Chapter Text
Azeroth’s warnings came true: two days, at nightfall. Natalie had remained dressed in her sandy, sweaty clothes, knowing that it was time and wanting to be prepared. Without realizing it, she had fallen asleep waiting for the battle to begin. She was awakened in the dead of night by a single shout. Before the sounds of metal clashing and spells being cast reached her, she knew that they were under attack. She and the rest of the daytime crew stumbled to their feet in the pitch darkness of the tent.
She instinctively began to look for Saskia. She caught sight of her parents first and blinked over to them. “Get to safety; I’ll cover for you!” she cried, straining to be heard over the din of battle. Neither of her parents were spellcasters, and if they were out in the open, they were vulnerable.
David and Amelie both held spears in their hands. “Don’t worry about us,” her father said. “We can handle this.” He thrust the weapon in the direction of an attacking naga, only to have it easily tossed aside.
Natalie unleashed a barrage of arcane missiles on the naga. “You sure about that?”
“You may have a point,” he acquiesced.
With her parents safely stashed away in a cave behind the camp, she once again turned her focus to her fiance, blinking her way through the crowd until she caught sight of ginger hair and a glowing dagger.
Saskia side-stepped a blow from an incoming trident and thrust her dagger into the myrmidon’s side, a move that she normally performed with ease. Natalie watched as, this time, she staggered. She threw a shield up around her, heart fluttering, and made her way closer.
“My head is fucking killing me ,” Saskia hissed. “I can’t fucking see straight.”
She could see her partner’s jaw clench and eyes water even as she wielded her daggers with merciless accuracy. “Guard the civilian tent, there’s less action over there.”
She shook her head, stubborn as ever. “I think I can tough it out,” she insisted. “I’ll just--”
Before she could get another work in, a bolt of frost magic sent her flying back.
Startled, Natalie shouted, “Saskia!” and hurried towards where she was lying on the ground, clutching her head in both hands and curling up in a fetal position. “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back!”
Placing herself squarely in between Saskia and the naga, channelling the arcane through the tips of her fingers and outwards in a fan of missiles. One by one they dropped to the ground, and she knelt next to her partner, putting her hands on her shoulders. “Sas? Hey, come on, we have to get you out of here.” She guided her upright, looping an arm over her shoulders and blinking them over to the cave, handing Saskia off to her parents and returning to the fight. Her heart ached for her love. It wasn’t the first time she’d been complaining of headaches since arriving in Silithus, but thus far they’d both chalked it up to stress and a shift to nocturnal living. Light, she prayed it wasn’t something more.
She focused on breathing deep and pacing herself to conserve mana. It was difficult to tell in the darkness, even with the blade of Sargeras illuminating the desert with its reddish glow, exactly how many were attacking the camp. All she could do was launch her fireballs and arcane missiles and hope that nobody she worked with stepped in the line of fire.
Three more naga slithered towards her with alarming speed. Planting her feet squarely atop the hard-packed earth, she raised her hands skyward. A wall of arcane energy surged up to protect her from their tridents.
Oh, this could be interesting. She took a step forward and moved her hands in a downward arc. The wall became a wave, colliding with the attackers and sending them into the swords of a group of camp guards.
She did that! Without a spell book, without even thinking about it! “Nice work, Nat,” she said to herself.
A scream pierced the din of battle, long and agonized. At the same time, Azeroth echoed in her mind. Pain! Despair! Fear! Don’t leave me! Her own heart began to pound in response. Through the haze of an adrenaline rush she looked to the right and saw a blood elf collapse in a heap on the ground. Guards and champions alike swarmed around them and fought madly against the remaining naga forces. From her position, Natalie was able to maneuver an arcane shield around them; it took a lot of mana and unfortunately wouldn’t hold for long, but it was something.
The camp grew quiet as what were apparently the last of the attacking forces were cut down. The same guards and champions surrounding their fallen friend towards them, some kneeling and others shouting for a healer. Tension crackled in the air.
Archmage Khadgar and Magni Bronzebeard muscled their way through the gathering crowd.
“The heart! Is it intact?” Magni shouted.
A litter was brought over. The fallen blood elf cried out repeatedly as they were lifted up and placed gently upon it, curled up in a fetal position that they were unable or unwilling to move out of. Azeroth conveyed her distress to Natalie in a series of sharp sensations. Her stomach lurched watching the litter depart in the direction of the healers’ tent. The shaft of a trident protruded from the elf’s stomach, bobbing up and down with each hurried step the guard took.
Though skilled in the healing arts herself, Yalia Sagewhisper stayed with Khadgar and Magni. She clutched a golden, spherical object in her paws that seemed to be spilling drops of… Azerite. Natalie’s brows drew together. Both men seemed equally distressed when she presented it to them.
