"I got the impression you wanted a low profile”

"Mostly from the humans of the Cathedral, which I think we managed just fine... " Serphia would mutter, not quite wanting to admit that things may not have gone exactly as she might have hoped it would.

Indeed, while they may have successfully evaded the notice of the church, they were nonetheless gathering attention. Mostly Serphia herself, but some of the bystanders passing over the bridge would stop to look down and notice Rithrynn and Aleena's futile attempts at cleaning themselves beneath the bridge.

"You are probably right about your friend. There is no point waiting around. GIRLS!" Serphia said to Kathlin before turning about and shouting out loudly to the rest of the sentinels.
"Form up on me, we're moving out!"

It did not take long for the rest of the sentinels to quickly scurry up the stairs and arrive behind Serphia, ready to head out. Although whether intentionally or not, but most likely the former, most of the sentinels gave Aleena and Rithrynn a wide berth! The stench of sewage could be smelled all the way to the front, something which made Serphia wrinkle her nose.

Fortunately, although they hadn't managed to escape notice of the bystanders, there weren't that many around this early in the morning.

With a single motion with her hand, Serphia ordered the rest of her sentinels in a quick march back towards the mage district and the mansion. Kathlin, with her shorter legs, might have found herself having to almost run just to keep up with the elves as they marched through the streets.

"Move fast, girls. Once we arrive back at the mansion, a hot meal and bath will be promised to everyone!"

While they were walking however, Ashira's attention would be mostly fixed on Sharon, the Sentinel listening intently to what the High Elf had to say while studying him with great interest.

"She sounds like a great girl, but how do you think she compares to that of a real Night Elven woman?" Ashira would inquire, smiling slyly down at Sharon while gently poking him with a finger.

*

When "Ashira" took the initative of hitting Malizia over the head, Delilah's ire seemed to disappear a bit, and the sentinel quickly gave Lisa-Ashira a nod of approval at the action!

But hitting Draenei was one thing. It was easy, straightforward, simple. What was none of those things would be the awkward conversation that was taking place outside of the gate, especially with the added arrival of Liaena and the odd behavior of the rest of her sisters. Delilah found herself spending half her time simply scratching the back of her ear, trying to make sense of it all!

"By Elune, the mission must have been rough on them or something!"

It was not until Silje-Serphia's mood suddenly grew darker and the "Captain" spoke to her in Darnassian that Delilah's ears would finally perk up, and she'd quickly open the gate and lead them on through.

"Ohh, yes, of course mistress! Right this way please!"

"She never usually calls me just 'Sentinel'... what gives?"

Having opened the gate and as they were matching through the front garden, Delilah would turn to look up towards her "Captain" while starting to explain, occasionally changing glances between her, "Rithrynn" and Liaena.

"We've been anxious for your arrival a long time now! Some of the girls were almost worried something had happened, but I of course never doubted you! Most of them are still incapacitated to various degrees, the festivities not having been gentle." Delilah would explain as they walked towards the main door, before also throwing a glance at "Rithrynn" again.
"And, I think Naliyah has been getting pretty bored without Rithrynn around, if you know what I mean, mistress... "

“Huh. I suppose it’s less fun for her when they’re too drunk to fight back” Liaena commented sardonically from where she walked beside “Rithrynn”.

The girl glanced up with a slight smirk to gauge the Night Elf’s reaction at this, who if anything appeared to be slightly confused “….uh…right”

As the group approached the curtain still hanging over the door, Delilah darted ahead to pull it aside and usher her captain through. The group entered into the atrium, which appeared much the same as it had as they left, except with more empty plates and bottles scattered around. One elf was lying on some cushions scattered across the floor, who looked as though she was in the throes of a particularly evil hangover as she raised an arm to wave it at the group. “Haaaaai….Mistress. Urrrghh…”

“Rithrynn, where’s Sharon?” Liaena muttered to the Night Elf she was walking next to as she also stepped through the doorway. The girl was scanning the group for any sign of the little High Elf – but no, no sign of him – not to mention that he would have made himself known to her anyway. “Don’t tell me you lost him again?”

“Not to mention the Public Relations disaster….again”

The girl thought to herself as she studied the bound Malizia where Serphia was leading her, right ahead of them, before turning to hiss at Rithrynn once more. “And why did you let them parade a white hand mercenary through the city in broad daylight!? The whole POINT was that you lot – hadn’t – been – seen – fighting – them! Think about what the papers are going to make of this! Jeez…”

“Um, is there a problem?”

“…..”

Liaena couldn’t help but stare as Serphia loomed over her, having addressed her in a tone she had previously believed the Night Elven Captain wasn’t even capable of. “…Yeeees. I was wondering why you have that Draenei?”

“I demand you release me at once! I demand – urk!”

As Malizia had opened her mouth to start yelling again, Liaena had withdrawn her dart gun, stepped forward and shot the large draenei in the butt at point blank range. The “White Hand” toppled forward with a surprised look on her face, only for her fall to be arrested as she began to levitate in mid-air and started snoring loudly. Liaena meanwhile turned back to “Serphia” with a carefully sculpted submissive expression on her face. “I thought she might be disturbing your warriors rest, Captain”

“No shouty, mrwhhh…..”

“Exactly” Liaena bobbed her head at the unhappy Night Elf in the corner, who glowered at her before lowering her face back to the floor to continue groaning to herself. “So….how did you capture this White Hand? Was there a fight between here and the Cathedral?”

The girl glanced around at the group, of which the Night Elves looked conspicuously unhurt. “You clearly got the best of it, if you did”

"This kid is becoming a nuisance."

Valion thought to himself with regards to Liaena from where he hid below Silje-Serphia's pointy ear on her shoulder.

However, there was a notable lack from response from their 'Serphia' in general. When Valion looked to see what was wrong, it did not take long for him to notice the huge blush that was currently on Silje-Serphia's face as the girl-masquerading-as-elf was staring down at a drunk, half-naked Night Elf nearby as if she was in some kind of awkward trance.

Behind them, Malizia's impromptu nap-time had caught a lot of the chevalier-sentinels off guard, with two of them having to leap forward in order to catch the large Draenei before she literally face planted onto the floor!

"This... isn't working."

"Continue the mission, Silje. I will deal with the girl." Valion spoke softly into the Silje-Serphia's ear while weaving his hand around.

For a moment, Liaena could suddenly feel a sense of lightheadedness that came just out of nowhere. In the corner of her eyes, she could see flickering lights that passed over her eyes for a moment - before disappearing once again and her mind returned to normal.

"Do not worry, Liaena. I am fine." Valion then answered, walking out across Silje-Serphia's shoulderpad to look down from the vantage point to Liaena.

While Valion may have appeared like his usual self to any of the other witnesses in the room, with his red hair and brown and black cloak and leather armor, that was not the way he appeared in Liaena's eyes. In Liaena's eyes, he appeared as a perfect mimic of her last memory of Sharon, with his blue cloak and mage battlearmor, blond hair and deep blue eyes. Valion's golden scepter appeared instead like Sharon's silver battlestaff.

Smiling down at Liaena, Valion; appearing now like an exact replicate of Sharon in Liaena's vision, voice and sound and all; would disappear in a sudden blink, only to reappear almost immediately on the armrest of a chair close to Liaena.

