Hey there, I'll start off with the disclaimer: I do not own World of Warcraft or have anything to do with making it, I am just a fan. If you like my story please check out the author Bakie, as me and him are co-writing a random story too! I was greatly inspired by the story 'Like Water and Oil' by evelynn, so check that out too even if you don't like mine because it's fantastic. Anyway, enough of this rambling, hope you enjoy the story! I'll try update as much as I can, but please read and review with some constructive criticism and future advice.
Chapter 1: Blood Runs Cold
It was about midday in Mulgor, when Sharrania set off from Thunderbluff with her new orders in hand. She gazed down at the parchment in her hands reading it to herself in her head:
'Agent Sharrania Sholla, you are to proceed with extreme caution and not allow any others to know of your current mission. Destroy this note as soon as you possibly can. The only information necessary for you to know at this moment is this…Your mission is to locate and obtain a certain stone artifact of great importance before the Alliance does the same. You are travel to Tanaris, and meet with one of our Goblin intelligence agents for more details. He will tell you what to do next. Do not forget Sharrania: 'It' is signalled with a silver spoon.'
She furrowed her brow as she read the last sentence, pondering its meaning until her trail of thought was interrupted by a low, gruff voice.
"Something up?" this made her jump a little before she remembered that she wasn't travelling alone, but instead with her partner for this mission, Bronk. He was a Tauren, far larger then she was. He had a questioning look on his mahogany brown face.
"Oh, sorry… I was just thinking what the last part of the mission briefing means… is it some kind of code or password?" Still bewildered and staring at the note they continued on their path in silence. She wasn't sure if she trusted this Tauren at the moment, he was as far as she knew a greenhorn, pun not intended. He didn't seem to pose any kind of threat though, he was a druid, and druids were the least likely class to strike you, and if the shit hit the fan she could always get healed. Her thoughts went back to the note she had in her hands; 'I wonder what's so important about this stone that it needs to stay this hidden anyway…'
Tray Stormcrown stood over the corpse of a felled Tauren, searching its pockets in hopes of finding something specific. 'Damn it, it's not here.' He continued his rummaging for a few more seconds before returning to his feet and kicking up some of the dirt from the ground in frustration. Despite the Alliance and the Horde being adversaries he still frowned upon meaningless killing, but nevertheless a mission was a mission, and he would not hesitate to slay one if need be. He was looking for someone in particular, who had an object in their possession to prove it was the one he needed to kill. 'Better find some shade' he thought, examining his surroundings. His skin tended to burn easily in the sun. Noticing a patch of tree's he began to stride towards them, hoping to sit in one of their shadows for some cover from the boiling sphere in the sky above him.
As he took a seat beneath one of the larger tree's he wiped the sweat from his forehead and shut his eyes for a moment, before they shot open almost immediately when he heard something, or someone, moving nearby. He jumped to his feat as fast as he could, which wasn't easy due to the heavy plate armour he was wearing. He brandished his long broadsword which shined brightly in the Mulgor sun. Whatever was making the noise was thankfully bellow him, so if a battle was necessary at least he would have the high ground. He ducked down beneath a rock at the edge of the minor raised ground he was on. Peering around the corner of the rock he noticed two figures. The sun, surprisingly, was on his side as it was behind him, allowing him to see them clearly, but making it a struggle for them to see him.
The first figure he noticed was not unexpected, merely a tall, well built Tauren with a brown hide. The second however, made him pause for thought. 'What's this blood elf doing in Mulgor?' he moved his head in, waiting for the best possible moment to ambush the two. The fact that she stood out made it more likely that she was the person he needed to assassinate. The two figures stopped on the road in front of him, he once again peered over the rock he was hiding behind to observe the two. Tray couldn't believe his luck; the Tauren was walking off of the path and into a small cluster of trees.
