Confrontation - III
Midas_Man
One of the Brightest Stars
True to her word, Liadrin healed me right and proper. I couldn't even tell my hand had been crushed and rendered unresponsive only an hour ago.
Miracles of Light magic, I guess.
When I was finally able to walk without a limp, she went off to do her own 'Priestess' thing and I was ushered into some changing room where servants tore my (Verana's) ruined robes off and slipped me into something a tad more…gaudy if that was even possible.
Bright red and gold. Enough of both tones to blind passersby if the sun ever hit me. Though I suppose at this point I'm used to these sorts of colors.
Then after giving my hair more care then I think I ever gave it in my life, and getting sprayed with enough perfumes to unintentionally gas someone, I was led into the Convocation's chamber.
A vast chamber of marble stairs and various seating arrangements, some as simple as a cubical, others as grand as an luxurious opera box, all lined with polished gold railings and ornaments, cloaked beneath dozens upon dozens of royal banners.
All the footpaths and stairwells led to a single throne at the far end of the chamber. Gilded beyond belief, covered in phoenix iconography, and elevated upon a dais, it was clear as day that was the King's seat.
Though there was no King in sight, only a lone magister who stood beside the throne. The Grand Magister, head of the Convocation who would sit in for the King when he wasn't here. I couldn't help but think he looked like one of those overly colorful birds with how much jewelry and flamboyant his outfit was. Not to say that said things were probably enchanted in all manners of fun and interesting ways.
Interspersed through all of this were armored spellbreakers, their tower shields and twin blades at the ready for any unwarranted disruption. Not from outside of course. This was the single largest collection of powerful mages in all of Quel'Thalas, more than enough firepower to burn a whole city, or even a nation, to ash.
No, the spellbreakers were here to break up the magisters if they came to blows with one another.
And that burning allegory was a bit literal! If the history books are to be believed, early Convocation meetings regularly devolved into magical brawls over taxation and land disputes.
Dath'Remar himself created the first spellbreakers to put an end to such antics.
Afterall, who better to stop those sorts of things than people who are specially trained to disrupt mana flow? Add in blades crafted to slice through enchantments, thereby negating the magical armor most magisters have, and you have a very scary security detail that deters the worst actors.
Thankfully, the need for them to 'show their fangs' is a somewhat rare occurrence these days. Not because the magisters are more civil, but because nowadays magisters would rather take their issues 'outside' then duke it out in front of their peers like children.
They all act like children of course; they just don't want it to be seen publicly.
Or worse, the clout they could lose if they lost a brawl they instigated!
Far safer to conduct those sorts of things far from prying eyes.
Though I will say that security seems more present than I would have assumed. Way more spellbreakers then there ought to be, alongside more mundane security.
Not unexpected, given someone tried to sneak in and kill them all with essentially a bio weapon just an hour ago.
Not that I had a reference point to go off of, given this was my first time here.
But there were just so many voices, so much noise. Hundreds of people trying to talk over each other. Lots of hand wringing, finger pointing, shouting their throats raw.
Though that was quick to change after the doors closed behind me.
"There will be order in this chamber," a man's voice boomed as if he were shouting it right into my ear. I then saw the Grand Magister tapped his staff on the ground, with a mighty hammering echoing across the chamber akin to a supersized gavel.
I winced, whatever magic he used made it sound like the damn thing was hammering right next to my ears. Though I suppose that's the point.
He eventually succeeded in achieving some measure of silence in the chamber, though lingering whispers persisted.
"For those still unaware of what transpired earlier, I will speak plainly, the rumors you have heard are true. A member of this Convocation attempted to kill us all. -" That caused a wave of talking from among the magisters. Fear, anger, surprise, emotions ran hot. It required the Grand Magister to use his staff-gavel thing to rein them in.
"The man in question, the former Magister Dar'Khan Drathir, has been detained. His act was not an isolated one, but part of an insidious plot in service to the fallen Prince Arthas of Lordearon he-..." yet again, crowds of people talked over the Grand Magister. A number even began to scream at each other. Dar'Khan's former allies in the Convocation maybe?
Yet again, the staff-gavel came down to restore some semblance of order.
"He is being interrogated as we speak, but the full scope of his crimes, and those of his benefactor, remain a mystery," thankfully, no new interruptions this time. "But their intent is clear, the destabilization or outright destruction of this Convocation. However before the dark deed was done, one among us, who discovered this insidious plot, took action and saved not only us, but perhaps Silvermoon itself. A debt I can scarcely imagine repaying."
Oh shucks, he's going to make me blush. I straighten my posture for the inevitable limelight. Not that I wanted it of course. I was just trying to save-
"Therefore, I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the one who saved us from the twisted fate of the humans of Lordaeron. My eternal thanks, Lord Coldwater."
What!?
From the corner of my eye, I saw Verana's dad (I think?) stand up in his luxurious booth and accept the cordial applause of his peers. Despite all the pomp and praise, he held a mask of complete neutrality on his face. Betraying no actual emotion.
"I merely did what any would in my position would have done," Coldwater's voice was magically carried across the chamber, similar to the Grand Magister, to the soft applause of many in attendance. "My only regret is that this plot proceeded to such an extent that our Convocation was but the thinnest margins away from disaster."
"You are too humble. Your quick and decisive action has not only saved this Convocation, but potentially our Kingdom as well," the Grand Magister congratulated again, once more to the applause of many other Magisters.
Okay, I wasn't looking for praise, but getting written out entirely is utter bull-
"Be that as it may, I would not have been able to exercise my duty were it not for the young woman before us today," the mage gestured down to me. "For it was only after Miss Dawnguard sought out my council, that I was made aware of the danger to us."
…what?
Why would he-
"She sought out my council early this morning to alert me of the issue," I listened to him explain my plan to everyone. About how everything went according to our plan. A large plan that I started to doze off to because I was still trying to figure out why the hell he thinks this. I've never even met this guy. How could I have-
Oh….
He saw me enter his home to see Verana and assumed I was…
Hmph….
Well then.
But that still doesn't explain why he's taking so much credit for it-
Wait is he really that fucking petty he needs to make himself out to be some omnipresent-
"And when did you become aware of this conspiracy, Miss Dawnguard?" The Grand Magister finally addressed me. I felt the eyes of every magister in the room fall on me.
"I…um…." How should I word this? Do I tell the actual truth, rock the whole political boat, make out one of the most powerful people here as trying to steal my thunder? Or do I just go with the flow?
Looking up to Coldwater, he was giving me the most passive aggressive 'don't you dare' look at me that I can remember.
So come clean or dig a hole for myself.
The answer was pretty obvious even for me.
Just keep digging~
Just keep digging~
Just keep digging~
"I learned about it on good authority from a confidential source, " I channel my inner magistrix once more. "That source being?"
"I'm…. not at liberty to say who at this moment," I can only hope I look as calm as I wish I was right now. "I just knew that the information was good, and how little time I had to act on it. Suffice to say, I acted as soon as I could. Too soon if you ask Dar'Khan."
Liar, liar, pants on fire~
I looked behind me. I could have sworn I heard her- IT just a moment ago. But I saw nothing out of the ordinary behind me.
This does not bode well for my sanity.
"Miss Dawnguard?"
"Sorry, thought I heard something," I resist the urge to rub the back of my neck in a nervous tick. "But as I was saying, this source also told me how Dar'Khan's attempted attack was part of the Scourge's invasion plan of the Kingdom."
"Ah yes, the Scourge," A Magistrix spoke up this time, one from those fancy booths up top. "That is the name of the undead forces raised by that human Cult of the Damned, no?"
"Yes," I nodded, "it's the undead army lead by Arthas Menithl who's currently marching towards us to-"
"Correction," the woman raised her finger and interrupted me. "It is not an army, but a mob of shambling corpses. It's hardly a real threat in and of itself."
"...what?" Did I just hear that right?
"Quite right," another magister spoke up, again from a similarly high booth. "Lady Windrunner has assured us that her Farstriders can repel any incursion by the human and his undead host."
"Even calling it a host is generous," the Magistrix quipped. A collection of magisters below her booth clapped and laughed at her 'joke'.
"With all due respect, a 'host' can hardly destroy a kingdom," I tried to get through to them, because they can't be that dense about what's going on. Right? "If it was just a host, how do you explain the fall of Lordaeron, my lady?"
"Beyond it being a human kingdom?" the magistrix almost seemed to say the word like a slur. "They fell to deceit and betrayal. A single dagger in the correct back can lay low entire empires. This Cult's greatest strength was their secrecy, and the skullduggery they could employ. Without either, they are nothing more than a collection of necromancers. Hardly something to get too worried about."
