'Light, I hate the rain.'
Those were the thoughts running through Falric's mind as he stared at the horizon from Sturmburg's wall. Sturmburg, a fortress set up by the top of a cliff side. There was only one way to enter the fortress but two ways to get out. One is up the ramp and through the front gates. The other, a secret passage that lies within the great hall that led down the cliff side. The Black Dogs, however, didn't find that and were trapped when the Alliance forces moved in to take the fortress.
It has only been a day since they've taken the fortress from Black Dog hands and his men had already indulged themselves in the fortress's beer cellar. Why did they take this fortress you ask? Simple. The old fortress turned out to be closer to the borders of Feoh after their expansion for more territory for the increasing amount of refugees. As expected, the place was garrisoned by the Black Dogs due to being northwest of Feoh and close to Garan. Fortunately, the failed Siege of Feoh had left the fortress's garrison army low on men. Volt had refused to reinforce the place and focused the majority of his men on his conquest of the west. This left the fortress an easy picking for the Alliance and a good way to expand their territory further. Due to the low number of mercenaries, the Alliance took the fortress within a day. Captain Falric was tasked to hold the castle while they wait for the Workers and garrison army to arrive from Feoh.
The sun had set when the rain began and Falric was in the middle of taking a walk on the inner wall when it poured. The Captain sighed as he made his way back to the great hall. Maybe a warm meal and a mug of beer waiting for him inside. Pft, yeah right.
'The men have probably emptied the cellar by now.'
He entered the great hall to find his men had indeed emptied the cellar. Falric sighed as he took a seat on one of the chairs and thanked a Footman for handing him a plate of smoked sausage. He ate in silence, watching the great hall erupt with drunken songs and cheer. The Captain watched as the men got shitfaced drunk the whole night, careful not to drink too much and have at least one sober person among them.
'I need some fresh air. Preferably, something that doesn't reek of puke, beer or piss.'
The Captain stood from his chair and made his way out. He stopped by a pillar and leaned on the structure before taking off his helmet. He ran a hand through his messy, brown hair, ruffling the bit of sweat away before continuing down the corridor that led outside.
"Going somewhere?"
If the voice wasn't so familiar, he would've reached for his sword and drawn it at the speaker. He simply looked towards the voice and saw Lady Windrunner leaning on a pillar with her arms crossed.
"Just outside, Lady Windrunner." Falric replied "The men are too drunk to keep watch and I don't think drunken dwarves with guns is a good idea for tonight's watch. Might as well keep watch while I get some fresh air."
The door to the hall opened and a drunken dwarf came out, chasing after a chicken.
"Get back here ya wee devil! Get in mah belly!"
The dwarf didn't get any further before slamming face first into a pillar and falling to his back, knocked out. The chicken cautiously moved towards it's pursuer and pecked the dwarf's nose. Seeing the dwarf wasn't moving, the chicken situated itself on the dwarf's stomach. The Captain looked at Sylvanas with an amused look.
"See my point?"
A small quirk of her lips indicated her amusement before getting off the pillar and walking over to the Captain "Might as well go with you, Captain. I need to stretch my legs for a bit."
The Captain nodded and gestured towards the door "After you, my Lady."
~Line Break~
Fortunately, the rain had stopped pouring. Falric sat by the small set of stairs and set down his helmet beside him. He looked at the full moon and took out a smoking pipe. He didn't smoke but just kept the mouthpiece between his lips.
"You smoke, Captain?" Sylvanas asked as she leaned on the statue in front of the great hall. A statue of the Goddess which was unfortunately defiled by the Black Dogs.
"On occasion. Though, not tonight. I'd rather stay alert. Just the feel of it is fine by me."
The High-Elf hummed in acknowledgement before looking at the horizon. The night was still young and the soldiers were already shitfaced drunk. The only ones that weren't were her, the Captain and the Outer Wall's guards. As she looked at the night sky, the Captain suddenly jumped to his feet. His eyes narrowed as he stared in the distance. Deciding to find out what took the Captain's attention, Sylvanas stared at the distance as well. It was a small light in the distance. A torch by the looks of it.
'Odd.' She thought before seeing that Falric found it suspicious as well.
"They weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow." Falric muttered to himself before making his way back to the great hall.
Sylvanas narrowed her eyes in the distance. She kept gazing at the approaching light until she spotted the silhouettes of men, armed men, did she knew that they were trouble. She was later joined by Falric as Footmen and Riflemen exited the great hall. Thankfully alert but still a bit tipsy.
"What do you see, my Lady?"
"Armed men. At least two hundred strong." She narrowed her eye as she saw the banner they carried "Black Dogs."
"Damn it. Why are they here? Volt lost interest in the west for months now."
"I don't know. Wait... I see... slaves... Women and children. Looks like they just came back from a raid." Sylvanas finished before making a beeline to the Outer Wall. Falric followed after her but not before telling a Footman to sound the alarm. The fortress came to life as the Alliance prepared to defend it at all cost. They reached the Outer Wall and the Riflemen were already preparing their Blunderbusses and ammo.
