Chapter 31
Alyna had no concept of time as the dark magic of the choker forced itself into her mind, but it was not the only battle she was fighting. Fear was spreading through her at a faster rate, interfering with her ability to focus. She was losing the battle. She was no longer aware enough to take in what happened around her. Her next memory was one of deep pain, followed by a lightness as the weight of magic finally lifted from her mind.
"Alyna?" she heard Kyala ask, too concerned to use rank.
She blinked a few times as the world reconstituted itself before her. She looked up at her friend, and then down at the choker. Her fingers cracked and popped as she opened her clenched hands to drop the cursed object and she bodily sagged in relief as much as her restraints allowed.
"I'm here," she managed, feeling drained.
Kyala immediately worked on unbinding her captain, helping her cautiously to her feet once she was done. Stefan bent down to retrieve the choker, examining it closely. "Yes, I can still feel the magic inside, but without the specific bond it is useless." He held the choker out to Alyna. "Shall we get to work?"
She saw Kyala's frown as she took hold of the now benign piece of jewellery. Hesitating, her eyes flicked up to Stefan. She trusted the choker was safe to wear, that was not her concern. As her eyes moved to Kyala's she slowly explained the situation and the tentative plan to her friend. The frown deepened, but the lieutenant kept her thoughts to herself. That is, until they were alone. The barely restrained lieutenant turned and gave Stefan a withering glare, and he took the hint, leaving the two women to their impending conversation. She then whirled back on Alyna as she was putting the choker on.
"Have you lost your mind?!" she hissed angrily.
Alyna could not help her small smile at the choice of words. "Not quite, you did make it back in time." She softened her next words. "Thank you, by the way."
"You're welcome," the ranger snapped irritably. She spread her arms in frustration. "Lady Sylvanas is expecting us home soon. And by soon, I mean now. We're late."
The captain winced slightly. Sylvanas was Alyna's main concern in her decision to help the death knights. Her queen despised being kept waiting and she no doubt had things she wanted Alyna to do for her. She hoped they were all things that could wait a while. If not, she was going to have a lot to answer for when she got home. Even if she did dismantle the Scourge plans for Zul'Drak, Sylvanas hated her own plans being disrupted.
"This is something I have to do, Kyala. It's a unique opportunity to damage the Scourge, and I cannot pass it off to someone else."
The lieutenant's eyes narrowed. "A few hours ago, you were terrified at being re-Scourged, and for good reason. Now you want to walk right into his den?"
Alyna gave her friend a weak smile. "'Want' is not how I'd describe it. Obligated, perhaps?" She shook her head. "This also isn't Icecrown Citadel. Should the Lich King actually make an appearance I am confident enough that I can evade him and teleport home."
Kyala sighed. "I'll make sure we're always nearby in case you need the support."
"No," the captain started. "I need you to return to the Undercity as planned and tell the Dark Lady what is going on here."
The woman laughed incredulously. "You want me to go home, without you, and tell the queen I've left you, alone, in a Scourge necropolis without any backup?"
"Would you like me to write you a note?" she replied sarcastically.
Kyala grunted and turned to walk to where her horse stood impassively. She retrieved a few items attached to her saddle and returned, holding them out to Alyna.
"You'll need these."
The captain accepted her runeblade with a grateful nod before attaching it across her back. She then did the same with her quiver and bow, arranging all three so they sit comfortably. "What would I do without you, hrm?"
Kyala barked a short laugh. "You'll soon find out."
Alyna strode slowly through the gathering Scourge. She did not look at them but focused on the single large platform ahead of her that she knew would teleport her up to the necropolis above. They could feel the magic in her choker. So long as she behaved with blind purpose to their collective goals they would believe she was one of them. Despite that, some things, even amongst the Scourge, never changed in any society; they were curious at who the new girl was. Some could apparently also sense what she was, or her relative power, and those were the ones who stayed away.
The necropolis had been stationed strategically to help defend the ground below it. Three sides were protected by tall, thick walls that had been part of the original drakkari outer fortifications. The teleportation platform was more or less centrally placed, directly below the necropolis. The ground was orange with pools of bubbling liquid that was constantly being topped up by hovering towers that were spraying constantly. Crystals were growing from the fluid, and Alyna knew they were blight crystals. Stefan had told her the Scourge were cultivating the blight here and had even given her a tincture to use should she find the raw batches. She noticed there were undead geists loping around clumsily, some collecting crystals and others doing very little.
