//------------------------------//
// The Maw in the Deeps 
// Story: Seekers of the Epitaph: World of Azeroth 
// by Xarmar13 
//------------------------------//

After taking the ferry to the port town of Auberdine, which served as a major travel hub for Alliance ships in Kalimdor, Flutashe arrived at the port town with her prisoner restrained on her back.

The druid felt bad for the gnome because she was dabbling in magics that could easily corrupt her mind. But there was little she could do for her and she wasn’t certain she could convince Mena to turn away from that dark path.

Flutashe remained in her doe form for the entire trip to Auberdine. The form had dark gray fur with white markings over her body. Thin vines wrapped around her legs but never advanced down to her hooves.

She carried her prisoner along the long pier which had a pair of pavilions made in the same structural design as the other low-slung, arched wooden buildings that night elves typically used. The roofs were painted purple.

The long pier led to an inn where Flutashe decided to stay the night. The boat ride had given the druid time to clear her head and think about what to do with the prisoner. She had shown no significant signs of struggle and had been well behaved the entire trip. This could either be a ploy or something else.

Regardless, she wasn’t going to get any answers just speculating. Reverting to her night elf form, she rented a room with two beds at the inn and proceeded to the second floor. Once in their room, Flutashe removed the vines from herself and placed her vine-cocooned victim on the opposite bed. She then unwrapped the vines around Mena’s head and glared at her prisoner while Mena stared back.

Flutashe was expecting some sort of demand to let her go or some fanatical rambling or…anything. Instead, the gnome kept staring back at her, as if expecting her captor to say something.

Finally, Mena broke the silence with a surprisingly innocent question, “So, how long are we doing this staring contest? My eyes are getting a little dry.”

“Why don’t you tell me why you want to go to Lathar’Lazal?” Flutashe demanded. “I heard that there were cultists in those ruins. Are you one of them?”

Mena vigorously shook her head and quickly said, “No, of course not! I’m just trying to help this one person get into Blackfathom Deeps so they can consume some monster in the back of the temple.”

“You’re not making yourself look any more sane by uttering such madness,” Flutashe deadpanned. “What kind of thing would be capable of devouring a monster? And where is this person you’re talking about?”

“Right here,” spoke a new voice. The druid’s senses went on alert and she looked around to find the source of the voice. When she looked at Mena again, she nearly hit the ceiling as she jumped up from her bed as a female figure in a pitch black bodysuit and purple hair that seemed to move a little on its own suddenly appeared next to the gnome.

Flutashe could sense major corruption coming from the person before her and took on a hostile demeanor as she shapeshifted into her bear form. “Who are you? What are you doing to that gnome?” she growled.

“What’s the point in explaining myself while you’re acting hostile?” the woman countered.

“Answer me!” she roared.

The woman rolled her eyes before they became horrifyingly pitch black. Flutashe suddenly felt something very wrong as she felt her tense muscles relax and her expression relaxing against her will. Tried as she might, she couldn’t tap into her aggressive tendencies again. “What did you do to me?” she asked, her true feelings not matching her tone.

“Like I said, I can’t explain myself while you’re acting hostile so I temporarily disabled that part of your brain. You can have that part back once we’ve finished our parley. To start, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Violetta Craft.”

“How did you disable a part of my mind?,” Flutashe adked calmly.

“We’ll get to that soon. For now, the explanation. You asked what kind of thing could devour a monster, well I am that ‘thing’. You might ask how something as small as me could devour a huge monster. My counter argument is that you shouldn’t make assumptions about how I devour someone. For example, the fact that you can perceive my existence means that I can devour your mind anytime, anywhere, even if you’re on the other side of the planet from me. I am already inside your mind and I could prey on that at any time.”

At that, Flutashe suddenly felt a sense of terrifying dread wash over her. If this creature could devour her mind so easily, she was a truly dangerous being. However, Violetta gave the druid a moment to let those words sink in before continuing with a casual smile. “But I won’t, you being useful to Mena here is merely a small reason why. The main reason is because you’re still within the safe levels of sanity. Eating that would be like some regular person eating a rubber steak…disgusting. Insanity is the spice that can turn a kitchen catastrophe into a world-class gourmet meal. So as long as you don’t go off the deep end, you’re safe.”

“Wait, if what you say is true, does this mean that the creature in Lathar’Lazal is insane?”

“Well no, but that’s a different story. An insane mind is like an hors d'oeuvre to me while void energies are a meal. Those who are driven to insanity as a result of void corruption can be cured by me as long as the corruption hadn’t fully taken hold, otherwise I devour their mind completely. 

“The creature I’m after is a void monster that some cultists are trying to summon in preparation before their masters begin the end of the world. I need to consume the essence of the creature in order to get my hunger under control long enough for me to go after one of my main targets.”

“And what would those targets be?” Flutashe asked with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

“The four Old Gods who were buried beneath Azeroth eons ago.”

“Old gods?” Flutashe asked with genuine curiosity.

“Four of the most malevolent horrors of the void made flesh on the face of Azeroth. You have heard stories of their work, even if you have never linked the events to them. An ancient night elf civilization sunken beneath the tides and its people transformed into the naga…you ever wonder how they became that way? That was their work. The growing corruption within that realm you druids revere so much, the Emerald Dream? That was their work. The corruption of the black dragon aspect Neltharion, now known as Deathwing, as well as his entire flight? That was their work.”

Flutashe gasped in surprise. She had heard the rumors that the serpentine race known as the naga used to be night elves as well as the rumors of the Emerald Nightmare and the fall of the black aspect, but everybody believed they were isolated incidents. If what the being before her said was true, the implications of their power was truly horrifying. She had to know if there was a reason for this. “But why, why would they do such things?” she asked.

“The brief story is that eons ago, back before the first known civilization, the Old Gods came to Azeroth and subjugated the warring elements. They created the bipedal tentacled monsters you see every now and then called the N’raqi, a race of colossal beings that resemble giant lobsters called the C’thraxxi, and the progenitor of all insect people such as the Silithid and Qiraji known as the Aqir. For a time, the Old Gods practically ruled the world, until the coming of the Titans.

“The Titans did their best to clear Azeroth of the void corruption wrought by the Old Gods and waged war against them. The Titans ultimately won but were unable to remove those four because they were too deeply rooted into the world to remove them without compromising Azeroth. Instead, the Titans compromised and chained them beneath the land and went on their way. Since then, the Old Gods have been slowly working on undoing their shackles and plotting their return to power. Eventually they will return with the help of their allies and bring about the rebirth of their dark empire.”

Flutashe did her best to glare at the fiend given her mental block, “And what would you do with such power after you have consumed them? You would ultimately become more powerful than the four of them combined and you could be just as much a threat to Azeroth as the four of them individually, if not more of a threat.”

