//------------------------------// // Coilfang Reservoir // Story: Seekers of the Epitaph: World of Azeroth // by Xarmar13 //------------------------------// Bella, Stella, Raida, Mena and Flutashe managed to escape from the Blood Furnace after clearing out the enemies within. Though they were expecting some rumbling from the citadel, things were still quiet. “Huh, guess they had some backup plan ready in case the pit lord tried to break out,” Raida noted. “I can’t imagine how they are able to chain such a powerful beast,” Bella said. “They will probably have to maintain a binding spell until they can find someone who can contain him. Keli’dan was a powerful warlock and the only one I know who could replace him would be Nethekurse but he’s probably too busy abusing his power on his minions to bother.” “I know that you have been here in Outland for years, but have you identified every potential threat here?” Stella asked. “Pretty much,” Raida shrugged. “Aside from the ramparts, there are two other areas in the citadel to explore, one being Magtheridon’s prison and the other being the halls leading to Warchief Kargath Bladefist’s inner sanctum. The latter is locked behind a gate and Kargath has the only key.” “Maybe we can lure him out if we make a lot of noise?” Mena offered. “Wouldn’t work, Kargath doesn’t want to risk the Shattered Halls being attacked so he almost never leaves for any reason. Only way we’re getting in there is if we either bust the gate down or make a copy of the key.” “Actually, I think we’ve done enough damage here for the time being,” Stella said. “We still have more of Outland to explore before we decide how we go about dismantling Illidan’s forces.” The others reluctantly nodded in agreement, not sure how they felt about leaving Hellfire Citadel unresolved until later. As they walked back to Honor Hold, Flutashe suddenly asked, “So, I’m guessing that you have plenty of info on our enemies, how come you never shared this with Honor Hold?” Raida raised an eyebrow, “Why would I? Most of those people have been stuck here for twenty years. They’re out of the loop for most of what happened on Azeroth during that time and most had never heard of a night elf. The high elves among them might know about me but you know our history with them, I doubt they would be happy to see a night elf, especially given our people’s aversion to magic.” Flutashe gave her sister a questioning look, “Says the girl who decided to learn warlock magics.” “Hey, that’s different. I did what I needed to survive,” Raida defended. “I ain’t about to die for cheap pride just because of how dangerous magic is.” Flutashe giggled, “I’m just glad you’re alright.” Her cheerful mood darkened somewhat. “I hope you haven’t been corrupted by such dark magic. So many have gone mad from abusing dark magic.” “Power only corrupts if you let it,” Raida countered. “The more you have, the more responsible you have to be with it. The Legion allowed such power to go to their heads.” “Let alone the Illidari,” Bella added. Raida didn’t comment. Upon their return to Honor Hold, the group reported their findings to Commander Danath. Sophia was also present in the command center. After a brief explanation of their discoveries, Danath’s eyes widened. “A pit lord?! This means that the fel orcs are harvesting his blood to create more fel orcs. It also means that Thrallmar would be a prime target for their attacks since the green orcs would be used to bolster their armies, and that’s not counting the brown orcs we’ve seen.” He sighed, “This just got a lot harder, we can’t get into the heart of the citadel to take out their leader without alerting the entire Fel Horde to our intentions and now we have to deal with the pit lord which will be a monumental task.” “Is there anything we can do?” Bella asked. “My forces can handle the orcs outside the citadel for now. With the Ramparts cleared and their fel orc production halted for now, we can hold out for weeks until they can get their production back.” He paused. “I think it’s time you moved on, maybe you might find a way to get into the citadel during your exploration of this land.” Once Danath dismissed the group, not really caring about their newest addition since he had other things to worry about, they rested at the inn before they journeyed west. The wastelands of Hellfire Peninsula were vast. It took them half a day to reach the western end of the region on foot. Along the way, the group had a few close calls with a few colossal mechanical constructs fueled by fel energies wandering the region. Most of them had a feeling that they really should avoid fighting them unless necessary as they could easily stomp them flat. Near the end of the region, the group encountered a small outpost owned by the Cenarion Expedition. They were tasked with studying the stone giants and the animals of the region, which were mostly fel-tainted boars and two-headed vultures along with ravagers. One of the researchers admitted to trying to cure the corruption of one boar only for the remedy to worsen its condition. Flutashe requested a copy of their research notes to pass to the expedition leadership before they continued west. The end of the region consisted of a thorny mountain pass which were occupied by