Chapter Fifty-Four – Taelus
Razorfen Downs: Spiral of Thorns
"Lillia!" Taelus cried with all his might "LILLIA!"
"Tael…" she managed before her eyes shut.
He fell on his knees and cradled her against him. There was no heart beat but that was to be expected; she could turn it on and off at will after all. He held her body; heedless to anyone or anything, unwilling to yank the blade out of her…wouldn't that make it worse?
"I find your disposition to be amusing, Mage" the Arch Lich intoned lightly "She's a walking corpse, and yet-"
A large roar cut off what he was going to say.
I know it hurts, Tael… Amyna softy whispered We need you with us…I need you at my side…
Taelus rose slowly, putting Lillia down as gently as possible. He ignored the Homunculus completely, moving with purpose to Amyna's side. He faced the Lich.
"I heard you got pretty powerful when you're emotional" the Lich said "I was looking forward to seeing that"
Taelus stretched out his hands, and fire enveloped him; as it did whenever he needed it. He drew Sulfuras from his back and held it with one hand. The cavern again rumbled from the show of power.
"You think to match me with your magic?" the Lich descended his pedestal, but kept himself at the same height as before "The Master said it was possible; said you might be even stronger than me…although he also said not to underestimate the Ebon Blade. Well, I'd say that point is mute, wouldn't you?"
Taelus looked at the Lich; but there was a change in his demeanor, subtle, but one would think that he lost all control…that something else was in charge of the Mage.
"I know what your answer will be" the Lich continued "But I was given instructions to offer you a place in the Undead Scourge; you would be treated at the same level as an Arch Lich of course, and you'd even be given the option of keeping your soon to be undead friends close to you"
"Soon to be?" Taelus asked, offhand "What makes you think you'd be capable of such a thing?"
The Lich laughed.
"You're a funny guy, Taelus" he pointed to Lillia "I did this with naught but a spell and some words; a spell, mind you, that barely scrapped the surface of my power. Her mind and body was putty in my hands; surely it would be nothing to kill the rest of you, even you Mage" Amnenar looked at the sky "My Master over estimated his former Death Knight; he over estimated how distraught you'd be over it…and frankly, I think he's over estimating you as well. But I dutifully obey him regardless; it's my whole purpose for being, as it were"
"This isn't a competition!" Taelus stared bullets in his enemy "This isn't a petty squabble, or a friendly game. What would I gain by throwing my weight around?"
He clenched his fists furiously, letting the fire overwhelm for a few moments.
"Lillia would knock me for my stupidity" he looked at her lifeless form "And Mav, and Amyna wouldn't mince words either" eyes flicked back at Amnenar, and his free hand scratched Amyna behind the ears "You are powerful, but so was Ragnaros; you are mighty, but Darkmaster Gandling was also mighty"
The Lich studied him.
"I had one other person with me when I fought the Firelord" Taelus continued "And three of us dispelled him from this world. Blackrock Mountain still quivers from our fight"
He raised his hands in the air.
"AAAAAGGGHHHH" Taelus growled, and the whole Spiral of Thorns rose to his level "AAAAGGGGHHHH"
Mutely, his friends surrounded him; comforted him. The Homunculus moved as if to guard Lillia from their ministrations, but it didn't matter…nothing did.
Taelus continued to levitate the Spiral above his platform; performing the work of an untold number of mages.
"What they instilled in me is still with me" Taelus shouted, despite the strain "Alone I have no chance of defeating you; and alone is what you'd fight me at. But together, Arch Lich, I believe we can destroy you, utterly"
Aphrodite and Valkyrie took the front line, followed closely by Argus and Tarethra (who stood on either side of Tael and Amyna).
Rellia and Mavare took up the rear position; and another large roar filled the Downs as Balnistrasz hovered above Tael and Amyna, in his true form. Gremlinn somehow rode the dragon, his mace in his hand.
"Truly, this is moving" Amnenar clapped mockingly "You'd all lay down your lives for something as dumb as friendship and loyalty. I don't mind, really"
The Lich held his hands up; and four smaller balls of that blue energy Taelus used in the Battle of Andorhal appeared.
He took out a few more shards.
"I'll admit; this'll really take it out of me" he said "It would have been better for you to all just give up and die. Now I will torture your friends in undeath, Taelus. You will still join the Scourge, regardless"
The Arch Lich threw them up in the air and each shard flew into their respective balls of energy. Like the first time, the balls were enflamed to twice their original size. And also like before they descended to the ground before taking on their shapes.
