Chapter 36 - By demons be driven - PART 3
Dalrus wiped the sweat off his brow.
Without a doubt, these flaming golems that fell from the sky had to be the single hardest thing to kill he had ever met in his life. One moment, he was celebrating their victory over the chaos orcs of the warsong clan. The next, these infernals were falling from the sky, attacking the orcish forces.
Just the impact from that thing as it fell to the ground had been enough to kill at least five people. And as that burning giant rose, the demonic flames were enough to send two more people to their deaths, and with its brute strength, three others.
It was with a great deal of effort, and no small amount of intervention from the young rogue's part that they managed to kill it. Dalrus had climbed back up to the cliffs where the explosions had gone off earlier, and managed to push a loose boulder against the infernal from above. With the beast pinned down, the horde's forces were able to dispatch it.
From his high advantage point, Dalrus was able to see the orc and human camps. A dozen infernals were falling all over the place, attacking their bases. So far, however, the defenders had done a good job warding off those monsters. They were actually working together and fighting the demons in unison, and so their defenses held.
Despite the situation, Dalrus found himself smiling. 'Who would have thought?'
Looking to his side, he noticed Thrall's forces were advancing once more, with the warchief himself having joined the fray along with his tauren friend, Cairne. They were pushing through the shattered warsong defenses, and were approaching the demonic altar at the top of the climb.
Dalrus himself had already seen what was ahead. He did not envy what the warchief had in store for him. Dalrus himself hesitated to join them for this fight. He still couldn't get over how the warlock from earlier had seen through his stealth and located him.
He should have figured the demons would have had some way to peer through his veil and locate Dalrus through the void. Unlike him, demons were born and molded within the twisting nether. They were a part of it. So of course, they'd be more sensitive than most to one using the void's energies. He'd have to be more careful around them.
For the time being, it was all Dalrus could do to watch as Thrall's forces advanced. There were several demons awaiting for them in the valley that led to the demonic altar where Grommash awaited.
One of them was as tall as the infernals, with crimson skin and flaming wings on its back. It carried the single largest Dalrus had ever seen in his life, and fel flames burned all over the demonic metal. Mighty horns protruded from the demon's head, and its feet ended in hooves, similar to the dreadlord he had seen the other day.
About half a dozen of the demons looked like quadrupedal, feral beasts. They were on all fours on the ground, and from far away, they could be mistaken for hounds. But upon closer inspection, Dalrus noticed they were covered in scales and spikes, and jutting out from their backs were long tendrils ending in what appeared to be feeler organs.
Finally, along with the demons, were more of the crimson-skinned, glowing-eyed warlocks. These orcs were so deep in demonic corruption, they too had horns on their heads and spikes coming out of their backs and elbows.
The orcs, trolls and tauren came face to face with the demonic defenders, and readily advanced to engage them in battle. And as they did, the warlocks lifted their hands and chanted skyward. Dalrus looked up, and saw the sky light up as two more blazing meteors began to descend towards them.
Thinking fast, the rogue apprentice took advantage of the chaotic battle to run straight ahead and shadowstep behind the warlocks. With a cheap shot, Dalrus momentarily stunned one of the warlocks, interrupting his magical channeling. With the spell disrupted, one of the infernals up in the sky veered off-course, unable to control its descent. The creature began to shake and spin in the air, and ended up falling off far, far away from where it was supposed to - too far to ever join that battle in time.
With one warlock disabled for the time being, Dalrus pulled some dust from his pouch and tossed it at the second warlock's eyes. The man screamed in rage, his hands coming down to try and wipe the dust away. This too served the purpose of interrupting the magical channeling, but this time, it was too late. The second infernal had fallen close enough that even as its summoning was interrupted, the monster crashed against the side of the mountain they were all on, and proceeded to fall to the ground not too far from them. The good news was that the infernal didn't fall in the middle of Thrall's forces, as it clearly had been the original intent. Dalrus didn't even want to think how catastrophic it would have been if those two demonic meteors had fallen on top of the attackers.
