The Temple Guard's Last Stand

By Veeshan123

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"Another wave is coming!"

The panic in the young elf's voice was unmistakable. A panic that a veteran of horrible conflicts knew all too well. The initial shock, the uneasiness with the situation, the perceived hopelessness, the fear for one's own safety. A list of ingredients which formed a bitter concoction that could linger in one's throat and stomach, working it's bile effect. Everyone would take a sip of that brew this evening, but only those who could expel it from their systems would stand a chance at surviving. Those who absorbed it would paralyzed by it's virulent poison and join the growing pile of bodies that were strewn about.

Although her panic was somewhat more understandable, given the enemy. Her own people, or they used to be. Warped, changed somehow. Her people in body, but devoid of any soul or intelligence, somehow altered by some demonic magic. They marched slowly forward, their faces blank of emotion or thought. Instead of the bright glowing eyes her people were known for, only two dull dark orbs filled the sockets in their heads.

"Stand fast," a reassuring voice told the elf.

A tall Night Elf warrior, her body clad in shimmering mithril armor, came up beside the panic stricken elf and laid her armor-clad hand upon her shoulder.

"We have outlasted whatever Staghorn has thrown at us...this time will be no different if we can remain focused on our orders," the armored warrior stated, "...and if we can remain mentally focused and keep our emotions in check."

The panicked elf meekly nodded her head, trying to take the words to heart. Her fingers gripped her polearm a bit more tightly then before.

"Sgt. Keali," the warrior said, "Are our troops in place?"

Another Night Elf, her body likewise clad in armor, stood at attention. A silvery helmet covered most of her head, save for her ears and the region around her mouth. She had always found that obscuring most of her face helped in her dealings with the other soldiers. Keali would rather they follow her orders then try to analyze her feelings by means of observing her expressions.

"Yes, Captain," Keali replied, "We have our 8 remaining archers stationed at vantage points overlooking the bridge."

She motioned towards the bridge, "We have rebuilt as much of the barricade as we could. It should buy our archers a little more time to do some damage before our melee troops have to engage."

Her mouth slightly dowered, "However, I'm not sure how much longer we can hold out in our present position. That last attack almost cost us a third of our remaining forces, and our arrow reserves are starting to run low."

The captain nodded her head. She looked out towards the barricade.

"Yes, I know..." She admitted, "8 archers...10 ground troops not counting ourselves...them attacking in waves of 40 or more each time...this is a battle of attrition, and they will win it eventually unless we can get reenforcements."

"Captain..." Keali stopped, then she began again, her voice in a hush, "Ty'la...you know as well as I do that reenforcements won't arrive from the Feathermoon outpost in time. Perhaps if we could retreat to within the temple, we could form a stronger defense and reduce our casualities"

Captain Ty'la turned to Keali, a steely resolve in her eyes.

"Our duty is to prevent them from reaching the temple at all. The only hope for our people, Priestess Tyrande, lies within. The longer we can prevent them from even attempting to breach the walls of the temple increases the survival chances of our race. Feathermoon may not be able to reach us in time, but the longer we can hold out, the more likely it will be that they will be able to reach Tyrande in time."

Keali's lips straightened, "So long as I breathe, they will not touch the sacred walls of the Temple of the Moon!"

Captain Ty'la smiled, then rested her hand on her glaive.

"Glad to hear it," she beamed.

The unmistakable sound of an arrow volley turned their attention to the barricade and their imminent battle.

**************************************************

Staghorn watched in the shadows, far away from the battle. He knew the guards of the temple were some of the most skilled warriors in the city of Darnassus, but their tenacity and endurance still came as somewhat a surprise. While the defensibility of the temple factored largely into it, the four waves he had sent to destroy them and breach the temple should have been more then enough. The Arch Druid's eyes thinned. He would not be denied this jewel.

"It seems I may have to play one of my surprises a bit earlier then expected," He said to himself.

Staghorn made a motion with his hand. From the trees and shadows emerged dozens of massive spiders, part of the brood gestated from the body of Jen'tra. Although with this particular batch, he had made some adjustments. This will be a most interesting test, he thought to himself.

With barely a sound, they began to quickly make their way towards the Temple of the Moon.

***************************************************

"I am proud of the courage you all have displayed tonight!"

Captain Ty'la, her body drenched in sweat and blood, stood before the remainder of her unit. They had held out, but it had been a costly loss. Half of her archers had been slain, and the other half was nearly out of ammunition. The melee forces had likewise been hit hard, leaving only five. Nine for forty. But deep down she knew another forty would come, and chances are that would be their final battle.

