<66>

The paladin didn't need to be told twice, and with tender care his thick fingers slipped into the waist of his daughter's chain kilt to pull it clean off her body.  His sharp eyes took in the sight of his naked daughter yet again, almost as if it were the first time once more, and followed by gently straddling her thighs and resuming her intricate massage.  All six thick fingers traced every curve of her flawless back as they could reach.

A steady stream of happy moans left the shaman as her father dug into her tight muscles.  She was all smiles as she felt the tension be released from muscle after muscle, and soon enough she felt more loose than she could ever remember feeling before.  Her back curved as her bottom arched upward again, her voluminous cheeks gently pushing up against her father's groin as he worked.  "Ooooh, hello," she cooed, her raised posterior coaxing the heaviest hint of an erection from Drenan.

"Lyrah...." Drenan rumbled in his deepest fatherly tone.  "The vial."

Lyrah looked back at him innocently.  "Whatever do you mean, father?"

"You know exactly what I mean," he spoke seriously, but still couldn't resist leaning into her bottom a bit more, his manhood uncomfortably tenting his plate leggings outward.

The shaman puffed out her cheeks in a pout, and tilted her upper body just enough for him to catch a glimpse of her left nipple.  "I know... it's just such a shame... I just love having you inside me, daddy...."

Drenan swallowed hard and furrowed his brow.  "Sweetheart, please... tempting me is tempting fate.  To put you at risk-"  Out of nowhere, Drenan goes dead silent and freezes in place.

Lyrah's ears perked up at her father's sudden shift.  She turned slowly to look at him more, only to find his gaze latched onto the tent entrance.  The shaman followed his gaze and realized that a single, unblinking, bright green eye was peering through a small gap between the entrance flaps of the tent, clearly frozen in fear.  The shaman sighed quietly before piping up, "It's okay, Talla.  Come on in."

A shaky, three-fingered hand parted the flaps to reveal a nervous-looking Talla.  Barely any sunlight was left outside behind her, and it appeared that her chain leggings had been... adjusted, though she'd replaced them rather quickly after being caught.  Her other hand held a clear vial filled with a silvery liquid.  "S-sorry... I-I was just coming to check on you guys...."

Drenan and Lyrah exchanged skeptical glances, and slowly Lyrah rose to a seated position with one arm across her chest... or at least as much of her bare chest as she could contain.  "You sure about that?" she prodded as she sized up the white-furred tauren.

A deep flush of crimson ran over Talla's cheeks.  "S-sorta... I really did come to check on you guys!  I just... thought I should peek in in case you were asleep, and...."

"How long were you watching?" Lyrah asked calmly and innocently.

This seemed to relax Talla a bit.  "Um... fifteen minutes, maybe?"

Both Drenan and Lyrah felt their stomachs get heavy.  The paladin added quietly, "I trust our prior understanding is still in place, yes?"

Talla's cheeks grew redder as she nodded vehemently.  "Yes, sir!  Of course, I would never tell a soul, I swear!"  None of them had forgotten their Hallow's End excursion, and to their good fortune, Talla was as loyal a friend as Lyrah could have hoped for.

Her hasty words brought a semblance of peace to all three of them, and a relieved smile crossed Lyrah's face.  "Thanks, Talla... we really appreciate it.  The last thing we need is any of the braves finding out about us."

Talla nodded gently.  "Agreed, we just want the siege to be done with, you know?  The Freewind braves have dwindled a lot in such a short time...."  Her words trailed off as her eyes turned to the furs on the floor, and her open hand reached up to fiddle with an orange band that held one of her twin braids in place.  "My ancestors used to live here.  I hate to think how they'd feel."

Lyrah's eyes softened as she watched her friend, and without warning slid forward and wrapped Talla in a tight embrace.  "It's okay.  We'll fix this, I promise."

Talla reflexively returned the embrace, though as she did so she felt one hand ever-so-slightly graze the underside of Lyrah's right breast.  Despite the heat in her cheeks, her green eyes began to fill with tears.  "Thank you..."

