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.
Draco was standing there contemplating the others verbal thoughts when Vynianyx spoke to him directly. "You can ride with me, if you would like. She can fit two. My legs are just getting sore from all the walking." The dwarf looked over at the kind elf and the her mount. As much as he did not want to have to fly the rest of the way he for some odd reason did also not want to burden the creature who'd been so nice as to carry his heavy armored self as well as the larger Elf. Then a thought suddenly accord to him.
"Thank you Vyn but that may not be necessary anymore." With his secret out in the open--not that it was much of one he was outright hiding for the sake of hiding--Draco did not see any point in suppressing his particular abilities. He was a Black Dragon and as such the earth bent to his will beneath his very feet. "I think I may actually have my own ride after all."
The dwarf's eyes burned as their normal auburn glow reflected the searing heat that was held at bay behind them. Their hue shifting, flowing, like the tide as the raging glow of fire overtook them. This combustion flowed through his body until it pooled in his outstretched hand. The display was similar to when he revealed himself to be a dragon the day before.
This time however the display went further as the ground cracked at his feet opening a small chasm where magma pooled to the surface. It bubbled in the cool morning air of the swamplands before taking the shape of a large paw followed by another. Something seemed to be trying to escape the void as more of its form was revealed as the seconds ticked away. There was now a head with equally fiery eyes followed by a slender body and then rear paws pulling the rest of the form out of the hole.
Magma coated the beast that now stood before his dwarven master. With a roar the flame saber looked around as molten earth jolted from its sides accenting the glowing form. Draco stopped channeling the spell as the chasm closed behind his new mount. The dwarf was pleased with his efforts as the flames died around his form and his eyes returned to mostly normal. With a quick grip of the saddle-horn Draco hoisted himself onto his mount and looked at the others.
"Look I am as surprised as you that actually worked as I have never tired it before. Usually I am not in need of a mount of my own. Still it will suffice for now." Draco looked at everyone present though remained quiet about his opinion of the old Dragon's cave to the south. He figured that if he expressed not wanting to go he would be looked down upon, but if the opposite was true, his motives for why would come into question. It was after all a hotspot for members of the Black flight in the area and any cultists whom still followed the ways of Deathwing.
Vynianyx watched as Draco summoned his own mount and frowned. She wasn't too keen on some sort of magma saber running about. She hoped it was merely an extension of the black dragon, as an untrained fire beast was always a threat. Granted, the marsh was so wet she hoped it would remain undamaged.
-----
Kersia listened as everyone spoke on the lair. Kora was right, the lair was really bugging her mind. Of course she also agreed with Torin that the mission at hand should take priority, however she didn't want to waste even more time aimlessly wandering the desert or praying some goblin knows about the cult in Gadgetzan. Finally, Parker seemed to echo her reasoning.
"If we do it quietly, we can investigate without being caught. If it doesn't look active, we can continue. If there seems to be suspicious activity, we go in deeper." Kersia smiled. "Ideally, as Parker said, this could save us so much time in the long run, or we lose out on a few hours... tops." Kersia sighed.
She looked around once last time before sliding off her mount. "Sterixia can watch the mounts out here, it should be safe enough. If anyone else feels squeamish about this side adventure, they can help watch the mounts."
Vynianyx hopped off Illuria and stretched. "I agree with a stealth approach." She smiled. "I think we can pool our abilities and incapacitate at least some. Make them easier to eliminate."
Sylstyx scowled as she slid off her horse. "Ehlimehnaytez?"
"Kill." Vynianyx chuckled. She rolled her shoulders and shifted into a feline. She melded into the shadows of the marsh and vanished.
Kersia watched Vynianyx seem to fade from view before turning her eyes back to the group. "I am sure they have patrols and the like. If we quietly get close, we can probably pick off the patrols without sounding any alarms." With that, Kersia handed the reigns of her talbuk to Sterixia and quietly moved forward in the marsh, creeping towards the lair.
