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((continued.))

Qixilixa had given a few various disguises to Failiani before she had left that would hopefully help out the blood elf with her situation. Another item that had been given to the blood elf was a more authentic looking birth certificate that could fool other Sin’dorei; Driqa had altered Failiani’s name and birth date on it to Faili Shadowind. Not the most original name but it worked in her mind. As long as the Sin’dorei used the disguises provided for her and didn’t tell anyone who she really was, she should stay safe from mercenaries. Sending Faili an item that would ward against scrying might help her out given her situation.

The mysterious high elf mage after her could decide to get training on it if they desperate enough to have their debt paid; something Qixilixa feared could happen if she wasn’t able to locate them soon. Even if she was able to locate the rival and deal with them, the young elf could still use an anti-scrying item. Faili’s cousin, Coriani could hire a mage to scry for the rogue’s location, not good for the rogue since Faili had no intention of returning to Silvermoon for a time. The goblin had her reasons to help Failiani keep hidden from her threats and older huntress cousin. After all, she was a valuable asset and friend. Maybe she could convince Driqa to write a letter to throw Coriani off about Failiani's location...

Her thoughts got distracted as she watched Driqa jump down from the top of the now sealed crate. Hmmm, she hadn’t heard her cousin seal it shut with a hammer. Then again her hearing wasn’t that good. Looking at the big box did bring one question to the bruiser; how were they going to mail it to Failiani without it being stolen? The crate with the lid was the height of Qixilixa now and with all the armor that had stuck in it, it was very heavy. Neither she nor Driqa would be able to move it due to the size and the goblin was hesitant to get Driqa’s employees involved. Who could they get involved to help ship it that wouldn’t ask any questions?

“How are going to mail this crate without anyone stealing it? That would be disastrous if that happened. Who are you going to get involved that can keep a secret?” Qixilixa asked while she walked around the crate.

“That is a good point; it is a big shipment and I don't need it stolen by anyone, including Kor’kron if the rumors are true. My employees aren’t the best at keeping secrets. Let me think on that...” Driqa paused briefly, looking at the crate before continuing, “I still have to locate the girl before I can send it.”

“Are you sure you can locate the kid? I did give her disguises to keep her hidden and the last note mentioned she still on-route.” The goblin shrugged. Her cousin was good at tracking but Qixilixa had suggested Failiani to hide in a remote area and therefore might be hard to locate.

“Well, I was thinking of hiring a mage or getting my ex-boyfriend to scry for her. I assume you haven’t found the anti scrying item for Faili yet.” Driqa walked towards the cooking stove she had in the corner of her place.

“Not yet but something I’m planning on doing. I bet a mage can be bribed to keep quiet about Failiani's identity but are sure you want to get your ex involved in this? Last I heard, he was still angry at you.” Qixilixa didn’t think getting Driqa’s ex boyfriend involved was the smartest idea; especially since she had dumped him at a party.

“He's not angry with me anymore; at least that’s what he claims. I bet I could convince him to help, even if I have to threaten to send him 100 Robo-Chicks.”

She shrugged; her cousin was an engineer and could make those devices. Qixilixa had received them before from her. The bruiser still didn’t think it was the best idea to get an ex involved given they could be planning revenge against Driqa. “You should only contact your ex if there no one else.”

“I can do that. Maybe we can figure how to get this shipment out; I have a few of these you can have. We can spew ideas out for hours with these.” Driqa walked back from the cooking stove with a few Kaja'Cola cans in hand.

The goblin smirked; that’s what they needed right now as she took a can. That drink did give ideas; good and bad ones such as hiring kids to pick Bloodthistle. Hopefully this was one of the cases it would give a good idea on how to get this crate to Failiani safely. After all, they didn’t need the mysterious high elf mage or Coriani to find out about this armor shipment and steal it…

((Sorry for the delay, I meant to post this a few days earlier for my goblin alt. About the crate; if anyone wishes to ‘acquire’ it, let me know either forum or in-game. I'm fine if the crate ends up stolen, it doesn’t have to reach Failiani. There is a very slight chance the crate could show up at AAMS's doorstep, too.

I do have a post started for Coriani that should have some IC responses. It'll be a while before it's up as I'm starting to feel crummy.))

Coriani started to stir as she heard noises from a critter of sorts. Her body was a bit sore not to mention the smell was foul. The huntress knew she wasn’t in Ashenvale anymore but where was she at now? She opened her eyes and was startled when she noticed she was lying down in a wooden coffin-style bed. What the… why was she lying down here? If there was one place Cori didn’t want to be caught resting in, it was this type of bed. No wonder why she was sore; she had basically lying down on wood with no cushions or pillows for who knows how long.

How long she had been lying here was the question as she sat up quickly; her hand clenched the side of the ‘bed’ for support as she felt weak. The last thing Coriani remembered was she was in the middle of doing a check up on her pet TigerCat when she had suddenly felt extremely dizzy; easily the worst she had felt since she had landed. What happened after that? The blood elf wasn’t exactly sure except that she had passed out unconscious and she had somehow ended up in this room. Inquisitor Liore Bloodwing had sent an agent to retrieve her; most likely said agent had found her lying unconscious and brought her to this place.

The huntress didn’t even need to guess where the agent had brought her as she coughed briefly; based on the coffin style beds and the extremely fetid stench in the air, she had to be in Undercity, most likely at an inn. Coriani tended to avoid this place if she could due to the smell unless she had urgent business, in which she would complete it as quickly as possible and leave. Why had she brought here? Granted she was thankful to not be in Alliance held Ashenvale anymore but couldn’t the Inquisitor’s agent have taken her to another horde town, such as Silvermoon instead?

Wait; was her pet lynx still alive? He had been affected by that tainted fish and had needed constant attending. Cori looked and sighed with relief as she found TigerCat stretched out on the floor nearby to the left, awake. The magical effects of the tainted seemed to have worn off to a point; there could be an effect on him still but she was a bit too weak to check. How long had he been awake? She wasn’t sure but would be amused to find out if he had been awake when the agent found her.

Her pet got up and started to growl as Cori nodded, he seemed to be itching to leave. If there was one thing Coriani didn’t want to do, it was to spend another night in this room. She could camp out in the ruins of Lordaeron above Undercity or even go to Silvermoon via the teleporting orb. She did need to go to her place and see if the package Lor’eth sent was there. Failiani’s letter that she had sent to her old mentor guardian along with the other belongings Coriani had managed to acquire might help pinpoint her location with scrying.

Another growl came from TigerCat as Coriani felt strong enough to stand. Once she was on her feet, the huntress briefly inspected herself and noticed that her long red hair was out of the elaborate pony-tail and was a mess. All she was wearing was her dark yellow (almost brown) lumber shirt and a pair of pants. Where was her armor? Even though she was in Horde territory now, she still needed armor to protect her against possible attacks. That irritable warden could still be after her.

She sighed as she noticed her blue armor was on a chair that was near the door. The huntress carefully walked over due to still feeling a bit weak. It didn’t surprise her that she felt that way. The last time she had ate something was when she was in Ashenvale- who knows how ago that was. It didn’t take the huntress that long to put on her armor as started to check on her bags. The room started to spin and before Coriani knew it, she somehow managed to slip and fall on the floor. Her pointed ears twitched as she heard someone knock on the door.

“By the sun, you’re finally awake, Coriani. Granted, you don’t appear fabulous looking, in fact you appear a bit on the pale side but at least you’re alive.”

Cori looked up and noticed a familiar looking male blood elf with black hair pulled into a short pony-tail near the opened door. Lor’eth, no, not the old venerable rogue; this Sin’Dorei also with that name happened to been a Ranger and part of the Farstriders. A friend of her late father’s and even Cori back when she was in Farstriders before she was ‘left’ for reasons she wasn’t going to into. He volunteered to keep an eye on her place while she was gone from Silvermoon.

“Lor’eth, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you. I assume things are going well in Silvermoon?” She asked while she got on her feet again.

“Yes, you’re house is still intact in case you’re wondering. The Darkspear trolls have declared open rebellion against Warchief Garrosh Hellscream. It seems Vol’jin is still alive and leading it.”

((continued below))

“Just how long was I unconscious?” Coriani asked, shaking her head. She hadn’t heard of any rebellion being mentioned in the letters that had been sent to her. Had it started a week ago or earlier when she still stranded? She wasn’t sure how long she had been passed out but hopefully it hadn’t been longer than a week.

“I would tell you if I knew myself. As it is, I found out last week that you were here after I heard rumors of you running into serious problems in Ashenvale. The healer then mentioned that you had been unconscious for a while and they had been attending you since you arrived. I mentioned to them that you would probably pay them for their services once conscious. TigerCat was awake even then so I’ve been coming here every day since to bring him fish.”

She had been unconscious longer than a week? That startled the huntress quite a bit, considering the situation with her missing cousin and mercenaries. Cori had been trying to find her cousin but this latest delay didn’t help in that regard. Was her cousin even alive? She had been unconscious for an unknown amount of time and the possibility of mercenaries finding Failiani was higher than it was when she was stranded in Ashenvale. “I was passed out over a week? Did the healer give you a reason? I assume something else brought you here this time.” She didn’t see any fish or meat in hand.

