by Milton Garby
Leira paused, then opened her mouth and pointed an unsure finger at Sara. "You were practicing Faceless."
"It's called Old God actually. Well, Shath'Yar, but it translates to the same thing."
"Can you please not speak it around me? By the Light, I felt nauseous listening to that."
Sara nodded. "Yeah, sure. So anyway, why am I up so early?"
"Breakfast," Leira said simply. "And exercise. Word on the street is we're getting another mission today and I think you'll be on this one."
That woke her up. Sara straightened up and blinked harshly. "Alright, let's go," she snapped, all business, as she squeezed around Leira and headed out. Leira took the lead back soon enough, guiding Sara to the mess hall where she'd already set out a small spread of food. Nothing fancy. Just some buttered rolls, water, bacon and eggs. The mess hall was mostly empty, given that Leira had woken up Sara at the unholy hour of five in the morning, so there wasn't much of a din as Sara ate her meal.
"So," her friend said in between bites of egg. "Any idea what this mission is?"
"No clue," Leira said truthfully. "Somewhere in the Wetlands, if I had to guess."
"Hmm," Sara said, and then devoted herself entirely to her food. After that was done Leira ran her through basic morning exercises, and her heart swelled with pride at how much wimpy little Sara had improved since arriving.
... okay maybe 'wimpy' was the wrong word to describe Sara. But still, spellcasters generally weren't the most physically fit people around, so their resident Old God was doing damn well.
... resident Old God. The thought still sent Leira's mind jumping through a few hoops. Like, it made sense and all. Everything Sara had said to her that night, an inch away from crying, had made sense. She was best friends with an Old God. It sounded like some lousy young adult novel about trying to redeem great evil through the power of friendship. Except there was no redeeming. She just had to hope Sara could keep herself busy. At helping her with that, the exercise, inscriptions, enchantment, and missions were doing swimmingly.
It didn't take her long to finish up Sara's workout, which left them a few minutes before they had to be in the assembly hall. They opted to go early.
Like before, there was a crowd gathering around Calven, who stood on the podium with several sheets of paper. She and Sara stuck by each other near the walls, waiting for the announcement to begin. The crowd was eerily quiet, standing and watching their guild leader in dead silence. Eventually, he deemed that enough people had arrived and cleared his throat.
"Alright, thank you all for coming," he began. "We've got a few new missions today, so I won't keep you longer than I have to. Your party leaders will fill in the details. Parties are: Darnall Skyshadow, Sproz Lightwheel, Clarice..."
He began listing off everyone, and Leira watched as people pushed through the crowds to their respective leaders. She kept her ears open, until... "Barab Bronzestout," he announced as the leader of the next group of five, and Leira fought down the urge to groan. Oh no, not that asshole. Please not that - "Leira Vindalis."
"Fucking hell," she whispered under her breath.
"Tarod Straine, Saynna Raincaller, and Sara Smithers." She and Sara looked at each other, smiled, and bumped fists. Leira looked around, found Barab quickly and began leading Sara over to the dwarf while tuning out Calven. They weren't the only ones heading to the dwarf. Saynna, a night elf woman, and Tarod, a human man, also arrived alongside them.
"So," Barab said, eying them as they approached. "We ready ta go?"
Saynna nodded. "We are."
"Right then!" he grunted, turning and leading them out. "Go get your gear and meet me by the exit of the guild hall, I'll explain more there."
"Right, see you soon," Sara said in that cheerful tone that Leira had come to understand meant she was playing nice and hiding her dislike for the people around her. It wasn't a voice she got to hear often in private. They split up and left the main hall.
It didn't take her long to clip-clop her way to her cache of gear. Leira put on her enchanted rings and necklace, then got her armor. Getting into plate armor was always a challenge, and while she'd gotten used to the heavy weight it was always a fresh surprise at first as to how heavy it was. But she put on her helmet, her breastplate, gauntlets, and leggings, all part of a set of dark green armor with gold lines. Then she grabbed her weapons. Her left weapon was an enormous two-handed axe, made of bright blue titanium with serrated spike along the edges, and no matter what conditions she was in the weapon was always cool to the touch. Her right handed weapon was a two handed sword, with a gorgeous red handle, sharp enough to cut through felsteel. Leira hefted both in one arm and slung them into the gaps on the back of her armor, where they remained still.
