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

[Rithy]

"Now take that Sabre outside, and if you intend to return without it please respect our customs. Thank you.”

Serphia glared down at Thea from where she sat upon her black nightsaber, almost like a predator eyeing a potential prey! She did not much care about the ramblings of the fat priestess Clarissa. Rather, Thea's seemingly unphased gaze was almost a direct affront to her. Did the little human not know that she was standing in front of a venerated officer of the Sentinel Army, protectors of the world and chosen of Elune?!

"I do not think I have any intention of returning here." Serphia spoke as she grabbed ahold of Silafeen's reins. The saber growled as it moved its head to look across the nave with a teethed grin, particularly at the more chubby priestess Clarissa as if the nightsaber wouldn't mind staying for a while more!

"Just make sure that Ra,-" Serphia was about to speak, before suddenly pausing as she looked away from Thea and towards Liam, as the young priest was tilting back and forth as he struggled to carry the Blood Elf in a straight line! It almost looked as though Priest Gray was about to collapse under her any moment!

"Puny humies, can't even carry a midget elf!?"

" ... make sure the Sin'dorei scum does not expire." Serphia would finally continue, as Ripfang began to step down the steps from the altar to stand besides Thea. Serphia looked down at the human, who looked almost like a dwarf next to the large Night Elf mounted on her equally large and fiercesome saber!

"If she were to die, that would soil my honor as a warrior! And any who would dare blemish my pride... "

Serphia didn't say anything more, instead resuming to glare across the nave with an utmost threatening gaze that could only promise eternal woes and perils to any who did not obey her will!

*

While in the conversation with Liaena, Rithrynn's ears would suddenly twitch as her gaze shot past Liaena and up towards the stairs leading up to the nave.

"Did you hear that?"

"Let go off me!"
"Mffghh, bitch!"
"Ahh, I'll kick your butt!"

Rithrynn seemed to be ignoring the scuffle that was taking place behind her in the corridor, instead focusing on listening to the faint voices that she had heard coming from upstairs! Moments passed as she simply listened intently, before her eyes passed back down to Liaena.

"I think that was the voice of mistress!"

[Sinerathin]

Alissah continued to listen to the distant voices for a time, trying to discern whether there was to be a fight or similar. A fight in the Cathedral, the holiest and most sanctified spot in Stormwind, sounded unheard of! Yet the woman had seen stranger things in her time...

But eventually, Alissah would return her attention to the girl treating her, before giving her a small smile.

"Yes, I would appreciate that if you could." Alissah answered, as Kathlin notified one of the other apprentices passing through the infirmary about their desire, before she returned to tending Alissah's own injuries.

While the girl worked on cleaning and sterilizing the wound, Alissah would tense her muscles but remained as still as she could. She had noticed the occasional looks that Kathlin had given the numerous tattoos across her body, but Alissah pretended to not notice her.

"I was once a priestess, you know... " She started, taking a moment to gaze at Kathlin.
" ... sort of, at least. It was not a normal time."

Alissah paused, as if she had suddenly realized that she didn't know where she was going with that sentence, or didn't want to continue. Yet as she temporarily looked away from Kathlin whilst sitting on the edge of the bed, she'd notice the fellow apprentice of Kathlin return to the infirmary, holding an issue of the Stormwind Royal Newspaper.

She would accept the paper with a nod and a brief 'thank you', before she'd turn it to the side to gaze at the front page. Printed upon the front page were a series of large and bold letters, clearly laying out two distinct sentences.

"HEINOUS ATTACK IN THE NIGHT: HONOR'S WATCH ASSAULTED BY MYSTERIOUS ELVEN TERRORISTS!", printed over a large picture of Honor's Watch, its upper walls in flames, followed by another message, "HEROIC DEFENSE BY THE WHITE HAND - CRISIS AVERTED!".

"They sure were fast with the print... " Alissah would comment on the side, flickering past the first page to skim the rest of the article, which mostly consisted of a story about the heroic deeds of the White Hand fighting alongside Stormwind's Harbor Garrison and how they had saved the harbor from a potential invasion, as well as long lines of speculation about the mysterious elven threat and who they could be.

[Feychild]

“What?”
Liaena did a slight double take at her words, before giving Rithrynn an are-you-trying-to-mess-with-me look. “What would she be doing here? Serphia hates the church”

*

“She is good hands with the clerics here” Thea said soothingly to the angry Night Elf, as Liam finally received help from the two apprentices that had dared to come close enough to the tiger to assist him with the heavy load of Rae’liel plus armour. Eying Serphia warily, the priestess let out a small, private sigh.

“When it rains, it pours”

“I believe we are currently accommodating some associates of yours. Were you aware of that?”

The priestess stood her ground as Serphia’s attention, the Night Elf previously being on the verge of spurring her Night Sabre out of the doors, swung around to fixate on her. “If you would like to speak to them, I would like you to find a berth for your tiger. I can assist you with an empty stable. And keep your voice down please, this is a holy place”

*

“That’s not what happened – the city guard weren’t even involved” Kathlin observed, peering over to glance at the pages as she worked on Alissah’s wounds. The girl sounded distinctly aggrieved by the inaccuracies of the news, as she scanned the pages. “That headline is sensationalist. The quality of the newspapers really has gone downhill – although I suppose we were technically terrorists. Oh dear”

“……”

“I think I need to explain what happened” the girl stated, after a worried pause. Resting a hand around on Alissahs back to support her, she helped the older woman shift back so she was more comfortably resting on the pillows. “I’ll finish up here, and then go and find Li. She’s good at this sort of thing….”

