A/N: Thank you for your reads, reviews and follows!

Special thank-you goes out to White-Bishop for his lengthy reviews as usual. Thank you for sticking with my little story. *bows*

Here is my next chapter for Era Of Chaos, in which I added some of that good ol' adventure. :) It took me a while to get this one going since I've been busy for university, and it'll only get busier from now on for the next 8 weeks or so. I'm also rapidly running out of material I'd written before I decided to start posting, so next chapter might take awhile.

I'm also finally figuring out formatting so sorry if things have seemed confusing before. Getting those italics in there will help :P

Enjoy!

Light rain pattered against the dusty window in their inn room. Baile heard Apsara awaken with a muffled groan that spoke of a hangover. He'd been sitting down at a rickety desk set against the wall and writing in a worn leather bound journal, which he now quickly shut and slid into his bag.

"Good morning." Baile quipped from his sitting place across the room from the priestess as he half-turned in his chair. The priestess struggled to sit up in the bed, looking pale and frayed, still worn from the visit to Undercity the previous day.

"I hope you slept off some of that exhaustion of yours. It's almost noon." Baile stood up and started donning on his armor, quickly and efficiently fastening the straps. His fingers ran through the routine as he eyed the priestess rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake up.

Apsara jerked her head in his direction, now completely awake. "Noon?!" She yelped, trying to scramble out of bed. Then she seemed to realize that on the bedside table Baile had set up a platter with fruit, bread and cheese – and a big pitcher of water. Surprised, she looked at him again.

He'd been awake and busy since daybreak, checking his gear for the trip through Silverpine Forest. It was simply against his nature to sit still when he had things to do – and he suspected the priestess was much the same, if she hadn't been worn out as she was. "Take your time. I'll be waiting for you downstairs." Baile picked up his sword, swung it over his shoulder into its scabbard and headed out of the room.

Settling down to comfortably lean against the wall near the doorway, Baile had the time to consider their day's schedule as he waited. They would need to head down south and follow the road, plunging deep within the forest before they would re-emerge to daylight near Hillsbrad Foothills after a day or two. They would avoid Ambermill – he had no intention going anywhere near that veritable nest of spellcasters. Going the long way around would bring them closer to Greymane Wall, but since the humans there mostly kept to themselves, they should have no problem passing by the few cottages scattered around the hills leading up to the fortress called Shadowfang Keep.

On the road he would have the time to assess the priestess's combat skills. After he'd figured out where her talents lay, he could better plan how to further improve them. Thankfully, Sathira had spared no expense in buying fitting gear for her, and so she seemed more than prepared to take on a few forest critters with him keeping a watchful eye. He smiled wryly. His new job as a bodyguard was nothing glamorous, but at least he would have the chance to exercise and build his strength.

He caught movement in the corner of his eye and turned to look at Apsara descending the stairs. The priestess had switched out her grey robe and was wearing dark green robes with golden details around the hem and the waist. A hooded brown cloak hung off her shoulders. Seems she'd also splashed some cold water on her face, as some of her usual color had returned. Apsara's eyes had regained their usual sparkle, he noted as she stepped up to him. Standing next to the tall paladin she seemed small and fragile, but she seemed to practically glow with eagerness and confidence.

"I feel remarkably better. Thank you, Baile." She smiled up at him.

He almost bristled at her for dropping the honorific, but realized that it wasn't really necessary. He'd grown used to being addressed by reverence by everyone before, but right now, his excitable priestess companion was at an equal – or even higher! - level to him, considering her mother had set him up with this mission. Instead, he nodded at Apsara, trying not to let his momentary annoyance show and together they exited the worn-down inn.

The rain had turned into a light drizzle as the two settled to a comfortable walking pace side by side, heading out of Brill. Apsara kept her hood down to better look at her surroundings - the gloomy oaks and maples of Tirisfal Glades made way for majestic pines of Silverpine Forest as they followed the road south. From the corner of his eye Baile observed as Apsara walked. Her posture was straight and proud and she walked in a balanced manner, her steps unhindered by the swaying of her travel robes. She was not observing their surroundings, though, and Baile resisted the urge to sigh as he realized that he'd have to probably teach her everything about survival in the wilderness. From starting a fire to finding her way back when lost, reading the stars and gathering food from the wilds, all of this was most likely new to her.

And he would start working for his upkeep right now.

"Tell me, Apsara, what do you know of survival skills?" He asked her then without looking at her, breaking the companionable silence. "Do you know how to hunt your own food? Find clean water, or purify dirty water if necessary?"

Apsara glanced at him. "Not a whole lot, I have to admit. I had a tutor back when I was little who was absolutely in love with stars, and so I know most of the constellations, and I could probably get creative with my magic to help create warmth, but that's where my expertise on wilderness ends."

