Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Chapter 5

~Erro's POV~

When I came outside, Medivh was creating a teleport to Stormwind, I assumed. "Step in," he urged. I stood behind him with my hood up. Khadgar stood to his other side, and within moments, we were in front of the king. Before the guards could close in on us, I hurried to sit on the steps to the side of the Llane's throne. Llane gave me a small, reassuring smile before stepping towards Medivh, "Medivh!"

"My lord."

"It has been too long." Llane pulled him into a hug, and Khadgar caught his staff. I chuckled at his wide-eyed expression. They pulled back from each other, and Llane urged Medivh towards the war table in the other room, "Help us get to the root of these troubles of ours." I followed beside Khadgar who looked my way every once in awhile, as if I would disappear in flash. I caught him looking at me again, and I smirked, "I'm not going anywhere..."

"How are you in such good graces with the king?"

"Ah, Khadgar, it has been too long since we've spoke..." He sighed, "Yes, it has. We should... catch up when there is a free moment."

"If there is, I will find you." With that, I sped up, entering the room and standing on the opposite side of the table from Llane. Lothar to my left and Medivh to my right. Khadgar moved past us, examining the armory. "What beasts?" Medivh questioned. "They are saying giants. Armed giants with wolves to carry them. Huge unstoppable monsters. Erro saw one the day Khadgar arrived."

"Yes, of course it did. I must ask, my lord, why do you keep such a creature in such high regard?"

"There is no doubt in my mind of Erro's strength, and she has never tricked me once before. Nor has she let a single soldier or citizen die under my watch. Why would I not accept her as the valuable asset she is?"

"Very well. I just do not like the idea of The Betrayer's daughter being so close to high authority, but if you wish. Now, the other kingdoms. Are they suffering of the same issue?"

"All ask for protection but do not trust us to tell of what is happening."

"Why not send the elf to ask her people?"

"My people do not like me... That is why they sent me to the Kirin Tor and my mother to live in the forest."

"Good, I agree." Lothar butted in, noticing my discomfort, "We know nothing about these monsters. We need prisoners. Even a corpse to tell us anything."

"I don't know what danger we're in, Medivh."

"I exist to protect this realm, my lord. It is my very purpose. I am the Guardian, at least for the time being, anyhow." Everyone turned to look Khadgar's way, and my heart raced slightly. Khadgar as the Guardian? Wow... "Yes, what are we going to do about... What is his name?" I smirked, offering a quiet, "Khadgar, sire." Khadgar replied with the same, turning towards Llane, smacking Medivh's staff against a shield. I held back my snicker. "He'll be coming with us," Medivh answered. Lothar sighed, "Well, then we better get going."

So we set off through the forest, and I rode my horse beside Khadgar who trotted behind Medivh. Every so often, I felt Medivh look at me. Lothar stopped at what seemed to be a ruined caravan. Khadgar dismounted, offering me his hand. I gently took it and hopped down. That same cold chill gripped me, like claws sinking into my shoulders. I almost winced as it spread throughout my veins. "I have a bad feeling about this," I mumbled. I hurried over to Lothar as Khadgar caught Medivh's staff. "Tell your men to stay extremely alert. I'm... sensing something, and it's not good." He nodded, and I turned back to where Medivh was examining a tree. It was black and dripped green fel. I stepped next to Medivh, reaching towards the tree slowly. I looked down at the markings on my arm, noticing them glowing a bright green. I yanked my arm back and peered down at them again. The closer to the green fel a marking was, the brighter it glowed. My markings became a glowing, green gradient. "Touch it," Medivh ordered. I looked at him, unsure if he was trying to hurt me more. "Do it," he nodded, seeming extremely interested in what would happen.

I reached my arm out, watching the glow turn brighter and brighter. As soon as my finger touched the green fel, the markings exploded in a flash of green. It was too bright for me to even look, and I jumped back as I felt a burning sensation spreading through my hand. "No, put your hand back."

"Guardian, it burns."

"Pull through. Place your hand back." I did as he said, noticing the glow getting brighter and brighter as the burning sensation flowed up my arm, down my chest and into my other arm. I held back the cry of pain. Pressure seemed to build in my head, and I didn't even notice the giants filling the surrounding area. I faintly heard Khadgar yell, "Guardian!"

I looked to the Guardian, begging him silently to help me. I couldn't feel anything besides the burning sensation throughout my body. His eyes were wide as he looked into mine. He grabbed my hand, and I felt the burning rush to him. He said a spell and green cracks spread to the monsters, turning them to dust. I felt my legs buckling beneath me as I fell to the leaves. The other monsters quickly retreated, and I saw spots forming in my vision. "Guardian, what did you do? I was right, wasn't I? It's here."

"I must return to Karazhan. Get these people safely back to Stormwind. You did good today." Then, the Guardian was gone, and Khadgar was at my side. "Where has he gone?"

"Karazhan."

"We need a prisoner. Where is your horse?" Lothar called. "They took my horse." He shook my shoulder roughly, and I winced. "N-No... Don't..." I clawed at the clasp on my cloak, and he undid it for me. "Really? Just... Stay there. Help Erro." Lothar asked frustratedly before galloping off. The markings were smoking, and my entire body felt like it was on fire. "I was planning on it," Khadgar grumbled before scanning me, looking for something treat what was wrong, but he had no clue. "I-I-Ice, something..." Khadgar nodded, casting a spell to coat my arms in ice. I sighed and made eye contact with him, "W-Why was the G-G-Guardian staring a-at me l-like he was s-scared."

"Erro, your eyes... They were bright green." I struggled to breathe evenly, and my arms were so hot, the ice was melting. I broke free of the ice and reached out for Khadgar to help me up. He helped me up with ease, and I ignored the problem at hand, moving to help the wounded soldiers. Luckily, in my time exploring, I had become excellent at first aid, and I had even learned some things from priests. Khadgar followed, helping me with treating wounds. Luckily, we had lost no one. However, many were injured.

"I'm going to follow where the horses went, see if there are any more injured."

"Wait, Erro... I think you should stay."

"I could be useful somewhere else... I will be fine." I heaved a sigh and hurried off before Khadgar could protest. I found a horse crushing a man. I moved the horse and assessed the damage, moving his bones back into place. He would need much time to heal. "Are you okay to move?" I asked him. He groaned in reply, and I lifted him, letting him lean on me. "Over here!" I heard Khadgar call. "What did he get himself into this time?" I grumbled. The soldier laughed, "Probably stumbled upon a snake and is scared to move from the tree he's in." I laughed in response as we entered the clearing. Khadgar had a smaller creature pinned to a tree. "You took it on all on your own?" Lothar said surprised. Khadgar had an unmistakable smirk on his face. Lothar had a bigger creature over a horse next to him. They placed them both in the cage, and I set the wounded soldier next to the driver. "Where will I sit?" Khadgar asked confused. "With me."