World of Warcraft®

Ardevon shouts in surprise as the flames almost hit his face. Within seconds he drops his grip of the imp and tries to kick it away from him.

In doing so he is also enveloped in purple shadows, glowing brightly, with dark wispy tendrils protruding from his face; a defense measure it seems, to attempt to block any magical threats.

Soon after the shadows give way to smoke, and Ardevon reappears back atop the canopy. He decides to hide and wait.; surely the imp will complete its task and return to its master.

He loosens a knife from his belt and sets it in his teeth before pulling back his long, brown hair as if to pin it up. Instead he cuts it down to shoulder-length, placing the now-dead hairs in a satchel clipped to his belt.

No traces. Of anything. Ever.

His training echoed in his head. He waits atop the trees, ready to follow the imp unseen.

FREE!!

Chomat bounded to its feet and began running a tight circle around the man as shadows enveloped him. With each foot step the fiery circle grew. The little imp cackled insanely "BURN! BURN!"

The smoke cleared and the man was gone. The imp stopped dead in its tracks. All of its senses keen, head darting left then right, ears perked and twitching the subtle noises. It hopped in a circle claws made to bare read for a second attack, but after a long moment it became clear that another attack wasn't coming. The imp stood in place a moment, panting heavily. Chomat thought it would surely be dead!

Its' body relaxed. Hard sinewy muscles softened and once again the imp returned to its normal weak and helpless appearance. Now however, it wasn't a show.

The creatures head spun, and for a moment it felt like the world turned beneath it. An unfamiliar sensation as it was, he knew its cause. Separation from its master for so long slowly weakened its tie to this world, but only because the gnome was yet still a novice. Normally their shared link would be sufficient for it to call upon its own powers, but without the master nearby the imp had to rely on its own strength. To put it plainly, the imp was sapped.

Chomat forced itself to focus. It had to move, had to complete its assignment. It also had to kill. It was the only remedy for the imps condition. Feasting upon living flesh would ease the symptoms and perhaps return a bit of its strength. Anything would do, but the imp needed to kill.

Refocused and for the moment in control, Chomat glanced around the tree limbs. "Mmm! Squirrel!"

The shaman made her way down the road from Stranglethorn, slouched comfortably in the saddle of her raptor and her eyes mere slits. After a few minutes of tense silence, she finally straightens and pulls the raptor to a stop, looking around with a faint frown. She looks indecisive for a moment, before sliding down and kneeling to carefully touch the old road.

After a few moments she straightens with a deeper frown and mumurs something to the raptor, stroking it's cheek affectionately. The reptile croons in response and butts her gently, before turning to make it's way to Westfall without her. The shaman watches the raptor disappear for a moment, before effortlessly shifting, and slinking off to the side of the road, her form hidden in the deep shadows. Her eyes close to mere slits again as she watches, and waits.

The sound of sizzling accompanied hooves upon the road in Duskwood. Grim made his way atop his Dreadsteed, the Fel flames licking at his fingers, and his mount's every step. The bright green light acting like a beacon to every eye in the shrouded wood. A black, darker cloud with armor plates silently followed place. A being of void, it's eyes roving the treeline on both sides.

The rider gazed back and forth, almost as if intrigued, sensing and feeling, just experiencing. Clopsizzle. Clopsizzle.

Down the road he went, demonfire at the ready, and so many plans, thoughts, and musings on his mind.

After weeks of no new developments, finally a new turn of events comes to light in Duskwood. Another body turns up in Darkshire. This one is scorched beyond recognition, but a message carved into his chest, just like the first, in an unusually elaborate script (considering it has been carved into scorched flesh).

"SHADOWS BIRTHS FIRE
YOUR FATES ARE DIRE
TO THE SON I SIRED
OVERCOME MY IRE"

Donovan breathed a sigh of relief. It had taken months to prepare everything for the events to come. He had been intrigued when things had taken a turn for the interesting in Darkshire, but when the murder had occured, and the message delivered, he had seen an opportunity to turn things to his own benefit. His own existing plans would fit in beautifully, and what's more, he could contribute to the shadowy work in Duskwood. He had set it up to make it seem as though *he* were the ones behind it all.

