World Tree MUSH

    It was, in fact, a lovely day for a picnic. In some wild area of the West Coast of the New World, away from the hustle and bustle of the colonial cities (where Evie had little interest in interacting with the populace and contaminating their history), she was enjoying an afternoon sea-side. Her jacket was hung against the roots of a long-fallen tree. Her cane was at her side, and she was reclined, relaxed against the wood, feeling the sunlight on her face as she reviewed the paths she knew between worlds. The waves crested on the wild, rocky beach, drifting back between the pebbles and wave-worn rocks. Ancient pines and evergreens loomed, casting their green-violet shade in the early afternoon light on the edge of what would one day be called Canada. 

    It was, indeed, a relatively peaceful day. Perfect time for unexpected company.

 
      SOME TIME AGO 
      AZEROTH 
 
     "A fine bloody mess I got myself in." A voice echoed in the darkness of the deep caverns. It had seemed like a regular underground expedition at first. Muradin Bronzebeard, thane of Ironforge, had grown bored with just laying about overseeing war operations and craved some action. He had therefore decided that it would be a good idea to go for a little dungeon crawling expedition into the outlaying areas of the undead infested city of Andorhal. The Alliance always wanted to retake the city, but failed in numerous occassions. However, Muradin thought, perhaps there would be an easier way underground. 
      "A dwarf getting lost underground. Wait till me brothers get a load of this." Muttered the Mountain King as he now found himself totally lost some miles under the city of Andorhal. Only his lantern lighting the way for him to go. According to his calculations however, he should be relatively under Andorhal, and trusting his dwarven senses his raised his pick axe and swung at an upwards angle to try and get back above ground. 
 
      PRESENT TIME 
 
      THE NEW WORLD 
 
 The sound of ground giving way to a metal instrument would be heard close to Evie's camp. It sounded as if there was a person hitting the ground with a pick axe from underneath. Moments later, dirt and rock would fly upward as a mining pick was thrusted out from the ground, and out came a short, stocky bearded man covered in dirt. "Wot!?" The man said with an accent that sounded surprisingly similar to Welsh. "Where the sod am I!?" Boy, Muradin really took a wrong turn somewhere-- this place looked nothing like Andorhal!

    It was the metallic ringing that caught her attention. Evie raised her eyes to the distant horizon, and takes a deep breath before she folds her book and tucks it in her rucksack, and gives a look around. The ringing appears to come from underground -- and at first she suspects something like the friendly monsters she's made acquaintence to, or some sort of creature like her acquaintence, Hornet. 

    But no. It's a rude little man. 

    Evie raises one arm to shield her eyes, her jacket slung over her shoulders easily as this beared, dirty man errupts out of the ground. 

    "I'm afraid you've rather taken a turn, /Sir/." Evie states, brushing dirt off her jacket as she stands. Her hood's down for now, showing her braided brown hair and her freckles.

 
 "I'll soddin' say!" Though Muradin is absolutely flabbergasted on just utterly -wrong- his sense of direction appears to be, he is at least somewhat relieved that the person greeting him is a human lass. Wherever he happens to be, at least he can take some solace that its at least in Alliance controlled territory. 
 
 Or so he thinks anyway. 
 
 Muradin jumps out from the little hole he made to hop back to the ground proper. The metal greaves that are his combat boots kicking up quite a bit of dust as he stands to his staggeringly short height of five feet. He dusts himself slightly, not that it really makes much of a difference as he's currently covered from head to toe in dirt, and looks over to Evie with some sort of familiarity. Surely, he thinks, this woman must have at least some passing knowladge of the Mountain King, and Muradin polishes his Alliance insignia a little just to ensure that Evie knows who she's addressing. 
 
 "Ello there, lass! Could ye tell me wot's this place called? Canna say I recognize it!"

    "Well. If my calculations are correct, in something like one hundred fifty years this is going to be Vancouver, I'm afraid I don't know the local tongue or have met any of the native population to say what it's currently named." she states, and she regards the dwarf with a curious expression. She looks at the insignia a moment, her lips pursing, and she crosses her arms. 

    "And from where did you come from?" she inquires politely. She has no insignia on her, other than the dark jacket with violet lining she's largely unremarkable.

 
 ....... 
 
