#EmberfuryDiv

[nihanovacaine]

The Horn Of Recompense (Chapter One)

Frostblade Peak was frigid as the winds howled atop the hill that Nimuehdra brought the group over. The Ebon Chevalier, Kirilovos Dreadflame, the Shal’dorei Rogue, Valteia Sin’dal and the Snowy-haired Magistrix had already been here earlier, “Watch the skies, Dreadflame” she warned him as the black-winged Wyrm circled the Vrykul settlement below. The Magistrix had found that the particular group she gazed down toward had found a particular artifact that was of immense value to the Division and maybe even the Scions would take interest in it.

Among other things, they found that they had guards safe-guarding a tent that may have a treasure. A hoard if you will, waiting to be plundered. She would need assistance to scan the area for signs of activity and the particular artifact in question. A hand would raise to her face and adjust her mask she wore to cover her face from the unforgiving temperature of the damn place. 

The Ebon stood back and frowned at Nimuehdra. "I do not care for you being so close to the edge, my Lady."  Valteia knelt down next to Lady Emberfury, hoping to learn more about the outside world that the Div had given her opportunities to explore.

Duskrune, the newest recruit to the Scions was called upon on comms as additional Scouting help was required.

"You should be happy my Rylak's eyes are good. I would have never been able--" The Orcish Warlock stopped herself abruptly.

The Shal’dorei Shadowblade watched in stealth as the Orc approached Lady Emberfury. Not being acquainted with the woman, Valteia watched her carefully, her gloved fingers drumming against the hilts of her blades.

The Blood Mage began as the Duskrune approached. “What do you know about the Vrukul, Miss Nur’kuhzal?”

The Senile Warlock cupped a hand over her ear, leaning in carefully so she could hear Nimuehdra better. "Eh? I haven't been to high school in....ever. I went to school, but not high school." Duskrune knelt beside the Masked Magistrix. To which, the Head of Operations would gesture with her head at first and then shook her head. She pointed a gloved digit at the Settlement below. "Them."

"Oh. VRYKUL! Well..."  Exclaimed Nur’kuhzal.

Kirilovos stood back and blinked at the old Orc, shaking his head. He seemed tense, as if ready to run for the edge to catch anyone who might go off of it. After all at this point, three of the four involved were dangerously close the cliff’s edge.

Nimuehdra, growling weary of the Orc’s antics, urged,  "Please tell me what you know about them."

The Warlock replied, "They like the cold, and have made very temperature resistant weapons. Artificers like to incorporate their written language to try to replicate them, but it's not the same as their actual weapons. I bet they've made special alloys and the like to work better with them."

The Magistrix nodded,  "That much is obvious. What about their runic magic?" Nimuehdra was in no mood for pleasantries or anything as such. She was desperately searching for something. The Blood Mage recently lost one of her party, Vakorian Duskrune, earlier and when had witnessed his rise as an Ebon Knight.

Nimuehdra turned her masked head toward her most trusted,  "Kiril, Valtaeia?"

The withering Shal’dorei averted her gaze from the Orc, her periwinkle hues falling upon Lady Emberfury. "Yes?" she asked calmly, a muffled voice emitting behind her mask, dispelling her stealth. Learning that she was new to this territory, the Mage then raised her hand dismissively. “Nevermind.” She said so in an empathetic tone.

Kirilovos shrugged slightly. "Their Runic magic is not unlike that which the Ebon Blade makes use of. I am unsure whether we learned it from the Vrykul, they from us, or a mixture of the two. It can be used to bind to objects to make them stronger, or they can use

different ones to create magical effects." He frowned slightly. "To be honest, I have not seen the full extent of what the Vrykul are capable of with their runic magic and we of the Blade are relatively limited in our uses."

 "I'm guessing that's what helps make them stronger as well--as far as 'strength' of the metal goes. You know, with generations of these guys runnin' around, and such a writing system in place, they've got to have some sort of texts that teach their young'in's how to write and spellcraft as they do." added the senile Warlock.

Valteia averted her gaze from Lady Emberfury to the Orc, listening to her words. "Such preparations would be expected," she said calmly, agreeing with the woman's guess.

"Primitive though they may seem, they are Titanic in origins as a race. They may even have old texts from their creators which taught them their magics." further said Kiril as an addendum.

The Rogue glanced over to Kirilovos and nodded in agreement.

Nur’kuhzal mused, "They've had to teach their young'in's and share their stories somehow. There's gotta be some books sittin' around."

The Blood Mage jerked back slightly to look at Kiril. "You bring forth a wise observation. They may seem primitive and boorish but they have access to power that is still so unknown to us. To dismiss that would we foolish. I am inclined to find more about the Ymirjar and the Kvaldir. And their obsession with the afterlife. I need to know...how they raise them but without the power the former Shieldmaiden, Helya possesses." She then glanced between the three faces of her companions hoping to see if anyone of her current party had something to say about her interest.

The raven-haired Rogue listened carefully to Lady Emberfury's words, nodding from time-to-time as she did. "Perhaps I can pilfer through the village below and see what I can find among the households. I would assume such important documentation would be held within a place of worship, or in the home of a powerful Vrykul.”

The Magistrix shook her head. "Halt Valteia.” She would raise her gloved hand to face a palm toward the stealthy Shal’dorei. “I think you should stay here. Should you be detected we won't be able to pursue the maniac who abducted your people." She said, warning her that they still had to rescue the Magistrix’s best friend, Lady Astrande.

Duskrune gave a wheezed chuckle; eventually, it ended with an array of hacking coughs. "Ah, yeah... recruiting people to try to find more power in the afterlife." She spoke with reminiscence. "Good times, good times."

Nimuehdra looked toward the senile Orc "Perhaps Duskrune has a way  pry without any -body- to be actually present there...."

The Rogue then gave a nod, dropping her hands from her hilts and to her sides. "Understandable, Lady Emberfury."

Duskrune pointed to her left eye, which actually wasn't there. "Where do ya' think my other peeper went?" She pat her chest, where there was a lump in the pocket. "T'aint my boob any more. They deflated ages ago!"

Nimuehdra wrinkled her brow, looking at the senile Orc. "Whatever does that mean?"

Kirilovos blinked at the old woman and shook his head slightly, the corners of his eyes crinkling with amusement but otherwise holding back from a smile. "I am sure that our new Warlock companion can indeed learn much without needing to be present." He looked to

Nimuehdra curiously. "As to the power to raise the dead, advanced Necromancy is a skill which could be learned by any being with enough power and will."

Duskrune pulled the glowing green orb from the pocket. It was just about the size of her actual eye and radiated that sickly Fel magic.

Nimuehdra ‘s eyes lit up as she did so.: "Ah, there's a useful trinket. Show us what you find, Miss Duskrune. The practice of Necromancy is not unfamiliar to me. While our friend here can do more than I could. I am a Blood Mage after all."

The Shal’dorei furrowed her brows as she watched the Orc, a feeling of confusion washing over her. She glances between Lady Emberfury and Kiril, hoping they'd explain the strange gestures.

Duskrune looked confused. "Where exactly are you wanting to go? Or... proverbially going."

Nimuehdra pointed at the Shal’dorei and explained, "That would be a fel-orb, an eye of Kilrogg as it is known among Warlocks."

Duskrune's arms crossed tightly. "Yeh? I learned the old fashioned way. You warlocks these days get off easy. No eye removal or nothin'!"  As Nur'kuhzal ranted, the eye rolled down the mountain and to the place that was picked out. At least she had remembered her job this time.

The snowy-haired Magistrix stood up and bent a little to knock the snow off her knee caps. She would cast a cloaking spell over the group and then point over yonder, "We'll hover over there on our mounts. Duskrune, Do your thing."

Duskrune meanwhile, kept talking. And talking, and talking. Oh, the poor trio.

Nimuehdra swiftly ordered them, "Mount up and follow me!"

Kirilovos made sure that even cloaked his Wyrm was between Nimuehdra and the closest possible line of fire.

The company would float right above the settlement. They were cloaked so only a shimmer of their bodies would be seen should direct sunlight strike them Luckily, here in the Fjord, that was a rare occurrence. The Magistrix checked the skies above them to confirm this and then spoke quietly to the company. "As long as no sun touches us, we're nearly impossible to detect. But should any of you use spells, the enchantment will falter. Be careful."

Nimuehdra prodded, "Miss Duskrune, we await your report."

Valteia nodded in response to Lady Emberfury's words. She peered at the settlement below, gripping the reins of her saber's harness tightly.

Duskrune began,  "Eh. There's a lotta books, and people sparring." "Easy to slip by people that are distracted by fighting. Though, eh? Wait a minute." She said in between grunts and grumbles."Yeah. I've got something. They made it easy to read for us foreigners. Some books are drawn on a map, with foil stamping and artwork." 

The Pale-haired Magistrix wrinkled her nose. "A map? What are they up to now?"  She looked at Kiril and then to Val. "I wonder if it's worth investigating...I think we must press on. Tell me what else you find."

Valteia shrugged. "You express a great interest in the possibility of acquiring certain documents that are held in high esteem among their people. That choice is yours to make."

Duskrune struggled. "Well, a lot of the symbols are pointing to some sort of... thing...guarding the texts. Since we're high up, I think we could follow the landmarks. It's definitely some sort of cave."

Nimuehdra pushed her for information. "Landmarks to a cave huh? But What is it? Can you tell us more?"

The Warlock prompty replied  "Something big and strong. Looks similar to the Vrykul, but...not? Another species of Vrykul? Something venerated, judging by the gilding of the page. That's the only other thing that has the golden tint on the page. I think it's guarding the texts."

Kirilovos tilted his head slightly. "Anything venerated by the Vrykul and larger than them is likely Titanic in origin. If our interest really is the pursuit of the source of the Vrykul's power, that may be the place to check." He frowns. "Though this could also be a holdover from after they made a pact with the Lich King. Many of his servants were placed above the Vrykul in esteem."

The Shal’dorei glanced over at Kiril, listening to his words carefully. "Then the question that must be asked is this: Is the risk worth it?" she said as she turned her gaze to Lady Emberfury.

"Titanic...or maybe even Ancient...Elven." She would look toward Val. "Valteia, are you aware of any ancient texts that were written by your people?" She deduced.

"A creature...that is not exactly Vrukul...could you be more descriptive perhaps, Duskrune?"

Valteia pursed her lips and thought for a moment. "I am of a younger generation of Shal'dorei, having been born only a few millenia ago. However, my parents witnessed the Sundering. Ancient texts -do- reside in our small home. They probably haven't been opened since the barrier was erected."

"Either it's guarding the texts, or it's texts that are needed to summon something. It's big, stony, and has a long beard... long hair?" Duskrune looked even more confused.

Nimuehdra sighed, defeated. The Magistrix bit her lower lip under her mask. She was lost for ideas. As soon as Duskrune spoke however....her eyes would widen. "That....sounds." She would swerve a bit on her mount. " A Jotun..."

The Red-haired Ebon moved his head in either direction, as if weighing the information. He looks back and up to Nimuehdra again. "Stone and bearded sounds like at minimum one of the Giants, if not a Keeper."

Nimuehdra let out a heavy breath,  "If it's what I fear, then the map or texts depicts a Jotun that is guarding something...something important."

The poor Warlock looked absolutely lost "Jotun? That some sort of breakfast cereal? Or disease?" Duskrune then grumbled, "There was something else, that looked like one of my toenail clippings after I don't clip for a year."

Valteia darted her eyes between Lady Emberfury and the Orc, listening to the conversation at hand. She was not familiar with the term 'Jotun' and was curious to hear the creature explained.

Kirilovos snorted at the Orcish woman. "The Jotun are the Giants which reside, primarily, in the mountains in the farthest Northern reaches of these lands." He blinks at her further words. "How...descriptive," said he,“I think it may also be the name of a particular Watcher, but I may have that mixed up.”

Duskruned struggled to explain,  "It's curled and pointed like a claw. Isn't that a good description of long toenails?"

Nimuehdra sighed. "A Jotun...Jotnar people are a type of entity contrasted with gods and other figures, such as dwarfs and elves... But to see them active in this day and age." She bit her lip once more. The Magistrix was caught off guard, "Toenail clippings?" She wrinkled her forehead, "Do you mean, you see a horn?” She tried to understand the senile Warlock.

The Rogue glanced at Kiril as he spoke. She listened carefully to his explanation of Jotun. After he concluded, she gave a nod, making a mental note. At hearing the Orc's mention of toenail clippings, Valteia grimaced slightly, though the expression was hidden by her mask.

Duskrune’s weary eyes brightened. "Hey. That sounds like a better analogy. What was your name again, Blood-Blondie?"

"Nimuehdra Emberfury. Blood Mage and Envoy to the Scions." The snowy-haired woman corrected.

"There's a little bit of gold at the blowy end. And some more text, but it looks a bit more squiggly and less blocky like the Vrykul. ...Not the same sort of swirly as I'm used to, though. Ugh. Nom-nom-hydra? Can I call you 'Hydra' instead?" Nur’kuhzal Duskrune narrowed her eyes and scrathced her head on her Rylak as she said so.  "Elven. It's not what we used in the Council, that's for sure." she then added.

Nimuehdra’s Ebon Chevalier, stared at the Orcish woman for a moment and his eyes glaze over as he fights it, but he simply cannot contain a laugh. It was clear and surprisingly pure from him, shaking his whole body for a moment. As he looks up at Nimuehdra he manages to growl out,"Hydra... That will be your codename in secure documents and transmissions from now on." The Magistrix would look daggers at Kiriloves as he entertained the Orc. She would grit her teeth and bear it for now.  No one was going to call her HYDRA of all things.

At Lady Emberfury's mention to go ahead and get it themselves, Valteia chirps up. "The Orc woman in our company mentioned the sparring taking place below. Perhaps that could keep the Vrykul distracted long enough for me to retrieve the document?"

"That's what I was thinking," said Nur’kuhzal.

Valteia said, “I will bathe myself in shadow and sneak along the various monuments and statues that litter the ground below”

The Magistrix raised a hand to pink her brow. Exasperated she breathed "Be careful and quiet in your approach, Valtaeia. Miss Duskrune, please just call me Lady Nimueh."

Duskrune scratched her chin, "Pendulum? It all sounds like mumbo jumbo to me."

The Red-haired Ebon looked over at the woman then up to Nimueh. "If you like, I could cause an even larger distraction. Once they've all come to their gates they won't bother looking for a small creature lurking in the shadows, it is not in their nature to fear such."

Valteia gave a nod and looked up at the sky above her, ensuring that the sun had not begun to peek through the clouds above. "I will act accordingly, Lady Emberfury." she said calmly.

She glanced over at Kiril as he indirectly mentions her. "But what of you? Wouldn't that be an unnecessary risk for you? I am confident in my abilities to venture in and out as quickly as possible."

Kirilovos shrugged at the Nightborne and gestures. "I suppose it is some minor risk to me, but nothing significant. Come, I can show you to the sparring area and I will distract just them. Once you are in and out just send up a signal."

Valteia gave a simple nod. "Aye," she says softly. She tugs on the reins of her saber, maneuvering the large cat to follow Kiril to the sparring area.

Upon hearing, the Ebon saluted to the Head of Operations respectfully.

"It's Lady Nimueh--nevermind." The Mage gave up and ended abruptly.

Kirilovos raised his hand in a fist to stop Valteia, eyes narrowing. The Vrykul were shouting quite loudly, enough so that he could speak at a normal volume and not fear being overheard by them. "Hold here. See if you can understand what they are saying, no reason not to try and gain some intelligence before we start causing a scene."

