The ground hurtled by as
Kerryann's undead gryphon carried her swiftly across the distance.
Below, the weeping willows and dreary scenery of the marsh in the
Wetlands gradually gave way to jutting mountains and then a roaring
river as she passed into the Arathi Highlands. Rolling plains of golden
and green grasses flashed beneath her as she turned the creature's head
slightly westward, her destination nearing.
The woman scowled as she urged the creature on with a flick of the reins. The gryphon turned its skull towards her once, hissing in rage before flapping the skeletal wings harder, increasing its pace. Kerryann didn't care if it was mad at her, she had little time to spare and things were quickly spiraling out of control back in Stormwind. The sooner she was back from this trip, the sooner she could return to her other research.
In the distance, the rolling fields of Arathi dipped down into a great valley. The valley rose up again almost out of sight, and upon the crest stood the crumbling stone walls of a once mighty human city. Kerryann nodded to herself in satisfaction; it was Stromgard and was her destination. With it in sight, her irritation began to fade a little.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, movement down below caught her attention. Her glowing blue eyes scanned the terrain quickly and she yanked back hard on the reins, illiciting another angry screech from the undead beast upon which she rode. With another savage pull on the reins Kerryann managed to bring it under control, directing it in a slowly descending spiral.
Down below, her gaze had caught sight of movement amongst some tumbled boulders along the slope of a grassy hill. As she spiraled lower, she could make out the forms of five people standing there. It appeared that three of them had backed two others into a dead end as they pressed them towards the boulders. All of the people had weapons drawn, and the blades glinted in the dying light of the day.
As she descended further, Kerryann could finally see that the two being pressed towards the boulders were youths, likely no more than eighteen summers old. A boy and a girl, the two had reached the end of the path where they could travel, and the male held his blades defensively, keeping his female companion behind him as he faced down the three attackers.
Kerryann's gryphon reached the ground and she jumped off, slapping it once so it would fly into the air and walking quickly up to the combatants. As she approached, she was finally able to get a good look at the assailants, noting that they wore cloaks with emblems of the Forsaken on them. She paused a few feet behind them as they menaced the two people with their blades, reaching behind her and pulling out her runeblade slowly. She made certain that the long blade scraped against its sheath as it came free inch by inch, the sound grating and obvious.
The three attackers stiffened, turning slowly to look back at the source of the noise. Kerryann was able to see their faces clearly for the first time. Three men, three humans stared at her from beneath their cowls, glaring at her interruption. Humans wearing the markings of the Forsaken.
Kerryann's rage knew no bounds. It exploded within her like a goblin machine set to full automatic. A hand came up and pointed at the nearest of the assailants. Instantly a freezing cold blast of necromantic energy struck the man, hurling him to the ground. The other two yelled and charged at her, but she was already moving even as they did.
A dark tendril of energy shot from her open hand, dragging one of the men forward and away from his companion. He stumbled as he was yanked off balance, and was pulled right into the point of Kerryann's runeblade. The weapon plunged through his body and out his back before she turned the angle of her arm and forced him to slide off the blade to the ground. The last man brought his blade up and downwards, only to have it met in mid-air by the plate armor that Kerryann strapped to her wrists. The blow created a harsh, discordant metallic sound as the blade was deflected, Kerryann's unnatural strength protecting her bones from breaking under the force.
The last man stumbled, off-balance from the deflected blow as Kerryann's runeblade came up. It swept downwards, shearing through the man's body at the collarbone and lodging deep within his chest. His sword fell from lifeless fingers as he too slid to the ground near his fallen comrades. Kerryann simply stepped over the corpses, paying them no more heed as she approached the two survivors.
As her gaze met those of the boy that had been defending his companion, some unnatural sense tingled in Kerryann's mind. At the same moment, she detected a surprised widening of the boy's eyes as something behind her drew his attention. Without thought, Kerryann hurled her body to the side, the blade that had been coming towards her narrowly missing her.
She whirled, her runeblade at the ready, only to stare in surprise at what confronted her. The three men she'd just slain had risen, a sickly yellow glow illuminating their eyes as they looked at her with hunger. Something had animated them, and they immediately attempted to strike at the nearest thing to them, their weapons held in unsteady hands.
For a moment, Kerryann held her ground, parrying a few of the clumsy slashes that the undead creatures made as she tried to determine exactly what it was she faced. As seconds passed, her knowledge in necromancy allowed her to identify one key fact; the risen men were uncoordinated and possessed no truly free will of their own. They were simply cursed constructs. Humans that had somehow been contaminated enough to rise after death.
