As the undead duo stared into the passage before them, a sense of unease filled the air.
"I don't like this. Is there supposed to be green sludge everywhere?" Shadow asked.
"How should I know? It's not exactly like I'm coming home here." Plate snapped.
"Easy, I'm just saying. Green sludge is NOT the best welcome. It doesn't look particularly dangerous, but it sure does reek."
"You DO remember this is the sewer system of Lordaeron, right? Do I need to explain further?"
"No, but…It still shouldn't be green…" Shadow grumbled before heading into the tunnel.
There was very little light to see by in the tunnel, faintly luminescent plants providing much of it. The pair continued forward for a few minutes, backtracking when the tunnels fell too far into disrepair to continue, before finding a passage with a lit torch. Following it proved to lead to yet another torch lit area, until the entire way was lit before long. Travelling in a bit further, Shadow suddenly called to stop.
"We knows we heard somethin'. From over here." A loud voice boomed from around the nearest corner. It seemed to be a ways off.
"You think maybe it's…intrudahs? We gots to kill intrudahs." Another voice responded in a similar baritone.
Shadow cursed under his breath. "Those sound like abominations. They didn't have the brains to break free of the Lich King's control. The Scourge must have taken the Undercity!" He whispered urgently to Plate.
"But I…" Plate stammered.
Shadow hid in a crevice along the wall, silently urging Plate to get ready for a fight as the lumbering behemoths drew close enough to cast shadows around the corner. Plate regained his composure just as the first abomination rounded the corner.
"INTRUDAH! WE KILLS!" The beast shouted, sprinting toward Plate. A second abomination trundled excitedly behind the first.
Plate raised his blade, leaping at the first abomination. He wasted no time in severing the small arm on the abomination's left side. The rotting limb fell to the ground, the cleaver clanging against the stone on the ground. Before Plate could recover from his strike, the abomination howled with rage and swatted him away with the blunt end of the much larger cleaver in its right arm. Plate hit the ground heavily, rolling a bit before lunging back to his feet.
The abomination chased its prey, laughing childishly at what it thought was the greatest game ever. The second abomination moved in to help finish the warrior off. Shadow seized his opportunity to break cover and clamber onto the creature's back. The abomination was confused for a moment, turning to find no assailant as Shadow clung to an exposed portion of its spine, his severed arm dangling from his mouth as he held on as tightly as he could. Gripping the beast with his legs, Shadow drew one of his daggers and plunged it into the back of the creature's head. The abomination cried out in fury, flailing the chain in its left hand wildly about trying to dislodge the rogue. Shadow laid flat against the abomination's back as the hook flew dangerously close to his head. Removing the dagger from where he had impaled it, he plunged it over and over into the creature's head and neck. The abomination's movements grew sluggish as Shadow destroyed the creature's brain, until it fell heavily to its side. Shadow leapt to the ground, leaving the abomination to its death throes.
Plate continued to struggle with the other abomination. Without the advantage of a surprise attack, the abomination attacked him with a single minded fury. Plate was a skilled warrior, but he was simply no match for the brute that was bearing down on him. Blocking the massive cleaver or chain was impossible, and any wound Plate managed to inflict on the creature was nothing but a flesh wound on its hulking figure. Plate glanced past the creature to see Shadow finishing off the other abomination.
"A little help would be…" Plate started, dodging the massive chain the abomination swung. "Appreciated!"
Shadow thought a moment. Now was his chance, he should just flee. He remembered the way out, he could just leave the warrior here to die. How much grief had this undead caused him? Dragging him halfway across the Eastern Kingdoms just to find…what? A city previously inhabited by others like himself? All he'd found was another Scourge hideaway. All he'd gained from this was a severed limb. He considered casting the arm away, but thought better of it. Perhaps he could interrogate any passersby to see if they could heal him. He'd have to be more careful about who he attacked from now on, wouldn't want a repeat of this whole fiasco.
"Shadow! Come on, help me out!" Plate called again, snapping Shadow from his reverie.
"That's it then, just gotta head out the way I came." Shadow thought to himself, but he couldn't bring himself to walk away just yet. This warrior had caused him no end of trouble. He wanted to see him die. He had to admit he'd miss the ability to converse with someone, but he'd get over it.
