Voodoo Child
Chapter 24 – Hail to the Thief, part 2
By Genoscythe
AN: I've been working on this almost nonstop since yesterday, so I might be a tad burnt out. Either way, you've got yourself a nice chapter and the end of the whole 'captured by night elves' storyline. Enjoy.
"You heard it too, didn't you?" Meridia asked Xan, who was twiddling his thumbs nervously. Revival or not, letting himself be hung went against everything he stood for. He half-assed things, he didn't not-ass them.
"Heard all da songs 'bout Horde keelin', heard Marek ova dere cacklin' like a madman, or heard Luna's speech before dinna?"
"Heard the explosion coming from the jail," Meridia corrected. "You must have heard it. The others were just too dumb to notice."
"Joo be givin' me too much credit."
"But…you really didn't hear it?"
"I vaguely recall not hearin' anytin'." Xan strained to see in the direction Meridia was pointing, and he could just make out a blond man crouched in front of a rock. This in no way seemed like something to excite Meridia the way it did.
"Well, either your friends just escaped, or they blew themselves up."
"Since luck ain' goin' my way today, I be guessin' da second one."
"But if they did escape, do you think they could free us without all the hanging and death?"
"Ja, if dey don' jus' run fo' it."
"Silence!" Captain Luna Earthwindfire bellowed, stepping up to the gallows. "I'm itching for revenge, so let's hang the bastards and be on our way!" The crowd was confused, apparently hoping for a better speech. Luna sighed. "We now execute these oppressors of the Astranaar Commonwealth of United Night Elves and Some Human Marines with the same impunity that we will soon exercise on the population of Splintertree Post, and then all of the Horde! Victory for the ACUNESHM!"
This had the desired effect on the audience. They started cheering again, and Luna gestured for Marek to step onto the platform. He strode behind Meridia, grinning maliciously, but all Xan could see was the giant blob of fur, hooves and a horn attempting to sneak around the crowd of Alliance. He was amazed that Argam wasn't running for his life like Xan had always taught him to do, but he then reminded himself that Argam was unswervingly loyal for all his faults.
"Xan, if something happens…" Meridia choked, suddenly overcome with fear as Marek slid the noose around her neck.
"Notin's gonna happen, babe. We be fine."
"No, no…" Marek pushed her forward, onto the trapdoor. Trembling, Meridia reached out and clutched Xan's hand. "I don't want to die like my parents."
Xan gave her a level stare. The crowd was laughing for a reason neither of them could fathom. "If joo die, I'll fight trough hell to get ya back."
Meridia flung her head, casting away a tear. "Coming from you, that's – " The trapdoor disappeared, and Meridia fell with a sickening snap. Xan's jaw dropped, and Marek beamed.
"Oh, joo gotcha 'self a fucking death wish, mon," Xan rumbled as the paladin set the noose around his neck. "Joo betta undastand me, 'cause I ain' makin' dese threats fo' no reason."
"I comprehend," Marek said from behind. "But you die now. I die never. I waited long time for this."
"Joo got no idea."
"You are small plus weak. I am not afraid."
"Any day now, Marek," Luna muttered impatiently. The crowd was waiting in silent anticipation, though some were still staring at the dangling corpse of their former captain in shock and a slow horror toward what they'd become. The tense moment that Xan spent shuffling onto the trapdoor was diffused, suddenly, by the twang of breaking strings.
The strings were followed by a scream. The scream was followed by a Sentinel. The Sentinel was following the laws of gravity, so she had no choice but to plummet out the window of a nearby watchtower into the bonfire below. In the midst of the crowd, if one were close enough one could hear a bandaged James Marshall Hindrex whispering "Please god, that's my guitar…" The elves got to their feet, shouting and raising their weapons in intimidation. Marek looked up from his work to see a familiar tauren framed by the broken window.
When he looked back down, the noose was empty. Cursing in the worst trollish curse he knew, he stumbled about, blindly swiping at the air. If the troll were anywhere nearby…
Marek soon had bigger concerns. A concussion of green energy smashed the bonfire, and the burning logs flew apart like leaves in a storm. However, unlike leaves in a storm, they each left a trail of death and destruction where they passed. Some would support the destructive properties of leaves, especially when frozen sharp, but it doesn't fit the analogy so we'll ignore that for now.
