Chapter Thirteen: A Little Ditty in the Ogre City
After dealing with the Defias' leader, Harry was aware of the possible consequences of leaving such an outfitted warship in the hands of those people, so he shrunk the massive juggernaut down to the size of a duck, and had Dobby take it away. Before returning to Stormwind on horseback, and securing passage.
VanCleef's memories had revealed that Varian Wrynn escaped his kidnappers and was subsequently found enslaved as a gladiator, where she decided to leave him. He'd also gleaned that he would be participating in the annual gladiatorial games that took place in the fallen highborne city of Eldre'Thalas, now known as Dire Maul.
In Harry's opinion, Feralas was beautiful with its towering trees that were large enough to be considered skyscrapers, above all, it wasn't tainted by the thick miasma that surrounded Felwood. It was still incredibly green, but not sickly. It was a more natural, untainted color.
They had arrived by boat, one chartered in Stormwind.
While aboard the ship, Harry had summoned Dobby and sent a missive to Thrall back in Omniholm. The letter had informed the Warchief of all that had transpired thus far.
The responding letter Dobby had returned with, had informed Harry of a Horde outpost in Feralas, where they could rest up, before returning to their self-appointed mission. Thrall assured Harry that they'd be expecting him, by the time he arrived.
Which led to their current predicament.
A half dozen red-clad ogres surrounded the group, each wielding a rough-looking stone war maul.
The group drew their weapons, each falling into a defensive position, covering one another's backs.
It looked like things were about to escalate before a loud gruff voice called off the ogres. "Get back you idiots!"
Harry had to admit that the female orc, who pushed the ogres aside, struck a terrifying figure. She wore a wolf's head helmet, and her spiked pauldrons and blooded fur armor, made quite the intimidating sight. Not to mention the enormous serrated claymore she wielded casually in a single hand.
"Are you Potter?"
Harry nodded his head.
"The Warchief told me of your visit. I am Orhan Ogreblade, leader of the Stonemaul Clan in Feralas," she said, "welcome to Stonemaul Hold." She held out a hand to Harry, sneering slightly at the others in his company.
'With a name like 'Ogreblade' it's no wonder she's in charge around here.' He shook her hand firmly. "And these ogres follow your command?"
She nodded her head. "Their leader was defeated during the founding of Orgrimmar, per the customs of their clan, they are led by the victor, Rexxar. He commanded them to serve the Horde. They've been faithful allies ever since, if not a bit dumb," she finished in a deadpan.
"I see." The Stonemaul Clan was similar to the giants of Omniholm in that respect.
"I hear you are attempting to infiltrate the annual Crimson Ring tournament."
It wasn't a question, but Harry nodded his head nonetheless.
"Very well I'll provide what assistance I can," she turned around with a gesture to follow.
Looking at one another, the two humans and night elves trailed behind Ogreblade.
Following her into an outpost station, she pointed at the table, which was covered in maps. "These are the plans we managed to...appropriate from some night elven archeologists, as well as what our own scouts and skirmishes have taught us."
"What are these markings?" Asked Jessir, pointing at a series of annotations on the parchment.
Eying the pale-haired elf with disdain for a moment, Orhan responded. "The exes are guard outposts and heavy concentrations of Gordok Ogres, you will want to avoid them if you are to make it in and out undetected."
Arko leaned over to view the map as well. "And these others?" She pointed at a series of blue dots along the far reaches of the map.
"As I'm sure you know Dire Maul is a former night elven city. Those are echoes of the dead, further in you will find all manner of filthy demonic corruption. Satyrs, demons, even one of those ancients you elves worship, has been corrupted."
Jessir looked up sharply, ignoring the misconception about the ancients
"Harry, ancients are all connected to each other, if one is diseased, it needs to be dealt with lest it infect the others."
Harry nodded at that, his stay in Darnassus, highlighting exactly how much night elven society relied on the tree-like beings as both protectors, and teachers.
Meanwhile Tessa wasn't nearly as willing. 'A city occupied by ogres, ghosts, satyrs, and other fun things,' she thought to herself with cynical sarcasm.
Not for the first time, Tessa questioned her own sanity in joining this group of adventurers. Nevertheless, what was done was done, and besides, she had to admit, she enjoyed being with them a lot more than she had the Defias, or any of the other gangs she had run with in her youth. Thinking of the Defias, brought up an excellent idea. "Couldn't we just go invisible, and sneak in that way? Like we did in the Deadmines?"
