Chapter 7

Corben's worst fears had come true. Despite his protests, his group voted on walking back to Goldshire instead of using a cart. Lonaraa was walking in front of the group with a smile on her face.

'Why am I putting up with this bullshit? I need to get enough mana for teleportation as fast as possible. They can take their week-long walks without me.' He quietly mumbled to himself while keeping an eye on the side of the road.

If nothing else, walking provided plentiful opportunities to stack up on herbs. With most common ones already taking most of the backpack's space, Corben only looked for rare and unknown ones.

Every herbalist dreamed of finding new types of herbs with beneficial properties and such discoveries, although uncommon, were not that unheard off.

Meanwhile, Eldum walked behind the group, watching the forest. The wolf pack he had set free seemingly didn't want to let him go and were covertly following.

It was his family's blessing or curse to have a deeper connection with the forest animals. If he was born a night elf he would have become a druid.

"Hey, stop for a moment!" Corben suddenly said and walked into the roadside grass.

"Huh? Did you find something?" Lonaraa stopped and asked.

"I haven't seen these before." Corben responded excitedly as he waved a small purple flower.

"These are pretty." Lonaraa remarked, walking up closer.

"I have memorized every known herb that grows within the kingdom and these ones are unknown." Corben said. He took off the backpack from his shoulders and fished out a cleansing potion just in case.

When testing herbs, one cannot be too careful. Who knows maybe this herb held the most potent poison known to Alliance. He carefully tore off a petal from the flower and chewed on it. "Hmm… I feel… stimulant… no, there is more of a euphoric effect."

Corben then took a gulp from the cleansing potion and washed his mouth with water to test the rest of the herb. Both the stem and root had the same effect.

"Whit ye got thare?" Eldum wandered closer and asked.

"I think this one will be a fun one to test out. Feels great to chew on it. I wonder what effect a cigar or potion will give." Corben replied. "Up for some testing, buddy?"

"O course. But A think we neit tae find an inn first." Eldum said. "A also neit tae clean ma pipe before testin this ane."

"You see, if we had taken a cart ride, you would never have found it." Lonaraa said with a smirk.

"Unless this makes us filthy rich, I still don't see many positives for walking." Corben said with a flat voice.

"You need to exercise. You were complaining for half a day about your legs hurting after the gnoll quest. If you don't want to walk then we will have to go for the runs in the early mornings." Lonaraa said.

"Stay away from me, woman. I will not give in to your demands to let you torture me." Corben waved her off. "Besides, once we have enough money to take time off, I plan to get plenty of exercise with Stormwind girls."

"That is not an exercise!" Lonaraa huffed.

"And how would you know that?"

"I… ah, forget it. You can be a lazy slob who gets out of breath after ten steps for all I care." Lonaraa said defensively and then walked some distance away to practice sword techniques while Corben gathered the herbs.

"A'll tak a leuk gin thare isnae any prey around. We coud use more driit meat reserves." Eldum said matter of factly. He then leaned in closer so Lonaraa doesn't overhear them. "Gae easy on lassie. She likes ye, ye know."

"Not that she isn't quite a looker, but I doubt we would go well together. Besides, getting busy with teammates would only lead to problems. But I'll try to go easier on her. I don't really want to upset her." Corben whispered back.

As Eldum disappeared into the Woods, Corben turned his attention to the herb gathering. While performing the task he glanced at Lonaraa from time to time.

'I wonder why she is like this? Maybe it's just her culture. I'm sure she is considered attractive among her kind.' Corben mused. Lonaraa was over three hundred years old and was considered an adult for at least fifty years, placing her in her early twenties by human standards.

Being married at such an age was very common unless one was an adventurer, but even the absolute majority was at least seeking short-term partners. Many of his old schoolmates were already engaged during their school days, especially those from wealthier families.

'Her private life isn't really my business though. Same as how my life isn't hers to dictate.' He put the topic to rest for now.

Although herb gathering was delicate work, it didn't take long for Corben to pick up every single one in the proximity.

"I'm done." He announced and stored the bag safely in his backpack.

Lonaraa stopped her practice and looked around. "Eldum is not back yet."

"I doubt he wandered too far off, don't wear yourself out too much. There is a chance we stumble upon a defias group or gnolls." Corben said. 'At least I can slack off a bit while we wait. I could roll a stamina cigar to have an easier time reaching the inn.'

"I'm not tired." Lonara said and resumed her practice.

"Suit yourself." Corben said while looking for a comfortable place to sit down. A small patch of moss under an oak nearby was just the spot. He sat down, rolled up a few stamina cigars, and then lit up one of them while safely stashing the rest in his backpack.

Watching Lonaraa practice was an interesting enough distraction, but it was clear she was showing the first signs of getting tired. 'So stubborn. Eh, she is a big girl and can make her own decisions.' Corben mused as he took a long puff and exhaled.

Lonara continued to swing the sword and then went for a kick against the road pole she was using as an imaginary enemy. Corben flinched at his companion's hoove connecting with the wooden opponent at the height of the average human's midsection. 'That kick would turn anyone's insides into a mush.'

Lonara let out a long exhale with a satisfied smile and wiped off the sweat from her brow.