Lyrah let the hug linger for many moments before pulling back and smiling brightly.  "Don't mention it.  Thank you for the tent and stuff, really.  Feralas was... a rough ride to say the least."

"Was it?" Talla prodded.  "I haven't been that far west in a while."

Lyrah looked back at her father to exchange glances.  "We... we kinda don't remember all of it, but we've kinda been running ragged since Desolace.  It's a long story, and to just have a tent makes this place ten times better.  I don't think we've even gotten to have a bath since we left home," she remarked, fighting the immediate urge to sniff her own armpit to demonstrate.

Talla's eyes lit up suddenly.  "You wish to bathe?  I know a little crevasse off the gorge that has clean water in it.  I can take you there if you want, and I'd love to hear your story on the way."

The shaman flashed a wide grin and turned back to her father.  "Can I?"

Drenan rumbled a light chuckle and held his hands up.  "You do not need my permission, you know.  Go, catch up with your friend.  I could use some rest before tomorrow anyway."

As quick as a whip, Lyrah hopped up to throw her arms around her father's neck.  "Thanks, dad," she said, and after a quick kiss re-donned her clunky chain armor and crawled out of the tent.  Talla held the flap aloft for her until she'd hopped upright, and immediately she began spewing what she could recall of their journey while they made their way toward the side of the gorge.

Drenan couldn't help but chuckle in amusement, happy to see his daughter so delighted.  His small smile faded as he glanced down to his own, crummy equipment, and let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

He knew he had to stop that siege as soon as he could.

<67>

"A night elf?  Lyrah!?" Talla cried, her mouth agape as the pair wove through the narrowing offshoot of the gorge.

"Not so loud!" Lyrah cautioned as a nervous giggle slipped from her lips.  "It was just a little one.  No big deal."

"But... but she was a night elf!" Talla insisted.  "She could've hurt you, or worse!"

"She was sweet!" the shaman insisted right back.  "Her and the others helped us get through Feralas safely.  Well, dad doesn't quite remember them, but I do, so yeah."

"Right," Talla added, her eyes wide in surprise and her cheeks ever-flushed.  "I guess I just never realized that... you know... girls and stuff."

Lyrah almost snorted with her ensuing laugh.  "Oh!  I, uh, I guess I hadn't really thought about it much until more recently.  A family friend of ours came to visit and things got... kinda... heated."

"No... it wasn't... the druid lady I met during Pilgrim's Bounty?" Talla eked out, one hand shooting up to cover her mouth

It was Lyrah's turn to flush and bite her lip as she fiddled with a loose link in her chain shirt.  "... maybe?"

Talla swallowed hard and forced herself to take a few deep breaths to calm herself.  "Wow... so... how was it?"

"How was what?" Lyrah asked innocently.

"You know... the... mating."

"Honestly?  It was kinda nice," she admitted.  "She was different from my dad, but still... really sweet, y'know?"

Talla hesitated for a long moment, the pair of them stopping just a few feet from the edge of a sizeable, sunken pool surrounded by towering cliffside.  The water itself sparkled with the few rays of the rising moon, as there was no sun left to light it.  "I guess I wouldn't," Talla remarked with a saddened tone and a meek chuckle.

Lyrah looked to her friend with concern.  "What do you mean?"

The hunter looked over at her friend and smiled, though sadness remained thick in her eyes.  "I guess I never told you, huh?"  Lyrah shook her head.  "I... I think I'm not... not quite straight.  I mean, there's nothing wrong with a good-looking guy, but I think I like girls more than guys for sure.  I guess I'm a little jealous that you got to try something like that first," she returned with a half-hearted giggle."

"Oh goodness Talla, that's nothing to be jealous of," she assured her as she placed a comforting hand on Talla's shoulder.  "It's definitely not something to just rush into for the sake of rushing into it.  You gotta make sure it's someone you trust first, and in the end it'll be amazing when you get to try it."  Lyrah flashed her friend a wide smile.  "Trust me!"