"I apologize for not revealing myself earlier. Hearing your concerns warms my heart." Valion spoke with a gentle smile, offering a quick glance at Silje-Serphia(whom was still trying to remove her eyes from the drunk elf's almost nonexistant thong) and back to Liaena.

"Shall we go somewhere more private and leave the Captain to her business? It's a long story, and I have plenty to share. I believe I have a bottle of champagne hidden somewhere around here just for a joyous occasion like this."

As the party had entered the atrium, it did not take long before an excited voice could be heard coming from the door leading up into the living room as a familiar, pink haired Night Elf suddenly came through the door.

"Guys, you made it back! How great to see you mistress!"

The familiar, pink-haired Night Elf would turn out to be none other than Naliyah herself! Naliyah, looking excited as ever, happily strode over to the group, the pink haired elf proudly wearing nothing but an undersized human leather corset, some tall leather boots and a piece of string supposed to represent a thong that was only moments away from bursting around the elf's mighty hips!

With a huge smile on her face, Naliyah would walk up to "Serphia" and the closets chevalier-elves and look over them before quickly spotting "Rithrynn" over in the back next to Liaena.

"RITHY!"

Like a humanoid comet, Naliyah would suddenly shoot past "Serphia" and the other elves like a hurricane and collide right into "Rithrynn" in a huge hug!

"You made it back too! And you don't look any worse for wear whatsoever!" Naliyah beamed with happiness as she glanced all over "Rithrynn", studying her expression.

"And her truest human pet as well!" Naliyah exclaimed as she turned to look over at Liaena.
"Thank you for keeping her safe, it is soo... ohhh! What's that!"

Naliyah would pause, suddenly noticing the tiny High Elf Valion standing on the armrest next to Liaena. Leaning down towards him(incidentally dragging "Rithrynn" with her as well as she hadn't let go off the hug), Naliyah would crouch down so she was face to face, or technically nose-to-whole-elf, and study the tiny Valion.

"Goddess, you got a new lit'l helfie! Haaaaai there, cutie! What is your name? I'm Naliyah!"

*

"What a day... " Delilah muttered to herself as she walked back outside of the gate to resume her post of the entrance to the mansion.

However, as soon as she had turned around and placed her hands against her back to resume her guard pose, she would already spot another crowd approaching the gate. A crowd consisting of Night Elves...

"What? ... ??"

Delilah's eyes would widen noticably as she recognized the crowd, with none other that the 8ft tall Serphia proudly marching in front the rest of the Sentinels.

"By Elune, what is GOING ON?!?" Delilah merely muttered to herself in disbelief, staring at the incoming group with a big "WTF" look as if she could not believe her own eyes!

“Uh….right. Sure” Liaena muttered in response to “Sharon” aka Valion. Wiping a hand across her eyes, the girl placed one hand on the back of the chair to steady herself.

“It’s been a long day….or two. I should get some rest”

Shrugging away the sensation, Liaena gave the tiny High Elf a smile as she lowered a hand to pick him up and place him on her shoulder. “Sure, that sounds good. Just give me a second…”

Reaching down to Malizia, Liaena produced a small vial to uncork it and trickle a measure into the Draenei’s mouth. In a moment, the ‘chevalier’ was as small as Valion, Liaena picking her up as she glanced at Serphia quickly to gauge her reaction. “You’ll find your prisoner easier to contain like this. Did you want Rithrynn to take her, or…”

“….”

“…Or maybe I could? Ok, sure? I can do that” Liaena concluded, after her analysis of Serphia indicated the Sentinel was paying no attention to her whatsoever. The girl turned to waggle her eyebrows at Rithrynn as she gestured with her eyes towards the Captain. “Is she drunk?”

Serphia had to have drunk all the communion wine in the Cathedral based on her current behaviour, and Rithrynn was studiously avoiding her gaze. The depths of whatever stupidity had occurred on their journey between Cathedral and Mansion she had clearly only just begun to plumb, Liaena concluded as she turned away with an eyeroll. “Fine then. Sharon and I will catch up….Rithrynn, why don’t you see if Naliyah’s free?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, sounds good!”

“…………………….”

Liaena paused, as what felt like a shiver ran down her spine. The girl turned, to glance between Rithrynn, Serphia and all the other Night Elves in the room as she kept the slight smirk she had been wearing planted firmly on her face. “Great. See you later then.”

“Bye!”

Turning to walk casually out of the room, Liaena slid the hand on the opposite side of her body from where Valion was riding, into the bag she was carrying. The girl turned her head as she walked, to give the High Elf a soft smile. “So…did you want that antidote now, or later? Better to get back to normal size sooner, before one of those idiots sits on you”

"There we are, girls! Home sweet home!" Serphia would exclaim with a sense of accomplishment as she and the rest of her warriors, Kathlin in tow, finally arrived at the outside of the mansion, approaching a steadily more confused Delilah whose eyes kept growing to a bigger and bigger 'DA FUQ?' face.

The utter confusion on Delilah's face would not even begin to abate until she suddenly smelled some of the disgusting stench of raw sewer that emanated from some of the members of the party!

"Hello again, Sentinel Delilah. Open the gate! We have been victorious in our quest!" Serphia exclaimed vigorously and with excitement as she raised a hand to gesture towards Delilah.

" ... "

"We have vanquished the silly monkeys in their fortress - made themselves a mockery right in their very city in front of everyone! ... without being seen our selves, of course!"

" ... "

"We have... what the fuck is the problem, Delilah?"

At that point, Serphia would finally notice the utter look of confusion and astonishment that was plastered onto Delilah's face as she simply gazed up at them, her jaw hanging from her head. Eyes narrow, Serphia would lean forward and give her a slap.

"DELILAH!"

*Smack!*

"Oww!"

"Why are you looking at me like that? I thought you'd be cheering after what we've accomplished!" Serphia stated as Delilah began to rub her now sore cheek, the slap apparently having succeeded in throwing her out of whatever mode of surprise she had initially been in!

"I.. uh, well... I already let you guys in."

"In? We're still outside!"

"I mean like less than five minutes ago!"

"What?"

"I swear, by Elune!"

"HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING ON WATCH, DELI?!"

"NO! NO-NONO! I LET YOU GUYS IN JUST... JUST MINUTES AGO! LOOK!" Delilah would exclaim, becoming frantic as she waved her arms in front of Serphia to the surprise and confusion of the rest of the Night Elves standing behind her.

"Just come in, you,- I mean, they, are still there! Let me show you!" Delilah said, having given up trying to explain to the Captain as the Sentinel instead began to fumble with the key to the gate, turning around and begin to open it.

Serphia merely stared down at Delilah's back in confusion, before tossing a glance across the rest of her warriors behind her. Lithrielle, Vashi, Aleena, Ashira, and all the rest merely shook their heads and shrugged with their shoulders, none of them daring to make any suggestions as to what was going on.

All except Rithrynn, where the Sentinel's eyes would suddenly widen for a moment as a dreadful memory just struck her...

"Wait, is this some potion shenanigans reminiscent of Liaena's that's going on?!"

Rithrynn wondered to herself as she went through the possibility. Liaena was not with them after all. What if she had taken a polymorph potion and disguised herself as Captain Serphia - again? Had she arrived before them to infiltrate the mansion and trick the rest of her sisters?

