JJ: Alright! Chapter 3! It was though getting this one done. I am running out of inspiration. .
Thorka: Then add me to the story! I have yet to make an appearance!
JJ: No! Not yet! I have plans for you...That, and the fact that your creator annoys me. .
Thorka: Hey! That is not my fault!
JJ: Yea, yea. Anyway, I can't fine Nell anywhere. Would you like the honours of giving out the disclaimer?
Thorka: It would be my honour. World of Warcraft does not belong to JJfats, only Nell does.
Chapter 3
It has been several hours since the ambush. The pair had yet to encounter anymore undead since the fight with the gnolls. The peaks of the Twin Colassals were just visible in the distance, telling the party that they were nearing the edge of the forests and approaching the barren land of Desolace. 'That made sense' thought Karkon. Desolace is the favored hiding place of evil warlocks and necromancers. One likely reason was that the place was filled with pockets of demonic energy which remained since the time the Burning Legion first came to Azeroth.
As if reading his thoughts, Nell said, "We have to get to that damn wizard before he reaches Desolace. If he gets there, The amount of evil residue there will mess with my senses and we would probably lose him." As she finished her sentenced, she began to pick up the pace. "He is probably headed for Shadowbreak Ravine. Why don't we just cut off and go straight there?" Karkon suggested.
Nell stopped in her tracks and glanced back at Karkon with an unamused smile. "My dear friend, Shadowbreak Ravine is the haven for warlocks of the Burning Blade, not necromancers Of the Scourge." said the elf sarcastically. "There is a difference you know, the Burning Blade worships the lords of the Burning Legion and of course, everyone by now knows that the Scourge are no longer too friendly with them. If our little friend went to the ravine, he would probably have been bound and sent off as a demonic sacrifice. And I assure you, that's the least that our friend wants." with that said, she turned away and continued on her way. Karkon just let out an annoyed grunt and followed after her.
A few more hours of trekking passes without incident. By now the two had reached the entrance of the valley which cut through between the Twin Colassals. The path was dimmed by the western colassal blocking out off the remaining light from the setting sun. Karkon felt an eerie aura emnating from within the valley, furthur down the path. Before he could voice out his opinion, Nell had already disappeared around a corner. "If you have the time to stand there petrified, then I believe that you have the time to help me look for our little friend. Don't you?" She called back. Karkon paced furiously around the corner to catch up with the elf.
Karkon did not like this place. There were few things in the world that he really disliked and this pass was one of them. On top of that list was Nell of course. The paladin knew no bounds when it came to infuriating him. But, there was something about the valley that filled him with dread. It was as if the feeling of death was all around him. Nell seemed to show a similar discomfort. "Something is not right..." she mumbled. Karkon just stared at her curiously. "Usually, there would be two night elfs here who would try to con travelers by teleporting them to the top of the Colassals and forcing them to buy a parachute. From my travels, I've learned that they almost never leave this place. And yet, they are nowhere to be found...". Karkon pondered on this thought a little. Finally he said, " If they are not here, it is most likely that the necromancer had come this way." Nell just nodded in agreement.
"He is close by, I can feel it." Nell whispered. Her hand slowly moving to grip her hammer. The ornate warhammer that she had earned from assisting the great mystical light beings who watched over Shattrath city in the Outlands. The Hammer of the Naaru. Yes, Karkon recalled the name being whispered into his mind when Nell had received the weapon. Nell seemed to relax as her grip on the weapon tightened. Karkon only ever seen the elf relaxed when she was holding it in her hands. While Karkon was thinking about this, he did not notice that Nell had stopped dead in her tracks. He walked straight into her and they both toppled down in a heap.
"Watch where your going!" she yelled. "Watch where I am going? Your the one who stopped walking all of a sudden!" the orc retorted. The elf just stared at Karkon, anger and disbelief in her eyes. "Are you telling me that you didn't notice?" Now Karkon was baffled. What was she talking about? "Didn't notice what?" he asked. Nell just turned around and pointed a finger at the top of the western colassal. "That." she said. The orc looked towards the direction she indicated. He squinted his eyes and peered at the peak. It was finally then he realized what she was talking about. On the peak of the mountain, stood a lone figure. He was wearing great black and brass plate armor which seemed to burn with demonic fire and his face was concealed with a low cowl. he held a great rune sword in one hand and a huge book in the other. Kakon could just barely make out evil, glowing green symbols on its cover. "Death Knight.." the orc growled. It seemed that the duo had been mistaken about the profession of their prey.
The knight regarded them from his perch. He gave them an evil grin and said, "Ah, so you are the annoying little gnats pursuing us." Karkon unsheathed his axe and readied himself, half expecting a spell to spring out of nowhere. The knight seemed to notice Karkon's uncomfort. "Ah, no need to be so hostile my friend. Allow me to introduce my self. I am Cornelius Breakwater. Servant of the almighty Lich King, Lord Arthas." Karkon could visibly see Nell's anger, and her eye brows began to twitch. Prince...no, 'King' Arthas was once a paladin like her. A defender of the weak and follower of the Light. He had long since fell prey to the corruption of the Scourge. To all paladins of the world, there was no kinder title to give Arthas apart from 'Traitor'.
