Jacob's sleep that night was awash with dark and disturbing dreams that left him weary as morning broke and he and the others awakened to the new day. He tried his best to ignore the gloomy imagery as much as possible as they all went about their morning activities, but after breakfast, while loading up their mounts, the tauren spoke up. "You seem disturbed, Jake," she said as he was tying a bag to the kodo's harness. "Are you alright?"

He stopped what he was doing for a moment, blushing slightly at the question. "I'm fine, Toho," Jacob replied, glancing over to the tauren. "I just didn't sleep well last night." He managed to smile briefly then. "But thank you for asking."

Tohopekaliga nodded to him, but the worry in her eyes told of how she didn't fully believe him. "Of course," she said, and then smirked slightly herself. "I wouldn't want you to have an issue crop up now, when we're close to getting you to safety."

"Heh," Jacob chuckled briefly. "Well, we'll just have to be careful then."

"Indeed."

The ride was faster than their earlier travels, seeing as Tohopekaliga had decided to leave most of her baggage behind at Gratan's hut, considering the overnight campout in the wilderness she'd need to make before returning to be an acceptable, if brief, inconvenience without her sundries. Unhindered by the extra weight the two travelers pushed their respective animals to higher speeds. Jacob in particular was surprised at how fast the kodo he rode could go when it felt like it. Not quite as fast as Toho's raptor could go, I'm sure, he thought as the tauren led them into a narrow pass between two good-sized hills. But this lizard can easily keep up with most horses from back home, I'd wager.

The warrior's thoughts drifted off then as Toho held up her arm ahead to signal to slow down. Jacob managed to bring the ungainly kodo to a more sedate speed, which it almost seemed to resent. He didn't have time to dwell on that, however, as the tauren huntress slowed her raptor enough to pull alongside his mount before matching speed. "After the bend ahead, we stop and dismount," she said without preamble. "Northwatch is a ways beyond this pass, but you can see it from the far end. You should be there by dark."

Jacob nodded his understanding, not quite trusting himself to be able to talk while the kodo still bounded; it's unusual gait was far more pronounced at speed than the leisurely travel of the past week. Thus, he was glad to bring the creature to a stop alongside Toho's mount following the bend in the pass. The pair dismounted easily, and while Toho took the opportunity to tie both beasts of burden up to a large rock formation, Jacob took a long look around the pass, but saw nothing more than the same rocks and dirt and scrub and occasional tree that gave the Barrens its name. Down the pass, he could see the ground dropped away, and beyond that, his eyes alighted upon a blue haze darker than the sky, and his heart beat faster for a moment as he recognized the ocean.

"Okay, done," Tohopekaliga said, starting the human slightly before he turned around to face the tauren. "I see you've sighted the Great Sea," she said, smiling faintly, though her eyes remained hidden behind her goggles. "Northwatch is next to it, lower than the pass. It should be an easy time for you to walk down," Toho continued as she retrieved her weapons and a few items for her belt from a saddlebag.

"Sounds good," Jacob replied, moving to gather up the sword and shield Toho had found for him. Although he hadn't used them, and doubted he would so close to a human settlement, he nevertheless felt better traversing the wilderness with them. Especially after what happened to get me in this position, he thought darkly as he grabbed his backpack and flung it over a shoulder, letting the bag bounce on the shield strapped to his back. "So what will you be doing, then?" He asked as they set out walking towards the end of the pass. "I thought you were just going to let me loose and go on your way?"

Tohopekaliga shook her head. "As I said before, I did not save you to let you perish later. While Northwatch is pretty secure, pirates and occasionally mercenaries from Ratchet make attacks against it to keep the Alliance guards from ranging too far afield. If you are caught in one of those fights, I want to make sure you have a little help," she said, and then patted the long rifle she held in one large hand with the other.

Jacob raised an eyebrow at that. "I wouldn't think a gun, even a rifle, could be too accurate at a great distance. Unless the hold is only a few hundred yards away?"

"Further than that," Toho replied. "And while you would be surprised at the range and accuracy a good firearm can bring, I admit I cannot quite pick off individuals all the way from the pass to the walls of the hold." She shrugged, tossing her head a bit to shake one of her hair tails off of her shoulder pads. "But if there is such a fight, the hold guards will be too busy fighting it to notice a single tauren closing in just enough to pick off bandits."

