Chapter 3 – Payback Time
Rogar sat next to his corpse in the Spirit World for what seemed like an eternity. Another side effect of this dimension was that time lost all meaning. Five minutes could seem like five years. Five hours could seem like a lifetime. There really was no way for him to judge how long it had been since he sent Loderr off for help.
His body was still lying in the spot where he was killed. That was a good sign, he thought. Lien was still sitting next to her corpse. She hadn't looked at him or spoken to him since they sat down. Rogar wondered if she was mad at him for letting her die.
"No, it's not your fault." Her voice entered his mind. He forgot how the Spirit World worked. She could read his thoughts as if he had spoken them.
"Well for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I'm sure Loderr will be back soon with help."
"Yes, I'm sure he will." She didn't really sound sure of that, though.
Suddenly Rogar felt a pulling, as if he was being strung up by his shoulders. A flash of white light blinded him, and then slowly the world started to come back into focus. His whitewashed vision gradually filled with color. Rogar felt a surge of pain as his soul tore from the Spirit World back into his beaten and broken body. He looked up to see Rosefire standing in front of him.
"Hey there." Rosefire greeted him with a smile and gave him a big hug and a kiss.
"Hell, I'll die more often for that!" Rogar joked. He started to laugh but it turned into a coughing fit as pain shot through his head. He whispered a small prayer under his breath, but his mana was too drained from the resurrection. He dropped to the ground exhausted and in pain.
"No problem. Drink this." Kryme handed him some water and then said a prayer of his own. Rogar felt his body rejuvenate and all his wounds disappeared. The water was quickly restoring his mana as well.
Shiner walked up to the paladin and shot him a concerned look. "Did you get a look at where the Horde jumped you from? We don't see any sign of them, but we're assuming they're still hiding around here somewhere."
Rogar surveyed his surroundings. The group was standing in the middle of town, right in front of the inn where the battle had taken place. "We can't stay here! We have to clear out before they come back!" he cried.
"Relax," Shiner tried to calm the paladin down. "We've got numbers on our side this time. And we're ready for them. The Horde doesn't like those kinds of odds. If they are here they will either wait until our guard is down, or they will stay hidden like the dogs they are. They wouldn't dare attack us in this position."
Rogar looked around. Shiner wasn't kidding, they did have some numbers - Shiner, Rosefire, their priest, Kryme. Jaye was there too, but he looked a little green and sick. Loderr was there, and he had revived Ivan and was tending to his bear's wounds. Lien was also sitting on the ground next to Loderr, drinking and trying to restore her mana.
"Well, we better get buffed up and take a look through the town. If there's Horde here we'll find them." Shiner motioned towards the buildings.
"Or they'll find us…" Loderr grumbled under his breath.
They split up into two groups and went from building to building looking for any signs of the Horde. Rogar got a chill down his spine as he walked back through the inn and thought of the innkeeper that the Orcs had left as bait. As they finished their sweep of the town, they met back in the street in front of the inn. "This is crazy." Said Shiner, "Not a single sign of anyone or anything. There aren't even any corpses left from your fight."
"I know," replied Rogar, "this is exactly how it looked before we got ambushed. I'm telling you guys, we would be better off just getting the Hell out of here."
"Well, we need to at least wait for Shauna and the others." Shiner explained. "Rose sent them a message to meet us here. It wouldn't be good if they showed up and we were gone. It's starting to get dark, and we don't want to be out here in the open all night. I say we pick a building and hole up for the night."
"Good idea." replied Rogar. "We can stay in the inn. There's plenty of room for us all, and it's right across from the hippogryph landing area. That way we can keep an eye out for the others."
The party made their way into the inn and laid out their bedrolls for the night. They decided to all stay in the main common hall instead of taking separate rooms. Jaye and Rogar took the first watch of the night as the others got some sleep. Rogar stared at the stars dotting the night sky. Pale moonlight bathed the Elven town, and Rogar thought how beautiful it would look under better circumstances. But all he could think about was the ambush, and the death. He never even noticed the Orcs that were sneaking past Jaye, who had fallen asleep.
* * * * *
Shiner was having her nightmare again. She was home, in Gnomeregan, and her father was just getting back from his shift in the factory. Her mother was making his favorite dinner - roasted boar ribs and moonberry pie. It was a recipe her father had brought back on one of his trips to Ironforge to study at the Great Forge. Shiner couldn't wait until she was old enough to go with her father to Ironforge. She had heard so many wonderful stories about the magnificent Dwarven capitol and the Great Forge. Her father told her many times about the Great Forge.
