Chapter 3: Resolutions
In his human form and tucked coolly away in the shadows of the early morning sun, Ren watched from a distance as Seraphita and her new bodyguard exited through the southern gate of Gadgetzan. The two of them rode on long-legged dromedaries into the awakening desert, quickly becoming black specks against rolling hills of sand, until, finally, they disappeared from sight. He would follow after them in an hour or so, riding upon his own lumpy dromedary rented from the same goblin stable master that they had purchased theirs from. As he rode, he was conscious to stay far away, out of sight from them in case they became suspicious, and whenever he glimpsed them on the horizon he fell back, allowing them to pull further ahead.
It was not a long trip - just a little more than a day really - so he traveled light, carrying little else but his sword, a tent and the bare minimum of rations. Still, Ren was not fond of deserts and he considered any time spent in them to be a horrid ordeal. Adjusting the brim of his hat, he surveyed his surroundings: he rode atop an ocean of sun-bleached sand, the countless miniscule beads forming up into massive waves of sand dunes that stretched as far as the eye could see. The sky was overcast, smeared with dark clouds that cast their shadows over the barren landscape and provided some respite from the fierce, overpowering eye of the sun. Hoof prints from the two ahead of him formed a trail in the sand, and he allowed it to guide him, occasionally stumbling upon the remnants of creatures that had crossed their path: basilisks smitten by holy fire, or hyenas ran through by sword. Vultures attached themselves to the corpses, squawking and flapping their wings at him as he passed, wild and desperate from hunger.
"Greedy buzzards, aren't you?" he said, pulling a strip of dried meat out from his pocket and munching on it. "Believe you me, I don't want any stringy basilisk meat." Ignorant of his spoken language, the buzzards continued to hiss at him with their raspy voices. Shrugging, he edged his mount around the great birds and left them to their unsavory meals.
Ren continued on this uneventful journey, no more than an hour or two behind Sera at all times. The trip was dull and he found his mind drawn to the little priestess: specifically, why she had left the boat without him. He had asked this question to himself over and over and had yet to find a good answer for it... at least not one that he liked. Surely it wasn't his fault? Discarding that thought with a firm shake of the head, he rode on for hours, mind occupied by Seraphita and cawing buzzards. When the sun at last began to set behind him he tapped his feet against the sides of his dromedary, entering into a brisk trot that kicked up little motes of sand behind him. Sera would not be far ahead of him. He climbed up a lofty hill of sand and leaned forward atop his mount, squinting his eyes and just barely making out the light of a small fire in the distance.
There she was.
Stealthily, Ren inched himself a touch closer to her encampment and then worked on setting up his own camp. Situating himself at the base of a mountain-like hill of sand that hid him from Sera and her bodyguard, he pitched his tent underneath a jutting rock that soared obliquely into the air. Weathered by the ages and coated in a desert varnish, its surface was cratered with little holes. A curious little lizard poked it's head out from one, nodding up and down as it observed his efforts to strike a fire with flint and his boot knife. After he had finally succeeded in lighting a fire - requiring more attempts than he would be comfortable admitting - the lizard darted it's tongue out and then scurried back into it's hole.
Rummaging through his packs and pulling out some bread and cheese, he sat down next to his little fire, eating and drinking from his waterskin. The temperature dropped like a stone in water as he ate, plummeting to chilling levels within the hour. Savoring his bread and cheese until it was finished, he then warmed his hands upon the fire, reaching his arms out as if to embrace it. Shivering even still, he made the decision to shift into his worgen form; fur sprouted all over his body, covering him from head to toe in dark, chestnut brown hair. It retained the heat of the fire, insulating him from the freezing chill of the desert.
By this time it was fully night, though the light reflecting off of Azeroth's two moons illuminated the sleeping desert and allowed him to see almost perfectly. Looking up at the glowing celestial bodies above him, he felt a strong impulse to yell - or howl as it were. Tired as all, he stifled it, and a protective urge to check on Seraphita's camp took its place. Climbing up to the top of the huge sand dune, he lowered himself onto his stomach and crawled to its apex. Her camp was less than a mile away and he could make out the forms of two tents and a pair of camels, as well as her and her bodyguard, Simon Bolero.
Ren had followed the man a night prior and even struck up a conversation with him, doing his best to learn who he was and what his intentions were. As far as he could tell from his surveillance, as well as the conversations he held with Osric and Simon himself, the man was an ordinary sword for hire with, it might be said, a strong penchant towards drinking. Currently, he seemed to be discussing something with Sera, but not even Ren with his big wolf ears could hear from such a distance.
Satisfied that she was ok but curious as to what they were discussing, he contemplated sneaking closer or simply marching into their camp but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he watched Sera from afar, wishing that he was the one sharing a camp with her rather than this Simon Bolero fellow. He would confront her after he found out what she was up to and not a minute sooner. Still, he did miss her, and it was difficult to stop himself from going over to see her. So, solemn and more than a bit frustrated, he watched over her until she retired to her tent, the light of the moon cutting through the clouds and beaming down upon it as if it shined especially for her.
Lying prone and relaxed upon his belly atop the sand, Ren watched over her for some time longer, acting in a sorts as a second bodyguard until finally, with his eyelids heavy and drooping, he got up and turned back towards his own tent. Stamping out his little campfire, he took one last lingering look at the great big moons filling the heavens. This time he did howl; short and full of woe, he roared against the night sky, cutting through the silence of the desert for a brief moment that he quickly silenced with the clamping shut of his jaw. Feeling strangely better, he exchanged an odd look with his anxious dromedary and then crept into the blanketed confines of his tent where he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
Seraphita awoke abruptly in the middle of the night and immediately sensed that something was wrong. Drawing her holy shield about her, she belted her dagger at her waist and then, silent as she could manage, peeked out of the tent. What she saw made her gut twist into knots and her eyes widen. Three blood elves hovered about the camp, swords in hand and ill intent in mind. The night was darker now, the moons themselves asleep behind blankets of clouds, and the green eyes of the elves glowed like little lanterns in the darkness. On the ground between them was a form that she could only assume was Mr. Bolero.
A streak of white hot anger coursed through her and her eyes, golden unlike the other elves, flared like the sun itself. In an instant she was on her feet outside the tent, barely cognizant of the freezing air. Light gathered in her hands, illuminating the camp and alerting the trio of camp-invaders. They turned to face her just in time for the leftmost one to catch a searing lash of light across the chest. It struck him like a whip diagonally across the torso with a hiss and launched him back into the sand, unmoving with a deep, cauterized wound like a gulley burned into his body. To their credit, the other two reacted with impressive swiftness; the rightmost one jumped in front of the middle elf, holding up a tall heater shield while the one in the middle ducked behind him. It would not save them.
Left hand outstretched with fingers towards the ground, a surge of light that she intended on using as a lance gathered in her palm, warm and comforting for her - just the opposite for them. She raised her hand to end both of their lives in one decisive strike but was stilled by the actions of the middle elf. Sweating despite the frigid air, he emerged from behind his shieldbearing friend, holding Mr. Bolero with a dagger at his throat.
"Turn out the light, priestess, or your human friend's blood will be on your hands." His words were strong but his body trembled, and not from the cold.
"My apologies, Lady Seraphita! The one struggling not to wet himself behind me - " Simon began, but was abruptly silenced.
"Quiet, fool!" the dagger wielding elf hissed, shaking Simon and drawing a tiny trickle of blood.
"Go ahead and kill me," the human continued, "see how long you last afterwards." His captor growled and shook him again, but they all knew that he was right. "He's a rogue - didn't even know he was there until he had his dagger at my throat."
Rogues were sneaky bastards. She had best keep an eye on that one. "What do you want?" she called, light still pulsing in her hand.
"You! Kaerys wants you alive and back by sunrise."
Kaerys. She figured as much.
"Now, put out that light and come with us," the rogue continued. "We know you won't risk this man's life so don't bother trying to wiggle your way out of this one." He didn't sound completely convinced of this himself, but he was right, she couldn't risk Mr. Bolero's life.
With an angry growl of her own, she extinguished the light in her palm and allowed the shieldbearing man to bind her hands behind her back. He did so quickly and with obvious fear but grinned stupidly when he was finished.
