Tarmand cleaned his sword on the creature’s ragged clothes and slipped the blade back into his sheath. He grunted towards the man who was coming down the hill towards them.
As the stranger got closer, Aegwyn could see that it wasn’t a man at all, but an elf! She had rarely seen the ancient race, they rarely wanted anything to do with her. What would an elf be doing down this far south? And why would he be coming out into the open? Most elves tend to shy away from humans.
The stranger had pointed ears that extended far above his head. He wore a leather headband dyed crimson around his head that kept his golden hair away from his face. He gave Aegwyn a smile and bowed towards her. “Milady.”
Aegwyn felt herself blush.
The elf turned to his left and looked. “Where’s he going?”
Aegwyn turned to see Tarmand had picked up his knapsack and was walking briskly towards the northern mountains. Aegwyn shrugged and picked up her feet to follow after him.
She could hear the elf’s footsteps behind her as she ran to catch up with Tarmand. The Paladin was grumbling something beneath his breath. His very words seemed to hide themselves in the howl of the winds. The elven stranger caught up to Tarmand quickly and stepped in front of the Paladin. Tarmand likely would have bowled over the elf and continued without notice, but
strangely, he stopped and looked at the elf.
“What do you want?” he said with a faint snarl in his tone.
“I am Galion Elvelad, one of the Order of the Silver Leaf.” Galion flourished his green cloak and bowed to the Paladin.
Tarmand snorted. “I don’t deal with your kind,” he said, walking away.
Galion frowned deeply. He turned to Aegwyn, his face still bitter. “And you are?” he asked, not managing to get the sting off his tongue.
“Aegwyn, Gua...” Aegwyn paused. “Aegwyn.”
“Aegwyn Gah-egwin? What a peculiar name.”
Galion stroked his chin and looked at her with a slightly confused expression.
“What are you doing down this far south?” He certainly didn’t look like the elves that lived in the trees of Elwynn Forest. He looked more like the fair skinned ones of the forests of Quel’Thalas. The ones down here had bark brown skin.
“Ah,” he said, slowing his breath. He glanced at Tarmand, who continued to barrel forward, carelessly walking into the forest, trampling down anything that got in his way. “There has been a war, and the Alliance has sent me and many of my brethren to the shores of Azeroth to fight.”
“I figured out there was a war, but the Alliance?”
Galion nodded. He once again glanced at Tarmand before he turned back to her. “I think we should follow your bull headed friend, he’s going to fall off a cliff at the rate he’s going.”
Aegwyn and Galion eventually caught up to the Paladin, who said nothing about his destination. They walked together in silence, Tarmand staring forward with steeled determination. Galion spoke of the Alliance of Lordaeron, and how everyone had united under a single banner to fight against the Orcs and their own allies. Aegwyn was completely surprised and asked numerous questions about everything. She had never heard of Ogres or Orcs. Although the faintest of memories touched her every single time Galion said something new, she could never figure out why.
Darkness fell and the distant howl of wolves accompanied them as they continued to walk forward. The full light of the moon rose above them and cast long shadows across the forest floor as the twisting tree branches bled out the moon, blurring the line between light and darkness.
Galion continued to talk about how he and an elite band of rangers had been tracking down a war party of Orcs for the past few days. He was the only survivor when they were ambushed.
The forest seemed to thicken as they continued onward and onward. The trees grew so numerous that Aegwyn, Galion, and Tarmand had to weave their way through the tree trunks. The light of the moon had grown so dim that Aegwyn could barely see Tarmand and Galion as they walked nearby. Several times she thought she had lost them, only to be alerted by the faintest sound, or the gleam of Tarmand’s plate.
The forest gave way abruptly to an open space. Aegwyn looked around in surprise to find great blocks of stone cast all about the empty grove like salt on a plate. Tarmand looked around and sat down on one of the big white rocks. There were rotting beams of wood and shattered glass of a thousand colors littered the ground in various locations. Weeds and vines grew between the ruins of a once great building.
“What stood here?” Aegwyn asked softly.
Galion shrugged his shoulders as he carefully picked his way through the rubble. “I haven’t a single idea.”
Tarmand seemed to say something, but Aegwyn lost his words in the night. “What?”
“Northshire. These are the remains of Northshire Abbey.”
