The human paladin had struck Spencer so hard that he couldn't move. The shock of the blow overwhelmed him entirely, making him crumple to his hands and knees in blistering agony. His grey skin was searing with holy magic. It didn't feel nearly as blissful as when the same sort of magic was used to heal him. A nearby night elf released his pet, and the giant tiger was all too eager to gnaw on Spencer's exposed bones. The beast lumbered up, and with a throaty roar, it latched its claws into the rogue's back and pulled.

Spencer was being dragged through the sticks and frozen mud now, with barely a hope of gaining an advantage. The big cat's talons were slipping downwards, ripping through tendon and jerky-like latissimus muscles as it pulled. At its master's command, it released Spencer, but stood apathetically on his neck to keep him immobile. His open wounds leaked out black onto the stark white snow

"Look what I found," a female human rogue crooned. She yanked Constantina by the arm behind her as she entered the clearing. A shuddering exhale escaped Spencer upon seeing she'd been captured.

"Should we kill them, or take them prisoner?" a dwarf asked as he leveled his muzzleloader at Constantina.

"It's more honorable to just kill them now," a gnome mage piped up. "I can do it real quick, if you like. Both at the same time."

"Why should you have all the fun?" the night elf hunter retorted. He pointed to his tiger. "Shaggy will want leftovers, I'm sure. He really loves bone marrow…and by the looks of this one," he aimed his long manicured finger at Spencer, "he's been marinating for quite some time."

The paladin wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Rotting, you mean."

Spencer found himself becoming drowsy. Whether it was from the alcohol, being severely beaten, or loss of his deadened blood, he was unsure. Maybe if he closed his eyes, only for just for a second…

"Spencer, don't you dare!" Constantina lunged towards him, but the rogue woman had a firm grip, not to mention an enormous knife in her back. "Keep your damn eyes open!" she pleaded.

"Oh, that's adorable," the mage said. "She wants him to live. They came to the wrong place for that sort of unreasonable expectation."

"Tell you what," the paladin strode over to Spencer, shooed the cat away, and hauled him to his feet by his coat collar. "Let's be sportsmanlike about this, shall we?" He made a mocking attempt at brushing the mud and snow off his torn opponent. "Man to—" he grimaced "man, hand to hand, one on one. That'll be fairer, right?"

Spencer looked at Constantina. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. He stood as straight as he could muster with his gaping back, his trademark leather coat now in ribbons. "I'm sorry for what I said." He unhitched his belt buckle, letting his weapons fall into the snow.

"Pick your adversary," the paladin commanded. "Let's get this over with quick. We have a valley to capture."

Spencer raised a shaking hand and pointed at the rogue restraining Constantina. "I win…she goes free."

The rogue woman cackled. "But you're not going to win…so you both get to die." She shoved Constantina into the grasp of the hunter and threw her knife point-first into the snow. "I don't really give a piss about being fair," she said as she doffed her cutlery as well, "but I'll match you on equal terms in the spirit of fun and 'sportsmanship'." She jeered at her paladin comrade.

"That's not all," Spencer shook with pain. "When I win…I'm going to eat you." He looked around at their captors encircling them. "All of you." There was an eruption of dubious giggles and exclamations of "ew."

"I think he's lost too much of that shite that's supposed to be blood," the rogue woman snarled. "Sweetheart, you're ridiculously outnumbered. Not to mention that plenty more of us will be arriving down here soon to eliminate your bastard commander." She stretched her arms out in front of her and cracked her knuckles, warming up.

Spencer didn't wait for anyone to say "go." With all his failing strength he charged at the fellow rogue as she was prepping, and she evaded him in surprise.

"Wow," she said. "You have a lot more stamina then most live men I know." She ignored the paladin's scowl as she chambered her fist back and whipped a punch into Spencer's face. The bystanders around them chortled, save for Constantina, who was continuing to scrabble for release. The hunter had gagged her with an animal collar to prevent her from speaking any kind of spells or curses.

Spencer once again found himself on the ground. The punch had whirled him away from the other rogue and bystanders...and he was pretty certain they hadn't seen him conceal the stone in his angrily trembling hand…

"Get your filthy carcass up and fight back," the woman spat. "Ugh," she muttered as she inspected her hands. "I got his nasty blood under my fingernails…I better not get infected. Lords, look, he's getting it all over the damn place."

Spencer was growing numb now, and indeed most of the area was stained with the inky substance seeping from his wounds. It was difficult to feel the rock in his fingers, so he wrapped it up tightly in his fist, out of sight. Closing his eyes, he mustered enough impetus to stealth. The woman rogue laughed, then stealthed as well.

He didn't move. He crouched silently on his stomach, and Constantina eagerly staring at the spot where he'd disappeared. There were no disturbances in the snow, no foot prints miraculously appearing, and no sounds of fleeing. Neither rogue was moving.

"This is going to take forever," the mage yawned. "Rogue fights are dumb."

There was no response from the human female, presumably because she did not want to give up her position. The clearing was silent for several moments. Everyone looked around at each other.

"This is ridiculous," the hunter grumbled. He struck the butt-end of a flare with the hilt of his knife and tossed it to the ground. The two rogues were immediately exposed in the magnesium glow. The woman froze. Constantina gasped.

