Zilinto and Kol'thum walked to the cells where the pandaren slaves were being held. Their accommodation was pitiful and inhumane. The cell was barely large enough to house all the pandaren, about twenty of them, and there was nothing in the cell except for a cold, bare floor.
Placing a hand on the door, Kol'thum concentrated his mind and focused on it. In an instant, the doors vanished. There was no trace of the cell doors having ever been there.
"My thanks, but how are we going to get out of the city? After all, this is the capital of the Gurubashi Empire, not some isolated settlement. We might be adept in combat, but we will be swarmed by enemy trolls very quickly should we enter combat," a pandaren slave asked.
Kol'thum responded, "Gather near me, everyone. I can get us out of here quietly and quickly."
The other Zandalari troll placed a hand on Kol'thum's shoulder, shaking his head. "I have a better plan. Watch me, and be prepared. It's going to get a little messy."
Silence ensued for approximately half a minute while the pandaren and Kol'thum stared at Zilinto, puzzled as to what he was doing.
"Alright, let's hold our ground here for...two minutes, I estimate," Zilinto told the others. "Make sure not to leave the compound. We don't need any unneeded deaths in the ensuing chaos."
Over the next two minutes, three patrols of Gurubashi soldiers encountered the two Zandalari trolls and the pandaren slaves, though they were silenced before others could be alerted to the escape.
Suddenly, a cacophony of alarm bells and screams, along with other indiscernible sounds, erupted outside the prison compound. Alarm bells within the underground compound rang as well.
"Alright, the prison should now be relatively empty," Zilinto declared. "Let's make a move."
Emerging from the prison compound, they were greeted by an awe-inspiring sight. Five red drakes had launched an assault on Zul'Gurub. Assault was not really the word, since the drakes did not seem to be trying to raze the entire city or kill anyone, except for soldiers who were attacking them. They were more of a distraction, bringing attention away from something else that was happening, which in this case was the escape of the pandaren slaves.
"You called them?" Kol'thum turned to look at Zilinto. "Dragons of the Red Dragonflight?"
"I…have an affinity with the Red Dragonflight, you see. I helped them before, now they're helping me," Zilinto lied. "This is not the main issue right now. We should be focusing on getting out of Zul'Gurub."
Letting out a shrill, penetrating whistle, Zilinto caught the attention of the red drakes. The first drake to arrive landed on the ground, crushing a building or two in the process.
"Get on the dragon," Zilinto told the pandaren and Kol'thum. Seeing them give him a strange look, Zilinto gave them an assuring nod.
The pandaren slaves were equally divided on two drakes, while Zilinto and Kol'thum shared the third drake. The five drakes proceeded to depart from Zul'Gurub, with the two dragons that were not carrying any passengers protecting the others that were.
Landing in Kun-Lai Summit, heart of the rebels trying to overthrow the mogu, they were initially met with alarm by defenders. But after seeing the pandaren as well as Jarod Shadowsong, the defenders calmed down and allowed the drakes to land.
Kang himself had been inside the monastery, headquarters of the revolution, when the drakes landed. He emerged from the building to see what was going on.
"You non-pandarens never fail to amaze me. Using dragons to transport my people back home!" Kang commented. "Jarod Shadowsong, you are nothing short of a boon to the revolution. It is an honour to finally meet you in person. May I ask, is it you who summoned the dragons?"
"Likewise. A person who is courageous enough to break the bonds of oppression and lead his or her kinsmen is rare. You have earned my admiration, Kang, Fist of First Dawn. And to answer your question, no, I did not summon them. It was Zilinto over here who did so," Jarod said, bowing his head.
Next, Kang turned to Zilinto and shook his hand. "Pleasure to meet you again, Zilinto. First, I must thank you and Jarod for freeing my people. You must tell me sometime how you managed to summon red dragons to help!"
"Don't mention it," Zilinto said humbly as the drakes deposited the last of the pandaren slaves and flew away. "As for the dragons, that's a story for another day. Since Jarod and I are already here, do tell us your further plans for the revolution? Your forces have already driven the mogu away from the Mogu'shan Vaults, depriving them from using the Engine of Nalak'sha to create more constructs. But what are you planning for the future? The mogu still stand and many pandaren are still in slavery."
Kang nodded his head and said, "Come with me into the monastery. I'll show you my plans."
Jarod and Zilinto followed the pandaren into the monastery, which was guarded by a combination of pandaren and yaungol. The atmosphere in the monastery was serene and calm, worlds apart from the atmosphere of danger and determination in the rebel camp built around the monastery.
A white tiger inside the monastery, noticing the new arrivals, walked slowly towards them. The white tiger took his time to study Jarod and Zilinto, strangely spending much longer time on the latter, before retreating to a corner of the monastery.
"That is Xuen, the August Celestial," Kang introduced. "He's been imprisoned in Kun-Lai Summit for many years now, since he was defeated by the mogu emperor, Lei Shen."
"But for not much longer I shall be imprisoned. When the mogu are overthrown, I shall regain the power I have lost," a commanding and powerful voice filled the monastery. "Kang, you never told me you had acquaintances so...special. Nevermind, I'll leave you all to your business for now."
Kang led the two of them to a table in the centre of the monastery. On the table was a map of the Mogu Empire.
"This is where we are," Kang pointed to a small reed cane on the northern portion of the map. His finger shifted slightly southwards, coming upon a differently-shaped reed cane. "This is where the Mogu'shan Vaults are located."
Near the middle of the map was a black dot. Kang explained, "This is the Mogu'shan Palace, in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Other black dots you see on the map represent currently known enemy settlements and locations, while the reed canes represent friendly sites."
Taking a petal shred, Kang told them, "These represent the last-known positions of friendly units. As you can see, there are quite a few in the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Those allies are currently holding their ground, waiting for the order to push to Mogu'shan Palace. On the northwest of this map you'll see a few petal shreds as well. They mainly consist of the few yaungol that have joined the revolution, periodically launching guerilla attacks on mogu forces."
"What's holding you back, then?" Jarod asked.
"The mogu are still strong, despite the loss of the Engine of Nalak'sha. In addition, many members of allied races, the bulk of them being pandaren slaves, are still being held by the mogu. If we attack, there is a high possibility that the mogu will kill them. The jinyu waterspeakers also warn against an early final push. But even so, we are not just sitting by and doing nothing. Grummles, former messengers and deliverymen for the mogu, are now stopping food and news from being delivered to the mogu. With their help, we've been able to capture several mogu sites by surprise, and the grummle help to stop the news of much of our exploits from reaching other mogu."
"I see," Zilinto was quite absorbed into Kang's explanations by now. "And I deduce that you're also trying to stop the trolls from providing help to the mogu?"
"Indeed, that's why you were tasked to kill the mogu diplomat, Buyuk. If the trolls were to lend their full support to the mogu, I'm afraid that the revolution will be lost," Kang said. "Speaking of mogu sites, a contingent of pandaren and jinyu are planning to attack the city of Guo-Lai, in the western part of the Vale. I will be there personally to lead the soldiers into battle. What do you two think about joining me in the attack on Guo-Lai?"
"It is an honour to serve," Zilinto put a hand over his heart. "When will the attack begin?"
"Exactly four days' time. Do you wish to fight in this battle, Jarod?"
Jarod said, "I will fight alongside you and Zilinto."
"Terrific. I will reveal to you the battle plans closer to the attack."