5/22 evening
The assault team was small, but substantial. Onyxia, Ysondre, Emeriss, Lividia, and Noboru. Noboru was much weaker than the others, but he was also a Paladin. He was reasonably strong offensively, extremely tough, well equipped to support his allies, and could become a meme and bubble hearth if he was pressed. Lividia was going because… basically, why not? Nothing could happen that would meaningfully harm her, and she could carry a spare necklace. I'd have sent the demons along too, but Onyxia got them all killed this morning, and they hadn't reformed enough to resummon yet.
The team started their assault by doing a few strafing runs on the assembled lashers. It seemed like a safe bet, either baiting the enemy out of their protected ring of Ancient Protectors, or devastating their most vulnerable mooks unimpeded. Lethon and his honor guard took the bait; the three green dragons flew out to meet them even as the dragonspawn began to mobilize. I was watching the whole exchange, mostly through Ysondre's eyes. As the healer of the group, she was keeping a much broader perspective as the fight commenced.
The team knew who the target was, so once he seemed vulnerable, Onyxia, Emeriss, Lividia, and Noboru all collapsed onto Lethon. It was actually quite brutal; Onyxia alone could have probably overpowered him with raw strength, and Emeriss was his equal in a straight brawl, but having both of them, and a pair of smaller dragons, and a full strength Shadow Word: Pain from me meant that he was forced to the ground almost immediately. Lividia had an amulet ready to try to wrap around his neck, and successfully collared him while the other three held his writhing form down.
Unfortunately, the team paid for that. While I pulled out to change his setting and paralyze him, the enemy rallied and swarmed my recently grounded dragons. The dragonspawn charged in with huge blades and began hacking away at my crew while the lashers flooded in like the tide. I'd have considered it a win anyway, except that the dragons who had been supposed to guard Taerar's flank apparently decided that they had work to do.
One of them created a storm of dozens of illusory copies of himself, which were more than real enough to stop Ysondre from focusing on healing. The other summarily dispatched Lividia as she locked the necklace around the big dragon's neck. The moment Taerar seized up from his new trigger, the drake severed his spine. The nightmare had decided I didn't get any more of its pets.
My team was taking a beating, and technically our primary objective, eliminating Taerar, had been fulfilled on what was intended to be a scouting mission, so I gave the order to get the hell out of there. Emeriss had a wing almost fully severed, so I summoned her instead. She'd be fine for the next big fight, hopefully. Well, she's half ancient now. Maybe she can eat a tree to heal?
Once everyone was out of the line of fire, I returned to myself, opened my eyes, and jumped. There was a silent creature in front of me, sitting on its haunches, staring at me with a single huge red split pupil eye. It's skin was slate grey, and it was covered in spines. It had no mouth, just a proboscis sticking out from just under the eye. It's long, stinger tipped tail lazily flicked behind it, the only sign of motion to confirm it wasn't just a very creepy statue.
It took me a moment to realize that this was the Nightmare Skitterer. Taerar was dead, so I got the third reward. I hadn't really expected things to go this well, honestly. I hadn't gotten Taerar, and his body was inaccessible for reanimation unless I followed up with an all out assault I probably wasn't ready for.
No. No, fuck that. I took on the biggest threat already; Emeriss may be grounded for the moment, but I should be able to heal up the rest of the squad within an hour. I sent out a general broadcast to check notes to all but a few of my troops.
'Everyone currently in the field with combat effectiveness above that of the average soldier. Coordinate with any members of the retinue that are within a mile or two to determine who will be staying behind to serve as a recall point. Transport yourselves to the current location of Calia Dawnbreeze. Assemble for combat against a large force. Those capable of effective combat while flying, gather the strongest ranged combatant you can carry and report to Lady Onyxia.'
It felt reckless, but I didn't like losing and I didn't want a partial win. Most importantly, I really didn't want my necklace getting back to a millennia old Satyr archmage unless it was going straight around his neck.
••••••••••
We assembled quickly and took to the skies, our primary two mission objectives being the retrieval of the necklace and Taerar. The defenders seemed to have expected this, and were guarding the corpse, slowly dragging it back towards the portal.
