Chapter 4: Scouting

My eyes cracked open at the sound of birdsong, and a gentle warmth covering my face. I rubbed my eyes a bit trying to focus as the events of the last couple of days came flooding forth. Letting out a groan I gave a long stretch, eliciting a few satisfying cracks from my back.

Sighing in relief I slowly stood up from the ground and dusted myself off as I thought back to my run in with the lavender horse and hornless zhevra.

'Definitely the strangest encounter I've had in... a long time' I thought to myself as I tried to think of anything that could come close.

Failing to recall anything of significance, I shrugged and looked around me. My makeshift camp was pretty simple, just a small pit for fire and a bit of a hole to hide in for sleep. As much as I hated hiding in the dirt, it was still preferable to sleeping on a tree.

Shaking my head, I filled in the hole and campfire pit before referring back to my crudely drawn map. I had marked the strange hut I'd run into on it, and was growing increasingly worried at what I was seeing around me. I'd ignored it for the first while but as time dragged on it became harder to look past.

Everything was just wrong.

I wasn't sure how to explain it but everything just felt too... perfect. Every tree looked like it was painted in place, all the colors just a bit too vibrant to be natural. I hated it here, and every moment longer I spent here made me more uneasy.

Pushing my way to the edge of the treeline I saw the village once again in the early morning light. Still no signs of movement I decided it was probably due to the early hours and figured I'd use this time to scout out some more to the west, opposite to where I found that forest path and strange hut.

For a moment I considered shifting, but decided against it as it's started to take it's toll on me from repeated use. I could feel my breathing just a bit heavier than yesterday, my movements more sluggish. I cursed inwardly to myself, I'd overdone it again.

I still hadn't pinned down exactly what my limit's were on shifting between forms but I'd roughly worked out that if I take at least one day off between shifts I didn't suffer any of my normal side effects. Not that I minded being in human form, even if I was just an empty husk it still felt marginally better than the alternative.

Continuing my walk along the treeline and soaking in whatever details about the town I could from my position, I froze in place as movement caught my attention. Instinctively, I dropped as low as I could and gazed towards the town, where I found myself tracking a very peculiar sight. Just like yesterday it was another one of those equines, except this one was a bit closer to what I had in mind.

Except for how damn red it was.

The whole thing, top to bottom, was red as an apple. With the exception of it's short mane and tail which was a soft orange as it pulled along what looked to be an empty cart. The size of the Equine was the first thing I noticed as it was noticeably larger than the others I've seen. Curiosity getting the better of me, I quickened my pace along the trees to try and see where it was going.

As I reached what looked like the end of the treeline my jaw dropped at what I beheld.

As far as I could see were tall apple-trees absolutely packed with fruit, shining brightly off the morning sun as I felt my stomach growl in urgency. Taking another look to where I saw the red equine, I caught it's tail disappear into the rows of trees... following a dirt path leading deeper into the fields. Half the orchard was still bathed in shadow from the tall trees of the forest I was in due to the still rising sun to the east.

Almost acting on impulse I held myself back from leaping into the trees, before taking a step back and looking down at myself... letting out a small grumble as I began to strip my armor. If these things really were intelligent, and judging by how one tried to talk to me yesterday I'd say they were, I had better leave my armor behind. After all, if the worse comes to pass I could always just shift into worgen form... although I'd really prefer not to do that more than I have to.

Slowly shedding each piece of armor but keeping the axe hung around a leather cord by my right hip, I set them down in some dense foliage making sure to commit the area to memory. Satisfied I could pick out the area later, I turned my attention back to the rows of trees and their glorious fruit just waiting to be harvested. Leaning out from the treeline a bit, I scanned the area making sure no one was watching. A quick glance at myself saw the bloodied and torn white undershirt I wore.

Suddenly remembering the wound I'd taken from the guard, I felt around my chest for any signs of damage. My brow furrowed in frustration as I pulled my shirt off and inspected my body. Looking it over, I realized it was... pretty normal, well as normal as I could look anyway. I still had all my old scarring as before, all the cuts and markings I've accrued over time traveling Azeroth.

The only thing that still frustrated me was the fact that there was no hole exactly where the guards sword had stabbed me, only the remnants of it's memory printed along my skin. My fingers brushed over the scar, wondering how it had healed when I arrived in the forest. But, considering everything so far I had to banish the thought from my mind. It was definitely not the weirdest thing that's happened so far.

