Chapter 72 |
Krivax carefully studied the face of his opponents, searching for any sign of weakness.
The room was tense as everyone waited for him to make a move. Krivax knew that if he could sweat through his carapace, then there would be a puddle forming beneath him by now. Summoning his courage, he took a deep breath and decided to take a risk.
“Raise,” Krivax stated calmly as he pushed the makeshift poker chips across the table.
The evil little gnome in front of him let out a devilish smirk as she looked at her own cards. It had only been a few days since Krivax had taught his traveling companions the rules of poker using a deck of cards that he had commissioned in Dalaran. Card games were not a foreign concept in the Eastern Kingdoms and seemed to be especially popular in Gnomeregan according to Trixie.
Given that she had taken to it like a fish to water, Krivax definitely believed her.
“This game’s getting a wee bit too costly for my liking. I’m out,” Falstad grumbled, flinging his cards onto the table with a huff.
Vereesa tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table for several moments before letting out a sigh and sliding her cards into the discard pile. “I’m out. I don’t like the look in Krivax’s eyes.”
Rhonin followed the lead of his wife, calmly discarding his cards as well.
Krivax felt a nervous anticipation as he stared down Trixie. He had an amazing hand and wasn’t bluffing at all. He hoped that the mischievous smile on Trixie’s face meant that she underestimated his hand and would bet more chips.
A sigh of disappointment escaped Krivax as he collected his winnings, turning his cards over to reveal that he had four queens. The cards were ornately designed, each of them displaying the regal figures of various Queens from the Eastern Kingdoms.
Trixie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, but she didn’t lose her grin. “I was right to fold, then. But don’t you get too comfortable!”
Trixie quickly proved that she was right to be confident in the next round. Krivax had a decent hand and thought that Trixie was bluffing when she raised the bet. He ended up losing twice what he just won, when the tiny gnome revealed that she had a straight.
As his heart fell, Falstad’s booming laughter was the first sound that Krivax heard. “Ah ha ha! Seems like the lass has got your number, Krivax!”
“She does seem to have a talent for this,” Rhonin said as he chuckled in amusement.
“How do you keep doing this?!” Krivax exclaimed, no longer able to hold himself back. “Everytime I try to bluff, you see right through me, and every time I get a decent hand, you somehow have a better one! Do those goggles of yours allow you to see through the backs of my cards or something?”
Trixie threw her head back and laughed, the sound high and clear. “Nah, Krivax. I don’t need any fancy tech for that. I’m just good at reading you. I can practically see the gears turning in your head!”
“Reading me? I’m a giant spider person! How could you possibly read me?” Krivax protested, completely baffled by the gnome’s statement.
“Oh, you’re right. I can’t read your face or anything like that,” Trixie explained as she pulled the chips toward her. “You’re just really cautious and predictable when you play is all. If you’re raising when the stakes are high, then you’ve probably got a good hand. You’re not a fan of taking risks.”
Krivax let out a huff of annoyance. His time as a diplomat had gradually allowed him to become better at lying and seeing through other people’s intentions, but that skill didn’t seem to translate to poker.
“Fine, whatever,” Krivax said mulishly as he dealt the next hand. “Just you wait, Trixie. Your winning streak isn’t going to last for long.”
Their game continued on like that for a while, with Krivax and Trixie taking it most seriously, while Falstad drank some beer that he’d paid a gross amount of money to import from Ironforge using Azjol-Nerub’s portal network. Vereesa and Rhonin were busy sneaking loving glances at each other in a way that they probably thought was subtle.
It wasn’t until Falstad was thoroughly drunk and the two lovers were barely paying any attention to the game that Trixie asked a question in a more serious tone. “So, how much longer until we catch sight of whatever threat you’re worried about, big guy?”
Krivax hummed thoughtfully as he folded for this round and answered the question. “Well, it should be anytime now. I warned Cairne and recommended that he send scouting parties a bit farther out, but we haven’t heard anything yet.”
