Chapter 18

"By N'Zoth." Said the human in awe as he saw all the suits of black armor as he walked down the room that contained them all. They all had the same design.

Thick metal painted in black that completely covered the wearer, much like the armor for standard Stormwind soldiers, but unlike those suits of armor, this one completely covered the user, no opening in the helmet was made to allow the user to breathe. Instead the helmet was completely sealed off and was designed with an intimidating glare and some strange mouthpiece where the mouth was that had three circles on it along with two larger circles that were placed at the cheeks. On the torso were several brown tubes that connected the chest piece to the back, where the tubes ended at the user's neck along with a large tube that went to the user's back. It was such a strange, yet terrifying design that can place despair into the enemy's hearts when they look at it.

"Intrigued." Said the one called Mortem as his puppet floated over to him and his compatriots. "This is the Hellfire power armor, used for frontline assault or vanguard units. Designed by the political entity known as the Enclave, this piece of mechanized armor was the last design they had ever made before they been reduced to a mere handful of individuals. It still is, however, one of the most powerful pieces of armored equipment I've seen in my entire life. I've made improvements to the design, however, to make it even more deadly."

"How so?" Asked the human as he and the Dwarf examined one suit, their Orc compatriot just grunted as he wondered what else this vault had for them.

"It took some trial and error, but I've managed to include a personal energy shield into all these suits." Said Mortem as the bot went up and down in front of the armor that the Twilight Hammer members were observing. "I've also taken the liberty to upgrade the helmet's targeting parameters and heads up display as well as integrating firearms into the wrists." To demonstrate, the bot did something to the armor that caused it's wrists to open up to reveal two small tubes in each wrist. "10 mm caliber rounds. I would have preferred larger caliber rounds, but all other calibers were either too heavy, didn't provide sufficient enough ammunition to justify the upgrade, or were too weak to be of any use. You'll need training to use these suits of armor without breaking your limbs, but once done, you'll have at your disposal an advanced piece of armor that surpass anything in the Horde and Alliance arsenal."

The human Twilight hammer cultist just frowned. True, it all sounded good and the cult needed some good staying power, but the man wanted something more maneuverable. More lighter. He was trained as a rogue. Trained to assassinate high target individuals or sabotage important enemy infrastructure.

"All this sounds all well and good, but don't have anything more lighter?" Asked the human as he looked at the bot. He though Mortem would get angry, but the remark didn't hold anything against the human for suggesting such a question.

"Of course, not everything in this vault contains frontline combat gear." Said Mortem as he spoke in a dull tone as if speaking all through with a script. "This vault also contains stealth gear and weaponry that can make assassination or sabotage missions more efficient. If you will follow this unit, it'll lead you to them."

"Does this vault also contain equipment for Orcs and Dwarfs?" Asked the Iron Dwarf, in awe of all this. The Orc just grunted, but also wanted to know if there was stuff for him and other Orcs that followed N'Zoth. If this vault contained only stuff for humans…

"Of course." Said Mortem. "Part of the objective of the vaults is to not only hide all this equipment from Alliance, Horde, or other prying eyes, but they're object was also making some of this equipment available to other races of the Twilight Hammer cult. I will bring forth two more Eyebot units to lead you two to the sections of this vault that contain equipment made for Dwarves and Orcs. For now, I will lead this human to a room that contains items he desires." With that, the eyebot began to leave, forcing the human to follow it. Soon, two more arrived and led the Orc and Dwarf to sections that had equipment for their species.

As the Twilight hammer cultists followed the machines, they all knew that what they uncovered would help their organization survive, even flourish. Perhaps even make them rival the Alliance and Horde in power.

Few minutes later

Human cult member

"Tell me." Said Mortem as he had his Eyebot escort the human towards the section that had all the gear that the human had asked for. "Since we are allies, I would like to know you. Studies have shown that knowing one's cohorts' abilities can be the difference between defeat and victory." The human, who had been marveling at how large the vault was, snapped to attention at the Eyebot.

"My name is Derek. Derek Swifthand." Said the human as he looked at the Eyebot.

"I see." Said Mortem as the Eyebot continued to float towards their destination, not looking at Derek. "May I ask why you joined the Twilight Hammer cult?" Upon hearing the question, the human glared at the Eyebot. "I see. Not something you wish to divulge. That is alright. It was merely an attempt to, as humans say, pass the time. We will arrive to our destination in a few more minutes." With that the rest of the trip went in silence.

