Disclaimer! I don't own WoW. Blizz does, and your soul too.
***Kingdom of Stormwind – Stormwind Keep ***
The first incursion occurred shortly after the Queen and Callan left. The intruders raided the renovating Church of the Light. As for their intent, it was to spirit away the Heart of K'ara. The attackers, forty strong, were met by Lady Fordragon and the first of those trained personally by Callan Lothar. However, they were not alone as clerics practiced in the art of war rallied to the defense of their sacred artifact. In the end, the forty intruders were killed to the last, but not without casualties to the clerical order. A full fourth of their trainees had died in the raid. Answers were needed but in an unexpected twist, the raiders' corpses dissipated into motes of yellow light, leaving behind no evidence that they were ever there.
Following that, they sent a smaller, but more powerful group of twenty-five a week after that butchered their way through the king-assigned guards. Once more it was up to Lady Fordragon and her clerics to fight off the invaders again. The losses the clerics took were not insignificant, but they spurred the veterans to train even harder in arms combat. The enemy boldly sent another group of twenty-five, stronger than the last, but unlike before, they faced not only Lady Fordragon and her clerics, but also the reformed Conjurers of Stormwind along with the remnant of the Brotherhood of the Horse.
Following the failed raid to steal the holy artifact, their enemy sought out a different target for an attack. Groups of five came after the King, Highlord Lothar, Garona, and even Aegwynn herself. They were all wiped out and once more left behind with no evidence. Thanks to Callan's warning, they all knew who was the mastermind behind these attacks. They were the ones who wanted to harm him and Aegwynn's son. Now, in the dead of night, their enemy launched a lightning quick assault and slaughtered their way to Medivh's chambers. However, to their surprise, a powerful magical barrier was erected in the room, blocking their paths of retreat.
There were twenty intruders in total, some were dressed as if they were knights of Stormwind while others wore the clerical robes of Northshire. The final group was outfitted to look like the conjurers of Stormwind and the infantry of the army. For what foul purpose would such a group want with Medivh was anyone's guess. However, the guardian room was not unguarded; Anduin Lothar, High Commander of Stormwind, stood in their way.
The Lion of Stormwind was not alone. His Lieutenant, Knight Captain Gavinrad, stood with him alongside the half-orc assassin Garona. Behind them stood Lady Mara Fordragon who wielded her sword and familiar round lion shield. Her faith shining brightly for all to see. Finally, there was the former Guardian of Azeroth, Lady Aegwynn, mistress of the arcane arts who had already begun casting spells even before the enemy could launch their first attack. The defenders stood firm against the intruders' attack and gave them no quarter.
For Lord Lothar and Lady Fordragon, they fought for the one that was the most important to them. For the half-orc assassin–after Callan's revelation about her taint by her master–and Gavinrad–who wrongly accused his order master's son–they fought for redemption. Aegwynn, however, fought with the fury of a mother whose child's life was being threatened. No matter how old Medivh became, to her, he would always be that fragile tiny life she held in her arms all those years ago.
Aegwynn felt the overwhelming arcane energies pool into her hand before she unleashed them upon her son's would-be killers. The arcane storm took their attackers by surprise, but in particular, their healers. To their surprise and Lady Fordragon's chagrin, their healers show great versatility by not only in weathering her attack but also in mending their comrades' wounds. The skill and raw power they showed in their healing seemed to motivate the first of Callan's disciples as she fought much harder while mending the defenders' wounds simultaneously.
Aegwynn countered an incoming magical attack, silencing the enemy caster, and threw up an arcane shield to absorb several streams of lightning bolts. She recognized some of the magical nature of their attacks. There was shadow magic, arcane, fire, frost, and a primal elemental feeling to a couple. None of which stopped her from continuously casting multiple spells to battle their magical casters. The battle became somewhat of a chaotic brawl for a time. While injuries were sustained by both sides, both sides were subsequently mended by their respective healers.
However, from the very beginning of the fight, Aegwynn had been forming a powerful spell chain, one that would rip through the healers' defenses with raw, overwhelming might. The intruders must have sensed that, judging by the panicked look on the healer's face. Aegwynn smiled victoriously as the final spell line was completed in the chain and felt arcane power pooled into her very body. Wrestling with the raw magical energies, the former guardian condensed it into the tip of her staff and unleashed it onto the intruders. A barrage of arcane explosions, sharpened magical frost, and primal fire that was hot enough to melt steel struck the back line of the intruders.
