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Chapter 4: Stratholme
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Sylvanas was running through the forests of Lordaeron, deciding to avoid the open-roads incase of undead attacks. The forests offering better protection and it felt more at home for Sylvanas. While running through the forests several things spiked her mind: where did this plague come from, who created these undead and who was the true danger here?
She didn't have many places to go to, considering the predicament - Dalaran and Quel'Thalas were too far and going to Capital City would waste too much time. So she had to get advice from another source, one of the small, greedy and near-suicidal type - a goblin. Sylvanas soon arrived in a by larger clearing, where a rag-tag large shack stood in the centre of cut trees...a merchant-shop.
She didn't like the goblins in general: obnoxious, self-centered and a complete disregard for any safety for them or any buyer of their stuff. Adding to the insult, that some of the goblins had worked for the orcs and the Horde in the Second War - yet for everything, this unique plague, required a unique touch to crack its secrets.
"Hello?" asked Sylvanas, opening the door which let into the shop. Besides the creaking structure itself and the mechanical parts to keep it intact, the insides were layed out and organized like a regular shop.
"A...customer..." piped the voice of a goblin, from under the counter. Soon a green-head popping out, and looking like the multiple other goblins she had seen in her life. Yet this goblin had more wrinkles and gray hair on his head - a still living, old goblin...was that a unique sight. "What can I offer ya' missy?"
"Oh nothing much here; just an overlook, advice, check-up of an object..." said Sylvanas, keeping a neutral face on and trying not to look desperate for information.
"What's the item you need a price-check on?" asked the goblin.
"This..." replied Sylvanas, taking out the silk cloth with the plague grain-seed and letting it fall onto the counter.
"You wanna grow weed from grain - I got some good potions and elixirs, that can make this super-grow in five days. Or better ye-" spoke the goblin, before she held up her hand for him to stop.
"Nono...this...this is a plagued grain...one roaming this land..." explained Sylvanas.
"Aahh...interesting..." he said, eyeing the seed. "...doesn't seem a lot..."
"So don't goblins..." replied Sylvanas, tugging on the goblin' pride of big stuff in small things. "...but this is bad. I...wanna know what makes it bad..."
"Well...I'm no alchemist...but I got one stuff here, that could help...for a price..." he said, rubbing his chin.
'Here we go,' thought Sylvanas, putting on her best, indifferent face she had. "10 gold pieces?"
"30...and throw in this elven silk..." he replied, eyeing the silk cloth.
'Greedy indeed...' thought Sylvanas, the silk she had was a simple handkerchief and one she had tailored herself, yet she wouldn't tell the goblin that. "Fine..."
As soon as the gold-coin filled pouch hit the scale, the green merchant immediately sprang into action. Looking through one shelf and cupboard, a weird contraption flying over her head as well.
"Found it!" he replied cheerily, finding it in the back of cupboard. Taking out a vial of clear liquid, that looked like water.
"Here we go..." he added, pulling off the cork and instantly Sylvanas' sense of smell was assaulted by a very strong and horrid stench, making her clutch her nose and cover her watering eyes - it smelled worse than the rotting undead. The goblin looking fine, as it chucked the grain-seed and corked it shut.
"Damn...that stuff reeked!" said Sylvanas, the stench gone as the vial was shut.
"Sure does..." laughed the goblin, tapping the vial. "This is strong stuff...it could eat through metal...if it wanted. Glass included."
"So what is it?" she asked.
"Give it a sec..." he replied, as the seed sank to the bottom and turned the clear liquid into a dark green one. "...okay...book..."
"What?"
"This..." he said, pulling out a rather large tome, which set onto the counter and started to look through it. "Ahaa...dark green...a very poisonous, toxic...or lethal chemical...stuff.."
"Yeah...I could gather that from the plague itself..." replied Sylvanas, a bit pissed.
"...yeah...a magical one..." he added.
"Magic?" asked Sylvanas suprised.
