Finally got a free day to write!
Zami walked through the silent town, treading lightly amidst the embers. Every few steps, he would pass a small pile of ash or charred bones, and knew they had formerly been a druid. As he looked about, Mythene stopped by the village entrance. She stooped down to pick up a discarded staff, which was licked with black singes, and peered at it curiously. Meanwhile, Jazax wasted no time in hurrying to the inn.
"Syrise!" He called out, sounding more than a little panicked, "Where are you, woman?!"
In response to his call, there was a shifting movement underneath a pile of collapsed wooden beams, which had fallen by the entrance of the inn. Jazax hurried over, tugging on the beam to no avail. Zami quickly joined him, and they were able to lift the beam away together.
As they did, a small cloud of ashes wafted from the wreckage, blinding them.
"Syrise?" Jazax called again, between coughs.
A deep-voiced cough answered.
"Uh, dat don't sound like Syrise," Zami quipped, waving the cloud of ashes away with his hand.
When the cloud cleared away, it became clear why. It wasn't a blood elf woman at all, but a tauren man. After looking at him for a minute, Zami recognized the wooden trinkets in his hair.
"Khail?" He blinked in surprise, beginning to dig him out of the wreckage.
"A-Ah, Zami?" Khail looked up weakly, "What are you doing here?"
"Nevermind dat," Zami shook his head before looking over at Jazax, "Help me get him out, mon."
Zami and Jazax moved the debris away from Khail, allowing him to move freely away from the pile of broken wood. His body was badly wounded, however, and he didn't rise from the ground. Mythene quickly moved over and began to heal his wounds.
"What happened here, Mountainwalker?" Zami asked, to which Khail sighed wearily.
"It seems the Emerald Coven is not the only splinter faction borne of the Cenarion Circle," He said with a frown, wincing as Mythene set her hand over his broken rib.
"The Emerald Coven is gone," Mythene responded tersely, pausing to heal the wound, "They drowned in the Veiled Sea, outside of Darkshore."
"I would not be so sure," Khail grunted, "I spotted Syrene among the fighting."
Mythene flinched at hearing her sister's name, her eyes widening in surprise. Zami frowned at her, before looking back to Khail.
"So if da Emerald Coven didn't do dis, who did?"
"Archdruid Moonshadow," Khail looked over at Mythene, "Do you recall what became of Fandral Staghelm?"
"He went mad," Mythene answered with a nod, "As punishment for corrupting Teldrassil, he was imprisoned below Mount Hyjal, in the inescapable cell where the Betrayer was once kept."
Zami cocked his head to the side, having absolutely no idea what they were talking about. Even so, he didn't want to interrupt. This sounded important.
"He was, yes," Khail nodded, "But now this has changed."
Mythene furrowed her brow, her expression becoming quite serious.
"He was to be moved to Moonglade, to avoid the attentions of the Twilight's Hammer, but he was taken in transit. Now it seems he is sane once more, at least somewhat, and working on behalf of the Firelord."
"How is that possible?" Mythene gasped, bringing a hand up over her mouth, "I thought Ragnaros was banished to the Firelands!"
"Yes, but it seems now he has taken an alliance with Deathwing, and they work as one to bring about Azeroth's end," Khail answered weakly.
"So, uh, dis Staghelm guy caused all dis destruction?" Zami asked, trying his best to keep up with the conversation.
"Not directly," Khail shook his head, "It seems Staghelm has turned many druids against the Circle. Now they serve the Firelord, and call themselves the Druids of the Flame. The destruction is their doing."
"This is madness," Mythene bit her lip, "Where is Keeper Remulos? Is he safe?"
"I don't know," Khail grunted, trying to stand up, "I was knocked unconscious during the fighting, and then I was trapped by this debris until you arrived."
"I shall go and search his grove!" Mythene said quickly, leaping to her feet.
As she darted off, disappearing past the edge of town, Zami helped Khail up to his feet.
"C'mon, old mon," Zami said as he nodded towards the inn, "Let's get you inside, outta all dis mess."
Khail nodded and Zami helped him walk inside, helping him take a seat at one of the undamaged tables. After Khail was seated, Zami went over towards the counter. He was surprised when he didn't find Dargon hiding behind it, but he was sure the innkeeper was just elsewhere. He had a feeling that grumpy old elf wouldn't be letting himself die so easily.
Zami shook his head in amusement and gathered up various things from behind the counter. A jug of water, a slightly-stale crust of bread, and a half-empty bottle of what smelled like ginger wine. He brought them over to the table, setting them in front of Khail.
As the tauren dipped his hand into the water, using it to wipe his face and body clean of the ashes, Jazax looked around the room.
"I sure hope she's okay..." He mumbled nervously, mostly to himself, as he continued to glance around.
Khail paused to look over at him, as though finally noticing his presence. He blinked down at the goblin a moment before chuckling.
"I must admit, I expected you would be taller," He quipped before returning to washing himself, instantly earning a scowl from Jazax.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, huh?!"
"I misunderstood when she referred to you as 'larger than life' perhaps," Khail continued, patting the ashes out of his thick black fur.
Jazax's eyebrows shot up, and he leaned on the other side of the table.
"She?" He blinked, "Y'mean Syrise?!"
"Yes," Khail nodded, not looking up.
"What else did she say about me? Err, wait, is she okay?! Where is she?!"
"I don't know," Khail answered quietly, "The last I saw her, during the chaos, she was in battle with Syrene Moonshadow."
"Of course she was," Jazax glanced aside, "She must still be mad at her from-"
"Hm? Oh, no, you misunderstand," Khail shook his head, setting down the dirtied jug of water, "They were not in combat with each other. They were fighting alongside each other, as allies."
At this, both Jazax and Zami rose their eyebrows in surprise.