"'Secrecy', such as releasing the Plague within these very halls?" Coldwater cut in, his calm voice was oppressive in some way I couldn't explain. "And 'skullduggery', in a manner such as using one of our own against us? Perhaps it is just me, but I would have preferred just the knife."
"Y-ou" the woman took a moment to compose herself from the verbal backhand, trying to find some way to counter him. "You would dare say a knife in our glorious-"
"A turn of phrase, my lady," Coldwater interrupted her, unamused. "Though one has to wonder why regicide was the first thing that came to your mind. Have you thought of such things often?"
These guys are really getting off track right now…
"Miss Dawnguard," a different Magister from the others, spoke up. "Despite what our colleague has said, we understand the situation at hand.
"You do?" For some reason, I felt there was a big 'but' attached to that.
"Indeed," he nodded. "And to allay your fears, let it be known that we have already decided, out of an abundance of caution, to mobilize more forces to aid the General. But," There it is! "We can only send so much. Anything more than what has already been committed, and we may not be able to adequately reinforce our forces along the Amani border in the event of an incursion."
Oh they have to be fucking with me right now…
"Why are you so surprised?" the Magister shook his head. Apparently something finally slipped through my calm persona. " It's obvious to all here that the trolls would notice any significant troop movement along the border. Taking troops away would embolden the barbaric creatures to attack all along the frontier."
"Is that really a concern right now!" I couldn't even bother to show the proper respect and decorum. Incidentally, I thought I saw one of the guards behind me look like he was ready to race over and drag me out.
"I do not deny that this incursion is a matter of some concern," the Magister elaborated, though not calming me down at all. "Nor do I believe that these monsters shouldn't be repelled as quickly as possible. However, in the grand scheme of things, they are little more than a nuisance. A flickering flame that, while bright, will burn out before long."
I looked around to all the nodding heads. Silent agreement was evident in the chamber. Only a few notable expectations, Coldwater, a magister that had the same bleached white hair as Elsia (so I guess her father or grandfather), small cliques of magisters that were seemingly aligned with them, and the Grand Magister himself.
But the vast majority have spoken. Or were at least parroting what their 'betters' believed.
And then the thought hit me.
Oh my God…
They are literally too stupid to live…
I mean, I'm pretty sure I know why they are this calm about an invasion. And I was equally sure there was only one thing I could say to light the fire that'll get them moving.
"Of course, you will be rewarded for your actions this day," the magister tried to 'cheer me up' I guess? "Lands, titles, perhaps even an audience with his Majesty-
"The runestones managing the Gatekeeper have been compromised, the Gatekeeper is now inert," my blunt statement made the entire chamber go silent. "This is from the same source that told me of Dar'Khan's treason before anyone else here knew it,"
First, the silence crept on for several seconds.
The magisters who seemed to have the most sway, those in the booths, just looked at each other in silent dumbfoundment. If they believed me or not, I couldn't say. Maybe what I said was so crazy they just had no words for it? Or maybe they were waiting for one of their own to make a comment on the issue.
But bereft of a 'guiding hand', the remainder of the chamber, the yes men and the sycophants, simply became noise.
It seemed like everyone finally had an opinion they wanted to share. Each magister trying to speak over the other. I can only assume they were parroting what their 'leader's' would say, or at least what they thought they would say.
But it was just so damn loud!
Yet while I covered my ears to spare my eardrums, and the magisters all argued to such an extent I couldn't even make out what they were arguing about, I noticed something odd.
A woman, as if appearing out of nowhere, approached the dais where the Grand Magister stood. Clad in light armor, she didn't look like any of the magisters or guards here, her attire far too muted to be 'fashionable' by Convocation standards. Flamboyant sure, but hardly gaudy.
But how come it was only now I was seeing her? That very outfit would have made her stand out by virtue of not being some overly dressed peacock.
But she walked right past the guards as if she were invisible. You'd think there'd be some sort of reaction to a woman armed with a sword approaching the person right below the King in authority just after a failed assassination attempt.
She clearly wasn't invisible, even if the guards did not react to her, since the old elf immediately acknowledged her presence and leaned in to hear her say something. Strangely, no one else seemed to even look in the pair's direction.
Whatever she said to him made him frown, then nod and point towards something off to the side.
Seemingly thanking him, the woman marched off stage left. But before getting out of sight, she turned and looked right at me.
Blazing cerulean that peered into me, as if it were stripping away all my bravado to see who I really was. It honestly sent a shiver down my spine. Squinting to get a better look at the woman myself, not only did I find she wasn't that old, but I made out the faintest inkling of a sad smile before she walked behind the curtains.
Who was that?
I had little time to dwell on it, since I felt a hand tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me, your excellence," it was one of the spellblades. "We've been instructed to escort you out."
"Instructed!?" Who would ask them to-
I then just noticed how the Grand Magister was now staring me down, his stern expression boring itself into me.
Ah…
Yes.
--
--
The door to the chamber closed behind me as I heard the faint staff-gavel come down once more to try and restore order.
The whole thing left me with a single thought.
Holy shit…
Conspiracy to kill every magister in attendance right now to aid in an invasion? Mildly annoying apparently…
Potential Amani invasion from pulling off some forces from the border? That's apparently the important issue!
Okay, think of the positives! What did all that accomplish?
Convocation, saved.
Dar'Khan, imprisoned.
And… that's about it.
It was kind of like they were just miffed that the undead were running amok and not going through some massive invasion.
I mean I get the reason why they are so calm, it's because they think that magical Gatekeeper will keep out the Scourge. The Kingdom might burn, but its beating heart, Silvermoon, would endure. Until the dead slinked away out of frustration of trying to take the city or being beaten back.
Either way, 'victory' was assured. In their eyes at least.
But… maybe I'm the paranoid one here.
Maybe stopping Dar'Khan so soon kept him from damaging the runestones?
Besides, I have no way of finding them anyway. They were hidden after all. And unlike last time, I don't want to be making any faustian pacts to get my info.
Maybe I should just…hope for the best-
"Catch!"
A small thing hit my arm moments after someone called out to me. A woman, as far as the voice went, but when I turned to see who was talking, they were gone. All that was left was the crumpled up thing by my feet.
That was weird.
It was wrapped in a bit of paper. Uncrumpling it, I found both a shiny stone with some strange symbol on it, and a note on the inside of the wrapping itself.
'Use this to find the runestones. Push mana into it. Follow the feeling.'
The hell?
Looking over my shoulder one last time to see if anyone was there, I sighed and decided 'what the hell' and pushed some mana into the unassuming rock.
And I immediately felt something.
It felt like what I'd assume a sonar would be like, feeling a 'ping' racing back to you from a pulse of energy. I felt three of these 'pings', each was some distance from Silvermoon, but not so far that I couldn't reach them.
It all felt…instinctual.
I looked at the note again: 'Use this to find the runestones. Follow the feeling.'
Okay, this is beyond creepy. Wait, my mind turned back to that incident in the library so many years ago, when my ability to perceive the world was altered by a certain force.
Voices coming from nowhere…
Like a few minutes ago.
All I needed now was this rock to be imaginary to fit the script.
Thankfully a servant was walking by.
"Excuse me, did you see whoever threw this at me?" I showed him the stone and paper, silently hoping this wasn't just in my head.
He looked at the paper and rock, squinted to examine their details, confirming it was actually there, then shook his head. "I am afraid not, your excellence. Shall I inform the guard to search for this individual."
"No, it's fine," it was more than enough to know that this wasn't some Void bullshit. But that still left more than enough questions open. Like who was that? Was it the woman I saw with the Grand Magister? Someone else? Bronze dragon trying to change the timeline with me? Twilight dragon doing the same thing, but because it'll make everything worse? The Void because 'reasons'?
One thing at a time I suppose.
Though I suppose if I was given this, it might mean that one of the runestones is still good? That I might need to save it?
"As you say, your excellence," the servant, gave a curt bow. "Is there anything else I could do for you?"
"If you could find me some light armor and a sword, that would be great, these robes are impossible to move in," I grumble, looking at the clownish robes I still had on.
"Of course, your excellence, this way," another bow, he turned and gestured for me to follow him.
I stared blankly at him.
Huh..
--
--
"How does it feel, your excellence?"
"Um…different from what I'm used to," I hadn't expected the guy to actually lead me to some storeroom filled with armor and weapons. Not that I was complaining.
"I can only apologize that our stock has been found wanting," again with the self depreciation. Gotta wonder how badly these guys are treated.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that," trying to get the guy to ease up a little. "It's different in the…different way. I don't mean that it's bad or anything."
