CHAPTER 7

The Aerial Aces vs. the Frozen Fliers

Kel'Thuzad pushed through the guard the Lich King had set up around Icecrown, occasionally brutally slaying any rowdy ghouls that challenged his entrance to the Frozen Throne. The Lich finally made his way to the throne of his master and bowed quickly. "Necromancer," the Lich King said, "what halted your progress?"

"I'm sorry my king, there was an unexpected delay" Kel'Thuzad said. "We were ambushed by goblins and I could swear I saw the Dark Ranger Shadewither with them," he explained, "a shaman destroyed my men and nearly did me in."

"Really?" the Lich King asked. "How many warriors did he have?"

"Only about a dozen and a half" Kel'Thuzad said.

The Lich King approached his servant. With a surge of power the ruler of the Scourge cast Kel'Thuzad to the side. The Lich smashed into a jagged icicle and slid to the ground in a heap. Now the Lich King walked over, picked Kel'Thuzad up and began crushing his neck bones. "You mean to tell me you couldn't stop some crotchety old goblin and twenty warriors with a legion of undead minions at your disposal?" the Lich King bellowed.

"I'm sorry my lord," Kel'Thuzad choked out, "they were much faster, smarter and stronger than my men. The shaman himself demonstrated powers far beyond that of some simple mage, they even rivaled mine."

The Lich King lessened his grip on his servant and the Lich collapsed, clutching his broken neck. "Well, this battle will be far more difficult then originally thought," the Lich King said, "explain to me how the goblins fought. I want every detail, what weapons, what tactics, everything. We have to come up with a counter strategy."

Mira glanced around herself in all directions. She saw hundreds of goblin aircraft being filled with goblins and Forsaken alike. If the Scourge expected a ground attack then they were going to be in for a surprise. Giant zeppelins began taking to air with short bursts of flame. Goblin pilots scrambled into smaller wooden constructs that Mira had never seen before but they called "planes". On each wing of the planes the goblins placed small led-filled rockets that they explained could either be dropped to the ground to explode or fired forward for air-to-air combat.

The Dark Ranger couldn't be more impressed by the ingenuity of her green-skinned allies. "Mira," she heard a voice say and she turned to see Ezzil, "ready?" The shaman reached a hand out and led her through the crowd of busy goblins. They headed toward the "Command Zeppelin" in the center of the area. They stepped out of the crowd and joined Detheroc and a few older shamans on the zeppelin. Mira noted that this craft was far bigger, and far better guarded then the others she had seen. Goblins wielding net guns and some just holding onto bottles of the explosive potion Mira had seen earlier stood a protective barrier around the elite goblin warriors and the personal Forsaken guard.

"Are we taking off soon?" Mira asked.

"Any minute now" Ezzil answered, pointing a few confused warriors into their proper positions. Just then a loud noise filled the air and Mira turned to see flame igniting, filling the zeppelin with hot air and they began rising. All around them other zeppelins maneuvered around the occasional plane as they made their way into the heavens as well.

"How long before we reach the Frozen Throne?" Mira asked.

"The time draws near, don't be too impatient my lady" the goblin shaman said.

"What the hell is that?" Bloodbane asked, pointing far into the horizon. Thebis glanced up, following the Death Knight's gaze.

"I don't know Baron, shall I call for a scout to investigate?" the Crypt Lord asked.

"No," the Baron said, "I'll deal with this myself. Therashk!" From the sky a bony claw descended, picking the Death Knight up and throwing him onto the shoulder of his mount. "Forward!" Bloodbane yelled. With that the frost wyrm flapped his enormous wings, covering great distances with each flap. Within minutes they were within ear shot of the mysterious air crafts. Only when the Baron saw goblins piloting them did he decide they were an immediate threat. He guided Therashk back toward Icecrown with great haste. "All available frost wyrms and gargoyles, pick up what ground forces you can and follow me!" the Baron commanded.

At that the air units dropped down, each grabbing an undead rider and then flying next to their general and his mount. "The goblins and the betrayers seek to attack us from the sky, we must not let them land their troops!" the Baron yelled. "Destroy those flying constructs, I don't want a single one landing on Scourge territory! Understand? Good, attack!"

