"Where are you headed to now?" Rathion stretched, returning his axe to its resting place on his back.
"Undercity. Silvermoon City has no need for my assistance now, the younger Sin'dorei will take my place." Tandesse replied, wiping her sword on the grass to clean it of blood.
"Undercity…" he murmured, gazing out across the Dead Scar, his eyes narrowing with memory. Turning sharply to face his sister, his eyes glowed fiercely as he watched her stand up. "I will accompany you."
"Why?" she frowned, "there's an Orb of Translocation in Silvermoon, it's not as if I have to travel through the Plaguelands."
Rathion turned, making his way towards the closest road that would lead them to Tranquillien. Tandesse stared after her brother, noticing how stiffly he was walking, opposed to his more relaxed manner on the journey to the Howling Ziggurat. Hurrying after him she glanced up, trying to catch a glimpse of his eyes, but only saw their green glow beyond his red hair.
Their footsteps along the gravel road were loud, a constant reminder of the stony silence between the two paladins. Even as the Wretched had attacked when they neared the Dead Scar, Rathion had remained silent in his casting to fend them off. Upon entering the small town centered within the Ghostlands, Rathion bee-lined to the Dragonhawk Master. Tandesse quickly turned in her final quest, receiving a small amount of silver in return. Glad to be escaping the dark canopy that was the Ghostlands, she made her way over to her brother, who handed the Dragonhawk Master a small fee to allow the usage of two dragonhawks.
"Come, Tandesse. We should arrive at Undercity before nightfall." The silent urging within his words puzzled his sister, but what she noticed more was the visible flinch of the blood elf that held the reigns of two dragonhawks.
"Why did you flinch when he mentioned Undercity?" she asked, eyes alight with curiosity.
"You don't know? I would serve my life here before going near… near the Banshee Queen." The elf shuddered at the mention of the queen, though Tandesse only tilted her head in confusion.
"Tandesse, now. Nightfall is on its way." Rathion's voice cut into Tandesse's mind, preventing her from asking more questions. She knew that once they were flying to Silvermoon there would be no chance to talk; it still took a vast amount of her concentration to ride the dragonhawks, even though they guided themselves.
"Taking the evening off are we?" Skymistress Gloaming asked, knowing it was likely not to be the case as she took the dragonhawks over to their resting place.
"No, I'm taking Tandesse to Undercity." Rathion curtly replied.
"Oh, for the first time." The Dragonhawk Master's face darkened with knowledge. Her eyes swept over Tandesse, with what appeared to be sorrow. "May the eternal sun guide you." With that, she turned and walked away.
"Rathion, what's going on? Who is the Banshee Queen?" Tandesse's questions fell on deaf ears, the older paladin had already turned and was walking into Silvermoon City. Grumbling, she chased after him, yet that only caused him to run as well.
"Rathion! Dammit!" Angrily she grabbed at his cloak, yanking him back before he was able to touch the Orb of Translocation. "Answer me! What's going on?" Her eyes shimmered with fury, outshining the red orb before them.
"Be patient for once in your life, child!" He snapped, snatching his cloak from her now-loose grasp. His face contorted with anger, causing Tandesse to shrink back in fear. Angrily he grabbed her hand and activated the orb beside them.
Suddenly everything around them was dark, empty and cold.
"…Is this, Undercity?" Tandesse murmured.
"Yes. We're on the very edge in the Ruins of Lordaeron. Follow, I will take you to the ruler of Undercity; it's queen." Rathion's voice betrayed no emotion, his body still stiff as he walked off. Tandesse followed her older brother like a shadow; wary of the bleak place they had suddenly entered.
As they made their way through the city, Tandesse found herself shrinking away from almost everything, its inhabitants, the stench of the green liquids flowing throughout it, the creaks and groans that seemed to ooze from the walls themselves. So focused on avoiding everything around her, she walked straight into her brother, who had stopped at the entrance of a curved corridor.
"Go down there, and see the true nature of the Forsaken. Meet their queen, and do her bidding." Rathion looked down at his sister, his face creasing with sympathy. "Try not to let her see your fear, you'll be alright." He gently ruffled her hair, and then stood aside.
Tandesse gazed at Rathion, longing to stay beside him, but she knew he wouldn't accompany her down these halls. Holding her head high, she tried to force the fear away as she walked down the corridor. But as she passed each set of the Royal Dreadguard, it became harder and harder. Eventually, she reached the main room, the Royal Quarter. In its centre, stood a sin'dorei. Clothed in red battle gear, she stood with a bow slung over her shoulder. At Tandesse's entrance, the bow was taught with an arrow aimed directly to her throat. The blinding speed in which the elf had moved confirmed Tandesse's first thought; this was the Banshee Queen.