There was a constant marker that ran along the border between the land they called the Barrens and Mulgore. There was a range of hills that grew into craggy mountains in the distance. Caoimhe stood atop the watchtower at the Cross Roads and stared out at the peaks with fascination.
"How long?" she asked the orc who manned the tower, "How long do you think it would take to get there on foot?"
The orc snorted at her and looked her up and down. "You'd never make it," she said shortly.
Caoimhe smiled. Her orcish was improving.
"What do you want?" the orc asked when she didn't leave.
The fascinated elf peeled her eyes off the wide expanse of open plains and turned to the watchman.
"The captain sent me?" she struggled with the words, it may have been a simple language but it was so heavy and clunky, "You have work that wants done?"
At first she thought she must have gotten the words wrong, because the she-orc just stared at her. Then she burst out laughing.
"You?" she laughed. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. She looked Caoimhe over, crossed her arms and grinned. "Alright, whelp," Caoimhe didn't understand whelp in orcish, but she assumed by the tone that it was meant to be derogatory, "We have a problem with predators. They attack travelers, they kill the livestock."
Caoimhe frowned with concentration and nodded as the orc spoke, "Hunt them down, get rid of the nuisance. I'll pay you a bounty for each kill."
"So hunt the stalkers?" she asked, to be clear. The glare was her answer and she smiled apologetically and climbed back down the tower.
She had seen many predators out on the plains when she crossed the river and followed the road to through the Barrens. Unusual predators, fascinating animals that were similar, but at the same time so new. Horse looking herd animals with stripes, a collection of creatures that looked something like the grazers she woud hunt at home, but smaller and with long twisted horns instead of antlers, and odd looking creatures with impossibly long necks that ran gracefully across the plains. And all so new.
The smoke rose over the plane. Whoever had made the fire wasn't too concerned about drawing attention to themselves. Most likely, the campers where orcs. This wad their land after all. She climbed up the nearest hill to get a better look.
She pulled from her bag a small spy glass and lay on the hill peering out into the open grassland beyond. She could see the little cook fire, a pot of something cooking in the little pit. She turned a little to her left and jumped with surprise and delight. The figure tending the fire had his back to her, bent over something she couldn't see. Long pale ears poked out of his dark hair. The camper was Quel'dori.
Caoimhe closed the glass ans started down the hill. Common sense dictated not walking up on his blind side. She rounded wide until she was approaching him from an angle. She was almost certain he could see. The grasses waves around her waste as she moved, hiding the sword that hung on her hip. It flashed though her mind that it hid his weapons as well. She dismissed it as an unnecessary concern. He was quel'dori in a strange land, just like she was.
She cupped her hands and called, "Hello?" The movement around the fire stopped. She called again.
The response was not hello, it came back, "Who's there?"
Caoimhe was a little confused. She was speaking Thalassian, couldn't he tell she was quel'dori?
"I...my name is Caoimhe...," she almost added her family name, but changed her mind. "Who are you?"
A black mop of hair popped up above the waving grasses. He peered at her, considering, and waved her to come to the fire. He didn't wait for her to join him, but turned and sat and disappeared back under the grass line.
As she waded forward, the little camp came into view.
He hadn't pitched a tent, but a bedroll was open and a few solid and heavy packs lay on top of it. A covered stack of what she knew must be armor sat with it. She stopped outside the ring of crushed grass.
"Hello," she said again.
He looked up from the fire and the small game he was skinning. He looked her over. Finally, he smiled, then went back to his skinning.
"You'll forgive me if i don't offer you my hand," he raised them both briefly, knife and all, so she could see the blood.
Caoimhe smiled and nodded at the top of his head. "Not at all," she said. "Do you need help?"
He looked up at her again, re-evaluating.
"Well i suppose you wouldn't be out here if you couldn't take care iof yourself," he took a few last tugs on the skin to free it from the carcass, then he stood and stretched.
"Set a spit, will you?" ha asked pointing a bloody knife at the fire.
Caoimhe dropped her own pack and started sifting through the pile of sticks to find a frew good forks for a spit.
"What are you doing out here all by yourself," she looked around for signs of others. "Are you by yourself?" she asked him directly.
He raised his eyes to look at her.
"I am," he said shortly.
Caoimhe waited for him to say more, but he didn't. She smiled at him and started setting the sticks in thw dirt to hild the the spit, digging at the dry ground with an arrow pulled from her quiver. He bent back over his work.
