Celessarae smiled as she
approached the harbor area in Silvermoon City. It had been several days
since her agreement with Daser Grimm, and already reports had arrived
that his craftsmen had begun to repair her ship at the Dayfire docks. It
would be only a matter of time before she was able to sail again, and
she'd spent the past day working her contacts in Booty Bay to wrangle up
a suitable crew.
She walked casually down a paved road towards the wharf, her plate armor clinking lightly with each step. She was wearing what she liked to call her 'marine armor' which she used when raiding coastal settlements and the fear of falling into the water was minimal. Tightly fit (almost skin-tight really) plates covered her body, and a dented steel skullcap rested on her golden hair. Across her back was her favored buckler and at her hip rode a war mace. She always prefered blunt objects when raiding to avoid having the sharpened blades get entangled on ropes or other crewmen as they took smaller ships to shore. The heavy, weighted and spiked mace was perfect for puncturing or crushing armored foes, and light enough to swing quickly. Strapped on top of all of this armor was a rough cloth bag containing some clothes and other personal affects that she wanted to return to her ship.
There was just one problem, as she drew closer to the docks it was clear that not only were the craftsmen not working, but they weren't working because House Dayfire guards were currently swarming all over the place. By the angry looks they were giving people, it was clear they were searching for someone. It didn't take too much guess-work to figure out who it might be. Celessarae sighed and turned, intending to head back away from the dock and have Mr. Grimm sort this out for her.
The road behind her was blocked by a unit of angry looking guards in House Dayfire colors. Leading them was a junior magistrix who scowled at Celessarae and folded her arms in front of her in a commanding posture.
"Celessarae Sunblade. By order of her Lady Biara Dayfire, you are hereby under arrest and will proceed with us at once to Dayfire Spire," the Magistrix said with a sneer.
Celessarae blinked in surprise for a moment before dropped her sack of clothing to the ground. She smiled sweetly at the Magistrix and replied, "The Burning Legion will come to Azeroth to plant flowers 'afore I surrender to you. Get out of my way and let me pass or somethin' bad's gonna happen."
The Magistrix smiled softly and said in a cold voice, "I was hoping you'd say that. Lady Dayfire gave me authority to use excessive force should you refuse my orders." She pointed at Celessarae and shouted, "Sieze her!"
A dozen armed guards surged around the Magistrix, the lead one reaching the pirate in seconds. Instead of tackling her lighter form as he was expecting, he was met with her shield to his face. The force of the blow picked him from his feet and hurled him backwards into the guards approaching behind him, creating a stumbling mass of men and giving Celessarae more than enough time to swing her mace free and clear the space before her with a few blows to shoulder blades and kneecaps.
There were too many guards for a single fighter to stop and Celessarae began to give ground as her foes reogranized themselves and those she had thumped with her mace were able to pick up dropped weapons and advance on her as a group. They smirked at her, knowing that they had the numbers needed to pin her down and disarm her, but her face remained utterly calm as she sized up the situation.
"Time fer me to be gone I'm thinkin', not that I don't enjoy yer company," She smiled at the guards. As they took a few more steps into the open space between them, she lunged forward, using her shield as a battering ram to hammer several of the guards out of her way and clearing a space to an alley off to the right of the road. With cries of anger rising behind her she lithely darted into the narrow space, the footfalls of her pursuers pounding behind her.
Celessarae paused at an intersection of alleyways, turning in preparation to knock a few of the guards down again and give herself more running room. Suddenly the air before her shimmered and the Magistrix was standing there, her Blink spell having brought her ahead of the men.
"You should have given up when you had the chance wench, now I'll kill you and Lady Dayfire will reward me handsomely for it," the Magistrix sneered. She pointed a finger at Celessarae and uttered a word, sending a burning ball of fire at the pirate.
Having fought spellcasters in the past, Celessarae's reflexes and battle experience kicked in. Wtihout even thinking about it, she angled her shield up in front of her and closed her eyes. The burning ball of fire struck the flat surface at an angle, deflecting off the protective barrier and hurtling into the wall directly next to Celessarae. A massive detonation temporarily defeaned everyone as the wall gave way under the onslaught of the spell.
As the dust settled, the interior of the building directly behind Celessarae became visible, and standing there, looking shocked, were a number of Sin'dorei in black robes. A quick glance around the room showed an altar with a victim tied to it, and several ritualists with knives preparing to sacrifice the person. Twilight's Hammer emblems decorated the altar, the interior of the room, and were emblazoned on amulets worn by all of the Sin'dorei in the room.
For several seconds everyone fell silent as the cultists and the guards stared at each other in utter disbelief. The tension was broken as the cultists snatched wands from belts, aimed them down the alleyway, and uttered the words to activate the objects.
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Celessarae shouted as she threw herself to the ground amdist the rubble in the alley. Deadly bolts of magic flew over her head as the Magistrix and Cultists exchanged spells. Within seconds the Magistrix had been cut down and half of her guards were either dead or battling summoned elementals, and the sounds of fierce combat echoed throughout the alley.
