"Why would you do something like that?”

"I think my progress speaks for itself!" Rithrynn stated clearly as she folded her arms.
"It has obviously been THE best reconnaissance method devised so far! While you have but skittered around his premise, I have gotten a close; inside look inside his own house. Met his staff. Seen his rooms... "

...

"Ohh, and tasted the cookies. Those were good!"

Receiving a dark stare from Liaena, Rithrynn felt a slight wave of discomfort wash over her. The human was quite clearly not sharing her enthusiasm about her successful infiltration of Sherpa's house. It was obvious that she was not getting anywhere near impressing the little girl, who's hate for Sherpa was the stuff of legends.

"Why is it that whenever I do something far better than her, I get nothing but envy?! Why can't it be like, 'Oh Rithy, what a great job!', 'You really? Thanks a lot, Rithrynn!', or just anything other than 'I hate you and I curse you and, oh, you're also a big purple idiot with a big butt!'."

"Look!" Rithrynn stood up from the bed, raising her arms in an attempt to negotiate with the angry human.
"I would never betray you or Sharon, but with you having excluded me from all your secret little operations; I had to find my own way to contribute! And it just so happens that I can do more than shoot stuff. And smash stuff. A date with Sherpa was the easiest way to get close. He's got an army, remember!"

Rithrynn finished, letting out a pout as she glared back at Liaena.

" ... and no, he's not in my ass if you're wondering."

-Double Post-

-double post-

"I don’t want to have to deal with losing you again, because of him. Okay?”

Rithrynn became quiet for a moment as Liaena finished her last sentence, the Night Elf staring down at Liaena. So that's why Liaena had been so angry at her, because she had feared for her safety? Trying to look at it from Liaena's point of view, Rithrynn could understand why the human girl would view her little date with Sherpa similarly to juggling burning knives laced with poison while balancing on top of a kodo stampede heading towards a cliff in the Great Canyon of the Barrens.

Hester continued to peck against the frozen window incessantly, but the furious little white owl was ignored by both of the women on the inside.

"I see... I am sorry, Li."

The brief anger of being interrogated having abated from her mind, the Night Elf conjured a soft smile as she looked down at the distressed human. Slowly walking over to where Liaena was sitting, Rithrynn slumped down next to her and placed one arm over Liaena's shoulders.

"No more secrets from now on. That I promise." Rithrynn said as she gave the human a small hug.

*TAP* *TAP* *CRACK* *TAP*

At that point, the little owl outside the room had become so hyperactive that she was drumming her beak against the glass panels of the window like a woodpecker with a machine gun! Unable to ignore the noise much longer, Rithrynn eventually reared her head to gaze towards the owl on the outside of the window, who at that point was threatening to break through the very glass at any moment!

"I think that's your bird, Li. Her mood doesn't seem to have changed since last time." Rithrynn commented with a slight bit of annoyance at the sight of the feathered fiend that was Liaena's pet.

“If her mood does improve, I’ve yet to see it” Liaena said a trifle sourly, also studying the little bird trying to break through the glass with a flurry of furious pecks. Resting her head against Rithrynn side, she shut her eyes with a sigh. All the many, many reasons to be furious with the Night Elf not withstanding; accepting the comfort was too tempting right at that moment. “…It’s okay. I’ve had secrets too…”

-BANG BANG BANG- “BWAAARK!”

“Fine! FINE!” Liaena yelled back as she finally stomped to her feet, disentangling herself from Rithrynn to cross the room and swinging the window open to let in Hester and a gust of cold air. The bird dropped a small leather bound book on the sill before beginning to stomp around, ruffling her feathers and giving both women the evil eye as Liaena studied the book in surprise. “…Huh”

Sitting back down next to Rithrynn with a bump, she weighted the book in her hand, looked at the cover before opening it at random and flipping through the pages. “Lord Alficious’ diary? Oh…uh, I asked Kitty to go and investigate the death of this nobleman who was murdered last night”

Liaena added by way of explanation to Rithrynn, who was giving her, and the diary, a distinctly weird look at this point. “Kathlin. The one that was pretending to be me – anyway, he was murdered, and Sherpa’s mercenaries came to gloat. The Red Vanguard – they were the ones that were supposed to be guarding him, so it’s sort of bad for them – asked me to go over there to solve the murder, but I was sort of busy so I got her to go instead. I was kind of expecting her to be done by now, but if she sent over this then I guess that’s something – OW!”

The cry of pain came from when Hester, having been prowling up and down the floor, finally got bored of Liaena’s monologue and sank her beak into the girls hand. Liaena jerked her hand away, snapping the book shut, before giving Hester a filthy look. “What was that for!?”

“CAW!”

“You, are a malevolent, greedy, vulture….fine, take your blood money. And shove off!” Liaena grumbled, feeling in her pocket to produce a bar of chocolate before throwing it at the bird. “So anyway. I think that one of the – WILL YOU STOP THAT!?“

The last comment came as Hester was in the process of attacking her legs viciously, squawking and pecking at her. Liaena effectively batted it back by lobbing the heavy book at the bird; Hester landed on the floor a few yards away to start prowling back again, hissing and spitting.

