Chapter Seven

Fang rested at the foot of the bed Larraine had slept in, his eyes watching her pace the floor as she re-read Anduin's journal probably the hundredth time. She knew he was worried about her, and was secretly thankful he couldn't speak and tell her not to worry the way Bixby and Gardenia had both done before going to spend the night in another room so she could have her space. She'd spent better than half of the night tossing and turning before finally giving up on sleep, and was up before the sun to resume her ceaseless sauntering back and forth across the room.

"If any Alliance soldier finds this, know that I, Prince Anduin Wrynn, am alive," she read out loud to herself, then let out an exasperated sigh.

"You were alive when you wrote this, at least. What about now? If only you'd turned and gone the other way from the wreckage, you'd be here in this village and I wouldn't be worried half to death about you!"

She threw the journal at the wall, causing it to hit with a noise loud enough to startle Fang, who raised his head up to look at her and whined in concern. Shaking her head, she sat down next to him and scratched him behind one ear to assure him she was going to be okay, then put her head in her hands. With a heavy sigh, she closed her eyes and told herself over and over again that Anduin was just fine – but she was still having a hard time being positive with little more evidence of his survival than the journal he left behind on Taylor's flagship.

"I think I probably would have felt it if you were gone."

Her eyes flew open as she suddenly remembered something he had told her the first time they saw each other following the great Cataclysm. She'd questioned why he didn't seem as relieved to see her alive as she had been to see him, given the fact that the Stormwind City Park – where the night elf woman she had been training under lived and she often spent time practicing her archery skills – had been completely destroyed by Deathwing. He explained that he had been afraid for her safety, at first, but then he realized if she had perished he likely would have been able to feel it in his heart that she was gone... just as he'd felt when Bolvar fell at the Wrathgate.

There was a chance he could only 'feel' she was still alive due to his connection to the Light, but Larraine knew she had to at least give it a shot. Closing her eyes once more, she took a few slow, deep breaths and calmed herself. She then concentrated as much as she could on Anduin, recalling some of her fondest memories of him. For the longest time there was nothing, and the worry began to creep back into her mind. Then, she felt it: a small, warm sensation akin to the feeling of the healing spells Anduin used faintly blooming right in the center of her chest.

She opened her eyes and smiled at Fang, then hugged him tightly and laughed, and the wolf made a sound to express his confusion with the situation.

"He's alive!" she told him, leaning back and laughing once more as she rubbed both of his ears. "Anduin's alive, Fang! I can feel it!"

Fang barked in his approval at the news, though he was likely more happy that his mistress was no longer in the gloomy mood she'd been all night than he was to hear the news that the prince still lived.

"Larraine!"

Rell's deep voice called from the courtyard outside the inn, starling her. She hadn't known he was back from the old temple, but apparently he'd been back long enough to hear about what she and the others had done the previous day, judging by how angry he sounded.

Deciding the best course of action would likely be to meet him head on rather than try to keep hiding until he had a chance to cool off, she stood up and walked out of the hut she had been staying in. Fang followed, remaining close to her side, and together they went to the courtyard. Rell was nearly upon them as soon as they stepped through the doorway, a piece of parchment crumpled in his tightly-clenched fist.

"What were you thinking, going off on your own like that?" he growled at her, his jaw clenched in rage.

"I was thinking someone should go look for Prince Anduin, like King Varian ordered us to do," she replied without thinking, regretting it almost immediately. Rell started to grind his teeth, obviously not impressed by her flippant remark, and he raised the hand with the parchment in it to stick one of his long fingers in her face.

"This is not your mission," he reminded her, his voice taking on a threatening tone. "Furthermore, Master Shaw has entrusted your safety to me so you will do what I say from now on, understood?"

Larraine couldn't stop the short burst of laughter which escaped her, and she crossed her arms over her chest as she leveled her gaze with his.

"Mathias ordered you to protect me, did he?" she asked, the corners of her mouth turning up slightly in a smirk. "Well, you certainly are doing a wonderful job of that, Rell, what with running off after the Horde practically as soon as the shore was in sight."

She expected him to rage at her, to get in her face and yell and curse and maybe even threaten bodily harm to her should she not stand down and follow his orders. To her surprise, however, she saw something pass over his face that seemed more like guilt than anger. He shut his eyes tightly and turned his face away from her for several long seconds, then finally looked at her once more. His gaze was no longer narrowed, and it was almost as if he was silently telling her she was right.

"Don't run off like that again, Larraine," he ordered, though most of the venom was gone from his voice.

