Chapter Twelve – Undercover in the ranks of the Scourge
Jaina's POV
"Good morning" I said when I noticed that Vissia had woken up. She didn't respond at first, seeming to be very tired. She got up and stretched herself then she looked at me and greeted me. She gave me a small smile and got out of her bed. Her nightgown had slipped away a little so that more of her cleavage was exposed. I told her that and chuckled when her face became red like a tomato. She turned around and fixed her nightgown then she walked to her wardrobe. She fished a green robe out of it and told me to turn around.
I did as I was told and looked away from her. I turned back to her when she told me that she was done. I had to admit that this robe looked great on her. I knew she was a powerful mage and, in this robe, she really looked like one.
She gave me a shy smile when she walked past me to the kitchen. She came ten minutes later with two plates and two cups back. I smacked her forehead playfully when I reminded her that I was dead. It was useless to remind her that dead creatures didn't eat because she forgot it every time. It was a real wonder how she could have stayed unnoticed in Icecrown Citadel for so long.
She sat down and stared at her fingernails, obviously embarrassed that she had forgotten it again. This girl was a real riddle for me. She was a cute and a loveable person on one hand but on the other hand, she was very clumsy and sometimes a danger for herself. I was hoping that she wouldn't make such a dumb mistake in front of a member of the Scourge. I didn't want to see her get killed. She was a very good friend for me and I didn't want to lose her.
Vissia ate her breakfast quietly and drank her tea. I watched her, a smile appeared on my lips when I noticed that she was looking back at me. We didn't say anything. We just sat there and looked at each other until she was finished.
She got up and brought the plates and cups back to the kitchen. She returned to me and asked me if I was ready to go to Tyrande and the others. I nodded and took her hand, guiding her out of her own house. She locked the front door before we walked to the main building.
It was early in the morning, meaning that only a few creatures were already awake, mostly traders and shop owners. We greeted them when we passed them, receiving small smiles and amazed expressions in return.
The guards in front of the main building greeted us too. We greeted them back and walked to the staircase at the other side of the hall. We arrived on the second floor and spotted Malfurion and Shandris who were talking about various strategies. Tyrande entered the room through another door at the same moment. She greeted her husband and their adoptive daughter, then she walked to us and hugged us. She kissed my forehead softly and gave me a small smile.
"Good morning, you two"
"Good morning, Tyrande. How are you doing?" I asked and looked at the three night elves in front of me.
"Well, we have our differences in opinions about what we should do against the Scourge but I'm pretty sure that we find a solution which is accepted by everyone" she told.
"I wish I could help you but we have to go soon. Is our escort ready?" I asked.
"Yes, they are waiting behind the building. They had already put their covers on. Speaking of covers, would you two show us yours?" Tyrande asked and looked at us curiously.
"Of course" I responded and pulled two potions out of my bag. I handed one of them to Vissia and removed the plug of the other. I regarded the purple liquid. I knew that my body would absorb the magical liquid although my digestive system didn't work anymore since my death. I swallowed the liquid and closed my eyes.
A sudden wave of heat rushed through my body, my skin started to tingle, my forehead felt extremely hot and head felt like it would explode the next moment. These weird feelings lasted for an entire minute. I opened my eyes as soon as my body acted normal again. I walked to the mirror on the opposite side of the room and regarded myself.
I had the appearance of an elf who had been young when she had died. I had short green hair, a small but cute nose, red glowing eyes and big lips. I was more than a head smaller. In total, I was about five and a half feet tall which was pretty solid for a woman. I was wearing a dark robe which covered most of my body. I lifted my neckline a little so that I could regard my body beneath the robe.
It was not that well-preserved as my original body. Parts of bones were visible through the holes in my friable grey skin. All in all, I was satisfied with this body. My new appearance wasn't too conspicuous, the traces of decay in my face let me appear like an average servant of the Scourge. Only the death knights and those who were favoured by the Lich King, like Selania or I, had gained enough power from the Lich King. Because of this power, our bodies didn't decay and remained well-preserved.