“I have no intention of causing harm to Azeroth. I may be evil but if there’s one good thing about me it’s my loyalty to my family. My cousin is currently trying to earn the trust of the Alliance leadership while my mother is doing the same with the Horde. Before you ask, no they are not aligned with the void like I am and my cousin is not evil…neutral, but not evil. Also, before you worry about other worlds that I might affect in the future, your concerns should be for Azeroth, not other worlds that have nothing to do with you.

“At any rate, my current duties involve making Azeroth a safer place and part of those duties involve getting rid of the Old Gods.”

“And what if I don’t help you?” Flutashe asked.

“I knock you out, we ferry you back to Darnassus, leave you behind at an inn and you wake up remembering nothing about the past few days because I will have those memories erased from your brain. Just for good measure I will also make you forget the quest that overgrown wisp sent you on.”

Flutashe wanted to chide Violetta for calling the great spirit of nature an “overgrown wisp” but that seemed to be outside her capacity at the moment. She also wanted to see Aessina’s quest to the end and forgetting it would be the same as abandoning it. On the other hand, working with a fiend like Violetta might eventually lead to a dangerous enemy coming to power. If this was also part of Aessina’s quest then it was likely that this journey was going to test her beliefs and perhaps more. She could only hope that she would make the best decision by taking this proverbial leap of faith.

She sighed, “Doesn’t seem like I have much choice. I need to find out why Aessina sent me on this journey. I’ll help you.”

Violetta clapped her hands together, “Excellent! Also, just so you know, I typically won’t get involved in your adventures too much unless they involve the void; typically void-worshiping cultists, void-corrupted or significant manifestations of the void. Battles taking place in the Twisting Nether are also a possibility.”

“That’s…good to know, I guess.”

With that, Violetta vanished into thin air. With what she just saw, Flutashe seemed to better understand the gnome’s situation. Using her druidic powers, Flutashe caused the vines to wither and become brittle, allowing the priest to break free.

“Ahh, much better…oh wait!” Mena then bolted out of the room at a speed that Flutashe thought impossible with the gnome’s stubby legs. Compared to the druid, Mena’s height only went up to her hips which was a typical height for a gnome.

Mena returned a few minutes later with a look of relief on her face. “Ok, now I feel better.”

“Umm…I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Flutashe replied.

That was when the gnome’s hair went flat and draped over her shoulders, covering one eye. Her expression suddenly became darker. She then glared at the druid. “Maybe next time you abduct someone, you should let them have bathroom breaks! You have no idea how long she’s been holding it in.”

Flutashe sensed the increased corruption within the gnome. Was this Violetta’s doing, or was the priest already corrupted? Flutashe shifted into her cat form and slowly approached, looking menacing and feeling every bit willing to maul her if she tried anything, a feeling Flutashe was grateful that Violetta returned. “Why do you suddenly reek of corruption more than before?”

“You can blame my alter ego for that,” Surprise stated calmly. “She was the one stupid enough to get herself exposed to experimental gas without any protection. I’m simply the result of that. Also, aren’t Alliance priests being trained to use shadow spells lately because the Horde have fielded combat priests who can heal others and attack?”

Now that she said it, Surprise had a point. From what Flutashe heard from Stormwind, the Church of the Holy Light was shaken by this and seeing the edge the Horde had in this case. In desperation, they turned to the fallen priests who lost touch with the Light. The priests were granted amnesty in exchange for teaching their priests how to use their dark spells, bringing about a new generation of priests who could heal and protect with the Light while bringing shadowy death to their enemies. Some of the more adventurous lower priests of Darnassus also use light and shadow in reverence to the light and dark sides of the moon.

Conceding the point, Flutashe shifted back into her night elf form. “Can you at least answer me this: are you evil?”

“Evil? No. But I am a jerk. There’s a difference,” Surprise answered. “I’m not likely to stab you in the back because I need your help keeping miss tall, dark and mindrapey happy, but at the same time I am an abusive type of a person. You want nice, you can talk with Mena. So, now that this meet and greet is over, let’s get some sleep. We have a long walk ahead of us.”

With that, Surprise’s hair became curly and poofy again, a sign that Flutashe figured meant that Mena was back. She had an apologetic look on her face. “Sorry about Surprise. She means well but she can be too blunt.

Flutashe smiled gently at seeing the gnome’s better nature returned. “It’s okay, you seem to have surrounded yourself with a lot of problems. And I’m sorry for the abduction. The corruption within you made me wary of you so I had no idea if you could be trusted.”

Mena nodded, “Thank you for being understanding.” She then laid down on her bed and pulled the covers over herself before wishing a good night to the druid and went to sleep.

Flutashe being a nocturnal person could have stayed up to watch the gnome or look around town but she knew that the journey to Ashenvale Forest was going to be a long journey so she went to bed as well to be at her best tomorrow.


The next morning the two made their preparations for their journey to Ashenvale and the ruins on its west coast. Both gathered what supplies they needed. Auberdine was constructed on a series of tall islands that were bridged together so those bridges were their way of navigating around town.

Once they navigated the bridges and stepped foot onto the mainland, Flutashe shapeshifted into her doe form while Mena climbed on her back. It was for the best since the gnome’s short stature and tiny legs would have slowed them down. Mena held a firm grip on Flutashe’s neck before the druid followed the road south.

Taking in the landscape, the region known as Darkshore was cold, stormy and foggy most of the year and the numerous ruins that dotted the landscape were a bitter reminder of the night elves’ former prosperity. A desolate beach stretched all along the coast of northwestern Kalimdor. The land was hostile to all. Flutashe could hear the animals crying out in pain and was saddened that her people couldn’t discover the source of their pain. The ruins of Ameth’Aran that they passed were haunted by the ghosts of the highborne elves who lost their lives in The Great Sundering that shattered the once-singular continent into smaller ones.

Further south were the dens held by the furbolg who had succumbed to their feral natures and indiscriminately attacked anyone they saw who wasn’t one of them. Looking to their west, the group saw a number of cultists digging up a colossal skeleton of a horror long buried with a massive glowing sword lodged in its skull. A few cultists spotted the duo on the road but Surprise made sure they didn’t make any reports by either destroying their minds or controlling their bodies long enough to make them kill their allies before she made them commit suicide. They would see it as an offering to their local horrific being anyway so Surprise felt that the cultists should be grateful for that.

After several hours of traveling through the cold, stormy forest, the climate and landscape slowly changed to a warmer one with the forest being more vibrant and colorful unlike the dull colors of Darkshore. “We’re entering Ashenvale Forest now, the ruins of Lathar’Lazal should be close,” Flutashe said.

The druid followed the road around some tall hills until the road branched west. The path wasn’t paved well but she could tell where the path was marked and soon they found themselves at a beach filled with ruins that were teeming with naga, serpentine humanoids with differently colored scales, serpentine lower bodies and colorful fins. The males had elongated faces that made them look more like a creature than a person while the females had larger fins on their heads, down their backs and faces that resembled their former night elven selves. They wore armor on their upper bodies and wielded swords and tridents. The females were mages.

