Book Twenty
Widdershins
Goh't Felgaze sat at his desk, his index finger resting on his thick upper lip while he thought. The quill in his hand hadn't moved for several minutes, as if he was waiting for something. The pale fel green glow in his eye flickered a moment as he heard someone enter the barracks, he resumed writing. Moments later, there was a knock on the door to which he replied.
"Yes?" muttered the orc, taking no kindness to bother looking towards who wished to enter. The door gently swung open, both from the size and weight of the door, and from the fact that the young orc pushing it seemed rather timid that he would be the one chosen to deliver the news to -these- barracks. Felgze pulled back from his writing and folded his thick fingers into one another, laying them level, just below his stout nose, the fel fire in his right eye flickered again. His hood kept his face in shadow, letting the young orcling see only his glowing eye, weathered tusks and his solid lower jaw.
"Yes?" asked the warlock, raising the brow over his fel eye, making it look even larger. The young orc swallowed hard, now having thought he had just interrupted something very important.
"I'm sorry to disturb you Lord Felgaze, but there is news..." he said, making his way to the large wooden desk, and reaching across it to give him a tightly wound scroll. Goh't looked at the roll of parchment, then back to the boy, giving him a stare as if to suggest that reaching over the desk was a significant act of bravery. The warlock's gloved hand took the scroll from the orc, letting the young man step back two or three steps, relieved to have kept his hand in one piece. Breaking the seal, Goh't unrolled the scroll and the orcling could see his once good eye zip back and forth as he read.
"...the Dark Portal has reopened, there have been..." said the boy swallowing hard before finishing
"... incidents..."
Lord Felgze leaned back in his chair, the metal creaking gently under his bulk, taking the time to reread the scroll in his hands.
"So it seems." he snorted "Very well. I will rally the storm." he said as he leaned forward and stood up from his chair , giving his broad shoulders a gentle roll. Cracking his knuckles, he rose a fist into the air, the young orc watching him, frozen in place, he was afraid this might happen. Since the siege, Coffincrush 'Demon Wood' has become popular.
Lord Felgaze's fist came down, and the bottom of the desk seemed to explode into the floor. Imps shot out in every direction, many into the walls or the surrounding furniture, one right into the legs of the orc messenger. All of the little demons at once began speaking, arguing and complaining to one another until Goh't regained control of them.
"LISTEN you little beasts... gather the Tempest." the warlock commanded, his glowing fel eye growing brighter as it twitched.
Re'zo was still rubbing his head as he sat up out of the bed, the explosion of painful light had blinded his already poor eyesight and the blow to his skull had rattled his brains, and the furious voice that followed was in broken orcish and very, very angry. One hand still clutching his head, his other hand fumbled for his goggles, and a more familiar voice spoke in a still very unfamiliar language. Slipping the goggles onto his face, and tightening the buckles, they sparked to life, giving off their familiar red glow, though allowing him to see the world as it is, head still throbbing, he turned to see the two Draenei women arguing now. One, sat beside him in the bed, the other, in full armor, loomed over them both. She must have been a friend, and was obviously displeased to discover her friend sharing a bed with 'the enemy.'
Red groaned and rolled out of the bed, feebly clutching a sheet to himself to hide his shame.
"Now gurl.. ah dinna do any'ting tah her dat she dinna welcome." he said, extending a hand out as if to try and ward off another blow of the paladin's mace. The armored Draenei hefted her crystalline hammer and glared at him
"Zo zhe zayz!" huffed the paladin, her gaze tearing from him to glare at her 'sister.'
"Jarmilla, please, zhere iz nothing zhat you need to vorry about..." Red's bed mate paused, she glanced to him as if to confirm her orcish syntax was correct, then continued.
"Ve have been zeeing one another vor zome time now, I... am zo very zorry that you've had to vind out like zis." she said, blushing a little, pulling her own sheets up to hide her bare chest. Sharmilla huffed again, swinging her hammer around to slip it into a crevice between her spine and her shield.
"Seina, vhat do you plan to do vith zis... troll?" Sharmilla exclaimed, Red smirked and restrained a chuckle as he stood beside the bed naked in all but a bed sheet. Sharmilla shot him another glare
".. you've done plenty! Vhat I mean iz, vhat do you plan to do NOW" she said, now pursing her lips and setting her jaw as her gaze swept back to Seina. The pale indigo Draenei lowered her head, as if she was being scolded by a superior, unsure what else she could say. Whats done had been done, Sharmilla was a day early, and she'd been caught.
