Chapter 13

Taff gave a heavy yawn when he woke and sat up in his bed. He scratched at the coarse grey fur that covered most of his form, scratched his chest and ribs and belly and neck. He stood up, his hooves banging on the wooden ground, the wooden ground cracking and yielding slightly beneath his weight. He knew he didn't have to fear waking the elf that shared his bed. By nature Lunn was nocturnal and a sound sleeper. Nothing short of a full-scale invasion would rouse her from slumber.

The bull went down a flight of stairs, he resided in a two story house in the town of Brill. In the kitchen, he ate a dozen scrambled eggs and drank down a mug of spring water. It would be a long day; he would need his strength.

He spent the next half-hour grooming. He bathed first, washing away the scents of the previous night. Then he brushed his fur thoroughly until it had obtained a slight grey sheen and polished and sharpened his horns. He dressed in an oversized, bleached white button shirt and a pair of black cloth pants. As he examined his appearance in the mirror, he cringed a little.

This was not him. These were not his clothes, his groomed fur, his polished horns. This was a guise he was forced to take every few weeks, when he was given orders by a bureaucratic undead worm: Executioner Zygand.

Taff was quick to make his way to the town hall. He was fearful that Aloos or Cerb or even Eck would see him in this apparel and never let him live it down.

"Executioner Zygand," the grey bull saluted. Many, many of the Forsaken had been human and high elf soldiers in life. Into this new existence, they carried with them their customs. Much to Taff's annoyance, he was forced to stand at attention until his superior returned the salute.

"Commander Wolfhoof," the undead acknowledged, returning the salute.

"You requested my presence?"

"Yes. It is high time we discuss the addition to your team."

"An addition?" the tauren growled suspiciously. "I did not request any addition."

"No you didn't. Regardless. The Dark Lady has ordered an integration of all Forsaken forces with those of the blood elves, your team is no exception."

"My team is not of the Forsaken. We are in service to the entire Horde." He then added the necessary "sir" as an after thought.

"You and your team are under my command for the time, Wolfhoof. You will do as ordered."

Taff growled softly as the undead continued to talk. Oh how he hated this. It'd been six months ago that he and his team were sent into the Easter Kingdom, to aid the Forsaken in their wars with both the mindless Scourge and the zealous Scarlet Crusaders. He didn't mind the missions, he forced himself to stomach the assassinations and slaughters. But it was dealing with these bureaucrats that burned on his nerves. Zygand had been a fine warrior once. He had served in the Alliance armed forces, and after succumbing to the plague, rose through the ranks of the Forsaken army. But that was long ago. He had forgotten what it was like to be a soldier: to be behind enemy lines, outnumbered and relying on a mismatched group to save your life. All he could think about were politics.

"That is all commander. The addition to your team has been decided."

"That is not all sir." The bull looked angrily at the Forsaken. "You send my team and I on nearly impossible missions, assignments that would take a small army to complete otherwise. And we perform them, and allow you to take the credit."

"Do you have a point commander?"

"My team is able to do these often times suicidal missions for three reasons. We are small, we are skilled, and we trust each other. Add another into that equation, and we will fail. Do you understand?"

"Commander, it will not look good if one of our most successful units refuse to integrate."

"Are you listening!" the tauren roared loudly.

"You mistake this as a debatable matter, commander. That is all."

It happened quickly. The tauren lifted a heavy arm and punched it down into the Executioner's desk, shattering the wood down the middle. "No, Zygand, that is not all. I refuse to put my team in danger by having an untrained recruit. You will send me and this new one on a mission, and I will evaluate him. If and only if he meets my standard, will he join my team. If you disagree, I will use every ounce of the power I've accumulated over the years to have you exiled, or worse."

Taff didn't like violence. Death weighed heavy on his soul. But the choice of one of his men or some bureaucratic little, he would chose the former. He knew that, as did the Forsaken.

The Executioner looked almost frightfully at the tauren. "Perhaps it would be good for you to evaluate the recruit. But, a blood elf will join your team."

"If he is on par with my standards."

---

By the time Taff made it back to his home and changed into more casual attire, his team was in the living room. Or rather, most of his team. "Where the hell is Aloos?"

"He never returned from the ambassador mission in Booty Bay," Eck hissed.

"That was like a damn week ago."

"It's a long trip. Besides, Aloos isn't the most focused of individuals."

Taff drew the blinds and bolted the door. "Zygand, for all his infinite wisdom, is adding a blood to our team."

Cerberus grunted. A blood? Damn.

"No choice in the matter. Zygand is also sending me on an assignment. Some tensions are rising in a far off land. The blood and I will be traveling there to keep the peace."

What lands?

"I don't know. A place I've never heard of. Desotate or something."

"Only you and the blood?" the undead hissed.

"You will come as well Eck. Cerb, I need you to stay here, keep an eye on things. Wait for Aloos."

Why? I can aid you well. he signed, almost offended by the order.

"Just trust me on this. The ancestors speak of you finding peace. I do not know what they mean."

Peace? he asked.

---

A day later: Taff, Eck, and the blood elf called Shaak Ti'lander Sungrass left the town of Brill, their respective mounts loaded with the supplies required for many days of travel. Lovers embraced. Brothers promised their little sisters they would return soon.

Lunn padded to Taff, and they both embraced lovingly. "Keep an eye on Cerberus," he whispered into her pointed ear as he held her close. "Do not let him see you, but do not let him out of your sight."

With that, he set her back down and mounted his kodo, as if nothing had happened.