Erik powered up his Mekgineer's Chopper after two attempts. He had poured Drew into the sidecar and waited for Sarah to climb on the saddle behind him. 

She stared at the dwarf in disbelief. "You're having a laugh, aren't you?" she said, hands on hips trying to look unafraid at the prospect of ending up in a crumpled heap again – and where the hell would she end up then? Mardum? Argus?

"Listen, lass, ye'll no be bloody laughin' if the Archmage comes oot and finds ye standin' debating whether tae get oan or no," Erik replied, as masterfully as he could between hiccups.

Sarah scowled, knowing he had a point. Still, the thought of Erik being in charge of a bike while under the influence of Dwarven Ale no less, was a bit worrying. Especially with her and Drew as passengers.

"Stop yer frettin' and get oan!" The dwarf grunted impatiently.

Nodding, but with a degree of reluctance, Sarah climbed into the saddle behind Erik. "Where are we going?" she asked nervously.

"No fer. Now haud oan."

With an almighty surge forward the chopper moved out along the streets of the Dwarven Quarter. Sarah's arms wrapped around Erik's waist, clinging on for dear life. She looked to the side at Drew's unconscious body. His limp form was bumping about in the sidecar. Oh god, he's going to be sore in the morning, she thought.

The bike revved between the Dwarven Quarter and Old Town, its engine booming loudly due to the acoustics of the stone tunnel. Sarah's eyes widened as their chauffeur banked sharply to the right. She cringed as she heard the metal of the sidecar scrape along the wall. Erik straightened, then made an abrupt left turn over the bridge that crossed the canals.

He honked the horn twice at pedestrians. They jumped out of the way just in time. Sarah looked behind, mouthing apologies as the people shook angry fists at them. "Erik! For goodness sake..." she shouted.

"Whit! Wud ye rather I run the buggers o'er?" he answered gruffly over his shoulder.

Sarah just shook her head and clung on as Erik thundered through another tunnel to the Trade District. From there it was thankfully a clear run to the city gates, although they nearly ended up in the canals when he misjudged the turning onto the Valley of Heroes.

They zoomed off the paving and onto the dirt road outside the gates. Sarah's bottom was taking a beating against the saddle as the bike veered up to the left, over very rough ground. Drew, she saw fared no better, but he was groaning a lot more now. At one point she thought his eyes opened but as the chopper bounced over a tree root, he was rendered unconscious again.

Up ahead, a cottage rested in between two hills. Erik revved again and they started up the incline towards the building. Sarah was never so relieved as to draw to a halt. She carefully slid off the saddle, massaging her posterior as she did so.

Erik nearly fell off, staggering a bit and then righting himself before turning to grab Drew's limp body which had slid further down into the sidecar. After pulling, twisting, heaving and tugging, he finally threw the drunken human over his shoulder and staggered into the cottage.

As he flung the door open he explained the little abode had belonged to a couple, Mallory and Pomeray, an alchemist and Herbalist respectively. They had a lover's spat and went their separate ways; he went back to Booty Bay and she returned to her home in Theramore. The property ended up for sale, so Erik bought it to use mainly as a base when he was in the area hunting.

Grunting, he manoeuvred the five-foot-eleven drunken lump through the small hallway towards one of the bedrooms and kicked open the door. Unceremoniously, he dumped Drew on the cot and threw a cover over him before joining Sarah in the living area. He grinned, a little sheepishly at her then busied himself stoking a fire before moving through to the pantry.

Sarah took time to look around the small accommodation. She removed her cape and scarf, draping them over one of the comfy-looking armchairs.

The cottage was quaint, made of Echo Ridge stone, and built to last. A couple of small windows, on either side of the room, were adorned with plain wool drapes in a deep blue. Two large rugs, one in front of the hearth, the other under the dining table with four chairs, set further back in the room. She reckoned this would serve as a nice little sanctuary for her and Drew.

A low doorway led through to two bed-chambers, one now occupied by her best friend. She stepped in quietly to check on him. Drew lay with one leg hanging out the cot, his arms raised above his head and he was snoring softly. Sarah lit the solitary candle in the window which afforded enough light for her to see him better.

Gently, she positioned his arms at his sides, lifted his leg up into the cot and rearranged the cover so he wouldn't get a chill. His shoulder-length black hair was spread over the pillow and vagrant strands covered his gentle face. She brushed them to the side. He emitted a low moan, causing her to draw her hand back. A moment later he settled back into his slumber. 

Sarah noticed his head had taken a few knocks, including a small cut on his lip. "My faithful little puppy," she whispered, smiling softly. "It's my turn to look after you now."

A tap at the door announced Erik's presence. Holding a couple of goblets and a flagon of wine he indicated the living area with a curt nod. Sarah smiled and Erik turned to go back through the small hallway. She once more checked that Drew was as comfortable as he could be, and then she left the room to join her host.

The armchairs had been shifted nearer the fire which was now in full flame. Sarah sat down, grateful for the soft cushions and comforting warmth. After pouring the wine, Erik offered her a goblet and sat down in the chair next to her. He perched his feet on a small footstool in front of him.

"Now then," he said before taking a swig from his wine. "Furstly, ah'll jist apologise for the lads in the bar." He shifted awkwardly in his seat.

She laughed lightly. "No need," she smiled. "There was no offence taken."

"There wisnae?" His eyebrows disappeared up into his hairline. "Thank goodness for that then. Secondly, then ... erm, that rather rickety journey up here. P'rhaps a bit too much ale on my side, but ah got ye here in yin piece. No sure aboot the gear shaft on the bike mind, but still..."

