Of angry draenei and frozen penguins

It’s rare to see an angry draenei. I don’t mean they’re rare, it’s just rare to see them, because they’re usually angry when no one can see them. They like to pretend they’re above our petty emotions, but they’re just as much subject to them as everyone else. They’re just very… conceited about their emotional state and hide it under layers of seeming self-control. But sometimes, you can actually find one that appears openly angry and even pursues a personal agenda. I talked to one of those some time ago. His name is Zovaar, and he traveled in time attempting to bring back his family. He apparently used to be a paladin but got broken and went with some krokul into this temporal escapade. Imagine my surprise when this (lesser) enemy of the Timewalkers shows up on my doorstep.

Apparently he was still a very obedient kind of guy, although his allegiances switched. He served that krokul I mentioned, that I talked to a few times. I don’t remember her name, but I remember Zovaar referring to her as a female. So they were traveling the timeways together and attempting to fulfill their respective goals when something struck that krokul and she apparently told Zovaar to join us. She named me specifically for whatever reason and told him to work for me. I don’t know if she was under the impression that I still use the rift to travel in time, but whichever way, he was here and he wanted to be hired. So I told him I’ll test him to see what he can do.

He finally wrote for me a paper about enchanting and the things he wanted to research about it, but this guy will clearly be more important on the front lines, being a former paladin and all. So I run him through a combat test. I didn’t have time to set up any fake scenarios with any liches or other creatures, so I just called up a few stronger fighters in my employ to organize a small arena-type event. I didn’t predict the gnolls and murlocs would got the wind of it, so when we arrived there was already a crowd gathered around the pit. Because people asked why we have a combat pit – it’s because gnolls wanted it for some score-settling and so on. So I just had the porters dig up a hole and ramp it off. Anyway…

Zovaar fought well, but he probably didn’t expect what I thrown at him. First was the qiraji worker, who’s apparently named Skattar, who cast some basic, weak shadow spells (I could cast stronger ones when I was twenty) and summoned some bugs, while quoting various lesser villains. Unsurprisingly, the draenei made a quick work of him and I called off the fight before anyone died. Next up, I called Vikoka, that naga myrmidon. Obviously, the new recruit never fought a myrmidon before, because he charged right into him and got netted up immediately. This time I think the naga would have won, but Vikoka was getting way too angry and called it off before he lost control. I wanted Aeresham to go next to provide the challenge of fighting a self-healing opponent, but he told me off about being busy with research. It’s his main task now, so I let him do his job. The final opponent was Yu Gwai. I must say, I thought Zovaar would fare worse against him. After all, Yu Gwai is thousands of years old, with the health of a strong mogu, and some really good weapons. They danced around a bit, and in the end Zovaar used some enchant that would allegedly blow Yu Gwai’s cannonball right back but I called it off right there. I decided, he’s good enough, he can stay.

So the first mission I sent him on… well, kinda mission. There’s this gargoyle who lives and works on Darfell. Apparently he’s from that Djedsut my brother visited. So that gargoyle was pestering me about some stasis unit he acquired that he thought would be very useful to me. I thought, it could be useful but it’s not a big priority, so after some whining I sent Zovaar and Hwarne after it. Turns out it wasn’t just a magical fridge. It was specifically a containment unit that some tol’vir like to use to imprison people who cross them and to transport them to their new holding facilities. My crew figured out the enchants were mostly seals, and Zovaar recognized a symbol or two written on the stasis unit, learning this is meant for people. Bondo (or Mondo, or Condo, whatever, the gargoyle) swore there can’t possibly be anyone inside. So my people thought, even if there is someone, we’re going to just dump him out and keep the unit.

Zovaar carried it back here and brought it to me. I immediately called Menrim, since the writing was in Tol’vir. That’s when he read the full text – it was indeed sealed for transportation of a prisoner, but the inscription halted too early. He had just one conclusion – the prisoner must be still inside, and the stasis unit was intercepted, probably stolen, before the transport was finished. Then it made its way to Bondo, and from him to us. Either way, we thought we’re still going with our plan and Hwarne instructed Zovaar where exactly to disenchant, as the stasis unit was made by dohwars. But here’s the best part – inside was Hwarne’s missing husband! Don’t expect me to tell you his name, but she was absolutely sure it was him, so I sent him to Mehrzad.

Until the next day, the new penguin remained unconscious despite Mehrzad’s best efforts. The djinn told us the dohwar was slowly healing, but I needed to talk to him, so I cooked up a cocktail that would wake up the dead. Well, not literally, I’m not a necromancer, but you get the meaning. So the guy obviously woke up and it turned out he actually was Hwarne’s husband. I wanted to get rid of him as soon as he was better, but Hwarne made a scene about how dohwar couples are inseparable and she has to have him around, so I decided I’ll let him stay, if he’s not an obstruction to anyone and earns his keep.

I heard ethereals talk about how annoying can dohwar couples be, and how they should be kept apart to weaken them, so I’m still not sure if I’m making the right call. But if makes Hwarne work better for me, I think I’ll live with this. Now, let’s hope the “enemy of the Timewalkers playing an obedient little pawn” doesn’t blow up in my face either…