"So, what's the plan?" Braelyn asked as Severen guided his mount through Eversong Woods. They were moving so quickly that all she could make out of her surroundings were flashes of green and gold. They had to avoid the major roads, of course, so were hightailing it through the forest.
Braelyn heard shouts behind her; the Silvermoon guards were in pursuit. She was surprised to feel a little disappointed that it wasn't Rommath.
"We make for the border with Ghostlands, where we'll meet up with the rest of my party," Severen explained. "Those that survived, anyway. Then we summon a portal back to Stormwind, and reunite you with your family, though the King'll probably want a word with you as well."
"What happens if none of the mages made it?"
"Then we ride to the Western Plaguelands. We can get help from the Argent Crusade at Light's Hope Chapel, maybe even one of their towers." Severen patted one of Braelyn's hands. "But first we need to find somewhere to stop and get you geared up."
"Geared up? Why?" she asked.
"Because it might take a while for the others to make the meeting place. We were told to wait twenty-four hours, then leave if no one else showed up. But, even though we're sure we picked a safe place, Ghostlands is still a dangerous place. There are plenty of things around to hurt us; the Scourge remnants, Blood Elves, even the Forsaken!
"I'd feel more secure if you're able to help with defense. Lady Proudmoore said you're a hunter?"
"Yes," Braelyn replied, "though it feels like an age has passed since I last held a bow! I feel naked without one." Severen threw his head back and laughed.
"I can appreciate that feeling! Don't worry, I've got a nice spare you can use, some armour as well. Only leather, mind you."
"That would be fantastic!" Braelyn said happily. "I prefer leather, anyway. I've never felt comfortable in mail. Seems too bulky, and loud!"
"I felt that way, too, at first. Then I found a trainer in Darnassus who helped me adapt, and taught me how to move around in it. Was expensive, but worth it! Not only does it offer more protection, but it's more durable."
"I'll keep that in mind," Braelyn said, and laughed happily as Severen swerved around a tree and down an embankment. The laugh died when she saw what lay ahead of them.
It was the Dead Scar.
And it was more horrible than Braelyn had ever imagined it. She'd read about it, tucked away in Rommath's library, and knew that it was bad... bad, but not this bad.
The Scar was several metres wide, and nothing grew within in it, the edges of the green forest floor standing out in stark contrast to the tainted ground. The soil was blackened, and reeked of death and decay, and everywhere she looked, Braelyn could see the remnants of the Lich King's undead army.
"Light's breath!" she exclaimed. Severen patted her hand again.
"I know it's awful," he said, "but riding this close to the Scar is the quickest route out of Eversong. It's also the best chance we have to escape our pursuers." He dug his heels in to his mount's flanks, and with the sudden burst of speed they began to lose the Blood Elves behind them.
After about an hour, Severen stopped in front of an abandoned Sin'dorei tower. It was in bad shape, with one side of the building completely missing, and the roof partly collapsed. It would do as a temporary shelter; it was easily defendable, but also looked like an unlikely place for a runaway to hide.
As they dismounted, Severen grabbed his bow, whistling for his nightsabre, Dusk. "Stay with my mount, while I clear the area. If anything happens, I want you to take her and head for the Plaguelands, south-west of here. You'll find everything you need in the saddlebags."
Braelyn nodded, and watched in anxiety as the Night Elf approached the tower. He was wise to act cautiously; the tower was infested with ghouls. She was impressed with how easily Severen killed them, his bond with Dusk making them quite a team. She felt a pang of grief in her heart for Giggle and Growly, and had to blink away tears.
"It's clear," Severen called out, and Braelyn lead the horse over to the tower. She tethered the mare inside the tower, so that it could not be seen by anything passing by. "Let's get you out of that dress," he added, laughing when Braelyn blushed. He handed her a saddle bag, and she opened it to find a familiar set of leathers.
"This is my old armour!" she exclaimed. Severen grinned.
"Your mother gave it to us, she said you'd be more comfortable in your own gear than a random store-bought set."
"She was right!" Braelyn said happily, and waited for the other hunter to turn his back before stripping off and donning the armour. "Oh, this feels much better!" She turned around, and Severen handed her a simple wooden longbow. She clipped it to her back, relishing the feeling of being a hunter again.
"Now, I just need a pet," she said, eyeing Dusk sadly.
"There are some lynxes and dragonhawks about the forest, I think," Severen said. "If we're quick, you should be able to tame one before we have to leave again."
"Okay," said Braelyn, "but are you sure you don't want to rest?"
"Too keyed up to relax," Severen replied with a slightly feral gleam in his eye. "A good hunt is just what I need. Besides, Dusk needs to eat after that run."
"Well, let's go then!" Braelyn exclaimed, and followed her new friend into the forest.