The spell ripped through their magical protections as if they were paper. Several fell to the ground, dead, their body mangled beyond all recognition. Others had their bodies splattered against the wall from the might of the former guardian's raw magical power. The attack did what it was supposed to do, crippling the support of the intruders.
The sound of swords clashing brought her attention back to the rest of her party. With their healers dead, Lothar, Mara, Gavinrad, and Garona took the fight to the intruders. One fighter who wielded a large staff tried to take the blunt of Lothar's attack with skillful leg and hand movement. However, a surprise back attack from Garona ended his life before he could even realize it. Meanwhile, a dual-knife wielding rogue and a swordsman desperately charged at Gavinrad, but Mara was by his side to help fend them off. Their surviving magical casters were foolish enough to try to challenge Aegwynn. She completely destroyed the lead mage first before moving on to the others. A short time later, motes of yellow lights began to fill the room.
"More bronze assassins," Lothar spat angrily as he pulled his runeblade out of a dead staff-wielding martial master.
"Yes," Aegwynn confirmed with a hardened expression.
"This one is still alive," Garona said as she used her foot to flip over the female rogue's body. "Though, not for long."
"Mara?" Lothar prompted Mara to heal their attacker so they could interrogate them. The High Cleric moved over to the attacker's side and extended her hand out.
The redheaded healer frowns after a moment as her emerald green eyes harden. The Light shined denser than before as she used a more powerful healing spell, yet… "It–it's not working."
Aegwynn's expression hardened as she realized that the Light had its limitations. Perhaps it couldn't heal the unwilling? She quickly moved to the cleric's side and pulled off the rogue mask to reveal a human face. The human eyes fixed themselves onto her face.
"Why are you still coming after my son?!" She grabbed the face of the human rogue. "Do you really want us all dead that desperately? Answer me!"
There was a gurgling sound from the human rogue as she stared at Aegwynn before choking out a few words. "Leg–cough- legion..."
Aegwynn grew furious at hearing the words. The bronze really was intend on killing her son and whatever machination they had for Lothar. While Callan's information and knowledge had been correct, at least concerning her son, the attacks against Lothar were unexpected and were never mentioned by the boy. Neither was this church assault. That meant that Callan's visions were not infallible, and she would have to take greater care to anticipate her adversary's tactics.
Unfortunately for the keepers of time, Aegwynn had not been idle these past few weeks. She was almost finished with a spell that would stop such incursion from happening in the city. It could also warn her of other magical incursions within their lands, but the incursions beyond their territories would be out of her control.
"Ano-anomaly..." The rogue choked out as her breathing became shallow. That was when Aegwynn noticed something was off about the human; there seemed to be a spell cast on her. A spell that she only now noticed once they were no longer fighting.
"What's this...an illusion?" Aegwynn found the source of the spell function and unraveled it. "Now, show me what you are hiding."
There was a bright light as she did so, but the rogue stopped breathing just then and dissipated into those familiar motes of light. However, Aegwynn clearly saw the race that was revealed before the body disappeared. She wasn't the only one.
"An elf?!" Lothar said in disbelief. Everyone knew the fable look of the elves; fair-skinned with an eternally youthful appearance and long knife-like ears.
"What?" Mara's eyes widened in concern at Lothar's words.
"No," Aegwynn corrected Lothar. She could not believe what she saw. "That wasn't just any elf, Lothar. That was a night elf."
"A night elf?" Lothar wanted to ask more, but was interrupted when a large group of Stormwind Guards rushed into the room weapons drawn.
"Lord Lothar, Lady Aegwynn, sorry we are late!" The head guard bowed low. "There was a magical barrier of some kind that–"
"I understand." Aegwynn cut him off. "That was a barrier of my making to trap our enemy. It worked."
"Ah...I see," the guard said with uncertainty in his voice. "Is there anything we could assist you with now that we're here?"
Aegwynn shot Lothar a look; the man understood as he turned around to the guards. "Report back to your post; I'll inform the king myself of what transpired here."
