Pearlhunt in Blackfathom Deeps

[Mantigora]

I had to make them stop casting, in whatever way possible.
They were too far apart to hit with an explosion, and that would take too many hits anyway.
Not to mention the huge amount of Mana. How could I take out both of them at the same time?

Only recently, I had learned a special Spell, to turn an adversary into a harmless sheep.
But just one and only for a little while. It had to do. Luckily it was not such a long cast and poof! - one fluffy sheep was walking up and down, aimlessly.

Now for the other one! I started to cast a fireball, it burned him, it was effective, but it was not going to make him stop casting. Not until he would be dead.
I tried a volley of Arcane Missiles, every hit of which interrupted his casting, but only for an instant. They costed too much Mana anyway and I needed Mana to re-cast the sheep-spell, before it would run out.

Frustrated, I swung my staff at him and I hit him with a satisfying bash.
That interrupted his casting too!
And so I settled into this weird routine:

Bash!

Bash!

Bash!

Sheep!

and again Bash!


I was not used to fight fights in melee. My arms started to hurt and I ran short of breath.
This Satyr was like a statue, enduring my hits as if he was in trance.
He had taken quite some damage, but still not enough that I could risk to finish him off quickly.

Bash!

Bash!

How's the sheep!?

Bash!

Bash!

"Guys!" I wailed, "Hurry up!"

Bash!

Bash!







You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

"Welcome back!" said the Warrior, "You really saved my skin!"
"Thanks! You're welcome," I said automatically.
What happened?
"Yes. Welcome back", said a deep Tauren voice.
"You were dead when we found you", said the Rogue.
"I have ress'ed you" smiled the Priest. "I told you I would do it!"
"You probably ran out of Mana," said the Rogue, "or one broke free from his Sheep-Spell early. It does happen sometimes. But you did a good job. We got her out of the Mind-Control!"

It started to come back to me, The Mind-Control! Was it really over? The Rogue was still saying nice things!
"And the Satyrs?" I asked? "There were two Satyrs!"
"We did not see no Satyrs", he said. "They must have run away. The Cowards!"
He was back at his cold behavior, but I was too happy to be alive again to complain and I had seen that there was more behind that cold facade.
"Five more minutes, OK?" I said.
"Yes. You rest now. He is going to cook something for us" rumbled the Shaman, pointing at the Priest.



"Fish! It's good for the brain", said the Priest. Happy smiles and all.
Fish! I did not want to spoil his good mood, but fish?! I was not going to eat that!
Those cold and smelly things!
But this was not smelling bad at all, actually...


"Sagefish!" He declared. "The food of the Wise!"
"It brings Health to the body and Power to the mind.
And it is a good source of Mana too", he added.
He passed the Sagefish around and soon we were all sitting, munching down on warm, deliciously smelling fish.


"Why can you even cook?" asked the Warrior mouthful.
It was as if she had pushed a button, and he sprang into action.
"I was an apprentice cook in the kitchens of Lordaeron, the seat of the King."
His voice had a different ring to it, all of a sudden.

"A coveted place of work, where I was to become a Master Cook, in the fullness of time.
I used to dream, of how it would sound: Gregorius Raleigh Burch, Master Chef, at Your Highness' service!
But you can call me Gregory, or Greg," he said and went on:
"I was named Raleigh after my fathers best friend, Raleigh Andrean, who was the greatest Chef of all of Lordaeron!"
His rattling came to a sudden stop.
"And then we all died", he concluded.


"I will cook some more, for later, if you guys want?"
There were sounds of agreement coming from all of us and he went back to his cooking.

You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

It was strange to think that this Undead guy, Gregory, he must have been quite young still, at that time and at the same time, it all had happened so long ago, that he was very much older than any of us.

"My Name is Lah'Mawhani, I volunteered, Hani for short, and she is called Lah'Wilani, we just call her Wilani, or Lani, if she is nice." I smiled.
"Hani and Lani hmm? Nice to make your acquaintance", he replied. "Are you related? Your names being so similar?"
"She is my mothers youngest sister, but I am older than she is", I said with a big grin.
"Not even by one Moon!" She blurted out.

I smiled again. "We grew up together," I continued, "we were inseparable, until she decided that she wanted to become a Warrior and had to leave for her training. They must have bashed her on the head a few times too many, because she never was the same after she came back!" And I dodged out of the way.
"And your Mom never bashed you enough, young lady!"
She sprayed bits of fish and tried to hit me, but I was already gone.
"Yes, I can see the resemblance, you two are evenly matched", he said wisely.
And that ended the hostilities.















You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

The Shaman had been sitting quietly, eating. Tauren get their names from the Earthmother and those are sacred, not to be revealed to anyone but family or the closest of friends. And everyone knew that it was no use to ask a Rogue for his name, they had so many, they changed names quicker than they changed their clothes.

He had gotten up already, not getting as much sustenance from the fish as we Mana-users did and was doing something with his bags.
Probably putting poison onto his daggers again. I could not tell, he was sitting with his back towards us.
They never did anything into the open if they could prevent it.

But turning his back to us, that showed lack of concern. I did not expect him to trust us, a Rogue does not trust anyone, but that meant that he felt we could not be of any real threat to him and that meant that this guy was really not what we thought him to be when took him in our party, back in Orgrimmar.
But if he was indeed that good, he would not give away any information like that.
It made my brain start to hurt. This was a dead end.
I could not figure this guy out.









You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

"One Silver for your thoughts?" said the Warrior with a smile.
It shook me awake.
"None of your business", I said, airily.
"Are you thinking about your Rogue-friend again?"
"Are you being M-C-ed again?" I retorted.

He is not my friend, I wanted to say, but that would be just oil on the fire.
She looked disappointed, that I was not giving her more leverage, it was almost as if I could hear her say: "Your Mom will hear of this!"


"She must be a strong Spirit to have both you as a sister and her as her daughter", said the Shaman.

I could not believe my ears! Was he reading my mind?!
Tauren never spoke much and when they did it was always in some mysterious way.
It was things like: "Ah! I have just the thing for you." Or: "I have been expecting you."
Sure Lady, you sell things, that is why come I to you. Something you say to all your customers.


