/target Kuss
/cheer for sticking with me and reviewing! You're the best :)
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It seemed that everyone in Honor Hold had some message or box of supplies they wanted delivered, and they all wanted Hyara to do the delivering. It was becoming pretty apparent that anyone who'd just popped fresh from the Dark Portal was the lowest of the low in terms of getting the more interesting or rewarding jobs in Hellfire Peninsula. She'd just endured a tongue-lashing from a particularly feisty officer about the condition of a crate containing Light-knows-what (he didn't seem very interested in hearing that she'd had to cut it out of the gut of a giant sand worm), and now she sunk gratefully into a chair in the inn. Gink flopped down as far as he could get from the fire and lost no time falling dead asleep. It had been nearly a week now since Hyara's arrival here, a week full of new sights and experiences, nearly every minute full of something that had to be done for the Alliance's endless battle to stave off the Legion. But every minute somehow found a way to seem lonely and empty too. Only a week, but they hadn't been separated for this long since… since then. What did they have him doing over there? Hopefully nothing worse than anything she'd been doing… And they still had no plan for meeting. They'd decided on a week, but they hadn't known of anywhere safe. Just keep your eyes open after a week, he'd said. She sighed and took a gulp of water; it seemed that was all she wanted to drink in this sun-seared place. Two days now. They'd make it… and then what? She'd heard and seen enough by now to realize that this world was far more dangerous than most of Azeroth, its communities more tightly-knit and forced by necessity to fragment more sharply into Horde and Alliance. There were exceptions, like Shattrath, the great city so many people talked about as if it were the one speck of high civilization left in this world. The Cenarion druids also had a presence in Outland. But this world was wild, contested, its dangers less static and familiar than those of Azeroth. It was different here, just as the soldier in the Blasted Lands had warned, and Hyara was only just beginning to grasp a feel for the dynamics of it.
The door banged and Hyara recognized the gnome from the caravan as he stomped testily into the inn.
"Gimmie something strong," he told the barkeep and reached up to rub his bald pate with a cuff. He noticed Hyara watching him and started to glare, then recognition crossed his face. "Hey, you're the draenei."
"That's true," Hyara said gravely.
The gnome puffed out a lip. "The draenei from the caravan, I mean, smartass. Mind if I sit?"
She raised an eyebrow and shrugged.
"Hey, sorry. Long day, you know?" He clunked his mug on the table and held out a hand. "I'm Split Fizzdrive. We didn't meet properly before."
She took his hand. "I'm Hyara. So they've kept you busy too, then?"
He grimaced and took a prodigious swig of whiskey. "I guess we all asked for it when we agreed to the terms of their caravan. Say, did you hear they went after that camp we found? Blew the whole place up, must've been quite a fireball. Ran into some Horde there too with the same idea; I heard they had a little skirmish."
She had heard they were going to destroy the felguard camp; she'd run quite a few errands for the unit before they set off. She hadn't heard about the Horde, though.
"The Horde was there too? What kind of skirmish was it? Were many people killed?"
"I dunno. Alliance kills Horde, Horde kills Alliance. Just like always. Must've been people killed." He swung his boots up onto the table and leaned back in his chair, looking at her with half-closed eyes. "Begging your pardon, but my feet are a little sore. Horde are an odd lot, though. Can't imagine why they wouldn't just let us do our thing there, why they had to fight over the job of blowing up the Legion."
"What makes you think we got there first?"
He wrinkled his bulbous nose and didn't answer. They sat in silence for a few moments until Hyara hid a yawn and rose. "I really ought to get some sleep now. It was nice to see you again, Split." She whistled to Gink, who stretched lazily and ambled over.
"Eh, nice to see you too." He winked and raised his glass. "If you're into shorter men, gimmie a holler."
Hyara smiled. "I'm taken. But thanks anyway." She walked to the back of the inn and out to the small bunkhouse that accommodated all the lowly adventurers still proving their worth in this hell. Tired though she was, sleep was elusive that night. They wouldn't have sent him out on a mission like that. Not an unseasoned new recruit. They just wouldn't have.
