JJ: Chapter 10. I really apologize for the long delay. The holidays came and I got lazy. No further comments for today. Deal with it. Haha. World of Warcraft does not belong to me. Neither does Thorka, Karkon and a whole bunch of other characters. Just Nell and Sey'rans does.

Chapter 10

The journey to Stormwind was lengthy and in no way a pleasant one. But then again, most of the group's trips were never easy in the first place. The group had to take a boat from Ratchet all the way to Booty Bay, considering the fact that an all out war will break out if Millhouse stepped a foot a zepplin in Grom'gol. Because of this, they had to take the long route. Dock in Booty Bay, follow the trail north past the Gurubashi Arena, up through Duskwood and finally reaching the Alliance territory of Elwyn Forest. There were some...unfortunate events on their way there.

When the group first arrived at Booty Bay, Sey'rans was kicked out of town for being in 'Too close proximity to a gnome with cannibalistic intent'. The troll really didn't mind though. He said he was much more comfortable in the wilds and would wait for the group at the exit. Later, the goblins threw Millhouse out for giving a goblin engineer some criticism about his teleporter invention. Thorka, too was thrown out of town for fishing in a 'no fishing' zone. Surprisingly, Nellera was too, kicked out for beating up a cheeky night elf who told her that she had a nice arse and assuming that she couldn't understand common. Karkon was the only one who was left unscathed. Not wanting to keep the others waiting, he too, left shortly after Nell did.

It took three days on mounts for them to reach the borders of Duskwood, where they had to carefully sneak by an alliance camp. An additional two days to get up to the river which signified the border of Elwyn forest, and several agonising hours of trekking to the meeting point along with Nell's everlasting complaints of hating to swim in full armor. Finally, the group made camp on a hill at sunset of the sixth day of their journey. Stormwind city was just visible over the treelines of the forest. It was an impressive sight. Human craftsmanship at its best. Although, it did pale in comparison to the dwarven built Ironforge.

Karkon stared wearily at the neat camp fire that Thorka had set up. He did not expect that from the druid. In truth, the orc knew very little about the druid. Apart from he can do almost anything. Cook, fish, first aid, you name it. He looked around the camp. Everybody was doing their usual thing. Nell was using her pack as a cushion and was lying in a corner, fast asleep with her back to the group and the fire. Thorka was flipping through a catalog of engineering gizmos. The gnome, Millhouse, was sitting in a corner, summoning and unsummoning an elemental, obviously bored. The troll was... Karkon blinked and looked around once more. No, he wasn't seeing things. The troll was gone. He was sure that he saw the pathfinder here a minute ago. Where had he gone.

"If your looking for the pathfinder, he is up there." Nell said suddenly, still lying down with her back towards the group.

She lifted one of her arms and gestured into the trees. Karkon's gaze followed her hand and he found the troll sitting on o branch on one of the tallest tree in the area. The orc really wasn't surprised of that. What he really wanted to know was how did the elf know what he was thinking about. He shivered. For a moment, he thought the elf was psychic, but his theory was immediately replaced by another. The orc was simply predictable to Nell. She was a kind of person who takes everything in to detail. After a year of travel with the orc, she could obviously know what he would be thinking, even if she wasn't looking at him.

Before the orc could say anything in return, the rustling of leaves made him and Thorka jump for their weapons. Nell, the gnome and Sey'rans were unnerved. Karkon was about to yell at them to take up arms when the first of the figures emerged from the forests, bearing a white flag.

"Hold, friend. We mean you no harm." said the lead figure, his voice muffled by a thick scarf covering his mouth. He was a blood elf. He had the same pointy long ears and glowing green eyes all blood elfs had. He had combed back blond hair with black dyed black streaks. He wore a black leather garb, obviously made from the hide of a sturdy animal. Two wicked long daggers hung from his belt. Behind him, came four more figures. Two more blood elfs, one male and one female, similarly dressed and armed.

The final two figures attracted Karkon's attention. They were both undead. One was male and wore ornate plate armor. His armor was chipped and worn out, but was still an awesome sight. He had a spiked mohawk and straps were wrapped around his eyes. A short hammer and a n axe hung from his belt. The other was female. Although her skin was almost as white as milk, she really did not look dead. It was as if she had tried everything she could to preserve her once living body. She had chilling blue eyes and silky silver hair, almost waist length. She held a grimoire with sickly glowing runes in one hand and a dagger hung from its scabbard on her belt.

