"Do you see it? That pale thing." Jess pointed.

Gred narrowed his eyes and peered at it for a while. "Could it be a pig raised by someone on the Elwynn side? Maybe it drowned and the body washed over here."

"That isn't livestock. It's a person." The priest had awakened at some point. He slapped the side of the wagon and shouted, "Stop! There's someone in the water!"

"A person?" The paladin in front leaned his head out. The wagon swayed, then came to a steady halt.

Once the hoofbeats, rattling boxes, and creaking wagon all fell silent, only the water, the birds, and the wind passing through the trees remained. The quiet was almost frightening.

Jess jumped from the wagon and approached the bank. The stark-white object among the aquatic plants truly was a person. The body was large because the person had been powerfully built, not grotesquely swollen from prolonged immersion. That meant the death was fairly recent.

The priest removed his outer robe, waded into the water, and swam to the corpse. With some effort, he rolled the whole body over. It was a woman.

Her distinctive build and the nearly invisible blond stubble on her head made her identity easy enough to guess.

Everyone helped drag the woman's body ashore. Half of one leg was missing, the severed surface bleached white by the water. Horrific wounds of every kind covered her body, especially her lower half.

Gred frowned. "What happened here? She certainly didn't kill herself by jumping into the river."

"Gnolls," one traveler said. "There's almost no other possibility. Don't forget that gnolls are humanoids too. They possess few of our virtues and every one of our flaws."

"Do you remember the group we met at the inn last night?" Jess asked Gred.

"You mean..." Gred moved closer and examined the face. "It really does look like the woman with the bow."

"You knew this lady?" the priest asked.

"I'm fairly sure it's her. We met her once yesterday," Jess said. "She and two men were a party of bounty hunters. They planned to hunt a gnoll leader wanted by Stormwind, but they left the inn last night and we never saw them again."

"I've also heard about the Riverpaw pack's new leader," the paladin said.

The older priest glanced toward the aquatic plants in the distance, which stood taller than a man. "Everyone, we had best leave. If she was still alive last night, then the place where she was killed may not be far from here."

"What should we do with the body?" the young priest asked.

"Push her back into the river, and send her farther out," the paladin said. "Let the current carry her to Stranglethorn Vale or somewhere even farther away. If we bury her here, diseased animals nearby may dig her up. If she has the misfortune to contract the necromantic contamination, an undead creature this strong will be difficult to handle and bring needless trouble to Raven Hill."

"Can't we burn her?" Jess asked.

"We don't have enough fuel at hand. Gathering it here would take a long time and might attract the gnolls," the paladin said. "Though I dislike saying so, we would effectively be preparing them a roast. I'm certain this lady would not want that."

"Then let's do it." Gred rolled up his sleeves and joined the others in pushing the woman's body back into the river.

The priests recited prayers to guide the departed spirit onward. Whether or not they believed in the Holy Light, every traveler riding with them remained silent and watched the body drift away.

Jess gazed after it, then looked back north toward the unbroken expanse of Elwynn Forest.

He had a feeling his dealings with Hogger were far from over.

Only after the corpse finally vanished from sight did everyone wash their hands and clothes and return to the wagon.

The group remained much quieter for the rest of the journey. No one asked what might have happened to the bounty hunter's other companions.

After they entered southern Elwynn, the sky grew darker the deeper they traveled. The priest's pocket watch showed only two or three in the afternoon, yet the day had nearly darkened into night.

The dark energy released by Karazhan's explosion had lingered here for years and would continue to do so. Whether the people here died in despair or moved away, the darkness would not end.

Objectively speaking, they were extraordinarily fortunate that Medivh's power had destroyed only this region when it ran out of control.

After all, the being possessing him had been the soul of the Lord of All Demons, the Burning Legion's true master—the Dark Titan Sargeras, who could cleave an entire planet apart with one stroke of his sword.

As they traveled deeper, the forests on both sides of the road grew unspeakably sinister. Thick fog hid the view. The torches erected along the road were intended to light the way for travelers, but the points of fire receding through the mist looked as strange as ghostly flames.

Cries periodically sounded from the forest, though no one could tell whether they came from humans or wolves. Sometimes a raven suddenly broke the silence, reminding them that living creatures still existed here.

The rumble of the wooden wheels became the only continuous sound. Jess felt as though countless unknown creatures watched their group advance from within the forest.

The wagon reached a crossroads. Through the dense fog, they could make out the shadows of several buildings and a small church nearby. A few windows seemed to glow with lamplight within those shadows.

The priest sitting at the front turned around. "We've reached Raven Hill, everyone."

This was Raven Hill?

If no one had told him, Jess would have thought it merely a somewhat larger way station. This so-called town was smaller than even the outpost at Sentinel Hill, and it could not remotely compare with Goldshire.

Perhaps he had grown accustomed to towns and cities far larger than their game versions. Suddenly seeing a little place scarcely better than its in-game model was almost disorienting.

The priests aboard the Church wagon rested briefly and unloaded a few things before continuing onward. They wanted to reach the next way station before night truly fell, though Jess did not know what difference existed between day and night in Duskwood.

Raven Hill was desolate. Not a single person could be seen in the small square at the town's center. Only an old man sat outside the nearby inn, watching them.

Jess and Gred rented a room at the town's only inn. It cost only a few copper coins for the night, so little that it was practically free.

The inn was filthy and disordered for lack of anyone to clean it, with dust everywhere, but they had no other choice.

Jess inventoried their luggage and tools, collapsed into a wooden chair, and stared at the sinister forest outside the window. "We'll avoid every fight we can. If we're unlucky enough to meet undead, we hide or run. If we encounter wolves or other animals, stay out of sight and avoid conflict."

"I was thinking the same thing." Gred drew the sword and gave it a wave. "This town doesn't look capable of treating injuries. If something goes wrong, we may die here."

With that, he reversed the sword and offered Jess the hilt. "Take it."

"You use the sword." Jess picked out the axe. "I'll use this."

"Why?" Gred asked.

"A sword takes skill," Jess said. "I have no real combat experience, but I've chopped plenty of firewood. At least I understand how to put force behind this axe. You're a veteran. You're far better with a sword than I am."

"This sword was made for a human build, so it doesn't suit a dwarf very well." Gred raised the blade and sighted along its edge. "Fortunately, it isn't too long. I can manage it."

At that moment, the dwarf lowered the sword, but his gaze did not move. He stared straight at the door.

"Who are you? What do you want?"