Lost Lion

Disclaimer: I don't own WoW. Blizz does, and your soul too.

Volume 2: Chapter 20

*** The Hinterlands - Winterbark Territory ***

It had been roughly two weeks since they had entered the Hinterlands from the south, hugging the mountain paths in the hope of staying as far away from troll territory as possible. They had stayed mostly out in the open, away from the nearby dense forest lines. The last thing that they needed was to provoke more enemies when they were at their most vulnerable.

Unfortunately, as they had bitterly learned in the past month, they had gotten what they least wanted. The forest trolls were thus named because they blended in with the forest. It was only thanks to Prince Kae'thas' sharp elven eyes that he saw the troll forces before they began to emerge from the nearby forests.

"To arms!" King Thoras Trollbane roared. He drew Trol'kalar, his famed sword, and pointed to his second in command. "Uther, have the people continue west! Everyone else, we will be their shield!"

Danath Trollbane, a veteran of a hundred battles, gritted himself for a long fight. The surviving remnant army, due to their disastrous assault to take the Thandol Span, was battered and tired, but they still responded to his uncle's command. A line formation stretching north and south, only two rows deep, stood firm in the face of their ancestral enemy. Instead of a straight line, their formation curved to protect the peasants to their rear.

The trolls swarmed out from the forest tree line and threw their famed axes at the formation. Many sons of Stromgarde were struck or outright died despite their caution. With the Alliance on the defensive, it allowed the troll warriors to close the distance between them.

"Deth to dey humans!" a troll warrior shouted in hatred. "Wipe dem off our land!"

"Lock those shields tighter, boys!" Danath roared as he punched a troll warrior in the face, breaking a tusk. He was immediately attacked by another troll who wielded two curved scimitars. "Protect our people!"

Thankfully, Danath backed away quickly enough so that the blades merely scraped against his armor. He quickly capitalized on the troll's failed attack and opted to charge at the troll. The troll's eyes widened, instinctively trying to back away from the human daring attack. However, the other trolls behind him prevented that. Without a way to avoid it, Danath pierced the troll's stomach before pulling his blade out and repeating the action again.

The ex-mercenary captain was no fool; after getting his hits in, he quickly retreated back to his lines to avoid getting surrounded. He could hear the cries of the civilians behind the line as they ran desperately away from the battlefield. Mothers were protectively cradling their babies, while the refugees moved along in a rush alongside, wielding farming tools or whatever they had on hand. The soldiers, in the meanwhile, defended them in a fighting retreat.

"Keep your wits about ya lads," the ex-mercenary captain advised. "We've beaten their kind before, and we'll beat them again!"

His little encouragement appeared to shore up the soldiers' morale, to the point that even his uncle gave him a nod in appreciation.

Though the battle involved the soldiers of the Alliance moving with the civilians while fending off the trolls, it was hard to keep their formation while doing so. Thankfully, Prince Kael'thas and his mages were able to create breathing room when they most needed it with their area of effect spells.

Rain of sharpened ice would fall onto the enemy in front of the human lines. Though not dangerous if they simply raised a shield like an umbrella, doing so left them vulnerable to the human defenders. Eventually though, the trolls had enough of the one-sided magical abuse and called their own magic users to the forefront.

"Agghh!" A soldier next to Danath suddenly screamed as he dropped his weapon and clawed at his face. From the corner of his eye, he witnessed the face of the screaming soldier's skin bubble as if boiling before they popped, spewing blood out. The man was still standing, but the pain must have been immense.

"Huggahh!" Another man screamed as a bluish beam of foul magic struck him. His face became pale before he dropped his weapon as if he was too weak to hold it. Slowly, to their horror, the soldier withered before their eyes, becoming skin and bones, before collapsing to the ground. A troll finished off the fallen soldier by stepping on his head and crushing it.

"No! Get them off! Get them off!" A third man began stripping himself of his armor. A foolish thing to do, until it revealed dozens of poisonous green spiders that had been hidden under his cuirass, biting him relentlessly. "Save me! Light have mercy! Save me!"

The man dropped and rolled on the ground, screaming hoarsely as the spiders continued to feast on him.

"Damn the trolls and their foul voodoo magic!" Lord Uther roared as he smashed a troll berserker in the face with his warhammer. He must have put someone else in charge as he came to the rear to reinforce their lines. "Sons and daughters of Lordaeron, do not give in to fear! Believe in the Light, and it will protect you!"

As if to test his words, a troll hexer slapped its hands together and from it, the same dark bluish beam that turned the other soldiers into husks leaped out and struck the famed knight of Lordaeron.

"Guh!" Uther grunted as his face became pale and sweat started to bead on his skin. The hexer was joined by another, and the same beam spell was cast on the knight. "Arggh!"

"Kael'thas!" King Thoras shouted urgently to the high elven prince. "Save Uther!"

