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	Splintertree Post was one of the oldest-established Horde outposts on Kalimdor, but Ashenvale was the ancestral home of the night elves long before the Horde invaded.  These sorts of affairs were far beyond the tauren duo’s scope, but its gates were always open to travelers of the Horde, big or small.  There were no attackers that day as Drenan and Lyrah walked through the front gates, both of them avoiding eye contact with the guards.

	The nervous couple eventually made their way over to the local inn, and it wasn’t until they’d shut the door to their meager room that Drenan finally spoke.  “Lyrah… I do not think I can do this.”

	Lyrah looked up at her father and squeezed his hands fiercely.  “Daddy, no one will know, y’know?  Plus it’s not like we’ve never had an audience before.”

	Drenan blushed and averted his gaze.  “Those were different times.  Being sneaky around unsuspecting companies is one thing.  Doing the same specifically [i]to[/i] draw attention is another, not to mention its ultimate goal.”

	“It’ll only be for a few minutes if all goes well,” Lyrah persisted, though her tone was far from resolute.

	Lyrah’s father  shook his one-horned head.  “You and I both know that this is not right.”

	Lyrah’s ears drooped.  “But… but what choice do we have?”

	A sudden, soft tap on their door forced both tauren to hold their breaths.  Both of them exchanged glances before Drenan dared to approach the door and peer through a small glass peephole.  The bull deflated almost immediately in relief.  “It is alright,” he added as he pulled the door open, revealing none other than the snow-furred form of Talla Whitefeather.

	“Lyrah!” she cried and darted into the room, throwing her arms around her friend.  “I missed you!  I-I-I thought I saw you two enter camp, but I wasn’t sure!  I-I’m sorry!  Was I interrupting anything?”

	The blush in the huntress’ cheeks spoke volumes, and while Lyrah hugged her friend in return, the shaman drew back to arm’s length and shook her head.  “No, no, you’re fine!  I’m sorry we missed you too.  How have you been?  What happened after Thousand Needles?”

	Talla took a small step back and clasped her hands together awkwardly.  “Well, um… I stayed back at Freewind Post for a while to make sure the attacks stopped, and they did!  The Grimtotems left, but I dunno where they went.  We were just happy that they weren’t attacking anymore.  They let them stay for a few months, but then I went back to the Barrens as a guard and scout.  It wasn’t very exciting though, so about two months ago I got transferred to Splintertree, so here I am!  Where have you two been?”

	Lyrah looked over at her father briefly.  “We, uh, were gonna go through Tanaris, but we got summoned back to Moonglade by our friend, Shele.  We lived there for a bit, but we kinda got kicked out a while ago.”

	Talla shook her head.  “What kind of jerks could throw [i]you[/i] out!?  Did the night elves do it?”

	“No!  No,” Lyrah insisted.  “We… we kinda had it coming.  It’s okay, we’re making do, but it’s been a bit rough since then.  Actually….”

	Drenan went wide-eyed before Lyrah could speak.  “Are you certain!?”

	Talla jerked her head between her friend and her friend’s father.  “Something important?”

	Lyrah’s lip trembled.  “Yeah.  Very.”

	“Then not here,” Talla added, turning serious.

* * * * *

	Talla brought her friends into a thick clump of trees rather far north of Splintertree Post.  Once certain there would be no prying ears, Talla allowed her friends to pour out what had happened with Drenan, the Sentinels, their bargain, and their current plan -or lack thereof- to see it through.

	All in all, Talla had less color in her face than usual.  She had no words to respond to their story as she worked to process it.  “Lyrah… this is kinda, like, treason, isn’t it?”

	Lyrah hadn’t thought of it that way before.  “I guess… I dunno!  I already feel dumb for having us get caught up in this, okay!?”

	Drenan touched his daughter’s shoulder.  “Look, Talla, ultimately we care about life itself, and we do not wish [i]anyone[/i] to get hurt.  But if we flee, there will still be conflict, and potentially a lot of bloodshed.  We need your help if we wish to avoid this.”

	Talla frowned.  “Splintertree Post would almost have to be empty to avoid any casualties.”

	“Can that be done?” Lyrah added curiously.

	Talla crinkled her brow.  “An orc named Mastok leads the post, and he’ll die before walking away from it and hiding.  I’m not really keen on the idea of giving this place up to the night elves either.”

	“Rrrgh!  SHIT!” Lyrah cried and stomped the earth, causing a slight tremor to destabilize Drenan and Talla briefly.

	“That’s it!” Talla proclaimed suddenly.  “Lyrah, just cause a huge earthquake!”

	Drenan shook his head.  “I doubt you are the only shaman in the post, Sweetheart.  If they trace the disturbance back to you, it is over, and it could take multiple other shamans to [i]stop[/i] a large enough tremor.”

	“True… unless…!  Talla!  Do the folks at the post pay any heed to Mount Hyjal anymore!?” Lyrah cried.

	Talla shrugged.  “I haven’t heard mention of it since the cataclysm.”

	The gears in Lyrah’s head began to turn rapidly, and a smile slowly spread across her face.  “I have an idea.  It’s complicated, but if we can time it just right, we might be able to take down several targets with one arrow.”  She turned to Drenan.  “Daddy, do you think Kacheya could deliver a message for me?”

	“Uh…”  Drenan looked at his owl, who trilled a soft hoot in response.  “She says yes.  But why?  Where?”

	Lyrah spun to Talla without answering.  “Talla, I’m not gonna ask you to sabotage the post, and the night elves will know if barricades and defenses pop up.  Instead, I need you to set up as many snares and rope traps as you can around the surrounding woods.  Nothing deadly, only things that’ll slow people down.”

	Talla looked no less confused.  “Uh, okay, but… what’s the point?  There shouldn’t be anyone coming from Forest Song or anything, right?  And our own logging camp is to the south.”

	“That’s irrelevant,” Lyrah returned somewhat dismissively.  “Just trust me, we’ll need them, but you gotta be [i]discreet[/i].  Same with the other hunters in the post, and warn them so nobody gets into them.”  Her azure-eyed gaze fell back upon her father, and a confident grin appeared upon her bovine face.  “Let’s go find some parchment.  I’ll explain back in our room.”

	Drenan and Talla exchanged looks of confusion, but they couldn’t argue with the fiery confidence in Lyrah’s eyes.
