Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Fortunately, Krivax was correct about Masruk already being informed about their imminent adventure. When he arrived at the Warrior compound, his friend was already fully geared and ready to leave. After quickly double-checking that they both had all the necessary supplies, the two of them left the compound and started making their way to the citys portal station.

As the two of them made their way through the crowds of nerubians going about their day, Krivax went over the route they would take and the potential dangers they might face. While they had already talked about it extensively, it was worth repeating.

Krivax was not expecting the route to be particularly dangerous, but those expectations were built on research that was already centuries old and imperfect metaknowledge. The worst things they should encounter before they meet the Tuskarr are shoveltuskswhich they should easily be able to handlebut one could never be too careful.

Fortunately, the portal station was located relatively close to the Warrior compound, so it did not take the two of them long to arrive. The building was guarded by armored guards and administrators could be seen inspecting anyone coming and going from the portals.

Following the helpful signs that pointed them in the direction of the correct portal, Krivax and Masruk skittered past a few of the busier portals until they reached the correct location.

The portal itself looked like a tear in reality with its edges illuminated with a violet outline. With his magical senses, Krivax could feel magic being diverted from the nearest leyline, through the building, and into the portal in a constant effort to keep it from closing.

Greetings, are you two Initiate Krivax and Neophyte Masruk? asked the bored-looking administrator, who was presumably assigned to this portal.

Yes. Yes, we are, said Krivax, speaking for the both of them. Reaching into his spatial bag, he retrieved and presented his identification disk.

I see, said the administrator as he inspected the disk with his magic. Barely anyone uses this portal aside from those assigned to maintaining the outpost, so your names caught my attention.

The administrator spoke with a questioning tone, but Krivax simply pretended he couldnt hear it and responded with the nerubian equivalent of a smile.

Seeing that he wouldnt be getting any interesting gossip out of Krivax, the administrator seemed to lose any interest in the two of them and quickly finished processing them.

Stepping through the portal was an incredibly strange feeling for Krivax. While the transition from one location to another was far more seamless than it would have been if he was teleported, the abrupt changes to all of his senses were still very jarring.

From one moment to another, everything from the lighting to the air to the ambient magic was suddenly different. Krivax idly wondered which parts of the environment the portal was designed to filter as he and Masruk adjusted to the changes in their senses.

After they finished adjusting, they once again presented their identification to an administrator and waited patiently as they were processed. After they were done, Krivax was surprised to hear that the outposts Gatewatcher had sent a Warrior to escort them to the entrance to the surface.

As the silent Warrior escorted them through a dizzying maze of tunnels, Krivax could tell that the outpost was manned almost entirely by Warriors.

Soon enough, Krivax and Masruk were brought to the most heavily guarded portion of the outpost. The entrance to the surface was swarming with Warriors and protected by a fearsome gatekeeper.

Krivax had occasionally seen Spiderlords at various points over the past four years, but always in passing. The Spiderlords held positions as leaders, guardians, and enforcers of the law in Azjol-Nerubs society, so as a young Initiate of the Circle of Viziers hed never had reason to meet one in person.

Until now, that is.

The factors that determined the highly variable size of the Spiderlords were unknown to Krivax, but this one was truly massive. Standing at what he estimated to be at least eighteen feet tall, the giant beetle-like nerubian had a brown carapace that looked thick enough to shrug off any blade and two large scythe-like arms that could easily tear a fully grown man in two.

As the giant nerubian blocked the way and looked down at him with a searching expression, Krivax couldnt help but feel that both the Scourge and the Vrykul must be truly powerful to defeat such terrifying killing machines.

You must be Initiate Krivax and Neophyte Masruk. I am Gatekeeper Gruthib said the Spiderlord in an extremely deep voice. Vizier Hadix has secured your passage through these gates. Beware, young ones. The surface is teeming with danger, and once you pass this threshold your safety is nobody's responsibility but your own. Are you certain you wish to continue?

Yes, Gatekeeper. We are certain, Krivax said with confidence. For a normal nerubian, this would likely be a truly daunting moment, but all he felt was an eagerness to take his first look at Azeroths sky.

The Gatekeeper turned his gaze to Masruk, who simply responded with a silent nod of agreement.

Very well. Present your identification and I shall open the way.

Krivax made to hand over his identification for the third time in the past few hours, only to hesitate.

He doesnt have any hands how does he expect me to hand it over?

Just when he was starting to feel awkward, the sound of chittering at his feet drew his gaze downwards.

A dog-sized beetle was wildly chittering at him and waving its two front arms in a grasping motion. Krivax turned a questioning gaze to the Gatekeeper, but the Spiderlord responded with nothing but an amused expression.

