[IC] "Shadows of the Past", a Warcraft Roleplay

[Rithy]

*BANG*

*CRASH*

*SCREEEEECH*

"Even among monkeys, how in the night sky did you ever become a Captain!?!" Rithrynn called out to the White Hand Captain as he was frantically trying to avoid crashing into as much cave-walls as possible, which was a mission impossible considering the actual speed of the ship!

"P-please, ma'am, save the ad-hominem until after we're not most-assuredly dead!" The man cried back as he clung to his wheel, almost rotating around with it until they finally escaped the cave and sailed out into the light of morning outside.
"I would... oh light, save us!"

The man exclaimed when he saw ahead and spotted the trio of ships waiting for them, all with their broadsides aimed straight at them! The onyx metal of the cannons gleamed in the sunlight, reflecting their deadly intent from afar!

"Uh, Ri... I don't think even this boat has enough firepower to contend with that!" Lithriell would whisper from behind Rithrynn's back as the sentinels watched the blockade of ships with a look of worry and disbelief.

" ... no shit." Rithrynn bit her own lip as she watched their situation grow ever more perilous! If they continued on, they would no doubt be blown to splinters! But in that, they didn't have much choice, what with the mischievous little midget Liaena having locked the ship in full forward speed!

“Target acquired, Rithy?”

Rithrynn, alongside with all her sisters, looked down at the little black haired human standing between them. Some of the stares were accusing, others were confused. However, Rithrynn saw the wicked glimmer in Liaena's eyes, and returned instead with a smile of her own.

"Of course... " She'd mutter, before turning to the Captain.

"Humie, lock course with the middle ship!" Rithrynn instructed as she pointed at the Siren's Wail inbetween the two Stormwindian ships, as the Captain changed their course accordingly.

"W-what are you planning? We need to slow down, otherwise we'll cra,-"

*CACK*

"Ugh!"

But the man didn't manage to file his complaint until one of the Night Elves standing behind him had already whacked him in the back of his head, knocking the man unconscious on the spot and causing him to slump into a ball at their feet. Rithrynn had in the meantime brought a wooden rod, which she jammed right into the ship's steering wheel - locking it in place!

"Get ready for a cold swim, girls! We're leaving this ghost ship!"

"Wait, we're outside the fort!" Vashi would suddenly intrude, the Night Elven magi stepping forward.
"There's no need to get wet, I can conjure up a portal below deck and get us to safety!"

Whatever optimistic looks she may have received from Liaena and her fellow human apprentices at the promise of avoiding an ice bath early in the morning, Vashi received nothing but cold stares from her sisters.

"You're proposing the use of magic?"
"I don't like portals... I hear they're dangerous... "
"I hear they've torn people to pieces."
"I don't know, I like the sound of the water instead."

*BANG*

However, the murmuring from her sisters was abruptly put to an end when one of the blockading ships fired off a series of warning shots; the salvo of cannonballs whistling dangerously close to the ship and splashing down into the water all around them!

"On second note... maybe not a bad idea after all!" Lithriell would interfere, trying to give it an optimistic twist to the rest of her sisters whom all still looked as if they had just been invited to participate in their own funerals!

"You heard her! Everyone get below deck, now!" Rithrynn instructed the rest of her sisters, and soon all of the Night Elves would converge below deck, lead by Vashi taking point. Liaena and her apprentices were either willingly or reluctantly dragged with them, including the dozed off White Hand Captain.

Below deck, Vashi brought out a series of scrolls and runes. Through a short ritual, the magic from the runestones was freed to create a glimmering portal in the middle of the storage room.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Rithrynn would suddenly ask, just as Vashi was about to step towards the portal.

"Of course. Just look at this!" Vashi would exclaim happily in return, before she merrily took another step back and disappeared backwards into the portal; her figure absorbed by the glimmering light to disappear entirely in front of them!

...

...

After Vashi had disappeared through her own portal, an awkward silence had filled the room, as all the Night Elves stared somewhat dubiously at the shimmering doorway in front of them.

" ... wait, how do we know she even survived?" Lithriell would suddenly ask, turning to Rithrynn, who looked rather sour herself.

"That's the problem... we don't." Rithrynn would murmur, sounding almost genuinely afraid as she looked at the portal. Taking a deep breath, Rithrynn would close her eyes while slowly stepping forward, before throwing herself into the portal with a terrified whimper! And she left behind no lack of disturbed faces on the rest of her sisters whom all watched the portal with horror!

"Pfff, you're all such wussies! Watch this!" Aleena would suddenly proclaim loudly, before the brazen Sentinel would suddenly charge past her sisters, giving them a mocking gesture before tossing herself sideways into the portal without a shed of hesitation!

With Aleena gone through the portal, the rest of her remaining sisters would slowly follow, if however slowly and carefully as they each stepped through the portal.

[Sinerathin]

"Sir, it's the Bull! It's coming out of the cove!" One of the shipmates would suddenly announce as he pointed at the bottom of the reef where the stolen ship piloted by Rithrynn and her Night Elves just left the cove and sailed out into the harbor waters.

"What in the twisting nether are they doing... they will never escape on that vessel!" Blastwit said as he leaned over the railing, watching the incoming ship with disbelief!
"No way they can man the cannons!"

"Sir, I don't think they have any intention of firing on us... " The shipmate spoke again, lowering his spyglass as he turned with a worried expression to Blastwit and Sebastian.
"They are not slowing down! I... I think they intend to ram us!"

"Give the signal, all cannons; fire on that ship! I want it blown to smithereens!" Sebastian would staunchly order, motioning for a nearby deck officer to rush over to transmit the instructions to the rest of the blockade fleet.

"That ship is worth a lot of money - we can't just sink it!" Blastwit interrupted, turning to Sebastian.

"It's either them or both of us! FIRE!"

A deafening and thundering sound could be heard all over the harbor as all the three ships fired off a roiling salvo at the incoming Bull! Cannons roared as more than a hundred cannonballs were fired in the direction of the stolen frigate. A few of the shots missed, but the rest of them hit their mark; crashing into the front of the ship's metal hull where some shots bounced off, while others penetrated through and entered the hull! The deck and railing was torn apart as the flying cannonballs tore whatever they could hit to pieces! One explosively laden cannonball would hit the center of the middle mast, blasting it to splinters and causing the main mast to fall to the side, pulling with it a large portion of the sails and ropes in the process as the entire ship began to tilt towards the side!

"Armor piercing, load armor piercing! Destroy their engines!" Captain Sebastian would shout out to the rest of his crew below deck, ordering them to switch up their ammunition for the next salvo!

[Feychild]

“I don’t know why we didn’t do this to begin with. Oh well. I suppose this is kinda more dramatic” Kathlin remarked whimsically as she took a step towards the portal before looking back at Liaena. “Coming, Li?”

“…..”

