Vala easily spotted Scarlet Commander Kenelm Isenham. Even from her elevated perch in the shadows on one of the buildings, Vala recognized him in the bustle of activity that was Tyr’s Hand in the early morning; the way he tilted his head slightly as he talked, his stick-up-the-ass demeanor, and of course, his face when he lifted his head once to look at the sky, maybe gauging the weather. Vala glanced around too. Tygr had disappeared into the shadows moments earlier and she couldn’t spot him now. She had thought to point out Isenham to him. She shrugged. Later, then.
She noted the building from which Isenham had emerged. A large building, looked like a keep to her. Did he sleep there? She’d have to look into that later. For now, she warily shadowed him as he walked about Tyr’s Hand, stopping now and then to speak to one Scarlet or another about such trivialities as the palatability of last night’s meal, the wedding of someone’s sister. Vala kept the shadows wrapped tightly around herself; there were so many people moving about, the chances of her being noticed were much higher than she would have liked. She carefully slipped through the shadows among all the bustling Scarlets, keeping as close to Isenham as she dared. She was relieved when finally, after nearly an hour of this meandering, the man headed into another of the buildings, one of the larger ones. It reminded Vala of the Northshire Abbey. Vala hesitated at the open door for a moment and studied the two Scarlets guarding the entrance. Follow inside and risk getting trapped, or stay outside and hope she might spot Isenham through a window? She opted for outside, for the time being. If she couldn’t spot him, then she’d try entering the building.
Vala began to circle the abbey, peering inside through the colored glass windows, taking the time to study the interior and form a mental picture of the layout of the place. As she stole along one side of the building, approaching the back, she caught a sudden motion from the corner of one eye. One of the patrolling Scarlets had stopped abruptly and was peering in her direction. Had he spotted her?
She froze for a moment, her heart beating wildly, then remembered to keep moving. Just standing there was a sure way to be discovered as the Scarlet slowly approached, his sword ready. Keeping an eye on the man as he neared the spot she had just vacated, Vala let her awareness of self slip away and sink into the shadows. She was only shadow. She slipped around the corner of the building, then leaned slightly back to see what the Scarlet was doing. No alarm raised, so that was good. She watched the man carefully scrutinize the entire area on that side of the building, even checking the ground for signs. She knew she hadn’t left any. Then, still peering around, he began moving in her direction again.
What to do? She glanced around quickly. No one else near. She could take him out if she had to. Well, probably; his confident manner suggested that he would be a more than competent opponent. But she wasn’t here to kill anyone other than Isenham. And not even Isenham, she admitted to herself, if they got that book but found no opportunity to get to the commander. She watched the approaching Scarlet a moment longer, then smiled behind her mask.
Faint scuffing sounds, like someone or something trying to move over loose footing, came from the nearby hill as Vala created a distraction. The patroller immediately whirled in that direction. Slowly he stalked away from her and continued his investigations up and then over the hill. Vala watched and waited until he returned. He immediately resumed his patrol, so apparently he was satisfied that there was nothing to warrant his further interest.
Vala leaned back against the wall and took a few slow, deep breaths as she concentrated on recovering from the sudden scare. As she calmed down, she realized that she had been hearing faint voices nearby, coming from the window beneath which she had stopped. She examined the window and found that it fit poorly in its frame, thus allowing her to hear people in the room inside. She looked through the colored glass.
Ah, there he was. Isenham. Just taking a place at a long table centered in a room that looked something like a library. Other Scarlets were also seated around the table. Looked like some kind of meeting. Vala settled herself deep in the shadows at the window to watch and listen.
Much of what they discussed meant little to Vala, since they spoke of things out of context, to her anyway. They all seemed to know exactly what was being discussed, though. However, a few things caught her attention. Some talk of difficulties in Stormwind, nervous supporters, outcries about their methods, dead Scarlets; difficulties dealing with the Argent Dawn, arguments over jurisdiction, clashes over treatment of suspected scourge sympathizers. Then one man, another commander by his uniform, insisted they discuss the plans under way to eliminate a certain troublesome individual. They never named the individual, but Vala felt certain she could guess the person’s identity.
And speaking of Tygr, she glanced around, wondering where he was. He had said he’d be close, and she didn’t doubt it, she just wondered. Could his leaving her to her own devices perhaps be another test of her skills? She shrugged. Probably. Unable to spot him, she returned her attention to the meeting.
The conversation quickly grew repetitive, so Vala began to tune it out and concentrated rather on watching the interplay among the men at the table. At one point, while several of the men argued that they should all pack up and follow the others to the north, two of the others seemed to be passing notes back and forth between them, unnoticed by the rest. Except for Commander Isenham. She noticed that little escaped his attention. He also listened much more than he talked. But when he did speak, it was clear that he favored eradication of all undead and anyone even suspected of being sympathetic to the scourge. Vala also noted some alliances among the men as the morning wore on, and it was clear that they would likely never all agree on much of anything.
As midday approached, the men sent some low-ranking Scarlet to bring their midday meal to them at the meeting table. Vala took the opportunity while they ate to slip away to examine the building that the commander had first exited early that morning. Yes, a kind of keep and barracks all together. Bunks for the rank and file and several storerooms on the main floor. What looked like meeting rooms or offices above, along with some small rooms tucked away on the upper floors. Maybe sleeping quarters for those of higher rank? The doors to those rooms were locked and she didn’t have the chance to open any of them as a number of soldiers loitered around the entire building. And there were some guards stationed here and there, as well. Have to come back another time. She returned to her spot at the meeting-room window and ate some soft bread from her pack. Wouldn’t do to have her stomach growl.
The afternoon’s discussion centered largely around complaints that they weren’t killing the undead fast enough, comparisons of the most effective methods of extracting more information from scourge sympathizers, and a suggestion of striking bargains with sympathizers who proved resistant to their questioning methods. That last provoked a long, loud shouting match among the men. Over the course of the afternoon, Vala learned more than enough about the tortures employed by the Scarlets. Finally, the meeting broke up shortly before dusk.
Vala again shadowed Isenham, as he spoke to more people about trivialities, got himself something to eat, and finally returned to the keep-like building. She followed him inside and around the building as he spoke with many of the guards and soldiers, then down to a basement area that she had failed to find earlier. Vala froze at the bottom of the stairs in shock as the stench of blood and other bodily fluids assaulted her nose. How could she have forgotten that they must have someplace for their tortures?
She crept around the room, scrutinizing the victims of the Scarlets’ ‘questioning’ who lay strapped to tables along the walls. The three prisoners had been cruelly tortured, even worse than Jani had been, and seemed near death. Oddly, they were all from Horde races. It looked like the Scarlets had worked to keep them alive for as long as possible, prolonging their agony. At a fourth table a Scarlet, an Inquisitor, calmly arranged some instruments, apparently oblivious to the pitiful sounds coming from his victims.
