join? I guess that makes sense."

"It's complicated," he said with a weak laugh.

"Unusual to find a priest interested in the kinda stuff we do," she said in an approving tone, trying to put him at his ease. "It'd be handy to have you around."

"Aye. Well, being a member of the Tong, it would give me access to resources that I otherwise wouldn't otherwise have. One of them being, well, a family… hopefully, within time of course," he said a bit wistfully.

Krelle nodded, smiling encouragingly at him. That reason, she could understand. Though it did strike her as odd that a priest would feel that way.

"There are other reasons… but no need to turn over those stones," he was saying.

Other reasons? Why would he bring them up if he didn't want to talk about them? Maybe he did. She feigned naivete and nodded encouragingly. "Like what?"

He looked grave. "I'd really rather not. I'm just happy to be aboard," he said, though his hand casually brushed his journals, as if to reassure him that they were still there. This guy would be terrible at poker. Unless he was leading her on deliberately?

She nodded easily, waving away the issue. "Sensitive topic? No matter. So yeah, it's a good feeling, being part of a team."

He nodded, evidently relieved. "Hopefully in time I'll be able to prove myself to the Tong, all the while accomplishing what I need to do."

You could start by telling us what the Fel it is you "need to do". Or, y'know, stop mentioning your mysterious errand every twelve seconds.

"Oh, that shouldn't be hard," she smiled. "Everyone's awfully nice, and the work is really independent, so you should have lots of time for little side projects." And I should have lots of time to keep an eye on you. "It's very different than working for the army, like I used to."

He nodded again. "So it seems. Though I did butt heads with that Garond tonight. I hope that wont reflect poorly on me."

Note to self. Talk to Garond. "Oh? I must have missed that, since I snuck in a bit late. I'd never met him before, actually. He seems a bit strange. Offering to do things for free, and talking about missing his targets… I dunno." Krelle did think that Garond's words were a bit odd, but she suspected that he had been joking, and she had missed it. Mostly she was trying to get Gerfank to relax - he was so guarded.

The priest let out a hearty chuckle. "Aren't we all so strange, though?"

"I dunno. I don't think I'm strange." Tell me why you're strange, Gerfank. Or tell me why you think I am.

"Well of course we aren't strange to ourselves. But to others? That's the true test," he said, nodding.

She pretended to consider that. "Oh… Am I strange to you?" she said, sounding intrigued.

He shrugged noncommittally. "Well, I really haven't much insight on yourself, so making such a judgement is hard."

She nodded easily. "Oh, well, I guess that makes sense." Would you just say something! "Well, if you have any questions, I'd be happy ta answer them, since you're new and all that."

"I've done my fair share of research on the Tong and its conduct, so I shouldn't be too far behind."

Research? He'd done research on a secret organization? It had been sheer luck that she had even found out that the Tong existed - and she had been actively looking for something like this - and this priest was doing research? Who was this guy?

"So what is it exactly you wish to do in the Tong?" he asked, surprising her.

"Hmm, me?" she said, stalling a bit.

"Aye."

She decided to be honest. It was simpler than making up something weird - and truly, Krelle had nothing to hide. "I just wanted a family. I don’t much care what we do. Though getting rich would be nice," she said as an afterthough. The priest grinned at her, so she continued. "Money is power, and if you have more power, fewer people can get ya."

The priest nodded. "Money's always nice. I'm looking to be an ambassador-type."

"Oh? Ta who?"

"To anyone we deal with, and those we'd like to deal with. A fast talker is always useful in organizations such as ours."

Krelle couldn't believe this guy. All of the Tong were fast talkers. Like they needed an enigmatic undead priest to be charming for them. She smiled innocently at him.

"Oh, like you'd be an ambassador from the Tong to other people?"

"Aye, you got the idea."

"You're a fast talker then?" she grinned at him.

"Well only when I'd like to be! I try and be sincere with my peers rather than weaving words around them." Oh, really?

She nodded, smiling. "We should get along well then. I'm a good listener!" And you have no clue how much you're telling me.

"Is that so?" he said, smiling. "Well then aye, we should find ourselves getting along just fine!"

