Chapter 1: Flight

Heat. Unbearable heat. Like being scorched from within while engulfed in flames from the outside. It coated her skin and filled her open mouth. It coursed through her veins and entered every crevice of her body.

She stumbled across the gravel laden path, sprinting faster toward the rope bridge a few hundred yards ahead of her. Her feet were wet. Sweat? Blood? She guessed the latter from the pain that shot up through her soles and into her burning leg muscles, which felt as if they themselves were filled with the same tiny sharp rocks that bit into her skin. They ached along with every other sinew that worked hard to keep up her flight. Her breathing, haggard and quick with her steps, caused her lungs to contract and expand wildly, fatiguing the organs that threatened to collapse if they were forced to work any longer. The thick, dense flora of the jungle, flanking her on both sides, was a constant blur of green hues speckled with random blotches of brightly colored flowers. Yet even the bridge ahead and the decayed ruins that bordered it were a haze of smeared colors. Her vision was fading.

Soon, her whole body would fail.

Run…faster.

"I…I'm trying…" she heard herself rasp through cracked lips. "I'm trying…but it hurts…"

Your pain means nothing. It is must be overlooked. You have much left to do. Your purpose cannot be deterred. You must run faster.

She inhaled the humid jungle air of Stranglethorn Vale; it further burned her throat, but upon tasting the particles of plant life and rich, life-given soil, she was infused with a small burst of energy and some renewed desperation that propelled her further. However, no matter how fast she ran the cries and curses of her pursuers and the thudding beats of their feet against the ground seemed to draw nearer and nearer. She wouldn't be able to outrun them.

No need. Only a bit further...cross the bridge.

"Help…me…" she huffed through her desperate breaths. "I need…strength."

Across the bridge. Then we shall aid you. Faster.

She cried out in frustration and pain, swinging her arms harder. The air whipped past her so hard that it seemed to cut at her skin. She inhaled, letting it fill her steadily emptying lungs, as she made a small leap across the slight gap between the end of the large hill and the first wood plank of the rope bridge. The rising and falling terrain of Stranglethorn was proving to be a hindrance to her escape. Running up the steep hills had caused her to fatigue quicker as she had darted out of the cover of the jungle and into the open to avoid being chased by one of the local wild animals. Though once she returned to the road, her pursuers had quickly found her.

Run, the voices had told her. Run south and do not stop.

To where? She had questioned them. To whom? There was no one to help her. There was no one who would sympathize and aid her.

Further ahead. Across the bridge. Keep running.

The wooden boards of the bridge eventually disappeared beneath her feet as she returned back to the hard surface of the paved ground. She let out a small triumphant yelp, glad that she had traversed the bridge. Yet as she glanced behind her to check her progress, she realized that her pursuers were in closer proximity that she anticipated. The first of them, mounted on the back of a powerful and crazed raptor, was nearly half way across.

A sharp pain exploded in her left foot as a piercing object, most likely a stray arrowhead or jagged stone, cut deeply into her flesh. She screamed and toppled over, sliding across the ground on her face, belly, and hands. Dust invaded her nostrils as she began to hyperventilate and cough. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably, caused by the shock of the abrupt halt in movement and the tremors in the ground produced from the thudding feet approaching her.

"N-no!" she lamented into the ground, feeling it quake loudly beneath her body. "It's over."

Yes. It is over.

As she felt her pursuers encircle, she squeezed her eyes shut and brought her hands beneath her chest, clutching at the warm metal object that was closed over her throat. "Please…help me," she through tears as the heavy clawed feet of the raptor dragged against the ground and the leader of her assailants dismounted.

"Caught you, fire devil."

The heat blazing inside her body seemed to intensify. She prayed for a quick death.

Even through the canopy of thick branches and leaves that arched over the cleared path, the sun was hot and almost intolerable on Akashii's skin. Added to the humid atmosphere of the jungle, it left him steaming and wet beneath his mail armor. Had he anticipated that his journey into Stranglethorn Vale would be peaceful and uneventful, he would have opted for lighter armor. Yet the Vale was neutral territory, frequented by members of both the Horde and the Alliance and was known for being a place of constant conflict. Not to mention, there were several scattered tribes of hostile jungle Trolls that would be all too willing to butcher him, a Darkspear Troll, and the 10 others he traveled with.