Sylvanas looked in the distance and started to formulate a plan. The Black Dogs are coming back from a raid. Tired and weary. They think the fortress is still theirs and hoped to relieve themselves here. Pass the outer gate and Outer Wall was a long corridor that leads to the inner gate and pass the Inner Wall. The corridor was not that wide. It was a tight squeeze and would compress the Black Dogs between the Inner and Outer Gate. Maybe they can... Yes, yes. That could work.
"Captain, I have a plan."
~Line Break~
The Black Dogs sighed in relief as they finally reached Sturmburg. Three villages and two towns worth of whores. They finally had a chance to rest and put these women to good use. They marched up the ramp and waited for the portcullis to be raised. The gate was lifted and the wooden doors were opened. The Black Dogs entered and passed the Outer Gate.
"Aahhh... We can finally sit down and have a fucking beer."
"I'm just glad to have a bed to sleep on. The ground's killing my back."
"Maybe we can get some of those girls to warm the bed, yeah?"
"No fucking way. The boss wants them fresh."
"Come on. Just one. We can share the bitch."
"And if the boss finds out. Then what?"
"He won't. We'll just let the orcs have their fun with her. Besides, I'm tired of getting sloppy seconds from those brownskins."
"Yeah. Good point."
They stopped by the Inner Gate and waited for the doors to open. Five minutes later and the door still hadn't opened. One of the mercenaries got impatient and started hanging on the door.
"Open up already! We're starving here!"
He banged again and the door still refused to open. Back to the Outer Gate. The Footman peeking over the wall nodded to the Rifleman and the dwarf nodded back. He grabbed the portcullis contra and released the lock. The portcullis dropped down to some of the unfortunate Black Dogs that were under it. Impaling them and separating the ones between the gates and outside. This caused the Dogs to cry in outrage and confusion. The Black Dog banging on the door looked back to wonder what was going on then heard the Inner Gate's doors open. He turned back to the doors only for an arrow to lodge itself in his eye. The trapped mercenaries looked towards the doors and saw an Elf Ranger with a bow glaring at them. Dwarves with Blunderbusses aimed at them flanked her. The Elf smirked smugly at them before taking a step back and letting another dwarf take her place.
"Alright, laddies. This is where we fight and this is where ya die. Any last words?" A dwarf with greying red hair asked as he shouldered his Blunderbuss.
"Kill the midgets!"
"Of course. Typical." The lead dwarf muttered with a scoff before aiming his Blunderbuss at the one who screamed "Open fire, boys!"
The Riflemen's Blunderbuss Long Rifles boomed as they shot down the trapped mercenaries. They stopped after their third volley and pulled back, letting the Footmen charge in and take care of the Dogs. Sylvanas let out a hum of satisfaction as her plan worked. Lure the Dogs to the tight corridor and trap them there. Kill the trapped ones while the Riflemen hiding atop the Outer Wall reveal themselves once the portcullis closed and open fire on the surprised mercenaries. The Ranger-General quickly ran for the stairs that led up the Outer Wall. She passed by the dwarves and Footmen, who decided to take shots with their Hand Cannons, on the top of the wall.
"Keep firing!"
She drew her bow and nocked an arrow before firing. The arrow lodged itself in a screaming mercenary's mouth. She drew another arrow and looked for her next target. Down below, the Black Dogs started raising their shields to protect themselves from arrows, bullets and pellets.
"Get back! Get back! Get out of her-" The mercenary was cut off as an arrow pierced his throat. The Black Dogs were sent into a panic. This ambush caught them by surprise that they were loosing men left and right. The portcullis began to rise and the mercenaries thought their men had took control of the gate.
"The gate's opening. Get inside! Get inside!"
The Black Dogs ran up the ramp and towards the gate. They left the slaves and weapon carts behind. Intent on finding shelter inside. The portcullis was completely raised and doors were slowly opening. Bloodthirsty grins marked their faces at the thought of payback only for their mouths to drop in horror as they saw the mercenaries inside dead. A lone Footman with golden accents on his armor stared back at them. Behind him was a wall of Footmen, swords bloody and faces eager.
Falric glared at the Black Dogs at the gate before looking down on the mercenary by his feet. The man lost a leg thanks to one of the Riflemen and was crawling towards his comrades. The Captain remained silent as he placed his foot on the mercenary's back, stopping him from crawling away. He rolled the man to his back and stared directly into his terrified eyes. He looked up at the Black Dogs before looking down on the mercenary and buried his blade on the man's heart. As soon as he released his sword from the dead body, the Footmen moved towards him and together, they formed a shieldwall.
"Forward!"
