Chapter 34 – The Hunt For Dar'khan Drathir
Morning, and after seeing the fire was well doused, the two rogues left the safety of the cave. Both had honed their blades earlier using their sharpening stones and poisons were applied in the blades' feeders. They checked each other's weaponry was secured in their scabbards, bracers and belts. Now they were ready for battle. Today, Dar'khan Drathir would die. And this time, he would stay dead.
The morning was draped in a dense fog. It would provide cover for the Rangers at least. The assassins were expecting five of them to accompany them into the Tower of the Damned. Past attempts at killing the traitor had failed due to the combined magic and abilities of his faithful disciples. Therefore, this time the Rangers were to wait until the assassins were in position near each of Dar'khan's four lieutenants. They would disable them where possible before the Rangers joined in the attack. Hopefully, they would reach Dar'Khan before he was advised of their presence.
They made their way down the hills towards Deatholme, hoping the Rangers would be waiting for them. Fortunately, they were. Before they reached them, Camnath stopped and grabbed Tiene by the arm. "You sure you're going to be okay doing this?" he asked.
She looked into his eyes wondering why he would even ask that question. He had not asked because of any doubt in her ability, and certainly nothing to do with past crushes. She laid a reassuring hand on his arm. "He is but a ghost of the past, Camnath. I will be fine. I owe it to my family and to Quel'thalas. Also by doing this, it will help Lor'themar's campaign to join the Horde. It will win him favour with Warchief Thrall."
"Just promise me you won't take risks, Tiene. If he proves too strong, you must retreat."
"There is always risk, Camnath, you know that."
"You know what I mean. And I only say it, because I care about you."
She smiled up at him. "You're really cute when you go all protective you know," she pinched his cheeks. She turned to move away, but he pulled her back.
"Cute and protective, my ass," he said, before he planted a deep kiss on her lips. "I'm just making sure you're in my bed tonight." He smirked.
She pushed him back. "Presumptuous, are we not?"
He grinned wider. "I can tell when a woman wants me, Tiene," he said surveying the area around them. "And you, want me." His eyes came to rest on her face.
She smiled. "I may prove too much for you, Camnath Sunspear."
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "We'll see who has the better stamina. Later."
They grinned at each other one more time before they joined the Rangers.
The Rangers' Lieutenant greeted the rogues. Although Tiene did not know the lieutenant well, she nonetheless recognised him as having been one of Duthan's squad. He nodded in respect and explained they had been given orders by Lor'themar on their plan of attack.
Camnath proceeded to explain further. In order to try and prevent the scourge from attacking them en masse, he and Tiene would lead, and deal with those in their way. Once the path was clear, the Rangers could despatch Dar'khan's lieutenants without drawing too much attention. Hopefully, anyway, that was the plan.
With one last look at Tiene, Camnath turned to lead the way, but Tiene snuck out in front. He sighed. He should have known she would do that.
Both rogues stealthed, using the traditional method by blending into their surroundings. While the Rangers could not see them, they had their own form of stealthing known as camouflage, which worked on the same principle as the rogue's technique, but was not as reliable to keep them completely concealed, as the air around them would distort. Camnath and Tiene could keep tabs on each other easily enough. The Rangers waited until they saw corpses starting to litter the way before they made their move forward.
The assassins made their way towards the gazebo that lay left of the main gate to Deatholme. Here they would find the first of the Magister's lieutenants, Mirdoran the Fallen. The one time warrior, although now mere bones, was nonetheless a formidable foe who excelled at rending his attackers' armour to the point it afforded the wearer minimal protection. He would then pummell them mercilessly with his shield before dealing the final fatal blow. With no flesh on this foe, he was going to be tricky even for the skilled assassins to disable. Camnath had a plan though. He had made some specially strengthened garrotte lines from the vines in the woods. Longer than the normal requirement of such a weapon, they would use these to bind the skeleton's limbs and bring him down, therefore removing his ability to sunder their armour and give them a pasting with his shield.