As she ascended the ramp to the platform, she felt her nerves intensify. For once, she was thankful to be undead as she was sure if she had a beating heart every creature nearby would be able to hear it racing. As it was, she was a picture of pristine poise as she stepped onto the platform. The instant she stood still she felt the familiar tug of arcane magic as it pulled her to a new location.
She was not surprised to find a skeletal minion waiting for her when she rematerialised at her destination. Too many eyes had watched her approach for them not to be ready for her arrival. The formerly human minion gestured for her to follow and she wordlessly obeyed. As necropoli went, Voltarus was small, designed to be a mobile command centre rather than to house vast numbers of Scourge like Naxxramas. It was also warded against teleportation magic, which was why the teleport platform was necessary. She was not surprised at the security measure, she had, after all, had something similar in place when she commanded Acherus, but the dampening feeling was uncomfortable.
Drakuru occupied the largest alcove on the main floor. His red eyes watched her approach, his lips curling into a victorious sneer around his large outwardly splayed tusks.
"Ah see ya got mah gift, princess." Drakuru chuckled darkly. "Welcome back, mon. Ahh, da Lich King will be pleased wit Drakuru when he finds out I be bringin' ye back inta da fold."
Alyna gazed at him impassively, knowing she was not to reply unless directly prompted to do so. The large male troll began to lumber slowly around her, assessing his new prize. His normally dark blue skin was now a sickly green with the pallor of undeath. He radiated with cold and she could hear his skin cracking with his movement before it refroze quickly.
"Long be de line of dem who seek da Lich King's blessings. I be plannin' great tings for Zul'Drak, mon. Ya will be helpin' me rise above da masses ta prove meself worthy of wieldin' true power." He stopped his pacing to stare down at her, his frozen form looming over her head. "Den I will gift ya to da Lich King as final proof of me great potential."
She tried to keep her tone neutral as she replied, "I will serve, Overlord."
He cackled. "Aye, mon! Ya will."
Alyna suppressed the shiver that ran down her spine at the thought of being handed over to the Lich King. Interestingly, he had told her that she would at least have the opportunity to fulfil her mission first before that happened. It should give her the chance she needed to escape before he appeared. She just had to help the troll put his plan into motion and somehow make sure it did not succeed once she was gone. She hoped that meant he would eventually share details of the plan sooner rather than later.
Drakuru turned and retrieved a simple rod topped with a purple crystal from a skeletal minion that had hovered off to the side.
"Ye first task be simple, princess. Take dis control rod and use it on da geists below. Dey be getting' lazy in collectin' da crystals I be needin'. Go impose my will on dem. Return when da be none left ta harvest."
She bowed her head subserviently. "Yes, Overlord."
He held the rod out to Alyna and she took it without question. As she lowered her arm, a tremor passed visibly through her body, causing her to hiss slightly in her effort to contain it.
Drakuru narrowed his eyes. "Dere be a problem, princess?"
She grit her teeth as she regained control of herself. "I need to feed soon, Overlord."
The troll tilted his head slightly in mild confusion. "Ya need ta eat?"
Alyna recalled he was still relatively new to the Lich King's service. He knew who she was, but he clearly did not fully understand what she was.
"I am San'layn, Overlord. A higher darkfallen." She decided to see just how far she could push his lack of knowledge to maintain whatever small advantage she could. "I feed on souls."
"Souls, eh?" Drakuru pushed his shoulders back and stood up to his full towering height for a few seconds as he thought her words through. "If ya be doing ya task well, princess, ah will see ya get all da souls ya require. Now, go."
Alyna bowed her head slightly to acknowledge his words and to hide her disappointment at having to force herself to wait before she moved back to the teleportation pad. In truth, she was always hungry. The urge was a constant sensation she could usually push to the back of her mind. She was not feeling drained of energy just yet, but the conscious desire to feed was coming to her earlier than it used to.
