Zami smiled, leaning back as a cool breeze swept off the sea. Then he leaned forward again, plunging his hand into the metal bucket of wriggling nightcrawlers. He pulled out one unlucky black worm and peered at it.

"Heh, look at you. You a fat one, eh?" He smirked, stabbing a hook through the worm's belly, "Ya gonna catch me somethin' good, mon."

Zami sat back against the sand, casting his fishing line ahead to the blue water. Then he sighed contentedly, settling in for the wait. He glanced aside when he heard a skittering sound, but it was just a harmless surf crawler emerging from the water. Dismissing the crawler, he looked back to his fishing bobber.

The sun was shining down warmly across the red sands of Durotar that day. Not too hot and not too dry, thanks to the closeness of the shore. It really could be pleasant in Durotar when the spring was in full swing. Once summer rolled around, of course, one was liable to melt into the parched sands. But in spring, the chill of winter still lingered deep in the soil and kept the ground cool to the touch.

"What'cha doing, Zami? Fishin' again?"

Zami looked over as someone settled in the sand beside him. Recognizing them at once, he smiled. But then he wrinkled his nose as the wind brought the scent of alcohol.

"What'cha doing, Zuri? Drinkin' again?" He asked back.

"Hey, we all got our thing we do," Zuri shrugged, "You fish. Zeni jokes around. Zuka gets married. I drink."

"Dat drinkin' is gonna kill you one day, mon," Zami sighed, looking back at his fishing bobber.

"If not dat, den somethin' else will," Zuri shrugged again, "Why worry bout it? We all gonna die one day."

"No need to kill ya self early," Zami grumbled.

He glanced back at Zuri and froze, seeing the troll beside him now a rotted skeleton.

"It never comes early, mon," Zuri said quietly, his jaw clacking with each word, "We all die when we s'posta."

Zami furrowed his brow, tightening his grip on his fishing rod as he stared at the skeleton beside him.

"Except you, I mean," Zuri shrugged once more, "Seems like you escape it every time."

Zami frowned, as the warm sun began to wane cold. He went to speak when he heard a crackling sound. Looking ahead, he saw that the ocean had frozen, his bobber stuck on the surface.

And then he heard footsteps approach behind him.

Hesitantly, Zami looked up over his shoulder. His grip on the fishing rod slackened at what he saw. A second skeletal troll, this one female. Maybe it was her wisps of pink hair or the way she stood, but he recognized her immediately.

"What're ye starin' at, troll?" The woman scoffed, in a voice unmistakable to his ears.

"Z-Zin'aka?" Zami mumbled, furrowing his brow once more.

"Cap'n Zin'aka," Zin'aka corrected, crossing her arms.

"How can you be a cap'n if ya don't got a boat no more?" Zuri shrugged over at her.

"I'm gonna get me another one," Zin'aka scoffed, turning her head away.

It fell off her shoulders and landed in the sand with a soft thud, making Zami wince.

"Wh-Why're you here?" He managed to ask, scrambling to his feet.

"We gotta remind you of ya promise," Zuri shrugged.

"Can't have ya go betrayin' him too," Zin'aka quipped.

Zami took a step back, about to say something, but suddenly a hand clasped onto his shoulder. Zami frowned, a bad feeling beginning to form in his stomach. But he hesitantly looked back anyway. Zoji's empty eye sockets stared back.

"You promised another in your place," Zoji murmured in Zandali, "You have to make good on that promise."

"I-I will," Zami nodded, leaning away from Zoji's grasp.

His hand popped off the wrist, but remained clutched onto Zami's shoulder tightly.

"Don't be thinkin' ya can cheat Bwonsamdi, mon," Zin'aka's head scoffed from the ground, as her body groped about the sand blindly.

"Nobody steals from him," Zoji added quietly, his hand clutching Zami tighter.

Zami winced and reached up, trying to pry the skeletal hand from his shoulder as the grip started to become painful.

"I ain't stealin' from nobody," Zami hissed, wrenching the hand free and throwing it into the cold sand.

"You owe him ya life," Zuri said as he looked up from where he still sat, "Remember?"

Zami went to respond but suddenly his side began to burn with a searing hot pain. Unable to help himself, he fell down to knees, quickly looking down at his side. It was a festering wound, seeping blood down his leg and into the sand. Just like the one before.

"I remember!" Zami said through gritted teeth, "I'm gonna pay him back! I swear it!"

"Words don't mean much," Zuri shrugged, his teeth clacking as his jaw flapped, "Maybe he gotta take somethin' from ya. So ya don't be forgettin' anymore."

Zuri rose up to his feet, looming over where Zami was crouched. Zin'aka picked up her head, setting it back onto her shoulders with a sickly snap, as Zoji clicked his hand back into place on his bony wrist. The three of them then moved to stand around Zami in a circle. Zami tried to stand, but the wound at his side was immobilizing.

He struggled as Zuri grabbed his arms, binding them behind his back. But he couldn't slip loose from his hold.

"What're you gonna do to me?" Zami asked warily.

He didn't expect an answer, and he didn't receive one. Instead, Zin'aka just reached forward. She traced her fingers across his cheek, her bony fingertips stabbing uncomfortably into his flesh. Almost enviously. Then she suddenly reached up, grabbing his eyepatch. With a quick flick of her wrist, she snapped the band, pulling his eyepatch away. Zami slowly opened his right eye, blinking in discomfort at the sudden light.

It didn't last long, though. Because then it was Zoji's turn to reach forward. His hand began to move for Zami's eye. In a sudden burst of panic, Zami tried to lean away. But Zuri held him in place. Zami tried to shut his eye, but he wasn't quick enough.

Zoji's bony finger slipped past his flesh, into his eye socket, and Zami gritted his teeth. He thrashed and struggled, but Zuri held him tight with Zin'aka's help. Meanwhile, Zoji's fingers sunk deeper and deeper, until suddenly….

Pop.

Zami cried out in pain, sitting up quickly. A pair of cool hands gently pressed on his shoulders, trying to push him back down. Zami grabbed the hands tightly, throwing them aside, before opening his eyes. Mythene was staring back at him, her expression concerned. He just frowned at her, his hand immediately moved up to his eyepatch. His entire body tensed upon realizing it was wet.