The answer to whatever it was would have to wait. She needed to check on her partner.
She stood on coltish legs at the mouth of the cave, both daggers in hand, mouth set in a hard line. It was only when she saw Natalie that she listed to the side, flopping down onto the ground with a sigh of relief.
“No more naga over here,” she reported breathlessly.
Natalie knelt in front of her and cast a simple frost spell, a nifty little trick to soothe the headaches and eye strain that came with preparations for yearly exams for the Kirin Tor apprentices. Placing her hands on either side of Saskia’s head, she concentrated on where the tension lay, slowly massaging it away. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as Saskia visibly relaxed into the rock wall, like Grim when she gave into his endless demands for cheek scritches.
“Better?” she asked.
“Better,” came the slurred reply. “Thank youuuuu.”
Her parents emerged along with the bulk of the excavation crew and others who were less combat-inclined. Amelie crouched next to the two of them and hugged her daughter tight. “Oh, thank the Light you’re safe!” She put a hand on Saskia’s shoulder. “Were you wounded, dear? Should we get a healer?”
“Nah, I’m’lright. Nat took care of it.” Tilting her head to the side, she said, “Hey Khadgar.”
“Rastout. Apprentice Rashid.”
Natalie immediately rose to her feet at Khadgar’s voice. “Archmage, how can I help you?”
“I would ask a favor of you. I need someone to journey to Northrend--Ulduar, specifically. We must confirm or deny whether this attack was an anomaly, or the start of something bigger… worse.” His face was drawn and grim, his eyes bloodshot.
She nodded. “Of course, Archmage. I’ll leave immediately.”
“No, no, please, wait until dawn, get some sleep and some food. If the worst has indeed come to pass, you will need to be prepared.”
“What… would be this ‘worst’?” she asked hesitantly.
“That N’zoth has broken free from his prison beneath the sea.”
The words chilled her to the bone, but she would not back down from the task at hand. She accepted the missive from Khadgar, then said, “The blood elf who was wounded, they carried some object made of Azerite.”
The Archmage put his hands up placatingly. “I promise, I shall explain it to you later.”
Her face softened, heart sinking at the increasingly crestfallen expression on his face. “Will they live?”
He sighed. “I wish I knew.”
*
At first light, Saskia and Natalie took a seat at the main campfire with a breakfast of rice and beans and a dash of seasoning on top. Broll Bearmantle and Sylendra Gladesong were among the druids gathered around, talking to one another in low and worried voices. Saskia focused more on her food than the conversation--whatever had come over her during the battle had finally passed, and she was starved .
She had no real way to explain the sudden, debilitating pain in her head, same as she had no way to explain all of the other headaches she had been getting lately. Or the body aches. Or the brand new feeling that something was crawling under her skin. She wanted to chalk it up to being human and therefore not being used to living nocturnally.
WE’RE NOT DOING MUCH BETTER, ASSHOLE.
Huh. That was the first time since the naga fight in Stormwind that she’d heard any of the bone witches. The dagger glowed subtly in its sheath strapped to her upper thigh. She pulled it out, tilting it this way and that as if expecting to see one of their faces staring angrily up at her, but all she saw was her own reflection.
“Ugh! Put that thing away.” Sylendra recoiled, pressing the back of her hand over her mouth. “It’s making me nauseous.”
She shrugged and did as requested.
“Where did you even get a saronite blade?” the druid wondered.
“A former friend,” she replied evenly.
“We’d been hoping to study its effects and powers,” Natalie added. “Unfortunately, we’ve hardly had a moment to rest, let alone start any new projects.”
“That’s never stopped you before,” she teased, nudging her partner with her elbow.
“You’re braver than I am; I won’t even get near something as poisonous as saronite,” Sylendra remarked.
It could very well be that the blade was what was causing her so much physical discomfort. The possibility had occurred to her before. She just… couldn’t let it go. It chagrined her to no end to think about why.
“Though anything to do with the Old Gods is that way, I suppose,” she continued, ears twitching. “Remember when we fought Il’gynoth, Broll?” She shuddered.
He hummed in displeasure. “I try not to. If I ponder those so-called prophecies he kept babbling about I start to get paranoid.”
Natalie set her bowl aside and leaned in, interest piqued. “What kind of prophecies?”
Sylendra waved her hand dismissively. “Nonsensical ramblings of a mad minion of the Old Gods. ‘The boy king serves at the master’s table. Three lies he will offer you.’ Things we can’t let ourselves take too seriously or we’ll end up just like Il’gynoth.”
Saskia watched Natalie materialize a notebook and pencil. “Just out of curiosity, do you remember the others?”
