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| Details |
| Author: | Alli |
| Summary: | Zhi the Harmonious tasks Baird, Caspis, Cressidha, Florande, Lena, Mi Shu, Melancholy and Mordecai with recovering three relics of power of the Thunder King from their mogu sites, ahead of the work of the Shao Tien. Some are easier to claim than others. ~5100 words. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
The team assembles at the Golden Pagoda.
Lena dismounts at the Golden Pagoda as usual.
Florande is already there, curled up by a pillar as a cat.
Baird has been waiting by his gryphon a little way down the hill. He steps away from the animal to come up the pagoda steps as others arrive.
Melancholy arrives with Lena, dressed in her Pants Outfit, which still makes her run a self-conscious hand lightly over her thigh as she dismounts from the gryphon. She smiles wide at Baird, giving him the knuckle salute and turning to face him fully.
Mimi sits by one of the pillars in the Golden Pagoda doing some repairs on her erhu.
A slightly terrifying moonkin shuffles up to the pagoda, shedding inky feathers as it comes. Its eyes glow a baleful orange, its antlers are like the burnt branches of trees. "Hoo-hooo," is its low-pitched greeting.
Lena glances back to make sure Melancholy dismounted alright, and nods slightly, before heading over to the pandaren team. She turns back to see a terrifying moonkin and startles briefly, before she recognizes him.
Cressidha arrives with Mordecai in tow.
Baird flashes Melancholy a smile and an appraising look, and then turns to contemplate the terrifying moonkin. He nods respectfully to it.
Melancholy peers curiously at the moonkin. "Hoo-hoo, then," she says pleasantly back.
Florande yawns and pads over to bump her head against the moonkin's knee.
The doomkin nods back at the greetings. The doomkin scritches behind Florande's ear.
"That'd be Caspis, unless I miss my guess," Lena says, smiling tentatively. "And the cat has got to be Florande."
Caspis hoots in the affirmative at Lena's guess.
"What a treat it is working with druids!" Melancholy says sincerely, clapping her hands together.
"Good afternoon, everyone," Cressidha says, her voice projecting just a little more than usual. "Would anyone care for water?" She begins tracing water-conjuring sigils in the air.
"Oh, um. Me, please," Mordecai mumbles. He accepts his water.
Baird nods respectfully to Cressidha. "Afternoon. Thank you."
"I could use some, aye," Lena says with a smile toward Cressidha.
Mimi hops to her feet, "I'll take some! Thank you very much!"
"Oh! Mage conjured water. I would love some, thank you. I haven't had it in ages," Melancholy says, as she accepts some. "What a treat."
Cressidha nods and goes around passing out conjured water as usual.
Caspis makes an affectionate trrrr sound toward the Aspenwoods.
Cressidha smiles and says, "You're welcome," as she gives Caspis his bottled water.
Caspis accepts the Gift of Water as though it were some sacred night elf ritual, which it… kind of is.
Zhi the Harmonious looks over at the team, and then steps over to speak with the group, instead of the usual Leven Dawnblade.
Baird turns his attention to Zhi when the panda starts speaking and stares at him intently.
"There is a particular task I would like to speak with you about today," says Zhi the Harmonious. "I have received some troubling news. The mogu are plotting to steal three artifacts of power from the Vale.”
"Oh, more theft," Melancholy says, putting a hand up to her face with a frown.
“We worried that they would pursue the artifacts of the Spirit Kings,” Zhi continues, “But now they are seeking Lei Shen’s. This is even more troubling, given his recent resurrection.”
Mordecai fidgets with his fingers. "Oh. Different ones?"
Zhi nods. "The Spirit King relics are still safely hidden, and that's what I would like you to do with Lei Shen's as well. Bring them to me, so that we can place them in more secure locations."
"At the moment, the relics remain where they were stored by the mogu, many years ago," Zhi explains further. "We know where they are, but so do the mogu, from their history books."
"Well, that can be the trouble with books. They're not discerning for their readers on their own," Melancholy says primly.
Florande sits on her haunches and turns into an elf, to look up at Zhi with an intent expression.
