6/1 night
I quickly went over base logistics. I'd decided I could probably get more mileage out of my demons if I turned at least some of them into Mountain Giants to act as tanks, Druids of the claw to provide a damage buff, and dryads to dispel magic and lay down a rain of poisoned javelins as needed, so that meant I needed an ancient of lore. After that, I sent three wisps to where Dremuus and his team had made their way to the Cenarion Hold, the small fortified base the Druids had set up to keep an eye on Ahn'Quiraj.
Once they arrived, I ordered my wisps to become ancient protectors, much to the pleasant surprise of the Druids in attendance. When you're deep in enemy territory, the sudden appearance of multiple friendly living pieces of artillery is very heartening, I imagine. Looking at my app, I had just barely enough energy to replace the four wisps I'd turned into Ancients.
"Dremuus, what's the situation here?"
https://imgur.com/a/dremuus-BxgM33I
"I've only been able to do some preliminary work but I believe the hold needs reinforcements, more than my team alone can provide. Nearly the entire local ecosystem has been subverted by the enemy, which is good from a mission completion perspective I suppose, as they do register as minor Silithid to the amulets. Large wormlike creatures and scorpids have set up nests all around the hold, making travel more hazardous. I've also been told there is a large camp of humanoids known as the Twilight Hammer to the east." He took a deep breath. "Do I have permission to focus my efforts upon them, sir?"
"That is not in line with any of our mission objectives, Dremuus. Why?"
"The Twilight Hammer is a group I'm familiar with. Even before the Horde gave themselves over fully to demons, those bastards were some of the most brutal monsters the orcs deployed on Draenor. More than any of the rest, they enjoyed inflicting as much suffering as they could. I've seen what they can do, and if this is the same group dedicated to the Void? I want to see them all dead." He paused. "I believe they are also a tactical threat, as the only magically inclined enemy in the area I'm aware of."
"I'm sorry Dremuus, that isn't good enough. We have our primary objective, we can't afford delays. When we have killed enough Silithid, then I promise we will reorient our strategy and apply ourselves towards more strategic targets like the Hammer. Until then, we keep to the mission."
He didn't quite glare at me, but he came close. "Yes, sir."
"I'll orient the missions on you. If a mission pops up that will bring us into direct conflict with the Hammer, you'll be the first person I tell." That calmed him down a little. "So how do you suggest going about the extermination?"
"The normal wildlife in the area is corrupted. I've killed around twelve of the worms and skorpids on my way in, not to mention dozens of stinging insects the size of my hand. Each was considered by the mission tracker to be equivalent to one tenth of a warrior. I think pest control would be a good use for some of our lighter troops. Many of them rely on poison and aren't very coordinated. It would be tactically advantageous, prove our usefulness to the Druids here, and would put our troops in the least amount of danger. That's a job for our rank and file, like the Lions and the worgen, maybe those bear people you brought in. Low risk and low reward in terms of the mission, but worth doing regardless."
"I can see your logic. I'll see what I can do. We might be able to send in some crusaders or Centaur as well, soon. It sure as hell won't get the mission done in two weeks, though. Probably not even in four. So what's the plan for our demons and elites?"
"Their densest populations are their hives; the commander here estimates nearly thirty thousand in each hive. Mostly workers, egg layers, and specialized guards, though. They are effectively production centers, hatching hundreds more of their kind every day once they are established. If we see one of them that's still developing, we should destroy it. Not just for the mission, either."
"Agreed."
"I don't know how effective a direct assault with our demons would be on a hive. You have… what, a hundred of them?"
"One hundred twenty, plus some new recruits today. If I send them on a hive assault it will be an excuse to get Lividia in as deep as possible so she can explode for maximum damage. I don't think we will be able to do that repeatedly though. Not to substantial effect."
"As you say. So I think we need to establish aerial supremacy. They have fliers, but those are relatively fragile and use poison. With our dragon riders we can do flyovers and kill from above, which should hopefully be enough. Other than that, my best idea is to bait them out somehow… Or sabotage. Sneak in some kind of bomb, perhaps?"
"Hmm. Might work. We definitely need to accelerate our timetable, though. We've only just started and we are already behind schedule."
"With all due respect, sir, no. No, we have not started. Not in any meaningful way."
••••••••••
Melisara made her way through Baron Revilgaz's home. The mission was simple enough; capturing a Steamweedle Baron just to cancel one man's debts seemed like overkill, but the idea of capturing him had tremendous utility in its own right, what with the financial tone of their current objectives. The banshee was using a strategy that would normally have relied upon an entire team of spirits working in concert: controlling those around him until he could be isolated and taken. Instead, she just needed to capture them one at a time; she didn't even have distinctive jewelry anymore thanks to the HuD upgrade Lord Bismark had given her. Nothing gave her away.
Revilgaz was a rich man with many defenses around him, including an expensive battery of sensors to detect spiritual entities around his chambers. If she hadn't done proper reconnaissance, those would have caught her. As it was, she'd needed Trace Defense to give her the opportunity to bug out before his floozy of the day, a lovely new addition to the retinue by the name of Trixie, got too close.