“Ugh. I wish it’d hurry up and show itself,” Trixie grumbled as she distributed the next round of cards.. “These tauren are nice and all, but I’m ready to move on and see the rest of Kalimdor. Didn’t those elves say that there were some cool ruins to the east? We should head on over there.”
“I’m already surprised that you’ve stayed as long as you have,” Krivax admitted, hiding his pleasure as he realized that he’d gotten a really good hand. “The tauren allowed us to open a portal near their new settlement. There’s not much stopping you from heading back to the Eastern Kingdoms and planning a new expedition later.”
Cairne Bloodhoof had shown himself to be far more trusting than any other leader Krivax had met so far. He had prepared a whole list of arguments for the tauren chieftain on why they should allow Azjol-Nerub to create a portal near the newly created Stonebull Village, but that proved unnecessary. Cairne had simply claimed that he trusted Krivax’s judgment and helped him pick out a spot near the closest leyline.
Similar portals agreements with Dalaran, the night elves, and Stormwind had all taken long negotiations, and the portals were heavily guarded to ensure that Azjol-Nerub couldn’t easily invade their territories. The tauren, on the other hand, had welcomed them with open arms and were remarkably relaxed about people using the portal.
The High King and his council had been very pleased with this turn of events. The more access points that they had to Kalimdor, the more options were available to Azjol-Nerub, especially if it meant that they didn’t need to deal with the night elves. There had been some worry that the kaldorei would attempt to prevent Azjol-Nerub from making any more portals on Kalimdor.
Fortunately, Tyrande and Cenarius had enough shame that they wouldn’t tell the tauren what to do on their own land.
Even now, Krivax could sense the presence of a nerubian caravan delivering goods between Stonebull Village and En’Kilah.
“Eh, I wouldn’t be much of an explorer if I left the moment before you guys faced off against some unknown threat,” Trixie responded with a nonchalant shrug. “Besides, I’ve got a feeling that all of this is going to turn into something big.”
Krivax couldn’t help but pause with worry. He knew that they were likely about to face the schemes of the Burning Legion. So, it would no doubt be ‘something big,’ but he obviously hadn’t shared that particular information with Trixie.
“Why do you say that?” Krivax asked curiously, carefully studying the gnome’s expressions.
“Well, I managed to get in contact with my folks back in Gnomeregan after you opened the portal,” said Trixie, her eyes somewhat distant. Most gnomish families didn’t have access to scrying tools, but High Tinker Mekkatorque allowed Trixie’s family to use the scrying crystal normally used by Gnomeregan’s diplomats. “They didn’t know many details, but they told me that the High Tinker and his advisors have been real tense lately. They have the feeling that something’s about to go down.”
Krivax held back a wince. Malygos had only shared information about the Lich King with the leaders of the Alliance. They had managed to keep it silent so far, mostly to avoid spreading panic and to prevent the Burning Legion from finding out exactly how much the Aspects knew.
Still, it wouldn’t be long before rumors started to spread. They were only just approaching two years since the end of the Second War, so nobody would be happy to hear that more conflict was on the way.
Krivax didn’t know exactly how close Malygos and the Aspects were to finding a way into Pandaria, but he desperately hoped that they would be able to get to the Lich King soon and prevent them from becoming a threat to the rest of Azeroth.
“My sister, Sylvanas, said something similar,” Vereesa said suspiciously as she finally turned her eyes away from her husband. “King Anastarian ordered her to place the kingdom’s forces in a state of military readiness… among other things.”
Krivax could tell from Vereesa’s tone that King Anastarian was doing more than that. As the younger sister of the Quel’Thalas’ Ranger-General, Vereesa was almost certainly privy to a lot of information that she couldn’t freely share.
Krivax was glad to see that the elves were being more proactive than usual.