"After Kaerys is done talking to you we get to have you," he taunted, lewdly eyeing her body.
Seraphita shivered but said nothing and allowed herself to be lifted on top of her dromedary. Soon, with Simon similarly placed upon his mount and a riderless beast in tow - she hmphed when she passed by the dead elf's corpse - they traveled slowly into the night and towards the man she had been seeking for her entire journey. This was not at all the way she had envisioned meeting him, and anxiety began to well up within her. Her capture seemed to confirm all of her suspicions: Kaerys had been involved in the murder of her fiancé, Halron Goldenheart, and now, it seemed, he planned on being involved in her murder as well. There was no Captain of the Guard to save her this time; she was on her own and she only hoped that somehow she could find a way out of this herself.
They arrived at dawn just as the first rays of sunlight descended from the heavens, swiftly vanquishing the cool night air. Kaerys' camp was fairly large - in fact, it looked more like an abandoned complex than a camp. There were multiple wooden buildings constructed in a revolving circle around the center of the camp. In the middle stood a massive stone fire pit, burned out from a previous night and cluttered with ash and charred wood. Bones, presumably of animals, laid cluttered around it and at the legs of a multitude of chairs.
Seraphita was led to a hitching post where the elves secured the dromedaries and then turned their attentions towards her and Simon. She was roughly manhandled and tossed off of her mount by the rogue, barely landing on her feet without collapsing to the ground. Clicking her tongue angrily, she stood up straight and faced her captors, head held high and unintentionally resembling that duchess persona more than she knew.
"Come with me," he said, and then paused when she stubbornly stood there scowling at him. "I'll drag you through the sand if I have to. Your choice."
A defiant urge to be stubborn about it filled her, but the desire to not be dragged through the desert sand was greater still. So, with Mr. Bolero being shoved towards a different, more run down building, she followed her captor to what seemed to be the sturdiest shack in the encampment. He knocked on a heavy wooden door, partially splintered and chinked with sand, and announced their entry before swinging it open and pushing her inside. She stumbled into a room of odd smells and even odder instruments: Kaerys Soulgazer seemed to be an alchemist - a fitting hobby for a snake such as he - for there were tables lined with an assortment of glass beakers, ampules, alembics and other things that she knew not of. Vials unconnected to a heat source frothed with dark elixirs, and copper coils, twisted like snakes around the tables, fed vast basins of bubbling, viscous liquids. The room was hot and stuffy, though the poor conditions didn't seem to phase its inhabitant.
Kaerys Soulgazer, fitted in a loose robe of purple that was embroidered with intricate patterns of gold, stepped up to her, hands clasped appraisingly behind his back. He smelled of sulfur and was just as ugly and ratty looking as she remembered.
"Tell me, girl: why is the disgraced scion of the Silverbreeze's poking around my doorstep?" His voice was posh, high pitched, and utterly annoying.
"Don't act like you don't know, murderer," she spat, the disgust in her voice evident.
Kaerys eyed her for a moment, head cocked and fingers playing with the wiry whiskers of his goatee as if in deep thought. Finally, he smiled. "Think you've figured things out do you?" he said, turning as if to walk away and then immediately spinning back towards her, an accusatory finger aimed at her. "You and your family threatened to ruin us all! And now I'm here" - he thrust a hand into the air at his side - "hiding like a rat on a continent of barbarians."
Sera laughed a curt, indignant laugh. "You're blaming me for the murder of my fiancé? You must be high on your own fumes; try getting some fresh air for a change."
"So ignorant," he sighed, shaking his head. "There are so few truly prominent families left in Quel'thalas these days... the Scourge made sure of that. Your family is one of them, as is mine." Kaerys stepped away from her and towards an ornate weapon rack. Holding nothing but his crystal-topped staff, it was more like a weapon stand than a rack. He pulled the staff from its holder and tapped it against the floor before continuing. "What your family doesn't seem to understand is the delicate balance of power that we nobility maintain."
"What in the world are you talking about?" she asked, utterly clueless as to the point he was trying to make.
"The land we hold and the resources within our borders gives us power that the crown - or regency - cannot so easily control. I'm sure I do not have to tell you of the markets that your family has cornered."
Seraphita frowned, still not quite understanding what the purpose of his lecture was. It was true that her family owned a sizeable chunk of land - as did numerous other members of the most affluent nobility - and they made a fair deal of their gold from the trading of tin, expensive dyes produced by sea snails, as well as empowered crystals and gems such as the one decorating Kaerys' staff. There were other noble houses just as rich though, so what was his point?
"I can see that you still don't understand," he continued. "I suppose it's not your fault, you are just a pampered priestess, raised until your family was ready to pass you along as breeding stock to another family of similar wealth."
How dare he!
"Sadly," Kaerys said, interrupting an objection forming on her lips, "that is precisely the problem." He pointed the staff gem-first towards her. "Do you see where I'm getting at? Halron's family is just as powerful as yours, and a union between the two of you would have tipped the scales more than we could allow."
Sera struggled to process what the magister-in-hiding was saying. It was simply too absurd to be true, and yet she knew that it was. "You're telling me," she began slowly, her face flushed with anger, "that Halron's murder... my life being completely upturned... all of this was over politics?"
"Yes, politics! Stupid, naïve girl," he hissed. "Hundreds of years old and you still don't understand how the world works. You think we would just sit back and allow your families to consolidate such power? One foolish marriage could have ruined the rest of us!"
Seraphita slowly shook her head in amazed bewilderment, mouth ajar as she looked at the corrupt conspirator. She understood the implications of her marriage - they were why it was arranged in the first place - but never could she have imagined the other noble families feeling so threatened that they would resort to murder. With how he spoke, this went beyond just Kaerys: how many were involved in this plot to tear her life apart by its foundations? How many had conversed with her at galas wearing smiles on their faces, all the while planning this great stab in the back? A new world of wicked men and crooked politics was revealing itself to her, she just hoped she could live to see it torn apart.
"If only your family had accepted my marriage proposal things may have turned out differently," Kaerys said with a sigh.
Marriage proposal? She hadn't even known about that one; her parents always were excellent judges of character.
"Then again..." Seraphita looked up at Kaerys as he turned away from her. Was she mistaken or did he just shiver? "Take her away," he barked, not finishing his previous thought. "You may do with her what you wish, but know that I want her dead and left to the buzzards by sunrise."
The rogue who had escorted her inside - who she had forgotten about entirely during her conversation with Kaerys - chuckled and pulled her towards the exit.
"Come on, priestess, let's have some fun before we have to put you down."
Sera was pulled by the arm and shoved into a run-down building with half of its roof caved in. Landing with a grunt upon the ground - which was covered in a thick layer of sand - she struggled to get back onto her feet, her hands still bound behind her back. The room was empty save for a broken bed and an oval table sprinkled with fine yellow sand. One of the men behind her - for both of the elves that had captured her were present now - pushed her forward towards the table, almost making her fall over again.
"On your knees," the rogue ordered, and then brandished his dagger at her when she stood there glowering at him. "Unless you'd like for me to get my dagger involved in a little foreplay."
"What does it matter? You're going to kill me anyway," she said defiantly. Her shields could protect her for a time, but she would get nowhere unless she could take care of these two. Even then, that would leave Kaerys who was almost certainly some kind of sorcerer... and wasn't he supposed to have hired more guards in Gadgetzan? Surely these elves were those he already had with him when he arrived.
"Relax, Vyan," the shieldbearer from earlier spoke, "perhaps she's just shy." He fumbled with the clasp of his belt, loosening it and then yanking his breeches down to his ankles. "See?" His lips twitched into a mocking sneer. "No need to be shy."
"See what?" Seraphita asked, feigning ignorance and looking him up and down, then around the room and back to him. "I don't see anything?"
The rogue - Vyan - laughed, but the shieldbearer stepped angrily towards her. "Don't let her provoke you so easily, Gelan."
Gelan ignored his friend and reached out towards her, clearly intending to wrap his thick fingers around her throat. His attempted maltreatment was thwarted by a holy shield, humming to life and visibly shining in the air near his hand. It sizzled when he touched it, and he immediately pulled his hand away as quickly as if he had inadvertently placed it atop a hot stove.
"Fucking magic users," he cursed, nursing his hand against his chest.