Two days later Hyara told them she'd be moving on to see the rest of Outland. They fussed and wheedled a little, but she'd upheld her end of the bargain and in the end they had to admit she'd done well. She packed up her few bags and turned her horse north and west, intending to head roughly toward the Temple of Telhamat and the point where the roads leading from Honor Hold and Thrallmar converged after passing Hellfire Citadel. She stuck to the path, wary of the fel orcs that lurked near the Citadel. She'd heard people speak of a great orc chieftain who ruled there and commanded the fel orcs but had no allegiance to the Legion. She made a mental note to ask Galmak what he knew about that.
Twilight was falling now and still there was no sign of Galmak. She was less than an hour's ride from the Temple. She turned her horse and decided to double back a ways down the road to Thrallmar; perhaps he'd gotten a later start than she had. A huge black silhouette loomed suddenly against the dimming sky as she turned. An eerie blaring wail raked across her ears and Hyara shrunk in the saddle as the ground trembled beneath her horse's hooves. The horse shied, lost its footing on the rocks, and Hyara had barely enough time to fling herself out of the saddle before the animal went down.
Shit! She pushed herself up, her front now covered in dust. If her horse had broken a leg out here with that thing coming at them… But her mount had recovered, apparently unharmed by its fall. The fel reaver, Hyara saw now, hadn't been very close. She shuddered again as she watched the powerful mechanical disappearing into the dark distance. The horse, still spooked, danced away from her several times before she was able to grab the bridle, but her soothing whispers soon calmed it.
Watch it. Gink's sudden alertness made her freeze, but a few seconds later his relief and happiness flooded into her. She turned in time to see Galmak's grey-white timber wolf emerge soundlessly from the darkness, Palla by his side. Hyara ran to him and he jumped down and caught her in his arms.
"Oh, Light," she said when she could breathe again from his kisses. "I was so worried after I heard about that skirmish at the felguard camp… they didn't send you, did they?"
"No, love," he answered, but he felt a little guilty. He'd almost made it into that operation; it'd been sheer bad luck that someone more experienced had become available at the last minute. He changed the subject. "Did you see that fel reaver?"
"Yes. It spooked my horse. Some of my bags got tossed-" She broke off as Gink suddenly gave a mental snarl. Galmak was staring ahead into the darkness up the road.
"There's somebody coming," he whispered. "Make that three somebodies." He swore under his breath. "Palla says it's two trolls and an undead."
They glanced around, but they stood in the middle of the road with only darkness and dirt to either side. Hyara's packs lay strewn around near her horse. A raptor screamed up ahead and they heard the clacking of talons and hooves as the riders approached.
"Hey, whas dis?" A troll held out a long staff, its rounded end pulsing with bluish light. His eyes took in the orc and the draenei standing in the middle of the road. A riding wolf and a horse stood close by behind them. The draenei was scratched and covered in dust.
The undead grinned, revealing only half a mouthful of teeth. "Oh, how interesting… one little Alliance bitch and four Horde. How do you like those odds?" The trolls laughed. One of them twirled a dagger with a casual grace that made Hyara wish she had her bow in hand.
"You goin' kill her, or we get to, orc?" said the troll with the staff.
Hyara wiped a hand across her face and muttered the first thing that occurred to her. "Tell them I'm your slave."
Galmak cleared his throat and glanced from Hyara to the men in front of them and back to her. Finally he said, "You kill her and you'll all be paying me a shitload of gold. Do you know how much a slave like this is worth?"
The riders exchanged looks. "Mo' gold den you look like you got, mon." They laughed. "Thought you orcs didn' take too kindly ta slavin' anymo', mon. Da Warchief don' like it."
Galmak crossed his arms. "I take opportunities when I see them. Maybe Thrall never had an opportunity like this one."
The troll cackled. "Dat be da truth, mon. I believe I neva did see an opportunity quite as good as dat one."
Galmak continued to stare at the three riders. "Load your bags back up, we're going on tonight," he said to Hyara. Meekly she knelt and began to gather her things.
"Alright," the undead said genially enough. "If you think you have her under control…" They laughed again. Galmak forced himself to smile and salute as the group trotted on their way to Thrallmar. When the three had disappeared into the darkness Galmak walked over to his riding wolf and leaned heavily against the animal. Hyara rushed to his side in concern.
