The battle was over.
But Lina Inverse was still able to feel it as she was standing upon the hilltop. She could feel the enormous collision of the two biggest armies the kingdom of Azeroth had ever seen in its history. She could still hear the clashing of swords, the battlecries and the booming horns that the Orcish Horde was using to call their troops to battle. She was also still able to smell and taste the blood of dozens that had fallen just a few hours ago.
They had managed to repel the Orc army for now. But they hadn't won. They were far from it.
This was just the calm before the storm. When night fell, the two armies that had been wedged with each other like two ferocious beasts, stepped back so the warriors on both sides were able to rest for the second part of the battle... which would resume as soon as the sun was rising over the green hills of Azeroth.
Lina Inverse, travelling adventurer and sorceress, wished she would stand somewhere else. She had never shown any interests for politics and under normal circumstances would have never volunteered to fight in the army.
But if the humans didn't fight back, the Orcs and their countless allies would destroy everything.
Besides, the ruler of Azeroth, Regent Anduin Lothar, was the father of one of her closest friends... and she would never let Amelia fight those monsters by herself. And their other friends and previous travel companions had agreed to fight alongside the army of Azeroth as well.
Gourry Gabriev stepped next to his red-haired friend and smiled down at her. When he saw that she didn't look at him, he followed her gaze to the Orc's camp that was situated on the other side of the deep valley, on top of a hill that looked like the twin of the one they were standing on right now.
Gourry chuckled. "If we had a good telescope right now, we'd be able to watch Doomhammer while he's having dinner, huh?"
"Save your stupid jokes, jellyfish-for-brains," Lina snapped. She was not in the mood for the blonde knight's playful behavior. There were times for that, and this was certainly not the right time.
She sighed. Deep within she knew that Gourry just wanted to cheer her up. But she would need much more than his jokes to cheer up in this situation.
"Dammit..." she cursed. "Everything would be so much easier if I could only use my Dragon Slave..."
"Excuse me, Sir Gabriev," a gruff voice suddenly spoke up behind them. "But Lord Lothar needs to see you in the command tent... and he also requested for... Lady Inverse's presence."
Lina looked at the Paladin who had given them the message. The way the followers of Alonsus Faol treated her made her more than upset. Everyone in the army camp knew what she and her friends were to them... mercenaries that couldn't be trusted. Well, except for Amelia of course... and Gourry.
"You can tell Anduin we'll be there in a minute," the sorceress said coldly while she watched in amusement as the Paladin gasped in shock. The way how she referred to the regent with his first name was an outrage... but not for Lina. After all, she knew Amelia's for years. Besides, she loved to see those stuck-up Paladins in such a state of revolt.
With a smile on her face, she turned around and marched to the command tent, followed by Gourry.
They came past the Knights of Light, the order that was under Gourry's command. Like every time she came near them, Lina had to wonder about the serenity and indifference the silver-plated warriors seemed to give off. She wondered what was going on behind those helmets that covered their faces like the emotionless masks they were.
"I wonder how you can get along with them," she frowned. "Seriously, those guys give me the creeps."
Gourry shrugged. "They know I am their commander, and they listen to me in battle. That's all there is to know."
Sceptically, Lina threw the knights another glance and entered the big tent in front of them with a shrug.
She realized that she and Gourry weren't the only ones that were present. The tent was the biggest within the Alliance camp, but it still was getting cramped with the many people in here.
Lina recognized Amelia standing next to her father, who gave her a shy smile. Zelgadis was standing next to the entrance, showing no hint of any emotion on his grey face. There were also a few other knights in the tent, the commanders of the various orders. She also recognized the leader of the Gryphon Squadron, Kurdran Wildhammer.
Lord Anduin Lothar gave them a nod as they entered. "Sir Gabriev, Lady Inverse... I'm glad you could come."
Lina noticed the formal way Lothar was using to address her. If they were just by themselves, he would call them by their first names. But she realized how serious the situation they were in was.
"It's not that we had anything better to do," Lina said with a sigh, showing every single person in the tent how much she cared about those meetings. In battle, she would concentrate on hitting the Orcs with her strongest spells, no matter what kind of strategy Lothar and his commanding knights came up with.
She noticed the frowns the knights, and even Amelia, were giving her, but she decided to ignore them.
