Author's note

Hi there!

First of all, thank you for reading this, and for leaving reviews I am immensely grateful!

Secondly, I took the liberty in this chapter to use some of World of Warcraft official languages and phrases - officially confirmed - in a new context.

So, without further ado, let's get in to it! Have a nice read:)

Author out.


"Oh, you fool..." Amira worried exhale filled the space as soon as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the small tent.

The scene that unraveled before their eyes took them both aback.

The Troll was lying on a rug on the ground, his body sprawled unnaturally, covered in open wounds and beads of sweat. A large bowl with a dirty cloth and murky water was laying beside him, a sign that someone was kind enough to cleanse his wounds. But that was not nearly enough, as the stench of decaying flesh and dried blood was filling the room.

The Forsaken woman, wasting no time rushed to the wounded rogue, and kneeled before his body, and with a swift motion her bony hands started hovering over his blue frame, eyes closed. She slowly chanted a commonly used healing spell, and a small light flickered from the tip of her fingers to the wounded frame before her. She frowned. The troll skin started to form beads of sweat, highlighting bruises and cuts of all shapes and sizes. He groaned in pain for a split second, without opening his eyes, and then succumbed to his fever sleep. A large black gash on his forehead became visible, dark veins popping around it. It looked like the wound was a shade of some unknown worm, squirming, trying to rip the skin open. It looked alive. The healer paused her hands over his forehead, chanting louder, pressing her palms to his wound. She gasped loudly.

A slightly visible heat wave exploded unexpectedly from the troll body, sending the surprised Forsaken woman flying through the air towards the entrance, slamming in to the unsuspecting Tauren's chest, drawing a muffled growl from him.

The impact took the warrior by surprise, but he instinctively held his stance, grabbing at the last moment the priestess before she could hit the ground. His swift reaction prevented her hitting the floor head first, for which she was, undoubtedly grateful, given the circumstances. He slowly positioned the woman on the ground in front of him, and took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What... was ... that?" he asked in a cold tone. He did not sound angry. He sounded concerned.

The woman arranged her robe and locked her eyes with the Taureen. She shook her head and sighted audibly. She whispered in a low, trembling voice:

"I lied before. Sylvanas has nothing to do with this."

The Tauren rolled his eyes and his nostrils flared. This woman was playing some strange games. Outside she was firm, bored, dominant, almost like a troop commander that will gladly sacrifice his own soldiers. But now she seemed scared, anxious and even kind. Realizing that, he understood the importance of her task, of healing this dying rogue. It must be really important for her to go to such great lengths of deception.

"Go on..." he commanded

"I will pay ." The woman added hastily " Three thousand gold coins, for your time, help and discretion"

She quickly turned around and started rummaging through her backpack. From there, with rushed moves she revealed a set of potions and scrolls, which she unceremoniously spread on the ground. Her hands were shaking while aligning the healing elixirs and potions , and she hastily motioned for the Tauren to come closer. She grabbed a hefty pouch and held in out towards the warrior in her outstretched hand.

"There. You can count them if you want."

The Taureen did not move, his gaze piercing.

The Priestess sighted.

"I was affiliated with the Argent Crusade. Well, before all this..." she pointed towards her frame, alluding to the fact that she was now Forsaken.

"I know necromancy, demonic magic, you name it – I've seen it. No one should endure this unnatural, twisted, spells. This man saved my life. His soul was split in two because of it. I am the only one that can put it back together. But it is not easy, as you saw before. That's why I need your help." The woman added in a low tone.

The tired sound of her voice made the Taureen frown. He saw the wound that was resting on the sick troll forehead for the first time. From the looks of it, it seemed to be spreading. If not for the enchants that were protecting the wearer, Roh'khin's body would have succumbed to his sickness long ago.. He seemed lifeless, and only the small vial that was resting on his chest was emitting a slow but energetic hum. One might think that the small bottle was the only thing keeping his spirit alive.

The rogue seemed to be breathing though. Slow, heavy, uneven but breathing nonetheless. But despite that, it was more than obvious that Roh'khin was clearly dying. Time was slipping fast.

The Tauren took one glance at the Priestess, and nodded in agreement, motioning for her to hide the gold pouch.

"You...don't want the money?" the Priestess asked dumbfounded.