She materialised on the ground, surrounded by orange. A geist holding a blight crystal was staring dumbly at her, no doubt waiting for her to vacate the platform so it could return to the necropolis with its cargo. She made it wait as she took a moment to familiarise herself with what was going on. There were other geists loping around, though most were aimless. Whatever Scourge creature meant to be in control of them was doing a poor job, hence the need for her intervention. Undead trolls were tending to large cauldrons of more bubbling orange liquid, which she knew was the raw blight itself. Once complete, the blight would be loaded into spreaders that roamed the area, gliding menacingly above her head as they contaminated the ground. Crystals could form within hours if the batch had been made properly.
Alyna reached inside a pouch hung from her belt and passed her fingers over the vials Stefan had given her. It was now her job to ensure the current crystals were the last viable harvest for the foreseeable future. She just had to make sure her sabotage could not be directly linked to her.
She stepped off the platform, the patient geist taking her place, and strode purposefully towards another geist. Holding the rod, she focused her will on the creature. The rod's crystal glowed, and it looked up at her in response, letting her know their minds were now linked. She silently commanded it to collect a blight crystal and it dutifully scurried towards the nearest one, and then towards the platform. The mental link broke once it had teleported, but she knew her final command would continue to resonate in the geist for a while longer.
Over the course of the next few geists, she slowly made her way closer to a cauldron. The geists themselves were all over the area, so it was easy enough to not raise suspicion. Realising she had an opportunity she dropped a vial onto the ground and walked away. She mentally called to her latest geist and ordered it to collect the vial and take it to a cauldron. Once there, it uncorked the vial and threw it in before moving to collect a blight crystal.
Outside of some more vigorous bubbling, Alyna could not tell if anything had happened to the blight. Regardless, she repeated the procedure until all of the cauldrons had been tainted, which coincided with her running out of vials. It would appear that Stefan had done his recognisance and had provided her with just enough tincture for the task.
She continued obeying her orders over the next week, ensuring that all blight crystals that grew from the current batch were immediately harvested. She moved around the area slowly and deliberately, ensuring that her manner was consistent with her supposed servitude. Idleness was not acceptable amongst the Scourge, though for most it was not even possible. The mindless were worked until they were unable to, and those in possession of some semblance of sentience had to ensure their continued usefulness or risk losing what little of themselves they had left.
As Alyna passed near the outer wall, a familiar male voice spoke to her from what she presumed was the top of it.
"Well, it's only been a week and you seem to have fit right in again." He chuckled. "Have you discovered what the troll is up to yet?"
For now, there were no other intelligent Scourge in hearing range. She did not look up at Stefan as she replied, "No."
"Did you do as I asked?"
"Yes." She took control of a nearby geist and gave it orders. The blight crystal growth rate had dipped drastically, and she figured the spreaders would soon begin deploying the next batch of blight. She did not want to be on the ground when that happened.
"Good. That should slow down whatever it is they have planned." He went quiet long enough for her to wonder if he had left. She fought the urge to look for him until he finally continued speaking, "I will remain near here for as long as I can for any update you can provide. Keep earning his trust."
"Understood," Alyna intoned. Not having any reason to remain near the wall, she slowly walked back towards the platform, following a geist with the latest blight crystal. The same skeletal minion that met her on arrival was waiting for her again, at least she thought it was the same one. It gestured for her to follow and she obeyed.
In short order, she found herself before Drakuru once again.
"Da crystals be pilin' up like never before! Ya keep up da good work, princess." His grin grew as he took back the control rod. He was about to say more but was interrupted by a minion appearing to need to talk to him urgently. She stood silently as they conversed before the troll roared suddenly in anger. "Ignorance! Dis be intolerable, mon! My entire batch of new blight be useless! Dat mongrel, Darmuk! He be responsible for watchin' over da blight. He failed me, mon!"
He whirled around to glower at Alyna, and she thought for a brief moment that he knew of her part in his ruined blight. He raised a finger and stabbed it in her direction. "Dis be a good lesson for ya, princess. Failure be like a disease dat spreads. Ya gotta catch it and kill it early, before it be killin' you!" His lips spread into a sneer. "Ah promised ya a meal, princess. Go kill Darmuk. He be to da south of Voltarus. Let dat be an example to all, mon. Don't be failin' Drakuru!"