Argam Stonehoof leapt out the window, landing guitar-first on an unscathed night elf. She went down with a yelp of surprise, and Argam used her to cushion his fall with sever detriment to her internal organs. Immediately, several arrows from the other watchtowers zipped at Argam, but they were all stopped by a mysterious golden glow.
Itherian turned his attention to the watchtowers, throwing a bolt of chain lightning at one and watching it happily skip to the other two. Already, he could feel Argam's body growing weary. It wasn't physically ready for the kind of spells Itherian knew how to cast, but that was where Moradon came in. He took a backseat as the raging warrior spirit came to the fore, bashing elves living and dying with the guitar indiscriminately.
You should focus on the elves that aren't on fire, Itherian suggested.
I'll focus on WHATEVER NEEDS MORE FOCUSING! Moradon brilliantly retorted while whacking a dead body crushed by a burning log. The scene was total chaos, and many of the elves that weren't harmed by the explosion of the bonfire had no idea what to attack or how. To make matters worse for the elves, their fearless leader had retreated with the paladin behind the gallows. The elves told themselves they were looking for the troll, but it did nothing to help their shattered morale.
On the other side of the smoldering crater that used to be a bonfire, an organized fighting force was being assembled to combat the foe bashing directionless Alliance soldiers on the opposite end of the battlefield. They were ready to march, but a green form in black robes dashed out of the shadows and tackled their leader.
The orc ripped open the elf's jugular vein and began gorging himself on the inside of his neck.
"S-should we kill it?" One of the soldiers asked another.
"No way…too grossed out," came the response. The orc soon turned toward them, and a good half of their force scattered immediately. The rest went into disarray as the orc leapt into their midst, biting and clawing like an animal. Between the two Horde soldiers under the watchful eye of Vismund Cygnus, the entire population of Astranaar was being systematically brought down.
All Luna could think was Thank god we never made it to Splintertree. That would have been embarrassing. She was ostensibly searching, with Marek Belheim, for the missing troll, though she was really just using an excuse to get closer to the exit.
"Find him yet, honey?" Marek called over the screaming and crackling of fire.
"Not…yet…baby." Luna was steadily inching closer to the front gate, and when she was sure Marek's back was turned, she bolted for it. However, after she pulled open the massive log gate just enough to slip through, her path was barred by an unusually well-dressed night elf with neatly-trimmed eyebrows.
"Captain Meridia Darkwater?" The elf asked, oblivious to Luna's frantic state. "I am Fangorian Larkvalesong, magistrate of Ashenvale. You remember me from the last inspection?"
There was a pause as someone let out an especially anguished howl. "…yeah. I totally do."
"I'm here on behalf of High Command, as you probably know."
"Of course."
"We haven't heard from Astranaar in three weeks."
"Yes, well…"
"And I'm having trouble remembering this crude wall you've built. It wasn't here the last time I had to check up on you."
"Uh, when was that again?"
"That was four weeks ago."
"That's right! We decided to build a wall out of logs to, you know, help the atmosphere of the whole place. The natural wood really gives you a euphoric…peace of mind.
"I would say it feels more barbaric and foreboding, but if – "
"In fact, we've been so busy making this wall that we forgot to send a report to Command."
"Oh? Well, that makes sense." The magistrate turned to go, but suddenly stopped. "Wait. Curiosity is simply killing my cat. What's all the screaming for?"
Luna went rigid. "Fffffffff…or training. We're doing a training exercise right now."
The magistrate raised an impeccably-groomed eyebrow. "The Sentinels were dispatched to Astranaar to protect a valuable trade route, not to fight in the war. Explain yourself. Or, better yet, open the gate all the way."
"Oooh, sorry. Can't."
"Why?"
"It's broken."
"The gate that you've been working on for three weeks without pause is already broken?" The magistrate finally looked skeptical.
"Well, we're not done with it yet," Luna explained, implying but not actually adding a 'duh' on the end.
"Ah. Well then, do as you were." The magistrate attempted to leave again, and Luna began closing the gate with a satisfied sigh. Then, she noticed some things were missing.