Just then, a flicker of green light could be seen from the corner of the room, all three pairs of eyes turns to look at it. From the depths of the shadows, a slender imp wandered out, one brow raised in utter confusion at seeing Red naked in a room with two Draenei women. Sharmilla sneered down at the little intruder
"Vell? Vhat are you looking at?" she snapped, the imp shook his head, his ears flopping around as he regained his train of thought, then swung his head back to look at Red
"Meesta Reh'zo?" he asked, pronouncing his vowels as if he had a surplus of them. Re'zo nodded, and gestured for him to get on with it as he readjusted his sheet.
"Ah gooood" the little imp said before clearing his throat
"Ahem! I am Pag'loz, and his Lord Goh't Felgaze, requests your presence." he said, as if clearing his throat also fixed his vowel problem. Red looked to Seina, who looked at him, then to Sharmilla, who was still glaring at the imp.
"And just who iz zis 'Lord Goht'?" snapped the paladin. The imp looked up at her as if she was a piece of furniture that had just spoke.
"Lord Felgaze is the Master of Administration, he's got a magic desk!" the imp chimed in, smiling up at her. Sharmilla slowly lifted her head to glare at Re'zo again.
"Master of Adviniztration? Vhat do you have going on, troll?" she asked, her anger faulting into curiosity. Red's brow knit as he looked back down to the imp.
"Goh't? Wut's he need'n meh for? He's got deh rest of deh Tempest much closer to him den ah am." Red stated matter-of-factly, still confused, but glad to have a distraction from the angry Dranei woman.
"Lord Felgaze got a note" said the imp, Red's goggles slowly blinked as he waited for the rest of the story.
"The Dark Portal, something's happened, there's orcs pouring out!" cried the imp, the two Draenei women glanced to one another, sharing a worried look. Red blinked again
"is dat it?" he asked, still gripping the bed sheet around his waist. Before the imp could answer, there was a loud scraping along the roof of the inn, followed buy a guttural screech. Red could hear the various gnomes and goblins crying out as all the attention focused on what had just landed on the top of the Gadgetzan Inn. Red could hear the leathery flap of the wings as the beast settled down, giving another guttural victory screech.
"Aw fel.. dis is important den is it? Vol'jin sent Ro'dan." Red said, shaking his head.
Months ago
After the fall of Garrosh, after the events following the city's brief anarchy, after the trial and Garrosh was sent to the Temple of the White Tiger, Vol'jin had called the Shadow Walker to the Valley of Honor. Within the confines of the hunter's stables, the new Warchief had lined up cages and crates filled with the creatures and beasts that Garrosh had imported from Pandaria. A few of them, were the Zandalari Sky Screamers, of which few cared to get to close, to the big blue one inparticular. It was obvious by it's behavior that it was the Cockerel of the bunch. It was loud, aggressive and down right mean to those even trying to tend to it's wounds and feed it. Vol'jin gestured to the beast
"So ah hear from of our prisoners dat deze can be tamed, and trained.. we got ah few Zandalari who have agreed tah help us in exchange for leniency." said the Warchief, eying Re'zo as if to watch for a physical response to the imprisonment of his 'people.' Re'zo had made it clear that his people were now the Darkspear, and Vol'jin was not disappointed to see that Zul Re'zo showed no change in his expression.
"Ah plan tah beh lenient" he said nodding "but dey first gottah help us tame deze beasts." Vol'jin turned to look at Re'zo again.
"Ah want dis beast tah beh yours... nah nah, dun bother protest'n" he said putting up a hand to stop Red from speaking.
"Ah made dis decision, an it gonnah stick. Ah know cha got cha bat, an ah expect cha tah keep cha self on him. Dis gonnah take some time tah train it to cha, and ah promise, ah only gonnah send him to cha when we beh need'n tah show ah bit of force. Vim's all right an all, but when ah want tah put my strongest foot forward, ah gonnah need my best men look'n dere most intimidate'n. Ah dunno about chu, but any'ting on dis beast is gonnah beh intimidate'n." finished the Warchief. Red signed and nodded reluctantly.
"Cha, alright. Wut cha need from me?" he asked, Vol'jin grinned wide and swiftly took hold of one of his dreadlocks, and with a swing of a blade, cut it from his head.
"Ah glad cha asked!" he said, handing the long strand of dreaded hair to one of the trainers.
