Chapter 2 of 3
Vol'jin jolted up from his body. Lor'themar and Baine continued to haul out his body with respect and careful hands. The shadow hunter stood there, watching.
It certainly looked like Grommash Hold but the troll knew better. A dark hue clung to every inch of space and made all the shadows come to life. The longer he focused on objects the less they seemed to remain still.
Soft giggling called his attention to the throne. He whirled around to see an all too familiar face. Yellow glowing eyes attached to a pale white face with upwards pointing tusks.
Black face paint covered his chin and most of his forehead. He was sitting on his heels with the balls of his feet on top of the cushion, no part of him touching the back rest.
"Ya 'ere ta take me ta de udda side?" Bwonsamdi shook his head and bore a wicked grin.
"No." The loa stared at Vol'jin with an intensity that felt strange. His smile faded and his glowing eyes became stern.
"Whatchya mean 'no'?" Even as a spirit Vol'jin kept his composure. No anger, no fear.
"I be 'ere ta watch ya drift t'rough dis realm between realms." The death god reflected the shadow hunters lack of emotions.
"Drift?" Bwonsamdi's posture became exhausted. After a head tilt and a fair amount of time he snorted lightly.
"Son o' Sen'jin be needin' help ta undastan' why his incomplete body anchorin' 'im 'ere?" He giggled again.
Vol'jin's transparent hand reached up to his tusks. He hadn't even notice one them break during his fall but now it was a painful truth. Feeling the jagged edge of his right phantom tusk, he thought of a remedy.
The shadow hunter ran out of the throne room. Orgrimmar was a disturbing place in this strange line between worlds.
Random spirits wandered through the city. None of them were whole, too twisted by the amount of time they had obviously spent wandering this realm.
Shadows came to life and died down just as quick. The place never remained still.
"Dey could be you…" Bwonsamdi hovered near Vol'jin and leaned his head over his shoulder just to emphasize the statement.
The shadow hunter waved a hand in a shooing manner. He could see echoes of people living their lives in the city but they were more intangible than the fragments of things that he avoided.
Passing through the living spirits was a strange sensation but based on their lack of reaction, he had assumed his spirit didn't affect them.
Voices were tough, he could hear only the conversations he focused on but listening did him little good when his voice wouldn't reach them.
Vol'jin felt a pull from his core. He looked the direction he felt his spirit wanted to go. A faint glowing light came from the inn.
The shadow hunter walked towards it, the pull starting to feel stronger. As he got up the stairs the light seemed to be coming from a single spirit. Bwonsamdi was still floating very close behind him.
"Ah de priest. He be important ta ya, yes?" Vol'jin nodded idly, remembering how cross he was with Rennyn the last time they saw each other.
The priest was resting his forehead fully on the bar top, one stool in from the end. His tusks hanging over the edge, hovering in his lap and his shoulders sunk down as far as they would go.
Resting his elbows on his thighs with his hands dangling under his tusks, allowed for a severely graceless position.
With his ears sticking straight up, he listened carefully to the paladin that was babysitting him laugh and flirt with some unfortunate blood elf. Concentrating on controlling his emotions and not falling off the barstool, he remained very still.
Vol'jin walked up to the priest slowly, hesitating a few times. Unsure what he was going to do or say, or even if his presence would make a difference.
"Whatchya waitin' for?" Fairy god mother Bwonsamdi was growing impatient. Surely the god of death had better things to do than follow around a former Warchief?
Finally Vol'jin stood by the priests side. He just stared at the overly distraught, lightly glowing troll unable to find any comforting thoughts.
"I told 'im I be comin' back…" His disheartened stare reigned down on the priest.
"Dat be mistake," the death god giggled softly, "If ya be off somewhere dangerous, den de best t'ing be ta comfort dose ya care 'bout."
The death gods voice sounded like it was poking fun. He knew what had happened. He just wanted to make the error more painful for the shadow hunter.
Vol'jin turned his head to give the death god an exhausted glare. His eyes focused on a corner of moving shadows then he looked around the room.
The shadow hunter tried to manipulate the shadows by moving his hands and chanting but they refused to follow his command. His spirit too fel corrupted for them to obey. He turned towards Rennyn again, who hadn't moved at all.
Vol'jin rested a ghostly hand on the priests shoulder. Great thought and effort were required to keep his touch light enough not to go through the priest but heavy enough to feel his spirit.
