Maulbane saddled up and left Stonard before the sun was even visible. He was fully restocked, food and water replaced and wounds treated. He clambered onto Gladestomp jovially and set off quickly, setting the pace for the journey. He left the depressing atmosphere of the Swamp of Sorrows shortly after sunrise, entering Deadwind Pass. It was the same as before, barren except for dying animals. He fended off many vultures of various build, ranging from near skeletal to bloated. They all met the same fate, however, lying by the roadside or thrown into a crate.
He braved the Deadwind Bridge with a bit more confidence this time, charging across it as quickly as he could. This time was more successful, and he didn't bother looking back. He rode as fast as he could out of the Pass, leaving the gnarled and disgusting flora behind him as he re-entered Duskwood. But only for a while.
He was going to be out of this hellhole as soon as possible. His plan was to go go south from here, to Grom'Gol and take the fastest Zeppelin to Hammerfall. From there, somehow, he would ride up to The Plaguelands. Somehow. The war going on in Arathi wasn't important, he was a smart Hunter and going get around something like that. He's just have to use his wits.
But, back to the matter at hand. He wasn't as lucky with Duskwood this time around. Shortly after circumventing Darkshire, almost being spotted due to a badly timed roar from his Kodo, he was attacked by two skeletons. He would have dispatched them there and then but he wasn't used to Undead. He thought they were like animals at first, quietly observing before they noticed him. One charged him and cut his arm, catching him by surprise. He didn't let it attack a second time, clumsily cleaving it in half as quickly as he could. As he did that an arrow bounced off the blade of his axe, drawing his attention to the other skeleton.
It was about to shoot another arrow at him when Goretusk pounced, having been circling the other skeleton all this time. The force of the Boar, and especially a Boar made of muscle and covered in metal armor, was enough to shatter the skeleton when Goretusk landed on him, all the weight of the animal directed into four little hooves. The skeleton's arrow flew into the air to never be seen again. The skeleton, however, was still flailing madly, as if it cared whether it died or not. Its claws clattered uselessly against Goretusk's armor until he put the skeleton's head in his mouth. It slipped once due to the amount of saliva, but eventually Goretusk was able to get a grip and just chomp down.
The skeleton's consciousness was severed instantly, the forest suddenly silent again. Except for the Wolves, Worgen and Birds, of course.
Maulbane was back on Gladestomp in half a minute, after coming to terms with what happened, as he wasn't used to the Undead at all. He hadn't even fought them before, until now. Doesn't matter, though... Soon he would be back in Stranglethorn. He ignored the animals watching them hungrily from the shadows, thinking they weren't seen. He tried not to break Gladestomp into a "gallop", keeping him at a gentle canter to keep his energy up. Stranglethorn would require the use of it more, as raptors can run faster than any of these Undead things.
And they did. As he entered the jungle he narrowly averted a nest of them, they were living too close to the road. The infants spotted him first, squalling at him and his Kodo like organic alarms. The parents were there in a flash, bursting after Gladestomp, screaming so loud the whole jungle probably heard, but they escaped after he shot own of them down, leaving the others to nurse it back to health. He was lucky nothing worse happened.
Soon, however, night fell upon Stranglethorn Vale. He had set up camp half an hour before the sun dissapeared behind the horizon and had a small fire going. He threw some raw meat from the vultures on. It was lean and would make a better meal than anything else. Afterwards he didn't bother with anything else, letting Goretusk guard the small tent as he slept lightly. The Boar got to snooze in a basket all day, anyway.
The morning after he kicked the fire out with a hoof and hurriedly took apart the tent, finishing preparations to get back on the road by throwing Goretusk into his sturdy basket. Gladestomp made weak, plaintive sounds as the tent all his other supplies were re-attached to him. He began the final leg of the journey to Grom'Gol at sunrise, or around that time hopefully.
By pushing the Kodo's endurance he managed to reach the outpost at noon. Record timing. He was there in time for the next zeppelin, paying for him and and his 'companions' before boarding. Halfway while setting his few posessions small enough to fit enough in his assigned cabin on a little bedside table the huge propellor and engines began to fire up. Smoke and steam burst out of gaps in the zeppelin's undercarriage, the rotor whirring fast enough to turn an ogre into ogre soup. Maulbane fell asleep, hating zeppelins.
