A Goblin Love Story

It was late in the evening, the sun just beginning to set off the coast of Azsuna as Tayla settled herself firmly into her vantage spot. Tucking a strand of electric blue hair behind her long pointed ear she casually lifted her gun, checking through the sight to make sure that she had a good view of the road. Satisfied she glanced down at the base of the tree to where Gnasher, her mechanical dog, was waiting patiently as it lay there completely silent. With a sigh Tayla settled back and began to wait patiently, resting her gun in her lap. "Alright girl. Time to make some money."

Though a casual observer might think that Tayla was quite calm and collected at the moment, internally she was anything but. Right now she was on a mission, one that she had picked up from the job postings back at Trueshot Lodge. The Wardens were offering a sizable gold reward for the demise of Warbringer Mox'na, a felguard who had been prowling this stretch of road for the last couple of days and killing any who crossed his path. Though she had considered bringing along some help, she was confident that she could deal with the demon herself. That and if she had brought help then she would have to split the money as well. Part of Tayla did regret that choice as the minutes ticked by, but by this point it was far too late to worry about it.

Finally, after what seemed like hours there was a movement in the fading light. It took a moment for the figure to come into view but there was no mistaking the tall form of the demon, clad in heavy spiked armor and wielding two large and wicked-looking red swords. At both sides he had a felhunter, their scaly, eyeless faces in a permanent snarl as their tentacles swung about as if on the lookout. Tayla felt her heart beginning to pound in her chest as she readied her gun, took aim and began to wait patiently once again. There were a tense few moments when she was sure the demon would see the traps she had laid along the side of the road, or would at least suspect something, but he seemed to be quite oblivious as he strolled into place. The only sounds now were the faint noises of the demon's armor as he walked and the gentle distant movement of the ocean.

Without hesitation Tayla pointed her gun at one of the two felhounds, pausing for only a brief second to steady her aim before firing. The noise tore through the calm, and the felhunter was knocked over by the sheer force of the bullet as it opened a sizable hole in its flank. The creature screeched loudly, and while it did get back up it was clearly wounded badly. While Tayla was hoping that her hiding place would at least give her a moment, she was dismayed when Mox'na looked directly up at her. He pointed up at her as he let out a guttural bark in his demonic language, and both felhunters sprang to life at once, quickly covering the distance to the tree as he ran towards her as well. Tayla felt the first icy fingers of fear grip her when she saw that the felhunter she shot was still quite fast even with its injury. "Shit..." she murmured as she loaded her second barrel, took aim and fired at the Warbringer. The shot had been a bit hasty and was off the mark, hitting the demon in the shoulder but not slowing him down.

"Shit, shit!" Tayla murmured desperately as she began loading a couple more shots into her gun, her hands shaking slightly. Looking down at Gnasher, she let out a loud whistle. The dog sprang to life almost as if by magic, the dark eyes flaring to life as the lights came on. It bounded forward, mechanical jaws opening wide as it charged at the first felhunter. The two met in a flurry of claws and teeth, but Tayla didn't have time to see how Gnasher was doing. She turned her attention back to the other felhunter, who was getting perilously close to her tree. Thankfully for her, she had some secret weapons. Pointing her gun at a barrel hidden in the felhunter's path, she waited once again for the perfect moment. She fired, and shut her eyes against the bright blast that followed. Opening her eyes she saw the smoldering pit where the barrel had been, and lying not far away was a very dead felhunter. Tayla was a bit frustrated, she was hoping to use that on Mox'na himself but she had seen those felhunters climb trees in the past. Better to be safe than sorry.

Looking at Gnasher Tayla was excited to see that the extra weight from his metal body seemed to be winning out over the felhunter. Currently it had the demon pinned down as it tried to grab the thing's throat and the felhunter couldn't seem to muster the strength to push it off. Turning her attention back to the felguard closing in on her position, Tayla whipped her gun up and fired again after a brief moment's aim. The demon stumbled as the bullet tore through its leg, though it unfortunately didn't seem to do much as he actually sped up, roaring with fury. Though she felt nervous, Tayla couldn't help but grin as she saw he was heading right into her second trap.