Derek, upon hearing the question, began to think of his past. How he became a member of the Twilight hammer cult.

He wasn't always a rogue. He wasn't even a soldier. Heck, he never held a knife of sword for most of his life. Back then, he was just a farm boy living in Westfall, a region that was known for providing much food to the kingdom of Stormwind. Well it used to until the 2nd war. Before Stormwind's rulers left them to fend for themselves against the Horde, bandits, and any other threat that can pose a threat to the people of Westfall.

Ever since the 2nd war with the Horde, the people of Stormwind has left the people of Westfall to fend for themselves, claiming that they couldn't afford to protect them without transferring soldiers from more vital areas, like outposts dedicating to watching the Horde or military campaigns such as the one against Deathwing the destroyer sometime ago. Despite the fact that they produced a good portion of food for the capital of Stormwind and its other territories, they were left to fend for themselves. To make matters worse, due to the of war and neglect of Stormwind, crops in the region began to fail. Food production was barely enough to feed the people in Westfall, let alone give Stormwind their tributes of food. Though the crown had promised to come for them in their time of need, such aid never came until the Defias Brotherhood came and proved to be a threat.

The Defias Brotherhood, an rebel organization opposed to the rulers of Stormwind, came and took Westfall for themselves, taking what little the people had for their own benefit. Using what coin and food they had to spare to grow and rebuild what they lost sometime ago, back when the Brotherhood was led by a man named Edwin VanCleef. Now led by his daughter, Vanessa VanCleef, the Brotherhood suck dry the people of Westfall of their dwindling resources for their own need for vengeance against Stormwind. Even recruiting some people of Westfall to join their ranks, either through force or, perhaps more common, stoking Westfall's own hatred for Stormwind and the crown to make them join the Brotherhood.

And it went on for months, even years. To make matters worse, when the Alliance came and helped them, it wasn't for them. It was for the Defias Brotherhood. And when they proved no longer a threat, they pulled away all their troops, not giving the people of Westfall even a platoon of soldiers to help them defend themselves. They didn't even give them a single crate of food as recompense for letting the Defias Brotherhood bully them around for so long.

It made Derek all made and sick to the stomach how the people for Stormwind were all living good lives, with good food and water, while the people of Westfall suffered from their own neglect. When they should be protecting them from bandits and other threats to them.

But getting back to Derek, he was just a simple farm boy, living with his mother, father, and two sisters. They, like everyone else in Westfall, were barely able to grow enough food for themselves. What little coin they had was given to the Defias Brotherhood, who had imposed a "protection tax" on everyone in Westfall. If they couldn't give them food or money, they'll pay the price in blood. That was something their fellow farmers can attest to.

Derek, who had been helping his father with their sole field of wheat, was angry with the Defias Brotherhood and Stormwind. The brotherhood for making their lives even hard and Stormwind for allowing this to happen and letting it drag on for years on end. Still, there wasn't anything he could do. His best friend and his whole family paid the price for resisting and they're corpses were used as an example to future dissenters.

His father, not wanting his family hurt, did what he was told along with Derek, who also didn't want his family killed as well. So, for awhile at least, they were free from harm. They gave what they could to the Defias Brotherhood to keep themselves from starving, and they went on their business. Things seem to go well for them. That was until a group of Defias Brotherhood scum came and told them that they're raising their protection tax for Derek's family. When his father tried to explain to them, they couldn't afford such an increase, they simply pointed at his wife and daughters, saying their bodies will make fine payments.

That caused his older sister, bless her soul, to yell out her defiance, calling them horrible people and that Stormwind was better than their group of rapists and murders. That seemed to tick them off beyond reason and they brought out their swords.

From there everything just went into chaos. Derek and his father, seeing that a fight was unavoidable, tackled them, his father yelling at the girls to run away. They tried to, but two men cut them off and bludgeoned them with the butts of their swords. Enraged at what he saw, Derek brought out a small dinner knife and tried to fight the men, but for his efforts, he just got a push towards a kitchen table, where he banged the back of his head hard on a corner of the table. That knocked him out unconscious.

The Brotherhood lackeys must have thought he was dead, and to be fair, he was bleeding a bit at the back of his head when he woke up. When he did, he saw his father dead, several sword slices all over his body and a hole where his heart used to be. His mother and sisters' were gone, taken by the Brotherhood soldiers. After mourning his father and patching himself up, he gathered supplies, including an old sword his father had kept for security reasons, for his search for his remaining family.

