Kalaa and Anethrax

“Kalaa!” A voice cried out with a hint of excitement and urgency from the other side of the door
“Kalaa wake up!” the voice called again and this time it was followed by a heavy knocking against the old wooden door.Kalaa sat up in his bed and looked over to the door to make sure it was still bolted shut then peered out the window to see the sun already high in the sky.
“What is it?” Kalaas voice was gruff with a hint of annoyance attached to it. He rubbed his eyes and climbed out of the bed and started to walk towards the door, stumbling slightly as he suddenly remembered why he had been in bed that long.
“Shit,” he mumbled to himself as he knocked against a chair, It was a good night but a long night and he had deserved to drink as much as he did, a hint of a smile crossed his lips as he remembered afew details of what happened last night.

The door opened and Kalaas eyes were met by his old friend Rippa, whos eyes were wide with excitement.
“What is it Rip?” Kalaa said as he looked over his friend who had clearly been awake for several hours, even though Kalaa could remember Rippa being in a far worse state last night.
“I got us a job,” his grin was like that of a child who had won his first race “A real good one!” the words came out quickly as if Rippa had tried to pronounce them all at once.
“What job is this then?” Kalaa said to Rippa as he knocked on the door next to his, a grunt replied from behind the door.“Who gave us the job?” Kalaas full attention was now back on Rippa as the other door opened
“Lad, this better not be another one of your stupid cow tracking jobs,” a third voice joined them in the hallway ,“Because I’m not going to wade through that stuff again.”
Kalaa looked over the new comer and smiled, it was Tomask, his uncle who years earlier had persuaded Kalaa to leave his home and join him on his adventures.
“No, no, no Tomask,” Rippa shock his head and held his hands out “This is easy,” holding one finger up “There are no cows” holding another finger up “and it pays stupidly well” as he held his third finger up, the grin returned.
Tomask and Kalaa looked at each other for a moment then turned their attention to Rippa
“Fine, let’s get dressed and meet across the square in ten minutes” Kalaa said at the grinning Rippa who was nodding at almost every word that left Kalaas mouth
“Stop nodding Rippa and go and get the other two” he shut the door on Rippa who was still nodding.



God he hated this place, Kalaa thought to himself as he walked out of the building, across the hot sand towards the town square, the sun was beating down on him as always.
As he approached Rippa and Tomask his gaze was met by a slightly shorter, fair haired man in plate armour by the name of Vlak.
“Kalaa” Vlak muttered to Kalaa
“Vlak, good to see you brother” Kalaa flashed a smile at the slightly shorter, fair haired warrior.
Vlak was never really known for his conversational skills but he and Kalaa had trained with one another in Stormwind and had become good friends. Vlak carried with him a crude looking mace, captured from an Orgrimmar elite guard and a small buckler.
“Rippa where’s Thad?” asked Kalaa as he looked around the square, shielding his eyes from the sun and the sand which was carried by the wind.
“Said he would meet with us in abit, stuff to do” Rippa said with a slight shrug “Shall I take you to our guest?” Rippas eyes lit up as he turned and walked us towards the town hall which cellar had doubled up as a holding room.