"Know that with every bit of energy you focus into your battle, with every second you live, that the chances of our race's survival increases."

Her soldiers, bloodied and tired, saluted sharply.

"Rest up, eat..." Keali began to order, "You have thirty minutes, then we begin to work on re-fortifying our position again."

The soldiers began to disperse, save for one...the panicked elf from earlier.

"Thank you, Captain," the young elf bowed, "Your presence and words helped remove the doubt from my mind."

Ty'la smiled and put her hand on the elf's shoulder.

"The presence of fighters such as yourself likewise helps remove the doubt from mine," she replied.

The young elf was about to respond, when suddenly she was yanked violently upward. With inhuman speed, Ty'la had drawn her weapon to defend the elf, but she had ascended far too quickly. As her flailing form melted into the darkness above, her screams were the only testament to her continued existence, until even that was abruptly cut off.

"Prepare to defend yourselves!" Ty'la shouted.

But defend against what, she thought. It had been far too fast. It had almost been like a marionette being violently pulled into the rafters by an angry puppeteer.

"Captain?" Keali asked.

"I don't know Keali, but something has made it past our defenses and onto the temple walls."

Keali's eyes tried to pierce the darkness above.

"Winged?"

Ty'la shook her head, "No...only a dragon could lift someone into the air that fast."

Another scream pierced the silence. It was one of the archers. As they turned towards her, they saw her cut as some type of material that had attached itself to her leg. She stumbled back a few steps, slightly off balance from the attempted ensnaring. Before she could react again, three more streams of the material shot down. The first affixed itself to her face, covering her mouth and nose in some type of sticky material and muffling her cries. The second attached itself to her blade, while a third once again struck her leg. A split second later, she was rapidly pulled into the darkness above, her blade yanked from her hands.

"By the goddess, Elune!" Keali gasped, "What in the name of the moon was that?"

Ty'la likewise was shocked, then quickly came to her senses.

"Retreat beneath the alcove. Do not stand in the open!"

The remaining soldiers quickly began to hurry away from their exposed positions to the perceived safety of the alcove. One of the archers stumbled over a piece of falling armor, slowing her pace for but a moment. The unseen enemy took advantage of that. A line of the sticky material attached itself firmly to her buttocks, and she was launched into the air, her body bent.

"Noooooooo!!! Helllppppp meeeee!!" the elf cried out, "Nooommmmmmmmpphhh"

Her voice quickly muffled then was silent.

"Stand ready!" Ty'la ordered, "Our foe will no doubt reveal itself shortly".

Seconds felt like hours. The air was silent save for the quickened breathing from the alarmed soldiers.

"There!" Shouted one soldier, her grip tightening on her blade.

On silvery threads, a dozen spiders emerged from the shadows above, gingerly landing on the stone floor. Their bodies likewise shone with a light not unlike their silk.

"Moon spiders!" Keali snapped, "But they are extinct! And they never were capable of this!"

Ty'la put her glaive at the ready, "After tonight, I have come to accept all manners of surprises."

The spiders began to rush the position of the soldiers. Two of the Night Elves, wielding spears, put themselves towards the front, ready to serve as a defense against charging beasts. Both kneeled down, ready to bear the inevitable weight of the oncoming onslaught.

Unfortunately, they barely had time to react when the charging spiders stopped cold and simultaneously shot lines of sticky webbing at the two spear wielders. The adhesive material anchored itself all over their bodies. Futilely they tried to pull away, but the combined strength of the assembled creatures was too much. Like ragdolls they were flung towards them, crashing forcefully on the ground before the awaiting arachnids. One of the soldiers quickly tried to bring herself to her feet but soon found the weight of one of the spiders on her back. It sunk it's fangs deeply into her shoulder, pumping its venom into her flesh. She cried out for a moment, then grew lax as the poison incapacitated her. The second soldier had become meshed in the lines of webbing after her fall, her arms pinned against her body in odd ways. Another spider quickly dashed towards her. Realizing that she was unable to fight back save for her kicking legs, it quickly reeled her thrashing body towards the back where it could safely prepare her, where it wasted no time to further immobilize her. It lashed a loop of silk around her legs, drawing them together. She continued to yell until the spider grew tired of her noise and shot a wad of sticky silk into her mouth, filling it completely and forever fusing her jaw shut. It then proceeded to begin to spin her still struggling body, coating it in a skin tight but ultra strong layer of silk. Another spider darted forward and bit her leg, injecting it's venom into her blood stream. The struggles of the elf ceased, and the wrapping effortlessly continued. Within moments she was encased in a seamless cocoon, her hourglass shaped figure quite noticeable.

