Barick leaned back, his heavy armor sinking into the deep snow. "How…how are we in Alterac Valley? We were just in the Caverns of Time. The magics would not have teleported us all the way to the Eastern Kingdoms." The oOc put his head in his hands, thinking.

Merdim shrugged, all of the group had made it through the fall without any major injures, although they did sport a hefty number of cuts and bruises. Merdim was one of the few Warlocks could be described as, happy go lucky, but when the time came (and it didn't come very often) the elf could turn into a serious spell caster. Merdim cared deeply for Cherub, who in turn, felt the same for him.

Cherub was another elf, who, for a reason Barick never investigated, had a deep problem with fel magic. She would go into fits of pain, and, for some reason Barick still never investigated, she never seemed to be in pain when around Merdim, even though he was a Warlock. Barick guessed it was because he took special care when around her.

Theodyn was the third elf, a tall one with orange red hair. Often she had a cat following her, but apparently she had not allowed it come with her, a good decision Barick now thought. Theodyn also had a slight problem, there where times when she could barely keep herself from throwing herself at Satanos, which led too everyone else being extremely uncomfortable.

Then there was Satanos, an orc like Barick, and a Death Knight like him as well. Satanos seemed to have carried on most of his traits into undeath, because he had an obsession with liquor, women, and killing. One of the few things he seemed to truly care for was Theodyn, and that was only shown when something really bad had happened, so it was a rare case.

Barick stood up, and began pacing, it helped when he needed to think. Sitting still twiddling his thumbs was never the best option with him, it tended to make him stressed, and when he was stressed he was angry, and when he was angry, well either someone else or he would get injured. Finally, he came to a decision. "Aright, we're gonna have to get out of here. The Alliance scum must be crawling around here so it isn't safe for us to just sit here. Once we get out of the Valley, I think we're be able to plan out from there." The others nodded, no one else coming up with another idea…at least until Satanos's killing nature came in. "Why not just try and kill all the Alliance? We can win back the Valley!"

Barick blinked at him for several moments before he answered. "We are five people, and while I'm sure we could take down a heavy number of Alliance, we wouldn't be able to put a dent in them overall. Its useless Satanos, so listen to me and we can get out of here alive." Satanos seemed ready to reply, but at a look from Theodyn, he shut up, following behind Barick.

* * *

The wide expanse of Alterac Valley was completely deserted save for a few critters that ran at the sight of the group. The occasional snowfall would cover up the tracks the Orc's and elves had made, but nothing else seemed cross their path. After an hour, the two orcs were hoping for something to kill, even a wolf would do, anything except this relentless exercise of trudging through the snow. Barick was nearly asleep, his feet never even stopping their pattern. The Orc's eyes closed for a moment, reopened, then closed again. In a few minutes he was snoring ever so slightly, and yet he continued to lead them through the Valley.

A heavy clanking of metal rose Barick from his nap. His head shot up and he reached for his claymore that was strapped on his back. He waved to the others, (having to slap Satanos who had fell asleep as well) The orc's head shot up, and his fist as well, giving Barick an harsh punch on the side of his face. Barick growled at him, but controlled himself with difficulty. He grabbed the other orc and tossed him off the road, he smirked at him and went down as well. The others followed suit.

The path in Alterac Valley was a raised in, which dropped down well over several yards. The group stuck to ground, pushing snow on top of themselves to keep from being seen. Barick, his helm off and forehead coated in freezing snow, raised his head an inch or two above the path.

Three Alliance soldiers, dressed in steel chainmail, marched down the path. From what he could see, it was two dwarves and one human, each one wearing the exact same armor. It had been awhile since Barick had been to Alterac Valley, but he was sure that the Alliance didn't have matching armor…or if they did, it wasn't steel. He was sure of that.

The soldiers seemed bored and uninterested in their duty, so they passed the group without even so much glancing their way. Satanos grinned, and, clenching his axe, went to scramble up the side of the path, going to ambush the Alliance soldiers. Barick's foot hit his head, sending him back onto the snowy ground. The Alliance soldiers still didn't turn their way.

Barick and the others waited for several more minutes until they were satisfied the Alliance was out of view. Barick waved to his friends, alerting them that they could leave. Once more, they were all on the road once more, back to the endless marching as they tried to make it out of the valley.