"Wait here, I need to take a leak..." the Tauren announced, to which Sharrania pulled a slightly disgusted face. The oversized cow moved away from the road and behind a tree. She stood there, and folded her arms and tapped one of her feet. She waited for a good minuet and a half before she let out a sigh. 'What's taking him so long? Do Tauren's take longer to take a piss or something? I mean…they're probably bigger… down there, but does that make a difference?' She questioned this as she waited for Bronk. They still had a long journey to go and she didn't want to have to wait around for much longer. She tilted her head to a raised area of land where a couple of rocks were.
'Ah shit!' Tray thought, ducking back behind the rock once more. Luckily for him though the bright sun forced her to shield her eyes and therefore not be able to see him. He knew that for his best chances of winning a fight against these two he should strike before the Tauren re-emerged from the trees. He looked down at his sword preparing himself. He was about to jump over the rock when he was forced to stop dead in his tracks noticing the blood elf.
This was the first time he saw her face front on. She was beautiful. Her bright blonde hair seemed to glow in the light, and was tied in a ponytail, revealing her youthful face. A couple of strands of hair flowed in the front of her face, which moved slightly against the occasional gust of wind. Her eyes were glowing green which contrasted perfectly against her light pink skin. Her slightly curved nose lay above her luscious dark pink lips. Through her hair came her long ears, one of which was pierced with one small hoped earring. He gazed at her, thunderstruck by her looks. He had never seen a human, night elf or any other creature that looked like she did, nor had he ever felt this way about a Horde. He watched as she took a seat, obviously awaiting the return of the Tauren. She was wearing dark grey, purple and black cloths, and he could instantly assume she was a rogue. This made him worry slightly. Rogues were deadly and unpredictable, making killing her even harder, as if her beauty wouldn't make it hard enough to slay her.
Sharrania sat there, laying her slim, slender legs out in front of her, examining her boots. 'What's taking him so long?' She heard some rustling from behind the trees and stood back on her feet, ready to set back off with Bronk, but when he came out her blood ran cold. 'Shit'.
Tray noticed the Tauren walk out from the trees, with a crossbow pointing at the elf and a white furred coyote growling at her by his hoofs. 'What the?' Tray asked himself. What kind of stunt was this Tauren pulling, turning on one of his allies?
Brock had changed from is former attire into light brown leather, and a dark hood over his head to shield his eyes from the sun. He now resembled a hunter instead of a druid. The coyote continued to growl at Sharrania, who raised her hands up slightly to show her surrender. 'Damn it, I knew this guy wasn't to be trusted.'
"Don't bother trying anything, I don't wanna make this hurt anymore then it has to."
"Why" she inquired "are you doing this." She was planning to make him keep talking till she could think of a way out of the situation, though little came into her mind. 'Shit, I could try fighting him, but two on one? I don't like my odds...'
"I'm afraid I can't let anyone, Horde or Alliance, get this stone that their leaders want them to on this quest." She noticed the insignia on his right shoulder. This was not a mark of the Horde or the Tauren… this insignia was one she hadn't seen before.
"Wait, then who are you working for?" She asked, wondering to which organisation this mark belonged to.
"Ha!" he motioned to it with a tilt of his head. "Veinhaart". He said this with a despicable smile across his dark lips.
"Veinhaart?" she questioned, still unsure by what or who this was. It suddenly then dawned on her. Veinhaart was one of the Hordes most esteemed generals. Thoughts began to flood her mind. 'Veinhaart ordered this? Why?' Her thoughts were once more interrupted by Bronk.
"Sorry Sharr, I really did like you, but hey – orders are orders… nighty night." He raised his crossbow and took aim. 'Not like this' she said in her head, weighing up her options… 'I could run, but I can't outrun that coyote, or that crossbow even, I guess I'm going to have…SHIT!' a bolt suddenly flew by her head, and Brock was clutching his eyes.