"Well I guess it will be handy ta have an ambassador type around. Though having a healer would also be a bonus, really. Some of our missions are a little uh… imperilling!"

He cringed a bit. "Well aye, I've a bit of knowledge in healing I s'pose. Though holy magic.. Well let's just say I'm not overly fond of it."

She tilted her head to one side, examining him. "You serve Our Lady in different ways then, I gather? Still. As long as the wound is closed, it doesn't have to feel good." She had heard of dark magics that could also heal. The sensation was reputed to be remarkably unpleasant.

He shrugged. "I am a Priest of Darkness. I seek to spread no light upon these lands."

She was about to pursue that line of though when Nerrok walked in with a job. The Orc had heard that some of Booth's old contacts were still holed up in the Stonetalon mountains and he was taking a small party of Tigers up to look for them. With any luck they'd get a lead on the traitor - or even find him hiding with them.

Gerfank was eager to help. "Anything you need, just call on me, sir."

Krelle was also happy to help, having no pressing business of her own to attend to. She planned to head back to the Undercity to see if she could find any dirt on this new guy, but in the meantime this would be a good opportunity to get to know him a bit as they travelled. Besides, she was always happy to go to Stonetalon. The mountains were so beautiful.

---

They headed down to the docks and Nerrok went off to haggle their passage on a goblin trading ship. Krelle eyed an unusually large pile stack of crates with "This Side Up" and "Handle Gently!!!" labels on them. Curious, she shifted into her less-noticeable stealth mode and crept up to them to look them over. As she was climbing over one of the crates she heard the priest call out.

"Krelle? Where'd you go?" he yelled over the noisy din of the dock. She cursed quietly as she looked over at him. His hands were shaking and he was wandering aimlessly in the crowd, staring around as he called for her. What was wrong with him?

She hopped off of the boxes and faded back into view not far from him. "Hey, what's wrong? I was just checkin' something out." Way to almost blow my cover.

The priest was shaking, as though shivering from the cold. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, rummaging around in them absently as though looking for something. "Oh, sorry," he said. "I uh, thought you'd wandered off, maybe."

"You can always call me over the com, Gerfank. No need to holler across the docks…"

Nerrok came back then, and they boarded the ship. As it cast off, Krelle stealthed away again, acting on a sudden impulse. She moved away from the hunter and priest, watching Gerfank covertly. Nerrok was preoccupied with seeing to his lion - who evidently was not a huge fan of ocean crossings - and Gerfank was left alone. He looked about himself fearfully, then found a corner among the loaded crates to huddle in. Krelle frowned. He looked miserable. All he needed was a hood and a driving rainstorm to complete the picture. Gerfank sat with his hands tucked under his arms, staring into nothing as his shoulders shook violently. Was he sick?

Acting on impulse she rummaged around below decks and found a scrap of metal in one of the holds. She came back up, unstealthing during a moment alone among the cargo, and went to the rail near where Gerfank was huddled. She saw his head rise as she came near, his eyes tracking her.

She went to the side of the boat and peered over, then smiled and dropped the bit of metal. She heard the priest laugh at her, a hollow sound in the wind.

She turned, arching an eyebrow at him.

"Slippery fingers, Krelle?"

"Eh?"

"Dropping stuff into the water!"

She shrugged it off. "Just rocks," she said, reaching into a pocket and pulling out the pebble she'd kept from the Hinterlands. "I like watching them splash."

He snorted. Annoyed, she left, heading to the back of the boat. She stealthed and climbed up the wet, wind-tossed riggings to one of the spars, heading out to sit in an out-of-the way place on the crossbeam. Krelle often snuck up here to think during voyages - most people found it hard to get any privacy on board a ship, but rogues had certain advantages.

Gerfank was an enigma to her. Half of the time he seemed to be open and honest, with a real desire to be part of the family, but the rest of the time he was trying to hide things. And badly! If you had a secret, you don't tell people you have one, you just don't bring it up. It's like he was trying to be sneaky without ever having been told how. And why was he calling her out on random thief-like activities? What if she had stolen something and thrown it off the ship? If a crew had overheard their exchange then she would have been suspected when something went missing! Had he just been trying to tease her? Or was he annoyed cause she'd left him alone?

