Well, here we are another chapter for Transcendence. Better yet, we have two for you this time. To make up for all the delays and crap, hope you like them. Because they will be the last chapters for this year. It had been a damn adventure it had, writing and getting all this done, really has been fun, because now we are in unexplored waters and I am giddy at the thought.
Enjoy the chapter.
Transcendence
Chapter 30: Calm before the Storm
'Two on the right, one to the left,' Ichigo thought, glancing in both directions quickly before coming up with a counter attack.
The substitute turned and swung Zangetsu to the right; catching the closest armored soldier's shield and making him stumble into his comrade. That gave Ichigo time to turn around and swing at the lone man coming at his left. Even as he braced and raised his shield to block, the strike staggering him as he stumbled to the side. Ichigo followed him and quickly kicked in the back of his leg, driving him to a knee and leaving Ichigo to finish him off.
Grabbing the back of his neck guard Ichigo pulled him back, forcing him to look up as Ichigo drove the pummel of his Zanpakuto into his helmet. The metal faceplate caved in along his forehead, he was lucky he had a helmet on; otherwise it may have killed him.
The man hit the ground with a thud, leaving him moaning and dazed, and likely having some form of whiplash. Ichigo turned to see the two soldiers were back on their feet and charging. Ichigo raised Zangetsu and blocked the sword strike, the swing doing nothing to break his defense as he immediately retaliated. Strafing to the side just enough to get a strike in, pulling Zangetsu along the soldier's blade he jerked the shaft towards his helmeted head.
A loud clang sounded as the metal shaft met the guards hastily raised shield. But Ichigo was not deterred and instead quickly planned a second strike.
The opportunity came when Ichigo saw the second guard attack, moving around her fellow guard and planning on stabbing Ichigo while he held off her comrade. Her blade was poised back to stab, but the substitute quickly stepped around the guard's flank and put the male guard between him and her. As he did so he flicked his blade forward and with the sudden shift in resistance the guard stumbled forward.
His opportunity found the substitute raised Zangetsu, swinging it up and above his head. Arcing it around and slashing it towards the man's dominant leg, throwing him off his feet as it cut it out from under him.
'Lucky he still has a leg,' Ichigo mused quietly, happy his Zanpakuto hadn't taken the limb.
Ichigo jumped back as the female warrior leaped over her sprawled comrade and made another stab towards the substitute. He stepped to the side of the stab and quickly pressed his palm against the back of the blunt edge and then pushed it forward, hard. The result was the blade connecting with the woman's chest and leaving a decent dent in her armor, while also sending the warrior off her feet.
As she let out a gasp for breath Ichigo heard a whistle behind him, turning he saw three more coming right for him. Letting out a single breath he moved to attack, meeting them halfway before rolling under the swing of one warrior. The large claymore sailing over the substitute as he rolled into a crouch and between all three of the warriors.
Ichigo stood up quickly and batted away the second swing with Zangetsu. He then raised his free arm and caught the wrist of one warrior and halted the descent of his sword. Kicking in his knee Ichigo dropped him down to it, before swinging his Zanpakuto around and into his back.
The soldier was bashed face first into the ground, his armor actually sinking into the soft soil. He made no sound, and even if he did Ichigo did not hear it. Instead he turned his full attention back to the warrior with the claymore, who was bringing his sword around for another attack.
He batted aside the blade and quickly delivered a punch to the face. The metal faceplate warped under the metal enclosed fist, the guard staggered back in shock and a little bit of pain.
Ichigo examined his gauntleted fist, he had to admit having armor was something he surely needed. Especially when delivering some hard knocks to these guys, and whatever it was made of, something he always kept forgetting, did not hinder him at all. He really should go back to Bonkotsu and see about getting it repaired though. The smiths here say that they aren't equipped to repair this kind of armor.
He had been forced to remove all the protection along the arms aside from the pauldrons and bracers, leaving everything from just above his wrist to just shy of his shoulder exposed. But still, gave him a bit more freedom to swing Zangetsu than before. Still, loss of limb made that moot, so next chance he got he would go back to Stormwind and speak with him.
Ichigo glanced to the side to see the third guard attack, his sword raised and ready to fall. The substitute beat him to it, rushing forward after stabbing Zangetsu into the dirt and shouldering into the man's chest. But Ichigo quickly dropped low and then grabbed his still outstretched sword arm and shoulder tossed the poor bastard right into the ground.
He hit the ground with a heavy thud, but the substitute wasn't done, Ichigo kneeled down and quickly delivered a punch to the face. The man moaned out and appeared to be in a daze, leaving Ichigo time to plan out how to deal with the rest of them. He looked over to see that of the first group of soldiers only the woman and second man were still up, the former staggering to her feet while the latter limped along to reinforce the last man standing of the second group.
