Life and Death...Peace and War...The New Sandfury Child by Lilliana

[Keeper Of Lore]

Life and Death...Peace and War...The New Sandfury Child

Lilliana, September 6, 2006

Time had passed as it had throughout all of the ages that Azeroth
had seen. The wars between the horde and the alliance still
reigned with power across the land, and the Grim remained strong,
thirsting to turn the tides of the battle to suit the horde and
the truth that they fought for. As many of the horde prepared for
the battle that seemed to be eternal against the alliance, there
was a small troll that prepared for something else. Instead of
the death and destruction that her legion championed, she called
forth life and creation, spawned by her love and further by the
Sandfury union called for by the Sandfury king, Warneshi, as he
named the first of his noble houses with Lilliana and Zuruzuru.
Lilliana had carefully stepped away from her duties as one of the
Irredeemables in the Grim during her time of pregnancy as it had
become too difficult for her to perform properly. For those that
knew Lilliana well, she was a heartless killer, a supporter to
others in battle, however, she was small in stature and her
physical strength was little, even for a priest. She had no
choice but to take a leave of absence.

The pregnancy had been hard on Lilliana, draining her strength.
She was careful not to threaten the health of the child that lie
within her. Lilliana had at first not wanted this child for she
was still a child herself, and too involved with her duties as a
Grim and as a supporter of Warneshi as he crafted to reclaim the
Sandfury empire. However, as she and Zuruzuru discussed their
situation, she felt the importance of a child created between the
two of them and with the troll that now headed their house. She
understood the importance such a child would bring to the
Sandfury. Other than herself, there were few, if any, Sandfury
children born outside of the curse that riddled the Sandfury
tribe, haunted by Warneshi’s demon mother.

This evening the warm desert was patrolled by the few Sandfury
that were left who had not been tainted by Slys’Thok’s curse and
were at Warneshi’s command. Bloodshine, Lilliana’s mother watched
over her young daughter in the safety of a well built hut
fashioned in the Sandfury way. Bloodshine was not allowing any to
enter the hut, even Zuruzuru was denied entrance despite
Lilliana’s protest that Bloodshine simply must allow her mate in.
Lilliana was furious, for as she became more deeply impeded
within the Sandfury customs she found herself with less and less
control than she was used to.

Outside, Warneshi waited patiently, his warrior armor glistening
like fresh blood against the moonlight, brightened by the sands
that surrounded him. Bloodshine had called to him when she felt
that the shadow priestess’s time had drawn near, and he felt fit
to come and see the first child born to the first of his noble
houses. Warneshi spent the majority of the time smirking at
Zuruzuru while the younger troll paced anxiously whilst scowling,
most likely thinking up clever ways to gain revenge against
Bloodshine for separating him from Lilliana during this time. As
a rogue, Zuruzuru’s talents were the best that the Sandfury had
to offer, but even those talents were not getting him past
Bloodshine’s eyes. Lilliana’s mother may be old (and older than
Warneshi she was), but the witch doctor had powers still that
caused worry even to Warneshi, although he would not admit it.
Zuruzuru had turned to glare at Warneshi and that wry smirk on
the King’s face, when both rogue and warrior turned to see
another troll riding in quietly. Zuruzuru’s taloned hands went to
the sharp daggers at his belt, each one with it’s own particular
design, crafted to cause the most pain and injury to the enemies
which Zuru laid waste to, which for him, was more than a daily
occurrence. The troll approaching was brought in by the sound of
horse’s hooves, and not by the talons of a raptor. Regnatah, the
only mage known to the Sandfury tribe approached, and quietly
dismounted a ways from Zuruzuru and Warneshi. He and Zuruzuru
exchanged careless glances, while Warneshi offered his supporter
a nod. Zuruzuru cracked his knuckles, breaking the layer of
silence when had settled over the three males waiting outside.

No other races or trolls were present. This was to be a Sandfury
event until Lilliana birthed the child. The air was silent save
for the warm, uncooling breeze that drifted through the dry land,
playing with Zuru’s wild hair and with Warneshi’s long braids.
The three trolls outside perked their ears when they heard a
slap, and then the wail of a newborn troll. Zuru moved forward,
towards the hut, but was stopped by Warneshi’s hand.

“Wait.” Warneshi said.

Lilliana had appeared at the door, her gentle face worn and
tired, lines of pain apparent but fading fast as the pains of
labor and child birth left her. She was wearing sapphire robes,
her favorite color. In her arms was a small bundle, the tiniest
of trolls with a whisp of orange hair that curled at the very top
of his head. The shadow priest stepped towards Zuruzuru and slid
the child into his arms to allow him to show the little creature
to the Sandfury king.

“Tell them his name, Zuru.” Lilliana’s voice was faint, but still
strong. Warneshi blinked once, for it was customary for the
females of the Sandfury to name their children, aside from those
fathered by the King, in which case Warneshi would have taken
part in the naming. Lilliana’s eyes crossed Warneshi’s and she
winked. She may be a Sandfury, and she may care for Warneshi’s
cause, she may have fallen into many of Warneshi’s manipulations,
but she would make changes where she dared, and she wanted
Zuruzuru to have this honor.

Zuru cradled the babe in his long arms, and turned to Warneshi
and to Regnanetah. Bloodshine had come out behind Lilliana, and
the young priestess was already leaning against her mother.
Zuru’s and Lilliana’s child let out a cry, his lungs strong and
nearly echoing across the fields of the desert before Zuru came
to name the child in the presence of the other Sandfury...

[Keeper Of Lore]

[Lupen]

Lupen pulled himself away from his tome briefly, he spent most of
these days either encased in darkness within the Grim Halls, or
laying in a coffin, half-asleep. He kept a vial of "The Gift" on
his person at all times, his alchemetical achievement to ruin
sexual fertility in the living without damaging the subject, but
killing any fertilized eggs in the process. Extensive testing
with Human and Dwarven males revealed that when injected into a
Male specimen, impotence was certain.

Many of these "Gifts" were stored in the Undercity. Lupen feared
the chance of a child to overcome him as a pinnicle of Shadow and
Darkness. A child! Lupen's selfish product had more reason,
beyond that, any child succeeding an honourable living Grim in
the spot of an Irredeemable or Soulreaver was chilling in the
least.

Something was not right, something was terribly unsettling. A bit
of black blood slid down his cheek, coming from his eye... A vial
of "The Gift" had slipped out of his robe inner pocket. The glass
shattered into millions of fragments, each fragment a new life
allowed to develop... Lupen had failed. Something inside, be it
the Demons or instinct, he had failed...

The Warlock clenched his fists and muttered, "A child... No...
No... Not a child...!" He yelled out, angrily, and in the
thickest of Demonic, "BITCH!" Lupen would need to secure the
prosper of The Grim if it ment ending life so dear to a friend.

[Warneshi]

Warneshi watched Zuruzuru closely, he knew what Lilly's game was
here. Warneshi simply smirked and waited to here the name, the
first born Sandfury in long years, the first pure born anyways.

Letting his eyes fall on Bloodshine he gave her a simple nod,
this was a day of victory for all the Sandfury, even her.

[Zuruzuru]

Zuruzuru hated the thrice-damned dry heat of Tanaris. At the
moment, he hated the mother of his mate, for barring his entrance
into the hut in which his beloved now gave birth. But above all,
he hated waiting. There was something to be said about the sense
of anticipation before a kill, the chill that ran through skin
and soul, warmed only by the blood of the slain splashing over
the killer’s hands. And yet this waiting for life, not death,
drove Zuru singularly out of his mind.

Normally given to frantic pacing, Zuru stood stoically outside of
the skin curtain that served as a door to the hut. He had
exchanged few words with Warneshi, the Sandfury king, and none at
all with Regnanetah when he arrived to witness the birth. He
saved his energy for listening; listening to Lilliana’s every
exhausting breath as she pushed their child from her womb,
listening to Bloodshine guiding her child through the experience
of birthing her own, listening to see if anything was going
wrong, as Zuru had witnessed births aboard The Green Cutlass that
had ended in tragedy. Two or three times he was of a mind to
storm into the hut, Bloodshine be damned, but this was a sacred
event in the eyes of all Sandfury, and while it chafed him to do
so, he would treat it as such.

And when they finally emerged, Zuruzuru had never seen a more
beautiful sight. He would never tell Lilliana that; she would
protest that she looked haggard, bloody and more pained than she
had ever been, but nonetheless, Zuru knew it to be true. To see
the seed of their love cradled in the arms of his mate…I wager
the gods themselves envy me right now, the rogue thought to
himself. Lilliana slid the boy into Zuru’s arms, a soft blue
creature with nary a tusk, only a gossamer twist of orange hair
on the crown of his head. So small, so defenseless, thought
Zuruzuru, never will any harm come to ya, me lad, me strong young
son. Yer mum and I will see ta that, we will.

“Tell them his name,” said Lilliana, before exchanging a look
with Warneshi.

Zuru pulled their son close his heart. “He’ll be called Den’ryu.
“Den” for me mother, and “Ryu”…well, I been doin’ some readin’,
and long ago there was a great Sandfury hero by that name. I took
a likin’ to the stories, and if our child was a lad, I’d been
thinkin’ a givin ‘im a strong name.”

Warneshi smirked and snorted, Bloodshine nodded her approval and
Regnanetah merely smiled and gave his blessings for the health of
child and House. And far from sight and earshot, a looking glass
closed, and a figure covered from head-to-toe in sand-beaten rags
mounted a lean brown horse to speed back and deliver the glad
tidings to her master.

***********************************************************

He gave no indication of notice as his servant entered the cabin.
Instead he let her wait several minutes as he finished setting
quill to paper. Only then did a casual wave of his hand bid her
to speak.

“M-m’lord,” the desert dweller said meekly, as she was
unaccustomed to the feel of the ocean beneath her feet, “the
troll has given birth. The child lives, and is a male.”

“I see.” He folded his hands into a triangle and rested his
pointed chin upon them. “That will be all. I will see to it the
wells of the Desert Lion belong to your tribe within a fortnight.
Your people will have so much water that you’ll be able to afford
some to drown your enemies’ children in.”

“So it has been spoken…” said the desert woman, bowing deeply.

“…so let it not be undone,” he replied to his spy. As she
departed his cabin, his yellow eyes flashed over a wide smile.
The night was young, and there were plans to be made.

