"I am not one to backhand my customers... " The real estate said with a contemplative voice, gazing down at a bunch of papers in front of him at his desk as he seemed to enter deep thought.
"But, I can help you."

The larger man sat down in his cushy leather chair, its support creaking as he leaned back. His eyes rolling to the side of his table where a richly decorated whiskey bottle stood, he reached over to it to fill the empty glass sitting in front of him.

"I'm a conscious man, and nothing relieves the conscience more than silver, my dear. A fistful of silver, or two dozen gold coins to remedy my conscience, and I could give you access to all the housing movements within the Cathedral district the last five years."

The man smiled, before he took a sip of the strong drink; it's powerful aroma already filling the room.

"Add another forty gold, and I could cross reference it with the royal persona registry, and give you overview of the houseowner's known associates, old and new, as well as companies and businesses."

The man took another sip of his whiskey, grimacing a little; before looking back at Liaena. The young girl was a delicate beauty in her new garments and unspoiled face, which brought his memories back to the regal beauties at the noble courts.
But even then, she was a little too young for him. But more importantly, his paranoid wife would kill him if she learnt that he had as much as touched a younger girl. He let out a sigh.

"I miss being unmarried, bah!"

"You are a real beauty, my lady. Did anyone ever tell you that?" The man commented as he smiled towards Liaena.
"But this is a business, and I'm too old. I can help you find that friend of yours, as long as the price is right. It's a generous sum, something a lady of your social stature is certainly able to pay."

---

As Sherpa was trying to get out of the sofa, he felt an ache in his body as if he had been caught dead in the middle of the road of a horde of rampaging kodos during their mating season.
But among the aching bones and muscles, he also felt a sharp sting. With a grunt of discomfort, he moved to the side, only to notice a couple of blood stains on the sheets that stemmed from a couple of slashes on his side from two arrows that had been lying neatly beneath him.

"I believe these are yours." Sharon commented dryly as he picked them up and showed them to Rithrynn, before lying them down on the living room table. Wearing only his black silk pantaloons, he reached for his white shirt to pull it over the numerous old scars that decorated the skin on his upper body. Pausing for a moment, Sherpa leaned his head from side to side to loosen up the joins, a slight cracking noise emanated from his body as he pulled his shoulder forward.

"This room used to be tidy... "

It was the thought that went through Sherpa's head as he looked out across the living room, which just earlier last night had been neat and clean, but now looked like a complete warzone.
His agents had told him that his brother Sharon was housing more than three dozen of Rithrynn's sisters over at his house. It made the High Elf only wonder how the mansion looked on the inside.

"Various... " Sherpa answered Rithrynn's question absently, before turning to gaze over at the semi naked Night Elf still dressing. It had always been a point of amusement for Sherpa how the Night Elves managed to retain their beauty despite spending most of their time in a forest, something that definitely put them apart from Orcs and Trolls.

"Alice!" Sherpa called out, and in less than a couple of seconds, the young servant girl had immediately appeared in the entrance to the room. Her quick appearance made the High Elf quickly turn around to look at her.

"Yes, Master Silverlion? Anything I can do?" She asked hastily, smiling innocently.

"Were you standing there for a long time?" Sherpa inquired as he threw a suspicious gaze towards Alice. The young servant girl froze, her words hanging in her mouth.

"Ehhh, I... "

"No matter. Is the breakfast ready?"

"Oh, yes, it is! Ralf and Jamie are already eating in the dining room. Do you want to join them?"

"Hm," Sherpa pondered on it for a moment, throwing a quick glance back at Rithrynn in the room. Having reached a decision, he turned back to Alice, the servant girl.

"Have the food brought here. Tell Jamie that I appreciate his hospitality, but I have some private matter to attend to."

"Right away, Master Silverlion!" Alice proclaimed loudly before disappearing out into the corridor as fast as she had appeared. It did not take long before she was already coming back, balancing a bunch of different silver plates. The meal itself consisted of everything from boiled eggs, fish, fruits and various slices of ham. Masterfully balancing the plates through the chaos that now had become the living room.

Having finished putting on his clothes from the night before, Sherpa had sat back down in the sofa; this time making sure that there were no more arrows or weapons of Rithrynn hidden among the pillows before sitting all the way down.

"Thank you, Alice." Sherpa nodded.
"Would you mind bringing me a cup of tea?"

"Of course! Give me some minutes!" Alice proclaimed, before shooting off again like a rocket out into the corridor, gracefully jumping over the mess on the floor to reach the corridor. Taking a berry from one of the silver plates, Sherpa turned to look up at Rithrynn and smiled.

"Care to have a seat?" He asked as he beckoned towards the table now filled to the brim with various plates full of food.

"Care to have a seat?"

Having attached her cloak around her neck, Rithrynn turned to look down at Sherpa as the High Elf motioned towards the table. Smiling softly, she stepped over to where he sat in the sofa, and slumped down right next to him. Leaning slightly towards him, Rithrynn reached forward towards the table to grab an apple, inspecting it shortly before taking a big bite right out of it.

"Mfis defishus!" Rithrynn commented eagerly through the chewing, until she realized she was talking with food in her mouth. Quickly swallowing hard, she turned towards Sherpa with a sly smile.

"You know, we could just leave Stormwind." Rithrynn said while looking at Sherpa.
"Go out in the country side, away from all this noise. Just us, alone and together."

Rithrynn smiled playfully. Although there was a certain comfort about the city as opposed to the wilderness, she did miss the freedom of the latter. There were too many rules and people making city life mind numbingly difficult. The idea of running off with Sherpa seemed very tempting to her. She did not know what the High Elf thought of outdoor life, knowing that the Quel'Doreis traditionally lived softer lives in their houses and cities.

But she knew that Sherpa was no ordinary High Elf either. Maybe he was used to living outdoor. Or maybe he had a house in the countryside that they could go to? The possibilities seemed almost endless, as Rithrynn's imagination began to run wild in her head.

"I don't think either your brother or Liaena is going to come looking for you if we travel out into the country side for a couple of weeks... "

The Household servant looked at Kathlin intently for a moment, as he seemed to be considering her words.

