Walls do not a prison make, nor do they make a home (Bippy,Emanee etc)

((OOC - bear with the smatterings of OOC here... apologies- it was a part forum/part ingame storyline))

(((In Character as Quelor, with hints of Bippy))

Quelor rose fitfully from his sleep as a ray of sunlight thru the high narrow window persisted in pestering him. He turned over with a groan and almost immediately sat bolt upright in bed. His head had hit a wet patch on the pillow. With a wet *plunk* another big drop of water hit the pillow and Quelor followed it's trajectory upwards to the roof. Another ray of sunlight served to betray a hole in the roof of the barracks where last night's rainfall invaded his sleeping quarters.

Quelor grunted. He appreciated being taken in by the Exiles and all but the accomodations were "less then satisfactory", as he would put it. Earlier he had spoken to Bippy on the subject who had remarked, and he quoted "...the rats have left my room in protest... and they were good rats too..."

Quelor sat back on his bunk, which protested with a kind of squelching groan. He sighed. Ah, back in the old days... he thought to himself, When the House of Ri'azuma roamed the land freely... we had estates all over Azaroth... Then a thought struck him... why, the House of Ri'azuma still had estates all over Azaroth!

Quickly Quelor rose and donned his finest uniform. Time to speak to Grand Maester Hiddenshadow...

((Emanee))

Emanee sighed as she watched the world go by through a hole in the quarters she shared with Anradila, Lottire and occasionally Aeiseth, random items of weaponry and clothing strewn on the floor, some more mouldy than others.

Noticing Quelor walk past she shouted 'Good Morning!'

He paused, so she went to the door of the room as she prised the door from its warped frame the handle came off in her hand. 'Quelor can you give me a hand here?' She called out, and he managed to pretty much kick the door down, putting his foot through its rotten panel.

Moving the now destroyed door into the hallway they exchanged pleasantries. 'How are you today my dear?' Emanee asked 'And what are you doing in that lovely uniform?'

((Quelor))

"This old thing?" Quelor said, trying to sound casual about it; "A relic of days past, when the House of Ri'azuma was more then a handfull of old men." Quelor sighed. "But it seemed appropriate for what I'm about to do..."

"Planning something exciting?" Emanee asked, cocking her head to one side; "And can I join?"

"Well, I'm going to try and get me, and so the Exiles some better accomodations..." Quelor said as he brushed some moulded shards of wood from his leggings; "Because this..." he added with a broad sweep of his arm ".. just won't do! Do you know where I can find the Arch Druid?"

((Emanee))

'Goodness only knows!' Emanee exclaimed. 'He might be in the Outlands, perhaps we can contact him over the mind link... I do feel under-dressed though' Emanee looked down at her nightgown. 'Let me change, and I'll come with you to find him.'

Emanee went back into the room, and quickly changed into her normal attire, strapping her warhammer to her belt just in case.

'I'm ready! Lets go find him...'

((Quelor))

Quelor cleared his throath noisily, only unconciously aware of Emanee's previous lack of "proper attire". He felt the blood creep into his face as he fidgeted with his collar and straigthened his cuirass.

"Uhm, yeah. Let's go..." he said, staring fixedly at a point slightly above Emanee's head; "... is it me or is it hot in here?"

Emanee shrugged and sauntered down the corridor, a bewildered Quelor in her wake..

((Emanee))

Walking briskly away Emanee curiously wondered at what had caused Quelor to get so hot under the collar all of a sudden, perhaps he had seen some of Aeiseth's undergarments on the floor.

She called out over the mind-link to try to ascertain where Maester Hiddenshadow was lurking, and whether they could speak to him about the accomodation. Impatiently waiting for a reply Emanee asked Quelor 'Fancy going to the Guilded Rose whilst we wait for an answer, I'm starving!'

((Kafira))

As they tried to decide wheater to get a drink for the Guilded Rose, Kafira came bounding up. After spending the night outside in her tent she looked far more refreshed then Emanee would have liked. After rabbling some thing about seeing the sunrise and what a great tasting rabbit she had caught for her and Mika's breakfast she woundered off in search of a lake or a vender selling water with Mika stalking behind her licking her bloodstained lips.

