Hope you all are as excited as we are! <3 The Order of Thorn and Rose has gotten a lot of really amazing people. I’m so impressed by how awesome everyone is. Come join up and say hi, no matter what timezone you’re in! https://discord.gg/kvU3q2P
These are amazing and wonderful people! Great rpers and friendly and knowledgable raiders. Come join us!
Thank you for the endorsements, guys! Order of Thorn and Rose is still accepting new members! If you’re a late night player, even more so!
So you’re a bunch of vigilantes? Running around with no oversight and you don’t report to anyone. Good because I like being my own boss. You can be the rose all you want, as long I get to be the thorn. Hehehehe.
A guild of adventurers, more like. We do have a structure, so it’s not completely without oversight, but we are independent of any political or martial body. 
A Little Light
The scent of summer hung thick in the air as Channyn glanced up from the book she’d been studying on the Abbey steps. There were many who’d come to visit the Abbey that day, though she’d been hoping for someone in particular. It had been nearly a week since she’d last seen him, and though she knew he was busy studying magic in the city, the time they spent apart always made her uneasy.
Relative peace had settled over Elwynn Forest, and although Varian had not returned, and though many claimed that he was missing—although the nearest threats were likely nothing more than wolves and kobolds, it was hard to shed the fear that this peace was nothing more than an illusion—that she might wake up, and this would all be a dream. “Safe” was a relative term to her, and without him, she felt as though a part of herself were missing—the part of her that could believe that peace was real—that she was, in fact, safe.
As the cicadas filled the air with somnolent sounds, the birds barely whispering in the too-still trees, Channyn let go of a weary sigh. Her eyes strayed once more to the page before her, and for the third time, she realized she had no idea what she’d been reading for the past hour. It wasn’t that she was ungrateful for the free time, or that she was unhappy with studying for the priesthood as her mother had; it was more that she felt restless, and the heat and the prolonged duration without a visit was making her wonder if she’d been forgotten—by time, by him, by the world itself.
“Such weighty sighs set upon the world—whatever could be the cause for them?”
The sound of a man’s voice speaking from her shoulder made her start and glance to her right. And upon seeing no one there, to her left. At the sound of amused laughter behind her, a vexed huff passed her lips, her expression forming itself into a frown. “It isn’t polite to address someone while hiding, you know,” she chided the mysterious fellow—her tone holding a tad more frustration than she actually felt. After all, it was a distraction from her own thoughts.
As the cicadas filled the pause and then as the silence dragged on, she began to wonder if she hadn’t imagined the whole thing until once more the voice spoke to her, though this time from a short distance away.
“Revelations are delicate things, and I fear that if I were to show myself, it would only breed disappointment.”
Channyn thought to herself, “It couldn’t be any more disappointing than this day’s been.” But out loud she replied, softening her tone from its former scolding. “May be,” she conceded. “But why hide?”
“Perhaps I mean to kidnap you,” came the pithy reply.
She couldn’t help but laugh at that, and as she did so, she felt some of the tension leave her. As a smile caught at her lips, the invisible stranger spoke once more.
“Well, …that’s better, at least. I’m still considering it, mind you.”
She grinned in reply. “It wouldn’t do you much good. It isn’t as if I’m anyone of significance or import; so, I doubt anyone would bother paying for my return.”
As the silence stretched on, the grin faded as she realized that there were worse things that could happen to young women besides being kidnapped. And as the silence deepened, she glanced about worriedly, eyeing the entrance to the Abbey. It wasn’t that far; perhaps she should….
“Mmm…yes,” her invisible stranger then replied, making her turn her head toward the nearby sound. “I see you know that there is worse in the world than merely being kidnapped.” His tone held a note of sadness to it, as though there were something deeper in the meaning of those words. After a slight pause, he began speaking again; his thoughtful tone coming from another direction, and moving, as though he were pacing while he spoke. She followed the voice with her head and eyes as he continued. “That said, I am no such fiend to prey upon others; I merely thought to tease you in hopes for a smile. Your laughter was far more gratifying, however.”
“Seeing you would make this easier, you know,” she replied, not wanting him to think that his words might have appeased her former objections in spite of the slip of a smile that caught at her lips.
“Seeing,…” he mused, as though considering the prospect. “Perhaps that can be arranged.”
“Oh?” she offered, her brows rising and falling in question as she tried to follow his movements, though she knew with each reply how miserably she failed. She considered that he might purposely be moving where her eyes weren’t just to tease her further.
“Mmm,” he affirmed. Then after a moment, “What if I invited you somewhere…would you come, if I promised to reveal myself there?”
She opened her mouth then closed it, uncertain of her reply.
Looking down she slowly closed the book on her lap, stalling for time as she wrestled with the idea. It wasn’t as though she were going to get any reading done today, anyway. Time slipped past along with a sigh before she finally touched upon something that would settle her.
When she spoke, she lifted her head, turning it toward where last she’d heard his voice. “Would I be able to bring my friend with me?”
There was a pause, and then a slightly thoughtful humming sound—as though he weren’t keen on the idea but was considering it. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt, so long as your friend doesn’t mind my teasing you.”
At that she laughed a little, somewhat relieved. “Knowing him, he’d probably join you in the endeavor.” Encased in the words was something akin to a groan.
“Oh…a him!” he replied, sounding intrigued. “Is this him someone special?” His tone was clearly teasing, and it caused her to flush slightly and look away, embarrassed, even as she rolled her eyes.
“So he is then,” the voice returned, somewhat hushed, mocking her with faux reverence, clearly nearer to her than a moment before.
Grimacing, she glanced toward where she thought he was. “It isn’t like that. We lived in Dalaran, and when it fell, we escaped together with the other refugees who followed Lady Proudmoore. But I think he cares more about magic these days than he does me.” There was a slight pause before her gaze lowered. “Or at least it seems that way,” she concluded dispiritedly.
“More the fool him, then,” the seeming ghost replied, regaining some of his own spirit with the words. And then, “Very well. He may come if you so wish it. But then and only then will I consider revealing myself to you. Does this seem equitable?”
A bit of a smile touched her lips at the words, and she looked up toward where his voice sounded, nodding her head. “Fair enough.”
A moment later, beside her on the step, a red card with gold lettering dropped. On the card in flourishing writing were the following words:
TAVERN OF THE SPIKED CUP
The Order of Thorn and Rose
“You’ll find it near the Three Corners, past the Eastvale Logging Camp, down the road a jaunt into Redridge, and just a smidge to the right near the bridge to Duskwood.” There was a pause, and she could sense the smile in his words as his voice started to fade down the road from the Abbey. “I look forward to seeing you there, petal!” There was a pause before he offered one last parting shot with a hint of mischief in his voice. “But don’t keep me waiting long, or I’ll have to come and kidnap you!”
Laughing softly, her cheeks slightly flushed, she gazed down the road after the stranger as her hand closed over the card on the stair. And a smile remained for a while after even as she stood and made her way back inside the Abbey. She wasn’t sure if she would go or not, but it was nice to think that someone might be thinking of her….
Excellent! I look forward to meeting both the rogue and the priest!! We need more! More rp!