"Yes, milord!" The guard saluted as he retreated with his squad.
With that, Lothar turned back to Aegwynn, his eyes burning with a desire for answers. "There are other kinds of elves?"
"At least one more variant." Aegwynn thought of the Nightborne elves whose majestic city she had seen when she buried Sargeras' body.
Lothar's brow furrowed. "Why are the night elves helping the bronze dragons?"
"I don't know," Aegwynn answered with a pensive expression. "In truth, I don't know much about the night elves saved that they are long lost kin to the elves of Silvermoon."
"They are the elves' kin?!" Lothar's eyes widened. Now that he thought about it, the skin of the elves was said to be pale while the night elf he saw had an exotic violet hue to them. "If their kin are helping the bronze dragons, then...by the Light! Callan is in danger!"
"Calm yourself Lothar, Lady Mara." Aegwynn held up a hand and cast a spell to fix all the battle damage in the area." I said they were kin, but in truth, they are not close. From what I was told, their night elf brethren banished them from their homeland thousands of years ago."
"Their homeland?" Gavinrad spoke up and frowned as he tried to recall the geography of the eastern kingdom. Many of the areas had already been mapped.
"You'll not find their home on any of our maps," Aegwynn chuckled at the knight. "They came from the mysterious continent of Kalimdor to the far west."
"Kalimdor?!" The dire-looking man's eyes widened. "It exists?"
"Yes." Aegwynn smiled as she thought about her small hut there to ensure her privacy from the Kirin Tor. "Though, the night elves' lands have a magical barrier around it that prevents invaders from approaching their shores."
"So all those failed expeditions..." Lothar remembered reading about the great expedition the eastern kingdoms launched west once they realized the land they were on was all but explored. None ever made it back and in time, any talk of traveling west was considered foolish at best and madness at worst.
Aegwynn could guess Lothar's thoughts. "Probably. It would require very powerful magic to rip open the enchantment on their lands, but woe be the ones who do it."
With Lothar's question answered, she turned to the half orc who had kept silent the entire time. "You did well in defense of my son. Thank you."
"During our short time together, he was...kind to me," Garona answered hesitantly. "I call him a...friend."
"And so does the king and I. We also count you among them," Lothar cut in to reassure the half-orc. He would have never imagined that he would get along with an orc, but this half-orc despised her people for the treatment she received. It gave them common ground, but their relationship was soured a bit by Callan's vision of her corruption at the hand of her former master.
"Still…?" Garona asked without looking into Lothar's eyes. She could not face him once she learned what Lothar's son had said she would do. That Gul'dan grip was still on her even now. It made her feel unclean.
"I'm sorry," Aegwynn said in an apologetic tone to the female orc.
The malicious spell-work of the warlock Gul'dan was of an extremely high level. Tried as she might, she could not unravel the spell without killing the half-orc. The best she could do was plant an arcane bomb so that if the dark pact between him and Garona was ever activated, it would kill the half-orc instantly. To all of their surprise, the half-orc took to Aegwynn's solution.
'While I can't break your hold on her, I dare you to test your skill against mine,' Aegwynn thought darkly. Just like she could see Gul'dan's spell, so too could he see hers. If Garona spoke truly, then the pride of the orc warlock would not let her die before he could circumvent the former guardian spell.
The willingness to put her life on the line gained the abandoned orc even more trust with the king and Lothar. Lady Fordragon, however, was still slow to forgive the assassin. Even now, she was eyeing the half-orc with mild distrust. She had been there when the orc tried to kill Callan after all. The assassin cadre was also responsible for the death of their most promising acolyte. Indeed, it would take an extraordinary deed for Mara to ever forgive the half-orc.
Garona, sensing this, stepped closer to the men. At least amongst warriors, she was accepted. There was also the fact that the human female reminded her too much of the extinct draenei. She was not sure if it was shame or guilt she felt in the female presence. Whatever it was, it made her uncomfortable.
Lothar crossed the room and opened the door to the room where his friend was recovering. Inside was their last line of defense, Medivh's apprentice, Khadgar. Lady Aegwynn was currently overseeing the young man's education of the arcane mysteries in place of her son.
"He is sleeping soundly still, Lady Aegwynn, Lord Lothar," Khadgar informed them before looking beyond them. "We won?"
