The vulpera carefully took a peek behind the stone wall and turned pale.
“What is it, friend fox,” asked Halvor, “what do you see?”
“There are three spirits,” Meechi answered, “They look like they’re in pain; I’ll see if I can go talk to them.” The alchemist calmly walked up to the first spirit, a tauren writhing in pain. “Hello?” she called out.
The tauren sensed the presence of the alchemist and spoke, his voice lined with sorrow, “I can no longer hear the Earth Mother…all I see are his claws…” and the spirit flew into the distance.
“Who?” Meechi called out, “Whose claws?”
The second spirit, a night elf, turned to her. “My body,” she pleaded, tears coming from her ghostly eyes, “where is my body? Elune help me!” Her spirit vanished as well.
“The Light!” the third shade cried out, “Where is the Light? I cannot see it!” The ghost of the human struggled against an invisible force. “I need its guidance,” he exclaimed, “he’s pulling me back!”
“Who’s pulling you back?” Meechi attempted to ask, but the spirit was gone.
“There’s a faint glow coming from behind that wall of stone,” observed Sahtra, “come with me, little Mori. Let’s see what’s going on.”
Mori followed the death knight to the location with the faint light emanating from it and discovered a yaungol shaman tending to a campfire. He appeared to take no notice of the two who had approached him. The young blood elf looked up at the human, wondering what he had in mind.
“Are you going to kill him?”
Vel’rosh hid himself behind a smaller wall, eavesdropping on them. He was curious to see what the death knight would say, and suspected foul play was afoot.
“As much as I would love to,” Sahtra replied, “he might have some answers for the spirits around here.”
Mori nodded in response. “That is a good idea.”
The death knight eyed the yaungol and walked around him, occasionally waving his armored hand in front of the shaman’s bare face, yet the yaungol gave no reaction.
“I don’t think this one is one is going to attack,” Sahtra stared at the shaman, “he has no thoughts or free will of his own, and he hasn’t even acknowledged our presence.” He motioned at the blood elf and started back towards the rest of his traveling companions. “Come, child, let us return to the others.”
“Small fox friend, let me pick you up.” Halvor hoisted Meechi onto a crevice in the stone wall. “What can you see?”
The alchemist looked around. “There’s a mogu standing at one end of a large circle, and a zandalari troll at the other end. They both appear to be doing some kind of necromancy on all the dead bodies lying around.” That would explain how the yaungol kept returning to Binan, she thought to herself. Meechi turned her head at the sound of footsteps and saw the death knight and the young warlock returning.
“Hey!” she called out, “You two use death magic! How do we get rid of these bad guys?”
Sahtra opened his mouth to respond but Vel’rosh cut him off.
“With the Light, of course! Smite them all!”
“I heard that, orc,” replied the death knight coolly. He turned to Mori, speaking loudly enough for the paladin to hear, “Child, if the orc dies, I’ll raise him, not you.” Mori laughed as she remembered the offer she had made when she first met Sahtra and nodded happily in agreement.
“AGH!” Vel’rosh growled, “You will pay!”
Sahtra ignored him and approached the encampment.
“Mogu,” he called out. “I thoroughly appreciate the necromantic skills you are using. Quite impressive! It is a shame that you will not fight alongside the child and me. I would hate to kill you and have your skills go to waste.”
The ancient creature chuckled in response. “Fool,” he spoke, “did you believe for even a moment that Shal’Quin the Eternal Collector would fight alongside you weak mortals? A master of necromantic powers would never lower myself to the level of small-fry such as you.”
Sahtra let out a chilling laugh. “YOU ARE MISTAKEN,” he yelled at the mogu, “I AM THE MASTER!”
“Sahtra’s amazing!” Mori exclaimed to the mogu, “He’ll beat you up!” She let out a cheer of support.
“I served under the death god Arthas himself,” continued the death knight, “you’d be wise to stand down.”
“My masta neva stand down,” spoke the zandalari troll, standing up to his full height, “let Zahn’ki da Spirit Twista teach you dis lesson.”
The mogu chuckled slowly. “You think Arthas to be like a god, foolish human. Do you remember how he was taken down by a handful of mere mortals? How, even though he claimed to have all this power, all it took was one blow from that paladin to break his sword?”
Frost formed in the air around him as Sahtra growled. He raised his axe in front of him, ready to strike.
“A pathetic Lich King indeed,” the mogu laughed, “He couldn’t even defeat the Light!”
“ENOUGH, YOU LOW-LIFE SCUM!” The death knight was furious, and the icicles fell onto the grass with the force of javelins. “LET US END HIS FOUL EXISTENCE!”
“Wait, Sahtra!” Meechi yelled, and hurled a growth potion onto his back, “take this!” The glass vial shattered, and orange fluid seeped into Sahtra’s body as he grew in size. The death knight now stood twice as tall as his usual stature and looked down at the mogu with a wide grin.
“Wow!” Mori exclaimed as she stared up in awe at Sahtra, who was now a little over three times her size. “You’re a really big death knight now! Cool!”
The massive death knight raised his axe. “Onwards!” he commanded, and the party proceeded into battle.