“Excuse me! Er, coming through, coming through!”

Starting at Liam’s voice, Kathlin shifted over to peer out through the curtains as Liam, the two apprentices and Rae’liel entered, the clerics dragging the unconscious elf towards a bed at the far end, before retreating back through the curtains to smile at Alissah. “Oh…it’s just Priest Gray, and a blood elf. Nothing to worry about”

[Rithy]

"Serphia hates the church”

"I'm serious. That was her voice!" Rithrynn would retort to Liaena's disbelief, pointing up at the stairs.
"And, yes... she does, but I could still hear her!"

At this point, Rithrynn was ignoring the all-out fight that had broken loose in the back of the corridor, where the fight that had initially consisted of Lithriell vs Aleena had come to consume the rest of her sisters as well.

"We're going up and looking!" Rithrynn would say as the Night Elf suddenly grabbed Liaena's arm, and pulled the little human girl with her as Rithrynn ran up the stairs towards the nave!
"If she's here, Sharon's bound to be here too!"

She was certain she had heard the voice of Mistress Serphia. She couldn't possibly be wrong, could she? It was not like this was the time that she would begin hearing voices!?

...

Yes, she really had to see if Serphia was there with her own eyes. Worst case scenario; she had contracted some curse from their raid on Honor's Watch. If that was the case, she had to test it!

*

“I believe we are currently accommodating some associates of yours. Were you aware of that?”

Serphia's eyes would immediately narrow down on Thea, as any motion the Night Elven Captain might have made to indicate that she was about to leave the Cathedral would immediate dissipate.

"My 'associates'?" Serphia would inquire, gazing down at Thea with suspicion.

The word 'associates' was confusing to Serphia. Could Thea be referring to her sisters? The word 'associates' sounded all too business-like and formal to possibly refer to her noble warriors! Or was she referring to the midgets that they had taken along with them on the attack on Honor's Watch, including Rithrynn's own little pet, the intrepid mad-gnome she called Liaena?

If they were housing the midget apprentices, it was hardly surprise. After all, this was supposed to be their home!

"Explain yourself... "

Serphia would utter, leaning forward whilst glaring down at Thea with an inquisitive gaze!

A lesser woman might have buckled under the attentive glare of the imposing presence that was an 8ft tall amazon warlord sitting ontop of a fiercesome, giant tiger. Yet Thea seemed strangely lax about it all, almost suspiciously so...

[Sinerathin]

"I wouldn't worry about the terrorist label quite yet. It seems the attackers were recognized mostly as elves." Alissah would mutter as she studied the newspaper.

Skimming through the pages, she saw the picture of a fallen Blood Elven Blood Knight lying on dead on the stone paved ground. She couldn't see the Blood Elf's face as it was covered by her helmet, but she could clearly make out two pointy ears going out at each side in the back of the helmet. And even though the picture was in black, white and brown, she could still recognize the light, tanned skin of the Blood Elf's exposed throat common among the Sin'Dorei from the sunny land of Quel'Thalas.

"While they may have the bodies of the fallen Blood Elves, I don't recall any of the Night Elves falling tonight. That would make it easier for us to deny any involvement of our Night Elves, and shift the blame entirely on the dead Blood Elves. All of our Night Elven companions are accounted for, aren't they?"

But Alissah would suddenly pause and look when a new pair suddenly entered the infirmary, and Kathlin went to check. As Kathlin appproached the curtains to look, Alissah instinctively moved her right hand towards her pistol lying in its holster on the nearby cupboard. But when Kathlin suddenly turned to look back with a reassuring smile, she'd quickly snap it back.

“Oh…it’s just Priest Gray, and a blood elf. Nothing to worry about”

"Good... " Alissah muttered, before suddenly raising an eyebrow as she looked up at Kathlin.
"A Blood Elf? Was she in the attack?!"

[Feychild]

“Of course” Thea responded. Looking up at the huge Night Elf, she inclined her head slightly in a gesture that was as polite as it was unyielding. “I would happy to escort you to your kinswomen. After you stable your tiger”

The priestess became aware that the nave was slowly filling around them. Five armoured knights, one of which was obviously a paladin were carefully advancing towards the pair, without having drawn weapons….yet.

Clarissa had retreated towards the knights at this point, and was quite loudly telling them in no uncertain terms that they probably should be drawing their weapons.

There was also an older man, who had quietly emerged from a small door set into one side of the nave close to the altar. He was clearly older than Thea or Clarissa, but younger than Marshal and dressed in robes that while largely similar to what the other elder priests such as Marshal wore, included gold and blue trimmings on the shoulders and on the hem. Clarissa’s voice, initially high pitched and squeaky with rage, tailed off noticeably at the sight of him.

*

“Stop dragging me” Liaena growled as Rithrynn dragged her out of the corridor containing the prayer rooms and up a flight of steps. From the sounds of fighting behind them, the other elves had not even noticed or cared that they had left. “I was going that way anyway. And you’re taking the long way round”

“I just hope that they don’t actually find the wine stores”

“Besides, I don’t think –“

*BAM*

Ignoring her completely, Rithrynn slammed the final door to the nave open, to stand, visible to all, and gawp at the sight in front of her “Mistress!”

Peeking around her, Liaena blanched. “…Priestess Thea?”

Thea shot Liaena a Look, before inclining her head to the elder priest. “High Priest Benedict”

Benedict acknowledged Thea’s courtesy, before turning to give Serphia, then Rithrynn, then Serphia again, an odd look. “What is going on here?”