[Skash]

Skash sat in the Grim hall, brooding. He was missing his playmate
and friend Lilli. Even though she was a troll, she was young
enough to share in Skash's simple pleasures. She had been missing
for a long time, and Skash missed her. He sat there, throwing a
leather ball at the wall. Something then crossed his mind.
Warneshi had not been seen in awile either. He and the troll king
did not always see things eye to eye, but there was a mutal
respect that existed between the two.

Skash sat there for awile longer, watching Grim come and go out
of the hall, grunting at those who greeted him. Suddenly he heard
Lupen's voice cry out from one of the back rooms, one of the
rooms Skash never visited, the research room. Many of the Grim
warlocks and mages spent most of their time in there, creating
various potions and experimenting on different concoctions. Skash
never understood their craft and stayed out of their way. Lupen
yelled in demonic, which instantly stirred Skash from his
brooding. The demonic language still haunted Skash. The memories
were still too new. The nightmares all too constent still. Skash
rose and threw the leather ball into the room yelling back
"SHADDAP LUPEN!!! What yous problem??? Yous knows better den
yelling in dat language! An wut dis about a child eh?"

[Lupen]

Lupen walked slowly out of the backrooms, a bit of blood on his
face. He heard Skash yell out in responce, but choose not to
speak. His cold eyes shot toward Skash quickly and said a single
word, "Lilliana." The Warlock remained silent as he walked out of
the Halls.

[Skash]

"Huh? Hey, wait for Skash!!!" Skash quickly got to his feet,
grabbed his pack and pie, and ran out after the warlock.

"Yous knows where Lilli be Lupen? Yous goin ta find her? Skash
help! Yous no goin wit out Skash! Skash misses Lilli! Skash
worried... Skash tink sometin happen ta Lilli..." The orc
continued to rant and worry while following Lupen out of the
hall.

[Keeper Of Lore]

[Lupen]

Lupen swung open both doors with a thrust of his right arm. The
Warlock placed a dark felcloth overcoat on to protect him from
the cold-air. The sound of Skash's voice was irratiting, at best,
to Lupen. While mounting his Dreadsteed, he barked in responce,
"I don't know, Orc! I'd assume Tanaris with the Sandfury. I have
no desire to find Lilly or the chi..." Lupen cut himself off, he
had said too much, rage was building. The Warlock clicked his
heels on the Nightmare's side and galloped off.

[Skash]

"Tanaris eh? Ya... dat seem like a gud place ta start... though
Lilli almost neber goes ta see dem odder trolls all dat much...
hmmmmm... tankies Lupen!" Skash heads off to the wyvern master,
still pondering things. "An wut be da 'chi'... hmmmm... Skash
knows! Lilli gots chicken! It kinda sound like 'chi'... kinda.
Anyways, Skash go an find her an help Lilli eats it! She wus
gettin plump when Skash saw hers last! She need no more
chicken..." With that, he handed the silver to the wyvern master,
mounted his wyvern and began the long flight to the desert,
singing most of the way to entertain himself.

Several hours of flight later, Skash lands in the wind swept
lands of Tanaris, home of Gadgetstan and of the Sandfury.
"Lesse..." Skash muttered to himself "wut way ta Sandfury." After
persuading a goblin to tell Skash where the Sandfury were, he
called Simba, the great wolf he rides, and took off for the
Sandfury camp. Skash's stomach was in knots. He was excited but
also nervous. He had not seen Lilli in a long time and he was not
sure what he would say or do. Also, he did not know the Sandfury
customs at all. Should he have brought a gift perhaps? Maybe one
of his valued pies would work? Should he greet them in any
particular fashion? Skash found he was giving himself a headache
from all his thinking, and soon found himself on the outskirts of
the Sandfury compound.

He slowed Simba to a walk as he got closer, not wanting to draw
attention to himself. He then spotted something rather odd.
Warneshi's war raptor was there, as well as Ragnetah's. Though it
was not uncommon for the Sandfury king to return here from time
to time, seeing both sandfury raptors was uncommon. He dismounted
Simba and chose to walk the rest of the way himself. Something
was... happening here, though he wasn't sure what exactly. As he
got closer, he was spotted by several Sandfury guards. Skash
yelled out "Warneshi! Skash here! Can Skash enter?" He hoped for
an answer before the guards engaged him.

[Warneshi]

Warneshi smiled at the child, it held much power in it; a good
day indeed. He gave a nod to Zuruzuru and smirked at Lilliana, it
was time the king blessed this one.

Warneshi stepped forward he held his arms out and spoke in a
serious and commanding tone.

"Give to Warneshi thiss youngling that Warneshi may accept it
into itss new and gloriouss home."

Warneshi waited to see how Zuru would resspond. A second latter
he heard something that made his teeth grind. Skash let out a
loud yell at the Tyrant, and Warneshi slowly turned his head to
see, and hope, that perhaps he was just getting to old and
senial. There stood Skash, just outside the perimeter, a grin
stretched his face. Warneshi sighed, he enjoyed the orcs company
from time to time, and it seemed Skash had found the one time
that he wasn't needed to show up.

Snorting Warneshi eyed Zuru, and mouthed "wait" to him. Warneshi
made his way calmly to Skash, commanding his subjects to stand
down and leave the orc be. Warneshi sighed and addressed the orc.

"It seemss you are hard to find when needed...but so eassly found
when not. Now what iss it you are doing in thiss dessert at the
exact time the Sandfury are going through the steps of a very
important ritual?"

[Skash]

Skash looked rather embaressed. "Ummmmm... Skash not knows yous
doin sum cer...ceru... some special ting. Skash has been lookin
for Lilli. She been gone a long time, an Lupen mention she mebbe
be here. So Skash come here lookin. Skash hear Lupen mention
sometin abouts a 'chi', so Skash tink she got chicken mebbe. If'n
Warneshi want Skash ta go Skash go. Skash orc, not Sandfury so
Skash understand.

Skash tried to look past Warneshi, but his great height prevented
him from seeing past to see if he could spot Lilliana.

"If'n Lilli here, give Lilli dis and let Lilli knows dat Skash
miss hers." Skash then reached into his pack and produces a whole
pie, which he reluctenly hands to Warneshi and prepares to leave.

[Warneshi]

Warneshi looked down at the pie then raised his head slightly to
continue looking down on the orc. After a couple of seconds he
allowed a slight smile to cross his lips. He spoke softly to
Skash so as no one else would hear, the words were for Skash and
Skash alone.

"Remember long ago orc, when Warneshi assked that you serve as a
Sandfury honor guard should Warneshi call. Thosse many dayss ago
in the embasssy have given uss thiss day. You are a Grim Skassh,
and Warneshi owess as much loyalty to them as he doess hiss own
people. Come and witnesss the birth of the future, the begining
of the end of the strugglesss of the Sandfury people. No chicken
to be found here orc, only the future."

Warneshi smirked at Skash and beckoned Skash to follow.

[Skash]

Skash looked up at the mighty king, listening to his words
intently. A wide, toothy grin came accross Skash's face. Skash
nodded and whispered back the only words that seemed to fit the
orc "Zug zug". Though Skash tried his best to hide it, he beemed
a bit at the kings words and stood a bit taller it seems as he
followed behind to see what was happening that was so important.

[Keeper Of Lore]

[Lilliana]

When Warneshi allowed Skash enterance past the guards, he
immediently caught sight of Lilliana. She looked tired, but a
bright smile was on her face when their eyes met. She noted the
pie and laughed to herself. It meant a great deal for Skash to
part with one of those pies of his. Lilliana had left her
mother's support (for she had been leaning against her), to stand
beside Zuruzuru before he handed their child over to Warneshi. As
Skash approached, Lilliana left Zuru's side momentarily to quite
uncustomarily embrace the burly orc in one of her rarely offered
Lilly hugs. Both Warneshi and Zuruzuru paused and blinked, each
with a look of dissapproval, but each dissapproving look was for
their own seperate reasons. Bloodshine seemed to have adopted
Warneshi's smirk. Lilliana took the pie, and gestured for one of
the guards to put it away, then pulled Skash to stand near her
and Zuruzuru. Lilliana pecked Zuruzuru on the cheek and then did
the same to the little troll infant in Zuru's arms, then looked
to Warneshi. Warmth and approval had washed over her delicate
face. She was happy that Skash was here for such a thing, when
she had thought no others would have been allowed. She had said
no words to the orc for he would soon discover the meaning of
this gathering from the Sandfury troll king's words.

[Skash]

Skash let off a loud cackle as Lilli gave the large orc one of
her special hugs. Ah had he missed those. He still blushed a bit
though even though when Lilli was around the hugs were common
place. Skash then followed Lilli to stand by the other too
trolls. He then noticed the small figuare being held by Zuru.
Suddenly everything kind of clicked for the orc, which was a rare
thing to occur. He looked to all of the trolls around him with a
toothy grin and understanding in his eyes. He was being present
to a momentous occasion.

[Lilliana]

Lilliana made a silly face at Skash as Zuruzuru gave the child to
Warneshi, for the look on Skash's orcish face was priceless to
Lilliana. It was always a good thing when the lightbulb was on up
there. Zuruzuru brought his arm around Lilliana's waist to help
maintain her weight, as he was aware of her weakness. Her touched
her tenderly and carefully, almost afraid of breaking her.
Lilliana kept quiet, watching with the other Sandfury and with
Skash, as Warneshi blessed her child.

Lilliana's dark eyes studied the troll king, the being that,
aside from Zuruzuru, she trusted fully with all her being,
despite her awareness of manipulations (attempted and denied) in
the past. Her allegience and friendship with the troll king was
curious, as was their relationship. She watched him now, thinking
of times past. How Warneshi had changed since the first instance
she had met him, back in the days when his mother's power and
corruption had lurked near the surface, ready to consume him and
slaughter all of those in Warneshi's path. He had warned her and
made all provisions to keep her safe from such harm, even when
Lilliana pushed it too far. She thought of their games, sometimes
quite dangerous (for pawns often were killed, such as Warneshi's
guards), and when she introduced Warneshi to her mother. He
betrayed her trust that evening he met Bloodshine for the second
time since he was an infant, but Lilliana forgave him for tearing
her mother's soul (but he did return it mind you), blindly true
to the troll king for reasons that will most likely never be
determined. Lilliana had no connection to Slys'Thok,there were no
spells surrounding her to bind her dedication to the troll king,
as her mind was an abyss that none could completely
understand....yet still she stayed true.

