Trixie stared at the Tears of Elune for a few seconds, as it almost didn't seem real that they were floating in front of her and the rest of their group, yet they had been cleansed of the corruption that Xavius had inflicted upon it and had been restored to its former glory. Sure, they had won the battle against the Nightmare Lord, but this was only the first part of the puzzle they had to deal with, as there was more to his plan that they needed to overcome before they dealt with him. She already knew that the Tears needed to be stored inside Dalaran, but at the same time she worried about Lyra, as the mist that had been emitting from her eyes had remained since the defeat of Ysera.
Trixie was worried that Lyra had opened herself to the same dark magic that had corrupted King Sombra, or that he had mastered depending on which pony you spoke to, which meant that in time she could potentially fall down the same path that Sombra had.
"Trixie, why don't you take the Tears back to Dalaran." Lyra commented, turning away from her fellow Equestrian as she scanned the area, making sure that they were alone and that Xavius wasn't hiding another trap for them in the off chance that Ysera had been beaten, "I will stay behind and help the druids in whatever way I can... and ask where Maiev was last seen."
For a moment Trixie considered telling Lyra off and saying that it was better for them to stick together, but one glance from Azuregos told her that this wasn't the time to try something like that. Lyra was still slightly under the effects of the dark magic she had called upon, thanks to the mist being the indicator for her to keep track of her progress, and her anger towards Maiev was keeping the darkness alert. Eventually she let out a sigh and gently removed the sacred artifact from where it was floating, where absolutely nothing happened when it was removed, before she climbed onto Azuregos' back, as he intended to fly them back to Dalaran so the artifact could be secured immediately.
As the two of them took off, however, Trixie noticed that Tyrande was walking to the person who took care of the flight location that was outside the temple grounds, where she claimed a hippogryph and followed after Trixie. She had to wonder why the High Priestess was following her and Azuregos, but she decided that she could ask her when they all reached Dalaran... if they were heading in the same direction anyway.
Azuregos managed to get them back to Dalaran in record time, which was really just a minute or two quicker than the hippogryphs that had gotten Trixie and Lyra to the forest when they started their quest, before he touched down and allowed Trixie to climb off his back. Once she touched the floor he reverted to his elven form, to which they waited for Tyrande to catch up with them before they made their way to the chamber where the Tidestone was resting. The citizens of Dalaran, along with the guards and warriors from both the Alliance and the Horde, had to stop for a moment as they noticed that Trixie was carrying another Pillar of Creation, which was likely making some of the other classes jealous that they hadn't found one yet.
When they entered the tower in the middle of Dalaran, and teleported into the chamber where the Tidestone was located, Trixie quickly found the resting place that Khadgar had set aside for the ancient artifact... to which she, Azuregos, and Tyrande smiled when she set it down on the pedestal that had been prepared a few weeks ago.
"Thanks to your courage, and that of your companions, the ancient lands of Val'sharah can at long last begin to heal." Tyrande commented, though as Trixie backed away from the Tears she noticed that the High Priestess had said companions, indicating that Lyra's earlier display might have changed her mind about the other Equestrian, "Now the Tears of Elune are added to our arsenal. May they bring us victory against the Legion!"
"All we need to do now is acquire the Hammer of Khaz'goroth and the Aegis of Aggramar," Trixie stated, looking at the remaining two pedestals that rested around them, before remembering that there was a fifth Pillar of Creation, "And then we can focus all of our efforts into searching Suramar for the location of the Eye of Aman'thul, which may or may not reside in the large Nightborne city."
"Trixie, I must ask you something," Tyrande said, causing both Trixie and Azuregos to look at her, because they hadn't been expecting something like this when they had planned on returning the Tears to Dalaran, "That demon of yo... I mean, what sort of power was Lyra Heartstrings using in her fight with Ysera? And how dangerous is it."
"She was combining the powerful and corrupting dark magic with the fel energies that reside in her body," Trixie replied, knowing that neither of her companions knew what dark magic was, but they didn't have time for her to sit them down and tell them everything she knew about the vile magic, "Basically she's combining two types of magic that could very well corrupt her into something that she's not... and honestly, I don't think she's aware of the danger she's in."
"Then maybe we can ask one of the Wardens if they'll teach her some self control," Tyrande said, causing Trixie's ears to perk up for a moment, as this wasn't something that she had considered, especially with the deep hatred Lyra had for the Wardens, "If Maiev is truly missing, like they keep telling me, and has been captured by one of our enemies, then freeing her might earn Lyra some respect with their remaining members... maybe enough to consider one of them teaching her some self control over her new powers and emotions."
Trixie considered that for a moment, because if Lyra continued to delve into the hole she was digging she was going to morph into a creature of hate and anger, one that could be taken by the Legion and turned against them. She knew that Lyra would never openly ask the Wardens for assistance, especially after what they had done to her and her order, but there was always the chance that they mended that bridge and put the two orders on speaking terms again. After a moment she decided that they had nothing to lose, because unless they found Maiev she knew that the Wardens would never listen to Lyra, so she told Tyrande that she and Azuregos were leaving... before they walked back through the teleporter and headed back to Krasus' Landing.
