World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind

by Blackdrag-rose

Suramar: Making Wine and Spilling Blood

After a few more minutes of walking Margaux brought them to Sylverin, where she told them that this was where she would leave them for now and that Sylverin would be able to show them the infusion process for making Arcwine, which actually caught both Lyra and Trixie by surprise. This was either because of the fact that one of them, or potentially both of them, knew that they weren't who they said they were and were secretly supporters of Thalyssra's rebellion, or this was a part of the tour and neither of them had been told about it. The moment they were transferred into Sylverin's hands, however, Margaux excused herself and headed off towards another building, meaning that she had something else she needed to attend to before they finished their business with each other.

The moment Margaux was gone, and the guards moved elsewhere, Sylverin turned towards them and smiled, to which they replicated the gesture, as he was likely going to assist them in the rest of their operation.

"Welcome," Sylverin said, though his tone indicated that he might be acting, which Lyra was beginning to suspect a lot of the Nightborne in the city, at least those supporting Thalyssra, did all the time when enemies were near them, "I take it that the two of you are enjoying your tour?"

"Very much so," Lyra replied, to which Trixie nodded her head in agreement, before she looked out at the area that they had been brought to and took in the fact that bits of energy were being flung into the air before touching the water around them, or caught by the elves that were working, "So, what's the next activity that you have planned for us?"

"This is a rare treat, I hope you know. Not just anyone is allowed to stand on this hallowed ground." Sylverin said, though at the same time he adjusted his cuffs in a dignified fashion, which confirmed that he had to be acting for the guards that were standing in the area around them, "To participate in the demonstration, simply take up an energy vessel and wade into the pool beside us. Catch the delicate dewdrops of Nightwell energy in the bowl as they fall... this is the only way one can safely manage its essence. Once your vessel is full, proceed to our demonstration cask and gently pour the amalgamation into it. Enjoy!"

Lyra spotted the vessel that was resting behind Sylverin and knew that it was what she was supposed to be looking for, to which she walked around the elf and gently picked up the vessel, as she didn't want to damage it in some manner and piss someone off. From there she walked out of the pavilion and stepped into the shallow water that rested around them, where she was able to see the angles that the dewdrops of the Nightwell energy were taking and made sure to move to where they were landing. She then carefully held the vessel up when she reached where the dewdrops were going to land and started gathering them, though while she did that she noticed that the elves around her were nodding their heads, indicating that she understood what to do.

A few minutes passed before she noticed Sylverin beckoning to her, to which she carefully carried the vessel over to him and handed it over to the elf, as she was sure that there was another step the dewdrops needed to go through and he knew exactly what to do with the vessel.

"Simple, no?" Sylverin asked, though at the same time Lyra noticed a small smile on the elf's face, indicating that he was pleased that Lyra had understood what she needed to do and had performed the task as she was supposed to.

"Deceptively so," Lyra replied, as she had honestly expected there to be some secret method to collecting the dewdrops, but all she had to do was carry the vessel around and let the dewdrops fall into the vessel, "So, what's the next stop on the tour?"

"While you were experiencing the raw majesty that is Nightwell Infusion, Margaux was busy preparing another demonstration for you." Sylverin said, to which he turned a little bit and beckoned to one of the nearby bridges, while at the same time silently indicating that he wouldn't be coming with them just yet, "Head across the bridge and to the left, then again across a bridge and to your right. You will find her on the juicing veranda. Enjoy the remainder of your tour!"

In order to maintain their disguises Lyra and Trixie walked along the path that Sylverin told them about, where they walked on the walkways and the bridges that were in front of them, while at the same time nodding to the guards that happened to be in their way. Lyra was still amazed that no one had figured out that she actually wasn't Anarys, but at the same time she was thankful for that, because the moment someone figured that out her disguise would be completely useless and she would have to get a new one. It really didn't take them long to reach the juicing veranda, as it was close to where Sylverin was standing, though when they approached the open building Margaux beckoned them over and asked if they were ready to experience the art of actually making Arcwine.

Lyra paid close attention to what the assistant was saying, as when she was told to add something floral she added some silver jasmine to the wine container, when a little moisture was needed she added some purified water, she jumped into the vat twice to squish the mixture around, and when something sour was necessary she tossed in some shadefruit to add to the mixture. She continued the pattern for a few minutes, following the commands that Margaux was giving her, before the elf called for them to stop and praised Lyra at being a natural wine mixer, to which Lyra rubbed the back of her head for a few seconds.