The stairs down into the cellar were small in comparison to Kalaas boots and he almost slipped on a couple of occasions, the walls were cold to the touch as was the air in the cellar, which made a nice change from the dry heat that Kalaa was still trying to grow accustom too. The group had been escorted downstairs by one of the towns marshals and the town’s mayor, the mayor was a round old man, who had clearly spent more time stuffing his face than wielding any type of weapon, Vlak looked upon the mayor with disdain and didn’t seem to bothered about others knowing how he felt.
They walked across to a dimly lit cell, the bars on the cell were old and rusted in parts, the hay that lay across the ground was infested with rats and the sweet sickly smell of sweat and decay filled the room.
“Heres your prisoner“ The marshal said as he unlocked the cell and stepped inside, Kalaas eyes locked across the cell to see a feminine figure chained against the wall, the light didn’t need to tell Kalaa what she was as the dim glow of yellow shone from her eyes.
“Forsaken, great” Tomask muttered and shook his head with a deep sigh.
Vlak stepped inside the cell and closer to the chained figure, his eyes scanned every inch of the female forsakens face, he stopped for a moment then looked to Rippa who still looked rather smug
“What have you gotten us into Rippa” Vlaks voice was low, yet everyone turned their gaze to him as it wasn’t often he spoke, let alone have his own opinions
“Huh” a grunt came from Rippa
“That’s fucking Anethrax!” Vlaks declared while keeping his eyes locked on the forsaken figure
“Wait a moment, what?” Tomask turned his attention to the marshal whose face said it all
“I can explain” the marshal stated as he slowly took two steps back from the group.
“You better start explaining and quickly!” Tomask said as his voice got slowly louder and louder “Because I’m not having anything to do with her and her lot, do you think we’re Insane!”
“Now look, We found her last night out on the dunes, seems someone shot down her wind rider” The marshals eyes jumped from one person to the other “ We need you to take her north to the port, As you know we are paying alot” he tried to force a slight smile to try and defuse the situation.
Vlak stepped closer to the chained figure and gave her a swift kick to the head
“Bitch” he spat “You killed my brother at Southshore”
“Vlak” Kalaa said in protest to his actions
“I’m going to kill you!” Vlak gave the fallen forsaken another kick to the head
Kalaa moved past the others and into the cell, as he tried to pull Vlak free from his attack on the prisoner.
“Get off of it” He shouted as he finally overpowered Vlak and sent him flying against the far wall of the cell.
As Kalaa was straightening himself up he looked over at the forsaken figure who was now sitting up straight, her yellow emotionless eyes staring up at him, into him
“No need to thank me” Kalaas words were hollow and meaningless, he didn’t want anything from the creature, especially if it was Anethrax.

After calming everyone down, Kalaa took his group outside and just out of ear shot from the marshal and a small group of his men who had also arrived to watch over the situation.
“So” Kalaa started as he looked over the expressions of each of his companions’ faces, trying to pick his next words carefully “What do we think”
“This is quite risky Kalaa” Tomasks words were slow and ever cautious “Anethrax may be worth alot of gold to those who bring her to justice, Kalaa, but the vile thorns will be looking for her and there is only five of us” Tomasks eyes told Kalaa about his concerns more than any words could.
Rippa and Vlak waited for a response from Kalaa, both with their own desired answers in their own heads.
“Tomask my friend, I understand your concerns, but we are being paid eight hundred gold each for this and I know I’d rather be on the road than stuck here” Kalaa spoke again before anyone else could hamper his decision “Because if we like it or not my friends” his eyes looked over towards the marshal and his men “This town is going to be filled with the vile thorns if we don’t move her now, this town is going to be a graveyard”.
Rippa nodded and agreed whole heartily with Kalaa, perhaps with the picture of all the gold in his head and how he would spend it, As for Vlak he just nodded with perhaps a more sinister plan in his head and the thought of revenge.
“Very well Kalaa” Tomasks voice was low, he hated the fact that Kalaa was right and his words had painted a picture of murder and carnage in his mind, the vile thorns were known for their lack of any mercy and the way that they targeted civilians.
Kalaa sent the others back into the town hall to get the paper work for the transfer and to get some supplies. They would have to take their prisoner to the port, three days north of their current location, normally the trip would only take two but they would have to go the longer route as to avoid any unwanted attention.
Kalaa stood for a moment with his back to the wind, a lesson he had learnt over the past two months as he was stuck out here in the desert of Kalimdor, Tomask had called it the arm pit of the world on several occasions. As Kalaa stood there he noticed a twitching boot on top of a tree stump, He walked closer to the boot, trying to see what it was attached too as the rest of the body was hidden behind a small crumbling wall.
“You know Kalaa, you really don’t need to sneak up on me like that” a soft voice spoke to Kalaa as he peered over the wall. On the other side of the wall sat a dark haired man with his boots up on the tree stump and an old dog eared book in his lap, the book seemed filled with sketches and small diagrams.
“Here you are, We are moving out in abit Thad, so make sure your packed and ready to go” Kalaa said as he leaned over the wall to speak with Thad.
Without looking up at Kalaa and as he continued on sketching something down into the tatty book, he lifted a small bag that lay by his side.
“Done and ready” Thad looked up at Kalaa with a smile, the same smile that had convinced many the merchants’ daughter to let him stay the night, the same smile that had got him out of rather dangerous situations. Kalaa wasn’t going to smile back at him as he knew full well he would only encourage Thads’ behaviour.
“Good, make sure your horse is ready to lea...” Kalaa paused for a moment “Hold on, how did you know we were leaving”
“Well I was watching the little show in the basement of the town hall” Thad gestured in the general location of the building, then turned back to Kalaa “Kalaa, if you’re so committed on taking this mission, you really should learn to watch out for rogues” The sudden realisation of this future mission over came Kalaa like a tidal wave, he wasn’t even able to see his close friend, how was he going to look out for those who wished to kill him and his comrades?
“But, I suppose that’s why you keep me around” Thad put his book away and stood up, giving Kalaa a wink.