Vala glared at the two men, Isenham and the Inquisitor, who so casually chatted as they completely ignored the hapless people they had treated so brutally. She closed her eyes for a minute, fighting for calm. She had other priorities right now, she couldn’t do anything here right now. And then images of Jani came to her all too clearly, Jani alone and scared, subjected to the tortures she’d heard described earlier that day, lying on one of these tables like the three tortured wretches here now. When she opened her eyes, their silvery glow was cold with rage and hatred. She silently drew her daggers and stepped through the shadows in one swift motion to a spot behind both Scarlets, blades poised to strike. They would never see the attack coming…
She froze.
No. Not now. Now wasn’t the time for this. She dare not release these torture victims, dare not kill the Scarlets. The damned book. They had to get the book. Get it away from these people. But after…
Vala snarled to herself, slammed her daggers back into their sheaths, and stalked back up the stairs, all in complete silence in the shadows. She waited near the door to the basement for Isenham to emerge, and when he did, crossly resumed her place as his shadow.
Finally, Isenham finished his rounds and took himself to an upper floor and to one of the locked doors. He unlocked it and disappeared within, closing the door behind him. Vala caught a glimpse of the room before the door closed. It looked like some kind of study. She smiled to herself. Perhaps where he kept the book. She waited outside the door and listened until well into the night, but Isenham did not come back out and she heard no sounds from beyond the door.
Vala slipped out of the building and back to the cold camp she and Tygr had set up in the hills overlooking Tyr’s Hand. She described for Tygr what she had learned, while she ate a little and then tried to settle down to grab some sleep.
Tygr spent most of the time she was talking writing in a little book. He was listening though, and chuckled quietly when she described the overly attentive guard and the bickering among the Scarlets. He wasn’t so pleased to hear about the prisoners. He knew people that had been tortured at the hands of Scarlets. They were as bad as the Scourge.
Tygr waited until Vala drifted off to sleep and then crept silently away from the camp. He made his way between the guards and into Tyr’s Hand. It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. There was a path leading away from the window where Vala had almost been spotted. Tygr grinned as he scooped up some crumbled dirt from the ground and let it run out between his gloved fingers.
Vala hadn’t caught the guard’s attention. He trained her better than that. But, she had been preoccupied with the windows. Tygr’s golden eyes shifted across the sea of grass. It looked a deep blue in the moonlit night. The dew gathering on the blades left a path clear as the waters of the Vile Reef. Tygr followed it.
He picked up the trail in the hills opposite their camp. A silence began to grow as he stalked forward along the path. The dirt trail opened up into a small campsite under a large tree. The first thing Tygr noticed was the pile of bodies. Apparently he wasn’t the first to notice the trail either. Whatever he was tracking was good enough to take out Scarlets and then just vanish.
Fortunately, experience taught him to look up. He glanced to the treetops, studying the branches. His eyes narrowed, picking up on emerald green staring back at him. Quick as a shooting star the elf in the tree leapt off of her branch and grabbed another. She tucked her body neatly around it and vanished.
Tygr slipped to the right, a long emerald dagger missing his ear by a hair’s breadth. He parried the next attack and punched the elf repeatedly in the kidneys until she slumped to the ground, dropping her weapons. She was a tiny thing, with a light blonde pony tail that would normally sit high on her head, but now hung down covering the side of her face. Tygr stepped on her daggers and then dragged them out of reach with his foot.
The girl stayed on the ground on all fours. He could tell she was trembling, catching her breath while trying to decide if she should run or stay. She made a decision and stood to face him. Tygr’s gloved hand caught her chin and lifted her face to get a better look at her. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
“No, Onyxspear wouldn’t have been bested so easily.” There was disappointment in his voice, as he studied her face before meeting the emerald eyes that simply glared at him.
Then she spat a mouthful of blood right in his face. What was it with people spitting on him. Maybe he had worked her over a bit hard. He hadn’t expected the fight to be this easy. He growled in frustration and let her chin go. Only to be taunted with a stream of words that sounded pretty but he was sure had the opposite intent.
“I saw you sneaking around Tyr’s Hand. What do you want there?” She had nothing more to say. “Come on. I’m sorry about the punching, maybe I can help you.”
She glared at him.
“Really I am.” He handed her a frostweave bandage, then held his palms open and up in a gesture of peace.
She snatched the bandage and looked down at her daggers. Tygr took a step back. “I hate these guys as much as you do. I promise if I can help I will.”
Once she had her daggers back, she opened up. Her accent was thick and he could barely understand her Darnassian. She told him about a mission to free some of her associates. She thought it was a death mission, for her to go in alone, but she had to try. They had information against the Scarlet Onslaught that might benefit the Horde. She fully expected him to kill her, or go back on his promise.
“I have seen them, they’re being tortured. If they can make it out on their own power I’ll have them free by this time tomorrow night. I’ll send them here.”
Tygr left the Blood Elf’s camp and headed back to check on Vala.
Through one slitted eye, Vala noted Tygr’s return. Now what had he been up to?
The next day, Isenham followed the same pattern as the previous day. And the men at the meeting began repeating much the same arguments. Vala lingered outside the window only long enough to decide that they would likely meet again all day. Then she headed back to the room she thought of as Isenham’s study to see if the book could be found there.
Tygr watched Vala from the shadows as she stalked off after Isenham. He slipped away to inspect the Commander’s study. He had been searching only moments when he heard the lock click softly. Instantly the shadows surrounded him and he watched Vala enter the room and close the door behind her. She looked around the study and peered into the next room, an austere bedroom, then headed straight for the desk. He watched as she checked each of the desk drawers, then picked the lock on the lower right one when she found it locked. Tygr leaned back against the wall with a smile as Vala pulled the book from the desk and slipped it into her bag.
– – –
Scarlet Commander Kenelm Isenham gratefully closed his study door behind him. Another long day of petty arguments about mostly petty concerns. They needed to concentrate on the ever-increasing undead activity. The answer to that problem was plain and simple. He knew it. Eradication. Of all actual undead, and all sympathizers. Using whatever power came to hand. And with that power, maybe he’d finally be called to the battles up north. Where he should have been from the start. But others wanted to play politics.
He sat down behind his desk and unlocked the lower right drawer. He could at least work a little more on the translation before retiring for the evening. He stared in shock at the empty drawer. The book was gone!
He choked suddenly, grasping at the wire that was wrapped around his neck.
“You failed.”
No! That damned elf girl.
“Yes, I didn’t die.” Vala said from behind the man and tightened the wire just a bit. “You kept only the letter of our deal, not the spirit. That book was Jani’s, and is now mine; you have no claim to it. I’ve heard you, plotting ways to question innocent people. Like you did with Jani. Making plans to spread your filth even further. Just more proof that we’d all be better off without you and your evil fanaticism.”
