"Hello, Brother"
The first thing out of Damon's mouth was a surprised, "What?" Followed swiftly by a pointed look at her pregnant form. "How?!"
Sir Randall sighed from beside Damon, having been too slow to warn the young knight. "Perhaps... inside?"
Mindful of the eyes of the camp, Damon swiftly made his way into the tent, eyes locked onto the form of the sister he thought dead. "What happened?" He asked as calmly as he could once they had seated.
Arianne Ashfall looked at her brother sadly, "When the orcs arrived, we fought fiercely. We fought bravely. We lost. I saw Father and Mother fall myself." The young woman was obviously hurt by the experiences. "When I was captured, I did the one thing I could to protect myself from the orcs. I found a stronger one."
"So he... freed you?" The pregnancy was an obvious indication of what happened, and Damon was so relieved to have her back that he didn't mind. "How did you get to Lordaeron?"
"Gor'nak Greyhowl is a fine example of a Dragonmaw orc apparently. He slew a dragon, turned the claws and fangs into blades, and stabbed the first orc to contest his claim to me in the throat." Arianne seemed slightly amused by this at least. "He didn't much care for the rest of the Horde, seeing as their warlocks had slain his clansmen. It was a simple matter to get him to agree to leave. Unfortunately his treatment in Lordaeron is not so simple."
"What do you mean?" Damned orc or not he had rescued Damon's sister and for that Damon would carve a river of blood. "Are they holding him?"
"Technically yes, Commander," Sir Randall spoke up. "His people did destroy our kingdom, so they've been understandably... reluctant to let him free. Despite his injuries obtained defending a noble of the kingdom."
"And because of the Half-Orc," Damon replied as he looked at his worried sister.
"They told me they wouldn't release him unless I agreed to give up my child. They would kill it, or worse, turn it into another assassin." Arianne was right to be worried as those things were more than likely. Even more so when one though about King Llane and his demise.
"What is the situation of our people Sir Randall? What news do you have?"
"Prince Varian has safely made it to Lordaeron City under the protection of Lord Lothar and King Terenas Menethil," Sir Randall reported as he pulled several documents from a pack at his side. "They've granted us authority of the area our portal ended up, with permission to fortify a small outpost and refugee camp. They had apparently been referring to us as the 'Lost Legion' amongst themselves. We can expect some supplies," and here the knight grimaced, "but most of what is free is going directly to the rest of our people."
Damon gave a relieved smile at the news before he asked something vital. "Your opinion on my new... brother?"
"Fierce. Powerful. Dangerous." Sir Randall reported instantly, ignoring the glare sent by Arianne. "He took a mounted knights charge, and while wounded by a spear to the shoulder, managed to knock out three men-at-arms to protect your sister. That fight would have been a lot more bloody if she hadn't been there holding him back, I am more than certain of that."
"Fine," Damon groaned as he made his decision. "Get your mage, bring me that orc. If anyone gives you problems to refer them to me, I'll handle any complaints."
"Really Commander? You want Michael to do it?" The worry in the voice of the knight seemed to set off Arianne so Damon quickly intervened.
"Who else would be crazy enough to do it and succeed? Nobody touches my family. Do it." With orders recieved the knight swiftly left the Ashfall siblings alone. "Did anyone else survive?" Damon asked quietly with hope and fear.
"I'm sorry Damon, I was the last," Arianne replied. "Gor'nak asked around on my behalf but found nothing."
Damon closed his eyes against the emotional pain the news brought him. "At least I still have you, that is far more than I believed. Thank the Light for small mercies I guess. I'll get your husband back for you, it's the least I can do."
"It would be 'mate' by orc standards." His sister gave a small smile as she looked down at her stomach. "That just seems a little too rough for me though."
Damon laughed as he moved to give her a hug. "Whatever they call it, I owe him a debt I intend to repay. I'm glad to have you back Arianne."
"Me too brother, me too."
News spread quickly throughout Ashfall Landing of both the Prince and Damon's sister, which meant of course that several loud citizens visited but Damon survived it through sheer patience. It helped that his sister was relieved by his help, and amused by his misfortune to be stuck commanding a town of refugees. Damon spent most of his free time beside her, when he wasn't communicating with Jonathan via messenger birds or otherwise forced to lead his men around.
It was late in the evening when Greybraid requested a meeting with Damon, and really it was only a short note. 'Got news, evening.' This naturally peaked Damon's interest as it didn't fit Greybraid's personality. The dwarf had spent the entire afternoon down in the lower town and had rarely poked his head out of the mine and barracks.
"Good evening Damon," Corven Greybraid greeted with a smile as he stepped inside the tent. "You want the bad news, the good news, or the great news?"
"Bad news please," Damon replied with amusement.
Greybraid stood straight to stare at Damon. "We've got refugees askin' for transport through the portal. From Lordaeron. A lot of 'em too."
