Chapter Ten: Key of the Three Moons

Word of Link's disappearance had spread all throughout Hyrule, even the Gerudo knew of it. It was heartbreaking to learn that the legendary Hero of Time was gone, and a lot of people chose not to believe it. There was no possible way the legendary hero chosen by the gods could be defeated, and he certainly wouldn't simply leave them. They wanted answers, but had no way of getting them.

Over time people started to move on, although it wasn't easy. There were many who had come to know him personally, and those were the ones who took it the hardest. At the very least Ganondorf had been defeated and sealed in the Sacred Realm, so there was no imminent danger. Besides, with Princess Zelda and the Sages they would probably be fine, even without the Hero of Time around.

There was one man though who knew something was odd. He had known Link since he was a child, although their meetings were usually brief. Still, the little boy he knew had grown up to become a noble hero, a hero who had saved all of Hyrule. It made no sense for him to leave, and there was little in the world that could defeat him. It was all puzzling, but he would get to the bottom of it.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he prepared for his journey. 'I don't know what happened to you hero, but I will find you.'

Running as fast as they could, the fleeing High Elves made for the next gate. While they did have a good lead on the undead they knew that the first Elf Gate wouldn't hold out forever, especially with those damned Scourge Catapults. And once that fell it would only be a matter of time before the undead broke through the next one. Well, not if they had anything to say about it!

After every Elf made it past the gate the Elves instantly closed it, and then moved to fortify it.

Elves from a nearby village hadn't expected to see so many people coming through the gate, much less Sylvanas Windrunner.

"Make sure that gate will hold!" The Ranger General ordered.

One Elf approached his leader. "Lady Sylvanas Windrunner. We are honored by your presence, but what are you doing here?"

"The undead have invaded Quel'Thalas, and they've made it past the first Elf Gate." She told him.

"What?!"

Sylvanas nodded grimly. "I'm afraid so. Which is why we must do everything we can to stop them!"

Link looked between her and the gate, which by the looks of it was getting assaulted. "They're about to break through, we have to go." He stated.

Suddenly the gate collapsed, killing those who had been trying to hold it up. Once the gate was gone legions of undead forces came pouring in, attacking any and all nearby Elves.

Seeing this made the recently escaped Elves panic, and they instantly ran for the nearby bridge.

Right as Link was about to fight he felt a hand upon his shoulder, and out of the corner of his eye he could see it was Sylvanas'.

"You can't take them all, we need to retreat!" As much as it pained her to do so, but right now there was little choice. And he would only get himself killed if he thrust himself recklessly into the fray.

The Hero of Time merely nodded as he headed in the direction of the fleeing Elves.

Shortly after the High Elf general followed. She reached the bridge and glanced behind herself, noticing that a few Elves weren't able to escape in time. It was hard to watch her people getting savagely murdered, but there would be time to avenge them later. "Fall back to the trees!" She yelled to the survivors.

Link stood back near the bridge, keeping an eye on his friend.

Arthas stopped his advance at the front of the bridge, now staring down the ranger woman.

"You've won through this gate, butcher, but you won't get through the second. The inner gate to Silvermoon can only be opened with a special key, and it shall never be yours!" She then looked toward the Hylian, and mouthed something to him.

"You waste your time, woman. You cannot outrun the inevitable."

A smirk came to the ranger's face. "You think that I'm running from you? Apparently you've never fought Elves before."

Not a moment later the Hero of Time pulled out a bomb and threw it at the bridge, and then he pulled out another and threw it near the other one. Both landed in the center before one was shot with an arrow, causing a big explosion. Once the smoke cleared all that remained was the ends of the bridge, making it impossible to cross.

Arthas grit his teeth. "Damn that woman! We must find a way to cross the river!" He yelled as he watched them leave.

The Death Knight then started to think about how to go about doing so. It was too far to the other side, and too deep, for him and his men to simply swim through. That, and also because the undead weren't known for their swimming. And since they had no way of repairing the bridge they would have to travel along the bank, and hopefully they would find another bridge or something they could use to get across.

With the plan in mind he turned his horse to the right and began riding in that direction, leaving his armies to trail him. As his horse took him along Arthas took note of his surroundings. Not surprisingly, it was mostly just trees, lots and lots of trees. It would probably be very easy to get lost, or a likely hiding place for the crafty Elves. One thing was for sure though, after bringing down Silvermoon he would do the same for all these trees.

