Location Unknown

Date Unknown

Hour: Around Dusk

Matou grunted and coughed out air as his side slammed a rock. He rolls, hitting rocks and twigs as he falls down the hill. He grunts and grimaces as he falls. Then, he is airborne, he had rolled off a jutting rock in the hill. He slams to the ground and actually lets out a small whimper of pain as he feels something enter him. Just near the liver. He looks at his body. A piece of wood was jutting through him, having impaled him. "Fuck…" He grunts, sitting up. He reaches inside of his pack and pulls out a vial wrapped in padded leather. It was filled with a crimsonish sanguine liquid of some sort. He removes the offending piece of wood and pours the liquid over the wound on both sides. The wound quickly begins stitching itself up. Matou tosses the vial away, along with the remaining contents of the vial. He stands up, grabbing his sword, a lightweight, black hilted and sanguine blade grosse messer. He slings it to his side and looks around.

The sun was setting, and he stood in a forest. The trees were huge. Massive pine trees that blotted out most of the dying sunlight. Somewhere far off, there was a wolf howl. Matou looks at where he had fallen from. It was a small, rocky hill. He looks around for his companions but finds none of them. Matou sighs, and thinks. Deciding that he best see if he can find a place to seek shelter or civilization, he sets out.

After a couple hours, he finds a small path, lazily illuminated by lanterns here and there. He decides to follow it, heading vaguely north. He keeps an eye out for people, shelter, or danger. Finally, he comes across an abandoned house, somewhere around midnight. Deciding he needed rest, Matou heads for the door and goes inside. It was dusty and dark. He finds a corner, takes out his bedroll, and lays down for the night.

Matou wakes up at the sound of bird calls. He looks around in the darkness, the only light being that which came in through the cracks in the shuttered windows. He packs up and opens the door. The forest was gloomy even in daylight, as little light came through the trees. Keeping his sword at the ready and altogether, quite confused by his predicament, Matou presses on. After an hour or so, nothing has happened, so he begins chewing on some jerky from his pack. At some point, after what must have been another three or so hours, Matou came across a dead bear, just off the side of the road. Inspecting it, it looked like it had been clawed to death, and something had fed on it. Flies were flying around the body and a couple crows flew away from the corpse when he approached. "Hmm…" Matou thinks upon what could have killed the bear, but nothing comes to mind. He decides to be extra cautious however, as it was likely that whatever did this was dangerous, or at least, more so than a bear. Matou tightens his grip on his sword and continues on.

It was a subtle change, so Matou didn't quite notice it for the first hour, but the forest had begun to change. Not drastically, but things were distinctly… deader. Matou was of course, only made more concerned about this. "Rot? Disease? Or… magic?" Matou mumbles to himself as he walks on.

Finally, the day grew late, and Matou once again settles down for the night. This time, he would have to sleep in the open. He starts a fire to ward off any animals, then lays down for the night. He listens to the forest as he tries to sleep, thinking about his curious predicament. He certainly wasn't in any part of Endaria. There was nowhere in the Empire that was like this. He had to figure out where he was, though, how he would start investigating was what he was worried about. So far, he had seen one abandoned house and an abandoned mine. Not much in the way of clues to where or what this place was. He sighs in resignation and falls asleep.

Something roared at him. Matou rolls out of bed, grabbing his sword as some massive black furred beast slams down right where he had been. It was a humanoid wolf. "Werewolf?" Matou mutters, readying his sword as the beast glared at him, circling him. Had the beast not roared, Matou would be dead now. He had no time to be grateful however. He faces the creature, cautious but ready. After what felt like an eternity, the wolfman lunges at Matou, who dodges aside, pivoting on his feet as he swings his sword down, putting his weight behind the blow. The blade shears through the monster, just under the right breast. Stopped in its tracks, Matou kicks the creature away, where it soon bleeds out.

Making sure it was dead first, Matou walks over to the wolfman and inspects it. The thing was a little over seven feet tall standing. Inspecting the claws, Matou concludes this must have been what killed the bear. Now that he was wide awake, Matou decides to continue walking, as he had no hope of getting back to sleep. He gets back on the path and keeps walking.