Spencer was in the same place, only now he was standing with his arm reaching back, stone in his fist. He saw the woman appear, and as hard as he possibly could, he hurled the rock at her face. It made contact with the center of her forehead. The resulting sound of the impact was sickening. The crack of stone against skull echoed off the surrounding sheer cliffs. She toppled backwards like a falling tree, collapsed into the snow, and did not move.

"No!" The paladin rushed to her side. The rest of the Alliance entourage stared in disbelief at the fallen rogue. Spencer stood his ground. Slowly, the paladin, the hunter, and the mage all turned toward him.

"She's dead," the paladin whispered in disbelief. "She's dead!" He whirled to face Spencer.

The rogue stared down the group, his stance aggressive. The hunter still had hold of the bound and gagged warlock.

"Release her," Spencer breathed.

The rest of the entourage did not answer.

"That was the deal," Spencer growled, taking a threatening step towards them. "I win, the girl goes free."

The paladin was enraged. "Are you really so ignorant as to believe we would uphold any sort of 'deal' with you?"

The resonating sound of thunder through the valley interrupted them. The giant cat heard it first, and moaned in alarm at the hunter. The deep tremor grew quickly, until the ground itself began to shake. Suddenly, an immense wave of Horde coalition crested the hill above, and washed down straight towards them into the valley like a hellacious avalanche. The small Alliance group that had been terrorizing them was lost in the roaring throng. Spencer and Constantina remained untouched as their slaughtering brethren swept through the area.

When it was all over, Spencer and Constantina were alone and panting in the clearing. The warlock raised her bound wrists to him. He sliced through them, but left her gagged. She gave him a dirty look and pulled the old leather collar out of her mouth.

"Spencer…I don't believe it."

They looked around in amazement at the fallen Alliance bodies – the hunter, the rogue, the paladin, the mage, and even the tiger.

"What do we do now?" Constantina asked quietly.

Without hesitation, Spencer replied, "I plan to do exactly as I said I would." And with that, he dropped to his knees before the bodies of his fallen enemies. He leaned over them, and greedily began to eat.

It was several hours before they made it back to the inn. Spencer had Malek meet them so they could recount their tale. Spencer had completely recovered from his wounds due to the disturbing yet wonderful phenomenon of cannibalism. However, his oilskin coat had suffered a much worse fate. Luckily, the leather workers in Orgrimmar were extremely talented, albeit extremely expensive.

The three of them ate dinner together in relative silence. Malek retired early up to his room, and Spencer escorted Constantina back to hers. He wordlessly entered the room and placed her belongings in the nearby talbuk-horn chair.

"Is there something bothering you?" Constantina inquired. "You've been awfully quiet."

Was she serious? Of course there was something wrong. She was persistently the source of his frustration and worry.

"I can't continue being responsible for you," Spencer told her. She sat before him on the bed, staring at her hands in her lap.

"Then don't be," she muttered. "I never asked you to be."

"You're making it extremely difficult. Is it really coincidence that we were in Alterac together? If you hadn't been there, none of this would have happened. Why can't you just stay out of trouble?"

Constantina snapped her head up and glared at him. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak to me as if I were a child. What were you doing in Alterac, if not to seek out trouble?"

Spencer didn't answer.

"What other reason could you possibly have, other than looking for trouble? You're a goddamn hypocrite, Spencer. You always are, and it makes me sick. You're not my father."

"Get out."

"You're in my room, idiot. You get out."

This would be the second time that Spencer stormed out on her, and that was unacceptable. He didn't want to create the false impression that he was constantly afraid of confronting her. That just wouldn't do.

"No."

Constantina snorted out a laugh. "Excuse me?"

He pursed his lips. This was on the verge of becoming awkward.

"Spencer, we're done here."

"Well, apparently you feel I have a poor perception of you. Why don't we clear up any misunderstandings and confusion?"

"We are not having this conversation…again." Constantina waved her hand at him dismissively and moved to the window on the opposite side of the room. "How many quests do I have to go on with you and your ridiculous friends to prove that I can hold my own?"

"These excursions you keep referring to were ages ago. They were child's play. Killing twenty spiders for a recipe is not a credible display of skill and reliability."

"You are just a real piece of work, Spencer." Constantina shook her head at him, aghast. "You know what? I was going to thank you. Thank you for saving my life and actually exhibiting some semblance of concern. But forget it. Just forget it."

Someone pounded on the heavy wooden door; the pair stiffened in alarm. Spencer drew a sword and checked the peephole. He sighed and re-sheathed the weapon before letting Malek in.

"For gods' sake, I can hear you from down the hall," the orc hissed.

Spencer and Constantina shot each other a look.

"I'd tell you two to get a room, but…" Malek trailed off and gestured to the obvious surroundings. "What the hell are you doing?"

Secretly, Spencer was relieved that Malek had interrupted. He was growing weary of these altercations with Constantina.

"Spencer was just detailing the finer points of his stupidity," she spat.

"…And Constantina was detailing the finer points of her inadequacies," the rogue replied calmly. This was starting to get childish now.

Malek looked at them both and erupted into laughter. "Alright, break it up. It's time for bed," he chortled, trying his best to use his 'daddy' voice.