A great deal of sadness left Talla's eyes at this, and a much more genuine giggle escaped her lips.  "I do, Lyrah.  Thank you."  The pair closed in and embraced deeply, parting only when Talla spoke again.  "My mother and father weren't so understanding... when they found out, I was pretty much cast out of the tribe."

"Talla..." Lyrah returned quietly.  "I'm so sorry..."

The hunter shook her head and squeezed her friend a second time.  "Don't be.  As much as it sucks, it was really... liberating," she added with a smile.  "I mean, you guys seem to do pretty well without a tribe, right?"

Lyrah nodded without hesitation.  "For sure.  It's always been just us, so I'm used to it being that way.  It's kinda hard to imagine having to work with a bunch of tauren all the time."

"It's not so bad, but it can get overwhelming sometimes," Talla added, her smile widening.  "But I think I'm starting to get a little riper than I want."  She glanced between the water and her friend.  "You in?"

Without hesitation, Lyrah began fumbling with her chainmail.  "Oh you know it!" she called out from between her links, though she had to slow down rather quickly as a few threatened to catch in her fur.  A few growls and swears later, Lyrah's chain came free of her chest to fall thankfully to the floor of their little hideaway spot.

In the brief time Lyrah had been wrapped up, Talla had taken to pulling off her own, much more neatly-crafted, clothes.  The hunter had politely turned her back to Lyrah, though as disoriented as Lyrah had been, the shaman's gaze had fallen directly onto her friend, only to be strangely entranced by what she saw.  Talla had already pulled away her top to reveal an incredibly well-toned back.  Her shoulders were not so broad as a male's, but the fluffy fur which covered her arms had hidden the muscles beneath for the most part.  Her long mane drifted nearly halfway down her back, while the end was tied together with an orange binding much like the twin ties which often draped over her torso.  As Talla bent over, her belt came unclasped and her leggings fell hypnotically to the floor to reveal a sight unlike any Lyrah had seen before.  A second moon had shown itself to the shaman, shocking Lyrah with how incredibly wide Talla's hips truly were.  Her massive posterior was as snow white as the rest of her, and its impressive width began to taper considerably down toward her toned thighs and calves.  While bent over at the waist, Talla's treasure was prominently on display: a petite-looking pair of soft pink folds which persisted in hiding the more intimate portions of her nethers.  Lyrah took in all of this within the span of a few moments, but it felt as if time had slowed itself right then for her curious eyes.  Slowly, Talla straightened her form and turned around, casually uncaring of her naked form for the briefest of moments.  Her chest was not nearly as well-endowed as Lyrahs, but her snow-white orbs were very much a marvel for Lyrah to behold, and her soft pink nipples looked far more enticing than the hunter would admit to herself.  A long moment of silence ensued between the friends, until Talla piped up, "Uh... Lyrah?  You okay?"

<68>

The shaman's cheeks had flushed deep with color in the brief moment she'd been spying on Talla, and still it took her a moment to register her friend's words before she could eke out, "Oh!  Uh, yeah!  Yeah I'm fine, sorry, I just... zoned out for a moment."  Her chain kilt quickly came down with her sputters, and with a mixture of excitement and sheer embarrassment, Lyrah leaped into the pool to come crashing down at its center, splashing water high into the air.  Lyrah's head resurfaced with the cry of, "EARTHMOTHER this water is fucking COLD!"

Talla hopped backwards just in time to avoid the small wave of water, only to double over with laughter.  "Bahahahah!  What did you expect?" she wheezed between laughs.

Lyrah threw her arms over her chest.  Violent shivers shot through her.  "I'll f-f-fix this," she spat out and plunged her hands beneath the water's surface.  The calm surface of the water ripples unnaturally, and within the span of moments was bubbling like a well-stoked hot tub.

Talla cocked an impressed eyebrow.  "I guess having a shaman around has its perks!"  One hoof tentatively dipped into the water at first, followed by a hasty slide into the soothing warmth of the pool.   "Mmmh!  Perfect!"

