Chapter 10 – Through Dire Maul
Rogar surveyed the area on the other side of the portal. There was a huge courtyard in front of them with a very wide walkway surrounding the perimeter. Patrolling the hallway were gigantic elementals – living trees as tall as ten men. The ground shook as the trees lumbered back and forth around the courtyard.
"These look like the guardians in Darnassus." Jaye noted.
"They are very similar." Lien explained. "The same magic that the night elves use to summon their guardians was used ages ago by the elves of this city to summon these guardians."
"So we should be able to pass without any problems?" Jaye asked.
"I highly doubt that." Lien answered. "The elves that summoned these guardians have been dead for many centuries. The guardians have long forgotten who they serve and why. I'm sure all they know now is to kill on sight. This probably explains why the ogres haven't taken over this section of the city."
"Great." Rogar sighed. "Giant living trees with the strength to kill ogres. Tell me again why we came here?"
"I believe you and Shiner offered to help a Night Elf in Feathermoon Village retrieve some stolen artifacts." Sildor reminded.
"Thanks, Sildor." Rogar rolled his eyes. "Any chance we can skirt around these things without being detected?"
"We could always try." Lien shrugged. "Worst that could happen is we get spotted and have to fight them anyway."
"Oh, no. I'm sure it could get much worse than that." Jaye offered. "You haven't known Rogar very long, have you?"
"Alright, enough chatter already." Ulfgar rumbled. "If we're going to do this let's be quick about it. Which way around the courtyard should we go?"
"It looks like there's another hallway on the opposite side of the courtyard." Rogar pointed. "There are only two trees to the right and three to the left, so let's try to sneak around the right." Rogar led the group as they slowly made their way out into the walkway. They stuck close to the walls, moving only when they were sure the giant trees weren't looking, and taking cover behind large sections of broken columns. It was slow going, but they managed to make it almost half way to the other side of the courtyard.
Suddenly, Lien let out a loud scream. "What they Hell was that?" Rogar spun around to see why Lien had gone out of her way to give up their position.
Wrapped around Lien's leg was a long, thorny vine. At the other end of the vine was what looked at first glance to be a large bright red flower. But as Rogar looked closer he realized this wasn't any normal flower. In the center of the brightly colored petals was a maw of gnashing teeth. The evil plant was doing it's best to take a bite out of Lien's calf as she struggled to break free of its grasp.
"Hold still!" Ulfgar cried as he brought his axe down on the vine, separating it from the flower. The plant let out a high pitched screech as green ooze squirted from its severed halves.
Before they could react the party found themselves surrounded by dozens of the tiny, lethal plants. They were easy enough to kill with a single swipe of the sword, but their shear number was beginning to overwhelm the group. Lien focused on the words to a spell, blocking out the distraction of the sharp thorns digging into her legs. She chanted the words and a blast of fire poured off her body igniting the plants.
"Well, that should do the trick." Jaye said as he tried to shake free from the charred vines wrapped around his arms and legs. The ground began to shake, first with small tremors that grew faster and harder. "Do you guys feel that?" Jaye asked.
"It's an elemental! We've been spotted!" Sildor called out. One of the giant trees was charging the group. Sildor shouted a command to his pet and the frostsaber charged at the elemental. The cat leapt through the air, sinking his claws and teeth into the thick bark of the tree's legs and ripping out chunks of wood. The elemental slowed a bit, but shook the cat off and continued to come at the group.
Ulfgar and Rogar moved in front of the others and raised their shields in an attempt to block the initial attack of the elemental. The tree swing a gigantic arm-like limb and brushed the paladins aside like rag dolls. Ulfgar and Rogar flew across the walkway and landed hard against the stone floor. The tree brought down another furious blow, slamming its limb onto the floor and barely missing Jaye as he dodged to avoid the attack. Jaye countered with a huge arcing swing of his sword, burying it deep into the limb of the tree. Sap-like blood flowed from the wound, but the tree showed no evidence of being weakened by the blow.
"It's no use." Jaye cried. "Our weapons won't slow it down at all."
"Let's see how he likes this." Lien fanned her fingers out in front of her and jets of flame shot from her fingertips. The tree let out a long, deep groan as the fire spread across its branches and leaves.
"Don't let up!" Rogar yelled as he ran back to protect Lien from the tree's counter attacks. The elemental tried to swing at Lien, but it was too disoriented from the flames. Lien let loose with another burst of fire, engulfing the tree. It paused a moment, swayed back and forth, and then came crashing to the ground. Waves of heat poured off the now roaring fire of the burning elemental.
