[Alliance] Chapter Five: Session Forty
Appearing Characters: Aelthalyste Everpost, Alleria Windrunner, Crystagosa/Cristine Ashmore, Darion Mograine, Deathwhisper, Elissa Cross, Gilveradin Windrunner, Harold Kirtonos, Jackson Razuvious, Kael'thas Sunstrider, Liadrin Everpost, Mag'beth, Maraad, Maxwell Tyrosus, Motah Tallhorn, Patchwerk, Remnii, Riff, Rommath Pyrewing, Samia Inkling, Seria, Teemo Manabrake, Thal'ena Dawnseeker, Uther Menethil, Vaelastrasz, Velameestra Windrunner, Victor Prestor, Zagarra
October 17th
While matters with Aelthalyste were being settled, Uther headed over to the human relic section. The first thing he noticed was that it was very Lordane in its design, and there were four items that caught his eye. The first was a medallion that resembled the Stormwind lion, the second a grimoire with pages that appeared to be ancient and dark. However, the other two items Uther recognized immediately. The first was an unmistakable Lordane helmet that likely belonged to the former grand marshal Luc Valenforth, a helm of valor. The other one, however, was a tome that was very close to the Libram of Justice. Uther immediately went over and realized it was the Libram of Compassion, which was formerly wielded by Gavinrad the Dire before his death in Stratholme.
The current bid was 50,000 gold, and it was 100% a sacred relic.
With Aelthalyste settled, Vel went over to the elven relic section. The first thing she saw was an elven amulet of spell shield, which was a powerful item that was frequently carried by the more powerful members of the Magistrate. The second was a dagger of escape, which allowed their wielder to blink. However, one alone seemed strange, as it was likely a more powerful example. The last one was a peculiar mask that resembled a demon, and seemed more kaldorei in origin. It likely had some sort of significance in granting its wearer some sort of visage or sight. Lastly was a staff of negation, which was a powerful spellcasting focus that could be used to unravel magics.
Seria went over to the troll relic section. The first thing she saw was an ancient drum with old zandali runes, but it was also very large and wouldn’t have been easy to wield without being one of the larger trolls. The second object was a set of bangles with powerful runic enchantments on them. They were wrought in pure gold, and seemed to be Zandalari in their origin. The third was a jungle troll mask, and the fourth was unmistakably a Hakkari bloodbone dagger. She approached the bloodbone dagger, and the plaque claimed it was the one that slew the late king Llane Wrynn of Stormwind. It was currently at 6,000 gold. She then moved over to the jungle troll mask, which the plaque claimed was recovered from the volcanic ruins of the Darkspear Isles. It was presently at 7,000 gold.
Seria relayed across the group that there was a Hakkar dagger for auction, and Gil expressed he was not surprised in the slightest.
Uther asked how they could find out who was bidding on things without bidding on them, and Aelthalyste said that, before she encountered them, she was trying to possess an auctioneer to see who was bidding on what. If she was able to get ahold of an auctioneer, she could continue with that plan. Remnii asked if she should carry Aelthalyste back to an auctioneer, and Aelthalyste said she could pilot if Remnii desired.
Remnii exchanged a glance with Maraad, but she started to mozy around to try and give Aelthalyste an opportunity to shift possessions.
Gil, meanwhile, had started to approach Lady Ashmore. One of the guards stopped him and told him that no one was welcome unless Lady Ashmore invited them, but Lady Ashmore told them to let him in.
Lady Ashmore gestured to a seat, though she had not yet looked at him. They exchanged pleasantries, and Lady Ashmore quickly surmised that Gil had been able to see through her visage. She turned and gave him a completely neutral look, and Gil offered a small smile when he confirmed.
Gil looked around and quickly realized the balcony was warded.
Lady Ashmore furrowed her brow.
Lady Ashmore regarded Gil.
Gil read a simmering anger in Lady Ashmore’s demeanor.
Gil offered a sad smile.
Lady Ashmore suddenly looked at him more keenly.