The gesture felt insincere and cheap but he left it there while he meandered through his memories of the troll.
His hand wandered to the trolls right ear instinctively. Stroking it lightly for a second allowed a good memory to flow.
"Even de spirits be ashamed of ya teasin'…" Rennyn said with a smile as he tried to move his hands to a more strategic spot on the shadow hunter.
Vol'jin had been rubbing the priests ears, sitting in front of him. The sunlight through the jungle leaves fell beautifully on his face. Other places needed the chieftain so he stood up promptly evading Rennyn's advancing touch.
"We ain't got time for sweatin'." He looked deep into those disappointed eyes with genuine caring and a sarcastic teasing tone that had also laced his words.
Vol'jin exited the hut. Rennyn shouted after him without getting up for obvious reasons, "Ya makin' me wanna rip my heart out…"
The shadow hunter started to gently stroke spirit echo Rennyn's left ear with his other hand. Vol'jin skipped over the hole seemingly unaware it even existed.
Suddenly Rennyn jolted up. His glow flashed into a big apex of light, filling the space and forcing the witnessing spirits to cringe.
The flash faded quickly and returned to its normal soft glow. The priest looked around, recognizing the light touching sensation in his ears as something he'd only felt around one troll.
"Vol'jin?" Rennyn pleaded into the emptiness of the inn.
Aureyn heard the desperation in the trolls voice and rushed over with a nervous laugh waving his new friends away. The blood elf put a hand on Rennyn and patted him gently.
Bwonsamdi hovered near Vol'jin effortlessly, watching every facial twinge on the trolls face.
The shadow hunter wasn't quite sure what just happened but at least it meant he could affect reality in some small way.
"Try dat again." Bwonsamdi's request sounded more like an order. Vol'jin shook his head, "I 'avta know how dis be helpful before I start abusin' it."
After Aureyn had moved away from the priest, Vol'jin moved close again. Rennyn's lonely demeanor started to bleed into the shadow hunter. He stayed near the priest hoping that his presence would help but for the next few hours, Rennyn seemed inconsolable.
Eventually it was time for the ceremony. The paladin helped the priest out of the inn but was quickly shooed away outside the door. Vol'jin followed them.
Bwonsamdi was still watching but had perched himself a little farther away.
The pair went to the back of the crowd. Vol'jin walked up the platform to see an awfully excited Banshee Queen. His body lay on a pyre all wrapped up.
As the fire lit under his corpse, Vol'jin whimpered, "No…"
It was a strange purple fire from where he viewed it from, but it danced on his mortal flesh all the same.
Bwonsamdi was calm, "Ya fatha be wantin' ta see ya but… ya trusted ya body ta de wrong family." He laughed loudly, "Dey know ya be a troll ja? Ahaha!"
The loa continued to laugh as horror took over Vol'jin's face. Several minutes went by as the troll just watched his body consumed in flame. Smoke came off in a strange and unnatural pattern.
"Why not be givin' ya body back ta de Darkspear for a proper ritual?" Bwonsamdi now sounded genuine. The shadow hunter shook his head lightly, unsure of a response.
The loa's stinging laughter and harsh gloating over the atheistic cremation of his body was all that filled his worried mind.
As Sylvanas finished her speech and the cheering ensued, the troll spirit walked to the back of the crowd to find his priest again.
As he made his way to the faint glow Rennyn emitted the ground began to shake. Reality seemed unfazed but Vol'jin looked around as the quake faded.
The reality spirits became blurry and things in the distance faded into black. The surrounding area became wavy and unstable.
"De longa ya spend 'ere, de worse ya connection becomes, de worse ya perception of it becomes." Bwonsamdi sounded as if he was whispering in the shadow hunters ear but he wasn't.
Vol'jin looked to see him resting on a waving boulder nearby. He glanced at the death god and continued towards the glowing light.
The priests spirit was in tact and clear but he could still tell the slightly faceless shape near him was the paladin, Aureyn.
"Short and sweet I like it," Aureyn's voice grated on Vol'jin's nerves although the pat he gave the priest made him jealous he could not do the same.
Rennyn's head was hung low and his voice was scratchy, "Dat wretch… She too much like Garrosh…"
Even through the darkness that hung between worlds the shadow hunter could see the despair and loneliness in the priests bloodshot eyes.