The sun had reached its peak when the group met with their supplies and horses outside the town hall, the building itself created a shadow over them which brought some reprieve from the baking heat. The five of them watched the entrance in anticipation as the towns marshal and two of his men exited the building with Anethrax between them.
She was about average height for a Forsaken, her figure was small in comparison to the two guards that stood on either side of her yet the guards still watched her with extreme caution and tried to keep her at arm’s length as much as they could. Her face was almost pristine which was rare for the forsaken as most of them were missing some part of their face or had serious trauma to other parts of their upper body, Yet Anethrax was different to them and it was only when you got close enough or the light caught her face in a certain way, you could make out very fine scars across her face aswell as some fine stitching.
“Get her mounted up and attach the line to the back of Tomasks horse” Kalaa directed the marshal and his men while looking across at his uncle who was dressed in his finest plate armour, the desert had treated the once fine suit of armour poorly and had now covered it in fine scratches. Tomask looked over at Kalaa as the prisoners line was attached to his saddle
“Thank you very much for the honour, Kalaa” Tomask smiled slightly as he, his horse and his new found companion slowly trotted off , he was followed by Thad and Rippa, leaving only Vlak and Kalaa to bid their farewells to the marshal and his men.
“Gods speed my friend” the marshals words didn’t comfort or reassure Kalaa at all
“Remember, Marshal they will come looking for her, make sure you get as many people out of the town tonight as you can or put them into hiding”
“Don’t worry about us, sir” the elderly marshal replied “Just makes sure she makes it to the port and gets sent to Stormwind”
Kalaa smiled and nodded, he had no words to say to the law man, perhaps he knew that the marshal wouldn’t heed any of his advice and wouldn’t attempt to evacuate the town.
As Vlak and Kalaa passed the final building in the town, Vlak turned to his companion as if he was about to offer some sort of reassuring words but stopped, They both knew that the town was as good as dead.



The remaining of the day had passed quickly and had moved aside for the embrace of night, the group had made camp alongside a bend in a stream
“So Rippa, what are you going to do with your share?” It was only a matter of time before Rippa was going to tell everyone what he was going to spend it on and Thad thought he may aswell get it out the way now, perhaps if he was lucky it would lull him to sleep.
“Well” Rippa started as Thad moved his bag under his head and looked up into the “I am going to start my own auction house up, In Northrend”
“Northrend, why on earth do you start your own auction house up there?” Tomask smiled from across the fire as he sat sharpening a small combat blade
“I’m glad you asked Tomask, Well how many auction houses did you visit when we were in the north?” a wide smile crossed Rippas face as he anticipated the answer
“Unlike you my friend, I was busy fighting a war, you did notice there was a war going on right?” Tomask and Thad laughed as Rippa just smiled and nodded
“Yes I did, remember I did save you at the Wintergrasp fortress”
“Well” Tomask grumbled “I had it all under control” It was clear and well known among the group that Tomask had it far from control and that Rippa had saved his life, yet nobody was going to mention this to him at any point soon.

