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Demons were notorious for two things: being a thorn in Azeroth's side since the Scourge, and a plethora of exotic powerful reagents for warlocks who were brave enough to procure fresh specimens. Unfortunately for Laedra, it seemed that even the rich bounty of the partly conquered Broken Shore was not proving to be a reliable source of such potent magical additives.
Bright almost fel-green eyes looked down upon the mottled body of a fallen death guard. The petite elf's foot came out and nudged the creature with her slipper clad toe as if just to confirm that it was, indeed, dead. Most of its kin either shrieked at being wrenched back through the void or turning into a pile of putrid ash when they were delivered a fatal blow, but rarely there were some, like this one, who left behind a body that offered latent magical potential.
The warlock leaned back with her hip cocked haughtily. Such a position did well to accentuate her shapely hips and backside in the predominantly black dress she wore, with a plunging neckline that effortlessly highlighted the curvature of her pert breasts. The elf had a pale hand outstretched over the demon's corpse where floating above her palm was a small crystal. Its heart ebbed a faint pink within the translucent grey gem. Her face screwed up into a disapproving look.
"No, this one won't do at all," murmured the sin'dorei with a bored, mildly frustrated cluck of her tongue. Her manicured brow cinched forward into a furrow as she examined the fallen demon with a harsh, judgmental stare that practically willed it to wither away into nothing out of her sight for its insolence. She's been scouting the shore for two days at that point and hadn't found a single sustainable reagent. A short distance away on the days-old battlefield, a far more scantily clad succubus with tattooed dusky red skin meandered through the carnage of her brothers and sisters looking apathetic. Normally frenetic, even Astre's nearly boundless energy was sapped from her mistress' long search.
"I sense nothing of value here, mistress." She sighed and pouted, then flicked her wickedly curved tail in annoyance. Laedra was lulled from her task by her pet's words and walked away from the death guard's body to join the winged demoness. With a fluid movement the warlock turned her wrist and the gem slipped out of existence, leaving her arm to fall empty against her taut side.
"We still have the valley. Surely something useful remains there," the warlock said. Although her tone sounded like she was trying to convince herself of having good fortune more than the succubus, who dutifully nodded her head at the sin'dorei's next directive. Waving her hand once more, the warlock called upon her dreadsteed that galloped through a portal on fiery hooves. It flicked its horned head and snorted plumes of smoke lighted by faint embers. The next leg of her journey would not have taken Laedra very long except she had to travel cautiously. There were still pockets of demon spawn dotting the Broken Shore where the Deliverance Point detachments thinned out into scant infrequent patrols, if that.
Eventually she arrived at the valley and dismounted with Astre in tow. Something in the air made the small hairs on the back of the warlock's neck stand on end and immediately she knew her last hope to gain recognition in the Black Harvest was right. More dead demons lay scattered across the area like before, but she noted a few of them appeared to be... fresh. The dark magics that suffocated their auras still burned, albeit weakly. It was difficult to make out how many specimens she could harvest as the rocky plateaus hanging above draped much of the space in shade.
Then she paused mid-step. The presence of magic felt stronger and called to her. Had she just stepped into the lair of a powerful demon?
Astre felt it as well. She exchanged a worried look with Laedra but could see the persistence behind her cold veneer.
"Mistress--"
"Go." Laedra's command was flat. Instantly the succubus was gone as commanded, leaving the warlock alone to investigate. She proceeded over the fel pocked landscape following the demonic energy that thudded in her chest. Finally, she turned around an alcove in the valley and was struck by the heady sensation of magic.
She had to squint to focus on the figure encircled by a miasma of shimmering magic. A cursory glance down at the ground made it clear to her the demon stepped into a binding spell. The figure was humanoid and from the back certainly didn't look like any demon she dominated or killed before. Closer still, the haze of the ritual cleared enough that she could more easily see the creature trapped within. What she discovered was... unexpected.
"Well," Laedra announced in an amused voice to the trapped figure. "This is a strange sight to behold indeed." Musical laughter quietly tumbled from her lush red lips and she tilted her head. As she did so, the ombre curtain of rich bronze fading to pale gold hair fell back off her shoulders. Confidence restored, so too returned the naturally condescending demeanour that many were used to seeing on the sin'dorei.
