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| Details |
| Author: | Saaron |
| Summary: | Kehda tells the (kind of true, sort of VERY untrue) story of the time she followed Cobalt Blade on their mission to a group of people in Menethil. This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental… or something. She repeats the exact same story, word for word, many times around the Eastern Kingdoms in the following days. |
| Rating: | M for Mature 17+ |
"A few weeks ago, I had the honor of exploring the Wailing Caverns with Cobalt Blade," Kehda says to a group of travelers gathered on Menethil's docks, half the traits of her face obscured by the shadows cast by her lantern. "There were five of them. Thalstan, a short but incredibly powerful warrior who strikes his foe with incredible precision; Zaara, a Draenei with the power to hear the whispers of the elements even when covered by the cavern screaming painfully into our ears; Vesyllah, the mysterious priestess of Elune, burning up her foes with the powerful shadows cast by her goddess's wrath; Arthur, a human mage distorting reality with his arcane magic and bringing it crashing down upon his enemies into huge, bright explosions; and had I not been concentrating hard enough on them, I could have missed the sneaky gnome Tadget, invisible to the unobservant eye, and yet with an unbelievable presence with her sharp tongue that could cut through glass!"
"I saw the group leaving Ratchet and decided to follow them unnoticed, as I had heard of their impressive deeds in the Deadmines," the Draenei lowers her voice. "And yet, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come."
"The sounds inside the Wailing Caverns were deafening. The air traveling through the place carried the screams of souls long lost. It was terrifying, but they heroically entered the cavern, ready to face the monsters plaguing it."
Kehda takes a deep breath, her shoulders shaking slightly with a shiver.
"Inside we saw… What I can only call corrupted druids, driven mad by the shrieking of the cavern's souls. Their snake-like transformations were utterly horrifying. Their bodies would take indescribable shapes, and just looking at them would warp one’s mind. I felt their wicked psychic tendrils reaching into my head. I was lucky to have seen many things while we traveled through the worlds, and as such was able to withstand it… But for Cobalt Blade, they were just as mentally prepared as they were physically." She pauses." At least that is what I thought."
"The members of Cobalt Blade faced off against the Fanglords, druids whose elven forms too had been distorted by the cavern's terrible influence. They were fearsome enemies, summoning terrifying reptiles, and using their territory's powers to conjure now unnatural forces of nature. Cobalt Blade fought valiantly. A rain of moonlight began to fall from above, circling the serpentine druids and blinding them. Fire blasted from the mage's hand as Zaara sent a spear of lightning that pierced through each one of them, binding them together by the electric chains of an air elemental. The dwarf jumped through the moonlight, grabbed the elemental energy with his hammer, and struck the ground, blasting electricity all around him, and sending his foes flying away. Before he was even able to reach the ground, one of the druids felt a dagger coated in poison piercing through his back. Tadget used his body to jump at the next lords, stabbing them one by one in just a few seconds with one swift, agile movement."
The storyteller smiles. "And in the next room, surrounded by water, they found what they were looking for. The leader of these druids, in a deep, magical sleep, but still uncorrupted." She scoffs softly, shaking her head as she stares directly at the flame. "They were so close to their goal, but it seemed like the cavern would not let them go so easily."
"A figure emerged from the waters, smiling wide. Vesyllah's eyes glazed over as she summoned a sword made of moonlight that she stabbed into the lower end of Thalstan's abdomen."
"'Welcome,' said the stranger who was wearing long, soaked black robes, the cloth tightening around his muscular body. His pale skin and red eyes betrayed his undead nature. 'I see you have defeated my minions… very well, my dears, but with all the souls you have taken from me, I hope you will not mind if I take one in return.' Vesyllah let go of her sword, the cavern wailing inside her mind. She approached the undead elf, who placed a hand around her waist. After the shock from the surprise betrayal, Zaara ran to Thalstan's aid, healing the - thankfully - minor wound. Arthur threw a frostbolt at their new foe, but as it was about to hit him, the elf snapped his finger and both he and Vesyllah disappeared. Tadget, who had been walking behind the elf to get her own surprise attack had to narrowly avoid the mage’s spell."
"It took the group some time, but Zaara and Arthur managed to analyze the flow of arcane teleportation magic, leading them to their next destination: Shadowfang Keep, in Silverpine Forest. I had to know the rest of their adventures, so I snuck into the portal Arthur had opened to Southshore after them."
“I silently traveled behind them. It is a terribly, terribly sad place, that keep. Every second you spent in there, you were tracked by one of these bloodthirsty monsters humans call ‘Worgen’. They were everywhere, waiting around every corner, in every shadow, ready to strike at Cobalt Blade.” Kehda chuckles. “It came close, at times, but there is no launching a surprise attack at somebody like Tadget.”