"But didn't the Loa tell Vol'jin to pass his responsibilities to her?"
Vol'jin nodded at the blood elf for the first time ever, "Somet'ing like dat…" Knowing his voice wasn't going to be heard he said it almost trying to convince himself.
"I don' know deir plan, but I know… a Forsaken Horde, be a Horde I wan' no part of." The shadow hunter lurched at the priests words.
"Ya can't abandon de Horde! Not now… Ya 'avta trust me an' de spirits an'… a-an' I know it be tough but... ya 'avta trust Windrunner as well." His words echoed in the shadowy space but reality took no notice.
Frustration over his voice going unheard made him try to grab the priests hand.
While Vol'jin could feel his emotions and his spirit, Rennyn's hand tore away as if nothing was there.
"Pay your respects. It's what he would want." Vol'jin listened but couldn't understand the words, too enveloped in finding a reliable way to reach the priest.
Rennyn retorted angrily, "What he would wan' be a ritual so his spirit be makin' it to Bwonsamdi unhindered, but 'ere we be, watchin' his spirit becomin' adrift."
The shadow hunter nodded with sad eyes. He wasn't about to give up even though the feeling of defeat from his inability to communicate to the priest as well as feeling the priests own sense of defeat was an overwhelming combination.
Vol'jin followed the pair to the pyre platform passively. The priest forced Aureyn to leave him alone with his sourness.
Unwilling to accept the rejection of being ignored and seeing Rennyn's light glow fade, the shadow hunter rested his hand once again on his shoulder. He tried for awhile to make sense of the priests thoughts but his feelings were too powerful to move passed.
Vol'jin allowed the feelings to flow through him as well. Suddenly the priests thoughts became clear although tangled with emotions.
Vol'jin waded through Rennyn's memories with him. He saw the first time they were intimate through Rennyn's eyes. The shadow hunter smiled at how terrified the priest was back then and thought about how far he had come now.
The memory faded into another and Vol'jin found he was looking at a younger version of himself. He was killing his childhood friend with the help of Bwonsamdi. The feeling of insignificance that was attached to the memory depressed him.
He tried to talk to the memory, "It had to be done, but his death was difficult ta accept an' ya was dere for me."
Nothing changed, an overall sense of anxiousness and dread in the memory lingered, watching everyone gather around Vol'jin.
The memory shifted into a more grim scene. Dark tentacles coming from a night elf girl flowing into Rennyn's chest. A distant wind chime sound only filled him with more worry.
Wincing from pain, it was hard to focus on anything else. A grand feeling of relief as Rennyn's eyes wandered to Vol'jin grabbing the tendrils. His handsomely strong hands drew most of the priests attention.
Another shift turned into Rennyn begging his chieftain not to go to Pandaria to keep on eye on Garrosh.
"It not be doin' any good! For ya or for de tribe…" Rennyn wasn't quite on his knees but his voice was almost as desperate as it was for his Warchief not to go to the Broken Shore.
The priest was holding onto Vol'jin's hand but the shadow hunter just tore it away. The overwhelming rejection was hurtful and the priests feelings were devastating.
Vol'jin shut his eyes tight and shook his head. He opened them again to say something but the scene had changed. A flashing collection of his own face staring at the priest and smiling.
Their sarcastic jokes flowed back and forth as they refused to tell each other how they really felt. Finally happiness poured into Vol'jin from Rennyn and then was washed away with a stinging voice.
"You were… special to him?" Sylvanas' harsh voice made Vol'jin let go of the priest. Rennyn's anger radiated from him but he was silent.
"I wasn't aware he bent that way…" The shadow hunter watched her eyes as they glowed so brilliantly through the veil between the realms.
"Will you help me avenge him in this fight against the Legion?" The former Warchief turned his gaze to the priest. Watching every facial twinge hidden by the dancing shadows on his face. He didn't even meet her gaze for his next statement.
"He was patient an' fierce 'cause his heart still beat. He welcomed diversity where ya reign depends on one t'ing; death. Ya heart be as black as Garrosh's an' ya be no Warchief of mine."
The smile Sylvanas displayed was cruel and her next words were sure to match. Rennyn lifted his head to finally look the Dark Lady in the eye.
