Kalaneia dropped Jubeka’s soulstone into the soulwell and a final memory appeared. A grandiose Demonic Gateway unfolded from the ground. Kalaneia only recognized the demonic figure that stepped through as Kanrethad Ebonlocke because Jubeka’s memory labeled it as him.
Kanrethad viciously attacked Jubeka. During the fierce battle, he summoned a Pit Lord, then an enormous pack of Wild Imps. Jubeka cleverly defeated Kanrethad’s minions, though Kalaneia could see that it was taxing all of her resources to do so.
At last, when Kanrethad had exhausted himself channeling a massive spell of destruction that he claimed to have stolen from Deathwing, Jubeka gained the upper hand and Banished him.
As the memory ended, Jubeka herself stepped out from behind one of the serpent statues.
“Hello, Kalaneia,” Jubeka said, “You have found me. But this is no place to talk. Come to my home and you can tell me why you have sought me out over tea.” She cast a Demonic Circle on the ground and gestured Kalaneia to step into it. When the familar crackling sensation cleared, Kalaneia found herself in a cave that had been furnished into a moderately comfortable dwelling.
“Go ahead, look around a bit,” Jubeka said, emerging from the Demonic Circle behind her. Kalaneia walked over to the cave entrance and looked out. She could see that this cave was very close to the Altar of Damnation, but its entrance was difficult to spot from outside. Turning back into the cave, she saw at the very back the statue-like Banished form of Kanrethad.
“Cheery company, isn’t he?” Jubeka smirked. “Kanrethad’s power is too great to allow him to be free. I’ll ensure he stays Banished, for as long as I exist. Still, a taste of the fel energies he is saturated with should cause no ill. Feel free to drain some for your own use.”
At Jubeka’s continued urging, Kalaneia hesitantly reached out to touch Kanrethad. The fel energy flowed into her, flowed through her — she felt herself somersaulting high, high into the air as the fel energy overflowed her — she was dimly aware that she was not hitting the cave roof — she landed, feeling at once exhilarated and nauseated.
She looked around for something to light on fire, to see how this new power would affect her spells. Spotting Jubeka’s fireplace, she cast a very small Incinerate. A sheet of green fire rippled across the room and the wood burst into green flames. They were oddly beautiful.
“Ah, thank you, dear,” said Jubeka, setting a teapot on a hook over the fire. “Should you ever grow tired of these effects, return to me here and I can purge the fel energy from you — for a price, of course. Now, tell me what you really came to find me for.”
Feeling somewhat abashed after all that had happened, Kalaneia brought The Codex of Xerrath out of her satchel and handed it to the Forsaken woman. “I was hoping that you would be able to read Nathrezim.”
“Alas, I cannot. But I know someone who can.” As Kalaneia watched, struggling to conceal her astonishment, Jubeka summoned an Observer and politely requested that it inspect the book.
The Observer scanned the pages as Jubeka held them up in front of its oversized eye. “Of course! This codex is written in the ancient Nathrezim tongue. Nathrezim, or the Dreadlords, as you call them, were once an enlightened and powerful race. Their skill in summoning and gateway magic was unsurpassed by any in the Great Dark Beyond. This particular tome contains instructions to open a gateway to another world. Sadly, I fear that world no longer exists. It was destroyed as a show of power during the enslavement of Xoroth. The tome is useless, I’m afraid. No warlock could open such a gateway alone.”*
Jubeka thanked the Observer and dismissed it. “I am sorry that you have come all this way for nothing,” she said, pouring Kalaneia a cup of tea. “But I sense that there is another, truer need that perhaps I can help you with.”
Not quite “nothing”, Kalaneia thought, considering all that she’d learned about demonology, the green fire, and how she now had an “in” with the Council of the Black Harvest. She explained about the Legion attacks on Azeroth, the failed battle at the Broken Shore, the escape of Illidan’s demon hunters from the Vault of the Wardens.
“Hmmm….” Jubeka tapped an already tea-soaked biscuit against the edge of her teacup until it broke and fell into the cup, spattering droplets out onto the tabletop. “Thank you for bringing me this news. The return of the Legion to Azeroth is indeed a dire matter. I think the time has come at last to reconvene the Council of the Black Harvest. I will make preparations to contact Rittsyn and the others. We’ll be in touch with you when we’ve reassembled.”
“But what will you do with Kanrethad?” Kalaneia asked.
“Oh, I’ll take him with me. He’s not actually all that hard to transport in this form, and much better company.”
~*~*~
*If a Warlock who has the Grimoires of Supremacy talent summons an Observer for the quest to ask your demons about the book near the beginning of the quest chain, this is what the Observer says.
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Kamalia et alia 