“The healer didn’t tell me what had caused you to fall unconscious but I have a feeling it was due to your Bloodthistle habit. Anyways, this was in front of your house in Silvermoon. I decided to save you a trip and bring it here.” Lor’eth paused, pulling a small wooden crate from his bag and setting it on the floor before continuing, “It’s from Master Dawnshadow- seems he found something regarding your search for Failiani.”

She inspected the wooden box briefly. It matched the description of the package old Lor’eth sent. Coriani quickly put the small crate in her brown pack. “So no one has found my cousin since I’ve been unconscious.”

“I’m afraid not. She seems to be hiding fairly well- a good thing considering those mercenaries that damned Nisensi hired. Maybe someone is helping your cousin out in that regard.”

It didn’t even occur to the huntress that there was a chance someone else could be helping Failiani stay hidden. Who would help a young Sin’dorei, Coriani wasn’t sure but it might explain why she had a tough time tracking down her cousin. It was something to look into. Cori then noticed he had a small covered basket he had in his other hand. “What is that?”

“I also brought you something to eat; it’s vegetarian.”

“You didn’t have to bring me food. That was… nice of you.” She attempted to hide the dread from her face; this Sin’dorei was easily the worst cook she knew. He knew how to burn vegetables charred black to the point of them being barely edible. That was just vegetables; she had heard from other Farstriders that his meat was just as bad. His entire house wouldn’t let him near a stove after he managed to catch water on fire without any magic involved while attempting to boil it. Granted, she hadn’t exactly keen on finding something to eat here in Undercity but it might be edible…

“I didn’t have to but I wouldn’t want to eat anything here, Cori and figured you wouldn’t either. In case you’re wondering, the food including in the basket are from recipes I learned from during my brief time in Pandaria. After cooking a meal for a few pandaren traders; they decided it wasn’t edible and then decided to teach me how to cook. My house may actually let me near a stove again.” Lor’eth said with a proud look in his glowing eyes.

Wait, the pandaren actually taught him how to cook? The food he brought may not be so bad then if that’s the case; pandaren were generally excellent cooks from what she had heard about them. However she wasn’t going to eat it at the moment. She had others tasks that she needed to do first such as finding more parchment paper. She did need more to write the letters to the mages and let them know she was out of Ashenvale and awake. “I’ll have to try the food later. I got some errands to run first.”

“Alright, I figured that. Well, I got to be heading back to Silvermoon to my duties. Fare you well with the search for Failiani. Try not to get hurt.”

“Fare you well.” She bowed briefly as the farstrider closed the door and left. The huntress put the basket in one of her packs before she brushed her long hair. Once her hair was put into the elaborate pony-tail, Coriani grabbed her packs and crossbow before opening the door. She wasn’t sure how long it would take her to find the parchment papers but hopefully it wouldn’t take too long.

((Continued below))

------------------------------
A few hours later,

Her ears twitched at the sounds of TigerCat growling behind her while Coriani slowly let out a sigh, carrying a small linen bag. The huntress couldn’t focus on that as she sat down in abandoned walkway on a wall somewhere in the ruins of Lordaeron, south of the courtyard that had the transportation orb of Silvermoon. Lor’eth had asked her to open Failiani’s package somewhere where Garrosh loyalists wouldn’t be watching. With that thought, she had wanted a place that was out of the way and not where Kor’kron overseers were keeping watch.

Only thing was, she was being followed and watched. Who was watching her? It wasn’t Kor’kron, at least Cori didn’t think they were associated with them. While she had bought more parchment paper, she had noticed a group of forsaken following her and playing it causal. Coriani wasn’t sure if they were a group of extremely bored citizens or a more visible force of the Inquisitor’s meant to keep an eye out for irritable wardens and sentinels. What made her think there was a chance the forsaken could work for the Inquisitor? She wasn’t sure but he had to be located somewhere.

With her being out in the ruins, she figured there was a slight chance one could come down by a Hippogryph or Gryphon mount and attack if they still in pursuit. It was something to keep an eye out for as grabbed a few flares from her packs. Perhaps the huntress was a bit too nervous due to the fact she was in Horde Territory but she felt it was better to be safe than sorry, especially after the latest ordeal in Ashenvale.

And she did have reasons to feel that way as her thoughts drifted while she went to find a tool to open the lid of the crate. A few years or so earlier there was killing spree in Silvermoon and Eversong Woods committed by a Sin’dorei by the name of Oristanne. Coriani had foolishly decided to venture into the wilderness by herself without pets and taking a broken bow as a weapon. Sure enough, she had ended up as prisoner of the fel wretched rogue and barely survived that horrifying experience.

She still had scars from that incident, granted the circular one on her right hand had faded some but still could be seen in certain lighting. It wasn’t the first time she had been captured by him either; he had captured her on two separate occasions since and both times she hadn’t had a pet with her. He had disappeared sometime after the Cataclysm happened but Cori had learned after the last experience to make sure she had a pet that stayed with her all times and her crossbows were in good shape.

The huntress pushed her thoughts away as she grabbed her gnomish army knife from her toolbox and used it to open the crate. Once opened, Coriani looked and found the neatly folded parchment letter on top of the other things Failiani had sent to Lor’eth. The huntress was startled to see blood specks on the parchment; did it belong to her cousin or an animal? She couldn’t tell but wondered if it was one of the reasons Lor’eth had decided to send her the letter and box.

((Continued below))

Cori would have to worry about the blood later as she unfolded the letter written in Thalassian and read it,

To my favorite mentor Master Lor’eth,

I hope you are doing well since my last letter. I know you probably want to contact me by my hearthstone but that isn’t possible right now; I managed to lose it somewhere and haven’t been able to get a replacement yet.

I’ve heard many rumors going around concerning the Horde; is it true that idiot ogre-minded buffoon Warchief permitted monkey people who steal pants to join the Horde? Other adventures have told me this is the case and is the reason they were robes and dresses. I don’t want to go to Orgrimmar and have my pants stolen while asleep; that’d be embarrassing. I also heard that the Trade Prince of the Bilgewater Cartel has decided to donate most of his gold to the orphanage in Orgrimmar; if that’s the case, hopefully it’ll be moved away from the Engineering shop.

Other than losing my hawkstrider some nights ago due to an animal I haven’t ran into any issues. Don’t worry; I’m perfectly safe where I am. I even managed to acquire another mount, a brown and white Hippogryph. Someone left it tied to a tree so I decided to use it. It’ll take me some time to get used to but I’m certain I’ll get the hang of it.

I can’t return to Silvermoon at this time. I might come back… later but not now. I’m still trying to see if there’s a pirate ship that’ll take me in; that’s been a challenge due to my sleeping disorder. Besides, my nightmares might come back.

You might be worried that I’m broke but I’m not. I got a business partner that occasionally sends me old armor to disenchant any magical properties off of them and I get really good gold for it; it’s more than what I used to get trying to sell the dust on my own. She may even hire me as an assassin once I’m a little older.

I’ll write you another letter soon. Loves,

~Failiani

Note- Can you also please have Coriani quit looking for me? I don’t want to hear about her getting hurt from… accidents she gets into. Besides, my business partner also gave me disguises for free to help keep me hidden; the goblin must really be fond of me to not charge for them. Also; I found these gems and thought you would want them for something.

Coriani shook her head as put the letter on the ground next to her and put the crate on top of it. She was a bit surprised after reading this note. It confirmed that someone, a goblin was helping Failiani out in staying hidden with disguises and who knows what else. How had the young elf met this business partner she wasn’t sure but it was someone the huntress was going to have to find the identity of and track down.

She had few reasons to do that; one was due to the good possibility that this goblin might know the location where her cousin is hiding at. Another reason was to warn the goblin about the mercenaries hired to go after Fail; they could also become a target and get potentially beaten up. Also, she was going to make sure this goblin didn’t hire Failiani for assassination work. If there was one thing that really bothered Cori, it was someone hiring a child for that type of dirty work.

That being said, there was something else mentioned in the letter that worried Coriani. No, it wasn’t the comment Failiani had made about the ‘Warchief’; Cori thought similarly about Garrosh but kept such opinions to herself unlike her cousin. The few rumors Failiani had heard and wrote down in the letter weren’t the thing bothering her; although the huntress wondered who her cousin had gotten them from. Granted, it had been months since Cori had been to Orgrimmar but she had doubts that the Hozen from Pandaria were stealing the pants of citizens there.

It did bother her that the black hawkstrider Lor’eth Dawnshadow had bought Failiani had been killed considering all the places she had taken it. Fail had managed to take it to K3 in Storm Peaks without any incident. If Coriani had tried to go to that place with her old hawkstrider, it would have thrown her off and likely attacked before even making it out of Howling Fjord or Borean Tundra. Then again Cori’s hawkstrider hadn’t been the nicest creature when it was still alive.

