Chaper 15: New recruits for the Argent Dawn

There were precisely three things Lainné had not expected to face upon arrival at Chillwind Camp.

One was the hustle and bustle around – she had imagined it as a quiet outpost on the border of the Plaguelands, but there were recruits showing up from everywhere due to the recent call for arms – and there were supply carts and tents being set up and soup broiling in kettles over cooking fires.

The second was the swift dismissal officer Pureheart – Ashlam Valorfist’s second in command gave her. She hadn’t expected any “special receipt”, yet all that had been in store for her had been a level, appraising glance, followed by a pat on the shoulder and a recommendation to find herself a place to sleep while they still had spare ones.

The third thing was the man she nearly crashed into as she tried to make her way through a maze of tent ropes. She mumbled some apologies before she could even see his face –then she looked up and froze in place.

Very green and very cold eyes studied her thoroughly, as if she were a strange species that needed to be dissected and catalogued. He never lost his composure – the slight widening of his eyes was the only sign of surprise. Lainné’s heart nonetheless skipped a beat or two while she gazed up at him.

She had been dreaming about it. Hoped – even if only a mad woman would be hoping for things she was not meant to have. She was a servant of the Light and he a warlock and that was that.

“You…”

The word came out hoarse. She drew herself up proudly, trying to appear serene despite her burning cheeks.
“Don’t I deserve a welcome?”

That didn’t earn her any goodwill, just an angry snort. Eireannan stared down at her as if she were last day’s meal forgotten on the table. From the firm set of his jaw, Lainné guessed he was trying to keep down a rush of words, some she would probably not have liked in the least.

“What-- are you doing here?’
The sharp tone of the question made it obvious he had barely managed to cut out the curses.”

“Why, answering the summons of the Argent Dawn, of course, to fight against the threat of the Scourge, like any able bodied citizen of the Alliance should…”
“…like any able bodied citizen…” he grumbled in annoyance. “You should’ve…”

“Well, just the man I was looking for”, Alyssa McDonnell chimed behind. “I see you already met sister Mayhrin.” She squeezed in the space between the tents to wrap her arm against the other woman’s shoulder, with a smile so wide it could have melted ice. Lainné could do nothing else but smile back, even if a little wary.
“Sister Mayhrin came all the way from Stormwind and I have heard only good things about her…It is lucky for us to have her here! And she’ll need someone to show her…the lay of the land. You take care of her, Eireannan…”

If he had been glaring before, now Eireannan’s expression resembled very much that of a man who had just hit his head against a rock.

“Find her a tent to sleep in and something to eat…” Alyssa McDonnell pressed. “Your tent would do just fine if there is no other, I presume…”

“Alyssa…”

“I knew you’d be so nice to help me!” the priestess said, as if he had agreed…as if he had managed to get out a bloody sentence at all, Eireannan thought. And with that she glided away cheerfully, without Lainné or him being able to utter a single word.

He looked down at her again – she barely came up to his shoulder, a slender woman, dressed in soft grays and greens, her long auburn red hair braided and held in a crown around her head by small ornate pins. Light, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted it so badly it nearly ached. Keeping his hands off her was an effort. His heart strained under the effort to deny what he felt…that rush of relief and joy and fear that she might still be just a figment of his imagination.

“This is a very dangerous place to be”, he said slowly. Lainné was shocked to discover his voice was worried. “It is worse than stalking into Stromgarde at night. And don’t fool yourself, there is little honor in dying at the hands of the Scourge. If you’re lucky to die for good. This doesn’t happen too often...”

“This is what I must do, though”, Lainné said and wondered how she could sound so calm. “Now, you heard the woman. I need a place to sleep and something to eat.”

“I…” For a second he stammered and his eyes betrayed again that onslaught of emotions she had seen once before, the night in Arathi. In the space of that moment – she was sure – he had wanted to embrace her as much as she wanted to. Then suddenly it was gone and Eireannan’s face was almost expressionless again.
“Come”, he said mildly. “I’ll see what I can do.”