The Footmen marched forward as the Black Dogs charged at them. The two forces collide and the Footmen held their ground. Falric grit his teeth as the Black Dogs pored in from the gate and were trying hard to pish them back. He could feel the shieldwall hold the mercenaries back and hoped the Riflemen up top were taking out the mercenaries left outside.
"Now!"
The shields on the front pushed the mercenaries back before lowering their shields and killing the mercenaries that went down. They raised their shields once more and tanked the Black Dogs' attack.
"Hold steady!... Now!"
They pushed the mercenaries back once more but the Black Dogs used their momentum to throw themselves back at the shields. Falric grit his teeth at the mercenary attacking him. He held his ground and used his tower shield to throw the mercenary behind him. The mercenary landed inside the Footmen ranks and was quickly impaled by their swords. The front of the shield wall repeated this action and slowly advanced. They pushed the Black Dogs back to the ramp and held them off their.
"Falric!"
The Captain looked up and saw the Ranger-General about to jump from the Outer Wall, her destination towards him. His eyes widened and he kicked the mercenary in front of him back and raised his shield. Sylvanas landed on the shield and used her momentum to jump high with all the grace of a Quel'dorei. She nocked three arrows and let them loose on the top of three mercenaries' heads. She landed in the middle of the Black Dogs' ranks and used her bow as a weapon. She swung the bow right into a mercenary's abdomen before kicking him off the ramp. She took out an arrow and jumped on a mercenary's shoulder before stabbing it on his neck. Backflipping off the dead mercenary, she nocked the same arrow and fired the arrow midflip. The arrow lodged itself on the back of another mercenary's head.
"Rraghh!"
She turned around and raised her bow just in time to block a sword meant for her head but the force of the blow forced her to the ground. The mercenary raised his word to swing again only for Falric to bury his in the mercenary's exposed abdomen. The Captain pushed the body off and held his hand out for the High-Elf.
"My Lady, are you alright?"
Sylvanas nodded her thanks and let Falric help her up. The two looked around them and saw there were still more Black Dogs around the field.
"There's still more of them." The Captain commented "But we can handle it."
Her ear twitched and she looked in the distance. A roar tore through the battlefield as a horde of brownskins and ogres entered the battle. Falric's eyes widened before he turned to his men.
"Get the prisoners out of here! Get them out. Fall back to Sturmburg!"
The Footmen heard their Captain's orders and buried to the chained prisoners. Some where in cages carried by carts. The Footmen cut the chains and escorted the women and children to Sturmburg. Falric went to one of the cages and cut the lock and chain on the door.
"Hurry! Get to the fortress. Move!"
He looked across the battlefield and saw all the prisoners heading to the fortress. Some of the Footmen tried to distract the ogres only for them to be crushed by the beasts' spiked clubs. The brownskins didn't fare better than their larger counterparts as they were taken down by groups of Footmen each. Falric tried to find Sylvanas only to see her jump on a brownskin's head and used it to jump right towards an ogre.
Sylvanas nocked three arrows midair and fired at the ogre's face. The arrows lodged itself in the beast's eyes and forehead. The ogre roared in pain as it fell to it's back, crushing a group of unfortunate mercenaries. She raised her hand to the sky and was about to cast Starfall against the beasts but was stopped when an ogre slammed it's club into her. The High-Elf was thrown away and landed on her back a few feet away from Falric. The brownskins began to surround the dazed Elf but was stopped when a spear lodged itself on the back of one brownskin. The orc fell face first to the ground dead, making the others look at the attacker and saw the Captain bash his shield on an orc. The force of the charge pushed the orc on the ground and allowed Falric to stab it in the head.
Falric raised his shield just in time to block a blow from a brownskin but soon felt a large hand grab his throat and was lifted off the ground. The orc that held the Captain by the neck grinned viciously as it prepared to crush his throat but screamed in pain as an arrow lodged itself into it's back. The pain caused the orc to drop Falric and he quickly grabbed his sword before stabbing the brownskin through the heart. He pulled his blade free before Sylvanas grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him towards the fortress.
"Come on!"
The two ran back to the fortress along with the rest of the Footmen. A Footman that ran beside them was suddenly grabbed by an ogre and lifted in the air. The beast stared at the Footman before biting his head off. The ogre roared and threw the body towards a group of brownskins who then tore apart and began to feast on the headless corpse. Some of the Footmen met this grizzly end before everyone had fallen back to the fortress. The doors of the Outer Gate closed and the portcullis was lowered, barring the monsters from entry.
Falric and Sylvanas made their way to the top of the wall and looked down on the monsters below them. An ogre tried to pull the portcullis off the wall only to be peppered by the Riflemen. Any of the monsters that got close to the gate met the same fate. Falric sighed and took off his helmet. He looked to Sylvanas and saw the High-Elf holding back a bleeding wound on her abdomen.
"My Lady, you are injured!"
"I can see that, Captain!" Sylvanas snapped before wincing in pain. The beast's spiked club managed to cut her but the adrenaline of the battle made her numb of the pain until now.
