Music: Spirit War composed by Adrian von Ziegler

https://youtu.be/DN1rXmZ-WhQ

A portal conjured by one of the guild's resident mages opened in Deadwind Pass. From within its opalescent centre, The Crimson Blades recruits and their Guild Master emerged, stepping into a grey, harsh environment. For all it was approaching mid-morning, the place was eerily half-dark. The portal snapped shut behind them.

Sauren gathered his recruits, ordering them to move into stealth at least until he had time to gauge their surroundings. The wind whistled and moaned through craggy, crumbling, crevices, sounding like children crying or indescribable creatures wailing. He could almost see the shivers running down the team's spines.

It was time to move out, Sauren leading the way, Tiene and the others following closely. The tall towers of Karazhan loomed ahead, their spires presenting a strange architectural phenomenon within the uncultured terrain. The team kept moving forward, approaching large boulders on either side of the pass. Sauren slowed, the team followed suit.

The sound of skittering feet on stone reached their ears. Tiene moved swiftly to Zach's side and placed her hand over his mouth. His eyes had bugged-out as he saw an enormous articulated leg appear from behind a boulder; Tiene held one of her mother's daggers to her lips to shush Zach. She could feel the boy shaking behind her hand.

Sauren continued moving around the boulder. The spider leg flinched. Sauren stopped, biding his time to assess how many more spiders there were.

Tiene signalled for Thil'las to take her place and keep Zach from having a panic attack. The elf obliged, his tall frame dwarfing Zach as he moved in behind and covered the boy's mouth. Tiene looked at Sauren. She pointed to the top of one of the boulders. He nodded, and she moved to the rock-face, smooth and quick.

Looking over the side, she counted the spiders; Zach was not going to be happy. She turned and held up her hand, spreading her fingers. Five! Five huge, deadly looking spiders with red diamond-shaped markings on their dark grey abdomens, the pattern, repeating between each section of every leg. The creatures skittered as they sensed movement nearby.

Tiene scanned the area around the boulders. Silk, unusually delicate considering the size of the beasts which had spun it, lay around the bases of the rocks and up over the dry wood of the withered trees. She signalled for the others to pay attention to the ground and close in - apart from Thil'las and Zach who remained a good distance back from the boulders.

Shenyssea and Emmek ran up the opposite boulder while Keeaen and Tish moved in beside Sauren.

The first of the giant arachnids - its pedipalps combing the vicinity as its senses detected a potential meal - shifted out from behind the boulder on which Tiene crouched. It was quickly joined by another two.

Tiene and Sauren signalled to each other. She jumped down, landing on the creature's cephalothorax, its forebody. The spider sagged from the impact and hissed its annoyance. Tiene drove her daggers between the forebody and the abdomen. With considerable effort, she dragged them through the carapace, separating the two parts of the spider's body. The creature screeched, alerting the others.

Sauren somersaulted on top of another, repeating the tactics Tiene used, then he turned, ready to jump to the next one. The spider, sensing its attacker, reared, legs clawing the air, fangs fully extended. Sauren dropped to the ground as Tish ran under the spider's body and slit it open to its spinnerets.

The spider's legs started thrashing as it screeched in pain, kicking Tish out from underneath. The dwarf landed straight into the path of the fourth spider, which skittered toward the group. Sauren quickly finished off the one Tish had injured and moved forward with Shenyssea to attack the fourth one.

Emmek, seeing his opportunity, jumped down onto its back and ploughed his blades just behind its eyes. It reared, causing Emmek to lose balance and fall off - he rolled across the ground towards Zach and Thil'las.

The spider raced toward him, its tarsus' sounding on the stone, clickety-click, clickety-click, clickety-click. Emmek dived out of the way, but the creature kept running forward.

Zach's eyes were bulging, and he uttered muffled screams behind Thil'las' hand. The beast was nearing at an alarming rate. Thil'las drew one of his throwing daggers and launched it with incredible precision. The spider's two front legs folded, but its remaining limbs still propelled the body forward.

Thil'las and Zach watched, helpless as the giant arachnid continued hurtling toward them - until a blur from their right made them look upwards. Tiene leapt through the air, landed on the spider's abdomen and drove her blades through its shiny carapace. The sound, like a giant egg cracking open, was both sickening and strangely satisfying.

Unfortunately, to Zach's absolute horror, the spider's legs continued thrashing as the contents of its body oozed out and slithered towards his feet. Although still within Thil'las grasp, he fidgeted and jumped, trying to dodge the spreading goo.

Tiene jumped down as the beast finally slumped; then it stilled - dead.

A dying screech echoed through the pass as Keeaen ruptured the last of the giant arachnids then ran, hurled himself forward and kicked it with both feet over the edge of the path into the gorge behind the boulders. He watched as it smacked and bounced off the razored walls of the ravine.