"Let them come to us! These aren't ordinary spiders!" Ty'la yelled.

Keali snarled, "Smart little bastards...do we have any arrows left?"

One of the archers nodded, "We have about 7 shots left, between the both of us"

Ty'la continued to stare at the spiders, "Ok...Keali and I will make a rush towards them. They will no doubt try to ensnare us. Use that opportunity to try to take them out from range with the arrows...they will be momentarily slowed when they try to ensnare us. After the arrows are expended, move in to finish the rest by melee...all of us combined should be able to mop up the rest."

Keali nodded, her smile noticable.

The two Night Elves rushed the line of spiders. As expected, they began to shoot lines of webbing towards them. Moving her glaive with a speed so fast it was hard to even watch with the naked eye, Ty'la cut and deflected the silk before it could even reach her. Likewise Keali's arms were a blur, slicing and nullifying the spider's assault.

Taking careful but quick aim, the archers began to let loose their arrows. True to their mark, they embedded themselves into the heads of the beasts. With a anguished cry and a spray of fluid, the pierced spiders collapsed to the ground. It had been only a few seconds, and half the spiders already lay dead on the ground. Ty'la quickly came in arm's range of the beasts. Two jumped at her, hoping the speed of their pounce would be enough to overcome her. They unfortunately misjudged her superior speed. With one fluid cleave, the captain cut straight through the body of one beast and decapitated the head of the second. Green ichor sprayed from their gaping wounds as they fell harmlessly to the ground. Keali took advantage of the chaos and sliced through the legs of another spider. It screeched horribly until she silenced it with a blade through it's brain.

The remaining troops began to rush towards the melee, eager to help their officers. Much to their surprise, however, was the fact they soon found themselves rushing backwards. Another gathering of spiders, twice as large as the group they just faced, had flanked behind them during the battle.

"CAPTAIN!!" one of the archers screamed as a multitude of spiders quickly pulled her into their ranks.

Keali lost focus for a moment upon hearing the cries of her fellow soldiers and was struck solidly in the head by a spray of silk. The spider's tug was only rewarded with her helmet however, which smoothly slid off the elf's head. Keali quickly moved in and finished the beast with a slice down it's midsection. Ty'la finished the last remaining spiders before she turned towards the cry.

"CAPTAIN! HELP!!" the archer cried. A swarm of spiders rapidly descended upon her, wasting no time to begin her packaging. She was stretched taut by a team of spiders, while others used teamwork to more rapidly cocoon her body. Yet another bit her before the wrapping was done, to ensure her processing into food would begin as soon as possible.

The other two melee soldiers had already been wrapped up by this point in form fitting cocoons. Their motionless forms could be seen being dragged away and hauled up the wall, no doubt to store them for later use.

The other archer had not been cocooned immediately like the others. Upon her landing within their ranks, one of the spiders made some type of odd noise, which caused the other spiders surrounding her to stop their frenzy. Her limbs were affixed to the floor by globs of webbing, her body in a spread eagle formation. Another couple spiders crept upon her and began to chew away the clothing of the hapless elf. She cried out in horror and revulsion as she was completely stripped, left bound and naked to the floor. Her firm and curvy body glistened with a sheen of sweat and blood, her muscles strained as she tried to extricate herself from the bindings that held her. She momentarily stopped her struggles when the mass of spiders began to part, making way for a much larger spider.

"LET ME GO!!" she cried, eyes wide with terror as she gazed upon the massive spider that made it's way towards her.

The large spider regarded her for a moment. The other creatures seemed to stare at it, as if to see if it was content with the offering they presented it. The large spider reached out with a single leg and brushed up against her sex. She quivered with shock as she felt the hairy appendage rub against her. The spider brought it's leg back towards it's mouth, as if to sample what it had collected on it's leg. Satisfied with what it tasted, the spider scurried forward quickly until it's bulk was now standing directly above the elf, the tip of it's abdomen hovering above her crotch.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? NOOO!!" she yelled at the beast's underside.

The beast began to twitch slightly, it's spasms seemingly traveling down towards it's abdomen. The archer watched in horror as the creature's exoskeleton began to part. A long translucent tube descended from the opening, aimed directly at her vagina.

