"I told you that someone was following us," Adarin noted as he pounced over some sort of berry bush in the forests of Ashenvale. "I'm not sure how, my friend, but I just knew."
"Who do you suppose he was?" asked Rahoda, as both of the druids stopped to catch their breaths.
It had been nearly a day's travel from the Emerald Sanctuary in Felwood. They had already traveled through Astranaar and were about half way between there and Talondeep path, the small cave system that connected Ashenvale to the Stonetalon Mountains. The nightsaber and horned lion, Adarin and Rahoda respectively, approached the edge of a lake and drank from its fount.
"I'm not sure. But I'm getting tired of all these questions," the nightsaber snarled.
"Like why he was following us in the first place?" added Rahoda.
"Exactly. At any rate, I'm thankful he did. We'd both probably be dead now if he wasn't." There was a momentary silence. "It pains me to think that Felwood was once a part of this same forest before the Burning Legion came," Adarin said, changing the subject. "Even the water throughout the entire area was devoid of life. It was a brighter green than any leaf I have ever seen, and it seemed to glow."
"It isn't natural," Rahoda explained.
Adarin kept drinking from the lake but Rahoda shapeshifted back into his natural tauren form and walked towards the bush that Adarin had leaped over. He picked some of the berries from the bulbous shrub and put them into his pouch.
"It makes one appreciate life all the more," Rahoda added. "Like these Ash Berries. This is the only place in all of Kalimdor that they grow. They use to grow as far north as Timbermaw Hold, but the Burning Legion put an end to that…"
"And now, even Ursol's own children are draining the last bit of life from the land," the nightsaber growled. He transformed back into his elven body and walked over to Rahoda. "There has to be something we can do to fix whatever it is that they did to Ursol. Meilosh said that he could help make sense of things and I fear that the bear spirit is the only way I will get my questions answered."
As the two began to head south again, they continued on towards Talondeep Path. Though they planned to travel through the small cave system, by the time they had arrived the tunnel had been caved in.
"What do you think happened?" Adarin asked.
"I am not sure." Rahoda bent over to inspect the rubble. There were several large footprints marking the land around the would-be cave entrance. "But whatever it was, this is no natural landslide. Someone or something caused this!"
"Well we have to move on. We don't have time to double back and head through the Barrens."
"I have an idea. If my memory serves correct, there should be another path due west, though it is nothing like this one and it is very rugged terrain. It should take us directly to the mountains peak."
"Well, west it is then."
--
When they arrived at the area that Rahoda was referring too, there was no path in sight. There was, however, a large misshapen boulder that looked oddly out of place.
"How are we supposed to get up there? It's too steep. Theres now way…" Adarin was cut off.
Just then the ground began to quake and the trees began to shake. The boulder came to life as it exploded. Certain fragments became arms, others became legs, and in less than a minute a massive mountain giant stood before them. It shook itself clean of debris, though much of the moss that was attached to it held strong, and focused its attention on the companions. The giant reared its head over the trees and the earth shook under its feet as it gained its footing. Its eyes never left Adarin and Rahoda, though it viewed them as no threat. It lowered its stony visage to meet their gaze, eye to eye, holding itself up with its right forearm carrying most of its weight.
"Who has disturbed my slumber?" it asked, in a voice that rumbled like earthquake. Adarin looked to Rahoda, unsure of what to do.
"I am Rahoda Cloudbreaker and this is Adarin Dreamwalker," he said, pointing to the night elf. "We seek passage to the peak of Stonetalon. The way through Talondeep Path has been blocked and we don't have the time to travel around to the base of the mountain in the Barrens."
"Patience is a virtue, Rahoda Cloudbreaker. I suppose I should teach you that lesson." Adarin interrupted the two of them at that point.
"I understand the value of patience, wise one," he added, giving an attempt at flattery. "And though we do not have time to explain it better, Kalimdor is in great peril. We need to get to Stonetalon to ask for the assistance of Keeper Albagorm. Please, wise one, we would not have disturbed you were it not important."
The giant rose back to its full height, stroking its chin. The sound of stones grinding together was all Adarin could hear, aside from the birds native to the region.