However, she wasn’t too worried about her cousin’s mount situation. Failiani did say she had ‘acquired’ a new mount, even if she had possibly stolen the hippogryph from an unsuspecting adventurer. Yes, the creature may have been tied to a tree but that didn’t necessarily mean it had been abandoned. Something unfortunate could have happened to the previous owner of the mount. That being said, Coriani wasn’t surprised if her cousin had actually stolen it. She would have to see if there were any claims of someone missing a brown and white Hippogryph.

((Continued below.))

The thing that really worried Cori was the sleeping disorder Failiani mentioned she had. She didn’t remember the young one having any sleeping issues when she had last seen her several years earlier. Her mentor Lor’eth hadn’t said anything about this issue, either. Was this disorder something Failiani had come down with after she left Silvermoon or had her cousin had it for a while and Lor’eth failed to mention it? Coriani wasn’t sure but she was going to find out.

Anyways, Coriani turned her attention to the crate. Lor’eth had mentioned Failiani had sent him a few Dark Jade gems along with one Shadow crystal which she found along with a few pieces of Borean leather. She wasn’t sure how her cousin had obtained them but there was a chance Failiani had stolen the gems and leather; her cousin was training to be a rogue after all. Cori quietly let out a sigh as she picked up a brown and white feather; one from a hippogryph to be precise. Was this feather from the mount Failiani had acquired? That was possible in her mind.

The huntress then looked at the linen bag nearby. What was inside of it? Coriani had been stopped by a forsaken courier after she had bought the parchment for the letters. He had given her several articles of mail that had been sent to her in the past month before walking off. Apparently the huntress had been unconscious for over a month and that thought scared her. The chance of mercenaries locating her cousin was really high. She wanted to see what mail had been sent to her; maybe someone had information concerning Failiani.

She had another advertisement letter from Qixilixa, attempting to get her to buy ‘all natural’ Bloodthistle. No, the huntress wasn’t going to buy the herb from the goblin; she had plenty to last her a while or so she thought. Coriani hadn’t checked her bag to see she still had her Bloodthistle supply. She also found a letter that was tied to a small wooden box. The elf untied the thin ropes around the box and unfolded the letter. She took a quick glance around and noticed the group of forsaken were ‘watching’ before she decided to read the letter that was written in Orcish;

To Coriani Arrowind,

I found your flyer about your missing cousin, Failiani several months earlier and kept it around in case I found something. Well, it seems a few of my employees found this hearthstone a few months ago and it seems to belong to your missing cousin. However, I had conflicting stories on where they located it; even threatening to cut their wages for a month couldn’t get me an answer.

I’ll tell what they told me; one employee claims they saw her drop her hearthstone while running away from pygmies in Uldum. Her boyfriend says he saw her drop it in Undermine on Kezan. Another employee swears on her mother’s grave she saw the elf drop it while running away from that village of convicts on Tol Barad Peninsula. Finally my crazy human employee who thinks he’s a blood elf (he wears one of those Hallow Eve’s mask) told me he noticed someone matching her description drop the hearthstone while sneaking around the troll village on Isle of Thunder.

Anyways, I’m certain one of my workers is telling the truth. I don’t know if your cousin would still be in any of these locations but it might be worth checking out.

-Driqa

PS- If you ever need Robo-Chicks, just let me know and I can send as many as you want. I’ll even give a huge discount if you order 5 or more. I’ve been making these for years, even back on Kezan.

The huntress quickly opened the small box and found a hearthstone. Inscribed on it was Failiani’s name; this long with letter brought many questions to the huntress’s mind, such as where was her cousin’s hearthstone actually located? The huntress had very strong doubts about the locations mentioned in the letter. Based on the items Failiani had sent to her mentor; she didn’t think her cousin had gone to Uldum or Tol’Barad Peninsula. Cori didn’t know where the Isle of Thunder was located but the name made her think she would have trouble there. Undermine… the blood elf didn’t know if that city was still around since Mount Kajaro erupted.

Another question was if Failiani’s hearthstone was found a few months earlier, why did Driqa just mail to Cori? Shouldn’t the goblin (she figured it was a goblin based on the name and business of making Robo-Chicks) have mailed it to her when it was first found? Driqa said she had one of Coriani flyers and knew Failiani was missing. Had it really taken them a few months to get the conflicting stories on where the hearthstone was found?

((continued below))

Or was this the goblin Failiani had business with? Cori didn’t know but wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Driqa could be trying to make her go on a wild chase for Failiani with the locations that were mention. Then again there was the chance Driqa wasn’t Failiani’s business partner and the goblin who was bribed Driqa’s employees. Either way, she was going to find out one way or another.

Back to the mail situation, how many more letters did she have? She had few more advertisements from various goblins, including insurance for Turbo-charged Flying Machines. No, she wasn’t going to by insurance from a goblin but it did remind her of something; she did to find if her machine was brought to Undercity or left in Ashenvale. She did have a spare Flying Machine in Silvermoon if her main one had been left for scrap.

The huntress's ears twitched at the sound of her pet growling, he seemed a bit grouchy but she wasn’t sure why. She looked at him and noticed he still was looking at the group of forsaken that had been causally watching the two. It seemed he was still on guard duty which didn’t bother her too much, after all better to be safe than sorry. “I think they would attacked by now if they were unfriendly. That being said, keep up the watch for other forms of trouble.” She whispered before pulling the last letter from the linen bag. She opened the letter and read it;

To Coriani Arrowind,

You don’t need to know my name; just I was an acquaintance of late Taelis Arrowind. I’m letting you know of a meeting I watched a few hours earlier outside of One Keg, sneakily of course. I saw the high elf Nisensi hire a death knight, a human male based on height (he was wearing a hood and cloak) to track down and capture his daughter. I didn’t know Taelis even had one but I hate to see his child hurt by this high elf. Nisensi seemed rather insane to me; she was comparing the annoyances of blood elves to murlocs. I don’t know what you are doing but I suggest you find your cousin before this death knight does; he’ll get paid over 10,000 gold if he does her deed.

Coriani sighed slowly. She didn’t recognize the handwriting but it was in Common. He had worked and pillaged on a ship for years and likely had many pirate acquaintances; most likely the person who wrote this was one of them and either a dwarf or human at that. If the information on this letter was accurate, it meant Failiani hadn’t found by mercenaries as of two weeks ago. However; her cousin now had a death knight tracking her down, something that really worried the huntress.

Failiani was only a student and one afflicted with an unspecified sleeping disorder; how could her cousin have a chance against an expert killer machine? She really needed to locate her soon, especially considering the amount of gold Nisensi was willing to spend in having Failiani captured.

((continued below))

With that thought in mind, Coriani looked in her bags and got out the parchment paper she had bought about an hour earlier. She was glad these were clean and didn’t have the scent of Bloodthistle on them. Who was the first letter going to? She was addressing it to Archmagus Raoul Zharikov. Granted, she wasn’t sure if he would still be able to help due to how long she had been unconscious and the Darkspear Rebellion going on but it didn’t hurt to ask in her mind. She found her quill and quickly started to write the letter that read;

Greetings Archmagus Raoul Zharikov,

I’m letting you know I’m in Horde territory. I apologize it took this long to write this letter; Unfortunately, I lost unconscious while I was stranded in Ashenvale tending to my pet and recently woke up in Undercity. I don’t know exactly how long I was out but it seems to have been for over a month since I’ve heard the Darkspear Trolls now are in open rebellion.

You inquired about Failiani’s age. I can tell you she was born some years after the Second War, in fact she was still a young child when that blasted Arthas and the Scourge ravaged Silvermoon. She still has a few years before she considered an adult; at least from the physical maturity aspect.

With me being awake, I do wish to set up a meeting if you’re still interested in scrying for my young cousin. As far as I know the mercenaries Nisensi haven’t located her yet; possibly due to disguises a goblin has given to Fail. An anonymous someone sent me a letter two weeks ago stating they had just saw Nisensi hire a death knight, most likely a human one based on height to capture Failiani.

If you are still able to help, I can get you the vial of my blood along with a few of Failiani’s belongings, including her hearthstone. According to most recent letter I acquired that my cousin wrote, she dropped hers and it seems a goblin, or rather the goblin’s employees found it. I have strong doubts as to where they claim it was found though due to the wild locations mentioned. Undermine on Kezan was one place they claimed Failiani’s hearthstone was found.

Her latest letter I obtained also had a crate that contained some items such as gems and Borean leather; I don’t know if the items inside could help locate her. I can let you take a look at it along with the others letters I’ve obtained. Can I assume you’re not a Garrosh loyalist? Her venerable mentor who she had sent the crate to made a very strong request that I don’t show this latest letter to one due to something Failiani wrote about the ‘warchief’.

I can meet you wherever it’s most convenient. Don’t worry; I’ll lay off the Bloodthistle a bit. Fare you well until then.

~Coriani Arrowind

Happy with what she wrote, Cori carefully folded the parchment and put it next to her. Granted, she had forgotten to mention some of the details of the letter but she could tell him in person about that. TigerCat growled nearby as Coriani gave him a pet. He seemed to be doing a good job of keeping watch for trouble; then again the group of Forsaken seemed to doing good work, too if they were keeping an eye out for irritable sentinels.