“Want me to shoot it, Li?”

“Tempting. No.” Liaena said bitterly as she slithered forwards to reclaim the diary, eying the malevolent Hester as she did so. The book had fallen open where it had fallen, revealing some scrawled writing - that made her freeze as she caught sight of it.

“……..”

“Li?”

“Cluck”

Sherpa stood in the cleared living room, glancing down at the polished longsword in his hand. The furniture around him had been cleared and positioned alongside the walls, creating an open space in the middle of the room where the High Elf stood.

Wearing a little more than a pair of black silk pants and a red sash around his waist, the numerous scars scattered across the pale skin of his upper body were exposed to the lights of the chandeliers on the walls. But despite the signs of abuse and earlier wounds, his physique slender was well developed and muscular, a body built through a long trial of hardship.

Entering the room from the entrance behind him were two men. One was a bald haired man wearing the white colors of the White Hand, Tarion, the other a taller, ginger haired man; Jamie Lasher, who was still wearing his heavy dark blue naval uniform coat.
The houseguard Tarion was the first one to step forward, unsheathing his longsword as he approached the lone High Elf.

Sherpa eventually reacted, the High Elf's eyes focusing on the impending swordsman. Reaching down to the belt by his own waist, he unsheathed a thin saber of his own. As Tarion finally reached melee range of the High Elf, the houseguard raised his sword in a swooping eagle posture to strike. But as the man motioned to send his sword down in a direct angle, he suddenly jerked it mid-way; changing its trajectory to strike more from the side instead!

His ivory haired target reacted immediately, not by attempting a parry; but by quickly stepping back. Though his initial sword strike had missed, Tarion had immediately brought the point of his sword back up against the High Elf, attempting a stabbing motion as he charged forward with the tip. Sherpa responded by bringing his sword immediately up from the side, pushing the sword aside while simultaneously stepping into Tarion's proximity with a surprising burst of speed. Moving his left hand to deliver a punch to Tarion's face, the mercenary quickly let one of his hands go off his sword to block the punch. But as he did so, Sherpa's foot already came in from beneath him; sweeping his right leg out from under him. This was shortly followed by Sherpa smashing the metal guard of his blade into the man's upper chest, pushing him off balance while almost immediately after knocking him down with a swift hammer punch through the man's guard!

Tarion landed on his back with a crash, his metal armor and chainmail rattling as he hit the wooden floor. But as soon as Tarion had fallen, Jamie Lasher had already rushed forward with his cutlass at the ready; the rugged sailor performing a series of rapid swings against Sherpa which forced the High Elf to step back to avoid the flurry of attacks!

But even though the High Elf was losing ground, being pushed back through the room by the frenzied assault of the old sailor; he did not at all seem impetus about forming a counter attack. That was, until he spotted a critical over-commitment in one of Jamie's slashes that left the man's arm overly extended. Sherpa reacted immediately to this, swinging his sword to the side and knocking the cutlass clean out of the man's hand. This was quickly followed up by an elbow to the face, causing him to reel a little bit back. But Jamie refused to go down, already blocking Sherpa's sword with the heavy sleeve of his coat; and grabbing the elf's wrist. Jamie lunged his head forward in the attempt of a headbutt, which missed as Sherpa stepped to the side; only to return with a swift uppercut to the man's jaw. Jamie's head flew backwards, but the stubborn captain simultaneously launched his foot forward, hitting Sherpa in the side. The High Elf reeled for a moment, but immediately responded with two quick jabs into the man's stomach. As the successive hits caused Jamie to lean forward, he was swiftly greeted with a knee as Sherpa launched his knee right into the man's face; knocking him back and into the floor!

But despite the beating, Jamie's arms clamored on the floor around him as if he was going to rise up again. But as the man opened his eyes, he suddenly found the tip of Sherpa's blade pointed at his throat.

"Mermaid-shit, you lucked out!" Jamie complained when he realized the situation. Sherpa tilted his head as he gazed down on his fallen sparring partner, giving him an odd look.

"It seems I'm born lucky then. This must be the fourth time." Sherpa commented idly, before removing his sword and extending the man his other arm. Though clearly annoyed and hesitant at first, Jamie eventually accepted the hand and pulled himself up next to the High Elf.

"I want to fight someone else. Someone I can have a real fight with, NO rules, like the sea. I hate these sparrings!" Jamie complained, brumming for a bit before he suddenly glanced over Sherpa's shoulder.
"Seems your friend has arrived... "

Sherpa turned to look around; and saw Sevarian standing at in the doorway. Upon realizing that he had been spotted, Sevarian moved a clothed package that he had been holding under his arm, to move his hands into a clapping motion.

"I see the merchant life has not dulled your skills." Sevarian commented smugly as Sherpa approached him. Grabbing a dark silk shirt that was lying on one of the nearby chairs; Sherpa pulled it over his torso before looking at the dark haired human.

