Breathing heavily Krugirn stands back up never taking his eyes off his latest opponent. The centaur was uglier than most he normally encountered, even moreso than the ones he fought back home in The Barrens, and was very much not likely to get up. Its back was broken and had several large gashes over its body guarenteeing that he wouldn't get up again. "That was closer of a battle than I'd want to admit" said Krugirn to himself. Vaguely he started hearing the deafening roar of the audience screaming at the bloodshed with excitement and for the one who had caused it. His armor was at one time black and outlined in emerald coloring with large spikes jutting off the shoulders and helmet. Now it was worn but still held its color. Afer wiping his sword clean on the corpse he started making his way to the gate to leave the arena he murmured to himself "creatures with no honor is all they are..."
----
After removing his armor and cleaning the gore from the last battle Krugirn sat down on the small cot that was given to him in his cell. Staring at the floor the images of the fight repeated over and over in his head trying to come up with a better strategy incase he came up against another opponent of that race. It was all he was able to do being trapped in this pit at the bottem of the world. Losing his temper he was up in the blink of an eye and hit the wall with all his strength leaving deep cracks and a throbbing pain in his hand that he ignored. Having suffered worse wounds in combat a small throbbing didn't bother him more than a gnat would. The wall should have shattered completely from the blow, however, his enslavers made sure that it was reinforced after the first cell he had literally plowed down. Grunting at the useless attempt he layed down to try to rest and be prepared for whatever he may be thrown into next.
His dreams were always flashbacks to better times. Times of him having pride for battle against strong enemies and rivals that were long gone. Back then he had been naive to how certain parts of the world worked and lived day by day merely hunting, competing with his blood brothers in various challenges, or battling as a soldier of the horde. Now though... those times didn't exist any longer. On a quest given to him by his very race's own leader, Cairne Bloodhoof, he had been sent to Azeroth to investigate a wrongness near Hammerfall in the Arathi Highlands. Upon arriving with his small party they had been ambushed by human assassins. These assassins were part of an organization known only and simply as The Syndicate. Although having his party greatly outnumbered they were able to slay a great number of attackers before finally falling themselves. Krugirn had watched his allies killed honorlessly infront of him and himself too weak to fight any longer was taken captured to serve as a gladiator in some underground arena. The whole thing was held by thieves, corrupted politicians, assassins, and other honorless bound beings. Worse of all they were mostly humans and goblins and a few of the traitorous blood elves.
For the past few years he'd have had to defend himself against countless foes in the arena. Whoever failed to kill their oppenent didn't get a second chance here. But he swore he'd not only break free but also kill anyone who gets in his way to stop the meaningless slaughter going on here.
----
A loud clank of the cell door woke Krugirn into a crouching position ready to strike anyone that may be fatally entering his cell. Before him a night elf was thrown into the cell and had the door slammed shut immediately. The guards left without saying a word. Krugirn hadn't lived this long in this forsaken place to be fooled by cheap tricks so he didn't let down his guard as he stood up. The night elf looked up realizing they weren't thrown into an empty cell and gave an astonished stare at him. Which received an astonished gaze in return because he realized that the elf was a female and, judging by her armor, was a sentinel.
Before Krugirn could come up with a way to ask her who she was she blurted out in common "Oh great... throw me in with the livestock why don't you!?" Before he could control himself Krugirn let out a harsh battlecry that would scare even ghosts into fleeing and had the elf's neck in one hand and her feet off the ground. "You would do well not to anger me little one!" roared Krugirn. Realizing he was about to snap her neck he dropped her roughly back to the ground and took a couple steps back to calm himself. Had he lost so much of his sanity that one remark he was ready to tear someone limb from limb now? He remained standing and watching her as she regained her breathe vaguely recognizing the look in her eyes. The same look he had before he had become a slave.
----
Trying to regain her breathe Celnia coughed a fit. That big hairball nearly strangled me! I'll have to remember not to do that again... Regaining enough of her breathe she finally asked "was that really necessary?" Feeling a little amused at seeing the tauren startle for a moment before answering made her feel a little better. "Forgive me... I've been here much too long and rarely see anyone other than the guards and my opponents in the arena" responded the tauren looking at an oversized set of armor at his side. His eyes showed he wasn't as old as he looked otherwise. So he's been here for quite awhile then... longer than we expected. I'll need to get his trust as soon as I can! Holding back a grin of satisfaction despite the circumstances she asked "are you well?" Seeing his reaction to the question forced her not to be able to hold back the grin any longer.
