Musings of an Azeroth Mage Book 11

Musings of an Azeroth Mage
 * - ''by Archin



-30-
So I stood there with my handkerchief, and slid it into my pocket. Pamandria had just walked up from the bowels of the Slaughtered Lamb, and her facial expression was that of a mix of horror and opportunity.  I could only guess that she had seen what existed below the cover of the tavern. Being an Ordo lackey, she probably saw a promotion and a possible raid in order.  Unfortunately for her, Archin and Yumeko Brey and fellow warlock Elilla stood in her path.  The girl smiled at the prospect of bringing the Slaughtered Lamb down, but I had other plans. Little Karkune, my darling boy, spends most of his time in the Lamb itself while Yumeko and I are out, and I dont really trust anyone else with our son. If she destroyed the Lamb, shed destroy the home of our son and Ill defend my family to the last breath.  Pamandria was cocky, and I told her that to get to the Ordo, shed have to get through me. She pulled out an impossibly large axe, and clearly it appeared that a confrontation was underway.  Unfortunately for the jarhead, I wasnt about to charge straight into the blade of her axe. An old trick I used to pull during my naval days involved grabbing a bottle of liquor, tossing it in the air, and fireblasting the entire bottle. It created quite an incendiary bomb, not to mention the shrapnel that was produced in the blast as well.  I grabbed a bottle, flung it square at the girls chest, and ignited it. The concussion knocked her backwards and onto her rear, and clearly her chest was burned and the shrapnel had met its mark. However, I ignited the bottle a bit too soon, and the killing blow wasnt achieved.  I admit now, in hindsight, that the situation had bolstered me with a sense of invincibility, and I let my guard down. I gloated and laughed at the girl, telling her how helpless she was, at such a range from a Mage. <BR> <BR>I admit now, that I was wrong in that assessment. <BR> <BR>With a look of pure rage, the girl grabbed a throwing knife and flung it in my direction. The knife plunged into the center of my chest and I heard the bone slice open inside, I felt the heat, the blood, and pain, and the stupidity that I felt inside my brain. I was stunned, and staggered backwards, knocking bottles from the nearby bar and flung an awkward fireball. The fireball zipped through the air and a wild arc, but landed on the girl and flung her to the floor. At that same moment, I fell as well. <BR> <BR>Yumeko rushed to my side while I gripped the handle of the knife. The entire blade had lodged itself between my bones, and it hurt like hell. Fear gripped my wife, and I roared in pain and balled up on the floor. Pamandria must have tried to escape, because my wife quickly left my side and cornered the wounded girl, and slapped her to the floor. <BR> <BR>I could hear my wife pummeling the girl, but all I could focus on was the searing pain that wracked my chest. The iron taste of my blood welled up into my mouth slowly and a spat my own life force on the floor. I gripped the handle, closed my eyes, and pulled the blade from my chest, issuing a torrent of blood in the process. <BR> <BR>Oh how it hurt but adrenaline was on my side, and I dragged myself to my feet, clutching the very knife that had struck me. Staggering to the fallen Pamandria, I rolled her over and stabbed her, as deep as she had me, in her kidney. It was getting a bit hazy and I feared for my life we didnt have time to dispatch Pamandria in the proper manner, and instead we opted to dump her into the well outside of the Lamb. <BR> <BR>Elilla and my beautiful wife dumped the louse into the well, I barely was able to stand while blood continued to gush from my wound. I tried to apply pressure to slow the bleeding, but it was still quite bad. I heard her body splash in the well, and the next situation was at hand: getting my health back in tact. <BR> <BR>I didnt trust going anywhere but the Jester, and my wife and Elilla helped me along down through the Park to the Jester. Dominik was positively dumbfounded when he saw me, instead of being boisterous and grandiose, instead subdued and wounded. He quickly let me into the basement, at which time the Priestess Peejee was alerted to my problem. <BR> <BR>The three of us summoned Peejee to the Jester, but the channeling took the last bit of energy I had, and I collapsed to the floor and let out a raucous yell. I was growing cold and the pain was beginning to numb in my chest. I believe I was dying. <BR> <BR>I railed and slammed my fist on the floor, cursing loudly in my stubborn attempt to stave off this fate. Peejee tried to calm me, and my wife too my hand. Then, Peejee placed her hand on my chest and pressed her lips against mine, and my mind was clouded as my sight was taken away, and all I could do was feel. <BR> <BR>I felt my wife massaging my hand, and the Priestesses lips against my own. My body began to warm, the pain began to lessen. I then heard Dugalds voice, as he must have heard me scream and I jerked reflexively, but then I was relaxed again when they told the Lieutenant to leave. <BR> <BR>Suddenly, my eyes shot open again and Peejee was leaning over me, the kiss was broken, the bleeding had stopped, and my wound was healed, though I was still considerably sore. I turned to see my darling Yumeko and I embraced her, telling her how much I loved her. <BR> <BR>I was saved, my wife, her friend, and Peejee had saved me. <BR> <BR>I slowly stood and the soreness coursed through my chest, but the wound and the bone had healed. I thanked Peejee and awkwardly climbed the stairs, embarrassed at my own weakness in front of so many which I held in high regard. <BR> <BR>I had survived the ordeal and Pamandria had paid the ultimate price. I decided to relax at the Jester for most of the night. The stress was over, and I had prevailed. Ultimately, we decided to leave the Jester later that evening, when I was mending, and look into the well to see our rapidly decaying quarry. <BR> <BR>The problem was she wasnt there! <BR> <BR>Professor Brey <BR>