Merander Coppermouth

Appearance:
Merander Coppermouth is of average height, about 6ft tall, he is stood up right and to attention, his hands always either at his side or folded in front of him. In life he has red rosey cheeks and brown hair, his eyes were light blue and his skin was a light tan. Now, having previously served the Lich King, his skin has turned a light grey color, dry in texture and he has lost all of the color in his cheeks, his hair is now a very light brown, almost white and his eyes his eyes are bright, glowy blue.

Normally, he can be seen to wear plate armor, heavy, cumbersome gear, but when he is dressed to impress he can wear quite stylish clothes, namely suits or very formal shirts (but this is very rare indeed)

Personality:
Sir Merander Coppermouth, Treasure Hunter and Travelling Merchant Extrodinaire. This man is of simple needs, a stein in one hand and a sword in the other. As long as you have manners, a good sense of humour and a good taste for drink then you and Merander will get on fine. His speech is a very different one from that of a commoner of Azeroth, as he has been travelling since a young age he has picked up many accents, there is not one that could define him better than the Dwarven accent but even at that it still sounds strange. Merander has a way with words...when he wants to. If you see him on the street or in the put he's a casual as can be, but if it's business your talking about, then he might as well be a different person. He goes from "How are ya" to "Good evenin' Sir/Ma'am"  His pockets are always full and so is his bags, but not always with money. His wares are pretty rare, if you ask him to get something for you, for a price that is, he will, it may take a few days of not seeing or even hearing from him but he will always come through for you. Through the years of "collecting" for certain people, he has made a lot of very important contact, some in high places, some in not so high places but anyway you look at it, these contacts are the most useful. You'll only ever see Merander running around trying to get something done in a hurry or relaxing in the Pub, one hand on his pipe and the other on his stein.

16th November - 21:00 Dwarven District
The warmth of Merander's breath heats his face as it is kept in by his helmet, he looks out at the world after being in the Tavern for nearly an hour, the sky looks cloudy and the world looks the same as it always has. He walks slowly over to his horse which was tied up outside, the clink of metal on metal can be heard from the near-by blacksmiths. Merander mounts his horse in one clean heave and he rides through the streets of Stromwind, the cool air passes by him as his body heat over comes his surroundings, he never liked the cold. He rides past the Matron, children by her side, laughing, playing games, the fishermen fish by the dock as they nap and the Stromwind Guards whistle and watch as they patrol through the streets. A moment later he finds himself outside the Pig and Whistle, once again his whistle is left dry as he dismounts and enters the tavern, the heat of the tavern is fine and warm, Merander's rosey cheeks are revealed as he takes his helmet off and places his hat on his head, Elly the Barmaid spots him. "Hello stranger, what'll it be?" she says with a smile on her face and some movement in her hips. "Stout please Elly, I'll be upstairs" "No problem, I'll bring it up ta ya" a smile passes her lips as she turns and walks to the bar with that familiar, almost dance like walk she has. Merander walks towards the stairs looking at all the familiar faces that are expected to be here, they're all here to drink their worries away, like him, but unlike them, Merander doesn't wish forget, rather blur them so he doesn't need to put up with them and their full reality. He puts his right foot on the first step as it creaks, he continues up the stairs and sits in the seat he always sits in, in the corner, next to the wall so he can lean against it and relax. He removes his sholders and gloves and sighs, "Another day over". Just as Merander leans back in his chair Elly approaches him with a pint of stout, Merander smiles, "Thanks" he says as Elly puts the pint on the table, the foam drips down the stein and onto the table. Elly winks at him but he doesn't see her as his eyes are trained on the beverage. He extends his hand to the stein and grips it, moving it up to his mouth and tasting the unique taste of the stout, he remembers the taste from years ago, it has never changed, ever drop brings back memories, his thoughs begin to wonder on times past........