The warrior approached and his nose wrinkled at the stench of the dying Troll. He hunched towards the healer, while covering his nose.

His brown gentle eyes darted from the Priestess to the Troll. His big hand pointed towards the vial resting around the rogue's neck.

"This called for me. Asked for my help. Louder than you or he did."

The woman looked at the vial that was slowly humming on the Troll's chest, confused.

"That means...Oh, this is good... " That the Priestess clasped her hands together, a ray of hope lighting her features.

She quickly started to pick vials and scrolls from the ground, in a hurry, and arranging them in an order of some sorts.

"Shall we begin then?" she asked once more

The Tauren simply nodded towards the healer.

" Very well. I need you to give me the vial or scroll that I ask for, when I ask for it. They have different colors, so it should not be very difficult"

She inhaled and whispered

" If – and believe me, it might happen – I faint or lose touch with this reality, get me back. Hit me if you have to. But keep me awake. Here" she handed him a green phial

"If I lose consciousness, make me drink this, pour it down my throat if you have to. You are strong, I can guarantee you can overpower whatever might posses me."

The Tauren's gaze darkened once more.

"Posses?" he asked in a careful tone.

"It might happen. Along with other things... As you saw before..." The priestess said in a slightly annoyed tone. She sighted, and added in a softer voice " Can you see the difference between real and illusion?"

The Tauren looked confused at the strange question, and simply nodded in agreement once more, took the green vial and kneeled next to the priestess.

Seeing that the warrior agreed, he Forsaken woman let out a small, almost inaudible exhale of relief.

She quickly turned towards the Troll and rolled her white robe sleeves, preparing for another spell.

"What is your name, warrior?" she asked while closing her eyes.

"Dagotha" the Tauren said in a low tone.

"Dagotha..." she repeated "Good to know. You know mine. Amira. I ask you to call me by my name every time you feel that I am not in my body. And make sure I come back every time."

The Tauren eyes went wide, but before he could ask anything, Amira started chanting a spell unlike any he had heard before. It sounded like Gutterspeak, Common and Demonic at the same time. He gripped the vial she has given him before, and prepared himself if need be for his assistance.

" Be ready for anything."

The Tauren felt shivers running down his spine, a chill of dread slowly filling the room. And as a warrior, all his instincts urged him to prepare for a fight. But the enemy was nowhere to be seen, and that made the seasoned soldier feel confused. He felt his nails digging into his palms, his eyes never leaving the Priestess frame. He was prepared for her body to be thrown around once more.

But nothing prepared him for what followed.

The Priestess breath became more and more ragged, sweat started to cover her forehead. Her jaw was clenched, and small raspy exhales filled the room. The faint glow from her hands started to change its hue to a more orange, rich tone as her chants became louder.

The Troll body started to slowly shiver, shake, as if cold was piercing his very being, through every pore. A violet glow started to rise from the rogue. In a split of a second, ropes and ropes of dark colored foul smelling smoke started enveloping the Priestess's neck, arms and chest, locking her in one place, suffocating her. She tried to pull out, but to no avail. The smoke strings invaded her nostrils, eyes and mouth.

Without losing momentum, the Tauren swiftly grabbed her shoulders, trying to help her distance herself from the source of the dark magic, pulling with all his strength her frail body away from the Troll. He grit his teeth, as despite his impressive strength he could not move her, as if and invisible link was bonding those two together. The woman started to suffocate, as she was gasping for air more and more. Whispers in an unknown language filled their ears, maddening their mind. The Troll's body started to shake violently, convulsively, half hovering over the floor.

The Tauren propped his hooves on the ground, one hand grabbing the woman's waist, the other one hugging her shoulders all around as to not break her in two, and pulled away from the Troll. He felt a vein in his eye pop from the effort, his vision becoming red, but he did not give up. He gritted his teeth once more, as whispers were slowly enveloping his mind, and with a loud roar fell onto his back, hitting the floor with a loud thud.

He felt the foul link broken and the whispers more and more quiet now, dissipating slowly as he tried to get up to regain his composure. The Troll's body calmed his convulsions and he seemed to go back to his lifeless sleep. He shook his head and looked at the woman in his arms. She was unconscious, her head dangling over his arm, her mouth half open. He quickly opened the cork of the green vial with his teeth, and spat it on the ground. He lifted her head up and poured the content of the liquid down her throat, unceremoniously. The woman's eyes shot open, and she started violently coughing, convulsing in his arms, until she fell on ground on all fours. She took a deep breath, and grabbed the warrior's arm with a firm hand.

