I mentioned in the last post that Becca had a story she wanted to tell, since she was inspired by this post of mine. I’d promised to post this earlier in the day, but got caught up in a little questing and a little PVP, which I’ll cover tomorrow.

Anyway, without further ado, Becca’s story, starring her Paladin, Esmerellda, and yours truly.

It was a perfect day for fishing. The Nagrand sky was blue with nary a cloud in sight, the weather warm with a cool, refreshing breeze. Esmerellda sat on the dock in front of Sunspring Post, her feet dangling into the water as she waited patiently for a fish to come by and nibble on the line. A wonderful day indeed to be outside, enjoying the fresh air without a care in the world instead of trudging through the elemental infested wasteland of Shadowmoon Valley.

“This is dreadfully boring. Are there not supposed to be patrols of Murkbloods nearby?”

Esmerellda sighed and glanced over at her companion, who had started complaining almost non-stop after about five minutes of arriving there. “The whole point of being here is to enjoy the weather and relax, not to go out looking for trouble, Lelissa.”

The Draenei warrior shrugged. “Why can we not enjoy the weather while we do something aside from sit here?”

Before Esmerellda could respond, there was a nibble on her line, and she turned her concentration towards reeling the fish in. She had almost gotten it completely reeled in when she heard Lelissa say from behind her, “Oooo, a patrol, this should be fun! Do not worry, I will be fine!”

A quick glance behind her revealed four Murkbloods, three of which looked to be raiders and one putrifier. Figuring that Lelissa could handle them until she had gotten the fish reeled in, Esmerellda continued with what she was doing, ignoring the sounds of battle behind her.

A few minutes later, the fish safely on the dock and in a basket with others like it, Esmerellda dropped her fishing pole and grabbed her mace and shield that were sitting beside her. Lelissa had by then killed two of the four, but another three had wandered by and decided to join the battle, and a fourth was headed into the fray as well. Esmerellda headed towards that one, distracting it before it could reach Lelissa and drawing its attention onto her.

After several minutes of fighting, the Murkblood Esmerellda was fighting dropped dead to the ground. Wincing, she cast a quick healing spell on herself before seeing how Lelissa was doing.
Lelissa had thinned the ranks down until there were only two left, and as Esmerellda watched, one of those got a lucky hit off and stunned Lelissa. Another lucky hit dropped her to the ground, gasping as blood spurted from her. Esmerellda quickly cast a blessing of protection on the fallen Draenei, and the two raiders turned from Lelissa towards her.

A few quick hits with her mace had one of them down, thanks to Lelissa injuring it beforehand. The last kept dodging and parrying every strike, while getting little scrapes past Esmerellda’s defenses, until Esmerellda stunned it. Using the holy power of the light, she shocked it and managed to kill it before it could regain its senses.

Esmerellda dropped her mace and shield and ran to Lelissa’s side, summoning her holy powers to cast a healing spell on her, when Lelissa said, “Oww, I think one of them actually managed to scratch me. I really hate it when they leave a scar.”

Esmerellda blinked, and found herself lying on her back, staring up at Lelissa as the Draenei examined her arm. “What?”

“Are you alright? I think that one hit you too hard. Do not worry; I took care of him for you.”

“But…”

“You know, you are very gulamir* for a paladin. Are you sure you are not a priest?” Lelissa asked, smiling warmly at her friend as she helped Esmerellda up.

Esmerellda stared at Lelissa, and then sighed. “I could have got him without your help.”

“Certainly you could have. Except that by the time you would have killed him, it would have been three days from now. Come now; let us go pay a special visit to the Naga in Shadowmoon Valley.”

The two of them started walking towards Telaar, Lelissa chatting animatedly, happily looking forward to more challenging fights, but Esmerellda was quiet and moping beside her. Noticing this, Lelissa draped her arm about her friend’s shoulder and said, “Next time, I will only severely injure it for you so you can finish it off quickly.”

After a moment’s consideration, Esmerellda nodded happily and the two continued on their way, discussing how many would “accidentally” make it past Lelissa and to Esmerellda.

*Squishy, in Draenei