Around what must have been four in the morning, Matou hears movement… and talking. Though, he couldn't understand the language that was being said. Matou was happy to hear that he wasn't the only civilized being in this forest and presses on up the road, from where he heard the sounds. He keeps his sword nearby in case of the voices being those of bandits. Rounding a turn in the road, he comes across the source of the sound. The five armed figures stop, as does Matou, as they notice each other. Perhaps most distinctive was the glowing yellow eyes or the deathly pale faces. "Huh…?" Matou mumbles, as he takes notice that flesh was missing in places on the bodies of the five people. The five draw their weapons, and hostility seemed apparent. "Zombies? They're fuckin zombies." Matou mutters, stepping back a step as they draw their weapons. The lead one shouts at him in some language Matou doesn't understand. He cocks his head questioningly at the one shouting at him. The zombie shouts again, this time in another language, which Matou yet again fails to understand. "Er… You don't speak Endarian?" Matou asks back. This time, it was their turn to cock their heads, not understanding. The confusion however, seemed to defuse some of the hostility. The lead one points at Matou's sword and gestures for him to drop it. "Am I being… well I guess you won't understand." Matou tries to retort before realizing the futility of it. He contemplates fighting, he was confident he could take them, but decides that he knows nothing of the place and perhaps these… sentient zombies would lend some clues. So Matou takes off his sword and slowly hands it over. The leader of the group takes the sword as the others surround him. His hands are tied, and Matou decides maybe fighting was the better option. Being eaten was not his idea of a fun time. They then begin leading him along the road the way they had come.

The walk had seemed to take hours, and Matou had tried asking questions for the first hour or so, but it was useless. After a time, the group breaks off the path and walks onto a dead and abandoned crypt up a hill. Heading into the crypt, Matou is confronted with the scent of death. He looks around to find others like his captors. All of which had turned to look at him. The leader of his captors, a man he had surmised was named Victor, based on listening in on their conversations, says something to the residents and then drops Matou off in the corner. Matou cautiously watches everyone. Everyone seems just as cautious of him however.

Finally, someone in blue robes with a staff walks over. Another zombie of course. Matou had begun to believe he had come to live in an entirely undead world. The zombie waves the staff and casts some spell and then speaks to Matou. "I am Thom." He says.

"Oh? Someone I can understand. I presume with a spell, considering that you just used a spell it seems." Matou replies.

Thom nods. "And who are you?" He asks.

"My name is Matou Takeda." Matou responds plainly.

"Hmm… that doesn't sound Gilnean nor does it sound like a Stormwind name. Where are you from?" Thom asks. Matou cocks his head in curiosity at the names Gilnean and Stormwind.

"I'm Endarian. I'm from the Endarian Empire." Matou informs. Now it was Thom's turn to cock his head.

"There is no such place by that name." He says, not believing Matou.

"Yeah? Well I say there is no such place as Stormwind." Matou replies.

"How could you say that. It's the capital of the Alliance." Thom responds, bewildered now.

"Well, I am saying it." Matou says curtly.

"Well, regardless, what are you doing here?" Thom asks, somewhat annoyed by Matou's curt response.

"No fuckin clue. One moment I am in Pozye, in the Struyetsk region, cooking under the springtime sun, then there was this shimmer. Next thing I know, I'm taking a tumble down a hill and here I am in this giant pine forest." Matou explains. Thom nods, thinking.

"Sounds like you got teleported." Thom replies.

"Oh? No shit?" Matou says bitingly. Thom gives Matou another annoyed look.

"You're in Silverpine Forest. These are the lands of the Forsaken, that being us. I have no clue how you got here, if you are telling the truth, or what to do with you. I'll make sure you are sent to the Undercity. Someone there might know what to do." Thom says. Matou just nods. "The spell should allow you to speak and understand with no problem." He continues.

"Thanks. I'm certain it will help." Matou says, still rather rudely. Thom sighs and walks off. Matou lays back against the cold stone walls and closes his eyes. He might as well sleep, since it seemed these 'Forsaken' weren't going to harm him at the present time.

Matou is woken up by Victor. "Let's go. You're going to the Undercity. The Dark Lady will decide your fate, human." Victor says. Matou grimaces.

"I'm not a human." Matou spits the last word.

"You look human." Victor responds, pulling Matou to his feet.

"Maybe I look like one, but us Endarians live far longer than humans." Matou informs. Victor just nods, not really caring. He leads Matou out of the crypt. The other four were there already.

"Let's go." Victor says, giving Matou a push so he would start walking. Matou simple sighs in annoyance and follows as they get back on the path and continue north.

The next day, the great pine trees faded away and were replaced by numerous dead maple and oak trees. "Love the landscaping. Makes me feel so cheery." Matou says. Victor growls in annoyance.

The day after, the walls of what appeared to be an abandoned city came into view. "We'll be there in a few hours. You will treat Lady Sylvanas with respect." Victor says, warningly. Matou just nods, rolling his eyes. This 'Sylvanas Windrunner' was apparently the leader of the Forsaken. He could care less though. His field of work didn't exactly teach respect for nobility.

As they walked, Matou took notice of the occasional building. All were run down. The culture was as undead as its people, with abandoned houses refurbished into arguably liveable abodes. Occasionally, a cart would pass by, pulled by zombified horses. The riders were more undead Forsaken.

After a while, the group reaches the city and heads inside. Matou looks around but sees no one. "Real bustling place." He jabs.

"The city is underground." Victor explains, irately.

"Ah. I guess the sun isn't all that great for the skin?" Matou prods. Victor just grumbles in annoyance. Matou sighs as they head on into and down to the Undercity.