He nodded, having expected as much. "When we set camp tonight, I will start teaching you the basics. Before that, we'll see if we can help the Forsaken outpost with some of their more mundane pest control tasks. Is that fine with you, priestess?"

She grinned at him. "Yes!"

Shadows were growing longer in the forest, meager light barely reaching the ground between the tall, proud pines. Earthy smells were all around them, as were the sounds of small wildlife scurrying about. To a casual traveler those sounds were no more than the occasional rustle of leaves and a crackle of a twig accompanying the chirping of birds hiding up high, but to Baile the surroundings were a veritable cacophony of signals about possible danger.

The two arrived at a crossing in the road that would lead them to the Sepulcher and climbed up the hill. Atop the hill they saw a graveyard sprawled to their right and towards a great crypt, and on their left a large structure meant for keeping riding bats when they weren't off carrying riders. A singular bat roosted there, shooting the intruders an angry look between its folded wings. Realizing the newcomers weren't a threat, it refolded its wings around it and went back to napping. A bat handler – a Forsaken woman, seemingly oblivious of the light rain and dressed in tattered pants and a vest that had seen better days - was sitting on the ground, leaning against the structure for the bats and she stared at Apsara and Baile as they passed by.

Baile glanced at his ward and realized she must have been uncomfortable. The faint smell of death and rot was ever present where Forsaken were, and this outpost was no exception. Leading Apsara towards the crypt, he became aware that her steps slowed the closer to the crypt they were, until at last she simply stopped in front of the stairs leading to the underground crypt.

"You can't let it control you."

The priestess bristled. She stepped closer, standing on the highest step. "What?"

"The fear."

Without sparing her another glance, Baile started descending the stairs. He could practically hear her shuffle her feet on the cold stone slabs as she debated herself whether to follow him down or run away as fast as she could.

As Baile rounded the corner that led to another set of stairs, he could hear her following him, her heels striking the crumbling stones. He smiled to himself grimly and nodded. In order for her to survive any of this, she would have to learn how to conquer most of her fears in a short order.

As Apsara and Baile re-emerged from the crypt, having talked to an apothecary who'd been busy with making potions, Apsara seemed beyond grateful to be aboveground again. The two had been tasked with retrieving spider venom from a nearby mine that, if Baile were to quote the apothecary, was 'full of oversized, particularly nasty spiders' with 'venom that could melt your hand away'. With the emaciated Forsaken's detailed instructions, the old mine was easy to find. The entrance had been cut into the mountainside, with old, rusted mine tracks and the floor sloping downwards into the darkness within.

Baile stood at the entrance, unsheathing his greatsword and eyeing it disapprovingly. "Sometimes I wish I had something less.. unwieldy. Might be that at times I will not be able to swing effectively, but I'll try to make the best of it." With this, he tapped his golden earring and a floating globe of light appeared over his left shoulder. He looked at the priestess, who nodded, clearly impressed with his enchanted earring.

"We will kill quietly and efficiently - none of that firework show-off stuff they teach you to do to impress your enemy, we don't want the entire mine on us - take what we need, and get the heck out." He instructed Apsara, who nodded at him. "Good. Make sure I'm between you and the spiders, but try not to burn or zap or shock me while you are at it."

The duo headed into the mine, Baile's magical light source casting a warm, golden glow across the roughly cut tunnel walls and ceiling as they walked cautiously onward. The tunnel itself was wide enough for the two blood elves to walk side by side, but it was entirely possible parts of the mine had collapsed and he'd be forced to get creative with his weapon of choice. Sidestepping the rusted mine tracks, the two followed the main tunnel until no trace remained of the dim daylight outside, and their only light was the magical, hovering orb that stayed in place over Baile's shoulder as he peered this way and that. The quiet of the mine was only disturbed by the echoing sound of their footsteps on stone.

As they walked on, they started seeing signs of there being a spider infestation: the occasional spider web had multiplied in size, and these thick white strands no longer only covered the corners but spanned across the top of the tunnel as well. Small animals had been trapped in their clutches – white cocoons that could have held anything from birds to rabbits and larger animals were tucked safely away for later consumption. Another twenty steps and a rounded corner, and the elves looked into a tunnel that was veritably covered top to bottom with spider webs. Spiders smaller than Baile's palm skittered away the moment they saw the light, disappearing into cracks in the stone that surrounded them.

He was pretty sure those were not the spiders the apothecary had warned them about.

"We've found the nest, it seems. Let's go." Baile headed to the spider web covered tunnel with his sword in a firm grip of his two hands, tip pointed slightly down as he advanced.