To say the Lor'theron was mad, would be to make the understatement of a lifetime. He was furious. He strode about the city barking out orders, and seeking information in such a rage that his people were more frightened of him then they had been of the Alliance raiders.
"Did we manage to capture or kill any of them?" he demanded, glaring at Halduron. The Ranger General shook his head.
"No, my Lord, they were very quick," Halduron replied. "They stopped only long enough to grab the girl. I don't understand how they knew to go the Bazaar to find her. Surely, they should have gone to the dungeons first?"
"Proudmoore," spat a furious voice behind them. Rommath strode up to them, his countenance even angrier than that of the Regent Lord's. People were actually fleeing from his presence. "This whole thing reeks of Kirin Tor involvement."
"Do we have any idea which way they went? What their plans are?" Lor'themar asked testily.
"I saw that filthy Kal'dorei take Braelyn towards the main gate while the rest of his party fled in all directions to try and confuse us. They will no doubt head into the Ghostlands in an attempt to lose us, perhaps to meet up and summon portals to Dalaran or Stormwind." The Grand Magister snarled, his fist clenching. "I almost had her! She literally slipped right through my fingers!"
"Go and find her," Lor'themar ordered. "If you and Halduron ride hard, you might be able to catch up with them. At the very least, you might stumble onto their mages. Take care of them, and the others will have no choice but to ride for the Plaguelands, and the longer they stay in our territory, the easier it will be to capture them."
Rommath needed no more encouragement, stalking away to the stables to fetch his hawkstrider. Halduron, however, looked at Lor'themar with curiosity. "My Lord," he said, "why are we bothering? Surely this is an ideal way of riding ourselves of an uninvited guest?"
"If the young lady in question had freed herself of her confinement, then I'd be inclined to let her go," the Regent Lord replied. "But I will not tolerate Proudmoore continuing to jeopardise our people's safety, or challenging the sovereinty of Quel"thalas. If I allow these raiders to succeed in rescuing Miss Hawke, then Jaina will have won. I will not abide that." He glared at Halduron as if to say 'get going'. With a quick bow, the Ranger General did just that, hurrying after the Grand Magister.
"C'mon, sweetie," Braelyn crooned to the young Lynx in front of her, hands outstretched, "it's okay. I won't hurt you." She maintained eye contact with the beast as it flopped to its stomach and began snarling at her, fangs glinting in the light. "Yes, yes, you're a big scary cat who's going to rip my face off, I know."
The lynx looked at Braelyn with a confused expression as if trying to figure out why she wasn't running away. "Why don't you come to me, and I'll get you some yummy treats," she said, and smiled when the animal seemed to understand her. It stopped snarling at her, and began belly crawling over to her. "That's it," she encouraged. "Mummy'll get you some tasty rabbit."
A few seconds more and Braelyn was laughing as she tickled the lynx's belly, ruffling the soft brown fur. Severen laughed as he heard the pet's loud purrs. He bent down to pat its head, only to leap back with a yell as it sunk its teeth into his fingers. "Ouch!"
"Now, don't do that!" Braelyn chided gently. "Severen is a friend." The lynx let out a growl. She sighed. "Well, at least I know what to call you," she said. "Bitey."
"We best get back to the tower," Severen said, eyeing the lynx warily. "The hour is almost up."
"Come, Bitey, let's go," Braelyn said, and headed back to the tower, her new pet trotting tamely at her heels.
They had just reached the hideout when they heard hoofbeats. Braelyn and Severen both tensed, readying their weapons, but relaxed again when a large ram came into view. "Oi, am I glad ta see ya!" Declan Hammerhand exclaimed, dismounting and running over to shake Severen's hand enthusiastically. "I thought I'd never outrun those bloody elves."
"Good to see you, too, old friend," Severen replied, laughing as Declan went over to Braelyn, embracing her, and lifting her clear off her feet. The woman let out a surprised laugh, hugging the dwarf in return. "What of the others?"
"Bad news, I'm afraid," Declan replied. "No deaths that I'm aware of, but tha others were forced to take a more roundabout route out of tha city. Most of them won't be able to reach us here. They'll have ta make a run for the Plaguelands on their own."
"Caspian? Arabella?" Severen asked, referring to the mages in the party.
"I'm here," cried a weak voice, and Braelyn spun around to see a middle aged human woman limping into view. Her robe was in tatters, and she sported several nasty looking wounds on her leg, arm, and torso.
"Bella!" Severen cried, running over to the mage, and picking her up. "Braelyn, grab my bags."
Braelyn hurried to do as she was told, kneeling down by Severen as he placed his friend on the ground. The woman mumbled her thanks, turning her eyes to the female hunter as Severen began pulling out potions and bandages. "You're Braelyn?" She let out a soft cheer when Braelyn nodded, which was cut sort as a potion was poured down her throat. "So glad that we were successful."