"It has it been too bad to you." Sherpa commented in return, the ivory haired High Elf hinting towards the stylish silver polished armor and white cloak that Sevarian was wearing. Sevarian glanced down at it, chuckling for a brief moment.

"Thanks to you, brother." He nodded, smiling back at Sherpa.

"Do not downplay your own part. A king is nothing without his loyal followers." Sherpa commented, a small smirk appearing on his own lips.

"Yes, nor can anyone be true king without a weapon to fit accommodate their status." Sevarian added, holding up the clothed package in his hands. Glancing down at it, Sherpa then threw a look back at Jamie and Tarion; the two men having retreated to the back of the room where they were talking together. Looking back down at it, Sherpa accepted the gift from Sevarian. Removing the silk wrap, he unfolded the layer of cloth; revealing the gleaming surface of a sword hilt made out of stainless steel and shining mithril; adorned with shining silver. Removing the cloth completely, Sherpa tossed it aside to the nearby stack of chairs to study it.

The blade was of regal design, carrying the original theme of a Thalassian curved blade; long and with a gentle cutting arc at the top, anointed with a razor sharp tip. The blade itself seemed to have been composed of multiple different layers of metal, Sherpa identifying a steel base, mithril layering at the edge to maintain its razor sharp cut and a smooth and almost invisible glass layer at the center of the sword. The handle was decorated with silver, partly formed to represent the head of an eagle.

"It looks like a completely different weapon... " Sherpa said as he studied the magnificent weapon.

"Rest assured, it is the same one you carried with you through your former days." Sevarian explained, moving a step closer. Extending a hand, he pointed at the glass surface in the middle of the blade.
"The Runeblade's power remains as great as the day it was forged and cast. The enchantments and and sacrifices it received in the tower of pestilence in Ahn'Keth still lingers inside the blade."

Muttering a quiet curse beneath his breath as he angled the sword, a series of luminous green and unholy runes suddenly appeared alongside the glass layer on the side of the blade; originally having been invisible to the naked eye.
As the runs shone and hummed with a deep power, it felt almost as if the temperature in the room dropped by multiple degrees. Emanating from the sword, an invisible aura of unease began to creep into Jamie and Tarion. Both of the men looked momentarily confused, looking around in the room.

By Sherpa's command, the runes on the blade disappeared. Presented by the scabbard to the blade held up by Sevarian, Sherpa took it and sheathed the blade; and the dark presence quickly disappeared from the room.

"The scabbard actually carries small trace amounts of truesilver." Sevarian explained in a low voice as he looked down at the blade.
"Helps cloak the sword's power and keep any nosy Paladins at bay."

Sherpa's smile seemed to have grown by many times as the High Elf stared down at the sheathed sword in his hands, before lowering it in one hand by his side.

"Thank you. And send my regards to our friend in Ironforge. He has done masterful work."

"Consider it done."

"Did he say anything about joining our cause? The job offering still stands, and we could use a smith of his skill."

"No... nothing yet. Though he is ever grateful for your help from escaping the crusaders, it seems he has had enough in his time under the black banner. I believe he wants to start a normal family, continue his family's legacy. Family and tradition has always run strong in dwarven blood."

"Yes... but I doubt he will remain there for long. People who have seen what you and I have seen... a quiet, normal life would never work for us." Sherpa said as he looked back at Sevarian, giving the man a pat on his shoulderplate. Sevarian looked casually across the room, before returning to meet Sherpa's gaze.

"Indeed... but I have to return to Honor's Watch. Apparently we caught one of your brother's agents." Sevarian explained, as Sherpa raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Really?"

"A girl. Related to Liaena Rune. Past acquaintance. She was investigating the death of the Royal Treasury Advisors, but went beyond her limits."

"I assume you have the situation under control?"

"Yes. There was one fatality. A Red Vanguard member. I have instructed the Captain who did it to lower his use of violence. We cannot hide corpses forever, nor do we have an infinite amount of scapegoats."

"The Red Vanguard will know... "

"They will. I have instructed my agents to make sure that they will not be able to tie the murder of their member to us. Legally we are safe. I cannot speak on behalf of the Vanguard's potential of any rash actions, but if they throw the first stone; we should have a good chance of winning any debates that might ensue. Our forces also outmatch theirs."

"They are spread though. Avoid any contact with the Red Vanguard in the future. I don't want the White Hand to make any news headlines with them. Also, we will lay off their contracts... for the moment. Let their anger cool, and not agitate them further."

"Understood." Sevarian nodded, the man turning to walk towards the door.

"But just one more question... " Sherpa suddenly said as the dark haired human departed the room.
"How do you plan on dealing with your new captive?"

"Do not worry. I will give your brother a nice surprise." Sevarian answered as he disappeared through the door, leaving Sherpa with a smile on his face. Gazing down at his sword, the High Elf nodded before turning to look towards the entrance.

"ALICE! Come down here, I need this room cleaned up!"

Initially surprised by the sudden paralysis of the little human girl, Rithrynn eventually leaned forward to glance down at the page that seemed to have frozen Liaena completely.