"Should have known," Vyan said, tossing a dagger at her shield and watching it bounce off. "Well then, I'm going to go check on our other prisoner... I'll leave her to you." He picked up his dagger and then thumped his hand down upon the other man's shoulder before turning to leave. "Come get me when you've broken her."
With that, the rogue left, leaving her and Gelan alone within the ramshackle hut. Wasting no time filling her ears with all kinds of curses and insults, he hacked away at her with an evil, needle-like sword, struggling in vain to make even a dent in her divine shield. Scowling, grunting and sweating profusely, he stabbed at her shield until he had tired himself out and sat in a heap upon the floor, spread-eagle and panting like a dog. Leaning against the table, she smirked down at him arrogantly.
"Don't worry you little bint, that shield won't last the night..." he swallowed a gulp of air, "...and when you've no strength left to maintain it I'll throat-fuck you until you vomit on my cock." Gelan reached into his trousers and began to stroke himself to her, finishing in such a speedy manner that she couldn't help but laugh. Fuming, the man climbed to his feet, long ears flushed crimson with anger.
He was right of course, she couldn't keep her shield up forever; she hadn't had anything to eat or drink and was already beginning to feel lightheaded. Getting ready for another go, her captor tapped his sword against his boot and then raised it, the tempered metal gleaming in the light streaming in from the open doorway, catching her eye and making her squint. It was in this moment that she noticed something peculiar behind the man: an almost imperceptible shimmer distorted the air not even two steps inside of the doorway. The light seemed to bend around it - just barely, and in such a way that would not have registered to her if she hadn't been looking directly at it. It was like a child crawling under a blanket, except in this case the blanket was reality itself. Sera found it oddly disturbing.
Gelan wound his arm up, his body flexing and beginning the earliest motions of a forward thrust - one of many that would chip at her stamina until she was ultimately defenseless - but the thrust never came. He croaked an odd, guttural whimper, his body slouching forward and the light in his eyes snuffing out like a candle flame pinched between two fingers. Another glint of steel caught her eye: this time, however, it was protruding out from Gelan's chest, slick with a brilliant scarlet. Her golden eyes widened in astonishment and she looked back towards where the distortment had been. It was still there, nearly on top of the dead elf, yet it changed, coalescing into something more substantial...
Coalescing into Ren.
He yanked his sword free from the skewered man, allowing his body to crumple into a heap at his feet. Their eyes locked and she blinked incredulously at him, her mouth opening and closing like a fish, unable to think of what to say. She had never expected to see him again and yet here he was, standing tall before her like a hero from a storybook ready to rescue her. Why had he come back to her? Had he? Perhaps he was one of the men that Kaerys had hired back in Gadgetzan. He did say that he was a sword for hire...
"Hello, Sera," he finally said somewhat awkwardly.
"Ren..." she slid off of the table she was sitting on and took a slow step towards him, a confusing mix of emotions rushing through her. "I don't understand. Why are you here?" Even now she felt angry with him, and yet, for reasons beyond just him rescuing her, part of her was happy to see him. Sera had come to enjoy his company during the week that they had spent together, even thought they had begun to develop a bond - one that extended beyond just animalistic sex.
"I've been following you since you left Gadgetzan," he replied, voice soft.
"But why?"
"I was curious."
"Curious?" she asked, anger boiling over. "You fuck me for a week, leave me, and then decide to follow me? What kind of a creep are you?"
"Leave you?" It was Ren's turn to be shocked. "Seraphita, I did not leave you - you left me!"
She snorted a mirthless laugh. "Excuse me? When I woke up you were gone! I asked the shipmaster and he told me you left just as soon as we landed."
"Gone? All I did was meet up with an old friend to learn more about that elven bastard you've been searching for." Ren's anger rose to match hers, though he struggled to keep his voice down. "When I came back you were gone so I asked around town for you; thankfully there aren't too many pretty elf women with blue hair in Gadgetzan so it didn't take me long to track you down to that rat's nest of a tavern."
As she looked up into his eyes, something clicked together. "That was you! You were that drunken idiot across from us!"
"I was not drunk," he said coolly.
Sera's lips curved into an infectious smile that spread to Ren. "Then this was all just a misunderstanding," she said, feeling like the biggest fool in the world. "Why didn't you leave a note or something you big idiot? I felt absolutely terrible... Quickly, untie me so that I can hit you."
Turning around and displaying her bindings, Ren freed her in one clear-cut slice. She turned back to face him and, rather than hitting the worgen, embraced him instead. He hugged her back, pulling her close against him and melting away her doubts in those strong arms of his.
"I'm glad you're ok," he murmured, gently stroking the back of her head.
Reunited and rekindled, Seraphita felt a surge of optimism flow through her. Kaerys would learn that his actions had consequences, and she would be the one to teach him. "We should go," she said finally, pulling away from Ren and then rising up onto her toes to kiss his muzzle. "Thank you for not giving up on me."
"I knew it was just a misunderstanding," he lied, a toothy grin stretched across his face. "I will expect my reward later, of course." Ren gave her a playful swat on the behind.
"And you shall have it - provided we get out of here alive. I have unfinished business with Kaerys that needs to be taken care of." Seraphita pulled away from her furry savior and stretched, loosening her stiff muscles.
"So, I can't just kill him?"
"No, silly... not until I get the information I require, anyways." She finished her stretches and ran a hand through her hair - Light, did she need a bath. "His bodyguards don't seem like much, though I haven't seen the ones he hired in Gadgetzan. One of them is a rogue - a blood elf by the name of Vyan... and not the only rogue in this camp it would seem." She eyed him accusingly.
Ren scratched his brow nervously as he thought of a response. "I don't exactly consider myself a rogue. Actually I'd like to think that I'm more of a jack of all trades... And besides, I didn't really have much time to tell you when we were always - "
"Right, let's go then," Sera said, taking a few steps towards the door while struggling and failing to suppress a smile. "Do you know where my bodyguard is being held?" She hoped he was still alive.
"He's tied up a few buildings over. His guards seem to be treating him rather nicely."
"Well, he did say that Kaerys had hired some of his friends."
"Friends, eh?" Ren stroked his hairy chin. "Perhaps we can persuade them to join us."
"It's worth a shot," she agreed.
He nodded. "Come, I will conceal us."
"That's a very useful spell," Sera noted, recalling the odd distortion of light from before. "How do I know when I'm hidden?" Holding up a hand, she checked to see if she was invisible. She wasn't - not as far as she could tell, anyways.
"You don't, but I do. Stay close to me or it won't affect you."
"Oh, is that why you want me close?" she teased, latching onto his arm.
"This is not the time to tempt me, woman. Let's move."
Nodding and assuming the spell had already been cast, she followed alongside the worgen, hurrying out the door and towards a similarly run down shack. They covered the distance in no time, scampering past the massive fire pit in the middle of the complex and stopping a few feet away from the door of the dilapidated building. As they approached, she could hear muffled voices conversing with one another from inside, interjected now and then by laughter - confirming what Ren had said about Simon's captors.
"I will reveal you when you go inside. Do your best to convince them to either join us or to stay out of our way. If they're men of honor and will not betray their employer, I will kill them."
Something about how easily Ren said that last part frightened her, but she smiled and nodded anyways. "Then let us hope they are not honorable men."
Ren opened the door and stepped inside first, followed by her, unconcealed and fully visible. The old, brittle door creaked, alerting the men of their - or at least, her - presence, and the three bodyguards spun around to face them. They were a diverse band of peoples: a bald human with red-rimmed eyes and skin darkened by the desert sun, a pallid green orc with scars riddling his sleeveless arms like tattoos, and, to her greatest surprise, an exceptionally tall and slim night elf with wild purple hair that curled about his shoulders.
"How did you get out?" the orc growled, reaching for his axe. The other two followed suit, and in an instant she had three weapons brandished at her. Simon just stared at her in surprise.
Seraphita held up her hands placatingly, all the while, and unbeknownst to the sellswords, forming her shields up around her body. "I'm here to make an offer," she began. "Two of Kaerys' bodyguards are dead. They were evil men and no doubt very loyal to him." They seemed surprised by this and, she hoped, a little impressed. "Now, I have not known Mr. Bolero for long, but he seems like a good man and I would like to believe that those he associates with are good men as well." The trio looked down at Simon who nodded, and then quickly rechanneled their gaze upon her.
