Begin Chapter 10 – A Love Lost
Cologne began her tale, "This all started about one hundred and fifty years ago. I was just a young girl back then and my mother and father worked together in the Gnomeregan University, training young gnomes in the art of warlocks and the mages. My father was the mage as you might have guessed, and while mages and warlocks seem to dislike each other, my parents loved each other enough to overcome those problems. In fact, it was almost impossible to separate them from each other. We were very happy back then and it seemed like those good times would last forever.
Then came that knock at the door late one night. My mother answered the door and three dwarven military officers greeted her. They exchanged polite greetings between each other and mom invited them to come inside the house and have a seat. Mom seemed to know them pretty well because she was very relaxed around them, but when father came into the room it all changed. He was not happy at all. Father was raising his voice and waving his arms about. This went on for several minutes until he eventually calmed down. Father, mother and the three men talked for quite a while after that and from what I could gather, they wanted father to go with them on a dangerous mission to retrieve an important artifact from the Dark Iron Dwarves. This artifact apparently had something to do with the ability to control the minds of certain members of the Dragonkin. After several more hours of discussion, father agreed to help with the expedition. Mom was very concerned about him going along and even though father didn't really want to make the trip, he convinced her that it was going to be a quick job. Later that night, father packed up his stuff and said good bye to mom and me. It was the last time we ever saw him.
We waited for several weeks after that night, and mom became very worried. Then one day, while mom was teaching a pair of students, several high ranking dwarven military officers came to her class to talk with her. They said that there had been no word from the expedition and that they were going to send in a recon force to see if they could find any clues to the whereabouts of the expedition.
Three weeks later the recon force returned with one of the members. He was barely alive and badly wounded with his right hand and foot missing. Barely able talk, he said that the expedition had been ambushed early on, with several Dragonkin attacking them from all sides and nowhere to go. Two of the dwarves were taken out by the kin and eaten by the monsters early in the fight. Father was quick enough to avoid the snapping jaws for a while, but when he ran out of manna, he was impaled on the talons of a huge dragon and crushed. The dwarf said that he escaped a similar fate by hiding in a crack in a piece of solid rock. Even so, there was enough of his hands and feet sticking out for one of the dragons to bite off as it attempted to get at him.
As you can imagine, mom was devastated by the loss of her husband. They had lived together for many years and she felt that something vital had been ripped from her soul. Within months of being told the news, mom started to become distant to everyone around her, including me. She quit talking to all of her friends and locked herself in her room. When I did get to talk with her, I found that she had started to blame the dwarves for the loss of her husband. She refused to see any of our old dwarven friends and was very rude when they came by for a visit. Eventually they stopped coming by altogether.
One day I came home to find her packing her clothes. She told me that she was going on a trip and would not be back for a long while, possibly a couple of years. When I asked her why, she said that it was to further her knowledge of the warlock arts. Then she suddenly reached out and gave me a warm hug. It had been a long time since mom had hugged me and it made me feel good to be close to her once again. If I had known then that it would be one of the last times I would ever get a chance to hug her, I would never have let her go.
After she had gone, I transferred to the mage center in Stormwind. For the next fifteen years I studied hard to improve my mage skills to the fullest. I wasn't quite finished when I got word that my mother was seen in Ironforge. I was so glad to hear that mom was back that I immediately traveled to the dwarven city to search for her. It took a while, but eventually I found her in an old rundown apartment in the forlorn caverns. I was quite disturbed by what I saw. She had aged physically to the point of looking like an old woman. When I approached her, she told me to stay back or she would turn her pet on me. It was then I noticed the felhunter staring intently at me. She told me that she had been training and needed to study several scrolls that she had picked up. She also told me that if I wanted to avoid serious pain, I was not to bother her again.
As you can imagine, I was devastated by my mother's treatment towards me. I obeyed her wishes though, and kept out of her hair while she studied her scrolls. I did however; keep tabs on her from a distance. I had a good friend in Ironforge who showed me where she would go to grab a bite to eat when she was hungry. I caught sight of her now and then and so I was at least content to know she was ok. One day I was waiting to see if mom was going to be at her usual place to have lunch. Suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder and when I turned to look, my mom was standing right next to me. I thought she was going to be angry with me, but she told me that she understood why I had to keep watch on her. Then she told me that she was saying good-bye and that she wouldn't be back for a very long time, if ever. When I moved to get up from my chair, she placed a hand on my shoulder and told me to stay where I was. A low growl from her ever present felhunter convinced me to stay seated. She then told me that I was not to come looking for her. Before I could say another word, she turned and walked away. Her pet waited until she was out of sight before it ran off after her. It was nearly an hour before I had stopped shaking enough to finally get up and walk to my little apartment.
