(15) Infa-red
It was storming hard as Morgana threw her hair up in a high ponytail. It was the dead of night as Morgana and Farron were summoned out to Westfall via airship. Remnants of the Legion had sprung up in Westfall near Sentinel Hill. Another green pillar has been spotted.
Morgana exited the cabin of the airship onto the deck following her father closely. The storm was rough on the ship and the rain only made visibility harder. Morgan held Mercy in her case, being careful not to open it up until advised to do so; only one of his models was waterproof.
"There it is," Greymane spoke to Farron pointing out.
Morgana's head was low to let the rain fall off her head without touching her face as she squinted out into the grey world before her only able to see a spark of green.
"The pillar and all its inhabitants need disposing," Greymane finished.
There was a tone in his voice as he spoke to Farron. Morgana was still behind her father out of Greyname's sight but still felt the growl in his voice. She knew Farron and Greymane were men fond of tradition and the ways that had worked prior but she was still rather confused why they were tense around each other now.
"Are you going to help with disposing of or just stand and watch?" Farron challenged as the airship moved in turbulence.
"I could ask you the same thing."
Morgana's head lowered even more in submissive response as the air grew thick with tension.
At some point the men broke away from each other and Farron turned to Morgana.
"Two drops in both eyes," he said, handing her a vial with a dropper.
Morgana took it without question, opening it up and seeing a very deep red liquid inside.
"It's for infa-red vision," he explained. "I haven't quite finished putting it in the goggles so it will need to be directly applied to your eyes."
She nodded and turned to face away from the rain before applying the drops.
"The effects should last a while so don't be alarmed if you still see in infa-red tomorrow," Farron explained. "When you're ready, take out Mercy, and open fire."
The drops entered smoothly even if there was some rain water added in. Morgana kept her eyes closed for a moment letting the formula roll around as she kept her balance on the airship. She let her eyes open a crack just to see the floor of the airship and walk to a drier corner to set up Mercy.
At first her vision was normal as she opened up Mercy's case and started putting it together. The case looked fine, putting the gun together went well, and once Morgana reached to fill up her ammunition slots in her harness was when the red started showing.
At first Morgana thought she was looking into the lower parts of the ship, until she realized it was that and the ground below. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she wasn't able to distinguish friend from foe immediately. Morgana glanced over her shoulder seeing the men and women on the ship now completely red, or different shades of it. Anything with body warmth was red, whether it be cherry red or blood red. She blinked a few times before grabbing her gun and going to work.
Morgana peered over the ship's edge for a moment looking down at the red bodies below. She recognized now the Stormwind Guards and the odd shapes of the monsters the remains of the Legion had spawned. Morgana glanced up then at the pillar that had erupted through the ground on Sentinel Hill.
She lifted Mercy and waited for the turbulence to pause before letting her bullet pierce through the green light. An easier shot this time than last time.
Morgana's eyes went wide when she looked back down to the ground. A large hunched over monster was ripping through the Legion's mobs with ease. Her jaw started to rattle in fear as she realized who it was.
Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas, in full worgen form, down on all fours, tearing through the flesh of the Legion making it look easy. Morgan could only watch in awe and terror as the ultimate predator, with the mind of a man and body of a wolf, rushed through Sentinel Hill. One swipe of his paws or snarl from his teeth seemed to do the trick for all the mobs he encountered.
"Finally," Farron said, approaching Morgana looking down at Greymane with her. "The lazy dog has been put to work."
Morgana remained silent. Insulting a king whether he was around to hear it or not was discomforting. But Farron being the man he was with more arrogance than any royalty Morgana had known, seemed unphased.
"They have a hippogryph coming from Stormwind to bring you back," he explained. "Apparently a select few Legion monsters made it into Stormwind near the Cathedral and the vision you currently have will work perfectly to see them and kill them off."
Morgana nodded, still watching Greymane run rampant. Farron glanced down once more with her.
"How do you think you'd take out an animal like that?" Farron asked, starting a teaching lesson.
