Chapter 6: Siege of the Sunwell
Location: Isle of Quel'danas, north of Silvermoon
XX:XX - Shipboard Time UNKNOWN
52:34 - Hours After Impact
Data download: ERROR
System recalibrating...
The myriad of people guarding over the isle of Quel'danas that day got to work. Sylvanas Windrunner worked alongside Artanis developing a course of action. The plan was simple.
The Protoss' Stalkers and Dark Templar would 'blink' to strategic positions throughout the battlefield, offering stealth and support-fire, as the Zealots and Blood Knights did most of the ground work. The High Templar would fight beside them, and the priests of the Shattered Sun could be rallied to fight at their side.
The Shattered Sun, it seemed to Artanis at least, was a coalition of these Elves and another race entirely. Draenei, he had heard them called. They seemed somewhat familiar to him, though he could not recall how.
The Narezim blinked in and out of the battlefield, carrying some of the cities civilians to safety. However, Artanis' fears came to the forefront when he had to accept that their were too many of the creatures to fight them within the city limits. Too many twists and turns and their hit-and-run style tactics were perfect within the confines of the Sunwell Plateau. Regardless of how superior their technology was, they simply didn't have the manpower to control the fight, at least until they could warp the Reavers in.
The buildings around them burned and the scent of rotting eggs wafted from them for some reason or another. As more civilians than they could handle burst forth from the inner gates, the mechanical spider-like Stalkers couldn't fire their carapace-mounted particle disrupters without potentially harming them. Their attention was unfortunately divided within the city between dealing with keeping the civilians safe and fighting off the multitude of monstrosities.
Sylvanas and Lor'themar, and some of their respective followers, watched in wonder after witnessing the power of the incredible weapons that these strangers had. They didn't stare long, however, as they had more urgent matters that needed tending to.
Sylvanas nodded to the strangers, as she realized that they were true to their word. She also realized that she didn't have much time and needed to quickly scrounge up whatever capable fighters that were still left on the island city while fending off the Scourge.
The two had known each other for some time and had bumped heads many times throughout those years. Initially, Sylvanas had eased the Blood Elves induction into the Horde though she had eventually used it as leverage against Lor'themar when she needed troops for her Northrend expedition. They were still recovering from the events that had ended with the renewal of the Sunwell at the time and she had effectively blackmailed him into aiding her.
The times had changed though, and, despite still not having been formerly crowned, the Regent-Lord Lor'themar Theron had grown into a fine leader. He too had had to make tough decisions for the betterment of his people and he now understood the bluntness that Sylvanas had shown him then.
"Lor'themar, I need you to rally the rest of the locals so long as their still able-bodied," Sylvanas ordered. She knew he was not well, but didn't think that the job was too difficult, all things considered.
"Very well," he answered her and immediately ran off. All else considered, the Regent-Lord respected her military prowess. He seemed displeased by the thought of taking orders from her but she knew, that much like the last time they had met like this, he wasn't in much of a bargaining position. Neither was she for that matter.
Regardless, now that that was dealt with Sylvanas needed to get things rolling in the right direction. She spotted a few of her Dark Rangers and shouted to them.
"How many of you are left?"
"Milady!" she answered back, giving a quick bow. "We thought we had been defeated! How were we..."
"Never mind that now!" she interjected sharply. "How many of us can still fight?"
"Only a handful of the Elves who swore fealty to the Shattered Sun Offensive remain. The Draenei's numbers are greatly thinned as well. Most of the strangers machinery still stands strong," the Dark Ranger explained to the Banshee Queen.
Sure they were strong but Sylvanas couldn't help but to have mixed feelings about that sovereignty.
"Where did you find these outsiders, milady?"
"That is not of importance right now," Sylvanas snapped back. "Get as many of our people to safety as is possible. We have to push beyond the second gate! Get some archers up on that wall now!"
The Dark Ranger disappeared instantly, likely gathering the rest of her brothers and sisters. Sylvanas quickly scanned the rest of the battlefield.
Rohendor was the name given to the second of the three gates that barred entry into the Sunwell.
Sylvanas entered into the building before her. It had been covered by a thin red tapestry that was somewhat translucent and went down a set of stairs that led into an open room. There was a large rune in the center of the floor that permeated a magnificent glow. It seemed to ring in her head and it pained her to get close to it.
