Chapter 23 - Drums of War.

Guards led Edwynn into the depths beneath Stormwind Keep. The lower levels were home to storerooms, servant's quarters, smithies, and of course, the king's dungeons. The city had a separate prison for the more general-population criminals, called the Stockades. However, that prison was not equipped to hold creatures of a magical nature. And since the constables of Stormwind were unable to determine the extent of the warlock's powers, they had taken no chances with his internment.

Edwynn was escorted past three separate checkpoints, each one involving a trio of guards who examined his paperwork thoroughly. The writ he carried was extremely unusual, and caused a lot of uncomfortable looks. But Lady Prestor's seal was genuine, so not a single person dared to halt his entry.

The third and final checkpoint was manned not by guards, but by wizards. They led Edwynn down a narrow hall with a low ceiling to a door made entirely of white wood. It had no visable handle, and the outside was covered with mystic symbols that glowed softly. One of the wizards spoke several words, and the glow faded. The door itself then became transparent, and faded from view entirely. The wizard then escorted Edwynn forward into Brogan's cell.

The room was perfectly round, with a high arched ceiling. It was lit by several ceremonial candles spaced evenly around the room. On the floor a intricate circle of arcane power had been drawn. Like the door, it glowed softly and Brogan's collapsed form lay at it's center. He wore tattered black robes, the back of which were shredded and bloodstained from where the whip had been used. The warlock lay face down, and was breathing shallowly. His skin was darker than his robes, and his glowing eyes were shut.

"They tortured him for hours." The mage who had opened the door said. "The chief justice extracted his name, and his confession of demon worship. But he never revealed his coven's whereabouts, no matter what was done to him. The painmakers made great sport of his regenerating skin..."

"Stop!" Edwynn shouted suddenly. Seeing his friend half-dead on the ground, he found himself barely able to restrain the urge to knock the wizard on his ass. "Just... Stop talking. Bring me some food and water."

To his surprise the wizard simply reached forward and held his hand out, palm upwards. The air shimmered and in seconds a full meal of bread and water on a tray materialized. Edwynn was stunned only for a second before taking the tray and walking forward.

"Wait! Don't cross the line!"

Edwynn ignored the warning and stepped into the circle. The ring glowed for an instant, and then faded from view. Edwynn knelt next to Brogan and placed the tray on the floor. The warlock's body seemed physically unharmed, but he was obviously unwell.

"My lord, I would strongly advise against that." The wizard addressed him, and Edwynn was surprised he used the title. But he supposed that the cloths and the writ supplied the man with enough cause to think that he was a noble. The wizard stood near the door with his hands raised, ready to cast a spell if the warlock tried to escape. "Without the circle of binding he could escape and kill us all."

"Escape? Are you blind? He's barely alive." Edwynn touched Brogan's shoulder and gently shook it. "Brog? Hey, it's me. It's Edwynn."

The warlock's eyes fluttered open. "Ed?" The fiery eyes were a dull orange, like embers that had almost burnt out. The voice coming from his throat sounded like raspy leaves rubbing together. The mage jumped back and a glowing ball of light appeared in his hand. Edwynn shifted so that his own body was between the two of them.

"It's me, buddy. Here, drink this." Edwynn held the cup of water to Brogan's lips. His friend sipped greedily, coughed, and pulled away. He coughed several more times, his body wracked with pain after each heaving breath.

The wizard spoke again, with a grim tone. "I don't think we should be doing this. He is the enemy. We should not be offering him any form of solace."

Edwynn had had enough. He leapt to his feet and reached into his overcoat. The only advantage to the outrageous outfit was that it allowed him plenty of places to conceal weapons. The pearl-handled knife was in his hand before he knew it. "Listen swine. This is my friend, and you better remember that. Now get out!"

"My Lord, I should not leave you alone with him."

"NOW!"

The wizard backed up quickly. Once in the hallway he muttered a word and the white wooden door reappeared. There were no symbols on this side, nor a handle. Edwynn was so angry he didn't care.

Brogan had stopped coughing and had taken the cup of water. He was sipping it carefully. Edwynn crouched next to him and, not knowing what else to do, waited. After a minute Brogan finished the drink and collapsed back to the floor.

"You should eat something." Edwynn picked up the bread and held it out to his friend.

"In a sec..." The warlock lay on his back, breathing much deeper that before. After a couple seconds he looked up. His eyes seemed much brighter. "You look different. Are you getting married or something?"