She watched him. She found himself fascinated by his hair. Most elves wore their hair long, his set just above his shoulders, that which had fallen out of the tie he held it back with. It was dark, too, almost black and the short cropped strands looked like he had cut them off himself with a hunting knife. Caoimhe's hand went unconsciously to the back of her head. She had done the same in a fit of frustration one day when the burs had made it impossible to comb through her own hair. She wondered if hers looked as wild.
"Done?" he asked finally standing, rabbit secured to a suitable stick.
She blushed slightly at having =been caught standing idle.
"Yes," she said, giving the stick one last shove, "All ready."
"he watched her as she backed away from the fire.
"I'm Thaden, by the way," he said stepping past her and setting the game to cook.
Caoimhe's face flushed deeper as she realized she had completely neglected to ask.
"Oh," she said by way of an apology, "Oh of course, I'm...I'm so sorry."
He smiled at her nervousness as he poured a little water onto his hands and rubbed the blood away. He offered her the canteen. She declined.
"Oh, I could not," she said, "you might need it."
"Not at all," he said, "There's a spring not too far," he motioned toward the craggy foot hills in the near distance.
"Oh, well," she took it a little reluctantly, "If you are certain."
He looked at her again, as if he was still unsure what to think, and started o make himself comfortable by the fire.
"So what are you doing out here, " he asked, "all by yourself?"
Caoimhe heard the question, but didn't answer right away. She was listening to his voice. He was very well spoken, a bit of a contrast to his surroundings.
"Alone?" he asked again.
"What?" she started, "Oh, yes, I am. Are you?"
He nodded, "I already told you I was."
"Of course," Caoimhe bit her lip. "Forgive me, I have not had the benefit of company, Quel'dori company, for a while."
He raised an eyebrow at he choice of words.
"'Quel'dori' in this area are hard to find," he said slowly.
"yes," she agreed, missing his tone entirely, "and I am told not to expect any further south."
He looked a little surprised. "Are you going further south?"
Caoimhe shrugged. "I thought I might," she said, "I have heard there is an entire valley with villages on spires," her eye widened at the thought of it. "I think that is something I should like to see."
Thaden seemed to relax. "So you are here of your own accord," he said more as a statement than a question.
She nodded, "And you?" she felt it only polite to ask. After all, she didn't' want to spend the entire evening talking about herself.
He turned the spit to one side. "I might go south, eventually, " he said.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked.
He poked at the meat with his knife.
"I took on some work with one of the outposts," he said.
"The orcs?" she asked.
He nodded. "There isn't anyone else, until you go further west. No one of consequence anyway," he sort of scoffed at the idea.
Caoimhe nodded a little, not sure what he meant by 'no one of consequence'. "Who else is out here?" she asked.
He looked at her over the fire, then over at her pack and quiver sitting a little bit apart from his own things.
"Are you any good with that?" he asked, nodding toward the bow.
She straitened, "Very."
"Would you be interested in some work?" he asked.
"Work?" she asked, "Well, yes, I suppose. I have already agreed to thin some of the area herd. I spent two weeks already on the hunt. A little hard to make much progress alone though. Hard to butcher and cure everything and then the hides," she pointed at the overstuffed pack. "It takes a lot of time."
"That's all hides?" he asked, surprised.
"Hides and jerky, mostly," she said. "I hate to waste anything, but the scavengers will take the rest."
He nodded in appreciation.
"Ever use that bow on anything other than animals?" he asked, turning the spit again.
Caoimhe blinked, "I..uhm...yes."
He looked at her, a contemplative from on his face. "I could use a good bow," he said. "If you're interested."
"If...if you need help," she agreed.
"Good," he said. His demeanor seemed to relax. He leaned back on his elbow and smiled. He offered the spit. "Rabbit?"
The sun set and Caoimhe unrolled her sleep sack and set a small snare to keep her pack safe while they slept.
"Do you want me to set one for you?" she asked.
He shook his head. "No," he pointed to the pile of armor, "I put my rations under there, anything tries to crawl into it, I'll hear."
"Even if your sleeping?"
Thaden's face went flat,"I'm a light sleeper." He stood and started to kick about the bedroll. He pulled the blanket off the pile of armor and rolled it up for a pillow. Then he shifted the plate around to repack his bags. Caoimhe gasped slightly.
"You...you are a paladin," she said, surprised.
Thaden stopped what he was doing, a little surprised himself. He followed her eyes to the insignia etched into his armor.
"I...yes," he said, flipping what was left of a cloak over the from of the breast plate while he tugged at his bags.
"But what are you doing all the way out here?" she asked, her interest in his presence on the plain rekindled.
