Monday, January 18, 2010

pt 32 Facing the Tyrant

"Damnit you morons!! Get yourselves up, we have a job to finish. Lady Sylvanas went after Arthas, and will need our help!!" Squish yells at the battered remenants of her warband.

Begrudgingly they all begin to rise. It had been a long and painful fight through the twisting halls of Icecrown Citadel. First, we had to slog through a place called the Forge of Souls, then through a hidden quarry where slaves were being used to mine vast quantities of the strange metal called Saronite. It was there that we faced a powerful scourgelord, one of Arthas's lieutenants, and found where the dreaded runeblade of Arthas, Frostmourne, was being kept unguarded. Lady Sylvanas siezed the opportunity and lead us into a place called the Halls of Reflection where we found the sword, and a trap, we were ambushed by Arthas himself. He turned his ghostly minions on us while Lady Sylvanas followed him up a corridor.

A female troll, our shaman healer steps forward "Give us a momeent Mon! We is all beat up from dah fight." she says forcefully.

The mysterious and beautiful Troll, whom we have come to know as Jezi, was not one to be taken lightly. She has been known to heal you one minute and then stab you the next. There is even rumors that she has secretly retained the forbidden troll practice of ritual cannibalism.

Squish eyesballs Jezi for a moment, looking for any sign that she is challenging her leadership. Satisfied that she is not, Squish turns and catches sight of Calmfury. He is in the corner of the room sitting in a daze, and looking at some battered piece of junk.

"What do you have there Tauren?" Squish says inquisitively as she walks across the icy floor.

The dazed Druid looks up at the Blood elf. He looks as though he is far away in a dream and barely cogniscent of what is going on in the room.

"It's a hilt to a broken sword" he says slowly.

Squish snatches the battered piece of junk out of the Tauren's hand and gives it a closer examination.

"It looks to be a Sin'dorei artifact." Squish says as she tosses it back to the Druid. "You should have it checked out by the Sunreavers when you get back to Dalaran."

The warband finally begins to rise as Squish walks about the room prodding them along. The hallway that Sylvanas chased Arthas down looks foreboading, but the warband presses on anyway. All of them know that if we can manage to kill Arthas here, then this whole nightmare would be over and we would be exalted heroes of the Horde.

Suddenly, Squish holds up her mace, signaling for us to stop. Then with a shout she surges forward, striking a bone giant that had been hiding in the dark recesses of hallway.

"Bloodlust!! Forward!! Bring down this monstrosity!!" the lithe Blood elf screams.

The warband rushes in to attack as the undead giant bellows incoherently.
He punches furiously at his assailants to no avail, each of the members of the warband are too fast and skilled to be hit by the giant. Yet, they take every opportunity to slash, bludgeon and sear him with spells and weapons.

Clearly frustrated with the losing fight, the bone giant raises his hands into the air and screams, the piercing cry nearly deafening all around the room. As if the haunted fortress itself hears him, coherant shadows descend from the ceiling to join the fight. The ghastly forms suddenly turn into replicas of the warband, complete with weapons, armor and a deadly knowledge of magic.

As if on que, Calmfury charges into the frey, swiping furiously at the imposters with his razor sharp claws. In each doppleganger, the tenacity and skill of the originals is evident. In fact, some members of the warband step away from the fight, clearly disgusted at the thought of fighting their comrades, even if they are just shadowy immitations.

"Fight you dogs!! Kill them now!!" Squish screams

Calmfury rises up and bellows a mighty roar that echoes through the icy chamber, for a moment the dopplegangers give pause. Long enough for the warband to pull together and take the initiative. One by one the shadows fall, and attention is once again turned to the Bone Giant.

Again, the giant is assaulted, his putrid flesh being torn and seared from his legs and abdomen. Finally, with one last scream, the monstrosity falls. As he comes apart and crashes to the ground the undead giant bellows a warning to Arthas.

"Master!! I have failed you!!"

A victory shout rises from the warband as they do a savage dance around the fallen guardian. Then, Squish points once again up the hallway.

"Bloodlust!! We have a king to murder this night. Forward!!" she shouts amidst spirited whoops and hollars from the bloodthirsty warband.

All except for one. The beast known as Calmfury stands stoicly in bear form, gazing back down the hallway at something in the shadows.

"Calm Mon, what do you be seein down dere?" Jezi says as she walks up to the druid and stares into the shadows. She can barely make out the shadowy form of a human dressed in tattered robes. He is standing against the wall, trying to hide.

The druid looks up at the shapely shaman. "I don't know. I think it's one of the shadows we just fought. He looks and smells familiar to me" Calmfury manages to say with his gravelly bear voice.

"Jezi and Calmfury, comon!! We haved no time to waste!!" Squish yells as she continues to lead her warband up the hallway.

The pair turn and follow, leaving the mysterious shadow alone in the hallway.

"Calmfury Mon, did ya notice dat dere were no shadows dat looked like a big smelly bear? Maybe dah Lich King don't be likin animals?" Jezi says as she smiles broadly through her glimmering fangs.

Suddenly, the sounds of battle can be heard up ahead. As the warband reaches the doorway at the end of the hall they can see a pitched battle between Arthas, and Lady Sylvanas. It looks as though that Sylvanas is on the losing end of the fight, and Arthas has barely been scratched.

"He is too powerful!!" Sylvanas screams "We have to escape and tell the others. It's going to take more than the Horde to defeat him!!"