Shattered Minds
Mordinea sank back into her cage as she lost sight of Vevian over the horizon. She wouldn't be able to rescue her, not when her tormentor was her savior. They'd tear her memories away from her fragile mind again and she would be left with no one again, left to wander until they needed her. She could no longer remember her original name or the one they'd given her after they had wiped her memories the last time or the time before that and so on. She'd reinvented herself so many times she no longer truly knew who she was. Names, faces and events lay disconnected in her mind and she could not make sense of them. The information was there, just broken into pieces. Like a puzzle she thought and brought her knees up and cackled into her leather clad legs.
The wagon shook her against the bars of her cage as it made its hasty way towards the center of Brill. Mordinea fell over and lay still on her side against the dirty floor of her prison when the wagon came to a rattling halt. Her eyes fell to the floor and stayed there as the driver and his guard came to glance at their cargo. They seemed to think her broken and they shrugged to each other and went into the Gallows' End leaving her huddled in the cage.
When she felt them leave she scrambled up and dug at the bars of her cage to look for a lock, a hinge, anything; there were none. She ran her cold hands along the metal of the floor looking for a seam and found nothing. It was as if they had forged the cage around her when they had knocked her out. She hissed lightly and lay down on her back bringing her feet up against the bars and her hands above her head. She pushed against her prison and it creaked lightly. She could break it this way she thought and went to push again when a sudden torrent of pain took her. The cage glowed suddenly and a torrent of fie flew through her muscles. She drew into herself gritting her teeth against the pain. The surge of agony stopped and the cage dimmed again. They had cursed the cage as well; apparently they were serious about keeping her locked up this time.
Mordinea slumped roughly back against the cage and it gave a twinge of light before darkened again. She growled bitterly at the cage and closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. She'd forget everyone again even her new friend. She had tricked the mage into taking her along on whatever menial task Sarvis had given her. Mordinea grew bored often and had found the young mage infinitely entertaining with her serious demeanor and pain filled eyes. The woman didn't know what to do and had no one left, just like Mordinea. There was something appealing about her quiet confidence and sharp temper that Mordinea could not quite put her finger on it. She supposed that Vevian reminded her of someone although of whom she had no idea.
Vevian hurried along the darkened streets, splashing though puddles and slipping to catch her balance occasionally. Mordinea had said they were going to take her friends away, whatever that meant. Though Vevian could not often understand the woman it was clear she was in distress, or at least thought she was and she had resolved to help her.
She rounded a blackened and burnt out building and skidded to a halt, there was the wagon. It sat in the main square of the town next to the gritty fountain and Vevian could see the cage sitting in the back. She slowed her pace and walked towards the fountain aware of eyes on her from the darkened slits of the grimy boarded windows surround the street.
She arrived at the square and glanced past the wagon towards the only lit structure in what seemed like the entire town. It was a squat two story building with graying windows that shone out with flickering candle light and the distinct noise of a bar came from within. This was the most 'alive' building Vevian had seen since her resurrection and she was intrigued. "Light and warmth, in my unlife? Oh no thank you, I'll have the gloom and despair special," she thought bitterly as she neared the wagon's cargo, her head low and her hood up to hide her face.
She climbed the back wheel of the wagon to get a better look inside and saw Mordinea slouched in the cage. She appeared to be asleep and her eyes glowed from behind her eyelids giving them an ethereal look.
"Mordinea," Vevian hissed in a whisper. Mordinea's eyes flew open and they glowed brighter as she skittered away from Vevian knocking against the cage.
"Stay away," she shouted and Vevian winced, this woman had no sense of subterfuge. "I'm not going back!"
Vevian pulled her hood back and said "It's me Vevian, now lower your voice before you bring the whole world down on us."
Mordinea blinked, recognizing Vevian and pulled herself up into a crouch as she slid closer to her.
"You came for me?" Mordinea asked, relief and sadness mixed in her voice. Why would Vevian come? There was nothing she could do for her.
"Of course I came, you're the only person I know who's still relatively alive and you're in a cage screaming about forgetting your friends," Vevian said. "I don't really have a lot of options."