"Aye," Lothar said with a nod.
"You know," Garona began. "What if all the other assassins were not humans like we thought? If this was a human in disguise, why can't there be others?"
There was a stunned silence as they considered that other races might be helping out the bronze dragonflight.
"You mean other races are working for the bronze dragons?" Lothar pondered with a serious expression before turning to the former guardian. "Is that possible, Lady Aegwynn?"
"It could be..." Aegwynn replied as she thought deeper into it. "But I suspect that their attacks should soon begin to wane in intensity if not stop all together."
"What makes you think that, Lady Aegwynn?" Khadgar, ever curious, asked eagerly.
"Even though we defeated them, you can tell that these were warriors of the highest calibers correct?" Aegwynn looked at her party. "Yet, none of us, the most renowned people of the land, had ever heard of them. Can you tell us what that means, young trust?"
Khadgar was startled at the way the famous mage addressed him. Still, she just put the question to him, and after laying out the facts in his head, he could only come up with one conclusion.
"That means...they must not exist yet!" he shouted in realization and disbelief. That couldn't be… Were they really battling people of the future?! "Are they not worried about affecting their past by being so brazen in their attacks?"
"It would be the height of stupidity to trample around the past like they have done," Aegwynn confirmed before her expression darkened. "However, according to Callan, Stormwind was supposed to be destroyed. Emboldened by the knowledge that all in this city shall perish within two years, they have no qualms about murdering us now."
"How monstrous…" Khadgar paled as he looked to his new mentor for strength.
Lothar set his face as he realized the true scope of the threat. "Then we must alert the entire kingdom-
Lothar and Khadgar gave her a look of confusion.
"With my understanding of chronomancy, I believe that our world line, as Callan said, was disrupted the moment he saved my son." Aegwynn threw her hand out and weaved an illusion around the group with arcane energies. Before them was the depiction of a large tree with many outstretched branches, decorated by a plethora of leaves. The tree was rooted firmly into the earth. "Let's pretend that this tree represents our timeline, whole and fixed."
The group studied the magically created illusion warily. Even Khadgar, her current student, did not understand her objective.
Aegwynn saw their expression and held up her hand. "After what Callan did to my son, time changed."
Aegwynn slashed her hand in the air and to the others' surprise, cut the tree in half before at the start of the tree collar. She then pointed to the remaining tree trunk that was now missing its crown. "This is now our timeline, a new one created due to your son. The future timeline from before–"
She did some hand motions and had the crown part of the tree float over to them.
"–is now cut off from their past, which is us," she explained. "Our past is rooted in the history of our world. Their past is rooted in our fall. Deny them long enough–"
With that, Aegwynn closed her fist making the top part of the tree withered before shattering into thousands of smaller pieces.
"–and that rootless future world line would cease to exist," she finished.
Lothar and the other shared a glance before the former turned to her. "I don't quite understand…"
Aegwynn massaged her forehead. "Just keep winning against their hired knives and everything will be fine."
"Oh! Well, why didn't you just say so?" Lothar shared a smile with the others.
"Titans, give me strength," Aegwynn muttered. Suddenly she sensed that a rune on Atiesh, her staff, had activated. "Looks like they finally opened my letter. Took them long enough."
"Lady Aegwynn." Lothar interrupted her musing. "While I do trust your abilities, what if they go after my son? He is alone, without a world-renowned conjurer like you to guard him."
Aegwynn saw through Lothar's flattery easily. She pursed her lips. "I would say he is safer than all of us at the moment. After all, he has the protection of those dark dragons, and my friend, Arcanagos the blue dragon, said his sire Malygos had sent two of his children to watch over him from the shadows."
Lothar did not understand. In all honesty, Aegwynn doubted anyone without her expert knowledge of dragon lore would understand the significance of what she just told him. If the theory Callan hypothesized to her was correct that the Bronze flight was willing to let a kingdom of people be slaughtered for their greater good, then what if they had known about Deathwing's betrayal in advance but still allowed him to carry it out to preserve their timeline? Malygos was a brother to Nozdormu, and so he would not believe some mortal words at face value. However, a small seed of doubt had been planted.
