Chapter 19 - Rogue life
He thought the noise was bad enough earlier, but that was because he had never heard an angry harpy shrieking directly at him before.
"KILL! MAIM! STRIP THE FLESH FROM THE BONE! RWAAAAAAAARGH!" They squawked like parrots as they flew in circles above him, spiraling down towards his location. Dalrus ran for his life at full speed, hopping over the loose stones and darting back and forth between the huge stone pillars that rose from the ground. He had barely passed by two such when he heard a sharp whistle from above his head. Instinctively he ducked, and felt the air split as something very fast zoomed past his ear. Looking down, he noticed it was a feather that had sunk about two centimeters into the solid rock, like a throwing dagger. 'Bloody hell, how can they fly with feathers like this?' He thought, now having to worry about deadly darts raining from above on top of the flock of winged hags thirsty for his blood. More feathers were shot at him, the young rogue having to apply evasive tactics to avoid them; zig zagging, ducking, rolling, leaping backwards as he pretended to move forward, and so on. Lucky for him, the harpies were little more than beasts when it came to hunting; they were used to helpless prey, overtaken by panic and survival instinct, in other words, the instinct to sprint straight forward at maximum speed. And so, every single feather missed him completely, much to their throwers' anger.
The squawking intensified, and Dalrus heard the first harpy make a dive for him. He had to duck and barrel roll to the side in order to avoid those deadly talons aimed straight at his neck, then watched as their ugly owner landed on the floor where he had been moments ago, shrieking in anger. They were even uglier from up close, as Dalrus could now make out the details of their wrinkly skin - probably a result of being exposed to the sunlight for so long - as well as all the moles randomly placed along their thin faces. "DIIIIIIIIIE!" She screamed, lunging at him. The boy simply stepped on her head as she did so, and used her body as a spring to jump forward and resume his dash. Soon, however, more of those hideous ladies began to join in, and before long he was being chased by about four of them on the ground. 'Oh, this is bad.' He thought.
Lucky for him, it was quite obvious the harpies were not used to chasing prey on foot. Their steps were clumsy and overly wide, making them trip and slam against each other during their enraged sprint. Pretty soon, however, he would reach the stone wall leading up to the cave he and Thano had arranged to meet, and he would be a very clear target during the climb. So far the stalagmites were preventing the harpies from swarming down on him, but they were getting less dumb by the second, as they began to descend one by one rather than just pumelling each other in the air to decide who would get to him first. So, he hopped to the side and began climbing one of the pillars, an idea springing to his mind.
He watched as two more harpies tried to make a dive at him, only to smash against the stone pillar directly behind the young rogue. More deadly feathers buried themselves on the hard stone dangerously close to his head and hands, but by then he was already halfway up the stalagmite. He looked over his shoulder, and saw that the big one was coming. The Alpha didn't look as stupid as the other birdbrains, as she landed atop the big stone pillar Dalrus was using as cover. Slowly she climbed down like a bat, her hateful eyes staring straight at Dalrus' face. "Thaaaaat's it, big girl... Just a little closer..." Dalrus whispered to himself, staring right back at her. Finally, the huge harpy let out a savage shriek and jumped at him, her wings spread wide to prevent his escape routes. It was then that Dalrus, much to her surprise, leapt straight forward to meet her. Just as it looked like they were going to collide, the boy shadowstepped, making him disappear and reappear behind her back. Thinking quickly, he wrapped his arms around her neck and gave a sharp pull upwards. "COME ON, BIRD BRAIN! UP WE GO!" He shouted, to which the harpy screamed so loudly in anger that he felt his vision go blurry. Surely enough, however, she began to beat her wings and fly up, trying to shake the rogue off her back.
Dalrus held on for dear life, his arms firmly wrapped around the Alpha harpy's neck and his legs trying to get as much adherence as possible around her torso. Fortunately, being smarter than the other harpies wasn't that high a bar. Rather than landing on the ground to have the smaller ones pluck him off, the Alpha did exactly as he had hoped and started flying erratically through the air, screaming the whole time as she tried to shake him off and make him fall.