And so, for several weeks, he searched day in and day out for his remaining family. Asking any other farmers about information of his mother and sisters'. Many didn't give him the information he needed, either because they genuinely didn't now or feared the repercussions of telling him. But the few that did put him on the right path. Eventually, he managed to find his sisters' and mother in the Deadmines, the Defias Brotherhood's headquarters.

Despite it being weeks since they've been taken, meaning they're likely dead, and the fact that he would be walking into a deathtrap, Derek was still willing to go and rescue them. They were his remaining family and he wasn't going to not save them.

So, he made his way to the Deadmines, making plans to rescue his family. As he was making his way, however, he saw an Alliance force, led by several powerful individuals from different races of the Alliance, storming the Deadmines and fighting the Defias Brotherhood. Stunned at his luck, the young man infiltrated into the mines, trying his best to avoid all the fighting, knowing that he would stand no chance against professional soldiers.

Searching up and down, avoiding Alliance soldiers and heroes, along with Defias Brotherhood scum, he eventually found his mother and sisters' in a makeshift jail made for them. He found them all right, but they weren't even alive.

Remembering the state their bodies were in when he found them in that forsaken mine, caused Derek to stop and lean on a wall, causing the Eyebot to stop and look at him.

Exhaling as he willed himself to forget their state, Derek punched the metal wall, not caring how much it hurt his knuckles. After a few minutes of exhaling and punching the wall, Derek finally managed to stop remembering the state his mother and sisters' were in when he found them and focused on what happened next.

Rage would have overtaken him then and there, but shock and sadness came first. Gathering his youngest sister in his arms, Derek cried as he cradled his dead sister. It caused blood, semen, and dirt to stain his clothing, but he didn't care. His remaining family was dead and that was all that mattered to him. After crying his eyes out, Derek brought out a knife, intending to end his life. He failed his family again and he didn't want to live alone in the world anymore.

Just as he was about to end his life, a voice began to speak to his mind, telling him to stop and to take revenge against those that did this. The voice then took him away from the cave, from his own plain, showing him a world of darkness.

The voice then went on to tell him that his fate wasn't to die there. That his fate was to serve the Old Gods and to help them achieve their goal of corrupting Azeroth for their own ends. The voice then showed him a city of stone and darkness. Countless humans, elves, Orcs, and the other races paying tribute to a massive blob of tentacles and eyes. The tribute either being crystals or slaves of other races.

The voice then showed him a vision of him slaughtering people belonging to the Defias Brotherhood. Although Derek at this point of time abhorred killing, he couldn't help but be pleased as the Defias Brotherhood grunts begged for their lives, pleading at Derek to spare them, promising much riches if he did so. But the vision of Derek didn't listen, he just slit their throats, watching as they pressed their hands to their throats, trying to keep their blood from spilling out.

His mirror images kept doing it over and over until he stopped at a black-haired woman with no pants, exposing the entirety of her thighs. Even though her compatriots tried and failed, the woman still tried to beg for her life, promising much riches and loyalty from her if he let her lived. Even offering her body as a tool to be used whenever he pleased.

If anything, that offer of her body enraged the mirror image of Derek and caused him stab the woman in the throat, causing her to choke on her own blood. He then watched as the woman died in front of him, uncaring at how she pathetically begged for him to save her.

The voice then told Derek that all this would be his and that Westfall would prosper again if he joined the cult known as Twilight Hammer.

Derek, having nothing left to lose and wanting vengeance on the Defias Brotherhood for all that they've done to him, agreed and as such the voice began to escort him out of the Deadmines safely. A few days later, Derek received instructions to met up with a boat that was filled with Twilight Hammer cult members. Once he got on the boat, he thought of his family one more time and wondered if they were at peace with his decision.

That was a few years ago and now Derek was a skilled Rogue, one of the best the Twilight Hammer cult had to offer. Though that wasn't saying much, considering that the cult only has, at the most, a few hundred members as opposed to the thousands they had at the height of their power. The losses they've sustained from their battles with the Horde and Alliance have taken their toll on them. So much so, that Farthing sent a relatively new recruit of the cult to embark on this mission.

"Let us hope that these vaults are as good as this Mortem suggests they are." Thought Derek as the two resumed their walk in the vault. After a few minutes, they eventually found a metal door that the Eyebot opened. In it was a room, not quite as big as the first one, but still large, contained various suits of armor made from some sort of rubber material.