"Done?" He asked.

"Yes. I think this will be enough." She said panting.

"Want one?" Corben offered her a stamina cigar.

"I guess. You don't have a potion version, by chance?"

"I only have raw ingredients. It would take too much time to make a potion now."

"Then I'll take it." She sat down next to Corben, put the cigar in her mouth, and accepted the flame from his fingertip.

They sat in silence for a while only exchanging passive glances from time to time. Eldum surely was lost in the activity of hunting. With his trusty bear as support, he likely could take on almost anything roaming around the woods.

Corben gave his companion another glance as she took a short puff with a strained expression.

"If the smoke irritates your throat, you can cough. You don't have to pretend everything is fine." Corben said.

"It is fine!" She said defensively and to prove the point took a long puff which, predictably, ended up with her having a coughing fit.

Corben pulled the water pouch out of the bag and handed it to her.

"I assume you won't tell me what this was about?" Corben asked once she had stopped coughing and drank half of the pouch.

"What is?"

"Never mind. I'll just make potions for the next time so you don't have to choke yourself on cigar smoke."

"It's not that… I… I thought you would make fun of me for not being able to smoke and I don't want to be a burden." Lonaraa said as she took another small puff, this time letting out a cough afterward. "I'm not sure how you and Eldum can smoke these all the time."

"Practice, mostly. I started smoking the moment I knew how to make them. Takes fewer herbs and is easier to make. Vials cost money. Sure, they are dirt cheap but if you don't have any money then you are shit out of luck." Corben explained with a long puff of his own. "Besides, why would I make fun of you for not being a professional smoker? I know you don't smoke."

"You are constantly making fun about… you know. So I thought you would latch on to other things as well." Lonaraa said quietly. "I don't want to be the weird one in the team."

"Honestly, I don't get it. You are a good-looking woman. Surely you had suitors before. Is that a cultural thing with your people? I mean, I don't know anything about draenei, so maybe I am just being horribly insensitive towards your customs and just looking through the lens of my own experiences."

"No… two of my sisters got married younger than I am now. I don't really want to talk about it."

"Sure. But if you want to tell more about your people, I'm all ears."

"I'm not sure where to start. I guess we were always on the run. It was before my time but some elders have told me that we rarely spend as much as a century on every world before the legion found us. Draenor was different. I could spend all my childhood in peace. That is until the legion came again and… they…" Lonaraa closed her eyes and took another puff, this time without a cough.

"I got lucky. My only brother, Duniir, and my eldest sister, Sia, sacrificed themselves in the sacking of Shatarah. The last stronghold my people had. A small portion of us hid with Prophet Velen until we could take a dimension ship and run." She exhaled as her voice broke.

"Each time I lost someone. Before that, in the previous world, it was my parents. My father was a paladin and my mother was a priest. Both blessed by the light…"

"I guess I wanted to be strong so no one has to give their life for me. Sorry. I know you just wanted to ask about my culture but I went all pity party on you." She took one last puff and put out the cigar against the plating of her glove.

"It's all right. I'm glad you told me more about yourself." Corben offered her a smile. "We are a team, it's only natural we would learn each other's stories over time. Sorry about your family. Must have been tough to go through such a thing twice."

"What about you?" Lonaraa asked.

"Too young to remember my parents when I was dropped off at the orphanage. I don't even know what happened to them. Spent all my life in Stormwind. Found out I had a talent for magic and got accepted into the academy. Then my studies were cut short and I graduated. Then I met you and started my adventuring career. That's about it." Corben said as if reciting his shopping list.

"Sorry."

"Yeah… we both got a shit hand in life but turned out fine." Corben remarked. "Another one?" He asked as he took two more cigars out of the bag.

Lonaraa started to reach for it but then stopped midway. "No, they are too much for me. Maybe some other time."

"Easing into the stuff is a smart move. You'll be drinking and smoking like a pro in no time." Corben chuckled.

"Who said you could even handle a drunk me?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't taunt me like that woman. Now I need to know what you are like drunk."

"I am not getting drunk for your amusement."

"The point of getting drunk is to do it for your own good time, not someone else's. You have to let loose sometimes."

"I can let loose!" Lonaraa protested. "I just… I just…"

"Relax. I'm not saying you suddenly have to act like me or Eldum. But you don't have to act like you are applying for the paladin entrance exam either."

"I know." She let out a sigh. "I appreciate that you are looking out for me."

"That's what friends are for. Speaking of which, I guess we should go look if Eldum is not stuck in another outhouse."

"Thon wis ane time." Eldun's voice came from behind the oak.

"How long have you been back?" Corben asked.

"Only a few minutes. A didnae want tae interrupt yer moment." Eldum replied, coming around the tree and dropping a backpack on the ground. "Deer meat. Got a nice catch. Can ye freeze it for me?"

"Sure thing." Corben said. And cast a chill spell on the backpack. A pack full of fresh meat would make their stay in the inn free, if not more.

Not that money was tight, but they weren't a star team yet that could fling gold coins around like it's nothing. With about an hour's walk to the nearest inn the team started to move once again.

Proofreading by Visur Nyxan and Sad_Smiles.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.