The Way of the World
Susie yawned deeply as she stretched in the bed. She blearily rubbed her eyes as she looked out the window to see the bleak, gray light of early morning. She let herself fall back onto the pillow with a tired sigh and stared at the ceiling for a spell. When she determined that she wouldn't be getting back to sleep, she crept to the side of the bed and peered over to the floor where Aligria lay. She found the woman laying sound asleep beside the bed.
I guess she wasn't kidding. Susie thought to herself. The previous night, Aligria had decided to sleep on the floor, leaving the bed for Susie. Naturally, Susie had protested; but the draenei had insisted, stating that she had slept on harder surfaces than this.
Susie fell back into the bed; from the looks of things, it would be a while before the shaman awoke. She was reminded of the family vacations her parents used to take her on. Susie had always been an early riser while her parents, well, weren't. So often times she would end up stuck in a hotel room with no means of entertaining herself while she waited for her parents to wake up. There was no telling how much longer the shaman would sleep, but from the looks of things, it could be quite a while – and odds were the boys would sleep in even longer.
So that left her in a conundrum; should she wait for an undisclosed period of time with nothing to do until everyone awoke, or go out and do something while everyone slept.
Granted, going out could be dangerous, but she was already growing antsy – she needed to do something! Maybe an early morning walk, that would surely pose little danger – on the other hand, danger could lurk just about anywhere. Still, she wouldn't have to stray far from the inn – but then, who knew what kind of ruffians were around. Oh, if only everyone would just wake up already!
After a few more minutes of internal struggle, Susie finally decided that she would go nuts if she stayed in this room any longer.
Quietly, she tip-toed out of the room and down the stairs. True, this was probably a bit reckless, but she could play it safe – she would just go out and enjoy the fresh air a bit, she wouldn't stray from the inn and she'd just keep to herself. Nothing could go wrong with that, right?
She stepped out into the sunlight, breathing deeply; inhaling the scent of the morning. For the next few minutes, she merely paced back and forth across the front of the inn. Her mind wasn't really focused on anything; occasionally, she would pause to look at the town below – wondering when it's inhabitants would emerge for their daily grind, other times she would look to the sky – sparing a thought or two for what was happening back on Earth; her parents must be frantic with worry at this point. She sighed, sadly. How were they ever going to get home?
As she was pressed down with grief, her eyes happened to travel eastward – to the sea. The sun was shining brightly on the waves, creating ripples of brilliant gold. Despite her worry, Susie smiled; there was just something about seeing the sea in the morning that had such a calming effect.
She had promised herself that she would stay close to the inn, but seeing such a breathtaking sight, really made her want to get a closer look.
Rationalizing that she would be quick, she carefully made her way down the hill and followed the path that pointed toward the shore.
As she started strolling across the wharf, something caught her attention. Down at the end of the pier, a figure was seated. So, it appeared she wasn't the only early riser here, after all. Quelling her reservations, she slowly made her way closer to the unknown person.
The figure sat on the edge of the pier, feet dangling off the end with a fishing pole held in it's hand. Beside the figure, something large and white lay on the pier – an animal of some kind. Susie took a good look at the fisherman; like Aligria, this woman had blue skin and was impressively tall – that's where the similarities ended, however. This woman had neither tail nor horns, her digits consisted of two thick fingers and a thumb and her hair was a wild, teal mass arrayed in a sort of mohawk trailing down her back.
As Susie watched, the bizarre looking figure tugged on her line. She pulled the rod up with a great heave and brought a rather large fish flying through the air. As gravity began to pull the fish back down, the woman deftly caught it with her other hand.
"Wow! That was impressive!" Susie cheered, only realizing the blunder she made after the fact.
The woman stopped upon hearing Susie's call. She and her lion – Susie could see it clearly, now – turned to look at her. The woman looked at the strange girl that had suddenly appeared. Her shrewd, yellow eyes narrowed upon seeing the girl; her mouth, which had short pointed tusks sticking up out of it, bent into a suspicious frown. She turned back around without making a single comment.
Looking back, Susie probably should have left then and there. However, she was still intrigued by this wild woman. And since she had already broken the ice, so to speak, she might as well try to be friendly.
"So,... how're they biting?" she asked. There was no response. "Have... you been fishing long?" she cast her gaze toward the horizon. "looks like it's going to be a bright, sunny day. I just love this sort of weather, don't you?... It's so nice out, isn't it?... How many fish have you caught?"