Several minutes later and the Death Knight came across a surprising sight. It was an Elven village by the looks of it, except there weren't many buildings. Also, the few Elves that were there were trapped in webs, courtesy of giant spiders. By the looks of it, they were trapping the poor High Elves and consuming them.

"Hm, I didn't expect to find Crypt Fiends here." He noted as he led his army forward.

Slowly but surely the few buildings were brought down, and any resistance was taken care of. It was painfully easy, and considering what just happened at the Elf Gate that was saying something.

Apparently the Crpyt Fiends had been sent to aid Arthas in his quest to siege Silvermoon, and he was grateful for their aid. Considering they could use their webbing to ensnare their victims, grounded or flying, they would prove useful to him.

That was all well and good, but he still needed a way to cross the river. He walked around the area, trying to see if there was anyway to do so. Unfortunately there didn't appear to be any kind of bridge or land connecting the two sides. The Death Knight furrowed his brow, wondering what to do.

"Psst."

He turned and saw a Goblin standing near a building which didn't look Elven. Curious as to what the Goblin was doing in Quel'Thalas, and how he avoided the Elves, the undead walked over to him.

"I never thought I'd see any undead here, but I guess this world is full of surprises ain't it?"

"What do you want Goblin?!" Arthas demanded.

Sensing some hostility, the Goblin put his hands up defensively. "Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there. I only wanted to offer you some assistance." He said with a greedy grin.

Arthas cocked a brow. "What kind of assistance?"

"Well for a small fee I can take you across the river on my zeppelin. What do ya say?"

The Death Knight pondered this for a moment. A zeppelin would be the best way of getting across the river, especially when there weren't any other options. Plus, money wasn't exactly a problem. "Alright Goblin, I'll hire you."

A big grin appeared on the Goblin's face. "Wonderful, now let me just-" He was cut off by a hand wrapping around his throat and being lifted off the ground.

"Just don't try anything funny, or else you'll you're going to regret it!" With the message delivered he tossed the Goblin on the ground and moved to get his forces.

As he walked he heard some rustling in a nearby bush. Feeling curious, the Death Knight walked over to it. Once he reached it he cleared away the shrubbery and noticed a cowering Elf. "Well what do we have here?" He grinned as he reached down and grabbed the man by his shirt.

"Please spare me!" The Elf pleaded.

"Sorry, but I'm not taking any prisoners." Arthas raised Frostmourne up, ready to kill the coward.

"WAIT! If you spare me I can help you get into Silvermoon!"

Hearing that made the Death Knight lower his blade slightly. His eyes locked with the Elf's. "What are you talking about?"

"You heard me, if you let me live I can show you the location of the Key of the Three Moons." He stated.

Arthas paused, considering the Elf's words. While he now had transportation he lacked the location of the Key of the Three Moons as the man called it, and while it wouldn't have been a problem tearing his way through Quel'Thalas to find them, that would have taken time. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"You're the one holding a sword to my face." The Elf said plainly.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the Death Knight tossed the High Elf to the ground. "Very well, but you better watch yourself. And if I find out you're lying to me I'll make sure your death is long and painful, understand?"

"Yes." He replied.

"Well come on, I haven't got all day!"

Link, Sylvanas, and the remaining High Elves had reached the small encampment known as An'owyn. Despite being rather small there were quite a number of guards around. The reason being that one of the Mooncrystals was kept here, for obvious safekeeping. It was a small settlement, but also out of the way. One would have to actively search for it to find it.

Several guards stationed outside of the camp noticed the Ranger General approaching and saluted her. "Greetings lady Sylvanas, it is always a pleasure."

She returned the salute. "Likewise, although I didn't come here to chat. The Mooncrystal, it is still here correct?"

Both men looked a little confused. "Of course milady, why wouldn't it?"

Sylvanas exhaled deeply. "The undead have come to Quel'thalas." She began, making them gasp. "The outer gate has fallen, and they're going to be coming after the three Mooncrystals next."

"They made it through the first gate?" One questioned.

"We tried to hold them off, but there were too many of them." Link added.

The Ranger General nodded at his statement. "We did temporarily stop them from progressing any further, but it will only be a matter of time before they resume their conquest. That's why we need to guard the Mooncrystals with our lives!"

They once again saluted. "You have our word that we will not let the undead get their hands on it!" They said in unison.

A small smile came to her face in response. "Thank you." She then turned to her new friend. "We should go to the other Mooncrystal locations and warn them of the undead threat."

Link nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now then, we'll leave these people with you. Make sure they're taken care of." She told them.

"Of course milady, we will ensure they are fed and looked after."

