The Road to Deadwind Pass
They bought plenty of supplies the next morning, including armaments for both Taz'jani and Utaki. The weapon smith, a middle-aged and balding man regarded the group with guarded suspicion. At first, the group of travelers feared that he may not sell them his wares, however, the enticement of Kali'vas' gold was too much for him to refuse.
Taz'jani ever practical chose a wickedly sharp double axe, she could hurl it with uncanny precision and explained that was how her people often hunted the great crustaceans and turtles on the wild shores of the hinterlands. While the elderly troll Utaki chose a simple gnarled staff. As he stated it would at least help his balance when he had to walk.
They made sure to leave Darkshire with bursting bags, and full bellies. They had no clue where the next friendly stop would be beyond this point, or if there even was one. As they left the town the scattered homes thinned out until there were no further signs of habitation. They then began to climb a very steep gradient that seemed to go on indefinitely, it was hard on their mounts. It was fortunate that they were fresh, but riding double-tested them.
They passed a gloomy, ornate wrought iron archway leading to a place called Beggars Haunt, Sasha had no idea why the location had earned this name. She decided she probably didn't want to know either, there had to be some terrible story behind it she assumed. They stopped here on the road to rest a while and take a much-needed drink from their canteens. It was by now mid-morning, and still, the heavy fog and dampness pervaded.
At Beggars Haunt stood a ruined stone tower, bearing a tattered and weather-worn Alliance standard, and shortly beyond this sorry place the forest thinned and the standing trees were now leafless. Sasha was not sure if they were dead or simply dormant?
They had reached Deadwind Pass.
The pass narrowed, and the travelers were hemmed in by tall rock escarpments that towered over their heads blocking much of the light from above. If indeed there was any sunlight to be seen in this perpetually overcast place. The entirety of this zone was a dreary gray.
The party stopped momentarily as they sighted translucent, spirit apparitions on the roadway before them, at once drawing their weapons. Fortunately, these incorporeal beings were not aggressive only lost, sad spirits that could never find rest. Sasha hoped that her love was not among them and that she hadn't embarked on a fool's errand, and pulled all her dearest friends into something they could not handle.
Further, on there was a foreboding sign set beneath a tree, where hung the partially dismembered cadavers of three rotting unfortunates. Were they condemned criminals, or had they been attacked and lynched?
She and her companions looked at one another in silence. 'Turn back' the top plank of the hastily constructed signage warned. The one beneath it elaborated or rather lamented, 'Abandon hope, all ye that enter here.' Sasha shivered. Those poor souls! As she urged Frostfyre forward, wondering at her sanity for even daring to venture here.
Not long after that terrible sight, they came to a deep ravine. The party stopped before the natural stone bridge that spanned the gorge. The cliffs beneath the edifice plunged hundreds of feet below, and saline-looking waters filled the void between them.
"Do you think it's safe to cross?" Erin cautioned, nervously peeking around her cousin's shoulder to look at the naturally formed bridge.
"Probably best if we cross one at a time, though it seems solid enough.
It's probably been this way for thousands of years." Kali'vas answered her.
Sasha timorously urged Frostfyre forward, and the surefooted worg loped across the bridge confidently. Sasha felt Erin exhale a sigh of relief as they made the other side.
Arturias though fussed and squawked, the giant flightless hawkstrider fluttered his almost nonexistent wings and fought Kali'vas' best efforts to persuade him to cross the span.
So the trolls went next, while the elf calmed his panicked mount. Taz'jani and Utaki elected to dismount and walk their beast across. The horse was old and not high-spirited, he blew through his nostrils with some alarm as he sensed the sheer drop off at either side, but with gentle persuasion, he decided to cross with very little fuss.
Kali'vas had in the meantime dismounted, and he rummaged through his satchel withdrawing an old sock which he promptly put over his mount's head.
"Well here goes nothing," The blood elf said resignedly, as he led his errant hawkstrider across one careful step at a time. Once blinded the big bird followed his master obediently.
"That just goes to show what a birdbrain he is, I would not have walked across that blindfolded," Kali'vas said exasperatedly as he made the other side.
Everyone laughed, a sound that was rather incongruous given their current surroundings.
"Damn, which way do we go?" Sasha said, for before them just beyond the span there were now two branching roads, one that wound to the left, and one that went straight on.
