I apologize for the delay in the completion of this chapter. School sucks and a history teacher is a dick.

Note: A number in parenthesis is connected to an explanation at the end of the fanfic. This is to explain some inside jokes, or sources of jokes that may or may not come up in the story. Also, I've decided to add a level indicator for each person in the Travel Log. This is not the WoW level system, it's the

Warcraft III level system. This does not, however, limit the amount of spells and abilities a character can possess, nor the strength of the spell, nor the level of a character.

Travel Log

Atrum – Hero Level 7

Status: Pissed.

Inventory: Warblade, Burnsabre, Werewolf Helm, 760 gold, Satronar studies, "A Brief Glance into the Burning Legion" by Malfurion Stormrage

Spells: None identified.

Abilities: Full Moon Metamorphosis, 'Boomerang' Throw.

Torva – Hero Level 3

Status: Fukin' fairies…

Inventory: Dual Throwing Axes, stolen beer mugs.

Spells: Level 4 Conversation Killer

Abilities: Beer-induced articulate speech, Troll Regeneration.

Rowan – Er.. 'Hero' Level 1

Status: Confused.

Inventory: Toolkits, Gadgets, spring-based clip, gun powder, tubing, other unfinished parts, Various engineering books, 160 gold.

Spells: Um, yeah, I'm still defective… but not in that way.

Abilities: Inventing, Tinkering, Comforting, and Fleeing.

Gahren – Hero Level 5

Status: Brooding.

Inventory: Warhammer, Studded Fur Armor, Chieftain's Helm, 520 Gold

Spells: None Identified.

Abilities: None Identified.

Rose- Hero Level 2

Status: Also Confused.

Inventory: Bow, Quiver of Arrows.

Spells: None Identified.

Abilities: Shadowmeld.

Group

Group Morale: Semi-high.

Machines/Vehicles: 3 Large Wagons

Troops: 14 Gnolls

Supplies: 6 Bushels of food, Gnoll weaponry, various stolen bar-related items.

Enjoy.

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Rose knocked on the door to the village head's dwelling. A young red haired woman, possibly just over eighteen years of age, shrieked slightly after discovering the mismatched group upon her doorstep. "R-Rose? Wh-who are these p-people?" Her eyes traveled from Atrum to Torva, slowed upon Rowan, and finally fixated themselves on the towering figure that was Gahren Silvertooth. Had she not have done her business just a moment ago, the poor girl would have wet herself.

"Um, Melanie… this is my friend, Atrum." She motioned toward him "He needs to talk to Mr. Sigmus. It's urgent, so may we please enter?"

'Atrum ... Why does that sound familiar?' Melanie shrugged it off and complied with their request. "S-sure, follow me.." She led them to the rather spacious living room and asked them to wait patiently while she fetched her father.

Torva decided to strike up a conversation… "Woooooh! Di'joo see da curves on dat babe?!" He kneeled, brought two hands together and threw them up in joy. "Deeyah ancestoz, I wud like to thank joo foh this bountiful hahvest! I'mma totalleh respec' joo n' stuff."(1) He followed up with that by bringing his palms down to the floor in respect to nothing in particular. Melanie was blushing furiously when she walked back in to find a forest troll kissing the ends of her shoes.

"Ah! Get him off me!" She shrieked. Rose and Atrum rushed to her rescue, pulling Torva away as best as they could, considering he was almost twice as tall as both of them. The troll struggled a little, but decided it wasn't worth the effort and letting himself hang lazily instead. Doing so resulted in Atrum dropping him to the floor without a second thought.

"I'm beginning to regret letting you tag along…"

"Everywon doz evenchoo'lee, mon." Rose and Rowan both frowned upon hearing him. "Wha? Wha's wrong, mon? Oh… yah, yah, da beeyah iz wearin' off, izn' it?" Slowly, they nodded at him. The troll scratched his head, sighed, and went to take a seat in the corner of the room, mumbling something along the lines of "Ah nee' moh a'cohol…"

"Ah, uh, um… Mr. Sigmus will see you now…" Mildly frightened and still uncertain of her decision in letting the group in, Melanie regretfully stepped aside to let the group through. Staying polite was rather difficult when a there was a giant Gnoll nearby that looked like he was about ready to kill you.

The group walked through the doorway and down the short corridor to a rather large bedroom. An aging man was lying in his bed. He sat up when he noticed the group enter his room. "Oh, what a rather large group! Melanie, why didn't you tell me we had so many guests? I would have tidied myself up a bit more if I knew…" He shuffled about in his bed, attempting to fix up his appearance. Afterwards, he turned back to his guests with slight embarrassment "Ah, my apologies, where are my manners? My name is Garth Sigmus, nice to meet you all. Now… I was told a Mr. Atrum wished to speak with me?"