“Those who have not given themselves over to the Light are servants of evil. They must be destroyed.” Isenham managed to choke out the words. “We do the Light’s work.”
“No.” She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “For what you’ve done, what you will do, given the chance, you probably deserve to die the way Jani did. But I’m not like you. So, you get a cleaner death than Jani’s, and the one you had planned for me.”
The Scarlet tried to object, tried to rise to his feet. He also reached for the blade he wore at his side. Vala growled and roughly jerked him by the garrote back down into his chair. She drew a dagger with her free hand and swiftly slit his throat. With a small smile of satisfaction, she watched the bright blood spill across his desk, then she wiped her dagger on his cloak and turned toward the shadow that was Tygr.
“I’m done here. You?” Then she remembered the book. She dug in her bag and pulled it out. “Here.”
Tygr took the book that Vala held out to him, and made a few more invisible notes in his diary. “Not yet. I’d like to give his body to the scourge, to serve the Lich King in death. I think it would make a good balance for what he’s done in life. But, two wrongs don’t make a right.” Tygr chuckled. “I’ll just give them some more politics to think about, by making it exceptionally hard for them to bring him back to life. Who knows, maybe it won’t be worth it.”
He pulled a small glowing box out of his bag and set it on the desk next to his daggers. “Check around for books. I’ll try and keep this as clean as possible.”
Vala’s curiosity about what Tygr was doing interfered with her search, so it took her much longer than it normally would have. But eventually, she gathered a small stack of books that looked like they might be something best removed from Scarlet hands. The other books she had located, the ones filled with Scarlet propaganda and admonitions, those she left where she found them.
Tygr hummed while he worked. His knowledge of anatomy meant quick clean cuts. “And this little piggy went wee wee wee, all the way home.” He dropped the last bit of flesh into the box and it disappeared with a flash. There was some blood, that was unavoidable.
Vala laughed at Tygr’s words. “I somehow doubt it’s going home.” She looked at the box with interest. “What is that box, anyway?”
“Something I picked up from an ethereal trader. Sends stuff to various destinations in the ethereal plane, wherever that is.”
Tygr turned to Vala, to look over what she had found, he read through the titles. “A couple of these are rare. We’ll give those to the Argent Dawn. Hold on to them, we’ll do it later. This one, this one, and this one are going with us. They’re too dangerous to let these monsters keep. Those other two, eh. They aren’t that great, but we’re probably better taking them anyway. Good job.”
He pulled out Jani’s book from his belongings. “You want to join the Order of Veritas, take this to Lady Nora Nightsbane in that little shop I took you to after the wake. You can tell her whatever you wish, I’m pretty sure she’ll be pleased that this book still exists and is in safe hands. I’ve got some things I need to take care of here. Should be a good distraction until you’re clear.”
Vala stared at the book for a minute, wondering briefly how often they were going to pass it back and forth. She looked up at Tygr through her lashes. “You’re sending me away?” she said in a small voice. “But, maybe I can help you. And what about the prisoners downstairs? We can’t just leave them here.”
“Cute, but they’re my problem.” He winked at her. “You’ve done everything you put your mind to except for one thing.”
Both rogues looked up sharply at a knock at the door and the sound of a man’s muffled voice. “Commander? A situation needs your attention, sir.”
Silver eyes met golden as the man knocked again, more urgently. “Commander? Is everything alright, sir?”
“Take the books and be wise about a retreat. Everything is taken care of.” Tygr drew his daggers and slipped them into his bag. “Keep this stuff safe too.”
“But…” Vala protested in a whisper.
“I won’t be needing it for a while. You remember the name of the lady in Ironforge. Do as I say. Get the books away from here.” Tygr sat down in Isenham’s chair as there was another knock at the door.
Vala gave him a long look as she realized what his actions meant. She didn’t like it, but she nodded.
“We have captured a Sin’Dorei spy.” The voice came through the door loud and clear this time.
Tygr put a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet, then his own voice filled the room. “The Commander had to step out in bits and pieces. Can I help you with anything?”
Vala grinned to herself at Tygr’s audacity.
His comment was met with muffled discussion on the other side of the door. Followed by a loud crack.
“Meet back in Ironforge, then. By noon,” Vala whispered and vanished into the shadows as another loud crack came from the door. She didn’t add that if Tygr wasn’t there, she’d be coming back to find him. He probably knew that.
The door broke inward and the two Scarlets’ eyes immediately fell on the blood-stained desk, with Tygr sitting in the chair. They turned to call for reinforcements and Vala slipped through the door behind them, glancing back at Tygr as she did. Tygr waved her on and she turned and sprinted away through the shadows, Tygr’s mad laughter filling her ears as he was seized from the room and dragged down the hall.
Blood ran out of his nose. He caught it as it dripped off his lip. He could taste the difference between it and the blood in his mouth. Anyone who said there was no difference was a liar. It didn’t all taste the same. He heard a gasp and a cry of pain next to him. “I told you to wait.” He said in Darnassian.
Her response came back in broken pieces as she struggled to keep her mind off the pain. “I… did… take… ah… at cam-” She was unable to finish and let out a scream.
The scarlet assholes were good. He was pretty sure she couldn’t tell them anything more. Tygr yelled at them. “I’m bored with this. I’m Lone Tygr.” The Sin’dorei stopped screaming. That meant they stopped torturing her. “Oh, so you recognize my name. Now you have a face to match.”
“Take her to a holding cell.” That was the voice of the whisper from the other room. It was louder now, he had their attention.
Suddenly there was a man looming over him. He could make the man’s face out through swollen eyes. One of the officers at the meeting Vala spied on. “We know she is here for them. What are you here for?”
Tygr braced himself for what was coming. “Your mother.” Tygr chuckled, but the beating didn’t come.
“Clever, you’ve probably been waiting a thousand years to use that one.” Tygr stopped chuckling. The room was silent. Down near his hands came a faintly audible *click.*
Eight scarlets lay dead, including their commander by the time they got him to the ground and restrained him. Two more, before they beat him into unconsciousness. He was still laughing in his mind when the darkness took him.
– – –
“Eww, I don’t want to touch that.”
“Then do it from over here.”
“I can’t, if his spirit isn’t willing. Not without touching it.”
“Well you have your orders.”
“Eww, just, ewww. It’s so evil.”
Tygr’s eyes slowly opened to see a human woman standing above him. It was hard to make out her face. “High Priestess Da-” He mumbled. The lady shook her head. Lal was an elf. Human. “Klia?”
Again the woman shook her head. This time taking a step back.