"I wasn't alone, Rell," she said. "Bixby and Gardenia went with me to look for Anduin."

"I know," Rell said, some of the anger returning. "But they're not going to be able to go with you next time."

"Why not?" she asked, and he merely handed over the crumpled parchment in his hand. Larraine's brow furrowed in confusion and she took it from him, then smoothed it out as much as she could in order to read the words which had been written in large, block letters upon the page.

Rell,

We're going to search for treasure!

-Bixby

Larraine almost laughed. Bixby and her sister had each been intrigued in their own way by the stories of the lost treasures of Pandaria. She never expected that they would simply desert their duties and take off to go looking for them, though. The mirth she felt soon turned to anger, however, when she realized that without them around she would likely either be forced to remain at whatever camp Rell and his team set up or sent back to Stormwind, directly.

P.S. - You should take Larraine with you when you go to look for the prince. She's more capable than you realize.

The final bit of the note was in a different style of handwriting, and Larraine guessed it had been added on by Gardenia. She smiled a little to herself as she re-read the suggestion the elder of the two sisters had made to Rell, even though she highly doubted he'd take it to heart.

"Did Taylor's log reveal anything?" she asked, hoping to steer the conversation in a more favorable direction than she was sure it was about to head.

"Don't change the subject," Rell snapped, grabbing the note back from her and holding it up. "What are we going to do about this?"

"About what? The two of them taking off? It's not like we have the man power here to pull together a second search team to go hunt them down," Larraine remarked.

"No," Rell replied, the annoyance from earlier seeping back into his voice. "What are we going to do about you now that they're gone?"

"Maybe you should just take me along with you, like they suggested," she suggested, staring him down defiantly.

"No," Rell said firmly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Either you take me with you, Rell," Larraine said, taking a step closer to him, "or I go looking for Anduin on my own."

"I can have you detained."

"Oh please, Rell," she replied, shaking her head and laughing. "I've been living under the same roof as some of the highest-ranking members of SI:7 for the past three years. Do you really think I haven't picked up a thing or two that would help me escape?"

Rell continued to glare at her, and the tense silence stretched on between them for what seemed like several minutes. Larraine wanted to look away from that stern, glowing gaze, but she knew she couldn't back down. She needed him to see her as more than an incompetent child.

"I can do this, Rell," she finally said, her voice quiet but sure. "Let me help. Please."

"You will follow my orders," Rell told her.

"Alright."

"That means staying put if I tell you to, Larraine," he continued, his voice a stern warning. "No running off on your own. If you think you have a lead, you tell me and the team will investigate."

"Will I be included as part of 'the team'?" she asked, her gaze still unwavering.

"Yes," Rell reluctantly said after a moment's hesitation.

Larraine continued to stare him down a bit longer before extending one of her hands toward him. Rell looked to her hand briefly, then back to her face, and finally he took her hand in his and shook it to seal their agreement. Larraine squeezed his hand as tightly as she could, her gaze hardening when he gave her a surprised look, wordlessly conveying the fact that she was definitely going to hold him to everything he just said. If he didn't, their deal would be off and she'd go looking for Anduin on her own, consequences be damned.

"Now, about that report..."

Rell almost laughed and released her hand, then turned and began walking back toward the center of the village. Larraine followed him, eager to heard what sort of information the report had held – especially if there were any clues as to Anduin's whereabouts – but she didn't push further. The two of them continued to walk quietly through the village until they reached another small hut owned by one of the locals, and upon stepping inside she was met with the faces of Rell's other team members as well as that of the SI:7's best codebreaker.

"Now that we're all here, Nodd," Rell addressed the green-haired gnome, taking a seat between Sully and Amber at the table in the center of the room, "go ahead and tell us all what you've found."

"Well, sir," Nodd said, standing from his own seat on the other side of Amber, "it appears that was, indeed, the wreck of the flagship upon which the White Pawn had been traveling."

"I could have told you that," Larraine remarked. "And do we really need to keep using the code name? I think we all know who we're talking about, here."

Nodd gaped at her and looked to Rell, who nodded to him.

"Continue."

"Um... Well..." He cleared his throat, looking at the notes in his hand. "Taylor's last entry says he was going to fight off the hozen and protect the vessel after the shipwreck since the Whi- since Prince Anduin was still on board."

"Hozen?" Larraine repeated thoughtfully. "Is that what those monkey things are called?"

