Three days later, Lady Jaina Proudmoore walked the streets of what had once been a proud city,
the glory of northern Lordaeron. Now, it was the of nightmares.
The stench was almost unbearable. She lifted a handkerchief, liberally scented with peacebloom
essence, to her face in a partially successful attempt to out the worst of it. Fires that ought to have
consumed themselves, or have abated at least slightly from lack of fuel, continued to rage at their full
height, telling Jaina that some dark magic was afoot. Combined with the acrid smell of smoke that
stung her eyes and throat was the reek of putrefaction.
They lay as they had fallen, most of them unarmed. Tears welled in Jaina’s eyes and slipped down
her cheeks as she moved as if in a trance, carefully stepping over the bloated bodies. A soft whimper of
pain escaped as she saw that Arthas and his men, in their misguided mercy, had not even spared the
children.
Would these bodies, lying still and in death, have risen to attack her if Arthas had not slain
them? Perhaps. Many of them, certainly; the grain had indeed been distributed and consumed. But
every single one? She would never know, nor would he.
“Jaina—I ask you again,In the present day, Medivh let out the howl of a lost soul, screaming to the heavens for forgiveness that
will never be forthcoming.
“That’s our cue,” said Garona, pulling on Khadgar’s robe. “Let’s get while the getting is good.”
Khadgar hesitated zxcchaoshi for a moment, then followed
aion power leveling her to the stairs.
They tumbled down the stone stairs three at a time, almost slamming into Moroes.
“Excited,” he noted calmly. “Problem?”
Garona hurdled down
徵信 past the castellan, but Khadgar grabbed the older man and said, “The master has
gone mad.”
“More than usual?” replied Moroes.
“It’s not a joke,” said Khadgar, then his eyes
徵信社 lit up. “Do you have the whistle to summon gryphons?”
The servant raised a rune-carved piece of metal. “Wish me to summon…”
“I’ll do it,” said Khadgar, grabbing
wow power leveling the item from his hands, and hurtling after Garona. “He’ll be after us,
but you had better run as well. Take Cook and flee as far as you can.”
And with that Khadgar was lost to view.
“Flee?” said Moroes to the
wow power leveling apprentice’s retreating form; then he snorted. “Wherever would I go?” come with me.” His voice was intense, but it was clear his mind was a
thousand leagues away. “He escaped me. I saved the city’s inhabitants from becoming his slaves, but—
at the last minute he got away. He’s in Northrend. Come with me.”
Jaina closed her eyes. She did not want to remember that conversation of a day and a half ago. She
did not want to remember how he looked, cold and angry and distant, on killing this dreadlord
—Light, a demon—at the expense of everything else.
She stumbled across a body and her eyes snapped open again to the horror that the man she had
loved—still did love, despite everything, how she could still love him after this she did not know, but
Light save her, she did—
“Arthas—it’s a trap. He’s a demon lord. If he was powerful enough to elude you in St- Stratholme,
he will certainly defeat you in his own territory, where he is strongest. Don’t go…please…”
She had wanted to throw herself into his arms, physically keep him there beside her. He couldn’t go
to Northrend. He would be going to his death. And although he had dealt out so much to others,
Jaina found she could not wish for his.
“So much death,” she murmured. “I can’t believe Arthas could’ve done this.” And yet she knew he
had. A whole city…
“Jaina? Jaina Proudmoore!”
Jaina started violently, snapped out of her sickened trance by the sound of the familiar voice. Uther.
A strange feeling of relief swept over her as she turned in the direction of the hail. Uther had always
intimidated her slightly; he was so large and powerful and…well…so deeply entrenched in the Light.
She recalled with an incongruously guilty how, when she and Arthas were younger, they used to
make fun of Uther’s piety, which to them verged on the pompous and sanctimonious, behind the
knight’s back. He was a fairly easy target. But three excruciating days ago, she and Uther had both stood against Arthas.
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