Tinkerbolts Tales

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Lula was born and "raised" in Westfall, on a small farm that was extremely overcrowded. She came from a very large family however it was not a particularly loving home.
Never even having been given a name, her parents saw their children as little more than workers and servants. Lula was quite a weak and sickly child growing up, as such she was considered the most useless. She was a small little thing with messy blonde hair and wide brown eyes. Possibly due to birth or maybe just due to lack of food, she was also a very skinny girl with barely a shred of muscle on her body, which was regularly covered in rashes and sores from the lack of care anyone gave her. She wouldn't look out of place begging on the streets.

She didn't talk much as a child, although she loved the sound of the Westfall Militias village horns, as a child she used to try and imitate their sound by shouting "Scooootaloooooo", she was obsessed with those horns and irritated everyone else with her noises so she wasn't allowed to stay in the house, as such being told to sleep in the tool shed.

Lula was only close to her older brother, who took pity on her and protected her from the ridicule of her parents and siblings, if not for him, she probably wouldn't have survived a single winter.
He was the one who looked after her and nicknamed her "Scootaloo", later shorted to Lula.
He filled the role of protective big brother well and he went out of his way to make Lula as comfortable as he could, however, there was only so much he could achieve being just a teenager himself.
He would steal random scrolls from the nearby trader's caravan to keep her occupied while he was working, despite neither of them being able to read.
He always told her that strength isn't everything and that she can achieve great things, but she would need to learn to read first, he hoped these scrolls would give her a little head start.
“Stormwind... That's where you want to go... Everything you need is there... All your dreams” he would say. He idolized that city, having been there once on a delivery, he had dreamed of going back as well.
And that rubbed off on Lula.

Lula was very attached to her brother, however, that was not to last.
Due to the nature of the family and farm, her parents had sold his services to someone else and sent him away. Lula asked them where he had gone and they told her he left because he got sick of looking after her...
At that age she believed them...
Lula's parents couldn't use her or sell her as a workhorse, she was too weak and she was too young and sickly to be of any other value so her parents just ignored her as she was worthless to them.

Having lost her only close family connection, Lula tried hard to pass the time and keep herself occupied.
Distancing herself from her other family members to avoid the bullying and ridicule that her siblings would exact on her now her brother wasn't there to protect her, she would eventually spend more and more time in the tool shed she slept in, distancing herself more and more from them, familiarising herself with various tools and looking at the scrolls her brother left her and the odd schematic she would find.

Fascinated by the harvesters she had seen roaming nearby fields, she always dreamed of having her own, creating something that would stay by her side, a robot of sorts, a friend and companion to help fill the void of loneliness she felt at home.
However she knew she didn't have the skills to do that, she could barely read. She had memorized a few scrolls that turned out to be cooking recipes and she would spend many hours creating little shapeless trinkets with various scrap parts.

She remembered what her brother told her, that her only way out of here is learning to read and using her brain. She thought she had made some progress memorizing the recipes, despite the fact she couldn't cook at all.
She didn't want to leave her little tool shed, but if she couldn't learn any more here, not on her own. So she decided to collect all the little trinkets, all the reading material, and all the small tools she could carry into a sack as she made plans to leave home.
She didn't want to spend the rest of her life on this farm, she wanted to go out and create herself a friend.

Her parents probably wouldn't care if she left, but they certainly wouldn't let her take anything with her...
Luckily for her, she slept in the shed away from the house, so she could come and go without making too much noise if she was careful.
She had put everything she owned and could carry into a sack and waited until nightfall to quietly make her way out into the wilderness.

It was of course a foolish move, a teenage girl dragging a sack of goods out into the roads of Westfall at night...
She had managed to walk quite a distance under the moonlight before she spotted some shadows in the distance. She couldn't run carrying such a heavy bag so she just froze and hoped they were traders or farmers...

She was approached by two what she assumed were two militia from the local town. They were heavily armed and wore matching colours.
“What... are you doing?” peered one of the men. Before him stood a small, skinny, dirty little girl wearing very poor quality rags and no shoes. He assumed she was a beggar or a thief.
Lula wasn't very good with social interaction, so she was simply honest “I'm... Trying to get to Stormwind so I can learn to read...”
The guards looked at each other before laughing as if she had told them a joke
“Uh-huh... And that sack you're carrying is just full of books right?” the guard snatched the sack and searched it.
Pulling out a couple of small farming tools and trinkets, he frowned and sighed at the pathetic little girl before him “Get off the road and crawl back to whatever hovel you came from, it's dangerous out here... Now get going before I change my mind and throw you in the stocks..” he huffed as he confiscated her bag.

No longer carrying her sack of goods, she ran down the road as fast as she can, holding back tears and clutching a single scroll she managed to pocket before her bag was taken. She hadn't a clue what it was but it was all she had left of the farm and she hoped it would come to good use as she had no currency to her name and now no possessions.

She eventually made it to a bridge that was manned by guards dressed in crested armour that she recognized from one of the scrolls she once had. She wanted to ask for help, however, she was still very upset from her last interaction so she cautiously tried to avoid them by walking around the bridge.
Unfortunately, she was not as subtle as she thought she was and she was quickly spotted by one of the guards.
“Oi! What business do you have on the road at this time of night?” he yelled at her.
She panicked, put her head down, and held up the scroll she had.
“I have to deliver this message to... uh... Stormwind” she croaked.
He shrugged “Not very smart having someone like you wander the forest at night with a message but... I guess you better get going...” he nodded as Lula continued hastily over the bridge

After crossing the bridge she slowed down, taking a moment to catch her breath from her panic.
She looked around to see if she could make out her surroundings, however, the forest canopy hid the moonlight and shrouded the road in darkness complete darkness.
She continued forward on the road, having nothing but her bare feet on the cobbles to indicate she was still on the road.
Clutching at her scroll and staring into the darkness, she would jump every now and then at the sound of rustling coming from the dark abyss of the deep forest.
She had never stepped foot in Elwynn before and she could only imagine what horrors lingered beyond her sight.
She tried to keep her focus on the cobbles under her feet but she couldn't stop the anxiety from snatching her breath, she hastily continued moving, breaking into a run as her fear took over.

After a short time of panicked running, she managed to make out a light coming from a nearby building.
She let out a cry of relief as she darted as fast as she could towards the beacon of light, eventually coming face to face with a large stone fort with more guards stood out the front.

Not wanting to stay out in the forest any longer, she approached the guards. They seemed a little uneasy at first, seeing a small girl walk out of the forest at this hour.
“Can we help you girl?” one of the guards spoke.
She again held up the scroll and said “I'm delivering a message to Stormwind”, hoping that that could at least point her in the right direction.
Before she could react, the guard snatched the scroll from her and peered at it.
“No seal?” he said before he opened it and started reading it.
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow "You're delivering a recipe for Goretusk Liver Pie...? In the middle of the night...?"

Lula stared blankly at the guard and nodded.
The guard stifled back a laugh and looked at his colleague who shrugged at him.
“Right... Well, let's get you inside the fort and rest there till daybreak... You won't be able to make it to Stormwind in your state in the middle of the night...” he nodded
Lula looked up at him and nodded thankfully as he escorted her inside and gestured to a mess of bedrolls in the corner of a storeroom “You can rest your head here for now... I'll have a job

for you in the morning when you... continue your delivery” he said.
She nodded and set about getting some welcome rest.

 Lula was awoken by the same guard at dawn, he handed her a light satchel.
“Here you go, take this and continue down the road you were on. You'll get to a small village. When you do head into the Tavern and hand this satchel to the Innkeeper... His name is Farely... Oh and don't think about trying anything, it's just a food order. Nothing valuable in there...” the guard said sternly.
Lula looked up and him and nodded obediently. His expression softened and he ruffled her already messy hair “Tell him Westbrook sent you and that he is to direct you to Stormwind after you've made your delivery”
She thanked the guard and continued on her way.

After her rest and now being able to see where she was going, she skipped through the forest while following the road.
She kept glancing over at the tree line, now she could see clearer she realized there were no unspeakable horrors lingering by the trees, she smiled naively to herself, feeling somewhat safer in that knowledge.
She crossed the odd wooden bridge and on occasion, she would pass some guards who watch her as she passed but let her be. She was relieved to be able to walk freely down the roads without being questioned now. “Perhaps I should have just left Westfall during the day...” she pondered.

She had walked for a while when she noticed there were lanterns on fences and up ahead she could see a small cluster of buildings.
“I guess this is where that guard wanted me to bring the satchel,” she thought.
As she got closer she saw there were quite a lot of people there, she assumed it must be quite a popular tavern.

Clutching her scroll and the satchel, she cautiously approached the Inn. She glanced around at all the people, some clad in very heavy armour, some wearing very little. Some were sparring out on the street and a few were just stood around watching.
This place looked very chaotic, but she knew this was her best chance at getting to Stormwind. Having never stepped foot inside a tavern before, or any establishment for that matter, she took a deep breath and walked inside.

