"Everyone, get up!" Oliktalv's voice boomed throughout the cave. "We'll be training today before we leave!"

Dal'bin opened his eyes, feeling much more refreshed than before. He stood up, preparing to thank Colben before realizing that the veteran had gone, heading deeper into the cave. The scout followed him, hearing some sort of commotion towards the end of it. He walked past Balthar and Salin, both of whom were yawning and struggling not to fall asleep again. Dal'bin did not blame them, knowing that there were some that were accustom to a more comfortable rest rather than sleeping on the cave floor. It was very likely that he and Colben would be the only ones not ready to past out.

Arriving at the last chamber in the cave, Dal'bin found himself face to face with the three leaders of the Vanguard. Although Colben had stated they were all equals, in truth, he, along with Oliktalv and Kelvin, had stepped up as leaders. The scout did not mind this at all, knowing that there needed to be some sort of leadership with the organization. Serving under Oliktalv, he was aware that the orc was a skilled commander. Meanwhile, Kelvin had decades of tactical experience under his belt, which the gnome tactician had put into use before. Finally, although not as great of a leader as the others, it was Colben who united the group, earning him his spot.

Kelvin had just gotten up and looked nearly as exhausted as the others. His eyes were barely open and his jacket, adorn with various war medals, was slung over his shoulder. His white shirt was halfway tucked into his trousers in a rush and his belt, holding his blades and his flintlock pistol, was somewhat loosen. He was currently smoothing over part of his hair to cover up his bald spot while listening and talking. Overall, the gnome tactician's untidiness was very out of character from what Dal'bin saw of him, but figured that he was more use to more luxurious accommodations given his rank.

Oliktalv was not as tired, most likely being the first to wake up, but the scowl on his face showed that he was grumpy from lack of sleep. Naturally, he stood taller over the other two commanders, who were either too small or hunched over respectively. He had a lean build, having some muscles but preferring speed to be able to push the attack in a battle. He wore leather armor that allowed for better movement and kept his swords sheathed at his hips. The orc warrior was not as skilled in battle as Naur, Colben or Gotur were, but he made up for it with his determination. Knock him down and he would get back up, ready to keep up the fight.

Walking towards the group, Dal'bin briefly turned his head to notice that Finnal was on the ground, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them in peaceful sleep. Her silver hair was sprawled on the cold, stone floor and her eyes were closed, apparently not waking up from Oliktalv's shout. The night elf had served as a scout for the Alliance and the troll saw her as a counterpart. They had their differences, such as him making use of technology and wearing decent leather armor while she stuck with magic and wore simple natural robes, but they made for a good enough team.

"-been there myself, and I can say that Zangarmarsh is our best bet," Dal'bin walked in on Colben speaking. "It's a bit out of the way for us, but we need to get the Alliance and Horde off our asses. We can lose them there easily enough."

"Yet again, I must remind you that, while we are being pursued, we are smaller in numbers and are able to simply outmaneuver our pursuers," Kelvin pointed out. "This detour is completely unnecessary and I must insist that we continue on with our chosen direction."

"I already sent Belara west and I'd rather meet up with her than have her catch up to us," Oliktalv told them. "We may as well go to Zangarmarsh while we're near it instead of backtrack and risk being tracked down easier."

"If we be votin', I be sidin' with Oliktalv," Dali'bin interrupted, the three commanders turning towards him. "I be ready for trainin'."

"Is this matter really one we must vote on?" Kelvin sighed.

"Now, we all agreed that since we are all equals, we each get to vote on important matters," Colben reminded him. "It's majority rule, so we need one person to vote with us and it's settle. Finnal, get up and put an end to this."

"Hold on, she's still sleeping?" Oliktalv asked, turning his head towards her. "That alarm should have been enough to wake her up."

"What you failed to take into consideration is that Finnal is a druid," Kelvin started to explain. "As a druid, she is able to fall asleep for an indefinite amount of time, only waking up to a certain condition. Try as you may, your shouting does not meet the required condition."

"And what is Finnal's condition?" Oliktalv asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Her commanding officer must call out her name," Kelvin answered quickly. "That was Gregory, but naturally, with his death, I assume that I am now Finnal's commanding officer."

"You're wrong there, sir," Colben stated bluntly, holding back a snicker.

"And what makes you think that?" Kelvin asked, crossing his arms. "I assure you that I am correct with my assumptions."

"You said her name already," Colben burst out into laughter. "Twice! Ah, this is so great! We have a druid who won't wake up until she hears the voice of a dead man! We're down to four now, Dal'bin!"

"Quit your laughing," Oliktalv threatened before Dal'bin could speak. "This is a serious matter. Kelvin, what happens if a druid cannot wake up?"

"I am not that familiar with their ways," Kelvin sighed. "I suppose that Finnal forgot about Gregory's death and didn't change the way to wake her up. We should leave her. This cave's safe enough until the Alliance finds her, at which point she should be taken to someone who can help her. This way, we can at least help her."

"And what if the Horde finds her first?" Oliktalv asked Kelvin, grunting. "They'd have her head off before trying to wake her. I'm not leaving her behind to that fate."

"At this point, she's going to slow us down," Kelvin argued. "Shall we take a vote on it?"

"We're not voting," Oliktalv told him, stepping forward. "We cannot vote to leave behind one of our own if she cannot defend herself."

"Well, it's a coin flip between her being killed or being woken up," Colben analyzed his options. "Let's leave her. Not our problem anymore."

"Finnal," Dal'bin called out.