“Speaking of more dramatic…”
The girl mumbled as she studied the empty doorway where Liaena had recently stood. Liam turned to cry out in annoyance as next to them, another Night Elf tiptoed through the portal as it was actually a ring of fire. “Oh for the love of the Light! It’s not as though we’re about to be blown to bits, or anything!”

“Hm. Yeah. I should probably go and remind her about that”

“You should not. We are leaving”

Liam returned emphatically as he took Kathlin’s hand to start dragging her towards the portal. Kathlin lagged behind him, with many backward glances as a volley of blows rocked the ship and the room they were in started to list dangerously. To the Bull’s credit, it stormed on, the engine still at full steam ahead. “But what if the ship explodes?”

“Then she probably caused it”

“But what if --”

“Dear, I fully understand your concern. Let me explain to you how this is all going to be okay” Liam cut off his companion as he turned to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. “First, the most important thing is – whoops! My bad”

The last line coming accompanied with a cunningly placed shove, the priests movement was assisted by a further listing of the ship as both humans tumbled through the portal to land with a hard thud. The heat of the ship was replaced in an instant with a cold wintery night wind, and their landing at least was cushioned by several groaning, cursing, Night Elves.

“There we go! Success! Mission accomplished!” Vashi declared happily to her distinctly more unhappy fellows. Scrambling to her feet, Kathlin was met immediately with Rithrynn looming in front of her. “….Soooo, where’s Li?”

“Uhm…” Kathlin muttered, glancing around the dark square they found themselves in. Taking as good a stab as their geographical location as she could, the girl pointed meekly towards the north, in the general direction of the harbourside. “Over there”

*

“It’s a shame really. I always wanted a warship”

Liaena remarked to nobody in particular as she surveyed her handiwork. Lacking the vast amounts of TNT that she had lost to the confrontation with Sherpa in the catacombs, the girl had instead chosen to jury-rig a smaller chunk of plastic explosives bulked out by several potions tied onto it, stuck onto the door to the forge. Picking up one end of the long fuse attached to the makeship device, the girl fumbled for her tinderbox to strike a spark at one end. “It’s a fitting end, at least. She should take at least one of those with her”

“CAW!”

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

Liaena was broken out of her reverie by a very, very angry squawk from her pocket. It was followed a moment later by several more explosions that rocked the ship. One caused a particularly loud crash, followed immediately by a further listing and a gushing sound of water flooding in. “Okay, okay. I’m going….”

“…..”

Looking down as water started to seep into the room she was standing in, Liaena suddenly came to the conclusion that for once, a rapid retreat might indeed be in order. Turning to run back down the corridor towards the room containing the portal, she could not resist one final jab at her reluctant ally. “…needy bird”

[Rithy]

Rithrynn had been one of the first to get off her feet after being regurgitated out from the portal and plopped unceremoniously down onto the grass - fortunately not stone - surface. Standing up, the first thing she saw; aside from a rather happy looking Vashi who had an obvious 'told you it'd work' look in the form of a giant, smug smile; was a tombstone.

Or rather, numerous tombstones. They were in the grand cemetary behind Stormwind Cathedral.

"I think we're in a cemetery of some kind." Rithrynn commented as a series of thudding sounds came from behind her when the portal belched out yet another set of Night Elves, all in various poses and some even up side down. At least before they all crashed, most headfirst, into the ground!

"Owh!"
"Dashi!"
"Godde,- OMFH!"

Rithrynn had always hated portals. It always felt like all her intestines were completely rearranged and squelched together whenever she stepped through one, and they left her dizzy and sometimes even bruised from the landings. She was relieved to know that she was not alone in hating magical transportation among her sisters, although when Aleena appeared out of the portal; the sentinel gracefully landed on her feet before jumping along, in stark contrast to the rest of her sisters who were mostly arranged in a chaotic pile of sprawled and writhing bodies beneath the portal.

Although it took a while, Liaena's little colleagues would eventually begin to spill forth from the portal as well.

However, Rithrynn had barely managed to inquire Kathlin about the whereabouts of Liaena before the portal started shimmering again, and late but not never; Liaena appeared out of the portal, flung sideways in a warped barrel roll! As the little girl was flying dangerously close to one set of spiked fence, Rithrynn was quick to intervene by stepping and grabbing Liaena mid-way!

"What were you thinking?!" Rithrynn would suddenly exclaim, glaring down at her as she held Liaena in her arms.
"The ship could have... "

*Booom*

But just as Rithrynn was about to say that, a loud, thundering roar could be heard from a large explosion that just erupted out of sight in the general direction of the harbor. It made the sentinel pause and swiftly turn her head towards it, before her eyes slowly rolled back to Liaena.

" ... exploded at any second... "

[Sinerathin]

"FIRE!"

Sebastian shouted as he threw his arm through the air. Before he could finish, the entire broadside of the Siren's Wail fired simultaneously at the incoming Bull, aided by the two Stormwind ships at their flank.

The multiple volleys of cannonballs were hurled across the now smoke covered waters of the Stormwind harbor, before they crashed mercilessly into the incoming Bull in chaotic unison. The smaller, armor piercing cannonballs now added to the volley punched far more easily through the plated front hull of the Bull as it charged through the waves, penetrating into the ship itself to wreak havoc inside! The bowels of the ship was turned into a deathtrap, with cannonballs shattering the wooden beams that formed the core of the ship and sending splinters the size of a human arm flying dangerously around inside!

Some of the cannonballs found their way all the way through the ship and into the engine room at the rear, causing a tremendous fire explosion that blasted out from the rear of the ship!

"Their engine's gone!" One of the shipmates shouted as he eyed the Bull through his spyglass.

"Sail's gone too!" Another one said, not even using his spyglass as the Bull was now dangerously close.

The Bull, although battered, still retained some of its momentum as it drifted towards the small blockade. Parts of its frame had been torn away, revealing the very skeletal structure of the ship. Water rushed into the lower levels, but the ship still floated forward. It was ravaged beyond repair, with large chunks of it missing, but still; almost like an undead; it continued ever forward, unyielding.

"It's still going!"

"I never thought I'd say this, but I hate the good quality of our ships." Captain Blastwit would murmur under his breath as he watched the ravaged, relentless Bull as it floated ever close.

"Fire, next salvo!" Sebastian shouted, as the Bull was already in ramming range! The Siren's Wail, alongside its two assisting ships, fired off yet another volley. But as the cannonballs tore into the battered, still floating frame of the Bull; the ship would finally explode, no more than a few meters away from the Siren's Wail!

The exploding Bull unleashed a massive wave of fire and wooden shrapnel in every direction, in turn ravaging the Siren's Wail and the two Stormwind frigates assisting it by tearing through its sails, mauling their wooden and even metal frames and setting them ablaze! Chaos reigned across the harbor as the few fragments that still remained of the Bull either flew away through the sky or sank to the bottom of the harbor. The three other ships were all battered and ablaze, its crews desperately scurrying around to prevent further damage and attempting to put out the raging fires!

