RP Story

The soldiers were spread out in a stagared line, Cania leading, archers following.
"The undead are near Cania."
The Souds of battle were indeed much nearer, they could clearly hear the screams of the dying.
"Above us!"
A gargoyle dropped from the tree above the troops, at Cania. It had 4 arrows in its chest before it even hit the ground. Cania dropped Tael and drew her blades. she made quick work of the undead , recovered her weapon, and kept moving.
They approached the edge of the forest when Cania gave the signal to wait. She moved ahead of the group to scout the battle.
Cania came into view of the battle and crouched down.
"They wont hold out much longer Cania."
"Thank you for stating the obvious Tael"
The battle was indeed not going well for the defenders. Their defenses looked as if they were wavering.
"That elf, Cania, she has a tremendus aura of power..."
When Cania's attention was drawn to Firessa she was just being headbutted by the ghoul. Cania saw the abomination approaching Firessa from behind.
"... and she needs help!!"
Cania wasted no time, she activated her speed enchantment, sending out a burst of energy that she did not notice but others did, and drew her bow, fitted an arrow and activated an immolation enchantment from Tael. Liquid fire seemed to drip off the arrow.
She released, and had two more arrows in the air before the first reached its target, all heading to the abomination.
The soldiers in the woods see Cania's arrows and charge into battle.


OCC:There, hows that.
The arrows she shot act similar to napalm, and explode before they hit their target, the flames only burn thir intended target, or targets, depending on who she wants to hit.

Now Arching_Blades, if you could takeover, or someone else if you dont want to, thats fine.

Firessa heard the whiff of an arrow as she brought her arms up. She did not dare open her eyes for fear of seeing the bat crush her. No arrow could kill such an abomination of the undead. A river of blood was flowing out of her arm, droplets falling from it more than occasionally. A small explosion occurred. The next thing she knew was a terrible shriek being screamed above all sounds of war.
Her eyes fluttered open to see a blazing giant, ready to fall like a chopped trunk over her. She jumped out of the way swiftly just as two arrows came and exploded into raging flames. Picking up her katana, she watched the giant slump down. In the hills ahead of her, she spotted a strike force, coming directly into the side flank of the undead troops. One of them was almost a shadow to her in the moonlight and some others took on resemblance towards the one her eyes were drawn to. She understood the meaning immediately though. That shadow was a night elf, one of her kind. It seemed so long since she saw one of her kin through the memories of battle.
She suddenly felt weak. The blood coming through her arm had not stopped yet. It was draining out her energies.
Quick… I need a potion…
She reached for her sash. But her hand was grabbing vacuum. Where did her sash go? A skeleton lunged at her aimlessly but swiftly colliding into her. Air was cut from her lungs as she backpedaled. The skeleton did not seem to give up on her though. She tried to shake it off when she realized her katana had been driven through the main bone of its body, cutting off the necromantic energies.
Firessa whirled around as another painful headache overtook her mind. Her vision blurred once more. In seconds, she was moved about like troubled water. Her knees buckled, her falling onto them. The last bit of consciousness was stolen from her as her headache gave her another hard blow. She felt arms being wrapped around her as she fell. Then blackness...