 "Wot!?" Muradin's eyes widen in visible confusion as he leans forward. "Vancouver?? Canna say I've ever 'eard of the place." Must be a small town, thinks Muradin.. it's the only explanation to one who is decidedly sure he has traveled every inch of Azeroth. But what's this about not knowing the local tongue or the native population? Could he be in Horde territory after all? 
 
 He is pulled away from his thoughts when Evie asks where he's from, and such a question draws more confusion from him even more so that being told he's in a place called Vancouver. Or rather -will- be Vancouver. What was all that about anyway? 
 
 "Eh!? Surely ye jest, lass! Isn't it obvious!?" Muradin puts his fists on his hips and puffs his chest out proudly, his half plate armor, dirtied as it may be, in full display. "I'm from Ironforge! Don't ye know who I am?" Sure, he realizes that Evie has nothing on her person that shows her allegiances, but he figures a human would recognize one of the major Alliance leaders. He is after all a king in his own right.

    "Not in the slightest." Evie states as she watches him puff out his chest. "I'm afraid I've never heard of a place called Ironforge, likely no more than you've heard of a city called London." she explains, and sits down on the trunk of the fallen tree and gives Muradin a sad sort of look. 

    "I'm afraid you're on a planet called 'Earth', a country that once it gains independence will be called Canada, and in the /city/ of Vancouver. My name is Evie Frye, and I'm from about a hundred years in the future from this point in time."

      Oh come on! 
 
 Muradin looks about ready to complain that Evie doesn't know royalty when she sees it, up until she starts dropping names that surely enough Muradin has never heard about. "Well, yer right about that last one." London? Never heard of it. Earth? What kind of name for a planet is Earth!? Might as well call it, Dirt. And Canada? Yeah, he has no idea what's going on. 
 
 "Oookaay! I... think I might have hit me head on a rock on the way up 'ere." He checks his helmet, but can't find a dent on it or anything. Rubbing his beard and sweating slightly, the dwarf fears that he went and got amnesia again. That would be quite a bother actually, and fearing the worst he starts thinking of ways to look at this little incident in a manner that makes sense. 
 
 "Oh wait! I know!" He grins and points somewhat accusingly at Evie. "Aaahahah!! Ye almost got me there, ye wee little dragonling! Ye must be part of the Bronze Dragonflight. Only blokes I know that deal with time jumping shenanigans. Alright, ye had yer fun with me already, just cut the illusions and tell me wot ye want me ta do. Ye know I won't say no to a quest anyways!" 
 
 This guy is just totally and utterly lost. 

    Evie raises her eyebrows, and she gives a soft sigh. She rubs the back of her head a moment as she looks at the dwarf, and leans herself forward, leaning her elbows on her knees. 

    "I'm afraid I'm quite human." she explains quietly. "You've crossed some sort of barrier between realities, part of a massive complex called 'the world tree', apparently." 

    "Might I have your name, sir?"

 
 Muradin sees that Evie is not budging, and something about the woman's demenour tells him she's not one for jesting. Oh no, she seems quite serious indeed. 
 
 That makes Muradin's sweat cold, and he seems momentarily paralyzed as fear of the unknown grips him. Not the first time that he finds himself in a strange land with strange yet familiar people. Evie looks like any human he has ever seen, but now, after her explanations and attitude she appears to be utterly alien to the Mountain King. 
 
 And yet, dwarves are of a stout sort. Muradin's confidence returns to him after a brief moment of panic. He right himself up and draws in calming breath through his nose. If he is indeed in an alien world then that makes him an Azeroth representative, and that means making a good impression! 
 
 Funny, if Azeroth were to send a representative, a dwarf would be about the least likely candidate... but, he is here now so.. 
 
 "Right." He clears his throat, plucky attitude momentarily suppressed as he takes on a royal demeanor. 
 
 "I am Muradin Bronzebeard, High Thane of Ironforge, Member of the Council of the Three Hammers." He pauses, thinking that if Evie is not from Azeroth, then he must put out an universal title. Something that explains who he is regardless of where he might be. 
 
 "King under the Mountain." He says lastly. 

    Evie can be friendly. She just doesn't have the raw charm her brother has. Never had. She watches as Muradin straightens himself out, and takes on a new demeanor, a commanding air, someone who's used to being listened to. 

    She gives a wry smile, and a nod of her head. "Your majesty." she states, recognizing at least that he is royalty, and she offers a gloved hand to shake "Evie Frye. I'm afraid I have little airs and no title, simply something of a rogue scholar." she introduces herself plainly. "Then Ironforge is the seat of your power?" she inquires politely.

