Chapter 25 – Descent
"Guess we didn't need Brogan to show us how to get here after all." Edwynn said.
"Well he's here, so it makes no difference." Myrista said. She turned to Mythril. "Do you think Colberthas will help us find the book?" Mythril said nothing. She merely stared at the door to the inn with an unhappy expression. Edwynn noted that her ears had dropped lower than he had ever seen them.
"What's wrong?" The rogue asked. The druid still did not answer. "Mythril?" Edwynn prompted again. The night elf set her jaw and took a deep breath.
"Colberthas will most likely kill anyone he encounters within the compound. This will include all of you. Your standings as warriors and priestesses of Stormwind mean nothing to him. He will smell the taint on Brogan instantly, and will suffer no excuse to allow him to live. Our only hope would be if we could somehow avoid detection. Against a demon hunter, that is all but impossible."
"Hey, you underestimate me." Edwynn said cheerfully. "I've been training. He'll never see me coming."
"He will not see you coming because he has no eyes." Mythril glared at the rogue sternly. "He stabbed them out with the fires of Jadenaar nearly a millennium ago. Now he has the demon-vision. He is aware of everything around him at all times. He hears colors, tastes odors, and can smell evil. He has tracked fel-sworn from the ruins of Azshara through the wastes of Desolace to the endless Silthid sands. If we enter the coven and encounter Colberthas, it will mean our deaths."
"Maybe we should wait out here then." Edwynn offered without being serious. "He can kill everyone and then we can go in and get the book."
"No." Brogan added. "This is part of the leader's plan. He has something special in mind for the demon hunter. We have to go in there."
"Alright, enough stalling." Mallet went to his horse and untied his shield from where it rested behind the saddle. Raising Godkend, his two-handed war hammer, over his head he spoke several words in dwarvish. The weapon glowed and its head shrank. The shaft diminished in size until the knight could hold it casually in his right hand. He secured the shield to his left arm.
"That's a nice trick." Edwynn muttered.
"The knights of the Silver Hand must be able to play many roles. But it will be difficult for me to use magic when I'm toe to toe with the enemy. I'm counting on you Myrista, to keep everyone else alive."
Myrista said nothing, but Edwynn instantly noticed her expression. It was the one she wore back home when uncle Korban would force her to do something she didn't want. Suddenly the rogue found himself wondering as to how hard she would be trying to keep him alive.
"Brogan I want you in the rear with Myrista. It will be your duty to defend her from anything that gets past me. I don't want you using your demonic magic unless you absolutely have to. And here, take this…" the knight had been taking items from his saddlebag and placing them in a small knapsack. He handed this to Brogan.
"What's in here?"
"Things I hope we won't need. Bandages, moonberry juice, trolls blood potions. You can never be too careful."
Edwynn fidgeted nervously. "What do you want me to do?"
"You've proven that you can handle yourself in a fight. Stay out of sight while the enemy focuses on me. Then… do what you do. Mythril, I'd like you…"
"I know how best to use my own abilities, Sir Mallius."
The paladin seemed about to argue with her, but then decided against it. "Alright, let's go." Mallet stepped forward, ascended the stairs, and slowly led the way into the tavern. Edwynn readied both his own knife and Rosie's, and followed slowly behind.
Inside the Slaughtered Lamb was a scene from a nightmare. Blood drenched the walls and disemboweled corpses littered the floor. Furniture was smashed and overturned. The air stank of sulfur and spilled alcohol. Against his will Edwynn found himself remembering the first night in Northshire, when he found the people near Crownguard manor slaughtered. It took all his will not to vomit.
Myrista didn't have that willpower. She took one step through the doorway, turned, and emptied her stomach outside on the façade. Brogan rushed to her side and, helpless to assist in any other way, held her hair back to prevent it from getting in the way. Mallet's face was grim, but he stood firm in the center of the room. Mythril was examining the position and disposition of the bodies with a great deal of interest.
"This is most unusual." She said. "The humans here seem to have died fighting each other. This warlock here for example, bares the mark of the twilight hammer. But he and these two men in Defias masks seem to have been torn to pieces by some creature."
"Colberthas?" Mallet offered. "He looked strong enough."