A moment passed as Kerryann decided how best to deal with them and then she was out of time as all three of the undead rushed her, hideous moans escaping from their undead forms. By hunting in a pack they were making use of the natural instincts of their new ghoulish forms, forcing Kerryann onto the defensive immediately. The first of the creatures lunged at her, attempting to use its teeth rather than the weapon in its hand. She was able to dodge the blow, her runeblade darting forward and through the thing's gut, severing the spine.
She paid a price for the move however. The second of her assailants brought its blade down hard, slamming into the scant pieces of armor she wore along her shoulders. The blade bit deep into the metal, penetrating it and gashing her shoulder. Thick, brackish blood oozed from the wound, running down the naked flesh of Kerryann's torso. The second of the creatures leaped, its body colliding with hers and throwing her down to the ground with it atop her.
Gnashing teeth snapped at Kerryann's face and she snarled in frustration. Her eyes blazed with scourgelight as she summoned necromantic power, reaching deep into the creature on top of her. It shuddered as she applied the full weight of her power, usurping control of its undead spirit and forcing it to pry itself off her.
As it rose, the second standing creature lunged and Kerryann forced her new minion to position its body in the way. Undead forms collided and the two creatures began to fight, instinct taking over as they tore each other limb from limb. Within moments, the two things had fallen to the ground, mostly shattered with only a hint of life left in them. Kerryann rose, retrieving her runeblade and walking amongst the still-moving corpses, dismembering each and cutting out their hearts until they moved no more.
“That was a lucky thing miss!” a voice sounded behind Kerryann. The death knight whirled, runeblade ready. She relaxed a moment later when she saw that it was just the young man. Of his female companion there was no sign.
“Lucky?” she muttered. “It was damn clumsy. I should have known better.”
“There's no way you could have known they were with the others,” The man replied. “They've been good at hiding themselves so I don't think too many people know about them.”
Kerryann paused long enough to sheath her runeblade before looking the man over. As she had determined earlier, he was young, likely having just reached his eighteenth or nineteenth birthday. Definitely too young to be comfortable with the concept of fighting men that rose up again as the walking dead.
“Who is 'they' and how do you know so much about this? Also, where did your companion go?” Kerryann replied warily.
The man turned and looked and shrugged. “She wasn't my companion, she was just trying to get away from them. As for who 'they' are, they're a group of men and women who call themselves the Undying. They've been making headway amongst the syndicate folk in Stromgard, convincing some of them to pledge themselves to the Forsaken in exchange for eternal life.”
Kerryann's eyes widened at the news. She turned and bent down to examine the corpses, saying nothing. After a few minutes, she nodded in satisfaction, reaching down and collecting an amulet from one of the bodies. She held it in her hand, eyes closed as she felt the necromantic energy in it.
The fools had been duped. They thought they were going to rise again as Forsaken if they were obedient, the ultimate gift of everlasting life with free will. Instead they would become simple, mindless undead slaves thanks to the power of the objects they carried. Kerryann shook her head in irritation; she'd seen it all before.
The only difference was this time she knew who was behind it.
“Miss, you're bleeding you know,” the voice was closer. Kerryann turned in time to take a step back before the man could come into contact with her diseased blood.
“It's alright, it'll heal. Do not touch me,” She said with a hint of warning in her voice. The man sighed and nodded before taking a step back, his eyes running over her once.
“Who are you anyway, and how did you come to be under attack by these...'people'?” Kerryann asked.
“My name is William Saddle, ma'am,” the man replied. “My mother was a member of the Syndicate, or joined it when I was a child anyway. I've been living around Stromgard for a few years now, and I've seen what these men were doing. Me and the girl did. We decided to run for it, and happened to run together until just now I guess.”
He looked back, concerned that the girl had run off without him. For her part, Kerryann studied the man hard, realizing she was dealing with a potential criminal. After a moment she shrugged and shook her head; she didn't really give a damn about it.
“You were right to flee. These people are doing something insane,” Kerryann replied, looking at the corpses again. “The Forsaken behind this is likely building a private army of undead minions, and none of these people would have received the 'gift' they were expecting in repayment for their services. They are simply serving a monster in the hopes of eventually becoming monsters themselves.”
The man nodded, looking grim, his eyes still watching the slow flow of oozing blood on Kerryann's side. “What will you do now?”
