Chapter 11

Five years ago

Japserload Mine

Elwynn Forest

Kimeara crept carefully into the mine. She'd sent Calthix on ahead to scout out the best route and was anxious for him to return. Her cloak wrapped tightly around her she inched along the wall keeping her eyes and ears open for any sign of kobolds. They were rat-like little creature with bad tempers and would try to kill her if they spotted her.

This is the last time I agree to do something like this, she thought.

She was starting to run low on funds and when the chandler in Goldshire had posted he'd pay good money for any candles she'd leaped at the chance to make some money. She'd be on the road with Calthix for about three years now and the money that her father had given her was running out. If she wanted to get supplies she needed this job to go well.

They had waited until sunset to enter the mine and she had been able to slip by the sentry when then creature wasn't looking. Now deeper in the mine she was having a hard time staying out of sight.

She was here because everyone knew that kobolds loved candles. That and gold dust were the main things these creature coveted. She was betting that they'd have a supply of them hidden somewhere in the mine and if she could find it she could fill her pack and get out, hopefully with them none the wiser. She could fight if she had to, but taking on a mine full of kobolds wasn't her idea of a good time.

Kimeara had grown in the last couple of years. She was entering womanhood and her body had started to fill out. She had also grown taller and no stood close to five and a half feet tall. She wasn't as curvy as other girls but men had started to pay closer attention to her and as a result she had started spending less time in towns and more time in the woods. She knew a lot about the world and now could be a very dangerous time for a girl on her own. She needed to finish learning to protect herself before she could spend long periods of time in town again. Other girls might resort to selling their bodies to make money but it was something that she promised herself she'd never do.

Her magic had grown by leaps and bounds in the last year. Before she had struggled to summon Calthix and other magic's only came to her sporadically. Now she could pull forth balls of shadow energy, cause boils to erupt on her enemies, blast their mind with hers, and she could pull the life energy out of them with ease. She hated to use her magic to hurt people but every time she did she became more capable in defending herself and that would keep her alive in the long run.

She could even summon a ball of flames to her hands and in practicing with Calthix she could use that flame to light little balls on fire. It was a great addition to her juggling act and they had even met a gnome inventor that had made her some little glass and cloth balls that she could fill with oil and set aflame. They were good for entertaining a crowd or throwing at monsters or people attacking her. She had some with her and hoped she would not need them.

Kimeara had been in the mine for a few hours and so far she had avoided being spotted. She knew the deeper she went the more likely it was that she would be discovered. She heard a scraping sound from ahead of her and quickly darted into a little alcove in the wall and pulled her cloak more tightly around her to better blend into the shadows.

She'd won the cloak in a game of darts three months ago. She had been working at the inn in Lakeshire and a little man had been taking all challengers. He'd claimed to be an adventurer but after watching him pick someone's pocket she knew him for what he was, a thief. The thief had been drinking heavily and when he offered up his cloak as a prize she'd jumped at the chance to win it.

The thief had foolishly boasted to her that it helped him remain unseen in shadows and she wanted that for herself. She'd waited until he was deep into his cups then had taken his challenge. He'd agreed but only if she'd sleep with him if she lost. She had almost hesitated but she knew deep down that she could win and accepted the wager.

When they game started all the patrons had watched and what a game it was. The little thief wasn't as drunk as he'd let on and it was taking all her skill to keep the score even. They'd played four games and had broken even with two wins apiece. It had all come down to the fifth game. She started out behind but then luck seemed to smile on her and everything she threw hit perfectly. They were both down to their last throw and then the unthinkable happened. The thief missed. You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife it was so thick. She had started sweeting from the pressure. She took her last throw and nailed it.

The crowd had started cheering and slapping her on the back but she kept her eyes on the thief. She saw as he tried to edge out of the crowd and run. Shouting she brought his actions to the attention of those around him and quickly they had him pinned. When they stripped the cloak from him several coin pouches he'd pilfered from the bar patrons were found and the guards were summoned.