"We need to move before this attracts more attention." Rogar suggested. "Lien, any chance you've got a spell that can put out this blaze?"
"Don't bother." Sildor pointed. "There are already more guardians on the way to see what's going on. We need to get out of here now."
The group ran past the giant burning tree and continued around the edge of the courtyard. They still tried to stay as hidden as possible, but their pace was much faster than before. As more of the guardians were distracted by the burning remains of the fallen guardian it became easier for the group to move without being noticed. Finally they reached the opposite side of the courtyard and ducked into the hallway.
* * * * *
Shiner led her group further into the ogre infested ruins of Dire Maul. They continued past the initial courtyard where they defeated the guard captain only to find yet another courtyard full of ogres. Some were laying about eating and drinking while others were patrolling with their packs of dogs. Again the group was careful to move around the edges of the courtyard avoiding conflict as much as possible.
Eventually on the south end of the courtyard they found a narrow hallway – a tight fit for ogres but the perfect size for their group. A locked door blocked their way.
"Time to earn your keep!" Loderr winked at Shiner.
"Gladly." The rogue smiled as she reached into her belt pouch and pulled out the key ring they took off the guard captain earlier.
"Hey!" Loderr protested, "That's cheatin'!"
"A good rogue works smarter – not harder!" Shiner tested a few keys before she found one that fit. The lock spring open with a click. "Let me go through first." Shiner said. "I'll make sure it's clear on the other side."
The gnome drew her daggers, disappeared into the shadows, and slipped past the door. It wasn't long before she returned to the group. "All clear ahead." she announced. "Just more long hallway."
The group followed Shiner through the door and down the hallway. It was a long curving hall gradually sloping down. Unlike most dwarves, Loderr never had an affinity for stonework and masonry but even he could tell the craftsmanship and precision that the ancient elves had built into their city. It was in ruins now but the signs of a once magnificent structure were there.
The party reached the end of the hallway and discovered what they had been looking for. A great room two stories tall opened up before them. Stairs led to a raised walkway around the perimeter of the room overlooking the main floor. Bookcases towered from floor to ceiling on both levels along every wall of the great library of Eldre'Thalas. Unbelievably, the room was still inhabited by night elves deep in study, thirsty for the knowledge and magic buried in the volumes.
"How do they live in this place?" Loderr wondered, looking around at the elves. If it weren't for the occasional blink of an eye or the turn of a page you would almost mistake them for statues.
"The mages among them can summon the food and water they require to survive. I'm sure the ogres have no interest in this portion of the city. It's very likely they can sense the power from within and even fear it enough to avoid it completely." Selth explained as he scanned the books on the case closest to him. He spied a book whose title intrigued him and he reached to remove it from the shelf. Before he could even place his hand on the spine, one of the elves appeared at his side.
"Is there a particular tome you seek?" The strange elf startled Selth, who drew his hand back from the bookcase.
"No." Selth answered. "I was merely curious what is contained within that book."
"Aahhh, curiosity. The ruin of many a civilization."
"But what is study if not the ultimate form of curiosity?" It was a legitimate question, but Sleth mean it as a barb toward the chosen pursuit of the residents of the library. It was received as intended. The elf furled his brow and shot an aggrevated glance at Selth.
"Please, restrict your interaction with the volumes contained within this library. If there is a particular knowledge you seek, one of our archivists can help you."
"Friendly bunch." Rose rolled her eyes as the elf walked away.
"We should look around. See if Rogar and the others have been here." Shiner suggested. "Plus, we just might find Kariel Winthalus hiding among these elves. It makes sense. Protection from the ogres and a vast library full of information. He's probably trying to research the artifacts he stole and find out how to use them, or at least how valuable they are."
"I'm sure he's already quite aware of their value." Selth replied. "Their use, however, is a mystery to even the most learned scholars in Darnassus. I'd be very surprised if a thief like Winthalus could decipher their secrets." The adventurers wandered about the library, trying not to disturb the elves studying there. But they soon discovered it didn't matter. The elves spent so much time in seclusion, buried in their thoughts, that the presence of outsiders went almost completely unnoticed. They had grown used to the intrusions of an occasional group of treasure seekers skilled enough to make it past the ogres and other challenges of the ruined city.
