Halvor stepped carefully over the remains of the mogu and the spirit twister and made his way to the front of the group. Moments ago, he had watched two of his allies, no, he was not sure that one of them was truly an ally, nearly kill each other in a duel to the death. It had been fortunate for the death knight that the vrykul had knocked him out before either dueling party had been eliminated. As a result, however, he had to carry the cumbersome Sahtra back to the village located in the Kun-Lai summit. Halvor shuffled the death knight in his arms, trying to avoid the spikes on the pauldrons or the skulls decorating the kneecaps from digging into his skin.
“You know, friend green orc, you are lucky I do not make you do the carrying,” Halvor joked as he laughed in the direction of Vel’rosh. The paladin made no response, and the vrykul wasn’t even sure if the orc had heard anything. Vel’rosh stared absent-mindedly at the road in front of him and occasionally glanced around to make sure he was still with the group.
Meechi followed closely behind the vrykul, wringing her hands together as she muttered unintelligibly in frustration. Her ears were pinned to her neck and her brows were twisted firmly into a frown.
“As I was saying, I am glad you managed to end that scuffle,” spoke the draenei as she moved up to Halvor, limping and using her blade as a cane, “no good would have come from it.”
Shal’rel took a good look at Sahtra’s unconscious body and scowled. “Those two would have easily killed me if I had tried to intervene,” the knight remarked, “but nonetheless I would have tried if you had not. It is my duty.”
Mori walked at the tail of the group of travelers, already unable to keep up with the pacing of the much larger adults. She recalled the times Sahtra had picked her up or gripped her as easily as one would hold a sack and could not bear to see the proud death knight now helpless in Halvor’s arms. There were no undead to follow the young blood elf after the vrykul had horrifyingly cut the summoned spirit twister down, so she continued on, alone.
* * * * *
Halvor hurriedly walked up to the innkeeper of Binan Brew & Stew, Puli the Even Handed. The voluminous pandaren wore a robe of purple lined with gold swirls and leaves, and he gasped with concern as he saw the large warrior holding what appeared to be an unconscious body covered from head to toe in dark grey armor. The innkeeper opened his mouth to speak but Halvor cut him off.
“Bed. Water. Food. Please. Yes. Thank you.”
Puli quickly nodded. “Let me show you to your rooms. I will have one of my helpers bring you food and water.” The pandaren left his position at the front desk, and the travelers followed. He strode urgently down the corridor and motioned at the large bed in the room.
“I hope this will suffice,” Puli bowed and returned to his post at the entrance to the Brew & Stew. Moments later, one of the pandaren entered the room with a glass of water and a bowl of rice.
“Okay, there you go.” Halvor rolled the death knight onto the bed, angrily muttering to himself as he sternly looked over the human. He shoved his way through his fellow travelers, headed straight for the exit to the village. Mori now stood at the head of Sahtra’s bed and finally took a good look at the severely injured death knight. His armor was almost worn down, not only from the beating from the mogu, but the sharp blows from the paladin’s great sword. Any cloth the human wore beneath his armor had been tattered, and scratches appeared on his deathly pale skin.
“Wait!” Mori anxiously turned to Halvor. “How long will he be…asleep?”
The vrykul kept his back to the child and sniffed, furrowing his brow.
“Do not know. Maybe he will wake up different person after blow. Maybe he will not wake up at all. Either would be preferable to what we have dealt with already.” It was harsh, he knew, but honest.
Mori glared at Halvor as her green eyes began to glow more brightly. How dare he, the young blood elf thought to herself, the ugly orc started it! She looked at the death knight’s unconscious body and sighed as she sat back down next to his bed, burying her head in her arms. I’m going to wait right here, the young blood elf told herself, until Sahtra wakes up.
Shal’rel stood in the doorway, observing the exchange between the warrior and the warlock. “Based on the blow,” the knight tried to placate the child, “he should be awake in no more than a few hours.” Shal’rel saw no response from Mori. “He’ll be fine, little one. Based on my experience with the vrykul, if Halvor wanted to end the death knight’s life, he could easily have.”
Mori growled as she recalled how quickly and effectively the warrior had eliminated her undead. I don’t want to take any chances, he had said, even after the child had used its power to help the party survive the harrowing fight with the mogu. The knight realized she hadn’t made the situation any better and turned her eyes to the serpent egg sitting next to Mori on the floor.
“Listen, child! I think I can hear your friend hatching!” The draenei quickly donned her helmet and followed Halvor out the door.