"Had," said Lani flatly, "she was killed by Murlocs."

By nightfall my Mother had still not returned from the other village.
I wanted to go find her, so desperately that they had to lock me up; I was not allowed to go out in the dark.


"They found her after four days", said Lani.

What was left of her!! I screamed internally. Murlocs were never to pass over an easy meal.
They could not even find her skull! How was she going to be taken up amongst the ancestors!?


"She is in the care of the Earthmother", spoke the Shaman again.

Yea, sure, I thought, whatever!


"I only heard of it when I came back from my training", said Lani with a bitter tone in her voice.

I had wanted to go tell her!
Oh! how I wanted to go find her, but we did not know where her training was held or when she would return.
All those Moons that I was unable to speak to her! We had always shared everything!

And when she had come back, it was not the same as before. Nothing was the same!
She was always out, practicing this stance or that weapon or whatever they did!
All I had left were my studies.







You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

"Anyway," said Lani, getting up, "it is time to get a move on."
"Yes," said the Rogue, returning to the fire, "I have been thinking about that."
"I think we should have a vote on it," he said, "but only after you guys have heard my concern."
This guy kept amazing me: an Orc, who was thinking and spoke more than one-word sentences. Incredible!

"You all may have noticed the strange determination shown by the Naga. Although they are sentient, they never behave any different from aggressive animals, much the same as Murlocs do and that is not what I have seen here today.

And then there is the Mind-Control."
He looked us over, sitting around the fire.
"The odd Satyr-Rogue, perhaps, stealing from the Naga, minding his own business, who would not dare to attack a group of five. That is all of the Satyr we have seen in here for many years.

And now, suddenly, there are casters who can do Mind-Control and risk to attack us!
What reason might they have?
And lastly the little things: her missing Axe, that makeshift altar where they dragged you onto.
Uncommon behavior, all without a clear reason.

We could go back to Orgrimmar, report it and everyone would laugh it away and not take it serious.
But we would be alive and well, save for some cheap jokes about our lost Honor.
Or we could go on and see what we can find out.
This is a good group, even though she can not tank, unless we find her a suitable weapon.
We can work around that, if we care to do that.
But it is up to you all", he concluded.


"I can make a Portal to Orgrimmar right now, but I can also do that later", I added unsurely.
"Yes," he said, "but what do you want yourself?"
"I, I don't know."

I was thinking about those boots that I hoped to finish soon. They only needed a pair of Iridescent Pearls. It was the main reason I had come here. Foraging Murlocs often found pearls that they kept without doing anything with them. I would put those to much better use.
And it would be quite some time until I would feel the urge to make another trip here.

"I would like to go on," said the Priest, "it is my first time here, but that means I can't really say much about it."
"I would go on, if you guys would go", said Lani.
"The Earthmother has given me a small task", said the Shaman.
"She is patient and forgets not. I will find again a group, if I must."

You had to get used to Tauren-speak: He would go in here for sure, today or on another day, just to do some simple thing, like putting a flower somewhere or pouring some water over a stone and it would be done when it was done and that was then the right moment.
They sure lived their lives different from us, I thought.

You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

Everyone was getting up and went on preparing their bags and things.
Somehow a silent agreement had formed.
I had seen this before, in groups that had been together for a long time, like Lani and me, but this group was only made today!
Even so, it was miraculous and a good sign too.


I had nothing to pack, so I went to the fire to replenish the Fiery-Orb.
While the fire was still burning, it was like free Mana.

"Here, for later", said Gregory, and he put a Cooked Sagefish in my hand.
"Thanks!" I smiled.
I was not used to be given food.
Mages were always asked for food, since we can magically create it, and drinks, too.

The drinks would replenish Mana, like nearly all drinks do that aren't booze, but the food was only good for keeping you alive. It did not give any other benefit.
Unlike these fish.
He was right; They were really good for the brain.
I smiled, I think I had become a fish-convert!





You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

We set off, Wilani in the front, at the edge of the light, the Rogue behind her at her flank.
They were casting long shadows that merged into the unknown blackness.

I held the Fiery-Orb on my Staff high in front of me, making it shine as bright as possible, in order to have a decent gap between us.
The Priest and the Shaman were right behind me, ready to spring into action if those in front got jumped by something nasty.


The ground still sloped downwards and was covered with sand everywhere, so there were no hidden pits to fear and we made good progress.
From time to time, or when there was a sharp turn, they signaled us to a halt, to listen.

Our ears were peaked and we tried to stop our breathing and if we could have, our heartbeats, to pick up any sound in this stifling silence.
But only sounds that we had brought with us were heard.


Only after a long time, we started to hear a sound, a constant drone.
It was the surf and the accompanying ground-swell, conducted all the way down, here, through the great weight of rock and water above us.
We were going under the sea!





You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

Other sounds of water added themselves to the drone, drips in unseen pools and such.
The sand was now wet and this made the going a lot easier.
The air was also markedly cooler and a tension that had been unnoticed left the group.

I dimmed the Orb a bit, the walls here were shiny and wet and had their own pale glow of blue light.
That was a welcome change and quite bright after that long walk in complete darkness.


We moved along more freely and I dimmed the Orb some more, to let us get used to the different kind of light and to not alert any nasties from far away.


The ceiling got higher and the tunnel narrower and it started to branch out.
Most of these branches were dead ends, some literally so, there lay bones of unfortunate ones, who had taken a wrong turn whilst trying to flee, or they might have been ambushed with no way to escape.
I looked around while we waited till our vanguard had checked them all out.

This then, must be the right tunnel but I don't remember it being so narrow.
But it widened soon enough.

The sand here was covered with a thin layer of water and there were huge shallow puddles that held big blind crabs. They were harmless and quite tasty.
We really should get some on our way back.
But first, pearls!

You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Lichenwitch]

great story, keep it up!

[Mantigora]

We must be getting close to where the Murlocs would be, there was more and more water everywhere.
But it was not the Murlocs we found.
“Naga!” whispered Wilani back to us.

