My Champion

Beckyann's deathcharger made loud noises as its hooves clomped along on the cobblestone path. Deep in the plaguelands that bordered the Plaguewood, the roads were rough and the stones uneven, so her speed was somewhat slower. She'd been on patrol for a few hours, the sunlight fading towards dusk as she rounded a bend in the path. Wearing her combat armor and runeblade, she'd also elected to slip on the sunglasses she normally disguised herself with to ward off the slanting rays of the setting sun.

Up ahead she saw a carriage off on the side of the road, two people milling about beside it. The vehicle was clearly damaged from the rough terrain, one of the wheels having broken free of its axle. As Beckyann drew closer, she noted that one of the two people was a woman wearing a ridiculously expensive dress and bedecked in jewelry and gems. The other person, a man, appeared to be a servant or perhaps the driver of the conveyance, and he gave Beckyann a long suffering look as she drew closer.

The woman spotted her and began to wave frantically, her high-pitched voice carrying to Beckyann from some distance away, "Lady Knight! Lady Knight! Please, we need your aid!"

With a 'I'm going to regret this' sigh, Beckyann snapped the reins and brought her deathcharger over to the damaged carriage, studying the two people before turning her attention to the vehicle. There was no way it was going anywhere; the axle was clearly snapped. They'd need to walk to the nearest Argent Crusade tower to get aid. At night. In the plaguelands. She gave them about a zero percent chance of surviving.

"Lady Knight!" the woman shouted, even though Beckyann was within normal conversation distance now. "You must go and find my husband! He's gone for aid and has not yet returned!"

Beckyann paused, looking ahead up the trail and back the way she'd come before turning towards the woman, "He went ahead on foot I take it?"

She shook her head, "Nay, Lady Knight, some women came from a nearby village and offered him aid. He went with them."

Beckyann could already feel irritation creeping in at the way the woman was addressing her. In an attempt to rid her mind of it, she focused on what the woman said, "A village? In which direction?"

The woman pointed off the side of the road. Beckyann looked that way, squinting in the dying light of the sun. In the distance amongst the dead trees she could see some ruined buildings poking through the foliage. "He went in there? By himself? Did it not occur to him that that village has been long since abandoned and that no one could conceivably be living in it?"

The woman shook her head, smiling at the death knight, "No, you are mistaken, Lady Knight. Three women came from the village and said they could aid us. He went along with them, but he has been gone for many hours now. Can you go and find him?"

Beckyann assessed the likelihood that anyone was living in the village, shaking her head grimly, "I can look but...I mean, it's a dead village. In the Plaguelands. You do understand where we are right?"

The woman smiled, happily clapping her hands together and ignoring Beckyann's dire tone, "Excellent! Here, take this token to show that you are my champion in this matter! Your honorable deeds will not be forgotten!"

Before Beckyann could say another word the woman had untied a pink ribbon that was in her hair, walking up to the death knight and beginning to tie it around her arm. It was all Beckyann could do to stop her deathcharger from biting the woman, and she was unable to stop the ridiculous act before the noblewoman had finished. Satisfied that the 'token' was in place, the woman stepped back, nodding at Beckyann.

"Right...whatever," Beckyann muttered, turning her deathcharger into the surrounding foliage. The beast hissed at her and then obeyed, forcing its way through the dead brush. As they moved off the road, it became increasingly difficult to approach the ruins up ahead, especially with the light fading the way it was. Eventually Beckyann was forced to dismount, and she stood next to her steed, peering ahead.

The village was definitely ruined. She could tell from her glimpses of it through the dead, overgrown branches. Clearly destroyed during the Scourge uprising in Lordaeron, it had not been lived in for a very long time. Why the nobleman had thought it was a good idea to come to this place was beyond Beckyann, but she had agreed to look for him. She turned to look at her horse, and she could swear that if a beast could mock her with its eyes it was doing so. It almost seemed to being saying, "I hope you die in there."

"Yeah screw you too..." she muttered, stepping away from the beast and drawing her runeblade. She carefully made her way through the thickest of the underbrush, forcing her way into the edge of the village.

The place was a disaster. Virtually every building had its roof caved in, and many of the structures were nothing more than burned wood poking up into the darkening sky. Several of the structures had trees or plants growing in or around them, the size of the plant life confirming Beckyann's guess as to the time of the village's demise. No one lived in this place, and whatever 'women' had come to lead the nobleman here were likely not what he thought they were. Grimly Beckyann walked into the center of the village, her senses tingling with the feeling of latent spirits all around her. This place was haunted ground, and in the Plaguelands that meant Scourge.

