Welcome Home

As always, it was a glorious day in Quel'Thalas. The sun shone down upon the golden leaves of the forest of Eversong, animals went about their business in the wilderness, and a soft spring breeze carried the eternally warmed air through the open gates of Silvermoon. The citizens of Quel'Thalas were taking advantage of the beautiful day, many already out and about on their business, happy to be enjoying their lives in the slowly recovering kingdom.

Unfortunately, if you were the Blood Knight Captain Ferialius Sunmight, you were not one of those people. Encased in his full suit of plate armor and already sweating from the morning heat, he leaned over a portable folding table where he sat in an equally portable camp chair. Situated near the Sheppard's Gate, he had been assigned the rather dubious honor of overseeing gate duty for the day. With events unfolding in the world outside of Quel'Thalas, it was necessary at times to enhance security near the gates and this just happened to be one of those times.

He had just completed the process of filling out yet more of the entry papers that the Knights under him had collected from visitors when a shadow fell over his desk. He completed his signature at the bottom of the form he'd been working on with a flourish and looked up just as a friendly voice spoke.

“Hi!” a female Sin'dorei said happily. He looked up, a brow rising as the happy tone in the elf's voice contrasted sharply with the drudgery of going through customs inspection. The sight that met his eyes was not typical of the elves passing through the gates and into the city proper. A slender, athletic looking Sin'dorei with fire red hair tied back in a ponytail smiled down at him from the other side of the desk. Dressed in tight fitting studded leather pants, slender calf-high boots, and a leather halter top, the elf appeared to have simply stepped out of some primitive part of the forest.

Captain Sunmight cleared his throat, plastering a serious expression on his face, “Can I help you miss?”

The red haired elf nodded, the smile on her face beautiful and genuine, “Yep! Some of the Knights over by the gates said I needed to have paperwork or something to gain entry. They told me to come talk to you. I'm Tylirel by the way! Tylirel Summerglade.”

“Of course they did...” the Captain muttered to himself. He waved at an empty chair across from him, nodding at the elf. “Very well, take a seat Dame Summerglade and we'll process you. You have no identification papers at all?”

“Well, actually I do have this sir,” Tylirel said, immediately standing back up and reaching into a belt pouch. As she hunted for some object, the Captain noted that she had a vast array of sheathed knives on her belt, along with what looked like a small hand ax and a few collapsible metal objects that were likely traps used in hunting. After a moment the redhead pulled out what appeared to be a small, battered metal emblem, holding it up before the Captain. It appeared to be the rank insignia of a Quel'Thalas ranger. A very old and battered one at that.

“A ranger eh?” the Captain said, his tone less than pleased. “I'm surprised the Farstriders haven't sorted out your paperwork before now. Would have saved us both the trouble.” The last comment was made as he began to shuffle through the pages of a log book he kept on the desk, his eyes scanning the neat script presented in orderly columns, all the while murmuring her last name 'Summerglade'. After a moment, he paused, his finger tracing over the page and his eyebrows shooting up. He looked up, examining the elf more closely.

“It's says you are MIA, presumed dead Dame Summerglade,” he said slowly. “Where exactly have you been?”

Tylirel blinked, tilting her head to one side, “MIA? I'm right here though.” She actually brought a hand up and waved at him. “As for what I've been doing...I've been doing my job sir. In the Ghostlands mostly. That is where I was assigned and where I've lived for many years.”

The Blood Knight Captain scowled, staring hard at her, “And why have you decided to come back now? After all these years, why do you come back at a time when there have been conflicts with the Quel'dorei and war is afoot?”

The elf's face took on an almost comical look of confusion for a moment, and she shook her head, “Sir, I'm sure I have no clue about any of that. I stayed in the Ghostlands because I was needed there. Now there is less work to do there, and I feel that I can totally make a difference somewhere else. There are a number of Houses hiring scouts I've been told, so here I am! Also I need supplies before I can travel.”

“What kind of supplies?” the Captain asked, still suspicious. It was not often that a relic came from out of the woods and presented herself, and he was not overly fond of the Farstriders. The only positive was that there was the unmistakeable tint of green to the elf's eyes to show she was a true Sin'dorei.

Tylirel smiled, pointing to her belt, “I need buckles, a few new blades, and other metal bits. There are no forges in the forests, and I've no skill with metalworking.” And so it was true; the elf's belt was knotted at the middle, the buckle having cracked from long use.

“Very well Dame Summerglade,” the Captain replied. “Before I can give you proper papers though we have to ensure that you are not a spy in disguise or here for nefarious purposes. We will need to examine you with magic. I will need you to surrender your weapons on the table next to me. If you agree, please disarm so we can get this over with.”

“Oh sure!” Tylirel said happily. She stepped over to the table next to him, reaching to her belt. One by one she began to deposit daggers on the table top, three from her left hip and one from a sheath on her shoulder pauldron. From her right hip she took her hand ax and placed it on the table. She reached down to her right thigh and pulled a dagger from a hidden sheath there. She bent over and pulled another dagger from her left boot top, adding it to the pile. She stood back up, reaching up and removing her shoulder armor, flipping each piece over and removing three small throwing knives concealed in each pauldron and placing them on the table.

