An Interrupted Plot

*Ghostlands at dusk*

The haunted forests were quiet around them, even the restless dead having fallen silent as the day transitioned slowly to black night. Soon spirits would rise from the ground, stalking through the Ghostlands with a faint green or blue glow, their mournful wails a chorus of the night. This close to the Dead Scar, it was dangerous even in the daytime, but it would become doubly so once the sun was completely down. It was for this reason that Ravinelle Blackfeather shifty irritably in her hiding spot, wishing the meeting would come to a conclusion more quickly.

Dressed in skin tight, black scale-mail armor, she crouched in a cluster of thick bushes, her longbow held firmly in her hands and a black-feathered arrow already notched and ready to let fly. She'd tied her platinum blonde hair back to keep it from spoiling her aim, and although her armor was dark she ensured that there was as much foliage between herself and the nearby clearing as possible, as it was difficult at best to hide the golden strands on her head or the tanned flesh that was clearly visible where her armor didn't cover her body.

In the clearing before her, one of her co-conspirators stood impatiently in the gloom, shifting in place and looking around nervously. He was a new recruit, so he had the unenviable duty of performing the actual negotiating in the chance that the entire thing was a trap. Ravinelle looked beyond the dark haired Sin'dorei, her keen eyes just barely picking out the form of another of the group nearby. This one was much more clever and one of their veterans, and his hiding spot was nearly invisible as he held his own bow at the ready.

Ravinelle smiled to herself, looking to her left and seeing another of the group, a Sin'dorei named Lekanus, crouched down within ten feet of her. Like Ravinelle, his armor was dull black and he was almost impossible to spot. Only the bare flesh of his upper arm was visible from where she crouched, and through the foliage she could just barely make out the phoenix tattoo with the small words '91st' beneath them. The sight of it stirred memories in her, and she shifted again, absently thinking about the matching tattoo on her own right arm; it was good to have people from the old Sunfury Regiment nearby. At least you could trust them to do their job.

The thought was interrupted as a stirring could be heard in the nearby forest. All of the brigands hiding in the bushes tensed, their bows taut and at the ready. They relaxed only slightly when three forms emerged from the wilderness, their twisted, hunched gait giving away exactly who they were. In the gloom, Ravinelle watched the three Wretched as they approached the group's contact, her sensitive ears easily picking up the conversation.

"You have it yesssss?" one of the Wretched hissed at their point man, Krellen.

"Yeah, sure," Krellen responded nervously. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a glowing mana crystal, holding it up for all three Wretched to see before tossing it to the lead. They all tensed, the largest of the three catching the crystal and studying it, hissing wickedly at the other two as they drew nearer.

After a moment of silence, the leader of the three looked back at Krellen, "It issss acceptable. We must have more!"

Annoyed now, Krellen's voice was waspish, "You'll have more when you complete your side of the bargain. All that was promised to you. A hundred more crystals."

"Yessss," the Wretched hissed. "The tunnel issss almost complete now. Just liked you assssked beneath the armory of the estate near the edge of the city. Two more daysss at most. You will come then?"

Krellen stiffened, glaring at the Wretched, "We will use the tunnel, yes. And you and yours will not be there when we arrive, got it? Your payment will be in the location we already agreed on."

"Yessss yessss," the Wretched waved. "The deal issss done then. Do not return to us without more magic in the future, or we will feast on you, yessss?"

The Sin'dorei was about to reply when the sounds of people moving through the foliage could be heard again. Everyone looked around nervously now, Krellen and the Wretched exchanging hostile looks. "Did you bring more with you?"

"No, it issss not oursss," the Wretched hissed.

As he spoke, a torch flared up, and from her hiding spot Ravinelle winced as the light stabbed into her eyes. When her vision cleared, there were three Forsaken standing near the edge of the clearing in full armor with drawn swords and shields. They grinned, their filthy yellow eyes glowing dimly. The leader of the group spoke with a growl, "What do we have here? A little parley in the forest? And so far away from your city too. I'm sure the others of your kind would be interested to hear about this."

Ravinelle swore quietly, glancing towards Lekanus. He met her gaze, his hands moving rapidly in silent signals, their military training kicking in from long ago when they served a real Prince of the royal blood.

Neutralize all targets. Quick and quiet.