One structure towards the center of the village was relatively undamaged, and Beckyann thought she spied some faint lights floating from the gaping black hole that was the entrance. Muttering to herself, she walked carefully towards the structure, remaining wary to any sudden threats. Finding nothing, she paused before the doorway, peering into the blackness within. There was not a sound, not a hint of anything within, but she could sense the undead nearby.

With a shrug she walked into the darkness, her unnatural eyes peering into the gloom. A faint sound came from the upstairs floor, and she turned towards a blackened staircase, placing her feet on it one at a time to test it against her weight before proceeding. The wood creaked as she walked, but she managed to make it to the top of the stairs without mishap, her eyes taking in the room beyond.

The nobleman's body was sprawled out in the corner of the room, the bloodless corpse having died some time ago. Over it hovered several wraiths, their shapes in the form of hag-like women. They seemed to be feeding on the corpse, or rather the remaining bits of life energy it likely had. Beckyann could see the forlorn spirit of the nobleman sitting in the corner of the room, its head held in ghostly hands. As she took a step into the room, the three wraiths spun around, staring at her before chanting in hissing whispers.

"Oathbreaker!"
"Kingslayer!"
"Failing Knight, Fallen Knight, go ahead without the Light!"

The three wraiths disappeared from sight after shouting, although Beckyann could still feel their presence in the air around her. She rolled her eyes at the words, "Ooooookay..."

She walked over the corpse, nudging it with her boot and confirming the very dead state of the noble. She waited, blade in hand as she felt the wraiths moving into position to attack her in the room. She grinned, knowing exactly how these types of creatures liked to stalk their prey. As she prepared herself for battle, the atmosphere in the room became lighter, and she blinked in surprise as an actual light source sprang into existence, banishing the darkness and driving the undead away for a moment.

Beckyann whirled, her eyes widening as she took in the wavering image of a girl standing beside her. She appeared to be about seven years old, her golden hair hiding part of her face. She smiled at Beckyann, and when she spoke, the words seemed to come out of the air around them.

"P-ppppppplease....hhhhhhhhelp me chhhhhhhhampion...."

"W-what...?" Beckyann stuttered, stepping away from the girl. She looked around warily, but the undead creatures and even the spirit of the nobleman were gone now. Beckyann could feel a faint tingle of Light around them as the little girl spoke again.

"I can't hold them for much longer. I'm so tired now," the little girl said sadly. "See. See and help."

She reached out, her little hand touching Beckyann's and a host of visions flashed through Beckyann's mind. She saw a thriving village long ago, the little girl at play in the center of town. She came to understand that three women there had begun to practice magic, magic that the death knight instantly recognized as necromancy. She came to see how the town fell under the sway of the women bit by bit, townsfolk enthralled with magic and potion and twisted words until they were all a part of the cult that the three had made. She saw through the little girl's eyes as she was captured and sacrificed as part of a vile spell to further the goals of the Cult of the Damned as the Scourge rose in the region. Finally, she saw a brave last stand of a few of the town's defenders as they fought against the darkness that had taken the heart of their people. She saw the men as they fell one by one, and darkness covered the land.

Beckyann gasped, reeling back away from the ghostly girl, the images pounding at her mind. She shook her head, trying to clear it, staring at the girl in shock, "I-I...w-what do you want...?"

"To be free," the ghost whispered. "I cannot leave the town. They hold me here, as I hold them. Without me, they are dust in the wwwwwwwwwwind."

Beckyann shook her head, looking around for the wraiths that had been feeding in the room, "I'm not a champion or some adventurer here to set a fairy tale to rights. I'm leaving. You can come with me if you choose, but I'm not staying here any longer."

The little girl smiled at her, and for a moment Beckyann felt something stirring in her heart. A faint memory from the towns she'd visited when trying to save the people of this region, or perhaps it was an echo of the spell Almaria had placed on her once. Regardless, she felt a twinge of motherly instinct for a moment and she sighed shaking her head, "Light.... fine...just don't slow me down."

With that she turned and stalked out of the room, taking little caution now since the undead were aware of her presence. She could feel the little girl behind her, like the rays of the sun on her back as the two headed down the stairs and out the door into the center of village. As they began to walk across the central square of the village, Beckyann could sense the undead gathering around them. She raised her hand, signaling for the little ghost girl to halt.