Some people stared at her, some people ignored her to the point of walking into her. She crept sheepishly into the tavern trying to scoot past everyone who was stood around.
The place was very loud and smelt like animals, although there were quite a few cats and wolves sat around the inn.
Surrounded by strange creatures which she had never seen before, she tried not to stare, but she accidentally caught the eye of a very small woman, who came up to her, cheerfully introducing herself and asking if Lula needed any assistance, clearly, Lula was looking both lost and confused.

"I'm Bella!" said the gnome.
Lula just stood there staring at Bella. She was very short, standing at the height of Lula's waist. Wearing an impressive pair of goggles and donning a head of messy pink hair.
Bella gave a wide grin, noticing Lula gazing at her goggles "Ahh you like these?" the gnome proudly says as she adjusts her goggles.
Lula smiles and nods, feeling more at ease with this gnome despite being surrounded in a busy tavern, she took a seat with the Gnome and told her what she'd been through and that she was trying to get to Stormwind.

"Oh bless you!" Bella exclaimed, "You've been through a fair bit! I can help you get to Stormwind, but you won't get far on the City streets in your state... Such a sweet clueless girl like you will be chewed up in no time" Bella looks at Lula with genuine concern, she takes Lula's hand.
"Come on, I know just the place to get you set up!"
“Wait!” Lula exclaimed. “I need to deliver this satchel to uh... Farely?”
“Oh! I can do that...” Bella grinned as she took the satchel. She climbed onto the banister and yelled “DELIVERY FOR FARLEY” before she jumped up and launched the satchel at the innkeeper's head.
Lula stared at the innkeeper as he grabbed the satchel and looked around furiously. Unable to make out where it came from he grumbled and started reading the work order.
Bella grinned as she grabbed Lula's hand and led her out the tavern “All done!

Bella led the way down the road, walking confidently despite being the shortest woman Lula had seen in Goldshire.
Lula admired her for this as she found herself cautious of every single creature in this place...
Staying close to her new friend, clutching her satchel, she wandered down the roads of Elywnn.
“Where are we going?” asked Lula
"You'll see when we get there!" the gnome smiled.
Lula found this a little disconcerting, however, she was so fascinated by Bellas goggles she couldn't help but be led by her curiosity. Perhaps Bella could teach Lula what she wanted to know. 

After walking for a while, Lula and Bella finally arrive at a large tower just off the side of the road.
"Is this your house?" Lula asked, staring up at the peak of the tower.
"No silly, this is a sort of... Library! I help keep this place organized for the boss upstairs, but you don't need to worry about him, he rarely comes downstairs" Bella laughed as she led Lula to the entrance of the tower, escorting her inside...

Lula looks around in awe at the bookcases, alchemy benches, and spiraling staircase. She starts to wander around, slowly making her way up the stairs.
"Nope! Not up there silly, everything you need is down here!" Bella gestures at the bookcases.
Lula looks at the gnome, slightly puzzled, "Everything I need...?"
Bella picks out a random book from the bookcase and hands it to Lula "To learn to read!"
Lula takes the book, a huge smile on her face "You'll help me learn to read? But why?"
Bella looks at Lula with concern "You're going to be a smart girl Lula... Few people your age have such an interest in the mechanical... It's all big swords and magic for most humans..." Bella gestures to her goggles
"But you don't know it yet. So you do really dumb things like walking into the worst tavern around while completely unarmed and without a clue what you're doing"
Lula looks at the floor sheepishly as Bella continues "You're lucky I happened to spot you... The only young girl in the tavern that wasn't dancing on a table, you stood out... And you don't want that... not in there... trust me..." Bella's expression changes from concern to a big grin
"Now let's get you reading!"

For the next few weeks, Lula stayed close to Bella, helping her keep the tower organized during the day and learning to read late into the evening.
She shared an extremely small yet surprising cozy tent with Bella, spending the nights listening to all of Bella's stories, learning so much about the world outside Westfall where she grew up. Lula told Bella more details about herself and her upbringing.
The gnome really loved her nickname and took to calling her "Scootaloo" at every opportunity.

During her stay at the tower, Lula didn't have many interactions with others. She kept close to Bella, after realizing how much danger she put herself in wandering through Goldshire alone she learned to keep herself to herself out here.

On one occasion, Bella was tasked with receiving a clothing delivery from the mills at Redridge. Lula was sitting outside reading one of the simple books Bella had left her when a strange young woman approached her and started talking to her. Lula felt very nervous being approached a stranger on her own and she looked around for Bella who was checking over the delivery, before just putting her head back in her book hoping the strange woman would just go away. Sure enough, she wandered back over to Bella. Feeling bad, Lula just retreated to her small tent.

It was a couple of weeks later that she would see that stranger once again. Lula was sat at a table working on some simple alchemy when the young woman from before had come to pay a visit again. She wandered up and nervously placed a gift on the table, startling Lula, who almost dropped her vials.

"Sorry..." The young woman frowned. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just wanted to give you something that I hope will help you in the future."
Lula looked up at her with slight confusion "Why?"
The woman smiled sadly, nodding to the gift on the table "You remind me of myself when I was younger." she stated frowning. "Someone helped me, and although you have Bella helping you, I would like help in my own way." She nodded. "So, I made you a tool bag."
She chuckled nervously, as Lula started inspecting the bag "It should help when you are finally becoming an engineer, and hopefully you'll put it to good use."

“I'm Vivian, pleased to meet ya!” she said as Lula continued to study the bag with awe.
Lula looked up at her and smiled gratefully, still with a slight look of confusion on her face “Thank you, I'm Lula... Or Scootaloo...” she went back to studying the bag with a grin on her face

With every day that passed Lula's reading ability improved under Bella's guidance, along with some minor writing ability, she was able to take minor notes and draw increasingly complex schematics of little inventions Lula had dreamed up which Bella found fascinating.
Lula was extremely grateful for Bella's help and couldn't help but feel a very strong attachment to her. Although she didn't fully understand why she was taken under this gnome's wing and shown such care, she knew that she wanted to repay her, one day.

"Hey

Sleepy! Up you get!" Bella exclaimed early one morning, waking Lula up and jumping on her blanket
"Today is the day!"
Lula wakes up, rubbing her eyes, and looks at the gnome "Day for... what?"
Bella grins and smugly says
"The day you go to Stormwind and start training under some of the finest Gnomish Engineers in... well... Stormwind!”

Lula jumps up immediately, smiling ear to ear she squeezes the gnome into a tight hug and starts tearing up. Bella struggles a little to regain her breath from the human-sized hug
"Alright! That... That's great!" she slips out from Lula's grasp and giggles.

Lula takes Bella's hands and looks her in the eyes
"Honestly... I still don't know why you've done so much for me, you've taught me so much... And now you're getting me to Stormwind... How do I repay you?"
Bella looks at Lula, her usual cheerful demeanor turns into a soft smile
"I know how hard it can be out there when you're all alone. A young girl like you just needed a helping hand..." Bella gives a proud grin.

"Just look at you now! When I found you, you were a lost, confused, and dirty little girl who couldn't read... Now you know where you're going and you have the skill the get there! You're still filthy though..." she grinned.
Bella squeezes Lula's hands "There are people out there who are like you who aren't lucky enough to have someone take them in and teach them... just remember that when you become the worlds greatest inventor..." she giggles and goes back to her usual cheerful demeanor
"Now come on! Let's get going!"

After they had packed up for the journey, they set off through Elwynn Forest towards the city. They passed through Goldshire again though this time Lula didn't find it as daunting as she originally had.

After a while, they reached the city gates. Lula stood there in awe as she looked up at the arches and statues. Bella spoke to the guard for a moment and she grabbed the awestruck Lula and dragged her in.

“This place is bigger than I ever imagined,” said Lula as she wandered over the bridge.

Bella grinned “You ain't seen nothing yet sweetie!”

The Gnome held tightly to Lula as she escorted her through the Trade District. Lula kept stopping and trying to look at all the buildings. She was so enamored by the structures and the crowds surrounding her that she stumbled over herself.

“Lula!” Bella exclaimed, “You really need to be careful here it's REALLY busy and you'll get lost if you're not careful...”

Lula nodded “Sorry I just... I really want to see everything”

“Aw sweetie there will be plenty of time for that don't you worry! But first, we need to get to you to the Dwarven District!”

Lula nodded obediently as she hopped to her feet and followed Bella.

Eventually, after some walking, they arrive at a large, smoggy area surrounded by machinery and various contraptions Lula had never laid eyes on before.
She looked around in awe as Bella grinned at Lulas reaction
"Impressed? I thought you might be... Well, this is the best place in Stormwind to be if you want to learn some more about engineering!"
Bella wandered up to some Gnomes that were gathered around a vehicle, Lula noticed they were wearing goggles similar to Bellas but these looked far more advanced.

Bella gestured Lula over and introduced her to her friends. They were very friendly and extremely curious to learn about Lula's ideas, as Bella had shown them some of the schematics Lula had drawn over her time with her. Lula stood there nervously as her work was judged, she glanced at Bella, who gave her a proud grin.

