Author's Note: I got seriously derailed on this project, and for that I apologize. It's been a long few months waiting for the end of this one, and there will be one more closing chapter before starting on the next story starring our intrepid priest/dk duo, which will be called Temperance.
It was tougher than she thought it would be to cut through the bush. The leaves rustled angrily at her as Maerciless forced her runeblade through them, sawing a line from the top clear through to the bottom. The first few times she tried it, the bush grew back as fast as she could cut it, the top glued together by the time she reached the bottom. Maerciless had never been a patient person. Her eyes blazed blue fire as she sent a wall of frost to the magical hedge, and froze it solid. Before it could thaw, or block her in any other way, she rammed her shoulder into it and it shattered, leaving a person-sized gap into the next row. The branches lay dormant on either side of the hole. The maze knew when it had been bested.
A glimpse of green and scattering of claws greeted her as the death knight shoved through the hole into the next corridor. Rather than running at her, to protect the contents of the maze, the creatures seemed to be fleeing the wrath of the intruders forcing their way through to the center. She thought to herself as she quickly strode to the next wall and again froze it solid, that it seemed every creature, plant, and object only retained a tenuous connection to the Jade Witch, and once it was broken, they all fled for their lives. Maerciless broke through the second wall and pushed her way through to the third corridor. It said something about the master of a domain that was only able to instill loyalty by magically forcing it on its inhabitants.
It was the third corridor, the last before the courtyard, that she encountered the first statue. A small pandaren child, a girl, was forever frozen in horror. She was tiny, and didn't even come up to Maerciless's hip. Condensation had gathered on her face from the thick air inside the maze, and it made her face appear to be wet with tears. She wasn't even prominently displayed; she was tucked around the corner of an empty statue base, like she had been trying to hide before she was turned to jade. The death knight seethed in anger as she gently wiped the droplets off of the pandaren girl's terrified visage. If she had learned nothing at all from her forced servitude under the Lich King, it was that those who did not value life, as delicate and pure and powerful as it was, were the ones that would eventually fall under their own weight. The death knight flexed one gloved hand around the pommel of her runesword as she turned away from the pandaren child, and toward the last hedgerow before reaching the courtyard. She would be more than happy to usher in the fall of one such person right now.
The sound of fluttering greeted her as she stopped before the final hedgerow. She glanced around warily instead of charging through as she had the others. The sound was off somehow: it was not quite an organic sound, more tinny and harsh. After the horrors she had seen so far, she expected it could be anything: some kind of automaton, a statue magically turned to life, or some other kind of mind-poison sent to confuse her. Maerciless looked skyward as the sound of wings drew closer. What at first glance appeared to be a brilliant green bird screeched as it dove toward her unprotected face. The death knight flinched, pulling up her sword and catching it before it could reach her. It fell to her feet, hitting the stone path with a dull crack. The bird struggled weakly, then lay still. She nudged it with her hoof, then bent to examine it. It was a bird, yes, and it was green, but that was where the similarities to a living creature ended: it appeared to be made of living jade. Even the cut on its side where her sword had pierced it did not bleed, but instead oozed a green mist into the air. Maerciless pulled back abruptly, remembering the mist that had taken her memory.
There was more fluttering above her, and Maerciless raised her sword, prepared to defend herself. The green avians circled the air above her head, watching her. The death knight studied them back, wondering at their hesitance to attack. She recalled the fleeing creatures when she had torn through the last wall of bushes. She kicked the downed bird with her hoof so that it skidded out in the center of the walkway. The birds made small agitated sounds as they continued to fly above her. Maerciless pointed to their fallen companion as she directed her voice above her.
"If you leave me be, I will not harm you." She shifted, tilting her runeblade to the center of the labyrinth.
"I am here to defeat the witch that enslaves you. Fly from here, and you will not have to return."
The jade birds made agitated sounds again, then as a one, they flew away into the Jade Forest. Maerciless felt a small bit of triumph as she turned once again to the last hedgerow. If her creatures could be swayed so easily, then surely the Jade Witch was losing power.
