Chapter 13

Karis slowly opened her eyes, bringing up her hand to shield them from the light that was now trying to blind her. She mumbled slightly as she sat up, her eyes adjusting themselves as she took in the sights around her. She was still at the shrine it seemed, laying on top of a moss covered stone table. Karis looked around, spotting Tylira and Remulos talking to each other a short distance away.

Karis wondered what they were talking about, guessing that it was probably something to do with her, with what had happened in her dream. Or was it a vision? She didn't know how these things worked. She would need to remember to ask about that later on. For the moment, all Karis could feel was a burning desire to go to Ashenvale again.

Placing her hands down on the edges of the table, taking a moment to smile at how soft and squishy the moss seemed to be between her fingers, Karis jumped down onto the equally soft ground, losing her footing slightly as she did and stumbling. She grumbled under her breath as she quickly righted herself, looking around to make sure no one had seen her.

With a slight nod, glad that she hadn't been spotted, Karis quickly made her way over to Remulos and Tylira. As she approached them, they both turned to look at her, Tylira giving the young night elf a warm smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked Karis, crouching down and giving her a gentle hug. Karis returned the hug with a smile before letting go, letting Tylira stand up straight again.

"I'm doing ok" Karis said with a nod. She did indeed feel good; better than she had done for a little while, actually. She couldn't think how to explain it, because it wasn't something that she was sure of herself. All that Karis knew was that she felt really good. That, and the fact that she felt like she really should be in Ashenvale.

"Good" Tylira said with a nod, smiling some more. "Remulos has just been telling me about what happened in your world" she said, waving a hand towards Remulos, who nodded slightly from his position behind Tylira. "You have been given your task then."

Karis nodded eagerly as she caught sight of Tyliras smile increasing even more at the mention of Karis' task. Tylira seemed to be quite proud of Karis for that fact, and that made Karis even happier. Any fears or worries about the task seemed to have vanished from her mind.

"You realise, of course" Remulos suddenly said, his gentle voice cutting in. "We will be unable to tell you what to do from here." Karis gulped as she looked over to Remulos. With that one sentence, the fear had come back, placing a large lump in both her stomach and throat. Remulos smiled slightly, easily picking up on the fear that had rapidly formed in the young girls mind.

"Do not worry, young one" he said, walking towards her, a warm breeze seeming to follow him. "I do not mean that you will be by yourself. At this point, only you know the details of your task. We do not know where you need to go, or what you may have to do when you are there. All we can do, and by we, I mean Tylira, is be there to help you."

Karis nodded slowly, her fear abating slightly. She was glad to know that Tylira would be there for her, to help her. She had been worried for a moment that she would be expected to go by herself, something that she was certain she wouldn't have been able to do.

"For now, however, I advise you both to go home" Remulos continued, reaching out and gently placing one hand on Tylira, and the other on Karis. "Get some rest, and get something to eat. Then you can plan for your task, hmm?" Remulos gave the two of them a smile before he walked away, leaving them alone.

Karis remained silent as they returned to Nighthaven, Loganaar walking along side her. She knew that both he and Tylira were talking to her, but she was too distracted. She just kept thinking about the Ashenvale, images of a specific tree flashing in her mind. Karis was so engrossed in her thoughts, that she didn't notice Tylira stop walking, her attention drawn to a sign. It wasn't until Tylira called out to her that she snapped back, the tone of her voice causing something to jar in Karis' mind.

"Karis…come over here" she called out. Karis was sure she heard worry in Tylira's voice, something that she really didn't like to hear. With a slow pace, Karis walked up to Tylira, Loganaar following behind her.

Attached to the board that held many different signs and posters was a picture. Karis looked at the picture, blinking a few times to ensure she was looking at it right. It was a picture of her. Below the picture was a short piece of text.

Karis- If anyone has any information on this individual's whereabouts, send word to Darnassus immediately.

General Durun

"That's my uncles' name…" Karis said quietly as she looked at the picture before slowly looking up to Tylira. There was a startled shout as My'lanna suddenly appeared from around the corner, stopping in her tracks.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, quickly hurrying over and taking hold of the poster, tearing it off of the wall. "I thought I had found them all…" she said with a disgusted looked, rolling the poster up and sticking it into a bag.

"There have been more of them?" Tylira asked the inn keeper, turning her attention to her. My'lanna nodded and opened up her bag, which was filled with rolled up posters.

"There was one about you, as well, Tylira" she said as she closed her bag again. "Something about how you are dangerous and a wanted fugitive, I believe. It was put up by the same person. The moment the man left, I tore them straight down,"

"What did he look like?" Karis asked quietly, looking down at the ground and shuffling her feet slightly. She could already guess what the answer would be, but part of her was hoping that she was wrong.

"The man?" My'lanna asked before scratching her chin slightly. "He looked old. He had white hair, and quite a few scars and cuts. Oh, and one of his ears was half missing."

Karis shuddered as My'lanna confirmed the description of her uncle, quickly hurrying over to Tylira, clinging onto the older Night Elf, who gently placed a hand on Karis' shoulder.

"Is he still here?" Tylira asked quietly, crouching down and gently hugging the frightened Karis.