The next day I moved back to the mage's quarters in Stormwind. There I continued my studies and eventually finished all of the requirements. From there, I moved back to Gnomeregan to study more of the arcane arts in the form of ancient scrolls in the library. It was almost five years later that I heard some information on my mother. A ship hand was working the crow's nest when he saw an old woman that looked a lot like mother standing on the deck. As the ship headed out into the ocean, he noticed that she had a strange look about her as if she was in some kind of a trance. The ship had gone quite a ways out to sea when he saw the woman suddenly get up and walk to the edge of the boat. Before he could do anything, she jumped overboard. By the time the ship had turned around to pick her up, there was no sign of her.
That was the last I had heard of mom for almost sixty years. By then, I had given up hope and was convinced that she had died in the sea. One day while I was shopping for some tailoring supplies, I felt someone grab me on my arm. I turned and found an ancient woman staring up at me. She had snow white hair that stood up from her head in all direction like some kind of dried out mop. Her hands were bony and covered with age spots and looked very fragile. Her face was covered in wrinkles and warts, but I could see that her eyes still sparkled with a green brilliance.
I asked the woman if there was anything I could do for her, and in response, she laughed at me in strange sounding cackle. The old woman then asked why I didn't recognize her. The moment she spoke, I knew that it was my mother. While she had aged greatly, her speech and mannerisms had remained the same. I was so happy to see her again! Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed her in a big hug. To my surprise she didn't protest. Tears began to form in my eyes and she soothed me by returning the hug. I wanted to ask her where she had been all of this time, but the tears burned in my eyes and my throat was too choked up.
Later when I had calmed down a bit, I asked her where she had been all this time. She said that it was none of my concern and that she was going to be staying at home from now on. After we chatted a bit more, she asked me if I could find a few regents for her. She was working on a spell that would help with her aging health. Of course I said yes and she handed me a list of ingredients that she needed. It was a long list, but I didn't question her need for it. After a little over a week, I finally got all of the regents together for her. Some of them were a bit expensive, but at the time, I really didn't care about that as long as it would help out mom.
She told me that she had moved back into the old house over in Coldridge Valley and so I went there to give her the regents. I hadn't been there in many years and was surprised to see it hadn't changed much. Someone had cleaned up the old place and it looked better than I could remember. When I greeted her, she was very grateful for the regents. We talked for a while and I noticed that my mom seemed more cheerful then I had seen her in a very long time. The old fire was burning in her eyes once again and she seemed very energetic for a woman of her age. I was very happy for her when I left.
Two days later, I received a summons to the high council in Stormwind. They have disbanded since then, but back in those days, the high council oversaw most of the human and dwarven military matters. I was totally unprepared for what they told me when I arrived. I was greeted by an old paladin by the name of George Marcus when I got there and he led me to the council chambers. On the way he warned me that times are very tense now and to anger the members of the council would be dangerous.
Unsure of exactly what he meant, I entered the chamber and was greeted by three older men and two older dwarves. There was a single chair placed in front of them and one of the dwarves told me to have a seat. After a few moments the oldest of the humans spoke to me and said that a few days ago they had received a startling letter from one of their most trusted members. In it she detailed a ghastly plan in which the city of Ironforge was to be enslaved by an extremely powerful warlock. This warlock had discovered the secret to summoning multiple minions. In addition to that, her succubae were able to enslave multiple victims with an enchantment that did not wear off like it normally does. Using this power, she was going to attack the city of Ironforge and its leadership. Any resistance would be quickly squashed by her army of demons and their new slaves. From there she planned to attack Dun Mordogh and the Wetlands. Her enchanted armies would fight to the death without hesitation.
He told me that Stormwind and Ironforge were quietly gathering their armies and preparing for war, but with my help, they might be able to stop it before it started. I was of course shocked by all this. I had no idea what in the world I could do against a warlock that could weld such power. The old man then said that I had the ability to stop her because I was her daughter. I told him that he was crazy and that there was no way a feeble old woman like my mother could be capable of such a thing.
He then produced a list of regents and asked me if I had picked them up for her. I recognized them and said that I did. Then he pulled out a scroll describing what was called a youth spell. Casting it would transform a person from any age to about twenty years old. Unfortunately, it didn't say how the spell was cast, but only that it existed and that it needed certain regents.