In the end, the thief was in jail and she had a brand new cloak. At first she'd thought it'd be too small for her but when she settled it around her shoulders she found it was a perfect fit. There seemed to be some magic in it to ensure a proper fit with to whoever wore it.

Kimeara had been grateful many times since then that she had the cloak. It had come in handy and was continuing to prove its worth now. She quitted her breathing and remained motionless as a kobold walked by with a candle on its head. Its beady little eyes darted from side to side but thanks to the cloaks magic, she went unspotted.

When the creature had passed she left out a little sigh of relief and slowly started to move forward again.

That's the second one in five minutes, she thought. Calthix better find me a way through soon.

No sooner had that thought crossed through her mind when she heard the soft sound of approaching wings. Calthix had felt safe flying around with all the bats in the mine. As long as no one got a good look at him they'd assume he was just another bat flapping about. She felt his weight settle on her shoulder.

"Good news and bad Little Mistress," he said softly into her ear.

"What's the good news?" She asked.

"Your hunch was correct; they do have a supply of candles, several crates in fact in the cavern just ahead. Looks like they've stolen a few shipments from the chandler in the past," Calthix said.

"So what's the bad news?" Kimeara asked excited at the prospect of finishing this.

"The crates are guarded Little Mistress," Calthix said simply.

"How many?" Kimeara asked her excitement lessening.

"Three, one of them a magic user," Calthix said.

Kimeara silently cursed her bad luck, one or two she could take out easily, but three? No, one would raise the alarm and then the gig was up. She'd be fighting all the way out of here.

"Do you have any suggestions Calthix?" She asked.

"Only that you should retreat Little Mistress," he answered.

"I can't Calthix. We're almost out of money and this is the fastest way to get it," Kimeara said.

"There will be other jobs Little Mistress," he said.

"Yes, but winter will be here soon and I'd like to have our supplies laid in before then," Kimeara said.

"Very well Little Mistress, I'll follow your lead but this will not be fun," he said.

"Are the crates all together or spread out?" Kimeara asked an idea beginning to form in her mind.

"Most of the crates are against the rear wall of the cavern. One crate is near the entrance and open, that is where the guards stand. Kobolds stopped in to exchange their old candle for a new one and move along. A new kobold comes by every few minutes," Calthix said.

"Are there enough candles in the open crate to fill my pack?" She asked.

"Yes Little Mistress," he said.

"Can you get past the guards and to the crates in the rear?" She asked.

"As long as they don't look up Little Mistress," he answered.

"Here's what we'll do," she said an explained her plan to Calthix.

It was a simple plan of action. They would sneak as close as they could to the cavern and she'd find a place to hide. Then they would wait for one of the kobolds getting a new candle to pass so they had the most time they could before another one arrived. Calthix would sneak into the cavern and wait by the crates in the rear. Once another kobold had changed out their candle he set the crates on fire. The fire would hopefully distract the guards and Kimeara would run in and quickly fill her pack with candles from the open crate by the entrance. Once done Calthix would join her and set fire to the crate by the entrance on the way out. She was hoping they could use the resulting confusion to escape.

Ten minutes later they were ready to go. Calthix was in position and Kimeara was only one hundred feet from the entrance hidden by a boulder. She could see another kobold coming to get a new candle and slipped her hunting knife from its sheath. The tunnel split a little ways ahead of her. If the creature went down the far fork she'd leave it be, but if it came toward her she'd have to kill it before heading into the cavern. The kobold had almost made it to the fork in the tunnel when she heard frantic yelps and shouts coming from the cavern behind it. The creature turned and started back toward the cavern.

Kimeara rushed out from behind her rock and stabbed the creature in the side as it was turning. The creature cried out at the wound and dodged before she could stab it again. It drew its sword and slashed at her.