As the group approached, one of the circling dragonspawn was coming towards the entrance of the cave and seemed to be conversing with the guard at the cave mouth. They were mumbling under their breath in draconic, too soft to hear from where Kersia stopped.
Morician remained quiet as they rode along, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of trouble as he once more trailed at the back of the pack. Chasing dragons and cultists into a cave didn't exactly thrill him, but somebody had to do it. And ignoring the potential of it being the cult hiding spot wasn't exactly a risk they could afford to take.
As they halted to discuss final plans, Morician chose to dismount and join the searching party with Kersia, giving Steel a brief rub on the neck before leaving the massive horse in the care of Sterixia.
Kersia watched Vynianyx seem to fade from view before turning her eyes back to the group. "I am sure they have patrols and the like. If we quietly get close, we can probably pick off the patrols without sounding any alarms." With that, Kersia handed the reigns of her talbuk to Sterixia and quietly moved forward in the marsh, creeping towards the lair.
As the group approached, one of the circling dragonspawn was coming towards the entrance of the cave and seemed to be conversing with the guard at the cave mouth. They were mumbling under their breath in draconic, too soft to hear from where Kersia stopped.
"Dependin' on how close we can get, I might be able to strangle some of 'em with magic," Morician muttered, loud enough for Kersia to hopefully hear. "With any luck, it'd make 'em easier to pick off."
Kora followed Kersia and the others as they made their way towards the lair. She didn't like this, surely they could think of a better way to investigate, one that didn't involve a lot of fighting. Kora thought for a moment before her eyes lit up with excitement, she quickly dug around in her pack before producing a smooth stone. She quickly, yet quietly caught up to Kersia, "I have a better idea, one that may eliminate the need for fighting."
She showed Kersia the stone, which had a single rune etched upon it, Kersia would likely recognize the rune as the draconic word for explosion, "Disguise me as Sterixia and Draco as a black drakonid. We can play it like Draco caught Sterixia and when I see a chance I will plant a magical bomb into the patrolling guard. Hopefully Draco and I will be allowed in then we can take out the guard that is escorting us and plant more magical bombs. Meanwhile you and the others wait for the patrol to move far enough away before detonating my spell by crushing that stone. The explosion should draw any guards in the area to the blast site allowing you and the others to sneak in."
Draco was listening to Kora's plan and rather liked the idea himself. Though he was not so sure having any large explosions would not otherwise alert them something else may be going on. If there were any Blacks permeating the area they would not be gullible as Troggs or other seemingly mindless simpletons.
"As much as I love the idea of making a large fuss; how about we not do anything to alert anyone that we don't even know may be around? It would be one thing if a patrol was to be distracted by a residential creature, but explosions would do more harm then good to the infiltration party. Assuming any higher being are within the old lair such a display would alert them to possible intruders more so than distract them."
Draco looked over at Kora and then Kersia as he explained his point of view. However sound the Elf's plan seemed there would always be the chance of being discovered. That was the whisper that echoed within the dwarf's mind.
Richard nodded, leaving Swiftwind with the strange netherdrake. She seemed the kindest of the dragons, although her accent and strange nature put him off a bit. He followed the Pandaren and Death Knight as they stalked their way closer to, Synthara on his heels. The Panther sniffed at the death knight and made a disgruntled face, lowering her body more to the ground. She did not like Death Knights that well considering she'd spent most of her life hunting the dead.
Richard kept and eye on her. She had kept her distance from Morician this entire time and now in close range he feared she might get too defensive. "Synthara, he's well..not a foe." He said in a commanding whisper to the cat. She just stayed behind Richard, but kept her eyes on the death knight. Maybe I should've left her back with the horse. Richard thought. No matter, it was too late now.
He stopped when they stopped, drawing close to the cave but too far to hear anything of note from the draconic entities nearby. He wondered what their best move would be. Someone mentioned bombs. As exciting as that would be he had to agree with Draco. "Yeah, I'm not so sure explosions are the best idea right now."