"Galmak, what's wrong? It was close, but not that close… we did alright."
He looked sick and turned to spit in the dust. "I told them you're my slave, that's what's wrong."
"It was only to save my life," she said softly. She ran her fingers through his dark hair and kissed him.
They mounted up and continued west, hoping to find a suitable campsite soon but not wanting to stop too close to their encounter on the road in case the trio decided to come back and make further trouble. They rode side by side, Hyara's hand in Galmak's. Hyara remembered with a smile the times when Galmak's wolf was their only mount. How fun, how cozy it had been to snuggle her back against him as they rode, to feel his chin rest on her shoulder and his warm breath on her neck as they talked. It had lasted for a shorter time than they both had wished; but it just wasn't practical or safe for her to ride with him all the time.
"Love," she said softly, and he squeezed her hand. "This week has been hard, being away from you, not knowing if you were safe." He grunted agreement. She forged ahead even though she knew he wouldn't like what she had to say. "That thing about me being your slave… I think that might be the answer to how we can stick together most of the time."
"Gods, Hyara, are you out of your mind?" he exclaimed. "That was… disgusting. I can't do it again. I won't do it again!"
"Then it'll be just like this week the whole time we're in Outland. Unless we go to this Shattrath City I keep hearing about and stay there. We'll each go our separate ways and not know a thing till a week, or two, or however long. Or maybe one day one of us won't show up at all. Maybe that'll be the end. Galmak, I would haunt that road for the rest of my life and beyond. I'd tell myself from here to forever that you would still show up some day."
He squeezed her hand again and wished he could put his arms around her and dry the tears he heard in her voice. What she was proposing revolted him; the idea of claiming that his wife was his property made him feel sick. But she was right. Apart from her even half the time was not a way he wanted to live. And not knowing if she was safe or even alive when they were apart took his thoughts back to much darker days.
"It's not as if we'd even have to act that way very much," she continued. "Times like back there on the road, when we need to stop somewhere for supplies or rest, when we just feel like sleeping in a safe place for a night… it wouldn't be often."
"And when we run into Alliance? If those three had been Alliance instead of Horde? Am I your slave then?"
She bit her lip and shook her head. Why was he forcing her to say it? "I… you know that won't work," she said softly.
He suddenly felt terribly angry. He dropped her hand and barked a sharp command to his wolf, urging it to a run. He wasn't really angry at her; that wasn't fair. But why did she have to be so damned right? Draenei didn't take slaves, they never had. But orcs did on occasion; they who had known slavery themselves. Thrall had tried to stop it, but it still happened and was still accepted.
Hyara laid her head against her horse's mane and closed her eyes. In their years together she'd seen Galmak angry only a few times. He was the most patient man she'd ever known. She hated herself for cutting so close to a nerve he tried to ignore, to keep buried and inaccessible. Why did such a good man harbor so much guilt over things utterly beyond his control?
Ahead and far to her right soft lights spilled across the ground from a tiered settlement on the side of a hill. It was the Temple of Telhamat, its familiar, softly-curved draenei architecture and glowing blue crystal walls enclosing a holy site that still survived here.
"Galmak?" she called softly into the darkness. He couldn't have gone far; he wouldn't leave her for long.
He's here, Gink said from some way ahead. Her cat was sprinting back now to prowl protectively around his mistress.
Galmak sat on the roadside, leaning back against his wolf's soft fur with his hands folded on his chest. He looked so still he might be sleeping, but his eyes were fixed on the sky. Its ribbons of light pulsed more brilliantly now, weaving in slow undulations between the stars. Hyara slipped off the horse and lay next to her husband. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.
After several silent moments he spoke. "I came here hoping I'd find some remnant of what my people once were before we slid into hell. But all I've seen so far is a hell we created and dragged others into. I'm sorry, Hyara. And you're right. My pride doesn't matter, I'd rather be with you. If you can endure it, so can I; we should go with your plan. But only when there's no other choice."
She rested her palm against his cheek and turned his face to hers. "I can take others' contempt knowing you love me. It's not our fault the world makes us hide a beautiful truth behind a vile pretense because that's what it would rather see."