Apsara fell a step behind her bodyguard and he could hear her inhaling deep, mentally preparing for a spell. The two started hearing the noises of many small feet scraping on stone, the echoes making it very difficult to pinpoint the location of the sound. The spider web under their feet was sticky, leaving residue on the bottom of their shoes and hanging off Apsara's robe and cloak as they continued down the tunnel.

The tunnel expanded to a large, round chamber ahead, about 10 meters in diameter. Part of the ceiling had collapsed, rubble covering the floor of the middle of the dark room. The collapse had created a deep hole – deep enough for the light of Baile's orb to not reach the end of - in the ceiling. He raised his arm to signal for the priestess to halt before entering the chamber. The scraping had turned into low, expectant chittering, and Baile glanced around. It was like they were being watched.

Baile saw movement from the corner of his eye. A shadow that could have only been a spider, about the size of a large dog, slowly creeped forward, swaying at the magical light's edge. He saw Apsara raise her hand while the brown, furry spider lifted its' two front legs and rubbed them together. It wasn't often that the spiders' prey wandered all the way into their nest – this was their lucky day.

It was not wise for the two to rush into the chamber without knowing what was lurking in the ceiling, Baile thought to himself as the spider tentatively took another step. He was about to lift his arm to signal the priestess to back off, and that's when he realized more spiders were creeping from the shadows of the chamber. By ones and twos they were emerging to the light, the multitudes of eyes glimmering and fangs snapping. Most of them were the size of the first spider, but Baile saw several larger ones as well, and he had no doubt that the matriarch of horror that spewed out these monsters was at least the size of a cow.

"Baile!" Apsara whispered from behind him, her voice full of alarm.

Slowly turning his head, the paladin saw the spiders were also appearing from the tunnel the two had come from.

Gritting his teeth, Baile realized they were being surrounded.

"I will not let them harm you, priestess," he promised her quietly as he raised his sword. Momentarily he closed his eyes, struggling to find his magic. A tiny speck of golden radiance was shimmering just out of reach in his mind. He cursed. Too soon! I need more time. He opened his eyes, a feral grin spreading across his lips. I will have to do this the old-fashioned way, then.

The first spider had halted its advance, and now curled all of its legs under it.

Baile exploded into action, swiping the greatsword in an overhand strike at the closest spider. His strike struck true and severed its head from its body in a shower of spider guts. Turning on his heels he dashed past the priestess, who had begun to cast a spell, and heaved his greatsword across in a mighty horizontal arc, hitting three spiders at once.

A roaring jet of golden flame came into being on the other side of the room, turning one spider into a charred husk and severely burning several others around it. Apsara took no time to admire her handiwork, grimly setting her sights on another spider and starting a new spell.

"Nice work!" Baile told her as he rushed past, pirouetting out of the way of a spider jumping at him and using his momentum to lead his greatsword in a wide diagonal arc, killing yet another spider.

For every spider that the duo killed, two seemed to take its place and the pair was slowly being driven away from the mouth of the tunnel and towards the center of the chamber. Magic flashed as Apsara cast one spell after another, alternating flames and golden streaks materializing out of thin air that almost knocked spiders over with their might. Baile cut another spider, this one reaching up to his chest, in two and almost slipped in the increasing amounts of spider guts that had been spilled. He barely dodged another spider's bite as he scrambled to retain his balance on the slippery floor.

Some meters away, Apsara whirled, throwing herself out of the way of a spider jumping at her and landing shoulder first on the floor in a pile of brown, stained cloak and robes. Baile could hear her shoulder cracking at a distance as he rushed towards her and he cursed to himself again.

This was bad.

He heaved his greatsword down in a mighty vertical slice that left one spider legless and twitching on the floor. Baile dug his heels down, seeking a foothold on the floor and launched himself in a great leap towards the prone Apsara.

The priestess struggled to climb to her feet as Baile reached her and pulled her up, being careful to only tug the healthy arm. With a whimper, Apsara almost collapsed again. Her feet would not carry her because of the pain.

"Stay there, and cast if you can!" He bellowed at her, using his worry and anger to drive his sword strikes. Stabbing and slicing his way through the horde of spiders, Baile was a sight to behold. He danced out of the way of one spider's bite to almost get caught in the pearlescent spider web shot by another one. He ducked right under it in the last possible second, dancing to defend Apsara from the other side.

Damn it, was there no end to these spiders?

Apsara's spell – weaker, but still strong enough to burn the spiders creeping closer – brightly lit the room once more. The priestess was pale and panting, but determinedly casting whatever she could.

Something dropped down in the middle of the room with a heavy thud that shook the chamber and the rest of the spiders that had tried to attack the duo fled. Baile turned around to see the largest spider he had seen – or would ever hope to see again! – looming over him. The creature was as tall as the elf was, with fangs the size of his forearm snapping as it lumbered towards him.