Duskrune's Rylak, luckily, had seen the spellwing as a friend and not a foe. It followed behind rather closely--and much more fluidly--than the jerky movements from before. Duskrune obviously couldn't see when her attention was on the flying Eye, that was for sure. "They're talking about...something. It's a low and gutteral speech; not a lot of words. I'm thinking all of his brains went to his muscles."

Lady Nimuehdra Emberfury nodded. "Good plan...perhaps if we move a bit closer...we need to be -very- discreet though. These Vrykul tame dragons."

Valteia tugged on the reins of her saber's harness tightly, coming to an abrupt stop at Kiril's command. She turned her right ear towards the sound of Vrykul, trying to understand what they were saying. "I believe I hear them saying praises to Odin," she says softly, furrowing her ebony brows.

Kirilovos murmured very quietly to Nimueh. "To be clear, my Lady, if we draw their attention you are to open a portal and run through it at the earliest possible moment." He blinks at Valteia and sets to listening as well.

Duskrune spoke quietly "I'm not the best lip reader. I should probably start learning."

Valteia nodded in response to Kiril's concern. "He is right." she began in a hushed voice. "Things could easily go awry here, though I will do my best to ensure such does not occur."

As the company approached, they would be cloaked in shadow still. Silently, then would come upon them and overhear their speech. Nimueh being fluent in most vrykul dialects would extend her linguist spell for the group to understand. The Shal'dorei was not too far from understanding what they talked about but her deduction would be still far from it. They would learn that the two Vrykul were named Ingvar and Torsten. Ingvar was a tall

brute with a club in his hand, he would be quite boorish in his mannerisms and had a toothpick in his mouth that would appear to be made of bone. Torsten, on the other hand, was a lanky fellow in comparison but was just as tall and blonde.

The Blonde giant would begin. "By Odin's missing eye, should the hunt for the horn be successful, we may get become rich, Ingvar..." To which Ingvar would grunt and whack Torsten on the back of the head. He would then laugh. "I'm

going to get myself that woman, Olga. Want her to birth -my- children with those round hips...and that bo---" Torsten would whack him back in the mouth before he could finish. He would straighten his blonde braids as he did so.

"Her father's nearby. Shut it!" This would make the larger man agitated and whack the other to the ground with his club. "Yourrre lucky this isn't my axe, boy." Torsten then pulled the larger man's long red beard to him. "You're all talk, Ingvar. Besides, I think we both know the money will get us all the women we want." The younger, blonde man was the more intelligent of the two. "The horn is capable of granting wishes should you do one task of the Jotun's bidding....you're the stronger one." She insisted. Torsten was trying to get the larger man to get his wish granted by forcing him into the trial the Jotun may present him with.

As Nimuehdra neared them, a twig would creak under her feet. This would cause both of them to look in their direction. "Oh...Dath'Remar's arse....they saw us." whispered the Mage.

"Valtaeia, Kiril. Make quick work of them while we stand by."

Nur’kuhzal Duskrune made sure to call back the Eye, popping it within the empty socket. Duskrune would need to be able to see again if they were possibly going to engage in combat. The Orcish Warlock's fist mashed into the other hand's open palm, grinding it back and forth. Nur'kuhzal may have been old, but she still could pack a whollop.

The Shal’dorei acted hastily and cloaked herself in shadow, going completely stealth. She rushed behind Ingvar, thinking his talk of courting a woman and having her bear his children would keep him in a...distracted state of mind. She used the opportunity to sap the brute.

Kirilovos looked back to Valteia with a raised brow, a small grin forming on his face. "You take the ski-" He cut off as she sprang into action, earning her a chuckle before he looked to Torsten. He decided silence was the most important factor, so he clenched his

fist and watched as the Vrykul was raised off his feet with a thin strand of dark energy around his throat. He looked over to Nimuehdra. "Any use for them alive? I can only hold this so long, but I wouldn't mind extracting some information from him if you think it helps."

Duskrune 's arms crossed with a snerk of sorts, admiring the two's teamwork.

Nimuehdra nodded. "Sap them and make them Divulge more on the horn.." She pointed a digit at the senile Orc. "You're a Warlock aren't you? Time to shine, Miss Duskrune."

Valteia peered behind from the toppled over, sapped Vrykul, gazing at Kiril. She gave a slight smirk from beneath her mask, the only evidence of this seen in the crescent shape her periwinkle eyes had taken. At hearing Lady Emberfury's order, she gave a nod, acknowledging it.

The Blood Mage smirked. "Good job you two. Come let's ask our friends here what is the story behind this...horn."

Kirilovos approached his captive Vrykul with a confident stride, pulling out his hooked blade and swining it around for a moment, showing off its cruel edge. As he got closer he placed it around his captives' throat, cutting a tiny line of red into its neck. "If he tries to move, he will lose his head. I am sure he will be receptive to questions."

Valteia pushed Ingvar down to the ground, easily being able to do so due to his incapacitated state. She pressed her foot into his chest and peered down at him. Her hues narrowed as she stared at him intently.

Duskrune pointed to herself, with a 'wuh? Me?' look on her face. The elder waddled up to the skinny one, lifting her walking stick. An array of hollow metal thumps reverberate through the air, as the woman cracked the skinny one's skull a few times. If the two weren't knocked out before, they were now. Glancing back to Nimuehdra. Oh, right. Not -that- kind of questioning. With a grunt, Duskrune squat before the skinny one, spitting on her palms before rubbing them together and placing them upon the man's skull. A knocked out target was easy to divulge into the memories of, but it'd be much harder if they woke. Duskrune whispered in a chanting-like speech; reliving the one's most powerful memories on the topics that had most interested her; namely about the horn and the mysteries of the Jotun. "They made this pretty public," Duskrune spoke a bit more loudly, though her voice was distant and not all there; her attention elsewhere.

"The whole village was in on this, it looks like. Som sort of competition to endure some sort of suffering, live through it and gain the this... Horn thing. Horn of Re...compiling? ...Compensense! That. Well, not an item. But some sort of blessing of knowing that the Jotun had, in order to find it." The woman's lips and face wrinkled even more. "There's a map with more squiggly stuff nearby, too. Maybe one of you elven ladies can read it."

Valteia watched as the Orc spat on her hands and placed them on the Vrykul's head. She furrowed her ebony brows slightly, not sure of the need for saliva. At the mention of "Elven" ladies, Valteia perched her brows. She kept her foot pressed firmly into the

Vrykul's chest as she nodded at the woman. "I could give it a try unless the Lady would like to do the honors."

The Chevalier watched the warlock work with great amusement. "That is impressive work, he did not even awaken while you went about your business." He looks between Nimueh and Valteia. "Nimuehdra appears to be versed in many foreign languages. Even if it is the result of spellwork she may be better prepared for trying to read such a map."

The Leader of the three agents wrinkled her nose as she watched the Orc work. She would shake her head at her methods but wasn't one to complain if they worked. The Magistrix shrugged and tucked a lock of white behind her ear. "Recompense....? The Horn of Recompense?" She would bring a gloved hand to her mask and tap where her lips would be behind her mask. "A competition to retrieve a lost Horn?" She would look to the Shal'dorei agent and nod. "Valtaeia take a look. " The Mage would escort the Rogue to where the text lay now unguarded. As their backs faced the other two with the vrykul.

A cold smile, dark and almost menacing would appear on the snowy-haired Mage's features as she turned her head to look over her shoulder.

 "Oh...and dispose of them."

The Shal’dorei followed Lady Emberfury, her footfalls light upon the ground. She smirked beneath her mask at Lady Emberfury's command, but other than that paid it little mind. As a seasoned assassin, the idea of killing did not phase her. She peered at the unguarded text before her. She narrowed her gaze as her periwinkle hues scanned over each word.

She stumbled a bit with translating the text as it was of ancient Elvish that was beyond her understanding. However, she was able to piece together a broken sentence

through the help of words on the text that were shared with Shalassian. She took the next in her gloved hands and spoke broadly. "This text tells of a particular Jotun who was once under the control of Helya. However, he was rescued by Odin and freed

from his damnation. It says here that he will grant one wish to anyone who successfully pursues the Horn."

The Ebon applied the slightest amount of pressure with his blade, cutting almost to the windpipe on his Vrykul. The flesh around the wound quickly blackens and the necrosis spreads, the Vrykul twitching and its mouth moving as if trying and failing to scream.

Kiril closed his eyes in a moment of ecstasy and then huffed with disappointment as Torsten collapses to the ground, his flesh rotted across his body. Kiril's runeblade glowed for a brief moment before he sheathed it on his back, eyes quickly growing dispassionate again after having seemed quite alive and excited.

The Magistrix was pleased with the day’s findings so she would usher the party to step through a portal she discreetly weaved behind them before the rest of the settlement was made aware of their presence. The Map was brought back to the Dalaran Div Headquarters where it lay. 

The agents and the Blood Mage thought it best to involve the leaders of the Clandestine to further help to look for the Horn of Recompense. 

@scions-of-antiquity  @the-clandestines @lledwynlomeriel @roewyn @iamauroracole @thebuildingcacophony

[nihanovacaine]

Div Toxicology Specialist Etoile Ravensong. 

Aesthetic || Harvest Witch

[nihanovacaine]

The Horn of Recompense (Chapter Two)

The Magistrix and the Shal'dorei Rogue, Valteia Sindal were now in the Dalaran Hq. "Ilyea, I am giving you the co-ords to the Dalaran Office. Do you think you can come over. I have more to speak about that map. Remember to look at Draumr in the eye."  

"Be right there in a flash.......just need to uh, .....figure out something. Aurora will be there with me as well...hold on hold on." She sounds rushed but there's a faint whirling click in the background.

Valteia stayed in full stealth as she listened to Lady Emberfury speak on the comms device. She watched the door to the Dalaran office intently, ready to intervene should things go awry.

Ilyea hesitantly walked into the area and fumbled with the bandages on her hand as she walked over to the door "Okay....the thing with the eyes. Looking something in the eyes, maybe. maybe? Maybe." She seemed to be more reassuring herself.

Valteia watched as the Sin'dorei walked through the doors of the Dalaran office, her periwinkle hues narrowed. She eyed the woman's bandages and studied them, pondering as to why the woman possessed them in the first place.

As the Guardian, Draumr, sensed the presence of the Red-haired Clandestine, the runeforged Sentry would liven up, letting out a stony grind as it did so. Blue runic bolts shot from its eyes as it scanned the Sin'dorei. "Gree...tings.....Cole...Ilyea." It would clap its hands together and open the door on the walkways for the Mage to come in. "Elu...meniel....mal...alan..."

"Oh !Shit!" Ilyea exclaimed loudly with a small jump to her steps. "A security system, well that makes sense....kind of like the other one in Stormheim maybe?" Another fiddling of the bandages as she tilted her head seemed to look to something else. No matter. The woman took a faint smirk as she finger gunned to the guardian. making sure to look at it within its eye, or wherever it was. Ilyea looked all over. Better to be safe than sorry. "Elu menny benny boo to you too." She chirped as she walked further into the office.

Valteia watched and listened carefully as Draumr confirmed the identity of the fiery-haired Sin'dorei who had entered. "Ilyea Cole." Valteia thought to herself, making a mental note.

Nimuehdra would be perched over a large round table as Ilyea walked inside. Her white tresses would cover her features as she hovered over w leather object over the aforementioned table. The Map was all inscribed in runes and ancient elven. Being a reliquarian, Nimuehdra hoped Ilyea would help solve her problems. Nimuehdra looked up as she spoke back to Draumr. A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she did so. "Welcome, Ily." said the Magistrix with a gentle smile upon her lips.

Valteia watched as Ilyea approached Lady Emberfury at the table, her eyes never leaving the woman. Because she was unfamiliar with the fiery-haired mage, she was wary of letting her guard down.

"Eeeeeyyy you two." Ilyea murmured once more shooting finger guns. "Just had a hard time with the portaling thing, doing some hard training and lost a bit of track of time. Going from bashy into smarty brain...yeah.."Ilyea figured she had said too much and she could practically hear Aurora rolling his eyes. Ilyea hopped up onto the table where the map was, not taking care one bit. "Oh yeah! The mappity map! Right.....anything you figured out before hand, is this where the Horny Horn is or...just seeming in general for things?"

Valteia lofted an ebony brow at Ilyea's words "you two." She looked about her person with a bewildered expression, wondering how the woman could see her under her cloak of stealth. Realizing that she could be seen my the mage, Valteia dispelled her concealment. She approached the two Sin'dorei, her footfalls light against the office's flooring. She continued to peer at Ilyea, her glowing hues narrowed.

Ilyea was actually surprised to see another person pop up. "Oh %^&*, another person. I was referring to my husband." The mage answered dumbly. She gestured to some invisible space but to say the other rogue was around that spot, she really wasn't showing.

Nimuehdra smirked and returned the gesture back with Ily's signature finger gun with a single gloved hand. She grew concerned as she learned that the Mage was not able to portal to Dalaran. "Ily...Is everything quite alright?" Snowy brows furrowed at the woman. "Auro and Ily, this thing..." A single gloved digit pointed at the map before her. "It's all gibberish to me. Valteia here," She gestures with her chin toward the stealthy Shal'dorei. "Helped translate a while ago that it led to a Cave of sorts. Perhaps this Horn of Recompense as the Vrykul called it, is what the creature guards." She sighed. Her gaze was affixed on the Shal'dorei agent.

Valteia opened her eyes wide at the revelation, feeling a bit embarrassed. She gently scratched by her ear in her humiliation. She remained silent, wishing to pretend the exchange had never happened. As Lady Emberfury addressed her, she glanced over to the Magistrix, giving a nod as she acknowledged her words. "Aye. I share these sentiments, my lady. Considering such an artifact gives one the chance of acquiring one wish, it's only natural for it to be heavily guarded by a powerful creature." continued, averting her gaze from Lady Emberfury, her periwinkle hues falling upon Ilyea's features. "I am unable to fully translate the map I read at the Vrykul settlement as I am a of a newer generation of elves. However, I -did- manage to create a broken translation based off of similar words and phrases shared between ancient Elvish and Shalassian. From what I was able to translate, Odin placed a curse upon Helya, allowing the Jotun, Fafnir, to be freed from her service. He was able to repent by guarding the Horn of Recompense. The map mentions that should someone seek out the Horn and successfully complete its trial shall be presented to him or her one wish." She paused a moment and glanced over to Lady Emberfury. "This horn is what the Magistrix seeks and the promise of a free wish."

"Wish...?" Ilyea's lip pressed together as she thought about it for a little while. "Is it some kind of time magic.....perhaps?" Ilyea asked but was unsure of exactly what was meant by it. There had to be some severe kind of draw back regarding it, and to receive a map that contained it. "Creatures, traps, puzzles....all of the like. Incredible..."Ilyea mused as she confirmed her seat upon the edge of the map. The Mage was of the Magistrix’ concern "I'm sure it's just because of my training. I recognize the lines a bit, just been training more with my fists than with my magic if you catch my drift.."The mage mused. "You should worry exactly kind of wish you may be looking for? Sometimes the price of such may be too great..."Ilyea moved her fingertips across the battered leather and the runic whouls with soft trepidation. A dot of blood would fall where Ilyea would touch but bare enough that it wouldn't hold any weight. Ilyea closed her eyes and seemed to spread her *aura* over the map speaking to the arcane links within the instrument. As she breathed in her eyes would flutter a soft blue as it began to soak up the links and patterns of what was before her. The mage would move her hands letting each runic link flutter and disappear as she moved her hand past, it glowing now softly blue as did the mage. "The magic feels pure, kind of like the wards.....titanic to a fault. The link is there. The runes....while Valkyr are almost Kaldorei in response, nothing that I recognize but then again I didn't do much research into that. Titan though....that would make sense, if it was very heavily guarded....especially considering the spike in old god magics...."The mage shook her head letting the blue drain into green of her eyes. "That's as far as I was getting."