This shouldn't be too difficult; the guy had a dented helmet and likely couldn't see too well. The woman was wheezing and likely had trouble breathing with the dented breastplate and the guy had a limp. This would be an easy win.
Stepping over the downed soldier Ichigo rushed forward and quickly kicked away the guard's sword, before he reached for his own blade. Once he felt the familiar metal grip of his Zanpakuto he ripped it from the ground and swung it around at the defenseless man. Who could do nothing but yell out in surprise and pain as he was flung off his feet and onto his back. A long dent formed on the side of his chestplate that was more than likely pressing uncomfortably against his waist and stomach.
Ichigo moved past him before he even hit the ground, going after the last two standing soldiers, planning on putting them down for good. With a simple one handed swing of Zangetsu he knocked aside the shield and then punched him in the side of the head, sending him to the ground. Making a beeline for the woman who raised her shield and sword in defense, Ichigo knew it wouldn't do.
Taking Zangetsu in both hands he drew back the blade and thrust it forward, connecting to the shield and propelling the armored woman back. She landed in the mud hard and let out a cough as she rolled from side to side and tried to get up, but resigned herself to simply remain there.
Ichigo let out a breath as he sucked in another one, shouldering Zangetsu he turned and looked to the left. Seeing about two dozen other soldiers standing there, waiting and watching the battle, but only three did not have any helmets on.
All of them had different expressions on their faces; the woman leading them had a completely neutral expression. But he could feel the lingering stare on some of the soldiers he had taken down. While behind her were two soldiers in red and blue lined armor respectfully, wearing just as contrasting expressions of smugness and dejection.
"Anyone else?" Ichigo asked.
"No, I think you have done enough damage, don't want half the guard to be hospitalized," Colonel Lorena said, stepping forward and giving a quick whistle. "Get them to Doctor VanHowzen; he has a few more patients this evening."
Ichigo moved aside as the soldiers moved to carry their downed comrades to the barracks and then the infirmary. It certainly had been a bout to remember, and one that he had come out of again without a single scratch on his person. That was impressive in the opinion of others, but for him it was really not surprising.
He had faced all kinds of dangers before coming to Azeroth. From hordes of hollows, to Shinigami that were once his enemy and the Espada. Dodging was one of the few things that kept you alive, if you did not dodge, you were pretty much likely to die.
But still it had been fun and keeping him busy for the last week, training and fighting in order to improve his skills. While these guys were not making it much of a challenge it was giving him an idea on fighting against groups of enemies. Something he suffered for when he was in Redridge, getting ganged up on was not something you want to happen under any circumstance.
It gave him something along the lines of battlefield awareness, and often at times he would actually fight alongside a few other guards to get the feel for it. He had to say it did give him a bit of an idea what it means to make sure you don't hit one of your own guys by accident.
"Nice work Ichigo, you gave the good doctor more patients to work on," Lorena said, walking forward and watching as Guardsman Lana was being carried by two fellow guards away from the training ground. "Although you didn't need to be so rough, I often am afraid you will skewer someone with that massive butcher's blade."
Ichigo looked down at Zangetsu and shared her apprehension for a time, when he first started using Zangetsu in training it was determined to be quite dangerous to use. Often it would cleave through the armor the guards wore and nearly resulted in a few maiming's and deaths. Luckily he had a solution to that, after he had a while to think about it when he was lectured by Jaina not to do something so reckless again.
He had dulled the edge of his Zanpakuto; it was an idea he came up with when he recalled some of his previous fights against some of his more durable enemies. Kenpachi came to mind and how he was impervious to harm, and he remembered that it was all about spiritual control. By controlling the flow of energy through the Zanpakuto one can actually sharpen it and make the cutting edge stronger.
So he had a theory: by controlling the flow of spiritual energy in the blade one can make the blade's edge narrow and sharp, but if it is not controlled it can go blunt and dull. So he decided to do just that and make sure that his blade did not have a sharp edge when fighting. It turned out it had worked; by cutting the flow and halting it to Zangetsu he was able to make the blade semi-dull.
He had surprised himself when he came up with this, he had no idea it could work but it seems it did.
"Don't worry; I dulled Zangetsu's edge, so it won't be a problem." Ichigo replied, raising the blade over his shoulder and sheathing the blade.
"As you say, but still the fact that it is a massive weapon and you barrel through anything in your way still has me concerned," Lorena replied.
