It wasn’t long before Bella, Mena and Stella reached the Altar of Damnation at the base of the tall mountain. The place looked like a chapel without the building. Rows of benches were seen and some were occupied by tormented orc spirits.
At the front of the altar was a transparent, elderly orc. This one wore the dark robes of a warlock and had curved spikes growing out of his back, some had skulls impaled on them. Around his neck was a necklace of skulls and bones. Chains dangled from his body and his staff was a gnarled stick.
One of the orc spirits begged the figure, who they called Gul’dan, to not go through with what he intended.
“What is this place?” Stella asked.
“This is where it happened,” said a voice from behind them. “This is where Gul’dan severed the bonds of the elements from our people.”
The trio turned around and saw a living orc approaching them, this one wearing gray and purple robes. “Are you the Earthen Ring shaman we were sent to meet?” Bella asked.
“Ah, so Wildhammer Stronghold sent you three to assist me with this task. Thank you for coming. I am Earthmender Torlok and I was sent by the Earthen Ring to ease the suffering of this land.”
“So what do we need to do?” Stella asked.
“Throw a ‘We’re Sorry We Shattered Our Bond With You’ party?” Mena asked. Torlok gave the gnome a confused look while Stella and Bella rolled their eyes.
“We must try to make amends,” Torlok said. “We must commune with the elements of this region and see if anything can be done.” He handed Stella a totem. “This is the totem of spirits, use it to capture a few of each type of tormented elemental spirit in this region. By defeating them when they are close to the totem, this will consume the elemental’s soul. You will find fire and earth elementals around the nearby mountain. Water elementals are boiling the waters north of here in an area held by naga. The air elementals are in the southeastern part of the region. Once you have enough elemental souls, we can begin communing with them to see what can be done.”
With the totem in their possession, the three proceeded to seek out some elementals.
Flutashe and Raida traveled the long road around the mountain known as the Hand of Gul’dan. The two spent the first fifteen minutes of the trip in silence while Raida had a nervous look on her face. After that, the druid decided to break the silence. “So, care to introduce me to your friends?”
Raida’s nervousness lifted a little as she eagerly introduced her demons, “Sure, the imp is Loki. He tells the funniest jokes, though most would be inappropriate for sensitive audiences. Truth is my wrathguard. He can be blunt with his opinions but he never lies to me, mostly out of a personal code. Lady Heartswell is my shivarra. She is a clean and efficient assassin who never leaves her prey to suffer, granting them a quick death. Leech is my felhound and is always ready to give his life to protect me when he can. Finally, there is my inquisitor demon, Seeker. Whenever he learns something new and possibly important, I’m the first one he will tell.”
“Aren’t your demons bound by a contract?” Flutashe asked, remembering what she knew about warlocks and contracts to keep their demons on as short of a leash as necessary.
“Kinda, but when I found these guys, they were the throwaways of the Legion, too weak to be useful and a lot nicer than your average demons. I would have killed them but when I saw all of them huddled together awaiting their demise, it kinda reminded me of you in a way. Sure, they still had their weapons and abilities and they looked like they would fight to their bitter end, but the look in their eyes told me that they just wanted to live in peace.” She sighed, “I couldn’t give them that since their lives as demons would never be peaceful. I gave them a choice: be my henchmen or a mercy killing. Even if I left them alone, some Legion demon would have likely found them and eliminated them for being such sorry excuses, same for any of those Illidari demon hunters.”
Loki suddenly appeared. “And we never regretted our decision once. Rairai has been such an awesome boss, never once making us do anything we wouldn’t want to do. She personally took out any enemies that we were too scared to fight, though this also motivated us to become stronger so we could fight as her equal. She’s like a big sis to us all.”
Flutashe giggled, “I understand that, even though we’re twins, she had always been a big sister figure to me when we were growing up.”
Raida chuckled, “And now look at you, fighting with the same vigor that I…u-used to fight with.”
Flutashe raised an eyebrow at her. She knew her sister was one of the most agile trainees at the academy, putting some of the instructors to shame. She, herself, tried to emulate some of that skill in her fighting style while in her cat form, while adding her enhanced strength to it as well. There was no way that Raida would give up her fighting style for the life of a spellcaster, it was very unlike her.
