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!"
It was a big group and they were walking in pairs behind each-other.
As they came nearer, I could count ten of them.
When they had reached us, a female Dwarf approached us and asked with her harsh voice:
What is this then? Who is in charge here?! And stand to attention when you address your Captain!
The Rogue quickly moved to the front and said: "Yes Captain!"
"Loitering with the new recruits, now, are we, Lieutenant?"
"No Captain! I mean, yes Captain!"
"When I return, I do not to want to see any trace of that fire, do you understand?"
"Yes captain!"
"You there, see to it, that they carry out my orders without any delay and escort them to the Temple!"
"Yes, Captain Loreseeker!" said an Undead guy with a big two-hand Sword in the back.
"And you, Dismissed!"
The big group went on their way, leaving one of their sword-wielders behind.
When they were out of earshot he said: "Must be my lucky day! Heheheheh!
Good riddance! That kind will be around till the end of the world! Mark my words!
Not meaning any disrespect to the higher Ranks, of-course, Sir!" he said to the Rogue.
The Rogue, staying in-character, said in a commanding tone: "You have heard the Captain!
Make the Fire disappear without any trace and get ready to move on!" making it sound just as how she had said it while giving us a wink.
We got the hint and went to work.
"Heheheheh. I can see you are my kind of Officer, Sir!" said the Undead.
Hey, you, Troll Lady!" he went on.
"You were there at the Affray at the Warrior's Training, weren't you? Don't you remember?
I remember you, we were the smallest among all those big Orcs and Tauren. But we showed them, didn't we'? Heheheheh!
We used our noggin instead of rushing in, like the fools they were!"
This guy was certainly talkative!
While we were busy, he continued:
"So, you finally found out that those fools of the Burning Blade have nothing to offer compared to what we can get here at the Twilight Hammer, didn't you? Endless Rage, they gave you, but only on their command!
Hah! We can have Endless Rage whenever we want! And so much more!
We have the favor of the Old Gods!"
In a way, he was his own version of the crazy-talk that the female Tauren had been delivering.
He went on:
"All the big plans of the Shadow Counsel will amount to nothing when the Twilight Hammer ushers in the Hour of Twilight!
Their silly scheme of wanting to overthrow the leadership of the Horde! Pathetic! WE will bring an end to the World!
They think they are so clever and powerful, getting all the Warriors of the Horde under their command, but no matter what they do, it will all work out in favor of the Old Gods anyway! Heheheheh!
Not even those mighty Demons are aware that their fixation on conquering Azeroth is due to the Influence of the Old Gods! They have fallen in the most devious trap of all: they hunger for it and can not let go of their desire, even after having been defeated several times! If that is not irony in it's purest form? Heheheheh!
No-one can withstand the Power of the Old Gods! They can exploit every weakness.
They have planned it all, from the beginning of Time!
Oh! I just can't wait to see this World burn!
Then finally, I will be freed from this rotten corpse! Heheheheh!"
He was beside himself of joy and his fat, dark, laughter ended in what sounded like a death-rattle.
Coughing loudly, he recovered himself and asked: "But why don't you introduce me to your Friends?"
"Do you know how long before the Captain is due to return here?" asked the Rogue.
"Oh, one hour, two if we are lucky." he replied with a big fat wink.
The Rogue looked in my direction and I shook my head, two hours were not enough for the Portal Spell to be ready.
"Then we better get ready," he said with emphasis, looking at all of us, "we don't want to have another run-in with the Captain and give her any more cause for displeasure, now do we?"
"Very wise Sir!" groveled the Undead. "Once we are in the Temple, we might be able to avoid her the rest of the day! Heheheheh."
"You certainly are a slacker, aren't you?" said the Rogue. "Lead the way, man!
You and the Warrior go in front. She can answer all your questions, she is smart enough for that." he said with emphasis again, looking at Wilani.
"Certainly Sir!" he said. "If you would follow me, please. It is not far."
And so we set out to the Temple of the Twilight Hammer Cult and an uncertain future.