She was looking at him skeptically, before glancing at her men who were trying to remove one of the Guardsman's helmets. Sadly the helm had been damaged too badly to be removed by normal means, looks like it would need to be pried open.
All the while members of Blue team were mocking the dismally defeated warriors of Red team. Honestly this was meant to simply be for training purposes, but now the damn guard is divided by some stupid team based pissing contest.
"Hey, you asked me to teach these guys how to fight, I am doing that," Ichigo replied, a little sour that he is getting flak for doing what they wanted him to do.
He had gone to Jaina the day after returning from Stormwind, mainly to ask what he should do, and she jumps down his throat saying she needs her space. It kind of got awkward and annoying after that, things were said and arguments were had, but in the end she decided to put Ichigo in the training pit to help train the soldiers.
'Saying I will learn something, maybe he can teach them a few things as well.' Ichigo thought to himself privately. 'Well, she wasn't lying.'
They wanted someone to train against that is skilled, and he could say for certain that he fit the bill nicely. He had fought against Captains that had centuries of experience and training, a few guards with a decade or two experience really wasn't going to cut it against him. They probably realized the same thing and that is probably the reason they asked him to go all out.
'Yet, they yell at me later when I do.' Ichigo grumbled, remembering the lecture from Jaina about thirty minutes after the argument that led him to be pitted against her guards.
So he was to go at them with everything he had, albeit with some safety precautions and they had to try and subdue him. But given that he was more skilled than these guys it was more about him beating them up and them learning from it. Along with giving him a few lessons on actually how to deal with groups of enemies.
His record for most guards fought was ten at the moment. Ichigo was hoping to get to twenty, set a record, or something.
"Yes, but I may have misjudged your skill, from what Pained has told me you have not shown any real proficiency in swordplay," Lorena replied, remembering the word that she had used. "More along the lines of just swinging at anything that comes your way."
"What the hell is wrong with that?" Ichigo retorted.
"Charging in doesn't solve every problem, remember that, bravery is only reserved for those facing defeat. Not those charging at the enemy not knowing they can't win," Lorena replied.
Ichigo could get what they were saying, 'Might wasn't always right', and 'Difference between courage and stupidity'. But he had gone through enough to know how to survive, and he hasn't failed yet and he won't.
"Whatever you say," Ichigo mumbled.
"You can rest for the remainder of the day, I think sending more guards at you is not a good idea." Lorena finished, moving off to see about getting the men back to their regular training that didn't involve the boy.
Although maybe she could see if he could teach some of the guard his moves, mainly his hand to hand skills, they were quite different from the usual grapples that they employed. He seemed to be well versed in hand to hand combat, more so than with the sword, from the way he uses it there is no form to it. But with his martial skills he is much more proficient.
Ichigo waved her off as he exited the training ring, and moving off to one of the nearby stalls where his two friends were busy watching and conversing. Caren and Adelina had gotten along quite well, both of them seemed to be hitting it off. Two peas in a pod, as the saying goes back home. Once you get past that stuck up persona that Caren used sometimes it was not that bad to listen to her, she was insightful and very knowledgeable about the world. Something that really made Adelina listen to her, always eager to learn more about the Human race.
"You did well, although your sword technique is still a hazard at best," Caren stated, looking at Ichigo as she took a sip from her cup.
"Yeah, thanks, like I haven't heard that for the last week from you," Ichigo replied, giving her a flat look.
"I am merely stating that your sword skill has no exact form, all you do is react and strike," Caren said, raising a hand as if to mockingly surrender but offer nothing in terms of an apology, she tended to do that a lot.
"It makes me unpredictable," Ichigo replied, he may not have a style and little experience but he had always used that to his advantage. "Makes it harder for them to hit back when they don't know what I will do. Also makes them think I am not a threat, I then prove them wrong when they get overconfident."
"And it leaves you open when you overextend yourself, the reason fighting forms exist is to keep you alive," Caren stated. "If you follow a fighting style you know every motion of that swing before and after it is done, and that way it keeps you from making half thought out attacks that could leave you wide open to a strike."
Ichigo didn't deny that, there was a few times where he had actually landed a strike against some of his opponents that had extensive sword skill. Byakuya was one, and the only reason he got a hit was because the guy was too damn smug when they fought and didn't take him seriously. But when he did the guy was impossible to take on without putting all his effort into it.
Still he couldn't admit that right now.
"Yeah, hasn't happened yet, so no need to worry," Ichigo brushed off, getting an annoyed groan from Caren.
"I believe you did well, even without any skill in true sword form you easily dominated the battle, and that is what is important, remaining in control and not allowing your enemies the upper hand," Adelina said.