Lyrah's shivers quickly abated, and with a proud smile she waded through the pool to prop herself against the edge next to Talla.  "I wish I knew this stuff when we were younger.  Remember when you tried jumping in that pond up in Winterspring?"

Talla mimicked Lyrah's laidback pose, her nipples hovering just below the bubbling water.  "Ugh, I got the worst cold after that.  Hence why I didn't jump," she prodded and stuck her tongue out at her friend.  "How about when you got cornered up that tree in the Barrens?"

Lyrah laughed hard at that.  "I tried everything to shoo it away, but it must've really wanted me."

"I know!  I felt so bad that it wouldn't even glance my way!  Now I'd just tame him, but that one was scary," Talla affirmed.  "It was a good thing your dad wasn't far."

"Yeah," Lyrah agreed as she turned her eyes to the sky.  "He's been really good to me over the years."

"Both of us," Talla agreed.  "I don't think he ever said I couldn't come over."

"Nope.  I think you kept me busy so he could get things done," she joked.

"Maybe," Talla added with a laugh.  "It's funny, I think he was more of a dad than mine was.  The day after you left I came over, and he still let me in and offered me a drink for a while."

"Really?" asked a surprised Lyrah.

"Mhmm.  I was pretty bummed when you left, but talking to him for a bit really helped."  Talla smiled and gave Lyrah a light tap on the shoulder.  "Remember that one sleepover when we put up that big web of fishing line?"

"Oh yeah!  Right at the bottom of the stairs, and we got up extra early to see if it'd get him?"

Both girls struck up happy giggles at this.  "And he just walked right through ‘em like they weren't there!"

"Except for the one that got wrapped around his horn!  It took him weeks to get it totally untangled," Lyrah added.  Their laughter echoed all through their little crevasse, both friends steadily sinking into the relaxing waters.  A small pause followed as their laughter waned when Lyrah added, "Remember the truth or dare sleepover?"  The cheeky shaman waggled her eyebrows with a playful smirk.

Talla's cheeks reddened as she looked to the water, knowing exactly what she meant.  "That was a scary night.  I was sure your dad was gonna catch us."

"But he didn't," Lyrah returned quickly.  "Even though we couldn't stop laughing the whole time."

Talla giggled gently.  "I can't even remember why it was funny at the time."

Lyrah shrugged.  "Just being naked outdoors is funny to anybody."

"I kinda like it," Talla admitted.

"Yeah?  Me too, actually."

"You think it was from the dare night?"

"What, liking being naked outdoors?" 

"Yeah."

Lyrah hesitated as she mulled the thought over.  "I think it was, actually.  I really vividly remember the cool air all over, and it just felt really nice, y'know?"

"And exciting," Talla added, lowering into the water just a touch.  "That whole night was an eye-opener for me."

Lyrah nodded in agreement and smiled warmly at her friend.  Without acknowledgement, the chocolate-furred tauren sidled just a bit closer to her friend and gently draped an arm over her shoulders.  "We used to do this all the time, too.  I think you got me to like baths, actually," she remarked with a laugh.

Talla sunk just a bit lower into the water, though she had no desire to stop Lyrah.  "Agreed.  I... I kinda miss this stuff.  Like... physical touch and stuff," she admitted.  "You have your dad at least.  I... don't."

Lyrah looked over to her friend and shot her a disarming smile as she tightened her grip on her shoulders.  The gentle hug seemed to relax Talla a bit, neither of them caring that they were naked in that moment.  The heated water had done wonders to revitalize the both of them, and in such a relaxed state, neither of them cared about much of anything.  They were happy, and it was just like neither of them had left home again.  A few more memories were exchanged before the pair fell silent, and in that peace the pair let the minutes drift by in contented peace.  It wasn't until the heat began to wane from the pool that Lyrah spoke again.  "Well, that was fun, hmm?"

Talla beamed, the both of them slowly rising from the water.  "Definitely.  We need to do this again real soon."