 
 "Aye.." Evie has caught Muradin in rare form, he's usually far more certain of himself, but being dimensionally displaced for the first time will throw just about everyone out of their loop. 
 
 "That would be it, ol' Ironforge." He extends his hand to shake-- realiezes that he's covered in dirt-- and takes his glove off to offer the lady a more proper greeting. He clasps her hand with his own, and though he may be a king, his hands are that of a miner, large and with calloused palms, no stranger to rough work. For his part, Muradin takes a brief glance to Evie's hand and notices some a curious bracer. As a proper dwarf he can't help but to admire the craftmanship there, but not even his dwarven eyes are trained enough to notice that Evie's bracer might be concealing a blade. 
 
 "That's alright, lass. It's good to be greeted by an agreeable sort like yers." Grins the dwarf before he dusts some more dirt from his beard. "Me apologies, I realize I'm a wee bit of a mess." Though at least he's just covered in dirt and not also with beer and blood as he is on the average evening. 
 
 "I suppose it's me turn then? I hail from the lands of Khaz Modan.. in a world called Azeroth. I was on me way to a mission but uh.. I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere down there!" He glances to the hole in the ground he made, then back to Evie. "Damn, did I really just traveled to another world by digging too deep? Does this happen ofter 'round 'ere??" He's still in a bit of shock. 

    Evie gives a wry smile. Her bracer's on her left arm, but her right hand is gloved in leather. Hard to tell with her hands just what she might do as a rogue scholar, but she sees the battle- and forge-hardened hands on Muradin, and she gives a small nod. 

    "The pleasure is mine to be agreeable." she replies, sitting back down on her trunk. She shakes her head. 

    "No apologies are needed, your majesty." Terribly formal, Evie. "I doubt you suspected fate may turn things around on you." she adds, and she takes out her leather-bound book, and begins to write in it: 'Muradin Bronzebeard - King, Ironforge, Khaz Modan, Azeroth' -- and she flips a few pages, writing Azeroth on a list. 

    "I'm from a country called England, living in a city called London. One of the largest in the world where I'm from." she replies, and motions about. "I know this place is Earth, because of the stars. The same constellations, though far to the East of here there are towns that show they are several decades behind us in technology. I try not to interfere." 

    She knows enemies abound in the Americas for the next twenty years or so, before the Revolution. What a mess. 

    "I'm not sure if it's by digging too deep. I fell in a river, ended up in a city called New York about two hundred years in Earth's future."

 
 "Oh, ye donna hafta call me with honorifics. Muradin's just fine! Haha, me friends call me Mura! Or MuraWIN!" Laughs the dwarf as he goes to sit on a nearby tree trunk as well. It's clear that Muradin will use his titles to introduce himself and point out he's a big deal, but will drop them as soon as a regular conversation starts. He just feel far more comfortable acting like a commoner, or indeed, an adventurer, which is what he actually is. 
 
 "Ye can say that again! By me hamma'! That's a dozzy! Hah!" He agrees on being accidentally world shifted. "Lemme tell ye, not the first time that I've accidentally teleported like that, but neva' to other worlds, or dimensions.. or time traveled for that matter! Och! I really done it nae!" 
 
 He listens carefully as Evie explains how she came to be in this place as well. "I see, so yer lost as well then?" He reaches for his belt to drink from his canteen, and given the smell Evie can probably tell it's some kind of ale. No water for this dwarf. "Hm.. wish me brother Brann was 'ere. He's the explorer, and he could tell where he'd be by the constellations as ye do. I'm too much of a brick head to know all those things." Admits the thane. 
 
 "So...uh.." His lips purse and he looks around at the strange land where he now resides. "Wot.. do ye do 'round 'ere? Rogue scholar sounds like an interesting profession, aye?" 

    "I know my way back home, roughly, after a few months of wandering I happened upon it." Evie admits, and she listens to Muradin for a good while, drawing up her own canteen. Hers is most certainly clean water. She looks about the strange land, and raises her eyebrows a moment. 

    "At the moment? I'm eating lunch and reviewing my notes. I'll pass through a town on my way back to where I am aiding a world with some small issues, and then likely retire to attend to business at home." she replies quietly to Muradin. "I'm afraid I'm rather boring, hardly an adventurer." she admits, and reaches back, breaking off a hunk of hard bread and cheddar, and offering it to the dwarf. "Care to join me?"