"Go away." the woman finally replied with a curt, husky voice, not bothering to turn around.
Susie was taken aback. "There's no need to be rude!" she said, making a little indignant huff. "I was only trying to make polite conversation – it's not like I was verbally attacking you or anything. I was just saying that – oh. Nice kitty... nice, big kitty..." Susie stopped short as the lion stalked up to her. He opened his jaws, letting a low growl rumble through and giving Susie an unobstructed view of his very large, very sharp teeth. Susie wondered if cats were capable of giving the evil eye – 'cause this one sure looked like it was.
The woman turned to look at this spectacle, her mouth upturned in a bemused smirk. She gave a short, sharp whistle and the lion backed down, laying back down on the pier, but still keeping his eyes on Susie.
"Look, little girl." the Woman glared at Susie. "Just because Ratchet be neutral territory does not mean I has to be all friendly-like about it!" she cast her line back into the ocean. "It be best if ya be movin' on, now."
Susie gawked at the wild woman incredulously. "Well, fine then." she grumbled, making an about-face. She walked away at a steady pace, muttering under her breath as she did. "It'd just be a waste of time talking to her. Probably for the best, anyway; who knows what kind of person she is. What with that hair, she looks like some kind of troll! And those clothes – did she fish them out of a dumpster, or something? Sheesh, I bet Calvin has more manners than she do-aaAH!" she suddenly felt a hard pressure on the back of her neck which pulled her off of her feet.
She found herself looking into the furious face of the strange woman. "WHAT-DID-JOO-SAY?!" the woman's voice slithered out from between her clenched teeth.
Susie looked into the woman's angry eyes, struck with panic. "What? That crack about your clothes? I didn't mean it it, I just – "
"BeFORE that!"
"... How did you even hear all that?!"
"Nevah you mind! Answer me!"
"I just – just said your hair looked like a troll! They're, uh, these little toys we have back where I'm from. – Oh, but your hair is actually very lovely! It's daring; devil may care! Really, not like a troll at all!"
The woman pulled Susie closer as her grimace melted into a scowl. "Now, you listen good, mon. I AM a TROLL!"
Susie's face paled as the full impact of the situation settled on her. "I, I'm sorry!" she pleaded. "I didn't know!"
"Dat be no excuse!" the troll snarled, clutching her tighter. "Ya make de wrong comments to de wrong people, it gonna land'ja in hot watah!"
"You're right, you're absolutely right!" Susie nodded fervently. "So... why don't you just put me down, and we can get out of each other's hair before something happens that we both regret."
The troll leered at her. "Maybe I teach you a little lesson, first, yah?" she said, bringing her other hand up to the frightened girl's face and sticking her finger under her chin. "A little someting to remind ya what happens when ya cross de wrong people."
Tears started spilling out of Susie's eyes. She knew this crazy woman would probably beat her to a pulp, or worse, and likely take great enjoyment out of it. "Please don't!" she wailed. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Please... please!"
"Is there a problem?"
Susie and the troll both turned as a voice sounded behind them. Susie gasped in relief; Aligria stood a few paces behind them, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. Behind the draenei were Calvin, Hobbes and Moe, all of whom were breathing heavily – they must have run there.
The troll glared at Aligria. Her eyes shifted over to Susie, then back to the draenei. "Dis yours?" she asked, tilting her head toward Susie.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Aligria replied, tersely.
The troll strode over to Aligria and roughly shoved Susie into the shaman's arms. "Girl gots a beeg mouth." she seethed pointedly to the draenei. She cast one last glare at Susie. "likely to get her in trouble, one day." and with that, she strode past the small group and stalked off, without so much as a backward glance.
The boys stared after the troll as she stalked away, they had never seen anything like her before and were strangely mesmerized by her wild appearance. "Get a load o' that." Moe whispered in a tone of awe.
"And get a load of that!" Calvin added as a huge, white lion prowled past. When it saw them, the lion turned and opened his mouth with a low, seething growl. He then shook his steely mane discontentedly and followed after his master.
"Yeah?! Well, same to you!" Hobbes shook his fist at the larger feline's retreating form.
Calvin looked at his friend curiously; he was glaring after the lion with a very irate expression. "Uh... what, er,... did he say?" Calvin asked, tentatively.
"Nothing I care to repeat." Hobbes hissed, crossing his arms.