Lilliana leaned back on her heels and against Zuruzuru. She was
uncomfortable standing as her loins ached and were still slick
with blood...but as Warneshi spoke words of power for her and
Zuruzuru's child, she continued to remember....her conversations
with the troll king in their broken city, Warneshi's comfort when
she lost Boggart, Warneshi's acceptance of Zuruzuru, and the day
he named their houses, and then sneakily bound Lilliana to
Zuruzuru as his matron. He had become so honor bound, reaching
through the curse upon his father's sword to free the Sandfury
and rid the word of Slys'Thok forever. Warneshi had delved into
his mission, so much so that Lilliana even tried to reign him
back for his own safety, fearing the loss of the Sandfury king.

And now, with the child, Lilliana was helping to rebuild the
Sandfury. They would become stronger and return to be the great
tribe that they had once been, long before Lilliana was born.
When Warneshi was done, and the ceremony was over, Lilliana
remained outside briefly to speak with everyone, and even offered
Skash a peice of the pie that he had given her, before she
dissappeared into the hut given to her and Zuruzuru by Warneshi.
Before Bloodshine left she put up powerful wards to keep
uninvited guests far from the troll family. Warneshi left many of
his guards nearby. Both he and Bloodshine planned to visit on the
next evening. With all of this protection and promises of visits,
the new family had little to worry about, and could now spend
time of rest before Lilliana was called back to her duties as an
Irredeemable within the Grim's legion.

[Skash]

Skash stood by and watched the ceremony take place, not too
exactly what it entailed as he was not exactly current on troll
mysticism. Still, he was respectful and alert to the entire
blessing. When it was over, Skash peered down at the new baby,
gently poking at it playfully and gently and grinning in a rather
silly way. Skash of course snarfed down the piece of pie given to
him in one mighty gulp, followed by a stiffled burp so as not to
upset the newborn. When Lilli came to say goodbye, Skash told
Lilli "Skash's shield always here for yous an da little one. Yous
got trouble heres, yous knows Skash come runnin!" With that, he
bowed to all the trolls and saluted in orc fashion. "Skash glad
he wus here ta see dis! Yous knows where ta find Skash if'n yous
need him!" He then mounted Simba and rode back to the Grim hall.

[Warneshi]

Warneshi and Bloodshine walked slowly away. They had both seen
much in their lifetimes, and this was one thing that they both
could enjoy.

Warneshi walked calmly a smile upon his face, he remembered the
words he spoke over the infant and the looks on the faces of all
those gathered. He turned to Bloodshine and smirked, speaking
with ease to her for the first time in many years.

"It seemss we are both old now, your daughter having children.
The future iss bright it seemss, and our tribe will be secured.
Warneshi see'ss much power in that little one, he will do great
thingss, greater then both you and Warneshi have done or seen."

Warneshi smiled at Bloodshine and waited for her reply.

[Bloodshine]

Bloodshine kept the slow pace beside Warneshi as they left her
daughter and family. The raptor which Bloodshine rode stepped
quietly, not once attempting to raise a fight with Warneshi's
fierce mount unlike Lilliana's old raptor. In fact, the two
mounts of Bloodshine and Warneshi seemed to get along famously,
well, as famously as too raptors could.

The blood red eyes of the witch doctor turned to rest upon
Warneshi. There was a gentle smile on her face, so similiar to
the one that Lilliana would give to the troll king, although
behind that smile, lurked something else that Warneshi had never
quite liked, but in respect to todays events, it was not a worry.
Bloodshine served Warneshi not for her love of him, but for her
daughter. Eons ago Blodoshine had been responsible for the
ordered death of Warneshi (although it had not been carried out,
such a woe to the Sandfury people that was), after the demon
Slys'Thok tricked his father with Bloodshine's guise and laid
with him, producing twin sons within a years time. She had only
wanted his destruction, especially after he caused the end and
nearly eternal curse of the Sandfury from Slys'Thok rule after he
drank the soul of his father and her charge, Warneshi's brother,
Worneshi, all those years ago when the Sandfury empire fell. Now,
with Lilliana's involvement and dedication to the sandfury king,
Bloodshine lurked in the background, prepared histories and tales
of the Sandfury so that their history would never be lost, and
was available for council if Warneshi needed it from one as old
as she, for she was a wealth of Sandfury knowledge. She remained
close to ensure her daughter was safe, but today as she listened
to Warneshi's words, nearly all of the fear she had of him had
dissappated as it had been doing over the last year, for she now
truly believed he was determined to redeem himself, and the
Sandfury people he wished to save. He had become honorable and
wise, as his father had been before Warneshi had torn his soul
from his body. She would trust this "boy" who had once betrayed
all that she had known and loved.

"I've been old for quite some time Warneshi, much older than
you." Her eyes swung back towards the home Lilliana, Zuruzuru and
Den'ryu rested in, although she could no longer see it. "The
future is bright." The old shaman agreed, her gaze returning to
the king. "I never thought I would see the reclaim of the
Sandfury empire....but now..." The old troll looked thoughtful
and continued to ride on. Warneshi was right, the infant would
bring about great things, and they all would be there to guide
him.

[Zuruzuru]

Somewhere in Tanaris, safe and secure in the shelter provided to
them by their liege, the first family of House Sandshadow enjoyed
some well-earned rest from the troubles that have besieged them.
Elsewhere, on the high seas of Azeroth, darker things were astir…

[Keeper Of Lore]

******************************************

Skeeve moved swiftly down the hardwood stairwell to his captain’s
cabin at a nervous pace. His real name was Peter Calwell, but a
case of crimson fever had left his face covered in boils and
permanently twisted in an inadvertently lecherous grin, so
“Skeeve” he had become at the tender age of 19. The cause of his
fever had left an enormous black stain on his career with
Stormwind’s Royal Navy, and for nine years hence piracy had been
the trade which he had plied. It proved out to be a far more
successful choice of occupation than soldiering ever had, and
within a few seasons at sea the man had found himself in the
employ of Gabricci Gonzola, serving aboard the goblin’s majestic
man-of-war The Jewel of Blue.

It was not his checkered past that now played upon Skeeve’s mind
at the moment; the man’s mental preoccupations instead lie in
trying to calm the anxiety of being summoned to carry a parcel, a
small locked wooden box, to his captain’s quarters. The old
goblin had little noticed him before, sending the pirate on only
a few select errands of import, and always in the company of his
more important lieutenants. But if scuttlebutt around the ship
was true, the ship’s captain had asked for Skeeve by name, and
despite his uneasiness, the man had no choice but to carry out
his duty and see what was afoot. Arriving at the door to the
captain’s cabin, Skeeve cleared his throat, straightened his
plain cotton shirt and wrapped thrice upon the door before meekly
stepping inside.

“Mmm?” muttered the small figure at the center of the room. “Ah
yes, my parcel. Please, Skeeve, lay the package in my desk
amongst my other things and take a seat. I have some matters I
would like to discuss with you.”

With me? thought Skeeve, but all that left his mouth was a demure
“Yes, sir.” The goblin sat in an elaborately carved seat of
lacquered cherry, huddled over a stack of papers and scribbling
furiously with a feathered quill. Skeeve pulled out the chair in
front of the captain’s desk and hesitantly took a seat.

“Counting coppers, my lad,” said the golden-eyed goblin in a
smooth whisper of a voice. “Years at sea, seasons of plundering
and still I spend most of my time sitting at this desk counting
coppers. Occasionally I will have hours of work ruined by a
wayward turn of stormy waters, altering my characteristically
impeccable penmanship just enough to call an entire year’s worth
of accounts into question.”

Skeeve began to titter nervously in his seat. “Do-do you need
someone to help you with figures, Cap’n? I never did learn my
numbers or letters, you see, but I know some folk who might be
able to lend ya a hand, free up some of your time an’ such?”

Gabricci let out a mirthful chuckle. “No, no, my boy, nothing of
the sort actually. A goblin never lets another hand touch his
coin purse, and this old goblin is no different. Bella, would you
be a dear and pour our good friend a glass of wine?”

Skeeve was a skilled pirate, and an even more talented lookout,
but he would have been clueless to answer if asked just where
Black Bella had emerged from. Yet all the same, suddenly she was
there. Pale of skin, dark of hair and with lips that could have
been etched from ruby, Bella was one of the most beautiful women
Skeeve had ever laid eyes upon, and certainly the most deadly.
Once the first mate (and rumored lover) of one of Gabricci’s most
hated rivals on the seas, she went turncoat in the middle of a
great naval battle, cutting down half of her crew and cowing the
rest into servitude before turning cannons upon the rest of her
fleet and sinking them to the last. Word around the ship told
that Gabricci used Bella for only the most important of
missions….so why was she here, serving him wine?

As she leaned down to pour the red liquid into the chalice she
had set before him, Skeeve could not help but shift an eye to
gaze down her bodice at her ample bosom. A bit of spittle
gathered at the corner of his cracked, perverse grin, but if the
lady took any kind of offense, it did not show. She merely
half-smiled through her perfect lips and backed away cordially,
assuming a place behind their mutual master.

“Enough of this,” said Gabricci, setting down his quill and
turning his attention to Skeeve. “Dear Peter, I know to you I may
look old. No, don’t try to deny it, my age shows in the whitening
of my hair and these cursed lines that have begun to seize my
face for their own. And yet if you guessed my age, what would you
say? Five-and-Sixty? Seventy? Surely not Eighty, please do not
insult me! No, boy, please, allow me to speak in peace, I loathe
guessing games. In any regard, I shall answer the question for
you. If you took all the figures previously said and added them
together, you would still be shy a few seasons. Shocked, Peter?
Yes, in retrospect, I look very good for my age.”

Gabricci’s countenance darkened. “And yet, it is not enough.
Still death creeps in like a thief in the night, poisoning the
well little by little so that with each cup of water, a little
more of my life ticks away. It is the one thing the races of
Azeroth now share in common; death waits for us all. And yet I
ask, why should Gabricci Gonzola die? Long and hard have I
struggled to build a hidden empire in this world. Power and glory
I have delivered with this tiny body to myself and those who
choose to ally with me. And yet some spectral hand still dares to
think it can reach into this realm and snap me forth?” The goblin
raised his voice, screaming defiantly into the air. “Well I say
NO!”

