An Open Discussion

Previously: The Purging of the Sha

Akabeko gasped, coming awake as if thrown into an icy lake. She sat up, weakly pushing the blankets away and swinging her feet down to the floor. She was breathing heavily, skin tingling with electricity under her unwashed fur. The tingling crept down to her hooves, filled her fingertips, enveloped her scalp and filled her with vitality. She pressed a hand over her racing heart, feeling light, practically giddy. In spirit, at any rate; her body had been greatly weakened by her long illness.

Taking stock of her physical state and slowly catching her breath, Akabeko eventually became aware of Fu, who had been barking and leaping around her feet for some time.

She reached down to pet him, but he could barely hold still for his excitement. "All right, all right," she said in mock-exasperation, surprised at how hoarse her voice was.

Footsteps thundered up the steps, announcing the arrival of Weipon and Hadakha moments before they burst into the room.

"Aka?" Wei asked hesitantly, eyes locked on the tauren. She stepped over what appeared to be sha residue staining the floor.

"Right here," Akabeko replied, glancing between the pandaren and the other tauren. "When did Had get here?"

Before Weipon could answer, Hadakha stepped towards Akabeko. "Earlier today," he replied brusquely, peering at her with a healer's keen eye. Akabeko could feel the comforting warmth of his spells even as she saw the telltale glow appear around his hands.

Weipon knelt beside her, staying far enough away to give her space. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," Akabeko replied. "And sort of...forgetful. What happened?"

"You were possessed by a sha," Weipon said quietly. "We pulled it out of you and defeated it just now, along with the sha that were in the rest of the villagers."

Akabeko rubbed her forehead, feeling the gnawing hunger in her stomach sharpen. "In me and in the villagers? How long have we been here?"

"I'll bring you something to eat," Hadakha announced, heading to the common room.

Weipon inched closer. "We've been here for nearly a week, but you haven't been out of bed since the first day. I thought you were sick, but rest and medicine didn't seem to work. When we confirmed that the other pandaren were infected by the sha, we decided to use the same treatment you, and... Well, it worked. What can you remember?"

Akabeko thought. "I mostly remember traveling here. I remember arriving at the inn, and feeling like I had no control of my thoughts. They wouldn't stop coming back to..." She stopped, interrupted by Hadakha's reappearance. He handed her a steaming bowl of stew and a fragrant hunk of fresh bread, and she wasted no time.

Her hands shook with weakness while she ate as fast as possible. She knew that both Weipon and Hadakha were watching her intently, but couldn't bring herself to care. The need to eat was enough to keep her mind clear of memories of the previous week, which she knew she would eventually have to consider.

When Akabeko had finished eating, Hadakha collected her dish in exchange for a cup of tea. "I need to bathe," she admitted guiltily, hoping that her stench wasn't too overwhelming. She made to stand, but found that simple motion to be too much, and had to lean against the wall until the spots in her vision cleared.

"I'll change the bedding," Weipon offered, carefully not mentioning the druid's feebleness.

"I will bring you more food," Hadakha added.

Akabeko slowly made her way to the bathroom and washed, pausing periodically to rest her shaking arms. She relished the eternally-hot bathwater, letting it leech away the constant chill that the dreary clouds and rain had induced. When she emerged, less pungent but no more energetic, she found that her filthy pajamas had been spirited away, likely as part of Weipon's laundry endeavors.

When she returned to the room, she found Weipon fluffing the pillow on her freshly-made bed, and a still-warm bowl of stew on the nightstand. Gratefully, wearily, Akabeko sat and ate again while Weipon politely tried to act as if she weren't watching the tauren extra-carefully. Hadakha was nowhere to be seen.

Weipon took Akabeko's dish, tidying up the room while the druid settled herself into her pillows, too exhausted to be active for more than short bursts.

"I know you said I've just been sleeping for the past week, but I'm afraid I might fall asleep again," Akabeko said apologetically.

The monk set down the items she had been sorting, ignoring her cleaning in favor of talking to her friend. "At least now that the sha is gone, you'll start to get better."

Akabeko nodded. "I do feel better already. Before, I couldn't stop thinking about sad things, things that I had lost..." She yawned. "I was stuck in this repeating nightmare, reliving it..." Her eyes slipped closed.

"What things did you lose?" Weipon ventured, just barely audible as Akabeko sank into sleep.

"My chieftain. My friend. And then... myself," Akabeko murmured. She slept.

When Akabeko woke, she heard Weipon and Hadakha speaking Pandaren quietly nearby. She shifted, alerting them to her waking, and the voices stopped. She pushed herself into a sitting position, stomach grumbling.

"Hungry?" Weipon asked, already standing.

"Yes; thank you," Akabeko said sheepishly. When Weipon had gone, she looked at Hadakha. "How long was I out this time?" she asked in Taurahe.

"Just under two hours," he replied. "We went to look in on the other villagers. The ones who recovered more quickly are caring for those who still need it. No one was quite as bad off as you," he added pointedly, looking at her.

Akabeko raised an eyebrow. "I suppose that's what happens when you spend most of your adult life involved in some war or another."

Weipon returned, handing Akabeko her meal, and the atmosphere became instantly businesslike.

"As soon as Aka gets her strength back, we can press on to the Temple of the Red Crane," Weipon said eagerly, looking to Hadakha for confirmation.

The tauren shook his head. "No, no. We can't go there."

Akabeko frowned, looking between him and the monk.

"Why not? Even if they can't come to us, we should still go to them. The Jade Serpent commanded it!" Weipon responded, sounding surprised. Akabeko was similarly confused. Why wouldn't the monks be able to come to them?

Hadakha shook his head again. "There is no 'they.' The Temple is lost. There is nothing there for us."

Before Akabeko could speak, Weipon jumped in. "If it is lost, then we must go help to reclaim it! The Jade Serpent would not direct us there if there were not a good reason to go!"

"The Jade Serpent may not know," Hadakha replied evenly. "Did she know about this?" He raised his hands, gesturing around them.

"She did tell us to come through this town," Weipon said resolutely. "She must have thought something was happening, even if she didn't know the specifics."

"Then why would she send you to a place even further gone?" Hadakha countered. "I don't like it. The Temple is extremely dangerous, and we have no help - nothing like the Jade Serpent. There are no monks to aid us, and we don't even know where the Ancient is!"

Weipon looked shocked, her voice even more agitated. "Don't know where the Ancient is? If that's the case, then we absolutely must go to the Temple to search for information! The celestials are such powerful beings... Something terrible must be at work for one to have completely disappeared."

Hadakha only sighed. "Weipon, I have been there not two days ago. Do you trust me to know when a situation is hopeless? Because that is what I saw: a hopeless situation."

"I do trust you, but..." Weipon shook her head in frustration. "What the Jade Serpent told us... why would she mislead us?"

Hadakha leaned back, shrugging. "I can't say. We know very little of the politics, the people, the history of this land. Who knows what her reasons were? I spoke to her myself, and I don't believe she is evil, but... Beings that old, that powerful, can they really see us as more than game pieces?"

"My people were once part of this land, and I have grown up with legends of the four ageless celestials. I know they cannot be evil," Weipon shot back, eager to defend the Jade Serpent. "But, if what you say is true... perhaps they are not as all-knowing as I once believed."

"Well, regardless of whether they are all-knowing or not, what will happen if we try to reclaim the Temple directly is, to be blunt, our deaths and nothing more. There may be clues to be found there, but I believe it is too dangerous to attempt at this time." Pressing his argument, Hadakha finished with, "Especially with Akabeko in such weak condition."

Akabeko wrestled back her annoyance at being called weak so directly and carefully set her empty bowl down.

Weipon noticed this, glanced at the tauren's studiously neutral expression, and responded. "Setting aside the fact that if we do not continue to the Temple of the Red Crane, we will be directly disobeying an august celestial... If we don't go there, where will we go? Akabeko is in need of great healing, but I am hesitant to keep her here when this place was the cause of her trouble."

"Exactly!" Hadakha leaned forward. "The Jade Serpent is the one who sent her here, and look at what happened! I know you did well against the sha here, but think about what it would be like to face many times that number. I don't think you understand the stakes here, Weipon." Hadakha continued, either unaware of or intentionally ignoring Akabeko's mounting annoyance. "I don't know where we should go, but we can decide that while we are waiting for Akabeko to recover."

Weipon didn't understand the stakes? She had no idea what it was like to fight hordes of enemies? Akabeko's lips pressed together.

Weipon stood and began to pace. "So we will wait here until Aka is recovered, and then what?" She shot a challenging look at Hadakha. "Will you wait with us? Will you be traveling with us now?"

Hadakha sat back, frowning. "I... was planning to continue on to the Temple of the Red Crane."

Understandably, Weipon exploded, sputtering out, "So you're telling me that it's too dangerous for us to go to the Temple, but that's precisely what you're going to do?!" She spat something in Pandaren, which Hadakha caught. He responded, sounding equally vehement, but abruptly stopped, appearing to catch himself. This infuriated Weipon, who began to sling short, bitter questions at him.

Akabeko was also furious; her companions had been speaking as if she weren't even a part of the conversation, but now they were make it so she couldn't participate even by listening! "Orcish, please!" She shouted. "And a translation, if you will!"

Ignoring her outburst, Hadakha continued speaking directly to Weipon, although his tone was more measured now. Weipon replied, still angry, and Akabeko caught her own name being bandied about.

"What are you saying about me?!" she demanded.

Weipon switched briefly to Orcish. "So you're going to go without us?"

Akabeko sat up further. "What?"

Not looking away from Weipon, Hadakha replied quietly in Pandaren.

"What?!" Akabeko repeated.

Not hearing, Weipon asked Hadakha increasingly desperate questions, to which he replied forcefully.

Akabeko slammed her fist onto the nightstand, making the dishes jump and clatter loudly. "One of you had better tell me what is being discussed!" she roared, putting everything she had ever learned from training new recruits into her voice.

They froze, argument dying immediately. Weipon was the first to reply, looking guilty. "Hadahka is going to the Temple of the Red Crane, while forbidding us from going there ourselves."

"Well, forbid is not quite what I said-" he began, but Akabeko interrupted him.

