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agameoftangledwebs-blog · 7 years

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#12 Where Past Meets Future

Their travels held true to Saeros's statement in that this was far from any sort of pleasurable camping trip; though their mistsabers proved invaluable in making good time. He took them up through Feralas and into a wasteland of ash and decay that was Desolace and even further to the mountains of Stonetalon where they were bedded down this evening. Along the way Saeros didn't speak much aside from explaining basic facts. This included their navigational settings, how he knew which direction to take them in, and the various beasts one should be wary of in the lands they crossed. He didn't tend to make a true camp every time they stopped to sleep, as fire would be too clear a sign in some of the more dangerous open areas, but tonight stuck out as an exception. He was busy kindling a small blaze he had set upon a stack of dry branches while he left Elru to her own devices. Normally she'd be expected to pitch in but.. Arcane made her contributions not entirely necessary.

Elru was always hungry for new sights and new information and took both when she could without slowing them down or making Saeros speak more than was necessary. After taking one last look around the Desolace horizon she eventually settles down to sit once the fire starts going, watching Saeros work.

His actions were efficient if brisk as he tends it into a stable light that feeds on larger bits of wood. Tonight, as with all nights before since they'd left Eldre'Thalas, Saeros had a strong habit of preferring travel rations or what he could quickly catch compared to something he could conjure. It was only a handful of eggs, some herbs, and a rabbit he'd managed to collect along the way but as he worked to clean the latter he asks without looking up, "Care to eat real food tonight?"

Elru considers that question, particularly since she hasn't had much in the way of real food for awhile. She doesn't want to make Saeros wait on an answer, so after a moment she gives a light nod and lightly answers, "I would, yes. Thank you, Kir-Moldir."

He takes her answer without any form of confirmation as he strips the wet hide from the rabbit, wrapping the offal within and setting it aside. Saeros wasn't shy about using those long runic knives for more basic tasks as he was doing now. "We'll be coming across the Kaldorei soon. I suggest you treat them with all the deference you'd show to me. It'll be something easy for them to believe."

She hums an affirmation as she watches him work with a small amount of interest. "I can do that. How similar and different are we from these Kaldorei far from Eldre'thalas?"

"Physically we look the same. The main difference is in attitude and bearing. I'm sure they'll remind you of Idril."

She frowns at him for that, though there's no real irritation or resentment behind it. "They are a people of morality?"

"Intensely so."

"We share a common history that dates back to the Well, no? It's interesting that their culture would turn so different from that of Highborne."

"They want nothing to do with the power of Arcane and have turned heavily to nature."

Elru blinks at that. "They have power over nature of all things?"

"They call themselves Druids and are capable of changing their physical shapes into that of beasts."

"How curious. Is it a capable power, this Druidic power?"

"They are formidable in their own right."

"This will be something I'll have to see for myself. Why are we going to meet the Kaldorei in this particular instance?"

"It's not intentional. We just happen to be passing through their territory."

"Understood. What is your overall take of Kaldorei as a whole?"

"Their only advantage is in numbers. Otherwise they are fairly weak."

"I see. I will remember this. Would they know that we are Highborne?"

"They can make educated guesses which wouldn't be to our advantage. The Highborne have yet to be welcomed back into Kaldorei society."

"Their loss." It was a half unintentional slip of the tongue. "I will be cautious and act as you say I should."

He doesn't respond but their dinner was well on its way to being done. He'd spitted and roasted the rabbit while the eggs had been cracked and were sizzling on a slightly bowled rock smeared with rabbit grease. "If you've questions it would be best to get them over now. Their topic is irrelevant."

She lifts her eyes from the food to take a good look at Saeros with a curious expression. "How old are you?"

Saeros's eyes flick up to her then with the briefest glint of humor. "I remember life far before the Well was taken from us. Suitable?"

Elru doesn't react much but the widening of her eyes and slight intensifying of her stare makes her surprise pretty clear. "You're... That's impressive, yes."

"Wintercrest is even older but among us it's not something of much note."

"Just how many around Eldre'thalas are from that time?"

"Most of the remaining Shen'Dralar, which was intentional."

"Why was that intentional?"

"Because our knowledge is far more valuable than what children born into Eldre'Thalas come to know. It made them suitable candidates for the Pylons."

"What becomes of former candidates now that feeding the Pylons are no longer as necessary?"

"I suspect they will live. We've no need to cull them any longer."

"I wonder how well they'll do now in these changing times..." She sighs a little, shifting her seating. "I suppose instead of being afraid of being culled, they'll simply have to just be afraid of each other. And people like you, Kir-Moldir."

"They are our offspring. It's natural they should fear their betters. It pushes them to become more powerful than we are."

"Have any ever succeeded in reaching such a place?"

"Less than a handful. Their trials have been in some ways far harsher than your own."

"I believe it." She tilts her head to look at Saeros from another angle. "What harsh trials did you have to endure when you were around my age?"

His response time didn't change but Elru could sense how Saeros's naturally searching magic suddenly doubled back on itself, coiling. "A systematic purging of my own family tree."

She frowns a little. "That sounds... unpleasant. Was it necessary for your survival?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"I see... So you are the only one left of your family then?"

"Of my direct tree, yes."

She ponders this for a few moments, shifting in her seat again. "By how much do you seek to expand that lineage from yourself? Or I guess put more bluntly, how many children do you want?"

"Enough that fate and time won't be able to put an early end to it." Certainly unspecific.

She stares at him for a bit, then kinda sighs and rubs at her arms. "But of course. Lets do our best then."

Their simple meal had finished and Saeros carelessly crafts a plate and fork for Elru's share which he hands to her. "Disheartened by the idea?"

She accepts it graciously and sets the place in her lap before eating. "No, I was never disheartened by my role of bearing children. Intimidated, but never disheartened. At this point even a touch glad."

"Why is that?"

She nibbles on a piece of the rabbit testingly before speaking. "You've allowed me to live this long, so I've at least a little merit of worth for such a role. And, well, you are a very strong and desirable male."

The rabbit was charred on the outside but cooked all the way through. It would serve its purpose. Saeros set into his own meal with the single-minded intensity he carried with all necessary tasks but pausing to ask, "Is that your own personal impression or that of Eldre'Thalas?"