*

“Yes. I don’t know”

Kathlin said in response to Alissah, raising her eyebrows slightly at the other woman’s agitation. “It’s not that odd really. We don’t get many Blood Elves, but if we do it’s reasonably likely they’re going to be beaten up. And the church doesn’t discriminate for healing, so they end up here….”

“…Well, not for elves. We’ve never had an orc, or a troll, or tauren in, so I wouldn’t really know about that. I wonder what would happen if a tauren claimed sanctuary” Kathlin added thoughtfully and belatedly as she sat back down on the bed beside Alissah, poised with bandages in hand. “We’d need to get bigger beds”

“…..”

“Either way, don’t worry about it” the girl added consolingly as she started to wrap bandages around Alissah’s shoulder and torso. “The city guard can’t arrest her here. This is holy ground.”

[Rithy]

“What is going on here?”

The narrowed, silvery eyes of the Night Elven Captain scanned the nave of the Cathedral as the robed crowds began to gather.

Although the peculiar Priestess Thea definitely held a higher-than-average rank of some sort, it was all to clear that she was not the boss of this enclave. No, standing further away, Serphia's eyes would narrow on a particular individual which she identified as the human boss-man...

... mainly because of the fact that Benedict had the biggest hat of everyone in the room!

Suddenly ignoring Thea completely as though she did not even exist, Serphia would pull the reins of her nightsaber to direct Ripfang towards Benedict, walking slowly through the nave towards the High Priest as she was mounted on top of her war tiger.

"Mistress!" Rithrynn would repeat, only to get a warning glare from Serphia as the Captain made a clear 'I will deal with you later' expression with her face!

As Serphia approached the High Priest, the Knights; whom had seemingly gathered mostly around the part of the nave where the High Priest stood; would move their hands towards the handles of their still sheathed weapon. Though it was an obvious gesture of threat, Serphia would ignore it, instead raising her head in defiance to the knights as she strode through the nave on her nightsaber. She had no intention of being coerced into any kind of submissive behavior by mere monkeys who believed they were worth something merely because they wore shiny armor!

"Remember your station, worms."

Although she would give the knights a baleful glare from atop her nightsaber, Serphia made no attempt to reach for her own weapons, or any other motion that could indicate that she was going to attack.

Walking with complete confidence towards High Priest Benedict, Serphia would find her approach to the High Priest blocked by a single determined Paladin who had placed himself between her and the High Priest. The Night Elven Captain would pause for a moment, throwing an ice cold gaze down towards the lone Paladin as her tiger, Silafeen, gritted its teeth as it gave the Paladin a threatening gaze.

Serphia would gaze down at the Paladin, before switching her gaze from him to the High Priest standing behind.

"Your minion tells me that you have my warriors." Serphia would finally speak, motioning towards Thea as she glared down at Benedict.
"I demand them back, and then I demand an explanation for all this!"

[Sinerathin]

“The city guard can’t arrest her here. This is holy ground.”

"I am more worried about what could happen if any of the papers got the whiff of the fact that we now held a Blood Elf here in the Cathedral, what with the recent attack in mind." Alissah spoke whilst staring towards the surrounding curtains, outside of which the Blood Elf was somewhere else in the infirmary, before she'd turn to look down at the front page of the newspaper again.

"It would be one; if you'll excuse me; political shitstorm! Journalists these days don't seem to care about the well being of the city or its citizens, being more than happy to throw fuel on the fire and exaggerate minor incidents all in the name of increased sales and publicity with no thought, regard or consideration to the potentially dangerous consequences of their reckless crowd agitation! 'Royal' Newspaper my ass!"

Alissah would grimace in disgust as she finished, before suddenly realizing that she was ranting in front of an apprentice! Upon this realization, Alissah would quickly turn to face Kathlin and make an apologetic bow with her head.

"Forgive my language, Apprentice Priestess Lennox." Alissah would say quickly as she held her head low.
"It was unprofessional of me to let my temper get the better of me!"

[Feychild]

“I am so dead….”

Liaena groaned, voice indistinguishable to anyone but Rithrynn due to how deeply her face was buried in her hand. In the centre of the nave, Benedictus gave the Night Elf captain, then Thea, a baffled look. “Your warriors? Why would we have them?”

“I believe her kin are visiting, Archbishop” Thea clarified softly from behind Serphia. Benedictus frowned as he absorbed this, before turning back to Serphia. “I see. It was good of you to visit. Your species rarely takes an interest in our teachings”

Serphia apparently decided to take that statement with all the contempt it deserved with a derisory twist of lip, looming over the paladin and by extension, Benedictus. “Tell me where they are, and I’ll gauge their intent for myself!”

“…..”

“Well…..there’s one over there” Benedictus mused as he pointed over one of Serphia’s shoulders. Swivelling around in one single, fluid motion, Rithrynn was caught like a deer in the headlights in the full force of Serphia’s glare, unsure in that moment of whether to stand her ground or flee. Liaena meanwhile, did her best to merge into one of the nearby columns.

*

“…No, no, that’s fine” Kathlin said slowly, looking slightly bemused by the sudden flare of anger followed by the humble contrition. Perching on the bed beside the woman, she reached over to fluff up the pillow and ensure Alissah was settled comfortably. “I know the newspapers aren’t very good. But Bella’s been shrunk, so it might take a bit longer than normal for them to find out that she’s down here. That’s something, at least”

“…..”

