Battle for Gilneas, Entry 3

Have a little more time to write, I'm in Stormglen right now. In the old inn I think. Not important.

Lots of things.

Where to start?

After saving those kids I guess…

It was after I had sent all three of the Hammond children that I turned my attention to the battle field.

The Forsaken had swarmed the hills and blocked any escape from the sea, their catapults hurtling fiery projectiles in all directions taking out friend and foe alike.

I had… *clears throat* requisitioned several of the Forsaken catapults in order to take out the three captains of Sylvanas' navy, after I had finished with that I was to… and I'm not exaggerating on this: Call forth a pack of fucking attack mastiffs to rip Sylvanas' Dark Ranger a new one. Ho-ly fuck.

Yeah… Those images are forever seared into my brain.

But… Gods that didn't compare to what happened next.

I don't think I would have ever amounted to much as a druid if the Worgen hadn't come a long, before I could hear… It's hard to describe… Incoherent whispers. Feelings at the most. A nudge this way, a pull that way. That's all I could get from the Spirits. Now? As a Worgen and a druid, I now have a hardline connection to Azeroth, I can hear them perfectly. It's… Rather comforting actually.

That being said I could feel the impending tremor rocketing towards Gilneas and it felt like… Like I was being stabbed. Over and over again and I could feel the Spirits cry out in pain as the world was torn asunder.

Deathwing was on the loose.

Liam had told me that I was out for several minutes, he had said that I just collapsed, shrieking in pain… Babbling something about the Old Gods, the Maelstorm and The Shattering, before slipping into unconsciousness.

When I came too I was still in the Hammond's basement with Godfrey eyeballing me. I gave him a half-hearted glare before stumbling up the stairs to meet up with Liam.

I swore violently.

The whole west bank of Gilneas was flooded to hell with barley a foot of land left before the Hammond's house tumbles into the sea.

Liam stood there, eyes wide and disbelieving. "The ocean, Riendeau. It swallowed up everything… the land… the Forsaken… our men!" He turned to me and, I guess, he didn't like what he saw. "No time to waste. A good half of the town watch was in the area that collapsed. Stay here while I save as many as I can. Just make sure to get them out of the water and onto shore and get them any aid they need."

I nodded before collapsing onto the ground and tearing into my pack, looking for anything that could help the half-drowned watchmen. I waited. And waited. And waited. My anxiety tripling with every passing minute and I couldn't help but pace. Not thirty seconds later Liam burst from the water, clutching a passed out watchman on his shoulder. He repeated this process several more times, each time having to swim further and further from shore. It was after the seventh watchman that Liam had pulled from the water that Godfrey told him to stop.

"No! No! There are still more I can save! Let me—"

I grasped his shoulders gently, "Liam. Liam please." There was a wild look in his eyes when he faced me, they screamed of desperation and hurt and I'd be lying if it didn't break my heart. "They're gone Liam. The last three you pulled from the water are gone. Stop. Please."

He did. He stopped and I had to watch some of the light fade from his eyes. I don't know how I didn't see it before, he's young, my age. Perhaps a few years older. And look at us, we were fighting for survival not a month before, now? Now were fighting a war.

It wasn't fair.

So we stood in silence, just the two of us and we waited.

"We've escaped through dumb luck, Riendeau." Liam began. "But luck is running out. The coast is becoming flooded even as we speak. And from the look of it, the landmass beneath us hasn't quite settled yet. I hate to say this, but we have to leave." I could feel the fury boiling under the surface. "Curses, Riandeau... I cannot lose my homeland twice in one lifetime. Yet these earthquakes are not an enemy we can defeat. Tell Gwen Armstead to start the evacuation."

"It will be done my Prince." I said, bowing my head, I left I gave him one last gentle pat on the shoulder before shifting into my cat form and bounding back towards Duskhaven. I could only hope that we had enough time.

I reached Gwen in no time, my heart pounding and my breath short. I quickly explained to her Liam's order.