Akashii was not one to complain. As the leader of his group, he had a duty to perform and was focused primarily on ensuring the safe return of his men and the herbalists they were escorting through the jungle. He had been honored when Master Gadrin, one of the leaders of Sen'jin Village, requested that he personally lead the quest into Stranglethorn Vale. Though he was a powerful and respected warrior within his tribe, Akashii was seldom asked to lead the groups that were sent out of the village. He was always a part of them, as his best skill was in defending and backing up his comrades rather than giving orders. He took great pride in protecting the brave Trolls that often put their lives on the line for the sake of the tribe and the Horde. Yet, being this was the first time he had been assigned as party leader by one of the high ranking priests of the Darkspears, he was resolute in making sure the task given to them would be accomplished efficiently and without trouble. He would not fail.

"Why in de name of da Gods would Mastah Gadrin send us all the way out here for wood and herbs?" the Troll at his left side grumbled irritably, shifting on his mount as he arched his back. "I'd rather be in da dry heat of Durotar than dealin' with dis humidity…"

Akashii yawned, stretching his mouth wide and letting his tongue dart out between his two massive tusks that curled up and back at an angle. He readjusted himself on his massive red wolf mount and patted the back of the shaggy head. "Your guess is as good as mine, mon. He gave me da orders, and I am following em. Didna make any attempt at askin' why."

The Troll groaned again. "We've been traveling since dawn. I didna expect such an epic journey when I volunteered for dis leetl excursion, Akashii. It's supposed to be mah week off!"

"Only a few more miles, Nok," Akashii replied, trying to stretch off his own fatigue. "Once we get da materials Mastah Gadrin requested, we'll be back in Booty Bay right after nightfall."

"Mmm, a glass of cold ale at da Salty Sailor Tavern would quench mah parched tongue right now," Nok mused with a smile as he wiped sweat from his partially bald head, sweeping strands of his mohawk from his brow. "And a bath and a massage from an elf or draenei woman would soothe mah aching muscles…"

The other mounted Trolls following behind them laughed heartily. Even Akashii chuckled. The comforts of Booty Bay were known far and wide by members of the Horde and Alliance. Akashii and Nok had been through the port town on several occasions while attending to business in the Vale. Like many men who traveled through there, they were aware of the more seedy activities available to those who sought them. While Akashii was content with a stout drink or two, Nok often indulged in both the world famous alcohols and women of Booty Bay.

An interrupting cough brought Nok and Akashii's attention behind them. "Are we any closah to this waterfall, ya big brutes?" asked one of the five herbalists that were protectively encircled by the six mounted Trolls. It was Kanna, an expert in both alchemy and herbalism. She too had been requested personally by Master Gadrin for the journey to the Vale. "Though Nok's nasty comments always get on mah nerves, I share his sentiment about wanting this trip to be ovah as soon as possible. Can't we go any fastah?"

Akashii shook his head and returned his gaze back to the front. "'Fraid not, Kanna. In case we get attacked by any of da tribes 'round here, I want da mounts to be as rested as possible so we can make a quick escape."

"Dun want any of you ladies getting your leetl heads taken by some Bloodscalp shaman. Deh do luv da pretteh ones," Nok teased her with a suggestive wink.

"Turn ya fat head back 'round, Nok, before you walk into a low branch and land back on your fat ass," Kanna seethed at him, eliciting giggles from the other herbalists and guffaws from the riders. "I won't stay behind ya to catch ya neither."

Nok's bright blue face flushed redder as he pivoted back to the front on his mount. "She wants me," he whispered to Akashii with a grin.