“Are you going to be alright if I leave you with the priest on duty now?” Kathlin enquired after a pause, during which she glanced around the small space to try figure out if there was anything she had possibly forgotten in her ministrations. “I’m very sorry, but I do need to go and explain what happened to Thea and the others. It’s probably important”

[Rithy]

The moment Serphia's gaze fell on her for the second time after the Captain had listened to Thea and Benedictus, Rithrynn could feel an icy chill crawl up the back of her spine.

"Coming here was a mistake!"

Judging by appearance, Liaena was not feeling much better, as she stood next to her with her face hidden in the palm of her hands and her back against the nearby column. Whether it was fear or awkwardness, or both, didn't much matter at that point!

" ... expect us to be gone soon." Serphia finally spoke again, her silvery eyes trailing over her shoulder to look at Benedictus, before again setting upon an almost pale Rithrynn who was slowly backing towards the corridor!
"I will just want a small chat with my girls first... "

Dismounting her battletiger, Silafeen, Serphia would motion for it to go and wait outside of the Cathedral. Silafeen dutifully obeyed his mistress, heading towards the main exit of the nave without objection, but not without first having given the priestess Clarissa another big, toothy grin before running off!

Serphia then marched through the nave herself towards a singular objective - Rithrynn.

The priests, apprentices and other people of the cloth that may have gathered in the nave gave a wide berth to the imposing Captain as she marched towards her underling and Liaena. The knights and Paladins, now sensing no immediate danger to High Priest Benedictus, were more than happy to step out of the Captain's way as she made her way towards the side of the nave to stand and tower over Rithrynn and Liaena, resting her hands on her hips as she glared down at Rithrynn.

" 'Visiting', did I hear correctly?" Serphia would first ask. If looks could kill, Rithrynn would have at this point been nothing but a stain on the floor.

"Uhm, yes... sorta, mistress." Rithrynn began carefully, trying to choose her words as carefully as a bomb-disarmer would choose the wires of a high explosive bomb! Serphia stood before her much like a bomb ready to blow, just waiting for Rithrynn to say the wrong word before unleashing her fury upon her!
"Or, more like... shacked up, eh, they said something about sanctity,-"

"Where are the rest?!" Serphia would suddenly roar, causing Rithrynn to almost fall back as her long elven ears immediately dropped down around her head!

"Downstairs, Mistress!"

"Show me!"

"Uh, r-right this way! ... mistress!" Rithrynn stammered, unable to turn around fast enough and begin walking down the stairs!

But before the two Night Elves, Rithrynn and her towering Captain, would venture down into the corridors below the nave, Serphia would lash out with an arm out to grab Liaena by her neck, lifting the small human girl up from the ground and holding her up next to her!

"And I do not think you are entirely innocent in this matter either!" Serphia said as she followed Rithrynn out of the nave and down into the corridors below to find the rest of their sisters. As Serphia glared at Liaena, Rithrynn would throw the occasional frightened look over her shoulder at the Captain and the human girl behind her, as if she was just making sure the Captain didn't completely beat the snot out of Liaena when she wasn't watching!

"Bringing them here wasn't your idea, by any chance?!"

[Sinerathin]

"But Bella’s been shrunk, so it might take a bit longer than normal for them to find out that she’s down here. That’s something, at least”

Alissah, having completely forgotten about the condition of the unfortunate priestess and colleague of Kathlin who had gotten herself shrunk somehow, would suddenly blink before turning to gaze towards Kathlin.

"Shrunk? You mean the girl who went up that Night Elf's butt?" Alissah would inquire. It had indeed been a peculiar sight to see the tiny girl, presumably Bella, pulled right out from Aleena’s big, purple butt. It had been a surprise to her, but also somewhat amusing as well.
“Do you know where she is at the moment?

Bella appeared to have come unscathed from the whole unusual predicament of having been trapped in some elf’s big backside. At least physically. Her pride might have taken a hit though, Alissah reasoned. But while Bella had been fortunate enough to have been spared a further stay in Aleena’s butt, her ‘roommate’; if Alissah could call the captured White Hand battlemage that; had not been so lucky. Alissah had barely gotten a glimpse of Sathrielle before she had been firmly sent back up into the Sentinel’s large rear end!

“I should probably get her out… but I’ll do that later, she’s not going anywhere anytime soon I reckon.”

The whole ordeal with Sentinel Aleena made Alissah toy with the idea of hiring a Night Elf as her own mobile prison warden, which at least would have been a bit amusing.
When Kathlin mentioned that she had to leave however, Alissah would nod.

“Thank you for all you’ve done for me, Priestess Apprentice Lennox. I will rest for a while. Do not hesitate to call on me if you should need my help.” Alissah would speak as she gestured for Kathlin that she could leave, before leaning back to lay down onto her bed.

Staying at the Cathedral had the effect of filling Allisah with a sense of tranquility from a feeling of safety that she associated with those consecrated halls, and it didn’t take long for the woman to fall into a quiet slumber in the infirmary.

[Feychild]

“No” Liaena snarled back, clinging to Serphia’s arm as she tried fruitlessly to loosen the strong choke-hold the big Night Elf had her in. “Where’s Sharon?”

Trailing her eyes up and down the big Captain, there was indeed no sign of her miniature boyfriend, and in any case she would have expected him to have shown himself already during the confrontation in the nave. “You haven’t lost him, have you!?”

“Er, just along here, Mistress….!”

Rounding a corner, Serphia stomped towards the set of prayer rooms. Possibly alerted to the approaching natural hazard by the thundering footsteps, or Rithrynn’s frantic attempts at appeasement, elves spilled out of the rooms into the corridor to stand at attention and hastily salute their captain. This did little to appease Serphia’s wrath as she glared down at them. “And WHAT do you think you’re playing at, Asha Del…where are Aleena and Lithrielle!?”

