Getting to the Rebel Camp wasn't easy. First she had to fly back to Nesingwary's Expedition with the panther cub, that she'd nicknamed Mauti, sitting on her head, then she had to inform Hemet Nesingwary Jr. that the camp's best hunter wasn't coming back. She had wandered into the forest to collect her abandoned Stormsaber at that time so she could give them a moment of piece. Finally, she headed up the serpent infested path towards the Rebel Camp, the cub wedged between the saddle and reins. Adding insult to injury, it had started to rain.
When she made it to the camp she was cold and muddy, there were Gurubashi trolls everywhere, fighting against the rebels and the whole situation seemed hopeless in as bad a state as she was in. Of course, this hadn't stopped the night elf before. She went straight to the leader.
"First we had snakes, then we had panthers, now we have trolls." He growled, fighting off a troll bigger than any Darkspear she'd ever seen. "It's good that you're here, we could use all the help we can get."
She nodded, "Elariia."
"Lieutenant Doran."
"We're looking for a Darkspear emissary," She gestured to Bwemba's spirit. "Have you seen him?"
"We are in trouble here, Elariia. Your troll friend has been through here and warned us that things were going to get serious, but I didn't think it was going to get this bad."
Elariia observed the camp. Everyone was fighting, there wasn't a free hand anywhere, even a Gryphon was charging at a few of the trolls, but they still looked desperate.
"We are doing our best to hold off these trolls. But any help you can offer would greatly help."
She had barley agreed to help out, when she heard Bwemba's choked gasp behind her, "I don't believe my eyes... Is dat Bloodlord Mandokir? Dis gonna be bad..."
A troll, riding on a big black raptor strolled into the entrance of the camp, looking smug, yet angry. Following beside him was a tiny, red baby raptor.
"Da Gurubashi be takin' our land back. We let you stay here too long. You tink you strong. You tink you brave. You tink you can survive? But we know..."
He trailed off ominously, and Elariia noticed the young raptor beside him looked at her with almost pleading eyes. What in Azeroth?
Mandokir continued, "You and all you people, you already be dead. An' once you dead, den you serve the Gurubashi." He looked to the trolls around him before shouting, "Kill these worms!" and taking off before Elariia could even zap him with some magic.
"Dese Gurubashi mean business." Bwemba scowled. "We gotta help dese people."
She dismounted quickly, pushing her Stormsaber to the side of the camp, but before she could switch forms, she felt a white hot pain in the back of her skull. She landed hard on the ground, then twisted her body so she could see what hit her.
Standing over her was a large green troll with a bright red Mohawk and seemingly random face paint, he was grinning maliciously at her around his tusks. Elariia scanned him quickly and didn't have to be Lieutenant Horatio Laine to conclude that he must have hit her over the head with the large wooden plank he was carrying. She rolled onto her back as he brought the plank back down, attempting to finish her off.
Maybe it was oncoming concussion, or maybe the adrenaline pumping through her veins, but as she stood up and the troll pursued her, Elariia didn't even think to pull out her dagger. She just started walking backwards while reaching to the left, hoping to grab something, anything, to defend herself with, her focus never leaving her attacker. The night elf flinched when there was a burning sensation on her hand, she glanced to the side and noticed a long wooden torch embedded in the dirt next to the Gryphon roost and realized she had just stuck her hand into the flame.
Her glowing irises flickered between the troll and the torch. I have to time this perfectly or he'll see it coming.
He chuckled darkly and lifted the plank, intending to smash it against her already banged up head. But as he held it in the air ready for a vertical strike, Elariia yanked the torch from the jungle floor and slashed it across his chest leaving angry red burns. The Gurubashi yelled in pain and dropped the plank, it landed just beside her foot and she kicked it away, feigning nonchalance. She shrugged with a grin on her face, of course that just enraged him.
He swung at her with his fists but she danced out of the way, then smacked the still burning torch across his back. The troll spun around and managed to knock the torch from her hand with his meaty elbow. Sensing the weakness in her defense Elariia jumped around him again and finally pulled out her weapon, she grabbed her opponent by the back of his armor and pulled him down to her level, pressing the knife painfully into his windpipe.
Elariia let him struggle in fear for a moment before she released him and he ran into the jungle, gasping for air. He'll come back. Giving up isn't the troll way.
She quickly morphed into a cat, then leaped at her next target.
She now had a banged up shoulder, a bruised ribcage and a concussion, add to that the less serious wounds she gained from her fighting, and she was in a very poor condition, but the adrenaline was still coursing through her and she felt as if she could last for days. Alas, it was only three minutes before the Lieutenant called her towards him.