It was not inconceivable, after all. They had spent a lot of time simply slugging through the detour that had been the sewer, and Rithrynn knew the insideous little human to be capable of such feats.

But to what end? And who would "them" others be? Did Liaena bring friends? Was this an attempt at the Church of the Holy Light to get payback on her and her sisters for messing up their Cathedral? Had a bunch of young apprentices gone rogue, polymorphed into elves and infiltrated their mansion?

Rithrynn gazed up at Serphia standing next to her, the Captain's eyes fixed on the gate as it swung open.

If Liaena had indeed pulled another one of her polymorph potion shenanigans, especially if she had included other co-conspirators, only one thing was sure to happen if the look in Serphia's eyes was anything to judge by...

... heads would roll.

"She sounds like a great girl, but how do you think she compares to that of a real Night Elven woman?

"Well... easier." Sharon said, eyeing Ashira for a moment.
"Less proportions to get stuck in, so to say... "

Sharon took a moment to think about how he was going to deal with the situation. Was Sentinel Ashira hitting on him? Of that, there was little doubt.

Could he rely on backup from Rithrynn? He was not so sure anymore. After all, Rithrynn had after all lost the official love race between her and Liaena, and Liaena, being as territorial as she was, had made sure to prevent any attempt from Rithrynn to renegotiate the result of the race. Ashira, however, was a new player, which meant that Sharon had to step cautiously.

However, his worry over Ashira would soon give way as they arrived at the mansion, and they encountered a very perplexed Delilah outside the gates!

"Something isn't right."

Sitting on Ashira's shoulder, Sharon would look around, eyes passing over Rithrynn. Judging by the Sentinel's facial expression, what with Rithrynn having a notoriously bad poker face as usual, he could tell that Rithrynn was not at ease either.

"Trouble might have hit home sooner than I would have expected, Rithrynn." Sharon spoke in a louder voice directed at Rithrynn, one that unfortunately could not escape the notice of Ashira either.

"Whatever happens in there, look twice before you stab anything. Or shoot anyone."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The jaws of the two chevalier-Night Elves whom had been watching after Malizia would drop to the floor when the normally large Draenei shrunk to an almost miniscule size right before them - and was snapped off by Liaena before they could regain their senses!

One of them looked for direction towards Silje-Serphia, but she was still too busy blushing at the recently arrived Naliyah to even react!

“So… did you want that antidote now, or later? Better to get back to normal size sooner, before one of those idiots sits on you”

"Given the naturally enhanced volume of the typical Kaldoreian posterior, that would indeed be a good idea." Valion, masquerading as Sharon, would smirk, standing on Liaena's shoulder as the girl walked away.

As they walked, he would toss a glance down at Malizia in Liaena's hand.

"I do not think she ever planned for this. Still, if this girl has an antitode, it should be fairly straightforward to bring the Death Knight back to full if I just play along - provided the situation does not needlessly complicate itself any further."

Valion thought to himself. Malizia wasn't strictly needed for the first part of the mission, which after all was just to get the elves to vacate the mansion. Still, whenever the real Sharon would show up, her Runeblade would be useful in dealing with him and his allies.

"Why don't we head to my office? With any luck, it'll still be an Night Elf-free zone." Valion would eventually suggest, glancing over at Liaena with a slight nod and a smile.
"All the commotion of the day has left me wanting for some quiet time."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Pssth, Captain! Captain! The mission, remember?!"

One of the chevalier, Lisa-Ashira, would tug at the back of Silje-Serphia's shoulder, pulling her a little back as she stood on her toes to try to whisper into the much taller Captain's ears.

"Summon the elves in the house, make them follow you and leave the mansion!" Lisa-Ashira would continue to sneer up at her.

"Shouldn't we let them get dressed fir,-"

"They're elves, they're just naturally weird; deal with it!"

"Uh, okai... ?"

Chevalier "Rithrynn" was looking utterly perplexed at Naliyah who was currently clinging to her like a magnet and slowly but surely attempting to drag her away from the group, throwing worried looks between the crazy Night Elf and the rest of the Chevalier Elves in the room. If it hadn't been for one of the chevalier-elves stepping up behind and holding "Rithrynn" by her collar, Naliyah would have surely already have dragged her off into one of the siderooms!

Silje-Serphia, having finally managed to tear her eyes off Naliyah's nonexistant thong, given them a good rub and cleared her throat, would turn to the rest.

"Summon the... warriors of the Night! I, the Captain of this band, have a very important announcement to make! Right, now... ish." Silje-Serphia proclaimed loudly, a no small feat considering that she had almost never had to shout ever before earlier in her life.

Throwing an unsure look at the Night Elves around her, she motioned for them to follow her as she slowly but surely started heading towards the mansion's living room, from where she could hear the most commotion.

"We're right behind you, don't worry!" Lisa-Ashira whispered as she walked close behind Silje-Serphia, though from where she stood, she could not see much more than the white hair of the Captain, and felt herself within an uncomfortable close reach of the Captain's overly large and over-exposed hips!

“Sure” Liaena said carefully as she walked through the corridor, coming to a set of stairs to begin climbing them towards the upper floors. “Serphia was acting really oddly. Is Falere giving her trouble?”

“Hm?”

“…You know. The one standing behind her” Liaena elaborated. Valion gave her an odd look, before chuckling lightly.
“Oh no. She is pushy sometimes, but I’d imagine the Captain has it all in hand”

“Fair enough”

The girl said dubiously as she walked, hoping the elf riding on her shoulder wouldn’t be able to detect how quickly her heart was beating. Reaching the door to Sharon’s office, she opened the door to step inside.

The room was just as opulent as ever, somehow mysteriously untouched by the Night Elves - although the lack of alcohol in the room might always have been a factor. Liaena stepped over to remove “Sharon” from her shoulder and place him on his desk. “Here….just a second”

Rummaging inside the bag she was carrying, Liaena eventually withdrew a small vial that she held out to the high elf. The label on it was as indecipherable as ever in her classic chicken scratch. To somebody who was familiar with Liaena’s concoctions however, this lacked the vibrate green colour that characterised her antidote for the shrinking potion. Instead, it had the classic bluish-white tint of her strongest sleeping drugs.

Looking down at Valion, she raised an eyebrow quizzically along with a smile. “…did you need me to find you a saucer, or are you good?”

Inside the atrium of the mansion, a set of rapid heavy footsteps fast approaching the entrance door could be heard from the outside. They would continue to become louder and louder - until they stopped completely.

" ... "

*CRASH*

*CRACK*

*TROMBOLOMBO*

Without a word of warning, a heavy thud could be heard from the other side of the door just before it exploded off its hinges and flew inwards, landing flat on the ground in front of the entrance to reveal behind it none other than Serphia in the doorway, standing on one leg in a kicking position with her right leg raised towards the occupants of the atrium. All around her 8ft tall Night Elven Captain stood her warriors, arms drawn as they peered in from the side.

Lowering her leg back to the ground, Serphia would lean her head forward and begin a rapid march into the mansion, her silvery eyes as narrow as slits and fuming with rage.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Serphia's voice would boom through the entire mansion, before she spotted none other than... herself?