insectoid creatures walking on four tipped legs and had a segmented, spiked carapace as well as long, sharp teeth. “These must be the ravagers that were in the expedition’s reports,” Flutashe noted. She then moved forward and called the ravagers to herself. “Excuse me, but would you mind letting us through here? My friends and I need to reach the land beyond.” One ravager hissed and snarled. Flutashe frowned, “I know that you need to maintain your position of strength for the sake of survival in this region, but blocking off all passes into the other regions is only going to get you and your kind hunted down.” More hissing. Flutashe sighed, “I have no time for this.” The druid glared at the territorial ravagers, using her alpha powers, which resulted in the creatures becoming nervous before they moved aside and allowed the group passage into the next region. Sophia sat atop one of the ruined guard towers of an abandoned armory. She waited for Thanatas to return after she had “relayed” to the Horde what the Alliance group had learned. While she waited for her cousin so they could decide on their next move, she decided to have a different conversation. “That newcomer with them was definitely Rainbow Dash. Though from the files I read on her, I would never take her reincarnation for the spellcaster type.” “Me neither, Rainbow’s focus was always about being athletic and agile,” Twilight added. “Honestly, I would have figured her to be a warrior or a rogue, maybe a hunter. Never a warlock though.” “So have the results from the scans come back yet?” Sophia asked. “I just got them and am looking through them now…” Sophia heard mumblings and grumbles. A surprised gasp sparked some concern within the templar. She then heard some hyperventilating and an angry growl. Twilight got up from her seat in the observation room before she stepped out the door. “GRAPE VINE, COME TO THE OBSERVATION ROOM IMMEDIATELY!” she yelled through the Royal Canterlot Voice. “You know we have intercoms for that, right?” Sweetie reminded Twilight. A deep shade of red shone through Twilight’s purple coat. “Oh, right…” She laughed awkwardly. “So what’s got you so enraged?” Lyra asked. “Well, for the most part, Rainbow’s vitals are good. The problem is that she’s been dabbling in chaos magic, the kind that the demons around that sector of the Eternal Sphere use. Not just dabbling though, she actually has chaos magic coursing through her veins. That’s a very dangerous thing to have and something no warlock would try since they would either burn themselves from the inside out or go mad from the rush of power. “And that’s why you’re angry at Grape Vine?” Kerrigan asked. Twilight shook her head, “No, that part has me worried for Rainbow but that’s not why I’m upset.” Grape Vine hastily entered the room, carrying a pile of her work with her. “You wanted to see me ma’am?” Twilight’s anger returned, but not as strongly as earlier. “Care to explain how King Sombra managed to get into the Eternal Sphere?” “The tyrant of the Crystal Empire? I thought he was dead.” “So did I, but somehow Rainbow Dash’s reincarnation has Sombra’s magical signature within her body. Why was I not notified of this?” “It’s probably in this huge stack of reports in my hands, I haven’t had time to go through them all,” Grape complained. “I thought I told you to delegate your work to the junior staff,” Twilight said. “I tried ma’am, I really did. After the terrorist attack on the Eternal Sphere, many of the junior researchers up and quit because they feared another attack from the ELF and the new ones we hired complained that taking on some of my massive workload was ‘not in their job description’. It is in their job description but they assume I’m too lazy to go over their contracts. When I tried using my authority as head researcher to make them go through the reports, they complained about having too much to do and threatened to quit. Foals these days are getting lazier with every generation!” A lavender palm met Twilight’s face. “I’m starting to think I should have hired more protoss researchers, at least they have a far better work ethic.” Knowing that a major headache was coming in the form of a string of employment terminations and a hiring campaign as well as a long discussion with her living resources manager, she put that in the back of her mind for the time being and focused on the immediate concern. She levitated Grape’s stack of reports in her magic before quickly skimming through each report until she stopped at one. “Here it is, according to this, Sombra’s horn was reported in the Everfree Forest. It seems the magic collectors absorbed the magic from his horn and entered the Eternal Sphere through the world tree network that exists between the two universes. So somehow between then and now, Sombra and Rainbow met and she somehow absorbed him. Though it does beg the question of how Rainbow was able to absorb Sombra.” Twilight hummed in thought, “Thanatas, do you know of a means of someone absorbing dark magic and chaos magic into their bodies?” “Well, the blood elves use a technique to absorb magic into their bodies but that only turns them into magic junkies. This applies to all forms of magic,” Thanatas explained. “What about a way to absorb dark and chaos magic