Nur'kuhzal gave a knock to the door frame, before lifting her arms in a large yawn. Bones and joints were popping like a crate of fireworks over there. "Oooh...I should have taken a nap -here-, instead of on the ground..." Nur'kuhzal yawned sleepily.

Draumr greets Nur'kuhzal as a Scion. "Elu...meniel...mal...alann...Duskrune...Nur...kuh....zal...."

Ilyea turned her head recognizing another Clandestine member and giving her a brief nod. She was sprawled herself over the map upon one corner itself, her fingers tapping across the page.

Valteia watched as the Mage began to run her fingers against the map, spreading her aura across the etchings within the leather. The glow emitted from Ilyea's aura reflected in Valteia's periwinkle orbs, creating flashes of blue within the assassin's irises. As the hue of the mage's eyes fluttered into a pale blue, Valteia watched the scene with curiosity, though kept her own eyes narrowed should the incantation go awry. Once Ilyea's hues faded back into their natural, green state, Valteia's body eased, her eyes no longer staring daggers into the fiery-haired maged. Noticing Nur'kuhzal Nur'kuhzal enter the Dalaran office, Valteia nodded at her with respect, acknowledging her existence.

Nur’kuhzal offered a lowering of her head, as well. The most prominent thing in -Nur'kuhzal's- eyes was confusion. Had she really -just- woken up, this late at night?

Nimuehdra watched as the drop of blood fell upon the map. Emerald obrs studied the Mage's movements as she worked. The Blood Mage listened intently, raising a gloved hand to her chin as she spoke. "Of titanic make...yes...that makes sense...the runes are old even the newer Vrykul have forgotten some of their usage as well. The tribe we...acquired this from. Were using it for wealth and prosperity. Something about it...seems a miss." Nimuehdra, being a Scion for a while was used to the red-haired mage's eyes flickering to blue every once in a while.

"Eh, you know what they say. Don't judge a book by it's cover, and all of that business." Nur’kuhzal said.

Vamine blinked, hearing the conversation inside, she stops knocking and pressed her ear to the door. She listened in on whatever was taking place.

The Sentry, Draumr greeted the teenager and whirred. A stony hand would grind away from its body to open the door. "Young Emberfury.....Elu....meniel....mal...alan...."

Nur'kuhzal yawned, and stretched, again. A smoking pipe was brought out--crafted from a smooth, black rock--was procured, glancing to the others with questioning. As if to ask, if it was fine to smoke in here.

Vamine meeped loudly as the door sprang open and she fell forward, looking at Draumr. "Yeah, yeah. Aluminum Mental Mal'Ganis to you too.."

Ilyea tilted her head as Vamine fell forward and chuckled, but then again she hadn't seen Vammy since she got older so her eyebrow rose again. "You got another kid?" The mage asked but simply brushed her fingers across. "Wealth and Prosperity....perhaps, but a wish. You don't understand Nims. A wish...to be able to boast that is some realty breaking power. Is it really meant for that, or is it even pure? Is it corrupted? There's so much to be said here..."The mage offered biting her thumb. "Magic that powerful must has some kind of fall back....typically. Does it mean it can be re-done or is it a one or done? Whoever is protecting it might know this....or something is looking to you to figure it out..”

Vamine rubbed her arm, peering around to all the people. She pulled her hood back to reveal her matured features. She was quite the beautiful young lady, but it was clearly still Vamine.

Nur'kuhzal fiddled with her boot, flapping the loose end that was barely holding on. There were holes in her socks, too. "Oh, feet! Toenails!" Blink, blink. "What about uh, the cave thing?"

Valteia smirked to herself behind her leather face mask, fondly remembering the night when they acquired the map. The discussion between the two Vrykul was colorful, to say the least. At hearing Ilyea's concern, however, Valteia ceased thinking of humorous thoughts. She listened to the mage's words carefully, letting them sink into her mind. She glanced between the fiery-haired woman and Lady Emberfury before chiming in. "If Lady Emberfury deems acquiring this Horn to be of utmost importance, then it shall be done. However, madame Cole -does- seem to make a good point. Perhaps we should look into this 'wish' and the possible repercussions that could arise from obtaining it."

Nimuehdra thinned her lips into a smile to Vamine. She pointed at her as she entered. "Vamine has...uh...had a growth spurt of sorts. She is seventeen years old now." She informed the Red-haired mage, shifting the emerald gaze to her. "I don't....desire anything but the artifact, Ilyea. There is something amiss. So much that is incomplete about the information we have. And for a whole village of Vrykul to so horribly desire it..." She she raised her hand to massage her right temple. "There is more to it, Ily...I just know it. Dangerous it may be...but I am no fool. I won't ask for anything. I have learned that you must be careful what you wish for." She wrinkled her nose at Nur'kuhzal. "Yes...the Horn...it points us to a Cave. We were hoping the Clandestines would help us locate it. Maybe Auro can go scout for the coordinates. I know there is a portal summoning involved." The Magistrix looked toward the group. A heavy sigh would escape her lips as she averted her gaze and folded her arms deep in thought.

Valteia furrowed her brows in confusion as Vamine entered the room. When she last saw the young Sin'dorei, she was a mere child hiding behind the skirt of her mother's gown. She eyed the girl curiously, pondering how one could grow so rapidly in such little time. At hearing Lady Emberfury's sigh, she averted her eyes from the younger Emberfury and spoke calmly. "What do you know of the Vrykul's history that could indicate why they would desire such a relic? Is there something sinister afoot in this village, perhaps?"

Nimuehdra sighed and shrugged at Valteia, "It is an artifact that can cause potential unrest among people if not safely guarded. Maker knows what they would have accomplished if we had not whisked it away from the village's possession." She raised both her arms and played her fingers. "Imagine, an entire village, Valteia."

Ilyea pressed her lips together in long thought as she considered the information to herself. "I'm wondering if the Vykyul are cursed? Or...I mean, they give you this in order to figure it out as well....? I wonder if they are stuck to the village because they failed the riddle....I don't like this." The mage's words were soft. "I don't like this at all. We could be walking into a trap for a powerful artifact or something similar. Always look to see if the worst will outweigh what it means...and please don't mean this any disrespect each other....I don't mean any disrespect at all."Ilyea frowns as she looks over the map tilting her head to the side. "Aurora is saying that he is sure in his adventures in Northrend that he may recognize it, or his network does. Somewhere within near the border of the Fjord and Dragonblight.....that's what least from what he sees from all this time treasure hunting."The woman took in a sigh and didn't seem too concerned about Vammy. It happens in this world.”

Nur’kuhzal spoke up, saying "There's always something 'bad' happening. Whether it's corrupt elders making everything seem fine, or warping people's views of something that "doing this thing will be better for everyone in the end", when the elders know it isn't. Heck, Hydra hasn't even told us what she wants to do with it. We could be aiding her for some sinister cause as well; not even knowing it ."

Valteia did as commanded, imagining an entire village of riled Vrykul. "It would be a formidable scene, my lady, though I'm sure Kirilovos and I could dispatch such nuisances with relative ease." she remarked with a hidden smirk, her fingers drumming against the hilts of her blades.

Vamyine remained quiet, peering around to the remaining group. She had no idea what this meeting was about. She however began rummaging around the office, opening footlockers and peering within them.." She knelt down and let out a small sound. “Hrm…”

Nimuehdra nodded and approached the fiery-haired Mage. "I know how you feel about such shady artifacts, Ilyea." She returned in a calm voice. "If it is a trap, we will try our best to withdraw before it gets too dangerous. I know you mean no harm..." Nimuehdra would recall the time with the bracelet of coercion and how when the Magistrix informed her that it originated from a dark druidic hazing ritual, Ilyea had decided to destroy it. A sigh escaped her full lips as she turned once more to Nur'kuhzal. "I assure you I am not cursed. Not at all. I only wish for this.....artifact to be studied and stored away. It could be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. I...." she bit her lip as her voice trailed off.

Nimuehdra saw Vamine from the corner of her eye, "What are you doing, child?" She shook her head and then looked back to Ilyea. "If Auro thinks he recognizes the place...then let us prepare and at least...at least check if it is indeed dark in nature."

Vamine had found a really pretty dress in the foot locker. She subtly pressed it into a bag on her hip and nodded. Standing and peering to Nimuehdra. "O-Oh nothing...heh.." She stretched and let out a grunt. "Mmm.."

Ilyea bowed her head "That's all really and I agree with you in putting away such a dangerous artifact. We have several within the deep vaults that we study from time to time. If it's a means of procuring it and putting it there to study as you say would be fine. The only thing I caution is why exactly regarding it....tis all." The mage offered as she rolled her shoulders. "He does. He pointed it out to me."

"Whatever happens, happens.” Said Nur'kuhzal, continuing, “Everyone ends up doing what they want, eh? When are we going to shove off? I didn't even flab my gums this much to my psychiatrist."

Nimuehdra gave Vamine a look as she stood next to her. Shifting her gaze back to Ilyea, she nodded. "Such is the job of the Scions as well, I believe. Let us...pursue it." Her orbs averted to Nur'kuhzal for a moment as she spoke. "Nur'kuhzal, we need to prepare first. Like Ilyea said, we can't just be walking into a death trap."

Vamine blinked at the look Nimuehdra gave her. "What?" She then shrugged and looked over to Ilyea and Nur'kuhzal, she smiled very softly. Her purple and green eyes brightened quite a bit. "Hmmm.."

Ilyea bowed her head "That's, I mean, the least we can do. Though some times death traps seems awfully fun, they are not fun when you actually encounter them." The mage mused with a lift of a smile. "And you are correct, that's what the Scions do. If anything, we'll learn a bit."

Nur'kuhzal's arms crossed softly, hefting herself up and heading over to the map. "Well, one thing's for certain." Nur'kuhzal, stepping up to the plate since things were moving at a snail's pace. At least she had motivation, now. "I've seen this sort of thing, before. We used similar to reach access to our dead and speak with them. The only difference is a larger sacrifice in order to make it appear in the -physical- realm, instead of the -spirit- realm." She grunted.

Ilyea frowned to herself more so and pressed her lips together in long suffering silence. "So even necromancy.....or a kind of necromancy. Do you think dark titan magic like with Heilya or something similar then?" The mage was unsure as more information was thrown her way.

Vamine looked at the map, tilting her head to the side a bit. "Hmm.." She blinked. "If you are wishing to speak to the dead..without bringing them into the physical realm..Why not just ask the assistance of a strong Shadow Priest.. I would offer my services..but the dead kind of scream too much..”

Nur'kuhzal responded, "I don't think it's too out of the question to think such a thing. I used to do that sort of thing, before we got picked up by the Legion. Well, help the others with that sort of thing. We still practiced a variant of it, with the Legion. Even -I- practice a variant of it today. Elemental spirits, rather than.... gods, though. A big project like this, would definitely need more than one person involved. Demigods? Giant toenail clippings? Whatever."

Vamine blinked at Nur'kuhzal. “I am worried about you…”

Ilyea slipped off the map and moves over to where Aurora re-appeared as reaching her bloodied hands up to take some of his hair. She smiled as it colored it pink and kissed the ends. "So.....that would perhaps be what the village maybe is doing? Or am I off?”

Nur'kuhzal gave a wheezed chuckle, filling the chamber of her pipe with a strange, ground-up crystal that had been purple in origin. "Welcome to old age, little one."

Vamine looked at Nur'kuhzal. "Yeeeah, here is to praying I never get that old.."

Nimuehdra nodded to Nur'kuhzal, emerald eyes shifting to Auro as he appeared momentarily. She nodded a greeting to him even though he was present all along, acknowledging his presence. As the fiery haired Mage moved away from the Map, the Blood Mage would take a deep breath and began, "Ilyea, while Necromancy is a dark art, they are somewhat what Warlocks like Nur'kuhzal are adept at, I would briefly point out that I was trained to do so as a Blood Mage. I don't believe you recall our conversation from when I first joined the Scions...but I am not unfamiliar with this kind of magic. We might as well have to offer a sacrifice for this Jotun to appear...according to what Valteia translated, he was named Fafnir." She nodded once to herself. "These crystals can possibly be at the Village...they may have doubled their guard however. I may have to request Auro to pilfer them, if that is the case,"

The mage gives Nimuehdra a look as if saying "the hell?" The mage indeed was not present during the whole initiation thing or whatever the Scions do. "I wasn't....there..."Ilyea softly re-counted to the mage and shrugs "I didn't know blood mages could do that..."The mage was tapping her lips but merely shrugged. "I don't mind Aurora going as long as he won't be in too big of a trouble...."She studied her husband for a long moment.

Aurora pursed his lips, giving a long pause.. Turning to Ilyea he smiled softly then to Nim inclining his head in a soft nod in response.. The rogue rolled his shoulder " Aye.. If you're needing help, I can definitely be of service…” He smirked “Besides, Ilyea should be with me.. So I'm sure it won't be too big of a deal.." He turned back to his wife.

Nur'kuhzal grunted once more, mostly after the two had taken so long to speak their piece about their lover. "Come on. Let's get our shit and get out of here."

Ilyea smiles happily to Aurora and nods. "Just as long as that's the case, then I can definitely help in that regards as well."

The pale-haired Rogue turned to Nur'kuhzal watching silently behind his mask.

Vamine still had not the slightest clue as to what was going on, so she opted to remain silent, peering around. Her hand flicking at a trinket on her bag tied to her hip. "Hmm."

"It was back when we were discussing the Void once in Erudition. Never matter, it was several months ago." Nimuehdra smiled and looked to Auro, bowing her head in gratitude. "Thank you two so much for lending aid. If all is well, I believe I can hand the Map to Auro and he can lead us to the Cave after we revisit the Village for a bit of....shopping." She pulled her lips sideways, giving the group an enrapturing smirk. The Magistrix raised her hand and twirled two gloved

digits. The leather map would float toward Aurora and into his hands. The Mage would wait for everyone in the room to prepare their belongings before weaving the portal. "Let me know when you're all ready."

The fiery-haired Mage eyed the map as it floated near Aurora and ran her fingers down her robe. Her hands seemed a bit cleaner now, as she rubbed more of the blood stains into her robes. I mean that’s what they are there for. A bloodied rag would also be in Aurora's hand from cleaning them earlier and she took in a small sigh to herself, steeling herself mentally.

Aurora Cole looked back to Nimuehdra giving a sharp nod.. He reached up snatching the map from mid air and slipping it into a bag he held with his supplies.. " As soon as Ilyea and I retrieve some provisions we will be ready.. it wont take too long.. " The rogue turned to his wife.. " Unless there is something more pressing you can think of?”

Ilyea shook her head back and forth smiling to Aurora. "Not that I can think of. I'm following your lead regarding that. Something to ward perhaps a few magics I think would be wise, but other then that. Fate of the Gods it would seem."

