Just before I swept through the double doors that led into the foyer, I winced a bit as the practically solid wall of fear slammed into me. I shook my head and my heart quickened a little bit. Not even the mist could block out the wave of emotion and horror that was pulsing from the foyer. As I pushed open the doors, I could hear Aggie's frantic voice. "I am trying my best, sir! She is in the estate, she is coming! Please, won't you sit down?"

A man's voice answered her. He couldn't have been more than twenty and it was reasonable to assume that he was probably just a messenger. Why is this messenger so distraught? I thought to myself. I did my very best to shove the mist away and let my thoughts clear. "No, I m-must see her now!" In the distance, a loud thumping noise could be heard, as if someone were beating a great many drums for a celebration. At the time, however, the noise did not even pierce the mist. I was only focused on the voices in the foyer, and finding out what they wanted from me.

"Alright, sir, but I do wish you would sit down, you're making me so very nervous.." Aggie trailed off as I came into view from under the staircase and she breathed a sigh of relief, then wiped her hands on her apron and hustled up the steps, no doubt going to hide in the doorway of the study so that she could listen to the conversation while being out of sight.

I looked directly at the man. His hair was unkempt and disheveled, as if he had been running carelessly and blindly through a thick forest. He had several cuts on his hands and neck and one of his eyes was beginning to darken as if he had been punched squarely in the face. "Can I help you?" I asked calmly. Behind me, I heard Zurk and the other two imps skitter to a stop at the end of the tunnel. They were listening, too.

The man was about to speak but when he looked up at me, he froze in horror. I blinked a few times in a slight confusion before I realized that he was caught in my eyes. I stared down at one of the marble tiles on the floor and spoke again. "Can I help you?" This time, he coughed and stammered out, "L-lady Montelot? I need to speak with Lady Montelot."

"You are a messenger," I began. "Who has sent you?"

He hesitated.

A spike of fury went through me. At the time, I suppose, I should have been grateful for this sudden emotion, even if it was unwanted. At least I was feeling something through the shroud that was hanging around me. I turned my eyes up and took a step towards the man. "You are so frantic and eager to speak with me and now you won't reveal who sent you? You are making unwise decisions. Either tell me where you have come from or leave my estate."

He whispered something. The spike went through me again. "Speak up. Who sent you?"

"P-prince Greymane."

Behind me, I heard Zurk shift uncomfortably. Aggie let out a slight gasp from the landing above.

The mist tightened considerably and I had to actually shake my head slightly to clear it out. "And?" I said, crossing my arms impatiently. "I told him that if he sent messengers, he would not get them back in one piece. So why are you here?"

The man's face contorted in fear as a booming sound was heard from the distance. He looked over his shoulder and out the front doors, at the foggy sky then looked back at me, his eyes pleading. This man was not afraid of me. He was too scared of whatever was outside my gates to be afraid of me. "Please, my lady, the c-city is under attack. They're dead, they're horrible." He looked over his shoulder again, as if expecting a headsman to come marching through the door at any moment, searching for his life.

"Under attack?" said Aggie from above, moving down the steps a bit. "The Worgen are gone, though."

Another boom was heard, this one sounding like it was a bit closer. The man let out a frazzled sound and looked around frantically, nodding his head. "No, no! Not the Worgen! They're.. they're dead! All of them, r-rotting as they walk!" This sounded familiar to me. A little too familiar. Gilneas bordered the lands inhabited by the Forsaken, the Undead, but would they be so bold as to attack the nation up front? I shook my head again to clear it. It didn't matter if they were Undead. I would defend my estate, and my estate only. I had learned from my mistakes of trusting the leaders in the city.

"I trust you brought a horse," I said, motioning my head towards the front doors. "So I suggest you get back on it and ride back to the city to tell them that I will have no part in defending them, as they had no part in defending me. Let them burn, I will be able to hold my land."

The man began to wring his hands together, becoming more and more frantic as the seconds passed. "Please, my lady!" I ignored him and began to turn back to the passageway. Zurk was still standing there, looking up at me. "Please!" The little imp did not say anything to me, but the look in his huge, black eyes was pleading with me to hear the man out. "Prince Greymane sent me personally to get you! They need you, my lady! Please!" I narrowed my eyes at Zurk. This imp is becoming too bold, I thought. I shocked myself. The mist was being pushed back a little, replaced by the vibrating fear emanating off of this messenger. "He said that he knows you can fight!" I wanted my mist back. I wanted my numbness back. I wanted to grab this man by his throat and toss him out into the mud. "He said.. he said he needs his Shadow Talon to fight."

I froze and for a couple of seconds, the mist was completely dissipated. I spun around and looked the man right in the eye, making him flinch a little bit. "He said that?" I asked, speaking slowly. The man nodded so fiercely that his head might have just rolled right off of his shoulders. The foyer was silent. Aggie stood watching in the middle of the staircase, her hands clutching each other. Zurk kept his place in the passage and I could tell that his little eyes were still fixed on me. Aggie spoke up.

"Talenne. You know we will obey whatever you command. We can defend the land. Whatever you choose, dear, we will be alright."

The mist was beginning to force its way back in and for once, I would have preferred if it stayed away. I needed to think clearly in order to make this decision. In the split second before it grabbed hold again, I gritted my teeth and growled, "Go. Go before me and tell them that I am coming, with help. They will not fight alone if the Forsaken reach the city." The man needed no more persuading. He stumbled out of the foyer and outside, I could hear him struggling to get back up onto his horse. I looked up at Aggie. She had the ghost of a smile on her face and she nodded slowly. "I will leave an entire army here with you, Aggie. You will be protected. And you know that they would never harm you."

"I know, Talenne. Please, don't worry about me," said the old woman, her hands still clutching. Aggie was no coward. She was old, perhaps, but she would fight until the darkness took her, I knew that.

I turned around and bent down on one knee, speaking to Zurk. "You know what to do, little friend." The imp grinned. "Get the others. I have a lot of summoning to do."