"This is interesting, to say the least" Argus said "The good news is that he's right: it will take a lot out of him. The bad news is that now we have more of these artificial beings to deal with"
Two of the shapes became copies of Lillia at two different stages in her life; complete with varying shades of blue clothes. One looked like her when she went to the Paladin Ceremony in Stratholme, another looked like her as a teenager, being trained by Gimlii.
Two more were smaller; Tael realized they were her as a little girl…and that could only mean-spellcasters.
The spellcasters rose on their individual platforms.
"Do you know anything about these things?" Rellia asked Argus.
"Sure I do" he said "I don't know the particulars, of course. But their energy is drawn from two sources; the first and primary source is, you guessed it, the Lich himself. If the Lich was drained of energy, then they would draw from the twisting nether itself-for a short time, anyway"
"And nothing can touch them but the Light, right?" Aphrodite asked, never taking her eyes off the Lich.
"Normally, several things could destroy them" Argus replied, taking out a wand "And they'd have less power than they do here. But that bluish energy is a different sort than Fel or Arcane sources, and he used runeblade shards instead of bodily fluids or something. The only thing that can stop an unholy blade is its opposite: Holy energy. Or in this case, the Light"
"Then this should be no problem" Valkyrie said "I can take these things with my eyes closed"
"That is where you're wrong" the Lich said, he'd obviously been listening "I have more than enough power to ward them against the Light, so there would be plenty of opportunity to kill you before you defeat them. I am surprised you know about such things, Forsaken"
Argus turned into a Dreadlord.
"Oh, well that explains it then" the Lich sighed "The lengths you people would go…I still have my quota of experiments to complete for the month, you know"
"Leave the Mage and his beast alone, and kill the others" his voice echoed through the cavern again.
"As you wish master" a chorus of voices answered "We will obey"
"I will face the Lich head on" Taelus said "Amyna will be with me the whole way"
The two Lillia's drew their respective weapons, and the one guarding his Death Knight summoned another blade, leaving the first one in her body.
"Argus; you and Tarethra will face the spellcasters on either side of the Lich. Mavare and Rellia will make their way to the real Lilly…if there's any chance at saving her, I will be forever in your debt" Taelus swallowed the lump in his throat "Aphrodite and Valkyrie will face the other Homunculi" he looked at Argus "That's what they are, right?"
"It's an acceptable name for them" he replied.
"Baln and Gremlinn will help any who falter" Taelus said quickly; the things already engaged the Paladins. Sweat appeared on his brow, the strain of holding the entire spiral was getting to him.
Everyone went to their assigned tasks, and Taelus was briefly caught off guard with Lilly being out of commission.
She was strength incarnate…and the Lich just…
'Tael' Amyna was clearer in his head 'Amnenar, won't stay waiting forever'
'It hurts so much' he replied, walking with her towards the Lich.
'I know' she mourned, and he rubbed her side.
He steeled himself.
"It's just you and me, Lich" Taelus looked at him contemptibly "Unless you want to summon another thing"
"Actually it's me and all of you" he replied haughtily "I really wish the Lich King didn't care to possess your power, it would be so…satisfying to make you my servant"
"You still seem so relaxed" Taelus said angrily "Why?"
"You have absolutely no chance at killing me, it's just not possible" Amnenar grinned "One of the perks of being an Arch Lich; I just keep coming back. Why do you think the Red Dragonflight's even here? Because they know what I know, I am immortal"
Taelus' anger only grew, and with it, the fire became bigger and bigger.
"That rock is getting heavy, don't you think?" The Lich continued "You could just throw it at me; you know, crush everything you still hold close to. It may even dispel me for awhile"
'Tael, don't fall for his bait' Amyna said 'He's toying with you like he did Lilly'
"Your dragon is right, Taelus" the Lich intoned "I am toying with you. You want to get down to business, instead? It'll take much more than a large rock and some fire to get me serious"
Amyna couldn't just talk with anyone. She only really had Tael for company most of the time; except for the Red Dragonflight and Night Elves, no one could really carry a two-way conversation…
So for this wicked Lich to be able to hear her thoughts-it was unforgivable.
Taelus let the Spiral drop; which stopped everyone in their tracks as the small earthquake continued to rumble.
"AGGGHHHH" he punched the floating ground, and shot up a pillar of ice. He was at the Lich's height.
