"Cheers!"
"Cheers, friend."
Codin's and Hwinion's glasses clinked together as they raised their drinks high, rays of pleasant sunlight refracting through the tinted glass.
"To good weather, good company and good whiskey." Toasted Codin.
"Here, here." Nodded Hwinion. The two old friends sat back in their comfy chairs on the veranda of Codin's newly built woodland cottage, and took generous swigs from their drinks whilst overlooking the Crystal Lake and the sunlight that danced down through the leaves of the towering trees and onto the tranquil water. It had been three years since Codin, Hwinion, Fizzbiscuit and Belmin had journeyed across Azeroth to bring down the secretive Stoneraven Crime Syndicate, and after parting ways soon after, the four began new lives of peace and quiet in the near and distant corners of the Eastern Kingdoms, with their modest stashes of liberated loot and plunder helping them out along the way.
On this fine evening in particular, Codin and Hwinion, who only lived a short distance away from each other, had gathered for their bi-weekly get-together at Mr Brackbyrne's newly raised cabin on the shore of Elwynn Forest's Crystal Lake, and were happily reminiscing about past antics and discussing events of the day under the warm spring sun, with well-earned glasses of fine Dwarven scotch in one hand and smouldering pipes in the other. For both man and elf, it was the highlight of their week to which they both looked forward to.

"You know, Hwinion, I honestly can't think of anything that would make this evening better." Stated Codin, sitting back in his chair and taking a long puff from his pipe.
"Quite right. It is indeed a beautiful day. I'm just happy to get as far away as possible from that dastardly pub in Old Town." Agreed Hwinion, stroking his lean and bearded chin with content. Codin laughed heartily.
"Yes, I can imagine the Pig and Whistle will be getting fairly rowdy at this time of day." Chuckled the Warrior, taking a swig from his glass.
"Rowdy is an understatement, I believe." Nodded the Elf. A flight of blue birds fluttered over head, weaving through the leaves of the towering oaks, as Codin ran his fingers through his neatly groomed hair and beard, letting the light breeze flow past his ears.
"I wonder how the rest of the boys are doing." Uttered Hwinion.
"Oh, they'll be fine, just as long as Belmin doesn't get into any more drunken fights with grizzly bears and that Fizzbiscuit watches his coin purse in that liars den of a town." Grinned Codin, memories of his old friends flooding back to him.

"We should send for them sometime, have them round for a drink and show them our 'stomping grounds', as the youngsters say these days." Suggested the Hunter, gazing off across the lake and inhaling a plume of pipe-smoke.
"Really? I thought you couldn't stand that dwarf and his constant rattling? And Fizzbiscuit with his incessant-"
"They grow on you. That's all."
A smirk grew on Codin's face.
"You miss them. That's what!"
"What?!" Exclaimed the Hunter. "That's Preposterous. Not at all! All I'm saying is that-"
"You miss them and want in on some more bloody antics, that's what you're saying!" Chuckled Codin.
"Now, Codin, I'm trying to be seriou-"
"The great Hwinion of Aldrassil, deadliest shot in Elwynn and the coldest heart in all of the Eastern Kingdoms, misses his mates." Guffawed the Warrior, near spilling his drink with laughter. The Elf placed his head in his hands and sighed.
"Mr Brackbyrne, how come that after decades of professional soldiering and fighting through some of the deadliest battles of the Second War you still have the sense of humour of that of a child?" Hwinion Questioned.
"Just because I fought the Horde for a living doesn't mean I couldn't have a laugh whilst doing it, does it?" Replied Codin, chuckling to himself whilst recovering from his fit of laughter. Hwinion sighed yet again.
"Sometimes I do wonder, Codin-"

Hwinion's deep and gruff voice faded into the background for the Warrior, as something else was catching his attention. Something odd. A change in the wind? A rustling in the undergrowth? Codin could not quite put his finger on it.
"Hwinion!" He hissed, interrupting his friend mid-rant.
"What?" Replied the Elf, ceasing his lecture and eliciting the Warrior a look of confusion.
Codin kept silent, gesturing for the Hunter to remove himself from his seat and take a listen. Hwinion, acknowledging the drastic change in his companion's mood, complied, setting down his drink and rising up from his chair to scan the surrounding forest. All was indeed quiet, but Hwinion too noticed that something was off.
"You feel it?" Asked Codin, keeping his voice low in tone.
"I do." Nodded Hwinion. "Something off in the trees-"
A sharp whistling cut through the air, and before both Man and Elf had time to react, a steel bodkin-tipped arrow with jet black fletchings embedded itself into the wooden doorway of Codin's house, mere inches above the Warrior's head. Acting solely on intuition, Hwinion and Codin dove to the ground and up-turned both their chairs and the small table that stood between them in a hasty effort to throw up some cover between them and their assailant.
"Bastard!" Snarled Codin, planting himself firmly behind his hand-crafted wooden seat and looking over to his companion. "Where the hell did that come from?!" He asked.
"I didn't see." Replied Hwinion. "But it mustn't have been close. Had they been nearer, we surely would have seen them."
Whoever them were was a mystery to the two friends, but that revelation would come later. Now they had more pressing matters at hand.

"Well, to miss that narrowly at such as distance means they're probably fair shots." Stated Codin. "Or just plain lucky." He grinned. Hwinion didn't share his sentiment.
"This won't be easy." Stated the Elf. The Warrior nodded sharply, but then glanced over to the Hunter's yew longbow and quiver that were lying next to the doorway. Hwinion glanced over his shoulder to see what his friend was staring at, and after laying his eyes on his beloved weapon, he and Codin were both on the same page. Another arrow hissed over head, narrowly missed the Warrior's seat and flew into the house through the open door, embedding itself in wooden floor. Codin looked back over to Hwinion, a sly grin on his face.
"Cover me?" He asked, staring the Elf dead in the eyes, adrenaline coursing through his veins. Hwinion stared straight back, replying with a curt nod.
"Good." Uttered the Warrior. "On three."
Both paused.
"Three!"

Codin sprung to his feet and darted off inside his house as fast as his feet would carry him, another steel-tipped arrow whizzing past his head at a dangerous proximity. At that exact moment, in one swift movement, the Elf rose up out of cover, knocked an oak-shafted arrow onto his bowstring and loosed the projectile within the blink of an eye, the arrow shooting through the air like a bat out of hell and disappearing into the bushes. Whether it found its target or not was irrelevant, as it would without a doubt provide Codin with the distraction he needed to gather his weapons and launch a counter attack.
Whilst Hwinion was engaging in a game of long-range cat-and-mouse with their mysterious assailant, the Warrior had made it to the safety of the inside of his dwelling, and realising that he had no time to throw on his green-inlayed plate armour and spaulders, Codin decided that speed and aggression would be sufficient protection. Dashing over to the weapon rack in the corner of the main chamber, the old Warrior acted under instinct and began to holster as many weapons in his leather belt as he could. A razor-sharp dirk on one side of the belt, a tried and battle-worn hatchet on the other, his iron and wood-braced heater shield slung over his back, and with his hands free, he then picked up the final piece of the equation. Hid away in the safety of its scabbard, Codin picked up his trusty longsword with both hands and smoothly unsheathed the steel blade from its housing, a satisfying ring echoing throughout the woodland cottage. Normally, the hardy Elwynn local would stop for a moment to admire his treasured blade in all its glory, but, as yet another arrow embedding itself in the woodwork of the house helped to proved, he had more important matters on his hands. Taking a deep breath and trying to harness the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins, the Warrior steeled himself, gripped the weapon with both hands and yet again in his life found himself storming out of the door towards the heat of the action at full pelt, ready to finish the fight.