As it had passed now into early night they were finally reaching their first destination, Mudsprocket. He groaned as his benefactor paid the goblin to let them into it. He was more than willing to object, but honestly he had no idea if she even had attachment to money. Do they care about financial gain? He didn't know.
As the gates closed behind them all she had turned to address the group.
“Alright, enjoy a night in the town. Our next town is Gadgetzan, which might be a while. Rest up, gather supplies, get intel, I don’t care. Just be ready to leave by morning once again.”
Richard nodded and slid off his Swiftwind. He led her while Synthara followed behind. The panther had a dislike for goblins. She eyed some of the guards wearily as she passed them.
Richard just wanted to rest. He was pretty tired of all the confusion, cults, and the events over the past few days that he wanted to shut himself off for a night. Someone else could gather intel if they bothered to do it.
He wandered over to a stable nearby and after negotiating a bit the goblin in charge agreed to let the Panther and Horse stay around for the night. "Alright girls, I'll be back for you in the morning." He reached down and pet the panther. He grabbed his most essential things off Swiftwind for he knew better than to leave it lying around for goblins to rummage through.
Afterwards he found himself in the sorry excuse of an inn. After an ale that may as well have been water and some contemplation, he drug himself to his bed for the night. The bed wasn't the best in the world possessing more than it's fair share of bugs and holes. He scrapped off the insects and plopped down. Within minutes he was asleep.
"A word, ma'am..." The mounted death knight approached Kersia as she slid off her talbuk and helped Sterixia down. "If we're supposed to be stayin' here overnight, might want to post an extra guard or two. I haven't seen any sign of the cult, but my gut tells me they might try to buy off the goblins if they're around."
Kersia thought about what he said for a few moments before responding. "I will have Sylstyx guard, and yourself if you want to, since you seem to be volunteering. I have doubts that this group would pay off the goblins. They seem erratic and eccentric, but I don't think they would lower themselves... maybe." Kersia mulled it in her head, remembering the pirate ordeal and her prior experiences with goblins. "I suppose their eccentricities means they can do anything. I doubt we would be any safer outside either."
Kersia smiled at Morician. "You'll just have to guard us against the goblins."
Kora snuggled down into Vyn's fur as they began their trek, "This is so much better than conjuring a mount. Conjured mounts have no real substance, they have no warmth, no fur, they are just corporeal enough to ride. I wish you were around more often, but then again I am sure you would get tired of lugging me around everywhere." Kora chuckled as she gently stroked Vyn's neck, "Thank you for your indulgence Vyn."
Kora didn't speak for the rest of the journey until they got to Mudsprocket and the dragoness curled up her nose, "Why must we always stay in goblin towns?" She huffed and pouted for a moment as they went through the gate. She hopped down from Vyn's back and stroked her neck and gave her nose a quick peck, "Thanks again Vyn."
Kora had no intention of staying in some goblin run inn and so once again she found a secluded place nearby and set up her little cabin. She removed her clothes and slipped into a velvet nightgown before sitting at the small table in the center of the cabin. She rested her chin in her hands as she thought back to the battle with the black, remembering his techniques and magic he had displayed.
She sighed as she did some image training, it wasn't the best technique to get stronger, but it did allow for her to test herself against the black based on what she had seen. Sweat dotted her brow as the training became more intensive than she had intended. She came out of her image training breathing just as heavily as if she had actually fought the black, "I highly doubt he showed us everything he can do, still I should at least be able to hold my own against him one on one if need be. The mortals won't be a lot of help if the enemy takes their dragon forms, in which case it will be up to us dragons to handle them. I just hope all of my taunting got to that one enough that he will focus most of his attention on me."
Kersia thought about what he said for a few moments before responding. "I will have Sylstyx guard, and yourself if you want to, since you seem to be volunteering. I have doubts that this group would pay off the goblins. They seem erratic and eccentric, but I don't think they would lower themselves... maybe." Kersia mulled it in her head, remembering the pirate ordeal and her prior experiences with goblins. "I suppose their eccentricities means they can do anything. I doubt we would be any safer outside either."
Kersia smiled at Morician. "You'll just have to guard us against the goblins."