Thorka and Karkon slowly lowered their weapons, although they were still wary of the new arrivals.

"Are you the spies that were sent to greet us?" the orc asked.

"Yes. We are." replied the lead elf. "I am Xante Shrikeblade, master spy and assassin." he gestured to the other elfs. "And these are my accomplices. Lyle Bloodmoon and Kaira Dawnshadow." Karkon nodded and turned towards the two forsaken.

"And you two?" the undead warrior stepped forward and bowed.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir. I am known only as Vizshor, having long forgotten my real name. This is Myu. She is a skilled warlock and is one of the dark lady's most trusted adviser." The undead girl gave a low bow, but did not say a word. With his curiosity satisfied, the orc grunted and nodded.

"I am Karkon. The tauren is Thorka, the elf is Nellera, the gnome is Millhouse and the troll is Sey'rans." he introduced blandly. Xante smiled.

"A pleasure to meet you, kind sirs and madam. Although I am a tad bit surprised to find a gnome with you." he said, cocking an eyebrow at Millhouse's direction. The mage ignored him. Sey'rans dropped down from his perch and Nell finally picked herself up from her resting place.

"I've heard that you have a way of getting us into town." said Nell blandly.

"Indeed we do, milady." replied the rogue. "But I'll allow my friend here to explain the details." he gestured towards the female undead, Myu. She stepped forward and cleared her throat.

"Yes, I have a contact within the walls of Stormwind. By nightfall tomorrow, I will lead you all through a secret underground passageway which will lead straight up into the cellars of the mage guild. Entry into the cellars are forbidden by the guild, but my contact is one of the higher ranking spell-casters within the city. She will be allowed through to open the door for us." she said. Although it did not show on his face, Karkon was truly surprised at this forsaken. Not only did she preserve her beauty from her previous life, but she spoke like a living human too. The guttural slur that all forsaken had was absent in her voice.

"You say that your contact is a high ranking mage. From my knowledge, the only mage who wished to help the Horde is lady Proudmoore. How in the world did you manage to convice this particular sorceress to help us?" asked Thorka. Karkon wondered about this too. What the druid said was true, the only name which came to mind was Jaina Proumoore. He turned and saw that Millhouse wanted to know too. Nell and the pathfinder showed no interest.

The warlock's cheeks darkened, obviously in embarrassment. She tried to speak, but the words did not come out. She quickly glanced back at her undead companion for help. He simply nodded his head. Sighing, the warlock told them.

"I...er...when I first awoke in this form, I could remember nothing. I could not remember my name, my past or even how I died." she paused for a moment, but began again a second later. "But I did remember one thing. I remembered having a sister who lived withing Stormwind. I seeked her out."

"And this sister of yours is the mage who intends to help us?" asked Karkon.

"Bingo." replied Myu.

"Well that explains a lot." said Thorka blankly. Nell just groaned and returned to her sleep.

"I believe we should follow the paladin's example. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." suggested Xante. Everyone agreed and soon the camp fire was put out and the night was silent.

The whole of the next day was taken up with strategy discussions. Apparently, the spies had been so full of themselves about their plan to sneak the Horde party in that they neglected to find a way to get them into the party. Thus, the strategy discussion. They eventually gave up by sun set, when it was time to move, saying that they would think of something on the way.

The warlock led the group westwards and further away from the main entrance. After about an hour or so, they arrived at a place called Mirror Lake Orchard. The place was completely empty. Xante later explained that the orchard used to have a Defias problem which have been solved by him and his rogues personally. They came to a stop at one of the huge trees near the orchard. Myu fiddled around at the trunk until she managed to grab hold of a little notch. She pulled on it and a part of the tree trunk swung open, revealing a ladder which led deep beneath the ground.

There was only a narrow path at the bottom of the ladder, leading northwards and only a few torches lit the way. The tunnel was small. It was big enough to fit the huge bulk of Karkon, but not big enough to have two people standing next to each other. The group carried on for several cramped hours until they finally reached a somewhat more spacious antechamber. There was a door at the other end of the room. Myu proceeded to open it, but when she turned the knob, she found it locked.

"Hmmm. Thats strange. She should have unlocked the door by now.' she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Maybe she was caught." offered Thorka. Myu shook her head.

