What was it that the Shaman had said? Pointed in the right direction, my Intellect could do a lot of good.
"Yea, in the right direction, we only have to find the right direction and everything will be peachy, sure."
"You know, you have a point there," I said to myself. "What was the idea again? To regain his inner peace, was it not?
"Well, I, for one, would be happy if I could even gain peace, for starters, let alone, re-gain." came my voice again.
"You are right again", I told myself
So how to get Peace?
"It would help if we would not fight with each-other", I said to myself.
I saw what I was going to reply, but my inner voice was too smart to fall into that trap.
"You're right" came as an answer.
A reluctant peace was established.
So, how to gain Peace?
Not fighting isn't exactly peace, although it is a start.
When did I feel really peaceful? So much has happened, yea...
Sorrow and sadness, loneliness and fear, despair....
"Yes, I know", I said to myself, "I was there too..."
There was a tear in my eye.
"Come, let's think of something else" I said to myself, and gently led my thoughts away...
"You know, when I was dead, there was no fear."
I was not sure which part of me had brought this up, but yes, I remembered, the calmness that I had experienced, no fear or anger was present, a feeling of detachment, perhaps a slight wondering.
I let my mind drift into that direction.
I remembered looking down on my crumpled up and smitten body. How it lie there and me ... where had I been at that time?
Somewhere above it all, somehow.
Detached, yes, quite literally too, but also as a feeling and more peaceful than I had ever been whilst alive.
But dying every time to experience peace, that is just not healthy.
No, it would be nice to feel so peaceful whilst alive.
Is that why they call it Inner Peace? I wondered jokingly.
I never had given it much thought, Peace was something when a war with another tribe had ended, not something to do with me. But making peace with my inner voice was somehow similar, no?
We Trolls were not particularly peaceful, there was always some hostile tribe that had to be dealt with and if that was not the case there would be feuds that had been smoldering for generations, only waiting for a quiet time to be set ablaze once more.
No, fighting was our nature!
Besides that, there were dangerous Ogres, marauding Centaur to take care of and behind every tree in the jungle there could be a stealthy big cat, waiting to pounce on you and lots of other dangerous animals. We always had to be vigilant!
There had been many occasions when the whole Tribe's existence had been in the balance.
"So who needs peace?" demanded my inner voice to know.
"Oh, come on!" I replied to myself "You have to admit that all this would be much easier to deal with if I have not ALSO have to fight an inner fight!"
"Yea, you're right" answered my inner voice, "so it is for the better that we have stopped fighting then, eh?"
That put a smile on my face.
"You know," I told myself, "I think I could get used to getting along with you".
I felt pretty good.
I looked around and my eye fell on the Druid again.
But this time I saw not his power, but the sad situation that he was in and the fear he must feel.
He had gotten himself stuck, much more than the how the Spear had him pinned to the ground.
And I felt pity, somehow it did not matter that he was an Elf.
All I saw was someone too afraid to do anything.
It does not matter if you are powerful, when your fear will make your power work against yourself.
I wished I could do something for him, but even the Shaman had said that he could not do anything.
And what could I do? Casting Fire and Frost was not of much use here.
But I could do Sheep! If the Sheep-spell would wear off, he would be back to his fresh and undamaged self again! Just like that crazy Dwarf!
And before I realized it, I shot a Sheep-spell at the Druid.
Baaahhh!
The Sheep, still pinned to the Spear and with no more healing spells going on, instantly died.
"Oh NO!" I cried out "I wanted to help him!"
The Sheep was gone and only a few bleached bones were sticking out from the bed of moss. It was as if time had caught up with it, leaving not much behind.
"You are coming with me, Lady!, if we get out of this alive!" exclaimed the Rogue, getting up quickly. "Then you can explain to the counsel how an agent was able to die whilst under my protection! They will have my skin for this!"
"I only wanted to help him" I wailed.
"The Turtles!" he shouted again, "They are leaving!"
He was right, the Turtles, no longer bound to their guard-duty, went straight for the water. Except for one, of which only an empty shell remained.
These Turtles can live to a very great age, so it was likely starvation that had caused its death.
Entering the water, they created a big stir among the Naga that were hiding there.
It looked as if the water was boiling!
The Shaman got up too and looking at the bed of moss, he said: "The Earthmother's way, so different from what I had in mind. I must strive for greater clarity. It seems his meeting Her was long overdue.
And you, you have once again been Her instrument, you are certainly blessed!"
I felt completely torn! One was calling me guilty while the other one called me blessed!
And I only had wanted to help!
Gregory said: "At least now he will know soon if there is a new Life for him from the Earthmother..."
He did not continue.
Somehow he looked very, very, old suddenly. As if all the centuries were showing through.
An ancient being.
I could feel his deep sadness. Much too deep for me!
This was not for me to deal with!
And besides, I had my own Inner Demons, that were trying to tear me apart right now!
Quickly, I looked away.
But the Inner Demons had to wait:
"Get ready to defend yourselves!" shouted the Rogue.
He was right, like so many times before. We were in a dangerous situation: Naga could attack us from all sides!
Already I saw some ugly heads, here and there, appearing out of the water.
"Wilani! wake up!" I shouted.
"Come with me!" shouted the Rogue. "Over there we can get some cover, at that bit of a ruin!"
"Wilani!" I was standing near her, calling her again to get her to wake up.
"Ow!" I heard the Shaman say. He got hit by a frost-bolt; being so big, he was an easy target.
I quickly ducked down besides Wilani, shaking her by the shoulder.
Why would she not wake up?!
"Get to some cover!" I said to the Shaman, casting Frost-Armor on myself.
I could protect myself from some of the magic damage, but not the others.
Looking up, I saw Naga-Warriors advancing and dished-out some Arcane Missiles, which made them vanish under the surface.
But that would be only temporary.
"Wilani! Wake up!!" I called again, getting desperate. Sea-Witches were one thing, but not Naga-Warriors!
For that you had to be a Warrior too.
"There is no time!" murmured Wilani. "It is too late!"
"Wake up! Wilani!" I said again.
"Ooooh!" she groaned, clutching her head. "Oh, what a dream was that!"
"Wilani!" I said, "Naga are coming, we have to get out of here!
Stay low, there are casters on all sides and Warriors too!"
