Macee and the Ren'dorei

(Written with Renan)

Macee kind of had an idea where to start looking for the duo. After she left the training yard, she made the trip to Stormwind. Opting to remain in her Worgen form, she thought she'd be less noticed, she made her way toward the Mage Quarter. Violet eyes darted around all the faces as she walked toward the Tower. Once inside, she frowned to see a line and a Gnomish mage standing before the portal. "Name? Destination? Purpose?" She was asking everyone who passed through. To her left were tables with mages and massive books asking more in-depth questions of people who refused to answer the initial three. Slowly, Macee backed out of line. She stiffened when she felt hands on her shoulders. "Getting out of line?" The Kaldorei mage looked at her questioningly. "Yes, I forgot to bring my grandmother's shawl. You know how the elderly are, always cold. She'll tan my hide if I arrive without it." Her heavy Gilnean accent hidden perfectly.  With a subtle nod, he removes his hands and she rushes off. "Damnit.." she mutters as she thinks. Kneeling, she digs through her pack, searching for...yes! She grinned widely as she pulled out a small pouch containing part of her recent haul.

Hefting the pack back onto her shoulder, she heads in the direction of her most hated place...The Slaughtered Lamb. If she wanted to use a portal without having to play a game of twenty questions, she was going to have to find a mage who didn't much like playing by the rules. Rounding the corner from the Mage Tower, violet eyes settled on the weather worn sign of the tavern.

The path to the Lamb was well worn as she walked it. How many times had she had to walk this stupid path to collect a crying Kan? Far more than she wanted to count. Pushing her way through the throngs of rogues, she headed straight for the bar. Dipping claws into her money pouch, which she was keeping a death grip on, she produced a few gold for whispered information from the barkeep. He quickly pocketed the money and nodded his chin to the back of the tavern. Without another word, Macee headed to the door in the rear of the tavern. The stairway down was twisty and dark, but she knew this is where she'd find the mage that would 'help' her.

The basement of the Slaughtered Lamb was abuzz with all manner of salacious activities, as usual. Dark rites, under handed dealings, intimate encounters; there was little that didn’t happen at the Lamb. A few heads turn to observe Macee as she descends into the smoky chamber; some out of interest and others guilty fear.

The large round room, which was normally full of alchemical workings, has been dressed up like some kind of bazaar or lounge. Plush rugs and soft pillows litter the floor and silken tapestries of rich reds and purples drape down from the ceiling. The silks also serve to make small private alcoves, all of which seem occupied and guarded.

Once the bottom of the stairway was made, she looked around the room. She knew what went on down here and it drew the taste of bile into her mouth. Swallowing, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly enough so that her voice would be heard inside even the most plush of alcoves. "I nee' a mage. One who ain' seen nothin' or 'eard nothin'or knows nothin'." To get her point across, she jingles the coins in her pouch.

The din of conversation (and other activates) quiets slightly as several faces peer out at her from behind curtains, but most return to their own endeavors quickly. A few parties make their intentions know.

A red suede garbed goblin with a fake golden eye grins and beckons her to his booth where a half dozen more of his race sit arguing about...something.

A trio of Highborne sit cloistered in the deepest shadows of the room, a very large cat of some description laying in front of them. One of them, a silver haired woman, makes a lazy gesture to an unoccupied pillow.

Finally, in the middle of the bazaar, a pair of heavily armed (and familiar) Ren'dorei flank a very busy booth. Within the silken alcove the noble Magister Sunsinger sits, limbs intertwined, with a number of attractive humans and Quel'dorei. They all laugh and carry on like fools, the wine and other...experience altering substances flowing freely. Upon seeing Macee, one of the guards whispers something to the Magister and he absently motions for her to come closer.

“Oh, wonderful! Of course, HE would be here!” she thought.

A glance given to the goblin group. No, everyone knew you couldn't trust a goblin with secrets. When it came to gold, everything had a price.

Hmmm, Highborne. She wasn't sure about them. They did swear their allegiance to the Horde. And this bunch didn't really look like they wanted to help anyone. Plus, they were cat people.

With a soft sigh, she turns her attention on the Ren'dorei. Cautiously, she made her way toward the noble. Deciding to stand a little before the guards, she peers into the alcove. Hmm, where was she?