“……”

“Smoozing, apparently” Liaena volunteered coldly into the silence when it became clear that no Night Elf wanted to run the risk of attracting Serphia’s attention onto themselves. Glancing into the biggest room, one could indeed see the two Night Elves intertwined on one of the beds, fast asleep as though the recent bloody violence was simply a dream.

*

“…What is the situation here, Thea?” Benedict enquired worriedly, having followed Serphia’s movements with his eyes, before returning to the priestess. Belatedly, he nodded towards the other priestess in the nave. “Priestess Clarissa. Should I be concerned for that girl with them?”

“Possibly. However I do not think involving the guard would be wise at this stage” Thea said carefully as she studied the exit the Night Elves had taken. “They would likely perceive it as a threat. I can attempt to reason with them Bishop, with your approval?”

“Hm….as you wish, very well” Benedict murmured, before turning to the paladin that had planted himself between the high priest and Serphia earlier. “Thank you, Hugo. Please escort the priestess, and defend her from any threats…our new guests, or otherwise”

[Rithy]

Serphia's silvery eyes scanned the corridor with a methodical precision.

Lithriell and Aleena both were cuddled together on one of the humble beds. The bed in question was creaking dangerously at the smallest of movement from the two big Night Elven warriors lying on top of it, as it had obviously been designed to support nothing more than a single, medium sized human!

The rest of the Sentinels however were all lined up alongside each side of the corridor, each staring across it in complete silence and obedience. Though their uniforms had become somewhat ragged after the raid on Honor's Watch, their posture was still pristine, as they stood like perfect statues whilst standing at attention.

Studying her warriors, Serphia would finally let go off Liaena, dropping the human to the ground with a thud.

"Where is Sentinel Saleen?" Serphia would finally ask, noticing that one of her warriors were missing from the corridor. But just shortly after the Captain had raised the question, another voice could be heard coming from around the corner at the end of the corridor.

"Look at what I found, sisters! You won't believe... " Sentinel Saleen exclaimed with enthusiasm as she rounded the corner, carrying a heavy wooden crate filled with holy wine which she had obviously raided from the Cathedral basement. But when she saw all her sisters lined up along the corridor; with the exception of Lithriell and Aleena who were sleeping merrily together; and Captain Serphia glaring down at her from the other side of the corridor, she'd immediately freeze on the spot!

" ... it."

Within the blink of an eye, Saleen would have dropped the crate to the floor, the bottles inside clanking against the cushioning hay inside, and immediately stand attention to salute Serphia as well.

"Mistress!"

Serphia, who had up until this point been glaring at her sisters, would suddenly change for a much more milder look as her face turned into a small, almost motherly smile.

"At ease, sisters." She'd finally say, gazing out across her warriors.

Indeed, the ire she had initially felt seemed to have given away to a feeling of comfort when she saw all of her warriors present and in good health. Not one of them was missing, which meant that they had all gotten out of the raid on Honor's Watch with their lives intact. The moment she had separated from her warriors during the attack on the castle, she had feared the worst. It was good to see that her fears had not come to realization.

"I will not berate you tonight, girls." Serphia said with a smile, getting no few confused expressions in return from her sentinels as she began to walk through the corridor between her warriors, hands held behind her back.
"In fact, you all impressed me. In this evening, we broke into one of the most fortified and secure points in all of Stormwind! We defeated their greatest of champions who tried to oppose us, we evaded their clumsy counterattacks, and we all got away with barely as much as a scratch! Tonight, we humiliated the apes in their very own capital, and that deserves celebration!"

Some of the sentinels, who had looked pale as ghosts just earlier, fearing the worst from their Mistress, now beamed with glee, as well as a bit of relief!
Turning around, Serphia would focus on Saleen.

"Sentinel Saleen, show the rest of our sisters where you found that crate. We will return to the High Elf's mansion to resume our rightfully deserved festivities, but I heard complaints about our host's wine storage running dry. Gather some provisions and prepare to leave this wretched fort of blasphemy!"

An unanimous cheer erupted from the sentinels as they suddenly stormed after Saleen to ravage the wine storage of the Cathedral. Smiling after her sentinels as they poured out of the corridor, Serphia would turn to look at Liaena who was standing next to her.

"Do not worry. Your little high elf is in the safest of places. I told you I would take care of him, did I not?" Serphia would smirk down at the black haired girl, all the while resting a hand on her hip.
"I may not like you, but when I give you my word, I will not break it."

Gazing down towards Rithrynn and Liaena, Serphia would turn to look at her 'lieutenant'.

"Sentinel Syn'dial, the humans have crowded the main chamber and will most likely be obstructing the main exit. I want a backdoor exit from this place. Use your human pet, she might be of use." Serphia would instruct, immediately receiving a salute followed by a 'yes, mistress!' from an eager Rithrynn.
"Oh, and find a solution for the two lovebirds, Lithrielle and Aleena. I'd hate to disturb them, but they'll be coming with us."

[Feychild]

Liaena folded her arms, looking entirely unimpressed with Serphia’s ‘benevolence’ as she glowered accusingly up at Rithrynn. The little girl did not look at all like she was in a mood to kindly show the Night Elves out of the back door, unless possibly there was a boot involved.

