Chapter 21
"Sampled my dream brew ahh yes, the visions are hard to interpret - half true half illusion who's to say which is which, " A pandaren informed as he walked up to where we were sitting. He seemed like an older pandaren, his black patches were mixed with grey, and his brown eyes seemed tired. I noticed that he was holding a bucket, the bucket was worn with many years of use. It seemed to be filled with something. The pandaren came to where we were and poured the water that was in the bucket onto Malan to wake him up,
"AHHH, Holy goddess that's cold!" Malan shrieked as he shot up from the ground. I couldn't help but chuckle a little as Manlan looked like a soaked cat. The kind stranger handed him a small towel that was sitting on the table's edge,
"Thank you," Manlan said as he took the towel
"It's no problem, so how can I help you strangers?" the pandaren asked
"Umm, we are looking for a Pandaren named lore Walker Cho" Copperfire questioned
"Im am Lore Walker Cho," the pandaren clarified
"We were sent here by a friend of ours and he told us that you could help locate a missing prince?" I questioned
"I will as long as you 3 could do something for me," Cho proposed
"Of course what is it?" Manlan asked as he finished drying himself off
"In the morning," Cho clarified
"Of course, thank you Lore Walker," Copperfire said as he turned towards the doors.
"Stay within the doors, I don't want you carried off or worse eaten. Sleep wherever you like, the front yard is yours," Cho said as he turned into the hut.
"Lore Walker?" I called out.
"Yes?" Cho hummed
". . . Nevermind I'll ask in the morning," I said.
"Of course," Cho nodded as he turned back into the hut.
That night was a weird one. Sounds from creatures that I'd never heard before, growls that sounded like low pitched screams and shrieks that didn't sound quite right. They were distorted and drawn out like how a demon tries to mimic the sounds of scared children to draw in soldiers. Then when the soldiers get close enough they eat the soldiers. Cho had to come out a few times to stop us from opening the door. But none of them came up to the door. There was no scratching on the stone, there was nothing. Just the sound of the distorted scream and desperate cries for help. Ari growled a few times. Sleep did not come easy that night to any of us, not even to the animals. The birds huddled not because they were cold . . . . they were scared. There was a continuous low groaning, alligator hissing, frogs or toads croaking, insects buzzing around, and then it went all quiet. . . . like dead quiet. No crick, not even a toad or a frog croaked, no animal or insect made a sound. I could feel the hair on my neck and arms stand. Manlan and Copperfire quietly sat up, they both reached for their weapons. Their eyes never left the door. I heard a desk stool shift as if someone was getting up. I turned my head to see Cho walking out of the hut. He grabbed a large piece of bamboo and walked up to the doors and slid the bamboo through the handles to try to keep them close from whatever was out there. He stood in front of them then leaned against the doors almost using himself as a prop to hold them shut. Manlan quickly stood up and walked over to Cho to hold the doors shut,
"Ava and Copperfire stand on the other side of Cho to hold the doors shut," Manlan ordered. Copperfrie and I nodded as we stood up and braced against the door. Ari moved towards where the birds were huddled up and the tiger woke up due to the shuffling around and got up. The tiger walked over to where Ari was standing and stood guard,
"Can I ask what we are bracing for?" I whispered.
"Come on I know you're out there. . . . You've done this every night for several months," Cho grumbled as he glared at the doors. We stood at the door for a few more minutes with no one answering my question. I opened my mouth to say something but I was cut off by a large shove on the doors from the otherside. Our feet slightly drug across the dirt,
"Just hold steady," Manlan ordered. Who or whatever was pushing on the other side pushed harder and harder until there was an ear piercing screech of what sounded like frustration. Then it felt like the doors were hit with what felt like a battering ram. I continued to try to help hold the doors closed, I looked over where Cho and Manlan were standing and even they seemed to be struggling to keep their side closed as the door continued to get hit a few more times. Then it stopped, not a growl or a huff, it just stopped. We stood there for a little longer just in case that thing was going to continue to try to bust down the door,
"Okay, what in the 9 realms of the underworld was that?" Copperfire questioned.
"Mistlurkers, and what I'm going to assume was a large one, has been pestering me for mouths," Cho said with a tone of seriousness as he slowly backed away from the doors,
"Mislurker? What are those?" Manaln asked as he backed off the doors
"Do they have one eye, shark-like teeth, really thin, have tree tentacle-like fingers, and . . orangish brown?" I questioned remembering the creature we saw earlier in the afternoon.
"Yes I assume you encountered one as you were coming through the area. They have became a little more thicker recently,"
"I saw one, it just stared and chuckled then it disappeared" I said recalling the encounter.
"A long time ago some shamans used them for labor and tasks that would be a death trap for a pandaren. The shamans that used them were unkind and killed the one who defied them. They speak but in a language that no one can understand them. All the scrolls that the shamans wrote about them were in a certain section of a temple but that section of that temple was suspiciously burned down a few years ago," Cho spoke as he rubbed his chin in thought,
"Can they be killed? Or do they need a special weapon or poison to kill them" Copperfire questioned as he adjusted his goggles on his forehead,
"As far as I'm aware they don't need a special weapon to kill them and when they are dead, they are dead for good or they return to where they came from," Cho answered.
"Well that is good to know, I guess," I sighed.
"Yeah, makes my job a little easier," Manlan agreed as he ran his hands through his hair then looked at the doors in thought,
"You all should get some rest. I'll stay up a little longer to make sure it's gone," Cho suggested as he walked to his little workstation.
"I'll stay up with you, I'm on night watch anyway. You could tell me more on what we are dealing with and how we can help you get rid of the one that has been pestering you," Copperfire piped up as he followed Lore Walker Cho to his workstation.
It was hard to fall asleep even if Mislurker was gone it was quiet. After a while the creatures of the night started up again and Cho's birds remained huddled up but seemed less tense. The tiger went back to sleep and Ari returned to the side of my bedroll and curled up next to me and laid his head on my hip and fell asleep. I noticed that Manlans' bird has vanished,
"Hey Manlan, where did your bird go?" I quietly questioned as I looked around trying onto jostle Ari to much
"His around here somewhere," Manlan said as he place the elvish pillow next to his bedroll
"You're not worried about him?" I asked as I turned to look at him
"A little, but I know he would not wonder that fare without me. Sea wings a good owl, he's probably checking the perimeter then he will be back," Manlan yawned as he got comfortable and gently patted the pillow. Then with a soft coo Seawing swooped down and plopped himself on the pillow and also got comfortable then fell asleep,
"See told you," Manlan yawned as he fell asleep. I rolled back over and tried to get comfortable, Ari shuffled a little closer as I stopped moving. He let out a soft huff as he fell asleep. I closed my eyes trying to relax enough to fall asleep or at least light sleep. I laid there thinking about what kind of new creatures that we could encounter in the future. I was both excited and scared of what we could see. My mind wandered down many rabbit holes on what we could find out in the forest,
"I'm going to need to ask what kind of animals I would need to be aware of," I thought to myself. I finally succumbed to sleep as I wondered about what creature that lavender tail belonged to.