[Feychild]

“It was a nice ship” Liaena said regretfully as she followed Rithrynn’s line of sight. The little girl looked a bit bedraggled and rather wet, but else none the worse for wear from her narrow brush with certain cannon-balley death. “At least it was a good way to go”

“…Lets go home” Kathlin said softly, evidently with no interest in giving a fitting obituary to The Bull in favour of looking up at the steep stone walls of the cathedral with relief.

“Maaaaybe. Maybe not” Liaena said quickly, as she turned around to look at Rithrynn. “You lot probably shouldn’t come with us”

“Why?”

“…Like we wanted to enter that pit of heresy, pfft…”

“Because.” Liaena ignored the smirking Aleena as she continued. “You guys are Public Enemy No. 1 as far as the city is concerned. You just attacked the White Hand”

“….Who were cultists”

“….who were cultists, sure. But we kinda need to tell the city that, before they stop trying to arrest you” Liaena acknowledged. “And it’ll be a lot of easier if you lot don’t rack up a load of felonies resisting arrest in the process, so you need to hide, or…”

“They don’t need to hide” Kathlin spoke up quietly at this point. The girl was still staring up at the Cathedral as she spoke. “They could claim sanctuary, Li”

“Sanctuary?” The girl gave her companion an odd look. “….what, that defunct old thing?”

“….Noo, it’s actually still valid” Liam said slowly. “It might cause a bit of a stir….but this is the church. Tradition is never defunct”

“Hrm. Okay” Liaena said, clearly unconvinced by the entire concept as she turned back to Rithrynn. “So I suppose you could come with us, but it gets a bit politically and it’s a whole thing. Or…you could go hide in a ditch for a few days. That sounds like an easier solution to me”

[Rithy]

"Weeeeeeeeeell.... " Rithrynn muttered as she held a finger up to her lips, peering at Liaena, then up to the large, towering Cathedral behind them, and then back at Liaena.

"Your house sure is bigger that Sharon's..."

She would finally conclude, her eyes drifting expectantly over to her sisters whom had finally gotten up onto their feet. The rest of the sentinels gazed back at her, seeming unsure.

"But... what about Mistress Serphia? What would she think about all this?" Lithriell would ask, the sentinel appearing not so sure about the idea of crashing in one of the humie temples without the clear permission of her superior!

"Relax, it's us, not all Night Elves they'll be looking for." Rithrynn said cheerfully, before looking over to Liaena.
"It's not like they'd go around arresting all of our kin..."

"Yeah! What with their ape brains, I doubt they'd even remember our faces from the attack." Aleena would be quick to intervene with a snide tone, smiling rather triumphantly as she stood with her arms crossed. It was no secret that she was rather pleased with their successful raid.

"Yes... that as well... " Rithrynn would answer awkwardly, sparing Liaena and her apprentices a quick glance before looking back again towards her sisters.

"I say we crash at their big temple! Imagine the rooms they must have inside!" Aleena would say, moving herself next to Rithrynn to brush her shoulderplate.
"I agree completely. That Quel'dorei's house was neat, but even he can't match that!" Another sentinel said as she brushed up against Rithrynn's other side, all the while nodding towards the giant cathedral looming in front of them!

"Wait. Wait-wait-wait-wait! Sisters, aren't we forgetting something?!" Lithriell would suddenly say as she stepped forward.
"What about Mistress Serphia! She's probably on her way back to the mansion for all we know! No one's told her! ... and she got our mounts, too!"

"Good point, Lithi." Rithrynn said in response to Lithriell's concern, having already slung her arms around her two sisters whom were standing beside her. Motioning with a finger towards Lithriell, Rithrynn would grin.
"That's why I'm making you our runner. Locate our missing Mistress, and inform her of what's happened. We'll be at the Cathedral-thingy and be expecting your return!"

"B-buu,-"

"So, Li!" Rithrynn would turn to Liaena before Lithriell could object, giving Liaena a smile.
"Wanna show my battle sisters around? I bet they can't wait to see the awesome facilities inside! Ohhhh... and you GOTTA show them the big room as well! I made a bet about it earlier, and I'm aiming to collect!"

[Sinerathin]

Walking through the darkened hallways beneath the keep was Sherpa, traveling alone through the long and lonely corridors.

The High Elf would continue on for a while, reaching the catacombs beneath the fort where the walls became adorned with carvings and arched together up into the roof. There was barely any light inside. The only source of illumination was a ghastly blue light that burned without scent or smoke, lighting the halls with a haunting, blue light.

Sherpa continued onwards, until he reached an opened door; leading into a larer, wide room filled with heavy stone slabs. Upon most of the slabs were bodies, both Human and Blood Elven. Some of the bodies were mangled, and on some slabs there were only body parts strew across the stone.

Aside from Sherpa, the only other living creature in the room was an old, harrowed man wearing a long and white priestly robe. His beard was pale as snow and hung down all the way to his belt, which carried multiple bags and satchels filled with various surgical equipment. Some of the tools looked rather cruel, while others looked downright bizarre and alien. Hanging from his shoulders was a bandoleer filled with various vials and flasks carrying everything from embalming fluids to strange, opaque and luminescent liquids.

"Where is he?" Sherpa would ask, turning his attention to the embalmer as the old man was leaning over the corpse of a young man; in the process of removing his clothes.

The embalmer grunted, merely nodding his head to the right. A couple of slabs away was Sevarian, the dark mage's corpse lying silent on one of the stone slabs. His hands were formed together on his chest, and he was still wearing his armor. His white tabard still carried the bloodstains from his wound, defiling the otherwise pure white fabric.

"Thank you, Morpheous. I shall try not to disturb your work any further." Sherpa said as he walked over to Sevarian, silently nodding in return to the embalmer who didn't even seem to notice him as he was all too consumed in his work on preparing the corpses.

Morpheous, also commonly known as The Embalmer, had been an old acquaintance of Sherpa. A caretaker long before he was ever recruited by the Cult of the Damned before the Third War. A fully educated surgeon and doctor, but whose main interest lay mainly in preserving, studying and/or modifying corpses. Sherpa sometimes wondered if the man had truly ever had any loyalty to the Scourge itself. As long as he was allowed to work in peace in the dark reaches of a quiet mausoleum or necropolis, he doubted the man ever cared about who owned the place or paid his dues. Whether it was preparing corpses for burials, or for an undead army, the man didn't really seem to care. Nonetheless, even though he never said it, Sherpa liked to think that Morpheous still felt a degree of gratitude towards him for saving him from the onslaught of the crusades in the north.

Sherpa walked over to the stone slab where his old friend lay, quiet as death.

Staring down at Sevarian for a moment, studying his corpse; Sherpa would eventually reach down to his belt to unseath his Runeblade. Holding it over the corpse of the darkmaster, Sherpa would begin muttering on an unholy incantation.