"My own. I'm well aware of my own mortality now and how it's only by your will I'm still here." She takes a small bite, chews and swallows. "And the sheer... difference in power and bearing between us doesn't take away from the fact that you're incredibly competent, intelligent, and handsome." More forthcoming with internal thoughts she may be but, she doesn't look any less shy about it, paying more attention to her food than him at the moment.

His voice was noticeably dry then, "So glad that I meet your standards." He just might be teasing her.

She frowns a little. "I'm still grateful you would lower yours, you know."

"You discredit yourself."

"I do? How?"

His reply took some time in coming but that had more to do with his interest in eating his dinner while it was hot. "Understand that what I see as valuable has very little to do with appearances, though those features are suitable enough to attract others." Saeros gestures up towards a temple, "My interest is here. I have pushed you far faster through your conditioning than most could survive and yet you have. Inner strength that isn't shattered by sudden circumstances is a rarity."

Elru doesn't respond, though she does allow a tiny smile on her face in the face of that praise.

Their meal continued on in silence from there until Saeros finished and his plate disappeared. There was a long uprooted tree that he had set them against that he shuffles back to lean against now. As an after-thought he flicked his fingers at the remnants of the rabbit which too disappeared and not too far away the soft snarls of their mistsabers could be heard.

Elru took that time to finish her own meal and after watching Saeros take his place to lean against that uprooted tree she scoots around the fire closer to him, not quite against the tree and not too close to Saeros. Without prompt she keeps the fire going. "How did you become the Fang of Eldre'Thalas?"

Saeros wasn't generally a man of long winded speeches but as he shifts in place for a more comfortable lean against the rotting log he sets his attention on the gloom outside the circle of light that was their fire before focusing exclusively upon Elru with all the weight of that amber regard. It was then he spun his tale. "In the height of Highborne influence and power, as Azshara herself had just ascended the throne by the grace of Elune, I was in disfavor among the rest of my kin. In the short years before--I was a rebellious young man who dug in against the wishes of his family and dishonored the name Kir-Moldir despite my prowess with Arcane. As in the way of most Highborne, we who were young were simply expendable pawns used at the best possible advantage of our elders. I had many cousins who took to this idea like ducks to water but their familial requirements were never as stringent as my own. Ever since my earliest memories of adulthood I'd been on a near constant parade among the elite, unknowingly solicited in discrete inquiries to my familial patriarch as to who would claim the honor of not just breeding thick Highborne blood into their lines but also my genetic trait of amber eyes. The fact that I excelled at my studies in Arcane only worsened the attention. Over time I came to know just about every Highborne line that had women with white hair in a manner not of my own choosing. In the beginning things began as all courtships do--in a mixture between parental force and other such manipulations that are enough to chain a young man to a task he steadily grew to resent. I had little desire to do as I was bid, to act as stud to this near endless procession of women. For a short time my refusal was entertained as boyish defiance until I struck a suitor to the point of scarring for drawing me aside and being too forceful with her touch. There exists a number of ways that Arcane ability can be chained by another and at the behest of my family I was so bound and put to the yoke. At my age and paired with inexperience there was little to be done aside from submit. But with each new partner that forced me first to heel and then their bed I remembered their faces, their names. I kept careful track of who caught and eventually gave birth. All the while I fed that boyish resentment into an adult's iron will. At that point I wasn't certain how but that I would, I must, find a way out from under the thumbs of those above me. When I behaved I was rewarded access to my chosen tutor but even then it took a span of years for me to discover Wintercrest. At the time I wasn't aware of his hatred for a branch of my family tree but only that he was learned and began to teach me a form of magic not spoken but etched with will or hand. Arcane that didn't require the casting I was barred from. I learned to be cautious with my talents and hid them from all but from the one that taught me until a time when I knew enough that I could successfully defy and reclaim my agency. My first target was a woman I can't recall the name of but had already gotten herself two offspring off of me and had was in the process of a third. She was far older than I so her heart giving out was strange but no due cause for alarm. I had power to my name but knew it wouldn't be enough for the rest so I began training in the manner of the Moon Guard, exercising my body in their way as supplied by Wintercrest until he pressed one into our service. I learned several ways with various weapons, studied how to apply my runic power to their edges to cut down spells midair until I fought my teacher to yielding. At first, the string of murders drew the attention of the Moon Guard who assumed a Kaldorei was targeting the Highborne given that the deaths were accomplished by blade-work rather than magic. But in looking for a connection between them the investigation was quickly called off. Murder among the Highborne wasn't an uncommon occurrence in those days and it was expected from one's enemies. As word got around in various circles and my once-upon-a-time mates learned I was hunting them down rather effectively they made attempts in warding off their fates. They entrenched themselves in wards and other magical forces. Some even went to such lengths as being buried alive in small suites deep beneath the earth with their entrances blocked by earth. The harder my kills became to achieve the more violent I was in how their deaths would come. It is a difficult thing to intimidate the Highborne but I stumbled upon it rather by accident. I remember her smile, the mocking tone in which she voiced some of my deepest fears, that I would not succeed in purging all who had used me. She was Shen'dralar. To experience hatred in such a strength that the heat of it frosts into an icy calm was new to me but it brought a sorely needed clarity. I was feared because I could circumvent defenses that most Highborne couldn't, but that was the worst of it. You would simply die. She was the first in which I truly tortured, though my knowledge of anatomy was sorely lacking, and she died before I delivered her into a public place where she would be quickly found. Both her upper and lower jaw reduced to nothing more than shards of stained bone clinging to a mangled skull. Soon after I was approached by other Shen'dralar and offered a position within them plus an added measure of autonomy. As long as I honed my craft and applied it where occasionally requested I would be allowed my own murderous devices. My title came far later as I gained a taste for intimidation." He'd been speaking for some time and with a quick gesture Saeros conjures a small glass of water to sip on as he waited for Elru's own response.

It takes a minute for Elru to process the whole story as she watches him stop to drink his water. Though her expression was subdued, she was clearly engrossed in the tale. Finally she first says, "You were very forthcoming with that recount and response. I'm rather surprised and taken aback."

"I'm capable of many things when I'm in the mood for them. Your question was expected."

