"'Uzumaki'?" asked Kierahl. "Isn't that your name?"
"Yeah, I didn't know I had any relatives," said Naruto.
"..." Naruto blinked some more.
"Naruto?" asked Kierahl, concerned when it looked like Naruto had been hit with some sort of stunning attack.
"Naruto?" asked Selraiha, looking around for enemy spellcasters.
"Naruto?" asked a bush.
"Arcane Barrage!" cast Selraiha at the bush.
A form leapt out.
"So what IS a 'Death Knight'?" asked Kushina.
"Here," said Jiraiya. "One of the more experienced members of the guild prepared you some equipment."
Kushina glanced at the older ninja as he left the room, then considered the odd stuff in front of her.
The odd horned woman shut the door. "I'm just here if you have any additional questions."
"I don't know what any of this stuff is," confessed Kushina. "For example, there's this-"
| Light-Etched Longsword of the Tiger +11 Agility +11 Strength 89-165 Damage, Speed 2.6 48.8 Damage per second Durability: 75/75 |
"Wha?" asked Kushina, staring at the sword.
"When you imprinted your book, some basic abilities came with it," said Dekthena. "That is one. You have basic information on items that you examine."
"When did I get a book much less imprint it?" asked Kushina.
"It was apparently one of the items you picked up and threw at a nurse," said Dekthena.
"Ah," said Kushina, looking at the armor and deciding that just about anything was better than just the thin robe the hospital had provided.
"Ouch! That was not called for!"
"You sneak around in bushes, that's what you get!"
"I'm a ROGUE! Sneaking is what we DO!"
"What is it with you and all the blood elves?" asked Zelraiha, frowning at Naruto.
"Well, I can't speak for everyone," said the short-haired blonde with the long ears, "just for myself and a few friends."
Dead silence for at least five seconds followed.
"'Few friends'?" asked Zelraiha.
"And how come we're all able to speak instead of you coming out with garbled nonsense?" asked Kierahl.
"Which question you want me to answer?" asked the blonde elf.
"Both actually," said Naruto, making a dozen shadow clones to go scout through the area and make sure he wasn't going to get pounced.
"That look is just concerning," said Zelraiha, noting the blood elf' expression when Naruto had done that. When the elf tried to change that expression, Zelraiha winced. "And don't bother trying to look 'innocent' - I doubt you've been that since you were six."
"You do seem to know a bit about blood elf society," admitted the blonde.
"Just answer the questions," tried Kierahl.
"I'm a go-between, not allied with Horde or Alliance," said the blood elf. "I represent a few interested parties, some of whom are Horde and therefore can't speak with you directly. I think you met one - an orc Warlock."
"Oh, THAT guy," said Naruto, snapping his fingers.
"You're with the Darkmoon Faire too?" asked Zelraiha.
"No, Shattrath actually," answered the blood elf. "Scryers faction. As to why the interest in Lord Naruto - the being known as 'Kurama' interests Warlocks and blood elf as well."
"Who's 'Kurama'?" asked Naruto.
The blood elf pointed.
"You named your..." Zelraiha asked, looking somewhere below Naruto's belly.
"Wha? NO!" responded Naruto.
"So it's a 'kurama'? Why would that interest Warlocks though?" asked Kierahl.
"I'm telling you, that's not the case!" insisted Naruto, bringing his forearms together in an 'X' in front of his chest.
"Uhm, that isn't what I was pointing at," said the blood elf.
"No?" asked Zelraiha. "Too bad. I thought we were finally going to talk about that subject."
"No, nuh-uh, not happening," said Naruto.
"So, if not that, what exactly IS a 'kurama'?" asked Kierahl.
"Good question," said the blood elf. "Some say it's a demon sealed within Naruto. Others say it is not a demon so much as a sentient mass of magic. Still others say it is a part of a demon."
Zelraiha and Kierahl exchanged a look from where they were flanking Naruto, the night elf Monk frowning and the draenei Priest looking puzzled.