"Yes!" Nodd informed her with an excited lilt to his voice. "According to the locals, they are an advanced form of primate who are known to inhabit the area and sometimes terrorize smaller farms by stealing their crops. They're loud and smelly and violent, but also possess a certain level of intelligence."

"Anythin' else we should know about these critters?" Sully wondered before chugging down whatever was in the mug in his hand.

"They sometimes take prisoners," Nodd continued, then looked to Larraine. "Did you see any sign of Taylor on the ship?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "And, I... I'm afraid they might have Anduin, too."

"What?" Rell snapped, turning to look at her.

"Yesterday, when Bixby, Gardenia, and I were down by the wreckage of Taylor's ship... one of the hozen had a spear with a piece of Anduin's royal sash tied to it."

"And you didn't think to alert us about this immediately?" Rell shouted, standing up and going over to her. "The prince could be dead, for all we know!"

"He's not dead!" Larraine yelled back at him. "If he was, I'd know it."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel it," she told him, her voice shaking. "Anduin is alive."

"This mission cannot rely on your gut feelings, Larraine," he growled at her. "The evidence shows that he's in a lot of trouble, right now. You keeping your mouth shut about what you found yesterday may very well cost him his life."

"He's not some helpless little weakling, Rell," she snapped at him. "He's stronger and smarter than anyone gives him credit for. He's not just going to stand there and let them take him down without a fight. Even if he can't meet their physical strength, he'll figure out a way to survive until help comes."

"If I may?" Amber spoke up, slowly rising from her seat. She watched the two of them continue to stare each other down as she approached, then placed a hand upon Rell's shoulder and turned him slowly until he was focused on her rather than Larraine.

"You're right, Rell," she told him, her voice soothing. "Prince Anduin is in grave danger. But Larraine is also right. There's a very good chance he's holding out until we find him. You know what we have to do."

"I do," Rell said, nodding slightly.

"Then we await your orders, sir," she replied, a small smile gracing her lips.

Rell glared briefly at Larraine once more, then followed Amber back to the table and spread out a crudely-drawn map across its surface. Larraine took a few steps closer in order to get a better look at it, though she could easily see it was likely only a small portion of the continent they were on.

"Nodd's sister drew up this map based on the reports from our scouts and the information we were able to gather from the locals about the surrounding area," he explained, then pointed to a location just past where the shipwreck had been. "According to these resources, there is a rudimentary village here. Likely, it's the base of the hozen you fought yesterday, Larraine."

"Right, then!" Sully said, pumping a fist into the air. "Let's go show them right bastards the might o' the Alliance!"

"No," Rell and Larraine said at the same time, causing the others in the room to look back and forth between them in shock. Larraine and Rell also exchanged a look with one another, each of them surprised that the other finally agreed with them, for once.

"If we go rushing in there headlong we could cause them to panic," Rell continued with his plan.

"And if that happens, and they have Admiral Taylor or Anduin..." Larraine added, her voice breaking at the end as she thought about what might befall the prince should they not approach the hozen settlement carefully.

"Amber, I want you to head up into the air and see if you can give us a better idea of the layout of the settlement and let us know if there are any signs of the missing," Rell instructed.

"Right away," Amber agreed with a nod, then left to go find one of the flying machines they'd brought down after their air assault on the Horde base.

"I could see if maybe there's some higher ground near the settlement," Larraine suggested. "That would give me a vantage point for taking them out."

"I want you with me and Sully," Rell insisted, shaking his head. "If we do find Prince Anduin there and things start to go bad, I'm relying on you to get him back to this village safely."

Larraine nodded and excused herself so she could retrieve her gear. Rell called after her and told her to meet him and Sully at the village gate closest to where the shipwreck had washed ashore, then she quickly returned to the hut she'd been staying in. Fang bounded around the room just as much as she did, bringing her parts of her armor while she checked her bow to make sure the string was taut. He then sat down next to her and whined, and she looked over to find him holding Anduin's journal in his mouth.

"Thanks, Fang," she told him, kneeling down to take the book from him and pat him on the head. "We'll have to remember to give this back to Anduin when we find him. Are you ready to go?"

He ran toward the door and waited for her, his tail twitching in excitement, and Larraine laughed at him.

"Hold your horses," she said, sitting down on the bed. "I need to finish putting this armor on."

Fang continued to wait for her, but after a bit his anticipation of the upcoming outing got the better of him and he began jumping toward her and barking – as if he was telling her to hurry up.

"I'm coming," she told him, standing back up and gathering her things. She then gave the room one last look-over to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything, then followed her wolf outside.