She scoots around to face him proper, back to the fire as she brings her knees to her chest. "You said you've hunted your family tree down. Is there anyone left still that hides or opposes you? Directly or otherwise."

"Not to my knowledge."

"That.. that sounds like a very excellent place to be, if I can be frank."

His words were slow, "In lacking any familial ties?"

"In being so completely unopposed. To have intimidated enough people that you need not fear for your life so immediately."

"It's a time passed. I'm not so blind as to believe that in this changed world I am more than just another face."

"If I can also be complimentary, your story has the making of a narrative epic to it."

Saeros gives her a long, flat look.

She blinks once. "I'm not saying anything was embellished. Nor was I implicating that it should actually be written as such. I just really like my stories."

Saeros simply looks beyond her then and keeps his silence.

She looks at the ground near him for a time before looking up at him. "Do you think if I manage to live long enough, and become powerful enough, I can one day be where you are?"

His answer came in a quick, "No."

"Well, why not?"

Instead of answering with words Saeros flexes up from where he'd been reclining against the log. His movements were slow and deliberate as he pitches forward and leans in towards Elru until he has to brace himself with an arm, which he does, and then begins to slink towards her.

Elru was only the slightest bit alarmed, but she doesn't shy away so much, only leaning back a bit on her own hands. Leaning back too far would bring her too close to the fire, after all. She keeps her eyes on his but is very conscious of his increasing close proximity.

He solves that problem with a gloved hand on her leg that drags her a short distance and puts Elru on her back with Saeros above her. His expression was almost textbook condescension except that it didn't reach all the way to his eyes. The tone he used was soft, "I've half a mind to punish you. So tactless as you are. Thoughtless even."

She looks up at him for a short while, letting out a soft exhale. "I do not understand."

"Of course you don't. I've taken it from you."

She stares for a while, then slumps a bit. "Ah. Indeed."

Saeros doesn't stop there and the hand on her leg slides further to the hem of her robes and with a casual efficiency flips the material higher up. The warm leather of his pliable gauntlets smooth up her exposed flesh until he could hold her with his thumb on the sensitive front part of the joint where hip and thigh met and wrapped around with his long fingers gripping as much of her butt that was manageable. "I've a feeling that I need to take a more active role in making sure you remember to think through before opening your mouth."

She doesn't move, blushing a bit at the blatant exposure and contact, but allows him to touch as he will. "I guess that particular line of question wasn't all that relevant or necessary after all.. I'm sorry for being too curious." She was less defensive and guarded, more resigned and disappointed.

He remains braced above her with the same stillness she'd seen countless times, "How disappointing. Even Idril gave me more fire when she was in your place."

She furrows her brow at him for that remark and takes on an almost petulant pout. "I'm demoralized from my verbal misstep, not from you coming on to me..."

"And still you don't understand." He quips patiently. "You can't hope to come close to where I am. Can't you guess why, Elru?"

She hums and closes her eyes as she thinks, her physical predicament set aside in her mind. "I can think of possible likely reasons. I won't have the freedom you did. My trials compared to yours leave me practically pampered. And I am unwilling to cut ties so thoroughly and absolutely as you did."

His already low voice drops to a croon, "You don't know the first thing about true hatred." The hand at her hip suddenly grips the bunched shirt of her robe and with a harsh jerk he rips the conjured cloth at its seams. "I'll compare you to a songbird; in a cage I've fashioned for you. You beat your wings at the bars and when you were struck back you ceased that struggling. But, you still keep singing as its the only thing you know how to do. Even now I can feel it." And she certainly felt something within her too, the very real part of Saeros that had been sewn so deliberately into her writhes with a sensation that wasn't quite pain but perhaps even pleasure. "You cheep at me with a girl's desires and a child's thoughts, caught between not knowing if what you want is to be freed from your circumstances or consumed by them."

She squirms a bit then at the unfamiliar sensation deep within her, face scrunched in a scowl at the comparison Saeros makes of her. An involuntary shiver passes through her body at her complete exposure under him. Still, she has no retort to give.

"Though it's no fault of your own," He continues, "That I find most things about the female form to be absolutely repulsive and see this way." In one moment Saeros had been hovering oh-so-stiffly above her and in the next he'd dropped with a careless grace to have their faces and bodies so close to one another. She could find his lips on her jaw soon after. "I know so many tastes for your mouths, your bodies, and between sweet thighs. A parade of never-ending scents, sights, and sounds all so carefully tailored to catch male interest."

Elru blinks rapidly and lays stiffly at that point, more bewildered than anything, though nerves were certainly present.

"I have to remind myself that I shouldn't ready runes that would punch through joints to cripple you. That when the day grows late and you struggle to sleep that its through no fault of your own that you've thought about me. But hatred is such a fine companion, Elru. I've lived to extract it and be consumed by it." His lips had moved to hover above her own so that with each word spoken she can feel his shaping of it directly.

She is silent and unmoving as he speaks, and when he is done she quietly asks, also against his lips from his close proximity, "Is it my hatred you want, Kir-Moldir?"

His breath huffs out in a silent laugh, "No. It's far too likely for me to be the target. I would kill you for it." Even so matter of fact Saeros presses his lips more firmly to her own with a force that was hard to deny as he sucks in her bottom lip. There was no lingering space between them then, settling his body far more solidly to her own with a controlled flex of muscle that had his hips grinding low into hers.

She closes her eyes with a shudder, trembling under him as her hands grasp at dirt and ripped cloth, her own hips involuntarily flexing in response to his grinds. She reciprocates the kiss, but only so much as to meet midway, never to push back into.

Saeros draws back only to separate their lips while he rolls up in against her with that steady glide hard muscle provided. Those amber eyes were lidded low as they look down to her own, "Is this what you want from me?" His next thrust was a harsh jerk to draw her attention.

She gasps audibly then, tensing up at that harsh jerk leaving her shaking a little as she stares at him, biting her lip. "I.. I don't know." It wasn't an evasion, but rather an honest response, for better or for worse.

"Think harder." He chides her as the hand that had been at her hip draws up with a heavy drag of fingertips, catching but not truly dragging her clothing higher. The goal then was clear as he palms one breast with a slow, kneading touch and his thumb flicked against the nipple on the other side of her robes. Throughout his teasing Saeros kept up those tireless rocks of his hips that had hard leather grinding into her far more supple flesh.

