The Black Guards and Tower Masters stood shocked as Estaria walked back to Filnon. Emir rushed Estaria while she was wounded, and was sharply dispatched in a whirlwind of steel by Filnon before he had gotten a dozen paces. That stunned everyone even further, and there was the clinking of steel as surprised steps were taken backwards. Estaria, however, seemed focused on something in front of her, something Filnon could see as her status screen.
“Is this the best time to do that?” Filnon whispered, keeping her eye on the men who were to apprehensive to move forward, but not wanting to move back any further and incur Malekith’s wrath.
“There was a lot of guys. Plus these two we just got, and something something sharing all the exp. I got these pop ups for Master Traits, some ultimate traits relevant to each of the three classes. Might be helpful in this sea of people” she explained, before returning her gaze to it. A lot of exp from this, as to be expected. They had gone through several hundred people and two Bosses. So right now, she was just on the right side, of level 120. Filnon started some conversation with Malekith to distract them, but Estaria was focused on her screen, so while she heard the words, she didn’t comprehend them and lost half the conversation. The two Master Traits, for Captain and Greatswordsman, were very interesting things indeed.
Fire Support - Off-Map Artillery is launched on command, bombarding the enemy with fire and steel. This trait gives access to “Sunmaker” Rocket Battery “Hammer Of Witches” Grand Cannon volley, or “Sigmar’s Fury” Helblaster Volley Gun battery 40 minute cooldown.
Blackguard’s Jackboot - The Ostland Black Guard are added to your retinue, a Dozen men with their own rations tucked into their Jackboots, allowing them to roam far from stable supply lines in aid of their commander. These summons can ignore ‘Broken Supply Lines’ debuff. 5 minutes duration, 20 minutes cooldown.
They really were nice. How could a girl say no to artillery and strapping men with mustaches? Sunmaker would be excellent at unarmored or lightly armoured infantry, Hammer Of Witches would go well to take down monsters, and the Volley Gun would be good for armoured infantry. That and the Greatswordsmen could be summoned anywhere she desired, meant she was never alone or left wanting for support.
“Hell of an ironic name though” Estaria muttered, snapping her finger and decimating the tightly packed Druchii Black Guard with a salvo of rounds. Smaller than full-blown cannonballs, they were larger and faster than any handgun round, and so punched through the shield wall of the Black Guard and their armour. Suddenly being raked by unseen artillery broke the discipline of the Black Guard, and they frantically charged into combat. Malekith growled and took the opportunity to send in the Tower Masters and Dreadlords as well, hoping to overwhelm them with numbers. Even stepping down from his throne and drawing his blade. In response, a terrifying black gas erupted from Filnon, and filled the room. The shrieks of agony, and the grisly sounds of murder ripped through the air, and when the gas had dispersed, the line of Druchii was decimated.
Malekith looked on, shocked at such powerful Dhar Magic being used by a Witch Elf, and the rest of the Black Guard were finished off by a wind of Blades slicing through armour and flesh. Once the magical mayhem had finished, Estaria gave Filnon a sideways glance.
“You know how it is. Level 100, shedload of traits. I got some Magic-boosters” Filnon replied, before Es laughed. Her darling wife was a walking bomb even more than she was. It was kind of terrifying to think that the two of them could wipe out an entire country, given time. Though the Dreadlords looked to themselves before anything else and had vanished to save their own skin, the Tower Masters were a different story, and so Estaria grabbed her blades and summoned her Ostland men.
“Malekith is your king, I’ll leave him to you” Estaria said, and then rushed to the Tower Masters. It was true, so Filnon used one of the not Once-A-Day spells to enhance herself, and then moved towards the Witch-King.
“You could have just talked to me. I was never going to be a threat, Estaria was never going to be a threat. We would be loyal till the end. And you ruined that with your paranoia” Filnon then kicked off the ground and struck out with her blade, which crackled with Dhar power as it scored Malekith’s armour. His blade, The Destroyer, tried to unbind her enchantment with every blow against the blades, but Filnon had exceptionally potent magic, and a trait to make casting swifter than normal, so even when it did go down, she simply put it back up immediately.
“What else have you ruined for the Druchii, in your arrogance and self-absorbed narcissism? Did the Asur even betray you?!” Filnon’s fury filled her voice, and Malekith responded with a mighty strike from his shield. Not that it did anything, as Filnon danced around it like a leaf in the wind, and then broke his arm by locking it up with her sword and twisting it into a horrific angle. His armour’s durability working against him as it did not break away under the force, but provide an unyielding surface to snap. From there, the fight turned against him, every blow was turned aside and Filnon, who had given up trying to cut through the armour, was smashing him with bludgeoning blows and breaking his body. Eventually she knocked him off his feet when the hilt smashed into his face and buckled it. Filnon ripped the mask away from his face and drove her sword into his scarred face, stabbing it again and again, until a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder.
