Same Target, Different Methods

I enjoyed writing my last RP post, infact, I really enjoyed it. I always loved creative writing at school and combining it with Warcraft was very fun. After a little chat with Ercles yesterday, I decided to revive a little project I had been planning to do since summer last year but never found the time to actually do it. Basically, I want to write about my alts, as if they were a group of adventurers. I've created a new page (you can see it in the side bar over there --->) which will have the links to them in order, so that you can access them, or read any that you might have missed.

Ripping the parchment from the noticeboard, the Orc saw nothing but “100 gold reward.” Her armour was in desperate need of repair or better still, replacement. The rusting plate gauntlets, protecting her once soft delicate hands were covered in dents, the lavish colour was scraped away, left on the blades that had struck at them. Her shoulder guards, once glorious, where now dull and her helmet, which hung from the lapel on her Riding Wolf, could easily be used as a household bucket. Her shield, dented, notched and riddled with Crossbow holes was more of a weapon than protection and her sword could have been easily replaced with a sharp stick and some extremely harsh language. She walked to her wolf, scratching it’s large ears as she stowed the parchment in the saddlebag, which contained dozens of unopened letters, all addressed to her – Nalria. She grunted as she pulled herself onto her Wolf. She couldn’t do this on her own, and she knew just the person who would help.

Juljin was knelt over his fire, his loyal cat sat next to him, licking its lips, drooling in anticipation. The Troll grinned at the wolf, as he turned the flank of Boar meat over, “Soon, Dehyo, soon.” He said, petting its matted head. He started to sharpen his knife, while scanning the Horizon. He was a bit too close to an Alliance camp for his liking and wouldn’t let himself get too comfortable, unlike Dehyo, who’d curled up next to the fire. He checked his meal, as his stomach groaned in anticipation, Dehyo wasn’t the only one looking forward to his first meal in what felt like weeks but had only been days. He turned the meat over again and grinning, plunged his knife into it and greedily started to eat. He was nearly finished when Dehyo shot up straight, “You’ll be gettin’ yours soon enough” he said, tossing the left overs at the cat. Dehyo didn’t move, put sat completely still, looking into the distance, the meat flew past it and landed on the ground. He moved, faster than one could think for a troll of his age, he grabbed his bow and two arrows, stringing one and holding the other in his teeth. He looked at the horizon, a rider approached. He recognised the lumbering run of a riding Wolf and relaxed, only a bit. Even races of the Horde could still be enemies but after looking at the rider, he un-drew his bow and placed it over his back, grinning.

“I’ll ‘elp ya,” the troll said, grabbing his pack and bow. Nalria looked at him surprised; it’d taken less persuasion that she’d thought. “Don’ ya look at me like that,” he said, “I can’t let ya go on ya own, som’ one gotta look afta ya” he said, smiling. He’d knew she’d come to ask for help, she didn’t ask it of anyone else. He’d known her all her life and knew if her father was still alive, he would have killed him on the spot for refusing to help her and for turning down the chance to kill some humans. “Tha be a village som’ mile dat way,” he pointed in the direction. “I left ma rapta there, it’s on da way.” He climbed onto the back of Nalria’s wolf and whistled, Dehyo ran off ahead of them. Nalria turned her head to look at the troll, “Thank you, Juljin.”

Kranan’s face stung, his left eye was closing up with swelling. Never trust a rogue, he thought, even one you'd known for many years. A fist ploughed into his face again. “What are you doing here?!” the voice shouted. He’d been poisoned, his strength had left him and he could barely get himself to his feet. A hand grasped his horn and tilted his neck. Looking directly at him was a bearded human, “Your race disgusts me.” He said, before ramming the Taurens’ head into the wall. White lights flashed, never trust a rogue, he thought, as the man kicked him in the ribs. He looked round, only his right eye was of any use to him now, four men were in the room, two of the three guards that had spotted him and the rogue, a large stupid looking human and the bearded man. Never trust a rogue, he thought again as the humans laughed at him. He saw his mace lying on the table, in the corner of the room, as well as the rogues daggers. The coward had run, vanished into the shadows leaving him to be beaten and more than likely killed. The poison they’d used had made him drowsy, they obviously didn’t like it when he ripped the arm off one the guards that had spotted him, he stayed silent as the men taunted him. Never trust a rogue, he thought, as the man with the bearded face opened the door, turning to the guards, “kill him” he said.