Kerryann paused, looking up at the sky and considering. The light of day was fading, and she had to tend her wound or it would slow her down in combat. The pain meant little, but weakness was not acceptable.
“I think I'll make camp and see if any of the refugees or civilians near Refuge Point are familiar with this group. I need to know the extent of the problem before I can plot my next course of action,” the death knight said grudgingly.
“What about them?” William asked, pointing at the corpses. “W-will they rise again?”
Kerryann sighed, looking at the dead before shaking her head. “No, they won't rise again, but we need to properly bury them. I'll make camp here and take care of it. You should continue on.”
William shook his head, frowning. “Nope. You helped me out here and I'm going to help you. Besides you're wounded. It'll be hard for you to bury all three of them like that. I'll take care of it and you set up the camp.”
Kerryann rolled her eyes, bending down and easily lifting a corpse with one hand. The man's eyes widened at her unnatural movements. “If you insist on staying, how about YOU set up the camp and I'll take care of the dead hmm? I know the proper things to do to ensure they rest peacefully.”
With a muted nod, William turned and headed off to find some rocks and firewood to create a campfire for the coming night, eager to help. Kerryann just sighed as she watched him go, muttering to herself.
“Fel...just what I need, an ex-thief with a dash of the heroic in him following me around.” She rolled her eyes and set to work arranging the corpses, preparing them for burial and true rest.
***************************************
Hours later the campfire crackled, its light illuminating only a small patch of darkness that made up the vastness of the Arathi Highlands. High above, the stars glimmered brightly, the lights of cities like Stormwind or Ironforge not present to dull their gleaming.
Kerryann was laying on her cloak, staring up at the sky as she let her necromantic energy rebuild and knit closed the gash in her shoulder. As she tried to concentrate, she was acutely aware of the man on the other side of the campfire, his eyes running over her form from time to time when he thought she wasn't looking, a smile on his face.
As he drifted off into what were most likely sweet dreams, she ground her teeth in frustration. Bad enough that she was delayed due to an injury she'd suffered from being incautious, the last thing she needed was some moon-eyed man following her around like a love-sick puppy.
She could already tell the next few days were going to be the most annoying she'd had for years. She sighed and reached to her pockets, pulling a cigarette out of her travel cloak. After lighting it up and taking a long drag on it, she nodded to herself, coming to one absolute conclusion.
No one was going to hear about this. NO ONE.
The woman scowled as she urged the creature on with a flick of the reins. The gryphon turned its skull towards her once, hissing in rage before flapping the skeletal wings harder, increasing its pace. Kerryann didn't care if it was mad at her, she had little time to spare and things were quickly spiraling out of control back in Stormwind. The sooner she was back from this trip, the sooner she could return to her other research.
In the distance, the rolling fields of Arathi dipped down into a great valley. The valley rose up again almost out of sight, and upon the crest stood the crumbling stone walls of a once mighty human city. Kerryann nodded to herself in satisfaction; it was Stromgard and was her destination. With it in sight, her irritation began to fade a little.
Even as the thought crossed her mind, movement down below caught her attention. Her glowing blue eyes scanned the terrain quickly and she yanked back hard on the reins, illiciting another angry screech from the undead beast upon which she rode. With another savage pull on the reins Kerryann managed to bring it under control, directing it in a slowly descending spiral.
Down below, her gaze had caught sight of movement amongst some tumbled boulders along the slope of a grassy hill. As she spiraled lower, she could make out the forms of five people standing there. It appeared that three of them had backed two others into a dead end as they pressed them towards the boulders. All of the people had weapons drawn, and the blades glinted in the dying light of the day.
As she descended further, Kerryann could finally see that the two being pressed towards the boulders were youths, likely no more than eighteen summers old. A boy and a girl, the two had reached the end of the path where they could travel, and the male held his blades defensively, keeping his female companion behind him as he faced down the three attackers.
Kerryann's gryphon reached the ground and she jumped off, slapping it once so it would fly into the air and walking quickly up to the combatants. As she approached, she was finally able to get a good look at the assailants, noting that they wore cloaks with emblems of the Forsaken on them. She paused a few feet behind them as they menaced the two people with their blades, reaching behind her and pulling out her runeblade slowly. She made certain that the long blade scraped against its sheath as it came free inch by inch, the sound grating and obvious.
The three attackers stiffened, turning slowly to look back at the source of the noise. Kerryann was able to see their faces clearly for the first time. Three men, three humans stared at her from beneath their cowls, glaring at her interruption. Humans wearing the markings of the Forsaken.