Nur'kuhzal gave the leader of the group  a, 'really?' expression. Arms out and everything. "If I don't have the reagents we need, they will no doubt be somewhere in the cave." With a flick of a finger, a green flame ignite upon the end of a finger. Bringing it to circle about the rim of the pipe, to light it's contents. That -definitely- wasn't smoking tobacco; it was something more off putting and unhealthy looking.

“I was thinking the same exact thing, considering wards.” Aurora smiled, “I like to think our fate is with in our own hands…”

Ilyea spoke, “I already have enough of my blood upon us both, I could fashion up something pretty similar. It's titans but with necromancy. So....Shadow magic, what else do you think?”

While everyone prepared, Nimuehdra would change into her Div armor. Robes always got in the way of fieldwork.

Vamine peers around. "So...what exactly are we doing?"

Nur'kuhzal suddenly woke up, from a trance. "Wait, what? We're finally gettin' goin'?" ...Was she sleeping again? "No one's gone to look around in my head; poke my brains. Although I think that'd hurt. Eh. Even with the military companies, they wouldn't get me seen by anyone before I joined. I guess they thought I'd die before I saw any field action."

Vamine spoke frustratedly, “Mother come open your silly, Aluminum Mal’Ganis balls door?"

Nur'kuhzal wiggled her fingers at the door. "Openus the dooriosus!"

Ilyea gestured to the group "Follow us!" Auro finished for her, “We are headed out.”

Upon arriving, Ilyea spoke first “I remember this spot, don't you love?” Auro nodded with a smile “Aye, that I do love.” Ilyea used some of her blood and made a small rune upon herself and then upon Aurora's arm smiling to him.

Nur'kuhzal chimed in "Oh, hey. This is where I met you folks." She seemed much more coherent, after her smoke. What was that stuff, anyway?

Nimuehdra said "Aye, remember we flew from here, down into the village, Nur'kuhzal?"

Vamine peered around, her hood hiding all but her mouth, her lips curved up to show her fangs, clearly she had an angered expression being back on this continent..

Aurora smiled. " Up down up.. " He turned his gaze out to the town below.. "

Ilyea responded“I don't remember this myself… Unless you met somewhere else all I remember is Orgrimmar.” She grinned to Aurora smiling gently "Up down up indeed love. I'm glad you remember."

Nur'kuhzal looked around, "Someone brought the translations. Right?"

Aurora pursed his lips, he reached down for the map once more.. He slowly began to open it, his hand gripping either side.. he looked to Ilyea.. " Seems we are at the correct spot.. " He glanced around, then to everyone else.

Ilyea eyed Aurora as he had the map "Well he has the map itself right now. As far as anything else, it's here say. I think Nims mentioned something about crystals." Auro responded, “Aye.. It seems we need to make our move.. There should be a cave near by..”

Vamine moved away from the group. She sat down and overlooked the area. She clearly disliked being here.

As the group chattered away, the Magistrix would raise her hand and extend it, palm facing upwards. A translucent holographic map would flash before the other four. There would be a white spot on the map that would blink, easing in and out as it did so. "That, if you remember, Miss Nur'kuhzal...is where the village is located." She would let the four observe before dismissing the image she conjured. She nodded at Auro. "We must first gather those...crystals or whatever aids us in the summoning."

“If it's titan in origin, and is as powerful. There usually should be some traps nearby unless they were disabled. That could be the case....Always seems to be the case.” Ilyea paused before adding, “And that would be where you'd have Aurora sneak in to gather them, exactly how many crystals do we need?”

Nimuehdra nodded, "You are right, Ilyea. Titanic ruins are almost always full of those pesky traps. I do believe however that the Cave the map speaks of is Vrykul...and ancient."

“Well.. We have two options really... A cave to the north.. and one to the east..” Closing the map Auro looked to Ilyea and gave a nod “Easily.. They should be blue in nature, emitting a purple hue.. if I'm correct..” he glanced to Nim.

Ilyea teased Aurora gently,"That's the magic that I channeled but you are correct. Nur'kuhzal, Vammy, how many crystals do these certain rituals need?”

Nur’kuhzalresponded, "I can set up the crystals and reagents in the manner that we use when calling upon the spirits. There's a different way--and different reagents--to call upon the elements, compared to people and other creatures. We should probably use the latter formation, aye? Usually, it all boils down to things that relate to what you want to summon. Summoning demons usually required something from the Twisting Nether. I am guessing here, we'll need the 'sacrifice', as well as something related to this Horton---Jo...Jotun, thing."

Nimuehdra thinned her lips at Auro and nodded. "Blue...with a purple glow..." The Magistrix's eyes widened. "Ymirjar..." she quietly murmured to the four.

Vamine held up her hand. "Why not just use one bigger crystal?”

Nur'kuhzal added,"The area has to be 'purified' of sorts, we usually mark off which areas we want to use with the smaller stuff, aye?" She nodded at Vamy’s question.

Ilyea quietly shrugged at the mention of the name, all of these names just kind of sailed over her head. She glanced back to Aurora and smiled to him.

Aurorar looked to Vammy, "Suppose on how big that crystal needs to be. "

Vamine stood up, her golden eyes peering around, then looked back at the group. "I would say, for what you want to do, maybe one about the size of my leg?"

Nur'kuhzal broke in, "Anyway. We'll focus on the summoning portion later. For now, I can use my peeper to check the place out, aye?"

Auro blinked, haltingly saying, “...your... Peeper?”

Ilyea snapped her fingers and motioned to the air. Sorenar appears seemingly out of thin air to the mage, floating alongside her. "Why'd you wake my from my nap, Ilyea... geez! I was doing some cataloging and things” Ilyea responded “...I need information on Ymarsomething or other."

The masked Rogue gave a very long, sustained sigh in response to Ilyea.

Sorenar,  lazily spins his small head around and glares at everyone present. "Someone obviously hasn't been reading the new fashion catalogs..."Ilyea waved her hand "And you mean Ymirjar....ancient runic soul magic...my mistress studied that quite a bit while she was here." Ilyea simply sighed into her palm.

Nimuehdra was grateful for her mask as her eyes glazed over from containing her laughter. She somehow managed to do so. "A larger crystal is probably more convenient idea." She nodded. The Magistrix would cloak the group in an invisibility spell. "Alright, you know how this works. There's no direct sunlight here so no one should be able to detect our shimmer. But careful about spells, the enchantment would fail should you cast any."

Vamine shook her head. Vamine falls flat onto the ground, upon making contact she dispersed into the shadows. A much easier form of invisibility for the girl. "I’ll stick to the shadows.."

Sorenar peered to Aurora "I didn't touch her… She is my new mistress, I wouldn't dream of it!”

Auro responded, “Aye.. You didn't... Watch your tongue, or you'll find yourself in a coffin...again... This time, I won't tell anyone where you are.”

Sorenar responded,  “Urrrgggh, macho husband a…” Ilyea let him talk mid sentence, almost seemingly like the two exchanges were nothing new to the mage. The skull disappeared and Ilyea took in a sigh. “ ...I don't like this...Runic soul magic…” She said.

Nur'kuhzal made a fist, beating on the back of her head. A sickening, wet 'pop' sounded, as the Eye of Kilrogg fell into her other open, waiting hand.

Nimuehdra shuddered at Nur'kuhzal. The Warlocks had advanced since her time. Must she always have to use her actual eye for this? A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she dismissed the thought. The Mage's attention shifted to Sorenar, she recalled him from a few months prior. "Aye, runic soul magic was a common theme among them, wasn't it? The Ymirjar...what are they even doing as of late. Surely they lost their purpose after the fall of the traitor Prince Arthas." She maintained a furrowed brow as she asked the floating skull.

Ilyea shook her head "Well runic soul magic I mean I don't know enough regarding it. Is it mostly with warlocks, would it be with mages. What kind of things are you asking for when you pull that out of you, just a lot of different questions. When you use the summoning, and the sacrifice part, are you using something else or a part of yourself or your own soul?”

Nimuehdra nodded she would raise a gloved hand to rub the back of her index finger to the tip of her masked nose. "I would defer that question to Nur'kuhzal..." She would pause for a moment before continuing further. "Though, hopefully, we don't actually have to sacrifice ourselves for the ritual." Though, should it be required, the Magistrix wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice one of the villagers to acquire the artifact. She would however, keep this to herself.

Aurora gave a soft nod.. “Sometimes you must take extreme action for the better good..” He smirked  “I’m sure a lowly villager won't be missed.”

Nimuehdra lofted a snowy brow at Aurora as he said so. A smirk grew on her features behind her mask in turn. A nod followed, "I suppose not, Auro."  She then shifted her glance toward Nur'kuhzal, "Can you lead us back to the village?"

Ilyea slowly crossed her arms over her chest and took in a small breath. She would simply observe for now, her eyes glancing to the rogue and then everyone else in tow.

Nur'kuhzal's hand touched her chin. That smoke break had really helped. "Only the uninformed use their actual souls. What we tend to do, is take them from our opponents and store them away for later. It's the same thing we'd done to our dead that didn't have any great knowledge to share or use for later. We'd use them to help with our rituals, or to power our attacks, or the like." A hand waved in explanation; her words eerily....clear. "Aren't the two--the Ymarjar and Scourge--different, though? The Scourge hasn't been around for a long while, but the magics used by the people here have been set in place for much longer. We -should- be able to... persuade any lingering souls around here to help us with any of that sort of thing, should we need it, though."

Nimuehdra nodded. "Aye they are older than most. Though, the Kvaldir are older, the Ymirjar possess the knowledge we seek. The Jotun in question, Fafnir...we need our questions answered first." She looked toward Auro and Ily. "Let's get the blue crystal first, then capture a couple of the villagers...hopefully someone who can answer our queries." She would then shift her attention to the senile Warlock. "You know the way from last time, we are already cloaked as I explained. Lead the way, Nur'kuhzal." She awaited the trio's response.

"Well, before we shove off.... you get more with honey, than you do with vinegar. If you have to show off how big your penises are, challenge them to honourable combat. Not going around slaying them from the shadows without saying something first. You'd like to be told before someone's gonna whip it out and piss on your face, too, right?" Nur'kuhzal beckoned Nimuehdra over.

Nimuehdra approached, saying "I don't think that is necessary, Nur'kuhzal. We'd rather handle this stealthily,"

"You can't get questions answered if you're nowhere to be seen to ask about them." Nur'kuhzal responded with a nod.

Ilyea bit her lip "It also depends on how different we wish to or how much in stealth we wish to be as well. Yeah what Nims said. So we have to capture the blue crystal, would it have the same signature as the map?”

Nimuehdra looked over to the Coles. "And what do the Clandestine have to say about this? Honorable combat or swift stealthy action? I do so prefer the latter. I bet we've made a bit of a ruckus since we killed off two of their men last time. Insignificant as they were to us, we are still unclear what role they once played. I am unsure where they hide the crystals, I suppose we'll just have to find out."

Aurora rolled his shoulder.. " We are very skilled with the shadows.. and do prefer to do things within the vale of the dark... But.. Honestly, Magistrix... Either way you point the blade.. We will make do.. It's up to you and the Div to make the choice.. We will find away to bend the shadows to favor us.. don't worry about that.”

Ilyea pressed her hands together considering everything in tow. "They hide the crystals and get angry at us killing yes. But if there's an easier way perhaps with trial by combat to get both, but depends how well we are for combat really. I agree with Aurora upon your decision. It's the Divs mission though it doesn't involve artifacts."

Dusrune interjected, "How about this. We do the sneaky sneaky stuff. And if we get caught, we show them proof that we've killed two of their men. They wouldn't challenge us if they'd known that we'd taken them out. The best way to show proof, is to show their armour, weapons, or scraps of clothes they'd worn. Or…”

Ilyea asked quickly, “Do you still have something similar to that? I think that's.....A good way of going about it, yes.”

Nur'kuhzal continued, "Two groups could go. One of them of less-than stealthy people, like myself, to talk to them. The guys will be distracted with us newcomers.The second group is the stealthy people, going around to look for the crystal if we can't 'earn' it through diplomacy."

Ilyea added, “If the crystal is the same as the map, I could try and track it. We have the map, it'll just be keeping with the signature.”

Nimuehdra raised a gloved hand to her masked lips and thought for a moment. The Clandestine were flexible in their suggestions she would be silently contemplate. Her eyes averted to the Orc as she spoke to the trio. However, the clothes of the artifacts the men Ingvar and Torsten possessed has rotted away because of the Ebon Chevalier's unholy magic. The Magistrix shook her head. "We have no physical proof of their demise."

"Who knows? The map might be a reagent for later on, too." Nur'kuhzal pondered aloud.

Ilyea adds, “Well, we could even do one easier. You have your poisons on you right love? We poison their drink. Sleeping potion. Wait a little bit, go in and take what we need.”

"Well, whatever we do is up to Nom-Nom Hydra, so..." Nur'kuhzal frowned with disappointment at Nimueh.

Ilyea asked, baffled, “Nom nom Hydra?”

Aurora gave a nod.. He looked back the group.. " Is there a river? We could poison that to infect the whole place.. " He looked around.. " They must be getting their water supply from there. "

Ilyea said, “I was thinking their brew, any kind of warrior race needs to have their alcohol so...I don't know.”

Nimuehdra raised her chin to the trio, her hands folded across her chest. "There is a river over yonder, they do have it running through the Village."

“Aye.. But they make it from something.. The issue with the river.. it will take time.. While going directly to the source we will be in danger and it will be faster.” Auro observed, continuing, “We won't have to kill them.. We can put them to sleep.”

"I prefer that idea, too." Nur'kuhzal agreed.

Ilyea added “Then we take whatever we need for the ritual to work and get the crystals.”

“At least.. We can do that from afar.. I can call for a Scion envoy to come by air..” Auro added.

Ilyea said, “Not to mention that, if they have anything else interesting in the village we can pick it up too for later.”

Aurora nodded... " Fine.. I’ll send word back to Maggie to mix a concentrated version of the sleeping mixture.. A barrel should work.. It should be here within the hour.. "

Ilyea smirked to Aurora and gave him a little elbow. “He's used it on me before so it doesn't take too long for it to work.”

"They're a lot bigger than us, and more hardier from working and living in the cold." Duksrune pondered aloud, "Will have to give them a lot. But not too much to kill them."

Nimuehdra's brow furrowed for a fleeting moment. "Drug them and then capture a couple of them. While going and pilfering the crystal too..." She nodded. "Yes..." she added. "That sounds like a plan. No need to charge in and potentially endanger ourselves. They are no Orcs, while they value honor, they also once served the Lich King..." she reminded them. "It's best we use the quieter approach."

“Despite times..” Aurora gave a nod to Nur'kuhzal.. “I agree.. It will need to be adjusted..” he glanced to Nim listening to her words.

Ilyea slowly nodded, "Sometimes the smarter approach works  especially against a full village. We take what we need but we have our back up plan, which is potentially not to die or kill them or whatever we need." She chuckled softly.

Nimuehdra smirked at Ily and nodded. "Very well, Nur'kuhzal. Lead us to the border of the village." She would whistle and summon her Spellwing ready for flight.

Ilyea would climb aboard Aurora's mount and follow. She gave Aurora a kiss upon the cheek and smiled to him. "Good luck love." She whispered as they came down from their mounts and the barrel of Aurora's potion was made.

Nimuehdra nodded and thanked Nur'kuhzal for escorting them to the Village border. "Alright, Auro and Ily. Let's begin."

Auro nodded, “Aye.”