They soon came upon the ruins of what appeared to be a village of strange huts that were haunted by the ghosts of bird people like the ones they saw in Shattrath. “I never found out what those bird people were called, do you know?” Flutashe asked.
“They’re arakkoa,” Raida answered. “I heard that years ago they used to be taller and capable of flight. They used to be worshippers of some sun goddess until some of them were cursed into that form. As far as I know there are no more sun-worshiping arakkoa since the Old Horde destroyed their home and the destruction of Draenor probably finished off the variant. Now there are only these crazy birds whose minds are addled by shadow.”
“That’s so sad…” Flutashe mumbled.
She shook her head, remembering what she wanted to do. “I’d like to get through here as fast as possible and I’d like to see if you have retained your skills from the academy. Since the road goes through these ruins, I’m going to use my cat form to rush through,” A smirk appeared on her face. “Think you can keep up with me?”
Raida began to sweat. Normally, spellcasters were not agile at all, not counting Stella who could fly through the air like nobody’s business. Showing her skills might tip her sister off that she was not some spell-slinging warlock. “Uhh, listen, I don’t mind if we take things slow.” She chuckled nervously.
Flutashe saw right through that. A motherly look of disappointment appeared on her face. “You are a terrible liar Raida, I can see the desire to compete against me in your eyes.” She decided it was time to point out the mistakes she made in her little ruse. “I’ve known you since we were little. You were always competing against others to hone your skills. I’ve also noticed you flinging bolts of fel magic with hardly any channeling. The others might think that you are just that good of a spellcaster, but I know better. Those bolts were similar to the ones that The Betrayer reportedly used against Tichondrius in Felwood. You wouldn’t have known how to use something like that unless he taught you. Seeing as you are not with Maiev or any of her party I can assume that you were either separated, the last survivor or you betrayed Maiev and joined Illidan. Given the spells you used, I’m leaning toward the latter.”
Raida sweated even more. “That’s some pretty wild accusations there, sis. I have no idea what happened to Maiev.” Though she tried to throw her sister off, she knew that was a losing battle. Between the both of them, Flutashe was the most insightful. The hard look in her sister’s eyes was the final nail in the coffin.
“Come clean now and I won’t tell the others,” Flutashe warned.
“Alright, alright! So I’m one of Lord Illidan’s demon hunters. I only followed Maiev’s party so I could find him and help him against our true enemy. The Legion is the biggest threat out there right now, you know.”
“You do know that the practice of fel magics is dangerous and can easily corrupt your soul.”
“Only if you are careless,” Raida countered. “Demon hunters wield the powers of our enemy to defeat them. It’s pretty much fighting fire with fire. I know it’s risky and the power can easily corrupt or destroy us. Lord Illidan works us hard to make sure we were ready for the fel infusion ritual, though many of us lose our lives in the attempt anyway.”
Flutashe’s eyes widened as she heard that but that surprise quickly turned into indignant anger. She took a moment to collect herself before she unleashed that anger, “I’m not mad that you chose to side with Illidan, though I would like to know why he wants to rule this land instead of fighting the Legion. I’m not mad that you chose to wield the energies of our enemies, as long as you are still you I can live with that.
“What I am mad at you about is the fact that you risked your life over a ritual with a low success rate, if what you said about the infusion is true. I was praying to Elune that you had survived in this land somehow and I was so elated to find you. Now I find out that you came so close to dying over a ritual that left you changed forever? Did you ever think about how I would feel if you died?! Huh?!” Tears began to flow from the druid as she began to shout.
Flutashe did some breathing exercises to calm herself and shook her head before she continued, “I’m sorry, it was selfish of me to have you consider my feelings, I was just so worried about your safety. I’m really glad that you’re still safe and sound.”
Raida always found herself cowed whenever her sister got this upset with her, there was no arguing with her when she got this way. All she could do was look down in guilt. She still didn’t regret going through with the ritual, but she wasn’t going to voice that since that would only make things worse on her.
