Part 1
The blood elf noble in front of him (don't they all think they're nobles?) was pacing up and down the study in his lavish suite in Silvermoon City. Ferruk shifted uncomfortably, he really wanted to be anywhere besides here. He'd been sent on what other members of his garrison considered cream work—the most desirable positions due to their simple and uncomplicated natures and low degree of physical demand. The Forsaken, the trolls, the tauren, even the blood elf soldiers all wanted the cream jobs. The easy stuff.
But this was a blood elf noble, and he had stringently demanded that only an orc was acceptable. Trolls were unacceptable because they had eaten blood elves in the past, Forsaken must surely stink (they didn't, but some people just didn't want to hear it), and Tauren shed (sometimes true). Blood elves, of course, might (would definitely) attempt to seduce the little princess.
And so, Ferruk had been given the dubious honor of watching over the great Kel'Norat Mequa's daughter. Kel'Norat's pacing was beginning to get on Ferruk's nerves, but he tried to pay attention to what the man was saying.
"—had it placed on her as a child, she kept running off. It seemed a good notion at the time, and it has served us well. But now that she's an adult, we have no idea how to remove the spell. Our only hope is that the mages of Dalaran will be able to remove it somehow. We do have a tinkered device that will allow her to use the portal from Crystalsong Forest, but that's the only way we can find to get her there. That's where you come in," Kel'Norat said. "You'll be escorting her to Undercity, to Howling Fjord, and from there, to Crystalsong Forest.
"But let me forewarn you, orc, it won't be easy. It's many, many weeks of travel by foot, and she cannot be allowed to fly. It's simply too dangerous.
"Are you listening to me, orc? Really, why do they send me these people? Couldn't they have found someone a bit more competent? I mean, come on, you're not even listening to me!" Kel'Norat's face was starting to turn from pale white surrounded by an equally pale white mane, to bright red, looking much like a frosted Winter Veil ornament.
Ferruk said simply, "I was listening, sir. You cursed your daughter, now you demand that I waste the Horde's valuable time escorting her across the frozen and dangerous lands of Northrend because you couldn't be bothered to act like a real father and take care of your daughter when she was a child." He crossed his hands and sat back, his green eyes boring coldly into Kel'Norat's glowing green orbs.
For a moment, the man spluttered. Ferruk was smugly certain that he would be relieved of this most unwanted duty at this point, and could get back to the proper business of fighting the Scourge. Things did not go as he predicted, unfortunately.
Kel'Norat threw his white mane back and laughed. He laughed. And laughed. And kept laughing. Ferruk sat impassively, wondering what the devil had come over the man. "You're right, orc. What was your name? Ferruk, that's right. Oh, you're so right, and my wife and I argued endlessly about that. Oh, you're perfect. Absolutely perfect!" He seemed to Ferruk to be nearly crowing at this point.
It also seemed to Ferruk to be a very unhappy situation. He had hoped the man would cut him loose for his bluntness. Instead, it seemed to make him "perfect." For what, Ferruk didn't want to even begin to wonder.
Kel'Norat leaned back in his chair. The man was perfect, absolutely perfect. He was reasonably sure that the man sitting in front of him would be impervious to Nerissa's machinations. He wasn't sure what intentions his bitch of a wife had for their daughter, but he was determined to remove the curse she'd had put on Nerissa as a child.
The woman was obsessed with money, control, and above all else, Power. Any kind of Power, be it magical, social, or simply possession of things with great physical Power. She had bought him as her husband, improving her status in society and ensuring herself financial Power.
Sin'Dorei society was openly matriarchal; though in the most corrupt sense of it. Among the highest levels of their society, the matriarch determined matters of heredity. Women, also, determined matters of arranged marriages. Thus, he had been, for all intents and purposes, sold to his wife for the paltry sum of her promise to provide a female heir to his parents' dying dynasty.
Now the woman held nearly absolute power over him and their daughter. He had to protect his daughter, since he believed that he would soon be poisoned so that his wife could find a consort. But before she could kill him, she had to kill his daughter. All of the money in their family belonged to him until their daughter came of age. At which point she would inherit it all.
She would turn 60 on her way to Dalaran. Then she would be of age to inherit. At which point all of her mother's Power and status in society would be gone. Nerissa was already a woman, and of course, could take a husband at any time. If she did so, then her mother would lose everything unless she could rid herself of her husband, her daughter, and the husband if there were one.