Kerryann's rage knew no bounds. It exploded within her like a goblin machine set to full automatic. A hand came up and pointed at the nearest of the assailants. Instantly a freezing cold blast of necromantic energy struck the man, hurling him to the ground. The other two yelled and charged at her, but she was already moving even as they did.
A dark tendril of energy shot from her open hand, dragging one of the men forward and away from his companion. He stumbled as he was yanked off balance, and was pulled right into the point of Kerryann's runeblade. The weapon plunged through his body and out his back before she turned the angle of her arm and forced him to slide off the blade to the ground. The last man brought his blade up and downwards, only to have it met in mid-air by the plate armor that Kerryann strapped to her wrists. The blow created a harsh, discordant metallic sound as the blade was deflected, Kerryann's unnatural strength protecting her bones from breaking under the force.
The last man stumbled, off-balance from the deflected blow as Kerryann's runeblade came up. It swept downwards, shearing through the man's body at the collarbone and lodging deep within his chest. His sword fell from lifeless fingers as he too slid to the ground near his fallen comrades. Kerryann simply stepped over the corpses, paying them no more heed as she approached the two survivors.
As her gaze met those of the boy that had been defending his companion, some unnatural sense tingled in Kerryann's mind. At the same moment, she detected a surprised widening of the boy's eyes as something behind her drew his attention. Without thought, Kerryann hurled her body to the side, the blade that had been coming towards her narrowly missing her.
She whirled, her runeblade at the ready, only to stare in surprise at what confronted her. The three men she'd just slain had risen, a sickly yellow glow illuminating their eyes as they looked at her with hunger. Something had animated them, and they immediately attempted to strike at the nearest thing to them, their weapons held in unsteady hands.
For a moment, Kerryann held her ground, parrying a few of the clumsy slashes that the undead creatures made as she tried to determine exactly what it was she faced. As seconds passed, her knowledge in necromancy allowed her to identify one key fact; the risen men were uncoordinated and possessed no truly free will of their own. They were simply cursed constructs. Humans that had somehow been contaminated enough to rise after death.
A moment passed as Kerryann decided how best to deal with them and then she was out of time as all three of the undead rushed her, hideous moans escaping from their undead forms. By hunting in a pack they were making use of the natural instincts of their new ghoulish forms, forcing Kerryann onto the defensive immediately. The first of the creatures lunged at her, attempting to use its teeth rather than the weapon in its hand. She was able to dodge the blow, her runeblade darting forward and through the thing's gut, severing the spine.
She paid a price for the move however. The second of her assailants brought its blade down hard, slamming into the scant pieces of armor she wore along her shoulders. The blade bit deep into the metal, penetrating it and gashing her shoulder. Thick, brackish blood oozed from the wound, running down the naked flesh of Kerryann's torso. The second of the creatures leaped, its body colliding with hers and throwing her down to the ground with it atop her.
Gnashing teeth snapped at Kerryann's face and she snarled in frustration. Her eyes blazed with scourgelight as she summoned necromantic power, reaching deep into the creature on top of her. It shuddered as she applied the full weight of her power, usurping control of its undead spirit and forcing it to pry itself off her.
As it rose, the second standing creature lunged and Kerryann forced her new minion to position its body in the way. Undead forms collided and the two creatures began to fight, instinct taking over as they tore each other limb from limb. Within moments, the two things had fallen to the ground, mostly shattered with only a hint of life left in them. Kerryann rose, retrieving her runeblade and walking amongst the still-moving corpses, dismembering each and cutting out their hearts until they moved no more.
“That was a lucky thing miss!” a voice sounded behind Kerryann. The death knight whirled, runeblade ready. She relaxed a moment later when she saw that it was just the young man. Of his female companion there was no sign.
“Lucky?” she muttered. “It was damn clumsy. I should have known better.”
“There's no way you could have known they were with the others,” The man replied. “They've been good at hiding themselves so I don't think too many people know about them.”
Kerryann paused long enough to sheath her runeblade before looking the man over. As she had determined earlier, he was young, likely having just reached his eighteenth or nineteenth birthday. Definitely too young to be comfortable with the concept of fighting men that rose up again as the walking dead.
“Who is 'they' and how do you know so much about this? Also, where did your companion go?” Kerryann replied warily.