"Amira?" he asked cautiously

"Yes...Who would have thought that brute force might overpower a spell remnant..." she shook her head.

"The...yellow...scroll...read...it...out loud..." she panted, crawling on the floor towards the Troll's body. Once there, she planted her knees firmly on the ground, same as before, her shaky hands covering the rogue's wound . A small light emanated from the tip of her fingers, sending a warm glow onto the blue skin of the wounded.

The Tauren, visibly shaken, moved towards the pile of objects, searching for the said scroll. After rummaging for a couple of second, he saw the small golden parchment and grabbed from the ground. The light color of it was easy to miss, as the light of the day was quickly vanishing.

He opened and cleared his throat. To his surprise, it was written in an unknown language. He was about to tell the priestess that he did not comprehend, but in that very moment the copper written text started to rearrange itself by its own will. The warrior's eyes went wide as the unknown paragraphs from before became clear verses in Taur - ahe.

"Read it out loud...But be firm. Any hesitation might kill us both." the Priestess added in a raspy voice, as she closed her eyes.

The Tauren shuddered as chills ran down his spine. He exhaled loudly, and squinted his eyes. He summoned all the courage he could muster in that moment, and cleared his throat once more. In a low voice, he started to read the scroll.

" Rah eche towa ishamuhale nahe owa pawene. Nechi ich towateke ki hale chi. Pawene ichnee Yeena'e ,Washte Pawnes, Rah An'she ich Mu'sha, Towa ich Shamuha owakeri po Arikara Washte ich Aki, Theia-shoush ahmen" "[1]

The glow from the healer's hands grew warmer, the color of it becoming white, close to the sun rays hue. Small flickers of silvery shards of the spell were dancing over the rogue's body, making his breathing even, calmer. The Priestess seemed in control this expression on her face was serene, but this did not make the warrior comfortable. He still felt an unseen, dark, ominous presence looming over their very souls. His instincts urged him to flee, as every part of his body screamed that he could not match the invisible opponent's strength. Not for a second did his eyes leave the healer's frame.

And then he saw it.

From the troll forehead, a spear shaped dark smoke string arose, pointing towards the ceiling. The Tauren gripped the hilt of his weapon, feet in a steady battle stance, breathing even, calculated.

The Priestess seemed undisturbed by the occurrence, continuing mending and dancing with her supple fingers over the troll's body. Suddenly she stopped, her head turning towards the Tauren, her eyes wide in horror.

"Dagotha...It's not me..." she whispered through clenched teeth, as the smoke spear pierced her body, through her ribcage, to the other side. A pained scream erupted from her lungs, and she felt her knees give up. Blood was slowly dripping on the floor form her wound, and the warrior rushed towards her .

Before he could make a step, an invisible hand gripped his throat, pulling him back. He gasped. He felt a fire shackle enveloping around his chest, claws digging into his skin, fingers crushing his throat, nails raking his temples. With great effort he turned his head towards the Priestess, and to his horror she was...smiling. The smoke spear was sticking from her chest, blood was staining her pristine garment, pooling on the ground, but she did not seem to feel anything. She slowly approached the warrior, and tapped her bony finger on his nose.

"A...mi...ra..." the warrior uttered in a low, pained voice

The Priestess smiled once more

" Azhir uval nutarus..."[2] she muttered in a strange, dark, low voice, her mouth twisting unnaturally. She approached, and got close to his face, smiling. Blood was pouring from her mouth, staining her yellow teeth. Nonetheless she seemed to grin endlessly.

" Achor she-ki![3]" she commanded with the same low, eerie voice.

In that second, the warrior felt his left arm twist and pain erupted from the limb. He screamed, gritting his teeth, and that made the Priestess giggle. His breathing became erratic, but he tried to control it. Tears formed in the corner of his gentle eyes, as his face was contorted in a grimace. He felt like someone or something has reached inside his arm and was tugging at his bone, trying to break it from within. But as the invisible enemy was preoccupied with his limb, the grip on his throat loosened for a second. As he still had his sanity left, so he screamed from the top of his lungs towards the Priestess:

"Amira! Fight!"