Ah yes, 'different' in the 'different' way. How eloquent!
Though I was being honest, this stuff was just different from what I was used to. While more practical than before, it was still far too flashy and expensive compared to anything I usually worked with. The armor even hummed a bit to my magical senses. This stuff was way better than anything I was given at the Academy.
Lighter armor, sharper sword, all enchanted to weigh less. Why, it feels like I was just wearing some light clothes and not armor at all!
Though I do wish it was a tad less…red and gold. But in Quel'Thalas I guess that concept was heretical.
Bah, the colors were unimportant.
I had my personal 'quest', check the ward stones. By using the strange stone some random person literally threw at me to do so.
Either there is someone with way too much faith in me here, or there is something else going on here. While I'll hardly say no to help at this point, these circumstances are very… fortuitous for me.
Eh… something to think about when my home isn't on the frontlines of a zombie apocalypse.
But before that, there was something I had to do.
--
--
My pre-mission diversion took me to one of the Silvermoon's seedier quarters. Filled with brothels and all other explicit locales for people to 'enjoy' themselves. I raced to the one I knew quite well, though hardly for the reasons one would assume.
At the entrance of the one I was heading to, shoving past all the people lined up to get in, getting a few curses sent my way as I ran into a very well-endowed elven woman at the door.
"Hey now, need to shove, we have plenty of room for everyone~" Her form fitting dress left nothing to the imagination. She did some eye fluttery thing and stretched out her body in that sort of way that emphasized certain parts of herself as I approached. "So, how can we give you - Syllia!? What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry Aunty Kaden, but I need to know where Mom is," I quickly blurted out, tapping my foot in a nervous tick. I'm surprised it took her that long to realize who I was. Then again, I normally don't wear armor around her.
"Sweetie, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" Auntie Kaden shared the same fiery red hair of her daughter, though from what Noly told me her father also had red hair. "And what's with that armor? Is something happening? Are you in trouble-"
"I'm sorry Auntie, but I need to see Mom, it's urgent," It would take too long to explain who Scourge 'invasion' thing. Would also probably spark a panic from the other patrons I barreled through.
Auntie Kaden frowned, looking like she wanted to question me a bit more, but she sighed when she noticed how urgent I was. "Last door to the right, past the statues. But Syllia, please dear, what is all this-"
"I'll tell you later," I quickly excuse myself as I slip past her into the brothel.
If I could describe this place in one word it would be 'loose'.
While the waitresses wore revealing dresses that exposed vast tracts of skin, the proper 'working women' themselves went around with barely anything, or if they did wear something more covering it only showed themselves off even more. I averted my eyes from several ongoing 'scenes' hidden by the sheerest of curtains, assuming they bothered not to do it in the main lobby area. Add in the 'tasteful' statues and busts, in both senses of the word, a far cry from Siritra's establishment, but hardly comparable to the straight laced Academy ground I usually frequented.
I was also certain they pumped aphrodisiacs into the air to help clients and workers get 'into the mood'. Probably a low amount, since I certainly wasn't feeling anything despite how much I was trying to catch my breath from the earlier running.
Then again I was trying to prevent my mom from dying, while also dealing with the potential death of most of my race. All while the clock was ticking with the invasion of the Kingdom. No surprise that this state of mind helped keep my libido firmly in check.
Almost everyone here, patron and worker alike, did give me a quick glance as I barreled towards the back. Either because they knew who I was or because they were curious why a fully armed and armored woman was basically running through the building.
When I reached Mom's room (booth?) I steeled myself for the sight within.
Acknowledging Mom's beauty and opening this door to whatever sight would greet me were two very different things.
But just as I was about to knock, I heard movement within.
"Syllia?" Mom questioned aloud from the other side. Probably recognized my footsteps with her dog hearing, she did the same at home all the time.
"Yeah, it's me," I answer, looking around the room awkwardly. "Are you…okay for me to open the door or do you need-"
She opened it before I even finished the question. I'll be honest and say I expected to see Mom in a similar state to Auntie Kaden, and by extension the other women here, but she looked more like a bouncer than a prostitute. Form fitting leather armor sure, but hardly the skimpiest thing here.
Then again, I guess there are people who are into that sort of thing…
"What are you doing here?" She questioned, frowning as she noticed how armed I was.
"You need to get out of Silvermoon now," I didn't mince my words, though I did my best to speak as low as possible. "Take as many of the mana potions at home that you can carry and run."
"I'm sorry?" she raised an eyebrow, confusion clear on her face.
"The city is about to be attacked," I decided I might as well come out and say it. "The runestones that control the Gatekeeper are compromised, and the undead are tearing through our forces." I was afraid I would have to explain the whole Plague of Undeath thing, but thankfully Mom was always caught up with current events outside of Quel'Thalas.
"So quickly?" I heard her whisper to herself. "But that… but it's still in the human lands last I-"
"I just stopped a plot by a cultist to release the Plague in the middle of the Convocation's chamber while they were in session," she paled at that. Even she realized just how dire things were if something like that could happen.
"I don't- Wait. What do you mean you were the one who stopped-"
"That's not important now," I did my best to sidestep the whole fake magistrix thing and grabbed her arm, almost pulling her out of her room. "Look, the army is being sent in force now, but I don't think it'll be enough. So I want you to go home, pack as many mana potions as you can, and run.
"I get running, but why do you want me to take the mana potions, I'm not a mage."
"Because their target is the Sunwell," as we were walking out, I was keenly aware of many ears now tuning into our conversation. "If they reach the Well, which they very well might, given how unprepared we are, they will defile it and strip its power from us. Which means we, all of us, will go through a horrific withdrawal as the plentiful mana around us is gone. Those potions might very well be the things that keep you going if that happens."
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little," while she questioned me, she didn't do anything to stop me from pulling her behind me.
"It's not when this is being discussed in the Convocation," a lie, they were probably talking about how the Plague was actually the work of the Amani given what I had to endure earlier. "It is that serious."
Mom didn't say anything as I seemingly dragged her out to the street, getting some crude whistles and words sent our way by those trying to get in. A quick fireball to the ground near them was enough to make that issue scatter in every direction.
"Syllia!" Auntie Kaden called out from my display. "You can't just go around throwing fireballs everywhere, it's dangerous!"
"Go inside Kaden," Mom told the greeter, "I need a moment with my daughter."
The red head looked at the two of us, then nodded and went inside to leave us alone.
Now that I think about it, I don't actually recall Mom ever saying what her position at that place actually was…
"Now what does all this talk of invasion and Sunwell defilement have to do with you?" Mom questioned.
"I'm the one who brought evidence of a conspiracy to kill the Convocation to light," I explained. "Now I need to go make sure the guy I busted didn't do anything to the runestones that maintain the Gatekeeper. Even though Silvermoon isn't their target, they still have to go through it and the Gatekeeper to reach the Quel'Delar and the Sunwell. I came to tell you all this before I head out and-"
"No," before I even realized it, Mom slipped her hand out of my grasp and grabbed my wrist.
"No?" Didn't she understand what was at stake? I tired to get myself free of her grip, but she held on no matter how much I pulled or tugged.
"If things are as bad as you say they are, you are not throwing yourself into it," there was a steel in Mom's voice that I don't think I've ever heard before.
"If I don't do something, then who will!"
"So you think you're some hero!?" I've never seen Mom snap like that at me, made my blood run cold for a moment. She's never used that sort of tone with me before. "Let me tell you something. For every person that saves the day and becomes the hero, another hundred lie in unmarked graves when they failed the same quest. And I can promise you that each of those hundred thought they were going to be the heroes. And look where it got them."
"That's a depressing way to look at the world," I couldn't help but quip back. I know Mom had a hard life before I 'showed up', but this kind of cynicism isn't usually found in someone so young (by elven standards).
"Being depressing is being realistic," her grip held firm, tighter even at my continued attempts to break out of her hold.
"What happened to you saying I could go and do whatever I set out to do?"
"Nonsense we parents tell our kids," Mom outright said the quiet part out loud. "Because it's better than telling them how awful the world is. Of telling them they can only do so much because of who they are, what class they were born into, or genuine talent they don't have to achieve what they say they want.
"By that logic, no one would do anything!?" Couldn't she see this was bigger than any one of us? I had no intention of dying (again), but I just can't sit on the fence to let the original canon of events play out. Not when I might be able to do some bit of good.
"I have no doubt there will be a thousand other heroes ready to take your place, and a few might actually live to see the next day. But you will not be one of them." she looked me dead in the eyes. "Now, we are going to go back inside, get my things, head home, get your things, and find a boat to get us out of here."