Morgana had never been face to face with a worgen before. She barely saw them in Stormwind either; most worgens chose to appear in their human forms to avoid causing a distraction or frightening children.
Morgana swallowed, "He thinks like a human but as the body is an oversized animal."
"Yes," Farron agreed, letting her think out loud.
Morgana began shaking her head the longer she thought, "I couldn't take him on as he is now. I'd have to out smart him as he was in human form."
"Greymane is a smart individual," Farron advised. "And with all his years of experience that might be a challenge for you."
Morgana's hippogryph landed behind her then. She waited for Farron to speak, when he was silent she moved towards the hippogryph to mount with Mercy in hand.
"In the Cathedral Square area," Farron reminded her. "Unsure of the numbers."
Morgana nodded as her mount began to take flight. Morgana mostly kept her head down out of the rain, trusting the hippogryph to do all the work flying back to Stormwind. She clutched harder as she felt her mount start the descent down to Stormwind. Morgana dug her nails deep into the feathers of her mount as it landed fearing that part the most of the flight.
"Thank you," she called as the hippogryph came to a complete stop and hopped off.
Morgana saw the stairs to the Cathedral and glanced around overwhelmed with the population of red in Stormwind. She saw everything. People on the streets from the next block over, in their homes, even in the Cathedral Square itself. Everything was red and now she had to distinguish friend from foe.
She kept her weapon low as she slowly turned inspecting every red body that was seen. As she grew more accustomed to the frames of red she started to search for anything unusually shaped. Men, women, and children all had the same form but the Legion's pawns were sometimes smaller and animal shaped.
The rain continued as Morgan felt it start to affect her. The sudden shivers started and she knew sniffling would soon follow. She also knew she couldn't leave her post empty handed. If Farron was convinced something was here then there usually was something there. Returning home without anything to show to him would bring extra training with the infa-red sight.
Morgana formed fists with her hands to avoid shivering and braced her shoulders tighter for less movement. She turned again to start the search over moving from left to right. As she turned to face south she felt warmth under her nose and quickly wiped it away.
"Gross," she breathed, seeing her hot breath in the rain. "I'll be sick tomorrow."
"What are you doing in the rain!" a voice called to her at the top of the Cathedra stairs.
Startled, Morgana quickly turned with her gun half raised and eyes wide. The body that stood on the stairs behind her was still in red but had familiar qualities. The shoulders were broad and as it stepped closer the hairstyle was immediately recognizable. Once she realized who was calling to her she lowered her weapon and her head bowing deeply.
"Forgive me," she begged. "I was startled."
"What happened to your eyes?" the Prince asked now standing before her.
Morgana thought for a moment looking off into the distance. The red dye coloring from his formula must've stained her eyes so that they appeared red to others.
"Infa-red," Morgana answered. "I'm looking for something that might've snuck into Stormwind."
He was silent then. Morgana was searching nearby for anything out of the ordinary as the Prince stood before her. She eventually turned back to him as they were both now standing in the rain in each other's company. Morgana couldn't quite make out his eyes with all the red in hers but he seemed to be staring down at her throat or in that area.
"Let's look for it inside," he suggested moving behind her and placing an arm around her shoulders to guide her in.
"No, I can't," Morgana answered, bracing herself against him. "The Cathedral is strictly off limits to me."
"Well at least stand out of the rain!" he exclaimed. "Your sickness is getting worse the longer you're out here."
"My chains will burn me the moment I hit the stairs!" Morgana answered, pushing her hardest against him as the stairs drew closer.
The Prince sighed then; defeated.
"What if I could heal you through the burn?" he asked as Morgana walked under a nearby tree.
She turned to glance at him, "I'm fairly certain my chains will constantly burn as long as I am in an area I'm not supposed to be in."
"Do you realize how ill you're going to be tomorrow?" he asked.
"The common cold?" she questioned. "It'll be more annoying than-"
A red body bolted. Morgana's eyes widened as she raised her gun.
"Found it!" she snarled.