Kalaa could hear them laughing and talking across the camp, the light from the fire dancing across their faces, he wanted to read the letter from his dearest Sadine, he wanted to read the words on the paper and pretend that she was there with him now reading them in her soft sweet voice, yet he stared at his friends and hoped that this night wouldn’t be the last like this and that he and them would have many more.
“Remember this night Kalaa” a cold voice said spoke from the shadows across from Kalaa, a voice that turned his stomach.
“Don’t speak to me or any of my men” Kalaa looked across from him in the direction the voice came and saw her yellow eyes locked on his
“You could always let me go Kalaa” Her head and body were nothing but a faint silhouette, while her eyes gazed at him like torches in the night “Or I promise you, that they will all die, Kalaaaa”
“Anethrax, You are going to be hung drawn and quartered in Stormwind city as an example or our duty to protect the weak, from monsters like you” Kalaa had clearly planned his words carefully, since he had left the town, for this moment or one like it when he would be asked why they were on this mission
“How very noble of you Kalaa, I thought you may of been something alittle different” a faint smile could be made out on her face “Yet your words, however noble they maybe, seem nothing more than that of a town crier”
Kalaa moved his complete concentration away from the others and towards the bound prisoner across from him, he tried to be discreet as he looked over the bonds around her wrists
“What do you even know of me and being noble, you are a monster and a murderer” Kalaa tried to keep his voice down as he felt the anger slowly taking over him “The world will be a better place without you and your type!”
“I only know what I’ve seen and heard, Seems you hide your greed behind some notion of honour and justice” she seemed to wait for a response “ Kalaa you don’t wish to see any harm upon your friends” she waited again “If you let me go now, I will make sure nothing happens to you or them”
The reaction came with a swift punch into her jaw which sent her falling backwards
“How about you just shut up” Kalaa’s words were filled with anger and anxiety.
She slowly sat herself back up and spat out what appeared to be a dark thick blood from her mouth
“This time tomorrow night Kalaa, there will be one empty place around that fire” She didn’t have to speak anymore as those words would be more than enough.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of hers as he sat with one hand around the his swords handle, the same sword he had taken from his father when he left home to join his uncle, it now kept him alive in a world his father had tried to protect him from.
He could sense something, something wasn’t right, his fingers tightened around the blade and his body prepared itself for whatever came next.
“Kalaa”
A voice spoke directly into his ear, Kalaa turned swinging his blade towards the new target as he stood up, the target dodged the first blow and stumbled backwards
“Kalaa it’s me!” Vlak shouted as he regained his footing and tried to present himself to his friend
“Shit” Kalaa muttered and lowered his sword, he dare not look over towards her
“Get ahold of yourself my friend” Vlak stepped forward towards Kalaa and could see his expression of stress on his friends face “Kalaa, get some sleep, I’ll watch her now”
“Thankyou Vlak” a sigh left Kalaas lips as he walked away from Vlak, as he walked towards the others he glanced to his right and towards Anethrax, her eyes hadn’t left him since they spoke and even now she watched him.


Her words were the last thing in his head as he fell asleep
“This time tomorrow night Kalaa, there will be one empty place around that fire”.



