5 Years Later...
SIR Daniel's feet against the cobblestone road were the only noise in the dark forest. He paused to look around at the gloomy, tired trees and greying grass. There was complete silence, save for a few rustling leaves from a small breeze.
He knew the silence was due to the area's gradual decline towards disease and death. Almost like a curse, Duskwood had fallen prey to the darkness. The cemeteries and surrounding areas had been overrun by the risen dead, and packs of wolfish Worgen had made Duskwood their home.
The Alliance had been fighting the battle to keep their world free of the demonic Burning Legion, but their own homes have been falling to ruin due to their neglect. Much too late the lords of Stormwind City have realised this, and even later for them to do anything about it. That's why he was here. He was dragged back from the noble fight at the dark portal to wander the roads of the Human empire. Of course, they never expected bringing just one paladin back would actually make a difference, but it made them seem as though they were doing something about it.
He was near to the small town of Darkshire and was relieved for it, because he knew that he would be revered by the townsfolk and finally have a place to rest.
He paused briefly to recall the last time he had been in a warm, safe inn. His route had led him through Elwynn forest, to the logging camp. He had been welcomed into the home of a friendly family, but he had spent half of the night culling local vicious wildlife to calm the workers and residents, and was given barely enough time to rest for the next part of his journey.
He was brought back to reality by an almost unnoticeable sound of a scuff on the pathway. He tensed, readying himself to grab for his hammer strapped to his back. He didn't want to make any sudden moves, for fear of giving his knowledge of the attacker away. Then he shook his head.
Days alone are making me paranoid, Daniel thought as he began to walk again. Then thinking about the town once more, he sighed wearily. He knew that it was less than an hours' walk from here, but it still felt like days away.
Daniel stopped suddenly. He had heard another scuff, louder this time.
Or closer, he thought, scowling. He strained his ears. There it was, the unmistakeable sound of the quiet padding of boots. He cursed silently and casually began to walk again, carefully focusing on his peripheral vision to detect his pursuer. Sure enough, he spotted a figure moving between the trees. He raised an eyebrow. His follower seemed to lack the skill to disguise himself.
An amateur, he thought as he resisted the urge to smirk I didn't think the Defias trained their rogues so poorly.
The figure stumbled slightly over a tree root and Daniel once again had to keep from smirking. He started to contemplate the mind games he could play, or the best way to announce his knowledge of the stranger.
Then the paladin noticed the follower was inching closer. Daniel took a deep breath and readied himself to grab his weapon.
The pursuer then reached out hesitantly towards the paladin's belt. Daniel rolled his eyes. This thief was doing a terrible job at trying to steal his coin, which was bound securely to his belt.
In one swift motion, the paladin had gripped the thief's wrist. He turned to look at his pursuer.
The boy froze, startled. Daniel was surprised to see he wasn't wearing any of the traditional Defias garb (like the red mask), then he realised that it wasn't a boy at all. He had elongated ears, a slender figure, and vivid green eyes.
Suddenly assessing the seriousness of the situation, he snarled and wrenched his hammer from his back. He wasn't about to let a Blood elf tear him apart with magic.
As he swing it back to deal a blow, the elf struggled against his powerful grip, terrified. The paladin hesitated. It felt unjust to hurt a foe who was cowering, and as he looked closer, he realised the elf was young.
He also noticed there was something else about the elf that seemed different, but he was distracted by a shouting voice from behind him. He turned to see a group of men pulling out their swords.
One of the men stepped forward, then his eyes widened as the Alliance crest on the paladin's chest caught his eye.
"Sir," "The man saluted, and the rest of the men followed suit, "Captain Helvas Grange, of the Night Watch Militia."
He hesitated, glancing at the elf, then quickly continued, "He is an ally to us, not a threat. You can let him go."
Daniel glanced back at the elf suspiciously. Then, letting go of his wrist at last, answered, " Then why was he trying to steal from me?"
He stared pointedly at the Captain.
His brow furrowed, and he turned to the elf, " Rii, is that true?"
The elf looked away, then at the ground, and he replied, " I was just… business at the inn has been so slow and… Miss Trelayne needed the coin…" Rii finally brought his gaze up to meet the captain's eyes.