Maulbane woke up suddenly, due to an explosion in the engine room. At least, he thought it was one. The Goblins on deck assured everyone that everything was going according to plan and that the noise they heard was planned. Something to do with the propellor letting off gas. It sounded like crap to him. He pushed the worrying thought that the zeppelin could be unstable away as he ate the dry, barely nutritious zeppelin food provided by the Goblins. They said the trip would take two days at most. Time he could spent preparing. To sleep he went.
The next day was boring. He woke up, fed Goretusk, checked on Gladestomp (Who was unceremoniously thrown into the cargo bay the day before) and ate breakfast (possibly lunch). The rest of the day was dedicated to poring over geographical and even political maps of Alterac, The Hinterlands and The Plaguelands. He fell asleep at his small bedside table, snoring peacefully.
The next morning he was poked in the leg by a grumpy looking Goblin. Shortly after Maulbane began to stir the green assailant quickly scurried out, probably to wake everyone else up. Outside his cabin he could hear Orcs and Goblins shouting in unison. They must be at Hammerfall. He threw his armor on over his clothes, clumsily ran down and collected Gladestomp. The trio were greeted by the Arathi sunshine as they connected with the ground once more.
He didn't bother staying in Hammerfall. Instead he rode straight out, prepared for anything that might jump out at him. But he was worried about the Sin'Sholai. He was going to go through Hillsbrad, but that seemed impossible now. He could improvise, though. And improvise he did. He would go around the wall, as far as he could, and find anything. A hole, crack, something he could smash through. Very quickly he was past the Human city of Stromgarde. He dodged as many Alliance patrols as he could, being spotted and chased once. Their arrows bounced off their armor, and soon their horses tired. The Kodo kept moving along, energy reserves barely diminished.
After an indeterminable period of time later Northfold Manor, a big red cross on his map, was now visible. He had to go around it. He broke off the road, Kodo's hooves leaving obvious prints in the grass. He was circling around the Northfold Manor slowly, eyes watching the mountains intently. He had to get there. But his eyes locked onto something else, a group. A Dwarf, two Humans and an Elf were trying to be sneaky, walking the same way he was a dozen or so meters ahead. He didn't see any kind of threat so far from them, so he approached them on his Kodo. After they all turned around warily, the Elf putting her hand to her sword, he said plainly, almost as if they were conducting a trade "Human". The Human, Will, raised an eyebrow. He added "I know where you're going. I'm going the same way.". Will replied hastily that they were leaving Stromgarde and he didn't mind if he followed. Maulbane gave a quick nod and the attention was suddenly taken away from the gigantic, armored bovine to the path ahead of them. They really were in a hurry.
The fear of being caught by the Sin'Sholai slowly left him and the others as they began to go along the mountains. They were so close to the wall they could see it assaulting the skyline, blocking the clouds from view. Northfold Manor was behind them now, luckily his Kodo kept quiet along the whole stretch to the wall. Within half a minute they were at the base of the huge structure, where Will pointed to a not as huge, but still large hole in it. With effort he guided his Kodo through, and suddenly they were in Hillbsrad. Well, not suddenly, but very quickly. The spiders, for one, had light green fur. While they looked pretty because of this, it was bad, because they blended into the light green plants.
Regardless of the camoflagued spiders, Hillsbrad was a tame region in terms of wildlife. Spiders and Bears didn't worry him in the slightest. What did was the fact that Forsaken had a tight grip on the whole region, and he would be happy to be out quickly. Which, if all went to plan, they would be. And they were.
Barely an hour or two into entering Hillsbrad they already left. The sun was starting its descent, giving Maulbane a strict timeline. He wasn't nocturnal, he didn't know about the Elf or the Dwarf though. On the matter at hand however they were already leaving Hillsbrad, following a twisting path into the region known as The Hinterlands. More unknown territory to him. Not great, but at least it's not the worst that could happen.
Afternoon sun burned the Human's faces as their trudged along the track, Maulbane at the rear with his various companions. At one point the Elf and Human fell behind for a few seconds, but they quickly caught up again. Maulbane, as always, kept a steady, gentle pace. He would definitely find somewhere to stay today, he didn't have to rush.