Sarah chuckled more. There was just always something totally endearing and highly amusing about Erik. She vowed nonetheless to never get on that chopper with him again, not even when he was sober.

The dwarf looked at her for a long time, his little eyes twinkling from the reflection of the flames in the grate. "It's awfy gid tae see ye again, Sarah. But, how on Azeroth did ye git back, lass?" he asked finally.

Sarah reached out and squeezed his hand, appreciative that he was so pleased to see her again. Then leaning to the side, she pulled out the small green gem from the pocket in her jeans. She handed it to him.

"Arcaena gave that to me before ..." she struggled to say the words, "... before I left." She took a swig of wine before she continued. "I don't know how it works, and I didn't even find out until today that it opened a portal to Azeroth."

Erik examined it, shaking his head. He had never seen the likes of it before either. "Think oo'll huvtae ask that demon hunter," he said gruffly.

"Have you still not forgiven her for taking me to Gul'dan?" Sarah asked, surprised.

The dwarf squinted his sparkly eyes at her. "Ah guess ah huv really. She turned oot a'right, a' things considered. She's still searching for that Illidan feller, though."

Sarah stared into the flames. Wistfully, she murmured, "I hope she finds him, and that he keeps her safe... by his side."

Erik sensed there was a reference to Khadgar in Sarah's musing. He recalled her trying to struggle against Arcaena that day when Khadgar had ordered the demon hunter to deposit Sarah through the rip to her homeland. He'd caught a glimpse of the heartbreak in her eyes, and it was only at that moment he fully appreciated that the relationship between the Archmage and Sarah had developed beyond just a small dalliance.

Initially, he'd considered Khadgar cold and cruel to do what he did, but as Ocel approached the Archmage, the pain etched on the Khadgar's face negated any such thoughts. Erik noted the deep agony in Khadgar's eyes. 

Now, Sarah was back and going by her reaction to seeing Khadgar earlier, her torment was still raging within. It wasn't hard to work out that she was still very much in love with the man, even now. So how then was she going to cope with what had happened in her absence? Although he felt it was only right she should know the truth, after quiet deliberation, he decided tonight was not the time to tell her.

She then enquired about the war, and when it had ended. She was stunned to hear it still waged on. "Exactly how long have I been away then, Erik?"

"Yin season shy of twae years, lass."

Her mind raced. She had been gone for twenty months? Her stomach knotted. It had been a long time, certainly in comparison to her own world. She had no doubt much had changed in those months. She took a deep breath and sat up straight in the chair. She learned that the invasions had continued, the onslaught just never seemed to ease up and yet the Azerothians had managed to deflect the Burning Legion's lust for world domination.

Countless places across the globe, however, had suffered terrible losses and many homes had been destroyed. There seemed no end in sight for the continual lines of injured and battle-weary troops that trudged from one area to another.

She learned that the orc wizard was still at large. She suspected he hid in the Tomb of Sargeras or wherever it was that she'd been portalled to when she'd met Gul'dan that first time.

The search for the Pillars of Creation was still ongoing although they were now in possession of three out of five. It was rumoured they were closing in on the penultimate piece.

It did not go unnoticed that Erik diplomatically avoided speaking about Khadgar other than briefly mentioning his involvement with helping locate the Pillars. She appreciated his tact. Though deep down she could not deny she was burning to know how the Archmage had fared since she had been banished.

That bittersweet in-between place, where she wanted, yet didn't want to hear about him was her own ongoing battle. The pain she felt was as acute as it had been on the day he discarded her but still, she had not expected to be picking the scab from her bleeding heart so soon. She was still spinning from their brief encounter in the Golden Keg.

Admittedly, her real fear would be to hear that he had not missed her at all, or had gotten over her altogether. Or worse, he'd found someone else. There was every possibility that any one of those scenarios could be the case, and each one scared her as much as the next.

Taking another slug of wine and a healthy bite of the bread and cheese Erik had prepared, she tried to shake away the worrying thoughts and focus on what Erik was telling her.

"The young lad," he said with a thumb jerked in the direction where Drew lay sleeping. "Whit's his story?"

Sarah grinned at Erik's question. "That's Drew, from my world. He's my faithful puppy," she replied.

Erik raised his thick eyebrows and took a generous slurp of wine. "So, ye huv a hunter pet too, then?" he chortled.

Sarah laughed. "I guess you could say that. Drew's my best friend. He's helped me through a lot over the years."

"And ye invited him along?"

"No! He saw me go through the portal and he just followed me through."

Erik's smile faltered slightly. A mutual friend of theirs had done the same thing last time Sarah was in Azeroth. Empathising with her dwarf friend, Sarah joined in a silent moment or two for dear, sweet Thareai.

Clearing her throat, Sarah decided to change the subject. "So, how's Lukha doing, and Taril?"

"Oh, they're daein' grand, lass." Erik's face was beaming. "They hauv a wee babby now. Cute wee thing it is tae, they cawd him Caeniir."

Sarah nearly dropped her goblet. "A baby?" Her mind was doing the math. She smiled. "Do you think I could see them sometime? Lukha and her family I mean."

Erik chuckled. "Oh, ah think they'll be delighted tae see ye, Sarah. Ah'll see if ah cun arrange that for ye, the morra."

"Thanks, Erik." She paused before asking what he somehow knew she would. "And please, if you see him, do not tell Khadgar I'm back."

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