“The victims of the Worgens are still in this keep, you know. Their souls linger, unable to walk into the afterlife, for you see, I did some research on these creatures. They were, as well as their insatiable appetite, created by the goddess Elune. Worgens were the deity’s right hand, sent to hunt the most wicked of souls, bringing them their rightful punishment. But an archmage once untethered the wolfmen from their righteous leader, turning them into the killing machines that they are now. Their power over souls has yet to disappear, however.” The lantern in her hand swings gently with the wind. “So, all these Worgens’ victims that were unfairly killed and imprisoned by their claws… how can they truly atone for atrocities they did not commit?”
“Luckily, fate brought Zaara to these lost souls. She took the time to commune with each one, leading them all to a peaceful afterlife, and freeing them from their curse. Cobalt Blade explored the Keep, meeting progressively more gruesome souls and beasts until they faced the most terrible of all… that undead elf that had charmed Vesyllah. A mage who had found a way to control the Worgens just as he did the priestess. His study, if you could even call it that, was abject and I could barely stand to look through the keyhole to observe him and the members of Cobalt Blade. Corpses everywhere… It was a true indoor cemetery, although was hard to tell if, for this bloodsucking creature, this was a dump… or his pantry. The smell was… unbearable.”
“And amongst this pestilence, the two elves stood together, in a war– well, cold embrace. With her left hand, Vesyllah caressed the side of his extremely pale face. Just as the undead elf was about to kiss (or bite?) the priestess's neck, Arthur threw an explosive next to him to make their presence known, sending small rocks flying all over the room. He bravely threatened the undead creature to let go of their friend, unafraid of the creature. ‘Ah, well, it is good to see I did not underestimate you. You even got here faster than expected…’ he said.”
“‘We are ‘ere to save er friend’ said Thalstan, raising his sword at the creature,” says Kehda, trying to mimic a dwarven accent. “‘You are free to try’ the monster answered. He raised his hands, dark magic emanating from his icy white fingers. The room’s windows shattered as Worgens crashed through them and threw themselves at the heroes and simultaneously, the corpses in the room raised, surrounding them. The elf’s maniacal laugh echoed through the room as his minions began their devastating attack. I thought it was all over for them, they were completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of monsters around them. I could not do anything but watch in horror… but then… I heard a short, deep scream of pain coming from the undead elf. I looked in his direction, and I saw Vesyllah behind him, moonlight sword in hand, piercing through her captor’s chest. ‘You underestimated me,’ she said with a smirk. ‘When I stab someone, I know how to make it lethal.’ The undead mage scoffed as he looked around at the battlefield, watching his undead minions falling apart onto the ground. ‘You insolent child’, he hissed before teleporting to the other side of the room. ‘It will take more than a mere stab wound to stop me!’ Tadget disappeared for a split second, saying ‘’That is what I was hoping you would say’, reappearing as she jumped on the head of a Worgen to propel herself at the undead elf, both daggers in hands. ‘Vesyllah cannot be the only one having all the fun.’ A duel began between the two which held him off from targeting the others with his terrible bolts of shadows.”
“Meanwhile the battle raged between Arthur, Thalstan, Zaara, and the many Worgens around them, elements and fires blasting all around the room, the sound of claws and teeth hitting plate. Vesyllah raised her hands to the sky. ‘Hear Elune’s call!’ She brought them down with fire in her eyes, and all the Worgens in the room were instantly forced to kneel before her, unable to fight anymore. ‘Ugh, what are you waiting for?’ Vesyllah said, staring at her friends. ‘I cannot keep them on a leash forever!’”
“With all his minions gone, the mage, shaman, warrior, and rogue could focus on the elf. The heroes joined together, overwhelming their foe with incredible powers. Arthur extended his hand to slow down time around the elf, Zaara summoned a great fire elemental to grapple him, burning his undead skin at the same time. Tadget repeatedly stabbed him in various places on his body, seemingly calculating where it would hurt the most. And finally, Thalstan threw his shield to the side and grabbed his hammer with both hands. The weapon was just about to hit the enemy in the face, when Arthur canceled his time spell, making its target fully conscious of all the attacks that had been inflicted on him, right before the dwarven weapon gave him the final blow.”
“Vesyllah groaned as she let go of her control spell. The Worgens - lost without a leader for their pack - ran out through the windows they came from… Target still had the time to kill one or two beforehand, though.”
“After that, I could not help but sigh of relief from my side of the door. Unfortunately, Thalstan seemed to hear something, and I missed what they talked about after that fight, as I had to teleport away from the keep quickly to not reveal myself to them.”
“If there is one conclusion you have to remember from this epic adventure, is that if you have got the chance to see Cobalt Blade in action, take it! It really, really makes your Friday better! Like… so much more fun!”