Chapter 9: Save the prisoners
"Come back alive".
"I'll come back to you, Anduin Lothar, I promise".
She was re-living the scene again and again in her mind, late that night, as the human army was riding towards the Black Gate. She missed Lothar. His presence was highly comforting to her. And by the looks on the soldiers' faces, she was not the only one missing the Commander.
"Lady Karandra!" a soldier who was riding just ahead of her called her.
Her head snapped up. It was Karos, the soldier that listened to her singing, when they went to spy on the Orcs, before the trap.
"Come and ride with us," he offered with a kind smile.
She kicked her horse lightly and placed herself flank to flank with the soldier.
"How are you?" he asked casually.
Her eyebrows shot up. No one ever asked her that before. No one ever cared. She blinked, remembering she wasn't with the Orcs anymore.
"I am good. What about you?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Though I would have much preferred to have Lothar with us".
"Me too," she replied in a soft tone. "He's a good war chief," she added to cover the tenderness in her voice in her previous words.
"He would march into Hell for any of us, as we would for him," another soldier piped in. "He's the greatest Commander Azeroth has ever seen".
"He is a good man," Karandra agreed. "And one Hell of a warrior".
"You speak our language remarkably well," Karos chuckled. "How come?"
"From as far as I can remember, I've always been in charge of feeding prisoners, translate what they say, and so on. I've come to understand every language used in the Orc world. It wasn't hard to learn yours with all the prisoners the Orcs took when we arrived".
The few that were listening to her nodded.
"So, you had a good status in the Orc society, I guess?" one of the soldiers asked curiously.
She scoffed at him.
"Ever since I was able to walk and talk, I've been enchained," she said with a blank expression. "I've always been a slave to Orcs. Half-breed, they called me, at best. I didn't have a name. I didn't have anything. I've spent my life in the demonic claws of Gul'dan, doing his biddings and hoping not to get too beaten up when he would throw me to his minions when not content with me".
Everyone gulped visibly around her, coughing awkwardly and stealing glances towards her blank face, pity showing in their eyes.
"You've had a tough life since you were born…" Karos muttered. "You're very brave to still be fighting".
"There is no bravery in fighting for survival," Karandra shrugged. "It's a basic instinct of most animals, really. It's the nature law: kill or be killed".
Karos' eyes widened slightly at her harsh word but nodded. Karandra kept silent for the next minutes, looking right ahead of her, her expression still blank.
"Lady Karandra?" Karos cautiously called her.
"Why does everyone call me 'Lady'?" she asked with a frown.
"It's… a title. A distinction for women that have a high social rank," Karos explained as best as he could.
"Do I?" she continued. "Have a high social rank?" she added in front of his puzzled expression.
"Well, you are a guest of the Royal Palace, you've had dinner with the King and the Queen, you've got the protection of our Commander… I guess it gives you the status of a lady. It's also a form of politeness and respect, when calling you, to add the title to your name".
"I understand".
He smiled awkwardly. He then cleared his throat to gain her attention once more.
"I… I was w-wondering…" he stuttered before inhaling loudly to regain his composure. "You said you've been treated horribly since you were born, but how old are you, exactly?"
"The young mage asked the same question, when we went to go spying on the Orcs a few days ago. Why does age matter so much to you humans? For Orcs, only strength matters".
"Because…" Karos trailed off, trying to find something to say. "We don't torture or kill infants and children. We protect them, help them grow up and fit into this big world. We'll be gentler with the young ones, more careful".
"I will be twenty years old in less than two moons. Lothar said I was still a child," Karandra told him bluntly.
"Twenty? By the Gods, you're so young! Maybe not a child, but…"
Karandra shrugged. Karos then switched to lighter topics, trying to ease the mood. They barely stopped for a few moments, to let the horses rest, refill the water supplies and eat a little. Dawn was enveloping the landscape around them as they were arriving at the Orcs' camp. Wooden posts had been planted on the ground, with dead Orcs nailed on each one of them.
"Frost-wolves," Garona told them. "We are on our own now".
"We few, then," Llane glumly said.
They heard groans, battle cries, and thumping in the distance. Karandra narrowed her eyes and saw that the whole war band was marching on them, pouring out of the camp. Llane gulped.
"Get to the prisoners. We will free our people!" he said with conviction as he drew his magnificent sword. "Charge!"
They all shouted in unison as they ran and rode to meet the Orcs, weapons raised and ready to kill. The clash between the armies was terrible, but the boom sticks used by the humans gave them a slight advantage as they broke the first lines of Orcs, and started fighting left and right. She stayed on her horse, that way she was taller than Orcs and could defend herself better. She was riding alongside Llane, trying to do her best with the sword she had been given. She grabbed another one from a she-Orc she had just killed, and focused once more on the battle unfolding around her.
She could hear groans, and cries of pain everywhere, from humans and from Orcs. She could hear battle cries, she could hear the guttural sounds of the Orc language and the strong voice of Llane commanding his troops. She found herself cornered with three dozen soldiers, and didn't think before raising one sword in the air.