Caspis looms.
"Of course," Cressidha says. "Where might we find them?"
Baird continues to stare impassively at Zhi.
“The first artifact is the Thunder King’s Battle Spear,” Zhi says. “It was said that the most powerful of ancient mogu could call the powers of the elements. The Thunder King himself could channel the forces of lightning onto his spear.”
“We must not give him the chance to do so again,” Zhi cautions. “The spear was placed in an ancient shrine to the northwest. Please retrieve it, and bring it back to me so that I can hide it better for safekeeping.”
Lena nods. "Northwest, ancient shrine."
"'Listen to the grave reports / of dire enchantments faced and overcome / by the strong mind, and tales of warlike feats, / where spear encountered spear, and sword with sword / fought,'" Melancholy recites.
"So he was a shaman," Cressidha says bluntly.
"At least, he worked with lightning," Zhi nods. "That was where his moniker originated."
Caspis moves over to Mordecai and briefly puts a wing around him in a gentle side-hug.
Mordecai leans against Caspis's side and mumbles, "Hello."
Caspis hoots soothingly.
Melancholy watches the hug, and sets a soulstone on Mordecai.
"Ready to go find us a shrine?" Lena says cheerfully. "I hope we'll find it before the mogu do."
Mordecai looks over. "Thank you."
Caspis nods.
"Indeed." Cressidha unrolls her carpet.
Caspis shifts into giant stormcrow form to travel.
Mordecai starts to reach for his hippogryph whistle, but Almond lands before he has the time to blow it. She's just been waiting.
Lena mounts up on her gryphon, nodding to Melancholy to join her.
At the location where the shrine should be… is a lake. It appears that the ancient shrine has been submerged in water at some point in the last few millenia. If the spear is still here, it must be underwater as well.
Cressidha looks down into it. "Ah. Well."
"Well, that's a shrine, and it looks like a spear, just out in the open," Lena says.
"Oh, well, that's a bit of a natural shrine interpretation, isn't it," Melancholy says, peering into
the water. "I can give someone waterbreathing."
"Looks like it's time for a swim." Mimi jokes.
"Um… Florande?" Mordecai offers. "You're a good swimmer. Shield."
Florande nods, and turns into a sea lion, slipping into the water.
Caspis does not seem bothered by the prospect of going underwater, for some reason.
He turns into an -orca-, though.
Mordecai casts a Shield on anyone who goes into the water, but remains on the grass.
Florande tries to get the spear into her flippers, and suddenly a giant quilen guard appears from the stone ground.
Cressidha snap-freezes the water around the quilen, making it even heavier.
The quilen struggles up from the stone ground, flailing at the intruders.
Caspis shifts back into moonkin form underwater to cast spells at it.
Melancholy stays up on the ridge at just the right distance that a new swimmer should be.
Mimi jumps into the water to fend off the quilen.
Lena trusts her own underwater breathing, and does her best to conjure shadow under water at the quilen. Then she spots Mi Shu, and quickly casts a water-breathing on her as well.
Baird remains on the ridge, takes aim at the quilen and fires.
Florande hastily turns into a panther and burbles in the water, attacking. It might have been intended to be a roar.
The quilen was not set up to withstand this degree of force. It crumbles.
Lena swims up to the surface and brushes her hair back from her face. "Well, looks like we got here first."
"Everyone all right?" Mordecai asks as the team surfaces.
Florande turns into an elf to say, "Yes, all right." Then she shifts into a stormcrow. Someone else can carry the spear.
"Mmhmm," Lena says. "Bit of a surprise, but nothing we couldn't handle."
Caspis is a birb again. Caw caw.
Mimi shakes out her fur, showering anyone near her, "I'm ok!"
Cressidha levitates the spear up onto her carpet at close-range. She conjures a wave of heat to dry the team off.
Caspis shakes a bit of water off his black feathers, not seeming bothered by the slight bath from Mimi.
"Anyone grab the spear if you can," Lena says, still shaking the water out of her eyes. "Let's get it back."
"I have it," Cressidha says.