"What happened to you?" Braelyn inquired, watching as some of the wounds began to close up and heal.
"Ran into a Horde adventurer. Bastard troll shot my mount out from under me, and the poor beast crushed my leg. I managed to deal with him, but then got ganked by some ghouls. Thought I was done for." She winced as she drank another potion.
"Severen," she said, "even with all the potions I'm not going to be able to summon a portal today, my mana is depleted, and I lost my potions with my mount. You and Declan should get Braelyn and head off. If I can, I'll catch up with you."
"We can't leave you!" Braelyn protested. She looked at Declan and Severen. "Guys, I'm not leaving someone to die."
"Aye, lassie, I agree with ye," the paladin replied. "Sev, we can wait the night, surely? Lady Proudmoore and the lass' parents will survive an extra few hours wait."
Severen looked as if he was going to protest, but Braelyn gave him a stern look. "You may go, Severen, but I'm staying." The Night Elf sighed in defeat.
"All right," he said, "I won't argue with you, but we'll need to set a few things up. Declan, see if you can scout out a good lookout, we'll need to keep watch during the night. Brae, I need you to fetch some wood. It tends to get really cold at night this close to the scar."
"On it," she said, and headed back to the small wooded area she and Severen had found Bitey. The little lynx followed her, sniffing the air warily.
There was very little wood on the ground, but Braelyn was able to snap off the smaller limbs of some low hanging branches. Even though these trees looked healthy, they were quite weak from disease. She had gathered a good armful when she heard the soft crunch of twigs breaking beneath boots. Bitey let out a low growl.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Braelyn turned around. The wood tumbled from her arms. "You!" she cried, pointing a finger at a very familiar looking Stormwind city guard.
"Me," beamed Randall Garret. "A pleasure to see you again, Miss Hawke."
Braelyn could only gape in him in shock. "What the hell are you doing here? Were you part of the raid?"
"Oh, no," Randall replied, "I wouldn't have helped you escape Silvermoon after going to all the trouble to get you there." He frowned, and Braelyn got the impression that the man was disappointed in her. "Really, I was sure you'd have figured things out by now."
"Figured what out?" Braelyn demanded in frustration. Who the hell is this guy?!
"Why you need to be in Silvermoon," the guard replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I. Don't. Need. To be in. Silvermoon," Braelyn bit out. "Really, who the bloody hell do you think you are to be telling me where I need to be?"
"Someone who knows more about these things than you do," Randall replied, with an infuriatingly cheerful smile.
"Well, Mr I-Know-Everything," Braelyn said, "if I'm meant to be in Silvermoon, then why was I able to escape?" To her annoyance, the guard just laughed.
"Because it was necessary, in order for certain people to come to some realisations of their own," he chortled.
"Were you born this annoyingly cryptic, or did you need special training?"
"A bit of both!"
"Hmph," Braelyn snorted. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I am free now, and I have no intention of going back."
"Oh, you'll be going back, and sooner than you think," Randall said, whistling cheerfully, as Bitey attempted to ravage his ankles.
Braelyn grabbed her bow, and strung an arrow, aiming at Randall's bare head. "I am not going back with you."
"I'm not taking you back," Randall laughed. "The Silvermoon guard wouldn't be too pleased to see me, I don't think. Just don't say I didn't warn you." He gave her a sudden stern look. "This could all have been avoided."
Braelyn gasped. "Are you threatening my friends? Are they in danger?" she demanded angrily. The man waved his hand.
"No, no," he said airily. "Your friends will be fine, I assure you. It's you that you need to be concerned about."
"I am being concerned about myself! That's why I'm going home!" Braelyn exclaimed, marching forward to put a finger in Randall's chest. "Listen, I have no idea who or what you are, but I am done with you! Leave me alone!"
Randall smiled at her. "It was nice seeing you, Braelyn. Remember what I said," he told her, patting her on the head, before disappearing. Not teleporting like a mage, but honest to goodness fading into nothingness.
"I am going crazy," Braelyn murmured to herself, patting Bitey on the head as the lynx growled in uncertainty.
"Braelyn!" Declan yelled. "Braelyn, where are ye lass? Hurry up with tha wood, would ya?"
"Coming, Declan!" she called, bending down to retrieve her wood. "I just got a little distracted, sorry!" As she headed back down to the tower, she wondered just how much craziness a person could deal with before going completely mad.
The Dwarf was easy to mind control. He was on his own, having volunteered to take the first watch duty for the night. He was also far from sober, meaning his mental defences were not as efficient as they could have been. A few helpful suggestions from the friendly Stormwind guard, and the paladin was off to Ironforge, whistling cheerfully as he mounted the ram that Randall had thoughtfully brought with him.