The duo took some time to clear the beach of the invading snake people using Flutashe’s cat claws and Mena’s holy and shadow spells while tossing their bodies back into the sea they came from.

With the immediate threat gone, the duo explored the ruins, searching for a way deeper into the ruins. It wasn’t long until they found a rectangular structure near the mountains. The structure was a spiraling staircase which led to a pool of water below. Flutashe descended the stairs and walked into the pool. Once submerged, she shapeshifted into a sea lion with sabertooth fangs. She swam around a little until she found an underwater passage. Entering it, she quickly surfaced to find that she was in an underground cavern.

Flutashe returned the way she came and called for Mena to follow her. The two soon found themselves exploring the passage which was occupied by a number of female naga sorceresses. To keep them from casting, Surprise struck the sorceresses with silence spells to keep them from chanting while Flutashe charged forward and headbutted other naga to interrupt their casts. When Mena got a turn, she bombarded the naga with bolts of light or healed Flutashe’s wounds whenever she got struck by any frostbolts that got through. The attacks didn’t really hurt, but the druid appreciated the sentiment.

After some time traversing the winding tunnel, dealing with naga and a few satyrs, former night elves who accepted the power of the Burning Legion and became shaggy-haired over most of their bodies and had cloven hooves for feet and long horns that curved back slightly, the duo spotted a pair of night elves. One looked injured, looking like he had been impaled by a spear. The spear appeared to go through his upper arm so it missed his vital organs but he did need some emergency treatment.

It was at this time that Violetta, who was observing events from an isolated corner of Mena’s mindscape, noticed something odd was happening. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it seemed like something was distorted in the duo’s area. She had no idea if this was normal and couldn’t ask her mother about it through her cousin’s psychic link. And for good reason since her presence in the link would be like uploading a menagerie of the most dangerous computer viruses known to mankind and infecting their minds. She would need to find a way to communicate with them at some point that wouldn’t compromise the link.

One of the elves called out to Flutashe, “Lady Flutashe! Thank Elune you’re here. The Twilight’s Hammer have been hunting us down to sacrifice us to their monster.”

“Aluwyn? What are you doing down here?” Flutashe asked. “I thought you were still at the academy being given your first assignment.”

“What are you talking about Lady Flutashe, I’ve been assigned to watch over these ruins for years now,” Aluwyn replied. “A few years ago some adventurers came in and took out the cultists, including their leader, Twilight Lord Kelris. Recently the Twilight’s Hammer moved more of their numbers in and drove the naga out along with any who wouldn’t obey. Their leader, Bathiel, is an ascendant who had been capturing a number of innocent people and sacrificing them to the monster in the back of the temple.

“Ascendant?” Flutashe questioned.

Violetta invaded the minds of the duo. “From what my mother told me, Twilight Ascendants were powerful members of the cult who performed a ritual to shed their mortal forms to gain one akin to an elemental.” She then thought to herself, “Which is strange since the ascendants weren’t supposed to have made themselves known for several more years.”

The invasion in her mind made Flutashe very uncomfortable and was grateful when the invading feeling receded. She shook her head to clear her mind. “Alright, we’ll deal with them.”

“Are you sure? There’s only two of you.”

“We’ll be fine.” 

Flutashe and Mena moved forward a few feet when they heard a voice yelling nearby. “Find them you imbeciles! Lord Bathiel will not be denied his sacrifices!”

Not far ahead was a single cultist from the Twilight’s Hammer cult who were known to worship the Old Gods and their creations. Near the cultist were two strange looking murlocs. This particular breed had long, razor-sharp teeth and an appendage protruding from their foreheads that ended in a glowing orb. Neither Flutashe nor Mena had ever seen that type of murloc before.

The duo was soon spotted by the cultist and the murlocs. “Ah good, more sacrifices for the altar. Lord Bathiel will be pleased.” He drew a large steel ax and ordered the two fish people to attack.

Flutashe shifted into her bear form and swiped her claws into the murlocs’ faces, cutting into their large eyes. Surprise took control of the cultist long enough to make him cleave the fish people in the back with his ax before Flutashe knocked him down and crushed his bones with her bulky body and Surprise crushed his mind.

Further ahead were two more cultists, a murloc and a small group of scared people barely wearing anything. It wasn’t hard to figure that they were some of the prisoners. The orc was dressed as a spellcaster. Though the only orc spellcasters that the two knew about were either warlocks or shamans. Though warlocks normally had demons with them and the cult usually didn’t convert warlocks to their cause which meant that he may have been a shaman.

The orc growled at the prisoners, “You should be honored, fools! Your blood will feed Aku’mai, the destroyer of Azeroth!”

Rushing forward to assist the prisoners, the orc spotted the duo and began channeling lightning which Surprise reacted to and silenced the caster while Flutashe mangled the murloc and the cultist. Surprise assaulted the shaman’s mind with shadow magic and left him too unfocused to try casting anything until the shadows seared his mind.

The prisoners cheered as their captors fell. One of them, a human, approached the two. “They were going to feed us to the beast, Aku’mai. There are more prisoners deeper in the ruins. Please, save them!” The prisoners then ran back toward the entrance to make their escape.

Flutashe looked back and sighed, “If I had known there would be so many prisoners, I would have requested a group of Sentinels to provide relief efforts for the escapees.”

“Nothing we can do about that now, let’s keep going,” Surprise said.

Just beyond where they encountered the orc was a partially submerged chamber with ruins and the only way forward was a ledge that was too high for them to jump to unless they traversed the tops of the ruins. A number of tree roots from the surface dangled in the cavern with the glowing light of wisps tending the roots.

Atop the ruins, the duo noticed an orc with a large ax and dressed in black robes near a few more prisoners and a few cultist assistants. A few prisoners lay near the edge of the ruins overlooking the water that seemed to be teeming with the strange murlocs.

The orc noticed the duo enter the chamber. “Intruders?! Move the prisoners. Their flesh belongs to Lord Bathiel.” The cultists forced all but the prisoners overlooking the water to march deeper into the cavern while the orc pointed the knob of his ax at the prisoners before shoving them into the water. “Come along, heroes! The water is fine. HAHAHAHAHAHA!”

The prisoners screamed in terror as they plummeted into the waters below filled with starving murlocs. “NO!” Flutashe screamed and closed her eyes to the impending feeding.

However, the only splash that was heard was from the murlocs in their frenzy. When Flutashe opened her eyes, the two doomed prisoners were standing next to Mena and showering her with praise and gratitude. “Thank you so much, priest! You saved our lives! How could we ever repay you?”

“I think the best thing you can do right now is to get out of here while you can,” Mena answered. “The way behind us is clear but I don’t know for how long.”