"Then that is good news then?" Lothar asked once more for clarification.
"You're lucky you are pretty." Aegwynn sighed softly to herself before she faced him. "Yes, Lord Lothar. It is very good news."
*** Brightwood – Black'Shar ***
The Blackrock newest settlement was larger than their old settlements, Stonard and Rockard, combined. It had been named after their dead chieftain and though he had been defeated in combat, he was still the first warchief of the entire Horde, not the splintered one they had now. That, more than anything, demanded respect.
From his great hall, Orgrim Doomhammer, leader of his Horde, oversaw their newly conquered lands. It was rich and fertile as was promised, and already, they have raised many pig farms to feed their people. Currently, Orgrim's plate was filled with meat from the greytusks raised on these lands. There was some warlocktry to help hasten their growth, but overall, they were filling.
Doomhammer was pulled from his morning meal when one of his honor guards made his way in. "What is it?"
"Draka of the Frostwolf clan is here and wants to meet with you, Warchief," the grunt said plainly.
"Let her in," Orgrim replied. "Make sure we are not disturbed no matter who it is. Understood?"
"Yes, warchief!" With that, the orc pounded his warhammer onto his chest and left. A moment later, the mate of Durotan entered.
"Doomhammer, no, I suppose it's warchief now, isn't it?" Draka, acting chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, greeted in a neutral tone.
"I'm surprised you remembered," the much larger orc rebuked. He then pushed the plate with the racks of ribs on it toward her. "Greytusk?"
Draka eyed the meat but did not move to partake of it. After a long pause, Doomhammer leaned back in his chair.
"I heard Hellscream had demanded your clan's submission and ordered your presence in his newly conquered territory." He hid a smile as he saw her reaction.
The mate of Durotan eyes widened slightly before she sets her jaw. "So you heard of his victory."
"I heard of his victory," Doomhammer confirmed with a nod. He decided not to say anything else, but the Frostwolf chieftain knew what he was waiting on.
"I defied his command," Draka admitted and held her head high. "You know well what this means."
"That he will assume you are part of my Horde now," Orgrim answered lightly. "But are you? When I last called for the Frostwolves, you ignored my call. Are you really committed to my Horde or merely using us as a gronn shadow to hide in?"
Draka's eyes lit up in fury at his insinuation.
"Answer me truthfully, Doomhammer." Draka all but growled his name. "If I had rallied to you then, you would have ambushed the Warsong clan no matter the cost, wouldn't you?"
Doomhammer had faced much worse than the glare of his friend's mate. However, at least she was not stupid. "Yes."
"And that is why I did not join then," Draka spat angrily. "There had been enough orcs killed in the botched attacks against the humans! To spill more orc blood by my hand when we were so gutted? No. That is something I would not do, and if Durotan led, then I believe he would have denied you also!"
"Perhaps," Doomhammer admitted. "But we will never know. Now tell me. Why have you rejected Hellscream? He has won a great victory; some of the smaller clans under my command had spirited away in the night to eat the scrap offerings from his table. I'm sure he would have honored your clan had you submitted."
"He wanted my Frostwolves to be glorified guards." Draka remembered Hellscream's dark shaman's message with anger.
"Would he really be wrong to use you that way?" Doomhammer smiled at the surprise on Draka's face. "You hail from a snowy mountainous land; these new enemies' homelands are similar enough. Would your clan really be wasted to hunt down these dwarves?"
Draka gave Orgrim a wary look. "You are surprisingly well informed. Only I and that messenger should have known about his real intention for my clan."
"Yes." Doomhammer shrugged. "However, like Hellscream has ears within my camp, I have some in his."
Draka grew cautious at Doomhammer's words. She remembered Durotan often said that while Doomhammer was as ferocious as the most brutal orc, he was tempered with an intelligence that intimidated her husband at times.
"So, will you take us into your Horde or not?" Draka cut to the chase. "Or should I take Hellscream's offer?"
Doomhammer smiled, the anger that he had for her blatant disregard for his summon early on was fed. "Welcome back to the TRUE Horde, Draka."
