Panda was curled up in her bed with her book and a lamp when she heard the knock on her door. She quickly blew out the little candle and tried to act like she was sleeping.
The door slammed open and a tall figure with a winged helmet stood in the doorway. Panda shrank down even further under her blankets, praying that no one had figured out the connection between her absence and the tavern brawl.
"Princess, there was a light under your door thirty seconds ago. Get up now."
It was Beymuch. Panda's heart raced and she wondered if there was anywhere she could run.
"The city is under threat of imminent attack. You and your sister are to be escorted to a secure area of the Palace and will remain there until it is safe again. Do not make me drag you out of your bed."
Attack? Panda put on a sleepy façade and tried to figure out who would be attacking the city at a time like this. "Okay, okay, I'm coming. Can I bring stuff with me?"
"No. Put on your boots and armor. The only item you may carry is a weapon." Beymuch tapped his sword impatiently against the wall. "Princess we do not have time for this. We have hours until they are at the gates."
The shamans. Panda's sleepy brain finally made the connection and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She wasn't sure the warriors had really agreed to help them into the city, especially now that the gates were sealed. All she could do was pray that they remembered what she had said. Panda barely had time to buckle up her armor and grab her little wooden sword from underneath her pillow before Beymuch grabbed her arm and hurried her down the hallway. Avaiidan and the other guards followed them along.
Kara, Alanyxe, and Pollau met them at the stairs that led down to the throne room. Her sister looked equally sleepy and confused, but she locked eyes with Panda and there was a tiny glimpse of hope and excitement there.
"Kakapos is still recovering in his chambers. I couldn't retrieve an aquamancer from the College… Fontn is unusually bitchy today." Alanyxe twisted her sword in its sheath with a screech of metal. "He assured me that the College would look after its own in the event of an attack and proceeded to tell me to… ah, insert my concerns for the Minister's safety up a private orifice."
Beymuch rolled his eyes and tugged Panda down the stairs. "He refused to send out the mages for wall support?"
"Blatantly, and with plenty of colorful insults." Alanyxe followed them down, checking behind the group as they entered the throne room.
"He promised to aid the Bloodline when he took his Oath as the head mage," Beymuch pointed out.
"I told him that. He didn't seem to care."
"Then he's chosen his side. We can deal with him after the heirs are secure. "
"It's not just that," Alanyxe said. "No mages means no ranged advantage for us. They can get as close as they want, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"Tell Her Majesty when we reach the secured area. She'll want you to go dig Fontn out of his rabbit hole and drag him to the Palace, probably." Beymuch took a painting off the wall and prodded at the bricks with the point of his sword. Light sparked briefly and something clicked deep inside. The stone wall slid back, revealing a dark passage that led to a brightness somewhere in the distance.
"Princesses, follow me. Queensguard, remain outside and wait for further orders. Alanyxe, watch our backs." Beymuch ducked down and walked briskly down a flight of dusty stairs. Panda struggled to keep up, nearly tripping on her own sword before she found her footing again. Kara grabbed her arm and helped her along.
"Are they going to do it?" her sister breathed. The words were so faint that Panda had to struggle to understand.
"I think so," she whispered back. "But… other things happened. I'll tell you later."
Kara dropped her arm with a slight nod. Alanyxe was looking back up the stairs and didn't seem to see them.
Another lock clicked and a pair of heavy iron doors swung open at the base of the stairs. Beymuch pushed Panda and Kara inside and pointed ahead.
"Her Majesty is waiting for you both, with her Queensguard. I need to check the wall reports again and make sure nothing has changed for the better or worse. Alanyxe, tell her about your issue with Fontn and storm the College if you need to. Good luck to you both." Beymuch nudged past them and went back up the stairs.
"Princesses, move along." Alanyxe closed the door and hurried up in front of them. "You'll be perfectly safe here. There is enough food and water for a year, spare weapons, extra armor, and places to sleep. But if all goes well, you will only have to wait a few hours."
"What?" Kara asked, but Alanyxe just shook her head.
"You will see for yourself. Come along."
Light radiated from the back of the long room. Panda looked around as she walked, but she could only see the faint shapes of things lying around. There was an odd quality to its brilliance that seemed to warp the air and drain color from her surroundings. There were three people up ahead that were probably her aunt and the Queensguard, but it was impossible to see any details in their faces. A Light shrine stood at the end of the room behind a tall throne and several stone pillars that supported the walls. Panda thought it might have been a beautiful room if she could see anything around her.
"I am sorry, my dears, it is so late and I'm sure you're both panicking." Serena looked up as they approached. Her scarred hand was clenched around something that glowed brightly. "Rest assured, I have everything under control."
Panda nodded and tried to look like she had been panicking.
"Some things may happen that are… alarming to you. It is important that you do not interfere and remain quiet. I need my full concentration on the task at hand, and if you see… visions or hallucinations, do not be frightened. Try to remind yourself that they are not real and cannot hurt you. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Kara murmured.