The sun was touching the trees as they saw Aerie Peak in the distance. Jyorn, the Dwarf, brightened up visibly as they neared it. Maulbane didn't, though. Lethium pointed out "We're going to have to split up. We'll go find a place for Maulbane to wait for us, you keep going". Maulbane nodded, and they dived off the edge of the road. Goretusk rolled down. When they got to the bottom Lethium ran out, telling Maulbane to wait there. A minute later he returned, pushing through branches and beckoning him towards the signs of civilisation ahead, which were an abandoned cart and a half-destroyed barrel. He went out of the undergrowth, looking around silently. His eyes locked onto the Dwarven home ahead of them.
After a bit of cautious exploration he found out that the hovel was abandoned. He had to take off his shoulder armor to fit in the front door, but it was cosy inside. Lethium began to hide Maulbane's Kodo, and he drifted into an unguarded sleep. The more rest he had the better. It was already getting dark, hopefully he would get up bright and early.
Which he did. He was pushed awake by none other than Lethium, calmly rising to his feet. Goretusk stumbled up from his own nap, having curled into a ball in the corner of the hovel shortly after Maulbane fell asleep. The sun was shining into the house, through the open door. His grogginess wore off quickly, he didn't have time to waste. He expertly buckled his shoulderpads on (After going outside, of course), then slid his helmet on. He decided to also borrow three kegs of explosives that were lying around the house, vulnerable. He pushed them in tightly under Gladestomp's armor, the Kodo giving no complaint.
After this was done Lethium pointed out "The others are coming now." Maulbane nodded silently, taking a few steps towards the house, hooves kicking up dust. And they were coming, four silhouettes sprouting from the road like dark saplings. As they got closer they became more defined and detailed, so that they were unmistakable from who he traveled with yesterday. Two Humans, an Elf and a Dwarf. Oh, and a Tauren. What a team.
The Human beckoned the others over, and they began to mingle around Featherbeard's Hovel. Maulbane threw the camoflague (Leaves upon leaves) off of Gladestomp, making him ready for travel. The others took a bit longer to gear up, but it was all in all a very short wait. They were about to head off, Maulbane on a saddled and polished-looking Gladestomp and the Humans on their (probably sore) feet when the Dwarf, Jyorn, broke the silence with a declaration. "Well, it's been fun, but I think gonna stay in Aerie Peak." The statement was met with quiet nods, and farewells. He wandered in the opposite direction of the group, towards the Wildhammer town of Aerie Peak.
They made quick time, riding through The Hinterlands. Maulbane wanted to, but didn't spent any time observing the animals or plants. Straight through was the ticket. Will knew more about this place than he, and Maulbane almost got lost twice. The Human lead him to a path, one even more twisted than the one through Hillsbrad. Not a great sign, but he wasn't one to complain. The plants began to die, unnoticeably at first, but then it was unable to be ignored.
They were crossing the undefined border from civilisation into... Well... Plague. Plaguelands, to be precise. Duskwood paled in comparison to this place. The plants look alien, not of this world. Not only corrupted, completely separate from what they used to be, turned into something new and malign. There were no animals anywhere that he could see.
The sun was violently blocked by the clouds of what seemed to be gaseous plague. A horrible orange hue cast over everything. Nothing was pure, and Maulbane tensed up. He already loathed this place beyond his usual threshold. They left the track, entering the Western Plaguelands proper. And he thought the track was bad. They were traveling alongside a river. The bank they were on was completely abandoned by flora and fauna alike, as if they had retreated to the semblance of safety in The Hinterlands long ago, refugees from the plague. On the other side of the bank was the once proud city of Caer Darrow. Now, Maulbane didn't even have a clue what it was.
The hills and cliffs from the track suddenly stopped, leaving an almost vertical slope to conquer. Maulbane slid down carefully on Gladestomp, trying not to alert the insidious things in the necropolis. Will helped Faier down, and Lethium finished the quartet, rolling down loudly, armor hitting every rock it could as if it were seeking them out as he rolled down. When he hit the bottom everything was silent again, but he saw dozens, maybe scores of lithe shapes stare silently at them. He tried to ignore them, willing them away with his mind. He spoke to Lethium, hushed. "Be quiet!". Lethium winced and replied "I didn't mean it!", just as quietly as Maulbane. He shrugged, and the silence wasn't broken again as they continued down the riverbank.