He gave the elf a tired look and sighed, "We can speak later, Rii…" he looked again at the paladin, "For now, how about we escort you back to town, Sir….?" He looked at the paladin questioningly.
"Daniel," He replied, grinning, "My apologies."
The captain laughed and gestured for him to follow, "perhaps you could tell us about why you walk these pathways, Paladin."
Daniel nodded and followed the party towards the town. He started to explain his duties, given to him by the Lords of Stormwind, as they made their way back to the town.
While telling his tale to the group, he glanced at the elf many times. The elf seemed withdrawn and didn't speak, or make eye contact with the rest of the group. He finally realised what seemed different about him. He was indeed a half-elf, although his features were somewhat rare. His ears were almost standard length for a high elf, but he had human-like eyebrows, and although his eyes didn't hold a glow, they were enough of a vivid green to seem so at a quick glance. Daniel's fiery anger had died away to curiosity completely, and although he never fully trusted elves, he was convinced the elfboy's actions were purely out of concern. Maybe that was due to the look of obvious shame on his face as they traveled back to the town.
Finally he saw the glowing lamps of the town looming in the distance, and he felt relief wash over him. It must have shown, because Cptn. Grange turned to one of the other scouts and said, " Go directly to the inn and see if Miss Trelayne can have a meal ready for our guest," He looked at Rii briefly and continued, "and tell her of the trouble her oldest has caused. I'm sure she won't hesitate to arrange for it to be complimentary."
"That isn't necessary," Daniel replied quickly, "I've plenty of coin to-"
"Nonsense," The captain grinned, then continued, " We're all honoured to have you in our town, helping us keep it from harm."
Daniel nodded, then replied, " I greatly appreciate it."
"I can't say for sure about the room, but.. After she hears about what this one has done…" He trailed off.
" I don't hold it against him, or your people," He smiled reassuringly at the captain, "We have all made rash decisions in our youth."
The captain looked relieved.
They passed two guards while entering the town, both of which saluted when Daniel walked by.
"Feel free to make yourself at home," Cptn. Grange piped up once they had made their way to the inn, " like I said, you're welcome here."
"Thank you," Daniel replied, nodding. Keeping up the pleasantries were starting to make him feel drained.
Cptn. Helvas then turned to the elfboy, " Rii, come with me."
He gestured, and Rii hung his head and followed the captain into the inn.
"Rii, what were you thinking?!?" exclaimed Cptn. Grange, as he paced back and forth.
He had brought Rii to the back room of the tavern. It was usually used for cooking, but it was vacant now, save for the two of them. The fire crackled gently and various pots sizzled.
Rii finally had the courage to speak," I just wanted-"
"Stealing! And from a paladin!" The captain continued, "Do you have any idea…!!?"
He sighed angrily and ran his fingers through his hair.
"If the other members of the Night Watch get wind of this…"
Rii couldn't think of anything to say to that, so he remained silent.
"They'll never approve of you joining. I won't be able to help you."
An icy feeling began to settle in Rii's chest as he finally realised the consequences of his actions.
"You know some of the members already don't trust an elf to fight with the Night Watch! What am I supposed to say now?" He shook his head, "If only you could just use your head for once."
"Well since I'm no good at anything I try to do," Rii tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, "I thought I'd turn to something I should be naturally good at, like lying and stealing, and deceiving..."
"Don't be a smartass," Helvas glared at Rii, " I swear, your elven half is really starting to show. At least you've got something right."
Rii scowled at the captain and turned to leave the room.
"We aren't finished, Rii!" He yelled after him as he stormed out.
Daniel was thankful the elfboy didn't notice him on his way out. He was waiting just outside the door to the room.
I wasn't eavesdropping, he thought to himself, I was just planning to speak to the captain after.
And it was true, he was hoping to ask him about the progress against the Worgen and Undead in Duskwood, over ale. But he would admit, he was curious, albeit concerned, about the young half-elf. Maybe that was because half-elves were so rare, but he more so felt there was more to him then what met the eye. Also, coming from a small town himself, he was aware of the prejudice that exists against half-elves.
After waiting a moment, the paladin opened the door. The captain was seated at the table, looking very distraught.
"Captain," He began, and Helvas looked up, "I was hoping we could discuss the Undead and Worgen..." He trailed off as he noticed the look the captain was giving him.