My full complement of fifteen dragons of varying sizes, mounted by my best casters and rangers (except Abby, Eliza, and the druid trio), opened the assault with a strafing run. A rain of spells, arrows, and breath weapons rained merry hell upon their ranks, leaving the survivors softened up for the first ground assault. Nearly a hundred harvest golems had survived the first attack, and I fully expected them to die en masse at this point, which they did, but they kept the enemy from properly responding to the second and far more elite wave making their way towards Taerar.
It was a small but deadly team. Emeriss was in good enough shape to fight on land, and she led the charge. Her flanks were guarded by Varian, Doris, a handful of undead dredges, Hamhock, Tessa, Stitches, Sadie, and the slightly surprising addition of Nozara. The ancient Man'ari mage obliterated waves of lashers from atop Emeriss's back with gouts of fire, letting her team focus a bit more on the Dragonspawn. All the while, Vanessa was sneaking in to retrieve the necklace quietly.
The plan, sloppily thrown together at the last minute as it was, didn't go perfectly. We got the necklace back, but the defending regiment of dragonspawn had healers of their own, and the two remaining dragons played keep away, trying to bait my team into the range of the protectors. Even the ground team got a surprise in the form of dozens of satyrs melting out of the shadows and surrounding the dragon.
The harvest golems were trading one for one, but were outnumbered. Tessa needed to use a full heal, and Hamhock teleported away when he got badly pressed. Onyxia was smashing illusory dragons out of the sky left and right, but she was also coated with a fizzing acidic foam that was melting through her thick scales. If I'd kept going, I probably would have won eventually, but it would have been a grinding, painful victory with several of my troops dead or at least depleted of their full restore. I wasn't willing to risk losing that many resources.
"Pull out. We got our first objective. Let's get out of here."
The fighting retreat went reasonably well, with nobody going down but several bad injuries. After all, if they tried to chase us out of their defenses, we could turn on them pretty easily. I was willing to take this as a win. I'd prefer to get another dragon, but as long as I didn't need to worry about Xavius subverting or copying my necklaces somehow, I could be content.
I will probably need to come back here again; I don't have much hope that the gate is going to completely close with those two middleweight dragons manning it, and it was effectively a beachhead for the nightmare to do… something nefarious. I don't know details, but everything I do know is bad. At least I might be able to pawn the problem off onto the Horde or the Sentinels. No one is exactly thrilled to have a nightmare incursion in their backyard.
••••••••••
I examined the Nightmare Skitterer more closely while Imriss made his way to Feathermoon Stronghold. It watched me closely and obeyed orders, but didn't seem to have any initiative or thought. It also couldn't do anything outside of its purpose: move, hide, watch, assess, capture.
I felt a bit smug being able to report that I'd dealt with all three other dragons before Shandris was ready to attack. After all, she had quite literally more than ten thousand times as much experience as I did, and I'd handled the problem before she'd even properly assessed it.
"So that's the situation. We were better positioned in the Eastern kingdoms to strike quickly, but they have reached the point where our forces can't easily dislodge one of them. They have established enough of a beachhead that we can't overrun them easily. Lady Ysondre and her forces will of course support you in any way we can, but you'll be doing the lion's share of the work."
Shandris pursed her lips. "Yes of course. I've lost people in skirmishes with them; we have kept their numbers down, but there are limits to what we can do without a stronger front line. The reinforcements from the Druids of the Claw have just arrived, so once Lady Tyrande is here the day after tomorrow tomorrow we should be able to launch our assault."
I nodded sagely. "Yes, that's probably for the best. Our forces need the time to heal as well." Very few of my people had gotten out unscathed, and Ysondre was working overtime to fix the more complicated injuries. Sadie, of course, was scrambling to explain to her team why she had suddenly vanished and been replaced with three undead but highly efficient Druids. In retrospect, I really do seem to keep putting people in awkward positions.
All this, and I still needed to deal with the Dark Iron clan and the whole situation with Windsor before going to bed.
5/22 dusk
Kam had returned to a friend's house after his meeting with the king, and sent a note explaining the situation. Dagran had taken the deal, but only if I agreed to come alongside Anduin as a hostage exchange. He didn't have a timeline in mind, but I did. Anduin had finally been captured today; that meant that he was both more likely to agree to it, and that he was not nearly as helpless as he looked. Anduin became quite the powerhouse when he grew up.