"Very good. Alanyxe, is there something you wanted to discuss?" Serena asked.
"Fontn is refusing to send the College teams to defend the walls. I tried to reason with him, but he would not even send us an aquamancer to heal Kakapos. I do not understand why he is so agitated lately…" Alanyxe sighed and threw up her hands. "It does seem to have something to do with your sister's death."
"I had to trick Fontn into giving her up. I thought his wounded feelings would be mended by now, but apparently he is still upset." Serena scowled in Panda's general direction and she instinctively shrank back. "We can spare ten units to try to smoke the old badger out of his den. Try reasoning with him again, and if that does not work, destroy the gates and kill only as many mages as you need to get your point across."
"Understood." Alanyxe bowed and went back to the iron doors, drawing her sword as she went.
"Ladies, there are separate rooms on both sides over there." Serena pointed to two wooden doors next to the Light shrine. "Make yourselves comfortable. I do not know how long we will need to be here."
Alarm bells rang out across Stormwind. Fontn was deadbolting the College doors when Cthuko burst into the foyer, completely out of breath. The end of his staff glowed white and smoked ominously.
"Stormwind is under attack. There are twenty thousand shamans at the gates. We have to-"
"The Minister of Security was already here," Fontn snapped. "I sent her away a few hours ago. Set the lockdown protocols for twenty minutes, and begin sealing the blast doors on all sides. I want team leaders to secure their research subjects as best as they can, then gather here and get ready to defend the College from within."
Cthuko's jaw dropped.
"The College- you're not… you are supposed to send them out to suppress the shamans if they come within range! The acolytes will need healers-"
"Serena and the Palace can burn for all I care. I know I broke my oath. The Minister reminded me of it already." Fontn looked out of a window before slamming the shutters closed and twisting the locks until they clicked shut. "Streets are empty. I think everyone is in hiding after hearing the bells. Make sure everyone evacuating is on alert for intruders. She is going to come after us first, and we have to convince her that we're not worth the time and effort."
Cthuko shut his mouth and let out a resigned sigh. "Well it's too late now. I am giving an evacuation order to the east and west wings, with all team leaders and their trainees to gather here and on the lower floors. All quarantine subjects will remain in containment on the upper floor."
"Go. Make sure no one is trapped outside. Acolytes don't play fairly. This is not going to be an easy fight."
"I know." Cthuko hurried away down the passage to the west. Fontn watched him leave and wondered if they were going to get out of the mess alive.
Another bell rang sharply. Doors opened and closed, and people began to trickle into the foyer. Three teams gathered by the west entrance, led by Heatran, Creaam, and Sheer, whose robes were smoldering and smoke-stained.
"It wasn't my fault," Sheer said immediately. "Creaam started it."
"He punched me," Creaam mumbled. There was a dark bruise starting to form on his jaw.
"You hit my hand with your face," Sheer insisted. "I didn't actually-"
"He blew up a set of test samples," Heatran said. "Just the usual. What's going on? We heard about the shamans outside the gates already."
Fahsil and Tomol dragged their teams in from the east wing. Fontn waited until all of them were reasonably quiet.
"We need to evacuate quarantine right now, I have an incapacitated teammate-" Tomol began.
"That thing isn't coming out of restraints! The girl is safer there than anywhere else in the city right now. Is everyone here and accounted for?"
"That was everyone I found," Cthuko called from the back. "Checked outside too. We've got a proper invasion force out there." He touched the point of his katana to the seams of the College's front doors. The sharp smell of burning metal spread through the room as the iron melted, sealing the entrance closed. "What are they here for? I have never seen them gather like this before…"
"I have no idea. But any enemy of the Regent is a friend of mine." Fontn looked around and counted heads. "Oh gods. We're missing a team. Zech. Anyone seen him?"
"He's outside," Heatran called. "Said he was 'setting something up,' whatever the hell that means."
"HE'S STILL OUTSIDE? I ordered the lockdown an hour ago! Cthuko, didn't you check outside?"
The pyromancer threw up his hands. "Well he wasn't on College grounds. Couldn't find him. Maybe he's upstairs or something."
"Damn it. All right, we can't go back for him. He's on his own." Fontn took a deep breath and looked around.
"Right now, I need all of you to listen. The city is in grave danger, and there is a possibility that the Palace will fall. The Regent and the Ministers are mobilizing the remaining acolytes in Stormwind as I speak. I have refused to lend assistance to the Bloodline, violating my own vows that I took as the leader of the College, and it is only a matter of time before the Regent sends more of the House forces after us. In the event that the shamans outside of Stormwind are defeated, or if the acolytes do manage to enter this hall… every last mage within the College must fight to kill."
The team leaders were uncharacteristically silent.
"I have laid a deadly burden on all of you, and I cannot undo what I have done," Fontn continued. "I must live with the knowledge that I may have doomed you for my own selfish reasons. If you can… when this is over, forgive me."