Notably, the seal hadn't been broken and yet somehow the Scourge had been able to penetrate its barrier. Sylvanas was baffled by the fact. Nothing should have been able to get through if the barrier was still up. Not even the best mages in the Kirin Tor could have gotten through without disabling the rune.
The humanoid machines of the Shattered Sun Offensive guarded the rune with every bit of energy they could muster. They grappled with the Abominations that came upon them then though they managed to hold them back long enough for Sylvanas to inspect the barrier.
It appeared weaker in several areas and Sylvanas watched as several Gargoyles poured through in droves. After inspecting it for a moment, she noticed that the rounds fired by the things Artanis had called Stalkers seemed to be weakening the magic that guarded the Sunwell as the machine's stray shots were absorbed by it.
"Artanis! Cease your fire immediately!" the Queen of the Forsaken telepathically communicated to the stranger piloting the golden, mechanical bird.
"These fool's are doing our job for us!" Abercrombie snickered.
He reached into the pocket of his gray robes and clutched his fingers around something small and crystalline. He caressed it's fine edges and the act seemed to calm him a bit.
"Focus on the weak points. Keep their attention off of the gate itself. If we can buy some time we might be able to disarm the rune protecting Rohendor," Abercrombie told his minions.
Almost immediately, at least a dozen Gargoyles focused their attention on the magical shield that surrounded the second gate. The green goo that they spat splattered onto the view-port of one of the golden bird-like machines and it made it very difficult for him to continue his pursuit.
When the pilot had thought he had made it into the clear, two pitch black, feline-looking constructs approached the crafts rear. The creatures reached their stone encrusted fingers out towards the machine as an ominous violet energy began to draw forth from the pilot and was pulled into the creatures palms as if it were a vortex.
Abercrombie knew the creatures were feeding off of the pilots energy. Abercrombie could feel the life-force that his Obsidian Destroyers had sucked from the vessel though, in truth, he had never felt anything like it before.
Obsidian Destroyers were known for drawing out the magical energies latent in all living things and, despite the fact that Abercrombie had not witnessed the strangers use any form of magic at all, he couldn't help but feel that their was something greater to these newcomers than their understanding would allow.
The four-legged constructs flapped their ebon wings and despite being made entirely of the mineral known as obsidian they had no trouble keeping them aloft. They were entirely focused on the pilot within the vessel that they approached, not even looking away as Stitches made it's way towards Rohendor.
The violet energy swirled into the palm of the Obsidian Destroyer's hands. The energy whirled in on itself and each hand pulled a vortex of arcana along with it.
The mechanical bird began to spin the moment that it's jets no longer seemed able to keep them aloft. Whatever the four-legged humanoids were feeding off of, Abercrombie knew it couldn't be magic but his creatures feasted nonetheless.
"Stitches, keep them away from the gate!" he shouted to his former lover. He jumped off of the Abomination's shoulder then and immediately ran towards the gateway known as Rohendor.
A shadowy figure in the distance began to fire arrow after arrow, in rapid succession. The arrows came bolting in at lightning-fast speed. A few landed in the dirt but most of them hit the enormous Stitches in various parts of his body.
One arrow stuck out of the creatures face-mask at an awkward angle and three more were partially embedded into it's gut. Stitches gargled out a roar in opposition.
"Stitches hungers!"
The figure let loose a few more arrows and, before the construct could even react, three glowing figures flew towards the Abercrombie's favored Abomination.
It sounded like screams of magnificent pain came from whatever it was but it didn't take long for Abercrombie to realize what exactly was causeing such a noise. It was familiar enough.
The three incorporeal blue, beings known as Banshee's crashed into Stitches chest and the attack almost toppled the thing over, despite their ghastly form.
Stitches managed to catch himself with one hand. Immediately after the creature had been able to support its own weight, he spun the pickaxe around. It had been tied around the wrist of that arm and he spun it like it were a lasso. The enchanted pickaxe that had been tied to that hand was flung toward the shadowy figure.
The rope stretched into the shadows of the stairwell - where the dark figure had been shooting from. Stitches smirked when he heard the grunt that signified that his attack had struck its intended target.
The gargantuan Abomination pulled its left arm back and, as the rope tightened, the pickax pulled the figure back with it.
Abercrombie could see her as plain as day then, though she was likely too focused on the massive flash-sewn creature barreling down on her then. He had managed to attract the attention of Sylvanas Windrunner herself.
