Tarmand ran through the underlying foliage and broke the low hanging branches that stood in his way. He kept going like a boulder through a forest. Aegwyn had to dodge the roots that threatened to trip her and swung her arms to get the leaves out of her way. “Slow down! Hey! Wait a minute!”
Tarmand wasn’t listening. He kept heading forward, never looking back. From the way he was going, he couldn’t have cared in the slightest if she was following him or not. Aegwyn growled beneath her breath but she had no where else to go. Besides, he might hold enough information to get her to understand the current events.
He had been talking about Orcs just a few moments ago. Despite her repeated questions, he said nothing to her about them. Her memory remained vague as to what they were but the name itself sounded familiar.
“Please! Wait up! I’m getting tired.”
Tarmand stopped so suddenly that Aegwyn rammed into him from behind, causing both of them to fall and roll down the hill of the forest.
Tarmand hastily got up and slung his knapsack over his shoulders. “Watch where you’re going!” he said towards her before he turned around.
“Me! You should...”
Aegwyn stopped when she got up. Before them stood a beautiful lake that sparkled like glass. The still pool shone back at them the light of the sun in brilliant gold and stunning silvers that made her gape in astonishment.
Tarmand walked over until he found a fallen log and then he sat down, struggling to catch his breath. Aegwyn stood up and brushed the leaves from her clothes and cloak before she walked towards him. “What was the big idea running like a rabbit! Do you know how hard it is to keep up with you?”
He stood up suddenly, causing Aegwyn to step backwards in surprise. Tarmand was nervously gripping his sword while he spun around, as if trying to find a sound that eluded him. Eventually he narrowed his eyes and sat back down.
Tarmand turned to his left and looked out to the lake before he turned back to her. “There are Orcs nearby.”
“Orcs, Orcs. You keep talking about Orcs yet you never tell me what they are!”
Tarmand let out another one of his bitter laughs before he stopped. “Orcs are kin to the demons themselves! You must be some kind of hermit or something if you’ve never seen an Orc before!”
Aegwyn felt her face go red with anger yet she kept her screams from spilling out of her mouth.
“Green as pus and as deadly as a thousand dragons, the Orcs are the vilest thing to come out of the underworld as we know it. Do you know how hard it has been to push them back into the Great Sea? We’ve just barely managed to get a toehold on the Azerothian lands before they slaughtered all the troops we’ve landed.”
He let out another bitter laugh that turned into tears as he broke down in front of her. “I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen. He just kept telling us to go forward, go forward. That’s all the blasted man said! Go forward!”
Aegwyn realized she had touched upon a sensitive spot and then stopped. The Orcs. A vision flashed into her mind as she remembered the darkness that had invaded her back in the ruined village. The Orcs… were they possibly the ones who had caused so much pain to the Azerothians?
She turned around and began to walk down the coast of the lake. She felt Tarmand roughly grab her arm and whirl her around. “Who are you anyway. Where do you come from? How is it possible you don’t know about the damned orcs!” His anger was ignited. She could see the fire burning in his eyes.
Aegwyn stumbled backward but he kept up with her step by step. “What are you anyway. How do I know you’re not lying?”
Aegwyn tripped over something and fell onto her back. He put a foot on her stomach to prevent her from standing up. He had his sword drawn and the point of it was bare centimeters from her brow. “Talk woman!”
“I...I am Aegwyn...I come from...”
She was cut off short as a rancid cry of anguish echoed through the lake. Tarmand’s head whipped to his left in time to see a strange creature rushing at them from the forest lands. Tarmand took a quick glance at her before he charged at the creature, his own cry matching its.
It had two ivory spikes jutting out of its lower jaw and it was as green as the forest lands. In its hands it wielded a massive axe. Fresh blood dripped from several of its open wounds and an arrow stuck out from its thigh.
At the sight of it, Aegwyn screamed.
Tarmand took a swing at it with the sword. The Orc seemed to have anticipated this, and grabbed the blade with it’s hand. The edge dug deep into the vile green flesh but it seemed to have no effect. The Orc grabbed away the sword and then lifted it’s axe high. It opened it’s mouth wide, it’s angry eyes burning with bloodlust.
The Orc let out a sudden grunt, and collapsed to the ground, and arrow in it’s back.
Aegwyn looked towards the trees to see a man standing there, bow in hand.