Wilani was only walking slowly and the Twilight-guy seemed to be happy with the slow pace.
Sure, why rush, if you can draw-out an assignment with no Officer to reprimand you. He was indeed a slacker, if not worse!
But that meant that we had to go even slower, to keep some distance from them, in order to exchange some urgent whispers.
"Do you really want to follow that guy into their Temple?!" I asked the Rogue in a hushed tone.
"I don't know!" he whispered back.
"Don't you all agree that staying in-character is the best for now?" he asked.
"I would feel bad, killing a fellow Undead, just like that, who does not attack me." whispered Gregory.
"Yes, it is always best to not kill unnecessary." replied Dawnstrider.
"What if there is a way to escape?" I asked. "What do we do with him then?"
"The Earthmother will provide guidance, if we pay attention." whispered the Shaman back.
Hm, the Earthmother again. But since there was no clear alternative, we might just as-well go with this.
"I guess." I whispered back. "We can see what we do when the situation presents itself."
"OK. that is the plan then, for now." whispered the Rogue. "Can you go take Wilani's place? Then we can inform her."
"OK." I replied and went to the front.
"Warrior!" I said, trying to act formally. "The Lieutenant wants to have a word with you, I am here to take your place."
"Yes, Mage!" said Wilani, with a big grin and went towards the back of the group.
And I was left with Mr. Slacker.
I felt great reluctance talking to this guy and settled for a very neutral "How far is it to the Temple?" to keep his attention on me. I wished one of the others were here in my place. Why had we not asked Greg to chat with him? He was an Undead too.
But Gregory was still a bit inexperienced and might give away something, unknowingly.
I listened with only half an ear to the stream of words that had erupted as a consequence of my question, taking care to insert an "Aha" or "Hm hm" at regular intervals.
It was Eternal Twilight Talk all over again and I failed to see what could make such a future so attractive, but I took care not to utter a question like that, as it would mark me instantly as an unbeliever.
How could someone long to see the World end? Did they all hate Life so much?
It did remind me of the Naga: they also had such Hate, for everything, it seemed.
And the Humans hated the Undead and the Undead hated all the Living.
There was also lot's of Hate, even among us Trolls, with our endless fights.
I never had thought in ways like this, but the talking of Mr. Slacker somehow made it so obvious that there is too much Hate in the world. But why? Everyone would say: "It has always been like this." But what if it wasn't?
The Undead had not always been Undead. They said so themselves, they used to be Humans.
"... Liberated from the Flesh." I heard Mr Slacker say. His endless stream of words had flown past me and I had no idea what he had been talking about.
"I'm sorry", I said, could you repeat that please?"
"Then we will be Liberated from the Flesh." he said.
I could only just prevent myself from asking what he meant by that.
It sounded ghastly, macabre even, but the Liberated part somehow struck a chord. To be free is good.
"To be free from fear is good too." said my inner voice. "Yes, I know, no fear, no fear!"
My mind drifted away, thinking of something about fear I heard long ago. Only vaguely remembering some words.
... that after the fear had gone, I would still remain ...
I had lost track again of what he was talking about. It was difficult to keep my attention on that unending stream.
Instead, I forced myself to look at where we were going. This playing along, to be one of them, gave an unjust feeling of safety and a lack of attention.
We were possibly in greater danger than all that we had faced up until now.
There was just no immediate danger.
I told myself to be vigilant.
But this endless talking! It drowned my Mind.
There was a curve in the tunnel and it opened up into a wide cave. It was enormous!
In the middle of it, a complex of lanes and corridors and pillars, with water surrounding it.
All in the same style as the ruins we had seen before, but here, most of it was still intact.
We had already reached the Temple!
It shook me awake more than I myself had been able to make me pay attention.
This was a big place. I could see how you could easily get lost here or avoid you commanding Officer, for that matter.
I turned around, looking for the others, wanting to connect and share my feelings and saw them come round the bend. There were definitely surprised reactions from them too!
"Let's wait a bit for the others." I said, feeling reluctant to enter the Temple alone.