She readied herself in an instant. It is in situations like these that Training asserts itself.
"How many?!" she asked.
"Lots!" I replied. "Over there is some cover.
I will cast on them, as much as I can, but you will have to keep me safe from the melee."
"Lead the way." she said.
I got up and threw some Arcane Missiles around and made a run for it.
"Right behind you." I heard her say. Followed quickly by an "Ow!" and the characteristic sound of an impacting Frost-bolt.
She got hit and could now only walk slowly, being affected by the Frost.
I turned around and focused my attack on the Witches, preventing them from slowing her down even more.
The Warriors were advancing, but I could only spare them an occasional Frost-bolt and Wilani kept those most near busy.
This way we backed-up towards the others who were in a fight of their own.
Them having some cover and two casters were doing quite well, but at the cost of lots of Mana.
Once that would run out, we would be overrun by Warriors from all sides.
"We have to get on the other side of these walls." barked the Rogue. "We get better cover that way."
But on the other side it quickly became clear that our situation was untenable.
We had to get away from this lake!
The shore closest to us was opposite from where we had come.
It meant to go in the water again, where the Naga would have the advantage, being so adapted to it.
"Get ready, all of you!" said the Rogue again. "We go in the same manner as how we came, the Warrior in the back." And he started to retreat towards the water.
Once in the water, I send Frost-bolts around, to slow down our attackers, but some fights were unavoidable.
They made our escape take more and more time.
There seemed no end to the supply of Naga.
But finally we got back on dry land and the Warrior and the Rogue were fighting off the last Naga while I made sure no Sea-Witch was able to cast from afar.
Suddenly, the Shaman and the Priest fell over, face-down, on either side of me, daggers sticking in their backs.
I immediately casted an Arcane Explosion and saw two Satyr-Rogues!
"Satyrs incoming!!" I yelled.
The Rogue was quickly at my side and attacked one of the Satyrs while the other one Vanished and escaped.
He could be sneaking-up, ready to Back-stab someone again at any moment! So I casted an Arcane Explosion again, to break his Stealth, but he was not there.
"Hani!!" I heard Wilani shout.
I quickly turned towards her and saw her fighting two Naga-Warriors, who were nearly dead, but so was she!
Immediately I shot Arcane Missiles at them, killing them quickly, only to see Wilani getting hit by a Frost-bolt coming from a far-away Sea-Witch.
"Nooo!" I screamed. "Wilani!!"
But there was no time for that, the Rogue was still fighting the one Satyr while the other one could just be anywhere by now.
Quickly, I casted an Arcane Explosion, but it did not hit the Stealth-ed one.
It gave me a moments respite to cast a big Fireball onto the Satyr.
Beng! another Arcane Explosion followed by another Fireball and the Rogue was finally able to kill the Satyr.
Now for that other one!
I casted Flame-strike, to check an area greater than an Arcane Explosion could cover and at the cost of less Mana too.
We had been fighting for a long time and my Mana was nearly finished.
The Rogue was using bandages, since there were no Healers now, in order to get himself in the best possible shape, before taking on the other Satyr-Rogue.
"If you want to be of any help and stay alive, you better use a Mana-potion, if you still can." whispered the Rogue. "We need to ferret him out, or I can't guarantee you won't get Back-stabbed too.
I just don't understand why they chose to attack us. We were five, it doesn't make sense!"
A Mana-potion is something, but not a whole lot, I still had to be very careful on what to spend this precious resource!
Starting from the water's edge, I casted Flame-strike and the Rogue Vanished.
Flame-strike did cover a rather big area and lasted for several seconds.
That time plus the time it would take to sneak-up to me from beyond that reach, I could be sure to be safe from an Ambush. Even so, using the lowest Rank, I could manage perhaps 10 casts in total, before being completely out of Mana and unable to do any kind of Damage.
I remembered what Gregory had said.
Never would I go out without a Wand from now on, if I ever would get the chance to get one, that is.
To be in the Undercity with Greg looked so much better now, than it had before!
But he was dead and the Shaman too! And Wilani! Who was going to ress her now?!
Focus! Another Flame-strike was in order: Fwooomm!
Very slowly, we advanced into the tunnel. At least, I assumed the Rogue was still with me!
I could not expect him to give away his position.
Fwooomm! Another Flame-strike reverberated against the walls of the tunnel.
And another 10 to 15 seconds of relative safety.
Fwooomm! Again 10 yards of tunnel checked and again no Shadow-stalker.
These Satyrs were the worst of them all, being able to hide everywhere.
Fwooomm! I hoped the Rogue was able to keep up with me, but he kept silent still.
The ground sizzled after another cast and still no Satyr was found. I was getting worried, my Mana was nearing its end. This Demon-spawn must be just staying out of reach, every time we advanced a bit.
At least, that is what I would do.
I suppressed the urge to start randomly casting Flame-strikes everywhere. But I could cast one at twice the distance and then another one in between. It was a plan.
After this one then. Fwooomm!
"Get ready, Rogue!" I called. "Where ever you are. It is your time to shine now."
Counting the seconds, I readied myself to cast twice in quick succession.
Fwooomm! Was that him over there?
Fwooomm! We got him! The Satyr was in the middle of the big patch of fire and unable to Stealth again.
Instead he made a run for it, coming towards us!
But no! He was running to get behind us! All our work would be for nothing!
I shot a small Frost-bolt at him, that much Mana I still had, at least.
"Come on! Get him!" I yelled, getting desperate.
The Satyr stopped dead in its tracks, swaying on his legs and a swirl of action surrounded him.
How could someone be so fast!?
It was only for a short while, however and now I could see the Rogue, fight in a more normal way.
Being a Demon, Satyrs would not just die after being Back-stabbed, like normal beings and the Rogue had quite a fight ahead.
But the Satyr did not want to fight, he tried to run away! I shot another small Frost-bolt, to slow him down.
"It is always good to not kill unnecessary" came into my mind, by the voice of the Shaman, but this was a Satyr, a Demon, they could not stay without doing harm.
"Do you have one more Flame-strike ready?!" called the Rogue. "He might try to Vanish again."
I quickly checked my Mana. "Say when!" I called back.
"Just keep it ready, targeted on me!" he replied.