"We must get you to a healer!"
"I can still fight, Captain."
"Like hell you are. I'm taking you to the Physician myself, my Lady. No matter how much you refuse."
Because there weren't many Priests that came with them on Eostia and there were only two Paladins and no one else were attuned to the Light as they, the Alliance had to settle with Physicians until they can train more Priests. Falric placed the High-Elf's arm around his neck before gently letting her lean on him and made their way to the great hall. Sylvanas cursed under her breath in Thalassian but conceded. They passed by a Sergeant who Falric ordered to take command of the forces on the wall and have men ready to fight by the Outer Gate should the monsters managed to break through while he brought Sylvanas to the Physician.
~Line Break~
The great hall was packed with freed slaves and prisoners. The Footmen moved around and handed out warm food and cold water before grabbing their weapons to rejoin the battle. Finding a spot by the fireplace, Falric set the High-Elf down gently on the chair before calling for a Physician. A black haired, young woman with glasses quickly ran to them and began examining Sylvanas' wound.
"It's just a flesh wound." The High-Elf complained as the Physician fussed over her.
"I'm afraid the wound is deeper than you thought, my Lady, but thankfully not too deep. I can stitch you up in no time but further strenuous activities may cause the wound to open again. You will suffer heavy blood loss should you continue to fight, my Lady. I must advise you to not do so."
Sylvanas fumed. She did not want to stay out of this battle for too long but fighting with an open wound can be quite... annoying to say the least. She sighed and let the Physician do her work. Fortunately, Physicians found a way to numb the area of the wound so they can stitch it up without being too painful for their patients.
"Just get it over with." She muttered and let the Physician do her work.
Falric watched them for a few more minutes before deciding to return to the fight.
"If you'll excuse me, my Lady. I must return to the fight. I wish you well, Lady Windrunner." The Captain nodded goodbye before moving to leave the great hall. He stopped and handed a freed slave his waterskin before leaving through the doors.
Falric hurried past the Footmen and made his way to the Outer Wall. Once on top, he turned to the Sergeant "Report."
"The brownskins are-"
"INCOMING!"
The two ducked at the dwarf's warning as a cage crashed between the two of them. Falric looked over the wall and saw the ogres using whatever they can find to throw over at the wall. Rocks, boulders, cages and dead bodies of the mercenaries.
"The bastards are literally throwing everything at us, sir! But that's not the worst of it."
"I'm afraid to ask."
The Sergeant nodded and pointed towards the Outer Gate. The sight that met him made him wonder whether to laugh at the stupidity of it or gape in horror in the fact that it was working. Two of the ogres were using a third ogre as a battering ram. The ogre battering ram had a cage for a helmet and was being rammed at the Outer Gate's barricaded doors. The portcullis lay bent and broken on the side. Falric cursed and turned to the Sergeant.
"Get as many men as you can and brace those doors. I'll assemble more men to the middle corridor and meet the bastards head on if they break through. Hogrin!"
"Aye, lad." The greying redhead dwarf exclaimed as he ran over to them with his Blunderbuss.
"I need you down there and fire a volley if those ogres break through. Your rifles are crucial in killing those big bastards."
"I'll get the best of mah boys on the job. Don't ya worry."
"Then get to it."
Falric watched the dwarf call to a group of Riflemen and made their way down the wall. He raised his sword and called to his men.
"To the gate! To the gate!"
A frenzy of Footmen rushed down the Outer Wall and made their way to the gate. Falric pulled a Footman back just as a boulder smashed into where he was standing. The Footman nodded his thanks and went back to running to the gate. Another boulder smashed into a group of Footmen, crushing the ones it landed on and throwing the others near the impact off their feet. Falric grabbed a fallen Footman by the arm and pulled him up.
"Go! Go! Go! Don't let those big bastards break through the gate! Go!"
The rush of Footmen reached the tightly packed corridor and readied their swords and shields, forming a shieldwall. Hogrin's Riflemen moved in front of them, aiming their Blunderbusses at the door. The other Footmen pushed past these men and braced the gate. Using whatever they can to keep the doors shut. The Footmen bracing the doors were pushed back after a powerful ram from the ogres, the doors cracking under the pressure.
"Brace!"
Footmen after Footmen rushed to the door and used their own bodies to keep the ogres from breaking through. Outside, the two ogres heaved the battering ogre and roared as they charged one last time and slammed into the doors. The gate gave out, breaking the gate and pushing the Footmen bracing them back. Four downed Footmen were suddenly grabbed by their legs and was pulled outside screaming. Their cries were cut off with loud crunches before an ogre entered the gate with a Footman's bleeding leg hanging from it's mouth. The downed Footmen jumped to their feet and began attacking the ogre's legs.
"Fire!"
