*CHAPTER 33*

Rainy and gloomy was the permanent condition in Tirisfal Glades. Bedtime stories told of the first high elves settling in the area losing their brothers and sisters to madness. Allegedly, they were too sensitive to a sleeping evil in the very soil, but modern humor concluded they hated the weather.

Lisys stuck to her side of the bed, on the very edge, with her back to the other side, eyes moving between the rain drops on the window, and a faded poster of King Terenas Menethil. It covered a hole in the wall.

A noise downstairs made her curious—was it imaginary or real?—and she resolved in the same instant to investigate without real thought, in the way only a woman who had not slept in years could.

Oliver used to wake with her every time, years and years ago, worried she'd freeze to death downstairs in her night clothes, but he'd long since grown tired of chasing phantoms and continued to sleep soundly as she floated out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

She set her own pace, skipping the two broken steps robotically, neither too fast nor too slow, escaping the specter's attention just as easily as it escaped hers. She only looked up from her feet when on the ground floor, and it was too late; a tall, thin figure in her sitting room had noticed her at the same time.

Lisys jolted to life, backtracking one stair, bending her knees to hide behind the banister and grabbing the collar of her nightshirt to pull over her nose instinctively. Something familiar about the rich coat and dark hair tempted her to speak, and with fear-frozen thoughts she uttered an indescribable sound in an attempt to form words. She tried again.

"Missus... An...dy?"

The figure turned around, and even in the dark Lisys knew she was wrong. She closed her eyes tightly, tears fighting their way through, and she bowed her head against the old wooden rail in surrender.

The witch smiled, and her eyes and perfect teeth seemed to glow in the darkness."Lisys. We have so much catching up to do."

Lisys dried her eyes on her sleeves and sniffled. Resolved to her fate, she filled the emptiness with senseless banter. "I... I heard about Mister Avarett Crysis... Oliver... Oliver said that all of Lordaeron will be at the funeral... I'm s- sorry for your loss."

"Don't be, it was his own fault. He found our monster, see."

"... our... ?" By the time Lisys found the strength to turn her eyes up again, Jaqlyn was standing on the other side of the banister, close enough to touch her.

"You're so modest," she chuckled, keeping her voice low. "You gave me the perfect candidate. That was the hardest part. And what a monster we've made! It's not easy to kill a paladin such as my late husband. If you think about it, this is all for the best... I couldn't think of a better test for our creation."

Lisys nodded her head mutely, reaching to pull her shirt over her nose again as it had begun to slip, but the witch caught her hand instead, pulling her to her feet with an other-worldly strength Jaqlyn's frame could not possibly posses.

"But he hurt it. I need more parts... or it will die." All humor disappeared from Jaqlyn's face and she over-emphasized the 'ts' sound in a way that made Lisys feel sick.

"I don't want to become part of a monster..." Lisys's shoulders quivered, more hot tears running down her face, but she felt more numb and defeated than sad.

Jaqlyn seized a hold of her face and leaned in close, examining the ugly scars and missing flesh that dominated Lisys's appearance below her nose. "Then I could add its parts to you. You could be pretty. Wouldn't that be nice?" She phrased the question like a demand.

"I... don't want... to be pretty..."

"Poor, miserable girl," the witch feigned sympathy, caressing her ancient wounds with a finger. "I'm a fair woman; let's make a deal. You don't want to be a monster? I understand. Who would? But I need to pluck a heart from somewhere. So, have a baby. I'll steal him away in the night. You won't even be in trouble."

"... Why me?" Lisys managed pathetically, voice hoarse.

Jaqlyn released the sobbing woman to lean against the balusters, striding across the tiny front room to the door. "Can't you sense it yet? You're cursed. Everything you touch is doomed to misery far more useful to a monster than necromancy." She paused, tossing a cruel smile behind her shoulder in the door way. "Don't disappoint me, girl."

Lisys scrambled away from Negate, careful not to smack him in the face accidentally. She deducted quickly that she'd fallen asleep—that was the only reason she'd ever lay in his lap. She certainly wasn't brave enough awake.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" she squealed, sitting as far as possible without falling off the steps. "It's relaxing when people touch my hair. I didn't mean to... I'm sorry."

Negate started, only just realizing she'd fallen asleep. Regaining himself, he chuckled. "Is that what you were doing? Relax, you were out for 30 seconds at the most. It was convenient, anyway. I couldn't reach the other side of your head." He returned the brush to his pack.

Numb with embarrassment, Lisys avoided turning his way. "Do I look better now?"

"Not really."

The door behind them opened suddenly, startling the pair, who had to shift further apart to make room for exiting patrons. Negate made a point to ignore Vaschel, crossing his arms and turning his head dramatically, but was foiled when Vaschel's shield clipped his head. He rubbed it furiously, grumbling.