Kersia listened as Kora and Draco established some sort of plan. A disguise scenario. Kersia ran it through her mind a few different ways, her eyes half closed as the wheels in her brain spun. Scenario one; the Sterixia decoy is attacked on the spot. These dragons seem to view her as a blemish on their blood line, Kersia could only assume there was no capture order on the youth, instead a kill on sight. Then again, why didn't they kill Sterixia when they took Mortre. Unless they thought they did kill her. If they did view her as kill on sight, it would also betray the disguised dragonspawn... Troubling. Scenario two; the dragons have an exact head count. There would be no wiggle room to slip an extra dragonspawn. They could also have some sort of code or system for checking identities. This would also nullify the Sterixia decoy as well. Scenario three; they don't have Sterixia on kill on sight, they have loose ideas on numbers for their own forces. Or rather, the guards have loose numbers. Kersia doubted the actual masterminds would have estimated membership counts. They could bet on the guard's ignorance, that was most likely certain. But as soon as the decoys got in, and were brought before whomever was leading the forces here, it was going to all fall apart.
Then there was the matter of the explosion. Both Draco and Richard mentioned reservations on using explosions to distract the guards once the decoys were in. Kersia agreed. They didn't know how the structures were in the area, and it was a swamp. If there was any gas in the swamp, the explosion could well do a chain reaction. Kersia looked around. Gauging by what she had seen of those with her, they may not have to fight much explosion or not. Morician could asphyxiate, she's seen Sylstyx hex someone before, Vynianyx can take someone without a sound, herself and Richard could use some form of magic, Draco, Kora, and Torin each have their own abilities as well.
"Hmm." Kersia looked between those present. "For the most part, I like the idea. But I have to agree with going without any explosion. Do not forget the environment we are in, marshes and swamps are volatile, there is a chance such an explosion would set off some sort of chain reaction." She chuckled. "I propose we still use the decoys. While you are distracting the guards at the entrance, we'll take out the patrols silently. With you two diverting the focus of the entrance guards, we can get in close and have Morician and Sylstyx silence them. Or just Morician if he can choke more than one."
Kersia continued to think out loud with her plan. "From there, you two could drop the disguises and we can infiltrate the caverns. If we are careful, we should be able to spread out, locate, and eliminate all of the patrols without anyone sounding any sort of alarm. I highly doubt they have any sort of alarm system in place, but we should be careful none the less."
Kersia looked back at Kora. "I understand the sentiment of avoiding killing those here; especially when our goal is information; but they are our enemy and it might cause more harm than good to try and avoid killing them. Our best bet is to get information from either a guard we can get isolated or the leader posted here. What I want to avoid, however, is a confrontation with the leader with any guards still capable of coming to the leader's aide. The explosion tactic will only distract them for so long."
- Brave Baine Bloodhoof - ((Don't Forget I am here still too now... ))
Baine snuck in amongst the group as the chat about possible plans. "You know the swamp gas gives me an idea after all." The Tauren spoke from the shadows. "I suspect the elf may be on to something. If we can cause a natural eruption enough to trigger a false alarm it would allow us to incapacitate one or more of any patrol and secure their identity. Worst case we end them swiftly if no information can be garnered from the captive."
Baine looked at those around him as he seemed to materialize from the shadows of the marsh. "What you didn't know we Tauren are masters at blending in with our surroundings." Baine smiled at the others as Whitefang crawled up next to him; silent as a mouse. "It could solve the problem of numbers if instead of simply imitating a guard or patrol we actually replace them."
"Hmm." Kersia looked between those present. "For the most part, I like the idea. But I have to agree with going without any explosion. Do not forget the environment we are in, marshes and swamps are volatile, there is a chance such an explosion would set off some sort of chain reaction." She chuckled. "I propose we still use the decoys. While you are distracting the guards at the entrance, we'll take out the patrols silently. With you two diverting the focus of the entrance guards, we can get in close and have Morician and Sylstyx silence them. Or just Morician if he can choke more than one."