"If you would wait here for a brief moment, I will go talk to her." He replied sharply, taking one foot behind the other as he was about to turn, but suddenly paused and looked back at them.
"And if you would stand over there - yes, there. Don't go anywhere! Thank you."

He said as he herded Kathlin and the Vanguard member over towards one of the more empty corners, as far away as possible from the large bookshelves, paintings, vases and expensive curtains of the rooms as possible without throwing them out of the house itself. Halfway satisfied with having moved the duo as far away from any of the valuable furniture and house decorations, the servant quickly turned around and marched quickly out of the hall.

"You've got one helluva investigation ahead of ye, lass." The Vanguard member accompanying Kathlin commented dryly. He was a dwarf, with a deep brown beard and hair. What differentiated him from the other Vanguard members the most was his level of hygiene and tidiness, as opposed to many of the other dwarven members of the Vanguard, his beard was neatly treated, and with a distinctive lack of food crumbs or alcoholic residue. His steel armor trimmed with brass was polished to the point you could use them as a makeshift mirror, and he was wearing his finest blood red cloak with a gold buckle.
And on his back hung his double headed dwarven hammer, cleaned and polished to the point it looked more like a decoration than an actual weapon, but its old scars and scraps still remained from previous use.

It was quite clear that he was a mercenary used to be among the royalty and nobility, and was thus dressed for the occasion.

"Name's Ragnar," He said, slightly bending his head in the direction of Kathlin.
"I am the one responsible for the man's protection. A duty that I unfortunately failed in... "

The Dwarf's face took a more annoyed turn, as he looked over through the room to the body of the dead advisor.

"Guy's name was Alfidious Barthelhowe. Rich man... " Ragnar paused for a moment, peering over his shoulder to see if the servant was still visible, which he was not.
" ... but not very well liked. We liked to say as many people disliked him as he had coins, and that's not very far from an exaggeration in reality. Believe me when I say it, but you'll find no shortage of murder suspects as far as motives go... "

Ragnar finished, the dwarf's eyes still remaining on the corpse of his dead client. Hated or not, failure in protecting their VIP was still a failure, and the dwarf seemed none to happy about the result.

Liaena smiled and dipped her head in response to the compliment. “You’re too kind”

“You’re certainly expensive…”

The sum the broker had quoted her was steep indeed. Liaena bit down on her tongue at the urge to haggle. Rich girls that were prepared to throw away lavish sums of money on chasing down an ex…probably didn’t haggle. The girl made a mental note to impersonate someone more businesslike next time as she pondered the mans offer for a few seconds, before looking back at him. “Agreed, then. I would like the information from both the housing records and the royal registry. I will pay you a quarter of the sum now, with the rest to follow when my friend is found. Is that acceptable to you?”

“There is one point though” Liaena added, holding up a finger when the broker started to speak. “You must appreciate that this is an urgent matter. I’m sure your business is nothing if not efficient, and it is that efficiency and that speed that I am paying for. I’m sure you understand my feelings?”

The broker smiled, a gesture that showed a lot of teeth. “Perfectly, my lady. Now, if I can ask….what is the name of the lucky gentleman?”

“That would be…Sherraine”

Liaena summoned a soft smile as she said the words, and resisted the urge to bare her teeth. “Sherraine Silverlion”

*

“Kathlin Lennox” The girl returned, bobbing her head back at the dwarf when he introduced himself. The young woman herself was of average height, with reddish-brown hair, brown eyes and wearing navy robes that were noticeably short at the cuff. She was also completely identical to the girl at the estate agent, simply less clean and well dressed.

“You said in the paper that nobody went in or out” Kathlin observed after spending a moment chewing over Ragnars words about suspects. “He didn’t, uh, have servants there? Or anything?”

“Nah. Tha man was fanatical ‘bout privacy, which kinda defeats tha point in havin’ a bodyguard s’far as I’m concerned” Ragnar grumbled. “Tha only people he’d have in his quarters overnight wuz his wife and his personal servant if he called ‘im – which he didn’. I was stationed outside his private quarters, next to tha only door. First thin’ I heard was tha screams”

“From his wife”

“Aye. She’s tha person to talk to s’far as I’m concerned….not that anyone here’s bin givin’ me so much as tha time of day all night” The dwarf muttered grumpily. “Not surprised she’s messed up though. Messy death”

“Mmhmm” Kathlin mumbled noncommittally. Waiting for the servant to return, her thoughts returned to the events of last night. They had been…eventful, to say the least.

*

“Tomorrow, I want you to talk to the dead mans wife. If it seems like she did it, come tell me first”

“Whaaa…?” Kathlin groaned, having just been shaken violently from sleep to hear her own voice talking at her. “What?”

“Tomorrow, I want – you to talk – to the dead mans wife” Liaena repeated herself tediously slowly, each word enunciated carefully as though she was talking to a small child. "If it seems – like she did it – come tell me – first”

“I heard you the first time” Kathlin muttered, resigning herself to being awake at some unholy hour of the morning as she sat up in bed. “Why? I thought you were coming with me”

“No. I’ve got something else that needs doing. Its just that if it seems like it was the wife that did it, I want to know before anyone else does. Okay?”

“Okay…but why?” the girl enquired doubtfully, after taking a moment to digest the most recent news. “Are you going to try and blackmail her or something?”

“…No, actually” Liaena was already at the door, turning the handle when she looked back. “It just probably wasn’t her fault. See you later”

“But –“

Click

*

“Her ladyship will see you now” Kathlin looked up swiftly as the servant rematerialised in front of them, tilting up his head to give them both an annoyed look. “I will ask you to remember that my lady has recently gone through a terrible ordeal. There must be nothing that may upset her further, no inappropriate questions and the meeting ends when she deems it so. Is that clear?”

“Completely” Kathlin murmured as she fell into step behind the servant. “No inappropriate questions. Gotcha.”

"Certainly." The broker replied, now with a broader smile as he stood up from his chair, leaving his half empty whisky glass on the table.
"If this friend of yours exist in the registry, I'm sure we'll find him. Give us some time, and we'll be right back."