The bank was bleak for its entirety, which they were about to finish traversing. Maulbane added a quick dot every kilometer or so, so he could tell where he was. They were nearing the old Andorhal cemetary, now known as Sorrow Hill, the place of Uther's Burial. The river turned and cut through their previous path, making a waterfall. There were only a few rocks giving them passage over the river, and they contemplated the river for a while before slowly crossing it, the Humans jumping from rock to rock cautiously and Maulbane striding, just as carefully. The Kodo just plodded through the river itself, making sure none of the water got on its mouth, with Goretusk in his basket, safe from the splashes. At this point all were safely across except Lethium, who was still crossing. Towards the end he slipped, getting his foot in some of the plauge-ridden water. Maulbane was hasty to call back to him "Don't touch that water.". Lethium frowned with a hint of fear before he quickly wiped the "water" off with a boot. He hurried after the group quickly.
The only thing separating the four from the cemetery was what looked like a hill. They wasted no time in scrambling up it. As they got to the top the lay of the land was visible. The cemetery was huge compared to the ones Maulbane had been used to back in Mulgore. Gargantuan. There weren't as many undead as he expected, but they were visible, dotting the place, lying on the ground, hiding from the sun, shambling across their own personal paths that appeared to change every second. One moment they would be walking forwards to a tree, the next moment they had veered off like a broken cart towards an unmarked grave. Within seconds it was back, shambling towards the tree. Maulbane noted this in his head, happy they weren't too bright. Though there were more insidious looking Scourge, ones in platemail and malicious, red-eyed looks bursting out of their helmets. He also noted what -looked- like their weak points, if they had to fight them. Which they would, if things turned out as expected. Even if it didn't, they had to go through this cemetary.
Maulbane quietly stalked down the incline into the cemetary. The others followed with discretion, as if trying to compensate for Maulbane's lack of stealth. Regardless of how hard they tried, the undead seeing them was inevitable. They had reached the bottom of the incline and then some when a skeletal soldier began wildly rushing at them. The sound of the metal plates slamming together as it ran alerted everything else in a large radius. Soon ghouls, Mindless Ones, former Andorhal citizens and skeletons were all following the scene with their hollow, if not nonexistant eyesockets. It didn't take long for them to follow suit, beginning a wild charge towards them.
Maulbane was prepared. He threw his spear at the skeleton who began the whole affair, pinning it to the ground with a shattered shoulderblade. He span around, his axe already in his other hand and cleaved a ghoul into two pieces from the chest. Will began impaling zombies, deflecting blows from every direction with his shield while taking skilled shots at whatever he could get a stab into, which was working so far. Faier took a defensive stance, staying behind Will and stabbing whatever broke through her fleshy barrier. Lethium was behind Maulbane, pushing things back with his shield, trying to keep away from their enemy while they pushed forward. Goretusk was circling everyone else, tripping the undead over and biting at what he could. The whole scene looked like a mobile fortress, pushing through the swarming undead desperately.
They couldn't ignore the fact that for every undead they put to rest two more sprung up and took their place. They weren't able to keep the horde of scourge back much longer. At that point Will shouted at the group "There's too many! To the tomb!". Maulbane didn't hesitate, hanging onto Gladestomp and charging towards Uther's tomb, the only holy ground in the whole of the Plaguelands to his knowledge. As they began to retreat up the hill they turned around, picking off the scourge strong enough to push this far up. Slowly the undead began to fall backwards, unable to pierce the invisible, holy barrier that surrounded the tomb. The tomb itself was nearly empty on the surface, a few paladins, mainly Humans and Argent Dawn, patrolling the premises. They eyed the group with distaste, preparing to draw swords. The Night Elf tending the tomb looked up briefly at them, then continued his work.