"Huh" Edwynn stood up and looked down at himself for a moment. The dungeon grime was already ground into his pants and his sleeves were probably ruined. "Oh. Well a lot's happened since the last time we saw each other."

"Tell me about it." Brogan took the bread and bit off a piece of it. He chewed slowly.

"Listen, we've got to talk." Edwynn said as the blond boy ate. "I need you to take me to wherever you've been hiding for the last week."

"No way." Brogan responded between bites "They'll kill you. They'll kill us both."

"Listen, you don't have to take me all the way. Just get me to the entrance. I've gained some skills since Northshire. I can probably sneak past the guards and..."

"Not these guards, Ed. We're talking about warlocks here. The things they have on watch, they don't have any eyes."

Edwynn swallowed. The idea that there might be demons in the coven had occurred to him, but he had been betting that his stealth would allow him to bypass most of the security and let him get close to their leader. Or maybe he wouldn't have to..."

"What about the book? Do you know where it is?"

Brogan stopped chewing. His eyes narrowed and he gave the rogue a cool stare. "Is that why you're here? To get the book?"

"No, of course not. Wait..." Edwynn looked at his friend for a moment. Were they friends? Were they really? Back before all this started, Brogan had just been one of the other kids in the school room. They didn't share any common interests, and Edwynn got the feeling Brogan didn't really like him that much. But they had risked death together against the Defias, and had probably saved each other's lives a couple times. At that moment Edwynn had to make a decision and he knew that if he choose wrong, it would cost him everything.

"Okay, I'm gonna be square with you. A woman sent me to talk to you. She wants the book. She offered me a lot to get it for her. A whole lot. I came down here because I wanna get you out of this place. See, look." Edwynn pulled out the write and handed it to Brogan. The warlock took it and read slowly.

Edwynn continued. "It's a conditional pardon. It means I can get you out of here if you'll show me where the coven is."

Brogan frowned at the document. "It says my sentence of death is reduced to life imprisonment. That doesn't sound too great."

"Hey, I'll be able to get you a full pardon once we have the book. I'll hide it or something, and not hand it over until..."

"No. You'll be dead."

Both Edwynn and Brogan jumped at the new voice. Edwynn whirled towards the door, dagger in hand. Standing where the white door used to be was Mythril. Her neck and knees were bent just to fit into the hallway. Behind her the mage was fidgeting nervously. "Sorry for the intrusion my lord, but she also has a writ to see the prisoner."

"Indeed." Mythril stepped forward into the room and sighed with relief as she stretched to her full height. The mage remained behind in the doorway, his eyes shifted between the three of them.

"Is this how the alliance treats its prisoners?" the Night Elf frowned. "Even Illidan had better accommodations. Are you hungry Brogan? Can I offer you anything?"

"Food, if you have any." Brogan shoveled the last of the bread into his mouth. Edwynn just stared at him but said nothing. That load had been the size of his own breakfast and the rogue had yet to have lunch.

Mythril said nothing. She merely opened a pouch at her waist. From it she produced a couple of apple seeds. She held them forward in her hand. The seeds hummed for a couple seconds and then swelled and blossomed. In seconds they had been replaced with two fully grown, fresh apples. She tossed them forward and Brogan clumsily caught one.

The elf turned to the mage who had opened the door. "Thank you very much, sir magus. Your presence is no longer required." The druid nodded and the wizard seemed very happy as he muttered the magic word. Again the door appeared. Brogan bit into his apple as they watched him go. Edwynn sighed. Now he was getting hungry. But he refused to let that distract him.

"What did you mean we'd be dead?" The rogue asked.

Star filled eyes looked at him and the ears made a funny little hop. "You must know Edwynn that anyone who would pay to have the codex delivered to them cannot have altruistic intentions. I cannot fathom if Lady Prestor's actions are motivated by her own desires, or if she wishes to procure Balba'yorn's prison for some third party. One must assume that whoever the ultimate orchestrator is, they can only be capable of a singular goal. They wish to harness the power of the demon to create another dark portal. We cannot allow this. No one who cherishes Azeroth could. The book cannot reach Lady Prestor, or anyone else. It must be destroyed."

"How?" Brogan said as he tossed aside the apple core. He picked up the second apple and spoke between bites. "If we burn it, the demon escape, and if we hide the book, she'll just find another victim via the dream world to seduce like she did me and..." Brogan suddenly choked on his apple and made a weird face, like he wanted to say something else but couldn't make up his mind about what to say.