Boots thumped up the path outside the doors, cutting off the rest of his words. All of the team leaders backed up, drawing their weapons. Something slammed into the heavy door, which groaned, but the seal did not break.
"Open the gates! Her Majesty commands you!" A woman's furious yell cut through the somber silence.
"Alanyxe," Cthuko whispered. "City security, definitely has acolytes with her. They're here for you."
"I think I've made my opinion of Her Majesty very clear to you already," Fontn called back. "Unless you would like to argue with me some more, I suggest you leave now."
Metal clanged loudly as the Minister jabbed her sword into the seam between the gates. "This is a direct breach of your Oath as the Head of the College of Stormwind. I have ten units of acolytes with me and we will not leave until you willingly release your forces to fortify the walls now or prepare for a full breach-"
Something outside clicked loudly. Gears ground and clanked back and forth. All of the mages hurried to the unbarred windows and looked outside.
"…what… what is- AAAAAAAHH!"
Six of the lion statues flanking the College doors opened their mouths, revealing a strange mechanism of brass pipes. Bright purple fire raged out, engulfing the Minister and her acolytes in a split second.
No one said a word. The unnatural flames died down quickly and the statues grated back into their original pose. Twenty-six neat piles of white ash and charred bone lay before the gates.
A lone figure in a blue robe wandered up the path and tapped on the door.
"So that was pretty f***ing awesome, but I think you locked me out," Zech called. "Do I hear a thank-you?"
Fontn opened and shut his mouth. For the first time in decades, he had nothing to say.
"And here I thought the historical research team was boring," Sheer remarked. Cthuko had managed to crack open the gates long enough to let the cryomancer and his team back inside. "I should have picked historical instead of chemical."
Heatran cringed at the thought. "No. Just… no."
"When Arathi revolted against the Crown, the Head Mage at the time was afraid that it would come down to a full-scale invasion," Zech was explaining to the horrified crowd. Fontn looked like he was about to faint at any moment.
"He had the entire College fortified with hidden traps to ensure that intruders wouldn't survive long enough to threaten anything valuable, like the Library. They were deactivated centuries ago, but there's basically an instruction manual for every single one of them, and they're still in good shape, since they were never really used. I was working on restoring them before the void project started. Didn't think I'd ever get a chance to actually see them in action but…" Zech grinned and pointed one of the lion statues affectionately. "Now's as good a time as any, right?"
"Ignoring the fact that you could have killed all of us with no effort at any time, how many are functional?" Fontn asked.
"Technically all of them except for the acid pools or releases... They're meant to be activated and deactivated extremely quickly, with just a few cranked gears and a lever. Some need a tripwire, projectiles need ammunition. I think the ceiling spikes need new springs. Obviously we don't want to set off this one right here." Zech pointed to the mosaic inlay on the floor right under his feet. "The tiles drop down and start shifting back and forth, really fast. A gap opens up in the floor, you fall in, can't get out, and then it breaks your leg when it closes."
"Lovely. Did you activate any of the others besides the flamethrowers?"
"Yeah. Whole west side is one big death trap. I heard the evacuation order and decided to risk it after everyone cleared out. We were coming around to the east entrance when we saw the acolytes in the street. The lions take fuel about thirty feet away from the base of the statues, and I didn't have anything conventional on hand, so I used the stuff that powers the dust smelters in the mines. Looks like it worked fine."
Something crashed down in the distance, rattling the walls. Zech looked extremely pleased with himself.
"The ceiling drops down to the floor on the side. Takes about twenty-five people to set it off, but once they're in, they don't come out. Basically how it works is that the pillars on that side are actually there to hide the wires that connect to a spring-powered pressure sensor, so when those springs get depressed too far, it releases the catch that holds the ceiling-"
"Alright, alright, I get it," Fontn interrupted. "The point here is that we are absolutely under attack. The Minister said she brought ten units of acolytes. That's 250 total… or probably 200 now." He looked towards the direction of the noise. "I assume all the traps are one-time use?"
"I can reset them, but yes. I'd have to go down there myself to get them active again. But let's be honest here, they're never gonna get past all of them. East side is the most vulnerable. I don't think they're going to risk the front again… I mean, a Minister of the House just got destroyed in seconds. Just worry about the east and we're good."
"So they definitely don't know that east is vulnerable," said Fontn thoughtfully. "Take your team and try to activate as many as possible from there. If they start coming in, give them a few warning shots and then close the blast doors. It's much easier to defend from inside."
"Got it." Zech waved for his team to follow him towards the east hall. "Guys, we're going east side. Priorities are the gas chamber, the door spikes, and the wall crushers. We're going to try loading up the Angel of Death, but she's finicky, so we'll just insert the new cartridges now, and if she doesn't wanna work, it's not the end of the world."
The four pyromancers followed him out of the main hall and into the east wing, heading down towards the lecture halls and examination room.
"And here I thought I had at least one sane team leader," Fontn muttered.
"Sane people wouldn't put up with you for as long as we did," Heatran pointed out.
"F*** off and get your team battle-ready."
