Chapter 14

"We need higher ground!" demanded Sylvanas.

Saurfang looked back into the arena just as Thrall arrived. The warchief nodded at the high overlord. "Take them where they need to go. Garrosh, go with them. I'll deal with things here."

Saurfang looked between his warchief and the young orc. He appeared about to object at leaving his warchief, but the rapid arrival of the elite Kor'kron personal guard settled his concern. He turned to Sylvanas. "This way."

The queen looked at Alyna and gestured for her to follow before she lightly trotted after the surprisingly quick orc. They left the arena grounds, and turned right, heading up the valley wall.

Alyna cried out behind them, "Stop!"

Sylvanas did so immediately, trusting her ranger. To his credit, so did Saurfang. Garrosh took another couple of steps before he stopped to turn around and look at Alyna with an impatient glare. Had he taken one more step, he would not have had the opportunity. The ground and air rapidly froze in front of them as a large wyrm strafed the ground with its breath attack.

Both orcs stared at the deadly patch for a moment, both very aware of their mortal existence. They did not get a chance to contemplate it any longer as the wyrm dropped its cargo as it passed, the abomination landing heavily on the frozen ground. Cracks radiated out from where it landed, causing all four of them to move their feet to avoid injury.

It was easily twice the height of the tallest of them, and many times heavier. Sylvanas raised an eyebrow at the subconscious facial expressions the orcs wore. She knew the creature smelt of rotted flesh. They then raised their axes and charged at it, screaming their orcish war cry, "Lok'tar ogar!" Victory or death.

For her part, Sylvanas retreated to stand near Alyna as she loaded her bow and tensed the string. Both rangers watched the fight in a state of readiness, knowing normal arrows would not do much to an abomination until it was wounded.

"Can you cast anything?" she asked Alyna.

Alyna gave her a brief glance. "I haven't fed."

Sylvanas cursed Putress under her breath. If he hadn't been one of her best apothecaries, she would have killed him. She looked around, and could see civilians and soldiers dead, and dying. She looked back at Alyna. "Then feed. I need your spells. Target the dying."

Alyna nodded her understanding. She released the tension on her bow and trotted down into the valley.

The abomination roared, and the queen could see a deep gash had been opened in its stomach. All manner of rotting organs and viscera were spilling out, but she knew it was not a fatal wound for such an undead creature. She raised her bow and focused her energy into the arrow. A dark shadow twisted around the projectile just as she released it, and the sound it made as it travelled was not unlike a banshee's wail. It screamed through the air and slammed into the wound, sinking deeply into the abomination. Familiar with the attack, Saurfang grabbed Garrosh and forced the orc into a retreat.

The abomination exploded a second later, covering both of them in rotting flesh. Saurfang took the development in his stride, being a veteran of some horrific battles. Garrosh was incensed.

"Whose side are you on, Banshee Queen?" he yelled.

"Stand down, Garrosh!" Saurfang grabbed the younger orc's pauldron and tried to swing him round, but Garrosh was focused on something he could see down in the valley.

"What, by the Spirits, is that undead bitch doing to our people?!"

Sylvanas turned, and realised she was about to have a problem on her hands. Alyna was kneeling, and feeding from a limp female orc. The woman's chest and abdomen had been brutally slashed open in what was fatal wound, but Alyna was keeping her alive long enough to get what she could. To Garrosh, it would look like Alyna was somehow attacking her as she fed from the bite on her neck.

Garrosh roared in fury and charged down the path towards Alyna with his axes raised, clearly intent on not just stopping her, but killing her. Sylvanas loaded her bow, but hesitated. If she killed Garrosh, which she was perfectly capable of doing with one arrow, she would create a diplomatic incident that could jeopardise her mission to Northrend.

She decided Alyna's only hope was to notice the charging orc. She was about to shout a warning, but it appeared Garrosh's roar was enough to alert her ranger. Alyna looked up, and dropped the orc she had been feeding on.

Blood still around her mouth, Alyna drew a hand back. A dark purple flame rapidly built to what Sylvanas recognised as a ball of shadowflame within her palm. With the aid of her other hand, she empowered the small ball into a raging inferno twice the size of a head within a second. She stepped forward and threw the powerful concoction at the charging orc.

And missed.

As Garrosh stumbled to a surprised stop, the spell flew well over his head.