Morician nodded slowly, scanning the area once again with the same stone-faced expression. "Of course, ma'am. One of these little green freaks tries anythin' funny, and they'll regret it. Though havin' an extra set of eyes to help watch would be useful."
He reached down, patting the armored neck of his charger. "Steel catches the bits I miss, but we can't be everywhere at once. I don't expect the goblins to do anythin', but I'm not inclined to take any chances either given the little incident near that gorge."
Baine rode atop his trusted Raptor watching the others as they traversed the Southern Barrens and made way for the swamplands to the southeast. It had been some time since he'd been this far south and while the Kaldorei Vynianyx and the Draenei woman gained some of his trust; that of the other's was still up in the air.
He noticed the dwarf seemed to keep a steady eye one him throughout their trip and this unnerved the tauren a bit. tauren and dwarves were not exactly fond of each other and past events personally soured their taste within Baine's mouth. If it wasn't them disrupting the elementals in Mulgor's Western cliffs, then it was their bombing run of a civilian outpost in the Barrens. If anyone were to betray him it likely would be the dwarf of the group.
Baine stopped at the main gate with the others as the pandaren paid the guard a substantial amount to allow their group inside. Baine dismounted and let his raptor inside the gates of Mudsprocket before overhearing the Death Knight speaking about keeping watch for the night. "You can have mine Death Knight." The Tauren finally said to the pair. "Well mine and that of my companions. Whitefang there has excellent night vision and his sense of smell is likely even better. Frostwoves like himself once fought in the First War alongside the Orcs of Draenor." Baine continued as he patted the muzzle of his raptor with one hand and stroked the long fur of his Frostwolf with the other.
"That is, if a Human such as yourself could manage to get along with such beasts." Baine had an ulterior motive for wanting to keep watch. He knew they were in Black Dragon territory and there was a nest to the south and another along the coast that could pose a problem if they were actively hunting or otherwise could be persuaded by the larger one back at the divide.
"Sterixia, take the talbuk to the stables and get a room with Vyn, okay?" Kersia spoke to Sterixia, who nodded and wandered towards the inn's stables. Kersia then looked back as the tauren approached and put his hand into the pot of watchmen. She smiled at first, but the smile soon faded. That they needed to be concerned with goblins troubled Kersia, but she saw the reasoning for it. After all, wasn’t Onyxia at home within this marsh.
“I am inclined to enforce a belief that you two will work together, racial differences aside. Just pick points around town and keep a mindful eye. I’ll still ask Sylstyx to séance the spirits here and get them to watch as well.” Kersia sighed. “In any case, the task is well handled. I am going to the inn, I have more research to do.”
Kersia made her way away from the two men and into the inn. Sylstyx entered right behind her, her arms full of fruits she had purchased in the market. “Sylstyx, good timing.” Kersia chuckled at the shaman’s slightly ridiculous appearance. “Can you ask the spirits here to alarm us if they notice anything suspicious?”
Sylstyx tilted her head to the side. “Zuzpezooz?” She continued towards the stairs, leading the way in front of Kersia as she aimed to bring the fruits to her room. “Zpurridz needink zpazeefik thinz du vadchink fer.” She stopped in front of a door. “Ah mi kez. Khan yoo getzink et frruuhm mi hipz poozch?”
Kersia frowned and retrieved a room key from the pouch on Sylstyx’s hip. She unlocked and opened the door for the shaman, who smiled in return and entered. Sylstyx unloaded the fruits onto her bed to be packed away later.
Kersia stood in the doorway. “Hmm, so what is suspicious to us may not be the same to a spirit…” She pondered, not knowing what to ask for. Kersia had hoped to just have a blanket of spirits watching for anything. “Well, how about they just keep an eye for anyone who isn’t as they appear?”
“Lyk yooz?” Sylstyx bit into a fruit.
“Yes. Tell them about our group, see if they spot any others like us.”
“Okiez, zat khan doz.” Sylstyx smiled as Kersia nodded and left her room.
Kersia made her way back downstairs so she could procure her own room. She had no interest in the goblin inn’s food, and maintaining the appearance of a mortal to her group was no longer warranted. A relief off her own shoulders, as she was tired of feigning the hunger of a pandaren. She paid the inn keeper and made her way upstairs to her room.