“Thank you.“ He called out before trying to lift his head to get a better look at her. But, he couldn’t sit up. Slowly it all came back to him, then the air went out of his lungs with a whoosh.
“Keep your mouth shut, evil creature.” Tygr was awake. He smiled at the scarlet healer as she was ushered out of the room.
For some reason they couldn’t keep his shackles locked. And it cost them dearly. Then they wanted to gag him, until they found he was using the gag to remove his shackles and end more scarlet lives. Eventually all of the prisoners had to be moved out of the torture room and into holding cells to allow the scarlets to pile in more people to restrain him when he got free.
He wasn’t sure if they had any real interrogators left. It was taking them forever to ask him questions as they passed the questions along from someone higher up outside of the room. Same old questions though, they were smarter about not letting him get away.
“What are you doing here?”
“Killing Scarlets.” He grinned and took the beating. The real interrogators were better at knowing where to cause pain. But, they had to be dead, or he was just growing more numb to the pain. His golden eyes appraised the faces of the men he could see. “That hurt. It really, really, hurt. I’ll tell you what you want to know if you bring that human girl in here to heal me. She was so cute.”
In the corner of the room, one large paladin’s eyebrows creased together a bit too much. Tygr saw what he needed. He chuckled darkly, specifically addressing the man. “Hey, buddy. I wonder which of these other guys she’ll be banging after I kill you.”
They couldn’t hold the paladin back. Again, with a *click,* Tygr was free. The paladin, the one doing the torturing, and two others were dead by the time they had him restrained. It was growing increasingly obvious to them that they were only capable of handling half starved farmers, mindless scourge, and the occasional citizen that got out of line.
Tygr was dragged down to a holding cell under heavy guard. Beside his cell were two familiar faces. One was a forsaken, the other blood elf. In the cell beyond them were two more he had only seen strapped to the tables.
“I recognize you. Didn’t I throw you off the Scryer’s Tier for trying to double cross me?” He chuckled, ignoring the pain of several broken ribs.
“F- you Tygr.” Was all the forsaken could come up with.
“You really want me to save this guy?” He glanced at the Sin’dorei and she nodded. He simply shook his head. “Nothing worse than a rogue that can’t pick a lock.” He glanced at the bars and then at the shackles they wore. “Can you both pick these?”
The female nodded. “But we have nothing to pick them with.”
Tygr spat two long thin strips of rough leather into the dirt of their cell. “How about those? Get your friends. I’ll provide the distraction.” He grinned. “It’s just like I promised.”
The guards came to stop him as he pretended to pick the lock on the door, and were dumbfounded when he appeared in the shadows behind them.
“Now!” He yelled as the guards crumpled to the floor and he took off down the hall, using his body as a weapon to check guards into the walls before they could react.
He picked up a pair of long swords near the top of the stairs. Just in time to cut a path of death through the first wave of scarlets responding to the alarm. He danced between them as he exited the building, drawing a crowd of guards around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the Horde escape.
All he had to do, was fight his way out of here and meet up with Vala in Ironforge. Tygr confidently used every trick he had to fight off the scarlets as he made his way to the front gate. As soon as he saw the woman on horseback, standing tall in front of the gate, he knew he made a mistake.
He rushed towards her as she was slipping down out of the saddle. Everything was slow, too slow, he knew it as he heard a loud crack and everything was pushed back to the back of his mind. He looked out his eyes, but it was like looking down a tunnel. She was there, wanting him to drop his swords. He tried to fight it, tried to fight her control of him by gripping the hilts more tightly in his hands. His muscles relaxed. Distantly, he heard the blades clatter to the ground.
– – –
He knew she heard him even before he reached the clearing. The life wisps that had been dancing among the tree trunks stopped moving, then retreated back, and blinked out completely as his shadow overtook them. Still, at the edge of his darkness he could make them out, swirling in the light breeze.
Tygr knelt and touched his hand to the earth. Flowers sprung from the ground and the wisps returned. It was a trick his love Nayerilo had taught him. He thought of her as he walked out of the forest and into the meadow.
Nay was sitting on a log, her back to him, flasks and potions spread out around her. “Hello darling, I figured out what the ingredient in that poison is.” She carefully finished pouring the clear mixture in one flask into another that had a fingernail’s worth of fine white powder in it. Nay swirled it around, her long silver hair swayed across her back in time with the swirling. The resulting solution was also clear.
Tygr waited until she set it safely down before stepping through the shadows to embrace her. “I missed you.“ He gave her a long kiss. The look on her face when they finished was one of confusion.
“I smell another woman on you.” Her silver eyes narrowed.
“Honey, it’s not what you-” He barely had time to brace for the impact, before he was slammed into the ground, massive bear claws puncturing his armor.
“Ah,” He cried out in pain as the claws dug in deeper. “She’s a student.”
The bear scrutinized him for a long moment. He could barely breathe from the weight of the dire bear on his chest. “You haven’t – with her?” It growled.
He laughed, thinking the idea absurd. He couldn’t resist a poke at her jealousy. “Not yet.”
This enraged Nayerilo and he found himself yards away, his armor nearly gone as she charged him and caught his head in her jaws.
“I’m joking love, she’s hardly more than a girl, barely a woman. I’m just teaching her to take care of herself.”
“So she’s young too.” He could taste her hot breath wash over his face.
“You know I love you.” He reached up and placed a hand on her shaggy well muscled leg, giving it a little rub.
He felt the weight on him lift slightly and then she was no longer a bear. She reached a pale rose hand down and touched his cheek. The look on her face was serious. “I love you too, But why would you take a student?”
He laughed. “You know how I am. She asked and was so sure that I wouldn’t.” He leaned up and gave her a soft kiss. “I’m sorry about teasing you. You don’t have to worry. I won’t teach her everything I know.”
“Mmhmm. You’d better not.” She grabbed him and slid her legs up alongside his body to straddle him. Her pink lips mouthing the word ‘Mine’ as she gripped him tightly and leaned down to give him a long hot kiss.
It had been some time since they had seen each other and when Tygr awoke all he wanted to do was close his eyes to get more sleep. “Eat it!” Nayerilo’s voice was soft but forceful as she parted his lips with a flower, pushing it into his mouth. “It’s southern goldclover, rare but it will wake you up in no time and I can tell you about that poison-”
“Simply delightful!” The woman laughed and leaned back on the bed. Tygr tried to draw the shadows around himself and it made her giggle. He tried to focus his sight anywhere but her silk robed form laying on the bed. He was partially successful. He couldn’t move his eyes from her, but he could distract his thoughts. Where was he anyway? Isenham’s room! He was sitting at the very desk where the man was executed.
