5/19 evening
I sent a message to Nozara to speak to me through the necklace freely when she was ready. I wasn't going to be in mixed company until after she spoke to me. First place I went was Raven Hill; Eliza had been given a task, to capture a few worgen, and then basically left alone for several days. Oops.
There were three of the werewolves being kept in cages in the basement where Stitches had been "born," pacing around in their own cages. Two males and a female. They were entirely feral, not showing any signs of the humans or elves they once were and which my mission log insisted they could be again. It was quite a lot like going to the pound to pick out a dog, except that all three options were snarling in a way that made it clear they wanted blood, not cuddles.
I was wearing one of the last extra suits of armor from Varian's closet; worgen bites were contagious, and I wasn't entirely sure which defense covered them. Even if mind defense meant that I'd maintain full control of myself, I didn't want to be stuck in a beast form. Of course, I was also a dragon right now so who the hell knows what's even on the table.
Druids take on animal forms by channeling the power of a strong nature spirit, loa, or wild god; whatever you want to call them, they are all the same thing. You didn't just turn into an animal, you took on its instincts as you became an idealized version of that animal. The wolf spirit, Goldrinn, was just a bit too intense. Druids who tried to channel his power had a tendency to get lost in it, becoming one with the pack as a sense of rage flowed through them. Everything was narrowed down to a sense of us and them, with "us" being every worgen regardless of their prior allegiances and "them" being anyone else. Attempts to contain or make use of the Druids of the Pack had mostly backfired, with a very long chain of events resulting in a small part of Duskwood, a large part of Silverpine Forest, and the entire kingdom of Gilneas being overrun by the fuzzy bastards once they figured out how to spread their curse with a bite.
There were exceptions, of course. It's the Warcraft universe; exceptions pop up whenever a writer has a cool idea and the underlying secrets of the universe have been retconned a dozen times. Some worgen alternated forms on a day night cycle and were totally chill during the day. Some worgen had a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on. The archmage Arugal had managed to get several hundred of them to accept him as their leader without transforming himself, which was a neat trick I would like to replicate. I'd go ask him about it, but several hundred worgen were standing in the way and he was an emotionally unstable wreck. So maybe not the best person to model myself off of. Definitely on the to do list, though. Eventually. If nothing else I'd bet money he's the regional target for Silverpine.
I approached the one female, just trying to examine her. She was definitely on the small side; I hoped that I didn't have a literal child chained up in my bloodstained murder basement. She was probably about 5'2". Well, I was here for a reason; I shielded myself and shoved the Medallion of the Alliance into her hands. "Alright, girl, take your medicine."
Today's streak of moderately good luckcontinued. Almost the moment that it was in her hands, she started to shrink. Incidentally, the door to the cage also opened by the magic, so lucky me that it worked on the worgen curse. The absolutely filthy rags she still wore settled onto a small and emaciated frame; age was still aquestion, but she didn't seem to be a child. Just a teenager that was very small and poorly fed, like Lillibeth had been.
As the transformation ended, I stayed wary. I didn't want to get in close only for her to shift back and take a bite. That said, the look she was giving me was definitely not predatory. More awestruck. I was back to my Erich persona, clad in heavy armor, and towered over her. She… instantly developed a crush on me?
Communication talent clicked together the pieces: she was scared and emotionally vulnerable, looking to latch onto something. I was dressed as a Stormwind footman, a uniform that was a good guy by default in what remained of her small town farm girl worldview. I had just cured her of her curse, as far as she knew, so I was powerful and benevolent. She had spent the last few years as a worgen, so she had little to no dating experience outside of random bestial rutting with the strongest male that happened to showinterest in her. She'd heard my voice, so Alluring Whisper might have started its work. Finally, I was physically bigger than the average worgen male. In short, stud service and animalistic instincts said I was a good mate because I was obviously big and powerful, and she assumed I was a good guy so her human side didn't have any real objections. Yeah, I could use this.