She knew she should go to meet Rell and Sully right away, but instead she made a detour to the inn so she could thank Jiayi for allowing her to stay in her home. The innkeeper merely smiled and told her it was a pleasure to have her as a guest, then wished her luck on finding the prince and gave her a small sack filled with the red bean buns she had taken a liking to. Larraine thanked her once more and carefully placed the parcel into her pack, then made her way to the meeting point.

Rell and Sully were already waiting when she got there, quietly discussing something. Larraine slowed her pace as she approached them from behind, letting her keen sense of hearing hone in on their conversation.

"Da little one's right, Rell," Sully was saying. "Ye should jus' let the lass do what she does best."

"She's still a child, Sully," Rell argued.

"She's what... Fifteen years old, now? That's the same age as Prince Anduin! You think she's less capable than the prince o' protectin' herself? Hm? Or... Wait a bleedin' second... Does this 'ave somethin' to do with her bein' a girl?"

"What are you implying, Sully?" Rell growled.

"Nothin'," Sully insisted. "I'm jus' tryin' ta figure out why yer so against the poor lass helpin' us."

"I'm ready!" Larraine called out to alert them of her presence. She knew she could have listened in a bit longer without them noticing her, standing as far back behind them as she was, but she really didn't want to hear Rell's response to the Sully's question. It was nice to know the dwarf was on her side, though, and she smiled at him when the reached them.

"Amber is up in the air as we speak," Rell informed her. "She'll follow our path and let us know of any dangers ahead via communication device."

"Sounds good," Larraine said, nodding. "Shall we?"

Rell gave a single nod and began to walk down the path, and Larraine shifted the straps on her shoulders as she waited for Sully to go after him.

"After ye, lass," he told her, bowing and giving her a wink as he gestured along the path.

"Age before beauty," she replied, making a similar gesture. Sully chuckled and followed Rell, and Larraine brought up the rear with Fang.

This time, she let herself take in the scenery a bit more as they traveled along, past the overlook where she had stopped the previous day with the sisters and into the dense jungle itself. The vegetation was strikingly similar to descriptions of the jungles of Stranglethorn Vale that she'd read in various books, and she couldn't help but wonder if there might be similar wildlife, as well.

"Rell, this is Amber. Do you read me?"

"Yes, Amber," Rell said into his communication device, halting their group.

"I can see the hozen settlement just ahead of you," Amber's voice once more came over the line. "It appears they have set up some sort of makeshift prison within its boundaries. I can identify multiple cages scattered around the area."

"Can you identify any of the prisoners?" Rell asked.

"Negative," Amber replied. "Although... Shit!"

"Amber, what is it?" Rell said, a note of concern in his voice.

"Horde!" Amber yelled, and Larraine's eyes went wide as she heard the sound of guns being fired – likely from the aircraft Amber was on – followed by an explosion, and then... nothing.

"Amber?" Rell attempted to get her back on the communication device, but all that he received in return was static. "Amber!"

Larraine watched Rell as he desperately attempted to get Amber back on the line, fear and panic starting to take him over until he eventually threw his communication device to the ground in frustration. Sully bent down to retrieve it without a word, then reached up to pat the taller man on the back in a comforting manner.

"Dammit!" Rell swore, closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep, shaky breath.

"She'll be okay, ye'll see," Sully assured him. "Amber's one tough cookie."

"We need to find her, Sully," Rell said gruffly, taking the communication device back from him and hooking it onto his belt.

"An' we will, right after we find Prince Anduin," Sully told him, patting his back once more.

"Now you know how I feel," Larraine said. Rell and Sully both turned to look at her, the dwarf's eyes wide in shock at her audacity while the elf's narrowed slightly at her.

"I'm sorry to be so blunt, but your desperation to know Amber is safe is the same way I feel about finding Anduin," she told Rell. "And the sooner we find him, the sooner you can go find her. So why don't we stop standing around here and continue on to this hozen settlement?"

"She's right, Rell," Sully told him. "Time's a-wastin'."

Larraine ended up taking the lead of their group, Fang walking at her side, and Sully and Rell fell in behind her.

"I don't recall making you the leader of this party," Rell called ahead to her, but Larraine held up a hand to silence him.

"What is it, lass?" Sully asked quietly as he went to her side, and Rell – being the tallest of their group – came up behind them.

"Look," she whispered, pointing ahead. "Right through those trees, can you see it?"

"I see... something," Rell told her, squinting as he tried to make out whatever it was she had noticed.