"These are Hei Gui stealth suits." Said Mortem as the Eyebot floated to one suit on a table, allowing Derek to see it for himself. For such a strange design, it had a sort of intimidation factor to it. With its dark black color scheme and its orange visor, masking the person's intentions and expressions. "Not only does it provide ample protection from bullets and melee weapons, it completely envelopes the user in an stealth field that bends the light around them, making them nearly invisible to the naked eye. Something that I think you wish to have."

Upon hearing that, Derek looked at the suit in amazement.

"Oh yes." Said Derek as he touched the suit, feeling its soft material. "Very much. And I think Farthing would appreciate this technology very much."

"He will." Said Mortem. "And there is more to be have in this vault. You're two companions will know soon."

Orc

"This room you speak of better have weapons that are fit for an Orc!" Yelled the Orc cultist as he marched with the Eyebot. Much as he wanted to destroy it, even he knew that was a bad idea. He had no idea what was in this vault. If he destroyed it, it might lead to the defenses killing him and his compatriots. And that was something that would enrage his god. Not wanting to enrage his god, the Orc followed the Eyebot without too much complaint.

"I assure you the room I am leading you to will have armor and weapons fit for someone of your stature." Said Mortem as he lead the Orc to their destination. "In fact, the weapons here will ensure your cult will surpass the Horde and Alliance in technological might."

"What about our physical strength?" Demanded the Orc. "Our physical strength is equally as important was our technology. What's the point of technology if we aren't strong enough to use it?!"

"I suppose your argument has some merit." Said Mortem after processing this. "Rest assured, there are plenty of weapons here that require the strength of the user to be effective. Is that satisfactory enough for you?" The Orc grumbled at that, but nonetheless nodded. As they traveled, Mortem asked a question that surprised the Orc. "Why did you ask such a question? I know that you Orcs place great value on martial strength, but you seem to place more emphasis on it." Upon hearing it, the Orc glared at the Eyebot.

"Never ask that question again or I'll rip you in two the second I see you for real!" Threatened the Orc as he glared at the Eyebot.

"Such aggressiveness." Commented Mortem. "Very well, I will not bring it up." With that, they traveled in silence, with Mortem wondering with curiosity why the Orc was not interested in revealing his fixation on martial strength.

Unknown to Mortem, the reason was because of his past service with the Horde and how the other Orcs had mocked him for his strength.

Several years ago, before Deathwing started the Cataclysm, he was just a normal Orc. His name was Gorl Dragonteeth, a member of the Burning Blade clan, a clan known for their deadly blademasters with some personally serving Thrall during his time as the Warchief of the Horde.

However, Gorl wasn't one of them. On the contrary, he was just an inexperienced blademaster when Garrosh had taken over as Warchief from Thrall. And Gorl had hated it.

That crazed Orc was a fool that brought the Horde to near destruction with his foolishness. His want to see the Orcs as the dominant race on Azeroth had overcome his common sense. He made an enemy of all the races on Azeroth, including the ones that were affiliated with the Horde, which, unsurprisingly led to a rebellion, bringing down the Warchief and his dream of world dominance. If he had just been more, for the lack of a better word, caring toward the needs of the other races, the war with the Alliance might have lasted longer, but he didn't and the Horde is suffering because of it, forced to pay reparations for the war that Garrosh had started.

But wasn't the only thing he hated Garrosh for. No, he also hated Garrosh for humiliating him and forcing him to leave the Horde.

To his shame, his father was one of the few members of the Burning Blade clan to still follow the Burning Legion and their goals, which was the destruction of Azeroth. He died sometime ago before the Cataclysm, but it stain he brought to his family's honor was enough for other Orcs to demure and insult him as the Burning Legion has enslaved the Orcs, turning them into expendable soldiers for their use and had been the reason that Draenor, the Orc's former home, was now a barren wasteland. To have a family member that still fought for those monsters, after they had been freed from their grasp, was considered a stain on an Orc's honor and that it was an Orc's duty to remove that stain in their family's honor.

Gorl had been determined to remove the stain in his family's honor that his father had brought, but his journey was a difficult one. Despite his determination and the dedication to the Horde, he was still ridiculed by other Orcs for his father. To make matters worse, they even ridiculed him for his skills with a blade.