Aligria walked up behind them just then with Susie following close at her heels. "Thank you!" Susie said to her, her eyes still a little watery. "If you hadn't shown up when you did – "
"It's alright, child." the shaman placed a comforting hand on her head. She then looked at her with a more stern expression. "Now, I trust you've learned something from this."
She nodded, solemnly. "I won't go out alone again. I promise."
Aligria smiled. "Very good, then." Turning to the whole group, she added "Now then, I believe it's time we had some breakfast. I have a few rations in my bag, or if you would like, we can return to the inn. Mind you, we will have to come back this way when we press on."
After a bit of thought on the matter, they decided they might as well stay where they were, rather than have to walk all the way to the inn and back again. So Aligria passed out small loaves of bread and pieces of jerky to each of them and they all sat down to eat. The food was dry and chewy, but at least they were satiated.
As they ate, Calvin turned to look at Susie; she didn't say anything, but he could tell that she was still shaken from the ordeal she had just gone through. Despite his curiosity, he decided now might not be the time to talk about it.
Unfortunately, Moe wasn't quite as tactful. "So who was that crazy lady who just stormed off?" he blatantly asked, not even noticing Susie's face paling.
"A troll;" Aligria stated simply. "Clearly a hunter."
"Wait, how can you tell?" Calvin asked before he could stop himself.
Aligria finished off her bread, then replied. "The lion; it is obviously her pet." She looked at the children to see four faces staring back at her in bewilderment. She sighed inwardly, remembering that these children were unfamiliar with the way of this world. Clearing her throat, she reiterated. "You see, in this world, hunters develop a... unique relationship with the wilderness. In time, the learn to tame wild beasts. These pets then accompany them through the world, acting as aids and help meets to their masters."
"Wow." Calvin sighed, appreciatively. He cast a wary glance back to where the troll and her pet had disappeared. "'Kay then. So, what about his teeth?"
"Pardon?" Aligria looked at him, confused.
"That lion! Why did he have saber-teeth?"
The draenei only looked at him, clearly not getting his meaning.
"His canines were sticking out past his chin!" Calvin pointed his index fingers down beside the sides of his mouth to illustrate his point. "What's up with that?"
Aligria shrugged. "That is not unusual. All the big cats have those... saber-teeth, as you call them."
When they had all finished their meager breakfast, Aligria led them down along the coastline to where several wooden box-like structures were set up. The children were startled by what they saw resting in those boxes. There were large, leonine creatures roosting in each nest; their forepaws were bat-like wings and their tails were similar to a scorpion.
"What are those tings?!" Moe asked, pointing at the strange monsters, with no small amount of panic in his voice.
Aligria looked where he was pointing. "Those are wyverns." she answered.
"We're,... we're not gonna ride on those things!... Are we?" Moe asked, his voice quaking.
"Of course not. Don't be absurd!"
Moe heaved a sigh of relief.
"Wyverns are horde transport. We shall be riding gryphons." the shaman swept her hand before her. The children looked and saw more boxes sitting across from the wyvern roosts where creatures that resembled enormous eagles were seated.
"Oh. Well that's loads better, then." Moe groaned.
Aligria strolled over to the goblin in charge – the Flight Master, she had called him – and began conversing with him. After a few moments, she motioned for them to come over while the Flight Master coaxed one of the gryphons off it's roost.
"Right then," Aligria started when they had all arrived. "I've chartered some birds to take us to Teldrassil. By the looks of things, we should have a smooth trip. Now, there are a few things to remember when riding on gryphon back."
As Aligria explained safety measures to the children, the Flight Master led the gryphon – which now had a sort of saddle strapped across it's back – over to the group.
"Alright, who shall go first?" Aligria asked when she saw the gryphon standing ready. "Moe, how about you?"
Everyone turned to look at the large boy, who in turn, was looking at the eagle-lion hybrid rather dubiously.
"Moe? Something wrong?" Susie asked, noticing his hesitation.
"... Look, I'm not too crazy 'bout flyin', alright?!" he said, waving his hands in front of him.
"What's the matter? You've been on an airplane before, haven't you?"
"Yeah well planes are one thing! You got an inclosed space with actual seats and seat belts – and they serve peanuts! With this, you got nothin' to protect ya from the elements! Ya might get blown off, or attacked by flyin' predators, or, or – "
"Oh, do calm down." said Aligria, suddenly appearing behind Moe and lifting him up by the armpits.
