The World as it Should Be

“A year ago, Cernak Tromos, a warlock from Undercity was murdered in Winterspring. Right there in Everlook at the inn. He had been drinking and got into a fight with a Night Elf, later confirmed as Sejova. Apparently she just walked up to him and stabbed him through the heart. He died quickly of the poison on her blades. She slipped by the Bruisers and escaped.”



Treris shook her head in disbelief, “Sejova doesn't lose her temper like that, she would have had a reason.”



He shrugged, chewing on the tough bit of meat he had pulled from his pack. Night had fallen and they decided not to try to get back to the Thorium's encampment, but had set up a fire here. Ripper grumbled, wanting more than anything to leave this awful place, but was now lying by the fire they had built asleep.



“He wasn't a nice person, even for a Forsaken,” he continued, “most of us just assumed he had had it coming one way or another. A few bounties were posted but not enough to make people want to care. Then a Troll, Javin, was killed in Descolace, while hunting on the coast. He was found at the bottom of the cliff with that token you took from my room on him.”



Treris rather sheepishly pulled it out of her pocket and examined it.



“Some of his friends had mentioned a Night Elf was in the area, and the Goblin traders confirmed it was Sejova, since she bought supplies from them. Even gave them her name, like she wanted them to identify her.”



She looked at the token between her fingers, dismayed. Sejova was nothing if not professional, and letting a witness identify her was definitely not professional. So what was going on? She looked up at Deydis over the fire and realized that there was more, but he was chewing on his lip, as if unsure to give it voice. Her look demanded and explanation and he sighed before reaching into his pocket and pulling out another token and holding it up to the light. It was the same kind that she had.



“This was on Jenarra,” he said quietly.



Treris gaped at him, “Y-you're saying that Sejova...” she left it hanging.



“After Javin's death, it looks like Darnassus was starting to get worried. Its no good when your top assassin goes rogue, so...they sent you out.”



She furrowed her brow, thoroughly confused now, “I don't...I'm just her sister.”



Deydis looked very uncomfortable and rocked a bit on his butt, as if trying to get out of saying what had to be said. She stared at him, not wanting to believe the idea that was coming into her head.



“They wanted me to flush her out, so you could kill her.”



He looked over to her, his eyes confirming this.



“Fuck,” she said getting up, anger rising in her, “so all the time we were in Stranglethorn, you were waiting for my sister to make an appearance?”



“Or for her to make contact with you,” he said quietly, looking up at her and concealing his emotions.



Rage began to seethe in her, helping her to ignore the hurt and shame beneath it. She had been used. Not just by Deydis but by her own people, to help take her sister out because she had become a liability, after all she had done for Darnassus and the Alliance. Her heart beat was pounding in her ear drums and she desperately wanted to hit something or someone, but she just couldn't. She had felt something for him, and that just made this worse.



“Fuck you,” she finally spit out and picked up her pack to go, whistling for Ripper to follow her. She barely got ten paces when she felt him grab her arm and yank her back. Reacting instantly she swung her other fist around and clocked him on the jaw hard. He stumbled back a little but did not release her. Ripper tensed next to them, unsure what to do, after all Deydis was a familiar smell.



He spit some blood out onto the ground and caressed his sore jaw with his hands. She stared at him, hoping that he would burst into flames suddenly, but was of course disappointed. He kept his expression neutral as always, but she thought she may have detected a little hurt in his eyes. Good, she thought, she wanted him to hurt like she was hurting.



“I'm sorry,” he finally mumbled out, casting his eyes to the ground, “I stayed too long with you.”



He released her and went back to the fire, sitting down with his back to her. She stared at him, holding on to her anger but finding it more difficult. It was hard for her to stay angry long at the best of times, and although this was about as big as it got, she was already feeling it ebbing a way. Besides, she wanted to know more, and he was her only source.



Sighing she walked back over to the fire and sat down next to him, staring at the fire.



“What do you mean you stayed too long?”



His eyes flicked to her and then back onto the fire before he answered, “I was only supposed to observe you, and only for a couple of weeks to see if Sejova tried to make contact. I decided to take a chance and insinuate myself more into your life and...it went on longer than I should have. That's why I had to go back up to Silvermoon, to receive new instructions.”



She wasn't sure what he was implying, but decided she couldn't deal with the implications and moved on.



“So after Janarra died, what then?”



He looked up at her, surprised that she changed the subject, but also looking relieved.

“I was on my way up to the Hinterlands, there's an old friend of Janarra's up there, lives in a hut by the ocean. I'm not sure, but its possible that Janarra worked with Javin before, if so, this friend will know,” he looked intently at the fire, “there has to be a connection between the three of them and if it turns out that Cernack worked with them too, we might find it, and find out what her plan is. However, on my way up I thought I saw her coming into the Cauldron. I think she meant to trap me. I am going to have to be more careful in the future.”



“Then what?”



“I was told to stop her,” he said with a sly look sideways, “there were no specifics on how.”



“They want you to kill her.”



“They weren't that specific.”



She let a small smile creep onto her face.



“I can't guarantee that though,” he said seriously, “if I have to, I will kill her, but...I will try not to.”



Treris sighed and looked at the fire. What a mess she had landed into, she knew she had to go with him if she had any chance of finding Sejova before someone else did and maybe if she was there she could keep them from killing each other. She just needed to know why, why Sejova was doing this and if she could be helped.



“I will go with you to the Hinterlands,” she said resolutely, “I will not let you kill her.”



He nodded and went back to staring into the fire.