After handing one of the potions to Masruk he opened the vial and quickly downed the potion in one quick gulp. Potions often tasted incredibly strange, so it was best to drink them as quickly as possible. Immediately after Krivax finished drinking the viscous liquid, he felt a surge of boundless energy that to him felt inexhaustible.

Intellectually, he knew that the potion would only last for the night, but he still felt as if he could run at a full sprint for days.

Let's go, said Krivax after putting away the empty vials. Itll be best if we travel as far as we can during the night while most of the animals are asleep. We can set up a nest in one of the trees after the sun rises.

Once Masruk nodded his agreement, the two of them started to move at a quick pace while following the edge of the cliff. One thing that was definitely not captured in the Warcraft franchise was how quickly nerubians were able to move due to their large size and multiple sets of legs, especially when they didn't need to worry about their stamina.

Honestly, being a giant spider person who was larger than an adult human and also able to run nearly as fast as a horse had its benefits.

As they traveled, Krivax did his best to answer Masruks frequent questions.

The young nerubian seemed to be interested in everything, from clouds to trees to the random wildlife that hurriedly moved out of their way. For Krivax, it was interesting to see all the animals that were present in this location that did not exist in the game, from stuff that wouldnt be out of place back on Earth to things he didnt even have names for. After a few hours of running, Krivax had seen rabbits, dragonflies, a strange fox thing with tiny antlers, squirrels, a few deer, and even a herd of shoveltusk grazing in the distance.

Thankfully, it seemed that he was right to assume the wildlife wouldnt be stupid enough to attack two large predators for no reason.

Like this, the two of them managed to cover a deal of great distance as they traveled the rest of the night without interruption. It was only when the sun started to peek over the horizon that their pace started to slow.

While their potions still had a small amount of time before they ran out, the two of them could not help but be entranced by the sight of their first Azerothian sunrise.

As the darkness abated and the animals began to grow more active with the early morning light, the two of them decided to find a tree they could build a nest in and use to get some rest. After all, it had been a long evening for the both of them.

The terrain was mostly flat and not heavily forested, so they would likely be able to see any incoming danger regardless of which tree they chose. Seeing no reason to pick one giant tree over another, the two nerubians made their way to a tree that resides on a small hill.

As Masruk started to prepare their rations so they could have a quick meal once they finished spinning their web, Krivax began to inspect the tree in order to make certain no Duskwing Eagles had already made a nest in it.

He had only just finished determining that the tree was unoccupiedand thus free for them to usewhen he heard a strange bellow that sounded something like an angry boar.

Startled, Krivax turned his attention to the direction the sound came from, only to see a large shoveltusk charging the two of them and several smaller ones behind it nervously huddling together.

Krivax frantically began casting a Frostbolt while Masruk charged spear first at the incoming stag. While the adult shoveltusk was very strong, it had no chance of standing up to Masruk and Krivax.

Masruks spear expertly kept the territorial creature at bay and Krivaxs full-strength Frostbolts constantly smashed into the shoveltusks side and left it slow and injured. With a quick thrust, Masruk buried his spear into the side of the creature, causing it to collapse and spit out blood.

By the time they put the shoveltusk out of its misery, the rest of the herd was already running off into the distance.

Good job, Masruk, said Krivax as he looked away from the animals bloody corpse. It was his first time killing another living being and even if it was just an animal, he couldnt help but feel a little uncomfortable.

Its fine. People go hunting all the time back on Earth. I already knew I was going to have to get used to stuff like this, so theres no point in making a big deal about it.

It was easy, said Masruk. Krivax felt like he could hear some disappointment in his friends voice. The shoveltusk was not very intelligent. It continuously charged into my spear even after such tactics failed already.

Krivax ignored his battle-hungry friends disappointment and started to wrap the animals corpse in webs so they would have an easier time dragging it away. After all, it would be unwise to leave a corpse near where they intended to sleep when it could attract scavengers.

Once the two of them pulled the shoveltusk an acceptable distance away, they quickly climbed up the tree and began weaving their temporary nest.

When the tree was nearly fully covered in webs that would entrap any approaching predator, Krivax and Masruk unpacked their rations and turned to watch the sunrise. After they finished their meal and were preparing to go to sleep, Masruk decided to climb to the very top of the tree to see if he could spot any potential threats.

Krivax, what are those? asked Masruk, interrupting Krivax as he was busy trying to make his sleeping cocoon more comfortable.

With a slight huff of exasperation, Krivax climbed to the top of the tree so he could explain whatever this new sight was to his friend. For a moment, after he saw the strange shapes floating back and forth in the distance, Krivax had no idea what he was looking at until he suddenly remembered a particular Tuskarr tradition.

The Tuskarr flew large kites over their settlements as a way of signaling their location to one another.

Well alright then. I guess well be making first contact faster than I thought.