----
Feeling awekward at the elf smiling the way she was after asking for his health it took him longer to reply than should have... which angered him again but he didn't lose control this time. "I'm fine" he replied with a snort and sat on the side of the cot. Things were feeling too awekward with this elf around. He had gotten used to his isolation and having someone actually directly talk to him didn't feel natural. "Why did they put you here with me? They must have other cells that they'd rather make you suffer in." She looked mildly amused with his question which only served to start making him angrier. "I've got no idea to be honest but you sure aren't much of a pleasure to be around yourself!" she replied. The moment she got her sentence out she looked about ready to try to break down a wall, just as he failed to try himself, because he lost control and started snorting and laughing uncontrollably. Her startlement only fueled the flame for that laugh which caused his side to hurt. "HEY! Knock it off would you!?" she blurted. Finally regaining control of himself, not till after a few more amused snorts escaped him, he smiled at her. "I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. For that matter I haven't laughed at all since I was brought here..." was all he could think of replying at first and stared forward back at his armor. After quite some time of silence and fumbling for words in his head his weren't the next ones said. Which not only did they break the silence but they were a whisper and almost made him madder than when she was first thrown into his cell: "well lets fix that problem then" said the elf.
----
Oh great he looks about ready to try to strangle me again! The tauren had obviously been here for much longer than her superiors had thought with his mood swings going back and forth every few seconds. She actually felt scared this time though because of the cold glare he was giving her. "You think I haven't tried already little one?" he responded nodding to the cracks in the wall infront of him. For the first time Celnia noticed every wall had cracks in them including the ceiling and the floor. He was strong no doubt and obviously going feral in his mind. This would be a dangerous rescue not just due to the Syndicate itself but because he could very much turn on her at any point. "I didn't mean it that way" she said in as soothing a voice as she could. "I merely ment that with a friend you'd have a much better chance. Especially since someone of power sent me here to help you."
Giving her a very confused look he sat silent absorbing what she said. His face betrayed him and showed how much conflict he was in considering whether to trust her or not. If she was trapped here as long as her superiors even predicted she probably would have just knocked out the person claimed something like she had out of reason of thinking the person was an idiot. But she only had so much time in order to pass on the plan to him and she needed his trust, or if not his trust, atleast his cooperation. "Do you want to be free or not? I don't have time to sit here wasting time!"
----
Krugirn finally snapped out of the conflict warring as confusion, anger, and possibly hope in his head. "Who is this being of power and why would they have an interest in me?" he snorted. The elf apparently did have very little time because she glared at the questioning and was muttering to herself trying to place words as she wanted. "Remulos, a keeper of the grove, sent me. I am a warrior of a group known as The Guardians of Cenarius" she finally admitted. "I don't know exactly why he has interest in you but he does and I was requested to help with this rescue! So if you wish to leave then let me know so we can be ready to go when its time!"
Out of everything dealing with the situation this was the most awekward of everything else. Blurting out with more snorts and laughing Krugirn again lost control of himself. After a few minutes, and a glare that if looks could kill she would have been able to slay a dragon, he finally regained control of himself. He didn't respond right away but considered his options. I've been here for far too long so what do I have to lose? I suffer more and more from the honorless battle I'm forced to go into for another creature's greed so I may as well trust someone for a change. If anything I'll be able to slay some of the guards that have enjoyed my suffering and shame. "Alright elf, I'll play along to see where this leads to but if I suspect treachery there won't be a hole large enough to hide you from me!" he stated more rough than he intended. Smiling from hearing what she wanted she said "good... now get into your armor and be prepared to go when I say. We only have a short time to make it to where we must." Nodding Krugirn set to work on donning his armor and wondering if he had made the right choice.
----
With the hardest part out of the way Celnia could focus on carrying out the plan that was given to her. First they'd have to stop at the armory once getting free of the guards when they came to the cell so she could regain her sword and get the tauren a weapon. Time ticked by slowly but finally the sound of boots sounded coming down the hall toward the cell door. "When they reach the door charge straight through it and dispatch the guards as fast as you can!" she whispered quickily. The only response he gave her was a raised eyebrow. A few moments later the boots stopped right outside the cell and a deafing warcry came roaring from the tauren as he charged forth. Expecting the door to stop him he barreled through it and barely recovered in time to keep from crashing into the wall. He was very versatile in combat, that became obvious because as soon as he stopped he took out one of the human guards with a backwards swing of his gauntletted fist and the other with a bonecracking headbash. Both guards were limp on the floor and the one that had been backhanded barely breathing. He's extremely strong too! she thought. Quickly she led him down the hall towards where she saw where her weapon had been taken.