“You – are – stealing. You were invited. Instead, you cause chaos, get the high priest involved, trash the rooms, run riot – this is supposed to be a sanctuary!!” Liaena snarled up at Rithrynn. Pointing out any possible hypocrisy at the priestess’ ire, looked as though it would cut extremely thin ice with the little girl. Serphia meanwhile was ignoring the human’s anger entirely, instead choosing to sashay away down the corridor after the other Night Elves, who were falling over themselves to follow Saleen towards the wine supply, as she stabbed a finger up at Rithrynn with a harsh, angry whisper. “I swear to the Light, I will ruin your Captain if she decides to trash this place too. Get out. All of you”

“What’s going on, Apprentice Priestess Rune?”

“….Er….”

Liaena seemed to wilt slightly where she stood, before turning to face down the raised eyebrows of Thea. “….I was…just trying to sort something out, priestess. The elves got a bit hyper”

“So it would seem” Thea remarked distinctly coldly as she peered down the corridor after the rest of the elves, as faint laughter drifted back. “Do they intend to stay?”

“No” Liaena said hastily, before shooting a glare at Rithrynn. “They were just going. Right?”

[Rithy]

"This whole place is made out of stone!" Rithrynn would retaliate against Liaena's accusations and general doomsaying.
"I know you and mistress don't get along, but I doubt she could ever really wreck this place. She does not have your talent when it comes to wanton destruction and demolition! Blowing up big stone castles is your thing, remember?"

“What’s going on, Apprentice Priestess Rune?”

The moment the older Priestess Thea suddenly appeared in the corridor, Rithrynn immediately attempted to position herself so that her big Night Elven figure would block the view of the corridor and the rest of her sisters behind her from Thea. Yet such would be quest in futility as Thea could easily simply glance past her and see Serphia's long white hair and big bouncing butt as the Captain followed her sisters.

“They were just going. Right?”

"Oh yes!" Rithrynn would quickly add with the biggest smile possible, as Liaena was threatening to literally stab her elbow through her ribs! Suddenly racing into one of the rooms, Rithrynn would soon reemerge with both Lithrielle and Aleena on each shoulder.
"We intend to leave right away!"

Rithrynn beamed at Thea, attempting to make the whole encounter as pleasant; and as least awkward; as possible! Yet insofar the more than seven foot tall blue haired and glowy eyed amazonian Night Elf warrior's charms would work on the veteran Priestess, Thea, remained to be seen!

"This place is nice and all that, and we really appreciate your hospitality, human, buuuut... we sorta... are due for an important meeting with Liaena's boyfriend, Sharon, back at his mansion!"

Without a warning, Rithrynn would 'share her burden' by suddenly dropping Lithrielle down onto Liaena for the little girl to carry, an act that was quickly followed by an angry shriek!

[Feychild]

“I see” Thea remarked in a tone that could mean absolutely anything. The priestess’ eyes moved slowly down the Night Elf’s body, onto Liaena, who was at that moment angrily extricating herself from the large Lithrielle. “Do you intend to accompany them, Apprentice Rune?”

“….Yes. yes, I do” Liaena said carefully, after shooting Rithrynn a look of ire as she shoved Lithrielle to one side and got to her feet. The latter was still sound asleep, which heavily implied that she and Aleena had already been sampling some of the Cathedral’s holy wine. “They’re very sorry for what happened upstairs, Priestess. They were never taught how to behave”

“Mistakes were made on all sides” Thea commented in a circumspect tone, before returning her attention to Rithrynn. The paladin standing beside her was shuffling his feet in a slightly awkward tone, apparently not knowing where to look when faced with a massive, extremely scantily clad female.

“Thank you for returning my apprentice. I appreciate it has not been easy. If you ever feel the need for the Cathedral’s assistance, I will ensure that it is given”

“I helped too”
Liaena muttered in an almost inaudible tone below them both. Thea gave her a Look that made the little girl’s mouth snap shut like a trap. “Am I to understand that her predicament wasn’t a direct result of your influence, Rune?”

…..

“…whose predicament, what?” Kathlin enquired from behind them, the apprentice wandering down the corridor towards the group to give Liaena a smile and bob her head at Thea. “Hi Li. Priestess Thea, I found the morning edition”

“…What?” Thea enquired in a puzzled tone, before swiftly taking the newspaper proffered to her and studying the front page. “Oh, I see.”

“Oh for – Light, the propaganda machine’s working overtime!” Liaena snarled as she peered around Thea at the paper. The front page was covered with a banner article about the valiant efforts of the White Hand, and how they had fought off elven invaders. “This is – we can’t let this be the story!”

“I agree. However, I don’t intend for the church to make unfounded accusations” Thea said sharply. Giving Kathlin a slightly softer look, she looked the apprentice up and down before switching her gaze to Rithrynn. “Does your leader still intend for you to leave immediately, Rithrynn? It would be good to hear your story of what happened this evening.”

Kathlin meanwhile had sidled up to Liaena. She gave both of the smaller girl’s shoulders a careful checkover, before leaning over slightly to stage whisper in her ear. “…Where’s Bella, Li?”

!

“……Uhhhhhh….” Liaena mumbled after a long, protracted pause. Glancing around with some alarm, she stared back into one of the bedrooms. “….Maybe I left her in there, earlier?”

[Rithy]

Rithrynn would take the moment to promptly drop Aleena; causing the big elf to fall down on top of Lithrielle on the floor; to stand behind Liaena instead as she spied on the newspaper in Thea's hand, easily being able to look over the much shorter girl's head and getting an almost bird's eye view of the frontpage.