They could see the warped air that denoted the presence of the Rangers around the gazebo. This had to be timed so they didn't end up getting the rangers arrows up their butts. Camnath snuck round the edge and handed Tiene one end of the special garrotte. As he did, he brushed her palm with his fingers and wore a sultry smile on his mouth. She grinned. Their mission had just become a bit of an erotic dance.
They waited until Mirdoran faced away, then on Camnath's signal, they attacked. Quickly, as they brought the vine along the back of the lieutenant's legs, Tiene leapt in the air and spun to face the way she had come, pulling the vine around the chest and arms of the bony foe. At the same time Camnath rolled on the ground and like Tiene, turned in the direction they had come from, binding the warrior's legs. Then they swapped roles, Tiene on the ground and Camnath in the air. Together they knotted the lieutenant and he fell with a crash of armour and hollow rattling of bones on the stone floor. The two rogue's quickly thrust the bladed ends of the garrotte into cracks on the floor, pinning the skeleton in place then they somersaulted to the Ranger lieutenant . "All yours," Camnath whispered to him.
Three of the rangers attacked Mirdoran with their swords, hacking at the joints of the creature, dismembering it piece by piece, clashing steel against hollow bone. The other two Rangers stood at the ready with their bows should any other scourge be attracted by the disturbance.
As they carried out the despatching of lieutenant number one, Camnath grabbed Tiene's chin in his hand and brought his mouth down hard on hers. She kissed him back just as feverishly. "That's one down towards tonight's promise," he breathed in her ear then moved away towards their next target. Tiene watched him, his ponytail swishing with his movements. Her body trembled with the anticipation of the night's pleasure.
She followed after him. Still in stealth, they were able to walk freely towards their next destination, the slaughterhouse to the east and the complete opposite to their last victim. This one, an abomination, known as Borgoth the Bloodletter had more blood, guts and flesh than any one creature would need, all held together by crude stitching and metal pins. He was a mean son of a corehound too, wielding axes, hatchets and chains to grapple his next kill.
"One extreme to the other," Tiene commented.
"Yes, but at least we have plenty points to attack." They waited for the Rangers to catch up with them. It was decided archers would try pull the creature more into the centre of the structure, but they were warned about his grappling hook. The assassins would go in behind the beast and attack from there.
The first volley of arrows startled the lumbering creature and with a grunt it heaved its repulsive mass, chains rattling and chinking across the floor, into the centre of the chamber where the remains of his last victim was still painted the stone slab that served as his butcher's table. As soon as he was free from the restraints of the smaller chamber they had found him in, Tiene ran and catapulted herself up, jumping up between the stone pillars of the doorway, until she was high enough to project herself forward onto the abomination's shoulders. She was about to drive both her blades into its brainstem and jugular, but she didn't bargain on its extra limb coming up from the side.
Too late, Camnath shouted a warning at her. She turned just as the enormous hand grabbed her and launched her across the central chamber. She impacted the wall and slid down. Her face scrunched up at the pain of her skin being scraped down the rough surface. She landed with a brutal thud, but all it did was engage her fury, and in a split second she was back up, stealthed and repeated her attack, this time well aware of the offending extra limb.
The Rangers increased their barrage of arrows careful to aim at the lower part of the creature so not to accidently hit their rogue comrades. Most of the missiles simply bounced off the creature's skin with muted thwacks, doing no damage at all. Two of them joined in the assault opting to fight with their swords, but the hulking piece of putrid flesh swung his axe and hatchet relentlessly.
Camnath followed Tiene's lead also bounding up the pillars, but instead of landing on the beast he thrust his daggers between its shoulder blades. Twisting the daggers he let his weight pull him downwards, slicing open the repellent flesh of the creature, the sound like wet thick canvas being rent . It roared in pain and tried to catch its attacker with its extra limb as he continued to open it further, guts spilling out over his hands and head and landing with a sickening squelch and slop on the floor.
