Hello, Hello.
Back again, a chapter within a few months of one another, what a surprise. Would have been sooner if two major factors didn't derail my process. The first was writers block over how to handle this arc, luckily for me a friend was able to help overcome that issue. The second thing was Covid, I got sick, still not fully recovered even after two whole weeks.
Cough is still present, throat feels tight, and generally my nose isn't this congested.
Now apart from my physical state I have been using this chance to do some research on Azeroth and Warcraft Lore.
Mainly the size of Azeroth in comparison to Earth, and it is a little contradictory. It is either the size of Earth, the planets matching in size, but then there is evidence to say that Azeroth is about twice as large as Earth. But then there are other things to consider as well.
1. Apparently he regions of the Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge are around the same size as Zambia.
2. The width of Kalimdor is around 3000km (1800 miles) which is significant. Based on evidence that it would take four days by Zepplin to reach the Desolace from Ogrimmar.
3. Also there is evidence to support that the size of the planet is still larger because the equator passes through the lower regions of Stranglethorn, Pandaria, and Tanaris. Meaning that all the continents only occupies the northern Hemisphere of Azeroth as a whole.
But anyways, enough about that, I have the chapter here ready for you all to enjoy. Reviews are at the bottom.
Transcendence
Chapter 84: Into the Frying Pan
Morgan's Vigil
Tyresa trudged up the slopes towards the militia camp, the ground was covered in ash and the air was clogged with with cinders and foul gases. Blackrock Mountain was heaving its fiery blood from its peak, bathing the region in a new layer of ash and toxic air. It was dangerous at times like these, very dangerous, breath too deep and you risk taking your last.
She just hoped that her sister could prevent that from happening, wouldn't do them much good to all die here before reaching the mountain. The Militia had been fighting in this region for years, they should have resources and equipment that can protect them from the gases. But she hoped that they had enough to share around, a hundred people was not easy to provide for.
"Tyresa."
"Annabelle."
Tyresa and Morgan greeted each other at the crest of the hill, staring at one another with no warmth or affection, sisters they may be but they were far from being close. Tyresa dreaded every time she had to come here, because it was always a fight she didn't want to have, it was why she kept away from this place. Truth be told there were many reasons she didn't like coming here, it was hot, it was hard to breath, and there was nothing to do but sit around.
But getting into a fight with her sister was not something she relished.
Hence why she tried to keep away as much as possible, visit every year or so just to make sure she was still alive. It was at this moment that she realised it had been exactly four months since she last came here, definitely not long enough for her to recover from her last verbal sparring match.
"Can we skip the usual greetings and move onto getting my people some protection from the smoke." Tyresa said, gesturing to her gaggle of warriors, she had noticed the gas mask that her sister was wearing along with everyone else in the camp.
Most of them were hacking up whatever they breathed in and coughing up a lung to do it, most of them were also showing signs of heatstroke. Looking back she found some of them were on the verge of collapse, less than an hour here and they were already spent. Just wait till they entered the mountain, that would be the real test for them, she just hoped that the mages they were able to get to join them could help mitigate most of the problems they were to face.
"Fine." Annabelle said, turning to a man nearby. "Felder! Get those masks out, all of them, if we don't have enough make some more!"
"On it." He said, moving off.
"When I heard you were coming and saw the mountain going off I had to spend a bit of money to get this ready, I expect to be reimbursed." Annabelle said.
"With how giving the Nobles are being in Stormwind I don't see that as a problem, although from what I have seen you are already receiving money from them." Tyresa said, before she turned to her people. "Alright! Move into the camp, find a spot and rest up!"
The people stumbled past her and into the camp, with only a few actually looking no worse for wear. As Joana passed by she held her up, leaning in close and whispering a few words to her, they needed to see if they can take the edge off with the heat. Maybe getting the mages to create some ice or alter the temperature around the camp.
As Joana walked off to do as instructed Tyresa turns back to Annabelle, reacting quickly to catch a mask being tossed to her.
"Didn't take long for you to throw a punch after asking for a truce." Annabelle said, crossing her arms and frowning.
Tyresa just knew she was sneering behind that mask, part of her didn't want to admit it but she knew she shouldn't have made such a snide comment. Her teachings as a Paladin should be winning out now, especially after so many years, but family is something she can never really put behind her.
"How long have you been accepting contract from the nobility?" Tyresa asked.
"Two years." Annabelle said, turning and guiding her to the tower.
As they entered they walked up to the top of the building and to the roof, not much of a view but surprisingly the air was a lot clearer.
"This operation has literally no income, we make most of our money by selling our services." Annabelle said. "Sad to say that the traffic through this area hasn't been the best for the last few years."
Tyresa knew that, despite how inhospitable the region is there was still trade carried out through this region. It was nearly inhospitable, until recently that was, and there would be caravans that regularly travelled through the area to reach to regions of Khaz Modan – the Kingdom of the Dwarves. Apart from the heat this was a well travelled trade route, very little dangers existed here even if the mountain had Orcs and Dark Iron Dwarves populating its peak and depths.
In fact after the Fall of Lordaeron this region became a major travel route for the survivors that escaped the Scourge. It had become a big business venture four years ago, lot of merchants and individuals looking for coin offered their services to guiding these people to Stormwind.
Menathil Harbour was one such avenue of transport, taking people by ship load to Stormwind, but for those that couldn't afford such hefty transport often had to resort to more dangerous routes of travel. That including travelling by foot, travelling that kind of distance was perilous, but it was lucrative for the right type of people.
The Militia also participated in this, likely making a pretty penny by acting as escorts. But during that time the Stormwind army had been dispatched to this area to help protect the roads, acting as sentries to protect those refugees. But after rising costs in keeping the army deployed, weighed against resources expended and reimbursed this resulted in the roads become more dangerous as the protection it once had dwindling.
"That changed right?" Tyresa asked, receiving a nod in return.
"When the orcs and Dark Iron started getting more active in the region and attacking caravans we couldn't protect them as effectively as before. Trade started to dwindle and eventually stopped." Annabelle stated. "So we had to take on another avenue in order to finance this operation."
"That involves stealing from the Dark Iron Dwarves?" Tyresa said.
"Only damn way to get the money we need to keep this militia going." Annabelle said. "Besides it serves a purpose as well, getting rid of the Dark Iron Dwarves is something everyone wants."
Tyresa didn't want to get into this, if she tried to push for more it would only lead to another argument, her sister would just bring up the importance of their fight to retake this region from the Dark Iron Dwarves and restore it to its former glory.
"Mayara Brightwing, where is she?" Tyresa asked.
"She was captured little over two weeks ago." Annabelle stated, surprising Tyresa. "We got word not that long ago she was captured, how I have no idea but if what that damn letter was anything to go by it was because she tried to get those idiots into the city. I have no light-damned idea what made her make the attempt, because I know for a fact that she has literally no way to enter the city."
"She doesn't?" Tyresa asked.
"The closest she got was to a bar on the outskirts, apart from that there is no way a human is going to be able to waltz right into the middle of Shadowforge City." Annabelle said.
"Then how did she steal any of those relics?" Tyresa asked.
"No idea, all I can say is that she always was able to keep up her quota." Annabelle replied. "We have tried for years to get into Shadowforge City, we haven't found a way in. At least not yet."