"Albagorm, you say?" It has been weeks since I last spoke to him. You know, it was he who assigned me to keep watch over this path. You must understand, the Greenskins," it said, referring to the orcs that had set up camp in eastern Ashenvale, "that befoul our land have become even more hostile as of late. We cannot let them cross the border into Stonetalon. That is why we, personally, collapsed the tunnel called Talondeep Path – to prevent them from escaping!"
"That you was you? And what do you mean we?" asked Adarin. "I see no more of your kind, mountain giant."
"And why can't you let them cross the border?" Rahoda interrogated.
"My kin are hidden among you even now. There are more of us at the path leading into the Barrens though I am unsure if the orcs in question are affiliated with the Horde – you can never tell these days – though we believe at least some of them are from Splintertree Post. Several night elf children were taken during the night about a week ago. Albagorm ordered us to keep watch, to make sure that no person left Ashenvale without first being questioned."
"We have nothing to hide," Adarin admitted.
"Have you seen anything suspicious since coming into Ashenvale?" the mountain giant asked.
"Not since we came but we did have a rather strange encounter with some of the furbolg in Felwood," Rahoda explained.
"That is not the least bit strange. The furbolg have all gone mad save for the Timbermaw," the mountain giant rumbled.
"Not entirely true. We have recently allied with a group of Furbolg who come from the islands to the west of Kalimdor. They appear to remain untainted as well." Adarin realized he was getting off topic. "More importantly, though, we were searching for the spirit of Ursol, who the Timbermaw had said they hadn't seen in days." He explained the rest of the story leaving out the bits about the mysterious figure that had saved them. "But what came out of the cage was not Ursol. It was a perversion of nature."
"Eventually we were overpowered," Rahoda added. " We have no choice but to run."
"Naturally. I doubt you would have done much damage to the demigod anyway. And that's why you wish to speak to Albagorm?" it asked.
"Yes," Rahoda lied, figuring it would be better not to waste more time.
"Very well then. You may proceed." They started to walk up the mountain pass but were blocked by the giants large stone arms. "They call me Rockbiter, by the way. Please tell Albagorm that we are yet to find any of the children, if you will." The pair nodded in agreement and were on their way.
--
The incline was very steep and the side of the mountain very jagged. All of the traveling had exhausted the companions out. Night was approaching fast and the two friends decided to set up camp about half way up the mountain. It was a cold night so they prepared a fire and they both laid down not far from its flames.
Adarin rested his head on a blanket that he had rolled up and Rahoda had done the same, though he had long since fallen asleep. Adarin, on the other hand, stared up at the stars, wondering if he would dream the same dream again that ngiht. All he wanted was answers and every time he thought he was about to get one something would always happen to prevent him from getting any.
A distant scream pierced his thoughts. He sat up quickly and looked at Rahoda to see if the sound had awoken him. It had not. It was the unmistakable scream of a frightened child – a female most likely. Too high pitched to be an adult and not deep enough to be a male. He could tell that it came from the east and down the mountain a good bit. If he left now, he thought he could cut them off on their way up. He wondered if he should wake up Rahoda, but decided against it, thinking he would make better time alone.
He shapeshifted into his nightsaber form and dashed towards the direction of the scream, wondering how they had slipped past the mountain giants. Apparently, the mountain giants that guarded Ashenvale had not been as good at monitoring its borders as Rockbiter believed.
He traveled for less than an hour and, eventually, caught the scent of wood burning. A few more minute and he could see a fire in the distance, and hear what sounded like muffled screams.
Adarin crept through the brush and a small camp came into view. There were four tents around the fire. Adarin assumed each tent could house two orcs comfortably. Outside the tents was a male orc – because it was much too bulky to be a female - who sat against one of the trees that were between the tents. Next to him was a large cage that looked nearly identical to the one that held Ursol a few days earlier.
Adarin had expected to find night elf children but that was not the case. There were three young night elves but there were also four young orcs in the same cage, all of them gagged. Something bigger was going on here than Albagorm and Rockbiter realized, he thought. Why would the orcs kidnap their own?
Adarin took the form of a night elf once more. He eased his way toward the camp, trying not to alarm the guard, or the children for that matter, but upon closer inspection he realized that the orc was taking a nap. He removed his staff from its leather strap on his back and used his affinity with the night – an ability that the night elves called Shadow Melding that gave their body the translucent appearance of a shadow – to sneak right past the sleeping guard.
