Chapter 2

A Gift and a Curse

The bell jingled as the door was pushed open. Vineus Bobblegrind rose his gray-haired head, peering through a pair of thick-lensed optics to look upon the potential customers. Over the years he had developed a technique of falling half-asleep on the counter in between guests. Often he was sleeping more than he had customers, which did not make for good business. But his labors were expensive, and his clientele had the funds to support them. It did not take much to keep a loresmith in business. Vineus was a self-made man, as was his private collection of librams and scrolls. His expansive knowledge of the old and long-forgotten was known across Azeroth.

And beyond his brilliance, he could not remember a face for more than a few minutes. His memory, in the short term, was garbage.

"Hello welcome to Bobblegrind Librams and Lore how can I assist you?" he mouthed off, not pausing for clarity.

There were two, a Night Elf and a Human. The Human came up, smiling warmly. Vineus returned it with a plaster-grin of his own.

"We're back," said the Human.

The little Gnome held the smile firm. "Really? From where?"

The man looked to the Elven lady, then they both turned to give Vineus a strange, concerned look. "Don't you remember us, Mr. Bobblegrind?" asked the Elf.

"No, I'm comfortable to say this is the first time I've seen you in here," he said cautiously.

The Human leaned closer, eyeing Vineus like he was some specimen or unknown plant. Through his thick glasses, the Gnome could see the man's face much better. A thin line of hair ran down the center of his chin, but the rest of his face was clean-shaven. His head of hair was a wavy tangle of brown tendrils. He looked to the man's eyes last, because their gaze was powerful, and if Vineus wasn't prepared for it, overwhelming. But when he looked into the man's twin orbs, something clicked.

"Wait..." he began, adjusting his glasses and returning the man's inspectious gaze.

"My name's Stefan Dreis. This is--"

"No! No! Don't tell me!" sputtered the Gnome, holding a hand toward the Night Elf while his other pinched the base of his brow. "It's...Eeyono Coolsneeze!"

"Iyana Moonbreeze," replied the Elven woman.

"Same difference--You came here yesterday asking about the kingdom of Azjol-Nerub?"

"Correct," answered Stefan. "How could you remember that and not...?"

Vineus nodded solemnly. "It's a gift, and a curse."

"I see," said Stefan, rummaging through his pants pockets. A moment later, he procurred a rolled-up parchment, placing the script onto the desk before the Gnomish scholar.

"It is a message I pulled from the corpse of a servant of the Lich King."

Vineus burst into rautious laughter. Stefan and Iyana looked to each other once more.

"Now that was a good one, Stefan! The Lich King! I didn't see that coming!" He laughed some more. He noticed that their faces stared on at him passively. His laughter receded.

"Oh. I see," he added, carefully breaking the seal on the parchment and rolling it out. "Written in the ancient Nerubian tongue. You want it translated, I presume?"

"Yes. When can you have it cracked?"

"Tomorrow. I shall spend the rest of the day on it. This is something you've got here! A real challenge."

"Perfect. Then we'll see you tomorrow morning," finished Stefan, turning to leave, Iyana abreast of him.

"Adieu, Stefan and Eeyo--Iyana!"

As they closed the door behind them, Vineus hopped off his raised stool, scuttling across the floor and in a single, practiced leap, grabbed the large sign marked "Open" and flipped it so its counterpart, "Closed", was displayed to the public. He scuttled back to the desk and climbed onto the stool, giving the scroll one last brief inspection. He ran through the invisible maze in his head, searching for the section, then the row, then the plot.

"Nerubia, Tongues, Plot B," he muttered to himself, leaping off the stool and disappearing into the back.