CHAPTER 8
The Final Battle Part 1
They approach, come to me, a voice in the Baron's head said. The Death Knight pulled his runeblade from a goblin and turned to Thebis who seemed to also have heard the voice. They nodded at each other and turned from the battlefield, heading toward Icecrown and their master, leaving Therashk and the Scourge to deal with their opponents. Bloodbane looked up and saw Kel'Thuzad's gargoyle flying toward the Frozen Throne as well, apparently the Lich King needed all his top fighters there to protect him. Memories of his last clash with Mira filled his mind, fueling his rage and pressing him forward faster and faster. Thebis kept pace, considering strategies to use against Detheroc and hoping he could finally outdo the demon once and for all.
Mira gazed down at the Frozen Throne as they approached it, knowing full well that Baron Bloodbane would be there to meet her. Tension mounted all throughout the Command Zeppelin as the headed toward the base of Icecrown. Detheroc casually glanced around, suspicious of an ambush or an assault at any point in time. Ezzil calculated odds and went over his plans to bring down the Lich King just before the zeppelin hit the ground. "Alright," Ezzil said, "to the Frozen Throne, to victory!" The other two and a small band of goblin guards stepped out of the zeppelin. Ezzil turned to the guards, "Make sure no one gets past this point, no one" the shaman said. The guards nodded.
Mira, Detheroc and Ezzil turned and began heading up the spiral staircase that led to the Frozen Throne. When they finally reached the top they found the Baron, Thebis and Kel'Thuzad waiting for them. Behind the three Scourge heroes was the Lich King himself, sitting silent in anticipation of the coming battle. "Well, well, well good of you to join us," Bloodbane said, "shall we start the party now that everyone's here?" Mira drew her short sword, Detheroc scraped his claws against the icy wall and Ezzil spun his staff in preparation. Bloodbane unsheathed his sword, Thebis readied his claws and Kel'Thuzad began summoning magic.
In unison the six charged each other. The Baron and Mira met with a clash of weapons, each pushing to break the other's parry. Finally the Death Knight gained the upper hand, forcing Mira to back up and block another incoming slash. Bloodbane growled and continued to press his offensive attacks. Detheroc ducked under a swing from Thebis and brought a clenched fist into the Crypt Lord's chin. Thebis stumbled, but caught his footing and blocked another attack from his enemy.
Ezzil's staff sparked with magic and in an instant the wind throughout the Frozen Throne became a whipping storm. The shaman focused the wind on Kel'Thuzad, throwing a powerful attack at his foe. Kel'Thuzad manipulated the ice just in front of him, summoning a wall to block the wind. Upon impact the wall shattered but proved enough to stop the wind. Mira caught Bloodbane's runeblade and pressed it to the ground, and then she brought her own weapon up into the Baron's face. The side of the hilt slammed into Bloodbane's face, instantly drawing blood and causing him to hesitate. Mira seized the moment, kicking him in the chest and knocking him to the ground.
Thebis swiped viciously at Detheroc, catching the demon on his shoulder and easily cutting an enormous wedge into his skin. Detheroc hissed and tackled Thebis to the ground. The Crypt Lord easily kicked the wounded demon off him and pressed forward for another attack. Detheroc rose to his feet, whispering a small incantation. Instantly Thebis felt dizzy, then he fell to the ground in a sleeping heap of appendages. Now Detheroc changed his incantation, calling on a higher power. The sky above the Frozen Throne split and a flaming boulder descended from the rift. The boulder smashed into the ground just in front of the Lich King and grew arms and legs and a head. The Infernal looked around, spotting the newly awakened Thebis and letting loose a horrible cry. Detheroc cackled to himself, watching as the Crypt Lord struggled to dodge and battle the much bigger demon. The Dreadlord glanced to the side, noting how much trouble Ezzil seemed to be having with Kel'Thuzad and charged the Lich.
The Baron watched in horror as Mira slashed furiously at his face. The Death Knight barely managed to block the oncoming attacks and what ones made it past his guard met his armor. Bloodbane kicked the undead girl in the gut, smashed her face with his elbow and followed up with a sweeping kick. Mira fell to the ground alongside the Baron, clutching at her damaged face. The Death Knight rolled over on top of her, pinning the much weaker Dark Ranger to the ground. "Were I still human I would find this quite arousing" the Baron said, licking the Forsaken ranger's face. Mira shuddered in disgust.
