Straydog Saga
Flea 10: The Chain
Keesha felt a slight shiver run down her arms as she pulled her jet-black cloak around her. The halls she and Trenton walked were lit only by the occasional enchanted crystal. The floor seemed to be made out of a massive tangled network of roots. The walls seemed to have a constant flow of salty seawater flowing over them like a bleeding wound. Though the atmosphere was not unlike other places Keesha had comfortably dwelled in, the smell of the sea coupled with the visible breath escaping her lips caused an ever present frown to dwell on her face. When they arrived at the base of Mydrassil, Hanariel was greeted by a red haired mage calling himself Romulus. Though the blue eyed man seemed sincere in his welcome, his focus seemed to rest on the one armed priest. Still, he did not speak any ill to Keesha and even offered to conjure her and Trenton thick robes for their trip to Archmage Nightgaze's sanctum. While Hanariel was escorted to the higher trunk, Keesha and Trenton found themselves at the tree's lowest point before the water: the Tangled Canals.
"Its so going to be worth it, you'll see." Trenton spoke with chattering teeth. He did his best to pull his black apprentice robed around him as the wetness in the hall threatened to engulf him.
"If you say so." Keesha said with as much light in her voice as there was in their path. After a few more moments of walking they came to a large chamber, which connected to several networks within the tangled mass of roots. Water elementals tended to the loose roots that seemed to shift around like slow snakes. A great water elemental commanded them. Its strange head turned to the newcomers and after a moment, gave a slight bow.
"Master Nightgaze is expecting you." It spoke, waving one of its great watery appendages to one of the many great holes. The pair walked to the small shoot, seeing nothing but darkness within.
"Well this is interesting."
"You mean it goes deeper?" Keesha asked, looking wide eyed to her young companion. Trenton shrugged.
"Only one way to find out, right?" With little hesitation and a lot of teenage bravado Trenton put his legs over the edge and pushed off. Within seconds he was rushing downwards and completely out of sight. Keesha listened for the sound of a body hitting the water but after several minutes could only hear an encouraging voice becoming her on.
"By Malygos's beard, Miss Hazzad you gotta come see this!" the young man's voice echoed in the narrow chamber. Keesha stood there for a moment, shaking hands clutching the edge.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." She sighed as her feet found nothing but air beneath them. With a swallow she kicked her legs down and pushed off the edge. Darkness engulfed her for a moment but after several seconds of falling she felt a rush of wind buffet her. Soon the twisting roots began to fray, exposing what seemed like glass encasing the tube she fell through. The ocean outside the powerful magical barrier was a swirling mass of energies, all colors and shapes floating by as the maelstrom that was only a scant few miles away churned. Strange fish went about their business as plants that grew to ten times their size rose to the surface. When she finally felt ground beneath her boots again, she could see the pale grains of sand clinging to her clothing.
"Isn't this awesome? I hear the archmage built all this himself when he and the other mage-elites came to research this place. So cool."
"Yeah ok fan boy. Have you ever ridden the deeprun tram? Looks just like it."
"Yeah but the deeprun tram doesn't have to deal with these waters now does it."
"No, but people built that without magic; it's glass and steel holding that thing together. Good honest alliance craftsmanship." Keesha crossed her arms as a great whale shark appeared from beyond the magical barrier. It waded by, not noticing the two marveling stairs, as it drifted off in pursuit of something to eat. "Ok, that was kind of cool…"
"Can I help you?" A deep voice came from a dark corner of the room. Out of a darkened root came a night elf with deep blue-violet skin and ragged looking midnight-blue hair that draped well beyond his shoulders. His glowing gold eyes scanned the pair, Trenton in particular, who seemed to be beaming. He rushed to the figure's side and gave a polite bow.
"Lord Nightgaze, it is an honor to finally meet you sir. You're much taller than in the pictures." Trenton gushed. Keesha smirked at the confused and somewhat uncomfortable look on the archmage's face. Trenton filled the small gap of silence. "I'm Trenton sir, the apprentice from Dalaran that you requested." He spoke, innocent looking eyes alight. A look of realization came to Seth's face and he gave a curt nod.