A terrifying screech caused even Sylvanas to wince and raise her arm protectively. As she looked, she felt her jaw drop slightly. A large frost wyrm flashed past Garrosh's head to smash into the ground with the sickening crunch of many bones snapping. Its momentum carried it down into the valley towards Alyna. As Sylvanas watched, the lithe ranger vaulted herself into the air as it reached her, landing on top of the still sliding mess. It came to a stop a few meters later, and Alyna calmly jumped down. As she walked towards them, the pile of frozen bone burst into dark purple flames.

She couldn't help herself. Sylvanas laughed. If Alyna had not brought down the wyrm, Garrosh would have been grasped in its claws, and no doubt crushed before being dropped from a great height.

Garrosh seemed to be aware of his narrow escape, and he let Alyna pass without a word. Sylvanas turned to Saurfang, who had also watched the whole scene.

"You knew she could do that," the queen stated bluntly. They both knew she was referring to Alyna's feeding. Saurfang had not moved to stop her as Garrosh had.

The old orc narrowed his eyes at her before giving her a curt nod. He clearly did not approve, but Sylvanas realised he had taken the whole scene in and had come to the correct assumption – Alyna had fed from those who would be dead soon. Perhaps even mercifully sparing them a long, painful death. Sylvanas made a mental note that while Garrosh had been at Thrall's side, the warchief was clearly not sharing everything with the brash orc.

"We are exposed here," Saurfang observed, perhaps needlessly.

Sylvanas looked past him, up the valley. "It will take too long to get to higher ground." She turned her head to take in their surroundings. "Are there any solid roofs we could make use of?" Saurfang followed her example, and started looking around. Most of the roofs in Orgrimmar were made from red tile, but the homes immediately around them had roofs mainly constructed from hide.

As Alyna and Garrosh joined them, Saurfang pointed his large axe westwards. "This way. We can get to a watch tower in a few minutes. That is the best choice we'll have for height."

"It will have to do," she agreed.

They weaved through the blood-soaked streets at a jog, stepping over bodies and ignoring cries for help. The carnage of the surprise attack was severe, but the queen's ears could pick up the sound of resistance in other parts of the city.

As they rounded a corner, a large object fell just before them and shattered into countless frozen pieces. With a quick assessment, Sylvanas realised it was a wyvern and its orc rider. They must have foolishly got too close to a wyrm only to be breathed on. She knew that if they couldn't get the wyrms out of the sky, the fighting on the ground would be for nothing. That was where the advantage of the attack lay, and they had to stop it.

Further on, she could see the watch tower. In front of it, hacking away at hapless orcs, was another abomination.

Garrosh growled as he raised his axes again. "Good, I don't like it when things are too easy."

Sylvanas wanted to roll her eyes.

Alyna then stepped forward, already preparing a spell. "I've got this." She raised her hand and a white beam was cast from her palm at the creature. Its multiple arms, each holding a bloodied weapon, flailed as the beam hit it. Sylvanas could feel the cold it emitted. It turned to start lumbering towards them, but it did not get very far. White frost spread rapidly from where the beam impacted. The arms stopped moving, as did the stocky legs. The abomination roared, and even that was halted as the frost reached its throat, and encased its head.

When it was fully frozen, Alyna drew her bow, and trotted over to the abomination. With a vicious swing, she smashed through the middle of the brittle statue. The top half fell, splintering when it hit the ground.

Sylvanas felt a small smile quirk at her lips. She was definitely enjoying what her new bow could do. Garrosh clearly wasn't, which increased the queen's pleasure somewhat. The group reunited at the entrance to the tower. Most of the orcs that had tried fighting the abomination were dead. One was still alive, though mortally wounded. Sylvanas gave Alyna a pointed look. Alyna seemed like she was about to object, but her ears dropped slightly, and she nodded. She lifted the dying orc under his arms, and dragged him into the tower and out of Garrosh's sight.

Garrosh growled, but Sylvanas realised Saurfang must have said something to the young orc at some point because he didn't try to stop Alyna.

Saurfang looked up at the tower. "We'll come up with you to assess the situation as best we can, and then leave you to your plan, Dark Lady."

Sylvanas nodded. "Agreed." The orcs would be no use to her up in the tower with axes verses frost wyrms.