"Alright, it's time to go Link."

He once again nodded and proceeded to follow after her.

Arthas, his undead legions, and the traitorous Elf crossed the river successfully thanks to the Goblin's zeppelin. As soon as that obstacle was crossed the Death Knight began his search for the Mooncrystals, and thanks to his prisoner he would be able to locate every single one of them. The first location wasn't too far from where the the small encampment had been located. From a distance it didn't appear heavily guarded, but there were a good amount of guards present. It wasn't enough to stop him, but it would prove to be interesting... well, for a few moments anyway.

"Alright, go down there and kill all those Elves." He commanded.

Without hesitation the Scourge began charging at the small settlement, practically flooding the pathways. It didn't take them long to reach the band of Elves, and as soon as they did they began attacking.

Sure, there were a good amount of guards stationed there, not to mention the guards that Sylvanas dropped off... but they hadn't expected hundreds of undead to rush them all at once. They now began to understand how the undead had gotten into their land.

A fierce battle was now taking place right outside of the encampment. Every soldier was either on the front lines holding off the advance, or in the back firing volleys of arrows. Despite being outnumbered the High Elves stood firm, needing to protect the Mooncrystal at all cost!

Those on the front lines alternated quickly between offense and defense. Whenever they swiped with their sword, or took a stab, they would then bring up their shields. Luckily most of them were protected by heavy armor, but that could only do so much. Not to mention having to deal with the raw savagery that was the undead. Still, they pressed on, willing to do whatever it took to keep their lands safe.

"Keep fighting men, we can't let them through!" The captain yelled as he cut down a Ghoul.

One soldier was holding her own, until one of her arms was being yanked by a Ghoul. She lost her balance and concentration, resulting in her getting attacked by several more skeletons. Her armor was slowly torn apart, and once that was gone she started getting bitten profusely. Shortly after she was being eaten alive, with her screams of agony filling the area.

Those around her did their best to ignore the screams, as all of their focus was needed if they were going to repel the Scourge. Unfortunately, the High Elves weren't having much luck repelling the oncoming forces. In fact they were slowly but surely getting pushed back, back toward the settlement.

A Swordsman fought hard, cutting all the Ghouls and skeletons down that were in his path. He continued fighting before noticing he couldn't move his feet. Curious as to why he glanced down, only to notice the lower portion of his legs were trapped in some kind of web. Right as he was about to cut free he noticed a gigantic spider coming from the left. A shriek of terror escaped his lips as he watched the spider rear it's head up and bite his neck, injecting venom into his bloodstream. Things became worse as the undead began clawing and tearing away at him.

Archers in the back continued unleashing arrows upon their foes, not letting up for a second. They did their best, but it was becoming more and more difficult. Not to mention they also had to move out of the way of enemy arrows. Some had been able to successfully dodge the oncoming projectiles, but others weren't as fortunate. And those that did get hit ended up falling to the ground, either in pain or in death.

As time went on more and more Elven soldiers fell, and the already slim odds of victory were becoming even slimmer. And that wasn't counting the fact that the enemy could bring back their fallen troops, as well as create new ones out of dead Elves.

Soon enough Arthas decided to go in and have a little fun. The Death Knight entered the fray, making sure to keep some guards around his prisoner. Once at the front lines he began attacking the pitiful Elven Defenders. It was becoming clear that no one could stand up to Frostmourne, as his unholy blade struck down anyone foolish enough to get close.

Several moments passed and the Elven Defenders were reduced to merely a handful, and shortly after they were all wiped out. Dozens of corpses littered the battlefield, but they quickly joined the ranks of the Scourge.

With the defense taken care of Arthas headed toward the Altar, where the Mooncrystal was supposedly kept. He walked over and noticed a shining stone resting on top of the Altar. Grinning to himself, he walked over and seized the stone. "The first Mooncrystal." He muttered as he stowed it away in a bag he used to keep important items, such as the urn he procured from Uther.

Once he had what he was looking for he exited the Altar and headed back over to his prisoner, who appeared to be shaking. He couldn't blame him, seeing as how the Elf had just witnessed the bloody destruction of his people. "Let this serve as a reminder of what will happen if you try and betray me Elf!"

All the High Elf could do was nod slowly.

"Now come on, we have more Mooncrystals to collect."

"Let's rest here for a moment."

Sylvanas and her companion had been running nonstop for what felt like hours, even if less time had actually passed. That, coupled with the fact that they had recently been engaged in a tough fight against the Scourge, had worn them out. And while both had a lot of endurance even they needed to rest.