"Thanks for giving us a bit of a breather, Elariia. Like I said before, your troll friend was here for a small amount of time. He warned us, then left."
Bwemba's eyes creased in disappointment through her skull mask, and Elariia smiled tightly.
"James Stillair helped him get to his next destination, maybe he can help you out. Good luck out there, Elariia."
"Elune guide you, Doran."
She turned towards the Gryphon master as he called out to her, "Elariia! I know where the other emissary went."
He waved to her as she walked over to him, "That's great."
"The other Darkspear emissary was here briefly. He was eager to get to his next destination and warn them. I sent him on a flight to the Explorers' League Digsite in the Cape of Stranglethorn. I hope he wasn't too late."
"Can one of your Gryphons get me to the Digsite?"
He grinned, "Of course, druid. It'll be a direct flight there."
As she flew over the Digsite, Elariia couldn't believe her eyes. This whole place is crawling with... with zombies!
The Gryphon land easily in the middle of the camp, and as soon as she climbed off of it, it took off quicker than she thought was possible. Must have been spooked.. The zombies had blueish flesh and bandages hanging off their limbs, and their faces were covered by giant tiki masks. There wasn't a live dwarf in this place!
"Da people... Dey all zombies, voodoo zombies! Dis ain't gonna be pretty, Elariia." Bwemba warned, "You gotta kill dem."
What? Was there no way to turn them back, then?
"But once dey killed, dere is a moment where I can save dem. Change them back into da person dey were before."
Elariia sighed in relief, "Okay. Good."
"We gotta act fast. Da zombies don' rest."
And so she spent the rest of the afternoon jumping on zombies, it was hard. If she ignored the rotten flesh taste and bit down somewhere the creature would just shed it's limb with no protest, but she managed, finally. Bwemba kept up the pace right after her, reversing the voodoo and turning them back into dwarfs. It was kinda funny, in her opinion, watching the survivors freak out.
After saving as many Explorers as she could, Elariia tilted her muzzle to he sky and let the rain wash away the blood and dirt sticking to her pelt.
Soon, Bwemba's spirit floated over to her, "We done enough, Elariia. We can't keep fighting dese zombies. We need to figure out da source of dis voodoo. An' I tink I know where to start..." The trolls next words confirmed that they were on the same page, "Some of da survivors mentioned food, Elariia. We better check da food supplies. I gotta bad feelin' about dis."
Elariia padded towards the bags of food in the middle of camp and sniffed around for awhile, then jumped back with a growl when a blue cloud of smoke appeared next to the cart. There was another troll, muttering to himself while messing with the food.
"A pinch of dis... A dash of dat... Heh heh! Oh, Zanzil, Zanzil... I jes' love dat voodoo dat you do!" The druid tilted her head to the side as she waited for this new troll –Zanzil, she guessed– to notice them. "Slaves... Zombies... It don' matter to Zanzil! Dey all serve Gurubashi, one way or de other..."
There was another choking puff of smoke and the troll disappeared again. Elariia looked to Bwemba in complete confusion.
"Zanzil... Dis is all startin' to come together now." Is it? Because I am completely turned around. "If I can find my contact den we can formulate a plan of attack. A way to end dis madness."
Elariia shifted forms and squinted at the spirit through the heavy rain, she was about to speak when she heard a pitiful moan from behind her. She spun around, hand resting on the hip she kept her dagger holstered on as she searched for the source of the noise. She relaxed when she saw a dwarf huddled near a tent, how had she missed him? He wasn't exactly hiding himself. Elariia made her way towards him carefully.
"You aren't one of the zombies..." He murmured.
Elariia smiled weakly, "Sorry to disappoint, but no. We're looking for a troll emissary, have you come across him?"
"A troll? I did see one, just before the outbreak... He warned us, told us to be on our guard... But it was too late."
Damn, another dead end... She looked down at the dizzy dwarf, "Do you know where he went?"
"Your troll friend headed to Booty Bay, to warn them..." She nodded in thanks before heading off.
She'd only been to Booty Bay once, and that was because of the name. Now she'd have to fly all the way to the end of the Cape. I wonder what we'll be facing there... Dragon's perhaps?
When Elariia got to Booty Bay she was shocked. Words could not explain her surprise. The sight that greeted them was just astonishing, there was seaweed littered all over the place and most of the buildings were destroyed in one way or another...
Everything was normal.
She changed back into a night elf and landed gently near the entrance, then vaulted over the railing and onto the dock just below before weaving through the swarm of goblins.
"We should check the inn, first." She murmured to Bwemba's spirit, who nodded.
The Salty Sailor Tavern... Charming. She walked purposefully towards the innkeeper.