Green, ghostly tendrils began appearing around Sevarian's body. A black smoke started gathering at his feet at the bottom of the stone slab, and Sevarian's figure started to shift; as if a magical layer had appeared over his body. But soon, a ghostly version of the dark mage would soon rise from his corpse! Sevarian's incorporeal ghost rose up from his body, passing through any physical obstructions as though it was nothing. The face of his ghost was barely recognizable, shrouded by his loose form. The apparition looked more like a loose amalgamation of wild gasses and smoke.

Sevarian's ghostly self gazed forward, before his incorporeal body turned to look at Sherpa.

"Am I... dead?" He would ask, his voice now shrill and hollow as it echoed through the room.

"Yes. But you didn't truly believe I would let you leave me that easily?" Sherpa answered in return with a slight smirk.

"No.... but I had hoped for something more grandiose. Not to be a mere shade." Sevarian answered, the disappointment quite clear in his ghostly voice.

"Shades make excellent assassins. Are you not interested in revenge against those who stole your life?" Sherpa inquired, stepping around the slab as he eyed the ghost in front of him with a spark of curiosity.

"No. I had intended to get rid of that body for a long time. As for the mortals who did this, I do not care for them. Death will soon find its way to them regardless." Sevarian talked with a thoughtful expression on his face, holding a ghostly hand up to his chin.
"No, what I am more interested in is the ritual of Lichdom that I had planned for so long."

"I'm afraid we cannot partake in any such ritual anytime soon." Sherpa replied, taking a glance around at the bodies surrounding them.
"After the last attack, we are bound to come under investigation. I have ordered the entire fort be scrubbed clean of any dark artifacts, so that when the royal authorities come looking; they will find nothing."

"And what of me?" Asked Sevarian.

"My apprentice, Malizia, is returning from her hunt out in the south sea aboard Lordearon's Revenge. Together with Horus, she has enjoyed great success against both the natives and the pirates of the region. They even managed to destroy a small fleet of Horde ships. Not only will she return with plenty of gold from contracts, but I have been promised a large amount of loot as well. Capital which we can use to rebu,-"

"Spare me her praises or your economics. How does this affect me?" Sevarian would interrupt, the ghost appearing impatient. Sherpa paused, turning to look at his old friend.

"She will come and take with her both you and your corpse, as well as our illicit storage. I will also send with you two of our veteran necromancers, alongside four of our newly graduated acolytes to aid in your Lich ritual - far away from the shores of Stormwind and the spying eyes of the church. You will be in good hands. Leoric and Bard have been in numerous Lich rituals and served under grand Lich Kel'Thuzad himself. As for the acolytes... you trained them yourselves, didn't you?"

"Yes. It appears my rise to Lichdom will be their final examination. If they fail this, I can promise I will haunt them forever." Sevarian muttered, almost dreading the thought of putting his ascension to lichdom in the hands of raw acolytes. Back in the Scourge, he had enjoyed command over a considerable chapter of the Cult of the Damned, with seasoned dark casters numbering in the dozens. But here, in Stormwind, they had to get by with raw initiates and whatever veterans they had managed to scrounge from the Scourge's defeat.

"But what about you. What will you be doing?"

"Damage control." Sherpa answered bluntly.
"And perhaps some retaliation. Our position in Stormwind has been jeopardized. I need to stabilize things here. The cleanup of the fort is already underway, and I have already sent our emissary, Johanna, to the offices of Stormwind's newspaper to give them all the information they could ever need to spin a good story about what's happened here tonight."

"Is it truly so wise?" Sevarian would inquire. Sherpa looked back at him, before smiling.

"My friend, the message itself is not important. What's important is how it is conveyed. And I have my firm belief that Joahanna will not let us down."

[Feychild]

“Really?” Liaena muttered, looking distinctly unhappy as she stared up at the Night Elf. It could not be more obvious that Liaena was more in favour of the ‘go and squat in a ditch’ ploy from the squad, as opposed to unleashing them on her peers and the Cathedral in general.

“Sure, we can do that!” Kathlin said cheerily, completely missing – or ignoring – the dark stares she received from both Liam and Liaena at that comment. Turning, the girl started to carefully pick her way through the tombstones towards the shadow of the cathedral. “Careful where you step. It’s very slushy – muddy”

“What are you doing!? This is a terrible idea” Liaena hissed as she sped up to stomp alongside her, the girl completely uncaring of the dark mud coating her boots. Kathlin gave her an askance look. “If you’re going to stay in one of the guest rooms, Thea will want you to clean it”

“Thea’s going to have other things to worry about” Liaena shot back. Given the Night Elf fabled hearing, Rithrynn could probably hear her. However, the girl didn’t really care. “They’re going to trash the place”

“They saved me, Li. And Thea’s put up with you for five years, so it’s probably fine”
Kathlin waved away her friends concerns lightly, who shot her another black look. “Please, I am nowhere near as bad as a Night Elf. Also, I saved you. They just helped”

“…Hospitality is a fundamental responsibility of the church” Liam muttered, also sounding none too happy about it. Catching her arm as she stalked along, the boy also sent her an urgent look. “Li, where is Bella?”

“…..”

“….I saw her….go up a Night Elfs butt” Liaena muttered as she stopped short, to rotate slowly to stare back at the group of elves. In the dark, the group looked like nothing more than a few odd shaped lumps with pointy ears attached. “I’m not sure which one”

“You what?”

“It’s okay dear. I get the impression it’s fairly normal in their culture. Like a…gesture of affection or something”
Kathlin soothed the priest, who looked even more unhappy with this explanation. “I don’t….but why?"

“Well, Bella always does like to make herself available” Liaena remarked scathingly as she turned to Rithrynn, who had caught up with them by this point. “Ri, one of your girls got my colleague stuck up her butt. Do you mind getting it back? I assume they’re not into humans”

[Rithy]

“Ri, one of your girls got my colleague stuck up her butt. Do you mind getting it back? I assume they’re not into humans”

"Wut?"

At first, it might seem like Liaena had just said something that had made Rithrynn's brain go completely fritz. Having been talking to her sisters earlier, the Night Elf was now simply staring down at Liaena with a look that was a mix of bemusement and confusion.

"They, your... what?"

Rithrynn's eyes would quickly scan Liaena's person, when the memory of Liaena's little helper AND arch rival, Bella, struck her mind like a flint to tinder!

"How did you ever manage to lose her? And... how did that ever even happen in the first place?!"

Deciding not to start asking questions, Rithrynn instead turned to look at her sisters, furrowing her brows and giving them all a rather accusing look. The flock of Night Elves who had been following and chattering with each other, sharing boisterous tales from their adventure in the fort of Honor's Watch, would now stare blankly back at Rithrynn who now stood in front of them, resting her hands on her hips.

"Alright, who did it?"

" ... ? "

"*Sigh*" Rithrynn would let out a sigh, rubbing her forehead before staring back up at her sisters.
"Who sat on Liaena's little friend?"

"Uhm... "
"Not me!"
"Haha, she got sat on?"
"I'd remember that!"
"How do you know she's not up your butt, Rithy?"