"I have not lifted a hand against your employer," she continued, "yet he binds me and then leaves me to his men that they may defile and then kill me." A wave of unease seemed to wash over them upon hearing this. It was a promising sign. "I will not ask you to fight for me, but if you at least stay out of my way when I deal with your employer, I will pay you the same amount that I am paying Mr. Bolero: twenty silver each." Finishing, Sera looked into the eyes of each man standing before her and then risked a quick glance to her side where Ren was standing. He was so still that, even knowing he was there, she couldn't see the odd distortions in the air as she had earlier.
"You're asking us to betray our employer." The bald man lowered his sword, because of its weight or her words she didn't know.
"Yes. If you'd like, I can pay you and you can ride back to Gadgetzan right now."
"I heard about what you did to Eranis," the night elf spoke, apparently referring to the man she had slain before her capture, "and now you say that you have killed another of Kaerys' sin'dorei. You must have considerable powers of your own then."
"Correct," she said flatly; She didn't want to give him more information about her than was necessary.
"He's a warlock," the orc spat. "If I had known that before I would have never agreed to work for him."
"Then work for me instead," she insisted.
The three mercenaries turned from her and huddled together, whispering like school children in a classroom until, finally, they split apart and looked at her, weapons sheathed.
"We will aid you," the green man grunted. The other two nodded their approval.
Seraphita smiled. "Wonderful."
Vyan shaded his eyes with a hand as he walked towards the building housing Seraphita Silverbreeze. He had heard nothing from Gelan and his patience was at its limit: if Gelan couldn't break her, he would. Then, it suddenly struck him that he might have indeed broken her and was currently using her without telling him first. Quickening his step and stomping his feet, Vyan called out to the other elf as he approached the doorless shack.
"You'd better be working on her shield in there, Gelan! I will not degrade myself by screwing your sloppy seconds!"
Marching into the sandy-floored building, he came to an abrupt halt within the doorframe, his emerald eyes widening in surprise. Inside, Gelan laid in a heap like a bundle of forgotten laundry, a large hole in his back. The ground around him was damp and dyed red with blood. Did the bitch do this? But what of the-
Something moved out of the corner of his eye and he lunged forward, narrowly evading a thrust that would have skewered him through the heart.
"A rogue!?" he snarled, spinning to meet his attacker.
The space where he had stood moments prior shimmered and wavered, the mirage falling apart until at last his assailant was revealed.
"W-worgen?" The beast filled the doorway, blocking the only exit with its massive girth. It was wearing leather armor - perhaps riveted with steel plates? - but its arms were uncovered save for its deep brown fur. If he could just land a hit with one of his poisoned blades the beast would go down as easily as a gnome.
The goliath struck at him again, using a sword that seemed far too small for it, and he easily parried the strike. Taking another step back towards Gelan's corpse, he studied the hairy man-beast. Despite missing each of his blows, it seemed to be smiling, revealing rows of splendid white teeth, many of them razor-sharp. Its grin was mocking and it enraged Vyan.
"Are you lost, dog? You had best leave while you still have that pretty fur coat." He brandished his daggers and fell into the most basic of stances that had been taught to him, waiting for the next strike to make his move. He was not so foolish as to rush headfirst into a worgen.
"A very useful spell, indeed," the worgen rumbled, sounding pleased with itself.
Useful spell? "Make sense, you rabid animal!"
It seemed to be looking past him, ignoring his taunts and nodding. Perhaps it really was mad. He narrowed his eyes. Useful spell...
Vyan whirled and noticed for the first time a distorted movement in the air near the table in the center of the room. Cursing, he rushed towards it as the prisoner from earlier appeared in front of him, her eyes blindingly bright and her hair a radiant blue. Her left hand pulsed with light, but whatever spell she was casting seemed incomplete for he had yet to be struck down. There was still time! Grinning wickedly, he aimed both of his daggers so as to impale her in a downwards strike on either side of her neck. His blades fell upon her - and reflected off of her shield with a pathetic screeching of metal.
That fool Gelan hadn't weakened her shield in the slightest!
"I am not broken," she said, voice like steel and her hand rising so that her fingertips brushed against his chest.
A burst of light that burned like fire smashed into him, throwing him to the ground next to Gelan. He was dead before he hit the dirt.
"Are you alright?" Ren touched Seraphita's arm in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture. She leaned into him and sighed, her sapphire-blue hair falling around her face like curtains.
"I don't like to hurt people," she spoke, voice soft.
"I know."
"They never give me much choice though."
"I know. That's how it usually is with bad men." he reassured.
She looked up at him, a smile on her lips. It was a sad smile and her face was smeared with dirt, but even still her beauty shined through.
"I'll take care of Kaerys," he offered.
Seraphita laughed at this. "You know, you're quite the gentlemanly knight... for someone who lacks proper pant-wearing etiquette." She pushed against him playfully and then pulled away from him. "No, I have questions to ask the magister. We will handle him together."
"Assuming the orc's plan doesn't work, that is," he grunted.
"Let us hope that it does."
Murg's plan was simple: he would tell Kaerys that the elf lady escaped and then sucker punch him in the gut when he was busy raging. Afterwards, they would chain him up and interrogate him. It was a good, orcish plan, no need for any theatrics.
So it was that he hurried towards the cabin of his now former employer, a purpose in his step that he hoped would fool the warlock. It would not be difficult for him to act surprised over the prisoner's escape, for he was surprised; how did she manage to escape and then kill both of those elves? One of the fools must have untied her. Cocky idiots.
Murg was almost there. "My Lord!" he shouted, addressing the elf more politely than he ever had before. He yelled again: "My Lord!" His feet bounded up the steps and onto the porch of Kaerys' rickety dwelling. A muffled shout yelled something unintelligible back at him and then the door to the hut burst open with all of the anger of its hateful master.
"What is it you green-skinned buffoon!?" Kaerys barked, stepping out to meet him. "I'm trying to scry somebody very important and you're ruining everything!"
"The prisoner has escaped!" Murg said, feigning distress.
"Which one, fool? Spit it out!"
Just another step... "The elf woman."
Kaerys' eyes bulged and his body seemed to tremble in rage, a thick angry vein pulsing across his temple. He hammered the butt of his staff against the ground like a petulant child and then opened his mouth to speak.
Murg lunged forward, his big green fist balled and aimed at Kaerys' stomach.
Kaerys staggered backwards, trying and failing to evade Murg's surprise attack. The orc's fist slammed into his stomach in what would have been an incapacitating blow had he not hastened a minor defensive spell. His skin hardened just before impact, nearly sending him sprawling to the ground despite absorbing most of the attack. Wildly, he battered at the air before him with his staff and launched a series of random fireballs in front of him. Two of them whizzed through the air, striking nothing, but one of them caught the orc in the shoulder, causing him to curse and halt his assault.
"Traitor!" Kaerys snarled, regaining his footing and focusing his gaze upon the scorched orc who was cradling his right arm. Fingers crackling with felfire, he wove a furious incantation: the fire at his fingertips took flight, coiling in the air around Murg but not yet seeking his life.
"Who put you up to this?"
"Piss off, demon cock-sucker," Murg growled.
"Tell me and I'll ensure that your death is painless."
"Ok, it was your mother - you're so ugly not even she wants you around."
Typical savage. No matter, he would wring the truth from the rest of them. Lips curving into a wicked grin, Kaerys curled his fingers, balling his hands into fists and directing the felfire swimming in the air around Murg to enclose upon him. The harsh green flames moved to obey him but they abruptly stopped, pressing and spreading out against a glowing barrier of light.
The damn priestess!
Wide eyed and frantic, he released the spell and the flames struggling to reach Murg dissipated in a puff of smoke. Searching, he found the shield's mistress: Seraphita Silverbreeze was approaching from his right side, accompanied by two of his other bodyguards and the human that had been captured along with her. How had he only now noticed her? Perhaps his father was right; maybe his anger really did blind him.
"I see you've seduced my hired help. Was it with coin or your body?"
"I have some questions to ask of you, Kaerys," she said, ignoring him.
The nerve of this girl!