"You must have thought you were more special to him than you actually were. Missing his last moments? Quite sad."
Pain. A sinking jolting horrific pain in the place his heart would be if he wasn't a spirit already.
The realization he didn't say goodbye to his special priest saddened him to a depth he didn't know existed. He was so busy ensuring things were taken care of before his death... A mistake made so obvious now.
"De last t'ing I saw was her smug face…" Analyzing his last few moments became more and more painful as he thought about all the things that went wrong in his last day on Azeroth.
"Den ya not be needin' me to fight de Legion. Deir numbas won' madda. Dey'll be crushed unda de tremendous weight of ya gigantic ego."
Rennyn was bitter but Vol'jin couldn't find any reason he shouldn't be. His face didn't change but his words bore an angry tinge and an overall sarcastic tone.
Rennyn turned away but the shadow hunter could feel the Banshee Queen's hunger to flex her new power growling.
"You dare desert the Horde?" The priest stopped. Silence ensued and uncertainty started to build in the former Warchief.
Vol'jin couldn't help but try to diffuse the situation, "No… Rennyn… She's jus' lookin' ta make sure ya 'av not'ing else so ya'll follow 'er. Don't be lettin' 'er sway ya down a false path. If ya jus' trust me an' de Loa, I promise dis all be makin' sense!" He paused, thinking over his next statement.
Rennyn turned around to face the Dark Lady and the shadow hunter took the opportunity to stand in front of him, hoping it would help his next statement make it to him.
"It may not always feel like it but ya mean more ta me dan ya know." It felt good to say it but it felt worse to be ignored after it.
"Meant." Bwonsamdi's voice was almost worse than the Dark Lady's at this point. Vol'jin looked at the death god with angry eyes.
"Ya be dead. Everyt'ing ya felt be in de past." The loa's eyes seemed to be emitting a brighter glow.
"Detain that troll!" Sylvanas' voice echoed through the entirety of the desert. Guards moved towards Rennyn as they unsheathed their weapons.
The emptiness consuming the priest wouldn't allow him to show any emotion. He stared at the armed guards approaching with blank bloodshot eyes.
Demons started erupting from the crowds. Horrific horns and growling filled the road just outside Orgrimmar. The guards became distracted and so did the Banshee Queen.
Rennyn stood there for awhile longer, considering his options.
It be worth helpin'? Maybe Bwonsamdi be kind an' take me now. Dat way I could see Vol'jin's face again… His mind wandered to how gorgeous the shadow hunter he loved so dearly was.
Rennyn smiled.
Suddenly the hole in Rennyn's ear stung lightly. Allowing memories of Vol'jin from this morning to fill his mind as he explored it with a careful hand.
"Did ya feel it?" Bwonsamdi sounded exhausted. Vol'jin shook his head as he withdrew his hand from the priests ear.
"Dyin' ta be witchya be better den livin' wit'outchya." The shadow hunter changed the subject to something more desirable.
"My tusk. Dats my connection ta him an' dats how he be freein' me." A horrific earthquake noise sounded with no movement in the ground.
Vol'jin looked around to see the edges of the black had grown closer to him. Bwonsamdi smiled.
"Why ya be enjoyin' all dis?!" The shadow hunters emotions began to run wild as his mind started to grow weary from battling the strange half world he was in.
"Ya be entertainin'. I 'avta watch an' find out whatchya gunna do next. Ya tusk t'eory be an interestin' one." The loa was nodding and grinning wickedly all through the statement.
A thought struck Rennyn like lightning and he jolted up. His tusk still be on dat shore…
The priest turned to Orgrimmar and walked through the winding hall entrance. Rennyn approached the inn with a somewhat renewed hope.
The troll grabbed Aureyn's shoulder and pulled it to face him.
"His tusk! We be sendin' 'im ta Bwonsamdi afta all." Aureyn's brow crinkled, "What? We?! I'm in the middle of some—," He interrupted the blood elf, "If we be retrievin' it…"
"No. No! Rennyn honestly. Give it a rest! He's dead, you have to accept that. Also Bwonsamdi? Trolls have ridiculous names but that… that is outrageous."
Rennyn shook his head and put his other hand on Aureyn's shoulder bringing their eyes together for an intense stare, "Please. I be needin' ya help. I be needin' de closure of knowin' I did everyt'ing I could."
