Oddly enough, it had seemed to lower its own defenses after catching a glimpse of itself in an ice wall that Tabitha had thrown up as a barricade.
That left the creature it had been fighting, which was ALSO not very human.
Tall it was, taller than the tallest student or even Mister Colbert by well over a head. Teeth, claws, fur, snarling, with yellow eyes that seemed to glow even in the afternoon sun. Those yellow eyes said something else as well: not human, not tamed, not something that one could simply stick a leash on.
When it spoke, it was with a growling bestial voice that had an odd echo to it. "Why have I been summoned here?"
"Y-y-y-you are my familiar?" tried Louise, who was feeling less than confident considering how big the familiar was and those two weapons it held. She estimated that the left-hand sword alone was heavier than she was.
"Familiar?" the creature asked, before it seemed to shrink in on itself in a blur. At the end of the blurring, there was a man there in identical armor.
The man was still taller than Colbert, though by only a few inches instead of head and neck. Wearing elaborate plate armor and staring down at Louise before turning and slashing his blades to the side, sending twin trails of gore towards a nearby wall. Then he sheathed those blades and turned back to Louise.
"Now then," said the man, in something approximating a normal voice. "If someone would oblige me with an explanation of precisely why I was summoned from a battlefield in Gilneas fighting the Forsaken and plopped down here, that would be quite appreciated."
"You're my familiar," said Louise, sounding proud. "I am your Master."
"Child, I'm a Death Knight," said the man. "A proud citizen of Gilneas even if my city fell to the Forsaken. I serve the Alliance, my liege King Genn Greymane, King Varian Wrynn as he heads the Alliance, and I owe a great debt to Darnassus due to their assistance to my people. I've fought the Horde many times over many years, the Forsaken, and the forces of the Lich King which took me from being a soldier of my people and sought to enslave me as a servant of the dead. You are a child who looks to have just barely passed your tenth year."
"You are the familiar she summoned," said Colbert apologetically. "There is no known reversal for the summoning."
"That is unfortunate," said the man. "Then it appears I must find mine own way to return."
"That's right," said the man.
"Can you give us some details?" asked Colbert.
"My name was Percival Frostborne, but due to the Lich-King remaking me into a Death Knight and the attendant memory loss, I have been going by the name Banefrost for a couple of years," said the Gilnean. "Sergeant Major, Gilnean Armed Forces originally. Stationed on the Wall. We were the first defenders, mainly those of the nobility and those who aspired to it. When the Forsaken attacked in force, we took heavy casualties but it was their use of poison vapors and siege missiles that broke the line."
"The 'Forsaken'?" asked Professor Colbert.
"Undead," answered Bane. "Self-willed undead whose bodies and humanity had rotted away. There are two such groups. The Scourge - which are under command of the Lich-King, and the Forsaken which are a member race of the Horde."
"That's the second time you've mentioned a horde," noted Professor Colbert.
Bane nodded. "The enemy of the Alliance. The Orcs are in charge, large muscular brutes. The Horde also has the Tauren, larger than Orcs but generally a bit slower. There are Trolls, slender and quick and heal faster than anything I've ever seen. Finally, the Forsaken whom I mentioned."
"And this 'Alliance'?" asked Colbert, writing this all down.
"Humans under King Varian Wrynn, the Dwarves of Ironforge, the Night Elves of Darnassus, the Gnomes, and finally my people - the Worgen," said Bane. "The last race we've encountered, the Pandaren, haven't sided with either group."
"You said 'undead' - like zombies?" asked Colbert.
"Yeah, you got those here too, eh?" asked Bane. "Now, my world is named Azeroth..."
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Thu, 27 Dec 2012 17:18)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.