''"TWO PINTS OF DWARVEN STOUT PLEASE" Shouts Merander over the loud chatter of the occuptants inside the Tavern, the noise echos through Ironforge's large interior and is lost in it's halls. The Dwarf behind the bar fills up two steins and hands them to Merander. He walks slowly through the crowd trying not to spill them, his tounge stuck out and his eyes focuesd on the large, wooden Steins, suddenly a Dwarf edges his way in front of him, unaware of the Dwarf, Merander topples over him and spills the frothy drink on the ground. Merander, his face flat on the floor and the smell of stout rising from his clothes, notices a hand in front of him. "I guess I'll get this round, unless you 'expect me to drink it of the floor?" the owner of the hand says. "Thanks Hanaford...." Merander says as he grabs Hanaford's hand and gets heaved into the air. "Sorry there laddie, didn't see ya there, oh no, you dropped your drink all over yerself......well look on the other hand, you do smell good" The Dwarf chuckles as he wanders off into the crowd. Merander, now standing, wipes himself off. "Ya know, this place is really startin' ta get ta me" he says, squeezing the stout from his clothes. "Oh ye? Well I think it 'would be a good idea to get out of here for awhile, you know, travel a bit, see a bit of the world. You've stayed here for so long your starting to pick up a bit of an accent" "Well, what do ya expect, I've been here nearly all me life, it was expected that I'd pick up a slight accent, anyway, what makes ya think I can jus' pack up an leave, I got stuff here" Merander says smilling. "I was wondering if you wanted to come with me for awhile....up to Northrend, I got a few extra days leave from the service and wondered if you would like to come up with me and a few of the men, you know, for a few drinks, a few ladies" "Northrend? I dunno, I mean, I still got me stuff here"  "Stuff? What stuff? Look, just leave your stuff, it will be fine here for awhile, come on." "Ok, grand, ya owe me a pint then"   Hanaford puts his hand on Merander's back. "Come on brother, let's get those drink, we will need them for the boat trip, it's a long one" Hanaford says as he grins at Merander.''"

Suddenly the sound of laughter from a group that just entered the tavern brings Merander back into the room to three empty steins sitting in front of him. His eyes begin to slowly become heavier, the stout has taken it's effect on a hard worker, just then his pocket begins to crackle, Merander closes his eyes, reaches into his pocket and takes out a small, gnomish contraption about 2 inches wide and 4 inches big, the item is made from what seems like bits of steel crudley screwed and welded together, clicking and crackling gears can be heard working inside the steel box from 7 holes made in the front of it. "Mer---dercall---g--Mer--an--rove--r." The box screeches. "Aye, what is it?" Merander says as he puts his fingers to his eyes wiping the tiredness away. "Your---nee---edto--Men---tilour--over" "Aye, see ya there" Merander sighs as he stuffs the box in his pocket. He picks up his shoulders and helmet, takes off his hat and puts his helmet and shoulders on. He walks down the stairs and goes to walk out the door. "Hey, Mer, that's 3 silver" Elly shouts as she dances. "Aye, I'll be back later, I'll pay ye then" He says as he continues out the door, back into the harsh cold.

24th November - 04:00 Lion's Pride Inn
"DEATH! DEATH TO THE ALLIANCE AND ALL OF IT'S PEOPLE! DEATH! DEATH TO THE HORDE AND ALL OF IT'S PEOPLE! DEATH! VICTORY! VICTORY TO THE SCOURGE AND ALL OF IT'S FOLLOWERS! VICTORY!"  Merander suddenly awoke in a cold sweat, jolted up, he reached under his pillow and pulled out a dagger, it gleamed in the moonlight ready for it's next victum, his blanket had been thrown to the ground, his head pulsed and his eyes streamed with tears. He scoped the room for anything out of place, a book moved, a piece of clothing disturbed, a coin missing, something that would make it evident that an intruder was near.....nothing. Everything had been the same, justas he had left it before he had went to bed. Merander dropped the knife to the ground, turned around, put his elbows on his knees, his arms upright and his face into his palms, a moment to wake up was all he need to realise that it was all a dream. After a moment his eye's peeked out from his palms, he glanced towards the bedside table, staring back at him was his hip-flask, dented and cold, it was his only friend at that very moment, the only thing in his life that could comfort him and know what he has been through. Merander, with a smooth but tired extension of his arm, reached for the hip-flask and brought it into his other hand. He twisted the top from it, the sweet smell of rum rose from the inside of the flask, taking a swig he instantly felt better. Lowering the flask once again to his hand he rubed the shell of the metallic object, the letters H.C. embedded on the front of it made Merander stare knowingly at it for a minute. Suddenly, his pants, from accross the room, crackled and buzzed. "Merderhisis---Fizzl---pot, dou r--ad ov---r?" Merander's head swung around, he stared at the pants with tired eyes. Slowly getting up he trod towards the noise and stuck his hand in the pocket of his pants. Raising the contraption towards his mouth he pressed a button, making a clicking noise "Aye?" He lets out as he scratches his chest. "Merand---rI need-her---on the doub---e,ou---client--ry restl---ss" the box screeched, "Aye" Merander said as he turned the box off and got dressed, the shine of the moon lite the room up, "No rest fer the wicked" he sighed as he heaved his helmet onto to his head. He exited the room, closing the door behind him leaving it empty, cold and lifeless, the only sign of light is that of the moon as it made the hip-flask that Merander left resting on his side desk light up, the letters H.C. clearly embeded on the front......