Bored with the whole situation, Loderr decided to find a table and take a load off. He shrugged his pack off his shoulders and pulled out a flask of ale and a slab of meat. Ivan lay at his feet and waited patiently for bits and scraps to hit the floor. When the rest of the group finished looking around the library they joined Loderr at the table.
"Well, no sign of the others." Rose said. "I didn't bother asking any of these elves if they had seen anything. I think Onyxia herself could fly through this place and they wouldn't even flinch." Shiner and Selth returned to the table carrying a tattered sack. "What have you got there, Shiner?" Rose asked.
"That would be the Scholar's artifacts." Shiner replied as she plopped the sack on the table."
"Seriously?" Rose stood up. "You killed Winthalus and took the artifacts back already?"
"When did I say I killed Winthalus?" Shiner asked.
"Well I highly doubt he gave 'em up without a fight!" Loderr laughed.
"Actually, he did." Selth explained. "It would seem that Kariel met his end here in Dire Maul. All we found clutching this sack was a decayed skeleton."
"Eeww." Shauna cringed. "You'd think these elves could at least stop reading long enough to remove the dead bodies!"
"Well thankfully they didn't," Rose noted, "or who knows how we would have found these artifacts. Either way that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Now all we have to do is find the others and we can get out of this place."
"We should probably stay here a while just in case." Shiner suggested. "Lien mentioned the library earlier so they may try to meet up with us here. If Rogar and the others don't show up after a few hours we can move on and keep looking for them."
"Sounds like a plan." Loderr agreed. "In the mean time, I'm gonna catch some shut eye!" The dwarf lay down on the cold stone floor and propped himself against Ivan. Within seconds he was sound asleep.
"I don't know how he does it." Rose shook her head. "Here we are in a dank, musty old library that hasn't seen the light of day in centuries, and he's sleeping like it's the King's Quarters at the finest inn in Stormwind."
"I'm sure the ale has something to do with that." Selth pointed to the empty flask tipped over on the table. "I've known many dwarves in my day, but none who put away the quantity of ale Loderr does."
"That's Loderr for ya." Shiner shrugged. "We should probably try to follow his lead. This is as good a time as any to get some rest. Rose, you keep watch. Wake me in an hour or so and I'll relieve you."
* * * * *
Lien clutched the book hidden in the folds of her robe. It pulsed stronger and harder now, almost as if it were about to burst. The Libram could sense that it was "home" – or at least closer to the source of its strange power. It felt like a large stone dragging Lien to the bottom of a deep lake drowning her in a pool of darkness. Years of carrying the burden of this book were compounding on her now. After all she had been through to get to this point she felt terrible despair at the thought that she might not make the last few steps of the journey.
"Are you alright?" Rogar asked her, noticing the pale look on her face.
"Fine. I'm Fine." She stammered, barely able to catch her breath.
"You don't look so good. Do you need to stop and rest?"
"No. We should keep moving. We're almost there."
"Almost where?" Rogar put his arm out to try to help Lien, but she recoiled from his touch with surprising speed.
"No! I'm fine!" She barked at him. "I'm fine. Let's just keep moving."
"Hey, no problem." Rogar backed off. "Just trying to help."
"Thank you. I'm sorry. It's just… I'll be much better soon, I promise. We just need to keep moving."
"Are you sure there isn't something you'd like to share with us?" Rogar asked, shooting a glance to the bulge beneath Lien's robe where she clutched the book.
An expression of horror and anger crossed Lien's face at the realization that Rogar had spotted the book. Paranoia overtook her in a wave of emotion. It was a trap. They had helped her come all this way to Dire Maul so they could steal the Libram from her and the components she had spent years gathering. Well they would have to kill her for it, that much was sure. No one was going to get this book from her unless they pried it from her cold dead hands.
"You get away from me or I'll rain fire and ice on you until you beg for mercy." She hissed at Rogar.
After years of traveling the furthest reaches of Azeroth there wasn't much Rogar hadn't seen or fought. It took a lot to unnerve this paladin. But the look in Lien's eyes made his blood run cold. He decided that this wasn't a good time to press the mage for more details.
"As you wish." He bowed slightly and stopped to allow Lien to continue walking past him. He waited until the rest of the party passed and dropped back in line behind Jaye at the end of the group.
"What's up, Boss?" Jaye asked.
"Nothing. I just like the company back here better, is all."
"Ha! Can't say I blame ya! Here." Jaye handed Rogar a flask and the paladin took a quick hit from it. Dwarven Ale. It warmed the insides faster than swallowing a lit torch. Rogar pictured the look on Lien's face and took another long drink.