Once inside, Kersia cleansed the room of bugs with her arcane magic, and sat on the foot of the sorry excuse of a bed. She pulled out the crystal she had been tinkering with the entire journey. It wasn’t that etching runes in the crystal was taxing, but the spell she was inscribing was one of fel origin. She could only etch a few into it at a time, and infuse some of her own life force as a cost. This way, Kersia could be sure Mortre wouldn’t die when she unlocked the song.
Tonight Kersia needed to only carve two runes. She pulled the carving tool from her pack and a grin crossed her face. “This better work, Mortre. Your little idea to stop a powerful demon will probably become your savior here.” She sighed and flipped the crystal to where she last left off. For the next hour Kersia painstakingly carved the final two runes into the crystal, finally spelling out the formula for a spell she created based on a theory. By the time she was done, exhaustion started to take her form, as the crystal had sapped some of her life energy. Crystal still in hand, Kersia curled up on the cot and fell asleep.
After Kora departed for her own lodgings, Vynianyx shifted into a saber. She melded into the shadows and padded around the outskirts of town. Others seemed content with their operations to rest, but Vyn wanted to be cautious. There was a chance that the cult had infiltrated this town, or at least had interacted with it. She looked for areas where the goblins seemed to gather.
A small cottage like building towards the edge of town had a group of three outside, and what appeared to be a bouncer at the door. Vyn inched closer to it, taking care to remain in the shadows. She could hear cheering inside the home and chatter, as well as buzzing noises and mechanical sounds. The goblins outside seemed to be smoking something and talking. Vyn focused on trying to hear what they had to say.
“few weeks now.”
“Haz it been?”
“Ya, somez of them sayz he vanished around that old dragon place.”
“Youz don’t ‘spose that black (*) haz come back?”
“Naw, shez as good as dead.”
“Well. Herez hoping Gurten showz back up. ‘E waz a good worker, ‘e waz.”
“And cheap.”
“Yeah!” The goblins cackled.
Vyn cocked her head to the side, wondering if the missing goblin was taken by the cult. The trio outside went on to discuss the robot fights going on within the cult. Satisfied she wasn’t going to get any more from them, Vyn slinked off to find sleep for the night.
The sun shown in star like speckles through the trees of Dustwallow marsh, as a cool mist rose from the moist ground. Kersia stretched and yawned on her cot. She looked at the gem still clutched in her hand and chuckled. Once she had put her things back in her pack, Kersia made her way downstairs. Sylstyx and Sterixia were already down there eating breakfast.
Sterixia smiled at Kersia as she sipped on a glass of milk. Sylstyx looked up from her food and grinned as well as the pandaren sat at their table. “Goodink mornz.”
“Anything last night?”
“Spurrtz did nut notizink bahd zinkz.”
“Good.” Kersia sighed. She hoped the two left outside to watch had similar reports. She sipped on her own cup of coffee and thought for a few moments. “We really don’t have time to dawdle too much. Finish up and lets head to the town gate.”
Sterixia frowned and finished up her drink, and Sylstyx finished her food. The three headed outside and gathered their mounts before heading to wait by the town gate. Vynianyx was already there with Illuria. “Ah, took you three long enough.”
Kersia rolled her eyes. “You probably slept here.”
Vyn chuckled, “So, what’s the plan?”
“We wait for the others first.” Kersia sighed. She turned and watched for everyone to get around and gathered. Once everyone was around, she spoke again. “I trust, since the alarms remained low last night, that there wasn’t anything of note?”
Vynianyx frowned. “Well, I did overhear some goblin’s claim someone vanished around Onyxia’s old lair.”
Kersia sighed. “Well, hopefully it is coincidence, as we go near there to get through the mountains south.” Kersia looked back at everyone. “If we are all ready, let’s be off. The less time we spend here, the less chance our enemies will find us.” Kersia helped Sterixia onto her talbuk before climbing on herself and moving to leave the goblin town.
Kora yawned and stretched, which would have been quite the sight if any man, or woman for that matter had been around. As it was Kora was alone in her magical cabin and with a wave of her hand, she changed her clothes and her hair became perfectly kept. She sighed as she exited the cabin, willing it back into its little cube before moving to join with Kersia and the others. She pouted seeing Vyn mounted on Illuria, "Well poo, I guess I don't get to enjoy Vyn's most comfortable stag form today. A shame you are ever so soft in that form one could easily fall asleep." Kora winked at Vyn, not sure if her teasing had any effect or not.