"You see...I wasn't joking, when I said this could eat through metal..." he said, tapping the vial, with the seed staying at the bottom fine. "Only a magical enchantment prevents this...stuff...from eating through the glass...and by far, I could say this...seed has magical properties too..."
'That would make the plague magical in origin,' realized Sylvanas, as her eyes lit up. "Could a dispell work? To remove it?"
"It could...lets try..." he said, bringing out a scroll and read the inscription on it. A light bhuff sounded, as the dispell was casted on the elixir. Soon the concoction ate away the seed, leaving nothing...and ate through the glass, spilling onto the floor. "Uh-oh."
"Oh b-AAH!" yelped Sylvanas, as the floorboard broke and she was sent falling onto the ground, face first into the dirt. 'Goblins!'
"Ya...sorry about that. Told you, that was powerful stuff!" replied the goblin, from the broken hole above.
'Oh...wait! Magic! Stratholme!' realized Sylvanas, as she got up and started to run towards Stratholme. "Thank you!"
"Another satisfied customer..." sighed the goblin, climbing down to eye the damage and the acid-elixir eating the ground. "...maybe I could sell this as fertilizer..."
XXX
Sylvanas was hastily making her way through the forests, getting a few scratches on the way from the branches and twigs hitting her face and legs. She needed to get to Stratholme fast, calling to the forest to grant her plea - answered by a slight gust, showing her the shortest way there.
She ran nearly the rest of the day, stopping only to cross a river or a rocky terrain but not longer. By the time Sylvanas could see Lordaeron' banners flying in the distance, she was panting heavily.
Arriving at Stratholme at dusk, seeing some familiar faces, some not familiar - and seeing both of them leave after arguing with someone ontop of a hill - Arthas.
"Halt! Who goes there?" asked a captain, raising a sword at Sylvanas.
"Ease up captain! She's a friend!" said Arthas, seeing Sylvanas stumble into his camp, out-of-breath and with some scratches and bruises. "Sylvanas?"
"Ye...I...giv...moment..." panted Sylvanas, trying to speak a word yet was too out-of-breath.
"Here!" said Falric, offering her a flask of water, which she greedily accepted - drinking half of it in one go.
"Thanks..."
"I'm glad you made it here. This...plague is more dangerous than I even imagined," spoke Arthas, as priest mended her scratches. "I had visited Heartglen on my way here and...the plague...it doesn't just kill them...IT turns them into the undead..."
Sylvanas' face gained a note of suprise once she heard that, yet that would explain everything.
"...and also..." said Arthas, pained at his next words.
"What?" asked Sylvanas.
"Stratholme...its infected...the grain is here...they look fine now...but they'll become undead...real soon..." said Arthas. "...so this city must be purged...I asked aid from Uther, but...he disobeyed me...left...and so did Jaina..."
"...I understand..." replied Sylvanas, suprising Arthas and his men. "While it's a bit extreme and bloody, I understand the idea - cut the branch to save the tree. But I got a better plan."
"You do?!" asked Arthas.
"Yes, now listen..." spoke Sylvanas. "...I found out that this plague is laced with magic - which explains why they raise the dead and why the Light can't aid any of the infected. So here is my plan: we have a few priests and mages to help us, I advocate we spread them around the city in key points, so we can create a powerful and massive dispell to purge Stratholme of any magical properties. Doing so...we could purge the plague of turning your people into undead...yet I don't know, if we can cure it later."
Arthas and his men had listened with silence at the Elven' Rangers plan, all to shocked at the possibility...another way.
"Well you heard Miss Sylvanas! Get to work!" ordered Falric, that shook the men up and into work.
"Sylvanas..."
"Yeah w-" asked Sylvanas, before getting grabbed into a hug by Arthas.
"Thank you..."
"Okay..." said Sylvanas, patting him on the back, before being let go. Seeing the same Arthas, from before in his eyes.
"Light-praised Sylvanas! I thank you..." said Arthas, over-joyed. "...I couldn't even fathom this kind of idea...but you...you gave us hope!"
"It was nothing," replied Sylvanas, shaking of the compliments, yet seeing the men move with new vigour and spirit in their eyes. "...I assume it won't be easy."