Flutashe let out a long sigh once she was finished venting. What was done was done and she thanked Elune that her sister was still alive.
Twilight observed the conversation through one of Sophia’s Observer Drones. She cringed at the sight of Rainbow being berated by Fluttershy. She remembered being on the receiving end of at least a few of her lectures over the course of her friend’s previous life.
Sighing in defeat, Raida removed her cloak to reveal her appearance and protective tattoos. Flutashe raised an eyebrow at the cyan hooves. Raida then deploys her large, demonic wings. “Sorry you had to find out this way sis, but I’m still dedicated to Lord Illidan’s cause of destroying the Burning Legion.”
“With an army of mentally unstable orcs, treacherous blood elves, naga, broken and demons?” Flutashe deadpanned.
“I’ll admit that Lord Illidan’s choice in allies has been questionable. I suspected that Kael’thas sold out to the Legion and the Scryers proved it. I know the fel orcs are only loyal as long as the felblood keeps flowing and I don’t expect that to last much longer once the Alliance and Horde find a way to kill Magtheridon, so I’m expecting them to want to defect to the Legion sooner or later. I’m not sure why the naga follow Lord Illidan. He says that he’s calling in some favors but I have this nagging feeling that there’s more to it than that and whatever this reason is, it fills me with dread. The demons are castaways from the Legion but I can’t say if they are loyal to the cause or are just looking for someone to protect them.
“As for the broken, they have to be plotting something. Since Lord Illidan’s track record of allies has been terrible, I suspect that Akama is plotting against him, especially since Lord Illidan sacrificed the souls of some of his soldiers to open a portal to another world not too long ago.”
Flutashe nodded, “Thank you for telling me this. I still want you to tell the others about your real profession, but I won’t force you. We’ll find a way to keep the leaders of the Alliance and Horde from finding out.”
Raida was surprised that her sister was accepting of her new status. Then again, she was more open minded than the majority of night elf society. A part of her couldn’t help but wish that Malfurion was as flexible as her sister, then she wouldn’t be in the situation she found herself in.
Flutashe shifted into her bird form but paused before she spread her wings. “You can fly on those wings, right?”
“Yeah, but only me and Lord Illidan are capable of flight with these things. The other demon hunters can only glide at best.”
“Alright, we’ve spent enough time discussing this. Let’s fly over to the Altar of Sha’tar.”
With that, Raida and Flutashe spread their wings and took off toward the Aldor outpost.
Hours had passed since Lokosh, Farra’jin, Talia, Groun and Feloma exited the Aldor tunnel into Nagrand.
Unlike other regions in Outland, this one seemed more intact than others. The grasslands were still filled with wildlife ranging from the big horned talbuks to the hulking clefthoofs with their plated skin. Of course, there was still the matter of pieces of land floating around the area that gave an unnatural feeling to the region.
Apparently, the abundant wildlife also made the region a prime hunting spot since the group spotted a camp of beast hunters who were collecting trophies to commemorate their time here. They were ignored as the group moved on to their destination.
Once the road turned westward, it took them about an hour to reach their destination. The orc town of Garadar was where they would find their first clue toward their dreaded hunt of the infamous Sons of Gruul.
The town was built of wooden log fences and clay huts with red markings. Several windmills served as granaries for what the orcs farmed. The orcs themselves were brown-skinned which made Lokosh feel like he stood out like a sore thumb since he was one of the green-skinned ones. The villagers paid him no mind and went back to what they were doing.
In the center of town was a group of mag’har orcs with one of them looking very depressed.
Lokosh decided to ask them for any information about the Sons of Gruul. The sad orc ignored them while another pointed to an orc behind them.
“You five seek to confront the Sons of Gruul?” asked the orc behind them. The orc looked to be dressed in tan and brown chainmail and was standing by a bulletin board.
“We were sent here to hunt down the seven of them,” Lokosh answered.
