Episode 2: A Quiet Evening Together
When dusk started to gather, I looked for a spot near the road where I could safely make camp. I found the perfect spot up a small rise, where a rock wall jutted up out of the sand. No one could sneak up behind me and I could keep an eye on the road. Plus, the wall would help to reflect back the heat of a campfire.
I had never been in a desert before this journey. This one was cursed. The sun was blazing hot all day and then the night was cold. I couldn't understand it. I missed the green grass and trees. I missed the sights and smells of Mulgore.
I set about collecting up firewood. There were no trees here, but there was plenty of small, gnarled bushes, so little scraps of wood were easy to find. They were all bone dry, as you might expect, so they would burn quick. Several armloads would be required to keep even a small flame burning though the night.
The Forsaken followed me around, a silent shadow as I collected wood. Eventually, I handed the pile to him and he carried it back to camp. He seemed willing to help out, but unable to guess what he should be doing.
I wondered if he was "all there" in the head or if parts of his brain had died along with his body. Some people say that they are evil creatures and that only hatred and the desire for revenge keeps them in this world. That's a pretty unsettling thought, if there is truth to it.
Did he even know he was dead?
An hour later, the fire was crackling and the sun had set. I broke the silence by talking to myself. My people are known for their stoicism, but I guess I'm more social than most. There's only so much silence I can take, and I hadn't spoken to anyone in days.
"Not much water left," I said. Only one of my water skins had anything left in it and it was nearly empty. "If I had my choice, I'd travel at night and try to bed down during the day."
Unfortunately, the moon was only a sliver and the desert was dark as pitch. I might have been willing to risk it, if the world was not at war. I didn't know how well the other races of Azeroth could see in the dark, but I suspected that some could see better than my people. No, things were bad enough. It would be better to press on at sunrise and hope that Razor Hill was near.
I worried about the girls for a moment and then pushed them from my mind. They were tough. They had just as much water as I had and they drank it more slowly. They would be fine.