Chapter 3
Looking out over the room, the scene below gave Gronik cold chills up his spine. Apparitions floated noiselessly to and fro seemingly oblivious to anything around them. “Are they ghosts?” Dicen asked incredulously. “Not exactly” replied Asmortus, “More like half ghost and half human.” Gronik shook his head and looked questioningly to Asmortus, “Half ghost, half human? How is that possible?” “It appears that they are under a powerful necromantic spell.” Malltoff stated blankly, “One of this power however would indicate that they allowed themselves to be placed in this half-life state. They really can’t be ghouls since they seem to still possess some of their own mind.” Malltoff began speaking more to herself, “Can it be? But that would take so much power, power beyond what even I can comprehend!” “What are you going on about wench?” Asmortus cut into her thoughts, “Are you going to stand there babbling like a drunken dwarf or are you gonna tell us what you think you know?” Malltoff stood up straight and gave a little smirk. She knew that Asmortus had no way of knowing what she was thinking about and she was going to savor this moment. “Ever hear of a Spectral Acolyte?” “That’s preposterous!” Asmortus growled, “Why even the most powerful of Necromancers could only manage to raise one, and even that is for a short time!” “Well, seeing is believing!” Malltoff shrugged and directed her attention back to the Acolytes. Malltoff began muttering under his breath, “It can’t be, can it? Acolytes? This many?” his voice trailed off. Dicen glared at the silent movement below her, “All I want to know is, can they be killed?” “I believe they can, much the same way that the skeletons we downed earlier can be killed.” Asmortus took the lead now, “Unfortunately since they are already dead, there is no telling how long they will stay incapacitated.” Dicen fidgeted and absently pulled at her armor. Oh how she wished she had not gotten that damn dust on her. Pulling out the floor plans again, Asmortus began to examine the layout closer. “Interesting.” He said as he absentmindedly stroked the meatless jawbone on his face. “It looks like we only have to go ov….” His words were cut short as Malltoff let out a squeal that none of them had ever heard before. All eyes were now fixed on the mage as her eyes were glued to the back of the room. “Oh my HELL!” She cried. “Could you imagine what is on those bookshelves?” Gronik allowed his eyes to travel to the back of the room. Far across the sea of moving shapes many bookshelves were lined up like a vast library. It was hard to tell how many there were or how far back they went because of all the activity down the rows. Books were floating in and out of the shelves as the acolytes went about their personal business, moving them from the bookshelves to the tables in the center of the room and back. “C’mon!” she yelled, “I have to see what’s in those books!” No sooner had she said these words she ran forward as though she was about to jump over the rail into the center of the acolytes. Dicen jumped and managed to grab hold of her belt and held her long enough for Gronik to grab her around her chest from behind. “Let me go! Let me GO!” Her voice now was beginning to carry across the room. Deadnaught glanced worriedly over the balcony afraid that the whole room was going to come up the stairs to find out what the noise was. Pushing and pulling they managed to get back into the hallway before Gronik lost his footing and fell backwards. Dicen had clamped her hand over Malltoff’s mouth fell forward on top of Malltoff and Gronik, who now had the full weight of both trolls on top of him, let out a groan as the wind was knocked out of him. “Shut the hell up will ya?” Dicen scolded, “are you trying to get us all killed?” As Malltoff became silent, a small squeeking noise could be heard. “What is that noise?” Dicen whispered. Suddenly Dicen noticed gronik beneath them. “ghe..tt oooff mheee” Gronik could barely get the words out. His normal green skin had taken on a bluish tint. “Crap, Get up! Get up!” Gronik began taking great gulps of air. “You know, you really need to think about a diet!” sputtering between breaths he could feel both sets of eyes on him. How fickle women were. And he thought Orc Women were bad. Dicen straightened up and said to malltoff, “We need to do the job we were paid to do first, then we can hit the books, but right now is not the time.” Malltoff’s face became incredulous as though this was a thought that never had entered her mind. “Not…bu…you…” her words stammered as she tripped over herself to get the right words out, “the knowledge that we could gather, the value in those books!” sputtered Malltoff. Asmortus had been silent up to this point chimed in, “we should at least take a little peek!” Deadnaught had been in quiet contemplation. He too wanted to see what treasures lie on those shelves but he seemed to demure to the will of Dicen. “I really think that Dicen is right. The truth is, we don’t know how difficult it will be to clear this room, and even if we do, and we find a great treasure, how will we take it with us to the end where we need to finish our quest?” Malltoff and Asmortus both felt the wind leave their sails. “Besides, the odds of another group getting to them before we come back is pretty slim. The best protection for them is the groups that are guarding them right now.” He was no mage, but he wasn’t stupid, that was for sure. “Alright, lets finish this quest so that we can come back and get our books.” Malltoff’s face was set in grim determination. Gronik knew that there would be no rest until they had come back and gotten to those bookshelves. “So where to then Asmortus?” Dicen was relieved that there was less argument that what he was expecting. Unfolding the map, asmortus looked at it carefully. “We need to go down to the left and through that gate on the left wall. Easier said than done, thought Gronik. In the way were four entities, two of whick looked human, and two that were clearly undead. “So, what do you want to do here?” said Dicen. Malltoff considered for a moment, “Do the two on the outside look like they are human to anyone else?” The others nodded in agreement. “I think Asmortus and I can handle them.” “I can shackle one of the apparitions.” Said Deadnaught. “Alright then, lets pick our targets and wait for the clothies to do their thing. Kill whatever charges us!” Dicen had pulled out her mace and was preparing for battle. Gronik however was having a tough time finding a spot on the top of the stairs that would give him range to attack with his bow. He could hear the sounds of casting going on while he was still getting situated. Suddenly the simultaneous sound of a sheep and a pig belched in the quiet air. Looking down he could see that the two alcolytes had been transformed into a harmless sheep and a harmless pig. Odd, he didn’t remember ever seeing one do a pig before, he would have to ask about that later. The third one was rooted in place as a magical chain barrier formed around the outside of the specral Apparition. The other spectral apparition however charged dicen with full fury. Dicen charged back and met the apparition half way down the stairs. Gronik half expected the mace to pass right through the vaporous form but the magical properties of it gave it substance. Giving Mauler the signal and seeing him jump into battle, he pulled back on the arrow and gave careful aim to the head of the creature. His shot rang true as the arrow stuck half in and out of the head, making the creature look as though he were wearing a novelty arrow, gronik chuckled to himself. Now the mages were in the battle and the apparition was blown apart in short order. Gronik could feel the magical energy being released as the thing died. One after another, the others were pulled up to the Shaman, and were similarly dispatched until finally the last one fell. “Wow, did you feel the energy release from those Malltoff?”, Asmortus, if it was possible, was actually attempting a smile, something Gronik had never seen before, (and hoped he never seen again). He actually thought he heard some jawbones crack under the strain and his toothless gums made his lunch feel like it would like to join the mass of apparitions and alcolytes on the floor. Her enthusiasm was just as intense. As if she had just woken up to discover Great Father Winter had delivered her everything she had ever dreamed of. “It was amazing wasn’t it?” Her eyes shone brightly and he thought he seen a glint of rosiness to her cheeks. “Yeah, Yeah, whatever you too. Knock it off and lets get going. You do remember why we are here right? Body Parts? Barrens? Ring any bells?” Dicen moved down the stair in what can only be considered disgust. Dicen and Gronik both appreciated magic and the arcane. But both felt that in order to utilize it best, it had to be incorporated with something real and tangible, like a mace or a bow. Otherwise all you are doing is flinging poo out of mid air. Gronik was not stupid, but there was no way he could read books the way that Asmortus and Malltoff could. Not even half as good. He preferred to learn things the old fashioned way, trial and error.