And it would attract his son. He already knew that Jonathan was investigating the Duskwood events, but Donovan's latest contribution would give Jonathan exactly the clue and bait he needed to walk ever so blissfully into the trap.

Even if the unthinkable occured, and his own plans were to be thwarted? With the apparent instigator of the troubles of Darkshire out of the way, it would give them hope that the trouble is over! Only for the REAL perpetrator (whoever it might be) to continue their efforts and crush those hopes, with Donovan's blessing. He smiled as his distant eyes watched as the first on the scene discovered his poor charred messenger.

A dark figure stalks the dark fringes of the dusk woods. A silent witness to each event as they unfold. Neither a player nor a pawn in the melodrama set to unfold, the dark figure is content to remain a spectre. Ever as he has always been, nothing more than a phantom within a darkened forest of horrors.

After spending a night talking with Jon Harmarth. Dragoneir made quick work of collecting supplies for her trip. She ran to various stores to get both food and any medical supplies to help with the spiders she has been hearing about. As she loaded up and headed for the entrance to Stormwind. She stopped to check the board for any new reports, but found nothing new.

“Does not look like much has changed to not have a new report yet.” She said before turning to walk out of Stormwind.

As soon as she got to the gates she dropped to all four and started her run to Duskwood. She ran with a determination to make sure she don't fail. She ran hard and fast to Drakshire as her target location.

As Dragoneir approached the tree line to Duskwood, she stopped to catch her breath. She stood starring into the forest noticing the shadows were moveing. She finally figured what she was looking at, tons of spiders blanketing the forest floor. She growled to herself before returning yo her running form.

“It's a lot worse than I could imagine.” She said eying the road. “I guess I will be taking the main road.”

She let out a sigh looking at the road ahead. She stood unable to force herself onward till she found the urge to move forward. As she started to push further into the forest, all the sounds and smells were making her a bit uneasy. Memories of the past were trying to surface, but she suppressed them to keep her on track.

In the midst of trying to keep a clear head, she almost ran into a spider sitting in the road. Just seconds before hitting it. Her eyes readjusted allowing her to throw herself to the side on the ground.

The spider turned to Dragoneir with its fangs drawn. Slowly approaching her ready to strike. It drew back just before shooting a set of webbing at her.

Dragoneir looked up to see it getting closer and shootings a web at her as she lie exposed. She scrambled to her feet and hands and vanished just before the webbing hit her.

The spider stopped in its tracks looking about for it's missing prey. It walked slowly to where she was at trying to figure out where she went. Just as it arrived, a shadowy figure appeared behind it drawing two daggers that shined in the light of the forest. Silently the shadow leaped over the spider, along with bringing it's daggers up. As the shadow landed on its back, it brought it's daggers down into the head of the spider. The spider staggered a bit before falling to the ground motionless.

The shadowy figure waited a few seconds before standing and pulling it's daggers free. As it stepped off the spider, the shadows began to unwrap revealing Dragoneir. She stood still looking back at the spider before holstering her daggers.

“I got a bit careless there for a minute.” She said turning her gaze back to the road to Darkshire. “I cant let that happen anymore.”

She dropped back to her running form and began her final leg to Darkshire, to see if there are anymore updates. This trip was a bit more than she had expected but knew it was worth it.

After finding a place to get some rest along the road, Dragoneir approached Darkshire to try and pick up a bit of news. She knew about the spiders, but soon heard a horrific sound in Darkshire. She approached the town hiding in the shadows to get a closer look.

As Dragoneir moved through town, avoiding contact to get a look at the scene, she met a sight that made her both gasp and cringe. She stared in horror until her eyes noticed a message carved into the corpse. Her immediate response was to pull out a piece of paper along with a stick of graphite to write down the message, along with the condition of the body. After writing it down she stared at it confused before tucking it under her armor for safe keeping.

After witnessing that sight, she had more urgency to get through town and out to her destination. She had no time to stop and rest before dealing with her fear. She moved through the rest of town, thinking about what she saw, and wondered how Jon might react.