Bella had hoped that Lula would have been able to apprentice with one of these gnomes as she had to return to her work. Unfortunately, they were all far too busy to take on an apprentice full time, however, they all agreed to give Lula a small workbench in one of their workshops and allow her to let her creativity run wild with assistance nearby if she needed it. In return, Lula was expected to assist on larger projects that required an extra hand and try to keep the workshop organized.

Lula was very reluctant to be separated from Bella after all she had been through with her. The gnome saw her start to tear up, she rolled her eyes and smiled "Come on Lula! This is what you've been aiming for! You've made it to Stormwind and you're going to be an engineer!"
Lula wiped her eyes and nodded, Bella grinned "I'll come to visit don't you worry, and you know where to find me if you need me, however, I'm sure once you settle in you'll forget all about me" Bella laughed "Now... Go in there and make a name for yourself, when I get back I want to see you running this workshop!" With that, Bella embraced Lula and took her leave.

Lula wiped her eyes as she watched the gnome walk away, she turned and looked nervously at the workshop "I'll do my best..."

Lula quickly found her place in the workshop amongst the gnomish engineers, she quickly found herself spending more time assisting them in their projects than she did working on anything of her own, some of them were enamored by her curious spirit and helpful nature, they saw her as a very curious human indeed..
Others however thought she got in the way a little and served as a distraction.
Although they were nothing but polite to Lula, they voiced their concerns to the engineering quartermaster. He understood their concerns about having a young untrained human running around the workshop however he didn't want to stunt her growth.
A compromise was made, Lula was given the task to create something of her own, without any help from the other gnomes. He wanted to see what she could come up with as some of the schematics he had seen Lula draw were quite impressive, for a young human.

Lula nervously accepted the task. She had spent as much time as she could helping around the workshop because she felt so unskilled compared to these engineers. Drawing schematics and ideas is one thing but putting them together is something she had very little experience with... What if the schematics were wrong? What if she didn't actually know anything and Bella had put her faith in the wrong girl?
She knew she was going to embarrass herself if she had to build something on her own... But she had her task set, it was time for her to step up and prove she belonged here.

Lula spent the next day scouring the workshop looking for inspiration and ideas. Although being surrounded by such large and complex machines just made her even more nervous, how was she supposed to compete with that?
She decided to take a wander around the city to see if she could stumble across any ideas.

She wandered through the streets trying to take in some of the sights that she missed on her first arrival here, however, she was so anxious she couldn't focus. She continued wandering aimlessly around the city until she stumbled over some chickens that were strutting around the street by a nearby trading cart.
"Hey watch where ya going!" yelled a man stood by the cart. Lula quickly hopped to her feet and awkwardly apologized.
She looked at the handful of chickens that were scattered aimlessly across the street, she muttered to herself "chickens can't fly..."
The guy stood by the cart looked at Lula at first like she was insane, just muttering to herself, however, his expression turned to concern, "you alright there little miss?"
Lula looked at him and asked, "chickens can't fly can they?"
The man began to laugh "If they could I'd be in a bit of trouble, they'd all just fly off!"
A grin spread across Lula's face as she thanked the man and started running back to the workshop. She knew exactly what she was going to make...

Lula returned to the workshop, sat at her workbench, and started drawing up crude schematics, titled "Making Chickens Fly"
She spent hours drawing and restarting, the growing pile of papers by her workbench was piquing the curiosity of some nearby gnomes, they really wanted to find out what she was doing but they knew they were to leave her to her own devices.

After a while, she paused, looked over all her work, and sighed. She was trying to figure out a way to enhance the chicken's wing power so it could fly on its own, unfortunately, the machinery required to achieve this would be far too heavy for the creature. She had to think of something else...

Armed with what she felt was a solid idea, she decided to wander around the workshop again to see if she could find the missing piece she needed, but everything was on such a large scale. These vehicles and odd robotic machines were far too big to apply to something as small as a chicken and she wasn't skilled enough yet to attempt to scale down something like that.
She decided to just wander into the storeroom, pick up some random items, put them in a box, and take them back with her, perhaps that would ignite something in her mind.

She dumped the box on her workbench and started fishing through items.
Springs... Perhaps a method of bouncing the chicken into the air? She started taking notes as she continued to search through the box.
She pulled a small harpoon out of the box and chuckled to herself at the thought of simply strapping the chicken to a harpoon and shooting it into the sky. Shaking her head she pulled out some fireworks... She pondered for a moment. "That could work but the explosion at the end wouldn't be a nice end for the chicken" she muttered to herself.
"I would just need a smaller yield that just fizzles out... and a method for landing..."
She brushed everything off her workbench onto the floor, got a new scroll, placed the firework in front of her, and started to put her idea to paper.

She worked long into the night, eventually falling asleep at her workbench. One of the young gnomish apprentices in the workshop was clearing the area nearby after hours, he noticed the mess around Lula's workbench and decided to tidy up some of the mess for her.
He had taken quite a shine to Lula, when she first arrived he had introduced himself and helped her figure out the layout of the workshop. Spanners is what everyone called him and he was quite a skilled engineering apprentice.

As he was quietly clearing around Lula's workbench, he sifted through some of the discarded ideas that were piled up on the floor. He chuckled quietly to himself "This girl really is something..."
He couldn't help his curiosity, he was so intrigued to see what Lula's most recent idea was so he decided to get on the workbench and take a peek.

As he looked over her schematics he let out a small sigh "Oh Lula... The premise is brilliant but... the application won't work" he thought to himself. He really wanted to help her but he knew she was

tasked to do this on her own, besides perhaps this isn't the final draft, maybe she's still working on it he thought.
He finished clearing up around the workbench, piled up her discarded drafts neatly in a pile, and left a note on the top.

 In the morning Lula was awoken by the sound of machinery being booted up. She rubbed her eyes and looked over her clean workbench with confusion. She spotted the neat pile of schematics topped with a note, she reached over a read it "Never discard your own ideas, you never know when you'll need to learn from them in future - Spanners"
She smiled and put her schematics neatly in her drawer and looked over her final draft.

She had designed a small rocket pack that would fit a chicken. In her mind, the chicken would spread its wings, which would activate the rocket pack, launching the chicken into the air. Then once the rocket is depleted of fuel, it would simply fizzle out and the chicken would start falling, which would then trigger the small parachute pack to deploy, bringing the chicken safely back to the ground. It was single-use however she figured if she could impress her peers then it wouldn't matter, just as long as it worked.

She nodded proudly at her schematic and set about getting the parts she needed to build this. She scoured the workshop collecting what she needed and also put in a request with the quartermaster for a live chicken. His curiosity was peaked "Sure I can get you a chicken, I assume this is something to do with what you're making? I can't wait to see what marvel you've come up with!"
Lula grinned confidently as she walked out "I think you're going to like it!"

She hurried back to her workbench and got to work building her device. This was the first time she had used explosive materials or built anything as complex as this but she was confident in her idea and calculations.
The next few days were spent testing the rockets and activation mechanism, the parachute was difficult to test however she made sure everything deployed correctly on the ground and all mechanisms were correctly activated.
Covered in dirt and grease she stood up and looked at her creation "This should work" she nodded.

She grabbed her finished invention and carried it across the workshop, gathering a few curious glances along the way "Looks like she's finished!" some of the gnomes muttered. Spanners gazed at her as she marched proudly through the workshop, his face turned to concern as he remembered the schematic he saw. He swallowed his concern and followed a small group of gnomes that were tailing Lula to the quartermaster, all of them wanting to see what she made.

"Here it is!" Lula exclaimed as she walked into the quartermaster's office, proudly holding up what looked like a tiny rocket-powered jetpack.
The quartermaster adjusted his goggles and peered at the device with curious awe "Ohhh! That's... Uh... What is it?"
Lula looked around his office and spotted the chicken she had requested sitting in a cage in the corner. She gestured towards the case "It's a little jetpack for a chicken! I'm going to make this chicken fly and land safely!"
The quartermaster glanced at the chicken and then back at Lula, an excited grin spread across his face "What a delightfully novel idea!" he peered at the jetpack and starts wondering to the cage to collect the chicken "Shall we see if it works?"

Lula nodded as they both walked out into the yard, followed by a handful of gnomes who were eager to see this device in action. She took the chicken and attached the device, it fits surprisingly well considering she sized it with visualization alone.
Once the device was attached she quickly stepped back and gave the chicken some space, she turned to the quartermaster "So when the chicken expands its wings, the device should activate and grant the chicken flight!"
Everyone
stared intently at the chicken waiting patiently for it to expand it's wings.

Surely enough after a few moments, the chicken did just that. The mechanism fired successfully and the rockets engaged in a slow burn, gradually sending the chicken flying upwards gaining speed the higher it went. Eventually, the rockets cut out and the parachute deployed. Everyone cheered at Lula as she stood there grinning, anxiously waiting for the chicken to return to the ground.