The old orc led the way up the winding stairs. When they emerged at the top, the scale of the assault became more obvious. The tower itself had been attacked, and they stepped over the slowly warming frozen bodies of three orc guards as they moved around the open viewing platform. The Valley of Honor looked like a warzone. Several abominations were still lumbering around, but the number of wyrms in the air gave Sylvanas cause for concern.

Alyna appeared just behind the queen, and she turned to regard her ranger. Subconsciously, she raised her hand and wiped a small blood smear away from the corner of the other woman's mouth. She didn't notice the curious look she received from Alyna in return before she self-consciously pulled up her black face mask.

Alyna must have heard the conversation on the ground because she said, "We'll soon have another problem, High Overlord, so I suggest you do not go very far."

Sylvanas was already firing a charged arrow at a nearby wyrm. She gave herself a satisfied smile when it exploded on impact, ripping off one of its wings. It plummeted to the ground, crushing a home that no doubt had civilians in it. It was unfortunate, but unavoidable. She waited for one of the orcs to object, but when none came, she turned to Alyna as Saurfang asked, "What do you know, dark ranger?"

Alyna regarded him coolly. "The same thing you do, High Overlord – that the Lich King deals in death. He does not need to send an army to invade our cities. His army is already here."

Sylvanas swore, immediately understanding. The orcs glanced at each other, their look of confusion almost identical. As if on cue, low groans and moans could be heard below them, from the street. All four of them looked down.

The bodies they had passed earlier were beginning to twitch. Eyes opened to show a bright azure light shining from dead orbs. A few flailed and twisted where they lay, the bodies too mangled to get up. Most awkwardly climbed to their feet with various incoherent sounds.

"Spirits help us," murmured Saurfang. He shook his head, and then raised his axe. "Come, Garrosh. Let us send our kin to the Ancestors as they deserve." For once, Garrosh did not appear to relish the idea of battle. The orcs made their way to the stairs, leaving the two undead elves alone.

They wasted no time. Alyna started preparing spells and hurling them at passing wyrms. Sylvanas had a more finite resource in her arrows, but she made every shot count. When she was nearly out of arrows, she felt her quiver get heavier. She looked over her shoulder and could see Alyna was loading it with a sizable number of her own.

Their eyes locked, and Sylvanas felt entire conversations pass between them in that instant. She felt lighter, as a weight lifted slightly from her shoulders. This was what she had missed, all these years. A trusted companion who she knew would always have her back, whom she was in tune with both on and off the battlefield. They had a long way to go, particularly herself, she knew, but the foundations were there. She gave Alyna a brief nod of thanks, and they both returned to their task, the orcs below bellowing and grunting in their effort to clear the waves of undead slowly staggering in their direction.

When the skies were noticeably less populated with wyrms, Alyna drew the queen's attention to what was going on below. She gestured at the awkwardly lumbering corpses arriving from the west.

"We're going to have to deal with the necromancer raising the dead, or we'll be overwhelmed eventually."

Sylvanas surveyed the scene. The numbers had slowly been growing. "You sound sure there is only one at work here."

Alyna nodded. "It takes a lot of energy to raise the dead, and if there were more they would have created a significant circle of power by now. They could raise dozens at a time with such a tool, and also control them directly." She gestured at the rabble below. "These are not being raised so quickly. They appear to have direction to stop us, since we've been taking down the wyrms, but they are not under any tight control." As added evidence to her argument, she pointed towards the east. "Look at that one."

As they watched, the grievously injured corpse hobbled blindly down the road. It then suddenly collapsed and stopped moving, the blue light in its eyes disappearing. Just beside it, several other corpses lay crumpled. Together, they made a neat line across the road.

Sylvanas frowned, comprehending what Alyna was showing her. "They're wandering out of the necromancer's range of control."

"Exactly. No necromancer would allow that to happen if they had full control of their creations."

The queen gave her ranger a long, contemplative, look. "What are you thinking, Alyna?"

The two women locked eyes again. She could see her ranger thinking things through, making sure of what she was going to say before she voiced it.

"I don't think this is a proper invasion. He would have sent more necromancers, for one, and just simply overwhelmed an unprepared city with its dead. He has no shortage of them to send. This …" she gestured at the city, "… is a test. He is gauging just how ready the Horde are to take him on, with the added benefit of striking fear into the hearts of those who will eventually step onto Northrend." She lowered her eyes slightly. "There's nothing quite like fighting your own fallen kin."