Despite the Forsaken and the Blood Elves both being members of the Horde, Abercrombie knew all too well how strenuous those ties could be.
The engine on Stitches saw-blade roared to life as the rope pulled Sylvanas closer to it. It swung its arm forward as she neared the Abomination and the look on her face pleased the fleshy construct.
At the last second, one of the strangers joined in the fury. The being wore a golden armor and he brought his blades, formed of energy, out of their sheaths located somewhere on his gauntlets. He bolted for Sylvanas and brought the blade down to block the chainsaw just in time.
Blocked, Abercrombie noted, and not vaporized like all else that the strangers blades had touched. He played with the gem inside of his pocket once more and it glowed slightly before he faded off into the shadows.
Sylvanas knocked another arrow and let the thing loose while still being held by the pickaxe in the enormous Abominations left hand. Briefly distracted by the Zealot that had supported the Banshee Queen, the arrow jutted itself into one of Stitches' eyes. The projectile exploded on impact, a dark aura bursting forth from the wound it had opened. The creature shrieked in retaliation.
Sylvanas had managed to pull herself free from the creatures clutches before it could regain its composure. The strange warrior who battled alongside her fought with such fury that it wasn't very difficult to find the chance to break away.
She quickly sprinted to the top of the stairs, where she found herself a nice vantage point. Her back was unprotected but she ordered several of the Shattered Sun priests to cover her rear as her attention was focused on the battle with Stitches.
"Blood Knights, to my side!" the Queen of the Forsaken said when three more locals joined the fray.
"Milady, where is Lor'themar?" one of the Blood Knights asked.
"He is helping the civilians. There's no time to explain. Head down there and help the stranger. It is the only thing standing between the Scourge and Rohendor." Everyone present, except maybe the strangers, understood that that meant the second gate that was guarding the Sunwell. They also knew how dire the situation was quickly becoming.
"I understand. At once, milady," their leader said simply, as all three rushed down to join the armored stranger.
She watched as the Blood Knights surrounded the Abomination, with the Zealot taking up the front. The stranger's weapon was much better suited for defending against the terrifying machine that was attached to Stitches right arm.
The creature brought the chainsaw down towards the head of the Zealot and it's engine roared as it did so. The Zealot brought both of her psi blades out and crossed them in an x formation, hoping to block the attack. It was quickly parried away and the three Blood Knights tried to take advantage of that fact.
They came in at all sides. Their broadswords stabbed at the sides of the creatures belly, as well as it's back, though the creature turned and used the flat side of his pickaxe to bat the Blood Elf off to the side. He was sent flying into the staircase near where Sylvanas had positioned herself.
She let off three more arrows with the quickness. One missed and another landed in its shoulder. A green fluid erupted from the wound and seemed to scorch the land as it splattered over the ground around them. Whatever it was, it was much more volatile than the liquid that erupted from the usual Abomination.
The Zealot barely managed to get out of the goo's way in time. The Zealot - who had to be female Sylvanas thought to herself - was an inspiring sight to behold.
Despite every counter measure that Stitches had attempted to use, she had managed to evade nearly each attack thus far. The golden armored warrior left afterimages in her wake as she jumped out of the smoldering liquid's path.
Another Blood Knight was swatted off to the side. He crashed into the wall of the room with such force, he would likely never walk again. Sylvanas had seen enough.
She called out to her minions through their psychic connection. The Zealot, at least, seemed as if she too understood what Sylvanas had intended to do. She figured the being had tapped into her psychic communication.
She let three banshees loose upon Stitches. The blue, screaming figures danced around the meticulously crafted Abomination. They clawed at the creature with ruthlessness, and despite their ethereal forms they gave very real injuries to the lumbering construct.
The Zealot came back in then. The remaining Blood Knight flanked the gargantuan creature at its back. The strangers psi blades parried the chainsaw again and again as the Blood Knight continued to stab at the creatures rear simultaneously.
Three more arrows consumed in darkness were let loose from Sylvanas' bow. Two smacked the creature in the head and despite everything else happening then, the humongous construct of sewn-together flesh turned to look Sylvanas directly in her eyes and she charged at the beast almost immediately.
"Now!" she told her followers psychically.
A dozen or so ghouls burst forth from the soil, surrounding Stitches. They lunged for him instantly and raked at his hanging flesh. The banshees continued their scratching as well and had begun swirling around the giant Abominations head.