What were we to do now? Trying to get rid of the Undead Slacker was out of the question, here in plain sight of the Temple.
That meant we had to go inside where it would be full of Twilight Zealots!
Sooner than I had expected, the situation had changed and our possible choices had evaporated.
We would have to stay in-character and go on with it, it was our only hope.
"Awaiting your orders, Lieutenant!" I said with emphasis, when the others had reached us. Hoping to make clear what my view of our situation was.
"Fall in line and take my place!" said the Rogue, picking up on it immediately. "I will go in front and make a decent patrol, you lot! Warrior in the back with the Priest!" he commanded.
We all took our places and advanced towards the entrance of the Temple.
I was walking in the middle, besides Dawnstrider. Looking up to him, wanting to draw his attention.
Talking was out of the question, walking right behind the Undead in the front.
He looked his own calm Self, as he had been for most of the time. No gloominess or anything was showing on him.
I felt much better next to him than walking besides Mr. Slacker!
It was not just that Mr. Slacker was a loathsome Undead who was a dangerous Zealot, no, this Tauren had become so familiar, in the time we had been here underground.
I thought of the time at the fire, when I had been 'away' in that weird 'dream'. He had been there, making sure I was OK.
And his long story, that he had shared with us. So much had happened!
It felt weird, to think that we had been just strangers, when we had set out from Orgrimmar.
Orgrimmar! We should definitely take the first opportunity to make a Portal!
The Mind is a peculiar thing. That last thought brought me instantly back to our current situation: We were nearing the guards that were standing at the entrance.
One was a Troll caster.
He held a simple looking Staff and there was nothing that gave away what kind of Magic he could make use of. And who knows what extra powers would have been given to casters who were not Mages ?
It made me feel quite uneasy.
Even more so than the Human female did, who was wielding a beautiful Two-hander. I had seen enough Swords by now and had endured plenty of Wilani's talk to be able to recognize it for what it was.
Would we be able to handle her if she were to go instantly into a burn-up frenzy like Lani had experienced?
And Gregory! I could only hope his hatred for Humans would not take over again.
Too many thoughts! We were there already!
The Human stepped aside to let us pass while Mr. Slacker said "Hello." She did not answer.
The Caster seemed zoned out and was not paying us any attention at all.
We all went by and nothing else happened!
A sigh of relief escaped me, releasing the energy of all those many thoughts that had been inside me. I really was a master in stressing myself out!
"Where were you, with your No Fear! No Fear! ?" I asked my inner Self. But I knew I had not left any room for such thoughts.
I promised myself to pay more attention.
We were in a long corridor now and small groups of Cultists moved to and from passageways on either side.
Not what you would call a quiet and private place.
When we reached the first on the right-hand side Mr. Slacker said: "Well Sir, if you don't need my presence anymore, can I be excused? You just need to go this way to reach the Moonshine Sanctum." and he waved his bony hand towards the right.
"Yes, you are dismissed!" said the Rogue. "Go make yourself useful somewhere else!"
"Is that an order, Sir?" wanted Mr. Slacker to know.
"Just go!" said the Rogue and I could tell that the stretched patience in his voice was not only from acting in character.
"Heheheh, thank you, Sir!" chuckled the Undead and he finally left us alone.
"We too should find a quiet place." said the Rogue.
And we went into the new corridor.
A flight of steps led us to a more open space with big pillars here and there. Not a quiet room, but at least we could see if any cultists would come near.
"So, we got rid of him without a fight. Good!" said Wilani. "My blood begins to boil again, if I have to think of any more fighting!"
Wow, I thought. If she gets so affected, I must be even more careful of this oppressing influence! I could feel that here in the Temple, its effect was stronger than before.
I said: "We should not forget to have Dispel casted on all of us again soon, so it won't get too strong."
"Yeah, yeah," said the Rogue, "but what we really should do is stand behind that big pillar, and keep out of sight as much is possible." And we followed him going there.
"And stay in-character!" he added. "Just to be sure."