Kimeara stumbled back out of its reach and tried to dart in again for another strike, but the kobold kept her at bay with its sword. She could see blood flowing out of the wound she'd caused but didn't have time to wait the creature out. She stuck out again with her knife to keep the creature back and with her left hand pulled forth a ball of shadow energy and flung it into the advancing kobold. The bolt struck the creature in the chest and it fell to the ground with a grunt.

Kimeara waited a moment to make sure the kobold was dead and then advanced to the entrance of the cavern. Looking in she saw two of the kobolds running around trying to put the fires out. The third kobold, the magic user, was standing by the open crate and flinging balls frost at Calthix, who was darting about the room dodging the kobold's spells and flinging back balls of fire.

Kimeara reached for her power again but the kobold seemed to sense her and it turned and threw its ball of frost energy at her. She tried to get out of the way but the bolt of frost struck her leg and pain flowed through her. Even worse her left leg went numb from thigh down. Gritting her teeth against the pain and numbness she concentrated and stuck out with her mind at the magic user. Her blast knocked the magic to the side and Calthix's next ball of fire set the creature on fire.

Kimeara reached into her pocket and took out one of her healing potions and quickly drank it. She could feel the potions starting to counteract the effects of the ice magic as she got to her feet. The other two kobolds were still running around trying to put out the fires and were, as of yet, still unaware of their presence. Quickly she hobbled to the open crate and removing her pack, she stuffed it full of candles as fast as she could.

She had just finished putting her pack back on when a cry of "You no take candle" brought her around to face a new kobold at the door. The shout of this on drew the attention of the other two in the room and they started to move in behind her.

Thinking quickly Kimeara backed to the side of the room so all three kobolds were in front of her. She reached into her pockets with withdrew six of the flame balls she had. She gathered her power to her and quickly set her hands ablaze with green flame. Flames of her own creation through magic wouldn't harm her but if the balls burst and the oil inside lit then she would burn.

Green flame covered the balls in her hands and she started to juggle them. The kobolds stopped advancing to look on in wonder at this tall human who juggled fire.

"You no take candle," said the tallest and newest of the trio.

"I only took a little," Kimeara said an altered the pattern she was tossing the balls up in to give her more time with her right hand.

"Ours, you no take," it said again.

"Fine you take this," Kimeara said and she threw the first of her flaming balls into the chest of the speaker. The ball burst on contact and spewed flames all over the creature. The creature rolled around on the ground trying to smother the flames.

In quick succession she threw two more of the flaming ball at the other two kobolds. The first hit but the second one missed as the creature spun to avoid the ball. She tried twice more and again the creature dodged her. She was down to her last ball and the creature was growing cocky in its ability to evade her.

"You. No. Take. Candle," It said in a menacing voice advancing a step with each word.

An idea came to Kimeara and she moved into a better position. Once there she pretended to throw her last ball at the kobold and when he dove out of the way she threw it so it landed between the kobold and they door. As the creature shed back from the flames she darted out of the room and sent Calthix to fly ahead of her.

She heard calls and shouts all around her. They were closing in fast and the only out was speed not stealth. She summoned all her power and held it in her hands, which were awash in green flame.

At every cross tunnel Kimeara encountered she'd throw a ball of flame down the tunnel scattering the kobolds there. She'd also throw some flames behind her from time to time to keep pursuit back.

Suddenly she felt a painful tug in her heart and knew that Calthix had been defeated and dismissed back to his plane. She didn't have the time to stop to summon him back to her. The creatures were closing in all around her and she was barely able to keep ahead of them.

More twist and turns came and she blew by the ones that lead deeper into the mine. She could see the little scraps she'd made on the walls of the tunnels, high up to be out of direct sight of the kobolds. She had blazed her way in and would now take the same path out.

Ahead of her was a wide cavern, it lead to the entrance of the mine and she figured that was where Calthix was when he was dismissed. She didn't know what waited for her but she had no choice but to head straight into it. She released the flames from her right hand and reached into her pockets to pull out her last four balls. They weren't much but she was going to need every advantage she could get.