"Llep. Honor Point... or 'Honor's Watch'." Rithrynn muttered quizzically as her silvery eyes narrowed on the large, crude handwriting that adorned the last page; in stark contrast to the extremely prude and orderly handwriting on the former page. If she was to make a wild guess, she would have believed that whoever wrote it must have been an ogre. That was, assuming ogres were even capable of writing in the first place.

Indeed, when someone with a terrible or rushed handwriting attempted to write cursive; the result could be described as nothing short of dreadful!

But eventually, Rithrynn managed to make sense out of the scribbled hieroglyphs that were supposed to represent something reminiscent of actual, real letters. Picking up the book, she studied it closely.

"Help... " She muttered thoughtfully, glancing over at Rithrynn.
"This shouldn't happen to be from your friend that you sent all alone to that mansion you were talking about, wouldn't it?"

Rithrynn asked as she casually held the book up in front of Liaena, the girl only giving it a pale look in return. It was enough for Rithrynn to guess that the answer would be a firm 'yes', followed by 'I didn't mean for it to happen!'.

"It would seem Liaena's lack of self preservation also extended to her expendable accomplices. By the goddess, I cannot tell whether or not I'd be surprised!"

"Honor's Watch, isn't that the new stone hut they're building down by the harbor?" Rithrynn asked, the Night Elf giving the black haired human a quizzical look with her right eye.
"How did she end up there... ?"

“…Let me see that” Liaena muttered finally, snatching the book out of Rithrynns hand. Job done, Hester strutted past her to sink her beak into the bar of chocolate as the girl started to frantically leaf through the pages. “She…she wouldn’t send me this without a reason. There must be another clue, or something…”

Scanning the text briefly on each page, Liaena paused at the final few entries by Lord Alficious, as the name: ‘White Hand’ caught her eye. A longer pause followed, as she read through the page more thoroughly, Rithrynn lurking over one shoulder. “...I….I guess this is a motive”

Snapping the book unexpectedly closed, Liaena stared at the small leather bound diary in her hand as though it had teeth.

“What have I done?”

“Idiot! interficerent eam! What in the Light was she thinking!?” Liaena cursed as she stomped her way to her feet. Hester fluttered haughtily to her perch as the girl stalked across the room to slam the window shut. “I don’t know why I even bother anymore, if I can’t even give someone a simple task, without going and getting themselves --”

“What if she’s dead?”

Screwing up her eyes, Liaena abruptly slapped herself in the forehead, with the diary, hard. Burst of anger spluttering out, she turned to look at Rithrynn with an expression that could only be described as woebegone. “What if…”

“….”

“No. No. They must have kidnapped her, or something, and she managed to get this to me” Liaena said very decisively. Leafing through the pages as she opened the book again, she stabbed a finger at the haphazard scrawl. “Honour’s point – that’s their fort, she must be there. This, this is important, it proves that Lord Alficious was suspicious of their activities before he died. This is more than we’ve ever had on them before, we can put pressure on them – I need to talk to Sharon”

"We can put pressure on them"

"It's just a tattered old book, Li. I think you're going to need way more than that to threaten them." Rithrynn commented as the Night Elf rose from her seat against the wall.

" .... "

"Like; arrows, an,-"

"I'm not planning on using it as a weapon!"

"Okay... I suppose it also counts as mortal evidence, goddess willing." Rithrynn replied, still not appearing entirely convinced by Liaena's argument. The Night Elf had always been fascinated by how much faith the humans put in their courts, laws and bureaucracies. Back in Darnassus, most ancient meetings or moots were usually solved by whoever could shout the loudest. Or shoot the best. No boring paperwork involved whatsoever!

"I guess that makes this 'Honor Point' our top priority, and not Sherpa's house?" Rithrynn asked with a slightly optimistic tone as the human had already begun to scramble towards the door.
"We should probably get her back before they put her through any interrogations. Or worse."

Blinking at Liaena for a moment, the Night Elf cast the human a long stare.

"If their interrogation skills are anything like yours Li, I don't think she is going to last any long!"

The thought of going on a high risk rescue mission in a fort in Stormwind did seem a little bit enticing to the Sentinel. Although she had hoped that things would eventually simmer down and become a little colder, infiltrating a giant fortification out at sea was something the adventurer inside of her could not say no to(not referring to Esmeralda!). Something that could help offset the awfully dull city life of Stormwind. And with the added bonus that it would take Liaena's attention off her and Sherpa, and more over to rescuing her friend.

"By the moon; never thought I'd miss Serphia's overly dramatic drills and excursions!"

“If their interrogation skills are anything like yours Li, I don’t think she’s going to last very long!”

Liaena shot Rithrynn a distinctly ‘why did you have to say that?’ black look at that remark while tugging at the door to the room. Realising belatedly she had locked herself in with Rithrynn, she fumbled for the key in her pocket. Finally pulling the door open, she shot off down the corridor towards Sharon’s study, the Night Elf following behind her at a much more sedate pace.