"Bye, ma'am," Lisys began to wave, but put her hand down when Phasilica turned to face them instead.

"Not yet..." Phasilica inhaled audibly. "First, Negate, I need to borrow you. Would you take a walk with me for a moment? Vaschel will stay here."

Vaschel turned, too. "I will? Why? What are you going to talk about?"

Phasilica leaned toward him, whispering. "I'm angry with you for slaughtering my son, but... I know why you did it."

"You do?" Vaschel frowned. He had tried to protect her from that.

"I recognize the Scarlet crest when I see it. That doesn't mean you should have killed him... but I can't punish you for this anymore. You're right; the lying has to stop."

Lisys and Negate exchanged glances, then leaned forward shamelessly to try to catch what they could over the rain. To their disappointment, it was nearly over.

"I said you didn't—" Vaschel began, but Phasilica interrupted him, speaking clearly again.

"It will only take a moment. Come for a walk with me."

Lisys clutched Negate's sleeve as he stood, still too shy to look at his face. "You're... going to leave me with that paladin?"

Negate bent to smooth a knot in her hair he'd missed earlier, much to his disappointment. "Don't worry. I'll tell him not to bother you, and I'll be right back." Striding toward Phasilica, he paused to stand on his toes and bark, "Don't bother Lisys!" at Vaschel with surprising ferocity.

Vaschel watched closely, making sure the priest and the warlock were a distance away and enthralled with their conversation before taking a seat next to Lisys, falling back with a thud. "What a coincidence! Just the girl I wanted to talk to!"

The rotting porch was not well-constructed in its prime. The railing on Vaschel's side collapsed, and his end of the plank dipped while Lisys's nearly flung her off. She squealed, standing nimbly with the motion, looking around herself wildly for anyone else he could be talking to.

"Awh c'mon, you don't have to stand! I don't bite." Vaschel offered with surprising warmth.

Verifying that she was the only soul he could possibly be addressing, Lisys decided this whole situation was some sort of trap. "Th... that's... that's okay... I'd rather... stand."

Meanwhile, Negate had to quicken his pace to keep in step with Phasilica. She abandoned her typically graceful gait for an awkward trot. They were past the old horse farm and rounding a ruined Scarlet Outpost before Negate couldn't stand it any longer.

"What's the matter with you already?" He slowed, insisting she keep pace with him instead. "Is there something in the water? Jumpy dead women today, Sunwell..."

Phasilica regained herself, ashamed she'd lost her head in the first place. "I'm sorry. I just need to say that I honestly value our friendship, and so it is difficult for me to admit that I haven't always been honest with you."

Suddenly Negate was tense. "What about?"

"Who I was in life." Her next words came quickly, in a rush. "I've always had a deep connection to the elven people. I love everything about Quel'Thalas, the culture, the language, and especially," she paused, cringing, because she felt filthy saying it out loud, "the men."

Negate tossed his ponytail smugly, flinging rain water into the trees. "Are you coming onto me?"

"No! No, shadow, no! That would be terribly awkward."

"Because you slept with my father?"

Phasilica turned her head to face him, horrified, hand clutching at her silent heart. As if her humiliation was not enough already, Negate began to laugh. A chuckle at first, but he was soon doubled over.

"You jest! Honestly? Aha! I was just trying to lighten the mood. Sunwell!" He clutched his sides, gasping. "I'm... whew! I'm sorry. I don't mean disrespect. I assume he tutored you, correct?"

The priestess nodded, unable to speak.

"If this is all you brought me out here to say, you have nothing to be worried about. You were probably 16 at the oldest? Really, he should have known better."

"No," Phasilica sighed. "I was certainly old enough to know what that ring on his finger meant. But I really loved him."

"Gross."

"Grow up," Phasiica scowled.

"Do you want to talk about your parents? I know I've heard a rumor or two about Avarett Crysis, something like twenty women at his—"

Phasilica couldn't help but smile, too, if only for a moment. She and Negate were previously from the same upperclass world, but were clever enough to see the folly in it. His company was refreshing. She liked the same quality in Cevian many years ago. "All right, point taken."

"Is there anything else?"

Her relief was short-lived. "No. The reason I hadn't said anything... I didn't want you to think I was common. I already told you I was married... but I never mentioned how unhappy it was for me. The whole thing was more political than anything else, and because I wanted to be close with my nephew."

"Your what?"

"That's a long story. Anyway, I'm not making excuses, but... Well, Vaschel and I met some twenty years ago. He volunteered with the Church of the Holy Light to spend half a year building a church and a school. I was the head architect."

