A Memory Haunts

He threw open the door, glancing up and down the quiet street.  Ratchet was quiet, as usual.

"Darn kids - always playing pranks," he growled.

As he moved to close the door, a gravely throat cleared near his knee.  He glanced downward in surprise.

"Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Plainhoof, sir."  The goblin wore a mixture of black plate that had clearly seen better days and new gear that glistened with polish.  A large, glowing sword was slung across his back, nearly as tall as its owner.  "I bring news from... a mutual friend."

Matosawitko's eyebrow twitched.  "And just what friend might that be?" he asked.

The goblin glanced nervously up the street, then mumbled, "I'd rather not say in public, if you catch my meaning.  It's a rather long story, for one thing."

Mato stared at the goblin for a long moment, pondering how to respond to this tiny guest who had just invited himself inside.  Finally he opened the door fully, motioning him to enter.

"Mato, who is it?"  Auryon called from the back room.  She appeared in the doorway a moment later, wiping her hands on a towel.  "Oh, a guest?"

Other than a slight grin, the goblin seemed to be completely unphased by the sudden appearance of the Draenei girl.  Instead, he bowed politely and replied in flawless Common.  "A thousand apologies, my lady, for this intrusion upon your home."

Behind the goblin's back, Mato shrugged expressively.  Stepping to Auryon's side, he murmured in her ear.  "Could you bring us some drinks?  He wouldn't tell me what he wanted, but it sounded like it might take a little while."  As she left, he guided their unexpected guest to a chair.  "Now, then.  What business might bring a goblin death knight to my door?"

The goblin seemed not to notice the chilled reception.  He gathered his thoughts for a moment, then began.  "My name is Wisapa Goldthunder.  As you have so rightly deduced, I was a death knight in the service of the Lich King.  More recently, I have found myself under different employ.  However, that is not what brings me here today.  You are, I believe, familiar with the name 'Fomaru Windtotem'?"

Mato's hands gripped the arm of his chair tightly for a moment, then he nodded curtly.  Auryon entered with a tray of drinks and settled down beside him.

Wisapa continued.  "Fomaru was my battalion commander in Icecrown.  Although friendships among the troops were discouraged, we worked well together and established a bond that made us a formidable pair in battle.  We relied on one another completely."

"The war was going badly - enemy troops eventually surrounded the Citadel on every side.  Our numbers dwindled daily.  Yet Fomaru continued each day as if driven to survive - to conquer."

"One day, she called me aside.  We walked on the citadel wall, and she told me her darkest secret.  'I cannot continue this pretense any longer,' she said.  'As my lieutenant, it would fall to you to fill my role when I am gone.  So you should know what I am about to do, and why I must do it.'"

"'The King believes me to be a loyal soldier.  Yet I have been loyal only to the extent that it gave me opportunity to gain access to him.  The time has now come for me to break that loyalty, and my hope is to break the very back of the Scourge with it.'"

"I must have appeared confused, or alarmed, because she grabbed me and threatened to throw me from the wall if I told anyone what she had said.  After I managed to convince her that I felt more loyalty to her - as a person - than to any other command, she told me her plan."

"'Tomorrow, I have an audience with Arthas.  He intends to discuss the fortifications along the eastern wall.  However, I intend to open the discussion with this.'  She showed me a wicked dagger, with a blade that glowed a sickly green.  'It was through Arthas that my brother was taken from me, and I intend to finally have justice.'"

"'Why are you telling me this?' I asked.  'If you intend to strike the King, won't it place me in great danger to know your plan?  I cannot take your place if I am dead.'"

"She chuckled drily.  'Actually, my hope is that I will succeed and will be able to set you free from this hell.  However, I'm telling you all of this in case I don't survive.  The war will be over soon, and the Scourge will lose.  I want you to know the truth so that you can pass on my final message.  I have prepared letters for you, detailing various pieces of information that the Argent Dawn and Ebon Blade will find most useful.  Regardless of what happens tomorrow, it must be your last day in service to the Scourge.'"

"The following day, when her dead body crashed down in the courtyard with the dagger protruding from her chest, I wasted no time in stealing away.  I found a small group of adventurers who allowed me to live and who took me to Highlord Mograine.  I spent the remainder of the war working in close concert with the Knights of the Ebon Blade.  During those final weeks, the information that Fomaru had gathered and cataloged - and funneled through me - saved the lives of countless Horde and Alliance soldiers.  After the war, I was allowed to live.  Though, I'm finding that every day is a continual struggle just to live with myself."

"Fomaru gave me your name that night; she told me that you might not be willing to listen, but that she was sorry for the way in which you parted and that she hoped, at long last, you would understand."

Mato sat silently for a long moment, his head bowed.  Finally, he whispered, "Thank you."  He raised his head, eyes glistening.  "Thank you, Wisapa.  I always wondered - I was there, in Icecrown.  At the tournament.  I did what I could to fight, but I couldn't bring myself to...  I feared every day that I would see her across the battlefield.  That I would have to..."

"I understand.  I owe her everything - my life.  I wish I could have brought you this news sooner, but I had a hard time tracking you down."

Mato chuckled.  "I do tend to move around quite a bit.  If you had come sooner, I might not have been ready to hear."

All three of them raised their glasses in a silent salute.