As the parachute brought the chicken closer to the ground, the crowd hushed. Spanners looked over at Lula, the poor girl was stood there, eyes shut and lip quivering. Unnoticed by the crowd of gnomes that had gathered around the landing spot, awaiting the smoldering dead chicken to slowly float back to the ground.
As it hit the ground, the quartermaster walked up to the dead chicken and nudged it with his foot, he turned to the other gnomes and chuckled "Well... I guess we're having chicken for dinner"
The other gnomes started laughing as he walked over to Lula, who was trying to remain composed at the humiliation. "Looks like you forgot to take the heat into account!" he smiled, as Spanners overheard those words and sighed deeply.
"Some thermal shielding perhaps and you'd nail it! Don't be discouraged, that was a great first attempt!"
Lula smiled faintly and nodded "Thank you" she stuttered as she hastily walked off back to her workbench.

The crowd slowly dispersed until Spanners was the only one left in the yard. He looked at the remnants of Lula's work and decided to salvage what he could for her. "I should've said something... I stood by and let her go through that, she looked so upset..."
He carried what was left of Lula's mini-jet-pack and wandered across the workshop to find her. As he approached her workbench he could see her resting her head in her arms, silently sobbing.
"Lula?" he said as he shuffled awkwardly towards her.
She rubbed her eyes in her arms and turned around "Oh... Hey Spanners" she croaked as she noticed the scrap he was carrying "You may as well bin that, it didn't work... And that poor chicken..." she started to tear up.
Spanners was unsure whether she was more upset about her device's failure or the chicken but he decided not to ask.

"You know... the premise of your creation was very good..." he said, attempting to make the girl feel better. She shrugged, clearly deflated from her first taste of drastic failure.
Spanners pondered for a moment, trying to think of a way to cheer this girl up.
A grin spread across his face as he conjured an idea "You know... this device would work perfectly on a robotic chicken!"

Lula turned and looked at him with a slightly curious expression, she wiped her eyes "There's no way I'm good enough to design a robot yet... Let alone build one"
Spanners raised a hand confidently "Well I just so happen to specialize in robotics you know and I'd love to help you!" he smiled widely.
The young girl sat up and looked over her workbench "I was supposed to invent something myself... I wanted to prove I belonged here" she sighed
"You did invent something yourself!" Spanners replied as he held up Lula's invention "You invented a mini-jet pack that works on mechanical chickens! Think about it! The thermal issue wouldn't be a problem at all with the correctly built robot. This device is essentially ready to be successful when applied to the correct subject"

Lula pondered his words, she had always wanted to build an amazing robot but her ideas were far too advanced for her rookie building ability. Not to mention overlooking the temperature control on her first attempt was a fatal mistake that shook the confidence she had in her own calculations.
She looked at Spanners as he stood there smiling at her, he was so helpful, one of the few people here that had treated her like a person rather than a curious abnormality.

There were a few other humans and a couple of dwarves around the district that would visit the workshop regularly to work and assist, however they paid very little attention to her.
The dwarves thought the workshop was no place for a scrawny little human girl, they felt the same as some of the gnomes did, that she was just in the way, however, they were at least polite enough to keep their comments to themselves and treat Lula as a workshop apprentice regardless of their feelings.
The humans however were not as charitable, they viewed her as little more than a street rat that the gnomes had taken pity on. She wasn't an ingenious gnome or industrious as a dwarf, she was just another orphan girl as far as they were concerned, and they had no issue kicking her aside when she got in their way.

She considered Spanners her closest friend in the workshop, and here he was offering to help her once again. She nodded at him and smiled "Robot chicken it is..." 

Spanners beamed and held up his hands "Right... Wait there" and with that, he sprinted off across the workshop.
Lula scratched her head and smiled "Alright" she muttered, hopping off her chair and inspecting her spent jet-pack "I guess I can salvage this..." she peered across the workshop in the direction Spanners ran "Building an actual robot..." she starting grinning to herself.

Spanners returned to Lula clutching a scroll in his hand "This! Is a schematic for a robot chicken!" she peered at him with confusion "Why do you have a schematic for a robot chicken?"
He laughed "I have schematics for loads of different robots! Although they aren't much bigger than small animals at the moment however luckily for you I have just what you need!" he stood there proudly as Lula inspected the schematic.
She was happy to see that the basic core design wasn't that much different than the schematics she used to draw herself, perhaps she was onto something after all.

She would of course need some help to make sense of some of these parts "What is this?" she pointed at an unfamiliar part of the schematic, "And this?" she continued to look curiously at the design.
Spanners laughed "Don't you worry Lula, when we're done you'll be able to design your own basic robots! But first, let's get you building, so you can show everyone how well your device functions!"
Lula wrapped her arms around the Gnome, despite Lula being quite small for a human, she still dwarfed the little guy, "I can't wait!" she said as the young gnome just blushed in Lula's embrace

Over the next few weeks, Lula and Spanners worked closely together. When they didn't have other duties to perform they were straight back to Lula's workbench to work on the robot chicken.
Although Spanners could bring his schematic to life without too much trouble, he wanted to help the aspiring young human discover and learn for herself.
She spent many hours pouring over the schematic, trying to learn and understand everything about basic robotics so she would be able to draw her own.
Eventually, with the young gnome's help, she managed to grasp the basic robotic principles and she had successfully created her own robot chicken design. She couldn't wait to try and build it however the parts required would take some time to gather, they made a list and spent the next few weeks collecting the parts they needed as Lula slowly tried to bring her design to life with Spanners supervision.

During this time Lula became increasingly attached to the young gnome. Occasionally she found herself focusing more on him than her work, though she wasn't sure why.
She couldn't wait until the time they could spend together to work on her creation, she assumed she was just overly excited to finally be building her own robot, but there was something else she just couldn't put her finger on.

With all the time they were spending together, Spanners was trying hard to keep their relationship professional, but the small spark he carried for Lula was having rocket fuel poured on it every time they were together.
"You're being ridiculous... A human and a gnome... Just wouldn't work... Would it...? But she's just... perfect..." these thoughts whirled around his head as his infatuation grew.
Lula had made exceptional progress over the last couple of months, Spanners almost couldn't believe how well she was doing. At this rate, her skills would overtake his very soon. He thought he would be envious of her but he couldn't be prouder. He was smitten... The young gnome had to accept the fact he had fallen for this aspiring engineer, but what now?

"SCOOTALOOOOOO" echoed through the workshop one morning. Lula perked up, recognizing that voice she darted to the yard to find Bella stood there with a wide grin.
Lula burst into tears of happiness "Bella!" she squeaked as she charged the gnome with an embrace, almost knocking her over "Aha! Alright, easy now! I missed you too but you've grown at least another inch and you're going to break something silly!"
She chuckled as Lula let go and wiped her eyes. Bella looked around and grinned "So! Are you running this place yet?"
"Not quite yet..." replied Lula "but I have something to show you!" she grabbed Bella's hand and excitedly dragged her through the workshop.

Arriving at her workbench Lula hastily tidied up a little and placed her robotic chicken on the desk "It's almost finished!" she beamed proudly.
Bella lifted her goggles and exclaimed "You made this? Yourself?! I knew you had it in you!" she grinned.
"Well... I did have some help but I drew the design and built it with my own hands" Lula proudly stated as she spotted Spanners heading towards her workbench
"Oh, this is is my friend Spanners! He's the one who's been helping me so much..."
she gestured and gazed at Spanners "He's been amazing"
Bella turned to the young blushing gnome as he awkwardly shuffled towards them "Amazing eh..." she peered at him and smirked.

"Hello Miss, it's a pleasure to meet you" he nervously and formally greeted Bella, akin to a boy meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time. Bella's eyes flicked between the two as the smirk remained on her face
"Can't say I'm surprised..." she poked Spanners, grinned cheerfully "You better take good care of her, or I'll throw you in the incinerator!"
The young gnome stuttered, struggling to feign ignorance to what this woman could possibly be talking about. Lula just stood there covering her red face with her palm "Bella!"

Bella turned to Lula and grinned as Spanners hastily scuttled off across the workshop.
"So spill! How longs that been going on?", although looking at Lula's blushing and somewhat confused expression, Bella was reminded of the confused little girl she stumbled across in Goldshire long ago. "This girl hasn't got a clue... Poor thing... I should probably explain some things" she thought to herself

"Right Scoot... I did come here for a reason but this is more important! Come now, we're going to find a nice quiet spot in the park so you can tell me all about what you've been up to!" she grinned as she took Lula's hand and they both walked across the city to the park.

Bella grabbed some drinks from a tavern and found a quiet spot in the shade and sat down with Lula. They chatted for hours on end as Lula told Bella all about the things she had learned in the last year, how she had settled in, and the friends she had made.
Once the subject of Spanners came up Bella could tell Lula was unsure what she was feeling or what was going on. So she spent a while explaining all the things her mother should have taught her but clearly didn't.
Lula took this information reluctantly, shuffling uncomfortably as a teenager that was being given "The Talk" but at least she could make some sense of her feelings now.

Bella didn't push the subject any further. She just wanted to make sure this young girl knew the ways of the world. "Now! For the real reason, I'm here!"