He took her in his arms and pulled her up to sit on his lap. His body was reminding him now that it had been a week since he'd seen her. Gods, he loved this woman.
They made a hasty little camp some way off the road behind a few tumbled boulders and then he made love to her, fiercely but tenderly, under the rippling, luminescent sky. The rest of Outland awaited, and they would see it together.
The cross into Zangarmarsh the next day came suddenly, a surprise that brought them up short as they climbed a final hill and looked down. The air blew cooler and wetter across their faces, carrying an earthy, dank fragrance that, while not unpleasant, seemed wholly alien after the scorched wind of the Peninsula. Hyara gazed up at the towering mushrooms and a delighted smile spread across her face.
"I remember!" She was practically bouncing up and down in her saddle. "Galmak, I remember this place, it's familiar! Oh gods, I thought it was a dream, something I'd made up as a little girl… the place with the giant mushrooms and the little city on top!" She leaned precariously over to Galmak and hugged him in excitement.
Galmak shook his head in wonderment; these little revelations still had the power to amaze him. He'd known since their first days together that Hyara was older than he, at least in terms of actual years though not in terms of experience in the world. When she talked like this it reminded him of that gap and made him feel oddly proud of her remarkable differences with himself and the world he'd always known. He tried not to let himself dwell on what those differences meant for the future. She with her draenei's lifespan had so many years ahead of her that she would still be a young woman on the day when he finally would have to leave her forever. He pushed back thoughts of his own mortality and smiled and kissed her. "A city on top of these mushrooms? Are you sure you didn't make up that part?" he teased.
She stuck out her tongue. "We'll just have to find it. If it's still here, that is," she said with a sigh.
Galmak pulled out the tattered map he'd picked up in Thrallmar. "There are several settlements, looks like. Any of these sound familiar? Cenarion Refuge… it wouldn't have been called that. Swamprat Post, Telredor, Zabra'jin… that's a troll name, it wouldn't have been called that either."
She shrugged, skimming over the other names on the map. "I just don't remember. I didn't even know this place was real until now. My family barely spoke of the years before Azeroth. I suppose I should have asked more questions, but it made my mother so upset… I learned not to talk about it."
"We'll ask around about it, Cenarion Refuge should be very close."
They prodded their mounts forward. The road dipped and wound among the thick, moss-stained boles of smaller outlying mushrooms. Here the dirt path was softer in the humidity, the ground to either side becoming more bog-like as they descended. The sounds of the marsh began to close in around them too. Insects hummed, flitting like darts through the heavy warm air. Unseen frogs chirped and croaked from the murky channels, revealing themselves in sudden, explosive splashes of glinting light and water when they leapt. A faint mist fell constantly from the underside of the mushroom canopy where the marsh's water condensed in glistening droplets. The mushrooms themselves grew everywhere, colossal marsh-guardians with spotted, wizened trunks in a hundred subtle shades. The fluted caps of some of the tallest were lost in mist. Hyara and Galmak rounded a bend and they were suddenly upon Cenarion Refuge. A pair of tauren wardens nodded to them as they passed into the settlement, polite and grave as only the Cenarion druids could be.
They went straight to the inn to secure a room for the night, and then Hyara dashed off to the bath-house. Galmak wanted to clean up too after the grime and heat of Hellfire Peninsula, but first there was something he wanted to ask the innkeeper.
"I've heard there's a town somewhere here on top of a mushroom," he said.
"You probably mean Telredor," the night elf answered. "It's a draenei town, a holy site of sorts. It's Alliance. The troll town Zabra'jin is built up around the mushroom trunks some, I've heard, but Telredor is right on top of one of the highest mushroom caps."
Galmak nodded his thanks and left the inn. She'd have to see it on her own then. He wished he could share her excitement as she returned to a place that had sparked such magical childhood memories, so odd she hadn't been sure if they were real or fantasy.
After her bath Hyara walked slowly back to the inn to wait for Galmak. Her hair was stubbornly refusing to dry in the humidity, but at least she didn't smell like a helboar anymore. She was concentrating on untangling a strand of hair as she walked in and ran head-on into a very large and solid shape coming out.