He acted like someone with no background in the stealthier ways of life. Being a priest, she could see that, but it was no excuse. He had better smarten up or he'd never fit in with the Tong.

She peered down from her perch above the sail, spotting him easily. He was where she had left him, out of the wind and out of the way of the crew, almost curled into a ball. He looked like someone who was just… enduring. Miserably.

She frowned. Maybe he was sick. Maybe his "project" was related to that… and maybe that's why he didn't want to talk about it? Hardly wise to tell your prospective employer that you're damaged goods.

She had originally feared that he had been sent here for some reason by the Lady, but that was clearly not the case. Gerfank was useless as a spy. His instincts were all wrong.

She frowned down at him. What the Fel was his deal, anyway?

---

"Boss? A moment?"

Nerrok nodded and padded over to where she stood by the side of the path. Keldu, Korttie and Gerfank continued on up the path, talking about a possible lead to the north.

Nerrok arched an eyebrow at her as she switched off her com. She spoke quietly.

"I'm getting sketchy vibes from the priest. I don't like him…"

Nerrok nodded, making some show of pointing at the mountains to the east as he switched his own transmitter off, as though they were discussing routes.

"How come?" he said softly. She was relieved that he took her concern seriously.

"He's hiding something weird. I'm gonna be all friendly and stuff, see if I can figure it out. Either that, or read his logs when he's not looking. I could be way off, but I dunno… I don't like him. Just thought I'd give you the heads up."

Nerrok nodded, making more irrelevant gestures. "You do that. You're not the first that's suggested their suspicion."

Krelle nodded slightly, glad it was settled. Then she did a double-take at his pet. Seeing the cat among the forest triggered a sudden flashback to the Hinterlands.

"Hey! I recognise that cat!"

The big Orc grinned down at her. "Ya do, eh? I've only had him around for the whole trip…"

She smirked at him. "You big softy."

His grin widened as he gave in. "You didn't think I'd leave you completely on your own, did ya?"

Krelle snorted at him, grinning. He chuckled and gave her a friendly whack on the shoulder.

"Get outta here."

"Allright. Listen, if we're huntin' for sneaky types, boss, I'm going to go solo a bit, all right? I know a few hidey-holes to check out."

Nerrok nodded at her. "Go to work then," he said, becoming serious again. He always took matters regarding Booth seriously.

She saluted him, then spoke into her com again as he jogged off to rejoin the others. "Guys, I'm going to check out a few little hideouts I know of. I'll catch up with you later."

"G'nite then," Keldu's low rumble came over the com.

"Safe hunting," Korttie's voice said in her ear.

"Take care," Gerfank's voice echoed.

Oh, I will.

=Chapter Two= By Gerfank

Gerfank grumbled to himself as he handed a few coins to Inn Keeper Jayka. 5 silver just to sleep in an uncomfortable hemp hammock seemed like highway robbery to him but he was in a rush to get off his feet and collect his thoughts.

Most would find the peacefull atmosphere of Sun Rock Retreat relaxing, a place where taking time away from the real world is the number one priority but for Gerfank, it was nothing more than a place to take care of bussiness.

Gerfank found a low-hanging hammock in the back corner of the inn, far from anybody else and sat down. He quickly began running every little event that had transpired that night through his head. That Krelle...she was awfully nosey, asking all of those questions. Gerfank was sure she was put to it by Nerrok or one of the others but it didn't bother him. He was well aware of their rigorous screening and they were rightful in doing so.

Gerfank knew he couldn't keep his past a true mystery for much longer, in fact he had never even planned for this really. It had been his intent the entire time to be open with the Tong...for the most part. There were only a few more pages of his journals he had to go over and censor before he was able to turn in the papers.

"Another night," Gerfank whispered to himself as he turned onto his side and blew out the candle next to his hammock. Pulling the tattered stack of parchment he called his journals towards his chest, Gerfank closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

=Chapter Three= By Krelle

Krelle slipped into the inn through the back door, silently shutting it behind her. The innkeeper was long asleep as were the travellers staying here and she saw no reason to wake anyone. Besides, if she left before they woke it would save them the trouble of having to charge her. It wasn't really stealing. It's not like she was eating anything.