Rithrynn gazed out at her sisters with a look of hopelessness. What would Mistress Serphia have done in such a situation? Assuming she even cared for the retrieval of a simple, lost human; she'd probably order up a squad wide cavity search. A thought that was not so very attractive to Rithrynn.

"Glad she's not here... "

"Well... I think I might have sat on something." Aleena would suddenly break the silence, leaning against a stone pillar while awkwardly shifting her foot around as she looked at Rithrynn. Rithrynn gazed back over at her, before shifting her eyes over to Vashi standing next to Aleena.

"Help her." She simply said, and Vashi nodded.

"Righty!"

"Wait, what?"

"Please bend over, sister." Vashi would instruct, pushing Aleena forward with one arm before ramming her other arm straight up into Aleena's big butt! Aleena would let out a gasp of pure rapture as Vashi rooted around in her rear. After a few seconds, Vashi would soon pull her arm out; this time holding two, small humanoid figures in her hand. The two figures were Bella and Sathrielle, both squeezed together in her grip. Seperating them, holding one in each hand, Vashi would turn towards Rithrynn with a confused look.

"Which one is it?"

"Uhhh... " Rithrynn would stammer, not having expected to find two humans in Aleena's butt. But she managed to snap out of the moment of surprise and recognize Bella, mostly from her fight with Liaena earlier.
"That one."

Rithrynn pointed at Bella in Vashi's left hand. Vashi studied the human for a moment, before nodding.

"Welcome back, little one." Vashi would say cheerfully to Bella, the Night Elven magi smiling broadly at the tiny Bella.

But in the meantime, she turned her other hand holding the White Hand battlemage, Sathrielle, around. Without a moment of warning, she suddenly shot her right hand, alongside a terrified Sathrielle, straight back up into Aleena's big butt! Aleena would open her mouth to gasp, but this time no sound came out! When Vashi finally removed her arm from her rear, without Sathrielle whom now had been left somewhere deep inside of Aleena's butt, Aleena would stagger forward and grab a hold of a small fountain, before straightening her back and muttering: "That was not necessary, mgh!"

Rithrynn, on the other hand, had already returned to Liaena, proudly motioning behind her with her hand.

"We found your little friend, Li!"

[Feychild]

“Thanks” Liaena said tonelessly, while behind her Liam’s mouth gaped open wide as a fish, the boy pointing a weak finger at the Night Elf as he tried to summon the capacity to speak. Reaching out with one hand, the girl accepted the miniature human, now coated from head to toe in a mixture of unpleasant bodily fluids, into her palm. “Dear me, Silva. What a shame about your robes”

“…..”

“…Go to hell, bitch” Bella finally snarled as she coughed up some mucus, after a moment where she clearly flounded around for a more original comeback. “….this….this never happened, Rune”

“Language!”
Liam said reprovingly, the boy visibly slipping back towards ‘Priest Gray’ mode as he turned to lead the way towards the Cathedral. Kathlin tagged along next to Liaena, the latter making no attempt to even bother hiding the broad smirk on her face as she carried the tiny Bella along. “It’s not so bad, Bella. According to a thesis I read once, the Night Elves evolved an enlarged rectal cavity due to lack of pockets in their traditional attire. It’s a mistake that could happen to anyone”

“I do-not-care what your useless thesis said” Bella growled miserably from inside Liaena’s hand. As the group passed through the gate of the cemetery to head through a walled courtyard, the girl squeaked, to huddle into an even smaller ball as they rounded a corner into the main square where there was a greater potential of coming across a late night wanderer. “Hide me! Please!”

Kathlin gave Liaena’s fist an odd look. “Nooo no no. It wasn’t my thesis. I just read it”

“Soooo Rithrynn. This visit needs a low profile” Liaena muttered to Rithrynn, over the plaintive whining of Bella. Glancing up at the large Night Elf as she climbed the marble steps, she shot her companion a look that clearly conveyed her scepticism that anything of the sort would occur. “Do your sisters understand the concept of ‘low’? Because alcohol is banned in the Cathedral”

“Wut?”

“And parties. And…getting naked in public”
Liaena added belatedly with some distaste as she led the way into the vast nave. Kathlin glanced over, to raise her eyebrows slightly at Liaena at this. “Oh yes. Like that time you burned your robes off Li?”

“…..”

“Just…try not to cause any trouble” Liaena grumbled after a pause. Kathlin looked up to smile consolingly at the Night Elf.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be fine”

[Rithy]

"What do you mean with no alcohol?"
"No parties?"
"Naked in public? What weird customs do you have?"
"What place have you brought us to, Rithy?!"

Rithrynn winced at the ceaseless comments and questions from her sisters, grimacing as she turned around to face them as they walked behind herself and her entourage of human shorties.

"Well, it's a... uhm... place of worship. And as you know, worship in monke,- human lands is sort'a... weird. Nuff' said." Rithrynn tried to explain the situation to the best of her ability, fully expecting the small division of her warband to turn around and march straight back to Sharon's mansion at any time!

But before that could happen...

"Wow, Rithy... you really did speak the truth, this place is huge!" Vashi would comment, the Night Elven Magi's head currently being stuck facing upwards to the monumental paintings and great glass windows that hung overhead; risking walking into any and anything in her way!

"Doh, I'm sure we can conquer a little chamber or two. After all, didn't we just rampage through an entire ape fort like it was nothing, sisters?!" Aleena would blink as she rubbed her shoulder against the rest of her sisters, before the entire Night Elven group behind them erupted in a giant battle cheer that completely broke any silence that may once have possessed the venerable halls of the cathedral. If nobody had noticed them up till this point, then they certainly had by now!

"They're just happy they made it out alive." Rithrynn was quick to explain, trying to rationalize the behavior of her sisters to Liaena and her human colleagues to the best of her ability. Or perhaps, mainly to her colleagues. After her experience with her, Rithrynn wasn't quite sure how much of an explanation Liaena herself really needed.

"Soo... " Rithrynn would approach Liaena, placing an arm over the human's shoulder as she looked down at the black haired girl.
"Do you got a place for me and my sisters to crash? ... preferably as far away from any human authority as possible?"

She finally asked, with a slightly pleading tone in the latter part of her question.

[Sinerathin]

"I... hate portals."

Alissah grunted, the woman feeling like her guts had been completely rearranged - as if the Death Knight's work was not enough.

"T-thanks for the help." She would mutter under her breath, biting her teeth as she rose to her feet. But when she looked ahead, it became clear to her that her human escort consisting of Liaena's apprentices had already walked off and was meters ahead of her already.

" ... nevermind."

Clutching her side, she would walk with a slow and careful pace towards the steps of the Cathedral alongside the rest of the party, being careful not to exert herself too much. She hated showing weakness, but she had seen enough brave but stubborn fools ignore injuries and exert themselves unnecessarily until they literally succumbed to relatively minor wounds, some even dying!