"Had, I do not take orders from you." Satisfied by his silence, if not his surly expression, she glanced at Weipon. "Frankly, I'm not sure that I take orders from celestial beings, no matter how august. But that is where the Jade Serpent directed us to go." She settled back painfully, tired from her exertion. "So you can go wherever you like, but know that once I am able to travel, I will decide where I go."

Weipon grinned triumphantly.

"You can wipe that smirk off your face," Hadakha said coolly, glaring at both women. "This isn't over yet." He turned to Akabeko. "So you're determined to follow through with this?"

Akabeko nodded. "Assuming we don't get some panicked Horde missive, I'm willing to investigate the sha presence at the Temple of the Red Crane as requested."

Hadakha closed his eyes and massaged his forehead in frustration. "...Fine. All right, how about this, since you don't believe me. You'll need a few more days to recover your strength before you can travel, correct?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "Right."

"And if I can convince Weipon to give up on this mad journey, will you agree to give it up too?" he pressed.

Akabeko looked at Weipon, who appeared skeptical. "Assuming we can find a worthwhile substitute," she allowed. Weipon frowned.

"Right." Hadakha stood decisively and pointed at Weipon. "Pack enough for a four-day journey. You wanted to go there? Well, now you are." He stomped out of the room.

Akabeko exchanged a surprised glance with Weipon, which Weipon broke by rushing to her bag and beginning to repack it.

"Well then," Weipon said lightly, bundling provisions into her pack while Fu scampered around her things. She scooted him out of the way to grab her waterskin. "I'll tell the innkeeper to look in on you, and see if a healer in the village can come to see you as well." Preparations made, she stood, wanting to hurry Hadakha before he had time to change his mind.

"I trust you, and I trust Had, but be careful out there," Akabeko said seriously.

Weipon nodded. "Of course. We'll be back before you know it, and then we can go there together!"

Akabeko watched the pandaren rush eagerly out the door, hoping that the unpleasant sensation in her gut was merely hunger and not foreboding.

A Winter Veil Warble

In a fit of creativity I decided to try my hand at something different - namely, fanfic written not about original characters but rather well-known names in the Wowverse. My references for this piece can be found at Gallywix's character piece and the original A Christmas Carol. It is very long, though not as long as the original, so I've hidden most of it behind a cut.

***

Through a series of unfortunate events, all of them accidental and decidedly unorchestrated by any conniving individual, former Trade Prince Maldy was dead. He had been dead for some time now, having met his regretable and completely unintentional demise shortly after being banished from Kezan. Trade Prince Gallywix knew this to be fact; he had the documents confirming, that is, announcing the sad news. He had the unmarked boxes, each packed with explosives, from Maldy's daughter; one for every year that had passed since Maldy's death. And most obviously, most importantly, Gallywix had the title of Trade Prince, the very same one he had worked from Maldy's incompetent fingers.

It was the eve of the Feast of Winter Veil, and Gallywix was in his typical place for any evening - that is to say, he was in his office, at his desk, poring over profit reports while his Number One, Mida Silvertongue, worked diligently beside him. The door opened, which was unusual because Gallywix had specifically given his guards authorization to shoot any interruptions, and besides, all of his booby traps were on hair triggers. If someone had made it past all that, it had to be...

"Happy Winter Veil, son! I got what you need!" Luzik Gallywix waltzed into the office, deftly side-stepping the obvious snake pit and two better-concealed spike traps. He was carrying what appeared to be a brightly-wrapped present. It ticked conspicuously.

"Bah!" said Gallywix. "Ripoff!"

"Winter Veil a ripoff, my boy?" said Luzik. "When I went through the trouble of inventing this just for you? I don't understand why you won't include it in your product line!"

"And I don't understand why you are wasting my valuable time with this. I told you that R&D declared explosive pool ponies unprofitable weeks ago. It would be a ripoff for me to produce your invention. And not the good kind! The kind that rips me off!" He looked at Mida for backup, but she studiously kept her eyes on her work.

"Come now, sonny, don't get mad."

"What else can I be when I'm surrounded by idiots?" Gallywix did not notice his companion's eyes flick towards him. "Happy Winter Veil! What good is it? What's the Feast but a time to throw gold away on gifts and food, to stuff yourself so senseless that you can't balance your own books, to go chasing across Azeroth after some reindeer when you could be drumming up new trade agreements? If I had my way, every moron who goes around saying 'Happy Winter Veil' would have their pockets turned out and their lives indentured to my mines." He glared at his father. "You spend Winter Veil pissing coin away, and I'll spend it making sales."

"Sales of everything but my invention!" Luzik shot back. "What is Winter Veil if not a time for impulse buys? People are so excited about food and fun that they can be more easily talked into purchases they are unsure about!"

Gallywix noticed Mida watching Luzik thoughtfully and frowned at her. "Oh no, don't let this guy give you any ideas. We are not marketing the exploding pool pony. And you," he rounded on Luzik. "I want you out of here before I call security. The ones with battle boars."

"At least come over and have a look at the blueprints!" Luzik protested, backing towards the door.

"As if I could spare the time," Gallywix snarled. "Time is money."

"I could develop something more marketable!"

"Time is money!"

"At least accept this as a Winter Veil gift from a father to his son?" Luzik held out the package, which no doubt also contained documents on construction, pricing, and billing.

"Time is money!" Gallywix concluded, slamming the office door in his father's pleading face. He stalked to the window, where Azshara, serene and chill under a faint layer of frost, stretched out before his stone visage. Behind him, he heard the clock chime and Mida begin to collect her things. He paid her until five, and she was finished working when the clock ticked over.

He turned towards her. "I suppose you'll want all day tomorrow."

She shrugged on her coat, a gaudy, leathery tribute to fashion. "Yeah. It's in my contract, after all."

Gallywix snorted. "So it is, although I don't know why I agreed to a full day's wages and no work out of it."

"Because I'm the best, and I'm worth every penny," Mida replied airily, letting herself out.

Damn her for being right. "Be early the next day!" he shouted after her.

The Purging of the Sha

Previously: The Masks

Wei grinned at Hadakha, feeling lighter. "Ken-Ken told me that you went to the...the Red Bird Temple," she told him, awkwardly translating into Orcish. "When are the monks coming?"

Hadakha's face pulled into a deep scowl, and Weipon was so shocked at the fluent Pandaren that came out of his mouth that she almost missed the actual words. "There will be no help from the temple."

"Senpai!" Ken-Ken joined in. He rushed to the tauren's side. "No help from temple? Why not? Monks can't be that busy, only burning incense and praying every day."

The druid shook his head sharply, cutting off any further questions. "No one is coming to help." He took in the sight of Weipon and Ken-Ken, covered in gore, and Mei as she tidied up after them. "It seems you have begun without me. Let's finish this."

Rather than split up, they decided to take on the sha together, decreasing the amount of time it took to defeat them and saving them from having to spend more time in contact with the vile creatures. It also allowed Mei to follow them, ushering disoriented, weakened pandaren safely into their homes to rest.

They returned to the place where Weipon had gotten the medicine for Akabeko. The healer inside had moved from her perch behind the counter to an upholstered chair by one of the windows. Weipon brought a mask to her, moving slowly and deliberately with it, but the woman didn't take her gaze from the gray morning light outside.

The mask worked immediately on her, and Hadakha drew the newly formed sha to him with a flash of moonfire, waiting to shift into his feline form until they were free of the cramped space. The pandaren slumped against the chair, looking deathly still, and Weipon motioned for Mei to hurry even as she chased the sha outside. As the trio toppled the monster, Mei rushed to the door, giving Weipon a tortured look.

"She's barely there," she cried. "I can hardly feel a pulse, and her breathing is weak!"

Hadakha quickly shifted back into his tauren shape and strode into the building, incandescent leaves already coalescing around his hands. He gestured once, twice, then nodded in satisfaction, leaving Mei to stand gaping at the rapidly recovering pandaren.

The finally reached Mei's home, and finally some impatience showed through her cooperative veneer. "He's just in his room, laying around," she said, directing them to where Yi-mo was sprawled, lamenting his existence. Without asking, Mei grabbed a mask and held it to her nephew's face, whispering words of comfort.

Yi-mo cried out, batting ineffectually at Mei's hands, but the mask was already taking effect. The sha slipped from him, more wily and energetic than the others had been, and darted deeper into the house. Weipon leaped after it, accidentally upending a decorative lamp in her haste. She landed firmly on top of the sha, feet sliding wetly across its writhing flesh, and began to punch down. When it had stopped moving, she grabbed fistfuls of its oozing, greasy mass and hauled it matter-of-factly outside, where she threw it on the ground in the street. Ken-Ken immediately set upon the stunned sha, followed by Hadakha roaring and charging into the fray.

"What is that...?" 

Weipon turned and was shocked to see Yi-mo standing in the doorway with Mei, staring in horror down at the gore left behind by the defeated sha. He looked completely different, now that he was back to himself. 

Mei answered for them. "It's the same thing that's taken hold of the rest of the village. It made everyone want to lay around and wait for death. Even you tried to..." She stopped and shook her head.

Yi-mo frowned. "I don't remember much of what happened. How long was I under its control for?"

Mei continued to explain, but Hadakha turned to Ken-Ken and Weipon and spoke quietly. "Those sha are draining my strength every time we fight one. I'm guessing it's the same for you two as well, eh?"

Weipon nodded in agreement. They had been fighting for hours, and she was not only physically tired, but also mentally drained from the effects of the energy-sucking sha. She was all too eager to to take a break and wait for her good humor to return. “Let's take some time to get our strength back. Why don't we split up and check the town for any other sha-influenced pandaren we might have missed? We can meet back at the inn, get something to eat, and then take care of whoever is left."

Both of her companions nodded wearily. They left Mei to take care of Yi-mo and split up. Weipon had grabbed one of the mask bags, not wanting any of the remaining pandaren to find it and use it without any of them around to help. She could feel the few remaining masks bumping against her hip as she walked. Considering how few were left, she didn't imagine that there were many afflicted pandaren still waiting for their help. 