"Deh Zandalari said dat deeze Sky Screamers got ah strong nose. We gonnah weave dis intah ah nose ring for it, gonnah let it breathe in deep, learn'n cha smell, learn'n who it's mastah gonnah beh. From here on out, dis cockerel gonnah beh treated nice, wit all deh patience deze tamers can muster." he said, looking back to Red who was still in a bit of shock that the Warchief had just taken a lock of his hair, but he knew better then to complain. Instead, Red nodded slowly, making sure to keep his mouth closed, to prevent any protest from slipping out.
"Now, we'll keep work'n with him... but when we need cha, dat dread o' cha hair gonnah beh removed, an burnt. If he wants tah get deh same treatment, he gonnah have tah track cha down. Dis how deh Zandalari been do'n it, an it worked for dem. So Ro'dan here beh yours, an we'll send him when we need cha." Vol'jin said, with a wide smile on his face.
There's a look that leaders get, a smug grin that means that they are pleased, even though you may not be. It's a look that speaks volumes, the leader knows you're not happy, but they don't care, because they've made a choice, and they know full well that you have to do as they say, no matter what. Vol'jin was getting good at that smug grin, and Red knew that he had perfected it just so he could deal with him. Red spent so long being on the fringe of things, now that he was under the direct control of the Warchief, he too would need to be tamed.
"Cha, sure, send dis beastie out. If he finds meh, ah'll know it's important." Red said with a reluctant nod.
Ro'dan screeched again, he expected food, he had found his master, and now he was suppose to be rewarded. Red groaned again, as he turned away from everyone, crouching down to gather up his new kilt, and pull it up under his bed sheet before he let the sheet go, letting it fall to the ground. Gone now was the thick red kilt he'd worn for years, this kilt was jet black, and patterned to look like a pair of bat wings folded around his legs. Even the belt buckle he fastened at his waist looked like a pair of bat talons hooked into one another. He glanced to the two Draenei, then down to the imp, then to Seina.
"Ah gotta go feed Ro'dan.. chu two talk fer ah bit..." Red glanced down to the imp who was now tapping his little foot impatiently.
"Cha fine, go tell Goh't ah beh on mah way." he said, waving the little imp off as he vanished in a puff of foul smelling smoke. Sharmilla was about to speak, but Seina broke in and the two began to speak hurriedly in their native tongue as Red walked out into the daylight.
The Sky Screamer bellowed out another screech as the smell of his master drew closer as Red exited the building and v-lined for a fisherman's stall. Grabbing the largest fish buy the tail, he hurled it up into the air with one hand, while the other reached into a small satchel at his hip and dropped a few gold coins onto the table where it at once been before the tauren could protest. Ro'dan leapt off his perch and caught the fish in mid air, before landing in front of Red, the beast's bulk and downdraft of his wings pushing sand in every direction while he ate, slowly swallowing the meal, savoring it's flavor. Red shook his head and gripped at the reins that hung from the beast's face. By now, the Draenei women had wandered from the hotel, the Imp swaggering behind them.
"Red?" Seina asked, her brow furrowed, Red glanced to her, unsure how to explain that he had to leave, but she spoke again before he could.
"I... need to go home vith my zister" she said, looking a little ashamed to have to tell him.
"Zere IZ a problem vith ze Dark Portal, and my Order haz called me back, zey need all of uz to help." Seina sighed
"I vanted to go vith you..." she said, glancing to her sister, who folded her arms
"but I do not zink zat now would be a good time for me to join you." she said, her hands wringing one another as she looked down to her hooves. It was at this point that Red finally noticed that his curvaceous lover was in nothing but a blanket toga. He was about to speak, but saw the look in Sharmilla's face, and then glanced to the Imp who was still patiently waiting, his hands folded neatly behind his thin back.
"Ah.. think dat beh for deh best for now.." he conceded, then glanced to Pag'loz
"Not ah word of dis tah Goh't, you jus keep cha littah mouth shut, dis ain't deh time for meh tah explain tings." Pag'loz nodded briefly, then bowed before vanishing in a puff of green smoke. Red looked back to the Draenei to see that the Paladin was already dragging her sister off to the stables. He sighed, and slipped a large two-toed foot into the stirrups before hurling himself onto Ro'dan.
"Well, lets go cha brute, lets git tah deh front lines." he said, digging his heels into the Sky Screamer, encouraging him to lift up with one heavy slap of his wings.