"Good. It is about time you got here. I have too much to do and I cannot burden my staff with such menial tasks. Who is that you bring with you?" He asked, giving a questioning nod to Keesha. Trenton motioned to his travel companion and began his introduction.
"This lady, Archmage, is none other than Keesha Hazzad. THE Keesha Hazzad. I may not have made it here at all if not for her quick thinking and skill in battle. I brought her with me because I though she too would benefit from making your acquaintance, if you have time that is sir." Trenton spoke, voice growing smaller in the shadow of the much taller night elf. Seth turned his attention to Keesha who's shoulders were a little straighter after Trenton's words. But she could feel the straightening in her spine grow weaker as the chisel-faced mage seemed to float towards her.
"My, lady." He offered a withered hand, long nails more like darkened claws. It took her a moment to realize what he wanted before giving her his hand. He bent down to place a small kiss on the edge of her knuckles before returning to his intimidating posture. "That is the proper human greeting for a woman, am I correct?"
"A bit formal but yes, you were right." She nodded.
"Good. I have heard only hisses and whispers about you, Miss Hazzad. It would be quite nice to spend time sorting out the details, perhaps over tea?" He offered, causing Keesha to look around before giving a slow nodd. Seth's attention snapped to Trenton who seemed to jump at the movement. "You, Terry or whatever your name was, go fetch us some tea and present it in the east drawing room. If you don't know where it is ask the staff." He commanded, sending the teen darting off into the strange magical sanctum. When Seth's gaze came back to the warlock he found a wide smirk nearly touching her ears.
"Well this sucks." Shandori gave a forceful sigh as she tossed a small pebble into her dirt prison wall. F-bomb looked to her chipped nails with a scowl as the watery stew of flower petals began gurgling in her bloated gut. Small patches of wet fur began pooling on the back of Daggerfang's neck. Try as he might, the lock to his prison cell remained intact. Unlike the iron and steel locks he could open with ease, the Druidic magic that bound the wooden barrier would simply regrow every time he attempted to bypass its holds.
"Quit yer gabbin. I'm tryin t'concentrate." He growled as his great paws fumbled with the tiny tools. He stopped for a moment with a grunt, placing the sweaty tools back in their hidden place. "Damn, I need a break."
"Daggerfang 'the uncaged' he says. 'No cell can hold me' he says. What a load a kodo crap." F-bomb said with a burp. Her words earned her a menacing growl but little else. As dawn rose, the floorboards above began to grow silent. Sentinels were changing shifts. Unlike their adventurous fellows who changed their habits to fit the day-walking cultures of the alliance, the common night elves followed in their ancestor's footsteps. As the morning wore on the sun began to settle at its highest point. That was when a great boom shook the floorboards, nearly cracking a few. The jailed residents froze for a moment, hearts racing and ears straining to take in the relative silence. Then another, louder explosion came, and with it the sound of rushing boots. Bits of dirt and sand fell from the jail walls.
"Your friends gobby?" Daggerfang asked. F-bomb shook her head.
"Goblin bombs don't sound like that. Much louder, less of a "woosh" sound before hand. Nah that sounds like…spells! Fire spells by the feel of it, geeze." She shuttered. Closest to the tiny window, F-bomb could feel the humming touch of heat slowly growing in magnitude. Darnassian screams and angry shouts came from the citizens as they tried desperately to extinguish the flames. Shandori's ears perked up as a small but growing smile came to her face.
"Well shit!" She shouted with a laugh. "Didn't know she had it in her."
"In who? What are ya talkin about?" F-bomb squeaked as a line of red- flame whirled passed the tiny window.
"They're screaming 'Get the troll! It's the Troll!' unless there are other fire spewing trolls around I think it might be an associate of mine."
"You're trollin?" Daggerfang sneered, smacking his lips as if he tasted something foul.