"My sister is too crafty to be-" before she could finish, the door knob began to turn and the door swung open. The party quickly raised their weapons, preparing for the worst. A female human strode out of the door. She wore silver robes with red linings. She looked like she was in her twenties with purple-blond hair tied int a short ponytail and the same ice blue eyes as Myu. The human faced the warlock and smirked.

"You are late." she said in a cool tone. Myu returned the sinister smile.

"Better late than never, Anne." she replied. The human mage looked at the faces assembled before her and nodded.

"Quickly! We must leave this place. The archmages plan to hold one of their meetings here." she snapped.

The mage led the group through the dark and damp basement. They climbed up several flights of spiral steps, occasionally stopping as the lighted lamps of patrols were seen passing by. After several tense minutes of sneaking around, the party managed to sneak out of the mage guild building and into a dark alley. The streets were empty and silent, apart from the occasional guard patrols. Once again, the group was forced to rely on stealth, not something the bulky form of Thorka could do easily. After what seemed like an eternity of sneaking, Anne finally led the group into the safety of a huge cottage in a shady corner of the Old Town district. Anne sighed in relief as she closed the door behind them.

"Still living in this pathetic excuse for a home? You never change do you." said Myu said sarcastically.

"Where I live is none of your business, sister." the mage retorted playfully.

"Forgive me for intruding on your reunion, but could you please explain to us the details of the party and our target, milady?" cut in Xante.

Ever since they had entered the city, the rogue had looked really uncomfortable. He should be. Thought Karkon. They were a group of Horde in the middle of an Alliance capital! If not for Thrall's orders, this would be madness. Actually, it seemed like madness even with Thrall's orders.

"Ah, yes. Forgive me." said Anne, giving a low bow."I will get straight to the point. The party will be held tomorrow night. I, myself , have been invited. I will isolate myself midway through the party and point out who your target is. I'm sure that you all have a plan on infiltrating the keep?"

The entire Horde party, except Millhouse, looked away in embarressment. Anne cocked an eyebrow

"You do have a plan. Do you not?" she queried. Xante cleared his throat.

"Well, errr...w-well milady, I'm sure we can think of something, come tomorrow night." he said, trying to feign a weak smile, but failed horribly. Anne groaned her displeasure.

"Fine," she said. "Everyone should get some rest for tonight. It might help you all think better in the morning."

With that, she left the room, leaving the Horde party in silence...until Thorka said: "Wait, where do we sleep?"

The next day of planning also proved to be fruitless. The party was to start in an hour, but the party had yet to come up with a plan. Xante sat in a fetal position in one corner of the room, slowly losing his pride as a leader. His two subordinates were kneeling around him, trying to cheer him up. Karkon, Thorka, Millhouse and Nell were sitting at a round table in silence. They all had a serious look on their face. All of a sudden, Thorka spoke up.

"Maybe we could-" he said. Everyone turned to look at him, eyes glittering with hope. "N-no, that wouldn't work."

Everyone sighed and went back into deep thought. Millhouse grunted.

"Don't speak up unless you have an idea that actually works lad." the mage said. Thork lowered his head sadly. Karkon didn't understand why Thorka didn't just get up and squash th gnome. The tauren was almost five times the mage's size! Nell let out an annoyed moan and buried her face in her arms on the table, feigning sleep. Anne, Vizshor and Myu chose that time to enter the room.

"Haven't figured out a plan yet?" she asked. Everyone just groaned. "I can not believe how lax your planning of this operation is."

"Not helping." Nell said, her voice muffled by her arms. Though she did lift her head up a little so that her sleepy, red eyes were barely visible.

"Unlike you, we were trying our hardest while you had your little reunion tea party." mumbled Millhouse. He said it out loud and if Anne was insulted, she didn't show it. The female mage shrugged.

"Well, if you plan on succeding on this mission, you have got exactly fifty five minutes to come up with a plan." she said.

"No need for dat." came a low, cool voice. The group turned towards the source. "I got a plan." said Sey'rans, closing the front door behind him. Anne's eyes widened in horror.

"You went ouside?!" she yelled. the troll shrugged.

"I wasn't followed, and I made sure that no one be seein me. Those who did though, hehe, lets just say, they wont be talkin for awhile." he said, a self satisfied grin played across his blue face.

Nell lifted her head up.

"So, whats the plan?" she asked. The troll held up one finger with one hand as he used the other to fumble through his pack. He pulled out a beautifully decorated letter with the seal of their target, Lord Sunbane.