Tiene had resumed her attack position, and thanks to the distraction created by Camnath, she drove her daggers home. Blood spewed from the entry points and sprayed around the chamber as the abomination staggered and stumbled. It's hands went to its neck in a vain attempt to stem the torrent, but it was a losing battle. As the towering figure started to fall forward, Tiene jumped and landed softly near the Ranger Lieutenant.
Camnath came running over and briskly turned her round to check her injuries. Thankfully it looked worse than it actually was, but would still need properly cleaned and tended. He leaned down to her and whispered so the Ranger lieutenantdid not hear. "Guess you're on top, then."
She turned round and looked up at him. He was incorrigible, but it made her smile. She pointed to his head. "Not one of your better ensembles. You better take a good bath before any action tonight," she grinned.
He shook his head and a pile of putrid guts fell from his hair, some slid down his cheek. He looked back at her. "You can scrub my back, woman." He smacked her butt playfully. The Ranger lieutenantraised a quizzical eyebrow. The two rogues turned and left the slaughterhouse, suppressing their laughter.
The next one would be found in the crypt and it was a Shade, Jurion the Deceiver and would probably prove to be the trickiest. Shades, looking like nothing more than giant wisps of smoke, were amongst the most loyal of scourge followers and known for their unequalled ability to scout and report events and disturbances back to whoever was in command at the time. They were hard to detect, only being made visible and gaining substance through the intervention of magic. The only way they had a hope of defeating Jurion, was to infuriate him and therefore make him reckless about his own safety. But how would one do that? This one had Camnath confounded.
Tiene however, had thought this one through. Jurion would have a telepathic link with Dar'khan, and could give away their presence once he was aware of it. The link required concentration however, and that was something she was not going to allow the shade to have. She was going to draw the shade from its shadows of the crypt by using the magic taught her by Inaris. Her plan then was to taunt it by getting it to remember it's former life. This would make it manifest to the degree it had actual physical form for the attackers to fight. Then and only then would they have a hope of defeating it.
At first, Camnath was not keen at her goading such a powerful entity, but as she explained, he knew there was no other way. As it turned out, her plan worked well, and the seemingly undefeatable ghost was finally laid to rest.
The last of Dar'khan's lieutenants was a skeleton mage known as Masophet the Black. He was to be located in the other slaughterhouse to the south of the citadel. Reputedly powerful, he was nonetheless predictable and the combined efforts of rogues and Rangers dispatched him quickly enough.
The final battle was ahead of them now. Once more stealthed, they made their way up to the Tower of the Damned. A few feet from the steps, Tiene halted. Her heart hammered a little too hard. Inside was the man who had all but wiped out Quel'thalas and taken her family with it, along with many other innocent elves. In his insatiable quest for power he had turned traitor on his people. His death could now change the course of her nation and bring it hope once more.
"Tiene?" Camnath sensed her hesitancy. When she didn't answer he spoke again. "I have not forgotten how he played quite a key role in your life ..."
Her eyes focused on him and they were full of anger, but it was not aimed at the handsome ebony haired man beside her. "Do not worry Camnath. The only feelings I have now for Dar'khan are hate and rage. I also remember something though. His weakness."
Camnath took a deep breath. "And what was that?"
A moment passed. Then another. "His ego," she said finally.
He looked at her. He had never seen her eyes so hard, so focused. "Okay, let's move." With that they stalked towards their target.
The rogues entered the tower, making straight for Dar'khan leaving the Rangers to despatch all other disciples of the magister as they progressed through the building. Tiene swapped stealth technique to magic without warning. Camnath swore under his breath, he had not expected her to do that. Now he could not detect her. He saw a small spark on the stone wall about six feet ahead. She had given him a sign as to where she was. He did not dare call to her in case it alerted any nearby foes. What was she playing at though, he wondered. Why the change? The odd spark or ting of a blade on the walls kept him informed of her progress until finally, they had reached the bowels of the structure.
