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

Investigations (guest post!)

Previously: Heading Out

He opened his eyes as the crystal-clear chime faded from his mind. The air felt less oppressive, the scent of decay and corruption less pervasive. Emerging from his bolt-hole behind the inn, he opened his jaws wide in a toothy yawn, stretching lazily as he let his feline senses scan the area for threats.

Detecting the distant clash of battle, he padded around the building to find the courtyard a scene of controlled chaos. Monks were streaming in from all over the temple grounds, bearing wounded comrades, often wounded themselves, and medical stations were scattered about the area. A much smaller stream of monks, fresh and eager, were heading out in small groups. At the centre of all this were a couple of older Pandaren, directing people to aid, assigning groups, coordinating supplies. He trotted up to them, flowing back into his tauren shape as he approached. The involuntary gasps of alarm this elicited from those close by drew the attention of the elder monks, and under their stern, appraising gazes he stopped and bowed in front of them.

"Elders. I am here to help. What is the situation?"

Their eyebrows raised in astonishment, then one scowled as the other turned away to deal with another emergency. The scowling one opened her mouth to speak but stopped short, her eyes shifting to the temple. After a moment she nodded with a gruff harrumph and returned her gaze to Hadakha.

"You are a healer?"

"I have some healing abilities, yes, though it is not my-"

"Good. You may assist our wounded here." She gestured, taking in the chaos surrounding them.

Hadakha held her gaze for a moment, then bowed again perfunctorily. "Elder."

***

Some time later, as the stream of wounded slowed to a trickle, he found a bowl of hot noodle soup thrust into his hands, and retreated to a bench to eat and mull through what he had gleaned from talking to the monks he'd worked with.

So now he knew what the Sha were. This one had been imprisoned under the Temple for thousands of years. The bells that he had heard as he woke signaled that it had been forced back into its prison, but the echoes and remnants of its presence still lingered around the Temple grounds.

From the tales of some of the wounded who had taken part in the cleansing of the temple, he knew that the sha had the ability to possess people, but the implications were yet to be fully established. Could the possessed infect others, like the plague of undeath? Could the sha be - knowingly or unknowingly - transported out of Pandaria? Were they connected somehow to the mogu? The mists surrounding Pandaria? The arrival of the Horde and Alliance? The emergence of this one certainly seemed to be triggered by the new arrivals and their ever-present conflict, but was that the full story?

More information was needed. First thing: study the battleground where the Sha first emerged. Decision made, he left the bowl on the seat and strode out of the inn's courtyard, flowing into lionform as he left the area behind. He loped through the Temple grounds to the main gate, noting the skirmishing around the scattered areas of corrupted land as he went. He'd have to remember to find out how they cleansed the corruption – such knowledge could prove invaluable to the Circle if the sha menace spread to Azeroth.

The battlefield stench was worse than he'd expected, despite the surprisingly few bodies present. He remembered the sickening, rancid smell of the sha-lings he'd torn apart earlier, and wondered how long it would take for it to disperse. Groups of pandaren dotted the valley floor, some searching for signs of life, others collecting the remaining corpses of the armies that had clashed here only that morning.

He wandered around, examining the dessicated husks of those the Sha had fed upon, the desecrated ground, the jagged chunks of jade from the statue. In the fading light of dusk, he searched out the tiny brass bells he'd dropped from Mishi. Strangely, there was no sign of them at the first few recently-closed fissures he checked. The next one, however, showed him why. He caught sight of a telltale metallic gleam, which led him to a scattering of a few dozen bells.

Only a few of them were whole, however. Most were partially blackened and corroded, as if exposed to acid. With this new insight he swept his gaze over the immediate area and, sure enough, the ground was covered in tiny black lumps. It seemed that he'd been lucky to have enough bells to overcome the corrosive effect of the sha energy. Gathering up the unblemished bells, plus a few partly-corroded ones for reference, he dropped them into some pouches for later study. With the light fading fast now on the valley floor, he started the trek back to the Temple grounds.

It was very late when he arrived at the main gate, but the guards recognised him and let him in without a fuss. He started towards the inn, but then an idea led him to double back, to enquire of the guards where he could find the Lorewalker residence. Directions in hand, he made his way through the busy grounds, still full of bustling monks heading every which way. Finally he found the small building, tucked away behind some artfully cultivated foliage. As he approached the door, he was nearly bowled over by a stouter-than-usual pandaren clutching scrolls and papers.

"Oh! My deepest apologies, sir! I was just...my, you are a tall one, aren't you...just on my way to...sorry, were you looking for someone in particular?"

Hadakha raised an eyebrow at the flustered pandaren. "This is the Lorewalker residence, yes?"

"Yes, yes, of course, you are the...the...tauren, Hadakha!" Suddenly unsure, he peered at Hadakha more closely. "Am I correct in making that presumption, sir?"

At Hadakha's smile and nod, he continued hastily. "Lorewalker Cho said that you would come by. Unfortunately he has left, but I was to give you access to anything you required here. However, I..." he gestured helplessly with the scrolls, "I am summoned by Yu'lon to advise the Elders. You are most welcome to stay and avail yourself of anything you need. A bed is made up for you should you require it, and I have left a pot of freshly-brewed tea inside too. I...I'm afraid I really must be off now, so sorry!"

Bowing over and over as he sidled past, the pandaren finally turned and hurried off into the night. Hadakha chuckled as he went inside and took in the surroundings. The living area was cosy enough, but what really interested him was in the next room. Rubbing his hands in anticipation, he stepped through the bead curtain and gazed in satisfaction at the collection of lore before him. Then a frown furrowed his brow, and after a slight hesitation, he picked up a nearby scroll and unrolled it, his face dropping in frustrated disappointment. Although he could now converse in Pandaren almost fluently, he hadn't learned the script. Well, that was a waste. Since there was no telling when the lorewalker would be back, he decided with a sigh that sleep would be the best option for now.

