A few weeks later, Fuzzy and his family moved to their garrison near Lunarfall in Shadowmoon Valley. Recovery had gone well, a very stubborn night elf went through rehabilitation and has regained the strength he once had. And perhaps a bit more. The girls loved to play with the other children in the safety of the garrison. It wasn’t the same as their beloved home but everyone was adjusting to the new normal. The sky overhead was just as beautiful as the view from their old home. The sounds of wisps were gone but you could almost hear them as the wind wound through the trees and grass. The garrison was alive and bustling with activity. The anglers were readying their morning catch to be made into midday and evening meals, the blacksmith was fixing armor and smelting new shoes for the horses, and the alchemists were…well doing what alchemists do. The garden was beautiful with a wide variety of colorful flowers and fruits. And, of course, the leatherworking shop was hard at work creating clothes, bags, saddles, and armor. Everyone seemed to actually be a bit busier than normal and even sometimes too busy to talk.
In the garrison hall, Fuzzy was talking with Erinia about the mounting battle that The Alliance was planning. “I just can’t bear to lose you again!”, cried Erinia. “It crushed the girls when they thought you were gone. I can’t bear to have that happen in a permanent case. It would destroy them, it would destroy me.”
“I know, but look at what has happened to our home. Look at what Sylvanas has done! She must be stopped before she does this to other families. What if she marches her army across all of Azeroth and just lays waste to it all? We would all be refugees in our own homes, we cannot let her continue!” Fuzzy was right, and Erinia knew it.
“I know”, she lamented. Erinia hugged her husband tightly. This was as much of an agreement as Fuzzy would hear. Erinia couldn’t bring herself to say the words, but she didn’t have to. Fuzzy knew what was on her heart.
“I’ll be careful. I’ll be joining the same platoon as Anth, we’ll look out for one another.” Fuzzy’s words brought a little comfort to Erinia. She knew her husband was a strong soldier, an excellent hunter, and Anth was an excellent paladin.
“Be sure to take your potions along with you, I don’t want to see you suffer while you’re off on some big damn adventure.” Erinia’s gaze cut right to Fuzzy’s core. She already knew! Maybe the nurse in Stormwind told her? Regardless, Fuzzy was relieved that his wife knew. He smiled at her and nodded. “I’ve known for quite some time now. You should know you can’t hide anything from me. You do remember that I was an alchemist before we met…right?” He may have forgotten…only for a moment.
“You’re so amazing. I’m sorry I kept this from you, I was worried…” Fuzzy looked into Erinia’s eyes. He could see deep into her soul and could tell he never needed to worry about telling her anything. She was smart and skilled. She had seen a thing or two in this life. Erinia held on to Fuzzy, standing still, just existing, just the two of them as if no one else were around for miles. Sadly the moment had to end and preparing had to continue. “I will be careful, my love. I will do everything in my power to come back to you.”
“I know you will”, said Erinia. “And if you don’t, I’ll just have to come find you and beat you down with Sulfuras.”
“Shit, I forgot you had that. Maybe we should put that away for safekeeping”, Fuzzy said as he started to back away and move toward the closet door.
“You will do no such thing! It will be safe here in my hand. Besides it’s the only object that seems to permanently eliminate the weeds in the garden.” Erinia was a bit crazed by weeds and Fuzzy knew not to meddle with her garden.
The day had finally come, it was time to travel to Boralus and meet up with the new battalion leaders. Fuzzy’s assignment to his new platoon, Humpday Heroes, was pretty exciting. They were a renowned group of fighters that has fought in every war to date. He had heard stories of how great their squad of hunters are and was a bit intimidated to be among their ranks. It was time to join them and make final steps to march toward their foe.
The garrison sounds were hastened. The blacksmith was putting final touches on weapons. A steady clang clang clang rang out as the hammer came down to meet its anvil, only to be stopped short by the glowing red hot steel that was being worked into shape. The metal was almost shouting out in jubilation as it was worked into a mighty weapon for their cause. The alchemists were…alchemizing and the soldiers were releasing battle shouts as they trained on dummies. Fuzzy had his new armor that was freshly forged by his blacksmith. His trusty bow slung across his back along with his quiver brought a feeling of excitement and anxiety. He even made some new boots for the journey. They were a dark dredged leather that was dyed slightly red. They met his dark green pants just as his calf tapered into the back of his leg. Small blue trinkets adorned the front of the boots just in front of the criss-cross of the laces as they made a knot at the top. Elliana and Averyn, with some help from their mama, made the small shapes from some nearby gems they found. “Mama says they will bring you good luck!” Elliana said with a slight yet sad smile.
“I’m sure they will, thank you for crafting them. You listen to your mama and help with your sister while I’m gone”, said Fuzzy.
“I will, daddy”, said Elliana. An enthusiastic “Me too!” came from Averyn.
Erinia stepped forward and whispered into Fuzzy’s ear as she hugged him. “You come back to us. You meet up with this bitch and you punch her square in the face so hard that the dark magic flees from this world”, Erinia said with tears in her eyes and a scorned look on her face. She hated to see him go, but she knew it was time. Erinia gave one last tight hug and then stepped back. She grabbed hold of her daughters and kissed their heads.
Everyone lined up as the mage moved his hands around in swirling motions before him. Soon a magical trail of blue light started to follow behind his fingers as he continued to move them about. His eyes were glowing white and a blue oval took shape out of thin air. A muted “snap!” and there it was, a portal to Boralus. Images of the city wobbled around inside the blue mystical pool that stood in front of Fuzzy. The girls gave a proud smile as they watched their father and his companions walk through the gateway. The mage was the last to pass through and just as quickly as the portal formed, it dissolved back into the nothingness that it had once filled.