"Liam is right." She had said. "We must get everyone to higher ground. You must help me spread the word while I manage the logistics of the evacuation."

I nodded. "Who do I need to find?"

"I need you to send word to Grandma Wahl. It's not going to be easy to get her to come with us. You must do whatever you can to convince her, though. You'll find her at the Wahl Cottage. Please, Riendeau, do not lose your patience with her. Her mind is old and she's not entirely lucid. You'll also need to find the Hayward Brothers at the Hayward Fishery, it can be found far to the south. They don't make it to town very often, except to trade their fish. Send word to them that the evacuation is underway. Lastly I need you to speak to Lorna Crowley at the Crowley Orchard. Do you…? Of course you remember Lord Darius Crowley's daughter, Lorna. She never quite recovered after losing her father in Gilneas City. She's basically led the life of a hermit. The only visitor she's allowed into her house has been Krennan... and he won't say a word about the whole thing. Send word to her about the evacuation. Got it? Good, now go! We don't have much time!"

With a sharp nod and a quick turn, I shifted into my cat form and bounded off into the rainy night.

I made good time I think. Lorna was a hair's breath away from shooting me before I told her who I was. She was conflicted, I could tell. On one hand, someone she knew, albeit not very well, had survived the attack on the Light's Dawn Cathedral. On the other, I'm not her father.

I told her of the evacuation. Told her to grab anything she absolutely needed and go to Duskhaven. While she did that I gathered up and many of the orchard's horses as I could. Lorna then sent me back to Gwen, telling her that Lorna would be there shortly with her horses. Then I was off again.

Grandma Wahl took a bit longer and if the situation weren't so dire I would have laughed. However, the situation was dire and I may have been a little snippy with her, it didn't help the fact that I could feel the beginnings of the next tremor. This one would destroy Duskhaven and the rest of the lower lands, I just knew it. I grabbed her book, spare set of clothes and packed them for her quickly. The cat was inside the house with Grandma Wahl, (thankfully, I really didn't want to go cat hunting and then have to rescue it from one of the Forsaken) and I put him in a carrier case. She left soon after.

I pushed myself hard to reach the Hayward brothers fishery and that's where I hit another snag. There were dozens, I repeat, dozens of Forsaken troops trying to kill the Haywards. I don't know what… what possessed me to do this. Perhaps it was the stress of the whole situation, perhaps I was just simply done with the Forsaken threatening my people. I pulled hard on my magic, willing the very earth to work with me. Thick, thorny roots burst forth and I entangled all of the Forsaken troops there and then I dragged them down, down under the earth and I could feel my roots kill them. All of them. And I felt… Nothing.

I felt them die. I killed them. Is it this easy to disregard my morals? I mean… It didn't feel good; I certainly wasn't jumping for joy or was pleased with myself; but at the same time I wasn't too upset about it either, I didn't linger on the fact that I killed upwards of thirty people. I just felt… Nothing… Perhaps that's what makes it so much worse.

Just like the game the Hayward's left by sea, they gave me a hearty pat on the back and wished me luck here and then they were gone.

I didn't linger either, I still had to report back to Gwen about Grandma Wahl and the Hayward brothers.

I returned as if I was on autopilot and I was dimly aware of Gwen telling me to hop aboard and head to Greymane manor and to speak with the Queen. Thankfully I wasn't the one to drive one of the coaches, one of the Watchmen (I think his name is Fred) had that honor. The ride didn't last for long, ten minutes max, before we reached Greymane's manor. I only snapped out of my musings when we were told to get off.

My group entered the manor quickly, most of the Watchmen staying outside while the citizens frantically searched the home for their loved ones. There were supplies and cots taking up every available space but the Queen was unfazed by it all, ever cool and calm and I found myself relaxing because of this.

I bowed low in greeting and introduced myself.

She seemed to observe me before grasping my hands? Paws? Gently, "Riendeau. I've heard much about you. I understand you were crucial in my family's survival during the outbreak in Gilneas City." I didn't miss how the few guards indoors stiffened.