"For Lothar!" she yelled with a feral expression before charging.
The soldiers shouted their approval and followed her, fighting like lions. They made a breach in the Orcs lines and managed to cut their way through, re-joining with the big of the troops around the King.
"The portal! It's closing!" Varis, one of the sergeants, yelled to Llane.
The disappearance of the evil green light in the Black Gate seemed to give hope to the humans, who fought even harder than before, yelling their determination.
"Milord!" a soldier yelled, minutes later. "Through the portal, Stormwind!"
"Thank you, Guardian," Llane whispered. "Varis!" he called.
"Legion, forward!" Varis instructed. "Attack!"
They all went with him to meet the Orcs that were gathering in front of them. Their army seemed endless, but the humans were determined to make it to the portal, no matter what.
"Garona!" Llane called. "Ride with me!"
Karandra's sister jumped behind Llane before the three of them rode toward the Black Gate. Some soldiers were already freeing the prisoners, sending them in line towards the portal for Stormwind, while others were beginning to circle it and fight back the Orcs.
"Varis! Set the men in a perimeter," Llane instructed. "Garona, go with Karandra and Karos. Take as much men as we can spare, and free the prisoners. And send them through to Stormwind! We will hold as long as we can".
The three ran off with a dozen soldiers on their tail, getting quickly to the first cages while Varis led the men in line, shield to shield, and kept the Orcs away. The prisoners began running to the portal, to safety. Once that was done, Karandra and Karos led the men back to the portal too, and they gathered around a wooden structure that had caught on fire, with Orcs starting to climb it to get to them. Karos immediately started to push on the wood to make it crumble. Karandra went beside him and put all her strength into it.
"Help me, push!" Karos yelled. "Come on, boys! Put some sport into it!"
The wood on fire crumbled on the Orcs. Further away, Llane dismounted and placed two kids on his horse.
"Take good care of him," he told them with a smile before sending them through the portal.
"We should leave," Garona said as she came next to him.
"We save as many of our people as we can," Llane retorted.
The portal then started to disappear.
"We've lost the Guardian," Llane stated.
A few prisoners were now in front of the Orcs that had tried to get them from the other side of the portal. Karandra killed the one in front of her and stood next to Garona and Llane. The Orcs quickly killed the unarmed humans in front of them. The soldiers quickly reacted as they surrounded their King in an attempt to protect him. Llane turned to try and see a way to escape, but spotted Blackhand, the Orcs' war chief, now all green, coming violently toward them.
"Blackhand comes to claim the honour of killing you," Garona said.
Llane turned to them and smiled sadly.
"Garona, Karandra. No good will come from the three of us dying. Look around you. We are surrounded".
And sure enough, there was only few soldiers left, and hundreds of Orcs trying to kill them all.
"Both of you killing me is the only hope we have for peace," he told them. "Garona, you told Lady Taria that killing her would bring you honour. Well, killing me will make you both heroes".
He grabbed Garona's wrist and forced her to pull her dagger out of its sheath. Her arm was trembling slightly.
"Survive. Bring peace between Orcs and humans. You must," he added when he saw Garona shaking her head with wide eyes.
He then ran and fought the Orcs that were closing on them.
"Let me, I don't care if I die" Karandra said as tears were already running down her cheeks.
She pulled out her own dagger and clutched it tightly, inhaling and exhaling to clear her wild thoughts.
"You can't," Garona stopped her. "Survive and go back to Lothar. I'll do it. You go, run away as fast as you can, back to Stormwind. You hear me?"
"Yes… sister," Karandra cried as she raised her sword and her dagger, ready to cut through the lines and escape.
Garona slipped behind Llane that was now staring at Blackhand, put her hand on his neck and just after he closed his eyes peacefully, plunged her dagger in his throat with a cry. Llane gasped as his eyes shot open, and he fell to the ground, dead. His sword clattered on the stones beneath him as it fell out of his hand.
The Orcs quickly got rid of the remaining soldiers. Only Karandra and Garona were left. As Garona was hoisted in the air like a hero, Karandra felt an Orc just behind her. She clenched her jaw and turned swiftly, slicing his head off mercilessly. She growled, louder and louder, and the Orcs around her stopped approaching as her eyes shone brightly, emitting gold light, and gold light was also accumulating in her hands, on either side of her. She then let out a roar, so loud and so powerful that a golden wave of magic rolled off of her and sent all the Orcs surrounding her flying in all directions.
She then ran towards Llane's body that was thrown around in the crowd of Orcs, pure hate blinding her. She sliced, cut, and fought like a demon to get closer to the fallen King. Just as she was getting to it, a loud griffin's cry was heard, and she saw Lothar, sword raised, diving towards her. She let out a soft sigh of relief and exhaustion, before passing out and falling on the floor with closed eyes, drained of energy.