The man explained as he grabbed the heavy ledger, and carried out through the side door of the office; walking out into what seemed like a larger workspace with multiple assistants and writers before he closed the door behind him, leaving Liaena alone in the office.

Minutes passed, with only the occasional mumbling heard through the wooden doors. After about seventeen minutes, the handle of the door suddenly moved, and the door swung open to reveal the broker as he returned to his office, carrying his heavy ledger under his arm the same way as a construction worker would carry a heavy frame. Lifting it up, he dropped it on the end of the table, the sheer weight of the wood causing all the table's content to shake and jitter around on its wooden surface.

"I'm afraid that there is no one by the name 'Sherraine Silverlion' living here in the Cathedral District, or anywhere else in Stormwind for that matter. Nor does there exist anyone with the name 'Silverlion' who lives within the city. I did find one male High Elf by the name Sherraine Falenthir, who lives down in the trade district and owns a Wine & Cheese Shop in 12th Doubloon Street."

The broker said as he placed his fists on the table and leaned over it towards Liaena, taking a moment to observe her reaction.
But after a small while, his face suddenly broke up in a smile.

"But, I cross reference it within the business legders, and we found one a man named named Jamie Lasher who works at the Southsea Metal Imports, and the name 'Darathriel Silverlion' came up among the names of his associates." The broker said, before falling back into his chair.
"He lives over at the 32rd Eternal Sun Street. Perhaps he might be able to help you out further. I am afraid this is where the use of my records end and the need for wit of tongue arises."

The broker explained as he found his whisky glass, and took another sip of it before motioning towards Liaena.

"Now, I am sure that my services were to your satisfaction, my dear lady?"

---

"Excellent. Now, follow me please." The servant replied shortly as he motioned for Ragnar and Kathlin to follow him as he turned and walked out through the main hall and up through a long corridor with multiple doorways leading off to the sides:

Taking them a couple of levels further up in the mansion, they eventually came to a large greenhouse at the top of one of the mansion's spires, with a large glass globe above them consisting of many smaller glass panels bound together by an intricate bronze framework. There were a multitude of different plants, fauna and vegetation lining the many walkways through the indoor garden, from every corner of the planet. Taking them through the small jungle, the servant finally arrived at the end of the platform where a lone person was standing next to the glass panels; staring out across the gray sky outside.

She was rather thin, but also quite tall; wearing an simple silk robe of a darker color, her gray hair neatly tied into a bun at the back of her head. The elderly woman reacted as they approached with the servant, turning around to look at them with her grey eyes, but said nothing.

"My ladyship, these are the representatives from the Red Vanguard."

"Yes, I know who they are. You already told me. I am old but not senile." She replied sharply. The servant bowed, before he turned and walked away, leaving Kathlin and Ragnar alone with the elderly lady. As he disappeared past the nearest brush, her eyes returned to the former two.

"I am Rosamery Barthelhowe, widow of the now departed Alfidious Barthelhowe, whose soul now walks the halls of light." She said as she introduced herself, keeping a rather strict and motionless expression all the way through.

---

Sherpa let out a small chuckle at Rithrynn's proposal, looking down towards the floor.

"In another world, in a better time; maybe we could have." He smiled, shaking his head as he looked up at the Night Elf leaning towards him.
"But I am afraid I have too many obligations binding me to this place, tasks that require my constant attention."

The High Elf explained, picking up a slice of bread with ham that he took a bite off. Chewing on it thoughtfully, he placed the slice back on the table before he returned his attention to Rithrynn.

"It might be a while until we can meet again like this. What will you be doing in the following days?" He asked as he stared back at Rithrynn with a curious expression.

"Meh, I knew he would say no! So much for optimism... "

Rithrynn thought to herself as she drank from a glass of berry juice. Even if her dreams and hope of Sherpa actually coming with her had been impossible, it was still disappointing nonetheless to have them rejected.

"What will you be doing in the following days?"

She gazed back at Sherpa when she heard the High Elf's question. Putting her cup back down on the table, Rithrynn sucked on her lips for a moment before she answered.

"I will probably stay with my sisters at Sharon's house. And probably be dragged onto more crazy quests of ultimate revengeance by Liaena, it certainly wouldn't surprise me!" Rithrynn explained with a rather unimpressed tone, as the Night Elf was none too happy with the thought of having to return to Sharon's house after her last night with Sherpa. It seemed awfully unfair that Liaena got to spend as much time as she wanted with Sharon, whereas her time with Sherpa was only restricted to secret meetings!

"Also, sooner or later, my war mistress, Serphia, might decide to pull us back to Kalimdor. We can't stay away from there forever. Someone has to cull the green menace."

Rithrynn went quiet after she finished her last sentence, simply staring down at her cup; the sentinel seemingly lost in thought for the moment.

Liaena glanced up at the broker sharply as she broke out of her reverie. “They were. Thank you”

Reaching into a pocket, she produced a purse which she handed to the broker, standing up in the same motion. “I was never here”

Taking a quick moment to check the contents, the broker inclined his head towards her with a broad smile across his face. “Of course not, my lady”

Exiting the agency, Liaena was careful to pace her steps carefully as she strolled casually away down the street, mind racing the entire time. Stepping into a side alleyway away from the crush of the busy street as she rounded a corner, she felt in her satchel to produce a chocolate bar, held it aloft and waited.

A small, fluffy guided missile rocketed from the sky as Liaena pulled the hand containing the chocolate down sharply and made a lunge with her other hand. She promptly had to suffer several hard pecks on the arm from Hester as the owl squirmed to get free, squawking abuse at her.

“Would you – stop – that! You can have it in a second” Liaena hissed as she tried to twist away from the pecking. After one more jab, the owl paused in her assault at her words and fluttered away to wait on a dustbin as Liaena let go, all the while glaring at her.

Pulling a scrap of parchment and stubby pencil out of her satchel, Liaena used the side of the adjacent building as a writing board as she scrawled out a few words.