Tyresa didn't like what she was being told, all information she had pointed to that they would have a way into Shadowforge city, that if they found Mayara they could get inside. If there was no way to get into the city then how in the nether were they meant to actually complete their mission? This was a fools errand.
"What about the Molten Core?" Tyresa asked.
"You're kidding right?" Annabelle responded, incredulous. "The Core is the heart of the volcano, I have no damn clue what is down there. Let alone if there is a way through it."
Tyresa couldn't believe this, right now every thought in her head was telling her to give up on this fools gambit, she should turn her forces around the make her way back to the city. Everything that they knew was wrong, not surprising because what they had learned of the false information used by the previous rescue party, but now they were the ones with false information. Was there anything they had or knew that was true?
By all rights they should turn this party around and return to Stormwind, it would save everyone the agony of enduring this place any longer as well as lives.
Yet there was no way that was going to happen, even if she wanted to go back it would only cause more problems for them. Ignoring the ramifications of going back on aiding their allies in rescuing their Kingdom's princess the Court of Nobles would lay the blame on the Military who were leading the operation. In spite of the Nobles financing the entire thing, it was a military operation organised by Bolvar Fordragon, and its success and the consequences that came if it failed fall on his shoulders as well as everyone involved.
The Court was obviously making this gambit as both a way to earn some favour from the Dwarves if they succeed or to weaken the army if they failed. The Stormwind army was on the brink of collapse, they didn't have a standing military anymore and had to rely mostly on adventurers to get things done. That was a double edged sword, money bought loyalty here and if all that loyalty went to the Nobles than the military would loose even more of its strength.
"What am I to do?"
The heat wasn't as bad as last time, he couldn't even feel the heat at all, even as he was breathing he couldn't feel the sting of the superheated air at the back of his throat. There was no desperate need to quench his thirst, to drain his canteen every few seconds to wet his parched mouth. Theocritus really did a good job on this armour, he didn't doubt for a moment that this could protect him from Fire Elementals.
"This close enough?" Caren asked.
He turned and noticed that she had been using some magical around her body, glowing runes flowed around her, covering herself in permafrost and negating the heat of the region. Although he suspected that it was working too well, she was shivering slightly and also her face was looking a little blue.
"Maybe you should tone it down a little." Ichigo said.
"I am not as proficient in Frost Magic as compared to Fire, something I am regretting since I am now being forced to fight against spirits made up of fire." Caren said. "Lets call this practice."
An understandable concern, although the reasoning seemed a bit forced, not like you can kill a fire elemental with fire or just hit it with you iron axe and expect it to disappear. He even wondered how he would manage, while he had taken down Earth Elementals he doubted that this would be as easy. Earth Elementals had physical bodies that could be broken apart, something that helped when reducing them to rubble so that their cuffs could be destroyed. How that would work against fire he had no idea, it wasn't like with earth it had to lumber forward, it could simply rush him like a tidal wave and envelop him.
Good thing he had those enchantments. But still he needed details, oddly enough Elementals were not something well researched in Stormwind, even the Mages had little idea about these beings. They have summoned them in the past but it was more of a contract spirit they summon for a limited time, oddly enough most of their research was conjecture. In fact most of the recent knowledge they have on these spirits came from Theramore over the last four years, with Jaina being the one to reveal it.
"Well try not to waste your energy, you might need it later." Ichigo replied, best she not waste too much of her power before they get to the Core.
He kneeled down and pressed his hand against the ash laden earth, his gauntlet sunk about an inch into the powdery cover and touched solid charred earth beneath. He closed his eyes and tried to focus, something that had become more difficult as of late, he was losing his ability to utilise his powers. His strength may not have diminished but other aspects of his powers were starting to disappear, he couldn't wrap his head around the cause.
This kind of problem hadn't been an issue for a long while, not since he trained with the Visored and conquered his Inner Hollow.
Marshalling up all the power he could while concentrating with all his will he focused on the earth and tried to search for something, anything beneath the surface. It shouldn't be this hard, he sensed it last time he was here, he didn't even need to concentrate that hard to actually feel the residual spiritual energy. But now he couldn't sense it, it was like he was deaf, losing his senses and being unable to feel what should obviously be there.
A good deal of effort is needed now, even more than when he was just starting as a Substitute, but he was able to sense something. There was a massive presence beneath the earth, fiery and potent, but at the same time it appeared to be dormant. Perhaps the Firelord wasn't actually awake, maybe he was in a similar state to Theradras before she awakened.
"I found him, he's down there." Ichigo said.
"Awake?" Caren asked.
"Can't tell, but if we can find some evidence in the Core we might be able to at least determine if he is. Also we can bring this up to Tyresa later as well, if we find evidence to support this we might be able to relay it to her without suspicion." Ichigo said, already thinking on how he might be able to give them this information without having to simply say he sensed the elemental lord through the earth.
"You want to wait?" Caren asked, surprised by the admission.
"Don't think they will believe me, they don't know enough about me to trust what I say. Also if they ask questions that we shouldn't answer that raised suspicions that might be problematic for us down the line." Ichigo replied.
"Where did you get that idea?" Caren asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
"From you." Ichigo replied.
When he first had been preparing for the meeting with Tyrande in Darnassus following their exodus of Stonetalon's Peak he had been taught the finer point of politics and negotiation. He may not have followed it when he spoke with Tyrande but he made sure he didn't forget it, last thing you do when your friends life and future is on the line is ignore advice that can save her.
He had been taught five crucial steps to a negotiation, each one breaking down important points before and during a negotiation that can determine if it succeeds. He could remember it clearly: The Path, Unseen Vision, Staking the Claim, True Negotiation, and The Holdout. Each of these points relay a specific thing to consider and do while negotiating with a second party, and usually regardless of what you are discussing the method stays the same.
The Path refers to the goal you set during the negotiations, not just up to the person you will be speaking to but all the way up to the persons you will be speaking to later.
Ichigo didn't go to Tyrande just to get her on his side to protect Adelina but also use her authority to get into the Moonglade so he could see Romulus so he could plead his case to him. So that the Keeper could use his own authority to protect Adelina and have the charges levelled against her dropped. From start to finish he had a plan on how things would go, where they would go, and what needed to be done in order for the resolution they needed.
"Surprised you remember all that." Caren said, looking genuinely surprised.
"You hammered it into me pretty hard, and I was desperate to learn it, now I need to learn more." Ichigo replied, looking forward and towards Blackrock Mountain. "I have an idea, something that we can use to get what we need to have some power on our side. Just like you told me last night."
"Military achievements." Caren said.
"That is the one thing I am good at, we rescue Moira, reveal Ragnaros, maybe take part in the operation to take him down. We get Ironforge and Stormwind on our side, maybe more of the former than the latter." Ichigo said, remembering the conversation from last night at the Inn.
When discussing their plans for the future they had to literally figure out what they needed to gain in order to protect themselves from further attacks from Caren's parents and the Nobility. What they were having trouble with is the means in which to gain that power, because as he expected politics was a lot more tricky to understand than initially thought. One might think that it is some sort of Trope where the entire government is a corrupt mess and they are using their resources to carry out horrible assassinations for their own wicked plots.
Which wasn't far off it, but the thing was the House of Nobles had little to no major political authority over the Alliance as a whole outside of Stormwind. They were farm and land owners, that was where most of their authority came from, they were families with deep pockets and resources at their disposal that afforded them positions of authority in deciding legislation. But that authority only went as far as having advisory roles to the King, and apparently that was something they didn't like.