"Nice. That was a good shot."
Cania let a small smile come to her face as she watched her arrows take the abomination down. Her soldiers came out of the woods charging the undead fearlessly. She heared the sound of the archers behind her fireing into the undead forces infront of the soldiers.
The abom had just hit the ground when Cania looked at the night elf she had just saved, she was looking back in her direction.
Cania immediatly drew her bow when she saw the skeleton moving in on Firessa, who was reaching for her sash.
"Dont fire Cania, it wont reach in time"
The skeleton ramed into Firessa at that moment.
She growled softly, and started charging the battle, picking a new target and releasing. She was worried when she lost sight of the night elf.
Cania had emptied half her quiver on her way down the hill, switching between Tael's multiple magic arrow types. Freezing the undead in front of her strike force, burning whole groups of them near the defenders nearby. She used Teal's wind enchantments to knock many aboms off their feet and a few gargoyles coming from the forests nearby out of the air. All the while looking for the other night elf.
When she was just behind her strike force she reached back and found that she had used all her arrows.
"Sorry Tael, im out of arrows." Cania quickly put Tael back in her carryer on her back.
"But you never used the lightning arrow enchantment, thats my best one."
Cania put her hands on her scimitars and ran in the direction of the nearest undead. When she was in range she drew her blades, and removed the ghoul's head from its sholders in the same motion. She kept running past the falling corpse at a crypt feind. It saw her coming and turned its attention to her. She deflected its attack, and went into a slide to place her underneith the feind. It reache down for her but missed. Cania drove her blades into it's thorax, cutting two three foot cuts into the feind, mortally wounding it. she released her blades and finished her slide. She quickly got up, finished the feind off with her clawed gauntlet, and retreaved her blades.
"Tael, can you find that night elf!?" Cania asked as she grasped her Amulet to try and find the aura that Tael saw before.
"I will try." Is all Teal replied.
Cania spent a few moments searching the area around her for a powerful aura. She saw it heading away from the battle.
"That way!" Cania thought to herself, and Tael said.
She began running in the direction Tael was showing her. She ignored any undead who brought their attention to her, she felt she was needed more by the other night elf than by the defenders. One of Cania's knights tried to follow, but was distracted by a half burnt abom.
"I feel the taint of a lich in this forest." Tael said the word with the sound of pure hatred in her mental voice.
As soon as Cania entered the woods she was beset by a pair of necros, and their skeleton warriors. Cania easily remover her obsticle in less than five min. and moved on with no other opposition, she had sustained only minor cuts. Cania could hear chanting as well as the crackling voice of a lich, and sometimes the soft, weak voice of the injured elf.
"In that clearing, Cania, they are both there!!" Tael's voice sounded almost hungry, it scared Cania a little as the approached the clearing silently.
She could see the night elf spread out on the makeshift wooden alter, her armor stripped to make the dagger's job easier, and to make her discise convencing by leaving the armor unblemished. The Lich was doing the final preparations on the dagger and lifting it above the night elf. Cania only hopped her last speed enchantment was enough...


OCC: There Arching Blades, can you work from that. After this i will only write in the story periodically.

Thenaius blinked, stopping in the middle of the incantations being set up and nearly destroying the whole process as he saw Firessa get struck. He stared, unbelieving, as she started to fall, and felt something welling up inside him. It boiled over with a scream of fury as the undead clutched at her. The scream burst with magic energy, drowning out the sounds of battle around him as he began casting an entirely different spell.

The night elf running towards the was forced into a sudden stop that nearly tipped her over in her effort to avoid the searing lightning bolt that sprung from the wizard. Like an animate snake, it struck through the undead, and struck again, and again, until they were pushed back. It chased them across the battlefield, blasting the slow or distracted ones into fine black powder and charred meat. Soon, the entire front line of the Scourge was destroyed, and the rest in disorder.

Before it could finish, however, the beast stopped, screaming in frustration as it flickered twice, then disappeared into the air. Thenaius fell forward into the dirt, unconsious from the effort. The dead marched forward once again.

And now, the spells that would send the army home were falling apart without the mage to organize them.

Then, a shadowy figure appeared. "Reckless little youth," Keltharose muttered, snatching hold of the spells and putting them back into order with an unnatural speed. A blue glow surrounded the living, followed by a low, buzzing hmmm. The battlefield around them faded away, replacing by the entrance gates to the city of Raignaton.

They were back; they were safe.

_________________________________________________________________

Siroff knew something was wrong already - skilled or not, Karazai would not allow herself to be left out of the fight, and he had failed to see her throughout the encounter.

We'll just have to find her, then. Leaping over his remaining foes, Siroff sprinted to the last person to see her - Firessa. The troops behind him faltered, seeing their leader leave - but then, the hum began.

Siroff called out Firessa, and thought he saw her once, but to no avail. Instead, he found another elf - an archer, by the looks of it - running into the forest recklessly. I don't think that's the best method for suicide, miss - you tend to get back up afterwords. Still, maybe her friend had gotten lost in the woods, or trapped - he'd have to help.