As the Warbringer's foot stomped down on a patch of grass and leaves, a bear trap sprang to life, stopping the demon fast as it howled in rage. As it dropped one sword and began to pry the metal contraption open, Tayla was already finished reloading her gun. Hoisting it up she fired, the demon doubling over as the bullet tore a hole in his gut. He snarled, and clearly frustrated picked up his sword again and swung it down at the trap, smashing it to pieces. Stomping forward he was glaring up at Tayla with pure hate in his eyes, but she had one last ace in the hole.

Gnasher came bounding out of nowhere, latching its metal teeth onto Mox'na's leg as it began raking the demon with razor sharp claws. It had taken care of the second felhunter, which now lay dead with its throat crushed and its guts strewn about. The Warbringer whirled around and slashed wildly at Gnasher, but the mechanical dog weaved away from the attack before leaping back, snapping and making a low clanking sound. Tayla took advantage of this new distraction to line up another shot, this time at the demon's head and fired. To her dismay the shot pinged off the black metal of the armor, though it did snap his head back and allowed Gnasher to close in, clamping its jaws around the demon's other leg.

That feeling of confidence was returning again as Tayla reloaded her gun for the third time. This was it, she had him now. Even if he did deal with Gnasher she doubted that he could climb this tree and get to her. A grin spread across her face as she took aim and fired twice in rapid succession, both shots tearing into the demon's flank as it tried to rally. That brief bravado was finally shaken however when Mox'na screamed in fury and lashed out with both weapons. Gnasher was caught mid-leap by the first sword, knocking him into the air before the second came down and slammed the mechanical animal violently into the ground. The metal frame cracked and pieces went shooting everywhere, and though Gnasher's jaws still opened and closed weakly he was clearly down for the count. The demon wasted no time, turning and sprinting towards the tree seemingly faster than before.

Now Tayla began to panic as she tried to reload her gun. Her hands were shaking terribly and she couldn't seem to get them to stop. Once again Tayla wished she had brought some help along. Extra gold was nice but it didn't matter much if you were too maimed to enjoy it. As she struggled to reload the gun, Tayla froze as a booming, guttural voice cut through the night. "You're dead, goblin! I'll kill you slowly, break every one of those little fingers of yours!" Glancing downwards as she thankfully managed to load the gun, she saw Mox'na reaching the base of the tree and figured that if he could climb then she probably still had a few seconds. To her dismay however the demon gripped both his swords tightly and began to spin rapidly, his swords flaring a bright red as they began to trail flames. He tore right into the trunk of the tree, rapidly searing huge chunks of wood away.

Tayla felt the whole tree creak as it began to fall backwards, and as it began to plummet to the ground she made a desperate jump, unfortunately dropping her gun in the process as she grabbed desperately to another nearby tree. Her hands sought frantically for a grip to stop herself but she found herself unable to locate one as she slid down, hitting the ground not far away from Mox'na as the fallen tree smashed to the ground. The demon looked triumphant as he stalked towards her, his pace slow and assured as he watched Tayla get to her feet. Reaching down to her belt she pulled out her backup pistol and pointed it at the demon, hands shaking as she kept one finger firmly on the trigger. "Stay back! I'll shoot you dead!" Despite her words, Tayla was beginning to feel despair now. Her pistol wasn't nearly as powerful or as magical as her rifle, so unless she got a lucky shot this was not going to end well for her.

"You have nowhere to run now." Warbringer Mox'na didn't even slow down as he advanced. "Maybe I won't even kill you. Maybe I'll just hand you over to the Shivarra. I'm sure they'd love to spend a day making a little morsel like you scream in agony." The felguard laughed as Tayla took aim with the pistol, already looking for the best way to flee.

There was a flash of movement and Mox'na stumbled, eyes widening in shock. An arrow was buried in his side, and he whirled around with renewed fury. Tayla also whipped her head to the side, following the demon's line of sight. There was a figure clad in dark green standing there, already nocking another arrow in his bow as he fired at the demon again, this time hitting him in the shoulder. "I'm your opponent now, demon!" the figure shouted, reaching down to his quiver. Mox'na looked absolutely livid now as he bellowed and charged this newcomer wordlessly.