By then, the felhounds were all turning to face Dalrus. He decided to apply a new trick, one that he had hoped would never need to be put to practice.
"Tell me something, boy. Why do you think we use magic to vanish from sight?" His master had said to Dalrus, who was currently tied upside down on a post in the middle of the training cort.
"LET ME DOWN, YOU BLOODY LUNATIC!" The 7 year old boy screamed.
"Because magic is a renewable resource. Like pulling water from a well. It refills on its own, over time. Once upon a time, we relied on tricks and gadgets to trick our foes. See what I'm getting at?"
"I DON'T BLOODY CARE, LET ME DOWN FROM HERE! I'LL TELL MY DAD!" Dalrus answered, his legs kicking and thrashing in the air above him.
"But that also means that eventually, our enemies will come to predict this. Magic is effective, but there are ways to counter and see through it. And it's at these times when we go back to relying on good old gadgets and utensils. Such as this one!" And with that said, Silvius tossed a smoke bomb directly under the boy's head. His eyes and nose were completely filled with smoke, and he coughed violently. "And that'll teach you to try and run away from your lessons, you little runt! Next time, I'm popping one of these inside your mouth!"
It had taken days for him to recover his sense of smell and palate after that.
With an internal sigh, Dalrus pulled out one of the smoke bombs from his pouch and tossed it to the ground under his feet, holding his breath. The smoke quickly expanded and covered the boy, along with the two orc warlocks. Dalrus ran and ducked directly behind the one he had just blinded.
Surely enough, the first felhound leapt into the smokescreen and fell directly on top of the warlock. The orc screamed as he fell, the demon's tentacles latching onto him by the shoulders. Dalrus saw the orc begin to shrivel up like a dried prune, as if all liquid were being drained from his body. The glowing light in his eyes vanished, and he was reduced to a mummified husk on the floor.
It was a truly horrifying sight. 'Huh. So that's what they do.' He thought, a shiver running up along his spine. But now was no time to dawdle. Under the cover of the smoke, Dalrus ran, jumping out through the other side and running up to the wall so he could take cover behind a rock.
At first it looked like the felhounds were gonna give chase, but not only had they lost sight of him, they were suddenly under assault by the attackers. Thrall raised his hammer high in the air, and an azure lightning bolt shot forward, striking the first felhound. The beast screamed and shivered as destructive energy ran through its body before jumping out and attacking the next beast. The elemental energy chained to no less than five felhounds, leaving each beast charred and severely injured - though, Dalrus noticed, each time the lightning jumped, it was less damaging than before.
The mighty tauren warriors were carrying massive wooden poles on their backs, which they used to strike at the beasts. The felhounds deftly evaded the heavy blows, but the tauren were swinging with such monumental force that the shockwave from their weapons hitting the ground was enough to make the demons lose their footing, making them easy targets for the orcish warriors and troll headhunters. But while the smaller demons were easily dispatched, the gigantic infernal and doom guard were still in the fray, making use of their bulk to push back against the attackers.
The doom guard's colossal sword took a swing across the battlefield. No less than 3 orc warriors and even one felhound were cleaved in half by the burning weapon. The demon laughed sadistically, then took another swing. This time, the warriors avoided the direct blow, but the demonic flames burning all over the weapon shot forward in an arc. They burned everything in their path, and five more of the attackers - a tauren, an orc and three trolls - were caught by the flames, burning to ash as they screamed in agony.
Thrall raised his hammer once more. "STAND BACK, MY WARRIORS! EARTH, SWALLOW MY ENEMIES!" And with that, he brought his hammer down on the ground.
There was a mighty tremor that made most people lose their footing. From where Thrall struck, the ground split open in a fissure, like a gaping maw threatening to swallow up the demons. The infernal stood no change; it fell down the hole, screaming as it was swallowed up by the earth. The doom guard, however, used its sword to steady itself, plunging it into the ground and using it as leverage so it wouldn't fall down.