“The Council of Six does seem to be abnormally busy lately,” Rhonin murmured, his tone thoughtful as he also noticed the same pattern that Trixie and Vereesa had. “It does feel like… something is brewing.”
“Never heard a peep from the Thane, though me an’ him don’t talk much,” Falstad slurred, his eyes glumly fixated on his empty mug. “Reckon it’d be worth botherin’ him for an update.”
Slowly, all eyes turned to Krivax, who was focusing hard on his cards and trying not to squirm.
“Is there anything that you can share, big guy?” Trixie asked, forgetting completely about the game as she leaned toward him. “Out of all of us, you’re the one who’d know if we’re about to be invaded again. Does it have somethin’ to do with those strange goat people in Northrend?”
Krivax wished that he could just tell them everything, but the last thing he wanted was for some dreadlord to catch wind of how much he knew. The Burning Legion wasn’t aware that they had been preparing heavily for their arrival, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Still, there was no real harm in offering a warning.
“I can’t get into it, but there’s a chance that things are going to get pretty bad,” Krivax said hesitantly, choosing his words carefully. “I’m pretty sure that the Aspects are going to do everything they can to help, but you all should prepare for some difficult times ahead.”
His words seemed to cast a shadow over the room’s mood.
Rhonin let out a deep sigh, leaning into his wife’s side. “I was hoping things would stay calm for a while longer after the Second War was over.”
“I doubt anything bad will happen in the Eastern Kingdoms for the next few years at least,” Krivax said, hoping that he could ease their minds.
It had taken the Lich King more than ten years in the original timeline to move on from Northrend to the Eastern Kingdoms. From what he could remember about Pandaria, there was no reason to believe that the Lich King would conquer the continent that much faster. Manti’vess was likely just as powerful as Azjol-Nerub, and the August Celestials should be just as strong as the Drakkari Loa.
Not to mention the Sha and whatever mess they might cause.
Krivax sincerely doubted that it would take an entire decade for the combined efforts of the Dragonflights, Azjol-Nerub, and every nation in the Eastern Kingdoms to access Pandaria. That was why Krivax still had some optimism that the Lich King could be dealt with before he became a major problem for the rest of Azeroth.
“Still, it would be nice if we had more time to recover from the war,” Vereesa said, her expression worried. “These past few years have been more tumultuous than any point in my life.”
That was quite the statement. Vereesa was rather young for an elf, but she was still older than everyone else in the room.
“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Krivax said, doing his best to sound confident. “Unlike when the Dark Portal opened, we’re all in a much better place to deal with any similar threats that come our way. Can you imagine how quickly the orcs would have been dealt with if they were forced to face the Dragonflights and the Alliance from the start?”
Krivax was glad to see that his words had managed to lift everyone’s spirits. It was difficult to overstate how much more prepared Azeroth was compared to the original timeline. The Burning Legion would have to truly work hard if they wanted to be anywhere near as successful as they were in the original timeline.
From that point onwards, the conversation turned away from the gloomy topic, and they all returned to enjoying the game. Falstad offered Krivax some of his beer, but he turned the dwarf down on the grounds that he could only get drunk with alcohol made with magical ingredients. Trixie continued to win most of the rounds, but Krivax started to make some progress after forcing himself to take more risks and play unpredictably.
Eventually, Krivax found his attention pulled away from the game when he sensed the familiar Life energy of Cairne Bloodhoof approaching their tent.
“Excuse me,” Krivax said as he rose from the table. “I can sense that Cairne is approaching, and he seems to be in a hurry. The scouts might have come back with news, so I should probably go meet him.”
Krivax could hear them hurrying to follow after he left the tent, but he didn’t pay them much mind. Most of his attention was on Cairne, who wore a severe expression as he approached their tent alongside an older female tauren. Magatha Grimtotem wore the traditional leathers of a shaman, and carried a wooden staff that emanated powerful magic.