Though she briefly considered shooting the demon as it ran, Tayla took the opportunity to slip her pistol into a pocket and quickly search the area for her fallen rifle. Thankfully it wasn't far away, and a brief inspection found the gun still in loaded and in working condition. Whirling around she expected to see the newcomer firing arrow after arrow, but he was calm and collected with a single arrow still notched as Mox'na drew closer, only mere seconds away from contact. She wanted to shout at the man to just shoot already, but before she could do anything he finally released the shaft. Even from here she could see clearly as it pierced Mox'na's eye, driving in deep before quivering to a halt. The felguard slowed even as the archer leapt backwards for good measure, almost as if he was just tired. At long last Warbringer Mox'na finally slumped to the ground, and didn't move again.

Things were quiet for a long moment as Tayla tried to catch her breath properly, sitting down with a thump on the fallen tree and putting her gun in her lap. She still felt like she was in a state of shock as she willed her hands to stop shaking. "Hey, are you ok?" came the voice of the archer as he strolled up to her and removed his green hood. Looking up Tayla saw that her savior was a human with messy brown hair, and he was looking her over with some concern. "You don't seem to be hurt or anything. Can you stand?"

A feeling of annoyance shot through her as Tayla sprang to her feet. "I can stand just fine." Feeling a bit embarrassed with the human's gaze on her she walked over to the Warbringer's body and inspected it warily, making sure that the demon was indeed dead. The human looked vaguely familiar to her, she was sure he was another one of the hunters that had been invited to stay at Trueshot Lodge.

"You're lucky I showed up when I did. Looks like he almost had you back there" the human said conversationally. "Why were you out here all alone?"

Whirling around Tayla glared at the archer, that feeling of annoyance bubbling over now. She hated being patronized. "For your information he didn't 'almost have me'. In fact I had him right where I wanted him, so don't get a big head or anything" she lied, looking away in a huff as she crossed her arms.

"Hmm. Fine." Looking annoyed himself now the human slung his bow across his back, turned away and began to walk off without a look back. "In that case sorry for interrupting."

Turning to watch the human walk away, Tayla had a feeling of guilt wash over her. She hadn't meant to snap at him like that, especially when he just saved her life. She was just angry with herself right now, she had been so unprepared that it made her embarrassed to even think about it all. It had just been easier taking it out on her savior here. Finally she turned to his retreating back with a scowl. "Hey, wait a second!" The human stopped and turned back curiously as she jogged a bit closer. "I guess I should thank you somehow. I'm Tayla. What's your name?"

The human hesitated for a moment before relenting. "Leo" he replied simply.

"Alright then Leo... I'm assuming you were here for the bounty on the demon?" Tayla gave him a grin as she got into a haggling mood. "Well since you did assist me I guess I could split the profits with you. How does... 80/20 sound? Since I did most of the work, of course."

This time Leo just sighed exasperatedly. "I don't know anything about a bounty. I came down here because I was flying by and I heard an explosion. When I got down here it looked like you were in trouble." Leo turned away from her again, looking bored now. "Just keep the money, how about that? I don't really care."

"Fine! But you better not come asking for your share later on, you hear me?!" Tayla shouted after Leo as he began walking away. Her hands balled into fists as she scowled at his back.

"Ok" Leo called, raising a hand and waving. "By the way, you're welcome!"

Opening her mouth, Tayla wracked her brain for some retort to yell back but frustratingly she couldn't think of anything. She just watched in silence as Leo made it to his mount tethered not far away, a black and brown gryphon, saddled up and took off. It was only now as she watched the gryphon fly away that Tayla realized how late it was. The sun had almost completely set, and she still had a lot of work to do. For one, she needed to take proof of the kill to the Watchers, and then it would probably be prudent to burn the demon bodies. Not only that but Gnasher needed to be repaired, and there was also her wyvern that was tethered not far from here that would need to be seen to soon. With a sigh Tayla holstered her rifle and pulled out a large hunting knife as she began to work. "Just think of the money..." she muttered.

While she worked on first removing Mox'na's head and then piling the demon bodies to burn them, Tayla would occasionally glance up, towards the area where Leo had disappeared. She tried to just forget about him. He was just some stupid human after all. So what if he had tried to help her? It wasn't like she ASKED him to or anything. And what, had he been expecting some sort of thank you? For her to get down on her knees and cry and say 'oh, thank you Mr. Big Strong Human' or something? After all she had that situation completely under control. Tayla paused for a moment. Well, not completely under control. But certainly under control. Sure she may have been in a little bit of hot water but she could have made it to her gun in time. If Leo had arrived a minute later he'd probably have found her already having her victory drink.