She seemed bored with his realization, and was fixed on him. “Look what I learned how to do.” Tygr slipped into the shadows. He was under her control, but in the shadows he could feel himself growing stronger. Just a little more. “No, no” He felt the shadows slip away from him. “That won’t do. I want more memories. Such a wealth of thoughts. Such passion and love making. And to think I was going to have the girl kill you with my poison.”
Her tinkling laugh filled the room. “And, I do want more like that last one. It’s absolutely sensuous in this body.” She gasped with pleasure. He struggled, but only mentally. His body was still under her control.
The scarlet priestess rose from the bed and walked to the desk. Tygr’s head moved to follow her every move as she sat on the edge of the desk leaning over to look him in the eyes, nearly falling out of her silk robes. Her brown tresses were pulled back, to expose her long neck. Dangling from a silver chain, resting neatly between her breasts was a ruby encrusted symbol of the Scarlet Onslaught. She smiled, her full painted red lips inches from his face. Her light blue eyes staring into his.
“You don’t remember me do you?” She asked as she looked away and swirled her finger over the splash of dried blood on the desk. “It was only years ago, and only moments of time we spent together.” She laughed again. He recognized something in that laugh. It couldn’t be the shivarra that had almost captured him on the Twilight Ridge. He thought she was dead. Memories came flooding back of how he waited for the fel orc to leave her tent before attacking her. How he had been trapped in a block of ice, her power rending his mind. But, his friend saved him. Killed her. She couldn’t be here, looking like a human. “Oh but it is, Tygr. Discovering these scarlets is the best thing that has ever happened to me. That and catching you again.”
Suddenly she squinted and smiled, the innocent blush on her cheeks betraying the darkness of her thoughts. He knew they were far from innocent. She was pleased with herself. “Isenham was right you know.” She bit her bottom lip, “to catch a rat you need cheese.” She giggled darkly. “Only he thought too small. He was a small cheese.” She squeaked out the last part, in the high pitched voice typical of most human females. She laughed evilly, laying her face down on the desk and breathing in the scent of Isenham’s blood.
Then she stood up and straightened, adjusting her robes to better cover herself, still a mockery of all that was modest. “I don’t suppose if I told you I didn’t expect you to tell me where she’s taken the book you would just do it for me? I really want that book Tygr. Isenham was supposed to hand it to me. But,” She sighed, frustrated with him as he continued to struggle against her in his mind.
Tygr tried to draw his mind in. There was nowhere to go. What that said about him, his intelligence, he wasn’t sure. “Come on Mr. Tygr.” She ran a finger seductively over his cheek. “I’ll make your servitude to the Burning Legion bliss after this.”
Nayerilo save me, he thought.
The priestess purred with delight and moved back to the bed. “Oh goody, another one.”
Vala resisted the urge to tell the gryphon to go faster. Again. It already flew as fast as it could and pestering it further wouldn’t help. Finally, they landed in Ironforge and she immediately slipped into the shadows. She started down the passage leading to the Mystic Ward, then paused and looked around, suddenly alert without knowing exactly why. Very quiet, even for this late at night. Midnight, or maybe a little after. Almost too…wait, where were the patrolling guards? Shouldn’t one at least have walked by already?
A faint sound…
She started to turn, to dodge, so the garrote ended up poorly wrapped around her throat. Still, it was tight enough to hurt.
“I love tidying up loose ends,” a human male’s voice hissed in her ear.
“I’ll bet.” She threw herself backward, catching him by surprise. They both fell to the stone floor and she heard his head hit hard. His grip loosened and she broke free, drew her daggers, and threw herself back into the shadows. Not fast enough. He caught her arm and spun her around. She parried his dagger thrust and got a good look at him. Scarlet. Great.
Vala stabbed the hand that held her arm and he let go with a curse. She jumped away into the shadows, wrapping them tightly around herself. As he looked for her, she stepped through the shadows behind him and ambushed him. Her daggers punched through a couple of the weaker spots in his armor. The poison on the daggers immediately began to work on him, but he still was able to pull away and go for her again. She dodged his attack, taking a cut in her forearm. Her daggers again found weak spots in his armor. And again. This time, he dropped and did not get up.
She quickly pulled the body deep into the shadows and then looked around. Still quiet. No, there came the patrol. Had she just miscalculated their schedule earlier?
She glared down at the Scarlet, then searched him. Nothing much; a few coins and his weapons. Hm, his daggers were better than hers. She sheathed the new ones at her hips and put her old ones in her bag. Now what to do with him? Then she remembered the pool in the Forlorn Cavern. That would do. And it was fairly close. She smiled grimly. It probably had been used before for something like this. And probably would be again.
Vala disposed of the Scarlet, then quickly and silently made her way to the shop in the Mystic Ward, wrapping a bandage around her arm as she walked through the shadows. She stopped in dismay when she came in sight of it. The shop was completely black, as she should have expected this late, if she had thought about it.
She tried the door. Locked, naturally. She knocked on it while keeping an eye on the ward behind her. Maybe the lady was still inside somewhere and would answer. The upper windows that Vala could see might mean living quarters above the shop. But after a reasonable amount of time, still no one answered her knock. Vala examined the lock. She could pick it, but really what would that accomplish? Probably nothing more than to anger people she had no wish to anger.
She tapped again at the door, louder, hoping that someone would answer. But no such luck. She paced in front of the door for several minutes, thinking and fretting at being stuck in Ironforge. Could she leave the books someplace safe? And where would that be? Anyway, Tygr had until noon to meet her here. She had to be here. If everything went well, he would arrive sometime this morning. If not… She shied away from the images that thought provoked. She frowned at her feet, and hoped he was alright. So she would wait right here. For him, or for Lady Nora.
She tucked herself into a shadowed corner by the door, sinking deeply into the shadows to stay well hidden. Feeling a little guilty, she opened Tygr’s pack and pulled out his daggers. They were stunning. Beautifully made, with an incredible balance and fantastic edge that she thought probably seldom needed sharpening. They fit her hands like they were made for them. She smiled. Someday, maybe she’d have some like these for her own. She hoped he wouldn’t mind if she used them. Just for this. She replaced the new daggers she had just acquired with Tygr’s, and tucked the Scarlet’s daggers away in the sheaths hidden in her boots. Extra blades could be handy. Then she settled back even further in the shadows to wait.
She dozed as she waited for morning, for the lady to open her shop.
The sound of a key in the lock woke her. She hadn’t meant to sleep, hadn’t wanted to. She wondered how far into the morning it was. Well past dawn, anyway, judging by the activity out in the ward. The door of the shop opened from the inside and she peered in quickly, seeing a dark-haired human female dressed in nice robes, the kind Vala associated with mages. She let the shadows fall away.
“Lady Nora Nightsbane?”
The woman started almost imperceptibly, but gave no other indication of surprise. “Yes?”