Shaking myself from my thoughts I pulled the shirt back on and focused on the task at hand as I peered back towards the Apple trees. Steeling myself, I leapt from the woods and quickly hurtled towards the orchard, before slamming into the closest tree and pinning myself to it. It kind of felt a little bit overdramatic but during my travels, I've learned better than to expect friendliness from any strangers. And to be especially cautious around those who did act nice towards me, it was an immediate red flag which had helped me many times weed out would be assassins.

You'd be surprised how many of those I had after me.

Gripping the bark, I kept low to the ground and circled around the base of the tree as to keep myself hidden from any other wandering souls from the village. Once I was on the other side of the trunk, out of sight from the village I felt my tense muscles relax some. Taking a quick glance around I noted nothing but rows of trees spanning far in every direction, save for the path nearby that red equine went down.

Without another thought, I started weaving my way through the trees, wanting to get a bit deeper in to feel less visible. Once I felt like I was a good distance in, I looked up at the fruit bearing treetops with hungry eyes. Reaching up, I plucked one off the surprisingly short apple tree and brought it down to eye level. Giving it a cautious bite, the juice exploded in my mouth and I was thrown into a new world of flavor.

Silently thanking whatever god that blessed me with the ability to taste food after my rebirth, you know being undead and all, I ferociously tore into the apple. It didn't taste like any fruit I'd had from Azeroth. It looked like a plain, if not slightly shinier, red apple. But it's flavor was on another level, once again resurfacing my previous thought that everything I've seen in this world has been sickeningly perfect.

After stripping the rest of the flesh off the apple I looked up and started grabbing as many as I could, stuffing them into the enchanted pouch.

"BARK! BARK!"

Almost feeling my heart stop I spun quickly and came face to face with... a small dog. It was a kind I had never seen before, but it looked basically harmless at that size. After turning towards the dog, it had fallen silent as it watched me with it's tail frozen in place. Narrowing my eyes I let out a slow growl, causing it's tail to slowly recede between it's legs. I watched as the dog slowly reversed until it backed into the trunk of a tree and let out a loud yip before bolting off.

Waiting a few more moments and honing my hearing I listened to it running away, focusing on the sound. Then it suddenly stopped, and right as I thought maybe it was long gone... I heard it.

The sound of heavy footfalls running my way.

'Lots of them, at least four or five!' I thought to myself as my panic started to rise, before I calmed myself and remembered where I was. 'No... probably only two... sounds like more equines' I thought to myself as I listened to the pattern of the footfalls.

'Not yet' I thought as I quickly grabbed a couple more apples and took off where I came in.


Perspective: Applejack {Few Minutes Ago}

Stretching out I felt a small pop in my back, eliciting a small wave of pleasure as I sighed. With a small shake of my head, ruffling my mane a bit which by now had fallen free from it's usual braiding, I looked up at the sun peeking through the apple trees. Today had been quite the long morning so far at the farm as I loaded another full basket of apples on my back and made my way towards the barn.

As I neared it, I noticed Big Mac already loading another couple baskets of apples onto the back of a small cart.

"Shoot Mac, yer' back already?" I asked as he turned to me and gave a small nod. "Well come here an' help me carry this." I motioned to the overfilled basket on my back the best I could.

Without a word, the workpony made his way over to my side and knelt down, before standing up and lifting the basket free from my back. Free from the crushing weight, I let out a small sigh of relief and took in a deep breath.

Normally I'd never ask anyone for help, especially with my own job. But I knew better than to not accept help anymore especially on these busy days. A memory of me overworking myself resurfaced and caused me to cringe a bit, before shaking my head and following Mac to the cart.

"Sorry ah' couldn't be more help Mac, my leg's still sore from yesterday..." I apologized in a low voice, remembering the badly positioned buck I did yesterday rewarding me with a sprain.

"AJ," He started in his deep voice as he turned his head to me, "I told you it's fine."

A small smile graced my lips as he turned his head back and stopped next to the cart. With a small twinge of pain from my right hind leg, I stood up on two hooves and pushed the basket off him and onto the cart.

"Whew, alright Mac let's get-" Before I could finish my sentence, a sudden sound cut me off.