Following Dicen down the stair, they noticed another group in front of the doors. This was a small group and they felt it would be easy to wipe them out and proceed through the gates. The sounds the sheep and pig signaled the beginning of the fight as the only apparition floated soundlessly towards Dicen. Mauler leapt into action and arrows flew true as the apparition was torn apart without much effort. The pig now was the focus of attention and Dicen’s mace made contact with a sickening thud. Gronik Drew back to send an arrow through the heart of the alcolyte when a roar over his shoulder interrupted his shot. Before he could turn he was knocked off his feet and landed on the hard floor with a thud. Falling onto his back he found looming over him one of the skeletal animations like the ones they had fought earlier. He now remembered seeing this one walking around the room. How careless he had been to not track its path before beginning. Its skinless jaw opened into what might have been a grin as it raised its sword over its head. Gronik felt as though time were in slow motion, he watched the hands raise and felt as though he were pinned to the floor. A giant shape flew from his peripheral vision and crashed into the skeleton knocking it to the floor. Mauler bit and slashed at the animation with ferocity he had only seen a few times before. This was enough to wake Gronik as he sprang to his feet and dropped a freezing trap on the cold stone floor. Signaling Mauler both the cat and the skeleton came towards gronik. Mauler nimbly avoided the trap set but the skeleton was not so fortunate. The bony foot came down on the trap and a Twang rang out. Shards of ice materialized all around the skeleton and pulled together almost instantly creating a solid block of ice with the skeleton trapped inside. Pleased with himself he turned around to rejoin the battle, where shouts and screams were ringing out. It took a moment to orient on the sound before he could gather what was being said. “Stop him! Don’t let him run away!” Dicen’s voice was panicked, which did not bode well at all. Scanning the room he suddenly realized what the problem was. Somehow the sheep had broken early and while they were distracted, the other alcolyte had ran away in fear, right into the middle of the room. Already more Alcolytes and Aparitions were heading into the fray. One became shackled as Deadnaught began healing the party again. The sound of a sheep and again, a pig were heard. Gronik heard his trap break as ice shards fell to the ground. This time he was prepared. A second Ice trap was set and he stepped forward. He could feel the cold as the twang of the trap went off again, refreezing the skeleton. Bolts of fire and ice flew from both the mages as well as magic missles into the nearest Alcolytes. Dicen was parrying blows from an apparition and clubbing it repeatedly in the head. As yet another alcolyte joined the fray Gronik signaled Mauler and together they began to dismantle this new menace. Deadnaught’s hands were a flurry of heal spells as he alternated between dicen and the two mages. Another alcolyte just joining in the battle made a dash for the priest, realizing it was him who was keeping the others alive, or maybe he just wanted one to himself, either way Mauler once again proved his loyalty with an alcolyte still attacking him Lunged at the new alcolyte and slid him across the floor into the wall with a dull thud. Gronik’s Arrows never slowed, and the alcolyte attacking Mauler finally dropped to the floor. Meanwhile, one of the apparitions Asmortus had been attacking had made it into melee range with him. Knocking an arrow and taking close aim, it flew just as the arms raised to make a fatal strike. The arrow pierced the apparition just below where the armpit would have been, and the force carried it into the wall where it hung suspended with a somewhat shocked look on its face before fading away. The whole room at this point it seemed was now alive with activity and the group drew closer together at the foot of the stairs. There was a crowd in front of them advancing on their position. Gronik drew both swords an prepared to fight close combat.
From behind him he could hear Asmortus and Malltoff talking at a very fast pace, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. “You’re a genius Malltoff!” Asmortus screamed nearly causing Gronik to wet himself. “Gronik, Shoot the Livery Stone!” Gronik looked over his shoulder, “huh?” Asmortus just gave him a look as though he should know the entire conversation that he and Malltoff had just had. Fortunately Malltoff understood Gronik’s delimma. “Gronik, run up the stairs, on the back wall there should be a diagram of some sort, with a jewel inside, you need to shoot it, QUICKLY!” That was all gronik needed to hear as he bounded up the stairs. At the top, he forced his eyes to see through the gloom and find the back wall. Keen sight was important to a hunter and he was able to make it out fairly easily. As he scanned the back wall there was a glint in between two bookshelves. He was fairly sure he had found it. He quickly glanced down to the group below him who was valiantly fighting off the entire room. Asmortus had created a flame wall and behind that, Malltoff had created an Ice Wall. It was rather pretty from this angle. “Don’t look at us! Shoot the damn thing!” Dicen Screamed. Returning his attention to the spot where he had seen the glint, he raised his bow, knocked an arrow, and took a deep breath. Short mental calculations put the height of the arrow about 2 inches above the spot and…. Release. The soft twang of the bow resounded in his ear as the arrow sailed through the room. Gronik could hear his heart beating in his chest as all time seemed to leave him and eternity followed until the arrow reached its destination. Several things happened all at once. A soft sound like breaking glass was heard, the Apparitions simply vanished and the alcolytes turned to dust and fell to the floor with a slight whooshing noise. But most disturbing was the demonic scream that rose from the back of the room.
The fire and Ice were gone when Gronik had returned to his companions. “O.K., is it just me, or did something sound really, really pissed off?” A harsh scratch slightly feminine voice arose from the back of the room. “YOU DARE TO DEFILE THE SANCTUM OF THE BLOODKEEPER!” “That depends on what you call a sanctum. I mean really, you should pick this place up once in a while, it’s a mess!” Dicen’s voice rang back across the room before anyone could stop her. “Way to go Dicen, provoke the angry Demon!” Deadnaught’s voice chastised, but there was a smirk on his face. The voice became icy as it began to emerge from the darkness. “AND YOU INSULT ME EVEN IN MY OWN LAIR!” From the back room, the points of two flaps of leather could be seen moving over the top of a bookcase. “YOUR SUFFERING SHALL BE GREAT!” Dicen though was not to be indimidated. “You mean more than having to listen to your raspy voice? And just WHAT is that smell? Ever hear of potpourri?” At this, the Bloodkeeper came into view. The two flaps of leather turned out to be the tips of some very large wings protruding from her back. Her skin was scarlet red and there were long curving horns coming out of her head. Her feet were hooves and the rest of her body was bare. Four arms completed the package with swords in each. Gronik heard a distinctive gulp from Deadnaught. “Man, she is HOT!” Asmortus whispered to Malltoff, who just gave him a look as though she had just ingested Rainday Slugs. “Well I would do her.” He said matter of factly. “You would do anything that was female! Live or not!” Malltoff said with obvious disgust “You know it!” he said with a smile. “Shut up and lets kill her before we all get sick!” Dicen was in no mood to hear about how hot Asmortus though this Demon was.
Gronik rejoined the group as the faced off with the Demon. Its cloven hooves could be heard on the hard floor as it made its way across to them. “FOOLISH MORTALS! DO YOU THINK THAT YOU CAN DEFEAT ME?” The demon’s foul voice echoed off the walls. “I WILL DRINK YOUR BLOOD, DEVOUR YOUR SOUL AND MAKE YOUR BODIES MY SLAVES!” Totems began to pop up around Dicen as she pondered briefly, “You know, I think I will take option 2, Destroying You! ATTACK!” On queue, Dicen sprang forward, Mauler on her heels. Red and blue flashes of light shot from the hands of Malltoff and Asmortus. Gronik carefully lined up his shots to make sure he did not hit Dicen or Mauler. The four arms of the demon slashed mercilessly Blood would appear here and there on Dicen only to disappear as a golden glow of the healing spells from Deadnaught would heal her wounds. One moment the Demon would cackle with glee, the next she would scream in rage and frustration. Over the noise of combat you could hear Malltoff and Asmortus once again. “No No No, you can’t use that fire spell against a demon, they are made of hellfire!” Malltoff chastised. “Sure I can, you never heard of “Using fire to fight fire? Besides, my frost spells aren’t as powerful as yours. I don’t like how they make me feel.” Asmortus launched another firebolt to the face of the demon and was rewarded with an angry scream. “What do you mean, how it makes you feel?” Malltoff launched her own frostbolt into the side of the demon narrowly avoiding Dicen. “Well the cold does things to me. It’s a guy thing. I like being all hot and bothered. Tee Hee” A searing flame appeared around the demons neck. Malltoff did not respond because she was sure she did not want to know any more than that. The demon stopped attacking with two of its arms to try and put out the flame. Unfortunately for it, these were the arms that were fighting the huge cat at its side. Mauler lunged and grabbed a flange on one of the leathery wings. The momentum brought the wing and the demon to the floor. Not to miss and opportunity, Dicen jumped forward and brought her mace down on the head with all her might. The blow landed home and, bolstered by her strength of earth totem, went throught the thick skull and stopped at the base of the neck. Where the head was all that remained was a sickly pile of goo. A scream from overhead told that the demon had released its hold on its body and was returning from where it came and the body lied still. Blisteres began to form on the body and a rancid smoke began to rise from it as it decayed into a pile of dust. “Awww, what a waste!” Asmortus said as he stepped up. A glint in the ashes caught Gronik’s attention. “Hey, What is that?” Gronik said pointing to the spot in the ashes. Malltoff reached in and pulled out a small vial. “Hmm, it looks like blood.” Turning the vial over in her hand, “and its still warm too.” “I wonder what it is for?” Deadnaught stated as he looked down at the smoldering remains. “I don’t know, but something tells me, we are going to find out!”
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Story "Elite Mercenaries" Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Huh?” the word hung in the still air as a growing realization came across them all. How could they have been so stupid as to think that they could just waltz in and take what they wanted. Of course the door would be locked. Malltoff and Asmortus looked at each other expectantly as though each was waiting for the other to reprimand them for the oversight. “See what you’ve done Dead?” Dicen scolded. “Me? What did I do?” “If we hadn’t had to come get you from the auction house, we would have already figured this out and been in there by now!” “Of all the nerve….” The arguing between Dicen and Deadnaught faded into the background as Gronik studied the door. ‘Looks like Ironwood, at least six inches thick.’ He thought to himself. ‘would take days to pound through it and that is if it isn’t enchanted.’ His eyes were drawn to a boot heel print at the base of the door. Scuff marks indicated that it had been open recently, a few weeks perhaps? A few weeks? Gronik would have to remind himself later to kick himself. Of course he had forgotten about the human, gnome and Night Elf footprints he had seen earlier. This print had the makings of elven makeup. Behind him the noise was intensifying as Malltoff and Asmortus had gotten into the fray. “Oh yeah? Well at least I don’t eat corpses!” “Hey, Don’t knock it till you try it!” “All this clothie can do is go berserk and what not!” “You call yourself a mage! I have seen better magic at the Darkmoon Faire” Gronik pushed the noise aside again. He had to concentrate. ‘O.k. We don’t have a rogue and I doubt one could pick this lock anyway. So how did the humie get in?’ His keen eyes notice a few nicks at the back of the door near the hinge. A small gap between the door and the wall let him just barely see the outline of a torch sconce on the wall directly behind the door. ‘Weird that it would be there instead of farther back.’ He thought. An idea struck him that seemed almost too good to be true. Removing his longsword, he inserted it into the crack and pushed forward until he felt a slight resistance. Pushing forward he heard the tell tale click of the latch being opened. ‘hmm, a secret release. How interesting.’
