"Always hated mines..." a rough voice proclaimed softly. I said nothing to him in return, my eyes fixated upon that which laid ahead. It had been almost a month since that day we launched a direct attack upon Havenshire, and now I found myself paired with two comrades; the Draenei woman that I had rescued, and a human man with a silver-blue beard visible from underneath his hood. We crouched behind a pile of sandbags left by the Scarlet Crusade during one of their feeble attempts to attack Death's Breach. Our eyes were upon the mine shaft that sat just at the bottom of the hill leading from our own base. It was foolish of the Scarlet Crusade, but they stubbornly refused to cease activity within it. Even after losing Havenshire their need for minerals was far more important than the lives they supposedly protected from us.
"They lost Havenshire, yet their greed keeps them coming back." the Draenei woman who, before the mission, introduced herself only as 'Ire', chuckled. She voiced my thoughts perfectly, something that she seemed to do frequently, which I found mildly irritating.
"The need for weapons and fuel will always outweigh the lives of the mediocre. Which is, in this case, anyone not bearing a weapon in the name of the Scarlet Crusade." the man, who now went by the nickname 'Kharkis', stated. I had not introduced myself to either of these as anything but my real name. I did not find the need for such a secret. It was very likely that I could meet my end at any moment, either by the Scarlet Crusade, or my own master's will. I...I wanted someone to remember who I had been...
"The way is clear, let us go!" I said in a soft voice. Kharkis and Ire moved with me as we ran, our bodies bent to a stealthy crouch, towards a pair of ore carts parked outside of the mines. We had abandoned our swords for this mission, relying instead on the cover of evening, stealth, and luck.
While the ore carts looked innocent enough from even an analytical gaze, located in the side was a nearly invisible hatch door just wide enough for a human the size of Kharkis to slip through. Into these carts myself and my comrades would secret ourselves, an almost laughable disguise to infiltrate Light's Point-the Scarlet Crusade's marina. A shelf of ore disguised the hidden compartment below, most Scarlet Crusade peons too afraid of their employers to do anything but swiftly deliver each cart of ore.
There had been other attempts to reach the ships below, but the Scarlet Crusade had become wiser after losing Havenshire. The path down to the ships were reinforced with some of their stronger members, each alert and ready for an attack. We'd even witnessed them attacking their own out of paranoia while waiting for our imminent arrival.
"Hurry, we haven't much time before someone arrives!" I hissed, climbing into one of the carts. Ire quickly took the other, her seven-foot tall body taking up much of the space within. If I had still been as I was before, when I was not in my master's service, I would've squeaked in startlement at what I found within my cart. A Blood Elf male, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness of the cart, tilted his head curiously at my intrusion. We stared at each other for a moment, and then he grinned slyly.
"Anastasja, move over, I cannot get into Ire's cart!" Kharkis whispered from the hatch door. The Blood Elf reached over me, his face emerging from the gloom, and flashed Kharkis a pompous grin.
"Sorry old man, cart's full. Better luck next time." he said, reaching out and pulling the hatch shut. I could hear Kharkis on the other side stuttering incomprehensibly, too stunned to properly form a retort. He cursed a moment later, which was followed by the muted sounds of his retreat away from the cart.
"Well now, I didn't expect an attractive companion on this trip." the Blood Elf said with a toothy grin. The unnatural light from his eyes illuminated his teeth, making their whiteness dimly glow in the darkness. My own orbs were large as I stared at him, and I could not find a voice to respond to him. The way he had shifted to close the hatch left us in, what I would embarrassingly recall later, a compromising position. His cheeks would have rested upon my breasts if he had not been holding himself upright, and his hips pressed into one of my thighs.
And shockingly, despite the void of all other emotions, I somehow was able to blush furiously.
The Blood Elf, of what I could see of him when the hatch was open, and what I could make out dimly in the light cast by his eyes, was a younger sort. He sported a chiseled jaw, and I had seen haphazardly cut, rich mahogany-colored hair that just barely touched his shoulders. His nose was straight, and he had softly squared eyes. He was of a slighter build than Kharkis, or even Highlord Mograine, but that was to be expected of an Elf. I blinked twice, the strange heat in my face lessening slightly, as I suddenly recalled where I'd seen this smirking face before. He was one of the three that would take meals with me separately from the rest, one of the others that lacked the hollow voice shared by our comrades.
"You were not assigned to this mission, Prince Valanar sent the Blood Elves to distract the crusade at the gates of New Avalon." I said woodenly, staring hard into his eyes. I recalled his name now, Noll it was. He was an oddity amongst the initiates, he retained a humor and light-heartedness that the rest of us seemed to have lost or forgotten.