"Hoooooh boy..." He grunted behind his teeth, wincing as he was shaken like a ragdoll on top of his ride. The Alpha took him high up on the cavern, then spiraled down towards the ground, only to recover and start going around in circles as scores of angry harpies tried to follow in her wake. Looking over his shoulder, Dalrus saw that while they all wanted a piece of him, they were all also still very afraid of the larger Alpha. That gave him an idea. His fingers curling around the harpy's white feathers, he plucked one free and took careful aim. Just as the harpy began another one of her dives downwards, Dalrus launched the feather against one of the closest harpies, stabbing her in the shoulder with it. The birdwoman let out a cry of pain and anger and, losing all reason, took a dive at him. Just as her talons were about to skewer him right where he lay, Dalrus jumped off the Alpha's back and began to free fall. He didn't see the damage his tactic had brought, but he most certainly heard it. The Alpha harpy let out a louder scream than any other before, and Dalrus heard her crash against the stone wall to the side. Looking around, there were still many more harpies flying about and trying to get to him. They were all surprised by the development of things, and their hesitation was the chance the boy needed. Shadowstepping once more midair, he landed on the back of one of the smaller harpies. "Alright birdbrain, forward!" He shouted in her ear, twisting her head between his arms until she was facing the tunnel entrance him and Thano had used to get there. He was ready to jump out of her and find a new carriage at any moment... But, for some reason, it looked as if the harpies had lost interest in him. Looking up, he understood why.
Bruised and injured, the harpy matriarch was now having to fend off a dozen attackers who sought to seize the opportunity to elect a new alpha to their group. On top of that, more of the smaller ones were now fighting amongst themselves, shouting: "MY FOOD! NO, MINE! SCRAAAAAA!" Dalrus blinked at that. 'Huh... That worked better than expected.'
He rode the harpy into the cave entrance, making her collapse heavily on the dusty ground right in front of a very surprised Thano, who stood with his hands on his hips a few paces deeper within the cave. "Well... I'd say you handled that situation pretty well!" The elf said, looking up at Dalrus with a raised brow.
Wiping the dust off his shirt, Dalrus stood up and kicked the harpy once on the stomach to make sure she wouldn't be getting up. "Eh, you know. All in a day's work." He casually said, looking up to inspect the mess he had provoked up there. "Thanks for the help, by the way." He sarcastically added.
The elf simply shrugged. "Well, I was going to try and pluck you out of that mess... But then you began dealing with things so well yourself, I thought it was more fun to just sit back and watch. You really took care of two birds with one stone, gotta say."
Dalrus lifted a brow at him. "Oh yeah? How so?"
A mischievous smirk spread on Thano's lips. "That alpha harpy was going to be a problem eventually, as the group could just reform someplace else after we took out this nest. But thanks to you, not only is their leader out, most of the lesser ones will be gone as well! Not bad for your first day at work, young one."
"And what about the bo-" Dalrus began to say when suddenly the sounds of the explosions began to come from behind him, making the boy almost lose balance and lift his arms to protect himself from the shockwaves. "Oh... Nevermind." He says, turning around to admire the results of their work.
Rock chunks and debris were flying everywhere, knocking a few harpies out of the air while most of them simply flew to a safe distance. The deafening noise of collapsing stone pillars echoed in the cave around them, and dust rose from the ground like a tidal wave. The stalagmites were toppling like dominoes, falling against each other and bringing the whole structures down. The harpies continued to shriek and scream as they flew in circles and watched their nests being crushed against the hard stone below. Still squawking and screaming at each other, they began to fly out of the cave and scatter in all directions - although some still decided a more constructive way of focusing their efforts was to start killing one another again.
The two rogues had to turn away and cover their mouths as the dust wave washed over them. The shockwave was nothing to bat an eye at either, and they were knocked down a couple times as they ran. Soon they were back where they entered, and Dalrus inhaled the pure mountain air - as much as he could draw being so high up. "Whew. Well, that could have gone better. But all's well when it ends well, eh?" He nonchalantly said, slapping dust off his black leather clothes.
Thano simply laughed. "Aye, I agree. And just before we left, Lyafra had simply told me to pick up your leftovers when you messed up." The elf shook his head. "Well, not that I intended to just leave you behind or anything. But you sure exceeded expectations, young Dalrus!"
With a shrug, Dalrus removed his shirt and began to wave it in the air to get more dust out of it. "By the way, we really should have a word with those bomb providers once we get back."