Stay away from Eternal Sun street. I’ll see you at Sharons this evening. Li

Rolling up the parchment, she thrust both it and a chunk of chocolate at Hester who promptly clamped both in her beak, almost swallowing the paper as well. “You get half now, half later if you take this to Kitty. She should be at that noblemans house in the Trade District, okay?”

With another blur of feathers the little bird was gone as Liaena ruefully inspected the scratches on her hands, some of which were quite deep. Stepping back into the crowds while mumbling rude things under her breath, she started walking into the middle of the Cathedral District.

*

The 32nd of Eternal Sun Street seemed entirely normal. Nothing at all to suggest it was actually a staging ground for the evil sins of a damned follower of the scourge. Liaena paused at a stall a little further down the road and pretended to inspect some silks as she watched the building carefully.

“I suppose it sort of makes sense. Who would look for him here?”

The idea that somebody like Sherpa could manage to hide in what was the heart of Light worship in the eastern kingdoms, filled her with great unease. And somehow, she doubted things would go very well for her if she knocked on the door and asked to see him.

“I shouldn’t rush this. If Sherpa is here, he’s never going to know I’m onto him and nobody’s going to recognise me. There’s no hurry”

Eternal Sun Street was a residential road, but it opened onto a small leafy square at one end that had a couple of stalls selling knick-knacks like the one she was at now and little cafes with tables outside for wealthy residents braving the chill in the air to enjoy one of the first sunny spring days of the year. Liaena crossed the road to seat herself at one of these, in a position where she had a clear view of the 32nd Sun Street without needing to turn her head. Not looking at the menu, she glanced at the waitress who came rushing out. “Tea. And a pastry please. Whatever’s your best”

Fishing some parchment already covered in her own hieroglyphics and a pen out of her bag, Liaena studied her alchemic formulae so as to appear to be busy as she kept an eye on the Building of Suspicion. “Sooner or later, somebody is going to come out of there. And if they do that, then I know what I need to look like"

“Thank you for seeing me, Ma’am” Kathlin said nervously, after a glance at the dwarf told her that she was going to be the one holding any conversation with the old lady. “My name is Kathlin Lennox. And this is Ragnar….who I suppose you already know. Uh”

Stalling for a moment with no help from Ragnar, the girl fumbled for something to say, something that would make grieving, little old ladies give her less of a withering look. “I’m sorry for your loss. He is where Its grace burns eternal”

“….”

“…Would you be able to tell me what happened to your husband, Ma’am?” Kathlin began again hesitantly after a pause. “I don’t want to intrude, really, but I’ve just come from downstairs and I’m really not sure how anyone could have done it. I mean, it could have been a mage – but I assume you have wards against teleportation and aggressive spells set up around the house, Ma’am? He was attacked with an object already in the house, so it couldn’t have been an incorporeal creature. I understand he was stabbed in the neck, the spray from the artery would have marked the culprit so they couldn’t have slipped away in the commotion. I asked one of your household to check the ground under your window for footprints and nobody saw anyone enter or exit through your window. Not that I’m a detective, Ma’am”

Having managed to talk for about a minute without a stutter or anyone telling her to shut up, Kathlin gave Rosemary a nervously appealing look. “Did you see, anyone, or anything at all? Anything you could tell me – it would help me…the Vanguard…bring whoever did it to Justice. I just want to help, Ma’am”

Sherpa looked over at Rithrynn as she went silent. Studying her thoughtful expression, he quietly moved one arm around her and over on her shoulder.

"If your fellow sisters reflect any of your own quality Rithrynn, then Ashenvale will become little more than an umarked grave for any aggressors." Sherpa finally said after a moment of silence, smiling at Rithrynn.
Though he had spent a great deal of time marching under the tattered black banners of the Scourge, Sherpa knew well that both the Orcs and Night Elves were neither to be trifled with. Few other races could withstand the unrelenting attacks of a combined orcish horde, nor could anyone else try to mimic the sheer accuracy and skill of the ancient NIght Elven warriors.

"It is a conflict that will rage for a long time before ever seeing a resolution."

"Silverlion," Sounded the voice of a man, as the taller figure of Jamie Lasher appeared in the entrance to the living room, wearing a black pair of pants and and longer, tailed coat over a white satin shirt, and to top it all off; a black top hat and cane. He was accompanied by the shorter, slightly chubbier and bearded Ralf Barbone, who wore a set of yellow and turqoise silk robes with animal fur around his neck.
"The chariot is waiting outside. It's time to head to the docks."

Sherpa gazed back at them, and nodded. Without saying anything more, the two men walked away and towards the stairs leading to the first floor. Turning back to Rithrynn, Sherpa gave her a short kiss.

"I will have to leave now. Alice will show you out when you are ready. And don't worry, we have not forgotten about your little pet either." He stated as he rose from the sofa, and walked towards the exit to the living room. Pausing for a moment, he threw her a last look.

"I promise you I'll get us back in touch as soon as I am able to."

---

Outside, a wooden chariot driven by two horses had pulled up alongside the row of wealthy houses in Eternal Sun street, driven by a white cloaked chauffeur. The chariot and its driver were also accompanied by three mounted riders from the White Hand, with two riding in front of the chariot, and one behind, armed with sabers and flintlock pistols.

The door to the 32rd house finally opened up, and the bald headed White Hand member who had greeted Rithrynn from last night was the first one to step out. He walked down the flight of stairs to the street, throwing a sharp look around at the bystanders who passed by while casually resting his hand on the handle of his sword at his waist, before positioning himself next to the chariot where he waited.

Ralf Barbone and Jamie Lasher were the next ones to leave the house.
As they approached the chariot, the bald guard made sure to open the door of the chariot to them. About a minute later, the slender and white haired figure of Sherpa appeared in the doorway. He walked with a casual pace down the stairs to the street, appearing to be not in much of a hurry, unlike Ralf and Jamie whom had hurried to the chariot earlier.

Stopping just by the chariot, Sherpa exchanged some brief words with the bald headed guard. He nodded in return, before Sherpa entered the chariot and the man closed the door behind him.
With a whiplash from the chauffeur, the chariot set off in the direction of the harbor. The bald headed guard remained outside the house, before he went back inside, throwing a last look around the street before he closed the door behind him.