The door opened, Jakkru clung to the shadows as a man turned round, “kill him” he heard. The rogue cursed the shaman, fat bastard, he thought, getting spotted. He moved quickly, from the shadows, the man still wasn’t looking at him. With a deafening crack he broke his neck before barging into the man closest to the door, his armour clattered against the stone wall as he lost his footing and fell to the ground, the man next to him turned sharply. The rogue slapped at the man’s left ear with his palm open, connecting, he sent a fist at his throat. He heard the man choke; the man he’d barged was getting to his feet, as the man currently gasping for air fell to his knees. The two men advancing on the tauren, who was lay there turned to see the rogue launching his elbow into the plated man’s face, two, three, four times, the man dropped to the ground with a groan, blood flowing from his face. The rogue moved swiftly to the table his daggers were on, as the two men advanced. He snatched his daggers from the table and turned, while reaching into his pack, he drew a small knife which he flicked at the gap between the man on the lefts helmet and his plate chestpeice, it connected and ripped into his neck, spurting blood onto the man next to him, who turned to see what had covered him to see his friend clutching at his neck, trying in vain to stem the blood flow. He turned back to the rogue in rage but he was no longer there, he felt the light arm of the rogue under his arm, as his rotting fingers grasped his helmet. Jakkru plunged his dagger into the man’s neck, swiftly pulling it out and jabbing it back into the man, sending blood everywhere. He finally stopped and ripped the dagger and turned to the shaman, grinning.

Juljin and Nalria arrived at the camp later that night, a few tents around a house next to the woods, the house had obviously been raided earlier that day. The men had been drinking and a few were sitting round a fire, eating whatever they’d found in the house. They’d found a casualty in the woods, one of the men was dead, missing an arm. “We’ll attack later,” Nalria said, to which Juljin nodded in agreement, “When they’ve gone to sleep the booze off.”

Jakkru poured a vial of anti-poison down Kranan’s throat. “You could have helped.” He said sarcastically. The shaman felt his strength return immediately and got to his feet. “Right, now I thi-‘’ the rogue was interrupted by the Tauren’s hand wrapped around his throat.

“I...came...bac-‘’ the rogue gasped, his ribcage visible between gaps in his hardened leather jerkin. “For you damned Daggers!” The shaman hissed, tightening his grip before letting go, the rogue fell to the ground gasping for air. Kranan picked his mace up and muttered something about spirits, the swelling around his eye faded and he breathed more freely.

The camp had gone silent, one of the drunks must have fallen over because Juljin heard a clattering in the basement as they skirted past it in the darkness. He had an arrow fixed in his bow and Dehyo was prowling 10 meters infront. Nalria had her bow out, Juljin had taught her how to fire a bow many moons ago although she was no were as good as the troll. They treaded carefully and could hear snores coming from the nearest tents. The man they had been sent to kill was a leader of a group of bandits that had been plaguing the area, he’d be sleeping in the house. Nalria loosened the string of her bow, placing it down on the ground quietly. She drew her blade and carefully moved the shield that was strapped to her back onto her arm. Juljin peered around the corner of the house, the front door had been ripped off in the raid. He sent his cat in first and motioned for Nalria to move in as he peered in the darkness, nothing but the smoldering embers of the fire moved so he followed her inside.