"Well, then let us begin," Lothar said after clearing his throat. "Kurdran is back from his scouting flight and I am afraid he brings bad news. He and his scouts have discovered more Orc warriors that are on their way here."
"Is that true?" Lina gasped in surprise, a question for which most of the present knight would have gladly put her in prison. No one questioned the words of the regent.
"I'm afraid so," Lothar nodded. Four additional units, coming from the west. They will be here an hour before sunrise... if not earlier."
"Four units..." Gourry murmured. That made things even more hopeless than before. One Orc unit normally consisted of at least five hundred warriors.
"And that is not all," Kurdran added. "One of my scouts reports that the Horde managed to reopen the Dark Portal. If they succeed, we are doomed."
"You have to be kidding me," Lina gasped. "Your scouts saw and didn't hinder them?"
"Of course they did!" Kurdran flared up. "They tried. The patrol consisted of five Gryphon Riders, but they never stood a chance. Doomhammer's Ogre-Mages are protected by a strong group of warriors, and they had at least three dragons with them. Four of the five brave dwarven warriors died before the last on decided it would be more important to bring us the bad news than to die a hero's death."
"Of... of course..." Lina muttered. "I... I didn't want to question your people's abilities... I was just appalled..."
"Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker and Enemy of All Who Live, appalled?" Zelgadis snickered. "Now I know we are doomed."
Zelgadis was right, Lina was uncharacteristically shocked and horrified by the bad news. She was easily able to deal with dozens, even hundreds of Orcs, but with that many... And if they managed to open the Black Portal...
She shook her head. "But how is that possible? I thought your Mages assured us they would at least need months before they were able to reactivate the portal."
"Well, they must have made a mistake," Lothar said with an angry sideglance at Lord Khadgar, the delegate of the Kirin Tor, the ruling body of the mages of Dalaran.
"Sure they will, Daddy," Amelia sighed. "But if I may make a suggestion: I think it would be better if you wait until the war is over before you behead all of your mages."
Lothar had to shake his head upon hearing his daughter's black humor.
"But I understand your worries, Lady Inverse," Khadgar spoke up. "If the Orcs manage to open the gate in such a short time, who knows what else they might be able to do..."
"But the portal is not open yet," Zelgadis added.
"How d'you know?" Lina asked her chimera friend in surprise.
"Because we would know, Miss Lina," Amelia said with a sigh. "Believe me, every magic user in Azeroth would have felt it when such a powerful spell like the Orcs are using to open the portal was being used."
"And I know the rituals that are necessary to do it," Khadgar added. "Even the most powerful Ogre Magi, Death Knights and Orcish Wizards will need the whole night to finish their job.
"Then there's still time," Gourry said with a grim face and reached for the handle of his sword... the Sword of Light.
"Time for what?" Lothar asked with raised eyebrows.
Lina and Gourry looked at each other blankly for a short while, then Lina turned to face Lord Lothar and said: "To stop them, Your Lordship!"
She didn't add the sentence 'What else, you idiot?', but it was still obvious that she intended to add it.
"Stop them?" Amelia gasped. "But... but you heard what Kurdran said. His warriors were killed before they could even get CLOSE to the portal. There are DRAGONS there!"
"I know, Amelia, but there were only five scouts, and they didn't know what was waiting for them. If we wait until the Ogre Magi have opened the portal, we are done for. But if we go now and attack them, we might have still a chance."
"Are you out of your mind?" Khadgar shouted. "The Black Portal is on the other side of the valley. Do you honestly believe Orgrim Doomhammer will allow you to go that far? Maybe they have thousands of warriors over there, and maybe even hundreds of dragons."
Lina was very confused by now. If they didn't plan to attack the portal, why did Lothar call for them? Something was going on...
"I called for all of you to inform you about my decision," Lothar finally spoke up. "I have sent a messenger to Doomhammer's camp."
"A... messenger?" Lina asked in confusion. "What for?"
"For peace negotiations," Lothar said. "I expect him to return in an hour and I believe Doomhammer might accept my offer. If he does, we will meet this night to negotiate the capitulation terms."
Lina didn't answer right away. She always knew Amelia's father wasn't the brightest man on Azeroth. A brave and respected warrior, yes, but not exactly the brightest man.
