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It was two days later. Theluin and Eleazar had been summoned earlier that morning by Danath to prepare for a rendezvous with the Draenei Ambassador and his accompanying Exarchs, who had spent the better part of the past week at the Temple of Telhamat in deep meditation and prayer. The journey itself would be little more than a formality – the Night Elf and human, along with any companions they would choose, were to fly across the ravaged peninsula with a small but well-armed escort of gryphon-mounted veterans from the Sons of Lothar, make contact with the dignitaries and accompany them on the remainder of their pilgrimage to Shattrath while the mounted escort would return to the Hold. Their land mounts would arrive a little while later with the Hold’s armoured carriers. Although the recent covert assault on the Citadel had given the Alliance settlement a much appreciated respite in their constant vigilance against Fel Orc ambushes, the Commander wasn’t about to start jeopardizing the safety of his fortifications by devoting too much troops to the Ambassador’s cause.
“Surely thar’s more than one route into th’ interior, Danath sir,” Eleazar had interjected carefully. He had spent most of his time talking with Anchorite Barada and learning the general lay of the land – as accurate as it could be since Draenor had shattered.
“Yes, but the road southwest into Terokkar is too compromized as it is,” Danath had replied with a troubled furrow in his forehead. “The path begins at a former Horde outpost just off the southernmost end of the Citadel’s old ramparts. We’ve been trying to re-secure it for the sake of communication lanes – without much luck. Colonel Jules led the most recent skirmish against the Fel Orcs still occupying the area … and Barada and I have come to the conclusion that it must’ve been during that engagement that Jules attracted the demon that you helped exorcise.” The aging commander had turned his face away slightly, narrowing his eyes and gripping his sword hilt tightly as his voice had turned dark. “Or was deliberately implanted.”
Danath had recomposed himself with a visible effort, turning back to the Priest and Paladin before him. “I hope you understand that I’d really not want to risk a repeat of the Path of Glory. Barada himself has recommended that his kinsmen proceed directly west from Telhamat. From there, there shouldn’t be anything worse than you and your spirited young ladyfriend can handle.” Danath had cracked a slight smile at the last sentence, and Theluin and Eleazar had smiled in kind, before being dismissed. They had both taken to side-stepping most mentions of the three-man raid’s last member – who had managed to stay ostensibly out of sight since the debriefing with Trollbane following their tumultuous recon into the Citadel.
Eleazar strode briskly into the inn, his spirits high with the news that was brimming in his head. He very nearly missed the she-rogue altogether when she came storming out of the inn’s kitchen and cut narrowly in right in front of him as he was about to ascend the staircase to the upper floor.
“‘Ey thar, Miss Tuan!” he greeted cordially and perhaps a smidgeon obliviously. “Came to bring y’ the n—”
“Yeah,” she interrupted curtly, taking the stairs two steps at a time. “Heard.”
“Uh—” The Paladin found himself caught on his back foot.
“Thel already told me, Lightbulb,” came the ornery-as-ever reply, followed by the slam of a door being rather forcefully closed.
Eleazar hesitated, his initial good mood thoroughly deflated, and then he gingerly made his way up the stairs and approached the room where the she-rogue had been residing so far. Eavesdropping wasn’t a natural part of his repertoire, and thus it was with a measure of trepidation that he leaned in and strained his ears to listen through the grainy, iron-shod wooden door. He could just make out the tell-tale sounds of the woman gathering up her belongings, few as they were. He stood back, drew a slight breath and knocked gently.
The reply coming from the interior was immediate and distinctly cantankerous. “What.”
“You a’right thar, Miss Tuan?”
The door was yanked open, Tuan stood in its frame, fully dressed in her combat trappings and glaring at the Paladin with a level of hostility that he hadn’t seen in a very specific number of days. He braced himself and smiled back genially.
She stared back at him, until the sheer intensity of her eyes was enough to make him take a metered step back. She immediately seized the opening and shoved past him, backpack slung over her shoulder.
He quickly stumbled aside, only just repressing the instinctive impulse to grab her arm. He had learned by now that such a brazen move would only grant him a solid punch somewhere painful. “Miss Tuan—!”
“Running past the quartermaster and the armorer,” she shot back over her shoulder at rapid fire while she hustled downstairs. “I’ll be in the stables.”
Eleazar felt his heart flare with alarm. “You aren’t goin’ to—”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Eli, I’m not going to ditch you loonies just yet!” she shouted exasperatedly from downstairs. “Light. Just gimme some space!!” The conversation was ended by the thump of the inn door shutting behind her.