"Yeah, get over it ok? If that is Ima I might actually be getting out of here."
"Could be, but we ARE really close to the Warsong racket. Lots of horde there, plenty of trolls I'd imagine…but maybe we'll get lucky." F-bomb shrugged with a hopeful squeak. Shandori's eyes narrowed as a familiar shadow floated down the staircase.
"What do you mean 'we'?" Shandori snorted. There was a momentary pause before the next spell struck very close by, causing the floor to rumble.
"Oh no you di-in't…" F-bomb shouted over the roar. Daggerfang snorted as a strange scent came to his nose. A strange mingling of smoke and another piercing scent came in and out of his senses. He sniffed around but was unable to pinpoint the smell, as too much smoke began filling the area.
"What? I'm not unreasonable. If that fire starter IS in fact Ima and she IS here for me then I'd be more than willing to bust you both out too…for a small fee." She suggested. She could feel the intense glare piercing the prison wall from her next door neighbor. Daggerfang chuckled.
"Well played. I think gobby over there is about to bust a teat" He snorted, coughing a little as the strange scent assaulted him once more.
"So, you two in or what?" Shandori asked, all the while looking to the shadow that hovered in the narrow hallway. Another spell came, and with it the sound of armored sentinels running in the direction of the blast's origin. Shandori looked to the window, straining to hear what a pair of guards were shouting. A twinge of cold filled her chest, but her face still remained smirking. "We don't have much time, make up your mind." She spoke with the gentleness of a rough stone. She heard a strained sigh come from the cell next to her accompanied with a muttered "yeah, whateva." She looked to Daggerfang, who nodded. The worgen's eyes went wide as the strange smell assaulted him. He looked down to the lock that thwarted his nimble paws. The wood began to peal, as the vines within began to grow gray and wither. It was then that a leather gloved hand appeared from behind, roughly gripping the dream –bound magical lock. When the lock itself crumpled to the ground, the same hand pulled the door open. Green eyes blazing, the blood elf rogue looked to the worgen for a moment before moving on to F-bomb's cage.
"Blimey…" Daggerfang muttered as he stood, stretching out for a moment before examining the decimated lock. "Another esteemed friend, Dori?" he sneered.
"He's not an enemy." Shandori spoke, hands tightly gripping her cell door's bars. The sound of another withered lock hitting the floor made her shoulders tense. Christoffel paused for a moment before pulling two small weapons from his belt.
"Take these. I got them from the confiscated items room. Up the stairs, second door on the left. You'll probably find your things in there." Christoffel spoke with a nod before turning to Shandori's cell. He smirked as he saw her visibly straighten, eyes wide and shaking a little with nervous anticipation. As Daggerfang and F-bomb dashed towards the stairs Chgristoffel made no movement towards the small cage of a cell. Shandori's hands gripped the bars until her knuckles were a pale white.
"What the hell are you waiting for, get me outta here!" She growled with grinding teeth. She could feel her blood freeze as a sinister smirk came to his face. She felt herself sink as his arms crossed and head slowly shook.
"You know it took a considerable amount of time to plan all this, time that could have been spent doing paying work. If I break you out of there, what's in it for me?"
"You BASTARD! Stop screwing around they'll be down here any minute!" She roared, reaching out as far as she could in a futile attempt to strangle her would be extortionist. Christoffel resisted the urge to take a step back as his keen ears picked up the sound of struggle coming from up stairs.
"It sounds like MY payment is running into a little trouble upstairs. So do we have a deal?"