Vala sighed in relief. At least something was going right. She introduced herself. “I…ah…have been working with Lonetygr.” She watched the woman closely for a reaction and so noticed the slight flicker of recognition and increased interest. Vala glanced quickly around the Mystic Ward and slipped into the shop at the lady’s invitation.
Nora studied the elf as she showed the way to a sitting area downstairs, noting first the scuffed and patched leather armor, the masked face, the bandaged wound in one arm. The elf was tall, naturally, even a little taller than the average for her kind. And very thin, as if she had missed more meals than she’d eaten. The little Nora could see of her face, her eyes, made her think that the elf was rather young. But this Vala moved gracefully, with none of the awkwardness that many young adults exhibited. And she had a faint, familiar air about her; an air that, until now, Nora had only associated with Tygr. A sense of restrained threat. It seemed much less evident, less developed, in this Vala, but was there nonetheless. Nora offered refreshments and a seat. Vala declined the refreshments, and sat only for a moment before she rose again, apparently unable to stay still.
Vala pulled the books from her bag and handed them to the lady, then began to pace restlessly. She should probably tell the whole story, but she felt too distracted to tell it coherently. “Tygr said to bring these to you. Well, really the one on top. But I need a safe place to leave the others for a while, too. If you would… I figured… Well, it’s obvious that Tygr trusts you…” Vala sank into a chair again and dropped two bags at her feet with a sigh; one her own and the other Tygr’s. “Please. If you would keep those books safe for a while…” She hoped that the lady wouldn’t mind the imposition, hoped that she wasn’t hurting any chance she might have to join this group Veritas by asking for favors before offering anything herself. That assumed that she even decided to try to join this group. Not the time for that now, anyway.
Nora noted the titles with some surprise, and another surprise awaited her when she flipped through the untitled book on the top of the stack. So Tygr had found it! Nora placed the books on a table next to her chair and folded her hands in her lap. The girl was obviously distressed over something, and just as obviously seemed reluctant to talk about it. And Tygr had sent her here. Her eyes fell on the bags at the girl’s feet, particularly the one that she recognized as Tygr’s. And were those Tygr’s daggers on her belt? “Where is Tygr?”
Vala glanced toward the shop entrance, hoping she might see him coming in. But, of course, he wasn’t there. She looked back at this lady who must be one of Tygr’s friends. So she would probably understand… “Tyr’s Hand,” she said miserably, then noticed the direction of the lady’s gaze. “He gave me some things to keep safe, to keep out of Scarlet hands.” Vala rose again and resumed her pacing. “I had to leave him, to get these books away from the Scarlets. I had hoped he’d meet me back here. By noon, at the latest. What time is it?”
“Nearly nine bells.”
Vala nodded. “Somehow, I have a feeling that if he was going to make it back here, he’d already be here. But, he has until noon. If he doesn’t show up then, I’m going back after him.”
She started for the door, then turned back. “I have no right to ask this, but…please…would you contact Siduri…ask her if she would please meet us outside of Tyr’s Hand? I assume you have some way to contact her quickly. I think… I’m afraid…” She sighed. “…we’ll probably be needing her healing skills.”
– – –
Vala prepared as well as she could. A quick visit to the Forlorn Cavern replenished her poison supply. She left everything she could in her vault, only taking the barest essentials, then used all but the very last of her coins to get her armor repaired as much as possible. Making sure no one was near, she quickly tried out Tygr’s daggers on a convenient training dummy. Magnificent! Then she spent the rest of the time until noon pacing in the shadows near the bottom of the stairs that led to the shop Esoterica, hoping that Tygr would show up and her preparations would be unnecessary.
Periodically, Nora peered out at the restless rogue. The girl was just close enough to the shop that, although she walked in the shadows, Nora caught frequent glimpses of her. She studied the youth for a while, absentmindedly twisting a lock of dark hair around her fingers as she watched. Interesting one, this lady…She was curious to see what she’d grow into, someday. Nora would have to get them all to fill her in when everyone returned safely. She held on to the thought of their safe return as she returned to the business of running her shop.
Afternoon. Later than she had hoped. Vala perused the numerous torn up and bloodstained sections of the grounds of Tyr’s Hand. Looked like there’d been quite a nice little fight. The marks formed a nearly straight path from the keep to the front gate. But stopped short of the gate. Something to do with Tygr, she guessed. And it looked like he probably hadn’t made it out. She blinked at the few Scarlets out and about, far fewer than she had seen this time yesterday. At least that might make things easier for her.
Well hidden in the shadows, Vala went directly to the keep, to the torture room in the basement. Its condition was surprising, even considering the mess outside. Very little in this room was intact. And no one here. A fair amount of blood, more than when she had been here previously. But where was Tygr?
Avoiding the oddly few Scarlets in the keep, she found her way to the holding cells. They all stood empty, their doors open. So if not here, and not in the torture room, where would they have him? She didn’t think they’d be done with him so quickly. Even if he had succumbed to injuries, they would probably have had one of their healers yank him back from death for more torment. Anything else would be too easy.
So, how to find Tygr? Maybe they had more cells in one of the other buildings. She paused in the shadows at the top of the stairs to let a Scarlet pass by the doorway, then started toward the building’s entrance.
“You don’t want to go there.”
Vala stopped as the voice back near the stairway to the second floor caught her attention. She backtracked and peeked around the corner at the two Scarlets at the foot of the stairs.
“I need to grab some papers from the conference room.”
“The High Priestess doesn’t want any disturbance upstairs. She’s still interrogating the prisoner.”
Vala thought the one needing the papers looked alarmed at that information.
“Oh. Right. Of course. The papers can certainly wait.”
She smiled to herself as the man hurried away. The other Scarlet walked off more slowly, but kept casting glances up the stairs. Vala looked that direction herself. Nothing to see. But ‘prisoner’, huh? Could be Tygr. Odd place for interrogations, but who knew how these Scarlets thought. At least she now knew why there were so few Scarlets in this building.
– – –
Vala crept down the hall toward the commander’s door, Tygr’s daggers ready in her hands. This was the last room to check, so likely this High Priestess was there. She heard noises from up ahead. Voices? Too low for her to make out what was being said, or even tell whether one might be Tygr’s. The door to the commander’s room was ajar, hanging brokenly from its hinges. She peered cautiously around it into the study. She could see little more than what looked to be a Scarlet priestess. The woman faced away from her, leaning on the desk, and seemed absorbed in something, maybe some magic.
Vala blinked. For a moment, it hadn’t been a human Scarlet priestess at all. Had she just seen some sort of female demon? Like one of the many-armed ones she’d seen in Hellfire Peninsula? The figure now looked human again. What was going on here?
Then the priestess’ head turned slightly. “Well, well. And what have we here?” she said in a sugary voice. “Come out little one, where we can see you.”