Unlike most Gnomes who take naturally to engineering, her father had preferred the Dwarven art of blacksmithing. He was known as one of the best blacksmiths in all of Gnomeregan, and was one of the few non-Dwarfs lucky enough to be accepted to study under the artisan blacksmiths in Ironforge. His skills were often used to help make parts for the engineers that kept Gnomeregan up and running. Shiner was very proud of her father.
As he walked in the door of their tiny apartment he scooped his little girl into his arms and gave her a big hug. "How's my little princess today?"
"I'm not a princess, Daddy!" Shiner scolded. "I'm a great warrior! And I've been out in the forest slaying Trolls all day!"
"Oh you have, have you? Well, that sounds like quite a dangerous line of work! I'm glad we have someone as brave as you to watch out for us!"
"Now Shiner," her mother chided, "Let your father relax a minute and go wash up for supper. It's almost ready."
"Yes Mother…" Shiner ran off to do as she was told.
That's when it happened. A large explosion came from the street outside their apartment and they rushed to the door to see what was going on. Her father and mother were standing in the doorway and Shiner couldn't see past them. But she could feel the heat of a very large fire, and she could hear screams. Horrible screams.
"Get back in the apartment!" Her father yelled. "Get back NOW!" He slammed the door shut and threw the steel bar across it. "Hurry! Get in the back room, and don't come out no matter what!" He went to a chest that he kept beside their fireplace and unlocked it with a key from around his neck. He reached in and took out a large sword, almost as tall as the gnome himself. He also started putting on tiny pieces of plate mail armor.
"What on Azeroth do you think you're doing?" Shiner's mother exclaimed. "You're not going out there?"
"I've got to do my duty, woman! They're over-running the city."
"You haven't used that sword in years! You can barely swing it." She pleaded with her husband not to go.
Shiner's father picked up the sword and took a few practice swings. He parried an imaginary foe, and lunged at the air. "Like riding a mechanostrider, My Dear. I'll be fine." Shiner thought she saw a small smile on her father's face and a gleam in his eye as he turned toward the door, but it was quickly replaced by concern and seriousness. "After I go through this door you bar it closed and you open it for no one. You hear me? NO ONE!"
Her mother shook her head in understanding, and threw her arms around her husband. She cried into his shoulder.
"There, there. It'll be all right. You mind our mother now, you hear?" He said to Shiner as he reached for the door.
"Yes Daddy." Shiner replied. Her father opened the door and for a brief moment she got a glimpse of what was going on outside. Fire engulfed the streets, the whole town was burning. Gnomes were running everywhere in a panic, and being chased by Troggs. Others had grabbed weapons, like her father, and were fighting. Shiner had seen Troggs before when she walked the forests with her father, but never this many, and never in Gnomeregan. Her father walked out into the street with his blade drawn, and her mother slammed the door shut behind him.
The slam of the door in her dream woke Shiner up with a start. The tiny Gnome sat up quickly in her bedroll looking for a Trogg to attack, but there were none around. She licked her lips and tasted the salty sweat dripping from her forehead. Looking around, reality began to take hold again. Just as she started to calm down and go back to sleep she saw it. It was very faint, but Shiner knew what she saw. A shadow moved against the back wall of the inn. She bolted up and grabbed her daggers from the side of her bedroll. She slipped into the shadows and disappeared as rogues are so well trained at doing.
She crept over to where Rogar was keeping watch. The Paladin was standing with his sword drawn, but he obviously hadn't seen a thing. He was staring at the sky with a distant look on his face. "Hey. Rogar." Shiner whispered.
The paladin spun around taken by surprise and lifted his sword. Shiner slipped out of the shadows and revealed herself to Rogar. "It's just me." she whispered. "Have you seen anything?"
"Nothing. The night has been eerily quiet."
"What about Jaye?" Shiner asked.
"I haven't heard from him either…" Rogar turned to point to the warrior. "Oh Crap! The lazy bastard's asleep!"
Shiner ran over to Jaye and shook him.
"Uh huh. Yeah, that's good, a little more to the right... Yeah…"
"Wake up you stupid idiot!" Shiner smacked Jaye across the face.
"What!" Jaye shot up with a start and jumped to his feet. He fumbled for the sword hanging on his belt and dropped his shield on the floor with a loud crash.
"Great!" Rogar mumbled under his breath. "Just wake the whole forest why don't you!"
"Well, not the whole forest." Shiner replied. "But at least wake up the others. I have a feeling we're not alone in here." Before they could turn to wake the rest of the party, the room exploded with a burst of magic fire. Rogar and Jaye were thrown off their feet by the blast.
"WAKE UP! AMBUSH!" Shiner screamed as she drew her daggers and looked for something to kill.