Gil relayed everything Vel had told him from what happened in Gilneas. Lady Ashmore listened, and then started to laugh softly.
Lady Ashmore chuffed.
Lady Ashmore nodded.
Lady Ashmore revealed her true name was Crystagosa, and Gil realized he had heard her name before very briefly. She was the last child of Malygos and Sindragosa. It became evident he recognized her name, and she mused he had studied his history.
He also asked her if she knew anything about the stone drake in the Menagerie. She said she was familiar with them, and they were a very distant relative to dragons. It was believed they descended from ancient ancestors before the dragonflights that made their way to the elemental planes and were changed by the exposure. The dragon transformations were more acute, but the elemental drakes were changed over thousands of years. However, she didn’t know why they resembled dragons so closely. One of the more likely hypotheses was they evolved in planes touched by the Titans. It made sense their forms took on a similar but distinct shape.
They also turned to discussion about the evolution of the night elves into the high elves, a process that Crystagosa said was similar but different. Ultimately, elves were easily influenced by magic, much like they easily influenced it, but the exact nature of their metamorphosis was a heavy debate amongst many scholars that were aware of it.
They bid farewell, and Crystagosa thanked him for informing her about Gilneas. She surmised she would have found out later regardless, but the longer it went, the more embarrassing it would have been. The disguised drakonids gave him a nod as he left.
Crystagosa didn’t say anything as she continued looking out from her balcony.
Aelthalyste was able to successfully possess an auctioneer. The banshee told Remnii she did wonderfully, and she thanked her for sharing her body for a brief moment. She then adjusted her monocle and started to look around to see if she could assess the various bids. She went over to the human section to look at the Libram of Compassion, and it seemed the last several bids were between Heigan Capless and Billy Bright.
Aelthalyste then checked on the Hakkari bloodbone dagger, and there seemed to be four names in contest: Heigan, Novos, Kanrethad, and Lazul. Lazul was the current top bid.
Vel examined the staff of negation, which was said to have been wielded during the First Troll Wars against the troll mages, and was gifted to the first 100 mages from Dalaran. It was presently at 4,000 gold.
She then moved on to the blink dagger, which was referred to as Kelan’s Dagger of Escape. It was used by an infamous elven rogue named Kelan Shadewhisper, who was a renowned escape artist. The dagger had a see-through glass sheathe, and it was said it allowed one to teleport short distances indefinitely. When attuned to the dagger, it also allowed the user to cast other spells as well. It was currently at 6,000 gold, and King Togwaggle had the top bid.
Aelthalyste was able to confirm Heigan was currently the highest bidder on Sasha, the saberon, as well.
Remnii opted to approach the ogre and spoke in orcish. She offered a soft greeting, and the ogre seemed confused that she knew orcish. Remnii said she wore a convincing mask, as draenei and eredar did not look that different. The harsh ogre, Mag, wanted to know what she wanted.
Remnii said that she and her friends had a decent idea of where they were going, but they were not his friends. She said she knew that they didn’t want to live in subjugation, and if they were willing to let them help them, she implored them to allow themselves to be scryed upon. The two-eyed one, Mag, was clearly suspicious, but the quieter one moved forward and put her hands on the cage.
At that moment, an auctioneer approached to ask Remnii if she needed help with something, and Mag put a hand on the other ogre and told her, Beth, to step back so they didn’t get angry.
Gil went to go check on the rock drake, which was found on Azeroth where it slipped through a portal. The bid was at 10,000 gold, and the top bidder was Novos the Summoner.
Seria decided to bid on the bloodbone dagger.
The bidding across the auction was winding down. One person tried to counter bid Seria, but she returned her own counter bid. The war continued, but Seria won with 2,000 gold. There was another bidding war on the bloodbone dagger, and it was actively between Lazul and Novos along with Seria. Seria increased the bid to 7,000 gold, and Novos increased it to 8,000 gold. Lazul increased it to 8,500 gold. Seria increased it to 9,000 gold. She won the auction.
