Chapter 10
In truth, Liha was very worried about his friend. But he knew that as a Blood Death Knight, the chances of survival were highest among the group for Azrael. Liha himself could attack with greater speed and devastation but he would die too quickly. In view of the situation, he had pushed his concern for Azrael's safety to the back of his head. The more pressing and immediate matter was Ilim. Azrael had informed them that the Scourge were enhanced with Ilim's magic and Ilim's death would drastically weaken them. But he had sensed something wasn't right when Azrael had mentioned it. He did not like to think Azrael was lying, but under the Lich King, the Death Knight's had developed a shared consciousness of sorts. They did not know how it worked but it helped them work effectively as a team. Regardless of how he came by the information, Liha knew it had to be true. So their goal now was to kill Ilim. And quickly, if Azrael was to live. Even the greatest Blood Death Knight would not be able to withstand an onslaught such as the one Azrael would be facing for too long. He could hear Inara panting as she ran alongside him. And William behind her. The three of them should be able to kill Ilim. Hopefully. He could hear the sounds of a battle raging behind him as he moved away from the room. The sand in the hourglass had begun falling for Azrael. It was now up to the three of them to kill Ilim. Liha burst into the chamber. He had an exceedingly good memory and the features of the large chamber where they had first woken after being taken prison was burnt into his mind. There was only one major difference as he entered the chamber now. The ground was covered with many of the same runes that Liha had seen covering the bodies of the scourge they had been fighting. The ground was also scattered with several bones and viscera. Standing in the center of the pattern of glowing runes on the floor was Ilim. Beneath the cowl Liha could see that Ilim was grinning. Inara and William had just entered the chamber behind him and were spreading out to encircle Ilim
Without wasting time, Liha leapt towards Ilim holding his sword raised. An instant before his weapon connected, Ilim ha disappeared and was now standing a few feet away in the same chamber. Liha knew the abilities of mages and warlocks to teleport. As he prepared to launch his own magic at Ilim, the runes on the ground glowed and suddenly a skeleton appeared in place to attack Liha, forming effortlessly from the pile bones that littered the ground. He was quick to let go of his previous spell and fall back into defense against the new foe. Inara raised her hand as if holding a chalice in the air. The result was a golden hammer that materialized above the skeleton's head, striking it with a clang that resonated throughout the chamber. Liha finished it off with a strike to its spine. More runes began to glow and more of the piles of bones began to animate into full skeletons. Liha saw that Ilim was concentrating and channeling a spell. Liha launched a blast of Ice towards Ilim to interrupt the casting. The blast appeared to hit him square in the chest, but Liha noticed with his trained eyes that Ilim had cast his own spell in time to shatter the blast of ice. Ilim was good. And he was prepared. His Icy blast has served its purpose but there were now four skeletons moving about.
'I must commend your resourcefulness' He heard Ilim speak. 'Had you remained behind to help the other Death Knight , you would have inevitably been sandwiched between my forces and crushed'
Liha was battling two of the skeletons. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ilim preparing another spell. Liha spared a moment to conjure a barrier of anti-magic to surround him. And not a moment too soon. A bolt of shadow struck him, unlike any he had ever seen cast before. Liha had fought mages and warlocks before. But Ilim appeared to be incredibly stronger than any he had faced. Much of the impact of the bolt had been absorbed, but he could feel a formless shadow enveloping him, creeping into the crevices of his armor, and burning the skin underneath.
'Had you arrived a moment later, my spell would have been completed. The runes you see beneath you would have empowered the whole crypt into an army of invincible scourge'
Liha saw that it was true. He considered it fortunate that they had arrived in time to prevent Ilim from completing this 'ritual'. Liha finished both his opponents and leapt towards Ilim. Anticipating a second shadow bolt, Liha dropped to the ground midway on all fours. He felt the back of his neck singed as the bolt grazed him. He looked up to see Ilim already channeling his spell. He had to stop it. before he could make a second move towards Ilim, he heard the clatter of bones to his side. He brought up his sword in time to avoid begin decapitated. He could count close to six skeletons in all and more beginning to rise. Cursing Liha leapt back and launched a spell of shadow towards Ilim. As before Ilim had protected himself against it. But the skeletons stopped rising. This was bad thought Liha, as he was now defending against three skeletons. Inara and William were pinned down as well. Every second he leaves Ilim free, Ilim would channel his spell to heal and summon more skeletons. Will a yell of primal rage, Liha swung his blade distancing his opponents. In a fraction of time, he launched a spell of death and decay on the ground. Glowing red under the influence of his spell, the ground was frothing with carrion and plague swarms that began to infect the skeletons. Grasping arms came out of the plague infected ground to grab and slow down the skeletons. He chose one opponent and launched a blast of ice shattering it into pieces. While it didn't completely destroy the skeletons, it kept them from healing. He leapt towards where Ilim was standing and brought down his sword. From within the folds of his robe, Ilim produced an ordinary staff to catch the blow. In a swift motion, Ilim brought the staff around the sword touching Liha on his chest with it. The effect was tremendous. Liha was launched off the ground and crashed through the skeletons behind him into the wall. Not a very ordinary staff, he thought. Rising to his feet Liha found himself surrounded by more skeletons. Inara was faring no better. William was lying on the ground taking protection from his large shield.