"Wait!" She called to the magistrate. "What happened to my bracer?" He turned around, and she held up the bare forearm in question. "The one right here. Where did it go?"
"I didn't notice."
"Or my sword. Did you see either of those things, maybe floating away?"
The magistrate gave her a sidelong glance, then hurried off down the road without saying a word. Very slowly, Luna shut the gate and turned around. On the ground lay her bracer, and above it dangled her sword in the hands of the very troll she'd stolen it from.
The troll – Meridia had called him Xan'Jin – slammed the sword down on her bracer, and it split open down the middle. Out of the crack, an ethereal mist rose into the air and drifted toward a nearby corpse. Luna had to laugh to keep from screaming.
Before she knew it, the troll had disappeared again. However, she had a much greater concern. Silhouetted by the fires, a lumpy form was rising from the ground, slowly taking shape. It stumbled forward, ever straightening, ever sharpening.
"Does this seem…a little familiar to you?" The twisting form spoke in common unevenly. "Do you recognize this from your nightmares?"
"The one about the evil leprechaun and the man with the silver chains around his neck? No, this doesn't seem familiar."
The creature was silent for a moment, unmoving. Then, "I didn't give you that one. I'll have to remember that for another time. But no, I'm talking about the nightmares you've been having ever since you imprisoned that Forsaken. The nightmares where Astranaar is burning and your little bracer cracks open. Do you remember yet? The ones where the Forsaken comes back and drags your pitiful soul down into hell with him."
"Yes, I remember those too."
The creature was so close Luna could see the bones of its face shifting under its parchment skin. Suddenly, a pair of sickly yellow eyes flickered on. "Good, so none of this should surprise you."
"I – I still have a bow and arrow! I'm not helpless!"
"So use it."
Luna merely whimpered, shrinking back against the gate. Melchiah paused, hesitating whether or not he should do what he was about to do. Then he shrugged and slapped Luna across the face. His claws left four ragged gashes on her cheek, but altogether Luna was not impressed. She straightened, calming.
"That was it? I imprison you for three weeks in a barren netherworld, and all I get is a slap in the face?" She asked shakily. Melchiah said nothing. Luna was about to continue speaking, but she suddenly doubled over and began making gurgling noises. As much as Melchiah wanted to watch, he had to find Zuridan so they could put her in a bag for transport. He personally didn't mind carrying her himself, but his comrades probably didn't want elf fluids raining down on them for the next seven days.
Marek Belheim lifted a rock, looking under it for any sign of the troll. He found a gnome skull, but otherwise no luck. Damn, commitments are harder than I thought they would be…He turned to a barrel, found a Marine by the name of Robert Dillon hiding inside, and kept going. It didn't occur to Marek that the troll was probably invisible and stalking him, but a lot of things never occur to Marek Belheim until it's too late.
He decided to go back to Luna and regroup, but as he turned around he walked right into something soft and not quite visible. The next thing he knew, a curved blade was swinging wildly in his face, just barely scratching the bridge of his nose. Marek leapt back, feeling his nose and finding a drop of blood. He screamed as the troll, now visible, strode forward deliberately. He didn't know how to hold the sword, much less use it, but Marek was out of his mind with pain and anguish so it looked like the Grim Reaper himself was coming for his pretty face.
Xan'Jin lunged, stabbing haphazardly with the wingblade. It practically buried itself in Marek's cheek, who flailed and knocked it loose almost immediately. The paladin stumbled away, backing into a corner. From a barrel not too far away, Xan could hear one of the humans cheering trollish at him. He charged again, jabbing for Marek's weak spot once more. The blade scraped across his forehead, and by now Marek was bawling as he fled.
However, he suddenly remembered the famous paladin maneuver that had gotten him out of so many a jam. Casting a divine shield over himself, he pulled out his hearthstone with trembling fingers. Xan growled and tried to stab again anyway.
"Not over," Marek informed him through sobs. Within moments, he was whisked away by a green light. Xan looked back at the battlefield, where Argam was mopping up the few resisting night elves with the neck and headstock of a guitar. Eventually, even the neck broke off and he threw the headstock at the last resister, clocking him soundly on the forehead.