There was, however, one other person Weipon knew they would have to test a mask on. Her heart sank and her footsteps dragged as she weaved her way down the streets of the village, looking for possible sha-controlled pandaren on her way to the inn. Finally, having seen no neglected pandaren on her way, she found herself in the doorway of the inn. Barely glancing at the innkeeper, she trudged up the stairs to her room, hand hesitating on the doorknob. 

Once she opened the door, Weipon was assaulted by the stench of rot. She recoiled, gagging, and looked down as Fu darted out of the room, only to hover near the doorway, barking frantically. Weipon quickly shut the door, and Fu began to scratch at it from the outside.

Hands shaking, Weipon backed away, retreating down the hall and standing near a window to soak in the weak light. She couldn't seem to catch her breath. There was definitely something wrong with Akabeko, and she was completely terrified of finding out what. She should have done something, anything, before it could get to this point. She had only come here because Akabeko was guiding her, and now she might be alone. Weipon felt disoriented, disconnected from herself. She sat down heavily, knocking the masks against the wall. Fu crept towards her, staying just out of reach. 

She pulled the bag of masks into her lap, gaze unfocused. Her hands moved of their own accord, pulling out one of them and dreamily raising it to her face. What if...

The smooth wood brushed against her fur, tickling her cheeks. She inhaled, smelling the glue and charcoal that had gone into constructing the mask, but felt no sudden pull, no desire to press the mask against her face until it sucked out the unnatural despair that might be plaguing her.

Abruptly, Weipon let the mask fall into her lap. "That's a relief," she whispered. Fu was suddenly beside her, rubbing his face against her legs until she began to pet him comfortingly. "I guess that means I can deal with this on my own," she told him, earning the first tail wag she had seen in days.

"What are you doing?" Hadakha had come up the stairs and was looking at Weipon with concern. He rushed to her side, taking the mask from her hands. "Weipon? What did you do?"

"I...I tried on one of the masks," she answered honestly, climbing shakily to her feet. Hadakha steadied her, peering into her face inquisitively. "Nothing happened," she clarified.

"You find any more sad pandas, Weipon?" Ken-Ken asked, joining them in the hallway. "Ken-Ken find one sleeping outside in bushes, but Senpai helped take care of him."

"I didn't see anyone else...on the way here, anyway."

Hadakha looked sharply at her. "What do you mean by that?"

Weipon sighed. "I think Akabeko is also afflicted by a sha. The way she's been behaving...if it's not a sha, then I don't have any idea how to help her."

She brought them to her room and pushed open the door. Hadakha wrinkled his nose and immediately instructed Ken-Ken to go downstairs and warn the innkeeper. Fu danced around in agitation, staying barely clear of being underfoot. Hadakha looked at Weipon, noticing her hesitation, and held out his hand.

"Would you like me to do it?” He asked gently. Weipon silently handed him a mask, stepping back in preparation of dragging the sha outside and into the street.

Hadakha stepped over to where Akabeko was laying, completely still, and pressed the mask to her face.

She let out a sound somewhere between a scream and a sob, jerking away from Hadakha, but the mask had already affixed itself to her and was gushing black smoke. For the first time, Hadakha seemed surprised, and stepped away from the bed, hands unconsciously curling into claws. Smoke continued to pour from the mask, filling the room and forcing Hadakha to retreat into the hallway with Weipon. Finally, it began to coalesce, white-hot eyes winking into existence above even the tauren's head.

The sha was so large that it completely filled the room. Hadakha blasted it with a flash of moonfire to get its attention, then followed Weipon down the stairs. She moved quickly, looking over her shoulder in order to watch the sha ooze its ungainly body out through the tiny door. Its shadow flesh stretched and squeezed itself through the doorway, looking briefly rectangular before it reformed into its typical shape. Sure that they had its full attention, Weipon turned and ran, leading the sha through the common room and out of the inn's door. She ignored the innkeeper's shout of surprise as the sha oozed its way through the inn, leaving behind a foul-smelling trail of slime.

Just as Weipon was reaching the base of the stairs leading to the inn, the sha lashed out, catching her leg and dropping her to her knees. Even with that small touch, she felt an overwhelming grief, and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. Gasping, she regained her footing and ran to join Ken-Ken, who was watching this extremely large sha with apprehension.

Acting quickly Hadakha pinned it in place with grasping thorns, summoned from the ground, and Weipon flicked a bolt of lightning at it, hoping to shock it. Ken-Ken darted in below its questing arms to attack from the rear. With Hadakha's providing cover with bolts of energy, Weipon faced the sha head-on, pummeling at its putrid flesh and trying to ignore the all-consuming sadness it forced upon her.

Distantly, Weipon could hear Ken-Ken openly sobbing.

"Why sha gotta make Ken-Ken so sad? Now we all outta funny hozen masks; how Ken-Ken gonna laugh again?"

Weipon choked out a laugh, feeling an almost hysterical grin spread across her face even as her eyes streamed with tears. She felt the featherlight, warm touch of Hadakha's healing magic repairing a wound she hadn't even noticed, knitting the flesh on her arm back together neatly. Her legs felt unsteady, almost unable to hold her under the weight of the despair.

There was the sudden pop of splitting wood, and then Weipon found herself joined by three strange treelike creatures. They tore into the sha, grunting aggressively even as the sha's corrosive flesh burned and warped their seeking fists. 

"Get out of there!" Hadakha called, and Weipon was only too happy to obey. She stumbled away, trying to shake off the sha's effects, and resorted to kicking balls of energy at the shrieking creature. Ken-Ken, having no other ranged attacks, was throwing nearby rocks.

Hadakha's minions were consumed by the sha one by one, but at long last, it gave its dying shriek and burbled into the ground, creating a steaming, bubbling puddle that all were hesitant to step in until it subsided. They paused, catching their breath, until Weipon struggled to her feet and limped purposefully towards the inn. 

"We have to see what happened to Akabeko."

The Masks

Previously: Lost Temple

Weipon was startled out of a fitful sleep by frantic banging on the door. She disentangled herself clumsily from the sheets and stumbled to to door, only to find Mei pacing frantically on the other side. Weipon stepped outside and shut the door behind her.

"Mei, what's the matter?"

The other pandaren wasted no time. "Yi-mo's missing! I woke up this morning and he was gone. He left a note, but all it says is 'don't come after me.' Like I'm just going to let him go!"

"Oh dear. I guess now is a bad time to mention that I went down to the lake yesterday but didn't find any sha..." Weipon muttered, wiping her bleary eyes. Mei's expression fell further, and Weipon realized why she had come to the inn. "Right, give me just a moment." She gestured awkwardly to her rumpled self. "I'll go looking for him too."

Relieved, Mei nodded. "I'm going to look around on the south side of the village. The guards that actually feel like getting out of bed tend to go that way. Maybe one of them saw him..."

"Good idea," Weipon agreed. "I'll check the northern border of the town. If neither of us finds anything, I'l try looking in the woods."

Mei gulped. "I hope he didn't go into the woods..."

"I'm sure he didn't," Weipon reassured her. "We'll find him."

Weipon dressed quickly, vainly choosing dry clothes that would soon be ruined by her permanently-damp cloak. Before she left, she looked over at Akabeko to check on her.

"Aka..." she murmured, not entirely sure what to say.

The tauren looked even more wretched than she had the previous day. Weipon gritted her jaw to keep from gasping. She did let out a tiny gasp when, unexpectedly, the tauren's gaze slid to her face.

"I..." she began weakly. "I think I might be in trouble, Wei."

The monk nodded mutely, suspicions confirmed. Fu let out a plaintive whine. Weipon finally found her voice and gently placed a hand on the tauren's shoulder. "Yeah. We'll figure it out."

Akabeko's gaze once again turned inward, and Weipon went out into the rain.

A passable tracker, Weipon was able to pick out a great many animal trails just outside of the town. She was confused by the erratic, shambling nature of the tracks until she recalled what Mei had said about the town's malaise affecting the wildlife. Finally, she picked up a different trail and followed it eagerly, hoping to find Yi-mo quickly and get back to the important work of curing the villagers.

The trail led her to a small encampment that had her pull up short of entering. There's no way Yi-mo would have come out here and built this, she thought, quietly circling the camp. There was a small tent and a doused cooking fire, and a variety of cleaned animal parts strewn about the ground. For the moment, she couldn't detect any signs of life around the camp. She lingered, torn between wanting to investigate and wanting to find Yi-mo. In the end, she reluctantly left the camp, resolving to return once Yi-mo was safe. There was no telling what might happen to him once night fell.

Time was hard to gauge with the sun so hidden behind the thunderous clouds, but it was some time before Weipon found another trail that was fresh enough to be Yi-mo's. The plodding tracks led away from the village, far enough that the clouds thinned, allowing watery sunlight to slip through. Near the edge of a sudden rise to bluffs, she found a male pandaren sprawled pathetically on the ground.

He didn't react when she approached him cautiously.

"...Yi-mo?" Weipon said unnecessarily. "Your aunt has been looking for you."

Still face down, he groaned, "Go away."

Weipon blinked. She hadn't thought it would be easy, but something about his demeanor seemed different from the other forlorn pandaren she had seen in the village.

"I'll just tell you that I'm not going away. In fact, I'm going to bring you back to the village and we are going to cure everyone."

Yi-mo gave no sign of having heard her. Briefly, a ray of sunlight made it's way to the ground, played across her face, and winked out. It heartened her but appeared to have no effect on the younger pandaren. He turned his head slightly to peer at her.

"Are you still here? Go away and leave me to die already. Tell my aunt that it's better this way."

Compassion, Weipon thought. I'll just have to dig deep. She settled down beside him, intending to talk him into returning with her. "You should know, Yi-mo, that whatever it is that's troubling you is only temporary. Your aunt and I are working hard on a way to make it stop. Once we do that, you'll feel right as rain." She winced at her unintentional wording.

She glanced at his unresponsive form, unconsciously comparing it with Akabeko's teary face. They were in trouble if Weipon didn't figure something out soon. She had thought she had something with searching for the sha, but with none of the monsters in sight, she was beginning to fear that there would be no solution aside from simply fleeing the village.

Lost in thought, she almost didn't notice the shadow that was gradually growing over them until its owner announced itself with a screech. Diving out of the way, Weipon managed to turn and kick a spark of energy at the massive plainshawk angling towards Yi-mo.