But regardless, to walk in the backyard and gardens of the Cathedral, even if it was through the cemetery, was a comforting feeling.

Alissah was no stranger to the pious men and women of the Church of the Light, on both two continents, and the Cathedral was a hub which she had become very familiar to ever since she left the Crusade. Perhaps one of the greatest reasons being because the Church of the Holy Light were one of the few institutions that were able to find a somewhat noble use and pursuit for her unique skillset. And usually more exciting missions than merely investigating a superstitious farmer's well because he heard a weird splashing sound that would turn out to stem from a drowning cat!

But, on another note, the Church's missions were also notably more safe and less suicidal than those wild ideas of Sharon! Fortunately, requests from the High Elf were rather rare.

"I need to resupply. No, wait; medical ward first. I can probably get one of the apprentices to deliver a note of requisition to Brother Marcus while I heal."

But as Alissah was planning her stay at the Cathedral, her thoughts would be suddenly interrupted by a rather surprised gasp from one of the Night Elves!

Alissah would raise her head and gaze towards the gathering of Night Elves from under her large leather hat, just in time to see the Night Elven magi recover two, tiny women from Aleena's rear! Stopping on the spot, Alissah's jaw would drop down as she stared at the scene with amazement. It took a couple of seconds until she recognized Bella, together with...

"My prisoner?!"

"My prisoner... you got her!" Alissah gasped as she looked at Sathrielle, still gobsmacked by the whole thing.

Yet as she raised her hand, barely having mentally recovered from the surprise, Vashi had already decided on which little human it was that she wanted to keep apparently, as the Night Elven Magi would promptly ram her arm - alongside a screaming and utterly terrified Sathrielle - straight back up into Sentinel Aleena's big, purple butt!

Alissah merely stared blankly as her prisoner disappeared back up into Aleena's ass, before shaking her head. With what force Vashi had initiated the push, Alissah began to suspect that Sathrielle had gone beyond any recoverable depth!

"At least I won't have to worry about her going anywhere. I doubt she will be escaping that place anytime soon!"

Alissah began walking, but her eyes remained on Aleena's buttocks up which Sathrielle had 'escaped', at least until the woman finally managed to tear her eyes away and walked alongside the rest of the group.

As they entered the nave of the Cathedral, a place that was mostly deserted so early in the morning, Alissah would walk up next to Liaena and Rithrynn.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I would like to thank you for assisting me and Sharon on this mission. Your creative ability lady Rune, and the skills of you and your battle sisters, Night Elf, were absolutely essential for our success tonight. Regardless of what you might believe, it is clear that you are blessed by the light." Alissah would finally speak as she looked between Liaena and Rithrynn, smiling for the first time, until the woman's eyes landed on the latter.

"But, if possible, I would like to have my prisoner back; the one who is still in your battle sister's butt, the elf with the Runeblade and... head."

Alissah would say, before staring awkwardly down at the human head of the Death Knight that was hanging by Aleena's hips!

[Feychild]

“Lady Rune, yah right, pfft….” The sulky voice of Bella emenated from Liaena’s fist as she also turned to study Aleena’s sword, head and large bum.

“Sure. But maybe not right now” Liaena proclaimed after a pause. While the nave itself appeared to be completely deserted, the girl knew better than to set any store by that. Kathlin also glanced around at their surroundings, having come to the same conclusion as Liaena.

“We’ve made quite an entrance, Li”

“….So much for low profile” Liam muttered miserably to himself. Liaena glanced briefly at him, then turned to Rithrynn.
“Okay fine, come with me. I’ll get a room for your lot”

“You should probably come with me. Are you feeling alright?” Kathlin enquired to Alissah kindly. “I wouldn’t expect so, because you look terrible”

“I’m going to go and…debrief some things” Liam muttered to himself as he turned to head in the opposite direction to where Liaena was leading the Night Elves to a door in the wall of the nave, before pausing to look at Kathlin. “You should….maybe lie down, Apprentice Priestess Lennox. You’ve been through quite – er, an ordeal?”

“No, it’s alright. I’m not hurt” Kathlin returned quietly as she led Alissah towards yet another side door in the nave. “Lets get you to the infirmary”

*

No matter how grand the main hall might be, the narrow and cramped corridors in the belly of the great cathedral did not live up its initial charm. Almost immediately meeting a spiral staircase that led both up and down – Liaena went down – the route they were taking was clearly leading underground. It would be quite easy to lose ones sense of direction in the winding route they were taking, but Liaena evidently knew the way by heart.

Stopping outside a door, Liaena didn’t even stop to knock as she threw it open. There was two screams from inside and the girl sighed pointedly as she leaned against the door. “I didn’t see anything if you get out now”

Liaena turned to Rithrynn as the two young apprentice priests – the girl bright red and holding her blouse together with both hands – fled away down the corridor. The room left behind was notably extremely Spartan, with a single bed against one wall, a desk against another and not much else. “These are rooms that used to get used by priests for meditating, and fasting, and stuff like that. They’re not exactly fancy, but nobody important ever comes here so you shouldn’t get disturbed. There’s a few more like this…” she looked down the corridor, which indeed had several identical doors leading off it “…and if you interrupt anyone else, just throw them out”

[Rithy]

"Don't look at me like I'm the source of all woes and ills of the world!" Aleena would complain, raising her arms in her defense at all the accusing stares that she was currently receiving. The Sentinel did not normally mind being the center of attention, such as when leading a glorious push or pulling off some awesome trick, but not when it seemed like people were blaming her for everything!

Aleena glared back, and at Vashi in particular whom she granted an absolutely venomous look! The Night Elven Magi on the other hand seemed blissfully ignorant of all the ire and salt that was being directed at her from her fellow sister, happily staring the other way. In fact, it could almost look as if Vashi was secretly enjoying the commotion, a small smirk having appeared on her blue lips.

Perhaps fortunately for Liaena's desperate plea for an ounce of subtlety, there would be no further drama in the group until they reached the meditation chambers beneath the Cathedral.

“…and if you interrupt anyone else, just throw them out”

"So, essentially like Sharon's house rules?" Rithrynn would infer, before gazing over at the rest of her sisters whom had wasted no time in going from door to door and checking out every room!

"This one's mine!" Aleena's voice could be heard loud and clear out across the corridor as the Sentinel had found a room that was ever so slightly bigger than the rest of the rooms, pointing at it and making sure that everyone got the message and would not trespass upon her rightfully-claimed territory!

"Hey, there's not enough rooms for me!" Lithriell would soon complain, having noticed that they were just short one room in the corridor.

"Do not worry, you can share quarters with whomsoever has the biggest room, Lithri! Isn't that right, Aleena?" Rithrynn would be swift to call back into the corridor. Lithriell's eyes jumped over to Aleena who was standing the doorway of her own room, the latter now glaring back at Rithrynn.

"No way! It's mine!"

"Don't worry, sister." Vashi would speak as she passed Lithriell, nudging her sister in the arm.
"There is plenty of room in Aleena's butt after I removed one of the past occupants. You'll fit in just fine!"