She bowed her head. "As you command, Overlord." She felt relief spread through her being; she had not been discovered. She left him to continue raving over his destroyed blight as she teleported back down to the ground to look for her quarry. She had no idea who Darmuk was, but she did not really need to. She just had to look for an intelligent Scourge ordering other Scourge around. In operations such as this, they were few in number.
It did not take her long to find Darmuk, who she could now see was a large type of undead called a 'plague eruptor', which she found curious. Before she had been liberated from the Scourge, she knew the Lich King had been experimenting with orc corpses with the aim of creating a formidable frontline brute that was to be feared by sight as much as by reputation. The eruptor had been the result of that, orcs twisted into hideous versions of their former selves, with pustules of various sizes all over their torsos. When burst, the pustules released a form of the apocalyptic plague that everyone feared. What surprised her about this eruptor was its apparent ability for coherent thought. The last she knew, the conversion process destroyed most of the orc's brain.
Darmuk turned to regard her as she approached, dark magenta eyes narrowing in suspicion. One of his shoulders was greatly enlarged, forcing him to have to twist his body to face her in order to see her properly. His gait was awkward, and clumsy.
"Fleshling," he growled. "You interrupt the Master's work."
Alyna stopped, keeping her distance from the abomination. "You have failed, Darmuk. The last batch of blight is wasted and Drakuru demands your head."
"No!" The eruptor turned to look in the direction of the cauldrons. "I made no mistake! My formula is perfect. The living must have tampered with my work!"
With his gaze turned away from her, Alyna could not help herself. She chuckled with dark humour. "Not the living, Darmuk."
His turned to face her, confusion in his magenta eyes. She almost pitied him. He had clearly taken pride in his work and was willingly loyal to his master. As a Scourge general, minions like Darmuk had been valuable to her and she would have first investigated this incident before doing away with him. Drakuru's inexperience and drive was going to rob him of a useful asset, and she was more than happy to facilitate the mistake.
She smiled at the baffled eruptor, her eyeteeth extending as she allowed her hunger to surge through her body. For an instant she considered torturing the creature for information on Drakuru's plan, but that would draw unnecessary attention when it was unlikely that he knew anything beyond his role. So, she simply took his soul, his body hitting the ground heavily before he had a chance to comprehend what was happening.
Alyna closed her eyes as the energy of his soul infused her body, savouring the moment. When she opened them, numerous undead trolls were eyeing her warily, unsure about what they had just witnessed.
"Get back to work," she groused at them before walking back towards the necropolis unchallenged.
This time, the skeletal minion was not waiting for her. Knowing the way, she strode around the dark structure to Drakuru's alcove.
He watched her arrival. "Ah, princess. Has Darmuk paid for his failure?"
"He has, Overlord."
The troll cackled. "Ya done good, princess. Ah hope ya still be hungry, mon. It be time we start our march to Gundrak. It be time for me ta turn ya loose on dem trolls!" His laughter deepened. "Dey breached our wall and put a whole army just north of us. Dey be fuel for da fire, mon! We gunna take da chieftains an' kill da rest! It all be part of my master plan."
Alyna's ears twitched at the mention of the master plan. She hoped she was close to being trusted enough to be told what it is, but for now she continued to listen without question.
"Kill all da trolls, princess. When da chieftains come to save dere kin, my pet Shalewing gunna snatch 'em up and bring 'em here to me."
Alyna bowed her head respectfully. "Yes, Overlord." He waved her away to her duty and she strode back through the necropolis to the teleport platform.
Blight crystals, and troll chieftains. She did not know much about the drakkari trolls, but she did know that only the strongest rose to become chieftain. Taking the powerful and influential from a race was a common approach for the Scourge. They would then be moulded into something worse and thrown back at their people. Sylvanas had been a prime example of the tactic. Alyna knew first-hand the impact seeing the elven icon as a banshee had had on the quel'dorei. Doing the same to the drakkari was effective, if unimaginative. The question was, what was Drakuru turning the chieftains in to?