"Agreed," Lyrah added, but as she reached for her fallen armor, she froze with the clunky links in hand.  A mischievous glint shined in her eye as she looked over to her yet-naked friend.  "Say, remember how we were talking about the dare night?"

Talla looked to her friend and felt the heat return to her cheeks, then down the path they had come and back again.  "You don't mean...?"

Lyrah grinned wickedly at her friend.  "It's dark out, and if we're quick, no one will know.  I bet my dad is already sound asleep."

Talla swallowed hard and took up her things, but did not put them on.  The hunter paused briefly before she added, "Last one to the tent is a tallstrider!" and bolted off down the path at breakneck speed.

The shaman could only laugh and cry out faux protests as she bolted after Talla, the two of them neck and neck in their naked race back to Lyrah's tent.  It took all their might to stifle manic giggles of glee, though about halfway back down the path Talla took a commanding lead.  The hunter had become quite used to running for long periods of time, and she'd dived headlong into the tent a good fifteen seconds before Lyrah did.  As the shaman fell into the tent, she released her torrent of giggles and relished in the feeling of the furs all over her body... until she looked back to Talla.

Talla looked around the tent in confusion, her joy replaced by concern.  "Where's your dad?"

* * * * *

The hulking paladin's head jerked back toward the north edge of the canyon as the echoes of feminine giggles reached him.  A light smile crossed his lips as he turned back to the bridge.  The Twilight Bulwark awaited him, and there was no straight path to it.  The earlier start he got, the better.

<69>
	
"I cannot BELIEVE him!  We JUST went over this shit!"
	
Talla frowned at her friend.  "You think he went without-"

"I KNOW he went without me!" she cried as she furiously pulled on her clunky armor.  "He just pulled this stuff a few days ago."

Talla quickly dressed herself as well, and as Lyrah made back for the tent entrance, the hunter put a firm hand on her shoulder.  "Just hold up a sec."

The shaman jerked her head to look at Talla with fiery eyes.  "What?!"

It took a good deal of the hunter's courage not to shy away from her friend's fury, rather she bit her lip and puffed out her chest as best as she could to speak.  "Let's just think for a second, okay?  Magatha doesn't know you exist.  She's expecting to speak to your dad, and he thinks she's not very stable right now.  He already said you weren't a bargaining chip, and I think him going ahead is his way of saying that."

Lyrah's gaze wavered slightly.  "But he left without me-"

"-Because he knows you'll follow him," she stated flat out.  "He never once said you couldn't go, and he didn't leave a note saying anything."  Talla eased the intensity of her look.  "And... to be honest, hun, you aren't really... stealthy, y'know?  I mean, no tauren really is -it's why none of us are rogues- but I think your dad doesn't wanna cause a scene or anything, especially if this is a peace talk."

Lyrah let go of the tent flap as she processed her friend's words, and after a moment a soft giggle escaped her lips.  "Alright, alright, that's fair.  I guess we'd probably be better off doing this quietly."  She flashed Talla an appreciative smile and wrapped her in a warm hug before adding, "So, how do you think we should do this?"

Talla happily accepted the hug, but nearly choked at Lyrah's response.  "Me?  I don't know if I..."

"Oh come now, you're a crack shot with that bow, and you already saved his butt once.  Plus, you know how to be sneaky if you know how to tame beasts, right?"

"Well I guess-"

"So lead the way!  I trust you, and you're obviously thinking more clearly than I am right now."

Talla's snow-white cheeks flushed, but a sharp swallow bit back her pride from the kind praise.  "Okay, right, well, the bulwark's on the other side of Thousand Needles.  A wyvern would get us across the chasm, but we might be seen if we get too close."  Talla went quiet as she drifted into thought, though the pause was brief.  "There's a trail from the water level to the southeast.  If we hoof it the rest of the way, they won't notice us."

"And when we get there?" Lyrah prodded curiously.

Talla could only shrug.  "We scope out the area and see what we'll be getting ourselves into."