for night elves?” “Night elves don’t practice that, at all. However, there are a select group of night elves outside of their society who put chaos magic into their bodies directly using the blood of demons on knives to gouge their eyes out to obtain vision beyond mortal capabilities. This is also practiced by blood elves within the same group. Those who succeed in the ritual without their minds or bodies succumbing to the chaos magic become warriors of chaos known as demon hunters.” “Demon hunters? Maybe that’s what Rainbow is?” “If that’s the case, then we need to take extra care in keeping this a secret from the Alliance and Horde. Their fear of chaos magic would put her in danger of execution.” “She appears to be acting under the guise of a warlock with lower and mid-class demons,” Twilight offered. “Good, she needs to maintain that appearance to the two factions, at least for five to six years if she has a means of avoiding what’s coming to the Illidari.” “What do you mean?” “No spoilers, princess,” Thanatas giggled. Bella and her friends left the nether-scarred wastelands of Hellfire and arrived in the strangest looking swamp they had ever seen. The contrast between Hellfire and this region, which was referred to as Zangarmarsh, was like comparing the Blasted Lands to the Swamp of Sorrows. The region had an eternal night feel to it since the ground had a bluish green look to it. Instead of trees, the region featured a vast forest of colossal mushrooms which rose high into the sky. One could place a small town on some of the mushrooms. The wildlife was also intriguing, as it featured species which were of great interest among the Cenarion Expedition. Because of this, the expedition set up their headquarters near the entrance to the region. Cenarion Refuge was a small base of operations which featured two buildings and a moonwell. Two ancients, giant trees given the ability to move freely, patrolled around the base. Several small tents were set up. One of the guards ran up to the group as they approached the refuge. “Lady Flutashe, Ysiel wishes to see you.” “Right now? I was planning on giving her the notes from the post on the felboars,” Flutashe said. “You can still hand the notes to her, but there is another matter that requires the expertise of you and your party.” Fluashe nodded, “Lead the way.” The group was led into the main hall of the refuge where they saw a chef preparing a meal for the soldiers. At the far end of the building stood the night elf who led the expedition. Ysiel heard the group coming and turned to acknowledge them. “Lady Flutashe, I am glad to see that you made it here in one piece.” Flutashe handed Ysiel the research notes before continuing the conversation, “What’s the matter?” “First, let us explain the situation in Zangarmarsh. From what we learned about the area from the reports of the Alliance Expedition, this whole region used to be completely immersed in sea water. When the world was shattered, the sea drained and left behind this beautiful mushroom swamp. A wide variety of creatures have nested in this region including giant fireflies, floating bat-like creatures that spread spores, giant striders with enormous heads and skinny legs, and others. We’ve also discovered a race of fungal people who have built homes out of mushrooms along with a race of fungal giants who lack the intelligence that the sporelings have.” “This sounds like a beautiful ecosystem,” Flutashe noted. “It is, but now we have a problem. There are naga in this region who follow The Betrayer and they have an operation here where they are draining Zangarmarsh’s lakes. For what purpose we do not know. If they aren’t stopped, the ecosystem will become irreparably damaged and the life here will wither and die.” Raida had no idea why Vashj was trying to monopolize the water in the region. While she knew that naga preferred an aquatic environment, there was no need to destroy the environment just to create the world’s largest swimming pool. The Illidari weren’t in any position to choose their allies and it showed. The fel orcs were only loyal as long as the felblood kept flowing, the naga were loyal for reasons unknown but was hardly earned and the blood elves were only loyal because Illidan promised them a new font of magic. The latter was likely planning on betraying Illidan in the near future, likely because Kil’jaeden put in a higher bid than what Illidan could afford. She couldn’t imagine the broken having any real loyalty either and the demons were only helpful as long as their interests coincided with his. About the only true loyalists were the demon hunters, though she could imagine a few who had doubts about Illidan’s sanity as her thoughts turned to one in particular. Raida’s overall opinion of Illidan was that she felt that he had good long term plans against the Legion, but tended to overlook the pitfalls in his short term plans which would lead to unforeseen issues later on which might jeopardize the long term plans. Raida had brought up her concerns to Illidan and he seemed to agree with her. Of course, she wasn’t expecting for him to come up with a contingency plan that involved her befriending an adventuring party. “...which is why we need you to head down there and rescue them,” Ysiel