Part 1: Gratitude Out Of Grieving

A thunderous noise of fierce combat rung out in the air around Maestra’s Post as Orcs and Kaldorei Sentinels both fought for the death of their opponents.  The tipping point of the encounter was steadily going in the favor of the Horde invaders.  Fewer and fewer arrows were being fired from the tower railing above, while the six Orcs continued to pound the reinforced door at the base of the structure.

Wades, as a solitary Hunter, joined a Sentinel fighting against two heavily armored and shielded Warriors.  Their shields took blows from the Sentinel’s three-bladed glaive weapon that normally would have sliced a person in half, and their short swords continued to prod for an opening to slice her fair lavender skin, but she did not give up.

She spotted him approaching to her aid.  The Night Elf flashed her silver eyes to signal which of the Orcs she would put off guard so that he could end this miserable Orgrimmar foot solider’s life.  Her movements turned the one Orc so that his back was directly exposed to Wades’ unsheathed sword.

He raised his sword to descend, once again that day, into another green skinned enemy.  Just as he was about to bring his weight down with the weapon poised high in the air, a blur of wood and hide rushed backwards and slammed into Wades’ thighs.  There was a loud snap and a crushing sound as the Orc’s shield buried into him.  Both of his legs collapsed from the broken bones.

What neither of them predicted was that the other Orc had noticed their exchange and had waited until the last moment to strike.  He took his only form of defense and used it to cripple the attacker joining them.

The Hunter lay on the ground screaming and bleeding from where his legs had been bashed in.  The pain was all that was keeping him from passing out.  The knowledge that if he did not get back in the fight somehow the rest of the party might fall prey as well forced him to focus.

The clever Orc turned his head with a wide smile of tusks back onto the Sentinel.  He saw her face just in time to see her swing her multi-bladed weapon around in a reverse attack and rip cleanly through his torso.  He fell to the ground, but he did not scream, because his innards had already spilled out and bathed the scene with all the gore that comes with battle.

The remaining Orc stood still in shock for a few moments.  Those few moments were a few too many.  While he was still on guard against the Sentinel in front of him, he completely had written off the screaming pains as someone that was no longer a threat.

The sword in Wades’ right hand was all his foggy vision could focus on.  A blinding white pain continuously flared up his body into his head.  During one of the waves of pain the words of Fannon, the dwarf priest that had given him the sword as a gift, spoke to him.

“Remember my wandering Night Elf friend that this sword will be there for you in a time of need.  I am a healer and an alchemist by trade, but I have had an enchantment placed on this blade.  The runes on the hilt hold a spell called Divine Spirit.  It will active when you are at your weakest… use it and then seek…”

The hidden enchantment activated and Wades felt a momentary reprieve from the pain and disorientation.  As his mind cleared he saw within arm’s reach the other Orc.  He pushed himself up with his left arm and swung the sword in a low arching curve.  The metal sliced the back of the Orcs calves open and he fell to the ground.   The incapacitated Orc was met by the sword falling back on top of him, burying itself into his chest.

As the world begun to spin for Wades, he laid back down on the grass.  He looked around to the other group of combatants fighting their own struggle.  He saw the white feline form of his Druid companion striking with his claws and speed at the last Orc standing next to the other slain Orc Warrior.

He gripped the sword in his hand tighter and then the world went black.

With the five armed Orcs now laying lifeless on the ground, the six remaining Orc grunts dropped their battering ram and fled into the woods.  The two lady Sentinels bodies and minds were pumping massive amounts of adrenaline and they took off after the easy kills that had just ran away.  The din of battle in this part of the woods was quiet again.

Draccus came up to the limp body of Wades lying in the grass.  He saw the chest was still slightly moving in irregular breathing patterns.  The blood had thankfully slowed pooling around the Hunter’s body, and the wounds had started to clot.  The most disgusting scene was the bone and cloth poking out at odd angles.

“Do not throw up, Draccus!” He said to himself.  “This Hunter was there for you when you needed him.  In the wet rain and despair, He offered you friendship and a ray of hope.  Now he is in mortal danger and you have to do something to help him.”  Draccus not able to speak or communicate with anyone let out a roar and cry mingled together in order to get one of the Kaldorei Sentinels attention.