((Continued below))

She carefully pulled one of the parchment papers that started to stick to another one away and sighed. This letter was being addressed to Professor Vernim Wormwood of the Da Doctas. He had said in the previous letters he willing to help her with his various network of contacts. Coriani was willing to take any aid she could get in finding Failiani, especially given the latest information she had discovered. The huntress took a quick glance at the ruined tower to the south before she started to write the letter that read;

Greetings Professor Vernim Wormwood,

I hope you are in good health since the last letter. My apologies for taking so long to get back to you; I lost unconscious while attending to my pet in Ashenvale a few days or so after receiving your letter and recently woke up in Undercity. It seems I was unconscious for over a month and I don’t know what caused me to be out for so long.

About the council of mages; if I would have known I was going to pass out, I would have opted for it instead. If a similar situation happens again, I will opt for a council to help out lest I end up unconscious.

If you’re still interested, I would like to set up a meeting with you. My cousin is still missing and hasn’t been found. The more aid I can get for Failiani, the better especially since I found out she has an unspecified sleeping disorder and one of mercenaries after her is a death knight.

I’m wondering, would any of the contacts you mentioned know of goblins that have unsavory business? I recently received information that a goblin had been hiring my cousin to do enchanting work and may have plans to possibly hire her as an assassin, something I don’t approve of. If they don’t know or haven’t heard of any goblins that work this way, that’s okay too.

I’m hoping to get a teleporting portal over to Thunder Bluff so I can check on my Saltspray Gull. I prefer to meet with you there if possible. Fare you well,

~Coriani

The huntress folded and put this letter on top of the other one before her ears twitched at sound of the lynx growling. She glanced at him and noticed he wasn’t looking at group of Forsaken like he had been earlier. TigerCat seemed to be grouchy, was it due to him being hungry or was the tainted fish still effecting him? Did she even have fish in her packs to feed him with? Lor’eth had brought him some but she wasn’t sure if he had left her any. She looked through her packs for any fish or meat to give TigerCat.

If she had been thinking, Cori would have bought some at the Undercity Auction House earlier when she had running her errands; luckily Lor’eth had left her some salmon, a type she didn’t quite recognize. She didn’t care what type of salmon it was as long as it wasn’t tainted with anything. The last thing the huntress wanted was a repeat of what she had just gone through in Ashenvale. After smelling the salmon, she threw two of them towards TigerCat. They were average size fish and normally he'd gobble them down in a hurry.

((continued below))

However, her pet only ate half of one of the salmon before going on another growling spree. He’d normally eat both salmon in one sitting. Was the tainted mountain trout he had eaten who knows how long ago still affecting her pet? It was possible; the original effect had been really strong to the point of her pet possibly dying if she hadn’t known the mending spells to keep it sustained while it slept. It wouldn’t surprise her if the tainted fish was still affecting the lynx with other side effects, such as his lack of appetite. Why hadn’t Lor’eth said anything about this…?

Watching her pet had reminded Cori she had one more letter to write; to Sidonwy, another Da Doctas member. The huntress had asked the Sin’dorei in the last letter if she could keep an eye out for the goblin that had sold her the tainted mountain trout. She was going to ask if anyone else had been affected by the tainted mountain trout and if the goblin mentioned in the last letter had returned or not.

Greetings Sidonwy,

I hope this letter finds you in good health. I do apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I lost unconscious while tending to TigerCat and only woke up some hours ago in Undercity, it seems I was passed out for over a month. I don’t know what caused me to lose conscious for so long but a Farstrider friend has suspicions it was due to Bloodthistle.

Has anyone else been affected by the tainted mountain trout? I hate to hear if anyone else got sick by it. Has the one goblin you mention in the last letter been at the clinic yet or not? I can help track them down if they are the one. I’m planning on heading back over to Thunder Bluff to check on another pet I have in the stables.

In case you’re wondering about TigerCat, he is awake finally but I fear the tainted fish could still be affecting him; he is unusually grouchy and eating very little. I may be coming by the clinic and have TigerCat checked out by an actual healer.

I still have the container I put the tainted fish, however; I can’t say if the fish is still intact. It may have disintegrated into icky puddle goo by now. I can bring the container by the Da Doctas clinic if anyone there would be willing to look at it.

Fare you well until we meet,

~Coriani

Post Note; I managed to obtain a letter my missing young cousin mailed to her venerable mentor. According to it; she seems to have developed a sleeping disorder since I have last seen her. I don’t know what type but I’m guessing it’s not insomnia and could endanger her in a fight. Are there curses that can cause this type of stuff to happen?

Once the letter was finished, Cori folded the parchment and put it with the other letters. The huntress looked in her toolbox and got out the portable mailbox. Once it was warmed up a few minutes later, she put the letters inside one at a time until they were all mailed. After waiting a few minutes to make sure she hadn’t received any more notes or advertisements, she put the portable device away and started to clean up around her. She didn’t need Failiani’s most recent letter to be found by Kor’kron overseers after all.

((Continued below))

The huntress quickly put all the letters she received from the linen bag out into her various packs before turning her attention to the small box and crate. She grabbed Failiani’s hearthstone and the box it had come in and decided to put it inside of the crate that contained the gems and leather before attempting to find the lid for it. Once the lid was put back on the crate, she put it inside her backpack along with the letter Failiani had sent to her old mentor.

What to do now? She wasn't sure but she did eventually need to find the Inquisitor that sent the agent to get her out of Ashenvale and thank him personally. She could have ended up as a prisoner of a irritable night elf warden or possibly even died. Cori wasn't sure where he stationed at; it could be Undercity, Silvermoon City or even somewhere on Kalimdor. She didn't know if that group of forsaken nearby would tell her anything if she asked but it might be worth a try.

She also needed to track down a mage in order to get a portal to Thunder Bluff; her Saltspray bird was in the stables there and she couldn't be sure it had behaved while being gone. Since the Darkspear had declared open rebellion against the 'Warchief', there was a high chance that Orgrimmar was heavily fortified and she didn't want to take the Zeppelin. She didn't want to be stopped by Kor'kron due to the letter from Failiani.

However, she still felt really weak to the point of not wanting to get up, why was that? It then occurred to her that she hadn’t eaten anything since she had woke up hours earlier, it hadn’t been the smartest thing to do but the fetid smell had bothered her at the time. Since she was now in the ruins above Undercity, she should eat something before going to find the Inquisitor or a mage for a portal, she didn’t want to risk passing out.

That being said, she did have the basket of food Ranger Lor’eth had given her. Hopefully he had actually learned how to cook when he was in Pandaria. The huntress found the covered basket and put next to her. Coriani looked inside of it and grimaced when she pulled out a small plate of burnt sautéed carrots; yum? Not really… granted they weren’t as charred black as she seen him cook the vegetables before but Lor’eth had still managed to burn them.

The carrots weren’t the only thing burnt unfortunately. The huntress noticed in a small wooden bowl what appeared to be a disgusting dish comprised of sliced charred peaches, crispy burnt scallions and overcooked turnips. Coriani sighed and shook her head looking at the plate and bowl of… burnt food. She should have figured it would still be burnt and bought mushrooms from a vendor earlier. At least it would have been better to eat.

Was there anything in the basket Lor’eth had done correctly? Food wise he still had a long, long ways to go but there was a canteen beverage similar to coffee that Cori figured she would be able to drink without much issue. There was also some sort of handful of white flower, not peacebloom but looked similar to a lily. He had brought her some type of herb to smoke; granted it wasn’t Bloodthistle but it might do. She also needed that herb but would wait to chew on that later.

The huntress slowly let out a sigh, she did need to eat something even if it was a few bites of the burnt food before getting up. Even with the herbs to smoke and the beverage, she figured there was going to be a strong chance she was going to need a healer after eating just a little bit of this food. Her pet growled (likely as a warning not to eat it) as she grimaced and took a bite of the burnt carrots; nearly spitting them out in disgust in an attempt to eat them.

((It's up, I do apologize for taking so long to post. I've been feeling crummy off and on (it doesn't help to finish a post when I wake up 10 P.M.). I did start a new treatment for the Crohn's last Tuesday but it'll take about a month to see if it'll help or not. I'll see how I'm feeling this week whether I can get on earlier or not.

Feel free to take as long as you wish to respond. Liore, I hope I got portrayed the group of forsaken right, if I didn't I can edit it. The Hippogryph (Argent Hippogryph model) Failiani acquired was likely stolen; if anyone wants to volunteer for that, let me know.

This thread is opened to Horde and Alliance. I do plan on making a post on Failiani but have no idea on when it'll be up.))

A soft groan was heard from a tent near the southern shore of Ashwood Lake in Grizzly Hills, the young Sin’dorei occupant started to stir. Granted, it was the middle of the day but the blood elf didn’t seem to care or rather didn’t know the time. Granted it was common for Failiani to sleep in the middle of the day due to the curse she had been affected with a few years earlier but a few days? Something else had caused that unfortunately and yes, she had been inside the tent for that long.