Clearing his head, Liha understood that the skeletons were a mere distraction. They would attack him, but killing Ilim would solve everything. He needed to stop their constant interruptions to focus on Ilim. Liha could summon a single ghoul and control it easily enough. But now he would need to use Ilim's own strategy against him. Spells were never free. Even for a Necromancer of Ilim's stature, the ritual to summon and heal the skeletons would be a drain. Making up his mind, Liha pointed his sword to the ground to summon as many ghouls as he possible could. He felt himself nearly lose consciousness as his mind was split between several ghouls trying to issue commands to them. He felt a sword enter the side of his stomach and was pulled out of his spell. There were six ghouls which were now running amok between the skeletons. They wouldn't last long. They didn't need to. With the last bit of power he had left in him, Liha summoned the greatest weapon of an Unholy Death Knight- The Ebon Gargoyle. He was taught to do so only under extreme duress, and once he summoned it, it would be many days before he could do it again. He had regretted summoning it many times before, as he found himself in greater need of it later. This certainly warranted an emergency and the moment was critical. Mentally uttering the words, he contacted a being half in between the plane of life and death. Seconds later, his call was responded to by a fearsome gargoyle, with bat-like wings and green eyes. In truth, the gargoyle was not as deadly as it seemed at first glance. Its greatest strength was that of distracting an enemy to strike it. Intimidation. Left alone the gargoyle could not stay on the plane of life for more than half a minute. A clever enemy would ignore it rather than attack it. Attacking it only shortened it life-span by a few seconds. That was not to say its effect wasn't devastating. Letting loose magical bolts of a greenish hue from its mouth, the gargoyle started attacking the skeletons. The frenzy was nearly complete. To it, Liha added his previous spell of death and decay.
'What are you doing?' screamed Inara. To her, Liha's abilities would be as alien as the scourge and undead could ever be to a paladin. Liha chose not to answer. He quickly removed the tiny repair bots that he always had ready and threw them to the ground. Liha had prepared them with the ability to explode if he ever wished to use them as a weapon. The explosion would be a shockwave that would stun everything in a small range for a very short while.
'Fool of a Death Knight! Do you think you can even hope to stand against me!'
As calm and composed as he had been. As calculative as Ilim had been, he rose to the bait. Liha knew what would follow. Ilim had seen Liha try and match him with numbers and was beginning to summon more skeletons to prove his might. Through the mad frenzy Liha could see that more bones on the ground were getting animated. Some of his ghouls were already dying. Liha chose an opportune moment and triggered the explosion of his bots. Above the din of the battle, and the clatter of bone and steel, there was a loud deafening noise, as three of the bots that Liha had thrown into the scrimmage exploded. At least half the skeletons and Liha's own ghouls were stunned.
This was the only chance Liha would get. His entire gambit rested upon letting Ilim think he was challenging him on a show of numbers. Ilim rose to that challenge and had summoned a small army. If Liha had predicted correctly, Ilim would be weakened at least momentarily. The loud noise from the explosions had broken Ilim's concentration and he was staring at the madness in front of him.
Liha deftly moved through the rubble of bones avoiding several strikes. He leapt onto the back of one skeleton and flew into the air. Ilim had been quick to react bringing forth his staff. Liha was right. His magical abilities were momentarily down. He had underestimated the staff before, but not this time. Avoiding a strike from the staff, Liha drove his sword into Ilim's heart. Ilim's face was frozen in a look of astonishment. Liha wasted no time. Twisting the blade, he yanked it out leaving Ilim fallen at the ground. The effect was immediate. Liha turned to see that the skeletons were blown to bits by the gargoyles magic. The gargoyle dissolved into nothingness, its time on this plane spent. The ghouls too returned to the ground. Inara's hammer struck the skeletons shattering them into pieces. This had taken far too long. Azrael would be dead. Liha quickly made to move out to go and help Azrael. The scourge would be weakened greatly by Ilim's death.
'Well fought Death Knight. But you will never make it out of this crypt alive'
Liha turned to see that Ilim was leaning on his staff. He turned to attack Ilim but before he could do anything, Ilim lifted his staff and struck it into the ground. The explosion Liha had set off previously through his bots didn't even compare to the sound that followed. Liha felt himself swept off his feet and the ground shook underneath him. Ilim had collapsed onto the ground his life-force spent. The runes that covered the ground now glowed a fierce red. He felt the room shake again. Liha could feel it. The entire crypt would collapse.
'We need to go now' said Inara. She was supporting William and was helping him to his feet. Liha couldn't agree more. He ran towards the exit hoping Azrael would still be alive.