She waved her hand again and an arcane manasaber materialized, laying down so Kora could easily mount up. "So where to today ladies?"
This was quite troubling. As Vynathlon's bat hovered over the landscape, he could tell from afar that something was afoot. The usual wilderness moved differently as the apex predators of the region: the Black Dragonflight moved as if conversing. If Vynathlon had to compare it to something, he would say that they moved as if they had a large-scale meeting going on.
As Vynathlon Darkblade moved into the region, he was deeply disturbed by what he saw. The Gargoyle he was on moved lazily in the air, until finally descending below. When it reached the ground, Vynathlon got off, and his ride flew away to investigate the Barrens.
Vynathlon reached down to feel the soil. It felt like... soil. In retrospect, he didn't know why he did that. He then reached down and placed some of it in his mouth. Tasted like soil too. Oh! And a stray worm was caught in it. Vynathlon chewed, pleasantly surprised at the small treat he had discovered, as the carcass fell down his throat to be devoured by the other insects that had been living inside him. Mostly just undead bees however. His gargoyle thought it to be wise to disturb a beehive on the way over here, and when they went to sting him, they succumbed to toxic fumes and became undead.
Vynathlon just shook his head in metaphorical disgust, at the memory rising up within him. He actually liked bees. He thought it was a great shame that he was destroying the natural environment just by interacting with it. But what else was he supposed to do while fire-breathing dragons were afoot?
He shook his head, trying to empty himself of the thoughts that were pervading within his brain, so that he could focus on the task at hand. On the ground, he saw footprints, or claw-prints more likely. He rose a hand to his forehead so the dreaded sun wasn't in his eyes. As he viewed outward, he thought he saw a few Dragonspawns walking, maybe 400 meters out. At seeing this, Vynathlon immediately lay on the ground to reduce ground visibility. He pulled back his hood so his head was visible. He scratched at his head, feeling the skin sagging back and forth. This annoyed him; ordinary humans didn't have to deal with this nonsense. They had stronger skin that didn't just start peeling at a second's notice.
The Dragonspawns seemed to move away from his vision. Getting up from his position, Vynathlon crouched down and slowly started to move closer all the while getting closer to the trees. When he spotted the two Dragonspawns on guard once again, Vynathlon stopped to observe them. That was when he felt something slithering on his back. It was a dragon, he knew it!
He reached around behind him, grabbing at it before they knew what hit them. He yelled out a cry of surprise, as he soon learned it was just a snake. He had no idea what to do now; should he kill it and disrupt the natural environment, or try to run away? As the constrictor started to wrap around his body, Vynathlon thought quickly and detached one of his arms from his body, taking the snake away, and then throwing the snake farther away into the trees.
Unfortunately, this cry of surprise did not go unheard, as behind him lay the two Dragonspawn guards. They seemed to be talking in a tongue that he could not understand, but he knew that they wanted to kill him simply for existing.
Vynathlon jumped to his feet and tried in vain to defeat them, but after being hit with their staves multiple times, he went down, all but dying.
When Vynathlon awoke later on, he learned that he was not dead, but in a cage. The cage was of a black steel, and he could tell that it was sturdy enough to not get broken down simply by his shaking. The cage seemed to be making some amount of noise however, but interestingly the Dragonspawns that took him seemed to be ignoring him.
Based on the environment however, he could tell that he probably was in a shallow cave nearby Onyxia's old lair, at least based on limited views that he had seen on the old lair. Although he didn't want to admit it, he supposed that it was possible that there was a resurgence of Black dragons taking root here, and that they were taking on her former legacy. He simply did not know.
Vynathlon cried out a yell in his native tongue, sounding distinctly like "Mushroom" in Gutterspeak. One of the black Dragonspawns turned around and stabbed him with one of their staves. Though Vynathlon could not feel pain, he got the hint. The stabbing created a hole in his abdomen, disrupting the undead beehive within. The bees started to cry out in protest, mostly just stinging him. Though he could not feel pain, he was upset that the both of them were upset. As a result, he merely sat in his cage, hoping that someone would come to rescue him.