Celessarae jumped to her feet, rolled her eyes in irriation at the situation and lunged into the broken opening in the wall. The first cultist she came into contact with received the business end of her mace to the side of his head, while another got to examine the decorations on the front of her shield up close as she slammed it into his mouth to prevent him from casting a spell. With quick, efficient movements she beat down both of the cultists, leaving their broken bodies lying on the floor of the ritual chamber. The cultists near the altar rushed at her, sacrificial daggers held high and fantatical gleams in their eyes.
It was as if they ran into a solid brick wall. Her shield held firm as she bodily slammed into the leaders, her mace snaked out around the barrier, breaking bones and shattering weapons with ease. Within seconds several more bodies joined those who had fallen, and only two cultists remained.
"No! Spare us and you will be given eternal reward!" one shouted as she raised her mace up.
"Honey, haven't you heard? You people've been sayin' the world's endin' now. I'm just helpin' yours along," Celessarae replied before bringing her weapon down and ending his pleas for mercy with one blow.
The last cultist brandished his knife over the unconscious victim on the altar. "Stop! I'll kill him if you take another step! No one can stop us! Your world will end in flames, and there is nothing you can do to sto-"
His declarations were cut off abruptly as Celessarae's thrown mace took him in the face. With his death and the deaths of those in the room, the elementals they had summoned dispersed, and the sound of fighting abruptly ended. Celessarae walked to the altar, seeing a young male farstrider strapped to it. With a 'tsk' sound she carefully undid his bindings, seeing that he was unwounded other than a small knot on the top of his head where they had probably struck him to knock him unconscious.
House Dayfire guards picked themselves up outside, staring in shock at all the dead bodies both inside the room and outside where the cultists' magic had done so much harm. They looked at Celessarae with awe as she carried the farstrider out of the building and placed him gently on the ground outside.
Silence reigned again for several long minutes as the guards absorbed what the pirate had done. After a time, several of them broke into grins and began to cheer. It was taken up by others until the alley again echoed with noise, this time the cries of victory.
With a shock Celessarae realized they were cheering at her. She shook her head with amusement. She'd been many things in her life; a murderer, a thief, a pirate. No one had ever applauded any of her deeds before. It made her feel...strange. She couldn't place it.
She gruffly shook her head and pushed through the guards as they cheered and pounded her on the back. She made her way through the press of them, leaving the farstrider to their care. He would recover in time she was sure. She'd no idea why there were cultists in the city, but given recent events in the world it stood to reason that even here, in her old home there would be enemies.
She scooped up her fallen bag of belongings and walked away, still hearing the guards as they began the task of searching the house for more cultists. She walked away, leaving them to the task.
No one attempted to stop the departing hero. She smirked as the thought crossed her mind.
Yeah right. That'd be the day.
She walked casually down a paved road towards the wharf, her plate armor clinking lightly with each step. She was wearing what she liked to call her 'marine armor' which she used when raiding coastal settlements and the fear of falling into the water was minimal. Tightly fit (almost skin-tight really) plates covered her body, and a dented steel skullcap rested on her golden hair. Across her back was her favored buckler and at her hip rode a war mace. She always prefered blunt objects when raiding to avoid having the sharpened blades get entangled on ropes or other crewmen as they took smaller ships to shore. The heavy, weighted and spiked mace was perfect for puncturing or crushing armored foes, and light enough to swing quickly. Strapped on top of all of this armor was a rough cloth bag containing some clothes and other personal affects that she wanted to return to her ship.
There was just one problem, as she drew closer to the docks it was clear that not only were the craftsmen not working, but they weren't working because House Dayfire guards were currently swarming all over the place. By the angry looks they were giving people, it was clear they were searching for someone. It didn't take too much guess-work to figure out who it might be. Celessarae sighed and turned, intending to head back away from the dock and have Mr. Grimm sort this out for her.
The road behind her was blocked by a unit of angry looking guards in House Dayfire colors. Leading them was a junior magistrix who scowled at Celessarae and folded her arms in front of her in a commanding posture.
"Celessarae Sunblade. By order of her Lady Biara Dayfire, you are hereby under arrest and will proceed with us at once to Dayfire Spire," the Magistrix said with a sneer.
Celessarae blinked in surprise for a moment before dropped her sack of clothing to the ground. She smiled sweetly at the Magistrix and replied, "The Burning Legion will come to Azeroth to plant flowers 'afore I surrender to you. Get out of my way and let me pass or somethin' bad's gonna happen."
The Magistrix smiled softly and said in a cold voice, "I was hoping you'd say that. Lady Dayfire gave me authority to use excessive force should you refuse my orders." She pointed at Celessarae and shouted, "Sieze her!"
A dozen armed guards surged around the Magistrix, the lead one reaching the pirate in seconds. Instead of tackling her lighter form as he was expecting, he was met with her shield to his face. The force of the blow picked him from his feet and hurled him backwards into the guards approaching behind him, creating a stumbling mass of men and giving Celessarae more than enough time to swing her mace free and clear the space before her with a few blows to shoulder blades and kneecaps.
