The Mage from Redridge
Jaem, a frail man dressed in a light blue robe made of wool, stumbled through the brush in between two of the hills that dotted the area to the north of Lakeshire. Catching himself with the wooden stave that he carried, Jaem paused to catch his breath and wiped the sweat off of his brow. The sun was low in the sky to his back, bathing the earth around him in an orange-red glow which forced Jaem to squint forward into the distance.
Running a hand through his already thinning hair, he tried to figure out what to do next. Ahead of him was a small army of gnolls, and behind him rose the hills of Redridge. They were as much a barrier to escape back to the relative safety of Lakeshire before dark as a magical barrier would had been. Jaem had spent little time outdoors, and already found himself quite lost in the outdoors. With night fast approaching and in the midst of so many gnolls, he found himself regretting answering Verner Osgood's request to go kill Yowler, the ring leader of the gnolls. What was he doing out here? He was an academic! Not some warrior who had the build of a tree trunk!
Should he turn back now, or continue onward? Indecision gripped him and the sun slipped below the hill behind him, leaving Jaem in shadow. The decision was made for him, however when in twilight as his resolve was at its weakness. A small patrol of gnolls had spotted him and began running toward him, weapons drawn and inhuman snarling and growling filling the air.
"Oh no," Jaem groaned. Bringing his stave in front of him, he began channeling mana into a quick spell, and the ground erupted under the feet of the first gnomes. Picking themselves back up, the gnolls looked angrier then hurt and they rushed at Jaem with greater ferocity, until the first one caught a more concentrated fireball to its snout. It yelped loudly and dropped to the ground in pain, quickly Jaem tried to focus his mana again but by then the gnolls were on them. The first one leapt onto Jaem's chest and knocked the thin mage over, knocking the wind out of him. The gnoll raised his small dagger high up over his head and Jaem threw his opponent off of his chest with his stave, and then swung it around in an attempt to clear the gnolls off of him. Quickly letting the mana escape from his body, the gnolls were sent flying backwards in an explosion.
Getting on his feet, Jaem began casting another spell at the nearest gnoll in an attempt to finish it off while it was still on the ground. The elements of ice flowed through his veins and gathered at his finger tips, with a thought the mana was released and slammed into the gnoll, the ice bludgeoning him to death. Sweeping frantically backwards, Jaem looked behind him just in time to see another gnoll get up on its feet and lung at his throat. Unable to do anything to defend himself Jaem flinched involuntarily and closed his eyes. A loud crack sounded and the gnoll hit the ground at Jaem's feet, opening his eyes in shock looked around, unsure of where the shot had come from.
There were no more gnolls left and Jaemallowed himself a moment to relax. Still looking around in the gloom, Jaemstill had no idea what had killed that last…
"Down here lad!" came a voice from around Jael's waist.
Jumping slightly, Jaemlooked down to see a dwaf holding a rifle and dressed in heavy mail chains. Eyes widening he jumped backward slightly, and the dwarf chuckled, "Jumpy aintcha lad? What might ya be doin' all the way out here?"
Jaem cleared his throat and replied, "Osgood…sent me out here. Kill Yowler, thought it would stop the gnolls."
"All by yerself?" The dwarf said, "There be at least a hundred gnolls in these hills!"
"I'm beginning to realize that this was a fool's errand," Jaem said dryly.
"And look at ye! Ye aint got meat on those bones!" The dwarf continued, "How do ye hope to kill Yowler when ye get to him? And yer balding! Madness!" The dwarf pulled a flask out of his coat pocket and took a swig of a very strong smelling liquid.
"Can you cease mocking me and tell me your name and whether or not you intend to help me?" Jaem snapped, tapping his stave on the ground angrily.
"Oh, I think I hit a nerve, but ye got some fire in ya…and I like that. My name be Orres…a dwarf hunter. I specialize in survival in the wilderness…what be yer name mage?"
"Jaem…of Lakeshire," Jaem replied.
"Well Jaem, pleased to make ya boy. Now, let's go kill a gnoll. Come Pinky," Orres said, motioning to a boar that Jaem had not noticed.
"Is that your pet?" Jaem asked.