The ball of energy exploded in the plainshawk's face, sending sparks of green and orange skittering across its feathers. With a frustrated screech, it flapped its powerful wings in an attempt to regain altitude. Over the din, Weipon could hear Yi-mo shouting, but when she focused on his words, she felt a spike of annoyance.

"Come on, bird! Finish it!" Yi-mo cried. "Put me out of my misery already! I won't put up a fight!"

Weipon sent a shock of electricity up to the plainshawk to further discourage it from attempting to attack again. She was surprised when Yi-mo rolled over.

"What did you do that for?" he whined, watching the plainshawk fly away in defeat. "That would have made things so much quicker."

"I told you that I wasn't going to leave you here to die," Weipon retorted irritably. With a sudden flash of inspiration, she added, "If you're not going to go back to the village on your own, then I'll make you go!"

She crouched down at his side and dug her fingers underneath him, lifting his massive girth and rolling him over with a grunt. He went bonelessly, although that didn't stop him from protesting.

"Stop that! I came out here to die in peace!"

Weipon rolled him again, already regretting the repetitive motion. "If you-don't-like-it," she gritted out, rolling him with each word, "get-up-and-fight-me." She gave him another nudge, getting two full rotations out of it. Yi-mo reacted with an eloquent moan.

Halfway to the village and Weipon's arms and legs were quivering with the continued effort. She paused, sitting down to catch her breath, and was shocked when Yi-mo began to pathetically drag himself back towards the bluffs. Infuriated, she leaped to her feet, grabbed his ankles, and began to drag him in the opposite direction. He protested, but made no move to escape.

Ignoring his complaints, Weipon couldn't stop herself from berating him. "As much as I'm for people doing what they want, I can't sit by and let you die. Not when I know this isn't really you talking." Her heel hit a rock, and she stumbled backwards and onto her rear. Yi-mo glared balefully at her as she picked herself up and resumed her task. "I don't know how, but we are going to find a way to stop this." She sucked in air, torn between sobbing and screaming, and gave a particularly vicious tug at his foot. "You'll be back to normal, because I'm running out of options, and I don't know how to take care of myself in this place, let alone a full-grown tauren, and you were supposed to be the one who knew what to do and would teach me..."

Weipon pressed her hands to her eyes, chest heaving with effort, and was mercifully interrupted by Mei's sudden cry. Without realizing it, she had finally made it back to the village.

"Yi-mo!"

Weipon stepped away, allowing Mei to tearfully embrace her protesting nephew. Half-listening to Mei half-heartedly berate the younger pandaren for being so foolish, Weipon got herself back under control. For a moment, she had felt icy fingers of panic stealing up over her good humor. Now that she suspected the sha's influence on the town, she was terrified of succumbing to it.

Hands grasped her forearms, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Thank you, Weipon," Mei said. "I was so afraid that something would happen to him..." She released Weipon to haul Yi-mo to his feet. "Let's get you home, grumpy," she told him fondly.

"I'm just going to go check on something," Weipon said to their retreating backs. Squaring her shoulders, she retraced her earlier steps to the camp, on the lookout for its inhabitants.

The camp had evidently been visited in her absence; the animals parts she had seen previously were gathered more purposefully, arranged next to what appeared to be a stack of wooden ovals and - strangely - a pile of charred chunks from the fire.

She crept forward, eyeing the campground warily for signs of its owner. Up close, she could see that the wooden ovals were being made into masks, sketched faces sporting goofy grins and embellished with panther teeth. A small collection of finished masks were drying in haphazard rows by the banked fire.

Engrossed in the strange art project, Weipon failed to notice the camp's owner returning until he was stepping into the clearing. The sudden sound of off-key singing roused Weipon, but her well-trained reflexes allowed her to react quickly, and she darted across the camp, preparing to engage him in combat.

The hozen, evidently not expecting intruders, let out a high-pitched battlecry, dropped his materials, and put up his fists. Sizing her up, he asked, "You sad panda too? Come to get cure for the sads?"

That immediately intrigued Weipon, who relaxed her aggressive stance and held up her hands placatingly. "A cure? What kind of cure?"

The hozen peered at her for a moment, then dropped his defensive fists as well. "You...Senpai Hadakha's friend? Ken-Ken saw you with other tauren."

"Hadakha? Yes, I know him. We are in the same guild. How do you know him? Who are you?"

"Ken-Ken Senpai's hozen friend. We trained together at Tian Monastery, then meet here when Ken-Ken looking for hidden master. Hidden master not here, but there are lots of sad pandas! Already find cure, but now Ken-Ken has to make it for every single panda! Take way too much time." Having decided that Weipon was not a threat, the hozen began to gather his dropped materials and bring them to be sorted into the piles at his work area.

Weipon hurried to join him, looking closely at the masks now that they appeared to have a specific use. "So you found a cure? What is it? What's hurting the pandaren?"

Ken-Ken picked up a hunk of charcoal and began to doodle a lopsided winking face onto a mask. "Slow down, panda! Most pandaren not so hasty as you. These happy masks make the sads come out of the pandas. But then, the sads like to fight, and Ken-Ken not so good at butt-punching. Can't go help more pandas until Senpai come back."

"What do you mean by 'the sads'?" Weipon prompted.

Ken-Ken added comically long eyelashes to the mask and giggled at his handiwork. "Well, Senpai called the sads sha, but Ken-Ken never seen them before. Didn't recognize them! Really scary dookers."

A cold calmness settled over Weipon. By all accounts, this was good news. The source of the malady that plagued the village had been discovered, and better yet, there was a cure of some sort. Her mind flashed first to the towering monster that had destroyed the serpent statue, then to the creature that attacked her while wearing her own face, then to Akabeko passively allowing herself to be pummeled, and finally to the same Akabeko, cowering pathetically under her covers. The sha were terrifying, and although Weipon was eager to drive them from the town, the thought of fighting them again unnerved her.

Gathering her thoughts, she tried to make herself useful. "Can I help you make the masks? How do they work, anyway?"

Ken-Ken pointed to what appeared to be a pot of sticky adhesive. "Take sticky gum and put funny teeth in the masks. They add elegance, really pull mask together." He gestured to a charred, twisted lump some ways away. "Don't touch, but that mask made sha come out. That plus Ken-Ken's special medicine, sad panda cleaned inside and out!"

Weipon scooted closer to inspect the lump. It had once been one of the wooden masks, but the smiling features had been twisted into a fearsome grimace, and the wood was warped unnaturally. It certainly looked like the work of the sha.

Obediently, she seated herself beside Ken-Ken and began to affix teeth to the silly grins decorating the masks. Ken-Ken continued to decorate his masks, chuckling to himself as the wacky expressions came to life.

"So, other tauren, she got the spooky dooks? If so, Ken-Ken know just the thing."

"I thought that she was sick, but I think she might be infected with the sha as well. Although I guess the only way to confirm that is to give her a mask?"

Ken-Ken nodded. "Guess so. Probably better to have mask than special hozen medicine. Not so easy on the stomach. But very effective!"

Weipon was beginning to suspect what the effect of the medicine was and pointedly did not ask any more about it. "So where is Hadakha now, anyway? Wasn't he here with you?"

"Senpai went to get help from monks at Temple of Red Crane. When they get back, we can start butt-punching sha! Then everybody happy again!"

They continued to work, and the pile of finished masks grew. Although they could not see the sunset, when Ken-Ken began to build up the fire, Weipon knew she should be getting back to Akabeko. She expressed this to Ken-Ken, who offered to walk her back to the inn.

"Don't worry about it," she told him. "I can take care of myself. I'll be back tomorrow after sunrise to help you finish them."

"Sure thing! Ken-Ken nearly have enough for whole village!"

She left him, still hunched over the pile of masks, and returned to the inn. Akabeko had disappeared under her blankets, and Fu was curled desolately in the corner. Neither acknowledged Weipon when she let herself into the room and prepared for bed. She slept uneasily, both excited at the prospect of finally making progress on the sha infestation and balking at the very idea.

Still ignored by her roommates, Weipon descended to the common room the following morning and was not at all surprised to see that it was once again drizzling, just hard enough to be troublesome. She donned her cloak and went to meet Ken-Ken, who she found still asleep in his tent, twitching lightly.

"Ken-Ken," she muttered, not unkindly, and gave him a nudge.

"Not in the dooker..." he slurred, rolling over. "Okay, maybe a little."

"Wake up!" Weipon repeated, jumping back when he awoke, exploding from the tent and landing awkwardly on the dirt.

The hozen saw that it was Weipon and stood quickly, dusting himself off. "Good morning," he said politely. "Ken-Ken finished all of the masks, stayed up really late drawing and gluing! Very impressive stuff, not to peel own banana."

"You're finished?" Weipon asked, looking around the camp. The hozen had gathered the completed masks into several large sacks, waiting to be brought to the village and put to good use. "In that case, should we bring them to the village and get started?"

Ken-Ken frowned uncertainly. "Ken-Ken not sure he could fight the sads all by his onesies. Does Weipon have any butt-punching experience?"

Weipon blinked. "I, uh, I'm trained in various styles of martial arts. And I've fought sha before." The hozen remained visibly skeptical. "Aka and I fought with Hadakha at the Temple of the Jade Serpent, when it was attacked by an army of small sha under the direction of an even greater Sha. There was, um, lots of butt-punching."

He still looked unconvinced. "If Weipon and Ken-Ken can't fight the sads, no other pandaren going to help out. Too busy fighting their own sads."

"Look, why don't we try it out on just one of the villagers? If you can nearly kill a sha, and I can completely kill a sha, we should be able to handle one between the two of us." Without waiting for his response, she grabbed two of the bags of masks and marched purposefully out of the camp. From behind her came Ken-Ken's reluctant squeak, followed by a sigh of defeat and the rustling of the remaining bags being gathered.

On the edge of the village, they watched one of the few guards out and about pace slowly on the path outside of the inn.

"You sure about this?" Ken-Ken asked, eyes wide in apprehension.

"I'm doing it," Weipon replied with forced confidence. She was eager to see how the masks worked. "You said that Hadakha successfully killed the sha that the mask summoned before, right?" Weipon confirmed, hoping that if he had managed it fine, she wouldn't have a problem.