"Who else was involved in the plot against me and Halron?" she resumed, striding up to him until she was only a few yards away. His, or rather, her bodyguards stopped farther back behind her.
"I assume you've taken care of Vyan and Gelan then, girl?"
She nodded. "Answer my questions and I will spare you from sharing their fate."
"Pfagh!" Kaerys spat at her and missed. "It was a mistake to kill Halron instead of you - he wouldn't have had the guts to confront me." He reached into his baggy robe and pulled out a crystal, glowing violet. Crushing it between his fingers, the air before him immediately began to vibrate and a shadowy, amorphous form popped into being in what felt like a wholly unnatural manner.
Wordlessly, and with a flare of his burning eyes, he directed the summoned voidwalker at Seraphita and her traitorous band of mercenaries. It turned, sluggishly, and then lurched towards them, its form shifting with every shuffle forward. It was but a minor summon, but it would keep them occupied while he dealt with the priestess; she would not be able to deal with it and himself - at least not for long. Furrowing his brow, Kaerys raised his staff into the air. A storm of purple-black energy seemed to draw towards its apex, concentrating into a ball of dark matter that thrummed like thunder. The sparse shrubs around him browned, the life sucked out of them to be used in his wicked convocation. Seraphita caught his eye and he moved to put an end to her life, aiming the unholy spell at her with a tilt of his staff.
Something immensely strong took hold of him as he did so, forcing his arm upwards as a blow struck against his back and near his neck. Crying out, and his concentration interrupted, the spell backfired, changing course towards what he was focused upon - whatever it was assaulting him. The energy flowed into his staff as it turned towards his attacker, who was, unfortunately for Kaerys, directly behind him. Mind reeling from the physical blow that was struck against him, he hastily terminated the spell. He had done it haphazardly, however, and without proper direction it exploded rather than dissipated, splintering his staff into countless little pieces.
Kaerys - and whatever it was behind him - flew backwards into the hot desert sand. He landed on his back, unmoving and unconscious by means of his own spell.
"Stop fidgeting," Seraphita ordered. The priestess stood over Ren, arms outstretched and hands hovering over his prone body. A gentle light enveloped him, healing the wounds he had sustained from Kaerys' reckless spell.
"It burns!" he complained.
"That's probably just your muscle fibers regenerating within the span of a few seconds," she reassured. "Now be a good boy and stop moving lest I screw up your musculature."
The worgen grumbled but did as he was told. If not for her quick shielding both he and Kaerys would probably be dead or at the very least seriously injured. Even shielded, the magister had absorbed the brunt of the spell and had required extensive healing. Sera had not healed him fully, just enough to save his life, and he was still unconscious . So, huddled in one of the decrepit wooden buildings forming the complex, her, Ren, Simon and the other three men waited for Kaerys to regain consciousness.
After an hour passed, Murg, his burn healed, had the idea to douse the elf in water. Nodding her consent, the orc did just that, rudely awakening his former employer who coughed and struggled to sit up. His face twisted into a scowl upon inspection of his caretakers.
"One whore and five whoresons. What dreadful company," he sneered.
"You are only alive because of her," Ren growled, standing beside Seraphita and resting a hand fondly atop her shoulder. "Give me the word, Sera, and I will flay the skin from his scrawny body."
"Calm yourself," she told him, patting his furry hand then directing her words once again to Kaerys. "Earlier, I told you that I had some questions. Answer them and there will be no skin flaying."
"Fine," he huffed, struggling to even sit up straight.
Finally, answers! Seraphita thought. "Who was involved in this conspiracy against me and Halron?"
For a moment Kaerys just glared, but then he spoke: "There were three others," he coughed,"...Tallaris Goldbinder, Satheas Dawnsinger, and Vya'thaes Highfury." She knew each of these names, and Kaerys seemed to take particular pleasure in her indignation as he mentioned them; then, his face twisted into an ugly scowl. "Vya'thaes came to me with the idea... he had already talked it out with the others but he needed me for the practical side of things - and for me to take the fall if need be." His words were dripping with hatred as he spoke this last part.
"Practical side of things?" she asked.
"I hired the assassin. I told him to plant the evidence. I chose for Halron to die instead of you - stupid as that was. I planned it all." He seemed to take pride in this acknowledgement of misdeeds - like an exciting secret that he finally got to tell.
"And now you're here, hiding from Vya'thaes' assassins I presume," she said smugly. It was more of a statement than a question, but Kaerys nodded gravely. "Who was this assassin that you hired?"
"Some human," he grunted, and then added: "Male."
"You don't know his name?"
"No," His eyes shifted to the three bodyguards he had hired, eyeing them appraisingly.
"What did he look like?" she pressed.
Kaerys' gaze slowly focused on her and then he opened his mouth as if to speak.
Seraphita felt a malevolent force grip and tug at her soul, stealing at her life force and drawing it towards the magister's open mouth. For a moment it seemed as if Kaerys' own gnarled hand was wrapped around her heart and a frigid cold shrouded her goosebumped body. Gasping, she threw up her shield and glanced at Kaerys, then at Ren and the others who were experiencing similar treatment. Extending her shield to Ren, she gathered an unfocused bundle of light within her hand and directed it hastily towards their attacker.
Kaerys hissed but didn't let up; his spell was still draining the three mercenaries who were hunched over and gasping, skin sickly, bodies shriveled and hair streaked grey. She blasted him again, filling the room with a flash of blinding light. He yelled something inhuman and ceased his life-thieving spell, instead pressing a now free hand against the wall of the building. It blew outwards and he hopped through the charred opening, followed quickly behind by Ren and Seraphita. Sickly green bolts of fire splashed against the side of the building, and another was swatted aside by one of Ren's bulky arms like a pesky fly.
"Shield me!" he yelled, and then charged at the juiced up magister. Kaerys was not the type Ren would ever want to confront head on. Normally, he would have a plan in place to assassinate the elf without him even seeing him - sadly, one didn't always get the benefit of drawing out a plan.
"Done!" Seraphita shouted, forming a shield around Ren. Divided equally, their shields would be at half strength; instead, she took a risk: she did not shield herself. If Kaerys directed an attack at her, she would just need to be quick enough to shield herself before it hit.
His padded feet thumping against the dirt, Ren covered the distance between him and the warlock in little more than an instant. He raised his sword and slashed at the other man's head, nearly decapitating him if not for a demonic claw that swatted his sword off course. Up close as he was, Ren got a better look at Kaerys' body: it was twisted - deformed in some horrifying gambit for power. His hands were misshapen, adorned with dark scales and jagged claws longer than even Ren's. Curled horns rose from his temples, and his face, ugly before, was now monstrous.
The transformed magister's other terrible hand rose up, swiping at empty air as Ren dodged out of the way. Before he could properly catch his footing, a swirling bolt of shadow came hurling towards him. It struck his shield with an angry sizzle, bending it inwards but not breaking through. Growling, Ren charged again, swinging his sword in a feint and then slamming his boot into the magister's stomach when he moved to block it as he had before. Kaerys staggered backwards and snarled but did not fall over as Ren had hoped he would. Instead, the crazed elf grabbed his sword with one hand and raked at his shield with the other, his dagger-like claws alight with felfire.
Quickly, Ren grabbed hold of the hand clawing at him and simultaneously dropped his sword, bending down to reach for his boot knife instead. Kaerys flung the sword away and began channeling another shadowbolt. Before he could release it, however, Ren lunged at him, stabbing him in the eye. Kaerys howled and his body exploded in a wall of flame, enveloping him but not harming him. Ren jumped backwards as the warlock backed away from him, clawing at the knife and throwing it to the ground, leaving his left eye a disgusting mass of bloodied gore.
Seraphita ran up behind Ren and touched his arm. "I'm not sure how much longer I can sustain your shield." She lacked sleep, food, water, and had been healing and shielding all day. Frankly, she was exhausted.
"Just do the best that you can," he replied, exchanging a smile and a nod with her.
Kaerys emerged from his cloak of fire, the flames gradually subsiding to leaping, crackling tongues of fire that licked at the air around the magister. His body shook with rage, black blood streaming down his deformed face. "Katra zil shukil!" he screamed, voice booming.