Draka did not look pleased, but Doomhammer could not fault her for it. The Frostwolves were the vanguard of the Horde and suffered for it. Their renowned wolf riders were a mere shadow of themselves now. Ironically, it was the fact that they lost most of their wolf riders which saved their clan from participating on the day of the final assault. The other clans, seeing the loss of Durotan's riders, forgave them for not fielding warriors for the ground assault. It was amusing to him that they were all dead now while the Frostwolves lived.
"How is Durotan?" Orgrim was no longer addressing her as warchief of the Horde, but as Durotan's friend.
"It looks like he will live," Draka whispered, as if afraid that if she said it out loud, it would curse her husband. "He wakes from time to time, disoriented–confused–as to what's going on."
"Then that is good tidings," Doomhammer said sincerely. "And do not worry about Hellscream. He can only look forward now, not back. You chose correctly."
Draka did not look happy, but she gave him a nod and made to leave. However, before she did, she turned to him, hesitant. "When–when will we renew our assault on the humans?"
"Not yet," Otgrim reassured her. "There are things that must be prepared first."
Seeing that the Warchief was not going to elaborate further, Draka pounded her chest with a balled-up fist and left.
After Draka left, Doomhammer did not resume eating. Instead, he went to his chieftain chair and sat on it. While Hellscream fought, he had been acquiring knowledge, for it was a lack of knowledge that cost them so many orc lives. He learned the enemy language from their pinkskins prisoners, and from them, he was able to read the humans' tomes. In the times since then, he had gained a much greater knowledge of the world they were in and insights into their enemy.
Doomhammer eased back into the chair and closed his eyes. He then constructed a map of the Kingdom of Stormwind with his mind's eye. He mentally outlined the area that was under his control and the humans' known positions. With the map done, he added Durotan Frostwolves' territory to it. With Cho'gall in the Swamp of Sorrow, Draka in the Redridge Mountains, his forces occupying Lushland Pass, and him in Brightwood, he now controlled four of the six human lands.
Orgrim knew that the push into the human territory would be brutal and costly. He would not throw away his warriors' lives like Blackhand and Hellscream. No, he would strike when his people were ready. That did not mean he would be idle.
Hellscream's pact with the dark iron dwarves and the goblin companies made Doomhammer consider a path he dared not before. After all, orcs did not accept non-orcs so easily. Say what they would about the ogres, but at least, they were from Draenor. Thanks to Ner'zhul's acceptance of these outside forces, however, the Horde as a whole was now open to the idea of working with outsiders.
Armed with the humans' knowledge, Doomhammer now understood that the goblins, like the Horde, were not one unified race, but split into clans of varying strength. One of their largest clans, he found out, had outposts to the south of them. More importantly, there was even a powerful race that the humans had warred with off and on for hundreds of years.
And so alone, in his great hall, Orgrim Doomhammer, warchief of the Horde, plotted.
*** Dun Morogh – Kharanos ***
It was the first time Grom Hellscream had such a gathering. It was not his idea, but that of the orc to the left of him, the respected Shaman, Ner'zhul. On his right, was the orc who became Grom Hellscream's Right Fist, Fenris Wolfbrother. He was the former chieftain of the respected Thunderlord clan. It was a little-known fact that he was also Durotan's older brother.
There were other orc chieftains in the former settlement of the dwarves, but there were three who stood out like an eyesore. Two were from the race of the goblins, representing their respective companies, the Venture and Blackfuse company. The final one was the leader of the dark iron dwarves or High Thane, as he requested to be known as. As for the reason why the gathering was called, after Ner'zhul heard of Grom's victory, he felt that he was needed to guide the Warchief in his next steps.
Right now, they were listening to a messenger from Kilrogg One Eye of his progress to their east.
"And so, with these flying dwarves on their beasts, the chieftain said that his conquest had been greatly slowed," the Bleeding Hollow messenger informed them.
"Moltenshaper?" Ner'zhul spoke up first. "How would you deal with these flying kin of yours?"
"With difficulty, Great Shaman," the dark iron's High Thane answered. "Even our dark iron did not have much dealings with them, and what little we did was against their ground forces. I would think that these flying creatures cannot fly forever; they must come down for rest. Perhaps then?"
Fenris who listened turned to the goblins. "Can your flying boats deal with these dwarves?"
It was the Venture company goblin who spoke up first with a grin. "Before, we woulda say no, ya know? Those gryphons are nasty things. Now, however...heh heh heh."