However, Failiani didn’t know about the amount of time she had been inside the tent as she opened her eyes. She panicked as she realized she didn’t remember entering a tent to sleep or anything at the moment. Had she fallen asleep and someone with nefarious intentions taken her prisoner? It was possible but her hands or feet weren’t bound with anything. That didn’t mean there couldn’t been a hidden ward preventing her from leaving. Before she could check for that, she felt very tired and was fast asleep seconds later.

Faili slept for several more hours before she woke up again. Again, she noted she still wasn’t bound in any way as sat up. She couldn’t hear any wards, either but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a silent type. Maybe she should inspect the tent further. After seeing her weapons near her bags in the corner closest to the entrance she figured she wasn’t a prisoner; no captor in her mind would be idiotic enough to leave weapons. There was still the question of how she ended up here but she’d figure it soon enough.

She quickly brushed her long red hair with her hands before pulling it back into a pony-tail. Failiani noted she was wearing her gray leather armor so no need to change into it. The Sin’dorei managed to get on her feet as she walked over to her cutlass and dagger and sheathed them to her belt. She grabbed her bags and wondered why she only had four bags which included her main pack. Shouldn’t she have five bags? A memory flashed back and she cursed silently in Thalassian. She dropped it near the Ancient Lift and someone took it before porting away.

The young rogue stepped outside of the tent and took a look around to see if she could get an idea of where she had ended up. She had been sleeping for an unknown amount of time after all and her memory was foggy at the moment. The tent was near the shore of a lake, southern side of it if she had to venture a guess. She glanced in the southern direction and noticed mountains and possibly a furlog village. Furlogs? That was something she hadn’t seen in Howling Fjord! Was she even still there? The elf had strong doubts about that.

What was the last thing she remembered before waking up in the tent? Failiani thought about it for some minutes then one memory came to her. She was evading a mercenary near Winter’s Breath Lake in Howling Fjord. Wait a minute, there was a mercenary chasing after her? Her glowing green eyes blinked; it wasn’t just one mercenary, there were five of them after her. Did the young elf know who had hired them? Yes and she blamed herself for Nisensi figuring out that she was hiding in Howling Fjord. If she hadn’t…

“Good to see you’we avaken young one.”

Failiani looked in the direction where the voice came from and was startled to see a burly female draenei sitting near a campfire a few yards away. The light blue skinned draenei wore dark plate armor that had a very slight light green glow to the shoulderpads; likely a warrior based on that and the big bone-crushing mace and long two-handed sword sheathed on her back. The draenei wore a rather interesting jeweled headband on her head and had very curly brown hair.

She looked somehow familiar, where had Failiani seen her before? The young elf thought about it for some seconds and then it hit her; this was the same draenei she had stolen food from months earlier when she had arrived in Howling Fjord. She had also seen this draenei in southern Zangarmarsh beating up a gnome after she had left Shattrath city sometime around the Lunar New Year or so. Why had she left Shattrath city? That was due to Nisensi’s minions had first located her there.

Still, one might wonder why she wasn’t making a move to attack to attack the draenei. For one, she had a feeling just because they were an Alliance race didn’t mean they were actually an Alliance member. Failiani remembers the gnome the draenei had beaten up was wearing an Alliance tabard. The warrior could easily be a member of a neutral organization or more likely, a mercenary. There wasn’t a need to attack in her mind; asking questions was a different story. Faili had one for this draenei, luckily one that she wouldn’t need to ask.

“You might be vondering hov long you’we been here.” the draenei said. “I found you lying unconscious near Ashvood Post vith seweral vorgen starting to surround you a fev days ago. I killed them and brought you here, Failiani.”

((Continued below.))

Ashvood Post? Failiani figured the draenei meant Ashwood Post, meaning she was in Grizzly Hills. The rogue couldn’t hide the shock from her face when her name got mentioned. How? Failiani had kept quiet about her name and had been using the alias Faili Shadowind; she even had an altered birth certificate that had even managed to fool a Sin’dorei. And no, this draenei wasn’t a mercenary in Nisensi’s service. That foul high elf had mentioned that none of the ones she hired were draenei. “How do you know my name?”

The draenei smirked. “You told me a veek earlier near Vinter’s Breath Lake in Hovling Fjord after ‘dealing’ vith a racist mercenary. Don’t you remember?”

Wait, the mercenary that had been chasing her was dealt with? That was good to know, it meant she now had four mercenaries after her instead of five. Still, what had caused her to lose a week’s worth of memory? The narcolepsy curse she was affected hadn’t caused memory lost before so she didn’t think it was that. “I don’t… I’m not sure how I made to Ashwood Post.” Failiani shook her head.

“I did find this on the ground in Ashvood Post. Maybe this is vhat is causing your memory loss?” The draenei pulled an empty poison vial from her main pack and offered it to young Sin’dorei.

Failiani took the vial and groaned after inspecting it briefly. She had drank the contents of this? Yuck! This was one of her poison vials. Thankfully the poison that had been inside of it wasn’t lethal but now she knew the reason she had memory issues; the poison was designed to ‘temporarily’ wipe memories. A blade coated in the stuff could affect a few hours of someone’s memory. Drinking the entire vial… she considered herself lucky that she had only lost a week’s memory and not a month. “I drank this? Why?...” She shook her head.

“I don’t knov the reason but perhaps you vere reaching for a healing potion and grabbed it instead. Since you hawe some memory issues, let me introduce myself again; Mysiani is vhat I go by. I do hawe food in this pot but it’s going to be a vhile before it’s done.”

“What is in that pan?” Failiani pointed to a small skillet sitting on a flat rock nearby. Her stomach was growling and she was feeling really hungry. Then again, she hadn’t eaten for a few days at the very least.

“I mixed together a cake and put into the pan vhen somehov cooked vorg meat I vas making for a stev fell into the batter. I still cooked it because I don’t like to vaste food but…”

“Can I have it, Mysiani? I’ll eat all of it; it’s my favorite type of food.” Failiani wasn’t a picky eater unlike her cousin Coriani and would eat anything. However, if there were any type foods that she really liked, it was meat and baked sweet treats such as cake. Combine the two types of food together and you had one happy Sin’dorei. Worg Cake sounded quite delicious, especially if it had chocolate in it.

“Go ahead; just be sure to eat all of it. As I said earlier, the stev still has a vays to go before it’s done. In the meantime, ve can talk vhile you’re eating. I’m curious to knov vhy that mercenary vas chasing after you. I hawe a feeling you knov vho hired him.”

Failiani walked over to the skillet pan and took the lid off. She sat down on the rock next to it and began to slice the cake. Ooo… it had chocolate as she took a piece of the cake and started to eat it. Chewy, meaty and sweet; this was really good. It almost reminded her of the Chocolate Lynx cupcakes her father used to bake. Yes, her late father loved this type of food, too and would bake them for other relatives to their dread. Failiani’s late mother though didn’t like sweets and didn’t eat them as she recalled.

Concerning the threat against her life, why should she tell Mysiani anything about it? The draenei had given her an easy meal that she didn’t have to steal or hunt animals for. More importantly, the warrior had saved her life from worgen, something Faili was thankful for. It wouldn’t hurt to tell this draenei about Nisensi. Who knows, maybe this mercenary would help Failiani out with her plight. “I do know who hired that mercenary and let me tell you, she is one wretched !@#$% high elf…” Failiani said, her thoughts drifting back to the event that started around five weeks earlier.

-----------------
Five weeks earlier,

It had been late in the evening and Failiani had been riding the spotted Hippogryph around Howling Fjord. None of the pirates at Scalawag Point had wanted to duel her and she didn’t want to duel the visiting orc death knight; she didn’t want a death match after all. She hadn’t felt like helping the Tuskarr out with the local reef cow population problem. It took her a few days the last time she had helped in that regard. Of course it didn’t help that she had been throwing fish to the reef cows instead of the reef bulls.

((Continued below.))

She sighed and looked up; the light streams in the sky had always fascinated her since she had arrived months earlier. There was a tower to the Northeast of her when the hippogryph started to shake and she nearly lost her grip. What was causing her mount to shake she wasn’t sure but clearly it wasn’t a good sign of its health. But she didn’t want to fall off her mount, even though it was common for her to do so. She needed to find a safe place to land.

However, that didn’t happen as she slipped and fell rather abruptly. She landed on her feet some seconds later; thankful the creature didn’t fly that far off the ground. She hoped the hippogryph wasn’t coming down sick as she no way to treat it, this rogue wasn’t a healer and didn’t think potions would work on it. She didn’t want to die either, as it was the only mount she had at this time. She had already lost her black hawkstrider months earlier when she had first arrived. She could take the Ancient Lift back down if it was close enough.

With that thought in mind, Faili took a look around to see where she had landed and noted the Ancient Lift was behind her. Nearly twenty yards away to the northeast of where the young rogue was standing, there was a human male wearing golden armor and a white haired Quel’Dorei elf female having a romantic picnic. Why they were having it in the middle of nowhere she didn’t know. Something told the young Sin’dorei at the time that she should run and hide or at the very least stealth from these two but she ignored it. What was harmless about a human and a white haired high elf? She’d be able to take them on if they attacked. Unless…

The rogue tensed and shook her head. No, the elf couldn’t be Nisensi. Why had she suddenly thought of that? While she had never seen Nisensi in person, one of the pirates at Scalawag Point had. ‘Gnomish’ Nome… he had arrived a few weeks after Failiani first reached Scalawag Point a few months earlier and no, he wasn’t a gnome; a human warrior who very fond of their engineering. His tent was filled with various gnomish devices.