"I will be certain to have a bottle of your Arcwine prepared for you before you leave." Margaux said, though since she knew that neither Lyra or Trixie really drank this special drink she already knew that it would go to Thalyssra and the elves that had already flocked to her side, "Our tour is just about over. I will let you loose to 'walk the orchard', as is proper at this stage. While you are there, you will notice a large number of mana wyrms floating about. I am certain the vineyard would not miss a handful of them. Good luck with your insect problem, friend."

Lyra was slightly surprised that this was something that happened when a tour was being conducted in the vineyards, but at the same time she knew that this happened to be what they needed, as they apparently needed some mana wyrms to keep the Acan'dor healthy, something that she had overlooked when they were in Shal'Aran. Apparently someone had told Trixie and Ly'leth, though now that she knew the reason behind the tour she turned her eyes towards the number of mana wyrms that were flying around the air in front of them. Lyra also noticed a large number of moths that were flying around the area as well, though they were as large as the mana wyrms and seemed aggressive, which meant that they would likely need to kill some of them as they walked through the orchard.

As the two of them moved towards the orchard, however, they noticed Sylverin standing near the bridge that would take them to the orchard, though the look on his face told them that he was worried about something... to which they approached him and asked him what was going on.

"Moths. Who ever heard of something so... barbaric!" Sylverin replied, though at the same time Lyra and Trixie shared a look with each other, as they both had encountered more dangerous beings that could be described as 'barbaric', "They are eating our crop and the mana wyrms do nothing to deter them. The two of you seem capable. Deter these creatures so we can complete our harvest on schedule. Ahem. Please."

Now that they had their tasks, and could complete the two of them at the same time, Lyra and Trixie walked out into the orchard and started collecting some of the mana wyrms that were flying around them, or more like Lyra attacked the aggressive moths that wanted them dead while Trixie carefully gathered the mana wyrms. What shocked Lyra a little bit wasn't the fact that their disguises dropped when they started fighting, but rather none of the nearby guards bothered to attack them, making her wonder if some of them were on Thalyssra's side or if they were unobservant. It really didn't matter which option it was, because the two of them were able to make their way through the orchard, killing aggressive moths and collecting a decent number of mana wyrms, before they came to an area at the end of the orchard that had another portal to Shal'Aran.

Since no one was around at the moment Trixie wove her magic into the beacon and activated the portal, though that was followed by them donning their masks, assuming their disguises once more, and made their way back towards where Sylverin was waiting for them... inside a building that was near where he had been standing a few minutes ago.

"I will have these... ah... souvenirs... boxed for you." Sylverin said, to which he accepted the mana wyrms that Trixie had grabbed while they were inside the orchard, before he nodded his head and stared at the two of them for a few seconds, "And the two of you have my thanks in taking care of our moth problem."

"You and Margaux have risked much to help us protect the Acan'dor," Trixie replied, though at the same time she and Lyra smiled, as they were more than happy to assist the Nightborne that were helping them and Thalyssra, "so it is only natural for us to return the favor."

"Speaking of my mistress, I was meant to meet the two of you and Margaux here so I could escort you from the Vineyard." Sylverin commented, though at the same time his tone told Lyra and Trixie that something terrible might have happened, despite the fact that their friend was pacing for a few seconds, "My mistress Margaux is never late. I fear that something terrible may have happened. Please find her and make sure she is well."

"It will be done," Lyra said, to which the two of them walked back out of the building they were in and started looking for signs of where Margaux could have wandered off to, because now it appeared that they wouldn't be able to leave the Twilight Vineyard until they found Sylverin's mistress.

As they walked outside, however, they heard an elf that had some authority shout out to his soldiers to 'seize her', to which they turned to the right and noticed a barrier sprung up around a number of armed soldiers, an elf they assumed was an overseer, and a terrified Marguax. Lyra and Trixie got as close as they dared so they could listen in on what was being said, though they both had the feeling that something terrible was going to befall the mistress of the Vineyards, and directly affect everyone else in the area.

"By order of the Grand Magistrix, you are hereby charged with sedition." the overseer said, though at the same time he stared at Margaux, as if he was above the law and could do whatever he wanted without consequence, which annoyed both Lyra and Trixie, "You undermine my authority and must pay the price."