Siroff started following, changing into a night elf guise to help keep the girl from spooking. So intent was the archer that she never saw the form behind her, never noticed the foes who suddenly disappeared, never to haunt her again. Instead, she drove on, Siroff close in tail.

When he found the source of her hunt, he almost called out. Instead, he sent word to a friend, and readied - suddenly, he knew the army was gone, and this was his one chance to help these two escape - already, the undead were surrounding the clearing.

"DRAGONS!!!" he shouted loudly, catching everyone off guard. While they started, he grabbed Cania by the scruff of the neck and drug her towards the two in the clearing. He gasped as a hidden dagger stabbed through his arm, but continued his weighted charge.

The lich sigh dramatically and braced himself against the attack - only to watch in surprise as Siroff barreled into Firessa, instead. "Now!" Siroff yelled, and all three vanish.

Vran'ish growled, though in truth he was scared; this was the third time he had failed to capture any of the group, and Goerth would not be pleased with him. "Hunt the woods!" he cried, "They cannot escape so easily!"

_________________________________________________________________

Cania kicked the night elf off of her, growling as he lept back onto his feet. Only . . . now he was a human. What was going on?

"Sorry about that, miss . . . couldn't let both of you die, there. Is Firessa okay?"

Cania started to say something, but suddenly realized he was talking to someone else as a voice rumbled through her mind. She will be.

Spinning around, she stared into the maw of a huge green dragon. Shocked, for a moment she could do little but stare stupidly as it spoke again.

You already know my nature, little elf. Siroff is an . . . associate of mine. Call me Speckles, for now - it's such a pretty name.

And by the way, welcome to the Emerald Dream. Stay close, or I cannot guarentee my protection.

OCC:That wasnt quite what i had in mind, but it may work better.

As Cania snapped out of her surprise she asked, "The Emerald Dream?.....Speckles?.." then she remembered who she had tried to help. "..The other nightelf!!"
Cania rushed over to where Firessa was sitting and began tending to her still open wounds, removing some cloth bandages, and healing salve from the pouch hanging at her side.
She took a side glance at the human who had gotten them out of the clearing. He looked a little angry that she had not thanked her.
Cania was ignoring the intensed exaustion, and the burning in her sholder from the demon's mark that comes from the exaustion, from her using her amulet too much.



OCC:Did i get Siroff's reaction to Cania ignoring him, for the moment, right?
Id rather not write a conversation between multiple caracters, i most likely will get their personalities or reactions wrong.

Hear hear!

I'll add on what's happened since the fighting started.

We went in, we fought. In the midst of this, something strange has happened to Tosso's guy, but only he has noticed. Keltharose and Cania have appeared, and just as victory seemed certain, another legion of Scourge appeared on their flanks. Firessa was plagued by the spirit of Azshara, and underwent a transformation. Karazai is kidnapped in the midst of battle. Finally the main army is teleported back before the city of Raignaton, while Siroff, Firessa, and Cania are rescued by "Speckles" the dragon to the Emerald Dream.

I'll add on what's happened since the fighting started.

We went in, we fought. In the midst of this, something strange has happened to Tosso's guy, but only he has noticed. Keltharose and Cania have appeared, and just as victory seemed certain, another legion of Scourge appeared on their flanks. Firessa was plagued by the spirit of Azshara, and underwent a transformation. Karazai is kidnapped in the midst of battle. Finally the main army is teleported back before the city of Raignaton, while Siroff, Firessa, and Cania are rescued by "Speckles" the dragon to the Emerald Dream.

EDIT: Quiet . . . a little too quiet. I'll add something this week, assuming nothing unexpected comes up.

Ill add something about Cania's Demon persuers soon. I just hope i dont have too much homewook from the teacher in my school who supposedly gives the most.