Realizing that, the two prisoners fled toward the entrance.

Flutashe looked at Mena in shock, “How did you do that?”

“It’s a spell learned by priests called Leap of Faith. As long as the target has enough innocence in their hearts the spell pulls them to me.”

“Amazing…” Flutashe looked around the chamber for a way forward because the only way up to the ruins that would help them move forward was on the other side of the chamber and they would have to swim across which would be risky with the frenzied murlocs. “Any ideas on how we can get across?”

“Hmm…” Mena looked around and to her right she spotted a post in the sand and a post on the platform overlooking the first post. A coil of rope was sitting next to the second post. “Think you can toss me up to the ledge?”

Flutashe looked at where Mena was looking and realized what she was thinking. Nodding, Flutashe shifted into her bear form and the priest climbed on the druid’s head. With one upward motion of her head, Flutashe tossed Mena into the air before the priest cast a spell on herself to cause her to slowly fall toward the ledge. Landing where she wanted to be, Mena tied one end of the rope to her post before tossing the other end to Flutashe who reverted to her elf form and tied her end to her post. She then climbed the rope and made it to the top of the ledge with Mena. The two high-fived each other for their teamwork.

The two proceeded forward, dealing with more murlocs and cultists until entering another chamber. From a glance, they could tell that murlocs swarmed the waters here too. The island in the middle of the pool was inhabited by tortoises with one large turtle being tormented by cultists. To the side of the island was a prisoner being tormented by a pair of murlocs running around her.

The tortoise was doing her best to resist the efforts of the cultists to subjugate her. “Resisting my magic is useless Ghamoo-Ra!” said the cultist tormenting her. “Soon you will be under my power, then I shall unleash your fury on those meddlesome intruders.”

“Leave her alone!” Flutashe shouted before she unleashed a bolt of natural energy at the offending cultist, disrupting her ritual.

The cultist and her companions went wide-eyed when the spell was interrupted. The tortoise was not under her control and looked ready to counterattack. “Wait...wait! It’s too soon! NOOOOOoooo…” she shrieked before Ghamoo-Ra receded into her shell and spun around, shredding the cultists with her shell’s sharp edges.

Ghamoo-Ra thrashed about in pain as the magic from the cultist had charged up her body with electricity. Flutashe noticed a smaller tortoise at the back of the island who was scared for Ghamoo-Ra. Flutashe had a feeling that the scared tortoise was related to the large one. A son perhaps?

Wanting to avoid the risk of the child being hurt, Flutashe rushed over to Ghamoo-Ra and tried to hug her by the neck, earning a jolt of electricity for her efforts but refusing to let go. “Please stop, you might hurt your son if you keep doing that!” Ghamoo-Ra cried out. “I know it hurts. We’ll find a way to make you better. We just need to find a way to get the lightning out of your body.” Flutashe was still being hurt by the lightning but she didn’t care as she did her best to calm the large tortoise down.

“Flutashe, get her to jump into the water!” Mena called out. “The resulting discharge should get the excess energy out of her body!”

Ghamoo-Ra looked at the gnome then at Flutashe who looked uncertain. The tortoise was desperate enough to try anything at this point so she walked over to the edge of the pool before leaping into it, tucking in her limbs. The splashing impact caused the cavern to glow brightly from the electrical discharge for a few moments before the light dimmed. After a minute, Ghamoo-Ra returned to the island singed, but still alive. Mena used her Light magic to heal both Flutashe and the tortoise.

Flutashe looked around the area to see what damage the discharge caused and cringed when she saw a large number of murlocs and fish floating motionlessly on the surface of the water. “Looks like we killed two birds with one stone; we saved a tortoise and killed all the murlocs in the water with one electrical blast,” Surprise cackled, earning an eye roll from the druid..

The two murlocs harassing the prisoner got too close to the electrified water and were electrocuted to death with the others. The prisoner got to her feet and pleaded with the duo, “Oh please, you must save the others before Domina sacrifices them!” The prisoner pointed to an underwater passage behind her before running back toward the entrance.

Following where the prisoner pointed, the duo jumped into the water that was no longer electrified and swam through the underwater cavern before resurfacing moments later to find the remaining prisoners. Flutashe mangled two cultists while Surprise destroyed the mind of the cultist stirring a cauldron. The prisoners saw their chance to escape and took it. 

The remaining cultists in the small chamber were distracted watching something so Flutashe snuck behind the cultists one by one in her cat form. Surprise used her silence spell to make sure the ambushed cultists didn’t scream as the druid mauled them.

The two soon saw what was happening once the audience was cleared out. Two cultists were holding a goblin over a writhing mass of void with a number of tentacles flailing about. “No please! I don’t want to die like this!” the goblin screamed. Overseeing the ritual was a forsaken who was gleefully channeling the void rift like she was getting a thrill out of sacrificing the poor goblin. They figured that she must be the Domina who the prisoner mentioned earlier.

Acting quickly Flutashe raked her claws on the back of one of the cultists, stopping their cast while Mena bombarded the other cultist with bolts of light. The goblin fell toward the writhing maw but was pulled back toward the gnome using her Leap of Faith spell.

“As much as I hate being saved by a gnome, in this case I’m actually glad I was,” The prisoner said before he sprinted away.

Domina glared at the two before her expression turned to a wicked smile, “You interrupted my sacrifice, but I’ll gladly sacrifice both of you instead. Twice the favor after all.” She then reared back and inflated her cheeks, as if she was about to vomit. Not wanting to be in the path of whatever was coming, the druid and priest moved to the side as Domina spewed a wave of purple goo from her mouth. Flutashe could smell the void corruption coming off the vile purge.

“Aww what’s the matter? The void isn’t terrifying, it embraces us all.” Domina cackled maniacally. “Just as it shall soon embrace you! S̶̬̘̈̌̀o̶̬̻̅͐o̴͎͐͐̑n̸̼̦̻̅͗ ̷̱͗̌a̴͉͊̀͝l̷̢̂̍͠l̶͍̼͆̅́ ̵͍͆ś̷̳͓̜̕h̸̝̼̒͜a̸̰̖͇̅̓l̷̞̦̊̀l̵̥͌ ̵̡̠̒b̶̰͉͆̿͜ȇ̶̫͛̂ ̷͇̈c̸̨̽̈́o̴̟̚ň̷̟̤͕s̷͔͇̋́u̷͇̟͒̆m̷͇̗̂e̵͎͚̞̿͝͠d̵̢̩̔ ̴͖͚̯̿̆̚b̴̙̼́͜y̷̰̿́ ̶͉̗̦̓͠A̴̘͉̎k̴̺̖̃̈́̎û̷̮̽̂'̴̦͔̾̄̓m̵̼̜̄́̿ā̵̹ḯ̷͔̃́!̶̧̔̈́̉”

Just as Domina was preparing another void projectile, she spotted another person approaching the battle, a human wearing a black skinsuit. But that was all she saw before everything went black. All around here was an empty void of black. For a moment she believed that her masters had welcomed her to their realm but that was before she saw a pair of black eyeballs with purple irises radiating a violet aura. Beneath the eyes was a fanged maw. The dark face creeped toward her and Domina found herself unable to act, only watching as the maw widened until it passed over her and closed behind her, happily believing that her masters had chosen to send her to a higher plane of existence. The mad cultist never saw the waking world again.