Sylvanas wanted to scream in rage. Now it was said, she knew Alyna was correct. The Lich King was toying with them, and had got exactly what he wanted from it. For years the Horde had ignored her, and they were not prepared. They were now at a disadvantage. She tightened her grip on her bow in anger. He had made the first strike, but she would win the war. And she would now have her war, she realised. Ironically, the Lich King had done that for her at least. Thrall would have to listen now.

"Time to at least remove one necromancer from his arsenal," she angrily spat.

Alyna agreed. "I can't sense exactly where he is from here, but as we get closer it should be easier. The amount of power he is using is lighting him up like a beacon."

Sylvanas would have to trust Alyna could get them close enough to find the mage raising the dead. They made their way down the stairs and she briefed Saurfang of the new plan. He readily agreed, and they started hacking their way through the undead.

She realised Alyna was right with regards to the undead. They were aimless, and often did not even see them as a threat, only trying to attack once they themselves had been attacked. They existed solely to strike fear into mortal hearts.

They quickly reached the large gate that led from the Valley of Honor into The Drag. Orgrimmar had been cleverly built within a series of valleys, with gates cut through the rock to connect them with each other. The Drag linked the main areas known as the valleys of Honor, Wisdom and Strength, which in turn led to the Valley of Spirits. The Drag also provided access to the Cleft of Shadow, an area where the less savoury of orcish society had chosen to dwell.

As they emerged into The Drag, Sylvanas looked at Alyna. The ranger was frowning as she tried to get her bearings. She had only seen this section once, as they had ridden to the arena earlier in the day.

"He's … close. But, above us." Alyna looked up. The Drag was where all the merchants had set up their stores along the valley walls. Paths had been cut that criss-crossed up the dark-red rock walls, and more shops had been built on the platforms that had formed from wider paths. Everything felt very close and almost claustrophobic. Sylvanas scanned the buildings along with Alyna, looking for anything out of place. Most of them were showing signs of frost damage, and there was no shortage of blood splatter on the walls.

"There!" Alyna pointed north towards a watch tower at the top of The Drag. It was surprisingly undamaged, and she realised that was probably for a reason. "I can almost see the energy coming out of the top of the tower. He's there."

The group started jogging towards their target, but they quickly had to slow to a walk as more undead started appearing. Sylvanas figured the necromancer knew they were coming, as it felt like he was trying to surround himself with his creations. They were no real threat to the seasoned combatants though, and they were cut down. Slowly, but surely, they closed on the tower.

"I will crush his puny skull!" growled Garrosh as he entered the tower.

"Wait, Garrosh!" called Saurfang. "We should let the dark ranger go first."

"WHAT?" The young orc turned, nostrils flaring. "A warrior's place is at the front of battle! I will not cower behind an elf!"

"The necromancer can cast spells before you get close. Can your axes defend against that, young Hellscream?" Saurfang's voice was surprisingly patient, and it grated on Sylvanas' nerves. She did not tolerate such brashness amongst her own rangers and soldiers.

Garrosh snarled, tusks and teeth bared. "Can she?"

Wordlessly, Alyna bowed her head and cast a spell. A frosty barrier surrounded her. Sylvanas had to step away as she could feel it trying to freeze her own movements if she remained too close. They exchanged nods, and Alyna slowly made her way up the stairs. Garrosh followed, though quickly found he too couldn't get too close to Alyna. Sylvanas brought up the rear, behind Saurfang. The banshee queen was silently laughing to herself. If Garrosh was meant to be Thrall's protégé and champion, then he was nowhere near close to what Sylvanas had in Alyna.

They reached the top, and slowly moved around the outside of the enclosed hut that was on top of the tower. Alyna prepared a spell, and boldly moved into the doorway. Her frost barrier immediately flared to life as it was hit by a spell thrown at it by the necromancer. Alyna finished casting her own spell, and Sylvanas almost smiled as she heard the necromancer screaming. As Alyna walked forward and into the room, the others followed.

The floor and walls had sigils carved into them that had then been traced over with blood. Several corpses lay against the walls, the watch guards having been used to create the circle of magic the necromancer had used to raise the undead. It glowed an eerie blue on the floor, surrounding the male human on his knees as he screamed at whatever Alyna was doing to him.