Bright almost fel-green eyes looked down upon the mottled body of a fallen death guard. The petite elf's foot came out and nudged the creature with her slipper clad toe as if just to confirm that it was, indeed, dead. Most of its kin either shrieked at being wrenched back through the void or turning into a pile of putrid ash when they were delivered a fatal blow, but rarely there were some, like this one, who left behind a body that offered latent magical potential.
The warlock leaned back with her hip cocked haughtily. Such a position did well to accentuate her shapely hips and backside in the predominantly black dress she wore, with a plunging neckline that effortlessly highlighted the curvature of her pert breasts. The elf had a pale hand outstretched over the demon's corpse where floating above her palm was a small crystal. Its heart ebbed a faint pink within the translucent grey gem. Her face screwed up into a disapproving look.
"No, this one won't do at all," murmured the sin'dorei with a bored, mildly frustrated cluck of her tongue. Her manicured brow cinched forward into a furrow as she examined the fallen demon with a harsh, judgmental stare that practically willed it to wither away into nothing out of her sight for its insolence. She's been scouting the shore for two days at that point and hadn't found a single sustainable reagent. A short distance away on the days-old battlefield, a far more scantily clad succubus with tattooed dusky red skin meandered through the carnage of her brothers and sisters looking apathetic. Normally frenetic, even Astre's nearly boundless energy was sapped from her mistress' long search.
"I sense nothing of value here, mistress." She sighed and pouted, then flicked her wickedly curved tail in annoyance. Laedra was lulled from her task by her pet's words and walked away from the death guard's body to join the winged demoness. With a fluid movement the warlock turned her wrist and the gem slipped out of existence, leaving her arm to fall empty against her taut side.
"We still have the valley. Surely something useful remains there," the warlock said. Although her tone sounded like she was trying to convince herself of having good fortune more than the succubus, who dutifully nodded her head at the sin'dorei's next directive. Waving her hand once more, the warlock called upon her dreadsteed that galloped through a portal on fiery hooves. It flicked its horned head and snorted plumes of smoke lighted by faint embers. The next leg of her journey would not have taken Laedra very long except she had to travel cautiously. There were still pockets of demon spawn dotting the Broken Shore where the Deliverance Point detachments thinned out into scant infrequent patrols, if that.
Eventually she arrived at the valley and dismounted with Astre in tow. Something in the air made the small hairs on the back of the warlock's neck stand on end and immediately she knew her last hope to gain recognition in the Black Harvest was right. More dead demons lay scattered across the area like before, but she noted a few of them appeared to be... fresh. The dark magics that suffocated their auras still burned, albeit weakly. It was difficult to make out how many specimens she could harvest as the rocky plateaus hanging above draped much of the space in shade.
Then she paused mid-step. The presence of magic felt stronger and called to her. Had she just stepped into the lair of a powerful demon?
Astre felt it as well. She exchanged a worried look with Laedra but could see the persistence behind her cold veneer.
"Mistress--"
"Go." Laedra's command was flat. Instantly the succubus was gone as commanded, leaving the warlock alone to investigate. She proceeded over the fel pocked landscape following the demonic energy that thudded in her chest. Finally, she turned around an alcove in the valley and was struck by the heady sensation of magic.
She had to squint to focus on the figure encircled by a miasma of shimmering magic. A cursory glance down at the ground made it clear to her the demon stepped into a binding spell. The figure was humanoid and from the back certainly didn't look like any demon she dominated or killed before. Closer still, the haze of the ritual cleared enough that she could more easily see the creature trapped within. What she discovered was... unexpected.
"Well," Laedra announced in an amused voice to the trapped figure. "This is a strange sight to behold indeed." Musical laughter quietly tumbled from her lush red lips and she tilted her head. As she did so, the ombre curtain of rich bronze fading to pale gold hair fell back off her shoulders. Confidence restored, so too returned the naturally condescending demeanour that many were used to seeing on the sin'dorei.