"That is a lot of water, over there." said Gregory, pointing to the water surrounding the Temple complex.
"Yeah, best make sure you don't fall in, Greg", said Wilani, "I think I saw a Thresher there below!"
Threshers lived everywhere along the coast, where the water was deep enough. They were no real threat for a group like us, but if you were alone, in the water, things could turn nasty quick, especially if there were more than one and there were almost always more than one...
A Warlock casting Unending Breath is what a group really needs when taking on those monsters.
I thought again of that Warlock-girl that we ended up not taking in our group.
But then the Rogue would not have been with us and he had played a decisive role many times already.
If only he were not enjoying to boss us around so much ...
I checked my Portal Spell, but the cool-down was still not finished.
I knew he would correct me and say: "The Spell is still not ready, Lieutenant!", so I decided to be the wiser and he was right after-all, it was best to play safe.
So I said: "Lieutenant, the cool-down is still not finished yet." and I managed to not feel annoyed by it.
That made me feel pretty pleased with myself!
"Thank you, Mage." he said and I was hoping to hear a tinge of surprise in his voice, but no such thing. And my freshly gained happiness was already back on the way down. And I had to smile.
How ridiculously my feelings were depending on the reactions of others!
"What do you think of this?" I asked my inner voice.
"I think you are making great progress, dear," said my inner voice, "to realize is the first step on the path of change."
"Where did you get that from?" I wanted to know.
"I don't know." replied my inner voice airily. "It seems such a logical thing to think, won't you agree?"
And my smile became a lot bigger.
This is actually quite fun, being friends with myself.
"So many Tauren!" sighed the Shaman, watching the many groups of Cultists that could be seen here and there. "Possibly even more common than Humans. Although it is miraculous how they all seem to get along with each-other. I see they even allow Gnomes among them!"
Although Tauren were relatively tolerant to the races of the Alliance, their Druids even meeting up with Night-Elf Druids at times, they had great dislike for Gnomes, who they saw as terribly misshapen, being so unbelievably small of stature.
All the races of the Alliance were smaller than us Trolls, of-course, the Night-elves least so and Dwarves only as tall as our young-ones, but Gnomes were even shorter than them! It was hard to believe how such small creatures could pose any serious threat, but their Rogues were feared for being almost impossible to catch and in order to cast Spells you did not need to be big either. And if that was not enough, they loved all kinds of machines, that would make up for their small size. Luckily they were not very numerous and I can not remember having encountered one of them alive, myself. I also failed to see any of them in the groups of cultists, but Tauren, originating from the wide open plains, had better eyesight than us Trolls, therefore I did not doubt him spotting them.
"Would now be a good time to cast Dispel on everyone?" asked the Priest.
"Yes, please!" I answered quickly.
"Make sure to do it out-of-sight as much as possible!" said the Rogue. "We should not draw any unwelcome attention."
I was the first one to receive a Dispel and my Mind was immediately a lot clearer. "Don't forget yourself, Greg!" I said. "I don't know what we would do without you here!"
"Probably become just as crazy as all those Twilighters!" scoffed Wilani.
"Shh h!" hushed the Rogue. "You never know who might be listening!"
"Oh! That is much better!" said Wilani, when she received the Dispel-treatment. "Yea, sorry, we have to stay in character, I know." She whispered in return.
The Priest went on to cast Dispel on the Shaman and the Rogue and finally on himself.
So, now we would be good for a while, even though it had not been a very long time, the effect of the Dispel was definitely noticeable.
I checked my Portal-spell again, but it was still not ready...
The only thing we could do was wait.
"Well, well, who have we here!?" said a strange voice and an Undead appeared behind the Rogue.
"Morgrin! So good to see a fellow Rogue."
"Master Charles!" said the Rogue startled.
"Always watch your back, Morgrin!" said the newcomer.
Where had this new guy come from? How long had he been here, unseen?
And what might he have heard!? Enough to know that we were not real Cultists?
A stream of questions ran through my mind.
"Master Charles!" said the Rogue again. "I would have never expected to encounter you here!"