" My, my. You don't have to stare at me with those angry eyes. After all, we are not so different, you and I." said the necromancer with a smug look on his face. It was obviously the last straw fro Nell. Karkon knew that she hated being compared to one of the 'fallen paladins' above all else. The second those words left the death knight's mouth, Nell was already on the move. Quickly jumping from ledge to ledge in an attempt to reach the top of the mountain. Karkon moved to join her in the climb when he suddenly realized that his right foot was stuck to the ground. The orc looked down and found a skeletal arm, half emerged from the ground, holding his leg in place.
The arm was simply too weak to hold down the orc completely. Karkon managed to lift up his trapped leg and brought it down hard on the arm, shattering it into tiny, uncountable fragments. By the time he was done with that, he found himself surrounded by several dozen skeleton warriors and zombies. He also saw two fresh looking zombies. Both were night elfs. He immediately knew that these two were the night elfs that Nell had spoken of. He risked a glance upwards to see how the elf was doing. Nell had almost reached the top, the death knight looking down at her with grim satisfaction written all over his face. Karkon shifted his focus back towards the undead horde. He licked his lips and bared his sharp, yellow teeth. He was very sure that Nell could handle the knight herself. He was also very sure that all these dead bodies in front of him were going to be even more dead in a few moments.
Nell leaped off the final ledge and vaulted herself into the air. As she fell back towards the death knight, she brought her mace forward in an attempt to crush him in a single blow. The knight narrowly evaded it and Nell's strike landed in the spot he had been just mere moments ago with devastating force. Backed up by the force of gravity, the blow shattered the cliff side. Cornelius brandished his rune sword and crouched in a low fighting position. "Impressive power," he said, "But it can be further improved if you would join us. Lord Arthas can grant you unimaginable power. You would be unst-" Nell did not give him time to finish the sentence, she charged and brought her hammer in a devastating arc. The knight quickly brought his blade up in defense. An explosion of green-blue sparks formed as holy and unholy weapon met.
"Your eyes are filled with hate and anger. You are already on the path of death!" taunted Cornelius. "Be silent!" Nell retorted. " My hatred is aimed at your kind! I will never join those I seek to destroy!" Nell overpowered the death knight and swung her hammer in a vertical arc. The knight side stepped to avoid the blow. As the hammer fell on empty ground, Nell quickly drew her one of her short swords from her belt and lashed out at the knight. Cornelius reacted instantly and managed to barely block the blow. Snarling with frustration, Nell pulled her hammer out of the ground, sheathed her sword and took a step back to put some distance between her and the fallen knight.
"Immense strength, excellent reaction time, and above all else, a deep soul filled with hatred and longing for vengeance! All the qualities befitting a death knight! You truly are magnificent, my lady." complimented Cornelius. Nell roared and lunged at him, swinging her hammer upwards. It was a clumsy swing, which the knight easily dodged. The knight was goading her. Taunting her. One of the simplest tricks in the book, but it seemed to be working at the moment. "You are letting your anger guide your hand, lass. Not such a bad move, but you should control your temper girl. Rage can cloud ones judgement. Join us girl! We can teach you the skills of immense destruction! We can make you stronger!"
The fight was not looking good for the elf. Although she hated to admit it, the fallen knight was right. She was letting anger get the best of her. She tried with all her might to calm down, but the amount of hatred she harbored was too great. There was also another factor playing against her in this fight. She was using a mace. Although her hammer was both mighty and legendary, it was still a mace, and all her years of training knew that maces were not a defensive weapon, unlike the knights runeblade. Warhammers are heavy and slow weapons and could only do real damage if an enemy was struck by the head of the mace, unlike a sword. She could try using her two short swords on her belt to combat the knight, but those were made of normal, unenchanted dwarfish steel. Formidable as they were, they would still break if they clashed with a rune weapon.
Nell knew that if she let up on offense and went on defense, she would undoubtedly lose. " I am saying this once more, lass. Join us. Join us and I will personally request Lord Arthas to train you. Teach you all his tricks and skills!" offered Cornelius. The knight obviously has seen his advantage over her. In response, Nell spat at him and took up a fighting stance. Cornelius just shook his head sadly. "A pity. You had so much potential too." What happened next was all a blur to Nell. As Cornelius shook his head, she thought she saw glowing green eyes underneath the knights cowl. All of a sudden, she felt a cold pain across her chest. Her arms felt weak and she dropped her mace. Her legs went limp as she struggled to stand. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the death knights runeblade with brilliant strings of crimson on it.
To be continued...
JJ: Well, that was a surprise. I even surprised myself there...Never thought I had the courage to write about Nell like that ...
Nell: JOOOOOOORRRDAAAAAAAAAAAN!
JJ: Oh crap...Got to go! Please look forward to the next chapter! Bye now! Runs away
Nell: COME BACK HERE YOU LIGHT FORSAKEN WUUUUSSSSSSS!