7th December - 07:30 Lion's Pride Inn
The sound of crackling timber was the only thing that could be heard over the frequent grunts and moans of the Lion's Pride Inn's inhabitants. Two Dwarves sat in the corner of the Inn drinking what seems like clear liquid with a slight glow to it, they played a game of cards that Merander couldn't recognise, he'd been out of Ironforge so long that he's forgotten how to even keep up with someone speaking basic Dwarven. Merander's drunken eyes slowly began to drift back to the bright, red and orange fire in front of him, his eye lids half closed, half open, the weeks events had taken their tole on this weary worker. Merander's hand searched for the pint of ale placed in front of him, slowly he raised the glass to his mouth while his lips jutted out to reach the edge of the pint, suddenly, too fast for Merander to recover from it, the pint slipped from his hand and with a crash the glass broke into a million pieces all over the wooden table, leaving a puddle of ale to soak into the wood. "Ah, feck...hic!" Merander let out as his eyes tried to adjust to the situation, he closed them, raised his brow and, as quick as he could opened his eye lids. Merander, drenched in ale, tried to pick up the pieces of glass one by one. The barmaid, spotting this accident, walked over to Merander, shooting him a sharp, stinging glance shooed his hands away and, with a small brush in hand, swept the bits of glass into a small shovel. "Oh..shorry there...'ad a bit of an accshident...hic!" he said as he stood up brushing himself off. As his eyes focused once more they were met by another sharp glare by the barmaid. "I'll jusht...jusht go then". Merander, as sober and as subtle as he could, tried to make it to the door without falling, the first few steps were easy but the next one sent him falling out of the small entrance to the Lion's Pride Inn and onto the dirty ground of Goldshire, grabbing onto the postbox next to him he hoisted himself up slowly. The sun was just comming out, it reflected off the dew that was left that night on the grass. Merander reached into his pocket and pulled out his pipe, stuffing some tobacco in it, he went to search for his matches in his left pants pocket but to no avail, looking around, he spotted a man running towards Stormwind. "Shorry there..hic...eh, you don't 'ave a match on ya do ya?" Merander forced out of his mouth with much effort. The man sped past Merander, not even taking notice of him. "...rude bastard, what the hell ish he in such a hurry fer?" Merander muttered to himself heading in the direction of Stormwind. "I'll bloody find that jack...hic...ass, ignorin' me like I'm some beggar" Suddenly, coming from the direction of Stormwind, loud screams could be hear, woman and man. The closer Merander got, the louder the screaming got. Finally, after a minute or so of fast pace walking he got to the street entrance of Stormwind, but it was different, terrifying cries came from every direction, people huddled together in groups, hysterical women hid in shops, men stood outside hurling what looked like fruit and vegtables at a group of people, people that Merander couldn't make out, his eyes had still not sobered up and the light wasn't any help. Merander stumbled towards the figures, there were 5 of them, all nearly identical, 1 resembled a Draenei, another a Night Elf, but there was omsthin unsetteling about their appearance, they stood tall and upright, dressed in black, long black and red cloaks hung from their necks, hoods and helmets hid their faces, glowing blades were sheathed and large gauntlets encased their hands like metal shields, suddenly, as Merander was about 10 feet from the group of strangers, he felt a thump at the back of his neck, it felt hard and cold, like a rock, it sent him instantly to his knees then straigh to his chest, his head cracked against the cobbled ground. Merander struggled to keep from passing out, he rose his head in one final fight to stay concious, his eyes, finally focused, looked upon one of the hooded figures that had stopped to look down at the almost motionless body that now was Merander. The hooded figure's eyes glowed icy blue, they stared at Merander, they stared right into his eyes, into his soul, he could feel the freeze of pure nothingness claw at his being, that stare, that face....it was so familiar to Merander, so comforting but so chilling at the same time, the past had come back to haunt him............"Hanaford...?" Merander splurted out as his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his skull fell to the ground with a crack, loosing consiousness, all he could see in his unconsious lost thoughs were those eyes, those familiar eyes........Hanaford.