Caspis, an birb, is not best suited for spear-carrying. He nods at Cressidha.
Lena nods to Cressidha.
The team flies back to the Golden Pagoda.
“Well done,” Zhi says, looking at the spear on Cressidha’s carpet, “although it pains me to lay my eyes upon that wretched spear. This foul weapon murdered thousands of innocents. As long as I live, the mogu shall never have possession of it again."
Cressidha levitates the spear off of her carpet, offering it out to Zhi.
Caspis, perched nearby in stormcrow form, cocks his head.
Zhi takes the spear with a kind of horrified reverence.
Melancholy puts a hand up by her face as she looks at the thousands-of-innocents-murdered spear in a similar horrified way.
"What's next?" Lena asks.
“The second artifact of power is the Battle Helm of the Thunder King,” Zhi continues. “Emperor Lei Shen wore the helm into every battle. It became so well-known that his enemies would flee at the mere sight of it.”
Baird has resumed staring at Zhi.
“When the Emperor died, they placed the helm in the very bottom of the Guo-Lai Halls to the west, surrounded by thousands of terracotta soldiers,” Zhi says, gesturing. “Thus, they could look upon their leader and follow him into death.”
“Please, head into the Guo-Lai Halls,” Zhi says. “Recover the helm for me, and I will place is somewhere safer.”
Mordecai looks a little uneasy at the mention of the Guo-Lai halls.
Melancholy refreshes the soulstone on Mordecai.
"Oh, thank you," Mordecai says quietly to her.
Melancholy gives him a plum lipped smile.
Caspis turns into a moonkin again, and gives Mordecai another comforting half-hug.
Mordecai hugs Caspis back. Fluffy.
"We've had… mixed luck there," Lena says a little nervously herself. "But this is important."
Florande is still a crow, ready to go.
"Let's head there?" Lena says. "Hope we're still a few steps ahead."
Baird gestures for his gryphon again and mounts up.
Caspis shifts back once Mordecai is sufficiently hugged.
"Perhaps," Cressidha says. "We shall find out."
In the central chamber of the Guo-Lai Halls, it soon becomes clear that new pathways have opened. The way just ahead is clear.
Baird unslings his rifle at once, warily.
"We've been in every other wing, aye?" Lena says, stepping forward towards the opening warily.
"Someone ahead of us?" Baird asks.
Melancholy watches the statues, and steers clear of unusual tiles, as she sticks closely to Baird's left side.
As the team approaches the newly-opened hallway, a familiar form becomes visible. It’s Ren Firetongue, the flirty mage from Whitepetal Lake!
“Whoa! Careful over there! These tiles have violent tendencies…” Ren cautions. “Cloud tile good. Other tiles bad. There was a tile at the bottom of the entrance stairs that tipped me off. My sharp eyes have saved my delicate features yet again!”
Caspis approaches Ren with a certain… familiarity?
Ren grins at Caspis and winks. Ren laughs. “The mogu, they seem not so good at this game, if their dead bodies are any indication.”
Florande looks around worriedly and nods.
Melancholy looks at the tiles and how far they are, and considers. "Should we try the Demonic Gate?" she asks Lena.
"We could," Lena nods. "Might be safer, in case the rules change." Lena summons a demonic gateway.
Melancholy takes a deep breath and concentrates, as she forms another one nearby.
Cressidha pulls up her ice barrier and starts walking on the tiles for clouds.
Ren walks alongside us and asks curiously, “What are you doing here anyway? Come all the way down here to bask in my marvelous company?”
Caspis seems to have NO interest in using the demonic gateway, thanks.
Baird ignores Ren. Or possibly doesn't hear him.
"No," Lena says, in an off-handed way. "Zhi sent us after a Thunder King relic."
Caspis gives Ren a soft hoot that communicates -volumes.-
“I see, I see,” Ren nods agreeably. He looks at the tiles. “Hmm, shall we?” Ren takes off, carefully keeping to the safe path.
Melancholy takes the demonic gate that happens to take her away from Ren. What a random happenstance.
Mordecai looks anxiously at the demonic gateway and continues on the cloud tiles, just in case it's a test that punishes you for cheating.