Anyways, she had reasons to trust that human word’s; he after all had been one of the foul elf’s former employees. Not just any employee, her chief engineer and one of the best warrior fighters she had at the time. He had left her organization and faked his death over a year earlier after he found out Nisensi’s plans mentioned genocide for Sin’dorei, something he hadn’t know when he had first joined (he wrongfully assumed her plans for eradicating the ‘evils’ of Azeroth were Burning Legion, Scourge, Murlocs and Naga).

When Failiani had asked Nome about Nisensi’s appearance, he told her that she was average height and weight for a Quel’dorei. Her eyes were blue; both the glow and iris of them and skin tone was medium. Nisensi’s natural hair color was white and she wasn’t venerable- she was at most 15-20 years older than her cousin Coriani or more specifically; around the age of Failiani’s late father. She had a faint scar on her chin and generally wore non-revealing robes due to large scar on her back she claimed was ‘from an assassination attempt on her life’.

Her pointed ears suddenly twitched at the sound of the human yelling. Failiani looked and noticed the female Quel’dorei had turned towards her. It gave the Sin’dorei a chance to inspect the elf. She couldn’t tell if the high elf had a scar near her chin from the distance where Failiani was standing but the other features were similar. After noticing the various potions and wooden wand attached to Quel’dorei’s belt that made Faili realize that she was Nisensi. The human with her was likely Bran, Nisensi’s lover and bodyguard if Nome’s information was correct.

O fel, she had better run and hide before they decided to attack her. Did she have anything that could be used as a distraction? Luckily she did as she found a vial in her bags with a dark mixture inside. Her business partner, Qixilixa had given her this to be used in case of emergency that if dropped and broken, the contents would conjure extremely thick smoke that would hopefully give her enough time to vanish and hide.

That brought her to a bigger question; did she have someplace to hide? Hiding under the platform of the Ancient Lift might work… especially since there weren’t any tuskarr nearby. Once the vial was dropped and she noticed thick smoke surround her, Failiani quickly scurried away and kept quieter than a mouse as she dove under the platform of the Ancient Lift. She crawled under and hoped that the smoke had lasted long enough to where Nisensi her hadn’t seen where she had gone.

((Continued below.))

Faili waited for the smoke to clear when she suddenly yawned and felt extremely tired. No, she couldn’t fall asleep now but the young one knew there wasn’t anything to stop it. Before she knew it, the young Sin’dorei was in a deep sleep and waking up some time later. As she opened her eyes, she breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn’t been captured while she had slept. However, she still was in danger of being found as she realized Nisensi was still in the area and decided to keep quiet.

Bran was standing near Nisensi. Only they weren’t alone now; there were two human females, a night elf male, a high elf male and a gnome male. Failiani stared at the group from her hiding spot, trying to see who she could indentify. Nome had given her a brief description of the employees from when he had been in Nisensi’s service. The human female with dark brown hair and tan skin was likely Teia, Nisensi’s spymaster rogue based on her dark leather armor and daggers.

The other human female had strawberry blonde hair and she didn’t recognize who that was, likely that person joined after Nome left and could be a priest based on her clothing and prayer book. The night elf male who was wearing brown plate armor and had purple hair was Talen, Nisensi chief enforcer. He was very dangerous warrior and someone Failiani needed to stay away from at all costs. Faili learned it was likely this Talen that had captured Sirabel, a friend of the family who Nisensi had murdered many months earlier.

Failiani wiped a tear from her eyes briefly before glancing at the group again. The high elf male was Hiren, a ranger in the service of Nisensi. It was rumored he was related to the foul high elf alchemist, something Nisensi never confirmed or denied to Nome. The gnome male was interesting to Failiani. He had graying-white hair and wore a pointed red hat on his head. He also wore a long blue tunic that went down to his knees, blue pants and black boots. She didn’t recognize him but based on his engineering gadgets on his black belt, he was likely Nisensi’s new chief engineer.

The young rogue tensed briefly when she noticed two humans, a male and female from the east towards Nisensi. Once they got closer, Failiani relaxed when she recognized them. They were Nisensi’s employees; however they weren’t very intelligent in Faili’s mind. She had last seen them in Shattrath city many months earlier when they had disguised as pirates and attempted to have her join their ship. She had followed them outside of the city and watched them duel each other when she found out who they really worked for. These were the minions that made Failiani leave Shattrath…

Anyways, the human male was Dullen. He was an idiot arms warrior who thought a wand ‘was the ultimate warrior’s weapon’. During the duel Failiani had watched months earlier, he complained every time a wooden wand broke from him swinging it. The human female was Kioria, a mage who had a very heavy two handed sword despite not being a battle-mage or having the training to use one. She complained that she couldn’t concentrate on conjuring a spell due to her having to carry a sword.

Faili looked at Dullen and frowned when she noticed the warrior had a two handed sword strapped to his back. Not just any sword; it looked eerily similar to the one she had seen Kioria carry months earlier. Maybe because it was the same weapon? The Sin’dorei glared at blonde hair human female and noticed she had a silver colored wand attached to her belt; the same one the arms warrior once carried. It then dawned on Failiani that Dullen and Kioria had switched weapons since she had last seen them. She tensed slightly; maybe those two had smartened up a bit.

Her attention turned towards the others near Nisensi. What were they looking at now? As far as the Sin’dorei knew, she hadn’t dropped anything in haste. Failiani paled as she then noticed Nisensi was holding her dark colored frostweave bag. Fel, she had dropped something and that worried her. That bag contained most of the disguises that had been given to her by Qixilixa, her goblin business partner months earlier along with her late father’s kill journal. Why did she have to drop that bag? They definitely knew by now that it was her that had fallen off that mount.

Failiani sighed and shook her head as she noticed all the disguises contained in that bag were lying on the ground; a light blue robe, an orange dress, a caster-looking dagger and a blue book were now lying on the ground and being inspected. Most of her disguises were to make her appear as a simple caster. One disguise that she had, a pirate one had been left at Scalawag Point thankfully. She didn’t want Nisensi finding out exactly where she had been hiding after all.

((Continued below))

She paled as she noticed Nisensi had a small journal in her hands. Her father’s kill journal that contained every kill he had made during his days as a pirate and asssassin. It was encoded- her father had pages in the back that gave away the code but Failiani had torn those out and put them in another bag thankfully. Still, Nisensi could figure out the code in time, something that worried the young one.

“It’s appears to be a rogue’s kill journal; one that once belonged to Taelis Arrowind.”

“Taelis? I assume that would a relative of Failiani’s but which one?” the gnome asked.

“You would be correct, Laris. Taelis Arrowind… he was Failiani’s father. He was the bastard rogue that tried to kill me over thirty years ago and left me with that scar on my back. I attacked him and his wife near one of the troll villages in Ghostlands. I left them unconscious for trolls to find and… from what I heard, they died rather violent deaths.” Nisensi sighed.

Wait, Nisensi had attacked her parents years ago? Failiani’s jaw dropped in shock. She thought her parents had been ambushed by trolls and captured; at least that’s what she had been told what had likely happened by her Uncle Winthran. Her mother’s body had been found dead in on an altar while her father... Faili’s thoughts got interrupted when she suddenly noticed Nisensi had a brown journal in hand. Damn, how had her journal gotten in that bag? The young elf tensed noticeably and shook her head.

“Let me guess; that is Failiani’s rogue diary.”

“Of course and it’s not blank in case you’re wondering, Teia. It’s written on black ink.” Nisensi mentioned with a smirk.

“Really? Can I see it?” Teia grabbed the journal. The human briefly looked it over and laughed before handing it back over. “It’s not encoded, either. I learned to encode my diary early on in my training.”

She shook her head and silently cursed as she heard laughter. It wasn’t her fault that she couldn’t find invisible ink where she had been the past months; it wasn’t simply available. And no, Failiani hadn’t been able to come up with a good code to write her thoughts in. She regretted that now; Nisensi would be able to figure out where she had been hiding the past months once she was done reading the journal. It was written in Thalassian after all.

“What does it say if I can ask, Lady Nisensi?” Kioria asked while brushing a streak of blonde hair out of her eyes.

“This page here mentions that she thinks the Horde’s Warchief is ‘an idiot ogre-minded buffoon’ that the Regent Lord needs to shut up permanently.”

“So Failiani is a Horde dissenter? Not surprising…” Hiren commented.

“It appears to be that way. She thinks the Banshee Queen’s plans needs to be stopped. She definitely doesn’t like trolls. She thinks Tauren are too similar to Night Elves and she seems to have a fear of Pandarens.” Laughter was heard at the mention of Pandarens.

“She’s afraid of a fat, lazy pandaren? They aren’t good for anything; except floor rugs.” Laris commented.