Most of their current actions today were attempts to increase their authority and influence, plots to try and improve their influence within the Alliance as a whole. Literally they were trying to build up their families power and authority, which oddly enough seems contradictory with their intentions and actions as of late.
"The Nobles are holding back on military action, they could have sent an army here to rescue Moira but they didn't. They are waiting for something, an opportunity."
Caren had said that last night, which confused him on so many levels. Because if this was meant to endear them to the Alliance he would think that rescuing Moira would do that, they had the authority to dispatch the military and send out the army. But they either thought that it would fail like with Galen or they didn't want to get in good graces of the Ironforge Dwarves.
"So we take that glory away from them and earn recognition in their place, they can't go against us because we would be heroes of the people." Ichigo said, seeing the logic behind it.
Not that hard, apparently he can earn military achievements without even trying, he apparently had a few notches on his belt in Kalimdor and some here already. He follows his usual playbook and go out of his way to look for nice ways to improve on the situation they might be able to get through this without any problems.
"That's one way to put it, but remember we still need support to keep ourselves safe, just because we are heroes doesn't mean we can't be knocked off our pedestals. The nobility don't like it when people overshadow them, especially those of lesser pedigree." Caren warned him. "We need people to protect us, support from within the noble ranks, or in positions of power where their influence cannot reach."
"So that means the Military is out." Ichigo said, remembering how Caren said that the military is directly controlled by the Nobles who organise its budget, movements and missions.
"Yes, and likely the same applies to the Mage Academy." Caren said. "Most of the mages there come from prominent families or have noble patrons paying for their tuition. So all that is left is the Church and… really the Church is all we can hope for."
"So that means getting Tyresa on our side is important." Ichigo said, receiving a nod from the mage.
"While the commander works with the Military she is still part of the Church of the Holy Light, and they are not subject to the laws of the Nation they preside within. While they must respect the law they are only subject to the law up to a point." Caren stated.
Nodding along he looked up towards Blackrock Mountain far to the west, the fiery peak was like a bloody wound along the jagged ranges of the region. He couldn't even begin to wonder what kind of force was needed to create something like that, and to wipe out not only here but the territory on the other side of those mountains. That kind of power, it was terrifying to think about, they were dropping into the very heart of the mountain where the thing that did it was waiting.
"You're worried." Caren said, catching his attention.
He turned around and looked surprised, he didn't think it was showing, how the hell did she see that when he wasn't facing her. But he couldn't deny that it was true, his fight against Theradras had been an eye opener for him. He had fought something that actually gave him trouble, actually forced him to go all out, and now he was scrapping along the borders of something more powerful.
"Can't say I'm not, we are going into the belly of the beast, and I have no idea…" Ichigo started, this wasn't something he would openly admit but he couldn't deny how he felt about going down there.
"That's not what I am talking about." Caren interjected. "You have been like this since you returned from the Moonglade. You have been throwing yourself into almost everything you get your hands on. History, Political Sciences, Magic Lore and Theory, Theology."
Ichigo actually felt his pulse quicken as she kept talking, he knew where this was going. And no matter how much he wanted to he couldn't control himself from feeling the he did, he had to put a pin in this and let it rest.
"I am doing this because…"
"Don't place this on me, I said it before you have been on this since Moonglade."
Ichigo clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes, he didn't want to say it, he really didn't.
"Are you afraid of that vision happening? Do you actually think it will happen?" Caren asked.
He stood up and turned to her, looked her square in the eye, all but ready to shout how he felt. But he never got the chance, coming over the slope behind Caren was Joana, she crested the small hill and called down to them.
"Both of you! Get back to camp, we are heading out!"
"Understood, we are coming." Caren called back.
Ichigo took a moment to take a breath and then skulked past Caren, he couldn't do this right now, he had to focus on the mission ahead of them. Some might think he was being cowardly, trying to cover up his own feelings with the task ahead of him, but he didn't want to admit that it was true. Because as much as he hated to say it, he felt so weak right now.
Blackrock Mountain Depths, Four Days Later
The hard part wasn't getting to the mountain.
Sure the agonising heat didn't help, which sapped all the moisture out of the air and from your canteen if you left it open, made even worse by the rivers of lava that flowed around the base of the mountain. But at least they wouldn't be near it for long, so that wasn't so bad.
Camping in the heat was oddly enough worse than that, especially when there little cover and they had to look out for Orcs and the Dark Iron Dwarves. This place was an active war zone even when they weren't there, they often heard fighting in the distance, so avoiding that was important. Still, could be worse.
Hell, even getting into the mountain was a breeze, just walked up the ramp and then stroll right in, after that it became a little more complicated.
While there existed a highway through the mountain into the Searing Gorge to the North they were not going to be using it. Their path went on a direct downward dive into the very heart of the mountain, right into the fire and lava. That was the hard part, they had a path all set out for them but it was a slow and uncomfortable journey to their destination. Narrow passages that they had to squeeze through, the heat bouncing off the walls and hitting them from all sides, it was like being in an oven.
The Dark Iron Dwarves didn't have natural pathways to the surface, during the climax of War of the Three Hammers when Ragnaros was summoned this place was inhospitable and nothing came here for nearly a century. But when they did come they found that the original entrances had been destroyed, collapsed or flooded with lava. Most assumed that Shadowforge City was destroyed, the Dark Iron with them, until the Second War and after.
Apparently the Dark Iron clan had survived, and following the fall of Stormwind struck up a bargain with the Horde.
After the Horde moved north the Dark Iron started expanding into other regions, current information available says they are everywhere within the Dun Morogh region. How they did that was actually with very advanced technology, specifically deep earth drilling rigs that acted as transport. What they were using now was actually old tunnels that the dwarves used to reach the surface.
"We got a cavern up ahead, looks like a mining crew are excavating the shaft." Joana said, hunched forward as she spoke with the advanced team. "Most of the people down there are slaves, ignore those mining and focus on the guards."
Everyone nodded their heads and got ready to move, Ichigo slowly scooted over to the edge of their cover and looked into the large chamber. The place was large, having been excavated to literally allow for an army to pass through it. They weren't mining for resources, they likely wanted to bring an army though here.
"No guns, bows and throwing weapons only." Joana instructed, before looking to Ichigo and the group he was with. "Keep as quiet as possible, take out as many as you can without alerting anyone, we will take out the sentries."
Ichigo nodded and moved up with his group, he had been paired with six others, Caren was with them and they had a plan. Looking around their cover again Ichigo counted how many Dwarves there were.
Three groups of three, four groups of two, six overseers making sure the workers did as they were told, five sentries on the high ground – armed with rifles. Those sentries were going to be taken care of by Joana and her group, so that left twenty three guards to deal with. He kept low and started looking at how they moved, their patrols were easy enough to figure out.
The group of three had patrol routes, the groups of two remained stationary, with the overseers remaining close to the work gangs and only moving to whip whoever started to slow down in their work. The Overseers had whistles around their necks, to call for help if need be, they would need to be taken out quickly. But it was the patrols that were problematic, the trio of three guards moved up across each side of the chamber and up the middle, while the four group of two each stuck to a corner of the room.