His father, despite being hated by the burning Blade clan for his continued support of the Burning Legion, had been a skilled blademaster. It was said that he slain several hundred humans in the 2nd war with his skills with a blade. It had been thought that Gorl would inherit such skills and be a valuable asset to the Horde. To the dismay and disappointment of many Orcs, he didn't have the skills of his father. Not even close. In his first fight, which was around the time of Lich King, a powerful necromance and warrior, had resurfaced, bringing a tide of undead with him, he had been knocked out when his group of blademasters had been ambushed by a group of undead hidden underneath the ice floor, during the initial assault on the Lich King's fortress. The others had died, but he alone survived. To the Alliance, they would have considered him lucky to survive. But to the Horde, it was dishonorable for him to be the only survival. Especially since he only survived because an Alliance hero has saved him from death while the others of his group were turned into undead, adding their skills with a blade to the already numberless horde of the Lich King's undead army called the Scourge.

Because of this, many Orcs demurred him, calling him a failure and a coward who should have died with his group. Even as he went up to the Warchief, who was Thrall at the time, to tell him of the death of his group and the Lich king's growing army, he heard the insults given to him by the other Orcs, both for his survival and for his father. Thrall, along with wiser Orc heads, understood and sympathized with the young Orc for his loss, most, including Thrall's own prodigy, Garrosh, had seen him as a failure of an Orc. Garrosh, who had been there for his report, called him a coward that was the same as his father. A dishonorable weakling that relied on others to fight their battles for them.

There were few things that could really piss off an Orc to the point of uncontrollable rage. Calling them dishonorable, a coward, and weakling at the same time was a great way to do so. Combined that with all the demurring he got from the other Orcs, despite all his efforts to show them that he was wrong, got to Gorl. Roaring in anger, he charged at Garrosh and tackled him to the ground. He only managed to get one good punch to Garrosh's face when Garrosh headbutted him and pushed Gorl off of him. Garrosh was about to rip Gorl a new one when Thrall had his guards remove the two from each other, ordering them to stand down.

Looking disappointed at the two, Thrall told both of them that he'll deal with them after the Lich King is defeated. With that, he ordered his guards to remove Gorl so he can talk to Garrosh in private.

As he was being escorted away from the Warchief's tent, Gorl began to think that he wasn't appreciated at all by his own people. He tried so hard to gain their approval, but all most of them did was demure him and call him a coward. Even though there were Orcs like Thrall, who understood and encouraged him to keep trying, they were few and far between compared to Orcs like Garrosh, who saw him as a failure and a traitor to their kind. Simply because of his father.

It made him wonder if they were even worth the effort at all. He kept those thoughts to himself for the majority of the campaign against the Lich King, who had proven to be more powerful than both the Horde and Alliance had thought. Even the Forsaken, who had been part of the Scourge before being freed by Sylvanas, had no idea how powerful the Lich King had become since his disappearance from the 3rd War.

It was only when the Old God, Yogg-Saron, had threatened to fully escape with his prison that Gorl let those thoughts out. And not to people of the Horde. He had been part of the group that fought to keep Yogg-Saron from freeing itself. Despite it's great power, the Old God was at the cusp of defeat. When it was, however, it spoke to Gorl, telling him of a great cult that would appreciate his dedication and skills. He told him that joining it, will lead him to being amongst a group that actually understood and wanted him. That he'll gain the respect that he deserves.

As the Old God was resealed back into it's prison, he warned Gorl that he should make the choice now to join them or else forever be stuck with a people that will consider him a pariah.

The Old God's words stuck with Gorl and they stayed with him when the Lich King was defeated. At the celebrations for such an event, Gorl had made his decision. During the final days of the campaign against the Lich King, he continued to be demurred by his people, despite being apart of the group that fought and sealed Yogg-Saron back. It was worse when the other races of the Horde, the Troll, Blood elves, and Tauren congratulated him for his efforts. They understood his efforts and rewarded him for his dedication yet his own people couldn't see that because of his father and first task?

Because of that, he left the celebrations to head for the Twilight Hammer cult, using information given to him by Yogg-Saron. For weeks, he searched and searched for any members of the cult until eventually, he found them. Preparing Deathwing to bring forth the Cataclysm. Even as they surrounded him, Gorl wasn't scared. He had nothing to lose. When they completely surrounded him, Gorl knelt before them and asked to join the Twilight Hammer cult.