The demon lord approached the castle of the Queen of Demons. His second in command, a demoness, and cheif of assasins, a Tien'Ralin (shadow dancers as they are called by other demons, they are better at using shadows than the majority of night elves, they appear to be shadows even when moving, and you can tell nothing about their appearences, or gender, by looking at them, nor when they speak.) were walking behind him.
Anub'Kilan, the demon lord, belived that the Queen was calling him to hunt down the mortal who carried the amulet she was searching, he knew it was the only thing that challenged her power.
The three demons passed through the main doors to the castle, and were met by another Tien'Ralin. "The Queen has ordered me to take you to her. Come this way demon lord." With that, the assasin moved to an even larger door at the back of the entrence hall, it looked as if an ancient Dragon could easily fit through it. A succubus was devouring a slave creature, a night elf, in front of the door. As the group approached, their guide gestured and the succubus flew away, glaring at the group.
"Clean that mess up Takilarae"
"Yes my lord", the demoness sounded hungry, she had not eaten in a while. the tenticles on her back wraped around the corpse and lifted it behind her back, already begining to devoure the flesh.
They entered the queen's throne room. She was sitting in her throne, her tenticles spread on the bloody floor around her. she was watching something in the pool of black water beside the raised area where she sat, one of her tenticles was in the liquid. She was looking at the battle feild where the undead were feeding on or raiseing the corpses of the mortal defenders.
She lifted her tenticle and the image dissapeared.
"That, demon lord, is where you will start your hunt for the mortal, Cania, who has the amulet. It will be you three, one of my scorcerers, and his succubi. you will also take this Night Elf behind me."
A Night Elf came out of the shadows behind the throne and stopped beside the throne, avoiding the tenticles.
"He will be able to distract this Cania long enough for you to capure her, un harmed. Bring me her companions too. You can do with them what you want, as long as they are alive when I get them.....You may speak now."
"I will do as you wish, mistress." The lords eyes met the queen's red orbs and he was filled with overwhelming fear.
"You may leave Demon lord."
"Yes misstress."
They bowed, then turned and left the room as the queen dipped her tenticle in the pool again, and pulled up images of the two night elves. She stared at the one with the aura of power that is greater than many of her scorcerers.
"Your spirit, and power will be mine when i devour your body little night elf."

OOC: Finally some time to reply! I had got much HW these few days and I think I'll get more soon, but... on with the story!

The black dressed man shifted his position. A frown came upon him as he gazed blankly at Kar. She knew he was not really looking at her, rather searching his mind or something, but she still found it irritating.
"Your friends have left..." He said suddenly.
"So what? That's what they were supposed to do," Kar replied casually. Actually she was disappointed the others had apparently not noticed her gone. But she had to keep a straight face...
"They are..." He began, as if weighing on his words, "Separated..."
Kar shrugged, "A little group is surely coming for me..."
"They are injured and tired. But three of them are in the Emerald Dream!" The man almost cried.
"The what?!"
"Never mind... We must try to get to Raignatan. I must talk to that wizard." He said before turning away, handing her weapons to her.
Kar stared at him dumbfounded. Why was he giving the weapons back to her?
"You're coming or not?" He asked.
"I'll come..." Kar said slowly. She took the weapons. The stranger began going up the stairs of the dungeon-like room. Kar stared blankly at her weapons for a moment, then, she started up the stairs to follow that intriguing stranger.

***

"WHAT THE--" A roar echoed in the empty corridors, decorated by single torches along the walls. Tir paced angrily back and forth near his study. He was frustrated. Something strange was happening. How can he still be alive? How can he ever be?!"
He had summoned Helisius to him as soon as he got hold of the frustrating news. A knock on the door.
"Enter, Helisius!" Tir spat.
Helisius entered, fear on his face. He probably already knew. That'd make sense. He'd find out at the same time as me, if not sooner...
"Y-y-yes, m-m-mas-t-ter?" Helisius trembled so much Tir could hear the rattling of his bones. Pitiful wretch that he is! He fears me even with his powers...
"Have you heard?"
"Yes, sometime after you summoned me..." He replied. He knew exactly what Tir felt and already knew the tasks at hand.
"Then you know what to do?" Tir narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. May I go?" Helisius asked carefully. He was still at the door. His hand never left the knob and was ready to turn it again.
"Yes. And make sure he dies now!" Tir shouted. Helisius cowered out of the room, running through the corridors. His heart was almost beating out of his chest.
Tir unsheathed his knife and studied it. Icy blue with silver streaks, gleaming in the moonlight. Anger rose in him. He struck the knife deep into the table of his study as he shouted, "When will you finally die, Kol Aronos?!"

