Chapter 27 – Secret Reasons.
"I thought the demoness was trapped in the book?"
"Yeah, well, some of the pages got burned and I guess a little bit of her leaked out." Edwynn answered the paladin.
The corpse smiled at them. Charred grey lips peeling back to reveal backed cracked teeth. "Step forward warriors. It is time for you to serve the purpose for which I have summoned you here."
Myrista seemed confused. "You summoned…"
"Surely you do not imagine that the circumstances that have brought your little band to this moment, to this place, are coincidence. I can see into your hearts as easily as you might see into a glass cabinet. You imagine yourselves here in pursuit of justice, or of the greater good. But each of you harbors a secret reason for coming. Perhaps it is greed…" The corpse seemed to shift its gaze to Edwynn. "… or perhaps lust for power…" she glanced at Myrista. "… or redemption." Her head tilted still more to lock sightless eyes on Mallet.
"Perhaps you seek freedom, or revenge. Whatever your secret reasons, you have come. You have no hope of survival or of victory by force of arms. You must see that you are pawns in a game played by higher life-forms. Accept your roles. Know that you are here because I promised each of you your hearts desires, and that you cannot hope to achieve these things without my aid. Join me. Help me slay the leader of this warlock coven. Do this, and all that you desire can be yours."
Edwynn was only half listening. When Balba'yorn had said 'greed' the rogue's mind had been bombarded with images. Lady Prestor's offer of lands and titles. He remembered the way Myrista had looked at him when she first recognized him in the prison, wearing noblemen's cloths. How he felt at the idea of being elevated out of the gutter, of being more than a peon's son. He glanced at the others. Myrista's pale face was bone white. Brogan's brow was knitted together in a cold fury. Mallet was muttering under his breath: "It can't be true… it can't." Of Mythril, nothing could be seen.
"Join me." The corpse smiled. "You have no choice."
"Uncle…" Myrista began.
The paladin's eyes were on the demon towering next to Balba'yorn. "I don't think we can defeat a felguard. Besides, there's more at risk here than you children realize. I think we should consider…"
"She's lying." Brogan said.
The smile on Balba'yorn's face froze there. "You are making a mistake husband."
Brogan stared hard at the corpse's dead face. "Am I? We have a bond, demoness. You're afraid. Weak and afraid. I can feel it. You need us."
"Defy me at your peril. You'll never leave this place alive without…"
Brogan threw up his hand and uttered a spell at the demoness. The undead creature was suddenly encased in a glowing green shell. Her body became semi-transparent. Her jaw dropped in shock, mirroring Brogan's own expression.
"There's no way that should have worked." The warlock muttered.
The felguard roared, shaking the very foundations of Stormwind. Raising its weapon, he charged forward at Brogan. Faster than one would think possible it brought the half-ton of iron down to cut the boy in half.
In that second the paladin was between them. He raised his shield just as the sword crushed down on him. There was a flash of golden light and impossibly the felguard's blade stopped. Iron rang out and sparks fell from the blade. The sparks cascaded down around the paladin, silhouetting an invisible bubble of divine protection encasing him. The enraged felguard swung again and again, its weapon crashing against the paladin's magic shell, unable to penetrate. But each blow was taking its toll on Mallet. The paladin held his shield upraised, and with every thunderous blow his arm shuddered. He would not be able to last much longer.
As the beast grew more and more angry, it became more and more reckless. Each swing was timed identically, and as the great sword descended a third time, Edwynn struck.
Charging forward with both hands Edwynn thrust just as the giant brought his weapon down. Both knives stabbed into the back of its hand, severing muscles and nerves alike. The felguard was so enraged that it didn't even notice. As the monster drew its hand up and away, Edwynn pulled backwards, raking the top of the giants hand and severing all the tendons in its fingers. Those fingers, nerveless and unusable, attempted to raise the sword again. But the weapon slipped from its grasp. The demon did not even notice until it swung again. Without the great weight of the blade, the creature overextended itself and almost pitched forward.
Mallet struck at that moment. Swinging his magic hammer, he smashed the giant in the head. It was a direct blow, square to the face. The demon shuddered, but only grew angrier.
Edwynn heard chanting from Myrista and Brogan, but he didn't have time to see what they were doing. The monster was bent forward, focusing exclusively on the paladin, and didn't seem to care about anything else. Edwynn circled behind it and began slashing at the back of its legs. Wide plates of demonic iron needlessly protected its blue skin. Edwynn stabbed and carved with his weapons, but the armor was too thick. After what seemed like an eternity the monster stood up, causing the metal plates to shift and reveal an opening behind its knees. With all of his might Edwynn thrust at the creature's skin but could barely penetrate its leathery hide. Still, he pushed forward, sawing and hacking like a woodsman at a tree.