The Night Elf was not so easily influenced. He was old, almost as old as Tyrande Whisperwind, and possessed a strong mind. It was harder for Randall to convince him to travel to Pandaria while keeping things quiet so as not to wake the others. It was the kind of challenge that he very rarely encountered during his work for the Light.
Nevertheless, the Night Elf eventually gave way, riding away in the silent dark.
The mage, if she had been in full health, may have been as difficult to deal with as the elf; but as she was both injured and asleep, it wasn't much of an effort to convince her that waking up and porting to Shattrath was a good idea, even if doing so would leave her in a state of mana-depletion for a week.
Randall's mind control was not the same as those used by most priests. Their mind control spells could fail, or be resisted, or be broken by certain enchantments. They also weren't very long-lasting. His were stronger, longer, and impossible to resist, meaning that Braelyn's would be heroes could not get halfway through their orders then come to their senses and return.
No, what was done, was done.
Randall stood guard over the sleeping woman until just before dawn, when the sun's rays would rouse her from dreams of her Grand Magister.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he murmured, as his body faded away with the darkness.
Braelyn woke up with a smile on her face. She'd had the nicest dream of reading in the library with Rommath, though she blushed when she remembered that she'd been sitting in his lap... and they weren't always reading.
It was a while before she realised that Severen had not woken her for her turn at guard duty. Fearing that something had happened during the night, she sat up abruptly, then leapt to her feet when she saw that she was alone. Even Arabella was missing, and the mage was still weak form her injuries.
"Severen? Arabella? Declan?" she called. Bitey ran up to her and swatted at her arms for attention. She patted his head, before creeping out of the hideout. Her stomach knotted in fear when she saw that both Sev's horse and Declan's ram were gone.
Braelyn looked around. The area was deserted, and all of her friends gear was gone. The only things left were the bag Severen had given to her, a quiver of arrows, and her bow. The bag contained little of any use; a few potions, bandages, and some rations.
For whatever reason, her friends, the people hired by Lady Proudmoore and her parents to rescue her, had abandoned her. In the middle of the night. Without an explanation.
Braelyn felt panic begin to bubble up within her. She had never been in such a place on her own before. She always had at least her cousin beside her. She tried to quell the fear, deciding to check the lookout before losing all hope. Perhaps one of them stayed, she thought.
The look out was on a small hill behind the collapsed tower. It gave a good view of their hideout and the surrounding area, though it was a bit of a climb to get to. When she got to the top, Braelyn noted with anger that the fire had long gone cold. It had probably not lasted longer than first watch.
She stood there, wondering how such trustworthy seeming people could just abandon her in the middle of enemy territory, when she suddenly recalled the Stormwind guard's words to her yesterday.
"Just don't say I didn't warn you."
"That bastard!" Braelyn said, so viciously that Bitey let out a whimper. "He did this! I don't know how, but I know it was him." She kicked a rock, watching it sail off the edge of the hill. As she watched its progress through the air, she noticed colour and movement in the distance.
Hands trembling, Braelyn raised the scope of her bow to her eye. It was a cheap scope, but it enabled her to see what she needed to. Two of those ridiculous, brightly coloured birds that the Blood Elves used for mounts were in the Dead Scar, a Goblin tricycle alongside them.
Braelyn was a little hurt to see that Boxer was hunting her down after going to so much trouble to organise an escape, but she wasn't surprised to see Halduron. She was surprised, and a little alarmed, to see that Rommath was with them.
I thought he'd be glad to see the back of me once I'd actually left, she thought. Its one thing to try and stop me from going, another to chase after me. Lor'themar's orders, I suppose.
The sunlight glinted off the scope's lens, and suddenly Braelyn was looking directly into Rommath's beautiful green eyes. They seemed to flash ominously, and she gasped when she saw the trio begin to ride towards her. They were still a fair way away, but with their mounts, they'd make up the distance easily.
Commanding Bitey to follow her, Braelyn put her bow away and grabbed her bag. She headed back down the hill, but turned away from the tower and into the trees. She saw a river ahead of her, with an unmanned bridge spanning it. She ran towards it, not realising she was heading directly into the heart of the Ghostlands, and the heavily guarded town of Tranquilien.
...
AN - a bit of a filler chapter. I had to play with the environment of Quel'Thalas a bit, hope you don't mind.
And yes, I do think that hawkstriders are the most ridiculous looking mounts. They don't look comfy at all. I'll stick to my drakes. And my jewelled sapphire panther, that makes me think of Voltron when I fly around Azeroth on it.
Next Chapter: Braelyn actually gets to be a hunter again. And Rommath is forced to face up to an inconvenient truth.