A moment of confusion ran across Serphia's face when she noticed the Silje-Serphia, making the Captain pause for a moment. Yet the momentary madness would not last, as soon the hateful silver flame would once again return to the Captain's eyes.

"Who is this impostor?!" Serphia would shout out and point at Silje-Serphia.

At this point, the commotion in the atrium seemed to have attracted more attention as a couple more Night Elves, both in various states of drunkenness and various states of clothing, arrived around and above the room to watch.

Rithrynn, staring at the crowd of chevalier elves with a look of disbelief, would lean in towards her Captain to mutter.

"Maybe she is your greatest a fan, mistress!"

Valion would take a moment to eye the office as they entered. Most of it was as he would have expected from an orderly mage, with scrolls and books neatly placed within their respective shelves and the room being in a pristine condition. That was more than he could ever say for what he had seen of the lower levels, all of whom had been occupied by the Night Elves.

“ …did you need me to find you a saucer, or are you good?”

"Oh, no, I'll be fine." Valion would chuckle softly back up at Liaena, giving her a gentle smile.

He gazed at the vial for a moment. The label was utterly useless, to claim that the girl supposedly mastered the art of handwriting would be a bold claim to make if anyone were to ever judge it! Yet it was less the horrid script, and more the strange coloration that struck Valion's attention as he casually glanced at the vial.

He was no stranger to alchemy, being a mage. Yet the vial presented to him lacked any and all of the characteristics of a shrinking antitode or purifier if he ever knew it.

Unless the girl had a peculiar hobby of coloring her own potions.

"I was thinking... "

"Who is this impostor!?"

Valion would be cut off mid sentence as he heard the booming voice of the real Serphia coming from downstairs, his hand stuck as he held it up to his chin. Looking awkwardly over towards the door, and then back at the girl now towering over him from where he stood on the desk, he would let out a soft sigh.

"I quite enjoyed our conversation, however brief it was. Yet, I suppose this is the end of this little charade." Valion spoke with a tempered voice, as if he had expected things to go awry from the very beginning.

Raising a hand, Liaena could see the picture of Sharon fade right in front of her as if it literally evaporated off of Valion's figure.

But as the picture of the blond haired, blue cloaked battle mage disappeared, it would be replaced by some pitch black, saronite armor forming a half platemail hanging over some black and purple robes. The surface of the armor might at first have seemed deformed, but on closer inspection, the armor appeared to have been shaped as to represent warped humanoid limbs that stretched themselves across the surface of his plates. His face was completely encased in a black saronite helmet, formed in the shape of three distinct faces displayed in various states of agony, with his long ears poking out at either side and from the back of his helmet flowed Valion's red hair.

"Sharon's" silver battlestaff, following the disappearance of the illusion, would be turned into an ashen black wooden staff with a crude purple gem and bell hanging on top of it.

"My name is Valion et'Siletharian Ovani. Know that I appreciated our little moment together, however short it might have been. Ohh, and your old friend, Sherpa, would like to send his regards!" Valion would smirk, but his expression was hidden behind the malformed helmet he was wearing.

Raising his black staff and thumping it back down into the ground, Liaena found her vision immediately overcome with complete darkness as a temporary blindness washed over her! It felt as if an icy, skeletal hand just grasped into her head and churned through her brain violently! By the time she regained her vision, she could feel cold. As Liaena looked around, she was no longer in Sharon's office, but in an icy cave of some sort, a biting chill filling the air.

She was at the end of a tunnel, and in front of her, lying on the floor ahead would be a shadowy mist that shifted across the snow covered ground. Two red eyes would appear from within the shadow, as it suddenly rose into a vaguely humanoid ghostly figure, clad in pure darkness that emanated from its cloaked being. From the bottomless darkness beneath its tattered hood it gazed directly at Liaena, and a sense of familiarity would occur within her.

It was the Reaper spirit from Dalaran.

The spirit said nothing, yet somehow bizarrely, its purpose and intentions seemed clear as it slowly shifted towards Liaena, extending a blackened skeletal hand towards her.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at Sharon's office, Valion merely looked up at Liaena, who's eyes were all but white as she was stuck in a waking nightmare.

Any movement she made in the nightmare would be reflected in the real world as well, yet all her senses were purely focused on the fake experience in her head. Valion would chuckle contently as he shifted his gaze over to Malizia, the Draenei currently lying slumped and snoring happily and obliviously away on the floor beneath Liaena.

"It is time to wake up, sweet princess." Valion would mutter, taking a step towards the edge of the table when he would suddenly disappear in a purple mist, only to reappear back at the floor next to Liaena's feet. Walking over to the Draenei, he would reach an armored hand into his tattered black robes to pull out two vials. One of the vials would be empty, having been his shrinking potion. The other would still be full, being his antitode.

The Death Knight needed the antitode more than he did. As a Master Illusionist, Valion needed only his spells to wreak havoc on the flimsy psyches of his enemies.

Kneeling down next to Malizia, Valion would place a hand against the sleeping Draenei's chest. A blue light shot across Malizia's body as the Draenei was violently tossed back to a state of consciousness, the minor frost spell having served as the equivalent wake-up experience as that of a particularly evil bucket of ice on a sleeping person!

"The charade has already fallen apart. I think we will be needed downstairs - very soon." Valion spoke softly as he force fed the potion to Malizia who was still trying to regain her sense of awareness, chugging the potion down the Draenei's throat.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"OOOHH LIGHT!" Silje-Serphia would exclaim as the door was suddenly kicked open, the little-girl-turned-big-Night-Elf promptly jumped off the floor and into the arms of the nearby Lisa-Ashira; whom immediately failed to hold the much bigger "Captain" and promptly collapsed in a pile under Silje-Serphia's rear!

"Owwwww.... " Silje-Ashira would emit as she groaned in discomfort.

The rest of the Chevalier Elves drew their weapons, not quite sure what to expect other than pure trouble at this point! "Rithrynn" tried to draw her weapon as well, but would fail, seeing how she was still trapped in Naliyah's iron embrace!

"Who is this impostor?!"

"I AM... I, uh... " Silje-Serphia would stammer as she got off the disheveled Lisa-Ashira to stand up, looking really uncomfortable as she gazed back at the real Serphia.
" ... I am the Warlord of this band, yeh... I am! And who... who are YOU?" Silje-Serphia would point back at Captain Serphia, doing her best to not immediately panic at that point!

“Oh Light…”
A cold knot of dread had wound its way around her heart like a snake. Liaena took a step back, only to find the cold wall of the cavern pressing against her back. In reality, the girl had now flattened herself against the back wall of Sharon’s study.

“Y…you’re dead” she informed the Reaper, hating how weak and scared her voice had become. Unsurprisingly, the monster had no comeback for this, instead choosing to drift closer in a manner that very pointedly illustrated the invalidity of her statement.

How could this have happened!? How long had she been unconscious? Was Sharon still out there somewhere, fighting Sherpa, or….Liaena did not want to consider that other option. The sensation of dread constricted further at the thought.

The thing she was facing had not conducted any aggressive actions other than to drift closer inexorably. She needed a weapon, anything to help her. But her hands were empty, and it was unlikely a potion would assist her with the thing she was facing anyway.