Kersia continued to think out loud with her plan. "From there, you two could drop the disguises and we can infiltrate the caverns. If we are careful, we should be able to spread out, locate, and eliminate all of the patrols without anyone sounding any sort of alarm. I highly doubt they have any sort of alarm system in place, but we should be careful none the less."
Kersia looked back at Kora. "I understand the sentiment of avoiding killing those here; especially when our goal is information; but they are our enemy and it might cause more harm than good to try and avoid killing them. Our best bet is to get information from either a guard we can get isolated or the leader posted here. What I want to avoid, however, is a confrontation with the leader with any guards still capable of coming to the leader's aide. The explosion tactic will only distract them for so long."
Kora shrugged, "I have no issue with killing the blacks or the people here, present company excluded of course. I am simply concerned with our numbers, we don't know how many enemies are stationed here and if they do have some kind of alarm system in place we could find ourselves surrounded. Staying away from as much fighting as possible is the wisest course of action here. With the exception of our death knight friend the rest of us have limits to how much fighting we can do. We have finite energy reserves, not to mention finite mana reserves."
Kora pocketed her rune as she continued, "These aren't people we are facing, these are dragonspawn. They will not go down as easily as you seem to think and for all we know they are connected somehow, through magic or something else. So unless we eliminate all the guards and patrols at once we are likely to have a fight on our hands. If you don't want to go with a distraction then I suggest sending Vyn in on a solo mission. She can sneak around without being seen, but I am highly against wasting our energy on simple guards. For all we know the leaders of this cult could be in there and if we waste our energy on the fodder we won't have any left to fight the real battle."
Kersia listened to Baine and Kora, her mind working again. They seemed a little set on the explosion plan. Kersia agreed with the reasoning, but she wasn't fully set on it. She sighed and massaged her temples.
"Alright." She mumbled. "Fine." She mused about reconfiguring her plans to include this explosion idea. "I don't want to blow the tunnels though. We have no idea what is in there, enemies, prisoners, whatever. We can set up an ambush. Why not," She paused. "Why not set up a somewhat small explosion? Yeah, the enemy isn't all mortal, but they aren't all dragons either. And their smartest and strongest are probably in their home base. Not out here in no-where."
"So, we set a smaller explosion. In the area surrounding the small explosion, we plant a larger boom. We draw them into the area with the small one. I can almost guarantee they will remain in the area for several minutes, trying to find the source. We set off the larger explosion. It'll kill the mortals, most likely, and at least damage the dragonspawn. If not kill some. We finish them off. We can have just two of us disguise are dragonspawn, rest of us play prisoner as the causes of the explosions."
Kersia looked over Kora. "Their numbers will be lessened without too much trouble, we get in and can ambush whatever is left, leaving one for information. If it works smoothly, it'll eliminate the most numbers with the least effort."
Kersia looked over Kora. "Their numbers will be lessened without too much trouble, we get in and can ambush whatever is left, leaving one for information. If it works smoothly, it'll eliminate the most numbers with the least effort."
Kora listened to Kersia's idea, "Assuming this isn't their home base you mean. Former lair of Deathwing's consort, seems like a black dragon cult's dream base. Regardless even if this is their home base, your idea should take out the majority of the fodder, making it easier for us to fight the big bads without any distractions. I kind of hope Mister Scythe is here, I never did get to have any fun with him. Summoning a construct to fight little ol' me, how rude! A gentlemen should respond to a ladie's attentions himself."
Kora let out a huff as she fished around in her pack and pulled out a smaller rune stone along with several of the larger ones, "Take as many as you think will be needed, I can easily make more once this whole thing is finished."
Richard listened to the plan and although he wasn't for the explosives it seemed more were on board to be blowing things up. Well, he wasn't exactly the most subtle kind of guy anyway. He listened as she detailed some plans about a potential avenue for the explosives.