Not only was Magatha one of the most powerful tauren shamans currently alive, but she was also the Matriarch of the Grimtotem Tribe. Krivax had met her a few times before and generally found her to be a cunning and devious person.
“Chieftain, Matriarch, is something wrong?” Krivax asked as the two taurens approached. “Have you received news from your scouts?”
Contrary to his expectations, Magatha was the first one to speak up. “They’re too dead to tell us anything, but the spirits warned us that something is coming from the south. With their help, we used our Far Sight to discover that the Bristleback tribe of quilboars are being attacked by a group of plantlike creatures that we do not recognize.”
“We were hoping that you would know more about this threat,” Cairne said, his voice much more grave than usual. “The quilboar are hardy and very capable of fighting on the defensive, but my instincts tell me that they will not last forever and that these plant creatures will come for us next. The Shu’halo will not be pushed away from these lands again.”
The last part was said with deep conviction, and found Magatha nodding in agreement.
Krivax couldn’t help but be a bit taken aback by their words. There wasn’t anything in his metaknowledge that matched their description. The Emerald Nightmare could corrupt plant elementals until they became hostile to everything around them, but Ysera should be perfectly capable of stopping the Nightmare from getting out of hand.
“Can you show me?” Krivax asked, directing his question to Magatha. A crowd was beginning to form around them, but neither of the tauren leaders seemed interested in hiding the current situation from their people. “I need to see them myself before I can reach any conclusions.”
Magatha nodded in response, her eyes fixed intently on Krivax. Without any further ado, she cast her Far Sight spell and a bright green aura enveloped her eyes. After a few moments, Krivax could feel her reaching out to him with her magic to share her vision, which he allowed to happen.
Before him unfurled a view of a sprawling, thorny ravine filled with agitated quilboars. The creatures were a race of boar-like humanoids with razor sharp spines protruding from their hunched backs. They were fiercely territorial, and tended to surround their settlements with massive mazes of thorny vines that they could control with their magic.
Unfortunately for them, such a defense was proving to be nearly useless against the force that was attacking them. Krivax felt a surge of utter confusion as he studied the twisted plant-like creatures. The invaders had bodies composed of gnarled wood and came in a variety of shapes, only a few of which were humanoid.
Krivax watched the largest of them, a lumbering four-legged giant with skin completely made of plantlife, move with surprising speed as it trampled the quilboar defenders. Every step it took gave rise to new plant growth, vines, and flowers sprouting from its footprints to cover the ground in a thick layer of vegetation. However, it wasn’t the natural greenery of Mulgore. These strange plants were vibrant and alien; their colors too vivid and strange, and their movements too purposeful.
Worst of all, they possessed an eerie green glow. He couldn’t sense the creatures through the Far Sight spell, but he was willing to bet that they would be radiating Fel magic.
Other creatures, like the bipedal tree-men and creeping vine beasts, were joining the giant in the assault. The quilboars were no strangers to violence and managed to destroy many of the creatures, but Krivax could tell that they were struggling. The creatures moved and fought with near perfect coordination as if they knew what each of their companions was thinking.
As each slain quilboar dropped to the ground, the invasive plant life immediately overtook their bodies, their forms vanishing beneath the rapidly spreading foliage. It was as if the plant creatures were corrupting and absorbing everything they touched, warping the familiar landscape into something unrecognizable.
Fuck. What did the Burning Legion do? Krivax wondered as he watched the battle. Where did they even manage to find something like this?
Krivax searched frantically through his knowledge of Warcraft, but nothing immediately came to mind. Even if he had access to memory enhancing magic, that wouldn’t have helped him remember things that he’d never learned in the first place. There was simply too much in the Warcraft lore for him to be familiar with every little obscure thing that the Burning Legion could corrupt and use.
Krivax observed for a bit longer, taking note of every detail that he could remember, before signaling to Magatha that she could end the vision. As reality snapped back into place, he saw identical expressions of concern on the surrounding tauren as well as his traveling companions.