Several uncomfortable moments passed before Gabricci spoke again.
When he did, his voice was calm and level. “I have laughed in the
face of the laws set before us by the things that call themselves
“gods.” I have learned secrets buried by things dead and gone
from Azeroth and stripped the flaws from their failed experiments
in cheating fate. I have stood naked in the Caverns of Time and
felt the tides of my past, present and future wash over me like a
river. And when I finally thought that immortality had eluded my
grasp, I even sought an heir, only to have him curse me and turn
his life into a mockery of all my failures. My…endeavors have
left me unable to bear an heir of my own blood, did you know
that? And yet the one that I sought to call my own…even now he
spits in my face, breeding a bastard of his own. Soon he’ll know
the error of his ways, I assure you.”

This cannot be good, thought Skeeve; he has no reason to be
telling me this. By the Light…he knows. “I’ve no kin myself,
m’lord, so I can feel for your plight…”

“Do not presume to talk to me of empathy, Skeeve,” said Gabricci,
spitting out his adopted name like a curse. “Now then, do me a
kindness and fetch me the envelope atop that shelf there. It’s a
bit high up, and I cannot reach it.”

But your wench Bella can…you’re not going to leave this room
alive, are you Peter my mate? Yet Skeeve arose and brought
Gabricci the sealed envelope he found placed on top of a high
shelf full of archaic, moldy tomes. Again taking his seat, his
shaking hands slid the envelope across the Gabricci’s desk, who
smiled at him the way a master smiles at a pet that had just
performed a trick.

The goblin cracked the wax on the envelope and withdrew the paper
within. “Now then, Skeeve, would you read me the contents of this
letter?”

Beads of cool sweat poured like raindrops down Skeeve’s
disfigured face. “I already told you, sir, I don’t know me
words…”

“Ah yes, so you did,” replied Gabricci, smiling condescendingly.
“I’m old, and sometimes I forget trivial matters. Allow me, then,
to illuminate you to the parchment’s contents.”

The goblin read aloud from the letter. “’M’Lord,’ it
begins…’Witnessed crewman Peter “Skeeve” Calwell engaged in
discourse with officer from Stormwind Royal Navy. A passing of
documents occurred into the hands of said officer. It is my
belief the documents were navigational charts and fleet
movements. Will confirm suspicions and report post-haste.’ Now
then,” said Gabricci, his eyes fixed at Skeeve in a cold stare,
“Just what price did it take for you to sell me out to your old
masters?"

I am dead and gone, thought Skeeve before sniveling,
“N-nothing…captain, it’s a lie…”

Gabricci slammed his gloved hands upon the desk. “No! It is
truth! Lie again, Skeeve, and Bella and I will eat your heart
with cups of honeyed wine for supper.”

“F-f-food, sir…only food,” squeaked Skeeve. “A few years ago, I-I
sired a child in the Northlands. She was the only maiden that
could ever bear looking at my f-f-face. Their village is
starving…I had nothing else to barter, m’lord. The navy captain
was only running provisions to them, nothin’ to harm you! Please
spare me…I thought only of the child!”

“Yes, a child…much like my erstwhile pupil, you too Skeeve, a
lowly deckhand upon my ship, you too seek to turn my failings
into some cruel jest with the rotting fruit of your loins.”
Gabricci rose and circled the desk, standing at Skeeve’s side.
The goblin’s hand reached out and caressed the man’s cheek, his
words a whisper in Skeeve’s ear. “You should have come to me,
Peter. There is nothing a goblin loves more than to have someone
owe him a favor. But yes…you fear me, and rightly so.” The goblin
reached to his desk, unlocked the box Skeeve had brought to him,
lifted out its contents and placed them on his desk. “You say you
thought only of the child. I say you should have thought harder
before you betrayed me.”

Skeeve would have screamed if the poison he had drunk with his
wine had not turned his muscles as rigid as stone. For the object
that Gabricci had placed on his exquisitely ornamented desk, the
object Skeeve had carried directly into his captain’s hands was a
small, finely polished human skull, about the size of a small
child’s.

Gabricci turned and walked to Bella, dismissing the paralyzed
Skeeve as if he wasn’t even there. “Bella, have the helmsman set
a course for Tanaris. Assemble two teams of our finest men.”

“I have already chosen a number from the Silent Sons, captain,”
said Bella.

“Excellent, excellent. You will dispatch three men to deal with
whatever guards the False King may have posted. I will have
sorcerers working on dispelling any protections Zuru and his
allies may have raised before you make your assault.”

“What of Zuruzuru?” asked Black Bella.

“Kill him,” replied the goblin. “His blood is unworthy of my
blades. I will lead the second team personally. There is another
one Venger desires to give a steel kiss to.” Gabricci wrapped his
fingers upon the handle of his powerfully enchanted rapier.

Bella chuckled and pointed at Skeeve. “And what of this one,
captain?”

Gabricci turned and started, for a moment looking like he had
forgotten all about his treacherous former-crewman. “Him? Pack
him onto a ship and send him up north to the village he loves so
dear. And when he arrives, stake him down next to his lady love
and set the place ablaze. Might as well take their food stocks
first…wouldn’t want to see Skeeve’s hard earned bounty go to
waste, would we?” The goblin picked up the child’s skull from his
desk and tossed it onto Skeeve’s lap. “And send this with him.
I’d hate to separate him from his family, and besides…I’ll have
another to decorate my desk soon.”

[Keeper Of Lore]

[Lilliana]

The desert stand blasted against the cloth barrier held firmly by
the Sandfury hut, threatening to tear the threads if they were
not built as strongly as they were. As the evening had grown
cold, a fire burned within the cloth walls, dancing the forbidden
dances of flames, warming the bodies of those near. Two days had
passed since the birth of Zuruzuru’s and Lilliana’s child, and
the Grim’s missing Irredeemable was still taking her leave to be
with her child. The new parents had visitors, for Warneshi and
Bloodshine were present, although they were preparing to leave.

Den’ryu rested in Lilliana’s arms, squirming about as even though
he was but 2 days old, the infant rarely kept still. The shadow
priestess was tired and soon began to nod off as the other
Sandfury spoke softly around her. Bloodshine rose, seeing that it
was time to allow her daughter rest, and Warneshi rose with her.
The Sandfury king Warneshi stepped lightly to Lilliana and took
the infant troll from her arms. He rose him to meet his eyes, and
the infant threw his arms about and hissed. Zuru laughed and
Warneshi smirked. Strong one indeed this child was….grandson of
Warneshi’s old advisor and Warneshi’s old enemy, Bloodshine.
Warneshi smiled at Den’ryu, for this child would soon learn who
his king was. He was the first of the Sandfury since Lilliana
that have been born completely out of Slys’Thok’s clutches, with
the exception of Regnanetah, who seemed to have evaded her taint
on his own.

Warneshi gave the babe up to Zuruzuru, and the troll pirate saw
both Warneshi and Bloodshine out the door, even though the wind
that swept the sand about to harshly nip at their skin was
raising in force. Zuru ensured his child was wrapped safely
against the wind and sand while the adults exchanged words full
of happiness and mirth, battling with the sand….for this time was
still for celebration for the Sandfury. The two old Sandfury
(Bloodshine older than even old Warneshi, as impossible as that
may be), mounted up, their raptors tossing their heads, ready to
move as the sand bit against their tough skin, making visibility
difficult. It was as if a fog of sand had risen across the barren
land, making travel difficult if not dangerous. Zuruzuru watched
Bloodshine and Warneshi ride away, soon swallowed by the
unforgiving swirling sands. The new father remained outside for a
few moments, braving the sand which he hated like one would hate
hell itself, before returning inside.

Zuruzuru stood with his child in his arms after shutting the
door. His eyes rested upon Lilliana, watching as her chest rose
and fell to the rhythm of her breathing. He knew that she was
worn, the past night she was denied sleep as the infant required
her tending. Zuru knew little of child rearing, although he was
quickly learning. He approached Lilliana, and woke her with a
kiss. Once her eyes fluttered open, the two smiled at one
another. Lilliana’s talons wrapped around one of Zuru’s tusks and
she pulled him closer, the babe still in his arms. Her eyes
settled on his, two pools deep with warmth that sang to cradle
Zuru and the infant with their gaze. It was like this that the
two remained for what seemed many moments. How blessed these two
trolls had become.

“You have sand in your hair, Zuruzuru Sandshadow.” Lilliana
laughed lightly as she brushed away some grains of sand that
discolored Zuru’s wild and thick mane of hair. “You look like a
true Sandfury with that look on you, ..did you…..” Lilliana was
denied completion of her sentence, for Zuru’s gaze was ripped
from hers as a sudden dread fell upon her, sending her weakened
body cold. Zuruzuru whirled about with a cruel sounding hiss, for
they were not alone within their hut given to them by their
Sandfury king, and it was not Bloodshine nor was it Warneshi who
had returned to them...

[Zuruzuru]

A scuff on the ground. An errant speck of dust drifting down from
the rafters. Zuru did not know exactly what had keyed his senses
to the presence of intruders in their hut, but instinctually he
pressed Den’ryu into his mother’s arms, woke his love with a
quick kiss and told her to run. As soon as his newborn son left
his hands, his two other children sprung forth from the sheathes
at his sides, children of tempered steel and far more lethal in
their tantrums. For an instant, the rogue felt lightheaded, as if
all the air had been sucked from room. This sensation ended with
a sound like breaking glass, and Zuru knew the protective
enchantments Bloodshine had woven over the couple’s home had been
shattered. It seemed as though attackers were appearing from
every direction, descending from the roof of the hut, even
appearing to spring forth from the very earth itself.

Lilliana had acted with determined haste and managed to nearly
reach the door before one of the invaders assaulted her. Twin
blades cut the air but missed their mark as Zuru cleaved his
dagger into the foe troll’s skull. As the priestess made her
escape, Zuru pushed the body onto the floor and turned to face
the rest of his enemies. Four men of varying race stood to face
him, along with another the young troll recognized. Black Bella,
one of Gabricci’s hideous human lieutenants. This would be no
easy fight, but the rogue knew he had to end it swiftly. Lilliana
was not in fighting condition, especially when encumbered with
their child, and he wanted to rendezvous with her as soon as
possible.

“Five on one? Not the best a’ odds,” snickered Zuru as his foes
closed in around him. “Bella, ya shoulda brought more men."