The night had gone by without any major incidents, the group had decided to take an old track through the hills to cut the best part of a day off their journey, The locals had stopped using the track afew months ago as a group of bandits had moved into the area and set their base up in the caves around the area, now they had free reign to attack anyone they wanted.
The night was catching up with Vlak as he rode along the worn track, the sound and feel of his horse slowly moving along the track, the suns warmth on the back of his neck, were both slowly sending him to sleep.
A crossbow bolt flew across Vlaks path, landing into one of the dead and dried trees that lined the track, His horse panicked by this sudden assault, it threw the sleeping warrior from his back into the dried and dusty earth beneath his feet and ran off.
“Left flank” Tomask cried as he and Kalaa dismounted from their horses and went after the attacker.
Rippa dismounted and sought cover behind the nearest tree, he looked up the track to see four figures moving down towards him, the figures were hooded and dressed in scraps of leather and chain mail armour, their weapons drawn as they started to run.
“Come a little closer, I have something to show you” he muttered as he unwrapped something from his back on the ground, a smile appeared on his face as he looked down on his long barrel musket.
Further down the road, Thad remained on his horse and pulled himself and Anethrax on her mount behind a tree, with one of his blades drawn he watched up the track at his companions as they engaged the new foe
“Time for us to spend some quality time with one another, while the others do the fighting bit” he turned to face Anethrax “Don’t worry I will protect you” he winked at Anethrax but knew full well he maybe the one who need to be protected from her, Anethrax just looked back at Thad without showing any sign of acknowledgement of him saying anything to her, both of their attention was broken with the sound of a loud gunshot from up the track.
One of the hooded figures flew back afew feet then dropped to the floor, the other figures ran into the tree line and continued down the track towards their targets. Rippa reloaded quickly, each one of his fingers knew what to do from memory and each moved with its own purpose, his eyes watched the remaining figures as the distance between him and them was quickly disappearing, he lifted the musket again and looked down the crude scope at one of the figures.
“Smile” he whispered as he gently squeezed the trigger.
Another figure dropped to the ground as the back of his head disappeared in a red mist.


After the first gunshot, Vlak had picked himself up off the ground and taken cover behind one of the trees, with his mace held in both hands he peered around the tree, he could see the bandits running towards him and swung around from the tree to meet them in combat.
They had their blades already drawn when Vlak met them, but were clearly not prepared for the attack.
“Scum!” Vlak cried as he threw his full weight behind the first swing, knocking an attacker to the ground and his weapon from his now shattered hand, the second attacker barged Vlak back against the tree.
The man that pinned Vlak against the tree was taller than him, his armour was ripped and battered in comparison to Vlaks black plate armour, his attackers breath stank as bad as any Orc or Forsaken he had met in battle. The bandit pinned Vlak against the tree with one arm, the other in which he held a crude looking sword he pulled it back and prepared to thrust it into Vlak, reaction kicked in and Vlak rammed his forehead against the attackers nose, the first time the attacker pulled back slightly so he struck again and could feel and hear the sound of the bandits nose breaking as he launched another.
The attacker stumbled back and instinctively reached for his nose, Vlak took for advantage of this and raised his mace that moments ago had been useless, the mace struck across the side of the bandits head with a satisfying cracking sound, the bandit dropped to the ground then rolled onto his back. Vlak stepped over his prey, looking down on his attacker’s broken face, the skull had crumbled leaving only broken plates protruding through the skin, Vlak ended the duel with one heavier blow to his attackers face.
“Now for you” Vlak turned to look at the first attacker who was last seen crawling away, back in the direction he came, Vlak followed the bandits’ tracks as he had pulled himself through the dirt.
“There you are” He lifted his mace above his shoulder as he stepped closer to the figure as it lay on the dirt, Vlak bent his left knee slightly and reached for the bandit with one hand, as he looked closer at the bandit he noticed a pool of deep red blood had formed between its shoulder and head.
He flipped the body and saw that the bandits neck had been cut wide open, Vlak paused for a moment to recall the fight and if there was a fourth person present, yet he could not remember another attack nor one of his companions to be close.
“Who else” he muttered to himself and looked up the track in the direction of where the bandits had came from, Vlak didn’t hear anything but could sense someone behind him, he tightened his grip around his mace and took a deep breath as he prepared to turn. But it was too late as he felt a cold metal object thrust into his back and heard the tearing as it ripped through flesh and organs with the greatest of ease, he gasped for air and went to pull away from the blade.
It was as if time slowed down and the world had come alive in those brief moments
“So this is death” Vlak’s own voice was soft and reassuring inside his head, he could hear almost everything as a rotting hand crossed his vision from behind him, the skin on the hand was ripped and torn yet white unlike the torn skin of the living, it should no urgency of healing or pain, It was if the body had known of its demise and embraced it. It wasn’t the first time Vlak had seen the undead, but only now did he truly notice the finer details.
Within the grip of the undeads hand he carried a fine blade, with many serrated teeth upon its back and between these teeth he could see small pools of a glistening liquid, Vlak was sure it was some sort of poison as his eyes left from the blade and looked up into the branches of one of the nearest tree, his ears sensed a bird perched on one of the branches, such a sweet song he thought at such a vile moment of violence and death. Why had he only heard the true beauty of the birds’ song now at his final moment?
The blade bit into his throat and he felt for a moment his skin pulled by the serrated teeth, once the pulling feeling had left him, he felt only the warm wave of liquid across his chest and air rushing into his body through the wound and mixing with blood as it entered his lungs.
Vlak fell onto his side and made a slight gargling sound as he came face to face with his assassin. The undead looked into Vlaks eyes with no words and no remorse, his face hidden behind a crimson mask and the blades in its hands were coated with Vlaks blood.
“Welcome to death” a cold voice muttered to him as his eyes closed that final time.