Back in the cavern, Flutashe and Mena stared in surprise as the cultist collapsed on the floor. Mena walked close to the body and poked it with a finger “What happened?” Mena asked.

“Seems to me like she went brain dead, a common symptom for those who had their minds preyed upon,” Violetta answered.

“So this is what happens when you prey on an insane person?” Flutashe asked.

“Yep, their consciousness is devoured and the body is rendered into a permanent vegetative state.”

The two decided not to ask any further about Violetta’s methods and returned to Ghamoo-Ra’s chamber. The mother tortoise was busy nuzzling her young, putting a smile on Flutashe’s face.

While Mena waited on the island, Flutashe shifted into a sea lion and explored the waters for their next way forward. After a few minutes of exploring, Flutashe surfaced and waved the gnome to her. The two swam past some ruins and into another passage.

A pair of murlocs and a cultist commanding a shackled water elemental guarded the passage. Surprise took control of the cultist’s mind and had him banish the elemental before she made him run himself through with his staff. Flutashe dispatched the murlocs.

The two continued down the tunnel dealing with more cultists before a void rift opened and a tentacle emerged from it. Flutashe clawed at the tentacle and forced it to retreat.

This continued until they saw a trio of murlocs, one was holding a bag. They saw the duo and retreated into a small chamber where the duo pursued them. They paused their chase as they saw a giant, blue, humanoid cephalopod. The tentacles on its right arm were arranged in a way that it resembled a hand with two fingers and a thumb. It wore shoulder armor of tarnished bronze and a dull bronze belt with a bright pink gem in the center. It carried a two-pronged bright green spear. The two of them figured that the creature before them was one of those that Violetta warned them about earlier, a N’raqi.

“I̵͔̲̫̊̉t̷̰̀ ̸͍̕s̵̠͕̄̀ë̵̠̦́e̸̖̠͐͝m̸̱͇͔̊̂ṣ̶̑͠ ̸̺͆m̶̥̼̻͛̅̈y̸͙̳̓͛́ ̵̢̂m̶̙̖͛ǔ̶̧̜̰ř̶̗͝l̷̫͆͋o̸̗̓c̸̦̟̀͑s̶̲̤̯̓ ̵̪͖̂͛̒h̷̨̺̩͗͠a̶̛̹͛v̷̞͒̄̄e̷̺̥͈̒͝͝ ̸͕̞̉͗̃b̴̞͍̭͊r̷̹̺̆̒͒o̶̟̊̚u̶̦̮̟̍ǵ̴̨̯̫h̴̰̓̆͒ẗ̸̢̧̛͕ ̷̤͔͠m̶͚̒̀̅o̵̯͙̎r̶͙͛͐ȇ̸͈̭͗ ̵̯̾͒ẗ̴̥̤́̒h̷͐̏ͅa̴̳̤͒n̴̤̤͝ ̶̝̫̾͠j̸̹͆̒û̶̘̙̮̂̕s̵̭̠̍t̵̡̟̼̋ ̸͍̩̄̈́̏ṷ̴̢̜̀̑̎s̸̩̼̀͂̈́e̸̝͗̀̊l̵͓͓̹̀̈́͝e̸͇̱͗s̶͉̣̏͊̅s̵̥͂ ̷͎͉̙͒́͒ţ̵̛̂̆r̵̳̰͒͑ḭ̷̻͔̓͗͘n̸̩̞̓k̷̺̘̙̔̍ȇ̵̻̀̑t̵̻͇̂̋̋s̵̫̓̀̐ ̶̧͓̞̀w̶̯͂͠i̵̝̻̍t̵̳̿ḧ̴̳̰ ̶͚̩́̾͑t̵̪̳̩́͛̈́h̷͔̏e̴͈̽̅͜m̶͇̝̳͋͠ ̷̥͂̂ţ̴̪̣͒̓ḣ̶̢̲̜i̸͍͙̰̿s̵̰̫͈͌ ̶̬̘̲̾̈́̓t̶̨̖͎͆i̷͓͛̉̈́ͅm̷̝̱̰̑̅ë̵̡̤́̅͒,̷͉͒͝” the N’raqi said.

Flutashe charged up to the creature in her bear form to challenge it. The N’raqi blocked her claw swipes with his spear but received a barrage of light bolts in the face for its efforts. It extended its tentacles past Flutashe and grabbed Mena, placing her in a crushing grip. Mena grunted in pain while Flutashe slashed away at the tentacles with her claws and bit into the arm with her teeth, forcing it to let Mena go. The N’raqi then raised its spear in the air calling out, “Ä̸̠̻͇́r̶̫͒̑į̵̝̆̿̀s̵̠̼̲̑̒ẽ̵̦̩͈̒,̷̧̠͇̊ ̷͌͜A̶͓͇̳̍̐k̷̺͍̔̒͜u̶̧͍̥̎͝'̷̫̺̐m̶͇͒͝á̸̗̰̽̚ì̶͔͐͋,̷͍̀͆ ̵̛̮̱͂ä̷͖̺́n̷̢̈́̓̆ḏ̵̲̋́̕͜ ̵̧̰̟͛̍f̷͚͍͍̓̄é̵̡̖e̸̡̻̳͐̃̋ḓ̵̭̈́̅͌͜!̶̺̎” Once he said that, a pair of tentacles emerged from the void and attempted to slam the two. Surprise concentrated her shadow magic into an edge and released it into dark projectiles. The shadow blades cut deep into the tentacles but didn’t sever them. It was still enough to make them return to the void.

Meanwhile, Flutashe dodged a downward slash from the N’raqi’s spear which caused him to overextend and allow her to place a paw on the shaft while the other slashed away at its chest which was followed by her jamming her paw into the aberration’s slashed up chest and piercing its heart. The N’raqi dropped the spear and backed away slowly.

Mena had a very bad feeling that something intense was about to happen. “Flutashe, let’s get out of here! Fast!” The druid wasn’t sure why the gnome was so panicked but decided to listen to her anyway.