Emannee and Quelor glared after the far to perky hunter and started off towards The Guilded Rose hoping there would be hot mead

((Noctus))

As both parties walked away in different directions, a Night Elf appeared from a shadow at a corner of the outer wall. His eyes took in all of them in a calculating way. A hint of a smile touched his lips and his eyes sparkled with irony. Home is where your heart is, the words almost came out of his mouth. Suddenly, darkness envelopped his face and a cold wind came out of nowhere. In a blinck of the eyes,he had become one with the shadows again and disappeared...

((Quelor))

Quelor watched Kafira bounce away with the great cat stalking behind her and shook his head; "Perky..." he said to Emanee, who grimaced at him.

"Too perky. But then she's got one of the good tents." Emanee sighed; "But then again, I think she could sleep out on a branch in a tree..."

"True, " Quelor admitted; "and still be perky."

"Too friggin' perky..." Emanee said throught gritting teeth as they reached The Guilded Rose "...hair all perfect and... gah!"

((Emanee))

Once inside the murky Guilded Rose Emanee ordered herself a warm Westfall apple and cinamon juice and a plate of delicious apple pie.

Sitting down at a free table in the corner Emanee motioned to Quelor to join her sat there, he seemed to be stood there with his eyes fixated on...

Looking down Emanee realised that she hadnt buttoned her shirt quite right and she was showing much more flesh than was ladylike. So that's why the waiter gave her a larger than normal helping of pie! Blushing furiously she turned away from Quelor and rebuttoned her shirt, positioning her tabard even higher than usual.

'Please Quelor join me at the table?' she said trying hard not to blush even more. 'I'm sure Falren will be with us as soon as he can'

((Quelor))

Quelor flinched as Emanee woke him from his impromptu revery and almost tipped his tray, spilling some of the mellon juice and causing his Blackberry pie to slide dangerously close to the edge. He quickly righted the tray and sat down hard, studiously investigating his pie.

"Uhm, yeah... I'm sure Maester Hiddenshadow will join us at his earliest convinience." he said, trying to sound as officious as he could, and failing. "This is a nice taverne. Come here often?" he asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the more obvious subject-matters that coursed throught his brain. Subjects like "buttons", or even worse; "alabaster skin"

No sooner then the words had left his mouth Quelor realised how they sounded. In a befuddled attempt to at the same time rephrase the question, act nonchalant about it and take a sip of his juice he ended up in a fit of coughing that left him breathless and sprayed mellon juice all over the table...

((Quelor))

Quelor tried to regain his composure and stabbed furiously his pie with a fork in attempt to avoid looking at Emanee.

"Well, my family has..." Quelor started, then sighed "...well, had estates all over Azaroth. We lost a lot of it in the war, but some still remain. Some in a minor state of disrepair, but all servicable. Some of the larger estates even have a small group of caretakers doing their best to keep up with the repairs. One or two spring to mind. But if, and where is really up to Maester Hiddenshadow. All I can do is make suggestions... respectfully ofcourse."

((Hiddenshadow))

*Hiddenshadow looks up from the book he is reading on his bunk at Exile HQ, he looks around and sighs, briefly he wonders why people never come to the Island just to relax, then he starts reading his book again*

((Quelor))

After the pie was devoured Emanee and Quelor once more tried over the mind-link to contact their guild maester. After a while of squinting faces and random bizarreness it seemed as though perhaps he wasn't in range or something.

"so what now?" Emanee asked Quelor, standing up from the table in order to stretch her legs.

"Human tables are simply not made for Elves" she observed, as Quelor tried to disegage himself from it.

((Kafira))

Emanee spotted out the corner of her eye a pale face with strange markings and blue hair peering through the window. Quite obviosley Kafira's face Emanee signed not willing to deal with the strange hunter so soon after their last meeting.

Luckily when Kafira entered the inn she didnt even look over at her and Quelor but instead walked over to the inn keeper and ordered a large amount of ale and some dew before bouncing out again and making her way down the road. Talking to her self or was it Mika about getting some arrows before going training.