The grip on his throat became stronger, making him unable to breath properly. His words seem to have no effect on the healer, she simply gestured towards an invisible friends. He felt his tongue swell inside his mouth, his eyes rolling back into his sockets, a warm numbing sensation enveloping his body. He gritted his teeth, and with his last ounce of remaining strength whispered:

"Amira... Pawene ichnee pawene..."[4]

He fell on the ground, his head connecting painfully with it. He gasped for air, a shaking hand checking his neck. Painful lumps slowly swelling under his skin were a clear sign that something tried to kill him. His arm hurt, but it was not broken. He looked up, his vision blurry and saw the priestess stumbling around the room, screaming.

Without wasting any time, he crawled towards the pile of scrolls and elixirs and gripped a red vial, the one he recognized to be a healing potion. He opened it, and gulped half of it. The liquid felt good, and it seemed to soothe his pain for a second.

The Priestess screamed in demonic again, and collapsed on the ground .His quickly rose on his wobbly feet, and approached the disoriented healer, scooping her from the floor. The woman was bleeding from her torso, and was mumbling something in demonic. Her pale face was frozen in a pained grimace, eyes rolled up, blood pouring from her mouth. He gripped her frame even tighter, trying to steady her torment, and poured the rest of the red liquid down her throat.

The Priestess coughed, and slowly her eyes seemed to open. She blinked in shock when the first thing she saw when she opened them was the Tauren's face.

Dagotha swallowed audibly, and shook his head.

"Amira..." he whispered.

"Yes, Dagotha...Thank you..." she whispered in a tired tone.

"We were lucky you remembered that phrase..." she smiled

The Tauren smiled back, and pointed towards the troll. His head wound was gone, and he seemed to be breathing steadily. Some of the wounds from his body have closed, but he was still unconcios.

Amira tried to get up, but a shot of pain made her gasp. The warrior steadied her frame, and with careful motions helped her to get to the troll's body once more.

"It hurts..." she mumbled as she took her place, "But it's not life threatening. And I know I hurt you too... I am sorry" she added in a low voice "No matter what questions you have, I promise I will answer them after we are finished... One more step...Just one more. This time, the enemy will show itself . Be prepared."

She started hovering her hands over the Troll's body, the familiar light covering the rogue. This time the light was almost red, with occasional white and golden sparks deflecting from the blue skin. She started chanting a low voice, he volume increasing, as the light from her palms grew stronger.

"What was once broken, may the light bind it together. What was once a scar, the light will heal. What was once separated, may the light forge a new union" she uttered in a clear tone.

The Tauren witnessed with a surprised expression as the humming vial melted into the Troll's torso, becoming one with his body, a small glow framing him.

Roh'khin exhaled loudly, and tears started to stream from his closed eyes, his chest shaking with sobs. A glow emanated from his ribcage, caressing his entire body, from head to toe. The Troll smiled, as small tears continued to pour down his blue cheeks, and seemed to fall into a healthy sleep.

The warrior felt sympathy for the rogue. After all, he was a fellow soldier, wounded by dark, unnatural magic. He recognized many of the old scars the rogue bore, as he had similar ones.

"Got you!" The Priestess exclaimed, startling the warrior. He looked at her, and to his horror she had a small snake like smoke creature wrapped around her left wrist, a triumphant smile adorning her features. She seemed to hold it by its head, as the rest of it's weak body twisted and turned to break free, but to no avail. Amira looked at the warrior and whispered, a wide grin spread across her features:

"Prepare yourself..."

Dagotha nodded, and gripped the hilt of his weapon.

The priestess brought the serpent to her arm length and whispered towards him:

" Elas umanes azarathan rakas ibna"[5]

In a split second, the smoke creature was enveloped in white flames, twisting his worm like body to no avail, screeching loud, making the Priestess frown. The Taureen felt his eardrums pop from the sound, and he took a step back.

"Elas umanes azarathan rakas ibna!"The Priestess commanded louder

The snake like creature screamed even louder, the white flame burning his body, the sizzling flesh falling on the ground, piece by piece. The Tauren covered his ears, a strain of blood trickling down onto his neck.