"You mean leave everyone to die?"
"Not everyone, just most," she countered, her sharp tone still held, but her expression softened a bit, "but I refuse to let you throw your life away."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. This is bigger than just me, or you," as much as it made me feel sick, I knew what I had to do. I sent a charge of arcane energy through myself. This was no love tap that I would use on her in training.
The result was Mom hissing in shock, letting my wrist go and checking her reddened hands. She looked at me in surprise.
Finally free of her grip myself free of her grip with the help of some magic, I took a few steps back. "I'm sorry. I'll make this up to you, I swear. Just remember what I said about the mana potions."
"Syllia, don't you dare-"
I teleported away before she even finished her sentence. The last expression I saw on her face wasn't one of anger, but fear.
--
--
Teleporting and blinking, I was out of the city in no time.
On my way out, I spied a line of refugees already crossing into the city. Whether they were fleeing the oncoming Scourge, or fleeing in anticipation of the Scourge I couldn't tell. Along the way I saw scores of wagons left by the roadside, ditched so its former owners could move more swiftly.
I had to hurry.
Thanks to Blink, I was able to cover far more ground than normally. It wasnt that I didn't use it for that purpose before, but there was a bit more urgency in moving this time around. Not just to see how far I could go in one burst, but actually putting all I knew to the test.
Though I still needed to know where I was going.
Whatever this stone was given me was, it was still giving me a 'sixth sense' as to where the runestones were.
The closest one that I could 'feel' was about an hour of blinking and teleporting, followed by several bouts of running to let my mana recover, from the city.
And I did find a runestone, nestled away in some obscure grove concealed by powerful magic. There was even some sort of illusion that kept trying to get me to actually 'ignore' the runestone as if it didn't exist. If I didn't have the stone to tell me otherwise, I'd surely not given this place a second look. It honestly just looked like a big rock with some runes carved into it.
Surprisingly, there were guards everywhere around the stone. Proving that no, the Convocation wasn't that stupid and did take some precautions.
Sadly, they were all dead.
Some looked like they had their throats slit, the others seemed as if they were torn apart by wild animals.
Or undead…
Only when I reached the actual stone did I realize it was surrounded.
The guttural growling of undead was everywhere. When they emerged from the brush they were hunched over, almost crawling, towards me. Balding heads, flaking skin, tracks of exposed bone, they were beyond ghoulish.
They were this far into the kingdom? But didn't the invasion just start? Or was this some advanced party that slipped through before the actual attack, or even a present from Darth Vadar Khan to Arthas?
They appeared more beast than…whatever it was they once were. Probably humans, since the Scourge did start in Lordaeron, though a few did have pointed ears and the remains of long eyebrows…
Without hesitation they charged me as a pack, screeching as razor sharp claws primed to skewer me in so many little pieces.
Despite my own fear, and disgust at the sight of them, instinct drove me forward. Without even realizing it, I thrust my blade right through the first one's head, sending an arcane bolt to blow apart the second. Not missing a beat, I pulled my ichor stained sword out of the ghoul and swung at the next pair.
A clean decapitation on one, with a slash across the torso of the next.
It still amazed me how easy all this was to me…
But like before, I suppose these ghouls were too far gone for me to anthropomorphize some, for a lack of better words, 'humanity' into them. I felt nothing from seeing these things, monsters.
At best, I felt sorry for what befell them before they became this, but that was hardly going to keep me from defending myself.
Seeing them about to swarm me as a pack, I quickly blinked into the air to avoid their sets of razor claws. Mid air, I sent a stream of fire down upon them, bathing the entire area around the runestone in fire. The screeches and cries they let out as they burned away were almost as nerve-racking as the growling and snarling from before.
Though on the positive side, not only was I incinerating the ghouls, but I was also ensuring the fallen wouldn't be raised to join the Scourge's ranks. That was a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone.
I 'dispelled' as much fire as I could before I came down, doing my best to magically cancel out any inertia I had before landing.
A dozen crispy husks littered around me, leaving only one left 'alive'.
Undead?
It charged in a rabid fashion, though I guess that's no different from the others. Blinking backwards several times to avoid its reach, I looked around to make sure if this was the last one in the area. I didn't want to be caught unawares yet again.
Certain that no other ghouls were nearby, I moved in for the 'kill'.
Blinking right in front of the creature, I bisected it in a single swing.
Yet even bereft of everything below the torso, thrown some distance from me by the sheer inertia of its own previous charge, it just turned around and started crawling towards me. Black blood oozed from its wounds as it dragged what was left of it as if it wasn't missing half its body.
Blinking one last time, I pushed my boot between its shoulder blades and drove my sword into the back of its skull.
I rested against the runestone to 'admire' my work. Or admire what I could do.
Only as I caught my breath did I realize the stone was dead. No magic in it, only whatever magic was in the area that let me find it.
And my heart sank.
--
--
Death had come to the Land of Eternal Spring.
It crossed the border the previous night, hordes of corpses, monsters, and necromancers defiling and desecrating everything in their path.
The lone necromancer was hardly unheard of, but an army? This was not something they prepared for. Or at least, never to this scale. And as it would turn out, such a force is an almost perfect counter to the Farstrider's usual tactics.
Orcs can be outmaneuvered.
Trolls can be beaten back.
Humans can be frightened into fleeing.
But the dead?
There were no supply lines to cut, the dead did not require such things.
There was no moral to break, the dead had no fear to prey on.
There was never a time they stopped to rest, for the dead needed neither sleep nor food.
Sure, ranger units had tried targeting the necromancers animating and directing the undead, but there were simply too many of them. Kill one necromancer, and his twenty comrades will not only be ready to take his place but also add him to the undead horde.
It was a foe unlike anything Noly had trained for. That anyone had trained for.
But Noly quickly learned there was something far worse than a foe you couldn't fight…
"Recruit, we need to move!"
"There's still people down there!" Noly yelled back, never taking her eyes off the lines of refugees running their way. Mostly humans from the refugee camps, but many elves ran alongside them. They were desperately racing towards the lone bridge Noly and her group were set to guard at what were in the day the rear lines.
Though she supposed it was now the frontline.
"Recruit that wasn't a request!"
"We can't just leave them!" In normal circumstances, she would never have had the backbone to talk back to her superior. But her moral compass gave her all the fire she needed. "We have a duty to protect the people!"
They had been evacuating people since before dawn. So many Farstriders laid down their lives to buy precious minutes for the refugees to escape. Each minute allowed a dozen more to escape. Each life was paid for in blood.
She even heard that General Windrunner herself fought the leader of the undead, that human prince, to a standstill, buying even more time for the people to escape. But not long ago, word came in that she was driven back herself. She was still alive, thank goodness, priests hastily seeing to her wounds. Noly could only imagine what would happen if she fell.
But now new orders had been hastily sent down the chain as a new defensive line was being set up many miles away.
Two orders specifically came to her unit.
Retreat and Scorch Earth.
"Not when saving them will put the hundreds already behind our line at jeopardy," the officer grabbed Noly by the shoulder and pointed to the throngs of people streaming up the hills that had already passed them. Again, a mix of humans and elves, some carrying all they had left as they trekked. "We're moving out. If they catch up to us, help them however you can, otherwise get back to your unit, keep your eyes on our flanks, and make sure none of those creatures slip and catch us by surprise."
"But how can they catch up if-"
Controlled explosions detonated across the bridge, bringing the massive stone structure down.
'If we're blowing the bridge…' the words died on her lips as the river swept away the stone blocks one after another.
Noly wasn't stupid, she knew blowing the bridge would give units further in the Eversong time to regroup and citizens beyond an opportunity to evacuate before the wave of death crashed over them. They would be out of harm's way, and more Rangers could be dedicated to the battle. It all made sense.
Deep down, she knew no matter what, some people would inevitably be left behind. But it was one thing to know it in the back of your head, it was another to see it before your eyes.
To see their faces at the sight of the controlled demolition. The hopelessness creeped onto their faces as they realized what had happened, and the terror as the creatures began to swarm them.
Noly did catch up with the main group eventually, though only after her quiver ran dry from protecting the refugees on the other bank.
And when the sounds and sights became too much for her.
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
AN: the Confrontation Arc is over and the invasion is in full swing folks! Next up, the 'Defense' arc.
Mysterious woman and her deus ex machina is mysterious, angry (scared) Mom is worried, Syllia finds out that she is one step forward, two steps back, and Noly getting a first hand look at the devastation.
Also, found a picture that best sums up the governmental policy of the Convocation in regards to the Scourge.
And remember, if your a magister in doubt, blame the Amani!