The Rogue Vanished on the spot, ready for an ambush, while we held back a little more.
And poor little Lani was there all alone, it seemed.

You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

It was an Elite patrol, big, gleaming scales, one with a trident, the other a huge saber.
They rushed in, ready to slay this trespasser fast.

She blocked the incoming trident but was too late to completely dodge the one with the saber.
It hit her on the shoulder and slid off her armor.
He closed in to flank her and was nearly hit by her enormous Axe-blade.

She spun the Axe round like a madman, but they were undeterred.
Much heavier than she was, there could only be one outcome.
A well-trained Warrior could have given them a run for their money, but she was not going to be a serious threat.


Trident-guy was harassing her, forcing her to lose ground while Sabre-guy was moving around, looking to get closer.
They were working to pin her to the wall.
That did give her some cover, but it made escaping virtually impossible.

It seemed they had found their positions now and they began their onslaught in earnest.
Perhaps they felt it had taken long enough.

Someone else had the same thought and Sabre-guy reared up with a dagger in his back.
It put his throat in the path of the oncoming Axe and he was nearly decapitated by it.
The Rogue finished him off quickly and took his daggers back.

"Let me have this one, OK?" panted Lani. "I need the exercise."
She changed tactics, mostly parrying now, her Axe was so much slower than the Trident.
She choked up on the Axe-blade and started to use it more like a shield.
A very edgy shield, that she could put forward suddenly with her other hand.

It suited her tanking instincts much better and I was surprised to see the fight turn around.
Up to now I had been a bit concerned for her safety and could not see her win this fight at all.
Of course, we were ready to step in if needed.


The Naga was spending a lot more energy with his long slashes and his arms were losing scales, but he was still so much stronger. How long was this fight going to last?
I was flexing my hands, ready to cast, a Frost-bolt or something, but I would not interfere, nor make her lose her concentration.
Come on, Lani! I thought.



You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

The Naga was slowing down, unable to keep up his frenzy but his blind determination was not affected.
It was slowly becoming a spectacle instead of a fight.


Suddenly the great bulk of the Shaman stepped past me and towards the Naga.
He was carrying a Staff now and not his shield and mace.
An instant Frost-shock hit the Naga and was followed by a Lightning-bolt.

"Mine!" Shouted Lani.
"The Tide of your opportunity has passed!", rumbled the Shaman.
He flung another Lightning-bolt while Lani swung onto the Naga once more.
The Frost-bolt I had been keeping at the ready hit him at the same time.
The Rogue stepped in to finish him off, but I think he was already dead when he hit the ground.


Lani was steaming! Her body as well as her anger.
"I was going to finish him myself!" she shouted at the Shaman.
His silence made her even more angry.
Fearing she was going to attack him, I called her name: "Wilani!" on which she directed her anger to me.
And she was still holding that big Axe!
"Please," I said, "put down the Axe, Lani, before someone gets hurt."


A tiny bit in me was afraid that she was going to say something like: "I will show you who is getting hurt!" but to my relief, she tossed the Axe aside, only to pick up the Trident that the Naga had used.
"It is a bit dinged," she said, "but I can have that repaired", talking as if she was at the market of used goods!
Her anger had left her without a trace as if nothing had happened!

I looked at the Rogue and I saw him put away his Sap, he had been ready to hit her on the head!
He felt my gaze and came towards me, "We must talk soon", he said quietly.

I looked at the Priest. He had not said anything and looked like he was nailed to the ground.
I went to him and said: "Hey Gregory, could you perhaps check on Wilani if she needs any healing?"
It seemed to unfreeze him.
We went on, leaving the two dead Naga behind.

You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

Lani was talking to Gregory, probably explaining to him all the benefits of her new prize.
The Rogue came to walk beside me and handed me her Axe, if I could put it away for now.

"Sure," I said, "but I think that was not what you were going talk to me about."
"Those two Satyrs," he said, "can you remember how you were killed?"
"That was not what I was expecting, either", I said.
"I will come to that", he replied. "You were not visibly hurt, so I would like to know how you were killed."
"I can really not remember", I said. "I had one Sheeped and I was hitting the other one with my Staff and I was getting pretty tired. Then I woke up."
"Just tired?" he asked. "It is important, he added."
"Well," I started, not very happy to speak about it, "I was feeling very much alone and desperate.
I did not know how long I could keep up the fight."

"You know Wilani for a long time", he said, it was not a question.
"You feel she is not the same as before and it makes you feel alone."
"What are you getting at?!" I exclaimed irritated.
"Hmm", he said, "I have to ask you to keep this a secret, for your own safety as well as for hers.
But I think that she was not Mind-Controlled and that you were killed by enhanced desperation and loneliness. Let me finish.

This Spell is called Induced Insanity and there are a few Satyrs that have gained this tremendous power.
That they would be here is so unlikely, I can not even begin to think about it, but it seems to be the case nevertheless."

"Why do you think she was not MC-ed?" I said, "We all saw her trying to kill the Priest!"
"Mind-Control takes over a persons will instantly and makes him act against his own will.
Induced Insanity makes use of what is already present and enhances it till Insanity is reached.
You saw how she gradually worked herself up to the point she was ready to strike, didn't you?"
"Yes!" I said, "And you fed her even more until she flipped!"
"Well, yes," he said, "I had to, to see if she was willing to go through with it."
"That is terrible! Do you mean to say she is a murderous person?", I said, getting angry.
"No," he said, "I don't think that she is. It was planted in her, most likely at her Training.
We are not exactly sure how."

Her Training! I thought, I always had known she had not been the same after that.
I said: "I know you are not going to tell me who 'We' are and to trust a Rogue is a sure way to lose your life and everything, but I can only say that I think you´re right.
This outburst of hers, that vanished without a trace, that is not normal behavior.
And I don't want to lose her completely to this Insanity.
What must I do, to make it stop?"
"We don't know", he said. "All I can ask is to keep an eye on her, knowing that she can not be expected to be her own self all the time."

"Are you going to inform the others?" I asked.
"No," he said, "Gregory is still pretty young, if you can call it that, and he," pointing behind him, "he knows things without the need of anyone telling him.
He will be our greatest help in this, just because he is who he is."

