Sweetest pleasure?

My chest is numb, my face is almost frozen solid, and my limbs are locked firmly in place. Ok, maybe this was not the smartest of ideas. You think? He knows it was dumb. Yeah, dumb would be putting it mildly.

Frost dances delicately across the senseless nerves. Chill claws at the unfeeling flesh. Ice gathers in spiky design across my entire body. Slick blocks of ice stick to the unmoving strands of tightened fabric to my side.

So…cold…

You are really stuck now. He should have not dozed off again! Of course I should not have fallen asleep! You must fix this. He must focus. How in the world do I fix this? My body is going into some icy shock. You must relax. He must focus!

Ok, Hope. Focus. Stare into the dangling ice sickle inches from your face. Let its crystalline design correct your idiotic actions. Let the simple design draw you in. Let it…

You must remember the broken city. He must recall the slime sewers. You must extract memories of the long corridor. He will retrieve the past. You will bring it to the present. He must…

Focus, Hope, focus. Remember the broken city. Yes, the ruined city of the Forsaken. Slime cruises through slender passes with ease. Gray stone reflects dull pockets of light. Bone and flesh hand loosely to undead warriors. Red eyes radiate a call for me…

Sylvanas…

You must remember the chamber. He must recall the anguish!

Her darkened, yet soft flesh calls to me. Glasswork curves glare a glinting sparkle of utter beauty. Angry muscles tell me a false story. Cold skin grows warm as my hands caress it. All while gorgeous, perfect orbs scream at me. All while perfect, marvelous rubies call me…

Red eyes…

Skin crawls. Flesh flinches. Focus hardens. Arrays of bumps boil on the surface of my body. Thickened patches grow and gather across my skin. Bone crunches and bends rapidly and unwillingly. Spikes scatter across every inch.

Rubies…

In a flash my body breaks free. Brown stains flush the full of my form. Claws are crafted from my hands. All of my flesh molds into armor while bones bend into weapons on my hands and feet. Shoulder blades bulge and buckle, giving birth to two lanky spiny arms.

Claws click from overhead as the extra limbs come to life. Black spines run down the sides of the additions, across my chest and through my clothing. Fine hair wafts in the air, while the mesh upon my head vanishes into armor. Folds of plated flesh crawl down the sides of my head.

Skull squeaks and screeches, as the forehead breaks outward. A jagged spike comes into my ever-coning sight. My nose flattens and fades into my face as the jutting horn comes into its final position. At last my lips curl to the sides and mold into two, clicking fangs.

I sweep my now numb body one last time. Heavy, brown armor of an exoskeleton covers every inch. Black pockets connect the bony joints of my body. Spikes decorate the outer surface. Delicate strands of strong hair mix with the spines.

Clicking fangs in front of my face sound some unknown code. Overhead the extra claws snap wildly at the frosty air. The same chilling cold that locked me here. The same numbing ice that once held me…

Now is nothing. You said it. He feels no cold now.

Heavy feet hit the wooden deck hard. I lock in my position. Maybe I should have been a little quieter. Its ok, Hope, just relax. Gripping the rope hard, I let my spines rip into it, and I lower my second leg. Just be…

CLANK

Blast…

Instantly the irritating undead calls, "Worm, that is cheating!" He pauses, "If you wanted to freeze, then freeze with dignity."

Twisting in my spot, I glare back at the fool and yell a deep, vibrating call, "Morris, shut it! Do you want to wake everyone?!"

Opps…

The blankets to the side shift. Green nostrils direct towards me before flinching violently. The troll raises its hands through the heavy coverings and breaks a hole in his mask.

After a moment his eyes are visible. They widen as he stares at me. Dark pupils peer side to side. Each one scans the person in front of him. Oddly he throws the hood back in his face and he chuckles.

He gets comfortable again and mumbles loudly, "Mon, dat be a freaky way of gett'n warm. Dat also be a horrifying form, mon. Horrifying."

Carlin chuckles from the other side of the deck, "Hope, my boy, there are no Scourge here. No need for the terrible visage."

Nathanos responds, "Terrible? For Worm, being a bug is a step up."

The two of them laugh, before a high-pitched screech blares from behind. My body turns, and I see the little captain hiding awkwardly behind the large wheel. He gives the instrument a jerk and squeals again.