*** 

He awoke to find himself still alone. After eating and washing, he wandered back into the storage room in the vain hope that the scrolls had become legible overnight. It was there that the lorewalker found him a little later, returning from his consultation. He bustled in, absentmindedly shelving the papers in his hands as he talked.

"Good morning, Mr. Hadakha! I trust you slept well? I apologise for my lack of hospitality, these are difficult times and one does not ignore a Celestial."

Hadakha dropped the scroll he held back onto the table and moved out of the pandaren's way. "Of course, I understand completely, er....?"

"Oh my goodness! How rude of me! I am Giko, of the order of Lorewalkers. I maintain our chapterhouse here. Not so much lorewalking, more lorekeeping." He grinned toothily. "Have you found what you were looking for? The organisation of our resources here might not be familiar to you."

"Actually, Lorewalker, I need your help. You see, I can't read Pandaren at all. It is so different from any natural language I have studied, I just...I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Of course, of course! Let me brew some tea, and then we shall see what I can help you with. Come, come." He herded Hadakha out into the living space, and busied himself with the tea while Hadakha explained about the bells and how they affected the Sha. With a cup of hot brew appearing tiny in his hands, he got to the real issues.

"Mayor Windfur mentioned that the bells he gave me were created by the Shado-Pan. I need to know more about this Shado-Pan, and how they relate to the Sha. It seems to me that if the Sha are breaking out from wherever they are, we will need ways to fight them. So, is there anything in there " - he nodded towards the storeroom – "that can give me some leads?" He leaned forward eagerly.

Giko nodded sagely. "Yes...yes, I think we can help you there. It so happens that, as a Lorewalker, I am intimately acquainted with the knowledge kept in those scrolls, so there is no need for us to search through them. I may need to consult some of them for particular details, but first let me give you the broad history of the Shado-Pan..."

Several hours and many pots of tea later, Hadakha was satisfied that he had enough information about the Shado-Pan, although as Giko stressed, they were a secretive order and he would need to earn their trust in order to learn more. Stretching, he admitted that he needed to go and find his friends. At this, Giko frowned in consternation.

"There was another of your kind at the Temple this morning, a woman. What was her name...Akabeka? This was your friend?"

"Akabeko. Yes. She has a companion, too, a Pandaren from the Wandering Isle. I guess I'd better head over to the Temple then...what is it?"

"Ah, my friend, they are gone! I was there when they had an audience with Yu'lon. I don't know what they talked about, but it seems they are on another quest to aid the Jade Serpent. They left this morning!"

Hadakha stared for a moment, then closed his eyes and dropped his face into his hand with a sigh. Well, he'd needed this information about the Shado-Pan, so it couldn't be helped. He was only a few hours behind them, after all, so it shouldn't take long to catch up with them. He thanked the Lorewalker profusely for his help, and took his leave, promising to come back sometime and satisfy Giko's curiosity about the world outside the Mists. As he turned to go, the Lorewalker's farewell gave him pause.

"Travel safe, my friend! I hope Akabeko manages to find someone to heal her injuries!"

He turned back, eyeing Giko warily. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, she was very battered and bruised this morning at the Temple."

He looked down at the bloodied tauren, kneeling on the floor before him, eyes downcast as he smashed his fist into her skull. She rocked back, then straightened again, still looking dully at the floor as he laughed and raised his fist once more.

"It was strange, I overheard some of the monks claiming that even their strongest healers could not help her! I've never heard of such a thing happening before. Anyway, I'm sure she will find the poultices effective, even if it takes longer."

He nodded slowly. Then with a quick bow, he turned and loped off, grinning inwardly at the awed gasp behind him as he shifted into lionform. The grin faded quickly though, as he considered the implications of Akabeko's injuries. She was a powerful healer in her own right, what could be preventing her from tending to her own wounds?

She is broken. The thought nagged at him as he headed for the main gate.

Next: The Despair

Stowaway (guest post!!)

Previously: A Dream

Dahakha perched on the edge of the cliff, peering through beady bird-eyes down at the Drag. Periodically he twitched his head around nervously, watching for any signs of recognition from the guards, patrols, and general passersby. It was a gamble simply being here, but he could see no other option to avoid a hermetic existence in some remote wilderness. As long as he remained in one of his animal forms, and didn't run into any high-ranking druids, he was fairly certain that he would blend in as just another visitor to Orgrimmar.

After the rude shock of finding that his guild headquarters were not where he remembered them being, it had only taken a few minutes to locate the HQ of this dimension's guild, and now he was looking for a familiar face to show itself. He brooded over his predicament as he waited. Sometimes he still thought he was dreaming, stuck in some never ending nightmare.....or that, perhaps, he was actually, completely mad. Insane, even. But the familiarity of his surroundings always restored his confidence in reality, however bizarre it was turning out to be. Every so often something jarred his perception, reminded him of the same-but-different nature of the world he was now living in, but he was surprised to realise that those moments were becoming less frequent and less intense. Obviously his long experience with the uncertainties that defined engineering had inured him to such shocks. The thought made him chuckle-chirp to himself quietly. It was engineering that had got him into this in the first place!

After a long night in conversation with Unoke, the windrider master at Thunderlord Stronghold, Dahakha had left in a daze that had little to do with the Mulgore firewater they'd downed together. Clearly the world he was in was not the one he'd been in the previous day. Moreover, from what his old friend had told him, it would be dangerous to make himself known to Horde authorities. What pained him the most though, was the idea that he was cut off from the Cenarion Circle as well. He'd meditated on it for a number of days, then decided to end the nagging doubts by investigating Unoke's claims himself. Finding himself a cave – not much larger than a niche – in Nagrand from which to base himself, he journeyed back through the Dark Portal to Mulgore. Finding the junkbox at the grave had been a shock. Was it her? Could she....he risked a foray into Thunder Bluff to seek out answers. Returning to the grave, he had intended to replace the offering, but found himself unable to relinquish the only reminder he had of her. With a mixture of hope and reluctance, he returned to Nagrand and continued to meditate on the matter. Finally admitting to himself that he had no real understanding of what had happened, and unable to seek help from his usual sources, he had decided to consult with the learned ogre-magi of Ogri'La.