"That plan sounds reasonable to me." He said after listening.
Kersia grinned as a plan was finally agreed upon. She took the runes from Koraâs hands. âAlright. Follow me. We will place these then hide in an invisibility spell, behind the trees, ready to ambush.â She walked a decent distance, about fifty meters from the cavern, hidden from view by the tree cover. She placed a rune on the ground, and then hid several amongst the trees in the area, and left two just out of what she presumed was the explosion radius. She pocketed one rune for later.
Once everyone was in position, Kersia channeled her mana to cloak as many members of the group in an invisibility spell as she could. Given the size of the groups, she would not be able to maintain it long on her own. Plan set in place, Kersia took action to cause the initial stone to explode.
The explosion pulled in a crowd. The patrolling guards outside of the cavern, those stationed at the entrance, and those in the main tunnel ran from the cavern to investigate the explosion. Two dragonspawn hung back a short distance, showing signs of suspicion. One of the mortals noticed this. Just as the mortal turned to leave the group, Kersia detonated the remainder of the spell.
The mortal that was turning back, a troll caster, was flung right into the tree where Sylstyx was hiding. Had he been a foot over, he might have been unharmed, but a tree branch impaled through his gut. The dragonspawn that held back were hurt by flying branches, cuts and bruises but nothing major. One of the mortals caught in the brunt of the blast had been incinerated, another managed to shield themselves in time, the shadowpriest. The dragonspawn caught in the blast was alive, but severely injured, laying in a pool of his own blood, gasping for air. Should he be left to his own devices, anyone with a touch of field medic knowledge would know he would survive.
Kersia fired off a ball of arcane energy at the shadowpriest, signaling for the others to break the invisibility and attack. Should anyone enter the cave in the chaos, the two dragonspawn guarding the undead prisoner have moved from his room to the cave halls, patrolling now while the others investigated the explosion.
Morician remained silent as the others continued discussing plans; his expression stony beneath his hood and betraying little of what lurked in his mind. The idea of charging in rather than sneaking in would normally be appealing...if it weren't for the fact that they were up against dragons that is. Dealing with fiery explosions as well would just be even worse. However, it wasn't within his power to make the final decision, and there were at least two, maybe three, dragons on their side. At the very least, they did have some strength to throw against this cult.
Kersia grinned as a plan was finally agreed upon. She took the runes from Koraâs hands. âAlright. Follow me. We will place these then hide in an invisibility spell, behind the trees, ready to ambush.â She walked a decent distance, about fifty meters from the cavern, hidden from view by the tree cover. She placed a rune on the ground, and then hid several amongst the trees in the area, and left two just out of what she presumed was the explosion radius. She pocketed one rune for later.
He followed along quietly behind Kersia, keeping his blade sheathed for the time being. Only when she triggered the explosions did he bother drawing the weapon, though still remaining by the pandaren's side. While he was built for heavy-lifting on the frontlines, he was certainly not inclined to charge ahead without the proper word from Kersia, especially when fire and explosions were involved. Becoming a pile of ashes or dragon food was the last thing on his to-do list.
Holding himself in a ready stance, he cast a glance at the others briefly, keeping most of his attention on Kersia as he waited for the proper signal.
Richard followed the others into the cave, wondering if this plan was even worth the time. It was too late to back out now however, he was already here. He tried to clear his head of negative thought and tried to remain positive that for once a plan he's involved in will go off well.
The detonations were a slight bit louder than he presumed as they echoed off the chamber walls, even if they were small explosions a decent distance away. It wasn't that troublesome however. Kerisa noted for them to attack, breaking invisibility herself and charging an arcane shot at the shadowpriest.
Following suit he sent a follow-up attack, a burst of flame towards the shadowpriest in case they were prepared to deflect or shield themselves again.