He let out a heavy sigh. "I've been here for years," he said.
""In the barrens?" she looked at the landscape, as if she was surprised it could sustain him for years.
A frown fell over his features, "I was much further north."
"In Felwood?" she asked, excited. She started to dig in her pack. "Could you show me on a map? I have a map of..."
"You ask a lot of questions," he said staring at her, tossing the cloak back over the armor.
Caoimhe stopped searching for the map. She looked up at him. He was frowning as he lay down in his roll, his back to the fire. "Yes, I've been told that," she said quietly. She tied the pack back up and climbed into her bed roll. "Thank you for the rabbit," she said instead.
He was quiet for a moment before saying, "Don't mention it."
Thaden was an early riser. They stirred at about he same time and she set about to rekindling the fire. Thaden stood watching her, scratching the back of his head.
"I'm not used to having someone do that for me," he admitted after a few minutes.
Caoimhe smiled,"Well, to be fair, I have to eat too."
"Oh," he blinked, "Of course. There isn't any rabbit left."
"Where was the spring?" she asked as she stood and dusted her hands off on her pants.
'The spring?" he looked around as if he might have misplaced it. He may rise early, but he clearly wasn't awake.
"The spring? For water? You told me last night," she raised an empty skin to make her point.
"Oh" he rubbed his face with one hand, "yes, water. Toward the foot hills, there's a rock cluster, you can see the tip of it from here." she started to walk away. "Wait, wait," he called after her. "I have water."
She stopped and turned back, "Are you sure?"
He nodded and waved her back to the fire. he went back to his armor. She watched him as he searched. The armor was older, the order had adopted new insignia since the scourge attacked. He reemerged and extended a fresh skin to her.
"We can refill them after we break camp," he said as he passed it.
She smiled and sat back to the fire, pouring the water into a little tin to heat. "I only have the one," she said, "but it shouldn't take too long." She poked the fire. "I'll make yours first."
"Make my what?" he asked.
"Tea," she said as if that should have been obvious.
"Oh," he said, "I haven't had tea in," he thought about it, "I don't remember the last time I had tea."
Caoimhe looked shocked. "Oh, I have plenty to share," she said. "I will give you some."
"That's ok," he said, "After a while, you don't miss it."
She watched him as he pulled off his shirt and shook it out in the fresh air. "How," she was a little hesitant to ask, "How long have you been in Kalimdor?"
He shook the shirt one more time before pulling it back on. "About ten years," he said.
"That is...that is a little bit of time," she said to the fire. Ten years ago she was still living in her parents home with aspirations of knighthood. "Did you...do you plan to go back?"
"No," he said rather casually, he looked at her, "What about you? How long have you been here?"
"Me? Oh, I have only just arrived," she grinned.
"And do you plan to go back?" he asked.
Caoimhe's grin faded as she thought about it. "Not...not right away," she said. "There is too much to see here."
He sat down next to the fire. She threw a handful of tea leaves into the water.
"Do you have a mug?" she asked.
"Under my things," he waved toward the pile.
"I'll get it for you," she said. She took a moment to admire the sorely used and badly dented armor as she sifted under the chest plate for the mug. "You should have these repaired. I'm sure there's a blacksmith at the cross road town," she suggested. He shrugged. "It looks very well cared for to be so...so old," she tried again. he glanced at the armor and shrugged again. "What..what is it you needed an archer for?" she asked, giving up, as she sat back by the fire.
"Ah," he said, suddenly animated, a grin coming over his features. "Ever hear of Harpies?"
"Ha...harpies?" she asked, "No."
He looked surprised, "No? not even in stories?"
She shook her head.
Thaden's face too on a grim animation as he furrowed his brow and hunched his shoulders. 'They're fowl, nasty winged bitches," he said. Caoimhe jumped, actually startled by his profanity, if not his description. He seemed pleased that his imitation had elicited such a response. he settled back smiling, "They are, though, completely feral demon things with bodies like women and wings and claws like birds of prey. They steal livestock, pets, small children..."
"Children?" she asked, now genuinely concerned.
Thaden nodded, "The orcs nearby want them killed. They hired me to take care of it."
"I see," she said, mostly to herself.
"So," he asked, pulling some dried jerky from a bag he had dragged to the fire side. "I thought a strong bow might make the job a little easier. It's quite difficult to fight an enemy that can suddenly escape strait up."
She nodded in agreement and they continued preparing breakfast in silence, Caoimhe's mind completely wrapped up in what a harpie might be or do.