Rising Tension

Chapter 2
Reminiscence

"All Rise!" the peon shouted as his master entered the room. As everyone at the main table shuffled to stand their grumbling subsided, they gave their full attention to the elegantly adorned man who entered. "Please sit," he quickly said annoyed with the protocol. Walking across the room he was a true sight to behold. The Lord of Tanks, the master of their craft, his armor gleaming with the true holy power he contained as he moved. Unlike his brethren his armor made no noise as he walked, so fine was the crafting that no weakness was exposed and yet no pieces overlapped. The weapon at his side was a true force of power, and yet it paled in comparison to the man who wielded it. His skills were legendary; from his first day as a guardian of the light he had shown skills beyond that of any of his peers. Every man at the table had nothing but respect for that man, save one.

TheKunkel had come to the meeting, and even though he was presented with a seat at the table, he chose to stand in the corner. Enjoying the darkness he hardly noticed as The Lord of Tanks addressed him.

“I said thank you for joining us Shadow.”

“Oh. Yes, it was not a problem. I just moved a bit of smaller business around, nothing that couldn’t wait until a later time. I mean it’s not every day someone gets invited to attend the meeting of ‘The Lord of Tanks.’ Am I right?” His jest received only raised eyebrows of everyone in attendance.

“In any case, it was necessary to have you here, and I am honored you would attend.” The Lord of Tanks went on to describe the main reason they had been gathered. It seemed a small task force had gone missing on a routine surveillance mission, and a rescue team was sent to recover them. That rescue team was followed by an additional rescue team to rescue the first rescue team, which was then followed by a third rescue team. After all three teams and the surveillance team had been lost the council began to get concerned, so they had plans to send a final expeditionary force of the most capable men they could find. “The plan is simple; we go in and pull whatever we can of our lost teams out. I’m not hoping to stop whatever is in there at this time, but we owe it to our men to at least try to get them, or what’s left of them, home to their families.”

“This all sounds great Lord, but why was it you brought me here?” The Shadow interrupted, bored in his corner.
“You are vital to this expedition. I need the bravest and most dependable healer I can get to handle this operation and I told the committee that you were the only man for the job.”
“HA!” the shadow spurted, “and why should I help some bumbling team of morons try to go into danger and save all the bigger morons? What could you possibly offer to make me want to go?”
“Firstly my thanks.”
“Ha.”
“A hefty sum of gold.”
“Haha.”
“A medal from the Warchief.”
“HAHA.”
“The teams were lost in the depths of Karazan.”
“H… excuse me?”
“The team was investigating into new activity at Karazan.”

"WHAT?" The entire table winced as The Shadow’s eyes flared in anger. “I see,” he said calmly. “And you expect I will just drop my entire life to get revenge on Him. If you were not so attached to the success of the Horde I would blow your brain through your ears right onto this table. I’m leaving.” And he turned towards the double doors only to run abruptly into someone entering at the same moment.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” came her flowing voice.
“You should watch what you’re…” The Shadow stopped struck dumb. If it were possible for a translucent entity to blush, he would have.
“I believe you remember Clara, Shadow.” The Lord of Tanks said with a smirk, “She is leading our final rescue force.”
“Hello, Andrew,” she said.