"We all have our own reasons, Morgrin." said the newcomer.
"And a Lieutenant, I see." he went on approvingly. "Well, I would expect no less from you."
"I can't say how happy I am too see more of our kind." he went on. "The number of Casters here is too damn high! Shadowmages! they call themselves, as if they know anything about Shadow!"
And he spat on the ground in front of my feet.
"And Acolytes, Loreseekers and what have you, Elementalists, no, listen to this: Aquamancers! Hehehehehehh!"
A fat, dark laugh interrupted his discourse.
"Our good Lord Kelris would do better to have some decent melee, at least a few skilled Rogues in his throne-room. But all you see here are those stupid Reavers, waving big Two-Handers in the air without any Finesse!"
And somehow he made the word sound like a very sharp blade sliding out of its sheath.
This guy was definitely the most dangerous person we had come across so far. The way he spoke made my hair stand on end and signs like that can not be dismissed!
So far he seemed unaware of our ruse, but it could all be just play!
He must be a much higher-level Rogue than our Rogue, that he was able to sneak up on him, undetected!
He continued: "You were on your way to the throne-room with these new recruits, I take it? Having a little rest before meeting the big boss himself, hm m? There is no need to worry, our dear Lord Kelris has only the best in mind for all of us.
Unless he is in need of pet-food, heheheheh!"
Pet-food?! I thought, what would he mean by that?
"But jokes aside," he went on, "let us talk, while we walk. I can spare some time before I have to return to the Undercity.
Nathaniel can take care of the shop for a while when I am not there, but if too many customers have to hear that they have to come back later when they need my, er hm, expertise, that might draw attention."
And he lead the Rogue, our Rogue, who he called Morgrin, along, to where the throne-room would be.
And we, as befits obedient recruits, followed behind.
As out of habit we were walking like before, me next to Dawnstrider, behind the Rogues and Wilani and the Priest at the back.
It made me feel uncomfortable to see how easy something could turn into a habit, even things you didn't want to be a habit!
I don't like it at all, to have no choice in what I do! I could do all kinds of things, of course, but that would be all stupid, so that meant that there was not a real choice.
"You can still choose what to think." said my inner voice.
A good point. What should I think?
I looked at the Shaman, who was walking next to me. What would he think? Something about the Earthmother, probably.
How could he be so easy in accepting things? "... Her task has not been completed."
That may be fine for him to say, but I did not have any task, other than to make sure we would get out of here alive.
And, thinking of the Earthmother, I made sure not to cast any more Sheep-Spells unexpectedly!
I had seen what good that had done!
That crazy Dwarf had escaped while Sheeped and had later killed the Priest and the Druid had died because of it and all the Turtles had left, leaving us exposed to the Naga. Creating hazardous situations each time!
And still he had called me blessed! "... certainly blessed!" even!
I didn't feel particularly blessed right now, more like being led to the slaughter.
And these surroundings were not making things any better. This part of the Temple looked older and there was water everywhere. It even came from the ceiling and where it fell, the stone had worn away, creating a path for its flow.
I could see Aquamancers with their pet Water-Elementals. They must feel right at home here, I'd expect.
All that water! I had seen more than enough water here, when would it end?
I tried to think of the Sun.
It felt like such a long time that we had been here, underground, that even thinking of the Sun proved difficult.
With effort of will I imagined the Sun in the sky.
That blistering Sun, scorching the lands of the Barrens, such that you longed for the evening even though it was just afternoon and you still had to go for many hours...
Just walking, with nothing but the hot winds and the scream of an Eagle, high up in the sky, for company.
Winds that leave you so thoroughly hot, through and through, like some dried out three, ready to bust into flame if you only looked at it.
In a land that made travelers grateful to encounter a Mage who could conjure Water with little effort...
We had stopped.
It was very crowded here with lot's of Cultists. They all came from this older Temple, or whatever it was.
This must be the Moonshine Sanctum that Mr. Slacker had told us about.
All of them hurried past us, this to great amusement of the Undead Rogue.
