InsaneJournal

“It’s a three day hard ride to Southshore from here,” said Chanasai as she patted her riding wolf’s thick mane and looked at the group gathered in the ruins above the Undercity. “We lost a day’s travel coming here on the zeppelin and that patrol arrives in two.”

“Which means we have to ride all day and get to sleep once,” grumbled Kazmo as he jerked the head of his black raptor up as it snapped at a rat. Then he grinned at Caren and said, “Not anything special for us of late, is it?”

Caren chuckled at that.

“Yes, but we’re usually running away from the Alliance, not towards them.”

“True,” amended the Orc with a shrug.

Chanasai grumbled something then swung up onto her wolf’s back, bellowing, “MOUNT UP!”

Taemmur arched an eyebrow and patted Kazhan’s head one last time before swinging up onto his wolf’s back, a hood pulled over his head to hide his features. Then he leaned towards his mother and said, “She’s being a bit brusque today, isn’t she?”

“She is probably worried about failing in this,” replied Caren softly. “After all, she is an Orc and looks up to the Warchief far more than the rest of us. She wants to do good in his eyes and be recognized.”

“True,” he said, shrugging. Then he glanced behind him at a snort and saw Resden mounted on the skeletal horses the Forsaken preferred. And he was surprised to see Hresden on one as well, with his sister looking at it with disdain from the back of her hawkstrider.

Chanasai spurred her wolf forward then and Kazmo bounded up right behind her, his raptor screeching as it was denied another rat. Hresden’s sister – whose name he still hadn’t learned – blurred past him with her cat running behind her. Then his mother bumped her wolf forward and he followed her, Kazhan bounding along after him with Resden and Hresden taking up their rear. It was a strange place for the two mages to be but as Chanasai had explained, they could freeze anything chasing them and allow them to continue on their way.

Sighing, Taemmur shifted to a comfortable spot in his wolf’s saddle and tilted his head back to look at the sky above the plagued trees of Tirisfal.

It would be the last time for a long while that he would be able to pass here in peace.

“We know,” said the mage, nodding his head towards her. Then he stepped towards his sister, who just stared down at him from atop her mount, and bowed. After a moment of looking at him, she leaned over and hugged him as best she could.

As Hresden later explained to Taemmur…if she had come off her mount, she would never have been able to leave him behind.

Caren had no such qualms and was off of her wolf before her son was quite on the ground. She caught him up in a hug and held him tight for a long moment before letting go.

Brushing back his hair, she breathed, “You be safe, An’she.”

“I will, Mother,” he murmured, feeling tears well in his eyes. Then he caught the sound of hooves in the distance at the same time Chanasai did and then Kazmo reappeared from his short scouting run, his raptor snapping at the air and bouncing restlessly.

“Sorry, Care, but you have to cut the goodbye short,” he said, giving her an apologetic look. She smiled at him then bowed her head, the tips of her horns hovering over Taemmur’s eyebrows. And in a low, choked voice, she invoked a prayer to the Earth Mother to keep him safe and bring him back to her unharmed.

Then she took a step back, a grimace on her face, before spinning away entirely. Taemmur choked down tears as she flung herself onto her wolf’s back and rode off before she could insist on stopping this madness. Kaz saluted him briefly then rushed after her, with Hresden’s sister at his back. Chanasai lingered for a moment as Korinaldrin bid his goodbye to Kazhan before they also sped off with Taemmur’s wolf following behind. At the last Resden, made a complicated symbol in the air with his bony fingers and breathed, “Luck be with you both!” before he followed them, clutching at the reins of Hresden’s mount in his free hand.

Just as the two undead horses disappeared, the patrol made their appearance upon the rode and Hresden straightened, preparing for his role. Stepping forward, he cried out, “Hail!”

The patrol stopped immediately and its leader glowered at the elf before snarling, “Are you mad, Blood Elf?!” At the glower Kazhan started forward with the intent to spring but Taemmur clamped a hand on the wolf’s shoulder and held him back. It took a moment but the wolf obeyed his master and settled back onto his haunches with a grumble.

“Blood Elf?” sneered Hresden, putting contempt into his voice. “How dare you compare me to those that have fallen?”

The leader looked properly mollified at that and bowed briefly.

“My apologies.”

“I should think so!” exclaimed the mage. “And I would dare say I’d like your apologies for not being here sooner! My companion and I were nearly killed just a moment ago!”

Taemmur nodded frantically, trying not to look too out of place with his rough homespun clothes. He had at least had a sword now, which was a far cry of an improvement over his previous weapon, and it was one of human make as well. They hadn’t wanted to take the chance of him going into Alliance territory with a Horde made weapon.

“You were attacked?” said the leader, his eyes darting around. He then made a brief hand signal at his men and one spread out to each side, looking for their ‘attackers’. They only thing that they would find would be the prints of the mounts riding away and the hoof prints of a Tauren which were lost in a scuffle of boots. Taemmur had made sure to stomp over the spot where they had stood to make it look like something had occurred.

“Yes!” exclaimed Hresden, flailing his arms. “Were there not five of them, we would have held them off well enough. As is…it was a blessing for you to be passing by…” The mage made a vague motion with his hand, obviously waiting for the man’s name.

“Knight Walrick,” replied the man as his two scouts came back. “My company and I would be happy to escort you both into Southshore. Perhaps we’ll even run across the group that attacked you on our way.”

By the Earth Mother, I hope not, thought Taemmur as he nodded and said, “That would be greatly appreciated, sir Knight.”

Hresden nodded and said, “I, Hresden Sylindaal, and my companion here, Taemmur Wraithkin, thank you kindly for your help, Knight Walrick.”

“Its nothing,” said the man, waving absently. He then made another hand gesture at his men and they spread out around their leader and the pair as the small band continued along the road.

Taemmur bowed his head as they walked, wishing desperately that he were not here but back home in Mulgore. As Hresden’s hand fell on his shoulder, he looked up at the mage, who smiled reassuringly at him.

Slowly he returned the smile and thanked the Earth Mother that, if he could not avoid this fate, he was at least venturing into enemy territory with an ally at his side.