Ichigo glanced over to one group, just a little ahead of them, not far from their position. Ahead of them was a work gang with their overseer, while walking away was a trio of guards, he turned to his party and motioned to their leader. A guy named Kevin Dawson, a member of the Morgan's Militia, young guy too and looking like he really didn't want to be in charge.
"I can get to those two and then the Overseer, if you can take out the three coming up the middle we can move down the side and take them out one by one." Ichigo suggested.
Kevin looked for a minute and then nodded his head, Ichigo wondered if he understood what he was talking about.
"Great, give me that knife." Ichigo said, reaching forward and pulling the dagger from Kevin's belt, one dagger in hand he pulled out his own and turned to the duo at the corner of the room. "Caren, use your invisibility to get everyone close."
"Understood."
He turned and watched closely, and then he struck, a quick burst of Shunpo and he was right next to the duo. One dagger sank down into the clavicle of the closest guard, he didn't get much chance to make a sound before his buddy also had a knife in his throat. Pulling out the first blade he sheathed it, and then with a hard tug he ripped out the second and moved onto his next target.
He turned and charged the overseer, making a beeline for him and grabbing the whistle and then stabbing the man in the back of the neck. He quickly then pulled the body to cover, lest someone sees him from a distance. As he pulled the dead man with him he noticed the trio ahead of him turn around suddenly, he had no idea what caught their attention.
But as he swung into cover he noticed that Caren hadn't made her move yet, meaning that he was effectively trapped where he was with two groups on his left and right. It seems both of them are moving up this way, that wasn't good.
Ichigo turned to the right he noticed someone watching him, an orc that stared at him confused, and it was then that he realised something. This orc wasn't like those orcs he faced in Redridge, pale green or grey skin, they weren't part of the Dark Horde. In fact he noticed a symbol on his shoulder, one that he recognised very well, this guy was from the Warsong Clan.
That gave him an idea.
He reached into his pouch and produced the sigil, the orc immediately realised what it was and probably knew who he was as well. The orc then turned to the approaching dwarves and then said a few guttural calls to his fellow slaves. After that they started making a fuss, Ichigo just had enough room to see the guards starting to move in on the slaves.
He also noticed a few assassins move up towards the sentry's on their perches.
Now was the best time to strike, he motioned towards where Caren and the group were hiding and hoped they saw the signal. As the dwarves moved in on the slaves he got to work, pushing off the corpse and standing up. He looked around and saw the sentry's were down, they had the perfect opportunity to strike.
Ichigo turned back to watch as the dwarves were taken down by Caren's group, they struck from behind and killed them quickly. With them down he moved up, looking down the chamber and seeing the next two overseers. The first one turned and looked startled, the last expression on his face before Ichigo threw the knife right into his chest. The second didn't even realise he was done for, one burst of Shunpo later and another knife was through the top of his head.
Letting the dwarf fall forward Ichigo drew Zangetsu and charged forward and towards the two guard in the back corner of the chamber. Two quick swing later and both were down, stealth was going out the window now, he turned to look over at the adjacent side of the chamber and saw the rest of their forces were already engaging the enemy.
Ichigo charged in and provided support, he got in two more kills before the battle ended, after that everything was silent.
"Send the scouts ahead, I want to know what is down this path before Tyresa arrives." Joana ordered, before turning to Kevin. "Back up the tunnel, start bringing everyone in. We'll use this as a base."
"What about the slaves?" Someone asked.
"Free the Dwarves and Humans, see what they know." Joana said. "Kill the orcs if they try something."
"I'll question them." Ichigo said.
"You think you can get them to talk?" Joana asked.
"I got them to help." Ichigo replied, earning a puzzled look from the Paladin.
But she didn't say anything and just motioned for him to try, she probably didn't think they would cooperate. He had his ways, and he was about to prove it, he walked over to the group he had first talked with. Some guys were freeing the dwarves and humans but also antagonising the orcs.
"We should just kill these bastards while we can, if they escape they might come back with more orcs." One said.
"They won't." Ichigo replied, reaching forward and taking the keys from him, he moved towards the orc and started undoing his chains.
"What in the Light are you doing?" He shouted, drawing his sword.
"Put that away, we don't have to worry about these guys." Ichigo replied, letting the chains drop to the ground, and then looking up at the orc.
They maintained eye contact for a few moments before Ichigo handed him the keys and said "Get your people unlocked, we can discuss afterwords."
He stood there motionless for a moment before he complied, taking the keys and moving back towards his people. Ichigo let them do as they did, but he did noticed that Joana was now a lot more focused on him than before.
She marched up to him and from the look on her face along with sword held tightly in her grasp she was not in a good mood. He knew that he was going to be going through a very painful conversation right now, but he had dealt with this multiple time before.
"Joana!" A call came from the distance, turning Ichigo saw Tyresa strolling in and looking at him. "Stand down."
Joana didn't look like she wanted to follow that order, the way she was glaring at him spoke volumes about how she was feeling. He could see it in her eyes, that borderline contempt and rage, all of it directed right at him. He expected surprise, anger sure, but what he was getting from her look like he had murdered her entire family and burned her house down.
"Joana, let me handle this, round up the prisoners." Tyresa said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her back.
As Joana let out a breath she abruptly turned around and walked off, sheathing her sword and barking orders. He had not expected that.
"Now what do you think you are doing letting those orcs free?" Tyresa said, turning to look at him, her glare was potent and she wanted answers.
"Their not Blackrock orcs." Ichigo replied, turning to look at said orcs who had finally freed themselves and their leader stepping towards them.
Tyresa immediately tensed, everyone around them did the same, felt like a standoff and he was the only one that wasn't expecting a fight to break out. There wasn't a single person, aside for himself, that didn't think they would be fighting for their lives in the next few minutes. Made him recall those tense standoffs they had not so long ago with the Horde at various events, Eldre'thalas and Ethel Rethor coming to mind.
"You're part of the Warsong Clan." Ichigo started, looking at the orc and gesturing to the mark on his shoulder.
"Where did you get that seal?" The orc demanded.
"From your Warchief." Ichigo replied, noticing several people shuffling around the chamber and looking on surprised.
"So… you're him." The orc said, his fellow warriors also murmuring to one another. "I heard about you…"
"From your Warlord? Morgosh Braveheart? Heard he doesn't like me." Ichigo said.
"You're a threat, a dangerous one, you won every battle you took part in." The orc said.
"And saving a lot of your people as well." Ichigo replied. "Just like now, you help me and I'll help you."
"How do you plan to do that?" The orc asked.
"You get to leave, regardless if you offer your help or not." Ichigo said, he could practically feel Tyresa's eyes on him. "But if you stay and help out, maybe a little payback isn't out of the question."
There was a tense standoff from then on, lasted a good minute, the tension was thick enough that you could suffocate. Eventually the orc let out a chuckle, amused by the substitute words.
"Alright, lets talk." He turned and moved from the chamber with his soldiers into the adjacent one.
Ichigo turned and looked to Tyresa.
"Lets see what he knows." Ichigo said, turning back and following after the orc.
He could see her surprise, likely not expecting an orc to be reasonable, now it was time to actually do some his best work.
They entered the next chamber and found to orcs waiting there, their leader stepping forward and away from the group. The orcs stepped up towards him and Tyresa and gave them both scrutinising looks.
"My name is Gor'shak, I am a sergeant from Hammerfall in the Arathi Highlands, sent to monitor the activities of the Dark Horde."