Damon sullenly looked at the supply reports he had recieved earlier. "Prioritize those willing to fight and useful tradeskills. The housing construction and allotment is determined by elderly, pregnant, or children first." Damon gave a weak smile at Greybraid, "I think we could pass the word to buy as much food as they can, hopefully that will help things."
The smile was back on Greybraid's face as if it had never left. "Good news is we have a solution for that. The best news is how." With the look on the dwarves face it was likely he would continue that game until Damon gave in.
"And how can we aquire these resources?" That smile was becoming slightly worrisome as the dwarf practically vibrated with excitement.
"We struck gold lad!" The dwarf cheered. "Not just iron in these hills, turns out. Not too much but it is there and we found it." Greybraid had an eager look on his face as he waited for Damon's reaction.
"So we have gold," Damon deadpanned in return. "Great, we shall need heavy guards for transporting it to Lordaeron City and exchanging it. Organize that, would you? And see if you can get some more lumber and stone to Jonathan."
Greybraid deflated before turning to the entrance, "You take the fun out of everythin' lad."
"Thank you," Damon smiled, "it means I'm doing my job."
After that Damon spent the next few days overseeing a slow but steady stream of people coming from Lordaeron. Refugees, the adventurous, jobless craftsmen, all were needed. He even went the extra length to judge them by having the centaur female, Elder Rusthorn, and a translator stand nearby and help guide them out of the barracks. The fact that the centaur was under heavy guard for her own safety rather than the peoples escaped their notice entirely. Already several more irksome individuals had been turned back, communication portals allowing for easy return without blocking things.
"You have a place here," Damon had remarked to the first large group of people filling the basement. "Whether that is on the battlefield, at a forge, oven, or field. With sword or pickaxe. You all have a place."
The elven ship had finally shown up, though they spent several hours talking with the injured patient in the medical tent before they actually talked to Damon. He was still annoyed by the lack of fluent communication but the translating tauren proved to be the most patient of them all, watching everyone with amusement and diffusing arguments.
Finally an agreement was reached trading iron and gold for food and lumber and he had even requested a map of the surrounding landscape in an attempt not to infringe on their territory. The elves were reluctant but willing to take it up with their leaders, seeing as how their comrade was still too risky to transport. He had also found out her name, Mihris, so he now had something to call her, at least in his head.
Commander Greybraid had been right about the supply of gold as well. The small but near constant influx of gold into the treasury helped their buying power immensely. Even the basics they had been missing were being treated as a blessing. Everyone being fed properly was an important thing to consider after all. It seemed like things were finally going their way, and then came a mage.
"Demons?" Damon asked for clarification. "They actually saw demons?"
"I believe so Commander, else Squire Jonathan would not have reacted so," the mage explained in worry. "If there truly is a demonic presence it needs to be destroyed as swiftly as possible. We need more men, Commander Ashfall."
"Get me Commander Greybraid," Damon called out to the youth he hired to run messages. "Tell the mage Evelyn to join us as well!"
Scrambling to gather the materials, he read through every recent career listing looking for any with military experience to help. Jonathan was likely already planning like he had been trained, fortify a position and secure the surroundings. He was going to need more troops to do that with even if Damon planned to send Commander Greybeard to do the heavy fighting. The old dwarf would pound Damon into the ground if he forced him to miss out on such a fight.
Unfortunately when he aired his views to Commander Greybraid once he had reached Damon, the dwarf and the mage woman had laughed and agreed that Damon was too necessary to be allowed to leave at this point in time. There was also the need to watch over his sister even though he knew full well a great many of the knights would do so glady. Stormwind raised the best after all.
And so Damon once again found himself overwatching the portal though it was warriors and adventurers that streamed through now. He had asked the mages to research warding against demons and could only hope they uncovered something, as the priests were likely far too busy to be bothered with it. The priests had recently been asked to coordinate with the mages here and with the rest of their people in an attempt to establish position, direction, and distance back to their homeland. It was slow going.
He kept a trained eye on the soldiers going past and picked out several more experienced veterans simply by the way they moved. Those would be the core of Jonathan's forces, men aware of the dangers and still going forward. The lethal grace was evident among the hunters as well, the most evident being a brightly clothed male High Elf. The elf was able to blend perfectly well in his forests with those colors as the trees had magic but here in the drab wastelands he was going to stand out.
The organization of those that would serve under Jonathan and those under Greybraid went swiftly at least. He was even kind enough not to poach too many of the veterans from under the dwarf. A full battalion would accompany the dwarven commander while another platoon would bring Jonathan up to company strength.
Now that he thought about it, with all the resources they've acquired he could order more golems from Branka. Even a few Storm Golems. That would have to be brought up later. 'A few dozen more golems behind me on a battlefield would be nice,' he thought with a grin. They would need to get more detailed information on the centaur to the north. Damon had a sense of forboding that he was not accustomed to. He'd better overlook the defenses once more.
