Cenarion Expedition

"It will take a few days. Then we will arrive at Shattrath and you can see this new city with us, okay?"

Talanas nodded his head, smiling at Sylvanas who smiled back to him. "Okay."

"Good boy." She said, kissing him on the cheek. "Now, go with grandmama and big sis and we will see you again in a few days." She stood up and pushed Talanas towards Illana lightly, watching her take hold of his hand and smiling at her mother-in-law. "Thank you again, I don't know what we would do without you."

"They're family." Illana told her, kissing the General on the cheek when she stepped closer to her. "I'll look after them as if they were my own."

"Again, thank you." Sylvanas said, looking over to Athrodar who was saying goodbye to Victoria who in return, didn't want to let go of him. "Now time to tell the other one that we will be a few days and to say goodbye."

Whilst both Athrodar and Sylvanas were saying goodbye to their family, Anya and Clea had rounded up the General's company with the help of Melonara who was counting the injured and informing them of the plan should they recover. "It should only take a few days to get to Shattrath. Once we do, we will send a runner back to inform the Grand Magister and hopefully he can open up a portal to the city for you and the rest of the injured to rejoin us when they're ready."

Kalira nodded her head in understanding, sitting up and holding onto her hip in the meantime. "I'll make sure the rest of them know." She said, looking around at the rest of the injured rangers either resting or trying to get back to their normal routine of training. "Thank you, Mel."

"Just rest up, okay?" She said, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her fellow ranger when she nodded. "Good."

Leaving the barracks, Melonara made her way towards her company and fell into line beside Anya who was staring at the door of the building Sylvanas and Athrodar were in. "If you do that long enough, you might be able to burn a hole into it." The Ranger said, grinning when she saw Anya's gaze harden as if she was trying to burn a hole into the door.

"I feel like you knew she was going to do that." Viraleth said, watching the pair of them.

"Of course." Melonara told her, patting Anya on the back when she saw her defeated look. "It's okay, with a bit more practice, I'm sure you'll do it."

"I hope so." Anya said, looking over to Clea who was inspecting some of the rangers lined up with them. "Do you think this new city will be big?"

Melonara shrugged her shoulders, but realised Anya couldn't see the action and began to speak instead. "I don't know, I wouldn't be surprised if it is, but I also wouldn't be surprised if it's not, considering the state of this world."

"Yeah... It's probably not as big as I hope it will be." Anya said, looking back to the door when Sylvanas opened it and walked out, turning to face Athrodar who was talking to her quietly. "They still look really happy together, it's nice. Seeing the General smile as much as she has. Before Athrodar, we had to work hard to get her to smile some days, now it seems natural."

Melonara smiled. "If it means anything, I don't think I've seen Athrodar so happy. Or so committed to anything outside of defeating the Amani."

Anya began to smile brightly too. "And his sisters who like to annoy him." She said, watching Melonara raise an eyebrow at her. "What? We do."

"I know, I just didn't think you enjoyed annoying him too. I thought you did it because... Well I don't actually know why." Melonara began to laugh lightly. "I suppose that makes three of us who do it to annoy him then."

Whilst the rangers were getting ready, Sylvanas placed a hand on Athrodar's chest and smiled up at him, the two of them gazing at each other. "When we arrive, I want us to ask Khadgar or whomever is in charge, if there's a big room or house or whatever they have that we can make our own whilst we're there." She began to walk her fingers up his chest and cupped her hand on his cheek. "Hopefully it will be big enough for us to have some time alone and to have our little ones with us without interrupting us."

"Now that's a brilliant idea." Athrodar said quietly, leaning down and kissing the General. "I believe we've only had one night where we were alone." He told her, watching Sylvanas' smile turn mischievous. "It was also a very good night."

"Yes it was." The General purred, pulling Athrodar down again and kissing him hard on the lips, trying her best to ignore the cheers, whistle and whoops from the rangers behind her.

When they pulled back, Athrodar began to chuckle when he heard the General sigh. "We have our own little fan club."

"They're a professional fan club too and one that will follow us around this entire campaign." Sylvanas told him, looking over to her rangers who were all grinning, whispering or chuckling to themselves. "Let's just get this over with and start our march towards Shattrath."

