Chapter 3

Smoke started rising from Eastvale. The bells of Stormwind started to ring in utter urgency. Commander Benjamin Gale had been the fist to arrive at the tower guards.

"Jonathan, what's going on?"

"Fire, commander, Eastvale is on fire!"

Alarmed Benjamin gathered his company and travelled towards the smoke. It didn't take them long to realise that this had not been an ordinary fire. No, the smoke was too thick and too black for that. A couple of miles before the village a scout returned and requested an immediate halt.

"What is it?"

"Please commander, keep your voice down, they can hear awfully well."

"Who? What have you seen?"

"Trolls, 4 of them, and one undead. But that's not all of it sir... they… well…"

"For god's sake man, fess up. What are they doing that's so horrid."

"They're molesting a young girl. She has to be 18 tops."

Everyone that had been in earshot was outraged. Benjamin regretted the fact that he had asked. It was needless to say the company ran as silent as they could towards the crime. They witnessed about 5 seconds of the horrible deed before one of the men acted and shot an arrow through the troll's heart. The others ran, but only 2 of the trolls escaped the clutches of the Stormwind Regal Guard.

"John, you take your men to Eastvale... look for survivors. Alistair, you and your men will take these two fiends and bring them to Stormwind for justice. Creton, you come with me."

Creton Scoe, a very promising paladin who was exceptionally good at his profession, definitely for the young age of 20, followed the commander with a slight discomfort. Of course, he had been in the Guard for some years now, but the worst he had encountered so far was a brute gnoll called Hogger killing and eating the local cattle. And no matter how many times they left him for dead he always seemed to be back in a matter of days. To actually see a troll dead on the floor and a young woman naked and molested hanging from a tree was not what he was used to. The scratches on her body told both men that the forsaken had had a lot of fun. When they had arrived at the tree, he did what seemed most dignified for the poor girl. He took off his cape and gently hung it in front of her.

"No, not yet, don't you think the girl would be more covered and safe if she was cut loose from the tree first?"

"But sir, how can you know she's still alive?"

"I'm an old and rusty paladin Creton; I can sense the living from a mile away, but she doesn't have much time. Now, cut her loose."

When he was about to cut one of the ropes he noticed the blood that was pooling beneath the bond. She obviously had fought against them. There was something strange about the girls hands though, at least the parts that he could see from under the torn gloves. They seemed scarred; some parts a little black, like she had burned them repeatedly. It didn't seem to make any sense compared to the rest of the girl. She was beautiful, fiery red hair to her strangely pointed ears, pale skin with little freckles on her cheeks. He couldn't really see her eyes, but he had the idea that they would be just as beautiful as the rest of her face.

He didn't think about it much longer and cut the bonds. The girl was so exhausted that she just fell forward. But Creton was quick and caught her. After he caught her, he realised that he was touching her in the wrong places and his face turned red. Benjamin quickly took the girl from his hands and ordered the young paladin to wrap her in his cloak. after that Creton mounted and took the young girl in front of him to keep her up, it was risky to heal her here, but Benjamin made no move to take the girl away just yet; instead he stroked her cheek softly.

"Such a shame, she's so young, Creton I trust you to have a potion with you? Or have you forgotten them in Stormwind? I think it is safer for her to stay with us."

Without words Creton took out a small vial with a red glowing potion in it. From experience he knew it tasted vile, but the herbs in them had strange healing powers that worked faster than any priests hands. And that was what she needed at the moment: fast healing.