The felguard, having dropped its weapon, swung its great fists at Mallet. The paladin, his magic bubble expended, used his shield and hammer to bat them aside, which only enraged the creature further. The knight was doing no real damage to it, and after a couple seconds the demon managed to catch the paladin's arm with one of its hands. Roaring in triumph, the creature stood and raised the knight over his head. The paladin chanted words of magic and holy energy flowed from his body into the demon's hand.
The felguard just smiled. With both hands it began attempting to crush the knight.
"You see husband…" Two voices spoke as one as Balba'yorn broke free of Brogan's spell. "You cannot harm my new pet. Surrender and I will tell it to only slay the knight. Your defiance cannot… yeargah!"
There was a blur of black fur and white teeth. Jaws closed around Balba'yorn's living flesh arm and claws tore ferociously. The animated corpse screamed as the stitching holding its arm to its body gave way to the assault. The black jaguar twisted, pulled, and finally she placed both legs against Balba'yorn's torso. With a mighty thrash the living arm was ripped whole away from the corpse. The dead body fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. The arm, alive and well, squirmed in Mythril's mouth as it attempted to escape.
With the loss of its master the felguard became enraged. It flung Mallet aside and the knight fell like a meteor to the earth. The demon turned towards Mythril and stepped toward the druid just as Edwynn finished hacking away enough armor and skin to expose its lateral tendon. The giant lifted a leg, but upon stepping forward it collapsed down onto one knee. Undeterred, it began crawling towards its quarry at breakneck speeds. Mythril turned and dashed away as fast as possible.
"Uncle Mallet! Uncle Mallet get up!" Myrista cried as she ran to where the knight had landed. Mallet groaned in pain. His massive plate mail chest piece had been crushed and the steel panels were warped and deformed. Blood oozed from several metal sheets that had been driven into his skin.
"Flee…" the knight moaned.
But Myrista would do no such thing. Turning to the monster, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of anger. She began screaming words of magic. The felguard, obsessed with catching Mythril, heard the words and turned to face her. There was a single instant of fear in its eyes.
Myrista thrust out her hand and a brilliant stream of blue energy raced from her palm to her victim. The felguard was struck in the forehead. The energy continued to poor into the creature and its entire head began to glow. Not the warm golden glow that would accompany the healing magics Edwynn had seen before. This was a sinister blue radiance that built and built. The felguard screamed as mystical fire began to burn within its skull. It opened its mouth and blue flames could be seen burning inside its head. Seconds later the same blue fire began to pour from its eyes, nostrils, and ears. Myrista sneered and pushed more energy into the demon.
The creature's face literally began to melt.
"By the Light…" Edwynn muttered.
"Die… Die!" Myrista muttered. The felguard's entire head was on fire now. It flailed wildly, clawing at its own face and screaming in agony. It began crawling in their direction, swinging its arms about as burning flesh and melted skin dripped to the floor. After what seemed like an eternity the demon fell forward, struggled to rise for a moment, and then collapsed in death.
Myrista dropped her hands and the blue energy beam vanished. She swooned for a moment before collapsing to her knees, panting in exhaustion. Edwynn kept his weapons out, remaining faced towards the demons' corpse. He half-expected it to get back up. After it remained motionless for several seconds the rogue finally lowered his guard and turned towards the priestess.
"What was that?"
Myrista said nothing. She merely gasped for breath and shivering uncontrollably. Mythril's sleek black form appeared from the shadows next to her. The severed human arm still clutched in its teeth. The animal dropped the limb to the ground before transforming back into her purple-skinned humanoid form.
"That was the foulest of black magics." Mythril towered over the shivering girl. Almost as an afterthought she stepped on Balba'yorn's wrist, pinning the demon's arm to the floor. "Among the priestesses of the moon, use of the Mind Flay is strictly forbidden. It is a cruel and wicked magic, used by only the cruelest and most wicked dark priests. Even in times of war or dire need, to cast such a spell would result in permanent and irrevocable exile. Surely you did not learn such magic at the cathedral of Light?"
"No!" Myrista sobbed. "I learned it from Brother Crowley… from the Scarlet Crusade. He told me… he told me that I would never be weak again. I could use it to burn the wicked, to destroy the unjust."