Distracted. What was she doing back here? He told her to get away. How long had the shivarra been mining his mind? He had to guard his thoughts. Guard his thoughts.
To her horror, Vala felt her legs step forward, taking her out of the shadows and into the study, in plain sight of the priestess. She felt muffled, like she was wrapped in layers of soft cloth and pushed to the back of her mind somehow, able to see out of her own eyes, but unable to control her own body. But her thoughts seemed to be her own, sluggish as they were. She found herself noticing the oddest things. The furniture had been rearranged. And since when did a Scarlet priestess dress like that?
“Look, my sweet. Seems we’ve found ourselves a little mouse, now. Let’s get a better look at you, dear little mouse.”
She’s not a mouse. She’s good, she’s going to kill you.
The priestess wanted to see her face. Vala’s hands opened, dropping Tygr’s daggers on the floor, then pulled off her hood and mask, dropping them as well.
“Such a pretty little mouse,” the priestess purred. “Almost as pretty as our Nay.” She laughed suddenly, unpleasantly. “Now this will be such fun! My pretty mouse will tell me where the book is…and along the way, maybe she’ll learn a thing or two still from her teacher.”
Vala saw activity beyond the priestess as a figure behind the desk seemed to be struggling to move. His head lifted, his golden eyes blinked in apparent confusion. She almost didn’t recognize him without his armor or his mask. Tygr.
His head turned, taking in the room, and she was standing there unmasked as well. Maybe they could beat her together. He noticed his daggers were on the floor. He could get to them. He fought the demon presence in his mind. Pushing it back. It was giving, just a little. He pushed harder. Tygr lifted one hand off the desk, his golden eyes empty of their usual sparkle. Appearing to reach out to Vala, or was it his blades?
At the motion, the priestess turned back quickly. “Oh, no, my precious one. That won’t do.” As she turned her attention back to Tygr, her control over Vala slipped away. Vala grabbed the daggers from the floor and dove deeply into the protective shadows.
You remember last time. It will happen again.
Demon? Could she just kill it with her daggers and poisons? Wait. An memory flashed into her mind from her search of Isenham’s rooms earlier. A small vial tucked away next to some clothes. A vial holding a liquid identical in appearance to the poison she had been given to use on Tygr. Light magic! It might not help, but it was still poison, too. And just maybe…
You should be looking behind you.
More motion caught Vala’s eye. Tygr now sat forward in the chair at the desk, his eyes blankly staring straight ahead. The priestess stood close behind him, her hands resting possessively on his shoulders. “Oh, goody! A game of cat and mouse. Catch my little mouse for me, my Tygr.”
Hahaha. You won’t know what hit you until you feel her dagger slide across your neck.
Great. Vala only hoped that a controlled Tygr was less lethal than normal, that this priestess was unfamiliar with his abilities, that her control was less than perfect. Vala slid through the shadows, trying to spot the chest that had been at the end of the bed. The chest that held the vial of poison. She finally spotted it on the far side of the bedroom, against the wall. This was going to be tricky.
Tygr stood slowly. Vala quickly slipped through the shadows, through the door and over to the chest, trying to stay as far away from Tygr as she could to avoid being spotted. A glance back at Tygr and the priestess and she lifted the lid, digging inside as quickly as possible to find the vial.
Tygr’s fists pounded her in the kidneys. Once. Twice.
“Uff.” She doubled over from the pain, but her hand found the vial.
Nice punch. Soon you’ll feel the effects of that poison.
His next blows caught her in the ribs – she felt some crack – and threw her off-balance back against the stone wall. The priestess laughed in amusement.
This isn’t half of what I could do. You’ll need more than this to take her.
“See little mouse. You’re just getting yourself hurt. So, tell me where the book is.”
It’s gone. I told her to give it to A’dal the Naaru to keep safe. You’ll never have it.
Seconds ticked by. Vala drew a couple of ragged breaths, trying to push the pain aside enough to move. Why didn’t the priestess make Tygr attack again?
Another second. Vala chuckled, although somewhat shakily. “You want a book? I found a romance novel recently. You can have that.”
The priestess turned, her eyes flashing with fel light. “You didn’t give it to the Naaru.” She giggled. “I know his mind better than that. Soon, I will know your mind too, little mouse.”
Vala blinked. The Naaru? What was this priestess talking about?
Tygr started toward her again, lacking his usual speed and finesse. Was he fighting the priestess? Or was the priestess merely playing with them, with her? The pain receded just enough. Vala tossed a handful of ground glass in the priestess’ eyes – maybe it would blind her, maybe she’d lose her hold on Tygr. Vala didn’t wait to see, though. She vanished into the shadows again, and retreated once more to the study’s outer door. She peered back at the priestess while she applied some of the poison to one blade. The priestess seemed annoyed, but still in control. Vala tucked away the vial with the little remaining poison inside.
You let me go, I’ll kill you. You don’t and she will.
“My pretty mouse wants to play rough,” the priestess pouted. Then her smile was back. “That’s fun, too! Come out, come out, little mousie.”
“Ah… No. I don’t think so.”
Vala slid through the shadows and studied the two while staying as far away as the limited space allowed. Why didn’t the priestess send Tygr into the shadows? Maybe she couldn’t. Or was there some other reason?
“I like it just fine where I’m at.” Could it have something to do with their affinity to shadows, hers and Tygr’s? Might the shadows interfere with her control? Maybe she could goad her into sending him into the shadows. “Bet you can’t find me.”
The priestess laughed again. Vala watched as Tygr tramped around the study, apparently looking for her. But still, the priestess didn’t send him into the shadows.
Oh, where could she be. Was that bed comfortable? Oh, the grain on the top of that doorframe, no she’s not hiding up there.
Vala kept moving and continued her scrutiny. So, how much could the priestess do while controlling him? She hadn’t moved from her spot since she sent Tygr after Vala, only turned a little to keep Tygr in her sight. And while earlier she had seemed able to control them both at the same time, that control had apparently been tenuous and short-lived. She’d had to release Vala to keep control of Tygr. She must have to concentrate a fair amount to maintain the hold on him.
This speculation, however, really wasn’t getting her anywhere. She steeled herself. She might only get the one chance. Have to make it good.
When Tygr started toward the door to the bedroom, Vala stepped through the shadows behind the priestess. That put the priestess between her and Tygr. She drove both daggers deeply into the priestess’ back. The effect was both satisfying and unnerving. The priestess stiffened momentarily and then began to shriek, a high-pitched sound that ripped through Vala’s ears and made her teeth ache. Vala winced, but kept up her attack, stabbing again and again, trying to get in as many blows as quickly as she could. The priestess’ form began to swell alarmingly. She suddenly arched back, stretched grotesquely, and sprouted four more arms. She became the demon Vala had glimpsed earlier. Still shrieking, a sound that now seemed more inside Vala’s head than her ears, the demon-priestess flailed her arms wildly. One arm caught Vala in the side, in nearly the same spot where Tygr’s blows had landed. Vala felt another rib crack as the impact threw her backward and she lost her grip on the daggers.