Not sure of how the Sentinels would perceive a large white feline beast standing over the body of a gravely wounded Night Elf, Draccus positioned himself between the woods and the body of his friend.  Draccus stood to the side of Wades and watched the three Sentinels come out of the tower and approach cautiously.

As best as he could he nudged and pointed with his muzzle towards Wades to indicate that his friend needed immediate help.  While none of the Sentinels were Hunters or could read to small detail signs of an animal, they all noticed the Cenarion Circle trinket that hung around Draccus’s neck.  This sign of the Druid’s community gave them some assurance but still they were careful.

“We need to get this Hunter to Astranaar as quickly as possible!”  The lead Sentinel said as she saw the extent of the damage and injury this stranger had received in attempting to assist them.  “If we do not move carefully and quickly the broken parts of his legs could sever a major artery and cause him to bleed out or send a blood clot into his heart.”

“Lady Warwood, the Orcs slaughtered our Night Sabers before we could release them into the wilderness before the siege began.  We do not have a quick way to transport this unknown Lord of the forest to Astranaar.  What can we do?” The second in command Sentinel asked from a logistical standpoint.

The Commander of Maestra’s Post looked at Draccus standing next to the body of the Hunter for a moment.  While not the same size as a Night Saber, he was certainly big enough for the task.  Then an idea came to her.

“You there, Druid of the Claw,” she shouted “are you willing to carry this Lord of the forest on your back if we secure him?  We need to get him to Astranaar as soon as possible.  He condition is pretty dire, because the Orcs from Orgrimmar have been poisoning their weapons and shields with some compound the Horde has come up with.  It stops the body from bleeding out any infections and then begins to slowly rot from the inside out.”

“I know of a powerful healer that is just a day’s hard journey from Astranaar by Night Saber.  Her name is Amerence, she is a highly respected Holy Priest from the Alliance, a human that some say can bring people back from the dead.  Her words of prayer not only encourage life to grow stronger, but she can mend our brother of the woods broken body as well.  But we must hurry.”

Draccus looked back at her with full comprehension of what Commander Lady Warwood had just said to him, but he was curious as to how she recognized and spoke to him expecting him to fully understand her.  He tilted his head expressing a look of bewilderment over her insight.  “How did she know that I would understand her and then go along with her commands like anyone under her command?”

“I bet you are a little confused as to how I recognized you as not only a Druid of the Cenarion Circle but specifically a Cat-form trapped Druid at that?”

Draccus visibly looked shocked that she knew so much about him.

“A few days ago we had a Druid pass through this region named Kelebek Swiftclaw .  She was on a journey of her own, to discover her hidden past as well as track down her mentor somewhere in the forests of Feralas.  She had heard rumors that a young Druid had broken away from a small group of Druids being trained in the region of Darkshore awhile back and no one had heard from him since.”

“So in answer of your unasked questions: Yes I was keeping an eye out, before we were attacked, for an unusually large feline Cat stalking the forest.  But No, I will not turn you over to the Cenarion Circle for punishment or judgment.  That is something you will have to decide.”

The two Sentinels that had disappeared into the woods after the fleeing Orcs came back into the clearing around Maestra’s Post covered in sweat, blood, and dirt.

“Okay, Druid of the Claw, I am ready to travel to Astranaar with you on foot.  I see my faithful Sentinels have returned from catching those last six unarmed Orcs that dared to attack us.  Do not worry about me keeping up with your pace, I have run many battles in Warsong Gulch and that requires constant conditioning and stamina.”

Draccus stretched his body out for what sounded like a hard cross country voyage.  He remained still and steady as the two other Kaldorei Sentinels secured Wades to his back with vine bindings and leather straps.

His friend literally was resting his entire hopes of survival on the back of Draccus now.  Silently in his mind the partial phrase of “at your weakest… use it…and then seek…” repeatedly coursed through his mind as he slipped back into unconsciousness.


The Saga continues with...... Part 2: Giving Generous Grace