As the two of them started to leave the small chamber, the N’raqi shouted, “Â̶̫̱͝k̵͖̳̃ͅu̵̼̿̄̐'̷̱͕͖͌̎m̶̟͆ȃ̸̘̣̩̃i̷̩͗̊,̶͈͖̐ ̴̛̭͔̫̎̾k̴̨̺̍i̶̡̓l̵̫̮̺̾͒͒l̴̺͔̬̉́͝ ̷͕̖̯̀̅ṫ̶̪̥͂́ḩ̵̎é̶͓̲̔̆m̷̙͍̑͝ ̸̛̘̩͇á̸͚̀l̴̠̮̙̅̔ĺ̷̲̩͚͝!̴̬̮͊̿” Mena started sprinting away with Flutashe following moments before a large number of tentacles emerged from the void and started thrashing about in the chamber, causing the caverns to tremble.

“Whew, glad we got out of there in time,” Flutashe said, switching back to her night elf form. She took two steps and paused as she realized something and looked at the gnome. “Wait, did you know that the N’raqi was going to do that?”

“Kinda, it’s sorta like a sixth sense I have about impending dangers. One time it went off and I barely managed to avoid falling equipment from squishing me. I’m not sure why I have this ability, only that I’ve had it for as long as I can remember.”

“I see…” With that, the two returned to the tunnel and took a passage to their left which led them through another tunnel. This one began with an encounter with a pair of rogues who were keeping hidden for an ambush. Flutashe sniffed them out before she pointed at one rogue while she charged and mangled the other. Surprise decapitated the first one with a shadow blade.

Just ahead was the orc from the submerged ruins. He had a look of surprise on his face as he ordered his escort to move the prisoners again. “The intruders are still alive?! Stop them! The ritual must not be disturbed!” Surprise sliced a tentacle that emerged to cover the orc’s retreat.

The duo pursued the orc down the tunnel while dealing with more cultists such as the shadowmagi who commanded voidwalkers. While the voidwalkers were often commanded by warlocks, they could be used by the Twilight’s hammer as well since they were associated with the void.

The tunnel soon started to widen before they came across a strange looking ogre who looked more deformed than the usual kind. This one had spikes on his back and head and had less toes on his feet. He was also a little bigger than the average ogre and wielded a spiked mace with a fishing pole on his back. The ogre was fighting it out with a giant crab.

“Fall back to the sanctum, Lord Bathiel’s ritual must not be disturbed! Thruk, do not let them past!” the orc called out.

The ogre seemed too busy fighting the crab to pay attention to the duo though. “Thruk want Guardian treasure!”

Flutashe shifted into her cat form and snuck past the oblivious ogre while Surprise used a spell to make herself fade into the shadows. Just after the two snuck past, the crab used a pincer to cut itself free. Scuttling back to its lair, Thruk dove into the water in pursuit. “Thruk want Guardian treasure!”

Flutashe and Mena decided to leave the ogre to his battle and proceeded down a set of stairs into the Moonshrine Ruins. The walls held up pretty well over the ages. They still retained the images carved into them. A few pillars survived intact but the rest crumbled. A pavilion in the center of the ruins was where the orc stood with his weapon ready to make his last stand.

Climbing up a set of stairs, the duo met the orc at the pavilion. “I was a fool to think that stupid ogre would focus on his task instead of playing around with that crab. No matter, I will have the pleasure of removing your heads,” the orc said.

Flutashe charged in and bit into the orc’s poleaxe , leaving them to wrestle over the weapon. Whenever the druid moved the weapon out of the way, Surprise struck him with several shadow spells, including one that leeched life from the orc as well as a brief magical disease that ate away at his flesh. Still the orc persisted.

Using all her strength, Flutashe pulled herself and the orc over the edge of the pavilion and into the water. As they continued the fight, the orc soon realized that he lacked experience in underwater combat while the druid shifted into a sea lion and headbutted the orc in the gut, stunning him long enough to drop his weapon. Before he could move to grab his weapon again, the druid sank her teeth into the orc’s throat and ripped it out, filling the waters with blood and attracting a number of nearby carnivorous fish into feasting on the orc’s body.

Flutashe returned to the pavilion a minute later so the duo could resume their journey which they believed was near its end. After dealing with a few more cultists, they entered the sanctum which was guarded by more cultists.

Near the center of the room was a statue of a naga with four arms and four snakes for hair and holding up a spiked ring. In front of that was a large black crystal with images of two familiar figures hovering lifelessly over a bowl with a purple fire inside. Near the flame was a number of corpses who were likely the remaining prisoners surrounding some sort of humanoid elemental. 

He had the face of a human but his body looked like it was made of water held together by his armor. He wore a large metal belt that had the symbol of a hammer on it and wore a robe made of patched leather with a mantle made of the same material. His hood looked like a webbed fin like the female naga had.

An elemental humanoid seemed like something one would become if they shed their mortal form to gain an elemental one which must mean that the being was an ascendant and likely Twilight Lord Bathiel.

“You are too late, the summoning of Aku’mai is complete.” Bathiel declared. “Unfortunately, you will not live long enough to behold his glory. Finish them!”

Acting strategically, Flutashe and Mena retreated just outside the sanctum where the other cultists followed right into a bottleneck, making the cultists easier targets for Flutashe’s claws and Surprise’s shadow blades. It wasn’t long before the corpses piled in the doorway. The druid tossed the bodies in the water where they would be chum for the carnivorous fish.

The two entered the sanctum proper and Bathiel growled as he glared at the two. “Before I kill you know this, Aku’mai will devour this world!” Bathiel unleashed icicles at the two which caused them to split up. The ascendant targeted Mena first but failed to account for Flutashe’s speed as she slammed into him and sent him flying into a pillar. Surprise seared the elemental with shadow magic which he countered by causing icicles to rain all over the floor of the sanctum, forcing Surprise to dodge. Flutashe endured the shards and slapped Bathiel with a paw followed by a headbutt that sent him flying into a wall.

Bathiel realized that he was taking too much damage and started casting a spell that caused water to coalesce into water elementals. All he needed to do was wait for the many elementals to come to him so he could heal himself.

Violetta soon became impatient with the fight and with her prize so close, she decided to add in her own contribution. From Mena’s body, Violetta caused liquid black to erupt and hit all of the water elementals, tainting them with her dark essence.

Bathiel was surprised by what happened and began to panic as the elementals drew close. One did get close enough to get absorbed by him but instead of healing him, the tainted elemental poisoned him, destabilizing his elemental form. Soon, multiple elementals were absorbed and the poison grew exponentially worse. The instability of his form became too much and he fell apart, turning into a water puddle and leaving his binding belt behind.

“Wow, he even died like an elemental,” Mena said.

“Aku’mai is close,” Flutashe said. “The stench of corruption is thick here.”