"OK!" I replied. "That, or one more Frost-bolt, that's all I have left."
He did not say anything and I followed the fight with even more attention.
It was fascinating to see two Rogues trying to get the better of one another.
Trick was countered by some other trick, I could not say what it was that they were doing; the only thing I knew of Rogues was the Back-stabbing and the sneaking.
While the fight endured, my Mana was slowly going up again. I could now spare some Frost-bolts if needed, but he had said Flame-strike, so I kept that ready as requested.
Finally, the Satyr fell dead to the ground and the Rogue sat down, visibly tired.
I sat down too, to drink to replenish my Mana as quick as possible.
"That was a terrible fight!" said the Rogue in a gruff voice. "I had to use every trick in the book!"
From his voice I could tell that he had indeed gone very deep in this fight.
I quickly got up and offered him some conjured food and water. It was all I could do.
"I hope never to have to do such a thing again." he said, between bites. "At least we will be back in Orgrimmar soon."
"But what about the others!" I exclaimed.
"They're DEAD, Lady." he replied. "Their best hope is to find a high-level Priest that will come to ress them."
"Do you know any?" I asked in return.
"I am sure one can be found, willing to help, for a price."
"For a price!" I exclaimed. "A high price, for a high-level Priest!
I have nothing that they might want, Gold, or otherwise!"
"So be it." he sighed, "Now get ready to make a Portal. I did not save your hide to also have to argue about it."
"You only saved me to get a Portal to Org?!!" I shrieked. "You can forget about that! I am not going to leave Wilani here to the Murlocs! She is all I've got left!"
I got up and made my way back to where the others lay.
"Not just for the Portal!" he called after me.
I reached the water's edge, where Wilani had fallen. And I sank down, next to her.
No Murlocs had been here.
That was the last thought I had, for a very long time.
I don't know how long I sat there, with an obliterated mind.
"Hani! Get up, or you will die here!"
It did not matter. My world had ended, there was nothing more for me, here.
"You have to come with me to Orgrimmar!"
Only slowly it started to dawn that these were not the voices in my head.
"Come on, Hani! I found some wood so we can make a fire."
I let myself lead on to a corner where he showed me a pile of wood.
In a state of total disconnectedness, I casted a Fire-ball. Whamm!
Fire! It brought me back to life, in a way.
I looked around, all sorts of things were stacked up against the wall.
Everything was in a state of neglect and covered with dust and rust.
This must been the stash of the Satyr-Rogues.
Only Demons would know what use they had for things so decayed.
The Rogue had broken a big box to pieces, the worthless content cast to the side.
I sat down at the fire.
And cried.
It took a long time.
But one can not dwell in the depths of sorrow for ever.
Regaining my composure, I said: "I am sorry."
He did not reply.
"Will you now make a Portal to Orgrimmar?" he asked.
"I will make a Portal for you." I scoffed. "You can go. I am not leaving Wilani here."
"You will only die here." he argued. "I need you to come with me to Org."
"Need, need! That's all I hear! Do you even care about anyone?"
"I don't want you to die and you are no use to her being dead." he said.
"Then at least we both will be dead." I replied.
"You're unreasonable." he said.
"That is what you think" I replied. "You don't know what real friendship is. To wager your life for someone, not just because you need something from them!"
He fell silent.
"We do have our Honor." he said. "We are not afraid to die for it."
"Honor!" I scowled. "Would you let your friend die, because of Honor? Do you even have friends? You're a Rogue! No friendship among thieves, right?"
I could see I had really hurt him there.
"It is not always easy to be a Rogue." he said.
"I am sorry." I said in return.
"Not easy at all." he sighed, getting up. "Come."
He took something from his bags and said: "You will have to swear an oath, that you will not tell anyone what you are going to see now. Understand that no only you will be killed but also anyone who comes to know about this from you. I will have to convince some powerful people, to let you live, so make it a very strong oath. Your life will depend on it."
"What for?!" I exclaimed.
"We are going to try to save our Friends over there." he replied with emphasis.
To be sure, I will not speak of what happened next, I don't want anyone to get killed because of it, but after that, we found ourselves sitting down by the side of the Shaman...
...Unless you really want to know. Then you can click here to see it.
He sat down next to the corpse of the Tauren and unrolled two long bands of a coppery color coming from the thing he had taken from his bag. One of which he worked under the chest. Laying the other band over the Shaman's chest, he said: "Stay clear from him! I will attempt to resurrect him by mechanical means. If we are lucky that is. At least, I think he has a better chance than the Priest, with his long dead body."
'By mechanical means', I thought. How was that possible? Only magical users could ress.
And not even all of them, Warlocks and we Mages could not do it.
"All I know is that it uses Lightning." he clarified, seeing my puzzled stares.
"Now stay clear! And pray to your gods or ancestors, we have only one shot at this!"
Lightning! I thought, that could only damage and kill! How would that bring someone back from the dead?!
The Rogue did do something and a flash of Lightning shot between the two bands. The Shaman's body jumped up, due to the force of the Lightning. A sound came forth from it as it dropped down.
For a moment nothing else happened, but then a wheezing breath could be heard.
"Did it work?!" I asked.
"Thank the Earthmother" whispered the Shaman.
He coughed. It sounded terrible.
"Her blessings, however, are sometimes not easy to receive."
I offered him some conjured water and food; he only took the water.
"She made me stay at my body, so I would be able to use it again when the time came.
I envy not, the Undead, that have to reanimate a long dead corpse."
He coughed again.
He drank some more water and was able to cast a little heal on himself.
I looked around for any signs of enemies; he was in such a fragile state and was our only hope.
He got up and casted more and more heals on himself after which he had to sit down and drink again, to replenish his Mana.
Getting up again, he started to cast the resurrection-spell on the Priest.
I would have loved Wilani being ress'ed, but to ress Gregory first was the wise thing to do.
The spell was finished and the Shaman went on to cast lots of heals on the Priest who got up and said:
"That took a long time, didn't it? You guys must have had a difficult fight, I presume."
"Yes, it was not easy." said the Rogue and me both at the same time.
Finally it was Wilani's turn. The priest started to cast and I waited in anticipation.
Then the Shaman and he cast lots of heals on her and she got up. I was so happy to see her back to life, but she was not happy at all!