Sauren straightened and checked over his team. "Well done," he said, genuinely pleased by their performance. He awarded them all nods of approval; all except Zach, who shrank to the back of the group.

They continued forward down a winding road towards the imposing Karazhan. Sky Shadows, vulture-like birds, flapped and looped above them, unable to detect the group as they made their way down the path in stealth.

The road split into three. Directly ahead was The Vice, a camp for lumbering ogres who were, thankfully, preoccupied with fighting the Deadwind Widows and Sky Shadows.

Sauren nodded towards the right where the road doubled back but gave way to another steep incline. The Last Guardian's unsettling towers and spires rose on their left. There was no denying a definite chill rose in the air as they neared their destination. The road continued down, its surface crumbling, dotted with gravel and shale. But, before long, the rogues had arrived at the entrance of the place they were assigned to search.

Music: Witch Factory composed by Adrian von Ziegler

https://youtu.be/4Y6BDbkYNDE

Ghostly moans combined with the wind whistling through the nearby graveyard, surrounded the team, giving them a strong sense of foreboding.

Sauren looked up at the spire, a frown creasing his brow. Birds circled the spires, cawing and swooping.

"Something wrong?" Tiene asked, stepping nearer, following his gaze. He looked down at her and smiled reassurance. "Just ravens, Tiene. Nothing to worry about." He signalled to the others. "Let's go." Up the steps to the heavy wooden door they crept. With his shoulder against it, Sauren pushed open the door. It omitted a very loud creak from ancient hinges; the sound echoed through the entrance halls.

Once all inside, the Guild Master gathered his team around in a tight group. Tiene jumped a little when she felt his hand on the small of her back, but, calmed once she noted Tish grinning to Sauren's left as his other hand rested on the dwarf's shoulder. She could not help but smirk at Tish's obvious glee. "We are going upstairs," he told them, nodding towards the wide staircase. Once more, Tish's face betrayed delight, although Tiene suspected the dwarf was interpreting Sauren's announcement in an entirely different light by making it an innuendo. The Guild Master, oblivious of the effect he had on a female for once, continued. "This stairway leads to the banquet hall."

"Sounds delicious," quipped Keeaen, rubbing his belly.

Sauren scowled at him. "Warning!" The boy's face fell, dread filling his eyes. "You will likely come across a lot of restless spirits in here along with other magical beings. We need to get through them. Some we will have to dispatch, others we can skirt around."

"Can we kill ghosts?" Zach asked, surprised.

Sauren's eyes turned to him. "It is more a case of dispersing them."

"But, what harm can a ghost do?" Tishleen asked Sauren.

"They can sap your energy, drain your life. These entities, while they have no physical form, are still capable of killing you, albeit over time."

They all nodded then followed their Guild Master up the stairs. On reaching the top, six mouths dropped open. The room was full to bursting with spirits, party-goers, all from years gone by it seemed. Tiene giggled quietly and looked at Sauren. "Was Medivh in the habit of entertaining at home?" she whispered.

Sauren smirked. "I doubt it. He was a recluse in his later years, I believe. From what I have learned, the only people in here regularly were his man-servant, Moroes - who he killed by the way - and latterly, his apprentice, Khadgar."

"So where did all these come from?"

"I think the bulk of them are mere illusions to deter the likes of us. Others will be genuine spirits from the surrounding area."

Music: Marsh of the Undead composed by Adrian von Ziegler    

https://youtu.be/kqAFn4XWcKc

Harpsichord music suddenly started playing from deeper within the halls. The Guild Master smiled as he surveyed several wandering souls sweeping around the room, dancing and making merry, while others converged in groups in deep conversation.

"Care to dance, Tiene?" Sauren asked with a grin.

Tiene looked at all the milling spirits and drew her daggers. "Absolutely!" she replied, smiling.

Sauren signalled positions for the others around the corners of the first room. Everyone was in their places within moments. "Ready?" he whispered to Tiene as he unsheathed both daggers.

"Lead on."

Sauren sprinted to the edge of the room, Tiene following close behind. In perfect synchronicity, they somersaulted over some of the spirits to the centre of the room. Spinning round, with blades extended Guild Master and trainee sliced through the ephemeral beings as they came in droves towards the two assassins - like moths to the flames. Death of illusions and spirits alike, created a chorus of ghostly sighs while their vaporous tendrils rose to the ceiling.

The other team members in the corners slashed the party-goers milling around the edges of the room. Spectral forms became dust and vapour once pierced by the team's blades. Hollow wails followed after each one dispersed. Within minutes, the place had been emptied.

The group moved through to the next room and repeated the same line of attack. Thil'las and Shennysea jumped up onto the sprawling banquet tables, kicking the decomposing, maggot-ridden fayre and expertly slashing their way through the ghostly diners.