Kel'Thuzad formed up a magical spear of ice and threw it at Ezzil. The shaman threw himself to the side just before the spear would've impaled him. Kel'Thuzad laughed to himself at the shaman's mistake. The Lich raised a formation of ice just beside Ezzil and watched as the shaman collided with it head-on. Ezzil fell to the floor, unconscious. Just then Detheroc clashed with the Lich, catching the undead sorcerer upside the head with a powerful swipe. The attack momentarily dazed Kel'Thuzad, allowing Detheroc enough time to launch a second attack. The demon sent a swarm of magical bats at his new opponent, the attack catching Kel'Thuzad off guard and forcing him into a wall.
Thebis jumped around, dodging the Infernal's enormous fists and trying desperately to damage the brute with his claws. Seeing that his attacks weren't enough Thebis stepped it up a notch. A stream of locusts came from the Crypt Lord's extended claw, buzzing around the Infernal's head. The giant swatted helplessly at the locusts, buying Thebis time to tackle the demon. The attack caught the Infernal off guard, knocking it into the thick wall to the west side of the Frozen Throne. The wall broke under the enormous weight and the demon fell to its doom. Thebis turned his attention back to Detheroc.
Mira searched desperately for a way to get the Baron off of her. Finding nothing usable around her she resorted to the one way she knew to fend him off. The Dark Ranger brought her knee straight up in between the Baron's legs. Bloodbane may have been evil, but he was still human and he still felt pain. The Death Knight fell off of his victim, rolling in agony. Mira smiled and picked up her lost weapon. "Time to end this!" she screamed. The Baron just laid there defenseless. A strong breath of air behind her caused her to turn in curiosity. Therashk's skeleton-like face was all she saw before the wyrm struck her with a powerful sweep of his claw.
Detheroc noted the charging Thebis but was far more concerned with the frost wyrm that stood silently behind Mira. He tried to summon another Infernal but found he had been drained of his magical energy by his last few attacks. He watched in horror as Therashk swiped at the Dark Ranger, catching her in the side and throwing her from the side of Icecrown. Thebis charged into Detheroc, forcing him to turn his attention away from Therashk and toward him.
Bloodbane cackled to himself as he watched Mira plunge over the edge. The goblin guards below watched as the Dark Ranger smashed into the frozen ground below and disappeared below the surface. They edged cautiously towards where she had fallen. Mira's undead hand reached up and grabbed onto the ground, pulling herself out of the crater she had created upon impact. She grabbed her head and popped her neck. "We'll be here all day" she said and began heading back up Icecrown.
With both of his allies temporarily disposed of Detheroc struggled to grapple with Thebis while he watched Therashk, Bloodbane and Kel'Thuzad closing in on him. The demon pulled Thebis forward, lifting the Crypt Lord off the ground and tossed him with all of his strength toward Kel'Thuzad. The Lich reacted far quicker than expected though, manipulating the air around Thebis and stopping him midair. The Crypt Lord landed safely on the ground and Kel'Thuzad returned his attention to Detheroc. Outnumbered and out of magic the demon considered his options.
"No, please, don't kill me, I'll do anything!" the demon begged. Bloodbane just cackled and pointed at the helpless Dreadlord.
"Finish him Therashk!" the Baron ordered. The frost wyrm sucked in air, preparing to freeze the demon with a mighty breath of ice. Suddenly, a blast of concentrated magic slammed into the wyrm, knocking him off balance and forcing the undead beast's head to the side. By accident the wyrm still unleashed its attack, the magical breath flying towards the sitting Lich King. The ruler of the Scourge simply glanced at the breath attack and it fell uselessly to the ground. The Scourge heroes looked to the side in unison. Ezzil stood, his staff aimed at Therashk. From behind him Mira appeared and the sides began to even out once again. "Well, looks like we've got quite a fight on our hands still" Bloodbane commented, drawing his runeblade and charging full-force toward the allied heroes.