"Why did I not get any heals any more?!
"The Priest had died." I replied.
"And what about him then?!" she asked bitter, pointing at the Shaman.
"The Priest was dying!" I came again quickly, preventing him to say something that would raise more uneasy questions.
It seemed to placate her and her grumbling died down slowly.
I could only hope that there would be no more questions coming forth that would draw attention to the death and secret resurrection of the Shaman.
We all went to the place where the fire was burning and sat down around it. Bathing in the warm glow, those recently ress'ed most of all, we felt our Spirit rise and the doom and gloom of before was driven away.
"This is a good Fire," said the Priest "if only I had something to cook. But I don't feel like fishing in that water there, with all those Naga."
"I am sure I saw some Giant Clams, when we were in the water. I could go back and try to get them, unnoticed." said the Rogue. "If just someone will come and help me carry them."
"I will assist you." said the Shaman "Perhaps I will get some clarification too."
"Do you really want to go back?" I asked.
"Anything for my Friends!" he replied.
"What got into him?!" asked Wilani, when they had left.
"Don't ask me." I said. "I have tried to figure this guy out from the start and got nowhere."
"So you were interested in him!" she replied triumphantly. "I knew it!"
"Och go away!" I replied. "He is an Orc, Wilani!"
"Don't mind me, Ladies." said the Priest.
"She is just teasing me, Greg." I replied. "I have had to deal with that my whole life."
Wilani got up, quietly humming "Na na na na naa na", but so that I could hear it and went to look what was in all the crates and boxes.
And I had to smile: She knew me so well.
I felt happy that she had something else to focus her attention at, away from the mysterious resurrection of the Shaman, but also unhappy, that I had to keep it a secret from her for the rest of our lives.
We always had shared everything.
"Pfioew" whistled Wilani. "Would you look at this!"
She had broken open a long flat crate which contained several very long swords, packed in straw. Clearly never used.
She got one, very rusty, sword out and asked the Priest: Greg, do you think these are made by the Undead?"
"Newly forged swords?" he said. "Can't imagine us forging new swords, the War has left us with so many weapons and such. Those cursed Humans must have made them!!"
She nearly dropped the weapon, startled by his sudden expression of anger.
None of us liked the Humans, they were just as dangerous as the Dwarves, but tend to cause much more problems. Dwarves would not bother you as long as you kept out of their way. Humans, however, they made plans and had politics and were always present in the midst of troubles. Never content doing their own business.
Yes, we all had suffered a lot, due to the Humans, but none of us were hunted down like the Undead. It seemed that they could not stand the idea of their former fellow man walking around as Undead.
We had rumors of Undead Trolls, but those were just used in scary tales for the little ones.
All the Undead from the Undercity had been Humans before.
Our foraging party returned. Each carried a Giant Clam.
"Here! That must surely be enough, I would think" said the Rogue, putting his burden on the sand near the Priest. "Do you know how to open them?"
"Sure!" replied the Priest enthusiastically. His anger had vanished with this new prospect of culinary magic. "Come over here, Wilani! We are going to make something great out of this!"
"Both of you can have one" said the Shaman, putting down the other big shell.
We were doing pretty good; we were in no immediate danger, sheltered in the former lair of the Satyrs, with lots of wood for the fire and plenty food coming up.
It was hard to imagine that we had been on the brink of total disaster and death, only so recently.
By the smell of things, I got the impression that the food was coming along nicely.
Wilani was making Spicy Strips, that could keep well for later. She always was planning in advance so she would have food at the ready when she would need it.
A wise thing to do, for a Warrior. We mages were not so dependent on food but so much the more on drinking, for our Mana.
I can not imagine that you would not want to drink too, after one or a few of those Spicy things.
The Rogue was in the back, investigating the many crates etc. Picking up where Wilani had left off. And Dawnstrider sat by the fire, warming himself.
Gregory was making Clam soup or stew, a hearty meal that would make up for our meager breakfast.
I conjured some Rye bread and Pumpernickel to go along with it. After that, there would be no more hungry bellies!
"We should be going back to Orgrimmar." grumbled the Rogue.
"How about: we should eat first. It is nearly ready." replied Wilani.
Grudgingly, he went to sit down at the fire.
"Come and get it!" said the Priest loudly.
The stew was ready and Wilani shared the Spicy Strips with all who wanted.
I took just one, for now. As a Mage, I did not need extra hotness, casting Fire was good enough for me.
The stew was hot and delicious, together with the conjured bread, it went down with ease and drove away the gloominess that this underground place emanated.
You could say what you want, but this Undead guy could cook for sure.
Only the Shaman was not digging in, like the rest of us. Sitting close to the fire, he had only eaten a little of the hot stew. Just munching on some of those Spicy Strips, while drinking Conjured water.
"Eat some more hot stew, it will warm you up." I said to him kindly.
Halfheartedly he ate a little more. Unlike Wilani, sitting to the other side of me. She was eating like a wolf.
"Here, have some more of these strips," she said to the Rogue, "they are easy to carry and they keep well, for when you need them." And she handed him a big handful, across the fire.
"Thanks. Yes they can come in pretty handy." he replied.
"I hope you all will agree that this place is not safe for us." he went on. "We should be going back to Orgrimmar.
OK, I guess after we are done eating then." he conceded, looking at the Warrior.
It was clear that she was not going anywhere as long as there was any food left.
"It is good to see someone enjoying my cooking, as much as you do, Wilani." said Gregory.
The Shaman said nothing. He had not said much at all since he sat down by the fire.
"We should have a vote on that, shouldn't we?" I asked.
"I don't mind, really" said Wilani, slumping back. "I feel pretty good, now I have had some decent food.
I could kill a dragon, right now!"
"What do you think, Dawnstrider?" said Gregory. "I mean, I have my Pearls and the Gravestone-piece, that I came looking for."
Poof! The Rogue Vanished.
"What!?" I started to say.
"Well, well." we heard a strange voice say. "Four new recruits! This must be my lucky day!"
Turning around I saw a female Tauren stepping into the light.
"I knew it was a good idea to go check alone!" she continued.
"What do you mean 'new recruits' !?" said Wilani, turning towards the new visitor.