Emanee and Quelor looked at each other and shrugged - really what was there to say about her?

((Emanee))

Emanee sighed again, damn if only she'd had a good nights sleep she might've asked to join Kafira in her training, she did want to get to know the crazy hunter girl a little better.

'Perhaps we could go look at some of the houses your family own?' Emanee curiously asked Quelor a glimmer of excitment in her eyes as she always enjoyed to be nosy! 'Then when we find Falren we can produce a shortlist of the ones that are more suitable.'

'Quelor?' she asked... noticing once more that he was staring into the middle-distance. 'Please can we do something?'

((Quelor))

Startled from the sudden question, Quelor looked at Emanee and swallowed. "Yes, We should do something." he added hastily; "I know a few of our old estates are right here around Stormwind. We could start there."

Quelor struggled to get out of the awkward table and seat arrangement humans favored, and made sure his uniform was all correct. He tried to avoid looking Emanee in the eye as he straigthened and turn towards the door.

"Let's go." he said, trying to sound forcefull and decisive while at the same time he hoped Emanee would not see the red glow on his face. Because she really was a lovely girl.

Quelor walked out the door, hearing Emanee get up behind him to follow. "First stop; The Arathi Highlands!"

((Emanee))

Swiftly Emanee mounted and rode to the flight master. Jumping on the nearest Gryphon, an elderly looking bird if ever she had seen one she screamed "To Arathi!"

Quelor had clearly chosen a younger Gryph and made it to Arathi way before Emanee did. Once finally there they mounted up and rode to the first estate there.

"Uhm..." Emanee said looking at the recently destroyed building. The rubble still smouldering. "I'm sure its warmer than our current abode, but perhaps not for long."

Emanee looked at Quelor not sure how he would take the destruction.

((Quelor))

Quelor looked at the sad smoldering remain of what once had been a proud estate. Rubble was all that was left of the House of Ri'azuma's stronghold in the Arathi Highlands. With a deep sigh Quelor kneeled before the small shrine holding a statue of the Moon Goddess in a part of the wall that was amazingly still standing and bowed his head. He mumbled a quick prayer and touched the faded runes. His fingers idly traced the lines, and a strange quiet came over the site.

"Quelor?" Emanee asked; "Are you allright?"

A sudden blast of icy wind rocked Emanee back on her heels, peppering her with ashes and bits of rubble. "Quelor!" Emanee shouted while she crouched to find some semblance of cover. She watched in horror as the older druid was being lifted of the ground by a debris-laden vortex.

Quelor arched his back, his arms outflung as if he wanted to grab the wind. His mouth moved, forming unheard words. And then, as suddenly as it had started it stopped. Quelor dropped down, landed on his feet, stumbled and came down hard on one knee. His right hand curled into a fist and slammed down into the stone slabs that formed the mosaic-encrusted terrace and cracked the stone.

He thrust his hands into the crack, the muscles in his arms bunching and sliding beneath the skin like a bunch of crazed eels. With a grunt he heaved, lifting the two halves of the slab and flinging them aside. In the hole he created bone-dry sand shifted to show a package wrapped in leather.

((Emanee))

"Quelor?" Emanee asked fearfully, coming out from hiding behind a stone.

"Are you okay?" Noting the package that was now in Quelors' slightly shaking hands she added "What in Elune's name is that?"

Quelor say down beside the hole he had made, the package in his hands. Sitting down beside him Emanee asked again, slightly curiously "what is it?"

((Quelor))

"I'm not sure..." Quelor replied, his voice trembling as he unwrapped the package. Blood from his hands stained the leather as it came away from the object.

It looked like it was a part of something larger, roughly circular and covered in writing. Runes formed swirling lines not unlike Darnassian script, yet somehow the letters shifted as you gazed at them, as if the runes themselves could feel your gaze and wanted to move out of the way.

Quelor gasped and almost dropped the parcel, but Emanee reached out with nimble fingers and took the oblect from the leather wrappings before it could drop.

"What... is this?" Emanee whispered again as she stared at the mesmerizing wavy lines of script.

"I think..." Quelor started, then shook his head; "...but it can't be. Yet you're holding it. The Gate Of Ri'azuma... But it's a legend... a myth told at bedtime to little children..."