He peers over the wooden tool and screams, "First mate! Get the extra giant can of bug spray! This infestation is a whopper!"

Now that is the reaction I was expecting….

CARASH

Unfortunately the horrifying reaction came from the individual steering the ship. The same individual that let the front end of the ship collide with the zeppelin to the left. The same individual that brings the whole ship to a violent shake.

Thankfully, my feet dig into the wooden deck, but the rest are not so lucky.

Carlin, Nathanos, and Mark slam hard against the side railing, while the pile of warm troll blankets slides across the wooden platform. Soldiers slip back and forth, hitting hard objects randomly.

The captain wriggles the steering wheel violently and throws it in attempts to dislodge the ship. After a second it is free, but someone is not quite finished with his little accident.

A higher pitched yell bellows for the nearby Zeppelin, "Captain Skippy, If you can call yourself Captain, what are you doing?!"

From the hazy sight I make out a tiny, green figure behind the other ship's wheel. It would appear that this captain is built slightly differently. If I knew any better, it was a woman…goblin. You know better? He obviously knows his sexes.

Again she yells, "What do you have to say for yourself, you idiot?"

Skippy pulls himself back into proper position before turning around. He throws a strange gesture with his hand before shaking his head and screaming, "I meant to do that! It was…um… a test!"

There is a pause before she screeches, "What?! You are a lunatic! A loony tool!"

Without hesitation, or thinking, Skippy retorts, "Loony like gnome! An attractive gnome!"

The other captain makes to speak, but before she does, a strange sound echoes across the sky. I am not sure what it is, but I am certain I heard it. Right? You heard something. He is actually just crazy. You are not, he is a liar! He…

"You are by far the worst pilot, ever!" She throws her insult out.

The same sounds blurts again. I see Skippy shout something, but I am already lost in my mind. What is that? Its lingering echo means it is loud, deep, and continuous. But what in the world is it? You need to hear it again. He needs…

There it is!

It is louder now. My eyes lock into nothing, but stare ahead. A second passes, and I can hear that same sound and see heavy fog. Another second, I make out more of the ship, but the focus of my thought diminishes. A third moment, and now I can see the bulk of the woman's ship…but I lost the sound.

Another passes.

The fog lessens.

Another moment.

Louder than ever, the sound returns. And I can now see another ship.

My thoughts are interrupted by Skippy, "Come over and drive then, you gnome loving…"

Before the goblin can finish, Nathanos blurts, "You fools, will you shut up?!"

In a flash he appears in my sight and climbs to front of the ship. His face contorts and he squints. Bone fingers wrap around the rope near him. Shoulders of decaying matter shift forward. Still perfect eyes and keen ears detect something.

A deep, bellowing burst echoes from nearby.

Before I can move, Nathanos shouts, "Forsaken horns!" I see him reach back for a bow, "That is an alarm!"

Light washes over my side. Spinning quickly, I let my eyes focus on the bright gray clouds overhead. It would seem that the mist has broken. Once again, we can see the skies. We can also now see a large, green terrain ahead. However, the sight below is what is important.

Black spikes fly in the sky. Weak explosions ripple from firmly positioned cannons. Tiny, gray, black and white figures scatter across the walls of a large outpost. Towers jut into the sky, leading to ramps for aerial docking. Twisted metal runs across tall walls while electric sparks run from the green structures.

On the outskirts of the post I see small figures advance across the green and gray coast. They fire wildly into the air as they march towards an insanely tall cliff wall that runs high into the sky.

The missiles fly in all directions, while bursts of flame return in massive volleys. My vision diverts upwards, and I find the source of the fiery barrages. Winged beasts beat mighty limbs of firm skin. Huge, bulky bodies turn, dive, and jerk in circular patterns. Long, heavy legs shift side to side awkwardly.

A massive tail whips the air and steers the dragon-like creature swiftly through the skies. Black scales run down the navigating extension protruding from the back, and run up the back like a stone-pathway.

The massive black scales cover the top of red beast, and are interrupted only by a huge figure on its back. From here the rider bares the form of a normal human, but something seems out of place. You know that is one big rider. He thinks he is gigantic! Yes, the giant beast is ridden by a figure that matches the creature's size.

My focus is diverted as Nathanos shouts, "Giant men and dragons? What kind of sick joke is this?"