"This, be an invitation to the party." said the troll. Everyone stared at him in shock with mouths hanging open.

"How did you get that?! Where did you get that?!" yelled Xante, his face in a wide smile. His self esteem seemed to be restored. The pathfinder looked at him and smiled.

"A wee, lil birdee gave it to me." said the troll. Xante scowled.

"Come now, friend. Be serious. This is no time for jokes." exclaimed the rogue. The troll's expression soured.

"Seriously, mon. Messenger pidgeon." he said before pulling out a dead bird from his sack. There was a cylindrical pack strapped to it's back, obviously for storing messages.

"Oh." said Xante, looking away.

"But wait, Lord Sunbane personally wrote these letters to his most trusted friends. Surely he would know what they would look like." said Anne. "And besides, non of us here can impersonate one of the lord's friends except Millhouse."

"Then we best pray that the invitation is for a gnome mage." said Karkon.

"Naw, mon. Da letter be addressed to a high elf lady by da name of Dawnsong." the troll said again. Anne's eyes lit up with hope.

"Thats it!" she exclaimed. "Lord Sunbane has never seen lady Dawnsong! He keeps trying to woo her, but she never attends his parties! This is our chance!"

"But if this lady never attends his parties, wouldn't he suspect something if she decided to show up?" offered Karkon.

"Yes, and where in the world would we find a high elf?" added Thoka. The group once again fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, everyone was struck by an epiphany. Slowly, they all turned to look at Nell.

"What?" she said, looking each of them in the eye, confused.

Evil, sadistic grins showed across each and everyone of their faces.

A carriage approached the gates to the manor. Guardsman Tomas' eyes followed it curiously. He was really interested in finding out what the contents of the carriage. All he had been doing all evening was watch guest after guest arrive at the Lord's manor. He really liked seeing the types of people his master mixes with, especially the ladies. So far, pretty much every high noble and aristocrat had already arrived, so he guessed that the guest in the carriage was most likely the archmage Anne, who was the only name left in his list. There was a possibility that the Lady Dawnsong was in the carriage, but it was unlikely, for she had never attended the Lord's parties.

The carriage pulled to a stop next to the guard. He gestured for the drive to open the door, which he did hurriedly. The driver helped a beautiful woman down. She wore an elegant purple robe, lined with gold and silver threads, forming a unique flowery pattern. She also wore a mantle of similiar design. Her purple-streaked hair immediately gave away her identity.

"Lady Anne," said Tomas, giving her a low bow," it is a pleasure to see you again. My lord was expecting you."

Anne smiled at the guardsman, making him blush.

"And it is good to see you to Guardsman Tomas. Are you expecting anyone else? Or are we the last ones to arrive once again?" she asked. The guard nodded.

"Yes, madam. You are the last to arrive once again." he hesitated for a moment before speaking up again. "Actually, I still await the arrival of Lady Dawnsong, but I think you and I both know that she will not turn up. I'm afraid I won't be able to join in the revelry once again." he said with a sigh, obviously disappointed.

"Oh, don't say that. You should always have a positive attitude. Isn't that right, madam?" said the mage.

The statement made Tomas look up. This was the first time the the mage had brought some company with her to the lord's manor. What he saw made him stumble. A tall, elegant and breath-takingly beautiful woman stepped out of the carriage. She wore a lavish red dress with matching elbow length gloves. Her dress slitted at the thigh, showing off her lustrous legs. She wore gold bangles on her wrists and ankles and had a similar choker around her neck. Her eyes were blood red and her similar colored shoulder length hair swayed in the gentle breeze. A flush of red crossed her face when she noticed the guardsman looking at her. She quickly turned away.

"Tomas? If you are not too busy, would you care to escort us your lord?" asked Anne, enjoying the guardsman's expression. Tomas stumbled.

"Huh? Wha? Oh...Oh, y-yes. O-Of course. Follow me, ladies." he said, turning around and gesturing them to follow him.

Meanwhile...

Deep below the earth, a group of figures trudged through the murky, disgusting waste water of the pitch-black sewers, slowly making thier way towards Lord Sunbane's basement entrance. Each of them wore an expression of disgust and lack of enthusiasm on their faces. The largest of he group spoke up.

"I hate this plan." he said. The group ignored him and continued on their way.

To be continued...