//------------------------------//
// Val'sharah: The Search 
// Story: World of Warcraft: The Ties that Bind 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

"Okay, so what's our first move towards finding Maiev?" Trixie asked, knowing that if Lyra took charge of their group they would fight their way through everyone that was in the fortress until they discovered the fate of the Warden.

"The disturbed tomb, demons here at Black Rook Hold, and the enemy night elves are no coincidence." Jarod commented, apparently ignoring Trixie altogether, which only made her sigh as she looked at the others, "The Legion has resurrected Lord Ravencrest. My former master lives again."

"Jarod, I know that this is an emotional time for you," Azuregos stated, placing a hand on the night elf's shoulder for a moment, while at the same time offering him a smile, "but we need to focus on finding your sister... then we can figure out what the Legion is doing here."

"Of course, I should not let the past prevent us from moving forward." Jarod said, to which he took a deep breath, as if he was concentrating on something, before letting it out and turned towards the trio, "The fortress grounds are just up ahead, and by that I mean around the corner from where we are standing. There is a large area for us to search, but if we split up I believe that we can cover a lot of ground in a lot less time. I would recommend that the three of you search the prison cages, the forge, and the guard tower for any signs of Maiev or pieces of equipment that she might have left behind for friends to find. I will check the upper ramparts and meet you on the other side of the keep."

"Should we take out some of their commanders while we're here?" Lyra inquired, while at the same time she pulled one of her warglaives out and stared at its edge, imagining it cutting through the spirits that were haunting the grounds, "I have the feeling that we'll be back here in the future, so we might as well clear the way and take out some of their commanders."

"If Lord Ravencrest has returned, then surely he will have his former officers at his side." Jarod replied, his tone indicating that he was agreeing with Lyra, which pleased her to no end at the moment, "Kester Farseeker, captain of the guard. Trelan Shieldbreaker, peerless swordsman and weaponsmith. Starlys Strongbow, who could split arrows while blindfolded. If we stand any chance of entering the tower itself, they must be eliminated."

To Lyra their missions were clear; they enter the fortress, figure out where the prison cages, the forge, and the guard tower were located, while along the way killing Kester, Trelan, and Starlys, as she suspected that each of the officers would be near one of the locations they needed to find. It was how things had worked back in Marduum, as in search a particular area and kill the demon located there, so she already had experience in this field. A few moments later, with their missions known to them, Trixie bid Jarod farewell and walked outside the mausoleum that they had been standing in, before they followed the stairs to their right and walked up to the opening of the fortress.

When they actually entered the fortress, however, some of the spirits immediately noticed them and attacked them the instant they discovered that they were 'foul demons', informing Lyra that their perception of the world around them was being twisted by something she knew well at this point; a Dreadlord. These demons, called the Nathrezim, were masters of manipulation and trickery, so for something to have taken the minds of all these spirits told Lyra that one of them had to be here somewhere. It also confirmed Jarod's suspicions that the Legion was involved here, though Lyra kept her knowledge to herself as she cut down one of the spirits, while at the same time Trixie and Azuregos blasted some of the other spirits with their magic.

"Lieutenant Stareye commands death to all intruders!" a voice said, to which another ghostly night elf, carrying a bow in one hand, assaulted the group while they were focused on the enemies in front of them.

Lyra found it amusing that Starlys had come out to play so soon, especially since she and her friends were dealing with all of the spirits that were around them, but she was pleased to have found one of their targets so soon. Starlys reminded her of the night elf spirit she had taken Maiev's ring from earlier, as she was great with a bow but really sucked at close combat, allowing Lyra to disarm the spirit and pierce her heart. Considering that these elves had been dead for so long she expected them to be tougher than what she was used to, because Farondis and his spirits were very strong, but Lyra decided that she had better accept what was in front of her and not complain.