Ilyea agreed, “I am surprised maggie even made this, but I guess there's been stranger requests. She gave me a horrified look when I asked for the undercity candied spiders...But now it's not too bad.”

Aurora sighed softly.. The barrel of poison sat exactly where he had marked for Maggie and crew.. He pursed his lips and spoke softly to Ilyea.. " Come with me love... If you can, use some arcane to carry the barrel.. I’ll shade us in the shadows to the water..Then toss the barrel in.. After that..we wait.. "

Ilyea nodded to Aurora and smiled "Feather fall to make something move at least." The woman smiled to Aurora and casted the spell upon the barrel lifting it with ease as she moved closer to her husband. "As you will love."

Aurora smiled softly.. He gave a sharp nod.. He looked to Nim.. " It's going to take about an hour for the water to mix well with everything.. After that it's up to the people.. It usually takes a day or so... But.. What I'll do.. Is go in personally.. and burst the barrels they have of alcohol and water.. it'll force them to drink it.. At least you three will be out of harm’s way.. "

“Aurora is very very good at what he does on the shadows, I easily think with those provisions that they will drink and we can go in and take what we need. Just a bit of time.” Ilyea added.

Aurora sighed softly listening to the natural noises of the forest about him.. The clacking and flicking of fire could also be heard, while the village was very much alive and breathing like it’s own entity of the forest.. But, alas..this wasn’t a time to enjoy the sounds of Northrend.. Aurora pursed his lips looking back to Ilyea.. Her arcanic magic seemed to flow about the area, as aurora turned, the crunch of grass beneath his feet… He looked to nim and gave a nod.. “ We will return shortly, my friend.. “ Aurora motioned to his wife and they both walked towards the water… Aurora’s eyes flickered black as he began to vale the two in shadow and out of the sight of everyone… Nim could possibly feel Ilyea’s magic.. But all else would be seemingly invisible due to the darkness. They were in the shadow lands now.. It was like a vast ocean of emptiness.. Structures stood, shadows leaped back and forth and sounds seemed to be muffled.. As the two approached the water, Aurora could see the reflection of himself.. His essence.. He turned to his wife and gave a sharp nod.. The mage lowered the barrel upon the ground with no sound.. Dark shadows seemed to traverse once more.. It was the village’s guardsman it seemed.. Any closer and they would be caught.. He looked to Ilyea and gave a nod.. Her que to leave…

She reached over placing a hand upon his cheek and spoke through their bond.. “ Be swift, my love.” And with that she cast her own arcanic shadows, hiding her from sight… Aurora reached down, unsheathing his dagger and stabbing the bottom of the barrel and the top… then lowering it upon its side.. The slashing and splashing of liquid could be heard as aurora softly rolled the barrel into the river.. It was beginning to be infected.. And now aurora, needed to dry out the very village they seeked to fill… Aurora began… He looked around noticing the shadows walking in patterned.. The chopping of wood, the dinging of metal.. There was work going on.. The clanking of cups told Aurora they were getting definitely drinking their fill.. ‘ Should be easy

then.. “ He smirked.. Aurora did what he did best.. He’d leap from shadow to shadow, entering into each house, tavern, and supply barn. Using his dagger to cut holes in each of the wooden barrels, leather bags, and containers holding their fresh water and mead… The rogue seemed to be complete.. As he walked out of one of the barns to get back to his wife and crew he bumped into an unsuspecting villager.. It was a swift death for the commoner… a thud echoed around him as the body fell to the ground.. His neck slit open, and the blood pooling around him.. Aurora growled.. Reaching down, to lift the man.. And vanishing within the shadows once more and making his way back to the group.. tossed the body in the center of everyone... " A small casual.. " He sighed softly, giving a nod.. " Give it time.. They will drink.. "

The waters of the shadowlands parted away like a ripple within the pond as Ilyea stepped back. It was only a few moments or what seemed to be like that as the mage faded back her arcanic shimmer like a dizzying array. She tilted her head to Aurora and smiled to Nimueh "We wait and watch." The mage murmured. Gesturing to her side, a void covered crow seemed to appear by Ilyea's side just like the skull before. "Keep watch Rose, let me know once they get sleepy." The small thing let out a small caw of "fffiiinnnee" and seemed to poof into the shadows. "She'll let us know when they get sleepy. I doubt it should take long."

Caèryssa scoured the skies above on her dragonhawk, searching for the arcane signature of her sister. The trail of arcane essence would lead the spellblade into a vrykul village, although something felt...different. In her armored form, she would be unable to sneak as effectively, not realizing that fact as she jumped off her dragonhawk, landing on a nearby roof and crushing the tiles beneath her feet. The echoes of the tiles would cry out into the valley, yet no guards seemed to notice her entrance. Spotting her sister in the distance, she would begin to make her way through the shadows of the buildings, before revealing herself to the group. "Bal'adash, sister, Ilyea, and Aurora." She nods nonchalantly, trying to skim the fact that the loud crunching sound of tiles earlier was not caused by herself really.

Aurora smiled softly to ryssa he gave a respecting nod. " Bal'adash. "

“Ballydeshhydiggerydoo.” Ilyea responded.

Nimuehdra glared at Ryssa as she landed. The resounding crash upon the rooftops did not go unnoticed by the trio. "Greetings. Had the villagers not been drugged by Auro, you would have caused a -lot- of trouble for us, Ryssa...."

Caèryssa nodded, ears wilting slightly as she took the surroundings in. "And I am thankful that they were. T'was out of habit that I landed on the roof, forgetting that I was clad in armor. Was preparing to draw my weapons when I realized the alarms were not sounded." She would nod, shifting her gaze towards the village once more. "So, sister. Do tell us of the next phase in your plan."

Nimuehdra nodded. She would look skyward and then to the Coles. "I believe our plan may have worked already." She would then point toward the Village. "It's best if we act now, grab the damn crystal and then make off with two of the villagers." The Magistrix then looked toward the group.

Aurora gave a soft nod.. "Do you know where the crystals are?” he pursed his lips.. “Perhaps Ryssa and myself can grab a townsfolk each.. meet you somewhere?"

Ilyea's eyes glanced towards the horizon as Rose came through the sky line popping through the shadows back to the group. She let out a soft caw and Ilyea gave him some jerky on the side. Nodding her head, "Keep me informed if any are waking up." She told the bird and Rose once more disappeared. "If you give me the map, I can use its essence to find the crystal. Shouldn't be too hard with everyone sleeping no?"

Caèryssa nodded to Aurora, before shifting her heterochromic gaze back to her sister. "I shall follow Aurora and snag one of the townsfolk for further...questioning then, if there is no objections on your end, sister dearest." Lips curling slightly into a faint smile, Ryssa would rest her hands idly on her hilts. "Is there anything else you would like for me to do?"

The Magistrix shook her head. "Let's get the crystal and and the two men." She nodded. Two guards were heard talking about the treasury in the distance.

Clearing his throat, Auro looked around.. “It shouldn’t be too difficult, Ryssa.. I’ll sap m. I suggest you do the same with yours..” he smiled… “Let's move..” Aurora took a step forward and leapt into the shadows… Again he glanced around as dark figures seemed to walk the realm in which he hid in… Approaching a dragonflayer Run-seer.. Aurora seemed to glide towards his target.. Like a wolf on the hunt.. He leaped forward once more and out of the shadows, saping the man… and once again, a thud as the body hit the floor. Aurora sighed softly, looking to see if Ryssa completed her task.. The rogue pursed his lips, picking up the snoring giant best he could and making his way back towards the group… He looked to Nim.. Sweat beading his forehead.. “ You know how to work us, Nim.”

Ilyea pressed her lips together and glanced to Aurora for the map or at least what it could be. The mage went quiet as the two rogue's went about their business in quiet contemplation. Her eyes moved over the various actions as she quietly watched to see where she could step in, if anything.

Nimuehdra let out a soft chuckle as the red-haired Emberfury and the Pale-haired leader of the Clandestine returned once again to the two Mages. Nimuehdra Emberfury raised an armored foot and swiftly pinned the Vrykul down to the ground which he already lay upon. "Great work, you two."

Caèryssa would follow suit, listening intently to the two having a conversation in close proximity to her. She was still rather agile, and as she hung from a wall over them, she would continue to listen in on their conversations. It wasn't too clear, as they spoke in Vrykul, but the names Ingvar and Torsten had been repeated several times. Once their idle chatter had ended, Ryssa would release the grip she had on the wall decor, swooping down and giving a swift kick to the head of the first guard, knocking him out cold. The second would turn around as he heard the thud, but before he could react to the spellblade, he would find a crimson plated boot aimed straight for his face. Two down. With the guards out of the way, she picked up the communicator and dials it back in. "Sister? Entrance is secure, although I overheard them mentioning two names, over and over. Could you please send Auro my way? I'm in need of a bit of muscle to drag this guy back."

Aurora could hear Ryssa’s voice out of Nim’s comms..” I'm on the way,... “ He made his way to the other rogue and stood impressed as he approached.. “ Nice work.. “ He gave a nod, leaning down to pick up one of the men..Aurora began to move back to the group.. ‘ Seems like you made short work of these two.. “ He smiled..

Caèryssa smiled, nodding to Auro's words. "I had the element of surprise, would've been harder if they..well..heard me in my armor just fumbling about." She spun around, beginning to fumble with the locked gate leading into the treasury. Moments later, the lock would fall to the ground, having been cracked open. Ryssa quickly pried the gate open, making her way into the vaults to search for the crystal her sister had mentioned earlier. It rested on a pedestal in the center of the vault, making it rather difficult to miss, and as she approached, the blue orb begins to hum, turning a deeper shade of violet, and causing Ryssa to back away slowly, awaiting the rest of her companions to arrive.

Ilyea would walk over to where Nimueh was placing her foot along the fallen comrade. It seemed that the plan didn't go as well as she thought before but it was thought up on the fly. More projection for things in the future, she supposed. It seemed....messy and clinical in some weird way. Mechanical and broken. It shifted and shimmered and whirled together like a storm of blood and chaos. Typically she thrived on it, but it just seemed calm to her. The man was already scared, that much was certain with the way his eyes upturned and his chest heaved in and out as she approached. The mage lowered herself towards the Vrykul and simply brushed her fingers across his chest, his face and his hair. She didn't need to say anything, there was nothing that needed to be said. Dirt echoed from his feet as he thrashed violently at the completely relaxed way the mage that alluded fear and pain approached him like prey. The dirt was gathered upon the tips of her gloves and put into her mouth. It crunched against her teeth as she stood up. Her eyes flashed blue as she considered the taste. "...Seems similar. He might know something..."

Aurora gave a soft nod, reaching behind him pulling out a small flask mixture, crimson in color.. He took in a deep breath taking a few steps towards his wife... " Here love.. " He reached out handing her the canteen.. " To wash the taste from your mouth.. " Aurora stood next to his wife, then kneeled down over the vrykul.. he tilted his head to the side looking over the man.. He could taste the fear in the air, as Aurora's eyes flickered.. He gave a soft nod.. " Aye... Perhaps so.. " He turned his gaze up to his wife.. he pushed himself up off the ground and turned to meet Ilyea.. with a smile he leaned forward pressing his lips to her forehead.. " Be gentle.. "

Nimuehdra watched as the fellow Mage worked, her method was strange and unusual to her. As the the man started thrashing she would, remove her foot. Her lips formed a smile watching the interaction between the Coles, though, it would quickly fade. "Aurora, I thought you were with my sister. Where is she?" The snowy-haired Magistrix lifted her head, emerald eyes would scan for her sister. Then, the Mage would pull out her comms.

Nur'kuhzal held fast to "Hydra's" shoulder, as if she had been a guide of some sort through a dark area. "Not all of me is here, at the moment, but--" That much was obvious. Lips curl and twist in confusion, grumble-mumbling. "I'm not feeling anything here." Hands reached blindly--though with a sense of precision as well, as one whom had navigated an area many times in their life and could do so even in complete and utter darkness--reached for the hefty mace upon her side; cracked and splintered with the same Decay energy she oh-so-often used in her magics. Nur'kuhzal could wield the mace with one hand, but for the more frail Nim, she might have to use both hands. Was Nur'kuhzal implying something? Finally, she explained, with a wheezed chuckle,"One or two whaps won't hurt....us. Maybe aim for his balls, if he's got them."

Caèryssa remained in the vaults, unsure if she should approach the ominously glowing orb that was seated snugly on the pedestal, a couple of feet from where she stood. She looked around the room still, watching and awaiting the arrival of the rest, if they were even coming, that was.

Ilyea smiled at Aurora's nature and took the flask sipping in the mixture and swishing it in her mouth. "Depends how quickly we want the conversation, I may need something else to take the taste off soon." She teased and smiled up to him. "I'll try not to kill him." She offered and took one of Aurora's daggers from his sheath. It gleamed white like bone and seemed to hold spidery fllagree. The woman went down to her knees and took the tip towards the corner of his eye. "I'm going to move this around reeaaaaalllllyyyy slowly, if you want your eye, you better tell us where that cave is for the horn! If you do it fast, you keep your eye. Won't that be fun." The mage chuckled and sloooowwwlllyyy moved around the man's eye sockets as the man started to SCREAM and thrash and wail. It was kind of funny actually that caused the woman to chuckle. Slowly the knife bleed over in rotation, vicious fluid and blood drained from the socket until the eye was almost completely out where the man began to spew "Towards the north! Towards the ^&*!ing north. Just follow the @#$%ing runes you ^&*!ing hell bitch of north! " He choked and Ilyea quickly finished off the eyeball causing the man to scream. "Maybe seal it up with fire? I don't know..." She mused and popped the eyeball into her mouth with a crunch. Aurora's red potion was chugged again as she licked his knife clean and handed it back to him.

Auro smiled softly " That's my girl.. " Aurora reached over taking the vial form his wife.. "go ahead and hold onto the dagger love.. I like the way you hold it. "

Ilyea smiled to Aurora and put the dagger into her belt upon his insistence. "Ryssa Ree wasn't around you....or...hm? Did she get lost?" Once more the guy was thrashing about and sighed. She unhooked her gloves and conjured a little fire upon the eye socket searing it to keep further blood. The man yelped again but fell silent in shock.

If Nimuehdra's features were unmasked, she would have a bemused look upon them. A smirk was well hidden behind the mask, she looked in Ilyea direction, clearly impressed by her work. The violence was something she was used to, so the Magistrix was not phased. She raised the comm to her lips. "Ryssa. Did you find the crystal?"

A staticky voice would come through the comms. "Aye, sister. Vault is secure. The orb is glowing now, but I'll take the risk and bring it back to you, in case more guards return." She quickly slammed the chest shut, lifting it from the pedestal as she left the vault behind, making her way back to the group. She would notice the Vrykul on the floor, opting not to question their methods of inquiry as she gently placed the chest by Nimuehdra's feet. "Here it is, sister. But I'll be wary of it. It was glowing awhile ago." She spoke, keeping a wary and watchful gaze over the object. If Nimuehdra opened the chest, she would see the orb resting within. However, the glow emitted from before was now absent, the orb merely resting within the confines of the enchanted wood.

Nimuehdra wrinkled her brow. "It was glowing before? Are you certain, Ryssa?" She would defer to Nur'kuhzal. "What do you have to say, Nur'kuhzal?"

Caèryssa rolled her shoulders, shrugging to her sister. "Perhaps it was from the light outside, it might've been a mistake on my end, but...exercise caution nonetheless, sister." She would warn, keeping her attention away from the vrykul as he laid still.