"You can have mine Death Knight." The Tauren finally said to the pair. "Well mine and that of my companions. Whitefang there has excellent night vision and his sense of smell is likely even better. Frostwoves like himself once fought in the First War alongside the Orcs of Draenor." Baine continued as he patted the muzzle of his raptor with one hand and stroked the long fur of his Frostwolf with the other.
"That is, if a Human such as yourself could manage to get along with such beasts." Baine had an ulterior motive for wanting to keep watch. He knew they were in Black Dragon territory and there was a nest to the south and another along the coast that could pose a problem if they were actively hunting or otherwise could be persuaded by the larger one back at the divide.
"Appreciated," Morician replied, tipping a stoic nod at the tauren. "If you want to take the eastern half of town, I can take the western half, and we can slowly circle the place. Cover more ground that way, and with our beasts not much is likely to slip by, I'd wager. Holler if you find anythin'."
With that, he gently tapped his heels to Steel sides, settling back into his saddle to begin the night's rounds. The town, it would seem, was a rather quiet one--the only real disruption being the occasional over-indulgent goblin that wobbled out into the streets from the tavern. -------------- As the first rays of dawn began to peek over the horizon, both horse and rider came plodding back to the inn. Halting outside near the hitching post, Morician dismounted, stretching his legs while the others went about making the plans for the day.
“We wait for the others first.” Kersia sighed. She turned and watched for everyone to get around and gathered. Once everyone was around, she spoke again. “I trust, since the alarms remained low last night, that there wasn’t anything of note?”
Vynianyx frowned. “Well, I did overhear some goblin’s claim someone vanished around Onyxia’s old lair.”
Kersia sighed. “Well, hopefully it is coincidence, as we go near there to get through the mountains south.” Kersia looked back at everyone. “If we are all ready, let’s be off. The less time we spend here, the less chance our enemies will find us.” Kersia helped Sterixia onto her talbuk before climbing on herself and moving to leave the goblin town.
"Nothin' worthy of note, ma'am. All quiet except for the occasional drunk," he replied, cracking his back one last time before heaving himself back up into the saddle. "I do have a question though--I'm not really sure what this lair is, but I'm assumin' it's a cave type thing. I'm guessin' you've got a safe in mind for leavin' our mounts? Not sure they're gonna do us much good underground."
Morning came it seemed. Richard was deep into his own sleep, snoring rather loudly as he laid awkwardly upon the bed. It was supposed to be his size but goblins are notoriously cheap and they seemed to cut a few corners. "Oi, get up." A goblin slamed his fists on his door. "Sleepin' past your rent time."
"Hnh-whahhh." Richard fell out of his bed. "What?" He rubbed the back of his head. "Egh. Right, morning I Guess." He looked down at his legs, yep, covered in bites. To be expected he supposed. Grabbing some potion from his satchel beside him he rubbed it on, soothing his legs some.
"This place is utter garbage." He gathered himself and his things and trudged out the door of his room. He made way downstairs and made more than a rude gesture to the goblins who ran the place as he started arguing with them. Although once the mooks came he hightailed it out of there.
He Gathered Swiftwind and Synthara before spotting his benefactor standing on the edge of town. He was visibly livid as he made his way over to them. Once everyone arrived Kerisa spoke.
Once everyone was around, she spoke again. “I trust, since the alarms remained low last night, that there wasn’t anything of note?”
Vynianyx frowned. “Well, I did overhear some goblin’s claim someone vanished around Onyxia’s old lair.”
Kersia sighed. “Well, hopefully it is coincidence, as we go near there to get through the mountains south.” Kersia looked back at everyone. “If we are all ready, let’s be off. The less time we spend here, the less chance our enemies will find us.” Kersia helped Sterixia onto her talbuk before climbing on herself and moving to leave the goblin town.
"Bah, who cares. I'd rather have the goblins disappear. The world is all better for it. The less goblins, the less cheap low-down dirty..." His voice trailed off into a string of curses and unintelligible words.
"Right, Sorry. Yeah." He got up on Swiftwind. "Anything but this dirty town is better. Literally anything. I hope to never see this town again and that would still be too soon."