"BARK! BARK!"

Snapping my gaze in the direction of the sound, I was about to call out for Winnona when I heard a sudden panicked yelp. I felt my stomach do a backflip for a moment before Winnona came bursting through the trees, tail tucked tightly between her legs.

Noticing me, she quickly ran towards our spot and hid behind me while letting out small whines of fear. A quick glance to my brother and I could see the look of worry on his face as he turned to look at where the dog fled from.

"What is it girl? What's got ya spooked?" I whispered softly as I pet the back of Winnona's head, only getting a small whimper in return.

Turning back towards the trees, I quickly pulled my hat off and yanked out the bundled up rope I keep inside for emergencies. One glance from Mac was all he needed as we both started to gallop towards the trees where Winnona had come running.

The dog let out a small whine of protest, but didn't dare move away from the cart.

'That's not like her, she wouldn't even back down from a timberwolf, bein' the stubborn dog she is...' I thought to myself as I kept my head on a swivel, trying to find whatever it was that had spooked her.

Suddenly I picked up something, the sound of running. My ears locked onto the direction it came from and Mac must have noticed too because we both veered off towards that direction and gave chase. As we ran, the sound started to get quieter until the only hoof falls I could hear were Mac's and my own.

Slowing to a stop, I stomped the ground a bit in annoyance and turned to Mac who looked equally agitated.

"Did ya hear that Mac? There was definitely something here, darn fast thing too I didn't even get to see it." I said aloud as mac nodded.

"Eeyup." He stated, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as he scanned his surroundings.

'Whatever it was... it's long gone now' I thought to myself as a small shiver went up my spine.

Something was wrong, and I couldn't quite place it. It's like I had walked into a stale patch of air. No wind, no sounds of birds or insects, just still cold air that almost felt like a cloud would form if I took a deep enough breath.

Shaking the strange feeling of dread, I turned to Mac and motioned back to the cart.

"C'mon Mac, Stalls will be opening soon." I said quickly, wanting to get away from the strange atmosphere.

"...eeyup." Mac answered quickly after a short pause, before turning and making a brisk pace back to the partially loaded cart.


Perspective: Dalandor

I let out a content sigh as I knelt down by the foliage containing my gear and reached into my pouch. Pulling out another apple I gave it but a cursory glance before quickly reducing it to nothing but it's core. Tossing it into the brush around me, I grabbed another and repeated the process.

Taking a quick look inside the pouch at the contents, I noted I had another five apples left, my saved up gold, random alchemy supplies and a couple other random baubles that had been in my bank.

After I felt like I'd had enough to eat, I slowly stood back up and began to make my way east along the treeline. I had to see where it ended if I wanted to have a rough idea where I was.

'There has to be some kind of landmark... anything' I thought to myself as I continued at a brisk pace.

Not long after, I crossed over the open path leading deeper into the forest. Taking a quick glance down the path to make sure that lavender horse or Zhevra was nowhere to be seen, I crossed and continued my way through the forest. The walk was definitely longer than it was when I headed west, it seemed like this forest was going to go on forever.

Keeping a brisk pace along the treeline, I noticed a small house coming into view. The house was small, not even sure you could call it a house, it looks more like a tiny cottage with a ridiculous amount of vegetation sprouting from everywhere. Surrounding the cottage flowed a small stream of water, with a tiny bridge that spanned it and follows a path I presumed led to the village.

At the sight of the stream I stopped, and felt just how many days it's been since I've had some water. The parched feeling in my mouth only having been temporarily abated by the apples I had earlier, now making a sudden return. By now the sun was already high in the sky, which was kind of strange but I didn't pay much attention to it as I was focused on the stream of water flowing around the small house.

Taking a quick glace at the direction I was heading I noted the end of the forest coming into view.

'Perfect... first though...' Carefully watching for any movement, I pulled out a crystal phial from my pouch and quickly made my way towards the cottage.

Barely half way there the door suddenly swings open and I hold back the urge to bolt away. My eyes quickly lock onto the figure in the door, the small yellow form of an equine, as it slowly backed out of the doorway. Seeing my chance, I took off as quickly and quietly as I could towards my destination. Dropping to the ground and coming to a stop with a small skid, I disappeared under the small bridge the stream flowed under.