Aureyn looked warily at the troll, "And you'll let all this go? Tusk or no tusk." Rennyn nodded slowly.
The paladin sighed, "Fiiiiiiine. But I am not driving the boat." The priest grinned wickedly, "I t'ink dere's a betta way…" The troll exited the inn with the reluctant blood elf in tow.
The pair navigated to the entrance to the cleft of shadows near a few elevators. A narrow path down under Orgrimmar wound itself into some buildings.
"What are we here for…?" Aureyn didn't care much for the humidity or the darkness.
"A mage." Rennyn didn't stop or hesitate. "Tanzado?" Aureyn was dumbfounded.
Warlocks, rogues and deranged criminals reside in the Cleft of Shadows not an old friend. Rennyn smiled softly to himself as he lead the blood elf farther into the depths of Orgrimmar.
The pair came across a worn down hut. Rennyn entered as if the two warlocks outside weren't suspicious. Aureyn followed like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs.
"Jazzy!" A male troll looked up from his book on an alchemists table. His blue dreadlocks were mostly hung behind him but some had leaked over his shoulder.
Upwards pointed tusks with minimal face paint rest on a somewhat happy looking troll.
"I thought we weren't allowed to call you that anymore…?" Aureyn whispered under his breath towards the priest.
"Tanz." The trolls smiled at each other and the mage went for a hug ignoring the sense of dread radiating from the priest hitting him. He embraced the unwilling participant in a warm hug.
As he pulled away he looked into Rennyn's eyes, still holding him at arms length. The despair and anguish presented themselves to the mage instantly.
"Aye, Vol'jin…" Tanzado nodded to himself and let go of the priest. His eyes wandered to the ground as he walked himself back to his table.
"I be needin' ya… expertise?" Rennyn let his hood hide his eyes from further evaluation.
"Where ya needin' ta go?" Tanzado's demeanor turned to giddy.
"De Broken Shore…" The inflection Rennyn used made it sound like he wasn't sure Tanzado could do it. The mage's pride was slightly wounded but his eagerness to experiment overpowered it and he nodded.
"Why ya headed dere?" The mage fiddled with the book on the table.
Aureyn butted in out of nervousness and anger having been dragged away from the inn, "Would it surprise you to know it's about Vol'jin?"
"Ah, he be important ta me as well even afta…" He trailed off for a moment and added, "Ya be needin' more help?"
Rennyn shook his head, "Who be portin' ya if we did?" Tanzado nodded again. He grabbed a surprising amount of vibrantly colored vials with one hand and a book in the other. He handed a vial to Rennyn and two more to Aureyn.
"Please! Drink!" The roll of his "R" was haunting. The sound drained away all the faith Aureyn had in either of the trolls.
Rennyn downed his vial no problem but Aureyn was reluctant, eying the two trolls as if they wronged him, "But why did you give Rennyn one and me two? And why are they all different colors? Are you seriously telling me that making portals isn't an exact practice?"
"Dat's exactly what it be! Practice…" Rennyn nodded like it was the most normal thing to be doing, drinking strange liquids in the cleft of shadows with a deranged mage.
Aureyn reached up and grabbed Rennyn's right ear only to pull it down hard to his level.
Aureyn dropped his voice down to a whisper, "I understand you're grieving but this… this is too much. I won't."
Rennyn hit the paladin's hand away, "Vask!" His anger was fleeting since all his emotions were hard to grasp, "I really be needin' ya, please Aur? Trust me?"
Aureyn sighed, "It's not you I don't trust…" He gestured with his head towards the mage.
"What be not ta trust!" Tanzado's demeanor was unfazed by the blood elf's lack of faith in him.
"Drink, den I be sendin' ya's off." Both trolls looked at Aureyn expectantly.
The paladin rolled his eyes and chugged both vials with great disgust written on his face.
"Now be standin' dere an' try not ta be shufflin' 'round." Tanzado had gestured to a different area than where they were already standing, but it was further into the hut and Aureyn rather liked being near the door.
"Big t'anks Tanz." Rennyn's voice was sincere but still sad. Tanzado winked at the priest which did not instill confidence in Aureyn whatsoever.
The mage started to chant from his book and gesture wildly with his hands, "Close ya eyes an' if ya not be accustomed ta arcane energies den be keepin' 'em closed. No madda what."