"Hehehehehehh!" he laughed, "They don't seem to be so eager to stay around when the Boss starts his Meditation!
Useless lot! One more reason to have some deft Rogues in there, I'd say.
But time's a-wasting, I must be going back to the Undercity.
Here is Lord Kelris' throne-room.
Let them in, guards."
"In or out?" asked one of the guards. "Make up your mind, because the doors won't open again until after the Meditation.
"Should we not wait?" asked the Rogue, looking at the Undead Rogue.
"No, no, no, our good Lord Kelris takes delight in company!" ensured the Undead Rogue lightheartedly. "And I would like nothing more than to see you all safely inside."
"Follow me, then!" said our Rogue, Morgrin, firmly and lead us all inside.
We were in a corridor again, where a small creature came running towards us.
"Out of the way!" it squeaked. "Wait!"
It was a Gnome! I turned round to see him go, between the closing doors, just before they slammed shut.
The tiny straggler had at least managed to escape and my first encounter with an alive Gnome couldn't have been shorter.
What a squeaky voice it had!
It was not important. I had to keep my attention to my thoughts!
"No Fear! No Fear!, right?" I asked my inner Self, but I felt a stone in my stomach. Somehow it was not working.
I took a deep breath and looked at the cool-down of the Portal-Spell. It should be about ready by now.
It wasn't, but it could not be long.
And it better be ready soon, because here the influence of the oppressive force was stronger then ever before.
"This is not a good place." rumbled the Tauren, looking at the stone of the walls.
"It's power has been corrupted for a very long time.
I can feel the pain of the Earthmother.
What Task needs to be completed here?
I long for clarity and would like to sit down to meditate, but not here.
Can we please move on a little?"
It gave me a bit of a shock, seeing him so uncertain.
"Can you now finally make a Portal, again, dear?" asked Wilani. "I don't want to sit and wait again!"
"No, but it should not be long, now." I replied.
"It better not be." said the Rogue.
"What do you mean by that, Morgrin? I retaliated. "It wasn't my fault it failed that time!
And why did you lead us inside, so hastily?"
"In front of the guards was not the place to make a scene, now was it?" said the Rogue.
"What should I have done? Say: No, we will not go inside?
You don't know Master Charles! He would smell a rat and not let go! He certainly would have found us out!
He might even have done so already.
I would not put it past the old fox to let his dear Lord Kelris deal with us. Who knows, we might even get rid of him!
Master Charles has no love for anyone. He always has his own reasons and is loyal only to himself.
That's why he is still alive, after so many years!" exclaimed the Rogue.
"I will be over there, meditating." rumbled the Shaman and moved towards the end of the corridor, where he vanished around the corner.
"Can you guys please stop it?!" said the Warrior loudly. "I have it up to here, with your constant bickering!"
"This is not good!" said the Priest and started to cast.
I readied myself for what would come, but did not expect a Dispel Magic!
The effect was dramatic! "Oh!" I groaned. "Thanks!
Do the others too!"
He casted Dispel on Morgrin and I could see how the stance of his body changed.
"Thanks Greg!" he said with a deep voice.
It was Wilani's turn and I looked to see if I could see a change in her too.
It was not very clear, but she did not look annoyed anymore.
"Don't forget yourself, Greg." she said kindly.
"We should get to Dawnstrider!" he said, after he had finished the cast.
That was a good idea.
"Do you have enough Water?" I asked him. "We cannot risk you running out of Mana. You have to keep casting Dispel on us, that is clear." And I handed him a generous amount of Conjured Water.
"Thanks, Mawhani." he said.
We felt like a group again, instead of a bunch of distrusting strangers.
"Yes," said Morgrin, "let's see where he went."
We went along the corridor till we reached the corner.
Looking around the corner, we saw an enormous chamber, it's ceiling supported by four colossal pillars.
The Shaman was sitting a few paces away from us.
But he was not the only one sitting there in meditation.
An Orc sat in front of a towering statue of a Naga, situated in the middle of the room.
