Chapter 11

"Can you explain why we let the bear be the deciding vote?" Jithu whined while angrily kicking a rock.

"At this point, he has more voting power than you. I only let you vote because I hoped that would be enough for us to get a cart ride." Corben replied.

As usual, the group ended up with a decision to walk towards their next destination, and what's worse, they didn't even stop in Goldshire for a much-needed drink break, as Eldum still was letting Lonaraa call all the shots, mostly because Osbeorn bullied him into compliance.

With Stormwing being at least an hour's walk away, Jithu was getting increasingly whiny and unhappy with the arrangement.

"Walking is good for you." Lonaraa said in a chipper voice walking ahead of the group.

"The nerve of this gal." Jithu angrily mumbled and then shouted at her. "It's easy for you to say with those long legs, I have to jump to even reach your ass!"

"There, there." Corben patted Jithu's head. "One day you'll grow tall and strong, just like her."

"Do you want to get stabbed in the face?" The gnome girl growled menacingly.

In response, Corben picked up the pace and caught up with Lonaraa. 'Little goblin is getting pissed. I better tone it down for a while.' "I'll pass." he shouted back at Jithu.

"If you plan to guilt trip me with her it won't work." Lonaraa said to him.

"Just because you rescued us doesn't mean we will let you call the shots forever." Corben flashed her a smile. "I am a few training sessions away from having enough mana to teleport."

"Wouldn't that tire you out more than walking?" Lonaraa asked.

"That's beside the point, but you don't have to worry, I'll still have enough energy for you."

"I seriously doubt you'll have enough energy for me or any other woman for that matter. I am surprised you didn't start to whine as usual." Lonaraa shot back.

"Heh, looks like I will have to step up my game to make you blush." Corben said with a smirk.

"Didn't you want me to be more confident in myself?"

"I did. You do need more resilience, otherwise, how else will you keep up with the crotch bandit."

"I heard that!" Jithu shouted from behind.

"It's different when you say or do that kind of stuff." Lonaraa said. 'Nanli always told me to be more courageous, but what if he doesn't mean any of the nice if somewhat crude things he says to me?'

Lonaraa's sister was the one who raised her among her own children. The paragon of courage and discipline was not the kindest parent figure. There was no sleeping in, no slacking off.

'I can be courageous!' Another memory of her being scolded for not standing up to her nieces and nephews who more often than not singled her out for teasing.

"How is it different? Don't you know that once your people are better known you will get a lot more attention from men?"

"It's… do you actually mean any of the things you say?" Lonaraa asked, sounding very timid.

'She is interested but has no idea what to do. It's all on me then. I either have to keep a polite distance or keep poking and see where it goes. There is a chance that she is the overly romantic type and considering how long-lived her kind is, that would not work.' Corben decided to break the rule of keeping things professional between team members, not that he considered such a rule particularly important in the first place.

"Of course I do. Just remember that humans live for about eighty years before imagining a long future together with me."

"Future with you?" 'What to say! What if he takes a clever response as a straight-up rejection? I am not stupid. I know he is not seeing me as a partner for life, he would die of old age before our children grow up… I am thinking of children already! Stop it!' "Like anyone could tolerate you that long."

"Like you are any better, woman. With your constant delusions of thinking walking is good for me, I'll be nagged to death in a year or so." Corben let out a laugh.

"You are horrible, and no sweet talk will convince me of the opposite." She scoffed.

"You are too cute when angry. I'm starting to think you are using it as a seduction tactic."

"You!" She blushed once again. "I wouldn't have to be angry all the time if you were nicer to me."

Jithu watched them banter with amusement. Walking beside Eldum, she couldn't help but ask. "Are those two…?"

"Not yet but the spark is thare," Eldum chuckled.

"I see. Welp, I can wait if they are up for the third player." She smirked.

"Ye are ane wild lass." Eldum remarked.

"You have no idea, pal."

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With everyone having their own goals to pursue, the group was about to split up for a few hours once they entered the trade district.

Corben wanted to buy advanced magic books from the academy. Lonaraa wanted to visit the auction house to buy herself a new set of armor. Eldum was about to hit the dwarven district and hear the news from his homeland while Jithu planned to stack up on poison ingredients and buy available engineering blueprints.

But before they left on their own business, a woman with a cheese platter came out from one of the nearby shops and approached them.

"Welcome to the Stormwind City, brave adventurers. Please sample our famous selections of cheese." She said with a professional smile. "Today all our merchandise has a thirty percent discount."

"Sure thing, lady." Corben picked up a piece and popped it in his mouth. "This one is good."

"Stormwind Brie, our specialty. Please visit our shop and the famous Master of Cheese will give you a special discount… Mr. Withers." She whispered his last name to be sure no one else could hear it.

'What the hell is going on? How did she know my name?' Corben grew suspicious but before he could formulate any plan of action, Eldum enthusiastically pushed the whole group inside the shop.

The shopkeeper immediately started showing her wares to Eldum, who was practically drooling at the selection. While Eldum was completely distracted, she subtly nodded at Corben to walk up the stairs.

'I'm not sure what is going on but better play along. If things go south we will have to fight our way out.' He mused as he ascended the plain wooden stairs to a small balcony.

A black-haired man with an eyepatch over his right eye sat on a small bench with a book in his hands. Noticing Corben, he covertly pulled out a small envelope from the book and dropped it on the floor in front of him.