F-Bomb had barely finished putting on the last of her stylishly jeweled rings that she was able to find when the night elves burst in to the supply room. Fully dressed in what armor wasn't harvested for enchanting materials or gems, she turned to see three angry guards charge in her direction. The shaman closed her eyes for a moment in concentration, and focused on one of the four charms at her hip. One of the four, imbued with the binding powers of the earth came down in front of her attackers. They felt their steps slowed, but not stopped completely. The delay gave F-bomb enough time to call upon the glittering richness of the sky as a bolt of quick lightning burst from her fingers. The night elves could feel their bodies burn but it was nothing compared with the conflagration one guard endured as her body became engulfed in flame. When the burning spell was at its peak, F-bomb could feel a deeper power unlock within her, summoning a great bolt of molten lava to the afflicted elf, sending the guard to the ground. The other night elf hesitated, as she turned to scold the last remaining guard who did not seem to advance with her. The night elf's eyes went wide at the sight of her fellow guard, who was semi slumped over were she stood. It was then she felt a sharp pain in her kidney. A succession of horrific blows followed, sending her in a bloody mess to join her fallen comrade. F-bomb saw the black form of a masked worgen appear from behind the fallen guard and smiled.
"What took you so long?"
"Had to get dressed. Didn't want any a those guards remember'n my pretty face." He snorted as the pair turned to the still semi-conscious guard.
"Whadda we do with her?" F-bomb asked as a creepy smile formed her on face. One re-applied blow to the back of the head and looting session later, the guard would awake some time later to find herself tied up, semi clothed, and barely able to think past the throbbing pain in the back of her head. As the pair quickly made their way towards the door, it became apparent that F-bomb's little legs would not carry her as fast as Daggerfang's long strides would propel him. Though the smoke did not affect the smaller goblin she found herself huffing and puffing to keep up in the singed atmosphere. F-bomb nearly crashed into a wall of fur as Daggerfang came to an abrupt stop in front of her.
"I got an idea, let's mount up." He coughed. F-bomb turned a little red.
"Well usually I get a dinner out of it first…"
"Not that kinda mount." Daggerfang chuckled as he got on all fours. "Hop on!" He barked, resisting the urge to scratch the back of his ear with his foot. F-bomb did as she was told, as they pair bolted for the tree line.
"What about Dori and her elf friend?"
"What do you care? Less money outta yer pocket'n mine."
"I like the way you think." F-bomb yelped as she saw a finely made Kal'dorei arrow wiz past her ear. Another came and then another as the mounted sentinels pursued them.
"Hang on!"
Ima nearly tripped over a small root in the tangled path. Sweat ran down her cheeks as she felt it pool beneath her arm pits. The audacity of her actions seemed to make her heart pound and breath burn as the sound of roaring cat at her back caused her clumsy feet to move with nimble grace. She began casting a spell, not noticing the stray branch coming to draw a crimson line across her cheek. Suddenly, three identical Imajin's burst into being. She nodded to them and they nodded back, each running in a different direction. With their steps they each took a guard or two with them, causing the terrible roar at the mage's back to dim. But Imajin's steps did not slow in her journey to the designated meet up point. Maiev's hovel would be her shelter until the others could follow through with their part of the plan, if she could make it there before the tenacious sentinels that were still hot on her heels. When it seemed her doppelgangers' distraction drew her pursuers away, Imajin finally succumbed to her labored breathing and burning heart. She stopped to lean on a tall oak tree and wipe the sweat that pooled on her exposed skin. With a harsh whisper, she pulled the small blue globe from one of her reagent pouches and struggled to concentrate. Through her strained efforts, small watery wisps burst from the orb until a cool, teeming water elemental appeared at her side.
"Am I glad to see you, Walter. Can I have a drink?" She panted, outstretching her cupped hands with a small bow. Walter extended its own watery appendage, pouring cool, pristine water into her shaking hands. She quickly gulped it down, her loyal companion never allowing her cupped hands to run empty. She poured the water over her head and neck, allowing its cool touch to expel the heat that threatened to overtake her. Her ear twitched a little as she felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. Ima quickly turned to see a masked face staring blankly at her. The night elf rogue had snuck up on her, completely undetected, until he stepped from the shadows, ready to strike. But there was no malice in his eyes, or anything else. He stumbled forward, making Ima take a hasty step back. As he hit the ground, a faint shadow appeared behind him. The apparition seemed like a ghost, with pallid skin, long faded locks of white hair and glowing red eyes that could haunt even the most unholy creatures.
