Shadows Within

Wow. Nobody missed me when I moved.

Well, I suppose I shouldn't complain. This chapter's a bit short, and I blame everyone's favorite Fawnheart for it. See what I have to do to keep up with you, damnit?

Fawnheart: I dunno if it's THE best line, but I felt it was worth it. I still don't feel like I can make my characters as deep as yours, though. Still, another satisfied customer, yeah?

HordeFTW: And moar ye shall have.

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"Find his wife's grave, retrieve his heart, and bring it to me while it still beats. Do this and his power will be broken."
Andromai nodded, his own face as pale as the constant moonlight over the town. The rogue gathered his breath and turned to his companions, preparing to speak-
"Beware! An abomination of the undead approaches the town!!"

The human's eyes shot wide open on hearing the crier's words. Within an instant, he was already running to the town square, Claris and Eleam's mailed steps following behind without hesitation.
"To arms! TO ARMS!!
They weren't alone; several other adventurers hurried out of the buildings as well. Andromai's trained eyes spotted one of his fellow agents, but no one else. The other rogue nodded, knowing Raxis simply by his stance.
Andromai's training was kicking in as he surveyed his available forces. A quick head count showed eight willing to fight; a mage, three rogues, two warriors, a paladin, and a priest; one of them was him, and another three knew him well enough to follow his orders.
One of the warriors, a kal'dorei, had a certain impatient bearing... one that showed he wanted to be in charge. Andromai adjusted the wide-brimmed hat atop his head, and hoped that it wouldn't explode in their faces.

"Allright," he began, his voice firm and calm, "warriors, make sure this thing, whatever it is, keeps its eyes on you. Claris, back up our priest friend as much as you can. Rogues with me, catch it from behind. Sir mage, I would like you to keep this beast chilled as long as you can."
The night elf warrior gave a dismissive scoff, lighting a fuse that should have been left alone for the moment.
"Hey, whoever said you were calling the shots here, twig?"
Raxis galnced over his shoulder at the fighter, quickly taking in his training. I was hoping a weapon master would have more discipline...
"Because I can think in a way that, hopefully, will keep all present alive," the human replied without the slightest bit of worry.

The elf glared from under his helmet and whipped the oversized cudgel from his back. "You want to prove that, little man?" he sneered.
Andromai sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his left hand. "My good man, we have no time for this," the human said.
The sound of the air parting behind him snapped his eyes into a glare as the rogue rolled his weight backwards. Following the arcing swing of the hammer, he stamped to his feet behind the elf and grabbed his wrist to stop him.
"That's enough!" Raxis said with an athouritive voice, twisting the limb to one side.

The kal'dorei didn't get the hint, instead whipping a foot around in an effort to trip the rogue. Andromai stepped back just out of the arc and pushed forward, toppling his oponnent and putting a measure of force on his back.
"I said stop it!" the human stated again with an edge of impatience.
Once again, the warrior refused to listen as he swung his other arm behind him in a final effort to dislogde the much younger man. Without even trying, Andromai caught the other wrist in his arm and pulled that one down, too. Then, he gave both arms a painful wrench.
"Now that I have your attention," he said, forcing the still-struggling elf to the dirt yet again, "do make sure to listen well."

"I commend your eagerness to have this done with, but if my guess is correct, your plan is something along the lines of 'run out there and beat it until it stops moving,' yes?" The human waited a few seconds, taking the angry silence as a yes.
"I thought so. Now, what you fail to understand is that if this thing is scaring the Night Watch, then it's big. And that means one man rushing out there alone is likely to get himself brained, do you understand?"
The rogue let that sink in for a moment. "Now, if you're really that eager to get killed, be my guest. But I will not have you put the lives of other individuals in jeapordy."
Again, there was a deep, frustrated silence. "I'm going to let you up now," Raxis informed him. "If you try hitting me again, I'll knock you out and leave you in the care of whatever or whoever decides to come along."

The human released the fuming warrior and let his priest companion tend whatever insubstantial injuries that Andromai may have caused.
"I can't beleive he had the nerve to do that!" the warrior fumed in Darnassian.
His friend shook her head. "I'm not, Sayine. He's right, we really should work together on this."
He picked up the hammer and scowled, not taking his companion's offer to help him to his feet. "Hmph. I'll show him who needs to get his head on straight."
"Go ahead and try. I'm worse with my swords out."

Both the elves stared at Raxis wide-eyed.
"You assume far to much, my firend," the rogue said as he glanced back to the pair before turning his attention to the road. Doors were slamming shut all throughout the town now.
The two of them walked forward, grouping up with the others. "Where did you learn our tongue, young one?" the priestess asked with a somewhat mystified voice.
"I was taught by a druidess after earning a place in your city," he relpied.
The human rogue, his face obscured by a hood, nudged Andromai. "We going?"
He nodded in response. "Right. We've no time to dally about, everyone," Raxis said, moving down the road as he spoke.

Everyone followed in a loose cluster, falling into a somewhat matching stride of wide, swift steps. Claris began to focus her senses, scanning the area for any undead that would be roaming near the path.
The human mage was darting his eyes at everything nearby, letting flecks of ice dance unhindered aroung his fingertips as he kept his magic at the ready. The other rogue, a dwarf, drew his weapons, a mace and dagger, and grinned, adjusting the goggles on his face. The priestess was laying blessings on everyone as quietly as she could manage, hoping that it would not alert anything nearby to their presence. The warriors stood shoulder-to-calf in front of the group, gripping the hilts of their weapons tight with anticipation.
"Raxis, I've got somfin'," Claris announced. "Sommat's big, lad."
But as the ground beheath them began to rumble, they figured it was a moot point.

"DARKSHIRE! I HUNGER!"
The human rogue went wide-eyed, pulling his hood down to reveal a youthful face. "That's bad," he blurted out, his left arm going limp at the sight of the thing.
The abomination veritably towered over them, a sewn-together mass of rotting flesh heaped into a humanoid form. The thing was stomping its way down the road, right into their path.
"Eleam, Sayine," Andromai said with a steely voice, "it's party time."
The warriors didn't need any other words. They both charged forward, the three weapons slamming into the massive bulk as one.
"Now!" Raxis called out, leading the others up to the undead beast. The rogues split and began to attack from the sides and back, while Claris joined the warriors near the brunt of the fighting. Blades and steel fell upon the bone without mercy or hesitation, while the two magic-users did what they could to support them.

Steel crashing upon steel rang throughout the woods, echoing into the dark, perpetual night. And in that haze of half-light, a figure crouched by a withering tree, observing the scene. She shifted in mild discomfort and impatience, running a gloved hand through her meadow-green hair, making sure not to cut the small ponytail with her claws. Tanui Moonbloom didn't like the boring process of waiting and watching, but she knew she needed to.
Because I'm getting shinies for it! she reminded herself, her eyes closing in a silent, childish giggle beneath her mask. Lots of shinies... twenty gold, to be exact. For a rogue-for-hire like her, that was more than enough to foot her bills for several months.
So, she watched and waited as the eight of them fought, whittling down the big rotting man-thing and finally putting an end to its existance after many bumps, bruises, and a few broken bones. She stored a few notes in her jumbled mind for sorting out later and continued to wait until the group began to disperse.
Then, keeping a fair distance away, she followed the blond, commanding human and his two allies across the cursed expanse of the land. It was her job, after all.

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