"No. The demon hunter's attacks are precise. He views combat like a surgery, or a dance. Every move is calculated in advance. These men were torn apart by something savage. Some monster or…"
She stopped as a low snarling noise came from a corner. Edwynn held up both knives as a demonic abomination detached itself from a shadow. The thing was horrible. Its body was the size and shape of a large dog, and its monstrous head gaped open revealing a mouth with hundreds of needle-sharp teeth. Its hide was a horrible red and black color, like diseased flesh. It walked on all fours, and had a short thick tail, like a lizard. A warped mane of black tendrils sprang from its neck and it possessed no eyes. From its shoulder blades sprang two tentacles that curled forward like scorpion tails.
"A felstalker!" Mallet yelled. "Don't let it…"
The paladin never finished his sentence as the beast lashed out with its tentacles. Blue fire erupted from the paladin's skin and he screamed horribly as he fell. Mythril chanted and green energy enveloped her hands. The beast flexed its tentacles again and the druid crumbled, her face a mask of agony.
Then it turned its head towards Edwynn.
Not knowing what else to do, the rogue reversed his grip on Rosie's knife and threw it at the monster. The weapon was too heavy and didn't fly correctly. It struck the leathery hide of the monster and clattered to the floor harmlessly. The thick tentacles flexed in Edwynn's direction.
Nothing happened.
The animal growled and its teeth parted. A long leathery tongue spilled out, and drool hissed as it hit the floorboards. It sucked in the air, lowered itself slightly, and then jumped at him.
At the pinnacle of its arc through the air the monster's skin suddenly burst into flames. The fireball of a creature landed on Edwynn just as the rogue stabbed upwards with his knife. The blade caught the creature at the bottom of its enormous chin and its own momentum forced its mouth closed. The felstalker squealed in pain and clawed at Edwynn, ripping the sleeves on his arms to shreds. With all his strength Edwynn pushed the dagger as deep as possible into the monster's head, hoping to hit its brain. The result kept the beast's mouth closed and forced it to continue using its claws. The fire on its skin continued to burn and it began thrashing wildly. It twisted and heaved and suddenly it was off Edwynn and scrambling to its feet.
Brogan and Myrista stood near the door. Myrista's hands glowed with the power of the light. Edwynn smiled at the idea that she was using her magic to heal him. But instead she gestured at the creature. It glowed from within for a moment, filled to bursting with the power of the light. Then it screamed and collapsed.
At the last second of its life, Brogan threw his hands forward in a clutching motion. Evil, violet energy rose from the felstalker's corpse like smoke. That energy swirled and twisted like a fog, forming the shape of the demon that had died. It hung in the air for a moment, and Edwynn imagined that the mist was alive and confused by its newfound incorporeal state. Then the warlock's hands beckoned and the mist drifted towards him on unseen winds. It twisted and panicked, opening its mouth in a silent scream of terror. Then the mist collapsed and coalesced into a tiny ball in Brogan's hand. It rested there a moment, then crystallized into a tiny purple shard.
"Was that… its soul?" Myrista asked.
"A fraction of it, yes." Brogan did not look happy. He glanced up at Mallet and Mythril lying on the ground. "The felstalker's manaburn should only have stunned them."
Myrista stepped over to her uncle and knelt next to him. Brogan approached Edwynn. He opened the bag and pulled out a roll of bandages.
"What the heck was that thing?" Edwynn asked.
"A felstalker. A kind of hellhound. They feed on magic, and can disable wizards or priests pretty effectively. They can take a spell caster's own magical energy and use it against them as a weapon."
"Good thing I don't use magic." Edwynn held up his arms and Brogan began to dress his wounds. The scratches were not deep, but the creature's claws had been hideous and filthy. "You think that thing infected me?"
"I'm not sure. I've only read about them in books. Thank you, by the way. If it had seen Myrista and me, it would have killed us pretty quickly. Your keeping it distracted allowed us the time we needed to cast our spells."
"Yeah, well anytime you need someone to be your meat shield, you know who to call." Edwynn winced in pain as Brogan tied off the bandages. "Was that purple thing really its soul? What are you going to do with it?"
"Demons are not of this world. They need to consume the souls of others in order to remain here. Much of a warlock's power comes from the harvesting and bartering of souls. I can call a demon, and offer it a soul in exchange for its obedience. Or I can craft the soul into a gem that can…"
"You will do nothing of the kind!" Mallet yelled. He had risen from where he had fallen. Aside from looking pale in his face and weak at the knees, he seemed fine. But his eyes held a cold fury. "Brogan, I told you not to use any of your blasphemous magics unless you had to!"
