Simbel knocked on lightly on the small house. It was full night outside but a feint light still shone through the curtains.
Something inside clinked and clattered to the floor. The door was flung open by a small disheveled woman clutching at her blouse.
The woman took in Simbel's bruised face, her arm resting in a sling and Ocami's blood spotted coat. She covered her mouth and sank
to the floor still griping the door and sobbed.
"I heard from the other family's. Their children have been returned...but not Maggie!" The woman wailed as tears spilled down her
already damp face. Simbel stepped into the woman's doorway and wrapped her tightly in a one armed hug. Ocami lowered himself to the
ground with his head resting over the woman's legs.
When the woman calmed a little, Simbel brought the map from her sling and spread it out on the woman's lap. Pointing to a circled red mark on the map of Kalimdor.
"This is where we found the children. Three in all. The children said they were split up two days ago and three others were taken
further into the Barrens. There was a girl with dark hair and green eyes named Maggie that was among those taken further in." Simbel
said slowly as she traced the path they knew the kidnappers had taken. The woman's eyes lit up.
"That is Maggie...My Maggie!" The woman's lower lip quivered. Simbel nodded and helped the woman to her feet and stuffed the map back
into her sling.
"We are going now to get her. Stay strong Betsy Greenfield." Simbel whispered with one last hug for the woman. Simbel and Ocami ghosted
away into the dark of the night as if they had never been there. Betsy wavered on her feet in her doorway feeling the cool air of the night
flow past her into her warm house and wondered for a moment if the visit had been just another dream.
Simbel and Ocami tracked one of the kidnappers. The human was being delicate with his bundle but walking upon the road in the barrens
as if he belonged there and didn't deserve to die. He was heading to Ratchet or the Crossroads. Simbel and Ocami had almost passed him up, but
a light hot wind brought Ocami the scent of human child. Simbel leveled her cross bow at the man and fired. He crumpled to the weeds at the edge
of the road and did not move again.
The child had been bound and sedated. Simbel loosed the small boy and carried him on her back to Ratchet where she told the boy Ocami would
accompany him to his home in Stormwind while she continued on and looked for the other children. She saw them onto the boat and waved as they
departed.
Mounting her Stormsaber she raced back down the road in hopes of finding the others quickly. Another quake shook the earth as they raced along making
the Saber shorten his stride to and slow to keep from loosing his footing. A sudden wrenching broke the earth in front of the Saber and Simbel. The land
heaved up in front of them then sank away into a huge yawning canyon. A blast of heat struck them then almost at the same moment the chasm spit red
molten lava into the air. The saber slid to a stop frantically, side to the broken ground as his fir raised and his back arched in terror. Simbel stared wide
eyed at the hundred food geyser of lava in stunned numbness. The Saber dug his claws into the earth next to the road and leaped away from the canyon
that had opened up before them. A fine spray of lava rained down on them punctuated with large globs of lava and stone. The Saber and Simbel Screamed in
pain.
The Saber shook Simbel from his back with a sharp twist and leap and ran back towards the canyon of lava, blind with fury and pain. Simbel hardly felt the impact
of her body on the ground. Instead she felt her flesh burning unable to find any relief. Unable to think of anything else but the pain.