Ichigo smirked; the two of them were always offering something to him. Caren was the ever critical and up tight while Adelina was a free spirit that did nothing but offer support and guidance when needed. Guess the saying goes that opposites do attract, and in a way both of them had become people he could actually rely on.
"True, but still he should be careful; overconfidence has been the death of many warriors. Try to not get too smug about your skill at beating up Guardsman," Caren said, putting down the cup and giving two silver coins to the stall owner.
"I'll try," Ichigo mumbled back, turning and moving down the partially paved road. "You guys want to go to the docks?"
Both did not answer; instead following after him as they moved around the side of the barracks and towards the dockyard. All of them planning on spending the rest of the day enjoying the cool ocean breeze and getting in some fishing.
Another one of the few hobbies he had picked up in his stay here, always something to do and pass the time. Since he had plenty of it, and the fact it took his mind off things, it was something Jaina had forced him to do for his own good. Couldn't doubt it was therapeutic, almost mind numbing, and that is what he needed right now.
So he got a few fishing poles, bait and a few chairs. He and the girls would fish for hours, talking about whatever came to mind and exchanging stories of home. It was quite interesting, although it was a little weird when he first started, mainly because of the teacher they had.
Net Paddle or something, a guy that was called The Anglers Quartermaster, some sort of Master Fisherman.
Ichigo thought he was a weirdo, kept spouting off about crap that he predicted in his dreams and that he even foretold that he would become a fishing god that would be known through the world. It became even more annoying that he has seen a future where a man who is named after a fruit will be destined to be adored by many women for his carnal exploits and ability to please woman in bed.
Ichigo did not know why, but he got really pissed off when he said that.
But still the fishing was nice, never had done it before and it passed the time and they would mostly talk. Even of things back home did not seem to bother him as much as they use to, actually made him feel better. Like he was taking a load off his shoulders, making it easier for him to handle what was going on with his situation.
"How is the glove?" Caren asked.
Ichigo glanced at her before remembering the little gift he had received from Galen after they had agreed to help with their project. He looked down at the Glove he had on his hand, it was a tight fitting, covered in runes and other scripture.
Galen had been informed of his susceptibility to the Arcane, mostly how he had some adverse reactions to it, so he had provided him with something to take the edge off. A Mana Sealing Glove, something that actually worked to keep most Arcane energies away from him, creating a field that prevented his body from taking in or being touched by arcane energies.
"Been good, in fact I have been feeling a little more rested now, guess the ambient mana in the air was affecting me." Ichigo said, realizing only recently that mana was as dense here as spiritual energy was in the World of the Living back home.
Sad to say it was likely the reason for so many of his problems as of late, or maybe it was like he was breathing in poison. Either way with the glove now on his hand he could sleep easy, knowing that he didn't have to worry about any rampant arcane energies affecting him adversely.
"Yes, it is a good thing that it was made for humans and elves, and that you appear human as well. Replicating that item is next to impossible to do." Caren said, lifting up her fishing pole and tugging at the line.
Actually that was something he was interested in, funnily enough, it had been bugging him and he hadn't brought it up till now.
"Hey, I remember you saying something about me looking Human when you first came here, what was that about?" Ichigo asked, recalling how Caren has asked why Ichigo had decided to take on a Human form when coming to the mortal plane.
It had confused him for a bit, and made him recall a few incidents where his body had not acted like it should have. From hunger and thirst, pain and injury, along with a whole lot of other biological things that he realized he had never done before in his soul form.
"When you described to me what you were I was suspecting you to be a Primal God, a deity similar to what the Trolls worship," Caren replied. "I found it odd that one would take the form of a Human, considering that they are animal spirits."
Ichigo did recall that, getting a brief explanation at the meeting after Caren had asked the question. But the line of inquiry ended there when he had explained that all Shinigami appeared to be Human, mainly because they are technically Human souls.
"Yeah, but you said something about me manifesting, and got me to wondering. How is it that I have a body?" Ichigo asked.
"I am surprised you did not speak of this sooner. Anyone could have answered this to you, it is quite simple. It is a container for your essence, your soul," Caren replied, and Ichigo looked to Adelina who nodded her head as to confirm this.
"That is true, your soul had been bound to a vessel so that you can interact with the mortal world," Adelina replied.
Ichigo got the idea that may be the case, but what the reason was he had no idea. On his world he could still interact with the normal world even as a spirit, so what was the point of having a body? And how did he even get one?
"Alright, but how did I get it?" Ichigo asked.