Link nodded before getting into a sitting position, leaning his back up against a nearby tree. A few deep breaths escaped his lips, signaling how worn out he truly was. As he sat he could also feel that his magic was getting low. It made sense though, seeing as just how many spells he had preformed. So, he reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of Green Potion. The Hylian removed the cork and started drinking, only stopping when he felt his magic return to him. After that he put the cork back in and put away the bottle.

Sitting nearby, the Ranger General let out a sigh. Everything that was happening was slowly catching up to her. The Scourge had entered Quel'Thalas, and in practically no time at all they ravaged her beautiful lands. The Outer Gate was gone, and that only left the Inner Gate as the final obstacle to Silvermoon. And although the Mooncrystals were guarded she still couldn't shake the bad feeling inside.

It was all just so... surreal. Sure her people had faced hardships in the past, and they were certainly no stranger to war, but this was something else. The enemy was parading through Quel'Thalas, and it was up to just the Elves to defend themselves. 'I guess the humans suffered a similar fate, otherwise they would have been here by now.' That had to be the reason why no reinforcements had shown up, because there was no way the humans would have abandoned them... would they?

She glanced over at Link, who appeared to be deep in thought as well. "Are you alright?"

The Hero of Time slowly nodded.

"Well, we should get going if you're ready?" She asked.

He nodded once more before getting to his feet.

The High Elf did the same, and as soon as they were both standing they instantly started running. Warning those guarding the Mooncrystals was their priority, as just a little time to prepare was better than none at all. And hopefully, with that warning, the Elven Defenders would be able to successfully hold off the undead.

As they were running Link glanced over at his companion. "If Arthas gets this special key, what then?"

"Then nothing will prevent him from getting to Silvermoon." The thought had already occurred to her, as much as she didn't want to believe it was possible.

"Why is getting to Silvermoon so important to him?" He questioned.

Sylvanas actually had to think about that one as she didn't have an answer. Part of her assumed the Death Knight just wanted to slaughter her people and remove a possible threat to the Scourge, but another assumed there was some sort of ulterior motive. As to what that was, she had no clue. "Your guess is as good as mine, but we shouldn't worry about that. If we can prevent him from getting the Mooncrystals we won't need an answer."

Seeing as how he didn't know either, and because so much of this world was still strange to him, he accepted her answer. Perhaps if they had more time, and more information on Arthas, they could ascertain what exactly he was after. That sadly wasn't the case, so all they could do was continue fighting his forces until they were all gone.

Arthas removed Frostmourne from the body of another Elven soldier, watching with a smirk as their body fell helplessly to the ground. It hadn't taken him and his forces long to reach the next Mooncrystal location, and once he had he instantly attacked. Much like the last time the Elves tried in vain to fight off his undead legion, but it just wasn't enough.

The Death Knight took a few steps forward before chopping the head off of a Mage. He then unleashed a Death Coil at an unsuspecting archer, knocking them to the ground and leaving them at the mercy of several Ghouls.

One brave Swordsman rushed the traitorous prince, hoping to strike him down quickly. Once close enough he thrust his sword forward, attempting to stab his enemy directly in the face. Unfortunately, his weapon was knocked out of his hand, shocking him. Before he could hope to react the tip of the unholy blade pierced through his armor, hitting him right in the heart.

After removing the blade the Death Knight surveyed the battlefield, noting that the last of the High Elf resistance was being wiped out. With no one standing in his way he headed toward the Altar. Much like last time the Mooncrystal was in plain sight, and it was easily obtainable. "The second Mooncrystal is mine, only one left."

With the Mooncrystal safely stored next to the other one he left the Altar. He then went over to his prisoner. "Thanks to you nothing will stop me from reaching Silvermoon, of course I still need one more Mooncrystal to get through the Inner Gate."

"W-Well I will show you where it is, follow me." And so the traitorous High Elf led Arthas and the Scourge toward the location of the final Mooncrystal. Did he feel bad about betraying his homeland and his people... perhaps just a bit. However, his desire to live overruled any negative thoughts, and as such he felt that justified his actions.

The journey to An'daroth, the final Mooncrystal location, was somewhat long, but no more so than what they had just done. Luckily for Arthas he had a horse to travel on, and his minions didn't seem to tire easily. His prisoner may have more prone to tiring out, but it was nothing a little prodding couldn't fix. There wasn't any kind of resistance either, aside from a small High Elven encampment... but they were quickly dealt with. Other than that there weren't any kind of obstacles or resistance. The Death Knight figured that any possible resistance would be found at his next destination.