Weipon approached the guard cautiously, holding a mask in her hand out like an offering. "Good morning, friend," she began, only knowing she had caught the pandaren's attention by the answering flick of her ears. "Don't be alarmed, but I've brought something that should make you feel better." Before the pandaren could react or object, Weipon carefully fitted the mask over her face, then stepped back and watched in horror as if fused itself to the unsuspecting woman, siphoning the soul-draining sha from her into a gruesome puddle of rank-smelling goo.

Ken-Ken squealed and scampered away before visibly steeling himself and loping back to her. "Sorry, Weipon! Too spooky for this dooky! Ken-Ken do his best!"

They went to work on the sha, Weipon keeping its attention focused on her while Ken-Ken attacked from behind. Fighting this sha was somehow different from the ones she had encountered back at the Jade Temple. Although its putrid, oily flesh felt the same, the sensations it inspired upon contact were different. Along with the constant, repulsive disgust she felt with every direct exposure to the shadow skin, she also felt drained, tired, melancholy. She stoically ignored these sensations and was relieved to feel them evaporate when the sha finally collapsed into a smoking pile of scraps.

"Good job, Weipon," Ken-Ken said seriously, flinging sha muck from his fists in disgust. "Sads not so spooky that time."

Breathing hard, Weipon stepped some feet away from the corpse and knelt to compose herself. She glanced up and was surprised to find herself staring into Mei's horrified face.

"Wei, what...what happened here?" Her eyes went from Weipon to the sha husk to the cured pandaren, who was now slumped weakly against the inn steps. "What's going on?"

Weipon gestured to the shadow slowly seeping into the damp ground. "This is the source of the village's misery. We found a way to expel the sha from the pandaren. The only problem is that they have to be fought and killed, so it might take a while." She stepped carefully around the blackened remains to check on the hopefully-healthy pandaren.

"She just need rest," the hozen said helpfully. "Other panda before only need good sleep and big meal. Ken-Ken help him go home yesterday."

"Hmm," Weipon said, glancing at Mei to gauge her reaction. The other woman seemed to be upset, eyes returning constantly to the sha remnants, but Weipon knew her steely resolve. "Mei, could you possibly see that the pandaren we cure are cared for?"

Nodding, Mei moved to help the other pandaren up from her steps and into the inn's common room. Weipon pointed down the path.

"We're going to head this way. I'll try to wait for you to let you know who needs help next."

She motioned for Ken-Ken to follow her, and he shouldered his bag.

They had successfully exorcised another three villagers when things got hairy. As Weipon was handling the fourth summoned sha, a surprisingly energetic pandaren who had plodded by looked into the bag Ken-Ken had abandoned while they dealt with the creatures. Weipon watched out of the corner of her eye as he dreamily brought a mask to his face, jerking when it practically leaped from his hand onto its target. Thinking quickly, Weipon moved to intercept this newly summoned sha, twisting to keep both focused on her. The combined soporific effect was too much, and she began to shout in time with her blows, hoping to banish the compulsion to simply lay down and sleep.

As the sha dropped, the second quickly following the first, Weipon stepped back in time to see a large bird coast to a stop farther up the path. It landed gracefully, then flowed upwards into a tauren-shaped silhouette.

"Weipon!"

She sat down, huffing out a laugh in relief. "Hadakha. I am so glad to see you."

Lost Temple [guest post!!]

Previously: The Emptiness

"What are you doing here, Ken-Ken?" Hadakha hissed at the dripping hozen.

"Ken-Ken on important quest! Gonna find Hidden Master, continue training!" he said, drawing himself up proudly. Then he deflated, looking back at the miserable village. "Something bad happen here, though. Villagers all sad and sulky, 'cept innkeep. He just a jerk. Chase me out!"

"What happened, do you know?"

"Nah, nobody talk to me. Nobody do nothin', really. Just sit there, or walk around for no reason."

"There is definitely something very wrong about this place, Ken-Ken. It's unnatural."

"Yes! Ken-Ken made camp not far from here, to keep watch. You should come, Senpai. It not safe to stay in village overnight, Ken-Ken think." He motioned for Hadakha to follow, but the tauren frowned in worry.

"My friends are coming. I need to stop them from entering the village until we figure out what is going on..."

"You mean those friends?" Ken-Ken pointed at the inn, where Weipon was trying to unobtrusively support Akabeko as she dragged herself wearily up the stairs into the light. Hadakha watched helplessly as they disappeared inside. The hozen eyed him warily, then licked his lips. "It too late now, Senpai. We should not go there, might get caught in nasty sickness too. Come." With a sigh, Hadakha followed his companion into the rainforest.

They made their way to the small camp that Ken-Ken had set up not far from the village. While they settled in for the night, Ken-Ken regaled him with the story of how he and his fellow students began their quest to find the Hidden Master. Hadakha listened with half an ear, thinking about what he could do to fix whatever was wrong with the villagers. Eventually, they slept.

The next morning was as dreary and damp as the previous evening, and during their brief breakfast he quizzed Ken-Ken on what he had learned so far. The information was, sadly, very unhelpful, and he only asked his companion for suggestions out of habit rather than a sense of expectation of useful advice. So the response he got was a little surprising.

"Ken-Ken have plenty ideas! Was going to start with old hozen medicine for the sads. Always work! Wanna help?"

"Uh, sure, ok. What do we need?"

"You go get honey from nib-stabber nests. Ken-Ken can take care of rest. Meet back here in couple of hours."

"Alright. I'll see you then."

It didn't take long for him to find the hives, as the buzzing was much louder than from similar places in Azeroth. The part that took time was finding something to carry the combs in once he realised he had nothing useful on him. Hunting around, he eventually found some broad, thick leaves that would keep off the rain when folded over. Job done, he headed back to the camp and waited patiently for Ken-Ken to return.

He heard the hozen coming long before he saw him. Muttering loudly to himself, Ken-Ken pushed through the brush around the camp and nodded at Hadakha as he dumped some dead fish and what looked to be some sort of moss onto the ground.

"Okay! Now we need panda. You wanna take medicine to them, or bring them to us?"

"Well, I'd like to minimise our exposure to whatever is in the village, so I think it would be best if we brought a pandaren out into the forest."

Ken-Ken nodded sagely. "Good thinking. You get panda out here while Ken-Ken make medicine?"

"I can do that. I'll come and get you when I have someone..."

He watched for a moment as Ken-Ken happily sorted through his ingredients, then took off towards the village. He spent some time observing the inhabitants, until finally he caught sight of a pair of pandaren making their way along the muddy paths. The way they moved showed more purpose and energy than anything he'd seen so far, and they were obviously conversing as they went. As they approached a once-brightly-painted house with what appeared to be a sign over the door, he caught a glimpse of a face as one turned to the other. It definitely looked like Weipon...where was Akabeko? She must still be at the inn. He hoped it was through choice, and not due to illness that she was still indoors. Druids tended to avoid being confined inside buildings all day if they could help it, so if she hadn't left the inn since her arrival then it didn't bode well.

All the more reason to help Ken-Ken get this medicine working as quickly as possible. Even as he thought it, his attention was drawn to a haggard-looking pandaren wearing a motley assortment of armour, some of it almost falling off and all of it muddy and ill-cared for. The guard had dropped his weapon and was plodding out into the forest, listlessly pushing through the undergrowth. He had his target.

Stalking the guard was easy. He paid no attention to his surroundings, simply taking the path of least resistance and making his way vaguely south, in the direction of the Krasarang jungle. At first curious as to where he was going, Hadakha soon grew bored with the monotonous pace. But he still had the problem of how to get the pandaren back to the camp. He'd been in situations like this before, staking out villages that had become plagued by sickness, and the first rule he'd learned was: don't expose yourself to the contagion. No physical contact with the inhabitants, and ideally no proximity either. You can't help them if you are struck down as well.

Of course, that was when he could send for assistance from the Council, when his role was primarily that of an observer. Here, he had no help to call upon – the only druids he knew of were already here, the Horde forces had been scattered at the battle in the Jade Forest, and he had very little understanding of the local geography. In the end it might mean that he needed to investigate the village up close, but for now he had to minimise risk to himself. He was a little concerned that Ken-Ken had apparently been into the village already, but there was nothing to be done about that now. He'd just have to keep a sharp eye on the hozen for any symptoms of illness.

The guard had stopped. At first Hadakha thought he'd run out of steam – a few times now, he'd slowly come to a stop for no apparent reason, before gathering his willpower and forcing himself onward – but that notion was quickly dispelled when he heard a low, menacing purr from the other side of the guard. Silently he stalked around to get a better view, only to see a pair of lithe, inky-black feline shapes emerge from the underbrush, spreading out to flank the hapless guard. Rather than try to flee, though, the guard slumped to his knees, sighing in a mixture of resignation and relief. Was this why he'd come out here? The thought stunned Hadakha.

But only for a moment. He had to act fast if he was going to save this pandaren and get him back to Ken-Ken. Muttering a spell, he called on the trees to bind one of the panthers in place. As the roots snaked out of the ground to entangle the legs of the big cat, he shifted into bear form and charged the other one with a roar. It shrank back, as if to turn and run, but then yowled in rage and flung itself at him. He slapped it out of the air, neck snapping loudly as it pinwheeled away. The other cat, maddened enough to break free of the roots, also came at him in a spitting, snarling frenzy, and he only barely managed to protect his eyes from the assault.

He did receive a few minor cuts through his thick hide before finally pinning the panther down and crushing the life from it. As it died, he caught a faint whuff of decay on its final exhalation. It was a stench he recognised, from the Temple of the Jade Serpent. Shifting to heal himself, he glanced over at the guard while he inspected the bodies. The pandaren was still on his knees, eyes closed, waiting. He didn't appear injured, which was good. Hadakha turned his attention back to the panthers. It was odd enough that they hunted together, but he'd never even heard of a cat like this attacking a bear over twice it's size! If the sha were involved, however, it could explain the aberrant behaviour. The fur did look quite brittle and dry...

