Dealing with Death

[Nakobu]

Writeup for Side-Event 4 in the 'Whispers in the Shadows' campaign:

The orcs had been sensing the ill presence of twisted magics to the temple to the north over the course of the day. Some hear the sound of combat on the wind... As the day drew on, the ill feeling only grew stronger, the sound of combat louder. It was clear that the orcs would have to take action lest their camp soon come into danger from whatever was going on.

Gashuk, being the experienced arcanist he is, could easily identify the ill magics to be based in necromancy and blood. A difficult threat to face. Taking precautions, the orcish mage enchanted a number of stone amulets to protect against necromantic energy in particular. The enchantment was strong, too strong for the stone in fact. The orcs would have to act soon before their defence crumbled under its own strength.

Though many wished to not venture to the temple, it was clear that action had to be taken! The orcs began their slow walk along the broken causeway to the temple, stepping over stone and wading through water. As the orcs neared the stairs up into the temple grounds, those magically attuned among them noticed something. Barrier than once was. It was certain that the defences of the temple has fallen to something.

Upon their entry proper into the grounds, the scene unfolding became clear. Undead swarmed the entirety of the area, being combatted by the temple's defending constructs. Though the constructs cut down the undead in swaths with their great might, they were having a very difficult time repelling them.

The troll spirits that usually calmly float overhead to meet with Bwomsamdi were instead seemingly being forcibly dragged through the air. And it's not to the Loa of Graves... On the other end of the courtyard, at the entrance to the inner portion of the temple, floated a trollish lich â€" a foul being whom drew in and consumed the souls as they desperately attempted to get away. But alas, their efforts were in vain...

A barrier of swirling shadow and rushing blood surrounded the lich as he dined on the sounds, three runes of power glowing bright at his feet to maintain it. Steelheart, with her senses keen, noticed that these runes were leaving a trail to the three main hallways situated in the undead infested courtyard below. It seemed the orcs would have to ventured down and destroy whatever was maintaining them.

As the orcs discussed what they were to do, a voice rang out from seemingly everywhere, but also... nowhere? It said: “Well, well, well. If it isn't the orcs who be holin' themselves up in me ruins! Finally decided to pay a visit to a lonely old loa at his temple, eh?” The voice laughed to himself. “Tell ya what. You send me da soul of the one who dares to desecrate me temple... and I'll consider givin' ya a hand while you are here in Nazmir... Sound like a deal?”. The orcs did not get much time to think on the offer, for Gashuk near instantaneously took the the voice up on his deal! The voice laughed once more, before fading away.

Many were shocked at Gashuk's quick decision to take up the offer, wondering if it was wise. But they did not have long to stand around, for a ground of undead broke away from the combat with the constructs rushing up the courtyard stairs to charge at the orcs! Dwarves they were! Once heroes of their people, clad in the patriotic blue colours of the Alliance, now nothing more than shambling puppets. However, the orcs reacted quickly, fighting off the short stacks under the efficient command of Rrosh-tul Bloodpaw.

With the immediate threat dealt with, the orcs followed through with their previously discussed plan, the group making their way down the stairs to the courtyard! The temple constructs formed defensive lines against the undead, creating a path to the western hallway and the first rune that the orc would have to disable! The orcs sprinted through the small zone of safety created by the stone constructs, one them moving to stand in front of the door to the hallway once all of the orcs were inside.

The western hallway was dimly lit, with many of the orcs sensing the ill feeling of twisted blood magic get stronger and stronger despite the protection offered by Gashuk's enchantment. It wasn't long before the source of the feeling was unveiled, a large blood totem surrounded by a number of what looked to be the drained corpses of Bwonsamdi's followers.

The totem exuded a very large amount of energy, using its powers to defend itself as the orcs prepared to strike! It used weakening magics to drain orcs of energy, but luckily, only a few were affected! The rest made their move, and in a combination of starlight, arrows, reversing the blood magics and brute force, the totem was torn asunder! The first rune was deactivated, and Gashuk took the remenants of the totems power to restore his drained energy.