"That would be me, sir." Atrum, already at the head of the group, stepped forward for once and gave him a small bow.

"Bowing, eh? I haven't met someone who did that in years… Where are you from, lad? And what business do you have with me?"

"I'm from a part of former Hammerfall, sir, but that's not important right now… I have reason to believe that the Forsaken will be attacking this village soon." He paused to let the message sink in. "…I'm willing to help your village as best as I can. My force of 18, including myself, will gladly fight to protect your people."

"Indeed," Gahren made his way forward "the Silvertooth tribe has yet to prove its honor to Azeroth. If this is what is asked of us, so be it. We shall stay by your and Lord Atrum's side until the end, just as we have sworn." Rose smirked at the large and powerful Gnoll. 'It'd be nice if some of those druids back home would grow some balls and act like him for once,' she thought.

"Thank you for your courage, bold warriors. But even with your aid, Rah Tcelel would be overrun. We don't have nearly enough troops to withstand a battle with the undead… A hero figure would nice to have around…" He paused, looking around the room once more. "Hmm… My dear boy, what did you say your name was? Full name, please."

How curious… Atrum quirked a brow up at the man's question. "Atrum Lupus Everto, sir. Why do you ask?"

For a moment, the old one's eyes lit up. He jumped out of bed, much to everyone's surprise. "Everto? You don't say… and what exactly do you do for a living, Mr. Everto?"

"Erm… Demon hunter, sir. I hunt demons... for a price, of course." The hunter was starting to get anxious. Rah Tcelel was about to be attacked and this man still managed the time to interrogate him!

"I see. Come closer, lad…" Atrum did as told, and Sigmus motioned him to come closer until he was within half a foot of the man. "Lad… rumor has it that you're a werewolf. Is this true?"

This took Atrum by surprise. He stumbled over his words as he struggled to come up with an explanation "Wha—I—well—It's like this, you see—I mean—the thing is—it's more like—I…Yeah, that's about right." But to no avail. The old man wasn't going to budge.

"I see…then I suspect you took note of the fact that moonlight is blocked by the cliff walls, correct?"

"Ye..yes, that's right. It's only a minor setback, I assure you—"

"—Wrong!" Sigmus flared with new vigor. "Lad, you're a werewolf! The only thing that could possibly save us now! When the Forsaken attack, they'll be swarming down the only paths in and out of this canyon." He flailed his arms around like a madman. "You'll never get a chance to change forms under those conditions, there simply won't be enough room!" Sigmus huffed, quickly slinking back into bed, exhausted from the rant.

Atrum was slow to answer, still stunned by the man's actions. "…I know that, sir."

Sigmus frowned. "That's not enough, lad. A plan is what you need."

The others remained silent. Gahren had been paying attention to the entire conversation. The man was right, the situation posed a problem. If the city's forces went above the cliffs, they'd be out in the open and easy prey. But if they remained in the canyon, they'd be trapped. Hiding wasn't an option either. They'd be found out eventually, what with all the rumors of an underground town in circulation. Their best bet would be to set up a trap for at least one of the paths out of the canyon. "That would weaken their forces and give Lord Atrum the chance to become a Howler…" But would it be enough? Gahren could only speculate. At the very least, he would announce his idea. "Lord Atrum, I have a suggestion. I believe we should set up a trap on at least one of the paths up the canyon. This could weaken one column of enemy forces and open up a path for you, my lord."

"Hm… That's a good idea, Gahren. Problem is, what trap would we set up? And where are we going to find the materials?" Gahren shrugged, leaving Atrum to turn to the old man for ideas. "You wouldn't happen to have anything in stock, would you Mr. Sigmus?"

"I'm afraid not, lad. At least, nothing practical."

Atrum remaind silent, pondering over possible traps. It came a surprise to him when it Torva spoke up next. "'Ey, mon, I got's an idea. Rememba dat ole shed up top? Ja, I think we cou' take da wood offa dat, and all da otha ole buildin's, an poh sum alcohol on em, tho I'd hate ta waste it all... Eneewayz, so we poh da alchohol on 'em, then we scatta em along da roads, mebbe put sum otha burnables 'round those too. Then, when da dead guys get heeyah, we light 'em up wit' a big boom. So wa'joo think?" He looked about expectantly.

Rowan's eyes nearly rolled out their sockets. "You mean you're not an idiot?!"