The orc bellowed in laughter when he heard that. “All of you scrawny people must be suicidal if you think you can take on the Sons of Gruul. Not long ago, one adventuring group before you took out two of Nagrand’s biggest names, denying their leadership to the Shadow Council forces and the Warmaul ogre clan. They tried their luck with the gronn in this region and never came back. Even now that gronn is still trampling everything in his path around Oshu’gun to the southwest. If you seek to slay the Sons of Gruul, then you better be strong. The name of the gronn is Durn the Hungerer, slay him and I will point you to another of the Sons.”
“If you think we can’t do it, why point us to him?” Lokosh asked.
“Why deny an orc their death in combat? I dunno about your friends, but either way you bring honor to your clan as long as you fight well.”
Lokosh rolled his eyes. He and the others gathered what supplies the mag’har could offer before they made the long journey southwest.
It took a few hours since they had to travel all over northern, eastern and southern Shadowmoon Valley to accomplish their task, but Stella, Bella and Mena managed to gather the corrupted elemental souls needed for whatever ritual Torlok intended. The trio often grumbled that the task would have gone faster if Torlok had more than one totem for the task, but what’s done was done.
Upon returning to the altar, Stella handed back the totem. Torlok smiled as he saw the totem brimming with spirits. “I thank you for your assistance. Now, we must get to work. Please stand back as the spirits might lash out.” He went to the back of the altar and planted the totem, unleashing the spirits. The collected spirits coalesced into four larger elementals in their fel-corrupted state.
“Why have you captured us?” Earth asked.
“What is it that you hope to gain from this?” Fire asked.
“We wish to help you spirits, we seek your wisdom,” Torlok responded.
“Wisdom? It was your people who caused the insufferable wrath of Cyrukh!” Water accused.
“Why should we help you? The world is ruined! Destroyed!” Air said.
“You are right spirits, it was my people that did that to you. Allow us to make it right. Please tell us, who or what is Cyrukh?” Torlok asked.
“Fool! Cyrukh the Firelord! When the tie was severed, Cyrukh awoke. It is the tears of Cyrukh that fill this land with molten rock.” Earth said.
“An Elemental Lord?!” Torlok shouted before he muttered about Gul’dan being a damned fool.
“He is insane now. Driven mad during the shattering. There is no rest for the elementals.” Fire said.
“There must be a way,” Torlok muttered.
“The only way to restore balance is to destroy Cyrukh,” Water said.
“You must utter the words of damnation to summon him,” Air said.
“Very well, we shall find the words and destroy him,” Torlok said.
“We have told you what you must do, now release us!” Earth demanded.
With that, Torlok released the elementals from the totemic binding. As the elementals drifted away, the shaman turned to the trio. He sighed, “I have no idea where to even begin to look for those words.”
“Even after all that we still have no leads to the Cipher of Damnation?” Stella asked.
“Isn’t there anything to go off of? Even the teensiest thing?” Mena asked.
“Without any clues we will be forced to search under every rock in this region for the Cipher,” Bella said.
Torlok closed his eyes and thought deeply for a moment. No relevant clues came to mind so he would have to consider the tiniest possibilities for a lead. He soon thought of something, it may likely be a dead end but they didn’t have much to go off of at this point. “It’s a long shot, but I remember an orc who visited this area before; we spoke briefly. His name is Oronok Torn-heart, a hermit who lives in the mountains above the naga base to the north. Perhaps he might have some answers.”
“Oh dear, if he lives high up Stella might have trouble carrying both of us if we need to fly,” Bella said.
“I’m light as a feather with my Levitate spell,” Mena offered. “I can ride on Stella’s back and she won’t feel my weight. She will be free to carry you without me being a problem.”
“Let’s worry about that when we get there,” Stella suggested. Her tone failed to hide her reluctance to carry a paladin in heavy armor up the mountain.
The trio returned to the road and proceeded north.
Flutashe and Raida landed near the Altar of Sha’tar but far enough for the guards to not notice them. Raida quickly made her wings vanish and put her cloak back on to follow the druid into the outpost. The guards were wary of the two but returned to their duties when the druid told them that they were here on business from A’dal.
A few minutes later, the duo was greeted by a female draenei in plate mail and carrying a staff, which seemed like a strange combination for a paladin. “Greetings, I am Exarch Onaala. I am told that you are here on business from A’dal?”