Her brow furrows as she maintains an unsteady stream of soft gasps and whimpers from the blatant and unfamiliar sexual contact. Her hips move gently in time with his, and her breath particularly hitches when he palm massages her breast in the way that he is doing. "This, does feel nice..." Her face sobers for a moment and her movements falter briefly, and she next speaks in as careful and as steady a voice as she can muster. "... The pleasure is nice, welcome even, but pleasure is not what I want most from you, Kir-Moldir."

"What do you want most?" He presses.

Her response comes reluctantly, almost timidly, but it comes after another couple of hitches in her breath. "Your acceptance."

All of his actions ceased on a dime, as motionless as any serpent or statue. "Elaborate."

She wasn't expecting this response, blinking in surprise, but as she was prompted so she would rise, turning her face straight to peer at him head on. "It's the difference between being endured and being welcomed. I am fine with your reasons for using me, my duties as a wife, and even my role as a tool. One can still have a favored tool above others. Not to say I seek that esteem. I just.." She pauses for a moment, briefly looking anguished but only for a moment. "I just want you to one day look at me without an eye or ear for what I need next be punished for. Much of that depends on experience, and me. But it's what I want."

"And your learning of me." Saeros adds. Then he draws back from her to sit on his haunches, looking out to the gathering daylight past the dying embers of their campfire. It doesn't take long for him to find his way back to his spot on the log and for him to motion Elru to him with a wave. "You ask a tall order."

She sits up carefully and moves to sit beside him. She doesn't bother with the robe anymore. "I'm young. I have the advantage of time and the capacity to grow."

"You've the possibility of time. One cannot say if you'll be allowed to put it to use." As she comes closer Saeros murmurs a low phrase, procuring a thick woolen blanket he hands over to her. There was still noticeable tension Elru could sense on the edges but her eyes told her otherwise as he leans back and closes his own.

The next evening has them leaving behind camp. It's an uphill trek the rest of the night for the mistsabers and their riders. The different tiers of flora held Elru's interest less than the occasional worked stone and ancient tower that peaked out every so often. Ruins of ancient Kaldorei culture. It's quite possible Saeros would have remembered what these crags and canyons once were, now overtaken by nature for the most part. Not too far from their location is rising smoke and strong smells of ash. Saeros and Elru would both be able to recognize an area where the barriers were thin and elemental roamed rampant. Evidence abounds of scouts and patrols in passing, likely from Tauren. For the moment, however, except for the occasional foolish harpy, nothing harasses them.

Saeros seemed familiar with the area, at least well enough to be knowledgeable of current borders and steer them away from pushing into a canyon they'd never walk out from again. He doesn't hold up much of a conversation and spends most of his time with his eyes on their surroundings.

For her part Elru doesn't have much in the way of conversational topics regardless, apart from just bare functional questions here and there. After a time however she does frown and wrinkle her nose a moment. The scent would have reached Saeros' nose first but only now is she noticing scents very unfamiliar to her. Crude oil, hot grease, wood dust, and course ore. They are downwind of the nearest Venture co. operation. "What, is that?"

"Some would call it the smell of money. It's from a goblin logging and drilling camp."

It takes Elru a few moments to process and draw out the explanation in her mind. Whether she found it interesting, droll, or ludicrous is unclear, but she does let curiosity show. "Is it safe to observe for a moment, or is it best move on swiftly?"

"If our path sets us to see them from a distance." Saeros keeps with his forward momentum. Certainly no need to stop.

Elru nods and accepts that. As it turns out she does get a few brief glimpses alongside a high path cliff where the trees thin. Seeing the large swath of felled trees, rising smoke plumes, and crude industry, her outward expression seemed confused and mixed. She doesn't comment on it but she doesn't stop stealing glances in that direction. Even if she were paying more attention to the path and environment she wouldn't notice what Saeros may notice. That subtle shift and rise in vibration when there's a martial force on the move, except this one is good at hiding it.

He could surely feel whatever approached them but Saeros doesn't desert the middle of the road. He does however slow down with his mistsaber hissing anxiously beneath him. Whatever advantage Saeros believed he had must have them where they were and so they stayed with eyes and ears alert.

Elru follows suit, though not as gracefully, and takes position behind him and slightly to his left. The force in question is plainly accustomed to moving stealthily through the trees, so this must be a Kaldorei force. Sentinels more than likely. The closer they get, and they get close, there are about four or five of them. A random explosive goes off to their right. Elru mutters a quiet, "Deference, yes?"

Saeros jerks his attention towards the explosion, concern immediately upon his features as the mistsaber beneath him shies away from the sudden sound. He doesn't reply to Elru directly but she feels almost.. pet on the inside as that part of him actively makes the odd gesture. His voice was low, hushed, as the Sentinels finally come into range as his message was for them. "Is the trail ahead safe or should we take another route?"

The explosion came from the cliff-side immediate to their right, and jarred a few boulders loose. The four mistsabers come within immediate range carrying four sentinels and one priestess in varying states of health. The priestess is riding with the lead and is currently in the process of mending heavy wounds in her right side. Their stares are severe, but not suspicious or judgmental. The lead sentinel with the priestess quickly remarks, "The trail ahead is safe, but you should not be here. The goblins are expanding in an unfavorable direction so conflict will be high for the foreseeable future." Their mistsabers give them each testing sniffs. Elru keeps her gaze down, but not so down as to hide her face, looking timid. The lead sentinel does a slight double take as she gives Saeros a second look over. "Why -are- you here?"

"We came from Desolace, visiting family, and now on to Auberdine." Saeros keeps casting anxious glances over towards where the explosions were coming from. "We'll make haste from here."

The accompanying sentinels also glance over at the explosions with their own anxiety, and begin to edge their way around the two of them, away from the ledge and further down the path. The lead sentinel gives a nod as she too guides their saber around. "Make haste then. Avoid this area for the foreseeable future."

"Good hunting, Sister. Elune guide you." And with that Saeros urges his twitchy mount forward, trusting in Elru to follow along behind.

Elru did follow along behind, and their sabers make a couple paces up the path until they hear a soft but stern, "Hold." The lead sentinel pauses her steed curiously as the priestess adjusts in her seat to peer back less curiously over at Saeros and Elru, first seeing if they stop.