“What are they?” Magatha asked, her tone brokering no nonsense.
Krivax took a deep breath before answering. “I don’t know. There are many treants living in the forests of the night elves, but these are far different. They’re extremely aggressive and fast-spreading. At this rate, the quilboars’ ravine will eventually be overtaken and turned into something hostile to all other life forms.”
“Do you have any suggestions on how to fight them?” Cairne asked, already thinking over the best ways to defend his people against the coming threat. “If the quilboars are unable to resist, then it will not be long before the creatures reach here next.”
“We must act quickly and decisively,” said Magatha, her lips thinning in displeasure. “It is better to meet and fight the enemy before they are allowed to spread and invade our own lands. If you know of any weaknesses that these creatures might have, then share them now, outsider.”
Krivax could sense the urgency in their words and hurried to think over everything that he knew. It was mostly speculation, but there were probably a few things that he could say for certain.
“I would have to get closer to be sure, but I believe that the plants are corrupted by the same magic that the warlocks used during the Second War,” Krivax said, causing all of his traveling companions to tense in concern. “That means that they would almost certainly be vulnerable to the Light. Nature magic might be effective at pacifying them as well, but the Fel magic would counteract that. Fire or ice magic would probably be the best way to destroy them outright.”
Krivax would usually bet on fire magic, but people who wielded Fel magic had a tendency to use fire themselves. He didn’t know for sure if Fel corruption could grant fire resistance as well.
“Then we must act fast,” Rhonin said sharply, having seen more than most during the Second War of the damage that Fel magic could do. “These creatures cannot be allowed to spread their influence any more than they already have. We should also send someone through the portal to alert the Kirin Tor. They would wish to know of any effective counters related to the warlocks.”
Cairne nodded decisively in agreement. “I will organize a group of our strongest Braves and shamans to move out immediately. The Thunderhooves will stay behind to defend the settlement. Their guns would not be effective against the creatures that you describe.”
As the tauren Chieftain turned away to organize his tribe,Krivax decided that he needed to make his own preparations.
“Return to Azjol-Nerub and inform the High King of what is happening,” Krivax spoke in nerubian, directing his orders to one of his nearby personal guards. “I was informed by Elder Nadox that reinforcements were prepared to respond quickly to a threat like this one. I want them sent here immediately. Once that is done, I expect you to send word of this to the Kirin Tor.”
The guard bowed to Krivax and moved to carry out his orders without the slightest hesitation. It would still likely take some time for the reinforcements to arrive even if Elder Nadox had already prepared them, but it was good to know that they would eventually arrive.
The next fifteen minutes was a flurry of activity as everyone made their respective preparations. Weapons and armor were donned as tauren warriors prepared to defend the first permanent village that they had built in centuries, while their shamans were busy performing rituals to ready their totems and ask for the spirits’ protection. Magatha joined in the latter, her deep chanting mingling with the voices of the other Grimtotem shamans that surrounded her.
Before long, Cairne had organized a group of heavily armed tauren warriors and shamans near the village’s southern exit. Unlike when Krivax had first met them, some of the tauren warriors were wielding well-crafted steel weapons and armor that they had purchased from Azjol-Nerub. However, the majority were still using ancestral equipment that had been passed down over many generations, which were no less deadly.
Each of them made for an intimidating sight, nearing ten feet tall and bulging with muscles that not even the strongest human or most orcs could replicate. If not for their speed, the centaur would have stood no chance at defeating the tauren in open combat.
“We are ready,” Cairne declared as Krivax approached the group.
Krivax could sense Trixie, Vereesa, and Rhonin approaching him from behind. Falstad had already flown ahead on Swiftwing to see if he could help the quilboar fight off the creatures. The Bristleback tribe would almost certainly react to anyone who entered their territory with hostility, but they would still be a useful buffer.
“Then let’s hope we can put a stop to this before it spreads any further north,” said Krivax.