Skeletal waiters rattled their way across the floor like walking xylophones, trying to defend the guests, but they too were brought down by the combined efforts of the team. Bones and skulls skidded across the chequered floor in all directions.

Sedate applause came from a platform at the east-facing wall. There, stood four nobility, three men and a woman. But the creature in the centre was the one giving the applause. Dark short, lank hair, eyes just as black, and a skeletal frame - Moroes, the one-time manservant of the Guardian Medivh.

"Very entertaining," the former valet said, congratulating the team, and eyeing Sauren in particular.

The Guild Master afforded the creature a courteous bow. Moroes laughed. "Oh, please," he said. "No amount of niceties will get you past my colleagues and me. And I'm afraid the master simply does not have time for extra visitors today."

"Your master is dead!" Sauren said. "As are you."

"Think so, do you?"

The team of rogues closed in. Tiene, however, chose to remain a little behind; her hands were twitching, desperate to fight.

The nobility above moved menacingly to the top step then descended as one to meet the team. Moroes made straight for Sauren.

Tiene, seeing an opportunity, sprang forward and leapt using Sauren's shoulder to propel her higher. She somersaulted in mid-air towards the skeletal manservant. Her left arm looped around his neck, and as her body turned, she drove her dagger into the brain stem. She dropped to her feet in a crouch just as the others finished off the nobility.

"Any more?" she said to Sauren. She was euphoric, in her element. This task was like a drug, every blow she delivered empowering her more.

"Back the way we came!" Sauren ordered the team. "Remain in stealth and head through the far door up the ramp, to the balcony. Wait there." The others turned obediently and made their way through the rooms as Sauren instructed.

Tiene was sweeping past him when suddenly he grabbed her upper arm and jerked her back. Startled, she focused on his mouth, mere inches from hers. "Do not forget you are with a team," he said firmly. "This is not a point-scoring exercise for you alone!"

She shirked free and glared at him. His mouth opened just enough for a flash of those perfect teeth, but in grim contrast, his eyes darkened. Instantly, she remembered her place and stepped back. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her eyes. "I just want to do my best."

Tilting his head, eyeing her intensely, he stepped closer. His voice was low and raspy, but not unkind. "You did exceptionally well, Tiene, I am not criticising your moves. You excel at many things - you are a natural. But- " He nodded in the direction of the others, "- they look up to you, and not all of them can pull off what you just did there. Not yet, at least. And they will try at some point, but they are not quite ready. So, do not let your ambition lead them to a fatal error."

She nodded, fully understanding. Glancing up, she was surprised to see no anger in her Guild Master's eyes, though his words had been stern. That, at least, was a relief. She turned and ran to join her team, Sauren following behind.

They proceeded through the seemingly endless halls, cutting down all spirits and phantoms in their way until eventually, they found their way out onto a crumbling terrace. There Sauren looked up and saw a broken stairway ascending several floors up still.

Music: From Darkness She Rises composed by BrunuhVille

https://youtu.be/mjliwE2V2Ro

 "Oo ur gan the right wae urn't oo?" Emmek asked as he followed Sauren's gaze.

"Aye, oo ur," Sauren replied glancing down at the dwarf with a smile. Emmek smirked. He wasn't used to the guild leader expressing a sense of humour. The rest of the group laughed lightly.

Up they went, following Sauren and Tiene. At the top, pillars led into another room. Once again, the recruits' jaws dropped. Standing guard at the top of a set of stairs were two creatures they had not come across before. They comprised of stone sections, hinged together by amethyst crystals forming a basic humanoid shape. Their mobility had to be controlled by magic; most likely arcane.

"Watchmen!" Sauren informed the team in a whisper. "I think we must be getting very close to what we seek."

"How do we deal with these?" Keeaen asked.

"We don't," Sauren replied. "We move past them. Unless, of course, they sense us, then you have to do what you have been trained to do. And live."

He heard a gulp behind him. Smirking, he moved forward, signalling the others to follow, single file. They weaved their way between the Watchmen. Keeaen and Tiene glanced at each other as they noticed mana wyrms floating above. They were similar to those back home, but these would likely attack given any provocation.

They moved quickly and quietly up a ramp, dodging another couple of Watchmen as they climbed. Finally, they reached the top, to a landing and took the left turn. Here they came across - nothing!

Sauren stopped, momentarily puzzled, his brow creased. Then something dawned on him. A ward of concealment was nearby.

"We've found it," he whispered to the team.

"How can you tell?" Shenyssea asked.

At that precise moment, the light ahead shimmered, and a room materialised in front of them. The room stretched up another two floors, and there were hundreds, no, thousands of books lining the walls. But even more extraordinary, was the figure coming towards them — an old man, sporting a long white beard with his nose buried in a book.

The recruits were not unduly worried as they had remained in stealth and this man seemed a harmless enough looking old soul.