The young blood elf’s ears stood on end as she heard a quiet set of repeated blows coming from within the egg, similar to how a woodpecker would strike at a tree. She lifted her silver head from her arms and stared at the glistening blue shell as it began to break. Small pieces fell to the ground, and Mori squealed with delight as a baby blue cloud serpent poked its head through the hole it had made in its cage and broke itself free. It was covered in goop, so the child located a towel (originally brought in for the death knight) she could use to clean the baby serpent’s scales. Several minutes later, the young blood elf was done. The baby cloud serpent hovered happily and found her owner welcoming her with open arms.
“Mama’s going to love this!” Mori exclaimed. She took the blue serpent and held it up high.
“I name you Sindi, after the great Queen Sindragosa.”
Still holding the serpent, Mori turned to where Sahtra lay, and proudly displayed her new pet knowing full well the death knight could neither see it nor hear her voice. “I can’t wait for you to meet her,” the child spoke, then broke out into sobs as she sat back down next to the bed, comforted by the display of new life in a world full of loss.
* * * * *
Some time later, both blood elf and serpent alike had dozed off as the former embraced the latter in her arms. Mori awoke as she heard a thump come from the floor on the other side of the bed. She gently placed the cloud serpent to the side and took a peek.
Mori watched as Meechi stood on her toes and carefully removed the death knight’s helm, placing it on the desk next to the bed. The alchemist bent over her bag and pulled out two healing concoctions for the death knight. With one hand, she gingerly lifted Sahtra’s head and parted his lips, pouring the contents of the potions down his throat. Meechi placed the death knight’s head back onto his pillow and the glass vials back in her bag for future use.
“You’re a real jerk,” she muttered at the unconscious human, and angrily stomped her way towards the door. Mori ran after the alchemist and grabbed her hand.
“W-Wait!” the young blood elf exclaimed, “Before you go, th-thank you!”
Meechi sighed and forced a smile onto her face. She whipped her head around to the child, who was staring gratefully at her, tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s nothing,” the vulpera spoke nonchalantly, “I’m just doing my job.”
Mori looked at the floor in response. “Thanks anyway,” she spoke quietly, “Sahtra means a lot to me.”
The alchemist tilted her head and nodded. “There’s no point in letting life go to waste,” she spoke, “even unlife, I guess.” She looked away from the child as she knit her brows. “But if he means a lot to you, then that’s a bonus. I’m glad I could make you happy, kid.” Meechi looked back at the child and her lips curled into a genuine smile.
Mori’s face lit up, and she let go of the vulpera’s hand. “Please, let me know if I can do something for you in return! You can even borrow one of my undead!” The young warlock was anxious about leaving her summons around the others now, but anyone who helps Sahtra is worth it, she reassured herself.
Meechi raised an eyebrow at the young blood elf and laughed. “Thanks,” she replied, “but I don’t think I have any use for your undead! I’ve got all the tools I need right here.” The alchemist patted her big bag full of trinkets, potions, and other things she had scavenged, and Mori giggled at the strange sounds the glass and metal made.
A look of unease came over the vulpera as she brought her hands back together and folded her ears back. There is one thing, she thought to herself. “Uh. Look. Is there any way you can rein him in?” Meechi motioned towards Sahtra’s room and whispered, as if worrying that the death knight would hear her despite his unconscious state. “I would really, really appreciate it if you could!”
Mori frowned in confusion. “I’m not sure why you’re so worried about him,” the child began, “He’s big and scary-looking, but he hasn’t done anything bad!” Not only that, she thought to herself, but the death knight had done a great deal of good for her, too. The vulpera rubbed her face in frustration.
“He’s threatened to kill that orc!” Meechi nearly cried out. “I know Vel’rosh started it, but…I mean…just make sure he doesn’t actually do it.”
The young blood elf recalled Sahtra’s reluctance to start the fight, but there was no backing down once it had begun. She shrugged and looked at the floor. “I can’t change his mind if he’s made it up,” Mori answered apathetically. The alchemist glared at her in shock.
“I can’t believe you wouldn’t care,” Meechi sighed and rubbed her face again as she spoke, “Where I come from, you try to preserve your life and those of others around you as much as possible.” The blood elf did not react. “Fighting to the death over things that don’t matter is a waste. A waste of time, breath, and energy.”
Mori frowned and returned Meechi’s glare, making a fist with her right hand as she spoke. “That orc has been mean to Sahtra ever since they met.” She paused. “Vel’rosh said he wanted to be friends with me, too, but he hasn't been very nice to me either.” The young blood elf opened her mouth to speak again but bit her lip in restraint. Halvor doesn’t trust me either, she wanted to say, why would I dare turn against the one person who’s on my side?
The vulpera shook her head with disgust and marched back out the door. “I tried,” she told herself, “I tried.”
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