He hid behind the tree that the orc leaned on and, holding his staff in one hand, he wrapped his arms around the tree, carefully avoiding to wake the orc just yet. He grabbed the other end of the weapon and jerked it towards the orcs neck, pinning him between staff and tree. Adarin's body no longer looked like a shadow but it mattered little now. The orc grabbed at his throat and his eyes bulged out of his head. He groaned, then gagged, for a minute or two before he fell to the ground. Adarin searched his limp body for a way to free the children, but found nothing.
When the kids realized that he was trying to free them, they became excited and started shaking the cage. He placed a finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet as he recalled how the last cage, eerily similar to this one, had been opened; their savior had placed his palm on the sigils that covered it.
He was unsure of how it worked but he tried it anyway, placing his right hand on one of the runes. Nothing happened. He tried different ones, thinking that maybe there was a specific order to unlock it, but again and again and again, nothing happened.
He heard a rustling of leaves behind him but by the time he spun around to investigate it was already too late. He expected to find another orc standing there but that was not the case and what he did see confused him greatly. A male human.
Adarin knew that relations between the Horde and the Alliance had been improving over the last few years but orcs and humans were different. Their blood feud had been instilled in them for generations and despite the friendship between Thrall and Jaina Proudmoore, the orc warcief and the leader of the human settlement on Kalimdor respectively, that hatred had not been stopped. They would never ally with one another willingly and even very seldom would they do so even when ordered. That was the whole reason for the line that still divided the Alliance and the Horde, after all.
The human wore a simple plate-mail armor and Adarin recognized the emblem of Stormwind, a lion, on his right pouldron. He drew a broadsword and shouted to the others sleeping in the tents. There was about a fifteen foot distance between Adarin and the human and as he closed the gap, Adarin gave one last shot at opening the cage. Foolishly Adarin closed his eyes and blocked out everything.
He pictured each of the runes opening in his mind's eye and paid the charging human no mind. He concentrated every sense he could on breaking the wards and freeing the helpless children. He placed both his hands, this time, on different sigils and felt a tingle on each of his fingertips. He could hear the screams of not just the human, but the others charging for him as well. He could see the look of sheer terror on the faces of the seven children stuffed inside cage, though his eyes were actually closed. He could smell the stench of the kids, who likely hadn't been bathed since they were taken from their homes and he could taste the sweat dripping from his forehead, as it ran across his lips. He screamed and the enchantments on the cage ceased to be and so he didn't even notice Rahoda pouncing from the bushes in the form of a horned lion and onto one of the kidnappers.
Adarin opened his eyes and turned his attention toward the human, not a moment too soon, as he swung the broadsword down from overhead. He used one end of his staff to catch the blade, quickly sidestepped, and smashed the other end into the humans temple, knocking him to the ground. He looked towards the kids. "Stay put. I'll deal with them and then get you guys out of here."
He looked up as two more of the six remaining kidnappers dashed towards him; one a female orc wielding a double edged axe, the other a male night elf knocking an arrow into his bow. He, then, noticed Rahoda who had already dealt with another human who was laying on the ground with his throat torn out. He was now dealing with a similarly odd pair; a male tauren Now he focused on anwas wielding a small hammer and a female gnome with two daggers who disappeared as soon as she entered the battle.
The night elf released his arrow and would have hit Adarin had he not charged towards the female orc at just that moment. He tried to ram her in the stomach with the tip of his staff but he misjudged the distance and the female booted him to the ground. She raised her axe, two handed, high into the air and brought it down towards his midsection but he rolled out of the way in the nick of time. The axe dug into the earth and Adarin closed his eyes to ask nature for its help. Before she could even pull her axe free, three large roots burst forth from the dirt. One grabbed her ankle and held her in place while the others grabbed her by the wrists, pulling her to the ground. Another arrow surged towards him and he couldn't get to his feet before it pierced his side. He screamed as he tore it out but fought through the pain and brought himself to his feet.