Kimeara rounded the last corner and came out into the cavern that marked the mine entrance. Before for her were six kobolds. One of them was huge for its species, standing almost five feet tall.

Kimeara knew she was looking at the leader of these creatures. She threw another handful of flames behind her to temporarily block the tunnel as she stood facing the pack in front of her.

Four of the littler kobolds held daggers and the fifth held a staff in one hand and a bolt of frost magic in the other. The leader of the group had a shield on one arm and held a large mace in the other. They didn't approach her head on; instead they fanned out so that if she closed with them some could slip behind her.

Damn, she thought.

"Don't supposed you'd be will to just let me go?" Kimeara asked stalling for time.

"You no take candle little human," the large one said in a guttural voice.

"That's what the others said and look what happened to them," Kimeara said with more bravado than she felt.

"Give candles. Die quickly. Try keep candles. Die slowly," the large one responded.

Kimeara felt her power flowing in her and didn't know if she had enough left to escape, but she knew that to stay would be her death. She relit her right hand with green flame, igniting the balls she held and started to juggle them.

The littler ones filched back a little at her display but the large one just continued to stare at her. Kimeara knew that the magic user and the large one were the keys to her survival. If she could kill them the others would scatter. She just had to keep the little ones from swarming her before she had a chance to take the dangerous ones out.

Gathering her courage she threw all four balls in quick succession. One at each of the littler kobolds causing them to scatter as flames shot up around their feet. Kimeara fell into a roll to dodge the first frost bolt from the mage and kept rolling to avoid a swing of the mace from the leader.

As she rolled back to her feet she pulled her knife from her belt and flung it at the magic user while also blasting him with her mind. The physic blow stunned the magic user enough so that it couldn't get out of the way of the knife. The blade sunk into the creature's belly. Not a wound that would kill it immediately but for now it would have a hard time concentrating enough to throw any more magic at her.

It was a brilliant move, but it cost her. She had been in one place to long and the large kobold stuck her with its shield, knocking her back and into the cavern wall. The blow rattled Kimeara and she struggled to maintain her feet and her grip on her magic. She stumbled away from the kobold, who continued to pursue her. Throwing her hands forward she threw two balls of flame onto the ground to create a temporary barrier between her and the kobold.

From the corner of her eye she could see that the littler ones had regrouped and were by the mage she'd downed and they were watching the large brute chase after her around the room.

Kimeara kept glancing around looking for any advantage she could find. She was getting tired and had to end this quickly. If more kobolds entered the room they'd simple swarm over her and then she was done.

Kimeara released the flames from her left hand and reached into the shadows and drew forth a ball of shadow energy. She poured more and more of her magical power into the shadow until three different orbs formed in her hand. Sweat beaded down her brow as she concentrated on holding the magic until she was ready to release it. She'd only get one chance at this and she didn't have the time or energy for another attempt.

Slowly she circled with the large kobold, waiting and looking for her shot.

The creature was smart and kept its shield between her and its body at all times. It kept taking little lunges at her to try to get close enough to smash her with it again but Kimeara continued to skitter out of the way at the last moment.

After circling the beast for a few minutes Kimeara realized that the only way she was going to get her opening was to let the creature have what it wanted. She was going to have to get hit again.

Kimeara added a little stumble to her steps like she was getting weary to lure the creature in. She also let the flames dissipate from her right hand. The lessening of the flow of magic in her hand made little difference to her since the energy to hold the shadow orbs and not to release them was immense.

The beast she was facing took it as another sign that she was weakening and it started to move at her in a slightly more reckless manner. Finally she gave into the inevitable and move slowly enough so that the creature lashed out and bashed her in the chest with its shield.

The blow hurt, there was no denying that. Kimeara grabbed the shield with her right arm and used that to help keep her on her feet. With the shield out of line with the creatures body and with it drawning back it's mace for what it thought would be a killing blow, Kimeara flung out her left hand and launched all three balls of shadow directly into the left side of the beast's chest.