Ichigo mused on that and this came as a surprise, although now that he thought about it these guys were deep behind enemy lines and very close to Alliance territory. The Arathi Highlands was on the southern edge of Lordaeron, to get here you would need to cross the entire Khaz Modan region.
"The Dark Horde?" Tyresa inquired.
"They are remnants of the Old Horde that survived the second war, and refused to join forces with the Horde when they escaped across the sea to Kalimdor." Gor'shak said. "They have become more active recently, enough that they warrant close observation."
Now Ichigo understood, this wasn't just the Blackrock Clan, this was likely other races that hadn't been captured or destroyed. So if that was the case than they probably had ogres in their employ, not surprising considering there was a mine being excavated by a group of ogres. So that means that means that the Blackrock clan likely had reinforcements and power outside the mountain and the region.
"What are they up to?" Ichigo asked.
"We have no idea, but I suspect the are trying rekindle old alliances with the ogres and forest trolls." Gor'shak said.
Ichigo had read up on some history regarding the subject around the Second War, during that time the conflict between humanity and orcs escalated to include multiple races. The trolls were one of the major allies that the orcs received, along with the ogres that followed them from Draenor. This is what created the Horde of the Second War, one that nearly won and defeat the Alliance of Lordaeron during the Second War.
"The Trolls? Do you know who is allied with them?" Tyresa asked, clearly worried.
If there was a chance that the Blackrock Clan was starting up the original Horde again they had every right to be worried. They were a force to be reckoned with, and even if they cannot remake it in the same capacity as before it would still be a threat that could topple Stormwind.
"They have sent missives north, we found them calling on old allies and some enemies as well." Gor'shak replied.
"We've thought for years that the orcs in the mountain were on their last leg, but if they can rebuild, they could overwhelm Stormwind." Tyresa said.
"They are desperate." Gor'shak confirmed. "The ones sending these requests are the trolls, particularly the Firetree and Smolderthorn Tribes, their tribes are small but they are scattered across Lordaeron."
"They weren't that desperate a few months ago." Ichigo muttered, they came to Redridge in force and actually caused a lot of damage.
"Redridge wasn't well defended at the time, it was only due to trouble with the Gnoll population that gave the orcs a chance to attack on mass." Tyresa replied.
Ichigo had some inkling about that, he recalled how Morgonth had ensorcelled the Gnolls in the area to cause problems for the local enforcers that allowed the orcs to roll right in with minimal resistance. Likely she had been made aware of this as well after the fact, probably from Galen, but it was obvious what this meant.
It would seem that the orcs had a different methodology than initially thought.
"That means it wasn't just an attack of opportunity, they did it with a plan, and from the looks of it they kept themselves well protected while in Redridge." Ichigo said, realising now that maybe the Blackrock Clan was actually be cautious with the invasion.
They didn't get too far into the region, they kept to Stonewatch Keep with only a single forward outpost near a lumbermill. Also they kept control of the main pass into the Burning Steppes, when you think about it that was sound tactics that went against what you would expect for a violent and aggressive race of warriors. In fact they were more disciplined than the Horde, he had seen the Warsong and Burning Blade orcs using near suicidal tactics to win but the Blackrock Clan were cautious.
"You aren't wrong, the Blackrock Clan knows its days are numbered, they have finite resources, are fighting a prolonged battle against the Dark Iron Clan that is growing in power every day. Make even more obvious with them willingly looking to Re-establish ties with former allies, and enemies." Gor'shak said.
"How far along are they in doing that?" Ichigo asked.
"No idea, entering the Mountains peak is impossible." Gor'shak stated, clearly annoyed.
"You can't infiltrate the spire?" Tyresa asked.
"They don't allow for guest, they are also very careful not to let anyone in, even the Blackrock Clan orcs we have back home can't get in." Gor'shak said. "So we had to improvise, we planned to come to the Depths and find the Dark Iron and see if they knew anything, they have been neighbours with the orcs for decades. And we have heard some whispering that confirms our fears."
"Such as." Tyresa asked.
Gor'shak was quiet for a moment, before he looked between Ichigo and Tyresa. Didn't take a genius to know that he didn't want to speak up on it, he knew something but wasn't willing to talk.
"The Dark Horde isn't a threat at the moment, but recently we have come to recognise the Dark Iron as one that will threaten the stability of the world long before the Dark Horde ever does." Gor'shak said, Ichigo knew that he was deflecting but at the moment they would take what they could get.
"What do you mean?" Tyresa asked.
"Words have been travelling through the interrogation wing for some times, and in the mines, the slaves here murmur amongst themselves and hear the most detailed of information." Gor'shak said, giving an amused laugh. "It is why we allowed ourselves to be captured."
That surprised Ichigo, along with Tyresa who seemed confused by the admission, an Orc allowing himself to be taken captive.
"Surprised to hear that, I thought your kind hated chains." Tyresa remarked.
"The Dark Iron thought the same, and while it is true, you would not believe how arrogant and talkative they become when they think they have us under their thumb." Gor'shak said, smirking in a vicious sort of way. "We learned a good deal, but it wasn't until they started bring people out of the Molten Core that we learned so much more."
"The Molten Core… the first team." Ichigo said, quickly realising who they were referring to.
"What do you know about them?" Tyresa asked.
"I know they were sent here to rescue Princess Moira Bronzebeard, Mangi Bronzebeard's daughter, they seemed to think they can get into the city through the core. It appears to be true, because there are only two entrances into the Core that are accessible." Gor'shak said.
"Only two?" Tyresa asked.
"One along the cities main highway, and the second being beneath the Imperial Palace and leading directly to the Emperor's Seat." Gor'shak said. "The guards were worried how such important information had somehow become common knowledge, along with how the intruders entered the Core in the first place. They have been trying to drag them out for the last few weeks."
"But they didn't succeed." Tyresa said.
"No, it appears they are still trapped in the Core, occasionally they bring out a survivor or word spreads that another body is found. They don't seem to know the way to the Palace, or they cannot get past the defenders within." Gor'shak said.
"Defenders?" Ichigo asked.
"Elementals." Gor'shak stated.
That wasn't completely unexpected, but if that place was swarming with them and Galen was still down there he didn't like the chances that man had. Especially after this amount of time, who knows what kind of shape he was in along with his group.
"Do you know if there was a mage that was captured, his name was Galen." Ichigo asked. "Also maybe a priest named Mayara, she has been stealing from the Dwarves for a while."
The orc thought for a moment.
"I don't recognise those names, but if you want to rescue the prisoners they will be in the interrogation wing. They are being tortured there daily, if they are alive you will find them there." Gor'shak said.
"Where is it?" Tyresa asked.
"I will tell you, but you must allow my people to follow, more of my kin are trapped down here and they must be rescued." Gor'shak said.
Ichigo could already see the refusal forming on Tyresa's lips, he knew he had to cut her off.
"We'll give you the Dark Iron weapons from the dead guards, you help us secure the area and we help you with your people. Sound fair?" Ichigo asked.
"Then we have an agreement." Gor'shak said, turning and moving back to his people. "Bring us those weapons and we will show you the way."
As he skulked off Ichigo felt Tyresa seize him by the arm and drag him away, he should have expected this but for the life of him he hated the discussion he was about to have. As they rounded the corner she pushed him against the wall, giving a few looks around before focusing solely on him.
