The path was long, littered with examples of the war that had blazed across the landscape not so long ago. Large craters, examples of the devastation that Dwarven cannons could rain down on opposing forces were strewn across the landscape. Skeletons with bits of flesh still clinging to them lay all around the road. Some of them with weapons protruding from them, their metal glimmering in the sun. Catapults, broken into pieces that seemed to form some sort of line, giving a glimpse of what the fighting could have been like. Shields with symbols of the alliance showed where soldiers had dropped their shield and fled.
Along the way, Rivendare was only able to count twenty or so, a testament to the bravery and training that the soldiers received these days. Able to stand tall against the greatest foe was a must for any soldier of the Alliance. Rivendare had been taught that when he had enlisted in the Army of Stormwind, and it was a principle he stuck by.
They were close the lumber mill now, the path forking into a valley that housed the lumber mill. It was very aged, webs covering a large part of its rotten wood. Andrayla walked over to a torch that was covered in cobwebs, prying them off with one of her daggers. Taking a match from her pocket, she lit the torch and set fire to some webs that were guarding a staircase.
She looked towards Rivendare and motioned for him to wait where he was. She then walked down the staircase, disappearing for a few minutes. As Rivendare sat there, he took in the age of the place, seeing rusted saw blades, collapsed beams, and stone floors that had moss clinging to it. Yes, this must have been abandoned after it lost its practicality in the Second War. Either that, or the Defias had done a great job on making the place look the part.
Andrayla came back up the stairs now, but with someone else this time, a man she introduced as John. He didn't speak at all, and motioned them down the stairs. He grabbed another torch and used the flame from Andrayla's torch to light his own. Opening a metallic door, he led them into a passageway.
It was dark and smelled like the earth, but they pressed on, nearing the end, which had a similar door to the exit, they stepped into at first glance was a windowless wooden structure with an all wooden door. Pushing it open, they stepped outside, and John waved goodbye.
Looking back, Rivendare saw that it was a tree that they had exited from. The path put them on one side of a massive lake that gave the town its name. Looking up, Rivendare saw that the sun was beginning to be covered by dark stormy clouds. They set out towards the main road that lead towards a bridge that they could barely see from the hill they were on. As the sky grew ever darker, Rivendare dreaded the thought of the rain that he knew would come.
As they got to the main road, it suddenly broke into a heavy downpour. Andrayla laughed and they both began to run across the bridge. When they got to the end, they followed a sign to the Inn.
Entering the Inn completely soaked, they were greeted by a woman who smiled as she said, "Welcome to the Lakeshire Inn, home of the best fish in all of Azeroth! Can I get you anything?" Andrayla seemed much more cheery when she said, "Yes, a room please." The woman told us to wait one moment, and she disappeared for a few minutes, before coming back with a key, which she handed to Andrayla and told her it was up the stairs, and the second room on the left. She smiled and told us good night and waved. They hurried into their room, beginning to remove their soaked clothes. Rivendare finished taking off the last of his clothes, and looked over to the bed. Andrayla was sitting on her side, giving him a peculiar stare and motioning at him to come to bed.