Just then the door to the back of the room opened and a voice invaded the minds of the duo. “O̷̢̐̇̈́ų̸̣͒͐̾r̷͚̰̈́͜͝ ̸̢̻̔̍̄ͅḥ̷̦̙̃͊e̷̘̦̎r̵̝̒̃a̵̙̓͜ͅl̴̲͍̅d̷̩́̂̌,̵̹̒̔̓ ̶̫̹̫̓́A̴̔͜k̴̠̈́̇ṵ̶̢̔'̵͍̭̔m̴͔̮̔ḁ̷͓́͂ḯ̵̢͈̔̕,̸̜͉̼͠ ̴̹̊̌͑ǻ̸͍̼͜ṙ̵̘̓ͅi̴̛̙͈͂̓s̷̰̩̞̐e̵̱̲̅͌s̵͖̟̣͋ ̸̻͔̄̕f̶̠̎̚ṙ̵͙͛͂ö̵̟́̄̚m̶̠̺̪͗ ̸̡̤͗ͅt̶͙̣̍͘h̶͓̣̀̾͜͝e̷͖̔ͅ ̷̩̠̎̊̎d̷̼͖͍͑̾e̶͍̋̾̊p̴̞̂́́t̷͙̆̕h̸̻͙̃̿s̴͚̼͊͌̇.̸͉͓̣̀ ̸̢͔̙͐͌͝Y̴̢̦̾͝ŏ̶̔͜u̸̢͊͊̈́ ̴͖̭͛͜ḧ̴̖͈̩́̽ȃ̴͖͈́̀ͅv̸͕̦͚̓̒e̴͉͕̅̅ ̶̦͉̑̅͘ë̷̖̬̔͜à̷̢͕ͅr̵͐͜n̷͖̂ͅe̴̟̲̲͗d̸̘̭̚ ̴̟͈̼̽͌̓t̸̥́̒h̶̼̺̲̑ḙ̴͔̠̀ ̸̱̙̹͋̑h̸̯͝͠o̵̧͋̐n̴̠̅͘o̶͇̳̗̓͗r̶̲̜̈́ ̶̻͇̚͝ŏ̴̧̝͚̒͝f̵̼́̌ ̷̜͖̟̉b̵̧̤͓͋̅̚ë̷̪́̊͜i̸̡̻̙̇̋n̵̡͙̱͊̉̀g̸̢̪̣͂̍̚ ̵̦̈̌̒ẗ̷̼̺́͒̏h̵̠͛e̴̻̦̱̅̆̑ ̸̮̭̿f̶̭̖̓͐̐i̴̢̛̹̝̕r̸̬̍͗s̴̯̹̤̅̏t̸̫̲̎͝ ̷̘̔̚ḧ̶͕͒̉ě̴́͜͠ ̶̣̋ͅd̴̝̮̋̌ę̸̦̈v̴̢̢́̒̈́o̸̻̗͊̉ͅu̴̙̾̌͘r̵̤̖͈͌̆͛s̶̥͝.̵̯͇̒͊ͅ”

Flutashe groaned from the mental strain, “Do they always speak in that strange language?”

“I don’t know, but whether they say something that’s actually important is the real question,” Surprise snarked.

The two proceeded through the door to the back of the cavern where a number of tentacles tried to get in their way. Surprise quickly dispatched them. Soon they found themselves face to face with a gargantuan serpent head.

As the two prepared to face the beast, Violetta emerged in between the two and Aku’mai. “You two have done your job here. Now, it’s my turn.”

“Ẃ̷̩̯ḧ̷̡̈ą̸̺̔͐t̴̰̟̬̒̃̌ ̷̛̪́̒i̴͓̭̹̔͝s̵͓̿ͅ ̴̘̇ṱ̸̦͗h̶̖̩̐̓̚ḛ̶͔̼̽̍ ̶̤͕̤̀͝m̷̨̢͕̓̿̚e̶̟̭͗a̷̝͓̒̕ͅn̸̡̹͊̂͠ͅị̵̬͠n̷̺̭̔͘͠ǧ̴̩̗ ̶̯̝̱̒o̶͖̖͕̐̔̆f̸̫̝̪̄̄ ̸͉̅̈̈́t̵̮̖̞̏h̶̘̭́̈̈́i̷̠̅s̶̙͎̯͐?̴̢̜͒͛ ̷͇̒W̴̨͋͑͌h̸̻̞́ȏ̴̧̎̏ ̷̲̰̼̄̀a̴͕̹̾͗̽ř̷͜e̷̖̦͍̋̿̽ ̴͇͑̉̉y̵̜͐̂o̸̖̥͑̒ͅụ̶͕̗͋̈́̀?̵̥̃́” the voice demanded.

Violetta didn’t answer. Instead, a number of pitch black tentacles emerged and wrapped around Aku’mai’s throat. Unable to escape her grip, the beast widened the rift at the base of its head and two more heads emerged. Violetta summoned more tentacles to wrap around the other two heads. The hydra then sprayed its miasma over the floor and allowed many tentacles to emerge from the growing rift on the floor. Violetta severed all of those tentacles with a single sharp wave of shadow energy.

From the same rift that Aku’mai was generating, a giant pitch black maw opened and many more black tentacles emerged to wrap around the hydra’s necks and pulled it toward the maw. It struggled with all its might but Violetta’s grip was too strong and soon the three heads were being drawn into the infinite black abyss. Aku’mai was quickly losing the battle and the voice could only watch as its pet was becoming a snack to the mysterious intruder who emitted energies that were much like their own.

Before long, the main body of the hydra was pulled out of its own rift and into the black maw. Once the beast was fully inside, the maw closed and Violetta had a satisfied look on her face as rubbed her stomach in satisfaction. “Mmm…that was a good appetizer.”

“H̶̰͂͂͌o̸̖͉͊̈w̴͎̺̻̒ ̷̧̡͇̏͘d̶̜́̎̄ä̴̺͖̕r̷̹̅͌͜ę̶̉ ̴̰̎y̶̞͗ȍ̴̪̭̘͋u̵̦̘͎̕ ̵̬̓̄̂ď̷̜é̷̲͙̠̂̒v̷̯̫̮̓̈́o̶̧̙̿̀̚u̸̩̠̟͑̕r̵̭̣̰̄̾ ̵̟̙͗̚͜ȍ̵̱̏ủ̷̜̪̃ṛ̸̽̀͝ ̶̤̿p̷̧̻̠̓̉̕e̷̩̯̪̓̀̎t̸͇̃͗!̷̢̮̠̆̆͝ ̶̖̫̓͐T̷͈̪͈̓r̶͇̻̀̈́͗ả̸̢͌ȋ̵͓̘̱͊̾ṭ̴̦̟͒o̸̡̤̯͗̎̔ȓ̷̹̂!̷̪͉͇̒̂̎ ̴̘͍́͑͝Ḧ̵̙̙̞́o̷͓̻̍̓̆w̶̺̆̈͠ ̴̧̿c̵̢̡͍͘ạ̷͋̋̚n̶̤͉̯͌͋͒ ̸͉̈́͑̍y̴̡̤̹̓ǫ̴̹̓u̴̟̽͗ ̵̥̅͘s̸̜̈́͗̒í̷̤̬d̵̨͑͋é̶̖̦̉͆ ̴̛̣̈́̽w̵̨̠̾̈́͝i̷̡̭̮̽̑ẗ̸̻̆̒ḥ̵̢́̚͝ ̵̩͘t̸̘̉̒h̷͉̙͝è̸̝͒ ̴̧̮̔̚c̸̢̨̛͙̆ř̸̳̀͘͜e̵̺̊a̶͖̬͑̈́͝t̵̘̀i̵̺͈̽̊ō̴̦̦̲n̴̗̱̆š̵̛̈́͜ ̷̤̙́̐͝ǫ̸̤͛̑̋f̴̲̺̗̍̂̽ ̴̗̄̂̕t̸̨͖͆h̷̡̜͘͝ë̷͎͉́̔̅ ̸̹̭̾́̍ū̵̝s̵̲̠̓̔͜u̶̢̪̽͒̎͜r̵̘̗̓̓p̵̬̮͠e̵̞̪̕r̴̪̙̹͝s̴̺͐?̵̟̳̫̏͌̌!̴̖̣̻́” the voice demanded.