It had taken months, but eventually Dahakha was persuaded that his wormhole generator experiments had......succeeded....in a way that he had not been able to imagine. Of course, as an engineer he was familiar with dimensional travel, but the possibility of it taking him to a whole new reality was completely new.

Unfortunately, the ogre-magi could not offer anything except condolences when he started exploring ways to return home. Apparently there were, in theory, an infinite number of realities, and they counseled him against trying to duplicate his experiment as the chances of him finding his home again were vanishingly small. With a heavy heart, Dahakha had thanked them for their help and taken his leave.

Now here he was, trying to see if he could contact guild members and start a new life with them. He fought down another surge of panic as the thought flashed through his mind yet again that his friends might not be in this guild, might not even exist in this world. He calmed himself with the reassurance that his closest friend, the one he could trust absolutely with his situation, was alive and a member here. Now he just had to find her, and hope that she would speak to him again, after that......no, no, it could be different here. He prayed that it was different, one of the few things he'd be glad to see changed.

Shuffling along the edge of the cliff, he became suddenly impatient. Where was everyone?! He hadn't seen anyone enter or leave the HQ for hours! In fact.....the entire city seemed rather empty. Abruptly tired of waiting, he fell forward, gliding down to the guild entrance. Flowing into lionform, he padded through the door, searching the building for signs of activity. Hmph. Nothing. Glancing through some open doorways to sleeping quarters, he got the decided impression that most people had been away for a goodly amount of time. This was very odd. He needed some answers, and unfortunately that meant risking talking to strangers.

Trotting outside again, he made his way down the Drag, considering his options. A merchant would probably be best, he mused. Spotting a tauren walking away from one shop, an Earthen Ring tabard proudly displayed over her armour, he quickly barged in before he lost his nerve. There was a startled orc just inside on his way out, and the orc at the workbench was half out of her seat, though she seemed more angry than surprised at his sudden entrance. The orc at the door glanced back at her. "Remember, no slaughtering customers!" With a straight-faced wink at Dahakha he left the shop.

Sitting on the floor beside the entrance, Dahakha realised belatedly that he would have to give up his animal cover if he was to get any information here. The orc frowned at his silence.

"Can I help you at all, druid?"

With a sigh Dahakha flowed back into his tauren shape, twitching and poised for flight if any sign of recognition showed in the orc's face. After a tense moment, he relaxed slightly and spoke. "Greetings. I have...been away for a substantial amount of time, and I return to find the city much less busy than I remember it being. I was hoping you could enlighten me on the reason?"

The orc's eyebrows raised incredulously. "You haven't heard?"

Dahakha scowled. "Obviously not. Is there some news of Deathwing? Has Ragnaros finally been defeated?"

At this, it was the orc's turn to scowl. "Har har, your little joke is about a year old now, druid. Stop wasting my time." She turned back to her seat, muttering scornfully under her breath.

Dahakha stood in confusion and mounting indignation as she sat down, pointedly ignoring him. His mouth opened and closed silently, torn between answering this rudeness and the need for answers. Finally he settled for shifting into a lion and giving vent to an almighty roar of frustration.

The orc did not look impressed at all. She waited until he shifted back, then pointed at the door. "If you don't have work for me, then leaving would be a good idea."

Dahakha took a deep breath. The orc gave him a warning glare, and he let it out again, shoulders slumping. Gathering himself, he said "I apologise for giving you offense; it was not my intention. As I said, I have been away for a long time, and I find all my friends gone. The city seems almost deserted. I have no idea where they could have gone. Anything you could tell me would be most appreciated."

The orc stared at him appraisingly. Finally she spoke. "Someone found a new land. The Warchief sent an expedition out there to claim it for the Horde, and after the relative peace after Deathwing was killed, I'd imagine your friends - along with most of the adventurers and thrill-seekers in Orgrimmar – went to see the sights." She waved vaguely at the door. "There's some sort of ambassador in the Valley of Honour, they can probably tell you more."

Acknowledging this dismissal, Dahakha bowed his head in thanks and with another mumbled apology flowed out into the Drag again. Making his way to the Valley of Honour, he quickly saw the camp of the newcomers. An apprentice mage was nearby, maintaining a portal. Approaching him cautiously, Dahakha asked where it led. "Pandaria, of course!" the blood elf snapped, not bothering to turn around. "No, I can't issue passes!", he continued before Dahakha could say anything more. "Get one from the Warchief's hall."

Dahakha turned away, disappointed. After a few steps he brightened. The merchant had said the Horde had an expeditionary force there....they would need supplies and reinforcements. All he had to do was find a ship to sneak aboard. That shouldn't be too difficult. Finally having a purpose and a plan felt good, and some of the tense weight on his mind eased a little. He turned his attention to the new arrivals, studying the Pandaren delegation curiously. Their friendly demeanour invited his approach, and he decided to see if he could learn anything useful about this new land. Again he was disappointed, though, for these Pandaren were only slightly more familiar with the Pandaria of today as he was. When they asked him about himself, he remembered his danger and quickly excused himself, hurrying off.

As dusk deepened into night, a bird landed on the deck of the airship Saurfang. Minutes later the hold had another occupant. Settling down to sleep, Dahakha woke to the sounds of the crew preparing to leave. Making himself as comfortable as he could amongst boxes and sacks stamped with the words 'Domination Point', he took out the rusted junkbox from his bag. Carefully holding it in his large, callused hands, he once again gazed at the slim proof that his goal was worth chasing. He wondered how long it would take to find her.....and if things would turn out better this time around.......