So over all, the man sitting across from him and dwarfing his elegant, oversized luxury chair, might well be the only hope that he and Nerissa had. Not only of keeping their fortunes, which would be nice, but of surviving. Kel'Norat considered whether or not to warn the man directly about his wife, and decided against it.
Instead, he told Ferruk, "You should be aware, she isn't safe. As a noble, there will be many out to end her life. The list of those who would happily harm her is nearly endless."
Watching Ferruk nod, he couldn't read the man's ugly face at all. He could only hope and pray to whatever deity that might be listening, that the man heard him and took him seriously. The trip ahead for this man and his daughter would be fraught with danger.
Lady Chalisse Mequa Trasamme swept into the room. Her husband was going to remove the curse she'd had put on their daughter, was he? She almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it. The curse made the girl easy to control, and thus she'd taken care to have one put on her that there was no known way to remove.
But this little fancy of his could work to her advantage. Here, the girl was constantly under guard. The truth of Sin'Dorei society was well known, so she was continuously protected. Now her foolish husband intended to set the girl free to roam around the face of Azeroth, with no one to watch over her except…
This time, she did laugh out loud. Except an orc? "Is this the man that's going to escort Nerissa?" she asked.
When Kel'Norat confirmed her suspicion, she laughed even louder. "Surely you jest?" When he shook his head, she looked at the orc. He was incredibly ugly. Green skin, green eyes, awkwardly large and with a grotesquely large and misshapen head.
But, he was big, and from what she could see of his body, very powerful. Sweeping over to the orc, she sat in his lap. Delicately, she patted him on the chest. "You're certainly very strong, but I hardly think you're sufficient to escort our daughter." She batted her eyes at the orc, and smiled sweetly at him. "She's very important, you see. She'll be in great danger while traveling."
To her shock and dismay, the orc reached out and grasped her breast through her shirt and grimaced at her. "Dat's okay, laydee, you feel me very strong. You wanting closer look, I kin tell."
Outraged, she jumped up, slapping his hand away when it followed her. "How dare you?" she shrieked. Of all the absurd, unnatural… she couldn't even think of all the appropriate words for him. Turning on Kel'Norat, she yelled, "Unacceptable! I won't have that man anywhere near my daughter!"
Once more, she was surprised today. Kel'Norat got up and came around his desk. His face inches from hers, he said, "He's going to escort her, and that is that. Don't worry, I'll be sure to warn her not to sit down on his lap and feel him up." She gasped and felt herself begin to shake with anger. She was determined that she would find a way to punish him, hopefully brutally, for this later.
Knowing of no way to get around it, as ultimately this particular issue was his to deal with, she left the room, stating only, "We'll just see about that!" She knew the comment was impotent, but she said it anyway.
After she left, she thought about it for a while. Really, why not let the orc escort Nerissa? He was clearly stupid, oafish, and ugly. It was an excellent deterrent to Nerissa marrying before Chalisse could have her taken care of. Chalisse's face hardened. How inconvenient and inconsiderate of Kel'Norat to make this difficult for her.
Well, it didn't matter. Let the stupid orc take Nerissa to Dalaran. They would never make it, Chalisse would make sure of that. Determined now, she stepped off down the hallway. Oh yes, she would make sure they never, ever reached Dalaran. How much trouble could one spoiled little bitch and one stupid orc be?
Ferruk was highly annoyed by this whole business. Kel'Norat's amusement at his antics notwithstanding, Ferruk still didn't want to be here. He didn't want an escort job, he just wanted to fight. Escorting some nobleman's unholy spawn around the face of Azeroth might be someone's idea of fun, but it was far from his own.
And worse, it seemed that everything he did to make himself seem unsuitable was turning around right in his face and slapping him upside the head. He couldn't believe that the crazy noblewoman hadn't managed to override her husband's wishes. Kel'Norat didn't strike him as someone who'd stand up to his wife. 'Henpecked' seemed to be a good word for the guy. If he weren't an asshole, Ferruk would have felt sorry for him.
As it was, he just really wanted to be free of him. In particular, he was displeased to be in Eversong Woods; displeased to be shafted with a babysitting job; displeased to be dealing with these arrogant, pompous, self-important fools… and tired of their blatant ignorance. Raised in such an environment, he was fairly sure just what kind of person his charge was going to be. Little did he know, but he was not to be disappointed in the slightest. She would meet, and exceed, his expectations within the first few moments of their introduction.