"You walk in dangerous woods, bold sister." The silver-voiced phantom took a step forward, placing a steel-heeled boot on the spine of the fallen night elf. "Even for someone with your abilities." She spoke with a sneer as the sickening crunch beneath her boot made Imajin's stomach lurch. The dark ranger took a step forward, walking on the body of the rogue as if it were a bony floor mat.
"T-thanks?" Ima squeaked. She found the hair on the back of her neck still stood straight as a shrill shiver crept up her spine.
"Are you lost? I can help you find your way…"
"N-No thank you. I'm meeting some friends. But th-thank you for offering, m'lady."
"The Warsong camps are about a thirty minute walk from here, due east. You'd do best to get there before nightfall. These forests still crawl with vermin." The dark ranger softly cooed. She turned, long pointed ears listening for any hint of other lurkers in the area.
"I will mam. I should be going my friends will be waiting for me." Ima gulped. The ranger took one last, blood-eyes look at the troll before nodding and disappearing back into the day-shadows. Ima shivered with an audibly "brrrr!" before calling Walter to follow her back in the direction of the meeting point where Meryld awaited and, with a little luck, the very person she and the others hoped to rescue.
"You asshole! Can't believe you. Stupid demon sucking…" Shandori growled, occasionally kicking stones as they ran. Christoffel said nothing as he led the partially armored Shandori to the meeting point. During Christoffel's seemingly brilliant move to usurp Shandori's two new servants, the people in question escaped into the woods. They were about half way to Maiev's hovel when the sounds of struggle became apparent. The desperate squeals of a little goblin and the pained howls of her companion echoed in the giant trees. The pair instinctively ran forward, the sight of glinting glaives and blades shining in the afternoon light as they approached. The ground beneath their feet grew wet with ruddy liquid as crimson mud splashed on their boots. The sight of a ferocious tiger, clawing and biting at what looked like a matted pelt assaulted them along with the smell of fresh worgen blood. A tiny figure did her best to summon the healing power of water to her companion's aid but the terrifying animal continued to mercilessly maul its prey. While out in the open, one of the mounted warriors struck, their nightsaber leaping onto the exposed rogue and knocking his companion to the ground. F-bomb could barely keep Daggerfang alive as he was thrashed about and torn open by the cat's mighty jaw. The cat paused its play when it felt the weight on its back shift. It turned its head to see its rider crumpled on the ground, with a small throwing dagger lodged in her neck. As suddenly as its burden was lifted, a jolt to its back and a hard yank to its reigns sent it reeling. With a pained roar the nightsaber tried desperately to buck and toss the offending body from its back. The remaining sentinels looked on with disgust as the wanted warrior kicked the cat hard in the sides, sending it into a rage filled panic.
"Nice kitty!" Shandori spoke with a shaking voice as she was tossed about like a bull rider. Christoffel found himself equally occupied as no less than four kal'dorei blades were upon him. He deftly avoided blow after blow, but his legs began to burn and his feet grew heavy as the battle wore on. Shandori managed to crush one of the sentinels in one well aimed pounce but she could not control the beast and as a result, met the ground hard. The angry cat indignantly roared and fled into the forest. F-bomb did her best to avoid the fray as she began using her healing spells and bandages on the shredded worgen. Christoffel suffered a hard slash to the arm, adding to the crimson décor. Another vicious cut to the collarbone nearly knocked him to his side. His fel blades held but began to shake under the pressure. It was then a shadow from one of the branches above fell. She landed hard on the ground, old knees barely moving. The former warden and watcher lunged forward, circular weapon glinting as it sliced through flesh and bone, felling one of the sentinels in three pieces. The two remaining sentinels stayed their attack and felt their boots begin to quiver under a haunted gaze.
"It would be nothing to break you…get out of my sight." She hissed. The two sentinels took a few slow steps back. "GET OUT!" With the booming voice of Maiev, the two remaining sentinels fled the scene leaving the former warden to pick up the pieces.