"Nooo!! Auuuhhhh!!" she gasped as the appendage penetrated her and began to work its way deeper. The spider immediately began a pumping motion, the tube's bulk stretching her opening. A stream of eggs began to travel down the chute and into her waiting sex, stretching her even more. She moaned as the relentless act continued, egg after egg filling her womb. The tube began, as the same time, to inject a clear fluid into her depths. A special type of digestive enzyme, it began to alter the flesh of her birth canal and womb. The velvety flesh began to grow sticky and gel like. As the creature withdrew it's ovipositor tube, the walls of her vagina once again were able to touch. They slowly fused together into one solid mass as their atomic makeup began to change. Even her labia and opening began to melt into eachother, forever sealing her sex shut with their egg payload deep within her. The spider immediately moved towards her head and injected some more of the strange fluid down her throat. She felt her tongue stick to the bottom of her jaw, permanently fused to it. Her insides began to transform almost immediately from this new batch of fluid. First her throat, then her stomach, then her intestines, and finally her anus. As the tube withdrew, even her beautiful lips began to fuse into one mass.

"Mmmphhhh," she moaned, her sounds growing more silent by the moment as her body transformed.

The enzyme would work quickly to transform her into a soft gel like material, which at the same time still sustaining her life functions. When the young hatched, they would find a very easy to digest meal surrounding themselves, and would have no trouble what so ever in burrowing to the surface and freedom. The large spider stepped away from the elf, her job complete. The remaining spiders wasted no time in freeing her from her bindings, then beginning the process of encasing her in a skin tight silk cocoon. Her wrapped form was then dragged away into the darkness, no doubt to some safe location where it would not be bothered.

"NO!" Keali shouted as she recklessly threw herself at the swarm of beasts.

Ty'la began after her, "Stop! Keali! SARGENT! GET BACK HERE!"

The spiders, having secured their previous collection of elves, turned their focus to the capture of these last two warriors. Countless streams of silk shot out towards the charging elf. She sliced madly at them, cutting them down in mid air. Even more continued to make their way towards her, a relentless barrage of webbing. Despite her skills, even she could not defend herself from all the blasts. A few strands attached themselves to her armor. Without skipping a beat, she deflected the incoming volley of silk as well as cut the straps that held the plate to her body. The armor tore away from her as the spiders attempted to reel her in. Methodically and gradually, she was slowly deprived of her protection, leaving her fighting in just a silk undergarment.

Ty'la by this time had joined the fray as well, and likewise found herself being slowly deprived of her armor. She knew it was just a matter of time before they would make a mistake and find their bare skin ensnared by the silk webbing. Unfortunately, it was Keali who made such a mistake first. A taut line wrapped itself around her ankle, and a firm tug brought her crashing down on her back. She quickly sat up, ready to defend herself from more attacks and to cut herself free of the line, but it was too late. Another line stuck to her wrist. Another to her chest. One to her breast. Eventually her sword was ensnared, and yanked violently from her grasp. She was now at their mercy.

Ty'la, unwilling to let them take Keali so easily, leapt into the air. She tucked herself into a ball as she began a graceful flip in the air, ready to unfold at the last moment and lash out with her razor sharp glaive. The spiders, however, were quicker then she expected and she soon found a loop of silk lashing itself around her folded body. A sudden pressure drew her knees tightly against her stomach and her arms against her sides, and she crashed to the ground painfully.

"Keali!!" Ty'la cried out, trying to wash the pain of the landing from her mind. She glanced over and saw her friend in the clutches of multiple spiders. Her lower legs had been drawn up behind her thighs and wrapped against them. Her arms were pulled painfully behind her back and likewise wrapped against it. Like spooling a bobbin, they began to rotate her bound form, cascades of tight silvery silk enveloping her body. The rising tide of webbing eventually covered her head, the features of her face still barely visible beneath the opaque covering.

"Arrrhhhh!!!" Ty'la cried as she felt a spider land upon her. Drawn into a ball and unable to defend herself, Ty'la was powerless to do anything as the spider spun her body in multiple directions, sealing her flesh beneath a veil of silk. The rapid spinning began to make the elf captain dizzy, her orientation completely knocked out of whack. That soon faded, though, as she felt a pair of fangs pierce her behind. The venom coursed through her veins and Ty'la slipped into a dark, drugged sleep.

**************************************************

She couldn't see anything, but Ty'la was somewhat sure she was awake. After the spider had wrapped her body in a cocoon and pierced her flesh with it's fangs, she was quite certain that the darkness that overcame her would never lift, save for when her spirit finally reunited with the goddess. But the light of the afterlife would not welcome another to it's fold just yet. She had escaped that fate for now it seemed, and as she became readjusted to the waking world, she wasn't quite sure it was a blessing she had not been claimed by death. She tried to move, but nothing reacted. From the best Ty'la could tell, she was still tightly wrapped in the sheath of spider silk that had enveloped her body. But that was not the reason she was unable to will her muscles into motion.

