considered herself the one who needed to find the captured nether dragon. Such hubris in the face of her results was laughable.
The pair sat in the wilds of Grim Batol, near an area Rhonin had called Raptor Ridge. The name had shaken a weary Iridi, for she recalled the battle at Menethil Harbor. However, the wizard had assured her that most of the raptors had moved toward the direction of the dwarven settlement.
'They sense what's going on in Grim Batol,' he had told her. 'That's why they're giving the dwarves so much trouble right now.'
He had provided her with simple fare from a pouch on his person, a pouch with incredible depth, it appeared. The red-haired wizard pulled out much more food than should have been able to fit inside, and even after that the pouch had not looked flattened.
'There're some benefits to my calling,' Rhonin explained as he and she devoured some unleavened bread and cheese that was actually cool and creamy. 'But a lot more burden.'
'You have great responsibilities among your kind.'
'You mean wizards, the Alliance, or humans? Take your choice; I seem to be bound to all in more ways than I like. The Alliance is still looking to Dalaran for a lot and the wizards are looking for me to think different than they've been doing for the past several hundred years. As for the humans In general... I've seen too many die and I want it to end... I just want to be with my family....'
But Rhonin would never willingly abandon any of the groups that he had just mentioned, Iridi could sense that. The wizard wasmuch like Krasus, striving to make Azeroth better for all, even though it cost him so much.
Even though, at present, his beloved mate might already be dead.
'You are a being of destiny,' the priestess quietly declared. 'You will do great things, I know that.'
'I haven't even been able to keep my wife and sons safe.' He shook his head. 'I've fought demons, dragons, orcs, and more, but the scariest part of my life has been trying to be there for those I care about most.'
She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Although Iridi had no close family with which to compare her situation to his, she was empathic enough to understand his trials. 'It's often the most frightened of folk who do the greatest deeds.'
'You sound like a demigod I once met called Cenarius—' He cut off, suddenly tense.
'What—?'
Rhonin hushed her. His left hand tightened into a fist as he whispered, 'I think this should do the trick. It's more startling than it is anything else, but...'
The dim blue glow suddenly flashed a thousand times brighter, yet its intense illumination was limited to an area just a dozen or so yards in diameter, with Rhonin and Iridi at the center of that lighted circle.
But in that bright glow, the pair were revealed not to be alone.
More than a dozen tall, reptilian creatures surrounded the vicinity. They were not drakonid, although, like them, they walked on two legs. These were more primitive and more bestial and, to Iridi, the return of a nightmare.
'Raptors...' Rhonin breathed.
The brilliant light had stunned the beasts. Several still had their heavy muzzles turned away. More than one hissed. Talis swung back and forth in what was clearly anxiety.
'Stand next to me,' the wizard ordered.
Iridi trusted his judgment, although she also prepared to summon the naaru staff. The raptors paced back and forth, slowlyadjusting to the glow, which the draenei noticed Rhonin had decreased in intensity.
As she studied them more, Iridi noticed that most of them were scarred and, in some cases, freshly injured. Iridi recalled again the battle at Menethil Harbor.
The raptors continued to pace back and forth. Occasionally, one would call out. The throaty growls had different nuances, depending on the raptor who spoke. Iridi held out her hand to summon the staff, wondering if it would help her understand them.
'There're more out there,' Rhonin told her, interrupting the thought.
'More? How many?'
'Difficult to say. Enough, would be my personal taste.' He peered around. 'They've had a tough time of it with Menethil Harbor, from the looks of it. Dwarves are short, but they pack a lot of muscle and fight in their compact bodies. Even speed and good claws and teeth aren't a match.' Rhonin straightened. 'Hmm. Looks like the chief is approaching.'
From the edge of the light emerged a larger, sleeker raptor with more feathers than the rest. Its body was a bright red with golden and blue stripes running across. It walked with all the confidence of a king... or a queen. Iridi could not mark which sex it might be.
The other raptors bent their heads low as they watched their leader progress toward the duo. Several of the reptiles twisted their necks so as to display the more soft, easily torn areas.
'They're marking its dominance over them,' the wizard explained.
'Is it male or female?'
'A damned good question.'
Iridi waited, but he said nothing more on that subject. What mattered most to both of them was what the lead raptor wanted... and whether the two could escape if the entire pack attacked.
'I have some tricks, so don't worry yourself,' Rhonin muttered, as if reading her thoughts. 'I'm just curious why a bunch of meat-eating lizards would treat us as if we were something bigger andnastier than they are.'
The lead raptor paused at just the other side of the glow's source. It peered first at Iridi, then at the wizard.
At last, it growled at Rhonin.
The priestess would have acted, but Rhonin gently tapped her arm with his fingers.
'Our friend here wants to talk. Let's see if we can figure out what it's saying.'
The raptor growled again, this time the tones changing. Iridi listened closely and thought she detected no aggression in the sounds.
'I think it seeks peace with you,' she suggested to the wizard.
'I had the same notion. Curious concept, speaking peace with a carnivorous monster. Of course, I've experienced odder things.'
To her surprise, he took a step toward the raptor. Rhonin kept his gaze directly on the creature's own. As he adjusted his position, he called back to her. 'Always look them straight in the eye. There's always a battle for dominance and if you slip, you lessen yourself in their opinion. That's hard to reverse.' He chuckled. 'Something I learned during a few years as a diplomat...'
The human and the raptor continued their staring contest for more than a minute... and then the reptile ever so slightly glanced to the side. Rhonin nodded once.
This momentary movement on his part seemed to signal a new point in the confrontation. The raptor dipped its head low, then glanced in a different direction.
Despite the risk of doing so, Rhonin casually glanced the same way.
'It's looking at Grim Batol,' he said. 'What a surprise.'
'Do they want us to go back? Are we supposed to be prisoners to turn over to the blood elf and her?'
“I doubt that.' The wizard studied the lead raptor again. 'It would be nice if we spoke whatever it was they speak.'
Iridi again thought of the staff. 'There may be something I can do.'
She summoned the naaru's gift. The raptors hissed, but did not otherwise react. Rhonin said nothing as the draenei cautiously pointed the large crystal in the direction of the leader.
'Do you understand what I'm saying?' she asked of the creature.
The raptor growled.
In the priestess's head, a series of images suddenly formed. The raptors on a hunt for food. A sudden uneasiness. Grim Batol's dark outline.
Two fearsome, batlike raptors diving from the sky, clutching the hapless ground folk and taking them up to devour in the air.
Iridi recognized the monsters even despite the different perceptions. She was seeing the twin twilight