"Likely the summoning, from what my master can theorize the Nether is actually a spiritual plane as well as an arcane one. It is a place of demons and other malicious entities, also it is an unbound realm and to survive in it one must be a part of it. It is likely why you were unable to acclimatize to the realm, it was saturated with arcane and fel energy, it would have been poisonous to you," Caren said.
From what she could recall it is likely that is why Ichigo was able to interact with the realm so well, and if he was a spirit when he entered it and interacted with the dimension it only confirmed that the nether was spiritual in nature. While the arcane energies existed within it, it is possible it could be a universal dimension, a sort of spiritual body of the cosmos.
"Yeah, but how does that mean I got a body out of nowhere?" Ichigo asked, passing a stall near the beginning of the docks.
He quickly picked up a fishing pole, one of three that he had bought when he decided to start fishing. Although he had been tricked into buying a damn expensive fishing pole, from that Net Paddle guy, said to be the best one he had. Lying bastard.
Squashing any negative thoughts Ichigo reached into his pouch and grabbed a silver coin, flipping it to the stall vendor; he paid the guy to look after and keep their pole clean and cared for. It was pretty decent really, and since he kept them clean and with fresh hooks Ichigo didn't have to fiddle with them.
"Demons are also spiritual in nature, so in order to summon them they must be materialized. As far as I am aware all demonic summons require a body to be made for the user, otherwise they would simply be pure spirit." Caren replied. "If that were to happen they would be trapped in the spirit realm."
"So, I am in the spirit realm all the time on Earth, what is the problem with that?" Ichigo asked.
"From what you told me it is likely that you are actually materialized or at least semi-materialized on your world. Because if you were not your spirit would be pulled back into the nearest spiritual plane. While there does exist spiritual planes that run parallel to the normal world, they are actually very far separated." Caren replied.
Ichigo guessed that maybe it had to do with Karakura Town being a highly rich spiritual ground; since there was so much spiritual energy there it kind of brought the realms together. He didn't really know, hell he was having trouble with what he was listening to right now.
"So this magic summoning gave me a body like that?" Ichigo asked, thinking that just going with 'its magic' gig is probably going to save him from a massive headache later.
"I do not know for certain, more powerful entities require more power and also usually shells that are specially made for them." Caren replied. "I once heard it required one Troll priesthood too slay one hundred spiders in order to summon up one of their spider gods. And that was simply to use the corpses to construct a body for their god to inhabit."
Ichigo was a little surprised by this, so what does that mean exactly for him? If it took so much power to create a vessel than how did they create his body so easily?
"So, what about me then?" Ichigo asked.
"Don't know, but if you are as powerful as you say you are this shell may have just been a quick container." Caren replied. "It could also explain why you are straining to use your powers; maybe it is not about your inability to summon it up. But the fact that your body may not be able to handle that power without causing you harm."
Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the comment; his body may not be able to handle the pressure of his power? That he had no idea about, but he did know that his body did seem to be a little less durable as it had been when he was in his spirit form. Also wounds and cuts seemed to be a bit harder to ignore than before, and if his time in the Burning Steppes is anything to go by, he most certainly could get heatstroke.
"Caren is not wrong; a powerful being requires complex rituals and physical forms in order to house their essence. Also these forms need to be made specifically otherwise it can weaken the spirit, so maybe this is why you are so restrained, as she said, your body is Human and therefore can only handle the stresses a Human can handle," Adelina chimed in.
Ichigo guessed that did make sense, if this was a Human body that meant it was just as fragile as his human body. That could be bad; even if he was tough in it, he still would be limited to what he could do and what kind of powers he could use. In fact now that he remembered his Flash Step seemed to be a bit slower, also he felt a lot of wind drag when going through it too. Another thing was that it was harder for him to see where he was going while using it, like his senses couldn't keep up with the speed anymore.
'I should probably test that out, see what is wrong.'
Either way his powers were still up to a level where he would be alright in any major engagement he could have. So long as he didn't pick a fight with some kind of Primal God he should be fine, although knowing his luck all kinds of bad guys would be coming out of the water works soon.
"So the summoning did this to me? Body and all?" Ichigo asked.
"More than likely, it probably just created a form for you that could house your soul, had it been more powerful likely you would have been less restricted in your powers." Caren replied. "But I have no idea what it did or why, if we ever see the circle I could tell you, but this is mostly guess work."
That wouldn't be too bad, having more of his power at the front that can be brought to bear. But sadly the world doesn't always work out for you. But if it did work out, he would certainly get a few of his questioned answered, such as why he was brought here.
After all, what are the odds he came here by chance?
"Well, that certainly has given me something to think about," Ichigo mused, tossing his reel into the water.