(OOC: This might confuse you but he will not take a great part in the story... Just an exciting side story...)

***

In spite of being rid of the headache, Firessa still felt weak. Her mind drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes a picture would flash during her nodding off. From afar, she heard a voice saying its name. Sparks, Specks or Sparkles; she did not quite get it. Suddenly, very near her, voice loud enough to give her another headache, Cania shouted, "The Emerald Dream?!"
At that moment, Firessa snapped to reality. Cania made her gulp down some healing salve which made her feel slightly better.
"The Emerald Dream?" Firessa asked aloud in a strangely blank tone.
The voice was back immediately, whispering its affirmation. Firessa cleared her mind which was buzzing with random thoughts. But not a second she had cleared it that a sudden thought came up to her.
I should keep a watch on those three... Firessa ended up being confused by her own thoughts, Why am I thinking of keeping a watch on...? Who are the three? Those thoughts are confusing!
But then, she knew that could never have been one of her thoughts. She concentrated harder while not straining herself, making the Emerald Dream more a reality to her. An exhilarating feeling came over her but she fought it, not letting herself getting overwhelmed. She knew little about the ways of druidism but the power she had gained gave her the advantage over the strength of the Dream. A strange green haze appeared around her and for a moment, she saw the figure of an elf though it disappeared almost right away. Still, she thought she recognised something about him... Kol...

OOC: Finally some time to reply! I had got much HW these few days and I think I'll get more soon, but... on with the story!

The black dressed man shifted his position. A frown came upon him as he gazed blankly at Kar. She knew he was not really looking at her, rather searching his mind or something, but she still found it irritating.
"Your friends have left..." He said suddenly.
"So what? That's what they were supposed to do," Kar replied casually. Actually she was disappointed the others had apparently not noticed her gone. But she had to keep a straight face...
"They are..." He began, as if weighing on his words, "Separated..."
Kar shrugged, "A little group is surely coming for me..."
"They are injured and tired. But three of them are in the Emerald Dream!" The man almost cried.
"The what?!"
"Never mind... We must try to get to Raignatan. I must talk to that wizard." He said before turning away, handing her weapons to her.
Kar stared at him dumbfounded. Why was he giving the weapons back to her?
"You're coming or not?" He asked.
"I'll come..." Kar said slowly. She took the weapons. The stranger began going up the stairs of the dungeon-like room. Kar stared blankly at her weapons for a moment, then, she started up the stairs to follow that intriguing stranger.

***

"WHAT THE--" A roar echoed in the empty corridors, decorated by single torches along the walls. Tir paced angrily back and forth near his study. He was frustrated. Something strange was happening. How can he still be alive? How can he ever be?!"
He had summoned Helisius to him as soon as he got hold of the frustrating news. A knock on the door.
"Enter, Helisius!" Tir spat.
Helisius entered, fear on his face. He probably already knew. That'd make sense. He'd find out at the same time as me, if not sooner...
"Y-y-yes, m-m-mas-t-ter?" Helisius trembled so much Tir could hear the rattling of his bones. Pitiful wretch that he is! He fears me even with his powers...
"Have you heard?"
"Yes, sometime after you summoned me..." He replied. He knew exactly what Tir felt and already knew the tasks at hand.
"Then you know what to do?" Tir narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. May I go?" Helisius asked carefully. He was still at the door. His hand never left the knob and was ready to turn it again.
"Yes. And make sure he dies now!" Tir shouted. Helisius cowered out of the room, running through the corridors. His heart was almost beating out of his chest.
Tir unsheathed his knife and studied it. Icy blue with silver streaks, gleaming in the moonlight. Anger rose in him. He struck the knife deep into the table of his study as he shouted, "When will you finally die, Kol Aronos?!"

(OOC: This might confuse you but he will not take a great part in the story... Just an exciting side story...)