Thano caught himself in the middle of his laughter, then coughed a few times. "Ah... Yes. Definitely. Damn little miscreants, making such a loud bomb! Don't you worry, I'll make sure to personally go and give them a piece of our mind while you can go and rest!" Dalrus simply glared at the elf as Thano shot him a confident smile. "Oh. How noble of you." The youth sarcastically said. "But you know what? I insist I join you for the occasion. Maybe I'll give the dwarves a souvenir I picked up in there."
Ha could almost see the cold sweat running down Thano's brow. "Nonsense! I can only imagine how tired you must be after all this madness! It's fine, you can sleep! In fact, why not take the rest of the whole day off? Haha! Speaking of which, we should start climbing back down about now!" Still glaring at the elf, Dalrus had a very powerful suspicion that the message played after all bombs were set had in fact very little to do with the dwarves themselves. "Yeah. Let's do that, shall we?" He said, cracking his knuckles and soon following the elf down along the rocky wall. Fortunately, descending was a lot easier than climbing, as they simply jumped from one rocky platform or convenient footing spot to the next. Occasionally they would have to climb up or sideways to get within reach of a better vantage point, but overall, the first hour of their journey back went rather smoothly. The sun was already setting on the horizon when they finished maneuvering around the mountain and the Gilneas Brigade garrison came within sight.
"Almost there... Don't fall behind now." Thano said, pushing his hands against his back until it cracked loudly on several spots. "Sure is easier without carrying those things around... Although I still harbored hopes we would be arriving before sunset... Best to pick up the pace, you don't want to have to climb this while it's dark."
Sunlight was nearly completely gone by the time the two rogues had finally reached the base of the mountain. Compared to climbing, it was a walk in the park, as far as Dalrus was concerned. He doubted it had taken them even half the time it took them to reach the harpy's nests earlier. They approached a small party of dwarves from the Human Expedition awaiting for them there, about four in total and all armed with rifles over their shoulders. "Welcome back, lads." Said the one up in the front, as short and robust as all dwarves seemed to be, with a long black mustache melding into his beard underneath that long blue hood they all wore. "The entire camp heard the noise ye made up there! Nice work. Bet you two could use a pint or two after a long day's work, eh?"
"Oh, I won't say no to that! Come, young Dalrus, it is time for some much deserved relaxation." Thano immediately said, one hand smacking Dalrus on the back and helping guide the youth forward towards the dwarven sentries. "Best plan I heard all day... I got dust up to my earholes." Dalrus replied, his hand coming up to his black hair and trying to slap some of the dirt off. No easy task.
"So, were you waiting for us, master dwarf? I did not expect our humble team to receive an escort!" Thano casually said as the group began marching back towards the camp.
"Aye lad." Said the dwarf. "The commander told us to be on the wait for the party responsible for dealing with the harpy problem. Should have sent the storm riders if ye ask me, but why send a griffon when a couple lads can get the job done, eh? Suppose slamming those damn bird hags was too much of a waste of the storm hammers."
This picked Dalrus' interest. "Hold on... Griffons? Stormhammers? What's that all about?"
This made all the dwarves turn to launch strange looks at he boy. "Wot, have ye never heard of the storm riders, lad?" One of the dwarves asked. Dalrus shook his head. Thano then smiled and lifted his hands apologetically. "You'll have to excuse the boy... He is from Gilneas, see. That human kingdom secluded from the rest of the world. It makes sense he would never heard of the courageous riders of the Wildhammer clan, no? Perhaps you could instruct him for a bit?"
Dalrus simply lifted his hand as he peered upwards. "That won't be necessary anymore." He said, the air suddenly filling with the sound of mighty wings beating. And then, the owner of those wings landed on the ground right before the group.
Dalrus had seen griffons before, of course. No human child could grow up not hearing of those legendary beasts, with the body of a lion and the head and wings of a mighty eagle. But seeing one up close like this was something else entirely... Especially because of the thick armor plates this one wore. The beast was not as big as a horse, curiously, but it was certainly very wide and undoubtedly powerful. It's head sported long brown feathers going all the way down to its neck, and instead of a mouth it had a cruel-looking yellow beak. Mounted on its back was a dwarf, and strapped to his waist was what Dalrus assumed was the stormhammer. While it mostly looked like a regular battle hammer, Dalrus could see crackling electricity emanating from the handle or around the slab of iron at the tip every now and then. His curiosity regarding the nomenclature of that weapon was instantly sated.
