Chapter 3. Spell or Curse ?

I had fallen asleep on the soft bed, voyaging on a boat strangely made me sleepy for some unknown reason. Later on, Aysa came back to the room and vigorously shook me awake.

I ran outside, and my eyes widened at the site. I thought Stormwind was beautiful...but...this...this place was...heavenly ? Gorgeous ? There was no real word that matched the beauty of this architecture. Truly, it was magnificent.

We walked on the deck and were greeted by two lady elves.

"Greetings elves. We have come to your help by order of the King and we will do everything in our power to help you." Said Aysa, bowing.

They clearly were not expecting pandarens and to see that we were so few, didn't please them.

"I apologize for the short number of aid we brought, the King could not afford to spare any more of his men for he has already suffered a great toll." I said, bowing apologetically.

"Do not worry pandaren, we have no ill sentimant towards you, we are grateful for the deeds you have done for the elves and we are even more happy to welcome you to our lands. Tell us of your names pandarens, so that the winds may carry it to other ears."

"My name is Tuarwen." I said, smiling.

"Warrior of Justice." The elves turned to her questioningly. "Tuarwen, Warrior of Justice." Aysa repeated.

"This is Aysa Cloudsinger, defender of men, and my close friend." I said in her place.

The elves looked a little confused at our show, though only nodded and smiled.

As we walked behind the elves, I whispered, "What was that about ?"

"You shouldn't be so modest, Tuarwen. You should be proud of who you are, be confidant, be proud of your title, you earned it by your own strength."

"Maybe you are right..." I said thoughtfully.

"When have I not been ?" She said, smirking playfully at me.

I smiled, rolling my eyes.

The elves had led us to their nearest resting place and what we saw there was shocking and most disturbing. Dozens of elves occupied the beds, even the floor as there was not enough space. Bandages covered their bodies, their faces were creased in pain and they were covered in sweat though it was not that hot, just warm enough so the cold breeze wouldn't chill us.

"What is wrong with them ?" Asked Aysa, disbelief and shock in her voice.

The short, purple haired one said, "It starts with a little aching on small parts of the body but by a third day's time, their whole body is paralyzed from excruciating pain and we do not know the cause or the cure. By that time, a fever would have started and it will worsen by every second. " She turned to face us, her expression grim.

"What must we do ?" Asked Ayla.

"Investigate." Said the other elf.

"Investigate ?" I repeated, confused.

The two elves exchanged a glance before pulling us into a small room.

"May we trust that you will not divulge the words we are about to share with you ?"

Aysa and I exchanged a glance. We nodded in answer.

The elf inhaled before speaking. "We believe a member of the Horde is behind this."

"You believe that somebody is the cause of this sickness ?" I asked, incredulous.

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"But if it was the Horde, he or she would have to be close by to inflict a spell of such power and someone would have seen the intruder, would we not ?"

"You are correct, Tuarwen." After a pause, the purple-haired elf took a step closer to us, and whispered, "It hasn't yet been proved but...I am afraid we have a betrayer amongst the Alliance." We both gasped, shocked. "We ask of you, pandarens to find this traitor and bring him back alive, so that we may question him and punish him for what he has done."

"Understood. We will be back when we have more information." Said, Aysa.

"Remember, this MUST stay between us, if the words were to leak, the betrayer may learn of our plan."

"We will be careful." Said Aysa, nodding.

"For now, the healers must stay here, for their magic will slow down the process of this sickness."

...

Aysa and I stood outside, away from unwelcomed ears.

"We should seperate and seek for answers, but be discreet."

I nodded, agreeing. "Obviously, if a person is behind all this, then it MUST be a magic user. The most likely magic user would be...a warlock." I said, fingers to my chin.

"Good point. Though..." Said Aysa.

"Though, there are no elf warlock, is there ?"

"I doubt it. Which means only one thing. If it is really a warlock, then the culprit is not an elf."

"Which means...it can either be...a human, a dwarf, a gnome or a worgen..." I said deep in thought. "I shall ask if there are any warlocks here."

"Be careful."

"You too."

We said before turning our backs on each other, going in the opposite direction.

I asked around when this sickness had begun, how it had begun, whom were the first to be sick, how much time do they survive once they are contaminated, and if they had been any signs of warlocks here. These were the answers I was given.

"I do not know, it feels like an eternity, ever since this curse began..." Said the very tired looking, elf.

"About two or three weeks ago, I am not sure..." Said one of the female guards.

"Elves started saying their bones ached or their insides burned and after a few days, they collapsed one by one...it was truly frightening. Will this be the end of elves ?" Said a female servant.