Finally Zelraiha asked. "Exactly how many people are discussing Naruto anyway?"
"In Shattrath? Maybe four or five-" began the Rogue, thinking about it.
Zelraiha relaxed a bit.
"-dozen," finished the Rogue. "Maybe two or three hundred total."
Zelraiha and Kierahl looked at each other for a moment.
"Two or three hundred people are talking about ME?!" asked Naruto. He paused for a moment. "They're all talking about my 'kurama'?"
"Well, yes," admitted the Rogue.
"HAH! Take THAT, Sasuke!" yelled Naruto out to the world in general.
"Who's 'Sasuke'? Your lover?" asked the blood elf.
"NO!" said Naruto. "Sasuke's a GUY!"
"So? Is THAT why you didn't respond to my seduction attempt?" asked Kierahl.
"NO! And... you tried to do what?" asked Naruto, feeling a lot more lost and confused than usual.
"It would explain a lot," noted Zelraiha.
"Sasuke is my rival, my team-mate, my friend. Sorta kinda. Except for him going off and betraying the village to study under Orochimaru who just wants him for his body," tried to explain Naruto.
"So it's a love triangle between you, this Sasuke, and someone named Orochimaru?" asked the Rogue. Now this was the sort of thing that would have the gossips going full-time.
Aware that three people were now currently hanging onto everything he was saying, Naruto tried to come up with an explanation that was NOT subject to bizarre misinterpretation.
"No. There is no love. No triangle. Nothing like that." Naruto tried to be calm. "There's this guy named Orochimaru. Older. Really really strong. Traitor to my village. Does weird experiments with people to turn 'em into monsters."
"Oh, like some of the Forsaken," said the blood elf. "Does a lot of weird creepy things and sometimes it seems as if he does it just to be weird and creepy?"
"YES!" said Naruto, pointing at the blood elf. "That's exactly right! He even wears the skins of people he killed to impersonate 'em!"
"Ah," said the blood elf. So a high level Forsaken Warlock, probably an Alchemist with Skinning. Might be some kind of Lich King in training.
"That sounds rather disgusting," said Zelraiha.
"Yeah! Anyway, he kinda promised to help Sasuke get stronger but I heard he steals bodies," said Naruto.
"So he helps train the body to raise their levels, so that when he takes over the body it can handle his power," said the blood elf. "Okay, I follow you."
Naruto paused as that had been an angle he hadn't considered but it made a certain degree of sense that way.
"Not a love triangle then, a pity that," said the Rogue.
"No kidding," said Kierahl.
"A surprising point to agree on," agreed Zelraiha.
"Interesting," said Jiraiya as Kushina and Dekthena walked out of the room.
"It feels oddly comforting," said Kushina, rapping an armored knuckle against an equally armored breastplate.
[Imperial Plate Helm]
[Imperial Plate Chest]
[Imperial Plate Leggings]
[Imperial Plate Boots]
[Thorium Bracers]
[Elder's Cloak Of Intellect]
[Light-Etched Longsword of the Tiger]
[Ornate Thorium Handaxe]
"Yes," said Dekthena in her usual thick accent. "She seems quite ready to unleash upon Azeroth."
"First though," said Kushina. "Where's my son?"
Dekthena gestured. "Ah, there's a crystal ball over here, we can check up on him and make sure he's not out on some long involved quest."
"Oh come on, let me see your great big 'kurama'!"
"I don't wanna! Didn't you say that wasn't it?!"
"Well, I admit I am quite curious myself."
"I don't think we should be doing that here."
"Kel? You're backing out?"
"No, I think we should go to the inn. They've got rooms for this sort of thing."
"NOT HELPING!"
"No? Oh look at that."
All three looked at where Kelraiha was pointing.
The kobold dropped the pick he was holding, staring. "Candle?"
Kushina frowned at the crystal ball before turning her attention to Jiraiya. "What exactly have you been teaching my son?"
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(Posted Sat, 24 Aug 2013 14:24)
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