With that, the goblin took off his backpack and took out a familiar tool.
"The dwarves' fire sticks." Grom's eyes lit up in recognition. "But it looks different."
"Didn't have time to make it pretty, big boss," the goblin said with words that could be considered disrespectful. The Horde found out, however, that these goblins' crass way of speaking was actually to show respect. "If the Blackfuse company merges their zeppelin fleet with ours, I think our boys will be able to shoot down those giant flying turkeys!"
"Only if you Venture boys help us siege the gnome city," the Blackfuse representative countered. "We'd split the loot 90-10, whaddya say?"
The Venture goblin looked offended. "60-40, our way!"
"That highway robbery! 80-20, my way!" the Blackfuse goblin countered.
The Venture goblin was about to really get into it before Grom's axe came down between the two, making them jump.
"You both will work together," Grom finally spoke up and looked at the Blackfuse goblin. "You will combine your flying force with his and as for you–"
He turned to the Venture goblins.
"–send more of your people to help him take that city."
"Hey that doesn't seem fair!/That's a bad bargain!" the goblins protested.
"I am letting your kind mine our lands for all the gold you can take," Grom growled out. "That means you both work for me and will be used how I want. Understood?"
The goblins winced at being reminded of their payment and how their boss was laughing at all the major gold veins they found. If they ruined this deal for their company, that would be their necks on the line.
"You got it, big boss man!" they both shouted at the same time.
Grom nodded in satisfaction before he asked the more important question. "Can you make those fire sticks for my warriors?"
"Uhh…" The two goblins shared a look before turning to face him. It was the Venture goblin who answered. "We can, but then our flyboys won't have them to shoot the gryphons with, ya know? I thought it was urgent to help your Bleeding Hollow boys?"
Grom was not pleased, but he could understand them being stretched thin. They helped greatly in fighting the gnomes' contraptions and were also in the middle of helping the dark iron dwarves construct something to break the dwarven gates. They have also pushed into the gnome's homeland and kept them in check. Now, if he wanted fire sticks, he would need to leave Kilrogg to fend for himself. For a moment, he considered it, but he saw Ner'zhul give him a disapproving shake of his head as if he could read his thoughts.
"Go to the Bleeding Hollow, but–" Grom stipulated. "Once you are victorious, I want you to start producing it for my warriors."
"Yes, boss!" The two goblins then began conversing in low tones on how best to allocate their forces.
"Warchief!" An orc messenger came in. It was the same one Grom sent to the Frostwolves. The others watched as the messenger walked to Grom and whispered in his ears before backing away quickly.
Grom's face was impassive before he let loose his namesake and unleashed a rage-filled scream.
"That bitch!" Grommash Hellscream slammed the war table that contained the map of land with his arm. The blow was so powerful that it shattered the table, sending wood splinters everywhere.
The messenger flinched and looked nervously at his warchief.
"I told you she would not agree," Fenris Wolfbrother said fearlessly. "I told you that you should have sent me."
Ner'zhul looked at the right fist of Grom Hellscream. It was the old shaman who had enticed the former Thunderlord chieftain with the position. While Hellscream was a peerless warrior, he needed a cunning orc by his side. In the end, what enticed Fenris was a single question Ner'zhul put forth.
'Why be a chieftain of a single clan when you can be Warchief of all the clans if something happens to Hellscream?'
"Let it go. The Frostwolves are shadows of their former selves," the old shaman said. "We must now look at what is in front of us."
Grom growled but turned his thoughts to what was in front of him. These dwarves have bloodied him quite unexpectedly. Over fifty thousand warriors died and three smaller clans were completely erased. It was a victory for him, yes, but the price he paid was three times what he expected.
"You wasted enough time on these snowy lands," Ner'zhul chided the Warsong chieftain. "Leave a clan here and take the Horde north. The lands there are beckoning to us."
The Warsong leader looked out the window and up the narrow snowy road that led to the dwarven fortress. The dark irons and goblins had told him breaking through the gates would take time, time he did not have. The influx of his warriors' families had swelled their numbers, which meant more mouths to feed.
"You are right, wise shaman," Grom conceded.
Ner'zhul looked pleased with the warchief's respectful tone.