Sharon had once again retreated to his study to escape from the constant partying of the Elves downstairs. Apparently taking the opportunity to do some paperwork, he glanced up in surprise to lay down his quill and parchment as Liaena barged in without knocking. “Li? Are you alright? How…how is Rithrynn?”

“She’s fine, she’s fine. That’s not important right now”

Liaena said hastily, waving away Sharon’s initial concerns. The statement was clearly at odds with what the High Elf was expecting to get out of the conversation, as he raised an elegantly curved long eyebrow at her. “….really?”

“Well no. Yes. Obviously, it is important” the girl said in frustration. Rocking back and forth on her heels in agitation, she fell once again to stalking around the room as Sharon watched her warily. “She went on a date with him to get information, which is really retarded but she seems to be okay – but there’s something else I wanted to tell you about. Last night a nobleman was murdered and some people asked me to go and solve the murder but I was really busy so I sent someone else to go and solve the murder instead and she hasn’t got back yet and I got this book back instead and I think something mighthavehappenedtoher!”

“What?”

“…..”

Wheeling around to glare at Sharon, Liaena looked for a moment as if she was about to start shouting as Rithrynn nosed her way warily into the room, before slumping her shoulders instead as she let out a defeated sigh.

“Lord Alficious. He was murdered last night. I thought it was suspicious, so I got someone I know to go and investigate for me. Just now, Hester brought me this”

Holding the diary up, Liaena waggled it in one hand before tossing it onto Sharons desk. Falling into the chair that sat in front of the High Elfs desk, her words were now somewhat muffled as she covered her forhead with one hand. “Look in the back. It’s full of all sorts of illegal, incriminating crap that Lord Alficious wanted to investigate the White Hand for. And a note, asking for help and she says she’s at Honour Point”

Falling silent for a moment to brood, Liaena glanced away to stare at a corner of the room vacantly, before giving Sharon an appealing look. “If she’s in trouble, then I need to go and get her back! I’m the one who got her into this. I never meant….for this to happen”

Halfway through Liaena's frantic story, Sharon was already giving her a long stare; the High Elf trying to confirm in his head whether what he had heard was genuinely true or something made up by his imagination.

"Liaena sends asssistant off on suicide mission, and Rithrynn went on a date with Sherpa?"

After Liaena had finally finished talking, it took a good, long moment before the High Elf could even say anything. Placing the quill down, his eyes shifted between Rithrynn and Liaena, both of whom had entered the room. Liaena, despite her agitation over the loss of her friend, did not seem at all worried or concerned about the Night Elf that had crept into the office behind her during her rant.

"Well... this is... this is a surprise. A positive surprise, mind you." Sharon finally stated as he glanced over to Rithrynn.
"We had feared you might have been cursed or possessed, neither of which it seems you are. We are glad that you are safe, Rithrynn."

Looking forward, towards the old diary that had been dropped on his desk, the High Elf reached a hand forth to pick it up. Opening it up, he spent a few moments shuffling through the pages. Indeed, the book looked more like an economic diary than a personal one, but that did not much say much in the case of Lord Alfidious, a man whose life was literally devoted to the world of economics and the nature of coins, gold or literally any form of currency.
Eventually reaching the last entry in the book, Sharon finally found the hastily scribbled message for help. Taking a moment to study it, he eventually put the book back down on the table.

"I have no reference of Honor's Point, short of an alliance outpost in Outland; literally a world away." Sharon said thoughtfully as he leaned back in his desk, looking back at a highly impatient Liaena who looked as if she was ready to jump out of the chair, strap on her rescue gear and go through the burning Twisting Nether to get her friend back.
"There is, however; Honor's Watch, the new garrison and fortification being built at the harbor. Are you sure it was not what she meant?"

Sharon let the question linger in the air, before continuing.

"Honor's Watch is incomplete. Its dungeons, if it has any, are not officially opened. Nor has the citadel itself. If they have your friend, then this is a kidnapping, not an arrest." Sharon paused for a moment, realizing that he was receiving a big 'No-shit!' look from Liaena.
" ... if we want to get her out, we're going to have to do it ourselves. Petitioning for an investigation of Honor's Watch would likely take weeks, if not months; and they could easily move her before it ever reaches the gate."

Staring across the two women, Sharon casually bobbed his wine glass up and down on the table while he seemed lost in thought.

"But then... there's the problem of infiltrating a giant fortification, built on-top of a reef and surrounded by water... "

Before Rithrynn had even touched the door to step through it behind the little girl, Rithrynn realized that Liaena had already charged off through the corridor and was already disappearing beneath the next corner.
"She isn't wasting any time at least!"

Rithrynn muttered to herself, shaking her head as Liaena disappeared from sight.

"Mrrmhf-mmmuh, moi Ri... are you ready?" Suddenly came the low, unfocused mumbling from inside the bedroom. Turning around, Rithrynn spotted Naliyah slowly beginning to wake up in the bed, weaving her butt as the dozy elf lazily fumbled with her arms to support herself.