Nur'kuhzal took the orb, holding up a finger, and holding it gingerly. After a long moment of turning the bit upon its sides, there was a rather sickening crack, as the woman bit down upon the orb. Smacking lips together, before shaking her head. "Nothin'." It was tossed off of the side of the cliff , tapping the empty eye socket. "Peeper's got something deeper in the cave. I'm certain that this is the right one." Well....'certain' was quite a strong word. Judging by those crossed arms, and straight back, she was telling the truth. Nur'kuhzal probably believed herself too old--or simply didn't care enough--to deal with lying about this.

Ilyea carefully chewed upon the eyeball or what was left on it, giving a faint swallow as the rest of the salty imagery went down. She was content. Her eyes glanced over to the crystal that Ryssa has brought in as she rested her head upon Aurora's chest "Well we have the crystal, where the cave location is ....all that's left is to actually do the ritual..."

The rogue would give a nod to everyone quietly as he slipped into the shadows "Aurora will be spending the rest of the time in the shadows but let me know how to have him help us."

Nur'kuhzal grunted, "Good. In the meantime, we can gather our reagents."

The Magistrix nodded and weaved a portal for them to return home to Silvermoon. “Very well done. Let us reconvene once more in a fortnight.”

 @scions-of-antiquity @mercutiomalache @lledwynlomeriel @roewyn @thebuildingcacophony @iamauroracole @the-clandestines @seilune

[nihanovacaine]

An Unexpected Ally

The Magistrix would be relaxing in Silvermoon, nodding a greeting or two to those who recognized her. Her hands would hold a magical tome tightly, glancing into it as she walked past the crowds of people at the Royal Exchange. She stopped however, as the Magistrix saw a tall figure in her peripheral vision walk by. Curious to find out if her senses had betrayed her, the snowy-haired woman turned heel to walk toward the ebon-haired man who wore heavy axes on his back, his armor was unlike the woman often saw in the Eastern Kingdoms or Kalimdor. Runic tattoos adorned the sides of his head. His hair seemed styled in the manner of the Valajar or the the Vrykul, yet his features were strangely elven. The Blood Mage then placed the tome within her pocket dimensional satchel, putting it away.

As she approached the individual, he took notice of her. He looked down to her small statured form and began, “Hello, Little one."

The Magistrix would look up to the tall warrior and offered a smile. "Bal'adash." A hint of piqued interest was apparent in the woman’s emerald eyes.

The tall Warrior gave a soft smile, his golden, galaxy-esque eyes would scan her before he spoke softly, "Can I help ye?"

As he began, the snowy-haired woman’s features formed a smile, "No, I just thought that I'd come by and greet you. I don't suppose I've seen you around in the city."

"Ah, well greetings! I've been here only recently. Doing a wee bit of recruitment for my clan. Have had a bit more success than within the cesspool that is Orgrimmar, that's for sure." He greeted the Magistrix. The latter half of his statement had a tinge of bitterness to it.

The Magistrix’s lips thinned in response, "You've come from a faraway land. I'm glad that you've seen more success in your endeavor. But what obstacles did you run into in the Horde capital?"

"Ah, they dunnae care for my accent. Called me a...what was it? Spawn of a Dwarf who fucked an orc?" said the man, obviously still bitter as he explained.

The Magistrix would look to the ground to adjust the helm of her gilded robes. As he explained, her head rose to him, shock was written across her features. "Oh, that is...rather distasteful. I am sorry that you had to be faced with such misconduct.” She thought for a moment, the Warrior probably did not realize that she was well-travelled and spoke many languages and dialects. She rested her arms to her sides once more, “I understand you perfectly fine. But then again, I work with factions all over Azeroth."

The Warrior seemed intrigued as he asked, "Och? Do ye noo? An' tell me, tad one, what do ye think of what the Horde an' the Alliance an' their destruction of Azeroth?"

"War is meaningless at this point. We needn't go back to throttling each other like children right after unifying under one banner to quell the Legion threat." The Magistrix had firm belief in what she stated, resulting in her response being immediate.  "I am not against my Horde allies, but I do not want to go to war." Said she, as a gloved hand extended gesturing to the denizens of her city. Her gaze met his again,  "I am, however, curious as to what are -you- thoughts on the matter."

"Aye. That's what my order seeks to prevent. Senseless war. We are all children of the Pantheon, some just believe in protecting the world rather than fighting over her resoorces." said the Warrior. To which the Blood Mage replied, "Is that right? Then I see that we share the same sentiment."

"My order seeks to protect Azeroth in whatever way we can. Conventional or Otherwise. We kill when necessary, but not withoot purpose. No death we deliver is withoot warrant."  He explained to her. Nimuehdra smiled up at the man, her features softened as he spoke, "As is the motto of my base of operations and the Order I serve. I wholeheartedly concur." said she, sincerely.

The tall, Northman smiled down at the Magistrix, he was short in his speech and introduced himself. "Bassidon Havisson."

The Magistrix's emerald orbs lit up as he introduced himself. "Nimuehdra Emberfury, Magistrix and Envoy to the Scions, and leader to the Emberfury Div. It is good to make your acquaintance,

Mister Havisson."

The ebon-haired Warrior smiled, his galaxy-esque hues curved into a crescent as he chuckled. "Everyone keeps calling me Mister or Lord. These titles mean nothing to me. I am a Konungr."

The Magistrix's eyes widened for a fleeting moment. She would bow humbly and as her head rose up to glance at him again, she smiled. "It is an honor to be in the presence of such a high ranked member of the Northmen. Forgive my people, they will address you in such a manner because it is what they understand. They are being respectful, nevertheless."

To which, he shook his head, "It is nae a problem. I am nae from these lands, I shooldn't expect people to treat me as such." he would smile, "If most knew hoo I was... it'd be a completely different."

"Well, I certainly know what your rank means and entails. It is akin to royalty among our people."  She smiled in turn, "I imagine it would be, Konungr." stated she, truthfully.

A smile remained on his features, seeming somewhat content. Someone who wasn't apart of his clan that actually knew what his title meant. What it entailed. The Burden that was on his shoulders and the weight that came with it. He smiled. "Fitting for someone such as me. Thoogh, despite who I am, I was nae expecting my people to follow me."

A smile remained on her features, "The best leaders walk among their followers, Konungr Havisson. They follow you because you are willing to take on the burden of leading them to the path of honor and guide them to be just. At least, that is what I've learned from our interaction so far. Us...álfr...as your people would refer to us, think and act differently but our core values are not too different. It makes sense for you to look for those who would join your clan here."

The smile on the ebon-haired Warrior’s lips widened, "Yoo've the understanding and wisdom that would rival the All-father." he said humbly. "What a shame that fate brooght us together only now, and not when ye needed a order to follow. Nonetheless, I consider ye an ally and friend."

The Magistrix’s features would mirror his in turn, "You lavish me with high praise that is I am undeserving of, Konungr. The All-father is the all-knowing one. Perhaps it was his will to have let us meet on this eve. It was probably all according to his grand plan. Fate and Destiny are sometimes written in softened clay instead of being carved in stone. Ones who claimed to foresee the future were also sometimes wrong about it." She would raise a gloved hand to her lips and chuckled. Emerald eyes rose to his as she offered him a nod, "You honor me by referring to me as such. I will gladly work with you as an ally and extend my hand, though a tad small in comparison to yours, in friendship."

The Northman chuckled, "Then it is so. We are friends and allies then. And as such you are a friend to the Valajar and Valhalla." His ears twitched as he heard a voice within his mind, a soft smile gracing his lips as he nodded. "Forgive me, my father simply wished

to tell me something." The snowy-haired woman’s expression was gentle as he spoke to her, "I am glad to have met you to have this conversation." Eyes lined with paled eyelashes would blink twice as the Magistrix observed his movements. "I see. If I may pry, what pray tell did

he say to you? I will understand if you do not wish to share, of course. Forgive me if I am intruding."

"He was giving me a confidence boost. I have been feeling fairly doon in regards to rebuilding my Clan. I've foond some that wish to take up arms, but others that think they are safe behind their little Hooses, while the Horde an' Alliance continue to rip one another apart."

Nimuehdra extended a gloved hand,and twirled her hand as she began, "Well, in that case, here's another confidence boost. We are allies now, so should you need assistance, be not hesitant to call on the Division for aid. We will be happy to do what we can. I say so as the head of operations. We support all who see no point in meaningless warfare and would rather focus on protecting Azeroth instead of plundering it for its resources. As King Magni Bronzebeard informed us, Azeroth cried as she bled from the wound in Silithus. To fight over the seepage is...deplorable as her children."

The Northman sighed softly, "Deplorable indeed... I can feel her dying... I can feel it. It shakes every bit of my core. My family... we're connected to Azeroth unlike what others know or could even comprehend....that is why we fight. That is why we try to protect

Azeroth and her people."

Snowy, sculpted brows would furrow in concern as he expressed himself to her, "I can't begin to imagine how your people and yourself feel being connected to her as such. As I said, you have our aid should the need arise, Konungr. As her children, we must fight to protect Azeroth...even if it means to protect it from ourselves."

"I agree wholeheartedly. This was nae my father's crusade, the protect Azeroth I mean, but after the Legion...an' I saw hoo it corrupted my people...an' then seeing hoo quickly the Horde an' Alliance turned on one another, it was enoogh for me to take a stand."

"That makes perfect sense to me. It is good to see one of your people working with our own. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors." She said, adding so as to offer  support to the Northman.

"The same to ye, Nimuehdra Emberfury. Odyn's blessing upon ye." He responded, offering the Elven Mage a salute.

The  Magistrix saluted him in turn, " Be well, Konungr. May the Eternal Sun guide you where you wish to lead your clan."

"Sometime, Emberfury, I'd love for ye an' yer division to come to Myjosyndil." Offered the tall man.

"I'd be honored to have my colleagues visit, Konungr. You and your people are most welcome to our   Headquarters as well."  The Magistrix accepted, inviting him and his Clan as well.

To which, another smile spread across his features. "Then I shall see ye soon, my friend."

The Blood Mage bowed her head humbly and smiled to the tall Warrior. "Anu belore del'ana.” She looked back to the Man once again and then glanced forward, returning to her colleagues, content that she had made a rather unexpected ally.

[nihanovacaine]

A Chance Meeting. (Part 1)

It was a usual eerie night at the Row. The ambiance had not changed much as the Magistrix and her companion walked down the street, murmuring something about a certain pair of brothers giving them a tad bit more trouble, outweighing their usefulness. The Mage and the Rogue would be inaudible now as their murmurs would suddenly stop. The Mage would gesture with her left hand toward a direction and beckoned her partner to follow.

Caeryssa nodded, following silently behind her sister as she peered towards the direction that was gestured. Her eyes continued to shift, looking around in the darkened areas warily.

The haunting guise picked up on the indistinct conversation, but only tilts himself to watch where the sound was coming from. He seemed perfectly at ease in a darkened corner of the Row, perhaps more at home than he would be anywhere else in his old home.

The Magistrix would disappear from the Ebon's sight with Ryssa and appear beside him, leaning her back against the wall. She would whisper, "Bal'adash." the woman smiled behind her mask. She would eye the man with a slight hint of curiosity, awaiting a response from the haunting guise before her.

Ryssa's gaze would flicker over the armored Ebon Knight standing before them, watching silently as she merely follows her sister's lead. In the city, Ryssa wasn't exactly very vocal. She was content letting Nimuehdra take the lead on this, standing by as she kept a lookout for any signs of danger, seeing as it was the Row.

The Undead Sin’dorei quirked into a small smirk at the display before him. "Greetings to you as well." He eyed both of them warily but keeps a casual posture against the wall. He made note of her expression, raising a brow under his helm. "Is there something I can do for you both?"

The disguised Mage tiled her head to the side, emerald eyes glowing dimly, still fixated on the Death Knight. "I'm aware you Ebon favor dark spaces but it is a rather unusual happenstance to find one near the students of Shadow..." she looked at Ryssa momentarily and then shifted her gaze back toward him.

She nodded. "An Ebon Blade in the city, do pray tell what winds carried you here." She whispered, her gaze flickering to the knight.

The Death Knight shrugged, looking around the Row as a whole. "During the day I can walk the city without much trouble, but at night I am better off finding somewhere more meditative. Those who reside here are not bothered by me, and in return do not bother me." He eyed Nimueh up and down. "With some obvious exceptions." He turns his attention to Caeryssa. "This was my home, it is not unusual for me to visit it."

Nimuehdra scoffed in jest. “I wasn’t questioning your right to visit Quel’thalas.It will always be your home.” She shifted from the wall to approach the Undead Sin’dorei. “Do you still serve the Ebon or are you...a rogue Deathlord, Mister...?”

Caeryssa’s lips curled into a smile under her mask, nodding to the man in question. "Of course. I do not mean to sound unwelcome or to hint at hostilities. Pray forgive if my tone gave you that impression." She would then bow her head, looking back to her sister.

The Magistrix quirked her brow at the Deathbringer. Her emerald gaze would study his movements and took note of his frown before it dissipated. “A mercenary.” She stated. As his pale blue orbs narrowed at her, the Magistrix hid a hint of playfulness behind her mask. “Good to meet you, Deathbringer Dreadflame.” she nodded, gesturing a wave dismissively in turn. “You are not unwelcome, Death Knight. Your guise only piqued our interest because we haven’t seen any of the Ebon wandering the Row at this hour. We do stroll about at time frequently and thus, we approached you.”

Kirilovos did not seem thrilled at the description but nodded all the same. "Yes, I suppose that is somewhat accurate. I do not, however, work for the highest bidder. I work based on my interests with little regard to the coin." He would shrug half-heartedly. "It is not as if there is much use for it anyway." He looked Nimuehdra up and down yet again. "What is it that brings one such as yourself to the Row so frequently? You seem like the more respectable sort."

The spellblade would nod along in agreement to the Magistrix's words. "Indeed, we do wander about at these timings, and your presence here caught our eye." She would nod again, leaning back to stretch herself. "Respectable we maybe, we are here to search...for one such as yourself. As you've mentioned, you work based on your interest, pray tell us of such." She would ask, her gaze falling upon the armor-clad knight.

(To be continued...)

@scions-of-antiquity 

[seilune]

Part 3 of “The Horn of Recompense,” a storyline by my good friend, Nimuehdra! Please read and give her a follow. She’s a wonderful storyteller and writer!

The Horn of recompense (Chapter Three)

As the group gathered at the Div Headquarters in Dalaran, they would be greeted by a tall Runeforged Golem. The Sentry stood twelve feet tall in height towering over most. A grinding of stone would be heard by the guests of the Div.

“Elu…meniel…Mal…Alann….Scions….Clandestine and Scholars alike…” It’s Eyes would flash blue and a large, stony hand would open the door for them to step in. The Div’s agents were huddled over a black velvet pouch that housed within it, the purple crystal that glowed with a blue hue. Stolen recently from the group’s excursion to the Howling Fjord, the Crystal was brought back to the Office for later use. They had decided that it was best to have left the site in order to cover any evidence of their presence their as Aurora had successfully poisoned their water supply in order to knock the village to sleep. The Magistrix would lift her head to the group, emerald orbs dancing across the faces that entered within. “Welcome. I hope all of you are prepared for the summoning tonight. As you all may remember…Ryssa managed to bring me the authentic crystal.” The snowy-haired Magistrix lifted the black velvet pouch to the group.