***

In spite of being rid of the headache, Firessa still felt weak. Her mind drifted in and out of consciousness. Sometimes a picture would flash during her nodding off. From afar, she heard a voice saying its name. Sparks, Specks or Sparkles; she did not quite get it. Suddenly, very near her, voice loud enough to give her another headache, Cania shouted, "The Emerald Dream?!"
At that moment, Firessa snapped to reality. Cania made her gulp down some healing salve which made her feel slightly better.
"The Emerald Dream?" Firessa asked aloud in a strangely blank tone.
The voice was back immediately, whispering its affirmation. Firessa cleared her mind which was buzzing with random thoughts. But not a second she had cleared it that a sudden thought came up to her.
I should keep a watch on those three... Firessa ended up being confused by her own thoughts, Why am I thinking of keeping a watch on...? Who are the three? Those thoughts are confusing!
But then, she knew that could never have been one of her thoughts. She concentrated harder while not straining herself, making the Emerald Dream more a reality to her. An exhilarating feeling came over her but she fought it, not letting herself getting overwhelmed. She knew little about the ways of druidism but the power she had gained gave her the advantage over the strength of the Dream. A strange green haze appeared around her and for a moment, she saw the figure of an elf though it disappeared almost right away. Still, she thought she recognised something about him... Kol...

The demon lord and his two officers waited on the scorcerer to prepare the deminsion transportation spell. His succubi waited on the stone walls, their wings wrapped around their bodies. The Night elf had not arrived yet. The demon lord did not know why they needed the him to capture a group of mortals.
"Lord, why is the queen sending so many succubi, when there are many stronger demon warriors who would make quicker work of the mortals?" A succubus on the walls nearby heared this and made a hissing noise at the demoness. Takilarae just moved her tenticles in a threatening way and the succubus became quiet, but narrowed her red eyes at the demoness.
"Are you questioning the Dark Queen's orders, Takilarae?" he glared at the demoness.
"No, lord..."she added quickly, but not showing her fear of this demon lord"... It just seems she is not expecting the mortals to fight back."
"The queen wants captives, not corpses, and demon warriors would bring back more corpses than captives." the assasin answered for the lord
"The succubi can lead, or should i say entice, the mortals into a trap better than a group of large warriors. And besides, you will be the one restraining the nightelf with the amulet when we decide to capure her."
Before the demoness could reply, the male night elf entered the courtyard, with an alu-feind following behind him. He moved toward the demon lord, his eyes locked on the demon lord, the red-orange control glow, not hidden now, around his eyes. The alu was covering herself, even though se was walking, while watching the succubi out of the corners of her blue and green eyes. They were staring back, and spreading their wings, they could feel the spel coming to a copletion.
"Night elf, why is the Queen sending you with us? why would we need you to distract the elf we want?" she asked as the efl approached.
"My dear demoness, the queen is sending me becaues that elf is my daughter."
The spell was completed, and the night elf moved through the portal befor the demon lord, or the demoness could get over the surprise.
The succubi followed close behind the elf and alu, then the assasin, demon lord, and demoness. Last was the scorcerer.


OCC: An alu-feind is something i got from the books based in the Forgotten Realms. They are the child of a succubus and a mortal. they are not driven by their hunger for the flesh and soul of their victims, but by their other succubi characteristic. they are also not as evil as other demons.

I dont think these demons should be seen for a while exept by an undead when the emerge from the portal. the only othe people to see them should be the people from the few villages they destroy for slaves and food (the people they take). The humans in the cities should only know that the villages are being destroyed, they dont know by what (Cania knows what they are but keeps it to her self due to the intense urning in her sholder when they emerge, its worse than it ever has been.)

There is a strange irony you find when looking at the ruins of a Scourge encampment. Ruins of broken-down buildings, corpses of the dead . . . you almost feel like Death has succombed to its own patient grasp. Nothing stirs, not even the wind, for there is nothing left for it to lift up on its breeze and carry away. No creature moves, for not even the scavengers can survive on the putrid flesh of the undead. The stone-still silence . . . .

