Unwanted visitor

Highmountain. The tallest mountain range on Azeroth. Here, the Highmountain tribe of tauren lived. Here, happened to be her home.

Not on the peaks, though. Deep below the cliffs, in the sea, Lian'Tril stood in ruin. Ten thousand years have passed. Many people were there. All the riches were either lost to the ocean, or stolen by marauders. Only one chose to stay here, amidst ruin of once great city.

Saltyne.

She strolled along the coast, watching the water, remembering her long lost past. The temple of Elune was half sunken. She, eep down, despised the Goddess. After her death, she never got a blessing from her. She herself was cast out by her own, as she was undead. But for a while she believed Elune still had not given up on her.

She was wrong. Though she wishes The Goddess would help others at least. She does not see herself redeemable, but she can live with that.

She turned away and went to the nearby cliff. She climbed up, as fast as she could. She needed wood for her fire. The wood was up the cliff. She would chop it down and push it off the cliff. The impact would splinter the log into the pieces she could work with.

She took a look down. She climbed far. But she was still only half way up. It took her a few more minutes to get up. With a sigh Saltyne started looking for a tree. But it didn't take long. A suitable tree was soon found.

Saltyne reached to grab her axe. She lost one of her elven blades on Argus. The other one was gifted to her nephew Gideon. She needed some other weapon. Due to where she was, she needed an axe. Efficient and versatile.

Saltyne took a moment and touched her other weapon. It was also an axe, but different. This one had The Heart of Zuur'Dok in it. After the events on Argus, she swore to forever be the jailor of him. After a recent incident from which Butterwing fell into coma, she was amazed to see it not ripped apart. Perhaps it was more powerful then she thought. If it fell in the wrong hands…

She checked it again. Still there, still beating.

- Good. – she said to herself. She shrugged off her thoughts. She still had a tree to chop. With a few swings, she brought it down. With another push it rolled off the cliff and down where she needed it. The landing was loud.

It was time to go back down. There was no rope, but she was skillful enough not to need one. Twenty minutes later she was back down and on her feet. She walked up to a few splintered pieces and carried them to a nearby cave. Murlocs dug it out, but they happily gave it to her. She put all her belongings there, as well as her own friend.

Butterwing was alive but comatose. Saltyne tried everything to bring him back, mana, her own magic, fel…

None worked, but at least they kept him alive. But for how long?

- Butterwing? – Saltyne always said it, hoping he would answer. For weeks, there was none. – Huff… - she sighed. She tossed the wood to the side, throwing one piece into the fire.

Saltyne stepped closer and touched him. He was transparent, as his powers were slowly leaving him, but she felt that he was still alive.

- You will be alright. Whatever it takes, I will get you back. – she caressed his long neck, phasing through him in places.

She unsheathed her axe and threw it to the makeshift bed. It would take her a while until she would get him back on his feet, but she knew that one day she would do it.

She would save her friend. Whatever. It takes.

She sat on her bed, looking at Butterwing. She did it for hours, sometimes taking breaks to feed herself, have a walk outside or pour more magic into Butterwing.

Suddenly Butterwing shimmered. Saltyne jumped up. Did he get back or was he dying? She couldn't tell. Then she felt it herself. There was someone. Yes, there were murlocs around but there was a contrast. This someone was powerful. And familiar…

- Ahoy! – she heard a voice. A familiar voice. A voice she hoped not to hear ever again.

She grabbed both axes and went to the entrance to look at this someone. It was an elf to a person that does not know him well. A blood elf, to be exact. He wore long robes and had a hood over his face, only a small goat beard was seen. Behind him was a very familiar scepter.

- So? How are you? – he slowly went towards her.

- Leave this place. – Saltyne walked out of the cave.

- Oh, you are in a mood! Fascinating. I am fine myself, came here for your friend. His heart, to be exact.

- What?! – Saltyne was confused and angry.

- I know, I know. How can this man ask this? How come Tandrix need a netherdrake heart? Pretty simple, if you ask me. I need it for an experiment.

- You are not getting any! – she ran at him, her axe ready. Step by step, she was closer and closer to him. She lunged at him to slash, and flied through him like he was nothing.

- Hah, tickles. – Tandrix stopped, he was alright. Saltyne's axe only went through the sand, without damaging him. – You will have to try harder, much harder.

- Grrr! – Saltyne growled. She violently slashed at Tandrix while he yawned.

- Oh well, seems like always. Let me get the job done. – he went to the cave, not amused by what Saltyne was doing.

She did a couple of more swings, but it did not work at all. She did not run out of options yet, though. She took her other axe with her left hand and brought the Heart of Zuur'dok before her. With an incantation, the axe lit up with fel fire.

- What's that I smell? – Tandrix turned around to see Saltyne, and jumped. – Now this is bad. – he stepped to the side and dodged Saltyne's attack. – I did not expect that. – he put his hands together and a magical shield appeared around him. With a swipe of her hand, Saltyne removed it. – You are more powerful this time around. Heh. – Saltyne did a few more slashes at him, and got between him and the cave.

- You are not going-… - Tandrix blinked past her, Saltyne seeing that, death gripped him back away. - … anywhere. – with a growl, she jumped on him, with Zuur'dok's Heart ready.