“Vlak!” Rippa cried out again from on top of his horse, they had been looking for Vlak for twenty minutes now, since clearing the track of bandits.
“Where is he?” his voice filled with concern, knowing full well that Vlak would never of left them in such a way, with his own free will.
A figure stepped from the shadows and approached Tomask, Rippa, Kalaa and Anethrax
“There is alot of blood and one body over by the tree line” Thad paused and tried not to look directly into Kalaa or Tomasks eyes “I found Vlaks tracks next to the first body but they stop there” Thads voice was filled with sadness as he was sure about what had happened to his friend
The group sat in silence for a moment until one of them could speak the words that filled all of their heads, yet none of them dare say them or suggest what needed to be done.
“Then we move on and leave this place, Let us pray for Vlak once we have left this place” Tomask’s solemn words were not of a friend but those of a paladin, his dignified words were met by silent nods of approval as they rode off up the track.


When the night came Kalaa had decided the group should carry on moving, instead of making camp that night, as the day’s events had played over and over in his head, leaving more questions than answers.

“This time tomorrow night Kalaa, there will be one empty place around that fire”.

Her words crept back into his mind and he turned to his right to see Anethrax, her eyes focused on him
“You know Kalaa, I warned you” Her words soft without any hint of gloating hidden between them
“Call them off, Anethrax”
“Let me go Kalaa, This is your last chance, none of your friends would blame ...” her words cut short by Tomask who rode between the two
“Have Vlaks death be in vain?” The moonlight reflected off Tomasks plate armour as he turned to face Kalaa then looked to Anethrax
“Aye, I won’t have my friends life ended for nothing” Kalaa tried to picture Vlaks face in his mind with, trying to make sure he would never forget it but knowing full well that one day it would start to fade and the small details and flaws on his friends face.
“You know they stalk you now Kalaa” Anethrax turned her eyes from Kalaa towards the darkness of the wilds around them “You also know that Vlaks death won’t be the last on this petty quest”