Suspicion flashed into his mind. He looked sharply back at the guard, still slumped in the mud. Warily, he slowly approached the figure, ready to leap away in an instant. It had been difficult to tell until now, due to the gloom, the rain, and the mud crusting up his fur, but now Hadakha knew what to look for, he could see the telltale grey tinge to the previously white patches of the guard's hide. So. Probably not a disease then. He prodded the guard's shoulder.

"Hey. Get up."

The pandaren opened his eyes and gazed around blankly. He focused on the tauren standing before him, and closed his eyes again. Finally, sighing in resignation, he dragged himself to his feet. Hadakha waved in the direction of their camp.

"This way. We're going to get you some help."

The guard stared dully at him for a while, then shrugged and turned towards the direction shown. They trudged through the forest in silence, Hadakha discovering early on that his questions would not even be acknowledged. Finally they made it to the camp. Ken-Ken jumped up eagerly when they appeared. "Yes! Good! You come to the right hozen! Got your cure here. Drink up!" He thrust a bowl of sludge at the pandaren, who made no move to take it.

"Come on, mopesy! This always work!" Finally the guard reached out and lifted the bowl to his mouth, baring his fangs a little at the smell. Then, in one swift motion, he threw his head back and poured the contents down his throat. All three stood there in expectant silence, awaiting the results, which manifested rapidly. Dropping the bowl, the guard clutched his belly.

"Wha-....what did you do to me?" he rasped painfully, before a loud gurgle sounded from his stomach and he began to stagger towards the bushes. Hadakha made to assist him, but his hozen companion signaled him to wait, and – somewhat doubtfully – he restrained himself. They could hear the pandaren moaning as he crashed through the brush, and although the sounds of distress didn't get too distant, Hadakha was not convinced that Ken-Ken's plan was working as intended.

He eyed the hozen. "What did you just give him, Ken-Ken?"

"Medicine for the spooky-dooks!"

"What."

"Dooks get scared sometimes, don't wanna come out. This get's 'em out! Pandaren gonna be happy for sure!"

Hadakha's eyes widened as he pieced together just what the hozen meant. "You mean..."

The hozen drew himself up proudly and nodded. "Yup! Like ol' Gramma used to say: can't throw if can't go!"

Hadakha massaged his brow. "Oh dear. Ohhhh dear. Just- just go and bring him back, Ken-Ken. Somehow I don't think he's going to be happy."

Ken-Ken scowled at him. "Always work! No chance he still be a mopey-dope now!" But he went off to follow the moaning regardless, leaving Hadakha to ponder their next move. He was still considering the implications of a sha presence when the hozen returned, all but dragging a reluctant guard behind him.

"Huh. Didn't work." he grunted sourly. "But," he brightened "Ken-Ken got 'nother idea!"

"Please, not another medicine..." the pandaren said wearily. Hadakha looked at his companion with a sceptical eye.

"Nope! We gonna have some FUN! Okay, need to do some woodwork, but if Senpai can get some teeth, we can make do with stuff we got here. Try and get big teeth, like panther ones!"

"Ken-Ken, if this is another-"

"No no, this go way WAY back, to ancient times. Hozen still do this sometimes. Mostly at parties..."

"KEN-KEN!"

"It works! Senpai will see! Just need those teeth for final touch."

"...Fine. I'll be back soon." He stabbed a finger at the pandaren. "Keep an eye on him!"

Ken-Ken nodded absently as Hadakha left, sorting through the store of semi-dry wood they had collected that morning for the campfire. He made his way back to where the corpses of the panthers lay, and an hour later he had a collection of teeth for his trouble. When he returned, he found Ken-Ken with a mask in front of him, tongue sticking out the side of his mouth while he drew lines and shapes in charcoal on the wood. He placed the bundle of teeth next to the hozen and sat back to watch the rest of the assembly, curiosity failing to overcome the sense of futility for the endeavour.

Finally, satisfied with his handiwork, Ken-Ken held up the mask. "Nobody can be sad when they wearin' a mask like this!" he declared. He waggled it in front of his face, laughing. "Okay mopey-dope, time to test this FUN MACHINE!"

With visible trepidation, the pandaren allowed Ken-Ken to fix the mask in place. They all waited for something to happen, to no avail. "Maybe dance around a bit." Ken-Ken suggested. "Try havin' fun!" All the guard could manage was a vague shuffle from foot to foot, to the hozen's disappointment. He sighed. "Maybe only works for hozen," he said, "'cause hozen know how to – woah, that weird."

The mask had started smoking. The guard reached up, trying to remove it, but it wouldn't budge. It seemed melded to his face. The smoking increased, and the pandaren became more and more agitated, desperately trying to claw the mask off. Just as Hadakha decided to step in and do something – anything – the smoke blackened and thickened, pooling on the ground in front of them as the guard abruptly stopped struggling.

The oily smoke rose up, coalescing into a familiar shape. That rotten stench he remembered from the Jade Forest assailed him as the sha took form. Ken-Ken jumped back in dismay. "What the ook is that?!"

Hadakha grimaced. "Sha." He shifted into lionform, preparing to pounce on the sha once it solidified. Neither of them paid any attention to the guard crumpling to the ground as the sha exited his body. Sensing his moment, Hadakha leapt at the black shape, but with surprising speed it slithered out of his reach and bore down on Ken-Ken.

The hozen yipped in terror and dodged around, more concerned with keeping the sinuous tendrils from reaching him than landing any counterattacks. Hadakha tore into it from behind, ripping chunks out of the body and twisting away from the claws that turned on him. Ken-Ken, seeing the damage Hadakha was doing, regained his composure and began pummeling the sha himself. Under their combined onslaught, the sha was quickly dealt with, and they took a moment to centre themselves again before checking on the guard.

When several minutes of attempts to wake him did not work, Hadakha brought him close to the campfire and covered him well. Then he turned to Ken-Ken. "This is what is wrong with the villagers. We have to find some help – this is too big for us alone." He bent down and picked up the mask. It was charred and warped, the silly face twisted into a horrific visage now. "Clearly we can't use this again. Can you make more? We'll need plenty if we want to help these people."

The hozen looked down at the unconcious pandaren and nodded sombrely. "Just need panther teeth once these used up. No problem. What you gonna do, Senpai?"

"I was on my way to the Temple of the Red Crane before we stopped here. I'm thinking that the monks there will be able to help us. I'm not sure how long it'll take to get there and back, so just make as many masks as you can until then, ok?" Barely waiting for Ken-Ken's assent, he turned and flowed into lionform, trotting out into the wilderness.

* * *

Despair threatened to well up in him as he approached the edge of the Krasarang jungle, heading back to Zhu and the suddenly much larger, much more dangerous task before him. The journey to the Temple of the Red Crane had been uneventful, if arduous. It had taken only an hour for him to give up on ground travel and take to the air, even if it was merely skimming the canopy for a few hundred yards at a time before ducking back undercover. He wasn't about to take any chances with cloud serpents on this mission. Even so, it had taken the rest of the day and all night to reach the Temple.

It was with dismay that he looked down on the abandoned complex, the only movement that of sha as they defiled the once-holy ground. He spent most of the morning in careful reconnaissance, hoping to discover a bastion of resistance or a rescue party somewhere, but it was not to be. After a short rest, he started back empty-handed.

Now, after another journey through the night and morning, he pushed down the despair, the doubt, the hopelessness at the mission in front of him. He couldn't afford to travel back to the Jade Forest, there was no time to spare here. It was up to him and Ken-Ken...

Shouts from ahead spurred him into greater speed. It sounded like battle. He burst into the clearing, ready to pounce on whatever needed pouncing. Either the sha-possessed villagers had decided to eliminate the threat that Ken-Ken posed, or he'd found -

"Weipon?"

Next: The Masks

The Emptiness

Previously: Catching Up

Weipon awoke only out of habit, as the morning sun was completely obscured behind thick rain clouds. Her first instinct was to check on Akabeko, who was sleeping fitfully. Fu, she was surprised to see, had finally moved out of the tauren's reach and was curled on the floor, whuffling softly.

When Weipon called her name, Akabeko came awake with what appeared to be great difficulty. "Hey, Wei," she croaked, blinking her puffy eyelids and scrubbing sleepily at her face.

"How are you feeling?" Weipon asked quietly. She preemptively gathered the medicine pouch and a cup while Akabeko took stock of her illness.

Finally, she replied, "I feel better, but still very tired."

"Sounds like the medicine is having an effect!" Weipon stirred hot water into the cup. "By the time we run out of this powder, I'm sure you'll be completely healthy." She passed the cup to Akabeko, who drank it haltingly before clumsily handing it back. The motion finally woke Fu, who jumped up and began to whine at Weipon. "Yeah, yeah, I got your breakfast," she told him in Pandaren.

He whined while she dug through her pack for his food, whined when she placed the dried meat in front of him, and continued to whine in between reluctant bites of his meal. At a loss, Weipon ignored him while she gathered her things for the day and tidied the room. The sudden patter of rain on the roof made her sigh and reach for her still-wet cloak. When she moved to the door, however, Fu began to cry in earnest, scrabbling frantically at her legs and attempting to herd her back inside.

"Fu, what?" Weipon sighed in exasperation. Fu ran frantically back and forth between Akabeko's bed and Weipon, nipping at the pandaren's toes but going no closer to the tauren than necessary. She knelt, reaching out to comfort him, but he danced out of her grasp and continued to yowl pathetically. "I don't know what to do with you!" she exclaimed in frustration, stepping over him and escaping through the door. To Akabeko, she said, "Rest up today. I'll see you when I get back."

The tauren nodded and burrowed back into her blankets. Fu went back to pacing and keening softly.

Outside, the rain was just hard enough to be a nuisance. Weipon tugged her hood tightly around her face and stepped onto the muddy path that ran through town, already on the lookout for anyone else who had been energetic enough to venture out. The path was empty, so Weipon retraced her steps with Mei the day before, peeking into houses to check on the occupants. Many hadn't even moved from their previous positions.

Weipon kept an eye out for Mei while she walked, but made an complete circuit of the village without a sign of the other woman. It was barely midday, and yet she felt as if she had already exhausted her options for the day. The oppressive cloud cover and constant patter of rain made her feel sluggish and dimwitted, and she had to shake herself out of staring blankly into the gloom.

