(Sorry for such a long wait! As I said at the end of Chapter 2, been a bit busy.)
Always the observer. Constantly surveying. Hell, that was his occupation after all, as well as keeping the 'peace.' At that moment, the three before him were thinking on other things. Eyes as green as an emerald peered down at the short orc, not even bothering to offer the runt a hand up. Kiernan moved toward the two tauren with a purpose in his stride. Even before he reached them, he could see tiny droplets of blood falling to the sand—most likely from the human female, he thought. Once coming to stand before the two fellow Horde members, the blood elf paladin knew it to be true. Without shame, Kiernan allowed his gaze to travel over her form. Firm muscles with sleek and smooth curves, hair dark as night. This close he could even see a few freckles dotting the bridge of her strong nose. The proud elf drew his eyes up to peer into the larger tauren's face, noting the possessiveness in which he held the female.
"So glad you remember my name, Tonem." The blood elf's tone was lacking in warmth. The shaman had moved to stand to Kiernan's right, a glaring look from the other tauren.
"Good to see you again, Kiernan," the nameless tauren said with venom behind each word. The elf cocked his head to the side, peering at the speaker as he tried to place the name of this one.
"I wish I could say the same for you. Upir, correct?" The shaman scowled, though with a nod. It was dangerous not to answer any question from the paladin. It could cause trouble for later.
"Now, the matter at hand, gentleman..." The orc whose name Kiernan did not even know stepped up to Tonem's right side, eying Kiernan suspiciously. Once more, the elf stared at the woman within the warrior's grasp, his hands and fingers itching to inspect her. She would make a great piece of his collection...
"I don't think so, elf. We saw her first. The Trade is looking for more to fill their spots." Kiernan sneered at those words. The Trade. Their wares had never interested him, but his thoughts were cut short by the orc piping in.
"Yes, she would make a great bundle of gold for us if we were to turn her in. But word is, elf, you like to... dabble in such a market as well. Though you don't share." A few bursts of guffaws and snickers followed from the three of them, while Kiernan remained unruffled.
"What I do with my property is none of your concern. Orc." The rogue did have a point though. This ebony-haired beauty would bring in a nice sack of gold if presented to the goblin owner of The Trade. Finally, Kiernan could stand it no longer. His large hand, so pale in comparison to her suntanned skin, reached up to caress over her naked shoulder and on down the length of her lean arm. He had to have her, and these three were in his way. Which was unacceptable. Cool and calm, he spoke once more.
"I will give you three-hundred gold for her. That is one-hundred a piece for those of you who are slow. Which is all three of you, by my guess." Kiernan peered at each of them in turn, seeing the wheels turning in their massive heads. They would try to kill one another in the end so as to get all of the gold, Kiernan knew, but that was not his issue. Finally, Tonem spoke.
"Fine, blood elf. You are paying too much though, in my opinion. Too soft and skinny, this one." The warrior shook the woman slightly, causing a groan to escape from her dried lips. Without another word, Kiernan turned toward the forest he had emerged from to let out a loud and shrill whistle. A red windrider soared above the trees before nose diving toward the four of them. It landed without a sound, awaiting its master. As Kiernan stepped up to its side, his hand brushed through its combed back mane.
"A piece of stag later for you, my friend." The hint of a smile came across the elf's lips before his other hand plunged inside of his satchel that was thrown over the windrider's back. He had two bags of gold in his hand as he walked over to the trio. He tossed them one at a time to Upir, speaking as he did so.
"That should actually be about three-hundred and twenty gold. Keep it." Tonem stepped up to stand before the paladin, dropping the dead weight of the girl into the elf's waiting arms.
"Hope she's worth it," the warrior said with a sneer before he turned to count up the gold alongside his two companions. Not waiting to see if he was correct, Kiernan hefted Penelope onto his windrider's back just before hopping onto the saddle. Before he could warn Kiernan that the human was a hunter, the half-lion, half-scorpion had taken flight. The three looked among themselves before bursting into laughter.
"He'll figure it out. He is a smart little paladin."
Into Icecrown they flew, weaving and dipping between the spires of the Citadel itself. Kiernan took note of the waning number of Scourge roaming around. They would never just... disappear. Scourge would forever be present in Azeroth, but they were... subdued, for the lack of a better term. Even unconscious, Penelope was shivering from the frigid air. Kiernan barely took note of this as they neared his house that was just south of the vanguard. Once more, the windrider did a nose dive downward, skimming the water as they entered Crystalsong Forest. Out here in the wilderness, no one could hear the whimpers of submission, the pleas of forgiveness, or the begging for release.