Thrall's earthquake did more than split the earth, however. Higher up along the cliffs, several boulders began falling down, most of them rolling off the sides of the cliffs surrounding them… But one particularly large rock fell directly on top of the demon. He screamed in pain, his grip on his sword loosening, and he fell down the hole as well. As soon as he did, Thrall waved his hammer once more. The fissure began to close up, trapping the two demons within the confines of the earth, and soon their death throes died out entirely.
Dalrus watched as Thrall collapsed to his knees, panting hard. Cairne Bloodhoof walked up to his side and helped the orc stand up once more. "An impressive display, young shaman." Said the old tauren. "I see your mastery over the spirits is second to none."
Thrall, however, shook his head. "No, Cairne… This is not control. It is… Harmony." The orc stood up straight. "Only a tyrant subjugates, and controls. To be a shaman, is to be one with the elements. We do not control their power… This power is lent to us. We ask for the aid of the land, the skies, the seas… And they willingly give it to us." Thrall holstered his Doomhammer, and began walking forward. Dalrus made sure he was safely hidden behind the largest rock he could find, pressing himself against the wall as surviving orcs, tauren and trolls advanced.
Further ahead, Dalrus saw, Grommash Hellscream was waiting for them. The fel orc was sitting on a throne adorned with skulls, spikes and demonic writing. He was still as huge as Dalrus remembered, larger than even Cairne was thanks to his demonic enhancements.
"Grom!" Thrall shouted at his friend. "You've got to come with me!"
Grommash chuckled. "And where would you lead me, boy? Destiny is at hand! Lord Mannoroth is our master now."
Thrall was visibly taken aback. Dalrus could understand. He understood that Grommash and Thrall were long time friends. To see his friend so changed, so… Corrupted. Dalrus tried to imagine how he would react if his brother had turned into a heartless, murderous monster controlled by evil powers.
He realized he'd be doing the same thing Thrall was. Risk everything to try and bring him back.
"Who?" Thrall asked. "You're not talking sense!"
Grommash chuckled once more. "Ah, Thrall. You always believed that the demons corrupted our race, but that's only half true." He stood up, his mighty weapon in hand, and began to slowly walk back and forth, grinning maliciously at Thrall the whole time. "We gave ourselves up willingly on Draenor! The other chieftains and I... we drank Mannoroth's blood, Thrall. We brought this curse upon ourselves!"
Thrall took a step back, his eyes wide with shock. "You did this... to our people... knowingly?" His face then twisted in fury, and lifting his Doomhammer, Thrall charged forward. "Arrrgghhh!"
Grommash laughed. The Doomhammer met Gorehowl in a blinding flash. Dalrus shielded his eyes, and when his vision returned, he saw Thrall and Grommash pushing each other with their weapons. "Is this all, little brother? You are weak! Though you bear the same green skin as we who drank of Mannoroth's blood did, you never embraced the corruption! Yours is the result of mere exposure, but we, the Warsong, we wield the true power of the Legion! Behold!" And with a mighty heave, Grom pushed Thrall back.
And suddenly, where Grommash once stood, now there were three of him. Each of them smirking down sadistically at the fallen Thrall, each raising their weapons to attack the orc on the ground. "Die, like the weakling you are!"
Thrall, however, lifted his hammer up to the skies. "STORM, GIVE ME POWER!"
Dalrus' hairs stood on their end. Less than a fraction of a second later, a thunderbolt fell from the sky directly at the warchief's raised weapon. The deafening roar of striking thunder momentarily took Dalrus' hearing, and the dazzling flash blinded him for a few seconds. The area where the two orcs did battle now covered in soot and ash, the very rock where they stood upon molten by the fury of the heavens.
Grommash was on his back, collapsed against the floor. He stood up, then inhaled deeply and let out his savage roar of anger, so loud that it echoed throughout the entirety of the valley.
