Chapter Three; "Another Side"

Darnassus was the beautiful, towering capital of the Night Elves, laying to the north of Kalimdor, occupied among the beautiful island of Teldrassil, The Temple of the Moon rested deep in the heart of the city. But outside these gates beasts of incredible mass waited and bodies of the fallen fools who dared embark to a zone they were not trained for littered the ground of which they walked. Dangerous creatures lurked among the quiet breeze and the currently rising sun. A shadow cast over her face, hidding her features well, the blood elf did not wish to draw attention to herself. The sword slung along her thin, tanned back was enough to lure eyes her way.

In fact, the sword was never hers to begin with. It was an iten she she sought to the far north of Northrend, the sword had been buried under a thick layer of glowing ice where its powerful energies had focused a swarm of mutated Scourge to its icy cap. This blood elf, Iris, would have to fight off the entire horde, finally breaking the barrier of frost that protected the sword, and retrieve the item.

It was to be delivered to Captain Chance of the Centurion Sparrow that night, it was his skill of puzzles and observation that even allowed her to pinpoint the exact location of the sword, and by that measure, and because of their accord, the sword was his, and she finally had proof of its existence. With the Scourge defeated, their broken and shattered manhood crawling back beneath the ice as they were brutally beaten by a small, yet incredibly talented, female elf.

The frozen zone in question was that of the remains of an ancient dragon, the sword resting inside its mouth, which had been buried under a millenia of ice. With the land free of the Lich King, surveying the area had become a more simple task, but the remaining Scourge did not count on a female, Iris especially.

Of course, there had been many times in history women had beaten males, even an army of colossal force. One such battle was that led by a firce, merciless woman during the war between the Alliance and Horde. This woman was brutal, collecting the dead heads of her enemies on her belt, their hair knotted in such girly, yet menacing braids. She used a large, for her size, mace and swung at her enemies like a batter smacked a ball during a heated game with their rivals. And she certainly knew how to swing it, always going for the best kill possible, usually the neck. The cut was clean and bloody.

This woman was Laura, and she was a gnome with a firey temper, some say she went on to lead the eventual female rebellion that nearly forced the entire male sex underground to be used specifically for breeding. Luckily that never panned out. Laura has never been heard from again.

Iris gripped her hood tightly as the cape brushed against the windy breeze of Kalimdor, her ship had finally made port at sunrise. She relaxed on the deck as the ship slowed to its hault, Kalimdor was not her home, but it would have to do for now. Her feet trailed across the soft ground as Iris finally strode away from the ship, relaxing in the comfort of the quiet roads around as traders began to sell and speak amongst themselves.

Her eyes closed to calm herself, a form of basic meditation for herself. She was very happy for the near twelve hours of sleep she received, and sent a message off to Chance, with vague instructions to meet at Theramore at night fall. With time to spare, she would manage to- And then her thoughts paused abruptly, Raven ran at lightning pace to her direction, stopping her in the middle of the stone path.

It clearly startled Iris, but she gathered her state of mind, and focused on Raven intently. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"It's the High Priestess, she's been murdered!" Raven exclaimed.

Iris' eyes fell wide, for such a renown figure in the government to be murdered, that could be considered an act of war. The political fallout would be disasterous. "But-but how?" Iris stuttered, still shocked by the events after having only been gone for no more than a week.

"It was less than two days ago," Raven explained. "She was killed inside the Temple itself!" Raven was shocked, and for good reason. For a High Priestess to be assassinated inside the Temple walls, that such a breach could even be possible, was a feat no simple assassin could have accomplished, this had been plotted with a clear sight.

Unfortunately, Iris understood why this was such a heavy case, The High Priestess carried a seat on the Council of Nine, as did other races in Azeroth. And Iris was certainly intrigued by such a case, which she was sure Raven would be offering, as the Night Elf was a leading Sentinel within the Temple, having used Iris as an informant and private contact many times through the years.

"Raven, what do you need?" Iris really wanted to get to the point, she didn't appreciate the small talk, and she knew Raven was beating around the bush.

"Our only lead is a Draenei," Raven revealed. "He escaped toward the south."

"And you want me to interrogate him," Iris concluded.

"You're outside of the law," Raven stated. "I couldn't go to anyone else." It was obvious Raven trusted her, the woman was on her last limb, she was dealing with something much bigger than herself.

"I'll do it," Iris agreed. "Find me at Theramore, tonight." It was a simple enough location, no need to travel to two spots to meet with her contacts.

Raven thanked her and watched Iris go on her way, the young Night Elf leading a different direction, not wanting to be connected to the act in any way. Iris was a threatening woman, her curves seductive, easily seen with her skirt, shaped much like a long, its length barely reaching her knees. Above that she wore a white, wrapped tube top, making her breasts incredibly noticable, she was beautiful, Chance could easily tell you as much, a perfect body for an amazing woman.

'Rtas, that was the Draenei's name, and Iris's quest had taken her as far as Feralas. Her dagger gripped tightly in her small force, as her piercing greens eyes scanned the area below, Iris rested atop a tall branch, she was a natural climber. Hunting her prey was simple, it was just the patience that took alot from her, she was not a patient person.

Her eyes lit up at the sudden sight before her, 'Rtas was sprinting through the dense jungle, tripping along a log she had placed there herself for insurance. Finally she made her attack, jumping down like a Hippogryph stalking its prey. Pouncing on 'Rtas's back, Iris took her arms, wrapped them around the giant's neck, and spun him over her, forcing him to the ground with a powerful thud that shook the very ground around her.

"Ah!" he screamed. "What are you doing?!"

Iris spun her dagger and placed at along his throat as 'Rtas stumbled to his feet. "You were at the Temple during the assassination," she declared. "Why?"

'Rtas pulled his neck back in fear of being killed, the raging woman had already proved her strength, enough to leave quite a number of bruises along his back. "I'm innocent! I was out here following my own lead!" he spat, slapping her dagger away.

"What lead?!" she pressed, not willing to let it go.

"Centaurs are being led by a Satyr," 'Rtas explained, still catching his breath. "But you don't understand, they-" He was, unfortunately, stopp half way through by an arrow that nearly broke through his own head, it would have killed him were it not for Iris, who managed to stop it, just inches before piercing his forehead.

The Centaurs had found them both, led by a female warrior, waving a spear in the air, yelling some battlecry that just seemed rediculous to Iris, the call seemed to gather the Centaurs together, as there was now a herd of them, all rampaging toward the two figures.

It was impossible to get a foot as the Centaurs began to beat and rock Iris around the jungle floor, of course, 'Rtas managed to fight his way out of the stampied, throwing a number of broken Centaurs into the air, their bones cracking around Iris in disgust. She was not about to plead for help, when it surprised her that the Draenei was going to attempt to help her escape, until their female leader entered the battle, smacking 'Rtas with a kick so powerful it not only took the wind out of him, but nearly caused him to fall unconscious.

The warrior turned her attention to Iris, who did her best to hold off the onslaught, by she was quickly bested, as the woman thrusted her back legs into Iris's stomach as she attempted to mount the crazed Centaur, it wasn't long before the others had her as their captive, she was overwhelmed, and finally blacked out after noticing 'Rtas escaping into the darkness of the jungle.

She was as good as dead.

End Chapter