* * * * *
The mogu let out a chilling laugh, and cried out, “TASTE THE SWARM OF THE UNDEAD!” He placed his hands forward, creating a cup. From it burst forth hundreds of reanimated beetles, centipedes, bats and poisonous spiders that launched themselves onto the draenei and the vrykul. The knight and the warrior fell to their knees as the vermin gnawed at them and released multiple toxins into their blood. The necromancer pulled his hands apart, and the swarm disappeared, leaving behind the unconscious bodies of Shal’rel and Halvor in its stead.
“NO!” Vel’rosh cried out. “LIGHT HELP THEM!”
And here I thought I was going to raise the paladin, Sahtra thought to himself as he rolled his eyes at the orc, this enemy is far more dangerous than I had anticipated.
Mori stood, petrified by the destructive power her fellow necromancer had just unleashed onto her allies. She had just recently released her own swarm upon her enemies, though not in nearly as frightening in execution.
“Th-Th-They,” the young blood elf stammered, “are they d-d-dead?”
Meechi ran over to the draenei and vrykul and broke vials of potions onto their bodies. She studied them carefully. “They are alive,” she sighed with relief, “but they will be out for several minutes.” The orc helped her drag the two unconscious travelers to a safer spot. Mori was still frozen in place.
“Child!” The young blood elf broke free from her fear and turned in the direction of the death knight. “Raise the troll and use it against the mogu! And stand behind it so you won’t get hurt!”
Mori nodded. “Good idea,” she responded, “I’ll get him before the bad guy does!” The warlock placed her hand over the mutilated corpse of the zandalari troll and called out, “Animate!” The troll’s eyes began to glow a golden yellow color as his limbs straightened back into position and he stood back up, mindlessly staring at his new master. Perfect! Mori thought to herself and looked back at Sahtra, who was trying to restrain the mogu with icy chains, but to little avail. The mogu struck at him, and the death knight was flung backwards, slamming into the rock wall behind him.
Sahtra got back up on his feet. He looked over his own armor, assessing its condition and how much more it would be able to handle. His own stamina was also beginning to falter, but he had a mission. It’ll be risky, he thought to himself, but I need to make sure she stays alive.
“Mori! Listen to me!” The death knight called out, “I am going to attempt something.” He strode heavily towards the mogu and took a defensive stance in front of the giant necromancer. “You must not fail in your mission to become a lich regardless of what happens to me.”
The young blood elf was in shock. “WAIT!” she yelled back at him, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”
“Don’t think,” Sahtra commanded, “just act.”
Mori stared at the death knight, fear once again taking a hold of her. Is…is he planning on…no…no he can’t be…HE CAN’T BE!
“NO, SAHTRA!” Mori screamed. “I WON’T LET YOU DIE!”
The young warlock held her hands together and raised them in front of her chest. A large green sphere of blight formed as she spread her hands back apart and thrust them in the direction of the mogu. The elderly necromancer recoiled from the attack and prepared to embrace himself for the next blow.
“Lava burst!” Mori ordered the undead zandalari troll. “NOW!” She pointed at the mogu, and the Spirit Twister obeyed. The mogu stumbled as the second large burst of magic struck him, and Sahtra took advantage of the situation to taunt him.
“You weak bastard!” The death knight yelled at the mogu. “If anyone is to kill these people, it will be me! Not some good-for-nothing necromancer!”
The mogu roared in fury and began attacking the death knight, who burst into laughter as the creature clawed at him, completely distracted from the orc, the vulpera, and most importantly, the child. Vel’rosh struck repeatedly at the mogu with his great sword and Meechi threw primed fire bombs as Mori and her undead summon prepared their next spells. The warlock drew from her life essence to strengthen her next burst of blight, and hurled it again at the mogu, followed by the spirit twister’s lava burst.
Sahtra watched intently as the two magical blows further weakened the necromancer and smiled to himself with satisfaction.
“Keep up the effort,” the death knight yelled at Mori, “my plan is working in our favor!”
The young blood elf smiled at the encouragement and began preparing her next spell. “I will do my best!” She yelled out in return.
Mori watched as Sahtra took more blows from the mogu and laughed maniacally as he taunted the enemy. The ancient necromancer held his hands out in front of him and began draining the life essence from the death knight. The undead human’s pale skin broke, and viscous, nearly frozen blood seeped out from his wounds.
“Now,” declared the death knight, “you will taste fear,” and he cast a scroll of jade onto the mogu, petrifying him instantly. The ancient necromancer’s face was frozen in horror, and he was rendered helpless.
“TAKE THIS!” Mori exclaimed as she thrust one last spell of blight at the mogu. At its impact, the petrified necromancer burst into pieces, and his soul began to float upwards.
“You fools only delay me,” his shade spoke with an ominous tone, “Shal’Quin the Eternal Collector shall return stronger, and you will all be crushed underneath my infinite army’s feet!” The shade of the mogu disappeared and left behind a mysterious urn.
Sahtra turned to his party, grinning widely. “Nobody will kill you under my watch,” he spoke proudly, dark red slush oozing down his face, “If you die, it will be by my hands!” The death knight then slumped forward and knelt wearily on the blood-stained grass.
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