"That isn't correct... or, well, most of it!" Rithrynn would comment, raising her eyebrows at the highly boisterous and subjective headlines.
"It sounds like your news herald has gotten the story all wrong. Maybe if we send them a letter, they'll correct it? I mean, it's not like any servant of the public would intentionally produce misinformation?"

Rithrynn said, looking at Thea, Kathlin and Liaena; all of whom simply gave her a daft stare in return. The Paladin in the back was seemingly becoming increasingly discomfortable with Rithrynn's sudden approach, the Night Elf threatening to bump into him with her rump as she leaned over Liaena.

"I mean, misinformation is punishable by beheading! ... or don't you do that here in Stormwind?"

Fortunately however, Thea would be the first to break the awkward silence, directing her question at Rithrynn.

“Does your leader still intend for you to leave immediately, Rithrynn? It would be good to hear your story of what happened this evening.”

"Weeeell... " Rithrynn paused at the question given to her by Thea, all the while tossing a glance over her shoulder and back towards the corridor where Serphia and the rest of her sisters had disappeared. Faint laughter and loud commentary could be heard from the wine cellar, as her sisters seemed to be testing the wine to ensure they only dragged with them the best bottles.
" ... she intends to leave as soon as possible. I can try to answer, but she might have time for some commentary too - if you ask nicely."

Rithrynn would then smile as she looked down at Thea, before holding a hand up to the side of her head and leaned forward to whisper to the veteran priestess.

" ... she does like to boast!"

Such would indeed be the truth. Rithrynn had spent enough time together with Captain Serphia to know that if the Captain had one weakness, it was her very-considerable ego! Although she might often appear scornful around strangers, Serphia was not the kind of person to ever waste an opportunity of flaunting tales of her heroic achievements, accomplishments and generally establish her total supremacy, both of her kin and within it! If one wanted a surefire way to start a conversation, if one could call it that, with the Captain, one's best bet would be to give her an opportunity to boast!

“……Uhhhhhh….”

Yet Rithrynn's thought would soon be moved away from Serphia, and onto Liaena following Kathlin's little inquiry about Bella's whereabouts.

“….Maybe I left her in there, earlier?”

Liaena was staring at one of the larger bedrooms, exactly the same one where Rithrynn had found Lithrielle and Aleena. She had seen no sign of any shrunk, human girl; only two big Night Elven warriors cuddled together in a lovable heap on the bed!

"I went in there to get Ali and Lithi, but I didn't see any sign of your little friend." Rithrynn would comment, scratching her forehead as she looked towards the of the bedroom. For a moment, Rithrynn seemed lost in her own thoughts, before suddenly shooting a look back down at Liaena!

"Wait... you're saying you left Bella alone with them?"

Staring down at Liaena with a pair of big eyes, Rithrynn's gaze would eventually move over to Lithrielle and Aleena who lay on the floor, whom had somehow moved into each others' arms in their slumber with Aleena lying on top.

The thought of Lithrielle and Aleena potentially having come across a tiny, lost human in their private bedroom during a cuddle session sounded like something that could never end well for Bella! Thoughts of the many potential fates of Bella ranged from becoming a plaything for the two big elves, to accidentally ending up under them! She doubted neither Lithrielle nor Aleena had any place to hide a tiny Bella on their minimalistic uniforms that didn't involve shoving the little girl somewhere deep and dark. While staring down at her two love-bound sisters, Aleena would let out a satisfied little moan and wriggle her big butt up at them in her sleep - giving them a clear view of her exposed rear where the only piece of clothing consisted of a thong that was already halfway devoured by her buttocks!

Tossing Thea a quick look, the priestess being busy analyzing the newspaper with her paladin servant having turned to look the other way; Rithrynn's eyes would slowly turn to look towards Kathlin and Liaena, focusing on the latter.

"You didn't intentionally leave her in that room with them, did you?" Rithrynn would ask in a low voice while raising a suspicious eyebrow at Liaena.

[Feychild]

“….No!” Liaena was quick to defend herself as she gazed into the now-empty bedroom. Not only was there no sign of Bella at all, there was also no sound of angry complaints that could only come from an abandoned, shrunken priestess. Beside her, Kathlin made an audible tsking noise. “Well…she’ll be safe, anyway. I definitely had her when we got back to the Cathedral”

“It never rains, if it could pour” Thea murmured to herself, still studying the newspaper as she turned the page. Apparently, the White Hands heroic defence of Stormwind warranted the entire three front pages.

The paladin standing beside her was observing the entire shambles before him with mingled shock, nerves and anger. The distant sound of Serphia and her elves apparently ransacking the pantry was strongly threatening to push his emotions further into the latter as he turned to Thea. “….these elves should be removed, Priestess. The Bishop would wish for it”

“Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you, Damon” Thea said softly as she folded the paper carefully between her hands, before giving the Paladin an apologetic look. “However, these times are not normal, and the Bishop needs to know that. The elves should stay, for now”

“……”

Damon shuffled his feet, looking deeply unhappy with the entire situation as he continued to give Rithrynn a suspicious stare. Thea meanwhile turned to Liaena, who was pulling pillows off the bed to check under them, although with a lacklustre demeanor that strongly implied that she didn’t expect any shrunken priestesses to come of it. “Apprentice Rune, go and arrange for that elven leader to meet with me as soon as possible. We can arrange for lodgings for her and her crew”

“...”

Liaena opened her mouth swiftly to protest as she swung around, saw the look in Thea’s eyes, thought better of it and paused for a moment in thought – before turning to Rithrynn. “Rithrynn, go and tell Serphia the humans want to hear of her magnificent exploits. And there’s wine”

[Rithy]

"And there’s wine”

"I think they already found that." Rithrynn would comment in return to Liaena, tossing a glance back over her shoulder and out into the corridor where the faint cheers and distant voices of her fellow warband could be heard as they were most likely in the act of completely scrounging the Cathedral cellars of all their top quality wines - and probably more.