The brute's heart exploded from the magical energy and for a moment the beast swayed on its feet not understanding what had happened. Then its brain caught up with its body and the kobold collapsed to the ground, eyes vacant and its mouth open in shock.

Silence filled the cavern and not a thing move.

Kimeara pulled herself up to her full height and with the last of her magical energy caused flames to spring to life in her hands again. The kobolds that were left fled screaming from the cavern as if the very flames of hell were nipping at their heels.

Her magic spent, Kimeara staggered over to the magic user she'd wounded and retrieved her knife from its stomach. Then with no thoughts going through her head but the desire to get out she staggered from the mine and out into the night. She got only about a half mile before she knew she could go no further. Summoning the last of her reserves she climbed a tall pine and strapped herself to a bough high up in the tree. With trembling fingers she opened her last healing potion and downed in it a second. Then exhaustion over took her and she slipped into unconsciousness.

It was late the next afternoon before she woke from her slumber. It took her a few moments to piece together her memories of last night and to understand why she was strapped to a branch high in a tree. Her head was pounding and she felt as if she'd had nothing to eat or drink for the last three days.

Reaching into her pack, Kimeara pulled out a water skin and a small loaf of trail bread. The small loaf was packed full of berries and nuts to give a traveler a boost of energy. Kimeara barley chewed each bite of it before swallowing because of the hunger gnawing at her belly. Finished with the bread she then drained the water skin with hardly a pause for breath.

She sat in the tree for a little bit while her stomach came to terms with being full after feeling so empty. Her head was killing her, but the food and water helped make her feel more alert to the world around her. While she was resting she tried to reach for her magic and got blasted with a sharp backlash of energy. She nearly fell off the branch, because of the pain, before she could steady herself. Her straps would have kept her from falling all the way to the ground but she didn't want to end upside down, she didn't know how her head or stomach would take that.

Kimeara breathed slowly in and out until the pain in her head abated a little. So she couldn't call on her magic to do anything much less summon Calthix. She knew he was safe in the Abysmal plane but she missed him and his companionship. Sighing softly to herself she undid the straps binding her to the tree and stuffed the ropes into her pack. When she had everything situated she climbed down until she was once again standing on solid ground.

I almost died last night, she thought to herself. I should have listened to Calthix and figured out a different way to get the money we need. I was foolish and overconfident in my abilities. I have to be better than this or I'm going to get myself killed one of these days.

Kimeara started to doubt her ability to make good decisions.

Yes she'd gotten the candles and so would get the money they needed, but at what cost? Her magic was completely gone and she was exhausted and in the middle of the woods. Calthix had been dismissed and she didn't know when she'd be able to summon him again. If she was attacked by a bandit or a wolf or anything else she couldn't do much right now to protect herself. Calthix had warned her about exceeding her limits and this time she had.

In a cloud of depression she trudged off toward the road leading to Goldshire. If she could make it to the road her chances of getting back to town would be better. When she came across a little stream she took a moment to wash up and to fill her water skin. She didn't have any more food but with plenty of water she felt better about going on.

As Kimeara neared the road she pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head to hide her hair and put her face in shadow. She also withdrew her brown satin gloves and put them on to hide her scars. She still needed to keep a low profile and her hair and scars were a dead giveaway to who she was.

She made the road and started east toward Goldshire and eventually she came to the Tower of Azora. She saw a horse and cart on the road in front of the tower and let out a sigh of relief. She'd check with the driver and see if she could hitch a ride into town. That would save her hours of walking.

As she approached the tower and large man with a jovial nature came out the door chatting with a couple of gnomes who lived there. He said something to them and all three burst into laughter.

"You lost dear?" The female gnome asked and Kimeara came up to them.

"No ma'am. I've just had a hard day of travel and I'm just looking for a ride to Goldshire to help save me some time," Kimeara said.