"Hey! My blasphemous magics just saved Edwynn's life!"
"Stealing the souls of the dying in not necessary for our survival."
"You don't understand. Watch." Brogan held up the soul shard. Muttering under his breath, he stared at the gem intensely. The stone began to grow and stretch, like a glassblower's bottle. Slowly it formed a perfect sphere four inches across and slightly translucent, like a soap bubble.
"With this soulstone I can actually interrupt death. It creates a spectral web around your essence, and if you or Myrista gets killed, it will capture your soul and prevent…"
"No!" Mallet rushed forward and batted the crystal aside. It shattered the instant it hit the floor, the pieces fading like a dream.
"I don't care what it is and I don't care what it does! You will never perform such heresy in my sight again!"
"Uncle, he's trying to help us!"
"I don't care if he can summon Lothar back from the grave! The souls of men are not currency to be bartered like animal pelts at market!"
Myrista would not back down. "You can hardly condemn him for using the soul of a demon that would not have stopped trying to kill us until it died."
The paladin turned to her, his fury fully built. "Don't you understand? This is how it starts, how the demons draw you in. First it's the souls of your enemies, or wild beasts. But then you graduate to more powerful magics, ones that require more souls. So warlocks begin to seek out foes to slay. No longer are you content to defend yourself, you take the battle to your enemies. At first, there are plenty of wicked to slay, but soon the weaker ones are gone, and the evil ones that remain are too strong, put up too much struggle. It becomes much easier to prey on the defenseless. And now your spells are more powerful, requiring more specific kinds of souls. The souls of the innocent, of virgins, or of children. But you try to justify it in the name of greater and greater power. No! It has to stop here! I will not loose another…" Mallet stopped suddenly.
"Another what?" Myrista asked.
Mallet said nothing. He surveyed the group. Mythril was back on her feet. Edwynn had recovered his knives. Everyone was looking at him.
"We've wasted enough time." He said. "Lets go."
"Uncle, what were you about to…"
"I said we're moving!" The paladin turned and marched towards the rear of the inn. He didn't seem to care if anyone followed him.
Brogan scrambled after him and the rest of them followed. The next room was a filthy, foul-smelling kitchen. Between the sausages and meat pies were scattered human remains. Myrista would almost certainly have lost her stomach again if she had not already done so.
"There." Brogan pointed to an open pantry door. Mallet stepped up and peered inside.
"The way is narrow. Move in single-file. Leave two arm-lengths between you and the man in front of you."
"I will go first." Mythril did not wait for an answer before her body transformed into a cat. She moved forward and vanished instantly into the darkness. Mallet frowned after her. "Edwynn, you're at the rear. Brogan, you're behind me. If anything happens you need to keep Myrista safe."
"I can take care of…"
"Let's go." Without waiting for anything else Mallet marched forward and down the tunnel. Brogan followed immediately. Myrista fumed red.
"Why does he keep treating me like a child?" she asked Edwynn.
"Probably because you're acting like one."
"What do you think he meant by that comment about losing someone again?"
"Lothar's blood, will you focus please?" Edwynn gestured to the body parts scattered around the kitchen. "Now go, they're getting ahead of us." Myrista made an unhappy face but moved to catch up to Brogan. Edwynn slipped in behind her.
The tunnel began sloping down almost immediately. Walls of hard-packed earth gave way to coarse stone, then bedrock. They descended for several minutes, and Edwynn began to wonder how deep they would need to go. Luckily the tunnel joined another, and then a third. It widened and the ceiling grew higher. At last the floor leveled out and they arrived at a wooden set of double-doors, similar to the ones someone might see at a church. The doors were opened and several bodies piled on either side. Mythril and Mallet stood over one stack of corpses, while Brogan hovered to the side, looking quite worried.
"It doesn't make any sense." The druid mused. "These Defias and Twilight Hammer warlocks appear to have died fighting against the warlocks of Stormwind's coven. The Defias won, and stationed guards here, presumably to cover their retreat. The majority of the attacking force then moved through the doors and descended deeper into the complex. The rear guards here were apparently surprised by Colberthas, who promptly cut them down like wheat."