After the surprise was passed, the cult let him in and, after making sure he wasn't a spy, let him in, allowing him to join the operations they had to help Deathwing bring forth the Cataclysm, which would lead to the Old Gods being freed, allowing them to take control of Azeroth for themselves.

During this time, Gorl proved himself to the fellow Orcs of the Twilight Hammer cult, killing countless Alliance and Horde soldiers and warriors that got in their way. The Orcs, who didn't care about his father's affiliation with the Burning Legion, appreciated his skills with a blade, even teaching him some moves that they invented to help him become an even deadlier blademaster. It was a far cry to what he dealt with back in the Horde and he loved all of it.

But then came the day that Deathwing was killed, slain through the combined efforts of the Dragon aspects and Thrall, the former Warchief of the Horde. Because of Deathwing's death, the Alliance and Horde, rallied by the death of Twilight Hammer's greatest asset, pushed back and killed many of the cult's numbers, including some of Gorl's closets friends in the cult. Marionna Rivers. Thistle Stonebridge. Kosdaz Grimlock. All died during the Twilight Hammer retreat into hiding. And Gorl hated the Alliance and Horde for it, solidifying his loyalty to the Twilight Hammer cult.

And now, this Mortem had the technology they needed to get the revenge he desired. That is if any of it fitted for him. So far, most of the technology he shown was made for humans. Not Orcs.

"We are here." Said Mortem as he brought them to a large room filled of power armor similar to those in the first room. Except these were made for Orcs.

Fitted for Orcs of Gorl's size, Gorl could see they were twice the size of those human ones, topping at over three meters and a half tall, and had the shape of a boar head with metallic tusks at the cheeks where some sort of triangle with holes was placed between them.

"I present you one of the first things we droids developed." Said Mortem with the smallest hint of pride in this dull voice. "The X-06 advanced power armor, otherwise known as the eviscerator power armor. Designed for Orcs and heavy frontline fighting, even more so than the Hellfire Power armor." The Eyebot than began to float over one unit, which had several large firearms around it that made those used by the Dwarf kingdoms look like children toys. "Around this unit are several firearms made for this unit. All of which are designed for absolute carnage. Shall I go over some of them?"

Gorl just looked at the suit of armor, inspecting the armor and its weapons, slightly impressed with them.

"Any close combat blades for these suits?" Asked Gorl.

"I knew you would say that. You'll be pleased to know there are." Said Mortem, having already predicted he'll say that. The Eyebot then left Gorl alone for a few moments. After a few moments passed, it came back with a large blade, as big as a tree trunk. Widening his eyes slightly at the serrated blade, Gorl smiled at that.

"Yes, that will do." Said Gorl as the Eyebot dropped it, allowing Gorl to inspect it for himself.

Dwarf

"All this technology is impressive." Said the Dark Iron Dwarf, his glowing red eyes staring at the room that Mortem had led him to, which was full of guns of varying sizes. Some of which were powder based as those his people used, but more advanced. While others had some strange glowing bits on them that hummed with electricity. "Once we train our forces with these, nothing will stop us."

"I calculate that our victory will all but guaranteed when we do train the entire cult with proper weapons and armor training along with proper unit tactics." Said Mortem, the Eyebot looking at the Dwarf as he examined all the guns. Unlike the Orc and Human, Mortem and the Dwarf got along well. Likely because the Dwarf saw him as a loyal servant to N'Zoth, like they were. And that was probably enough for him. "I assume some of you know how to train your people to be a proper military force."

"Aye." Said the Dwarf as he looked at the Eyebot, interested in how it works for it worked more efficiently than anything the Dwarven kingdoms had ever invented in all their years. "I myself was a commander in the Dark Iron Dwarf kingdom when Emperor Dagran Thaurissan was in charge." Upon hearing that name, the Eyebot looked at the Dwarf.

"If what N'Zoth told me is to be trusted, he died at the hands of the Horde and Alliance, correct?" Asked Mortem, causing the Dark Iron Dwarf to nod somberly.

"Aye." Said the Dwarf. "After that bastard Magni Bronzebeard sent a team to kill our leader, our people have become divided. Most of my people, to my shame, follow that whore Moira Bronzebeard, the daughter of the man that sent the people to kill our great leader. The rest of us followed Ragnaros, the lord of all flame elementals, into service in the Twilight Hammer Cult. We helped strap Deathwing in battle armor and got him ready for bringing back the Old Gods." The Dwarf then sighed. "Considering we're here, you might have guessed what went wrong."