Without warning, Finnal's eyes snapped open as she finally woke up. She let out a yawn but did not appear to be as exhausted as everyone else. Dal'bin assumed it had something to do with her druidic powers allowing her to sleep peacefully. The troll had thought of this plan for a while, but with the three de facto leaders arguing, it was hard to get a word in. Even when he could speak, the scout was uncertain that his plan would work. Still, it was worth a try, and in the end, it paid off.

Finnal stood up, stretching her arms up. When she looked back at the group, she could note that the leaders of the Vanguard looked on in shock. Oliktalv's jaw was slightly agape and Kelvin was rubbing his eyes in disbelief. Dal'bin showed no emotion after waking up his counterpart, having expected the results. Likewise, the night elf had shown no signs of fear of not waking up. It was clear that she was expecting for him to wake up, although he was curious about the circumstances.

"Morning," Finnal smiled. "We're heading off to Zangarmarsh today, right?"

"Uh, we were actually voting on that when you woke up," Colben told her, being the first of the trio to have regained his composure. "Your options are the Black Temple or Zangarmarsh."

"Well, I vote we do go to Zangarmarsh," Finnal declared, focusing on looking at the trio. "Is something wrong? Was I too late?"

"No, of course not," Oliktalv confirmed, shaking his head as he started to recover from his shock. "Four votes is majority, so we'll be heading out there after a quick training session. Could you tell Salin and Balthar to head outside? We'll be out in a moment."

"Sure thing!" Finnal nodded, running off.

Once Finnal was out of sight, Dal'bin could feel three sets of eyes immediately drawn to him. Oliktalv looked confused at his scout while Colben and Kelvin were focusing on the troll, analyzing him. Maybe they thought that he had some sort of power revolved around waking someone up. Although the troll was sure that was not the case, he did not blame them for their gazes. For the most part, he was noted to be a silent member of the Vanguard, only speaking when absolutely necessary. He could have stayed quiet and let them bicker about the night elf's fate, but decided to intervene if only to get her say.

"So, looks like someone's been hiding something about himself," Colben finally broke the silence.

"I hid nothin', mon" Dal'bin told them. "Ya made me her captain, remember?"

"Wait, what's this about captains?" Oliktalv asked, still confused by the situation. "Did I miss something."

"You did but don't worry about it," Colben waved the orc off. "What do you think, sir?"

"In theory, it does work," Kelvin started his explanation. "Let's say that she kept the command to wake her up the same, needing the commanding officer. It could be possible that it isn't who her commanding officer in terms of rank, but who she sees as her commander. When they teamed up for our attack on Hellfire Citadel, we made it so that Dal'bin was the captain. We never revoked that, so Finnal could still think that he's her commanding officer."

"We didn't need that long of an explanation," Colben sighed dryly. "Point is, she picked one of the worst people to take orders from. No offense, Dal'bin."

"None taken," Dal'bin shrugged indifferently. "I be no leader. I'm only good at followin' orders."

"Noted," Kelvin stroke his chin, deep in thought. "Although, if my theory is correct, it means that Finnal doesn't see the three of us as leaders."

"That isn't the case," Oliktalv finally spoke. "She follows our orders well enough. She sees us as leaders. She must have changed the command to wake her up. I do question her decision to make it you of all people in charge of such a task, Dal'bin. Especially without telling you."

"Why don't ya just ask her?" Dal'bin offered his suggestion. "I don't care about dat much, but if ya da, ya shouldn't be afraid ta ask."

"Eh, it's not our concern," Colben shook his head. "Dal'bin, you have a new job: waking Finnal up after every rest."

"I don't take my orders from ya," Dal'bin pointed out.

"Do you still take them from me?" Oliktalv asked, curious.

"Ya, mon," Dal'bin confirmed.

"Then you will wake her up after every rest," Oliktalv ordered, voice stern. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Ya, mon," Dal'bin nodded in agreement.

Even though the Vanguard was about equal membership, Dal'bin still saw Oliktalv, Belara, and Salin as higher ranking than him. Their ranks mean nothing now that they were no longer in the Horde but the troll thought that following their command was a show of respect. It was similar to how Colben referred to Kelvin as sir even though there were no titles in the Vanguard. The two had served together and the veteran saw the gnome as his higher up even in undeath. It was respect and duty that determine who soldiers are loyal to.

Although, with that line of thinking, Dal'bin was unsure what that said regarding Finnal's thoughts on the Vanguard. It was clear that the trio consisting of Colben, Oliktalv, and Kelvin were the ones who contributed the most to the decision making. Yet, the night elf saw him of all people as the one directly in charge. The troll decided that the matter was not important to bring up to her. He was unlikely to change the night elf's mind and should worry over other matters.

"For training, I think I'll spar with Finnal," Oliktalv brought up. "I want to see how well I can fare against a druid."

"Sir, how about one round for old time's sake?" Colben offered, grinning. "That is if you think you can still keep up with me."

"I think that you will find that I am more than a challenge for you, Sampson," Kelvin shot back, smirking.

"What about me?" Dal'bin asked. "Who da I get ta fight?"

"Well, there's only Balthar and Salin left," Oliktalv told him. "Salin's been talking about a rematch with you, so I expect it to be him."

"Great," Dal'bin rolled his eyes in disappointment.

A/N: With this being a sequel, I was unsure how to handle returning characters. In the end, I decided it would be best to remind the readers on how they look like, as well as the various relationships between each character. Old readers are caught up, and new readers starting with this get an idea on the characters.

Until next time.