Lena takes her demonic gateway.
Florande follows Caspis along the tiles.
Mimi carefully makes her way across the tiles following the others.
Baird takes the demonic gateway. He does not say whee. He might be thinking it to himself. His expression doesn't show it.
Caspis makes sure Mordecai is okay and unexploded.
Mordecai is unexploded and in one piece.
"I think I would quite enjoy skipping stones down that hallway," Ren says. "It would be quite the display!"
Melancholy looks back at Ren with a Baird-like stare.
“Now where's that big mogu baddy that came tramping through here a short bit ago?” Ren asks, looking around.
"Wait, what?" Lena blinks.
“Oh, I don’t know, he looked important,” Ren says casually.
Cressidha takes out Marina's bracers and tosses them on the floor, summoning her elemental.
Marina burbles and starts dripping water all over the floor.
"I don't think we're ahead of them this time," Lena murmurs.
Florande is a cat now. She mrrows in agreement.
Melancholy picks at the back of her glove, holding onto her athame with a tense grip.
Baird has his rifle cradled casually in one arm, his attention fixed ahead.
Ren runs ahead, and several statues bring their axes down in a way familiar from the last wing we explored in these halls.
Florande dodges the statue attacks, snarling at them ineffectually.
Melancholy gasps, as she tries to keep pace with Baird, trusting in his judgment of the timing.
Mordecai calls, "Shield!" and gives himself a burst of speed as he rushes for safety.
Baird stays ahead of Melancholy, and puts a warning arm out to hold her back from one drop.
Caspis is a bit slow, and an axe crashes down close enough behind him that it sends him flying forward. He changes into stormcrow form mid-flight though, so it's fine.
Florande hurries to him to make sure he's okay, the most solicitous cat to ever chase a bird.
The bird changes back into a doomkin and pats Florande.
Florande brushes up against the doomkin.
Down the stairs, a statue near Lena comes to life and attacks.
Melancholy is more prepared for the statue coming to life, as she flings out a curse instantly.
Up ahead, the form of Zhao-Jin the Bloodletter comes into view.
"Oh, no," Melancholy says, putting a hand to her chest. "It is him."
Caspis snarls at Zhao-Jin, perhaps spoiling the cat-petting mood.
Florande stumbles unexpectedly, and then looks over at Zhao-Jin. She snarls.
Lena catches sight of him and tightens her fists.
"Hm. I see the helm, but not thousands of statues," Cressidha points out. She looks warily at the walls.
“He’s so…” Ren searches for the right word, “…ugly!”
"We've got him," says Baird quietly, with a confidence that ignores all prior history with this guy.
Melancholy exhales shakily, her hand balling into a fist.
Mimi bristles and grips her staff tightly.
“The Battle Helm of the Thunder-King…” Zhao-Jin says reverently, then he turns and sees the interlopers. “It would seem my guards are useless. I will have to take care of you myself.”
Mordecai hangs back, close to the stairs.
Melancholy is so pale she seems ghostly, but she stays where she is.
Caspis abruptly turns into a bear and charges at the guy.
Zhao-Jin turns to attack, and yells, “There will be no cages this time. I will tear your limbs from your bodies!”
"You appear to be missing your army of thousands of statues this time," Cressidha says cooly.
Lena steps so she's angled slightly in front of Melancholy without breaking her line of sight. She starts casting at Zhao-Jin with a grim determination.
Baird makes a quiet, derisive sound, lifts his rifle, and fires. He keeps firing.
Melancholy is as fast as she's ever been, a curse, a haunting, a shattered soul shard of a trio of shadow, and a malefic grasp in seconds, as if she's practiced this scenario over and over and over in her head.
A red rune appears on the ground near Zhao-Jin as he casts, and the air above it crackles with lightning.
Caspis unleashes his rage in bear form, mauling Zhao-Jin as much as he is capable.
Florande sidesteps the red circle and pounces for Zhao-Jin's throat. He fends her off, and she circles, slashing.
Lena is maintaining her curses, occasionally sending shadow or ghostly soul energy at the mogu.