He was led out of the luxurious library and into the suite beyond. There, he was told to wait. He looked at the bear rug that adorned the floor, the massive statue of a dancing woman on the wall (and yes, he looked up her skirt, just in case it was anatomically correct), and the tiny little chaise that sat on the poor bear's back.
At last, a diminutive elf woman entered the room beside Kel'Norat. "Ferruk, this is my daughter, Nerissa." Ferruk waved, trying to make the best of the situation.
She ignored him entirely, "An orc, father? You don't seriously expect me to travel with an orc, do you? They rape people, you know. And you know what mother would say if—"
"That's true, actually," Ferruk said, completely deadpan.
Kel'Norat shot him a look of sheer spite. "Not helping!" he snapped. Ferruk tried to look properly chagrined.
"Well, maybe if she's scared of me, she'll behave like a person instead of a child," Ferruk suggested helpfully.
"I'm not scared of you," she said tartly, "and furthermore, I don't think you know anything about how people should act." Her dark (for an elf) skin had become mottled with a rather unattractive red of anger, and her blazing red hair did nothing at all to offset it. If anything, it seemed to accent it and bring it out. Turning to Kel'Norat, she said, "Father, he's very ugly. You know how I hate to have anything ugly around me!" She pouted, apparently thinking she was doing so prettily.
Ferruk walked up to her, dropping his head so that his face was mere inches from hers. "You've got no room to talk, little girl. You look like you're having an apoplectic seizure, with your face all ruddy and mottled like that. Your hair is orange, and clashes with your eyes. Which, by the way, aren't a particularly attractive shade of green anyway. Right now they look rather like rotten peas."
She gasped at him, her small, red mouth forming an 'o' of surprise. "You filthy creature! Get away from me! I'll have you know," she tried to straighten up to make herself taller, "that I'm considered a great beauty. I'm intelligent, unlike you; I'm witty, unlike you; and I'm very powerful. My status, no doubt, is far above yours, too."
"And you're oh, so humble, too, aren't you, toots." He threw his head back and barked with laughter.
"I'm not going anywhere with that… that monster!" she shrieked. "You can't make me go!"
Ferruk stepped forward. "He might not be able to make you go, but I sure as hell can, and will."
"You wouldn't dare!" she snapped at him, eyes blazing even brighter.
He stepped another step closer to her. "Oh, I would more than dare. Your father's paying me to deliver you to Dalaran. You'll either go willingly, or unwillingly. And I'd personally prefer that you went unwillingly, because then I could gag you and throw you over the back of a mount. In which case, I could avoid your shrewish behavior the entire way to Dalaran." He was no longer smiling. Now he was looking at her seriously, intently.
She stepped backwards, shocked at his words and the intensity of his stare. Ferruk thought for a moment what a waste it was that she was such a little shit. She wasn't really all that ugly, just bitchy. Which was the next best thing to ugly to turn a man off completely, really.
Ferruk turned to Kel'Norat, "She's got the worst manners I've ever seen. It's astonishing, really."
"Stop talking about me like I'm not right in the room with you!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Ferruk, still ignoring her, said, "I bet she isn't even packed, is she?"
She turned on her father with a look of sheer anger. "You hate me, don't you? You're doing this because you hate me."
"I hate you," Ferruk volunteered helpfully.
She burst into tears suddenly, running from the room. Ferruk looked at Kel'Norat with feigned innocence. "Something I said?" He lifted both arms, sniffing at one, then the other. "I bathed just last week, I swear."
To his surprise, Kel'Norat laughed uproariously and left the room, saying on his way out, "Oh yeah, absolutely perfect!"
Ferruk sighed. It seemed that, try as he might to get out of it, he was on escort duty to a spoiled little elvish "society princess."
Nerissa threw herself down on the bed and cried. Her sobs soon drew her maid, Sharinia to her side. "There there, what's the matter, Neri?" she said.
Barely able to talk, Nerissa tried to explain, "Father… sending…me…'way! … Terrible… orc… monster…" She cried even harder then when Sharinia told her that she couldn't understand her through her crying. "N'er mind!"
In that moment, Nerissa so hated her father, and her mother—who should have saved her from her father's peculiar whims! Finally able to talk, she told Sharinia, "Father's sending me away to Dalaran, and the escort he got for me is an orc. He's a terrible creature, ugly and rude and—"
Her diatribe was cut off as said 'creature' entered the room. "Oh, look, at least you're packing. In between whining, apparently."