I wasn't convinced, casting a spell that made a person young did not make that person a power hungry warlord. The old man nodded and three Night Elves walked into the chamber. Two of them I didn't know, but the third I recognized as Nightystar, a powerful Elfin priestess that was well known for her insight. She looked at me and said that she was very sorry, but all that the council leader had stated was quite true. She then told me of how a young elf was tricked into gathering information about Ironforge for her. He did this and when he was finished, he made the mistake of asking her why she needed the information. She told him that she was going to take over Ironforge and enslave the population. The young elf grew afraid and when he tried to run, she summoned five succubae and commanded them to attack. The demons tortured him for many hours before eventually tossing his nearly lifeless body out into the snow to die.
As luck would have it, a Dwarven priest came across the elf and administered first aid. He was still in really bad shape, but the priest was able to flag down a traveling vender and get him to a clinic. As the young man started to come to, he began to rant on and on about some kind of horrible danger. Nightystar was visiting the clinic to check up on an old friend, when she was called over to look at the stricken youth. She found him to be almost insane and thrashing about on the table. The attendants had bound him to the bed to prevent him from hurting himself. Nightystar was able to help him with his physical injuries, but his mental injuries were tearing him apart. She used a potion to calm him enough so that she could talk with him. For the first time, he was able to talk fluently, and told her of what the warlock was planning to do and what she did to him. Suddenly the young man began to thrash about on the bed again. He let out a terrible scream and arched his back as if the bed were on fire. Moments later, he died. His mind had been destroyed and there was nothing she could do for him.
This was not good. If a warlock had become this powerful, even if she was my mother, she would have to be stopped. The two elves that were standing behind Nightystar came forward. One spoke and said that the one that had been killed was their son, Janel, and that they would help me in any way that was needed. The old man spoke up and said that the two elves, Janel and Mahtee were among the best Elvin rouges in the world today and as a team would be able to get me into her quarters undetected.
Then they told me that after my mother had started the youth spell on herself, I was to kill her while she slept. They then dismissed me. The four of us walked out of the chamber and Nightystar came up to me and hugged me close. I was bawling my head off by then and buried my face into her robes as I did. She comforted me and quietly told me there was another way that I might be able to do this without killing my mother. She said that there was a very complex spell that could be used to stop my mother without killing her. It would encase her in a glass like stone and keep her in stasis. Also, she could be revived simply by breaking the stone a certain way and there would be few side effects.
It didn't take me long to decide that this was a much better choice. Although I certainly didn't want to entomb my mother in stone, it was a thousand fold better than having to kill her. I told Nightystar that I agreed to her plan and she told me to meet her in her apartment in the mage quarter just after midnight and she would show me how to cast the spell.
I left and for the next few hours, I just walked about the city, not caring where I wound up. At one time, while watching a father and son fish in the canal I got so depressed that I went to my own apartment and took a nap. When I awoke it was an hour before midnight and so I cleaned up, had a quick cup of tea and headed over to see Nightystar.
She was waiting for me when I arrived and after inviting me in to her home, had me sit down at a table with her. The table was covered with many different regents and had a few sheets of paper placed here and there. She handed me the sheets of papers and said that they were for the 3 potions that I would have to create. One had to be used within a few hours after it was mixed. The fourth sheet detailed the actual spell and how it was cast. She then told me that the directions had to be followed to the letter and any mistake made may cause my mother great pain and even death. She also to told me to be extremely careful with the black lotus blossom as that flower is very rare and only blooms once every hundred years.
I thanked her for all of her help and after carefully gathering all of the regents and papers, started to head home. Just before I left, she told me that in about four days my mother will be casting her youth spell and I would be summoned by a warlock along with the two elves I had met earlier. For the next four days I worked on memorizing the spell and getting the regents ready. The final potion Nightystar told me of couldn't be mixed until just before I cast it, but I had all of the exact amounts ready in vials when the time came.
On the fourth day I was greeted with the tingling feeling you get when a warlock attempts to summon you. I quickly gathered my supplies and spell regents and then mentally agreed to the summons. There was the typical grey fuzziness and after a few moments I was standing before a human warlock and the two elves, Janel and Mahtee. I thanked the warlock and he took off down the road. I turned to my companions and asked if my mother was home. They said she wasn't yet, but she would be here very shortly and we had to hurry and get to her sleeping quarters.