---

"No. I did not see anything." She replied unceremoniously, her faded expression following Kathlin and Ragnar.
"I was in my personal chambers, as I often am, on the other side of the mansion from Aflidious, who was in his personal studies... as usual. I heard nothing that night. I did not find out that my husband was dead until a servant decided to check on him."

"There are a couple magical wards around the house," Ragnar explained to Kathlin, the dwarf turning to the girl.
"But they were set up a while ago, and it's been months since we last had a mage visit us. One of them might have ceased to work."

"You think it was a mage then?" Rosamery then asked dryly, her eyes quickly jumping to the Dwarf.

Ragnar pulled in his beard for a moment as he thought, before shaking his head.

"We wonnae exclude the possibility of that, yer ladyship." Ragnar stated, the dwarf apparently not wanting to speculate any further.
"But, it be too early in the investigation tha say fer certain."

Behind them, the a pair of footsteps could be heard as the servant from earlier emerged from the small jungle of plants and lesser trees. Walking up next to Ragnar and Kathlin, he gracefully bowed before Lady Barthelhowe.

"Your lady, the new security you requested earlier this morning has arrived. They are currently entering the property gate." The servant said while standing in his bowing position.

"Hm! I should commend Captain Adolph on his men's efficiency. I had not expected them to arrive this soon." Rosamery said, and through her strict and motionless demeanor seemed almost impressed.

"Uh... Captain Adolph?" Ragnar asked, the dwarf raising an eyebrow at the noble lady.

"Yes. If the death of my husband is a sign of anything, then it is that the security of this house is below inadequate with the changing times." Rosamery stated, as she turned her attention back to Captain Ragnar.
"Although I appreciate the years you have spent with us, I am afraid your guild is no longer up to the task. I have already sent your guild's account in Stormwind bank the extra amount for your contract's premature cancellation. This will be your last day at my dead husband's house. Any evidence you might have found in your investigation so far I would like you to hand over to my new guards, who will continue the investigation."

As Sherpa left for the door, Rithrynn was quick to get on her feet as well; immediately dropping her plate back down on the table.

"Wait!" She quickly said, before walking over to Sherpa. Looking down at the High ELf for a moment, she suddenly gave him a last hug. Holding him tight, she gave him a plolonged kiss, before finally letting him go.

"Please don't make me wait too long." Rithrynn said to his face, before finally smiling. She really hated the uncertainty of not knowing when she'd see Sherpa again. The thought of having to wait for months, or even years till next time wasn't any good to her.

After Sherpa had left, Rithrynn found herself alone in the living room.

As the thoughts of Sherpa finally left her head, she began to look around. It was probably a good idea to make her way back to the mansion before her sisters would start asking questions about her absence. Fortunately there was currently no Falere around to question her every move, thanks to Liaena, and so with any luck there shouldn't be any problems. Serphia was probably too busy trying to find her missing prisoner, or punishing Shani; to care about where she had been.

However, as as she stepped out into the corridor, her elven senses picked up the subtle shuffle behind her of the servant girl Alice.

"You don't have to follow me. I can remember the way out." Rithrynn said, slightly moving her head to the side to look back at Alice.

"I'm just here in case there's anything! If you'd like, mentally picture yourself that there is no one here and I don't exist if you will, ma'am." Alice answered with an annoyingly cheerful voice, and Rithrynn let out a long sigh.

"You did remember you at least feed Nisha, right?"

"You mean the big cat?"

"Yes... the big cat, for Elune's sake... "

"Of course, ma'am!"

Walking down to the first level, Rithrynn found the guest room where she had left Nisha the night earlier. Opening the door, she looked into the tenebrous room which for the moment was very silent.

"Nisha, come girl! We are leaving!" Rithrynn called out loud into the room. However, nothing answered. Moving her head further in, Rithrynn scanned the room and saw a large, flurry hairball lying in the congealed mess of torn textile, strewn feathers and broken wood that had once been the double bed of the room. It was no one else but Nisha, the large nightsaber, whom was currently sleeping rather contently.
Nisha opened her eyes when Rithrynn entered her room, peering intently at the sentinel from her lying position amidst the ruined room.

"I said, we are leaving now! Do you always have to be this difficult?" Rithrynn called out at the lazy animal.
"Well, so it looks like I just have to leave you here. Ahh well, that's a pity. It seems like Fasha and Nila will get all the salmon the human miss Colins is preparing back at our house then."

" ... "

"With melted cheese and raspberry."

*ROAR!"

With a sudden burst of energy, Nisha exploded out of the bed with great force, pushing the wreckage of a bed through the rest of the room as the large nightsaber stormed past Rithrynn like a whirlwind and out into the main corridor!
Nisha took a quick whiff at Alice, before simply continuing on, ignoring the little servant girl complete before she continued to rush towards the door. Upon reaching it, she launched herself at it, almost breaking it down as she scratched eagerly against the wooden plates; leaving a series of deep cuts in the door as its hinges struggled to hold the over-eager nightsaber!

Rithrynn followed shortly afterwards, gracefully moving next to Nisha; she simply touched the doorhandle to move it slightly down, causing the door to open, and the nightsaber to charge out of the house with a roar of glee.

"Thanks for the stay," Rithrynn then said, turning back to Alice who was standing in the corridor.
"And... good luck with the room. Sorry about that, heh."

On the outside, shocked bystanders completely froze up as the large feline descended from the stairs and landed in the middle of the road! Rithrynn came running down right after it, before jumping onto her back.

"Let's go, girl! To second breakfast!"

*ROAR!*

Nisha roared in agreement, before charging off through the street, throwing snow far up into the air behind her while causing terrified citizens to throw themselves out of the way of the frenzied nightsaber and her Night Elven rider!

Watching secretly from her vantage point across the road, Liaena’s eyes narrowed to slits as Sherpa wandered out of the house, to stroll casually over his carriage as if he didn’t have a care in the world. With that much emanated hate, it was a wonder that Sherpa did not detect her presence, or even drop dead on the spot.

