A Raven's Tale

12. REDRIDGE

Dedicated to @ea_carter and @Finfychan. Will you ladies recognise the quest reference in this chapter, I wonder?

I was more than alert this time, making sure no more green drakes attacked me as I crossed the swamp's canopies. Thankfully, all was quiet on that front. 

Only a variety of wild birds and a solitary condor in the distance to the north-east graced the skies. 

I felt the warmth of the sun on my body as she rose steadily above the horizon, and once I crossed over the border to Redridge, I could feel the moisture density in my feathers give way. My plumage was once more light and airy.

As I marvelled at the scenery before me, I was suddenly aware all of it was familiar. I knew exactly where I was.

The warm late-spring draughts kept me buoyant over Lakeshire Highway. Boar meandered through the landscape, grazing on the fresh, lush grass and vegetation. 

Hog-like humanoids known as Gnolls populated the dips and valleys in the area, their camps little more than strips of canvas over crisscrossed sticks. Crates served as seating and tables, and small campfires were lit for cooking and keeping warm. 

I could somehow recollect that these odd creatures were notoriously aggressive, and covered a large part the Redridge Mountains. 

It took very little for these tusked hoodlums to charge you, and they never fought one-on-one; they were pack creatures. If you managed to wound one, half a dozen more would come at you.

Oddly, however, they seemed quite docile this day, ignoring the soldiers who marched along the winding roads at the edge of their camps. 

Companies, in chain and plate mail, marched under blue and gold banners, the symbol of a lion emblazoned on the fabric. Some were heading west towards Duskwood,  and others to Stormwind in the north-west. 

I sensed something had changed, dramatically, and I had no doubt it was due to recent events at the Dark Portal.

I swooped down towards the main town, Lakeshire, and settled upon the roof of the largest building. There I preened for a few minutes, occasionally pausing in the ritual to glance down at the people as they busied themselves in their daily chores and conducted business transactions.

The town was small, more of a village community really. It looked out over a large lake which stretched beyond the town's boundaries towards the distant keep sitting on a crop of rocky crags to the east. 

It was quite picturesque with its red-roofed buildings and two wooden quays. A stone bridge, crossing the lake, granted travellers access to and from the town. At its southern side, gryphons sat nesting, waiting for the next customer to purchase a flight from their handler. 

 All in all, Lakeshire was a quaint and clean little town.

Two children were playing near one of the docks. I watched for a few moments and delighted in their joyful chortles while they rolled wooden boules towards a smaller stationary one, about a yard ahead of where they stood. 

The girl, in a pretty yellow dress, managed to get her boule closest to the target and was running up and down the quay celebrating success. 

 Suddenly, she clasped her hands to her neck and glanced down at the wooden dock. Next, she started crying. 

The boy ran over to her. My curiosity got the better of me – I flew down to see what was the matter, landing quietly on one of the quay supports. Cocking my head, I listened to their conversation.

"Hilary, what's the matter?" the boy asked, crouching down to see her eyes but she'd buried her tiny face in her hands.

"It broke!" she sobbed.

"What did? The marble?"

"No!" she said, dropping her hands and pointing between the wooden spars. "My necklace. It fell through into the water. Oh, Shawn, I'll get a row if I go home without it. Mummy told me I was only to wear it for special occasions."

"Oh!" Shawn replied, peering down between the wooden planks. "Well, I think I can see it, Hilary. But, I can't swim, and those nasty eels are down there too. What are we gonna do?"

The girl wailed some more; apparently, going home without this trinket was a most daunting prospect.

I hopped down to the boards and skipped over to where Shawn was kneeling.; his face pressed against the wood. With one eye scrunched tight shut, the other peered through the space between the planks. I turned my head and mimicked him, trying to see the lost bauble.

"Well, looky here!" Shawn gasped. I raised my head to see him staring at me, wide-eyed, excitable. "D'ya think that's him, Hilary?" He swivelled his head towards the girl.

Hilary was still wiping her eyes and sniffling. "I don't care! I need my necklace or papa is going to smack me and send me to bed without any dinner."

The boy stood up, tucking his shirt into his shorts and straightening his braces before he faced his friend. "But Hilary, if it's him he can just magic your necklace back..." He pointed in my direction.

"Him? Who's him? Anyway, that kind of stuff is just rubbish Shawn! You are just being silly, believing such stories."

The boy became incensed that the little girl dismissed what he was trying to explain. But, who on Azeroth was he on about?  Only Hilary, Shawn and I were there on the quay. The boy was delusional.

Suddenly, an excruciating pain sheared across my back. 

I found myself flattened against the wooden boards. Something sharp was digging in between my scapulas. I let out a harsh screech. 

My head slammed against the boards. Distantly, over my shrieks, I could hear the girl howling again and the boy shouting for someone or something called Effcee to "Stop". 

Another sharp pain coursed through my body, the epicentre of agony at the back of my neck. 

Something was biting me!