A Midsummer Night's Scream
By: Twilah
*Mild Legion Spoilers - don't read if you don't want to see*
A Midsummer Night’s Scream
By Nichole “Twilah” Quillen
Twilah couldn’t sleep. The Engineers’ Explosive Extravaganza had concluded a couple hours ago, and when she closed her eyes she could still see the buildings of Stormwind lit up by the rainbow of colors each firework had created. Even now the air was still so thick with gunpowder she could taste it in her mouth. Midsummer had always been one of her favorite holidays, but tonight the flashes of light and explosive bursts had taken her mind back to a darker place.
She sat up and reached for her water glass to clear the taste in her mouth, trying to let go of the images of Karabor Harbor. The battle had been fierce and left her face forever marked with a long scar down the right side. A priestess had offered to heal it, but Twilah kept the reminder. For years Twilah had looked down at the Draenei with contempt, like an unwanted guest in her home that would not leave. They had arrived in Azeroth and had the audacity to invade her sacred halls and cathedrals, calling some of their ranks Paladins. Twilah had refuted that claim whenever possible and avoided any association with the blue skinned refugees. That was before she had met Yrel. The heart of Yrel had changed Twilah forever.
Since returning to Stormwind she had spent many sleepless nights still trying to grasp exactly where...when she was. Two years ago she had gone through the portal to another dimension hundreds of years in the past, pushing back the Iron Horde and thwarting Gul’Dan’s attempts to alter time. She had rescued Yrel and watched her grow into the leader her people needed. At the time she went through the portal she was 26, and now that she had traveled back to Stormwind she felt older but somehow time had not passed here. She was still 26.
Twilah shook the sweat from her short hair and sat up in bed. Her room in the Inn was small and sparsely decorated. As a Paladin of Stormwind and the organizer for her Family she rarely spent time resting. The summer holiday had provided a brief reprieve from her usual duties. All of the troops returning from Draenor had been given time off to orient themselves. It was hard to talk to some of the Family members who had not travelled through the portal about everything she and the others had experienced. To them, she had only been gone a few days. Unconsciously her hand went to the scar running down her right cheek. The battle for Karabor Harbor still brought back horrible images she would never forget.
A scream broke through the muted sounds of the city. Twilah was up and reaching for her mace before the second scream broke through the thick night air. That was when she heard the sound. A sucking sound, like all of the air in the room had been pulled out. Her eyes went to her door and noticed a sliver of light from the hallway. Someone had been right outside the door, and then portaled away. Peering through the opening she looked down and saw a dagger on the floor. She froze. It was marked with signs of the Shadow Council.
*****
Twilah waited in the audience chambers to see King Wrynn with Ckemikal, one of the Family’s trusted shamans and one of the few Draenei Twilah knew on a first name basis. Her friend had bought her a warm mug of tea to calm the nerves and sat, listening to her recount the events of the night. Ckemikal had been part of the Draenor Campaign with the Family and had become a confidant and comfort to Twilah over the years.
“Vat do you tink this means?” Ckemikal asked in her strong Draenei accent. Since going back through the portal it had actually become thicker, and Twilah frequently found herself asking Ckemikal to repeat herself for clarity.
“I’m not sure, but it seems to me that was a failed attempt on my life,” Twilah responded, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. She was the organizer for her Family while Foghladha was away studying in Dalaran and she knew she had to be brave.
Ckemikal nodded and sipped her tea, deep in thought.
“Be thankful that attempt failed, because the reports coming in are dire,” a high pitched voice said behind them. Llavender sat down on a cushioned chair next to her friends, propped her staff against the table and went straight for the tea and cookies.
“What have you heard?” Twilah asked the gnome priestess.
“It sounds like Darkshire has seen the worst of it, but there were several assassinations last night. The family healers are heading out to deal with the injured. Carpanda, Valeureux and Bradfordin have already set out for Duskwood.”
Twilah nodded and smiled in appreciation.
“The King will see you now” the Royal Guard announced.
Twilah stood and took the marked dagger back from the guard. She had sent it ahead to the King with a letter recounting her night’s events in hopes he could glean information from her evidence. Now it was time to answer his questions.
*****
Once the audience with the King was over Twilah received delivery of a message bearing the seal of the Cathedral of Light. It was an urgent summons from Oppa, one of her fellow Paladins and comrades in the Family.
“Oppa needs our help in Goldshire right away,” she told Ckemikal and Llavender.
As they walked towards the exit, Twilah’s mind was racing with everything the King had shared with them. Cult activity was popping up everywhere and she had been correct in assuming the marks on the dagger were demonic symbols of the Legion. The king had sent it off for further study and Twilah shivered a bit when she remembered the strange sensations she had when handling it.
The cool wind on her face as the gryphon carried her to Goldshire was refreshing. Once they dismounted, Llavender was the first to spot Oppa. He was standing behind the inn and waving for them to join him. All around the teams of festival workers were taking down tents, poles, banners and braziers from the Midsummer Festival. What would normally be an after party atmosphere was instead somber and quiet. Twilah had already noticed several Stormwind Guard patrols along the road.
Walking around the back of the inn and towards the lake Twilah noticed that Oppa appeared to be struggling with something like a small animal. Thier pace quickened as they approached.
“You’re not going to believe this!” Oppa greeted them. Like most of the faces she had seen this morning Oppa looked tired and shocked at the same time. The kind of expression she usually only saw after a long battle.
The small animal Oppa was holding wiggled some more and then suddenly Twilah saw dark, leathery wings pop out. The bat like creature looked up at her and grinned. It had no eyes that she could see, and yet it seemed to be staring right at her. Little black horns protruded from his head and his body was covered in silver tattoos. Despite all of this Twilah could swear she was looking at a Murloc.
“I found him while patrolling the area outside of the inn. There was an assassination here last night and we were canvassing the area for clues. I thought you might want to see him first,” Oppa said. “He seems to be a meat eater. I’ve watched him grab two rats and down them in one gulp since I discovered him.”
“How do you think he got here?” Twilah asked.
“I think he was probably a pet of one of the assassins, and got left behind in the confusion.”
Ckemikal bent down and started examining the tiny murloc’s body.
“Dese are ze markings of ze Legion. If I had to guess I say he is an experiment of ze Demons. Dese silvery carvings in hiz skin are wards to keep ze demon inside of him trapped. Iz a cruel prozess, placing a demon in ze host body.”
Twilah looked down at the demon possessed murloc and could swear again that he was smiling right at her.
To be continued...