"The Horde and Alliance managed to kill Deathwing and reduced your numbers significantly." Said Mortem, causing the Dwarf to nod again. "Rest assured, the weaponry and equipment in these vaults and beyond will finally bring Azeroth under our god's will." Upon hearing that sentence, the Dwarf looked at the Eyebot in shock.

"N'Zoth has more than these vaults?" Asked the Dwarf, shocked at how prepared N'Zoth was. He must have been doing this for years, maybe even decades, to prepare all this.

"Indeed. All will be revealed in time." Said Mortem. "But rest assured, not even the combined might of the Horde and Alliance will stop us from making Azeroth N'Zoths'." The Dwarf nodded at that.

"We better. Got the feeling we only got one last chance to do it." Said the Dwarf.

"Indeed. I calculate it as well." Said Mortem. "Before we go on, can you speak your name? The human has given his name, but the Orc hasn't. I wager you wish to impart your name. So, to avoid being like the Orc." The Dwarf shook his head at that. Gorl has always been so difficult to deal with, always trying prove himself despite the fact that he already had the respect and admiration of other Orcs in the cult. It only got worse when some of his best friends died during the Alliance and Horde attacks on the cult during the Cataclysm. Nowadays, he was quick to anger and was protective of him remaining friends. The Dwarf hoped that he'll open up soon before that anger will be his downfall.

"Don't blame Gorl for his behavior. Lad has been through a lot since the Cataclysm. Just give him time. With luck, he'll turn around and be thankful for all that you've done." Said the Dwarf.

"Perhaps." Said Mortem. "But I care little for what the Orc thinks of me. All that I care about is assuring N'Zoth's victory." The Dwarf nodded at that.

"Right. Got no problem with that." Said the Dwarf. "Anyway, the name is Kudius Starkguard. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Same to you." Said Mortem. "I'm surprised with your attitude. My intel on Dark Iron Dwarves is that they're quite deceitful and play dirty compared to their counterparts in the Alliance."

"Eh, we do have that reputation." Said Kudius with a laugh. "Back during the emperor's reign, people kept telling me that I be better off in Magni's army rather than Dagrans'. Most of it was with humor, so nothing really bad happened. Mostly because of Dagran, I reckon. Always looked out for us all."

"I see. My condolences for his death." Said Mortem with a hint of sorrow in his voice. Kudius nodded solemnly at that.

"No need for that, but thanks anyway." Said Kudius. "Anyway, how the heck are we getting these things away from Kalimdor and to the cult in the Tirisfal Glades? Can't bring too much or else we'll either bring the Forsaken or Nightelves on us."

"Exactly." Said Mortem. "Which is why N'Zoth wants you all to head to both Kul Tiras and Zandalar. While they are inhabited by either humans or Trolls, those islands contain several vaults that will be more than satisfactory for all your needs, whether they be military or basic organic necessities. You can even link the vaults together with your magic and the fools will not be able to find you." Kudius hummed at that, a bit stunned at all this information, before nodding.

"I'll tell Farthing right away, though I think N'Zoth already told him." Said Kudius.

"He most certainly did." Said Mortem. "Now, before you run off to take what you want, I need you to grab something of vital importance. This comes from N'Zoth himself. Follow this Eyebot, it'll lead you towards the item along with your friends." With that, the Eyebot left, forcing Kudius to follow it. As he walked, Kudius wondered what this item was and why N'Zoth wanted them to take it now.

Few minutes later

Lowest level of Vault 4

"What on Azeroth is this?" Asked Gorl as he looked at the item that the Eyebots led them to. It didn't look like anything special. It just a tall metal cylinder with glass on one front. Kudius and Derek were inspecting the glass, finding that there was ice and frost in the way preventing them from seeing what was inside. "Why does our God want us to bring this along first?"

"You'll see. I'm activating the cyropod now." Said Mortem before doing so. A few seconds later, a hiss came from the cyropod as steam came out from corner of the glass portions of the cylinder, filling the bottom of the room with cold air. Soon, the glass portions slid upward, allowing anything from inside to get out.

Though the three wanted to see what was inside, the cold air from inside the pod prevented them from doing so. Eventually, though, the air dispersed enough for them to see what was inside. What they saw surprised them all, causing them to widen their eyes in shock and surprise at the sole occupant of the cylinder as they got out and looked at them.