The man turned and looked and shrugged. “She wasn't my companion, she was just trying to get away from them. As for who 'they' are, they're a group of men and women who call themselves the Undying. They've been making headway amongst the syndicate folk in Stromgard, convincing some of them to pledge themselves to the Forsaken in exchange for eternal life.”
Kerryann's eyes widened at the news. She turned and bent down to examine the corpses, saying nothing. After a few minutes, she nodded in satisfaction, reaching down and collecting an amulet from one of the bodies. She held it in her hand, eyes closed as she felt the necromantic energy in it.
The fools had been duped. They thought they were going to rise again as Forsaken if they were obedient, the ultimate gift of everlasting life with free will. Instead they would become simple, mindless undead slaves thanks to the power of the objects they carried. Kerryann shook her head in irritation; she'd seen it all before.
The only difference was this time she knew who was behind it.
“Miss, you're bleeding you know,” the voice was closer. Kerryann turned in time to take a step back before the man could come into contact with her diseased blood.
“It's alright, it'll heal. Do not touch me,” She said with a hint of warning in her voice. The man sighed and nodded before taking a step back, his eyes running over her once.
“Who are you anyway, and how did you come to be under attack by these...'people'?” Kerryann asked.
“My name is William Saddle, ma'am,” the man replied. “My mother was a member of the Syndicate, or joined it when I was a child anyway. I've been living around Stromgard for a few years now, and I've seen what these men were doing. Me and the girl did. We decided to run for it, and happened to run together until just now I guess.”
He looked back, concerned that the girl had run off without him. For her part, Kerryann studied the man hard, realizing she was dealing with a potential criminal. After a moment she shrugged and shook her head; she didn't really give a damn about it.
“You were right to flee. These people are doing something insane,” Kerryann replied, looking at the corpses again. “The Forsaken behind this is likely building a private army of undead minions, and none of these people would have received the 'gift' they were expecting in repayment for their services. They are simply serving a monster in the hopes of eventually becoming monsters themselves.”
The man nodded, looking grim, his eyes still watching the slow flow of oozing blood on Kerryann's side. “What will you do now?”
Kerryann paused, looking up at the sky and considering. The light of day was fading, and she had to tend her wound or it would slow her down in combat. The pain meant little, but weakness was not acceptable.
“I think I'll make camp and see if any of the refugees or civilians near Refuge Point are familiar with this group. I need to know the extent of the problem before I can plot my next course of action,” the death knight said grudgingly.
“What about them?” William asked, pointing at the corpses. “W-will they rise again?”
Kerryann sighed, looking at the dead before shaking her head. “No, they won't rise again, but we need to properly bury them. I'll make camp here and take care of it. You should continue on.”
William shook his head, frowning. “Nope. You helped me out here and I'm going to help you. Besides you're wounded. It'll be hard for you to bury all three of them like that. I'll take care of it and you set up the camp.”
Kerryann rolled her eyes, bending down and easily lifting a corpse with one hand. The man's eyes widened at her unnatural movements. “If you insist on staying, how about YOU set up the camp and I'll take care of the dead hmm? I know the proper things to do to ensure they rest peacefully.”
With a muted nod, William turned and headed off to find some rocks and firewood to create a campfire for the coming night, eager to help. Kerryann just sighed as she watched him go, muttering to herself.
“Fel...just what I need, an ex-thief with a dash of the heroic in him following me around.” She rolled her eyes and set to work arranging the corpses, preparing them for burial and true rest.
***************************************
Hours later the campfire crackled, its light illuminating only a small patch of darkness that made up the vastness of the Arathi Highlands. High above, the stars glimmered brightly, the lights of cities like Stormwind or Ironforge not present to dull their gleaming.
Kerryann was laying on her cloak, staring up at the sky as she let her necromantic energy rebuild and knit closed the gash in her shoulder. As she tried to concentrate, she was acutely aware of the man on the other side of the campfire, his eyes running over her form from time to time when he thought she wasn't looking, a smile on his face.
As he drifted off into what were most likely sweet dreams, she ground her teeth in frustration. Bad enough that she was delayed due to an injury she'd suffered from being incautious, the last thing she needed was some moon-eyed man following her around like a love-sick puppy.
She could already tell the next few days were going to be the most annoying she'd had for years. She sighed and reached to her pockets, pulling a cigarette out of her travel cloak. After lighting it up and taking a long drag on it, she nodded to herself, coming to one absolute conclusion.
No one was going to hear about this. NO ONE.
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