"Chi uku alo owachi wa Tapupau!" exclaimed the Shaman.
"Don't speak that language to me! she replied, her eyes flashing with anger. "I am no longer a stupid cow! Tell me, is she still standing around at the bank, like always? She will never get anywhere!"
"Tapu is very well respected." gave the Shaman as reply. "She is the sister of Tapupau." he clarified to us.
"Pah! Respected! Too afraid, you mean. She always was a scaredy-cat." she replied.
I was shocked to hear him speak another Tauren's name, just like that. This unexpected encounter certainly must have caught him off-balance.
The sister of Tapupau went on: "But it does not matter. All that matters is that I will be a Lieutenant soon! Heheheh!"
Her laugh was even more unpleasant than her voice. Tauren females have such nice and soft voices, but hers was harsh and shrill. It was intolerable. I had to suppress the urge to just wring her neck, there and then.
I managed to say: "We have some food left, if you want any."
"We have no time for that!" she cut me off. "We have to be going!"
"How did you end up in this underground place?" asked the Shaman.
"Questions!" she exclaimed. "Once you meet Lord Kelris, you won't have any more questions! Now get up, the lot of you!"
There were crazy overtones in her voice, clearly something strange was going on with her.
Wilani was getting up, slowly and I quickly fired off another question, to keep her attention on me: "Who is Lord Kelris?"
"Twilight Lord Kelris! she emphasized. "Twilight! Twilight! The Hour is near!"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Lady." said Wilani testily. "You can get some food, if you want, and if you need any help, you can tell us, then we can decide what we will do."
It was clear that I was not the only one feeling instant aversion towards this Tauren that so unexpectedly had turned up.
"You are not going to decide anything! If you hope to advance in the ranks of the Twilight's Hammer you start with following orders first! And if you don't, there are ways to make you. Heheheh." Again that awful laugh.
"We only want to help you." said the Shaman.
"Oh, you will help me, a lot!" She laughed again.
If there was only a way to make her shut up!
"Now, get up! All of you!" she commanded, getting impatient.
"Would you please go shout somewhere else?!" replied Wilani, visibly getting irritated.
"I don't like your tone." she said. "I am going to make you an Example!" And she casted a Spell that wrapped thorny roots all around poor Lani!
"Let her go, immediately!" I exclaimed.
"Do you want to be next?" she replied.
I got up quickly and casted Frost-Nova on her, freezing her on the spot. Two could play that game!
But she quickly changed shape, back and forth and was free again! Then she casted Roots on me too.
I winced, not having armor like Wilani, the thorns hurt quite a bit and getting more and more tight, they slowly squeezed the life out of me.
"How can you even cast Roots twice!?" demanded the Shaman to know.
"Heheheheh!" she laughed. "I can cast on all of you! The power of the Twilight's Hammer is unlimited, you will see!
If you will live that long."
Both Gregory and the Shaman started to cast, but were quickly surrounded by spiny roots too.
"So, now that I have your undivided attention, you are going to listen to me and listen carefully. I have not much patience with unwilling recruits. You are going to be enrolled in the ranks of the Twilight's Hammer and you should be grateful for that. The world, as you know it, will end. The Hour of Twilight is near. You will be among the ones that will work to make that happen. And you will receive great power in order to accomplish this. You will see! Heheheheh! You will be part of my group and I will advance to the rank of Lieutenant! Lord Kelris will give you a power and I will become even more powerful! Heheheheh!"
"This is no way for a Tauren to behave!" bellowed the Shaman.
"Stop calling me that!" she snapped at him, her delight instantly gone.
"Now, you are going to get up and follow me willingly, or I will keep you here till the Roots have squeezed the last drop of life out of you!"
"Let. Us. Go!" said Wilani, resorting to her last scraps of patience. "We are not going to join your club and we are of no use to you when we are dead."
"After a few minutes, you will think differently!" She replied even more angry.
"You can bet your life on it! Heheheheh!"
And her maniacal laughing at her own morbid little joke bordered on hysteria.
She was clearly deranged.
It would be wrong to fight with someone like that, even though my gut feeling was that I would love to strangle her with my own hands!
I tried another approach: "How far is it to this Lord Kelris?"
"You will see!" she snapped. "I don't like your questions, Troll!
You're too clever for your own good.
Perhaps I should just kill both of you and that stinking Undead too and be content with just him." pointing at the Shaman. "There will be other recruits."
Paf! The Rogue appeared behind her and had sapped her. She stood, swaying on her legs, unconscious, for now.
"Get ready to Mind Control her!" he barked at the Priest. "The Roots will soon disappear."
As soon as he was able, the priest started to cast.
Now MC-ed, she was docile and no threat.
"How did you get here, underground?" demanded the Shaman to know.
"They make a portal for you, in Orgrimmar." she replied.
"Who?" asked the Rogue.
"Neeru Fireblade. He thinks we fall under the Shadow Counsel."
"Well, well, this is very important information." mumbled the Rogue.
"How did you get involved with the Twilight Hammer?" asked the Shaman again.
"When I was traveling through the Barrens, I got attacked by the Quill-boar. Even though I could manage, I was happy to get the help of an Orc Warlock, since they were many and it looked to be a long fight.
He was able to cast Fear on all of them at the same time and went on to kill them at his leisure. Then he started to burn all of their belongings, their huts and even their corpses. Naturally, I asked him how he was able to cast Fear on more than one adversary at the same time. He said that I too could get such a strong power. Then I would never need to be afraid again. He then took me to Orgrimmar where they made a portal for me."
"What rank do you currently have?" wanted the Rogue to know.
"I am just a Member, I have no rank, but when I get my own group of Initiates, I will be made a Lieutenant."
"Who is this Twilight Lord Kelris?" he went on.
She replied: "Lord Kelris knows the Will of the Old Gods. He is the one through whom we receive their Power."
"What is the Hour of Twilight?" asked the Rogue again.
"When the old Prophecy will come true, the Old Gods will be freed and bring the End to all Life. That is why it is best to die in their service and abandon your Flesh, that way we will not suffer their terrible Wrath."
"How many of you are there, here underground?" he asked again.
"A few dozen, I think, they are everywhere in the Temple. It could be a bit more." she replied.
"Will you guys be long?! asked the Priest. "I can not keep her Mind-Controlled for ever."