Saeros draws them to a stop and turns in the saddle to look back.

The priestess held herself straighter with a steadying hand on the sentinel's back as she narrowed her eyes at Saeros. "Where in Desolace is this family you speak of?" The question is innocuous enough, but Saeros can feel the inquiring brush-over of her magical third eye.

His reply was prompt and respectful, "Nigel's Point. I've a sister studying in the area." That inspection was.. odd but not alarming. The sense she gets from Saeros and Elru as well is a vacant oiliness as if she'd tried to lift a smooth stone slicked in the stuff. "I appreciate the inquiry but this isn't the safest place, Sister."

The priestess looks like she wants to question further, particularly with an eye to the quiet Elru, but the verbal prompting by Saeros as well as the non-verbal nudging by the sentinel leads to the priestess giving a curt nod and the both of them turn back to their original path. "Elune guide your path." They ride off swiftly to catch up with the rest of the sentinels. A couple of explosions and crumbling rock rolls further away in the quarry.

"Let us move quickly." He quips back to Elru as he nudges his saber into a rolling lope.

Elru does the same, nudging her mount forward. Further up the track the path narrows as the trees become more closely clustered. "If they did not have more pressing concerns I suspect we've have undergone a lot more scrutiny."

"Likely. My runes have held up against worse but I'd not want to expend so much effort between the two of us before we're even in Ashenvale."

Elru hums then quiets, seeming to want to ask something but deciding in her head it's not a vital question. Light becomes more dim and sounds become more muffled, but it's clear that there's growing fighting here and there below them, and if the twang of arrows is any indication a few conflicts occurring on the higher crag levels. That whine of machinery is not subtle, and Saeros can hear the propellers of crude flying machines at work. "Should I be aware of or prepared for anything in Ashenvale?"

"More Horde activity and then more Kaldorei. The paths ahead are dangerous so don't get attached to your mount. We might need to lose them." Saeros was in near constant motion then in a magical sense, entirely alert and looking with both eyes, ears, and his metaphysical ability while their surroundings only became more hazardous.

They did in fact become more dangerous as rough gaps appear in the treeline from where past explosives had been set off. There's also discarded and used weapons and ammo strewn about, as well as bodies that haven't been recovered yet. The path that was once rising is now turning more level. One of the flying machines is coming at them fast, perpendicular to their heading. Whether it spotted them or not is unclear but from about a hundred meters away it begins dropping a series of explosives in its wake.

Things moved quickly from there, blurring into a smear of action until Elru was still and on the ground of all things with Saeros's firm grip on her arm. He'd drawn up his saber and once in range of her own had taken Elru to the ground with him as the large cats rush on without them, spurred by their own fear. Any outsider would find that the pair had vanished from sight though from their own perspective nothing within had changed aside from the stern firmness on Saeros's features as he waits just a moment to judge where the machine was going.

Elru is a bit dazed by how quickly everything happened with Saeros but has the sense to not ask or wonder, keeping very still on her spot on the ground by Saeros. The goblin flying machine shifts its course slightly in the direction of where the sabers went but otherwise remains mostly straight in its bombing strafe. About ten meters ahead of them between the two of them and the fleeing sabers the area lights up in fiery explosions that are soon obscured by dirt, dust and splinters of wood that coat the area, but once past the flying machine continues on. At worst they'll be pelted by larger sharp chunks of woods that come flying overhead.

Even that much doesn't reach them as Elru's suddenly several yards ahead, the tear in her aching with tension as she was pulled along in tow. Clearly they'd blinked further into the field and the average spectator would see them appear, blink, and then disappear once more. If Elru wasn't quick enough Saeros might just be pulling her bodily along with him and his tone was terse, all business. "Blink when I tell you to."

Elru is jarred and and shaken from the spontaneous blinking for the first couple of times but not for long, even with the tension in her tear. Now wasn't the time to wonder but the time to obey. She Blinks when instructed. So long as Saeros can see where to Blink to, nothing impedes their forward momentum. Each Blink is a snapshot of either past conflict or one in the making not too far from where they are.

The pair trades off their work until they'd crossed the entire field and Saeros draws them bodily behind a stack of boulders at the treeline for a brief respite. "Are you alright?"

Having made the distance they have, they've left much of what's going on behind them. The air smells more like the woods and less like industry, and in the distance the high lush canopy of Ashenvale is visibly peaking over gaps in the cliffs. Elru seems, at worst, dizzy but as she steadies herself with a hand against a boulder with deep breaths she gives a couple nods. "I am fine. I am holding up." She fumbles into her robes a moment before popping a strip of jerky into her mouth before straightening, ready to go.

The tension around them suddenly lifts and Saeros straightens from some unforeseen weight he'd been carrying, likely the magic he'd been using to keep them hidden from sight. "Don't linger." He leads further into the trees.

Elru follows after, keeping the distance between them short without being all up in his business. She has a couple difficulties navigating the trees, roots, and uneven ground without her saber. But, she makes no complaint, making up for her lack of steady footing in stubbornness and speed. Ashenvale is closer, but there's one last steep trek to go. Midway up there are hunter traps laid out, mostly old, but a few new. Enough to indicate that individuals have and do make their way through here.

Saeros edges them closer the the older traps rather than the new while scanning the forest around them. Traps were often watched by those who laid them. He calls back to Elru. "Step where I step."

Elru does so. This slows her pace a little, but she steps exactly where Saeros does. The older traps remain undisturbed so long as they were not stepped too close to. Even so, attention is clearly directed their way. Up on higher ground from a boulder Saeros can hear before he sees arrows released in their direction. Though the trees here are closer, they're also thinner and don't make for the best cover.

Arrows certainly weren't bullets and the axes Saeros carried with him make a sudden reappearance in his hands, using their broad surfaces to deflect one should they come his way. Hopefully there weren't too many. He was looking to see the fletching. Kaldorei certainly didn't look like an orc's.

The jagged style cut of the arrowheads indicated these were definitely orc arrows, and upon deflection of those arrows harsh Orcish is barked from the high ground as the next volley flies their way a moment after, as well as a couple of rolled explosives colored the same as the earth around them. There are four of them judging by shot volley, but only one of them seems to be a true proper huntsman by the skill of shots. Elru takes a defensive stance behind Saeros but raises an arcane shield regardless.