Behind the rock Tray was using the suns reflection from his sword to shine into the Taurens eyes, temporarily blinding him at the exact moment he was about to fire his weapon. The coyote howled, and the whole experience had made Sharrania freeze in shock, dumbfounded. Hearing an approaching noise from behind she saw a warrior, broadsword in hand, charging down. She had no time to react. 'Great, the traitor doesn't kill me, the Alliance does…' she closed her eyes, waiting for the lethal blow, but it didn't come. She re-opened them to see the human warrior actually battling off the coyote with his sword. She stood in awe, mouth slightly opened, teeth closed. One of her long, blonde eyebrows was raised high in question.
The Tauren was franticly trying to reload his crossbow. The human made a fatal slash to the coyote cleaving it almost in half, blood spraying in all directions, though mainly on the warriors face. The warriors gaze was now on the hunter himself who was aiming right at him.
"You bastard! Argh!" Bellowed the Tauren in a low voice, as he fired his crossbow, the bolt of which landed in the human's chest, but the shot was deflected by his heavy armour leaving little more then a scratch on his body. Noticing the failure the hunter quickly dropped his ranged weapon and pulled out a small hatchet. "You wanna go, bitch?" taunted the Tauren, eyes fixated on the warrior. Tray merely let out a small laugh, not understanding what the Tauren was saying; as he could not speak the orcish language he was probably speaking. Bronk made a swipe, easily parried by Tray. A sudden grunt of displeasure came from the Tauren as the two crossed eyes. He pushed the Tauren away a step or two with one hand and made his own swipe with the other wich was no easy feat with a two handed weapon. The swipe slashed the Taurens neck with such force it decapitated him. Bronks' limp body fell to the ground.
Tray turned to face the blood elf herself, grinning, when he noticed she had drawn two daggers and was glaring at him, strangely with an aggressive smile on her face. Tray wondered how he could communicate with her but until he could find a way he kept his sword out in front of him. Both stood looking at each other in silence for a couple of seconds before Tray said something quietly to himself.
"Shit, doesn't she know I just saved her ass?" He chuckled to himself slightly.
"I could have handled that myself you know." Tray stood dumbstruck, amazed at how she could speak the humans common language. His eyebrows raised and his mouth opened.
"You… you can talk common?" She gave a slight laugh and nodded, keeping her eyes on him. Both stood in silence again, still not sure of what to do now. Sharrania broke the silence.
"Why didn't you kill me when you could have?" Tray didn't answer for a moment, amazed at how well she could speak the language, with only a slight accent of the blood elves. He thought if he was only to hear her voice and not see her face he would never have thought her to be a Horde.
"Honestly? I didn't see you as a threat." She pouted, displeased by the answer.
"I'll make you think otherwise!" she said. She jumped at him with her daggers. He was confused at first, but came to his senses in time to dodge. She was certainly fast on her feet and almost caught him off guard; he would have to be careful. She continued to make strikes with deadly speed, which he continued to either dodge or parry, laughing a little while he did. She noticed his mocking and made a sort of growling noise. 'For a guy in heavy plate armour he dodges damn fast' she thought to herself. "Stand still would ya?"
Tray let fourth another hearty laugh. "I don't think so missy." He continued to duck and weave out of harms way, not bothering to strike back, but then again it began to feel like she wasn't really trying either. Tray got cocky, and letting down his guard stumbled on some uneven ground beneath his feet. He feel flat on his back, and she jumped onto him, not threateningly, but seductively, teasing the human. She lay on top of him, their faces a mere inch apart.
"Still think I'm a pushover?" she questioned him, with a cunning smile, showing her perfect white teeth. Taking his chances he licked up her face, forcing her to jump up in bewilderment, eyes wide open. 'What was that?' Still very confused she took a step back, her cheeks becoming a deeper shade of pink as she blushed. 'This bastard must fancy himself or something, cocky shit.'
"Hey, for a blood elf you sure are shy." He stated to her, letting down his defensive stance by lowering his blade, its tip touching the floor. 'Man, she is the agent the Horde sent then she doesn't stand a chance alone.'
Not seeing him as a threat either now, and feeling like things between this human had gotten to close she tried to talk about other things that were less flirtatious.
