Bolfr stared warily at a particular kind of tree. Sapphire glanced at him and then at the tree, concerned. The two of them had been wandering the forest for the past few days as Bolfr showed her how to tell the difference between them. This tree didn't seem too bad. Its leaves were small and oval, with serrated edges. Even more distinctive were the tasty looking berries hanging heavily from its branches.
"Are those edible?" Sapphire asked curiously.
"To humans. Not to Drust. That…is a rowan wood," Bolfr hissed angrily. Sapphire had never seen such hostility toward a tree of all things.
"Rowans are mean?" Sapphire asked.
"Yes! Their berries poison us, and they let themselves be used in sword handles and arrows to kill us. Never trust a rowan," He said vehemently.
Sapphire trusted that Bolfr was telling the truth, but she didn't really see how a tree would just let themselves be chopped up to be used for weapons or even how you could trust a tree of any kind.
Bolfr waved her away from the tree. "No no no, you stay away from those. We burned all rowans in Drustvar because of their alliance to humans."
It was dawning on Sapphire that Bolfr might not be the sanest of people, but it was not like Sapphire was either. At least he was nice. To distract her from the problematic rowan tree, Bolfr instead found much "kinder" trees to learn about. He pointed out a greyish shrublike tree with thorns.
"Here, you wish to find some edible berries? Hmm, you have mentioned chest pains around your heart? Look at this hawthorn. The berries and bark are good for the heart."
He also found another bush with thorns and large leaves.
"These snowberries are delicious. Mind those thorns now. The leaves are also good for medicinal uses."
Sapphire collected all the berries, leaves, and bark that he suggested, sneaking a few berries into her mouth whenever he wasn't looking.
"It is not just trees that hate us. Onions and Worgsbane also hate us. Never touch silver. Even the prick of a small needle causes immense pain."
Sapphire followed the Drust back to the ziggurat. "But I'm a Drustling. Can all these really hurt me?"
"Mixed blood you might have, but your soul is Drust. The body follows the soul."
Suddenly, something caused Bolfr to stiffen.
"The fetishes….Something has disturbed their field of power. Someone has entered the forest around the ziggurat!"
With that, the Drust rushed toward the ziggurat, with Sapphire attempting to follow him but her short legs couldn't compete with his. So instead she found one of the thorny bushes that he had just introduced her to and hid under it.
She saw a few robed figures walking through the snowy forest and she crouched down even more. None of them seemed to sense her and were all focused on the ziggurat.
"It's seen better days," One said.
"Yes, but it is better than other locations. The city of En'kilah is overrun. Talramas is more of a ruin than this. The master wants a foothold in the Borean Tundra and we shall give it to him."
Just then, Bolfr lurched out of the woods toward them.
"Who dares enter the forest of the Drust!" He proclaimed menancingly. Sapphire had to admit if someone did not know Bolfr, he cut an intimidating figure. The robed figures all jumped back in alarm except for the one elf in the group. The one looked up at him with derision on his face.
"What sort of creature is a Drust? This ziggurat belongs to the Scourge!"
Bolfr snorted. "This ruin? The Scourge must be in desperate straits if you wish to claim rubble."
The cultist sneered. "Move aside beast, before I crush that skull of yours into dust."
Sapphire got up a bit and did some compulsion magic Bolfr had taught her. She shot it straight at the outspoken elf. The elf immediately jerked in pain and almost keeled over from it. The others tried to help him, but Sapphire forced the elf to stand up by himself. From the distance, Sapphire could see his eyes glowed a dark cobalt.
"No, we don't need this ziggurat," He said, causing confusion to the other cultists.
"But King Arthas-"One started, but was interrupted by the elf. Sapphire's breath caught in throat at the sound of her father's name. These were her father's cultists.
"You heard me! Let us leave this place!"
Bolfr did not get out of his defensive pose until the cultists were past the defensive wards and out of the forest. He then looked over to Sapphire's hiding place.
"I would have preferred you use another form of magic, but it was efficient."
Sapphire popped out from behind the bush. "You don't like bloodshed. Cultists aren't very reasonable. Besides, I finally got to practice on a person!"
She spoke with an exuberance. The spell had worked marvelously. She didn't even know the spell could be used from so far away and so effectively.
Bolfr eyed her. "Yes, you did a good job. It comes to you naturally. Perhaps you might even become a Gorak one day."
Sapphire curled up her lip. "Like Gorak Tul?"
"No, not like him. Gorak is a title, like king or queen in your language. Ingra is as well. It is like…lord or lady I suppose. If I were to defer to your language you would be Lady Sapphire."
Sapphire bristled. "I'm not a lady!"
Bolfr nodded understandably, and then let out a small laugh. "I suppose not with your manners. You eat food like its your first meal in weeks and you wipe your hands on your clothes."
Sapphire picked up a handful of snow and threw it at him. "That's not nice!"
The Drust didn't rise to her aggression. It almost looked like he was smiling, though it was impossible with a skull for a face. Sapphire stuck her tongue out at him.
"Come on then, Lady Sapphire. We should put up some stronger fetishes against intruders."
"Stop calling me that!" Sapphire demanded, but she couldn't stay mad at the Drust and let out a smile.