The group then returned to the doorway, where a plan was made. The construct would move, and then Vin'scadrial, a demon hunter follower of the clan, would burn away any of the dead that managed to squeeze past and into the safe line made by the stone golems. And to everyone's elation, the plan succeeded, the orcs making their way to the southern hallway.

As the construct stood in front of the door of the hallway, the entire passageway was dark, orcs unable to see much more than a few feet ahead. The sound of bone of stone alerted that they were certainly not alone... Some of the orcs created artificial light with their magics, guiding them all down to the main room of the hallway. It was there they were greeted by undead! But not the same undead as aboveground. These were purely skeletal, swirling spheres of blood resting in their chest cavities. They turned to the orcs as they approached, more of them climbing out of their various coffins. The fight was on!

And what a fight it was. Through steel and spell, the orc carved through the strange undead, their cores of blood falling to the floor. Before long, only one remained, damaged and on its last legs. However, it then did something strange. It drawed on the power of its fallen comrades cores, using them to empower himself in a case of swirling bloodied armour! But even this empowered state wasn't enough to stand against the valor of the Red Blade, the foul undead soon returning to the ground.

The second rune was deactivated with his death, but at a certain cost. Borrock, friend of the clan, was stabbed through the abdomen with a rusted blade... Normally, such a wound would surely be fatal. However, Borrock seems to be no normal orc, his strange fel-infused allowing him to survive the injury and even very quickly removed after having the blade taken out. Certainly an oddity, that orc is.

With the second rune dealt with, the group repeated their plan to make it safely through the infestation of the dead in the courtyard and make their way to the final hallway on the east. Unlike the last one, this hallway was well lit, seemingly by some form of magics coming from the main room ahead...

In the main room, a number of living blood trolls were positioned at the outskirts of the room, each monitoring their own ghastly spell kept on a captive spirit that floats before each of them. They seemed to be ever so slowly draining the spirits' power to keep the lich's final rune active! The orcs were certainly not going to stand for this, the group using stealth to sneak up on the trolls and dispatch and number of them before they even realised what was happening! The rest soon fell, but the spirits still were trapped in their spells! Luckily, Gashuk found various talismans on the bodies of the trolls, and upon their destruction, the spirits were freed from the foul spells grasp! As thanks for their efforts, the spirits blessed them with power, strength that were certainly be needed considering the lich's barrier was now gone!

As the orcs hurriedly formed a plan the lich called out: “So, Bwonsamdi's pets think that they can stand against me! I have consumed countless souls while you have been scurrying about underground... Come then! Try your luck if you dare!” The orcs applied their former plan to make their way through the courtyard and up the stairs to the lich, finally facing him down. Shadowbolts went flying in all directions, the lich demonstrating his great power. Orcs retaliated, striking at the lich's body and causing some quite noticeable wounds!

But as all with knoweldge of the dead know, liches need their phylactery destroyed to be truly defeated. Vin'scadrial used her demonic sight to try and look for the object and... it was on his person? While it had special defences placed upon it, why on Azeroth would he keep such an important thing on him in this dangerous situation? Either way, it soon became the focus for attacks as Gashuk disabled the defences and Vin'scadrial broke the thing apart!

The fight should have been over but... the lich still lived. What was going on? The orcs had no choice but to carry on, soon managing to cause enough damage to the lich's physical form to cause him to meet his temporary end.

Orcs stood confused at what just occurred as all of the undead fell unmoving upon the lich's demise. A construct soon walked up holding something. Something strange. It was the lich's phylactery! Soon all was revealed as a laughing trollish figure appeared in a flash of spectral energy before the orcs, taking the phylactery from the construct. Orcs questioned what was going on, they did not understand! “Ya didn't think he actually had dis ting on him did ya?” The loa laughed. “Ya were a good... distraction. Don't ya worry... I'll be keeping to our little deal.”  The orcs continued to wonder and question, before the loa sent them all away! “Remove ya from me temple! But I have a feeling I'll be seein' some of ya soon...” The figure looked to Dhak, a friend of the clan. “Real soon.”

With the situation at the temple sorted, the orcs slowly made their our out of the temple and back to their camp at the ruins, using the rest of the night to try and take in all of the strange things that just occurred.

[Okiba]

Awesomely told as ever Narth!

(MOAR)