I carefully positioned myself under it, keeping away from the liquid to avoid making any noise as the sound of hooves started impacting the bridge above me... followed soon by the sound of something being dragged behind it. The sound continued over the bridge, reaching the apex until it suddenly stopped and I heard a small thump. Holding my breath, I stayed completely silent and tried to squeeze up against the bridge as much as possible.

The silence hung in the air for what felt like an eternity, until the sound of hooves picked up and cleared the bridge as it continued to drag whatever it brought with it. I cautiously peeked out from behind the bridge and saw the equine again, this time in much greater detail.

It was a soft yellow pegasus, unlike the Lavender one I'd seen earlier that had both a horn and wings this one only had the latter. Dragging a sack of something towards a lanky looking tree nearby, which was covered in tons of birdhouses and nests, it paused when it arrived at the base of it's trunk. Giving out a small pant, it bit down on the sack and gently began to flap it's wings. Moments went by as it stood there on the ground, desperately trying to lift off with the heavy sack but to no avail.

I could hear it give a small whinny of annoyance and drop the sack, before heading back towards the cottage it came from. A few minutes passed by until I heard it cross above me once again, and reappear over by the sack. In it's mouth was a small butter knife, held awkwardly between it's teeth. I could feel a bit of amusement slip into my features as a small smile graced my lips at the display.

The small Pegasus was desperately trying to tear a hole in the sack but to no avail. Striking it over and over meekly, I wasn't even sure if the force behind the hit could even puncture a balloon. While watching it's futile attempts I quickly started doing what I came here to do in the first place, filling crystal phials with water and stuffing them back into my pouch.

'This one is definitely harmless' I inwardly chuckled to myself as the equine slowly became more and more frustrated.

After many failed attempts, it stomped one of it's hooves and quickly made it's way back to the cottage. Seeing an opening, I gave a quick glance around just to be sure and took off from under the bridge as I heard the cottage door click shut. Nearing that lanky looking tree, I paused for a second before checking the cottage door and still finding it shut. Gripping the leather handle of my axe, I pulled it from the loop on my waist and knelt down by the sack.

A quick slice, and the top of the bag opened revealing it's contents.

Bird feed.

'Of course...' I groaned to myself as I looked up at the bird houses above me.

Returning to my full height, I holstered the axe into the leather loop and made my way back to forest. As I crossed the treeline, I took a glance behind me and watched as the Pegasus from before was making it's way back over the bridge. It approached the sack of bird feed with something it it's mouth again, but I couldn't tell from this distance what it was.

What I could see is the tilt of it's head before looking around in confusion. Giving a small nod to myself, I backed into the trees a bit and continued down towards the east.

I had to find some kind of landmark. At this rate, I haven't seen anything I recognized... not even any of the herbs I've noticed in the forest were familiar to me.

That thought disturbed me, as I prided myself in my alchemical abilities. However, the more I looked around the more I started to realize that none of the Flora I'd seen matches anything I've seen before. Pushing the thoughts aside, I trekked onwards and kept a brisk pace through the trees.


{Some hours later}

Another long, uneventful walk later, I came to another end of the forest as I peered out into the rolling grass fields as far as I could see. However, my focus quickly shifted to one very noticeable and unfamiliar landmark.

Far in the distance, atop a daunting mountain lay a castle carved into it's very stone and marble. Even from here I could see the elegant marble and gold designs that made up the form of the castle. Squinting my eyes, I tried to think about where in the world I could have landed to see something new like this. At first I thought it was a blood elf structure, however as I stared at it I noticed the two shared only the color scheme and not the design at all.

'Wherever I am... I don't think they're affiliated with either side...' I pondered while looking at the large distance between me and the castle.

Not a tough trip, but definitely one I wasn't doing while the sun was so high in the sky. Pulling out the parchment and quill again, I roughly scribbled down the cottage and mountain I had found, along with the eastern edge of the forest. Stuffing it away, I looked at the treeline of the forest as it stretched on for what looked like forever down south. Shaking my head, I figured that was enough for now as I'd found a good landmark.

Spinning around, I made my back to where I left my gear and began the task of moving it all to the eastern side of the forest as I ran over some options in my head. Whatever I decided on, I knew for sure that I was going to act on it tonight.