Saeros only waits long enough for this next volley of arrows to be deflected by their various means before he lunges for her, hissing with a palpable frustration. "Dispel that." Once he has her in hand they're off once more in a Blink, though this time Elru was certainly being carried. Should they blink into a trap Saeros wanted his feet in them, not hers. He wore leather to her cloth after all.

Elru dispelled her shield immediately though she kept her magic at ready, though she blinked rapidly as she was bodily carried. Them moving means that the arrow volleys have a harder time hitting them, though the one hunter in the group does shoot such that Saeros may have to deflect once or twice. With enough haste the line of traps can be left behind, though there are a couple bear trap and one gas trap before they do make it there, stuck in between trees where most steps may have to go.

Saeros doesn't worry about the tree cover once he has a clear line between himself and the end of the orc's range. Predictably, he blinks.

Elru has an easier time keeping righted and steady after that blink, though being carried may help with that. The orcs are on the move once they're out of range, but Saeros is faster than they are.

He continues up the path without pausing to glance behind, it would only serve to eat up time. Between one patch of scrub brush and the next Saeros puts Elru down and hurries her up with him behind. The blinking had ceased. "Don't stop. Just keep going forward." It could almost be called coaching.

Elru almost stumbles and trips but catching her hand on a tree she manages to right herself and keep going forward to match Saeros' quicker pace, jogging at times if she has to. Fortunately for her the ground gets less steep and more soft with the shifting change in flora around them. The orcs are no longer heard behind them, and there are no immediate disturbances ahead that Saeros can sense.

He doesn't stop driving her until Elru's own physical endurance starts to wane before slowing them down to a walk. Saeros's own breath was coming in heavy draws that hadn't quite made it to pants, likely from all the magical expenditure. "Are you well?"

Elru doesn't respond right away before she manages a heavy voiced 'yes'. "That was the most physical exercise I've had... well, ever. I'm glad I regularly stretched and exercised back home," She manages out between breaths. Wiping at her brow she looks to Saeros. "On the slope with the hunters, we made haste and fled due to our disadvantageous position and a desire to not draw more attention?"

Saeros looks around them briefly before lowering his voice and leaning in just for her ears. "You give yourself away. Should any Kaldorei be watching its not hard to tell what you are if you're slinging Arcane around." He leans back up, "So, yes."

Elru blinks, then frowns at the realization and her mistake as they walk along. "Sloppy of me. You are absolutely right. It was habit, but a potentially disastrous one."

"I'm surprised we haven't run into any Sentinels yet. This path can't be unguarded." His tone was terribly dry.

"Perhaps they are there up ahead, while the ones more south are currently occupied in Stonetalon."

"Perhaps. Though I believe we're being watched." Even with his statement Saeros continues leading the way. The axes in his hands find their way back along his broad shoulders.

Elru pans her gaze around with a frown and says nothing more. It's not like the woods were silent and still, but the idle breezes through the leaves and branches, and the noises of local fauna, could easily mask silent watching sentinels. Once they are in the Ashenvale forests proper there is a definite tension in the air. Such has always been the case in the horde run areas of Ashenvale but lately it seems even more so. Similar to the smells of Stonetalon, there is metallurgy at work somewhere not far, its contrast with the natural forest air almost sour. It is also clearer to Saeros that they are at least noticed and being kept an eye on.

Saeros led them as far away from those more dangerous areas as he could manage and still keep them on the proper path. He didn't seem overly bothered by the attention, he'd expected it, but he was absolutely silent here. No time for words.

Elru for her part kept quiet as well, picking up on the fact that his utter silence was probably a cue for her to do the same. As they steer clear of the more dangerous areas subtle Kaldorei guiding symbols, both physical and magical, become more apparent and are clearly meant to guide those Kaldorei who are passing through the area. Up ahead near a stream a Sentinel shifts out of the shadows waiting in plain sight for the pair.

Predictably, Saeros heads straight towards her.

The sentinel nods at them and steps aside, moving a hand to part some brush. "Best to stay off the main paths further up. We have opened some of our supply routes for Alliance passing through. There is an encampment not far down this way. Where do you wish to head?"

Saeros gifts her with a relieved smile. "We're on our way to Auberdine. Any chance of supplies we can purchase as well? Stonetalon.. wasn't kind."

"If you have things to trade then there are a few Alliance at the encampment down the hidden paths. For a proper set of supplies and rest we have sisters at the encampment that can guide travelers to the Astranaar while keeping off the main paths."

"Are you to lead us or should we follow the paths on our own?"

"This immediate path is safe. I am to remain here at the edges for orc scouts."

He nods. "Elune guide you." And then off in the indicated direction.

The sentinel keeps an eye on their backs before returning forward and stepping back into the shadows. The off path is similarly marked as the previous main stretch was though to the naked, untrained eye it would appear to be the same thick brush as elsewhere. Elru glances back every so often, but keeps quiet in this new environment and circumstance. After travelling several meters Saeros can pick up the faint sounds of a camp that sound more clear until they abruptly step into a small clearing. It's a natural space between trees, but with a small fire set up in the middle, a few crates and burlap sacks, and a good dozen or so Alliance members and sentinels mingling. Though this was not without some wary tension as they eye the new arrivals. Once they get a good look at them they turn back to their own business and a couple sentinels eye them expectantly by the controlled fire. Up top, Saeros may notice sentinel sentries atop remarkably well placed tree branches and leaf cover. It's quite possible they were deliberately grown that way. "Greetings. As you can see, we are guiding allied travelers off the main roads. The Warsong have been arming and reinforcing themselves at an alarming speed. This can only mean a heavy offensive is to begin."

Saeros looks to the women who addressed him, drawing closer just for convenience's sake. "So we've been experiencing. Are the paths to Darkshore still open then or are even they rough for travelling?"

"The paths to Darkshore are as yet still open. There is a roughly parallel detour one of our sisters can guide you through on the way to Astranaar. Once there you are free to take the main path as you so desire, or perhaps even take faster means of transport."

"We'd like to put the violence firmly behind us. Would there be a sister available to take us soon?"