The four (or six) tried not to meet the wrathful eyes of the paladins as they pass the tomb, leaving the undead at the base of the hill to disperse. They walked right past the tomb, too tired to pay homage, and found themselves at a sheer drop to the cemetery below. The undead were thinning out this close to the exit, as most of them probably raced over to the other side when the battle began. Lethium broke his chain of thought with a suggestion "How about I charge through them on Goretusk? Make a path?" Maulbane nodded, then clambered onto Gladestomp "I'll help.". The other two got ready, and suddenly the Boar and Kodo burst over the incline, hanging in the air for a second before hitting the ground running, with Lethium swinging at everything he could see as he charged towards the end of the cemetery, Maulbane chopping the ghouls that leaped at him in half while his Kodo smashed through the undead too slow to get out of its way. Faier and Will quickly ran through the path made by the team, nothing left to resist their exodus.
Chillwind camp was barely a few minutes from the cemetery, and finally they could all rest. The Argent Dawn here were less angry, most of them Humans, but a sprinkling of Orcs, Forsaken and Dwarves was to be seen also. They welcomed the group in, allowed them to purchase supplies (Maulbane, however, had everything he needed) and gave them a few beds to use. However, Will and Faier had other plans. They were going to return to... Southshore? Stormwind? Maulbane had only heard the name a few times, but it was a Human town. He gave them a nod and a few words in farewell, but suddenly Lethium spoke "Well, I'm going to stay.". Maulbane was caught off-guard by that comment, but accepted it. He wasn't one to deny the help of a friend, as long as he could pull his weight. "Fine. But we need to rest now." Lethium nodded in agreement, and while the Elf and Human began to leave on Gryphons, they began to sleep. Tomorrow would be, if that's even possible, more dangerous.
They woke up at the very crack of dawn. That is to say, Maulbane did, as usual. Lethium slept in, obviously not used to Maulbane's near-insane sleeping pattern. He was roughly shaken awake, and groggily rose and began to prepare to collect the Plaguebloom. Before he woke up Lethium he had questioned the Argent Dawn guards, and one of them knew where plaguebloom grew. The answer wasn't the one he wanted. Apparently it grew reclusively and rarely. The only places it had been spotted in harvestable amounts were... Well... Plague Cauldrons. Without fail, it only and always grew profusely around Plague Cauldrons. Maulbane didn't know whether this was great or bad. Regardless of what it was, he was on his Kodo and riding with Lethium out of Chillwind Camp as soon as the Human was geared up. They hit the road at about six or seven o'clock...
...And were eyeing the aptly named Felstone Field. It was filled with Scourge. Every two square meters had a zombie on it, and every square that didn't have a zombie on it had one shuffling towards it. The whole scene in front of them was like a twisted, undead version of twister. Even Maulbane, who had seen beasts that dwarfed some trees fall, crushed baby dragons in his hands, braved things most Humans don't even know exist... Even he was scared. There was really, no way he could see to get the plaguebloom growing around the macabre cauldron in the centre of the field. Except for... Just then, a dull sound came from the undergrowth ahead of them.
Maulbane and his companions were safely hidden in what remained of the trees. The twenty-man Scarlet force was not. They were sneaky enough to evade the gaze of the mindless Scourge, but not the Tauren Hunter with fine-tuned ears. They were congregating on the edge of the farm, some of them in rags, some of them in near-pristine chainmail and chargers. The only thing that was definite between all of them was their grim, fanatical faces and the Scarlet colored apparel. By the look of how rigid they were, the fact they were brandishing weapons, it didn't take a genius to tell they were preparing for a skirmish on the farm. They had flawless timing. Maulbane pointed them out to Lethium, then said, quietly "When they charge, we do. Ride straight through the farm and grab as much of the weed as you can." Lethium nodded, face almost as grim as the Scarlets'.
Maulbane began counting down quietly, tapping his fingers almost restlessly. "Five... Four... Three... Two... One..." The Scarlets burst out of what could be called cover, shouting stupid, pointless phrases about abominations and the light. The paladins were in front on crimson chargers, roaring defiantly in the face of death like true, respectable heroes. In all honesty, Maulbane couldn't stand the fanatical Human fools when they acted like this. He signalled to Lethium, leapt onto Gladestomp and kicked it gently in the side, with a determined amount of force, and the charge begun. Lethium trailed alongside the Kodo's right side, and as the Tauren neared the farm he leaped off the Kodo, but didn't fall to the ground. Instead he hung onto the side of Gladestomp, both hands freed, and slowly bending down, tying a knot to one of the hooks coming out of a barrel, crate, he didn't look to see what it was. He tied the knot and began lowering himself down so he was low enough to begin scooping up the plant in armfuls, pulling himself back up when he saw an undead come his way. Lethium was using a different tactic, leaping off the Horse and plucking out as much of the plant as he could before remounting.