Krelle moved silently along the back of the large common room, looking for an empty hammock to borrow for a few hours. She was tired, having spent all day running through the mountain paths. Two of the hide-outs she checked had been completely empty and although the third had shown signs of use the traces were so old as to be meaningless. She sighed quietly as she moved among the sleeping forms. She had two more places to check tomorrow, but she wasn't hopeful of finding much. Booth and his old cronies seem to have left the mountains - a wise decision in the face of an approaching winter. Maybe Nerrok and the others had had some luck.

She came to the corner where she usually stayed - the hammocks in this group were too small for Tauren, and often empty - and was surprised to find the recumbent form of Gerfank in her usual spot. She paused, surveying the sleeping priest gravely.

He was sleeping deeply, no doubt also weary after a long day of searching. Keeping up with the hunters was enough to tire anyone out. He was also, she noted quickly, sleeping with his journals under one arm.

Her weariness vanished as she eyed the stack of papers. Gerfank had evidently fallen asleep with the journals clutched to his chest, but had shifted somewhat in the woven hammock and they now lay pinned between the side of his chest and his left arm. If she were careful, she could see half of every page without even lifting them.

Krelle held her breath as she stealthed, moving in close to peer at the pages. Her small fingers deftly turned back the edge of the first few, revealing many lines of tight, neat writing. Written in the Common tongue of humans.

She barred her teeth in silent frustration. Figured.

Krelle frowned stubbornly and continued through the pages. The first third or so of the packet seemed to be journal entries - she could see what looked like dates at the top of some of them, and each was signed. Her gaze lingered briefly on the signature as she deliberately memorized it.

Further on the writing became more erratic, as the style of someone taking notes in the field. There were small diagrams, mostly of different plants. Was he an alchemist? More notes, some messy scribbles, what looked like the edge of a map of Tanaris… Krelle paused as she neared the middle of the stack, her gaze lingering on a series of small equations. The notes written beside them were in Common, but she recognised the symbols and diagrams as part of the universal language of engineering. She spent a few seconds memorizing one small diagram she could see the entirety of - some kind of sorting mechanism.

She continued flipping curiously, noting that the style had switched back to neat journal entries. After several pages of this she paused, frowning. She flipped back to the first journal page that had appeared after the schematics and studied the symbols closely. Then she eased the pages back together and looked at the top of the packet again. The symbols were identical.

Checking carefully, she confirmed her suspicion. He had a second copy of nearly all of the journal entries, almost identical to the first, though some entries seemed to be a bit shorter or longer than the originals. Also, she could find no copy of the plant drawings, or field notes. There were some engineering schematics, but they were not the same as the first ones.

Krelle moved away, leaning against a neighbouring hammock-post and letting herself breathe again as she considered. It didn't take her long to come to a few conclusions. First, she could check those last two caves before noon tomorrow if she left now. Second, her hearthstone was keyed to the Undercity, where she had some useful contacts. And third, the only hard part would be tracking down Talula before Winterveil - and actually getting her attention for a few minutes.

She slipped out of the inn the same way she had entered, and the door closed silently behind her.

=Chapter Four= By Gerfank

Gerfank awoke in the middle of the night to find himself in a cold sweat and shaking.

"Not again," he muttered to himself miserably. Realizing that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep that night, Gerfank sat up in his hammock and brushed whatever lethargy remained from his eyes.

He walked up the stairs and out onto the rear balcony and took a deep breath of the fresh mountain air, hoping it would cure his tremors but it was to no avail, he continue shaking as if he himself was seated upon the Throne of Ice.

He sat himself down, dangling his legs over the balcony edge and pulled out his stack of parchments. Chewing on the end of his wand, he flipped through the pages until he came upon a particular page full of schematics, mathematical equations, and a myriad of scribblings, and began sribbling.

Sometimes problems just couldn't be solved, rather they just had to be swept under the carpet.