* * * * *

Silent wyvern wings carried the pair of female tauren in between the massive pillars of the chasm.  The flight was hardly more than a few minutes, but as the pair touched down, both found their hearts pounding louder than expected.  Their path was narrower than expected, but in due time they'd found their way over the rise and at the edge of the bulwark.  Their hearts sank as they realized that the entire rise was flooded with well-armored members of the Twilight Cult.

Lyrah's eyes went wide, though as she opened her mouth to speak, Talla clapped a firm hand over it and dragged her behind a nearby boulder.  The hunter searched Lyrah's eyes, and refused to uncover her mouth until she was certain Lyrah would keep quiet.  "Okay," Talla whispered as quietly as possible.  "So, this is... unexpected."

"Is Magatha with the Twilight Cult?" Lyrah asked with a hard swallow.

Talla shook her head.  "Not that I know of.  If she is, this is really, really bad.  If not, then she's probably a captive.  Unusual, but not impossible."

"Then why would she lay siege to Freewind Post if she's a captive?"

The hunter had no answer for her, rather she simply took a glance back out at the other cultists.  "Either way, we need to find Magatha.  I bet your dad's already found her, or if he hasn't, we should.  I think if we're quick, we can take down a couple of guards without the others noticing."

Lyrah nodded in agreement as she took her own lay of the land.  "There are cultists of all races out there, but we should aim for other tauren.  If we can get fitting armor, we can blend in and walk around without worry."

Talla agreed with a confident nod and a smile, once again scanning the area until her gaze fell upon a hooded, male tauren.  "There.  Not a female, but he'll do... I hope."

A nod from Lyrah.  "Just say when."

The cultist had been on a slow walk across the camp, however as soon as Talla had spied him,  the male seemed to deviate from his path toward the boulder.  Talla dared a second glance as he grew closer, but with a quiet gasp she ducked back behind the rock and strung her bow.  "He's coming toward us," she eked out quietly.

Lyrah steeled her own gaze and brought a gentle flame to her fingertips, but before the pair could spring forth from their hiding spot, a shadow crossed up above them to come thundering down mere inches in front of their seated hiding spot.  It was a series of metal plates, all fashioned into the spiked shapes of twilight armor.  Both females froze in confusion at the sight until a quiet, familiar rumble met their ears.  "Relax, it is only me," echoed none other than Drenan covered from head to toe in twilight armor.

<70>

"You've been busy," Lyrah whispered as she looked at the fallen armor.

"Could not sleep," he rumbled softly.  "Put these on, both of you.  Nobody has noticed me yet, so I doubt they will notice any of us if we are careful."

Talla began to don the armor without hesitation, though Lyrah looked to her father skeptically.  "You were expecting both of us?"

"I came prepared just in case.  Talla was a boon to us earlier, and I saw no reason she would not follow you once you found out I was gone.  You tell her everything," he stated bluntly, turning his back on the pair to keep an eye out for wandering cultists.  "If nothing else, it would have given me leeway into their armory if you two did not show up."

"Fair enough," Lyrah murmured and donned her own armor.  Neither set fit the females particularly well, but they were close enough for them to blend in.  "A little tight..." Lyrah gasped as she adjusted her breastplate, though a good portion of her hefty chest threatened to burst forth from its seams."

"No kidding," Talla eked out as she struggled to yank the waistband of her leggings over her wide hips.  The belt was enough to hide the exposed fur, but it certainly wasn't comfortable leaving her pants just up over her thighs.  "I don't wanna be here for very long if we can help it."

"We won't be," Drenan assured them.  His own armor set was a bit too small, and it was clear he'd torn a hole in the leggings for his tail, as well as a pair of holes in the hood for his horns.  "Magatha has been captured, and I already have her prison located.  She is toward the eastern edge of the camp."

"Good," Lyrah affirmed, and with a nod from all three, they set off in their small cluster of bulky cultists eastward.  To their good fortune, very few cultists even turned to look at them... save for one.  

