Episode Seven:
"Priestess Feathershine, Willypearl and I have an idea." Onyxbane announced to the worried priestess as they walked down the wooden plank to the docks of Darkshore.
Priestess Feathershine looked unconvinced, but she raised a feather-long eyebrow anyway.
"We were… talking, and it might be best if we go ahead of the group to Silithus. I have a feeling we are running out of time. It will take too long if we take the land route.
Onyxbane thought it best to fly to Cenarion Hold in Silithus, instead of waiting for the boat to get to Feathermoon Stronghold, and then by saber to Silithus down through Feralas, and worse, Thousand Needles, and worse yet, Gadgetzan and Un'Goro Crater where he heard there were monsters.
"Were you now, talking to my Onyxbane?" it came out sounding more possessive than perhaps the majestic priestess meant it to, and she pursed her round lips in embarrassment. She was the one put in charge of the mission by the courts in Stormwind. Onyxbane watched the tall female Night Elf toss her long silken emerald hair over her rose colored shoulder. Her full green lashes closed gently as Feathershine considered his idea. How many times had Onyxbane imagined that Elune might look like Feathershine, and not the other way around? Priestesses were meant to emulate the goddess in everything they did, but Feathershine was achingly close to perfect in his eyes. Onyxbane tried not to look at Wisthera whose hot jealousy he could feel on his skin.
"I take it Wisthera told you something that makes this all more urgent than we first assumed?"
"Err… yes."
"That must have been a very convincing session, Onyxbane. I used mind visions on her back in Darnassus, and never found anything so substantial." She accused.
Was the priestess jealous of him as well, or was he imagining things? Onyxbane took Willypearl's hand in his own, and backed away from the two fiercely enticing women of his race. Both looked on him with disdain. His ex-girlfriend's version felt close to feral rage, while the larger than life Feathershine frowned so darkly at him he feared the moon would go out. He resisted a strong impulse to go on his knees and submit to the will of the goddess Elune that was pent up in this woman.
"There'd better not be a scratch on my Onyxbane when we catch up to you with the supplies, do you hear?" Priestess Feathershine warned a young novice priestess on her right. The girl began to nod her assent furiously, and went to gather her things.
"The novice Windsong will go with you. If you have a warrior, and a class that can do damage to the enemy quickly, then you will need a healer to complete the group. Springmoon, perhaps you should go as well."
Onyxbane's eyes widened. "No! No, thank you. One extra person who can heal is more than enough."
Feathershine raised her eyebrow again at him, in her classic show of superior amusement.
"I see. Well, I suppose you are right. While you explore… Silithus," she said while overtly eyeing Willypearl, "one priestess will keep you both whole, as well as remind you of Elune's teachings."
"I'm not a lovesick schoolboy, Priestess Feathershine."
Feathershine ignored the complaint.
"You are letting them go alone!" Wisthera bubbled up.
"My duty is to you, my dear. I'm to see that you serve your sentence. Or, as we discussed back in Darnassus, I can turn you into a treant, or a wisp, or perhaps you'd like to scrub the temple, as the novices do."
Wisthera's eyes went wide, but she kept her mouth shut. Once three hippogryphs were ready, Onyxbane and his small party left.
Priestess Feathershine was trying to arrange for a fresh crew form Darnassus to make up for the dock time between Feathermoon and Darkshore while Wisthera wandered as far away from her captor as she dared. She needed to think: Why hadn't she tried to argue a way to go with Onyxbane when he was clearly shacking up with that silly human Willypearl? Why had she stayed behind and said nothing like an idiot? Furthermore, why was she waiting around to do the High Priestess' bidding when Shadowstep warned her very sternly to get the information about the Twilight's Hammer before her group suspected? That meant she needed to get to Silithus, and early. If she stayed with the high priestess, her jailor, it could take forever. Nor could she trust Onyxbane to keep the information to himself. What if he tried to meet her contacts in Cenarion Hold and made it obvious to all of Azeroth that she'd blown her cover? That would ruin her reputation as a spy and master of deception, and no one wanted a rogue who couldn't keep secrets or lie. Furthermore, Wisthera did not want to know what they did to rogues who returned to Darnassus without Shadowstep's information.
Now seemed the pertinent time the leader of her guild had intimated. Her course was clear, the mission already in jeopardy because she had dropped her guard in front of her old boyfriend and said too much. And, then, she didn't even get anything out of it. Wisthera looked at the Hippogryph master and decided there was no other way to do this. She was going to have to be sneaky.