"No. Mal'Ganis is said to be here," said Arthas, losing the smile but keeping the renewed hope. "...but will deal with him, if he comes."
"Well if anything, I'll help you out," replied Sylvanas, smiling back.
XXX
With the new plan, the troops moved with haste into Stratholme, shields close to them with two spellcaster in every group. The new plan, which was hastily drawn up required for two spellcaster, accompanied by Lordaeron' troops per the four districts: Crusaders' Square, Festival Lane, King's Square and Market Row.
Falric was leading the group into Market Row; Marwyn into Crusaders' Square; Luc Valonforth, a captain that joined them from Heartglen lead the charge into Festival Lane; with Arthas and Sylvanas leading the group to King's Square, by far the largest district in the city.
"Set up near the fountain...and keep your eyes out," said Sylvanas, as the two priest' brothers set up and started to cast the spell. The soft humming was soon heard by Sylvanas in the other three districts soon as well - meaning their plan was underway.
The silence and the wind blowing made them however on edge, they were sitting in a dangerous zone, where the people around them could turn at any minute and they would be right in the middle of it; they were spread-out and the fact, that this Mal'Ganis hadn't shown its face yet.
"I've been waiting for you, young prince..." echoed a voice, through the district. Putting them on alert, with weapons drawn out.
"I...am Mal'Ganis," spoke the voice, materializing nearby - a daemon: a vampiric humanoid creature, with black wings and large claws, horns and hooves included.
'Bloody daemons!' cursed Sylvanas, not realizing the situation sooner. Keeping an arrow aimed at the dreadlord' head.
"As you can see, your people...are now mine! I will now turn this city household by household...until the flame of life has been snuffed out...Forever!" taunted Mal'Ganis as he slowly walked forward, claws raking against the wood and stone of the buildings.
"I won't allow it Mal'Ganis!" replied Arthas, taking up the dreadlord' challenge and stepping forward with Light' Vengeance drawn.
"So be it...human!" laughed Mal'Ganis, as a horde of undead appeared behind him.
'How did?!' thought Sylvanas a bit sweating, as the dreadlord had just summoned a horde of undead from nothing.
"Tear this city apart!" roared Mal'Ganis, as the undead charged forward.
"Guard them. Nothing must interupt the spell," said Arthas, meeting Mal'Ganis' forces head-on, fighting with a vigor equal against the undead' might, they knew what was at stake, Arthas more than others as he slaughtered the undead in his path and charging straight at Mal'Ganis. "You are past redemption!"
"You make me laugh human..." taunted Mal'Ganis, blocking Arthas' blows with his claws and striking back. "...mortal..."
"Yeah?! Well this one..bites..back!" replied Arthas, blasting him with holy light.
"Grahh...so be it..." said Mal'Ganis in anger of getting injured, but soon disappearing in a hail of bats, his laughter echoing in the wind.
"Sylvanas?" checked Arthas behind him - the undead were dealt with; some casualties, yet they would hold.
"Yeah?" she asked, a few wounds and blood on her clothes from the battle.
"Stay here! Guard this place and the entrance! If all else fails, this might be our only fall-back point!" said Arthas.
"Okay..." nodded Sylvanas.
"I'm going after Mal'Ganis. I saw him heading towards Market Row!" he added, heading there.
"Be careful!" she said, as he headed there alone.
Arriving at Market Row, Arthas immediately saw it aflame - the undead had counter-attacked in force and were killing the citizens.
"M'Lord!" yelled Falric, fighting off a group of ghouls. "We need to retreat!"
"No! We can still save this district!" replied Arthas, attacking the undead with his maul. Yet even he could see that they were too much.
"Arthas! The mages are dead! We can't save it!" said Falric, pointing at the two high elven bodies.
"Men..." spoke Arthas, as he took a final look at the situation. "Pull back! Grab the dead and wounded, retreat back to King's Square!"
"Yes, M'Lord! Move it men!" ordered Falric, holding back the undead with the remaining troops as the rest grabbed the dead and wounded, and made a run for King's Square.
