Everything Changes

Jaynekobb walked down the dimly lit cave, hands behind his head, keenly aware of the danger he was in. The Blood Elves behind him had their weapons trained on him, and were waiting for an excuse to kill him. Jaynekobb knew all of this, yet he vainly tried to come up with an escape plan.

Vera had abandoned him in favor of butterflies, Grape was nowhere near, and Bearkiller, even if she were awake, was far too large to fit into the cave’s entrance. Jaynekobb, for the first time in a very, very long time, found himself completely on his own, and he simply had no idea what to do.

As they walked down the cave’s wet and moldy corridor, he tried to remember every detail, in case he needed to find his way out in a hurry. Unfortunately, soon enough the caves all began to look alike, and quite frankly, he was lost. As they turned one more corner, he walked into a large open room with a slope down into another level. The Blood Elves, pushed him forward, and he began the slippery journey down the slope, hoping the whole time that the Blood Elves would not be able to keep their balance, and it would present him with an opportunity to escape. But, as they finally reached the bottom level, he knew his hopes were for nothing.

Their journey continued, and after what seemed like an impossibly long walk, they finally entered a large, brightly lit cavern. The open space had been enhanced heavily with magical spells, some to bring light to the cavern, others to bring warmth. The walls were not slick and slimy in here, but instead were covered with copper piping, nozzles, large containers and all sorts of engineering equipment. The noise in the room was a cacophony of hissing and grinding as the gadgets did their varied tasks.

In the center of the cavern was a large, inverted cone, coming down from the ceiling. It appeared to be made of some type of fel iron, very sturdy looking and slightly ominous. Its surface seemed to shimmer and shine randomly as if a magical aura was embedded into the steel itself. At the tip of the cone, in what seemed to be the dead center of the room itself, a large crackling ball of energy danced and flickered, shooting out sparks occasionally and large explosions of sound. Below the ball of energy was a large circular platform, made of the same fel iron as the cone above it, and a railing circling the perimeter, either keeping people out, or the energy in; Jaynekobb could not be sure.

As Jaynekobb took in the awe inspiring site, his eyes finally turned to the little gnome off to the left, busily fiddling with a large, gun like device. From what he could tell, the gun was attached to the base of the fel iron platform with a large cable.
All of this though, was irrelevant to Jayne as he recognized the gnome. Jaynekobb felt his chest burst with fury, his brain turning to one thought and one thought only. Before he could stop himself, he began to leap off of the stairway and charge toward the gnome.

The Blood Elves, sensing the tension in Jaynekobb’s demeanor, grabbed on to his arms and pulled him back, preventing him from attacking their boss.

Struggling against them, Jaynekobb finally thrust forward, but was held firmly in place by the two warriors behind him. His anger welled up and he yelled as loud as he could.

“K’Vorkian!!!! I WANT MY TWO GOLD PIECES!”

— Meanwhile —

Vera sniffed the ground a bit and eyed the tunnel ahead. She could still smell Jaynekobb’s stench, along with two others’. Blood Elves by the smell of them. Most likely, they’d captured her Night Elf before he could hatch his ridiculous plan, and dragged him, unwilling into the caves.

The large cat shook herself in frustration and flexed her claws a bit, digging them into the stone. She had to go in there to get her Night Elf, this much was certain. Vera loved her pet Night Elf, and would see no harm come to him. Although he was an idiot, flawed and stupid, she found herself needing to be near him, keeping him out of trouble and helping him in his battles. No, Vera could not leave the Huntard, Jaynekobb to his own devices. That was certain doom.

With one last grumble, Vera tensed her shoulder muscles and propelled herself into the cave, following the scent, not stopping for anything. Her nose could not be fooled, and her footing was sure. She entered a large room with a downward slope, and leapt to the bottom, before turning to her left and continuing her pursuit. Her prey was ahead… her pet Night Elf was ahead.

With one final burst of speed, Vera flung herself into a large, brightly lit room and tackled the two Blood Elves to the ground, inadvertently knocking Jaynekobb down as well.

—

Moments after his outburst, Jaynekobb was slammed to the ground with incredible force, but managed to land on his side, in a defensive posture. There, standing on the two Blood Elves, Vera, his precious kitty stood proudly, roaring in victory.

Jaynekobb grabbed his bow from the fallen Blood Elves and turned to K’Vorkian, the bowstring already pulled back, a fresh arrow placed on to the string. Feeling the rage build up again, Jaynekobb aimed the arrow at the Gnome’s head and prepared to let it fly.

It was at that exact moment when Vera and Jaynekobb’s life would take a dramatic turn. Jaynekobb, having announced himself with a rage filled outburst, followed by Vera’s attack, had given K’Vorkian just enough time to turn toward them, the strange gun looking device readied.

Before Jaynekobb could release his arrow, K’Vorkian pulled the trigger of his weapon, and a large explosion of light and hellfire burst from the chamber, aimed at Vera. The shot found its mark, and blasted Vera, enveloping her in hellish flames, her howls of pain deafening Jaynekobb and shattering his world all at once.

Jaynekobb, now distracted and startled by his beloved cat’s pain, let loose with the arrow, which missed K’Vorkian by a foot and embedded itself in a pipe attached to the wall. Steam hissed out of the pipe and filled the room, giving K’Vorkian a few moments to drop his weapon and run down a hall on the other side of the room, leaving Jaynekobb and his pet Nightsaber behind.

Jaynekobb couldn’t understand what was happening to Vera, as she howled in agony and stretched her mighty frame out, her open jaws stretched wide, pointing at the ceiling. Jaynekobb could feel her pain, but didn’t knwow how to help. The demonic flames enveloped her completely, before, after what seemed like an eternity, flickered out and died, leaving Vera to scratch at the floor, her torment continuing.

Jaynekobb cast his healing spell on Vera repeatedly, hoping to help her, but got no response, other than the continued howling of pain as something strange began happening to his Nightsaber. Her fur began to shimmer, mimicking the strange behavior of the fel iron cone. Underneath the shimmering, Jaynekobb thought her could see her stripes beginning to lighten and her mane beginning to grow a bit.

After a few minutes, the shimmering died down, and standing in front of him, Vera shook herself and growled lowly. Her fur had completely changed now, her once dark stripes replaced by lighter, more luminescent ones. Her mane had grown a bit, but the biggest change, the one that made Jaynekobb step back was her eyes.

Gone were Vera’s once loving and curious eyes. Instead, staring back at him were glowing, demonic green eyes, filled with anger and pain, and above all hunger.

K’Vorkian had done something to his precious cat, and now, unsure of what was going on, Jaynekobb backed away from the angry looking nightsaber as she growled and stalked toward him.

“Vera? It’s me… it’s Jaynekobb,” he said, pulling out another arrow, praying that he would not have to put down one of his best friends.

Vera, seemingly oblivious to Jayne’s mutterings, stalked toward her prey, eager to rip into the flesh and fill her belly with the blood of the guilty.

—

To be continued