Mordinea reached out, quick as thought and grabbed Vevian's robe to pull her all the way into the wagon and drag her against the cage with a startling amount of force. Her other arm came out and wrapped around Vevian and squeezed her painfully against the bars, crushing her. Vevian gasped and tried to pull away but Mordinea was far stronger than her especially in this position.
"I missed you," Mordinea sobbed as she buried her face against the bars and Vevian's back gave a sickening crack against the force. The cage glowed and Vevian felt a sharp pain start to form in her center.
"Mordinea, stop!" Vevian gasped, she couldn't breathe. Mordinea was crushing her with her "hug".
Mordinea let go and dropped against the floor of the cage as Vevian gasped against the side of the wagon.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Vevian hissed reaching to touch her back. She didn't think anything was broken but then again would she feel it if it was?
"I… I'm sorry. I, forget sometimes," Mordinea muttered sitting back and dropping her hands in her lap in that slack submissive posture Vevian had seen her take before. This was getting bad.
"It's alright," Vevian said. She didn't want Mordinea to lose her mind like she had in the woods.
"No, it's not," Mordinea said simply and looked up into Vevian's eyes. "They're going to make me forget again."
"Who is going to make you forget what?" Vevian said; she was quite done with this cryptic nonsense.
"The man in the dungeon, he's going to make me forget who I am again. He's going to make me forget all my friends and leave me alone." Mordinea almost sobbed. Her face was like that of a child told they could never see their pet again, because it was dead.
"Why would he do that?" Vevian pried gently, Mordinea seemed lucid if not totally sane at the moment and she wanted to get all the information she could.
"Because they all think I'm crazy!" Mordinea shouted her brow furrowing and her hands clenching into fists. "I'm not crazy but they won't believe me!"
"I believe you," Vevian said raising her hands and gesturing for Mordinea to lower her voice. "I believe you. I'll get you out of this cage, how do I open it."
"You don't, it's been sealed with magic," Mordinea almost pouted crossing her arms in front of her chest. "You might as well go; it's not as if I'm not going to remember you tomorrow anyway darling."
Vevian frowned, she could leave her here, but she wouldn't forget and she'd have to live with the knowledge Mordinea was wandering alone without memories because of her. That did not sit right with Vevian.
"Well if someone cursed it to stay shut someone has to be able to open it." Vevian said looking the cage over. It didn't appear to be magical but that didn't mean it wasn't.
Vevian reached out and ran her sharpened fingers lightly over the metal gathering a small amount of energy from around her and letting it pulse from her hand. The cage flickered with an intense maroon light threateningly and Vevian drew her hand back. It was definitely cursed.
"This can only be opened by one person." Vevian said. "Who put you in here? We need them to get you out."
"Some hack." Mordinea said bitterly. "He needed someone to knock me out to put me in. Both of them went into the building across the square." She said gesturing towards the bar.
Vevian tapped her lips lightly with an elongated finger and puzzled over what to do. Mordinea needed help, but freeing her wouldn't be the last of it. She needed to have her mind repaired; she needed somewhere to stay and something to do in order to keep her sane for as long as possible. Freeing her was a big commitment.
"What will you do once I free you?" Vevian asked.
Mordinea looked puzzled and said "Go with you of course, what else would there be for me to do?"
"I don't even know where I'm going," Vevian said. She needed to speak with Sylvanas and find out what she was supposed to do with her unlife. As of now she had no purpose and if she was to create one it would only be self serving. That was no way to repay the Banshee Queen for her salvation.
Mordinea smiled widely and said, "I don't know where I'm going either, so we can wander around together, forever."
The infatuation in her voice made Vevian shudder; she didn't need some half crazed woman following her around.
"We need to get your mind repaired to the way it was," Vevian said flatly. "I'm not looking for a mindless servant to follow me around for the rest of my life."
Mordinea leaned closer to the bars and growled, "I am no one's servant. You assume too much mage." She almost spat the last word as if it were a curse.
Vevian dropped her eyes. That had been a foolish thing to say, Mordinea was obviously not opposed to violence and was in fact prone to it. It also seemed she was not without her ego.
"That's not what I meant," Vevian said quickly. "The bottom line is that we need to get you fixed, because I will not have you following me in your current state."