Sparing no time for a translation, Ren charged the warlock one more - and hopefully final - time. Swirling bolts of felfire and shadow reflected off of him as Kaerys raged, the shield that Sera cast on him sizzling and sparking, barely holding on and glowing a threatening red. It bulged inwards and finally burst, allowing a searing ball of fire to catch him in the chest. He staggered down to his knees, clutching his chest while Kaerys barked an otherworldly laugh, his hands raised as he sought to channel the spell that would end Ren's life.
Kaerys' laughter turned into a cry of pain as two solid tendrils of light twisted around his arms, searing his skin and pulling them up into the air above his horned head.
"Ren!" Seraphita yelled, but he was already back on his feet. Claws bared, he swung at Kaerys' throat, ripping it out with a fountainous spray of blood. For a moment the warlock sputtered, his eyes not seeming to comprehend his defeat, and then he was gone, his body limp in the grasp of Sera's bindings. They dissipated and he dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Seraphita's arms were upon Ren then, spinning him around so that he was facing her.
"Are you alright?" she asked, examining the area where he had been struck. His leather armor was burned through, exposing the riveted plates beneath. "I can heal you."
"I'm fine," he rumbled and then pointed back towards the blown out building. "Save your energy for them." Simon and the three mercenaries were peering back at them through the hole in the wall, alive but looking like ancient, fossilized versions of themselves.
Too tired to argue, Seraphita nodded and made her way back inside, calling upon the Light - and her reserves - to see what she could do about the sickly looking men.
After healing each of the men so that they would be capable of traveling, and ensuring that there would be no permanent damage, Seraphita ate a light meal and then collapsed into the first bed she could find, watched over by Ren who - to her great annoyance - insisted that she had been snoring. Regardless, it was a much needed rest; she felt as if she could take on Kaerys all over again should he arise from his eternal slumber, unlikely as that was considering they had destroyed his soulstone. So, having found the answers she sought, they burned the bodies upon the fire pit, gathered their belongings - and those of Kaerys for he would surely not need them anymore - as well as supplies and then left upon the backs of their dromedaries, four riderless steeds in tow.
As was so often the case, the return trip through the desert seemed to pass by faster than the initial journey, and after one night's rest, they arrived back in Gadgetzan late in the morning. Simon and the others still looked like they had aged several decades and so, after they had returned their mounts to the stablemaster, they accompanied her to Claudia's modest little hospital. Stepping inside, they found the building empty of the honey-haired physician, but her son, whom Sera estimated as being around eight years old, greeted them with a blank stare.
"Mother!" he finally called, and not long after Claudia emerged from a previously unnoticed backroom, her hand swiping aside a cloth tapestry separating the two areas.
"Oh my, back so soon, priestess Seraphita?"
"I missed your teasing," she smiled, and then more seriously: "Can you help these men?"
Claudia looked past her at the men seated near the entrance and they stood up, withered heads inclining respectfully. She tapped a finger against her chin. "Warlock troubles, hm?" They nodded dejectedly, avoiding her gaze. "Sure, I can take care of them. Seems like they mostly just need some rest, though."
"I'll cover the cost." Sera felt vaguely responsible for what happened so she figured that it was the least she could do.
"Okay." Claudia looked over the men once more, her gaze curious. "So... which one of you is the worgen?"
"Claudia!" Sera squeaked, but the priestess ignored her and turned to Ren who had his hand raised. She shuffled over and whispered something in his ear that caused the both of them to giggle like children. "What are you telling him?"
"Nothing, dear," the human woman said, smiling and walking over to her son who eyed the scene with a puzzled fascination, understanding that something was going on but not quite sure what it was. "Come on then," she barked with a clap of the hands, "you're all dirty and need a bath before you stink up the place. Who's first... the orc? The rest of you can fetch water from out back." Claudia herded them out of sight and then focused her attention back to Sera and Ren.
"You have a place to stay I presume?"
They nodded.
"Right then, go on and get yourselves cleaned up so you can properly enjoy each other's company - doctor's orders." Ignoring Seraphita's protestations, Claudia shooed them out of the building and then waved goodbye. "Come back in a day or two when you're ready to pay!" she called, and then shut the door behind her.
"So... your place or mine?" Ren asked.
Back at her apartment in The Golden Oasis, Seraphita paced anxiously about the room, her damp hair wrapped up in a plush towel while her curvy body rebelled against the cotton confines of a red-dyed bathrobe. She had bathed first and now Ren was taking his turn - as well as his time - but soon he would emerge from the washroom, wet, clean and naked. She was giddy and nervous, though she knew not why. It hadn't been long since they were last together and their little misunderstanding had been resolved, yet even still she couldn't help but feel that there was an awkwardness between them... Or maybe it was just her? Lost in thought and murmuring to herself how silly she was being, Sera opened the doors to the balcony and stepped outside, inhaling the fresh air and enjoying the warm sun on her skin. Below her, people of all races moved through the streets like a coursing river, some fast, some slow, but none of them noticing her - or the large worgen sneaking up behind her.
She gasped as Ren's all-encompassing arms took a firm hold on her, pulling her back against his muscular girth. He was naked, that much was obvious, and his semi-rigid tool poked against her enticingly. Flustered, she wiggled around in his arms to face him.
"What are you doing?"
"All that time together back on the ship and you still have to ask?"
She swallowed. "I'm still mad at you, you know."
"I said I was sorry," he said, voice low and husky. "How can I make it up to you?"
Hunched over, his face was inches from hers, his steely blue eyes captivating and making her catch her breath. Not trusting her mouth to properly form words, she licked her lips and turned her head away from him coquettishly, displaying her cheek and her slender neck in a submissive gesture that made the worgen's nostrils flare with desire. Responding to her wordless invitation, he licked her cheek affectionately and then ducked his head into her neck, breath hot against her tender skin.
Then his tongue reached out, caressing her skin and filling her stomach with a frenzy of butterflies. Seraphita whimpered and reached for him with her hands, one upon his head and the other upon his arm. They stroked at his still-damp coat, her fingers curling and grasping at his beautiful brown fur. Another lick and then a sharp, prickly sensation: Ren teased her with his teeth, each as sharp as a knife yet gentle and measured enough not to draw even a droplet of blood. Her heart pounded - he could hear it, she knew, even smell her arousal - and she felt overwhelmed, the butterflies in her stomach wild with excitement.
Ren glided downwards, peeling apart her bathrobe and catching her milky white mountains, each full and plump and topped with sensitive pink nubs that he teased wonderfully. She shivered, arching her back and pushing her large breasts against him as he licked and lifted them with his strong, pleasing tongue, marking them with his hot saliva. He indulged himself with an almost childlike curiosity, claiming one mound with his tongue and the other with a careful hand, licking and squeezing until his curiosity turned elsewhere. Lowering himself further, he drew his snout to her womanhood and huffed, tickling her with a tantalizing breath of hot air.
"Ren? Maybe we should go inside," Seraphita breathed, pressing together her shapely thighs in a poor effort to cover herself.
"Why, don't want people to see you?" Ren growled, nearly melting her resistance with his voice alone. "I know you don't mind if people hear you." His mouth opened and he brought his tongue to her quim, sliding it across and parting her folds with a tease of her little clit.
"Oh, you vulgar man," she whined, thumbing at one of his furry brown ears. "Please..."
He hesitated mid-lick. "Alright, Sera."
Bundling her up in his arms, he retreated from the balcony and then lowered her onto the bed. It was a large bed, fit for royalty and more than large enough for an elf and a worgen to make love upon. Stripping out of her bathrobe, she tossed it aside and then laid back against a soft pillow, legs spread and her lips glistening with arousal. Ren was on her immediately, head between her thighs and his tongue exploring her nethers. He drank of her juices, lapping at her pussy like a dog drinks water, making Seraphita croon and squirm, twisting at the lily-white sheets with one hand while the other aided her in anxiously chewing at a lock of blue hair.