"Get it together, Wei," she muttered, slapping her cheeks lightly. She intentionally pasted a grin on her face and said cheerfully, "I'll just have to keep looking for whatever's causing this!" The fake enthusiasm made her feel marginally more active, and the unintentional word choice gave her an idea. "Maybe I'll be able to find the Sha and kill it myself!"

The thought of facing a Sha as terrifying as the one they had encountered in the Jade Temple gave Weipon pause. The smaller sha were much more manageable, especially if she had to fight them all by herself. Then again, as affected as the village was, she would have expected to see some physical sign of the sha already. She began to patrol the village again, this time keeping a keen eye out for slimy trails or blackened buildings, and sniffing intermittently for the sour stench that had become far too familiar.

Even looking more closely, the circuit took no time at all and yielded no new information. Weipon found herself again on the porch of the inn. She headed upstairs, ignoring the pointed look she got from Rude Sho when she hung up her sodden cloak by the fire, and quietly entered their room. Fu was up immediately, shaking himself out of his nap and pawing at her feet with quiet yips.

Akabeko didn't appear to have moved. Assuming she was asleep, Weipon quietly began to go through their bags, looking for some food for Fu and a little snack for herself. Holding up a bag of jerky, Weipon realized that the amount of food had barely changed. She had eaten some, and taken a meal or two down in the common room, but had Akabeko been eating any? Suddenly suspicious, Weipon lit a lamp and glanced over to the druid's bed.

In the wavering glow, Weipon saw that the tauren's eyes were open. Her eyes were wet, and glistening streaks tracked across her broad nose and into her mane.

"Aka?" Weipon whispered, feeling dread settle deep in the pit of her stomach. "What's the matter?"

Akabeko shook her head minutely, eyes half closing in response. Fu rolled onto his back, letting out a sad whine and kicking his legs pathetically.

Weipon crept closer, getting right into the tauren's face. "Are you in pain? Do you need some more medicine?" she asked. Akabeko merely closed her eyes, sending a fresh cascade over her cheeks.

Unsettled, Weipon extinguished the lamp and crept downstairs, finding Sho in the common room. "Has she been down to eat anything?"

Sho grunted and shook his head.

"Not at all?" Weipon pressed, already knowing the answer.

Sho raised an eyebrow disdainfully.

Weipon went to sit on the porch, resolutely ignoring her inner dialogue about Akabeko's condition. The rain continued to fall, forming puddles on the path. She had no idea how much time had passed when there was a splash in the puddle and Mei was coming up the steps, shaking raindrops off of her cloak furiously.

Tromping up the steps, Mei skipped the pleasantries. "My nephew is infuriating! He manages to come up with just enough energy to argue with me!" She threw her sodden cloak on a nearby chair. "The nerve of that cub!"

"Your...nephew?" Weipon asked politely.

"Yi-mo Longbrow, descendant of Zhu Longbrow, is my nephew. And he is impossible! He's always been a quiet, sad sort of kid, but since the despair took over the town, he's been completely immobile. I thought that if he would just stay in the house, he would be safe until I could cure everyone, but now he's arguing with me and threatening to leave!" Mei shook her head, snorting in annoyance. She took a deep breath. "At least for now he's resting, if you can call it that. What have you been up to today?"

Weipon remembered her earlier idea. "I took a walk around the town to check on the villagers. Then, I thought that I would go looking for the source of this sadness. I fought something that was causing a similar problem in the Jade Forest, so I know how to deal with them." She briefly explained her experience with the sha. "Do you know if there is any place nearby where those monsters have been sighted? Or maybe a place that villagers or travelers unconsciously avoid?"

"Well, the lakes to the south of the village have some sort of monster around them," Mei said contemplatively. "It's been raining nonstop, but the lakes have completely dried up." She continued, excited, "If those things are the sha, then if you kill them the despair will leave the town! Weipon, please do what you can to kill those monsters!"

They both stood. "I'll go have a look right now," Weipon declared. And if killing the sha heals Aka...

"I have to get back to Yi-mo," Mei said with a grimace. "There's no telling what that kid will do. I'll be sure to come back tomorrow to check in with you, though!"

Feeling slightly uplifted, Weipon fetched her cloak from inside the inn and strode purposefully into the rain. She had just left the town limits when she saw the lakebeds, yawning stretches of land choked with dying weeds and crawling with shimmery, ethereal wraiths.

Weipon bit her lip. These creatures looked nothing like the sickening shadowy nightmares she had fought before. And yet...the Jade Serpent had indicated that there were many different kinds of sha. This one could just be a different manifestation of it. Weipon crept closer, scrutinizing the creatures. They were taller than her, with long torsos that tapered into nothingness rather than legs and thin, too-long arms. Their faces blurred, changing appearance and expression so fast it made Weipon's stomach churn.

She circled around the lake until she found a wraith separated from the rest and attacked. As soon as her fist met its glowing flesh, she knew it couldn't be a sha. Rather than rot, it smelled like heat, and the oil-shiny light that made up its body felt like striking her fist into a hot stove. Cursing, she rolled away and attacked with lightning, hoping it wouldn't attract any other wraiths. The wraith shrieked, twitching and shivering under the assault, until finally it simply evaporated, leaving behind a glistening heart-sized orb.

There was another shriek behind her. Weipon turned to see two more wraiths called by the commotion slowly rolling toward her.

It was late when she finally returned to the inn, having fought off six wraiths in total before she could safely extract herself from the area around the lakes. The complete lack of change in the town confirmed her assumption that the wraiths were not any new kind of sha, further sinking her spirits. She trudged despondently up the stairs, forgetting her other source of dread until she opened the door to their room.

Fu was huddled in the corner, as far away from Akabeko as possible. The tauren had barely moved, and Weipon could see that she was still weeping silently. Fighting down panic, stomach too knotted to consider eating, the monk laid down and attempted to sleep.

Next: Lost Temple

Catching Up [guest post!!]

Previously: The Despair

Padding through the Temple gates, with the salty sea breeze at his back, Hadakha paused as a high-pitched voice called out from the bridge.

He veered towards the cub sitting on the wide ledge, and his eyes narrowed as he approached. This child looked familiar. She stared at him solemnly as he sat in front of her and shifted into his natural form.

"We thank you for your actions, tauren. It is good to learn that not all those from beyond the mists are bent on destruction." He dipped his head in acknowledgment, but the cub frowned sternly.

"However, the Sha have been released, and not just here in the Jade Forest. My rebirth has been delayed, and I must conserve my energy. The days ahead are full of turmoil and struggle. We cannot afford to waste our strength on fighting each other."

"I understand, Ancient One. The druids of the Cenarion Circle have long been above the factional warfare that brought your statue to ruin. Unfortunately, we only have a limited amount of influence over the leaders of the Alliance and the Horde."

"Then, if you wish to help us save our homes, our families, our very lives, you must act with courage and wisdom, tauren."

"My reports will urge my superiors to increase their efforts to rein in the hostilities that are plaguing our peoples. Other than that, until I learn more about the Sha and how to fight them, I am afraid that I can do little to prevent more outbreaks of war here."

"You underestimate yourself. There are few survivors of this battle, and those who did have been sent far away. The fate of Pandaria lies elsewhere now."

"I agree. I believe the Shado-Pan hold at least some of the answers I need, and I intend to find them.  For the moment, though, I think my friends need me. You sent Akabeko and Weipon on a mission, I heard. Might I know what that was?"

"Indeed. They are making their way into the Krasarang Wilds to the south, to visit the Temple of the Red Crane. They will stop at Zhu. It will test their characters in ways that could change them forever."

Hadakha frowned. "You sent them into danger?"

"There is danger everywhere now, tauren. You have seen this."

"That is true, but...when I slept, yesterday after the battle...I dreamt of Akabeko. There was something wrong with her. And today I learned that her wounds would not heal. She is a powerful healer! Something bad is happening to her, I know it is. Why would you not help her?"

"What Akabeko suffers is nothing I can help with, tauren. She must face this herself. Her friends can give her support, nothing else. Until she comes to terms with her inner darkness, she will remain -"

"Broken?"

The cub stared at him for a long moment before answering. "Troubled."

He pondered that for a while. Finally he said "Then I will have to give her as much help as I can. I should catch up with them by nightfall if I leave now..."

"The best way you can help is to understand her troubles. To do that you need to observe. Her pain runs deep, and only careful attention will allow you to discover it."

"My thanks, Ancient One. I hope that your encounters with the Horde will fare better in the future." He stood as the cub nodded.

"Your people will play a central part in the future of this land, for good or for ill. And as you affect the land, the land shall also affect you. Be aware of this, always."

He shifted into lionform, dipped his horns to the cub, then turned and loped across the bridge into the valley.

* * *

It took longer than he'd expected to catch up to Akabeko and Weipon. He finally found them thanks to the fire they'd made...and Weipon's unusual stringed instrument sending sharp, clear notes into the darkness.

Mindful of the cub's warning, he settled in where he could observe the camp, and studied the two companions intently. Weipon sat tall, composed, her eyes closed as she lost herself in her music. Opposite her, Akabeko slouched on a log and stared into the flames listlessly. The contrast was shockingly different from what he remembered of their time in Orgrimmar. Eventually, Weipon finished her playing and packed away her instrument, said something to Akabeko – probably a good night – and lay down to sleep. As soon as she did so, Akabeko automatically reached for her pack and produced a bottle. He watched as his friend spent the next few hours drinking herself into unconsciousness.

The pattern continued over the following days. At first the two women seemed to get along like he'd always known, except for the covert drinking while Weipon slept. But as the days passed he noticed less and less conversation between them, and while Weipon looked more worried, Akabeko just looked...worn out. She spent most of the time silent, staring into the distance, and moved slowly and carefully, as if in pain. Yet he did not once see her cast any healing spells on herself. It baffled him. Perhaps the Red Crane could help her? If what the cub had said was true, then maybe Chi-Ji was her best hope. They just had to get past this Zhu place quickly.

As they approached the village near the border of the jungle, the weather turned nasty and wet. But something about the area felt strange to him. His hackles seemed to be permanently raised, but he couldn't detect any reason why. Was it something to do with the village? He decided to scout ahead to check it out.