Argam bellowed a victorious moo, then fell unconscious on top of a still-living human Marine. Xan didn't feel very victorious. He rushed to the gallows, his movements mirrored by the blond human. Xan snarled at him, running faster.
Wait, I'm a priest. I can help her, a voice spoke in his mind. It must have been the 'Cygnus' that Meridia had talked about. Xan slowed, nodding to the blue-eyed man. They both arrived at the gallows at roughly the same time, and the priest bent down to examine one of the bodies. I'm sorry. She's been trampled beyond recognition. There's no spell in the world that can bring her back.
Xan cleared his throat, tapping the priest on the back and pointing at a corpse next to him. "Wrong one, mon."
Cygnus straightened, adjusted the collar beneath his armor, and turned to Meridia's body so that his face was obscured from view. During the chaos, the shoddy noose had come undone and dumped her body out underneath the gallows – besides her neck being broken, she looked like she could be still alive.
The priest was muttering and making some strange hand gestures that Xan guessed were there simply to make him feel like something was being done. A moment later, there came a crunch from Meridia's neck.
"Joo no' supposed ta keel her again!" Xan growled, knocking Cygnus out of the way. As he did, Meridia jerked upward, wavering in a sitting position until she began to fall back again. Hastily, Xan grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her back up.
" – the sweetest thing I could ever hear," she whispered, finishing the sentence that Marek so brutally cut short before.
"I told ya I would," Xan muttered, sweeping his hand over the devastation.
"Oh, my god…" Meridia gasped, leaning forward past Xan. "You did all this?"
Xan thought about this notion for a moment. "…ja. Dat was all me."
Meridia settled back against him. "Liar."
"Listen up, Xan," Melchiah's voice growled from behind them. "Right now, you are the least dislikable person I know. Since I'm totally incapable of showing real gratitude or respect, I'll simply try to remember your name from now on. How's that sound?"
"'Twas notin', mon." Xan jumped as Zuridan dropped a large brown sack on the ground next to him. The sack was squirming and making retching noises, so Xan moved himself and Meridia a bit farther away from it.
"They taste horrible," Zuridan commented, spitting out a piece of collarbone. "But it'll do."
"We have something very important that must be done in less than a week," Melchiah informed them all. "We need to take that sack and dump it into the ocean, preferably as close to the Maelstrom as possible."
"Huh?" Xan articulated.
"Don't ask why, it's too nasty," Zuridan answered.
"Come wit' us," Xan whispered to Meridia.
"What, after it's finally safe for me to leave this place and return to the Alliance?"
"…ja."
"Of course! I don't think I can ever forgive this half of my blood."
Tentatively, Xan picked Meridia up and set her on the edge of the gallows platform. While the others set about finding a wagon and figuring out what to do with Argam, Meridia turned to Cygnus.
"Will you join them, too?" She asked.
"No," Cygnus said immediately. "What you don't seem to realize is that just because Luna corrupted this town, it doesn't mean the whole Alliance is corrupt."
"But my – "
"I understand. You have much greater incentive to join them than I do."
"Then what are you going to do? I assume Marek's dead and gone."
"Gone, but not dead," Cygnus sighed. "There are a few Marines left alive. I will attempt to get us safely back to Stormwind, and from there you need not worry about me any longer."
"Well…thank you, then. If it weren't for you, I would have died up there," Meridia spoke, gesturing at the hanging noose.
"That goes without saying, doesn't it?"
Meridia giggled. "It does. I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't apologize too much; it loses value." At this, Cygnus began walking to the front gate. "Dillon! Hindrex! Come out, we have a long walk ahead of us."
The two marines crawled out of their barrels and ran to collect all the notes they had written on Xan'Jin's music, joining Cygnus at the gates. The three humans pulled wide the front gates, and as they started off down the road Hindrex flashed Xan a peace sign. Xan didn't know what it meant, so naturally he assumed the human was trying to flip him off with two fingers.
Now that Xan actually had some honor to be tarnished, he was feeling a bit protective of it. The human would pay. But first, the sack had to be disposed of…
End