Flutashe nodded, “We were sent to this region to seek an artifact called the Cipher of Damnation. Have you heard of it?”
“Can’t say that I have. I wish that I could help, but my forces have been on high alert ever since the Ashtongue Broken began ransacking the nearby ruins.”
“Who are they?”
“The Betrayer’s elite broken soldiers. They are led by the most wretched of them all, Akama.” Onaala sighed, “He used to be one of the most valiant of exarchs, until the fel twisted him into that wretched form.”
For a brief moment, Onaala reminisced about the past. She soon returned her attention to the duo. “If you could provide some assistance to us, we would be honored to help you with your task. The ruins to the south are being excavated by the Ashtongue. We should use this time to reclaim the Tablets of Baa’ri, an ancient text rumored to hold the secrets of the Temple of Karabor, known today as the Black Temple. We might be able to find something useful in our fight against Illidan. Please, retrieve the tablets from the ruins.”
Flutashe and Raida accepted the request and left the outpost to head south toward the Baa’ri ruins. The ruins were a few minutes' flight from the Altar of Sha’tar.
Once they arrived Flutashe began her hunt for the tablets while ruthlessly tearing apart any broken who got in her way. Raida blasted a few broken with Chaos Bolts. Though they were her fellow Illidari, she never liked the Ashtongue for their unscrupulous behavior.
While her sister was busy slashing up the broken and demons in the far south side of the ruins, Raida had obtained a few tablets.
It was when she obtained her latest one that a broken ran up to her with his hands in the air, informing her that he wanted to tell her something. She waited for the broken to approach her before she recognized him as Oronu, a lieutenant of Akama.
The broken stopped before her and held out an envelope. “Here, I was instructed to deliver it to you, Lady Raida. Akama wishes for you to open it immediately.” Oronu then ran off, likely to try to avoid Flutashe’s wrath.
While Raida didn’t trust Akama, she knew that Lord Illidan had control over the broken’s soul and he would not act against him so foolishly. Any act against her would be seen as an act of betrayal. Still, she cautiously opened the envelope and only found a letter inside. Opening the Letter, she began to read its contents.
Lady Raida,
I will be at the usual place. Please come see me as soon as possible. The Corruptors have been duped. I cannot say more in case this letter is intercepted by our enemies.
Akama
Raida burned the letter in felfire and waited for her sister to return, likely with the rest of the tablets. She had a feeling that the tablets would mention the Medallion of Karabor which was said to give someone access to the interior of the Black Temple, a gaping flaw in their security.
Suddenly, her pendant began to glow which meant that Lord Illidan wanted to speak with her.
“Is this a bad time, Raida?”
“Not really, I might have time before my companion returns,” Raida responded.
“Yes, your sister. Ironic, isn’t it? You and your sister chose paths similar to mine and my brother. I can only hope that she is more understanding than my brother was.”
“Yeah, I hope so too. I guess you heard that Kael’thas sold out to the Legion?”
“Yes, you were right to be concerned. If we are to win this war, we need to be sure of our allies. With the blood elves plotting against me, the fel orcs being as fickle as they are and the likelihood of Akama’s betrayal, we are in no shape to launch an invasion on Argus. While I have no doubt that the naga and my most trusted demon hunters will follow me, it will not be enough.”
“Doesn’t help that Varedis got taken out recently. Kayn believes Altruis had something to do with it.”
Illidan said nothing for a minute. Before Raida could ask about it, he continued. “It’s all falling apart and there are too few that I can trust. But I will not allow Kil’jaeden to have a complete victory over us, which is why it’s important for you to build up your friendships with your companions.
“In the past I have been known to sacrifice my allies for the sake of victory against the Legion. Many will not understand why I go to such lengths, but we must be willing to sacrifice everything because the Legion will take everything we hold dear. It is at this time that I must make more sacrifices, which is why I am giving you permission to slay our allies, Gruul, Vashj and Kael’thas.”