Oh, how she hated him! "I'll have you know that I'm done packing. I've got all the essentials. Father said to pack light, so I have." She indicated the twelve cases on the floor.
"Which ones are you taking with you?"
The man truly was an imbecile. "All of them, of course," she said tersely.
He laughed, "Oh ho, no way, girlie. No way in hell. You'll take five, and you'd better make sure at least one contains food, reagents, and other necessities."
"Food? Reagents? Surely you aren't suggesting that I eat travel rations or that I am going to do any fighting?"
He scowled at her again, and she stepped back. Orcs, she knew, were very unpredictable creatures. She had no idea what he might do to her, and she really didn't like the way he was looking at her. "You can't even fight? Are you serious with that shit?"
Offended, she snapped, "Of course I can fight. I've had full training and full fight experience. There is nothing more that anyone can teach me." She lifted her chin, she was rather proud of her accomplishments as a fighter, in fact. But now that she had completed all of that, it was mercenaries' jobs to fight for her, like this fellow.
She watched him pick up one of her cases, and was relieved to see him come to his senses. That was, until he popped the latch on it and opened it without even asking permission! He really was an absolutely vile creature. The worst part being that he dared to claim she had terrible manners, and here he was pawing through her stuff!
He picked up her dress, the one she'd had made specifically for this trip, and threw it on the bed, "Worthless." Then her favorite, the lavender and cream gown followed, "Worthless." Beginning to see a trend, she ran around the bed and grabbed her case from him.
"Stop it! How dare you go through my things? You have no right!"
He stepped closer to her, and she struggled against her sudden fear. "I have every right. From today until we reach Dalaran, I'm the boss of you. You're going to pack essentials, and nothing else. No dresses. No bon-bons. No cakes or pastries. No frilly little frick fracks or whatever the fuck you people call them.
"You don't seem to get the fact that this is a life or death situation. You've always had help, you've been catered to and you've been babied. Now you're going out into the real world. You think I might rape you, and that's pretty funny. Especially given the fact that I'm the very least of your worries.
"I have one duty here. That duty is to protect you. I haven't been given any explicit instructions on how to go about it. Therefore, I'm going to go about it in the right way. That means, you carry only what's reasonable and intelligent to carry. You shut the fuck up and do what I tell you to, when I tell you to do it, and you don't argue.
"Because if you don't, I really will tie you up, gag you, and let you ride your mount that way. I don't like you, I don't care about you, and I don't have any interest in you besides delivering you to Dalaran with a still-beating heart. You're a selfish, self-important little bitch, and I just want to get you there and be quit of you as fast as I possibly can.
"I said it before. You're going, willingly or not. I have my preference about which way you go. I assume you do, too. Whichever it is, pick it fast, because we're leaving as soon as I'm done sorting out your bags."
He turned away from her and back to her bag. "Worthless, worthless, worthless" he repeated like a mantra. She sank down on the floor and cried. Suddenly, she felt very alone and very humiliated. When would it all be over? And why, in the name of all Holy, did her father pick this cruel, spiteful man to escort her? What had she done to deserve this?
Not realizing that his thoughts echoed hers almost exactly, Ferruk wondered what he had done to deserve getting this terrible assignment. He'd really thought Captain Eziel liked him. Judging by the pay alone, he would still think that. But this… this child in a woman's body… he was chained to a shrieking harpy for the next several weeks.
Like all orcs, Ferruk avoided addictive substances. The orcs had learned this lesson in the hardest possible way, nearly leading to the annihilation of their species. But right at this moment, with a wailing woman crying over dresses of all things, and 12 massive cases to go through—no doubt all filled with more dresses—he really thought that maybe a spot of grog or even a good stiff whiskey might not be an altogether horrible idea.
Speaking of ideas, though, he suddenly had a good one. Cases, instead of packs, were not very good for over-the-road travel anyway. And since he couldn't doubt for a moment that the rest of the cases were filled with utter crap, he made his decision. "Come on," he said. Then, when she ignored him and kept sobbing, "Get the fuck up and let's go, before I pick you up and haul your ass out."
She continued to ignore him, sobbing piteously. "Every minute I spend with you, I dislike you more and more," he said. Then he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, face down. She started kicking and hitting him on the back, shrieking like a maniac the whole way out of the apartments and even through the inn on the bottom floor.