The druid arched a long eyebrow at her. “Curiosity killed the cat, you know.”
“Not our cat!” she chirped. “He ended up licking a hunk of Azerite and curing his cataracts and arthritis.”
“Sounds like you have a weird cat,” she laughed. “Very well, I can tell you what I recall. I really must stress that you shouldn’t put too much stock into them, though. Save some insanity for the shadow priests.”
*
Natalie wrapped her coat tighter around her, rubbed her arms and tried to keep her teeth from chattering as hard as they wanted to. Khadgar had generated them a portal that dropped them right at the foot of the stairs leading into Ulduar with nothing but a missive bearing his signature and seal to keep them from being killed on sight. Lovely.
“The heat of Silithus actually sounds pretty nice right about now,” she stuttered.
“No kidding.” Saskia spit to get a gauge for the temperature. The moment it hit the ground, ice crystals emerged. “Yeah, we should get inside sooner rather than later.”
Even their fur-lined parkas and cloaks were no match for the Storm Peaks, it seemed. They hurried up the long flight of stairs covered in snow while ice buffeted them from all sides. At least they had been given a hearthstone for the return journey so they wouldn’t have to step outside again. According to Saskia, they had about five minutes before hypothermia was a concern.
She stumbled a little upon stepping inside and being relieved of the winds forcing her off balance. It was still cold in the antechamber, but it was hospitable enough that she didn’t feel as if her lungs were being pierced with thousands of needles every time she took a breath. She sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her glove, then gasped.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
Everything shimmered in the same way an arcane shield did, as if it had just been conjured out of the thin air for them to exist in. She could feel the raw power of every Titan-forged inch of metal thrum around her and reached out with her arcane sensing to explore it. It reached out as well and poked and prodded her mind, persistent and inquisitive, then withdrew abruptly.
“Ah! My sensors told me there were fleshy creatures in our sanctum! State your purpose immediately, mortals.”
She looked up and saw a gnomish construct on the balcony above where they stood. Her jaw dropped. “Mimiron?!”
“No, that’s me . Who are you ?” the construct asked again, tapping his foot.
“O-oh, um--Natalie Rashid, and this is my partner, Saskia Rastout,” she said, then offered up the missive. “We have a letter from Archmage Khadgar vouching for us. We’ve come to--”
“Archmage Khadgar, huh? I like him, he killed some demons for us during the invasion! Still doesn’t explain why you’re here, though.”
Her eye twitched. Something something never meet your heroes . “We’ve come to ask you if you’ve experienced an increase in Old God activity,” she told him evenly.
“Of course we have increased Old God activity; Yogg’saron’s right under our feet!”
Her heart skipped a beat. To her right, Saskia was looking pale and clammy. She pointed to the floor. “Right… right now?”
“ Yes ,” Mimiron replied impatiently.
“Has he been, uh, more active?” By the last word, her voice cracked.
“As a matter of fact, he’s been less active, though that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Quiet Old Gods usually mean big schemes.”
Her stomach was starting to knot. “Um, well, thank you… for letting us know. Have… a nice day?”
“You, too mortals. Now scram. Your fleshy brains don’t hold up well against something like ole Yoggy.”
With that, Mimiron was gone, to Natalie’s despair. She desperately wanted to pick his mechanical brain and ask a billion questions about the Titans and their constructs and everything in the cosmos.
“I guess we should leave, then,” she sulked.
When she turned to look at Saskia again, she noticed how strained her expression was, jaw clenched tight and eyes screwed shut. “Shit, what’s wrong? Is it your head again?”
“I…” Her amber eyes opened just a hair and she staggered towards the wall. Natalie put a hand on either shoulder to support her while she slid down to the ground, tilting her head back against the frozen metal. She removed a glove to feel her forehead and found it warm. Casting the spell she had used to treat her headache, she tried to bring her temperature back under control.
Then it clicked. Saskia was sick, but not from a virus or a sudden shift to nocturnal living. Her shoulders slumped, brows furrowing and eyes growing wide. “It’s that blade. It’s… dammit ,” she hissed, anger and fear swirling in her chest. “It’s been poisoning you! Saskia , why didn’t you say anything?”
She gave a small shake of her head. Her eyes held a deep sadness that Natalie had only seen once before, during the trial of Garrosh Hellscream, when she had finally divulged the full details of her past to her. “I can’t let it go,” she murmured.
Voice trembling, she said, “Saskia, if this doesn’t make you insane, it’s going to kill you. Let’s just leave it here and take the hearthstone back to Silithus. Khadgar will know what to do, or he’ll know someone who does. Come on, let’s go.” Light, this was bad. This was very bad.