With that done, she left the Chimes's guild hall and exited into the Military Ward. Like usual, portals had been constructed for them to use. She was the first one out, so she got the pleasure of waiting for the others.
Saynna was the first, dressed in the natural green leather that druids loved so much, and she had to admit it complimented the night elf's hawk tattoo and white hair well. After her was Tarod, in caster robes similar to those she'd seen Sara wear. Not surprising, given how disturbingly similar his void magic was to Sara's Old God powers. And after him came Sara herself.
She'd gotten some gear for her own personal use. A band around her forehead, as well as a necklace and rings with saronite orbs in them. Her robes were, fittingly, dark purple and blue, designed to look like corrupted seaweed waving in the ocean. On her back was an enormous staff as tall as Leira, with a twisting headpiece that looked like a tentacle had wrapped itself around it. She fixed Sara with a dull look, which probably didn't translate well through her helmet. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Sara gave her a shit-eating grin. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Then Barab came, covered head to toe in golden plate with a shield and mace at his sides. "Alright buckos, listen up." 'Buckos?' Sara mouthed. "We're heading to the Twilight Highlands. Word is that the demons have gotten real cozy in Grim Batol and are massing their numbers there. And, get this, Varimathras is there, leading them. Smithers, you think you can do that erasing spell on dreadlords?"
She snapped a finger, igniting a brief purple spark. "No problem."
"Right then! That's the portal," he said, pointing at one of many. "We get in, kill him for good, dismantle the base, get out. Don't screw this up folks. Now, on me! Three, two, one, charge!"
They ran through the portal.
Sara
There was something in the air of the Twilight Highlands.
It was not the pollen drifting in the air, nor was it the ash from the trees that had been burned down. It was not the dung of the local caribou, or the dew on the grass, or the rain waiting in the sky. It was not fel, it was not foul. It smelled like compost. It smelled like rocks used for sunning, like a lizard she had once tortured. It smelled like Derestrasz's hide as Sara slept. It smelled like life magic.
It smelled like the Red Dragonflight.
The portal had deposited them on a hillside, nowhere near any allied forces. A moment of looking revealed to Sara that it was not a hillside, but rather the walls of a canyon, with a dirt road winding through the bottom. She stood facing the road's direction. Behind her the canyon opened up into the entirety of the Twilight Highlands, which had regretfully healed from its days under assault by the Hammer. Grass covered the land, so green it appeared to be some form of algae. Lazy clouds heavy with rain dotted the distant skies, and wildlife ran through forests, though there WAS one patch of land charred black. No demonic activity at present, though.
Ahead of her, Sara could see Grim Batol. It was on the right side of the canyon, opposite from them. Despite all the various forces that had occupied it through the fortress's rather colorful history, it was clearly designed by the dwarves. Giant metal plates stood out from the mountainside, with a plated gate on top. But there were flashes of d
ark green inside the mouth of the fortress, fel cannons waiting eagerly for their next victims.
And to Sara's right was the Vermillion Redoubt, the local base of the Red Dragonflight. If she focused harder, she realized she wasn't smelling the massive concentration of life magic. Instead it just... infused her. It filled the air and clung to her like mucus, making her stomach churn and her throat clench. She couldn't make out any red dragons, but the enormous, magically grown tree towered above the mountains.
Sara drew herself from her inspection and focused on the dwarf, What's-His-Name. He faced his back towards the four of them, eyeing Grim Batol. "There it is, Grim Batol. We're not just gonna go in guns blazin' of course. With the Reds occupied elsewhere in the region, we're on our own against this enormous force, and once we're in the only way out is gonna be hearthin' out. Smithers. You've made those invisibility enchantments for the rogues right?"
"First off it's not invisibility," she countered harshly. "Second - " She glanced at his expression and quieted. Internally, she rolled her eyes. "Yes sir, I did," she said in the most obnoxiously friendly voice she could manage while still sounding genuine. "I would guess you want a similar spell for us so we can sneak into Grim Batol?"