The guards watch Macee carefully as she approaches but do not stop her inspection of the booth. Inside she can see the Ren'dorei woman floating near the wall, her bare feet still suspended a few inches off the ground. Before she can do anything else the Magister begins chirping in Thalassian, his words slurred and fragmented. The guards, their faces hidden from the noble, both express disgust and frustration with the display. The strange woman floats forward, much to the awestruck gazes of the noble’s guests, and speaks. "Magister Taelis Sunsinger, Master of the Arcane and First Rose of Silvermoon…” (one of the guards rolls his eyes so hard it looks like he may pass out), “bids you welcome to his... home." The woman's voice resonates, like multiple voices speaking as one. "What service can the Magister provide you?"

Macee stands almost in awe of the woman. Her voice was...enchanting. "I...I nee' a po..." She found herself stammering to get the words out. Sharply shaking her head to clear it, she tries again. "I nee' a port ta Dalaran. A port nobody knows 'bout. Iffin' ya git m'drift." There, much better. "I got gol'ta pay fer services rendered."

Despite the black veil across her eyes the woman seems to regard Macee, almost looking her up and down. Her gaze lingers on Macee’s money pouch and a small, very slight, smile tugs at the corner of her mouth.

Behind the floating woman the Magister seems to be sulking, the revelry around him merely there to give him a vehicle to be miserable. He whines in Thalassian and waves dismissively at the pair before returning to his guests.

The woman sighs softly and turns back to Macee, a faint after image trailing behind her as she moves. “I’m afraid Magister Sunsinger is otherwise...occupied and unable to help you.” she says, her voice quieter than before.

Macee leans to the side a bit, looking at the Magister and his obvious boredom. Slowly turning her head back to the woman, her voice going low before she speaks. "Maybe ya kin 'elp me then. 'Ow much fer a port ta Dalaran?" She rolls the pouch in her hand softly.

The veiled woman floats closer to her, much closer. Macee can smell the faintest hint of perfumed flowers mingling with the sweet smoke of the party. The Ren'dorei seems to consider the offer for a moment before nodding and turning to her employer. After a few words to him in Thalassian he nods and shoos her away, eliciting a more noticeable smile from her. She turns back to Macee and, from within her perpetually flowing white robes, she extends her hand in offering. "Shall we speak somewhere more private?" Her voice remains quiet, but still alluring.

Macee nods her head, moving aside to let the woman lead them away. She takes the opportunity to steal a glance at the Magister.

The woman smiles and reaches down, stopping just short of taking Macee's hand, as though she were silently asking permission.

Macee raises a brow, but holds her clawed hand out a little....

Macee feels an... absence envelope her. No light. No sound. No feeling.

At once her senses return to her and she finds herself lying on strange ground; a stone made of crystal and filled with the swirling eddies of the Void. When Macee looks up the veiled figure hovers before her, resplendent and beautiful, hands folded demurely before her.

Macee pops to her feet in an instant, checking to see if she'd been robbed or harmed in any way. "Wha' 'appened?" She eyes the woman suspiciously.

The woman drifts back a little, happy to give Macee her space. “I took the liberty of bringing us somewhere quieter. Temporarily of course.” She adds quickly. “I am surprised that our paths would cross again so soon.”

Her brow raises and she studies the woman. "Wha' d'ya mean by tha'?" Macee was going to try and play dumb here.

The woman laughs quietly, a hauntingly melodious and utterly enjoyable sound. She raises her hand, the Void swirling at her fingertips, and curls her fingers once. Within the coin purse on her belt Macee can feel the gold...not moving, but...vibrating? Resonating? The woman stops after a few seconds and nods. “I could feel them as soon as you entered the tavern. In time the connection will fade but for now it still echoes with the void.”

"Hmmph. So...iffin' ya kin git me ta Dalaran, I'll give 'em back."  She unhooks the pouch from her belt and tosses it lightly in her hand. "I jus' nee'ta git there as quickly as I can."

The woman holds up her hand and shakes her head. “I can help you in your travels but I will not take the gold back. The loss of that money did much to damage the magister’s ego...and as his faithful servant there is little I detest more than his ego.”