I turned around and looked at Vissia who looked like a warlock and wore a mask made out of bones. She wore a lot of rings, decorated by jewels in different colours, on her bony fingers. Her entire body was wrapped up by a similar dark robe and she was carrying a wand in her left hand. The wand's tip was decorated by a skull of a devilsaur which eye sockets were stocked with red glowing jewels.
We looked at each other for a few moments before we turned around and looked at the three night elves who were observing us with curiosity and amazement.
"I guess this cover will be good enough but the appearance is not everything you need to hold out in the enemy base" Tyrande said and handed me a scroll.
"What is this?" I asked and regarded the scroll.
"This scroll was made by our best inscription trainer. This scroll contains direct orders from the Lich King which commands you to plan the campaign in this area with the leader of the Zoram'Gar Outpost. I hope that nobody notices that this scroll is fake. I don't think that the Scourge would prove it if its fake or not, at least I hope they don't do it. If they notice that its fake then try to escape and come back to us as fast as possible" explained Tyrande.
"Thank you" I said
Tyrande laughed amused. "You don't need to thank me. I need to thank you because you want to go on this mission and risk your life. You risk getting detected and be controlled by the Lich King again. I am the one who should thank you"
"No, you don't need to. I did a lot of crimes and I will do everything to compensate them"
"You shouldn't blame yourself. The Lich King had influenced you and forced you to serve him like every other servant. I'm glad that you will help us and I hope that you will be successful in this mission and in future missions"
"Thank you, Tyrande. That means a lot for me" I responded and stared in her eyes. She gave me a small smile and approached me, wrapping her arms around me and kissing my forehead softly. She stepped back from me and regarded me one more time.
"Now go, we don't have much time left. We don't know when the Scourge will attack us. We can't allow wasting more time. I hope you will return safely and bring us enough useful information" said Tyrande and stroke my shoulders.
I gave her a small and mimicked her gesture.
Vissia took my hand and guided me out of the main building. We walked around it and spotted a group of disguised creatures which looked like servants of the Scourge. They looked at me then they looked at a spot above me. I turned around and saw Tyrande who was standing behind a window and was giving the group a confirming nod.
The leader of the group, who was disguised as a necromancer, greeted me and told me that the group was ready. I greeted him back and told the group to follow us. They nodded their heads and started to move as soon as I had started moving. We walked for a while until we met the first patrolling group of the Scourge in the middle of a forest.
The group consisted out of five ghouls and one skeleton which was wearing heavy armour. It was carrying a massive sword on its back which was almost as tall as itself. Unlike most of the skeletons, it had red glowing eyes which stared at me. The skeleton's gaze felt very unpleasant as if its eyes would look through me.
"Victory for the Lich King" said the skeleton, with a voice which sounded like a cracking door. He observed me and my group closely.
"All might for the Scourge" I shouted back and saluted to him.
"Who are you and what are you doing here? Nobody had told me that another group would be wandering through this forest"
"My name is Vivienne Mortalbreaker and this is Nathalia Shadowsinger" I said and pointed at Vissia. "The Lich King has ordered us to help the commander of the Zoram'Gar Outpost with the preparations of the battle".
I showed him the scroll. He took it and unfolded it, reading it carefully.
"Alright, I will bring you to the base" he said and gave me the scroll back. I put it in my bag and gave the skeleton a nod. He turned around and signalized us to follow him. We did as we there told and walked with him for a while until we reached the Outpost.
It was a very large base which was surrounded by the sea and massive walls made out of pure steel. I spotted remains of Horde banners on the walls which were mostly replaced by banners of the Scourge. On top of these walls stood hundreds of undead archers, spellcasters and other undead creatures. In front of the massive gate stood twelve abominations, about twenty ghouls and five death knights.
The skeleton walked to one of the death knights and said "I have two guests for Lord Tirion".
I walked to the death knight and handed him the scroll. He unfolded it and read it, then telling me that we could pass. I nodded my head and followed the skeleton through the gate. My eyes widened in surprise when I saw the massive army which stood in the base. It was impossible to record the exact number of this army. I only knew that it was larger than any army of the Scourge I had ever seen before.