“He’s dead, love” Estaria spoke softly. Snapping out of her stabby rage, Filnon looked at the corpse below her. The Witch-King, the ancient Druchii Overlord, had fallen. It was easy, as if Fate itself was guiding her blades to slay him.
“Right. Sorry” Filnon said softly, getting lifted up by Estaria, and looking Malekith. The generic loot was divided in half and split between them, but Estaria let Filnon get all of Malekith’s gear. He was her king and her kill.
Faction Leader Killed! Choose your reward:
1: Experience
2: Item
3: Trait
The box popped up in both of their sights, since they shared rewards. Estaria, really interested in what these Master Traits were, and so hit the Experience, and got dropped with enough exp to push her to 130. The new Master Traits were available, but she didn’t take the Khaine one. It would give a weapon called the “Wailing Doom” for 5 minutes. Though, Estaria was happy with the weapons she had, so picked the Captain trait that would double all summons including the amount of Artillery she shot. With 24 Black Guards, 12 Carroburg Greatswords, 24 Fireloques, and Artillery, she was a damn monster. Definitely going to try some S-rank dungeon some time with all this. Exp was suddenly a need she had, because these Master Traits were awesome. And speaking of, Filnon seemed to have decided to go a different path, as she now wore a cloak around her, which gently swayed as if in a breeze.
“Hurricane Cloak. 100% resistance to ranged attacks” Filnon told Estaria after the questioning look.
“I got the experience. My summons are boosted to be a bloody army. 52 units and double salvo artillery” Estaria then sat back on one of the seats, and exhaled deeply. Her fatigue was at 74%, and while the gap between percents was pretty broad these days, that was still close to losing a lot of her shit. “What do we do now?” Estaria asked. An actual question, since she wasn’t sure how Druchii society would handle them slaughtering the Witch-King.
“Well, I, for one, need a vacation” Filnon exclaimed. Estaria’s bulging eyes and look of ‘Can I survive jumping out of that window’ made Filnon laugh lightly. “No, no, not to the stables. I got a quest, and have been gathering the bits for it for a while now. But I need to go somewhere I’ve never been nor do I know how to get to. I’m pretty sure that...Middenheim? Is an Empire city?” Filnon finished. That, surprised Estaria more than the first one.
“Yea….greatest Fortress in the Empire. Home to the Grand Temple Of...wait, do you think our Gods got mixed up? That, you were meant to be Khaine and I was meant to be Ulric?” Estaria suddenly asked. It would make sense as to why a human had an Elven God, after all.
“Considering you had to go to Khaine’s Temple in Har Garath for your quest, I would say yes...But, I have no idea how this whole thing was made in the first place. So maybe someone slipped up” Filnon then shrugged, and held out her arm for Estaria to link with, and together they headed out of the tower.
“Do...I need to cover up...or hide my appearance?” Filnon asked Estaria.
“Singular Druchii are not a complete rarity in The Empire. Generally, those too bored or those who fucked up and would die if they returned come to The Empire as mercenaries. We’ve got Ogres and Norscans and Dwarves and all manner of things as Sellswords, so The Empire just accepts them. So, you’ll fit in pretty well” Estaria replied, but then thought for a moment and stroked her collar. “Only, slaves are illegal, so we might need to find me a proper ring” Estaria then smiled. The idea of having an actual ring she could show off to people who would understand it a lot better than the large ring around her neck, was a nice one. And her heart was really aflutter with the idea of returning home. Butterflies in her stomach and a nervousness she did not feel while facing down two hundred of the most skilled killers in all of Naggarond.
“I’ll sort something out. Maybe we can stop by one of your chapels and get an Empire Wedding. That would be novel, huh?” Filnon then kissed Estaria’s blushing cheeks and took her through the city, and to the docks. The fighting had calmed as the Witches claimed victory, and a lot of the Captains had returned from floating out to sea so as to be out of range. It was in one of these ships that Estaria and Filnon caught a ride. As hated as Druchii slavers and raiders were, there were always smugglers and pirates willing to trade with them, and so they set a course for one of the hidden troves near Norden. This was it. As the ship got underway, Estaria stared into the horizon. The impossible, had become possible. Estaria, was coming home.