"That's correct," he said. "Start setting up the spell. Meantime! Tarod, Saynna! Power us up!"
Sara began concentrating. The glyph she'd made for some of their stealthier members was a near replica of her distraction gem. When they tried to hide, then they'd release the same distraction aura. Unfortunately, it did have friendly fire and she hadn't been able to get around it. Even she wouldn't be able to find them, and that irked her. Making a version to cloak the five of them was... possible, even without a gem, but she'd have to channel it constantly so she'd be nearly useless. Oh well, it was a good plan anyway even if she didn't get much killing. Her magic began to gather in her hands and -
PAIN!
Sara collapsed to her knees as a prayer for fortitude and a blessing worthy of kings flashed around her body. She screamed so loud she feared her throat would tear, eyes closed and tearing up. It was gone in a moment, but when it was instantly followed up with the familiar nausea of nature magic, she emptied her stomach onto the ground her magic had sunk into.
Let the red dragons puzzle that one out.
"Holy shit!" Leira shouted, rushing over and helping her to her feet. "Sorry, I should've warned them," the draenei apologized before turning her helmeted head to the rest of their wide-eyes party. "Sara has... adverse reactions to the Light and nature magic," she explained while Sara was still heaving. "She'll be fine though. But just... keep that in mind."
"Gonna make healing you rather difficult," the kaldorei woman mentioned.
Sara stood up straight. "Ugh, thanks Leira. I'll be fine. I just wasn't expecting it." If I was a full Old God it wouldn't hurt nearly as much, she thought, before banishing the thought. "Anyway, the spell." She focused her Old God powers, wrapping herself in a slow vortex of purple mist. Then she clenched her fists, and the mist burst outwards onto everyone else. Now that it wasn't in glyph form, she could maintain the Friend Foe Identification Addendum, so they'd be able to notice each other. "It's up, let's go. It only discourages them from seeing us though, so don't draw attention to yourself," she snapped.
"Right then!" the dwarf shouted. "Close ranks." Everyone stuck close to Sara. "Follow me!" he ordered, trekking down the slopes towards Grim Batol. They marched.
And marched.
And marched.
... Grim Batol was deceptively far away. Going down the slope while sustaining her spell took some concentration to keep herself from stumbling, but she could manage it even if it took quite a while. Then it was a long trek along the canyon road, then up what could only generously be called a path to Grim Batol, all while sustaining the spell on herself and her allies. Despite her recent exercise, her legs throbbed by the time they got to the entrance, where fel cannons stared them down.
Sara brought a finger to her mouth to shush them, and then the What's-His-Name crept forward, inspecting the fel cannons. He nodded when they didn't fire - her spell disrupted their identification mechanisms, not just organic life - and pointed forward, past the operating gan'arg and doomguards. The five of them clung to the walls, tip-toeing around the demons and into the colossal hallway of Grim Batol.
She'd never been able to understand why dwarves built so high. She could fit two dragons on top of each other, with room to spare. The demons had been busy though, stripping down the plates of metal making up the walls for their own purposes, leaving a patchwork of solid stone.
The others' nerves were high as they waded through, ducking away from various demons as they made their way deeper. The first turn came up, and once they were in Sara saw an enormous pile of rubble, spilled from one of the walls. It was the size of a dragon, and formed an easy ramp for them to walk up. Even better, there was a series of tunnels inside, hidden from the demons, where she could relax her magic.
Not that she would. There might be invisible sentries. Eyes of Kilrogg came to mind.
They nestled into the dusty, powdery tunnel, and breathed sighs of relief.
"Alright, that does it," What's-His-Name whispered. "Tarod, mind vision. Scout at the area. Once you're done, explain it to us."
"Right," the priest with them said. He crept towards the edge of their hole, and Sara followed to keep the aura with him. His hands flashed with shadow magic, his eyes closed, and then he went limp and fell right back onto Sara.
"Shit!" she hissed, crawling out from under him. Leira came over to help, lifting Tarod like he was a feather and backtracking deeper into their tunnel. Then they waited for him to finish scouting.