Merdim glanced around, his feet were killing him. The boots that were made with cloth didn't give much protection against the cold. He wished he would've gotten them enchanted, but he didn't know that they were going to end up in Alterac Valley. He glanced to his side at Cherub, and suddenly he didn't care about the cold anymore. He put his arm around her, and continued to walk.

The party marched on for sometime, until they heard once more the sound of a patrol party. This time they reacted fast, and dived off the road. Luckily, this spot was covered in large mounds of snow, that completely shielded it from view via the road.

Barick hit the snow first, followed by Theodyn, Cherub, Merdim, and Satanos. Unfortunately Satanos landed on Barick in full force. Barick cursed loudly, "Oww, Satanos you useless orc! Get off me!"

Satanos laughed, "Sorry Barick, you should be more careful where you land though."

"Just get off me!" Satanos did so, and Barick stood up, crouching down slightly so he could see the road and be out of view. The road was deserted…

The Orc blinked until he heard a chuckle behind him, and he knew it wasn't Satanos. He turned around and saw a group of orc scouts, bows and axes at the ready. The one apparently in command grinned, displaying his wicked teeth. "I think Drek'thar might want to see you."

Before they were led away, Barick could only think, 'Drek'thar? He died at the first battle of Alterac Valley. New generals have always taken his place…"

* * *

Frostwolf Hold was magnificent. Created of heavy stone, the entire placed was filled with the smell of red meat and melted ore. Heavy banners and tapestries hung on the walls, and many rooms were lined with bear fur rugs. It wasn't only a fortress, it was a home.

Drek'thar was a large Orc, with a heavy axe that laid across his lap. The orc general sat in a chair carved out of stone, around him was his honor guard, some of the most ferocious orcs ever allowed to shed blood for the Frostwolf clan. Drek'thar eyed the group with interest, not so much the Orcs, but the elves. Finaly, the general spoke. "So tell me, what are you two orcs doing so far from the Hold? And in the company of these High Elves?"

Barick blinked, confused. 'High Elves?' he thought, 'that can't be right. I must have misheard.' But from the looks of the others, he had heard right. Suddenly, it dawned upon Barick. Why Drek'thar was alive, why the Alliance had steel armor instead of something mined from Northrend or even Outland, and why Merdim, Theodyn, and Cherub were called High Elves. They had been sent back in time! And judging by the tenseness in the room, at the very first, and most bloody, battle that had ever taken place in the valley.

Barick cursed in his mind, thinking quickly. "We're wanderer's General, we hunt done any Alliance scum that cross our path, the High Elves are mercenaries that we hired over a year ago. We came in hoping to cut quickly to Tirisfal Glades, seeing if we could find Alliance spies there."

The High General appeared satisfied, "You came at a bad time. Winter is setting in and all exits are either frozen, snowed in, or guarded by the Alliance invaders. We see a massive battle at hand, so we could use your help, and don't worry, I'll personally the High Elves, so you needn't care about that. How much do you usually pay them?"

Barick went to say something, but Satanos cut him off. "Three hundred gold a week if we kill Alliance, and fifty if nothing during the week. If we run short they understand and accept slight pay cuts." Barick and Merdim sighed, but Theodyn giggled slightly at it. Drek'thar however, was surprised. "I don't believe I can pay that much, my own soldiers have their payments as well, but I'll see what we can manage." Barick shot Satanos a glare…then thought about it, he nodded approvingly after that. Drek'thar however wasn't finished yet, "I don't believe I received you all's names."

Merdim spoke before anyone else could. "I'm Merdim Sunfire, and this is my wife, Cherubiel." He motioned to Cherub, who blushed slightly. Barick knew why though, this way he could keep any other men away from her. Merdim continued, "That," he gestured to Theodyn, "Is Theodyn, former ranger of Quel'thalas."

Merdim tried to continue, but Barick stopped him. "I'm Barick, Barick Bloodoath, and my fellow Orc is Satanos Redaxe." Drek'thar tried to recall them, but came up with nothing. "Very well then, I'll have rooms set up for all you. Oh, and try to get some rest, I'll have need of your skills in combat soon enough."