He looked out into the ocean as the sun began to retreat over to the western skies. He reclined in his fishing seat as Caren and Adelina followed his example. At least Ichigo had something to do while he thought about it.
Ferelas, Outskirts of Dire Maul
There was sound of battle within the confines of the city, even at a distance one could make out the shouts of hundreds if not thousands of combatants within. All around one could hear the cries of blood and battle, the sound of metal against metal and throaty roars of the warriors.
Near the outskirts the Gordunni Ogres, current rulers of Dire Maul, have set up a beachhead outside the city gates. Fighting both to contain and retake parts of the city that they have lost to their adversaries, who continue to press these former occupants. Most of the former Elven capital had been overrun by demons, the Ogres being nearly driven out and the secret Elven community within next to meet the demons march for conquest.
"This doesn't look good, in fact it looks worse than what we planned," a man said aloud. Blond haired and bearded, covered in a mix of dull grey armor and brown leather and carrying a large axe.
A mercenary man, one of eight, they were looking over the entrance of Eldre'thalas, now more commonly known as Dire Maul. From what could be seen the many Ogres that lived in the surrounding wilderness had returned to defend their home, and have blocked the only entrance to the city. Preventing anyone from getting in, or anything from getting out, but with the way they were going, it wouldn't be long before whatever was inside did get out.
"Yeah, we had expected resistance, but not an army of Ogres to be in our way," a Gnome said, pulling out a spyglass and looking over the defenses the ogres had erected.
Hastily formed barriers, composed of fallen tree logs and bits of rubble, crude but effective at funneling whatever came out into a tight corridor where the Ogres would meet in melee. With a quick look the mage could make out what they were fighting, and gave off a low whistle.
"Well, it seems that we have demons running the show now, that makes our lives a whole lot worse," the Gnome said, putting the spyglass away and grabbing his staff.
"Are we getting paid extra for fighting demons?" The blond warrior asked.
"We already have, the Eastern part of the city is mostly controlled by demons, or as the reports go. But if they are massing, that means we may be dealing with more than Satyrs along with Imps and Succubi," a woman said, covered head to toe in tight dark brown and black leather, two swords sheathed at her sides and a crossbow on her back.
"How are we meant to get past that?" The warrior asked.
"We don't, we're going to have to fall back and plan something else."
The mercenary band turned to the one that had hired them, or more correctly had hired their boss. The red haired woman had her face concealed by the shadow of her blue cloak. But one could make out her pale features and shapely face enough to know she was a beautiful young woman. But this beautiful woman had been leading them on one massive excursion all around Kalimdor, searching for something called the Fruit of Fertility.
They had come here after learning it was within the city, they had no idea what it was but it was needed for whatever she was planning in the Desolace. And if it was important enough that she was still willing to go in there with demons and Ogres present, it had to be worth something big.
"Falling back to the Desolace seems a little far to me, took us two weeks to get here," The blonde warrior said, crossing his arms.
"We have no choice, Marta said we needed to report back with any complications, this is one," another warrior said, black haired with a sword and shield on her back, she looked at their employer and spoke with utmost seriousness. "We don't have the numbers to get in there. It would be suicide."
"You are correct, we don't, you will go back to Marta, tell her what happened and I will return to her in due time," the hooded woman replied.
"Hold on a minute, you leaving is not something that you can do, you still owe us our payment," the blonde warrior said, scowling at the redhead.
"I am not abandoning this, not for anything, I do plan on getting the Fruit of Fertility, and then returning back to the Desolace," she said, smiling slightly. "And then, you will get your payment."
"What do you plan on doing to get the fruit then?" The Gnome mage inquired.
"I will to go to Feathermoon Stronghold, once there I can warn the Sentinels of the Demons, if they act I may be able to go with them to accomplish my mission," she replied.
"You sure about that Codexia?" The Gnome asked.
She smiled slightly, and showing off her pearly white teeth.
"Don't worry, I have it all under control, and if all goes well. I will be one step closer to gaining what I want in the Desolace, and maybe even a few allies if what the Shadow Council lackey said was true," Codexia replied, her hand clasped in shadows as she planned out how to enter the city and claim what she needed for her future undertakings.
Theramore, Three Days Later
Jaina looked down at the badge once more, something of a routine with her every single afternoon for the last week. She would look over the badge and try to discern its purpose and design. It had become a very intriguing fascination for her to learn from this device.
It had become more than a passing fancy than she should have allowed, with so much that took up her time she should not focus so much on this device. News of Shady Rest beginning to expand beyond Theramore and into the rest of the continent, and beyond, things have been less than peaceful. The Horde has taken it upon themselves to investigate the incident and the involvement of the Grimtotem, something that she was grateful for.