Bella chuckled and reached into her bag, pulling out an odd-looking box with a lens.
Lula gazed curiously at the strange device "What is it?"
"This! Is a camera!" Bella chuckled as she took a picture of Lula, causing a small piece of paper to appear from inside it with a grainy picture of the young girl.
"Oh wow! How does it work?" she gasped.
Bella handed her a scroll "This is the schematic! Given all you've told me you should have no trouble making your own!" she grinned
"So I made this because I'm going to go traveling! The boss has given me extended leave. Remember some of those places I told you about ages ago? I'm going to go and take pictures of them all!" Bella exclaimed excitedly as she started reeling off her list "The Gates of Ironforge... The Ruins of Uldaman... The Stonewrought Dam... The Thandol Span... Maybe even... The Ruins of Lordaeron... Imagine if I got a picture of that! I'd be famous!" she beamed.
Lula sat there smiling but was slightly concerned "That sounds really dangerous though..."
Bella laughed "Don't you worry! I'm going to be mailing you pictures and letters all the time! You'll know exactly where I am!" she smiled at Lula "I'll be fine... Don't think for a second I won't be back for your wedding! I'm going to have so many stories to tell you!" she grinned as Lula turned bright red.
"Let's head back, I've got a tram to catch!" she took Lula's hand and they started heading back.
Lula gazed around the park and smiled as she left "This made a nice change from the workshop"

They arrived back at the workshop and said their goodbyes.
"Please come back safely, I'll have so much more to show you... and write to me all the time to let me know where you are..." Lula started tearing up and hugged the gnome.
Bella smiled sincerely and said "I promise... I'll send you a picture of every place I visit and I'll even bring you back some souvenirs"
Lula released Bella and nodded, wiping her eyes as the gnome took her leave. As Bella left the workshop she passed Spanners who looked at her nervously.
Bella wandered up to him and muttered "She really likes you... You should take her to the park", she gave him a wink as he gave a confused but relieved nod and with that, she made her way to the tram-line.

During the next day, Spanners had been pondering what Bella had told him. Lula had become more flustered around him after the trip to the park, but she was too shy to mention anything or talk about what Bella may have said. The awkward tension between them was growing and Spanners knew he had to do something.
He didn't have a clue what he was doing, although he was technically much older than this girl, he was still many years away from gnomish maturity, he had never done anything like this before and had nothing to go on other than what Bella had mentioned.
"What do human girls like..." he thought as he gazed at Lula from a distance, watching the grubby human girl as she put the finishing touches on her robotic chicken and attempted to fit her repaired jet pack to it.
He rubbed his head "Probably thinking all wrong... What would she like..."
Armed with a slight idea Spanners set about gathering some items together. Later that evening he approached Lula as she finished up her creation "Hey Lula...?" he asked, clutching a basket almost half the size of him.
She turned around and couldn't help but look pleased to see him despite how much she tried to hide it. The young gnome shuffled on his feet "I thought maybe I could take you to the park and I brought uh... food" he held up the basket.
Lula's eyes widened as she turned red "The park?" she thought "Did Bella say something to him? What did she say!?" she smiled and nodded at the gnome, putting down her tools and taking the basket. 

"I would like that... Here I can carry this..." she smiled shyly. Spanners let out a nervous laugh as she took the basket with ease and they started walking to the park.

Once the two of them reached the park Lula picked the same spot she sat with Bella. They both sat down and Lula eagerly opened the basket to see what Spanners had brought with him.
She reached in and pulled out a cooked chicken, looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Spanners smiled until he realized she might be thinking he was making fun of her. He frantically apologized and Lula just laughed at how flustered he got.
They sat in the park together late into the evening, sharing their stories and their dreams. The more they talked the more apparent their feelings for each other became until they finally shared their first awkward kiss and made their way back to the workshop hand in hand.

The next 2 years flew by for Lula. After successfully managing to create a robotic rocket chicken and passing the test flight, she had earned the respect of many of her peers which allowed her to feel much more at home in the district. She furthered her training with mechanical and vehicle maintenance to earn her keep in the workshop, while she kept working on numerous projects on the side, and with the help of Spanners, she greatly increased her skill with robotics.
Lula stopped sleeping in the workshop and she started living with her gnomish partner.
With the two of them living and working together, Lula finally felt like she had realized the dreams she had as a child, but she knew she could achieve more.

She was also in contact with Bella who, as promised, was mailing her letters and photos. Bella had made her way to Ironforge, onto the Ruins of Uldaman, and then to the Stonewall Dam. She had been spending a large amount of time at each place taking in all she could and making the most of her new device, sending back tales of her adventures and some beautiful snaps to Lula.

Lula would spend many nights going over the letters Bella sent her, hoping one day to be able to follow in her footsteps and explore the world herself. She would talk at length to Spanners about her plans and ideas to follow in Bella's footsteps, she continued to idolize her even more with every letter, even creating a small scrapbook with all the photos that she planned to present to Bella when she returned.

Spanners didn't share Lula's wanderlust or her desire to travel the world. Even if he would follow her to the ends of the Azeroth, he wanted to try and keep her occupied in the workshop. He had noticed that with each letter she received Lula became more and more worried about Bella.
"Perhaps a large project would take her mind off Bella for a while," he thought.

Due to her greatly increased skill in robotics, Spanners decided to urge Lula to try and create a fully functioning Gnome-like robot. He fully believed she could do that and she had once told him her original goal was to create a friend.
"This is a perfect idea!" he thought, as he set about proposing the idea to Lula.

"You want me to what...?" the young engineer said, somewhat perplexed at Spanners suggestion. She adjusted her goggles. A crudely built pair she put together trying to imitate Bella's, she had taken to wearing them almost all the time.
"Yeah think about it! What better way to push your skills to the limit and test what you've learned than to undertake a project like this! Create the robot you always dreamed of! And I'll still be here to help you every step of the way" he grinned.
Lula pondered for a moment. She had made a few minor robotic items over the years however nothing as complex as this. She wasn't sure if she could pull it off, however, the amount of faith Spanners had in her ability was heart-warming.
"Well if he's willing to help me... I'm sure I can do this..." she thought, as she grinned at Spanners and nodded.
"That's great! I actually have some wonderful ideas for this as well, however..." he looked at Lula, "I had planned something special for us tomorrow..." he grinned.
"Oh..? What's tomorrow?" she asked
"Well remember last year around this time? We celebrated the anniversary of our first kiss in the park by sharing an extravagant picnic there" he smiled blushing slightly
Her eyes widened "It's been two years already? Time has moved so fast... I didn't realize!" she smiled warmly and looked at Spanners with wide eyes "What are you planning this time?"
The young gnome grinned "You'll see..."

The next day Lula woke up earlier than usual. She turned over to find Spanners wasn't there which was odd.
Instead, there was a note on the pillow. Lula opened it and started reading:
“Happy Second Anniversary my love!
Today I've got something very special planned for you.
I really enjoyed last year's picnic, however, I know this year I need to do something better so I've decided to mark this occasion with a little treasure hunt!
I hope you enjoy it!
Here is the first clue: I need a haircut..”

Lula stared blankly at the paper for a moment and cracked a smile “I guess riddles aren't his strong suit... But I do love a picnic!” she thought as she chuckled to herself and hopped out of bed. She quickly put her clothes on, grabbed her tool bag, and goggles and rushed out the door excitedly.
“Haircut... Barbers, I guess? Is he trying to say I need a haircut...” she pondered as she walked towards the Trade District while playing with her hair.
She arrived at the Barbers and looked around. The well-groomed Gnomish barber inspected her.
“Messy blonde hair... Dirty clothes... Weird goggles... Guess this is for you!” he said in an oddly cheery tone as he handed a note over to Lula.
She sheepishly took the note, thanking the Gnome and turning to look at herself in the mirror
“I guess I could use a haircut after all” she pondered while staring at herself in the large mirror. She never was one for being self-conscious about her appearance but that was probably because she had spent so long in a workshop setting. She rarely spent any time out of the Dwarven District and had little interaction with anyone other than those who expected her to look like a dirty mechanic.
The mirror had given her pause, however, she pulled herself away from it and went outside to read the note:

“Well done!
I hope my first clue wasn't too hard for you, I thought I'd start off with something simple before we got into the real thing!
Now for the next clue: Grapes are the staple for any picnic”

Lula squinted at the note slightly perplexed.
“Grapes...? Where do I get grapes?” she pondered as she wandered down the street looking around the various shops.
“I don't recall ever seeing a fruit shop that sells grapes... Or a fruit shop for that matter... Though maybe I just haven't found one yet” she shrugged as she started wandering aimlessly around the Trade District looking for a grape shop.
After a while, she began to wander out the outskirts of the district along the canals, until she spotted a shop sign with a picture of some grapes and a wine bottle.
“Oh! Grapes make wine!” she realized as she covered her face with her hand and smiled at her own idiocy.
She wandered into the store and expectedly presented herself to the woman behind the counter with a grin.
The woman looked at her “You've got an admirer it seems” she smiled as she reached to the shelf and pulled down a bottle with a note stuck to it.
“This was left for you, it's already been paid for” she handed Lula the bottle.
Lula blushed as she took the bottle and put it in her bag, thanked the woman, and left the store to read the next note.