There, off to the right of a small room, was the man himself. Not as debonair as they both remembered him from years gone by.
Tiene was stunned to find she felt sympathy for him. He had once been so vibrant, so exuberant, as bright and as beautiful as the world he had helped to create for their people to thrive in. His resurrections from the 'deaths' dealt him through the power of the Sunwell had not maintained his good grooming. Now he was more Lich than elf, his face gaunt with sunken cheeks, deathly pallor draped by long, white, lank hair. A hollow, haunted creature. The only spark remaining was the glint of madness and hunger for power that resided in his black eyes.
She shook and reminded herself that this beast had been largely responsible for robbing her of her family and was most definitely at fault for the decimation of her beloved home.
She hoped Camnath had the sense to get to the back of the room as they had originally planned, but as she had deviated from that herself, she had no way of knowing if he had kept to their original agreement. She could only hope he did. Behind them she could hear the faint clash of steel and thwack of arrows being fired.
She noticed movement in two corners of the room, and skeletal mages materialised with their bony companions. Dar'khan near floated out to the centre of the room and spoke with his disciples. "Go see to that fracas out there. No doubt some pathetic would-be heroes have come to try their hand at killing me ... again." A bitter laugh left his dry mouth. The servants did as they were told, leaving the room empty, bar for the man himself and two assassins.
The one-time magister, now necromancer tilted his head to one side, as if listening for the sound of a pin to drop upon the polished stone floor.
Don't move, don't even breathe, Tiene thought, hoping somehow Camnath would pick up on her warning.
"I know someone is there," Dar'khan's velvety voice spoke. "And I sense I know you."
Without warning, Tiene dropped her concealment. Camnath almost sprang forward, but forced himself to stay still. He was furious, but realised doing anything rash may end up in her being hurt. That was why she swapped methods. She knew Dar'khan could sense when magic was present. She was ensuring his attention was focused on her and her alone.
The necromancer's eyes widened as he saw the young woman in front of him, covered in blood spatters and holding two daggers loosely at her sides. "Tiene?"
She merely shifted onto her other foot, staring at the thing he had become. She remained still as her slid over to where she stood. He circled a couple of times, then halted in front of her. "My! Haven't you blossomed," he softly caressed a strand of her hair, letting it run between his long thin fingers. A shudder ran down her spine. "I see I still have an effect on you, then," he smiled, slyly at her. Dry mouth or not, it still held her gaze.
Camnath was bristling at the audacity of the traitorous magister.
"Indeed you do, Dar'khan," Tiene replied. Her voice was hoarse. She gazed up at the magister, and a small smile stretched her mouth. "I admit, I was curious to see what it would be like standing next to a man who is as powerful as the Titans. A necromancer now, too."
Camnath stopped his circuit of the room. What game is she playing?
"Really?" Dar'khan grinned. "Yet you bring those who seek to end me," he gestured towards the outer hall where muffled sounds of fighting continued.
"Not I, Dar'khan. I merely followed them and waited for an opportunity to sneak in here. I also have a debt to pay, if you remember."
He circled her again, his hand hovering but not quite touching her as he moved. "Ahh, but I thought that was invalidated."
"Was it?" she turned on the soft smile of a more innocent Tiene from years gone by.
The magister's brow furrowed. "I distinctly remember you managing to persuade your father by yourself to become..." he waved a dismissive hand in her direction, "...what you have become."
"I did yes. But you were relentless for some time after and, I quote, "I will collect that kiss Tiene, make no mistake." She sighed. "But, you never did."
Dar'khan paused, momentarily surprised, then he moved close enough for his body to touch hers, his mouth no more than a cruel, severe slit. He cupped her chin in his cold hand. "Do you think me a fool, Tiene? That I would be unable to see behind your façade? It would take much more than cherry lips and ..." his eyes roamed, "...a tempting body to thwart me."
