Littleboy stood in the darkness. His eyes scanned torch lit faces out on The Rock. The Rock was old. Older than most stone in Stormwind. So many tunnels and sewers in Stormwind. So many places for orphans to run wild, for a whole world of lost boys to flourish under the eyes of the adults. The Rock was a massive slab of dark brown stone in the center of an underground intersection of canals and sewage. The Rock was reputed to hold up the Stockades, and the boys knew a few mouse holes in and out that allowed them to make money passing contraband into the prisoners, and in some cases the guards.
Over there were the Keg Dodgers from the dwarven quarter. Hauling metal and kegs around kept those boys strong, but its Toughgirl Tom that kept them in line. She was named Toughgirl in the boy’s underground lingo that named things what they weren’t especially if they were. Understand?
Like Littleboy’s Liars. They had been the Silver Lions when Littleboy first came to the sewers. They controlled the trade district. When Littleboy took over and led a ‘consolidation’ with the Pewter Candles, formerly of the Mage District they became Littleboy’s Lions, which begot Littleboy’s Lying, which everyone knows he ain’t lying. If he says your dead, your dead and that’s the truth. Now they are Littleboy’s Liars. He and the Liar’s controls all the underactivity of the Trade District and the Mage Quarter. And the mage quarter is home to more than mages.
In the corner, eyeing the Keg Dodgers were the Hard Boys of the Old Quarters. They were the oldest gang in Stormwind. The Hard Boys and the Keg Dodgers kept a hot border. Them being here together showed how much power Littleboy had gained. In the middle of The Rock huddled the Choir Boys and Tim. Tim stole the bishop’s white cat every morning and sold him on the canals. The bishop tracked it down somehow and Tim steals him again. No one gets it, but Tim just keeps smiling and selling that white cat.
Further off, in the shadows barely visible to Littleboy was the Powder Lads from Ironforge. They were little. The orphans of dwarves and gnomes, some of them barely 18 inches tall, but if you messed with them, they would blow off your hand. None of the human gangs felt comfortable with them around, but Littleboy swelled to see them there. Dang, even the Powder Lads had come to the meet.
The Rock was traditional neutral ground in the Stormwind gangland. And Littleboy had managed to call them all into a Meet and Tell.
Littleboy stepped forward into the pool of flickering orange light hushing the nervous chatter that had been echoing through the tunnels and passages.
Toughgirl stepped forward and yelled, “There better be a good point for you calling a Meet and Tell. Ain’t been one is ages it seem like. Why we here Littleboy?” His highpitched voice echoed out of the shadows.
“Tim and the Choirboys, welcome. Toughgirl and KegDodgers, welcome, Hard Boys, and Powder Lads, all are welcome, and all will be glad they were here when this day is over, because it is the dawn of a new day. No more living on scraps, we can get some real juice, some real power, who’s with me!” He raised his fist in the air, and the Liars he had planted around cheered, but it wasn’t enough. “I know a Meet ain’t nothing without a Tell, so before I go any further with this deal, lets get to the Tell.” All the boys subconsciously slid a little closer, they all knew that Littleboy had the best tells and they were always true.
“Now here is the Tell and every word of it is true. When we took over the Mage Quarter, we found out their biggest secret. Under the Slaughtered Lamb there are tombs and tunnels that go down deep and we found some mouse holes to get up in there and we contacted a warlock. They respected us and gave us some work and then the strongest of them all came to me and she said, ‘Your potential is endless’. We start taking care of some work for her and she starts taking care of us. You hears of me getting caught by the guards with their payroll in my pockets and walking away laughing? That was because of the Warlock.” Littleboy’s hand slipped up to the sack hanging around his neck. A green glow could be seen through the fabric in the darkness.
“Come with me Littleboy, I have need of you, and so off I went. I am going to be the youngest Warlock to every get her Felsteed, and you will help me. So off I went with the Warlock. She took me all around the world and I watched her murder demons by the dozens. She would kill a Felhound and scoop outs its brains, then she would rip the wings off Succubi, and the drain the blood of Reavers. Over and over she did this and made me carry all this carnage. I will tell you all know true. I was scared for my life. Next, she had us head further south until I saw a demon as tall as a building. ‘Lord Azrethoc, I want my Felsteed now! I have brought you tribute, give me my steed.’ With a voice I never want to hear again, the demon royalty responded, “Little Warlock you presume to much, you must wait until your peers deem you worthy,” Well, the warlock didn’t like that,
“No Lord Azrethoc, you presume to much, you can’t do what I ask? Then lets see if you will do what I command,!” and with a few gestures that massive demon took a knee before her. “I can’t do as you ask my lady, only the greatest demon currently in the realm can freely give you a Felsteed before your time, only Lord Kazzak can do what you ask.” The warlock screamed and kicked the giant demon about a hundred times and then commanded him to walk around and smash about a hundred centaurs. She was merciless, and she just laughed at his rage the whole time. She terrified me, but I realized that I could get what we wanted from her.