Wisthera shadowmelded. Kaldorei blended into the shadows, appearing invisible all the time. It was a great way to avoid danger in the forest. It was also a way to annoy your parents on an outing, other members of the Alliance, or Horde for that matter, and to beat boredom. There would be nothing suspicious about it, if she didn't do it for too long. Wisthera decided that it wouldn't appear to be for very long, if she then stealthed and dashed over to the Hippgryph master. No one would even miss her.
At first, it worked very well. No one seemed to notice. Some more skilled Night Elves in the inn did see, but she wasn't an enemy, so it wasn't worth calling attention to. Sometimes rogues stealthed because they got bored too, especially Night Elf rogues. It was when she got a few paces from the flight master, and so would need to unstealth to purchase a flight, that Wisthera began to panic.
"Wisthera? Wisthera!" The soaring voice of Priestess Feathershine carried over the sound of gulls and crashing waves, and even the strong smell of salty fish. Again, everyone around was alerted to hear a priestess call out. Wisthera froze.
Priestess Feathershine walked casually up and down the dock. Where is she? Wisthera thought to herself as she watched Feathershine nod her head irritably at passerby. The young rouge liked to think she could read lips. Then the priestess went into the inn, which was connected to the docks and went upstairs, then back down again. She even talked to the innkeeper. Have you seen a young lady, my height, probably stealthed? Another mouthed translation.
Damn her! Wisthera thought as she hid under the steps to the Hippogryph platform that was off to the right of the inn.
Feathershine then called her novice priestesses, like ducklings to her sides, and began pointing in all directions. Orders were no doubt being given. Could she disappear while their backs were turned? The woman moved so fast!
"…and I'll keep watch by the hippogryph master myself." Feathershine was saying as she walked over.
Wisthera crouched low. She could not afford to wait there much longer. Feathershine was an experienced priestess, after a time she would find her, and if not, all the sentinels in the place would be honored to do the bidding of a Priestess of Elune and track down one clumsy rogue in their midst. It was now or never.
Wisthera moved as fast as she could while stealthed. She got right in front of the Hippogryph Master and whispered,
"A flight to Cenarion Hold please."
"What? Who's there?" the flight master asked dumbly, glancing all around.
Wisthera cringed. Her jailor was right on her heels, she could feel it.
"Cenarion Hold! Cenarion Hold! Hurry!"
"Oh, ok. That will be twenty silver. And you'll have to unstealth."
"Dammit!" Wisthera swore. Feathershine was so close she was almost stepping on her.
"Have you seen a young woman, about my height, blue skin and dark green hair, probably stealthed?" High Priestess Feathershine asked. The Flightmaster shook her head no. "Are you sure? You'd want to report her right away, of course. She's an escaped prisoner."
Wisthera wanted to bop the arrogant high priestess on the head. For all intensive purposes, Wisthera was free. She was not in shackles. Wisthera was being forced to serve her sentence in Feathershine's own creative way, but she had been found innocent of an international scam, and the rogues of the Cenarion Enclave had shown clemency, even rewarded her. This little favor for Feathershine was but a temporary inconvenience in Wisthera's eyes.
"Well, there was someone stealthed. I didn't see the features."
"What?"
Wisthera briefly considered running over and jumping off the platform into the ocean. Threshadons seemed better company than this right now. But then, Wisthera had an idea.
A loud squaking was heard behind the two conversing women, as one of the hippogryphs was yanked off its roost, and wrestled to the ground. Both High Priestess Feathermoon and the flight master watched in horror as the bird appeared to have a noisy fight with itself, and then it gave in and took to the air.
"Splotches no!" the flight master yelled.
"Splotches?" Feathershine raised another critical emerald eyebrow.
"Silithus! Silithus!" Wisthera decloaked now that she was on the animal's back and had to concentrate on not falling off.
The bird flew in a few clumsy circles and then, inevitably, headed south.
The flight master was screaming. Priestess Feathershine narrowed her eyes at the sky, raised her forefingers to her temples, focused…
"Dammit!" the priestess yelled, and whistled to her flock. Like mindless chicks they were all about her in their green and yellow robes in an instant.
"You, get that boat and all our supplies headed to Cenarion Hold. You, stay behind and make sure everyone here knows that there is a rogue and a thief that's stolen a hippogryph, and You! Get word to the Temple of Elune that the rogue Wisthera has shirked her sentencing."
"What will you do, High Priestess?" one doe-eyed novice asked.
"I'm going after that dumb, ivy haired, manwrecking…" but the rest of the impending expletives Feathershine grumbled as she rolled up her sleeves and marched off to the flight master.