Day 151

Guard duty bright and early isn't so bad when you have something to look forward to. Tarren Mill saw more traffic than Camp Taurajo but nowhere near as much as the Crossroads even on a slow day. Watching bats and wyverns flying overhead while trying to guess destinations was always a good way to kill time and the few people that passed by on foot or mount usually grabbed whatever bounties or jobs available and moved on.

I should probably mention here that a lot of the 'bounties' are actual criminal bounties, creature extermination, and calls for adventurers obvious and discreet. Krusk's own vague recruitment poster got some attention but these adventurers were roaming around solo or in up to three man parties. The fact that danger was written in big red letters at the top of the paper probably put them off waiting around to see if others were interested.

Someone had explained the system to me back in the Crossroads but I think that was right before a battle or something and I forgot about it. I remember there being different threat levels to the missions though High Executor Darthalia seems to just replace posters whenever the elements ruin them. I think she just has a bunch of murder bounties up which really fits into how the Forsaken military deals with potential threats. Stab, hack, and stab again.

I didn't have my eyes or mind on the sky entirely of course and I made sure to do a few sweeps through Tarren Mill alongside Nyx. Supplies were covered, brush was cleared, and my squad was mostly attentive. My favorite part about guard duty was honestly taking Nyx around to greet different people. The poor girl had to fight her instincts to attack the residents more than once when we first got here but it was luckily nothing major. She still isn't big enough to escape my clutches and the locals were amused by the confused pup being held in the air.

I think it was about three in the afternoon, damn I need a watch, when the newcomers arrived. I did a quick number count as the large group of Forsaken Deathguard escorted a trio of wagons down the road and I came to the conclusion it was an entire platoon. Why is this interesting you ask dear Journal? A quarter of the warriors started setting up tents while half a dozen civilians jumped from the middle cart and started to unload things. A seventh made his way from the cart after them before turning away and walking into town proper.

The look of total confusion on his face when he spotted our longhouse was amusing but my attention was quickly drawn to the two undead dwarves standing out amongst their fellows. Their race wasn't the most interesting thing about them, I was being entertained by the variety of gestures they were using while they argued next to a barrel. The bald one was arguing with the hairy one about one of them nearly dropping the barrel on the others foot. To be honest I couldn't tell who was arguing which side but they shut up almost immediately when the platoon's Lieutenant turned his burning gaze their way.

Being clad in dark plate and sitting astride a skeletal horse alongside another quarter of his men made the Lieutenant an intimidating sight. I found myself snapping into a sharp salute when he looked my way but he thankfully passed me over after a moment. Those yellow eyes were exceptionally cold and focused. Once he was done inspecting Tarren Mill he said something to his men before dismounting and heading towards the High Executor's building.

The other Tarren Mill squad was begrudgingly helping unload things from the carts they'd just finished escorting and I had to fight down a grin. No manual labor for me today, no sir. Their assistance was turning hours of work into an efficient machine for our new friends and it let me get a good look at the newbies without interruption though I kept an ear out for the High Executor or Lieutenant returning.

The military squad were all wearing dark purple or black clothing along with dark chainmail across their bodies. Their brutal looking axes, lack of shields, and basic stumbles while setting up their camp told me they were complete rookies. They didn't even have the cool leather shoulders though I think those become common after the Cataclysm. Other than the decision on whether or not they wore hoods the only two who stood out from the human uniformity were the presumed Sergeant wearing a shield and a blood elf caster. I'm hoping mage and not warlock, mostly in the hope he knows how to open portals.

Tarren Mill's newest civilians were a far more interesting bunch to watch. Along with the two dwarves I previously mentioned there was an undead troll milling about with the human Forsaken. The guy looked surprisingly good considering his condition but he was also almost entirely covered by robes so who knows how well he truly kept. The humans weren't too interesting although I did note that every one of the civilians carried a knife and they were all jumpy and glancing around while they worked.

I was about to head over and introduce myself to the elf and the Deathguard Sergeant when High Executor Darthalia and the Lieutenant come outside. After a brief look at the people at work they started making their way to me and I almost broke out in a sweat. I had no clue what they wanted but I gave them a salute and braced myself.

"Sergeant Borgin, this is Lieutenant Bladesworn. Lieutenant Bladesworn has dutifully informed me that the recruits are in a pitiful state. This is completely unacceptable, don't you agree?" The lack of blinking and the cool dry voice kept me pinned mentally as I went over her words.

I answered quickly because I'm not an idiot but I also felt a trap coming. "Of course I do High Executor, Lieutenant. The lack of shields is a dangerous thing."

"I'm glad we agree then." The glint in her eye made me regret contributing but the stern face she was displaying didn't crack. "Fortunately for everyone involved I have a plan. Your squad has two blacksmiths in it and the Lieutenant's scouts brought him some interesting news. Lieutenant?"