Next: Heading Out

Dahakhabeko's One Time Fun Time Podcast (Two Time)

Part One

In which some cows get tipped tipsy.


This was cobbled together from a series of recordings in an effort to appease the MP3 Skype Recorder gods. I apologize for some weird garbled bits in the middle and hope you can understand that part!

Dahakhabeko's One Time Fun Time Podcast! Pt. 1

Part 1: In which Dahakha puts up with Akabeko's drinking


Towards the end the audio gets a little garbled as it speeds uncontrollably on into the sunset. Despite a very entertaining Saturday night conversation, the second half of the audio is completely unintelligible. For that reason, we bring you the first 45 minutes now and will have to re-record the rest later this week. I'm so very sorry for the inconvenience!

Part 2!

A Dream [guest post!!]

Previously: Into the Temple of the Jade Serpent

As he fell into the blackness of sleep, the words echoed once more in Hadakha's mind.

She is broken.

The first dream exploded into being. He was surrounded by fire, screams, missiles zipping through the air past his head. It took a moment to register that he was on an airship, and that it was under attack. People were running about madly, trying to find weapons, put out fires, repair damage, yelling orders. He caught sight of Akabeko, sitting in a gunner's chair, while Weipon loaded the cannon with ammunition. He started forward and began calling out to them, but a massive explosion slammed the ship sideways, sending a screaming Weipon over the rail.

He watched as Akabeko stared dumbly at the space where her friend had been, then threw herself out into the air after her. He rushed to the rail, peering down as a huge stormcrow dove after the pandaren, snatching her from the air and delivering her safely to the ground. But...how did she get so big? He saw the crow lift off again, then suddenly screech in pain and slump sideways, apparently losing the use of one wing. As she fell, she shrank weirdly, flailing about in distress before slamming into the ground.....

She cannot control her forms. What use is a druid who has lost her abilities?

Now he was in a pandaren tavern drinking room, sitting next to Akabeko, with Weipon across from them. Crowds of curious pandaren surrounded them, eagerly refilling mugs with strongly-spiced ale, clamouring for information about the foreigners. He turned to the tauren woman and heard himself say something in Pandaren, which triggered a snort from Weipon. After a brief exchange, Akabeko turned back to him with an overly cheerful smile, grinding out "I'm going to kill you in your sleep!" from between gritted teeth. She clinked his mug before downing her drink.

Threats of violence? Murder?! Is that really how an Archdruid should behave?

Again he was in a drinking room, surrounded by laughter, conversation and singing. He saw Akabeko across the room, throwing back a drink, nodding absently to the pandaren next to her as they filled her cup again. She looked grim, occasionally sending a brief half-smile to whoever was talking at her, nodding uncomprehendingly as the talk went on, unceasing. Abruptly she stood, knocking over some cups, and gripped the table hard as she swayed dangerously. Without a word she stumbled off to her room, crashing into walls and banging her head and shoulders against doorframes. He followed her, but as he entered her room the scene faded, and the last he saw was her sprawled face-down on the bed, drool flowing out the corner of her mouth, a purloined bottle hanging loosely from her hand...

Do you really want a drunkard guiding you? Making important decisions that affect the lives of others?

He watched as Akabeko and Weipon stood together, bending over a map in the tauren's hands. Akabeko looked around, confused, and scratched her head as she tried to figure out where they were. Suddenly Weipon pointed at the map and exclaimed something, gesturing in agitation. The druid looked around again, doubtfully, then shrugged. Packing up, they set off, the pandaren woman striking out confidently while Akabeko trailed along obediently.

A druid who gets lost in a forest? How can such a one be considered for promotion?

Akabeko leant over the decayed body of a Forsaken woman, trying to determine the extent of her wounds. He saw her mutter under her breath and gesture, then wince. She closed her eyes and her face tightened with effort as she struggled to cast a healing spell. Finally she finished, but the strain left her panting in exhaustion, and the glow of her hands as they hovered above the Forsaken was pitifully weak.

How could one so weak in ability even interest the Council?

He looked down at the bloodied tauren, kneeling on the floor before him, eyes downcast as he smashed his fist into her skull. She rocked back, then straightened again, still looking dully at the floor as he laughed and raised his fist once more.

She has no passion! No care! No will to fight back!

She is broken!

A bell chimed.

She is broken!

Images started to flitter through his mind...Akabeko angrily waving away a pleading Weipon, swigging from a flask-

She is broken!

Akabeko staring vacantly into the distance as, beside her, Weipon attempts to negotiate with an important-looking pandaren-

She is broken!

Weipon sitting and chatting with a group of pandaren around a table, while Akabeko sits in a dark corner, brooding over a mug of ale-

She is brok-

A bell chimed.

Next: Stowaway

Into The Temple of the Jade Serpent

Previously: A Shadow Rises

A horn sounded across the temple grounds, drawing Weipon's attention from questioning another gaggle of monks. Their brief conversation finished, they turned to continue their survey of the area for more tiny sha, and Weipon shook her head.

"They haven't seen him."

Akabeko nodded, frowning. "Did you hear that trumpet? Does that mean what I think it does?"

"I think we're out of time," Weipon agreed. "If we want to go into the Temple, we will have to go back there now, without Hadakha."

Unable to hide her frustration, Akabeko turned and made for the Temple. Weipon followed, quietly glad that her friend was willing to help with this. Perhaps she realized how important the task was to the pandaren, or perhaps she felt responsible, in her own way.

Cho was standing near the monks assembled, waiting patiently compared to the agitation radiating from the other pandaren. He caught Akabeko's eye and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. Find him? She shook her head briefly, lips pulling downward. No.