"Steady men! Light give you strength!" spoke Arthas, invoking a blessing on his troops, that gave them renewed strength. As they slowly made a retreat back to King's Square.
"Close the gate!" yelled Falric as a guard shut down the gate and doomed Market Row to the Scourge. "Damnit!"
"What happened?" asked Sylvanas, making their way to them.
"Undead! They overran us, killed the mages! We couldn't hold them back, so Prince Arthas ordered us to retreat," said Falric, who felt sick at the feeling of abandoning the citizens to their death.
"You did the right thing. You saved your men," replied Sylvanas, trying to ease Arthas' worry.
"I failed them..." said Arthas, bitter at the situation.
"You saved your men! With it, you can save the rest of Stratholme!" replied Sylvanas, as their actions had drawn the citizens outside. "Stay indoors! It's not safe outside!"
"What i-"
"Please! It isn't safe for you to be outside! The situation is under control! Stay indoors, lock your doors and stay calm!" spoke Arthas to the gathered citizens, as he urged his men to return them to their houses - some of the citizens looking a bit pale. Luckily they didn't see the smoke and flames from Market Row; yet heard the screams which made them a bit worried. "We need to hurry!"
"You need to focus! If this districts falls, then your other men will be cut off!" replied Sylvanas.
"She's right, M'Lord!" added Falric.
"Alright!" sighed Arthas, as he calmed himself enough to lead his men. "Send a scout to inform Marwyn and Luc - tell them to keep the citizens inside and their gates closed off. If we fail...then atleast they have a chance to succeed and hopefully escape."
"Yes, M'Lord!" replied Falric, goinging to carry-out his orders.
"The rest of you! Ready up near Market Row' gate, we'll need to hold them back there!" spoke Arthas, then slumped onto a pillar tired out. "What a mess..."
"It could be worse..." spoke Sylvanas, walking up to him.
"How?" he asked.
"You...could be killing these people yourself at this moment. Instead your trying to save them," she said.
"Yeah..." muttered Arthas, as he shook of the haze of what he wanted to do, just a few hours ago. "Okay...it could be worse."
"M'Lord!" yelled Falric, as the gate shuttered under the attack of two abominations.
"Not these again!" said Arthas, as he ran to them with Sylvanas.
"I got this!" replied Sylvanas, shooting two ice arrows each at the abominations - repeating her tactic from Brill, as the ice arrows killed their targets through the head.
Yet behind them a horde of ghouls, undead and grotesque spider-creatures awaited them. Filled by the ranks of several zombified citizens.
"Light help us..." muttered Falric, showing fear at the sight.
"Stand high men!" commanded Arthas, stepping infront of the group. "You are soldiers of Lordaeron! Don't let these Light-damned creatures scare you! For Lordaeron!"
"For Lordaeron!" cheered the men in approval, their fighting-spirit lifted.
"How pathetic..." laughed Mal'Ganis, as he appeared on the other side of the gate and smashed it apart. "...kill them all!"
"FOR KING TERENAS!" yelled Arthas, striking his holy-charged maul into the ground and blasting apart the undead rank, as they soon impacted them.
Arthas fought back hard, smashing apart the undead as they neared him. Falric was holding back the tide from the side - stabbing, slashing and bashing away any undead. Above him, on the rafters Sylvanas was raining arrows on the undead from above; dealing with spider-creatures as they seemed more dangerous than the usual undead.
"Mal'Ganis!" roared Arthas, charging at the dreadlord, his weapon charged with holy magic.
"Bringing it...human..." taunted Mal'Ganis, ready for battle...if he didn't underestimate Arthas, who bashed him back hard.
"Whose laughing now?" taunted back Arthas, his weapon swinging at him again.
"Don't think it will be that easy!" replied Mal'Ganis, blocking the blows and counter-attacking in force. "You are weak..."
"I don't think so..." said Arthas, as he held his ground against the stronger daemon.
"Your city has fallen..." replied Mal'Ganis, sending Arthas skitting a few feet.