"Alright." Athrodar said, kissing her on the cheek this time as she turned her head to glare at her rangers. "Love you." He whispered to her, making her glare soften successfully.

"Love you too." She whispered back to him, hearing a few more whoops and whistles. "Okay, get them in line. Seeing as you're my second."

"Will do, my love." Athrodar told her, making his way over to the rangers and standing in front of them. "Attention! The General has a few things to say before we leave." He yelled, watching them all stand to attention in front of both him and the General, stepping back when Sylvanas stood beside him and watching her pace back and forth in front of the first row of rangers.

"Thank you Lieutenant." Sylvanas said, looking down the line of the first row of rangers in front of her. "We're leaving for Shattrath today." Sylvanas began, stopping in front of Clea who handed her a report on their numbers of able bodied rangers and the injured. "Our brothers and sisters who are injured will be joining us at a later date, so before you start to worry about a friend or two not being there with us, don't. They will be in Shattrath the moment they are ready to leave." She went back to pacing again, folding up the report and placing it in her pocket. "We don't know what to expect when we arrive in this city, but if Khadgar is in charge, or at least has some sway, I know we will be welcomed in and not turned away."

Looking through all four rows of rangers, she noticed the gap in the last one which just reminded her again of the twenty or so injured rangers. "Once we get an idea of where we are, I will talk to the local commanders and even Khadgar to see if they know anything about the elves who came here with Alleria. Hopefully they're still alive and they can help us find my sister." She smiled a little and looked over to Athrodar. "And our lost Captain."

Athrodar bowed his head slightly to his General and wife. "We just await your command, General." He told her, watching her smile and nod once at him.

"Farstriders of Silvermoon!" She yelled, looking back to her company. "Move out!"

The moment the command was sound, all the rangers turned to their right and began to march in three columns, the depleted fourth column splitting up across the three fully sized ones at the back, leaving the General and Lieutenant to make their way to the front with the scouts who made their way towards Shattrath on their scouting mission.

"Any chance we stop at that Kaldorei outpost they found?" Athrodar asked, looking over to the General.

"For a day or two, see what they are dealing with there and then we move on to Shattrath." Sylvanas told him, looking back to her rangers marching behind her. "We'll use the city as our command post. Split the company up into squads and have them complete missions the natives need help with or anything the King and Convocation come up with."

"And who would be in charge of these squads?" Athrodar asked her now, wanting to get an idea of who would be where once they're fully set up in Shattrath.

"Viraleth will have the main scouting party. Their missions will mostly be to gather information. Then the first fighting squad will be under Clea's control." She glanced over to him and watched him nod his head slowly. "Anya will be with her there, but not Melonara." She saw him look over to her now. "She will be with you, as she is your second. Which brings me onto my second squad. You will have the second squad and I have the third and final one. Fourth if you include Viraleth's scouting party."

Athrodar began to think about the groups, glancing over to Sylvanas who could see he had something on his mind. "Permission to speak freely, General?" He asked, watching her smile at him.

"Of course." She said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "You never have to ask when we're alone or with our company."

"That's good to know." Athrodar said, smiling back at her for a few seconds before dropping the smile when his question came to mind. "Are we so sure us two taking a squad each is the best idea? After that whole Dance of Death thing and everything that has happened lately, I would feel better if we stayed together."

Sylvanas continued to smile at him, moving her hand from his arm down to his hand and taking hold of it. "I know you mean well, but tactically it makes the most sense. I need my second in command to take control of his own squad as I trust nobody more." She looked forward, keeping hold of his hand and widening her smile a little more. "I also have a feeling that you just don't want to be parted from my side and that makes me love you even more than I do." She squeezed his hand tightly, bringing it to her lips and kissing the back of it. "But like I said. You're a Lieutenant and highly experienced in hostile and unknown lands compared to the rest of my company. I need that experience leading another squad."

Knowing she was right, Athrodar began to nod his head to her plan and squeezing her hand in return. "Very well. I won't argue with you as it does sound like the better plan. I will just admit that I don't feel completely comfortable with leaving you alone out there without me by your side."