Weipon recognized many of the monks from her earlier training, and she quickly went to stand beside them, exchanging tight smiles as they formed small ranks. Akabeko made to follow, but one of the trainers held out a hand.

"Oh no you don't. It was you fools that got us into this mess. I won't have you bringing even greater offense to the Temple by coming inside with us."

Although she couldn't understand the words, Akabeko clearly got the message. She shot a pained glance at Weipon, then looked back to the trainer. "Please," she said, calling on her meager Pandaren. "Please. I will help."

The trainer regarded the tauren scornfully. Weipon spoke, "She is a healer, and dedicated to cleansing this taint from the Temple. Both she and another foreigner were responsible for clearing the battlefield."

"After being the ones to cause the problem in the first place," the trainer responded, not breaking her scrutiny of Akabeko. But the lines around her mouth softened, and her gaze grew contemplative, measuring. "We don't have time to waste on this. She may come, so long as she works twice as hard to prove herself." Spinning, the trainer strode to the head of the gathered assault group, conferring with the other leaders.

"Open the gates!" shouted the another trainer, motioning ahead of himself. "We're going in!"

They marched forward as one, and Akabeko glanced around before joining Weipon. "Thanks," she whispered, falling in step at the edge of the row.

Inside the temple proper, they were assaulted by the sour stench of sha, seemingly radiating off the very stones. Some of the pandaren groaned, holding their stomachs as the foul odor struck them. By now used to the disgusting scent, Weipon merely wrinkled her nose and tried to breathe evenly through her mouth.

An unsettling slithering noise from down the hall drew their attention. "Serpent trainers, ahead!" a trainer called, directing the monks and their young cloud serpents into the murky darkness.

There was a high-pitched shriek, followed by sounds of a struggle, and then the hallway noticeably brightened as the sha's influence receded and their corpses dissolved into mold. The serpents returned to their companions, looking ferociously pleased.

The leaders divided the pandaren into teams in order to split up and traverse the temple faster. Weipon pulled Akabeko into a group with Peng and a handful of monks she had met during training. They stood clustered together while the serpent trainers were assigned groups, and then the same instructor from before joined them, glancing pointedly at the druid.

"We are going directly to the main hall. The other teams will meet us there if they finish flushing out the other wings. Be on your guard."

They advanced into the wide training ground, now filled with corpses being feasted upon by clusters of sha. Someone near the front gave a strangled cry, alerting the sha to their presence, and in the next moment they were swarmed by shadowy monsters with seeking mouths.

Now adjusted to the unpleasant work, Weipon stepped forward, flanked closely by Akabeko, and waded into the fray, punching and kicking at the sha in her way. She noticed her friends hesitantly falling in beside her, drawing courage from her. At first, they shied away from not only the sha, but Akabeko as well, clearly cautious of her feral-looking form. However, the longer she fought, pouncing from foe to foe, the more they eagerly followed her lead, picking off any stragglers she missed.

Weipon lost track of time as they put down sha after malignant sha. She concentrated on her form, on her strikes, on the movement of her comrades in their dangerous waltz with the shadowy monsters, anything to distance herself from the vile task of pulling the creatures from the quickly-rotting corpses of fallen pandaren. At some point, she realized that there were no more shadows for her questing fists to fight and came out of her trance, blinking slowly and taking in the equally exhausted pandaren around her.

One of the instructors surveyed the carnage in the courtyard with a pained expression. "We will return to put this to rights after we have dealt with the Sha. For now, we will continue into the main building." He turned to stride into the building, but pulled up short when a pandaren stepped from the shadows along the walls.

Liu Flameheart's typically stern face was contorted into a fearsome scowl, her fur lifeless and shot through with sudden and premature gray. She looked at the gathered group without recognition, features drawing deeper into a sneer. "Your forces are weak," she bit out, leaping forward to strike at the nearest monk.

With a shout, the battle began. It became quickly apparent that the cloud serpents would not fight the very priestess that had trained and cared for them, and their monk partners found themselves herded back by the agitated serpents. Where they reluctantly gave way, more monks stepped in to meet Liu's rapid, unceasing attacks.

Despite being one against many, the Sha's influence over Liu made her a terrifying and formidable foe. In the blink of an eye, she took out an entire swath of opponents, jabbing at vulnerable throats, shattering wrists and knees, turning weapons against their wielders. Weipon could see Akabeko moving in and out of the fray, dodging and weaving amongst the upright crush of bodies surrounding Liu. The Sha-controlled priestess was evidently confused by the ostensibly wild creature stalking her from behind the other pandaren. It provided the perfect opportunity: she stumbled, falling to one knee, and was immediately set upon by the three closest pandaren.

They brought Liu to her knees, and Weipon felt sudden terror claw its way up her throat. Until now they had merely been fighting to defend themselves, but what would they do to their former comrade?

"The cycle must continue, the Jade Serpent must be reborn!" Liu announced, unseeing gaze sweeping across those around her.

Before anyone could respond, the area around Liu was bathed in gentle, calming light as Yu'lon's misty apparition wavered into existence. The Jade Serpent coiled her sending around her priestess, cutting her off from the monks and pinning her arms and legs into stillness. Liu's mouth hung open slackly, her eyes unfocused.

Yu'lon nudged her ghostly nose against the pandaren's forehead, sniffing audibly. "Be free of doubt, priestess," she murmured. With a whuffling sound, she exhaled softly against Liu's forehead, breathing color back into her ashen features. As suddenly as it had come, the sending dissipated, sending out a tiny burst of rejuvenating green dust. Liu crumpled bonelessly to the floor.

The same monks from before darted in, this time to check the priestess's condition. She lay limply on the floor, her breathing labored and shallow. The young cloud serpents complicated matters by rushing back in to sniff and nip at their injured master, preventing monk healers from getting close to assess her injuries.