"Viuna, Vizier, lead the druids into the Portal! I need scouts to tell me what we're dealing with" Felgaze shouted into the gathered crowd of the 'Tempest.' Two stormcrows lifted out of the mass, followed quickly by other birds and a variety of bats that reeled around, heading west over a large rock outcropping. The warlock turned to another group who were now charging down what was currently being called the 'Shattered Landing.' Goh't nodded to himself, then lifted his head, his glowing fel eye glaring at the Alliance on the northern most shore. He had seen them make landfall, only to have their ship immediately bombarded by the cannons on the beach head.
Where had these orcs gotten cannons like this? The technology their were wielding seemed to be goblin made, but on a far grander scale if it could be believed. Goblins were good engineers, their small hands could get into smaller areas, work with smaller tools. The machines Felgaze was witnessing now, the bolts were as big as his fist, there was no way this was goblin work. Goh't rubbed at his chin, feeling the beard that was growing now. He'd been far too busy this week, hardly gotten time to do anything let alone shave. He'd keep it for now, it had not yet caught fire, so it was hardly in the way. His thoughts were broken at the sound of heavy leather wings, he glanced over his shoulder and watched the less then graceful landing as Ro'dan collided with the ground, it's talons gripping at the hard rock surface, Red jolted forward, then slapped the large, armored head crest the cockerel had.
"Stupid..." Red muttered as he dismounted and made his way to Goh't who had turned back to face the battle, as if nothing had drawn his attention.
"Shadow walker, glad to see you've finally shown up." he said sternly, not turning to look at the troll. Red sighed and rolled his eyes
"Ah was on the other side of deh world, on deh furthest city on the continent...cut meh some slack." Red replied, looking out with the warlock at the battle.
"Have you seen Lo'ek?" he asked, finally turning to face the priest, Rézo's brow knit
"Not fah months, did she not answer deh call?" he asked, the warlock shook his head, glancing back out at the Blasted Lands as a bolt of lightning broke the sky, crashing into a nearby mountain.
"Then we will move with out her, you're here and you're good enough. Not an Orc, but good enough." Goh't turned a little, showing Red the smallest of smiles, before turning back.
"You're good with machines. They've got cannons out there, they look like something out of Garrosh's underground stronghold.. but bigger. Think you can take them out?" he asked, glancing to him again. Red nodded, his head now turned to focus in on one of the massive siege machines, his goggle briefly whirring as the servos brought it into better focus.
"Cha, ah kin take care of dem." he said, reaching into a bag at his hip and slipping on what looked like a small square backpack.
"Good. We've got some people out there, I've been trying to draw their forces away from the engineers actually firing the cannons, do what you can to not hit them? If I have to deal with the results of your friendly fire, I won't be forgiving." the orc muttered as he hurled a green fireball towards a tent. Before it impacted, the flames burst around an cloaked orc, he cried out a growl and charged for Goh't, who pulled out his spellsword and ran to meet him in combat.
Here and there among the battle field, the Tempest was standing firm. Many guilds had been alerted to the invasion, and the response had been enormous. Many of those who had been imprisoned in their drunken anarchy were even released and put under guard as a way to earn back their freedom, and to prove their loyalty to the Horde. Even then, the massive force that called themselves the 'Iron Horde' were relentless, and still seemed to outnumber the combined forces of Orgrimmar and Stormwind.
Many of the Tempest had formed into small groups, moving as one to draw the guards away from their posts. Garboth Deathhoof, was one of a few Death Knights who had stayed with Tempest after the Seige on Orgrimmar. The huge tauren fought as if he was alone, often oblivious to those around him, even if they were helping to keep him alive. Garboth hardly spoke, but had an understanding with his two companions. He'd be sure to not let his various zombies and ghouls get at them, as long as they helped him to keep up his pace. The three of them stood their ground, the tauren Shaman, Arnul Smolderhorn, taunted them with fire, threatening the footing and the lives of the guards. He could have taken out the cannons himself if he wasn't distracted by the guards taking his bait. It was Xan Tuleeni who saw Red's Sky Screamer soar over them. She was the third in the trio, and stood between them, making sure neither became overburdened. Her holy book in one hand, her hammer in the other, the paladin looked small between the two tauren, but among her kind, she had to get a custom suit of armor; your average blood elf just didn't have this many curves.
Xan shielded her eyes as she looked up, watching Ro'dan as he stopped his progress to hover over the three of them. The paladin looked to the canon, then back up to the beast, she could see someone dismounting, but still standing on the screamer's back. Were they insane?