She had to move. The fear in the command sent to her frozen legs jolted them into life, as she bolted in a desperate attempt to circumferent the Reaper and reach the mouth of the cave they were in. The lunge was almost immediately aborted as her legs exploded in pain – in reality, crashing straight into Sharon’s heavy mahogany desk – and falling to the ground.

Gasping, Liaena flailed around as she tried to clamber to her feet, but her limbs did not work in the way she attempted to force them – being hopelessly tangled in the chairs set in front of aforementioned desk. She had little to no time to try and pull herself together and try and think her way out, as freezingly cold skeletal hands coiled around her neck and midriff – an awakened and somewhat annoyed Malizia hoisting the girl out of the mess of broken wood by the scruff of the neck.

Flailing and writhing in the creatures arms, Liaena lost all sense or pretence at composure to scream with abandon as icy cold mist enveloped her, tendrils invading her eyes, nose and mouth. An echoing voice spoke into the panic that was her brain, appearing to freeze even that and drop it to sub-zero temperature.

“Welcome home, priestess”

" ... I am the Warlord of this band, yeh... I am! And who... who are YOU?"

At that point, a visible blood vein just popped in the front of Serphia's face! To anyone else who stood in the room, it was almost as if they could feel the temperature rise by a couple of degrees, fueled by nothing but the growing rage that was building within Serphia!

A deadly quiet came from the rest of the elves whom had entered with Serphia, Rithrynn and Aleena whom were the closet quietly backing away and putting some distance between them at the Captain as they threw frightened looks between the real Serphia and the impostor!

"You little bitch... " Serphia muttered as her eyes narrowed to slits on Silje-Serphia, before the Captain began to walk towards her with long, heavy strides!

"A fake like you seeks to usurp my divinely chosen position?!"

While walking towards Silje-Serphia, one of the chevalier-Night Elves came too close with her weapon drawn. The result being that Serphia immediately reached out to grab the blade of the sword in a lighting fast motion, pulling it sideways, before punching the chevalier-elf right in the face with the same hand, knocking her down and dropping the sword - all without ever losing eye contact with Silje-Serphia!

"And you have the gall to try to lie straight to my face, amidst my own warriors?! Oh sister, oh sister oh sister... you have NO clue what you are doing!"

Finally coming into range with a Silje-Serphia who was looking increasingly worried the closer Serphia got, she would snap out with her hands, grabbing Silje-Serphia by her upper chestpiece, and hoisting her feet off the ground as she moved her face closer to hers.

"I. WILL. EAT. YOU. ALIVE!"

Serphia snarled right into Silje-Serphia's face, before she suddenly turned around and threw the Silje-Serphia right into the "Ashira" chevalier Night Elf, throwing them both right back into the wall.

Turning away from Silje-Serphia for a moment, Serphia would gaze around to throw the rest of the elves in the room a look; as now most of her warband had gathered in the atrium or between the living room to see what was going all, all in various states of drunkenness and clothing.

"We got some imposters in the house, girls! Go get them!"

Serphia called out, motioning towards the sorry looking chevalier-elves whom were now all surrounded at this point!

"Attack!"
"Whoooooooooooooo!"
"ELF FIGHT!"

Within the blink of an eye, all the elves in the room would throw themselves at the chevalier-elves in a chaotic melee that was much more reminiscent of an all-out bar brawl! Although there had been some lines in the beginning of the fight for the different sides, they quickly dissolved, and with the majority of elves already drunk, separating between the exact lookalikes of the chevalier-elves and Serphia's own little party became impossible!

Aleena, whom was about to throw herself in a strike against the "Ashira" chevalier Night Elf, would suddenly be immediately struck from the side by a random Night Elf whom knocked her right out of her path with a drunk flying side kick!

Rithrynn herself scanned the chaotic battlefield that had been the atrium for signs of her own lookalike, only to see the "Rithrynn" Chevalier Night Elf just as she was dragged out of the fight and into one of the siderooms by a rather horny looking Naliyah, sprawling around and trying to call for help before the door was closed shut behind them!

"Ehhh, that's one down, I suppose!"

She shrugged at the scene, almost feeling a little sorry for her own impostor, before she returned to look at the fray.

Serphia had since then resumed her death-glare towards Silje-Serphia, and before the "poor" impostor had even managed to get off the other chevalier elf, Serphia had already thrown herself right at her with a vicious roar!

"We're... winning, I think?"

"Shaw, wasn't Li supposed to be back already? ... Shaw?" Rithrynn would then ask, inching closer to where Ashira last stood, only to realize that Ashira had since been devoured by the brawl, and could be seen dodging random attackers in the middle of the room while trying to protect the little High Elf on her shoulder.

" ... dammit!"

“What is going on?!”

Sharon thought to himself as he fervently clung to a strand of Ashira’s green hair as the Sentinel crouched down to avoid a high kick from a drunk Night Elf whom promptly proceeded to spin around 360 degrees before slipping and slamming herself face-first into the ground!

“Shaw, wasn’t Li supposed to be back already?”

“Possibly, nothing is confirmed yet!” Sharon yelled back as he looked through the brawl to see Rithrynn staring at him and Ashira from the outside.

But as he was hanging from Ashira’s hair against her back, he would suddenly notice the Chevalier Lithrielle as she was charging at the unaware Ashira from behind!

“Time to move!”

Moving one hand to touch Ashira’s back, Sharon would cast a quick teleportation spell, causing both him and Ashira to vanish in the air as the chevalier-elf charged in; “Lithrielle”, rather than charging into Ashira would instead collide face first with another drunk elf coming from the front, causing them both to collapse in a pile on the spot!

Ashira and Sharon would reappear right next to the pile. As the momentarily confused Ashira resumed her fighting position, Sharon would leap from her back and onto the shoulder of the nearby Night Elf, running across the Sentinel's back and sliding off her arm just as the elf had her leg kicked out from under her by Ashira! Soaring through the air in the middle of the scuffle, Sharon would manage to grab onto the bottom of Delilah’s loincloth just as the elf got punched in the face, using it to swing between her legs as she fell backwards and letting go just as Delilah slammed into the spot Sharon had been in second’s ago! But as he looked back and let out a sigh of relief, he would eventually look forward and realized that all he could see at that point was Sentinel Aleena’s big purple butt as he soared right towards her rear where she lay on top of another sentinel in a wrestling match! Succeeding in averting disaster by performing a last second blink as he was already practically between Aleena’s big buttocks, he would instead appear somewhat higher up as he safely landed on top of the Sentinel’s butt rather than in it. Bouncing off Aleena’s rear and sliding across her arched back, he’d leap onto her helmet, and further off into the air; succeeding in jumping out of the melee and gracefully landing in Rithrynn’s hand.

“That's my daily dose of acrobatics over with... ” Sharon would mutter with a smile on his face as he looked up at Rithrynn and nonchalantly moved a hand to brush off any dust from his robes.
“If my mansion has been compromised, we should make our way to my study. I don’t want them steal,-“

Sharon was right in the middle of giving his instructions when he looked past Rithrynn’s shoulder, just in time to see a screaming Silje-Serphia as she was catapulted through the room by Captain Serphia, only to crash right into Rithrynn and Sharon as they stood!

