Above the Stars and under the Flames

9. Jeopardy

Shplunk.

Lorithiel gasped as her foot broke through a moldy wooden plank in the unsteady bridge she walked across. Her boot sank into the muddy marshland below, and she growled as she pulled it back out. "Dustwallow," she hissed, swatting away insects as they buzzed around her head. "Disgusting land. I won't be sad to see the back of this place."

Darren grinned a bit and caught up to her, matching her stride. "And what happened to night elves loving all forms of nature?" he asked, poking a bit of fun at her. "A shame upon your kind, you are!"

"Oh, ye'd know all abou' bein' a shame, wouldn't ye?" Koran barked back, lifting his hand to bat away a particularly determined mosquito.

Darren narrowed his eyes, his smile falling. "I was only joking, you great oaf," he shot back, then gestured toward the bugs swarming around Koran. "Look thither! They know a good fat meal when they see one. It's a pity they won't find out until it's too late just how bitter he is! Perpetually bitter."

"A right lot more bitter than you, an' fer good reason! Ye need t'a be more skeptical, or ye'll lose yerself in these marshes. But I wouldn't expect a White t'a know anything abou' common sense."

Darren began to raise his voice in frustration. "Oh, don't you go stirring up such-"

"Quiet!" snapped Lorithiel, glaring back at the men. "Evil lurks in these swamps. They say the land plays home to restless spirits, old witches, great fanged beasts, and men whose hearts are more corrupt than the foulest of demons. Proceed with caution."

The group fell silent, and they continued on their journey down the road for some time, when suddenly Lorithiel stopped. "Did you hear that?" she whispered, glancing around at the gnarled trees.

A twig snapped. "There!" Lorithiel murmured. "There it is again!" She reached slowly to her side, grasping firmly onto the intricate hilt of her dagger. In one swift movement, she pulled her weapon out and held it in front of her defensively. The others followed her example.

An arrowed whizzed past Darren's ear, impaling itself in a tree behind him.

Before the trio knew what was happening, a war cry was bellowed, and a band of hulking, black figures were upon them, hacking away with axes and swords, chanting ancient spells, and shooting frightfully precise arrows. From the looks of it, there were five of them; if the group weren't so distracted, they would have heard a frightened nicker from Dimpy in the back.

"Grimtotem!" Koran shouted, burying his axe deep in an encroaching enemy's skull. Indeed, the invaders were tauren, and they fit the exact description that had been attributed to the Grimtotem tribe-black fur, white and red markings upon the face.

The battle was fierce, but the trio seemed to be starting to come out on top. Darren and Lorithiel struck down one, and when they turned to see Koran, they found him beheading another. Just as the head flew off of Koran's target, another Grimtotem came up behind the unsuspecting Koran, raised its blade, and swung it down with deadly force-

Only to be met with more steel as Darren's own sword clashed against the enemy's. With one more clean swipe, the human drove his weapon straight into the tauren's jugular, ending its life.

Koran whirled around, staring with wide eyes as the tauren clutched its throat and collapsed, lifeless at the dwarf's feet. "Er.. well. Thanks," he said gruffly, nodding once in Darren's direction. Darren replied with an equally terse nod as the faint outline of a grin crept onto his face.

Lorithiel motioned for the group to follow her as she soothed Dimpy and trudged onward. They kept walking for some time until Lorithiel raised a hand to stop; a wooden sign post stood before them. Painted across cheap, splintered wood were sloppy red words, which the night elf read aloud: