Warcraft: The Shadowhand Conspiracy

[rivaan]

"It's not exactly a well known fact, but after the fall of G'hanir, the home of all avians and flying kind, the harpies rapidly degenerated into their current selves." The dryad explained following Asha's question about what harpies would have with teh fell." It's commonly believed that with the loss of Avianna and G'hanir, her domain, Naisha's kind fell victim to the lingering energies of the fell unleashed in the wake of the War of the Ancients... though some speculate that it is not the Fel that caused it, but no proof has been found either way. As for a talking tree..." The dryad woman became very quiet, eyes closed and contemplating. There was something there, something lingering on teh edge of her memories and awareness that she just couldn't recall at this moment." I need to do some research on the topic. I think I've heard something, but I actually cannot quite remember what and where." Which was quite odd in it's own way.

"Dreams are always best paid heed to no matter how silly." Naisha quipped, voice filled with some worry." The dreams are a domain of actual beings that can influence it. In the temple they taught us about the Aspects and the Emerald Dream that the druids dedicate their time to. I mean... I didn't quite get EVERYTHING, but I know that the dreams and tied to reality and I've had those dreams for a long time, always similar, but just different enough to make it seem so real rather than repeats."

"That's quite possible, but better not risk needless danger." Calliope stated and gave Asha a nod." Still as long as it stays a just a dream, we should worry not too much about it. Best course would be to get Naisha to town, remove that source of corruption you carry and let her recuperate in a temple for a while. The energies there should purge any lingering Fel in you, Naisha and any bad dreams like it did when we were younger."

"Mmmm..." Naisha made a cute noise as she put away her grooming kit and proceeded to deal with the breakfast also. As she moved about and ete her meal, she looked around, sending her feathery mane swaying about. Once they were done and over with the meal, preparing to head off in the last hour or so stretch of the journey to their destination to hopefully clear Asha's name and prevent conflict between the two elven kinds( Naisha had complately forgotten everythign was a setup and a trick from the get go), the dryad made sure to have the firepit they used completely removed and secure, least any fires spread into a wildfire without meaning and began leading them through the ancient misty forests. The ever present night that refused to go away in this place, made everything appear surreal in the moonlight, the sounds of nighten forest and the pure wild nature beauty of this place." Hey it's just like how I remember it!" Naisha exclaimed when they finally saw their destination. The place was a small druid settlement that had some proper facilities for travelers and just people living, it was located by one of the lakes and it haddened change a bit since she awas last here a few years ago!

Naisha wasted no time getting into the air and huffing it as fast as she could there, wanting to meet the kind grandfathery tauren druid that always was kind and helfpul to her and the priestesses in the local temple!

[Keira Kelly]

Asha's brow furrowed, twitching her long eyebrow as she cast a sidelong glance in Naisha's direction. Harpies were a degeneration? Well, from what Naisha had said about the demeanour of others of her kind, that would make sense. As to whether it was Fel that did it though, Asha couldn't even begin to guess. Since before coming to Kalimdor, Asha had never really come across Fel energy, as far as she knew anyways, despite something about it seeming a bit.. familiar for some reason. Still, her people were still lacking in knowledge when it came to Fel greatly. In any case, that was not a topic that Asha could really weight in on. As was the topic of the talking tree.

Her lip curled up a bit when Naisha began to talk about dreams being influenced by other beings. She did not like that thought at all. "If that's true, these beings must be abjectly cruel." she said acerbically, half under her breath, but not keeping it too quiet for the others to catch. Her dreams the last several years had been plagued with pain, regrets and grief. She would much prefer to think it was her own mind torturing itself than some remote beings. She ended up though, receding in the conversation to let the other two continue.

Asha moved her shoulders uncomfortably in the background when Calliope suggested Naisha should rest up in a temple when they finished. Though the Sin'dorei had never denied that there might be powerful forces out there, they had never really stooped to worshipping any. They had held reverence for the Sunwell, of course, but that was more because if was the heart of power for their society, not a deity. Growing up in a culture that lacked any deities for the most part, it still made Asha uncomfortable with how much certain other races seemed to fawn over the likes of Elune.

The trek through the forest was thankfully uneventful, though the longer they stayed in the dim twilight, the more Asha yearned to once again see the sun and feel its radiant warmth on her skin. After having come over that snowy mountain, it would have been so much more satisfying to sit in the sun's light to recuperate. A smile though grew on Asha's face when her harpy companion pointed out their destination. That was just another step before she could be out of this twilight land and see the sun... and clear her name. Her smile withered though at the thought of what she was expected to do after that though.

At seeing Naisha pull up into the sky, Asha took off after her on foot, running to try to keep up. Well, despite the final outcome, she was still anxious to talk to these druids, leave this place and go and clear her name. The only peace she could hope for was the sliver between this place and having to go back home. "Naisha!" she called out as the harpy outpaced her, "Wait for us!"

[rivaan]

"Some are..." Calliope confirmed on the topic of dreams being affected by beings." Dreams are hte realm of spirits both wonderful and terrifying. Even right now there is battle being waged within the Emerald Dream as something faul has taken hold. Shan'do Stormrage went missing after entering the dream to join the battle to halt it's progress." The dryad explained simply." Dreams in their natural state are just that, dreams. THey are seldom affected by outside influences, especially if the Green Dragon Flight can help it. Their purpose is to safeguard the dream realms, but as with everything, there appears to be evil lurking there too, but even a dragonflight can't be protecting everyting and everybody at once."

The dryad too had to race after the energetic and rather over enthusiastic harpy as Naisha bolted through the air towards their destination. She was just like a child getting somewhere she liked. Needles to say the harpy arrived first in the village of hte druids, causing a bit of commotion, but not too much. Druids were in tune with nature and nature wasn't reacting badly to her presence. Spirits around were rather happy too unlike with regular Harpies, so they just accepted her arrival, double so when they notted the various Elune priestess accessories. Still the presence of a harpy was a bit of a novelty for the younger druids and guests that hadn't usually had the chance to see one that was not hostile attempting to kill or capture them near their nests.

"Grandpa Ironhoof!" Naisha chirped happily as she practically dive bombed the elderly tauren. Mindly 'elderly' being a subjective word when it came to a towering super buff tauren that was still well at peace swinging a huge totem carved out of a treetrunk around like a bat. He was old yes, looked old for tauren, but that wasn't displayed in his physical capabilities. He seemingly just tanked the divebombing from Naisha, grabbing her into a hug without even budging back from the impact.

"Naisha! What a pleasant surprise!" The elderly druid exclaimed, putting her back down and studying her from head to talon to make sure she's alright. She looked alright when you didn't count the battle damage her clothes betrayed. A lot of battle damage that was." Naisha, what happened? You look like you tried to wrestle a thunder lizard and are you alone?"

"I'm fine, Grandpa!" Naisha replied with a smile." My friends and me fought some evil Satyr and cultists in Darkshore!" She chirped, earning a surprised gasp from people around, raised eyebrow from the old druid and some commotion around." And no, I'm here with Calliope and Asha. They are my friends! Asha was plotted against by satyrs and she helped me fight them!" The harpy explained as teh duo of dryad and blood elf arrived. There was some confusion as of what a blood elf was doing here though.

"Has she now? Then I better meet with your new friend as I do know Calliope." The tauren chuckled in amusement as he and Naisha walked over." Greetings, young ones." He stated, eyes twinkling with merry sparkles, giving them a very youthful look for a tauren in his twilight years. Besides he was well aware that the two arrivals were likely older than him, they just hadn't had the decency to show it!" Naisha speaks of great tales you've experienced. Why don't you join me in my hut where we can talk with some of the other druids and sort this out?" He suggested and looked at Asha." best not bring whats in those bags out out in the open here."

[Keira Kelly]

Asha frowned slightly at hearing the explanation of this apparent dream realm. While she did not doubt the dryad about its existence, it was a new concept for her. Her people must have known about it at one point, perhaps back before the Quel'dorei split off and found a new home in Quel'Thalas, but any really knowledge about such a realm seemed to have been either forgotten or just deemed not important for whatever reason. Her people had had far more pressing issues in the ensuing millennia, such as a never-ending war with trolls. Keeping people alive was definitely more of a concern than dreams, after all. The information that Calliope imparted about mostly dreams are not influenced from that other place was actually not at all surprising to Asha; her nightmares were more than earned from real life events.

The run to chase Naisha, while pressing, was not only a welcome distraction for the blood elf, but.. it felt good just to run again without something evil chasing her, wanting to her blood. As they began to catch up, entering into the town proper, Asha slowed just a bit, taking a bit more careful gauging of all the people there. Probably druids, according to Naisha. Asha felt out pf place there, though oddly some part of her, probably from the Farstrider training, seemed content here. There were elves, certainly, but all kaldorei only. Also there were what had to be the imposing Tauren. Asha stared up at some of them as she passed by in wonder. These were the first she had ever seen herself, even if her people technically were allied with the Tauren, in general, at the moment.

Surprised out of her focused interest by a nudge from Calliope and, suddenly very shy about having been staring, Asha turned back to following where Naisha had gone. Along with it, the feeling that everyone was watching her, that they might turn on her for some reason, sat crouched at the back of her mind. She had to trust her friend though, so kept going. They caught up with Naisha just as the harpy hit solidly into a giant of a bull-headed Tauren. Asha cringed, not sure which one of the two she was cringing for, but neither seemed to feel the impact as they fell into a hug. It was only then that Asha realized that a crowd was drawing in to watch what was going on.

As Naisha began to answer the old Tauren, Asha began to move up closer, more slowly and cautiously, trying to keep some distance but knowing that she might be called up soon. This was really the moment of truth now. She sighed inwardly at Naisha basically starting off the conversation with the framing plot against the blood elf. Good to put that out quickly to avoid any complications... not that this whole thing wasn't complicated enough, she thought. She cast a green-eyed glance to one side of her, then the other, noting that many of the people there were looking at her.

She swallowed nervously as the Tauren began to make his way over to her. She looked over at Naisha for a moment, searching for any gesture of confirmation that all was going according to plan. She dipped her head in reverence as the Tauren stopped in front of her, as was appropriate for one of high rank, especially an elder. "Bal'a dash, Lord Ironhoof. May the sun guide you." she replied to his greetings in traditional Quel'dorei fashion, unsure of what title she should use. Lord seemed appropriate enough for someone of higher standing than she. It felt a little odd bringing up belore, the sun, here in this land of twilight, but.. that was the words of her people.

She glanced quickly at the people around still staring at her, and then nodded her agreement that they should retreat somewhere to discuss the matters at hand. "I am pleased that you will allow me to make my case and that our warnings will be heard." she answered. Her mouth opened slightly in surprise at Ironhoof's warning about what she carried in the sack, but she nodded in reply. "I think that best left for a more private discussion as well." she agreed, waiting for him to lead them where he would.

[rivaan]

The old tauren chuckled when he was referred to as a 'Lord'." Just Ironhoof or Druid Ironhoof if you must. I am not a Lord. " The tauren chuckled and shook his head with a bovine smile at the blood elf that had attracted a bit of a curiosity. They haven't had blood elf or high elves in a good while. Not since the last HIGH elves moved in Theramore or Dalaran. Granted difference between High and Blood elves right now was a bit... blurred. "Very good, follow me then to my cottage." He added as Naisha deftly moved over to his broad shoulder, making herself comfortable like she was a small child, which given the size difference between the two wasn't that outlandish really." Naisha, mind the talons." He reminded with another chuckle as he led the way to a collection of smaller houses on the side of what was probably an inn of some kind. They were simple given this place was inhabited by druids. The cottage served as more of a place to just rest your mortal form while you explore the Emerald Dream or the spirit realms.

He gestured to another few of his fellow druids and promtly another tauren and a pair of night elves joined in following them to the cottage in question. Which was a slightly bigger than the others, enough to house multiple people. He walked inside, moving to one side where he sat down on the ground, resting his huge totem pole on the wall. Naisha hopped off him and joined Asha and Calliope while the other druids were also taking seats. It was hard to say who was who in the rankings, but one surefire way to spot a druid that was more in tune with the dream and druidism in general was to spot the parts that weren't supposed to be present, but there was a certain degree of reveree to the old Tauren." Now that we've moved out of sight and mind of those outside, I think we can talk in peace." The old tauren stated, the hut/cottage feeling nice and comfortable." First let us do proper introductions to our Blood Elven friend. I'm Ironhoof, an 'archdruid'... well at least it's what the younglings around me claim. Makes me sound grander than I am, but it's convenient to annoying certain parties." The old Tauren laughed, earning an eyeroll from the female kaldorei druid.

"I'm Ghram, not actually a druid, I'm a shaman and Spirit Walker." The other Tauren introduced himself. He was about as white as Naisha." I'm responsible for overseeing the spiritual lands that overlap with the glade."

"Name's Elishara Moonpaw, I'm the highest ranked Druid of the Claw currently present in the Glade. I'm responsible for the defense." The female kaldorei druid introduced herself. She was quite buff and had claws. both as a metal weapon and also her natural fingernails had formed into Claws.

"I'm Jarod Jaderiver, I'm the Moonglade's archivist and an archdruid." The male kaldorei introduced himself. He had a long green hair and beard and light purple skin."Also serve as the day to day manager of the place and as liason with the Kaldorei." He itnroduced himself simply. He had a cloak that looked eerly similar to a pair of wings that were draped over his shoulders with all their raven feathers.

"Now that we are introduced, I'm sure all of us are really curious of your tales." Ironhoof smiled." Let's hear what those damn goatmen were up to again. We can sense the satyr essense oozing from that bundle of yours..."

[Keira Kelly]

Varasha cringed at her social faux pas but her embarrassment was eased by the jovial nature of this Tauren. She gave a slight bow of her head. "Druid Ironhoof then. I feel you have worked hard to become what you are and it is only right to acknowledge that, yes?" she felt the need to explain. Titles were important to her people and it was the only way she could express the respect she already felt for Ironhoof. She began to follow him as he began to head somewhere more private and, despite the amusement she felt at seeing Naisha now perched on his shoulder like some odd parrot on a pirate shoulder (an odd bit of lore she had picked up from a human she had once known), she was uncomfortably aware of all the people staring at her.

Asha's caution kicked in all the more as some Kaldorei joined their small entourage. So far, the Taurens she liked, they were not the savages she had expected. But Night Elves... well, there was much history there, both between her race and theirs, and also with what had happened in Auberdine, enough that that made her feel anxious. It was only slightly better when they reached the privacy of the cottage but the presence of the two Kaldorei was still uncomfortable. Ashe tried to ignore it. She was a Farstrider, and right now, an emissary on important matters. She would keep it polite and formal and try not to show anything else. As the introductions began, Asha jaw dropped slightly to hear that Ironhoof was not just a druid but an archdruid. While she didn't understand the particulars of such a rank, it obviously had to be quite a high one.

Her brow furrowed slightly at hearing that some people found it annoying to be reminded that he carried that rank. "If it is earned, it is earned, Archdruid Ironhoof. My people believe that it is only right to take pride in one's accomplishments and a title merely lets others know what one has accomplished and can rightfully proclaim." she replied.

Her green, glowing gaze turned to the next Tauren to introduce himself. Asha gave a bow of respect to Ghram as well. Next came one of the Kaldorei and, as it turned out, was a warrior, a protector of this place. Asha had to force herself to blink her wide-eyed gaze, remind herself to breath and try to relax... or at least appear relaxed. She forced herself to bow again towards Elishara as well, and then towards Jarod, the final Kaldorei, in turn.

Had the sudden urge to turn and run but she fought it back, knowing there was more at stake here than her life. She swallowed hard, her mouth suddenly feeling almost too dry to speak. But she had no choice as all eyes were now on her. She took a deep breath reaching down for a moment to pat Thas, who was leaning up against her leg. "I am Farstrider Varasha Silvershadow of the Sin'dorei." she began, introducing herself in return. "I was sent to Auberdine in Darkshore, along with a small ambassadorial contingent of my people in hopes of securing a peace between the Sin'dorei and our, cousins, the Kaldorei." she explained, gesturing vaguely towards the two Night Elves present. "We were once one people and the losses we have... recently suffered, made us realize that we could do with reconnecting with those we once considered allies, even family."

"To get more to the point though, I was part of the warriors tasked with the safety of our ambassadors. We arrived in Darkshore with little incident, but soon after arriving, as we were walking the streets, we heard a scream. Following it, we came upon..." she paused, looking around at the faces as her own expression became hesitant. "We came upon... me. Only it wasn't me, but someone that appeared as a likeness of me." She trailed a finger down her face under one eye. "My scar, my eyes, my hair... A perfect likeness. I gave chase, sure that whatever was going on, it was not good. It seemed to want me to follow it, and, as I chased it around a corner, it was suddenly gone and the only thing there was a body, a body of a priestess of Elune." she said, holding her breath after that, waiting for whatever harsh reprisals or assumptions might be made.

When she realized the others were waiting for her to continue though, and nothing else, she did. "Immediately the Kaldorei guards were there, arresting me, blaming me for the murder." Her lips curled up slightly to show her gritted, fanged teeth. "Blamed me for a murder I did not commit. I don't know how they identified me but managed to miss the fact that there was two of me, one chasing the other through the town... In any case though, I was accused of the crime and locked up. Even my own people wouldn't believe in my innocence." She had to force herself to put the anger, that still flared bright, aside.

She raised a hand, gesturing towards the harpy. "I was just lucky that Naisha showed up. She had seen a Satyr turn into me and then later, turn into a guard to join the others in arresting me. She freed me and we set out. If I had tried to go back home, in the interest of keeping good relations, my own people would have arrested me again and handed me back over to the Kaldorei so I knew my only chance was to prove my innocence by finding this satyr." she continued.

"We decided that coming here, either way though, was our only option. Along the way, we saved some Kaldorei and a Moonkin cub from corrupted Moonkin, and made friends of the cub's uncorrupted tribe. The Moonkin Elder there gave us a dire warning about North Eastern Darkshore so we continued our journey there. Fel corruption had spread there. We came across a tower there, perhaps Naisha can explain more to that after, as she has more sense of what that entailed, but for my part, well.. it was nearly an ambush there." she explained. "We drew back into the woods but many cultist warlocks with their demon pets followed as well as a satyr. We believe it to be the same satyr that framed me in Auberdine." she informed them.

"Some how, against all odds... with the aid of a Kaldorei named Balthule Shadowstrike, we managed draw many of them into our own ambush, and managed to slay all of the attackers, with only some.. serious wounds, including the satyr, whose head I have here." she told them, nudging the back towards the centre of the gathered people. If they wanted to unwrap and study it, that was up to them. "Balthule had been sent to track down the source of corruption at that tower as well. In any case, after the fight, it was more than clear that help was needed in Darkshore and Naisha was adamant that those of you here were the only ones willing or capable to coming to the aid of that land."

She lightly, kicked towards the head in the bag. "Whether that can exonerate me or not is yet to be seen but, it was more important that we get help for Darkshore to stop the corruption." she added, as she reached down, picking Thas up and holding him almost like a baby against one shoulder. "This is now simply proof of the dangers that land faces and how much they need your help. Perhaps Naisha can elaborate on what she sensed, or what we saw on the spirit walk the elder Moonkin held for us, if you need further convincing." She stopped here, leaving space should Naisha want to add anything, waiting for any judgments that might be made against the Blood Elf, or anything else that might come, holding Thas close just for the comfort against the anxiety of it all.

[rivaan]

The tauren gave out a loud laughter in complete amusement." I like people like you, Farstrider. We need more people like you and Naisha around. If we had, this world wouldn't be in the state it was." The ol tauren apparently was in a jolly and amused mood, his belous laughter filling out the cottage they had been gathered in. Said laughter earned a very notable cringe from both the night elves, though not from emberassement, but more from awkwardness of some kind. Almost like the old archdruid had touched on a very sensitive topic and hadn't cared at all." I should send that quote in a missive to Archdruid Staghelm. Might even warn the High Priestess of Elune to know of the messege arrival just so she can see his face." The laughter continued, the cringe from the kaldorei giving way to actual facepalms.

"Yeah!" That said, Naisha's sudden approval of the topic said exactly how much she thought of Frandal Staghelm as she had told Asha previously. The young harpy REALLY didn't like the man.

"Ahm, maybe we should move to the main topics at hand?" Ghram the albino tauren called out, snapping the laughing older tauren from his amusement. Ironhoof nodded, but even on his tauren face, an expression of unapologetic amusement couldn't be recognized through racial barriers. This only earend a sigh from the apparent Spiritwalker. It was not a secret that Ironhoof was not friends with Staghelm. In fact the kaldorei archdruid that had taken over after Malfurion Stormrage's disappearance and his well known borderline xenophobic politic, had earned a lot of ire from lots of parties. Ironhoof had been especially vocal of his dislike of the man and against his appointment as the leader of teh Kaldorei druids.

After that the long story of how Asha and Naisha met began and what their adventures had been like. The druids and spiritwalker listened with quite the interest of the story after the initial tragedy at Auberdine. There were a few chuckles here and there at the lighter moments of the story, especially when Naisha would chime in with her own elaborations of the events on the more funny moments that Asha had been skipping. Like her falling out of the air because of her temporary horned self and the like. Still as a whole, the druids had allowed the story to go uninterrupted, seemingly listening in deep thought.

"The news that there's corruption in Auberdine are dire. We've had no notable news of dangers in that part of the world... Well except the naga colony... or THAT THING down south..." Ironhoof mumbled, recalling that some cultists of some kind were digging up the skull of something that should have been left burried and undisturbed." Actually never mind... there had been dangers, just nothing we've expected to be that urgent or active."

"We can dispatch a few Druids of the Claw from here to aid the dangers in Auberdine." Druid Moonpaw suggested with an almost feral smile." If we regroup in time with the Moonkin in time, we can make use of the disturbed chain of command at that tower with the loss of a satyr and that big a number of cultists."

"Hmmm, that we shall do then." Ironhoof nodded and looked at the kaldorei archdruid present who also nodded." Send out a messenger, but skip Staghelm and reach directly to the High Priestess." The old tauren half ordered half suggested." Also... I seem to recall a few adventuring travelers are at the inn?" He asked and earned a confirmation." Good, post a quest and offer it to them to join the forces. I will fund the rewards myself. Now that we know of it, we cannot let it fester any longer. It needs to be cleansed right away." With that the female Druid of the Claw left with a huge grin on her face and the quick arrangement for the situation in Auberdine was being finished." As for the situation with the dead Priestess..." He continued, paused and looked at Naisha, then at Asha and back at Naisha." Well... Jaderiver and myself recieved news right away that very day... Messengers had been sent to all notable people who were deemed needed to know on both sides via magical means, Jaina Proudmore herself was involved in delivering the messege to Ogrimmar... We were left under the impression that you were notified that while officially you are a sentenced criminal, unofficially you were declare innocent? The High Priestess had acknowledged Naisha's testimony, the Warchief himself and your own leadership has agreed to maintain the ruse of your fate as to allow all groups involved to crack down and discover all the infiltrators that led to it in the first place. It was probably the first true meeting between the Alliance and teh Horde on high level with the leaders on both side that was even remotely peaceful if conducted in near complete secret. I was told to be on the look out in case you pass by here..." A slighly confused old tauren recounted." Were you truly not informed? Part of the deal was to have you act in manners as if you are trying to clear you name and gather the attention of the cults and satyrs while we deal with them and if you do manage to clear you name in the proces even better for the relations between the nations, what with you being acompanied by a priestess of Elune."

"Oh..." Naisha made a sound, it was the sound she made whenever she remembered something that was laying forgotten in her memories." Ohh that's right! That miss Sentinel said that it was all a big game and that we were playing the satyrs or something along those lines..." She exclaimed in realization and blinked in confusion, tilting her head." Did I forget...? She said to break Asha out of jail and I kind of lost track of her words after that. Was too busy thinking where to get the pigs from!"

"..." Ironhoof just sighed as he looked at Naisha and ruffled her 'hair'.

"They left Naisha to explain something and didn't make sure that she was paying attention." Cassiopeia was the one to facepalm this time instead. Well, Naisha's attention span was well known to people that knew here or traveled with her for any lenght of time... that and that she could be extremely scatterbrain at times. That lac kof attention was probably part of the reason.

[Keira Kelly]

With the tale passed on, Asha waited anxiously, idly patting Thas, as the druids seemed to take in the news of what was going on to the east. Would they dismiss it as made up? Blame her in the end? Thankfully, she didn't have long to wait though before Ironhood spoke up in reply. And she was more than relieved at his tone, apparently taking word of the spreading corruption and plots seriously. She cast a glowing-eyed glance over at Naisha, giving her companion a slight nod of her head and smile, now that they had truly accomplished this task; getting help to move into Darkshore to deal with the situation. The people there would be safe now.

Ironhoof, having given out orders about sending the aid, turned back to Asha and Naisha. His next words froze Asha. The part she had been worrying about since... since they had run out of Auberdine. Her long, flowing eyebrows drew together slowly in consternation. As the old Tauren began to explain, it only served to confused Asha more. He had been informed? Of the priestess having been killed? That there was a Sin'dorei suspect fleeing? What did he mean that people who 'needed to know' had been informed? Jaina Proudmoore and.. Ogrimmar.... By the sun, there was no way she was going to get out of this or clear her name now, was she? Everyone would be watching for her.

What he said next though locked up Asha's mind completely. "Wait... what?!?" she trailed off, leaving her jaw hanging as she listened to him continue to explain. It probably looked as if she wanted to say something, and she did, but she was just so confused that she didn't know what to say or even think. She stood slowly, eyes staring somewhere past the walls of the cottage they were currently in, trying to think back to every single detail to see where she could have gotten it so very wrong. "But... but... why wouldn't they have told me..." she said in a weak voice, still just in totally mental disarray. "No... no, I wasn't told anything... Just thrown into a cell and left there until I escaped...." she answered half-heartedly. Did her own commanders truly not trust her enough to have been able to play the part? She was young, for a Farstrider, but even still, she had been one for several years and had been through a lot in that time.

A sudden, almost chirped sound of revelation caught her attention even through the chaotic thoughts as Naisha piped up suddenly. Her jaw dropped open even more as Naisha began to speak, to sort of explain. Slowly, almost in a daze, Asha turned around to face the harpy. She couldn't manage anything more than the blank expression she wore, unable to comprehend right then how she had ended up in such a... situation. She felt.. broken, right then and sat down heavily again. She did not even react to Thas trying to get her attention at her side, the young cub sensing that something was wrong.

The sheer amount of emotion behind this revelation hit her, a huge range of different emotions, some pent up old ones, some new, some not even connected to this one event. The dam just burst forth. Suddenly, she began to laugh, an almost insane chuckle as she put her face into her hands. The laughter died out as tears began to run down her face behind her hands. Tears of frustration, annoyance, relief... anger. She knew Naisha well enough by now that this new revelation, that no anger was directed towards the harpy, but was reserved for the others who hadn't bothered to tell Asha themselves. Her commander Kirelanth, if no one else, should have.

This.. this foul-up was... what was to precede Asha likely having to go home and.. be forced to marry and settle down for the good of her own people. Her hands dropped from her face, tears stopped though her face was still wet from them. Her shoulders hung in resignation as any fire seemed to have gone out in her. Slowly she began to nod to herself. "I... I just wish something could have gone right in my life in the last seven years. At least.... at least it all served to help people." she began, her tone sounding dead despite the words. "So, so many of my people gave up their lives trying to save others. This... all of this is less of a price to pay to do the same sort of thing, I suppose." She was still staring at a far wall, not really looking at anybody else. "My next assignment is going to be going home and... 'providing' for my people now." She gave a small cynical laugh at that. "I guess at least I did help to save some lives before I am resigned to that sort of life."

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, before looking over at the harpy. She forced a small smile. "You have been a good companion, Naisha. A good friend and fun to have around. I do not hold you responsible for anything." she said sincerely. "It wasn't your place to have told me anyways, but my own people's..." she trailed off again. "If.. if I do have to go home and live 'that' sort of life.. perhaps.. perhaps Thas would be happier roaming with you... if you would care for him.." she said, straining to keep her voice from breaking. "I don't expect a bear, even a cub, would be all that welcome amongst what remains of the aristocracy in Silvermoon... I would be a Farstrider no longer and be expected to stay in the city most likely. Thas would be happier somewhere closer to nature in the end..."

She took antoher deep breath, looking between Naisha and Ironhoof, coincidentally, steeling herself for the next part. "Did they inform you of where I am to go next?" she asked, resorting to a more dutiful front. "Am I to return to Auberdine to meet up with my traveling party or.. perhaps go onto Ogrimmar?" she added.

( We can probably come up with some way to either get Asha to stay here in Kalimdor for a new adventure, or even get Naisha to travel over to Lordaeron/Quel'Thalas.. or something of the like XD. Either maybe Ironhoof can have a lead to something, or something/someone in Ogrimmar, or if you have any other ideas? )

[rivaan]

Everybody watched on at Asha's reaction with various emotions running through their minds. Some were empathic like Niasha and Ironhoof, others were a bit calmer, but understanding and some were neutral. Nobody really was angry or cross with her, they may have not been friends, but none of those present were monsters or bastards. Still some awkwardness lingered in some finally Ironhoof sighed and looked in grandfatherly way at the blood elf." About that... Your standing orders would be to continue traveling and cause up chaos and mess up this cult's plans... Officially you are still a wanted fugitive and only a very small fraction of leading people in different organizations know of this. All alliance low ranked soldiers or adventurers are still informed you are to be captured on sight. My understanding is that some Horde soldiers and border guards are to give you some general support, information and send you away from Horde territories if they spot you. Officially we are playing the diplomatic incident angle. Horde will keep the ruse going in not directly taking you away under hte excuse that if the alliance learn it's gonna cause some serious issues. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but for the time being still, you are to continue on as you have so far and if you mess up more plans of this cult all the better. The reality is that there needs to be a diversion and a bait, while the cults focused on silencing you or trying to further the frame up job, we are actually hunting down their agents. Already there had been a number cultist uncovered in important positions within the Alliance and the Horde. THey are being monitored as we are still seeking of more so we can capture as many as we can before we give up the ruse."

All the things being talked about were going a bit over Naisha's head. Like she sort of got it, but not quite. For example there was the fact that Asha looked really depressed right now about the whole thing. Did she do something wrong? Naisha was confused... She looked confused and earned a bit of a headpat from the dryad who knew her friend a bit too well. That said, Naisha was also a bit happy that she wasn't separating from Asha quite yet.

"If we can't go to Alliance settlements or Horde settlements... can't we just visit the neutral ones for the most part? Besides the goatmen must have a lot of hideouts out there... " Naisha asked, blinking confused at everybody. She was a very confused birdie right now.