The entire outpost was stuffed full, meaning that it was hard to move without colliding with a creature. The creatures stepped aside and built a corridor as soon as they saw the skeleton, making it possible for us to walk to the main building.
I didn't know who this skeleton was, neither have I heard of any skeleton which had a high rank in the army of the Scourge. It seemed that the skeleton was very well known among the servants of the Scourge. Most of the skeletons were normal foot soldiers but this skeleton was different, this skeleton was special somehow. The other creatures respected this skeleton.
We arrived in front of the massive main building which was made out of the same steel as the Outpost's walls. Its roof was covered by red tiles, its entrance was also massive and guarded by two dozen abominations. We entered the building and walked a little until we reached a large table behind which Tirion Fordring, currently known as Tirion Darkring, was standing.
My mood darkened immediately when I saw him. What had happened to him made me sad. Not only had he been raised by the Lich King, but it was also my fault that he died. Without my intervention, he would have been alive and the Scourge would have been shattered in little pieces cause of the death of their leader.
I wish there had been a solution where both Tirion and Arthas would have survived the battle on top of Icecrown Citadel. But such a solution hadn't existed in our case. Only one of them could have survived and I had chosen Arthas. I wasn't regretting my decision, even seeing him like this didn't change my opinion. Helping Arthas had been the right decisions, I was only hoping that we could capture The Lich King and free Arthas from his control before we defeat the Scourge.
I wish I could tell Tirion how sorry I was but my apology wouldn't matter anymore because he was not himself anymore. He was not the Tirion anymore with the good heart, who would have done everything in his power to defend the living and the defenceless. He was Tirion Darkring, commander of the Scourge and one of Arthas' most powerful minions. I couldn't apologize to him anyways because I wasn't Jaina Proudmoore during this mission. I was Vivienne Mortalbreaker who was not responsible for anything.
The skeleton took the scroll out of my hand and gave it to Tirion who read it carefully.
"I didn't know that the Lich King wants me to plan the campaign with others but who I am that I would doubt the master's decisions?" he said and invited us to come closer.
Vissia and I didn't hesitate and stepped next to Tirion, regarding the map on the table. By closer looking at the figures on the map, it seemed that they wanted to attack the three closest places to Zoram'Gar Outpost first. These places where Ordendil's Retreat in the north-west, Maestra's Post and the Shrine of Aessina in the south-west. The Scourge guessed that the dragons were hiding in the near of Raynewood Retreat. I didn't even know where the dragons were. I only knew that they were hiding in Ashenvale but I didn't know the exact location. I was just hoping that the Scourge wouldn't find them.
"So, your plan is to attack these three meaningless places and when what?" I asked and looked at Tirion and then at the map again.
"We will conquer more bases and outposts one by one until we control the entire territory of Ashenvale. Don't forget that we have to find the dragons and avenge Lady Proudmoore's death. The master had told me that the highest priority is to make the dragon's pay for killing Lady Proudmoore" he responded.
Wait a second... The Lich King thought I was dead... That's new for me. Of course, I knew that the connection between us didn't exist anymore but I hadn't expected that he thought that I was dead. I had thought that he just assumed that I was captured. Him thinking that I was dead would explain his sudden desire to conquer Ashenvale and attack the dragons.
I must mean a lot to him that he would send so many troops to a mission to conquer a meaningless territory. I had guessed that, if the Lich King would attack Kalimdor or the Eastern Kingdoms, he would attack Stormwind or Undercity first and not Ashenvale. Hearing about my death must have triggered something in him, another proof that the good Arthas still existed.
Of course, attacking a non-military target and eventually killing innocent people wasn't a good sign but him wanting to avenge me meant that the good Arthas still existed. It also meant that there was hope to capture him one day and free him from the Lich King's control.
"When will we attack?" I asked.
"In five days. We are waiting for the arrival of someone"
"Someone?" I asked curiously.