"I—You honor me, Your Majesty, truly."

She smiled slightly and motioned to the stairs behind her, "You ought to speak to Genn. He's been locked up in his observatory ever since this ordeal started. I'm sure he's working on a plan for his people. He's a very stubborn individual."

"O-of course." I bowed once again before making my upstairs and outside, the observatory tower looming before me. A thick fog had rolled in some time ago it seemed, it covered the sea and land in a thick white-grey blanket, muting everything it touched.

Finally, I had reached the observation deck (one of the only places that seemed to be spared of fog) and found Greymane right where Her Majesty said he'd be. I gave a small cough to grab his attention before bowing politely, "You wished to speak with me, Your Majesty?"

Greymane turned and smiled to me, "There you are, Riendeau. I've been expecting you. I got word of your recovery and... wait - do you feel that?"

I had completely forgotten about the impending tremor. Thankfully (if I could be thankful about feeling like someone was stabbing me with a poisoned blade) I had remained conscious. I had dropped to my knees with a cry of pain. "Yeup, I felt that," I groaned as Greymane looked me over. "This isn't fun anymore."

Genn chuckled in agreement and helped me up. I think he was going to ask me if I was going to be alright, when a sharp intake of breath caught my attention. Greymane's face was pained, his voice tight with grief. "Duskhaven… It is gone!"

I looked out, Genn was right, Duskhaven was gone. And so were much of the low lands as well. We were running of time, running out of room.

Genn seemed to be thinking the same thing, it only got worse when we spotted another Forsaken fleet and a Horde airship. "We have no choice, Riendeau. We must move further inland. I don't like it one bit, but we're vulnerable here. Return to the stables below the manor. Let's get everybody on carriages and send them eastbound. I pray it's not too late."

We moved again, further inland this time, towards the abandoned town of Stormglen, where I am now.

We passed through the King's Gate and over one of the many stone arches that litter Gilneas. On the final stretch to Stormglen that was when we got attacked. Not by the Forsaken, no it was the local ogre tribe. Liam's carriage had been turned over, my carriage had slowed down slightly, allowing for me to jump off without serious injury.

"Thank you for stopping, Riendeau. Our carriage got hit pretty bad. The one in front of us got it worse. The ogres got two of our stagecoaches. This one and the one that fell into the marsh just north of here. I want you to head there and rescue any survivors while we hatch up a plan to deal with these ogres."

I nodded quickly before heading off. Time was of the essence with a crash like this.

I heard the survivors before I saw them, they were huddled together in a group of about six or seven, fighting off crocodiles with anything they could use. I charged, blasting the beasts with a mixture of Moonfire and Wrath, hoping to scare them off rather than kill them.

Some had scurried away; others were not so fortunate.

The survivors, however, were bloodied and bruised. I healed the worst of the injuries and wrapped the rest before escorting my charges out of the marsh. The road to Stormglen was still clear so Liam sent them on their way before turning to me.

He grinned at me. It wasn't a nice grin either… It was impish with a side order of a promised ass whooping. "The Forsaken are right on our heels and now these ogres are trying to flank us, Riendeau. They're servants of the ettin Koroth - the meanest, most destructive force in all of Gilneas. If we can bait Koroth into charging the Forsaken's forward force, we should be able to cover our retreat and buy some time. The only way this can work is if we make Koroth furious. It won't be enough to just kill his minions. We need to swipe his most prized possession, a tiger-skinned banner." Oh boy.

Liam wasn't kidding though when he said that the Forsaken were right on our heel. It was the only plan we had, unfortunately.

I was displeased with this idea. Sure the ogres had attacked us but that… *sigh* Long story short I guess is that I killed a fair number of the ettin's minions before swiping his nasty-ass banner. The Forsaken came ready to wreck our shit and instead the ettin wrecked them. Lesson of the day: Liam's a sweet guy, but when he fights, he fights dirty.

And here we are now… It's late, I'm very tired but I really wanted to get all of that down. Until next time.