"Well fought, demon." Starlys Strongbow said, though at the same time Lyra ripped out her warglaive and let the spirit take a few steps backwards, "You have bested me…"

That was followed by the spirit collapsing on the ground and fading away, allowing the group to continue their search for the other officers and anything that would tell them were Maiev was being held. Not even a minute away from where they were standing they found a set of cages that looked like they had been used recently, and they actually were used recently because of the body of a Bradensbrook villager that was laying in the cage. From the quick look in the cage they all determined that there was nothing that Maiev would have left behind for them, meaning that they had to choose a new location to search... and they quickly decided on the nearby tower that was across the way from where they were standing.

As they approached the tower they were attacked by more spirits, both warriors and peasants this time, though they were able to make their way to the chamber they were searching for, where they found the next officer that they needed to take care of.

"We have secured the walls, demons!" the male night elf spirit declared, though at the same time he raised his weapon and prepared himself to do battle with the trio, "You will not escape here alive."

This opponent, who Lyra assumed was the one known as Kester, was actually much stronger than Starlys, as Lyra found herself on the defensive as Trixie and Azuregos worked their magic to prevent the spirit from using any abilities that would strengthen his chances at beating them. Lyra also had to dodge certain attacks that would have harmed her, ones that were designed to do more damage than a normal attack, but soon she figured out his attack pattern and used it against him. She was able to stay one step ahead of her opponent, allowing Trixie and Azurgos to continue their task, before she exploited the weakness and cut the spirit in half.

The trio took a moment to take a breather, as they hadn't been expecting the spirit to be as strong as he had been, before they heard what his last words to them was going to be.

"I must… alert… the others…" Kester started to say, though that was before he eventually fell apart and disappeared, allowing the trio to take a small break before they moved deeper into the fortress.

While they were waiting Lyra discovered a scroll that was much fresher than anything she had seen so far, to which she pulled it over to where they were sitting and opened it so she could see what the officer had seen. From what she could tell the message came from the same Stareye that Starlys had named when she attacked them, though what was interesting was the fact that Stareye said 'Despite our attempts to extract information, the Warden remains stubbornly resistant', indicating that they had captured Maiev.

"Lyra, are you sure that its Maiev that this Stareye is talking about?" Trixie asked, because while she suspected that it had to be Maiev she didn't want Lyra's obsession with the Warden to trick her into making the wrong decision.

"Considering that Jarod said that the other Wardens are busy, I have to assume that its Maiev," Lyra replied, to which she opened her pack and stashed the scroll inside, along with the other items that she had collected so far, before she got back onto her feet, "Come on, let's go find Trelan and the forge. We're sure to find something interesting that might lead us to where Maiev is being held."

Trixie and Azuregos, already knowing that Lyra was obsessed with making Maiev pay for stealing seven years of her life from her, let out a sigh as they followed Lyra to the lower area of the fortress, where it appeared that a forge was waiting for someone to use it. As they stepped into the obvious training yard they were, once again, assaulted by more soldiers and archers, indicating that they had picked the wrong time to interrupt their training session, while at the same time Lyra noticed another spirit, carrying a large hammer, approaching them. It appeared that Trelan wanted to have some fun with them, instead of leaving them to fight his soldiers, to which Lyra trusted that Trixie and Azuregos could deal with the soldiers and charged at the final officer they needed to kill.

Trixie, on the other hand, summoned her three Mirror Images and had them attack the soldiers, allowing her to pick and choose which opponent she wanted to take out, while Azuregos focused on gathering their enemies together and freezing them to the ground. Together the two mages tore the soldiers apart with their magic, once more illustrating that the ten thousand years had not been kind to these spirits, unlike Farondis' spirits, before they were completely done... though when they turned around they found Lyra finishing off Trelan.

With their enemies taken care of, and a route to the ramparts secured thanks to their actions, the trio approached the forge and looked around for any clues that might have been left behind... to which Lyra picked up a circular glaive that she immediately recognized.

"This is Maiev's weapon..." Lyra commented, turning to Trixie and Azuregos for a moment, where she showed them exactly what she had found and started to explain herself, "When I fought her the first time I focused on her weapon and memorized it, thanks to all the times I had to watch it in action... and this is definitely the same one that she carried seven years ago."