"Indeed you have." Mythril glanced at the demon's corpse. "This creature would certainly have slain us all if you had not. I'm certain your uncle would have been proud."
With that Myrista gasped and leapt to her feet. She crossed the short distance to where Mallet lay bleeding from his wounds. The distraught young woman knelt over the knight's body and quickly checked his pulse.
"He's alive!" She exclaimed.
"Oh?" Mythril's ears sprang up in surprise. Edwynn himself gasped and came to his side. Indeed, Mallius Crownguard was not only alive, but conscious. His niece whispered words of magic and her hands glowed faintly.
"I don't... have the strength…" the priestess gasped, tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. "Mythril help me!"
The druid stood there, her expression unreadable. "I think it would be best if I did not. We may need my magic for the journey back to the surface…"
"What? Are you crazy?!? Heal him!" Myrista screamed.
"You are not thinking logically. If we flee now there's a chance…"
"To the legion with you!" Myrista leapt to her feet. "If that were you bleeding on the floor he wouldn't hesitate for a second!"
"That is why elves are superior to humans. We think before we act."
Brogan stepped forward. "Mythril please…"
"Mythril, we need him." Edwynn added.
The druid looked at the three adolescents. She sighed and her ears did a funny twist that Edwynn took as a gesture of surrender. She kneeled down and touched the knight's forehead. The druid chanted and green energy flowed from her fingers to the knight's body. Mallet groaned and seemed to gain strength, but his face contorted in even more pain.
"It's the armor." Brogan stated. "We have to get it off of him."
The two boys began prying at the straps and buckles that held Mallet's breastplate on. With a few cuts of Edwynn's knife the restraints fell away. Carefully they pulled the large steel center piece off of him and Edwynn tossed it aside. It rang out and the sound echoed across the amphitheater. The noise drew a harsh look from the druid.
"We already stayed too long. We must move soon!"
"Just… give me a second…" Mallet grimaced as he removed a three inch steel plate from his side. He was obviously in great pain, but he simply ground his teeth and took shallow, hissing breaths. "Brogan… the bag."
The warlock stared at the paladin blankly for a moment, and then removed the satchel Mallet had given him before they had entered the Slaughtered Lamb. Mallet took the bag and removed from it a black bottle. Pulling the cork out with his teeth, he poured the thick liquid down his throat with a grimace.
"Was that…?" Myrista asked.
"Troll's blood, yes." Mallet made an unhappy face as he smacked his lips. "Hard to get, even harder to drink. But it will give me the regenerative powers of that foul race. I'll be fine in an hour, if we can stop the bleeding."
Without another word Myrista dove into the satchel and pulled out a thick wad of bandages. Silently she pressed them against Mallet's ribs and began to dress his wounds.
"Hurry" the druid stated impatiently. "Myrista and I will lead the way while you two carry him. We must escape before more warlocks…"
"We're not leaving." Mallet hissed as his niece tied his bandage.
"We must! Myrista and I have spent our magical reserves keeping you alive. The dew of the morning glory is gone, and your bottles of moonberry juice are suitable for children or apprentices. We could not confront an imp, much less a felstalker or something worse. If we stay we will surely die."
"Wait a minute." Edwynn glared hard at the night elf. "That's not why you want to leave."
Mythril did not respond. Edwynn noted that her ears were turned down. Brogan and Myrista looked at Edwynn in confusion.
"Balba'yorn said that we each had a reason for coming. A secret reason. Well mine's no secret. Lady Prestor promised me lands and wealth in exchange for the book. And Brogan's is obvious; he needs to be free of her. Myrista, well she…"
"She promised me power. Magical power and…" Myrista glanced at Brogan, her cheeks burning. "…other things. She said she could reunite me with my father, and that he would never leave again."
Brogan was about to say something, but Edwynn cut her off. "What about you Mythril? What did the demon offer you?"
The night elf said nothing, her face a mask of guilt. Despite her years Edwynn was overcome with the sensation that he was lecturing a small girl. "I… Night Elves are not vulnerable to demonic influences. She didn't…"
"Stop lying." Mallet said with more malice than he meant to. The pain was leaving him with little patience. The druid's facade shattered before his tone and she looked like she was about to cry.
"Not long ago… well… about a human lifetime… there was a village in Ashenvale called Night Run. A friend from my childhood lived there, along with many dryads and grove keepers. Reports came to the Cenarion Circle that a satyr named Zenn Foulhoof had taken refuge in that village. He was asking for sanctuary from the druids in exchange for information about another satyr leader named Lord Raze. I was sent to make contact, and negotiate the terms for the information.