Her mount, a black horse shrouded in red and white armor, snorted and shied away at her shrieks. Ferruk tossed her over the horse's back, completely uninterested in how she landed, as long as she stayed on. Using the tiny attunement crystal, he talked to Malovici for a moment, "I'm going to need a backpack and four satchels. Can you help me out?" Malovici responded in the affirmative.
They would have bags for her by the time they reached Silvermoon City, or Undercity, at the latest. Turning to the maid who had followed them out (and whom he noticed was trying to smother her grin), he said, "Do you know which case contains her armor?"
"None of them, sir," the maid said.
Sighing, he tossed her the satchel he'd been intending as a gift for little Lina, his friend's daughter, and told her to pack up armor and weapons for Nerissa, as well as a warm cape.
"I won't fight. I refuse. You can't make me!" He snarled in frustration as her strident whining hit his ear yet again. He wasn't sure which was worse, the whining or the pathetic sobbing. "I won't do your job for you!" Cancel that, the whining was definitely worse.
With a resigned sigh, he mounted his worg. As soon as the maid returned and handed a belligerent, uncooperative Nerissa her bag of armor, he turned to head out. He stopped and looked at her. "Coming on your own, or shall I lead your horse like a child's pony?"
She scowled, but followed. He was relieved, because he didn't actually want to have to drag her horse around, threats notwithstanding.
Kel'Norat watched them go, standing on the balcony above them. His stomach was tied in knots. He hadn't been a very good father, always giving in to Chalisse. But the fact of the matter was, for all his mistakes and misjudgments, he did love Nerissa. He wanted to protect her, and the no-nonsense attitude that the orc covered up with jokes and crudeness was a hopeful sign to him.
He couldn't hire an entire escort for her, because he was paying from his personal funds. But he had done his best, having turned away 5 others before Ferruk. Nerissa didn't understand the gravity of the situation, but despite his jokes, Kel'Norat knew that Ferruk did. It was the best he could hope for that this man might be able to get his daughter safely to Dalaran.
He knew that the curse could never be released. She would never be able to use magical transport. It didn't really matter, though. In Dalaran, she would be safe. In Dalaran, she could live a long and healthy life.
He began to cast the spell that would take him to Dalaran, too.
"Going somewhere, Kel?" Too slow, he was too slow. He shouldn't have seen Nerissa off.
The spell completed. He reached for the portal. Searing agony blazed through him, and he fell… face first into the portal. He landed roughly in Dalaran, his face burnt and his robes still on fire. A passerby took pity on him and he was Healed, the burn vanishing in an instant, the flames quieted just as quickly.
A thrill of triumph ran through him. She would still try to get to him, but his wife, no doubt cursing up a storm in Fairbreeze, had lost this round. Another day of life for him, another failure for her. He could hardly believe his good fortune. He was alive by simple stroke of the luck of falling forward instead of backwards.
He thanked the young priestess who had Healed him, and climbed to his feet. Dusting himself off, he made a decision.
Ferruk? he sent through the attunement crystal.
Yes? came the surprised response from the man at the other end.
You're going to need help. There was just an attempt on my life. I can now pay you more than I currently am, as I'm no longer constrained to raiding my personal savings. I fear that you have little choice but to get more or to give up this mission. If you give up, though, you will be consigning her to death. He was fearful of what the response might be.
I understand. Don't worry; I can get a group to help me. The response made Kel'Norat sink to his knees and gasp with relief.
Now, he could only wait in frozen paranoia until his daughter arrived or his wife completed her goal of killing him. On the positive side, Chalisse had just tipped her hand, so he could now make his security measures obvious, and could freely take compensation for them from family funds, which she fortunately hadn't yet the power to "liberate" from his access.
Ferruk felt little concern from the call that Kel'Norat had made to him via crystal attunement. It had only surprised him because blood elves were notorious skinflints. That the man was willing to pay for additional security measures did mean that the issue was more serious than he'd originally let on, but Ferruk had met the missus… he already knew there was some serious trouble brewing.
A woman that cunning and flagrantly selfish could only spell one thing: hell on Azeroth for someone. And since Ferruk was the lucky fool that got picked for this escort… that meant that the someone was him. He sighed. Well, there was nothing for it but to gather up the necessary people. Hilariously, to his mind, the group he was putting together would consist of three of the races that Kel'Norat had vehemently demanded not be sent to escort her.