Miracles of Light magic, I guess.
When I was finally able to walk without a limp, she went off to do her own 'Priestess' thing and I was ushered into some changing room where servants tore my (Verana's) ruined robes off and slipped me into something a tad more…gaudy if that was even possible.
Bright red and gold. Enough of both tones to blind passersby if the sun ever hit me. Though I suppose at this point I'm used to these sorts of colors.
Then after giving my hair more care then I think I ever gave it in my life, and getting sprayed with enough perfumes to unintentionally gas someone, I was led into the Convocation's chamber.
A vast chamber of marble stairs and various seating arrangements, some as simple as a cubical, others as grand as an luxurious opera box, all lined with polished gold railings and ornaments, cloaked beneath dozens upon dozens of royal banners.
All the footpaths and stairwells led to a single throne at the far end of the chamber. Gilded beyond belief, covered in phoenix iconography, and elevated upon a dais, it was clear as day that was the King's seat.
Though there was no King in sight, only a lone magister who stood beside the throne. The Grand Magister, head of the Convocation who would sit in for the King when he wasn't here. I couldn't help but think he looked like one of those overly colorful birds with how much jewelry and flamboyant his outfit was. Not to say that said things were probably enchanted in all manners of fun and interesting ways.
Interspersed through all of this were armored spellbreakers, their tower shields and twin blades at the ready for any unwarranted disruption. Not from outside of course. This was the single largest collection of powerful mages in all of Quel'Thalas, more than enough firepower to burn a whole city, or even a nation, to ash.
No, the spellbreakers were here to break up the magisters if they came to blows with one another.
And that burning allegory was a bit literal! If the history books are to be believed, early Convocation meetings regularly devolved into magical brawls over taxation and land disputes.
Dath'Remar himself created the first spellbreakers to put an end to such antics.
Afterall, who better to stop those sorts of things than people who are specially trained to disrupt mana flow? Add in blades crafted to slice through enchantments, thereby negating the magical armor most magisters have, and you have a very scary security detail that deters the worst actors.
Thankfully, the need for them to 'show their fangs' is a somewhat rare occurrence these days. Not because the magisters are more civil, but because nowadays magisters would rather take their issues 'outside' then duke it out in front of their peers like children.
They all act like children of course; they just don't want it to be seen publicly.
Or worse, the clout they could lose if they lost a brawl they instigated!
Far safer to conduct those sorts of things far from prying eyes.
Though I will say that security seems more present than I would have assumed. Way more spellbreakers then there ought to be, alongside more mundane security.
Not unexpected, given someone tried to sneak in and kill them all with essentially a bio weapon just an hour ago.
Not that I had a reference point to go off of, given this was my first time here.
But there were just so many voices, so much noise. Hundreds of people trying to talk over each other. Lots of hand wringing, finger pointing, shouting their throats raw.
Though that was quick to change after the doors closed behind me.
"There will be order in this chamber," a man's voice boomed as if he were shouting it right into my ear. I then saw the Grand Magister tapped his staff on the ground, with a mighty hammering echoing across the chamber akin to a supersized gavel.
I winced, whatever magic he used made it sound like the damn thing was hammering right next to my ears. Though I suppose that's the point.
He eventually succeeded in achieving some measure of silence in the chamber, though lingering whispers persisted.
"For those still unaware of what transpired earlier, I will speak plainly, the rumors you have heard are true. A member of this Convocation attempted to kill us all. -" That caused a wave of talking from among the magisters. Fear, anger, surprise, emotions ran hot. It required the Grand Magister to use his staff-gavel thing to rein them in.
"The man in question, the former Magister Dar'Khan Drathir, has been detained. His act was not an isolated one, but part of an insidious plot in service to the fallen Prince Arthas of Lordearon he-..." yet again, crowds of people talked over the Grand Magister. A number even began to scream at each other. Dar'Khan's former allies in the Convocation maybe?
Yet again, the staff-gavel came down to restore some semblance of order.
"He is being interrogated as we speak, but the full scope of his crimes, and those of his benefactor, remain a mystery," thankfully, no new interruptions this time. "But their intent is clear, the destabilization or outright destruction of this Convocation. However before the dark deed was done, one among us, who discovered this insidious plot, took action and saved not only us, but perhaps Silvermoon itself. A debt I can scarcely imagine repaying."
Oh shucks, he's going to make me blush. I straighten my posture for the inevitable limelight. Not that I wanted it of course. I was just trying to save-
"Therefore, I would like to offer my deepest thanks to the one who saved us from the twisted fate of the humans of Lordaeron. My eternal thanks, Lord Coldwater."
What!?
From the corner of my eye, I saw Verana's dad (I think?) stand up in his luxurious booth and accept the cordial applause of his peers. Despite all the pomp and praise, he held a mask of complete neutrality on his face. Betraying no actual emotion.
"I merely did what any would in my position would have done," Coldwater's voice was magically carried across the chamber, similar to the Grand Magister, to the soft applause of many in attendance. "My only regret is that this plot proceeded to such an extent that our Convocation was but the thinnest margins away from disaster."
"You are too humble. Your quick and decisive action has not only saved this Convocation, but potentially our Kingdom as well," the Grand Magister congratulated again, once more to the applause of many other Magisters.
Okay, I wasn't looking for praise, but getting written out entirely is utter bull-
"Be that as it may, I would not have been able to exercise my duty were it not for the young woman before us today," the mage gestured down to me. "For it was only after Miss Dawnguard sought out my council, that I was made aware of the danger to us."
…what?
Why would he-
"She sought out my council early this morning to alert me of the issue," I listened to him explain my plan to everyone. About how everything went according to our plan. A large plan that I started to doze off to because I was still trying to figure out why the hell he thinks this. I've never even met this guy. How could I have-
Oh….
He saw me enter his home to see Verana and assumed I was…
Hmph….
Well then.
But that still doesn't explain why he's taking so much credit for it-
Wait is he really that fucking petty he needs to make himself out to be some omnipresent-
"And when did you become aware of this conspiracy, Miss Dawnguard?" The Grand Magister finally addressed me. I felt the eyes of every magister in the room fall on me.
"I…um…." How should I word this? Do I tell the actual truth, rock the whole political boat, make out one of the most powerful people here as trying to steal my thunder? Or do I just go with the flow?
Looking up to Coldwater, he was giving me the most passive aggressive 'don't you dare' look at me that I can remember.
So come clean or dig a hole for myself.
The answer was pretty obvious even for me.
Just keep digging~
Just keep digging~
Just keep digging~
"I learned about it on good authority from a confidential source, " I channel my inner magistrix once more. "That source being?"
"I'm…. not at liberty to say who at this moment," I can only hope I look as calm as I wish I was right now. "I just knew that the information was good, and how little time I had to act on it. Suffice to say, I acted as soon as I could. Too soon if you ask Dar'Khan."
Liar, liar, pants on fire~
I looked behind me. I could have sworn I heard her- IT just a moment ago. But I saw nothing out of the ordinary behind me.
This does not bode well for my sanity.
"Miss Dawnguard?"
"Sorry, thought I heard something," I resist the urge to rub the back of my neck in a nervous tick. "But as I was saying, this source also told me how Dar'Khan's attempted attack was part of the Scourge's invasion plan of the Kingdom."
"Ah yes, the Scourge," A Magistrix spoke up this time, one from those fancy booths up top. "That is the name of the undead forces raised by that human Cult of the Damned, no?"
"Yes," I nodded, "it's the undead army lead by Arthas Menithl who's currently marching towards us to-"
"Correction," the woman raised her finger and interrupted me. "It is not an army, but a mob of shambling corpses. It's hardly a real threat in and of itself."
"...what?" Did I just hear that right?
"Quite right," another magister spoke up, again from a similarly high booth. "Lady Windrunner has assured us that her Farstriders can repel any incursion by the human and his undead host."
"Even calling it a host is generous," the Magistrix quipped. A collection of magisters below her booth clapped and laughed at her 'joke'.
"With all due respect, a 'host' can hardly destroy a kingdom," I tried to get through to them, because they can't be that dense about what's going on. Right? "If it was just a host, how do you explain the fall of Lordaeron, my lady?"
"Beyond it being a human kingdom?" the magistrix almost seemed to say the word like a slur. "They fell to deceit and betrayal. A single dagger in the correct back can lay low entire empires. This Cult's greatest strength was their secrecy, and the skullduggery they could employ. Without either, they are nothing more than a collection of necromancers. Hardly something to get too worried about."