"A very special warrior, the Lich King's secret weapon. He is the Lich King's trump card if everything is going wrong" responded Tirion.
"Why is he sending this warrior to such a meaningless place?" asked Vissia.
"I don't know and I don't dare to doubt the master's decisions. It seems that his revenge has the highest priority. He really wants to see the dragons dead and wants to avenge Lady Proudmoore's death by every means"
"It seems that this Lady had meant a lot for him. I had never heard that he had reacted this way when one of his other powerful servants died"
"It is strange indeed, but It seems that he had feelings for her. They had loved each other in life and even in death, I guess. So, I think he is grieving at the moment but he doesn't want to show that he is grieving so he let out all of his anger on the citizens in the territory where the dragons are hiding. In the end, this territory would belong to us in any case but now it would belong to us sooner than expected. I don't really care if we conquer this area sooner or later. As long as we can avenge Lady Proudmoore, I'm fine with every outcome of this battle" responded Tirion.
"Of course, I want to avenge the death of such an important person. The mortals will pay for killing her" added Vissia and looked at Tirion, then she looked at the map and finally at me.
I turned around when I noticed that someone had entered the building. I spotted Selania who was slowly approaching us. She seemed to be taller and burst with even more power than the last time I had met her. She looked a bit paler but she had her typical arrogant grin on her face. The same arrogant grin she had given me all the time when she had seen me.
"Who do we have here?" she asked curiously and came to me, regarding me closely.
"My name is Vivienne Mortalbreaker. The Lich King had ordered me to help Lord Darkring with the planning and executing of the campaign"
"Did he?" she asked suspiciously and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, why should I lie?"
"I don't know if you are lying but the strange thing is that I don't know anything about someone who should help us. I'm the right hand of the Lich King so I should know that someone will be helping us, don't you think?" she asked and stepped closer to me so that our faces were only a few inches apart.
"I thought that Kel'Thuzad is the master's right hand" statemented Tirion.
"Shut up Tirion. I'm talking with her at this moment"
"But..." he started but Selania cut him off with a harsh gesture.
"Tell me, mage. What should I do with liars?" she asked with a provocative smile on her lips.
"I'm not lying" I responded and gave her the scroll. She unfolded it and read it carefully, one time, two times, even three times. She gave me scroll to a servant and said "Prove if this scroll is real or not. I don't trust this woman"
I bit my bottom lip nervously, wondering how she could know that. I had acted like a normal servant of the Scourge, still, she was suspicious and didn't believe my story. Every other servant had believed it immediately but only she had doubts. Selania was a riddle for me but her character was not the problem I had at the moment. The problem was that the servants would find out that the scroll is fake. Which meant that they would expose us an bring us back to the Lich King. I wanted to meet Arthas again but not too soon and not under these conditions. I wanted to defeat The Lich King and help to free Arthas. I didn't want to get captured once again.
I thought about what I could do to get out of this miserable situation.
Running would be too obvious and they would catch us probably. I could teleport away with Vissia but that would prove Selania's suspicion that something was wrong about me. I guess I had no other choice to hope that this mage was not good enough to find out that the scroll was fake. The chance was small but it was our only real hope to remain undetected.
"You will wait right here until the mage is done with proving the scroll" demanded Selania and looked at Tirion who gave her an agreeing nod. It was very weird to see Tirion getting orders from anyone. In life, he had been the leader of the Argent Dawn and had never received orders. He had only met with other factions and groups like the Alliance and the Horde and had worked with them against the Scourge. As a high commander of the Scourge, there were a few persons who were above him and were able to give him orders. Selania seemed to be one of them.
We waited for half an hour until the mage came back. I could swear if I would have been alive, that my heart would beat rapidly in my chest. I knew without needing to look at Vissia that she was very nervous. Fortunately, her mask was covering her face so that Selania wasn't able to read her facial expression. The information of the mage would decide if we have to flee or if we can stay.
"What have you found out?" Selania asked impatiently.