“We’ll see how smug you are soon enough. You won’t be hiding behind your hired muscle any longer”

As the carriage rattled off, her eyes returned to the building thoughtfully. Now was in theory the point she returned to Sharon, Sherpa’s address confirmed. However, it occurred to her that with Sherpa and what looked like the owners out of the house out of the way, now might be an ideal moment to try and bluff her way into the building. Pushing her (untouched) food and tea aside with that in mind, she dumped down a few silver and started to rise to her feet – just as the door opened again, and another two forms leapt out. It took a few moments to process what she was seeing, before her jaw dropped in slowly dawning horror.

“RITHRYNN!?”

“Lets go girl! To second breakfast!”

*ROAR*

As Rithrynn and Nashi sprinted off down the street, Liaena hung in her half-sitting, half-standing position as she struggled to comprehend what had just happened. “I-I-I don’t understand. What’s going on? Why – why would she be here? …”

“Ma’am? Please Ma’am, are you alright?”

“……”

“I-“ Liaena stuttered as she turned to the waitress, who had come over to stare at her with some concern. Several of the people sitting outside was also eyeing her oddly, she was creating quite a scene as she hung frozen in place, face white as a sheet. “—I have to go”

“Ma’am—“

Uncaring of anything the waitress had to say Liaena sprinted off down the street, pushing aside pedestrians and dashing between rattling carts. Deaf to the cries of rage, she continued to run flat out towards the Mage District.

Her journey through the city from atop of Nisha went as fast as it was wild, with the nightsaber pushing herself onward against the promise of all the delicacies that awaited her at the mansion.

After about a couple of dozen or so terrified bystanders, two near heart attacks and a short chase by two members of the local city guard mounted on two very small ponies, Rithrynn finally found herself back in the Mage District; the latter two having long lost her before she had even crossed the canal.
Although Stormwind was a very different sight from her home forest of Ashenvale, the urban terrain was still uneven enough for the nightsabers superior agility to easily outmaneuver that of the more long distanced horses.

Arriving at the front street of Sharon's mansion, Rithrynn quickly spotted the cloaked figure of Ashei behind the frozen metal bars of the gate. She looked more like a snowman than an elf, arms huddled together beneath her dark and purple elven cloak in a classical 'I hate my job' posture. Approaching the gate, it required Rithrynn to shout before the half frozen Night Elf finally looked up at her.

"W-w-where have you been!?" Falaani asked when she saw Rithrynn come riding atop of Nisha.

"Ehh, just some Lieutenant stuff in the city. I'm done now. Will you let me in?"

Falaani, quite obviously not satisfied with her answer, but too frozen to even care, fiddled with the keys that she recovered from within her cloak as she opened the gate, and let Rithrynn and Nisha into the property before closing it shut behind them.
Leasing Nisha with her through the front door, Rithrynn quickly noticed Sharon standing atop the balcony in the atrium. As she saw the High Elf, she pulled her hood back and waved up at him.

"Heey! Did I make it in time for breakfast?"

Silly double posts ^^

When the door to the atrium suddenly opened, a small hope appeared in Sharon's chest that it might have been Liaena returning. But alas, it turned out to be Rithrynn to his great surprise, accompanying a large nightsaber who was dragging no small amount of snow with her inside, something that made Friedrick throw the cat a rather demeaning look that Nisha herself seemed ever so happily ignorant about.

"Rithrynn?" Sharon said from the top of the balcony, as he looked down at the Night Elf.
"Where have you been?"

He asked, taking a couple of steps down alongside the circular stairs leading down to the main floor of the atrium.

"What has she been doing? Is this another secret operation by Liaena and Rithrynn behind my back? Goodness, what are they up to this time?!"

Sharon couldn't help but wonder if the disappearance of Liaena was not linked with Rithrynn's own little trip out of the house in the middle of the night. Those two were like fire and gunpowder, and were more than capable of causing no small amount of chaos or damage when left to their own devices.
The High Elf could already start to imagine the complaints piling up at the City Guard's offices, complaints that would soon find their way to him!

"Dear light, I hope they haven't broken anything expensive."

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sharon walked over to Rithrynn. He threw her nightsaber a brief look as he approached her. Rithrynn and her warband was however not the first time he had ever seen Nightsabers, which had been back in the Third Great War.

"Do you have any idea where Liaena is, Rithrynn? I haven't seen her since yesturday."

“I…see…” Kathlin said hesitantly, taking a moment to digest this new information. “I’m sorry Ma’am. I thought that you were the one that found him”

She cast a quick glance at Ragnar, but the dwarf still seemed unwilling to commit either way to the conversation. At the same time, Kathlin spied a little owl flutter down to perch on the windowsill behind Rosemarys back and begin to headbutt the glass persistently.

“She has the best timing…”

“Uh…actually Ma’am, I’m not actually a member of the Red Vanguard. Some of their members are friends…of a friend, so they asked me along to see if there was anything I could do to help” Kathlin clarified after a pause, causing the dwarf next to her to give her quite a sharp look.

“If possible, I’d still like to assist your Captain Adolph with the investigation. It’s my….civic duty, I suppose Ma’am? I would prefer to finish the autopsy, and I do have a bit of medical knowledge if they were in need of that”

Having said her piece, Kathlin clasped her hands behind her back as she looked at Rosemary, all the while ignoring the rhythmic bangings coming from the window behind the lady, which were becoming steadily louder.

“Would it be possible to speak to the servant that found him, Ma’am?”

*

Running as though all the creatures of hell were behind her, Liaena had long since been left in the dust by Rithrynn and Nisha, but then she didn’t take the same route as the Night Elf and Sabre. Leaving the main street to sprint down one of the side alleyways, Liaena cut an almost straight line across the Cathedral district as she jumped over bins, ran along walls and barged heedlessly through not-at-all public rights of way. It was only when she burst out on the waterfront of the canal path that she stalled for a moment.

Running on pure adrenaline, it was only when she stopped that all of the complaints from her overexerted body hit her at once as she groaned, bending over to nurse a wicked stitch. The bottom part of her new cloak had been ripped clean off and she had no idea how it had happened. The hem of her expensive wool dress was caked with melted snow and grime, and her hair was a sight to behold. However bad she looked however, she felt a lot worse.