Thrall too was standing up, unfazed. "I don't need this power of yours, Grom." Thrall proudly said. His eyes were glowing, and electricity was crackling all around him, giving him an azure aura. "The earth is my power! The air we breathe, the water we drink, the flames that keeps us warm! Mine is the power of this world, not this wretched taint that flows through your veins!"
"SILENCE! DIE!" Grommash screamed at the top of his lungs, and charged forward yet again.
Thrall knelt to the ground, and gentle tapped the charred floor with his hammer's pommel. "EARTH, SHOW YOUR MIGHT!"
Suddenly, the rocks that were blasted off in all directions from the thunderbolt all gathered around Grommash. They assumed the shape of a massive hand and squeezed around the Warsong chieftain's body. Grommash screamed and trashed, trying to use his brute force to shake himself free… But in vain. "YOU THINK THIS WILL STOP ME, THRALL? I AM GROMMASH! I AM A SERVANT OF THE LEGION! NOTHING SHALL STOP ME! NOTHING!"
Thrall's eyes as he approached his friend were full of sorrow, a sharp contrast to Grommash's hateful gaze. The fel orc's eyes were completely red, glowing like fireballs on his crimson face. "Grom… Please, stop this madness. Lay down your weapons, and come with me. We can help you! We can free you from this curse!"
"NEVER!" Grommash screamed, the rocky grip that squeezed him starting to crack and dislodge. "I'D SOONER DIE THAN THROW MY WEAPONS! LOK'TAR OGAR, WHELP!"
Thrall sighed. "Then you leave me no choice." Thrall raised his hammer once more. "FIRE, HEED MY CALL! PURGE THE CORRUPTION!"
Golden flames burst forth from the air surrounding Grommash, and the orc's howls were drowned out by the deafening roar of the swirling inferno that surrounded him. The blaze rose up to the sky, and the heat was so intense Dalrus had to hide completely behind his rock.
After a while, the fire had died down. Dalrus peeked out from his hiding spot once more.
Maybe it was the demonic corruption reinforcing his crimson skin, but Grommash was still alive. The orc's head was slumped, his entire body looking limp as the shamanistic flames still burned the ground surrounding him like a circle. Thrall lifted the enchanted stone that Jaina had given him earlier. "Forgive me, my old friend. I pray we can restore your mind, your soul, and your body." He said. Grommash's body was overtaken by a violet aura of light, then he was slowly sucked into the stone Thrall held, leaving no trace of him behind. With a weary sigh, Thrall fell to one knee.
"Are you alright, young one?" Cairne asked as he stepped forward, offering his hand to help Thrall stand up once more.
"I… I'll be fine, Cairne. Thank you." Thrall said, standing up once more with his friend's help. "Now, we must bring this back to our allies. I just hope she will be able to do good on her promise…"
Cairne gave him a curious look. "Do you not trust your new allies, young Warchief?"
Thrall hesitated. "That's not it, I… I'm certain she will do good on her word, and try. But I fear… I fear that, if she fails… My kind, the orcs, we may be forever doomed to be slaves to this evil within us. Slaves to the bloodthirst, slaves to our own rage…"
Cairne scoffed at that. "Nonsense. Do you forget your own words? I can sense the spirits gathering around you. You have the blessings of the earth, my friend. This world has approved of you, and the path you chose. You are treading the road to redemption. Proof of that is how the elements chose to aid you in your battle against your friend. Now, let us return. I doubt the servants of this Legion will allow us quiet and peaceful passage."
Thrall looking up at the wrinkly, massive old tauren. "Thank you… Cairne." He said once more, now standing up on his own. He beckoned his wolf over, then climbed atop it. "You're right. We shall make haste." And with that, Thrall rallied his warriors, and they began the journey back down the mountain trails.
'Well… That just happened.' Dalrus though, amazed. He knew Thrall was powerful, but that was far beyond what he expected. 'Guess I might as well tag along them, then.' And with that thought, Dalrus followed Thrall's company closely behind as they began making their way back to their main bases.
