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Melchisedech
01-07-2008, 02:27 PM
"Careful, lummox!" Melchisedech rapped the orc smartly in the small of the back with his staff. "If I have to re-order this slab, I'll have you carrying it from Orgrimmar on your back, without the benefit of a zeppelin!"

The priest seethed as the bevvy of orcs, trolls, and Tauren schlepped, dropped, bungled, and slid the slabs of marble down the creaky steps into the basement of the Tarren Mill Chapel, worrying over every corner cracked unceremoniously against every beam, step, wall, or doorframe imaginable.

The only thing these idiots haven't hit is one another. He grimaced as yet another crack appeared in his doorframe. I'll be fortunate if even a third of these slabs are usable.

And yet, as the last was placed and mortared over the rough dirt floor of the cellar, he was reluctantly forced to admit that he would only have to work around a single aberration. He paid the foreman, and even handed him a few extra coins for the trouble, though he doubted the laborers would see so much as a hint of a copper. Not his problem.

As the sun set, he lit several lanterns, hanging them from rusty hooks in the rafters. It would serve nicely. Already, the room had an air of solemnity. He plucked chalk from his pouch, marking lightly where ritualistic designs would be inlaid in silver and gold, by the finest craftsmen money could buy.

He smiled, until he patted his money pouch, found its supplies rapidly dwindling. He scowled, plucking a tally from one of his hastily assembled bookshelves. The notice from the Cartel indicated that his bank accounts were running dangerously slim. He needed more money.

He sat in his rickety chair, tapping his filed talons on the edge of the table. Where could he find finances in short order? When he was alive, he'd never had these problems. Money was literally flung at him, his needs and desires provided either free or at reduced cost by those adoring masses who thronged around his every movement.

His eyes widened, and he smiled. When I was alive. His finances must still be in accounts in Stormwind. The Lordaeron accounts were surely annihilated, and those that survived would have been destroyed by unscrupulous bankers who sought to line their own pockets.

But Stormwind...

He snatched quill, inkpot, and parchment from the table, began hastily scribbling a letter. It had been so long since he saw his parents. Surely they must miss their son...

Melchisedech
01-08-2008, 09:21 AM
Melchisedech stalked along the rotting wooden planks of Booty Bay, shouldering aside blood elves, night elves, humans, and trolls alike. He clenched his Gnomish Engineer's Membership Card in his hand, alternately clenching and unclenching his talons around the expensive piece of parchment. Mercenary gnomes, almost as bad as the goblins...

Speaking of the goblins, he grabbed one by a leather ear as it tried to dart past him, ignoring its shrieks and howls of distress. One of the bruisers arched a brow threateningly, but Melchisedech waved him off with a jingle of his pouch. The goblins were willing to ignore a great deal of insult for the promise of a little shine.

"Stop squalling, I have no intention of harming you." He gave the miserable vermin a hard shake, and the caterwauling subsided to mere whimpers. The priest thrust an envelope into the goblin's hands. "Have this translated into Common... the best you have, mind you. It has to be perfect." Several coins followed. "Make sure it is sent to Richard and Amelia Cotter in Stormwind."

The goblin looked questioningly at the priest, his distress forgotten in his curiosity, but Melchisedech, rather than sate his curiosity, gave him a boot in the arse. "Move, goblin. This is of utmost importance, and if it is delivered safely, there will be several extra gold coins for you. MOVE!"

The goblin scurried away, leaving Melchisedech smiling. "Mother, Father... how I've missed you." He laughed cruelly to himself.

"Father and Mother,

How I have missed you both! These years have been hectic, agonizing. I am sure you were told I died in Lordaeron, but I live. I have finally managed to gather the finances to return home, and I hope to introduce you both to the friends who made it possible. Yes, Mother, Father, I am coming back to Stormwind.

I must be brief. The attack on Lordaeron made me a pauper. However, I have funds for us all in Stormwind, with various merchants and bankers. Enclosed are the necessary papers to access those funds, writs of access, and the like. Please, gather as much of this money as you can. When I arrive, we can use it to rebuild a life in Stormwind, away from the monsters in the North.

Much love,

Andar Cotter"