Calvin and Susie were both impressed. Moe must have weighed quite a bit, and Aligria hoisted him up without even a grunt of effort.
"Flying is perfectly safe." the shaman continued as she walked over to the waiting gryphon. "The gryphons are well trained to fly along the safest routs, they don't have any natural predators and we will be behind you the whole time! You have nothing to worry about!" she quickly placed the still squirming and simpering Moe onto the gryphon's back. When she was certain he was firmly situated, she turned to the Flight Master, apologetically. "Terribly sorry about all that." she said.
"Whatever. So long as I get paid." the Flight Master replied in a bored tone. He pulled out a small whistle from somewhere and piped a few notes.
When the gryphon heard the tune, it spread it's wings out and turned toward a long dirt path – a runway of sorts. The gryphon dashed down the path, flapping it's wings as it ran. When it reached the end of the runway, it made a leap and took off into the air.
Everyone watched the gryphon fly off into the distance – with a scream from Moe growing ever fainter.
After watching the gryphon and it's passenger disappear into the distance, Calvin doubled over with a hearty laugh. "Oh man, that was priceless!" he sighed, wiping his eyes.
"You really shouldn't laugh at his expense, Calvin." Susie chastised him.
"Hey! After everything he's done to me, I'd say I've earned a good laugh at his expense!" he countered.
Hobbes nodded with a grunt of agreement. Susie blinked confusedly. She was still coming to grips with the idea that Hobbes was, in fact, a living being; that he displayed a human-like level of understanding and was able to communicate – at least, on a rudimentary level, was simply baffling to her.
The tiger looked over as the Flight Master was saddling the next gryphon. Curious, he trotted over to get a closer look. He watched as the Flight Master prepared the bird for carrying it's next passenger. Susie watched from a distance, looking at him curiously – Hobbes would occasionally growl or chuff at the gryphon who would squawk and chirp in return. If she didn't know better, Susie would think they were having a conversation.
After a few more minutes, Aligria came over to the two remaining children. "Alright, which of you would like to go next?" she asked.
Hobbes let out a loud chuff after hearing this. Calvin looked over at his friend. "Guess I'm going next." He shrugged and went over to the Flight Master, who helped him get situated in the saddle. Once Calvin was safely seated, Hobbes jumped onto the gryphon's back. Calvin felt his best friend situate himself directly behind him and clasp his arms around his shoulders. However, to everyone else present, it looked as though the tiger was haphazardly crouching on the gryphon's flank with his paws clamped on the boy's shoulders.
The Flight Master looked at the scene dubiously. "Uh, kid, I can't let ya go like that, t'ain't safe!"
In response, Hobbes growled something at Calvin's ear. Calvin then turned to the Flight Master. "S'alright, Hobbes asked him." he said, patting the gryphon's neck. "He said he could take us both!"
The Flight Master could only stare blankly at him, blinking once or twice. He turned to Aligria, who shrugged, just as confused as he was.
Susie was doubtful about the situation, but she finally told the Flight Master to just go with it.
"Alright." the goblin rolled his eyes. "But if anything happens, I accept no responsibility for it."
"Whatever. Let's just get a move on, huh?" Calvin moaned.
The Flight Master pulled out his whistle and piped the tune again.
After hearing the tune, the gryphon, like it's comrade, started off down the runway and took off to the sky. Much like Moe, Calvin screamed as the bird took off; but unlike Moe, Calvin's scream dissolved into a raucous cackle – he was clearly enjoying the ride.
With everyone else gone, it was now Susie's turn. Aligria brought her over to where the Flight Master was harnessing the last gryphon. The draenei lifted Susie into the gryphon's saddle before situating herself directly behind her.
"You have done this before, right?" Susie asked the shaman with a hint of nervousness.
"Many times." Aligria replied. "Well, mostly I've ridden hippogryphs; but how different could this be?"
And with that reassurance, Susie tightened her grip on the bridle.
The Flight Master blew his pipe once more and the gryphon started down the runway.
"What's the deal with the whistle, anyway?!" Susie shouted as the gryphon's body rocked and bounded beneath them.
"Haven't any idea!" Aligria said in return. "If I were to guess, I would surmise that different tunes correspond to different destinations!"