"I understand." Sylvanas said softly, letting go of his hand and watching him focus on the land ahead. "I love you."

"I love you too." Athrodar replied, smiling and knowing that she knew those three words always made him smile.

The journey through the rest of Hellfire Peninsula took them most of the day. They had been slowed down by several creatures that lived in these lands, most of them were hostile, though a few of the native creatures were curious about them as they had never seen elves before, just like how the elves were curious about the native creatures they were marching past. "More demons?" Viraleth asked, watching Athrodar look over to her and nod his head.

"To the left of the road there are ruins. Demons infest it and from what I can tell, they have these blue creatures as slaves. They look like those Draenei the Kaldorei reported on, but... Aged? Withered maybe." Athrodar looked over to the General who was tapping her finger on the pummel of her sword. "I know you're thinking about it, but we can't risk the lives of our rangers on this."

Sylvanas looked over to the Lieutenant and nodded her head in agreement. "As much as it pains me to know there are slaves amongst them, I know we can't help them. We don't have the rangers to deal with whatever force they have, nor do we have the time to scout them out." She sighed and looked down the road they were on. "Anything else along the path we need to be aware of?"

"Actually, yes." Viraleth said, looking over to the General. "To the right, near where those demons are, we saw these stone colossi. There were also a few druids nearby inspecting one of them that they had either slain, or it had collapsed. I'm not sure if they are hostile or not, but I think it would be best if we avoid them too." Viraleth told them, getting a nod from the General.

"We will need to stay alert the whole time we march west, stick to the path and we will arrive at the Kaldorei outpost by midnight or early in the morning." Sylvanas told them, looking down the path and towards giant vines in the distance. "I don't like those vines however and I have a bad feeling we will be ambushed in there."

"Unfortunately, our scouts have reported that there are only two ways out of here and they both have vines similar to those and creatures that they advise we don't look for a fight with." Athrodar told her, looking over to Viraleth and Sylvanas. "Though looking at the size of our company, we might be attacked or we might scare off an attack. I'm hoping for the second one."

"So am I." Sylvanas agreed, leading her company forward and towards a gap between the mountains in front of them, surrounded by giant thorns and vines. "Let's get moving."

By the time they reached the passageway covered in vines and thorns, the planet had gotten darker which told them all that it had become night. Something that was still hard to determine at times as they almost always had a sky filled with stars.

"My scouts tell me it's not long now." Viraleth informed the General, getting a nod from her. "As soon as we're through here, apparently it turns into a marshland and we will see the Cenarion outpost."

"I suppose this is the same marshlands that has giant mushrooms?" Athrodar asked, watching the Chief Scout nod her head.

"It is. Though I don't think they're edible." Viraleth told him.

"Luckily I wasn't going to try any." Athrodar said, chuckling lightly and glancing over to the Chief Scout who laughed with him. "Though since it's a druid outpost, I wouldn't be surprised if they've tried some already..."

Sylvanas placed a hand on Athrodar's arm as they marched through the small pathway between the mountains. "I need you to be there with me when we talk to whomever is in charge of this outpost, got it?"

Athrodar nodded his head and placing a hand over her hand on his arm. "Got it. I was going to anyway, even if you didn't tell me."

"Good." Sylvanas said, smiling and looking forward. "Once we're there, we're just one step closer to finding my sister."

The march through the passageway was uneventful. Any threats they saw were scared away by their numbers, making the only difficult part of the journey so far was keeping themselves entertained as nothing had yet happened. "At least we made it through." Clea said when she heard Anya complaining.

"But I wanted something to kill..." Anya muttered to herself, walking beside Clea who was close enough to hear her. "I bet we stay here for a day, do nothing and march on towards this new city."

"I'd prefer that if I'm honest." Clea told her. "Don't want to risk anyone here before we get to that new city."

"No... That's a fair point." Anya said, looking over to Melonara who had remained silent. "You're quiet, young one." She said, pretending to act wise. "The journey to a new place worries you, but fear not. Your family will protect you."

Melonara frowned and looked over to Anya who was pretending to stroke a long beard she clearly didn't have. "What?"