Sylvanas arched an eyebrow. She could see … something … red wisps of energy … moving from the necromancer to Alyna, but she had no idea what it was. Alyna had not shared this particular spell with her when they had gone over her abilities.

When Alyna let go of the spell, the human collapsed, gasping for air. From the floor, he laughed, not sounding entirely sane. "The blood-princess is found! The Master is pleased! He knows. He sees ALL!" The blue circle started to fade with the lack of energy being directed into it.

Alyna's white eyebrows furrowed in a frown and she looked at Sylvanas. They had not considered the Lich King didn't know where Alyna was. Now, he did. What that meant for both of them would have to wait as Garrosh stepped forward and slashed his axe at the human's neck, beheading him.

"You fool!" spat Sylvanas. "There was much we could have got from him!"

Garrosh picked up the head by the dark, matted hair, and shoved it towards the queen. "This creature is better off dead than alive and given the chance to do more damage."

Saurfang sighed, but did not say anything about the act. Any admonishment would be done in private, it would seem.

The booming voice that had split the air at the start of the invasion, now did so again.

"THIS SMALL VICTORY WILL AVAIL YOU NOTHING! COME! COME TO NORTHREND. THE MASTER'S MINIONS ARE WAITING, AND THEY ARE HUNGRY …!"

"Let us go," started Saurfang. "It appears this is all over. We should find the Warchief."

The four descended the tower and started walking back to the arena. As they neared the gate, a familiar voice called out, "Dark Lady!"

Sylvanas turned to see a gore-splattered Kyala jogging towards her. She had a dozen Forsaken soldiers from The Windrunner with her, all showing signs of battle. She nodded her approval. Her people had not sat idle on their ship and had come to the aid of their allies. It would go a long way to reassuring the Horde they could be relied upon.

Kyala and the soldiers saluted as they reached their queen. "Well done," she told them. "Your Queen is proud of you this day." She looked at Kyala. "We are reconvening at the arena with the Warchief. Follow us there, in case we come across more of the Lich King's minions."

As they passed through the gate, Sylvanas knew the likelihood of more battle was slim after the Scourge had retreated, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity for Thrall to see her people had helped to defend his city. They marched behind as the group of four weaved their way back to the arena. Thrall was waiting for them at the entrance, his own Kor'kron guard flanking him, though noticeably fewer in number. He did not hide his surprise at the contingent of Forsaken.

"Lady Sylvanas, it would appear the orcs of Orgrimmar owe you their gratitude. Thank you for coming to our aid," intoned the warchief, formally.

For her part, Sylvanas gave him a small bow of her head in thanks, and in small deference to his position as warchief. "We came to the aid of allies, Warchief. And we will continue to do so as proud members of the Horde." She hated these formalities, but she would play their game while she had to.

Garrosh had no sense for such things and pressed forward, throwing the head of the necromancer at Thrall's feet. The warchief looked down at it impassively.

"Well, Warchief? What say you now? Will you send me to Northrend?"

They all watched as the warchief raised his eyes to Garrosh, anger burning in them. "Saurfang …"

The old orc stepped forward. "Yes, Warchief?"

"Marshal our forces. Contact our goblin shipwrights. The Horde prepares for war!"

Garrosh roared his delight as Saurfang saluted. "As you command, Warchief!" He immediately went inside the arena grounds to look for messengers to send to various places.

Sylvanas smiled slowly. "Excellent … most excellent."

Thrall looked at her. "Do not get carried away, Sylvanas. We have a lot of planning to do, and you will act as part of the Horde in this, and not go off by yourself."

Sylvanas felt her rage flash through her body as the orc dared talk to her in such a way. She pushed it down, and ignored the gleeful look Garrosh was giving her. "Of course, Warchief," she managed to say. "The Forsaken are yours to command."

"Then let us plan for the end of evil." The orcs entered the arena grounds.

Alyna moved to stand beside her queen. Quietly, she asked in Thalassian, "You intend to follow his orders, my Lady?"

Sylvanas stared after the retreating form of Thrall. "For as long as it suits our needs, yes." She looked at Alyna. "We will talk more on it later. For now, we brief the Warchief on Northrend. Except for those things I told you not to mention. Understood?"

"Understood, my Queen."

Sylvanas loved it when she called her that.