----
Smiling inside his helmet, which was more like a facemask than an actual helmet for only circling around his snout and around the back of his head, he followed the elf. She had done something to the door's lock in order to allow him to charge through it like he did. She definately had things planned but would everything keep going as smooth? Before he could think anymore about it four more guards came sprinting around the corner to check on the noise they heard. Before they could even realize the mistake they made Krugirn charged forward with another warcry and sent two of them flying back down the hall unconcious. The other two were taken out before he could turn towards them by the elf. She performed a jump kick to the back of one's head sending him into the stone floor in a heap and then rounded on the other with a fist into his gut and followed it up with an elbow to his nose. With the reinforcements left in a pile the two new companions made their way to the armory. Immediately of entering the room full of weapons three armed humans charged at the pair. Krugirn sent them tripping to the ground with a heavy warstomp and before they could recover Celnia dispatched them with only a couple more hand-to-hand attacks.
Making sure the room was clear Krugirn walked over and picked up a large sword that looked nothing more than a long piece of twisted metal. It was black and emerald like his armor and had spikes on it aswel. Another notable difference with this sword to most was that the tip curved forward instead of kept straight or backwards. The weapon had served him well before his capture as a weapon he took from a fallen troll lord he had taken part in battling. The elf's weapon was much different from this choice. They were both swords but her's was a very thin blade and light. However it still looked very deadly and she was held it as an extension of herself. "We'd best hurry if we are going to be on time!" she said and ran out of the room down a different hall. Following her they ran into another and larger group of guards but now that the pair was armed they were no match. A minute later the elf turned down a hall that turned into a dead-end. Adrenaline pumping he couldn't help himself but to blurt out "what is this? You've lead us to a dead-end!"
The elf took a few moments to regain her breathe and to make sure that nobody else was about to turn the corner on them and attack was able to reply: "Just be patient it will take him a minute to realize we've made it here!" Feeling the adrenaline calming down he looked at her confused. Before he could ask the wall and ceiling burst and dust covered the pair. He felt something large wrap around him and then he couldn't move. Uselessly Krurgirn tried to struggle free and failed. With a sudden rush of vertigo he blacked out wondering if she HAD tricked him into a horrible death or not.
----
Opening his eyes he had to shut them closed again immediately. They felt like they had been burnt from the brightness of that light... Light? Does that mean I'm on not underground!? Opening them again, carefully this time he slowly adjusted to the brightness after being in the dark for so long. The ground was soft and covered in thick and lush grass. Looking around him trees towered higher than he could have ever imagined. Where am I? he thought before suddenly not feeling alone anymore. Grabbing the hilt of his sword, and only partially feeling relieved it was there at all, he got into a defensive kneel and tried to sense the other being. "Show yourself to me or I'll cut you down if I find you and you remained hidden!" he roared. Light footsteps behind him caused him to turn and then he smiled. Celnia returned the smile and bowed. "Welcome home" she said. And a bigger being followed behind her and bowed aswel. "Indeed, welcome home Krugirn" said Remulos with a fatherly smile. "We have already sent Cairne Bloodhoof a missive of your well being and request that you become a new Guardian of Cenarius if you wish."
After a few moments of staring with his jaw dropped everything finally registered in his head. Home? Guardian of Cenarius? I'm alive and free again? Frowning Krugirn responded "I wish I could accept the request you honor me with, however, I cannot accept for I have shamed myself with what I've been forced to do to survive." This caused Remulos to frown. He throught for a few moments then nodded with a smile again. "I can understand how you feel but you did what you had to and nothing more. You did not do it of free-will and for that I don't see a loss of your honor and you may gain it and more back with becoming a Guardian to help us preserve this world." With hearing this from an ancient being Krugirn was struck dumbfounded. Going to one knee krugirn accepted Remulos' preposal with the same pride he had not felt in several years.
"However Krugirn, there is one thing I must inform you that will cause you to..." tipping his head to the side Remulos looked for a word to fit... "suffer while being a Guardian. And that would be to be partners with Celnia here!" Krugirn and Celnia both exchanged glances with each other and looked to Remulos then back again. All at once all three began laughing. I'm now free to serve again with pride and honor... this is a debt I will pay with all I can!