"You idiot, you killed that damn Tauren just when he was about to tell me what was so important about…" she paused when she realised that the note the Horde leaders had given her stated not to discuss the quest she was sent on. She stammered at the end of her sentence and lowered her head. 'You idiot'.
"Ah, so it is you I'm looking for then." Tray said. She now knew she had said too much and gritted her teeth. She had been warned by the Horde advisors that she would probably have assassination attempts on her life due to the danger and seriousness of the quest. Tray looked at her belt which had the note with the horde details of the quest written on it. It was the item that identified her as the one he was looking for and she knew she should have destroyed it like the note advised.
"So… you've come to kill me?" she asked him, sheepishly. For one of the Horde's agents she sure was apprehensive.
Tray blew some of the long brown hair that fell over his face. "Well, that's the official orders, but I'm after this so called 'stone' too. In fact there's more then just me after it from the alliance and probably from the horde too."
"Judging from that Tauren's actions it's not just the Horde and Alliance after it." Puzzled by what she meant, she explained what the Tauren had divulged to her, about how Veinhaart, an esteemed Horde general, had ordered her to be killed and how Veinhaart himself was also after this stone, for unknown reasons. They both wondered what was so important about it, and wondered if the only reason that anyone wanted it was because the other did. "Exposing Veinhaart won't be possible, who are the Horde going to believe, one of their greatest war hero's and generals, or me?"
"Well, if there is a third party after this stone, then this is going to be harder then I thought, maybe not a one man job." Tray thought to himself for a moment. He thought about how they could work together to get it, since both had a common goal, but realised that it was simply a stupid idea. Sharrania noticed the human thinking. She was not stupid, and was quiet aware of what the warrior was thinking just by what he had said before.
"Oh no! no! no! no!" She said, shaking her head.
"Well, you do owe me big time; I just saved your life."
"That…that lick was repayment enough in my opinion" she announced slightly blushing. She seemed to Tray to be different to other blood elves. They were usually rather boastful and self confident, unlike herself.
"So we're even then? Well then I guess I'm gunna just have to save your life again, then you will have to join me" Tray said, leaning on his blade. She let out a sigh and folded her arms together. "So is it a deal? If I save you one more time you we can do this 'stone' quest together?" She blushed again, 'man this guy is forward… how can he trust me so much, surely the Alliance must have told him how important it was to keep this quest a secret."
"Ok, it's a deal. But I'm not going to get into any trouble from here on. Let me make this clear though, me making this deal has made us even! So if I see you again and you haven't saved me don't think I won't hesitate to kill you." She said this with an unconvincing tone, knowing she was still indebted to the human. She couldn't say she was completely against the idea of working with him; he was handsome in a sort of rugged way. But she also knew the consequences of such actions. If the Horde even saw her fraternising with the enemy they would probably have her executed.
She looked back up at the warrior examining him more closely. He had shoulder length, straight brown hair, and a short brown beard to match. His blue eyes stood out against the darkness of his hair. His skin was neither dark nor pale, but it was hard to tell due to the red smears of blood still visible, despite his attempts to wipe it off. He was slightly taller then her, although she was not short for a blood elf. She particularly liked his smile, which seemed almost soothing in a strange sort of way.
"The name's Tray by the way, Tray Stormcrown. Life taker by day, heartbreaker by night." He let out yet another laugh.
'Laughing at his own joke! Ha, he must really love himself' Sharrania thought to herself. She also summoned a giggle.
"What about you, huh?" Tray questioned.
"Maybe I'll tell you when you 'save' me." She said, as she gave him a wink and began to walk off, looking over her shoulder to see if Tray was watching her leave.
'That's ok' Tray thought to himself, 'I like a challenge.' He slung his sword on his back, wiped his head to remove the sweat and looked about himself one more time. 'Right, I gotta beat her to that damn stone. My mission may have been to kill her before she finds it, but what the Alliance don't know can't hurt 'em' He thought to himself, 'and besides, she had a sweet ass.'
He watched as she strutted out of sight, licking his lips and leaning on his long sword.