"You are worried, young one." Anya said again, not noticing Clea roll her eyes and shake her head. "Do not fear, as your sisters will look after you."

"I'm not worried." Melonara told her, pushing Anya lightly and laughing. "Though I am a little worried about what you've eaten."

"I've not eaten anything you haven't." Anya told her, still stroking her fake beard. "The consumption of food does not make me this way. No, it is the many years I have lived."

"It's the many drinks and long nights I'd say." Clea said, making Melonara laugh some more. "Anya, why don't you go to the front and annoy Athrodar for a while. Maybe he will help you stroke your beard."

"Ahh.. A wise decision." Anya said, stroking the non existent beard she had and marching to the front of the queue, stopping and looking back to Clea who had a smile on her face. "Come, sisters. Let us go share our wisdom with the Lieutenant."

Clea glanced over to Melonara who began to stroke a fake beard too, rolling her eyes and sighing. "It would appear to be a wise decision, yes." She said, moving her hand to her chin and stroking her fake beard too. "Let us annoy the Lieutenant."

Looking back to the rangers behind her, Viraleth spotted three elves with mischief in their eyes, dropping her shoulders and exhaling. "General, I fear that this march has sparked something in our three trouble makers at the back."

"What makes you think that?" Sylvanas asked, looking over to her Chief Scout.

"Because they're making their way over to us with smiles on their faces." She tilted her head a little. "They also appear to be stroking beards that they do not have."

"Oh for Light's sake..." Sylvanas breathed, looking over to Athrodar who was looking down at the rough drawing of a map the scouts had made up before they left. "My love, it's best you put up your defenses. I fear you are about to be annoyed for the final leg of this journey."

Athrodar, folding up the map, looking over to the General for a second before having his vision taking up by three elves who were all stroking fake beards and raising their eyebrows at him. "What now?" He asked them.

"We have come to share our wisdom, young one." Anya said, stroking her fake beard.

"He's older than you, you know." Sylvanas said, rolling her eyes when she saw all three of her rangers stroke their fake beards and ignore her. "Well, I tried. Good luck."

Before Athrodar could say anything, he was interrupted by Anya. "Though the General speaks the truth, I am wise beyond my years and I have so much to tell you."

"Can you save it for the Druid outpost we are approaching?" Sylvanas asked them. "Let my husband rest and then you can share your wisdom with him when he wakes up the next day."

Anya began to stroke her fake beard at the proposition, looking over to her sisters who were doing the same, all three of them nodding when they all made up their minds. "We can do that, oh wise General. For we can only hope to be as old and as wise as you one day."

The moment she stopped speaking, Anya was dragged away by Clea who saw both anger and pain in the General's eyes at being called old. "I'll talk to her, General." She said, pushing the Ranger to the back of the queue.

Noticing the pain in her eyes, Athrodar placed a hand on his General's arm which in turn made her look over to him. "You are not old." He told her, smiling at the General and making her smile back at him. "Dael'Thaelas is old. Compared to him, we are all children." He pulled on her arm lightly, getting her to step closer to him and kissing her on the temple. "You are my young, beautiful wife who will kick Anya's ass the moment we arrive in the outpost until she apologises."

Receiving a second kiss on her temple, Sylvanas closed her eyes and walked as close to Athrodar as possible, hoping to seek comfort in these small actions whilst they were on the move. "I will do more than that, but for the moment, whilst we are marching to the outpost, I wish to remain close to my husband and Lieutenant. If only for a little while before we are interrupted."

Looking down at his arm, Athrodar couldn't help but smile and kiss the top of the General's head when he saw her leaning on him, returning his attention to the road ahead and squeezing the General's hand. "And I wish to remain close to my wife and General." He told her, feeling her squeeze his hand now. "And I will make sure we are not interrupted." He glanced over to Viraleth who was close enough to hear them, watching her nod her head once to them and knowing she was going to stop anyone from interrupting them too.

As a few more minutes passed by, the landscape had changed from vines and thorns to one of the marshlands they had heard about, noticing the large, towering mushrooms that blocked almost all of the sky, save for the small gaps between each one's cap. "I understand why the Kaldorei chose this place." Sylvanas said, looking into the distance. "There's water and it's dark. Two things they seem to like. Other than tress, of course. They have giant mushrooms here."