Kranan went first, his mace in one hand, his back against the stone wall. He was far too large for creeping he thought, Jakkru seemed to share the sentiment and passed him silently, moving up the stairs into the kitchen, two guards stood talking, “I’m sick of this, nothing was in here, they’d packed up and gone. Useless. Anything good, Johnny kept, bastard.” One of them said. Kranan who hadn’t noticed Jakkru stop, bumped into the rogue, sending him toppling from his crouched position into the kitchen. The two guards, surprised to see an Undead roll out into the kitchen floor stared at him for a second, the one on the left reacted first “INTRUDER!” he bellowed.

“Move, mon!” Juljin yelled, as Nalria raised her shield and headed for were the shout had come from. She heard a crack of thunder and a man flew into the wall before she entered the door, his hair standing on end and singed. She looked to her right and saw a large shaman looking at them, she heard a scream as a rogue plunged his knife into the thin armour of another bandit on the kitchen floor. “Who are you?!” the shaman yelled, “Who are you?!” Nalria replied, gripping her sword. The shamans face had some bruising on it and the rogue was an Undead, her skin crawled looking at him, his eyes darted from her to Juljin, who’d entered the room and had an arrow trained on Kranan.

The introductions were cut short by footsteps on the stairs, Juljin spun round and let his arrow fly the short distance into the man who’d just stepped into the corridor. It landed true, square in his chest and he feel backwards sharply. Nalria rushed to the other door, as another bandit appeared, driving her shield into his body with a grunt she parried an attack from a second bandit who was in the hallway leading to the kitchen, she recovered quickly and jabbed her sword into his belly. The rogue had appeared behind her and was driving his dagger into the mans neck, the man screamed and the rogue withdrew his dagger, covering Nalria and himself in blood. “Move!” Kranan yelled, asking the Spirits for protection and aiming them in the warriors direction. Jakkru was killing the man Nalria had knocked over and Nalria was running down the hallway to the stairs, an attack came from behind her, but didn’t fully connect, it bounced off her armour, which had been infused with stone briefly. Kranan appeared behind the attacker and rammed the shaft of his mace into the back of his head, then rammed the spiked tip into his back as he fell to the ground. The corridor was too small for him to swing his weapon. They moved back into the first room Nalria and Juljin had just moved through to see Dehyo ripping into a bandit’s neck, who was screaming loudly, in his leg was an arrow and two dead bandits lay before him, arrows in their chests. Juljin came from the corridor the bodies were lay in and Jakkru appeared behind Kranan and Nalria. “It would seem we are after the same man.” Kranan said.

The noise from inside the house had woken the men in the tents outside and they were running towards the door, the first one their fell backwards sharply having been struck by an arrow, as he fell a cat jumped at the next man, claws slashing through his shirt and into his chest. He screamed and the others backed away in fear. Another arrow came from inside the house, striking a man in the neck, he too screamed and fell to the ground. Two men turned and ran, they were without armour and weapons, the others followed suit, another arrow flew out and caught a man in the back of the thigh. Dehyo pounced on him and went for his throat. Juljin called his pet back, “Get up dem stairs!” he told Nalria, Kranan and Jakkru followed.

Nalria burst through a door, she raised her shield and a sword glanced off it, Jakkru had slipped past her and was digging his dagger into their bounty’s stomach, Nalria hacked at the mans shoulder and he screamed loudly. Kranan, still unable to swing his giant mace jabbed him in the face. Jakkru plunged his dagger into the mans throat and turned to Nalria as he pulled the blade out, the man gasping for air and choking on his own blood. “Dont even think about it” she said, raising her shield, Jakkru just grinned at her. She moved into the room and Juljin appeared at the door, “dey be gone, cow’ads ran for it” he said. The four of them stood in silence, staring back and forth. Kranan finally spoke, “We can share the reward. 25 gold is better than death.” Jakkru shot him a dirty look. “Agreed,” said Nalria. “Aye, mon.” Juljin said. The rogue sighed, “Fine.”