But she never believed him to be a complete idiot!
"Peace negotiations?" she murmured. "With ORCS?"
"I know how that must sound, and many of the people in Azeroth will think the same way... but please, try to understand! If the Orcs manage to open the Black Portal, they can practically call for an UNLIMITED amount of backup from their homelands. We might face a hundred thousand of warriors by tomorrow."
"Even more a reason why we have to destroy the portal," Lina spoke up.
"It's too dangerous," Lothar claimed. "If we do that, we won't be able to expect any form of mercy from Doomhammer."
"You won't be able to expect that right now," Lina tried again.
"She is right, Your Lordship!" Gourry interfered. "If you don't believe her, please believe me. The Orcs..."
"Will read my message tonight," Lothar said with a firm voice. "I will meet with Doomhammer tonight and submit my offer to him."
"And what is that offer supposed to be like?" Lina snapped. "Will the Orcs renounce from killing all of your subjects if they promise to commit suicide by sunrise?"
The assembled knights gasped, along with Amelia and Khadgar.
"Be careful what you say, Inverse!" Kurdran grumbled. "You are talking to the regent!"
"Well, not for long..." Lina grumbled. "In the morning, he'll be the regent of the dead if he's not careful..." She already turned around to leave the tent.
"Please try to understand our situation, Lina," Lothar suddenly said in a soft voice. "I can't take any risks, you know that, do you?"
"That's what I mean," Gourry said almost pleadingly. "Think about the helpless farmers and their wives and children! Think about all those warriors who have given their lives in battle. Are their sacrifices supposed to be in vain?"
"That is just the reason why I want to talk with Doomhammer," Lothar replied. "I know he won't accept that easily. Maybe he'll even demand my own life. But if that is what it takes... I shall gladly offer it!"
Amelia was not the only one to gasp at these words. With teary eyes, she looked up at her father.
"Then you leave me no choice," Lina said firmly. "I will leave the camp within an hour."
"I thought you'd say that," Lothar nodded. "I'm sorry it had to end like this. But maybe we are in luck... and we might see each other again, some day."
'I highly doubt that...' Lina thought to herself as she left the command tent.
But she didn't say it out aloud.
----
Gourry walked up to Lina and put his hand on her shoulder as she walked away from the command tent. "Hey, do you really want to...?"
"Gourry, please! Can't you just leave me alone for now?" Lina said in an annoyed tone of voice.
The swordsman blinked. He didn't like how things were going. He really didn't like it. He would never want to abandon Amelia and her father, and he really thought hard if there was another possibility to save Azeroth.
But thinking had never been one of his biggest strength, so he had hoped Lina would have some idea. But he recognized her bad temper when he saw it, and he knew that right now, Lina would not want to speak to him if she didn't want to.
He sighed. "So this is it, huh? Well, I'll... I'll just go and tell my knights, then..."
"You do that..." Lina sighed.
Shortly after, she was sitting in her own, dark tent. She had planned to just grab all her stuff and ran away, but still, something held her back. She wondered if Gourry and Zelgadis would stay behind, even if they both knew that peace with Orcs was... unthinkable.
Okay, Gourry had always been a bit gullible and at times, even more optimistic than Amelia. And who ever knew what Zel was thinking...
Lina wasn't afraid... she had no reason to... but she actually felt pity for the people of Azeroth. And when she thought about what might happen to Amelia...
No! She couldn't think of it.
But what else was there to do? Lothar seemed to have made up his mind. She pondered if she should just go back to the beginning and start anew, but she very quickly abandoned that idea. There were many things you could do, but never SHOULD do, and this was certainly such a thing. She would just have to accept that this story would have an ending she never wished it would have.
But there had to be some solution out of this misery. For some time, she almost toyed with the idea to go over to Lothar's tent and pound some sense into him.
If she at least would be at her full power, then she would be able to prevent the worst. But ever since her encounter with that Orcish wizard, her powers were visibly weakened, and on top of that, her most formidable spell, the Dragon Slave, was sealed. If she only knew how that bastard had accomplished that...
After some time, Lina sighed. If she wanted to go, she had to do it now. No sense to stay for much longer...