She'd done this same thing on her last mission, when the local priest scouted in the same manner. So she was capable of being patient.
The four of them sat, twiddling their thumbs and, in Sara's case, sustaining her spell as they waited for Tarod to come back to them. They drank some of their water, but not too much since they were liable to throw up from too much physical activity. Finally, after what felt like hours, the priest blinked his eyes and breathed out heavily.
"It's uh... it's not good," he explained. "In fact, it's worse than anyone expected. I found Varimathras, he's in one of the lower levels just above the magma pool. Uh, not the former egg chamber, deeper than that. Pretty well hidden. But there's gotta be thousands of demons between us and him. If we try and fight them, we are going to be crushed. There is just no way."
No way hmm? she thought.
The dwarf nodded. "Can you lead us to Varimathras?"
"In theory, but Barab listen, there are hundreds of them. Shivara, doomguards, we will die."
"And any side passages?" their party leader inquired. "Can we sneak around them?"
Tarod hesitated. "There are some less-occupied stairways within the walls, but there's no way we won't be noticed. There were some more advanced wards down there too, they'll expose us even with Miss Sara's spell active."
Suddenly, she had an idea. "What if I distract them?" she offered. "I go in with my defenses up, start blasting them, and you four go through the side passages while I keep the brunt of their focus? Then we meet up at Varimathras, if he doesn't retreat, and wipe him from existence."
"Sara," Leira said. "You'll die."
"I will not!" she countered. "I've been practicing my magic quite a bit. My shield makes me completely immune now, and Leira, you've seen how much magic I've got. And now I have enchanted gear," she said, pinching her robes. ", glyphs, and all sorts of potions. I can do this. And worst case scenario? I die, then you four die, then directly because of that everyone else dies. My soul... well, lingers, and most of you go to the Holy Light and get to enjoy that for the rest of time."
The draenei gave her a flat look. "You know, describing the worst case scenario as the total extinction of all life on the planet isn't making me feel better about this."
"Do you have any better ideas?" she countered,
excitement bubbling in her chest.
Leira sighed. "Fine. Barab, what do you think?"
The dwarven paladin nodded grimly. "Heard about what ya can do, Smithers. Get out there and break a leg, but we ain't gonna be swoopin' in to save ya. Think you can find Varimathras on yer own?"
She considered that, looking into the distance. "Should be able to, yes. Look for a place near the bottom, and I can probably mind control a demon into spilling the beans. Tell me when to go," she said.
Barab sighed. "Well, your funeral, but we absolutely gotta clean this place up and nobody else is nearby. Whenever you're ready. We'll follow behind."
Right. She took a deep breath to steady herself and strode towards the exit. "Turning off my aura now," she said, relaxing her magic. "Oh, and try to avoid looking at me if you can help it," she added. Then, Sara raised her left arm and summoned her shadowy barrier. She'd improved on it drastically, and it was a near perfect replica of the one her old self had used. Like she'd claimed, it now gave her total immunity. Not just from projectiles; every fire blast, every curse of doom, all of it would slide off like water. The only worry was it being dispelled, but she could always just cast it again. And with her glyph, seeing out of it would be simple.
With her barrier in place and her magic boiling under her skin, Sara stepped out to do battle with the Legion head-on.
Leira
She knew what Sara was, she knew what the human could do, but Leira couldn't help but worry. This was a very bad plan. Catastrophically bad. Apocalyptically bad. Sara had her limits. She wasn't Yogg-Saron anymore. Her best friend was going to die and there was nothing she could do. But it was out of her hands. All she could do now was let her do her thing, so that Leira could focus on her job. It was a risky plan, but it was the best they had. She watched Sara slip down the ramp of stone and vanish from sight.
A moment passed.
Then, a corona of purple light nearly blinded her. Even from so far away, the rush of foul power sent chills down her spine. Leira heard the tell-tale sounds of demons disintegrating and of magic being cast. She winced at the sound of something hitting a wall very hard, but held still. Slowly but surely though, the sound of roaring demons grew more and more distant.