Just as they were nearly off the cliffs, however… Things began to go wrong. The Soul Gem where Grommash's spirit was sealed began to shake and glow with a ghastly crimson light. Then that light shot high up in the sky. "Warchief, what is happening?" One of the orcs asked, surprised.
"Damn! Grom's soul is restless within the gem! Thrall said, doing his best to try and hide it, with no success. "It is warning the Legion of our presence! Faster, my warriors! The enemy comes!" And with that, they redoubled their pace, running at top speed towards the orc base with Dalrus running closely behind them, still completely unseen.
It was hard for the boy to keep up with their pace, but the fear for his life, along with the void's empowerment allowed him to sprint for longer without tiring out too much.
They had just left the base of the cliffs where they had fought their harsh battle against the Warsong when they were ambushed. More chaos orcs riding wargs and felhounds appeared, followed closely by scores of warlocks and grunts. There were even trolls in their midst, their glowing crimson eyes showing that they, too, had given in to the Legion's corruption.
"There they are!" Shouted one of the chaotic orcs. "Slaughter them to the last! For the Legion!"
"This does not bode well, Thrall." Cairne said, standing his ground as he pulled out his weapon - a long wooden pole with sharpened pieces of steel stuck to one end. "Their numbers are great, and we are all tired from the battles."
Thrall raised his hammer to the skies once more. "We did not come this far, only to fail! Elements, heed my call!"
The earth began to shake. The chaos orcs lost their footing and toppled over one another, while Thrall's forces were unaffected. Thrall tossed the soul gem towards Cairne. "Take this to lady Jaina! I will join you as soon as I can!" Thrall said, his hammer arm held up high, focused on channeling the earthquake that was slowing down their attackers' advance.
Cairne took the gem, and nodded. "I will not fail you." He vowed, before turning around and rushing forward with the rest of his troops. "Come, warriors! Trust in your warchief! Through his efforts, we shall march on to victory!"
Dalrus wanted to stay back and help Thrall… But there were just too many enemies. It was all the orc shaman could do to slow their advance. Fortunately, it seemed as if they were solely focused on the soul stone, and so, they left Thrall alone to channel his spell and tried to continue chasing Cairne and the rest of their forces.
Dalrus decided to follow suit. He ran after them, the allied camps not too far away in the distance now. They could make it. They could reach salvation.
And the sky was on fire again. "ARE YOU BLOODY SERIOUS?" The rogue shouted out loud.
No less than four infernals fell from the sky. They crashed down all around Cairne's group, sending large chunks of the floor, along with what little remained of their attack force up in the air. Cairne was the only one left standing as the four burning behemoths rose from their craters.
"Earth mother, give me strength… If this is to be my end, then allow me to fulfill my mission before I fall!" Spinning his weapon above his head, Cairne stomped the ground under him heavily and let out a mighty challenging shout. "Come then, vile fiends! I shall face you on my own!" He declared, not noticing that the soul gem had fallen from his pouch during the demon's impact.
His heart racing in his chest, Dalrus ran as fast as he could, then picked it off the ground. As he continued to sprint forward, he tapped Cairne on the elbow. "Thanks, tag out!" He said, lifting his hand to show the old tauren he had caught the gem as he ran to the safety of their base.
Cairne's eyes went wide with surprise. "What…?" His shock, however, was interrupted by the first infernal attacking him. The tauren howeld in anger, then struck back at the demonic golem.
'I'm gonna make it!' Dalrus was happily thinking as he ran for his life. 'Bloody hells, I'm really gonna make it!' And then he tripped again.
At this point, he was far more mad at himself than anything else. Running single-mindedly in a straight line was precisely what his master had taught him NOT to do during years of arduous, intense and borderline abusive training. And yet that was exactly what Dalrus was doing, which made him an easy target for the boleadera that was now entangling his ankles.
