Kalaneia studied Jubeka’s soulstone. Somehow, this object was supposed to help her find its creator. Would the object, as a whole, play hot-and-cold with her to find Jubeka in the same way that the fragments had to help her find them? She turned this way and that, holding the soulstone out in front of her. It didn’t seem to change temperature, but whenever she faced east, toward the Black Temple, it seemed like it began to tug at her.
As she approached the Black Temple, Kalaneia was a bit surprised that the tugging of Jubeka’s soulstone did not pull aside to the breach in the side wall that led to the sewers. Even after the defeat of Illidan, the mopping-up crews assembled by the Aldor and the Scryers — still competing with each other to prove that they would be the best helpers for Akama and the Ashtongue Broken — had continued to come in through that sewer entrance, leaving the great gates into the main courtyard of the temple sealed. But no, Jubeka’s soulstone pulled her right up to those gates.
When she got close, Kalaneia could see an elaborate sigil glowing on the gates — the same sigil that was embossed on the cover of Jubeka’s journal.
This, too, she suspected would only be visible to a Warlock attuned to Jubeka’s journal. She reached out to touch it — and instantaneously, with the same sensation as stepping into one of her own Demonic Circles, she found herself standing beside a much smaller rendering of the symbol, at a relatively inconspicuous location inside the courtyard.
Many Ashtongue Broken were patrolling the courtyard. At first, Kalaneia thought she might have to sneak past them. She was attempting to do so when one of the Ashtongue looked at her directly — and to her surprise, he nodded at her and waved her by. There was something vaguely familiar about his face. It occurred to her that some of the Ashtongue might recognize her from all that time she’d spent here with those Scryer mopping-up crews. It seemed that, because of the assistance she’d given them, they also respected* and at least minimally trusted her. Good. This would make trying to find Jubeka somewhat easier — if she was still here at all, given that it had been a few years since she’d sent her journal to Kranosh.
Entering the Sanctuary of Shadows, Kalaneia began scanning for signs of Jubeka — perhaps other instances of the sigil, smaller and more subtle? At the foot of a pillar, she spotted a scroll emblazoned not with Jubeka’s mark, but with the rune of the Illidari. Odd, that. The last time she’d been here with the Scryer crews, a year or two ago, it had looked like the Ashtongue were finally getting the place properly cleaned up, getting rid of the mess left behind by Illidan’s lackeys. Had the Ashtongue here even heard yet of the events at the Broken Shore, of the escape of the demon hunters from the Vault of the Wardens?
As she bent to pick up the scroll, something heavy smacked the back of her skull. As she stood there, stunned, ears ringing, Akama stepped out of the shadows. “Foolish warlocks,” he snarled, “I knew you would try again to ransack our temple!”
Through the pain, Kalaneia began to contemplate how she could convince Akama to help her find Jubeka. Before she could get her aching brain to form coherent words, Akama spoke again. “Wait… You’re not one of those warlocks that snuck in here before. Why then are you here… Scryer Kalaneia?” He recognized her. That was good. “What do you want from the Black Temple? Stay a moment and speak with me, rather than skulk about like a rogue.”
What to say came to her in a flash of inspiration. “Sylvanas Windrunner, Warchief of the Horde and Dark Lady of the Forsaken, urgently requests and requires the return of her advisor Jubeka Shadowbreaker.”
Akama harumphed. “Scryer Kalaneia, you and your Horde did much to aid my people in freeing the Black Temple from Illidan’s grasp. I will help you as a show of mutual trust and repayment of the debt we owe you.”