"The scroll is not a fake" he answered.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, my lady" the mage stuttered and stepped a few feet backwards. He was obviously afraid by Selania who was looking at him as if she wanted to slaughter him at the next moment.
"And why don't I know about their help?" she asked angrily and came closer to the mage.
"I don't know, commander" he stuttered.
"I will ask the master myself. I don't believe them. Create me a portal to Icecrown Citadel. NOW"
"As you wish" the mage stuttered and started to create a portal. It took a while for him because he was so nervous and afraid of Selania's presence, causing that he lost his concentration and failed the summoning more than just one time. Selania was not happy that it took so long but she didn't say anything, knowing she could only make it worse. She looked at me and then at Tirion directly after the portal had been created.
"I will be back soon. Don't you dare to move away" she said and stepped through the portal.
Lich King's POV
"Why aren't you in Zoram'Gar Outpost? You know what had happened the last time when you hadn't executed my orders rightfully, right?"
"Of course, my master but I'm only here to check something" responded Selania and gave me a look which told me that she was meaning it serious.
"What do you want to check? I asked and leaned forward, regarding her closely.
"Do you know a servant with the name Vivienne Mortalbreaker?" she asked.
"Vivienne Mortalbreaker? No, I never heard about her. Who is she?"
"I think she is a spy who wants to find out our plans for the campaign in Ashenvale"
"Why do you think so?"
She didn't respond, instead, she walked to me and handed me a scroll. I unfolded it and read it carefully. "I haven't written this" I statemented.
"I knew it. We have a spy in our ranks, her sudden appearance was already conspicuous, especially because she wanted to know what Tirion had planned. This fool even had believed her"
"Well, don't blame him. This scroll is well-made. It was hard to notice that this is a fake. I only noticed it because I hadn't written these lines. I wouldn't have noticed that this is a fake if the preparer would have tried to let us believe that another member of the Scourge with a high rank would have written this. But the fake wants us to believe that I have written it, which I didn't. Don't blame Tirion or the servants who had brought her to the base" I said.
"We have to make sure that she won't escape. She knows too much about our plans"
"Even if she gets away, it's okay. First of all, we can change our strategy. Even if the mortals know that the will attack the places in the west first, it wouldn't be useful for them. It was obvious that we would attack these bases first because they are the nearest bases to Zoram'Gar Outpost. Tirion hasn't revealed the plans about attacking the dragons, at least not when and with how many servants we will attack"
"But she knows that we know where the dragons are. She has to be captured. We can't risk that the dragons go to another area"
"You are right. Kill her then"
"As you wish, master" she said and bowed to me. I signalized her to get up. She did as she was told and walked to the teleporting platform, disappearing through it.
"Is the HE ready?" I asked the person who was standing next to my throne.
"Yes, he is" responded Lana'thel and gave me a curious look.
"Good. Tell him that he should go to Ashenvale and prepare the attack with the second wave. The first wave should attack as soon as possible. Even if this spy escapes, the mortals will not have enough time to get prepared. Ashenvale will belong to me and the dragons will pay for that they have done to my Jaina"
"As you wish" responded Lana'thel and bowed to me. She walked away and disappeared through the same teleporter through which Selania had disappeared.
Jaina's POV
I was leaning against one of the building's walls when a portal was opened and an angry Selania stepped out of it. She held the scroll in her hands and tore it in millions of little pieces. She pulled one of her swords from her back and walked towards Vissia and me. I reacted quickly and grabbed Vissia's hand, muttering a few words. We disappeared and arrived in another place before Selania reached us. I looked around and noticed that we were standing at the edge of a forest. The walls of Zoram'Gar Outpost were well visible from these positions, meaning that the base was about one hundred meters away from us.
I noticed that I was still holding Vissia's hand. She looked at me, I could see worry and fear in her eyes, her face wasn't covered by the mask anymore. I told her that everything was going to be fine. She nodded her head quickly and looked around as if she was looking for someone. I told her that we needed to find a hiding place. She nodded again and followed me. We walked until we found a small cave. I created a small flame which hovered above the palm of my left hand and radiated enough light to enlighten the little cave. In the cave was nothing except a few stones and dead insects and rats.