"You're not in any trouble are you lass?" The driver asked.

"No sir," Kimeara said.

"What's your name lass?" The driver asked.

"Ann sir," Kimeara said using only part of her middle name.

"Hop into the bed of the cart and I'll give you a lift once I'm done here," the driver said.

"Thank you sir," Kimeara replied and climbed in the bed of the cart. She was very careful not to knock any of the boxes piled into the back.

In short order the driver finished his business with the gnomes and they were off to Goldshire. The driver was a happy man and whistled merrily the whole way. Every so often he'd pause ask her questions about her travels or where she was headed. Kimeara answered openly but avoided going into any details about who she was and what her plans for the future were.

About half way to town the driver stopped for a bite to eat and seeing her with nothing of her own he shared some jerky with her. Kimeara enjoyed the easy companionship with the gentle man and for the rest of the trip she rode on the driver seat with him.

When they reached town it was nearly dusk and she asked the driver to drop her at the chandlers shop and he agreed to do so. When they arrived the shop was just about to close. Kimeara quickly bid the driver safe travels and jumped down from the cart. The driver wished her luck and started his cart toward the inn up the street.

Kimeara approached the chandlers shop and before she could knock on the door it opened and the chandler himself stepped out. He started upon seeing her and ushered her into shop.

"Did you get them?" The chandler asked.

"Yes," Kimeara said taking her pack off her shoulders and emptying the candles onto the counter. "Three score candles, just as you requested."

"I was right," the chandler said looking closely at the candles. "They were the ones stealing my shipments."

"Yes they had many crates in there," Kimeara said.

"Had?" The chandler asked.

"I set them on fire to provide a distraction so I could get these," Kimeara answered with a wave of her hand to indicate the candles on the counter.

"Well," the chandler said and a cunning look entered his eyes. "I'll give you two gold pieces for these and we'll call it done."

"Our bargain was for ten!" Kimeara said loudly socked at this development.

"Our bargain was for ten two days ago, now it's two. Take it or leave it." The chandler said smugly.

Anger poured through Kimeara. After all she'd been through and how close she came to death to be cheated now. Two gold pieces wasn't worth what she'd gone through and was barley worth a few of the expensive candles. She felt a faint tingle of magic, awakened and fueled by her anger.

Pulling on it, and hoping this bluff would work, she wreathed her right fist in flames and said in a slow deadly voice, "Our deal was for ten, and you'll pay me ten or I'll burn your shop down around you."

The chandler backed to the wall his eyes full of fear. He hadn't expected a fight from a little girl. He thought he could double cross her and she'd have no choice but to except it.

"Do it and the guards will be after you," he stammered looking for a way out of this predicament.

"No one even knows I'm here," Kimeara said softly not mentioning the cart driver.

His only out was to pay her what he owed her. She could see him come to the same conclusion and waited until he counted out the gold and backed away before reaching for it.

"I'll never hire you again," the chandler said.

"I don't work for people who try to cheat others," Kimeara replied as she pocketed the gold.

Dismissing the flames from her first she turned and left the shop quickly and darted down a small alley between two buildings before looking behind her. The chandler had run out of the shop after
her, his bravado back when she had left the building. His gaze darted around but he couldn't spot her in the shadows.

Slipping deeper into the alley Kimeara found a sheltered area and changed from her travel cloths to a linen dress she kept in her pack. Once she'd changed she took out a black with and using her little travel mirror in the fading light she adjusted the wig until it looked natural. Slinking from shadow to shadow she snuck out of town and circled around to approach from the northwestern road that led to Stormwind. She wanted to make sure that no one associated her with the cloaked girl they'd seen last.

She went to the inn and rented a room for the night. She was completely exhausted and she decided to go to bed without supper; she'd probably had just fallen asleep while eating anyway. Her last thought before drifting off was that she would need to try to summon Calthix tomorrow once she'd left town.