"Come in, come in. Just don't sit to close to the stove. It hasn't exploded yet today, but just to be safe I think you should sit elsewhere."
Elariia rolled her eyes."I'm looking for a troll emissary. Is he here?" She asked with forced politeness.
"Yeah, yeah. He's just upstairs, go ahead."
She nodded her thanks and headed up the creaky wooden steps. This inn was disgusting, she swore she saw a couple of cockroaches and at least one rat. Elariia walked through the giant barrel until she finally found the emissary standing on the balcony.
"Excuse me...?" She trailed off when she realized who she was talking too. Vol'jin, leader of the Darkspear trolls, was standing in front of her.
If he noticed her surprise he didn't show it, "I be tellin' Baron Revilgaz about da Zalandar threat now..."
"Ahh dere you are!" Bwemba's spirit shouted as she floated down from the sky, "We been searching the entire jungle for ya."
"I see you were able to get some help."
"Da help's been good. Da Zalandari plan has set da Gurubashi on da warpath."
Vol'jin nodded gravely. "I know. It be why I went around, to warn everyone. When da leader of da Darkspear speak, everybody listen, Horde an' Alliance."
"Not all da places held together so well. We try to help as much as we can. But the source, it be Zul'Gurub." Bwemba informed him.
"Den dat be where we go next. We gonna stop dis uprising at da source."
At that point, Baron Revilgaz made his presence known, "If you can keep my town safe, I'll definitely make it worth your while." The goblin offered with a nervous grin.
"I got a few more tings to discuss here." Vol'jin continued, looking at Elariia. "Den I'll head to Zul'Gurub. I will see you dere in da morning."
Elariia nodded briskly before making her way back to the tavern, Bwemba following closely behind her. As she absently thought about how much a room there cost, or if she'd be better off roughing it, the troll's spirit hovered in front of her, bringing her to a stop.
"Dere ya have it, Elariia. It look like we gonna lead an assault on da Gurubashi in Zul'Gurub. Dese be dire times for us Darkspear. But dey be even more dire for the Zalandar. Dey goin' too far." Though she couldn't see past her mask, the night elf guessed Bwemba was glaring fiercely "Ya been good to Bwemba, hopefully ya gonna continue to help out all of Stranglethorn." Oh no. No, no no, she could not do the heartfelt goodbye thing right now. No. "Spirits be wit' ya, Elariia."
With a small cloud of dust, she was gone. Elariia sighed in relief and slumped against the wall. Quick and painless.
Baron Revilgaz had intercepted her just as she was checking out the rooms and told her that since she was helping to save his town, she'd get first class treatment. She'd be lying if she said she didn't jump at the chance of better living quarters, if only for just a night or two. The inns walls were rounded and made her feel weirdly disoriented.
Elariia soon found out her new space wasn't that much better than the room at the inn. She was staying in a small bedroom above someone named "Sea Dog." There was stale bread, cheese and beer on the table and dust covered every surface.
After an hour or two of just lying in bed, Elariia realized trying to sleep would be pointless. She searched the beside drawer and found a big, dusty book.
"The Sentinels and the Long Vigil..." She murmured. Hmm, she'd only read this one once.
Bright and early the next morning, there was a pounding on her door. Elariia jumped out of bed fully alert and she only relaxed when she heard Baron Revilgaz calling her name through the thick wood. The druid sighed and rubbed her temples. Was she really that bad? Ready to slice anyone that startled her? Elariia walked towards the door and opened it slowly, her hair was down and it always made her feel childish. Like no one would take her seriously.
"Look, Elariia." He started. Now that she'd realize there was no immediate danger, she could feel the fatigue creeping into her muscles and blurring her vision. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd slept, for more than a few hours, peacefully. "You've helped out plenty so far, but that's not going to be enough. I need these crazy trolls stopped, or at least stopped from getting into Booty Bay. I'm going to send a man in to oversee the action, but I want you to go into Zul'Gurub and make something happen." The Baron's voice was very irritating when she was tired. "At the very least I want you to find me something that will help keep these trolls out of Booty Bay! You do that and we'll treat you right."
She supposed that was an offer she couldn't really refuse. Elariia just needed to eat, drink, maybe even wash up if she found a clean lake anywhere around here, then she'd have enough energy to infiltrate Zul'Gurub. She had a feeling Vol'jin wouldn't mind if she brought along a couple of friends for support, she'd just have to make a formal request to Stormwind and she'd have a mage, a priest, a warrior and maybe even a couple paladins here by noon.
A/N
I might add just one more chapter, to rap everything up because, sadly, I don't have enough Heroic points (or whatever) to actually do this dungeon. Sadface.
Disclaimer: I do not own WoW.