Initial post of this chapter. Hope everyone is enjoying my story and thanks to everyone reading and special thanks to those who are dropping me a line. I love hearing what you think. It helps me continue. Yay.

Anduin sat in his usual hiding spot near the temple the Sha seemed to favor. He'd been watching them grow in number and strength for the last month, doing so with much more ease since Kia arrived. He hated to admit it, but it was nice having someone watching his back while he worked. He trusted Kia with his life and knew he didn't have to worry about his safety nearly as much as he did while he was alone.

It was nice having Kia, Quinn and Lantash around. He slipped into a comfortable normal with Kia and Quinn, and the addition of Lantash made things interesting. The dragon was extremely candid with his actions and communication, though Anduin had a feeling Kia wasn't translating everything the massive reptile said word for word.

"Hmm." Anduin said to himself as he made an observation he hadn't seen previously.

"What is it?' Kia asked, turning around to face him. She had gotten to sitting away from the temple, so as to watch their backs. Quinn lay a few feet away, doing the same. Lantash was off doing whatever it was dragons do, since he found guard duty boring.

"It looks like the people around the temple aren't there by choice. They're being corrupted by the Sha. I had originally thought they were all willing Sha worshipers or something of that nature, but now I don't think so."

"If that's true, is there any way to un-corrupt them?" Kia asked.

Anduin thought for a second, wrapping his head around what he had learned about the Sha. "I think the Light can push the Sha out of a person, if it works the same as it did with the corrupted frog I purified before you arrived. I didn't know any of the beings around the temple were in fact being corrupted into compliance, but I just saw it happen. If I can free them from this plague, I need to try."

"Agreed, but we need a plan first. Running in there blind will only get us killed." Kia replied, standing.

Anduin nodded, standing as well. They headed back towards the camp, both of them silent. Once they reached the camp, Anduin sat on the log seat next to the firepit, sending a small ball of magic into the pit to start a fire. It wasn't a cold day, but Anduin just felt silly sitting around a firepit with no fire. Kia sat across from him.

"We need to think of a way to slip in there and free as many of the corrupted pandarens as possible, without being detected. I'd like to prevent having to fight any of the Sha toe to toe." Anduin said. "Or hurt anyone who's being forced to fight against their will."

"I agree, mainly because we have no idea if any of my weapons will even hurt the Sha. We know your Light magic will, but you can't do this alone. If only there were a way to confirm weapon impact before going in, not to mention, there will most likely be something even bigger inside the temple who might get mad if we start releasing its servants. That temple is supposed to house one of their gods, right?" Kia asked, leaning back against Lantash, who had settled in behind Kia.

"That was the temple of Chi-Ji, before its corruption." came a voice from the side of them.

Both Anduin and Kia stood, spinning around to face the voice. Kia had her sword out and separated, taking a defensive posture. Quinn stood as well, growling, but Lantash was the first to make a move towards the owner of the voice.

"I'll eat him for you." Lantash said as he advanced.

Kia took both halves of her sword in one hand and placed a other hand on the dragon's side as he moved. "Hold on. Let's see who it is first."

A male pandaren stepped out of the trees. He was dressed in clothing which concealed his face and he moved without the slightest of sounds. He was also standing downwind to them, so neither Quinn or Lantash had smelled him coming.

"I am Nagoni of the Shado-pan." He stopped a few steps from the campfire, seemingly not afraid of Lantash in the least. He turned to Anduin. "You are the young foreign prince who has been studying the Sha."

Anduin nodded. "I am."

"Your people have brought this curse upon us! You're war is causing the Sha to manifest." Nagoni accused.

Quinn growled low in her chest. She didn't like anyone speaking to Anduin in such a way. Kia was also annoyed by his tone of voice.

"I know." Anduin agreed. "That is why I'm here. To help fix the damage we've done. To find peace with your people and this land. We didn't come here looking to cause problems, but since our presence here caused the Sha, I'll do whatever I can to help correct what was done."

Kia smiled slightly in the background and patted Quinn on the neck.

"He really is a good diplomat." Quinn chirped.

Kia nodded in reply.

"This fuzzy bear looking thing rode in on a dragon. I can smell him." Lantash said in Kia's head. "It's probably a bad idea for me to eat him just yet."

Kia rolled her eyes. Lantash was nothing if not single minded.

The pandaren seemed to consider Anduin's words, like he wanted to argue, but couldn't since Anduin was agreeing with his accusations. After about a minute or so, he huffed. "You will assist in freeing Chi-Ji from the temple, where he is imprisoned by the Sha."

"We'll do whatever must be done." Anduin replied.

It was only then that Nagoni seemed to notice Kia, Quinn and Lantash. He seemed to eye Lantash more than the others. "Your dragon is different than those found on Pandaria."

"He's from a place called Northrend and technically Lantash isn't mine. He chose to accompany me. I do not own him. None of my friends follow me because I force them to." Kia said, knowing Lantash didn't like to be addressed as if he were a pet, rather than a truly independent being. Quinn didn't like it much either, but she never let it bother her. Lantash, on the other hand, hadn't learned yet how to let comments such as those roll off his back.

Nagoni bowed. "Forgive me, mighty serpent, I did not wish to imply that you are merely a servant. Perhaps, after we have freed Chi-Ji, you can help me understand the ways of your kind."

Lantash grumbled. "I like him. Tell him I'd be honored to speak with him."

Kia smiled. "Lantash says he'd be honored to speak with you."

The pandaren's eyes widened. "You understand him? Do you understand the tiger's speech as well?"

Kia nodded. "I can understand all animals. Lantash and I also have a mental bond."

"Fascinating." He turned back to Anduin. "Yes, once Chi-Ji in free, we will all sit and talk." He approached the fire and sat. Anduin and Kia followed suit.

"To answer your question about traditional weapons harming a Sha, the answer is yes. If the weapon is blessed, it will work even better. The Sha is a manifestation of evil. Anything touched by good will hurt a Sha, even more so if the wielder truly believes it can."

"That makes sense." Kia said. "Faith in good and evil shouldn't be a problem."

"And I can bless your weapons before we go in." Anduin said.

"A frontal assault won't work. If the Shado-pan are used as a distraction, you two could enter the temple and face the Sha. Once he's free, Chi-Ji will help defeat the remaining entities outside."

Kia chuckled. "I guess it's time to see if any of the tactics I learned from Rell actually stuck. Quinn can go in with us."

"I'll help with the distraction." Lantash offered. "I'm too big to be going into the temple anyway. But if you get in a fix, just say the word, I'll rip down a wall to get to you."

Kia translated to Nagoni. They continued to talk for another hour, then agreed to meet up in the morning for the assault.

To Be Continued...