The breach in the wall was significant, but something the Scourge could have easily prevented with sheer numbers. Knowing the Scourge as she did, it was clear to her that the trolls had been allowed to advance and destroy the wall. It would embolden them and bring them forth in larger numbers with their chieftains somewhere in their midst.
She abhorred the Scourge and all it had done to her, but there was a familiarity to their tactics that spoke to her elven heritage. Her people had rarely faced an enemy head on, but instead had lured them into areas where their crossfire did the rest. Deception was their art, the enemy's bravado their weapon. The Scourge had evolved to use more discrete methods of conquest from the brutal destruction of direct assaults with overwhelming numbers.
Perhaps it was all the elves He forced into service, a voice in her mind volunteered. It was probably right. Even she, as a general, had offered strategies to defeat the Lich King's foes that drew from her experience and training as a Farstrider.
Snow had slipped down the hillside behind the wall, slowing her progress as she climbed towards the sounds of battle. She passed a ghoul holding a rod of domination, shortly followed by the lumbering abomination it was controlling. It was the first of several she saw as she neared the rear line of the Scourge. Meat wagons were placed haphazardly, troll corpses piled to various heights in each. Different types of lesser Scourge busied themselves with their tasks, ignoring her as she passed.
A frenzied shout caught her attention as she neared what she presumed was the frontline. A male troll had broken through the line and was bearing down on her position. Calmly, Alyna unslung her bow, nocked an arrow, and fired it at the half-crazed drakkari, piercing his naked throat. He collapsed to his knees, clawing at the arrow. Trolls had remarkable regenerative abilities, and if he could remove the projectile, he knew he had a chance to survive the hit. It was a chance he would not be given as clawed fingers dug into his flesh as other undead turned on him to rip him apart.
A deep voice with the resonance of the dead grunted at her shoulder. She turned to regard a female troll, her skin now a silky green with undeath.
"Dat was a nice shot. You da one da Overlord sent for da chieftains?"
Alyna nodded. "I am Alyna."
"Lazdo," she returned the nod and then gestured at the attacking trolls. "You be needin' a lota arrows ta get da chieftains ta come out an' play."
The ranger smiled tightly. "I won't be using arrows."
The undead troll shrugged and gestured for Alyna to follow her. So long as their task was done, she clearly did not care how. By her heavy-set build, it was clear she had once been drakkari. Alyna wondered what she had been to her people, and who they saw when they now faced her on the battlefield. Had she held an important position, or had she just been a troll who had impressed in her manner of death and got herself noticed by the Scourge? That was the greatest irony, Alyna thought. Those who died as heroes, believing their sacrifice would benefit their people, as she herself had once thought and done, were the first to be raised and sent to kill those they had wanted to protect.
Alyna scowled at herself. She was not sure where all the recent sentimentality was coming from, but it was something she could not afford as she prepared to slaughter trolls on behalf of her enemy. She had no care for the drakkari, but they were currently useful in the war against the Lich King, if only as a distraction. Weakening them was not something she wished to do without good reason.
Unfortunately for them, she had a good reason.
Lazdo had taken her to the flank of the Scourge's frontline where a small team of undead trolls had been assembled to escort Alyna into battle. She was told they would protect her as she did what was required of her by Drakuru. She chuckled at the notion before standing forward of the group, eyeing a band of drakkari who were edging closer and preparing to charge.
She raised her arms and looked at them through the greying world. She called to their souls and they came to her on the wave of their screams. She gasped at the power, her skin almost crackling with the vast energy she had just taken. She felt giddy with the sensation, but something in her core told her she had to use what she had taken quickly, so she did.
Alyna blinked forward into a group of troll warriors, exploding with arcane energy to send them hurtling outwards. She raised a protective shield of frost around herself in case any had the ability to attack her, and then set about hurling bolts of shadowflame at any drakkari she saw. She moved through the warriors with efficient ease, bursting with arcane energy when any got too close, freezing others to the floor and setting all she could on fire. When she felt her strength wane, she just took the souls she required to continue her massacre, fully enjoying the jolt of power each time she did so.