Cressidha pulls up her ice barrier as Zhao-Jin lunges for her, and she creates space in the way that a mage does by blinking towards the helmet.
Mimi leaps in front of Zhao-Jin delivering a fierce battle cry while throwing a kick.
Zhao-Jin sweeps his blade, trying to let some blood.
Mordecai keeps the team just at the very edge of his range to heal them, a Prayer of Mending chiming as it moves from person to person.
Melancholy's casting briefly falters when he sweeps the halberd, but she recovers, and methodically goes through her powers.
Baird just keeps firing steadily. It's his only move, pretty much. He's good at it, though.
“You are not as weak as I thought, but the helm is still mine…” Zhao-Jin says, conjuring a ward around himself and walking towards the artifact.
Ren ice blocks the helm. It’s now frozen in a block of ice.
“Aaaarrrghhh!” Zhao-Jin cries in frustration. “When we next meet, I will separate your head from your body.”
Caspis grunts in surprise at Ren.
Lena looks at Ren in something other than annoyance.
Melancholy reaches up a hand to her throat, touching it with trembling fingers.
Zhao-Jin gestures, activating two nearby statues, and then teleports out.
Cressidha goes, "Ah." She moves away from the statues, which both charge her.
Baird turns his attention immediately on the statues. By attention I mean gun.
Mordecai clocks Melancholy's gesture immediately and dispels magic on her, just in case she was silenced.
Lena turns her attention to the statues quickly.
Florande darts in to try to trip one before it can get to Cressidha.
Caspis charges between statues and Cressidha. No Touch Aspenwoods pls.
Melancholy gasps, but she's faster than her own reaction, the curse landing on the statue by training even as she backs up further, to draw less attention.
Mimi shifts her attention to the statues, throwing a keg of brew at them to draw their attention, "Hey! Over here!"
Marina throws splashy water on the statues. She's helping!
One of the statues loses its footing on the slick ground and bowls over, cracking when it strikes the ground. The other simply crumbles from the combined attacks.
“Mighty fine hat! I take it this is what you were looking for?” Ren asks with a laugh, releasing the ice around the helm.
"Yes, actually," Lena says. "Thank you."
"Indeed," Cressidha says. "Interesting technique. I had not considered blocking off an object that way."
Ren grins at Cressidha. "I can see I'm leaving it in good hands.”
Caspis switches into elf form briefly to give Ren's shoulder a squeeze.
“Ta ta for now, my friends!" Ren winks at Caspis again and teleports out.
Melancholy refreshes the soul stone on Mordecai, as she breathes hard from the fight.
Mordecai moves over to check on her. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, oh, yes, I'm all right, thank you," Melancholy says, right up until Ren says ta-ta, and she gives him a scowl with narrowed eyes.
Mordecai nods to her.
Baird props his rifle on his shoulder and steps closer to Melancholy, gazing at her in intent silence.
"I really cannot tell if that man is mocking me," Melancholy grumbles. She turns her face towards Baird and gives him a smile.
Marina squishes herself into a puddle, oozes underneath the helmet, and rises up, supporting it with her entire body. It covers part of her torso, but it floats on top of her.
"Let's get this one back?" Lena says. "Remember, cloud tiles. Or you can use our gateways. They're safe, honest."
Cressidha stares at her elemental. "…very well. If you feel any ill effects from 'wearing' it, Marina, you must take it off."
Florande shivers, and follows the group.
Caspis becomes doomkin again.
Lena glances over to Caspis. "You and Ren seem to get along well, go swimming with him?"
Melancholy follows next to Baird even more closely, getting close to crowding the sharpshooter.
For some reason, Florande stumbles again.
Caspis… nods at Lena's question. With a strange hesitation.
"C-careful," Mordecai says to Florande. "The floor's wet."
Marina-in-an-ancient-mogu-helmet drips unrepentantly up the stairs.
Florande nods her feline head and walks more carefully.
Caspis checks in on Mordecai to see if more hugs are needed.
Mordecai seems fine this time.