“I did not ask for this!” Silje-Serphia muttered as she rolled off Rithrynn, beaten and battered as she crawled towards the staircase. Turning around, she would let out a frightened shriek as she saw the furious Night Elf Captain come walking towards her; Serphia's eyes glowing with murderous intent; and quickly began to scramble up the stairs!

“Noo! Stay away from me, I’M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I DID NOT MEAN TO STEAL YOUR WARBAND! YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK!”

Having gone multiple shades more pale, Silje-Serphia would roll around and begin a frantic scramble to get up the stairs as if all the demons of hell were on her tail, tripping at the top before getting back up and barreling across the corridor!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And this is the Liaena Rune girl?” Malizia asked as she cast the sprawling human in her arms a look of contempt, the Draenei appearing quite clearly to harbor very little love for the girl who had quickly developed herself to become quite the nuisance!

“Yes, the consort of Sharon Dal’dieb; his lover, if you will. She is valuable as a target if we will need to lure him or anything, so please refrain from killing her.” Valion spoke as he looked up at the Draenei, noticing how Malizia eyed the girl.

“Could you at least make her stop sprawling so much? Unless you want to try to hold her!” Malizia complained as she eyed Liaena’s legs in particular, whom often kicked back into Malizia’s own knees from time to time.

Noticing this, Valion would snap his fingers, and immediately the spell that was cast on Liaena would be cancelled, allowing her to wake up in the real world and see normally, no longer contained by her waking nightmare as she could again feel the warmth of the room - and the hands holding her by her collar.

“I apologize for the crude methods, my lady, but unfortunately; given the circumstances; they were necessary.” Valion spoke calmly through his warped saronite mask as he looked up at Malizia and Liaena, the former giving him a particularly odd look at the mention of ‘my lady’.

“Cut the formalities, Valion! I will lead this little interview!” Malizia was quick to speak as she began to turn Liaena around, but just as she was about to, a couple of steps could be heard from outside the office door that made both Valion and Malizia peer towards the entrance of Sharon’s study.

Suddenly, the door would be thrown open, as a crying Silje-Serphia came storming into the room, arms in the air as she ran right over a surprised Valion, almost stepping on him.

“AAAAAAHH! HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME! THERE’S A PSYCHO WOMAN IN THE HOUSE!”

Silje-Serphia shrieked as she ran past Liaena and behind Malizia, where she huddled behind the rather confused looking Draenei.

“The elven warlord, she said she was gonna eat me! LIGHT, who is she?!”

Silje-Serphia spoke with a terrified voice as she hugged Malizia, only occasionally peeking over the Draenei’s shoulder and towards the office door. All the while, both Malizia and Valion would share an awkward look.

“I wonder if they had a plan….” Kathlin wondered aloud as she watched Silje-Serphia bolt up the stairs like a frightened rabbit. The girl sounded, if anything, distinctly sympathetic towards the terrified fake-Night-Elf. “…it didn’t seem to plan for that bit”

Sheltering next to Rithrynn where the Night Elf took her first step towards the stairs, the girl turned quickly as they walked to see another faux-Sentinal charging headlong at them. She smacked headfirst into a glimmering shield that appeared out of nowhere and collapsed to the floor groaning. “Or this bit. Are you okay?”

Pausing to bend down and inspect the large bruiser forming on her head, Kathlin was grabbed by the scruff to be dragged forcefully after Rithrynn as she strode purposefully towards the stairs. Around them, the actual Night Elves were very much getting the better of the fake ones, the latter both unused to their large size, and trained to fight in heavy protective armour. Which the Keldorei traditional garb…. did not entail.

*

“I apologize for the crude methods, my lady, but unfortunately; given the circumstances; they were necessary.”

“………”

Still very much in the grip of terror, it took several seconds for Liaena to process the warmth on her skin and the notable absence of dark claws enveloping her, much less process any pleasantries Valion had to offer her.

Shaking like a leaf, the girl swallowed hard as she tried to recover her composure. She was in Sharon’s office, in Stormwind. Not a cave. Not in Northrend.

Although apparently, very much in trouble.

Liaena tensed as she ran through all of her options in her head. Her potions were virtually gone, and raided if the large Draenei holding her off the ground was anything to go by. She didn’t visualise herself going toe to toe with her captor physically. Which left her with the dart gun that may or may not still be in her pocket. It was hard for her to tell, and impossible to check without alerting the Draenei to its presence.

“AAAAAAHH! HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME! THERE’S A PSYCHO WOMAN IN THE HOUSE!”

Silje-Serphia almost crashed into Liaena when she ran headlong into the room, lunging behind the Draenei to whine and cry in terror. As Malizia and Valion were momentarily baffled and diverted by her presence, Liaena slipped a hand into her pocket to quietly withdraw her dart gun. The vial arming it empty, she reached a hand into her satchel to find one extra clip and jam it into place. Then she slipped it straight back into her pocket again, heart thumping.

“The elven warlord, she said she was gonna eat me! LIGHT, who is she?!”

“……”

Liaena couldn’t help herself but let out a dry chuckle where she dangled in Malizia’s grip. “….Y-you don’t even know who she is? Wow. You’re disposable, aren’t you?”

The thudding of furious feet bounding on to the landing, then slowing to a low patient stride as Serphia stalked down the corridor, flinging open doors at random was audible to everyone in the room as Liaena took a deep breath to yell at the top of her lungs: “OH SERPHIA, IS THAT YOU!? WHAT’RE YOU DOING IN SHARON’S STUDY??”

Rithrynn barely had time to interpret the sudden look of surprise and wide eyes on the face of the tiny High Elf in her hand as a bad sign - before the fake Silje-Serphia just flew in from nowhere to crash land right onto Rithrynn!

*CRASH*

“Noo! Stay away from me, I’M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I DID NOT MEAN TO STEAL YOUR WARBAND! YOU CAN HAVE IT BACK!”

"Ow-ow-ow.... " Rithrynn groaned in misery as she lay face first down against the carpet at the bottom of the stairs, only hearing Silje-Serphia's terrified voice as the frightened girl retreated up the stairs with all due haste! Despite being a fake, Silje-Serphia had proved that she weighed just as much as the real Serphia!

"Rii, come on, you gotta wake up!" Sounded the familiar voice of Vashi as the Night Elven Magi approached Rithrynn from behind, gracefully avoiding the all-out brawl that had since consumed the atrium through employing a variety of slow-fall spells coupled with jumping maneuvers, timed dodges, teleports, and general luck.

Hoisting Rithrynn up by the back of her belt, Rithrynn ended up on her arms and knees instead, only to finally stagger back onto her feet after some time.

"I... there was, a meteor. In the house? Whaaa?" Rithrynn mumbled, still disoriented as she gazed up to the roof to see where the meteor that had just hit her had come from, but alas, there were no burning meteor holes in the roof.
" ... what juz"

"Ri! We have to help mistress, she's going after the fake imposter!" Vashi would shout, shaking Rithrynn and causing the elf to wake up somewhat! Rithrynn's silver eyes eventually went from being entirely confused to 'I-think-I-know-the-difference-between-up-and-down', and she looked back at the Magi.

"Oh, right! She chased after the fake! Let's,-"

"Who's that?"

