An Altogether Different War

On my way to Brightwood Hall this evening, I encountered a dwarf. At first, I thought he might attack me with the way he reached for his rifle. A part of me wondered just how many times I was going to get shot or shot at this month. I was prepared to put up a fight, of course, but thankfully it proved unnecessary. Once we both asserted that we were out to do no harm, things relaxed between us somewhat and I was able to, at least, introduce myself and the dwarf did the same. He... remembered me as a worker in Brightwood Hall, as a recent regular among the patrons. I am unsure how I feel about being recognized outside of the Hall. I did not immediately recall him, so I am grateful that he is not one of the patrons I have serviced in the past.
 
Borador is the name he gave and he is an explorer and mercenary, though he works mostly for the Explorer's League and the Dragonscale Expedition. It makes me wonder just how many times I have walked past him as I have gone about my duties in helping the Expedition.
 
He was a kindly dwarf, though, who held as many hatreds of the Horde as I did of the Alliance. Or... at least I had. Ever since working in Brightwood Hall, befriending Curly and Gildrose and the others, it is hard to see the lines of Horde and Alliance as starkly as I once had. It was hard to see the lines in talking to Borador. He was understanding and honest, complimentary without seeming insincere, charming in his own dwarfish way. He was not unwelcome company.
 
He offered to travel with me to see the places I have yet to see in the world, as a guide. Northrend and parts of Pandaria, Alliance provinces where a member of the Horde might be unwelcome. I might consider it, as a break from everything that I have taken on. Just setting foot in Orgrimmar these days fills me with both anxiousness and concern as I try to think about all the things and people that I am involved with and the myriad problems that come with them.
 
It is nice to return to simple things. To be able to speak of the things I am passionate about, the things that interest me, the things I long to see and do, the hopes I have for the future, and the future of the Horde. To enjoying the world the way it was meant to be enjoyed. To put aside the weight and the worry and just be Het'heru for a time. Not a broken thing that others must fix, nor a savior that must find a way to fix others or save them
 
Just Het'heru. I have almost forgotten what that is like.
 
Eventually, though the conversation turned to his recognition of me at Brightwood Hall, how a Sunwalker like me ended up in debt and working for such an establishment. I explained to him about the facade that the gambling house was and how it was a legitimate business by all concerned on the outside, with the paperwork and proof to back it. However, behind it all there was Elizaveta and her Dark Bindings with Mueh'zala. I explained to him my own part in it, how I had given myself willingly into service to try and learn more about the Bindings and break them. Not just for Rory or even me anymore, but for all those trapped beneath that woman's thumb.
 
Borador volunteered himself to help, even after numerous protestations of mine to convince him that this situation was too dangerous to get involved in. While he does not believe that entering another soul into a Deal with Elizaveta is the right route for him to take, he says he does know of a Deathspeaker of Bwonsamdi that we might speak with. Perhaps there may yet be a way to alter or change the Deals, if we find someone more powerful than Elizaveta. I do not know, so much of this seems like I am playing an endless game of chess on the losing side. Every move I make could end the game, so I must consider all moves, all possibilities before trying to make one -- so much so that I end up making no move at all. But I know also that our time is finite. Rory's time is finite. My own contract will be done with by mid-summer. If we do not have a solution by then, if we have not eliminated this threat by then... An'she save us all.
 
We talked through the night and on into the morning. I do not remember the last time I spent so many hours in someone's company, just for the sake of having it. There were no designs or wants upon my person, just a willing ear and solid, salt-of-the-earth advice. The dwarf has the bit in his teeth now and is determined to win me -- and all the others like me -- free of Elizaveta's clutches. He wants to end their organization before they can harm and Bind yet others into their employ and continue to make lives miserable because of it.
 
Just when I felt as if I were trying to save this sinking ship all on my own, when I prayed to An'she for some manner of help to bolster my flagging spirits that there was any way out of this other than Death -- An'she sends me Artimir and Borador. There is Hurskan still, too, and possibly Harun. I am not without allies and I am far from without hope. I simply need to find how best to utilize their natures and their skills. I find myself preparing for an altogether different war.
 
One that I cannot afford to lose.