Without any further delay, Magatha began chanting a spell while holding a large totem covered completely in symbols. It wasn’t long before Krivax could feel the wind around their group beginning to pick up.
“The spirits will carry us forward and quicken our steps,” Magatha declared, her face impassive as she looked around at the group. “Move swiftly. It is only because this is a small group that this is within my power. Wind spirits will not tolerate being used like this forever.”
With that, Cairne gave the order, and they set off at a pace much faster than normal. Krivax could feel the wind pushing him along as the group surged forward across the open fields of Mul’gore. He could tell that shamans were experienced in using their magic like this, most likely as a way to retreat or catch up to the centaurs.
They still weren’t as fast as Krivax when he was going his top speed, but it should be enough for them to reach the Bristleback tribe in around an hour.
The tauren remained silent as they journeyed. The only sound heard was the heavy stampede of their hooves as they moved through the serene grass of the plain.
Eventually, Krivax could see the thorny vines of the Brambleblade Ravine off in the distant hills. Once he drew close enough to spot the battlefield, Krivax spread his senses as far as he could in an attempt to learn everything he could about the plant-like beings. He was almost immediately struck by the strange and nauseating combination of Fel and Life magic emanating from the creatures.
They felt twisted and warped, a malignant perversion of nature that wanted to do nothing more than to spread itself as far as it could. Worse yet, the corruption was beginning to seep into the land itself, infecting the soil and vegetation in a way that only a powerful druid could cleanse.
“They’re definitely corrupted by Fel magic,” Krivax announced to the group as they approached the battlefield. By now, they could hear the sounds of battle as the quilboars fought fiercely against the invading creatures. “It’ll make them strong and extremely vicious. Be careful!”
Hearing a round of affirmations, Krivax didn’t hesitate to charge ahead of the group at his full speed and open the spatial bag in which he kept his golem.
Detheroc hummed in satisfaction as he watched the Fel-corrupted Primals, as the natives of Draenor referred to them, spread across the land and attack the primitive quilboar.
The speed at which the hivemind had managed to spread in every direction from where he’d first planted it in Feralas was truly astonishing. If not for its complete inability to be controlled, Detheroc would have recommended that the Legion use this weapon against every world that it wished to conquer. Unfortunately, Fel corruption was not enough to stop the Primals from being hostile to any demon that approached it.
Already, the Primals had managed to cover nearly all of Feralas, the only exceptions being the highborne city of Eldre’Thalas and a small portion in the north that was protected by the Green Dragonflight. Neither of them had any hope of withstanding the onslaught of plant life that was constantly assaulting their positions for very long.
The kaldorei would almost certainly respond to this threat very soon, but defeating it would not be an easy or a quick task. Detheroc had fought several hiveminds throughout his existence, and he knew personally how tedious a task it was to destroy them completely. If even a single portion of the Primals managed to survive, the kaldorei would need to fear its resurgence.
Looking at them now, Detheroc was certain that the Primals would be effective at weakening the kaldorei and distracting the Aspects. They had little problem slowly overwhelming the quilboar, and were hardy enough that they could ignore the gryphon riding dwarf harassing them from above.
The hivemind didn’t seem to have an adequate response to flying enemies, but it seemed intelligent enough that Detheroc expected it to develop one soon enough.
Satisfied with his observations, Detheroc idly cast a scrying spell and turned his attention to the other group of approaching mortals, and the reason why he had chosen to watch this battle in person.
Truly a fascinating creature, Detheroc thought with admiration as he studied the strange nerubian. I wonder why the Dragon Queen chose to grant this mortal a portion of her power. She is not known to do so often. Does Azjol-Nerub have a close relationship with the Dragonflights?
Simply looking at the mortal filled Detheroc’s mind with questions. He could learn so much if he managed to search through the nerubian’s mind.
