Another pair of eyes had been watching the duel. Cloaked in darkness, he had been sitting atop Orgrimmar, watching the fight from above. At first he was just waiting for it to end. The first time the elf fell, he rolled his eyes at the amateur attempt to kill the tyrant named Lp. But then something amazing happened. Instead of accepting defeat, the elf had slowly gained his feet back and challenged the false king once again. The shadow atop Orgrimmar skipped a breath, looking closer at the elf, watching the battle closely and incredulously as the elf was repeatedly beaten and still refused to give up. Finally the elf was thrashed so hard that he could not move. Still, the shadow noticed, he tried to reach his sword, tried still to win.
"What foolish determination... maybe..." The shadow uncloaked himself and observed the situation a moment longer. He watched as a troll went over to help the fallen elf. He sighed deeply. Of course. The first person he saw. There was nothing to be done about the situation, however, so he descended from the roof.
The troll continued to channel her magic through the elf. Ylanna had prepared a fire and conjured food and water near the fallen hero for when he would need it. Ylanna was adamant in her belief that the elf must survive. Courage like he had shown should be rewarded, even if it was foolish. Rehck's wolf licked the boy's wounds. The hunter did not stop his pet, wolves had healing agents in their saliva and at this point, nothing could further damage Tyran, so everything was worth a try. Bjorn continued to stand, sword touching the ground, his hand resting on the bottom of the hilt.
The troll sighed and quit her channeling. She took some of the water the mage had conjured and drank it. She felt dizzy, having used too much magic already on what was surely a lost cause. The kid had courage, he was resilient, but in the face of such a catastrophe, the body could only take so much. His will could defeat the demon, but his physical body was denied the resilience of his soul. She had done what she could and now it was only a matter of time before they knew what became of the elf.
"Shei of the Hinterlands, priestess of nothing, bane of the corrupted." A voice came from behind her. It was worse than she thought, she was hearing voices, she cursed herself soundly for using too much magic.
She turned around and saw that she was not hearing voices. This made her even more irritated. Before her stood one of the Undead wearing robes that belonged to the dark order of warlocks. The look of fatigue was gone, replaced with the perfect picture of hate. She stood up and clenched her fist, trying to prevent herself from using it. "Rhukaa of Silithus, apothecary of the damned, deserter of lands."
A long moment of silence ensued as the two regarded each other. Shei was furious. Rehck, Ylanna and Bjorn watched the confrontation silently, all aware and afraid that if they said anything, a very unholy wrath would be headed their way.
Rehck knew why Shei was angry. Or at least, he knew why many many people in Orgrimmar would be angry at the man who had just entered the scene. Rhukaa was the head of the alchemists in Orgrimmar and was very powerful in both his dark order and the art of alchemy. When Lp came to power just four years prior, the alchemist had left in the dead of night, never to be seen or heard from again. He was cursed and damned by half of Orgrimmar for leaving them in a time of peril. When the plague began its wave of destruction, people personally blamed the man for not being there to cure it. If he were to walk into the city of Orgrimmar, Rehck wasn't so sure he'd ever walk out.
The warlock met Shei's unwavering glare and said nothing. "So did you return to cure the plague or did you just come to watch others do what you were too cowardly to try?" Shei spat the words and glanced down at the dying elf. "You are strong in your magic, Rhukaa, you could have stood a chance against the corrupt bastard who now claims the throne. Instead you ditch the city that harbored your outcast carcass and left kids like this to do the nasty work." The troll looked at the elf with pity. He was dying, his chances of making it were incredibly slim. It was a shame to lose such a resilient soul to a fiend like Lp.
Rhukaa knew well what he owed the city of Orgrimmar. When he began studying demons, his family had disowned him without allowing him to justify himself. He was banished from the country of Silithus. He fled the country and made his way to Orgrimmar, where his arts were not only tolerated but accepted. His practice was protected under the rule of Thrall."I couldn't have possibly beat him, you saw the way he slaughtered Pharon. Last time I saw him he was in the psych ward. I didn't think I could be of much help in that state but now that I hear..." Rhukaa looked at the ground and breathed deeply. "There is a plague?"
"For three years. This should of course be no surprise to you. A few days before you high-tailed it out of Orgrimmar, you predicted there would be a plague soon. Of course when Lp took power, all you could think of was yourself."
Rhukaa winced. "... How many?"