Rahoda was not faring so well either. He had managed to dodge a bolt of lightning that the other tauren, who was obviously a shaman, had hurled at him but could not get close enough to do any serious damage. He dodged another lightning bolt and dashed towards him. The shaman bounced out of the way and a mound of earth rose up from the ground and slammed directly into Rahoda. When he got back to his feet he shapeshifted back into his tauren form, grabbed the warhammer from his back and launched it at his opponent. It crashed into his face and the shaman was dead. He ran to pick it up and the, who had been hiding this whole time, jumped from one of the trees and jammed both daggers into Rahodas back.
Again, Adarin asked nature for its aid. Three small trees uprooted themselves and ran to Adarins rescue. From the darkness, beside one of the tents, a ball of fire illuminated the face of a decaying man. It scorched the air between the undead man and one of the treants, exploding it on impact. The two remaining treants hurled balls of green energy from their arms, which were quite literally limbs, towards the undead though all it did was prevent him from having enough time to charge up another fireball. With the undead occupied and the orc tied down, Adarin was able to focus on the night elf, who was already firing another arrow at him. The druid was hunched over, with his left hand holding the injury on his right side. He raised his other hand and, with his palm flat and his fingers spread, he unleashed the same green ball of energy that the treants had used. The spell was one of the most basic ones a druid had in his arsenal, though it could be very powerful if timed correctly. It was called Natures Wrath and it did exactly that – channeled Elunes anger into a ball of physical energy. His target was so focused on firing the arrow that he didn't even realize what had happened until it was too late. The Wrath spell incinerated the arrow and crashed into the night elfs chest, sending him flying into a tree. He fell to the ground unconscious.
Meanwhile, Rahoda reached for the gnome on his back, grabbed her by her long pink hair, and threw her over his shoulder. As he did that, however, she refused to release her grip on her daggers and they were torn from his back. He was in a lot of pain but he wouldn't give her the satisfaction of a scream. She was thrown in the direction of a tree but managed to flip her feet towards the trunk and she rebounded back towards Rahoda with her daggers aimed at his chest, without once ever touching the ground. He quickly drew his kodo blades, one pointed up and the other pointed down – a good defensive position – and the two locked weapons momentarily. The gnome flipped over his shoulders and only then landed on her feet. The two spun to face each other. Rahoda swung the inverted dagger downwards and the taurens superior reach landed a fatal blow to the side of her throat. She choked on her blood as he turned his attention on the undead mage fighting the treants. Rahoda sheathed his daggers and grabbed the warhammer, that still layed on the ground near the dead tauren, and charged for the mage.
Elsewhere, the roots that Adarin had summoned had finally failed and the female orc was released. She swiped her axe at Adarin's left side but he sidestepped to the right and smacked her on the side of the head with the end of his staff. He spun the weapon and tried to bring the other end down on the orcs skull but she blocked it with the flat end of her axe. She took the offensive, now, and smacked Adarin, similarly, in the head with the butt end of the her weapon. He stumbled back and the orc tackled him to the ground. The two rolled down the mountain for a second until they slowed to a stop. The female was on top, but both of them had dropped their weapons a few feet away. She punched Adarin in the face and ran up the hill for her axe. Adarin, badly injured, thrusted his hand toward the woman and a thin line of moonlight fell from the sky and pierced her chest. He stood up and held his stomach as he walked towards his staff and, even though he was in a great deal of pain, he ran after his companion.
Rahoda was squaring off with the undead man and when the mage notived Adarin approaching, he looked at Rahoda and fired one last fireball at him. The tauren managed to doge it again, but the decaying man just stood there, laughing at them.
"It seems you have won this round but we three will meet again… The Day of Reckoning is at hand." And with that said, there was an explosion of white light. The orb of light caved in on itself and there was no one left on the mountainside, save for Adarin, Rahoda, the children, and the dead bodies of seven peculiar allies.
Adarin walked over to the kids and released them from their prison. He removed their restraints and gags and began to question them. Rahoda tended his wounds, applying some of the salve that he had crafted a few days prior to his back where he could reach.
"They don't know why they were taken," he said to Rahoda.
"Here," he said, handing the same salve to Adarin. "Not suprising. Most people usually don't divulge their master plans," he laughed as he strapped his warhammer on his back.
"I figured as much, but I thought they might have heard something," he said, applying the salve that quickly healed his wound within minutes.