“Excellent!
I'll be honest I thought that might be a hard one but if you're reading this then you figured it out!
You might have a rough idea of where this is going but stick with me!
For your next clue: You can't have wine without the dairy!”

Lula nodded confidently
“Cheese and wine!” she thought as she started walking back into the Trade District.
She looked around the buildings checking the signs until she spotted the picture of a cheese block.
“Cheese shop!” she shouted excitedly, causing some nearby folk to give her an odd look.
She let out a weak laugh, hastily made her way inside, and walked up to the counter.

The man behind the counter looked at her and without missing a beat he brought out a wrapped cloth and a note.
“You must be Lula” he smiled
“Some little guy came in here yesterday and placed this order, told us to hand it to a woman of your description... Normally that could prove difficult but... I can't say I've seen many young girls dressed like you...” he chuckled as he unwrapped the cloth to reveal a few large chunks of various cheeses.
“It's all there... I hope you enjoy it”
“Thank you so much!” Lula grinned as she took the items and stepped out of the store.
Getting increasingly excited she opened the note and started reading.

“Almost there!
Only two more left to go until the finale!
We'll need some floral fragrance”

Lula nodded confidently once again.
“Flowers! Ah, I'm getting good at this” she grinned to herself as she started to look around for a flower shop.
“I wonder how much he's spent...” she pondered as she searched the buildings.
Eventually, she decided to check the outskirts once again and sure enough, she stumbled across a cute little flower shop tucked

away in the corner by the canals.
She wandered inside and was instantly hit with a strong floral fragrance.
There was an old woman inside who was tending to her flowers, she hadn't seemed to have noticed Lula walk in.

“Excuse me, miss?” Lula said quietly.
The woman turned around and smiled at her
“Oh hello dear... You must be that girl that little Gnome was talking about” she smiled as she shuffled over to the counter.
Lula stood there nervously and nodded, “He's really put a lot of thought into this,” she thought to herself as a warm smile crept across her face.
The old woman placed a large bouquet of roses on the counter as she noticed Lula's smile.
“Aww young love...” she grinned
“These are for you! Left by that charming young Gnome”
“Thank you” Lula blushed as she picked up the flowers
“You take care now dears... And if you need any more flowers you know where to come” the woman nodded as she got back to tending her stock.

Lula stepped outside and looked at the bouquet with a smile. She spotted a note that was tucked in amongst the flowers.
She walked to a quiet spot and sat down with her flowers to read the note.

“Wine, cheese, and flowers...
Just one more thing left to get and you're ready for the finale!
This one is a very special item I've been holding for a while...
It's hidden in the workshop!
You'll find it with the next clue:
Never discard your own ideas, you never know when you'll need to learn from them in the future”

Lula pondered on the note for a moment. Nothing sprang to mind. She picked up all her things and started heading back to the workshop, going over her final clue.
Arriving at the workshop she decided to sit down at her workbench. Looking over the mess of notes and scrap she had lying around on it she thought “I should really clean this...”
She started to collect up the scrap pieces of paper until the last clue reminded her of a note she once read on this very spot...
“My discarded ideas..” she looked at the drawer where she had been storing her discarded ideas, ever since that first note Spanners had given her.
She opened it up and sure enough sat a small reinforced lockbox with a note sat on top.
Placing the box on her workbench, she was startled by the workshop alarms that suddenly went off around her. She looked around and didn't see anything catastrophic so she shrugged it off. “Another false alarm...? Someone will shut that off” she thought as she eagerly inspected the box.
It was tightly sealed and would not open. It seemed to require a key. Lula picked up the note and started reading:

“You have the final piece now!
You may have noticed it's locked but don't worry, I have the key and the contents are all for you!
I can't wait to see you!

You'll find me waiting at the place we shared our first kiss!”

Lula shot up from her workbench with a grin and snatched up all her things. She knew exactly where he was waiting and she couldn't wait to see him.
As she approached the entrance of the workshop she noticed many of her peers running around frantically.
“Maybe this isn't a drill... I should probably get out of the workshop if the alarms are sounding” she thought as she headed out of the workshop.
She stepped out of the workshop and could now hear the City bells ringing over the sound of the workshop alarms.

Her panic started to grow as she ran up to the nearest person she could find to see what was going on, but before she could do that her eyes were drawn through the orange haze of smoke to the scorched sky.
She stood there frozen in fear as a deafening roar echoed through the city.

 Barely a moment had passed with her eyes fixed to the sky before screams of terror echoed from around her. The workshop yard erupted into chaos as everyone charged towards the exit.
Still in a state of shock and confusion, she clutched her lockbox and moved with the crowd as they started to run towards the tram entrance to try and escape the city.
As she was swept up in the crowd she heard mentions of a dragon attack, she would continuously look towards the sky, unable to see anything. As the crowd funneled into the tram entrance she stumbled over and dropped her lockbox, she clambered around for a moment, being bumped into and stepped on in the chaos as she tried to recover it. She grabbed it and curled up into a ball to protect herself from the stampede.
“Spanners...” she thought to herself as she lay curled up on the ground. Her eyes started to well up as she looked back at the city everyone was trying to escape from.

Slightly battered and bruised, a dwarf stumbled over her and stopped for a moment to help her to her feet.
“What are ya' doin' lass! Ya need ta' get outta here” he exclaimed as he grabbed Lula's arm and tried to drag her towards the tram with the crowd.
She took to her feet and looked back at the city, she shook her head as she pulled away from the dwarf.
“I... I need to find Spanners!” she screamed as she clung to the wall and charged back into the city.
“Ya gonna get ya self killed ya stupid girl!” the dwarf shouted as he watched Lula run back into the city, but Lula was already lost to the crowd.

Panic and adrenaline had set in as Lula charged through the Dwarven District amidst the chaos.
“He'll be at the park... I need to find him...” were the only thoughts going through her mind as she made her way out the district and towards the canals.
She glanced around as she ran, citizens were charging towards the keep and the tram, in fear for their lives. The guards were attempting to keep order in the chaos, rounding the citizens up and directing them to the larger buildings.

Smoke had begun to fill the city streets as a fire could be seen in the distance. Lula kept her head down and carried on running as fast as she could towards the park.

She ran through the Cathederal District where members were herding citizens inside. Guards surrounded the area as the crowd was ushered in.
As Lula ran past the crowd she was grabbed by one of the guards.
“Get inside!” he yelled, as he pulled her towards the Cathedral.
“I need to find my friend!” she screamed as she tried to pull away from the guard, but he was too strong.
“You're going to get yourself killed! Get inside now!” he picked her up and took her into the Cathedral kicking and screaming.

Lula was dropped down inside the walls. She immediately tried to make her way out but the crowd of people moving inside was too dense and the guards were not letting people leave.
She clutched at her lockbox and screamed at the guards to let her out.
“This is for your own safety!” they yelled at the crowd.
Lula turned to look around the densely packed hall, looking for another exit.
She spotted a small archway door off to the side and she immediately made her way through it.

She found herself climbing up a spiral staircase. She frowned as she charged up the stairs. Peace and quiet seemed to set in as she was contained in the thick concrete staircase. She couldn't tell what was going on outside any longer.
“I need to get out of here” she panted as the stairs seemed to go on forever.
Eventually, she could see the orange haze in the sky shine down the stairs. The peace was shattered, she could hear the chaos once again as she reached the top of the Cathedral tower.

With a panoramic view of the chaos, smoke, and fire, she turned towards the park.

With a lump in her throat, she fell to her knees.
“Spanners...” she wept, as she stared helplessly, at the raging fire that consumed the park.

A few weeks later, the city seemed to have recovered quite quickly. Many of the citizens had come together to fix most of the damage that was caused and many paid their respects to the dead who lost their lives in the attack. The workshop was back up and running and although everyone felt the sting of such a sudden tragedy, life seemed to go on...

Lula however was unable to pick herself back up to carry on. As soon as the workshop reopened she crawled back into the living space she shared with Spanners and would simply sit there for days on end, clutching the lockbox and sporadically bursting into tears as the grief overwhelmed her. She never went to any of the memorial ceremonies nor did she assist in the repairs, she simply wallowed in the grief as it slowly consumed her.

Eventually, some of her Gnomish friends decided to try and get her up and about again. Despite many of them suffering a terrible loss themselves, they seemed to bounce back with a resilience that Lula deeply envied. They went out of their way to try and cheer her up, after all, Spanners was a close friend to them and they could understand how Lula must be feeling, she was only human after all...

Lula gradually returned to work over the next few weeks, assisting around the workshop with those who needed help, but her spark of creativity and inspiration had been extinguished. She was merely existing while bursting into tears occasionally...