Noll shrugged, the action accompanied with an aloof roll of his eyes. "I didn't want to go, sounded boring." he stated, matter-of-fact. The grin returned to his face, more wicked than before. "Besides, I wouldn't have been able to find myself in the company of a curvy and busty initiate if I had gone over there." he stated bluntly, the foreign sound of mischievousness thick in his voice. Again, my face grew hot.
"I...I am not busty!" I managed to exclaim with difficulty. Horror and embarrassment was welling within me, warring with the mindless control my master had placed over me. Pointedly, Noll looked down at my chest, which was covered in a mediocre breastplate that was more scraps of metal adhered to a leather vest than anything.
"No...no I'd have to disagree." he said, lifting an eyebrow as he inspected me. "I can appreciate the curvature of Human females..." he said, his eyes drifting lower. I began to struggle then, trying in vain to get myself into a more protective position. How dare this man embarrass me! How arrogant could he be to think I would just sit here and...
And...? And what? Not for the first time, I felt I was on the verge of coming out of someplace dark. The exit still eluded me, although it felt closer than before.
"Stop struggling, you're rocking the cart!" Noll hissed, bracing one hand against the wall of our hiding place. I stilled as footsteps approached us, all but holding my breath in fear that we'd been discovered.
"Uh oh!" we heard a voice exclaim. "This is the third time today someones forgotten the ore! Now there's TWO carts!" Noll and I exchanged glances; third time today? Had Prince Valanar sent others down to Light's Point already? I heard the man that exclaimed calling for help to pull the pair of carts down to the boat that would carry the ore to Northrend. There was a moment of stretched silence, and then suddenly the cart jerked as someone began to pull it.
Noll and I were silent as we were pulled downhill, our eyes trained on the walls of the cart as we listened to the conversation between the miner and his friend. They talked about nothing important, a simple conversation of their families, and what they expected for dinner that night. My throat unexpectedly tightened as I listened to them, they did not know that this would likely be their last night with their families. While most of me eagerly anticipated the fight to come, a portion of myself wanted to grieve for what had not yet happened. It was a curious conflict of emotions, and I was almost thankful for Noll's distraction.
"I should like to see you clearer, without your hood on." he suddenly whispered, his voice filled, once again, with mischievousness. "I'll bet you're very pretty, judging by the chin and lips that I can see." I could feel him grinning once more. I glared at him in response, my jaw clenched and my eyebrows pulled low over my eyes.
We were jostled as the cart was pulled onto, what felt like, a loading ramp. My body shifted with gravity, and I winced as I was pressed into the back of the cart. Noll's weight bore down heavier on me, and my neck was bent precariously to the side. I moved one hand to support myself and to attempt and relieve the press of my spiked pauldrons into my skin, and ended up bumping Noll in the nose. He sucked in a breath and tried very hard not to make a noise of pain. It would've been my turn to smirk in satisfaction, if I had not been so uncomforatable.
The angle straightened abruptly, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The cart came to a stop a moment later, and both Noll and I held our breath as we listened. The miner and his friend congratulated each other on getting the carts to the boat in time, both happy that they would not be reprimanded that day. We waited moments after we could no longer hear them, to be certain that there were no others near the cart.
"Get off of me!" I snapped, finally hearing Ire's hatch open. I struggled to get free of Noll, and ended up sliding ungracefully out of the cart. I landed at Ire's feet, and glanced up into her dark violet face to find her lifting an eyebrow at my display. I scrambled to my feet as Noll emerged from the cart, earning me another look from Ire.
"I was not aware Humans were capable of transformation." she said flatly, sizing up Noll.
"He was in the cart when I entered; Kharkis could not fit." I responded without emotion. Noll paused to size up the Draenei in return, and I could sense racial hostilities from a time long past floating between the two. They would not act upon them, however...none of the Death Knights would. Our master willed for us to only focus on his greater goal, and that is what we would do.
I glanced around the boat we were upon, taking in it's design, it's cargo. It was fairly new, the paint and stain coloring the lumber of it's creation barely salt-touched. All around us were piled boxes containing ore, armor and supplies that would be delivered to, what our intel suggested, Northrend. Our goal here today, was to stop them from even leaving.
"There are the cannons. We should move swiftly." Ire declared, All along the side of the ship were large cannons. They were a design not seen before, that would reload gunpowder and ammunition automatically. It reeked of the clockwork design of Gnomes and Goblins, even though the Scarlet Crusade would never be anything more than a group of paranoid Humans. Despite what they claimed, it appeared that in times of desperation, even they secretly turned to the other races of Azeroth. Our mission was to use the cannons against the Scarlet Crusade, to blow up their stocks of weapons, armor and ammo, as well as take out as many as we could in the process.