Ravinelle nodded her confirmation, her bow already coming up. She whispered a word, the arrow tip glowing with enchantment as she sighted down the shaft. In a heartbeat she let fly, her arrow crossing the distance silently.

The lead Forsaken jerked backwards as her shaft found his eye socket, the magical enchantment putting him to his final rest as it exploded in his skull. Two more arrows flew from the nearby bushes, one taking a Forsaken trooper in the neck, the other impacting a hastily moved shield. The wounded Forsaken collapsed next to his companion, while the one who had survived called out.

His call was answered by battle cries coming from decaying throats, three more of the patrol charging into the clearing from the opposite side. In the center of the clearing Krellen turned to face the Forsaken, mistakenly putting his back to the Wretched. They charged him, knocking him over and beginning to tear at him even as more arrows flew from the bushes. Ravinelle let loose another arrow, striking one of the charging Forsaken in the chest and sending him crashing to the ground. The rest of the group of brigands also fired, and the charging Forsaken troopers became pin cushions in a moment as the shots found their marks.

In seconds the battle was over, the only sound in the forest that of sick crunching as the Wretched attempted to bite and feed off of poor Krellen. Ravinelle rose from her hiding spot, another arrow notched as she aimed down the shaft. A moment later Krellen's faint cries were silenced as her shot ended his suffering.

The Wretched moved cautiously off the body as Ravinelle stepped into the clearing, another arrow already prepared should they attack. She glared at them, and the leader hissed at her, "The deal has been ruined. The Forsaken patrol will be missssed."

"The deal remains the same," Ravinelle said, her heart pounding in her chest. Around her she could sense her companions moving into position once more, each having relocated after firing and each prepared to end the Wretched should they attack again. "Leave this place and we will take care of this...inconvenience."

The Wretched glared at her once and then nodded. Growling at its companions, the three turned and slunk off into the forest. Ravinelle remained in place, her bow taut until she was sure they were long gone. She lowered her weapon and the rest of the group, known as the Blackfeather Company, appeared from the foliage, seven in all. They quickly set to work checking the Forsaken for survivor and removing all signs of their presence.

Ravinelle found herself standing over one of the Forsaken that had been shot in the chest. His decayed form still twitched with life, his eyes listless. She nudged him with her boot and he twitched once as she glared down at him. Slowly she drew her bow back, aiming it at his head, "Filth like you do not belong in this realm, or anywhere. The fact that you are our 'allies' makes me sick. Hopefully one day we will rectify that situation."

The Forsaken below her groaned something unintelligible and she let her arrow fly, striking it in the eye. It died with a gurgle, the forest growing still and silent. She looked up at the others as she yanked her arrow free, wiping the tip on the cloak of the fallen Forsaken trooper, "Make sure we have every shaft, every arrowhead, and obliterate our tracks. It's almost nightfall and soon there will be a means to dispose of the bodies. We'll put them on the edge of the Dead Scar and let the roaming Scourge have their taste. Who knows, maybe some of this lot will live again as mindless shamblers."

Lekanus grinned at her and nodded, his hands coming up to signal the others. Most of the old veterans snapped into action in a moment, although Ravinelle frowned as she saw a few of the newer recruits moving slowly or appearing confused. They would need more training in the days to come if they were going to be useful to the group, especially given their mission.

She hooked her bow onto a latch on her quiver on her back and sighed to herself. With her nose crinkling in disgust, the veteran ranger bent down and grabbed the boots of the Forsaken she'd just killed, dragging him through the foliage as others began doing the same for the rest of the fallen. Behind them two of the rangers began obscuring their tracks. When they were done, there would be no evidence of a battle, and the missing patrol would be found mostly devoured or mindless in the Dead Scar by the next day.

When their work was done, Ravinelle nodded in satisfaction, the group gathering one last time before they would separate. She spoke softly as the darkness grew, "Well done. We'll meet in three days to continue with the plan. Once the weapons are secure we'll begin planning the next phase. Until then, make yourselves scarce and keep a low profile. If any of you get word of legitimate work look into it; more coin and a reasonable alibi would not be a bad thing.

The rest of the rangers nodded at her, and she brought a hand to her heart, saluting them using an old military salute used by Kael'thas's forces long ago. Several of them returned the salute before the group broke up, each disappearing into the dark forest like a ghost, no trace of their presence remaining to tell the tale of treachery that had just unfolded in the wilderness.