"Fenris, forget about the Frostwolves," Grom told his right fist. "Ready our warriors to leave this place. The Wetlands should be enough to feed our forces before we push into the human lands."
"As you command, warchief," Fenris acknowledged. "Though, which clan should I leave behind to deal with these dwarves? My Thunderlords would be ideal and would relish the hunt."
"No, I need them with me." Grom discarded Fenris' suggestion and instead told them his decision. "The Laughing Skull Clan will be in charge of hunting the dwarves."
There was stunned silence from Ner'zhul and Fenris. It was the former who spoke up first. "Grom...is it wise to leave–"
"The Laughing Skull hunts for sport, be it enemies or even allies." Grom eyed his right fist and spiritual adviser. "The dwarves would be an enticing prey for them to hunt. The animal life here would be plentiful enough for them to consume. More importantly, I do not trust them to fight alongside me."
At Grom's words, understanding dawned on the shaman and Fenris' faces.
"And they would be occupied enough to not be treacherous," Durotan's brother reasoned.
"They would not be alone," Grom reassured them. "The dark iron warriors and a goblin company will stay here to work on breaking the dwarven gates."
It was here that Ner'zhul frowned at the mention of the goblins. "I still do not agree with you allowing the goblin to defile our ancestral land for gold…"
"Ner'zhul," Grom addressed him by his name, something he rarely does. "You said that our world is dying. Let them have its carcass; it costs us nothing."
Ner'zhul wanted to argue but finally bowed his head in agreement. "It will be as you say, warchief."
Silence reigned for a moment more before Grom broke it. "What news of Gul'dan and Doomhammer's movements?"
"Gul'dan still proves to be elusive," Ner'zhul growled out in frustration. "However, Doomhammer seems content with building his settlement and rising pig farms."
It was Fenris who suddenly barked out in laughter. "I knew he was no true warrior when I learned that he was friends with my brother. Let him tend to the hearth. Us real orcs will go conquer new lands!"
Unlike his right fist, Grom did not find any amusement in his words. Doomhammer was building a seat of power while he was still in a war tent. No, he had to make sure his seat of power was greater than the Blackrock orc.
Quietly, the Warsong chieftain walked to where he broke the table. After sifting through the wreck, he found the piece that he was looking for. "Ner'zhul, how many more of our people are left on Draenor."
"Less than two hundred thousand," Ner'zhul replied.
"That includes the ones with the red pox?" Grom's thoughts turned to that of his son.
"No," Ner'zhul said immediately as Fenris' lips curled in disgust at the mention of their blighted people. "They must stay behind on Draenor to not infect us."
Grom stilled for a moment as emotions threatened to overwhelm him. "Make sure to let the goblins know that they are not to be disturbed. Let them… Let them die in peace."
Ner'zhul looked at Grom with a complicated gaze before he nodded. "It will be done as you say, warchief."
"Good," Grom said as he held up the piece in his hand. "When the last of our people arrive, you will no longer need to keep an eye on Doomhammer. I will need you north with me."
"Yes, Warchief." Ner'zhul inclined his head respectfully to Grom.
Grom held up the broken map in his hand. It was drawn by the dark iron dwarves. The land was called Stromgarde, and from the way they described it, it reminded him much of his home, Nagrand. The human clan there ruled from a mighty and ancient citadel.
That would be his seat of power.
TBC...
AN: Thanks to my brotha, Icura, without who, this fic would never been properly edited.
Yes, I went there. There some insights to whats going on and, heh, some easter egg. Some people might think Aegwynn is stronger, but I would say, that was when she had her guardian power. Right now she is a very powerful mage, like upper teir. Just remember, in terms of feat, Aegwynn sunk the broken isles, and in WC2, without help, Gul'dan raised it.
As for Grom, it occurred to me that Nagrand kinda reminded me of the Arathi Highland's, same weather in fact and nice hilly area for their wolves to roam around in. That's that, I'll let other people decide on what to make of the chapter
Thanks to all of those that left a review and added to the discussion, really appreciate it And special thanks for all the patron supporters, I appreciate all of your generosity! And if anyone wanna help us out, link's in the sig below
Finally and as always, review and discussion welcomed, C+C appreciated!