Vashi's mocking snicker would be joined by some laughter from the rest of the Sentinels in the corridor. The only ones who weren't laughing were Lithriell and Aleena, who had now locked eyes with each other!

In the meantime, Rithrynn had used the time to get aquainted with her modest living quarters. Although they were not anywhere near as luxurious(or currently trashed and messy) like the parts of Sharon's mansion which her warband had occupied; they definitely beat having to sleep out in the wilds, a thing she was quite familiar with.

Returning to the entrance, Rithrynn would lower herself towards Liaena, ignoring the small fight that was taking place behind her in the corridor.

"So what's the plan now, Li? Do you know where Sharon and Serphia currently is?"

[Sinerathin]

“Lets get you to the infirmary”

"Thank you, Apprentice Priestess Lennox." Alissah would answer, accepting Kathlin's guidance out of the nave and into the numerous side corridors of the Cathedral.

Although she knew the way to the infirmary herself, Alissah choose to not say anything, and instead let the young apprentice guide her through the smaller corridors. She enjoyed the company. It was always nice to see the one they had gone to save walking healthily and seemingly in good spirits, rather than lying in a wagon, either dead or sputtering blood as they drew a last breath.

In truth, when she had first seen the ritual hall where the White Hand had kept Kathlin, she had feared she would have had to kill the girl to put down whatever unholy monster might have possessed her!

Blessed be the light though, for no such thing had been necessary.

"You are quite brave for an apprentice." Alissah would start talking as she walked next to Kathlin, accepting whatever support the young priestess may have chosen to give her.

"Few ever walk away from a Ritual of Possession, and the few who do are usually not the same as before. Such dark magic can do terrible things to the human mind, create deep, psychological wounds that no ordinary healing could ever cure. So insidious is the workings of the dark arts, that many of those who fight it often lose themselves before ever falling in battle. A fate that can be worse than death." Alissah would say, turning to look towards Kathlin where she would grant the girl a surprisingly soft and warm smile.

"But you look perfectly fine. On the outside, at least. I hope it's the same on the inside as well."

[Feychild]

“Nooo….” Liaena muttered as she looked back at Rithrynn, also ignoring the developing drama between the two Night Elves behind them. Buried in the bedrock of the city as they were, the girl was reasonably content that there was nobody there to hear them. “I suppose they must have gone back to the mansion – maybe? Or not”

“….”

“I need to know what’s going on in the city” the girl muttered after a pause, lowering her voice in a vain attempt not to be overheard by the other Night Elves. Luckily, the others appeared to be mostly distracted by Aleena and Lithrielle (the dispute was apparently to be settled via arm wrestle). “We know that Sherpa’s out there, and Light knows what he’s doing, and what’s going on. We weren’t exactly subtle”

“And I don’t want him getting near….you in particular”

The girls eyes strayed over the Night Elf a trifle uneasily at that thought, biting her lip slightly before making her next proclamation. “I’m going to go track Sharon down and let him know what’s going on. You should stay here, and make sure your friends don’t wander off and trash the Cathedral. Besides, Thea’ll be down here in a bit, I expect Liam went to get her”

*

“Oh, I’m not very brave at all. It was quite terrifying, really” Kathlin said quietly as she supported the wounded woman on her arm, as they walked through the corridors. Turning her head to look at Alissah, the girl blinked for a moment before tentatively returning her smile. “It’s the door just to your right, Ma’am”

Guiding Alissah through the doorway, they emerged into a large, quiet room with many beds all spaced out well apart. A couple down the far end were occupied, the occupants administered to by a priest that gave Kathlin and Alissah only a passing glance as the former moved the latter onto a bed. Ensuring that the woman was sat comfortably, Kathlin bent down to whisk a box containing several neatly folded hospital gowns out from under the bed, removed one from it and placed it on the bed next to Alissah as she started to pull curtains around the bed to give it some privacy. “Can I give you assistance to change, Ma’am?”

Taking the womans nod as silent assent, Kathlin seated herself on the bed next to start carefully unlacing the leather armour and padding protecting the womans vitals. One of her shoulder pads and part of her jerkin were very badly mangled, and would probably need to be cut off. “It was very kind of you, and Li, and the others to come and get me. I really wasn’t doing very well by myself”

[Rithy]

"We weren’t exactly subtle."

"We did sorta blow up half the port. I don't think neither the denizens nor the White Hand are gonna forget that spectacle anytime soon." Rithrynn said with a smirk, the Night Elf seeming to be rather satisfied with the result. A good raid was always a pleasure, but this time she and her warband hadn't been raiding some boring, unimpotant Orcish encampment consisting of some primitive tents and a couple of wooden barricades, but a massive stone fortress located upon an imposing reef high over the sea!

"It's a story to tell the rest our sisters back home!"

"You should stay here, and make sure your friends don’t wander off and trash the Cathedral. Besides, Thea’ll be down here in a bit, I expect Liam went to get her."

"Don't worry!" Rithrynn smiled down at the little girl, ignoring the sounds of struggle that came from behind as back in the corridor, Aleena and Lithrielle were both locked in an armwrestling match on a scavenged table!
"At worst we'll only look around, maybe pay a tiny visit to storage. I hear they have holy wine in this place. I never thought alcohol could be holy, but apparently you guys have found a way to do it!"

*CRASH!*

The sound of wood breaking could be heard back in the corridor as the table Aleena and Lithrielle sat with just broke as Aleena had won the wrestling match and slung Lithrielle into the floor! The victorious sentinel quickly rose to her feet, extending her arms into the air as she let out a triumphant cry to the rest of her sisters, most of whom cheered back!

"I win again! Guess you'll just have to make do with a shrinking potion, sis!

"And I think a victory like ours deserves a little celebration!" Rithrynn smirked as she looked down at Liaena.
"We just wrecked Sherpa's fort and got out without a single casualty! I bet we made him mad!"

*

"Go back to our base, I have something to deliver before I can truly return." Serphia called out to the rest of the war sabers, just before the large cats thundered off through the narrow streets of Stormwind to race back towards Sharon's mansion at the promise of food, milk and shelter! Though any citizen of Stormwind who would wake up and look out their window to see a small, rampaging horde of war-cats charging down the streets would probably get a small heart attack, it did not worry the Captain.

Serphia on the other hand, riding her own large, black sabertooth; which she had lovingly named 'Silafeen', or 'Riptooth' in Common; turned to ride down another alley as she instead headed towards the large spires of the Cathedral in the distance.

In front of her on her saddle, she was carrying her unconscious and wounded Blood Elven companion, Rae'liel. Before she could return to the mansion, she would have to drop the Blood Elf off at a doctor. And in Stormwind, the doctors with the best advertisement were the ones occupying the massive Cathedral at the center of the city, with spires stretching far up into the sky to be visible from almost every direction!

... they were also the only doctors she knew about in Stormwind!

