Missing Son

Matthyas met with Shernis at Krasus’s Landing. He looked toward his friend and asked her, “Shernis, I haven’t heard from my son in awhile. Not since Teldrassil…We were having dinner three times a week, but it’s been over a week since our last. Can you see if you can track him down?”

Shernis replied, “Ishnu-dal-dieb. I will do what I can to find him.”

Some time later, a golden eagle landed near Matthyas and it made a loud screech to get his attention quickly. The Paladin slowly reached down toward the eagle’s leg and grabbed a parchment that was tied to it. It reads:

“Matthyas, I have grim news to share, I finally tracked down Tervan at your old home in Tirisfal Glades, but he wasn’t alone. Some forsaken were with him! You might bring some friends and get to the bottom of this! I lost him there but I will keep searching.”

Matthyas: “Templar, can you come to my aid and help me find my son?”

Matthyas, Roshan, and the Templar meet near the signpost and crossroads east of the Undercity.

“Thank you all for joining me. We’ll start where Shernis spotted Tervan. Only a handful of people know of this place as I hired some of the finest magicians I could find to place wards to prevent anyone from finding and entering my home without me. This way.

The Templar and Matthyas start walking toward the farm.

“This was…my home. I made a graveyard near it that contained the remains of all my family and friends, at least the remains I could find.

“Inside of what remains of home is a shrine dedicated to my loss. I try to visit it at least once a month, legion invasions and the like notwithstanding.”

Matthyas walked up to the ruins. He looked shocked at the spirits and ghouls that freely wander around. The graveyard has been noticeably disturbed with holes in the ground and broken tombstones. The ruined house with that was once a shrine has been smashed to pieces.

“The wards protecting it are gone! Everything I built here…it’s been desecrated! These wards were designed to only obey my commands, but maybe someone who has my blood could take control…”

Matthyas choked back some tears. “We must find Tervan and some answers!”

Matthyas frantically looks around for any clues. Roshan began to sniff the ground. Roshan used his snout and body and points northeast like a dog pointing to the direction of prey.

“Templar, Roshan and I found several footprints, one of them is Worgen! It looks like they head northeast. Let’s follow them!

The Templar and Matthyas find a series of footprints and a set of worgen paw prints heading northeast of the ruins towards Venomweb Vale.

The party finds Tervan with a forsaken in a camp surrounded by several dead and burning bodies. One of them is grotesquely hanged in the air.

Forsaken, “Ha ha ha. Welcome Matthyas and friends. I’m glad there’s an audience here. Did you like the present I left you, back in your hoooome?” He says in a taunting, condescending tone.

Matthyas coldly replies, “Was it you that did this to my home, my memorial?”

Forsaken, “Where are your manners foolish Paladin! Do you not recognize your old friend, Alex Garin?”

“You’re not him. you’re forsaken.”

Forsaken, “That may be true, but I am him, more or less. After my ‘rebirth’ I decided to call myself, Alacone. But to clarify your question, I never get my hands dirty, but I gave the orders to my new pet dog here.”

“What did you do to my son?!”

Alacone, “After earning his freedom from the Lich King’s grasp, he tried to return to Gilneas to search for survivors that he used to live with. Sadly for him, the forsaken were waiting and captured him. Shortly thereafter, we decided we needed to…test your son. While he definitely did die under the tender care of the Lich King and his minions, we needed to know more about his reanimation and the powers he was bestowed with in raising the dead. Such information would only help benefit the cause of the Dark Lady!”

“You bastard, you disgusting undead piece of garbage, I’ll slice off that miserable excuse of a head off your rotting neck!”

Alacone, “My, such words…such manners. This only makes it more delicious for me. But before we…celebrate…my discovery, I thought it would only be fair that you knew that I discovered how to corrupt any of the Lich King’s death knights. The results gave way to 100% complete obedience and it allowed us to destroy your ‘memorial’ and the remains of your home. This concluded my tests and showed that his subversion was successful.”

“Was it worth torturing my son?! Give me back my son!”