She was so engrossed in her bloodlust she missed the chieftains as they arrived one by one only to by whisked away by a large gargoyle before she accidentally killed them. She revelled in the thrill of seemingly endless power, taking what she needed and unleashing it on those lacking the wits to avoid her. It did not take long for the lines of trolls to break ranks and flee from her. She laughed at them and almost went after them, if not for a small voice calling her back to her senses.
The small voice of an undead troll. Lazdo had tentatively edged forward, her hand held out before her warily. Her face was a mixture of fear and reverence as she spoke. "Ayy, princess. Ya task be done. Da Master will be pleased. Ah tink we can take it from here now."
Alyna blinked her black eyes and raised her hand to her forehead, willing herself to regain control. "Y-yes, of c-course," she managed to reply, unable to hide the quiver in her voice. She turned and blinked back behind the Scourge frontline, not quite trusting her legs to take her. She let her knees weaken and she sank into the snow with the realisation that she had not used her runeblade at all but had relied solely on her san'layn abilities. She had watched the princes wreak havoc on the Lich King's enemies, so some part of her had always known she was capable of great destruction. She did not know how to feel now she had essentially fulfilled her potential for death.
Knowing she would soon come under suspicion if she continued to remain on the snow, she slowly picked herself up and started back towards Voltarus. Her body trembled occasionally with her desire to feed, but she ignored it. She knew it was a hangover of sorts from her recent activity and she in fact was not low on energy. The temptation was strong though, and she knew if Lazdo had not called her back she would still be chasing down drakkari until there were likely none left.
She suddenly missed Sylvanas. She knew instinctively the dark lady would not have allowed her to lose herself and would have grounded her, perhaps just by being there. Her lover would be disappointed if she had seen Alyna give in so readily to her nature. She sighed at herself. She could not deny the near pleasure she derived from using her innate abilities, but she also knew there was no using them without eventually being controlled by them. Perhaps, one day, Sylvanas could help her find a balance, but today was proof she was nowhere near such a thing.
The teleport platform took her into its embrace and transported her up to Voltarus. Her feet automatically took her to Drakuru, who welcomed her with raised arms and a loud howl of victory.
"We done it, mon!" he cried. "I got da chieftains all caged up and you led my minions to victory over their armies. It be time ta celebrate, mon!" He stepped forward and clapped a large hand onto her leather pauldron. "Da time has come for me to reveal my master plan to ya, princess. Now you be seein' how we gunna sweep through da swarms of Drakkari trolls to take our rightful place in da great palace of Gundrak." He pulled a sceptre from his belt and held it out to her. "Take dis sceptre, mon. It be a token of my trust in ya. With it, ya be able ta access my upper chamber and witness for yourself our secret weapons."
Alyna took the ornate sceptre and bowed at her waist. "Thank you, Overlord." She tried not to sound as energised as she felt at finally being able to complete her mission.
"Go, princess." He gestured for her to leave. "Go see what ya hard work has done for Drakuru."
She obediently left and immediately made her way back to the teleportation platform. Instead of stepping down into it, she went up a ramp to a separate platform that would take her higher into the necropolis. The sceptre she carried hummed as the platform recognised the signature, and she felt arcane magic pull her through the structure to another place.
The now familiar skeletal minion was once again waiting for her. This time, instead of mutely gesturing for her to follow, it finally spoke.
"I am Malmortis." The male voice sounded like he was smiling. "The master told me you'd be arriving soon. Please, follow me, Princess Alyna." He turned, and she followed him down a couple of long corridors. "You should feel honoured. You are the first of the master's prospects to be shown our operation. The things I show you now must never be spoken of outside Voltarus. The world shall come to know our secrets soon enough!" The skeleton chuckled. She smiled politely at him.
They paused at the entrance to a large room. Numerous boxes lined the walls, all bearing the faint orange glow of the blight. "Here lie our stores of blight crystal, without which our projects would be impossible." Malmortis turned to her, his voice containing notes of respect. "I understand that you are to thank for the bulk of our supply."
He led her down a long, winding ramp that opened out into what might have originally been a combat arena. To their immediate left, a drakkari chieftain snarled at her through the bars of a cage.
Malmortis ignored the troll and instead continued his tour. "These trolls are among those you exposed on the battlefield. Masterfully done, indeed." He nodded in appreciation. "We feel it best to position them here, where they might come to terms with their impending fate." He turned on his bony heel and gestured beyond the cage. "This is their destiny."