"You knew about this, when we were picking you up in Orgrimmar," I said accusingly, "and you made them not choose that Warlock-girl."
"I expected it", he said, "and no, it happened like that.
You have my word", he said with a grin.
The word of a Rogue.
I showed a sparse grin too.





You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

I saw how Gregory and Wilani were chatting.
It is always a good thing when the Tank and her Healer have a good understanding.
The performance of the whole of the group, and not to forget, it's survivability,
depend on the synergy between those two. They are the core of every successful party.

Since the ground was covered with water, ankle-deep only, we made a lot of splashing noise.
It was unavoidable. So our voices were hardly to blame, if we were heard.


"I have been thinking", I said to the Rogue.
"Those Naga at the start, they must have used a shortcut.
There is no way they took that same long path over the dry sand that we have followed.
Especially that nearly-dead Naga, he would have been dead even before half-way."

He looked at me in a way that was hard to describe.
"And we didn't see anything." I continued. "We were so occupied with the altar and the dead Shaman and the attack that followed, that we have missed it."
"Very sharp!", he said.
It was my turn to show a grin.

"Maybe, there is a hole in the ceiling that they use, if it is high up, we would never see it."
"Or a Portal, perhaps?", he said.
"Those Sea-witches are not real Mages", I replied, "they are Shamanistic."
"Hmm. Intriguing", he said, "and very sharp of you!"
I showed an even bigger grin.
That was the moment that Lani turned her head towards us, to tell us that soon we would be running into Murlocs, and if we could be more quiet from now on.
Oh! I could hear her already, as soon as she would have the slightest opportunity.




You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

There were caves here, along both sides of the tunnel. All filled with deep pools of water.
The ideal place for Murlocs, so we approached quiet and carefully.

But there were no Murlocs.
In one cave we found three Naga Sea-witches.
It was a short fight: they were startled and tried to get away to be able to cast from afar, but the pool was too small for that and they succumbed quickly to the onslaught of the Rogue and the Warrior, aided by the casting of the Shaman and me.

All the other pools were empty.
Till, after we checked yet another empty pool, we heard a sound.
Quietly again, we moved closer, Rogue in front, this time.


It was clearly talking, in strange harsh voices and I had no idea of even what language was spoken.
"Dwarves!" Whispered the Rogue, and signaled us to stay back.

He slowly went closer while we waited.
Dwarves! I thought. They are very dangerous!
I only had seen them from far away. Short but strong and always busy and not to be underestimated.
They were as clever as any old Troll Witch-doctor!

The Rogue winked us to come to him and we silently reached by his side, at the mouth of a big cave.




You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

Quite a bit inside, there were two Dwarves, clad in Naga-scale armor.
One was sitting and the other one standing over him and doing most of the talking.

He had gray hair and beard and his armor clearly showed that he was of higher rank than the other Dwarf.
His subordinate had brown hair and a shortish beard.
He was sitting down, his bare feet hanging in the water and he seemed not so much bothered by the dressing down from his boss.
He had taken off his gloves and shoulder-pads and was only holding a burning torch.

They were fairly loud, not trying to be quiet at all while they argued. So they must feel pretty safe here.
That was a thing of concern.
We all moved back, away from the mouth of the cave, to make a plan.




"They are heavily armored", said the Rogue, "something to be expected of Dwarves, of course, but it is clear that someone is spending a decent amount of gold on their gear. Naga-scale armor is not cheap to make and since it is always wet and shiny, it is highly resistant against Fire." Here he looked at me.

That was bad news, because Dwarves are by Nature resistant to any Frost-damage. One of the many reasons why they were so dangerous.
"They also wear chain-mail-cloaks", he continued, "which is bad news for me."
"So, what to do?" he concluded.

I was surprised, I had expected him to come up with a plan, but it was the Shaman who spoke:
"The Earthmother has showed me this cave in my Dream.
It is here where I must fulfill my task."

Well, that ruled out quietly sneaking away and leaving them be, I thought.
"Here is not their righteous place, they must go." said the Shaman again.
Wilani said: "I will take on the barefooted Dwarf, if you can keep his boss busy."
"OK," said the Rogue, we will take out the younger Dwarf first."



You can read the whole story in one piece here: https://mantigora.net/bfd

[Mantigora]

So, we had a plan.
We moved into position and the Shaman started to cast a Lightning-bolt onto the boss-Dwarf. He wavered but swiftly gained his composure and readied his shield and a short sturdy Axe.
With a loud cry, he stormed at the Shaman.
Wilani stormed past him, to charge at the younger Dwarf, who was getting up hastily.

She hit him with her Trident flat on the back while he dodged to escape her fury. Staggering, he swung his torch in her direction while she came in for another hit.
The torch left a swirling string of fire behind that coiled around her arms and head. She screamed in agony and went clear past him, backing off in pain.

"Wilani!" I shouted and went all-out, casting Arcane-missiles onto her assailant. "Get away from him!"
She was badly hit and I heard the Priest casting Healing-spells onto her while I shot more missiles.
The Dwarf did not like that at all and came running towards me.

I engaged him and casted my Fire-ward-spell; we Mages can endure a decent amount of Fire this way.
He whipped me with Fire while I kept casting volley after volley.
When he saw how little it affected me, he took his Axe from his side and advanced towards me. He would chop me to bits with that thing! I quickly casted a Frost-Nova and Blinked, out of his reach.

Even though the Frost had little effect on him, it froze solid the shallow water he was standing in. He used his Axe to cut himself free but he had to be careful not to chop off his own toes!
I looked around. Wilani had moved to the boss-Dwarf and was taking turns with the Rogue. They had little impact on the sturdy Dwarf but he was becoming more and more agitated.

"Help me finish off this one!"I called out to the Shaman. The younger Dwarf had freed himself and was now hell-bound on turning me into fish-food. I had to run for my life.
The Lightning-bolts of the Shaman, made him stagger a bit and that gave me a chance to cast another volley.
We were getting him down!