Swords flashed before the words had finished leaving the rogue’s
mouth. The dance was swift and brutal. The long swords carried by
Bella’s lackeys would only allow them to come at the troll one or
two at a time given the size of the hut. Zuru hope he could
neutralize any advantage their numbers gave them with his own
speed and maneuverability. Blindly crossing his daggers behind
his head, the rogue blocked a sudden downward chop from his rear.
He threw his left leg out behind him and sent his attacker
crashing into one of the stakes whick upheld the hut.
Backpedaling, Zuru pinned his attacker to the stake with his
body, and thrust his daggers backwards up and into the assassin’s
ribcage. The pirate heard his enemy’s death rattle before feeling
something cold run across his belly. Searing pain trailed behind
the warmth of his own blood as it ran freely from the cut of the
assassin’s blade. His assailant thrust again, but Zuru
sidestepped, dropped one of his daggers and grabbed his
attacker’s arm, pulling the assassin to him. Steel soon kissed
the thick hide of the orc’s neck, and blade and body both slumped
lifelessly to the floor. Zuru fell to the floor as another blade
attempted to part his head from his shoulders. He recovered and
thrust both blades into the belly of his attacker. Unfortunately,
his blades caught momentarily on the ring mail beneath the dusty
camouflage wraps that enshrouded his adversary, time enough for
another one of Bella’s men to drive his long sword deep into
Zuru’s shoulder, nearly slicing the arm off. Howling in pain,
Zuru spun and swept his legs underneath the man, knocking him
off-balance long enough for the troll to ram his good shoulder
into his foe’s chest and send them both careening to the ground.
Zuru slammed his head into the bridge of his opponent’s nose and
then drove his tusks into the pink flesh of the human’s throat.
Rising, Zuru managed a sardonic laugh at the man as he
asphyxiated in a river of his own blood. Weary from his wounds,
Zuru stumbled to collect his weapons and noticed through the haze
of his pain that Bella had set fire to the hut during the fray.
The woman’s midnight hair swept about her face, blown in the
heated wind of the blaze, as she drew a slim rapier from her side
and brandished it at the troll. Zuru’s knuckles turned white as
he gripped his blades, although his left arm hung limp and almost
useless at his side.

[Skash]

It had been several days since Skash had discovered Lilli and her
new baby in the Sandfury compound and Skash had not been idle. He
had been looking for gifts. Skash, being the simple warrior he
was, purchased the only thing that seemed natural to him. He had
the small gift wrapped by the shop keep, for Skash had tangled
with ribbon before and produced a rather amusing but in the end,
violent spectacle.

When he arrived in the endless desert of Tenaris, he grined to
himself, thinking his gift choice would be well liked by the
troll baby. Calling Simba to his side, he mounted up and headed
to Lilli and Zuru's hut, hoping to surprise the two. As he rode
closer, Skash noticed something was wrong. Flames smoke climbed
high into the sky... and it was not smoke that came from a
bonfire. Canvas was burning. Skash egged on his wolf, using his
custom made spurs to their full potential. As he closed in on the
camp, Skash came accross Lilli, slowly limping towards him. Skash
nearly crashed off his wolf being in such a hurry to get to her.
Once he got his balance, he ran to her with a worried espression.
"Lilli! Wut happenin? Where baby? Where Zuru? Wut is goin on?"

Skash listlened to Lilli quickly tell her short story of Zuru
being surrounded by his enemies, clearly outnumbered. Zuru was no
slouch in combat, but one of his killing style was not suited to
fighting so many combatants at once. Skash helped Lilli to Simba,
pushing her onto the massive wolf. "Simba! Yous take Lilli an
baby ta goblin town! Skash be back soon! Until den, yous listlen
ta Lilli!" Skash reached into a saddle bag, grabbed a dried boar
chop, and stuffed it into the wolf's mouth before he could
protest being ridden by someone other then Skash. "GO!!! Skash be
back for yous!". The wolf chomped down the meat and left swiftly,
though not too fast so Lilli could not hold on. Skash watched for
a few moments then turned back to the hut, drawing his axe and
shield and taking off in a run.

Skash arrived just as the blade sunk into Zuru's shoulder. Skash
eyed the woman standing there, as he ran up to Zuru's side.
Clearly he could not face this foe injured as he was. "Zuru!"
Skash yelled as he continued to get closer "Skash help Lilli! Now
Skash help yous!" Skash moved between him and the women with the
jet black hair, guarding the troll.

[Keeper Of Lore]

[Lilliana]

Lilliana’s lover’s kiss only lingered on her mouth long enough to
get the faintest of tastes that was Zuru’s lips. His tusks had
nearly cut the soft skin of her face as he whirled about to face
this unknown attacker. Dressed in simple garb which called for
comfort for the new mother, and not for her shadow powers as
priestess, Lilliana did not pause to remain to fight with
Zuruzuu, already there were too many, and in her weakened state
she would be little help and more of a hindrance to Zuru’s
protection. She took the baby from Zuru when her love shoved him
into her arms. Calling her powers, dulled by her lack of
enchantments and by the weakness her body experienced from
childbirth, a protective globe of energy surrounded both her and
Den’ryu. The priestess did not pause as she dashed through the
door, even without her shadow staff, avoiding a troll with twin
swords her swiped at her head, only to have his own head cracked
open with one of Zuru’s curved daggers. Zuru’s weapons may be
delicate, but he operated them with strength and a sickening
swiftness that did damage most swords could not even manage even
when welded by the most excellent of sword players.

Lilliana’s undead horse, Shallow, had broken loose of his tethers
and had trampled a goblin which had tried to cut through the
horse’s ankles. He was wounded, and for some reason was not
regenerating the deep wound that cut across his lower left leg.
Lilliana would not be able to ride him. Zuru’s raptor mount lay
dead and bleeding against the cool sand, it’s neck cut open at a
grotesque angle. Lilliana whistled and her mount limped to her.
She shook her head and started to run, while Shallow obediently
followed behind her. Lilliana was more than relieved when she saw
Skash….and when the dear orc hoisted her up and sent his wolf
towards the goblin town, Lilliana took the reins and changed
direction. She knew that both Skash and Zuru would fall this
evening if she could not find Warneshi and her mother. She rushed
into the direction she thought Warneshi and Bloodshine had left,
the sound of Zuruzuru’s hisses and snarls and now Skash’s battle
cries echoing in her pointed ears to leave a nightmare of worry
in her mind for what she may find when she would return with her
king and mother.

Lilliana began to shout, hoping that Warneshi and Bloodshine were
not too far ahead…

“Warneshi! Mother!” She had not gone far but was already
breathless. Her voice did not carry far, and it faltered,
sounding like a child who was chased by a pretend nightmare that
was all too real to the child, but a joke to the rest of the
world.

“Warn………” Lilliana’s frantic calls her snuffed out when Simba
crashed forward, struggling and whining in agony. Lilliana was
knocked off and thrown to the ground. She didn’t know what threw
her as she rolled across the ground in a shameful attempt at a
graceful save, but enough to protect her baby from injury, but as
she rose to her feet, the wind still raging and bringing sand to
bite against her. Her gaze fell to Simba, and she saw that he had
been gutted as she rode him! His stomach lay separated, his blood
running from his warm body as he desperately tried to rise to his
feet and move to protect Lilliana from their attacker. Lilliana
couldn’t spare her magics, and said a silent prayer for Simba to
last until her battle was finished. With child in hand, Lilliana
hissed, her dark eyes searching frantically for the creature that
had dismounted her. She felt a breath of air cross her face, and
with all her power she let forth a shadowy bolt in the direction
she felt the villain lie. There was a curse of pain as her mark
struck true, her magics searing through flesh to cause her
twisted curse of agony upon another soul. It was then that he
revealed himself to her. He stepped out of the shadows while
bursts of sand dashed across his face. Lilliana was rarely
frightened, but when she saw her nemesis the amount of fear that
gripped her was nearly overwhelming. She took little comfort in
the fact that the goblin before her was taken by pain at least
for the moment, for her spell had done more than a number on him.
He was working on indignantly straightening his back as he
shrugged away her curses. His eyes were cool and calm gems that
flickered like demon fires as he watched her…

[Warneshi]

Warneshi and Bloodshine enjoyed their slow walk through the
desert, they toured many familiar areas, many places that once
held causeways and temples. The storm came up out nowhere, and
Warneshi knew that instant it was not natural, he could smell
pain on the winds, and he could feel the sands of Tanaris shift
and swirl in anger. He looked to Bloodshine, she felt it as well;
years of life in this land had trained the two trolls, this land
was as much a part of them as their own breaths.

Warneshi called Ses'Thur to his side and he noded at Bloodshine
as she called hers, they made haste that no others could match;
the sands were their allies that day.

They rode hard, and Warneshi soon heard a familiar cry, the new
infant. Dismounting and taking to the sands like a wraith,
Warneshi moved swiftly towards Lilliana. Warneshi could smell
blood, he breathed and hoped he was not to late. The scene before
him met to his approval, the wolf was dying and it seemed his
enemy, some goblin that reacked of power. was reeling from
Lilliana's curses.

Gabricci shrugged off the curse and narrowed his eyes on his
kill; he made his move but was cut short, something seemed to
rise from the sands to his right. His blade barely came up
quickly to stop the axe blow that came from the shadow.

Warneshi smiled wickedly at his prey, speaking quickly as he made
his next move.

"Little goblin you do not know who it iss who have wronged, the
king of the sandss will see you desstroyed for thisss offenssse."

Warneshi took the stance of the ancient Sandfury Bloodguards. He
waited for the goblins move and prayed that Bloodshine arrived
soon to get Lilliana free of this mess.