Riding along the road by the canal and into the Cathedral district, the streets were mostly empty as it was still early morning. Only the occasional housewife traveling to gather water could be seen in the street, whom all promptly hurried to the side when they saw the rampaging Night Elf on her big, black and menacing sabercat!

Even though she did not trust ape medicine, she felt it would be sufficient to treat the Blood Elf. Serphia did not wish to bring the Blood Elf back to the mansion. The last thing she wanted was to be seen by the rest of her warriors with a wounded blood elf that she wasn't already strangling to death! But Rae'liel had risked everything in a valiant but foolhardy assault on Honor's Watch, buying her and her warriors time to get away unscathed. It was, if nothing else, a gesture that Serphia felt honorbound to return. To do anything less would be shameful, especially when a lowly creature such as a Blood Elf had done so much for her!

Flying through the alleyways and between the houses like a wind of chaos, Serphia would soon arrive at he empty Cathedral square and race up the front steps of the Cathedral.

Terrified screams erupted as two young apprentices lunged out of the way to avoid being ridden down by Serphia as she charged in through the front doors of the Cathedral on Riptooth! Riding through the small corridor and into the open nave, Serphia would ride between the great columns and up to the front of the alter where she would turn around on the sabercat, before the Night Elven Captain would call out loudly to the rest of the hall.

"Is there a humie physician in this temple?!"

[Sinerathin]

"Without fear, there can be no bravery." Alissah spoke softly as she let the apprentice treat her, helping Kathlin with whatever buckles or leather armor pieces she might struggle with.

"To be brave is to act, even though you are afraid. It can be easy for a king to be 'brave', clad as he may be in the best armor, riding the fastest steed, and shielded by his armies. But for a lowly peasant girl, or mere apprentice - to stand face to face with the mask of horror yet not crumble takes true personal strength."

Alissah smiled as she allowed Kathlin to remove her upper body armor, which consisted a layer of reinforced leather acting like shoulder pads over her leather coat. Beneath her leather coat was a leather vest with embroidered leather pieces layered on top of each other in broad likes running down her front and back, with a reinforced and double woven silk underlay. Attached to her vest in either small bags, pockets or directly on were a multitude of weapons, devices and trinkets, ranging from small truesilver throwing knives to holy seals of protection, grenades, vials, trinkets and symbols of the church of light.

"But at the same time, fear fulfills a very important aspect of our existence. Namely, our survival." Alissah would continue.
"Men and women who do not feel fear, even when they are clearly threatened, tend to not last very long. It is a constant battle, fear and bravery, a delicate balance between our pursuit of nobler deeds, and our selfish instincts holding us back. True good exists in following the path in between the extremes."

As they removed Alissah's upper armor, it revealed her pale skin which was covered in old scars, especially centered around her back where she carried old wounds stemming from what could only be a whip or some similar tool.
Running all over her skin were multiple tattoos in blue ink, some forming holy symbols, while others carried holy verses and sayings. They ranged from everything from small stories, codes to simple expressions, such as "The light will burn away all sin", to "Through vengeance, redemption. Through death, peace.".

"I just came to think... " Alissah would suddenly say, as if she had just remembered something, before turning over to Kathlin.
"Don't you usually receive a couple of newspapers here at the Cathedral? They are usually quite early, and I wonder if they have written anything about last night's raid. A commotion of such a proportion is something I would not expect to go ignored."

But Alissah would suddenly become silent as a loud but distant voice could suddenly be heard booming through the Cathedral, coming from the nave!

"Is there a humie physician in this temple?!"

The woman would simply sit and listen for a moment, before turning to look at Kathlin with a surprised yet confused expression!

"Is that... ?"

[Feychild]

Silence fell as Serphia’s words reverberated around the nave, save for a murmuring coming from the outer circle behind the columns, getting slowly louder. Looking around, the Night Elf could make out faces peeking out from behind the columns, hiding in the relative gloom.

Someone who wasn’t hiding on the other hand, was a priestess about a foot away from the Night Elf, who looked as though she had been kneeling at the altar before Serphia barged in. She now pointed a shaking finger at the Night Elf as she stared at her, and the giant cat, both standing as bold as brass on top of the raised marble tableu, bathed in the faint glow of the dawning sun. “You – you dare¬….”

*

“So there were cultists in there”

“Yes….I’m afraid so, Priestess” Liam said sombrely as he walked in step with Priestess Thea, the latter moving swiftly through the corridors towards the central nave. “Rune was actually right on the truth – more or less. If we’d been there any later, I doubt Kath….ehhh, Apprentice Priestess Lennox would have survived”

“Then that has been achieved, regardless of what this might cost us” Thea pronounced, before shooting Liam a slightly softer look. “How is she?”

“Good….surprisingly good. She’s taken it rather well”

“That’s promising, if true” Thea frowned as she opened a door to exit into the Nave. “So how many elves did we have?”

“Six”

“Quit your gawping, useless creatures, and take this infidel off my hands!”

“….seven” Liam gulped as he stared at the sight in front of him, before his eyes widened still further as he caught sight of the unconscious Rae’liel. “Eight?”

“You are…trespassing on sacred ground!” the priestess next to Serphia at the altar gasped. Tall, middle aged and rather large, her outrage appeared to have defeated her fear of the heavily armed sentinel and the tiger. Meanwhile, Thea surveyed the ridiculous scene before letting out a small sigh and heading towards the altar, Liam reluctantly following after. “May light forgive you, get off the plinth and…and get that thing out of here…!”

“The thing has brought someone in need of help here, Clarissa” Thea observed carefully as she reached the altar, bowing her head respectfully towards the older woman before turning sharply to beckon at the shadows. “Apprentice Priest Morgan, Apprentice Priestess Ardent. Come over here and help Priestess Gray take this woman to the infirmary.

“….”

A few reluctant seconds later, two young humans slunk out of the shadows and towards the altar. “I…really? I suppose…alright” Liam stuttered, before nearly falling over as Serphia disdainfully dropped Rae’liel on him. “Oof!”

Having dealt with that, Thea then returned her attention to Serphia. Laying a soothing arm of Clarissa’s shoulder (who looked as though she was one step away from trying to physically toss Serphia and Silafeen out of the doors), she tilted her head up to look at the larger woman. “Thank you for bringing her to us. Now take that Sabre outside, and if you intend to return without it please respect our customs. Thank you”

*

"Is that... ?"

“Someone who’s come to the wrong place, I guess” Kathlin observed thoughfully, having also looked up at the loud shout from above them. “We don’t have many physicians. Just clerics”

Apparently under the impression that she had resolved any misunderstanding or confusion in the other woman with that comment, Kathlin returned to removing Alissahs armour, taking particular care around the unpleasant, half-healed deep wound she had suffered in her side from the Peculiar Death Knight. While she worked, the girl glanced several times at the tattoos covering the rogue with interest, and did not comment. “Yes, the night shift on the doors usually get a newspaper in the morning. I can ask for you, if you like”