"What do you think you are doing?" Tyresa growled, eyes narrowed and glaring at him like he was some uppity little termite.
"Getting us some help." Ichigo replied, before he put some emphasis on that fact. "Help we need, because we have no idea what we are jumping into and that guy back there knows more than we do. We want what he knows, we have to give something in return."
"And you think arming them is going to help us." Tyresa said.
"Do you think sending him running forward with no weapons is going to make it better?" Ichigo asked.
"Better that than arming an enemy." Tyresa said.
"Last I heard there was a peace treaty." Ichigo replied. "And I don't think getting into a fight down here with actual warriors is going to do us any good."
"They are not allies, regardless of who our enemies are the orcs cannot be trusted, their very presence here does not speak well of their intentions." Tyresa said. "They cannot be trusted, they will turn on us if we allow them."
"They won't. Because I won't let them." Ichigo replied. "I need you to trust me on this, we can make this work in our favour, and if we help them we might learn more than we initially intended. If we find out about the Blackrock Clan we can likely prevent them from doing any damage in the future."
She was silent for a moment, likely weighing her options, before she let out a breath. It wasn't difficult to guess that she didn't believe him or want to go through with this, a part of him wanted to think that this struggle was due to her trust in him and her animosity fighting over which direction she should take. Problem was he doubted that was the case.
"We will discuss this when we find the prisoners, get back to your unit." Tyresa said, turning and walking back into the chamber.
Ichigo knew that convincing her was going to be a problem, he was just glad she was going along with it for now, hopefully Gor'shak knew better than to try anything. If he knew about him that should keep him from doing anything drastic, his infamy alone should make sure he doesn't do anything against them.
Although even with that thought he had his doubts things are going to go smoothly. If hindsight is anything to go off than convincing Tyresa down the road is going to be difficult, he expected this kind of resistance but maybe he should be a little more cautious with how he approaches this.
They moved along the passages, removing guards and patrols as they went.
Gor'shak was proving to be a very valuable asset to them, he had these caverns memorised and also the patrol routes of all the guards. They were able to move quickly and without any interference, they took down a few dozen patrols and freed nearly a hundred slaves in these mines.
Getting them back was a little problematic, they had to send people back with them to the main chamber. Then they had to get back, they were moving forward faster than the slaves were going back, luckily for them the orcs covered the issue of their numbers decreasing.
Not that anyone else thought that way, he couldn't hear anything but them muttering about how they should kill the orcs before they killed them. They ignored the fact that the orcs were leading them along a safe route and were taking out most of the guards for them. Without the orcs they would be running around blind down here, without a clue as to where they were going.
Case and point, where they were now.
They had found the interrogation wing, a nice big prison that could house a couple hundred people, and it didn't look at that hospitable. Luckily there wasn't much in the way of guards on patrol outside the perimeter, getting in shouldn't be that hard. Although once they were in they would likely be fighting in narrow corridors.
There was already a discussion going on up ahead, one that he had relayed information to and was now banned from participating in. He had been acting as a messenger between Gor'shak and Tyresa, tensions were high and he was becoming sort of a pariah among everyone here. Apparently my dealing with the Horde had not endeared anyone to me.
"That was a risky gamble." Caren said, kneeling beside him as they prepared for the assault.
"I did it mostly out of reflex, noticed those guys were Warsong and thought they could help." Ichigo replied. "Although the amount of hostility is surprising, didn't get this much attention when I was with the Sentinels or in Theramore."
"Stormwind and its people have a very long and bloody history with orcs, doesn't matter if they are Blackrock or not. Peoples memories are long, their hate is deep, they will not tolerate their presence." Caren said.
"Even thought they know the distinction between the Horde and Blackrock Clan?" Ichigo asked.
"Most don't care for the distinction." Caren replied. "They know about the Horde in Kalimdor, but to them this peace isn't important or even necessary. In fact you could say that many think Jaina Proudmoore is a traitor in some capacity."
That seemed excessive.
"In fact, if you have read up on the Second War you probably know about Aiden Perenolde."
Ichigo did know.
Aiden Perenolde was the King of the Kingdom of Alterac, one of the Seven Kingdoms that made up the Alliance of Lordaeron. It was the only Kingdom that betrayed the Alliance, siding with the orcs to save themselves, and in turn nearly dooming all the human nations to oblivion. Aiden failed in his gambit and his action led to the fall of his Kingdom and the disbanding of his people, many who would become brigands and thieves.
"So that is what people see of Jaina?" Ichigo asked.
"Well it more in lines of what they might see in you."
The parallel Caren was making between him and that fallen King was not flattering.
"You think I'm that bad?" Ichigo asked, annoyed that these people are actually comparing him to a traitor.
"No, but to them it is no different. You helped those orcs, you even gained their aid with little effort, to an outsider it looks like something sinister." Caren said.
"Can't people look at things logically for once." Ichigo muttered, scowling as he looked around the at the people.
All of them didn't want to be caught staring, but he noticed their suspicious glares and the fact they murmured to one another. This was a freaking nightmare.
"Got any ideas how to smooth this over?" Ichigo asked.
"If this goes well and the orcs don't turn on us we can use that as an example of your good judgement, but smoothing things over would require us to do something massive." Caren said. "Something like rescuing Moira might not be enough, we might have to dethrone Emperor Dagran Thaurissan and then go on to defeat Ragnaros."
So he literally had to save the fucking world just so they get over the fact he made a logical decision that benefited them in the long run and likely resulted in them succeeding in their mission. Just great, this was what he was dealing with.
"Here's to hoping for the former, the latter isn't something I am up for at the moment." Ichigo muttered, before looking over towards Tyresa who was finishing her little meeting.
"There are six entrances, and just as many blocks, we proceed down them and cut our way through." Tyresa said. "Marksmen up front, take out any resistance along the way, we only secure the prisoners when we secure the prison. At the end is a command post, there we will find the majority of the guards, we take that and we secure the prison."
The teams started getting organised, but he noticed one issue, they were only five teams being put together. Then Joana strolled over to him, angrily as per usual since they got down here, and from the way she was glaring at him it was obvious where all her vexation was aimed towards.
"You will be part of the orc party, you think you can keep in line?" Joana said.
"Better than you keep your anger in check." Ichigo replied, standing up and walking part her.
He walked past everyone else, all of them avoiding him like the plague, and as he walked past Tyresa he didn't even dignify her with a glance. They wanted to treat him like a pariah he wasn't going to give them the time of day. Maybe trusting her was the wrong choice, that only further aggravated him.
As he strolled up to the orcs they glanced at him, unlike the rest of the people here they didn't even bat an eye at his presence. He wondered if he should stay with them for the time being, maybe also follow them out and leave these assholes to their own devices. Not like rescuing the Princess is going to do him any good.
"I'm with you." Ichigo said.
"Overseer?" Gor'shak inquired.
"Fellow outcast." Ichigo replied, glancing down at the entrances of the jail.
The orc seemed amused by this, before he walked up beside him.
"How do you want to do this?" Gor'shak inquired.
"Charge forward, heavy guys at the front and shooters behind, we push forward hard and fast and get through them as quickly as possible." Ichigo said, drawing his sword and moving forward. "I'll take point."
The orcs were not far behind, readying their weapons for the attack, he saw the rest of the teams were getting ready as well. The corridors were wide enough for four to move shoulder to shoulder, maybe if you were human, but he would have at least an orc on either side of him.