With a crash of tinkling crystallized branches, the death knight broke through to the main courtyard. To her right was a break in the wall of green that surrounded the middle of the maze, an opening that she assumed was where a hapless victim was supposed to emerge. Two leopards, jade in color and composition, where positioned at the entrance. When she came through in a different place, they whirled around, on guard but not advancing. The Jade Witch seemed to be losing her hold on every aspect of the labyrinth: her guards were not defending, her pets were fleeing, and even the bushes themselves seemed to give more easily under the death knight's spell.
To her left was a modest cottage of obvious Pandaren architecture. It appeared to be well-taken care of: the plants were pruned and growing, the walkways swept and clear of debris, and the windows clean and open, with a wisp of a curtain billowing out of them. If Maerciless craned her neck, she could barely make out a small walled garden behind the house. There was a large statue of a Pandaren man up on a pedestal in the center of it, but Maerciless was more interested in what lay around the cottage. The courtyard was covered in jade statues. They were mostly Pandaren, but there were also a few of the other native races, Hozen and Jinyu. She thought she could make out a few animals among them as well. Near the outside edges were some of the newcomers to the continent: she spied a dwarf, a human, and also a troll and an orc. Maerciless felt her anger burning in her as she carefully stepped around the statues and made her way to the cottage. So many people trapped forever in a magic spell. So many lives lost to this woman's madness. The closer she got to the cottage the more children were among them. Some of them had pleasant looks on their faces, as if the Jade Witch had distracted them with a sweet or some magical artifact before turning them. Too many though were scared, horrified, and Maerciless saw only white hot murder as she descended upon the entrance to the cottage. She drew her leg back and kicked in the door, every nerve on edge as she searched the main room. It was empty, although there was a still-warm tea kettle sitting on the stove and a merry fire burned in the fireplace despite the heat of the jungle. She peered into the alcove that served as a bedroom. It was empty as well, the bed made neatly and not one thing out of place.
Maerciless kept all her wits about her as she left the cottage and slowly paced around the side. Visibility was poor, with all the statues littered about. Some of them had an order to them, like a grouping of Pandaren women gathered around a table as if they were having afternoon tea and indulging in town gossip. There were several men positioned so they looked to be having a spar, although some of them looked more frightened than fierce. And then there were the children.
As Maerciless came around the edge of the cottage to the back of the house, there ceased to be any statues higher than her ribcage. The Jade Witch had surrounded the tall statue of the Pandaren monk with children, some of them so young they were sitting on their round bottoms and didn't look like they could have run away if they wanted to. These were all crying. It made Maerciless nauseous to think of these children, some only suckling babies, stolen away from their caretakers for a crazy woman's selfish desires. Her own mother had passed away when she was very young, and before the Lich King had stolen away most of her humanity, she had dreamed of her often. They were never fully formed, only an intense yearning that brought tears to her eyes long after she had forgotten her mother's face and voice, but the feeling of desperate want was strong. Maerciless turned her head from the pleading forever frozen on the children's faces. She instead approached the pedestal in the center of the garden. There was a plaque on the front, and she read it quietly.
Behold Master Greenpaw...
She frowned to herself. She had heard that name before, spoken in a whisper maybe, or recanted in a tale. There was a screech behind her right ear, and she turned sharply, expecting to defend herself from another jade bird. A Pandaren woman, middle aged but with a wild look to her green cast eyes was descending on her, close enough that she could smell the scent of ozone around her that indicated magic. Maerciless slashed at her with her runesword as she leapt backward. The death knight watched in astonishment as the woman caught her blade with one hand, ignoring as it cut into her paw. Green electricity crackled along it, and Maerciless dropped it, her fingers numb and tingling. The woman flung the sword, now turned to jade, to the ground. Maerciless backed up from the Jade Witch, trying to process that one of the most powerful weapons in the land, a sword that had been forged with power from the Lich King and sliced through armor like it was made of butter, had barely cut a Pandaren's bare paw and was now laying useless on the ground. Green lightning crackled again, sealing up the bleeding and the woman hissed as if in pain. She turned her infinitely veridian eyes onto the death knight, and Maerciless held her gaze as she slid her hand down to grasp her dagger.
"You." The woman stopped, and gave her a curious look, as if she were a puzzle to figure out.
"I have many strange and exotic animals in my garden, but I have never seen anyone quite like you."
Maerciless took another step back, sliding her dagger out of its sheath and holding it slightly behind her leg. The woman furrowed her brow, staring her down, leaning her head forward and inhaling sharply.