Rithrynn had been about to try to rush past Vashi, having already grabbed Kathlin, when the Magi suddenly pointed at a tiny piece of regal looking blue cloth that poked out from deep down in Rithrynn's cleavage. Pausing, Rithrynn looked down, momentarily confused, before realizing.

"Oh, right!"

*Pop*

"Sorry, Shaw!" Rithrynn said as she pulled the disheveled High Elven Mage out from his entrapment, and instead placed him back onto her shoulder and turned to look back at Vashi.

"We have to go, our sisters can handle themselves down here!" Rithrynn then said, offering a quick glance behind at the giant brawl that was taking place behind them, which was like a sea of purple bodies falling or flying in every direction! It was at that point almost impossible to tell the difference between the fake Night Elves and their real counterparts without asking them, but something told Rithrynn that the fake ones had lost pretty much any hope for victory by then. It would not surprise her if most of them had already been defeated, and the rest of her sisters were simply continuing the brawl against each other!

"Yeah, everything looks normal down here... "

*

*KROOSH*

The doors to Sharon's study would suddenly be slammed open with such violent force that one of the ornate wooden doors would fall completely off its hinges!

Appearing from behind it would be none other than Captain Serphia, slowly lowering her leg as she glared into the study with her silver eyes that glowed through the raised dust that filled the air! Scanning the room, she immediately spotted the large person of fake Silje-Serphia as she huddled in terror behind a large Draenei who wore the armor of the White Hand, holding none other than the midget Liaena in a tight grip.

Another pair of hurried footsteps could be heard from the corridor as both Vashi, Kathlin and Rithrynn came sprinting into view in the entrance to the study, appearing at each of Serphia's side, with Sharon sitting on Rithrynn's shoulder.

"Wait, Li... you're here?" Rithrynn would suddenly exclaim when she saw Liaena being held by the Draenei, squinting at the black haired human girl with her eyes. At first she seemed surprised, but then, almost annoyed.
"I can't believe it, Li! How could you get kidnapped AGAIN?! This is like the third time in a month, at least! I mean, by the goddess!"

"I will not fault her for playing the role of the bait. She has done that admirably!" Serphia simply muttered as she stepped into the room, her eyes focusing on Malizia and Silje-Serphia.
"For the prey has taken the bait."

Suddenly stopping mid step while cracking her fists, the Captain would look directly down at the tiny High Elven Magi, Valion, who now stood at her feet, simply gazing up at the large Night Elven Captain who from his perspective must have looked like a titan. Noticing this new intruder, Serphia grinned.

" ... and it seems they even brought a small appetizer."

Valion merely peered up as he saw the gigantic figure of the Night Elven Captain completely tower above him where she had stopped at was looking right down at him.

At the sight of Serphia entering the room, Silje-Serphia had tried to hide even more behind a rather surprised looking Malizia, though it did help little as Silje-Serphia was practically the same size as the Draenei. That was without even giving any mention of Silje-Serphia's rather lack of any kind of skill in stealth.

Given the circumstances, something told Valion that he was supposed to feel intimidated in such a situation.

Yet, although the threat of an impending battle against a group of foes many times his own size generated a small adrenaline pump, fear was not exactly the feeling that was most prominent within the High Elven Magi as Valion stared up at the big Night Elven warrioress standing before him, her position granting the shorter elf a not-so-humble look from where he stood below the Captain's miniscule silk loincloth.

"Far be it from my position to make any kind of judgement calls about the traditional garbs of an ancient, 10.000 year old culture... "

"This reminds me now, how was it that the old, cliche went? .. " Valion began to mutter, and with a flick of his wrist, Serphia, Vashi, Rithrynn and Kathlin all suddenly found their feet lift up from the ground as they all began to float freely up into the air, the tiny mage having cast a feather spell on them.

"Ah yes, 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall'."

Valion smirked behind his mask, extending out his arms as tendrils of black smoke began to crawl across his black saronite armor and towards his staff.

" *Pant* Lieutenant, Captain *Pant*, it's utter chaos downstairs! We must fall back!"

A heavy breathing could suddenly be heard from the door as Lisa-Lithrielle just came running into the opening, the chevalier Night Elf looking exhausted as she first looked at Valion, and then at the other elves whom were rising up into the air above.

"Uhh, need any help, guys?"

Meanwhile, over at Malizia, the Draenei would take one hand off Liaena's collar, simply holding her by one hand, as she reached with the other to grab ahold of Silje-Serphia's neck as she pulled her out from behind her and shoved her towards her side.

"Try to be somewhat useful at the very least, girl!" Malizia shouted as she looked away from Liaena and at Silje-Serphia as the latter looked with a mix of confusion, fear, and awe at the situation in front of her.

"Uhh, right, I'll try to be useful! ... light, how can I be useful?! I'm a student, not a warrior!"

Mei was slowly moving through the empty streets of Stormwing. There was still some time before dawn so most people were still in their beds, sleeping and probably having a lot better time at it than Mei ever had for years. Every now and then as she walked through the dark streets, she would lean on a nearby wall to steady herself as the cold air slowly sobered her up. She frown at that, but there was she could do about it. Her wage was still some time away and she already had taken her share of loans so she was dead broke... again.

"Maybe I will have to take a side job... again..." She muttered as she slowly walked down the street towards the inn she was staying at. The warrior trainer job wasn't really well paid, especially here in Stormwind. It was also part of the reason she chose to stay here really. Back in Exodar, she couldn't take the eyes full of pity of the people around her.

"Look at yourself! Did you spend the night drinking ...again!?" She suddenly heard a lound voice as she finally entered "The Jumping Kobolt", the inn she stayed at. The source of the voice was the older, a middle aged woman with somewhat round body and motherly face." I'm sorry..." Was all that Mei replied, her eyes carrying the usual sadness in them. The woman simply sighed and gave Mei a waterskin. "Here, drink this... you need to drink water..." The woman stated and the draenei obediently took the waterskin, heading back to her own room.

The room was small one, it had barely enough space for a small bed(which was also too small for the draenei), a single desk with a chair and a small wardrobe which was still empty. All Mei had was a simple steel sword and a strangely elegant and probably precious spear. Even the clothing she wore was a gift to her by the nice innkeeper, who seemed to take care of her for some reason.

Once inside her own room, she locked the door behind herself, drank down the waterskin in one go for she was indeed incredibly thirsty and laid down on the bed... Today she had no work.. she hated when she had no work... maybe she was going to find some work in hte afternoon... after a nap... yeah... that sounded as a good plan.

Suddenly she heard a strange familiar sound from under her. Her eyes flung open as a magic circle formed around her." Not again..." She muttered as she fell through the portal beneath her. She didn't even have the chance to pull at least the sword with herself.

"I can't believe it, Li! How could you get kidnapped AGAIN?! This is like the third time in a month, at least! I mean, by the goddess!"

“I did not ‘get kidnapped’ even once. And you’re late”
Liaena hissed back at the large Night Elf, looking none too happy with the accusations levelled at her on top of everything. Kathlin smiled at the other girl as she started to float gently into the air with the Sentinels, wind-milling her arms slightly to remain vertical. “I’m glad you’re okay, Li”

“Mmh. I could do without the party-crashers” Liaena muttered, eyes fixed on the miniature Valion. Kathlin followed her gaze.