Lula's friends seemed worried about how hard she was taking Spanners' death, it had been almost 2 months now and she seemed as unstable as the day it had happened. Something had to be done...
They decided to pack up all of Spanners belongings and give them to Lula. She already had most of them as they lived together however his workbench had been left untouched since the incident, as Lula would throw a fit if anyone tried to clear it. So they waited until she was asleep and neaty packed up all of Spanners work and they left it outside her living area, they hoped this would provide some closure.

The next morning Lula woke up, turned to an empty space in the bed, and quietly sobbed for a while before eventually drying her eyes and miserably starting the day. This is how she had been starting her days since the incident and today was no different.

She got to her feet, got dressed, and went to leave her living space but was met with a large box with a note that simply said "Spanners" on it.
Tears started to trickle down her face as she dragged the box back into her room and simply sat with it for a while.
Eventually, she took a deep breath, composed herself, and decided to open the box. Her composure didn't last long as the first thing she was faced with was Spanners favorite wrench, which she simply picked up and clung to like it was him.

This continued for every single item she would find in the box... Until she stumbled across something she had never seen before. A large number of paper sheets detailing the construction and creation of a Gnome-like robot.
As she studied the schematics she was reminded of Spanner's idea for her to create a fully functioning Gnome-like robot.
"This must be it..." she thought to herself as she smiled sadly at the papers.

She wiped her eyes and packed away all of the items in the box, except Spanners' wrench and the robot schematics. She attached the wrench to her belt and left the living quarters clutching the schematics. She walked towards her workbench with purpose and got to work on creating her first Gnome-like robot.

The gnomes in the workshop were happy to see Lula back at her workbench and building again, however, she was now so fixated on her task that she was still neglecting herself. This didn't stop their curiosity being peaked yet again by this young girl and her strange creations and despite her stinking up the workshop with her terrible hygiene and personal neglect, they would check in on her to make sure she was alright and otherwise left her to it.

Lula didn't talk much anymore, in fact, she had barely said a word for months. She was never really a talkative person anyway so this didn't seem to be cause for concern. Either way, she didn't have any interest in conversation, she was on a mission to make Spanners proud by finishing his idea, though her tired and sore eyes showed a clear sign that she was still struggling.

Despite her focus, she didn't neglect her duties cleaning around the workshop, in fact, she would take any opportunity she could to get her hands on any damaged or broken parts, going so far as to spend hours every day climbing through the junkheap to try and source the materials to build something so complex. Unfortunately, some of the required items were extremely difficult to get hold of and could not be found in the workshop or the junkheap.

Almost in a trance, Lula simply grabbed her bag and said nothing to anyone as she wandered out of the workshop towards the tram.

The small girl wandered through the Dwarven District, her dull eyes fixed to the floor as she wandered through the crowded streets. She hadn't seen anything of Stormwind or even looked up to the sky since the Cataclysm and she wasn't going to start now.

Eventually, she reached the Tram tunnel and made her way onto the Tram.

“Oi ye got a ticket?” yelled a stout Dwarf.

Lula turned to look at him as she rubbed her head. The same dwarf that had grabbed her by the tram on the day of the Cataclysm peered at her sternly for a moment before scratching his beard. His gaze turned to surprise

“It's you... I guess ye didn't get yerself killed after all!” his gaze softened as he wandered over to the young engineer. He shuffled awkwardly as he looked over the disheveled mess of a girl who looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Lula attempted a faint smile as she nodded, peering down at the floor. The dwarf frowned slightly in uncomfortable silence before clearing his throat and nodding.

“Well uh... Best ye get on that tram girl... We'll forget the ticket this time...” he nodded at the girl and returned to his post as Lula gave a weak smile and made her way onto the Tram cart.

Spanners had first brought her on a tram ride a couple of years ago, she was at first enamored with the technological marvel that the gnomes had managed to construct, but as she gazed over the platform she couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over her as the cart started moving.

Sitting alone on the cart, she hung her legs over the edge as it started to pick up speed, she gazed at the wall as it turned into a mear blur. Clutching the edge of the cart she stared down at the floor, the rush of air chilled her calves as her loose shorts fluttered in the wind. There she remained, with a vacant expression for what felt like an eternity, tears slowly creeping down her face that instantly dried in the wind.

The tram eventually arrived at Ironforge and a pack of Dwarves made their way onboard.

“Ye not gettin off lass?” one of them muttered to the girl.

Lula hadn't noticed it had even stopped, she snapped out of her trance and nervously looked up at the Dwarves before scrambling to her feet and hurrying to the exit tunnel.

Letting out a deep sigh as she entered Tinkertown, Lula clenched her teeth. The last time she was here was with Spanners. She frowned slightly as she started to realize that everything she seemed to do from this point forward would be a reminder of him, followed by a crippling feeling of loneliness. She let out a frustrated sigh as she slumped to the floor and clutched at her hair.

“Hey! Watcha doing there on the floor silly?” a female Gnomes voice could be heard from behind her as Lula instantly jolted up in response

“Bella?!” she turned to the Gnome with an almost desperate grin, before realizing it wasn't Bella.

She stared blankly at the green-haired Gnome for a moment before her bottom lip started to quiver as she burst into tears. The shocked Gnome stood awkwardly next to a young, unstable human girl having a breakdown in the middle of Tinkertown.

“Hey uh...” the Gnome rubbed her head with concern for a moment before regaining her composure and resting a hand on Lula's shoulder.

“Hey let's get you inside the shop... Can't have you sitting on the floor out here you might get stepped on! I would know!” she chuckled faintly as she reached for Lula's hand with a comforting smile.

Having grown very attached to Gnomes over the years, Lula found herself put at ease by them. Something about their cheerful optimism and kindness was able to disarm and relax Lula in even her most traumatic moments. Perhaps reminded by a Gnomes original kindness that had set her on this path.

She wiped her eyes and with her tear-soaked hand she reached out to the Gnome and nodded as she shuffled to her feet.

“I'm Tally! Tally Berryfizz! What's your name?” the gnome smiled as she watched the messy girl climb to her feet.

“Lula...” she responded with a faint nod as she brushed herself down.

“You got a second name?” Tally grinned as she escorted Lula to a nearby shop.

Lula shrugged and shook her head.

“Well, that's no good! You should pick one!” the Gnome nodded, clearly trying to take this girl's mind off of whatever was just troubling her.

Unfortunately, the expectation of seeing Bella had reminded Lula of another loss she had suffered. Although she could not be sure of Bella's fate, she was simply missing as far as Lula was aware, she wasn't sure if that was worse.

Tally escorted Lula to a chair inside a small shop that was littered with potions and strange alchemical devices. She waddled over to a counter and started to make a drink as Lula watched her with a somewhat longing sadness.

“Here ya go!” Tally grinned as she handed Lula a glass of purple liquid. Lula smiled faintly before peering at the liquid and taking a sip. It tasted strange, unlike anything Lula has tasted before. Had she been in a better mood she would have been intrigued, however she simply gave a faint approving nod as she continued to drink.

“Thank you” she croaked.

Tally gave a smile and nodded as she watched Lula drink. She fiddled with her pigtails for a moment before getting close to Lula.

“So... Who's Bella?” she cautiously questioned with a comforting smile.

Lula let out a sad sigh and clutched her drink as she looked at Tally

“Sorry... I just thought you were... someone who's missing...” she shrugged faintly

“Oh, sweetie don't be sorry! Maybe I can help find her? Wanna tell me about her?” Tally nodded enthusiastically.

Put completely at east by Tallys optimistic charm, Lula smiled faintly and rubbed her head.

“Well uh... Her name Bella Tinkerbolt... she... was my family... and uh... she's an explorer...” she nodded.

“Oh wow! That's a great name! And an explorer? Where has she been?”

“Well... I haven't heard from her since the... fire... earlier this year...” Lula frowned slightly and wiped her eyes as Tally took her hand.

“I'm sure she's fine! Gnomes are surprisingly resilient you know!”

Lula nodded as she was reassured

“Hopefully” she muttered “I just... It's not like her not to have sent me letters or anything... for so long”

“Maybe she's just... somewhere with no postal service!” Tally grinned “Where did you last hear from her?”

Lula rubbed her head as she tried to recall all the letters and pictures she was sent.

“Uhh... The last thing was... Uhh... She sent a picture of this big stone wall thing... Said it was near a lake... Stopped the water getting out or something...” Lula frowned as she tried to remember, somewhat frustrated that she didn't have any of Bella's letters and pictures with her.

Tally's grin faded into a faint smile as she attempted to remain optimistic for this young girl's sake.

“Sounds like the Stonewrought Dam” she looked at Lula “Is that where she was?”

“That sounds right” Lula nodded as she finished her drink.

Tally smiled faintly. Deciding against breaking any news to this already fragile young girl. She took the empty glass, put it on the floor, took Lula's hands and gave them a squeeze.

“Well... Wherever she is... I'm sure she wouldn't want ya worrying about her would she!” Tally looked at Lula as she attempted to put the girl at ease.

“And ya know... Tinkerbolt sounds like a great name... You should share it with her!”

Lula looked at Tally and rubbed her head, giving her a confused glance.

“I can do that?”