"Really?" Because of the way they quarreled, Negate was more surprised that Phasilica was an architect than that she'd met Vaschel before.

"Yes... and we had an affair on and off... holy light, until I died."

Negate nodded his head in silence. This required some extra thought.

Phasilica massaged her temples, heaving a sigh of disappointment. "I'm disgusting, aren't I?"

"You're imperfect, and maybe a bit common. But I don't think you're disgusting," Negate looked at her with earnest sympathy. "Did you love him?"

The priestess chuckled darkly, shaking her head. "Please. I became so self-centered after I married I don't think it was possible."

"But he didn't seem to mind."

"No."

"So what happened?"

Phasilica kicked a stone, deciding whether or not she trusted Negate enough to dive into such a tender place. "He killed my son. You saw it. The whole damn city saw it. He came in with an Alliance raid, but was separated, and challenged Vaschel."

"That was your son?" Negate set a hand on her shoulder. "That makes a lot of sense. I don't want the ordeal to be more painful than it already is, but I think the boy wanted to hurt you. He asked for you by name."

"I've pieced it together. He and a childhood friend joined the Scarlet Crusade together. He didn't believe I was his mother anymore and had come to kill me... but I never asked for Vaschel's protection. I don't know how to explain it to someone who has no children, but I'd much rather be dead than my son." Her tone was solemn, but her voice did not quiver. She was out of tears for the day.

"I understand perfectly." Negate rubbed her back lightly. For the five years they'd known one another, he'd never actually touched her before. Nonetheless, it was welcome, settling any of Phasilica's fears that he might abandon their friendship.

"... And... I knew Lisys, too," Phasilica added, eager to change the subject.

Negate laughed lightly, replacing his hand at his side. "And my sister and my mother and everyone else I've nodded to on the street? This is starting to get out of hand."

Phasilica smiled a little, too. "No, she's the last one. Honest."

"You must be that Missus Andy she keeps talking about. You should tell her. I'm certain she'd be thrilled."

"Yes. That was my married name. I want to say something, but... Never mind. I'll tell her. Let's turn around now before we hit the Monastery."

Confused and still not thoroughly convinced the paladin had no ulterior motive, Lisys followed Vaschel nervously. "Th... they'll probably come back on their own..."

"Silly girl. Do I look patient to you? Of course not. Haha! Why are you so nervous? Do you think I'll take you out in the woods and kill you? That's a joke. I love jokes."

Lisys boggled. Once upon a time, she wasn't sure that the paladin was fluent in Orcish. As if someone flipped a switch, suddenly he wouldn't shut up. "I'm sorry... s... sir..."

"Vaschel! Vaschel Dauntlight, but just Vaschel usually."

"Oh, okay... Vaschel? I thought you didn't like me..."

He halted abruptly and swung around to face her, a grin on his face. "You're kidding, right? Why wouldn't I like you? Look at you, quivering there. You're so cute!" He set his hand atop her head, rubbing her hair in every direction.

Lisys's eye sockets were the size of dinner plates. She was confident he could lift her up by her head with just that one hand.

When she didn't respond to his affections as he'd hoped, Vaschel sighed and bent his knees to be more on her level, speaking quieter. "You're right. I sort of ignored you before. I wasn't really very nice, either..." he rubbed the back of his neck, grumbling something that sounded like an apology before speaking clearly again. "But Negate is like my brother! Any friend of his is a friend of mine, see?"

"... I thought you and Negate were fighting..."

Vaschel turned and started walking again thoughtfully. "Yeah, yeah, that's true. But he's still my best friend."

Lisys had to hurry to keep up. She wasn't ready to trust this man-mountain quite yet, but she feared being lost and alone more.

"Are... are all elves usually... close... like you two?" Lisys ventured nervously. She'd learned from Oliver that male friendships were a touchy issue. He had friends, and one he was closer to than the others, but to say it out loud was somehow forbidden. There was an unwritten contract that dictated men only care about one another so much, unless they were that type, a sort of crime in itself. As bizarre as she found these unspoken agreements, she found it stranger still that they were absent in Thalassian culture.

Vaschel did not take offense as she worried he might. "Hm, no. I think my people as a whole are usually pretty selfish. I'm selfish, too, but Negate isn't. I know, laughable, right? But he's not. He raised his sister. My family helped, but he did most of the hard work. He took care of my sister, too, Adel. She had a lot of problems," he didn't elaborate on problems further, and Lisys didn't ask, "but he loved her anyway. At first I hated him, and I said, hey! Keep your hands off my sister you whoreson! Hahaha! Isn't that hilarious? He was terrified! He was young though.