12th December - 07:30 Valiance Keep
The cold air hit Merander like a tonne of bricks as he got off the boat at Valiance Keep. He was wearing what he had put on when he boarded the boat at Stormwind Harbour, a grey jumper, his grey pants, black, leather shoes and his brown hat, his two swords remained sheathed and strapped to his leather belt. He tried to pack lightly as he knew he wasn't going to need much, the rest of his possesions, he had left with Elly back at the Pig and Whistle, he knew he could trust her with them but it wasn't her he distrusted, it was the thieves of city that he worried about, hopefully she had stashed them away somwhere safe until he got back. The cold air made Merander's moustache form smallicicles on it, he raised his hands to his mouth, cupping them, he breathed warm air into the small pocket he had created, the warmth was soothing but only lasted only a few seconds, he stuffed his hands into his pockets trying to keep them at least a little shielded from the cold. Ahead of him was a long line of lay men and women, a Recruitment Officer was positioned behind a table in front of the line, "NEXT!" he cried as the line moved foward. Gaining on the line, Merander looked around at his new surroundings, men hung from masts and timber building frames, banging and hammering as everyone carried along with their normal, run of the mill lives. Merander, now at the back of the queue looked ahead of the line, there must have been 20 people in the line with him, from all over Azeroth, Chefs, Masons, Carpenters, all professions, all all walks of life, all linning up to sign up to a valiant cause, to protect the Alliance from the ever growing threat that loomed in the new and wonderful land of Northrend. 5 minutes passed, 10 minutes, 15 even and still people were arriving and joining the queue, with every boat that ported at Valiance Keep, another load of willing candidtes joined. Merander sighed as he was finally getting nearer to the Recruitment Officer, he wondered if he was making the right decision, leaving everything for this shred of hope, this chance to redem himself, there was a Dwarf in front of Merander and in front of him, a female dressed in a simple pants and shirt. "Profession?" The officer said as he waited for an answer, his pen's tip placed firmly placed against a large book in front of him ready to detail the assignments he gave out. "Carpenter, sir" The female said as she looked on with anticipation. "I thought we had enough of you fellows, but it seems like we have some openings. Report to the civilian liason" The officer said as he scribbled some notes in his large book, the woman saluted him and went on her way. "NEXT!" He shouted. Next was the Dwarf, he walked proudly towards the officer, large arms protruded from a tough, stout body, a long beard and short hair covered the Dwarves face. "Profession?" The officer said again. "Blacksmith" Said the Dwarf loudly, for everyone to hear, he stuck his chest out and clenched his muscles. "Blacksmith? They're comming in from everywhere. Seen as we have enough to basically stock our entire garrison...." The officer said as he took out a shield and sword from a weapons and armour stock behind him. "Looks like you're going to help us in the front line. Report to the barracks for duty"  The officer threw the shield and sword to the dwarf. The dwarf's eyes opened wide as the shield and sword landed in front of him. "WHAT!? Are you mad sonny? I'm one of the most talented Blacksmiths in Azeroth, I worked with King Magni Bronzebeard to craft weapons the likes you've never seen, I've..." The officer looked unimpressed as he sighed, Merander got the sense that the officer had seen this before, a person too high and might to serve his people. Having dealt with this before, the officer knew exactly what to say, it was like second nature to him. "...and now you are a soldier. You serve the Alliance and as a member of the army, if you do not get to the Barracks on the double you will be going against an officer's orders which means you will be court martialed, now, GET TO THE BARRACKS SOLDIER!" The command stunned the Dwarf, not knowing what to do, he bent over, as the officer shadowed over him and picked up the shield and sword. He turned and made his way to the barracks, his eyes wide open and a stunned look on his face. "NEXT!" Shouted the officer. "Profession?" He said again, his voice now calmer and back to the original tone. "Merchant" Merander said wondering if he should have added in the rest of his title, he opted against it as he didn't want to be belittled like the dwarf. "Afraid not, friend. Here's your sword and shield. Report to the barracks for duty"  A sword and shield were tossed to Merander, landing at his feet he picked them up and procceed to walk towards the barracks, he looked back at the boat leaving the harbour, knowing that this was a choice he had to make...he needed to confront it now or else the ghosts of the past wouldn't stop visting his dreams and thoughts......