The four remaining members of the group watched the darkness in a desperate hope to see some sort of movement or to see that their prisoner had been tormenting them and that in fact nobody was there, yet the darkness would hide anybody from them, let alone a group of trained assassins.
“Petty quest...” Kalaas’ word broke the disturbing silence that followed the previous warning and drew everyone’s attention “To bring you to justice is not petty, monster”
“Kalaa you know, that I will escape or I will be killed by someone seeking revenge before I arrive in Stormwind” Kalaa had no retort or reply to Anethrax as these were his major doubts since taking this quest
“She has a point” Thad muttered, Kalaa turned to face one of his closest friends who rode ahead of him, with a hurt look of disbelief across his face “Vlak was quite close to killing her the other night when you went to sleep, I had to stop him” Thads words were filled with pain as he spoke badly of his dead friend “I doubt she would make it to Stormwind in one piece”
It seemed to Kalaa that doubt had set in and his close friends had started to doubt the very reason why they were here and what Anethraxs’ execution would mean to their people. Perhaps they were right, if they were to carry on this mission that atleast one more of his friends would perish, Kalaa looked at Tomask, then Rippa
“What do you two say?” Kalaa directed his question towards the other two that had remained silent during Thads outburst.
“I’m all up for doing the right thing and getting paid for it, but perhaps Thads right, this isn’t worth the price we have already paid” Rippas words were soft to start with then slowly raised as he tried to get his view across and what had been troubling him about Vlaks death “I mean they didn’t even leave us a body!” Kalaa looked away from Rippa as he made his final point
“Very well Rippa, I understand how you feel” His words were soft towards his friend as he felt a sadness come across him, he knew how close Vlak and Rippa had been and didn’t wish to cause his friend anymore harm.
“Kalaa, I will stand with you and take her up to the port” Tomasks voice was no louder than it normally was but seem to break the sombre atmosphere more than usually, the paladin then glanced towards Anethrax who had said nothing during their debate but had just watched them with her cold, glowing yellow eyes.
“Very well, Thad and Rip, head back and we will see you there in two days, with your share of the payment” he tried to hide the disappointment in his voice, yet Kalaa couldn’t.