"I see," Jacob said, nodding. Then he frowned as something she said clicked in his head. "Why would mercenaries from Ratchet attack the hold, though?"

Surprisingly, Toho sighed in frustration. "The cannoneers and commanders of Northwatch have started to get… paranoid," she said. "They've started firing at innocent merchant ships heading for Ratchet, even ones flying under a neutral flag. Understandably, the people in Ratchet don't like their business being bothered, so they send out parties every once in a while to try and get the Alliance to stop shooting things that aren't attacking them, usually by sabotage or raids. Unfortunately, though, this makes the guards more nervous, and thus they fire on anything threatening."

Jacob groaned slightly at that, and rubbed his forehead with his free hand. "Why is it whenever the world starts to make sense, it goes and gives me something that makes me question my sanity?"

Toho chuckled heartily at that as the pair approached the end of the pass. "If you ever find an answer to that, let me know, for I've asked that question myself more than once."

Jacob didn't answer that, as they had finally moved out from behind the hill to his right, and he stopped to take in the scene before him. Ahead, the land sloped down at a moderate angle until a good two miles out it flattened just before reaching the sea, forming a fairly narrow but not insubstantial beaches and rocky coastlines. Trees, specifically palms, were more common there, providing a nice green contrast to the ordinarily drab colors of the Barrens. So, too, did Northwatch Hold, sitting off towards the right, situated between the ocean, the coastal flats, and a ridgeline behind it that looked too steep to climb, providing a secure defensive position that Jacob immediately recognized.

"Wow," Jacob muttered. "What a view."

"It's nice, isn't it?" Toho asked, stepping beside the human. "Sometimes we forget to look at the world, and instead look through it to our problems. But every once in a while, you get a moment like this, where you can just stop and see." She paused then and sighed. "It is those moments I cherish, and why I love to travel."

"Aye," Jacob said, unable to think of anything more poignant to say. After a few moments, though, he managed to gather his wits, and he took in a deep breath before turning to face the tauren. "Well, I suppose this is where we say goodbye."

"Indeed," Toho replied, facing the human and nodding. "It has been a pleasure meeting you, Jacob," she said.

"Likewise, Tohopekaliga," Jacob said, smiling as Toho nodded at the proper pronunciation of her name. He then held out a hand, and after a moment, she reached out and took it. "Thank you for your help, and of course, for saving my life. I won't forget it, and I don't think I'll forget you, either."

Toho smiled at that, and Jacob could have sworn she blushed a little. "I appreciate that. Take care, and think on what I told you about us in the Horde."

"I shall," Jacob replied, and then broke the handshake. He started to turn to head towards the distant hold, but a familiar noise made him freeze. Tohopekaliga heard it as well, and they both looked back along the pass they had traveled down. There they saw a band of Alliance soldiers racing towards them on horseback from the same direction they had come.

Tohopekaliga muttered something in her native tongue, which even through the language barrier Jacob understood it as a foul curse. She then started to unlimber her rifle, and glanced to the human. "You should run; they might be too concerned with me to chase you down."

"Wait, what?" Jacob asked, stunned. "I'm human."

"Yes but they've seen you standing and shaking hands with a tauren, do you think they believe you to be a lost traveler or a double-agent now?" She asked acidly, raising the ranged weapon up to her shoulder and took aim.

Jacob reached up and grabbed the barrel, yanking the weapon down. Toho turned to him and, despite the goggles, gave him a glare capable of melting ice. "What are you doing?" She demanded.

"I'm not going to let you kill Alliance, any more than you would stand still and let me slay Horde," Jacob retorted, his expression firm. "Especially after you lectured me the other day about trying not to resort to old habits. You want me to believe the Horde is different now, then act like it."

Toho clenched her jaw at that, and her whole face tightened in anger and frustration. Nevertheless, she slowly brought down her long rifle and relaxed from a combat stance. "Then what would you have me do?" She gratingly asked as the patrol rode near and began to spread out, clearly intending to surround the pair of travelers.