She moved to help her to her feet. Before she could, though, Saskia abruptly sucked in a breath. With one hand, the rogue shoved her to the side, drawing her uncorrupted blade with the other. “Shade!” she spat.
She was up in a flash, juggulating the harrowing creature that would have sliced through Natalie with its thick claws like she was a piece of paper. But her partner only had enough wherewithal to defeat that one shade. More were creeping towards them, mad with hunger. She readied a blast of arcane energy.
Three arrows in quick succession appeared between the eyes of each shade. They hung lifeless in the air for a moment before dropping to the ground. Behind them was the archer, tall and blue, face hidden by the hood of their cloak. An Ymirjar vrykul.
“ You .”
Saskia, who had taken a knee, staggered once again to her feet, both daggers at the ready, and held her position despite her severely weakened state.
Natalie moved to shield her with her own body. “Back off; we don’t want a fight but we aren’t afraid of one,” she warned.
The vrykul tilted her head to the side, then un-nocked the arrow on her bow and replaced it in a quiver on her back. Moving her hood out of the way, she revealed a serene pair of glowing eyes, one off-white, one amber, and a small smirk. “I always knew you’d survive,” she said, pride and… warmth?... coloring the hollow reverb of her voice. “I’m glad our paths have crossed again, Saskia.”
“Eivor,” the rogue hissed.
She knew that name, knew the misery that woman had wrought upon Saskia and her family. Hatred tinged the corners of her vision. Her arcane fireball grew in radius. “Leave, before we strike you down!” she shouted.
She did not move, nor did she draw her weapon again. Rather, she lifted her hand. An energy, the same off-white color of her right eye, swirled out from the tips of her fingers. It reached Saskia before Natalie could stop it. She gasped and cursed, watching closely as…
… As her partner’s face regained its color, and she blinked, confused, and stood on steady feet once again.
“What did you do?” she asked, not taking her eyes off of Saskia.
“It will not last long, but long enough for you to make a decision,” Gerti replied.
“There is no ‘decision’ to make,” Saskia spat. “I will fucking kill you. I will do what dad should’ve done the moment you decided to join those bastards and serve the Lich King!”
She made to lunge at the vrykul, but Natalie stepped in front, bringing her to a halt. Hesitantly, she pressed, “Can you really help her?”
“She can’t,” Saskia growled. “Let me at her.”
“I can help her for brief intervals,” Gerti replied, ignoring Saskia’s comment.
That piqued her interest. “Meaning?”
“She will need a permanent solution, of which I alone currently possess the knowledge.”
She brushed part of her cape aside, and both women tensed. But rather than pulling out a weapon, she procured a scroll. “And which I can now bestow upon you.”
Natalie was able to snap out of her shock and lurched forward in time to clumsily grasp the scroll that had been tossed to her. She looked at it, then Saskia, then unrolled it. “These are… definitely reagents,” she said. “I’ve never even heard of some of them.”
“They are difficult to locate. However, I have performed this ritual before, to great success. It was with this that I was purified. The Lich King and Yogg’saron no longer hold any sway over my mind.”
“‘Purified’, huh?” Saskia asked, putting a hand on her hip and deepening her glower. “How about we talk about the last time you wanted to help me be ‘purified’?”
“But if it’s going to help you--” Natalie tried to say, but she was cut off.
“You ratted me and my family out to Skadi and Ymiron.”
“I take full responsibility for that.”
“You torched my house while we were all still inside .”
“That wasn’t--”
“You beheaded my uncle .” Saskia’s voice rose with each damning act she ticked off on her fingers.
“Halvar was killed by another Ymirjar,” Gerti retorted, growing defensive.
“You shot my brother!”
“ Please , let me help you, Saskia.” Her tone suddenly became pleading. Natalie could see her eyes well up with tears. “Let me make it up to you.”
“If you’d really wanted to ‘make it up to me’, you would’ve stayed dead, so I could’ve moved on with my life.”
Sheathing her blades, she turned and headed for the exit. “Come on, Nat. We’ve wasted enough time here,” she said lowly.
“Would you have?” came Gerti’s voice.
Quick as a snake, Saskia spun and launched a throwing knife. It whistled through the air and embedded itself to the hilt in the vrkyul’s left shoulder. She cried out, but did not move to retaliate, just stared as the rogue once again composed herself and walked away. “You still have the hearthstone?”
Natalie started for a moment. She did have it, of course, but she pretended to pat herself down and rifle through her pockets in search of it. When her fingers found the little blue and white stone, she locked eyes with Gerti for the briefest of moments, and silently teleported it into her pocket. When she looked back to Saskia, she shrugged. “I guess I forgot it,” she said sheepishly. “It’s okay, though--I memorized the coordinates.”
They stepped through her portal without another word.