The Traitor's Daughter, Part 3

One of the chargers neighed nervously as the Blood Knight pulled at her reigns. The forest of Eversong surrounded the small mounted party, and each of the four Blood Knights looked at each other as their leader turned his steed in the path. It was a quiet morning, and the four had been riding for about an hour and a half, performing a patrol of the forest as Lady Dayfire had bid them to do on a routine basis. They were just a small part of Biara Dayfire's personal military forces within Silvermoon, and House Dayfire dedicated a good portion of these forces in ensuring the safety of Quel'Thalas.

The problem was, it was TOO quiet. One of the horses shifted uncomfortably again, as if sensing something wasn't quite right. Each of the Blood Knights became tense as the silence of the forest lengthened. There were no birds, no animals; only the sound of the wind flowing through the leaves of the trees above. Far too quiet.

The Blood Knight in the lead opened his mouth to order the others to dismount and draw their blades, but his command came too late. A thrown rock slammed into his helmet, the force of the blow knocking him from the saddle into the dirt of the trail. From the brush all around the party a roar of battleshouts could be heard, the words spoken in Common and unintelligible to the Blood Knights. Two of them drew their blades, even as another was struck with a projectile and knocked from his saddle.

As the Blood Knights took stock of the situation, they saw to their horror that dozens of human sized figures in dark robes were pouring from the woods around them, completely surrounding them. Their blades flashed as they brought them down again and again, and several of the attacking cultists drew back with cries of pain as they were wounded. It was no avail though; the two mounted knights were quickly swarmed, and their horses were stabbed repeatedly, the tendons in their legs cut until they fell, bringing their champions down with them.

Once on the ground, the Blood Knights stood little chance against the numbers brought against them. The tiny patrol was quickly swarmed, pelted with rocks and stabbed with wicked looking ritual blades. Many of the weapons used against them were magically altered and cursed, and the knights bled and died as the cultists achieved victory with their ambush.

When it was over, the four Blood Knights lay strewn across the path, their once noble mounts joining them in death as the cultists finished their work. A slender figure emerged from the edge of the forest onto the trail, her form garbed in the same ceremonial robes and her head cowled. She paused to look on the scene, her expression hidden in the darkness of the garments she wore.

Seluna was pleased. Her cultists had achieved total surprise in the ambush, and it was not the first they'd managed to pull off in the past two days. Several patrols of House Dayfire Blood Knights had been taken in such a fashion, and the attacks and losses would not go unnoticed much longer. She grinned fiercely, bringing a manicured hand up and pointing.

"Their Light! Steal it for the Shadowed Eye that our Lord will come to us in darkness," she said, putting just enough religious zeal in her tone make the cultists jump to obey.

She watched as they took out specially prepared daggers, shadowy magic flaring on the flats of the blades. Four of her cultists positioned themselves over the bodies of the Blood Knights, plunging the artifacts into their corpses. Immediately magic flared in the clearing as the Light contained within the Blood Knights was drained into the weapons, the spirits of the dead joining them in captivity. A hollow wailing sound could be heard as the veil between life and death was penetrated for a moment.

Seluna smiled as the magic died down. She had spent many days preparing the weapons using a mixture of her own shadowy magic and scourge spells that she had learned. Such magic came naturally to her now, and she put it to good use. The Light that the Blood knights carried within them was just another source of magic to her; something to be collected and used, or in this case collected and stolen to add to the affront of butchery already committed. There was only one detail remaining, and Seluna frowned as she surveyed the scene.

There were no clues as to who had committed the ambush.

The priestess pointed at one of the cultists around her. "You. The shadows call to you. Our master has seen fit to reward you with the ultimate gift; your life will add to the portal used to summon His essence to this world."

The selected cultist beamed with delight as she pointed at him, falling to his knees. "Yes mistress! I am Chosen!"

Seluna nodded and purred at the man, "You know what to do."

The human plunged a dagger into his own heart, falling to the ground and bleeding out his life in great gouts of gore. Seluna watched impassively as his feeble convulsions died down with time. The man left a huge puddle of his own lifeblood on the trail, the dirt soaking it up hungrily. It was evidence that a properly trained Blood Knight or other tracker would be able to use to determine that humans had been involved in the fighting. Exactly what Seluna wanted, and precisely the same as all of the other ambushes her forces had commited so far.

She smiled and turned away, snapping her fingers. Behind her, the cultists gathered up the body of their comrade, leaving the gore and a fallen dagger behind along with the bodies of their victims. Another successful assault.

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Off the coast of Quel'Thalas, a human wargalley raised its sails, allowing the wind to propel it through the water. The banners flying over it were black, with skulls and other symbols of death depicted clearly on the sails. Any who observed the ship would know that pirates crewed it, and from the markings on the ship and its sails, they were clearly Bloodsail Pirates. Witnesses would easily be able to recount the style of the vessel if they happened to be along the coast.

Seluna made sure that her hired ship set sail in the middle of the day, close enough to the coast for those observing eyes to make it out.

When questioned and offered the right incentive in gold, the Bloodsails would surely have loose tongues concerning the group of crazed human cultists that had hired them to travel along the coast of Quel'Thalas. A clear trail for those that cared to follow it. Deep within her cabin aboard the ship, Seluna smiled. Soothing shadows bathed her, surrounding her in darkness that matched the inky blackness in her heart.

Everything was going as planned, and soon House Dayfire would know they had been assaulted and their magic had been stolen. The bait was set, and soon she would taste a small measure of the vengeance she craved.

Soon justice will be done. Soon I will finally see a small measure of satisfaction for all of the many disappointments that I've awoken to. Soon I will not suffer alone.

The thoughts comforted Seluna as the ship sailed off into the deep waters of the ocean, heading towards Booty Bay.