((Oh boy, this is a long one.))
As night fell on the following day, a young Kaldorei boy sat on the canal bridge. He casually dangled his feet over the ledge while humming a spooky tune to himself. A second Kaldorei, a younger girl, stepped onto the bridge. “Only you?” She called to the Night Elf boy as she approached from behind. “I only just arrived, Shy.” The boy replied to the girl, named Shylalleath. Shy looked sideways at the boy, named Sallaen. “Sal, what’s that you’re humming?”
“It’s just some chantey, or whatever. Some of the other boys were singing it, and I liked the tune.” Shy frowned. “Well, it sounds depressing.” Sal smile sadly and gave the girl a glance. “I think it’s about some witches or ghosts, or maybe witches and ghosts.” Sal seamlessly switch to speaking his Kaldorei tongue. “[It’s hard to understand the human children sometimes. Their accents vary greatly.]”
Shy nodded and leaned over the short wall to look down at the canal water. “[It’s been about a year now, and some months, but it still feels strange. Like I’ve only just arrived.]” Sal gave a sad little grunt with his reply. “[I think of home often. Especially when it gets cold and people burn their fires. The smell of the wood and the popping embers… Keeps me awake some nights.]”
Shy was about to respond when a familiar padding of feet approached. The squeal of a little voice called out to the two children. “Hey, Shy! Hey, Sal!” A young Gnome energetically scrambled up to the two children. “What’cha dooo’in?”
The two Night Elven children passed a tired glance between each other before regarding the Gnome coldly. “We’re wait’in, Idin.” Sal did his best impersonation of the Gnome’s style of speech, mocking how annoying she sounded. Before he could continue Idin cut in, her pink pig-tails bobbing as she spoke. “Oh! Oh! You’re really going to go to that old man’s haunted home?” Idin’s breath was quick as she continued speaking. “Can I come? Can I? Can I? I wana come…” And so she continued pleading for inclusion. Shy had to step over her pleas. “Alright! Alright! You can come with us, but you have to stay behind us.” Sal interjected. “And be quiet.”
Idin nodded furiously, her pink pig-tails bouncing like a pair of tethered balloons. “Are we waiting for more?” Idin carefully whispered to the pair. The two Kaldorei children rolled their eyes. “Yes.” Shy replied. Sal continued. “Ugdin.” Sal sighed. “That Dwarf is always behind.”
“Just be patient. He’ll be here!” Idin’s voice chirped up an octave before she bit her lips together, remembering that she agreed to be quiet. She whispered. “My legs may be shorter than his but he’s…” Idin stopped herself, attempting to not sound quite so insensitive. “He’s…” Unable to think of any polite way to complete that sentence she merely holds her hands out wide, none too subtlety indicating his robust stature. Just that moment, Ugdin, the young Dwarf boy, rounded the corner onto the bridge. He huffed and puffed as he climbed the gentle slope toward the others.
“Sorry 'Ahm late!” A few feet from the group Ugdin paused and bent forward to catch his breath. Hands on his knees. “Jus’ need a moment… [huff] …ta catch me wind.”
Shy looked over at Sal who smiled in return. She grimaced at him. “I still think this is a bad idea.” Sal’s demeanor turned serious. “You didn’t tell on us, did you Shy?” Shy looked shocked. “I would never!” She folded her arms. “Good!” Sal chirped with a wick grin. With a tilt of his head he beckoned the other three onward. “Let’s get going. That old man’s house is right around the corner, in the Old District.”
Ugdin scrambled behind the other three. “Why is it called the Old District?”
Idin chimed in. “He meant Old Town. I think it’s called that because it was the only part of the city to survive when…” Shy and Sal, in unison, turned back on Idin with a sharp shush, quieting the Gnome.
The four made their way through the streets of Old Town, Stormwind. The path they followed weaved through alleys and small side streets. Down one such darkened street stood the house in question. Old, run down, and in disrepair, the home itself blended in perfectly with the rest of the street. Nothing out of the ordinary at all stood out to mark the structure as being haunted. “This is it?” Idin sounded disappointed. Shy glanced nervously around, making a distinct note that they were utterly alone on that dark narrow street. “We shouldn’t be here.” Sal gave her a withering glance, conjuring a retort from her. “This isn’t the safest section of the city. Especially at night.”