Without warning, the cloud serpents darted back in surprise, revealing an unusual purple glow threading its way around Liu's body. The monks began to mutter in concern, but Weipon's eyes were drawn immediately to Akabeko, who was standing at the edge of the group, concentrating intently. Weipon limped gingerly over to her friend, not bothering to disguise her curiosity now that the druid's attention was elsewhere. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to simply watch while Akabeko performed her unusual healing.

It didn't seem to be going easily, however. Akabeko's fists clenched and unclenched, fingers crooking this way and that as if she were attempting to navigate some puzzle. Her brows drew together and she let out a low growl of frustration. Unconsciously, from under her tunic she fished out a brittle-looking seashell and rubbed it between two enormous fingers.

By now, it was evident that the druid was attempting to heal Liu but was having difficulty. Belatedly, Weipon remembered the little bell she still had tucked away in a belt pouch and brought it out, mentally berating herself for not thinking to use it sooner. She let it chime in Akabeko's direction, drawing the attention of the other monks.

At the same time, Akabeko inhaled sharply, eyes widening as the calming sound had its effect. She cast several spells in quick succession, face composed and movements economical. When she became still, there came a quiet groaning from within the group of monks as Liu Flameheart came to her senses.

The monks began to cheer, gathering around the druid as well as their exhausted but sha-free priestess. Weipon saw one of the trainers clap Akabeko on the shoulder, and she giggled when some of the cloud serpents showed their appreciation by nuzzling at the tauren's face and neck. She could hear the monks' praise, and although it was clear Akabeko didn't understand much of it, she nodded politely and smiled at each person.

Now, the same trainer that had ordered Akabeko to leave stepped forward, half-supporting a weak-but-alert Liu. She nodded at the tauren, adding, "It seems you did have something worth contributing. Thank you." Akabeko bowed graciously, and Weipon was secretly pleased that at least some of her cultural training had stuck.

The pace picked up again as the instructors rallied the remaining able-bodied troops. They had to leave many of the monks behind due to wounds taken at the hands of either the sha or Liu, and the body count was already regrettably high. Those well enough to press on gathered again to venture deeper into the temple, leaving behind their weakened comrades to rest.

Weipon took the opportunity to attach the bell to her belt, hoping that it would continue to jingle while she fought. Peng noticed this from his place beside her and nodded at the bell with a questioning look. "It's something from Lorewalker Cho," she told him quietly. "I don't know what's special about it, but it seems to weaken the sha. I wish I had thought to use it earlier!"

Before he could respond, the massive doors to the large hall they were in slammed shut, and out of the darkness rose an even inkier black shape, crackling white as if shot through with lightning. The Sha of Doubt towered over them, smaller than it had been on the battlefield but still oppressively large for the room. The doors to the hall shook violently as something slammed against them from outside.

"You're too weak to follow me in here, my jade jailor," the Sha rumbled sweetly. Its breath stank of dead and rotting things, compounding with the fetid stench rolling off its putrid body. From beyond the doors came the answering cry, a mind-numbing, blood-curdling roar that for all its power could not open the doors. The Sha of Doubt extended two shadowy arms, comically long and jointed in too many places. "Die or surrender," he told the pandaren. "You cannot defeat me."

Undaunted, the monks attacked as one. They surrounded the Sha, pummeling its slimy flesh. The bell on Weipon's belt chirped merrily, making the Sha quiver and flinch. It half-turned towards her, one milky white eye regarding her with concern.

"Very well. See how effortlessly you become unraveled."

All at once, the Sha and all of the other monks disappeared, and Weipon was face to face with...herself? This Weipon appeared as Liu had, face pinched, fur dull and gray, and most importantly, incredibly hostile.

"Well, if it isn't the little cub who left her Mama and Papa behind," the sha sneered, launching into a series of punches. "Too weak-minded to make your own decisions, you let those Horde strangers talk you into abandoning the most important people in the world to you."

Weipon barely dodged a kick aimed at her head, only fast enough to defend, never able to attack. Had she done that? She had felt so confident when she left...

"And now," Weipon continued, this time landing a kick, "now you're letting some foreigner you just met boss you around! What a disgrace!" She swept out a leg, knocking her opponent down fast enough to pin her. "And instead of fighting back, you just let all that anger boil up inside..." She pressed their noses together, breath ghosting over her opponent's lips. "Let it get the best of you..."

Was that true? It was true, wasn't it? She had lost control, behaved like a mindless animal in front of her peers. The monk's struggles weakened as she retreated into her own thoughts. But wasn't there a reason for her anger? And she had learned something that day, an important lesson.

"That's right," Weipon continued with a mocking smile. "You're angry at the orders you're getting; you don't like them but you're too weak to argue, to disobey."

The monk strained weakly, nose wrinkling at the disgusting odor that washed over her with Weipon's cruel words. She stank of...of sha. Sha! The Sha of Doubt, which was taking over the Temple!

"No!" Weipon shouted, bucking her hips up against her sha-copy, unseating her and sending out a reassuring peal of the bell. She wrestled with the sha-copy, flipping her into a pin of her own. "I didn't abandon my parents; I believed in going to explore the world; I can and will master my emotions!" Her hands closed around the abomination's throat. "I will not let the Horde make me compromise my morals," she added fiercely.

Rather than fight back, the sha-copy snatched at her belt, grabbing at the bell even as it blistered and blackened her unnatural flesh. Before Weipon could stop her, she crushed the tiny bell in her fist, sending up a great gout of smoke and the scent of charred meat. "If you won't go quietly, so be it," she said snidely, and promptly disappeared.

Crouching atop empty air, Weipon fell the few inches to the ground and landed painfully on her knees. She whipped around, taking in the sight of each of her comrades fighting their own demons. Others were overcoming their own doubts, but she could also see bodies of those who had not.