Raida couldn’t believe what she was hearing. While she had no love for Kael’thas and Gruul was as much a questionable ally as the rest, why would he allow her to slay Vashj? “WHAT!?” she exclaimed. “Forgive me for questioning your orders, my lord, but why are you so willing to throw their lives away?”
“Because it’s clear to me now that if there is any army out there who holds the potential to destroy the leaders of the Burning Legion, it would be Azeroth. Though as they are now they have no chance. Which is the purpose of the contingency plan. I will fall to them as well, but if it means that Azeroth will be more prepared for another invasion, then so be it.”
“You can’t seriously be asking me to fight you, Lord Illidan!”
“Fear not, my second. I have another task for you and my most trusted demon hunters, one which will be vital to the master plan. For now, assist your companions to your best capacity and avoid revealing yourself to the Alliance and Horde leadership.”
“What about Akama and the Fel Horde?”
“I expect that Akama is working in secret against me, I give you permission to support his rebellion. Kargath Bladefist needs to be dealt with swiftly. There is a blacksmith at the base of the temple who holds the necessary mold to forge a key into his inner sanctum.
“I know that what I say may sound mad, but as long as the plan succeeds we will still see the end of Sargeras and his Burning Crusade. Follow it through, no matter what.”
Raida grit her teeth. How could she follow such an insane order when it would dismantle everything they had built up over the years? Still, this was her master’s call and she would have to respect that, albeit reluctantly. “Yes sir…” she finally said.
With that, the glow from her pendant dimmed.
After his communication with his second in command, Illidan sighed before he turned to face the other figure that was with him on the summit. “This plan of yours better work,” he growled menacingly.
“It will. Azeroth may not yet be ready to face the full arsenal that the Legion can bring to bear, but there are major threats in their future which will test their strength in so many ways,” Thanatas said.
“I find it difficult to trust one who reeks of death like you do, just like him.”
“Why would I ever work for that puppet? Even if he doesn’t know, everything he does is ultimately in the name of a dark master who may be an even bigger threat than the Burning Legion. No, Arthas wishes that he could be as powerful as me.”
“And you are certain that they will face more powerful enemies in such a short time? A few years doesn’t seem like much.” Illidan’s frown deepened.
“A few years isn’t much, yes, but those few years will be filled with battles against not only Arthas, but also foes far more ancient than the night elven race. I also expect that the Legion will also permanently lose a couple of their biggest names before the invasion even starts.”
“What assurances do I have that this future you envision will come to pass?” Illidan asked.
“It will, even if I have to make sure of it,” Thanatas replied. “Arthas will launch another attack on the Alliance and Horde which will spur them to invade Northrend and deal with him.”
“You think they could take him where I failed?”
“If they can defeat you, they can take on Arthas.”
Illidan ignored what seemed like an insult. If her plan did work then everything he had worked for would come to fruition. Though a mention of a “dark master” manipulating Arthas did seem alarming, he couldn’t worry about that right now since the Legion was his primary concern. “What will you do now?” he asked.
“Enjoy the fireworks, of course. Your personal student and her companions will be at the forefront of the major crises in the future. In time, she will definitely surpass you.”
A smirk appeared on Illidan’s face, “Then I will look forward to it.”
Sunlight from a nearby star had begun to fade to reveal the ethereal skies of the Nether by the time Lokosh’s group made it to a massive, white, crystalline monument in the center of a flatland. Surrounding the monument were a number of strange symbols in the dirt where the grass didn’t grow.
While the mag’har revered the monument in the center of the valley, Lokosh had no idea why it was considered sacred nor did it matter. They were there to hunt a gronn.
Deciding to wait and see if the gronn was wandering around, they took the time to make sure they were prepared for a big fight. If gronn were as brutal as others claimed, Farra’jin had his earth totem ready to add a layer of defense to their bodies.
After several minutes of waiting, the five of them spotted a dark figure in the distance around the edge of the valley and moving along the rim. As he drew closer they could see that he was a lot bigger than they had imagined. He appeared to be as tall as an anubisath but much more bulky. Spikes grew from his shoulders, back, elbows and calves with hardened segmented plates growing along his spine. He had one eye and was very hunched over. His skin was brown as fertile soil and he wore a black loincloth with a skull for a buckle and black cloth armwraps with skulls on them over his three-fingered hands. His feet bore a resemblance to elephant feet.