"You have the scent of death on you, yet you have blood pumping through your veins. How is it that you are both alive and dead?"
She tilted her head to the side in confusion. Maerciless was against the pedestal in the center of the garden now, and she held her ground and waited for the witch to strike. She would have to do this very precisely. The woman flicked her eyes over her shoulder.
"Now that one, that one is alive and well."
Maerciless felt her heart sink into her stomach. She heard the crunch of hooves on gravel and turned her head slightly. Shirelle was approaching from the other side of the garden, her staff braced in her hands and a furious look on her normally docile face. The priest met her eyes briefly and turned her attention back to the Jade Witch. Maerciless followed her lead in time to see green lightning crackle once more between the Pandaren's paws.
"No matter, you will both make a lovely addition to my collection."
She struck, and Maerciless dove to the side clumsily. Shirelle was supposed to have waited by the rescued children, safe and out of mind, and now the death knight felt distracted. Distraction was dangerous in a fight, and she hit the ground rolling, expecting to feel the Jade Witch's magic hit her at any moment, and to feel herself slowly turn to a statue. A faint hum of a holy shield surrounded her, and without hesitation she launched herself at the woman, trying to get to her while the shield was intact and she was protected. The Jade Witch did not back down, but screeched and sent another wave of lightning directly at her. It rebounded off the shield forcefully, breaking it and throwing her backward. She landed hard against the base of the pedestal. It shook slightly, dislodging pebbles that rolled down around her armor. Maerciless shook her head at the sudden stars in her vision, gathering herself for another strike, but the Jade Witch had stopped attacking. Her eyes were blazing green fire, and she stomped her foot in anger as she shrieked.
"How dare you touch my beloved husband! You are not good enough to join my garden, I shall destroy you instead!"
Maerciless turned to look at the pedestal, which looked very precarious from the battle. The story behind Master Greenpaw came back to her mind in a flash.
In the kitchen of Li Shao's diner was a wall covered with old pictures. In the first few weeks of staying at Dawn's Blossom, Maerciless had paroled the entire marketplace, including the interior of the buildings, and she had spent some time perusing the photographs. She had been squinting at an old picture of a Pandaren man and woman, the man wearing ceremonial armor and the woman in a wedding veil. The photo was black and white, and the inscription was nearly worn off.
"My sister, Lana, with her husband, Gao Greenpaw. He was a promising enough man, but then he went to war against the mogu. All my sister got of him was a box of medals and a statue. Cracked her mind, it did. "
Li had turned on her then, brandishing her broom at her like she would literally knock her over with it. "Now out of my kitchen, you'll ruin my food!"
The death knight reared back, and rammed her shoulder into the pedestal. The statue on top of it teetered, then fell to the jungle floor with a resounding crash. Maerciless winced as it took out a cub with it, but nothing could compare to the wail of anguish from the Jade Witch. The woman she now knew to be Widow Greenpaw fell to her knees in front of the broken statue. Forgetting the draenei and everything else around her, she cried unabashedly, painfully. She cradled a piece of her husband's face in her hands reverently as sobs tore through her throat.
Shirelle stepped up beside Maerciless as she got to her feet. The draenei kept on guard as they watched the scene unfold before them. The statue continued to crumble before their eyes until it was nothing but a pile of green dust that caught in the wind. Widow Greenpaw grabbed at the remnants of the statue frantically as the breeze carried it away. Maerciless tensed, expecting her to come at them in revenge, but she seemed too consumed by her grief. She stood slowly, tears running unchecked down her face. She looked around the courtyard at each statue, at each face frozen in fear and each body forever locked in position. Horror slowly took over her face. The population of silent watchers stared back her, unable to do anything else. She closed her eyes, swaying slightly. Maerciless half-expected her to keel right over, ancient as she must be, but lightning crackled again in her paws. Shirelle jumped to throw a holy shield around both of them, but the woman did not attack. She dropped to her knees in the center of the courtyard, and put her paws together. With a tremendous crack of lightning the Jade Witch used her jade touch for the last time.
An immense wave of veridian energy surged out from the woman in the center of the garden. Shirelle and Maerciless ducked down behind the protection of the shield, but even the hum of magic could not block out the brilliant light. They fell, their vision filled with nothing but green.