It was midway through the morning and Damon was dealing with yet another mound of paperwork when the horns signaled an enemy attack. He belted his sword to his hip and sprinted from his tent as he heard the specific signal. 'Who could possibly be attacking from the sea? Damnit it all to hell,' Damon thought as he reached the path heading to the beach. He could see a swarm of murlocs and things that resembled snakes attacking both landings and could only go to assist one.
"You there," Damon called out to a passing warrior who snapped to attention, "I'm heading to assist the southern forces, gather some men and reinforce the western beach!"
"Yes Commander!" The man altered his direction and sprinted away.
Damon caught sight of Arianne, Cook, and several men gathering the women and children in the upper camp to the stone walls that surrounded the fires and gave them a nod as he continued on. Even if these attackers managed to cause damage to the lower levels they'd never get past the gatehouses defending the main camp and he was relieved that his sister spent most of her time near him. It was a small blessing but one less worry to distract him during the fighting to come.
It took him for longer to actually make it to his warriors than he would like, but his first action was to rally several of the men scattered by the fighting and surge onwards to the beach. The first three murlocs he faced, foul beasts that seemed to menace coasts the world over, fell to his blade swiftly as he attempted to take in the situation. Up and down the coast the creatures swarmed from the waves in the dozens as the defenders fought to establish a line.
Directing the men he gathered to spread out he ordered an advance towards the heaviest section of the fighting, where he could see the hulking form of the Storm Golem returning several blasts of lightning towards what could only be the snake spellcasters. Sending a murloc flying with a swing of his shield Damon found himself confronting one of the snakes himself. The creature was about man size and carried a trident and while it seemed competent in the use of such a weapon it found itself unable to defend from a hail of arrows striking it. Damon pushed any thoughts of mercy aside as he quickly strode forward and finished it off before another charged with a group of murlocs.
"Die, surface-dweller," the thing hissed as it stabbed forward.
Damon frowned as he blocked the strike with his shield, stepping forward in an attempt to get his sword in range. Unfortunately the murlocs seemed to be trained as they surged forward as one and went for Damon's legs. "Blasted things," Damon spat as he back up and bisected one. "Focus the snakes! The snakes are leading them!"
"Snakes?!" Several lightning fast strikes from the trident forced Damon back once more. "The Naga are not snakes!"
"Could've fooled me," Damon replied as he brought the edge of his shield down upon the neck of a murloc, causing it to collapse lifelessly. "I was needing a new coinpurse, I think you'll do."
Damon parried another stab from the beast and rushed forward, trusting his men to watch his back. With an impressive display of dexterity the 'Naga' spun the trident and deflected several attacks away from it before with a quick thrust it hooked the weapon under Damon's foot and pulled him to the ground. Biting back a curse Damon rolled to avoid getting speared through the throat, knocking several of the small murlocs to the ground before he sprang back to his feet.
"I will feed you to the sharks surfacer," Damon's opponent spit as it attempted to strike him.
Damon shielded against several more attempts to skewer him before he spun to the side to avoid the trident, bringing his sword up and taking the arms of his opponent at the elbows. "Shut up fish-bait," Damon said as he drove his sword through the naga before kicking it away and glancing around. His disregard cost him as the dying creature managed one last strike, serpentine tail lashing out and sending Damon sprawling once more.
Letting one of his men assist him to his feet Damon caught his breath back as even through plate he knew that last attack would leave a bruise. "Right," he told the man who helped him up, "kill them extra dead. I'm definitely going to feel that one later." Ignoring the soldier chuckling, Damon watched as his men finally managed a proper defensive line.
The few stone golems they had were spread out across the line with the Storm Golem holding the center of the beach, practically glowing from all the lightning magic it had absorbed, before it unleashed a veritable beam of lightning from its spear and fried a large group of naga that were charging it. The low whistles from the soldiers around him at the sight made Damon chuckle even as he cut a murloc down as it leapt at him. A solid kick crushed the chest of another before a strange horn sounded and the attackers practically disappeared back into the waves.
"Well shit," Damon sighed as he looked around at the soldiers pulling the surviving defenders from the battlefield and cautiously gathering their dead. The docks were mangled and would need replaced, but they had held their attackers off from getting to the refugees. "I'm going to check on the other landing, someone get me a status report as swiftly as possible. And why those things disappeared so quickly."
AN: Sorry this took so long considering the short length, but I was distracted for a solid week by that Dota 2 Auto Chess and then my grandmother experienced a rapid decline before she passed a few days ago. I definitely didn't do the reunion of Damon and his sister justice because of this, but considering that portion was written just beforehand and that crazy old lady was definitely the source of the fantasy genre love that spans the generations I managed to at least finish this chapter. Hope you all enjoy - Seer.