"Good evening," he said, lowering the book and looking straight at them. "More visitors on the hunt for knowledge, I see?"

Tiene was a tad confused. He looked like an old man, but his voice was that of someone much younger, possibly close to her age. His grey eyes also suggested he was an intelligent man, and quite the scholar. Unnerved by the discordant properties of this individual, she moved behind Sauren. The rest of the team soon shifted behind her.

Sauren stepped out from his stealth. The others gasped but remained concealed.

"Forgive the intrusion," he said to the old man. "I am simply running my students through an exercise in stealth. We heard this was a good location to practice."

Steel eyes looked at Sauren warily. The man started to chant. With a wave of his hand, the room began to fade from view. Sauren's eyes darted behind the old man, taking in what he could before the ward was complete.

"And has your exercise been what you expected?" he asked the Guild Master, drawing his eyes from the room behind.

Sauren nodded. "Indeed. And I think we should be leaving now; I see we are interrupting you."

"Oh, you're not interrupting, I am just researching regeneration spells. Not having much luck, though," the man said with a sigh. "However, perhaps I can portal you back from whence you came?"

"Yes, if it is not too much trouble. Thank you. That would be most helpful."

The team were peeking around their Guild Master watching as the old man, a mage, started to conjure a portal.

"And where to?" he asked Sauren.

"Capital City, in Lordaeron."

A portal opened, its centre rippling with a distorted picture of the city gates. Sauren thanked the old man and ushered the team through the magical doorway.

The man laughed lightly. "I know you are there," he said, his eyes following their invisible shapes.

"How...?" Zach started.

"Sauren telt 'im oo wur on an exercise, silly," Tish replied.

"Oh, of course."

Simultaneously, the recruits shed their stealth and proceeded to enter the portal, nodding their thanks to the stranger.

Tiene, still standing behind Sauren, moved forward, apprehensive. Unable to shake her misgivings about this strange magical individual, she wasn't for stepping into the portal until she was sure her Guild Master would follow her through. Sauren looked at her questioningly. Her eyes betrayed her concerns. He smiled reassuringly and ushered her toward the portal.

Turning back, Sauren conveyed his thanks again. The mage smiled. "Oh," he said, just before Sauren and Tiene disappeared. "Do pass on my regards to Kel'Thuzad; it has been a while since I last saw him."

Sauren flinched, and his eyes turned sharply to the old man again. He knew there was no point in playing ignorant. "And who shall I say is asking?"

"Khadgar," came the reply.

As the months passed, Tiene and her team went on several missions. The ones with Sauren were typically fact-finding or searching for artefacts and other treasures. They had their share of danger and thrills; enough to keep them on their toes and not assume that locating merchandise was simply a case of going and collecting.

One thing which arose from the ventures was how synchronised Tiene and Sauren were becoming. Together they practised moves and skills more regularly, sometimes late into the evening. Sauren relived how Yathas and Linna executed moves, trying to replicate those skills. Quite often he and Tiene ended up on their backsides or tripping each other up, the results amusing them, to begin with, but also frustrating. Eventually, they found their flow, their own set of manoeuvres - a variance on those executed by Tiene's parents, but just as effective.

The other team members would join in, with varying levels of success, but their determination and enthusiasm soon led them to be a finely tuned unit. Overall, the great team Sauren had promised Tiene, was coming together.

Other assignments in which Tiene was leader, were competitive missions against other guilds. These were held fairly regularly, mostly when Sauren was away on business. Tiene's desperate hope of one of the bouts being against Camnath's guild, however, never came to fruition.

Tiene also managed home a few times, much to the delight of her family. Her father enjoyed listening to tales about her friends at the guild, the training, and missions. She guessed it was all a little nostalgic for him, so with considerable time and attention to detail, Tiene told him all.

Inaris and Duthan were still up to their tricks with the ladies it seemed; those two just weren't for settling down. She found out Ella and Inaris had started writing to one another too, but only on 'friendly' terms, Inaris' said with a wink.

As for Lor'themar, his heart still belonged to the Lady Liadrin. Tiene was disappointed, however, to hear things had not progressed further for him yet. He did take his time certainly - that was for sure.

The months rolled by and Tiene's first year as a Crimson Blade had been the most excellent time of her life ever - forgoing the 'hiccups' in the beginning.

And now, she had something truly exciting to look forward to as the year drew to a close. Great-Father Winter was upon them, and this year the rogues' bi-annual event, The Gathering, was being held at the Crimson Blade headquarters.

Invited to these events, were other distinguished guild leaders. They were expected to bring along three trainees of their choosing; usually, ones who demonstrated excellence in their craft. This year, Belaen Bloodbane of the Sigil of Shadows was attending with his top three recruits. And one of them was Camnath.

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Thank you for reading!!!

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