Red threw out his arms trying to keep his balance, if was obvious now that this wasn't the best of ideas, he really should have gone in on foot. Now, Xan was not the only one who had seen him, the engineer in the canon was now shouting orders down to the guards to help him turn the massive thing to aim it up at the would be saboteur. Realizing he was quickly running out of time, Red slapped the side of Ro'dan, giving him instructions to go back to the base camp, as the beast turned in mid air, Rézo jumped. Red could feel the wind whipping around him as he fell, he could hear the springs and wires in the package on his back as it too felt the speed of the wind and shot open. A massive pair of black bat wings shot out of the device, Red lifted his arms and slipped his hands into convenient hand holds. While his allies just watched in an awed confusion, the Iron Horde began to shout louder. He had given them a nice, slow falling target, and now the canon was turned and aimed for the insane falling man.
"Fire!" one of them growled, as the spiked metal sphere shot out of the cannon.
Red collapsed into the shadows, becoming nothing more then a wisp of vapor, the cannonball hurtled through him, and as Red faded back into the world, he landed on the cannon's rim, he unshouldered the wing-pack and let it fall as he climbed down the massive iron cannon. The orcish engineer yelled out a growl as he began to climb up his own cannon, furious that his shot had missed. Below him, his companions were shouting at him, they knew who this was, they had been warned. The engineer lunged at the troll as he now stood on one of the huge wheels of the cannon. The orc's arm was caught by a thick purple tendril, then he could feel the others rising from the cannon itself, pulling him down, piling themselves on top of him. It was at that point he over heard one of the guards, sneering up at him.
"The Red Priest."
"FIRE!" was the last thing Vizier and Viuna heard before their world burst into blinding flames. The Iron Horde had been expecting the airborne scouting team. The druids were immediately grounded, those who tried to escape were quickly shot down by what must have been hundreds of thousands of cannons that stretched along the jungle path. Many of the druids had shifted to their travel forms, herds of elk intermixed with cats of various sizes and colors now doubled back, retreating from the massive war machines that now began to roll their way towards the portal.
What Azeroth had experienced so far was not the invasion, it was their landing party. Reinforcements had already arrived, and were all headed to where the druids now stood. Vizier hooted in rage as he stood stoically in his Moonkin form, glancing down occasionally to Viuna, comfortably in her bear shape, both of them ready to fight, knowing full well the odds were stacked heavily against them. Soilhoof considered their position for a moment, then lifted his owl-like head and scanned the surrounding forest. Glancing down to Viuna, he gave a brief hoot, and they split, each running in an opposite direction. Viuna bounded past other druids, growling and roaring the call to cease their retreat and find refuge in the jungles. They were druids, if anything could survive the wilds, they could.
Ner'zhul had been given a task, he and the Shadowmoon clan were muscled into the Iron Horde against their will, and threatened with death if they failed to comply. He had been commanded to supply the Iron Horde with a new and worthy power. Once he had obtained that power, the Prophet Garrosh had an immediate use for it. The shaman failed to follow the Prophet's line of thinking, but he had yet steer them in a wrong direction. Since his arrival, they have had nothing but success in all their endeavors. It was such a simple task, and required little efforts on his part. He was assigned to the landing party, to go with the first wave of the Iron Horde into Azeroth. The Prophet spoke of a creature known as a 'troll' who had a unique command over the shadows. There were others like him, but this one in particular, 'the Red Priest' had earned the Prophet's ire, and needed to be dealt with immediately.
Ner'zhul had a small war tent to himself, and he had spent the last few weeks inside it, relaxing. This campaign into a new world was almost like a vacation to him. There were generals and commanders to lead the battles, he just had to remain at the portal until his target arrived. He leaned back in his chair, lifting up the conical gem he had brought along for the task. After all his research and work with the Dark Star, this would be a satisfying reward, to please the Prophet by fofilling his duty to the Iron Horde. Ner'zhul tilted his head, listening to the cries of battle, someone had just called out his target's name.. the 'troll' was here. The shaman grinned as he stood, gathering up his staff as he walked out as he slipped the gem into the crescent head of his staff.
"Red Priest!" he bellowed, his arms thrown wide as he began to approach the cannon where Red was actively fending off orcs, he hazarded a glance towards the shaman. When he looked back down, the orcs were climbing back down, moving away from him, he shot another glance to the approaching orc, who was he suppose to be? Standing up to his full height, his dagger still drawn, he watched the shaman approach.
"Wut business cha got wit meh, orc?" he asked, his eyes shifting again, now seeing the once attacking orcs giving him a wide berth, they expected this one to do something, apparently. He could see now that he was ironically enough, dressed similarly to himself. Kilt, necklaces, various trinkets and baubles.