Two Rangers suddenly appeared at the door, arrows nocked and ready. Dar'khan's lip turned to a sneer and with his free hand cast a cloud of shadow at his attackers. The Rangers moved back, their advantage lost. But another emerged from under the centre of the cloud brandishing his sword. Dar'khan's head snapped round and he stared at the Ranger, his fingers already starting to form another blast of shadow.
His cast was interrupted however as the feel of cold steel was drawn across his throat and back of his neck. The blood started as a mere trickle before becoming fast flowing rivulets down the front of his robe. He turned back towards Tiene, his eyes wide in disbelief. The shadow magic he had cast dispersed.
"And yet here you are," she smirked. Now she was the one who did the circling. "Arrogant as ever. You did not heed my warning from the first time I drew a blade on you all those years ago. You thought I was just a silly little girl. But, I did warn you, did I not?" Her eyes blazed with a ferocity unknown to her until that moment. The necromancer still clutched his throat, the blood spilling over his fingers. Tiene was not for letting it be quick, she wanted him to know this was his demise, and exactly why and by whose hand, he had so grossly underestimated. "The kiss I referred to, Dar'khan ... " she said as she waved the weapon of his demise in front of his disbelieving face, " ... was the kiss of death. The permanent kind this time."
Then she grabbed the front of his robe, drenched as it was and sliced his throat deep again, her blades even cutting through his fingers as he clutched the wound. "For Quel'thalas!" she shouted. He tried to speak but guttural mumblings was all he could manage. He stared, wide-eyed at his disfigured hand.
The blade found its target once more. "For all those you betrayed!" Her voice bore more poison than her blades ever could.
A final slice near decapitated him, a ching of steel as it hit bone. "And for my family!" She unceremoniously dropped the dying magister and cleaned her blade on the only small area of his robe that had been spared the gush of blood from his wound. His body squirmed as he gurgled in the bloodbath a hand reaching out trying to grab her leg. She moved out of reach and watched until he stilled. Stepping over the corpse she spat on him, then instructed the Rangers to take his head, before she hurriedly left the room.
Camnath, who had remained stealthed, utterly stunned by her tactics, suddenly jolted from his position and leapt after her. He reached the door as he saw her back disappearing round the corner. He flew after her. Again, she was way ahead of him, her body having taken an impossible shot of adrenalin as she desperately ran to get out of the Tower of the Damned.
He found her crouched on the top step of the building, her shoulders wracked with sobs. In her hand, she held the braid she had carefully bound from combining her father's and brothers' locks of hair. In that moment he understood why she had deviated from their plan, why she had chosen to take Dar'khan on herself. He and the Rangers had merely been instrumental to her doling out justice.
He approached her slowly, then kneeling beside her, placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She threw herself into his arms, still sobbing. He pulled her close, hushing her as he rocked her gently. The vengeance that had driven her was now appeased. She had dealt the blows that avenged her beloved family and all those who had suffered at the magister's hands. It was as if she had achieved the ultimate goal for which all her hard training and dedication over the years had been undertaken. As such, part of her was gone, lost forever. Her future unsure, unclear, the focus for her existence these past few months, extinguished.
They were embarking on a new life now though, as Blood Elves. Word had been sent to the Farstriders Enclave and indeed throughout the ravaged Quel'thalas, that this had been decreed by Prince Kael'thas during his recent visit to Silvermoon. And so, a new future lay ahead.
"Now, we can live, Tiene," he whispered. "We will grow, we will build. And, we will love," he leaned back to look at her.
Her eyes still wet with tears of yesterdays, gradually focused on the ebony haired elf who held her tenderly. Swallowing, she found her voice. "Yes, Camnath. And we will let no-one harm our people again. Tal anu'men no Sin'dorei."*
* Tal anu'men no Sin'dorei – Death to all who oppose the Sin'dorei