"I don't think we have any more questions, for now." said the Rogue.
"We should be going back to Orgrimmar, this is important information.
Wait for me until I have Vanished; we don't want her to pull that trick on all of us. Then you can let her go."
And 'poof', he was gone.
"OK, guys" said Gregory, "get ready, I am ending the Mind-Control!"
"NoooOoooo!" She let out a long drawn-out wail.
"You made me lose my Power! I'm gonna tear you to shreds, you filthy Undead! When I'm done, nothing more than kindling will be left of you!"
If the Rogue tried to sap her again, he must have missed, because she changed shape into a Big Cat and leaped into the direction of the Priest. It happened very quick.
Luckily, Wilani was in her way and although shocked, she was able to keep her away from the Priest.
Ferociously, she attacked the Warrior, but her claws were not very effective against Wilani's armor.
Only carrying her two Dwarven-Axes, she had to use her weapons to defend herself while Gregory casted some Heals on her.
Getting more and more Damage, the Cat let off and she changed back to her Tauren form.
While casting Heals and Renew on herself, she shouted: "I am going to kill all of you!" and promptly transformed into a great Bear!
The Bear continued to attack Wilani, who had trouble to just keep standing in the face of this onslaught.
This time she was getting hit much more serious and both the Shaman and Greg were casting Heals onto her.
Her blinkering Axes were a whirlwind of steel, but the Bear attacked without concern for self-preservation.
Getting more and more enraged as it felt the bite of those sharp Axes.
"Back off, Lady!" shouted Wilani. "I don't want to kill you!"
The Bear growled and bit and clawed at her and foam was flying from it's maw. It's Rage bringing it to a frenzy of Bestial Wrath.
The fight went on and got more and more savage but something had changed. The stench of impending Death penetrated the air.
"I said I don't want to kill you!!" roared Wilani. Her voice unrecognizable now due to her own Rage.
It was terrible to see.
The Priest and the Shaman were continuously healing her.
"Raaah! Why don't you back off?!!"
Was that Wilani, making that sound?? It was hard to say, the Bear was making even more noise.
"RAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" The Bear had fallen to the ground and Wilani stood over it and roared like the Bear had not even done.
"I SAID: I DON'T WANT TO KILL YOU!!
I DON'T WANT TO KILL ALL OF YOU!!" she roared and ran off, leaving the dead Bear in our midst.
"Wilani!" shouted the Priest after her. "Don't run off alone! You need healing!" And he ran after her.
I shouted: "Wilani! Come back! Both of you!"
The dead Bear transformed back into the Tauren. She looked unrecognizable.
The Shaman went to look at her but I quickly looked away. He seemed very much affected and sat down next to her corpse without saying anything.
The Rogue reappeared and said with an urgent tone in his voice: "You go find those two, I will keep an eye on him."
I got my Staff and the Fiery Orb and ran off into the dark tunnel.
Many thoughts ran through my mind, as I was rushing through the tunnel. Where could she be by now?
What has gotten into her? Was this again this crazy anger that she had shown when she had fought those two elite Naga? But at that time, her anger had vanished even so quickly and she had not ran off like she had now.
Pok! "Aaaahg!" I hit my toes against an uneven bit of stone, jutting out of the floor of the cave.
Even though I had my Fiery Orb at full blast, I had failed to notice it.
"Ow, ow, OW!" I was dancing around on one leg, clamping my poor toes in my hands.
"That's what you get when you are too hasty and don't pay attention where you are going." said my inner voice.
"And before you say something like that, remember that we made peace, together!" my inner voice went on.
"Aarhggg!" I replied, in a flash of anger.
"You're just angry because you know I am right."
"Shut up! I hate you!" I said.
"You are me, remember?! Hating myself because I was stupid is not going to help anything.
Hate doing stupid things, but not me.
OK?"
I sank down on the ground, still clamping my toes.
"OK." I replied. "So what should I do now?"
"Try to stand on it, to see if they are broken?"
It hurt, but not much more than before, so I took another step. It seemed fine, for low standards of 'fine'.
We Trolls are pretty sturdy in the toes-department, however, so I should not be worried too much.
I took a few more steps and the pain slowly lessened a bit. Walking was OK, but no more running.
That worried me. What if there would be an attack?
"What if? what if?!!" said my inner voice. "How about starting to use that great Intellect for something useful?!
And besides, I can always Blink, so stop worrying. Better remember to keep the Inner Peace."
I had to admit, my inner voice brought up some good points. I straightened my back and advanced again into the darkness.
Since I was now just walking I dimmed the Fiery Orb to the point where it did not really drain my Mana. At this level I could keep it going indefinitely.
And the thoughts started to come too: What was I doing here, alone in a dark tunnel, in such a dangerous place like this?
"I am going to find Wilani!" I told myself. "And Gregory too."
A Mind can really be a handful, it needs constant attention.
"If you want something to do," I told my Mind, "just think of how I had no fear when I was Dead."
No fear, no Fear. repeated my Mind.
Aaagh! What was that?
I saw a dead body lying there, was that her??!
No Fear, no Fear, said my mind.
I went closer and saw that is was a Naga Sea-witch!
No Fear.
She was very, very, Dead. Slashed to bits, almost.
No Fear! No Fear!
"OK, stop it." I told my Mind. "Just be quiet."
This must be Wilani's doing and that meant I was on the right track!
Carefully I went on, only to find another dead Sea-witch a bit further on.
So she was still alive at this point...
Hardly limping at all, I went on.
I remembered how, as a disembodied Spirit, I had just floated through that tunnel. Much less hassle.
But then again, you could not do anything, without a body.
So, therefore better to keep it alive and safe.
I had my ears pricked up, while walking quietly. Careful, but not fearful.
Somehow those thoughts of No Fear! No Fear! had done something, it seems.
But what was that?!
Something big showed up in the advancing light.
It was a pile of dead bodies! And Wilani was lying on top of it!!
Was she dead too?!
"Wilani!" I whispered, getting closer. "Are you OK?"
"Go Away! Lah'Mawhani!" she said with a dreadful voice. "I do not WANT to kill you!"
Lah'Mawhani! She would never call me by my full name like that!
Something awful was going on here.
