Chapter 6

A sleeping rifleman, clad in a blue cloak that covered his dragonhide armor and boots, lay on his bed on top of a stone tower, his blunderbuss above his head. This short, stony watch tower, crafted by the dwarves themselves, was impossible to siege and destroy, except by their own weaponry. The watcher, struggling to keep his eyes open, eventually succumbed to the mistress of dreams.

But a figure flew past the walls, flattening itself upon the opposite wall. It crawled into the tower, ever so slowly, and halted by the rifleman. Speaking softly, she uttered a sweet song; the rifleman smiled and turned over on his left. The song turned into a scream, and the dwarf's eyes flew open. His shriek of horror never left him, as his life was no more.

He picked up his blunderbuss as though hypnotized, and began dashing toward Ironforge…

The area near Khaz Modan was relatively green, as the Undead avoided the wrath of the dwarves until they were ready. Trees still lived, and flowers still bloomed despite the dwarven element of earth. Nature was still struggling very weakly here…

But as the Undead army passed through towards Ironforge, the last of nature was shattered in the continent of Lordaeron. Trees turned blackened by the trail of blight, flowers were crushed, and animals fled. Kel'Thuzad smirked as he saw the last of nature disappear in Lordaeron; the death of something so great and worldly appealed to him, and he thoroughly enjoyed it.

Presently the army reached the area where the stone tower resides. The short, defense walls still stood, and the roof which housed a cannon lie strongly.

Lord Darkhallow dismounted his steed with a clatter from his armor, and climbed into the tower. Among bottles of beer brought from Ironforge, a sleeping camp bed with food near it, and a lantern, there was nothing noticeable there. The death knight left it and spoke to Kel'Thuzad in a light tone, "Master, there appears to be nothing here. It seems this is just a watch tower; the cannon is used to alert the dwarves of danger. The watchman seemed to have fled, but not long ago; a bottle of liquid still contains beer."

Kel'Thuzad wondered what could have scared off the dwarf; none of his forces had been ordered to come near here, and they were the first Undead ever to come this close to Ironforge. Deciding to investigate further along the road, he responded curiously, "Very well, Darkhallow…continue the march. I will look into this further."

Darkhallow remounted his steed, and he and Darkscythe continued leading the Undead. The lich kept looking around for any sign of clues; he felt uneasy from the missing watchman and the condition of the tower. All was normal however, but he still could not shake off that nagging feeling…

They finally reached the high stone walls of Ironforge. The ground was earthen by heavy digging; dirt and soil lie everywhere. No rocks were seen though; the dwarves took all the minerals for themselves. The sturdy walls protecting Ironforge had stood for centuries ever since the Dwarves awoke from their Earthen state. The undead would have a hard time breaking through this protection.

Kel'Thuzad ordered the meat wagons forward. The creaking vehicles, imbued with spikes along the center of its wheels and the front, rolled toward the front of the wall, and flung a corpse using its catapult mechanism. The bloody human corpses splattered along the wall, shaking the foundation, but otherwise undamaged it. Kel'Thuzad growled in anger as their siege weapons proved to be of no use. He began to think of more strategies to penetrate the defense…

Inside Ironforge…

The watchman, gasping for breath, ran up to King Magni Bronzebeard, who sat upon his throne. The rocky throne room housed many gold and silver artifacts, particularly weapons crafted by either the king himself or his best smiths. Magni's throne was encrusted in many jewels found from their digging; however the seat itself is still a rocky chair. The throne room was particularly small however; an average footman would just be able to get in.

The rifleman bowed on one knee to the king, and placed his blunderbuss in front of him as a sign of respect. "Hail, King Bronzebeard! I bring news of the Undead."

Magni, who was conversing with some of his smiths, quickly jumped up and roared, "Wha' did you jus' say!? The undead?!"

The rifleman held back a smirk, although a shadow of a smile crept across his face for a small second. "Yes, my king; the undead army led by two death knights and a lich-the master lich it seems-is currently heading toward the kingdom of Ironforge."

Magni dismissed his smiths and set them on working weapons. He grabbed his trusty warhammer and battleaxe and declared, "Well, if thos' Undead bastards come looking for death, we'll give 'em death!"

Even as he spoke, another rifle watchman came hurrying up to him, and gasped without even bowing, "My king! The Undead begin to assault our walls!"

Kel'Thuzad raised his hands, spoke in an ancient tongue, and casted his Death and Decay spell on the wall. Purple and dark clouds erupted and covered the wall; nearby trees caught in the decay began aging as though going through thousands of years. The bark liquefied and dripped down toward the roots, which burned them. The stone of the wall chipped in a few places, cracked, and eventually crumbled within minutes and turned into grey ooze. The lich then half-collapsed as he ended his spell. Darkhallow and Darkscythe began moving forward to their master, but he raised his hand and said coldly, "The wall is down! Assault Ironforge now!"