"Oh shi... " Rithrynn emitted, as the Sentinel rushed out through the door of the bedroom as a lightning; snatching the key Liaena had left in the door before closing the door behind her! Quickly turning around and locking the door shut with the key, Rithrynn finally took a moment to relax and breathe out after the close call. Stepping back from the door, she threw the knob a prolonged stare.

"Sorry Janessa, you're on your own!"

Realizing that Liaena had gotten quite a big headstart already, Rithrynn quickly turned around to hurry through the corridor after Liaena. Despite her short legs, the human moved at a remarkably quick pace.

Finally arriving at Sharon's study in which Liaena had barged through the door, leaving it wide open, the Night Elf snuck inside while voices emanated from the room. Liaena and Sharon seemed to be in a dramatic discussion. Sharon in particular seemed to be doing the best he could out of a nonsensical situation, caught right out of bed. Positioning herself behind Liaena, Rithrynn choose to interrupt.

"The water isn't much of an issue... " Rithrynn eventually entered the conversation, stepping carefully forward.
"Nor are the reefs an issue. Or the walls. Me and my sisters could easily scale those. They can't be anywhere near as bad as Sherpa's old dread castle in Northrend."

Rithrynn commented, remembering back to when she, Liaena and Sharon had infiltrated Sherpa's castle prior to the events at Dalaran. Which had conveniently been placed in the side of a frozen mountain, surrounded by a deep abyss. It had been nothing short of a harrowing climb, and so Rithrynn felt rather positive about being able to manage to climb the simpler walls of Honor Point.

"I mean... we successfully infiltrated Sherpa's previous castle. And this time the opposition is just monkeys an,-"

....

Rithrynn froze during her sentence, finding herself at the center of a very dark stare from Liaena, and a disappointed expression from Sharon. Taking a moment to rearrange her sentence, she began anew.

"I mean... it's just humans guarding the castle. We are not really facing down the legion of the damned this time. So it should be much easier!"

Having shot Rithrynn a filthy glare, the glower abated a little as Liaena considered what the elf was saying. “…Maybe. That could work. The whole place is probably warded, with alarms though, and all sorts of things. There’s more than enough mages in this city that could set one up, if you don’t mind paying for it”

Purely from habit than anything else, a brief scowl was aimed at Sharon as that last remark. Liaena sat forward in her chair as she looked back at Rithrynn. “And there’s more than just humans in there. They have a huge man in armour, and he didn’t even flinch when Doin battered an axe through his chestplate. I think he’s –“

“Define ‘huge’?”

“…..”

Liaena gave Rithrynn a long, suspicious glare as she tried to figure out whether the comment was intended as a slur. “….Huge. For a human. Okay?”

“That’s not huge, Li”

“....Fine! Whatever. That thing was Undead, I can feel it” Liaena snapped back. Drumming her fingers on the arm of the armchair, her eyes widened as something else occurred to her. “The Red Vanguard. They’d help us with this. They’re fighting the White Hand, same as us, and if I showed them this…“

Picking up the diary, Liaena stared at the cover for a long, thoughtful moment. Turning it back around, she showed the front to Sharon as she raised her brows questioningly at him. “This diary. How much trouble do you think we could make for the White Hand if I went public with this?”

"Doin... that's a dwarven name," Sharon suddenly mentioned when Liaena told of her encounter with the supposed undead. Creating an awkward silence, Sharon nodded as he motioned with his hand for the discussion to carry on.
"Alright, probably one of the Red Vanguards then."

"Yes... that too,"

Waiting for Liaena to finish speaking, Sharon finally leaned forward with his hands folded together in front of him.

"The White Hand is not our only concern if we are to infiltrate Honor's Watch, their keep at the harbor. Technically, the White Hand cells stationed at the garrison are part of the Seaway Stormwind Defense, and while that makes them legally obligated to assist Stormwind's army should an invasion occur, it also means that they enjoy the added protection that comes with a friendship to the Stormwind city guard and naval forces stationed at the docks."

Sharon explained with a contemplative look on his face, resting his jaw on his hands.

" ... granted, it's a layer defense. There are probably a couple of Stormwind's own military that is stationed near Honor's Watch, but they will be outside the fortress. The White Hand's own members are the ones who will be guarding the interior of the fortress itself." Taking a brief pause, Sharon looked over at Liaena as he remembered her recent tales.
"And, if our worst fears are confirmed; we may encounter undead and dark magi inside. As well as the garrison's ordinary human defenders. That would require that we possess some form of divine magic to prevent our worst case scenario of becoming a woefully onesided encounter."

Sharon had little doubt about the martial skill and guile of Rithrynn's sisters in Serphia's warband. But if they were to scale the walls and find spirits and undead awaiting them on the other side, even Serphia would be in over her head.

“This diary. How much trouble do you think we could make for the White Hand if I went public with this?”

Returning his attention to the diary in question, Sharon studied it for a moment. Although he hadn't read all of its contents, if Liaena's claims were true, the book did indeed possess a large strategic importance in the larger war against Sherpa's shadow empire.