In the meantime the Rogue had received a nasty gash and the Priest had to heal him a lot. This upset the boss-Dwarf so much that he decided to go kill the Priest first.
Foaming with anger he ran to poor Gregory who froze on the spot.
But I had underestimated him. He casted a protecting Shield onto himself and sprang out of the way.
That shield would only hold one or maybe two hits, so he had to run for his life.
Now everyone was running!

Except the Shaman. He threw another Lightning-bolt at the Dwarf, who fell to the ground.
I ran towards him to cast an Arcane-explosion. And that was the end of him.

I took his Axe and shouted: "Here! Wilani! Take this!" I waved the Axe in the air and she came running to me.
Now she had a weapon again that enabled her to use her shield.
She dropped the Trident and took out her shield.
Then she let out a blood-curdling Challenging Shout!
Our Warrior was back in business!!

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[Mantigora]

She ran to Intercept the boss-Dwarf, blocking him from reaching the Priest.
This was a language he understood and he let out a Challenging Shout of his own.
Shorter and sturdier, he was difficult for her to handle, but she was backed-up by a healing Priest while he wasn't. She could take more risk than him, and it seemed to cool him down from his anger, having to parry most of her attacks.

Backing up now, he saw how the odds were, definitely not in his favor.
I started to cast Arcane-missiles on him and he made a run for it, deeper into the cave.
Lani was on his heels and we were all running behind her.
But then, suddenly he stopped and bursted out laughing. The laugh of a madman.

He started to talk now, in his strange, coarse, language and winked us to come closer, while he went back, carefully.
We followed him, deeper into the cave and then we saw what he had seen: Murlocs!
Dozens of Murlocs!
They were walking and sitting around in the knee-deep water.

So, that was were all the Murlocs had gone; they were imprisoned here by the Dwarves.
And now their warder was dead. It was all to clear what would happen if he would run into there and stir up that big group. Once they had killed him, they would not stop there. They would be free!
Nothing would keep them from running into poor us.

He laughed again, seeing how we were taken aback. And even louder when he saw our anxious glances over towards the Murlocs.
He was clearly mad and it made him the more dangerous.

Lani backed off a little, by the time she would catch up with him, they both would be spotted by the Murlocs.
This was cause for even more joy to the Dwarf and he laughed again.
"He must not be allowed to escape" said the Shaman.
And I shot a Sheep-spell at the dwarf.


It was a desperate act: once he would turn back into a Dwarf, he would be his own fresh and undamaged Self again. But this way at least, he could not laugh any-more.
We all went back a little more while the sheep wandered aimlessly about.


The Warrior ran her new Axe along a Sharpening stone, but that Dwarf-made Axe had little to gain, so sharp as it was.
The Rogue applied new poisons onto his daggers.
The Priest topped-off everyone's Health.
And the Sheep wandered over towards the Murlocs!

"Run!" I said, while I casted another Sheep-spell onto it, just to be sure.
If we were lucky they would only kill the sheep and be busy eating it.
It would buy us some time until the first inquisitive Murlocs came wandering this way.

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[Mantigora]

I felt a stone in my stomach.
No-one had said anything. No-one had blamed me for acting impulsively.
I wished we could run away. So many Murlocs!

The Shaman looked at me and said: "You are in touch with the Earthmother.
She works through you. Know that you are blessed."


It felt as if a bomb had gone off inside me!
I stepped away for a bit to regain my composure.
Those Tauren! Always so unexpected!
I let out a deep sigh.


Big emotions were wrestling inside me to gain the upper hand.
I wanted to cry!
I wanted to scream!

But there was no time for that now!
We were going to have an enormous fight on our hands soon.
It HAD to wait.






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[Mantigora]

I felt anxious, what could we hope to bring to bear, facing so many Murlocs?
A mage can indeed fight many when they are in the same spot, by casting spells that cover a greater area and do damage to all in that reach. But this was such a big group, what if I would miss some?
Those not affected would certainly come to grab and kill me instantly.

Frost-nova, yes, and then Blizzard to make ice-shards rain down on them.
I was going over the actions in my mind.
But such a big group! I never had taken on so many, ever!


I was pacing up and down, whilst thinking it over, when my foot hit the torch that the younger dwarf had used. It lay in the shallow water, extinguished.
Perhaps I could light it again and use it to keep the Murlocs at bay!
I picked it up and went back to the others.


"Where is the Rogue? I asked."
"He went to have a look and maybe draw the attention of a few wandering Murlocs." said Gregory.
"We are waiting for him to return. He won't be long."

So they had started without letting me know!
Or had I been in thoughts so much that I had not heard them?
I looked at the others, they were all watching the spot where the Rogue would show up again, on his way back.
How many Murlocs would he bring?
What if they would come all at once?!




This uneasy feeling was still there.
I looked at the Shaman. He seemed calm enough. Even Gregory had spoken with just excitement in his voice.
The only one who was some kind of tense was Wilani, but she had to spring into action as soon as the first Murloc would show up. Her normal Warrior's job.

So why was I so nervous then? No-one had suggested I should take on that whole group.
It did not matter, I still felt a stone in my stomach.









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[Mantigora]

There he is! I wanted to shout, but I did not want to make a spectacle of myself and I was able to say nothing.
He was running towards Wilani, who was standing in front.

"Four!" He said, a little out of breath, while he ran past her and then he Vanished.
The Murlocs ran straight towards Wilani and since they could not see their former target, they went to assault the Warrior.

This was what she had trained for, making sure all the Murlocs would attack her and only her.
I targeted the one that was closest to her and casted a fire-bolt onto it.
The Shaman and the Rogue were doing the same and the Murloc was going down really fast.
Gregory was tossing many heals onto her, since she was getting hit from four sides, so he was really busy.
And when I saw she turned to the next Murloc, I followed her lead while the first Murloc died at the hands of the Rogue.

With one less, it was a little easier and number two was going down even faster.
Then it was the turn of Murloc number three. I saw that Gregory was using his wand, in between the now fewer heals that he had to do.
The last one died almost directly after the third.

