As deathguards surrounded the inner courtyard door, an elderly orcish shaman broke through the sounds of their silent murmuring.
"What sort of event has gathered you guards here like this?"
"Silence, orc, and see for yourself."
The orc walked to the door and looked through it, seeing an undead surrounded by some kind of energy sphere on the other side. He wasn't moving within the sphere, simply maintaining a meditative stance of some kind. The orc walked up to the sphere and touched it. It felt solid, but radiated life energy...
"Shaman, you stand before the one and only 'master of balance',"
"Who is that? And why do you know of him?"
"Well, before-"
The guard was interrupted by an explosion of some kind. The guards rushed off, their apparent captain fastest of all. The orc remained at the room, curious about the monk and what he was doing.
"Damn the alliance. It's enough that they attack our people on sight, but to attack the capital itself, the audacity!"
The explosion led them to the outer courtyards, just within the walls of the city, but what they found there was a lot worse...
"You stole our home and defiled our city! Prepare for the afterlife, you foul monsters!"
As Starshock's zeppelin of choice took off from Grom'gol Basecamp, the orcs' base of operations in Stranglethorn Vale, he began thinking about recent events. he couldn't help but wonder why that pink haired gnome would let him go, or how she knew of him. But also, he pondered the gem he held in his bag. It was nothing like the one he carried in his old weapon. This one didn't just radiate power; it seemed like it was trying to tap into his strength...
Before he knew it, he was already drifting off, falling asleep on the zeppelin and staying that way for the duration of the trip.
When he awoke and disembarked, he was surprised to find the first thing at the base of the zeppelin tower was a warning poster.
WARNING: DARK MAGIC HAS AWOKEN AND EMPOWERED A VENGEFUL ENEMY! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
The poster depicted a decently drawn human with brown hair and a full mustache and beard. Starshock also noticed the human's shield. It seemed to carry the emblem of Lordearon, so he figured this angry spirit was a victim of the scourge who had not become forsaken, though he was unsure of how his body was so intact...
His thoughts were interrupted when one of the Undercity's deathguards ran towards him.
"Tauren! You want a couple hundred gold pieces? Destroy that spirit and it's yours!"
Looking to where the guard ran from, he saw the spirit in question, and the raging human slammed his sword into the ground upon seeing the tauren.
"Demon! I thought we were done with your kind long ago, but I won't mind killing a few more!"
Starshock pulled his axe and shield out, responding in his best common,
"I am no demon, strange human, but that matters not! And you may try, but I won't fall that easily!"
Starshock leaped towards the human and slammed his axe down on his head, only to get knocked away by a single swipe from his shield.
"Demonic or not, any ally of these undead scum is deserving of the same fate as them!"
The human then pulled his sword back from the ground and charged towards the vulnerable tauren.
"Creature, whatever you may be, know that the humans of Lordearon will not tolerate your defilement any longer!"
Just as he prepared the final blow, he shot up in pain, struck by some kind of energy.
"Ahh! Who dares-"
The human gasped in shock, and anger, as he saw his assailant, a white haired elf, wielding a runed sword. But more than that, it seemed he recognized him from somewhere.
"YOU! You're one of his old followers! I had hoped to see you wiped from-"
Before he could finish his ranting, the elf channeled some kind of frost energy in his hands, striking him with enough force to knock his weapon away.
"Damn you, traitor! This isn't over, blood elf...
You and your master will pay for your betrayal!"
The human, surprisingly quick on his feet, ran from them faster than should have been possible. Starshock, pulling himself off of the ground, turned to his recent savior.
"Thank you, death knight, but if I may ask, who was that, and why does he know you?"
The elf then sheathed his blade, calming himself down.
"Tauren, that was Lord Garithos, and he is bad news...
He was one of Lordearon's last remaining leaders, and considered the final leader of what was left of the alliance, but he despises non-humans, and would be content to see them exterminated. He put me and Kael'thas's old followers on suicide missions, and even put us to death for accepting aid from the naga. And now that he's back, and by the look of your fight, stronger than ever, he's going to seek revenge on his old enemies, and everyone affiliated with them..."
Starshock was rather disbelieving of this situation, if only for one reason.
"This guy is strong, and dangerous to be sure, but how could Garithos have returned? Not only was he slain, but his body was devoured by ghouls, if the stories I've heard were true."
"That may be so, but he has devoted supporters, and they, or any survivor of Lordearon for that matter, would do anything to see their lost Kingdom returned to glory, even if it means picking through a few ghoul remains..."
Starshock, unwilling to pursue this weird matter any further, grabbed his special hearthstone and prepared to return to the CoM, unsure of what to make of this encounter...
"It was a success, master...
Now, you remember our deal..."
DJ Gotya, still annoyed by his succubus, sighed and responded.
"Yes, Lady Chaos. For your assistance with my longtime plan and your, err, moral support...
I hereby unbind you from my grasp. But first, you said you needed to go somewhere..."
The succubus simply grinned and said,
"Yes, old master. Take me to the CoM, so I can visit an old friend..."