Alpheric and Doraka had been at sea for days, or at least they believed they were at sea with a fine mist of spray making its way through the roof of their prison. Their only way of telling time the sunlight that shown through those cracks, and the two meals they recieved every day. The two had said very little to each other in that time, even though Alpheric wanted to plan an eventual escape, there was little they could do on a boat filled with enemies and no weapons. He looked over at his finished bowl of breakfast and picked up the wooden spoon within. "I suppose we could sharpen these, and stick a couple of them, I wouldn't mind doing in the cook before they cut me down," Alpheric said sarcastically. Doraka snorted and said after a moment, "You could not kill me with a sword, how could you kill someone with that?"
Encouraged by her sudden willingness to talk Alpheric pressed on, a tune of dark humor in his voice, "There was this one time I was stuck in the Barrens and had to use a blunt sword I had stolen from a Quilboar to cut my way back to camp, you would be amazed what you can do when you want to live." Doraka looked over at him, the beginnings of a sneer playing on her lips, "And what would an Alliance dog be doing in our land?"
Alpheric blink in surprise. "Alliance dog? Is that why you tried to attack me on the beach? I do not care about the Alliance or the Horde, neither one has been good to its people. I am a mercanary, I go where the gold is, it is as simple as that," Alpheric said with a shrug. "The Horde is family human, and I would die proudly defending it!" Doraka said with some conviction, "Honor and victory, what more could a person ask for?"
"How about a real family, or the ability to live in peace," Alpheric muttered darkly more to himself then to Doraka. He turned uncomfortably from her piercing gaze and let silence creep over them again.
It was later in the day when both prisoners jumped as above deck someone shouted out the sight of land. "Where do you think they are taking us?" Doraka ventured. Alpheric looked her over, this was the first time she had started a conversation on her own, and shrugged, "If I had to guess, the fighting arena in Dire Maul, they can sell us and then make a fortune betting on us. I am sure there are other people they could sell us to, but some of us are far too dangerous to do anything other than fight." To Alpherics surprise he managed to get a small smile out of the Orc, as both returned to silence and listened eagerly to any clues to where they were.
It was some hours later that the ship seemed to be slowing to a halt, and Alpheric looked over to Doraka, "Where ever we are, it does not matter, we need to stick together and whenever we find an opening we will break free and run. Once we get away from them then we can worry about where we are; and how to get home from there." Doraka thought it over and nodded shortly, "It isn't really much of a plan human." Alpheric smiled over at the Orc, "Well I did tell you that I needed help thinking things over."
Doraka opened her mouth to say something, but was cut short as the door flew open, the Goblin Captain Jaxxel standing there, with hands on his hips and a crooked smile. "I hope you two enjoyed our little ride, now you can pay me back by making me lots o' gold hehehe! Get them to their feet! Dirk! Abul!" The same Troll and Tauren from before came over and unlatched their chains from the floor, then lead them as if on a leash back out to the deck of the ship.
The light of the sun was blinding after days in half darkness, and it took all of Alpheric's will not to fall to the wooden floor as he was pushed and shoved this way and that by the crew of the vessel on his way to the rope ladder. He blinked away the pain in his eyes and tried to take in the terrain as he waited for Dirk to go up and over the side of the ship. To the front of the ship, they were anchored at the shores of a lush green forest almost as thick as those in Stranglethorn. To the rear though was a brown land filled with water, pillars of stone thrust up every few hundred feet, reaching high into the sky. So they had crossed the sea, sailed through the now flooded Thousand Needles, right to the shores of Feralas, so the arena of Dire Maul was their destination after all Alpheric thought grimly.
The trip down the ladder was even more heart pounding then the one up, Alpherics legs screaming in protest from their lack of use as he made his way down. Thankfully though, the water was only waist high and after everyone was down Alpheric and Doraka were pushed to the head of their little procession, followed behind by Jaxxel and Dirk, with the Tauren Abul taking up the rear.
They walked quietly in the forest, no doubt the pirates wanting to keep silent as to avoid notice by any Horde or Alliance patrols that might be in the area. Doraka looked around hopefully, but they were being driven deep into the forest, far from any main roads, "But this might be the chance we have been waiting for," Alpheric thought with hope.
Sure enough, the deeper into the wild forest they went, the more dense the trees and other forest life became, making their close procession almost impossible as they had to weave this way and that, if there was ever a time to break free this was the only chance they would get. Giving Doraka an intense stare, he nodded to her and hoped she understood the message. As they rounded the next tree Alpheric struck, turning suddenly as Jaxxel rounded the trunk and swung hard with his booted foot. Thanking the light that they had not stripped him of his chain or hardened boots he felt a sickening crunch as his foot made countact with the Goblins chest, crumpling in a heap as Alpheric turned form the shouts of the other two pirates, "Run!" he roared to Doraka and they both flew deeper in to the forest.
The long chains slapping his legs as he ran, Alpheric tried to steady his ragged breath as the forest flew based him, a blur of greens and browns. There was a decent sized Horde encampment in this part of the woods, if they could only make it to the main road they could possibly make it to freedom, he would worry what the Horde would do with him after he got away from the pirates who were shouting at them from ebind and right at their heels.
Just as it seemed they might be gaining ground on their captors, Doraka gave a shout of surprise as her chain snagged on a large root and dragged pulled her down flat on her face. Alpheric continued to run, his mind in furious conflict as he heard the pirates shouts and a scream of pain from the Orc. Why should he care about her, she had got him into this mess in the first place. They were captured together though and he had tried so hard throughout the voyage to convince her that they needed each other, could he leave her now? He had lived only for himself for all these years, why should he care if one savage Orc got what was coming to her? Those eyes though, he could not see those beautiful fiery eyes being defeated, he couldn't betray himself or her.
Roaring with frustration he stopped dead in his tracks and with a sigh, turned and started walking in the direction he came. As he made his way through the trees he came upon the Orc, the chains now binding her arms behind her, Dirk standing behind her kneeling form, tip of his dagger at her throat. Both looked up at him with eyes wide in astonishment, Dirk recovered though and gave Alpheric a pleasant grin. "I was gonna cut this little thing up, but I suppose I should thank ya for doing in the Cap'n. Ya gave me a nice little promotion," The Troll laughed hard, Alpheric at least grimly pleased that he had finished off one of them in their efforts. Doraka gave a start of surprise at something over Alpheric's shoulder and looked at him in panic. Turning he got one good look at Abul standing behind him before the Tauren swung at him with a giant fist and knocked him out cold.