Trixie wanted to make sure that Lyra wasn't doing anything stupid to the druids while they cleaned up the mess that Xavius had made of their temple... to which she and Azuregos morphed into their dragon forms, which was much smoother for Trixie than when she used her Sandstone form, and they flew back to the Temple of Elune.
When Trixie and Azuregos arrived outside the temple, and morphed back into their chosen mortal forms, Trixie immediately noticed that the four druids they had been helping were nowhere to be seen, meaning that they must have returned to their Order Hall, the Dreamgrove, to plan out their next move. As they walked back into the temple grounds, however, they found Lyra kneeling next to a wounded human, with a fair number of healers moving away from their patient. Trixie suspected that this was a clue to where Maiev was located, to which she and Azuregos ran over to where Lyra was waiting, though when they arrived Lyra motioned for them to be silent and patted the wounded human on the shoulder.
"I look a right bloody mess, don’t I?" the human said, coughing for a moment as she opened her eyes, to which she looked at the people that were gathered around her, "My name is Darcy Hearthrow, and I barely made it here alive. Listen, my village is in trouble. First, there was strange signs. Wild dogs in the cemetery, flocks of dead ravens, villagers gone a missin’! Then the other day, we saw soldiers. But there’s somethin’ ain’t right about them!"
Trixie, Azuregos, and Lyra shared a look with each other, because if there were signs of wild dogs and dead ravens, along with villagers going missing, that meant that the soldiers had to be some sort of undead creature... and that meant that something important had to be happening near the lady's village.
"They was dead!" Darcy continued, though her tone indicated that she was hoping for them to offer her some assistance, "But not dead… alive dead! The druids ‘ave other matters to attend to so we’re sittin’ ducks out there. Just sayin’, we could really use some help."
Trixie, deciding to take a chance, called over one of the healers and asked if they knew where the village Darcy had come from was located, to which she learned that all they needed to do was follow the path out of the nearby gate and head to the left. From there they would be able to reach Bradensbrook, the home of the people who had fled Gilneas instead of staying and suffering the worgen curse. With the information in hand Trixie bid the healer to continue her duties, as there were other guardians that needed her assistance after Ysera's attack, before she looked over at Lyra, who was already heading away form where Darcy was resting.
Trixie and Azuregos followed after Lyra, following the healer's directions to the letter, where they immediately noticed an imposing castle that they had ignored the last few times they had visited the temple. With their destination in mind they continued down the path in front of them, where they eventually walked into the small village and noticed that the villagers, lead by their mayor, were pointing their weapons at a lone night elf.
"I am not your enemy, Mayor." the night elf insisted, though at the same time he was remarkably calm about the situation, though Trixie knew that Lyra would have attacked if she was in the night elf's situation, "I came here to find someone within Black Rook Hold."
"Stop with your lies, night elf." the mayor said, indicating that he and his villagers were highly suspicious of the night elf that was standing in front of them, "You’ll stay where we can keep an eye on you."
"Um... what’s going on here?" Azuregos asked, as he decided that it was time for someone other than Trixie or Lyra to speak, though at the same time the two Equestrians were more than happy to let him do the talking.
"My people have seen too much suffering." the mayor replied, though at the same time he never took his eyes off of the night elf that his villagers were pointing their weapons at, "It was the Scourge uprising that led us to flee Gilneas many years ago. Now, undead creatures have risen from the fortress to the north. I will defend this village to the bitter end."
"Care to explain what's going on?" Lyra growled, to which she turned towards the night elf, who seemed surprised by the darkness that was seeping out of her eyes, which she was ignoring at the moment.
"I am no enemy to these people, but there is no convincing them of that." the night elf replied, still acting calm despite the fact that he had never seen the type of darkness that was rolling out of her eyes before, "Their village has come under attack by some very old friends of mine. Friends who are no longer... living. There's no telling who or what controls them, but in life these noble soldiers would never engage in such acts. That's a mystery for another time. For now, help me earn the trust of these villagers. Strike down the Black Rook enemies who are terrorizing their citizens."
"Sounds easy enough," Lyra commented, to which she drew the Twinblades and made for the exit, though Trixie stopped her so they could speak to someone that appeared to be the wife of the mayor, or at the very least someone that helped him run the village.
"Forgive us, stranger. Mayor Heathrow has been under a lot of stress recently." the lady said, identifying who the mayor was without them having to ask the man his name, which saved them time for when they came back to the village, "I can't blame him: his own daughter, Penelope, has been missing for two days. In fact, we could use information on several farmsteads to the south: Mayor Heathrow's house, Granny Marl's farm, and the Radcliffes' dock. Can you go check on the situation out there? Help us, and perhaps the mayor's heart will soften."
Trixie had to admit that this was going to be a rather quick way to earn the trust of the people, as they could easily kill a fair number of the attackers and assist the owners of the various farmsteads, allowing the villagers to see that they, and the night elf they were angry at, weren't enemies and that they were here to help. Still, she wondered who the night elf was and who he was looking for, which made her wonder if he was searching for Maiev was well, but decided that time would tell her and Lyra all the answers that they needed. All they had to do was help the people of Bradensbrook and they would be one step closer to discovering the location of Maiev... and whether or not she needed any assistance from the three of them, when they finally caught up with her.