"Elas ...umanes ...azarathan... rakas... ibna" Amira's voice echoed louder, cleared this time, covering the screeching of the creature.

The snake like smoke worm screamed for the last time, making the Tauren frown once more as the flames consumed the fiend's body, turning him into a dust pile on the floor, making the Tauren exhale in relief.

Silence.

Dagotha's hands slowly reached for his weapon, small hairs on his neck rising up, his feet planted firmly on the ground.

Amira smiled and brought both of her hands up, and in a low voice whispered eerily:

"Show yourself..."

Silence.

The warrior frowned and held his breath.

An angry scream from behind made Amira turn around. All she saw was a red flame flying towards her, and before she could duck from the spell very much to her surprise a brown furry frame blurred her vision.

The spell landed on Dagotha's chest, but he did not even flinch.

"Try harder." He rumbled towards the attacker in a low voice "...Nazira"

The Shaman barred her teeth and started chanting a spell. But before she could utter the first words, the Warrior charged towards her, and with his bare hands landed a fist right onto the orc's right cheek. A loud crack filled the room, and the shaman took one angry step towards the Tauren, and after moving a bit from side to side, collapsed on the ground.

The Priestess was taken aback by the unfolding, and her shock, pain and surprised mixed together and she simply...started to laugh.

"Too easy." The Tauren mumbled.

"No" Amira said, still laughing " She just stupid"

"Imagine..." she continued laughing, barely able to form a sentence, her tone higher than usual" Going through all this trouble ...Spells... Fiends...Possession...Just to be...Stopped by a...Punch...This might be the most stupid thing I have ever seen..." the Priestess sat on the ground, unable to stand as the cascades of laughter overwhelmed her. She tried to say something else, but she could not, as short chuckles filled the silence.

Dagotha smiled also, and joined in the laughter, his low voice rumbling through the room. He sat next to her, as he was also overwhelmed by the laughter.

"Ah..." The Priestess wiped the tears from her eyes " My ribs hurt... Check to see if she is alive, please..."

The Tauren rose up, still smiling, and got close to the shaman's body. He brought his hand close to her neck, and nodded.

"Yes, but her heart is beating slowly"

"Good. " Amira brought her hand up, and golden shackles rose from the ground, imprisoning the orc. " She will sleep in her personal prison" she smiled at the Tauren.

A low mumble made them both look in the same direction. Towards the Troll. Amira quickly rose to her feet, and quickly got next to the rogue.

"Roh'khin..." she whispered, smiling at the rogue.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the priestess. His cracked lips formed the words : "Water..."

The Tauren quickly ran into a corner of the tent, and got his backpack .He approached the pair, and retrieved a flask of helped hold his head up, and Dagotha gently placed the container to the Troll's lips. After a couple of sips, Roh'khin muttered "Thank you", and let his head fall back on the blanket.

The Tauren put the flask his flask in his backpack and suddenly frowned.

"Strange..." he mumbled

"What?" asked Amira

"My fruits. I gathered them this morning. They are...moldy..."

The Priestess eyes went wide, and she quickly rose up to her feet, hurrying towards the entrance, flapping the tents door open, letting the sun invade the tent. An orc Peon was carrying some lumber, mumbling to himself.

"Hey!" Amira screamed, startling the worker " What day is today?"

"What?" The orc seemed confused, or deaf, or both.

"I asked what day is today!" The Priestess asked, visibly frustrated

"Oh. It's Tuesday. Work day! Work , work" the orc mumbled to himself as he walked away.

The Priestess heart sunk. She turned around, livid, towards the pair in the tent...

"It's...Tuesday..." she uttered in a low voice

Dagotha's eyes went wide, and he slowly rose up to his feet

"It was...Sunday..." The Tauren said in a confused tone

"We crossed tha otha side, man..." Roh'khin raspy voice echoed eeirly in the silence.


[1] (Taur – ahe) Let this fire illuminate both our bodies and and patience be with strong as always. To those who herald the dawn, Spirit Biters, let the Sun and the Moon, The Fire and the Light, guide our vengeance. Spirit and soul, so it will be.

[2]( demonic) Let this scar signify the first blow against the mortal world

[3](demonic) Feast, my Pet

[4] (Taur – ahe)Remain strong as always

[5] (demonic)They shall be consumed by the very flame they sought to control.