The two of them scoured the forest for bones and wood, then sat in the snow tying the ingredients together and carving runes into them. As they did so, the sky to the north started to darken. At one point, a rumble roiled overhead.
"A blizzard is coming," Sapphire pronounced. She then started putting her fetishes up. Bolfr scowled.
"What are you doing, we need to hang those-"
"-And let the blizzard knock them all down or scatter them across the tundra?" Sapphire countered. The Drust made a dissatisfied noise but followed suit with bundling up their protective charms.
Blizzard in Northrend were dangerous, especially in the mountains. The Wailing Ziggurat was some distance from the lower mountains, and it was protected with the surrounding forest. The storm might pass over them or veer off into another direction completely, but Sapphire knew you didn't underestimate a blizzard. It would just be safer to hunker down in the ziggurat until the storm died or moved on.
Tryg was standing outside the ziggurat, watching the growling clouds with wide eyes. Sapphire put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Tryg. Is Tanomoan and Rot inside?"
The ghoul turned and nodded. Atleast Sapphire didn't have to wrangle the two back.
"Good. We should head in and close up the ziggurat," Sapphire suggested. The ghoul whimpered before looking back at the blizzard briefly. He then took Sapphire's offered hand and the two of them went inside.
The blizzard was not the only thing preoccupying Sapphire's mind. She worried about those cultists. Though they had been deterred, that did not mean more wouldn't come to investigate. Bolfr and her had agreed to travel to Sholazar before winter came, but their plans might have to be accelerated.
"Meow! Mrowr! Mew!"
"I heard you the first time!" Arthas snapped at one of the kittens as he picked it up. The kitten reached out to the bottle he had in his other hand. Soon the kitten was sucking earnestly at it while the others complained just as loudly.
"Biggs, tell them to shut it or I'll take them back to Naxxramas to starve."
The cat was too busy eating from a bowl filled with fish and livers to berate his children. Arthas had not yet named them and wasn't sure he wanted to. Two of the kittens were boys, both of them black as night with eyes of sky blue. The feisty girl looked just like her dad but with brown eyes that judged everyone.
Arthas sat in a tent on a cliff of the Howling Fjord with the rest of his forces. It had not been long since he had returned from Naxxramas. The spiders had been hatched and were growing. The cats were all gaining weight, with Mr. Bigglesworth starting to look like his old self again. Arthas had shaved the damn cat to get rid of the dirt and matting. The kittens were no longer fur and bones. Now they had become spoiled and bratty whenever it was time to eat.
Kiefer came into the tent with the usual scowl. Though he had appreciated the book on creating abominations as well as the spider eggs, Arthas's furry presents were not well received by the man.
"Sir, we have had a report from our people in the Borean Tundra."
"And?" Arthas asked, still bottle feeding the kitten in his hand.
"They claim there was a Drust living in the Wailing Ziggurat."
Arthas nearly dropped the kitten in surprise and the small ball of fur hissed in response. Bigglesworth gave Arthas a critical look, as if reprimanding him for not being careful with his son. The deathknight looked up at Kiefer darkly.
"Are you sure they said Drust?"
Kiefer nodded.
This was a new development. Arthas had never heard of Drusts until venturing into Kul'Tiras and now not only is his daughter one, but apparently one has shown up in Northrend and even claimed a building that belonged to the Scourge.
"What did it do?" He demanded.
"Threatened the cultists. The leader thought it would be smarter to leave the thing alone and find somewhere else to set up base."
Arthas put down the small kitten and ignored the two others crying out for food. He then left the tent with Kiefer behind him.
He quickly gathered a small group of undead and several necromancers.
"I want you all to go to the Wailing Ziggurat and kill the so called Drust living there. Kill the cowards who left it in peace as well."
Kiefer watched them leave. "We should adjust our plans just in case. There is also an unnatural storm brewing to the northwest of us."
"Northwest as in Icecrown."
Kiefer nodded solemnly. If a storm was forming from the direction of Icecrown, then that meant one of two things. Either the current "Lich King" was dreaming and only made it accidentally, or he was making it intentionally. He wanted Arthas to know that he would not give up easily. Good, Arthas hated easy. It was boring.
"What of our own situation?"
He looked at the vrykul fortress before them. Gjalerbron had been a great source of Vrykul warriors to the Scourge. The Waking Halls themselves would be most likely empty by now either from the Scourge or from their families wakening them.
Though most of the vrykul population had died off from attacks from the Scourge, Horde and Alliance, there were still some lurking about their ancient homes. Gjalerbron was no different. A small group of fierce Vrykul warriors guarded the Waking Halls and were even now aware of Arthas's forces being nearby.
They would prove a nice welcoming fight. It had been so long since Arthas had been in a real fight. He gathered his forces before him in the forest just below Gjalerbron. Ghouls, zombies, wights, skeletons, and a few decent necromancers. All of these stared at him with empty eyes. Arthas gave the undead a dark smile and waved a hand to the mountains and the vrykul architecture that spread out from them.
"No survivors."
The undead all gurgled and snarled and snapped out angry snarls as they surged forward and past Arthas. He casually turned to follow them but looked back briefly at Kiefer.
"It shouldn't take long but feed my kittens while I'm gone."
Kiefer sighed.