That was a well-executed fight!
Nothing had gone wrong! I gave a cheer of relief.
"There are at least ten times more, Lady", said the Rogue in his familiar cold tone. "I don't think we want gamble on being this lucky, ten times in a row!"
Ohh! This guy! What was I thinking?! He was just the same as before!





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[Mantigora]

"Well I have found this!" I said and held up the Dwarven-torch.
If we can light it again, we can keep those Murlocs at bay!"
"Do you know how to light it?", he asked.
"Well, it is a torch...", I started.

I looked at it closer: the handle was made of wood, but the wood was un-burned. The part on the top was made of metal and that was blackened by fire. Had they used some magic to keep the fire in-place?
It was quite different from my Fiery-Orb, that did not whip-out strings of fire.
"But it is unlike any torch I have seen before. I don't know."


I felt deflated, my initial enthusiasm had vanished without a trace.
"Perhaps I know", he said, "if I may have a look please?"
"Sure", I said. "But wait, what is this?"

As I held the torch upside-down, I saw on the bottom of the metal part a sort of button.
I pushed on it, in the hope to light the torch, but something fell out instead.
It dropped in the shallow water where it left an oily circle that slowly became bigger.
I picked it up from the water: it was a small glass vial, nearly empty, only a little oil and water was in it.

"Well, now we can be sure it is not going to work." said the Rogue.
"I can put it back in." I said hastily.
"That's not the problem, Lady", said the Rogue. "The oil is finished.
And by chance I did not happen to bring any oil with me." He added wryly.
"In my bags there is some fish-oil." came the deep voice of the Shaman.
"Shaman need it to Water-walk." he clarified. "It is for future use that I gather it."

"Well, it is not Fire-oil, but it might still work." said the Rogue. "I probably have to adjust the burner."
Since he seemed to know what to do with it, I handed him the torch and the Shaman gave him a vial, somewhat bigger than the one that had fallen out.
"I need something from my bags for that." he continued and turned away.
"Keep watching out for any Murlocs!" he said over his shoulder.




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[Mantigora]

"Even if we can keep all the Murlocs in one spot, I can not kill all of them on my own!
They have too much health, I will be Out Of Mana before they are dead."

I was explaining to the others that I could not be expected to cast area-damage-spells onto all those Murlocs. But I think I was just trying to convince myself that I was not going to do that.
Somehow a pity. It is the trademark of a Mage to slay many in one go.
But one has to be realistic.


"To kill without need is not the way of the Earthmother." said the Shaman.
"You can say that again!", said Wilani.
"There was nothing to Need for: empty shells and broken stones! Nothing worth anything, we threw it all away."

She and Gregory had searched the dead Murlocs for pearls.
"Not even a fish-head", said Gregory. "They must be as hungry as church-rats!"
I had no idea what kind of rats that must be, but if bony-Gregory thought they were hungry, they certainly must be starving.


"Their freedom is in their hearts", said the Shaman, "They will be glad to leave from here.
Then Her task can be fulfilled without disruption."

"Hah!" we heard and we turned towards the Rogue: He was holding up the flaming torch. It was giving-off a lot of black smoke and did not look at all like how it had been burning when the Dwarf had held it.
And not just smoke! There was an enormous fish-smell coming from that thing!

"You guys go hide out of sight, quickly", said the Rogue "while I will go round them up and herd them out of this cave. I don't know how long this thing will keep on burning, so I don't want to waste any time.
Now go quickly! And don't worry about me, I can always Vanish!" he told us while he ran further into the cave.

We all got up, like stung by a bee and scrambled to find some good hiding spots along the side of the cave.
Oh! To run in without preparation is a sure way to die!
But it could not be helped. He was already gone.





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[Mantigora]

I had only just found a spot when we heard the Rogue scream. His voice was getting louder, he was coming back towards us!
"Out of the way!" he yelled as we saw him running back.
He kept on running and instead of herding the Murlocs, they were chasing him! The fish-smell from the torch was irresistible for the ravenous Murlocs.
More and more Murlocs were running past us, even when he already went out of the mouth of the cave.
I could not help wondering if Vanish would help if you smelled like fish.

The last Murlocs had ran out off the cave but we all stayed where we were. What if they would come back?
The Shaman was the first one to get up from his hiding-spot.
"Now that they are free, they won't come back." he said.
"This has been a bad place for them. However, for your comfort, I will inspect the tunnel outside this cave."
"I will come along, in case you need Healing." said Gregory.
"We all come" said Wilani, standing up.
There was not much else left to do, so I followed without much enthusiasm.


At least we did not get killed because of that brash act. It could easily have gone bad.
Very bad indeed.
As for Mr. "Lee-rogue Jenkins" himself, it still had to be seen if Vanish had saved his skin.
Of-course I did not wish him to be dead but such an irresponsible act would warrant some kind of repercussion, would it not? And what would we encounter if we had to go look for his corpse?
No, it would be best if he would show up soon.






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[Mantigora]

We came to the part where the Murlocs had been.
The water was a bit deeper here, nearly knee-deep and we were sloshing about.
At the back of the cave there stood a rough Altar: a big boulder that rested onto three smaller ones. If it had not been for the flattish top and the gigantic pearl that was lying on it, it could well have been just a pile of rocks.

But that pearl! It must be as big as a Murloc! That thing would be priceless!
But so big, no-one could hope to take such a thing anywhere.
And for what? Who could even pay for what it was worth?

The voice of the Shaman ended my dreams of boundless riches.
"The Earthmother had showed me this Altar in my Dream.
I will prepare for my Task, now. Please leave me until I return."
So we turned away, back to where we had come from, while the Shaman slowly neared the Altar.


















“Owwaargh!” We heard the Tauren scream.
Shocked we quickly turned back and saw an enormous Murloc standing on his chest, clawing at his armor and biting his shield. He tried to cast a healing-spell onto himself, but he was greatly hindered. He had to keep his head above water and was unable to get up.
Horrified I watched how this monster was tearing patches of leather with it's flat fingers, out from the Shaman's armor.

But Wilani was already charging in, shouting and bashing her shield. Did she not know any fear?
Gregory was casting heals onto the Shaman and all I could do was watch.
Lani was slamming her shield on the Murloc’s head, to make him let go of the Shaman. She was really going all-out.
And I started to cast the biggest fire-bolt I could make.