The paladin looked at the positions of the bodies and scratched his tuft of white beard. "Brogan, you said the warlock's leader knew Colberthas was coming?"
The warlock nodded.
"Well, the coven didn't seem to put up much of a fight. Maybe his plan was to lure his enemies into fighting each other. That way Colberthas eliminates a rival clan of warlocks, and is weakened enough so that he can…"
There was a roar, distant and inhuman, that swept through the tunnel. It echoed from all sides, but seemed to originate within the complex.
"What was that?" Mallet asked.
"I don't know." Brogan replied. "I've never heard anything like it."
The old soldier's eyes scanned the corridor ahead. "Through the doors this hallway is wider than the last one. Move two by two. Edwynn up here on my right. Brogan behind him, Myrista behind me. Keep your eyes open and your wits about you."
"No instructions for me, human?" Mythril asked.
"Would you obey any I gave you?"
"Perhaps… if they were reasonable." The druid stated. She then melted back into her cat form and slipped up the tunnel ahead of them.
Mallet watched her go sullenly. "Damn elves. At least the highborne knew how to be soldiers." The paladin led them through the doors and further up the tunnel.
Edwynn hadn't really known what to expect from the interior of the warlock coven. In his imagination he had seen walls draped in black tapestries and icons of worship to the dark powers in every corner. The actual location was surprisingly sparse. Simple stone walls ceiling, and an uncarpeted floor were all that greeted them. At several points hallways branched away to the left and right, but Mallet continued to follow was seemed to be the primary thoroughfare. After three such hallway junctions Edwynn began to hear sounds: the screams of men and the clash of steel.
The hallway came to an abrupt end at an archway. The party crept forward and saw what lay beyond it.
A round room, a kind of amphitheater, lay before them. Warlocks in black robes battled men in red masks. But it was the room's central occupant that drew everyone's immediate attention. Nearly fifteen feet tall, a monstrous demon towered over mortal combatants. Its skin was a fetid blue-green, like rotted meat. Its arms and chest were bare, and powerful muscles rippled beneath their surface. In one hand it held an impossibly large sword. It roared and shook the walls of the underground temple. The monster swung its massive weapon and killed three Defias at once.
"Slay them! Slay them all, my pet!" A warlock behind the demon cried with glee. Brogan recognized Gakin immediately. The coven's second in command pointed and the demon's sword cut down another set of Defias thieves. The remaining bandits and Twilight Hammer cultists panicked and began to flee. All but one. That figure stood with its back to the party, a heavy cloak obscuring its features. The monstrous demon closed in for the kill.
"Why doesn't he run?" Edwynn whispered. "The beast will slay him."
"No." Brogan choked. His throat constricting with fear. "She's the leader of the Twilight Hammer assault. She fears no demon."
The cloaked figure threw back her hood. Not a single hair marked her scarred and malformed skin. She looked up at the demon and its charge instantly stopped. It looked at the woman and began to blink and shake its head, as though waking from a dream.
"She's breaking my control!" Gakin screamed. "The felguard is loose. My brothers, run for your lives!"
The remaining members of Stormwind's coven fled as the giant demon roared in fury. It turned to Gakin, who was racing towards one of the exits. Reaching down, the colossus grabbed a bisected human corpse from the ground and threw it at his former master. Gakin ducked at the last minute and managed to slip out of the room. The creature made to follow.
"Hold! My pet, we have other guests." The scarred woman commanded. Her voice carried an echo, like two people speaking at once. "Some old friends have come to join us." The figure turned and faced the party.
Edwynn's mouth opened in shock and Myrista screamed out loud. The figure was a corpse. Dead at least a week, with rotted skin and white, sightless eyes. But still Edwynn recognized her as Onessa, the Twilight Hammer witch who had led the assault on Crownguard manor. Her body charred, and all of her hair burned off in the fire that had claimed her life.
"How… we saw her die!" Myrista covered her mouth in horror.
"No child, you saw me born!" Onessa's body raised her left arm. Unlike the rest of her carcass, this limb was alive. The flesh was vibrantly pink and her nails blood red. The arm stopped just past the elbow, crudely stitched to the corpse. That living hand pointed at Brogan.
"I offered you fame and power, Brogan Maguskhaur. Have you come to accept it, my husband? Have you come to kneel and swear fealty to Balba'yorn, the bridge builder of the Burning Legion?"