"Attack!" Tyresa called out from the distance, the battle had begun and everyone charged.
"Let's go." Ichigo said, starting slowly and moving into a jog.
The orcs were right behind him, he had two warriors beside him, and as they reached the entrance three guards were ahead of them and lining up their shots. Ichigo charged forward with Shunpo and took them out with a single swing of Zangetsu. The three fell and they pushed forward, Ichigo took the lead with the two orcs kept up with his pace.
They moved fast and heavy, the Dwarves had no chance to stopping them, the few marksmen that got in their way were taken down either by himself or their own riflemen. They make good headway, the orcs were skilled and knew how to fight, not surprising since they were all part of the Warsong Clan. They were making good headway, they barrelled through everything in their path and weren't slowing down.
It took a good five minutes of running before they reached the end of the cell block, and there they came across the command post. It was a simple thing built into the wall face, nice and open and with little to no defences to protect them from an assault.
Ichigo looked around and noticed no one else had arrived, looks like they were on their own to deal with this. Seeing no other reason to wait he charged forward with his forces, it wouldn't be much of a fight now. The Warsong set up firing lines, the warrior charged, and Ichigo took point and charged right into the waiting enemy line.
Ichigo saw six dwarves rushing him, it wouldn't be much of a fight getting past them. He swung wide and took down the first as he tried to raise his hammer, his torso sliced open and blood flying freely. He moved for the second attacker who was swinging his axe towards his side, Ichigo took that axe and then impaled the dwarf. Stealing the axe from his grasp he turned and slammed it down on the top of the next dwarf's head, he twisted quickly and pulled his blade from the Dwarf's chest along with throwing aside the bludgeoned one.
The remaining dwarves stopped their assault short, likely seeing their comrades taken down so quickly didn't inspire much confidence. Ichigo wasn't about to let them get it any of it back, he charged in and swung hard and fast. They didn't have a chance to defend themselves before they were dead, and he was charging up the steps and into the compound.
As he stepped inside two orcs stumbled towards him, clutching at their heads and screaming in agony as they seemed to be afflicted with some sort of curse. The source of said curse seems to be not far behind, strutting up behind the orcs and making purposeful and exaggerated steps. She was an older woman, past forty, maybe fifty, brunette and wearing a very expensive looking dress that was smattered in blood – old and new.
"Who dares disturb my symphony of suffering?" The woman said.
"I take it you're the interrogator." Ichigo muttered.
"I am Gerstahn Shearlu, High Interrogator! A composer to the dreaded opus of pain and misery!"
"You're just a crazy old hag that likely doesn't realise who utterly insane she is." Ichigo replied, tightening his hold on his Zanpakuto.
"How dare you. I will not be spoken down to by some low borne street urchin that lives off the scraps of his betters!" Gerstahn yelled, her hand bathed in pulsing dark energy.
She attempted to fire but Ichigo disappeared with a burst of Shunpo, moving right past her and then following up with an overhead swing. He expected to cut her in half, not that difficult considering how thing the waif looked, but instead his weapon bounced off some kind of shield that surrounded her.
"Fool! You think it so easy to best me?"Gerstahn yelled, turning around and waved her hand towards him.
Ichigo immediately felt every nerve in his body flare in pain, it felt like his skin was being peeled and his bones were being broken. He fought back a scream, settling with only an agonising groan, he kept his grip on his Zanpakuto and tried to keep and eye on that woman.
Her mouth was twisted into a vicious smirk, revelling in the agony she was causing him, he wanted nothing more than the wipe that smile right off her face. He fought down the pain and charged, moving in quick he drew back his fist and punched as hard as he could. His gloved hand met the shadowy shield and it wavered under the strike, enough that it began to flicker away.
Caught completely by surprise by the attack Gerstahn tried to retreat but Ichigo instead followed up with a second attack. He stabbed Zangetsu forward and the blade cut through her defences like a hot knife through butter, her body fared no better as she was impaled upon his blade. Her end didn't come with a cry or whimper, but a gurgle as she collapse upon his weapon.
With an uncaring swing he discarded her body and gave it little thought as he turned around and looked into the compound. It was a well open chamber, there wasn't any other rooms but just a large room that seemed to have a decent acoustic reverb. Likely this was the opera for the deranged woman's symphony, where she could hear the screams of those who she tortured.
Ichigo looked up and noticed a person bound to a chair, a woman in long robes and looking worse for wear. Rushing over he found the tanned skin brunette strapped in and looking to have been subjected to the mercies of the interrogator. But he did noticed that on her clothing was a sigil, one he had seen several times.
"You're Mayara Brightwing." Ichigo said, working on the straps to get her freed.
"Yeah, that's me." She said, weak and delirious. "Who are you?"
"Names Ichigo, we are the rescue party sent to find Galen." Ichigo replied, undoing the bindings on her arm and moving on to her legs.
"Who?" Mayara asked.
Not surprising, he had already heard how she hadn't actually contact them, which begged the question on how they got into the Core without Mayara. Either way he had to get her to a healer now, she was wounded and who knows how many sessions she has had with that crazy hag.
He lifted her up into his arms and carried out out of the chamber, just as he did he noticed that the rest of their forces had arrived. While the orcs had already finished up the guards and were sitting down having a nice little rest, he almost felt smug with how quickly they got this done. But he had someone that needed medical attention.
"I need help over here." Ichigo moved forward and bringing Mayara to the nearest healers. "She's been tortured, she needs healing."
The healers didn't need anymore prompting, they got to work on checking her and applying some first aid. Ichigo left them to their work, turning and noticing the situation that was unfolding right in front of him.
The orcs were on one side and the Alliance adventurers were on the other, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Can't these people put their animosity aside just for a moment and think of the bigger picture. He stepped forward and got between the two parties, he couldn't let them fight one another, these guys wouldn't do much good against a Warsong party. Outnumbering the orcs or not they will take losses, big losses.
"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked, looking directly at Tyresa as she stood at the head of the mob that looked ready to kill.
The Commander was silent for a moment before she turned to him and motioned for him to follow, she walked forward quickly and into the compound. Stopping only momentarily to give the same gesture towards Gor'shak, who looked towards Ichigo expectantly before walking after the paladin.
Ichigo followed after them both and into the depth of the compound, out of sight and earshot. Tyresa didn't say a word as she examined the room, leaving him and Gor'shak to stand there and wait for her to say something.
"I think I deserve an explanation." Tyresa started, turning and giving him a look that didn't broker any argument. "I should have ignored you when you said to allow these orcs to help, I should have detained you under suspicion of treason, I should have done almost anything other than let them out of theirs chains."
"You would arrest me for trying to get some help?" Ichigo asked.
"Asking for help from the orcs is not something someone from the Alliance should do." Tyresa responded, it sounded like she was reprimanding him for his behaviour, as if he had committed some sort of taboo.
"I am not from the Alliance." Ichigo replied.
"Then where are you from? Its not hard to believe you aren't part of the Alliance, no citizen of Stormwind or Lordaeron would affiliate with the Horde. And they would not seek to earn their respect, especially the amount they seem to hold towards you. So I will ask again: who are you?" Tyresa said, stepping up towards Ichigo and looking him directly in the eye.
Ichigo had to wonder how he should handle this, he knew that telling her the truth wouldn't work as that would raise more questions and he didn't want to answer them. Mostly because he had no idea how she would react if she became aware that he was a Shinigami, if she believed it that might make it worse.