Alyna moved around the cage and stopped as she saw a giant dire troll chained to the stone wall. The beast was easily double her height, and just as broad, with tusks longer and thicker than her arms. Its skin was a sickly orange, no doubt a result of the exposed blight crystals that sat at its feet. With mixed horror and amazement, she realised she could still hear a frantic heartbeat in the creature's chest. The transformation had likely been unspeakably painful for the living troll.
Her skeletal guide spoke proudly. "The blight slowly seeps into their bodies, gradually preparing them for their conversion. This special preparation grants them unique powers far greater than they would otherwise know." He gestured at the three other dire trolls in the room, and Alyna noticed that only four had been created so far. "Soon, the master will grant them the dark gift, making them fit to serve the Lich King for eternity!"
It would also make them exceedingly difficult to destroy. Though formidable in their current state, the fact they were still living made them vulnerable. She knew she would have to kill them before Drakuru raised them into undeath.
Malmortis faced her and gave her a short bow. "Stay for as long as you like, Princess Alyna. Glory in the fruits of your labour! Your service has been invaluable in fulfilling the master's plan. May you forever grow in power."
His last comment made her shudder considering her latest struggles. She watched him leave and then decided to survey the arena. In addition to the four dire trolls, there were six chieftains in cages in various phases of mental breakdown. Only one was still able to glare at her; the first one she had seen on arrival. Geists occasionally appeared to leave fresh blight crystals with the dire trolls, but she was otherwise alone.
Alyna frowned. She could kill all the trolls and then try to kill Drakuru, but she would be unable to teleport away to safety from inside Voltarus. There was also the added issue of necropoli having all sorts of security measures that activated when unfamiliar magic was used, and she had not yet been attuned to the crystals that monitored such things. She did not want to fall foul of them as most were immediately lethal even to her.
That left her with the only option of retreating and reporting her findings back to Stefan. Drakuru trusted her now, but as she was to be a gift to the Lich King, he had no reason to attune her to Voltarus. She went back up the ramp to the teleport platform and blinked in surprise when she materialised not inside Voltarus, but on the roof of the necropolis itself. She spun around to see Drakuru grinning down at her.
"Da guest of honour! Ah have a surprise for ya, princess!"
He turned and a dark portal swirled into being a short distance from their position. Too late, she recognised the forming death gate, taking a step back in horror as the Lich King himself appeared, Frostmourne gripped tightly in his right hand.
Panic quickly growing, she drew her runeblade and began to cast her teleport home to the Undercity, only to watch the spell collapse in on itself. She looked up at the Lich King and raised her runeblade defensively.
Drakuru looked at her in confusion. "Ah dun understand, Master. She wears da choker."
When the Lich King spoke, his words were felt as much as heard, his voice vibrating through her body with an intensity she had never forgotten. "You have been deceived, Drakuru! For that, you have failed me."
The troll fell to his knees, beseeching the Lich King, "But, Master! I have—"
Alyna did not give the troll a chance to redeem himself. She took his soul and then instantly used the power and most of what she had left to throw a bolt of shadowflame at the Lich King.
She had moved quickly, but he was faster. He raised Frostmourne and her bolt slammed harmlessly into it, dispersing with a sizeable shockwave that pushed her back a few steps. Eyes wide, she raised her frost barrier and waited, having watched her best shot be rendered meaningless.
The Lich King looked down at Drakuru's unraiseable corpse for a second before his deathly blue eyes rose to regard her.
"Alyna." Her name reverberated across the distance between them just as the shockwave had, and she shuddered. "This betrayal of yours has amused me. There may yet be a shred of potential left in you."
She had no idea if she was referring to her betrayal of Drakuru, or of the Lich King himself. It also did not matter. Her voice waivered only slightly as she yelled at him, "You will not take me again, Arthas!" She had no idea how she could avoid such a fate, but she was going to try.
His response surprised her: he laughed. It was very brief, but the sound chilled her to her core.
"No, I will not 'take' you. I have no need to. When the time is right you will come to me, willingly, and become a true champion of the Scourge."
She took a step forward and cried her defiance, "Never!"