said, with Raida only catching the tail end of that discussion. Not wanting to embarrass herself by asking the druid to repeat what she said, she simply nodded. She figured that she could piece together the details later. The party soon left the building and proceeded northwest with Raida blindly following them. They moved past a draenei village built into a mushroom and continued toward one of the four lakes of Zangarmarsh. The expedition discovered that the locals called it Serpent Lake. Raida quickly figured that they were heading to Coilfang Reservoir where the Vashj’s forces were storing the region’s water. Some adventurer must have stumbled upon the drain earlier, she figured. The drain served as the only entrance to the reservoir. “Alright, so let’s get down there,” Raida said. “I’m not sure I can hold my breath that long,” Mena slowly said. Bella hummed, “Stella, perhaps you might have a spell that may help us reach the other end of the drain?” “Not really, Dalaran didn’t think water breathing spells were worth the effort to research. Though I have heard that shamans can call on air and water spirits to allow underwater breathing. However, without Farra’jin around, that isn’t an option.” “Actually, I know a spell that allows the target to continue breathing in any environment,” Raida offered. “That’s probably the best option right now,” Flutashe figured. “I won’t need the spell myself since I can breathe underwater in my sea lion form.” With the plan decided, Raida cast the spell on everyone else as well as herself while Flutashe dove into the water and shapeshifted into a sea lion. The others followed. The group had to take care not to get tangled up in seaweed as they navigated the depths of Serpent Lake. Flutashe managed to convince the hydras hanging around the lakebed to move aside while they proceeded to the center of the massive structure in the center of the lake. A crudely-designed giant drain made of dark metal sat in the center of the lake. They soon entered the drain and traveled the long, narrowing pipe to the point that they had to swim in a single-file formation. At the exit of the pipe, the party entered a large cavern that had breathable air and land to emerge upon. The cavern had strangely designed metal structures with some plant life growing on the stone areas.Two passages were spotted to their left, one to their right and one in the center. The central passage appeared to be blocked by a wall of falling water. “Glad you made it,” said a familiar voice. Lokosh and his group approached their allies who were just getting out of the water. While the Alliance group was drying off, Talia explained the passages in the chamber. “From what those druids told us, the left passage is supposed to lead into the facility where the naga keep the broken who refused to cooperate with The Betrayer as slaves. It’s called the Slave Pens.” She pointed toward the next passage over. “That way leads to a place called The Steamvault where they construct their pumps to drain the lakes.” She then pointed toward the rightmost passage, “That way leads to the Underbog where the naga harvest its natural resources. We looked inside and found a bunch of sporebats, swamp beasts and fungal giants.” Finally, she pointed at the waterfall. “We don’t know what lies behind that waterfall curtain since the force of the water is too much to get through, even for Farra’jin. Though there is a good chance that it leads to the heart of the facility and the leader of the naga around here.” “Thank you for the information,” Flutashe said. “We’re here because some Cenarion scouts went missing when they explored the Slave Pens and the Underbog. We need to try to find them and save them.” “We were sent here to find them too,” Groun said. “The scouts were assigned to explore the Slave Pens and the Underbog.” “In that case, we can check out the Slave Pens and you can investigate the Underbog,” Flutashe offered. “Who ya think ya are given’ us orders?” Farra’jin demanded. That earned him a bash to the head by Talia’s staff. “Does that really matter right now?” Talia hissed. “Very well, go with honor,” Lokosh said. “One other thing,” Flutashe interrupted. “Groun, right?” The tauren nodded. She handed him some paper and some quills. “I’ve been asked by the Cenarion Expedition to aid in the research into Outland’s wildlife and since you’re exploring the Underbog, I need notes on the wildlife in there.” “I can do that,” Groun affirmed. Farra’jin looked at Groun in disbelief but kept quiet for fear of getting bashed in the head again. Talia noticed this look and frowned. “Eyes on the prize, Desert. If it means that we get the fragments in the end then we will do what we must to stay in their good graces. You can unleash your frustrations all you want once we have all seven.” Farra’jin relented from the telepathic message. Flutashe thanked Groun for his assistance before she and her group headed toward the west passage while the Horde group headed into the east passage. The tunnel was narrow for the Alliance group but it soon broadened into a small chamber occupied by a new variant of makura, a race of lobster people who inhabit Azeroth’s shorelines…and Outland’s too apparently. Thankfully, Flutashe was able to sketch one of the creatures