His mind then began wondering what would await him after getting past the Inner Gate. He had only been to Silvermoon once, and that was a very long time ago. While he was sure things didn't change that much he wasn't sure exactly what to expect. It probably didn't help that the nature of his visit was more hostile now, and instead of visiting as a prince of Lordaeron he was going to level the city and use the Sunwell to revive Kel'Thuzad.

It was then that he noticed a civilization in the distance, which had to be the last location. A devilish smirk came to his face as he looked upon the unsuspecting encampment. Judging by the small size, and the amount of guards present, taking the Mooncrystal would be easy. It didn't really surprise him though, as the High Elves most likely had no idea he was coming. Even if they did though they wouldn't have much time to prepare, much less summon reinforcements.

Once in range the Death Knight gave the command, sending his armies forward. He watched with satisfaction was they rushed to kill the pitiful Elven warriors. While it appeared that the High Elves had been aware that the Scourge had been coming it wasn't going to be enough to save them.

Much like last time, Arthas went in with his troops. The sooner he killed the Elves, the sooner he retrieved the final Mooncrystal, and the sooner he could reach Silvermoon. And any Elven forces that challenged him were quickly cut down by his unholy blade, and after that their corpses were raised in order to join his army.

Slowly but surely the High Elven warriors were taken care of, falling to his mighty undead legions. Sure they put up a fight, but it just wasn't enough to stop him. And once all the warriors had fallen Arthas took the final Mooncrystal.

"Well you got what you wanted."

Arthas turned and noticed his prisoner slowly walking away.

"I guess I'll just be-ah!" He was cut off by a hand wrapping around his throat. The Elf was then lifted off the ground, and now staring the Death Knight straight in the eyes. "N-No... please..."

"Sorry, but I have no further use for you." In an instant he plunged his blade into the Elf, killing him instantly. He then removed his blade, as well as his grip, making the traitor fall to the ground.

With that taken care of the Death Knight prepared to head to the gate.

Having warned the guards stationed at the other two Mooncrystal locations Link and Sylvanas headed to the Inner Gate. They had done their job in warning the High Elves of the impending attack, and exactly what they were dealing with. Now they wanted to be near the final gate, just in case the undead managed to get the Key of the Three Moons.

The pair reached the gate after a little while, and noticed it was still closed. That meant that the undead hadn't made it there yet, or perhaps they were unable to get the Mooncrystals. Either way, it made them sigh in relief.

"Hm, perhaps Arthas was unable to locate the Mooncrystals." Sylvanas stated as she walked over to the front of the gate.

The Hero of Time followed her and stopped right beside her.

For all non High Elves the Key of the Three Moons was the only way past the gate, but with a little bit of magic any Elf could advance. A nearby mage used her magic to open the gate, allowing her superior and the warrior to enter. Once they had passed through she closed the gate.

"Alright, now let's get going. If we can get to Silvermoon we can prepare the city for the inevitable siege." The Ranger General said.

"But Arthas doesn't have the Mooncrystals, so he can't even get past the gate."

She paused before turning to face him. "Still, we can't leave anything to chance." As much as she had faith that the Mooncrystals were safe she didn't want to take any risks. Should the worst happen then Silvermoon would need to be ready, and even if it didn't she wanted to be safe.

Link nodded as he followed her down the stone path.

They walked for a few feet before hearing something. Both turned around and noticed the gate was wide open, and mounted on his undead stead was Arthas.

Neither one could speak, as they were too shocked to say anything.

"Finally... the gates have been opened! Once we've dealt with Sylvanas, the inner kingdom shall be ours!" He bellowed as he rode forward.

Eventually Sylvanas found her voice. "Damn you monsters! What will it take to drive you back?" As much as she wanted to fight she knew it would be suicide, and so she ran in the opposite direction.

Link spared one last look at Arthas before following suit.

"The ranger woman is starting to vex me greatly." Despite that the Death Knight couldn't help but smirk. With that gate passed through there was nothing stopping him from reaching Silvermoon!

Alright I'll end it off right there. So Arthas retrieved the Key of the Three Moons thanks to a traitorous Elf, who I'm sure you all know *wink*. Now Arthas is ready to take on Silvermoon City, but don't think it'll be easy for him. And who was that person in the beginning, well you'll see soon enough. This chapter may have been on the shorter side, but I promise the next one will be even bigger. Be sure to R&R and have a wonderful day!

FutureShock