Blunderbusses boomed as the Riflemen fired a volley that filled the ogre's head and chest with bullets. Before the body could fall to the ground, it was pushed aside by another ogre. The second ogre roared as it swung it's spiked club at the Footmen in front of it, sending them flying away. An unlucky Footman was unfortunately impaled in the spiked club, still alive but in tremendous amounts of pain.
"Fire!"
The Riflemen fired at the beast's unprotected head, killing it and making it fall face first into the ground. A group of Footmen moved to get their impaled comrade, who was surprisingly still alive, out of the spiked club. Before they could reach him however, the brownskins swarmed in and pushed the Footmen back to their ranks, leaving the unlucky Footman behind. His screams filling the night air as some of the brownskins that weren't fighting tore him apart.
"Riflemen, fall back! Fall back to the Outer Wall!" Falric ordered as the shield wall moved to protect the retreating Dwarves, holding back the brownskins "Come on, men! Put some elbow into it!"
The Footmen held their ground, not willing to let the brownskins past the corridor and thought the Inner Gate. Above them, Riflemen and Footmen, who had took upon themselves to use bows and arrows they've scavenged from the fortress's former occupants, fired down on the brownskins. Unfortunately, some of the brownskins made it to the staircase that led up to the Outer Wall. The Riflemen turned their sights on these brownskins and fired. Despite the pain, some of the brownskins used the bodies of their dead to shield them from the bullets. One even threw a dead brownskin at the Dwarves.
Hogrin roared as he charged and used the axe attached on the underside of his Blunderbuss to cut a brownskin behind the calf. The beast roared in pain before it's head was split open by Hogrin. The Dwarven Rifleman kicked the body down and crouched, aiming his Blunderbuss at a brownskin that threw one of his Riflemen over the wall and into his doom.
"Oh, you'll pay for that ya filthy bastard!"
~Line Break~
As the battle on top of the well continued, the battle below it didn't fare any better. The momentary support the ones on the wall gave them enough breathing room to push the brownskins back. Unfortunately, the men were growing tired but the beasts were still intent on killing them and getting to the women and children. Falric will not let that happen.
The Captain roared as he bashed his shield to push back a brownskin and swung his sword down on the beast's head. He raised his shield to block a brownskin's strike and stabbed his blade in it's abdomen before cleaving it's head off after it fell to it's knees. He parried a blow from another beast and kicked it's knee with enough force to break it. He switched to reverse grip and stabbed the kneeling orc on it's nape before pulling the blade free.
"Captain, look out!"
Falric was pushed to the ground and saw the Sergeant Sergeant get grabbed by the orc instead of him. The brownskin took off the Sergeant's helmet and roared before sinking it's teeth on the Footman's neck. The Sergeant screamed and Falric jumped to his feet. He raised his sword and chopped off the brownskin's arm, making it drop the Sergeant. Falric wasn't done and he sliced the other arm off before kicking the beast to the ground. He stabbed the brownskin right in it's open mouth as it kept roaring in pain. He pulled the blade free before running to the Sergeant. Unfortunately, when Falric reached him, the Sergeant's eyes were staring blankly ahead. His body unmoving.
Falric cursed before kneeling down and closing the Sergeant's eyes, muttering a small prayer to the Light before rising to his feet. The Captain charged and slammed his shield on a brownskin's back, forcing it face first into the ground. He didn't give it time to recover as he stabbed the head of the orc. A Footman helped him up his feet before looking at the battle around them.
"They are dwindling, sir."
"And our men are growing tired. We have to finish this now. With one last push. Footmen, rally to me!"
The soldiers took out their opponents and quickly formed a shield wall with the Captain.
"We make one last charge to drive these bastards out." He raised his sword and pointed at the orcs "FOR LORDAERON!"
"FOR LORDAERON!"
The Footmen, Falric at the front, charged at the remaining orcs. Swords eager to end this fight now. The brownskins roared and met the Footmen with a charge of their own. This proved to be their downfall. Despite their size and ferocity, these brownskins were nothing compared to the Orcs of the Horde. Especially with the Horde's crafty Warchief. And so, the Footmen overwhelmed the brownskins with their numbers.
The two groups clashed and the Footmen broke through the orc lines. Blades crossed and skulls were bashed. Blood flooded the very ground they fight upon as more and more orcs fell, unfortunately along with some of the Footmen. An orc's body fell off the Outer Wall and Falric looked up to see Hogrin and his dwarves pushing dead bodies off the wall and into the brownskins. An arrow wizzed past Falric's face and struck a charging orc right in the forehead, stopping it in it's tracks. Falric looked behind him and saw Sylvanas by the opened doors of the Inner Gate, mouthing the words 'We're even' towards him. The Captain shook his head as he watched her continue firing arrows from a distance while the same Physician was keeping close by the High-Elf.
The Captain returned to the battle only to see that the last of the orcs inside the tight corridor were dead. He moved past the Footmen as he saw the remaining orcs and ogres outside retreat. The Riflemen began firing off at the orcs, laughing and taunting something about 'sissy brownskins'. Falric sighed in relief before raising his sword, looking at his tired and weary men.