"You've helped me, now let me try to help you," Jacob replied, warily watching as the Alliance troops slowed in their approach. "It's time for you to trust me now, okay?" He asked with a glance at the tauren.

Toho frowned, but said nothing as the dozen soldiers on horseback surrounded them. Half of them then promptly climbed down and drew swords and shields. Despite his self-confidence in dealing with his own, Jacob felt a small pang of nervous fear at seeing so many weapons aimed against him, but he forced the feeling down and took two steps towards the still-mounted lieutenant leading the patrol; recognizable due to epaulets on his tabard. "A bit far from Theramore, aren't you gentlemen?" Jacob tried asking in a friendly, jocular tone.

"Shut your yap," the lieutenant snapped, an audible sneer in his voice. "I'll be doing the questioning here. Just who are you and what are you doing with that thing?" He asked, gesturing towards Tohopekaliga with his head.

Jacob fought to keep the annoyance and anger off of his face, and prayed that Toho could do the same. "My name is Jacob Vayo," he said, using his real name for the first time in months. "Son of baron George Vayo, fief holder of the August peninsula in Kul Tiras."

His words had the desired effect, as most of the Alliance soldiers seemed to lean back slightly, taking a more neutral attitude. The lieutenant, however, kept his face impassive and his voice arrogant, though it did lose some of its edge. "Really now?" He asked, jerking the reins of his horse to move it to the side a bit to punctuate his words. "A baron's son, wandering the Barrens, dressed in old Horde armor with one of the Orcs' pets? You expect me to believe that?"

Jacob frowned, finally losing some of his patience. "If it's the truth, then what else can you do but believe it?" He asked curtly.

"You have proof of your claim?" The lieutenant asked.

"Aye, in this pouch," he said, slowly moving his right hand over the indicated article on his belt.

The Alliance officer kept his face impassive as he finally climbed down from his mount and walked over to Jacob, who had by that time removed the pouch from his belt and offered it in an outstretched hand. The lieutenant didn't quite snatch the pouch up, but looked as thought he wanted to. Jacob ignored the other man's hostility and tried to remain calm as the officer took out the papers and studied them carefully.

Finally, after some time the lieutenant looked up and his face twisted in an expression that bespoke of distaste. "Well, these look legitimate," he managed to say in an even tone. "We'll have to take you into the hold under guard to confirm with the book of seals."

Jacob frowned a bit, but he nodded. "Very well."

The lieutenant just harrumphed before he continued. "I won't pry into what you're doing with that thing," he gestured towards Toho, "but captain Fairmount will have questions for you. And for it, too, I reckon," he added, nodding towards some of his men behind Jacob's line of sight. "Francis, Reverk, slap irons on the tauren."

"That's completely unnecessary," Jacob interjected, hoping he forestalled action by any party. "The tauren is a mercenary. I was in a bit of a tight spot and paid her to take me to the nearest Alliance base. Given what I know about her, I doubt she's any sort of threat."

"Maybe so," the lieutenant allowed. "Or, if you're lying and these are forgeries," he shook Jacob's papers lightly, "then you're probably lying about her, and therefore both of you are threats. Besides," he added, smirking. "Captain Fairmount's orders are specific: no Horde presence is to be tolerated near Northwatch Hold. So your 'friend' there is to be taken in for questioning, no matter what."

Jacob gave the lieutenant an incredulous look for a moment, and then glanced back to Toho. The tauren huntress was standing still in what seemed to the human to be a studied calm, even as several armed men approached her. One of them produced a pair of oversized metal handcuffs and waited until another soldier removed the firearm from the tauren's hands before he slapped them onto her wrists.

"You seem rather flummoxed," the lieutenant's voice seemed to sneer, and Jacob turned back to see a matching expression on the other man's face. "And somewhat concerned for a so-called mercenary."

"This is not how the Alliance is supposed to act," Jacob replied. "We're supposed to be civilized, reasonable, and fair. That doesn't include throwing people into prison just because they look different."

The lieutenant snorted. "Since when was that thing a person?" He asked rhetorically. "Seems to me the good captain is going to have a grand ol' time talking with the both of you."