Gronik’s actions had gone completely unnoticed by the group who now had resorted to insulting each other’s mother. “Oh yeah, well your mother is so alive that….Hey where is Gronik?” Dicen suddenly realized that there were only four of them in the antechamber now instead of five. The quiet was unsettling after the heated argument that they had just endured. “He was right here.” Asmortus stated matter of factly but his face showed what could be construed as concern in the taught skin of his undead face. “Of course he was right here, brain rot!” Malltoff quipped, “But he is not here now, hence the statement, where is Gronik.” Color seemed to seep into Asmortus’s chalky face. “Why I aughta….” As Asmortus took a step towards Malltoff, a sound came from behind the door. Nothing too loud, but just enough to let them know something was there. “Shhhh!” Deadnaught hissed. “There’s something in there!” Dicen stepped forward and placed her ear to the door. Long moments passed then another sound, something as though it were stone grinding on stone. A solitary and ominous Click suddenly rang out through the hall, freezing the group in their tracks. “Oh my, it unlocked!” Malltoff’s voice was quiet and a bit unnerved. Dicen stepped back away from the door. The creak of the hinge foretold the opening of the door. In an instant the group was at alert. Suddenly all the anger and animosity they had felt vanished and was replaced by a unity against a common foe. They were in familiar territory now. Whatever came out that door, they would be ready. They quickly formed into the battle ranks without a word. Each one knew their place and what was expected of them. Dicen was at the front, her enchanted mace shown brightly in the dark hallway. Briefly she thanked Asmortus for enchanting it for her. On her other arm, she hefted a mighty shield and her Chain mail armor sparkled in the light of the mace. Behind her flanked on each side Malltoff and Asmortus prepared their first spell. Several steps back, Deadnaught prepared himself to heal his comrades. This would be the beginning. They all felt it. No time to worry about Gronik now, they had more important things to think about.
The door slowly creaked open, inch-by-inch. An eternity was passing by and sweat began to form on Dicen’s brow and in the Mage’s hands. Holding fireballs at the ready was pretty sweaty work, but they would not begin the assault until the time was right. The darkness behind the door was complete and no shadows came as the door opened. The door had just reached about half opened when it happened. In one movement the door slammed open and a deafening roar came from the darkness. Dicen ducked just in time as the great beast lunged over his head. She felt the back feet on her shoulders and was driven into the ground as it used her body to lung forward. The sudden movement caught even Asmortus and Malltoff unprepared. They felt the beast rush into them, knocking the held spells skyward into the vaulted stone ceiling. Twin fire bolts careened into the roof briefly igniting before dissipating. Bits of stone flaked onto them from above as they were slammed back into the walls of the hallway. Deadnaught was in direct line of the beast and was slammed to the ground, the massive hulk of the beast on top of him. Throwing his arms up over his face to shield himself he prepared himself for a very painful end. With eyes closed he let out a muffled yelp as he suddenly felt the huge tongue of the beast lick his forearms. Lick? Opening one dead eye and peering through gap between his arms he could make out the huge mouth of Mauler. Gronik emerged from the doorway barely able to contain his laughter. “I found a way inside.” He stated matter of factly. “Mauler, Heel!” Obediently the great cat bounded back to Gronik’s side, apparently pleased with himself at the joke at the group’s expense. The group was picking themselves up off the floor and dusting themselves off. “Gronik…” Dicen’s words trailed off as he found himself unable to formulate the proper insult. Fortunately Deadnaught did not have the same issue. “Just remember this when you need to be healed you flatulating green skinned bow slinging sack of bat dung!” For a change Asmortus and Malltoff were silent but their glares let him know that his little joke was not appreciated. “Lets get this over with!” Dicen stated through clenched teeth. Gronik sighed inwardly as he tossed Mauler a leg of roasted quail, ‘some people just cant take a joke’. Inside the doorway the group regained their composure. Deadnaught cast Arcane Brilliance and in silent meditation Gronik focused his energy and felt the aura encompass his body and move to the group. They would all hit harder with his trueshot aura up and running. Dicen prepared his reagents to lie out the necessary totems that would be needed. The mages handed out food and water and finally they were all set.
Walking down the steps they rounded the corner and abruptly came to a halt on the first landing. Directly ahead of them were four skeletal constructs. Two stood at the far end of a walkway that spanned a room beneath it while the other two stood more towards the middle. Silent and unmoving the only thing that showed there was anything unusual about them was the glowing red eyes. Gronik felt his stomach tighten into a knot as he examined the constructs. Piecemeal armor hung loosely about their bodies and the bones seemed to glow at the joints. Long swords protruded from the boney hands. There was no flesh on them, as though they had been here a long time and were stripped of the flesh right where they were standing. “Interesting.” Asmortus said under his breath. “I have read about this type of thing.” Malltoff interjected, “It appears that they are matrix based animations” Asmortus completely understood the statement but the other three just looked at Malltoff as though he had spoken in Draconic. “Huh?” Dicen asked. “Allow me to explain. You see, they will only react when you get within a certain distance of them.” Malltoff now assumed that annoying know it all attitude. “What do you mean React?” Gronik was still confused. Asmortus filled in the gaps with a sigh, “They come alive and attack you!” Now THAT Gronik understood. “Can you imagine the amount of magic needed to create this type of animation? This is impressive!” Malltoff was equally impressed. “Yeah, I wonder if this place is all animated in this manner. If so, we have our work cut out for us.” “But that would take a temporal rift displacement of epic proportions to create that kind of magic!” Asmortus was incredulous. The conversation started to lean towards the technical ramifications of the magic involved in their creation. Dicen quickly interjected, “Ummm, excuse me, but can we just kill the damn things instead of standing here flapping our gums?” Silently Gronik wondered how they would kill something that is already dead. Of course, that didn’t stop Asmortus and Deadnaught from walking and talking. Malltoff and Asmortus appeared put out but decided better of arguing with the mace-wielding shaman.
Gronik ordered Mauler to stay back and with one motion he notched an arrow in his bow and took careful aim at the construct on the right of the walkway. The arrow rang true with a resounding ‘Thunk’ in the skull. Immediately it jumped to life and charged the party. Interestingly enough, the other stood there, just as eerily motionless as before. Gronik jumped back as Dicen prepared to engage the charging skeleton. The clang of metal rang out as Dicen connected with the construct. Almost simultaneously two bolts of first blasted the torso. Gronik signaled mauler to attack and began pummeling the skeleton with magically enhanced arrows. Bits of bone could be seen flying in all directions as Dicen pounded blow after blow on the skeleton. A deafening roar rang out as Mauler sprang into action. More fire flew from the fingers of the mages, combined with Gronik’s arrows and the crunching sound of Dicen’s mace cracking bone. Deadnaught sensing that Dicen was taking wounds began casting healing spells on the Shaman. Suddenly a groan escaped from the construct and the light left from its eyes as it came apart and fell to the floor. “Well that was easy” Dicen said while checking to make sure her armor did not suffer too much damage. “Perhaps” Asmortus stated while rubbing his boney chin, “But something tells me that these things have the ability to regenerate themselves.” Malltoff reached down and picked up a bone fragment from one of the skeletons. “Yep, look here!” As they looked the bone was slowly beginning to grow longer as though it was repairing itself. “Don’t worry though, at the rate this is going, it will take a week or two to fully repair itself.” Gronik thought to himself about the tracks that he had noticed outside. Could that party have gotten past these and they just repaired themselves? His mind was unable to comprehend that type of magic so he opted to just let it go for now. The party now turned its attention to the other construct. “I wonder if we can walk past that one?” Dicen wondered out loud. “Deadnaught, why don’t you go try to make friends with the other two at the end” Deadnaught had taken two steps forward before fully realizing just what had been asked of him. He turned on Dicen only to see the smirk on her face. “It was just a joke!” “Just remember that when I ‘Accidentally’ cast Curse of Agony on you instead of Fortitude.” Dicen gulped. She remembered one time when she had gone too far with Deadnaught, (what was it that she had done again? Then it came to her, the song she had written on the spot. It was called, “The Clothies in The Guild Go Squish Squish Squish”), and he cast the lower level curse on her. She had actually started crying before one of the mages dispelled it. Apparently they did not care for it either. She could only imagine what the most powerful version of it felt like. The fight with the second Skeleton on the left went somewhat quicker than the first’ partly because of a lucky fireball spell that blew the skeletons skull into a thousand pieces. “Do you have any idea how long it is going to take to get this bone dust out of my armor?” Dicen complained. “Lets just hope it doesn’t reanimate in your pants!” Asmortus chuckled. Everyone laughed but Dicen seemed to be a bit unnerved by the thought.