Unfortunately, even a portion of Alexstrasza’s power likely made the mortal difficult to capture through means of force. This was why Detheroc had decided to follow the Primals closest to the mortal, so that he could evaluate its abilities and decide on his next moves. Fortunately, he didn’t have to wait very long as the mortals had already detected the Primals and were rapidly moving to counter them.
Confirming that the mortals were still approaching, Detheroc ended the scrying spell. As a nathrezim, his scrying magic was far too advanced for any of the mortals to detect, but Detheroc didn’t see the need to take such a risk.
Strengthening his concealment spells, he prepared himself to watch the upcoming confrontation with great interest.
Before long, the group of mortals arrived while being pushed along by the wind. There was a short pause as they evaluated the situation before the nerubian led the charge, moving far quicker than any of his companions. He then opened some manner of spatial compressing storage device to release a rather impressive golem, one made entirely of silk and powerful enough to fight the largest of the Primals.
The nerubian then let loose a stream of flames that radiated potent Life magic. Detheroc wasn’t particularly surprised when the fire proved to not be overly effective against the Primals. Before it had been infused by Fel magic, the hivemind had been composed primarily of Spirit and Life magics.
Burning it with Alexstrasza’s flames was akin to burning a Pitlord with Felfire. It could work, but not as effectively as one might hope. The mortal seemed to realize this as well, switching to much more effective attacks composed primarily of ice magic.
The rest of the mortals soon charged into the fray, their war cries echoing through the ravine.
Detheroc watched with rapt interest as the battle unfolded. The tauren were mighty warriors, strong enough that they were easily able to cut through many of the Primals. Their magic was also quite effective, despite how primitive it was, allowing them to summon several fire elementals amongst the Primals. The few mortals from the Eastern Kingdoms were also quite a bit more skilled that Detheroc expected.
Unfortunately for them, the Primals were a force that Kil’jaeden had specifically prepared to distract the most powerful entities on Azeroth.
As one was cut down, its corpse would create more plant life that joined the hivemind and spread across the ravine. Soon, tauren warriors would find tendrils and roots wrapping around their legs as they fought, attempting to pull them to the ground and devour them. The corpses of the quilboars were consumed and used as nutrients to expand the hivemind.
It was not dissimilar to how it would feel fighting a necromancer, though with Life instead of Death.
Still, the mortals were making steady progress against the Primals. Detheroc didn’t find this surprising, as most of its forces were currently focused on Eldre’Thelas. This was merely a preliminary engagement for the hivemind to assess its future enemies. Detheroc had found the Primals to be surprisingly intelligent, and expected them to find a way overcome anything that impeded their growth in time.
Slowly, the mortals began to whittle the Primals down and Detheroc was preparing himself to leave, until he suddenly sensed another group of Primals approaching from the south.
Oh? How unexpected, Detheroc thought with amusement. I wonder why it chose to do this. Perhaps it's attracted by the allure of Alexstrasza’s magic?
He could sense that the hivemind had sent another force, significantly stronger than the first. Detheroc was eager to see how the mortals handled it.
The ravine began to rumble as the fresh wave of Primals approached the battlefield. Monstrous plant creatures marched constantly forward, their menacing forms twisted by the corrupting influence of Fel magic. Their sizes varied from that of a large wolf to the four-legged behemoths that stood tall over even the largest tauren warriors.
Detheroc could see a wave of fear pass through the mortals, but they didn’t falter. Unfortunately for them, bravery was not enough to overcome insurmountable odds. The fighting went on for quite some time and the nerubian was powerful enough to destroy several of the largest Primals, but the mortals gradually began to grow exhausted.
Deciding that he needed to hear how the mortals were dealing with this turn of events, Detheroc cast a spell that would greatly enhance his hearing. He expected to hear cries of despair or frantic orders to retreat, but he instead heard something quite different.
“Keep calm! Reinforcements have almost arrived!”