14th December - 19:30 Argent Vanguard
It had taken them 2 days to get from Valiance Keep to the Argent Dawn's base in Icecrown, 2 days of almost non-stop hiking to a place where they could reset and gain back their strenght for the almost secretive mission ahead. Merander had been assigned to a battalion as soon as he reached the barracks back at Valiance Keep. He wasn't even fully armed and fitted for armour as he was assigned for it. Their first mission, to trek to Argent Vanguard, there they would be given a briefing by Crusade Commander Entari. It seemed something of great importance to the Commander stationed a Valiance keep. From what had filtered down through the ranks they were on a task to aid the struggle at the base in Icecrown, what kind of struggle was anyones guess but as soon as they arrived though, they knew exactly what kind of struggle. Merander thought he could at least rest for a few hours when they got to their destination, rest they didn't get. A war of massive proportion was gaining momentum outside the walls of the Argent Vanguard, huge spider like creatures encased soldiers in masses of web, huge Frost Wyrms flew down, swooping at lines of warriors trying to fight off the army of scourge gaining on them. Bodies lay in the cold snow being trampled on by fellow soldiers. "They didn't need us to aid, they needed us to fight a war" Merander thought as he stood side by side with the rest of his battalion on the higher ground of Argent Vanguard. Screams of the dying echoed around the mountains of Icecrown as the injured lay under tents, the smell of death was in the air, it not only meant losses on the defending side but an increase of enemies on the opposing side, the living died trying to defend themselves but the suffering didn't end there, unlike an normal enemy that would be satisfied with the victory over it's foe, this unstoppable force wanted more. Men and women, dressed head to toe in heavy plate armour ran to their deaths down the side of the hill leading to the battleground and straight into a mass of conflict. Crusade Commander Entari stood proud and erect as he watched his men die in front of him, formulating plans in his head, calculating what nexts and what ifs, suddenly without warning he turned to Merander and the men and women that made up his group. "As you know you have come to help us. Look out to the land that lies in front of you, it has been overrun by a blight, a scourge." He paced in front of the weary and tired men and women "As we are already running low on armed persons you will now enter into the thick of it and bring back dead or dying soldiers here. Currently, the scourge have began to take their spoils of war in the form of corpses, these corpses are then used against us and being turned into the undead. Get as many bodies as you can carry and bring them back here." The battalion paused for a moment not knowing what to do, they looked at the Commander waiting for anything else to be added to their almost impossible rescue mission. "Now move!" The Commander said as he saluted and slowly made his way back to where had been, contemplating and observing. As soon as the Commander had turned his back the entire group moved from a slow jog to a fast run. Tired and weak men and women ran into a battle that couldn't be won, they hadn't been there to "assist" in the struggle, they were a clean up group, a way of beating down the numbers of the enemies, not by force or by courge but by taking away their only resource, the bodies of the dead. Merander, running towards the snowfilled battle field, knew this was a better time than any, he had come here trying to satisfy the past and now..........

16th May - 03:00 Amberpine Lodge
Coming Soon......

20th July - 15:50 Boat back to Stormwind
The wind blew past Merander's coarse hair, the sea water splashed against the boats bow and on to his dry, cracked skin. He felt nothing, not the coldness of the water, not the wetness of the sea, not the wind against his face. He look onwards towards the Eastern Kingdoms, the land gaining quickly on the boat, Northrend fading into the background, it's memories staying there where they belong.