Mag’beth and Sasha were both won by Heigan. The Libram of Compassion was won by Billy Bright. The auctions came to a close, and Seria went to go and pay her due.
The group was called to speak with Lord Kirtonos, and he said he was informed Master Capless was settling his debts and he would be having his items delivered that evening. He was able to get them on the delivery team, though he couldn’t guarantee how far they’d go, as Capless likely could have his own team to carry them the rest of the way. The group was outfitted with the means to carry the items, and Vel threw a [Trace Aura] on one of the items.
October 18th (Very Early Morning)
It was around 2am when one of Kirtonos’s people informed them it was time to move. Seria and Vel shifted into animal forms, and the rest of the group was able to seamlessly blend into the role. They headed with the cargo, and a few of Heigan’s people led them to the warehouse, which had not yet been raided. A handful of individuals, including Razuvious, stepped forward, and thanked them for bringing the cargo as his men would handle things from there.
The guard furrowed his brow and said they were making things more complicated than it needed to be, as the policy was never this way before.
The guard sighed and then went over and spoke to Razuvious. Vel crept out to try and read the man’s lips, and she saw him say “if they insist, bring them to Naxxramas. Pick one of the pieces of cargo and have them bring it to the causeway. We’ll dispose of them there.” Another question was asked and he responded, “This city has other problems to deal with soon enough. Do it.”
Vel relayed that over the telepathic bond, and the guard approached them again and told them they were cleared for access. They were led to the teleportation circle, and again, like before, Lady Deathwhisper materialized along with a small group of guards. The lich looked at the group and demanded to know why they were there. Razuvious explained the situation, and there was a moment as the lich looked at the group. Gil whispered to Uther that he didn’t think they had ever delivered to a ghost before.
Lady Deathwhisper loomed over Gil, who jumped, and stifled a yelp.
Razuvious’s eyes fell on Uther, but he didn’t seem to recognize him as Seamus. Instead, he was sizing the group up. Deathwhisper also regarded them, before accepting they would be brought along. Deathwhisper used her magic to teleport them to Naxxramas, and they appeared in the center of a glowing circle made of pure malachite. It appeared to be the heart of Naxxramas. There were four exits. However, Lady Deathwhisper was gone, and there was a faint whisper, indicating a message seemingly sent to Razuvious.
Each of the arches were labeled in quietish, which Vel could read: Dormitories and Garrison, Plague Specimen Research, Administration and Overflow, Research and Development.
Razuvious looked to his men and told them to take the specimens to the research ward, and then told the rest of the group to take the artifacts to Research and Development. They followed Razuvious, and they periodically heard a hissing sound. There were all sorts of individuals present, and they entered a place that was filled with pipes. The floor was a metal grate with bubbling plague below it. There were also massive sluices that intertwined like a net on the ceiling that diverted into various canisters filled with plague serum. Parts of the ground were wet and damp, and in the center was a massive drain.
They entered a third chamber, and nearly the entire floor was covered with the steel grating. There was a massive tube overhead that seemed to be made of some sort of malleable material. There were various cultists and workers, both undead and living, as well as several undead creatures that were clearly some sort of experiments. Finally, they passed through into a wide atrium with a causeway that was wrought of steel over a river of plague.
At that moment, Vel got a sending over her sending stone
At that moment Razuvious turned to them.
He gestured over.
Suddenly, the various cultists and guards drew their weapons. Vel shifted out of her rat form to respond to her aunt.
Everyone dropped to their defensive stances and Razuvious called for his people to attack. At that moment they heard the heavy steps of something large. As the monstrosity appeared, a massive meat cleaver in his hand, and his core a gaping, open wound.
The group’s other allies that arrived with them fought to cover their backs as Naxxramas went on high alert. Victor pointed at Patchwerk.
One of the wight security guards ran forward and prepared to attack Uther. Razuvious barked out an order as he also rushed at Uther and bellowed right in his face. When the group didn’t even flinch, he scowled. The wight swung at Uther to follow up on his commander’s assault.