"One sixth of the entire population. Would you like to know more about the city you abandoned?" Shei's words were spoken like poison. "A resistance formed against Lp. More than half of it is gone, locked in the sweat shops Lp created. The druids left Orgrimmar and escaped to Moonglade. The Kirin Tor are trapped in a battle trying to make their way to Orgrimmar. They are losing. Over half the population that now resides within Orgrimmar is broken, the other half is hopelessly trapped in a world of doom with no reason to think things will ever change. Orgrimmar is gone, Rhukaa, welcome to the land of the dead."
Rhukaa looked pained. Shei didn't appear to notice, and if she did, didn't care. He had expected the plague to come in maybe ten years, not nearly so fast. He inwardly cursed himself. Had he known the plague would strike so soon, he never would have left Orgrimmar in such a quick, brash way. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't think-"
"No, you didn't. Now get over here and do what you can for this poor kid. If you can do nothing, leave us." The two sat on opposite sides of the dying elf.
Rhukaa took in the situation. Tyran had been pelted several times with a large amount of ice magic. Frostbite was definitely plausible. The shards of the ice bit into his body, but there was not much bleeding. That was an issue. Without bleeding, the body was prone to infection. Thanks to Ylanna's fire, most of the ice had been melted, allowing the elf's blood to flow more freely. However, the ice that had blocked infection from entering his body was now gone. Shei's magic had done much to fix his broken bones and shattered ribs, the main issue now would be infection and whether or not the elf's body could handle such a beating and live. Rhuuka took a flask from his robes. "The kid better thank the gods he's unconscious. I'm going to need bandages." He looked to the others that were still there, hardly having acknowledged them earlier.
Bjorn nodded, put his sword in his sheath and took a pack from his back. He always carried a pack of first-aid materials and food with him. Bjorn used to plan on serving in Thrall's army and all of Thrall's warriors did the same. Since Lp took command, however, Bjorn's dreams were dashed. He now carried the pack out of convenience for when he hunted. He searched the pack for a second before taking out two large rolls of bandaging and tossing them to the warlock. Bjorn glanced at the flask he was handling warily. The warrior had never trusted alchemists too much. He was worried for his new hero. He was more worried that his hero would not live to see another day though, and so he said nothing.
Rhukaa opened the flask and poured the contents on all of the elf's wounds that he could find. After doing so, he tightly wrapped them with with bandages just in case the poor boy came to consciousness before the potion had time to complete its work. "Infection is no longer plausible, there is not much else that can be done for him. Only time can act in his favor now. As for this plague," Rhukaa glanced at Shei. "I'd like some samples... maybe I can do something..." He felt bad about the whole predicament and though he knew he couldn't make up for the thousands that had died from it already, he might be able to prevent further death.
"I could get some..." Ylanna said. "My mother caught the sickness."
Rehck took Ylanna's hand. "I'll come help you." The two headed towards Orgrimmar. Rehck looked back at the alchemist. He hoped that the man wasn't just playing with them. He truly hoped that he might be able to do something about the plague.
"Shei, I know you don't want to hear anything from me but-"
"I don't care. Go talk to the warrior, I bet he hates you less."
"I found Thrall." Rhukaa said quickly before he could be interrupted again.
Shei looked incredulously at him. Thrall. Was it possible he was not dead? Why would Lp keep him alive? Her look darkened. "You are a liar now, too? For shame, Rhukaa. A traitor, sure, but now you lie?"
Now it was Rhukaa's turn to get angry. He stood and exclaimed, "A liar! For all the monster I surely am, for however wrong my acts have been, despite all the mistakes I have made, I do not lie to you now, nor have I ever. Can you not see this? Have I been gone that long? Hate me, and I'll welcome the hate. But damn you, our Warchief is alive, put your hate aside for a second and view the larger picture!"
Bjorn raised an eyebrow at the large commotion. He wasn't paying much attention to what they had been talking about. Trivial matters, he was sure. It was obvious the two had... issues. Bjorn didn't very much care. He was watching over the elf. It may have seemed silly to watch over a comatose elf who would come to no harm anytime soon but Bjorn was determined to make sure he was there when the elf woke up. The elf would live, he had to live. Bjorn couldn't let his hope die again.
Shei's look softened after hearing Rhukaa's outburst. "The scourge of the universe can still speak truth I suppose. Rhukaa, where is our Warchief?" It was about Thrall now, the matter was of a greater importance than who ditched what city for which reasons. Shei didn't care how he came across his information, she just wanted to know where Thrall was.
Rhukaa looked at the warrior and the elf. "I'll tell you all about it. But... I'd like to wait until we find out about the elf's fate." Shei nodded and so they waited.
