Part II: The Crusade
"This is the place?" Wuten asked the young squire boy standing in front of him.
"That's right, sir," the boy smiled up at him. "The finest gathering of warriors from all over Azeroth, the Argent Tournament! You can call me Squire Davis, mister."
Wuten smiled. "Perfect. Could you lead me to the Argent Crusade's main tent?" He looked up and around the site. There were large tents pitched up everywhere, with a massive arena in the center of it all, with entrances at the north, south, east, and west sides of it. He walked around the tournament grounds, watching the lancers dueling for prestige, while being led by the young squire boy to the Argent Crusade's main tent on the other side.
"Here we are, mister! If you're looking for anyone here, this is the best place to look." The boy pointed towards the entrance of the tent.
"Thank you, Squire Davis, much appreciated." He smiled at the boy, pulling a gold coin out of his bag and handing it to the boy, who stared at it with glittering eyes of curiosity, before taking it slowly from Wuten, still staring at it as he walked away. Wuten smiled, and headed inside the tent. Inside, a woman clad from the neck down in shining armor smiled at him.
"Wuten Ichibun?" she asked him. He nodded, and they exchanged handshakes. "I'm Justicar Mariel Trueheart."
He smiled, removing his hood and mask. "I've heard stories about your actions, I'm quite impressed, to say the least."
She grinned back at him. "The feeling is mutual, Ichibun. I'm glad to have you on this task." She began walking around him and out to the entrance, beckoning him to follow. "Come, we can discuss our plans once you get settled in. I'm sure you'll want some food after your travels."
"I like the sound of that," Wuten grinned, following her out towards the tent marked with the Alliance standards. His grin fell to a smile then, as his mind began to wander. "I wonder how Tel is doing right about now…" and before he knew it, they had reached the Alliance tent.
"Ah, you must be Wuten Ichibun," a voice called from the other side of the room. He looked over, and a large human clad in Stormwind-themed golden armor walked up to him. "A pleasure to finally meet you, I'm Marshal Jacob Alerius, the Champion of Stormwind here." They shook hands, and Wuten smiled. "The pleasure is all mine, Marshal."
The three of them sat down at a nearby table, and Marshal Alerius sent for one of the squire boys to bring them some food. The boy came back a few minutes later, carrying a large plate of food for the three of them to share. Wuten, after traversing through Northrend to reach the tournament grounds, was starving and happily started digging into the food.
"So Wuten, I think it's time we let you know what it is we want you to do." Marshal Alerius looked at him with a more serious face than before. "You are to take a small force into the fortress of Icecrown Citadel, and gather intelligence on how to defeat the Lich King while our main forces keep their attention at the front gate.
Wuten nearly choked on the bite he had in his mouth. Finally, after swallowing and giving himself time to breathe, he looked at the marshal. "I'm supposed to do what?"
Justicar Trueheart nodded. "If you can create a way into the Citadel, this battle will be that much easier to win, and there will be far fewer losses. Not to mention, you'll gain quite a bit of prestige across the world." She looked intently at him. "Are you up to this?"
He thought this over for a moment; on one hand, he may not come back from this, on the other hand, he would finally have a chance at his revenge. He grinned, and looked back at them. "You can count on me."
Alerius nodded, and both he and Justicar Trueheart stood up. "I'll prep your group you'll be entering the Citadel with, then." Wuten smiled and nodded back as the two walked away as he continued to eat from the dish on the table.
Soon after, his belly full and his morale returned from walking around the tournament grounds, looking at the many combatants and making small talk with a few champions, he decided it was time to return to the tent. He walked inside, and the marshal turned to him. "Ah, Wuten, come this way, I believe you should have the chance to meet the people you'll be working with while you're on this mission." He nodded, and followed Alerius out of the tent and into the barracks.
The barracks were much more barren than the one back in Arathi, this one was covered only by a crudely-built brick roof, and the only lights were from candles along the walls, giving it an eerie-like feeling. Wuten looked around as they walked, until they reached a door. "Your group is in here, Wuten, I'm sure you'll all get along fine." He opened the door, and Wuten passed by him, closing the door behind him.