"Victory! We have victory!"
The soldiers cheered and drummed their swords on their shields. They had lasted the surprise attack of the Black Dog orcs. Not to mention the battle to take the fortress and the battle against the mercenaries before the orcs arrival. Three skirmishes in one day. That was new record for them. Falric lowered his sword and looked around the battlefield. So many bodies. Some of them were in pieces thanks to the carnivorous orcs.
'Time to gather the dead. I always hated this part.' He grimly thought before wiping the blood off his blade and sheathing it.
~Line Break~
Princess Knight Alicia Arcturus listened idly to the conversation of her Knights. Their mission was to escort the Workers and relieve Lady Sylvanas and Captain Falric's men from the fortress of Sturmburg. After making sure the new troops have settled in, Alicia and her Knights would return to the City of Feoh. They had the same amount of soldiers that Sylvanas bought with her with the addition of her Knights and a Priest.
Alicia continued to listen to the conversation about the rumors surrounding the Dwarves' Flying Machine project. They were interrupted when they heard roars and the sounds of heavy feet running from the road ahead. Roars were never good. That meant ogres and orcs were nearby.
"Draw your swords! Knights, form a line. Footmen, defend the Workers."
The soldiers moved to do as they were told while the Knights formed two rows of cavalry with Alicia. The Princess Knight glared in the distance and put her helmet on. She made sure her lance was secured on her mount's saddle, the spear tip pointed at the front. She drew her sword, Light's Justice. A gift from Arthas and Jaina after her induction to the new Knights of Lordaeron.
Silence fell upon them as they waited for the beasts. Alicia kept her grip on Light's Justice tight as they heard the heavy footsteps grow closer and closer. Soon, the monsters arrived came to view. Bloody and bruised. Their breathing heavy, showing the strain of a recent battle. The monsters hadn't seen them yet and Alicia took the chance.
"Charge!"
The Knights charged towards the monsters. Their lances skewered the first line of orcs before using their swords to strike down the beasts. Alicia pulled her blade out of an orc's back and watched as the rest of her Knights dealt with the surprised orcs. They trampled and crushed the orcs with their mounts' mighty legs and steel horseshoes. Their steel swords severing the heads of the monsters, separating head from shoulders.
Alicia charged another orc and pushed it to the ground. She reared her horse back and let it stomp it's hooves down the orc's head, crushing it. She parried another orc on her left and kicked it away but a third grabbed her arm and pulled her down her mount. She fell on her back and looked up as the orc raised it's club to crush her head. Moving quickly, she gripped her sword tightly before rolling out of the club's way. She grabbed the blade of her sword with her other hand and plunged it deep within the orc's abdomen. She pulled her weapon free and let the orc fall to it's knees. The beast roared in pain as it clutched it's wound only to be cut off as the Princess Knight severed it's ugly head. She turned around to find that her mount was kicking away any orcs with it's hind legs. Alicia knew it would only be a matter of time before it was overwhelmed so she charged the orc near it.
Alicia let her blade sink deep into the back of the orc and out it's chest. She pulled the blade free and ducked to avoid a swing from another orc. She countered with a swing of her own in it's abdomen and sent it spinning to the ground. Alicia jumped back in the saddle and rode her mount to aid one of her Knights that was being overwhelmed. The Knight's mount was dead and was holding off three orcs. Alicia trampled one of the orcs and severed the head of the other. The Knight cut down the last one before looking at the Princess Knight.
"Thank you, Lady Alicia."
"Ride with me."
The Knight nodded and jumped to the back of the saddle. A roar tore through the battle and the two saw the two ogres. Alicia grit her teeth in frustration. Just when she thought it was only orcs they had to worry about. A plan worked itself into her head and she dismounted her horse.
"Take the reins. Give me your sword."
The Knight nodded and handed her sword to Alicia. The Princess Knight climbed on the back of the saddle, much to the confusion of the Knight.
"Ride between them."
"My Lady!?"
"Just do it!"
The Knight looked unsure but did what her Lady ordered her to do. As they made their way to the two charging ogres, Alicia swung her blades left and right. Cutting down orcs that their horse hadn't trampled. They drew closer to the ogres, who remained charging and pushing away their orc brethren. As soon as they were between the two, Alicia simultaneously swung her blades and cut the ogres by the hips. Deep enough to cause both monsters to roar in pain as they tripped and crash to the ground. The other Knights swarming them and throwing spears that were hooked to their saddles.The Knight stared in shock at what just happened.
"That was amazing, my Lady!"
Alicia smiled before ordering the Knight to ride back into the fray. Pretty soon, the orcs were defeated and the ogres were no more. The giant beasts' bodies looked like pincushions with the amount of spears embedded in their backs. Alicia raised Light's Justice in the air.
"Victory!"