The soul gem slipped free from his grasp, then fell to the ground before him. There was a bright flash of crimson light, and Grommash Hellscream stood free once more as the two orc raiders who had bound Dalrus' legs approached from behind. "I got him!" One said, his warg snarling and snapping at the air as it approached the fallen Dalrus.
The rogue quickly pulled out one of his swords to cut the rope free, just as the hulking black beast came on top of him. Dalrus dodged a bite aimed at his face, then sank his sword into the warg's gut. The creature howled in pain, then fell on its side, toppling its rider along with it. Dalrus rolled the other way, just in time to avoid an attack from the second rider. Panting, Dalrus pulled some throwing stars from his pouch and tossed them at the warg's face. They all buried deeply around the beast's snout and eyes.
Now blind, the beast surged forward, trashing its head from side to side in a vain attempt to bite Dalrus. The young rogue ran forward, stepping over the warg's head and using it as leverage to lunge at the rider. The orc was busy trying to rein in his mount, and was taken completely off guard. Dalrus ran him through with his swords, and let him fall off, dead. He jumped off the warg and landed on the ground behind it, panting heavily. 'Bloody hells, I hate fighting orcs.' He thought as he pulled a crimson vial from his pouch and drank its contents, feeling the healing magical liquid restore some of his stamina.
The first orc was rising from under his dead mount as the dead warg ran off in the distance, still blind and unable to smell anything with its injured nose. The chaos orc then lifted his sword and began approaching Dalrus. "I'm going to rip out your spine, and drink your blood from your own skull, human dog!" He was saying, a crazed look in his crimson, glowing eyes.
However, he hadn't taken three steps before letting out a gasp of pain, Gorehowl running the man through his shoulder down to his stomach from behind. "No." Hellscream said, pulling his weapon back and kicking the dead orc away. "He is mine!" He raised his weapon, and pointed it at Dalrus. "I remember you, pup. This time, you won't escape. This time, you die by my hand!"
Dalrus stared straight into Grommash Hellscream's eyes. Before they were full of anger and bloodlust. Before, they were the eyes of a killer, a warrior, one who lived for the thrill of battle and the glory of victory.
But now, it went far beyond that. Grommash's eyes were now like deep pools of blood. There was nothing to be seen, nothing to be read. Only mindless rage. He didn't fight for the thrill of victory anymore. He fought for the sake of fighting. He fought because he wanted to kill, like an animal.
Dalrus scoffed. "I'm not afraid of you anymore." He boldly said, standing up straight and launching a defiant look at the orc. "I do not fear cowards!"
Hellscream's eyes went wide, and he roared in fury. "You dare call me a coward, pup!? I am Grommash! I am chieftain of the Warsong! I am-"
"A SLAVE" Dalrus screamed to cut him off. "NOTHING MORE THAN A MINDLESS SLAVE! You are no warrior, Grommash! A warrior is proud of his strength, but you are nothing more than a coward, running away in fear to your demonic masters! This power you wield is fake! You surrender your will because you fear to face your foes with your own strength!"
"SILENCE!" Grommash screamed as he ran forward. In his blind rage, Dalrus was able to easily dodge the downward, overhead slash. Gorehowl hit the ground with so much force that he cut a deep, long gash on the ground.
Dalrus rolled back up to his feet, weapons in hand. "You'll never defeat me, Grommash. You are weak. Only the weak surrender themselves to a power that is not their own! You don't deserve to call yourself a Warsong! You're a disgrace to your clan!"
"NO!" Grommash howled once more, now mad with rage. "MY POWER IS MY OWN! MY STRENGTH IS MY OWN!" Once more, he charged at Dalrus, his axe held up to split the rogue in half.
This time, Dalrus didn't dodge. He crossed his blades above him and dropped with one knee on the ground. 'Don't you dare fail me now.' He thought in his mind. The dark mist of the void enveloped his wrists, coming all the way up to his swords.