"Lani! Are you OK?" I asked again.
"Go away, Mawhani!" she repeated.
"She is not hurt. I have healed her." came a voice from behind me.
That made me jump up and I quickly turned around.
It was Gregory. He was sitting, tucked against the wall of the cave.
"She won't let me come near her." he said. "I don't know what to do!"
"It's OK." I said to him. "Lani, you don't have to kill me!" I said to her.
"Mawhani, there are no more Nagas left! You will be next if you don't go away!" she replied.
"And I DON'T WANT to kill you, Mawhani! But when I have regained my strength I will HAVE to kill you!
So Go Away Now!"
It sounded really serious. "Come," I said to Gregory, "let's leave her be, just to be sure."
"I am not going to leave her alone!" he shrieked. "She might need Healing!"
"Gregory," I said, "something is not right with her. We might be in danger.
We don't know what strange spell she is under."
That thought made me stop in my tracks.
I remembered how she had been asleep when the Priest had casted Dispel on me and the Rogue.
"Did you cast Dispel on her?!" I asked him, in an urgent tone.
"No, she just kept killing more and more Naga and I kept Healing her, till all the Naga were dead.
And now she does not want to get up!
At least she does not kill anymore." he concluded.
"For now!" I said. "We can not be sure that she won't attack us, you have heard what she said!"
"But what can we do!?" he wailed.
"Did you cast Dispel Magic on her?" I asked again.
"No. Do you think I should do that?" he asked.
"Yes," I replied, with stretched patience, "but let's first cast it on us."
He went to work, casting Dispel on me.
I felt much clearer in my head, as if a veil was pulled away.
"Oh wow!" he said. "That indeed does make quite a difference!" I had not noticed it having such an influence already.
It certainly creeps up upon you!" he exclaimed.
"Get ready, I am going to cast it on her too!"
When the cast was finished, she slumped down from the pile of dead Naga Warriors.
I quickly went to her. "Are you OK?" I asked.
"Yes." she said with an unsteady voice, her body trembling all over.
"Come!" I said, pulling her by the hand, to get her away from the heap of dead corpses.
She managed to take a few steps and sank down to the ground.
It was clear that she was in a bad state.
"Is she going to be OK?" asked Gregory.
"We're going to make her OK!" I replied.
"You have healed her, so her Health is fine, but her Spirit is very low." I said and threw some firewood on the ground; no time to make a fire by the book.
"Stay clear!" I said and I shot a Fireball into the pile of wood.
Wham! The wood burst into flame and the walls of the tunnel lit up in the shine of the fire.
I shove her a bit closer to the fire to let it do it's work.
Slowly she regained her composure a bit.
"I HAD to kill them, Mawhani! You have to believe me." she exclaimed.
"I was horrible! I did not WANT to kill them, but I HAD to."
"You're OK now." I said to her, hoping it was true.
"My Rage just did not want to end," she went on, "it was burning me up, inside."
She fell silent. A shiver went through her body.
"Luckily, I packed some of these." she said and she pulled out a few of those Spicy Strips.
Seeing her munching like that, I felt reassured, she was going to be fine!
I turned to Gregory: "How do you feel?"
"What answer do you want?" he replied in a dismal voice. "I am Undead, we do not 'feel' anything, other than hatred towards the living."
I was shocked to hear him speak like that. "Gregory!" I exclaimed. "Are you OK?"
"I don't know where that came from." he said in a more normal tone. "Perhaps the Dispel removed a little too much.
It must be from the basic state that all Undead are in when they have been re-awakened.
It is true that we envy the Living, but to therefore hate them and try to eradicate them, only to turn them into more Undead with only more hatred, that is just foolishness. I don't want to be like that anymore. I have been Undead more than long enough!
I will bear my lot, as long as I will have to, because I have seen that seeking Death is not the answer, so I might as well keep my hope on the Earthmother."
Full of amazement, I was at a loss for words.
I remembered how I had seen him as an ancient being, filled with deep sorrow and I could only admire his resolve to step away from that.
"Someone is coming." he added.
I turned around and saw a small light coming towards us.
In the well-lit place around the Fire, we were in plain sight, so hiding was not really an option.
My Spells at the ready, we waited as the light came nearer.
To my relief, it was the rest of our party!
The Rogue was leading the Shaman, each holding a flaming torch.
"We must get him back to Orgrimmar!" said the Rogue urgently.
"He is in a pretty bad state. He tried to ress her four times before I could get him to leave her corpse alone.
I don't know what got into him!"
The shaman started excusing profusely towards Wilani, for his own inability to prevent the death of the female Tauren and that she had chosen Wilani to be the instrument for that.
"In the name of all Tauren, I ask for your forgiveness!" he said.
"She really wanted to die and made you do the dirty work for her. No Tauren should ever have acted in such a way!
And I was unable to prevent it. I could not even resurrect her!"
I could see that bringing this up, did not do much good to Wilani, who herself was just recovering from such a dreadful event.
"Dawnstrider" I said, "Gregory will cast Dispel Magic on you, just to be sure, OK?" and I nudged Gregory to do his casting.
I was not sure if my words even got through to him, but Gregory had understood the hint and started to cast.
"Oh!" said the Shaman, when the cast had finished. "I had no idea ..." Then he fell silent.
"You have my thanks, Priest." He said after a while.
"So, this really works, obviously." said the Rogue.
"Please cast it on me too, Priest and then we should go back to Orgrimmar quickly!"
When that was done, I said: "Lani, are you OK to get up and go through the Portal?"
I did not want to risk to waste such an important Spell if not everyone was ready.
"I can manage." she said, getting up with some effort.
I started to cast the Portal Spell.
"Ow!" A Frost-bolt hit me and it made me fail the cast!
Instantly, I casted Frost-Ward on myself.
Naga? I quickly looked around.
The ground around us burst into flame. That was no Naga Sea-witch! That was Mage-work!
"Spread out!" I yelled.
I saw him! It was a Human!
Gregory went on the offense, blinded by his hate for the Humans, only to get treated to another Frost-bolt.
"No, no!" I called out. "You need to Mind Control him!"
The Rogue tried to get out of the circle of Flame, so he could go into Stealth, while the Shaman went in the other direction and put down a Fire-totem. I shot a Fire-ball at him, but he casted Flame-ward upon himself as I well expected.