"I did what I thought was..." Margaux started to say, but before she could finish her statement the overseer pointed at her and she immediately stopped talking, which meant that something terrible was coming.

"I will hear no more." the overseer snapped, to which his guards tensed for a few seconds, confirming Lyra's suspicions that they were eager to do whatever their master told them to do, "The sentence is death. Proceed."

The mages that were standing around the overseer held their hands up for a few seconds and blasted Margaux at the same time, though the amount of pain they inflicted on the poor mistress of the Twilight Vineyards caused her to collapse on the ground in a heap... one that Lyra could tell meant that she was dead.

"Bring the Vineyards to heel!" the overseer ordered, to which the soldiers that were around him saluted him for a few seconds, though not once did he look at the corpse that had been Margaux, "I will tolerate no more insubordination."

As the overseer walked away from the area he had been standing in, where the barrier came down the instant Margaux was dead, Lyra and Trixie returned to the building that Sylverin was standing in and gave him the bad news, while at the same time trying to contain their anger.

"Margaux... no!" Sylverin said, though at the same time Lyra and Trixie could tell that his face was full of rage, as they were feeling the same thing at the moment, "How could they? Margaux did everything they asked of her and more! The Arcwine never stopped flowing despite everything they did to us! To her! Such injustice cannot stand. We must take vengeance for Margaux."

"Oh, I fully intent to avenge Margaux..." Lyra commented, though at the same time she pulled her mask off and dispelled her disguise, before she closed her eyes and focused on the power that she had buried since her battle with Maiev a week ago.

Trixie watched as Lyra's eyes were consumed by the dark mist that came with someone using Dark Magic, something that Lyra seemed to be well versed in despite the fact that she couldn't have known about that type of foul magic, but this time she was willing to let this action slide. Lyra then walked outside the building and found that the soldiers that had been involved with Margaux's death were still gathered around her body, no doubt dividing up who was taking which part of the Vineyards, to which she growled and approached them. As they shouted out that an intruder was in the area Lyra charged at them and cut into one of the soldiers, though at the same time the Dark Magic wrapped around where the soldiers were standing and prevented them from getting too far from where Lyra was standing.

After Lyra engaged the soldiers Trixie watched as her companion became a rage fueled beast, as she hacked, slashed, and blasted her enemies with everything in her arsenal, displaying the amount of pure rage that she was feeling over the death of someone that was allied with them. Even Sylverin watched the one sided fight with some interest, as he had never seen Dark Magic in use before, and knew nothing about it, but his interest was peaked when Lyra tossed the warglaive in her right hand into the air and slammed her hand on the ground. That was followed by small crystal spires erupting from the earth and penetrated each and every enemy that was around her, to which she collected her weapon as it came back down towards her.

Trixie waited for Lyra to calm down, which took some time considering that the overseer must have heard the noise and sent more soldiers, or maybe they came on their own, but after ten minutes of cutting down the soldiers that were coming at her Lyra finally relaxed and staggered as she sent the Dark Magic away... confirming Trixie's suspicions that being a novice to that type of magic left one weak after using it. Once Lyra returned to her side, and Trixie was sure that the soldiers had been routed, the two of them headed back to the portal she opened a few minutes and and teleported back to Shal'Aran, where they made their way to Thalyssra to give her the bad news... and drop of the mana wyrms that Farodin apparently needed for the Arcan'dor.

Thalyssra, as well as everyone else that stood around them at the moment, were speechless as Lyra and Trixie recounted what happened at the Twilight Vineyards... though at the same time the duo noticed that the First Arcanist knew exactly who the vile overseer was.

"This is just... unspeakable." Thalyssra said, though at the same time she growled as the heroes that stood around them nodded their heads in agreement, telling Lyra that while the Alliance and the Horde might not like each other there were some bits of common ground that they both agreed on, "Margaux risked everything to get these mana wyrms to us. I cannot let it end this way. I need you to find someone who can make this right. Someone who will do whatever it takes to see Overseer Durant slain. Speak with Vanthir. I am certain he will know exactly who we need."

Lyra grinned at the thought of seeing Overseer Durant lying dead on the ground, as she would make sure that he paid for what he had done this day... and she was sure that whoever joined them would feel the same way once they told them what happened in the Twilight Vineyards.