"It's Admiral Taylor," she said, looking up at him.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, already brandishing his daggers.

"Positive," she replied, nodding. "He looks to be hurt, too."

"How kin ya tell?" Sully wondered, raising up on his toes in a vain attempt to get a better look at what she was seeing.

"He's bandaged up and in a prone position on the ground. Which... I suppose could mean he's not being held prisoner. After all, why bother taking the time to offer aid to someone you're just going to throw into a cell?"

"It could be a trap," Rell warned, taking a step ahead and raising one hand to place against her shoulder. "Wait here while Sully and I go ahead."

"But-" Larraine tried to protest.

"If you see anything suspicious closing in on us, shoot it," Rell instructed her.

Larraine nodded, readying her bow to keep them covered while they moved in closer to the settlement. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, checking for any signs of a possible ambush. Seeing nothing of any significant danger, she started slowly making her way along the path Rell and Sully had taken, still on alert with her bow drawn. At the first sign of anything she would open fire, but the closer they got the less it looked to be a trap. Perhaps Taylor had already succumbed to his injuries or he was so badly incapacitated that the hozen had merely left him for dead rather than waste their time guarding him.

"You there! Can you help us?"

Larraine heard the voice before she saw who it belonged to. The speaker sounded like his mouth was swollen, and once she got a good look at him she understood why: he was, in essence, a talking fish-man.

"Sure, why not," she muttered to herself. "First talking bears, then aggressive monkey-things, and now fish people."

"Are ye hurt?" Sully asked the fish-man, and he shook his head.

"I will be fine. This man here is badly injured, though," he said, pointing to Taylor. "He put up quite a fight. Nearly escaped, too, but now he is just a prisoner like the rest of us."

"Are there any others like him?" Larraine asked, her eyes darting about the settlement. There were a few hozen patrolling nearby, as well as small groups near the larger structures at the other end of the area, but none of them seemed to be paying attention to the prisoners.

"No, but there are more of my people," the fish-man said.

"How is he?" Larraine wondered, finally looking away from the rest of the settlement to where Sully was examining Taylor.

"Not good," the dwarf said, shaking his head a little. "He's pretty beat up an' barely breathin'."

"We'll call in Mishka once we get him somewhere safer and have her tend to his injuries," Rell decided, sheathing his daggers in favor of a set of lock picks.

"My people can offer you safe shelter from the hozen."

"Your people?" Larraine asked the fish-man, curious what they called themselves.

"We are the jinyu. One of the ancient races of Pandaria," he explained. "The hozen have long been our enemies. I am known as Bold Karasshi. My friends and I were captured in an ambush while patrolling near our village."

"You said your people can offer us shelter?" Rell questioned him as he began working the lock which kept him chained up.

"Yes, if you will help free me and my friends, you will all be welcomed as heroes."

"All that won't be necessary," Larraine told him before Rell could make some sort of remark about not being sure they were trustworthy. "We just need a safe place to treat this man's injuries."

Rell glared at her as he passed by on his way to the other cages so he could release Karasshi's friends, and she let out a sigh. She knew her relief would be short-lived, however. Rell likely didn't want to make a scene in front of the one who was offering them safe haven, but once he had an opportunity to speak to her alone she was sure the gloves would come off.

"He mentioned something about a prince before he lost consciousness," Karasshi said, and Larraine turned to him once more. He was unexpectedly tall at his full height, and she had to crane her neck in order to address him.

"What did he say?"

"I could not make out all of his words," he told her. "All I was able to understand was 'prince' and 'safe.'"

"Sounds like he knows where Prince Anduin is," Sully remarked, standing up and brushing his hands off on his trousers. "Hopefully once Mishka's had a crack at him he'll be able to tell us more."

"We can only hope," Rell said, stepping up next to him and pocketing his lock picks once more. He then bent down and lifted Taylor's unconscious form with a grunt of exertion, then nodded toward Karasshi.

"Your people are free. Now, lead the way," he ordered. Karasshi nodded and took off down the hill, leading them all toward a group of hozen who were occupied in a heated battle with several other jinyu.

"Fall back!" Larraine heard the jinyu cry out, and his bretheren did their best to fight off their attackers before fleeing in the direction they were headed.

Even as they closed in on the jinyu village, Larraine could still hear the triumphant cries of the hozen echoing behind them. With that shrill sound ringing in her ears, she couldn't help but wonder if putting themselves in the middle of a conflict between the two races was really such a good idea.