Lieutenant Bladesworn cleared his throat before offering me a toothy smile. "The foolish dwarves of the Stormpike Expedition lost a shipment of supplies to the local yetis. This wouldn't be all that interesting except the yetis ruined the wagon in their attack and left no survivors of the outbound ore shipment."

"You want my squad to retrieve the ore?" My eyes bounced between the Forsaken in front of me as they nodded in sync. "We can do that but how do we transport it?"

An arm was raised by the Lieutenant pointing to the wagons being unloaded, the skeletal horses calmly waiting. "We will leave one of the wagons behind when we depart tonight. With the Alliance scouts busy keeping track of my platoon your squad can take the wagon to the location. I was told you've fought yetis before, you should be able to handle it."

"Fight, loot, and equip. Understood." That seemed simple enough. If I'm lucky the yeti presence at the time will be low and we can make good time. Even better if we go unnoticed by the Alliance.

"You will also be taking over their combat training Sergeant," High Executor Darthalia told me. I stared in surprise and I must have let it show because the High Executor carried on. "While your muscle routines won't be of any use many of your squad members are good with their weapons. Get the recruits geared and trained Sergeant, and the Horde may just have further use for you."

"Understood." I gave another salute before they left me to my thoughts.

I'm not sure exactly how I'll be training them yet because I'm still focused on our upcoming night mission. Apparently the Forsaken really do take advantage of their night vision whenever possible because they're relying on the darkness to travel back to safe territory. I did note the two very quiet orcs climbing into a wagon as well so I think we found what Krusk was talking about. These are human style wagons if you didn't realize Journal, and they surprisingly still have intact cloth covers. Seeing as how they are rather nice looking the odds of them being stolen as well are very high.

I need to grab a quick meal to prepare myself for a long night. The wagon will need a look over before we take it out and I have no clue if any of us can even drive it. I could maybe manage it in a pinch but this really doesn't seem like the time to try. I don't want to have to lug ore chests back on foot, that would just be awful. Best get to work so that I don't have to.

-Borgin

Non-Canon Omake

(Title: Shatterbang Can Build Shredders?!)

"Orgrimmar Rapid Casualty Suit Zero-Zero-One ready for battle," I called through the speaker system in the cockpit of my heavily modified shredder. "All systems green. Acquiring target."

Humans of all classes and creeds stared in fear and awe at the titan of metal on a hill across the road from Strahnbrad. The long barreled cannon replacing the right arm of the shredder rose into the air before with an echoing bang the corner support of a house exploded around the cowering humans. Screams of pain and fear echoed through the town while the warriors scrambled to ready themselves for battle before another shot shattered the clocktower of the town hall.

"Pulls to the right slightly," I comment over the speakers to the nearby Shatterbang, safely hidden behind the hill with the rest of my squad. Syndicate brutes were streaming from the main gate towards my position even as I switched ideas. "I'll try out the grenades."

Twin tubes lowered themselves from an upright position on the back of the shredder to aim forward. A soft plunk was followed by the two shrapnel grenades flying into the mass of Syndicate defenders. The resulting explosion of shrapnel and bodies was disgusting even through the view of my telescoptic eye. The heavy impact of my cannon blowing their group even further apart certainly didn't help matters.

O.R.C.S-001 was far too durable for the arrows and guns they were shooting at me to do any damage. The repurposed lumber saw whirring to life on the left arm as I started to descend from the hill broke their forward charge entirely. "For the Horde!"

The first few bastards in reach weren't given a chance to defend themselves before the saw cleared my path. A pair of grenades into the mass pushed another group into me and by that point my squad were circling the hill to join the battle. Screams, explosions, and blood covered the battlefield and the Syndicate lost at least half of their defenders before they finally surrendered.

Overlooking the terrified town after we established order I gave a short chuckle. "Damn Shatterbang, if we can provide these to the Horde you'll never lack project funding again."

"That's the plan Boss!" Shatterbang was currently checking over the O.R.C.S-001 for any damage that needed a field repair. "Every looks good to me. You think they might want to buy a lot of this model?"

Visions of the endless swarms of Scourge and Mantid armies filled my mind. "I'm pretty sure they will. Hey Shatterbang, do you want to make a flamethrower variant?"

AN: The omake was short and sweet because it would have filled a chapter otherwise, but it demanded itself written at the same time as the Greentitan one. I of course had to give it a ridiculous acronym to really go over the top. Reviewer response time! 'Ant0nius'- The Titan Pantheon definitely had the powers of lesser gods though we won't be seeing much of their work in this story as so far planned. As for Kajamite Cola (I think I remembered that correctly) and Shatterbang's inventions... Well, who knows where they all end up in the future? ;) Also why do the elves have so many gardeners? Sheesh! 'frankieu'- Borgin would inevitably try to make the mechs remote controllable and then we'd have Skynet before we knew it. 'Barbaric Bob'- If that ore was obtainable at the current time they definitely would. I haven't gotten around to mentioning the non-shielded Cata zones but I've been trying to think of a good way to bring them up. No Highlands or Tol Barad for now however.