Roughly halfway to their destination, Lyrah felt a calloused hand clap down on her shoulder.  "Hey, tauren," a masculine voice grumbled deeply.

Lyrah just about flipped her lid right then and there, but a subtle squeeze of her hand from Talla and a reassuring glance from Drenan calmed her quickly.  She whirled around to regard a hunched over, green-skinned orc garbed in twilight regalia.  "Can I help you... fellow... cultist?"

The orc narrowed his red eyes and looked the disguised Lyrah up and down.  It was more than obvious that the orc lingered where any male might, and he made no attempt to hide it as if he had authority.  "Seldom, as in, never, have I seen one of our tauren members who neglected her tail-hole."

Sure enough, the uniform Lyrah had been given didn't have one, and in her haste she hadn't bothered to rip one or slip her tail between the armor pieces.  Just as she opened her mouth to respond, Drenan clamped a firm hand down on her other shoulder while he spoke to the orc.  "Thank you for destroying any chance we had of subtlety," Drenan rumbled with an edge of anger in his tone.

The orc had to look up rather sharply to regard Drenan.  "Excuse me!?"

Drenan exhaled sharply through his bullish nose and glowered at the orc.  "Would you care to tell the rest of the camp that a spy infiltrated us without anyone so much as glancing at her?"

"Oh..." was all the orc could muster as he glanced between all three of them.  His green skin seemed to grow a few shades paler.

Drenan wasn't done.  "Oh, by all means, advertise that we caught her.  Tell them all, show them how bad our security detail is.  I am certain Deathwing would adore you for it.  Or..."  The orc looked about to have a heart attack before Drenan's tone cooled down.  "You can let us take care of her ourselves, and be on your way."

A devious grin suddenly shot across the orc's face.  "If you think you're not letting me in on the punishment, you've got another thing coming.  It feels like ages since I've been to the bitch tent."

Talla struggled not to protest, and Lyrah could only stand open-mouthed in shock.  Still, the paladin remained calm.  "I would not expect an orc to have such an intimate interest in a female tauren.  By all rights, we found her, so she is ours."

"Then I at least have the right to watch," hissed the orc.  "I have been out in this shithole for longer than I can recount.  I need this."

The hulking male tauren bit his lip, though his hesitation was brief.  "Fine.  Afterward, leave me to deal with her.  The last thing I want is for anyone else finding out."

"Fine," the orc relinquished, but the look of giddiness on his face overshadowed any frustration he might've had.

The four of them turned sharply southward, and in quiet whispers Lyrah spoke to her father.  "Dad... what's happening?  Where are we going?"

Drenan flashed her a sad glance.  "It is a tent for... cultist relief."

It took a moment for his words to click with her, but when they did it seemed to assuage her fears.  "Oh... okay.  That's not so bad."

"As long as you do not mind an audience," he returned with a half-frown.  "And... I fear I will not be able to be myself in there."

"I understand," Lyrah returned without hesitation and squeezed her father's hand.  "I'll probably be pretty quiet."

Drenan had to stifle a light chuckle.  "Just don't call me ‘daddy', just this once, okay?"

Lyrah swallowed hard and nodded.  "Yes... sir."

Most all of the cultists' tents looked relatively similar, yet the tent they approached was much more secluded among the raised cliffside.  The orc lifted the flap to allow Drenan and Lyrah entry, though he seemed to neglect Talla as he slipped inside himself.  Talla huffed quietly at his rude gesture and slipped in behind him nonetheless.  There were no additional tent walls inside, though there were a few torches lit with purple flame and held aloft along the tent poles via magic.  As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, the trio of tauren realized they stood amongst about a dozen other naked prisoners of the twilight cult.  Most were gnomes or goblins who had strayed too far from the Speedbarge to the southeast, and all were chained to the ground in some form or another.  A pair of male trolls were rather busy with a female gnome in one corner, and in another a male goblin was pinned down by a female orc.  Granted, there was little protest from the in-use prisoners, but the sights brought mixed feelings from all three of the tauren travelers.