Beneath broken stone and warped metal, a solitary raven panics as it senses imminent danger. It escapes certain death mere seconds before the structure finally crashes to the ground. On soaring above the devastation, the bird spies a wet-eyed woman...
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It was an inappropriate time, perhaps, but I could not help feeling triumphant in my ability to recognise these different races and affiliations. At least some scraps of my buried knowledge were rising to the surface.
The Tauren stopped a few feet away. His eyes scoured Lunk's physique, checking, I assumed, for signs of injury. I glanced down to make a diagnosis.
He was fortunate the fire jets had not buried deep into his flesh, and although I was in no doubt the burns were painful, they were a lot less severe than they could have been.
I turned back to the Tauren. He was watching me with interest.
"De ogre, him ah traitor, an him insulted mi," Yaala protested.
The Tauren did not look away from me, but he conversed with the troll. "To be a traitor, Yaala, one must first be affiliated. He is neither. As for insulting you - learn not to let name-calling upset you, certainly not to the point of foolishness."
"But Muattai," Yaala protected. "Dat bud - him ah demon; it mek magic ..."
"I saw what it did, sister." At that, the Tauren looked at the troll for a long time as if daring her to argue.
She shook her head. With a dismissive wave of her hand, and muttering under her breath, she returned from whence she came.
"Do not utter a word, except what I tell you," I thought to Lunk. "And do not answer me, just grunt that you understand."
Lunk turned his head to look at me as I eyed him from the side. He grunted, then faced Muattai.
"You should get to Thorium Point and have those burns tended to," the Tauren said in a calm, low voice.
"Ask him why he helped us," I instructed.
"Why you help?" Lunk echoed.
Muattai stepped a little closer, his eyes once more resting on me. After a slightly unsettling moment, he gestured for us to walk, and he fell into step beside us.
"I left my homeland many years ago and chose to walk the path I do now," he explained. "But, some old beliefs still reside within me."
"That still does not explain why you helped us." I coaxed Lunk. The ogre obliged.
The Tauren glanced over his shoulder as if to check who was in earshot, before answering. Again, his eyes rested upon me as he spoke.
"I know not who you are, raven, but I do know you are not what you seem. Whether you are a spirit, or some cognizant being, trapped in bird-form, I sense your survival is paramount."
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