"Stranglethorn, hm?" Syrene chuckled in Orcish as she leaned back against the wall of the ship's hold, crossing her arms, "All this time, we've been overturning every stone in Kalimdor. And you've been hiding in the Eastern Kingdoms."
She shook her head in amusement, as the druids finished strapping Zami's metal cage into place. He had been placed in the farthest right corner of the back, unable to even see Mythene in the other corner. Jazax sat in the cage directly between them, looking exceptionally cross. Syrise was nowhere to be seen, and Zami silently hoped she'd managed to escape capture.
"Hey, I dunno what's goin' on here, lady," Jazax growled, "But if you think you're gonna sell a highly-respected member of the Steamwheedle Cartel into slavery, you got another thing coming!"
Syrene paused, glancing over in disinterest at Jazax.
"You just wait til they hear about this back in Booty Bay!" He continued, "Slavery is Cartel turf, lady! You can't just cut in on the profits and expect to get off scot-free!"
Syrene casually stared at Jazax for another minute before looking at one of the nearby druids.
"Why is there a mouthy goblin here?" She asked in Darnassian, massaging her temple, "I have no need for a goblin."
"Hey!" Jazax bristled, "Who you callin' mouthy, you dumb broad?!"
Syrenee paused, perhaps surprised the goblin understood Darnassian. Zami was a little surprised, too, but he supposed it made sense. The Cartel was a neutral party, and they'd probably had night elven clients before.
"Ah, how amusing," Syrene smiled, returning to Orcish, walking over to Jazax's cage and leaning down, "It chitters like a little monkey, yet it speaks words like a parrot. Perhaps I should keep you as my little pet when my business with your compatriots is through."
Jazax scowled, looking at her flatly.
"I ain't little," He sniffled, "I'm fun-sized."
"I'm sure," Syrene sneered, standing up and looking over at a nearby druid, "Kill the goblin."
The druid nodded, taking the bow off of his back, and aimed it straight for Jazax's head. Zami flinched, and the pain from his severed arm was too intense for him to even say anything. The arrow flew at Jazax, but suddenly stopped mid-air, hovering in front of him. The archer blinked in surprise, Zami cocked his head to the side, and Syrene perked an eyebrow. Even Jazax seemed confused. Slowly, the arrow turned around in the air, before shooting back out of the cage. It lodged deeply into the druid's throat, striking him dead at once, and the corpse fell back against the floorboards.
As some other druids hurriedly hauled the corpse away, Syrene narrowed her eyes and stepped forward again. She peered into the cage, eyes scanning every inch of it. Zami recalled how she had seen him stealthed back in the Grimtotem camp, and perked an eyebrow. She clearly saw nothing this time, because she scoffed and turned away.
"Nevermind the goblin," She waved a hand dismissively, speaking in Darnassian, "Now, what news of the other troll? Have you found him yet?"
Zami looked up in recognition, realizing she was talking about Zalu, but quickly lowered his head again. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to let her know he could understand her words.
"Nothing yet, High Priestess," One of the druids bowed.
"I see," Syrene sighed, nodding her head once, "Keep searching, he cannot have gone f-"
"PRIESTESS?!" Mythene suddenly screeched, making everybody within audible range jump with surprise.
Syrene turned around, to face what he knew was Mythene.
"You dare?" Mythene seethed, "You dare call yourself such a thing!? Have you no shame?!"
Syrene's surprise quickly turned to annoyance and she rolled her eyes.
"Oh, spare me the theatrics, sister," Syrene sighed.
"You are no sister of mine!" Mythene growled, and Zami could hear her banging against her cell, "You are a fiend! A traitor to our people and all that we stand for! You should be ashamed of what you've become! Deceiver! Madwoman! False prophet! Traitor!"
Syrene listened to Mythene's tirade impatiently, crossing her arms across her chest. When Mythene was finished, she laughed.
"Come now, come now," Syrene chuckled, "This has nothing to do with any of that. You're just jealous of me."
"Jealous?!" Mythene hissed, "Pray tell! What of yours could I possibly be jealous of?!"
Syrene shrugged, holding her arms out.
"Oh, don't be duplicitous," She smiled, "It must kill you. You hate it, don't you? That you will never be a priestess of anything. Just a little archdruid."
Mythene was silent, and Zami wished he could see her. He knew Mythene was touchy about that priestess stuff, and he was pretty sure her sister's words were starting to make it clear why his previous comment had offended her so. Especially after what he learned about her brother. It was suddenly all too clear. She didn't even want to be a druid, did she?
"Jeez, would you quit the family drama stuff?" Jazax snorted, "Just let us go already, and maybe I'll encourage the Cartel to look the other way on your slaving."
Syrene looked down at Jazax before smirking.
"Your little enchantment will not last forever, goblin," She sneered, "And once it falls, your head will roll."
Jazax just snorted, looking unimpressed by her threat.
"In the meantime," Syrene continued, turning to the nearby druid again, "Keep searching. The brother cannot have gotten far."
For the first time since they'd separated, Zami was quietly glad that Zalu had gone off with Jumi. At least he'd been able to avoid capture because of it. He still wasn't quite sure what the Emerald Coven even wanted of them, though he knew it involved his eye. He wondered if it was in Gonk's, or whoever's, plan for the brothers to go separate ways. Perhaps to avoid this exact situation? Then again, Gonk had said before that he had nothing to do with any of this Emerald Seer business.
Still, he knew that someone had to be behind it all. And he had an uncanny feeling that everything thus far was going exactly according to their plan.