"Oh." Susie gave that idea some thought. "I guess that makes sense. Sort of. Whoa!" she gave a startled yelp as the gryphon made a great leap and flapped it's mighty wings, carrying them through the air. Once it had reached a suitable altitude, the gryphon ceased flapping, opting to glide instead.
Susie, with no small amount of trepidation, tentatively took a look around. Far below them, a sea of gold swept by as they sailed over the vast savannah. "... Wow." she said in a breath of awe; it truly was a magnificent sight, which mere words cannot adequately describe. Feeling bolder, she loosened her hold on the reigns and looked down below to see the native inhabitants of the Barrens going about their day.
"Hey!" she cried, pointing in the distance. "It's one of those flying snakes!"
Aligria looked where she pointed to see the creature she had indicated. "That's a windserpent!" she said to the girl.
Susie was amazed. She gazed down the landscape and the abundance of wildlife this world housed. There were some animals she recognized from her world, such as lions, hyenas, vultures and giraffes; and some creatures that resembled zebras, only they had horns. Then there were others that were quite alien to her eyes – the windserpents, the thunder lizards and large, brown skinned animals with hunched shoulders, lizard-like tails and horns on their snouts, which Aligria identified as kodos.
Eventually, the open savannah gave way to a dense forest. And some time after that, the forest vanished, replaced by a vast body of water. And in the distance, the water surface was was broken by an island jutting out of the waves. As they approached the land mass, their altitude dropped until they came to land with a slight thump.
Susie climbed off the gryphon and stretched her legs and back. Looking around, she saw that they had landed on a small outcropping of land, bordered on one side by steep looking cliffs. Three piers stuck out from the shore – one of which had a ship docked to it.
As her gaze swept across the area, she found Calvin. The boy was leaning against a tree with a sly smirk on his face and Hobbes seated by his side.
"Hey, Calvin!" she cried, running up to him.
He cocked his head in her direction as she approached. "See you made it in one piece."
She nodded. "That was really something, wasn't it?" she said. Calvin gave a short nod. "We saw so many animals on the way over. It was incredible!"
"Did you see the dinosaurs?" Calvin asked.
Susie looked at him in surprise. "There are dinosaurs here?"
"Oh yeah! Hobbes an' I saw a whole pack of raptors runnin' around!"
"Oh," Susie breathed. "...No wonder you look so happy."
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, seeing dinosaurs was exciting, but that's not why I'm smiling."
"Why are you, then?"
Calvin tilted his head forward. Susie looked where he had pointed and in spite of herself, gave a light chuckle. Moe was still seated on his gryphon, his face ashen with a white-knuckled grasp on the reigns while Aligria and a very tall man with pale blue-gray skin and long, pointed ears were coercing him to get off. Eventually, it was the gryphon that convinced him to dismount – with a quick shake of it's shoulders.
Calvin, Hobbes and Susie went to join the rest of their group as Moe shakily got to his feet, rubbing his side where he had hit the ground. "Nice dismount, Moe!" Calvin called to the burly boy.
"Shut up, twinky!" Moe growled in return.
Aligria gave Moe a once over. Satisfied he was no worse for wear, she marshaled everyone together. "Alright, for the next leg of our trip, we'll be traveling by ship." she turned to the pointed eared man. "Pardon me, but could you tell us when the next ship to Azuremyst Isle is leaving?"
The man looked up from attending to some creatures that were sort of like gryphons, but had an appearance more like ravens than eagles with blue-green feathers and antlers sprouting from their heads. (Probably the hippogryphs Aligria had mentioned.) He looked toward the docked ship and scratched his chin. "Possibly half an hour. Maybe less." he then took a good look at the group assembled before him. His expression became perplexed. "Are these... all yours?" he asked Aligria, gesturing to the children.
"I found them in the Barrens." Aligria calmly explained.
"The midst of Horde territory." the man hummed gravely. "Not a suitable place for human children."
"Indeed not." Aligria agreed. "I'm taking them to the Exodar to see about getting them home."
The man looked at her blankly. "Oughtn't you to take them to Stormwind, then?"
The draenei looked at the man, then at the equally confused expressions of the children and tiger. "It's... a bit complicated." she told the man before ushering her wards down toward the pier and the ship docked to it.