"Oh! I'm sorry, I should watch where I'm going. Are you alright, miss?" The plate-clad stranger steadied her with a hand.
"I'm fine, I was the one not watching," Hyara answered, looking up to meet the eyes of a dark blue-haired draenei. She stiffened in surprise and felt her stomach sink. Maybe he wouldn't recognize her…
No such luck. "Wait… you look familiar… Winterspring!" He snapped his fingers. "It's… Hyara, right?" He smiled and held out his hand.
She smiled back in resignation. "And you're Dalthus." Oh, wonderful, the vindicator they'd run into a few years back. The one who'd seen her with Galmak and had been dying to start something with the orc. Hyara snuck a look behind her to make sure Galmak wasn't in sight, then continued into the inn. Dalthus followed her. When they were inside she stopped and turned so she was facing the door.
"It's a pleasure running into you again. I was always curious how you did in Winterspring; I have to admit I felt guilty leaving you there to fend for yourself," the paladin was saying.
Hyara smiled smoothly. "If you recall, I did tell you I'd be fine there. You had other plans."
He chuckled. "Yes, very independent. I trust you did have a safe time in Winterspring?"
Hyara's smile froze. "It was so long ago I hardly remember. But here I am."
Galmak walked in the door whistling. Hyara dropped a ring she'd been fiddling with and bent hastily to pick it up. Galmak noticed her now behind the huge paladin, and she caught his eye and made a face. "Go," she mouthed, motioning slightly toward Dalthus. The orc raised a questioning eyebrow but turned on his heel and started to walk back out of the inn. Unfortunately Dalthus decided to turn also. He saw Galmak and sniffed disdainfully at the orc's retreating back.
"I never stay here, I always stay in the inn at Telredor. If you're staying here I hope you'll reconsider, Hyara." He lowered his voice. "It might not be entirely safe."
She raised an eyebrow. "I am staying here. It seems perfectly safe to me. But how far is Telredor? Shouldn't you be traveling there? I don't want to keep you." She'd given Dalthus the benefit of the doubt years ago but she wasn't prepared to be so generous now. What a pompous git. He couldn't be more different from her vindicator brother; it was amazing they were in the same order. Hyara glanced again at the door and almost stamped her hoof in frustration as Galmak sidled back in. What in all hells was he doing? Dalthus had recognized her; he might recognize a familiar orc too, despite his prejudices. The two of them had spent several minutes in a hostile staring contest, after all. Galmak yawned deliberately and sat in a chair against the wall, behind Dalthus's back. He grinned at Hyara and made an elaborate rude gesture at the male draenei. Hyara wanted to throttle her husband for not taking the situation seriously, but at the same time she could barely contain her laughter and really wasn't paying any attention to what Dalthus was saying now. She struggled to keep her face polite and attentive, but the paladin must at last have seen something in her eyes because he finally turned. Galmak sat innocently in the chair. Dalthus glanced back to Hyara and his face darkened in anger.
"He was looking at you, wasn't he. That filthy…" The paladin strode over to Galmak, who jumped to his feet and shoved the chair out of the way. They stood for a few beats glaring at each other, Dalthus looking down contemptuously at the shorter orc. Hyara tugged at the paladin's arm.
"Dalthus," she said. "It's alright, please, don't start trouble here, the druids won't stand for it. They'll throw us all out." She shook her head minutely at Galmak and willed him to calm down and not provoke the draenei further.
"I would gladly tolerate being thrown out of here if it meant defending your honor, but I wouldn't want to bring that inconvenience on you also." Now he addressed Galmak in halting orcish. "Keep your filthy eyes off her, beast. You should know when your attention isn't appreciated."
"That's a lesson you could learn too," Galmak snarled.
"Alright, that's enough." Hyara wedged her hands between the two men and pushed them apart just as a Cenarion warden strolled in the door to take a look around. The three reflexively put up a casual façade as the warden glanced at them, then left again. "No one look funny at anyone else and everybody just mind their own business," she said helplessly.