before they skittered away. Further inside, they found a number of naga along with broken who were working on expanding a tunnel passage. There were also some broken locked up in cages. When the naga noticed the intruders they ordered the slaves to attack them but Stella quickly dispatched the slavers with several icicle shards and a Disintegration Beam to their heads. Seeing their slavers down for the count, the workers fled back to the entrance. Unfortunately, the slavers didn’t have the keys on them so the caged slaves were stuck there. The next chamber was vast and housed some of the naga machinery. There were more slaves, working and caged. The workers were stripping the chamber of natural resources under the scrutinous gaze of their naga overlords. Flutashe noticed some of the naga in the area had a tamed creature by their side which she had never seen before. They looked like manta rays except they floated and had crystalline growths on their bellies and a set of sharp teeth. The party fought their way to the entrance to a structure which housed more naga and some broken who appeared to be working together with the naga, possibly collaborators. They also had to deal with a broken shaman who admitted to selling out his people and corrupted his bond with the elements. After that they followed a path up a series of ramps to the top of the structure which seemed like a dead end as there was nowhere else to go but they noticed that there was more to explore below them but no safe way down. Flutashe, Stella and Raida knew that they could fly down, though the latter was not willing to risk doing so because she might expose herself as more than a warlock. Thankfully Mena could float down with her Levitate spell and Stella was strong enough to carry Bella down. Raida smirked as she rushed over to the edge of the broken platform and dove seventy feet into the water below, much to everyone else’s surprise. Once they saw that she survived the dive, the rest followed. Once the area was cleared of naga forces, Mena called out to the others from atop a high platform, “Hey everyone, I think I found one of the scouts!” The others climbed up a nearby ramp to reach where Mena ended up where they found the corpse of a tauren in druid garb. “Seems like he’s been dead for a while, his soul may have already departed from the living realm.” “Oh, so we were too late to save him,” Flutashe said sadly. The group had a moment of silence for the fallen druid before Stella set his corpse ablaze and the group moved onward. As they moved toward an exit from the structure, they stopped when they heard what sounded like a naga’s voice nearby. “I commend you for murdering these fools for their heresy against the Tidehunter.” The party looked around until they saw a cage in a nearby corner. Oddly, it contained a naga instead of a broken. “Excuse me, but what do you mean?” Stella asked. “I would have thought all of the naga were aligned with The Betrayer.” “You would think that since everyone else on this doomed world is, but my loyalties remain with the one true ruler of the seas. If I could, I would tear that bitch Vashj limb from limb, if only I had the necessary artifacts to complete the Cudgel of Kar’desh.” “What would you do with such a crude instrument?” Bella asked. “I doubt you could face an army of your kind by yourself.” “Fool! The Cudgel of Kar’desh isn’t some weapon, it is the means for me to have my vengeance,” The naga snarled. “So it’s a magical artifact that does what?” Stella asked. It was clear that the naga had no intention of telling them what the artifact did as he tried to steer the conversation in another direction. “I’ll make a deal with you airbreathers, I need two more artifacts to complete the Cudgel. I need the Earthen Signet and the Blazing Signet. Get me those and I will bestow Vashj’s mark on all of you which will grant you access to Serpentshrine Cavern where she and her most powerful lieutenants lie.” The naga, who introduced himself as Skar’this, revealed his cheeky grin since he knew that he had their attention now. Stella was not so easily distracted, she made a mental note to determine the nature of the requested artifacts. “So where would we find these signets?” Raida asked. “The Earthen Signet is in the hands of the father of all gronn on this world, Gruul the Dragonkiller.” “Gronn?” Flutashe inquired. Before Skar’this could explain, Raida spoke first, “Gronn are massive creatures with brown skin that is hard as rock. Taking one down is a major feat as these guys are brutes. Among the most fearsome is Gruul the Dragonkiller who is famed for murdering a good number of black dragons and held his own in a fight against the black aspect, Deathwing.” Stella winced at the name but didn’t let anyone see that. Skar’this continued, “The Blazing Signet is the heart of a cursed dragon named Nightbane who is said to reside in the hallowed halls of the prophet, Medivh.” “Halls of Medivh? Karazhan?” Stella asked. “Do I look like I care what the place is called?” Skar’this snapped. He quickly calmed himself again. “The dragon won’t appear so easily though, you will need to figure out a way to lure him out. “Now go and leave me to plot my revenge in peace.” Skar’this stayed silent which prompted the