Detheroc blinked in surprise and turned his attention farther north to find that the nerubian spoke the truth. Moving quickly across the fields of Mul’gore was a sight that caused Detheroc’s mood to plummet.
A group of nerubians, many of which were glowing with the Light, were charging towards the battle. They moved with the familiar determination and unwavering conviction that Detheroc had come to expect from the Light’s zealots. Each of them wore polished plate armor adorned with a purple and gold web emblem that implied that they belonged to the same organization. Leading them was one of the large variants of nerubians that they referred to as Spiderlords, covered in an additional layer of armor plates.
Has Azjol-Nerub formed its own order of Light wielding warriors? Detheroc thought, feeling suddenly unnerved by the sight in front of him. That… could become a problem.
The nerubians were already a highly communal race that could reproduce extremely quickly. If they were to dedicate themselves to the Light… Detheroc couldn’t help but shudder at the thought. Given the strength of the Light emanating from the Spiderlord, it was clear that conviction was not something that the nerubians lacked.
There was some irony in seeing a race created by the Old Gods growing close to the Light, but Detheroc couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it.
Among the Light wielding nerubians was also a new variant of the creatures that Detheroc had not yet seen. It only took a single look for him to realize that the nerubians had created this new variant through studying the one enhanced by Alexstrasza.
The creatures ran on four hairy legs, possessing a single set of arms and two dragon-like wings along their back. The nerubians' carapaces were varying shades of red and their abdomens extended in a flat tail segment that was covered in scales. There were two small antennae above the creatures' many eyes, and Detheroc could sense a source of Life magic within the creatures' thorax.
Detheroc’s mind immediately began racing as he contemplated the implications of what he was seeing, and he didn’t like the conclusions that he was reaching. Azjol-Nerub was a far bigger threat than he or his fellow nathrezim had ever realized…
That conjecture was immediately proven true as the nerubian reinforcements collided with the Primals spears first, glowing brightly with the Light. The Spiderlord tore through the Primals like paper, its powerful physique and skill in battle immediately apparent. The Light it wielded was also frightfully successful in weakening the Fel magic of the Primals and rallying the mortal forces.
Detheroc learned the name of the creature when Alexstrasza’s chosen mortal called out their name.
“Anub’rekhan! It's good that you’re here! I’ll help you take down the big ones.”
The performance of the other Light wielding nerubians was just as worrying. It was apparent to Detheroc that Azjol-Nerub had been training and developing these forces for at least a few years. They moved with coordination that spoke of significant training and were skilled in using the Light in battle, not only to enhance their own strikes but also to heal their wounds.
Given that the Light was even more effective against undead than Fel corrupted beings, these nerubians would be a serious threat to the Lich King.
Detheroc turned his attention to the new variants, watching as they displayed a greater degree of strength and defensive abilities than he expected. While they did not wield Life magic as proficiently as the nerubian chosen directly by Alexstrasza, they were able to regenerate from serious wounds very easily.
Detheroc wouldn’t be surprised if their abilities began to expand as the nerubians learned more about how to make proper use of Life magic. If Azjol-Nerub was able to mass produce this new variant, then the kingdom would become a serious impediment to their plans.
Detheroc was so lost in his thoughts that he was only brought back to reality when he heard another exclamation from the nerubian he had first come here to watch. “Masruk, is that you?!”
A quick glance revealed that nearly all of the Primals were destroyed, and the mortals were now speaking amongst one another and tending to their wounded. The tauren chieftain was even speaking to the one of the quilboar while Alexstrasza’s chosen was frantically examining one of the new variants.
Detheroc kept a portion of his attention on their words in the event that he could learn something of use, but the rest of his mind was already planning on how to deal with this unexpected turn of events.
This was definitely something that his fellow nathrezim needed to know about. It was fortunate that Detheroc had discovered this before Azjol-Nerub deployed its forces against the Lich King directly.
The Primals would secure them enough time to plan a way to deal with these troublesome spiders.