Just when she pondered if she should maybe say at least goodbye to Amelia, she bumped against someone who was standing in front of her tent. Someone who was barely reaching up to her chest.
"Kurdran?" she asked in surprise. "Wh-what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you, Miss Lina," the dwarf said in his gruff voice. "But keep your voice down. No one should know that I'm here."
Lina was way too surprised than to reply with anything else but a bewildered "What?".
Kurdran pushed her back inside and took another look outside until he looked up at her firmly. "Please tell me one thing, Miss Lina: You are right about the Orcs, correct?"
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked. It made no sense to her.
"When you said the Orcs won't cooperate," Kurdran said. "You were right, correct? They won't listen to the regent's pleas, right?"
"Right," Lina nodded sadly. "I was forced to live in captivity after meeting that warlock, Gul'dan. I could see the brutality of his men. They don't even seem to know the meaning of mercy."
Kurdran sighed deeply. "Then we just might have to do it."
"Do WHAT?" Lina asked.
"We have to defeat them," the dwarf nodded. "Them or us, that's how I see it."
"You mean you want to ignore Lothar's order and act on your own?" Lina asked.
"I think we don't have any other choice," Kurdran said grimly. "Besides, the messenger he sent to the Orcs came back."
"Already?" Lina wondered.
"His horse didn't have to carry as much," Kurdran sighed. "They sent back only his head."
"Amazing!" Lina said with a dark frown. "I figured that would be the part they'd eat first. Lemme guess: Lothar has already sent another messenger?"
"That he did," Kurdran nodded. "But by now, pretty much everyone knows that he will share the same fate. Poor guy was shaking so much, he almost couldn't mount his horse."
He moved a bit in the darkness, but Lina could hear the clanging of his armor clearly. Dwarves really couldn't make a single step without making some noise, and Kurdran was no exception. No wonder they had to learn how to fly, Lina thought to herself.
"You might have an idea why I'm here," Kurdran continued. "We want to attack the portal and try to destroy it. Are you with us?"
"We?" Lina wondered.
The dwarf nodded. "Thirty of my bravest warriors, in addition to Sir Gabriev and thirty of his brave knights. And I think a few knights from other orders would like to come along as well. Princess Amelia and a few of Khadgar's mages were willing to come along as well."
"Amelia as well?" Lina wondered. She then grinned. "Seems like I'm not the only one who isn't satisfied with the regent's decisions."
"Be careful what you're saying," Kurdran grumbled angrily. "He is still the regent, and we dwarves are loyal to him to the death."
"And you still disobey his orders?" Lina asked.
"If I have to, to save his kingdom and all of us, yes, I do. So what now? Are you willing to help us?"
"Of course I do!" the sorceress grinned. "Do you think I want to let you have all the fun by yourselves? Count me in!"
Kurdran smiled. "Good. We will go by air. We have thirty gryphons ready, and each of them can carry three riders at once. But to fight properly, we will have to drop you and the knights to the ground. The mages will also create a field of invisibility that will fade out as soon as we'll touch the ground."
"Well, at least we can take the Orcs by surprise. When do we leave?"
"As soon as possible," Kurdran replied in a worried tone. "Khadgar has felt a magical surge coming from where the portal is standing. He believes it might be shortly before its completion. We have to hurry."
"Okay, let's go!" Lina nodded.
They sneakily left the tent, and Lina followed the dwarf to where his air troops were waiting. She had no trouble following him. She almost believed the clanging of the metal on his body should be heard in Doomhammer's camp on the other hill.
Her tummy grumbled. "I should have eaten something before we left..." she whined.
But she also was quite agitated. A regent who believed to make peace with the Orcs and now a loyal dwarf who was ready to disobey his orders so he could save the regent... She wondered what else would be happening.
They walked through a small grove. On its other side, Gourry and his knights were waiting. Lina smiled when she saw her friend, and he waved to her while giving orders to his men.
But then she stopped as she saw the gigantic gryphon Kurdran was approaching. She had never seen one of these majestic animals that was this big. And to be honest... she had never been this close to a gryphon before. And to think that thirty of these colossal beasts was about to fly into battle, she somehow doubted that anything could stop them.
She forced herself to think realistic. She knew that the Orcs were forcing the dragons to fight on their side, and it was not that long ago when she had witnessed how three of the scaled, winged creatures had attacked one gryphon and tore him apart.