" ... but I'll do it!"

Rithrynn finally answered, and immediately turned around to walk out the door! Yet despite her haste, the Night Elf would stop in the doorway, catching herself in her run with both her hands against the doorframe, turned around to glance at Liaena as the girl continued her search in her room, before smiling.

"Don't worry, maybe Ani and Lithi didn't catch Bella, but simply scared her off?!"

The Sentinel cheerfully suggested with a big smile, before disappearing out the door like a humanoid rocket; whipping up a small cloud of old dust from the floor as the Sentinel raced down the corridor to find her mistress!

*

Moments later, as Liaena was still half-assedly searching the bedroom whilst throwing the slumbering pair of Aleena and Lithrielle in the main corridor the occasional dark stare, a small, frightened figure would squeeze herself out from between the corner of the bed sheets on the bed to carefully step out into the open.

" ... are they finally gone?" Bella asked with a rather low but paranoid voice as her eyes quickly scanned the room, the shrunken priestess jumping slightly the moment she spotted Aleena and Lithrielle lying outside of the room, before realizing that they were asleep. Muttering something inaudible under her breath, Bella's eyes would continue until they moved up to Liaena.

"You big, dumb OAF! What were you thinking leaving me like this?!" Bella sneered up at Liaena, looking none too happy about having been abandoned.
"Oh wait, I almost forgot - thinking is not really your forte, is it, Rune? You always charge headlong with whatever stupid plan without ever thinking, that's what..."

" ... and so that silly little monkey has finally realized how wrong she was?"
"Yes, mistress! Once I told her who you really were, she immediately regretted her foolish behavior!"

Suddenly, the voices of Rithrynn and Serphia could be heard in the room, and Bella immediately froze on the spot!

Walking into the bedroom; the big, white haired elven Captain Serphia taking the lead and whilst Rithrynn followed ever faithfully right behind her mistress! As they entered the room, Serphia's eyes would quickly fall on Liaena who was standing in the middle of it and holding a pillow. A confident and victorious smile would then form on Serphia's lips, as the two elves walked into the center of the room.

"I hear your foolish overseer is finally ready to give me her rightful apology... " Serphia would speak as she looked down at Liaena with a bittersweet smirk, looking as if she had just won an argument!

Casually walking over to the bed with long, graceful strides, Serphia; completely ignorant of the tiny priestess on it; would swiftly turn around and rear her big, purple butt over the bed as she prepared to slump right down into it, her wide rear casting a dark shadow down upon the shrunken priestess! Bella gazed up at the two gigantic, purple buttocks now hovering over her with an utterly terrified expression on her face, opening her mouth to speak but left completely incapable of summoning enough air in her lungs to utter a single word! Frantically, she threw a desperate look towards Liaena!

"Humility is a virtue that I have very much respect for. If she is truly willing to extend an apology, I would be more than willing to entertain her with tales of myself."

[Feychild]

“…Of course” Liaena responded absently, paying only the barest amount of attention to whatever Serphia was saying as she focused on Bella. The girl had a poorly-disguised beginnings of a Cheshire Cat grin on her face as she followed the slow descent of Serphia’s butt like a hawk.

Edging up to stand next to her, Kathlin gave the smaller girl a nudge and a very pointed look as she glanced anxiously at Serphia. “Uhhh….Ma’am, maybe you shouldn’t sit there?”

Pausing, Serphia shot the priestess a baleful look. “….What?”

“Why not?” Liaena said cheerfully. “It’s the best seat in the house”

“But that bed has, uh, uhm….” Kathlin visibly groped around for words under the dark stare of Serphia. “…fleas”

“…..”

“Sometimes people don’t wash very well” the girl volunteered weakly, after a pause. “It’s been a while since the linens have been cleaned….”

“She’s got a point, you know. I think the church lets vagrants stay here sometimes. They get massive” Liaena jumped in easily, when it looked like Kathlin’s knees were about to buckle. Kathlin gave her friend a grateful look, which promptly disappeared as Liaena stuck a finger out to point at the Bella-shaped lump in the bedclothes, who was at that point trying to make a break for it. In the relative gloom, and the shadows cast by the folds of blankets, it was difficult to make out exactly what it was besides a dark black shadow. “-- Wait, is that one there!?”

Looking up in horror, Bella only had time for a squeak of panic as a large purple hand smote her off of the bed to soar across the room. Crashing into the floor to slide several feet across the stone flagons before finally coming to a complete stop, Liaena gave a cutesy smile to the less-than-amused expression of combined Serphia and Kathlin. “Well, better safe than sorry – why don’t you take the chair?”

“Apprentice Rune”

Liaena’s shit-eating grin dwindled away to nothing almost immediately, to stand abruptly back against the wall as Priestess Thea walked into the room. The woman crossed the room to pick up the floppy form of the tiny Bella, to walk with her and seat herself on the remaining unoccupied seat. Paladin Damon took a immediate position behind her, to eye up Serphia with obvious unease and discontent.

Ignoring the Night Elves to murmur words to herself for about a minute, a soft glow eventually effused her fingers to surround the little Bella. The glow continued as she finally looked up to look at Serphia. “Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I have been given two very different accounts of what took place last night at Honors Watch. I would like to know the true series of events; would you be able to tell me what happened?”