Vala slammed painfully into a wall and slid down it to the floor. She tried to catch her breath while she looked around for Tygr. If the demon-priestess still controlled him, this could be an ideal time for him to attack her. She couldn’t see him around the still expanding demon. The demon whirled on her and she quickly drew the daggers from her boots and put her back to the wall. But the demon stopped and shrieked even louder and at a higher pitch, if that was possible. The demon became thinner somehow; translucent, and spread out like oil on top of water as she grew still larger. Scorching air suddenly blasted Vala full in the face. She tried to shield her eyes without losing sight of the demon. Still, between one painful blink and the next, the demon vanished. Silence engulfed Isenham’s rooms. Total silence. Except for the ringing in her ears and head.
Vala dropped into a crouch, daggers ready, and peered blearily out of eyes that stung and streamed tears. The demon was gone. Poof. Char marks everywhere the only evidence that she had been there. No body. Just Tygr’s daggers lying on the floor, the charred remnants of the poisons still evident along their edges. If the demon had died, shouldn’t there be a body? She thought even demons left bodies behind. Vala shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Her ears didn’t seem to want to stop ringing and she felt rather charred herself, like the rest of the room. And how much longer before the room filled with angry Scarlets? She blinked a few times to clear her vision, and caught a hint of motion from the corner of one eye. She quickly grabbed Tygr’s daggers and slipped back into the shadows.
“Tygr?” she whispered into the shadows. If the demon wasn’t dead, could he still be controlled somehow? She sincerely hoped not. And, even worse, might that demon still be lurking about, now invisible and extremely incensed?
“That was,” Tygr’s voice drifted from the dark shadows on the far side of the bed, “hot.” His arm lifted from the gap between the bed and the wall and he lifted himself up, peering over the edge of the bed.
He managed two steps before his legs folded up and he crumpled to the floor. He lay there for a moment, looking at Vala crouched in the shadows. He could still spot her. One day though, he knew he wouldn‘t be able to. It brought a tight lipped smile to his face. “I think she’s gone. You okay?” His voice was definitely pained.
Vala slipped out of the shadows and helped Tygr sit up, finally really looking at him. He looked awful, even worse than she had expected. His linen garments had probably once been white; now they were almost completely red with blood, tattered, cut. Large black bruises and half healed wounds marred his dark purple skin. She tried to keep her voice light, masking her dismay. “I certainly hope she’s gone, after all that. And shouldn’t that be my question?”
She set her bag on the floor next to Tygr. “I’ve got a couple of those healing potions and some bandages in there. Use what you need. Oh, and your bag’s in there, too.” She gingerly touched her battered ribs and only then answered his question. “I’ll be alright. Just rather sore.” She grinned at the understatement.
Tygr grabbed a healing potion and downed it. The red liquid freezing his tongue. He could taste the mountain silversage and golden sansam. He felt better and tried to stand. Pain shot through his body. It wasn’t enough.
He closed his eyes, placing a hand on the ground. His breathing slowed. He felt the stone in the floor, the earth below, the air around him, the vapor in his breath. He concentrated on the life-giving elements around him and vines began to spring from the ground, twisting around the legs of the desk and chair. Moss formed and spread on the stone floor, stalks of green plants rising from the moss and spreading their leaves before bursting into dozens of small colorful flowers. Tygr slowly felt his strength return, his spirit. When he opened his golden eyes, life had returned to them. He looked Vala over and then scooped up her gear and handed it to her.
Vala glanced back at the outer door. As she turned, a stray lock of hair fell across her eyes. Absently she brushed it back and tried to tuck the longer strands back into the pony tail high on the back of her head. “There were still some Scarlets around out there. With all the shrieking, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them show up soon.”
“Thanks for coming back for me.” He chuckled. “I saw you brought my daggers. Any chance you brought a mask as well?”
She nodded acknowledgment of his thanks, uncertain how to reply. “That’s what friends – and apprentices – are for. Right?” She smiled a little shyly, then handed his daggers back to him. “I didn’t think to bring another mask.”
“I’ll improvise.” He grinned, limping over to the bed and slicing off a long strip of the bedsheet. It was quickly wrapped around his head, until only his ears poked out. He looked out from under his makeshift hood, chuckling.
Vala grinned back at him, then pulled on her own mask and hood. “I didn’t see any of your armor when I was looking for you. But we could hunt it down.” She thought a moment. “Also, I asked Siduri to meet us. We just need to get out of Tyr’s Hand.”
“Gear is easy to come by if you know where to look, let’s just get out of here.”
Vala nodded her agreement as she and Tygr slipped into the shadows. The few nervous-looking Scarlets who finally appeared to investigate the recent disturbance never noticed the two rogues, who easily slid past them and away.
Some days later.
A small flood of people washed over the inn at Auberdine; much more activity than the norm for that time of night. Vala lurked in one shadowy corner, watching all the goings-on and enjoying a break from Hellfire Peninsula’s bleak landscape.
“Boo.”
Vala looked around. Definitely Tygr’s voice, still she couldn’t spot him. But she was unsurprised when he appeared from the shadows in front of her.
“Hi, Vala. Nice mask.”
“Hello, Tygr. Thanks, I just got it. Better than my old one.”
For a moment, Vala and Tygr silently watched the flurry of activity at the inn, then they moved outside, away from the bustle.
“I was surprised to hear your voice on the guild stone.”
She shrugged, and her eyes betrayed her hidden grin. “Imagine my surprise to learn that you are a member,” she teased.
Tygr chuckled and looked to the shadows by the nearby tree. “I doubt you were all that surprised.” There was a low growl. He laughed at Nay’s comment.
Vala could almost make out the shape of the panther lying in the shadows. “Something I’ve meant to ask you. Am I still wanted in Stormwind? Are the guards still looking for me?”
“Shouldn’t be. I’d be more afraid of the Scarlets. If you ever get in trouble with the guards, tell them you’re doing something for me. That should clear it up.”
Vala nodded, then lowered her voice. “And what of that demon? Think it’s coming back after you, or both of us?”
“I don’t know. I tried to kill her once and it didn’t work out.” Tygr looked thoughtful for a moment. “Have you fought in Gurubashi Arena, yet?”
Vala shook her head.
Tygr grinned. “Then it’s about time. Experience is the best teacher, and I can’t think of a better experience for you than the Gurubashi. Especially if you want a shot at that bastard of an Orc later.”
((Vala’s adventures continue in Hunting the Orc))