The four were now only two as Thad and Rippa had left them in the dead of night and walked back the way they had came, their exit was a quite one with few words spoken, now Kalaa and his uncle were alone with their prisoner as they rode through the night, the distant fires and lights of the port becoming visible on the horizon.
“We should get their by dawn, son” tiredness had crept into Tomasks voice as the night had progressed. Son a word Tomask used for Kalaa more and more, it had been almost ten years since Kalaa had last seen his mother and father, almost ten years since Tomask had taken Kalaa away from his life as a farmer, to something much greater and Tomask was proud of the man that Kalaa had become.
The two had returned now to the main road into the port and slowly rode along, passing burning torches and passed some signs of warnings, which were aimed towards bandits and marauders. Kalaa would take his time to read the many signs which were posted on canvas and wood along the roadside, as he approached the next torch he noticed something alittle different about the next posted parchment.
“Tomask, prepare yourself” he spoke softly as he tried to get a closer look at what seemed to be the parchment on the tree, as his horse crept closer to the torch he could make out what seem to be blood across the object, closer still he noticed several holes across it.
To late he realised that the item posted next to the torch wasn’t a parchment and was in fact Skin, not just skin but a face.
“By the light” Tomask seem to whisper as he also looked at the skin that hung next to the torch “It can’t be” It hit Tomask harder than thing he had felt before as he realised that he knew or had known the owner of the face that dangled lifelessly from the tree, It was Rippas’ lifeless face.
Kalaa was moments behind Tomask with his realisation and felt bile rising from his stomach and burning the back of his throat.
“What have you done!” Tomask turned and charged towards Anethrax, pulling her from the horse, with her hands still bound she dropped to the ground and seemed unable to correct herself as she hit the ground.
Tomask dismounted from his horse and pulled her to her feet
“Why them!” he spat as rage took control, Kalaa couldn’t turn from his dead friends face as it hung from the tree like a damp and bloody cloth.
“Is that fear in your voice, noble warrior of the holy light” a hint of laughter was heard on Anethraxs lips as if she knew the time of her salvation was close “Do you not accept that your brave friends would meet their end in such a manner?” Tomask knocked her to the ground with a solid strike to her face from his gauntlet, she landed afew feet from him with only a trail of blood to indicate where she had travelled from.
“Ambush” Kalaa whispered to himself as the cloud of emotion lifted from his mind, he asked himself what had happened to Thad and then suddenly realised why the face had been posted her, he drew his sword and looked around him.
The Darkness of night seem to move like the waves upon the ocean, then one by one they showed themselves as they stepped silently from the shadows with their blades drawn. Tomask dropped Anethrax to the dust as he looked around at the new comers, shock and horror covered his face as he slowly stepped back towards Kalaa, who had now drawn his weapon and took up a stance of combat.
By the time they had all shown their selves there were a dozen rogues of several different horde races, spread across the road in both directions, they were all clad in dark leathers and wore red masks to cover the lower part of their faces. They stood for a moment as if waiting for Kalaa and Tomask to make the first move, then one of the figures walked over to where Anethrax lay, the Forsaken figure never letting Kalaa or his uncle leave his sight.
“You should of gone, when I gave you the chance” Anethraxs voice felt like poison to Kalaas ears as he watched the forsaken rogue picking her up off the ground .
“You will pay for this and all your crimes!” Tomask cried as he raised his sword in one hand and shield in the other and charged towards Anethrax and the other undead rogue, Kalaa was quick to follow by charged towards another group who blocked the road up ahead. A smile crossed Anethraxs lips as she stepped backwards into the shadows and vanished from sight, the forsaken figure next to her moved forward to block the paladins charge but was swiftly dispatched as Tomask plunged his sword deep into the unprepared rogues’ chest.
Kalaa was having less luck as every swing he made with his blade was dodged and the rogues he attacked were moving in and out of the shadows and trying to place their own attacks upon him, it felt to him as if the rogues were just playing with Kalaa and his uncle in this charade.
Tomask had dispatched two more of the vile thorns when he turned to notice that Kalaa was suffering and slowly being pushed back, He wasn’t going to let his nephew fall to these monsters of the night, not while he still had breath in his body.
“Hold strong Kalaa!” Tomask took a deep breath and took one step forward to aid Kalaa, he then felt a blade cut in under his chest plate and up into his body, all his strength faded from him in a blink of an eye, his knees wobbled under as he tried to take another step, but for each step he took another blade would enter and exit his body.
Tomask was able to get within ten feet of Kalaa, until his body gave up and fell onto the soft cold earth, at that moment the rogues vanished one by one into the night.
“Tomask” Kalaa cried as he looked around and saw his uncle face down on the road, blood ran freely from the wounds under his plate armour as the once noble paladin lay in a pool of his own blood, helpless to help himself from these mortal wounds. Kalaa fell to his knees and turned Tomask over onto his back, his eyes looked down into Tomasks.
“Kalaa, listen” Tomask said, each word sounded heavy and final “I don’t have much time left on this world” Kalaa held his uncle in his arms “But I want you to know, that I am sorry for many things that I have done in my life” Tomasks eyes screamed out in pain as his body slowly started to shut down “Yet, I am not sorry in the way I have treated you, You have become a good man my son” Kalaa wished more than ever that he was Tomasks son, he felt tears gathering in his eyes as he felt his uncles body tense one last time before releasing itself one final time.
Tomask lay dead in Kalaas arms, his hands coated in his uncle’s blood, with tears in his eyes he looked up and across the ambush site, several dead Vile Thorns lay across the ground, Anethrax had vanished into the night like the coward she was. He had failed in his mission, to hand her over to Stormwind and to protect his friends from harm, he gently moved Tomasks body from his lap and stood up, his arms wide.
“Come and fight me!” His voice bold and loud but oh so false, Kalaa wanted it to be over.



“Mistress” the hiss like voice whispered into her ear “Want me to finish him”
She looked over at Kalaa as he stood over his dead Uncle and tried to remember the pain she had suffered so many years ago at the death of her father, for afew minutes she watched Kalaa as he stood in the night, waiting for his death
“No, let this one go, his time will come soon enough” Softly spoken Anethrax turned and left Kalaa in this his defining moment.