"Their hounds will sniff you out, they are trained to sense magic. We have tried that route before," revealed Orhan. "If the corrupted ancient is a priority, I would suggest you enter through the west," she said tapping on the map. "That is the strongest source of corruption, you'll likely find all sorts of demons, but somehow I doubt that'll be of issue for you."
Harry nodded his head, leaning over the map to inspect the west wing. "This corridor here, it leads to the north? Where the ogres are?"
"Yes, due to the annual games, the perimeter guards have been withdrawn to provide extra security within. As such, a raid has been planned and with any luck we will gain a foothold in Dire Maul for the Horde, be sure to be gone by sundown tomorrow, lest you find yourself caught in the battle."
Harry cast a charm at the map, duplicating it, then took a step back with his copy. "That will have to do. Thank you for your help Orhan."
The enormous female orc saluted him.
The group set up camp within Stonemaul Hold for the evening, deciding to venture into Dire Maul tomorrow.
The ogres became quite taken with Harry when he declared his desire for a good barbecue, and withdrew several large boar steaks, preserved under stasis charms, from his rucksack, and proceeded to feed the entire camp in a frivolous expenditure of his resources that had the girls shaking their heads in exasperation.
That night they all slept well. Dreams of the past kept at bay by each other's presence.
The following morning found the group standing on the stone steps of the city.
Dire Maul was massive to say the least, the ruins were nearly as large as Darnassus, and the rubble hinted at the place having been even larger in its prime.
They approached the west gate and passed the threshold into the ancient city.
Tessa shivered as the air grew colder upon their entry, her thin leathers doing little to protect her from the cold. Jessir was even less protected with her stomach bared by her outfit, whilst Arko was fine, her tunic keeping her warm beneath a layer of enchanted chainmail and plate.
Harry felt the chill as well and sent off a round of warming charms at each of them. The charm settling around all of them with a comforting heat.
He looked around at the courtyard they'd entered, an ominous feeling enveloped him. 'This place reeks of death.'
"OUTSIDERS!"
Tessa yelped in surprise at a faint silvery wraith that was swooping down at them. Shadowy talons bared in aggression, as it dived down to attack them, shrieking at the intruders.
"Spiritus Aegis!"
The hastily conjured spirit ward deflected the ghost's attack.
As the ethereally pale yellow glow of the shield formed a dome around them, numerous more spirits coalesced into being, surrounding them. A few darting forward and probing the barrier, only to be repelled.
Realizing his girls' weapons would have no effect on the spirits, he maintained the barrier.
More and more spirits formed around the group, and Harry was forced to divert more mana into sustaining his spell as more of them pressed up against the shield.
"Any ideas, guys?"
"This is insane!" Tessa cried.
Arko'narin watched the spirits shy away from the energy of the barrier as if burned, and paused in thought. "What if you wrap the barrier's energy around our weapons? It seems to hurt them," she gestured at one that touched the barrier only to scream soundlessly and fall back again, circling from above.
Harry nodded in acceptance of the plan. Using his off hand, he conjured a second spirit ward, shaping it around the group's brandished weaponry.
Drawing his own blade as it began to glow with energy, he opened a hole in the ward, and several spirits slipped in.
Unable to avoid the group's weaponry in close quarters, as well as being unable to retreat due to being trapped in the barrier, they were swiftly dispatched.
This process continued for several minutes, as they dealt with the aggressors in small groups, before all that remained was the first one. It tried to escape but an arrow skewered it in the back.
"THE MASTER WILL END YOU, INTRUDERS!" It shrieked, even as it faded from existence, turning into another pile of dust among many.
"Well that was..." Harry trailed off.
"Fun!" Cried Arko earnestly, "I wonder if there'll be more."
Jessir palmed her face at her reckless desire for battle.
Tessa panted slightly in exertion, with her speed and daggers, she'd taken out nearly twenty of the ghosts alone. It was rather tiring to fight something akin to air with short-bladed weapons, as she had to make certain she pulled her strikes enough so she wouldn't overbalance and fall through one of the spirits, which would probably be harmful in some way. "Well, I guess that was it, things can't get much worse than that," she stated with relief.
Harry stared at the girl, a look of horror on his face at the karmic forces she'd brazenly challenged. "W-why would you say that?"
Tessa stared at him uncomprehendingly.
"You just taunted the universe to make things worse!"
"Don't be so dramatic Harry, I didn't think you were one for paranoid superstition," interceded Jessir.
Harry frowned petulantly, "well don't blame me when everything goes sideways," he huffed.
Giving everyone a moment to catch their breath, Harry pressed onward cautiously, not nearly as eager to go further given the altercation they'd just narrowly survived after a scant few minutes in the city.
They crossed the courtyard with little opposition, the occasional lingering spirit attempted to attack them, but having performed the magic already, Harry held the aura that surrounded the group's weaponry. The draw on his magical reserve was moderately heavy, but nothing he couldn't sustain.
Arko'narin lead them forward, her enchanted armor providing her with superior protection against whatever may come.
They trudged through the overgrown gardens, heavy roots, and thorny weeds falling underfoot.
Feeling a foreign gaze on herself, Jessir suddenly drew her bow, and knocked an arrow, swathed in magic. She fired into the nearest tree.
The tree creaked and groaned before uprooting itself, revealing itself to be capable of movement, and falling on its side, its bark shriveling and rotting even as they watched.
Looking at the couple dozen sickly looking trees around them, a dawning realization hit them all at the same time.
"Treants!"
The group exploded into motion, neutralizing as many of the wooded warriors as they could, before the creatures could uproot themselves.
The pale-wooded beings had dark-purple veins running through their forms.
Tessa and Jessir tag-teamed several of the wakening trees, Jessir aiming high, and Tessa swooping in low.
Likewise, Harry and Arko did the same. Harry launching 'Glacius' spells, and Arko targeting the frozen parts of the treants.
"Why are they attacking us? I thought treants liked night elves!" Cried Tessa.
"The ancient's corruption must have escalated! We must kill it before it corrupts the entire region," called Jessir in reply.
Harry hit his target with a trio of cutting charms, reducing it to firewood. His hands tingled at the deluge of magical power that had been channeled through them in a relatively short amount of time, maintaining the spirit ward as long as he had, was taxing on his hands. He shook them out, making the feeling fade slightly, and drew his sword, not willing to continue casting without a focus.
He swiped at the air, launching another cutting charm through his enchanted blade, and severing another treant into two parts.
The last treant ended as Arko split it in two with a powerful overhead blow.
Harry turned to glare at Tessa and Jessir. "See what I mean now?"
Jessir waved him off. "Oh please, they were already here, it doesn't prove your stupid superstitions are true."
Tessa nodded her head in agreement.
"Tch-whatever, let's keep going," was his mature reply.
Arko took point once more, leading them down a flight of stairs into an open courtyard which housed only a single massive tree, riddled with purple and green striations.
Jessir pointed at it, "that is most definitely the ancient."
"Yeah I figured," mumbled Harry, before speaking up. "Anything we should know about fighting one of these?"
Jessir looked thoughtful, "well they can manipulate nature in their surroundings to a degree, and their bark is magically resistant."
Harry's mood plummeted further, "so I can't even blow the thing up."
Tessa chimed in. "Look," she pointed at it, "it's still asleep, we should try and damage it as much as possible before it wakes up."
Arko nodded her head and spoke up with her own plan of action, "we should also attempt to pry away as much of its bark as possible, to allow Harry to finish it."
Tessa unsheathed her blades, holding them in an icepick stance. "Sounds like a plan!"
Arko nodded at the group, holding her blade before her and charged at the large tree, eager to score a few hits before it fully awoke. She and Tessa made quick work of a few feet of bark, Arko slicing it up, and Tessa sliding her blades underneath and prying it off. Harry jumped into the fray as well, putting his skills with the blade to work.
Jessir watched carefully waiting for the corrupted protector of nature to awaken. Her keen eyes picked up movement in the branches, as a pair of fel-green orbs glared down at her. "Fall back!"
The trio of melee fighters fell back several yards, watching as the tree uprooted itself, and large branches unfolded to reveal the form of the ancient.
The ancient's eyes glared at them all with a startling intensity. Before with a sound of groaning wood, it raised an arm and weaved its magic.
Roots sprouted from the stone floor, sending rubble flying, and swiftly ensnaring all of them where they stood.
Harry cast several withering curses at the roots to no avail, the plants were as resistant as the ancient itself.
The ancient took several thundering steps forward as all of them hacked away at their bonds with haste. Arko was first to break free and immediately ran towards their foe, drawing its attention off her captured teammates, and dodging several of its swipes.
The other three freed themselves swiftly as they could, and joined the fray.
Jessir loosed arrow after arrow into the area on its chest where the bark had been stripped away, but the wood was too tough for the simple projectiles to deal any true damage. Seeing this she diverted course and aimed for its face, seeking to divest it of its vision. Her aim was true, and arrows peppered its face, blinding and angering it.
Tessa had flanked the creature and jumped on its back, doing her best to pry away its magically resistant outer shell.
Harry was right next to Arko, fighting in tandem with her whilst dodging attacks and shielding them against the thorny projectiles that the ancient launched periodically.
Dodging another attack, he watched as the ancient reared its head back, leaning backwards and attempting to reach the back of its form, whilst roaring in anger.
It moved side to side attempting to shake off Tessa, but it only managed to hurt itself more as the brunette pried away more of its bark.
Tessa fell away from the living tree with a yelp, a section of bark as large as she was tall coming with her. "I got it!"
Hearing the brunette's call, Harry ducked under the thrashing limbs and sprinted behind the corrupted tree. Aiming his sword at the exposed area, he unleashed his magic, fireballs flying from his sword point like bullets, charring the wooden flesh and setting the area ablaze.
The sword wasn't really a proper focus, but it did slightly alleviate the maddeningly tingly feeling in his hands. However some of the magic was absorbed from his spells when using the goblin steel blade, requiring him to expend more mana in maintaining the intensity of his fire. 'Maybe I should look into getting a proper focus,' remarked Harry to himself. 'Although I don't think most wands could handle my power without exploding.'
Their wooden enemy stumbled into the nearby wall as his immense form gradually crumbled into fiery ashes.
Panting with exertion at having to sprint around their enemy, Harry plunged his sword into the ground and knelt on it for a moment, catching his breath. 'I really need to find some other way to teleport, since I can't apparate any more!'
"Harry?" Came the voice of Jessir.
He raised his head, "yeah?"
"The door forward is locked," she explained.
Looking at the door set in the side of the courtyard, he couldn't identify any clear locking mechanism, so instead he raised a hand and sent a 'Bombarda,' blowing the door apart, and satisfying his urge to explode something.
Looking into the dark hallway that proceeded the door, Jessir lit an arrow off the smoking remains of the ancient, and fired it down the passage, watching as it disappeared in the distance.
Standing at the demolished doorway, Harry conjured harmless bluebell flames to line their path. The azure glow illuminating the hallway and casting shadows along the ceiling.
Tessa eyed the fire warily.
"It's harmless," Harry explained, seeing her hesitance, "just a way to light our path." He proved his point by putting his left arm into the indigo flames, and removing it unfettered.
Having demonstrated the magic's benign nature, they advanced into the hallway, traveling further into the ruins of Eldre'thalas.
They emerged in a large round antechamber, but it was what was held in the center that was most shocking.
A dome of dense mana had been erected at the center of the room, clearly elven spellweavers around its perimeter, and housed within the magically woven prison was an immense demon, surrounded by night elven mages who were linked to the being by opalescent tendrils of power.
"Quel'dorei!" Exclaimed Jessir in a harsh whisper, upon seeing the crest upon their cloaks, "how are they still alive?"
As far as they were from the vile creature, Harry could still feel the corrupt energy pulsing off of it in waves. Looking more closely at the energies that the casters were weaving, Harry understood what was happening. "They're using the demon as a battery, draining it of its power, and absorbing it, likely extending their lives," he turned away to look at Jessir and asked a question, "what's a Quel'dorei? They look like night elves to me."
"They are...technically, they just consider themselves to be above the standard night elf, and thought themselves deserving of a more arrogant name, it means Highborne," spat Jessir. Composing herself once more, she cocked an eyebrow. "This must be the source of all the corruption."
Looking at the beast as it walked around its cage, Tessa couldn't help but agree with the assumption. The beast emanated a foul aura that was nauseating. Its form was riddled with acidic yellow eyes, long fleshy tentacles, and more. If it wasn't the source of the corruption, she'd eat her boots.
Harry carefully inspected the barrier that surrounded the demon. 'It appears to be solid, despite its transparency,' he observed, having thrown a small rock at it.
Luckily, the casters were far too absorbed in their...absorption to take notice of the small group of four that had entered the chamber.
Upon scanning the rest of the room, Harry found several anomalies. The pink magical creatures that surrounded the magical crystals in the room, reminded him of the wild water elementals he'd slain on the shores of Durotar, on his original excursion from Omniholm.
Although these beings pulsated with wild arcane energies, they were easily destabilized by a strong enough physical attack.
A fact that the group made use of to devastating effect, Arko and Tessa swiftly dispatching the eight that were present, whilst Harry and Jessir were dealing with the multitude of ghosts that had appeared to attack them.
These specters were nowhere near as numerous as the ones they'd faced on entry and were quickly reduced to nothing.
Harry put his hand flat against the crystal attempting to discern its purpose by following the flow of magic.
In his mind's eye he saw the pathway split into five lesser strands each flowing off somewhere into the distance, whilst the largest connected to the shield holding the demon at bay.
"The pylons are powering the shield, and likely keeping the demon suppressed as well," he revealed to his girls, pointing at the demon who was laying down as the mages drew on its power.
Arko'narin sheathed her sword and prepared to shoulder check the pylon in an attempt to break it.
"Wait," Harry ordered, getting Arko to look at him, "I have a better idea."
There were only two pylons in this room, the other three were likely spread throughout the ruins, and Harry had no desire to go on a scavenger hunt.
Logically, the mages in there couldn't take down the shield every time they needed to enter, that would be suicidal, the suppressive magics were what kept the demon passive. As such they had to be in possession of some kind of key or artifact that allowed them safe entry and exit.
So all they had to do was get their attention, and then take whatever allowed them in.
He relayed as much to his team, who accepted the logic of his plan, which just left getting their attention.
Jessir stood to the side and started shouting in her native Darnassian, drawing the attention of the highborne casters.
"...thor-shan Quel'dorei, lira-nah!"
Harry's understanding of the night elven language was rudimentary at best, but he got the gist of the insult towards their lineage. 'Who knew Jessir had such a dirty mouth, outside of sex?'
Naturally this thought triggered a certain set of reactions in Harry's lower anatomy, which he suppressed with an ease born of practice.
Nonetheless, the deed was done, as one, the spell weavers exited the prison, shouting angrily at the intruders.
One moved a hand and Harry recognized the beginnings of a fireball forming. They never got to finish that spell, falling dead before the first ember of fire appeared.
Tessa rifled through their pockets finding a few odds and ends but nothing remotely magical enough to allow entry through the barrier.
"Well that was a bust," declared the busty brunette.
Harry groaned in disappointment. 'The one time I have a logically thought out plan!'
Arko eyed the fallen forms. "Maybe not..." she reached down and unclasped one of the identical cloaks they wore, throwing it over her own shoulders and proceeding through the barrier with ease. "It's the cloaks!"
The other three followed suit, each donning a cloak for themselves and moving through the shield.
The greater demon lifted its twin tentacled heads, and growled pitifully at them, its power still suppressed.
Harry regarded it with something akin to pity for a moment, before drawing the blade of Gryffindor, and stabbing its left head, as Arko ended the right.
The writhing tentacles on its form fell slack, its many eyes clouded over with death.
"That was...anticlimactic," said Tessa.
Harry turned to her with a slight frustration. "Now I know you're doing it to bother me!"
"Well-"
Whatever response Tessa was going to give was cut off as a shout of furious rage echoed throughout the chamber.
A single pale-skinned night elf entered the antechamber, he wore a crown as well as regal armor. The black crest on his beige cloak identifying him as Highborne.
"You dare disrupt the sanctity of Eldre'thalas!" The royal elf exploded with arcane energies, they surrounded him with a visible, sickly purple aura, as he charged at the group, twin glaives bared.
Harry's brow went up just a smidge. 'He's absorbing what remains of the demon's magic, but its not being filtered, he'll die to the corruption!'
He unleashed half a dozen spells to stymie the princely figure, but they were dodged with an uncanny agility.
His follow up of transfigured stone spears were likewise avoided, as were Jessir's arrows, and Tessa's throwing knives.
'It's like he can sense the attack coming!'
Arko met him head on, and attempted to block his opening blow, but the roiling magic had clearly augmented the man a great degree, as she was thrown back by the hit. 'And that's with my enchanted armor, what if he hit one of the others?'
Now concerned for her companions' well being, Arko'narin charged him again, this time parrying his furious blows and allowing them to slide off her blade smoothly. Then, in a move that had Harry wincing, and every man within a hundred leagues shuddering with sympathy, she slammed her metal-clad knee into his groin.
The man fell to his knees, then his stomach with a shriek of pain, his aura flickering, as he hugged his legs to his chest, attempting assuage the pain by curling up into a ball and ceasing to exist.
"Have you no honor, woman!?" He cried indignantly, clutching his precious jewels and clambering up onto one knee, his aura stabilizing again. He looked up at her, anger in his eyes, "my turn."
His aura exploded outwards in a blast of concussive force as he stood again, sending Arko flying backwards in the air, only to be caught by Harry with a heavy grunt of exertion, her heavy plate not helping him at all.
"I am Prince Tortheldrin, ruler of Eldre'thalas, leader of the Shen'dralar and I'll not be defeated by some low-born commoner wench!"
Harry bristled at the insult to his lover, he cast another few spells at the man, testing the waters of what would and wouldn't work. 'He allows all the energy based spells to hit him, but avoids elemental attacks.'
Path decided upon, Harry unleashed a stream of quick-freezing water, turning the stone floor beneath his target into a frictionless platform a few feet in every direction, giving him no mobility.
From his new position as a sitting duck, Tortheldrin was forced to dodge and weave as arrows, daggers, and enormous shards of frost were sent his way.
Contorting to avoid yet another piece of ice, an arrow pierced his shoulder.
"Gah!"
He broke the arrow's shaft, but left the head in, unaware if it was barbed or not.
"Enough!" He cried, launching a wave of blue magic at Harry, who was unable to dodge the speeding wall of mana.
Bracing himself for whatever effect was to come, Harry was pleasantly surprised when nothing occurred. This thought didn't take long to be rectified as he tried and failed to use magic.
Glancing down at his hands in confusion, he found them covered in the same blue magic that he'd been attacked with. 'Shit,' was his eloquent first thought, 'It's absorbing the magic from my spells, before I can finish them!'
"Cover me!" He shouted to Jessir and Tessa who upped the intensity and speed of their attacks at his command, projectiles whizzing through the air as blurs.
Turning to the current problem at hand, Harry considered his options. 'Either it's on a timer, or it's gonna stick to me like a leech till I break it.'
Unwilling to wait and find out, Harry opted to attempt breaking it, which was harder said than done. He may have been able to do magic with no focusing instrument, but he'd never practiced with anything but his hands, seeing no reason to do so, which was an issue as that was where the spell was most concentrated. At first he attempted to cast a 'finite incantatem,' to counter the magic, but the small amount of power needed for the spell was absorbed almost instantly.
Focusing inwards he gathered nearly a quarter of his titanic reserves, and guided it towards his hands, flooding them like this would undoubtedly have adverse effects, but he needed to end this spell now! He watched worriedly as Jessir was down to her last few arrows, and Tessa had exhausted what few throwing knives she possessed already. 'He's physically superior in close combat, with his magic augmenting him like that, and the ice at his feet is already melting, I need to end this! Now!'
With another pulse of his magic, the battering ram of his power shattered the suppression spell, flakes of mana falling off him like colorful shards of glass.
With a single hand he launched another salvo of razor-tipped icicles at the man, and with the other he snuck a tendril of magic out behind the prince, hoping the barrage in front of him would distract him.
Tortheldrin's aura pulsed outwards again stopping the ice in its tracks, but it was already too late as Harry's will power combined with his magic, projected a stone spear from the floor behind the prince, impaling him through the chest, opposite his arrow wound.
"Azshara..." He coughed up blood, as his pierced lungs lead to his death, a name escaping his mouth with his dying breath.
Ultimately, the elf had signed his own death warrant when he drew on the corrupted power of the fallen demon, they had merely hurried that along.
"Well then, that was certainly something," proclaimed Tessa, sheathing her daggers whilst rubbing her arms to alleviate how sore she felt from chucking knives for a few minutes without ceasing.
Arko'narin knelt down over the prince's fallen form, inspecting his weapons for a moment before picking them up and taking them. "These'll be fun to use," she declared, eyeing the dual sided glaives with interest.
Jessir spoke up, whilst collecting whatever arrows had survived impact with the stone floor and walls. "Harry, I think I'm beginning to see what you mean by tempting fate."
Harry smiled smugly, happy his point had been proven. "See, that should teach you, I'm always-"
He interrupted himself as he collapsed to his knees in agony, clutching his hands to his chest, as his vision went black for a moment at the unexpected pain.
His hands tingled madly with pain.
Seeing the pain on his face, Arko was at his side in a moment, supporting him as the spots in his vision faded, followed closely by the other two who watched in worry.
"Harry!"
His hands were throbbing at the great amount of power he'd channeled to break the spell put on him.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," he attempted to placate them, even whilst his face twisted in pain as every nerve ending in his hand was set ablaze.
A small frown adorned Jessir's face as she regarded Harry's form. "Clearly you are not, perhaps we should turn back, and continue at another time."
"No!" Shouted Harry in vehemence, before flushing slightly in shame and apologizing. "Sorry, but no, we know the king is here right now, and Ogreblade warned us there'd be a raid on Dire Maul later in the evening, we need to retrieve him now before he's caught in the chaos of the raid."
"Harry, you're our heavy hitter, if you can't use your abilities, we'll be in trouble if we get caught extracting the king."
Harry shook his head, "just give me a couple minutes to recover and I'll be good to go," he smiled up at her, and Jessir conceded.
"Fine, we'll keep going, but do not use your magic unless it is absolutely necessary," warned the pale-haired archer.
Harry nodded his acquiescence and got to his feet with Arko's help. He leant on her slightly, still hugging his arms to himself, as they pulsed with pain every few seconds. 'I've almost certainly burnt my magical pathways, hopefully they heal quickly.'
They trudged on into the library that lead to Northern Dire Maul. If any of the Shen'dralar that occupied it had intended them any harm for killing their leader, they were easily cowed by the fierce glares leveled at them by the three women who walked through, surrounding Harry as they did.
The aristocratic people were not fighters, only scholars, and intellectually acknowledged that if their prince had fallen to the group before them, they stood no chance, so they allowed the group to pass through their library in silence.
As they walked, Harry recalled a conversation he'd once had with his grandfatherly mentor, nearly eighty years prior.
It had been a particularly tiring session today, sixteen year old Harry Potter remarked to himself. He was improving at an impressive rate in their weekly duels, he'd nearly managed to disarm the venerable wizard today. Thoughts of his mentor's focus lead him to ponder something.
"Professor, why do we need wands to do magic?"
The aged man rubbed his beard as he regarded his young student. "Tell me Harry, what do you know of Merlin?"
Harry didn't understand how this tied into his question, but Dumbledore didn't often disappoint so he answered with what he knew. "Well he was a wizard who supposedly lived a long time ago and invented a ton of spells we use nowadays, he's famous enough that even nowadays people still use his name."
"Yes, that is all true, but what the stories neglect to mention is that Merlin faced a difficult problem in his youth, an overabundance of magical power, likely due to his druidic heritage."
"So Merlin invented wands to help control his power?"
Dumbledore smiled down at his charge, eyes twinkling. "Originally, yes, but Merlin is never depicted wielding a wand is he?"
Recalling the silent portrait of Merlin in the third floor corridor, Harry shook his head. "No, he's usually shown holding a staff."
"Yes, Merlin invented wands to help curtail his own magical presence, but he found them too weak to channel his power, so he forged a powerful staff with which he could control himself."
"So why doesn't everyone use a staff instead?"
"To properly utilize a magical focus of that power, enormous reserves would be needed, I imagine I could likely wield one, but such a thing is better left to legend."
Harry was quiet for a moment before responding to Dumbledore, a smile on his face as he joked. "Plus, I don't think anyone could pull it off without a long wizardly beard like yours."
Albus Dumbledore chuckled heartily with his student, blissfully unaware that in a year's time, he'd be forced to face his greatest mistake in a duel he would inevitably lose.
Harry came out of his reverie, a fond smile on his face at the memory of his mentor. Coming to the thick wooden door that lead to the northern sector, the group was elated to find it unlocked as otherwise Harry would have likely had to use magic. They opened it a crack and peered in, bearing witness as hundreds of skeevy, shady, and altogether unpleasant looking people of all races were gathered at the railing overlooking a gladiator pit.
Harry rifled through his ever-present rucksack, having to look into the expanded space for once, as he was unable to summon what he was seeking at the moment. Finally finding what he was looking for he withdrew several dark cloaks and handed them to his girls, donning one himself before storing the cloaks they'd stolen off the Highborne in his bag, an idea brewing in his mind for Griphook and his goblins to create a similar system on Omniholm.
Now dressed the part of the seedy and conniving spectator, the group slipped out of the corridor, and into the crowds gathered around the pit, narrowly avoiding the Gordunni ogres that patrolled the perimeter.
A goblin in a top-hat stood on a platform and spread his arms wide, silencing the audience. "Friends! Gamblers! Fellow entrepreneurs! Welcome, to the final match of the eighteenth annual Crimson Ring Tournament!"
"And let me tell ya..." the man grasped the brim of his top-hat, pulling it low so as to shadow his eyes. "This year's gonna be a doozy!" He pulled the hat off with a sweeping gesture, pointing at a shadowed corner of the pit which was then illuminated by torch light.