The next day found me in the Blasted lands, serving the terrifying warlock, on her quest for her Felsteed. We arrived in the Blasted Lands and the Warlock was a force of death incarnate, all that stood in her way died. Finally, after leaving a trail of corpses behind her, the Warlock confronted Lord Kazzak. I before said the Lord Azrethoc was as large as a tower, well I tell you true, that Lord Kazzak is as tall as a mountain and his wrath is great. He attacked the warlock at full speed and they waged a fight that lasted for 3 days and 2 nights, and as the sun was setting on the third day of their epic battle, Lord Kazzak took to his knees, and bellowed, “Curse you Warlock, like a hero of the ages have you battled me, but we are both exhausted and this battle must be called a draw.” The warlock smiled at this, “There can be no draw, I challenge you to a game of sport for this battle. One final test to determine this struggle, for this battle was too legendary to end in a draw.” The gigantic demon shook his head, and almost seemed to laugh, “Fine warlock, I accept your challenge, what game of sport shall we contend to conclude our battles?”
The Warlock’s smile terrified me more than that of the massive demon, because this battle had gone exactly as she predicted, and she was in exactly the situation she had prepared me for. “I challenge you to a Thumb War!” I tell you this true, boys, I never can expect to see anything as odd as the expression on Lord Kazzak’s face when he heard her challenge. “Little warlock we can’t Thumb Wrestle, my thumb is three times longer than your whole body.” “That isn’t my problem, Kazzak, failure to meet a challenge is a forfeit of the challenge” she howled at the demon lord. It was here the I came to the plan.
“Lord Kazzak, I will be your champion. I will thumb wrestle her on your behalf,” I mumbled terrified to draw the attention of such a powerful force. Lord Kazzak looked down at me and squinted, “Where, by the Void, did you come from?” asked the demon.
“I’m really a big fan of yours and was hoping to get an autograph, but you were fighting with that amazing warlock and so I waited to see you win. It would be an honor for me to fight in your place, Lord Kazzak,” and I bowed a low as I could and hoped I wouldn’t get smooshed.
“This will undoubtedly go down as the oddest day of all my years. I accept you was my champion. However, I warn you, if you fail me, I will kill you immediately.”
“I understand my Lord,” I managed to mutter between my chattering teeth.
I walked up to the Warlock, put my hand in hers and primed my thumb. She coughed and yelled, “So to be clear Kazzak, I win I get my Felsteed and you win, and I reap a thousand souls for you.” “Agreed warlock” bellowed the demon lord.
No sooner than the voice of Lord Kazzak stopped echoing off the walls and my thumb was pinned. “I win, I win, I’m a winner, and you are a big fat loser, give me my Felsteed, Kazzak.”
“Of course, warlock, I just have a small matter to take care of first,” and with that Lord Kazzak stomped on me like a bug, killing me flat.
Not a sound could be heard on The Rock.
Tim coughed, “Now I would never call you a liar, Littleboy, but you appear to be very much alive.”
“Ahhhh”, screamed Toughgirl and half of the Hard Boys as the warlock stepped into the light.
“Telling lies is wrong”, her hand snaked out of the shadows and she slit Littleboy’s throat. A wave of blood erupted from his neck, and a second later Littleboy slumped to the ground with a sickening thud.
“I’m Wicked, the Wicked Warlock, and you all work for me now. I run the underground and I run you. And I tell you now, that every word that Littleboy told you was true. That is how I got my felsteed”.
“Ahhhh”, screamed Toughgirl and half of the Hard Boys as Littleboy stepped into the light.
“Wicked takes cares of those that work for her, and not all of her gems are green, but as I Tells it, Wicked runs all the gangs now and if you don’t like it you tell both of us right now and here”, Littleboy rasped as his neck knitted closed before the eyes of all the boys.
It started low, and Littleboy knew it was his Liars scattered amongst the other gangs starting it, but soon the rest joined in and a chorus rung up out of the sewers and throughout the city of Stormwind, up from every sewer and echoing in every water closet, “wicked wicked wicked Wicked Wicked Wicked WICKED WICKED WICKED……”