Becoming a Father

Xrybak pushed a long sweaty strand of hair out of his face with a huff, tightening his grip on the reins of his hawk strider as he peered anxiously through the dense foliage. The sticky heat of the Stranglethorn jungle beat down like a physical force, but it was the least of the dark haired elf’s concerns right now. Now he strained his ears to hear the telltale jangle of harness that would indicate the presence of the Alliance patrol he’d been avoiding most of the morning. The faint sound reached his ears and he forced his reluctant mount to back into a riot of flowering vines, the best camouflage available for the brightly colored bird. He let out a sigh as the sounds of the patrol faded into the distance, then led his mount back the direction the Alliance had come from. The hawk strider squawked in protest as it limped reluctantly after its master, a lucky strike from an agitated raptor had scored the bird’s leg some hours ago slowing it and its master’s progress through the jungle to a crawl. Xrybak moved cautiously into a small clearing beside one of the jungles many streams then froze at what he saw before him.

Blood darkened the lush grass on the streamside, dried now to a deep rust. From where he stood, Xrybak could see the bodies of three trolls sprawled artlessly in death. Cautiously, he stepped clear of the trees, wary of the Alliance that had no doubt ended these three’s lives. He quickly inspected the bodies, knowing there was no hope, but also knowing he had to check. Reaching the third body he sighed and rubbed his head then reached down to close the staring eyes of the young troll before him. A male and two females, one appearing to be a juvenile he noted sadly, possibly a family. A sudden crash of thunder startled him just as the sky opened up to a sudden downpour. Xrybak cursed bitterly then quickly searched the bodies for anything that might be used to identify them.

Loosely gripping a carved charm with a wide crack down its face, Xrybak once more regarded the bodies. Rain continued to pour down on his head, plastering his hair and robes to his body. “Now what am I going to do with you?” he questioned the dead, “Can’t dig in this mess, and fire will be out faster than I can cast it, leaves us with a bit of an issue, doesn’t it?” A sound from the underbrush distracted him from his thoughts, Xrybak turned his head to scold his hawk strider only to find that the bird had limped to the side of the stream to drink. He stared at the bird a moment before softly muttering to himself, “well, if you’re over here, then what was in the bushes…?” Xrybak tucked the cracked charm into the deep pocket of his robe, as he cautiously approached the bushes. Murmuring a spell under his breath in preparation, the dark haired elf peered into the underbrush.

At first all he could see were dark wet leaves, then a flash of violet and blue. Xrybak narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but released the spell allowing it to fade to nothing. With a sigh he reached his arm into the dense bushes until his fingers met warm skin, the yelped in pain as the same fingers were crushed in a mini vice. Cursing in pain, he reached his other arm into the brush to latch onto the thing that held his fingers in a tight prison. The bushes shook as he dragged his prisoner out.

Xrybak glared down at the troll whelp still grimly biting down on his fingers, eyes screwed shut and heels digging into the muddy soil for purchase. He shifted his grip to the nape of the child’s neck and forced the little one to sit. He pinned his prisoner against his leg then set about freeing his fingers. It took a few moments to pry open the child’s determined jaws, but after accomplishing this Xrybak grimly regarded his own fingers. “Damn brat broke the skin…” Returning his regard to his small prisoner, the elf considered what he had. It was a boy, small, probably no more that four or five in age, pale blue skin and tangled violet hair. “Well, kid, we can’t exactly stay here, can we?” The child finally opened his eyes and stared blankly at Xrybak. He then turned his head and made to move toward the stream bank where the bodies were. Xrybak quickly restrained him. “not so fast, you’re not going over there.” There were some things children did not need to see and the murdered bodies of their family was high on the list.

The dark haired elf hoisted the small troll up onto his hip then whistled softly for his mount. The hawk strider picked its way back across the grass then regarded him and his burden with reproachful eyes. Xrybak quickly examined his mount’s leg, finding the cut to be clean, but still painful looking. He sighed then glanced at his squirming passenger. “It’s going to be a long walk to Grom’gol…” With that thought in mind, he turned and slipped back into the lush jungle growth, hawk strider trailing behind, bidding silent apology to the bodies left in the open. The living were what was important now, he was sure they would agree.