Without even getting off his ride, the dwarf lifted his protective goggles and said in a serious tone: "We must report to the commander immediately. The orcs were seen moving towards one of the outposts. We believe it's the Warsong clan. Prepare for an attack!" And with that, the griffon flexed its thick muscular legs, and, with a mighty wing beat, leapt high into the air and flew off in the distance. "Och, that's bad... Alright lads, double time! That pint will have ta wait!" The dwarven commander said, and suddenly they were all running back to the camp, Dalrus and Thano quickly following them after exchanging a meaningful glance. "Never a moment's rest, huh?" Dalrus said, trying to fend off the exhaustion brought by all the exercise performed that day. "That's a rogue's life for you, young one. You'll get used to it." Thano replied... But this time, Dalrus couldn't help but notice... The elven rogue wasn't smiling.
'Rogue's life, eh? I wonder if my uncle had to deal with this kind of crap... Maybe that's why he was so grumpy all the time.' Dalrus pondered as they re-entered the camp of the Gilneas Brigade. The alarm was sounding around them, and people were scurrying left and right as orders were shouted and weapons were passed from hand to hand. "Come, young one. We must report to the commander at once."
"Oh, right... The commander." Dalrus had almost forgotten about the grumpy elf responsible for the intelligence operations in the Gilneas Brigade. He took a deep breath and readied himself for the worst.
It took them little time to reach their tent, and when they did, Dalrus noticed the place was a bit fuller than usual. Commander Jaina was there, as well as the Gilnean captain Victor and the dwarven thane whose name Dalrus just could not remember for the life of him. Captain Lyafra was there, of course, but so were a rugged looking woman and a dwarf whose scruffy face was covered in scars, both of them clad in tattered brown robes. They appeared to be just as exhausted as Dalrus and Thano were. "...With their leader, Grommash Hellscream at the front." Lyafra was saying, bent over the planning table with her hands squeezed the edges in clear anxiety. "They also seem to have tamed some of the wild beasts, as worg riders were seen along with the kodos. Fending the Warsong would be no problem, but if this new caravan joins them... I fear we might not be able to resist the orcs and the tauren together. And on top of that, I heard reports that there are trolls with them as well. Light knows where they came from."
"Blast them, what are they doing here? Why did they chase us all the way from the Eastern Kingdoms? Couldn't the damn mongrels have died fighting the Scourge for us?" Captain Victor sighed and rubbed his temple with his gloved hand. "As if the undead and the demons weren't bad enough, now we must deal with the horde, too... And it appears their numbers are only increasing. What are we to do, commander Jaina?" And with that, everyone turned to face the young beautiful sorceress. Dalrus still had trouble accepting she was the one who called the shots in that place.
Her hood was pulled back now, with her long, silken blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "I had hoped we would be able to leave some people behind, away from all this fighting... But it appears fate conspires against us. We have no choice. Whatever this 'Oracle' may be, it is our only hope of fighting the Burning Legion in this land. Offer token resistance to the orcs, but we must go deeper into the mountains, even if it means losing our Garrisons. We should be able to build better outposts as we go... But I would prefer if we avoided the forests for now. There's still much we do not know about this place."
"Wait a moment, you mean we are to retreat? Why not end those mongrels now as we have the chance?" The dwarven thane suddenly spoke up, his fists resting on his hips. Dalrus noticed the man was standing on a box at the edge of the table. "We didn't come here ta run from our problems, ye said this would be the place where we'd fight the final battle!"
"Yes, Mountain King, but not against the orcs." Jaina said, her hand gripping her staff more tightly. "At all costs, I would prefer if we avoided fighting them... Our true enemy is the Undead Scourge, and the Burning Legion. It's... Unfortunate... That we must deal with this war while another one continues from a different side... But as the new Alliance, it is our duty to prevail this challenge and help rebuild our land. For our future... We must press on and not look back."
It was clear nobody seemed very happy with the mage's plan... But no one challenged it either. Dalrus was impressed. She was quite eloquent. "Let's wait a moment before we take our turn, young Dalrus. Watch and learn for now." Thano whispered, his hands resting on Dalrus' shoulders and pulling him off to the side where Hanton was standing along with the woman and the male dwarf. Dalrus saw inquisitive looks launched towards him, but no one said a thing as they were all focused on the war meeting.