"'Secrecy', such as releasing the Plague within these very halls?" Coldwater cut in, his calm voice was oppressive in some way I couldn't explain. "And 'skullduggery', in a manner such as using one of our own against us? Perhaps it is just me, but I would have preferred just the knife."
"Y-ou" the woman took a moment to compose herself from the verbal backhand, trying to find some way to counter him. "You would dare say a knife in our glorious-"
"A turn of phrase, my lady," Coldwater interrupted her, unamused. "Though one has to wonder why regicide was the first thing that came to your mind. Have you thought of such things often?"
These guys are really getting off track right now…
"Miss Dawnguard," a different Magister from the others, spoke up. "Despite what our colleague has said, we understand the situation at hand.
"You do?" For some reason, I felt there was a big 'but' attached to that.
"Indeed," he nodded. "And to allay your fears, let it be known that we have already decided, out of an abundance of caution, to mobilize more forces to aid the General. But," There it is! "We can only send so much. Anything more than what has already been committed, and we may not be able to adequately reinforce our forces along the Amani border in the event of an incursion."
Oh they have to be fucking with me right now…
"Why are you so surprised?" the Magister shook his head. Apparently something finally slipped through my calm persona. " It's obvious to all here that the trolls would notice any significant troop movement along the border. Taking troops away would embolden the barbaric creatures to attack all along the frontier."
"Is that really a concern right now!" I couldn't even bother to show the proper respect and decorum. Incidentally, I thought I saw one of the guards behind me look like he was ready to race over and drag me out.
"I do not deny that this incursion is a matter of some concern," the Magister elaborated, though not calming me down at all. "Nor do I believe that these monsters shouldn't be repelled as quickly as possible. However, in the grand scheme of things, they are little more than a nuisance. A flickering flame that, while bright, will burn out before long."
I looked around to all the nodding heads. Silent agreement was evident in the chamber. Only a few notable expectations, Coldwater, a magister that had the same bleached white hair as Elsia (so I guess her father or grandfather), small cliques of magisters that were seemingly aligned with them, and the Grand Magister himself.
But the vast majority have spoken. Or were at least parroting what their 'betters' believed.
And then the thought hit me.
Oh my God…
They are literally too stupid to live…
I mean, I'm pretty sure I know why they are this calm about an invasion. And I was equally sure there was only one thing I could say to light the fire that'll get them moving.
"Of course, you will be rewarded for your actions this day," the magister tried to 'cheer me up' I guess? "Lands, titles, perhaps even an audience with his Majesty-
"The runestones managing the Gatekeeper have been compromised, the Gatekeeper is now inert," my blunt statement made the entire chamber go silent. "This is from the same source that told me of Dar'Khan's treason before anyone else here knew it,"
First, the silence crept on for several seconds.
The magisters who seemed to have the most sway, those in the booths, just looked at each other in silent dumbfoundment. If they believed me or not, I couldn't say. Maybe what I said was so crazy they just had no words for it? Or maybe they were waiting for one of their own to make a comment on the issue.
But bereft of a 'guiding hand', the remainder of the chamber, the yes men and the sycophants, simply became noise.
It seemed like everyone finally had an opinion they wanted to share. Each magister trying to speak over the other. I can only assume they were parroting what their 'leader's' would say, or at least what they thought they would say.
But it was just so damn loud!
Yet while I covered my ears to spare my eardrums, and the magisters all argued to such an extent I couldn't even make out what they were arguing about, I noticed something odd.
A woman, as if appearing out of nowhere, approached the dais where the Grand Magister stood. Clad in light armor, she didn't look like any of the magisters or guards here, her attire far too muted to be 'fashionable' by Convocation standards. Flamboyant sure, but hardly gaudy.
But how come it was only now I was seeing her? That very outfit would have made her stand out by virtue of not being some overly dressed peacock.
But she walked right past the guards as if she were invisible. You'd think there'd be some sort of reaction to a woman armed with a sword approaching the person right below the King in authority just after a failed assassination attempt.
She clearly wasn't invisible, even if the guards did not react to her, since the old elf immediately acknowledged her presence and leaned in to hear her say something. Strangely, no one else seemed to even look in the pair's direction.
Whatever she said to him made him frown, then nod and point towards something off to the side.
Seemingly thanking him, the woman marched off stage left. But before getting out of sight, she turned and looked right at me.
Blazing cerulean that peered into me, as if it were stripping away all my bravado to see who I really was. It honestly sent a shiver down my spine. Squinting to get a better look at the woman myself, not only did I find she wasn't that old, but I made out the faintest inkling of a sad smile before she walked behind the curtains.
Who was that?
I had little time to dwell on it, since I felt a hand tap on my shoulder.
"Excuse me, your excellence," it was one of the spellblades. "We've been instructed to escort you out."
"Instructed!?" Who would ask them to-
I then just noticed how the Grand Magister was now staring me down, his stern expression boring itself into me.
Ah…
Yes.
--
--
The door to the chamber closed behind me as I heard the faint staff-gavel come down once more to try and restore order.
The whole thing left me with a single thought.
Holy shit…
Conspiracy to kill every magister in attendance right now to aid in an invasion? Mildly annoying apparently…
Potential Amani invasion from pulling off some forces from the border? That's apparently the important issue!
Okay, think of the positives! What did all that accomplish?
Convocation, saved.
Dar'Khan, imprisoned.
And… that's about it.
It was kind of like they were just miffed that the undead were running amok and not going through some massive invasion.
I mean I get the reason why they are so calm, it's because they think that magical Gatekeeper will keep out the Scourge. The Kingdom might burn, but its beating heart, Silvermoon, would endure. Until the dead slinked away out of frustration of trying to take the city or being beaten back.
Either way, 'victory' was assured. In their eyes at least.
But… maybe I'm the paranoid one here.
Maybe stopping Dar'Khan so soon kept him from damaging the runestones?
Besides, I have no way of finding them anyway. They were hidden after all. And unlike last time, I don't want to be making any faustian pacts to get my info.
Maybe I should just…hope for the best-
"Catch!"
A small thing hit my arm moments after someone called out to me. A woman, as far as the voice went, but when I turned to see who was talking, they were gone. All that was left was the crumpled up thing by my feet.
That was weird.
It was wrapped in a bit of paper. Uncrumpling it, I found both a shiny stone with some strange symbol on it, and a note on the inside of the wrapping itself.
'Use this to find the runestones. Push mana into it. Follow the feeling.'
The hell?
Looking over my shoulder one last time to see if anyone was there, I sighed and decided 'what the hell' and pushed some mana into the unassuming rock.
And I immediately felt something.
It felt like what I'd assume a sonar would be like, feeling a 'ping' racing back to you from a pulse of energy. I felt three of these 'pings', each was some distance from Silvermoon, but not so far that I couldn't reach them.
It all felt…instinctual.
I looked at the note again: 'Use this to find the runestones. Follow the feeling.'
Okay, this is beyond creepy. Wait, my mind turned back to that incident in the library so many years ago, when my ability to perceive the world was altered by a certain force.
Voices coming from nowhere…
Like a few minutes ago.
All I needed now was this rock to be imaginary to fit the script.
Thankfully a servant was walking by.
"Excuse me, did you see whoever threw this at me?" I showed him the stone and paper, silently hoping this wasn't just in my head.
He looked at the paper and rock, squinted to examine their details, confirming it was actually there, then shook his head. "I am afraid not, your excellence. Shall I inform the guard to search for this individual."
"No, it's fine," it was more than enough to know that this wasn't some Void bullshit. But that still left more than enough questions open. Like who was that? Was it the woman I saw with the Grand Magister? Someone else? Bronze dragon trying to change the timeline with me? Twilight dragon doing the same thing, but because it'll make everything worse? The Void because 'reasons'?
One thing at a time I suppose.
Though I suppose if I was given this, it might mean that one of the runestones is still good? That I might need to save it?
"As you say, your excellence," the servant, gave a curt bow. "Is there anything else I could do for you?"
"If you could find me some light armor and a sword, that would be great, these robes are impossible to move in," I grumble, looking at the clownish robes I still had on.
"Of course, your excellence, this way," another bow, he turned and gestured for me to follow him.
I stared blankly at him.
Huh..
--
--
"How does it feel, your excellence?"
"Um…different from what I'm used to," I hadn't expected the guy to actually lead me to some storeroom filled with armor and weapons. Not that I was complaining.
"I can only apologize that our stock has been found wanting," again with the self depreciation. Gotta wonder how badly these guys are treated.
"No, no, no, I didn't mean it like that," trying to get the guy to ease up a little. "It's different in the…different way. I don't mean that it's bad or anything."
Ah yes, 'different' in the 'different' way. How eloquent!