Alacone, “Ha ha ha! You see these bodies around you? They were others who tried to stop me. My pet dog and I made short work of them. I will make use of them as more materials for my experiments, just as you all will be! With so much work to do, I don’t think I’ll give away my favorite pet just yet! I’m such a…perfectionist, that I want perform one last test too. Tervan, destroy Matthyas and his precious Templar!”

(Tervan with a cold reply), “I must obey.”

A large magical ward engulfs Alacone, making him immune to all damage. Tervan’s cold blue eyes lock onto the group as he raised his glowing red axe. He awaited the first round of attacks before making his first move.

Matthyas shouts, “Templar, please, don’t kill my son!”

Tervan’s speed and skill dodged the worst of the attacks the Templar have to offer. He slashed out toward the most successful Templar and attacked with an axe. Matthyas sees the attack and pushes himself past the wounded Templar and locked his fiery sword against Tervan’s axe. “Templar, I’ll take care of Tervan! See what you can do to break that barrier! With enough force a combination of attacks and spells might be able to break it!”

The Templar rise to action and used a combination of magic, magically infused attacks, brute force, and squirrels! A templar hunter by the name of Doryn rises to action by calling on the assistance of three squirrels. One is left to harry Tervan, keeping him distracted for Matthyas by running around the hulking worgen like a tree, screaming and biting. The others and Doryn turned their attention to the forsaken in the bubble. In strange unison their eyes narrowed together, and as the young scout raised her rifle, aimed and fired, the slightly bigger squirrel threw himself at the barrier. Where he hit, sparks flew, but he did it again and again. The second squirrel didn’t bother. She just opened her mouth- -and there was a faint glow behind metallic teeth. Something was happening -BOOM!- went the fireball against the magic ward, sending smoke and clods of dirt flying. Doryn grinned. Surprise! “Keep that up, Cindy!” After a relentless onslaught by many Templar, the barrier shatters.

Alacone cries, “Damn you! My barrier wasn’t designed to withstand against so many!”

Matthyas knocked Tervan down hard. He looked unconscious. He then hears Alacone’s cry and lunged toward the vulnerable forsaken ghoul, piercing him with his fiery defender through his chest and back. The forsaken gurgled and laughed.

“You…may have won this. But even if you restore Tervan’s soul, every Forsaken knows about my experiment. It was praised and sanctioned at the highest levels all the way to the Dark Lady! Teldrassil was only the beginning! We will make weapons like Tervan that will purge ALL life. We will never stop hunting him and you down…forever! You…and your son…will never be free! Your family you never know peace, except that of the grave! And then we will raise you both, and ALL of you that help these fools, to our side!”

Matthyas removed his sword from Alacone’s twisted body. The ghoul falls, coughs, and chokes black bile. He then raised his sword up high and brought it down quickly, severing Alacone’s head from his neck. Both the head and the body burn brightly.

Matthyas leaned toward the unconscious body of his son, tossed his sword aside, and prayed out loud.

“Light, that which loves and nurtures all life, grant me the power to restore my son’s soul and bring him back to me!”

Matthyas emitted a strong beam of life.

Roshan howled and a beam of light emerged from his body as it touched and enhanced Matthyas’s light.

Matthyas strains to secure his grasp of light magic to break the spell. “Templar, if anyone else can help me, lend me your strength!”

A couple of healers rise to the occasion and their combined magic grants enough strength to shatter the binds on Tervan’s mind.

Tervan’s body stirs and looks up, “Father.”

“Son.” Matthyas hugs Tervan closely.

With tears in his eyes Matthyas helped lift his son to his feet. “I swear to you my son and to the Templar, let all of you who bear witness know my anger, my wrath, it shall be visited upon the Forsaken! I will make them pay for this, and I will not rest until the Undercity has been razed and cleansed of death once and for all! I will make them pay for what they’ve done! Let’s the light’s judgment be upon all those who would defend these unholy creatures and the evil they wish to inflict upon me and MY family! I won’t rest until my home is FINALLY free of them! For Teldrassil!”

Special thanks: To Zen for reviewing, Cael for adding her part about the squirrels and Doryn, and to everyone who attended. Thank you all for inspiring me! For Lordraeron! For Teldrassil!