[Zuruzuru]

"I had hoped you would be otherwise deterred, King of Nothing,
but it seems as though I may have to deal with you myself," said
the diminutive green figure standing between Warneshi and
Lilliana. Gabricci turned sideways and levelled his rapier at his
foe, muttering cryptic words in a long-dead tongue. He lunged
forward, and as he did jets of onyx flame burst forth from his
blade, buffeting the troll king in soul-searing fire. Warneshi
stood his ground as the dark inferno lashed over him, and met the
goblin's thrust with his axe. The pair locked weapons, and
Warneshi found the goblin's strength to be near, if not entirely,
his equal. The Sandfury king could almost taste the goblin's
vigorous soul as they struggled; he would savor this one's life
force as he tore it from his withering form. Gabricci grinned,
ducking to break their blade lock as he slid the tip of his sword
harmlessly down Warneshi's heavily plated arm. The goblin leapt,
and something small shot forth from his form as he spun over the
troll's head. The tiny dagger caught Lilliana in the shoulder,
its poison tip slowing her mind and serving as a reminder that
she was not forgotten in this battle. Simultaneously, Warneshi
felt the cold steel tip of the goblin's rapier bite into his
neck, finding a weak point where his gorget joined to his
breastplate. He spun his axe backwards in a wide arc, but the
rogue had already circled him in a blur, and the tenebrous
tendrils of his blade sheared the metal that protected the king
and once again found flesh.

The goblin danced back, heady with dealing first blood, and
beckoned Warneshi to make his move. Den'ryu cried loudly, but the
infant's shrieking was soon conquered by the cracklings of
mystical energy as the baby's mother unleashed her spell at
Gabricci. The goblin tumbled to the side and Lilliana's psychic
blast annihilated the ground in its wake, sand circling in all
directions. The priestess jerked up her arm, guiding the bolt to
its mark and flinging the goblin hard to the desert ground.
Warneshi saw his opening and charged, his axe landing a grazing
wound into Gabricci's chest as the rogue rolled backwards to
avoid the savage warrior. Rising, the goblin smashed a tiny vial
into his chest, flesh sizzling as his concotion quickly healed
the wound inflicted by the troll king.

"Quite unseemingly, allowing one's courtiers to fight your
battles for you, Dust King. Allow me to reduce their already
pathetic number for you, so that we may fight this duel as
honorable men," said Gabricci in a mocking tone.

"I sssspit on your honor, filth," Warneshi roared,"any one of my
Ssssandfury could bessst the likesss of you. Your sssoul iss
unworthy of my feasssting...I will leave your rotting corpssse
here, as fodder for jackalssss."

The king again met his enemy, weapons flashing in the glaring
light of the desert sun

"I happen to admire jackals," laughed the goblin. "At least they
serve their purpose." Gabricci knew he could best the troll in
single combat; his type fight clumsily when angered, and the
goblin's sharpest weapon was not his sword but his wits. But as
Bloodshine's raptor arose from the horizon, the goblin rethought
his tactics. His mission of revenge would not be put to an end by
these meddlers. To draw their attention away, he would have to
calll upon other tools.

As the powerful shaman leapt off her speeding mount, she pointed
a cruel talon at the goblin. Gabricci smiled, dodged away from
Warneshi's swinging axe and allowed himself to be carried away
from the troll by the force of Bloodshine's Earthshock spell.

"Hello, old grandmother," said Gabricci as he tossed four small
pebbles from a hidden pocket in his garb. "I am afraid I must
offer my apologies in advance for killing your family." The
stones landed in the sand, and the earth shuddered as their
magicks were unleashed. An enormous din arose as the sands of
Tanaris twisted in the air in powerful cyclones, blinding the
combatants, each grain of sand slashing at their bare skin with
hurricane force. As the sudden winds quieted, four large
elementals stood opposing Warneshi and Bloodshine, titans of
sandstone called forth by Gabricci's relics.

"As much as I enjoy a good gathering, I am afraid my I merely
came to pay my respects, such as they are, to the new parents. So
if you'll excuse me...". The goblin's said something in a voice
that sounded like breaking stone, and the elementals closed to
attack the two aged trolls. In the meantime, Gabricci turned his
attentions wholly to Lilliana.

[Lilliana]

The priestess’s eyes had met Warneshi’s when he arrived…it was
just for a moment, but Warneshi could clearly see that Lilliana
was desperate. There was hope in her eyes when she saw him, but
she knew that this was no common foe she had begun to face alone.
The dread she felt moments after Zuru woke her increased as she
watched as Warneshi and Gabricci traded blows.

As the stone elementals claimed a place for themselves upon the
plane of Azeroth, Lilliana stepped back, nearly stumbling from
the poison that slithered through her veins from Gabricci’s
dagger. She held her child in one arm, while the other arm was
raised in a protective gesture, as if she could actually ward
Gabricci off with such a movement. Her spells had all hit true,
but the goblin recovered from them too quickly, their intended
effects made a mockery by the rogue’s power. Lilliana began to
feel that her attempt at battle was a waste of time. She felt a
child in his presence, for surely her strength compared to his
mirrored that of a little girl child against a battle experienced
soldier.

“What the hell is your problem, you stinking green assed frog?”
Lilliana was gathering her strength, pulling forth the shadow to
her from the distant nether, praying for the darkness to serve
her. But it wasn’t enough, she was weak, her tools of magic were
left at home, a fault she would likely never make again for she
feared her death would come tonight, murdering her future
chances. The mocking tone that Gabricci had when he kidnapped her
in front of the Sandfury Embassy and under Warneshi’s nose was
not present this time. What she saw swirling in Zuru’s old
mentor’s yellow eyes was the cruel dance of death. She was either
going to have to kill him, or he was going to kill her.

Warneshi and Bloodshine had tried to race to Lilliana to rid her
of Gabricci, but were engaged by the elementals….even powerful
Warneshi seemed dwarfed by the stone warriors. Their cries were
muffled by the thunder of the elementals themselves. Simba had
given up trying to rise, for he had lost too much blood, and now
lay dying upon the desert sands. Lilliana knew the wolf to be
valiant to even still be with them, for he refused to allow the
spirit healer to take him yet. His red eyes were on Gabricci.
Lilliana just couldn’t spare a heal for the wolf…she needed the
magics she had.

The magics around Lilliana suddenly seemed to disappear and she
leaned back on her heels; she was dizzy with poison, but
determined to remain strong. Her infant stopped crying. The air
around her quieted as if a blanket had been laid down over her,
dampening all sounds like the rain on a quiet evening. She did
not want Gabricci to sense what she was about to do. “Zuru won’t
be very happy with you….I thought you wanted him on your side?
Hurting my blue bum isn’t going to help that. Would you like some
suggestions?” Lilliana tried to stall Gabricci with talk. She
remembered that he liked to hear the sound of his own voice when
he spoke to her in the darkness those many moons ago, perhaps if
she got him talking…but her child began to wail again, his
screams ear piercing like any powerful Sandfury infant’s would
be….demanding like a dictator that it be listened to…

[Zuruzuru]

The battle had ended even before it began. Was it seconds? Was it
an eternity? Time lost all meaning as Lilliana lay dying amidst
the burning wastes of Tanaris, staring blankly at the waves of
heat rising up from the sand. With one swift thrust of his sword,
Gabricci Gonzola had destroyed all she had come to love.
“Zuuuuuu…..ruuuuuu….the baby…”Lilliana whimpered as she stretched
out her broken fingers to reach for the child’s body. Every
movement wracked her body with pain, but she had become oblivious
to all physical anguish; the pain in her heart was far too great
for the demands of the body to matter.

[Keeper Of Lore]

*************************************************************************************

It had all happened so quickly. The goblin had conjured forth
powerful elementals from the desert land to stall her would-be
rescuers and turned to face his true quarry, a smile playing
across his cruel face. She had attempted to play upon Gabricci’s
enormous ego, to buy time by getting him to talk, but no words
escaped the goblin’s lips. In the blink of an eye he was upon
her. Den’ryu ceased his wailing, and Lilliana felt the merest
pinprick of pain in her chest as the goblin slid his blade neatly
through the troll infant into his mother's breast.

Gabricci smiled up at the priestess, perfect white teeth gleaming
in the sun as he smiled broadly. “Ah, sweet silence.” The rogue
shoved his rapier Venger deeper through muscle and bone, until
its point ran fully through both mother and child. “Zuru is dead,
Lilliana. So is your child.” The goblin’s calm countenance
shattered into a twisted mask of rage. “And in case you are too
dumb to notice, so are you. Incantu devas!”

The sword’s black flames roared, sweeping over the troll and her
child as the goblin called forth the weapon’s true power. The
storm of dark energy gave birth to a swarm of fiery serpents,
netherling dragons freed from their bondage within the blade.
Like a plague of hungry locusts they descended upon Lilliana,
devouring body and soul alike, chewing away at the binds which
tied her soul to the Spirit Healers which protected the soldiers
of the Horde.

Grasping the limp body of her child with one hand, Lilliana
reached out and grasped her foe's blade with the other. The
priestess howled in defiance, gathering all of the energies
stored within her and unleashing them at the goblin in one
climatic blast. A ring of shadowy energy erupted from her form,
sweeping across the landscape, blasting the nearby Warneshi and
Bloodshine to the ground. The goblin's elementals seized upon the
opportunity offered to them and pressed their assault further.
Only Gabricci stood, hand clasped tight around Venger as he
struggled against the brute psychic force of Lilliana’s torment.
Her pain and hate poured from her like water through a breached
dam, fueling the sinister energies of the Nether as they pummeled
about the goblin. The rogue stood strong against the priestess’
attack, channeling his will into his own counterattack. The
master rogue cried out in pain as the flesh of his face began to
crack and peel away, sheared off by the tempest of Lilliana’s
magicks. Venger began to glow an angry red, and suddenly the
sword shattered, hurling Gabricci, Lilliana and Den’ryu’s
lifeless body to the ground as the powerful enchantments housed
within the blade loosed themselves from their material prison.

Gabricci was the first to rise, clutching at the melted ruin that
used to be his face. His yellow eyes, now shot through with veins
of red stared balefully at the fallen priestess as she dragged
her broken body towards the corpse of her infant son. Rags of
melting flesh fell from the remains of the goblin’s once handsome
face, now little more than a sickly green skull dotted with wisps
of singed white hair. Gabricci kicked Lilliana hard in the
stomach. “Insolent whore! Look what you have done to me!”
shrieked the goblin, in a voice akin to that of an angry child.
The goblin spun and brought his boot down upon Den’ryu’s body.
Lilliana nearly wretched as her child’s body broke like an
overripe fruit dropped on cobblestone. The goblin again turned
his attentions upon the priestess, kicking her cruelly about the
face and body.