For what appeared to last an eternity, the people of importance there continued to relay yawn-inducing information as well as discussing supplies and their travelling route. Dalrus eventually began to tune out, half sleeping as he simply stood there, staring blankly into space, until, suddenly, he felt a hand squeezing his shoulder and he snapped back to attention. "What?" He said, blinking and looking up. Thano had his hand on Dalrus' shoulder again, and was looking at him... As were all in the room. "Uh... Pardon, could you say that again?" The young rogue said as he nervously scratched his head.
Lyafra was visibly exasperated. "Lady Jaina here asked if the harpy business has been dealt with. We cannot afford to move our people through the canyons if we need to watch out for attacks from above. And I said the two of you were responsible for dealing with it. I take it by your presence that you must have succeeded on your mission, yes?" The elf said, those cold, bright green eyes peering straight into his soul.
"Absolutely!" Thano was fast to speak before Dalrus could finish drawing his breath. "The boy shows promise, handled the situation quite well, I would say. Even went as far as dealing with their pack leader, imagine that. I don't think the harpies will be making any meaningful attacks on us now that they are scattered and disorganised. The worst we can expect is a stray or two whose hunger gets the best of their brains."
"Some good news, at least. Very well, then if that is the case, we can afford to leave more Griffon Riders behind, which means our defenses on the valley will be..." And once more, Dalrus began to tune out again. He wondered how rude it would be if he decided to excuse himself and collapse over one of the nets behind them.
And then, finally, they were leaving. Dalrus, who had almost fallen asleep standing, suddenly perked up as people started to move around him towards the exit. "Wha?" He almost said out loud, but managed to stop himself short. He watched as one by one the leaders of the Human Expedition left the tent... Until, suddenly, he felt a much gentler touch on his shoulder, and looking up, he met the gaze of the young sorceress responsible for leading them in this expedition on the unknown. "I'm sorry for bothering you, but... You're from Gilneas, yes? You were there on the day when Arugal... Well. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
Dalrus blinked again, wondering if he had really fallen asleep and was now dreaming. Lady Proudmoore's face reminded him of his teacher back in Gilneas... The one who turned out to be an ethereal being from another dark dimension. "You mean the day where a horde of bloodthirsty beasts ate the horde of bloodthirsty zombies trying to eat us? Yeah, I was there. Had front line seats for it, too."
Jaina didn't seem to know how to respond to that, her brows lifting high on her forehead. And almost instantly after he felt Lyafra's hand tugging on the collar of his shirt, pulling him back. "I am very sorry about this, Lady Proudmoore. This infant still has a runny mouth, one I have yet to break manners into." The elf was saying, the grip on Dalrus' clothes strong as iron.
"N-no, no, it's alright, Lyafra. I, ah... I was just not expecting..." She suddenly cleared her throat and perked up. "It's fine, there's no need for punishment. Dalrus, was it?" Gripping her staff with both hands for support as she peered down at him, Dalrus couldn't help but notice some sadness behind the sorceress' eyes. "I must help organize our troops, but... If you would come to my tent later tonight, after our meals... There is something I would like to discuss with you. That is, if your captain doesn't have any more important business ready...?" Lyafra was already shaking her head. "None. He's all yours." And with that, the pressure on his collar was no more, and Dalrus stumbled forward, rubbing his neck. "Right... Sure, no problem. I'll just, ah... If you don't mind, I had a really long day, so..." Dalrus gestured towards the nets with his thumb. "Oh, of course! Yes... As I said, it will be much later, so take your rest. Excuse me." And with that, the mage left the tent as well, leaving only the rogues in there.
Once they were alone, Captain Lyafra sighed and ran her hand over her forehead. "I half expected you to not come back." She said, not even bothering to look down at Dalrus. "Gee, sorry to disappoint, lady captain sir. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be getting some rest now. If you need me, feel free to knock." Following the elf's leave, he did not bother looking at her as he spoke, preferring to turn around and make a straight line to the nets instead. He didn't even bother taking off his clothes as he threw himself into one, pulled his hood over his eyes and finally allowed exhaustion to take the best of him, darkness completely swallowing his vision and his thoughts. It was only too late he realized his mistake. "Oh, sh-"