It was wonderful, and then his tongue really entered her and it became even more wonderful, slithering deep and exploring her pink depths while a deft finger circled around her clit again and again. He worked her expertly, affectionately and with the surging heat of a desire that lent itself to her own lustful fervor. It grew not gradually but rapidly, until her thighs trembled around the head of her worgen lover and her moans could no longer be contained. The pleasure was almost too much to bear, sinful - for surely it had to be - and magnificent as it blossomed into an orgasm. This time her whole body trembled, hips bucking against Ren's handsome face as she climaxed with a gasp that morphed into a throaty moan. Ren slowed but didn't stop until her fit was over, his brilliant blue eyes fixated on her. Catching her breath, she looked down at him and their eyes met, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering again, drifting up to her chest and making her heart swoon. Seraphita couldn't read the expression in his pale eyes, nor could she look away and she shivered when he dragged his tongue slowly over her slit and against her swollen nub.
Light, this man did things to her.
Ren rose up, cupping her face with a large hand and giving her cheek a fond lick. Without thinking, she turned her head and caught his tongue in an awkward kiss that surprised the both of them. His tongue quickly overpowered hers and she moaned into him, eyes squeezed shut as his fingers roamed between her legs. Breaking off the kiss with a trail of saliva, he stroked her hair and then repositioned them both away from the headboard so that he could more easily service her. Sera spread her legs for him immediately, and he settled in between them, his hulking body laying atop hers with his weight supported by his muscled forearms. He was so much larger than her; looking up, she could see nothing but his chest unless she reclined her head. His manhood poked against her, glazing pre-cum against her soft skin, and he reached down to grasp at it, guiding it to her entrance and rubbing it up and down her folds.
It was far from her first time with the man, yet Seraphita felt excited beyond words as Ren teased his girthy head against her lips. She burned with an immeasurable desire, yearning to be filled, penetrated, ravaged, knotted and seeded. It was only then that she realized, with her lover knocking against her door, that she had forgotten to cast a contraceptive spell.
"Wait!" Her hands reached up and pressed against the worgen's chest, her efforts to move him as futile as the wind struggling to topple Silvermoon's great spires. Nevertheless, Ren stopped and craned his head to look down at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked, concern in his gravelly voice.
"I forgot my spell..."
For a moment Ren just looked at her confused, but then he understood and his eyes lit up. "So then forget it." He shifted his mass backwards so that they were face to face and then treated his tongue to her neck, eliciting little mewls from the confused elf.
"What if I get pregnant... have a litter of your puppies?"
"You know that's not how it works, Sera."
"How do you know?" she asked, knowing that he was right.
"Claudia told me."
Of course she did. Seraphita sighed. "...But if I do get pregnant?"
"I'll take care of you. I have money - probably more than you do, now - and I'm already in this together with you."
"How do you mean?" She moaned softly as Ren's tongue trailed over her breast.
"I killed Kaerys. Nearly cut his head off if you don't remember?"
"You could leave, though."
"I won't." The licking stopped and instead he stared into her eyes. Beyond their beauty she saw a man - a good man that wasn't lying when he said that he wouldn't leave her.
She swallowed. "You're trying to seduce me, Ren Branson." Her voice wavered a bit, but there was a cheerfulness to it.
"Trying?" he asked, sounding offended.
Sera laughed, and then after a moment of reflection opened her mouth to speak. "Alright, you win: no protection."
Ren grinned and gave her a loving lick on the forehead before reassuming his previous position, manhood pressing against her womanhood. This time, it entered her, spreading her lips and plunging deep into the heated depths of her core. Seraphita moaned unabashedly, angling her hips up into the worgen as he fed his length into her inch by incredible inch. She needed this - needed him - and she closed her eyes, delighting in and surrendering herself to the sensations of their lovemaking.
He bottomed out inside of her, his sexy baritone growls and grunts making her long ears quiver in pleasure. For a while he remained as such, grinding himself against her and enjoying the feeling of her tight walls contracting against him, until at last the thrusts began. Long, deep, and initially slow, they quickly ramped up to a brisk rut with his balls smacking against her upturned behind and her dainty feet wiggling in the air. Seraphita was reduced to a quivering mess in no time at all, and, after a series of exultant moans, she cried out against the giant mass of muscle and fur working her body. Her hands clutched at his back, digging into his brown coat as she shuddered and climaxed, providing further lubrication for Ren as he ravaged her insides.
Despite her orgasm, the thrusts continued with unrestrained ferocity, and with it, unrestrained pleasure that coursed through both worgen and elf alike. It was better than anything before, even their time spent upon the ship, and she struggled to maintain even a single thread of coherent thought. Ren was a beast and he fucked her like one, the force of their mating rocking and straining the luxurious bed as he dominated her voluptuous body atop it, claiming her as his. The headboard tapped loosely against the wall and the bedsprings squeaked piteously - begging for relief - but the only sounds that seemed to touch her ears were Ren's animalistic moans as he filled her over and over, hammering at her well-lubed cervix and making her toes curl as they bounced in the air on either side of his body.
Seraphita lost track of the time she had spent underneath the pillaging worgen, but, amazing as their coupling was, the time seemed to fly by at a dreamlike pace. The pleasure was almost too much for her small elven body to bear, if such a thing was possible, yet she found herself wanting more; wanting something that she had first experienced during her maritime journey to Gadgetzan - Ren's knot. She had become addicted to it during their week spent together. She wanted to feel it push into her, to hold her in place and show that she was his as he pumped her full of his baby batter. Even now she could feel it trying to enter her, could hear Ren's frustrated growls as he struggled to slam it home.
Just as he was excited to give it, she was equally as excited to take it, and she pushed herself up into him, doing her best to aid him in his conquest of her body. It was the best she could do, and, after a flurry of powerful thrusts, her efforts paid off. Ren's hips collided with hers, burying his cock deep within her and then continuing, sinking his red hot knot within her sopping pussy. It began to immediately enlarge, seeking to complete its task of securing her in place as her furry lover howled like a wolf possessed. Seraphita nearly did the same, crying out in sublime ecstasy, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around Ren as her body shuddered in a blissful orgasm that had her seeing stars.
Locked in place underneath the massive worgen, she could do nothing as his balls unloaded their payload within her, drenching, coating and flooding her insides with a sea of potent sperm that had but one goal in mind: fertilizing her. Still moaning, her addled thoughts briefly turned to the fact that she had not cast her birth control enchantment and she found that even now, thousands of miles away from home and in the process of being bred by a worgen, she was truly fine with her decision to forgo it. She smiled deliriously and crooned when Ren bucked against her with a huff of his nostrils, ensuring that she was utterly stuffed full of cock, cum, and a knot that stretched her pussy to its absolute limit.
Duty finished and his balls momentarily spent, he relaxed atop her, his big hairy form enveloping her small frame like a cozy blanket pulled over her. She closed her eyes, chest heaving and mouth swallowing air, enjoying the fullness that she felt as well as the feeling of what seemed to be an ocean of cum sloshing about within her. Content with the ramifications of such, Seraphita resigned herself to fate and basked in the aftermath of their passionate lovemaking. Her hands stroked adoringly at Ren's back, running happy fingers through his fur and caressing his muscles. He rumbled appreciatively, sending vibrations through her and making her feel as if she was lying at the base of a great volcano stirring from its slumber. Though neither said a word, she found that such things were unnecessary; worgen and elf reveled in silent affection for one another, the lull in their coupling giving the bed a much needed break.
Joined together as they were, this did not stop Ren from pulling and tugging at her insides as he tested their bonds, and as they waited nearly half an hour for his knot to diminish in size, his virile balls continued to churn and produce more creamy batter that he spurted into her already inundated depths. It was such a great amount that her tummy seemed to bulge, and she felt that she might pop if a pin was brought to her skin. Regardless, many minutes and many spurts after her initial knotting, Ren's cock retreated from her sodden depths, allowing a syrupy stream of cum to flow from her abused hole. She sighed a sigh of utter satisfaction, and her lover's face came to fill her field of vision. Her hand reached up to touch at his face.
"You're amazing," she breathed, voice barely a whisper.
"You're not bad yourself." His eyes sparkled and he drew his tongue from her cheek and up to one of her long, sensitive ears. Sera shivered, that fire inside of her growing hot once more. "Ready to go again?"
Seraphita nodded and let go of the worgen; he pulled away from her and sat back on his knees, his manhood standing like a mighty obelisk that demanded her worship. Apologizing in advance for her blasphemy, she swallowed and crawled towards him, bringing herself in and inhaling his musk, then darting her tongue out for a quick taste followed by another and another, lavishing broad tongue-laps upon his shaft. She bathed him in her saliva, returning the oral-favor from earlier, cleaning him of cum and all of their juices with wanton moans and coos. Then, licking her lips and tucking a curious strand of sapphire hair back behind one of her sharp elven ears, Sera leaned forward.