Staying silent wouldn't do him any good either, he had to alleviate her suspicions of him otherwise it would only work against him in the future. Looks like he would need to skip over the major details and go for the simple stuff.
"Theramore. I work with Jaina Proudmoore." Ichigo replied. "I helped organise a peace summit in Kalimdor between the Horde, Theramore and the Kal'dorei. Before that I helped stabilise several situations between the Horde and Sentinels."
Tyresa looked surprised by the admission, not expecting that to be the case. But hopefully she wouldn't question it, Jaina has been an advocate of peace talks between the Alliance and Horde, he was affiliated with her and many knew that. While they wouldn't know the true scope of his involvement it would at least be something she can confirm later.
"When there was a risk of conflict between the two I would step in and help solve it, peacefully mostly. Eventually it resulted in a peace summit in the Moonglade where the Sentinels and Warsong agreed to end hostilities and a new peace pact has been established." Ichigo finished.
"You organised a peace summit?" Tyresa asked.
"The boy speaks the truth." Gor'shak said. "His actions have resulted in major gains for the Horde, our Warchief has seen to it that he is given leeway in time such as this. As well as support."
"You would trust him that much?" Tyresa asked, obviously not believing that an orc would offer any aid to a human.
"My Warchief trusts him, and despite the words of my clans warlord he has proven himself to be a better ally than enemy." Gor'shak replied, he suspected there was more to this but chose not to speak up on it.
"Can you prove any of this?" Tyresa asked.
"You can ask Jaina." Ichigo replied.
"I intend to." Tyresa stated. "But I would recommend that you do not try this again while here, your actions have not endeared you to the rest of our party. If you reveal too much they will not trust you."
"Can I assume the same of you?" Ichigo asked, he didn't want to to sugarcoat this.
He was trusting Tyresa to have his back despite what she might feel about the situation. He might not have thought this through or done things correctly but he had hoped that logic would win out. But it was starting to show that the people of Stormwind were very different from those of Theramore, and that revelations was a little too late for him.
"I don't trust the Horde, regardless if they live in this mountain or on another continent. Their history and ours is bloody, violent and filled with death, we have long memories and we hold onto our history and traditions very tightly." Tyresa said, looking at Gor'shak intently before she turned to him. "I can't tell you that this changes anything, personally I feel no different than how I felt this morning, but I am going to warn you ahead of time. This will not help you with what you want to do."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes and wondered how much she was aware of his intentions.
"Want to clarify?" Ichigo said.
"There are some places you shouldn't tread and things you shouldn't speak of." Tyresa said, she stepped in close and kept her words low. "You need people on your side, and the last thing you want to do is start alienating yourself from everyone around you."
She definitely knew something, how he had no idea but this was not what he expected. A hand fell on his shoulder, it was likely meant to be reassuring but he didn't know if he should treat it like that.
"You have a good head on your shoulders, you have a lot of potential, but you can't make risky decisions like these, they won't do you any favours." Tyresa said, giving his shoulder a pat and started to walk off. "When the orcs are gone try to make everyone forget what happened here, last thing you want is this to make it back to Stormwind."
With that she was walking out of the chamber, leaving Ichigo to contemplate what he had just been told. She was more aware of things than he was, how in the hell did she figure him out like that? Did Caren tell her? No, she wouldn't reveal it like that. Besides Tyresa wasn't exactly showing herself as being a team player, she wasn't on their side and from the looks of it she didn't want to be.
He couldn't figure her out, she gave him a warning, what he did know was that she was telling the truth. Tyresa wasn't wrong that he had overstepped and revealed something that he really shouldn't have, he revealed his dealing with the Horde. To everyone here no less, along with her and her subordinate.
If this got out, if word reached Stormwind, gaining allies would be harder – if not impossible. More than likely they would have the same reaction Tyresa or Joana had, but likely a lot less subdued.
He couldn't believe they would condemn him for this, old hate would be the thing to undo it all, it didn't matter if there was logic behind what he did or even if it was simply right. Ichigo felt his blood boil, his teeth aching as his jaw clenched and the finger nails dug into his palm. Were these people so stupid that they couldn't get over their own hate and see the bigger picture? It would seem to be the case.
He couldn't let this end here, this one act will not spell Caren's doom, he will make sure of it.
Well there you have it, Ichigo isn't making friends as easily as he thought he would.
Now this chapter took a while to get out because of the direction I wanted to take Ichigo in it, and if you have a keen eye I am willing to bet that you might know what is happening. I am actually very pleased with this chapter and how it came out. I plan to post another one soon.
Also some funny misspellings from my draft that a friend found and commented on.
"Bolivian Fordragon": The most exotic of the Fordragons, and the spicy cousin of Bolvar lol.
"Get in good graves of the Ironforge Dwarves": Graves are probably not what they wanna get into.
"Had enscrolled the Gnolls in the area": Me thinks you mean ensorcelled.
"And freed nearly a hundred slavers in these mines": Free the Slavers! Leave the slaves! lol
"Something like beating rescuing Moira or defeating Ragnaros": First we will beat her, and then we will rescue her lol.
Now some of you might be wondering why the party with ichigo were antagonistic towards the Horde, some might think it irrational but considering their history with the Horde and recent developments it would only reopen old wounds. Also the difference between Theramore and Stormwind is that the former worked alongside the Horde in Kalimdor and there was respected gained between them.
But for Stormwind they only recognise the treaty to an extent, in fact during this period of time the Alliance hadn't formally had a summit with the Horde to really consolidate the treaty. Also with recent dealings with the Blackrock Clan it probably hasn't improved their opinion of orcs and their kin. So I suspect that regardless of what may have happened in Kalimdor they aren't going to trust the orcs or Ichigo who seems to be in their good graces.
Now into the reviews.
Ricardo753: You actually do raise a good point and I can confirm that this sort of thing I do plan to do in the future. Won't tell you when or where but I can confirm this is something I thought up a few years ago.
Aclux: I plan to actually do a few Gaiden Chapters revolving around the Old Gods forces that are being made aware of Ichigo and his presence and doing things in the back group. So you are not wrong that they are aware of him but not in the capacity of what he is but that he serves a great purpose.
Star: We are alike my long lost brother to another mother.
Rios: Romance will come later, I tend to not jump into romantic elements too quickly, considering I read a lot of manga I see that romance blooming after ten pages. So I am a slow burn kind of guy. Also as for him gaining access to his other powers I can confirm that it will eventually happen.
Neptune18: I do know the books and I have yet to buy it until a translation comes out that I can read well. Still looking but getting it in Australia is a little difficult. Anyway I do plan to explore more into the Bleach side of things and expand on that lore as well as the story progresses.
As for Romances, I am keeping it out of the picture for possibly the next major story or the one after that. I want to make sure that I pick the right person and that by at Wrath of the Lich King Ichigo has access to a plethora of woman that he could end up with. Truth be told I was tossing up some of the big ones, Ysera, Alexstrazsa, Elune, just to name a few. Honestly the romance side of things was always going to be late game. Also funnily enough when I started this story back in 08 the plan was for a Harem because the guy that edited my chapters wanted it that way. He wanted Adelina and Caren to be part of that Harem.
Not gonna happen, the Harem I mean.
Thank you all for your questions and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
