Feathery beams of light broke the horizon with the dawn, touching the bottom of the spent clouds with a brilliant rosy pink. Dew sparkled on the tips of the pine trees just outside the window, giving the world a fresh, renewed feeling. Within the cottage, the three Worgen were just waking, stretching their muscles and wiping the sleep from their eyes. One by one, they shuffled slowly from the dusty dwelling, blinking with surprise into the sunlight.
"Well that's a new one. The rain's stopped." Iltharia tipped her head back, breathing in the crisp scent of new growth. A pleased grin stretched across her muzzle. "It's beautiful! When the sun follows the rain, it just makes everything feel so… so…"
"Don't you dare say 'hopeful.' You're far too optimistic, Iltharia, look," Esmund let out a cynical bark of laughter and gestured behind him. Dark thunderheads crowded the western horizon, making the sunlight in the east seem like only a fragile, passing fancy.
"Well optimism is better than the alternative." Iltharia knelt on the ground, the dyed green leather of her kilt gathering around her knees, and cupped her hand around a small tendril. She leaned in close and let a soft puff of air caress the sprout, and the plant gained a gentle green ambience. Slowly it began to grow, the tendrils lengthening and curling with strange jerking motions as its growth accelerated. Leaves sprouted from the newer vines, followed by buds that opened to reveal luminescent violet blossoms whose throats faded to a bright ultramarine. Esmund shook his head, muttering under his breath.
"Come on Esmund, Iltharia. We've got to be getting to the stables." Amery nodded his head toward the cluster of brown buildings in the distance that marked the town of Tempests' Reach. "We'll probably be a little late, but all things considered, I don't think Rayner will mind. Let's go." He touched both of them briefly on the shoulder, and started off toward the town, his long grey cloak sweeping behind him.
Iltharia, Esmund and Amery pushed open the door to the stables, wrinkling their noses at the strong scent of horse manure and dust that rushed to meet them. The large central tack room was vacated, lit by a single dingy oil lamp, filling the room with drifting clouds of black smoke. A bare wooden table was the sole occupant of the room. Around it were gathered a group some fifteen strong of mixed humans and Worgen. Several people turned to see the newcomers, and even fewer waved or nodded to acknowledge them.
"Good, Amery and his crew have arrived. Gather over here. We need to discuss this new Forsaken camp." An older man was standing at the head of the table, beckoning them over with a quick wave. His long silver hair was bound in a ponytail, and his usually well shaven face was rough with stubble. The trio pushed their way forward between the other occupants, looking down on the table curiously. At its center was a battle-worn map of Gilneas. Stained and torn with overuse, the thin leather was stuck with bright steel pins in dozens of locations around Gilneas City. Red wax encircled the main Forsaken outpost just northeast of Gilneas city.
"So, Rayner, now that everyone is here, what's the plan?" A young teen spoke up from the back of the crowd, a gleeful grin on his face at the prospect of a battle.
"Cool it, kid. Battle isn't as glorious as you think." Amery cut the youth off, giving him a hard stare. "And if I know Rayner, it won't be an up-front strike." He grinned at the older man expectantly.
Rayner nodded. "That's right Am. We're going to do this as silently as possible. The scouts inform me there's a small time commander there. He's responsible for the recent attacks on our granaries and mills. Our goal is to take him out, destroy their lab equipment and steal any weaponry we can in the process. With the King's army and Crowley's Bloodfang tied up with the main of the Forsaken and the Orc's forces, we've been stripped down to too few to protect what's left out here. We don't have the strength of numbers to launch an all-out assault on the camps. Guerilla tactics are all we can do at this point.
Esmund, I want you to take as many other rogues you can find, and act as sentries for the rest of us. There are good perches here, here, and here." He gestured to individual points around the Forsaken camp, each point marked with a small blue cross. "You're well enough at being silent in the shadows, and you're one of the best rogues to our disposal. Pick your team and report back to Amery once you've decided who you'll bring. I'll keep seven people here to defend Tempests' Reach. For all we know, they could have a backup party waiting for an attack like this, and I don't want our innocent and our property left unprotected. Amery, can I leave you in charge of defending the town?" Amery nodded and listed off the names of the people he'd be keeping in town with his defense. "Alright. That leaves me, Iltharia, Everette, Allana, and Darell for the rest of the assault. There are some large oaks near the camp that I'd like to use to launch our ambush from. Everette, do you still have that fox of yours?" He glanced around the stables, searching the empty stalls for a sign of the small creature. At Everette's whistle, a red furred fox slunk out of the shadows, its green eyes glinting mischievously in the dim light. It gave a gruff yip of greeting before lying down at its master's feet. "Good. Once we see where those monsters are storing their weapons and ammunition, I want that fox of yours to sabotage them in any way it can. It's such a crafty little critter." He chuckled and gave the beast's head an affectionate rub.
"Iltharia. Your job will be a bit tougher. Now, Celestine has drilled this into my head enough times, but let me just get this straight. She's thus far taught you basic offensive spells, limited healing, and shown you how to take on the shape of a cat, correct?" Iltharia nodded in confirmation. "Right… And you can hide yourself just as well as Esmund can when you're in your cat form. This commander pulled one big mistake: he camped himself beneath a big pine. I want you to make your way through the camp to that pine, and immobilize the commander. Allana, your job is to sneak in there and destroy as much equipment as you can. Light knows you're good at it. Once Iltharia's immobilized their leader, I'll slip in and off him. At that point, Esmund can direct two of his rogues in to trash whatever is left. Darell and I will cover our retreat, and we're out of there. Hopefully we'll be able to do it before most of the camp mobilizes. I'd be a fool to think we'll go entirely unnoticed, but as long as we get most of the destruction done before they organize enough to fight back, our mission will be accomplished. When we retreat, retreat first to the north of the camp. We don't want to lead their scouts back to Tempests' Reach. We'll leave in two hours, so prepare yourselves. You'll find weapons, oil and any other provisions you need in the last three or four stalls. Understood?"
Everyone nodded, and began to split up into their respective teams. Iltharia bit her lower lip thoughtfully. She'd never been involved in any of the ambushes previously, and to have such a role in her first assault was nerve wracking. A slight figure appeared to her left and reached out a comforting hand, patting Iltharia on the shoulder reassuringly. Iltharia turned her head to the person, and blinked with surprise when she saw that it was Esmund.
"Shouldn't you be planning with the other rogues?"
"I don't need to. We've done this before. You need to relax, though. If you agonize yourself and stress out over the mission, you'll be more prone to screwing up. I may heckle you, but I don't want you dead." He looked at her grimly, his hand squeezing her shoulder again.
"I'll try. I just hope I do well enough for Rayner." Her ears flattened against her head, betraying her fear for the upcoming ordeal.
"Just remember what Celestine taught you and you'll do fine." He gave her a pat and walked off, leaving Iltharia alone with her thoughts.