Once Durn came close, Lokosh charged in and slammed his shield on one of his toes. The gronn showed no signs of feeling that, so Feloma fired an arrow at his head. The arrow struck his ear which he felt. The gronn stopped in his tracks and turned his baleful gaze toward the huntress. He unleashed a roar that nearly blew her away.
Groun attacked next by causing vines to grow from the ground and try to strangulate Durn. However, gronn were built to combat uncontrolled plant life and easily snapped the vines before he slammed his fist on the tauren who managed to dodge but got knocked away by the shockwave.
Feloma fired a volley at the colossal creature, aiming for his head. Durn blocked the arrows with his left arm and swiped at her. She leaped back in time to avoid the impact but the rush of air caused by his swing made her fall back more than she would have liked. She wished that she could use her pheromones to influence the gronn but she knew better than to catch such attention from someone large enough to grab her and carry her up a tall structure like a certain colossal gorilla from a human-made movie she watched a long time ago.
Lokosh focused on hacking away at the softer parts of Durn’s feet with his axes. He rolled out of the way when the gronn tried to stomp on him before he continued his assault.
Farra’jin blasted the gronn with bolts of lightning, lava, frost and rock from a distance while his summoned elementals attacked the arms and legs.
However, their attacks were not doing much damage due to the gronn’s size and nearly rock-hard skin. It was taking significant effort to leave shallow cuts into his skin and even more for the cuts to make him bleed. Talia tried setting him on fire but the beast was too large for the spell to have any significant effect and her shadow spells and demons’ attacks were just as effective.
Groun sprouted thorny vines from the ground which wrapped around Durn and squeezed hard enough to punch through the skin and cause bleeding wounds. It was while he was distracted by the vines that Feloma scored a direct hit on the gronn’s eye, causing him to roar in pain and effectively blinding him.
Feloma spotted a particularly large clefthoof nearby and got the idea to use her pheromones to control him into attacking Durn. This ended up with the large beast charging forward and slamming into his gut and knocking him to the ground, the impact causing large tremors which knocked the group on their butts for a moment.
As the clefthoof began slamming his hooves on Durn’s stomach, the gronn began to grapple with the beast and pushed him off. He was then hit in the back by smaller clefthoofs who charged at him from behind with one of them headbutting him.
Talia focused on setting Durn’s head on fire since that appeared to be where he was most sensitive. She called upon an infernal to pound his face. Her felguard left some deep cuts on his neck.
Durn had enough and roared as he got back to his feet and grabbed the larger clefthoof and slammed him down on where he believed the other clefthoofs were but missed because of his blindness.
He then tried to sniff around for where the annoying pests were only for an arrow to lodge itself in a wound on his neck. That was painful enough but became even more painful when the bomb tied to it exploded and widened the wound. The blast tore open his jugular vein and blood began to flow freely.
The gronn tried desperately to cover the wound but ended up knocked down by the large clefthoof again, giving the party a chance to attack the opening with everything they had. Talia’s shadow magic caused the wound to fester while Farra’jin’s earth shards tore the wound further. Several more Explosive Arrows from Feloma tore the wound wide open.
Between blood flowing from his eye and the wound, Durn the Hungerer soon became unable to continue fighting as he couldn’t find the strength to get back up again. He lost consciousness before blood loss claimed his life.
Once they were sure the gronn wasn’t getting up again, the group put away their weapons while Feloma drove away her new pets. Only the light produced by passing cosmic radiation illuminated the region.
“One down, six to go,” Talia said.
“There’s gotta be a bettah way to deal with dese tings, it took everyting we had just for dis one,” Farra’jin complained.
“Agreed, these direct confrontations will wear us down before we defeat all seven of them,” Feloma said.
“We will come up with strategies when we find out where the rest are, until then we focus on looking for clues to the whereabouts of the others,” Lokosh said.
After resting for a few minutes, the group prepared for the long walk back to Garadar.