"Oh come now it could not have been all that bad now could it?" The Dwarf spoke as he walked up to the group licking his fingers. "They have a very interesting selection I am not sure you'd find anywhere else." Draco gave an almost wicked smile as he finished with his breakfast and though on what he'd witnessed last night.
Draco looked over at Vyn whom was riding her Hippogryph this morning. He wasn't sure if that meant he would have to use his wings this round or if he'd be able to ride along with her.
"Well poo, I guess I don't get to enjoy Vyn's most comfortable stag form today. A shame you are ever so soft in that form one could easily fall asleep." Kora winked at Vynianyx before conjuring her own mount, which cause Vyn to blush slightly and twirl her hair in her fingers. Kersia found herself a touch impressed at the conjuration. "So where to today ladies?"
"Towards the mountain pass between this marsh and needles. I am on the fence about Onyxia's old lair..." Kersia sighed.
"I do have a question though--I'm not really sure what this lair is, but I'm assumin' it's a cave type thing. I'm guessin' you've got a safe in mind for leavin' our mounts? Not sure they're gonna do us much good underground."
A frown crossed Kersia's face. It was an issue she hadn't considered. "Well, if we end up going there, Sterixia can help guard the mounts and I can put up some protective wards... Otherwise I am not sure. I am still not sure if we should go there, let's think on it till we get closer."
"Anything but this dirty town is better. Literally anything. I hope to never see this town again and that would still be too soon."
Kersia chucked, "Yeah, goblin greed I could do without"
Vynianyx noticed Draco approach and remembered his plight of being mountless. "You can ride with me, if you would like. She can fit two. My legs are just getting sore from all the walking." Vynianyx chuckled.
Kersia mused about the disappearances as the group made their way through the marsh. She sighed as she debated what to do. On one hand, she would rather leave the situation behind, but if the cult was involved... After all, the only lead Kersia currently had on the cult location was Tenaris. Tenaris was a vast, desert land. She needed more information.
As they neared the area of Onyxia's lair, Kersia thought she saw a black dragonspawn through the trees. She frowned, was it her mind playing tricks? She turned her talbuk and looked back at the others. "I think we should investigate the lair." Kersia said bluntly. "To be honest, I don't know where in Tenaris this cult is based, just that they are there. Had to pay decently for it." She sighed and massaged her forehead. "If we could subdue a cult member, we could get the information straight from a member."
"What if the dragon we saw before is there?" Vynianyx looked concerned.
"We might be able to beat the information out of him." Kersia snarled. "Anyway, he is probably back at their home base. Seemed pretty important to me, a step up from the people we fought before."
Kersia looked around the group. "So what do you all think? At the very least, we would be doing this region some good, flushing out whatever is in there. We could sneak in or go in weapons brandished." Sterixia frowned. Kersia smiled at the netherdrake. "I know, I want to rescue Mortre too. But I think an excursion into this lair will spare us from wandering aimlessly in the desert."
Vyn shrugged. "If we could try to be sneaky about it... it could go quickly."
Sylstyx shrugged. "I dun beink cahrz. Vi cud beink zahvink innozentz, zat vud beink gud rahgerdlez." She smiled.
Vanexia twirled a bone between her fingers as she paced around the base of Onyxia's lair. The lair had been remodeled for her purposes. The main tunnel branched in two, with one leading to a room where she kept possible initiates and curious prisoners. The other led down into the main area of the lair. A wide, open cavern with lava all the way around except a path to enter. Below the open cavern there was a hollowed tunnel to a pit of lava. Vinarion insisted it be there, though Vanexia did not care for his violent execution ways.
She sighed. Their newest prisoner was a curiosity. He was some form of undead creature, but Vanexia felt as if he was more of a puppet. She kept him to study, but given his apparent sentience, the idea left a poor taste in her mouth. Just like the failed initiates her brother executed. She rubbed her temple, flustered. The dragonspawn that helped patrol the lair were fiercely loyal to Vinarion and kept an eye on her. Vinarion said they were to protect her, but Vanexia felt like it was otherwise. Ever since mother refused to join outright, Vanexia began doubting Vinarion, and Vinarion had become far more volatile. The stress was more that she could constantly take, which was why she insisted on leading the group out here. It made sense to look for new members where a black dragon once lived, but the numbers were few and it was mostly treasure seekers and dare takers.