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[Mantigora]

At last, the Murloc turned towards the Warrior and the Shaman could get back up.
"Strength of Earth!" he roared and planted a totem and a fire-totem too.
Wilani was having a hard time just to keep standing, while the Murloc was clawing and biting at her.

"Help me heal her!" said Gregory to the Shaman "I can not keep this up for long!"
He had to equip his Staff to be of any use for Healing and then they were taking turns healing the Warrior.
Meanwhile, I was casting great balls of fire and my Mana was draining fast.
I was the only one now, doing any kind of significant damage to that monster and it had still more than half of it's Health left.


Suddenly, the Murloc tossed Wilani back and jumped back towards the Tauren. Whilst also kicking down the totems; it happened so fast. He quickly had to take up his shield again.
Gregory had to switch his heals fast and was trying desperately to keep him alive.


Wilani was back on her feet and tried with all her might to make the monster turn back to her.
It finally worked and the Shaman was able to crawl out of reach. He was badly hurt and only managed a little heal onto himself, using up the last of his Mana.

My Mana was also reaching it's end and the Murloc was still far from dead.
The last bit of Mana from the Priest and the quickly diminishing health of the Warrior was all that separated us from a grueling death.

"Sheep him!" shouted Gregory. "I have no Mana left!"
"I am OOM too!" I replied.
"You have to take a potion!" said Gregory again.

There was no other choice.
Mana-potions were a last resort. They were not cheap and could only be used once.
In order to take one, you really had to make it count. There was not going to be a second chance.

I quickly took one, even though they were not used often, they were always held at the ready.
Then I quickly casted the Sheep-spell onto the Murloc.
If it would fail, it would all be over fast.

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[Mantigora]

And poof!
All the danger and horror was now contained in this harmless looking sheep.
It was verily a time-bomb!
Everyone was getting away from it, taking cover behind the Altar. But poor me had to stay in reach, to be able to cast the spell again, before it wore off.

Bandages were used now, to help to heal, since Mana was scarce and needed to be conserved. The fight was not done at all!
I was OK, except for the little Mana I was left with. And the terrified feeling inside me! That monster had been so fast, I was not sure if there would be time to cast a new sheep-spell, in case it would fail prematurely.


I heard exited voices coming from behind the Altar. It seemed they had found something special.
"Guys!" I called. "It is not dead, yet!"
Lani came running towards me. "We found all kinds of nice things there!" she said enthusiastically. "But we have to kill that thing first, of-course."
The Priest was coming this way too, followed by the Shaman, who was wearing some kind of dress now, instead of his badly damaged armor.
"I had not expected to wear the ceremonial dress into battle", he said.
And I had to smile: it is not often that you heard a Tauren say that he did NOT expected that.

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[Mantigora]

They were all back to full health now and Mana too and even I had regained some of my Mana. I would need more time, though, before it was full again.
They came to stand around me, the Warrior between me and the sheep, the others behind me.
It made me feel quite a bit safer now. But I was not forgetting the sheep!

"It is clear that we can not take him head-on."said Wilani.
"Yes, he hits too hard" said Gregory. "We must stay away from him."
"He is too fast for that" I replied.
"And he does not seem to be so eager to bite on metal all the time." said the Shaman. "I need to think about this."
"Don't think too long!" I warned him, "I can not keep him Sheeped forever!"
But as time passed, my Mana went up slowly, bit by bit.








"The Elements are powerful allies," said the Shaman, "however, sometimes Strength is not the answer. The Earth, that supports everything, also has the power to hold things in place. And even Water, that flows everywhere can be used to freeze something to the spot, as you well know." Here he nodded towards me.

"I can clearly see before me, the Path that the Earthmother is showing me. The Earth-bind totem and Frost-shocks will slow the Murloc down, so I can stay out of it's reach. You can assist me with your Frost-nova and your Frost-bolts." he said again to me. "But don't overdo it," he warned, "you don't want him come over to you.
And you both should stay prepared in case something goes wrong." he said, talking to the Warrior and the Priest.
"It is going to be a very long fight and it will test all my powers to the limit."

I was speechless. Never had I heard a Tauren talk so much in one go. But Gregory said brightly: "I can use my wand, yes? It won't cost any Mana." "Sure", said the Shaman, "all help is welcome."
"It is best if we all would stay on the side", said Wilani, "so you have room to maneuver.
Cast one more sheep-spell onto him, Hani, then we get out of the way."

So I did and we all took cover behind the Altar.
Except for the Shaman.
He planted an Earth-bind totem in the center and readied himself to cast a Frost-shock spell onto the Sheep. It would instantly break the Sheep-spell and turn it back into that monster of a Murloc again.

Taking position so the totem would be between him and the Murloc, he unleashed the Frost-shock.







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[Mantigora]

The Murloc ran immediately towards the Shaman, but markedly slower than before and the Tauren started to run in a wide circle around the totem. I looked fascinated how the Murloc tried to catch the Shaman, but he was able to keep his distance.
I knew this game, Mages did practice it too, it was like juggling Death. One mistake and you were in big trouble, if you were not killed on the spot.

I started to fire my smallest Frost-bolt, to slow down the monster even more. Gregory had begun to use his Wand, which casted Shadow-damage onto the Murloc. Only small amounts and together with my small Frost-bolts and the Shaman's occasional Frost-shock, it was only nibbling on the Murloc's health.
This was indeed going to be a long fight!










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[Mantigora]

All the time, the Shaman was running, keeping an eye on his totem to see if it needed to be replaced.
Those were the critical moments where I assisted by casting a Frost-nova, to give him a moments respite.
We needed utmost concentration, not to make a mistake. It was definitely nerve-wracking.











The fight dragged on, endlessly it seemed.
I felt like in trance; everything around us was vanishing from my awareness.


We were nearing the point where the monster's health had diminished to half. I looked at my Mana; there was still at least three quarters of it left. So somehow we were in a better position than in the first fight. But the Shaman was visibly getting tired; he had been running non-stop.