"You catch us at a good time. None of our other guests have need to leave just yet, and so we would be happy to-" "I will do it." The second quieter, yet firmer voice came up from behind Saeros and Elru, and it's quite possible that not even Saeros would have noticed her approach from outside the outpost ring. Elru outright jumped a little as she turned. The sentinels immediately straighten, and the one who spoke to Saeros held clear surprise on her features. "Warden Lanath... Pardon me, but isn't this task beneath you...?"

Saeros turns to meet the newest addition with half of a bow and relief in his tone. "It would be an honor to travel even briefly with a Warden. Elune favors us."

Elru does her best to not let her intimidation show. This is the first time she's seen a Warden in their iconic gear. This Warden's armor has the dust and wear of one who does a lot of travelling. And probably hunting. Her gaze through her helmet is blank, deliberately so, and she barely moves where she stands. She hardly looks at Elru and instead focuses her gaze on Saeros to consider his words. "Elune favors all her children in equal esteem, traveler." She turns to the sentinel at the fire. "They came from Stonetalon and I have desire to question them on the state of affairs there as my rounds do not extend so far." The sentinel nods and assents. "But of course, Warden." Ring shaped Moon Glaive kept to her front the Warden steps evenly and soundlessly off to the side, stepping into a hidden path like before. "This way."

Saeros glances back at Elru to make sure she was paying attention and then falls into the Warden's wake.

Elru is only a few seconds slow on the uptake but immediately follows at that glance, taking up Saeros' rear while the Warden took point. She doesn't move too swiftly, as if keeping in mind Elru's pace, but also because there are a few roots and pits one must watch out for. There is silence until they come to an area with a small lake to their left and a smaller island to its center. "Some of my sisters are preparing for an offensive in Stonetalon. How many scouting parties did you happen across on your way here, if any?" Her tone had a mere outward iota of concern and curiosity.

Saeros answers her promptly. "We didn't have much contact with the Horde until the middle of Stonetalon where a full-scale conflict was taking place. Goblins taking bombing runs. Our sabers didn't survive. We had to skirt the edges as much as we could and kept to the shadows to get past. We met one Sentinel party that had recently seen combat and were changing positions who advised us on a safer path. Four Orcs currently defend the border between Stonetalon and Ashenvale but they seemed more interested in bigger game than making a serious run at a lone pair without supplies or mounts."

"A very thorough briefing. It is appreciated." They continue their detour, taking a slight left to skirt the edges of the small lake. "I will corroborate your report of the four orcs later. If nothing else, it will serve as an update. How many to the Sentinel party you encountered?"

"Five, on four sabers. A Priestess rode double with one of the Sentinels." Saeros follows dutifully along behind her, taking the time to check on Elru every now and then to make sure nothing had happened to her.

Elru was outwardly taking in the new sights and sounds, but her focus never left the Warden. Neither did she stray far. This path had no markers unlike the previous paths, and best as Saeros can tell they had no tails or eyes on them. "I know the party of which you speak. It is good that they were alive. When you found them. But why were you in Stonetalon?"

"Travelling through as well. We came from Desolace, Nigel's Point. Unfortunately they didn't have Hippogryphs to spare and so here we are now." He gives a short, humorless laugh.

"Unfortunate. And what business do you have travelling in the direction of Darkshore?" She pauses at a point of higher ground, then swiftly steps up along protruding root holds. She waits at the edge until both Saeros and Elru are both up.

He doesn't speak until he'd helped Elru up along after him. "Taking a ship back to Menethil Harbor, hopefully. At this rate we might just be destitute by the time we get there. We'll get by either way."

"You do not look destitute." The statement was both an observation and a question. Once Elru has climbed up Warden Lanath once again turns to take point. "Fortunately for you two supplies are easy to come by in Auberdine. They are more slim in Astranaar."

"It's still yet a long way to Auberdine and I'd rather not have to pawn off our essentials." He follows along behind.

"You do seem to be travelling very light. It is unfortunate you lost your sabers. What are you in need of?" They continue to detour slightly leftward once well north of the small lake. As the trees get thicker the Warden slows her pace.

"Food, water, and packs to hold it in for a start."

The Warden takes pause at a break in the treeline to rest a sharp gauntlet against the tree to peer out for a moment. "Is your companion well? She's very quiet and appears ill-suited to travel." Elru frowns a little and stiffens but doesn't open her mouth. She -is- a little roughed up travelling through the brush.

"Her first time, I'm afraid. Her sister loved to coddle her even after taking her in tow for her research." He laughs and looks back at Elru with a grin although he spoke to the Warden, "I'm Saeros and she's-" He trails off, pointedly waiting for Elru to supply her own name.

"Elru." She manages a shy smile and bows her head in the Warden's direction as she gazes at the two of them. "He is right. I am quite sheltered and this is my first time travelling on foot." The Warden gives a nod, turning to face them properly with hardly a ruffle of her razor cape. "I am Warden Lanath, as you no doubt heard." She gives a slight gesture of her head. "We are half a mile from Astranaar now, give or take."

Saeros looks in the direction she indicates. "As before, it is an honor Warden Lanath, and that is heartening news."

"Perhaps." She still stands facing them with her flat expression through her helmet, and makes no movement, or indication that she is going to move or lead them further.

Saeros waits a moment or two before venturing, "Something the matter, Warden?"

"That's what I am debating in my mind, Saeros, Elru," she idly responds, almost cordially, though her expression doesn't change, and the only movement is a light tap and shift of an armored finger brushing over her Moon Glaive.

Saeros frowns, glances back at Elru once more, and then back to her, "I'm not sure we understand."

Elru is all frowns now and the Warden continues to stare and stand still for a pregnant pause until she speaks once more. "I can be fair. Three inklings persist in my mind that keep me back from leading you to civilization. But you seem reasonable, so perhaps you can explain. My first inkling has to do with the fact that Nigel's Point should not be short of hippogryphs, as some of Astranaar's have been roosting there to rest, due to longer flights over the Stonetalon region."

"I only know what I was told, Warden. If that is true then I can't explain why we were denied." Saeros offers, clearly at a loss.

She moves on. "My second inkling has to do with you, Saeros. You are clearly a Kaldorei of respectable age and competence, but even so... Much of my time is spent merely watching people. Those who stand out, and those who don't. You distinctly do not stand out to a fault. No matter how hard I look at you I have trouble discerning qualities I seek." A pause. "It is possible, of course, that I am mistaken. This one time."