"I can't blame you," Mordinea glowered still far too close for comfort even through the cage.
Vevian shifted uneasily, this was a bad idea but what choice did she have?
"We need to get the one who put you in here to touch the cage again to open it." Vevian said getting up to a crouch and grabbing the side of the wagon. "You'll need to create a distraction for the one he's with so I can deal with the other."
"Ohh, I love plans." Mordinea smiled clapping her hands lightly. She folded her legs under herself and grabbed her knees to begin rocking side to side, her smile widening into a toothy grin filled with bad intensions.
Vevian sighed and jumped over the side of the wagon. She glanced around to make sure no one had seen here; they were alone in the town square. She made her way behind the fountain and sat on its rim, her back to wagon. She'd need to get the one who had locked the cage to touch it and then pulse enough energy through him to force the curse to unbind. Easy enough, if the man was alone. But he wasn't according to Mordinea and she'd have to dispatch of the other one first. She didn't want to kill anyone and planned on using a concussive spell to knock the men unconscious. It would be quick and clean, they would wake up with headache but not much else. Vevian slumped and wondered how many people she would have to hurt before the end.
Lundmark tapped his foot impatiently at the door of the Gallows' End. Gavin had been drinking and carrying on with his new found friends at the bar for going on two hours now while there was important business at hand. Lundmark was quite through with his companion and was looking forward to the end of their time together. They had been tasked with finding Mordinea, a crazed former assassin turned crazed wandering miscreant. The search had taken them all over the Eastern Kingdoms. She had burned down a goblin foreman's house in Stranglethorn only to be spotted jumping rope with children in Silvermoon two days later. They would arrive only to hear horror stories and odd accounts but always after the fact. How she got around so quickly was beyond Lundmark, but that was of no matter now. They had heard reports from the local Deathguards that there was someone sneaking around Deathknell trying to scare the newly risen into killing themselves, it was a classic case for her and Lundmark had knew that they would find her here.
They had caught up with her in the woods outside of Deathknell to find her sobbing and beating on a dead tree with a severed arm. She had been so occupied with her task, Gavin had been able to sneak up directly behind her and beat her into unconsciousness. They had sealed her in a cage of his design and were now hours away from delivering their quarry to Undercity. Yet Gavin insisted they celebrate her capture before the task was done. Lundmark knew no good would come of this.
"Gavin, we need to leave. I don't feel safe leaving her out there," Lundmark shouted across the bar.
The large Tauren sitting next to Gavin looked around and snorted loudly at him. "Go shove it you wrinkled prune, Gavin's busy," he rumbled before turning back to Gavin.
Lundmark gritted his few remaining teeth. Great bumbling cow thought he was tough. Gavin sat with his back to the door and gestured widely with his hands, apparently in the middle of some lengthy tale of their pursuit. That was it; Lundmark was done with this farce.
"Gavin! You get your rotting ass outside or I will tell them the story of when you captured her the first time!" Lundmark threatened, his claw of a hand pointed towards the door.
Gavin's pale face went slack and his shoulders dropped. He had been caught with his pants down the first time they'd caught her. They had heard of her beating a human child to death in Southshore, apparently she thought he was taking too many seashells off the beach. They had tricked her into a cage with a large pile of the glistening shells; she had been keen on collecting them at the time. On their way back Gavin had been redoing her restrains, alone of course, and she had turned on him. She had hung him upside from a tree and stripped him to run cackling towards the beach and swam away. They'd never told anyone they had caught her once only to lose her again but Lundmark would tell it now if Gavin did not stop his foolishness.
Gavin muttered apologies to his bar buddies and slouched towards the door. The Tauren glowered at Lundmark and he turned on heel and strode out towards the wagon his nose in the air. Never again would he sign up for volunteer duty in Undercity, they'd have to drag him out of his home to get him to leave it again.
"Ye could have just asked me to leave," Gavin grumbled behind him as they made their way towards the wagon.
"I did; you told me to sit on it," Lundmark growled not looking back.
"Oh yes," Gavin chuckled self consciously.
Lundmark frowned and looked at the cage in an old habit to make sure Mordinea was still there. He did a double take and his jaw dropped; she was gone.
