Chapter 3
The wind whistled through the forest now…but all was quiet; not even a leaf stirred in the gentle breeze. And in a clearing, a Dreadlord advances upon a lich…but they were not alone. A spirit was with them, attempting to aid the lich however he can…
Varimathras spoke as he continued walking, "Yes, it is I, Varimathras. That plunge into the open sea during Sylvanas's death did not kill me as expected; I had been lucky to snatch a health potion from your Nerubian friend…"
Crashing through the thin ice, Anub'Arak and Varimathras continued falling into the threatening gulf of water. Flashing his steel like talons, he slashed at the Crypt Lord's underside. Anub'Arak grunted in pain as he attempted to smash him with one of his claws, but that left him open and vulnerable. The Dreadlord quickly blocked the blow, and plunged his hand into Anub'Arak's wing where he kept his items. He quickly withdrew a vial full of a green, watery substance, which he pocketed somewhere.
Varimathras then placed a foot on Anub'Arak, and kicked hard, sending the Nerubian in with much more velocity. He crashed into the ocean with a mighty impact, sending white foams of water everywhere. Meanwhile, the demon dove into the water with much less velocity and acceleration, and began swimming towards shore. As he felt his feet touch the earth, he quickly pulled uncorked the vial and drank the potion within. Feeling reenergized, he let out a mighty howl of triumph…
Kel'Thuzad, his eyes wide, listened throughout the Dreadlord's story of that fateful day. As he finished, the lich began growing furious. Insane with rage, he snatched up his swords and charged at him, screaming, "Anub'Arak will be avenged!" and attacked blindly. Varimathras dodged each strike easily, and leapt as Kel'Thuzad swung both swords at him. Landing a few paces backwards, he grabbed the swords as Kel'Thuzad attacked downward towards the demon's head. Without much effort, he snapped the ice blades in two, and then kicked the lich in the stomach, sending him sailing. Kel'Thuzad crashed into a tree trunk on his back, and slid down to the ground, sending bits of branches everywhere.
Varimathras once again advanced toward the lich, shaking his head. His plan had worked perfectly; his account of the story had weakened him. "I thought you knew better than to attack in rage; anger makes fights predictable." Kel'Thuzad raised his arm weakly, muttered something, and sent a Frost Nova to him in response. Lazily moving his arms, he blocked the ice with stones of fire that burned with an intensity that could melt any ice. The rocks smashed into the ice, sending snow and gravel showering around the area.
As the Dreadlord was occupied with his spell, Kel'Thuzad quickly dashed behind another tree and took out a vial of green potion. Drinking the healing substance, he glanced around to see where Varimathras had gone, but the demon had disappeared. Feeling fear, he started to run back to base. Glancing backwards every few seconds, stones of fire appeared and attempted to smash him. Dodging each of them clumsily, he formed sharp talons of ice, similar to the Dreadlord's claw. He attached them to his fingers and whipped around the face the demon, his robe billowing behind him. He wasn't going to run; he needed to fight, he decided.
But as he stared into the depths of the dead forest, ready to defend against a surprise attack, nothing happened. The rain of fire had also ceased as well. Now, as he looked around to his right, there were cries of surprise, pain, and struggle. A scream then issued, and it came closer and closer. Kel'Thuzad jumped out of the way nimbly as Varimathras slid along the floor and crashed into the base of the tree trunk. Kel'Thuzad debated whether to finish him off now as the Dreadlord was stirring feebly, but a deep voice overhead thundered out, "Run, now!" The master lich quickly looked upward, trying to detect the source of the voice, but all he could see were branches. Following the mysterious voice's advice, he started toward the direction of the Citadel. But as he ran, he couldn't help but notice that he recognized the sound of the voice…