His second in command, a Tauren by the name of Seahorn, was only occasionally isolated, but he was more vulnerable than the Baron at least. More importantly, he could probably cancel the debt so that more missions could be generated. His lady love for the evening was nowhere near as carefully vetted, partly because he didn't have a different one every night. She was too exhausted to jump to him, but he was a surprisingly good lover if one enjoys tauren, so Melisara settled in to vicariously enjoy Huslu's evening with her sometimes lover. She would be staying the night, so Seahorn would be captured in the morning.
••••••••••
Doan's students looked up at me with surprise when I arrived. They were, one and all, members of the retinue already thanks to Talaada's work and Sally's decision to assign the rest to field patrols. It was just surprise, and in the case of the girls, an unexplained longing. The room was pretty crowded, with almost thirty people present.
"Doan, can we be sure that you won't be interrupted here?"
"No, Prophet. We haven't instituted any particular rules to that effect."
"Do so. I think I can make the training go even faster. Who's your best student here?"
"It would be a tie between Mila over there and your first bride. Where is she, by the way?"
"She died and has not yet resurrected herself. Do not worry, she will be back tomorrow." I love dropping bombs like that. I turned to Mila. "Alright Mila, I can only do this for one person at the moment so you will be the one. Doan, your necklace?"
I put the necklace around her neck and put in a combo that I hoped would assist her learning process: Eredar + Gnome. Eredar are among the most magically talented species in the universe, with only the High Elves really coming close. Gnomes are some of the most cognitively gifted species on Azeroth, with their primary competition being goblins. In both cases, the competition only won out when using an external crutch. The Well of Eternity or drugs laced with Kajamite, respectively. I was combining two of the species most naturally inclined towards arcane magic with a girl that was apparently already a brilliant mage in training.
The effects were pretty quick, and the results didn't look exactly like either of the starting points. She got taller, which must have been the Eredar half, though she didn't bulk up much. Maybe because of the Gnome half, maybe because she was optimized for big brain plays instead of physical development. Her hair became a bright pink color, and she sprouted horns. Her eyes became wider and her face rounder, almost certainly from the gnomish half of the equation. She was adorable.
https://imgur.com/a/0ejJlAe
Of course, I disguised her almost immediately. She looked like her normal self, except that she was several inches taller. "I hope that helps, and if it does we will be repeating the procedure for all of you tomorrow. I'll be wanting to see you out in the field over the course of the next few days; there's a war out there, and there's more than just the Scourge to fight."
Mila was looking at me with a mixture of awe and desire, and nearly every girl present had an echo of that same wish. I had a thought. "I have need of someone to warm my bed for me tonight, as my first wife is otherwise occupied. Since you have distinguished yourself, you will join me after the Magister releases you from your lessons. Each day, I shall return and grant a boon of equal value to whoever Doan tells me is worthy. Excel, and you will be rewarded handsomely. Fail, and you will remain as you are."
I blinked out of the room and made my way to my next appointment. I wasn't really sure what I'd grant talented men at first, then it hit me. A demon would be great as a reward; teach them how to bind a demon and give them a succubus or something. Even if the succubus had been a Trogg or kobold the day before, that wouldn't matter much once I had mind runes. If hybrid demons worked, she might not even look overtly demonic. That would be one hell of a reward. I know I'd try harder in class for a cute demon waifu/assistant/bodyguard.
••••••••••
I looked around the table with a smile. Champion Herod, Houndmaster Locksey, Commander Mograine, Interrogator Vishas, Confessor Talaada, and Inquisitor Whitemane. There were no more officers of the Scarlet Crusade left at the Monastery who could question me. It was time to shift gears.
"A pleasure to meet you all. I am the Prophet Erich Bismark. You serve me now, and we are going to get the Scarlet Crusade back on track. There will be no further conflict with the Forsaken. They speak the truth as to their natures. Instead, you shall put your utmost efforts towards bringing every single crusader, trainee, and prisoner here into the fold." I received a round of nods.
"Doan is to be given every consideration. His branch of the monastery is to be forbidden to anyone who would question his work, which is anyone that is not a member of the Brotherhood. Sally, similarly, is to spend as much time as can be possibly spared teaching the most faithful how to heal and resurrect as she does, especially my first wife. Her other duties, save resurrection, are to be reassigned to others capable of performing them.
"As you say, prophet."
"Saidan Dathrohan is an enemy of mine, but should we be careful, we will be able to take him as one of our own. I very much wish to do just that. There will sometimes be additional missions. For example, Sally, what of Benedictus Voss?"
"He will be arriving tomorrow. I can grant him the gift of my thorns and he shall serve you in two days."
"Good. That mission is of vital importance. One of the rewards will serve to make us even more formidable." Aegwynn was very, very powerful; if she loaned Doan her magic for a few days with the power trader she'd be able to get it back along with quite a few fellow students.
••••••••••
Yeh'kinya returned to his troll form as he landed atop the Temple of Atal'Hakkar, leaving the winged serpent form his master had granted him long ago. He did not know precisely what had happened here, but he had sensed a massacre.
The Atal'ai had fulfilled their purpose some time ago, corrupting the dragon so that his blood could be used to incubate Hakkar's mojo. Yeh'kinya only hoped that whoever had attacked didn't know the value of the blood. It would be a shame to have to find or create another group of patsies.
It was as he'd hoped, mostly. Much of the blood had been spilled while the temple was ransacked, but Yeh'kinya knew the rites better than anyone. He had enough to summon an avatar of his master, and to drain its power into the Egg of the Blood God. Soon, it would hatch. Hakkar would live again.