The rest of the night, we made our escape. Down the stairs and then north through the canyon of Thousand Needles. We both considered carefully whether to brave the elven controlled wilderness of Faralas or the attempt the great elevator that lead into the Barrens. In the end, we took the elevator. Two tauren guarded the top, but they weren't all that alert, and by the time they had spotted me, I was already well away.

From there we headed north through the barrens to the Crossroads. There, I asked, through motions, if Nakutk wanted to separate. I was safe and I could head north into Ashenvale. But he shook his head and refused to leave. I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to force him to do anything he didn't want to do, so we skirted around the Crossroads and headed into Ashenvale together. Finally, in the deep rich forests, we retired for the night. I called Whisper to me and we took down a nice stag for dinner, cooking it and sharing it with Nakutk before the undead and I fell asleep, leaving Whisper to keep watch.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of Brecki. "Keli? Where are you?"

I stirred and my eyes blinked open. It must have been almost nine in the morning, but the thick foliage above me kept the sun from shining brightly into the deep woods. "Ashenvale." I replied, sitting up. I glanced at Nakutk, but he was still sleeping, so I stood and made my way a little way from camp so as not to wake him. "There's an undead priest named Nakutk who helped me escape."

"Why?" Tori asked and I shrugged even though she couldn't see him.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I'll have to ask King Varian. Nakutk was there farming nagas when we left Varian. He saved me, but I still don't know why."

There was a moment of silence, then Brecki said, "Well, we're in his debt. For now, we have these items to worry about. Tori found the first piece."

"That's wonderful!" I exclaimed. "Where? What is it?"

"I think it's the fire-aspect," Tori replied. "I found it in the Searing Gorge." There was a pause, then she said, "It's a blacksmithing recipe."

Another pause. Finally, Brecki spoke up, "Tori's given it to me, but the materials are crazy. I'm going to have to get started immediately if I'm going to be able to make it in four days."

I let out a huff of breath. "Great. Can you tell us what it's a recipe for?"

Brecki laughed a little, "A saddle."

"Do you think the rest of the pieces we need will be recipes, too?" Vrandi asked. "Keli and I are both leatherworkers and Tori's a tailor, right? But King Varian said we needed five pieces."

"Let's worry about that when we get that far," I said. "For now we have to find them. If Tori found the fire-aspect" (since that was as good a term as any for these items) "in the searing gorge, maybe we should look in places that reflect the elements." I considered, then said, "Since Nakutk and I are here in Ashenvale, why don't we do some looking in Zoram Strand. Maybe even set into Blackfathom Deeps. The water-aspect might be there."

"It could also be in the Vile Reef," Brecki commented.

"Or off of Darkshore," Vrandi added.

"Or anywhere." Tori muttered.

"Well, we have to start somewhere." I retorted. "Nakutk and I will take a look at BFD. Vile Reef is a good place to look as well. Any other suggestions? We need water, air, and earth."

"And a fifth spirit we don't know of," Vrandi sighed. "But let's start with these. Mind if I join you, Keli?"

"Sure," I nodded, heading back to camp to wake my undead companion. "How soon can you get here?"

"I'll fly out from Iron Forge right now."