Though I was being honest, this stuff was just different from what I was used to. While more practical than before, it was still far too flashy and expensive compared to anything I usually worked with. The armor even hummed a bit to my magical senses. This stuff was way better than anything I was given at the Academy.
Lighter armor, sharper sword, all enchanted to weigh less. Why, it feels like I was just wearing some light clothes and not armor at all!
Though I do wish it was a tad less…red and gold. But in Quel'Thalas I guess that concept was heretical.
Bah, the colors were unimportant.
I had my personal 'quest', check the ward stones. By using the strange stone some random person literally threw at me to do so.
Either there is someone with way too much faith in me here, or there is something else going on here. While I'll hardly say no to help at this point, these circumstances are very… fortuitous for me.
Eh… something to think about when my home isn't on the frontlines of a zombie apocalypse.
But before that, there was something I had to do.
--
--
My pre-mission diversion took me to one of the Silvermoon's seedier quarters. Filled with brothels and all other explicit locales for people to 'enjoy' themselves. I raced to the one I knew quite well, though hardly for the reasons one would assume.
At the entrance of the one I was heading to, shoving past all the people lined up to get in, getting a few curses sent my way as I ran into a very well-endowed elven woman at the door.
"Hey now, need to shove, we have plenty of room for everyone~" Her form fitting dress left nothing to the imagination. She did some eye fluttery thing and stretched out her body in that sort of way that emphasized certain parts of herself as I approached. "So, how can we give you - Syllia!? What are you doing here?"
"I'm sorry Aunty Kaden, but I need to know where Mom is," I quickly blurted out, tapping my foot in a nervous tick. I'm surprised it took her that long to realize who I was. Then again, I normally don't wear armor around her.
"Sweetie, aren't you supposed to be in class right now?" Auntie Kaden shared the same fiery red hair of her daughter, though from what Noly told me her father also had red hair. "And what's with that armor? Is something happening? Are you in trouble-"
"I'm sorry Auntie, but I need to see Mom, it's urgent," It would take too long to explain who Scourge 'invasion' thing. Would also probably spark a panic from the other patrons I barreled through.
Auntie Kaden frowned, looking like she wanted to question me a bit more, but she sighed when she noticed how urgent I was. "Last door to the right, past the statues. But Syllia, please dear, what is all this-"
"I'll tell you later," I quickly excuse myself as I slip past her into the brothel.
If I could describe this place in one word it would be 'loose'.
While the waitresses wore revealing dresses that exposed vast tracts of skin, the proper 'working women' themselves went around with barely anything, or if they did wear something more covering it only showed themselves off even more. I averted my eyes from several ongoing 'scenes' hidden by the sheerest of curtains, assuming they bothered not to do it in the main lobby area. Add in the 'tasteful' statues and busts, in both senses of the word, a far cry from Siritra's establishment, but hardly comparable to the straight laced Academy ground I usually frequented.
I was also certain they pumped aphrodisiacs into the air to help clients and workers get 'into the mood'. Probably a low amount, since I certainly wasn't feeling anything despite how much I was trying to catch my breath from the earlier running.
Then again I was trying to prevent my mom from dying, while also dealing with the potential death of most of my race. All while the clock was ticking with the invasion of the Kingdom. No surprise that this state of mind helped keep my libido firmly in check.
Almost everyone here, patron and worker alike, did give me a quick glance as I barreled towards the back. Either because they knew who I was or because they were curious why a fully armed and armored woman was basically running through the building.
When I reached Mom's room (booth?) I steeled myself for the sight within.
Acknowledging Mom's beauty and opening this door to whatever sight would greet me were two very different things.
But just as I was about to knock, I heard movement within.
"Syllia?" Mom questioned aloud from the other side. Probably recognized my footsteps with her dog hearing, she did the same at home all the time.
"Yeah, it's me," I answer, looking around the room awkwardly. "Are you…okay for me to open the door or do you need-"
She opened it before I even finished the question. I'll be honest and say I expected to see Mom in a similar state to Auntie Kaden, and by extension the other women here, but she looked more like a bouncer than a prostitute. Form fitting leather armor sure, but hardly the skimpiest thing here.
Then again, I guess there are people who are into that sort of thing…
"What are you doing here?" She questioned, frowning as she noticed how armed I was.
"You need to get out of Silvermoon now," I didn't mince my words, though I did my best to speak as low as possible. "Take as many of the mana potions at home that you can carry and run."
"I'm sorry?" she raised an eyebrow, confusion clear on her face.
"The city is about to be attacked," I decided I might as well come out and say it. "The runestones that control the Gatekeeper are compromised, and the undead are tearing through our forces." I was afraid I would have to explain the whole Plague of Undeath thing, but thankfully Mom was always caught up with current events outside of Quel'Thalas.
"So quickly?" I heard her whisper to herself. "But that… but it's still in the human lands last I-"
"I just stopped a plot by a cultist to release the Plague in the middle of the Convocation's chamber while they were in session," she paled at that. Even she realized just how dire things were if something like that could happen.
"I don't- Wait. What do you mean you were the one who stopped-"
"That's not important now," I did my best to sidestep the whole fake magistrix thing and grabbed her arm, almost pulling her out of her room. "Look, the army is being sent in force now, but I don't think it'll be enough. So I want you to go home, pack as many mana potions as you can, and run.
"I get running, but why do you want me to take the mana potions, I'm not a mage."
"Because their target is the Sunwell," as we were walking out, I was keenly aware of many ears now tuning into our conversation. "If they reach the Well, which they very well might, given how unprepared we are, they will defile it and strip its power from us. Which means we, all of us, will go through a horrific withdrawal as the plentiful mana around us is gone. Those potions might very well be the things that keep you going if that happens."
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little," while she questioned me, she didn't do anything to stop me from pulling her behind me.
"It's not when this is being discussed in the Convocation," a lie, they were probably talking about how the Plague was actually the work of the Amani given what I had to endure earlier. "It is that serious."
Mom didn't say anything as I seemingly dragged her out to the street, getting some crude whistles and words sent our way by those trying to get in. A quick fireball to the ground near them was enough to make that issue scatter in every direction.
"Syllia!" Auntie Kaden called out from my display. "You can't just go around throwing fireballs everywhere, it's dangerous!"
"Go inside Kaden," Mom told the greeter, "I need a moment with my daughter."
The red head looked at the two of us, then nodded and went inside to leave us alone.
Now that I think about it, I don't actually recall Mom ever saying what her position at that place actually was…
"Now what does all this talk of invasion and Sunwell defilement have to do with you?" Mom questioned.
"I'm the one who brought evidence of a conspiracy to kill the Convocation to light," I explained. "Now I need to go make sure the guy I busted didn't do anything to the runestones that maintain the Gatekeeper. Even though Silvermoon isn't their target, they still have to go through it and the Gatekeeper to reach the Quel'Delar and the Sunwell. I came to tell you all this before I head out and-"
"No," before I even realized it, Mom slipped her hand out of my grasp and grabbed my wrist.
"No?" Didn't she understand what was at stake? I tired to get myself free of her grip, but she held on no matter how much I pulled or tugged.
"If things are as bad as you say they are, you are not throwing yourself into it," there was a steel in Mom's voice that I don't think I've ever heard before.
"If I don't do something, then who will!"
"So you think you're some hero!?" I've never seen Mom snap like that at me, made my blood run cold for a moment. She's never used that sort of tone with me before. "Let me tell you something. For every person that saves the day and becomes the hero, another hundred lie in unmarked graves when they failed the same quest. And I can promise you that each of those hundred thought they were going to be the heroes. And look where it got them."
"That's a depressing way to look at the world," I couldn't help but quip back. I know Mom had a hard life before I 'showed up', but this kind of cynicism isn't usually found in someone so young (by elven standards).
"Being depressing is being realistic," her grip held firm, tighter even at my continued attempts to break out of her hold.
"What happened to you saying I could go and do whatever I set out to do?"
"Nonsense we parents tell our kids," Mom outright said the quiet part out loud. "Because it's better than telling them how awful the world is. Of telling them they can only do so much because of who they are, what class they were born into, or genuine talent they don't have to achieve what they say they want.
"By that logic, no one would do anything!?" Couldn't she see this was bigger than any one of us? I had no intention of dying (again), but I just can't sit on the fence to let the original canon of events play out. Not when I might be able to do some bit of good.
"I have no doubt there will be a thousand other heroes ready to take your place, and a few might actually live to see the next day. But you will not be one of them." she looked me dead in the eyes. "Now, we are going to go back inside, get my things, head home, get your things, and find a boat to get us out of here."