"Course n—'Ey! Wha'da'ell joo mean, 'no'an idio''?" Thus, Blood Elf and Forest Troll clashed in another verbal battle, with Torva losing out of sheer lack of vocabulary. Rose and Gahren, did their best to ignore them. Melanie, who'd been required to stay and care for Mr. Sigmus, had never felt more insecure her entire life.

"Actually," began Atrum "that's a pretty good idea. We could light up all the dried up wood down there, even without the added alcohol, although it'd be a nice addition and would certainly speed up the process… but it still wouldn't be fast enough to light up all the wood…"

Luckily, Rose had a solution. "Well, we could always use some flame-tipped arrows. Here," she reached into her quiver and pulled out an arrow. The arrow heads were all covered in black soot. "They're small, but fast. A few of these will get the job done, provided that they hit the right spot."

"Yes, good idea, Rose! I can spare a few archers for that as well." Sigmus clapped his hands together and motioned for Melanie to come closer as he discussed his plans with her.

"Yeah… this might work." The demon hunter failed to hold back a grin "This might actually work."

"Good to hear!" Sigmus shooed off Melanie, and then turned back to the hunter "Mr. Everto, I'd like you to get to work on this immediately. I've asked Melanie to put the town on alert. She's also going to notify them that you, Mr. Everto, will be in command for the time being. So get going, Lad. It doesn't look like we'll have enough time to fully prepare for an attack."

Atrum stared at Sigmus for a while. "Don't worry, old man. I'll take care of everything." He smiled in return. "Just get some rest… you look like you need it."

"But of course, but of course. Good luck, Mr. Everto. Now hurry up! My town will be in ruin at this rate!"

Atrum pulled Rowan and Torva apart for a moment, and gave them their orders before heading out himself, with Gahren close behind. Rose, however, stayed behind and watched them go with worry. "Mr. Sigmus…"

"Hm, what's that, Rose?"

"Sir, that plan… even with the addition of the trap, it still depends entirely on Atrum."

"Hmm… I suppose it does."

Rose stared intently at the floor, expecting more to his answer, but nothing came. She peaked at Sigmus, only to find him playing with a tuff of his own hair.

"Sir! This doesn't seem fair to Atrum! What we're asking of him could kill him! Aren't you the least bit concerned?"

"Oh? Attached to the boy already, Rose?" Rose was taken aback by his cold reply. "Atrum is just as likely to die as you or me or anyone else in this town. Since he's staying here, he's just as responsible for defending the town. I may even go so far as to say that he's the sole reason for why the undead are attacking. So it seems entirely fair to me to have him lead the defense against the enemy."

"But—"

"No but's. We've already decided… I'm sorry, Rose, but the survival of the town is more important than the life of one man. A cursed man, no less."

Unable to argue further, the night elf nodded her head in defeat, keeping her eyes off the old man. She went without another word, leaving Sigmus to ponder on his actions.

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The gnolls worked with residents of the underground community to set up the trap, spreading alcohol about old dried pieces of wood, gathering up as much flammable material as possible. A small number of archers were spread and hidden atop the canyon's cliffs, armed with flame-tipped arrows.

While the preparations were made, Atrum examined a group of large boulders encrusted near one of the entryways of the canyon. He summoned Gahren to his side, an idea coming together in his head.

"Hey, Gahren, do we have any explosives handy?"

"Perhaps. Why?"

"Look here," he pointed his thumb at the stones in the ground "a few bombs could turn these babies into rolling death." Gahren examined the placement of the boulders more closely, and nodded upon agreement.

"It truly is a convenient set up. I'll begin work on it right away, my Lord."

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Rose caressed the young owl at her side. Pieor cooed at the touch of her hands, and snuggled closer. "…I hate fights…Don't you, too?"

"You don't know the half of it." Rose was surprised to find Atrum leaning against her doorway. Everything but his wolf helm was on him. He held the former under his right arm. Taking two steps forward, he plastered a tired smile on his face and looked into her eyes. "Scared?"

"A little… I've lived here for a few years. It's not much time for a Night Elf, but once you get comfortable, it's hard to let go of any place you've been to. Hey, shouldn't you be helping with the traps?"

He shook his head. "No, we're almost done with those. All that's left is to organize the troops and get into position, and Gahren is taking care of that." He paused and looked over the girl before him. She was easily orders of magnitude beyond his years, yet she still possessed all that he would eventually come to lose. It would be a shame if all that ended here. "Hey Rose… If you want, you can sit this one out." He heard nothing but the cooing of the bird in response. There was no reason to prod any further, Atrum could already tell she didn't like where things were going.