"We can definitely put some serious pressure on the White Hand with this. At best, we can get them disbanded. But even at worst, we could set their operations back weeks; if not months. What we will get will be decided in court however, which is a battlefield of its own." Sharon said as he gently shuffled through some of the pages, before returning to give Rithrynn and Liaena a curious look.

"But, have you consulted with Serphia about this? We can have the Red Vanguard run distractions, but it's her warriors that we will need to infiltrate the fort unseen."

"But, have you consulted with Serphia about this?"

"Uhmm... " Rithrynn paused, drawing out the moment as she looked to Liaena.
" ... we were getting to that part!"

...

"But rest assured, I'm sure she will join up; and those walls will be a piece of cake!" Rithrynn announced proudly as she held a finger in the air, arching her shoulder backwards and pumped her chest out. But just as she did so, a commotion could be heard from outside the office door:

"WHooaaaahh!"
*Bang* *Thump* *Bonk* *Crack* *CRASH!"
"HAH-HAHAHAHAH... are you alright, Lila?"

Rithrynn threw a careful look at the door behind her, internally spiting her sisters for picking the exact moment to fall down what sounded like a long flight of stairs. Ignoring the continuous laughter and groans coming from outside, Rithrynn peered back at Sharon.

"Well... most of the time. When sober. Which they are not... " Rithrynn muttered with a slightly defeated tone, before she eyed Liaena.
"So... shall we get Captain Serphia now then? Before the hangover of tomorrow will be too great?"

“That would require that we possess some form of divine magic to prevent our worst case scenario of becoming a woefully onesided encounter”

Liaena studied the wooden panelling of Sharons desk as she avoided the high elfs eyes carefully. The simple fact that he was right did not make her feel the slightest bit better about him pointing it out. “mmh”

"So... shall we get Captain Serphia now then? Before the hangover of tomorrow will be too great?"

“No” Liaena muttered distantly. Glancing back, she shook her head at the Night Elf who was now giving her a odd look. “I mean yes. You should do that. I need to go speak to a different asshole”

“I’m sorry?”

Rising out of her chair, Liaena merely gave Sharon a faint smile with no explanation, before heading for the door. “Where’s Marshall staying now, anyway?”

“…I gave Father Marshall the guest room in the east extension, Lady Rune” Frederick explained smoothly from right outside the door, the butler sliding it open a fraction to bow slightly to those inside. “…he felt more comfortable distancing himself from, ahem, our other guests. I believe he has barricaded the door shut”

“Oh, wonderful. Well I’m an expert with barricades. I expect we’ve got a lot to talk about” Liaena remarked acerbically. Waving the butler aside, she started down the corridor towards the eastern side of the house. “Just help Rithrynn with Serphia, Sharon. I’ve got this”

*

Reaching the guest room specified by Frederick in a quiet, mostly unused area of the house, Liaena rattled the doorknob, before hammering on the door as hard as she could. “MARSHALL? We need TO TALK! IT’S…uh, important!”

“……”

Stepping back for a moment, Liaena produced a small jar to scrape some of the greyish paste inside it onto her fingers and then into the keyhole of the door. Digging out a flint stone, she struck them together to send a spark flying onto the lock.

-BAM-

Swinging the door open, Liaena stepped into a dark room, curtains drawn, lit only by the lamp over the desk which was piled high with weighty tomes and papers. Behind the desk sat the old priest, poring over one of the largest and most boring-looking.

Stepping closer, Liaena coughed loudly. Upon receiving no response, she stepped forward to pick up a pencil and tap it on the book he was reading.

At this, the old man finally looked up. Initially gaining a look of surprise, it was immediately replaced by fury as he looked between her, and the door with the door handle hanging off it. “YOU! How dare you trespass in here! I will have you evicted from this Cathedral, you little brat!”

“…Sorry, but we’re not in the Cathedral, Father” Liaena explained extremely frostily to the glaring bushy eyebrows. “You agreed to help Sharon Dal’dieb with the threat from the scourge, remember?”

“Are you accusing me of senility, girl!?”

“….No”

The priests brows contracted together still further, as he tried to figure out whether she was being genuine or not. Rather than allow him to form the inevitable negative conclusion, Liaena moved to hurry the conversation on to a more profitable subject. “…Marshall, I think something’s happened to Kitty. She’s in danger –“

“Who?”

Liaena ground her teeth together as she steadily lost more and more of her temper. “Kathlin Lennox. YOUR ASSISTANT.”

“What? Assistant? I don’t have an assistant. They get under my feet, always trying to tidy my office up, it’s a miracle from the Light I can ever find anything…” Marshall mused, glaring around the small bedroom he had appropriated. It was indeed, a tip. “Although I did have this girl that was supposed to be my assistant. Was that you?”

“…Yes”

Marshall paused a moment, as his eyes narrowed further to the point it was wonder he could see at all. “…You’re lying. I would have remembered if they had sent me you. And I would have complained”

-double post- =_=

-double post-

After Liaena had left the room in all haste, Rithrynn merely gazed at the human's trail: feeling slightly betrayed. In any negotiation with Serphia, Liaena would have been the perfect lightning rod for all blame and ire from the Captain!