Nearby, she could see Akabeko, on her knees and staring resolutely at the ground. Before her stood her sha-copy, laughing as she brought a fist crashing down against her skull. Akabeko staggered, righted herself, and waited for the next blow. The sha-copy's knuckles were split and ragged, and Weipon could smell the foul black blood from where she was.

Letting out a furious cry, she propelled herself into the tauren-shaped sha, channeling all of her remaining strength into wiping it from existence. It looked at her in obvious annoyance and said, in perfect Pandaren, "You are entirely too much trouble," before ramming one blade-shaped shadowy appendage into her gut.

Losing all semblance of tauren features, the shadow retreated, flowing to rejoin the Sha of Doubt's quivering mass. It sneered at the remaining pandaren, its grotesque mouth a too-wide gash in its face that glowed bright white.

Weipon stopped watching, although she was dimly aware of the sounds of fighting and the overwhelming presence of something ancient and benevolent hovering just outside the doors. Her hands skittered over the hole in her tunic, where the shadow-stuff had punched through the leather of her chestpiece and sliced neatly into the soft flesh beneath. Blood seeped unendingly from the wound, and it reeked as if infected. She knew she should press against it, staunch the flow, but it hurt so much to even touch...!

Tears blurred her vision and her breaths became shallow pants. As panic began to set in, however, a face swam before her eyes.

"Wei. Wei! Weipon!" Then, unexpectedly, in Pandaren, "Weipon, look at me!"

She concentrated until the face came into focus. Akabeko looked inflated, cheeks and lips split from being beaten, nasty bruises puffing up along her jaw.

"There you are," she continued in Orcish, hands covering Weipon's to press them firmly against the wound. "You got your happy bell on you?" When this earned little more than a panicked gasp, she shook her head. "All right, that's not terrible. We made it this far without one, right?" While Akabeko talked, Weipon could feel a faint, warm tingling around the wound. "This is hardly the worst thing I've ever seen," she continued, all bravado. "I've got it all under control; don't you worry."

Weipon gave a tiny shriek as the pain spiked. The scent of decaying flesh thickened, prickling across her skin as it spread up her ribcage, down to her hips.

Akabeko's face contorted, and she laughed bitterly. "Just like riding a plainstrider; you do it once, you never forget how," she muttered. The warmth under her hands increased to a light tickle. "Come on," the druid continued, mostly to herself. "If you can't even do this, what good are you anyway? She got you this far; you owe her twice that." She groaned, a long, bitter wail, and squeezed her hands around Weipon's.

Briefly, Akabeko's eyes glazed over blue, and the sensation at Weipon's middle increased to a comforting pulse of heat that thrummed through her body.

She could feel the very unpleasant moment when her skin knit itself back together, followed by an itch that crawled its way across her skin as the infected flesh returned to normal. Weipon clumsily pulled up her shirt, running her fingers over the space where a hole had been opened into her guts. Now there was only smooth, unbroken skin and healthy fur.

Akabeko sat back with a great sigh. Breathing heavily, she absently brushed a handful of clinging vines and leaves from her forearms. She looked at Weipon and smiled wryly, revealing a freshly-chipped tooth. "Let's never do that again," she suggested, and helped Weipon to her feet.

Sometime after defeating the sha doppelgangers, the monks had managed to open the doors for Yu'lon and defeat the weakened Sha. They were taking stock of their losses when Akabeko and Weipon rejoined them, and Weipon gratefully accepted a reassuring hug from Peng. He looked haunted, as did many of the other pandaren who were clearly still dwelling on whatever doubts their sha-copies had thrown at them. Weipon glanced at Akabeko, recalling the brutal scene she had witnessed, but the tauren's face was a careful mask.

The Sha is not completely gone, but merely imprisoned once again, Yu'lon said solemnly. Without my rebirth, I am too weak now to do more to contain it. She shut her enormous, liquid eyes in apology. I thank you for your service, my loyal followers.

The pandaren smiled wearily at each other, pleased that for the time being their beloved Temple and its beloved deity were safe.

Next: A Dream

A Shadow Rises [guest post!]

Previously: The Consequence of War

What a mess.

Hadakha tore his attention from the massive Sha feeding on the armies below to the walls of Dawn's Blossom, where Mayor Windfur and a few guards were trying to maintain order amongst the panic. Half of the citizens there were standing slack-jawed in shock, staring out at the monster in the valley and the remains of the jade statue, while the other half fled screaming into the town, trampling anyone who got in the way. Lorewalker Cho ignored it all, intent on the Sha and muttering to himself. Hadakha glided down to land beside him as he nodded to himself and turned to the mayor.

"What do you have, to fight it? I can't believe Taran Zhu would leave you defenceless against a Sha outbreak, not a town this close to the Temple."

Windfur nodded distractedly, still issuing orders to his guards. Finally he answered Cho. "I'll have to go and get them myself, since I have the only key."

Hadakha broke in. "I could go. I can move much faster through all this than you, after all."

The mayor shot him a dark look. "You wouldn't know where to look. And I think your kind have done enough already, tauren."

Ignoring the hostile tone, Hadakha shrugged. "Alright, I will carry you then. Speed is crucial, isn't it?" Without waiting for an answer, he flowed into stagform and stamped a hoof impatiently. When Windfur continued glowering at him, Cho stepped in and gave him a shove.

"Go! We don't have time for this! It will come for Dawn's Blossom next! I will meet you at the gate." Reluctantly, the mayor clambered onto Hadakha's back, muttered "My home," and they were off.

They darted through the chaos of the streets, Mayor Windfur bellowing at people to make way, and soon arrived at his mansion. Sliding off Hadakha's back, Windfur thrust a finger at his face. "You stay here!" he almost snarled, then ran into the building. Not long after, servants starting boiling out of the mansion, looking scared as they hurried off. Hadakha waited, watching the crowds become slowly more organised as guards directed people towards the northern gate. Finally, the mayor emerged, carrying some sacks, each about the size of a pandaren's head, that clinked as he once more climbed onto Hadakha's back.