"It seems you dropped something, young man." he said in a pleasant tone.

"Oh, thank you." Corben played along and picked up the envelope. The man then subtly nodded for him to walk away.

Dragging Eldum out of the shop was not an easy task but he gave in once the shopkeep had packed up a large portion of Dwarven Mild for him.

Once outside, Corben looked around and then opened the envelope. Inside was a banknote for five gold coins and a short letter. 'Your actions, as destructive as they were, have all but eliminated our rivals. Signed; River friends.'

"What was all that about?" Lonaraa asked, confused about the strange chain of events.

"Let's go to that side street." Corben motioned his group to follow.

Once away from prying eyes and ears, he showed the banknote to everyone. "We got a nice paycheck from the murlocs for killing most of the gnolls. I'm not sure how that guy in the cheese shop is connected to it all, but murlocs delivered the payment through him."

"See, everything went better than expected in the end." Jithu beamed with pride. "Oh, and that guy, Elling Trias, never mess with him unless you want the whole underground after you."

"Is he some sort of big fish?" Corben asked with a whisper.

"Yeah. That guy is an arbiter of sorts between all shadowy organizations that exist. From South Sea Pirates to SI7, everyone goes through him when no other channels are available." Jithu explained with whispers while looking around just in case.

"I'll keep that in mind." Corben nodded. "So we are splitting this four ways? Intentionally or not, Jithu did most of the work." He waved the banknote.

"Yeah, I'm down for splitting it evenly. But if you try to drop me from the team, I will find you!" Jithu lowered her voice.

"Noted. Damn you are more clingy than a young maiden after the first night." Corben chuckled.

"You try to find a permanent spot in a group as a rogue, pal!" Jithu pointed a finger at him but instantly switched to a chipper tone. "Let's go collect the cash. Gal needs to buy herself a fat stack of new blueprints. I heard the famous Eetlirgank Battlebeam had let some of his inventions into the rotation and I'm not about to miss out."

"A whole gold coin. A coud get me a better gun…" Eldum joined the excitement.

"I could buy myself a bronze armor instead of a copper one. Maybe even get a minor enchantment or two." Lonaraa was next to announce how she planned to spend the money.

Not wanting to dampen the excitement, Corben led the group to the Stormwind Bank to exchange the note for coins. Of course, they were met with a lengthy waiting line.

But that was expected since the bank held not only money but all kinds of valuables from family jewelry and rare ingredients to armor and weapons. Getting a box in the underground vault was not cheap but a small one was at least somewhat affordable.

The line moved forward at a decent pace but gave plenty of time to ogle what kind of stuff was both getting stashed away and taken out. Lonaraa practically drooled looking at an enchanted mithril sword put in the bank by a plate-clad warrior. The mighty weapon even gave away a faint blue light.

Jithu was nervously twitching when she saw an elegantly dressed human woman put in deposit a box with jewels and solid gold bars.

"Don't even think about it." Corben hissed at her.

"I'm not stupid. The bank doesn't mess around when it comes to sticky fingers." Jithu shook her head.

"Aha, I would not be happy if we got our skulls bashed in because of you." Corben remarked. 'I hope my trust in a rogue doesn't bite me in the ass at some point.'

"Relax. I know much safer and easier ways of earning money. Hey, it's our turn." She poked Corben to pay attention.

The clerk accepted the note and quickly handed out a small bag filled with silver coins as per Corben's request. The gold coins were used in circulation but mostly for merchandise they couldn't afford at the moment.

Of course, once they moved up into the world and started questing in more dangerous areas, rewards would increase as well.

Every average mooch could go quest in a safe area like the Elwynn Forest, but it was not the case in the scorching lands surrounding the Blackrock Mountain or the undead-filled lands of the fallen kingdoms in the far north of the continent.

The group walked aside to a counting table and split the reward evenly, each taking one hundred twenty-five silver coins. "So we split up and regroup at an inn in the evening?" Corben asked to make sure everyone got the plan.

"Jithu an me will gae tae the dwarwen distric. Keep an eye on Lonaraa." Eldum patted Osbeorn to set off.

"In which inn are we staying?" Jithu asked.

"There is one nearby, I think we can rent rooms there." Corben said.

"Isn't the trade district expensive? I know a decent inn in the Old Town. And no, it is not a crime den!" Jithu said. 'Corben is just looking for an excuse to talk smack about rogues. I guess he had some bad experiences in the past.'

"Pig and Whistle? I guess we can stay there. I wonder if old Reese is still adding water to the wine he sells as the top-tier beverage." Corben said, dwelling on old memories.

"Then it's settlit. We will gae tae Pig an Whistle after our business is done. Dinnae start drinkin without me." Eldum said with a chuckle.

"Don't be a slowpoke then. First come, first serve." Corben laughed after him.

As the dwarf and the gnome departed, Corben and Lonaraa were on their own for a while.

"So where are we going first? I will rely on you to show me around." Lonaraa said with a light smile.

"We can start with the auction house, it's not far from there. Don't worry, I know every nook and cranny of this city. So, shall we, my lady." Corben gestured to the exit with a light bow, extending a hand for her to take.

"Oh, you plan to be a gentleman today. I am definitely not missing the opportunity of seeing your better side." She let out a laugh accepting his hand.

Proofreading by Sad_Smiles and Visur Nyxan.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.