The longer she spoke the more baffled Saeros became before that expression began to turn a little more bleak. "I see. And the third?"

Warden Lanath stared at Saeros for another pause before her gaze distinctly and deliberately panned over to Elru, though her words were more directed at Saeros. "My third inkling isn't so much an inkling. You may have little to nothing on you and I may see no magic at work... But I know chains when I see them." Her eyes return to Saeros.

"Chains, Warden?"

"More specifically, I know how a Kaldorei walks who is not free. Who, if they were to walk otherwise, would face death."

Saeros makes as if he were to look back at Elru then, but refrains. "Warden. All I know is that when I was asked by a friend to escort her sister to the Eastern Kingdoms and help her set out on her own. Perhaps you should question her directly as I have no excuse for what you see."

The Warden stares at Saeros with the same blank one she's been carrying the entire time, then imperceptibly she shifts her body stance as she glances Elru's way, who had been slowly but steadily starting to fail at not looking too stiff. "Elru, girl, do you know what I am?" The question is asked with patience and with time to answer, but Elru's answer is not immediately forthcoming which elicits a gentle tap of an armored finger on her blade, until Elru bows her head a little while biting her lip. "I.. have never seen a Warden personally before, but I have been told enough to know how much respect they are to be afforded..."

Saeros pointedly looks away from her and keeps his attention on the Warden. He certainly doesn't interrupt.

"And do you know what I do, Elru, girl?" Elru's silence is longer this time, and the slowly growing oppressive aura of the Warden waxes thicker, until Elru replies simply, "You hunt." Elru clears her throat, then speaks more clearly and confidently, "You hunt, the enemies of the Kaldorei." the Warden stares at Elru for a time, then pans her gaze back to Saeros to stare at him in turn. "Well, Saeros. She's not wrong, is she?"

Saeros bows at the neck, head lowering. "That she isn't, Warden."

"And neither of you are my enemies. Are you?"

"No, Warden."

The Warden's stare pans back to Elru, who also responds with, "No, we are not, Warden." Looking back at Saeros for another pause her body stance shifts again, and then slowly she turns her back on them once more. "I will escort you the rest of the way to Astranaar now. Do watch your step from here on out."

Saeros breathes out a subtle sigh of relief but even still it was likely she'd hear. "We certainly intend to."

The Warden steps over more partly hidden roots as she resumes guiding them. "This way." The path resumes, and begins to turn slightly more towards the right.

Once more does Saeros fall in step behind her.

Elru follows in step behind Saeros, and the Warden resumes her steady step as their guide. After a short time the path they follow begins to have markers again, until the silent trip finally ends with them at the edge of a lake facing the town of Astranaar at the center. "This is as far as I will escort you, Saeros, Elru."

"We appreciate the guidance, Warden. Thank you for your time." It was a more reserved farewell but given the circumstances it was expected.

"Of course. And do remember what I have said, Saeros, Elru." She'll watch them leave her company and head to Astranaar. Once both Saeros and Elru have their eyes off her, she'll be gone without notice.

Saeros leads them on without further incident and into Astranaar, securing a room and some dinner for the both of them in one of the less open rooms the Kaldorei favored. After they'd eaten and settled in silence Saeros leans forward onto their small table and draws with a light finger on the smooth wood. No mark was left but some part of Saeros himself remained, painted into the pattern he'd created. Even still his voice remains low when he speaks, "What do you understand about what happened today?"

Elru takes a deep breath and then lets it out slowly, "Where to begin? We Highborne clearly are among the ranks of those less... welcome among Kaldorei society. Said society has a branch of warriors devoted to hunting and rooting out enemies from without and within. Said branch of Wardens are not to be underestimated or treated lightly, given your care in interaction. Also we are clearly going to remain under some degree of scrutiny." She pauses. "And I need to take extra care in how I carry myself and what I use."

"What do you perceive as possible outcomes to how today could have ended differently?"

"We could have drawn hostile attention from sentinels, orcs, or much more immediate and likely from that Warden. We run, then we become wanted. We fight and kill the Warden, we become wanted. We fight and are unable to kill the Warden, then you sacrifice me to preserve yourself to either flee or kill the Warden, and then you become wanted."

"Do you understand why I have yet to treat you higher than I have been?"

"Is it because ultimately when it becomes a matter of life and death I am expendable?"

"Wrong."

"Then please enlighten me, Kir-Moldir."

"The world you will be living in, interacting in, requires more than you've been exposed to. There are those who look at you and simply wait for that mistake. You think me inconsiderate of your progress when in truth I know precisely how high you must climb to survive. Today, had you answered wrong, that Warden would probably have incarcerated us both had we not resisted. Those who go into the Wardens' custody are seldom seen again."

Elru closes her eyes and swallows, then gives a couple of nods. "Consider me more enlightened."

"They follow no law aside from the imperative to protect the Kaldorei populace from itself at all costs and -that- dictated by Maiev Shadowsong. You can trust her hatred of the Highborne has not waned over the years."

"I am not familiar with this name, but it is one I will thoroughly educate myself on once I have the material. It seems I will have to if I am to better my chances at survival."

"Do you understand that my treatment of you has only been to push you to be able to subsist on limited information and still manage yourself in an advantageous manner?"

She gives a firm nod.

Saeros drags his finger along the table once more, in reverse of the prior motion, and stands. Their room had two beds and after dismantling a healthy portion of his own leather armor Saeros stretches out upon one and closes his eyes.

Elru sits in contemplation for a time, but in time enough she too sheds her outer robes and takes to her own bed.

When she lays down, for the first time in a long time that tear within her that Saeros created finally ceased to ache. It wasn't too unlike the ringing silence after a sudden shock of sound, a static void empty of pain. Should she explore it Elru would clearly find that they were still attached and that Saeros hadn't.. expired in his sleep but there was no active magic on his side of the link. Pure quiet.

That jarring absence would keep Elru awake for a time, even as she tentatively explores it. She doesn't move or look at Saeros. Neither smiling nor frowning she simply lays in the pure quiet and absence, until eventually she drifts off to sleep.

#world of warcraft #roleplay #highborne #warden #moon guard

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