Still, Vanexia remained here. She needed the break as her heart was conflicted. Vinarion was right, mother abandoned them, Vinarion saved them. Mortals corrupted the world. But, she still loved her mother and hated seeing her broken in that cage. Much like the prisoners. She sighed, perhaps what she was doing was wrong. Who should she follow, mother or brother? She grumbled and made her way towards the current prisoner's cell.
Vanexia did not know the language of the undead, so she spoke in common, pointing her bone at the forsaken as she did so. "Who are you?" She barked at the forsaken. Her tone was aggressive as her conflicting mood made her a bit hostile. "And why were your poking around here?"
Lying against a cold, black prison cell, Vynathlon sighed. Although his body no longer needed the oxygen, he did so more out of a sign of boredom. This body had mostly been exhausted. Sure, his life signs were still present, but he could not get very much information out of him.
Zooming outwards, Vynathlon the Lich looked upon the landscape. It was a table, showing off the land of Azeroth with cold magic emanating outwards. From this vantage point, he could see just about everything within the outlying geographical lands. With his body facing away from the door that held his phylactery, another minion, looking exactly like the one sitting inside of the cage pointed at an edge of the map. The table seemed to zoom in to gaze upon the Gargoyle that had left his currently-caged minion.
The Gargoyle had not been very popular with the locals however, as a bunch of ravens and soon harpies began to hunt it, and through the eyes of an undead raven, he saw the gargoyle go down. Vynathlon sighed in disappointment. He had now lost a pair of eyes in the region. He was running out of spies in the north. Pinching his nose, he sent that undead bird back into the direction of the black dragonflight.
From what he had observed, it had seemed like it was mostly a secretive appearance that they had used. They hadn't been using any sorts of land-altering magic like their former master Deathwing had been conducting, that said, the divide in the Barrens still had not healed yet and it seemed as if the Tauren of the region were still suffering from wrongdoing down there.
Turning his attention back onto his caged-minion, Vynathlon the Death Knight flexed his arms, feeling a surge of runic energy flow through them. The Lich part of him was now seeing what he was seeing. It was mostly a dark room, with rock walls and lava. Oooohhhh... Lava. Lava was the purest manifestation of fire. Vynathlon hated that. Baring his teeth, he tried not to seethe, as his craned his head throughout the room.
There were still some Dragonspawn guards lying within, mostly just guarding his cage. He also knew that there were other inmates nearby, but he didn't pay them any mind. They were none of his own concern.
That was when one main dragon approached. The dragon seemed lost in thought, but he didn't know. A happy dragon looked the same as a bored dragon to Vynathlon.
The dragon yelled something at Vynathlon. The accent was very strange, and the words were even stranger. It had sounded like the words of the Humans. Just thinking about them gave him a mix between an involuntary shudder and a seethe.
Nonetheless, he deduced that this language was definitely different compared to the normal one that the guards had been speaking.
Thinking back on his memories, Vynathlon the Lich momentarily pulled out of this body as he summoned forth small objects of crystallized ice, sending them into a type of rotation above his head, back in Uldum. The objects moved in quick succession, before he realized that this was Common, the language of the Humans. This strange dragon had just asked him a question in Common.
Thinking back on what was said, he deduced that she had said, for the most part 'Who... you?...'why you... poking... here?'
The telegraphic speech however seemed to indicate her (or its) intentions. They were asking about why he was here.
Sending his consciousness back into Vynathlon's body, he rose upwards in the cage. Looking at the dragon, he spoke in very broken Common, "I... scouting... I'm...—"
Vynathlon paused briefly trying to come up with the appropriate word, before he had an idea. He reached inside his body and pulled out the undead beehive from within his chest cavity. Holding it outwards, but still at quite a distance away from Vanexia, he continued:
"Hive! I'm hive." He paused before continuing, "Why... you here?"
Kora winked at Vynianyx before conjuring her own mount, which cause Vyn to blush slightly and twirl her hair in her fingers.
Kora couldn't help but grin as Vyn blushed and twirled her hair in embarassment, shyness? Either way it was too cute for words and Kora had to stop herself from continuing to tease the night elf, Maybe once this is over we can get together for a meal. Kora lost herself in the daydreams for a moment, before shaking her head to bring herslef back to reality.