"How odd," Azuregos said, studying the weapon and found that, while it was definitely old, there was almost no sign of wear and tear, despite the fact that Maiev had used this weapon so many times in the past, "one would think that a Warden's weapon would reflect the usage the owner put it through, but this one almost appears to be in pristine condition."

"Well, this just confirms that Maiev is here," Lyra said, stashing the weapon in her pack, which made her smile, before she noticed that Jarod was waving them over to him.

When the trio noticed Jarod they ran over to where he was standing and he had them follow him up the stairs he had been standing near, preventing them from being discovered by any enemies that might pass through the area while they were talking and discussing their next move.

"We have taken care of all three officers that you told us to take out," Trixie told the night elf, while at the same time wishing that she could have seen Trelan in action, despite the fact that she would had known the outcome.

"Thank you, heroes. May their spirits be at peace." Jarod replied, sounding pleased by the news that the officers had been taken care of, before he grew serious, "And what about Maiev? Did you find anything regarding my sister?"

"We found her weapon and a message concerning her," Lyra answered, knowing that Jarod would be happy to hear that his sister was somewhere inside the fortress.

"That is some good work." Jarod said, to which he beckoned for them to follow him, where they all started walking towards the ramparts, "There is no doubt that they have already moved Maiev into the prison cells beneath the tower."

"So what's the plan?" Trixie inquired, though at the same time she knew that if Maiev had been moved into the lower prison then they would need to find the key and her cell, but she didn't want to interrupt Jarod.

"I did not come this far to lose her in the final moments." Jarod stated, indicating that he was here for a reason and that he wasn't backing down, despite the fact that the trio didn't need to hear the same thing twice, "Maiev must be in the cells beneath Black Rook Hold. I scouted above, and the entrance to the prison is guarded by a fearsome jailor. I will sneak past and take out the guards inside. Defeat Araxxas, take the keys, and then meet me within."

"Its been a while since the last jailer demon," Lyra commented, referring to the one that they had slain so they could release Stellagosa from her prison, though she smiled as they walked along the ramparts and approached their target.

It wasn't hard to find Araxxas, as he was literally floating in front of the entrance that would allow them to access the prisons, though he was either not paying attention to anything or he was intentionally allowing them to get closer before trying to fight them. Lyra almost felt sorry for the demon, because the last jailer demon had been utterly decimated by just the three of them, though they were even stronger now and could easily destroy their opponent in a few seconds if they really wanted to.

"Another group of prisoners for my cells?" Araxxas asked, looking at the trio for a few seconds, as if he was delighted to see them all, before growing serious and glared down at them, "Looks like I’ll need to break all of you first!"

As the trio started the fight with the jailer demon, and started dodging the attacks that Araxxas was sending in their direction, the demon taunted them with the fact that he and his comrades, being both his demon brothers and the corrupted spirits of Black Rook Hold, had captured a Warden and successfully kept her inside the prison without anyone attempting to rescue her. The group already knew how to deal with a demon like Araxxas, thanks to their fight with one in Azsuna and Lyra's experience fighting the Legion's forces, so they avoided being trapped in the demon's fel cage and dodged his attempts to shackle them to the ground. After some time Trixie and Azuregos became Araxxas' primary target, allowing Lyra to slip away and do her thing while they kept the demon distracted, once again amazing Trixie that the Legion could have some easily fooled demons among their ranks.

The fight eventually came to an end when Lyra jumped off the roof that was above Araxxas' head dealt the finishing blow, which was really her warglaives going into his chest and penetrating his heart... though once his body had collided with the ground, and they were sure that he was dead, Lyra picked herself up and snatched the key. The only thing that stood between her and Maiev now was the corrupted spirits that were no doubt guarding the prison, though Lyra grinned at the thought of finally making the Warden she hated pay for everything she did to her and Trixie... and maybe break a bone or two while she was at it.