Ren's member slid into the warm confines of her mouth where it came to rest atop her spongy tongue; she wiggled it against him before beginning to lazily suck him off, her full lips, coated in a midnight blue lipstick, dragging along his length. His masculine flavor enticed her, inflaming her feminine desire for the man squirming beneath her ministrations, and she purred happily as she worked him over. With each languid bob of the head she devoured half of his crimson-hued girth, trailing a waterfall of saliva as she went and enjoying Ren's throaty groans as well as the way his ears curled and uncurled from the pleasure he was receiving. At this, Seraphita giggled a muffled laugh and wrapped her hands around the bottom half of his cock, twisting and jerking at it as she loudly slurped his member, her own ears pressed diligently against her head.
Pulling away to catch her breath and clear her throat, she felt Rens manhood press against her cheek, smearing his pre-cum against her skin.
Without uttering a word, Seraphita shot him a coy smile, eyes large and inviting. She pressed her impressive bust together between her arms and looked up at the worgen, presenting her face to the cock towering over it.
Unable to resist, Ren gripped his tool, thumping and dragging his length over her features, smearing her with his essence and turning her mind hazy. Then, having had his fun, he pressed the head of his member against her berry-blue lips, growling when she obediently opened her mouth and took to suckling on his head like a goblin vacuum cleaner. And as she worshiped his tip, twirling her tongue around it, poking at his urethra, and swallowing his pre-cum, Sera's golden eyes stared up into his icy blues. He squirmed under her gaze, mouth ajar and panting, struggling not to erupt inside of her greedy mouth... or perhaps across her pretty face.
Sera pulled away, a sly smile on her face. There was an aching desire in her loins now and she badly needed it filled. Twisting around, she crawled onto her knees and lowered herself against the bed, face planted against the sheets and her plump rear-end presented to Ren. Snaking a hand underneath herself, she reached between her legs and cupped her mound, dipping two fingers into her cum-slick hole. The bed creaked and her smile widened. Ren's hands were upon her then, his hands grasping and squeezing at the thick cheeks of her booty. Briefly entertaining himself by kneading at the pale flesh of her ass, he soon hungered for more.
Seraphita gripped the sheets like a life raft as Ren lined himself up and prepared to treat her to a much desired second helping of worgen dick. One of his hands temporarily moved to his tool, grabbing the great reddish pillar and pushing it into her. She sucked in air as he filled her, his girth pushing out a deluge of cum from his previous payload; it dripped onto the bed, soon to be replaced by a fresh load just as creamy and potent as the last. Grasping her by the hips for support, Ren initiated his enthusiastic assault upon her body, forcing out a plethora of moans and pillow-garbled curses in her native Thalassian.
Seraphita was small - shorter than the average blood elf - with the soft body of an academic rather than a ranger or warrior, and though she was well endowed where it mattered, underneath the worgen she looked like a mouse beneath a cat, or a wolf. Ren's body on the other hand was a colossal mass of fur and muscle, pummeling against her backside while he held her steadily in place. His thrusts were powerful and quick, her big booty clapping against his furry hips with every balls-deep stroke into her creamy pussy. A pleasure-induced stupor trapped the both of them: Seraphita lost herself in orgasm after orgasm, juices squirting onto the bedsheets while she yelled incoherently into a pillow between throaty moans and pitiful mewls; Ren huffed and puffed like a dehydrated dog, a single primal urge, perhaps enhanced by his animalistic form, monopolizing his thoughts: the urge to breed Sera.
So, with that sole purpose in mind and his tongue lolling out of his mouth and dripping saliva down onto her back, Ren deep-dicked his little blue haired elf. She was tight as a noose, her insides contracting around his length and pulling at him with every thrust. The bed trembled anew from their savage lovemaking, Seraphita's passionate cries and Ren's canine howls carrying out over the balcony, as well underneath the bolted door of their apartment. If any heard, none complained, and so their ululations continued unabated.
Ren was an unstoppable beast, but try as he might, her tight hole would not accept his knot. Frustrated, he flourished her pale behind with a multitude of crackling smacks, imprinting his large hand prints upon her wobbling cheeks. Seraphita yelped and threw her ass back against him, enjoying the sharp pain of his spankings. Grinning at her eagerness, he graced her with a few more, turning her alabaster cheeks a cherry red, then huffed, temporarily mollified. What had not been satisfied, however, was his lust: his hips moved as frenzied as ever, beating up Seraphita's pussy with deep strokes that had her squirting like a fountain.
By this point Sera was beyond cock-drunk, she had been well and truly fucked silly. Face down with her ass up in the air, she allowed Ren to hump her to his heart's content, gleefully listening to the soft fleshy clapping of her cheeks against him, the sound of his knot slapping against her, and his snarls as he tried to force it into her. She moaned his praise in an unintelligible mix of Common and Thalassian, pointy ears pressed flat against her head and her fat ass rippling with every toe curling thrust into her pussy. The pleasure gripping her body was divine, glorious, and she welcomed it, riding orgasmic wave after orgasmic wave as Ren's cock filled her with no signs of stopping.
A feminine voice, loud, husky and intermingled with Ren's barely registered in her mind. It moaned blissfully and, so focused was she on the ineffable pleasure filling her core, she barely even recognized it as her own voice. There were other voices as well: on the balcony, a bird landed on the balustrade, trilling its song at those below, and from the hallway came a series of angry shouts and raps upon their door, although neither worgen nor elf noticed. Their mating continued until the raps had given up and the disgruntled bird had departed.
Ren's frustration grew palpable, and with every deep thrust of his member into her smoldering depths he ground himself into her. Again and again, rising and lowering in search of the best angle until at last he finally found it. As was usually the case, his knot's victory over her defenses took them both by surprise; their unblinking eyes widened and Ren roared in triumph as he sank fully into her, finally able to let loose. With Seraphita snugly knotted, the dam was unleashed, and a pent up ocean of sperm filled her to the brim, unified in purpose and prevented from leaking out by Ren's rapidly swelling knot.
Seraphita buried herself face-first into her rumpled pillow, moaning and drooling onto it as her body rocked and spasmed with a powerful orgasm. No thoughts, just bliss.
Moments later, a playful smack on the behind roused her, and she rotated her head atop the pillow, eyes half-lidded and her sultry body still twitching. Even now Ren was still shooting his cream inside of her and she could feel her pussy happily milking and squeezing at his cock. They shared an affectionate look and her mouth curved into a sublime smile before she closed her eyes, the rising and falling of her chest gradually becoming less labored.
Her thoughts returned, the dizzying, pleasurable fog in her mind lightening up, and it was only then that she realized how soiled she was. She was covered in his scent; drenched in a shining gleam of sweat and a rainfall of Ren's saliva that had dripped onto her back. Her hair clung to her face and forehead, matted by sweat, and her thighs dripped with a mix of cum and her own juices. Behind her, Ren shifted, still panting from the efforts of his animalistic rutting. It would seem that even he was exhausted - for now anyways, for she knew of his ferocious stamina - and she felt a fleeting sense of self-satisfaction over having tired the large worgen out. The feeling didn't last long, however: she desperately needed a bath.
Seraphita turned to look at her weary lover and grinned.
"I'm bathing first," she said, voice quieter than she had intended it to be.
Ren eyed her for a moment, head cocked cutely in a way that reminded her of the dogs she used to own - though she would never tell him that - and then shrugged indifferently. "Fine, but you'll just get dirty again."
There was a tantalizing promise in those words, and she found that she didn't particularly mind if she got dirty again. "And you're bathing after me," she commanded.
Ren opened his mouth to protest, but, knowing it was pointless to argue, breathed in another gulp of air instead. What was another bath?
When she was free of the worgen's knot some quarter-hour later, she hobbled over to the washroom and drew herself a bath, sinking into the relaxing waters with a pleased sigh. Things were finally looking up for her. The only question now was how she could use the information obtained from Kaerys to determine what steps she should take next. Seraphita sank deeper into the soothing water.
For now, the question could wait.
Continued in Chapter 4
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