Dalrus momentarily flashed back to the night he had spent with Watu in her tent.
"Aye, mon." She had said as she sat cross legged on the floor, Dalrus' weapons held in her hands. "These fangs, they be special. Taken out the mouth of a demon who once tormented ma people. It was known as 'Goremouth'. It's fangs were so sharp, it could bite clean through armor. And these gems I put, they be special, too. They be called 'the opal eyes'. They be filled with powerful enchantments."
Dalrus, who was staring at her bare legs the whole time, nodded. "I see." He lied.
"See, diz stone, it can draw from de power in these fangs. It makes de blade sharper and sturdier than any steel can be. Ya told me about de giant of iron you destroyed in the cave, ya? Dat be because of the enchantments. You could cut through steel and flesh alike with a weapon like this. Especially if you pull from that dark juju you showed earlier. Funny, I bet you be de only one who can pull de tru potential of dese weapons."
Dalrus, who was then staring at her chest, nodded once more. "I understand." He lied again.
Dalrus was brought back to reality when Gorehowl hit his weapons with so much force that his arms almost broke, and his shoulders nearly dislocated off their joints. He was pushed down so hard, the ground cracked under him, and Gorehowl's edge came within inches of his face… But it stopped. With the void empowering his limbs and his weapons, Dalrus successfully blocked Grommash's earth-splitting strike.
The orc's eyes went wide, and his jaw hung agape in shock. "Im… Impossible!"
"YOU ARE WEAK, GROMMASH!" Dalrus shouted yet again. "YOU THINK THIS IS POWER, BUT NO! IT IS WEAKNESS! YOU ARE A COWARD FILLED WITH SUCH FEAR, YOU'D RATHER SURRENDER YOUR MIND, BODY AND SOUL TO THE DEMONS INSTEAD OF STANDING UP FOR YOUR PEOPLE! YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THE DEMON WHOSE BLOOD NOW FLOWS IN YOUR VEINS!"
"No… No!" Grommash howled in anguish and stepped back, one hand coming up to grip at his head. "I… I am Grom! I am… Free…!"
Dalrus slowly stood up. "You surrendered your freedom. You faltered in the face of death, and chose the easy alternative. You forsook your honor, and returned to the mindless savagery of the demonic." As Dalrus spoke, he began to sloooooowly drag his feet to the left, as subtly as he could…
Grommash was shaking his head. "I… I needed this! This power… Without it, I… I would perish… I was weak…"
"True weakness isn't to be defeated by your opponent." Dalrus said as he continued his sloooooow movement. Just a little more… "It's to accept that you can't win. Weakness is to give up, to surrender. And that's exactly what you did. The weak cease to chase victory, and chase the easiest path to power. Do you even have a goal anymore? Do you even have any desires, any dreams to achieve? Or are you nothing more than a mindless slave of Mannoroth!?"
Grommash fell to his knees and threw his head back. The scream he let out was almost as loud as the thunderbolt Thrall had summoned earlier. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I AM NO SLAVE! I… I…!" His head slumped forward, his fingers gripping at the sides of his skull. "No… What have I done!?"
That was all Dalrus needed. The human boy finally reached where the Soul Gem lay, then made a dive for it on the ground. As soon as he got up, he tossed it at Grommash. The gem bounced off the orc's head, and floated in the air for a second as he was once more absorbed inside of it. Dalrus ran forward, and grabbed it before it fell to the ground again.
Triumphantly, he held the glowing gem up in the air. "Gotcha!" He proudly said. "Grommash was caught!"
His triumph was short-lived, as the sounds of battle in the distance approached. Looking up, Dalrus saw that more fire was being summoned in the sky. He needed to end this, fast.
He hadn't taken ten steps before one landed in front of him. The burning infernal rose up and stared down at the boy, it's stone face looking as if it were grinning at him.
'Exit stage left!' Dalrus thought, but as soon as he turned to that side, another infernal fell. Behind him, Dalrus saw the chaos orcs who Thrall had so desperately held back before starting to catch up to him. "Now that's just not fair." He said out loud.