"Elune, there goes my cannonfodder... "

"Alright, Rithrynn, I can help,"

"Oh, no-no no! I'll be fine!" Rithrynn was quick to retaliate against Sharon's offer to help her deal with Serphia, the Night Elf throwing him a big smile as she turned around.
"I can deal with Serphia juuuust fine! I'll call you if there's an emergency!"

Rithrynn explained as she inched back, before the Night Elf was the next person to race out the door of Sharon's study; leaving the High Elf all by himself. Once she was outside the study, Rithrynn rushed down the following stairs to the first floor, elegantly evading one of her sisters, Lila, whom had faceplanted at the bottom of them. Moving through the atrium, she soon found her way to the living room, which was as full of life and spectacle as ever.

Except that this time there was a distinct lack of Naliyah in the room...

"Oh crap, should probably warn Sharon about where I left her. Lest he'll get a big surprise!"

Whether Liaena hadn't told Sharon already, Rithrynn couldn't tell. Liaena, from what she knew of the girl, had a tendency to often tunnel focus on certain issues, such as Sherpa, evil presences or Rithrynn's own private & personal love affair!

Approaching the side of the room where Serphia was sitting, the Captain having found the biggest, cushiest leather chair in the room which acted much in the way of a throne to her. But even then, it still looked small beneath the large elf! Having had her wounds treated by Naliyah, the Captain wasn't wearing much other than a simple silk loincloth and a cut shirt. Rithrynn carefully beckoned to her Captain who was quick to notice her in return, what with Rithrynn being one of the few sober beings in the room.

"Uh, Mistress... the High Elf Sharon requires some of our warriors for an infiltration mission." Rithrynn explained cautiously as she stood in front of her Captain, Serphia eying her sharply. Throwing her an odd look, Serphia asked.

"Infiltration mission?"

"Well, yes, you see... there's this big castle by the harbor that the Scourge agent secretly possesses, and Sharon plans to trash his stuff and free any captives they find in there.""

"The big castle by the reef?"

"Uhhm... I think it's that one."

Serphia had become silent, while Rithrynn was throwing her captain the best smile that she could in the meantime. Suddenly, Serphia rose from her undersized chair, towering over Rithrynn as she stared down at her subordinate; the Captain's temper rising visibly!

"He thinks he can command us to do whatever he wants?!" Serphia suddenly asked, causing Rithrynn to back down.

"NONONO! He's just... asking sincerely!" Rithrynn was quick to reiterate, holding up her hands as if they would protect her from Serphia's ire!

Serphia paused for a moment, taking a look across the room at her partying sisters; many whom had already turned their heads over to the commotion between her and Rithrynn. Gaining a thoughtful expression, Serphia turned her attention back to Rithrynn, now with a soft smile.

"I think we are long due a proper fight." Serphia said with a rather pleased looking expression, the Captain seemingly much more happy at the prospect of trashing some humans and making their mighty stone fortresses look useless!
"Tell your pet High Elf that I said yes."

"Yes, Mistress! I will... oh, and one more thing, we only need a handful of warriors."

"No problem."

"And climbing gear?"

"We still have it, if you're wondering."

"And... we are going to have to cooperate with a light wielder to get this operation done."

" ... "

Suddenly, all the laughter, noise and cheer in the room died immediately out. At the end of her last sentence, practically every head in the room was turned towards Rithrynn, including Serphia's own which had gained a distinctively pale look, the Captain's smile no longer visible as she merely stared down at Rithrynn. Rithrynn, in turn, immediately felt a strong sense of discomfort, realizing that she perhaps should have spared them the last detail.

"Maybe I should have kept 'working with light wielder' as a hidden mission parameter... shit."

"Uhm... that's all he asked... " Rithrynn said meekly to her Captain, trying her best to lighten the mood with a weak smile.

With Rithrynn and Liaena having disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared, Sharon was left all by himself in his study.

"Very well... " He muttered as Rithrynn was the last of the two women to leave the room, having quickly waved off his offer of assistance in dealing with Serphia.

"If something goes wrong, I'm sure I'll be able to hear it from here."

Sharon thought to himself as the High Elf began to casually tidy up his desk on the sideline, moving away excess paper, old wine glasses and quills to make it all the more presentable should Marshall or Serphia suddenly come barging into the room through the door. Or both.

Lifting one eye and noticing Friedrick by the doorway, the butler being as prudent as ever and about to close the door; Sharon suddenly raised one of his hands to stop him.

"Wait, leave it open. It will be better that way." Sharon quickly told Friedrick, whom bowed in return before disappearing from the entrance. He had been with Serphia enough to know that she would be the type to barge into rooms if she felt offended. For the sake of not having the door to his office not thrown off its hinges should Serphia take offense at his request, it was better to leave it wide open, even if it meant having to suffer the inevitable curiosity of the odd Night Elf passing by his study.

"I wonder who'll come first... " Sharon contemplated as he threw a look towards the door, curious as to whether Marshall or Serphia would be the first to arrive in his office.