A flock of frost wyrms, led by Bloodbane and gargoyles, led by the Lich Kel'Thuzad screamed through the air toward their opponents. The two sides clashed with many losses on both sides just from the initial impact. Therashk tore into the top of a zeppelin, ripping holes into the balloon that held it aloft and sending it crashing to the ground. Bloodbane glanced to the side, watching as another frost wyrm and its rider exploded into a shower of bone and flesh as a bottle of liquid broke open on the beasts head. The shrapnel fell harmlessly to the ground. Gargoyles dropped abominations into the zeppelins and the undead fighters easily tore through their tightly packed opposition.

This battle would surely be one for the record books.

Mira watched as hordes of frost wyrms and gargoyles smashed into the zeppelins at the front. She notched an arrow, aimed and fired, piercing a far away gargoyles head. She watched as it and its rider plummeted to the ground. Ezzil began chanting ancient incantations in some language Mira didn't recognize. Power shot from the shaman in all directions, forming into bolts of pure energy which slammed into wyrm and gargoyle alike, casting them from the sky. A group of planes buzzed past them, using the rickety thrusters that kept them in the sky to maneuver toward a group of Scourge fliers.

The planes fired rockets in unison. The missiles shot through the air, each exploding just within reach of their targets. The explosions burned the air units to ash and the planes flew through the ash and toward their next targets. Suddenly a beam of pure ice shot toward the Command Zeppelin. The shamans reacted in unison, using their magic to create a shield of magic around the craft that easily blocked the oncoming attack. The frost wyrm that had attacked them charged through the air at them like a flying projectile of bones and mass. The wyrm crashed into the shield but the magic barrier held and the beast shook to recover itself from the impact.

Mira squinted to see the rider. Just as she thought. "Ranger!" a familiar voice yelled at her. "You can't hide forever!" the Baron bellowed. With that Therashk unleashed another breath of ice which harmlessly flowed over the magical shield. But the Baron reconsidered his attack at the sight of an oncoming zeppelin. Aboard the craft a pair of goblins wielding net guns fired their weapons. Enormous nets shot through the air, covering Therashk like a fly in a spider web. The beast struggled to flap his wings but couldn't get enough wind under them to hold himself in the air and soon began falling to the ground.

The Baron drew his runeblade, knowing time was of the essence, and began cutting away at the nets that held his mount captive. After a couple of well-aimed slashes the nets slid off their hostage and Therashk opened his wings to his full wingspan, slowing him just before they hit the ground. The gambit paid off, the duo just barely shaking from the impact of hitting the earth. The Death Knight sprang from his mount just in time to see a zeppelin land on the ground and open a latch. In an instant a flood of goblins and undead poured toward him.

Therashk roared defiantly in the air and shot breaths of ice upon the first lines of enemies. The others just ran to the side of their frozen allies and continued their charge. Bloodbane looked on in horror as a bottle like the one he'd seen destroy a frost wyrm flew towards him. He sprang to the side just in time to see it hit the ground. But the thick layer of snow beneath the potion softened the landing and the bottle didn't break. The Baron breathed a sigh of relief and quickly scooped the item up. Therashk threw his wing at the next line of charging foes, tossing them to the side.

Bloodbane chucked his newly recovered weapon at the mass of charging foes. This time the potion broke over a ghouls head and the liquid ignited, scorching every allied fighter near the unfortunate warrior. But there were still far too many and more and more began landing as zeppelins touched the snowy ground. The Baron raised his blade in defiance, ready to face certain death if it was what the Lich King decreed. A cry from behind him refreshed his spirit and he turned to see an army of Scourge fighters descend from the hills and toward the zeppelins and their cargo.

At the head of the charge was Thebis-Ra, the Crypt Lord casting an acknowledging glance at the Death Knight. Bloodbane joyously joined his brethren and prepared to slay countless betrayers with his powerful runeblade.

In the sky Mira rejoiced as the Scourge's air assault began to falter and the goblin air units began to take the upper hand. Planes shot down gargoyles, nets covered frost wyrms and potions exploding in the middle of everything. It was a losing battle for the Scourge and soon they retreated. "Yes!" Mira cried. "Ezzil, we've done it! They're running like spineless cowards!"

"Not too cocky my lady, we still have the warriors on the ground to deal with," the shaman explained, "of course that's for our warriors to pursue, not us. Pilot, head for Icecrown!" The Command Zeppelin shot through the air with another blast of fire and the Frozen Throne began coming more and more into view.

Mira only hoped that together they would stand a chance against the Lich King and his personal guards. Of course that was like a caterpillar against a praying mantis, the Dark Ranger prayed to her queen one last time before drawing her bow and completely putting the danger out of her head.