"Yes neutral faction locations wouldn't cause you any problems, yes." Ironhoof confirmed." Though we do have a few lead for you to follow should you wish on your travels." The elderly tauren stated and gestured for his shamanistic fellow tauren to bring the items in question and hand them over to Asha." A while ago some adventurers managed to break into a demon infested stronghold in Felwood, liberating some documents and a prisoner before retreating. In any case, while most of it is encrypted and we have issues finding out the contents, what we have managed to translate points out to there being some kind of Legion cult activity happening in Theramore and a suspicious increase in travelers who have vanished in the Barrens under mysterious circumstances... as if swallowed by the very earth mysterious. Finally there's a mention by name of somebody presumably a goblin. given the name's Razelowe, in Ratchet and a listing of 'an order' to be delivered to Ogrimmar. We've informed hte Warchief, but investigating things in Ratchet might be a good way to find more clues."

[Keira Kelly]

Something between confusion and relief swept through Asha at hearing the old Tauren's words. She still had a mission, had orders now. That meant she could stave off having to go home for a while yet. Stopping whatever was going on here was just as important as helping her own people; it WAS preemptively helping them in a different way in fact. Enough to assuage her sense of duty anyways. She nodded slowly, taking in his explanations. It took a minute after he finished as she took everything in, trying to judge what the next step should be. 'Cause chaos and mess up the cult's plans' was so vague that it would be hard to figure out where to next turn. If only they could get their hands on some intel.... Well, perhaps that should be the next move. She would talk to Naisha afterwards about that.

A smile formed on her lips as she glanced over at the harpy before turning back to Ironhoof. "This is some of the best news I've had since before I got to Darkshore in the first place." she reassured him. When Naisha began to speak, it was clear she didn't quite get it all. She tried to shoot the harpy a smile and a reassuring nod, but how Naisha would interpret that, well... The old Tauren was speaking again and Asha had to turn her attention back to him. Getting information was critical, and she just wished she had been let in on all of this before. "Leads would be very helpful." she agreed.

She took the items from the shaman, looking them over as Ironhoof continued to explain, saving time as she didn't have to read and interpret everything herself in the moment. Her glowing green eyed gaze rose up sharply to meet the Tauren's at the mention of a location. "Theramore?!" she couldn't help but say. The Barrens, fine.. but she wasn't sure how they expected her to get into Theramore. Naisha might be able to explain her way in, maybe... but there was no way a Sin'dorei could enter that place without some serious sneaking work. She had heard tell that that was the most well defended Alliance stronghold in all of the continent.

She nodded more as Ironhoof talked about a goblin in Ratchet. Now THAT was more doable. "If there is an order, perhaps visiting this Razelowe and finding out any information might be a very time-sensitive thing. This order could be anything from something innocuous.. to something that could be catastrophic for Ogrimmar." she replied with a bit of concern. She remembered well hearing about what had started the Scourge plague in the human kingdom of Lordaeron: innocent looking supplies of grain. She looked at Naisha, addressing her friend directly. "Should we start there?" she asked.

She glanced around the room. "If we are wanting to draw these cultists out of hiding, we have to give them very good reasons to drop their covers. Causing major disruptions, letting ourselves be seen doing so... meaning leaving survivors if we can. We don't know if these things are.. major or minor activities, but at least it's a start." she agreed, still unsure how effective any of this would be. Sure, they had used her as a scapegoat in all of this, but would they really try to expound on that? She was a little more dubious. If they wanted the Horde and Alliance at war, it would work better if there were multiple ignition points, not just the one incident that appeared to have her as the culprit. That could be written off as a rogue individual. What WOULD draw their attention though is really being able to mess with their plans instead.

She flashed a bit of a smile over at Naisha. "Looks like you are stuck with me for a while longer." she said jokingly. She turned back to Ironhoof a bit more seriously. "What would be the best means of travelling down to Ratchet?" she asked. "I heard that there is a neutral town somewhere to the east of here which would be fine to travel to, to begin with, but after that, do we go straight to Ratchet, or should we traverse The Barrens as much as possible, with regards to the missing people, on the way?" she asked, unsure. This was not her land, nor even her continent. Back home, when it came to air travel, there were generally stops on the way to rest the flying mounts, as they could carry the weight of a person only so far before they became tired. She assumed it was the same here, but had little clue as to where the common flight stops were located and it sounded like landing in any town, either Alliance or Horde, was probably not what they wanted to be doing at the moment.