He spent an hour creeping around the outskirts, observing the activity within and trying to pinpoint the source of his unease. The village was very subdued for this time of day – people should be returning to their homes to eat. The clouds had not broken at all, but he was confident in his sense of time, despite the early darkness. Yet there were only a couple of lonely pandaren trudging wearily through the mud between houses. Hardly any lights were shining in windows...were the villagers somewhere else?

Deeply unsatisfied, he made one last circuit of the village to get to the main road back towards Weipon and Akabeko. Halfway round and he spied a figure in the mud. It looked like a pandaren man, just...sitting there in the rain. The dark fur had hidden him before, Hadakha had only spotted him because he was now silhouetted against the lights in the inn. How long had he been there? What was wrong with this place?

He froze as a squelch sounded behind him. The rain eased a little, bringing the scent of hozen to his nostrils. Instantly he dodged right, then spun around and launched himself in the direction of the sound. He heard a yip of surprise as he burst through the foliage, but the hozen threw itself onto its back and pushed up with its legs, helping him sail over the creature harmlessly. He slid around, ready to charge back in, and the hozen was back on its feet, ready to meet him. The way it stood gave him pause...then, to his amazement, its eyes widened and it snapped to attention, bowing quickly. “Senpai! Please forgive me, I did not recognise you!”

He studied it for several seconds before recognition dawned. Then he shifted out of lionform to greet the newcomer.

“Ken-Ken!”

Next: The Emptiness

The Despair

Previously: Investigations

"I'm really sorry, Wei," Akabeko croaked, plucking at the blanket haphazardly arranged across her legs. "Whatever this is, it's not getting better very fast."

Weipon sighed in sympathy. The tauren looked terrible: her typically thin face was even more gaunt, and her fur looked dry and brittle. The wounds she had sustained at the Jade Temple were still unusually fresh, marring her face further with shiny pink skin and white scars. "Don't worry about it, really," the pandaren repeated, reaching for the doorknob. "I'll just add asking around for useful medicines to my list of things to do today." She grinned, hoping to elicit a response, but received little more than a weak twitch in return.

Akabeko was awkwardly burrowing into the pandaren-shaped bed when Weipon shut the door to their room and headed towards the inn's common room. She hesitated on the stairs, replaying the days on the road that had brought them to this point.

Initially, the pair had been in good spirits and had whiled away the time working on Akabeko's Pandaren, an endeavor so hilarious that even Fu had eventually come around. The farther they traveled, however, the more Akabeko complained of inexplicable weakness, fatigue, and pain unrelated to so many hours spent in the saddle. When they had finally reached the small village on the edge of Zhu Province, the tauren had barely enough energy to drag herself into a bed at the inn. Initially, she had tried to accompany Weipon in investigating the sha-stricken town, but after mere hours she had retired, complaining of aches, chills, and exhaustion. Since being seen back to bed, Akabeko had remained there, drifting in and out of consciousness, Fu tucked protectively against her side.

Having lost the first day to taking care of Akabeko, Weipon was now more determined to get her investigation underway. She noted that the innkeeper was up and about this morning, but given his brusque, unpleasant attitude the day before, Weipon opted to simply nod at him on her way out.

On the inn's porch, a slight pandaren woman peered disdainfully at Weipon as she closed the door. She seemed surprised by what she saw, however, and her expression cleared into one of curiosity.

"Don't tell me you're still feeling chipper enough to be up and about?" she asked, more hopeful than incredulous.

Weipon blinked, already suspecting that a lot of questions were about to be answered. "I feel perfectly fine, but my friend has been complaining of a strange sickness. She's too weak to get out of bed."

The pandaren nodded, then stood in order to scrutinize Weipon more closely. "Most everyone in the town's come down with something, although some cases are worse than others." She leaned forward conspiratorially, nodding in the direction of the inn's common room. "I don't think Rude Sho's got it, though; he's always grumpy."

"When you say 'something'..." Weipon prompted.

The pandaren shrugged in frustration. "They say they're too tired, or sad, or fed up. They say everything is pointless and there's no reason to get out of bed. No one wants to go to work, let alone take care of themselves."

Weipon hummed. That didn't seem quite like what was affecting Akabeko, and besides, she had become ill well before coming to the village. And yet...she tucked the thought away for the moment. "As one of the only other active folks up and about, I should introduce myself. My name is Weipon Silkbrush."

"Mei Barrelbottom." They exchanged bows.

"So how long has this been going on?" Weipon asked, taking the seat across from Mei on the inn's porch.

Mei sighed loudly. "At first it wasn't this depression at all. A few weeks ago, the lakes outside of town abruptly dried up and left behind horrible monsters in their wake. Then, one by one, people stopped going out, going to work, making plans..." She shook her head. "There were even a few people who, who..." Mei made an aborted gesture with her hands, her face twisted in a grimace.

"I see," Weipon interrupted gently. "And since then? It's just continued like this?"

"There're only a few of us who are still able to take care of the town. We've thought a lot about what could have caused it and what we should do about it, but the truth is we're busy enough taking care of the town as it is. Some of those affected feel well enough to help out once in a while, but they don't do much."

Weipon gazed out over the porch railing, taking in the lifeless town. It appeared even the sun had forsaken it, hidden away behind dark, pendulous clouds. She considered Mei's words. "So, the pandaren affected do sometimes feel well enough to go about their normal lives? Do you suppose your healer might be able to help me find some medicine for my friend?"

Mei stood. "It's worth a try. Let's go and see if she's there now."

The walk through the town was made no more cheerful by the presence of a companion. Here and there they passed guards, some wearing only half of their armor, and all sporting deep scowls. The healer's home was painted with welcoming orange, yellow, and green, but even that had been leeched into dullness by the oppressive atmosphere choking the village.

The door was carelessly left ajar, so Mei knocked politely and nudged it open, calling out, "Excuse us," as they entered. Weipon glanced around the room, jumping when what had appeared to be a pile of rags on the counter moved as the healer raised her head from where it was pillowed on her arms.

"Pardon me," Weipon began, taking in the healer's haggard features. Her graying fur was dry, matted unpleasantly around her eyes, and her ears drooped lifelessly. "We're just looking for some medicine for my friend; she's coughing and feverish."

There was an uncomfortable silence while the healer stared through them. Then, slowly, her eyes slid to one of the shelves, head tilted slightly as she took in the row of jars neatly arranged on the shelf.

The two women exchanged a glance, Mei looking more irritated than worried. She crossed to the shelf. "It's one of these, right?" she said brightly, running her finger along the labels. "Here we go, fever reducer. Cough suppressant." She grabbed two jars from the shelf and brought them to the counter, plunking them down in front of the healer.

For several long moments, the three pandaren quietly regarded the jars, until finally the healer slowly pushed herself back from the counter. Weipon opened her mouth to protest, but the healer simply produced a mortar and pestle from behind her desk and painstakingly began to add ingredients from the jars to be ground into powder. Despite her apparent frailty, she made quick work of concocting the powder before methodically pouring it into a pouch and placing it on the counter. Weipon produced her purse, ready to pay, but the healer simply returned her head to her forearms, ignoring them entirely now that her task was finished.

"I'll just...leave this here," Weipon said unnecessarily, placing several silver coins in reach of the healer's bony fingers. "Thank you."

Although no less gloomy than the healer's shop had been, Weipon was glad to be outside and away from the hopelessness she had seen in the elder pandaren's face. She chanced a look at the sky, still unbroken by the seamless mantle of gray clouds.

"Well, now I know she's still...active," Mei murmured. "I'd better make the rounds, check on the others."

They went together, and Weipon was shocked to see the way the pandaren in the town had wasted away. Most of them they found in their homes, curled up in bed, slumped in chairs, or even collapsed pathetically on the floor. Some of the houses they passed had been marked with prayer beads on the door handles. When Weipon pointed one out, Mei swallowed thickly.

"There's...nobody in that house. He, um. Two days ago we went to check on him and he had. Hurt himself. It was...too bad, too late. We were too late to do anything." Mei's eyes moved past the house, looking vainly into the grasslands that quickly gave way to the tangled forests of the Krasarang Wilds. "Some of the other pandaren just wander into the wilds. If we can stop them before they get away, we bring them back, but we can't catch everybody. Since our guards aren't much help, we don't have any way to go in search of them. It's possible that they'll come back, once we figure out what's wrong but..." She shook herself, tearing her eyes away from the woods. "Well, there are panthers and worse in the wilds. And no one who goes out there is in any shape to defend themselves."

Before Weipon could think of something comforting to say, large raindrops began to patter down around them, rapidly increasing into a steady downpour. "Well, this is great," Weipon muttered darkly, tugging her back under her cloak to protect the medicine pouch tucked inside.

"It rains like this every day, sometimes all day," Mei replied, shouting to be heard over the rain. "I've got to check on my nephew. Why don't I meet you at the inn tomorrow morning?"

Weipon nodded. "Let's do that. Thank you for your help today!"

Cutting their pleasantries short, the two parted to race for their respective shelters. Weipon reached the inn completely soaked, and ignored the innkeeper's scowl as she stood in the entryway removing her waterlogged cloak and boots. She dripped her way up to her quarters, toweling herself off before checking on Akabeko.

As soon as she turned her attention to the tauren, Fu was up and whining, kneading at Akabeko's forearm and yipping plaintively at Weipon.

"Relax, Fu. I've brought some medicine for her," Weipon soothed, stirring the powder into tea and nudging Akabeko to wake her. When the tauren turned over, blinking blearily at the interruption of her sleep, Weipon held out the tea. "I brought something for your cold. How are you feeling?"

Akabeko pushed herself laboriously into a sitting position and accepted the tea gratefully. She drank deeply, finishing the powdered tea and then downing two more glasses of plain water. "Not worse, but not better," she rasped. "Everything hurts."

"Well, hopefully this will help," Weipon said, forcing optimism. "Just keep resting. You'll be fine soon." When Akabeko finally succumbed to sleep, Weipon sat watching the rain. Only the diminishing height of the room's single candle gave any indication when dark afternoon had slipped into darker night.

Next: Catching Up