That left me Frost or Arcane.
Wilani, though still unsteady on her feet, advanced towards him and got frozen in-place by a Frost-Nova.
This guy was good! Flashy, but good.
And Insane, to attack a whole group of five!
There was no way that he could sustain that many casts as he was flinging around.
The Shaman was casting Lightning-bolts on him while I had resorted to Arcane Missiles, the hits of which interfered with his castings.
He Blinked across the tunnel where he started to cast a new Spell.
I could not believe my eyes!
A Water-Elemental!
He had Summoned a Water-Elemental!!
We were doomed!
Only very high-level Mages could perform such a feat!
Water-Elementals were so strong and very difficult to kill, whether by Fire or by Frost.
So that was his plan: keeping all of us busy while his pet-monster would kill us one-by-one.
I shouted: "Gregory! You have to MC him!"
Fwoomm! Another Flame-strike scorched the ground, disabling the Rogue again from Vanishing.
He gave up on it and went closer to the Mage.
Oh no! he too got hit by a Frost-Nova. How could he possibly cast Frost-Nova so soon again?!
As a Mage, I know you want nothing better than all your enemies close together, where you can finish them off with a Blizzard of Ice.
"Greg!" I shouted again, while shooting more Arcane Missiles. "Stop fighting and cast Mind Control on him!"
"Baaâahh!"
Suddenly my point of view dropped down a lot and I was walking up and down, aimlessly.
It was very confusing, being stuck in a body that was not mine to control and being Sheeped made it difficult to see what was going on. Lots of legs, mostly.
I saw the Water-Elemental advance towards the Rogue, who was still frozen on the spot and had no way to escape. And there was nothing I could do!
"You can keep your Mind together." said my Inner Voice.
"Yes, I know, no fear. But what could we do against such a High Level Mage, that can Summon a Water-Elemental?"
"Have you noticed that no-one has died yet? If he is so high level, he would have one-shotted each and all of us." said my Inner Voice again.
"Yes, or he is just toying with us." I gave as a grim reply.
All the while, the Sheep's body that I was in, was ambling here and there. It happened to nudge Gregory in the back of the knees, making him fall over backwards and as he fell, his Staff hit the back of the Sheep, breaking the Spell.
Now I had my own body again, with full Health and above all: full Mana!
Being so near to Gregory, I shouted at him, waving my hand in front of his face: "Gregory, please stop it! You said you did not want to hate anymore!" It brought him back to his senses. "You're right!" he exclaimed."I don't want this!"
"You have to Mind Control him!" I told him again.
"Yes! Mind Control!" he said and started to cast.
Just at that very moment, the Water-Elemental came to attack him and ended up MC-ed instead!
Being Mind-Controlled, it did no longer see us as his enemies and being of very simple intent, it went to attack the Human, who attempted to Dismiss it, but instead, quickly succumbed under it attacks and the casting of the Shaman and me, after which it de-spawned!
What an abrupt end to such a crazy, chaotic, fight!
I looked around. Save for the Rogue, who had died to the Water-Elemental, everyone else looked to be mostly OK and there was even a little cheer coming from Wilani.
"Thanks for getting me out of that!" said Gregory to me.
"No problem, Greg!" I replied with a smile, "but it seems there is some work for you to do."
He proceeded to ress the Rogue and I had to smile a little: for once a fight where it was not the Mage who had to get ress-ed!
When he got back on his feet, he quickly came to stand near the Fire and said, while shivering vigorously: "Now I understand why those Satyrs chose to attack us! Not even Demons like them would dare to confront a Water-Elemental! That was just terrible!
I can't wait to be back in Orgrimmar!"
"It is terrible indeed, how they enslave a Force of Nature in this way and make it do their bidding." said the Shaman.
"Such a wrongdoing can only be expected to redress itself in the terrible ending that we have witnessed."
"Yes," said the Rogue, "it is unfortunate that he died so suddenly. We might have gotten important information from him. Perhaps he has some documents on his person."
And he went to search the dead Human.
"Well, well," we heard him say, "would you look at this! We have found ourselves a real Lieutenant of the Twilight Cult!"
And he held up something small. It turned out to be a Lieutenant's Insignia.
"Those at the Headquarters will possibly be lenient, if I present them with this valuable asset. It will come to good use when they send a new party down here. We should waste no time and go back immediately! When can you make a new Portal to Orgrimmar?" he asked me.
"There is something nice for you too, look!" he added and held up another small item. "Azora's Arcane Will" he read, and tossed it over to me.
I caught it in the air. It was a Ring, obviously for Arcane Casters.
"That's a nice one!" I said. Another Ring! This adventure at least came with some benefits!
"Well," I went on, "you know, there is a long cool-down on the Portal Spell so it won't be ready for quite some time."
"Drat!" he exclaimed. "I guess I can not make you have it cool-down faster if I let you have this Staff too?" he said, half jokingly.
"Let me?!" I exclaimed in turn. "Who has made you Loot-master, suddenly?! Let me have a look at that Staff, and quickly! Before I turn you into a toad." I said with a laugh.
The Staff was only slightly better than the one from the Naga but more lithe and not so rough, so I was happy to change to it. It was comparable to my old Staff, that I had carried for so long, all be it more flashy, with a big crystal on top.
"Yes, I think I will keep this one, if you guys don't mind. It is better than the one I have."
There were no objections.
Standing by the Fire, Gregory was the first one to bring up the question that was in everyone's Mind:
"What should we do now? Sit around and wait?"
"That would suit me just fine." said Wilani, sitting down.
"I had my fill of killing for today and many days to come and I would love to have a nice long break and see the sun in the blue sky."
"I would be happy to fulfill your wish, if I could" I replied.
"This adventure has been more than long enough for my taste."
"I can't say how happy I am, that you finally agree to go back to Orgrimmar." said the Rogue.
But the Shaman said: "As we have seen that the Portal was not destined to succeed, it must mean that Her task has not been completed."
He had not finished his words or a big group came into view.
Quickly, we all got up and readied ourselves but there were far too many to fight.
"Put away your weapons!" said the Rogue in an urgent tone.
"And be quiet, we just might have a chance!"
Slowly turtling my way up.