The Zealot jumped as high as she could. Her bionic thrusters that had been forged into her back pushed her higher than she should have been able to jump on her own and she drove one of her energy blades right through the creatures throat.
Sylvanas wasn't sure if the attack actually killed the creature but the instantly cauterized wound made it shriek in agony. It swung it's pickaxe-arm in retaliation and ended up smacking itself in the face.
The enormous creature fell to the ground and the earth shook in response. It's eyes closed and it ceased all movement. It's motionlessness informed her that the battle was over.
It wasn't until things had calmed for a second that she began to wonder where Abercrombie had went during the course of the battle.
A strange hum drew her attention elsewhere.
No sooner than those thoughts popped into her head, the white light emanating from the rune in the center of the room began to flicker and, within seconds, fade entirely.
The magical barrier that barred the majority of the Scourge forces entry into the Sunwell began to flicker in tandem.
Rohendor had been brought down entirely.
"This is bad," the Banshee Queen thought to herself.
Abercrombie watched the events transpire from afar. He was riding atop one of the stone Gargoyles then and the thought of the magical barrier failing brought joy to him. If he could manage to get his hands on a bit of the mystical waters of the Sunwell, he would likely be able to use it to perfect his experiment known as Stitches.
Abercrombie held the small red jewel in his hand. His right arm was held out towards the battle taking place below him and the jewel that was balled into his fist let off a vibrant crimson glow.
The lifeless creature flapped its wings of granite and shrieked in response to the gems energy. Abercrombie let out a slight chuckle.
"Rohendor is crumbling," he said psychically to his minions. "There is one more gate to go. Everyone, move into the Shrine of the Eclipse immediately."
Several years ago, an ancient being known as the Naaru had been held prisoner there. The being was kept here against its will and stripped of its power by the magically addicted Blood Elves. Though the Naaru's legacy had lived on within the reinvigorated Sunwell, the Blood Knights, empowered by the Naaru, had went on the form the Shattered Sun Offensive.
Nothing was kept prisoner there that day however. The enormous sun emblem on the floor looked as if it were a rune of some sort, though Abercrombie had a plan to get around that trap as well.
He fingered the gem in his pocket once more, as he arrived at the final gate, known to the locals as Archonisus.
"Where did that trickster go?" Sylvanas questioned her followers. "Where is Abercrombie?"
"Towards the Sunwell, milady. We couldn't stop him and his constructs in time. I regret..."
"Where is Nathanos? He should be heading these attacks in my absence," the Dark Lady asked, growing tired of conversation.
"He is busy persueing the old man beyond the second gate. His Blighthounds had picked up the man's scent and he went on ahead,"
"Enough," the Banshee Queen cut her off. "I will deal with the bastard myself! Rangers, hold the line while I'm gone."
"At once, milady," one of her followers, the one she had left in charge, answered.
"I will cover your movements from the air, milady," Artanis chimed in.
"That will not be necessary. You need to trust me. I have put my faith in you. Can you not show me the same respect?" she thought, though she knew Artanis could hear every bit of it.
Artanis hadn't fully put his trust in her, to be fair. He didn't know her well enough yet but she did know these enemies better than anyone else; that much he couldn't deny. And her tactical knowledge of the area couldn't be overlooked.
"As you wish," he replied, though he didn't like the idea of separating their forces any more than they already had.
Sylvanas was only one chess piece in the grand scheme of things, though admittedly she was a very important player. Without her aid, and that of Lor'themar as well, their chances of being able to tamper with the Sunwell's energies were slim-to-none. He would have to learn to trust her eventually, if this relationship were to aid him in the future.
Far below him, by one of the balconies of the Sunwell Plateau, Artanis spotted several children running from a bunch of the smaller decaying creatures that ran on their hands and knees - Geists, Sylvanas had called them. He almost began to fire on them but then he worried about the children getting caught in the crossfire.
Within seconds, one of his Zealots charged into the room that the balcony led into. The bionics in his legs pushed him forward and he crashed into one of the three Geists that attacked the kids. He swung back with one his psi blades drawn and took the head of another clean off.
"Go! Leave here now!" Artanis told the children telepathically. They were too frightened to respond.