Melancholy steps through her demonic gateway with something like relief. Whew. Just nice normal fel transport.
Lena seems to have no concerns with her own fel gateway, either. Florande takes the tiles.
Once they get outside, Cressidha un-summons Marina and levitates the helmet onto her carpet.
Caspis becomes a stormcrow, soaring back with the others.
Zhi looks up as the team arrives, and nods approvingly at the helm on Cressidha's carpet.
“Thank you,” Zhi says. “While our soldiers fight the mogu on the battlefield, I work to strip away the power of their legends.”
Cressidha levitates the helmet off.
Melancholy takes the time where probably they won't be attacked to reach for Baird's hand.
Baird takes her hand reflexively. He is staring at Zhi again.
“The final artifact is the Thunder King's axe,” Zhi says. “Lei Shen charged into battle with his spear in one hand, and his axe in the other.”
“It is said that he could throw his axe with brutal accuracy, and when it hit its target, it made a sound like crashing thunder,” Zhi frowns. “After his death, the axe was placed in a ceremonial chamber to the southwest.”
Cressidha nods. She has seen shamans fight with two weapons.
“Needless to say, we must not let it fall into the mogu's hands,” Zhi adds. “Please, retrieve this last artifact for me.”
Caspis hoots solemnly.
"That might be where Zhao-Jin went next," Lena says. "We ought to be ready for it."
"There's no way we're ahead of them this time, is there?" Melancholy asks blithely.
Baird shakes his head.
"Maybe he just ran away," Florande offers, turning into an elf briefly to speak before she is a stormcrow.
Cressidha conjures a wave of heat to dry her carpet off before stepping back onto it.
Melancholy just holds onto Baird's hand for a moment longer, and then follows him to his gryphon. "May I ride with you?"
Baird nods at her. He helps her up. Ladies need helping hands. It is known.
Lena climbs onto her own gryphon solo. She doesn't seem to mind, nodding to Melancholy.
Florande soars into the air.
Almond flies in attack formation with Florande and Caspis.
Soon the team lands at the Silent Sanctuary, by Mistfall Village.
It is silent.
"Too close to the village," Baird says, disapprovingly.
"I don't see anyone," Lena says, looking around.
Mordecai sneezes, covering his mouth with his arm.
"'One silent nook / was there. Even on the edge of that vast mountain, / upheld by knotty roots and fallen rocks, / it overlooked in its serenity,'" Melancholy recites.
Mordecai does not question this. Sometimes Melancholy just says things.
Caspis has given up on understanding humans.
This artifact is still guarded by mogu magics. Quilen begin to animate in the entry hall, attacking the team one after another.
Baird turns immediately to focus on the quilen.
Lena backs away from the quilen, in the direction of the battle axe.
Baird fires steadily, his focus on the quilen now between them and the exit.
Cressidha blinks towards Lena to give her some space as she brings up her ice barrier.
Melancholy can still curse quilen, as she stays by Baird and holds to her known rotations of powers.
Mordecai falls back the way they came to Shield and heal the team.
Caspis hovers protectively close to Mordecai.
Florande is entirely occupied by quilen-fighting.
Mimi rushes ahead to try and secure the axe.
Suddenly, a gate rises up, blocking both the way back and the axe. Lena, Cressidha, and Mimi are trapped between.
Melancholy gasps loudly. "Oh, no!"
"Oh!" Lena says, and puts a hand on the gate. "Melancholy, maybe you can summon…" The other team probably can't summon, too many quilen.
Between the noise of the rifle and quilen and the fact that his back was to the axe-chasers, Baird isn't aware of what's happened until Melancholy gasps. He looks back and swears quietly, then returns to fending off quilen.
"We're fine," Cressidha calls. A jade construct lurches towards her and she blasts it with a bolt of frostfire that shatters it apart.
The doomkin cries out in alarm and steps as close as he can to the bars, trying to see if he can squeeze through. He tries several shapes. No dice.
"I can try!" Melancholy calls back, although she has to back away from a charging quilen. "We just need a moment."
Another construct wakes up and lurches toward Lena. She weaves a series of corruptions, and then draws the soul energy out of it, crumbling it to the ground.