"But Colberthas… he had heard of Foulhoof as well. He considered all satyrs to be demonic abominations. In his eyes anyone who sheltered a satyr was in league with the legion. When I arrived… they were dead. All of them. The dryads, the keepers, my friend… all of them. The village was gone. Colberthas has laid waste to it all. Every building, every structure. Even the sacred moonwell was destroyed."
"The druids allowed this?" Mallet asked. "Colberthas went unpunished?"
"Of course not. But the sentence of death was suspended, mostly because none of the wardens felt themselves powerful enough to bring him in alone. We elves had grown complacent in our immortality. It is difficult for us to undertake action that we know may result in our deaths. The cost in elven blood for the capturing Colberthas would have been quite high. And so the Cenarion Circle simply exiled him to the Eastern Kingdoms. He was banished from the slopes of Mount Hyjal, never to return. However, some of us were not satisfied with this decision. I was among them.
"I… I wanted revenge. The circle still thought Colberthas could be a useful tool against evil, but I saw what he had truly become. He is more demon than Kaldorei now. He enjoys his work, relishes in the carnage. I knew that he would never stop spilling blood as long as he was alive. Balba'yorn saw this in me." The night elf twisted her ankle sharply, driving her heel into the disembodied arm. "The demoness visited me in my dream. She appeared in the guise of my childhood friend, but I knew who she was. She offered me a chance for revenge. All I had to do was come here, with you. Colberthas would be here, she said. He would be weakened from fighting the coven and the twilight hammer. He would be vulnerable, and the opportunity for vengeance would be mine."
No one said anything for a time. Then Mallet extended a hand and Edwynn helped him to his feet. Whatever that potion was, it appeared to be working, but not very quickly. He stood for a moment with Edwynn supporting one side and the other using his hammer as a crutch. Holding his hand against his side, he muttered words of healing magic. The glow from his hand was faint, but his breathing eased somewhat. He took his weight off the rogue.
"Uncle, you're still weak. You should rest some more."
"I'm just old." He hoisted his hammer onto his shoulder with a grunt. "Mythril is right, we can't stay here."
"Then you agree, we must return to the surface at once."
"Our work here is not done. You are free to leave if you wish."
The night elf stared hard at the paladin. "What about you? What is your secret reason for coming?"
Mallet took a couple of steps to where his crushed breastplate lay useless on the ground. He sighed and glanced at the shield. It was dented from the felguard's battering, but otherwise serviceable. The knight ground his teeth somewhat, and then looked around the room towards the exits. He seemed to pick one at random and began walking towards it. "Let's go."
"I asked…"
"I heard you." The knight did not slow his pace as he began to speak. "Eight months ago I was in Lordaeron, battling the scourge. One of the problems with fighting the undead is that you're never really sure when you've actually killed one. A lot of times you'll stab one and it will just pretend and go limp. Then when you've turned around it gets back up and knifes you in the back. If you burn them they just wait until only their bones are left and then get up. You see, they can regenerate their bodies by consuming the flesh of others.
"So about eight months ago my commander summoned me to our base camp south of Andorhal. There he introduced me to someone, an old friend of mine who I hadn't seen in many years. I thought I knew him, but in the years since I had left home he had changed. He had been sent from Stormwind and was an expert on the study of necromancy and warlock magic. He told me that he had discovered a process to rip the souls from the forsaken's undead corpses. Once the soul was captured this way, the body would fall and never rise again. My commander was skeptical. He didn't trust the warlock. Because of our past, I vouched for him and volunteered to undertake a mission to prove whether the method worked or not.
"We set out the next morning for Dalson's Tear, a small homestead that had been overrun by the scourge and which now contained a large population of undead. We ambushed one of their patrols and the warlock used his magic to drain the souls of the Lich King's slaves. The process worked. We eliminated four more patrols and returned to base. We didn't even loose one man. It was a good day."
Mallet had led them out one of the exits from the amphitheater and down a wide corridor. After two intersections Brogan recognized where they were. "Wait this way leads to the apprentice quarters. That way there, it leads to the leader's private quarters and the portal chamber."
"The portal chamber?" Edwynn repeated. "Sounds lovely."
"They use it for summoning and entrapping the most powerful demons." Brogan said.
Mallet glanced at the severed arm in Mythril's hand. "Or perhaps… demon hunters."
"What happened next, sir Mallius?" Edwynn asked.