Despite the fact that two still remained, the Zealots attack had distracted the remaining Geists long enough for the kids to run off. Although the Protoss had saved them, the strange beings were just as intimidating to the young ones as the undead monstrosities that ravaged the Isle of Quel'Danas. Before they could fathom what had happened another being, garbed in crimson, ran for the kids and scooped them under it's arms as it rushed past and faded into the shadows. Artanis recognized the man instantly: Lor'themar Theron, the regent-lord of the Blood Elves.
Elsewhere, a Dark Ranger and a Zealot had their backs pushed together as they were surrounded by lesser undead. The Ranger knocked an arrow and pulled the bow string so quickly that three arrows shot out when it looked as if she only had time to fire a single shot.
Three Ghouls went down instantly and several Geists jumped over their lifeless husks and barreled down on the pair of warriors. Artanis tried to offer them some support fire but he had to pull some of his shots. The Geists moved too quickly and, as they danced around the Dark Ranger and her Zealot companion, it was difficult to get a clear shot.
The Ranger had run out of ammunition but without a moment of hesitation, she dropped her longbow and drew forth a twisted blade from her side. As one Geist came upon her, she slashed the blade clean across his face.
"If I were not already dead, I would think it a good day to die," the Dark Ranger exclaimed as she re-positioned her stance.
"I am baffled by the way your kind thinks. Regardless, we will fight to the end," the Zealot explained to him psionically, though Artanis could hear him as well.
Instinctively, the Zealot broke formation and called forth his psi blades. His bionic implants pushed him forward with haste. He only needed to get clear of the two remaining Geists long enough for Artanis to take note. Within seconds, the Geists were filled with cauterized holes from the Hierarch's anti-matter cannons.
They were joined by several members of the Shattered Sun then. A few priests and paladins of varying statures ran to their side, healing what wounds they had endured in the scuffle.
Despite the chaos around them, the scene was beautiful. The primitive inhabitants of this world had proved to be very resourceful indeed. This Holy Light was unlike anything Artanis had ever seen. Sure, his people had their own technology that had proven pretty effective at healing their injured warriors but it was nothing compared to the power that these priests were able to tap into.
The results were instantaneous. Everything from the most minor scratch to the most grievous wound was healed within moments. Artanis could most certainly use this to his advantage. He would have to remember to ask these people about that power when the fighting settled.
Meanwhile, as the multitude of Dark Rangers were perched atop the walls of the Sunwell Plateau, the Gargoyle's that came upon them then were relentless. Arrow after arrow was let loose in nearly every direction of the sky but even then it wasn't enough.
Several Shattered Sun priests tried to reinforce the Dark Rangers. They couldn't heal them, most likely because of their undead nature, but that didn't mean they weren't of any use. Draenei and Blood Elven priests alike channeled smoldering hot orbs of the purest white that Artanis had ever seen. Within seconds, the power within the orbs had fully formed and they burst forth from their open palms with fury.
The energy hissed as the attacks hit their targets, though it was quickly drowned out by the Gargoyles inherent shrieking. The attack made an impact, at first, though their numbers were simply too vast.
As they awaited another group to return, the Dark Rangers and the Shattered Sun priests fired arrows and searing orbs of the energy known as the Holy Light at countless Ghouls attempting to scale the wall. They couldn't kill them as quickly as they had hoped, however, and when the Gargoyles finally returned Artanis had to bring his Scout around to offer them some assistance.
He fired his anti-matter cannons at the Ghouls, giving the natives of this world a chance to focus entirely on the hundreds of Gargoyles fluttering about the isle.
"We require the assistance of a few Stalkers along the wall, immediately," Artanis reported to everyone on the battlefield.
"Incoming," one of them reported in.
Within seconds, three spider-like machines had appeared out of nowhere, though they had had four legs to speak of. A bright flash was all that alerted anyone to their arrival - a sign of the Dark Templar's blink ability. Their carapace-mounted particle disrupters shot towards the sky mere moments after their arrival and seared into the unsuspecting Gargoyle's that got caught in the crossfire.
The two other Scouts spun around to help Artanis deal with the undead scaling the wall. They pivoted along the wall, picking off numerous Ghouls and Geists in the process, until one particularly courageous minion decided he would leap from the wall and onto the hull of the Scout. The shift in weight made it hard for the Scouts propulsion system to keep it aloft. The hunched over creature tore at the ship's panels and, when a particular wire was torn from its hull, the ship's engines began to smoke.
"No!" Artanis shouted as the Scout started spinning towards the earth.