"I don't think so either..." replied Arthas, a slight smile on his lips.
Farther away the mages had completed the spell and unleashed it - a light and sounding shimmer enveloping the remaining three districts in a powerful dispell and purging all dark magic from Stratholme.
"What?!" roared Mal'Ganis, as he saw the undead citizen crumble to the ground dead and Nerzhul' influence fade from the area. Arthas seizing the chance and counter-attackin, sending the the dreadlord reeling.
"We're going to finish this Mal'Ganis! Just you and me!" spoke Arthas, readying Light' Vengeace.
"Your more resourceful than I imaginrd, no matter. Your journey has just begun, young prince. Gather your forces, and meet me in the arctic land of Northrend. It is there we shall settle the score between us. It is there that your true destiny will unfold," replied Mal'Ganis as he teleported away from the city, having caused enough damage on his part.
"I'll hunt you to the ends of the earth if I have to! Do you hear me? To the ends of the earth!" yelled back Arthas at the wind, before turning around to his men. The undead had been killed, without the zombie citizens their numbers were halved and dealt with easily.
"So...it isn't over, is it?" said Sylvanas, as he walked upto him.
"No it isn't. Stratholme is safe...but the danger remains, you heard the dreadlord...he fled to Northrend. I can't let him live and plan another invasion of my homeland...because the next time could be much worse..." replied Arthas. "...so please don't try to stop me...I'll be leaving immediately."
"I wasn't going to stop you, I wanted to ask if I could come along?" asked Sylvanas, suprising Arthas.
"You're serious?!" asked a shocked Arthas.
"Well you are, and what I have seen this plague IS dangerous. This 'dreadlord' even more - he could very well threaten Quel'Thalas as well, and as such I want him eliminated as well," spoke Sylvanas. "And as such, it seems you might need somebody level-minded with you, from what I had seen here."
XXX
Uther was nervous as he made his way back to Stratholme; almost six hours later. He had refused to carry out Prince Arthas' mad order, to out-right slaughter a city was against everything that being a paladin meant; no matter the situation, even if he had been king. Uther prayed that Arthas hadn't gone insane and gone out on his order...yet the trail of burdened citizens coming from the city, made him suspect the worse.
However, when Uther arrived on the outskirts he saw the opposite - people were being lead out of the city, while some were singled out and send into a separate camp, where several mages and priests attended to them.
"What's going on here? Who is in charge here?" asked Uther, dismounting from his horse.
"I am Lord Uther, Captain Luc Valonforth from Heartglen," spoke up a nearby captain.
"Captain...what happened here?" asked Uther.
"It a long story..." replied Valonforth, as he explained what happened: the plague, Arthas, the Elven Ranger, their new plan and of Northrend. "...as such, Prince Arthas had left for Northrend to stop this madman; the young elf accompanying him. As for the rest, he had ordered us to evacuate Stratholme, send the uninfected citizens away and...try to help those who had eaten the plagued grain."
"Light-praised..." sighed Uther at the fortune: Stratholme was by far intact, the plagued were getting helped and this hadn't turned into a bloodbath, that he feared. He'd need to thanks this elf later, yet another thing worried him: Northrend. It was a Light-forsaken wasteland, and by far it sounded like a trap as well for the young prince. "...I'll send for some aid to here, and to help the citizens locate to the other villages and towns."
"We'd be relieved Lord Uther," replied Valonforth as went back to help the citizens.
Uther knew that Arthas had likely reached the harbour by now and already set sail for Northrend with Lordaeron' fleet. Chasing after him would be a bad idea as well, as he was needed here. Mounting his horse Uther set forth towards Capital City, where he would request aid for Stratholme' citizens and to ask King Terenas to recall his son...by far he could be the only one who Arthas might listen to. So until then, Uther prayed that Arthas wouldn't do anything rash in Northrend.
XXX
A/N: Another done...(If any of you feel Sylvanas is a bit OOC[out-of-character], then let me know and I'll try to explain her actions)
Please review.