Talfuric sat silently in a group of trees, watching the inn. The moon was high in the sky thankfully, so he had a good view of everything around the town.

Though wearing his heavy plate armor, he was still able to move silently through the grass, watching the dark buildings silhouetted against the sky.

He moved South of Goldshire, going down a ridge that blocked the town momentarily from his view. Walking across a short valley, he climbed a small hill that overlooked a mine.

Going behind a tree, he watched the streets in silence.

If anyone had looked at the dark shadows the tree he was hiding under cast, they would have seen nothing unless they had expected to see something.

His eyes shot over towards the black smith, were he had seen a brief movement. Upon further observation, he discovered it was only a wolf that was prowling around near the pond behind the small building.

No one else was out watching for anything tonight. Apparently, on the fifth day, 3 guards had stayed outside to watch for trouble. They had disappeared and never found again. When that happened again the next night, people made sure they were well inside by nightfall.

The night moved on uneventfully, until it was about 1 in the morning. At that time, his keen Elven ears picked up something that humans couldn't. Faint hoof beats and the soft turning of wheels.

Eyes darting everywhere, he almost missed the cart coming up behind the inn. It wasn't a very long cart, only about 7 feet long with a canvas covering. Two figures sat on it, driving a black horse with padded hooves. They were hooded and cloaked in dark clothing.

One of them had long ears that poked through holes cut in his hood. That meant, thought Talfuric, that he was a Night Elf, a Blood Elf, or a High Elf. Whatever kind of elf it was, it pulled out two daggers from his belt and plunged them into the back of the inn.

Pulling himself up, he pulled out a dagger and put it in further up. He repeated the process until he was level with a window. Charlie's window, he realized. He pulled out something from his belt and did something to the hinges. He fumbled with the lock for a minute, and then it swung open on hinges that he had apparently just oiled.

He disappeared for a minute inside, and Talfuric pulled the bow off of his shoulders. He wasn't quite as adept at it as he was with his sword, but he was confident he could shoot the elf down from here. If he showed any sign of hurting Charlie, that is.

A moment later, the elf emerged with an unconscious Charlie on his back. As he climbed out, his hood slipped and the moonlight revealed his face.

He was a Night Elf that was sure, with an angled face and green eyes. He looked familiar, but Talfuric could not put his finger on who it was.

He climbed down again and they pulled the canvas cover off of the wagon. They put Charlie in and gut back onto the cart.

Silently, they moved away from the building. Talfuric, making sure to stay in the shadows, followed along even more quietly than they were.

They went over uneven terrain that Talfuric had trouble navigating. Twice, he lost the cart entirely, and had to trust his ears to pick up the faint noise they made. He had the strange feeling that someone was watching him, but he couldn't see anyone nearby.

They went south for about 15 minutes before they reached the river that divided Elwyn Forest from Duskwood. They paused by the river and the one that wasn't a night elf fumbled for something in his robe.

A second later he pulled out a small, round object that sat in his palm. He heard him speak, but couldn't make out the words. A second later, the river split and revealed a passageway through the water to a cave in the river side.

They walked into it, and Talfuric sprinted to make sure the river didn't close without him inside. His worry was needless, however, and it staid open long after he had gone through.

He looked into the cave and saw pure darkness that not even his eyes could penetrate. Taking a deep breath, he walked into the abyss.

He walked for only 10 minutes, but that felt like an eternity. Soon, light came into view and he saw flaming torches bolted to the wall. There, the road split into two. He took the right one.

After wandering for a few minutes, he came onto a wide balcony that overlooked a large, stone hall. "How could someone have built this without being noticed?" he asked no one in particular.

A flicker of movement caught his eye, and he looked across the hall into a doorway that led to another hallway. He was petrified as he watched a tall, black dragon make its way across the doorway.

On it's back sat a tall rider, clothed in plate armor as black as his steed. On his head sat a helm with two black steel wings protruding from it. The helmet obscured his face. His armor was midnight black and jagged in an artful kind of way.

He wore a cloak, also black, and on his hip sat an amazing sword. Its pommel was a ruby and it had a black leather grip that lead to a cross guard that looked like two dragon wings. In its center sat another ruby that glowed slightly.

The blade was steel with black runes running along its length. The most astonishing thing though, was the red flames that ran along the blade.

Dragons! He thought to himself. That's whose behind these kidnappings! Now even more fearful for Charlie's life, he left the balcony running.

He sprinted through winding and crossing tunnels until he came to another large hall, more giant than even the last one. It was lit up by a brilliant fire in the center, and about 50 hooded men stood around it. He saw the cart that had carried away Charlie pushed to a side, and Charlie himself was lying on a stone table by the fire.

One of the men, wearing a helmet with curved horns rising from it, stood on a raised platform and spread his arms wide, addressing the others.

"Tonight!" he shouted, "The last of the sacrifices will be made! Tonight, the demon lord Sargeras shall return to Azeroth to destroy all! Tonight, we shall be made immortal by the Great One!" The others cheered and shook black swords in the air.

"We shall be granted the honor and respect that we have earned," he continued, "and we shall destroy the Alliance, Horde, Scourge, and anyone else who would dare appose us!"

This was met by more cheering, and Talfuric decided it was time to do something. Reaching inside a pouch on his belt, he withdrew a small golden mirror. Speaking an incantation he had learned long ago, the mirror began to glow and make a faint humming noise.

Soon, a face not his own appeared in the mirror. "What is it?" said Rhonin, archmage of Dalaran. "What have you found?" he asked again. "I'm in a cavern beneath Duskwood! Charlie and I have followed the kidnappers here, and they're not slave traders!" Talfuric said, trying to hurry.

"Explain what's happened," said Rhonin, worried. Talfuric explained how he had gotten here, the black dragon he had seen, and the horrible plot the cultists had. As his tale progressed, Rhonin got paler and paler.

"Help is on the way. I'll send as many soldiers I can," He said. Talfuric frowned. How would they possibly get here in time to help? He opened his mouth to ask Rhonin, but then he disappeared.

Talfuric sighed and sank into despair. Now he and probably Charlie would die here. His self pity was interrupted by a flash of light that lit up the cavern he was in, and when it disappeared, he gaped in surprise.

In the cavern with him were over 200 spell casters of different kinds from all of the races, even the Horde. He smiled and laughed out loud. Now, they could win easily.

"When do we attack?" he asked the most finely dressed of them, who he guessed was their leader. "We won't," he said, "They could use Charlie as a hostage too easily. We have a different plan."

"Well, what is it then?" Talfuric asked him. The man smiled. "We plan to collapse the cavern."