Malovici was Forsaken, Whitecrow was Tauren, and Nantu was a troll. Nerissa's delicate sensibilities would just have to adjust, he thought with disgust. When your life was in danger, you didn't complain about who was willing to save it, if you were intelligent. He wasn't sure despite her claims, that his charge qualified as such, either.
Even now, she was riding her horse at a trot, falling behind and then galloping to catch up. A comfortable lope would be more comfortable for her and her horse both, but she seemed utterly incompetent at riding the beast, which kept grabbing the bit. Finally she (inevitably) started whining. "Can't you slow down? Why do we have to go so fast anyway?"
"You're letting your mount set the pace. The faster pace that I'm going will be more comfortable for both you and your mount," he told her.
"If it were more comfortable, he would just do it automatically," she snapped.
"Really? Like you would automatically mind your manners towards the person who's got your life in his hands?" She gaped at him for a moment, before snapping her mouth shut with a look that could melt titanium plating. He shrugged, "Your mount is an animal, he doesn't know what's best for him, because he's not intelligent. So you, as the supposedly more intelligent one, need to make the choices instead of leaving them up to him."
"Is that why you won't let me make my own choices, because you think you're more intelligent than me?" She still managed to make it sound whiny, he noted.
"No. I don't give you choices because you act clueless. Unlike your horse, you're too stubborn to listen and learn, not too stupid to."
"You are incredibly offensive."
"I guess I'm slacking, then. Keep giving me these fine examples, and pretty soon, I'll be as unendurably offensive as you are. It's my lifelong ambition." He sighed as she dropped behind again, gasping and spluttering. Ah, it was going to be a long trip.
Nerissa was so angry she could almost spit. Who did this hireling think he was, anyway? She dropped back and this time decided she wasn't going to bother to catch up. He was getting paid for what he was doing, so he could damned well start acting like it. Finally, the pain in her backside and inner thighs became so bad that she shakily dismounted.
Sinking to the ground, she sat still for a while. Then she decided to lay back and watch the clouds go by above her. She was tired, she was sore, and her hireling had run off and was nowhere to be seen. A rest would be just the thing. Perhaps at some point he would realize he was being derelict in his duty and come back for her. Until then, she was going to enjoy a little rest, and maybe a muffin…
Except that arrogant oaf had stolen her food, too! She cursed him out for a long moment, and considered going back to Fairbreeze. But they'd already ridden for at least two hours, and she couldn't stomach the thought of another two hours of grinding trotting on her horse. Even thinking about walking back seemed excruciating at the moment.
So, she let herself drift to sleep watching the clouds go by. Presently, the ground became uncomfortable, and she rolled around, trying to find a comfortable position. Darkness was falling, and she felt a stab of severe irritation. Where was that orc? Had he simply abandoned her here?
He probably had. He seemed to have no sense whatsoever, no understanding of what it actually meant to do what one was getting paid to do. What was her father thinking with that, anyway? Why didn't he hire someone more agreeable? And attractive…
With these thoughts in mind, she slipped back into sleep.
Which was exactly what Ferruk had been waiting for. He intensely disliked Nerissa, but he also knew that he had an obligation to her. Therefore, he was going to see to it that she began to understand clearly and without confusion, exactly how deadly the situation could be. He nodded at Malovici, and the man knelt into a crouch, summoning a cloak of magical shadows about himself that obscured the vision and tricked the mind.
Slowly, he crept towards the sleeping woman, soundless and smooth. A few moments later, he reached her, and with a snap of his dagger's hilt, he dropped her into unconsciousness. Ferruk and Whitecrow got up then, coming towards them. "What're you going to do?" asked Malovici in his sepulchral voice.
"Tie her up," Ferruk said. "I don't want her to see me until she's gotten the message. When she comes to, act like bandits or something," he said. The other two grinned. Well, he thought Malovici grinned, it was always hard to tell. "Don't do anything too dastardly, we're just trying to scare her." They shrugged and looked at each other.
"Well, I guess we could threaten her," Whitecrow said lamely.
The trio looked up at the approach of another rider. From the gloom appeared a raptor's face, followed by a relatively feminine troll face. They told Nantu what was going on, and she chuckled, that deep, rolling troll chuckle. "We's could say we's gonna eat her. Dems elfies be tasty."
"Devious," Ferruk said, then laughed, quieting when it made the captive stir. "I like it. Do it." Then he melted back into the shadows of a tree to watch and see just how she would deal with being at the mercy of three apparently hungry travelers… with herself on the menu.