Traveling across the Savannah planes of Ogrimar was far easier than Bryne expected. Lorey taught him the basics of riding in less than a week. He'd affectionately named his stallion 'Koter', amusingly keeping the translation to himself. Along with Wrog, Hunter received some sort of medallion from the Trine. At each settlement they passed, they only needed to flash it to receive supplies, a place to rest, or directions. No questions were asked. They traveled well over twelve hours a day, keeping a quick pace.
In less than a week, they'd crossed the entire continent and found themselves at the western coast. News at the small port was quite interesting; Apparently, they'd been ambushed out of nowhere, killing a guard on duty. The day following the ambush, after word of a prison break reached them, a few other guards found tracks towards the eastern mountains, and attempted to follow the escapees. Whoever they were, they were hardly careful about covering tracks. Lorey deciphered in a minute's time that a party of roughly 6 had passed through, including a songwolf and at least one heavily armored fighter.
For a while, Hunter was torn between following the orders bequeathed by the Trine itself, or risking it all pursuing the assailants. It was unheard of to discard an order from the Trine; An orc would sooner file off its teeth or feed their dismembered leg to a warthog. Thus, It was agreed that the group would split; Bryne and Hunter would take a ferry to the prison island, while Lorey and Fallon followed the tracks northeast in hopes of heading off the assailants. Any plans of reconvening or communicating went unspoken; Bryne assumed the group had already made such arrangements before he ever came along.
Boarding the orcish ferry, Bryne found himself at sea for the second time in his life, albeit briefly. Less than an hour, just short of arriving at the island's dock, Hunter finally confessed to Bryne the true importance and severity behind the Trine's mission; The island was a largely secret affair, even among the Highborn. This unassuming, inconspicuous speck of land was where the Highborn kept prisoners that were meant to disappear. It was an oubliette, run by a particularly cruel family, who happily tortured their own kind. As he'd mentioned before, however, the prison had a special 'guest'; An elf of noble birth, who could summon the elements in the form of a powerful serpent. It was an elf that he'd heard Bryne speak of many times before, an elven princess named Mylleile.
The orcs had captured a water-elf noble, entirely neutral to the war, tortured her, broken her, and condemned her to an impending death. As they docked, Hunter explained in great detail how such a farce jeopardized their relations to elvenkind, potentially swinging the war in the Commonwealth's favor. They met with a pair of hoblins, whom Hunter began to interrogate. They left to investigate the prison itself. Bryne stayed at the dock, sitting at the pier. He stared into the quiet sea below.
When Hunter finally returned, a bit more pale in the face than before, Bryne woke from his slumber and wiped the frozen tears from his eyes. The ferry would return shortly after, returning the two to Ogrimar proper.
Breaking the silence, Bryne announced he'd no longer follow Hunter on his path. Hunter simply nodded, and told Bryne he'd wish the dwarf well. "You wouldn't want to follow the monsters that did this, anyways," Hunter added. Bryne asked no details; If something troubled Hunter, even more so than the scenes of demonic slaughter they'd already witnessed, then Bryne wished no part of it. He'd changed his mind since their hunt began. When Hunter asked where the dwarf would go, Bryne simply replied he did not know yet. The first thing he wanted to do is rid himself of these humiliating tattoos. At that, Hunter laughed, and handed Bryne a small vial of liquid. It smelled like a tasty tonic, but was viscous and burned when touched. "I've been saving that for when Lorey finally decided to leave," Hunter stated plainly. "You seem to need it more."
When they arrived back at the mainland dock, Hunter immediately gathered his affairs and headed east. Neither Lorey nor Fallon were to be found. The orc securing his ferry and the few remaining guards all just ignored the dwarf. Bryne gathered his supplies, his steed Koter, and simply let the beast wander where it willed while Bryne sat in thought. Caught between brooding and meditative, he drifted north.
For the first time in too long, Bryne listened inwardly for guidance.
Hugging this side of the western mountains meant he'd eventually reach a rough terrain, full of maze-like paths and sheer cliffs. His steed would eventually be unable to follow Bryne's travel, so he stopped at the mountains' base. There, he used a scrap of parchment and a half-full inkwell to write a note in the best orcish he could manage. This, he placed in one of the stallion's saddlebags, along with a few coins, and sent the beast on his way. Bryne turned around, and began his hike up the mountain alone. Koter was no more; The 'mutt' was now 'free'.
The note read: "This is my steed, a beast from the stables of Blackstone itself. His back is strong, and his hooves have gone far. Treat Freiheit well."
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