I nodded and walked forward and tested the lock. It was similar to other high security locks in that you placed your hand inside a box and pressed a series of four buttons under your fingers. This lock was a bit different in that it had four buttons above your fingers as well. A nasty electrical shock awaited anyone who tampered with the lock. I pressed in the combination and the door opened. After we entered and relocked the door, we made our way to the bed chamber. The two elves looked over the room and pointed to a corner. The three of us walked into the corner and stood while the elves cast their cloaking. In moments I felt as if I was covered in a dark grey mist. Summer had told me earlier that both elves carried a wand that allowed them to not only go into stealth mode, but to stealth someone next to them. I could see the room but it was as if a heavy fog had formed inside the bedchamber.
I knew that what I was planning had to work as I had seen the bags full of heavy bombs the elves carried. Should I fail, there were more than enough explosives to destroy the house and bury it under stone and dirt. We hadn't waited long before we heard noises as mom enter the house. A few minutes later she walked into the room and I held my breath fearing that she would see us. I soon relaxed a bit as I watched her go about getting her spell ready. She was wearing a violet necro-robe that I hadn't seen before. As old as she was, it seemed to flow with her body as she moved about the room.
First she placed a small incense burner on one of the night stands. Then she walked over to her dressing table and mixed up a potion and set it down. After that, she carefully sketched out a series of runes on the floor with a piece of charcoal. It was a circle with the six known elements arranged around it with one in the center. Oddly, the center one, time was drawn backwards. I watched her draw this circle around her bed and was a little surprised as she crawled under the bed to draw some of sketch. When she was finished, she inspected every part of the drawing making small corrections as she went along.
She then went over to the table and picked up the potion. It was a very old goblet. She said a few things I couldn't quite hear, and then walked over and placed the potion on the night stand. Then she went to the incense burner and lit it. Once it was burning, she took a deep breath and inhaled some of its vapors.
Then she walked around to the other night stand and picked up the goblet with the potion. I listened as she said a few words in a language I had never heard before and then watched as she drank the entire contents of the goblet. She gasped and seemed to shake from the effects from the potion. I assumed that it had quite a kick.
She then climbed on top of her bed and lay down. After a few moments she reached into her robe and pulled out an old wand. It looked like the wooden sticks the druids used for wands, but this one glowed a bit. Again she spoke in a language I didn't recognize as she cast the final parts of her spell. Once it was cast and she was asleep, the runes on the floor stopped glowing and I knew that we were safe to do our part. The two rouges lifted their cloak and I stepped forward.
For a moment I hesitated as I gazed on my mother's sleeping form. A muffled cough from behind reminded me of the work I needed to do. I placed the regents on the bed next to my mother and first gathered the several vials I had prepared earlier. After pouring them inside a larger vial I stirred them up until they were well mixed. I then took the black lotus powder and carefully poured in an exact measurement while watching the vial. When the liquid in the vial turned orange, I stopped. Reaching inside my robe I carefully took out a wooden shaft about as long as my arm with a gem on one end. I then placed this next to the potion I had just made.
Taking one of the potions I had made earlier, I sprinkled it on top of my mother's sleeping form. It was a powder and it glowed softly in a soft blue light as it settled on her. I then took the stick and dipped the end into the potion with the black lotus. I moved to a place near the ground and pulled the stick out of the potion. When I pulled the stick out, the gem now glowed with a bright orange light and small sparks could be seen jumping from the end. I used the stick to trace out the shape of a box around the bed. It was very strange, for everywhere I moved the stick, a glowing orange line followed, even in the air. Soon I was finished tracing out the line. I took the final bottle and raised it over my head. I had to spray the liquid over my mother like a soft rain. The bottle had a bulb on it and as I squeezed it, a mist sprayed out and floated over the bed. As it did, it changed colors and filled the area I had traced out earlier. After a while the box I had traced out was completely full of a swirling bluish mist.
I then moved to a safe distance and prepared a mage spell. In a few moments, I built up enough energy and cast an Iceblock over her. After a while, the ice block faded leaving a large block of stone in its place. We inspected the stone and once we were satisfied that it was solid, gathered the regents and left. The rouges were careful to reset all of mother's locks the way she had them as we made our way out of the house. Lastly, I sealed the entrance. We rode back to Stormwind by griffin and reported to the council shortly after. They seemed content that my mother was now dead and allowed us to leave. For the past one hundred years my mother has slept in that stone. It has been an eternity for me having to live with the shame of what I had to do to her. But even so, I hope that she is still there and encased in that block of mageglass, because if she has escaped, we all may be in terrible danger."