. . . is punctuated by a scraping sound, faint at first, but growing ever larger. Small pits of debris are pushed aside from beneath, as if something is straining to -

- A grizzled claw erupts from the rubble, followed by its partner. Roaring with effort, the Doom Knight Gorloth pulls himself out of the wreckage that was once his base of operations.

"Aw, I see the late-bloomer has survived."

Gorloth growled, turning to look at Goerth, leader of the undead that had arrived as reinforcements. Late-bloomer. He hated the monicker the others gave him, for proving his loyalty only after joining the dead. Only three men above the ghoul knight ever called him by his true name - the Lich King, Kel'thuzad, and the one Doom Knight. . .

"Who was late, this time!" he snapped back, irate at his failure.

Goerth chuckled. "It is not my job to ensure that your precious armies do not falter -"

"But it was your job to moniter the other Doom Knights and keep tabs on their loyalty, no?"

The ghoul knight smiled as Goerth let a scowl escape his mask of indifference - the rebel Deathrage legion had been a result of his own ineptitude, and the King would not be happy when he returned.

"We shall see, then, who's more the fool soon enough."

"Indeed we shall. I assume we are heading towards the capital?"

"You assume correctly. Gather what dregs you have left for troops and let us be gone from this place."

__________________________________________________________________

Thenaius blinked unhappily at his mug, then took a big swallow. Everyone was dead. Well, everyone except the goblin and the half-orc, but heck, as often as he saw . . . Varan? Varral? . . . as often as he saw the crossbreed, the half-orc was as good as dead.

The tired, ragged band of people to have returned from the "crusade" were a ragged bunch of despondent soldiers, worn and weary from the heavy losses they faced. Upon seeing the gates of Raignaton before them, all of what little discipline remained faded; there were no whoops of joy or cheers of relief, only the tired march of the survivors.

Of course, the elf Karl'Vrynn treated them like heroes, and upon hearing of Glakthul's death, reluctantly agreed to rule the city in the dwarf's stead. The people of the city, too, regaled them as the victors of a brilliant fight, and a feast was held in their honor. But those who had gone knew there was no victory to pull out of the massacre that had been their fight with the undead.

Sighing, Thenaius took another steep drink, letting his mind phase in and out with the liquor. He knew Kruz was also somewhere, but the man had been especially withdrawn after the battle, prone to talk to people who weren't there and gaze around in suspicion. Shell shock, I guess. . . . heh, shells . . . and turtles. . .

He also knew that strange sorcerer . . .What was his name again? was about somewhere, fuming over the disappearance of the night elf. Of . . . of . . .

NO! It hurt to think about her, hurt to think she might be . . . NO! Better to forget, better to fall back to the old ways, and pretend it was all a dream. In one day, he'd lost Siroff, Glakthul, Karazai . . .

Karazai . . . heh, I still have her dagger, I ought to return it to her. But I can't . . . because she's dead. Taking another long drink, Thenaius reached into his robes, which he hadn't bothered to clean since reaching the tavern, and pulled out the offending blade. I wonder . . . if I search for Karazai with this, will I find the land of the dead? I could hide from the paladin here, couldn't I? He's not dead anymore, but I could be . . .

As he thought, he was already began putting energy into the spell, using the dagger as a focus to find Karazai . . .

It was dark . . . there weren't any windows, maybe one door. Wooden floorboards. No ceiling, only the rafters for the roof. Wooden stool, sitting on a wooden stool. A man . . . no, more than a man. Or less?

Power slapped Thenaius across the face, and he was thrown off his seat. When the pandaren bartender looked down at the elf, concerned, he found that the mage actually looked better, more sober, than before. "Will you be alright, mister wizardly person?" the barkeep asked, snatching the empty mug and wiping it clean with a towel.

"Uh, just fine, sir. New lease on life and all that. Here's the change for the drink, keep the tip, I need to be off!" Thenaius dashed out of the inn.

He had to find Gazz. He had to find Kruz. And Varall. Even that strange sorcerer. He needed their help.

Karazai was alive. Thenaius had failed to save everyone else, but maybe he could save her.