"You mean leave everyone to die?"
"Not everyone, just most," she countered, her sharp tone still held, but her expression softened a bit, "but I refuse to let you throw your life away."
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. This is bigger than just me, or you," as much as it made me feel sick, I knew what I had to do. I sent a charge of arcane energy through myself. This was no love tap that I would use on her in training.
The result was Mom hissing in shock, letting my wrist go and checking her reddened hands. She looked at me in surprise.
Finally free of her grip myself free of her grip with the help of some magic, I took a few steps back. "I'm sorry. I'll make this up to you, I swear. Just remember what I said about the mana potions."
"Syllia, don't you dare-"
I teleported away before she even finished her sentence. The last expression I saw on her face wasn't one of anger, but fear.
--
--
Teleporting and blinking, I was out of the city in no time.
On my way out, I spied a line of refugees already crossing into the city. Whether they were fleeing the oncoming Scourge, or fleeing in anticipation of the Scourge I couldn't tell. Along the way I saw scores of wagons left by the roadside, ditched so its former owners could move more swiftly.
I had to hurry.
Thanks to Blink, I was able to cover far more ground than normally. It wasnt that I didn't use it for that purpose before, but there was a bit more urgency in moving this time around. Not just to see how far I could go in one burst, but actually putting all I knew to the test.
Though I still needed to know where I was going.
Whatever this stone was given me was, it was still giving me a 'sixth sense' as to where the runestones were.
The closest one that I could 'feel' was about an hour of blinking and teleporting, followed by several bouts of running to let my mana recover, from the city.
And I did find a runestone, nestled away in some obscure grove concealed by powerful magic. There was even some sort of illusion that kept trying to get me to actually 'ignore' the runestone as if it didn't exist. If I didn't have the stone to tell me otherwise, I'd surely not given this place a second look. It honestly just looked like a big rock with some runes carved into it.
Surprisingly, there were guards everywhere around the stone. Proving that no, the Convocation wasn't that stupid and did take some precautions.
Sadly, they were all dead.
Some looked like they had their throats slit, the others seemed as if they were torn apart by wild animals.
Or undead…
Only when I reached the actual stone did I realize it was surrounded.
The guttural growling of undead was everywhere. When they emerged from the brush they were hunched over, almost crawling, towards me. Balding heads, flaking skin, tracks of exposed bone, they were beyond ghoulish.
They were this far into the kingdom? But didn't the invasion just start? Or was this some advanced party that slipped through before the actual attack, or even a present from Darth Vadar Khan to Arthas?
They appeared more beast than…whatever it was they once were. Probably humans, since the Scourge did start in Lordaeron, though a few did have pointed ears and the remains of long eyebrows…
Without hesitation they charged me as a pack, screeching as razor sharp claws primed to skewer me in so many little pieces.
Despite my own fear, and disgust at the sight of them, instinct drove me forward. Without even realizing it, I thrust my blade right through the first one's head, sending an arcane bolt to blow apart the second. Not missing a beat, I pulled my ichor stained sword out of the ghoul and swung at the next pair.
A clean decapitation on one, with a slash across the torso of the next.
It still amazed me how easy all this was to me…
But like before, I suppose these ghouls were too far gone for me to anthropomorphize some, for a lack of better words, 'humanity' into them. I felt nothing from seeing these things, monsters.
At best, I felt sorry for what befell them before they became this, but that was hardly going to keep me from defending myself.
Seeing them about to swarm me as a pack, I quickly blinked into the air to avoid their sets of razor claws. Mid air, I sent a stream of fire down upon them, bathing the entire area around the runestone in fire. The screeches and cries they let out as they burned away were almost as nerve-racking as the growling and snarling from before.
Though on the positive side, not only was I incinerating the ghouls, but I was also ensuring the fallen wouldn't be raised to join the Scourge's ranks. That was a fate I wouldn't wish upon anyone.
I 'dispelled' as much fire as I could before I came down, doing my best to magically cancel out any inertia I had before landing.
A dozen crispy husks littered around me, leaving only one left 'alive'.
Undead?
It charged in a rabid fashion, though I guess that's no different from the others. Blinking backwards several times to avoid its reach, I looked around to make sure if this was the last one in the area. I didn't want to be caught unawares yet again.
Certain that no other ghouls were nearby, I moved in for the 'kill'.
Blinking right in front of the creature, I bisected it in a single swing.
Yet even bereft of everything below the torso, thrown some distance from me by the sheer inertia of its own previous charge, it just turned around and started crawling towards me. Black blood oozed from its wounds as it dragged what was left of it as if it wasn't missing half its body.
Blinking one last time, I pushed my boot between its shoulder blades and drove my sword into the back of its skull.
I rested against the runestone to 'admire' my work. Or admire what I could do.
Only as I caught my breath did I realize the stone was dead. No magic in it, only whatever magic was in the area that let me find it.
And my heart sank.
--
--
Death had come to the Land of Eternal Spring.
It crossed the border the previous night, hordes of corpses, monsters, and necromancers defiling and desecrating everything in their path.
The lone necromancer was hardly unheard of, but an army? This was not something they prepared for. Or at least, never to this scale. And as it would turn out, such a force is an almost perfect counter to the Farstrider's usual tactics.
Orcs can be outmaneuvered.
Trolls can be beaten back.
Humans can be frightened into fleeing.
But the dead?
There were no supply lines to cut, the dead did not require such things.
There was no moral to break, the dead had no fear to prey on.
There was never a time they stopped to rest, for the dead needed neither sleep nor food.
Sure, ranger units had tried targeting the necromancers animating and directing the undead, but there were simply too many of them. Kill one necromancer, and his twenty comrades will not only be ready to take his place but also add him to the undead horde.
It was a foe unlike anything Noly had trained for. That anyone had trained for.
But Noly quickly learned there was something far worse than a foe you couldn't fight…
"Recruit, we need to move!"
"There's still people down there!" Noly yelled back, never taking her eyes off the lines of refugees running their way. Mostly humans from the refugee camps, but many elves ran alongside them. They were desperately racing towards the lone bridge Noly and her group were set to guard at what were in the day the rear lines.
Though she supposed it was now the frontline.
"Recruit that wasn't a request!"
"We can't just leave them!" In normal circumstances, she would never have had the backbone to talk back to her superior. But her moral compass gave her all the fire she needed. "We have a duty to protect the people!"
They had been evacuating people since before dawn. So many Farstriders laid down their lives to buy precious minutes for the refugees to escape. Each minute allowed a dozen more to escape. Each life was paid for in blood.
She even heard that General Windrunner herself fought the leader of the undead, that human prince, to a standstill, buying even more time for the people to escape. But not long ago, word came in that she was driven back herself. She was still alive, thank goodness, priests hastily seeing to her wounds. Noly could only imagine what would happen if she fell.
But now new orders had been hastily sent down the chain as a new defensive line was being set up many miles away.
Two orders specifically came to her unit.
Retreat and Scorch Earth.
"Not when saving them will put the hundreds already behind our line at jeopardy," the officer grabbed Noly by the shoulder and pointed to the throngs of people streaming up the hills that had already passed them. Again, a mix of humans and elves, some carrying all they had left as they trekked. "We're moving out. If they catch up to us, help them however you can, otherwise get back to your unit, keep your eyes on our flanks, and make sure none of those creatures slip and catch us by surprise."
"But how can they catch up if-"
Controlled explosions detonated across the bridge, bringing the massive stone structure down.
'If we're blowing the bridge…' the words died on her lips as the river swept away the stone blocks one after another.
Noly wasn't stupid, she knew blowing the bridge would give units further in the Eversong time to regroup and citizens beyond an opportunity to evacuate before the wave of death crashed over them. They would be out of harm's way, and more Rangers could be dedicated to the battle. It all made sense.
Deep down, she knew no matter what, some people would inevitably be left behind. But it was one thing to know it in the back of your head, it was another to see it before your eyes.
To see their faces at the sight of the controlled demolition. The hopelessness creeped onto their faces as they realized what had happened, and the terror as the creatures began to swarm them.
Noly did catch up with the main group eventually, though only after her quiver ran dry from protecting the refugees on the other bank.
And when the sounds and sights became too much for her.
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AN: the Confrontation Arc is over and the invasion is in full swing folks! Next up, the 'Defense' arc.
Mysterious woman and her deus ex machina is mysterious, angry (scared) Mom is worried, Syllia finds out that she is one step forward, two steps back, and Noly getting a first hand look at the devastation.
Also, found a picture that best sums up the governmental policy of the Convocation in regards to the Scourge.
And remember, if your a magister in doubt, blame the Amani!