The young rogue’s eyes widen at the gnome’s comment. What did Pandarens have to do with floor rugs? Unless… no, they couldn’t have killed and skinned one for a rug. That was barbaric- something trolls would do in her mind. Failiani had been afraid of Pandaren due to strange rumors she had heard about them and had written down that comment months ago after she had left Shattrath City but that had changed about a month earlier. A female Pandaren had come by Scalawag Point and told Faili such rumors were false.

“Indeed.” Nisensi nodded and continued with a bitter expression on her face, “It seems the only ‘Horde’ race she likes are Goblins… and Sin’dorei obviously. It’s going to take time to read this over but it will help locate where she has been and possible locations on where she will go next.”

“I would assume by the comments made in her journal that she won’t be going to any Horde town.”

“I agree- unless it’s a goblin run one and I’m not aware of there being one in Howling Fjord.” Nisensi commented.

“You think she went down the gondola?” the human with the strawberry blonde hair asked.

Nisensi turned towards the Ancient Lift. “It’s very likely, Karaisa. She could be on her way to that Tuskarr village. I’ll let the mercenaries know she has been spotted near the Ancient Lift.”

“Shouldn’t we pursue her now?” Dullen asked.

“No, not yet. I did give those mercenaries some gold in advance to track and capture her. They should do the work and fight to capture her.”

Wait, Nisensi had hired more mercenaries to track down Failiani? The young one shook her head and sighed. She wasn’t surprised that the foul elf had done that; months earlier she had three very inexperienced worgen mercenaries after her. Failiani had defeated and killed him but how many did she have after her? And how skilled were these mercenaries? Maybe if she continued to listen, she’d find out.

((Continued below))

“I can see that warrior and beast master mercenaries fighting and killing each other instead of tracking down young Failiani.”

“I agree with that; I never would have hired those two ex-lovers if I had known. However, I have confidence the others can capture her; especially the one I went to Pandaria to hire.”

“That mercenary gives me the shivers.” Laris shivered.

“Yes, but he is very skilled. Fail will have no chance against him in combat by herself.” Talen commented.

“That’s true I suppose.” Laris sighed.

“In the unlikely case the mercenaries are unsuccessful in capturing young Fail; then we’ll go after her. And besides, the damage to my lab from that fel tainted pandaren is still being repaired. How can I start my various experiments on Failiani if I don’t have my lab to make all the potions? I do have nearly fifty of them in my recipe journal and I doubt she would survive the conditions of my dungeons long enough for the repairs to finish.” Nisensi sighed and muttered quietly to herself.

Failiani shook but kept quiet and hoped she wouldn’t fall asleep. Nisensi had nearly fifty vile potions to test on her? That really scared the young rogue as she didn’t want to be someone’s lab experiment and end up dead, as far as Faili was concerned one of those vile potions could kill instantly. If her lab got damaged, it explained why they weren’t searching for her this second. She also realized the comment about the pandaren and floor rug could be true; Nisensi killed and skinned the pandaren for a rug. Still, she was thankful for that pandaren’s actions.

“Those workers are sure taking their time. I swear I haven’t seen any progress being made in the last month. I bet the workers who repaired the towers in Stormwind after Deathwing’s attack could work quicker- and they were slow at it.” Bran commented.

“Maybe they need some… motivation to work quicker.” Teia suggested.

Nisensi smirked. “Motivation… I like that idea. I should be able to come with something to force them to work quicker.”

“A large majority of the workers are dwarves; threatening them with no beer should make them work quicker.” Laris sneezed after he made the comment.

“That might work; Kioria would love to blow up kegs of beer.” Nisensi scratched her head.

Kioria shook her head. “But I love ale…”

“Not you, Kioria; the dwarf one.” Nisensi interrupted. She let out a sigh before continuing, “Besides, there is an urgent matter that needs to get addressed quickly. There are others who know about our plans and we need to stop them.”

“All our plans we have including the newest one concerning the Pandaren? I assume that we need to stop Coriani Arrowind from finding her cousin. We can’t have her ruining our plans to exterminate the Sin’dorei.” Hiren sighed.

“Coriani- she’s not a threat yet but my plans do have eventually include her.” Nisensi sighs briefly, “There is a greater threat concerning the tainted trout recipe I’m testing. A nearly deaf goblin bruiser by the name of Qixilixa knows about it. I offered her several thousand gold coins if she’d join our cause a few years ago before the Cataclysm. She refused to join our organization. I left tainted yellowtail for her to eat but it seems she somehow survived according to that… fish selling partner of mine.”

“How does Nappsixa, that idiotic goblin know about this bruiser?”

“Nappsixa may be an idiot and illiterate but she has her uses. Apparently she is one of Qixilixa’s cousins and makes fun of her hearing all the time- well, when she isn’t blaming her twin sister for something.” Nisensi shook her head and continued, “She needs to be dealt with before we can test more fish.”

“Do your plans for Qixilixa including punting?” Talen asked with excitement.

“Of course, Talen. I would let you punt her- as long as she stays alive. Nappsixa has great interest in torturing Qixilixa alive. I believe her plans include killing the last time I talked to her.” Nisensi wiped a strand of white hair from her face.

“Nappsixa would do that to own family member? She seems….”

“Ruthless? You have to admit, that does fit into my plans for the bruiser. We’ll confront Qixilixa, have Talen punt her around for a bit and then turn her over to Nappsixa.” Nisensi smirked briefly.

Failiani paled; she hadn’t known that Qixilixa had been approached by the alchemist mage. She liked the goblin even more for turning down Nisensi’s offer of several thousand gold coins. Still, Failiani was worried about the plans she had just heard. Her business partner was now in trouble; the Quel’dorei had already murdered Sirabel, she couldn’t let anyone she knew die to the foul elf. Failiani would have to find a way to warn Qixilixa of Nisensi’s plans; once the foul elf left the area.

((continued below.))

The elf’s pointed ears twitched at the sound of a gondola coming up to the Ancient lift. About a minute later, it stopped and Faili heard a passenger step off. She held her breath and listened to the figure’s heavy steps walk off the platform and head into the direction of where Nisensi was standing. She exhaled and noticed an overweight pandaren male with brown and white fur. He wore gray leather armor with two daggers attached to his belt. Failiani hadn’t seen this pandaren before but based on the blue tabard, he was likely one that had joined the Alliance.

She felt dread when she noticed Nisensi and her company had turned their attention towards the pandaren. Clearly they were planning on doing something with him and it wasn’t of good intentions. A part of Failiani wanted to warn the pandaren to stay away from them but she kept quiet. There was a good chance Nisensi could change her mind and have her captured if she appeared. If there was something Failiani didn’t want; it was to be a lab experiment.

Nisensi crossed her arms. “Where do you think you are headed, pandaren?”

“I’m headed to Westguard Keep to help with tasks...” the pandaren answered.

“Liar! Tell me what your real plans are and where you are headed.” Nisensi had an angry expression to her face and briefly motioned to Talen.

“Why would be lying about…”

The Sin’dorei watched with horror as Talen abruptly charged and leaped over to the pandaren. The pandaren didn’t stand a chance; he was knocked unconscious with one swift blow. Nome said this night elf was dangerous and he hadn’t been kidding. She shook and didn’t have to wonder how Sirabel got captured in the first place; how could one defend against this type of an attack? What were they going to do with the pandaren? Failiani was certain she would find out.

Nisensi smirked briefly. “Bind him securely. Our experiment doesn’t need to escape.”

“How are we going to experiment on it? The lab is damaged…” Dullen sighed.

“I don’t need potions for this experiment. I haven’t been able to find out how long Pandaren are able to go without food. I’m interesting in seeing how long he can survive in the dungeon before starving.”

“Is he going to be skinned and made into a rug?” Laris asked with excitement.

“Of course, once he starves to death. It’s the fate any pandaren deserves.” Nisensi responded with a smirk. “Once my lab gets repaired and my compound for exterminating the Sin’dorei gets finished, the work then will begin on creating a bio-logical compound for the pandaren; one that keeps their fur intact.”

“And the murlocs?” Karaisa asked.

Nisensi nodded and replied, “Of course. I haven’t forgotten about the plans concerning those foul creatures that don’t deserve to exist.”

“Shall I make a portal to the villa, Lady Nisensi?” Laris asked.

“Yes, before anyone decides to show up.” Nisensi turned around briefly before continuing, “Talen, put the prisoner in one of the dungeon cells and make sure no one brings food to it.”

“With pleasure, Lady Nisensi.”

Failiani paled with the newest information. Nisensi now had plans to exterminate the Pandaren in addition to Sin’dorei? The pandaren was going to die without food eventually, a slow death. He may have joined the Alliance but he didn’t deserve to be a prisoner. No one- except Amani trolls deserved that type fate in her mind. She couldn’t help the pandaren either as much as she wanted to. She was certain Nisensi would change her mind if she crawled out of her hiding spot.

“Dullen, Kioria I have a task for you.” Nisensi mentioned as she motioned for them to get closer.