Statues continue to awaken, one by one, lurching towards the trio, as the quilen continue to swarm on the other side.
Caspis turns to focus on blasting the quilen on their side.
"Try to funnel them to me!" Mimi yells as she rolls about the battlefield trying to bring down the constructs attacking her friends.
Lena nods and starts trying to make sure Mimi is between her and the statue, when she casts at them.
Florande growls menacingly. Mogu and their mean traps.
Baird is focused completely now on trying to shatter quilen before they reach the casters around him.
Melancholy can't get a moment to concentrate for the summoning, and it's starting to fray her other concentration of her fighting the quilen off. She keeps looking at the others trapped behind the gate.
Caspis glances at Baird and as if sensing the pressure on the young human, he shifts into bear form and steps between the others and the enemy.
"There are likely a limited number of these," Cressidha says calmly. "As a trial of sorts."
"Hopefully not a thousand," Lena says, taking aim as another lurches toward them.
Baird exhales and risks glances at Melancholy and then Mordecai as the bear charges to defend them.
Mimi swings her staff to smash the constructs as they awaken and rush her.
Caspis's bear form is also dark and shaggy, and looks a bit feral even for a bear.
Finally, the last quilen is defeated and the last statue is smashed. The gates… open. The axe is free to claim.
Caspis immediately shifts back into moonkin form like the bear form was hot.
Melancholy sags and half-stumbles with relief when the gate opens up, a hand out to catch herself on something steady.
Lena looks around for more enemies for a moment, and then nods to Cressidha and Mimi. "I think we passed the test. And we were here first."
"Indeed," Cressidha says. She shakes fragments of ice off of her hands.
Florande turns back into an elf, and tries to angle her shoulder under Melancholy's hand, just in case. She stares at Caspis, faint worry in her brows.
Caspis rushes to Cressidha's side to check on her, seeming less worried than he generally is about Mordecai but concerned nonetheless.
Mordecai moves closer and channels a Prayer of Healing.
Baird lowers the rifle slowly, cautiously, when it seems the tide of quilen has been stemmed.
Cressidha looks as though she just participated in a leisurely training exercise and passed with flying colors.
Melancholy looks like she failed a test. "I'm sorry," she says to Lena. "I — I couldn't concentrate. I'm really sorry."
"It's alright," Lena says, stepping over. "We did well. Everything today. Success all around, aye? And we're all safe."
Zhi the Harmonious appears at the entrance of the sanctuary, and walks over to the team.
Cressidha, who was about to levitate the axe, turns and nods to Zhi.
“Well done!” Zhi says. “The Thunder King's axe is ours. We will keep these weapons under close guard, hidden away here in this hall, but now with our safeguards, and not ancient mogu magic.”
Melancholy puts her hands on her face, and then seems to deliberately cast off the upset, pulling up a plum lipped smile for Zhi.
"Still too close to the village," Baird observes neutrally. And possibly to himself. But, you know.
Caspis bows solemnly.
Zhi doesn't seem to hear him. Maybe he's deaf in that ear. Or maybe he just doesn't know a better place.
Baird knows that feel, bro.
"Very well," Cressidha says. She turns to Mi Shu. "You know, we've fought together more than once, and I do not believe I got your name? I am Cressidha, of House Aspenwood."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Mimi bows to Cress, "I am Mi Shu of the Jadepaw family."
Caspis turns into elf form and also introduces himself to Mimi, which he has almost definitely done before but does not seem to remember. "Caspis Silvershade."
Cressidha bows politely in return. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mi Shu."
Zhi the Harmonious looks at us solemnly. “As long as I live, the mogu shall never see these treasures again. It is all thanks to you. I commend you all for the work you have done this day.”
Florande smiles. "We did good work."
Melancholy just stands by Baird, looking like she's fighting the urge to either fall onto him or hug him, maybe both.
Baird reaches for Melancholy's hand again reassuringly.
Melancholy takes it tightly, and looks out towards the exit with a melancholy stare.
Baird regards Melancholy with a Bairdy stare.