"We must discover a way. If the druids here in Stormwind are unable or unwilling to take the measures to destroy the demon, we must find those who can. I can fathom only two courses of action, neither of which have a high probability of success. The first is that we deliver the book to Darnassus. Tyrade Wipserwind and Archdruid Staghelm are both devout followers of Cenarius. They will see the danger and act."

Edwynn nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. What's the catch?"

"Darnassus is a thousand leagues from here. A swift ship and the best winds would take over a week. Isolated on an ocean, the vessel's crew would undoubtedly succumb to Balba'yorn's corruption. This is of course provided she doesn't simply summon the Naga to overwhelm us. No, that plan would simply take too long."

Edwynn kicked the discarded apple core. "So what's the other idea?"

"We must find Nicolas Crownguard." Mythril stated. Again, Brogan apparently bit wrongly into his apple, because he made a little wheezing noise. Mythril ignored him and continued. "Lord Crownguard was the first person in memory to interface directly with Balba'yorn. He may have some insight into her weaknesses. Unfortunately we have no means to find him and no idea where he has gone... Brogan, please. You really must learn to chew your food."

Brogan threw the second apple core against the wall in frustration. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Again, he looked like he wanted to say something but chose not to.

"Well, it's a moot point." Edwynn stated angrily. "We need to get the book first. And to do that we need to get into the coven."

"The three of us aren't enough." Brogan finally spoke. "And we can't sneak in and steal it. The leader keeps the book with him." Brogan seemed surprised at himself for saying what the just did. "It would be suicide."

"Dammit Brogan, haven't you been listening. This is like, end-of-the-world sort of danger. You have to take us."

"Hey, back off Edwynn. No one wants this demon dead more than me!" Brogan stood up on shaky legs. He faced the rogue. "My life is pretty worthless right now, but I'm not about to go get us killed without at least having a real plan!"

"Don't yell at me, buddy, I have a plan. You just don't like it."

"'Sneak in and snatch the book' is not a plan." Brogan poked Edwynn hard in the chest. Edwynn grabbed the warlock's wrist and twisted it aside. With his other hand the rogue grabbed Brogan's shoulder.

"Don't try to put this on me just because you're too scared to..."

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Instantly Edwynn felt his mind assaulted. His very consciousness shifted and he felt as though he was no longer in alone within his own body. It was as though his body was a stagecoach, and he was a passenger while someone else was driving. He watched as his own hands released Brogan and he stumbled backwards. As quickly as the sensation began, it ended. Edwynn abruptly fell down painfully on his rump. He shook his head a couple times to clear it, and then looked up at the doorway.

"Brogan, are you alright?" A woman rushed from the doorway to the warlock's side. She had pure skin, and wore her black hair up in a tight bun. White priestess robes shone brightly in the room's dim candlelight. She reached the warlock's side, and stopped just short of embracing him. She pulled back a half step, taking in his demonic appearance.

"Myrista?" Brogan's fiery eyes were wide with shock. "By the Light, what are you doing here?"

"I was in lessons with Brother Crowly at the cathedral when I heard you had been arrested. I raced to the keep, afraid that they would have hung you before I arrived. I'm so relieved you're alright."

"How did you get into the prison?" Brogan asked.

"Oh..." Myrista blushed and glanced from the warlock to Mythril and back. "Well, I'm a priestess of the Light, or almost one. I was able to... convince... some of the guards that I was on a mission of mercy from the bishop."

"You lied to the guards?" Brogan asked in disbelief.

"Well, I had to see if you were alright. You sound angry."

"No, I'm just amazed that they let you in here. Some prison this is."

Edwynn rose slowly to his feet. "Ow..." he rubbed his head and his rump. "What did you do to me?"

"Oh! And you!" Myrista rounded towards the well dressed young man. "How dare you attack him like that? Brogan is just a prisoner here and... Oh! Edwynn is that you?"

"Well of course it's me you twit." Edwynn looked down at himself. With the exception of the scuffed up leggings, his appearance remained rather respectable. His hair was tied back in a ponytail, but aside from his cloths he looked the same as the last time he had seen Myrista. Apparently she had been so absorbed in defending Brogan that she hadn't even recognized him.

But Edwynn saw even now that was not the case. Myrista was taking in his new appearance as though she had never seen him before. Her eyes roamed over his new shoes, his shirt, his coat, and the bedeviled neckerchief that Sloan McCoy had tied for him. When she looked at this face again, Edwynn say a level of respect in her eyes that she had never given him before.

"Goodness Edwynn, I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry for attacking you like that. You look... nice. Almost like a nobleman. Is this part of your spy training? Are they teaching you to impersonate a lord?"

