World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind

by Blackdrag-rose

Suramar: Life for a Life

Lyra and Trixie spent a few minutes relaxing in Shal'Aran, trying to cool their emotions after having watched Margaux be executed by Overseer Durant and his thugs, while at the same time knowing that their allies inside the city would have a way or two to find where the elf was located. Trixie was still concerned for Lyra's sake, because while the use of Dark Magic didn't seem to have any negative effects on her, which might be because of her skill in keeping her demonic energies under control, she still worried about her. Sure, Lyra had never fought anything that was on the scale of what she had fought over the years and hadn't learned to truly master her being, but at the same time Lyra showed that she was strong and that her will was not so easily broken... though there were times where she cracked and started slaughtering her enemies, like back at the Vineyards.

When something like that happened Trixie didn't know if it was her friend fighting the group of enemies that wanted them dead, or if it was the darker side of Lyra that wanted to burn everything to the ground... which was why she insisted on keeping an eye on her, because she didn't want anything bad to happen to Lyra while they were trying to save Azeroth from the Legion.

Eventually Lyra grew tired of waiting and headed back over to the portal chamber, where she and Trixie teleported back to the Waning Crescent and donned their masks before anyone noticed the difference, before they walked away from where the portal to Shal'Aran was located and acted like they belonged in the city once more. It didn't take them long to find Vanthir standing in the same area that he had been in when they first visited the Waning Crescent, though at the same time the elf made sure that they were in a safe area to talk before he started speaking.

"The two of you need to steel yourselves." Vanthir said, though while he currently sounded indifferent to what they, and some of their allies back in Shal'Aran, were feeling, Lyra and Trixie knew that he had something of importance to tell them, "Margaux's loss is regrettable, but not likely to be the last in this effort. Far from it, I fear."

"Then tell us what we need to do in order to avenge her death," Trixie replied, because at the moment Lyra was more annoyed and was currently looking out for enemies that might be looking to kill someone in the Waning Crescent.

"I was fond of Margaux. News of her death weighs heavily on many of us." Vanthir stated, though that was followed by him shaking his head sadly for a few seconds, before he stopped and looked at the two of them, "If we are to carry on, we need to send a strong message. We need those like Durant to know that we are watching, and we will hold them accountable. I know someone who could help us. His name is Arluin. To call him a reluctant ally would be generously overstating it. He is cautious, and will not risk himself without compensation. You can find him in the alleys north of the Evermoon Bazaar."

Once the area that Arluin was located in was marked on their map, and Vanthir went back to his normal business like they had never been there, Lyra and Trixie followed the map as they made their way through the city, while at the same time avoiding the guards like they usually did. They eventually found the elf that they were looking for, who looked like the Nightborne version of a rogue, standing outside one of the buildings and was intentionally keeping himself away from prying eyes and eavesdroppers. When the two of them approached him, however, they already knew that they were going to have a hard time getting his help in avenging Margaux, but there was something and the only way they were going to find that would was if they walked with him.

"Mind your wandering eyes, strangers." Arluin said, though at the same time he kept his voice low, which allowed the two of them to hear him while keeping it soft enough to avoid someone from hearing something that they shouldn't, but he simply raised an eyebrow as Trixie started to pull out the coin once more, which he carefully motioned for her to put it away, "Cute. Are you trying to get all three of us killed?"

"No, though it worked well enough in the past," Trixie admitted, though while she and Lyra drew closer to the elf they knew that they had to be quick about this, "and now we have learned our lesson... besides, we need your help in aveng..."

"I will help you," Arluin stated, cutting Trixie off before she could even finish speaking, which meant that he was still trying to protect himself at the moment, "but first I need you to do something for me."

"Very well, name your price," Lyra stated, as she was more used to offering something for something else, though at the same time they had to be careful that he didn't ask for something that was beyond what they could give him.

"Unless you have something worth risking my life for, I will not budge." Arluin commented, though his tone suggested that he was only in this for himself, which meant that if he asked for a lot of Arcwine or mana crystals he'd keep all of them and share them with no one else, "Vanthir must have told you that my services do not come cheap. Let's say... enough mana to sustain me for a month."