The return journey through the town was much slower, since they were now going against the flow of the traffic. Even Windfur's bellowing couldn't speed their progress much. But it was easier once they neared the southern gate, most of the population having moved away by then. They found Lorewalker Cho standing near the portal, and to Hadakha's surprise he was talking to a large, fuschia cloud serpent that was hovering over him. As they trotted up, Cho pointed at Hadakha, seemed to argue with the cloud serpent for a few moments, then greeted them with a grim expression.

"Mishi here has just come from the Temple. The sha have erupted all over the temple grounds, and the monks are fighting to contain them. We can expect no aid from them, which means we have to deal with this ourselves. What did you bring?"

Windfur handed over a sack, which Cho untied and opened curiously. "The Shado-Pan brought these to me, as a first line of defence until help arrived," the mayor explained as Cho plucked out a tiny brass bell. "They are crafted for pure harmony, and blessed by Yu'lon herself. As sha are the product of negative emotion, these bells should disrupt their physical forms and disperse their energy." He frowned doubtfully. "But I don't know that they were designed to fight against something as big as that thing out there."

Hadakha grabbed a sack and started tying it to his belt. "Well, only one way to find out," he said, "and it's our only option at this stage." Windfur made to protest, but Cho nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we have to try. Mishi will take you there. Drop the bells near or in those fissures we saw, they seem to be the source of the Sha's energy." He helped tie the sacks to Hadakha's clothing, while the mayor spluttered impotently. Then, clapping the bulging, clinking tauren on the back, he said "The Lorewalkers keep a residence in the Temple grounds. I need to check the scrolls there, see if there is anything else we can do to fix this whole mess. Take care of those fissures, then head over to the Temple grounds and help the monks. I will meet you there. Good luck, my friend."

With a nod, Hadakha mounted the cloud serpent and they flew out over the valley. He found the undulating movement very disconcerting, but forced himself to ignore it and study the cracked, broken ground. From the air it was even more clear that the large fissures were spewing out the black smoke, and Mishi obviously saw it too, heading straight for the closest one. He opened the first sack and tried to pick out a bell, but his large fingers were too bulky for such precision. Instead, he scooped out a half handful, letting the bells roll around on his palm, their bright, clear peals somehow penetrating even the wind-noise and the horrible screams and squelching from the battlefield below. Judging their course, he tipped his palm over and dropped the bells into the fissure.

Mishi halted as they watched the results. Only...there was no change. Scooping out a full handful now, he scattered the bells across the fissure, again watching for a reaction. Was the smoke lessening? He dug into the sack again and again, strewing the bells about to cover the area around the fissure as well. Each time, the smoke visibly dissipated a little more. Finally, with most of the bells used up, the smoke cleared to reveal unbroken ground, though it was still grey and lifeless.

They moved on to the next crack, and this time he knew how many he needed to sow. Casting bells about with abandon, he stopped only to check that this ground, too, had mended, before he was urging Mishi on to the next one. En route, he noticed that the Sha had diminished in size, and was thrashing about as if in agony. It was still feeding on the hapless soldiers, but it seemed more...frantic now. They went from fissure to fissure, driving back the smoke and healing the tortured ground, and each time the Sha shrank a little more, leaving behind multitudes of small, goblin-sized versions of itself that continued to gorge.

Casting around for more fissures, he noticed a couple of small figures racing across the valley from the south. One was humanoid, but the other, streaking ahead, was unmistakably a feline shape. He shook his head, wondering whether exhaustion was making him hallucinate, but the figures continued to charge in, tearing into the little sha. Could it be...Akabeko? If so, he was glad she was still alive. But right now he had a job to finish. Spotting the final remaining smoke-gushing fissure, they flew in and dumped the last sack of bells on the area.

As the bells tumbled down, the Sha gave another piercing shriek and dissolved into a formless, inky cloud. Rather than dissipating, however, the cloud fled, flowing across the ground towards the Temple at an incredible speed. With a shout, Hadakha and Mishi raced after it, but even the cloud serpent could not match its pace, and they watched as it flowed through the Temple gates and disappeared inside.

There was no sign of the cloud when Mishi landed in a courtyard near the temple itself, but as Hadakha jumped to the ground he saw there was still much to do. Chaos reigned in the temple grounds, with dozens of monks fighting off scores of sha creatures. Mishi sped off as he looked around, darting in to snap the sha up in its jaws and tear them apart, then moving away to do the same to the next pack. Hadakha swiftly changed into lionform and followed suit, clawing and ripping his way savagely through the foul flesh of the nearest sha.

He saw the greatest concentration of fighting around a large building, the inn he'd heard about last time, perhaps? Starting towards it, he was confronted by a group of sha who reached out to him hungrily. He ripped the first one apart, then his fury was shocked out of him when one of them spoke.

She is useless.

The words hissed in his mind. Batting aside a questing limb, he tore into another one.

She is pathetic.

Enraged now, he ravaged more of them, until only one remained.

She is...

He sprang forward, bearing it down and destroying it in an explosion of rotting giblets. But faintly, in his mind, he heard the final word.

Broken.

He stood panting heavily, trying to purge the voice from his mind, but the words continued to echo just beyond his grasp. Disturbed now, he got his bearings and headed to the inn, falling on the creatures from behind and allowing the defending monks time to regroup.

He pushed through and surveyed the area. It seemed relatively peaceful now that the main attack had been beaten back. Suddenly a wave of dizziness washed over him, the events of the past days catching up to overwhelm him. Exhausted, he crawled into a narrow nook between a shrub and the back wall of the inn, and, despite the sha and their insidious taunts, tumbled into sleep.

Next: Into the Temple of the Jade Serpent