Gronik began to take aim at one of the two at the end. He hadn’t noticed before but they seemed to be guarding a gate of some kind. “Wait!” Malltoff yelped, as troll women tended to do from time to time, “These two are much closer together than the last two, what happens if we animate both of them?” “No problem, my little blue skinned fire-weaver, watch and learn.” Gronik could see by the scowl on Malltoff’s face that he had struck a nerve. She hated to be patronized with pet names, and worse to be treated as though she was stupid. Gronik ignored her as he deftly set a freezing trap on the ground. “There, that should take care of one while we fight the other.” If looks could kill, Gronik knew that not even Deadnaught would be able to resurrect him from the one Malltoff was giving him. Gronik stood back and gave Mauler the signal to stay as he drew back on his arrow. He couldn’t help himself; “You know you’re cute when you’re angry!” He could sense Malltoff stiffen beside him as he let the arrow fly. She had been correct of course, this time both skeletons jumped to life and charged the party. Gronik jumped back as a familiar Twang filled the air, and the skeleton he shot became encased in a dome of ice. The other skeleton charged and Dicen stepped to intercept. From out of nowhere, a massive fireball crashed from the ceiling, engulfing the skeleton in fire. Dicen jumped back. Had she had eyebrows, she was sure they would be singed off. The fire kept crashing in waves until there was nothing left but a pile of bone dust on the floor. Slowly, Gronik looked over at Malltoff. Her cheeks were flushed red and her brow was dripping with sweat. Her teeth were clenching together making a slight clicking noise. “Never piss off a fire mage you green skinned throwback from a Kodo and a Tauren coupling!” Gronik had no idea what that meant but her point was well taken. A new sound suddenly got their attention; a second twang indicated the trap duration was over. The party was so engaged in the pyrotechnic display, they had totally forgotten about the one encased in the ice trap. It made its charge for Malltoff, but was intercepted by Mauler. The huge cat grabbed the skeleton by the arm and swung it completely around. Suddenly, the party was back in motion as the group made short work of the skeleton.
“Lets go see what’s beyond that gate over there.” Deadnaught offered. The group passed over the raised catwalk. Looking over the sides more constructs were visible. “Ghouls too, Look!” There were several types of ghouls mixed in with the constructs. “Gronik was curious, “What is that green haze around them?” In his travels Gronik had faced many different types of ghouls, aberrations that were made from living flesh. These however were nothing like he had ever seen. “I am not sure, but somehow I have a feeling we are going to find out.” Malltoff frowned, she hated not knowing something since to her, knowledge was power. Her only comfort was knowing that Asmortus was as unsure as she was. That helped. They watched the scene below them as they moved across the catwalk. Dicen reached the gate first and began reaching for the handle in the middle. A burst of noise brought them all to attention as the gates crashed open, knocking Dicen to the ground. Another construct came charging through the now open gates at Asmortus. Out of reflex Asmortus threw up a frost nova spell and trapped the construct in place as he scrambled back, suddenly a barrage of arcane missiles flew from Malltoff as Mauler pounced on the back of the construct, knocking it off balance. Gronik was firing arrows before he even thought about what he was doing. Dicen was scrambling to her feet as the Skeleton turned its attention to Mauler. Gronik renewed his barrage of arrows and calling upon his innate abilities to increase his damage. Suddenly a powerful fireball ripped through the construct and the entire body exploded in the onslaught. The skull dropped and clanged heavily on the stone floor. Looking over, Gronik seen Asmortus standing in his casting position, breathing heavily. “Take that you pile of bones!” Deadnaught could not help but snicker, “Are you sure that wasn’t a relative of yours?” “Go to hell Deadnaught!” But there was no malice in Asmortus’ voice.
Peering through the gate, there was nothing else on the other side. The gate opened onto a landing with steps that descended down on both sides. The room at the bottom was vast with rows of shelves lining the walls like a library. “Holy Hell” Dicen swore as he looked at the movement in the room below. Asmortus and Malltoff stood there slack jawed. Gronik could not even begin to fathom what he was seeing. “We have to go through that mess?” He stated flatly. “Well, we sure aren’t going to pole vault over them.” Dicen quipped.
Stay Tuned for Chapter 3
“Huh?” the word hung in the still air as a growing realization came across them all. How could they have been so stupid as to think that they could just waltz in and take what they wanted. Of course the door would be locked. Malltoff and Asmortus looked at each other expectantly as though each was waiting for the other to reprimand them for the oversight. “See what you’ve done Dead?” Dicen scolded. “Me? What did I do?” “If we hadn’t had to come get you from the auction house, we would have already figured this out and been in there by now!” “Of all the nerve….” The arguing between Dicen and Deadnaught faded into the background as Gronik studied the door. ‘Looks like Ironwood, at least six inches thick.’ He thought to himself. ‘would take days to pound through it and that is if it isn’t enchanted.’ His eyes were drawn to a boot heel print at the base of the door. Scuff marks indicated that it had been open recently, a few weeks perhaps? A few weeks? Gronik would have to remind himself later to kick himself. Of course he had forgotten about the human, gnome and Night Elf footprints he had seen earlier. This print had the makings of elven makeup. Behind him the noise was intensifying as Malltoff and Asmortus had gotten into the fray. “Oh yeah? Well at least I don’t eat corpses!” “Hey, Don’t knock it till you try it!” “All this clothie can do is go berserk and what not!” “You call yourself a mage! I have seen better magic at the Darkmoon Faire” Gronik pushed the noise aside again. He had to concentrate. ‘O.k. We don’t have a rogue and I doubt one could pick this lock anyway. So how did the humie get in?’ His keen eyes notice a few nicks at the back of the door near the hinge. A small gap between the door and the wall let him just barely see the outline of a torch sconce on the wall directly behind the door. ‘Weird that it would be there instead of farther back.’ He thought. An idea struck him that seemed almost too good to be true. Removing his longsword, he inserted it into the crack and pushed forward until he felt a slight resistance. Pushing forward he heard the tell tale click of the latch being opened. ‘hmm, a secret release. How interesting.’
Gronik’s actions had gone completely unnoticed by the group who now had resorted to insulting each other’s mother. “Oh yeah, well your mother is so alive that….Hey where is Gronik?” Dicen suddenly realized that there were only four of them in the antechamber now instead of five. The quiet was unsettling after the heated argument that they had just endured. “He was right here.” Asmortus stated matter of factly but his face showed what could be construed as concern in the taught skin of his undead face. “Of course he was right here, brain rot!” Malltoff quipped, “But he is not here now, hence the statement, where is Gronik.” Color seemed to seep into Asmortus’s chalky face. “Why I aughta….” As Asmortus took a step towards Malltoff, a sound came from behind the door. Nothing too loud, but just enough to let them know something was there. “Shhhh!” Deadnaught hissed. “There’s something in there!” Dicen stepped forward and placed her ear to the door. Long moments passed then another sound, something as though it were stone grinding on stone. A solitary and ominous Click suddenly rang out through the hall, freezing the group in their tracks. “Oh my, it unlocked!” Malltoff’s voice was quiet and a bit unnerved. Dicen stepped back away from the door. The creak of the hinge foretold the opening of the door. In an instant the group was at alert. Suddenly all the anger and animosity they had felt vanished and was replaced by a unity against a common foe. They were in familiar territory now. Whatever came out that door, they would be ready. They quickly formed into the battle ranks without a word. Each one knew their place and what was expected of them. Dicen was at the front, her enchanted mace shown brightly in the dark hallway. Briefly she thanked Asmortus for enchanting it for her. On her other arm, she hefted a mighty shield and her Chain mail armor sparkled in the light of the mace. Behind her flanked on each side Malltoff and Asmortus prepared their first spell. Several steps back, Deadnaught prepared himself to heal his comrades. This would be the beginning. They all felt it. No time to worry about Gronik now, they had more important things to think about.