Emanee's gaze seemed locked to the softly shimmering object; "It's beautiful..." she whispered hoarsely; "What does it do?"

"Nobody is really sure." Quelor said as he carefully took the object from Emanee and wrapped it up again. Emanee looked up at him dreamily, then blinked hard and sighed. Quelor took her hand as he stood himself and pulled Emanee up.

"Only one way to find out. Find the rest and put it back together..." Quelor said as he whistled for Frosttooth, his Nightsaber. "Sounds like a grand adventure..."

((Emanee))

Emanee placed the object carefully back into the leather, securing it with a bandage she found in one of her many bags before carefully placing it in her rucksack.

Calling Aelia, her Frostsaber Emanee looked to Quelor.

"Where next then?" she asked, realising that she too was now shaking ever so slightly.

"I remember you mentioned something about Hillsbrad" She prompted realising that Quelor was staring into the distance?

"Uhm... perhaps" Was all Quelor could muster in reply.

"Well lets start off towards there then?" Emanee finished for him furrowing her brow slightly. "If we're going wrong then we can always try hitch a Gryphon somewhere else"

((Quelor))

Quelor looked at Emanee and smiled. "Hillsbrad... yes." he said as he gentle nudged Frosttooth into the right direction. The beast growled slightly and started to trot into the direction of Thoradin's Wall. "Just beyond Hillbrad Fields the family owned a large farmstead. If it's still there..." he added with a sigh.

((Emanee))

Emanee nudged Aelia forward, they were at the Farmstead and Aelia did not want to move any closer to the large farm than they currently were for whatever reason.

Jumping off Aelia Emanee looked around her.. there seemed to be no reason as to the sudden lack of enthusiasm from the Saber. Then Emanee looked down.

She gasped as she saw the remains of an orc... the very badly decomposed remains of an orc at that.

"Quelor... come here!" she exclaimed, whilst trying to make out how the orc could have possibly perished- it appeared that most of the organs had.. exploded! Surely not thought Emanee.

As she peered closer she saw something glimmer in the belly of the remains of the orc.

"Uhm Quelor?" Quelor was now beside Emanee, and it appeared that he was trying very hard not to retch at the sight of the corpse. "There's something in its belly!" Grabbing a stick from the nearby tree she prodded the item, and moved it away from the rest of the remains. Grabbing a spare piece or runecloth she picked the item up and began to clean it. "I wonder what it could be" She wondered out loud.

((Quelor))

The foul stench of decomposing Orc came close to making Quelor retch as he watched Emanee clean the sticky remains off the object. Roughly shaped like half a circle it was covered in the same flowing script as the other object. But instead of shimmering in blue light, this one was throbbing eerily with a pulsating purple haze.

"Looks like it should fit on the other one we found." Quelor said; "But... that Orc? Did he find it? And eat it? Then he has been at the farmstead, and I fear the worst..."

Quelor stared hard at the farmstead in the distance and shifted into Cat Form. "Stay herrrre..." he snarled; "I'm going to scout..." and shimmered out of view.

Emanee cleaned most of the Orc's innards from the item, eventho a lot of blood had settled in the intricate ingravings. Turning the object over in her hands she noticed a sequence of inscriptions that jogged something in her memory. Then a soft purr and a nudge against her leg told her Quelor was back.

Quelor shifted and stood before Emanee. "It's no use..." he sighed; "The place is a shambles, must have been deserted for years. It's mostly without a roof, and Orcs plundered it for anything they could find. It looks like the floor in the central courtyard had a mosaic on it much like the one in Arathi, and it was dug up recently to make a fire-pit. I guess this Orc was one of the culprits. The others were around the courtyard, dead. This one got away far enough to die here."

"What killed them?" Emanee asked as she nudged the remains of the Orc with her foot; "And what killed him?"

"The Orcs inside were killed in there sleep, with an Orc battlehammer. My guess is Stinky here did it." Quelor said as he wrinkled his nose. "And Stinky was killed by the object. I don't think it likes being buried, or being eaten by an Orc for that matter.