His smile was slight, but cruel, before he turned to walk back through the death gate, closing it behind him.
She collapsed to the floor, dropping her runeblade as she fell. Relief flooded through her, as well as confusion at what had just happened. The Lich King's arrogance had always infuriated her, but what worried her most was he was always right, at least in her experience. She could not see how he was now though. She was sure of her conviction to remain free and be part of the effort to kill him.
One thing she did know for sure, was that Sylvanas was not going to be happy at what just nearly happened.
"Princess Alyna?" came the hesitant question, and she looked up to see a distraught Malmortis kneeling next to Drakuru's body.
She gave him the only explanation she found she could. "The Lich King was displeased with the Overlord's plan."
The skeleton stood up. "I see," he replied, accepting the changing circumstances like the obedient Scourge he was. "Do you wish me to terminate all specimens?"
She realised that as she had not been killed that Malmortis now saw her as the new overlord. "Yes," she confirmed. "Terminate all the trolls and destroy the blight. We will start again."
The skeleton bowed and walked towards the teleportation platform. She picked herself up and followed him to ensure her mission was completed before she went home.
Ten days after she found the choker on her desk, Alyna rode back into the Argent Strand. None of the living paid her any attention, presumably oblivious to what she had just done. She steered her mount past them towards the section she had previously set up for the dark rangers. As she drew near the command post, she dismounted, handing the reins to a Forsaken stable hand.
Kyala silently appeared at her side, her face so carefully neutral that Alyna knew it was bad news.
"She's waiting for you." Her lieutenant nodded at the entrance to her former office. They both knew she was not referring to Talnia.
Sylvanas was here.
Alyna gave her friend a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks," she replied, before walking towards the office for her sooner than expected confrontation.
The queen had her back to her when she entered the command post, reading something laid out on the desk. She did not immediately turn when she heard Alyna enter and stop less than a metre away, but the captain had no doubt that she knew who it was. Few could read the queen's body language like Alyna, and she could see the tension rapidly releasing at her safe return.
When Sylvanas finally straightened her back and turned, her face was unreadable. Red eyes quickly scanned Alyna's body for injury and relaxed slightly when none was found. She then closed the distance between them, grabbed Alyna's hood, and pulled her into a fierce kiss.
Alyna wrapped her arms around her lover as the kiss progressed to something softer as Sylvanas worked through her emotions. In time, the queen pulled away enough to break the kiss, but she kept their faces and bodies close.
Alyna broke the silence. "I thought you'd be angry."
"I am," Sylvanas growled, her red eyes flashing with the intensity of her emotion, though her voice remained surprisingly calm. "I'm furious at you, and you'll hear all about it for quite some time." Her ear tips sagged slightly. "I was more worried. I am glad you're okay."
Sylvanas then stepped away from Alyna and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger; it appeared to help her restrain her rising anger, if only barely. "I do not generally object to you taking advantage of opportunities that arise. But this, Alyna, this was reckless." She dropped her hand and stared intently at her captain. "You could have come home, told me of the plan, and I could have made sure you had solid support from the start."
"If you had agreed to it," she pointed out.
The queen stared at her and then inclined her head, admitting it would not have been a certainty. "If." The word hung in the air between them before Sylvanas appeared to make a decision. "You got away with it, this time. Next time something this important arises, you come to me. First."
Alyna faltered. "Do you not trust me anymore?"
Sylvanas waved away the question. "This is not about trust, Alyna." Her eyes softened just enough to be noticeable. "I do trust you. I also rely on you." The queen folded her arms across her chest as she regarded her captain and lover. "There are many things I confide in you about, more than I tell anyone else. But I am still your Queen. There will always be things that you don't know, and you disappearing for ten days has the potential to have serious consequences."
Alyna lowered her head, accepting the admonishment. She saw Sylvanas' boots come into view and felt a finger apply a light pressure under her chin to raise her head to look up into smouldering red eyes. "No more mistakes, Alyna," came the almost gentle words.
"No more mistakes, my Lady," she confirmed, quietly.
Sylvanas lightly pressed their lips together in a soft kiss, letting her know she had been forgiven. This time. "Come. Let's go home."