"Nothing gets past a paladin, does it?" He asked.
"I wouldn't know what you mean," Daniel replied, plastering an obvious look of sarcasm on his face.
The captain sighed. "And I know what your thinking," he added. "I can't control how the townsfolk feel about him."
"Of course you can't," the paladin answered.
"But he's a good kid," the captain continued, although Daniel half thought the captain was telling himself as opposed to him, " He's just... misled."
His gaze seemed to wander as he lost himself in thought. Then he sighed, and focused on the paladin again.
"You wished to speak of the Undead and Worgen?"
Daniel nodded.
"Has there been any improvement?"
Captain Grange groaned, then rose to his feet.
"Spare me the privilege of a mug of ale for this discussion..."
Daniel laughed and gestured to the bartender.
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Rii had headed straight to the armory. The blacksmith, Clarise, had a soft spot for him, and made him a practice dummy behind the armory so he could improve his swordsmanship. Lately, he had found it a good way to calm his frustration, and he definitely was in need of that now.
It was quite an interesting piece of work actually, as it had been designed with help of Mr. Finbus Geargrind, the gnome engineer that had decided to make Darkshire his home. It had been made with various springs and gears, and it behaved more like a real foe. Rii made a mental note to speak with him once he was finished practicing. When Mr. Geargrind and the other gnomes had first arrived at Darkshire, Rii had been fascinated by his work, and his over-friendly, excited nature had caused the gnome to abandon his mistrustful attitude of the young half-elf. He had agreed to take him as an apprentice, and this week the gnome was going to teach him how to build a Blunderbuss. Rii never had any skill with a bow, but he was excited to see if he had the skill to use a gun instead.
After 30 minutes of practicing, Rii sheathed the sword and sat down on the armory steps, breathing heavily. His frustration had ebbed, and he could think more clearly now. Staring at the dummy, he wondered if he was really getting any better.
"Well logically speaking, if you practice every day for 30 minutes, you skill level would roughly rise from 10-20 points every day at the least."
He grinned as he imagined what the quirky gnome would say to his doubts. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice behind him.
"Hey, Rii!"
He turned to see who was calling him. It was Pierre, his younger brother (although they could have passed as the same age). Adopted younger brother, obviously. Miss Trelayne had agreed to take Rii in when he had arrived at the town. She already had a daughter and son of her own, but her heart went out to him. She welcomed him with open arms, even though her husband was off to war and she had barely enough coin to keep her own children fed.
"Hey Pierre," Rii instantly felt more cheerful.
Pierre laughed, and replied, "You wanna know somethin, Rii?"
"Okay," He responded, standing up.
Pierre grinned, and said, "You still sound like an elf when you talk."
Rii knew he was referring to his accent, and although in past years he had wished it would fade, it didn't bother him anymore.
"At least I'm not as short as a Dwarf," he shot back, and stuck out his tongue.
"I'm not short!" he exclaimed, "Your just tall."
Just then, a hen walked by, clucking and plucking at the grass for bugs and seeds.
Pierre's face brightened.
"Hey, wanna set chickens loose in the tavern again??"
Rii ears perked up instantly. He recalled the first time the two of them had thought the idea up. He had been worried that stuffing a bunch of chickens in a sack would hurt them, but Pierre had reassured them that they wouldn't be in there long, and would probably forget anyway. Then he remembered how much trouble they got into, and his face fell.
"No.. I can't. I'm already in enough trouble."
"Awe… I guess that's why Mum's looking for you… Hey, what did ya do? It musta been pretty bad."
"Yeah, it… was." Rii mumbled. Pierre looked at him questioningly, but Rii just looked uncomfortable.
"I'll tell you later okay?"
Pierre rolled his eyes.
"Fine…" He crossed his arms and looked out at the pathway that led into the forest.
"Wanna go exploring?" He jumped on some of the crates stacked behind the armory.
"You mean the southern path?" Rii shuffled his feet nervously, "The guards have been saying that Worgen attacks from the south are getting worse..."
"They're just sayin that to scare us," Pierre replied, "Nothin's changed, I bet."
Rii didn't look convinced. Pierre sighed exasperatedly and made his way to the pathway, then looked over his shoulder.
"What's the matter, elf, … Chicken?"
Rii grinned and followed him.