"Anyway, he looked after her a lot. And he raised his sister, and he worked a lot. Didn't want any of his father's money, didn't want there to be any reason for anyone to say he didn't do a good job on his own. That's a lot for a kid who grew up with the expectation that everything would be handed to him. He was always tired... but he was there, you know? A few times Adel got in trouble with the guards for stealing, and I'd get ready to go bail her out, but find that he was already there talking to them. I finally had time to take care of my littler sisters, and I always worried Adel would end up with some asshole, which he can be, but he's harmless.

"Nothing is more important to me than my family, and he was so helpful. I appreciated it. I cannot tell you how much that meant to me. I could go on and on about how much I love that man."

"... I see..." Lisys was stunned, certain she'd never met such a boisterous person in her life. She gathered so far that he loved four things: Negate, his family, talking, and laughing. He had a naturally loud voice and a deep laugh that startled her every time, but the more she heard it, the less it actually frightened her. Actually, she felt far more comfortable than she had with Negate at this point in their acquaintanceship.

Vaschel thrust his map at her, large smile plastered permanently on his face. "Since you live here, you'll be the navigator, okay?"

Lisys unrolled it and, feeling pressured, could make less sense of it than usual. "... oh... oh dear. I think you should do it."

"But I don't visit here often. Where are we? Be ready to put it away if it starts raining again, I don't want my map all wet."

The rogue stopped in the middle of the path, realizing she was holding the map upside down. She turned it over and looked around, desperately, unsure of which direction they'd been walking. Brill was long out of sight. Certain she had already ruined this budding friendship, she folded it neatly again and answered weakly. "I... I don't know."

She was not met with impatience, but another laugh. "That's right. I think Negate mentioned you weren't good at this. Here, let me show you. It's easy, you're just making it too complicated." He retrieved the map from the undead, unfolded it again, and took a quick look around.

"First, you find a landmark. See that farm there? It's probably on the map. Got it?"

Lisys nodded meekly.

"Now, don't worry about North or East or whatever. Just turn the map so that the landmark you're facing is at the top of the parchment."

"... But … now it's sideways..." Lisys said, afraid to question him.

"Yeah, but that's okay. Now just think about where you are in relation to other things, left and right, forwards and backwards. The farm is in front of us, on the map too. The road we're on now lines up with the map, see? And it's easy to tell that if we go that way," Vaschel pointed to their right, "that this path is about to end."

Lisys tilted her head. "That's a neat trick... I'm a little embarrassed I never thought of it..."

"Haha! Between you and me, I'm an average navigator myself. My sisters were all rangers. You don't know what that is. Well, rangers are expert trackers, and they all used to make fun of me. I have a younger brother, though, he's terrible. He used to babysit Negate's sister when he was a teenager, and he got lost once and she had to found their way home. Little ten-year-old Negatory leading him around. He's probably as bad as you, but don't let that hurt your feelings. It's not that important."

"Oh... oh, thanks," Lisys nodded bashfully, staring at her feet. "But it doesn't help us find—"

"Shh," Vaschel's demeanor changed in an instant. He put a hand on Lisys's head to signal her to hold still, gentle but suddenly very serious.

Her head snapped upright instinctively and the rogue spotted a dark-haired human in the old field amongst the rotting zombies. They didn't bother her, which told Lisys the human was much stronger. If it wasn't for the hand on her head, she'd have panicked.

Vaschel was already calculating his next move. Brill was much too far; the human would have plenty of room to chase them. Because he'd bothered to bring his sword and shield, he could probably take her, and so long as she didn't notice Lisys, they'd both be okay.

"Get down," he whispered before hopping the fence.

*END CHAPTER 33*

Okaaaaaaaaay, so I haven't been good about talking to people lately haha. This story isn't as important to me as it once was. I am still trucking along to finish it. The beginning of this story wasn't very good :p And since what I am building on isn't very good, I feel like this story isn't very good. But it's still kind of sentimental to me, especially because I learned so much writing it.

Since I decided to start writing toward an end (which is how all stories SHOULD begin anyway) I cut some characters, so you might not see cameos like Beatstick anymore. Tragic, I know! I like orcs too! A lot!

I dunno about the chinese characters thing. I guess it has to be a formatting issue. I am trying a different format, I hope it helps.

I appreciate each and every single piece of critique I get on here. The thing about the voices and how the characters talk... I never noticed that! That is very interesting to me and extremely helpful.

I think that this will probably be my last WoW story. If I do write another one, it damn sure won't be this long :p Actually, this is likely my last fanfiction as well as my first. I want to make original comics with my husband (who was my boyfriend when I started this). Actually, I am kind of excited to be done with this story but at the same time I'll be a little sad.

Thank you for reading. :)