A trio of particularly vicious looking ogres stood, roaring at the crowd, and clearly itching to fight.
"In this corner our reignin' champs! The trio of terror! The dastardly trifecta! Ogres who need no introduction, the Punchblade bruthas!"
The crowd's cheers drowned out the announcer's attempts to continue and he was forced to wait as they tired themselves out.
Now pointing at the opposite corner, which was swiftly illuminated, he spoke again. "And in this corner, we have our up and comers! A team trained by former champion Rehgar Earthfury himself!" The onlookers exploded into cheers once more, but the announcer carried on.
"Broll Bearmantle, the druid with the unstoppable claws!" A massive night elf stepped forth, antlers on his head signifying his great ability to manipulate nature.
"Valeera Sanguinar, the sassy blood elf with the daggers of death!" She brandished her green blades, causing the mob of spectators to 'ooh' and 'ah.'
Harry eyed her with curiosity, 'so that's a blood elf,' he eyed her form with appreciation. 'She's certainly something,' a sudden pain in his shin had him wincing, Arko was glaring at him. She'd kicked him in the shin.
She may have been okay with Tessa, who she'd sort-of-reconciled with and accepted as a member of their group, but she didn't want him eyeing up every woman he happened to meet. If they had a true connection and it happened naturally it'd be alright, but that was no reason to be looking for more women.
He kissed her cheek apologetically, feeling slightly admonished.
"And finally we have our fan-favorite, the human with the killer cuts, the savage with a ferocious face, Lo'gosh!" A bestial looking man stepped forth, his hair was spiky and matted against his chest. And in his hands he wielded a pair of orcish longswords.
At his reveal the crowd exploded into a frenzy, chanting his name over and over.
"LO'GOSH! LO'GOSH! LO'GOSH!"
Inspecting the man closer Harry saw the scar he bore across his face, and as he tossed his hair behind him, and took a battle stance, Harry recognized him from the various paintings in Stormwind Keep.
'Varian Wrynn!'
Seemed like a good place to end the chapter. Howdy folks, its been a while! Did you enjoy the fight scenes this chapter? I decided to skip several of the bosses in Dire Maul West as they'd have been pointless. Tortheldrin was obviously powered up a bit in this fic, but I based his abilities on his regular ones, just scaled up for a proper encounter, and yes Immol'thar (the big demon) was killed easily due to having his power suppressed.
Now to address the various questions and concerns of the audience!
Yes, I'm aware that Grutsog (former giant chieftain) is rather short for a giant, given that he's only a foot taller than Grawp (Hagrid's brother) who was considered short. I originally had a whole satirical storyline, told through series of flashbacks, that showed his rise to power, but I scrapped it early on, basically all you need to know is that he's buff as fuck to make up for being short.
As for last chapter having Vanessa instead of Edwin, that was a conscious choice, ultimately it was to reveal more of Harry and company's past through her poison, but also because it's an instance I'm very familiar with as opposed to the amount of research I'd have to do to write Classic Deadmines. It has no bearing to the rest of the story, so don't pay it any mind.
Someone complained about the previous chapter being bloody, well...yeah, it's WoW. Unless Harry has a particular reason to keep his opponents alive, such as with the Stormwind Guards, he kills with impunity.
Some people seem to be looking for pure smut in my fic, hate to break it to you, but Harry will not be collecting every "hot and fuckable" girl, the three he currently has are all he's getting till TBC. I like taking it slow on the relationship front, and I realize I haven't explicitly mentioned it, but Tessa has yet to sleep with him.
Also major thanks to Aeona316 whose comment reminded me about the Juggernaut, I dealt with that at the beginning of the chapter, and suffice to say it'll be important later.
Forgot to mention Ahn'qiraj last chapter, rest assured it has been factored in, however Zul'Aman and Zul'Gurub don't fall under Harry's purview, if you like, imagine that the Horde sends their own adventurers to take care of it. I've yet to decide what to do with Naxxramas, as I'd like to have it around for WoTLK.
Also to Sarlisark who talked about 2-D enemies and Blizzard's blanketing of 'evil' villains, don't worry I've a plan that differs greatly from the standard TBC story line. However, the Arakkoa will be ignored almost utterly in Outlands because imo it's an absolutely useless filler storyline.
Lastly, I hope this chapter helped explain why Harry doesn't simply bash everything aside with his magic. He may have shit tons of mana to spare, but if he channels too much through his body in a short amount of time he'll suffer for it.
