Barraccus and Rhokk: Part 6

Read this part first.
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Now that they were all mounted, they made much better time. They crossed into Ashenvale after just a few more days, and rode into the yard in a light rain. As Crison helped Rhokk get off the deathcharger, Barraccus headed into the house to find Alanon. He found the druid in the kitchen and, after a warm greeting, proceeded to fill him in on everything that had happened in the Plaguelands. “So that’s about it,” he finished. “We didn’t know what else to do, so I’m hoping maybe you can get through to him.” Alanon started to reply when suddenly from upstairs there came a call, "Barraccus?" Barraccus’ face lit up as he moved toward the stairs. Quae came running down and leaped into his arms, and he spun her around, laughing. He set her down as he came to a stop, saying, "See, I told you I'd be back." Her response was to take his face in her hands and kiss him.

Crison came inside then, assisting Rhokk, who was looking around as if in a daze. He looked first toward Alanon as the druid came in from the kitchen, and the draenei’s eyes widened in disbelief. He then turned to Quae, and saw her standing with Barraccus’ arms around her. Something flickered across his face, too fast to see, and he suddenly yelled, surprising them all. All except Crison, who was still holding his bonds. She took a firmer hold and managed to hold him back as he lunged at Barraccus.

"RHOKK!!"

Whsssshht!

When the frost motes filling the air subsided, Rhokk was standing with his lower half shrouded in ice. Barraccus had shoved Quae back and stood protectively in front of her, one hand still held out, frost clinging to his gauntlet. They all stood as frozen as Rhokk for a few minutes, until the druid broke the stunned silence.

“I think perhaps you should wait outside, Barraccus,” Alanon said, watching Rhokk warily. Then his gaze shifted to take in the other death knights. “All of you, please.” As the three filed out the door, he added, “Quae, stay with me. I’ll need your mind-magic.” The priestess gave Barraccus a quick kiss on the cheek, then went to join her brother.

Barraccus found himself fidgeting, unable to keep still. Riatha watched him with some concern, while Crison simply made herself comfortable under a tree and appeared to be taking a nap. Barraccus was startled when she suddenly broke the silence. “So, a death knight and a priestess of Elune,” she said. “You do like to make things hard, don’t you?” Barraccus flushed. “And..? We know the potential problems, and how we deal with them is our decision.” She opened one eye to look at him. “No need to get snappy,” she told him. “I didn't mean anything by it. Heck, I suppose it could be worse.” They all lapsed back into silence until at long last, Alanon came to let them back in. The look on the druid's face spoke volumes.

“We can’t help him, not like this,” Alanon said as they filed inside and stood around him. “We don’t know what is wrong with him, and without knowing what we’re facing, I’m afraid to try anything; we might just make him worse. He seems to believe that you killed us all, Barraccus, and now that he’s seen us he doesn’t know what to think. I hope he doesn’t go comatose on us, like what happened to you.” He sighed, looking as close to hopeless as Barraccus had ever seen him. It shook the death knight, even more so when the druid turned to him with obvious reluctance.

“I think,” Alanon said, as he looked at Barraccus with sympathy, “It might be best if you told us what you went through while you were a prisoner of that necromancer, as much as you can remember. It will probably help us understand what is going on in Rhokk’s head.” Barraccus stared at him for a minute, his expression unreadable. “Let…let me think about it a moment,” he said faintly, and he left them, going out to the porch. Quae looked at her brother almost angrily. “Are you sure it’s necessary?” she asked him. He nodded firmly. “Quae, it might be our only chance. Go talk to him, please.” She gave him an agonized look, but did as he asked.

After several minutes, Barraccus came back in, Quae at his side. He looked at Alanon expressionlessly. “All right,” was all he said, and he went into the kitchen and sat down, staring at the tabletop. Alanon allowed himself a sigh of relief, then looked to the others. “This is important for Quae and I only, but the rest of you can listen in if you’d like. I doubt an audience will make a difference to him,” he told them. Crison immediately went in and leaned against the stove. Riatha also went in, but more hesitantly, and sat down next to Quae, as if to offer emotional support. Barraccus looked around at them all, then let out a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get this over with,” he said, and began.
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Still working on the next part, though it's almost done. I'll get it posted asap. :)

Also, Barraccus has started on the Wrathgate pre-quests, so look for more stories as soon as Crison and I wrap this up!