Unbeknownst to her, the spiders had been modified by the dark magic of Staghorn. The venom, rather then just gradually liquify the flesh of the hapless victim, caused it to undergo a change of a different sort. After the spider had injected her, the powerful substance had raced through her body at an incredible rate. Part of it's purpose was to render the prey unconscious to facilitate an easier handling and movement of the cocoon. The second, and primary, purpose of the venom was to transform her flesh. Instead of liquefying her, the spider's venom began to rapidly convert her muscles and flesh into a firm jelly like substance, while at the same time leaving her vital organs alone. Her veins and nerves were left untouched, even though the elven flesh that surrounded and supported them had begun to transmute into a translucent gel. Her skin, likewise, began to change. The soft and supple skin of the night elf hardened and began to grow inflexible. Her eyelids and lips would never open again, sealed shut by their new found shell-like nature. The elf was being converted into a rigid container that contained a nutrient and protein rich filling. Soon her organs began to slowly melt into the jelly that filled her form, assimilated into the homogeneous mass. After about 30 minutes, nothing but her nerves and brain remained, their function and life sustained by the magically endowed gel.

Staghorn wanted to be sure that the spider's victim would be alive as long as possible. He wanted them to be conscious for every second of their new found predicament, even when they were almost completely drained of substance by a hungry arachnid. And only finally then would the last remnant of their being convert into the gel that was contained within their bodies, to become the final bit of nourishment for the hungry spider.

Ty'la would not have to wait much longer for the ultimate outcome of her ordeal.

Her elven body, wrapped in a fetal like position under a layer of silvery silk, hung by a thick swath of silk from the side of the Temple of the Moon. Not far from her were the cocooned bodies of some her soldiers, likewise suspended from the building by lines and sheets of sticky spider silk. A small gust of wind stirred, causing a few of the bodies to sway in the wind as though they had no more weight then a leaf. The breeze did not distract a team of spiders who were clinging to the bodies of some other soldiers, content with sucking the gelatin-like meal out of the bodies.

A lone spider began to scale the side of the structure, regarding the wrapped elves as it went. It intently eyed the form of one elf, Keali, her body cocooned in a pose reminiscent of a tight hogtie. The spider gently pushed against her flesh to test it's yield. An extremely faint moan emanated from the encased victim as her body yielded slightly to the creature's prod. Not quite ready yet, it's instincts told it. Leaving the elf be, it once again turned it's attention on the other unoccupied cocoons. There did not seem to be many left, it noticed. Many had already been drained, with many more in the process of being drained. It almost was almost ready to turn around and seek out other food stores when it noticed the cocoon containing Ty'la. Enthused by this discovery, it quickly climbed to where she hung and tested the progress of her transformation. Her flesh did not yield to the firm prod, her hardened skin resisting it's force. A ripe feast, it thought.

Ty'la suddenly became focused when she felt the spider pressing against her body. It was then she also noticed that her flesh and skin were somehow different. Panic began to set into her mind, her thoughts awash in theories as to what had happened to her. The spider began to clutch at her body with it's legs, drawing her rump closer to it's awaiting mouth. Her thoughts immediately interrupted as the pair of ebony fangs pierced her cocoon and skin, puncturing her hard shell and sinking into the warm jelly underneath.

Ty'la tried to come to terms with the sensation she was experiencing. It almost felt like an infant nursing on her breast. She felt a slight pressure and a sucking sensation, her body rocking too and fro from the line of web that suspended it. There was no pain. In fact, it was almost kind of pleasant. Her nerves would sense a pressure and a pulsing within her, and then gradually the sensation would fade in areas of her body altogether. Slowly and rhythmically, the spider slurped and ingested the contents of Ty'la's body. After a few minutes, her limbs were devoid of any filling, the gel pulled from them and into the spider's stomach.

The elf knew that she didn't have much time left. Her thoughts drifted to the well being of Tyrande. She hoped that the leader of her people would find a way to expunge this evil from their lands and avenge the fallen bodies of her kin. She hoped that no more would suffer the fate she was experiencing. She hoped...

Ty'la was no more. In an instant her consciousness faded, her brain and nervous system converted into the final piece of nourishment she would provide the spider. A minute after the life had ended in the elf, the spider detached itself from the cocoon. It's hunger had been sated...for now. The empty husk of Ty'la swayed in the breeze, another leaf hanging from a macabre tree.