Lyra absolutely hated the fact that Arluin dared to wear a smug expression on his face, as if he believed that neither of them would agree to his request, but in the end Trixie surprised him a tiny bit by saying that it should be easy to get that sort of payment arranged. She then departed for Shal'Aran, as she knew that their comrades inside the hidden cave would have found a decent enough supply of mana crystals, so much so that a month's supply of mana wouldn't even put a dent in their reserves. Lyra remained behind and kept an eye on Arluin, because she didn't want him disappearing on them when they had need of his services, though the elf didn't appear to be in a rush to leave... rather he appeared to be waiting so he could see whether or not Trixie could even come up with the amount of mana he demanded.

If it wasn't for the fact that this guy was supposed to be on their side, and that they actually needed his assistance in finding Durant so they could kill him, Lyra would have gladly gutted the selfish elf herself and made sure he died a painful death on the streets... but she remained silent as Trixie came back and deposited a crate to Arluin's right.

"Glad to know you understand the value of my services, partner." Arluin stated, though if he was surprised by what he saw he wasn't showing it, to which he turned his attention towards the duo again and continued speaking, "I'm not rich in anything but information, but maybe that can be of use to someone with your skills. You helped me, now you can help yourself. The Magistrix receives a daily shipment of Arcwine, which travels to the palace with a heavy escort. I can share the location, provided you leave me a cut of the goods. One of my men has infiltrated the group and will hold up the delivery long enough for you to strike."

"Okay, that doesn't sound too hard," Lyra said, though she was already growing sick and tired of this elf, because he was making demands without giving her and Trixie anything to go on for Durant, which was the main reason they came to him in the first place, "though I take it that there's a second task you would like us to do at the same time?"

"With the demons and guards so agitated, I'm running out of safe places to store contraband." Arluin admitted, though he didn't sound like he was worried, which told Lyra and Trixie that he had a lot of safe places and was working them for all they were worth before giving them what they wanted, "The guards have caught on to one of my favorite havens and will be making off with my goods any minute now. Head to my stash and discourage their curiosity. You will need to use a grappling hook to access it... just look for something to latch onto along the ledge. I will make sure there is something in it for you when you are done."

Lyra had absolutely no idea where she and Trixie were going to find a grappling hook in Suramar City, as sure was sure that something like that would have the guards running around in an attempt to arrest or execute whoever was using the device. Instead of worrying about that the duo returned to the Waning Crescent and used the portal to access the one that was in Ly'leth's place, where they began the journey back towards the Twilight Vineyards, as they were sure that the other side would be a death trap waiting to happen. When they finally found the Arcwine carriers they discovered which of the four workers was Arluin's plant while the other three were worried for their lives, as one of the three guards was threatening to kill all of them because of an accident that occurred earlier.

Thanks to the fact that the group was a far enough distance from where the entrance of the Vineyards was located, Lyra and Trixie were able to remove their disguises and attack them without additional guards coming to attack them, while in the process scaring off the workers and claiming all of the casks. They all bared the markings of a thousand year old wine, which meant that it had to really be good if Elisande wanted it daily, though since Arluin appeared to only want one of them they both decided to give him just one cask... leaving the other six for Thalyssra and the other elves that called Shal'Aran home at the moment. The two of them headed back towards Ly'leth's place and used the portal to head back to their base, where they dropped off the casks in question, before returning to the city and began to wonder how they were going to get down to where Arluin's hiding place was... though that was before Lyra flexed her demon wings out of their hiding spot and grinned.

Trixie smiled as she did the same thing, to which the two of them jumped off the edge that was near Ly'leth's place and glided down to the area that Arluin had put on their map, where his hiding place was supposed to be... which happened to be near the area where they saved all those children a few days ago, though now an Auditor and her guards were up on the roof, tearing Arluin's stash apart.