We made sure that nobody had followed us, then we started to create a portal together. We walked through it as soon as it was fully opened. We came out in the planning room of the main building in Astranaar. Malfurion, Shandris and Tyrande were having a discussion when we arrived in this room. They turned around and looked at us, worry and surprise were written on their faces. We dissolved our fake appearances and walked to them.
"That was fast, you were only away for a few hours. What happened?" asked Tyrande.
"Selania had the suspicion that the scroll was fake. I don't know why she was so suspicious. What matters is that she didn't believe our story. She went to the Lich King and asked him about it. She came back after a few minutes and wanted to slaughter us" I explained.
"Well, that is... unfortunate"
"At least, we found out information about their plan. I'm just not sure if these pieces of information are helpful after they had discovered that we were spying on them"
"What have you found out?" asked Malfurion and stepped closer to me.
"They want to attack the nearest places to their base first. Ordendil's Retreat, Maestra's Post and the Shrine of Aessina will be their first targets. The Scourge knows that the dragons are hiding in the near of the Raynewood Retreat. I'm pretty sure that they will attack it soon with the strongest servant of the Scourge as their leader" responded Vissia.
"The strongest servant of the Scourge? You mean that death knight, right?" asked Malfurion.
"No, there is someone who is even stronger than her. Unfortunately, I don't know anything about this servant" I told.
"Hmm. I don't know what to say to this but I'm sure that we will find a way to deal with that person" he said.
"What else have you found out?" asked Shandris.
"The Scourge thinks that I am dead which would explain why the Lich King would attack Ashenvale instead of conquering the rest of Northrend. He thinks that the dragons are responsible for my death and he wants to avenge me" I said and noticed that Tyrande's eyes lightened up as if a great idea had come to her mind.
"We could use this as our advantage. We could surprise the Lich King's troops and lure them into a trap. I'm pretty sure that he would do everything to get you as soon as he knows that you are still alive. We have to bait his army into a trap and then kill a lot of them" announced Tyrande and looked at her husband and her adoptive daughter who were nodding their heads in agreement.
"That's a very good idea. Maybe I should stay in the near of the dragons. Arthas wants to see them dead so he will send a huge army to Raynewood Retreat. He will send more servants when he finds out that I'm still alive. We should place the trap in the near of Raynewood Retreat" I responded.
"We would have to give up a large part of Ashenvale if we really want to do this. Raynewood Retreat is in the middle of Ashenvale which means that we would lose half of our territories until the Scourge gets in the near of this place" Shandris threw in and rubbed her chin while she looked at the map with a thoughtful face.
"You could also go to one of their first attack targets and help to defend it. The Lich King will send a lot of his troops to this place, meaning that we could prepare the trap there and lure them into it" said Malfurion.
"That's a good idea" I commented.
"Yes, it is" responded Tyrande and rubbed her husband's back, giving him a pleased smile.
"So, it's decided, right? Jaina will help to defend Maestra's Post. We will make sure that a lot of these bastards will die through our trap which we will devise now" said Tyrande with a happy expression on her face. She walked to me and hugged me. "Good job Jaina" she whispered and ran her fingers through my hair, giving me a small smile.
"Thank you, Tyrande" I responded and smiled back.
"Cenarius came to our aid with reinforcements. We will speak to him now and tell him about your found-out information. We will return as soon as we have the perfect plan" she said.
"Do that. I'm happy that I was able helped you"
"We are thankful for your aid. It means a lot for us that you are still on our side"
"It means a lot for me too" I responded and gave them a small smile.
"See you later" whispered Tyrande and kissed my forehead. I noticed the jealous expression on Vissia's face but I didn't say anything to her, not even when the three night elves left the room.
"What will we do now?" she asked and looked at me shyly.
"I don't know. Let's take a short rest and then continue with your training"
"Oh yeah, that's a good idea"
"Alright, let's go" I responded and walked out of the room with her.
