by Zindivyani
The night was warm and damp with humidity, causing a sweat to break out upon Zindivyani’s brow. Working in front of the forge was hot work to start with, but add in the heat of summer and it became sweltering. Normally she would have waited until night, or for the weather to break, but tonight was too important to wait.
Pausing in her work, Zindi considered the layout of Astranaar and the best locations for the bombs. Each bridge heading into town would require two--three if she wanted them destroyed completely. The rest would be powerful smoke bombs, filled with caustic chemicals to burn the eyes and sensative flesh of those disgusting night elves. A hint of a smile curled her lips and she bent to continue her work.
The smoke bombs were the easiest part of the task, and she constructed a dozen before carefully placing them into her pack. Working with the fine wire and dangerous explosives that nearly screamed of goblin engineering, Zindi remained hunched over her small three-legged table with a few screws held between her lips to keep them from rolling off the rickety table. Her fingers were black with soot and she left streaks on her face as she brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, or sweat from her brow.
Only one bomb remained when the cry went out across Orgrimaar: “For the Horde!” it had started, the sentiment echoed by many rallying voices. “For the Grim!” shattered the stiff air, coupled by both cheers of Grim-fanatics and hisses from others. And finally came the Grim warcry, “Peace through annihilation!” Zindi lifted her head, looking off toward the entrance of Orgrimaar, though its cavernous center stood between herself and it. Lifting the last completed bomb, a kiss of good luck was given to its metallic shell, and she whispered, “Yes, peace through annihilation.”
Gathering her equipment together, Zindi dropped it off in the engineering quarters, nodding to the goblins within. “I should be back before nightfall. If not... Well, better not to think of the ‘if not’.” Ducking out quickly, she avoided a dirty look from Nogg, who had given her the plans for the explosive compound she used in her bombs.
Hoisting her pack over her shoulder, Zindi whistled for Panzer, her sleepy bear who seemed disinterested in going for a walk. “Come on, lazy. We’ve some night elves to maim. You can have a leg!” Her excited voice sparked some form of life in the brown bear and he hauled himself off the ground, trotting after her. Stepping into the Drag, Zindi paused and watched a troup of Grim march through, apparently on their way to visit Thrall. She admired their strength and their views--that warcry was a winning point certainly!--and had to pay her respects for them as they passed. Her voice was one of a number that rose with a supporting, “For the Grim!” One day... Yes, one day she’d attempt to enter their number. Until then, she’d remain on the sidelines, offering support.
One in particular caught her eye, one who would become a friend. A little undead female, scuttling about and throwing snowballs at not only her companions but those on the sidelines as well; accompanied by a heel-nipping worg.
Once the group had passed, Zindi continued on toward the eastern exit of the city, to move through the forests toward Astranaar. It was time to celebrate the anniversary of her mother’s death in the only way she knew: by hunting night elves. Hopefully, someday, she would kill one of the elves responsible for her mother’s murder.
(( Obviously this is near the end of last summer, prior to Zindi joining the Grim. I kept meaning to write something, but it took having both my PC and laptop hooked up, so that I could play AND write! ))