The Knights and the rest of the army cheered. They took their wounded to a cart made by the Workers to move them easier before resuming their trek to Sturmburg. Alicia let the Knight ride with her for the journey to the fortress. Nearly half an hour later, they saw the fortress atop the cliff side. The moon shining down on it and the banners of the Alliance and Lordaeron hanging down the towers of the Outer Gate. But what caught Alicia's eye were the pile of burning bodies a distance away from the fortress.
~Line Break~
Captain Falric smoked his pipe as he sat down on a chair he placed by the broken gate. His helmet was off, showing bruises on his face and a bandage wrapped around his head. He had his arms crossed as he looked at the burning pile of corpses. Leaning in the broken door beside him was Sylvanas, playing with an arrow with her fingers. A bandage around her wound. Her hood was down, letting the wind blow her golden hair. She too was staring at the burning corpses. Thinking. Her thoughts were interrupted when her ears picked up the sound of hooves on the ground. She looked up from the corpses and saw the Alliance force sent to relieve them.
Falric felt her shift and looked away from the burning pile to see Princess Knight Alicia and the relief force. Falric stood in attention as the Princess made her way up the ramp and towards them.
"Hail, Princess Alicia."
"Captain." Alicia nodded before greeting Sylvanas "Lady Windrunner."
The Ranger-General nodded at the Princess before asking "What took you so long? We were starting to think you all got lost?"
"We got a little... sidetracked by a group of orcs."
The High-Elf nodded in understanding before pushing open the doors. Alicia and her army entered through to Outer Gate. A little shocked at seeing the blood puddles all over the tight corridor before passing through the Inner Gate. They stabled the horses and let the Workers do repairs around the fortress before entering the great hall. Once inside, they were greeted with the sight of two dozen women and children. All were dirty but were busy enjoying the warm meal and fire to care.
"We freed them after two companies worth of Black Dogs decide to relief themselves here before returning to Garan." Falric began. Making the Princess jump at the Captain's sudden appearance. She didn't even know he followed them "They came from three different villages and two different towns. They were captured to be sent to Volt himself. Said something about them being fresh meat for him. The other women of their village were left for the orcs to play with. I don't think I have to tell you what that means."
Alicia nodded grimly before looking back at the great hall "Ever since this war with the Black Dogs started, this has been a common sight that I've grown used to. Families shattered, women broken. Is there no end to this? How long will the innocents suffer in this war?"
"...I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that, my Lady." Falric replied after a moment of silence "All we can do is hope that it will end soon. Goodnight, Lady Alicia. Lady Sylvanas and I decided to have the men rest for the night. We'll leave by dawn."
"Of course, Captain. Goodnight."
~Line Break~
By dawn, Sylvanas band Falric's soldiers left Sturmburg in the hands of the Princess. A quarter of their way to Feoh, they caught sight of the dead bodies of the orcs that Alicia encountered. They decided to leave the bodies alone for the crows. They arrived in Feoh before noon and were greeted by the sight of farmers handing out food and beverages. Upon seeing the slaves they rescued, the farmers shifted their concern to the slaves. The army made their way to the city, Sylvanas and Falric made a beeline to the castle. Already had their respective reports in mind.
Once inside, they were greeted by Prim who offered them a grey sludge she called 'food'. The two politely declined and asked if Arthas was in his office. Alone. The pinkette grew red at that and nodded, knowing the reason why they asked if Arthas was alone. The two thanked the girl and made their way to his office. Once there, Falric was the one that announced their presence.
"Prince Arthas. May we enter?"
"Come in, Falric."
The two entered his office to see Arthas was lazily writing down approval requests for things around the city. He wasn't gonna say it, though it was obvious, but he was glad for the distraction. He can fight for days on end. Destroy enemies with his bare hands. But paper work? Alas, it was an obstacle he cannot beat.
"Lady Sylvanas, Captain Falric. How'd it go?"
Falric sighed and Arthas knew he wasn't gonna like what he was about to hear "We've successfully captured Sturmburg from the Black Dogs and have taken it within the day. Unfortunately, two companies of Black Dog mercenaries stopped by Sturmburg to relieve themselves after sacking three villages and two towns, bringing with them at least two dozen women and children from their raids. Lady Sylvanas formulated a plan to trap the Dogs within a narrow corridor to thin them out before engaging the main force. The plan worked but we didn't expect an attack by a horde of brownskins and ogres. We took losses from the attack but we managed to drive them off. After that, Lady Alicia and her army arrived to relieve us. We encountered no more Black Dogs on the return journey here, my Lord."
"Is that all, Captain?"
"Yes, my Liege."
"...very well." Arthas muttered before turning to Sylvanas "Can you verify his report?"
"All of it is true, Prince Menethil. Every word of it."
"Thank you. Is there anything else you need?"
The Captain shook his head but the Ranger-General nodded.
"I wish to talk about the rumors of the East."
"Of course. Captain, you are dismissed."