It crashed into the side of the wall and exploded on impact. A large section of the wall had been taken out with it and several Dark Rangers, and members of the Shattered Sun Offensive as well, fell to their respective ends. The undead horde poured into the opening left by the Scout's devastation.
"Where are our Reavers? They should be here by now!"
"They are currently manufacturing Scarabs. I can warp them in immediately, " one of the technicians aboard the Spear of Adun informed the Hierarch. "Though they won't be fully operational for a few more minutes. We just need to ensure that the psionic matrix had been stabilized."
The squid-like Warp Prism flew to Artanis' side then. It hovered there, it's translucent blue wings fluttering with the wind as it awaited it's orders.
"Preparing the psionic matrix now," the technician explained.
The Warp Prism's shape began to shift as it floated in mid-air. The wispy blue energy that looked like wings - which normally fluttered towards the back of the ship - had changed position so that they fanned out to line the entire vessel. It gave the Warp Prism the appearance of an umbrella, rather than the sea creature it had looked like moments ago.
A thin layer of blue energy hummed into existence on the ground beneath the ship and though it had dissipated seconds later, Artanis knew that the psionic matrix had fully stabilized.
"Warping in now," the technician finally responded.
Moments later, several large shapes began to materialize on the ground near the second gate of the Sunwell. They looked like gargantuan caterpillars crafted of the same golden metal carapace that most other Protoss machinery seemed to be built with.
Two of the Stalkers turned their attention towards the Reavers quickly, wanting to allot them the time to finish manufacturing their Scarabs. They fired their powerful particle disrupters, each of which had two mounted to their sides just above the machines long legs.
The orbs of super-heated plasma that shot from the machines swept over the battlefield, incinerating dozens of the scurrying undead. Other undead that they hadn't even encountered yet had joined the fray and, though some of them were taken down in the Stalkers initial attack, they kept coming regardless.
Two of the Reavers were ready to make their strike and they each fired two of the smart-bombs. The tiny machines looked like little silver boxes with a few odd protrusions here and there but they looked rather simple nonetheless. They jetted off after the undead that had made it past the second gate.
The caterpillar-like Reavers built the Scarab smart-bombs inside of the vessel itself, and could use them to follow moving targets. The bombs had an intelligence of their own and were accurate enough that they could track an enemy inside of a building yet hit nothing other than its intended target. It could also mitigate how large of an explosion was required to deal with those threats.
Several gargantuan Abominations came barreling down on one of the unprepared Reavers almost instantly. They beat on the machines metallic hull incessantly which caused it to bend and twist in weird ways. Sparks flew from the war machines back, and one in particular tore the wires free and tried to eat them as if they were the things entrails. It swallowed them regardless.
One of the Scarabs turned completely around and rerouted itself towards the Abominations that had just damaged the sluggish war machines. As soon as it impacted the one who had looked to be enjoying its meal, it detonated and sent chunks of rotting flesh flying all over the battlefield.
As body parts flew into the the surrounding buildings and foul-smelling fluids splattered over the combatants, some of the Elven priests continued firing on some of the others. One particularly brave cleric walked right up to one of the creatures that had been stuffed full of foul things.
She looked different from most of the inhabitants of the isle. The violet hue of her skin was reminiscent of some of the same Protoss that had fought there that day, yet she was no kin to them.
She raised her hand and simply touched the foul thing and it burned as if it were aflame. She wore the same emblem that he had heard Sylvanas had said belonged to the Shattered Sun Offensive.
Two more Abominations came upon her then and she drew a large crystalline hammer from her back. She threw it at the head one of one and called forth a smoldering ball of Holy Light at the other. A Zealot at her side used its boosters to launch itself onto the one who had been hit by the glowing orb, and placed two psi blades directly into the creatures throat. It's head was completely severed.
While all of this had been going on, Abercrombie had been up to no good.
He had managed to find himself a Draenei paladin that would serve him just fine. He called out to him like he imagined someone had done to Arthas before. He lured him in with visions of grandeur and promises of hope.
In truth, he needed him to go beyond the wall to deactivate the final gate. Only the priests and paladins of the Shattered Sun were able to pass the barrier and, since the Sunwell's purification, only members of that order could actually deactivate Archonisus.
But Abercrombie or his master wouldn't have to wait too much longer. Despite the strangers assistance, their siege of the Sunwell was proving to be successful. All that stood between them now was one final barrier and even that would be brought down within a few mere moments.