"Try to be somewhat useful at the very least, girl!"

“Nah, bad plan” the little priestess gasped as she took advantage of Malizia’s distraction with Sijie-Serphia to reach into her pocket, pull out the dart gun, jam it into the side of the Draenei’s face and fire it off in one fluid action. Simultaneously Kathlin lifted a hand and the levitate spell holding her and the Night Elves was promptly dispelled, all dropping back to the floor.

*VROOOOOOM*

Sijie-Serphia was promptly bowled over by an extremely livid Serphia, who looked as though her mood had not improved even slightly from her brief time out in the air. Malizia dropping to the floor unconscious – again – Liaena lunged forward to try and intercept Valion as the room erupted into chaos again.

“Here, Li!”

Kathlin cried out as she spotted Valion, the latter darting for cover out of the way of all the Night Elves crashing around. Swooping down on him, the girl caught him up in the only weapon she had available - namely in a length of her winter cloak like a net.

Holding the edges together like a makeshift sack with an angry Valion bouncing around inside, Kathlin gave Liaena a slightly sheepish smile as she held the bundle of cloth out to her. “I didn’t want to hurt him”

"Nooo!"

*CRASH*

"Pleaaase!"

*SMASH!*

"Doooon't!"

*CRACKBOM*

Silje-Serphia was rapidly backstepping away from the mechanical killing machine that was Serphia whom was walking towards her at a steady but frightening pace!

When the impostor tried to raise a small coffee table to use as a shield, Serphia merely punched right through it with an armored fist! When Silje-Serphia attempted to hold up an unbrella to defend herself with, it was immediately grabbed straight out of her hands; the fuming elven Captain merely bending the metal shaft over one knee and tossing it aside. Sidestepping back behind a sofa, Silje-Serphia would only let out a shriek when Serphia suddenly did a roundhouse kick, kicking the furniture aside and out of her way!

But while Silje-Serphia was experiencing the single most terrifying moment of her entire life, Rithrynn had just gotten back onto her own feet after having been unceremoniously slumped into the ground!

"Why don't Li and her friends ever warn be before reactivating the force of gravity?!"

Rithrynn thought to herself while brushing a fancy new bruiser she had gained on her forehead, before she heard movement behind her. Ears perking up, she'd spin around, turning around to see Lisa-Lithrielle still standing in the doorway behind them!

"Uhh, Lithi? ... "

Those were Rithrynn's first words, but on a second look; upon noticing the mysterious lack of battle scars on Lisa-Lithrielle's pristine uniform, the lack of Lithrielle's favorite signature bow and its decorative gnome hairlocks which she had claimed from some terrified Gnome tourists, the fact that this Lithrielle seemed mysteriously exhausted despite the fact that Lithrielle was the most endurant elf in the warband; and perhaps most glaring of it all; the lack of any kiss or clawmarks from Aleena! Put together, this created all sorts of red flags in Rithrynn's head!

"Something is up, and it's definitely not Lithrielle!"

"Who are you and what did you do to my sister?!" Rithrynn would then suddenly exclaim, rising to her feet and throwing an accusing finger towards a rather surprised looking Lisa-Lithrielle! Behind her, Vashi would simply look at Rithrynn, and then at Lithrielle; a major 'WTF' look sitting on the elven magi's face!

“I didn’t want to hurt him” Kathlin spoke, but those words would never each Liaena's ears before she felt a numbing presence in her head.

As Liaena was moving to catch up with Kathlin, the latter holding her winter cloak with Valion still inside of it, Liaena could suddenly feel an audible ting inside of her brain, as if her entire head became twice as heavy for a couple of seconds; the periphery of her vision becoming momentarily hazy.

The effect would be short lived, and the heavy presence quickly abated. Yet if she tried to think of any of the events that had just occurred within the last ten seconds, it was as though she was unable to find them within her mind; a part of her body telling her that they were there but she just couldn't recover them for some reason.

But perhaps the thing that would draw Liaena's attention the most would not be the odd sensation, but what she saw in front of her when she opened her eyes.

In front of her stood Valion, clad in his warped and blackened saronite armor. The elf was no longer shrunk, and in his hand he held a folded winter cloak.

"Did you truly think it would be that easy?" Valion spoke from behind his twisted metal mask, his one eye visible through a scar running down the right side. Judging by the way it moved, it seemed as if the High Elf was smirking behind his mask.

The winter cloak he was holding much like a bag in his hand was sprawling about as if someone was caught inside of it; Kathlin's voice being audible from within it.

"Hello? Li, are you there? What just happened?!" Kathlin called out from within the bag.

Still holding the makeshift cloak bag, Valion would move his armored glove a little further down and begin to squeeze on it in front of Liaena's eyes; as soon grunts of discomforts and small shrieks of pain began to emanate from Kathlin within it.

"Call your friends back, or you will lose one today." Valion spoke as he stared back at Liaena from through the scar in his mask.

However, while Liaena stood face to face with Valion, everyone else in the room would just see the normal scene of Kathlin, holding her winter cloak, and perhaps looking a little confused at Liaena's odd behavior.

"Who are you and what did you do to my sister?!"

"I DIDN'T DO... " Lisa-Lithrielle was about to start defending herself, when she soon realized that diplomacy was probably bound to get her nowhere!

Rapidly looking around, she would unsling the two ornate scabbards on her back, reaching to grab for the handle of one of the swords!

"Captain Malizia, your swor,- URK!"

Lisa-Lithrielle would grab a hold of one of the sword's handle and move to unsheath it, but by the time the sword had only reached a couple of inches out of its sheath; the Chevalier elf would immediately freeze up, her eyes growing wide as if someone had just paralyzed her!

The moment the sword left its sheath, a invisible aura of cold and hopelessness would immediately wash over the room, crawling its way up the spine of every living creature inside the room! It was a dark sensation, as if any sense of happiness or bravery was immediately dimmed in the presence of the cursed object.

Lisa-Lithrielle, her eyes having just gone white, began to slowly look down towards the sword she was holding; her hand shaking as if she was trying to fight against some invisible force.

And then, without warning, the Runeblade would suddenly fly out of its sheath as if on its own volition! The second Runeblade would fly out of its sheath as well, that one randomly brushing against Lisa-Lithrielle's arm and leaving a deep, bloodied gash! As the two Runeblades zoomed past Rithrynn and Vashi, Lisa-Lithrielle would fall unconscious on the floor, her eyes completely white and a wound on her arm bleeding profusely.

Soaring through the room like missiles, the first Runeblade would head straight for Malizia. As it approached the unconscious Draenei, she would suddenly shoot up an arm; catching the Runeblade mid flight as she got up; spinning around as she catched the other Runeblade as well with mechanical efficiency!

Yet as Malizia rose to her feet, she looked different.

Her eyes were still shut and her head hanging to the side, as if she was still asleep, yet her body was moving around in a way similar to that of a marionette being manipulated by invisible strings; moving in unnatural patterns with uneven, twitching motions!
Beneath and around the collar of her chestplate, a dim blue light could be seen coming from her clothes as a runic tattoo, having been invisible before, suddenly glowed to life with a haunting blue light as it snaked its way up the side of her throat and onto her face!