The door slowly creaked open, inch-by-inch. An eternity was passing by and sweat began to form on Dicen’s brow and in the Mage’s hands. Holding fireballs at the ready was pretty sweaty work, but they would not begin the assault until the time was right. The darkness behind the door was complete and no shadows came as the door opened. The door had just reached about half opened when it happened. In one movement the door slammed open and a deafening roar came from the darkness. Dicen ducked just in time as the great beast lunged over his head. She felt the back feet on her shoulders and was driven into the ground as it used her body to lung forward. The sudden movement caught even Asmortus and Malltoff unprepared. They felt the beast rush into them, knocking the held spells skyward into the vaulted stone ceiling. Twin fire bolts careened into the roof briefly igniting before dissipating. Bits of stone flaked onto them from above as they were slammed back into the walls of the hallway. Deadnaught was in direct line of the beast and was slammed to the ground, the massive hulk of the beast on top of him. Throwing his arms up over his face to shield himself he prepared himself for a very painful end. With eyes closed he let out a muffled yelp as he suddenly felt the huge tongue of the beast lick his forearms. Lick? Opening one dead eye and peering through gap between his arms he could make out the huge mouth of Mauler. Gronik emerged from the doorway barely able to contain his laughter. “I found a way inside.” He stated matter of factly. “Mauler, Heel!” Obediently the great cat bounded back to Gronik’s side, apparently pleased with himself at the joke at the group’s expense. The group was picking themselves up off the floor and dusting themselves off. “Gronik…” Dicen’s words trailed off as he found himself unable to formulate the proper insult. Fortunately Deadnaught did not have the same issue. “Just remember this when you need to be healed you flatulating green skinned bow slinging sack of bat dung!” For a change Asmortus and Malltoff were silent but their glares let him know that his little joke was not appreciated. “Lets get this over with!” Dicen stated through clenched teeth. Gronik sighed inwardly as he tossed Mauler a leg of roasted quail, ‘some people just cant take a joke’. Inside the doorway the group regained their composure. Deadnaught cast Arcane Brilliance and in silent meditation Gronik focused his energy and felt the aura encompass his body and move to the group. They would all hit harder with his trueshot aura up and running. Dicen prepared his reagents to lie out the necessary totems that would be needed. The mages handed out food and water and finally they were all set.
Walking down the steps they rounded the corner and abruptly came to a halt on the first landing. Directly ahead of them were four skeletal constructs. Two stood at the far end of a walkway that spanned a room beneath it while the other two stood more towards the middle. Silent and unmoving the only thing that showed there was anything unusual about them was the glowing red eyes. Gronik felt his stomach tighten into a knot as he examined the constructs. Piecemeal armor hung loosely about their bodies and the bones seemed to glow at the joints. Long swords protruded from the boney hands. There was no flesh on them, as though they had been here a long time and were stripped of the flesh right where they were standing. “Interesting.” Asmortus said under his breath. “I have read about this type of thing.” Malltoff interjected, “It appears that they are matrix based animations” Asmortus completely understood the statement but the other three just looked at Malltoff as though he had spoken in Draconic. “Huh?” Dicen asked. “Allow me to explain. You see, they will only react when you get within a certain distance of them.” Malltoff now assumed that annoying know it all attitude. “What do you mean React?” Gronik was still confused. Asmortus filled in the gaps with a sigh, “They come alive and attack you!” Now THAT Gronik understood. “Can you imagine the amount of magic needed to create this type of animation? This is impressive!” Malltoff was equally impressed. “Yeah, I wonder if this place is all animated in this manner. If so, we have our work cut out for us.” “But that would take a temporal rift displacement of epic proportions to create that kind of magic!” Asmortus was incredulous. The conversation started to lean towards the technical ramifications of the magic involved in their creation. Dicen quickly interjected, “Ummm, excuse me, but can we just kill the damn things instead of standing here flapping our gums?” Silently Gronik wondered how they would kill something that is already dead. Of course, that didn’t stop Asmortus and Deadnaught from walking and talking. Malltoff and Asmortus appeared put out but decided better of arguing with the mace-wielding shaman.
Gronik ordered Mauler to stay back and with one motion he notched an arrow in his bow and took careful aim at the construct on the right of the walkway. The arrow rang true with a resounding ‘Thunk’ in the skull. Immediately it jumped to life and charged the party. Interestingly enough, the other stood there, just as eerily motionless as before. Gronik jumped back as Dicen prepared to engage the charging skeleton. The clang of metal rang out as Dicen connected with the construct. Almost simultaneously two bolts of first blasted the torso. Gronik signaled mauler to attack and began pummeling the skeleton with magically enhanced arrows. Bits of bone could be seen flying in all directions as Dicen pounded blow after blow on the skeleton. A deafening roar rang out as Mauler sprang into action. More fire flew from the fingers of the mages, combined with Gronik’s arrows and the crunching sound of Dicen’s mace cracking bone. Deadnaught sensing that Dicen was taking wounds began casting healing spells on the Shaman. Suddenly a groan escaped from the construct and the light left from its eyes as it came apart and fell to the floor. “Well that was easy” Dicen said while checking to make sure her armor did not suffer too much damage. “Perhaps” Asmortus stated while rubbing his boney chin, “But something tells me that these things have the ability to regenerate themselves.” Malltoff reached down and picked up a bone fragment from one of the skeletons. “Yep, look here!” As they looked the bone was slowly beginning to grow longer as though it was repairing itself. “Don’t worry though, at the rate this is going, it will take a week or two to fully repair itself.” Gronik thought to himself about the tracks that he had noticed outside. Could that party have gotten past these and they just repaired themselves? His mind was unable to comprehend that type of magic so he opted to just let it go for now. The party now turned its attention to the other construct. “I wonder if we can walk past that one?” Dicen wondered out loud. “Deadnaught, why don’t you go try to make friends with the other two at the end” Deadnaught had taken two steps forward before fully realizing just what had been asked of him. He turned on Dicen only to see the smirk on her face. “It was just a joke!” “Just remember that when I ‘Accidentally’ cast Curse of Agony on you instead of Fortitude.” Dicen gulped. She remembered one time when she had gone too far with Deadnaught, (what was it that she had done again? Then it came to her, the song she had written on the spot. It was called, “The Clothies in The Guild Go Squish Squish Squish”), and he cast the lower level curse on her. She had actually started crying before one of the mages dispelled it. Apparently they did not care for it either. She could only imagine what the most powerful version of it felt like. The fight with the second Skeleton on the left went somewhat quicker than the first’ partly because of a lucky fireball spell that blew the skeletons skull into a thousand pieces. “Do you have any idea how long it is going to take to get this bone dust out of my armor?” Dicen complained. “Lets just hope it doesn’t reanimate in your pants!” Asmortus chuckled. Everyone laughed but Dicen seemed to be a bit unnerved by the thought.
Gronik began to take aim at one of the two at the end. He hadn’t noticed before but they seemed to be guarding a gate of some kind. “Wait!” Malltoff yelped, as troll women tended to do from time to time, “These two are much closer together than the last two, what happens if we animate both of them?” “No problem, my little blue skinned fire-weaver, watch and learn.” Gronik could see by the scowl on Malltoff’s face that he had struck a nerve. She hated to be patronized with pet names, and worse to be treated as though she was stupid. Gronik ignored her as he deftly set a freezing trap on the ground. “There, that should take care of one while we fight the other.” If looks could kill, Gronik knew that not even Deadnaught would be able to resurrect him from the one Malltoff was giving him. Gronik stood back and gave Mauler the signal to stay as he drew back on his arrow. He couldn’t help himself; “You know you’re cute when you’re angry!” He could sense Malltoff stiffen beside him as he let the arrow fly. She had been correct of course, this time both skeletons jumped to life and charged the party. Gronik jumped back as a familiar Twang filled the air, and the skeleton he shot became encased in a dome of ice. The other skeleton charged and Dicen stepped to intercept. From out of nowhere, a massive fireball crashed from the ceiling, engulfing the skeleton in fire. Dicen jumped back. Had she had eyebrows, she was sure they would be singed off. The fire kept crashing in waves until there was nothing left but a pile of bone dust on the floor. Slowly, Gronik looked over at Malltoff. Her cheeks were flushed red and her brow was dripping with sweat. Her teeth were clenching together making a slight clicking noise. “Never piss off a fire mage you green skinned throwback from a Kodo and a Tauren coupling!” Gronik had no idea what that meant but her point was well taken. A new sound suddenly got their attention; a second twang indicated the trap duration was over. The party was so engaged in the pyrotechnic display, they had totally forgotten about the one encased in the ice trap. It made its charge for Malltoff, but was intercepted by Mauler. The huge cat grabbed the skeleton by the arm and swung it completely around. Suddenly, the party was back in motion as the group made short work of the skeleton.
“Lets go see what’s beyond that gate over there.” Deadnaught offered. The group passed over the raised catwalk. Looking over the sides more constructs were visible. “Ghouls too, Look!” There were several types of ghouls mixed in with the constructs. “Gronik was curious, “What is that green haze around them?” In his travels Gronik had faced many different types of ghouls, aberrations that were made from living flesh. These however were nothing like he had ever seen. “I am not sure, but somehow I have a feeling we are going to find out.” Malltoff frowned, she hated not knowing something since to her, knowledge was power. Her only comfort was knowing that Asmortus was as unsure as she was. That helped. They watched the scene below them as they moved across the catwalk. Dicen reached the gate first and began reaching for the handle in the middle. A burst of noise brought them all to attention as the gates crashed open, knocking Dicen to the ground. Another construct came charging through the now open gates at Asmortus. Out of reflex Asmortus threw up a frost nova spell and trapped the construct in place as he scrambled back, suddenly a barrage of arcane missiles flew from Malltoff as Mauler pounced on the back of the construct, knocking it off balance. Gronik was firing arrows before he even thought about what he was doing. Dicen was scrambling to her feet as the Skeleton turned its attention to Mauler. Gronik renewed his barrage of arrows and calling upon his innate abilities to increase his damage. Suddenly a powerful fireball ripped through the construct and the entire body exploded in the onslaught. The skull dropped and clanged heavily on the stone floor. Looking over, Gronik seen Asmortus standing in his casting position, breathing heavily. “Take that you pile of bones!” Deadnaught could not help but snicker, “Are you sure that wasn’t a relative of yours?” “Go to hell Deadnaught!” But there was no malice in Asmortus’ voice.