 She cradled it close to her chest and raised her gloved left hand to pull the stone from within the container. As eyes fell upon the stone, those who are addicted to Magic and attuned spiritually would see planetary bodies within it, it would gleam an eerie blue hue and shimmer when light reflected on it. The Magistrix would add, “It is a mesmerizing thing. WHat I’ve found is that it is going to be destroyed to summon the damned Jotun.” She finished waiting for the group’s response at the Round Table.

Keep reading

[nihanovacaine]

The Horn of recompense (Chapter Three)

As the group gathered at the Div Headquarters in Dalaran, they would be greeted by a tall Runeforged Golem. The Sentry stood twelve feet tall in height towering over most. A grinding of stone would be heard by the guests of the Div.

“Elu...meniel...Mal...Alann….Scions….Clandestine and Scholars alike…” It’s Eyes would flash blue and a large, stony hand would open the door for them to step in. The Div’s agents were huddled over a black velvet pouch that housed within it, the purple crystal that glowed with a blue hue. Stolen recently from the group’s excursion to the Howling Fjord, the Crystal was brought back to the Office for later use. They had decided that it was best to have left the site in order to cover any evidence of their presence their as Aurora had successfully poisoned their water supply in order to knock the village to sleep. The Magistrix would lift her head to the group, emerald orbs dancing across the faces that entered within. “Welcome. I hope all of you are prepared for the summoning tonight. As you all may remember...Ryssa managed to bring me the authentic crystal.” The snowy-haired Magistrix lifted the black velvet pouch to the group.

 She cradled it close to her chest and raised her gloved left hand to pull the stone from within the container. As eyes fell upon the stone, those who are addicted to Magic and attuned spiritually would see planetary bodies within it, it would gleam an eerie blue hue and shimmer when light reflected on it. The Magistrix would add, “It is a mesmerizing thing. WHat I’ve found is that it is going to be destroyed to summon the damned Jotun.” She finished waiting for the group’s response at the Round Table.

Green hued eyes caught the blue glow as the mage faintly breathed in what she could off the emanation. Her eye color briefly changing for all the few moments. "So runic soul magic?" Is all that the mage could ask, hesitation clear upon her voice. "Do we know exactly how the ritual is going to work?"

The hooded Scion chewed lightly on the inside of his cheek, eyebrows quirking, causing a ripple in his forehead. "A Jotun?" his left hand rose to rub his cheeks and jaw in thought wondering what the use of the ritual would be.

The Magistrix nodded to the fiery-haired Mage, observing the color shift in her eyes as she did so. “I have a faint idea. The Warlock Clandestine, Nur’kuhzal left me with steps to proceed. I have all the supplies in my inventory.” She patted her -tiny- satchel. A pocket dimensional portal to her ‘pantry’ if you will. This way, it saved time and space, quite literally. The Pale haired Magitrix’s peered over to the new Scion, “Aye, A Jotun of myth...perhaps not so much myth as

we’d have first thought. We are to summon him. The Circle is accessible by Zeppelin. But the information we seek first lies within the cave at the Fjord.”

Ilyea flexed her hands, the fresh bandages upon her first unraveling to show the blood caked within the crevices of her skin. Worn rust scented aura emanated from the mage as she took in a breath. "So we destroy the stone, to summon the Jotun and go from there.."Her lips pressed together as she tried her best to understand. "We'll go from the cave then and onwards..."She offered softly as if reaffirming her own thoughts.

There was a brief moment where Kirilovos felt a familiar, but long quiet tug on his heart as he looked at the crystal which Nimuehdra was showing to the group as a whole. The swirling patterns and visions of astronomical events made the Ebon lightheaded. He closed his eyes and shook his head in an attempt to keep himself clear, but a growl in his chest indicated he was at least displeased with himself for having any difficulty at all. His difficulties were made worse by an irrational urge to sneer at the idea of destroying it, but he at least contained the expression to just a small flicker of his eyes. “As I was not here the last time I do not know, have we learned more about this Jotun? In particular, how he might react to being summoned?”

As periwinkle hues fell upon the glimmering crystal, she bore her sharpened canines at it momentarily before she suddenly entered a stupor. Glowing reflected the light emanated by the dazzling geode as visions of celestial bodies flooded her third eye. Being a Shal'dorei, the addictive nature embedded in her genetic makeup caused her to become enamoured with the crystal, her sole desire in that moment being to obtain it. Mindlessly, she raised her arm slowly, attempting to take the beacon of blue light into her leathered grasp.

Baranthir hummed. "So this myth— how do we take it out once it's summoned?"

The Magistrix would nod slowly to the fellow Mage, to confirm what she had said was indeed correct. She kept the Crystal close to her chest as possible trying not to get expose it too long to the group. She too was terribly drawn to its power, seeing constellations and power overwhelming contained within. Paled lashes fluttered as the Undead Chevalier directed a question at her. “We do not know this yet. We must first find what lies within the cave to the North. If all are prepared, we can go ahead and proceed from there on.” Whipping her head to revert her gaze toward the New Recruit, Baranthir Ras’Thallion, the Magistrix would explain to the hooded Tracker, “It is as I have said, Mister Ras’Thalion, we are about to find out. However, I must first keep this…” She looked down. “Azure crystal safe fro----” The Blood Mage’s eyes widened at the Shal’dorei, her first instinct was to hide the crystal within and shove her gloved hand holding it within her tiny satchel, erasing it from this plane of existence. “No, Valteia...calm your..” The Mage would move quickly to avoid the skilled Nightborne Shadowblade’s advance and raise the barrier of flame to encompass her own form.

The hooded figure quickly drew his bow, aiming it at the Shal'dorei. "Is this a usual occurrence in your meetings?"

Ilyea shrugged and muttered softly "New to me honestly. First time I've seen this and this'll be my fifth time so.....fifth time the...change? Fel if I know." Ilyea re-sounded. Already her mind was whirling on what to do with the crystal once it had been sacrificed, her lips curving together in a small line though she didn't make her thoughts known. Her eyes glanced over to the white haired rogue by her side as if they were sharing secretive thoughts.

Noticing the barrier, the hold the crystal had on Valteia was broken. She shook her head as the visions fleeted from her mind, narrowing her gaze at the fiery barrier that surrounded Lady Emberfury. As she peered at it, she began to feel great shame.

She felt so felt ashamed of her addiction to the arcane and the subsequent withering she had obtained during the extended periods of time when she was unable to feed her addiction. She thought momentarily back to the crystal and the hold it had on her. She furrowed her ebony brows, her hues dropping to the floor as she turned away from Lady Emberfury. "I...I believe it would be best that I stay away from the crystal. I should not be too close to any of you until it is destroyed." she muttered quietly.

Kirilovos reacted protectively, though whether of the crystal or Nimuehdra might be hard to say, moving towards the Shal’dorei with clenched fists. He spoke with as calm a tone as he could manage, voice echoing eerily from concern, “There is no need for any foolishness here. Take a step back and put your hand down, Valteia. Lady Emberfury, if you wi-” He cut himself off as Nimuehdra capably defended herself and the Shal’dorei’s reverie was broken. He placed his hands carefully at his sides, fingers drumming an erratic beat on his journal to calm himself.

The hooded Tracker slowly let the string of his bow relax, putting the arrow back in his quiver— brows knitting together. Eyes switching between the handful of people in the room. "Well. This is interesting."

The fiery-haired mage mused, “Oh magical Pirate standoffs! Remember those Aurora! When someone's gold got stolen and then the guns, arrows and magical hooty hos...Awwn, never mind. Not one of those at all.”

Aurora inclined his head in a nod. " That I do. " He pursed his lips. “That.. I.. do..."

The Blood Mage raised her hand palm facing toward the Tracker, "There is no need for violence within the Div's walls. It is a side effect of the Crystal. Have mercy on the Shal'dorei. We as a race have also suffered from addiction to Magic." She cautioned the hooded man. The Magistrix slowly peered over to Ilyea and her husband for a moment to study their features as the firy-haired Mage spoke. Her throat ran dry at the loss of the crystal was anticipated. The Magistrix turned her body toward the Shal'dorei woman, "Then we will handle the stone accordingly. It is not your fault, Valteia. It has had that effect on me for the entirety of the week." She kept close guard on her satchel, hounding it almost. It was very unusual of the Magistrix to have done so. She turned toward the group, offering the hooded Tracker a passing glance, "I suppose so." She flashed a quickly fading smirk before addressing everyone present. "Well, if we've all prepared for the Journey to Northrend, let us so." She frowned as the two Coles spoke about Pirates. There was an awful lot of that in Nimuehdra's life as of late. She shook her head and straightened her spine to stand in attention.

The fiery-haired Mage didn't need to say much else but the super addiction stone was given a twice glance by the mage and then to the Shal'dorei. if Ilyea and Aurora ever decided to do some kind of addiction hookah business, she'd know who their first two good customers would be. Nevertheless, the mage adjusted her mask and peered at the two. "The cave is between where we were to the North? Close to the Fjord....I remember isn't it?" Ilyea countered and looked to her runes by her side. "I would offer to portal but my abilities have been somewhat unreliable as of late." Ilyea countered with a sad smile.

A smile lifted corners of the hooded Diplomat’s lips. "Not a huge fan of the cold, so I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

At hearing the Magistrix’s reassurance from behind her, Valteia turned her head slightly in the woman’s direction. She gave an appreciative nod to the Sin’dorei, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her thin lips from beneath her leather mask. “Thank you, my Lady.” she muttered as she turned around fully to face all of those who had gathered. As Lady Emberfury addressed the group, Valteia chimed, raising her hand to interject. “My Lady, I do recall that it was decided for Aurora to lead us to the cave. Perhaps we shall ask him for the proper course of action in that regard?” she inquired.

The Undead Sin’dorei turned his attention to Aurora curiously. He has visibly relaxed in comparison to just a few moments ago with the crystal now away. "I know Northrend as a whole well, but not the particular area. Perhaps once we are there I will be useful, but I would be pleased to follow the Clandestine's lead in getting there."

Aurora looked up to Nimuehdra then to Valteia, giving a soft nod “ It seems we should get going then… “ The rogue reached up brushing a few strands of hair from his face…he then turned his gaze to Ilyea, eyes flickering.. “ A portal… To Northrend… “

Taking a few steps back, the rogue gave a wave of his hand… “ Back to the chill of the north, hmm love? “ He rose a brow, waiting for the portal to open… The man had good reason for enjoying the place… And hating it for that matter.. But there was interest there for the Div and Clandestine and he would do what was necessary to complete the task at hand.

Baranthir let a sigh pass through his lips, rolling his shoulders almost as if he was psyching myself up. "I've never got the hang of portals. Called me old fashioned."

Ilyea reached up rubbing her fingers across her hair. Moment of truth time. The mage took out worned runes that she had used thousands of time like worn lost enemies. Aurora was asking quite a bit for her but she didn't let it show. "Yeah...let's try." Ilyea pulled the arcanic strands about herself rubbing her focus together. The portal was marked and widened, but not quite as stable or complete as before. The image blurry and inconsequential. "I think that's to Northrend" Ilyea remarked with a rough strain on her voice. The bandages around her hands rippled with fresh blood some of it dotting along the floor. "After you guys..."She murmered, her voice shaky

.

“It's..getting more difficult.. Is it.. ?” Aurora Cole said his eyes upon his wife. The fiery-haired Mage slowly nodded to her husband, in turn, her eyes shaking everything that was going on in her mind. Pausing as the group made their way around, the Masked Head of the Clandestine gave a nod... " Howling Fjord... That's our next destination... Let’s get going... "

The Undead Sin’dorei was pleased to discover that the portal had indeed been to Northrend, unnecessarily drawing in a deep breath of the cold air. He let out a sigh of satisfaction, feeling quite at home in the barren land.

The snowy-haired Magistrix nodded and summoned her fiery Phoenix, Dal'alah. Ever-ready to mount the fiery creature and take flight toward the Fjord.

Valteia stepped out of the shimmering portal, her glowing hues looking about her as she took light footfalls. "Hmm..."

The hooded Tracker's keen, trained eyes spot bones scattered along the path towards a cave. lips pursed together as he approaches the remains; dismounting to kneel down before them. Baranthir hasn't been a ranger for quite awhile but his tracking skills have stayed with him— examining the bones between his fingers. Eyes lifting from the ground to further down the path and towards the mouth of the cave. Spotting more remains he let out a soft grunt as he stood back up. "Fallen Vrykul... What happened here..?" He turned back to the group with a raised eyebrow.

The Magistrix's brows furrowed watching the Tracker descend. She followed him to examine the remains scattered on the path toward the cave.

The Ebon Chevalier frowned slightly as he watched the tracker work, looking over to the others in the group. "The Vrykul have sought this place out, yes? Perhaps they kill each other to prevent others from getting their prize?" Even as the Ebon spoke, however, he kept

looking around the snowy area. "The alternative is less pleasant. Best to be ready for an attack."

The mage stepped down upon the frozen ground with her bare feet. Using the dirty blood to mark herself with a temperature rune upon herself and her husband. She stood close to him, Aurora sporting one less dagger as it sat securely upon her waist.

The Shal’dorei Rogue swooped down from the heavens on Sarina, her manasaber, as Baranthir approached the Vrykul remains. She dismounted from the large cat and walked over to the Tracker. She narrowed her gaze at the large skeleton, her hues dancing across it as she studied

it carefully. She glanced over to Kirilovos and gave a nod. "Seeing the effect powerful artifacts had on the Vrykul before, it is likely that your words ring true." she muttered quietly.

Ilyea's eyes widened as she crossed over the bones, a familiar "hahaha" escaping her lips. "Oh...I recognize these teeth marks. They did these all the time near Zul'Aman. Ritualistic cannibalism. I eat my enemies to become stronger. You can tell with the teeth marks over some of the femurs. I guess not much food out here in the cold...."

The partially withered Rogue turned her head slightly to face Ilyea, a grimace spreading across her features at hearing the fiery-haired mage's assessment.

The Magistrix would rise to her feet. "Ily...those teeth marks...don't belong to...Vrykul or their kin..." She slowly turned toward the group. "Let us proceed within the cave before us to confirm what is going on."

The Partially Withered Shal’dorei averted her gaze from Ilyea, her hues focusing on Lady Emberfury. She gave a nod in understanding at the Magistrix's orders, ready to proceed.

The fiery-haired Mage simply nodded at Nim's remarks but her eyebrow raised up at the question itself. Ilyea reached out and seemed to grab something as Sorenar appeared behind her, glancing to the group and towards the cave.

The hooded Tracker picked up a single bone, fingers running over the scrapes against the bone. "Something eating a Vyrkul? As said, watch out. Vrykul are a strong race— to fall then to be feasted upon; the victor of this fight is definitely not to be taken lightly."

Kirilovos frowned slightly as he looked over the bones and shrugged. "I had not known the Vrykul to engage in such behavior, but as Ilyea notes it is cold and barren here. Desperation can lead to terrible actions." He moved to stand a bit closer to Nimuehdra, hand drifting upwards to be able to draw his blade in a flash.

Sorenar glanced over to Ilyea and balked "The fel did you crawl out of? You should learn of soooaapp...soooaaapppp"The mage rolled her eyes and gestured to the markings "No, the more I look at it. It was something way larger. Now it's even more lame. It's not ritualistic combat but something perhaps eating it...or something summoned..."

The Ebony-haired Rogue drummed her gloved fingers against the hilts of her shadow-infused blades, her periwinkle orbs narrowed as she looked about her with caution.

Aurora glared angrily at Sorenar Amberdle. He made his hatred toward the talking skull obvious, not concealing it from the group.