Kora followed the others, forming her two chain scythes as they moved. These would allow her to fight without expending too much stamina. She hid with the others until the explosion sent her charging into the fray. Her weapons spun around her in a whirlwind of pain and death. They were moving so fast that they basically formed a defensive shield around her. Anything that got too close was torn to shreds. She wanted to end this fight with the mooks as quickly as possible to avoid any of them using too much energy.
Draco did not have the time to deal with the interlopers that dwindled outside. He'd heard of this lair as myth during his time on Draenor and Outland. Now it's open maw of an entrance stood gaping before him. So as any Dwarven explorer would do... He entered swiftly and with purpose.
walking through the entrance to the once consort of his father's old lair Draco felt something he'd not since leaving Sabellian's clutch to travel with Sir Bowen. "So this is where the old one did her business."
Kersiaâs arcane energy buffeted the shadow priest, but the priest survived with a quick spell deflection that sent the arcane energy into the ground. The spell, however, was not strong enough to survive the fires of Richard as his magic cut right through the deflection and into the shadow priest. The shadow priest let out a painful cry as her skin blistered and seared with the fires. Before she collapsed in pain, she angrily lashed out with her shadowy magic at Richardâs mind, hoping to cause him some pain.
âGo! Go!â Kersia cried out to encourage any others to attack the disoriented enemy. She let loose a blast of arcane energy at one of the standing dragonspawn and found her magic less than ideally effective. She growled as the blast had little impact on the beastâs armor and scales.
Koraâs flurry of weaponry found itself clanking against the shield of one of the dragonspawn while the platewearing dragonspawn charged for her for a body slam.
Vynianyx shifted into the shadows and darted off towards the cave mouth. She saw Draco make his way inside as well. She tailed behind him silently.
Sylstyx channeled a prayer to the element of wind, and asked for a boon. Soon the party would feel as if their bodies were light as a feather and their movements faster.
At the cavern, two dragonspawn were making their way towards the entrance, the two that were guarding the prisoner. Their plate clanked and echoed as they moved through the hall and their weapons, twin swords and a great axe respectively, were drawn and at the ready. They had heard and felt the second explosion and were on their way to carry out orders to investigate. Vanexia had moved to the back on the main cavern, her eyes on the entrance to the room, a forlorn expression on her face. The earth had already told her what had transpired. The guard at her roomâs entrance was poised and ready for intruders.
Torin watched as the others enacted their plan. He had suggested avoiding the cave all together, but the others wanted to check it out. He observed as they made their distraction, leaving two guards in the group that got exploded mostly intact. "I will deal with them." He said as he channeled into the dream. Ironbark roots sprouted out constricting the two before they could regain themselves.
The roots constricted the two before digging downward, submerging them beneath the swampy waters. Torin let the roots do their work as he came upon the third, injured but still alive. He took his blade and cut the beast's head from his shoulders. "Never give them a chance to recover." He growled before looking back to the others. From the two guard that were taken under, streams of blood erupted from where they were as two Ironbark Lashers emerged.
"Well, good a couple extra bodies never hurt." He said as he gestured for the plants to follow him. Instinctively they obeyed. The lashers spotted the wounded shadow priest and were upon her with horrific speed. Her blood would be their sustenance. If they caught her they would spread roots over and into her skin to drain the fluids from her. Torin made his way into the cave following Vyn and the others. The Lashers would cause enough trouble for any pursuers on their own.
. Before she collapsed in pain, she angrily lashed out with her shadowy magic at Richardâs mind, hoping to cause him some pain.
"Oh Fu-" His curse was cut short as the magic blasted him, he was rather unprepared for it. Collapsing onto his hands and knees he screamed in agony. "GAH! What in the..." He took some moments to recollect himself.
Sitting up he took some deep breaths."Just what I needed, a magic induced headache." He muttered, his head throbbing as the magic did a number on him. A slight bit winded he stayed put, trying to avoid any more direct contact with the enemy for a moment.
Synthara put herself into a defensive crouch, eying all the foreign threats, standing guard over Richard as he recollected himself.