“I gave you a choice, witch…what made you think you could stand
and defy me?!” Gabricci grabbed a handful of the priestess’ hair
and jerked her head from the ground, forcing her to look at the
corpse of her son and the continuing struggle of her mother and
king. “This is what you have wrought, troll…nothing but doom for
all you hold dear. My beloved blade may be broken, but Venger’s
magicks still work within you. There will be no coming back for
you this time, whore; never again will you poison my world with
your presence.” Gabricci sneered and tossed Lilliana’s head to
the ground. “That’s right…my world! I lifted your beloved Zuru
from the gutter rat he was to something almost worthy of being my
successor! And you stole him from me with your harlot’s ways. Had
he followed the path I set before him, he could have bedded any
wench in the land, willing or not! But the fool chose some kind
of hopeless idealism instead of grasping for real power…and now
all that remains is this.” Gabricci scooped up a handful of sand
and tossed it into her face, the hot sand mixing with her blood
and tears. “Dust. Your world is nothing more now. ‘House
Sandshadow’ has fallen before it even had a chance to rise and
again my star ascends to its rightful position.” The goblin
lifted his hand to his face, groping his fingers around the area
where his long, hooked nose used to be. “This world is mine,” he
madly whispered to himself as he procured a small polished mirror
of silver from a pouch and used the sun’s reflected light to beam
a signal far off into the horizon. He tossed his cloak over his
head to hide his grotesque visage from the rider’s as they sped
in across the dunes on lean horses bred for desert riding.
Masters of camouflage in these barren lands, Gabricci used the
squad of desert folk under his command only for insertion and
extraction purposes; this particular kill the goblin reserved for
himself. Gabricci mounted the extra animal brought to him by his
men and spared a quick, satisfied glance at the fray behind him.
His escape was well-timed; only one of his elementals remained to
bar Bloodshine and Warneshi from pursuit. The goblin looked down
and spit upon the priestess before trampling her with his horse
and speeding off with his servants.

[Warneshi]

The elementals took Warneshi by surprise, they were ancient and
powerfull indeed. He tried his best to avoid their blows and
counter, but they were powerfull and their attacks relentless.
Bloodshine joined him in the fray they slowly dismantled each
elemental one by one. Warneshi heaved and grunted, many of his
bones were broken and only the healing power of Bloodshine, and
his own empowered regeneration kept him standing. A swift
overhead blow almost removed his left arm, grinding his teeth and
letting loose no cries of pain, Warneshi blinked away the pain as
he felt the tendons already reattaching themselves. Only one
remained and it was then Warneshi realized he had lost himself in
own battle, forsaking the ones being fought nearby. Bloodshine
had taken a beating and was weak, she was lucky Warneshi had
dispatched the ones nearest her first. It was the cry of an
infant that alerted Warneshi to what was present. He turned his
attention just in time to see Gabricci take his blade through
Den'Ryu and Lilliana. His world froze and he felt his
unquenchable rage eat up through him; he could feel himself
falling to his darker half, calling on the powers it gave him.

The last elemental shattered underneath Warneshi's blow. Gabricci
turned his head from his mount and frowned, they had held the
king long enough. He trampeled Lilliana and made his escape to
his companions. Warneshi was lost in his anger, he did not fully
understand what he was doing or why; but he knew who he wished
his rage unleashed upon. The goblin was powerfull indeed, but
these sands had been Warneshi's for several centuries, and no one
knew how to kill in them like Warneshi did.

Gabricci looked forward as he rode hard and fast to get to hsi
escort, he did not even notice the sands that kicked up around
him, did not see the form that rose from within the storm of
sand. Warneshi stepped forward and grabbed the mount by the neck
throwing it asside like a rag doll. Gabricci hit the sand hard,
he had not even noticed Warneshi, let alone expected that the
troll could stop his mount dead in its tracks. Warneshi snarled
and cackled, he took his time approaching the fallen goblin.

"You think you can run from thisss? Thessse sandss have known
Warneshi longer then you have known your firsst coin. They are
jusst ass much Warneshi'ss weaponss ass thessse axess. Prepare
foolissh one, the demon of the sandss takess you..."

Warneshi heard hoofprints in the sand behind him. He turned and
saw the approaching party of desertmen. The lead one did not even
have time to scream as a axe seemed to grow from his chest.
Warneshi smiled wickedly at the mounted men after felling the
lead with a throw of his axe; these people knew him, he had been
their terror in the night as children, the thing that would creep
up in the night to steal them away. The remaining men drew short
of Warneshi, the could not believe what they saw, and they did
not know how to react.

Warneshi turned his attention back to Gabricci. Giving the goblin
a wicked smirk, Warneshi waited for his move.

[Lilliana]

Lilliana coughed, spraying sand and blood across her face. Her
dark eyes flickered upwards to the sky, seeing nothing after
Gabricci trampled her with his horse. Her body had paralyzed her
with pain, betraying her in more ways than one as she could not
move. Her back broken, her chest an open wound pouring her life
blood willingly onto the hot sands that swirled around her, she
felt her world ending as the darkness called her. Gabricci was
right, there would be no return for her. Even now she felt the
call of her ancestors, a sweet song that whispered temptation
into her ears about the glory of Yeyewata, the great halls where
the spirits of the Sandfury walked. She closed her eyes, tears
wetting her face and mixing with her blood. She wanted Zuru, she
wanted her son, but Gabricci had taken both of them from her.
Lilliana felt a gentle hand upon her, for Bloodshine had raced to
her daughter the instant that Warneshi’s great form disappeared
into the sands to pursue the escaping goblin.

“Lilly….” Lilliana heard her mother’s raspy voice, and for a
moment it interrupted the song of the Sandfury spirits, but it
was only for a moment, for Lilliana was leaving.

“Lilliana, what….Oh no…” Bloodshine’s voice rang of fear. Her
daughter lay upon the sands, now stained with her blood and with
the blood of the infant child, murdered so cruelly by Gabricci’s
old mentor. There would be no coming back for Den’ryu, for the
protection offered by the Horde’s Spirit Healers do not touch
ones as young as Den’Ryu. He was dead, his soul collected by the
spirits of the Sandfury ancestors to place him within the
darkness of halls of Yeyewata to rest for an eternity before he
had even begun to live his life. Bloodshine spent only a moment
looking at the broken and shattered body of her grandson, she was
desperate to save Lilliana, as Lilliana had been to protect
Den’ryu. She had rose totems to ease her daughter’s pain and to
heal her wounds.

But as she spoke her daughter’s name, the shaman leaned forward,
and smelled the taint of a curse within her daughter’s blood. The
sword which had been shattered in Lilliana’s attempt at
destroying Gabricci and saving herself and her son had been a
powerful weapon, whatever enchantments had been placed upon the
blade, now swam through Lilliana’s blood, infecting her.
Bloodshine’s healing powers had no effect upon Lilliana, for she
continued to bleed, life forsaken from Gabricci’s blade. Her
innards were bare and glistening against the cold Tanaris night
as she struggled for breath.

The witch doctor called for another spell, then stopped cold as
the telltale wisps of death began to dance around Lilliana’s
body, pulling her away into darkness of death. Bloodshine cursed
as Lilliana’s life began to leave her and as her soul drifted
away from the welcoming arms of the spirit healer’s guides and
instead headed towards eternal rest. Bloodshine could not stop
it. She did not know what curse and taint rested within the blade
that had cut her daughter, and like Den’ryu, once Lilliana was
gone there would be no coming back.

Bloodshine’s sapphire eyes snapped up and found Warneshi who had
just engaged Gabricci. Eons ago she had convinced his father to
kill Warneshi to protect the Sandfury empire. And Warneshi had
destroyed that empire and all Bloodshine loved in his youth…but
she turned to him now, she knew he was Sys’Thok’s blood, but he
was a troll and a Soul Eater first.

Bloodshine’s quiet and raspy voice bellowed like a tidal wave
across the sands… “Warneshi! I need you, now!”

Warneshi had his axe raised, set within his battle stance and
ready for Gabricci to make his move, but when he heard
Bloodshine’s voice so strong yet so frightened, his eyes turned
just slightly to look towards her and Lilliana’s and Den’ryu’s
broken bodies. That brief moment of his attention being stolen
away from his prey cost Warneshi dearly. Gabricci was not a toy.
The small rogue took the opportunity to slash Warneshi across his
face, blinding him with sand and blood that filled his red eyes
so fast that the king could not figure how it was he was blinded.
Warneshi did not need sight to fight the little demon that had
murdered Den’ryu and broken Lilliana to the pulp that she was,
and he pressed forward, possessed by rage and barely hearing
Bloodshine’s repeated calls until Bloodshine nearly began to cry…

“The halls are taking her Warneshi!”

Warneshi wanted to end this with Gabricci, the darkness that had
nearly over taken the troll king was almost complete, and if only
it could gain a permanent foothold, the goblin rogue would be no
more. He looked again towards Lilliana, and that was enough for
Gabricci to impale the warrior with a dagger in the gut. Warneshi
roared, but when he brought down his axe, a perfect swipe, the
rogue was gone. Vanished.

“Warneshi!” Bloodshine screamed, frantic…. she needed him here
now, damn green goblin be forsaken, she needed him now or her
daughter would be lost to Azeroth forever.

[Warneshi]

Warneshi snarled and roared when Gabricci disappeared, but at the
desperate sound of Bloodshines voice he curbed his rage and made
haste to her side. He gazed down at Lilliana, he could feel her
slipping away, could feel her soul being set free. He fought back
his predatory instinct to devour it and turned his eyes to
Bloodshine. Warneshi knew a way to save Lilliana, and he what
Bloodshine was thinking, but to do this to her own daughter...

Warneshi spoke swiftly and harshly towards Bloodshine.

"You can not think to assk Warneshi what it isss Warneshi thinkss
you wissh him to do..."

[Zuruzuru]

Meanwhile, a short distance away.....

[Keeper Of Lore]

***************************************************************************************

The blackened hut that formerly served as a place of solitude for
the first family of House Sandshadow collapsed under its own
weight, its supports weakened by the inferno within. A plume of
ash and smoke leapt high into an amber sky as the final beam
crashed to the earth. A nearby pack of desert hyenas raised their
noses to the wind, keen senses catching the smell of death in the
air. The scavengers made their approach, dancing about the
remains of the hut, snapping and growling to scare away anything
which may lurk within. Satisfied that the coming feast would have
no disturbances, the pack alpha began to paw at the burnt skins
of the shelter to unearth the meaty treasure within. Confident in
their leader, the others soon circled around, jockeying for
position amongst themselves, each hoping the win the choicest
morsel.