I was sending Doris along as my body double for obvious reasons. I fully expected both Anduin and Doris to be searched, so they would not be going anywhere with amulets on. Kam had one stowed in a locked trunk, so if he was allowed to serve as a point of contact I wouldn't be blind. If not… well, I'd get Anduin and Doris back when Thaurrisan got Moira back, and not a minute later.
The meeting between Magni and Varian had gone reasonably well, apparently. He'd been amenable to any plan that might let him see his daughter, though he'd insisted on bringing priests and mages along to inspect her. Easy enough; I don't collar her until after the meeting. Obviously I was going to be adding her to my retinue; I just had to lie about timetables for a bit. Magni had a day or two to spend with his daughter, and Thaurrisan was sending her over for a few weeks. The fact that they both assumed travel times would be relevant would be a tremendous boon, here.
I accompanied the two dear hostages in disguise as a high elven mage accompanying them. I was in my Erius form under the disguise; if they could somehow identify dragons, then a green would be much less alarming than a black. We simply appeared at the gates; in actuality Doris and I snuck there and summoned Anduin as we dropped stealth. The guards immediately arrested us, of course.
I was the only one with an amulet, which escaped notice while strapped to my waist under a snazzy suit of black and bronze armor. Generously provided by the clothes closet when Anduin was captured. It was a fairly modestly enchanted suit of armor, much like the others, but it was still a perfectly tailored suit of full plate that helped me channel magic more efficiently.
We were brought to the jail, and then quickly transferred to the palace. All under extensive guard, of course. No opportunity to get in contact with Windsor, but I did take note of the layout as best I could. The Dark Iron troops were not particularly polite, but they were professional enough to not decide to randomly rough us up or any other such uncivil behavior. The city was probably swelteringly hot, given the lava rivers, but none of us were terribly bothered by it.
We were, eventually, escorted to a dinner table where a formidable man with skin the color of graphite, eyes that glowed with a very literal inner fire, and thick black braids was waiting for us. He was accompanied by a woman who looked enough like the Moira I remembered from the internet to be recognizable, but who was clearly altered to an only slightly lesser degree than the undead of the world.
https://imgur.com/a/zpBwKPm
In retrospect it should have been surprising to me that on the way here I'd seen no Dark Iron girls that failed to be perfect tens since arriving in their capital, but I've gotten used to beautiful women being all around me. Redheads with dark grey skin and generous breasts were a fantasy demographic I was happy to see well represented. I hadn't really been involved in dwarves at any point since getting here, so I didn't have much of a before and after on The Lost Pilot as a mission the way I did for The Hermit. I suppose I'll never know what female dwarves looked like without the makeover. What a shame.
"Welcome to my table, prince Anduin. You lot, too." The three of us bowed graciously, showing deference, but not too much. Anduin only bowed his head. "So two of you are here to stay for a time. I'm guessing you're here to escort my wife?" He nodded at me. As he spoke, servants began setting the table around us, putting platters of food in easily accessible locations. We weren't to start eating until he did.
"Yes, Emperor Thaurrisan. I am called Erius. I am something of a specialist in teleportation."
He nodded. "Good. Less chance of trouble on the road." Then he dismissed me, which was annoying even if it was the plan. As the meal properly started, I scanned the room. We weren't the only people present, just the only outsiders. There was a lot of open hostility, most of which was directed at us, but some more restrained hatred was aimed at Moira, and a bit was squarely focused on Thaurissan. Most of that was coming from a group of robed men at the far end of the table.
While Doris and Anduin spoke with the emperor, I looked around me for someone who seemed like they would field questions from an outsider. Communication talent didn't give me anything, but a thought scratched at the back of my mind. An idea. Something I could do. Something I knew intuitively how to do, like it was downloaded directly into my mind. Shadow Word: Charm.
Naturally I was suspicious of sudden flashes of insight, so I didn't immediately cast it. I mulled it over while I ate a medium-rare worg steak. Why would I be suddenly inventing a new shadow word? And specifically charm? Warcraft was a fantasy setting that did not at all shy away from mind control and corruption, but I could only remember one person using a spell called charm. Sylvanas Windrunner, the dark lady, had it as her ultimate ability in both heroes of the storm and Warcraft 3.