"No, he has left. He wasn't here long. Just asked that if we saw either of you two that we let him know." My'lanna shook her head slightly and let out a sigh. "I didn't trust him from the moment I saw him, to be honest, but I don't know how everyone else will react. He was flashing his rank around a lot. Some people might be scared into telling him you are here."

Karis looked up at My'lanna as Tylira went silent, as if she was thinking to herself. Loganaar, who had remained silent, finally spoke up, drawing attention to himself by clearing his throat.

"It would be best if you quickly moved on, then" he said, looking to Tylira and Karis. His face seemed to be one of determination, but also slight anger. Tylira had told Loganaar about Karis' uncle before, and he had been disgusted by the Generals actions. "Karis, I am going to assume you know where you need to go? It should be easily worked out. Your mind should be urging you to go to one location."

Karis nodded slightly, brushing some hair from her face as she did so.

"Yeah, to Ashenvale, I think…" Karis said quietly. Loganaar nodded in agreement before placing a hand gently on Tylira's shoulder.

"You two go home, gather some things together and get moving" he said quietly, casting a quick look around. A few other inhabitants of the town were starting to look over to them, giving them odd looks. "I will keep an eye on things here whilst you are gone. Be safe."

Tylira nodded, standing upright and giving Loganaar a gentle hug. As they pulled apart, their arms lingered around each other for a moment before they completed broke off. With a gentle smile, he turned and left quickly. My'lanna watched him go for a moment before turning her attention back to Tylira.

"Before I forget, there is a package waiting for you at your home" she said quickly, nodding slightly as she did, as if checking off something in her mind. Tylira thanked her and they both bowed to each other before My'lanna sped off, leaving only Tylira and Karis behind.

"Why do you think he is looking for me?" Karis finally said, breaking the silence that was descending upon the two of them. The thought of her uncle was making the marks on her shoulder ache again, causing her to reach up and gently rub her shoulder.

"I do not know…" Tylira said, shaking her head slightly. "But we best get moving. I would rather not run into that waste of a man again." Karis nodded in agreement and the two of them quickly made their way back through Nighthaven, heading to their room.

As they swiftly moved through Nighthaven, Karis caught sight of a few of the residents giving both Tylira and Karis odd looks. She tried to ignore them, but each time she saw one, a feeling of worry formed in the pit of her stomach. She didn't relax until both Tylira and herself were back in their room.

"Pack your clothes, Karis" Tylira said as she picked up a bag and passed it to the young girl. Karis nodded and placed the bag on the table before rushing over to her bed, opening the drawers by the table and pulling out some clothes. Her pet raven, which was resting quietly on the table, let out a squawk.

"Heya little guy" Karis said with a smile, gently petting the raven on the head, causing it to playfully nip at Karis' fingers. "Come on, we gotta get moving!"

The raven let out another squawk as it made the short trip onto Karis' shoulder. With a smile, Karis quickly hurried back to the table, placing her clothes into the bag. Resting in the middle of the table, Karis caught sight of a large box.

"Tylira, is this box yours?" she called out, looking over to where Tylira's bed was set up. Tylira stuck her head around from behind the screen, a slightly questioning look on her face. Still looking at the box, Tylira walked quietly over to it, her bare feet barely making a sound as she moved. Karis assumed that the box was the package that My'lanna had mentioned earlier

Quietly, and with some excitement, Karis watched as Tylira opened the box. As soon as the older night elf saw the contents a huge smile broke across her face.

"Wait right here, Karis" she said as she picked up the box. Before Karis could ask any questions, Tylira had vanished around the corner, and all Karis could here now was what she guessed was Tylira emptying the box.

With a shrug, Karis turned around and returned to packing her bag, making sure everything was neatly in place.

"How do I look?" came Tylira's voice from behind Karis, prompting her to turn around. Standing there, one hand on her hip, a huge smile on her face, was Tylira in a full set of armour. Karis marvelled at the sight of it.

It looked to be a snug fit on Tylira, almost skin tight. It was clearly made of leather, but it was almost white in colour, perhaps closer to ivory, Karis guessed, with a dark green underlay. On the pieces of shoulder armour were some white feathers acting as trimming, which looked to be the only decorative aspect to the armour, save for two blue orbs that were also present on the shoulders. There was also a pair of gloves and boots that Tylira was wearing that matched the set, completing the look.

"You look amazing!" Karis said, her voice filled with childlike glee. Tylira smiled some more and gave a slight twirl.

"And that's not the best part" she said, giving Karis a wink. Karis watched with interest as Tylira shifted into her bird form, stretching out her wings for a moment before shifting back. Karis covered her eyes, expecting Tylira to now be standing there with a ruined set of armour. As she slowly moved her hand away, she was surprised to see quite the opposite. The armour was still intact and in its pristine condition.

"You found the right clothes!" Karis said with a giggle, to which Tylira nodded.

"Indeed I did" she said, looking down at her new armour, still smiling. With a happy sigh, she looked back up at Karis. "Now, come on, let's finish packing. We need to get out of here and get you to Ashenvale." Still smiling and giggling , Karis spun on her heel and returned to packing her bag.