The alpha knew something was amiss, but could not show weakness
now that he had led his brood to their meal. He continued to paw
at the smoldering man-den that lay before him, even as it began
to shudder and quake. The weakest of his thralls yelped in fear
as the ruins began to shift and tumble, while those who would
seek to displace him as alpha remained and bristled. The alpha
sensed danger, and moved to leap back, but it was too late. A
mailed hand covered in soot shot forth from below, gripping the
hyena tightly by the throat. The howling complaints of his pack
were drowned out by Skash's bellowing roar as he lifted the
rubble of the hut which had collapsed upon Zuruzuru, Black Bella,
and himself. The mighty orc pitched the hyena aside, and paid it
no mind as it turned tail and fled, the other carrion eaters
following suit. Skash braced himself and lifted the fallen beams
higher, and from beneath him emerged Zuru, armor covered in blood
and ash. Behind him, dragged by her thick mane of hair, came
Black Bella, thrashing about wildly with her remaining strength
in an attempt to win her freedom.

The combat had been intense, the heat of the flames as great an
enemy as the deadly female rogue. Bella's first blow may have
ended Zuru's life had it not been deflected by Skash's axe. The
warrior charged Bella, calling out to him "Skash help Lilly, now
Skash help yous!" as he savagely engaged Gabricci's agent. The
thought that Skash may have helped deliver Lilliana to safety
renewed the rogue's will to fight. Zuru had only met the
seemingly kind-hearted orc once before, but on this night they
became brothers, baptised together in a rain of blood.

The swashbuckling troll looked half-dead as he stumbled forth
from his family's ruined shelter. Blood and pus wept from the
numerous slahes and burns across his body. His left arm lay
hanging at his side, loosely connected by tendons which only now
began to knit themselves back together. Bella continued to
struggle against Zuru, her every push or pull sending a tidal
wave of agony crashing down upon the rogue. The troll grit his
teeth and shrugged away the pain, his hatred erecting a wall
against all other feeling. Zuru jerked the woman before Skash and
bared her throat to him. "Finish it," growled the troll in a low,
guttural tone.

The orc nodded and heaved the heavy support beam to the ground.
His mighty axe Soulrender slipped out of its shoulder sheath and
into his hand. One solid swing shortened Bella by a head. Zuru
lifted the head to the sky and sounded a wordless cry of victory
to the heavens. Dropping to one knee, the rogue meant to thank
the orc for coming to his aid, but the desert sands seem to spin
beneath him. His last thought was of Lilliana as the ground
rushed up to meet him, and all became black.

Skash hoisted the rogue's limp body over his shoulder and began
trudging towards Gadgetzan, where he had sent his mount Simba
speeding off with Lilliana. The troll's breath was ragged and wet
in the orc's ear. "You no worry, Zuru," comforted the burly
warrior,"Skash get yous back to Lilly safe and sound."

[Skash]

Skash was not badly injured, a few burns here and some cuts
there, but his training as a vanguard of the Grim had paid off
greatly against the woman with black hair. Skash chuckled to
himself as he remembered finishing her off. A valient effort, but
not nearly enough. As Skash trudged back with the broken troll on
his shoulder, he began to notice something odd in the sand not
far off. Elementals... several elementals. Elementals rarely were
seen together in the sandy desert. He kept looking towards them
as he continued to trudge towards Gadgetstan.

A voice on the wind caught his ears. The gutteral battle cry of a
troll. They were far from the sandfury camp but it was a sandfury
battlecry. He heard it again, and immedietly recognised it as
Warneshi. Through the blowing sands he saw the shadow of a fallen
individual Skash could not make out. This was not right. Not
right at all. "Zuru! Skash knows yous hurt, but Skash tink dere
trouble ober dere! Skash tink he hear Warneshi! We go see!"

Skash shifted the troll around on his back to better carry him
for speed and slipped his shield off. He tried to keep him as
comfortable as possible, despite the now bumping being caused
from Skash running. Skash ran as hard as he could, one arm
holding the troll as solidly possible. The closer he got, the
deeper his dread became. Something was most defitnitly not right.
Skash watched the elementals fall as he got closer, then watched
the tyrant engage a goblin in combat. They traded blows, the
goblin scoring some nasty wounds, as it seemed Warneshi was
distracted by the fallen one. There was only one who could make
Warneshi shift his focus like that... Lilliana was the one that
had fallen.

Skash watched the rogue use the sands to his advantage and slip
away from the troll's sight, but Skash was vigilent. He kept
trying to follow his movements, but it was near impossible in the
shifting sands. He redoubled his efforts, breaking into a hard as
a sprint as he could towards the small gathering of trolls. He
came to a sliding stop in the sand, slowly lowering Zuru next to
Lilli. Skash was becomming frantic at this point. He wildly began
looking around, hoping he would not find what he was looking for.

He spied the small, lifeless form nearby. Sweating and panting
from the hard run still, he quickly moved to the baby. Gently
picking up the lifeless body, he looked to Lilli, and back to
Den’ryu. He brought the baby and laid him next to Lilli. Rage,
fear, heartbreak, all of these emotions hit him at once in an
overwhelming torrent. Skash looked to Bloodshine, hoping she had
the power to save them. The emotions were starting to overcome
Skash... he grabbed the tyrant by his shoulders, and asked "Who
do dis... who wus da goblin... tell Skash!" He let the tyrant go
and looked at Lilli and Den'Ryu once more. His pent up emotions
came out in a massive cry to the sands, so primal and raw that
those around him shuddered from it.

[Bloodshine]

Bloodshine sneered when Skash approached. The dear orc's frantic
howl after the shaking of the sandfury King had brought a
disgusted look from Warneshi that foretold the king's own
distress. The witch doctor had not much time and had to work
fast, for with Skash's interuption, as kind as the orc's soul
was, would not help Lilliana. Warneshi was honor bound, and would
not do such a terrible thing to the matron of Sandshadow, even if
it meant saving her life, for the terror that Lilliana would
experience in the interum would be horrific.

Zuruzuru groaned, partially unconscious in the sands beside
Lilliana, he was waking, however. Bloodshine become frantic once
more, for even Zuru would not submit to what she wished Warneshi
to perform. She leaned in close to Warneshi when Skash stopped
howling, his soft grunts of dispair tearing at their hearts.

"Lilliana has served you like no other, and has given you all
that she could, save one thing...." Bloodshine's raspy and old
voice suddenly turned to honey in Warneshi's ears. It was such a
sweet thing to listen to, and her words spoke of such truth and
honesty, Warneshi found himself listening intently to her when at
first he went to sneer at her as he had done with Skash. He
understood a mother's love would drive a parent to do things
deemed insane, but to even suggest that he do this to
Lilliana....

Bloodshine continued, her whispered words a light hearted song
that comforted and teased at the same time. It was comforting to
hear such strong words in a time of such distress. "It would be
an awful thing for the Sandfury to lose one so dedicated to the
cause which we fight for. We all are in need of her. Don't let
her go. We'll retrieve her once she's healed, but if we let her
go now, never will she come back to fight by your side, King
Warneshi, nor will she be able to continue the line of free
Sandfury, taught and brought to love the new empire to which you
lay claim to."

Warneshi grunted fiercly at Bloodshine, but she only countered
with a whisper, "She's needed, don't let her go..." Her spell of
words wove a heavy and dark blanket around Warneshi's own
thoughts, so gentle and so inviting that the old warrior's only
response should only be to believe her, to follow her advice, as
his father had done for many years before Warneshi destroyed his
city those years ago...

[Warneshi]

Warneshi heard Bloodshines words, and he hated them, he despised
them, all he wanted was to strike her down and show her what she
wished to subject her daughter to. Something in her words though,
something made sense. Warneshi looked slowly down at Lilliana,
drinking in the sight of her, remembering days long past.

Bloodshine was right, only one thing could save Lilliana;
damnation would be her salvation. Warneshi sat back on his
hunches, still towering over the whole affair, he closed his eyes
and asked for some ancestor of his people to give him strength.
His thoughts drifted to his father, whom Warneshi knew had been
both wise and fair; as wise and fair as a Tyrant of a brutal
people could be that is. His father has lusted for Bloodshine,
and from his lust was born his and his peoples destruction.
Warneshi choked on the irony, he had lusted for her before, and
from that lust was now born he damnation. It was almost to much
for the Tyrant to bear, but Bloodshines words, they were correct,
only one thing could save Lilliana...

Warneshi leaned in close to the fallen priestess, he took no joy
in this task before, for the first time in his life, he did not
want to eat a soul.

Warneshi cradled Lilliana in his arms, and he knew if he could he
would have cried, but he stood strong, he was a king of his
people and this needed to be done. Warneshi did not choke her,
break her neck, shatter her body as he would of done with any
other victim, instead he held her softy and kissed his fallen
sister Sandfury, not a kiss of lust, but a kiss of respect, a
promise he would save her from this.

Lilliana's soul poured forth as a mist, instead of entering
Warneshi's mouth and his soulless body instantly, the light red
mist of her soul wrapped gently around Warneshi's head, as if
embracing him and forgiving him, then entered his body; damned as
so many others had been before her.

Warneshi looked up to Bloodshine, his eyes were drowned in pain,
and he looked weak, all he could do was kneel there, lost in his
actions. He set Lilliana's body down gently onto the warm sands
and sat back on his hunches, he looked to the world, it was cold,
and barren. The Tanaris desert that had always been his home, his
kingdom, looked like nothing more then what it really was, a
desolate, lonely land that only promised death and suffering to
those who called it home.

[Skash]

Skash did not know what to feel anymore. Rage, hurt, panic,
confusion... it all rushed through him. Skash had seen death, he
dealt it out on a daily basis, but this was different. This was
cruel. This was not honorable battle. This was a cowardly murder,
something Skash only tolerated knowing the rogues of the Grim
slayed for the Grim. Someone would pay. The black haired woman
was not enough, she did not cause this to Lilli directly. Skash
watched Warneshi perform the act before him. Skash did not
entirely understand it, but looked at Warneshi with a burning
espression "Yous keep Lilli safe." Skash nelt next to the beaten
Zuru, and gently lifted his head. "Who wus dat goblin Skash saw
earlier?" he whispered to the troll. Skash then took his axe and
shield, ready to began the hunt. Something was going to pay for
what they did to Lilli.