Wraiths appeared before them, the ghostly shapes of three undead women floating in the air. Beyond them came a moaning and hissing as more ghostly forms materialized, an entire village worth of undead forming a circle around the death knight and the little speck of Light standing behind her.

"You will not take her from this place," one of the wraiths hissed, pointing at Beckyann. "You will die here kingslayer. You will fall and your bones will wander this place for eternity with the others."

Beckyann rolled her eyes as the undead moved slightly closer, she sighed and shook her head. The other two wraiths hissed at her, words tumbling out.

"You will die here hero. You will not take her from us!"
"A fallen Knight will not champion her! She is ours!"
"You dare to intrude?! You will suffer!"

Beckyann became very still. Slowly she reached up and pushed her sunglasses into her head, her eyes blazing in the darkness as she stared down the undead. Her face twitched slightly, and people who knew Beckyann well would likely have taken a step back, identifying the beginnings of what could only be an epic temper tantrum.

Beckyann brought her runeblade up, talking as it began to blaze with magic, "I am no hero. I am no champion. I am not here to save the day, or rescue the girl, or any of those things."

Tendrils of black magic began to lick from the sword, striking the ground around her. There was a rumbling as a ghoul's hand burst from the ground, more quickly following. The whole time Beckyann continued to talk, the magic pouring out of her, "I am not champion, no. But so help me, if you do not get the fel out of my way RIGHT THIS INSTANT I WILL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!"

Ghouls rose around her, the bodies of the dead who had not turned when the village had fallen. Normally Beckyann had a hard time with large scale necromancy, and would have had to fight to keep the ghouls summoned. With these spirits though, she could sense their eagerness to get revenge, she could feel them seething under her control, eager to slay their betrayers once more.

One of the wraiths drifted towards Beckyann, muttering at her, "You are a fool hero. You will die a thousand times over, each moment a suffering you can only begin to imag-"

The problem was that the spirit had pointed at Beckyann while it was talking. You see, no one pointed their big, flappy fingers in Beckyann's face and lived to tell about it, at least that is the way she thought of it at the moment. The wraith had not finished its threat before it was yanked through the air with dark magic and neatly sliced in half with a runeblade. While a normal blade might not do much to a spirit, the enchantments on the runeblade worked quite well, and the creature shrieked as it was sent to whatever hell awaited it.

It became a battle in an instant, ghouls hurling themselves at the spirits around them, and spirits hurling themselves at Beckyann. She slashed and cut them down, magic hurled from her hands and her voice chanting dark spells as she fought. A shell of crackling anti-magic appeared around her, sheltering her and the spirit of the girl from flying spells even as spirits howled and battered against the barrier.

It was over in moments, the fury of one of the Scourge's most powerful constructs more than a match for simple spirits. Beckyann stalked through the town's square, her blade sheltering the little girl as she fought back the spirits that tried to claim her. Magic crackled and burned the ground and shattered some of the remaining structures as the battle drew to a close, spirits howling as Beckyann's blade sent them to the afterlife. Ghouls continued to charge into the ranks of spirits towards the outskirts of the town, the battle moving away from where the Knight and girl walked.

As they stepped away from the ruins, the sounds of battle instantly ceased, all of the spirits remaining in the village seeming to sigh in unison. Beckyann turned to see the little girl smiling at her, Light growing around her. The glow grew, bathing the village in bright light for a moment, sending the trapped spirits to their rest. The little girl's image wavered again, and ss she began to fade from sight, Beckyann heard her voice in a whisper.

"Light bless you, my champion. Go with my thanks."

And then she was gone, and the village was silent again, the Scourge there having been released from their curse with the girl's leaving. Beckyann shook her head, stalking back through the dead woods, the pink ribbon on her arm the only glitter of color in the gray darkness. When she reached her deathcharger, it hissed at her and she rolled her eyes, "Don't. Not even a peep. I'm in no mood."

With a shake of her head she mounted, guiding the beast back towards the road and the stranded travelers there. She had more championing to do apparently before the patrol was done. She reminded herself to make a note not to go near the Plaguewood again for some time.

For many days afterwards though Beckyann would smile to herself, remembering the little girl's farewell. She left the ribbon on the vanity in her quarters, as a reminder of one of the few good deeds she'd done in her life.