The two informed the kids that they were going to be taken to the mountain top to be left in the custody of Keeper Albagorm. "You'll be safe there, until you are taken back to your homes," Adarin added.
"We should probably stay here for the night and move out in the morning," Rahoda suggested.
"Agreed. Is that okay with you guys?"
The kids nodded in agreement, excited to be free more than anything else. They all ran into the tents hoping to find something to wash up with and eventually lay their heads down to rest. As Adarin and Rahoda were about to do the same, they simultaneously had an uneasy feeling of being watch. They turned to witness a shrouded figure standing on the other end of the fire. Instantly, Adarin and Rahoda recognized the figure as the same one who had saved them in Felwood and he began to clap very slowly.
"I must say… I am impressed. The last time we met I believe the battles outcome was not so favorable."
"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Adarin asked, confused.
"I mean you no harm Adarin Dreamwalker. That is what you go by, isn't it?" When he got no answer, he continued anyway. "I suppose you're wondering why I didn't help you in the battle this time, eh?" Rahoda nodded. "Well, I think I've helped you enough recently. When have you ever helped me?" he laughed. "No matter. I wanted to see if you were capable of handling yourselves on your own, if you must know."
"You didn't answer either of my questions. And how do you know my name?" Adarin interrupted, getting impatient.
"Very well then. It is you that I want Adarin Dreamwalker. And for the record, I know a lot about you Adarin. Far more than your name…" He was quiet for a while. "Even more than you seem to know at this point." He laughed again. "My name is Jin'tao of the Stormstout clan, though you may simply call me Jin."
He removed his hood at that point. He looked very much like one of the furbolg, though his furcoat was black and white and his features were more defined, more humanlike. He had patches of black around his eyes and, in particular, the right one had a long scar that crossed over it and down to his cheek. The eye, itself, was gray and did not seem to be working any longer.
"I have been searching for you for a long time, Adarin Dreamwalker."
"What did you do with Ursol?" Rahoda changed the subject.
"I tried to free him from the corruption that my cousins have bled into him."
"Your cousins?" Adarin asked.
"It's a long story but my people and theirs share a common ancestor." He sat down by the fire and crossed his legs. "In ancient times, Ursol tried to teach their children a more civilized way of life. My people listened to him, and, what you call, the furbolg chose to stand by Ursoc, his twin brother. Well, Ursoc was much more savage by nature and so the furbolg continued to live in an uncivilized way. On the other end, Ursol taught my people the values of shamanism and a love of ale. Through those values, we thrive as a people. Though I am forbidden to tell you where, exactly."
"You're a pandaren?" Rahoda asked, and when Jin'tao nodded in response, he added "I have heard of your people and your homeland, Pandaria, though I believed them to be nothing more than a fable."
"I assure you that that is not the case," he said, looking himself up and down.
"So it would seem," Adarin added.
"Anyway, when I freed Ursol from his imprisonment the damage had already been done. I tried to heal him in any way that I could, but I must admit; I, myself, am no shaman. I could not slay him and in the end, I could do little more than either of you could… So I ran. Regardless, it is imperative that you come with me immediately, Adarin Dreamwalker," the pandaren motioned for the both of them to follow him.
"We have more pressing matters to deal with," said Rahoda, grabbing Adarin's arm as the night elf began to walk towards the pandaren. "What about the children? We can't just leave them here!"
"I assure you that all your roads will cross at one point. Rahoda, why don't you take them to the peak of the mountain, and I will have Adarin meet you there in a few days."
"He's right," Adarin said, referring to Rahoda. "We have to go to Keeper Albagorm and explain to him everything that's going on."
"Which is something that I think your friend here can handle on his own." Jin'tao rebutted.
"And I have so many questions," Adarin explained, trying to rationalize.
"All in time, my friend… All in time."
--
By morning Adarin and Jin'tao were long gone and Rahoda was not all too thrilled about acting as baby sitter all by himself. He had tried to convince him but he realized that his efforts were futile. With his father gone, the only thing that has driven him has been his quest for answers and even a close friend such as Rahoda couldn't get in the way of that. Regardless, he suited up and began heading up the remaining half of the mountain with the seven children in tow. Unlike Adarin, he would make sure that, both, the children and the important news were delivered safely to Stonetalon Peak.