He spread enough ice to give himself room to maneuver, and began attacking the Lich…finally.
He rapidly shot fire balls at the Lich, who answered with Ice Bolts at various intervals. Taelus abandoned the tactic when it proved fruitless, and shot enough fire in the air to burn more of the Thorns. Unlike the dragonfire from earlier, this attack made the fire spread, and at various times, pieces of thorns would fall like rain drops. Now the Lich would have to move around; but that would end when there were no more thorns.
The fire wouldn't hurt his companions; Taelus made sure of it with his Molten Armor spell.
Back and forth they returned fire; Taelus' Firebolts to Amnenar's Frostbolts. Amyna attacked with dragonfire and claws and teeth, keeping the Arch Lich on his toes. But even with all of that; and Sulfuras, they were getting no where.
"Eventually you will all be too tired" the Lich said "My power will outlast you, and I will be victorious"
Things started to move slowly; as if time itself was being manipulated. A large humming was heard, and all the light created by Taelus' fire and the setting sun was out shown by a large blue ball and an unearthly yell.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHAHHHHHHH" one of the blue elves blew up; seemingly taking both Paladins with her.
"NOOOOO!" Taelus shouted, devastated.
"Ahhh, I must have forgotten about that" The Lich said "If you manage to defeat one of my lovely ladies; they blow up and take the victors with them"
Taelus heard another shout; and the sky became a dark green.
Argus was in so much pain.
"Did I take out the Forsaken with them?" The Lich asked, surprised "I must have"
The Warlock spewed waves of Fel Energy and the sky rained Infernals.
"This is something new" the Lich exclaimed happily "I'd known that anger anywhere"
The Lich walked to the edge of the Ice.
"Argus the Spellseal; wise of you to mask your true identity from me" he laughed menacingly "I could have sworn Gandling took care of you; but to find you among the ranks of the Banshee Queen…tut tut tut. I had thought better of you" He dispelled the Infernals that came close to him "Even with all that power; I am an Arch Lich-I told you before it's all futile"
Taelus came up with an idea at the last moment...and it involved those blue things. He jumped off the ice platform onto the floating arena.
"Argus!" he grasped the warlock, ignoring the burns of the dark energy "I have an idea"
"My beloved-I just found her" the Warlock radiated more fel waves "The living will pay for this; a new order will rise in the ashes of the civilized world"
"Argus!" he shook the Warlock "I HAVE A PLAN"
"It had better be to kill that Lich" was the reply.
"It is" Taelus said, as Amyna landed next to him.
'Gremlinn and Baln are going to give us more time' Amyna said.
"We've got to get to Mavare and Rellia" Taelus told him.
"They will die as well, if those things are defeated" the Warlock warned "I have watched most of the people I can stand to be around disappear before my eyes. Should the Druidess meet her end; the world will follow"
"That's why I have a plan" Taelus said.
One of the Spellcasters blew up, sending debris everywhere.
"Baln and Gremlinn will keep the Lich busy" Taelus said "We need Amnenar to be near one of those blue things when it goes"
The warlock's eyebrows rose.
"That's perfect…that's Diabolical" he said approvingly "Revenge of that magnitude will always be so sweet"
They came upon Mavare and Rellia defending against the first blue elf to have appeared; while the second one seemed to be frozen.
'Tarethra must have froze it last second' Amyna said hurriedly.
'That'll be the one I use' Taelus replied 'And this bastard will die'
Taelus punched the blue elf in the face and polymorphed it into a chicken.
"If Lillia ever wakes up" Taelus remarked "Please don't tell her about the chicken"
"I didn't know they could be polymorphed" Rellia clapped his back "That would have come in handy; my best friend was in that explosion"
Taelus grieved with them; but his mind was entirely occupied on not losing to that Lich. The survivors depended on it.
He threw the chicken off the cliff and blasted it with fire…and the resulting explosion leveled the cavern.
"Death by chicken is certainly not a way to go" Argus said seriously "But the time I would have cared is past. What are you going to do, human?"
The other Spellcaster blew up and the Dragon flew off the Ice platform with a roar. Gremlinn was thrown with him.
"All this running around; scheming, and conniving" Amnenar's voice was everywhere "It doesn't become children of the hated Light"
"The Coldbringer must die!" Argus hissed, unfurling his wings "I demand this"
Rellia immersed herself in Shadow.
"I happen to agree with the Dreadlord" her accent was more pronounced when she was angry.