"Do you really think I remember whom were the first to be sick when my own wife is now on her death bed ?"

"A servant girl, I think..."

"Maybe a guard ?"

"Some survive three days, others three weeks, some only a few hours, it is unpredictable. Many of the elves are dying, more than I can count have already left us...please pandaren, you must help us." Said a druid elf.

"Warlocks ? No, warlocks usually don't come here." Said a young elf.

"I have not seen any warlock here, pandaren, but if I shall, I promise you will be the first one to know."

"There have been human warlocks once here, but that was a long time ago." Said a merchant.

I headed back with no useful information at all. None of the answers I was seeking had come up. No hints of whom might have caused this catastrophe, no clues or leads. I sighed. I wonder if Aysa had found something...

I headed back to the Inn where most of the sickly elves were resting. Lucinda, the healer dwarf that had followed me and Aysa here, was healing one of the unconscious elves.

"Lucinda." I called from behind.

"Oh, Lady Tuarwen !" She cheerfully answered.

I walked to her looking at the pained elf. "Can you heal them ?" I asked with only but a little of hope.

She sighed. "I'm afraid not, m'lady. Had you more luck than me ?" She said, briefly glancing at me.

"No, I have found absolutely nothing that might help them." I said in defeat.

"Well, I don't know if this might help but...I've noticed something. Every single elf I have tried to heal until now, have a little trace of magic in them."

My eyes lit up. "Is it a spell ? Or a curse perhaps ?"

"Neither, m'lady, the magic is not enough to be neither of them."

"And are you sure that it is not just the magic that flows in their veins, the one they were born with ?"

"Positive, m'lady. I can feel their essence AND that other one that those NOT belong in them."

"But it is neither a spell or a curse ?"

"I believe not."

"Thank you Lucinda, you have been very helpful." I said putting a hand on her shoulder.

She laughed bitterly. "Hardly."

I descended the stairs silently, careful not to trip on any arms or legs, or to step on any hairs. In the middle of the room, out of nowhere a hand suddenly grabbed my ankle, making me jump. I looked down.

"Please...help...me." Said a hoarse voice. "It...burns."

He had long straight white, silky hair. His face was pale mostly due to the illness and his expression was pain stricken. I instantly kneeled down, holding his hand in mine. His eyes barely shone.

Panicking, I yelled, "LUCINDA !!! I need you NOW !!!" I said, an octave higher.

The two sisters, one purple-haired, the other one green-haired, whom had greeted us on the deck, had come up running as they heard me yelling.

"What is wrong ?" Said the purple one, the older sister.

"One of the elves has awakened." I said, as the elf gripped my hand.

"It's impossible...it has never happened before." Said the younger sister, shocked.

...

While Lucinda cared for the elf, we went downstairs to give them some space.

"What do you mean by what you said earlier ?" I asked, confused. "Are you saying that when sick, they go into a coma ?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, yes." Said the little sister. "Once the fever begins, they collapse and...never wake up."

I gulped. After a pause I said, "Do you think there is a chance that he might be the cure to this unknown illness ?"

"We will have to see further how everything goes." Said the green one.

"I'm sorry- but what are your names ?"

The older lady elf looked startled. "Have we not told you ?"

"No and I have to say, it is rather an inconvenience to always call you the purple-haired one or the green-haired one." I said, smiling.

She laughed, surprising even her little sister. "I must apologize, I do not know how it could have slipped out of my mind."

"Well, it is quite understandable, considering everything that is happening to your people."

"My name is Nerewin and this is my sister, Teru."

Teru put a hand on my shoulder and said, "Perhaps you should go rest, along with your partner."

"No I am fine, besides, how can I rest when so many are suffering ?"

"Tuarwen, you look exhausted, the trip from the eastern kingdoms to Kalimdor must have been tiring and long."

I noticed how Nerewin stared with a confused and perplexed expression, at her sister.

"Yes, but-"

"We need you rested and well, for I fear we will need your strength to help our people, more than you realize."

"Well, if you insist..." I muttered, confused.

"I do."

And like that, I went searching for Aysa, whom I found meditating in the temple of the moon. I explained to her everything that happened, the lack of information, the trace of magic Lucinda had found, the awakening of the elf and the words Teru spoke to me.

"I am not very keen on sleeping when so much has been happening, but overdoing it won't help neither of us. We shall wake early, tomorrow."

"Agreed."

Teru was right. I really was exhausted. As soon as my head hit the bed, I fell into a deep and peaceful slumber. A wall-less house had been lent to us for the time being, as the inn was being used as an infirmary. The fresh breeze blew soflty against us as the stars gently lit. It was a peaceful night.

To be continued...