She pressed onward as fast as she could. She took the main road south till she came up to a road less traveled these days. As she ran down the road, she past the Tranquil Cemetery that laid silent in the night. She kept running till she turned off the road into a grassy area that lead deeper into the forest.

She climbed a hill to finally be in view of the den of worgen that she had long ago been a prisoner of. She wondered if they would even help her after her escape, including the killing of of a few males. She would set aside the pain and abuse to find the answers Jonathan was looking for.

She approached the den silently to not draw any attention from any worgen patrolling the woods. As she neared the entrance, she noted a few worgen were sitting around talking to each other. She chose to step out to them and get their attention. The two jumped up growling and bearing their teeth, watching her carefully.

She stood eying the two unamused before she spoke, “Please be a dear and fetch the den mother. It's urgent and I don't have time to argue with you.”

They looked at each other before one motioned the other away, he looked back at Dragoneir and asked, “Why do you seek her?”

She squinted her eyes before answering, “You all live here and can tell me something that most people don't know. She would likely be the one who hears it all.” She looked at the entrance as a large noise was coming from it.

In an instant a large group of worgen came out and surrounded Dragoneir, making sure she could not go anywhere. She looked around growling, observing the group that seemed to growl and snarl back. She kept looking about till the group in front of the den parted to let the den mother Nefaru to come forth with a large male in tow.

“I see you still keep a strong male with you at all times,” she said eying him and noted a set of claw marks across his right eye.

“You should remember him. He was the only one to survive your attacks that night,” Nefaru said looking up at him smiling. She looked back at Dragoneir glaring in anger before saying, “You know you should have not returned, no matter the reason.”

Dragoneir shrugs and lets out a large breath before speaking, “I have my reasons. Do you know anything about these events going on?”

Nefaru stared at her for a second before turning and waving her hand to let the males know to take care of Dragoneir. She then started back inside the den.

Dragoneir grew furious at her actions and yelled. “Don't you care to help end this problem, not only for the area but the den? I know you all are suffering with things lately.”

Nefaru stopped and looked over her shoulder at Dragoneir before saying, “I do and we will, I don't plan on giving you anything. You don't deserve our help.” She looked back at the den and walked inside with the male following her.

As soon as Nefaru went back in, Dragoneir's attention immediately drew back to the crowd around her. A large fear began to fill her as she looked at the group of fangs and claws waiting to strike. She eyed one on her left that seemed to get ready to pounce, which she then looked over her shoulder at one in the back of the group towards the direction of Darkshire.

The worgen on her left began to crouch and leaped at Dragoneir drawing his claws. While on her right side another worgen also leaped at her. She was unaware of the second one, only thinking one was attacking her.

Dragoneir looked back at the worgen on her left and turned to face the opposite direction to take one step. As soon as she took that step something felt off, as if the world just grew cold for a second. She managed to refocus and shadow stepped from where she was standing, to being behind the worgen she eyed in the back of the crowd.

The worgen collided with each other seconds after she vanished. They fell to the ground growled at each other before looking at the hands. The one on the right noticed he had blood on his claws while the other had a bag in his hand. The whole group began to look around for her confused how she vanished.

Dragoneir wasted no time to fade into the shadows and make some distance from them. She found a tree away from the den where she found a sudden spike of pain on her right side, causing her to let out a loud wine. She reached down to feel what happened, to find it wet, and when she brought her hand up into the light, her hand was covered in blood. She then immediately reached for her bag with medical supplies to find that it was not on her anymore. She looked around the ground a bit before she knew it was gone. She chose the only option left for her, she pulled out her hearthstone and used it to get back to Stormwind.

Once there she found a mail box and sent a letter to Jonathan to set up a meeting with him. She would get the details she had gotten to him. She had to endure the pain till she saw him. She laughed a bit thinking he would be amused to see she got hurt as she sat down under a tree in the mage quarter.

((For the finale of the events being referred to by Donovan and Dragoneir, go check out the following topic, so this topic can be left for Rhoest's plot, which I so rudely piggybacked onto >.>

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/11987848847