Instantly Skippy throws his head to the side and replies, "Bony, those are Vrykul warriors and Proto-drakes." He points forward, "Those nasty nasties have been assaulting my ship for months!"

Nathanos shakes his head. Grunts follow and he raises the bow to his side. A heavy pocket of air drags sickeningly in his lungs then escapes as he shouts, "Please, their fangs will dull and their rider's weep when they realize I have arrived!"

TWANG, TWANG, TWANG

Wooden slivers rapidly emerge in my vision. In seconds they diminish to blackened blurs as they rain further out. A lone rider jerks violently, tips, and falls from his large stead.

Again Nathanos shouts, "Would seem that they have yet to receive their revelation!"

TWANG, TWANG

They emerge, blur, fade, and vanish into a jerking figure. Again the monster takes to the air as the mounted figure makes for the ground.

Nathanos laughs from my side, "Fools! The mighty still bows to me." He chuckles some more and leans backwards.

Drakes circle around the advancing troops continuing to vomit volleys of death for our soldiers. My vision takes in most of the battle from this position. Oddly, none of the riders noticed us. None of them have noticed the grand Nathanos. None…

A sinister screech rips my eardrums. Stumbling back, the dark cry is insanely close. I am able to absorb the vast bulk of the sound, but much permeates through. Nathanos flinches, as does the rest of the crew.

Each soldier, each warrior, each companion wobbles across the deck as the belching blast throws them into a frenzy of confusion. I do not know where this is coming from. Coned vision sees nothing. It stretches to see both ships to the sides, the deck, and the balloon above. Yet nothing. You see not a thing. He sees air and the battle below.

Nothing above.

Nothing in the field.

Nothing to the right side.

Nothing to the left.

Nothing…

Wings burst from the front of the ship. Air rushes across the deck. Unstable bodies slide across the weak wood. Arms raise to block back the blast. A lone bow rises to defend an undead's broken body.

Appearing from the bow of the ship is a massive, flat head. Bony, black scales cover the face and run across the neck as it emerges. A dark blue figure comes into sight. Death seems to have consumed the color from its flesh. Sinister leather clings to the giant man. Ice hangs from the fingertips of an outreached arm.

These same said fingers grab the one object no man dares to. These same said fingers wrap around the weapon of a thousand deaths. These same said finger pull the wooden item that death itself fears.

It takes from Nathanos…his bow.

Dragging upwards, the baffled Morris looses grip of his weapon instantly. He stumbles as only the beat of heavy wings booms in perfect rhythm. The back of the drake sweeps past. As it does, a loud, booming chuckle bursts from the lungs of the thief.

Scales slip past one at a time. They grow smaller and tighter as the beast moves past. It is as if time itself slows for this moment. Each scale moves past quickly. Each scale shrinks. Each scale moves tighter to the next.

Each scale moves. And as they do, the feet of Nathanos drum a dance of death. He extends his leg and slams into the railing. An extension of hate grips the frightened rope. All the fury of rage releases into the springs of revenge.

The undead fool leaps from the side of the ship. His arms wrap to the last portion of the drake's scales as it whips wildly. All three figures move into the distance, but as they move, I hear the call of one pissed man, "Pray death finds you before I do, rider!"

A drake of determination whips a being of decay, and utter focus. One drake tries to remove the trespasser, while the undead hangs on with all will power. One will win…

BURRSH

Flames dance from above. A drake moves quickly from the front and to the side of the ship. It's wrath burning part of the deck, but missing all targets. I lock with the moving beast. It is nowhere as fast as the first, so I am able hone to it perfectly. You know what must be done. He knows exactly.

Air draws into my mouth, and out the sides of some strange vents. I glare at the beast. Wings come into perfect alignment at the side of the zeppelin. Now would be the moment. You must! He will do it!

Without any more hesitation, my muscular limbs extend forward. Claws dig into wood. Railings buckle to the might of my body. Outstretched bones of pure armor and unyielding power grab for their target.

My hands sink into the hard flesh. I pull to the shoulder of the beast. Its head snaps for my violently, but I am not close enough. Bony spikes slam into the red drake. Feet dangle in the air.

It thrashes and whips wildly, but I hold firmly.

Time to show these giants there are enemies worse then the scourge on these shores. Time to show these monsters Nathanos is not the only thing to fear. Time to show them…Hope Blackwood has arrived.