"You're free for now. But you need to do one thing to stay free."
She nodded, croaking out "what is it?" with a worried expression.
"You need to put this on, and tell me that you love me, but only if you mean it."
The collar, and it's accompanying sense of validation, was only a precaution. An extra bit of insurance at most. She was crushing on me, hard; the confession would be genuine. It never came out though; the elevated heart rate and shock from that statement caused her to turn back into her worgen form. I was guessing just about any strong emotional reaction would have that effect until something more lasting was applied.
I had to wrestle her back into her cage, which was much harder than shoving a woman a foot shorter than me through a door should have been. Eliza helped with some kind of spell that made her weak and slow. Was that cripple from Warcraft 3? Maybe. It wasn't an instant capture, but I could come back for her later when the medallion is more available. This was a good start, and it was very possible that Talaada could replicate the process with the men. 100 wolf moon might actually be doable.
••••••••••
"My lord Bismark, it is the greatest honor to be finally allowed in your presence." Nozara was tall, nearly nine feet, and though she had a slender build proportionally, she was still an absolutely massive woman. It made it just a little funny for her to try to act demure and surreptitiously show some skin. She was definitely beautiful enough, but unless I became a Tauren for the purposes of fun times she was drastically too large. I wasn't opposed to doing so, mind you, but I had a prime consort.
I noticed that she'd started angling to make those appeals after she saw me checking her out; she didn't just dive into low end seduction as her default, but the moment she saw any signs that it might work she added it to her toolbox. I could appreciate that.
"Glad to have you. Sorry it took so long, but I have multiple situations that I need to handle and the area you operate in is really more of a side activity."
"Oh? And what are you doing in the area I operate in, if I might ask? I will of course do all in my power to please you. If I'm able." She wanted something.
"Right now? I am looking to add more demons to my service. The Burning Legion has one thing going for it above anything else, and that's a nearly infinite army of troops that can be thrown into the meat grinder without consequences. I can replicate that on a much smaller scale. Well, much smaller for now. We will see in the future." Impressed by the ambition, still has her own motives.
"And can you ensnare any demon? The way I assume you did me?"
"Depends on several factors. The answer is yes, but with quite a few caveats. I need them to wear one of those necklaces that I had Zelena give you for up to a week, or to declare that they love me and really mean it." Disappointment, then hope.
"That's not all though, is it? I wasn't wearing a necklace when I was captured."
"No. Sometimes I get my hands on an alternative method, usually something more subtle, but that's mostly based on luck. I had Zelena put that stamp on the back of your hand." Confusion.
"What? I've always had this mark."
"Yeah. You think you do. But it was applied around a week ago." Pensive.
"I won't be able to act freely so long as my other lord is looking over my shoulder." Ah. There it is.
"Well, can you get him alone for a week?" Mostly rhetorical. No way I was that lucky.
"No. No, I don't think so." Crestfallen.
"Alright, tell me the problem. I want more power and influence, but I'm not going to risk what little foothold I have by acting recklessly." She shrugged, turning off the active charm, and switched to direct talk.
"I have a quota. I need to provide a certain amount of benefit to the Legion's war effort. I have leeway in what I can provide, but the resources I have been provided are a bit strained. In four months I'll be in quite a lot of trouble if I don't figure something out."
I smirked. Four months? That's an eternity on the scale I'm operating at. I've only been in Azeroth for about a month. "Ah. You'll be fine then. We can figure something out in two months, maybe get your liege under control by then. Just trust me." I waved off her questions, "So. What I want is variety; I need one of every type of demon captured if at all possible. This list contains ones that are of special note to me." I started writing up a list of all the types of demons that offered rebates in the catalog. "It will be your job to get demons to wear one of these necklaces for a full week without taking it off or anyone realizing anything is wrong. Got it?"
Gulp. "Yes, Lord Bismark. I think I can do that."