Around her, the Captain and several other Blood Knights watched her, their eyes beginning to widen with each *clink* as daggers were added to the pile. As the shear volume of weapons began to increase, several of them shifted and looked at one another, shaking their heads. When Tylirel's hands came up and began to unlace the front of her halter top the Captain raised his hand and shook his head, “Er, that'll be sufficient Dame Summerglade. Do you um, really need all of that...?”

Tylirel smiled at him and nodded, the happy naive tone of her voice contrasting with the deadly pile of weapons that would likely have outfitted an entire squad of rangers, “Oh you really never do know when you'll need a blade. Sometimes things just don't work out the way you expect, you know?”

Several of the Knights began to chuckle and murmur to one another, and the Captain shook his head, “No, I don't know but it doesn't matter.” He gestured and a Sin'dorei in a flowing red robe stepped forward. “This priest is going to verify that you have no harmful enchantments on you, and also verify your Sin'dorei heritage. In the past Quel'dorei have attempted to disguise themselves by changing their eye color magically. You understand the necessity of this I hope? Also, don't move during the process; we will be watching you and I have three Knights here who will take you into custody if you resist.”

“Actually you have three Knights here, two concealed behind a hidden door three paces to my right, and two rangers with bows on the balcony twenty paces down the road,” Tylirel said happily. The Captain's eyes widened and he looked at his subordinates, who shrugged. There was no way she could have seen any of that, she hadn't even LOOKED!

“So I just stand here like this?” Tylirel asked. She raised her arms up in the air over her head.

The Captain sighed and shook his head, “You don't have to...you know what, that's fine. Just stay still please.”

Tylirel nodded in direct contradiction of the order she'd just been given, smiling and holding still. The priest approached her, chanting the words to a spell and waving his hands in the air over her. After a few minutes he nodded, lowering his hands and looking to the Captain, “She's clean sir. No banned magic on her. She's got some now-dead scourge magic pieces on her wrist and around her neck though.”

The Captain nodded, waving a hand to dismiss the priest as he stepped towards Tylirel, “Let's see your wrist, Dame Summerglade.”

Tylirel lowered her arms, presenting one slender wrist to the captain. He noted a number of scars on her arm; minor injuries but in enough number to show she'd had some adventures in the past. Around her wrist hung a bracelet made of defaced Scourgestones, emblems of Quel'Thalas carved into each one. He handled the bracelet gently, turning it over around her wrist. “What is this exactly?”

“My trophies sir!” Tylirel said, sounding proud. “I always take a trophy when I finish a good hunt. It reminds you of what you've done and any lessons that the hunt has taught you. Living alone in the wilderness, it is easy to lose track of yourself in the greater flow of nature. This helps remind me.”

The Captain nodded, still studying the bracelet with wide eyes, turning each stone over in his hands. Based on the number that made up the bracelet, and a glimpse of a similar necklace hanging near her cleavage, it was clear that the ranger had slaughtered Scourge for many years. He finally broke his gaze from the bracelet, letting the elf's wrist free.

“Very well Dame Summerglade, you are welcome to enter the city. Please collect your things while I prepare your documents,” the Captain said. She was no threat, and with the trophies she carried she would likely prove useful to some House or another. Provided she could learn to blend in with the city and lose the wildness he sensed about her. Whether or not she would do so would decide whether or not he ended up seeing her in fetters at some point in the future for breaking the law.

As he sat down to begin the process of completing her identification papers, Tylirel turned towards her pile of weapons and began rearming herself. By random chance, the fifteen minutes it took him to complete the paperwork was about the amount of time it took the strange ranger to put all of her weapons away.

After she took the papers from him, she tilted her head again, a question in her eyes, “Can I bring my mount into the city? He's really thirsty and hungry and I'd like to find a place I can get some feed for him.”

“Of course,” the Captain replied, already looking towards the next person waiting in line at the gate.

Tylirel smiled and brought a hand to her lips, a shrill whistle escaping her. From the rear of the gates several shouts arose as a large black war wolf padded in through the gates. The beast was enormous, its black fur ragged looking and a feral look to its head. Its tongue lolled out, spattering the red paving stones with saliva as it panted, large teeth glinting. Several of the Knights drew swords and there were frightened murmurs from amongst those waiting in line.

Tylirel whistled again and the beast padded over to her, licking her arm happily, its tail wagging. On its back was a saddle with a simple bedroll tied to it. The elf leaned down, rubbing behind the wolf's ears, the creature nearly knocking her down as it happily pressed its nose against her. After finishing the happy reunion, Tylirel turned and walked deeper into the city, the menacing creature padding after her contentedly, angry murmurs coming from the people waiting at the checkpoint.

Watching her go, the Captain shook his head and sighed, murmuring to himself, “That one is going to be trouble. I just know it...”