That's when it clicked: I'd gotten myself a rival. I was trying to outwit her in a game of mind control and manipulation. I was playing her game and we both knew it, and by the rules of soul talent, that meant I would grow to match her. I had a creeping suspicion that if I started training as a ranger, I would find myself excelling in it. Sticking a pin in that thought for now.
I didn't use a new and untested mind control spell at the dinner table in enemy territory directly in front of a priestess, but it brightened my mood tremendously with speculation. The food was good, the drinks were plentiful, and thanks to body and addiction defense, I could drink as much as I wanted.
After the meal, I was asked to wait while Moira's entourage assembled. I imagine she was also saying goodbye to her husband for the first time, and likely strategizing. She had a team of six guards and five servants, all female. Communication Talent speculated it was so I'd never have an excuse to isolate her. Covert talent informed me that all but one of her handmaidens were combatants as well; probably magic users of some kind. Getting her under my control would not be easy.
I very seriously considered just using the nightmare Skitterer on her, but it felt wasteful. I had about a week with her under my thumb; if I couldn't get her under my control with that kind of timeframe, I should turn in my necklace and go be a farmer. For now, it was enough to escort her entourage into my apartment, and then a minute later into the chambers prepared for her at Stormwind castle. The servants, led by Onyxia's personal maid, took them off my hands.
I couldn't do anything much with her until she spoke with her father, and I didn't want my first experiment with Charm to be on someone even tangentially important. No charming her entourage until I know they won't have glowing pink hearts for pupils or become irrepressibly fanatic.
Gretchen was being kept in a cell again, but she wasn't in any distress, just a bit bored. I sent her one of those books I stole from Northshire; the one about Hakkar. It wasn't exactly light reading but I figured it was better than nothing. I had sent Valeera to my Duskwood community, hoping that Talaada and a bunch of high elves would be able to keep her busy for a few more hours. I was toying with the idea of busting Marshal Windsor out and leaving behind one of Vanessa's worgen as a body double.
It's at around this point that I realized that I still had six prisoners in my inventory. Six! So, I brought in Harnea just in case something happened and pulled one of the two remaining girls out. She was a scrappy girl, thin, and didn't look like much of a lover or a fighter. Obviously that either meant she was tougher than she looked, or she had some other skill Vanessa valued. Maybe stealth? I slapped a collar around her neck, specifically Harnea's, forbid her from initiating aggression, and healed her up.
She was a lot more wary than some; cautious, rather than aggressive. That worked to my advantage. She stared at me silently, sizing me up. Of course she couldn't attack me unarmed, and she was entirely alone, but she clearly was still looking for a way out.
"Hello, my name is Erich Bismark. I'm afraid you were betrayed by Lady VanCleef, but don't worry, you're not going to be turned into a slave. I really don't need more bimbos, and Vanessa clearly held you in high regard. Unfortunately, I'm fairly sure you'd try to kill me if you had a knife right now, so we are going to need to figure something out."
I started slow; it was a shadow word, after all. I didn't want to risk scrambling my brain. The first trickle of energy made her look far more appealing in my eyes. I found myself wanting her in my retinue more. It was subtle, but if things held up then she was probably feeling something very similar but twice as strong. She still seemed wary though. I added a bit more fuel to the fire.
I started to feel bad for her. She was clearly scared; she'd suddenly been sucker punched by someone she thought was safe, and then passed out for weeks. Now she was being stared down by someone she thought was pure evil. She was starting to relax, and I smiled at her. That made her panic; she thought she knew what I was doing, and it terrified her. It reminded me of Dena, at war with herself. I couldn't leave her in this state; I needed to capture her as quickly as possible. Testing her like this was just cruel. I needed to overwhelm her inner conflict.
I opened the floodgates, and as my magic finally overwhelmed her willpower I realized that she was perfection itself. We fell into one another's arms, and as she proclaimed her love for me, I rejoiced. The magic of the amulet refined her already breathtaking beauty, somehow improving upon perfection. She was mine, I was hers, and everything was right in the world. At some point I would need to ask her her name.
https://imgur.com/a/HfPfUnP