Into the Depths of Hell (part 3)

“Core Hounds!” Silva screamed, as yet more of the behemothine canine creatures came thundering over to them. The battle had been progressing now for more than ten minutes now, every time the Knight seemed to finish one enemy off for good, another one seemed to have arrived, eager to take a big juicy bite from the tin can tauren. She hated to admit it, but with the burning curse still etched into her skin, and the relentlessness of the attack, she could feel herself waning. Fight on, Silvacgosa. The words echoed within her mind, barely a whisper, but enough to spur her on. She had no idea who this mysterious whisperer was who knew of her name, nor indeed why they wanted to help her so, but she was grateful for them. She already suspected that it was the druid, but had seen no evidence to confirm this. With a great bellow, she hefted her axe, cleaving the new enemys head clear off its body, before turning to the next hound. several swipes to its body and legs had it felled, and the third one fell soon after that.

“It’s no good! I cannot kill them quick enough! They feed off the heat of each other to heal their wounds. Druid, I could really use some of that nature power right about now…” She cried out, holding back one of the hounds as it tried to press the two of them over the edge of a precipice, into the lava far below. Zachariah nodded, and waved his paws around slowly. After a few moments, a tumultuous cloud of wrath began to appear above the remaining core hounds, and from it, great arcs of lightning smashed downwards, earthing themselves through the hounds, frying them from the inside out. The last remaining hound to be standing gave a whine of pain, and Silva slowly stroked its hide with her glove.”"
“I know it hurts, but you will soon know no more pain. Be at peace.” She said, and swung her axe for one final blow. The hit struck, and the last ounces of life were taken from the hound. Suddenly, an almighty great roar echoed throughout the whole cavern, shaking stalactites from the ceiling, shattering them on the floor.

“Wh…what the…What was THAT?” Silva stammered, freezing up as she felt a hot breath blow across her back. Her eyes widened as she saw Zach slowly backing away from her.
“There’s something behind me, isn’t there? Something big, and mean?” She asked quietly, and the druid nodded gently.
“Fight or flight?” She asked, and to her chagrin she watched as the druid assumed his cat-like form, and ran off.

“DAMNIT ZACH! DON’T LEAVE ME ALONE HERE!!” She screamed, propelling herself forwards at great speed, drawing on her own unholy power to move herself at an increased speed. The creature behind her bellowed again, and she could hear the pounding of giant feet against the floor. As she paced up to a small stone bridge that was the only entry and exit to the smaller cavern, she formed an idea. Dropping to the floor as she hit the centre of the bridge, she let loose one of the abilities she herself feared, for once it was unleashed, she had no control over it. She had not used it in company before, for that very reason, but she saw no other alternative. Tiny veins of ice began to creep from her gauntlet, like little catterpillers crawling over a huge tree branch. Slowly, the ice wrapped itself all around the bridge, weakening the heated stone by its rapid cooling. Leaping to the other side, Silva turned to see a giant corehound, nearly thirty feet high, put its first paw onto the bridge. The stone walkway creeked, and when the second paw was place, it shattered. The hound fell forwards, smacking its head on the edge of the gorge, before tumbling down into the magma with a forlorn howl.

“I am impressed, interlopers. You are doing well to best some of our…defenses.” A booming voice echoed from behind the druid, who skidded to a halt a few feet from the speaker. Another of the strange naga men stood, with two guards by his side.
“I am Lucifron, third in command of the elemental forces of Ragnaros the Magnificent, flamewaker Captain. It is a pleasure to meet you, Druid, Ebon Knight. However, it will be even more pleasurable ending your lives.” He sneered, waving a hand at them. The two guards charged forwards, their scaly bodies slithering smoothly on the rocky floor. Zach leapt backwards, transforming quickly from cat to tauren to tree of life. Silva nodded at him with a smirk.
“Oh, so NOW you’re prepared to fight? Charming…” She said, with a light smile. The tree grunted, but smiled too. With a hardy bellow, Silva charged. The battle lasted less than a minute, by which time, Silva had Lucifron pinned against a wall with one hoof, her axe ready to cleave.
“Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” She said, pressing the finely sharpened blade against his neck. The naga squirmed, and glared at her.
“I’ll tell you nothing! You will never face my master! And even if you do, he will swat you like a fly!” he replied, wincing as the hoof was pressed even harder into his back.
“Well, that’s fortunate, because I didn’t really want to know anything,” She said, rolling the axe across the wakers neck, severing his head with one clean movement. She let his body fall to the floor, and slung her axe over her shoulder, patting her gloves together.
“Next time you see a giant core hound behind me, try not to run away…” She muttered, glaring at the druid, who shrugged.