She had exchanged some secret letters with Thrall over the matter and with a viable suspect and testimonies from both the Alliance and Horde to cooperate there was not much in terms of denial. It was even better that the Grimtotem were not officially part of the Horde, the Warchief would come down on them hard. Where he would need to be cautious if it was committed by his own people.
The inner workings of the Horde was much more different than the Alliance, and how they handled treason and unlawful acts of aggression were very different. But even so, she was still having all kinds of issues befall her as of late.
A lot of political maneuvering had to be done to prevent this situation from escalating, Stormwind has been asking for remands for those responsible and for them to be handed over for Alliance justice. Although it is likely not to happen, due to the fact the Grimtotem would never hand over any of their kin or admit their guilt. And the Horde likely would not allow it, even if not officially part of the Horde, they were affiliated with them and that would only cause further tension.
And creating tension that was not there was a bad idea, the peace treaty between the Horde and Alliance was thin, and ready to break apart at the earliest sign of strain. This needed to be handled carefully and without fingers or swords being pointed at one another.
However her time working on the badge was a welcome reprieve.
She digressed, this was something she found to be a task away from the stresses of politics and leadership, actually going out of her way to help someone that has helped her. It reminded her of when things were simpler, where she did not need to worry about her Kingdom and the people within. Just going about small tasks that still provided her a challenge to test her mind, like when she was still just a student in Dalaran and had only to worry about grades rather than maintaining peace between the Alliance and Horde.
"I see that you are still trying to learn more about the device," Tervosh said, stepping forward and looking at the wooden badge. "How are things coming along?"
"Slow, it is difficult to determine how the device works but I have found that it does so in a strange manner," Jaina replied.
"How so?" Tervosh inquired, raising a curious eyebrow.
"The strangest thing, it seems that the device is designed to siphon off ambient spiritual energy around it. Also it seems to be inert, likely only working when it is in proximity to something, and my theory is that Ichigo is the catalyst," Jaina replied.
"It is siphoning off his power?" Tervosh inquired.
"Possibly, likely using his energies to power the devices functions, but I feel that there is more to it than that," Jaina said, theorizing as to what this little device could be used for.
Her magical analysis has proved to be mostly fruitless in determining the purpose of the badge and what it does exactly. But if the device has a reservoir to hold the spiritual energy, that could only mean it is designed to draw in energy and use it in some manner, no different from an engine and fuel. But surely it had more to it than just separating the soul from the body and also acting as a badge of office. It has too many different components to be so simple, and for it to continually draw out the power did not make much sense, it had to work in more than one fashion than this.
"Perhaps you should focus on something else. Sitting in front of it and trying to think of a way to get it working is not healthy," Tervosh suggested, before handing her an envelope. "Besides, this came today."
Jaina took the letter and looked at the seal, and immediately knew that it was in regards to her research. The wax seal held an imprint of two wrenches over a large gear, this was the symbol of the Tinker's Guild in Ironforge, they had finally replied.
Opening the envelop she pulled out the rough paper and scanned through the letter.
'Greetings to Lady Jaina Proudmoore, Queen of Theramore.
It is an honor to be contacted by one of your prestige and intelligence, and humbling to know you require our aid in one of your endeavors. While you have expressed your desire to keep this task of yours secret, something we understand fully, we hope that the assistance we can send will be to the standard you requested.
The individual we are to dispatch is well versed in the fields you require, from the arcane to engineering, but also versed in spiritual matters and theory. He was more than willing to offer any assistance to you in this research project you are conducting.
His name is Lobrick Wobblespinner and he shall arrive in Theramore on the tenth day of this Lunar Month. He will provide whatever assistance to you in regards to your dilemma and we sorely hope to be of assistance.
Kindest Regards, High Tinkerer Burmink Thistlemaster, Guildmaster of the Tinkerers Guild.'
Jaina sighed, content to finally be able to get the assistance she needed in researching the badge, with their help she should be able to uncover its secrets. From there she could work out a means to locate the world that Ichigo hails from, at least she hoped. If the Badge held any form of connection to his world, be it physical or spiritual it did not matter, all that matters is that she find a connection.
With that anchor all that remains is to set up a means to search for it, and then plan to create a tether to the world. It would seem that she did not have to focus on that much longer, this mage would be arriving in two days' time and she was certain they could finally put this part of the project behind them and move on.
'I just hope that the badge holds more secrets than what Ichigo has told me,' Jaina thought, hoping that there was some deeper workings within it, something to give Ichigo some hope of returning home.
"Anything of importance?" Tervosh inquired, glancing at Jaina who was lost in thought.
