Saturday, June 20, 2009

Khaotic: Zul'Farrak

I meant to post this a few days after their last story, but it took longer than I thought (darn cold). But better late than never, right? So yea, this is from a couple weeks ago
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Khaotic stood in her underclothes in front of the mirror they had hanging on the wall, examining herself critically. “It’s starting to show, isn’t it?” she asked Kaled. He looked over from where he lay on the bed, reading. “Yea, if you had waited another week or two, we wouldn’t have needed Harene to tell us,” he said. She grimaced. “I still can’t believe I didn’t figure it out myself. Ugh, I’m naïve.” “Don’t worry about it, love,” Kaled told her. “We know now, that’s all that matters.” “I suppose,” she said distractedly.

Kaled watched her for a few minutes longer. “Love,” he said finally. “You’re supposed to meet Rajji today, to go to Zul’Farrak and scout it out. You really ought to get dressed.” “True,” she sighed, and turned around to go get her clothes and armor. “Besides,” Kaled added with a mischievous grin; she paused to look at him. “If you stand there much longer, I may not be able to behave myself.” She laughed at him as she pulled on her shirt.

Kaled helped her buckle on the last of her armor, then she belted on her swords and grabbed her bow. Kaled stopped her long enough for a kiss, then she turned toward the door. “Be careful love,” he said seriously. She paused at the door and looked back. “I would rather you were with me,” she said softly, and he nodded. “So would I, but Rajji will take care of you. I have to go see about my business back in Orgrimmar. Good luck, love, and Light go with you.” She smiled back at him as she stepped out the door.

Khaotic met Rajji in Gadgetzan, and after saying hello to his pet warp stalker, they mounted up and rode to the gates of Zul’Farrak. "It doesn't bother you, to kill your own kin?" she asked the troll as they rode. "Nah," he replied. "These aren't my kin, see. They would kill me wit'out a thought, so why would I hesitate to return the favor, eh?" She had to concede his point.

They entered the city of the Sandfury trolls cautiously, keeping to the cover provided by the rocks and dunes. They were able to bypass the first few groups of trolls without being seen, but then they came to a long, narrow corridor. Up ahead Khaotic could see the movement of a patrol. Rajji turned to her with a wicked grin. “Ya ready to get bloody?” he asked, and she answered with a grin of her own.

They dispatched the patrol with ease, sniping them from a distance then dumping the bodies behind the wall. Rajji had to do the work, both because of Khaotic’s condition and his superior height. They pressed on, soon coming to the end of the corridor and looking out at a wide, open area, populated with several small groups of trolls. Stealthily, the two hunters started making their way across.

They had almost made it when a patrol came out of a doorway behind them. They still might have escaped notice, except this patrol had a basilisk with them, and the huge lizard scented them immediately. Their first warning was when Blinkin, Rajji’s warp stalker, spun around and hissed. Then Khaotic suddenly felt a blow to her back as the basilisk rammed her with its nose. As she fell, she saw a black blur fly by next to her, followed by a savage growl that stood the hairs on her neck on end. She caught herself on her hands and knees, then she looked up to see Rajji already turned around and pulling the hammer back on his gun, and ducked her head again as he fired. She then rolled to her feet and turned, nocking an arrow to her bow and firing at one of the Sandfury in one motion. The blur she had seen turned out to be Alti, who was furiously attacking the basilisk; the big beast was blinded by blood from Alti’s clawing, and the black lion had his teeth set in its short neck now. With a powerful jerk, he snapped the bas’ neck, then dropped the corpse. The rest of the patrol had been killed, luckily before they had shouted a warning, and the brief scuffle somehow hadn’t attracted attention.

Alti padded up to her, basilisk blood staining the fur of his muzzle, and she sank her fingers into his mane gratefully. Her other hand went to her stomach, almost unconsciously, as she thought of what could have happened when the basilisk attacked. She looked up at Rajji to find the troll studying her. His gaze went from her face to her hand resting on her belly, and his eyes widened slightly. “Ey, Khaotic, you shoulda told me when we started. I woulda taken more care, ya know? Are ya all right?” She nodded. “I’m fine. Just don’t mention this to Kaled, will you? I don’t want him to worry.” The troll eyed her, but reluctantly nodded.

They finished their mission without any further fuss, though Alti seemed glued to Khaotic’s side and was watching everywhere at once. After turning in their report back at Gadgetzan, they said their farewells, and Khaotic headed to the wyvern master outside. She turned to look back once, and found Rajji watching her. He simply nodded to her, then turned and went back into the town.

Khaotic returned home as night was falling to find Kaled still gone, so she reheated some leftover soup, grateful that her nausea seemed to be gone. After supper she cleaned up her dishes, then took her book and sat on the bed to read.

Kaled woke her sometime close to midnight with a gentle kiss. “Sorry, love,” he said softly. “It took longer than I thought, then the zeppelin needed repairs. How was your day?” She blinked up at him, then smiled. “Good. Everything went well. Alti was amazing; he killed a basilisk by himself.” He smiled back at her. “Good. Go on back to sleep, love.” She shook her head, then reached for him, saying softly, “I was just waiting for you to get home.”

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