"At least it's almost like home for them I suppose." Athrodar said, feeling the temperature drop compared to Hellfire a few minutes into this new land and getting much comfort from it as he, like a few others, aren't too fond of the heat. Especially since he had spent most of his life in the forests of Quel'thalas, hiding in the shadows of the trees and away from the sun for long periods of time, like he had in Hellfire. "Definitely cooler in temperature and hopefully warmer at night."

"Well, we're going to find out soon enough if it's warmer." Sylvanas told him, looking behind at the columns of elves behind them. "It's a shame we didn't bring the paladins with us. I could have used Liadrin for some warmth if it is cold."

"As interesting and entertaining as that sounds to watch - her struggling against you, I can't help but feel like we shouldn't be trying to annoy her. Especially since she is in charge of the paladins we have on this planet." Athrodar told her, getting a small sigh from the General and a nod.

"You're right." She said, watching the road ahead and the outpost that was getting closer and closer. "Viraleth." She called out, waiting for the Chief Scout to make her way to the front and beside her. "I need you to go ahead and warn them that we are coming to visit for the night and for tomorrow."

Viraleth bowed her head to the General and set off towards the outpost. On her return, which was several minutes after she was sent, she arrived with two Kaldorei whom both the General and Lieutenant had recognised the moment they saw them.

"Well, what are the chances of you two both being here?" One of them asked, this one the Captain they had got to know in Ashenvale, Elaria. "Last time I saw you both, we were coming to save you lot from the undead." She then said, noticing a ring on the General's finger when she offered her hand out to her. "Woah, what's this?" She asked rhetorically. "When's the big day?" She then asked shortly after.

"About ten minutes after I put the ring on her finger." Athrodar told her, looking over to the other Kaldorei and smiling at his fellow Lieutenant. "Here with your sister, I see."

"It's not like I had a choice." Sera'thea said, smiling at him. "Good to see you both and congratulations on the marriage."

"Thank you." Sylvanas said, turning her attention to Athrodar who looked over to her at the same time. "This one is mine forever now and nobody can deny it or take him away." She took hold of Athrodar's arm and smiled up at him. "Not like he had a chance to say no anyway. He proposed and I dragged him away to find Liadrin the second the ring was on my finger."

"I don't suppose Ranger Lord Lor'themar is here, is he?" Elaria asked, making her sister Sera'thea smirk and having both high elves in front of her tilt their heads a little.

"No, he isn't. Why?" Sylvanas asked her, watching the Night Elf's face redden.

"She wants to teach him a few things she has learnt over the centuries as the Captain of Darnassus." Sera'thea told them, tongue in cheek and chuckling when she was pushed by her sister. "I meant fighting."

"Sure you did." Elaria said, glaring at her sister.

"I take it you're here to escort us into the outpost?" Sylvanas asked them, hoping it would change the subject to one that wouldn't make them all embarrassed.

Thankful for the change of subject, Elaria looked back to the General and gave her a single nod and a smile. "We are. Our expedition leader would like to talk to you both as head of this outpost. I think she hopes you will help with the naga problem we have."

Sylvanas looked over to Athrodar who looked back to her, both of them hoping the other would answer for them. "We are actually only resting up here to move on to Shattrath." The General eventually said, returning her attention to Elaria. "But if you really need the help, once we arrive in Shattrath I will send out a squad of rangers to return here and help out."

"So if this is a druid outpost, one with both Tauren and Kaldorei, why are you stationed here? I thought the Cenarion Circle were neutral." Athrodar looked over to Elaria who nodded her head slowly.

"I was asking myself the same thing at one point." She told him. "Like I said, there's a naga problem and these druids don't have the means or the capability to deal with them on their own. So that's why we're here, as some sort of security whilst they survey they land as well as their go to when they need things to be killed."

"Sounds like fun." Sylvanas said sarcastically. "Luckily we've more or less been given free range to look for our lost rangers as well as fighting the demons should we come across any." Her attention turned to her husband. "If he hasn't been given a task by the King that is."