Plate realized what was happening. He couldn't believe he hadn't figured it out sooner. "You damnable coward! At least have the decency to kill me yourself! I should have cut off your head, not your-owf!" He grunted as one of the links in the abomination's chain struck him in the jaw. He was sent stumbling from the blow, and barely managed to get his blade up in time to block a quick swing of the cleaver. The impact jarred his bones and sent him sprawling. He was slower to get to his feet this time, though he felt no pain his body began to betray him.
This was it, Shadow was going to get to watch the warrior's grisly end. Then it would be a simple matter of slipping past the lumbering oaf and resuming his life prior to Plate's interference. And yet…
Plate drew up his blade as the abomination ran at him, his body was to battered to continue dodging about as he had been. It was either kill the beast now, or die trying. The abomination drew back the chain in its left hand, aiming to tear the warrior in half with the hooked end. Plate charged forward, driving the entirety of his massive blade through the monster's neck. The abomination stumbled backward, dropping the chain. The beast attempted to cry out with rage, but the sound released as a gurgle from its severed windpipe. Plate tried to get out of the way, but the abomination picked him up in its left hand. Tossing him up into the air, the abomination swung the cleaver, hitting Plate directly in the chest with the bladed edge. The only things that prevented Plate from being severed in two were the armor he wore and the fact that the abomination's cleaver was incredibly dull, better for smashing than cutting.
Plate slammed into the wall, unable to move his body so much as enough to crawl. He managed to roll his head to the side enough to see the abomination staggering towards him. Its movements were erratic, his blade must have grazed the spinal cord. Typical, he never could catch a break. The abomination finally reached him, bringing the cleaver up for a final blow when it staggered more violently than before. The abomination spun around, revealing Shadow clinging to its back, trying to get a good enough grip to plunge his dagger in for the kill. The abomination managed to get its beefy arm behind its back, grabbing the rogue and tossing him like a ragdoll. Shadow bounced with a thump, but managed to get to his feet before the abomination bounded toward him.
Shadow's strength was beginning to flag as well. He wasn't used to taking as much punishment as he had been lately, nor did he have the armor Plate did. The abomination staggered over, twitching violently. It let loose an eerie bubbly hissing, evidently trying to speak past the blade lodged in its throat. Shadow had lost his dagger when the abomination threw him, and therefore his means of attack. There was only one option. Just as the abomination tried to scoop him up, Shadow jumped at it, latching on to the sword stuck in its neck. With a vicious yank, Shadow managed to pull the blade clean through the beast's rotting neck. The abomination stumbled about with its head hanging from the remaining flesh on the other side of its neck. The weight of the massive skull proved too much for the decaying tissue, and the head fell to the side with a wet tearing noise as the abomination's body collapsed. Shadow tried to move, but the humongous corpse landed on his right leg as he tried to run away.
With a grunt, Shadow managed to pull his now broken leg out from under the corpse. Hopping to retrieve his lost dagger, Shadow sat wearily next to the prone form of Plate. The two of them rested for a while, Plate finally breaking the silence.
"I'm…I'm sorry. I thought you…were just gonna run and leave me to die."
Shadow chuckled humorlessly. "I was."
"But?"
"I couldn't. It didn't feel right."
"Touching. Why the sudden outbreak of friendship?"
"Let's not take this too far. You've put me through a lot, and when you die I want it to be by my hand. Not some Scourge monstrosity."
"So why not kill me now?"
"Do I LOOK like I'm in any condition to kill you? I can barely move."
"I can't move. At all. Except my head and mouth, which I guess is the most important thing to me. I'll be damned if I go down without annoying someone first."
"You seem awfully chipper about all this. We've both been beaten to a pulp, and we're in the middle of Scourge territory. This Undercity you were so excited about turned out to be a total failure, and to top it all off we'll both probably die here."
"Well…at least it can't get any worse?" Plate suggested.
"I'LL be the judge of that…" A foreboding voice interrupted.
The two of them looked up to see a rather annoyed new monster standing a ways away, surrounded by a cadre of armed undead. Cloven hooves tapping impatiently, its horned visage bared a look of contempt.
"Damnit, not just the Scourge… The Legion took the Undercity…" Shadow groaned.
The demon smiled at the comment. Unfolding his immense wings, the smile spread into a wide grin. "Is that what you think? Well, I'd hate to disappoint you…"