I wandered to the edge of the ship as Ire and Noll began inspecting cannons to figure out how they operated. My lips parted slightly as my eyes gazed upon that which gathered on the beach. Row after row after row of the Scarlet Crusade's finest stood in perfect lines, listening to their commander as he shouted to them the state of New Avalon. Every face was battle-hardened and fresh from plenty of rest. Their stances and wide shoulders spoke to me that they were well-trained, and knew how to fight. Faintly I could hear their commander detailing their plan of attack upon Ebon Hold. We had to be swift, there were more than enough Scarlet Crusaders here to meet our forces and easily overtake them!
Noll whistled in awe at the gathered throng as I jumped at the last available cannon. I pressed my lips together into a thin line, my heart pounding as I tried to figure out how to make the weapon work. I could not fail my master...I would not! I would not let the Scarlet Crusade win, ever!
"Hey..." Noll called to no one in particular. I cast him a swift glance as I fumbled with the levers and knobs on the cannon, but did not answer. His eyes were large and raised above us, towards the ships' mast. "Hey...were you guys the only ones truly assigned to this mission?" I pressed my lips together and found a lever that began the clockwork that would automatically reload the cannonballs after they were fired. So close now...soon I would succeed in disrupting their assembly, just as ordered.
"We were given this honor due to our kill count during the first invasion, yes." Ire responded. She had already prepared her cannon, and now leaned against it patiently, one cloven hoof crossed gracefully over the other and her arms folded. It would be fruitless for her to begin the assault before Noll and I were ready; I thanked her for having that much sensibility. I glanced at Noll again, growing irritated as I found him still staring above us.
"You sure?" he asked, his voice holding genuine curiosity. Ire affirmed her previous statement once more, and Noll lifted an eyebrow in what I could only assume was a skeptical expression. "Then who are they?" he pointed with one hand, stretching his arm above his head and toward the mast. Both Ire and I craned our necks and glanced up at the mast, I pushing my hood from my face slightly so I could see that above myself better.
"This is the third time today someones forgotten the ore!"
The memory rang through my ears as if it'd been spoken at that moment. Stretched above us, decorating the mast in a gristly mobile of triumph, were the hung, beaten, somewhat dismembered bodies of ten initiates. I did not recognize them save the last three which, judging by the state of decomposition compared to the rest, had to have been strung up very recently.
"I don't know all of them..." I said in mild panic. It dawned on me in that moment that others had been sent to do our job before...many times before...and none had succeeded.
"We must recover from their failure and succeed where they did not." Ire stated, placing a heavy and upon my shoulder. I looked at her for a moment, my hood obscuring half of my face. Her eyes held nothing, no sympathy, no fear. She was the perfect tool of the master, something that I was beginning to doubt I could ever be. I seemed to have a weakness that began on the inside, and I was not certain why that was, now.
"You are right. Let us begin." As I turned to face the cannon again, the ring of metal froze me in my tracks. My eyes widened as the world seemed to go in slow motion after that. I barely dodged the blade that was thrust at me, it's target had been my heart from behind. The man who held it was of the Scarlet Crusade, but was so wild-eyed and dirty that he could've passed for any type of barbaric pirate. Rotted teeth showed in his grin as he swung his sword at me again, spittle decorating his tangled, black and grey beard as he wheezed in anticipation. My hand ached for my sword, or anything that would allow me to win against this foe. I had but one skill that I had learned that I could use against this man without the aid of my weapon, but it would be useless in felling him.
The man, much taller and muscular than myself, kicked out at me with all of his strength. His booted foot landed square in my chest, and I went flying. I slammed into the fife rail mid-deck, my spine cracking painfully against the wood. If it had not been for the meager breastplate I wore protecting me, my back would have certainly been broken in that one instant. The man ran at me with his sword raised, his eyes wild with glee at what seemed to be another easy victory for him, another trophy to string across the mast above.
His eyes widened in shock as a hand made of black and purple lightning, plucked him from where he stood, and dragged him backwards. He'd just barely turned when Noll expertly punched him twice in the face. The man had a moment to stumble, stunned as his rotted teeth crumbled in his mouth, before Noll kicked him high, his foot connecting with the man's jaw and crushing the rest of his teeth. He was flung backwards, and landed hard on his back several feet away from Noll. He'd dropped his sword as he fell, which Noll claimed quickly. Before the man had time to get his bearings, Noll pounced upon him, driving his sword deep into the soft spot at the base of his neck. I looked away before my mind could sear the image of the man's face in death throes, into my memory.