Kurdran skillfully climbed up upon the gryphon's back. To Lina's surprise, someone else was already sitting up there.
"Amelia!" she gasped. "You?"
"Didn't Kurdran tell you I was coming along, Miss Lina?" the princess of Azeroth asked in her impish voice.
"Well, he did, but... I would have neve imagined YOU to sit on a gryphon's back, Amelia... And you have never been in the middle of such a big fight before."
"Well, then it's about time," Amelia replied. "I'm not gonna wait and see if Doomhammer accepts my father's offer while we could easily destroy that portal. Onwards to victory!"
Lina had to snicker. Of course Amelia would look at the whole thing as optimistically as she always did. But she still was worried about her.
"If you are finished with your small talk, can we finally leave?" Kurdran muttered, while his gryphon let out an affirmative cry.
"In a minute," Amelia said. "I just want to wait until our final guest is ready." And she leaned forward in her saddle and shouted out into the darkness: "You can come out now, Zelgadis!"
'Zelgadis?' Lina wondered. 'Here?' He was the last person she would have expected to be here.
But Amelia was right, as the chimera came walking out of the forest in front of them.
"Well, well, if it isn't Lina..." he said with a frown. "And the traitorous dwarf... I would have never believed you to have the guts to defy your regent. And you too, Amelia? Your father won't be amused..."
He ignored how Kurdran leaned over his mount's head and asked in a dangerous voice: "Did you say 'traitorous dwarf', Mr. Greywords?"
Zelgadis threw him an annoyed glance. "That I did," he stated, and Lina started to worry if her friend was maybe a bit crazy. THat thick skin of his wouldn't protect him much against the sharp claws of the gryphon Sky'Ree... it would only make the difference between food and canned food.
"Or how would you call it if you organize an assault on the portal against Lothar's wishes?" Zelgadis asked. Again, Lina wondered since when Zel cared about what others did.
"No one here is a traitor, Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said. "But if we don't do anything, the Orcs will win. Miss Lina is right, any negotiations with them will be futile. I think my father is the only man in Azeroth who doesn't know that."
"He knows," Kurdran said sadly and shook his head. "But he doesn't want to realize it."
Zelgadis stayed silent for a while.
"But what if you fail?" he finally asked. "Without the knights you are ready to sacrifice in this battle, we will stand no chance in the upcoming battle tomorrow."
"We wouldn't stand a chance with them, Zel," Lina replied. "It's the DARK PORTAL, don't you see? Doomhammer will be able to call for hundreds of new warriors. That's why the final battle will be at the portal, not in the valley between the hills."
"So, you really are determined to do it?" Zelgadis asked. "You would even risk exile, in case Lothar wouldn't forgive you for ignoring his orders?"
"That is something all of us have to put up with," Lina said with determination. "C'mon, Zel, you want to be part of the action as well, do you?"
"Why are we wasting time with that fool?" Kurdran grumbled. "Why don't you just go to Lothar and tell him about what we are going to do, Greywords, then he can already prepare our pyre."
"That would be too complicated," Zelgadis grinned. "I doubt they would find firewood as small as you. Well... do you have enough space up there for another man?"
"What?" Kurdran asked in surprise.
"You heard me. Do you believe I want to leave Amelia and Lina in the care of a dwarf? If you are right, you need every man. And if not... well, dead is dead, right? It wouldn't matter if I die a few hours earlier, right?"
Grumbling, Kurdran moved so Zelgadis and Lina could climb up as well. For a while, Lina was worried if Sky'Ree would be able to carry them all at once, but then again, she and Amelia didn't weigh that much, and he was the most powerful gryphon in the army.
"Are you all ready?" Kurdran asked. He looked over to the other Gryphons, and saw that everyone was sitting in the saddle.
"Princess Amelia, the mages can start their spell."
Amelia nodded, and together with the two members of the Kirin Tor that were accompanying them, she chanted the Invisibility spell.
A flash of blue light surrounded them, and then all of the gryphons, dwarves and knights seemed to turn transparent. But the Orcs wouldn't be able to see anything before they landed.
"Okay, let's fly!" Kurdran commanded, and the thirty winged beasts flapped their wings and took off from the ground.