"No lad, Pinky be my partner. Now come on, Yowler be this way…I spotted his camp when I was passin' through," Orres motioned, taking another swig of…whatever he was drinking. Jaem was sure that he could catch Lake Everstill on fire with whatever he was drinking.
Jaem and Orres moved for the next few hours through the hills that covered the Redridge area, avoiding as many fights as they could but killing the gnolls who were unlucky enough to cross their path. Jaem and Orres made an excellent team, and the made good progress without taking any serious injury…and even Pinky the Boar turned out to be invaluable.
They came across Yowler's camp early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. There was no movement among the tents and the fire from the night before was nothing more than smoldering coals and embers.
"What do ye think lad?" Orres asked as they peered over the ridge at the encampment.
"Clearly they aren't expecting company. I doubt they expected anybody to get past their perimeter without being spotted," Jaem considered.
"So…a frontal assault then? I like that!" Orres said grabbing his rifle and jumping out of cover, "For Khaz Modan!" he shouted.
Jaem hesitated, but after a second he pulled his stave off his back and ran across the field in an attempt to catch up with the dwarf. For a creature with such short legs, they certainly could move quickly over short distances. The first of the gnolls lifted its head up from its sleeping mat, sniffing the air, until Jaem's first fireball found its snout and it went down with a yelp. The smell of burning hair filled the air and four other gnolls leapt to their feet.
Ice blossomed from one palm and fire from the other, and Jaem burned and bloodied two of the gnolls while Orres and Pinky bit, shot, and tackled the other two into submission. Bloodied and bruised, the trio panted heavily as the last gnoll fell with a forlorn howl and Jaem knew he was at his limit.
"Well done!" Orres yelled as he sat on the ground with an auditable thud, "Now which one is Yowler?"
"I…don't know," Jaem panted. A loud howl echoed from behind Jaem, and he turned around to see a gnoll twice the size of the other ones emerging from a tent.
"Ah," Orres said, "Methinks he's the one."
"Indeed," Jaem said.
Yowler growled and grabbed a sword from a fallen gnoll, charging the seated dwarf. Thinking quickly, Jaem used a minor ice spell and froze Yowler's legs in place. That gave Orres enough time to get on his feet, and cursing loudly, reload his rifle. Yowler growled and lunged at Jaem, landing firmly on his chest planting him in the ground.
"Help!" Jaem yelled as drool from Yowler's jaws dribbled onto his face.
"I'm comin' lad!" Orres shouted as he fired a shot into the flank of the beast, and the oversized gnoll screamed and flailed, letting Jaem's arm go. Using what little mana he had left, Jaem pointed his palm up into the face of the beast and Yowler's eyes erupted in flame. This time he got off Jaem altogether, and scrambled backwards…right into the smoldering campfire.
Jaem got up coughing and he watched as a blinded, bleeding, and blazing Yowler screamed in pain as loud as he could…until Orres walked over and placed one last round in his head, finally killing the beast.
"Comeon lad! Let's get out of here! Every gnoll within a mile will 'ave heard that!" Orres roared.
"I will not be but a moment Orres! I must claim Yowler's paw…else this was all for naught!" Jaem shouted as he pulled a knife from his backpack, with a quick downward slice Jaem severed Yowler's paw and stuffed it into his pack.
"Let's go lad!" Orres shouted, "They're coming!"
Jaem stood up and started running after the dwarf, once again struggling to catch up.
Jaem's stave fell out of his hand, and he stared at the smoldering remains of Lakeshire. His home for the past twenty years was in ruins, and though Jaem had always suspected that this would happen to the frontier town…it still came as a shock.
"I'm…sorry lad," Orres said softly. Everything as on fire, and the air was thick with black smoke. Jaem pulled Yowler's paw out of his bag and dropped it on the ground.
"I shall not need it," Jaem said numbly. The blacksmith's forge caved in and Jaem fell to his knees.
"There's nothing left for ya here lad," Orres said calmly, "But I think I might know who did this."
"Who?" Jaem said softly.
"The Horde….probably a few of their powerful sorcerers. This has always been a contested district," Orres said.
Jaem stood up and slowly, picked up his belongings, "I'm leaving. You can come if you want Orres…but I'm going to Stormwind. It will a place to start over."
"Then to Stormwind it is lad. I'll help ya get there in one piece."