It was only after she doused the bodies with oil and was looking for a light that Tayla happened to glance at Gnasher properly for the first time since he'd been damaged. Though it was still twitching slightly she was shocked to see how much damage had been done. "Oh, Gnasher..." she whispered, her heart sinking as she walked over and knelt down beside him, looking him over. "He got you good, didn't he?" A sad smile spread across her face as she began gathering pieces, not even knowing where to start. "He... he almost got me this good too, huh?" she asked, her hands starting to tremble slightly despite her best efforts. Sitting down on the ground, she put her head in her hands and just tried to calm herself.

A few minutes later after the trembling subsided, Tayla got up and took a deep breath. She found her flint and steel and soon had the demon bodies blazing in the night. As she began to work on repairing Gnasher, at least enough to get him back to the lodge, Tayla had a sinking realization come to her. "Fuck!" she swore loudly, taking a drink of water. "He did save me, didn't he?" she muttered, not exactly pleased.

-

"Here's to you, Tayla!" cried Beruna, her Tauren friend as she raised her mug of ale, smiling broadly.

Katine, her Blood Elf friend, just had the usual smirk on her face. "Indeed, it was a most impressive kill." She finished filling her own cup from the cask and lifted it up, touching Beruna's mug with a clink. "To you, Tayla."

Tayla grinned back at both of them and raised her mug as well to cheer her friends before they all downed their first round of drinks in one go. Tayla grinned gratefully at Katine as the elf took her empty mug and began filling it up again. "Thank you, ladies. It was nothing much. It just took a little planning, that's all." Accepting the full mug from Katine with a smile Tayla settled back against the log she was propped against and sipped at the ale slowly this time. While her friends poured themselves another round Tayla took a moment to close her eyes and relax. There was a modest bonfire not far away, she had plenty to drink now, and she had plenty of food in her belly. Now all she needed after this was a good sleep. She had hardly slept the previous night as she turned in the demon's head to the Wardens, returned to the Lodge and patched up Gnasher. Thankfully she had squeezed in an hour nap, but tonight she was going to sleep like the dead.

Beruna was the last to get her mug filled, and she sipped it gratefully before looking to Tayla again. "So, tell us. What happened? I heard that Mox'na was quite a dangerous one. I'm surprised you got out unscathed."

"Well, I wouldn't say completely unscathed" Tayla responded, glancing over her shoulder at Gnasher. The mechanical dog was at least functional again, but one glass eye was cracked and dim and there were notable creaks when it moved. She sighed, later on tonight she was going to have to do more repair work, maybe even use some of the money and have a new frame made over in Dalaran. "But everything turned out alright."

"You know, you could have waited for us to come with you." There was a disapproving tone to Katine's voice though she didn't stop smirking. Beruna didn't say anything but she also glanced at Tayla, the suggestion of a frown on her face.

Feeling her cheeks getting a bit red Tayla looked away and took a gulp of her ale. "...Sorry. It's just, you guys were out and... I was feeling lucky I guess." She felt a bit guilty, though it was true her friends were gone when she left on her mission she had intentionally waited for them to leave the lodge before departing herself. The bounty had been quite significant, and the thought of splitting it three ways had been distasteful. Of course if she could do it over again she probably would have asked them for help, then she wouldn't be indebted to that stupid human. The thought of Leo walking off with that 'you're welcome' made her angrily scowl at her drink and she took a long swig to try and forget about it.

"Tayla" Beruna said in a slightly raised tone of voice as she nudged the goblin's shoulder.

Tayla looked up, realizing she had let her mind wander. "Huh?"

"I was asking if you wanted some of this jerky I made." Beruna held up a wrapped bundle of jerky to Tayla, who wordlessly nodded and took a piece. "You seem angry about something. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing." Wanting to stop thinking about Leo, Tayla looked down at the jerky in her hand, tore off a chunk and chewed. To her surprise it was tender and flavorful, and she gratefully took another piece as she wolfed down the first. "This is pretty good. What is this? Venison?"