Peering through the gate, there was nothing else on the other side. The gate opened onto a landing with steps that descended down on both sides. The room at the bottom was vast with rows of shelves lining the walls like a library. “Holy Hell” Dicen swore as he looked at the movement in the room below. Asmortus and Malltoff stood there slack jawed. Gronik could not even begin to fathom what he was seeing. “We have to go through that mess?” He stated flatly. “Well, we sure aren’t going to pole vault over them.” Dicen quipped.
Stay Tuned for Chapter 3
Story: "Elite Mercenaries" Chapter 1
This is the first chapter in a story I have been writing. I am posting it here so that my guild mates can read it easier. hope you like it. I will be posting the other two chapters after this.
The Elite Mercenaries
Chapter 1
The crisp morning wind blew across the lake as a lone figure stood on the banks of Caer Dorrow as he examined the massive ruins, also known as Scholomance. The rising sun reflected off of his green skin as he sniffed the air for any sign of immediate danger. A low growl to his side only slightly drew his attention. The massive Lion pushed his head under Gronik’s hand as if to show that he understood the Orc hunter’s apprehension at the empty ruins that stood before them. Gronik absently stroked the great cats mane as he had so many times before. “Smell that Mauler?” Gronik’s voice broke the silence that seemed intent on overwhelming them, “This place reeks of death.” Mauler simply shook his head, as if to show he too smelled the stench of death and decay that had been upon them since they had came to this shore. Of course, this was nothing new to the hunter. Mauler and he had been on many journeys into places that had been even fouler than this. “Not as bad as those Pig Pens in the Southern Barrens, eh friend?” Even the thought of the foul smell of those Pigmen made him shudder. It had taken him at least a week to get the smell out of his armor and a special alchemist potion to be able to stand downwind of Mauler. Of course the cat was none too happy about being dowsed in the cold waters outside of Ratchet either. Mauler’s large furry paws began to tap the dirt in what Gronik knew to be impatience. Again he ran his fingers through his furry mane and spoke softly, “Patience old friend, this place is more than we can handle on our own. Soon the others will be here and we can begin to purge this place.” A snort from Mauler signaled that he had understood but was none to happy about it. Gronik reached into his backpack and yanked a chunk off the roasted quail he carried for this beast. ‘He eats more than a dozen orcs’, Gronik thought to himself as he tossed the meat to his faithful companion. Mauler contented himself with the Quail and plopped down with it between his paws while they waited. Gronik turned his attention to the ground around them while the chomping sounds of mauler seemed to drown out all other sounds. “Hmm, a few interesting tracks here, lets see, that looks like a crocolisk, and ….” , Gronik felt his pulse quicken and his breath catch, “Human, gnome and possibly a night elf. Looks like a party was here fairly recently.” He observed how there were tracks leading up to the ruins, but none coming back out. The tracks were old though, at least a few weeks. He had almost missed them with the recent rains in this area but his keen eyes were good at tracking even where there should be no tracks.
“Some hunter you are, letting me sneak up on you like that!” The voice behind him made him jump forward and he awkwardly made a grab for his weapon as his face hit the hard dirt. Rolling over on his back his green complexion took on a rosy hue as the female troll in front of him began to double over with laughter. “Dicen, you wench!” Gronik fumed, “How many times I have to tell ya, DON’T DO THAT!” Of course this brought about a renewed bout of laughter that almost seemed to echo behind him. Interesting that the laughter behind me seems to continue when Dicen takes a breath though… Gronik’s face plops into his meaty hand when he realizes that the voice behind him is no echo. ‘Great, now I will never hear the end of this’ he says to himself, “Hello Asmortus”, the sound is muffled through his hand but can still be heard well enough. “ASMORTUS??? I am Malltoff damn you! Get it straight!” Looking over his shoulder with a slight smirk Gronik knew he had gotten to the mage that could pass for Dicen’s twin. Getting to his feet Gronik began to dust himself off, “How am I supposed to know, all you mage’s look alike!” Malltoffs face began to pulsate with a fiery glow that let Gronik know his observation was not appreciated. Dicen looked over Gronik’s shoulder and gave a quizzical look to Malltoff, “You know…?” Malltoff’s face began to glow even brighter, ”Shut up Dicen! There is no way I could be mistaken for an undead, let alone a male!”. Malltoff placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath to show that this was not a lie. All three of them began to laugh. Of course this type of badgering went on all the time and it was almost expected when they got together. “So where IS Asmortus? He should have been here by now!” Gronik gazed at Mauler who had finished his quail and was happily licking his paws. “He will be here soon”, Dicen said, “He just had to talk with someone in Undercity and was on his way here.” Gronik and Malltoff gave each other a knowing look. “Lets just hope that he stays out of the Apothecarium. Last time we waited for three hours on him to get done!” The Apothecarium had the distinction of not only being the herbalism center of Undercity, but for those in the know, was also the reputed house of Ill Repute that Asmortus, though being dead, seemed to be a frequent customer. “Don’t worry, I had Deadnaught go with him.” Two blank stares faced Dicen. “You what?” Malltoff’s face was incredulous, “Do you remember what happened the last time you sent the priest to accompany Asmortus in The Undercity?” This time it was Dicen’s turn to give the blank stare. “Hello! Are you out of your mind? You know Deadnaught can’t stay away from an auction! Why do you think we had to take this stinking assignment? Last time he almost put us into bankruptcy.” A groan escaped from Gronik, “And maybe you are just forgetting about the gnome with his huge Ogre friend that showed up to collect? Missing arms and legs are not easily healed, I don’t care how good of a priest you are!” A growing concern suddenly appeared to register on Dicen’s face. “You know….?” Gronik just shook his head, “Oh crap, open a portal to Undercity, Malltoff, lets get there before we are all broke again!”
Stepping out of the blue void from the portal, the three friends looked around the musty and dank area where the Undead call home, Undercity. Lying beneath the Ruins of Laorderean. A vast multilevel underground structure, it had the unmistaken stench of death and decay. Gronik never felt comfortable here mainly because being underground is a bit unsettling for a hunter. “C’mon, we have to get to the auction house”, Malltoff cried as he took off into a run. Jumping through the stagnant water that surrounds the outer ring of Undercity, Gronik blocked from his mind what might be in that water. Only one thing right now was important, getting to the auction house. Passing through to the inner ring, a great commotion could be heard up ahead. The auctioneers were busy taking items and handing out sold items. Permanent portals behind them had been set up to go to the other major auction houses in Orgrimaar and Thunder Bluff, the Orc and Tauren capitals. Streams of assistants constantly were going through the portals bringing bids from other locations and transporting items that had been sold. It was a truly amazing sight to behold. Right now their attention was on one particular auctioneer and, in particular, on of the patrons. It would have been difficult to identify the undead priest in the midst of the crowd, except for one detail. Deadnaught’s robed arm was raised above the crowd as he jumped up and down yelling “Oh my. Did you say Dreadmist Mantle? BID BID BID! Here Here! How much was that? Oh who cares, I’ll buy it!” Beside Dreadnaught a frantic Asmortus tried desperately to pull him out of the crowd and to keep his hand down. “Wait Wait, Stop! I NEED that! Hey you Jerk, don’t bid on that its mine!” In one fluid motion the three ran into the crowd and grabbed hold of Deadnaught. “NO! I am not done yet! Mine, mine, MINE!!!” “Get his legs Mall, Grab that arm Dicen” Grabbing his other arm, Gronik and the other two began the arduous task of carrying the priest away from the auction. Asmortus was busy explaining to the auctioneer that his friend had suffered a brain injury and so the 250 gold bid he had just made was not valid. Gronik could hear the auctioneer raising his voice “Unless your friend wants to talk with the Abomination Guards, then I suggest he figures out how to come up with 250 gold!” Luckily fate stepped in and out of the portal from Orgrimaar, a bid for 251 gold was placed. Asmortus almost fainted with relief. Unfortunately Dreadnaught also heard this. “252! 252! I am good for it! 2 5 2!!!!” The auctioneer never heard his final bid, however, thanks to a well-placed silence spell. Dreadnaught flailed helplessly as the Shaman, mage and hunter carried him to the center circle where the bank was located. Thankfully it only took about a half hour for Deadnaught to finally come to his senses. “Wow, thanks guys, I don’t know what came over me.” Dicen assumed her ‘Now Listen Here’ stance with both hands on her hips. “Let me tell you this, if you ever do that again, I am going to place and earthbind totem up your ass and let you figure out how to heal it!” Deadnaught gulped when he realized that she was quite serious.