 
 "Really?" Muradin says sounding rather surprised. "I had ye pegged for an adventurer actually! That cloak and hood of yers gives ye a mysterious air about ye, heh!" Muradin has quietly been trying to check out Evie's equipment. He'd swear he can almost smell the metal on her, but it bothers his keen dwarven senses that he can't quite see where Evie is carrying her weapons, if indeed she even is armed. 
 
 "But aye! I'll join ye fer lunch, if ye'll have me. Never to turn down such an offer meself!" The dwarf undoes his own backpack as of course he was not about to undertake a dangerous expedition without his own set of supplies. He takes the offered bread and cheese and in return offers Evie some smoked quillboar jerky. It smells very spicey. Salt, pepper and something else. 
 
 "Ye know I happen to be a wee bit of an adventurer meself actually! If that world yer helping needs some blokes hammered on the head, I'd be happy to help out with that." From thin air, a giant war hammer appears in Muradin's hand as it crackles with arcane energy, literal lighting running across the hammer's head . The dwarf then twirls the weapon about as if it weighted nothing despite its size. "I'm always up fer a good scrap!" Not much table manners for this dwarf, he talks even as one of his cheeks is all puffed up with food.

    "Oh no, I'm actually boring. Rather quiet, my life." Evie lies comfortably, no need to wrap Muradin in with her doings. It'd be rude to assume. Evie has a lot of metal on her. In her jacket. In her cane, which has a metallic handle. Metal in her shoes, in the eyelets. Knives and small electric charges and special power-soaks in her boots. She gladly exchanges the bead and cheese for the quilboar, and settles down with her new acquaintence. She had broken off a piece of the jerky to politely try it, and she purses her lips in surprise, and breaks off another piece. 

    "Is that so?" she questions, listening to Muradin, her eyes set on him before the hammer appears -- right out of thin air! 

    THAT catches her attention, and she sits up a bit straighter as she looks around Muradin a moment, considering is she had missed something, him pulling it out of his pack, some other arrival, but no -- "Amazing!" she exclaims quietly. "An arcane weapon? Does it fire off rounds of lightning? How is it powered?"

 
 Being quite a bit of a braggart, Muradin can't help but show off when Evie finally starts to look impressed. There it is, the look that he was looking for! Muradin might not use his titles to draw admiration but he will totally show off his strength and raw arcane power, physical and arcane. Sure enough, Evie's senses are not deceiving her, Muradin pulled out the hammer from thin air. 
 
 "Hahah! Why, its powered by me own raw magical power, lass! Behold! Mithrios! Eternal guardian of the lands of Khaz Modan!" He raises the hammer up and lighting strikes it, causing the entire area to light up in a blast of sound and light. As for actually shooting lightning though. "Ah, well, not quite shooting bolts, but I can do this!!!" He yells out and with a mighty hurl, Muradin throws his hammer up to the sky. The hammer spins rapidly as it seems to reach the clouds and it explodes, illuminating the sky with blue arcane fire. 
 
 A second later, Mithrios appears back in Muradin's hand just as it had the first time, and the dwarf rests his massive weapon on his shoulder, looking on to Evie with a broad grin on his face. 

    Magic always impresses Evie. So much of it can be explained by card tricks and slight of hand. This was something else entirely. 

    And Evie allows Muradin to boast of his poweres, and she purses her lips, watching in fascination as he shows magic -- honest, real magic, and she has to shield her eyes from the lightning strikes and rapidly spinning. 

    "Utterly remarkable!" she exclaims, lookback back to the magical weapon. "Does the enchantment self-perpetuate? Are there limited uses of it?"

 
 Muradin is no wizard and it is because he realizes Evie's fascination that he doesn't confess he actually doesn't know the first thing about magic schools. He might be able to wield magical items because of familiarity, but he does not their inner workings. He doesn't know the why, just the how. 
 
 That being said, he does have a suitable answer to Evie's questions. A crafstman has to know his tools well after all, even if he wasn't the one that made them. 
 
 "As long as I draw breath, Mithrios will work." Explains the dwarf, as he next appears a giant battle axe on his other hand, he rests that one on his other shoulder. "Same with Troggbane. They are soul bound to me and they are extensions of me body as if they were me own arms and legs." 
 