Dalrus had very little time to consider his options. The only path he could take was to his right, but that would pull him directly away from the human and orc bases. He didn't know how Cairne was doing against the infernals from earlier, or if Thrall would be able to catch up. His best bet was to stall until reinforcements could arrive.
Taking a deep breath, Dalrus prepared to run for it. He would duck under the first infernal after it took a swing at him, then continue to circle around them, further away…
But just as the flaming behemoth lifted its fist, it suddenly blew up. Both it and Dalrus looked at the smoldering stump, confused. Then the infernal's head exploded, and the creature turned to dust where it stood.
Dalrus looked up.
Approaching from the sky were what appeared to be tiny windmills with dwarf pilots on them. The fans were spinning at blinding speed, and allowed the dwarves to move through the air. They were dropping bombs on the orcs and infernals down below.
"Holy crap, Felrus was not lying." Dalrus said, his mouth hanging open for a sec. "They DID make flying machines!"
The gyrocopters made a bombing run along the chaos orcs' ranks, and they were scattered all over the place. The second infernal tried to swing at the air, but the gyrocopters were far out of reach. Not even its flames could be shot high enough to hit them.
Then, more reinforcements came. Dalrus saw what could only be described as a metal house with wheels and a cannon sticking out from the front run towards him. It was severely dented and damaged, covered in burn marks and missing a wheel. The hatch on top opened, and he saw the small figure of Sticks Hardbones jump out of it.
His ride continued to throttle forward at full speed until it rammed the infernal. Distracted as it was by the onslaught from above, the creature was caught off guard and fell to the ground as the tank continued to push against it.
Sticks was running towards Dalrus frantically. "Get down!" He said, before jumping to the ground and covering his ears. Wisely, Dalrus did the same.
The tank on top of the infernal exploded. The blast wave would have singed the young rogue's hair had he not hit the deck moments before the fire wave. Looking back up, Dalrus saw the smoldering remains of the tank, and the infernal being reduced to ashes.
He looked back at Sticks. "Well, buddy. I'd say we are even now." He said, slapping the gnome so hard on the back that he fell down.
"Oof!" Said sticks, then he got up again, wiping the dust off his clothes. "Nonsense! I told you before, didn't, I, mister Plaguefang?" The gnome's eyes lit up as he beheld Dalrus. "I'll never forget my debt, so long as I live! Consider me your humble servant, sir!"
Dalrus gave him a nervous chuckle. "Ah… Well, we'll see about that." He said, looking around in a desperate attempt to find a distraction. Fortunately, the distraction found him.
Troops from both armies were now approaching them. Thrall himself was riding his wolf, with a heavily injured Cairne covered in burns beside him. Injured, but alive - much to Dalrus' relief. Together, humans and orcs repelled the chaos orcs, and they all retreated safely back to their basecamp, where Lady Jaina Proudmoore, along with elven priests and orcish shamans awaited near a circle of power. "Time is short!" She said, reaching out with her hand. "Quickly, we must begin the ritual at once, or it might be too late to purify him!"
Dalrus handed the soul gem to her, then stood aside, giving them room to perform their ritual.
Dalrus didn't stay to witness if it would succeed, however. As soon as the soul gem left his hands, the boy was overwhelmed by a wave of exhaustion. He almost collapsed where he stood, but was held up by a couple soldiers who accompanied them.
As he was gently carried away towards the medical ward, he couldn't help but smile. 'Can't believe it, we did it… We won. In your face, Legion!'
He heard another chuckle.
'Oh… Great. You again.'
There was silence.
'What, aren't you gonna gloat? Tell me it's a temporary victory? That in the end, it's all for naught? That my end is inevitable, and all I love will perish?'
Silence, once more. Dalrus took this as a moral victory.
And just before his consciousness faded and he fell asleep, he finally heard it again.
'Soon.'