group to leave the caged naga to his brooding. The party fought off more naga and would have fought some hostile makura, including a massive one in an alcove nearby if it weren’t for Flutashe soothing them with her animal communication skills as well as her ability to exert dominance upon animals. She wished that she could help the giant makura who appeared to be in terrible pain but she had no idea how to heal him. “The critter looks like he’s suffering from nether exposure,” Raida offered. “I think I can use a special crystal to draw the energies out of his body.” She pulled out a crystal out of her bags and approached the makura, Flutashe continuing to keep him calm. While Raida was pressing the crystal against the creature, she began to drain the energies. Truth be told, the crystal only turned colorful in the presence of nether energies but what she was really doing was pulling the energies into her body. While for other demon hunters, this would increase the strain on their body but for some reason she felt like she could take much more into her body than other demon hunters. The other stared in awe as the makura began to shrink down to the side of his peers. Once the process was complete, the creature showed gratitude toward the warlock and even hugged her. “Oh my, he seems very grateful to you Raida,” Flutashe giggled. “Heh…yeah…” Raida chuckled awkwardly. Once they managed to get the makura to let go, the party continued through the Slave Pens while taking out more naga and freeing more broken slaves. Once they went through a tunnel and entered another chamber, they quickly found one of the missing scouts in a small cage guarded by a few naga. Once they were dealt with, Flutashe freed the scout. “Ishnu-alah Lady Flutashe, I am very grateful for the rescue. I am Naturalist Bite, these naga tried to break me and force me into toiling with the other slaves. I came here to prove the existence of Quagmirran only to find that his will has been broken beyond saving. I must ask all of you to put him down before we may escape from here.” A low, ground-shaking roar shook the caverns. The group turned their attention to the pool at the end of the chamber where they saw a giant fungal creature emerge from it. It was shaped like a hunched humanoid with arms that ended in dangling tentacles. Its mouth looked like a bunch of plant growths were trying to hold it together and a number of spore pods grew on its dull green back. Its eyes glowed a dark yellow. Flutashe gulped as her eyes widened, “Quagmirran?” she asked Bite. The male nodded. The party engaged the fungal giant who roared again and tried to slam one of its thick arms onto Flutashe who dodged and slashed at the beast’s leg. She could sense the broken will within the creature and knew that Bite was right and that it needed to be put down. Raida bombarded the creature with fire spells which weren’t doing much to it at first because it was still wet from being in the pool. As the fight progressed, the creature dried and became more flammable. Stella added her own fire spells and a flame breath to the attack. Surprise attacked with shadowy fire. Quagmirran counterattacked by attempting to spray acid everywhere but the others managed to dodge the splashes while Flutashe used her snake form to withstand the poison. Raida and Stella were soon able to set the creature on fire who attempted to return to the pool to put itself out but Bella slammed its head with a hammer and knocked it back. Quagmirran fell on its back and the flames completely engulfed its body. It quickly found its strength had waned too much for it to resist anymore and succumbed to the blaze. The group returned to Bite who cast a Rejuvenate spell to heal his wounds. “Will you be alright to return with us?” Bella asked. “Yes, they barely got to torturing me before you showed up. What about Weeder Greenthumb? I heard he tried to escape. Did he make it?” Their silence was his answer. “I see. Let’s leave this place behind.” About ten minutes later, the group and Bite returned to the entrance chamber. The Horde group returned a few minutes later with two more druids. Feloma appeared to be laughing at someone’s expense, given that the tauren druid among them who wasn’t Groun was grumbling. Feloma continued laughing as she spoke. “Hee hee, I still can’t believe that broken hunter actually managed to tame a druid. That shouldn’t even be possible, unless it were me.” “Miss Brightbow, please show some consideration for Claw, this has been such an embarrassing situation for him,” The night elf druid among them begged. Lokosh and his group stopped as he spotted the other group. “Looks like they found another of your members, you should head over to them,” Lokosh suggested. The two druids complied and headed over to Bite and the Alliance group. “Rayge, Claw, I’m so glad you two made it back in one piece,” Bite said. “It’s good to see you too Bite,” Rayge said. “Where is Greenthumb?” “I’m afraid he didn’t make it.” “I see,” Claw said. “We should regroup and rest at the refuge, we need to be ready for when Windsinger gives the order to investigate the Steamvaults.” The parties escorted the druids back to the refuge where they all spent the rest of the night and prepared for the next leg of their journey.