"NO!" Lundmark shouted. "NO, NO, NO, NO!" he babbled as he ran to the back of the wagon. "She was just here!" he wailed in despair. Oh gods, now he would never be free of Gavin.
The air in the cage shifted as he climbed up the back of the wagon and he halted. What was wrong with the air in the cage? He drew closer and the air shifted again distorting his view through it. Confused Lundmark reached a hand through the bars and his hand met a soft resistance.
"Oh, you ARE naughty," came Mordinea's voice from the air in front of him and his already grey skin paled to a dirty white.
Mordinea melted into existence in front of him. She had been there all along but had been invisible. It explained how she had evaded them for so long. She grabbed his wrist and he looked down at it in horror. He had reached through and grabbed her left breast. Mordinea smiled coyly and brought his hand up to her mouth. She looked at him longingly with her glowing eye as she gently wrapped her lips around his fingers and sucked them lightly, teasing. Lundmark tried to pull his hand back but her lips spread in a grin around his fingers and she bit down. He stifled a scream as he began to fall back as she separated his fingers just below the second knuckle but her other hand shot out and grabbed his robes. She pulled him forward to smash against the cage and it glowed brightly as he felt the tingle of the curse start to activate.
"No, no, no," Mordinea mocked her voice a sultry whisper. Her mouth twisted into a hate filled grin and she grabbed the back of his head and smashed it against the bars. The cage brightened and Mordinea screamed as she and Lundmark fell.
Gavin, dumbstruck, reached for his sword but at that moment felt a hand press to the back of his head.
"Stop." Said a woman's voice, clear and commanding. He began to turn to smack the hand away. Before he could he sensed the air around his head suck inwards as what felt like a fist of iron slammed into his head. His feet were lifted off the ground as he lost consciousness and he fell in a tangle of limbs. His face grinding along the rough hewn stones.
Vevian looked up from the downed man. He had a dent in his skull. Perhaps she had used to much force. She shuddered and side stepped him to get to the back of the wagon. Mordinea was slouched in the cage her arms resting on her knees and she spat something over the side of the wagon. The other man was leaning unconscious on the outside of the cage and Vevian grimaced. His face was complete smashed in.
"Did you kill him?" Vevian asked.
"No, but he molested me," Mordinea chuckled as she wiped blackened sludge from her lips.
Vevian stared at her and back to the man deciding she didn't really want to know. She reached down and placed on of his hand in the bars of the cage. She held the other in her hand and pulled energy though herself and sent it through the unconscious man. The cage glowed and seemed to droop as the bars thinned and fizzled away to nothing around Mordinea.
Mordinea stood and pushed through what remained of the shimmering sparks the cage had become to jump down off the back of the wagon. She turned and grabbed the leg of the man and pulled him roughly out of the wagon as well. He dropped into a slump over her shoulder and she hefted him up.
"I never want to see your face again," Mordinea stated clearly to the man and lifted him quickly up to draw back and drop him, slamming her knee into his face. He let out a gurgle and Mordinea's eye grew frantic as she grabbed the back of his already mangled head and drove her knee into again. The man fell and thin rivets of congealed blood oozed from his mangled and cavernous face. Mordinea's eyes grew into slits and she drew up her heel, stomping the dead man's face into a unrecognizable pile of broken bone and blackening gunk.
"Gods preserve us," Vevian whispered. What had she done? This woman was just going to keep killing people and it would be her fault.
Mordinea dropped to her knees and let out a gurgling moan. She reached down and pushed the man's shoulder. His body slumped over and her face grew long.
"Wake up," Mordinea sobbed. "Wake up! I'm sorry I didn't mean it!" she wailed grabbing handfuls of the remains of his head and trying to stuff them back together on his shoulders. She turned to Vevian her face the picture of confusion and sorrow. "Help me," she moaned and dropped her head into her slime covered hands smearing her face with filth.
Vevian reached down hesitantly to touch Mordinea's shoulder. This woman needed help and Vevian had let her go. She was her responsibility now.
"Let's go," Vevian said quietly. "Someone will be by soon."
Mordinea shuddered as Vevian stooped down to pick her up. They had to get to Undercity. Sylvanas could fix this.