Eli rubbed his face with a frustrated groan, and then turned to Theluin’s door, knocking politely. “Enter,” came the calm, eternally tranquil reply.
The Paladin pushed the door open, finding the Moon Priest already wearing his usual diplomat’s robes and thoroughly occupied with meticulously packing up his collection of dried herbs.
Theluin didn’t even look up. “She will be accompanying us.”
That simple statement was enough to placate most of Eli’s agitation, but he wasn’t entirely mollified yet. “… you a’ready told ‘er, din’t you?” he remarked with an eyebrow arched.
The elderly Kaldorei glanced up and smiled a little apologetically at his far younger friend as he carefully wrapped another bundle of herbs in waxed paper and placed it with the outmost care in his travelling satchel. “The first words out of her mouth the moment I came back here was asking what Trollbane had ‘roped us into this time’. I know from experience that it is a very bad idea to attempt to withhold information from her. Emphasis on attempt.”
When Eleazar didn’t immediately reply, the Moon Priest paused in his tasks to observe the Paladin a little more closely. An empathic glint entered the glowing turquoise eyes. “… her temperament is back to normal, I presume.”
Eleazar crossed his arms dejectedly and leaned against the doorpost. “It drives me nuts, sir Theluin … it really does.” He paused for thought, and then furrowed his brow. “So’s she coming with us jes’ ta Telhamat fer now, or …?”
Theluin closed a pair of open tomes and stacked them together, sliding them into a richly embossed leather casing. “She will accompany us that far at the very least. There is always the possibility that she’ll tag along further.”
“… all the way t’ Shattrath, with the Ambassador an’ his friends?” Eli fidgeted. “Ain’t that … kind o’ risky, what with ‘er moodswings?”
Theluin let show a small, lopsided smile and stood smoothly, closing the satchel’s clasp. “We will keep an eye on her, in case she decides to get particularly insufferable.” He turned and began sorting through a small stack of parchments, his expression becoming pensive. “She did make quite an impression at the Path of Glory.” He patted the parchments into a neat pile and tucked it into a side compartment on his satchel.
Eli squirmed internally. He had done his level best over the past several days to strike the deeply unsettling memory of the she-rogue’s berserk rampage from his mind, but it always came back to haunt him.
“With the current arrangements, we might get an opening to delve a little further into it.”
Eli flinched and looked up, bemused.
Theluin stood suddenly to his full height, pinning the Paladin in place with his otherworldly, glowing gaze. His voice was very low, but the decisiveness in it was nearly palpable. “What happened is not necessarily without precedent, Eleazar. The Draenei have a deep and far-reaching history with the mythical arts, and it is entirely possible that they may be able to help derive not only the cause of her discomfort – and, consequently and hopefully, a potential cure – but also the source of the abilities she displayed during that skirmish.”
Eleazar righted himself slowly, staring back at his ancient friend. “… are … are y’ sayin’ … that she might have latent magi powers?”
Theluin’s eyes glazed over again with thought, and he turned aside. “That would be the simplest explanation. I pray that it is so.”
Eli wrapped his arms around himself, as if to shut out a creeping cold. His own voice had gone very small and quiet. “And if it isn’t?”
The Kaldorei didn’t meet his eyes. “I do not know.”
They stood for several heartbeats in a silence that had suddenly turned heavy and choking. Eventually Eli cleared his throat. “I’m … gonna follow th’ lady’s lead, I think. Abolition could use a good brushing-down ’fore we set out again, an’ my armour should be repair’d by now.”
Theluin nodded calmly, already back in his usual countenance of immovable composure. “I will join you shortly.” He cracked a little smile. “Rosh’Falar does not appreciate his fur getting dustier than absolutely necessary, and I fear none of the resident stablehands will go near him willingly.”
Eleazar smiled in return, troubled mind eased for the moment. He gave a light nod and headed downstairs.
Theluin maintained his serene visage until he heard the inn’s door close behind the Paladin. Then he became sober again, reaching across the small workdesk placed in the rented room on his own behest, and picked up a small, leather-bound tome. He turned the deceptively small volume over in slim hands that had only just begun to age, tracing the embossed pattern on the book’s exterior with practiced fingers, and sighed to himself.
“… I also fear what we may find out before the last page is turned,” he whispered tonelessly to the silent air.
Without further ado, he tucked the book into the last empty compartment on his satchel and hefted the carrier on his shoulder, taking his priest’s staff and striding away from the room.
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Originally written by Tuan Taureo
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