"Tael" Mav whispered "I will stay with Lilly, if that's alright"
He looked at them both, and saw Lillia's chest rise slowly, before falling.
She was back…
The Lich seemed to be about ten feet in front of them.
"I told you what would happen, Mage" Amnenar said casually "You insisted on doing things the hard way; and now your pets have been reduced by half as a result"
Taelus breathed deeply, he couldn't lose control now. Amyna had kept him calm during the battle, but he was losing it…all his friends…
Aphrodite…Valkyrie…Tarethra… Lillia…their losses and pain hurt; and even with Argus-he shared the walock's agony.
"I would probably expect this going forward" Taelus announced "Loved ones die everyday to the Scourge…it happens everywhere"
"It wouldn't be so bad if you didn't have a bleeding heart" the Lich remarked "That is the difference between the weak and the strong"
"We defeated those things" Taelus retorted "And we only needed the Light for one of them"
"The damn dragon was much more powerful than I gave him credit for" the Lich shrugged "And you killed a chicken, not my construct-they were never meant for shapeshifting. Like I told you before, that spell wasn't my strong suit, but it allowed me to pick up data I didn't have before"
The damn Lich was treating this like a Science experiment!
"Bastard" Taelus breathed.
"Well, I never did have a father" Amnenar the Coldbringer summoned more Spectres "I think its time to end this, wouldn't you agree, Argus?"
An Infernal crashed down and began attacking the Spectres before Amnenar banished it.
"You really have to control your anger" the Lich said "It only works for you if you do"
"What is with this guy!" Rellia shrieked "He is too confident, too smug. After all the things you've done?!" she looked at him.
"Please, everyone always criticizes me on 'what I've done'" the Lich waved dismissively "I've already tried mellowing out, and that didn't get me too far before someone thought I was too weak and tried disposing of me. I can't have people and things barge in here every week; I'd get nothing done"
Argus flew to the Lich and grappled him hand to hand.
At that moment, Rellia attacked with her mind, and the Lich was pushed towards the frozen bomb.
'Go, Amyna' Taelus said.
The Dragon charged the Lich and head butted him even closer. Amnenar blasted them away with an ice wave; and then Balnistrasz struck, throwing him closer.
"Dat Lich must die" Gremlinn put a hand on Taelus "Da Dragonflight spent too much on ya ta be throwin' ya life away mon"
"The explosion is runic energy" Taelus said "It might be the only way to kill it; I have to detonate the bomb"
"Don' make me fight ya on this" the troll insisted "Dat dragon knows wat he's doin'"
"I've watched half of my friends go up in smoke" Taelus said "I can't leave anyone else for this job"
"And wat would Alexstrasza say when she heard ya died?" the Shaman asked, his gaze intense.
"I don't know" Taelus said "I never met her"
"Stubborn fool!" the Shaman grabbed him and threw him close to the edge.
A roar resounded and Taelus watched in slow motion as his companions ran towards him. Mavare reached him first; and she carried Lillia. Rellia appeared to be injured, but Amyna dragged her along as best as she could.
Argus was last; and they all collectively heard the Lich scream as the whole cavern lit up in blue energy.
The Dreadlord waved his hands as the debris and blue waves shot towards them and a second later they appeared in front of the Downs; witnessing the biggest explosion Taelus had ever seen. Argus collapsed. Amyntastrasza uttered a roar of frustration and mourning.
The Sky was party to a big blue mushroom cloud…and that scared the hell out of Taelus.
"That's…I didn't want this" Taelus fell to his knees. His plan worked a little too well "I didn't want this"
"Dat's the price of fightin' the Scourge mon" the Shaman rippled with anger "Da spirits be mighty angry about da fightin'. Disturbs da ebb an flow"
"If this is an indication of the future" Mavare still held Lillia "Then we have a long road to go, before we're free of them forever"
"We may never be free of the Scourge" Taelus said "Not if this is what happens when we face anyone important"
He looked at those with him; Mavare held Lillia, Amyna supported Rellia in dragonform, Argus was unconscious, and there was the matter of the three that never made it out.
"There was no bodies" Taelus said softly "Nothing to bury, nothing to honor"
"Do you think the Lich survived?" Mavare asked him gently.
"Nothing could have survived that" Taelus said "It had to be something Baln did-it should have never been that big"
One thing was certain, however, there was nothing left of the Razorfen Downs.