"Pity we don have a map." Taz'jani said as she studied the two pathways before her. "Any idea Erin or Kali'vas? Ju guys probably have more of an idea than anyone."
None of them really knew where to go, so after much discussion, they decided it was probably best to just continue on the wider more direct-looking path from the bridge. The road wound forever through the deep rock, with the topography all bearing the most dismal sameness. Eventually, the winding path began to descend.
"I think that's the exit to Swamp of Sorrows," Sasha said, pointing to the vague hint of olive greenery she could see down the left-branching roadway. "That's very much Horde territory, we don't want to end up there."
Everyone agreed, so they continued on as the road again rose before them on a steep incline. They had not gone far before they all stopped, before them not too distant was a very savage bird of prey. A bird big enough to do them real damage, a fearsome sky shadow.
Sasha motioned for the party to stop and to be still and quiet. She pulled a barbed-tipped arrow from her quiver and loosed her bow from her saddle. She stood quietly before the others and stilled her mind, raising her bow and taking careful aim. The arrow sped forward with a whispering whoosh and hit the great bird surely in the chest, it uttered a last surprised squawk before it tumbled to the ground stone dead.
"Nice shot," Kali'vas complimented.
Sasha smiled at him before going to retrieve her arrow from the dead creature's body.
"I will walk ahead and shoot whatever is in our path." The huntress assured her friends. It seemed the appropriate course.
At the crest of the rise, Sasha was unexpectedly jumped by a feral night-bane, a creature that was essentially a werewolf. They were fast, vicious, and strong. A creature that could go into stealth, like the most expert of rogues. It was rumored one bite from this creature would transition you into one of their own kind. What was worse, there was no cure for this malady. Many stricken with this dilemma took their own lives, rather than live on an outcast from humanity.
Sasha recoiled in fright, momentarily forgetting her training, fortunately, Frostfyre came at once to her aid, the worg's move so sudden it sent the unsuspecting Erin tumbling backward and onto the hard roadway. Fortunately, she was uninjured, just a little bruised. Taz'jani was already running forward axe in hand ready to make a throw at the rabid creature.
The night-bane growled and snapped its jaws, fortunately only closing on air.
Frostfyre was already between her mistress and the attacker, ready to go in for the kill. Ice white fur bristling, teeth bared.
That honor though would go to Kali'vas, he leaped from his mount and let go a bolt of arcane damage, easily felling the creature. Sasha was still recoiling in shock, admonishing herself for not noticing the now very obvious tracks that littered the roadway before her sooner. She had been more interested in the skies, searching above for more sky shadows, or distractedly looking over at the deep drop-off that plunged hundreds of feet below.
The group collected themselves eager to be gone from this place. Invisible enemies were not something they wished to tangle with. None knew if the cliffs and caves about them held more night-bane. They needed to move on and swiftly.
The path continued to climb, and as they reached the apex of the steep hill where the road abruptly made a turn they sighted an encampment of ogres. They seemed to be busy with troubles of their own, so the party crept by undetected.
Sasha had read a lot about ogres, and her father often told her stories about them, but after the stories about orcs had been disproved, she was not sure if she believed the human's version of ogre lore either. They were in the majority reputed to be extremely dumb, but to the young woman's mind perhaps humankind just wanted to feel important.
"Oh no not again!" Kali'vas lamented as the party came around the corner to sight yet another narrow, natural bridge. Having to repeat the entire process of previous to get his hawkstrider to cooperate.
After the crossing, the path meandered for a time between the steep gray rock faces and the lifeless overhanging trees. Skyshadows were a constant threat. The trees began to thicken, and the knotted stumps looked as though they contained anguished faces that soundlessly cried out for help. Nothing about this place felt comforting. They pushed on in silence. Mostly the path was bathed in deep shadow, interspersed by an occasional wan patch of light. Here there grew thicker undergrowth, scruffy collections of dried grasses, and leafless brush. The road ended in a T junction, restless spirits wandered the path aimlessly.
"Damn it!" Kali'vas swore suddenly. "We've been wandering in circles. This is where we entered!"
Sasha realized he was right, the road ran in a great loop, and now they were merely on the opposing side of the span. Soon it would be dark and they needed to be somewhere safe. This oversight could have been prevented if only they had more knowledge of the region, but none of them had ever had the reason to research or travel to this accursed place.