Regardless of how they did it, they ended up reaching the other side of the farm without a casualty. They were still being chased by wayward Scourge, however, so just to be safe the Kodo continued its wild course through the forest, crushing everything in its way before stopping in front of an infected Bear, which was quickly crushed with a a hoof. It kept moving, which began to distress the Kodo. Meanwhile, however, Lethium had been hit in the back by a small fireball, sent by one of the Scarlets. Maulbane had scratches across the entirety of his armor, but everything held during the wild rush. After Lethium's minor burn was tended to with quick application of herbs and a strange, viscous ointment, they began to count their loot, loot in the form of a disgusting, withered weed. Maulbane had about a sack and a half filled, Lethium about half a sack... The Tauren pulled a decent-sized crate off of Gladestomp, putting it on the ground next to them. He began, very carefully, tipping the sack into the crate. Lethium poured his in too. The plaguebloom was just below the brim of the crate, looking fairly ugly as it presented itself to the sky. Maulbane shrugged and threw a lid over it "One crate.". Lethium's eyes widened "Only -one- crate?!" Maulbane nodded, with a hint of graveness, at Lethium "One crate. We'll have to get another." With that he got on Gladestomp and began plodding off to where, on his now fraying map, was a hastily drawn "X" over the farm now known as Dalson's Tears.
They were there in half an hour. None of the infected animals or wandering Scourge gave them trouble. Everything was going... Good? As good as things could go, really. Considering they were in the middle of the Western Plaguelands, about to charge through a Plague Cauldron because they needed a flower. At times he questioned how much he really needed the coin.
He pushed such questions aside, instead hiding Gladestomp in the undergrowth and waiting for the inevitable second raid on this Cauldron. It happened quickly, he had noticed the Humans prowling around the decrepit buildings, trying to be sneaky. He waited as they waited, all of them in a strange kind of symmetry, symbiosis. Maulbane needed them to get his plaguebloom, and the Scarlets could use his Kodo in demolishing the undead. Everyone's... Well, not exactly happy. Regardless, it was convenient for both sides. The Scarlets charged in the same manner as the last time, horses at the front and spellcasters at the back, trying to immolate everything that wasn't already red. Maulbane and Lethium were already off, mounts tearing across the farmland and through the precious plaguebloom.
It went the same as before, they charged through while the Scourge and Scarlets weren't looking, managing to clear a lot of ground before being noticed at all. Maulbane did his same trick, hanging from the Kodo's side and grabbing as much as he could, Lethium getting dismounted and attacked by a Scarlet warrior before kicking him away and remounting. The Scourge ignored them, attacking the annoying red-clad Humans instead. They kept riding as fast as they could, even when they were past the farm. They stopped in an unintelligible, forested area. Maulbane hopped of the Gladestomp and began to check what he got in return for risking his life. After throwing a crate down next to him he began filling it up... And with Lethium's (meagre this time) donation, they had another crate filled... For a moment he didn't actually believe he was finished.
Then they noticed they were close to a Scarlet camp, the source of the raiders. They quickly moved around it, and eventually found the road again. They sat by a destroyed building, the Tauren crushing a plagued squirrel out of pity. At this point, Maulbane mused to himself "Hm... Plaguebloom... Now we need..." He spoke to Lethium, louder "We will need to split up, you go to Southshore and I will go to Hammerfall... We'll meet at the Dark Portal."... But he began to see the flaw in his plan quickly, as well as Lethium's paling face. Instead... "No. We meet in Northrend. Lethium, get to Southshore and take a boat to Theramore, Menethil, anyway, just end up in Valiance Keep. I will take a Zeppelin to Warsong Hold." Lethium nodded with hesitation at that, then peered around. He said "Well... I'll be seeing you." Maulbane nodded gruffly, and the two parted ways in the middle of the Western Plaguelands.