Baranthir let a single arrow twirl around his hand and fingers.

Sorenar said, “Lover boy, don't worry. I take good care of mah mistressth. Even if she's really stinky.”

Aurora’s reply had a bit of a bite, “Shut it Sorenar... Or I'll shut it for you.”

Sorenar gave an exaggerated float by Aurora as he made the gesture and seemed to go "pfftt" though he was a bit cowed. Ilyea glanced around at the runes as did Sorenar with a muted finality. "What say you Sore?" Mrs. Cole asked quietly. "This is a Tuskarr Cave" Sorenar answered quite final "But the runes here are demonic in origin. Perhaps more of those Vrykul rituals, you can tell with the flourish of the runes..."Encyclopedia mode with the skull going forward. Ilyea gave a look and glanced to Kiril "All Death knights were around here, this look familar to you?"

The Magistrix's emerald eyes lit up as the talking skull, Sorenar spoke informing them that the Marks on the walls were the work of the Tuskar. Her gaze followed the fiery-haired Mage's.

The snowy-haired Magistrix turned to her Chevalier "Kiril? Tell me if you do perhaps know of this place... What  do the markings depict?"

The Sin’dorei Rogue narrowed his eyes to Nimurhdra, then to Sorenar. He paused for a moment then looked to Ilyea, slowly leaning in he gave a whisper.

The Ebon Chevalier listened carefully to the skull and as Ilyea spoke to him he narrowed his eyes, nodding very slowly. After a moment of thought, Kirilovos nodded in agreement. “Indeed I have. Not that far from here in the Fjord, in fact. At the time I did not know its purpose, the Vrykul were not particularly interested in sharing and it was not part of my mission.” He grimaced slightly at the dark memories, the glow in his eyes growing slightly. He looked to Nimuehdra. “There is no easy way to reach the place I

can think of by foot, nor even by air because of the weather. However, there is a ferry which passes by it. I can lead us there.”

The thin Shal’dorei lofted a single, ebony brow as she listened to Ilyea's deduction. She tapped a gloved digit against her chin as she thought back. Within a matter of seconds, she had a moment of eureka. "I remember during one of my first excursions to Borean Tundra, I came across a ferry to where the Tuskarr live." she paused a moment, smirking to herself as she thought back to the the pudgy people. "A nomadic and hardworking people, I must say. Should you allow it, Lady Emberfury, I could take such a ferry to the Tuskarr and inquire about this cave and, possibly, these runes." She then flickered her gaze to Kirilovos and Baranthir, her eyes dancing across their faces. "Perhaps the Death Knight and the Tracker could aid me in such an endeavor?" she inquired, canting her head inquisitively to the side.

The hooded man’s eyes laid on the Shal'dorei a single nod. "Can do."

"Very well, If you two, know where this...circle is. I will have you lead us there. This ferry in question, however...I have not heard of it. Have you, Auro?" The Blood Mage swifly shifted her head to turn toward the pale-haired Rogue.

To which, the Leader of the clandestine gave a nod to his wife, pulling away. He looked to the group. “Aye.. the tracker is correct.. There was a ferry.. It's placed in an alliance stronghold...though, not impossible... We could sneak aboard.. but, it might be best to speak to the alliance instead. " He rolled his shoulder.. "These things can be tricky.. " He looked to the Magistrix..

Sorenar said in response to Aurora Cole, “That sounds like murder talk.”

Ebony -haired Shal’dorei furrowed her raven black brows, knowing full well the repercussions that could await the group should they step into Alliance territory. Her periwinkle eyes fell upon Lady Emberfury as she spoke. "It would be wise to enter an Alliance stronghold

unannounced, given that we are composed entirely of Horde races despite our sympathies." She paused, thinning her lips. "However, it is entirely possible that we are arrested on the spot, tortured, or even killed for simply making our presence known.

Should we embark on such a venture, it would be wise to have as much manpower as we can get." Valtaeia muttered, flickering her gaze to Kiril.

The Scions Mage pressed her hands together "What if we create a diversion? I mean uh....I have some left over fire ink. I could plant different runes about the different strong hold and set them off as need be. We then can move onto the ferry or steal a boat in the mean time to get where we need to. It might be a bit less messier and I could act as bait for the time being..."

"Aurora, if you be so kind as to maybe have you and Ilyea 'negotiate' with the Alliance while we wait should there be a need for a flank?" She would tap her satchel. "If there's anything you'd need, we're well prepared." Nodded before directing the aforementioned toward the Leaders of the Clandestine.

The Undead Sin’dorei let out a small chuckle. "The Alliance will not have bothered to station their best and brightest here in a wasteland with no strategic value. I suspect they will not want to cause trouble..." He smiled darkly, "And if they did wish to, I am certain we could deal with it."

The Leader of the Clandestine laughed softly.. " Magistrix... You're asking the wrong group... I Envoy those with diplomatic skills... But to ask, myself and Ily to speak with them is like spitting on their boy king…” He paused for a moment “Though... If you wish.. We will try.”

Noticing Iyea had suggested something, her glance shifted to the fiery-haired Mage. "Clever plan. But how about we try the more diplomatic approach prior to the stroke? I think you can stealthily plant those around the hold prior to us actually interacting with the Alliance."

She pursed her lips in quiet contemplation "Then shall I go disguised as Kirin Tor?"

To which, the Mage replied, “That may be easier considering things actually. I am about as diplomatic as a bull in a......” She hesitated to finish her sentence. Probably sparing the party some of her craziness.

Aurora interjected, pointing at Kirilovos Dreadflame,  “I insist that you take your your bodyguard with you.”

The Chevalier blinked and nodded. "I could accompany you as a member of the Blade, with no affiliation or even Quel'dorei. Humans will not be able to tell the difference."

The Clandestine Lead added promptly, “I agree with him, its not safe to go alone…”

The Mage glanced to her husband lifting her brow as hespoke about bodyguards and herself. She nodded. "Yes, that could easily be done. Us three can wait in the back and if you guys get some kind of road there, we can follow behind once you secure the ferry."

The thin Shal’dorei smirked beneath her leather mask as she peered at Kiril, giving a nod in understanding. She looked to Lady Emberfury and nodded in agreement with her words. "Aye, a diplomatic approach would be best. Detonating such runes could bring in Alliance reinforcements which would not be the best outcome for our small group. But having them readily available should we need them during our escape is optimal."

After a few moments, the Magistrix nodded in agreement with the group. "Very well, I will do so as your ready the ambush. Kiril and I would go in as diplomats to let us on board."

The Ebon Guardian grinned. "This should be fun, my Lady."

Ilyea grinned as she jumps in place. "Blowing stuff up fun fun fun!" She giggled and motions for Sorenar to go away before he blabbed where they were.

The Magistrix would pull out her disguise from within the satchel and don her best Quel'dorei Kirin Tor disguise. The snowy-haired woman would look once more to the black velvet prison of the mesmerizing crystal and shake her head as if to will the attraction to the object within away. She let go of the bag and then faced the group. "Let us proceed then."

Ilyea glanced over to the group and then to herself. Dirt would flake off herself and she sighed. If they were going to be stealthy, she probably didn't need to smell like a bloodied mule. The mage reached forward into the snow and took some of it within her hands washing away the dirt and blood with the melting snow.

Aurora Cole smiled softly, looking down to his wife... " Better? "

His wife, Ilyea, gave him a look "Do I smell better?" She asked giving him peer. "Do you think I need more work?" She asked leaning up to allow him to smell.

The masked Sin’dorei rose a brow. “More work? Of course not, I love you the way you are.. and as for your smell.. I don't ever notice.. Might want to ask one of them.” He motioned to others.

Ilyea smiled to husband kissing his brow. "I'm sure it's fine." She murmured looping her arms around Aurora's neck as she climbed onto his mount with him.

Kirilovos called down a Wyrm that had taken to circling the air above them while it waited for its master to emerge. He raised a brow at all present. "Lady Emberfury and I can fly directly up to the Alliance base, but the rest of you will need to break off from us before we are in sight. Best that they learn of you from our words and not seeing you."

A voice floods Valteia's mind, breaking her concentration on keeping a watchful eye of her surroundings. It whispers: "Kill them all...before they kill you." The rogue shook her head rapidly, placing a hand to her forehead. "Hnng..." she muttered. She gritted her teeth as another ominous whisper fills her conscious mind. The voice whispered: "They are coming for you. Tell yourself again that these are not truly your friends." She glanced over to Kiril and Lady Emberfury who were still going over their strategy. She narrowed her gaze at them, for a moment questioning her own judgment of them, pondering the words that had entered her mind. She quickly averted her gaze from them, closing her eyes tightly as she pinched between her eyes. "Get ahold of yourself." she muttered quietly to herself in Shalassian.

The Magistrix, dressed as Quel’dorei Kirin Tor accompanied by her Ebon Chevalier approached the two Human guards as the group readied themselves to flank the poor fools should they be smart. Both guards were lazy looking for their well-built appearance. It would seem like they would have not had sleep in weeks. Gumphrie, the sandy-haired guard would have a scar running from the the his forehead, to his blind eye on the right, down toward his jaw. It would look like it had been inflicted by an animal, a large one at that. The other guard O’Malley wore a helmet to conceal his features, his mutton-chop mustache would be frothed from the ale he’d been drinking to stave away the merciless cold of Northrend. The Magistrix would nod at and urge him so stay close. In her best attempt, the Magistrix would apply her linguistic skills to the test. She spoke in Northern common, “Good Eve, men. I hope you’re well. Myself and my companion here seek passage by ferry to the Tuskarr village. I hope you two would be able to guide us there.” The Magistrix finished. Noticing a bit of a Thalassian accent there, Gumphrie first scanned the two figures before him as carefully as he could. He muttered something about knife-ears that was perhaps not as silent as he would have liked it to me. O’Malley, noticing that the Magistrix wore Kirin Tor garb, wasn’t as easily convinced as his partner, he drunkenly asked for her identity. “Who seeks...hic….passage…?” The Magistrix straightened up to speak, “Yvonna Silvermane and…” She gestures a gloved hand to her bodyguard, “Deathbringer Dawnflame.” She reverted her masked gaze toward the two. Gumphrie refused to speak, it was clear he hated Elves by now. Then the drunken guard spoke once more, “Proof….hic...of….identifi-hic--cation?” The Magistrix’s eyes widened at that, attempting to conjure a fake pass from her genuine Horde badge behind her back. Cumphrie yelled, “Oy! That knife-ear summoned something to conceal the badge. What out!” Hearing his partner, O’malley’s helm fell over his eyes inhibiting his vision. The Magistrix immediately cast an Arcane Torrent and locked the two in an icy prison. "Chevalier, ferme-les maintenant,"  Ordered the Magistrix to Kirilovos, awaiting the group’s response following the Undead Knight’s.

Kirilovos had moved before Nimuehdra had even spoken, blade freed from his back and swinging. He prioritized time over his own enjoyment and so he took their heads with a single, efficient motion. The ice which the Magistrix had conjured gave way to the

Ebon’s blade as easily as flesh, so there were two loud thunks as the heads fell heavily to the ground while the bodies remained upright. Kiril turned his gaze on the Magistrix with amusement, raising a brow. “Aren’t you an Envoy for the Scions?

That simpleton saw right through you.” He teased her gently, eyes scanning for any sign that an alarm had been raised, but otherwise entirely unperturbed by the situation.

As Valteia struggled with the whispers flooding her mind, she murmured mindlessly to herself. “These aren’t my friends. I have no friends. They want to kill me. They have that crystal and they’re going to use it to kill me.” She repeated this over and over until her trance was broken as she heard a raised voice speaking Common. A pointed ear quirked in the direction of the yell, causing Valteia to quickly turn her gaze to the scene that that was unfolding before her. She narrowed her gaze at the two humans, her glowing orbs staring daggers into them. She watched as Lady Emberfury bound them in an arcane barrier, as well as the clean-up that ensued afterwards by Kirilovos. She smirked beneath her leather mask, secretly revelling in the bloodshed. As the Magistrix and Ebon made haste towards the ferry, she cast a shroud of stealth over her person, concealing her in shadow. She quickly unsheathed her blades from their holsters on each side of her leather trousers, preparing herself should any reinforcements pursue the two Sin’dorei.

Ilyea took in some gulps of air further soothed from Aurora enveloping her with hugs and a kiss upon the forehead. She seemed more stable now and kissed his clothed lips with a gentle finesse as her eyes broke away from him. The pair worked quietly. Flame ink on parchment made it *very* unstable, so a few places at key points would be very likely. Thankfully to the mage, not much arcane was required to ignite the focuses so she merely waited with her husband for the signal. The cries from the front gate provided enough of that and made the Sin'dorei leave a peel of laughter. "Boom boom." She remarked to Aurora and flicked her thumbs together like lighting a match. The surroundings areas exploded each time she flicked her fingers together. Aurora sharing in her madness a little shroud the both of them in shadows and peeled to the left and then to the front as both of them swam within the night shadows towards the two. They weren't hard to find, the smell of copper blood and ice magics were easy to find. While a simple peel of the Alliance forces were going towards the three, the explosions were well timed. "Oh shit! There's more at the GATE. GO CHECK IT OUT HEAD THEM OFF AT THE PASS..." Any reinforcements would go towards the noises at least leaving the group to make it to the ferry unharmed.

The Magistrix was pleased with the groups efforts. She frowned a bit at Kiril's teasing. She whistled to call down her drake so quickly lead the group to the ferry. "Come on. Let's go. I think I see the ferry docked."

Ilyea  gestured to behind herself as Aurora's presence shimmered beside her. "He's nearby, just decided in case things turn sour to get us out of here if need be." She murmured to the rest.

Like her master, Sarina melded into the shadows and followed Lady Emberfury and Kirilovos alongside Valteia. At the Magistrix’s call to the group telling them to mount up, Sarina and Valteia dispelled their concealments. The rogue mounted the manasaber, gripping her leather reins tightly in her gloved hands. She whipped them against the cat’s shoulders, a subtle ‘crack’ emitted as the woven strips bent.

The unmasked Magistrix nodded to Ilyea as she said so. "Of course." She would take note of the shimmering presence and lead the group to the deck.

Ilyea’s lips perk upwards into a cheeky smile as she relates to the group "Nim, you're just as bad at diplomacy as me." She announced with a soft chuff. The mage was clearly enjoying tease the snow white haired one.

The Shal’dorei Shadowblade walked up to the bow of the ferry, light footfalls planted against its wooden body. She lifted her chin slightly, allowing her periwinkle hues to dancing across the beautiful scenery. An expression of awe was on her features as she peered at the Northern

Lights that gleamed above the party, a sight that was foreign to the darkness of Suramar. The Magistrix would shot Ilyea a glare at her teasing. Surely Magic is difficult for everyone when under such immense pressure. The Blood Mage was in fact, a new formed Diplomat, and an Ambassador to the Horde. She was embarrassed, admitting to herself that she was also inexperienced.

The Group had finally set sail toward the Tuskarr village, hoping to find what the markings within the cave meant. The fact that the Jotun may have eaten the Vrykul did not phase the party much. The real fear lay in what price they would have to pay in order to acquire the Horn of Recompense. There was a feeling of dread as they rode the icy Northern seas, contrasting the scenery greatly as they pondered to themselves silently.

@scions-of-antiquity @the-clandestines @lledwynlomeriel @iamauroracole @thebuildingcacophony @seilune @mercutiomalache