She floats forward again. “Moreover, were I to take the gold for myself my master would surely sense it and I would be punished.” She reaches out to guide the pouch back to your belt.

"Why no' jus' leave? 'e don't  seem ta 'ave a 'old on ya. I dun see no collar....ya coul' jus'...go."  Macee looks at the woman, trying to figure out why she would stay. She's obviously powerful enough in her own right.

The woman smiles thoughtfully. “It is true, there is little the Magister can do that I cannot. He has his uses tho...a fortune he is only to happy to spend and, most importantly, he is loud.” The woman turns and begins to channel the void, her hands fading first to black, then to spirals of energy. “The Void is still new to Azeroth and its children remain a target.”

A shimmering circle of light begins to form, ringed by inky shadows. The woman lowers her arms and watches as the portal begins to grow. “Should the Alliance ever decide we are no longer needed I would rather they knock on his door than mine.”

Macee also watches the portal. It was different than Kan's portals, no runic markings and there didn't seem to be any magical mutterings. She always swore she heard Kan doing some kind of...chanting. Turning her head, violet gaze settles on the woman. "Will you tell 'im you 'elped me?" She wasn't sure if she had to ask permission to do things of her own free will or not.

The woman smiles at Macee, a genuinely fond smile brightening her Void hued face. “Judging by his consumption of mana wine I doubt he will even remember meeting you, however, I will keep your secret...on one condition.”

"An' wha' condition woul' tha' be?" Macee watched her warily.

The woman floats even closer to Macee, hands folded before her. “It’s nothing harmful, I assure you. It is however something I suspect you value.” She leans in, her veiled face mere inches from Macee’s snoot. “A secret. A secret you value or covet. A hope or a fear, a shameful act or deepest desire.”

Macee chuckles then. "Ya wan' me ta tell ya one'na my secrets? Or ya wan' me ta keep one'na yers?"

The woman giggles and floats back to Macee, poking the end of her about ever so gently. “One of your secrets, and it must be one you hold dear.” She folds her hands over her heart and drifts back again.

"I dun 'ave any secrets. " Macee stood there and thought hard. She couldn't think of any secret she had. She told Kan everything. Kan was the one with all the secrets. "I can't thin' of'a single one."

“Truly?” The woman asked, surprise causing her voice to echo back on itself. “Then any secret will have to suffice. Anything you know that others don’t.” The woman twirls in the air slowly, her “gaze” still set on Macee. “I deal in information, you see, the rarer the better. Perhaps it will sit with me forever, lost or forgotten. Who can say?”

Macee heaves a sigh. "Well...I know one thin'... but I ain' usin' no names." Turning to look at the floating woman, she watches her for a moment before she speaks. "I thin' she loves 'im. Tha's why she'll do anythin' for 'im."

The woman smiles broadly at Macee and with a snap of her fingers the portal stabilizes, the rippling surface and rough edges coming instantly into focus. The orb of Void gleams like polished glass, hanging silently before them. “Our deal is concluded.” She floats towards Macee and extends her hand again, a platinum coin held between two long fingers.

She watches the portal shimmer, a vision of what appears to be Dalaran beyond. Nodding her head, she looks at the woman and the coin in her fingers. "Wha's this?"

“A way to reach me, should you need me again. You have captured my curiosity my young friend, a rare treat.” She lowers her hand to give Macee the coin. “Be warned tho, you know the price of my aid, and next time I will require more.”

Macee takes the coin, examining it before slipping it into her pocket. "So, wha' do I call ya?" She gives a sly grin to the woman.

"I am Talissira. Simply hold the coin in your hand and speak my name, but remember...the coin will only work if you have payment ready." She passes her hand before Macee's face before bowing. "May the Void see you safely to your destination."

With a nod, Macee steps through the portal into Dalaran.

The sensation is similar to the first transition, but it lasts longer. Macee can feel great velocity and an icy chill across her skin as she snaps back into reality. Sound crackles in her ears for a moment, her heightened senses a detriment to Void travel, but with a soft splash, she finds herself standing in the fishing pond in Dalaran. The anglers there, having lived in Dalaran for a while, are not phased but instead just adjust their lures.