With another exhausted sigh, he turned and made his way back out the door, but stopped once and turned back for one final glance. "Don't worry. I'll see you soon. Promise."

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Drums of bone thundered, howls and cries of anguish screamed across bile infested fields. The Foresaken marshaled their forces; Lady Windrunner herself had chosen to lead. The dark queen eyed the forest with curiosity. Raiding the town was her main reason for attacking, but what had really piqued her interest was the same thing that led her to the hidden village. She thought it may have just been a lack of brains on the ghoul's part, but the possibility of 'enlisting' a demon hunter was too hard to pass up. This one had seemed exceptionally powerful, from what she heard.

If memory served her correctly, Arthas himself was nearly slain by a demon hunter, but the hunter had taken him on alone. Granted, that same hunter was Illidan Stormrage, but it made little difference to her. If Sylvanis were to have any hope of claiming the Scourge for herself, she'd need a trump card. For the time being, she believed that trump card was just a few miles away. She couldn't help but lick her lips. The thought made her mouth water. Power made her mouth water.

"My Lady," a lich found his way to her side. He bowed as best as any creature without a spine could. "Your forces are ready. When shall we commence the attack?"

Her grin grew wide "Now."

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She cuddled onto her pet owl a bit more. Fear does things to people. Rose had been in battles before, but in one of this magnitude, she wasn't of much use on the field of combat. A skirmish, sure. A battle, perhaps. A siege? No way. Rose was no Gahren, nor was she an Atrum. She couldn't run out there and have ten people dead at her feet within five minutes! She'd be lucky if she got more than three. Even for a night elf, she was young and had rarely taken part in battles. Her marksman's abilities weren't terribly fabulous either…

Rose hated this feeling of uselessness, this unease, this quiet, cold, painfully slow passage of time. Had the fighting started? Had it ended? Had it yet to begin? Was Atrum alive? Was Rowan alive? Gahren? Torva? What about that buffoon Ferdre, was he still alive? Times like these reminded her of when she was just a young girl, no taller than a deer. They reminded her of the conflict between the Priestess and Queen. It was pointless to ask, pointless to wonder. She already knew the answer, but couldn't help saying it. In such a helpless state, it was all she could do to ask "Why?"

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His eyes pierced through the lush green of the forest. He smelled them before he saw them, but both signs came to him quickly. The clinking of bone on bone further served to confirm his suspicions. The hunter hurried down the large canyon path, nearly tripping over dry boards of wood that were littered across the ground. "Get ready!" he bellowed. Gahren greeted him as he neared his hiding place. Upon entering the small dugout in the canyon wall, Atrum surveyed his troops. Some humans, some gnolls, a couple of elves... most of them looked like they hadn't seen too many real fights. Atrum wagered he had a little less than a hundred people, which was bad, but would have to do. Hopefully, the traps would make up for it.

"Gahren, come here. Tell me, did you set up the dynamite?"

The large gnoll nodded. "One of the archers will light the fuse with a flame arrow. How are you feeling, my Lord?"

"Eh, alright… somewhat restless, I guess. It's just pre-fight adrenaline starting to pump." An unnerving silence followed and further served to shake Atrum. He was about to take on an entire army of undead. Could he do hit? Hell yes! Could he live through it? That was still up for debate. Wait a second… what was with the silence? He peaked his head out the site of the hideaway.

'Sweet fornicating oysters! The bitch has us surrounded.'

Luckily, it looked as though they hadn't noticed the archers, that was good. Another moment passed before the undead started making there way into the canyon. Slowly, they came, keeping to the walls, as if that made them any safer. They disregarded the debris lying around, not bothering to clear a path. About fifty ghouls on each side led the trek down, with large mountains of flesh following them downward. Atrum spotted a Lich leading one half of the forces, and a Death Knight leading the other. Behind the knight was the Dark Ranger herself.

Atrum looked back at the wall of Aabominations and grimaced. Those would seriously hinder troop movement… they'd have to go down first. A look upward brought the presence of some gargoyles to his attention. Not good, definitely not good…

The burnt of the forces had entered the canyon already. All that was left now was to give the signal. Atrum calmed himself, took a deep breath, and counted down from three.

3…

2…

1…

"FIRE!"

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Gotcha! The classic cliffhanger! P

Anyway, I'm back, folks. Sorry for the break, school and a stunt in creative thought was in the way, but now I'm ready to go again. Review, please. Reviews will bring in more chapters!