There were too many guards for a single fighter to stop and Celessarae began to give ground as her foes reogranized themselves and those she had thumped with her mace were able to pick up dropped weapons and advance on her as a group. They smirked at her, knowing that they had the numbers needed to pin her down and disarm her, but her face remained utterly calm as she sized up the situation.
"Time fer me to be gone I'm thinkin', not that I don't enjoy yer company," She smiled at the guards. As they took a few more steps into the open space between them, she lunged forward, using her shield as a battering ram to hammer several of the guards out of her way and clearing a space to an alley off to the right of the road. With cries of anger rising behind her she lithely darted into the narrow space, the footfalls of her pursuers pounding behind her.
Celessarae paused at an intersection of alleyways, turning in preparation to knock a few of the guards down again and give herself more running room. Suddenly the air before her shimmered and the Magistrix was standing there, her Blink spell having brought her ahead of the men.
"You should have given up when you had the chance wench, now I'll kill you and Lady Dayfire will reward me handsomely for it," the Magistrix sneered. She pointed a finger at Celessarae and uttered a word, sending a burning ball of fire at the pirate.
Having fought spellcasters in the past, Celessarae's reflexes and battle experience kicked in. Wtihout even thinking about it, she angled her shield up in front of her and closed her eyes. The burning ball of fire struck the flat surface at an angle, deflecting off the protective barrier and hurtling into the wall directly next to Celessarae. A massive detonation temporarily defeaned everyone as the wall gave way under the onslaught of the spell.
As the dust settled, the interior of the building directly behind Celessarae became visible, and standing there, looking shocked, were a number of Sin'dorei in black robes. A quick glance around the room showed an altar with a victim tied to it, and several ritualists with knives preparing to sacrifice the person. Twilight's Hammer emblems decorated the altar, the interior of the room, and were emblazoned on amulets worn by all of the Sin'dorei in the room.
For several seconds everyone fell silent as the cultists and the guards stared at each other in utter disbelief. The tension was broken as the cultists snatched wands from belts, aimed them down the alleyway, and uttered the words to activate the objects.
"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Celessarae shouted as she threw herself to the ground amdist the rubble in the alley. Deadly bolts of magic flew over her head as the Magistrix and Cultists exchanged spells. Within seconds the Magistrix had been cut down and half of her guards were either dead or battling summoned elementals, and the sounds of fierce combat echoed throughout the alley.
Celessarae jumped to her feet, rolled her eyes in irriation at the situation and lunged into the broken opening in the wall. The first cultist she came into contact with received the business end of her mace to the side of his head, while another got to examine the decorations on the front of her shield up close as she slammed it into his mouth to prevent him from casting a spell. With quick, efficient movements she beat down both of the cultists, leaving their broken bodies lying on the floor of the ritual chamber. The cultists near the altar rushed at her, sacrificial daggers held high and fantatical gleams in their eyes.
It was as if they ran into a solid brick wall. Her shield held firm as she bodily slammed into the leaders, her mace snaked out around the barrier, breaking bones and shattering weapons with ease. Within seconds several more bodies joined those who had fallen, and only two cultists remained.
"No! Spare us and you will be given eternal reward!" one shouted as she raised her mace up.
"Honey, haven't you heard? You people've been sayin' the world's endin' now. I'm just helpin' yours along," Celessarae replied before bringing her weapon down and ending his pleas for mercy with one blow.
The last cultist brandished his knife over the unconscious victim on the altar. "Stop! I'll kill him if you take another step! No one can stop us! Your world will end in flames, and there is nothing you can do to sto-"
His declarations were cut off abruptly as Celessarae's thrown mace took him in the face. With his death and the deaths of those in the room, the elementals they had summoned dispersed, and the sound of fighting abruptly ended. Celessarae walked to the altar, seeing a young male farstrider strapped to it. With a 'tsk' sound she carefully undid his bindings, seeing that he was unwounded other than a small knot on the top of his head where they had probably struck him to knock him unconscious.
House Dayfire guards picked themselves up outside, staring in shock at all the dead bodies both inside the room and outside where the cultists' magic had done so much harm. They looked at Celessarae with awe as she carried the farstrider out of the building and placed him gently on the ground outside.
Silence reigned again for several long minutes as the guards absorbed what the pirate had done. After a time, several of them broke into grins and began to cheer. It was taken up by others until the alley again echoed with noise, this time the cries of victory.
With a shock Celessarae realized they were cheering at her. She shook her head with amusement. She'd been many things in her life; a murderer, a thief, a pirate. No one had ever applauded any of her deeds before. It made her feel...strange. She couldn't place it.
She gruffly shook her head and pushed through the guards as they cheered and pounded her on the back. She made her way through the press of them, leaving the farstrider to their care. He would recover in time she was sure. She'd no idea why there were cultists in the city, but given recent events in the world it stood to reason that even here, in her old home there would be enemies.
She scooped up her fallen bag of belongings and walked away, still hearing the guards as they began the task of searching the house for more cultists. She walked away, leaving them to the task.
No one attempted to stop the departing hero. She smirked as the thought crossed her mind.
Yeah right. That'd be the day.
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