"Clearly, mon," his friend chuckled. "But Kanna is right. We gotta stay alert here, especially da farther north we get. The waterfall where deez aquatic plants Gadrin wants is only beyond dis next bridge. Rebel Base is ahead of that and I dun wanna get ambushed by some Alliance—"

The great wolf beneath him and the other mounts began to slow, growling and screeching in panicked warning. "Somethings coming," one of the hunters behind him grunted. "A pack of somethings, rather. Dey be comin' up fast."

The six riders instinctively unsheathed their blades, axes, guns, and arrows as the mounts came to a complete stop. Kanna had already erected several totems around them while the other herbalists, composed of priests and mages, held staves and hands sparkling with magic ready. "And here I thought we wasn't gonna see any action!" Nok exclaimed as he drew his twin daggers from their sheaths. "Should I stealth ahead?"

"Not yet, Nok," Akashii said as he held up his hand. "What can you see, Kall? Are dey Alliance?"

Kall, the hunter at Akashii's right, looked up into the sky where his gold colored wind serpent hovered above a few yards. His eyes went white as he channeled his sight through the beast. "No, not Alliance. Dey be Trolls. About seven or eight of them. Gurubashi by de look of dey armor. Warriors and Shadow Hunters."

"Shit," Akashii muttered under his breath. The Gurubashi were some of the fiercest and blood-lustful Troll tribes. It was not in his plans to have to engage in a potentially deadly battle. But what were they doing out of the walls of Zul'Gurub?

"Dey be chasing someone," Kall continued, as if he were answering the question. "A woman…can't tell if she be Alliance or Horde. Seems like an awful lot of dem for one woman."

"If dey comin' this way, Akashii, dey gonna run into us sooner or later," Kanna said with slight worry in her voice. "I dun doubt we can take 'em, but I'd rather not have to waste tha mana, ya know? Should we turn around?"

"Dey coming up too fast," Kall said before their leader could make a decision. "Dey will be on us before we can get away."

Akashii snarled and steadied his mount, which was reacting wildly with growing ferocity to the approach of danger. "We do not advance, den. We'll wait until they—"

"Wait…" Kall narrowed his eyes as if he were struggling to see farther through the mystic bond between him and his pet. "De woman fell. Dey gonna be all over her now." His eyes returned to their customary deep blue color and he shook his head. "Not gonna be good for her at all. But they'll do what dey was meant to do wit her and be on da way hopefully."

At these words, Akashii felt a compelling instinct to go forward and assist the unfortunate victim. He didn't know what the Gurubashi wanted with that woman. Maybe she was a priestess who was trying to escape the crazed zealots of Hakkar she had once been allied with. Maybe she was a member of the Alliance. Or she could be horde, even a Darkspear. The warrior shook his head to himself. It was none of his business really. The only lives he had to worry about were those of his comrades and his own.

He winced, hearing a scream in the distance, no doubt from the fallen woman. He glanced at Nok, who was wearing a similar discomforted expression. "We can't just let dem kill her," he muttered. "It could be one of our own."

Even Firemane, Akashii's mount, seemed to agree. He pulled at his bridle, his powerful muscles tense beneath copper colored fur, longing to go forward. Akashii ran a hand through his own wild red hair and let out a raspy sigh. "It don't feel right…" he said as he braced his giant axe in his hand, "…to let dem Gurubashi do as dey please!" He snapped the reigns, sending Firemane into a fast sprint. He heard Nok and the other warriors let out loud battle cries as they followed close behind him, still flanking the now running herbalists.

Akashii furrowed his brow and felt both a zeal for battle and a cautionary worry rise in his chest. He hoped he was making the right decision.

A/N. An Introduction: Hi, my name is Talia. I've been writing fan fiction since I was in 8th grade, so it's been about 9, almost 10 years now. Most of my stories have never made it on paper, existing only in my head and "read aloud" to myself or sketched haphazardly on paper as a storyboard or character study. I've posted some fan fiction, mostly from the Harry Potter world, on other websites. This is my first World of Warcraft story and it's one I've had in my head for a while now. I love the lore and complex history of the world and knew that I'd eventually come up my own story to fit somewhere in it. This is that story. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews would be nice, but I'm just happy to have someone read to this tale.