"No, it is nothing," Jaina replied, placing the letter down on the table and deciding to take her fellow mages advice. "Maybe we should move onto something else."
"Well, we have been asked by the Mages of Stormwind to see about selecting a suitable location for the vault. They have accepted the creation of a reliquary here quite eagerly. The prospect of more relics is something they are quite interested in, especially with so many uncharted Elven ruins in this part of the world," Tervosh said.
Jaina did not disagree, from what she had seen when she first arrived here four years ago there were many Elven ruins across the continent. Even she was bursting at the seams of what kind of artefacts that could be recovered from these long abandoned cities and encampments. But never has there been any chance to leave and study them, let alone bring a team in to search and excavate the ruins.
But with this mutual cooperation it could finally begin, she was certain the Explorers League would be more than willing to begin excavating some of these ruins.
"It needs to be in a location that is secure, somewhere that only those allowed access could enter." Jaina thought over, there were few places that it could be situated.
It had to be within Theramore, outside the city would draw to much attention and would require splitting up manpower to protect it. But it also had to be somewhere that even the average citizen would not be able to enter easily, and even then in a place where only those who were permitted to enter.
"Sad to say it, but we do not have room for the vault within Theramore, the Isle is not overly large and the mandate prevents us from building the vault in the open where it is noticeable." Tervosh stated.
"Then the Citadel is the only option, but not towards the sky, instead we will build it beneath the tower, far beneath it, deep into the rock," Jaina said.
It was their only option, adding an extension onto the tower was impossible and did not offer the protection needed, it would be too dangerous. So instead they build the vault below the tower and use it as a defense. The chamber could be built and then sealed, accessible only to teleportation or even a two-way portal system.
The tower was the most defended location in Theramore, was warded against threats, and would be the perfect location for an entryway to the vault. In the event the tower was taken the vault was still protected with no entrance to it, unless those trying to get to it tried to dig. But she was certain that they wouldn't be able to dig very far.
"I concur; a sealed vault beneath the Citadel is the only option, with the power that radiates from this tower it should prevent anyone from breaching it without us noticing," Aegwynn said, moving up the staircase. "But I fear that we must address another matter."
Jaina turned and looked to see someone trailing in behind her handmaiden, an Elven Sentinel. That was a surprise she did not expect to see come here.
"Lady Jaina, I come on behalf of Shandris Feathermoon, we are in need of support," the Sentinel said, stepping forward and giving a short bow towards the mage but not stopping as she continued to speak quickly. "Demons have been spotted within Eldre'thalas, or as it is known, Dire Maul, they have begun to overrun the city and we fear that if they capture it they may spread to the rest of the region and further."
Jaina was surprised by this, there was a demonic horde massing in Feralas? How could something like this have been kept hidden for so long? Regardless she gave the Sentinel her full attention. If the demons were able to gain a foothold in the ruins of a city, they would be impossible to drive out without an army. Especially if the demons are bringing in reinforcements from the Nether.
"What do you require?" Jaina asked.
"Whatever support you can bring to bear, Shandris intends to move her forces tomorrow to march against the demons," the Sentinel replied. "Whoever you can send can travel with me back to Feathermoon Stronghold."
"Tomorrow?" Jaina said, surprised by the suddenness of this request.
There was no way she could gather her guard in that time, it would take too long to amass her entire force to send there and she had not the means to send them all in mass. They would not reach it by foot or sea, not by tomorrow, and she had only a dozen gryphons at her disposal. It would be impossible to send anyone to aid in the fighting, anyone that mattered.
"I do not have the means to gather a force and send them there that quickly," Jaina apologized; she did not have a means to send a Company across the continent at a whim.
It would take a day or two for her forces to get ready, and then to send them out would require even more time. It would take two weeks at least to reach Feathermoon Stronghold with a sizable force.
"We are in desperate need of support, if not immediately than soon. We have only five hundred Sentinels to put towards the assault. We need more reinforcements, and Ashenvale cannot spare anymore of its warriors, not in time," the Sentinel replied.
Jaina was at an impasse, if she could not support Shandris in this assault than it would likely fail. Without the numbers they had no chance of defeating the demons, it would only cost them lives.
But then she remembered something, a certain someone that had fought against incalculable odds and succeeded where a normal individual could not. She smiled to herself, Jaina was certain that he would jump at the chance to help Shandris with this dilemma.
"I may not be able to send an army, but I can send a single young man that can fight one," Jaina said, smiling as she noticed a look of comprehension pass over the Sentinel's face as she realized who she was talking about.
There you have it, the reviews are on the next page.