Baile glanced around, assessing the situation. He stood his ground between the huge spider and the priestess, but with the reach that the monster had, she might not be safe for very long. Apsara had frozen to where she sat, staring past Baile with a horrified expression. She had gone into shock, and would be easy prey to any spiders still nearby.

The spider struck at Baile with one leg in a sweeping motion, hoping to knock the paladin right off his feet. He tucked his legs under himself as he jumped, narrowly avoiding being smacked by the hairy, long leg. Baile landed and nimbly ducked under a swipe from another leg, this one aimed at his head. Knowing he had no time, he turned to the offensive.

When the next probing attack came, instead of dodging Baile opted to slash at the leg instead. Sharp steel cut into a spider leg and it flew free, tumbling down on the floor behind the paladin.

Now furious, the spider jumped forward, using its remaining front leg to try and grab the pesky elf in order to inject him with venom. Baile was quicker, launching into a sideways roll and luring the behemoth away from Apsara.

"Come, then!" he roared at the spider.

The behemoth obliged.

Falling into a routine, the paladin hacked, slashed and danced his way past the spider's defenses, cutting off two more legs and striking oozing wounds across the spider's abdomen. He was quickly starting to tire, and he cursed. He was in no condition for this!

The spider charged at him in a frenzy, almost knocking him over as he quickly sidestepped, but not far enough. Baile was standing so close to the spider's body that he could see the individual hairs on its back, and he realized his error.

With a resounding thud, the spider bumped into him sideways and launched him backwards against the chamber wall. Pain shot through his back and the back of his head as he slumped down into a sitting position. Sparks flew in his vision as he struggled to stand. Luckily his reflexes had held and he still had his sword, he noted in a haze as he finally regained his feet.

The spider had turned around and was now advancing on the priestess.

His guts turned to ice. Apsara!

In an adrenaline-filled rush Baile ran after the spider, somehow managing not to lose his footing on the slippery floor. Entirely focused on another prey, the behemoth had seemingly thought him to be out of the battle, and thus turned its' backside to the paladin. A perfect chance to strike the creature down for once and for all!

Time seemed to slow for the paladin. Preparing his sword for an overhand slash, Baile was closing in on the spider. Another stride and he would sink several feet of sharp steel into the creature. Angling his sword for maximum lethality, he struck at the behemoth.

An extremely bright and hot flame split the spider apart.

Turning sideways and shielding his eyes from the veritable pillar of fire, Baile came to a screeching halt right next to the creature as its' exoskeleton crumbled and melted away, revealing the soft mess underneath. As fast as the fire had appeared, it disappeared, leaving a smoking, charred pile of spider remains sprawled on the floor.

"That should be enough spider venom.. right?" The priestess chuckled.

Baile looked at Apsara over the carnage she had caused. The priestess was standing again, apparently having healed herself and utterly decimated the behemoth. The paladin shook his head and laughed.

"That it certainly will," he concluded.

Apsara walked to him, limping slightly. Her eyebrows knitted in a worried expression. "Are you all right? I think you hit your head…"

Baile patted the back of his head. His hand came back covered in blood.

Without being prompted, the priestess stepped to his side and reached up, laying a gentle hand on his neck. The telltale glow of a healing spell filled the immediate area as Apsara closed the wound. The pain disappeared and pleasant warmth spread down his neck and over his back.

She smiled at him. "There we go. All done."

He looked her over. "Thank you. It seems like you managed to heal your own injuries as well."

Apsara blushed and looked down, seeming embarrassed. "I… I am sorry for freezing earlier."

Baile shook his head, reaching over to gently lay his hand over her shoulder. "Don't be, Apsara. You've done well, and your magic saved the day. It is I who should be apologizing for not protecting you better," Baile retorted, looking at her incredulously. Her magic really had saved at least herself, with his own magic being elusive at this moment. Guilt stung him.

The priestess shook her head, looking up at him again. "No, it is not necessary. I knew what I signed up for. " Her mouth was set in a tight, determined line, and Baile couldn't help but admire her unrelenting spirit. Her jet black hair partially untied and her robes a mess of spider guts, the priestess stood proud and tall despite standing in the middle of gruesome carnage.

He nodded at her, moving to wipe down his sword and grabbing the venom collection vial. Choosing one of the smaller spiders they had killed earlier, Baile extracted some venom with extreme care. The small glass vial filled to his satisfaction, he corked it and turned back to Apsara.

"Let's get back to the outpost, deliver this and get started with that camp. I think the spiders are gone, so we should be safe." Baile motioned Apsara to follow, and the two left the spider corpse-filled chamber behind.