"And since that's only meant to be as an ambassador, I shouldn't expect many once we've settled in at Shattrath." Athrodar reminded her, walking passed a few guards stationed at a small bridge outside of the outpost. "Like right now with this expedition leader. No doubt our King will want to hear about the situation here from a report I give him once we've spoken to them."

"Then I will take you both to her." Elaria said, leading them towards the outpost. Before they get too far away, Sylvanas told Viraleth to get their company settled in at this outpost and to come find her should there be any problems, though she wasn't expecting there to be.

"Looks just like that Kaldorei town in Ashenvale." Athrodar said, walking beside the General and looking around the outpost. "Then again, I suppose if they went to Silvermoon and then Falcon Watch, they would say the same thing."

"Two different cultures and two different architectural styles." Sylvanas told him. "Yet common ancestors. Funny how these things change over time. Who knows where we'll be in a thousand years."

"Hopefully retired, surrounded by several generations of elves and happy with how our lives turned out." Athrodar told her, glancing over to the General who smiled at his words. "Maybe that will even be fine for a century in the future, instead of a thousand years."

"Maybe." She said, smiling at the thought.

"In here." Elaria said, pointing towards a building. "She is at the far end, on the balcony. She likes to look out at the marshlands to see what we are here to protect and to warn us of anything coming from the marshlands." Just as they took a couple steps forward, Elaria put her arm out to stop them. "I'll be honest. I don't really know her. She's a druid like the rest of them and some of them have spent a bit too long in the dream... If you catch what I'm saying."

Both Athrodar and Sylvanas watched Elaria spin her finger around the side of her head, indicating to them that she was a little crazy. "Noted." Sylvanas said, glancing over to Athrodar. "Maybe I should start things off."

"Why? I can handle a little crazy." He told her, watching the General raise an eyebrow at him. "Lana'thel, remember?"

"Fair point." Sylvanas said, holding up her hands in defeat. "You go ahead."

Making their way to the elf in charge of the druids, Athrodar bowed his head to her when she turned to look at them. "Hello. I have heard you're the leader of this place?" Athrodar asked, standing beside Sylvanas who was aiming to remain silent just to see her husband struggle without her input.

"I am." The elf said, extending out her hand towards them. "I am Ysiel Windsinger, Expedition Leader of this place and the one person you will be taking orders from should you decide to stay here." She looked over to Sylvanas, smiling a little at her. "You're the Ranger-General, right? I heard she had an aura of authority about her and she traveled with her Lieutenant and Ambassador husband." Her attention turned to back Athrodar, smiling wider at him when she saw Athrodar looked over to Sylvanas. "I think I'm correct in my assumption."

"Well then." Sylvanas said, laughing a little and taking hold of Athrodar's hand. "I suppose there's no need for introductions on our end then." She smiled at Ysiel who smiled back. "We are only here for the night and maybe half the day tomorrow, if you'll allow us to rest up." She said, hoping she would agree. "We have a long march to Shattrath and I don't want to make my rangers exhausted before we've even got there."

"They can stay the night." Ysiel agreed. "I would like some help though."

"Something we can provide once we get to Shattrath." Athrodar told her. "We plan to make it our base of operations. Once it's established, we will send out squads of rangers to help those who need it as well as looking for our own people who traveled here with Alleria and Turalyon." He looked over to Sylvanas, squeezing her hand a little. "If you need help, just say and we will send a squad over here to help you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Ysiel told them, having her ear twitch and looking out into the distance shortly after.

Both Athrodar and Sylvanas look towards where Ysiel was looking, both of them frowning and glancing over to each other. "Do you see anything?" Sylvanas whispered to her husband, watching him shake her head. "Okay, good. I thought I was going blind." Sylvanas then whispered, looking over to the druid. "Uhm, Ysiel?"

The druid leader looked over to the two of them and smiled, acting as if she wasn't just staring into the twisting nether. "Yes?"

"Oh, nothing." Sylvanas said, feeling both confused and concerned at the same time. "We're going to return to our rangers now. Again, if you need anything from us, the moment we settle down in Shattrath, we will help."

"Okay, General." She said, looking back out into the distance and not noticing both Sylvanas and Athrodar frown at her. "I'll let you know."