With the exception of Shiner, the entire party was caught completely off guard. Shiner immediately began looking for the enemy that appeared to pose the biggest threat. She could see a number of warriors running into the building from the front entrance. That didn't concern her much. She wanted to find the mage that was responsible for the blast. Then she saw it. An Undead dressed in robes was standing at the top of the stairs in the back of the common room. A group of three Trolls, also in robes, stood at the bottom of the stairs surrounded by totems. This was definitely where Shiner was going to start. She called back to Rogar and Jaye, who were picking themselves up off the floor.
"You guys take those Shaman at the bottom of the stairs. I'm going for the Mage!"
Rogar nodded, and he and Jaye ran for the stairs with swords drawn. "I'll go for the Trolls. You start by breaking all those totems." Rogar yelled to Jaye. When they reached the stairs Rogar called out a prayer and stunned the first Troll, interrupting the spell he was casting. The other two Trolls turned to see what had happened, but it was too late. Rogar swung his blade from over his head and buried it deep in the skull of the second Troll. The Shaman slumped to the ground dead before he even knew what hit him. By this time Jaye had crushed all the totems protecting the group of Shaman, and he bashed the third Troll between the shoulder blades with his shield. The Troll dropped to his knees from the force of the blow, stunned.
Shiner saw her opportunity and slipped past the fight at the bottom of the stairs and snuck to the top where the Mage was already casting his next spell. Shiner had to act fast before he got that next spell off. She used her stealth to slip behind the Mage and plunged her daggers deep into his back. The blow stunned the Undead and interrupted the spell he was about to cast. Shiner drew her daggers back again and sank them into the Mage a second time, carving him up like a Winterfeast ham.
The rest of the adventurers weren't having such good luck with their attackers. Still groggy from sleep, it was all they could do to defend themselves from the fierce blows of the Orc's swords. Rosefire whispered a prayer and placed a holy shield around Lien, protecting her from any attack. "Get ready," she cried to Lien, "when that shield wears off you can cast a spell."
Lien nodded and closed her eyes, preparing herself for the sword blows that would inevitably try to interrupt her casting. She could feel the Paladin's shield fading, and she began reciting the words to her spell. One of the Orcs noticed that the Mage was vulnerable again, and he lunged at Lien with his sword. But before his blade could strike, Lien cried out the last word of her spell. As she had done in their first fight in the inn, a wave of cold blasted from her body, freezing all the attackers to the floor, stopping them in their tracks.
"Everyone, back off and regroup!" Rosefire called to the others. They headed for the stairs where Rogar and Jaye were still fighting with the Shaman. "Good Morning…" Rose quipped to Rogar.
"Nah, it's still dark out. Go back to sleep for another hour or so."
"No use, once I'm awake I can never fall back asleep again."
The Orcs were free from Lien's frost spell, and rushed the party at the bottom of the stairs. Loderr fired into the crowd of Orcs, dropping one dead in its tracks and stunning another. Ivan roared and charged into the group. He chose one unlucky Orc and sank his massive teeth into its throat. The Orc lunged at the bear with his sword, but it was no use. The animal's jaws clamped down on the orc's neck like a vice. Ivan shook his head back and forth with tremendous force, tearing the flesh and muscle that connected the orc's head to his torso. Blood sprayed in all directions as the bear cut through the vital arteries in the orc's neck. "How many times do I have to tell ya silly Bear. Don't play with yer food!" The Dwarf scolded his pet as he swung his axe at a charging Orc.
The inn filled with the sound of steel on steel and the cries of battle. The adventurers were doing their best to hold off the Horde attackers, despite being outnumbered almost three to one. "My mana's not going to hold out much longer!" Kryme called out to the group. "The paladins better start picking up the slack if you guys want heals!"
"I'm a little busy over here!" Rosefire said. She was parrying the blows of two orcs in front of her, while a third Orc was swinging wildly at her back. The paladin's plate mail armor was absorbing most of the damage, but the force from the blows were throwing off her attacks. "Can someone get this bastard off my back?"
"Sorry Rose, I'm out of mana too." Rogar answered. "I'm drained from trying to kill those damn Shaman."
"We're all out of mana." Lien cried.
Out of nowhere an enormous blast of fire engulfed the inn. The adventurers braced themselves, expecting to be set ablaze by the fire. But instead it was the Orcs who fell to the ground burning. The ones who didn't die instantly ran out of the inn screaming. Almost as quickly as it began, the fight was over. The adventurers stood around exhausted and looked at each other in disbelief.
"I thought you said you were out of mana?" Jaye looked at Lien.
"I am?" She shrugged.
"Did someone ask for fried Orc, extra crispy?"
"Shauna!" Rose squealed in glee. She dropped her sword and ran to the mage, throwing her arms around her.