While in the last three articles, I had focused on the fighting back at home, in the Kingdom of Stormwind, this one will be different. I had the chance to interview a number of members of the Dustcloud Corporation. They had just come back from a week-long campaign to bring the fight to the Cult of the Damned, and hit them where it really hurts. It didn’t go without issues, though. One of my interviewees, simply called Steps, was captured, and Zithis Shadowweb, Dorind Brightbeard and Rebecca Gale-Marley were part of the rescue endeavour. First, I asked Steps to recount in detail how she was captured.
Steps: Well, I was scouting a week ahead of this mission to get the location of this cult. So I was up there shortly before Icecrown as I made rest in Crystalsong Forest, I thought I was fairly hidden in between some trees and bushes, but seemingly not. I was picked up by two cultists, trying to carry me away as I realized what happened. Luckily I had my armor on me, so I had some detachable hidden weapons to fight back. That was where the first two lost their life and I stood, there barely awake seemingly having some kind of smoke dropped that makes dizzy, but I was able to fight back the next wave of cultists, ending their lives quite with ease, before one sneaked up from behind and knocked me out with the pummel... and then as I said, I woke up in chains, hanging from the wall.
Not a very pleasant experience, by the sounds of it. And as it turned out, Steps had not been the only one captured by the cult, and there were about a dozen others, harvested for the cultists’ insidious blood magic. The rescue operation was a delicate one. With the help of the Argent Crusaders, they engaged the camp, splitting up into groups. The scouts went to free the captives, while the Crusaders kept the main forces of the undead Horde busy. Our warriors, however, belonged to the third group, the one that was sent to deal with the cult’s leader head-on: A fearsome lich. Bravely, the Dustclouds engaged it!
Cassie: Tell me about your battle with the lich. Are there any details you would like to share?
R. Gale-Marley: I unleashed Goldrinn's Fury when we reached the mastermind of the whole thing, the dreaded lich.
D. Brightbeard: Everytime you managed to beat the living "form" out of it, he’d retreat back into his phylactery, not to mention the blasted shadow novas sendin’ one flyin’, myself into an altar pillar.
Cassie: That must’ve hurt.
R. Gale-Marley: Well, first step was getting past the ghouls that guarded the lich, which I could easily cut in two with an enchanted sword of mine. Myself got unlucky to catch two shadow novas, but this flying boner would not stop taunting, so instead of making an attack that would damage its body I wanted to instead damage its ego and crush its lower jaw... A shame they don't actually need jaws to talk, but it was still a good punch.
Z. Shadowweb: Then there was my new student, who hadn't been in the field, but bravely stood against the fearsome lich when it mattered. She wasn't all too trained, knew the basics, and is a good healer. Even when we were looking the lich straight in the eyes, though she was afraid, she stood firm. A truly brave soul. While she was only one of many who got together for the mission, and not as experienced as some of us, she was a valuable part of it all. Someone I am proud to call my student.Article continues after the ad.
It is said that a brush with death, a battle with a fearsome foe, truly shows what we are made of. This student certainly proved to herself and her entire order that she is one to be counted on in the moment of truth. One that does not shy away from fighting even the most terrible of enemies in their very home! So, given that the lich kept reforming through it’s phylactery, it had to be destroyed. But how do you achieve such a task in the middle of a gruesome battle?
R. Gale-Marley: As a matter of fact, getting to the phylactery was really easy... But let's face it, no one wanted to let the lich go easy, so first we beat its physical form into a pulp.
Cassie: And how did you deal with the phylactery once you reached it?
D. Brightbeard: We smashed it into dust, just it’s essentially a very hard thing, we needed three people before it shattered.
Z. Shadowweb: But when we defeated the lich, we heard the roar of the undead, surely a sea of them, heading our direction when we were about to leave.
R. Gale-Marley: Yeah, when we defeated the lich it let out a loud, LOUD screech that attracted hordes of undead to us.
Cassie: A horrifying thought. How did you manage to get out?
Steps: I would have liked to give some ghouls and one or other cultist on the way out one with my fists, but finally the chaos took over and suddenly I was in Tian, and was not able to remember how we got here.
R. Gale-Marley: In my defense, I was too angry to remember many details.*
In the chaos of the battle, some things get lost, though there are many possibilities. Perhaps one of their mages had the clarity of mind to open a portal to safety, or maybe there was someone among the captives that was able to help them make a safe getaway. After they had returned and treated their wounds, the Dustclouds soon after had a funeral for one of theirs that had fallen in battle. For the sake of privacy, details will be omitted here in the newspaper, but let me be clear on one thing: These brave souls, these warriors, have bled and died for all our safety, whether it be in Redridge, Duskwood, Elwynn or Northrend. For some, it is simply their job, while others rose up to the occasion, proving themselves in battle for the first time. All these men and women, fighting at the front, have their own personal stories, just like you and me, and just like them, we are all doing our part in this world. So, as a closing thought for this series of articles, I would just like to say: Keep in mind that we are all in this together. No matter the race, no matter the profession, we all do our part to hold this world together. And we can all be proud of our contributions. Yes, dear readers, I am talking about you! No matter if you’re a storekeeper, a journalist, a soldier, a janitor, or perhaps a lamplighter. Together, we are strong. Cassie, signing out.