"Towards the mountain pass between this marsh and needles. I am on the fence about Onyxia's old lair..." Kersia sighed.
Kora looked at the pandaren, "I don't think it would hurt to check it out, though it seems like such an obvious hideout for a cult led by black dragons. Still, it is fairly isolated and few people visit the cave if any at all. Though I am loathe to trust a goblin's story, it may be worth checking in to. Besides, if we don't I think it will bother you for the rest of the journey, better to check it out while we are here than back track don't you think?"
Torin had remained rather reserved for this part of the trip. This marsh was bad memories to him, especially its former inhabitant. The brood mother may be gone but her legacy continues to haunt this land. "We should avoid the old lair of Onyxia. No good will come of it. We should focus on the rescue mission at hand. Perhaps later, venture into a long dead dragons old lair."
He said as he followed behind on his own mount. The stag had formed wings upon Torin's command and flew just behind the group, nothing could sneak up on them while he brought up the rear.
He was unsure about the lair as it also was riffled with corruption of the Emerald Nightmare.
"I think we should investigate the lair." Kersia said bluntly. "To be honest, I don't know where in Tenaris this cult is based, just that they are there. Had to pay decently for it." She sighed and massaged her forehead. "If we could subdue a cult member, we could get the information straight from a member."
"What if the dragon we saw before is there?" Vynianyx looked concerned.
"We might be able to beat the information out of him." Kersia snarled. "Anyway, he is probably back at their home base. Seemed pretty important to me, a step up from the people we fought before."
Kersia looked around the group. "So what do you all think? At the very least, we would be doing this region some good, flushing out whatever is in there. We could sneak in or go in weapons brandished." Sterixia frowned. Kersia smiled at the netherdrake. "I know, I want to rescue Mortre too. But I think an excursion into this lair will spare us from wandering aimlessly in the desert."
Richard was going to object at first but she had a point. "Well, the last thing I want to do is die out in the desert heat. Tanaris is large and sparse, we could wander in circles with little idea of where we might be headed. And even with some general knowledge, we could still get lost. "
"I vote we explore the cave. If there's nothing, no harm done but a bit of time lost. I know our mission is rather urgent but if the creature we're rescuing is alive still yet, she'll be alive in a few hours. And if there's something there, that could be the difference of days worth of time."
He sighed. "At least this time I can prepare some supplies instead of being caught off guard. It's good we have the upper hand. I would recommend sneaking in first, if at all possible. Going in hands blazing would only alert them to our presence and make our job harder. If we could sneak in and detain one by catching them off-guard, we'd stand a better chance depending on the numbers inside, if any at all exist."
"If things go sour we'll still have the upper hand of actually being prepared, whatever that may be worth." He concluded.
Vanexia's face reflected her lack of astonishment or amusement as the undead wretch pulled some bee nest from his body after speaking something that could almost pass as common. Vanexia rolled her eyes. She expected speaking the common tongue would be... well... common. Most of the races she had spoke to before had understood it, at least primitively. Well, he was some sort of bee hive scout thing. Vanexia looked at her guard, who shrugged. She looked back at the wretch and pondered what to do with him. Something like him was most likely useless. At least to her. And he would taste horrid.
"Whatever." Vanexia sighed. She really did not feel like dealing with the cretin at this time. She turned and left the room to return to the central chamber. She had much to muse and this undead thing could wait to be dealt with.
-----
Around the lair patrolled two dragonspawns. One bore an axe and one a sword and shield. Both were garbed in plate. They circled around the lair, a near equal distance apart. At the entrance to the lair, another dragonspawn stood, armed with a javelin and platemail. With him stood a human shadowpriest. The main tunnel of the lair was patrolled by a draenei and a troll. The draenei was a spear wielding huntress of sorts, while the troll was a magic user. In the room with Vynthalon there was a guard next to his cage and a guard at the entrance. Both were dragonspawn in plate. The guard at the cage had twin swords, the one at the entrance had an axe. The center room housed Vanexia in her half elf form and black leathers, pacing, and a dragonspawn in plate at the entrance with greatsword.