Falric saluted before leaving the room. Arthas looked at Sylvanas and gestured for her to go ahead.
"Is it true? That the East has fallen to Volt's hands?"
Arthas sighed and stood from his chair "I'm not entirely sure. Reports say that the Seven Shields have lost contact with Thorn and Ansur. The Princess Knight Lulu said her castle was attacked by the Black Dogs and she barely made it out alive. She described her attackers as Greenskins. From her description, these are not the same as the ones from the Horde. They are green but they act like the brownskins. All they do is rape and murder. Nothing more. Unfortunately, she didn't know the status of Thorn nor the Shrine Maiden Kaguya. I fear the Black Dogs may have taken Thorn first and the Shrine Maiden is lost to their filthy hands."
~Line Break~
"Warchief... This city's lost. We can't do anything about it. Besides, this isn't our fight. Let the humans fight it out themselves."
Atop a cliff that overlooked the city of Thorn, two Orcs sat on their Dire wolves as they looked down on the city. The one that rode a grey Dire wolf and carried a large Warblade turned to leave. The other one, the one that rode a black Dire wolf and wore black armor while wielding a war hammer, stayed.
Thrall closed his eyes as he considered what Nazgrel said. The Raider was right. This wasn't their fight. But... The screams that filled the air were too hard for him to ignore. No. Human or not, he won't let these people suffer and die.
Nazgrel stopped when he didn't hear the Warchief move from his spot. He looked over his shoulder to see Thrall gripping Doomhammer's handle tightly. His face set in a sneer as he stared at the burning city.
'Of course he wouldn't let it go.' The Raider thought to himself before shaking his head.
"At least we get to kill something." He muttered under his breath as he rode his Dire wolf back to Thrall. He stopped beside the Warchief and looked down on the city.
"So we're really doing this?"
"Yes."
The Raider sighed and rested the gigantic Warblade on his shoulder "Say the word, Warchief."
Thrall raised Doomhammer high. Lightning struck the weapon in his hands as the Warchief roared along with the thunder.
~Line Break~
"We got the bitch to ourselves, boys."
A group of Black Dog mercenaries cheered as they threw one of the Shrine Maiden's personal guards on the ground. The girl screamed as the Black Dogs ripped her clothes and underwear off. A thunder boomed so loud that the group stopped what they were doing to look up at the sky. One of the mercenaries shrugged it off and pulled his pants down, showing the poor girl his erect manhood. The others soon did the same and had their fun with the girl. It's always better when they're fresh.
As the mercenaries continued to defile the girl, they didn't notice the greenskin orc in black stop at the gate. What they did notice was the Dire Wolf's howl. The sound made the mercenaries look at the greenskin in confusion. The others glared at the orc and threw a rock at it. The harmless stone bouncing off the orc's black armor.
"Wait for your turn. We got her first!"
The orc sneered and glared at them. The mercenaries laughed and returned to their work.
"Get lost already! You'll have your fun once we're done with her."
"LOK-TAR OGAR!"
The orc's war cry was so loud that it made the mercenaries jump. They looked at the greenskin only for another one, this one riding a grey Dire Wolf and carrying a large sword, leapt over it. The Dire Wolf lunged and pinned one of the mercenary's on the ground, staring menacing menacingly at him as it bared it's teeth and growled. The orc rider, wearing a menacing horned helmet, sneered down at him.
"You're annoying my dog." It spoke in perfect Common before grinning wickedly "But he's also hungry."
The mercenary screamed as the Dire Wolf sank it's teeth on his neck.
~Line Break~
Nazgrel could feel himself grin from ear to ear as his Dire Wolf took a chunk out of the mercenary's neck. He stared menacingly at the three mercenaries left as they fumbled to pull up their pants and hold their swords at the same time.
"Sic 'em, boy."
The Dire Wolf snarled as it lunged at the mercenaries.
Thrall watched Nazgrel have his fun before looking down at the sobbing girl. The Warchief jumped off his Dire Wolf and approached the human. The girl saw this and weakly backpedaled until her back reached the staircase of the wooden house. Thrall raised his hand in a non-threatening gesture and knelt down to grab whatever's left of the human's clothes before gently laying it over her bare body.
"They won't hurt you anymore, young one. You are safe."
Thrall placed a large hand on the girl's head before rising to his feet. He turned away from the human and mounted his Dire Wolf. His Orcs roared as they ran through the gate and made their way around the city with specific instructions to not harm the innocents and unarmed.
"W-Who are you?"
Thrall looked down at the girl before looking at the burning city.
"I... am Thrall."
A/N: That's probably the only appearance the Horde will make... for now. Won't be a lot of appearances because this is more Alliance-centric. So, territories. The Black Dogs hold the North and Southeast(Garan and Ansur). The Alliance/ Lordaeron hold the West(Feoh and Ur). The Seven Shields control the South(Ken, Rad and Geofu). And the Horde will control the East(Thorn).