At that moment, Seria launched herself from where she was hidden on Uther and erupted into her massive bear form. Acid dripped from her claws, and she immediately tore into Razuvious. He then rounded on Seria.
He sliced into Seria’s heavily muscled hide. Gil withdrew his bow and immediately fired at the necromancer lurking in the corner of the room. He fired two shots in quick succession and the mage fell to the ground, dead, and slumped into the plagued goo. The fire swept over to one of the wight guards.
Another of the Naxxramas security guards ran for Remnii and burst through the light of T’uure to slash at her. At that moment, Gil and Vel got a sending from Samia that just said: “Incoming”. The Scales appeared in a sudden blast of silt along with Elissa, Riff, and also Liadrin, Darion Mograine, and Maxwell Tyrosus.
Patchwerk threw his hook, which missed Seria, but it fell and grabbed one of the pipes, which made the entire platform unstable. Uther was upended and sent sprawling over to the edge of the platform, but he managed to not fall into it. However, another Naxxramas security guard tried to shove him into the ooze. Uther deflected it with a [Shield]%. The security guard diverted his strikes to Vel. He tried to disarm her, but she deflected him aside. Seria was similarly able to avoid the brunt of the attacks directed at her. A wight ran for Gil and tried to bull rush him, but it wasn’t effective.
Uther drew Light’s Vengeance and got to his feet. He started to spar with Razuvious, and Vel noted the edge of the commander’s sword was incredibly keen. It was a vorpal blade.
One of the security captains ran for Vel and she ducked out of the way of his first two attacks, but then he dug into her leg with his spear. Vel returned with a strike of her blade and a [Heart Strike]. She then gave Remnii a nod and started to back out of the area immediately around her. The wights and the security office managed to slash into her leg as she ran along a pipe, slowing her down slightly.
Razuvious slammed his weapon into the ground, but the entire group was able to avoid the aftershocks of the blow.
Gil was hit by a wight and sent tumbling into the putrid acid below.
At that moment, Remnii smashed the end of her staff into the ground. With a flash of brilliant light, most of the undead security guards turned to flee. Razuvious looked at Remnii in rage.
He pointed his blade at Remnii.
Remnii cast [Sanctuary] on herself.
Patchwerk vomited putrid bile from the gaping hole in his chest. Rotting slime covered those that were within the range of the cone, and against everything she desired, Vel felt a distinct desire to go for those covered in the slime.
Patchwerk looked at Vel.
He hurled his hook at her, but she deflected it with a [Shield]. However, Patchwerk then looked were Gil had fallen and called that he would help, and he wrapped his hook around him.
Razuvious looked at Seria and tried to cleave down on her, and she just narrowly avoided the devastating blow. Vel launched herself into a [Steel Wind Strike], which cleaved through one of the wights completely and damaging several others. She rematerialized next to Razuvious, trying to put some interference between him and the others.
Razuvious rounded on Vel and swung at her, but she was able to deflect the blow aside. The blow carried through to Seria, and clipped into her side. He then threw one of his jagged knives at Vel.
One of the security guards tried to attack Remnii but couldn’t get through her sanctuary. He swore and then ran at Gil instead. Another wight tore into Seria, while a second battled with Uther.
He swung his cleaver around at Seria, commanded by Razuvious. Razuvious then hefted his sword around and swung it around.
At that exact moment he slipped by Vel's defenses with a sudden extreme burst of speed, and his blade sliced right through her throat. Her expression was one of sudden shock, having not expected how fast his movements had abruptly become. At that moment, she got a sending from Kael’thas.
Rommath, Kael’thas, and Alleria teleported in just in time to see Vel's head go sailing, and her body to burst into mist. Alleria screeched in rage, and her eyes went bright crimson. Kael’thas’s eyes immediately flared to life as well, magic wreathing his claws.
Alleria leaped onto a better vantage point and drew her bow.