“We need to get a move on.” Malltoff’s voice became serious. “Slizzaro is not going to be happy about another delay.” Slizzaro of course was the leader of the guild, and a very powerful warlock. He was also the one who had managed to save their butts by getting them this job. If not for his ability to negotiate, Deadnaughts body parts would be scattered across the barrens. “How much do we owe the guild? 100 gold?” Gronik asked as he drank heavily from the flask of water he carried on his chain-linked belt. “More like 125” said Dicen, “Which is a lot better than the 175 that Deadnaught bid on that ridiculous trinket.” Deadnaughts face whipped up, “Ridiculous you say? I will have you know that was an Amulet of Divinity and it would have helped me heal better!” Asmortus rolled his eyes around in the decayed sockets of his head. “It was an Amulet of AGILITY! You need to knock some of that dirt out of your ears.” Deadnaught pondered this for a moment. “Hmm, I guess that is why I was only bidding against a hunter and a rogue huh?” Gronik slapped his meaty hand to his forehead, “Either way, we need to get going and get this done. Our employer said that the deed to Caer Darrow lies somewhere in the ruins. Any idea why he doesn’t just go down there and get it himself?” “I believe it is because of what is guarding it, but that is just speculation of course.” Malltoff always liked to show off the extreme intelligence mage’s are known for.
Not to be outdone, Asmortus began, “ I have been researching the ruins for some time now. According to what I have picked up, we can expect to encounter a great deal of scourge as well as it being the prime school for Shadow Adepts” “Not to mention was once owned by the house of Barov before the plague.” Interjected Malltoff. Asmortus shot her a glance that said that he did not appreciate being interrupted. “Anyway, as I was saying. According to the legend, the deed to Caer Darrow lies in the headmaster’s study. Looking at the architectural map, you can see here that we have to get into the viewing room.” The parchment unrolled to reveal the layout of the ruins in ancient relief. “Where did you get that?” Dicen asked, clearly impressed. “That is why I came here before going to the ruins, but of course, Deadnaught had other ideas!” Asmortus threw a glance at Deadnaught. “Oh sure, and if I hadn’t gone to the Auction House, we would probably still be waiting on you to finish getting your ‘Herbs’ huh?” Asmortus quickly looked down and pointed to an area on the map. “See these doors here?” Indicating a set of doors just before the area he identified as the viewing room. “According to a nondescript piece of parchment that I found, this will be locked and the only way to open them is by a key held by a giant skeleton known only as Rattlegore.” Gronik cringed, “And just how giant are we talking about here?” “Not really sure, but enough to indicate that he is huge. We will just have to be careful. Best I can gather is that he is located somewhere near this area.” Asmortus pointed a boney finger to another location on the map. “Ah, but look here. This is multilevel so we don’t know if he is on the upper level or the lower one do we?” Malltoff shot Asmortus a smug look as if to show that she had discovered something that he had not. “No we do not. Perhaps you could have came up with the level if you had bothered to have done any research on this subject matter.” Asmortus returned the smug look with one of his own. “Perhaps I would have been able to do more research if ….” Dicen, realizing that a very long-winded argument between mages was about to begin, spoke up. “Umm, we need to get going.” Both mages looked at each other and silently made a gesture that said we would continue this later. Dicen leaned in and quietly whispered to Gronik, “listening to mages argue gives me a huge headache.” Gronik had to agree. Of course this was nothing new to them. The truth was that it was this rivalry that made them both the best mages anywhere. Their style and abilities complemented each other’s so well, that you would think that they were one ultra powerful mage. Of course two intellectuals going at it does have its drawbacks. It took six months for them to come to some sort of decision over the origins of matter based on the space time continuum in regards to the spatial distortion properties of mass, whatever that meant. All Gronik knew was that it was all they ever discussed and it was the most technical and boring conversation that he could ever remember hearing. It wasn’t until Dicen threatened to mash their heads into bloody pulp that they quickly reached a decision. They agreed to disagree, which is how most of their conversations tend to end. To this, they began to discuss the architectural specifications of Caer Darrow all the way to the ruins. It was interesting watching them attempt to pore over the parchment while mounted. It would have been interesting enough if they had both been on horses, but it seemed the Raptor that Malltoff rode was not too keen on being near the undead horse that Asmortus rode upon and so it was a constant struggle to keep the two beasts side by side while they rode to the Scholomance.
Stopping for supplies in the Bulwark, which bordered the Western Plaguelands, the party ventured forth. It took the group several hours, and many stops to wait up for Asmortus and Malltoff who were still attempting to view the parchment while riding, to reach the edge of Caer Darrow, the ruins that once housed the great school Scholomance. Their anticipation grew at the thought of the coming battles and the great rewards that were in store for them inside. Treasure beyond imagine, items gleaned from corrupted monsters, and the great reputation that would be gained from the Argent Dawn. They rode forth together, the parchment now put away as they rode to the entrance to the school on the north side of the Island and stood in front of a massive door, which marked the entrance into the Scholomance. Asmortus and Malltoff began by conjuring the necessary food and water that would be needed as Deadnaught and Dicen prepared them and the group by casting spells that would benefit the party. As Gronik and mauler stood looking at the door while the party made preparations only one thought was going through his head. “So, umm, who has the key?” Suddenly, there was silence.
Chapter 1
The crisp morning wind blew across the lake as a lone figure stood on the banks of Caer Dorrow as he examined the massive ruins, also known as Scholomance. The rising sun reflected off of his green skin as he sniffed the air for any sign of immediate danger. A low growl to his side only slightly drew his attention. The massive Lion pushed his head under Gronik’s hand as if to show that he understood the Orc hunter’s apprehension at the empty ruins that stood before them. Gronik absently stroked the great cats mane as he had so many times before. “Smell that Mauler?” Gronik’s voice broke the silence that seemed intent on overwhelming them, “This place reeks of death.” Mauler simply shook his head, as if to show he too smelled the stench of death and decay that had been upon them since they had came to this shore. Of course, this was nothing new to the hunter. Mauler and he had been on many journeys into places that had been even fouler than this. “Not as bad as those Pig Pens in the Southern Barrens, eh friend?” Even the thought of the foul smell of those Pigmen made him shudder. It had taken him at least a week to get the smell out of his armor and a special alchemist potion to be able to stand downwind of Mauler. Of course the cat was none too happy about being dowsed in the cold waters outside of Ratchet either. Mauler’s large furry paws began to tap the dirt in what Gronik knew to be impatience. Again he ran his fingers through his furry mane and spoke softly, “Patience old friend, this place is more than we can handle on our own. Soon the others will be here and we can begin to purge this place.” A snort from Mauler signaled that he had understood but was none to happy about it. Gronik reached into his backpack and yanked a chunk off the roasted quail he carried for this beast. ‘He eats more than a dozen orcs’, Gronik thought to himself as he tossed the meat to his faithful companion. Mauler contented himself with the Quail and plopped down with it between his paws while they waited. Gronik turned his attention to the ground around them while the chomping sounds of mauler seemed to drown out all other sounds. “Hmm, a few interesting tracks here, lets see, that looks like a crocolisk, and ….” , Gronik felt his pulse quicken and his breath catch, “Human, gnome and possibly a night elf. Looks like a party was here fairly recently.” He observed how there were tracks leading up to the ruins, but none coming back out. The tracks were old though, at least a few weeks. He had almost missed them with the recent rains in this area but his keen eyes were good at tracking even where there should be no tracks.
“Some hunter you are, letting me sneak up on you like that!” The voice behind him made him jump forward and he awkwardly made a grab for his weapon as his face hit the hard dirt. Rolling over on his back his green complexion took on a rosy hue as the female troll in front of him began to double over with laughter. “Dicen, you wench!” Gronik fumed, “How many times I have to tell ya, DON’T DO THAT!” Of course this brought about a renewed bout of laughter that almost seemed to echo behind him. Interesting that the laughter behind me seems to continue when Dicen takes a breath though… Gronik’s face plops into his meaty hand when he realizes that the voice behind him is no echo. ‘Great, now I will never hear the end of this’ he says to himself, “Hello Asmortus”, the sound is muffled through his hand but can still be heard well enough. “ASMORTUS??? I am Malltoff damn you! Get it straight!” Looking over his shoulder with a slight smirk Gronik knew he had gotten to the mage that could pass for Dicen’s twin. Getting to his feet Gronik began to dust himself off, “How am I supposed to know, all you mage’s look alike!” Malltoffs face began to pulsate with a fiery glow that let Gronik know his observation was not appreciated. Dicen looked over Gronik’s shoulder and gave a quizzical look to Malltoff, “You know…?” Malltoff’s face began to glow even brighter, ”Shut up Dicen! There is no way I could be mistaken for an undead, let alone a male!”. Malltoff placed her hands on her hips and took a deep breath to show that this was not a lie. All three of them began to laugh. Of course this type of badgering went on all the time and it was almost expected when they got together. “So where IS Asmortus? He should have been here by now!” Gronik gazed at Mauler who had finished his quail and was happily licking his paws. “He will be here soon”, Dicen said, “He just had to talk with someone in Undercity and was on his way here.” Gronik and Malltoff gave each other a knowing look. “Lets just hope that he stays out of the Apothecarium. Last time we waited for three hours on him to get done!” The Apothecarium had the distinction of not only being the herbalism center of Undercity, but for those in the know, was also the reputed house of Ill Repute that Asmortus, though being dead, seemed to be a frequent customer. “Don’t worry, I had Deadnaught go with him.” Two blank stares faced Dicen. “You what?” Malltoff’s face was incredulous, “Do you remember what happened the last time you sent the priest to accompany Asmortus in The Undercity?” This time it was Dicen’s turn to give the blank stare. “Hello! Are you out of your mind? You know Deadnaught can’t stay away from an auction! Why do you think we had to take this stinking assignment? Last time he almost put us into bankruptcy.” A groan escaped from Gronik, “And maybe you are just forgetting about the gnome with his huge Ogre friend that showed up to collect? Missing arms and legs are not easily healed, I don’t care how good of a priest you are!” A growing concern suddenly appeared to register on Dicen’s face. “You know….?” Gronik just shook his head, “Oh crap, open a portal to Undercity, Malltoff, lets get there before we are all broke again!”