I was tense like a bow-string, what if the Murloc decided to loose interest like he had done in the fight before? He would certainly throw himself onto me! Not wearing any Leather or metal-armor, he would tear me to shreds instantly!
"Lani!" I said with a hoarse voice.
"Don't worry, dear," she said "we can have him, he is already half-way down."


I don't know if it was his tiredness, or if our talking broke his concentration, but the Shaman stumbled and the Murloc was able to almost grab him. He had to run for his life and would not have any time to spare to put down a new totem again! It was disaster waiting to happen.
"You have to save him, Wilani!"
"Keep your shirt on", she said and charged in.






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[Mantigora]

She expertly landed right between the Shaman and the Murloc. Even tossing the Murloc back a little due to the impact and blocking him from reaching the Shaman who was able to create some more distance.
He quickly planted a new Earth-bind totem and readied himself to continue his rounds like before.
But Wilani was not having any of that.
She blocked the Murloc's every move while he tried to get back onto the Shaman.
"You're too tired!" she shouted, "Help Greg with the healing!"

Her Fury burned with a white flame, that she unleashed onto the monster in front of her.
All this waiting on the side had made her explode like never before.

It made me cry, seeing it.
Lani, Lani, I thought, what have they made you into?!








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[Mantigora]

Faced with such primordial wrath, the Murloc had to give her all his attention. There was no longer the risk he would attack someone else now and I started to cast for serious.
It was now or never!

Bolt after bolt flew towards the Murloc and the Priest and the Shaman were tossing heals onto the Warrior.
We had to get this monster down!





"You have quite a fight going on here." I heard a voice beside me say.
It gave me such a fright that I failed my casting.
I turned to the side and saw the Rogue. "What do you want me to do?" he said.
"KILL IT!!" I screamed. And he ran into the melee.

I was foaming with anger! This guy again! If we would survive this, I would, I don't know what I would do to him! Something bad, turn him into a frog, I don't care!

But an angry Mage is not an effective Mage. I had to get myself in check. Mages were not known for their temper. On the contrary, Icy Veins is as what some of us are referred to.
So I checked the health of the monster and how much Mana I had left.
It looked all good, so I upped the damage a little more.
We were going to win this fight!


As it's life neared it's end, the Murloc tried to flee and the Warrior had to run after it. The Rogue set in a sprint and was immediately back on top if it, while I fired off a big Frost-bolt, slowing it down. Nearly dead, this monster was still dangerous.
But then, it was dead. Finally! And somehow also suddenly, although that seems weird, isn't it?
It is dead! It is dead! It sang in my head.
We had won! We were alive! Yes!
I felt elated.

I was so happy that I could even hug the Priest, undead and all. I didn't of-course, but I turned towards him to congratulate him with a job well done. But what I saw made me scream in terror. "He's dead!"
Gregory was lying face-down with a Dwarven-axe in his back.






"Gregory is dead!" I shouted again, before it started to dawn on the others that there was something amiss.

Then we heard that maniacal laughter echoing against the walls of the cave.
We looked around and saw the insane Dwarf standing at the far end of the cave.
And then he was gone.
The Warrior and the Rogue sprinted after him, only to return some time later, they had been unable to find him.
The Dwarf had escaped and had left us a nasty surprise.









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[Mantigora]

Everyone was talking in chaos: "Where had that Murloc come from?", "How could that Dwarf kill Gregory without anyone seeing him?", "How had he been able to survive all the Murlocs?", "How have you been able to survive all the Murlocs?","Why did it take you so long to come back?", "Why did you have to sneak up on me like that!?", "Who is going to ress Gregory?","What are we going to do now?", "What about all that loot that we found?", "What loot?", "We found lot's of things behind the Altar".

"Gregory is DEAD!!", I yelled at the top of my lungs.
"We can not leave him here, like that." I continued on a more normal volume. "It is his first time here and he could not even get in here without my help. There is no way his Spirit would be able to find his corpse again."
All seemed to agree with this account of the situation.
"So what can we do about it?", I continued.

"All Shaman can resurrect the dead." said the Shaman. "However, I am not trained in this, nor did I ever perform this on anyone. Therefore I am hesitant to offer my help. Furthermore, I have not finished the Earthmother 's task. Perhaps her guidance will come to my aid."
"I will need to meditate on this." he concluded.

"Yes people, let's give the guy some room. And hope he will not attract any more of those monsters." said Wilani grimly.
The Rogue and I followed her into the front part of the cave where there was less water.
I felt dead tired and was looking for a place to sit at least.



We settled down at the spot where the barefooted Dwarf had been sitting. It seemed ages ago.
I missed Gregory. And his cooking!
A fire would have been nice but there was not enough room to make a fire here. Except for the bit where we were sitting, there was water everywhere.
Oh! How I wished to get out of this cave and make a camp in some nice spot.



Wilani and the Rogue were talking about how he had escaped from that big horde of Murlocs and what had happened in the fight with the big Murloc, but I did not really hear it. I had not even the strenght to be angry on the Rogue.
Somehow, I dozed off.








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[Mantigora]

When I woke up, I saw Wilani lying, with her head on her Shield, fast asleep it seemed.
The Rogue was nowhere to be seen.
I did not know how long I had slept, but it felt as not enough.
I decided not to wake her, she had really gone deep in that fight with the Murloc. She could do with some rest.

As I got up, my splashing steps alerted the Rogue. He was standing at the mouth of the cave.
So he had not left us unguarded.

"How long has he been in there?", I asked the Rogue, pointing to the back of the cave.
"Must be almost two hours." he said. "He is just sitting there, in front of that Altar.
I went to check on him, maybe half an hour ago."
"Do you think he can ress Gregory?", I asked.
"I certainly do hope so." he said a bit mysteriously.


"That was quite some fight, with that enormous Murloc.", he said.
"Yes, I don't want to talk about it right now. I am glad it is over." I replied.
That left an uneasy silence between us.
So be it. I thought.
He went back to mouth of the cave again and I sat back down, my knees pulled up and resting my chin on it.
I stared over the water, waiting.





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