She watched Talen and Hiren drag the unconscious, bound pandaren through the newly created portal that led to Nisensi’s villa. Failiani wanted to help but she couldn’t do anything, her body wouldn’t let her move right now. She then turned her attention to Nisensi and noticed she was giving Dullen and Kioria small orbs; disguise orbs to be more precise. What were those for? Failiani wasn’t sure as she yawned and suddenly felt very tired.

No, she couldn’t fall asleep now; she needed to find out what those orbs were for. But she knew there was nothing about it as she went into a deep sleep and woke up sometime later. She rubbed her eyes and noted she didn’t see Nisensi or her company. However; she spotted her spotted hippogryph on the ground, dead. No… it may have been coming down sick but it shouldn’t have died. Something clearly happened to it as she crawled out from under the platform and ran towards it.

((Continued below, sorry about the delay.))

She briefly looked to the sky and noticed it was middle of the day, meaning she had slept the rest of the previous night and part of the day. Once she reached the dead hippogryph, she noticed there were several wounds that had been afflicted on it; wounds that had been made from a dagger and throwing knife. Failiani sighed and knew it hadn’t died of a natural death. She noticed an envelope that was snagged between the harness and its body.

Failiani took the envelope and opened it. Inside of it contained a note neatly written in Thalassian. The handwriting was familiar, it was Nisensi’s handwriting. What did it say? Failiani sighed and read the note,

To the young Failiani Arrowind,

I say this miserable creature flying around when it suddenly… died. And no, I had nothing to do with its death. I left its body here in case you came back. I’ve had a few setbacks but that’ll be over soon enough. I haven’t forgotten about you; in fact I’m still very interested in having you as my experiment for the extermination of the Sin’dorei. I’ll have many vile potions to test.

You’ll be happy to know that I’ve hired more mercenaries that are far more capable in tracking you down than those… fools from months ago. I’ll be nice enough to let you know that there are five of them and none of them are draenei.
Now… in the slightest chance you can defeat them, I’ll come after you myself; either way you’ll be mine. It’s your fate; you’ll see it in time.

Until we meet again,

~Nisensi

P.S. I have minions disguised that’ll give your location to the mercenaries if need be. I can guarantee you won’t be able to find them.

The Sin’dorei brushed strands of dirty, red hair from her face. Nisensi may have not killed it but it appeared Teia did, based on the wounds on the dead mount. Failiani was sad and angry that her hippogryph was dead. How was she supposed to get around with her mount being dead? Not to mention those mercenaries could have an easier time tracking her down.

*Snap*

Her ears twitched at the sound of a twig breaking. She put a hand on her cutlass and dagger and turned around only to see a familiar looking human male with chestnut brown hair and green-blue eyes wearing a black swashbuckler shirt and red pants. Failiani relaxed and sighed; this was ‘Gnomish’ Nome, Nisensi former employee that had told her more about the foul high elf. He had likely been searching for her when she didn’t return to Scalawag Point last night.

“Failiani, what happened? I assume it was something terrible.” Nome had a concerned tone to his voice.

“It’s a long story…” Failiani said, starting to panic a bit. “Nisensi was here. I hid. She’s captured a pandaren with the intention of starving and skinning him. She’s hired more mercenaries after me. I fell asleep and woke up to find my mount dead…”

Nome had a shocked look on his face. “That damned !@#$% did what to a pandaren?”

“She’s captured one with the intention of skinning him. And any pandaren she runs into…” the young elf noticed her hand was shaking.

“By the light, her plans have gotten more insane. It’s a miracle you weren’t captured. Failiani, why don’t you tell me everything that transpired on the way back to Scalawag Point? Then we can come up with a plan.” Nome motioned to the Ancient Lift.

Failiani nodded and started to follow him. “She’s has employees disguised…”

“Relax, she’s not going to get you. I’ll make sure of that.” Nome interrupted as they walked. “Even if I have to die…”

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

“Vait, this Nisensi murdered and then skinned a pandaren? Not to mention she’s captured another one for the same intentions?” Mysiani shook her head and muttered quietly to herself.

Failiani nodded slowly as she finished the stew. It had taken her a few hours to tell Mysiani this information. She regretted that she hadn’t warned the pandaren; maybe he would still be alive if she had. Granted, she didn’t know how long they could go without food but chances of him being alive were slim; especially if he was stuck in a cold, damp dungeon. “I should have tried to warn the…”

“Don’t blame yourself for not doing anything. You protected yourself.” Mysiani interrupted. “She vould hawe captured you in addition to the pandaren if you had interfered.”

The rogue rubbed her eyes. “I know that’s why I didn’t do anything. But he’s probably not alive now due to that…”

“Ve can only hope that one of Nisensi’s employees is disobeying her orders and giwing the pandaren food.”

“I can hope but the employees she had with her were vicious; especially that gnome Laris. I thought gnomes were supposed to be ‘nice’; well the ones at the Scalawag Point seem that way. But clearly that isn’t the case with all of them.” Failiani shrugged and shook her head.

((Continued below.))

Mysiani nodded slowly and cursed. She then spoke in a bitter tone, “I knov this Laris you mentioned. He claimed to be a ‘friend’ at one time. I had gold coins and ore bars go missing vithout any explanation vhenewer he vas around. After the Cataclysm, he shoved his true colors by joining the Tvilight Hammer. He then kidnapped one of my descendents and vas going to sacrifice her in a ritual.”

Shoved his true colors? Mysiani likely meant Laris had ‘showed his true colors’; the draenei’s common accent was confusing at times. Still, if that gnome had been a former Twilight Hammer cultist, it would explain why he seemed insane. Supposedly they heard whispers in their heads from the rumors she had heard. This draenei had reason to be angry at Laris; Failiani would be too if stuck in a similar situation. Still, Faili had to ask, “Is your descendent still alive?”

“Yes, I managed to free her in time but that bastard got avay. I hawen’t had that many good meetings vith gnomes- they’re alvays trying to trip me but he’s easily the vorse one I’we met. I’m not surprised to hear that he’s nov in league vith this Nisensi.” Mysiani shook her head and sighed. “Do you still hawe that note she left for you about the mercenaries?”

She nodded and looked in her main pack where she had put that particular letter. She was puzzled when she noticed a parchment that hadn’t been in her bags. She pulled it out and smiled when she saw that it was her late father’s recipe for Chocolate Lynx cupcake; it was even written in his handwriting. The handwriting part was odd but she figured it had been found during the past week and she put in her pack.

She put the recipe back in her main pack and pulled out the note Nisensi had written and gave it to draenei warrior. “It’s written in Thalassian. If you want me to translate it…”

“No problem, I can read Thalassian. I learned it after the Exodar crashed.” Mysiani studied the note for a few minutes before speaking again, “Nisensi thinks it’s your fate to be a lab experiment? She’s wery insane. It’s good to knov none of the mercenaries are draenei; I’d beat sense into them if they vere. I recall I might have seen the varrior and beastmaster mercenaries a fev veeks ago; they’re dead.”

The blood elf was not surprised to hear that; Nisensi had mentioned those two were ex-lovers and would have never hired them if she had known. “I’m going to assume that they killed other.”

Mysiani sighed and nodded, “Pretty much; they physically fought vith each other, I vatched from a distance. The varrior dealt the killing blow to her ex and his pet. The varrior female vas left vith mortally fatal vounds and collapsed shortly after.”

Faili rubbed her eyes and slowly sighed. With the newest information, it meant she had two mercenaries after instead of five. Her situation with them might be improved, however; there still was the question on how dangerous these remaining two were.

“This note doesn’t say vho the other tvo mercenaries are. You might be able to take on one but I can guarantee the one she vent to Pandaria vould be the one to vatch out for.”Mysiani sighed and scratched her head. “I’m curious, vhat happened after Nome came?”

Failiani nodded and spoke, “I told Nome everything as we headed back to Scalawag Point. Once there, I wrote a letter to Qixilixa warning her of the threat. A pandaren rogue offered to take it to her since he was headed that way and Nome figured it was too dangerous for me to head to the Tuskarr village. We warned him of what Nisensi was doing to other pandaren and he took the threat very seriously. In fact, he posted warnings written in the Pandaren’s native language at both platforms of the Ancient Lift.”

“I suppose something happened that made you leawe Scalavag Point.”

The elf nodded and sighed, “I went a few weeks without much going until I went to the Isle of Spears without my pirate disguise. That’s where Teia, Nisensi’s spymaster found me. She informed one of the mercenaries; I believe it was that racist one that she had found me and wouldn’t leave until he came. I tried to vanish but she kept finding me. Luckily Nome showed up wearing his plate armor and sword.”

“I bet she vas ‘happy’ to see him.”

“The look on Teia’s face was priceless; she knew she was in deep trouble the moment she saw him. She called for help in dealing with Nome as he told me to get on his mount; in that amount of time it took for to get to his plane, she was dead along with a few of Nisensi’s employees that had foolishly attacked him.” Faili started to feel tears stream down her eyes.

Mysiani nodded. “You veren’t kidding vhen you said Nome vas dangerous. I guess something bad happened after that.”

((Continued below.))