“Don’t be such a baby, Shy.” Sal rebuked, and continued forward. Stepping up the first few steps onto the front stoop of the home, Sal paused and turned. “This is it. Story goes that this old man kept some really neat things in his basement.”
“What kind of things?” Ugdin did his best to hide the fearful tremor in his voice.
“I don’t know.” Sal played it cool and confident. "Maybe some heads in jars, or monkey hands, or something. All pickled and gross. What does it matter? "
The Gnome’s voice suddenly lost all it’s chipper humor. She spoke softly and seriously. “I heard he practiced dark magics.” As if that was all the final warning they needed, Idin stared up at the dark windows of the house. “Maybe we shouldn’t be here.”
Sal rebuked them. “Babies, the both of you! Let’s go Ug! You’re not a baby, are you?” Ugdin passed a terrified glance at Shy and Idin. Answering Sal’s challenge the young Dwarf swallowed hard and stepped forward. “Nah, Ah ain’t no coward!” Shy huffed. “Why am I even here?” She asked herself and followed behind Ugdin. Idin passively shrugged her shoulders and fell in behind Shy. “It’s because you have a crush on Sal.”
The door crashed open, rattled off it’s hinges, and fell loudly to the floor. A mortified Ugdin stood squarely in the door way. Sal pushed his way into the house past the frozen Dwarven boy. “I said push gently, Ug.” Ugdin immediately launched his clever defense. “I did!” Shy urged the Dwarf boy into the house behind Sal and then stepped past him. Idin followed, ignoring the party altogether. Her wide eyes peered nervously throughout the small dark room. She began numbly chattering away. “You know,” Idin began. “Last night, after we made plans, I poured over the construction prints on file in the royal registry commission about this area,” Nervously, her speech began to quicken. “and none of these buildings have basements on file. If we do find one it will be a major permit violation. We should probably report it.”
“We’re not here for that, Idin.” Sal rebuked the Gnome. Ugdin chimed in attempting to sound confident. “Yea, Idin, we’re not here for that.” The Gnome peered through the dark at the Dwarf, shooting daggers at him. “Shut up, Ug.” Ugdin recoiled at the Gnome’s rebuke. He attempted to cover his wounded pride with a dismissive shrug.
Shy suddenly grabbed hold of Sal’s arm. “Did you hear that?” She whispered. Her tone harsh with fear. “I heard something.” The other three paused suddenly. After a quiet moment passed Ugdin forced a chuckle. “Don’t scare us like that, Shy. That isn’t funny.” Sal stepped over Ugdin’s words attempting to mask his own fear. “Scare? Pft, I’m not scared. Sounded like it came from upstairs, so I’ll go up there right now and take a look around. I’m not scared.”
The four of them paused for a long breath. Sal finally glanced at the other three who looked expectantly at the Night Elf boy. “Alright! Alright!” Sal sneered. “I’m not afraid!” He took a single brave step onto the stairway and a gush of icy wind rushed down at him. It swiftly blew past the other three and lifted the door off the floor, placing it firmly back into the door jam.
A cold horse voice whispered into each of their ears. “You… should be… very afraid.”
Sal turned back at Shy. The color draining from her face, the stricken look on the Gnome’s face, and the terror wrought across the Dwarf boy’s features confirmed that they’d all heard the voice, same as he did. Sal’s neck stiffened with fright, struggling to turn his head back toward the stairs. To face whatever unimaginable horror they had unwittingly awoken.
At the top of the stairs stood a shadowy wraith-like figure. It’s empty eyes peered down at the Night Elf boy from under a dark hood. A bony ethereal arm raised, pointing an equally bony finger down at the group. Sal may or may not have soiled himself just then. The horse voice rang louder and somehow harsher in their ears. “Beware places kept by the dead.” An invisible foot slid forward and lowered the wraith heavily down onto the first step. “Lest the damned take you,” The wraith lowered itself down onto the next step. Arm still extended. Sal, Shy, Idin, and Ugdin each took two steps back toward the door. “, and the damned keep you for themselves.”