An hour or so later, they had boarded the ship and were on their way to Azuremyst. Aligria leaned her elbows over the railing, breathing in the salty air as the ship rocked beneath her. It felt odd in a way, coming back to Azurmist – to the place where her people had stumbled into this world. It was like visiting someone you accidentally shot lightning at while training – even after the pain subsided and a recovery was made, the incident would always be there, and no matter how much one apologized or how much restitution was made, it could never be forgotten – not entirely.
The shaman sighed. Perhaps that's why she so seldom returned – even after all this time the aftereffects of the crash were still so evident in the land and wildlife.
She was brought out of her pondering when she realized the otherworlders had all gathered around and were looking at her fixedly.
"Ah, children." she smiled, amiably. "Is there something you needed?"
"S'there something you're not telling us?" Calvin asked, getting right to business.
"... Whatever do you mean?" she asked, looking all of them over.
"Like, for instance, what's this Horde we keep hearing about?"
"Yeah." Susie piped up "And this morning, that troll said Ratchet was 'neutral' territory. What'd she mean by 'neutral' territory?!"
"And what's Stormwind?" Moe asked.
"... Stormwind is the human capital city." Aligria replied.
"Oh."
"So, what about the rest?!" Calvin demanded, looking at the shaman with a raised eyebrow.
"Alright, alright." Aligria said, in a placating voice. Once the children had settled down,Aligria took a deep breath. "Look around you," she said. "what words would you use to describe this world?"
The children looked at her, taken aback. They blinked a few times, processing what she was asking of them.
Calvin was first to break the silence. "Um,... I guess it's awfully... natural."
"Living." Susie added
"Medieval." said Moe
Hobbes chuffed something.
"Hobbes says 'tranquil'." Calvin interpreted.
"Good, good." said Aligria. "Now, from what you have seen, would you say that this is a good place."
Uncertain of where she was going with this, the children shrugged their shoulders and mumbled what sounded like agreements.
The draenei looked out across the water, contemplatively. "From what you have seen, this world may seem like a peaceful place. However, it is far from it.
"No fewer than three great wars have afflicted this planet. And though there have been episodes of uneasy truce, old grudges are not easily forgotten.
"When we first came to this world my people heard tales of a stalwart Alliance comprised of humans, dwarves, gnomes and night elves. We heard of the way they fought in past wars; of their bravery, honor and faithfulness – attributes to which we ourselves aspire. It took a fair amount of time and much convincing, but eventually, they welcomed us into their Alliance."
"And the horde?" Calvin asked, impatiently.
"... No war is ever one sided." Aligria replied sadly. "In opposition to the Alliance, there is the Horde."
"... Trolls?" Susie asked in a nervous squeak.
"Yes, the Darkspear tribe is part of the Horde. Other members of the Horde include the orcs, tauren, forsaken and blood elves."
They all mulled this over for a moment. "That... man, he said you found us in the midst of Horde territory?" Calvin broke the silence.
Aligria nodded. "Kalimdor is predominantly controlled by the Horde."
"... And you didn't think to tell us all this earlier?!" Calvin practically screamed.
"Perhaps I should have." Aligria sighed. "However, there is no sense agonizing over events that have passed."
"I can't believe it..." Susie moaned in a worried voice. "landing in the middle of hostile territory."
"Do not fret, Susie." Aligria said, comfortingly as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are in safe hands."
"Yes, but... if it hadn't been you that found us... if, if we were found one of those trolls or, or orcs or whatever ELSE the Horde has... "
the draenei shushed her gently. "Best not to concern yourself with what might have happened. Better to dwell on what may yet happen."
She looked over in the distance. "We shall be docking soon." she reported. "Better collect your things."
"What things?!" Moe scoffed. "We lost all our things when we ran from the thunder lizard yesterday!"
"... Oh. Well, just get ready to go, then."
In a few more minutes, they had docked and the small party disembarked.
Calvin could see why this island had been christened Azuremyst – everything from the plants to the atmosphere seemed to have a hint of blue to it.
Aligria led them down a narrow dirt path that would take them to the draenei's crashed vessel. The trek was mercifully brief with few hardships – save an encounter with a large black cat with white stripes which Aligria had taken care of fairly easily. (Amazing what a bolt of lightning or a flash of fire can do to deter predators.)
At length, they reached a structure of heavy metal spires jutting out of the landscape with a large, open portal leading down into the earth.
As the inter-dimensional castaways gaped at the sparking, crackling metal mountain, Aligria stood before them and gave a shrugging gesture toward the structure. "Well," she sighed. "welcome to the Exodar."