“Okay, first, I can’t be a traitor if I was never part of your group in the first place. I am my own faction. Second, the Titans have nothing to do with me. I simply seek to hunt down the four of you and take your powers for myself.”

“Y̶̛̬͒̄o̸̡̧̺͋ǘ̵͖ ̷̩̾̔̕s̵̝̯͌e̷̖̔e̸̘̎k̶̜͇̓̃ ̶̣̳̫̓͠ẗ̵̹͍́o̶̤͉̔ ̷̯̇̿c̷̲̳̤̑̇̚h̵͙̀̋a̴̺͉̭̅͐̐l̸̢͚̖͊l̴̜͖̤̏̌̃e̶͍̓̌n̸̙͖̞̎̆g̵͓̍̚̚ë̶̘̱̊͂ͅ ̷̞͈̼͝u̷̥̖͋̆̍s̷̹̄?̴̛̳͍̺́͘ ̶̜̩͘͝V̷̗̟͒ͅę̵̨̒̇̓r̶̾͋̆ͅy̶̬̰͆̿͜ ̵̻̟̌̕͝ẃ̷͍̲e̸̡͓̒̿͠l̵̦̀l̶̩̥̀̈́́,̷̲̈́́ ̷̫͝í̶̟̄̄f̴̧̼̣̂ ̸̭̎̐͒ÿ̵̡̯̣́̐̌ȍ̵̲̠͇̒ű̷͎̳̈́͗ ̵̙͒̓̌s̴̨̧̀ḛ̶͙̈ḛ̸̂͋̓k̷͓̾ ̶̡̂͘͜ͅo̵̥̊͛͝ǘ̶̜̫̋̾r̸͓̋̌́ͅ ̵̱̆ṕ̸͉̊̒r̴̳̪͒̎́i̷̼̪̠͆ş̷͠o̵̺͊n̴͉̗͑s̵͕̣̀͌ ̷̰͐t̶̤̉͆h̵̝̐͝e̷͚͆̈́n̶̪̄̏ ̵̨̪͎̍͋͠s̶̾̄͜e̸̬͘͠e̴̩̪͗̒k̷̺̗̭̍ ̸̛̖́̄ǫ̶̭͐̋̕ü̵̜̳t̵̡̬͑ ̵̧̨̣͒͗̀t̷̰͓̓̂͆h̴̝̣̄ͅe̴͈͖͝ͅ ̸̻̞̞́̓̆B̴̝̖̹͝r̵͔̥̓͜ȏ̶̙̈ņ̵͎̠̒͒͐z̸̘̣͖̓e̷̗̔̈ ̴̢̮̳͛D̶̺͆̀ṛ̶͉̑̉̕a̶̛͎̓g̴͉͙̒̂ȯ̸̞n̶̯̅̌͛f̷̘͑͐l̸̼̗̂̒̽i̶̻̱̱͠g̷͇̑h̵͈̘̹̄̓t̶̰̓ ̴̰̼̗̒ĭ̷̘͓̬̇n̵̡̼͛͒͝ ̴̥͛́t̴̹͈̰́͒͗ḧ̴̯́̉̓e̴̲̚͝ ̷̫̞̀ṛ̴̻͓̈̔e̷̛̘̖̪͐̅g̵̞̃̊͘i̴̢̛̘̜̋ǫ̵̻̆̉̂n̸̹̥̩͂͑̄ ̵̼̪͊͑͌k̶͖͚̀̊n̴̜͑̔̒͜͜o̴̡̪͂͜w̴͚̙̫̽n̷̗̩͂ ̶̭̻͐̓͜͝a̵̧͓̔̅̈́s̵̝̼̏̉͘ ̸̞̻̼̀́T̴̰̔͗̈́a̸͇̚n̷͈̟̈̈̏a̷̠͒ṙ̵̝͜ḭ̵̹͛s̷͔͆̅̕͜.̷̡̣̟́̉ ̴̭͒T̴̝̐̇h̷̹̹̆e̵̢͈͚̒̏͠y̶̛̩̔ ̸͓͖͕͆ẉ̸̛́i̴̤̲̍̊̒l̷̻̟̟͑l̶̛̲̭͆̌ ̴̪̭͆̑͠ͅl̷̯̓̆ḛ̴̼̈́ã̴̩́̐ͅd̸͔̈́̕ ̸̖̑͝y̶͕̠̅͜o̸͔͎̿ủ̸͙̗̏̋ ̷̝̹̖͑̂ť̸̘̏̋o̷̼̓ ̴͖̹̲̋͐̎ō̴͇͑̕n̵̟̞̩̓̀̋e̶͓͌ ̷̛̮o̴̜̤̫̅f̷̡͖̜̍ ̴̡̣̬̔̎ö̴̰͉̠̽û̴̩̒ŕ̸̳̖ ̵̨͘p̶̼̼͋̍̒r̶̡͔̩̈́͆į̵̪̋̇s̴͇̼͑̐̕o̷͚̒̅n̴̥̍̑s̷͇͝.̸̧̦͎̕”

Violetta gave a cheerful smile. “Thanks for the info.” The presence of the voice soon receeded.

Surprise heard the entire conversation and translated it to Flutashe who gasped upon hearing that they would need to visit the Bronze Dragonflight who had been reclusive since the War of the Shifting Sands thousands of years ago. Tanaris was very far away at the very southeast corner of the continent so they had a long journey ahead of them.

With nothing left for the duo in the cavern, Flutashe and Mena began the long trek back to civilization.


Meanwhile, beneath the temple, a short underwater battle was had between Thruk and the crab he was trying so hard to defeat for loot. Unfortunately the ogre forgot that air was an important part of living and his obsession with a crab became his downfall.