Profession trainers, as it turned out, were helpful people full of advice on how useful their own special trade could be.
Could it be any surprise, then, that as each Naruto clone ran to a different one they quickly got converted by the sales speeches, and shouted "Yes!" when asked if they wanted to learn that skill?
When they got back to the real one, Naruto began looking over the leveling guide pamphlets the trainers hand out to new apprentices while happily dispelling his clones.
This time psychic backlash knocked him out as he suddenly learned nearly a dozen trades all at once.
Luckily they were only of the apprentice level as yet.
Temari lighted with the real Naruto off the back of one of the Raid member's flying mounts, thanked her for the ride, then stared up at the cave mouth before her while Naruto ran up the skull-like rock face.
The raid member who'd landed them watched Naruto go up the rocks in confusion. Not only could you NOT just walk up there, but.. "What's he going up there for? Those venders haven't camped there, since..." her eyes bugged out wide as she saw Naruto start back down the rock face holding a couple of recipes.
Ignoring her, Temari asked, "So, what is this place?"
Haku reformed from one of two Ghost Wolves beside her, the other remained panting at her side, and answered Temari's question, "It's called the Wailing Caverns."
"And what are we doing here? Isn't this Horde territory?" the wind mistress asked in concern.
Haku nodded, and having done some research, answered, "There are night elves inside - an allied species. I've heard there is some source of energy inside they tried to tap, and it had detrimental effects on their sanity. They've been trapped here, getting preyed upon by the Horde ever since. Naruto heard about them, and wants to rescue them - especially before the Kyubi arrives. But to do that we'll probably be forced to capture and subdue them."
Temari unlimbered her giant fan, grinning smugly. "Well, it's not like we haven't done that to thousands of human bandits all over Redridge, Westfall and Elwynn Forest. How full is Stormwind's Stockade?"
"Several times its listed capacity, even after several emergency overnight expansion projects. I've heard they are sleeping four to a bunk down there, even with the prison five times it's former size and ten times as many bunks per room; and it's only going to get worse, as we'll probably have to send these night elves there. Unless you can think of another Alliance prison?"
"Haven't heard of one yet, no." Temari answered reasonably, smoothly confident it was none of her problem what these Alliance types did with their prisoners. She cocked her head, "Hasn't the fighting down there gotten pretty intense?"
Haku nodded. "That is what I've heard."
"Why? I thought those Defias bandits were all on the same side, some sort of Brotherhood."
"They are training each other," Haku surmised. "It's the only thing that makes sense: just like a ninja would in their circumstance, they are sparring and practicing techniques. The violence also prevents the guards from having ability to identify specific prisoners, so they cannot haul out the ringleaders for their executions and trials. I have overheard the warden complaining that they are planning a breakout soon, and he may not be able to stop them. There has even been talk of calling several army units back in case the prisoners stage a revolt."
Both girls looked to where the raid members guarding them had set up positions above them, and were in the process of erecting a large Alliance standard with a toad featured prominently on it, hoping to warn the Kyubi away if it came close - not that anyone was relying on it. Everyone was supposed to Hearthstone the instant the Kyubi got sighted, if it came their way.
The Kyubi was presently destroying the goblin city of Ratchet, which was uncomfortably close. Massive explosions were going off over there that could even be seen over the horizon. So at least they were keeping it busy, not going down without a fight, and while explosions rocked the earth they could be sure both sides were still fully engaged with each other.
They could only hope that would go on for a while.
Temari steeled herself. She was a ninja. It didn't matter if the job was dangerous, a ninja just went ahead as best she could, and it looked like this was the only chance they'd have at this particular mission. They had Hearthstones, and a group flying on overwatch keeping an eye on the Kyubi in case it disengaged, or finished off Ratchet. The odds right now were as good as they were going to get for this.
Two druids popped up out of travel forms. "So!" cried Naruto in excitement, "Are we ready for this? Let's go inside!"
"Use the meeting stone to summon Shion first."
An orc and a troll both appeared amidst the ruins of Ogrimmar. Both paled and then began scrambling as quickly as they could out of that death trap, stumbling over loose rocks and scorched dirt and choking on clouds of dust and ash as they did their best to get out of there as fast as their bones could travel. One was fortunate enough to have a flying mount and took wing, another ran to the coast to try and swim for it, while four more appeared behind them and began their own desperate, mad rushes to escape along the land roads - and would ultimately meet the beast outside Ratchet.
The Horde had problems.
Not ten seconds ago those scared refugees had been hiding safely in Alliance territory. Heck, raids on the Alliance had been a Horde sport since the last war ended, they were often as familiar with it as their own, and no one could easily count the number of neutral territories that both had outposts in. When Ogrimmar burnt down to the ground, the first reflex of the survivors had been to run for safety, and Alliance territory was the one place it was suspected that impossibly resilient demon wouldn't go!
Something about it's summoner being human. No one as yet understood it.
But the horde had always taken what it had by the strength of the swords and spells of its members. Their might was their right. Only now with tens of thousands of their best fighters permanently dead, they were having trouble holding on to what they had, as Alliance types enjoyed a new sport of flying around searching out pockets of hordies as they hid on Alliance territory, hoping to force them to hearthstone on the chance that would take them to Ogrimmar.
Far too often it did. And as more and more horde outposts fell, Alliance mages performed rituals on the ruins of those newly destroyed inns, shunting hearthstones that had been set to those places back to the ruins of Ogrimmar, where the orange demon beast often thinned their numbers by quite a bit before they could manage escaping.
The last war had not been so devastating to orc numbers, and all the Alliance was doing, all it had to do was just keep tipping things so hordies kept falling back into the orange demon's clutches.
They were steadily being annihilated and didn't know what to do about that. The fact that they were losing disputed border territories right and left seemed so trivial by comparison as not to deserve notice!
But it did keep cutting down on places to hide.
In the vaulted halls of the blood elf capital, an adviser carefully approached their ruler. "You know, if the permanent transport portal to Ogrimmar had been left open even moments longer, thousands of orcs could have been spared."
"Yes, I know," their leader returned coldly.
"And we will not permit them to refuge here?" the adviser sought to clarify their position. "Much could be gained by the concessions forced in return for such a thing."
The regent lord delicately cut a blossom off a potted flame rose. "We joined the horde not out of love for orcs, but out of a necessity of having allies after human generals betrayed us. Should the orcs prove insufficiently strong to survive without our aid, they are worthy only of extinction."
And with that the regent crushed the delicate blossom in his mailed fist, and casually walked away.
And the Third Hokage is staring at him.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Sapphire Cat
(Posted Sun, 02 Jun 2013 05:58)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.