Lyra took the fun route and glided right into the opening in front of her, where she slammed the base of one of her Twinblades into the face of the female Auditor and knocked her to the floor, though while her guards turned towards where she was standing Trixie landed behind them and started throwing spells at their backsides. Lyra had to admit that it was great to fight along side someone that could glide with a pair of wings as well, as before hand they had no idea Trixie could even do this and she was learning more about her new form with every passing day. Once the deed was done, and the Auditor and her guards had been taken care of, the two of them donned their masks and put on the illusions once more, to which they moved out and headed back towards where they had seen Arluin last.

Sure enough the elf was still standing in the same area that he had been in when they first found him, though this time around they wondered if he knew that they were going to succeed in their missions thanks to the fact that Trixie brought him what he asked for... and this time they had good news to bring him, as well as a gift.

"The two of you are becoming quite useful to me." Arluin stated, though while it was clear that his tone remained neutral they had to wonder if he was actually happy or if he was still playing them, "While you were out, I asked around. You are looking for Overseer Durant. Turns out he lives near the Shimmershade Garden. I can help you confront him, but you will need help. There are three individuals with the necessary skills, and they serve our cause. Tell Cyrille that the owl hoots at dusk. Inform Lorin that the saber prowls the plaza. Mention to Sylessa that the cruel caskmaster has breathed his last. They will know what to do. Speak to Vanthir when the deed is done."

As it turned out all they had to do was head north a little more to find where Lorin was standing, though since he happened to have a few guards standing near him that meant that Lyra and Trixie were in for a fight just so they could talk with him for a few seconds. Fortunately the duo proved to be more than the Nightborne guards could handle and they were able to talk with Lorin in no time, where he immediately understood the phrase Trixie told him before he walked away from the area he had been in. From there the duo turned back towards the bazaar area and found Syleesa sitting near the canal that separated the bazaar from the Waning Crescent, though she also understood the statement that they were supposed to tell her. Even Cyrille, who was only a minute or two from where Syleesa was sitting, understood and departed from where she was standing... to which Lyra and Trixie made their way towards Shimmershade Garden, where they would find Durant and bring an end to his life.

When they returned to the garden area, which they passed through earlier, they found the house that Durant was standing in, completely minding his own business, to which the two of them removed their masks as they crossed the threshold of the building and assaulted him. As the battle started, however, the three elves that they had been told to seek out invaded the house as well and attacked the horrible overseer as well, declaring that since he sealed the fate of Margaux he had also sealed his own fate. Lyra was pleased to have allies inside the city, ones that were willing to avenge injustices like this, though as they cut him down, and he declared the three elves traitors, two things happened; Lyra condemned Durant's soul to the Twinblades and Cyrille placed a Dusk Lily on the elf's body... which would tell everyone that someone was watching and waiting to dispense justice.

With the deed done the trio of elves departed from the house and headed in different directions, before Lyra and Trixie donned their masks and headed back towards Vanthir's location, as he would want to know the news before they started planning the next part of their rebellion.

"They will not so easily dismiss the Dusk Lily now. Well done." Vanthir said, to which a smile appeared on his face for a few moments, as if he was actually pleased with what they had done, before he became that much more serious, "There will be consequences for what has transpired this day. For now, you should return to Thalyssra. Tell her that we have avenged Margaux and that the Dusk Lily has announced itself to all of Suramar. There will be many more deaths before this is over, rest assured, but this is a death that will teach others like Durant to tread more carefully in the future."

Lyra and Trixie nodded, as they were pleased with their progress and could rest with some ease, before they headed back to the portal that was waiting nearby and teleported back to Shal'Aran, where the heroes that were there welcomed them back as they walked over to Thalyssra and told her the good news.

"It is a relief, if a small one." Thalyssra said, to which she let out a sigh of relief, which was echoed by all of their allies that heard the news, "You both have done well... though you should rest for now, because I'm afraid that the next time you are called upon will be even rougher than what you just went through."

Lyra hoped that the next thing she and Trixie had to do was break into a dungeon and assault Elisande, or do something besides run around the city and cause minor chaos... otherwise this rebellion was going to take a long time and Gul'dan was going to get away with whatever he was planning. She guessed only time would tell what Thalyssra needed them to do next, though it would give them time to see what their enemy's retaliation to Durant's death was.