Stepping out of the blue void from the portal, the three friends looked around the musty and dank area where the Undead call home, Undercity. Lying beneath the Ruins of Laorderean. A vast multilevel underground structure, it had the unmistaken stench of death and decay. Gronik never felt comfortable here mainly because being underground is a bit unsettling for a hunter. “C’mon, we have to get to the auction house”, Malltoff cried as he took off into a run. Jumping through the stagnant water that surrounds the outer ring of Undercity, Gronik blocked from his mind what might be in that water. Only one thing right now was important, getting to the auction house. Passing through to the inner ring, a great commotion could be heard up ahead. The auctioneers were busy taking items and handing out sold items. Permanent portals behind them had been set up to go to the other major auction houses in Orgrimaar and Thunder Bluff, the Orc and Tauren capitals. Streams of assistants constantly were going through the portals bringing bids from other locations and transporting items that had been sold. It was a truly amazing sight to behold. Right now their attention was on one particular auctioneer and, in particular, on of the patrons. It would have been difficult to identify the undead priest in the midst of the crowd, except for one detail. Deadnaught’s robed arm was raised above the crowd as he jumped up and down yelling “Oh my. Did you say Dreadmist Mantle? BID BID BID! Here Here! How much was that? Oh who cares, I’ll buy it!” Beside Dreadnaught a frantic Asmortus tried desperately to pull him out of the crowd and to keep his hand down. “Wait Wait, Stop! I NEED that! Hey you Jerk, don’t bid on that its mine!” In one fluid motion the three ran into the crowd and grabbed hold of Deadnaught. “NO! I am not done yet! Mine, mine, MINE!!!” “Get his legs Mall, Grab that arm Dicen” Grabbing his other arm, Gronik and the other two began the arduous task of carrying the priest away from the auction. Asmortus was busy explaining to the auctioneer that his friend had suffered a brain injury and so the 250 gold bid he had just made was not valid. Gronik could hear the auctioneer raising his voice “Unless your friend wants to talk with the Abomination Guards, then I suggest he figures out how to come up with 250 gold!” Luckily fate stepped in and out of the portal from Orgrimaar, a bid for 251 gold was placed. Asmortus almost fainted with relief. Unfortunately Dreadnaught also heard this. “252! 252! I am good for it! 2 5 2!!!!” The auctioneer never heard his final bid, however, thanks to a well-placed silence spell. Dreadnaught flailed helplessly as the Shaman, mage and hunter carried him to the center circle where the bank was located. Thankfully it only took about a half hour for Deadnaught to finally come to his senses. “Wow, thanks guys, I don’t know what came over me.” Dicen assumed her ‘Now Listen Here’ stance with both hands on her hips. “Let me tell you this, if you ever do that again, I am going to place and earthbind totem up your ass and let you figure out how to heal it!” Deadnaught gulped when he realized that she was quite serious.
“We need to get a move on.” Malltoff’s voice became serious. “Slizzaro is not going to be happy about another delay.” Slizzaro of course was the leader of the guild, and a very powerful warlock. He was also the one who had managed to save their butts by getting them this job. If not for his ability to negotiate, Deadnaughts body parts would be scattered across the barrens. “How much do we owe the guild? 100 gold?” Gronik asked as he drank heavily from the flask of water he carried on his chain-linked belt. “More like 125” said Dicen, “Which is a lot better than the 175 that Deadnaught bid on that ridiculous trinket.” Deadnaughts face whipped up, “Ridiculous you say? I will have you know that was an Amulet of Divinity and it would have helped me heal better!” Asmortus rolled his eyes around in the decayed sockets of his head. “It was an Amulet of AGILITY! You need to knock some of that dirt out of your ears.” Deadnaught pondered this for a moment. “Hmm, I guess that is why I was only bidding against a hunter and a rogue huh?” Gronik slapped his meaty hand to his forehead, “Either way, we need to get going and get this done. Our employer said that the deed to Caer Darrow lies somewhere in the ruins. Any idea why he doesn’t just go down there and get it himself?” “I believe it is because of what is guarding it, but that is just speculation of course.” Malltoff always liked to show off the extreme intelligence mage’s are known for.
Not to be outdone, Asmortus began, “ I have been researching the ruins for some time now. According to what I have picked up, we can expect to encounter a great deal of scourge as well as it being the prime school for Shadow Adepts” “Not to mention was once owned by the house of Barov before the plague.” Interjected Malltoff. Asmortus shot her a glance that said that he did not appreciate being interrupted. “Anyway, as I was saying. According to the legend, the deed to Caer Darrow lies in the headmaster’s study. Looking at the architectural map, you can see here that we have to get into the viewing room.” The parchment unrolled to reveal the layout of the ruins in ancient relief. “Where did you get that?” Dicen asked, clearly impressed. “That is why I came here before going to the ruins, but of course, Deadnaught had other ideas!” Asmortus threw a glance at Deadnaught. “Oh sure, and if I hadn’t gone to the Auction House, we would probably still be waiting on you to finish getting your ‘Herbs’ huh?” Asmortus quickly looked down and pointed to an area on the map. “See these doors here?” Indicating a set of doors just before the area he identified as the viewing room. “According to a nondescript piece of parchment that I found, this will be locked and the only way to open them is by a key held by a giant skeleton known only as Rattlegore.” Gronik cringed, “And just how giant are we talking about here?” “Not really sure, but enough to indicate that he is huge. We will just have to be careful. Best I can gather is that he is located somewhere near this area.” Asmortus pointed a boney finger to another location on the map. “Ah, but look here. This is multilevel so we don’t know if he is on the upper level or the lower one do we?” Malltoff shot Asmortus a smug look as if to show that she had discovered something that he had not. “No we do not. Perhaps you could have came up with the level if you had bothered to have done any research on this subject matter.” Asmortus returned the smug look with one of his own. “Perhaps I would have been able to do more research if ….” Dicen, realizing that a very long-winded argument between mages was about to begin, spoke up. “Umm, we need to get going.” Both mages looked at each other and silently made a gesture that said we would continue this later. Dicen leaned in and quietly whispered to Gronik, “listening to mages argue gives me a huge headache.” Gronik had to agree. Of course this was nothing new to them. The truth was that it was this rivalry that made them both the best mages anywhere. Their style and abilities complemented each other’s so well, that you would think that they were one ultra powerful mage. Of course two intellectuals going at it does have its drawbacks. It took six months for them to come to some sort of decision over the origins of matter based on the space time continuum in regards to the spatial distortion properties of mass, whatever that meant. All Gronik knew was that it was all they ever discussed and it was the most technical and boring conversation that he could ever remember hearing. It wasn’t until Dicen threatened to mash their heads into bloody pulp that they quickly reached a decision. They agreed to disagree, which is how most of their conversations tend to end. To this, they began to discuss the architectural specifications of Caer Darrow all the way to the ruins. It was interesting watching them attempt to pore over the parchment while mounted. It would have been interesting enough if they had both been on horses, but it seemed the Raptor that Malltoff rode was not too keen on being near the undead horse that Asmortus rode upon and so it was a constant struggle to keep the two beasts side by side while they rode to the Scholomance.
Stopping for supplies in the Bulwark, which bordered the Western Plaguelands, the party ventured forth. It took the group several hours, and many stops to wait up for Asmortus and Malltoff who were still attempting to view the parchment while riding, to reach the edge of Caer Darrow, the ruins that once housed the great school Scholomance. Their anticipation grew at the thought of the coming battles and the great rewards that were in store for them inside. Treasure beyond imagine, items gleaned from corrupted monsters, and the great reputation that would be gained from the Argent Dawn. They rode forth together, the parchment now put away as they rode to the entrance to the school on the north side of the Island and stood in front of a massive door, which marked the entrance into the Scholomance. Asmortus and Malltoff began by conjuring the necessary food and water that would be needed as Deadnaught and Dicen prepared them and the group by casting spells that would benefit the party. As Gronik and mauler stood looking at the door while the party made preparations only one thought was going through his head. “So, umm, who has the key?” Suddenly, there was silence.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
trying something new.
Hey all, I really appreciate those of you who are bearing with my while I get the bugs worked out of my cartoons. I promise to have some more cartoons up and running soon.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Black and white
for those not in the know, a windroc is a large bird.
Update: I have resized this image to fit inside the browser window, plus I have added type text. I think I will be doing this for all my cartoons from now on.
Enjoy.
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