 "Heheh! That seems to have caught yer attention eh lass? Donna get much magic 'round these parts I take it?" Muradin smiles a bit, happy to see some emotion from Evie's otherwise seemingly permanent serious expression. 

    "Unfortunately, most 'magic' where I am from is the work of charlatans preying on the poor and hopeless. Prayer, elixers, potions to improve health and restore hair.." she trails off with a face of disgust. "All for an additional few pennies in someone's purse." she adds dryly. "The gross injustice visited on those hoping for cures, whether of broken bodies, spirits, or hearts and robbing them of their souls disgusts all those of better moral fibres..." she trails off a moment, and then goes a little flat. "My apologies. I'm afraid Earth in my time is a bit of a mess."

 
 "Huh.." Muradin closes on eye as he listens to Evie, his weapons dissapearing leaving his hands free once again. He crosses his muscled arms over his armored chest and considers the way this human girl tells him of the deceit and the injustice of her world. The dwarf didn't believe for a second that this lady was the type to simply sit idly by and let all these things happen to her. Something about the way she carried herself, and that scent of steel on her body told Muradin that she was more that she let on. 
 
 But now that wasn't the place for it and he simply nodded. "I see.. ey, if it's any consolation, even in me world of Azeroth where magic is quite real there are still charlatans. Worst still are those that use their magical power for their own self indulgance. I canna fix that even in me own kingdom." Muradin scoffs lightly and leans back on the trunk he's sitting on. 
 
 "Hm, not from a lack of trying. And something tells me ye donna just sit there and let bad things happen to innocent people either, aye?" 

    Evie gives a s light smile. "oh, no, I'm part of several petitioner's groups. Better housing, women's sufferage, working conditions.." she trails off, and she gives a small shrug of her shoulders. "Not much a lady can do. We're expected to be quiet and obey our husbands and fathers and look pretty." she looks up to the sky a moment. 

    "We do what is within our power, Muradin."

 
 The dwarf's eye flinch for a moment as Evie answers him with the softest of smiles. A petitioner!? Does she donate to charity too then? 
 
 No, Muradin has lived too long and experienced far too much to believe that at face value. He had hoped that showing some of his cards would inspire Evie to show some of her hand as well, but he sees now there are more mysteries to this woman that he initially believed. To think that he'd give her that 'submissive woman' excuse. That might literally the oldest one in the book. 
 
 But he doesn't call her out on that. If she feels compelled to keep her secrets there must be a reason, and Muradin has just arrived here, it would be foolish to him to think that Evie would trust a complete stranger. She is doing the right thing, he supposes. 
 
 "Aye, I suppose we do." Nods Muradin as he moves to stand, backpack slung over his shoulder. "Thanks for the bit of lunch there, lass. I think I'm gonna walk about and explore this world." 
 
 "See wot's within me power to make it better, and all that rot." The dwarf looks over his shoulder to smile at Evie, perhaps hinting at something. "Hopefully I'll see ye out there, aye?" 

    "Of course. I tend to come accross others fairly regularly." she states, and she draws herself to a stand as well. "This patch is almost all wilderness; there's some settlements to the far North but they are less than friendly." she explains, and she pats herself over, then removes a sheet of paper from a pocket, and offers to to Muradin. 

    It is a map. There are drawn locations and short descriptions of worlds, linked together. 

    "Here. It's far from complete, but this will give you the way out of this locale and to somewhere a little more populated. They get some World traffic, so you may even find others from Azeroth there." she explains.

 
 Oh! A map! Muradin can always use those! "Thanks mate!" He smiles and takes it, happy to add that to his inventory. Hopefully this time around he won't end up getting lost again and tumbling to another world-- still can't believe that happened, by the way. Either way, the call of adventure pounds too hard in his chest to ignore, and he's too much of an explorer to sit in one place for too long. It looks like there's so many things here, he wants to see it all! 
 
 "Maybe! Azeroth's a big place, bet some dumb bloke like me went and got lost here as well, hahahaha!!" The dwarf gives a belly laugh and as he turn around, he decides to give Evie another free show. 
 
 "I'll see ye later, lass!" He says as he takes a running start and jumps about a dozen feet up in the air, landing far in the distance. More magic or raw leg power? Hard to tell. 

    Hard to tell, hard to say, but she watches, her green eyes taking him in as he books it and makes his leaps, and she leaths out a little breath. 

    ".. thank heavens he didn't errupt in London." she mutters, "Who knows what Jacob would have done with him."