Ugdin turned and slammed himself squarely into the door, forgetting that it was now closed. He grasped frantically at the handle and pulled, turning the knob back and forth with a fervor he’d never before experienced. He had no idea that at that moment he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Idin and Shy joined in with shrill screams of their own, but none were quite as ear piercing as that produced by Sal himself. The brave and utterly self-confident Night Elf boy wept uncontrollably as he pressed himself against the door, sandwiching Ugdin in the process. The door finally relented and fell outward. Both the Dwarf and Night Elf boys fell with it and tumbled down the steps off the stoop in a bundle. Shy and Idin were not far behind. A final shrill howl from within the house set the four children running back to whence they came with tear-streaked terror-twisted faces.
Meanwhile, in the dark home, a pair of twin-stick candelabras came to life with a flickering flame. Sitting on a small table they cast a warm light about the darkened room. In its midst stood the unmistakable tall slender frame of a Night Elf woman. A pair of stumped horns marked her as Illidari. At her side stood a slightly stooped Gnome with gray (almost white) whiskers and a wild mane of the same hair. Both shared in a hearty chuckle. The old Gnome spoke first. “Well. I think we successfully scarred them all for life.”
The Illidari woman shook her head, peering out the front door. “Serves them right. They should know better than to poke around haunted places. Even if it were just rumors.”
The old Gnome chuckled again and shuffled over to an over turned seat. “I had no idea my place had become so infamous. I know I haven’t been around much lately but… haunted?” He lifted the chair and righted it. “Regardless, we may have just saved their lives.” He picked up a black wide brimmed hat from off the floor. “And with any luck,” He dusted the hat with his hand. “We didn’t ruin them too badly.”
A second dark haired Gnome, a female, stepped into the entry way from an adjacent room. She was clad as darkly as the old Gnome in robes with a turned-down hood sitting on her shoulders. A smug look of self satisfaction written across her features. The old Gnome glanced up at her once and then turned fully to her. “You don’t have too look so triumphant over it, Raven. We just scared the wits out of four children, after all.”
The Illidari woman muttered, repressing a chuckle. “We are terrible people.” Raven, the dark haired Gnome, nodded, speaking softly. “We are the worst sort.” She peered back at the old Gnome, grinning like the cat that just ate the canary. The old Gnome couldn’t hold back his own satisfied grin. He shook his head and pulled his black wide brimmed hat onto his head and made for the door outside.
“Help me with this door, eh Vesthi? I’ll send for a carpenter in the morning to set it right.” The Illidari woman unfolded her arms and stepped outside with the old Gnome. She easily lifted the door and began fitting it back into the door jam. The old Gnome quietly grunted to himself. “I’m glad you over heard them. Better this than the alternative.”
The dark haired Gnome chimed in from the other side of the door, inside the home. “Imagine if they did find your basement, Cail.” Vesthi and Cail shared a glance. Vesthi muttered down to the old Gnome. “What a mess that would have been.” The black haired Gnome then, and suddenly, spoke from behind Vesthi and Cail. Neither of which reacted adversely to her sudden appearance. “You really should consider relocating your reliquary to a safer location, Cail.” Vesthi finished setting the door and turned to the other two Gnomes. Cail nodded. “I think you’re right, but that’s a matter for another day.”
“You find what we came for?” Vesthi asked. Cail nodded with his reply. “Indeed.” He patted his belt pouch. “Let’s get going.” Raven turned then and with wild circular gestures bade the cobblestones to rise from the streets and form a demonic gate in the middle of the street. Vesthi peered down at the dark haired Gnome. “Subtle.” She quipped. “I aim to please.” Raven coolly replied, and marched through the portal. Vesthi and Cail followed after.
The swirling vortex of fel energies waned and flickered. The cobble stones fell back into the street almost exactly where they had originally laid. Almost. But for the faint flicker of fel lights, shimmering residue, and the undeniable stench of brimstone lingering in the air, none would have been the wiser.