- Not so fast! – Tandrix rolled out of the way. – I must say, I did not want to kill you, yet. Alas, you leave me no choice! – Tandrix took on his dragon appearance. – Come at me! – he punched the ground, jagged spikes of rocks shot out from where Saltyne was standing, but she sidestepped. – You are agile.

Saltyne ran at the dragon, with her fel flaming axe ready to strike.

- Whose heart is that? – Tandrix noticed it in the axe.

- None of your business! – Saltyne would have slashed him, if he didn't shift to sand in the last moment and drift out of the way.

- Impressive. – he clawed at her. Saltyne caught one of his arms and chopped it off. Fel spread through the sand, turning it into hardened stone. – AARG! – He shrugged a chunk of himself with fel corruption. – That hurt! – A stream of sand went off the ground and reformed his lost limb. He snapped the fingers of it. Saltyne started rapidly sinking into quicksand. – Well, if you are so… welcoming… I guess I shall take my leave with a netherdrake heart.

- Grrr! – Saltyne roared and phased into the shadowlands, pulling herself out of quicksand. – Never! – she slashed Tandrix again and again. The sand hardened under fel corruption. He threw it off, more sand pouring into him.

- ENOUGH! – He stood on his two and raised his arms to the sky. With a quick motion, he slammed them into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked Saltyne down. He took a deep breath and breathed sand onto her, covering her whole in it. – Now. Back to work. – He turned into his blood elf form and went towards the cave.

Behind him Saltyne undug herself. She stood up, without a moment of thought, she reached towards him and grabbed with her death grip. With a quick move she launched him away from the cave. She held her grasp over his neck.

- Bold. – Tandrix's head deformed and fell apart. The grasp failed, and he put his head back. – Want to try again?

- Huff, I did not finish yet! – Saltyne tried grabbing Tandrix with a death grip again, but he shifted away.

- Again? – he laughed. – You cannot kill me. None can.

Saltyne got her axe out and threw it up into the distance.

- Nice throw. Except that is a miss by a huge margin… - up above a loud sound was heard. Tandrix looked up to see what it was. – Oh you clever little… - an avalanche came down upon the both of them.

The snow violently crashed on them. The mass of white frozen water covered a relatively large area. For a minute there was no movement, but soon green sickly glow appeared in a part of it. Saltyne freed herself. The flaming fel melted all of the snow around her, leaving a big puddle of corrupted water beneath. She went to the place where Tandrix was supposed to be, picking up her other axe while at it.

- Is he dead? – Saltyne looked around. There was no sign he was…

Alive.

Tandrix, in his dragon form, lunged at her from out of the snow. He grabbed her by her neck and threw her away, like she was just a rock. She was plowed through the snow from the force that Tandrix put into the throw.

- Impressive! – Tandrix landed on Saltyne. – You would be a valuable addition to me! After I break you! – he started punching her in the face, his fists were hard, frozen. Blood spilled out of her nose and mouth. He extended his arm and a chair appeared there that was smashed into Saltyne a second later. Tandrix prepared to punch again. – Had enough? – he brought the fist down, only for it to meet the snow. Saltyne phased through him and landed on his back. There she got out Zuur'dok's Heart and tried to stab him, but he blinked out of the way. – You can't beat me! It is all pointless! Your friend will be most valuable.

At that, Saltyne changed. Her face changed from tired to furious. She got out her axe and threw it with enough force that would kill an ogre in one hit. The axe flew, whistling through the air and it struck Tandrix.

- Wait what? – he looked at the axe sticking out of his chest. The tip of the axe went through him. Tandrix thought it would do nothing, and just pass through him but it didn't. He was frozen. Hardened. Beatable. – Oh, no.

Saltyne went to him, Zuur'dok's heart in her hands. Her unholy determination to save her friend drove her past what she thought she could do.

- I… I won't let you! – Tandrix began casting a spell to stop her, but he found his thoughts frozen. Saltyne's hand was extended. Her fingers had rime on them. The flames of Heart of Zuur'dok extinguished. She sheathed it on her hip. She took her axe out and death gripped him away into the water. Tandrix splashed in it, his whole body was distorted. – I've been through this. Don't think you will kill me. And don't think I will be any mercyful next time.

- I don't. – Saltyne started chanting. A remorseless storm appeared around her as she strolled to Tandrix. Once it reached him, he froze up in ice, distorted. Saltyne put her hand on him, to check how hard the ice it. Then she got out her axe and smashed it into him, which made him fall apart into pieces.

Saltyne stood there for a minute, breathing heavily. She dropped her axe on the ground. Then fell on her knees. Tears came to her eyes. Tears of pain. Her body ached, her bones were gnawing.

A murloc appeared in the distance. He looked at the mess that was wrought and came closer. He held a stick. When he approached the snow he poked it with it. Then his attention turned to Saltyne.

She stopped crying. She stopped breathing heavily. She allowed the creature to come closer. And so it did. Carefully approaching her, the murloc held his stick out. He poked her, but she didn't move. Another poke. Nothing. Third poke…

Saltyne turned her head to the murloc. She slowly reached out to it and put her hand to pat it. The creature was cautious but allowed it.

All of a sudden, said hand started leeching murloc's blood. The creature convulsed in pain. It's blood quickly left it. It travelled through the air into Saltyne's recent wounds and healed them. When only a husk was left, Saltyne stood up. The pain subsided. She could finally return to her routine.