He turned and began walking toward the formerly orc-infested area of the temple. “It has been some years since those two warlocks broke into the temple… but I’m still not sure what they were after. They visited the Shrine of Lost Souls and the temple summit.” Akama paused to speak to the guard at the entrance to the Halls of Anguish. “I have decided to trust this warlock… for now. Allow her to move about the temple freely.” The guard nodded and stepped aside to let them pass. “It will take many years for us to undo the damage that Magtheridon, Illidan, and the fel orcs did to this holy place.” Akama sighed heavily. “Within lies the Shrine of Lost Souls. The souls of thousands of my fallen brethren remain within this area. Use caution, there are many traps here.” His voice turned sour. “Perhaps one of your demon spells will grant you the ability to scout ahead before advancing forward.” He stalked away.
Kalaneia decided to take the hint as another good-faith gesture. She was certain that Akama knew exactly what “demon spell” he had referred to so obliquely. She summoned her Eye of Kilrogg and began to explore the broken hallway leading down into the shrine. Through the Eye, she saw a maze of shadow traps.
This was… new since she’d been here last with the Scryers… The Eye of Kilrogg wasn’t just useful for spying, though. By using it to place a series of Demonic Gateways, Kalaneia easily navigated the invisible maze.
When she stepped into the Shrine of Souls, Jubeka’s soulstone released another memory.
No sooner had the memory ended than an entity similar to the Essences of Suffering, Desire, and Anger that Kalaneia had defeated before arose from the back of the chamber and sprang to attack her.
Between being caught flat-footed and the fury with which the Essence of Order attacked, Kalaneia barely defeated it. In fact, she died to its flames mere moments after it succumbed to her spells. Fortunately, she had taken the precaution of storing her soul in a soulstone of her own before entering the maze.
As it fell, the reliquary shouted, “If you love demons so much, then you shall have them!” The hallway leading back to the Halls of Anguish was now free of the shadow traps and filled with demons that had apparently been bound within the Essence of Order. If Kalaneia had come here a few years ago, when she first received the mysterious book in her mailbox, these demons might have been troublesome for her. As it was, she and Mezzthyk squashed them like bugs.
Akama was waiting for Kalaneia near the exit of the Halls of Anguish. More fallen demons lay all around him. He glared at her suspiciously. “Kalaneia!” he barked, “Some of my men are trapped in the basement. There is little time. Help me save them!” Without waiting for her reply, he ran through the door leading down to the area where Gurtogg Bloodboil had once been kept.
Kalaneia almost started after him, but then she remembered that he’d said that the other warlocks had also gone up to the temple summit. Now could be her chance to get up there and locate Jubeka without interference! Pausing briefly to dismiss Mezzthyk and summon Pagnar, she headed toward the Den of Mortal Delights. The imp became very excited as they entered the lair of Illidan’s blood elven minions. “There’s gotta be some riches around this place!” Pagnar exclaimed. His voice took on a pleading, whining tone, “C’mon, boss, you know you want to…”
Sure enough, the Ashtongue had not yet finished cleaning up this part of the temple. Small gems and gold coins lay scattered all about. Kalaneia began picking up all that she saw. Soon, she noticed that there were more valuable items, such as rings, necklaces, and golden dishes, too. She began to collect these items, as well. After about five minutes, however, she stopped short. “This is a waste of time,” she said, dumping the pile of trinkets on Pagnar. “Take this junk and get rid of it, and bring me whatever money you get for it.” Pagnar took the loot and vanished, cackling gleefully.
A lone Shivarra remained on the terrace once occupied by Mother Shahraz. It was easily defeated. Kalaneia raced through the promenades and council rooms of Illidan’s higher-ranking servants until she reached the doors to the temple summit. Illidan’s runes still glowed there, but they no longer bound the doors shut.
As she pushed open the doors, Pagnar popped out at her side. “We got a lotta cash for all that crap!” he chortled. Kalaneia glared at him, and he shut up.
Looking across the temple summit, Kalaneia spotted a soulwell at the far side of the platform. She hurried across to it. Somehow, she knew that if she placed Jubeka’s soulstone within it, she would know where to find the Forsaken warlock.
~*~*~
*Kalaneia had reached Revered with the Ashtongue Broken from soloing Black Temple for Mog gear.
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