But Dalthus was still looking funny at Galmak, and now for a different reason. "Wait… speaking of Winterspring, isn't this the same orc who was there too? Now that is an odd and unfortunate coincidence." A look of horror crossed his face. "Hyara, he hasn't been following you around, has he? Have you seen him other places too?"
"Umm… I don't… Seen him other places? I don't usually pay much attention to the Horde." She laughed nervously. "I don't recall that he's ever bothered me before."
Galmak wished for the millionth time that Hyara had decided to teach him draenei instead of the more practical Common. The tone the conversation was taking made it sound like this whole thing might be about to blow sky-high.
Dalthus crossed his arms and drummed his fingers against his plate armor. "I think the wardens should be told that they are harboring a potentially dangerous and particularly cowardly stalker. I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you because I had been negligent in my duty, Hyara."
By all the naaru, this was not going well. "No, no, he's never done a thing, he never bothers me," she said desperately. "That is, uh… I've never even noticed him before so there's no way he could have bothered me…"
Dalthus looked at her sympathetically as if she were a child who simply couldn't understand what the adults were talking about. "Hyara my dear, this orc may not yet have summoned whatever shred of courage he might possess to actually harm you yet, but there are certain ways a man can look at a woman, and I cannot rest easy knowing that he may be getting away with following you around." He strode toward the door. Galmak was confused about the details of what was happening, but it was clear that Dalthus was off to cause trouble.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Hyara screeched, her tail swaying in agitation. Dalthus turned with a resigned air, as if expecting to have to explain himself further. "Alright… there's something you don't understand," she said breathlessly. She beckoned him back. She hated to lie, especially about this, but… "Dalthus, I'm sort of traveling with him." The draenei opened his mouth to speak, but Hyara motioned for silence and he let her continue. "You remember he was acting as my guide in Winterspring? Well, um, I made him promise, swear his strongest oath, that he wouldn't hurt me and he wouldn't let me get hurt during that time. So everything was alright for a while, but then… uh, we ran into some trouble. There were lots of furbolgs. They hurt me, they almost killed me and maybe they would have eaten me." Eaten me? She mentally smacked herself. But Dalthus was shaking his head disapprovingly at Galmak.
"He failed in his oath, I see," the paladin said.
"Exactly. We got away, but he hadn't upheld the bargain. Orcs take those sorts of things very seriously, you know." Dalthus nodded sagely and Hyara continued. "So… he swore another oath that he would stand by me from then on out and keep me safe." At least that was true. "And ever since then he hasn't been far away and he looks out for me."
"He's never acted inappropriately toward you? Never outside his station or otherwise above his position?"
"Nothing inappropriate whatsoever. He performs his duties exceptionally well and to my greatest satisfaction." Also true. She almost lost it there and bit her lip hard to keep a straight face.
Dalthus narrowed his eyes and now addressed Galmak. "Well, orc, it appears you have honorable motivations after all. You failed dear Hyara miserably when you nearly let those furbolgs eat her, but I do admire your determination to fulfill your oath and right the wrongs you did her."
As the paladin turned back to Hyara, Galmak gave her the craziest look she'd ever seen. Let furbolgs eat you? he mouthed.
"Knowing that you're safe, I can continue in good conscience to Telredor. I imagine that if he's been satisfactory for two years he will continue to please you." Hyara had to wonder if he was actually hearing himself. He took her hand and kissed it. "I hope very much that we meet again, Hyara."
As Dalthus disappeared out of the inn Hyara sunk with relief into a chair. Galmak sat next to her.
"Alright," she finally said, rubbing her knuckles against the faint ridges on her forehead. "I guess you have to know what I told him."
"I sure guess I do, I want to hear about these depraved, voracious furbolgs."
He laughed when she'd finished filling him in. "Looks like between the two of us we have some pretty pathetic stories to tell the world. You're a slave and I'm an oath-breaking stalker."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what else to do… I didn't want to lie to him, but he was running off to get the wardens and have you thrown out. It would have caused such a commotion even if they didn't believe him."
"I know, love, you did fine. It's amazing that he swallowed that story whole though. You know what else is amazing? That he's in the same line of work as Gheris."
Hyara burst into laughter and leaned over to give him a quick kiss. "Let's go have a look around the Refuge."