"Hurry!" Noll hissed, pushing the sword down hard. I heard a crack, but if it were the sword meeting the boat or something else, I was not certain. I joined Ire at the cannons (who seemed to have been enjoying the sight of my fighting for my life), and the two of us took control of a pair. My face intense, I swiveled the cannon around until it was aimed towards a large group of Scarlet Crusade soldiers. Without hesitation, I pulled the lever, the cannon's sound deafening as it fired. The Scarlet Crusaders looked towards the boat just as the round missile flew at them, and could only watch as it landed between them.
Soldiers flew everywhere, dust and gore scattering across the sand.
Ire fired hers moments after mine, adding to the destruction I'd already begun. Some Crusaders fled in shock at the sudden attack, while others, directed by their mounted captain, began making a futile attempt to overtake the boat and stop us. Noll joined us as the first group scrambled up the ramp to the boat, and slammed a fist into a large button on the side of his cannon. It released a charge of electricity that paralyzed the closest, sending them to the water below the ship where they would likely drown should the paralysis not wear off in time.
Again and again the three of us fired upon the Crusade, none able to escape, none able to stop us. Once again pleasure coursed through me, and I shivered. Our master knew of our attack now, and was pleased. Again and again my eyes drank in the sight of the tattered insignias of the Scarlet Crusade, each scream and shout of horror and dismay. Only when some managed to escape to a nearby ship and turn the cannons upon it towards us did Ire shout for my attention. With difficulty I abandoned my new friend, and joined her near the center mast. We summoned forth three skeletal gryphons, which flew in from high above, as if they'd been circling, waiting for our call. Secured to the back of the saddles were our weapons, the sight of them comforting like a dear friend. We hurried onto the gryphon's backs, and the undead beasts skirted us away from the ship just as the first cannons hit.
Ire laughed aloud as the boat below crumpled with the blows. "The fools destroy themselves!" she crowed, laughing again. I leaned slightly to my left as the gryphon beat it's bone wings, and surveyed the destruction we had wrought. Huge craters scarred the beach, and even from the height we were I could see the pieces of what used to be humans dotting the sand.
Somewhere, deep in my heart, a girl began to cry.
A loud boom shook us, and Noll cried out as a cannonball narrowly missed hitting his gryphon. "I think they noticed us!" he shouted as another cannonball was fired. I winced as it flew over my head, too close for comfort. The ball landed somewhere in the cliff side above Light's Point, shaking the land. It would've been too much to hope that our own would be alerted to our plight and guide us to safety but, that was not the way of our master. We had to free ourselves to prove our worth. Perhaps one day we would be worth retrieving...
Again another cannonball flew at us, but I, distracted by my dark thoughts, failed to notice it's proximity. Noll shouted as my Griffin was hit, the missile separating the gryphon's spine just behind where I sat. I clung onto the skeletal beast for dear life as it spiraled out of control, the creature crying out hoarsely in shock (for I do not think it could feel pain any longer). The world twisted about me in a myriad of shapes and dull colors as we tumbled. I did not know what direction we were going, nor did I know how far the ground was. I held on for dear life, my eyes pressed shut after opening them once, briefly. I think I may have prayed then, even though there was nothing that I could pray to, that would hear me.
My gryphon and I crashed through a weakly-made thatch roof, and I landed hard upon something surprisingly giving. I was stunned for a moment from the impact, my head swirling from dizziness and impact. Faintly I could hear my gryphon making pitiful noises, the unholy magic that reanimated it fading. I moaned and lifted a hand to my head, which had begun to pound. Wetness met my fingers, and vaguely I assessed that I had become wounded in my fall.
Ignoring my gryphon as it met true death, I rolled onto my side, and struggled to push myself to my knees. I groaned again as my stomach heaved, and fought back the urge to vomit. So strange how normal human maladies still seemed to strike me at the oddest of moments. Such an embarrassment it would be if others were to know...
A gasp drew my attention, but I could not find it in myself to care much. I wobbled as I held myself up, my vision blurring. I winced and squinted as I lifted my head to face the sound, the world around me distorted and shifting as if it were on the ocean. I blinked hard, seeing a light-filled doorway, and a vaguely female shape filling it. It was too much for me to consider. Finally giving up the fight for consciousness I collapsed, my body crumpling into a limb-twisted heap.
But before I'd completely receded into the darkness of my mind, I heard a tear-stricken voice murmur in shock; "Anastasja...what have you become?"