“Oh Rithrynn. What’s he done to you?”

She must have been possessed, by that creature that attacked them in the sewer, or maybe some other evil curse that Sherpa had cast to get his claws into her. That was after all, the only possible explanation, and it hurt a lot more than any of the physical abuse she had recently taken. “I should never have told her to go away”

But where was she going now? Back to Sharon’s house? Where Sharon was, surrounded by idiot Night Elves that wouldn’t even give their sister a second glance, and where it was all too easy to get him on his own, just in time for a tragic accident…

Liaena started to run again.

"You mean she's still gone?" Rithrynn asked back at Sharon, the Night Elf raising her eyebrows for a moment; before quickly returning to a more neutral expression.

...

"I don't have a clue... "

"She's probably still over at that dwarven bar I bet, spending time with her fellow midgets, heh."

Rithrynn smiled innocently back at Sharon, who at the moment was giving her a very long look in return.

"Maybe she is out shopping. Or she has gone to a scheduled gathering with other shorties to discuss their everyday day-to-day problems. Only the goddess knows, she could be concocting a devious new potion in all secret in some hidden tunnels beneath this very house! ... I haven't seen her since yesterday."

Rithrynn shrugged her shoulders and slightly raised her palms at Sharon. Nisha in the meantime threw her a rather odd glare, before the big nightsaber resumed her job of sniffing out every single scent in the air with deep sniffs - trying to find the salmon with raspberry sauce promised to her by Rithrynn.

"Buuut... " Rithrynn said hesitantly, secreting taking a step by Sharon as she gently pulled on Nisha's collar.
"I've got to go feed Nisha over here... talk to you later, alright? Kay-Thanks-goodbye-seeyou-Elunewatchyourpath!!"

With a non-so-subtle pace, Rithrynn walked sideways through the room with Nisha, giving Sharon a reassuring smile and wave; before disappearing into the corridor below the stairs as she headed for Miss Colin's kitchen!

Sharon merely stared at her as Rithrynn did her odd and unceremonious exit from the room and flight from him. Although some might call it weird and almost suspicious, Sharon knew that such behavior wasn't all that unusual from Rithrynn who by all definitions was a little weird.

"Great, here I'm waging a shadow war against my fallen brother but all around me my only allies are each part of some hidden plot or conspiracy." Sharon muttered under his breath while throwing his hand up in the air.
Ironically, the only allies who had been with him the entire time and held no secrets was no one else but Serphia's own warband. But that didn't matter all that much, considering the fact that the vast majority of them were either too inebriated to ever understand the concept of a plan, or too wasted after their legendarily heavy partying to even walk.

"What's next? Sherpa's now got secret agents within my own house plotting to kill me?!"

---

"I found him; my servants found him, they are all part of my household and all the same." Rosamery answered in a slightly irritated tone, apparently not too happy with Kathlin's sharp questions.

"It was Eddick Murphy who found my husband. This is the man you would like to speak to."

Rosamery motioned towards the servant who had been escorting Ragnar and Kathlin earlier, and who was standing right next to them at the moment. Returning from his formal bowing position, Eddick looked towards Kathlin and Ragnar.

"My name is Eddick Murphy. It was I who made the gruesome discovery of Master Alfidious abrupt demise." He replied in as dry and professional manner as he could, his pristine face unmoving.
"I have to greet our new arrivals. But if you will but accompany me down to them, I can answer any questions that you might have on our way down. It would also give our dear lady time to mourn the loss of her husband, which she sorely needs."

Eddick explained as the servant motioned towards the exit of the green observatory. The mansion was no small in size nor stature, and the journey to the first floor could take some time.

---

"What? Who goes the - oh by the light!" Miss Collins immediately reacted as the door to her kitchen went up. The pudgy woman turned around, pausing in the middle of hacking the head off a dead bird with a giant meatcleaver when she first saw Rithrynn, then the big nightsaber following her.

"By all the king's follies, how many times must I tell you that there are NO animals allowed on the kitchen!" Miss Collins exclaimed when she spotted Nisha who was accompanying Rithrynn, slamming the meatclaver down into the wooden table where it buried itself into the thick planks.

Walking up towards Rithrynn and Nisha, she folded her arms as she gave Rithrynn an angry look.

"It's strictly forbidden. Do you want your food spoiled or half eaten by the time of serving or what? Then you don't bring cats into my domain!"

Collins turned to look at Nisha. But as her eyes met with that of the nightsaber, her angry features suddenly abated as her face turned into a lovable smile. Grabbing the sides of the nightsaber's head, Collins began to playfully ruffle the saber's head around.

"Ohhh aren't you such a big, lovable little girl?!" Collins switched to a lovable baby voice as she addressed the big war cat.
"You look malnourished, sweets! Haven't those big elves fed you anything? Don't worry, my little tuffy, mamma Collins has a special treat or two waiting just for a nice cat such as yourself!"

Running through the city, Liaena stalled a few streets away from Sharons mansion. “What am I doing? I can’t go in like this”

Glancing around, the girl withdrew into the gap between two buildings away from the prying eyes of the street. Removing the expensive, fur-trimmed, badly ripped cloak from around her shoulders, she unceremoniously threw it into the gutter. Pulling a small vial that was pitch black inside out of her bag, she took a final look around for spies before tilting her head back to gulp the contents down. A moment later she grimaced and braced herself against the wall as her insides started to jump about like snakes.

It took less than a minute for the worst of the effects to wear off as Liaena shakily held her hands up to check them, then reached for a strand of hair to look at the colour. The sleeves of the dress were now clearly too long for her as she turned them back to keep them out of the way.

Remerging from the narrow gap was a girl that was an entirely different person from the one that had entered it, being about a foot shorter, with black hair and paler, although still flushed and sweaty from her mad dash through the city. Keeping a sharp look around for anybody who might be taking more of an interest in her than healthy, Liaena set off for Sharons house again at slightly less than full out run, heavily conscious that she had once again become ‘Desirable Bargaining Chip No1’ for any enterprising lurking assassins that hadn’t learned from the last times.