"Oh, high command was ecstatic. The ability to permanently destroy the undead was a dream come true. A major offensive to reclaim the town of Corin's Crossing was planned. But the weather had turned bitterly cold and there was a heavy rain the morning of the assault. The commander called off the attack. The warlock was furious. He needed the souls harvested from this attack for some… other ritual. One that could only be performed at a particular conjunction of astrological bodies. He flew into a rage, but the commander was resolute. The attack was called off, rescheduled for two days later.
"That night I was awoken from a horrible dream by the camps alarm bells. Three men were dead. Their hair turned white, their clothing corroded and decayed. It was the work of the warlock, we all knew it. He was nowhere to be found, and because I had vouched for him, all eyes fell on me. We split into teams to search for him. I knew where he had gone but… I couldn't believe he was capable of it. It was a simple matter to slip away from the others in my search party. I went off alone to confront him. And when I arrived, he was waiting for me.
"When I found him, or more correctly when he let me find him, he admitted that he murdered those men. And he challenged me to do something about it. Me, who had dedicated my life to the pursuit of justice…, I faltered. I let him go. He slipped away into the night and I haven't seen him since. The next day I retired my commission, quit the army, took my horse and my hammer and left. I came home. But it took longer than I had hoped. There were some loose ends I had to tie up."
"I do not understand." Mythril said. "How does this relate to Balba'yorn and the coven?"
"Today is my chance for redemption. He is here. The man from my past. Balba'yorn promised me the opportunity to kill him. If I am not weak…"
"But you are weak, human!"
The party spun as the voice boomed through the hallway. Behind them stood Colberthas. The demon hunter had to crouch just to fit into the hallway. Myrista would have sworn that he was even larger now than the last time they had seen him. He was covered with blood, most of it black, some of it red. His pants were shredded and his skin was broken and bleeding. Most horrific, his blindfold had been removed. Where his eyes should have been were blackened pits, burned out and scarred-over long ago.
Mythril stepped forward. She clutched Balba'yorn's arm to her chest. She began speaking rapidly in the elven tongue. Colberthas dismissed her at once.
"They should have listened to you Queren. By violating the marker they have shown themselves to be allies of the Legion. And that one…" The male night elf pointed to Brogan, "…has already sullied his soul. Be thankful mortals. I have come to release you from your worldly burdens."
"You're making a mistake." Mallet said. "We are not your enemies. We have come to destroy a great evil."
"Destroy it you say? Because I am blind does not mean I cannot see. You carry the evil with you. The arm of Balba'yorn. Give it to me at once!"
"Why?" Myrista asked. "What will you do with it?"
"It is the key to my ascension. No more will I be in Stormrage's shadow. For a thousand years I roamed free while Illidan was imprisoned. By consuming the skull of Gul'dan he attained a new level of power and I too must ascend if I am to defeat him. I will destroy Balba'yorn and in doing so take her powers for my own. I will surpass all of Elune's children, and become the most powerful creature on Azeroth.
"He's insane." Mallet muttered.
"Just picking up on that, eh?" Edwynn muttered. He glanced up and down the hallway. Colberthas had them trapped. The demon hunter began advancing towards them, snarling. "We need to get out of here." Facing the enemy, the rogue began backing down the hall towards the portal room.
"Run!" Mythril screamed and tossed Balba'yorn's arm to Myrista. She then turned and dove towards the demon hunter. In the blink of an eye her body swelled into a massive bear. Colberthas swung one of his warglaves and its blade bit deeply into her side.
Edwynn ran to help her, but Mallet grabbed the boy's coat and began dragging him towards the portal room. Myrista and Brogan were already ahead of them.
"We have to help her!" Edwynn yelled.
"Fool! She's buying us time with her life!" Mallet half threw Edwynn ahead of them into the next chamber.
The portal room seemed like a smaller version of the amphitheater. The floor was sunken somewhat, with a mystic glowing circle imbedded in it. Edwynn knew nothing about what the runes meant, but it reminded him of the holding circle used on Brogan in Stormwind keep. Around the edge of the room were various tables with arcane books and potions brewing.
"There's no way out!" Myrista said. From the hallway there was an animal scream of pain and then silence.
"Over there!" Mallet pointed to a thick curtain on the far side of the room. The four of them raced to it. Brogan got there first and pulled the drape aside. Behind it was a full length mirror. It showed three terrified adolescents, one tired old man, and behind them, an enraged demon hunter, his warglaves dripping with fresh blood.