“Of course you can silly! That's what you humans do ain't it? Share names with family?” Tally chuckled “We usually pick our own when we get older, and if you ain't got one then... there ain't no reason you can't do the same!”

“Lula Tinkerbolt” the young human muttered to herself with the first sincere smile she had worn in a long time, comforted by the idea of keeping Bella's memory going by carrying her name.

“That sounds perfect!” Tally grinned as she clutched Lula's hands, thrilled that she was able to cheer Lula up.

“Now then... Lula Tinkerbolt... What brings you to Tinkertown?”

Lula smiled faintly as she muttered her name to herself for a moment before looking at the cheery gnome and rubbing her head.

“Oh yeah... I'm... looking for parts...” she frowned slightly, almost annoyed that she was distracted from her original mission. She started to rummage through her dirty tool bag in search of the schematic she was following.

“Parts for what?” Tally peered curiously at the bag as Lula pulled out a handful of tattered parchments and handed them to her.

“A robot... my partner he...” Lula paused as Tally took the parchment and started looking at them. She could feel her eyes well up as she clenched her teeth and let out a sigh and continued “I need to make this...”

Tally rubbed her head as she failed to make sense of the mess of complex schematics she was holding. She looked up at the tearful tinkerer as it was apparent this project meant a lot to her.

“Well... Tell me what ya need! Maybe I can point ya in the right direction!” she nodded.

Lula wiped her eyes and composed herself before pointing at the open parchment that Tally held.

“I need an Arcanite Converter and the intelligence module from a Repair Bot” she nodded.

Tally stared blankly at the young girl for a moment before gave a clueless grin and nodded as she gestured for Lula to follow her.

“I brew potions and drinks! Let's ask someone who knows about this stuff! Follow me we can ask Overspark... He'll know what you need for sure!” she giggled as she made her way out of the shop clutching Lula's schematics.

Lula nodded as she got to her feet and followed Tally out of the store, clutching her bag and keeping a close eye on the schematics.

“Tinkmaster Overspark!” Tally grinned as she approached a bearded gnome wearing a pair of ruby red goggles.

“Tally! I didn't order any drinks... What can I do for ya?” the old gnome chuckled.

“Meet Lula Tinkerbolt! She making a robot and needs some help!” Tally nodded as she gestured at the filthy human girl behind her.

Lula waved nervously at the old gnome before catching a glimpse of his goggles and simply staring at them in silence with an awkward smile.

“Tinkerbolt? That's a gnomish name” the old gnome adjusted his goggles with a curious smile as he inspected the young human.

“Blonde hair as well... You're that girl they adopted in the Stormwind workshop ain't ya?”

Lula nodded, her eyes still fixed to the ruby goggles.

“The girl who blew up a chicken!” he chuckled

Lula turned even paler as her gaze fell to the floor in crippling embarrassment.

Tally let out a slight giggle at Lula's response before she cleared her throat and handed the old gnome Lula's schematics.

“She says she needs uh... Arcane converter and a repair bot or something” Tally nodded with a faint shrug “Thought you were the guy to ask!”

He nodded as he started to inspect the contents of the parchment, intermittently stroking his white beard and adjusting his goggles.

“Interesting... Looks like someone designed a strange-looking gnome-like robot using the basic modules of a repair bot... Potential for upgrades but... This design is far too clunky for the purpose it serves and there's so much empty space... Why would anyone waste the....” the old gnomes critique was interrupted by Tally harshly nudging him and shaking her head abruptly as she gestured subtlety to the young girl tearing up in front of them.

“I think she was close to the gnome that made that... and I think he's gone...” Tally quietly muttered to the gnome “Think she wants to finish his project... Ain't that sweet?”

Tinkmaster cleared his throat and nodded as he glanced down at the parchment before adjusting his goggles and wandering up to Lula.

“Well... uh... I'm not one to stand in the way of creativity my dear!” he nodded confidently “I don't have the exact items ya need however if ya'd be willing to make a few adjustments to this uh.. creation... I can provide ya with the parts ya need! Of course they ain't cheap I'm afraid... Robotic modules ain't common”

Lula nodded solemnly as she wiped her eyes and shrugged faintly.

“Thank you for your help... but I doubt I'll be able to afford this... All the materials so far I've acquired have been... recycled from the junk heap... I was hoping I would have more luck in the junk here”

Tinkmaster adjusted his goggles and looked down at the schematics with slight surprise

“Ya sourced everything else here from the junk heap? An almost fully functioning robot from... recycled material... No wonder ya such a mess!” he chuckled as he shook his head in disbelief and continued.

“Tell ya what... I'll give ya what ya need but... in return I'll be givin ya a list of items for ya to keep an eye out for when ya next... diving through junk heaps and scrapyards... and if ya ever find any of them... send em to me... deal?” he held out Lula's parchment with an expectant grin

“Deal!” she enthusiastically took her parchment and shook the old gnomes' hand before he hurried off to source the items.

“Thank you Tally...” Lula smiled sincerely at the green-haired gnome.

“Ain't nothing! But when you finish this robot make sure ya come visit alright! I gotta see it!” she nodded.

“Definitely” grinned Lula as she looked down at her parchment. Finally having the parts she needed to complete Spanners creation, she felt more motivated than ever to finish this project.

“Here ya go” Tinkmaster scuttled out of his shop with two modules in his hand “Providing ya got enough power sorted then you can use these without the need for a converter” he nodded confidently as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small parchment “And this is the list!”

“I'll do my best to find everything on here” she gave a thankful nod as she took the modules and parchment.

“I'll be happy with one or two dear... but don't let that stop ya!” he chuckled “Now get going... ya got work to do!”

Lula nodded as she left Tinkmasters shop and Tally escorted her towards the Tram tunnel, eventually pausing and looking around as she reached the same spot Tally had originally found her collapsed to her knees.

She gazed at Tally for a moment with a faint smile, being once again reminded of a gnomish woman that had picked her up and set her on the right path.

Tally looked at the spot on the floor for a moment and then up at Lula with a smile “You look much better on your feet! Make sure ya stay on them this time okay? You don't want to be this close to the floor if you can help it” she giggled.

“Sometimes I wish I was...” she rubbed her head with a smile.

Tally shook her head and laughed “You're a weird one Lula... Now get going you've got a robot to build!” she pulled out a small tram token and tossed it to Lula before making her way back to her shop.

Lula gave Tally one last thankful smile before heading towards the Tram tunnel clutching her worn tool bag and parchment. She handed the token to the ticket master and waltzed onto the carriage with a smile on her face as she gazed down at the modules.

“I'm almost there...” she muttered to herself as she envisioned her finished creation for the entire journey.

After the Tram arrived at Stormwind she skipped off the carriage and hurried towards the tunnel, past a somewhat perplexed dwarf who peered at the girl skipping off the tram, the same one who not a few hours ago looked about ready to collapse in tears. He let out an amused grunt and shook his head as Lula vanished into the Dwarven District.

The young tinkerer scurried into the workshop, set herself down at her workbench, and immediately got to work on finishing her creation.

The robot stood on the bench, partially constructed however clearly an imitation of a Gnome.

Encased completely in metal, you wouldn't have guessed it was all re-purposed scrap for all the cleaning and polishing Lula had lovingly given it. She seemed to have taken an immense amount of pride and care in this robot, going so far as to temper the metal into minor details. Many of the gnomes watching her work could be forgiven for thinking she was merely making a metal statue of Spanners.

Lula spent the next few days attempting to adapt and install the modules she had been given. Attempting to incorporate them into the design she had pictured in her head.

Neglecting herself once again but this time doing so with a smile on her face as she grew forever closer to finishing the work Spanners had left her, and seemingly closer to the device itself, even so far as to be talking to it and holding full conversations on her own, much to her peers concern.

Having barely eaten or slept for a week, Lula had finally finished her robot. She stepped back to gaze upon her own work for a moment before rushing out to the yard.

“It's ready!” she yelled with a grin, attracting the attention of half of the workshop as this was the first proper interaction she had had with many of them in months.

She led a small handful of Gnomes to her workbench where they were met with almost a metallic version of Spanners, sculpted to incredible detail given the material used.

“Well, that's quite a feat of engineering! What you gonna call him?” cheered one of the gnomes as he started to inspect the robot.

“It's Spanners! Obviously!” Lula chuckled at the clear stupidity of the question as her response was met with some concerned glances. However, curiosity got the better of them. “Well turn him on then!” yelled one of the gnomes.

Lula nodded as she rushed up to Spanners and proceeded to boot him up.

To Lula's absolute joy, her creation came to life. His eyes lit up and he took a step forward and looked at Lula awaiting her initial commands. Lula gazed at him for a moment as tears started to trickle down her face.

The Gnomish crowd reacted with both amazement and concern as they watched the young tinkerer embrace her robot. It seemed Spanners had been immortalised through this walking memorial to Lula's first love. She had originally set out to finish a project to provide closure and make her late partner proud. Unfortunately in this broken young girl's desperation, rather than finding the closure she first sought, she instantly developed a deep emotional bond to creation.

“Welcome back...” she mumbled with a smile.