"Oh I've got no business with you, but I come on behalf of someone who does." he said with a wry grin. It was only then that Red began to notice the color shift in the gem atop his staff, he could see a dark light flare within the crystal, and begin to pulse.
"Well.." Red said, glancing around, now seeing Xan and the others quickly becoming occupied with the orcs who were now leaving him alone, ignoring him completely.
"Ah ain't got no time fo' dis" he finally snorted, sheathing his dagger as he pulled his own staff off his back. It was an amalgamation of various engineering feats that had been salvaged from the bowels of Orgrimmar, combined and bound into a focal point for his own magic. Narrowing his eyes behind his lenses, still staring down at the orc, then shook his head and turned away, and leaped from the cannon's wheel, allowing his body to fade into shadow as he descended. Pulling back his staff, he swung it like a club towards the head of the closest orc.
"Now I've got you, now you're mine!" Ner'zhul cried out, the pulsing dark glow erupted from the crystal and shot it's way towards Re'zo like a bolt of black lightning. It didn't so much as hit him, as it connected with his phased body, and froze him in place, mid swing above an orc. Both the orc and Xan stood a little awestruck, staring at Red's huge figure, suspended by shadows, and connected to the staff by the energized void.
"I am Ner'zhul, Chief of the Shadowmoon, Master of the Dark Star. I come to exact the will of the Iron Horde, I come for the Red Priest." he said, now lifting his staff, and allowing the bolt of darkness to draw Re'zo back towards him. Arunl threw down his totems around him as he ran up to defend Xan as she began to cast spell after holy spell, trying desperately to break the hold of the void. It was different then the darkness here. Azeroth had it's light and dark, it's holy and shadow, but what this Warlord was using had a corrupted will of it's own. It was Sha-like for sure, but it was more organized, more intelligent for the lack of a better word. Try as she might, she couldn't seem to break the hold on him.
"Goh't! Gromolk!" she cried out now, glancing around, trying to rally the Tempest, but by now, they were all occupied and divided. The Iron Horde had spread them too thin, and now they had themselves a prize.
Ner'zhul looked up to the frozen form of Re'zo as he hung like a cloud above him, inches from the source of the void energy. The shaman nodded, and tapped the staff on the earth, the crystal forced Red to collapse into shadows, becoming nothing more then a dark cloud, and then the void drew it in, pulling the dark wisps into itself, absorbing him like water into a sponge. Ner'zhul grinned and reached up and plucked out the gem. It was roughly the same size and shape as an ice cream cone, and he held it as such for a moment, studying it as the forces of the Iron Horde fought the various Azerothians around him. He was sent with plenty of manpower, he need not fear anyone, he had all the time he could want. Still... no reason to tempt fate.
Sliding his staff onto a holder on his back, he held the conical gem in front of him, as his free hand began to cast. Slowly his fist grew harder, denser, it even began to look like a stone. Felgaze had heard Xan's cry for help, and was struggling to get back to her, leaving his demons to watch his back while he moved to aid his companions. It was then that he heard the anguished cries from the portal as some of the druidic forces began to retreat. They were losing, they needed more people.
"Tempest! Regroup!" he bellowed, as he began to call felfire down from the sky. They needed to regain ground, they needed to coalesce, they were stronger together, and the Iron Horde had been pulling them apart. Goh't heard Xan cry out again, there was something wrong with Re'zo, but he was still too far away to clearly understand, and was struggling to continue channeling the rain of fire.
Ner'zhul's stone fist began to punch and beat into the gem, his lip curled in effort, the bones of his necklace flailing around him with the effort. He could hear the activity around him, they were pushing in to him, his position was becoming increasingly vulnerable, and he knew it.
-Crack-
Xan's eyes grew wide, she head heard that, it could only mean one thing. The shaman grinned, he could see the glow within the gem now flickering. The darkness within was broken, and now, thick black liquid gently dripped from the gem as he held it. His hand was slowly covered with it, before he held it aloft, and roared out, rallying the orcs around him, before pitching it into the Dark Portal.
Note from Author:
I've loved writing these, and plan to continue. However I've written all these 20 stories under the headline of one book, 'The Book of Rézo.' I think I am at a point now to start a new book, so do look for the continuation of this under the title 'Hir'eek Codex.' If you know of any readers who may enjoy my work, Book Twenty One will also serve as a good starting place for newer readers. s/11000680/1/Hir-eek-Codex-Bible-of-the-Bat-The-continued-Books-of-R%C3%A9zo