Edwynn spoke without thinking. "Actually, I was offered a title. Viscount of Westbrook.

"No!" Myrista's hands rose to her mouth. "That's impossible! Who would do such a thing?"

"Lady Prestor, of course." Edwynn felt himself growing angry. "What, you don't think I was capable of earning it?"

"It's not that." The dark haired girl quickly retracted. "It's just that titles are only awarded to heroes of Stormwind in response for valiant deeds."

"Oh..." Brogan interrupted. "I get it now. That's the reward for getting me to show you where the coven is. Isn't that true Edwynn?"

"It's not like that!" Edwynn turned to the warlock. "You would have hung today if I hadn't told Prestor I could get you to cooperate. It's the only reason she let you live, and if you refuse to help me she'll execute you."

"Us." Myrista corrected.

"What?" Both Brogan and Edwynn said at once.

"If you refuse to help us. I'm coming with you. Look, we each would have died back in Northshire if we hadn't been there to help each other. All of us." Myrista looked at Mythril as well. "I'm sure we can do it if the four of us work together."

"Five."

Edwynn wondered why he was surprised as the enchanted door vanished yet again and Mallet entered. Like Mythril, the knight had to bend forward to enter the chamber. This was the first time Brogan or Edwynn had seen him in his full armor, and both boys were quite impressed.

"Uncle Mallet!" Myrista suddenly seemed very embarrassed to be there. "I... I'm sorry I left the cathedral..."

The paladin waved off her apology with his hand. "There will be time for that later. We must escape at once!"

"What?" All three humans exclaimed. Even Mythril raised an eyebrow.

"The Defias and the Twilight Hammer are attacking the city. When I heard Brogan had been captured, I rode to the Chief Justice to plead his case. When I arrived at the barracks, everything was in chaos and disarray. Apparently a small party smuggled themselves into the city disguised as pilgrims. They managed to break into the stockades and have started a riot. Hundreds of prisoners are about to escape. All of the city guards are on their way there as we speak.

"By the Light!" Myrista looked around at her companions. "We have to help them."

"No." Mythril said sternly. "There is very little chance that such a assault could succeed. It is obviously a diversion, and a rather transparent one at that. They can only be after the book."

Mallet nodded. "There's more. While I was at the barracks, Colberthas the demon hunter arrived. He declared quite boldly that a second group of Twilight Hammer acolytes, including several warlocks and demons, and split off and gone to the mage district. He had tacked them to the coven's hideout. For some reason, he felt the need to come to the headquarters of the city guard and announce that he was going enter the lair and kill everyone he found.

"We have to stop him." Brogan said.

"What. Are you kidding?" Edwynn stared at Brogan in disbelief. "He'll kill the warlocks for us."

"No, you don't understand. The leader of the coven, he was expecting this. He knew the demon hunter would find them eventually. He seemed to be counting on it. It was part of his plan. And... I think the twilight hammer was part of his plan too. He wanted this to happen."

A low grumble came from Mallet at this point. "This warlock leader sounds cunning. That makes for a dangerous opponent. I wish we knew more about him."

Brogan made a face like he wanted to scream. He opened his mouth and started coughing suddenly. Myrista gently grabbed his arm but he pulled away from her. He looked back and forth between the uncle and niece for a moment, then sighed helplessly.

"Well, I guess that settles it then." Edwynn looked around the room to the four of them. "We know that Necrodamus is up to something, and that it has to be stopped. I'm going. Who's coming with me?"

"The recovery of the codex is my charge. I will not abandon it." Mythril took a deep breath. "It will be dangerous. It is unlikely that all of us will survive."

"Yeah." Brogan remembered the tarot reading that had started all of his troubles in Stormwind. The card of death still loomed in his future. Then he looked down at his blackened hands, with their think leathery skin. He then glanced up at Myrista. She gave him a weak smile, but she was clearly uncomfortable with his condition. How would she react when she found out who Necrodamus was?

"I'm coming" The warlock said.

"Me too." Myrista chimed in quickly.

"It's settled then." Mallet's deep baritone echoed in the small chamber. "Now, to break Brogan out of here. You kids should let me take point. Some of the prison guards have been sent to quell the riot, but that doesn't mean this will be easy. And I don't want to hurt anyone…"

"I've got a better idea." Edwynn said. Taking the writ back from Brogan, he approached the cell door. "Hey wizard, open up! By order of Lady Prestor we're taking the prisoner out of here!" He then turned to Mallet. "See, trust the rogue. Sometimes it just takes a subtle touch."