Thankfully, she only had to turn several corners before she finally reached the street at which Sharons mansion was located on, with a very, very, very unhappy looking Night Elf posted outside. That Night Elf only seemed to register Liaena’s presence after she had already approached, with a very long apathetic pause before recognition finally formed. “Oh. You’re that monkey that lives here aren’t you?”

“…Yes” Liaena said carefully, deciding under the circumstances to just this once allow the ‘monkey’ descriptor to pass. “Can I come in?”

Falaani sulkily turned to start rattling around with the bolt on the gate while Liaena hovered impatiently. For a race that prized itself on its elegance and speed, the Night Elfs moments seemed to the human to be torturously slow. “By the way…you haven’t seen Rithrynn, have you?”

“Hmm? Oh. Yeah.” Falaani paused for a moment, before wrinkling her nose in recognition as she finally pushed the gate open sluggishly. “Special Lieutenant business, she says. Not as though the lieutenant isn’t supposed to manage rotation or anything like that. Who needs relief? …Ashei nei bara nur ma Faleere vashani …where’ve you been, anyway?”

But Liaena was already gone as she turned around, running towards the house.

A worried crease had appeared on Kathlins forehead at Rosemarys words. The distinction between ‘the lady of the house’ and ‘a servant’ finding the corpse seemed like quite a large one to her, no matter what the lady of the house herself had to say on the matter. “Ma’am, sorry but could you clarify? Who –“

Kathlin stopped very abruptly upon receiving a dig in the upper thigh from Ragnar, who had just elbowed her. Pausing for a moment, she then looked over at Eddick. “Uhhhh…Yes. Sure.”

Turning to follow the servant, Hester, who was still trying to eat her way though the window gave a muffled squawk of anger before fluttering over to stalk her along the long greenhouse corridor, glaring fiercely through the glass.

“…Excuse me Mister Murphy, but could you give me a moment?” Kathlin explained as she paused by one of the windows that could be unlatched. Unlocking it, she reached out to grab Hester, the owl spat a very crumpled, torn piece of paper at her as she brought it inside before fluttering to her shoulder, grumbling to herself. Kathlin unfolded the scrap of paper to briefly scan the contents.

“Why does she have to be so cryptic? …”

“I’m sorry about that” Kathlin said as she turned back to the servant, who was giving her an unfathomable expression. “She belongs to a friend of mine and…she’s uh, very well trained” the girl added without much hope. Hester’s status as a demon-bird was well established with those that knew her.

“…”

“…So you were the one that discovered the corpse, Mister Murphy?” Kathlin enquired as they made their way towards downstairs. “Would you be able to tell me the circumstances of when you found him? Why were you attending him at 1am in the morning?"

In the beginning, the nightsaber simply stared blankly back at Miss Collins as she was fondling her cheeks, playfully twisting the battlecat's head around. Nisha seemed confused by the many signals that she was receiving from the strange human, but at the mention of treats and goodies, Nisha let out a smaller, approving roar as the nightsaber's face turned into a happy, tooth-filled smile at the human's words.

Rithrynn stood next to the two in the meantime, having contemplated whether she should intervene or not if Nisha wanted to eat the human after the scolding she had received. But as it became apparent that no such thing would happen with Miss Collin being the unofficial mistress of all food in the house, Rithrynn let the thought slip.

"Well, it seems like you guys are coming well along... " Rithrynn commented as she stared at the way miss Collins played with Nisha.
"I shall leave you to it. And Nisha, remember to return to your quarters when finished!"

The nightsaber merely made a low noise in return to Rithrynn's command, as Nisha was already following miss Collins further back into the kitchen!

Throwing the two a last look, Rithrynn placed one foot behind her, and slipped out of the kitchen; but not before snatching a wine bottle that was standing around on the tables! Having exited the kitchen, she walked away in the direction of her own room. If Liaena did not return anytime soon, she had a lingering suspicion that Sharon would probably call for a search expedition.
Whatever he might have planned to do later that day, Rithrynn at least felt determined that she would do nothing more, until she had gotten herself some R&R!

*

A few moments later, Rithrynn appeared in the living room of Sharon's mansion, which was still occupied by her warband.

Carrying the bottle she had stolen from the kitchen in one hand, and wearing a dark blue, silk bathrobe, Rithrynn walked through the living room in search of a place to sit. Slightly more than half of the room's two dozen occupants were fast asleep, sleeping in everything from sofas, chairs and in corners. The noise in the room was noticeable lower than before, though it could not be classified as anything near 'quiet', as there were still at least two groups in the room talking loudly and laughing between each other, and the mini-fight-tournament was still going on, as her sisters had apparently managed to scavenge a new table after the last one was demolished. At the moment, she recognized Anastia, who was going on a winning streak of four so far. Next to the small crowd around the table sat Naliyah, who didn't seem one bit tired as the pink haired Night Elf scanned the room with utmost precision, and gave Rithrynn a small wink as she entered that was enough to send a small chill up through her spine.

Though there seemed to have been another tournament in her absence, as Rithrynn noted a mannequin standing in front of the windows. It was peppered with arrows, most of them buried in its face, but some sitting in the wall behind it. One of the windows however seemed to have had a frame boarded up, and Rithrynn could only guess that not every arrow had hit its mark.
As for Shani, she was nowhere to be seen in the room anymore.

Finding a large chair occupied by one of her sisters, who at the moment was fast asleep as she lay across the entire leather chair, Rithrynn paused for a moment. Taking some time to observe her sleeping sister, Rithrynn gently moved an arm behind her, and slowly pushed her towards the edge. Upon reaching the edge, the slow journey stopped, and was replaced with an instantaneous fall and a 'thud' as the sentinel fell face flat down on the floor in front of the chair. However, the abrupt fall did not seem to have disturbed her booze filled beauty sleep, and thus Rithrynn sneaked herself over her to sit down in the chair herself.

"Thank Elune, finally some peace and quiet... "

Rithrynn thought to herself as she began to work on the cork of the bottle.