Unfortunately, the prince was occupied with several other trolls Voodoo practitioners. His uncle could only turn back to see a third and fourth bluish beam now on the knight. It was too much, even for the famed knight, as Uther fell to one knee. It was only because he was leaning on his warhammer that he did not collapse completely. Danath wanted to help, but if he left the line, then it would leave them all vulnerable.

"N-no!" Uther grunted out. He was clearly in pain. "T-the Light is my shield!"

There was a shift in the air and the power of a different type crackled. The troll hexers looked panicked and intensified their beam attack.

"T-the L-Light is my strength!" Uther declared louder.

As if spurred by his words, a soft golden glow surrounded the knight. Danath was not a great believer in the Light, truth be told, but he could not deny the comforting presence that enveloped Uther.

"F-For so long as we believe in the Light…" Uther, to the hexers' disbelief, became healthier before their eyes. Then, to their surprise, the knight stood up as if the foul voodoo magic was doing nothing to him. "...that believes in us, we need not fear these foul magics!"

An explosion of golden light washed out, breaking the beams and forcing the trolls back. Danath was surprised to find himself feeling reinvigorated, but he was not alone; the men around him also looked more alert. It was Uther, however, who demanded all of their attention, especially since the man was glowing with divine power. Danath had heard tales of the Heir of Thoradin's feats with the Light, but he would bet that the boy had never shown faith on such a scale as this.

"The Light is with you all!" Uther's voice boomed. "And together with our hands, it will help defend our people!"

With that, Uther threw his hammer at the first troll hexer that had attacked him and knocked it off its feet with a caved-in chest. To Danath's surprise, Uther's weapon never left him, instead, it was the Light—molded into the shape of a hammer—that was thrown.

The trolls all looked uneasy and backed off for a moment. In doing so, they allowed the Alliance forces to pull away even further. Unfortunately, as if to confirm Danath's thoughts from earlier, the situation became dire when a familiar hated war horn sounded nearby. Even Uther, who had been empowered by the Light, looked alarmed and turned his head to the south. He was not the only one to do so as the trolls also turned their gaze in the same direction.

The ground began to shake, heralding the arrival of the greenskins.

"The Horde is here!" his uncle shouted in alarm. "Quickly, move and secure our rear!"

No sooner had the words left Thoras' mouth than the tide of greenskins could be seen flooding into the valley of the trolls. The orcs pulled up short upon seeing the trolls and were confused by another greenskin race like them. The moment was broken when an axe from a troll flew into their lines and struck an orc grunt. An orc spear thrower responded right away, throwing a spear into a troll warrior on the front lines.

That was the signal as the orcs took to the offense and began attacking the trolls and the humans. The trolls, too, continued their attacks on the humans while they battled the orcs. The battle that had been between trolls and humans quickly turned into a three-way free-for-all. Danath's expression became grim when he realized that, even in a free-for-all, the troll and orc forces could still overwhelm them.

"Hold fast, boys!" Danath roared and was prepared to receive the first wave of incoming orcs when a bolt of lightning struck the orcs and trolls near him. However, unlike a regular bolt of lightning, it traveled ten orcs deep before stopping. The scene was repeated along the line and forced the troll and orc forces to back off, even though they had engaged each other. "What in the Light's name—"

Danath turned his head to the clear sky before catching something at the corner of his vision. Turning in that direction, he saw dozens of majestic gryphons with their dwarven riders throwing their famed storm hammers into their enemies' lines. The lead dwarf had a large red bushy beard but was not armored like the dwarves he had seen south of Stromgarde. Instead, they were wearing some kind of light clothing, and to their gryphons' side were more than one of their storm hammers.

"Well, what are ye gawking at, laddies?" the lead dwarf asked. "Get yer people outta here. We'll cover ye!"

Under the protection of the dwarves of the Wildhammer Clan, the survivors of Igneous Pass were finally able to move to safety. Some of the orcs and trolls tried to follow, but the dwarves impeded their progress, allowing the refugees to flee. There would no doubt be more fighting before they could reach true safety, but looking at how fiercely the trolls and orcs were fighting, perhaps they had more time than they thought.

*** Arathi Highlands – Orc Encampment ***

The rumbling of the ground slowly tapered off when over a hundred thousand orcs halted their movement. Empty tents were all that greeted them; not a single warrior was seen beside those that had just arrived. Many warriors sneered at the state of disrepair the orc encampment had turned into. It would be plausible if they were fighting a ferocious foe, but every orc knew that was impossible. There was none worthy in this world that could face them.

At the head of the sneering warriors was the true leader of the Horde. He was smaller than even the average orc warrior, but there was no doubt that he stood amongst the likes of Blackhand and Doomhammer in terms of prowess. That very orc was here to judge the great shaman for the sins of failure.

Ner'zhul shifted in place uneasily as his Warchief nudged his large mount closer. He could feel the wolf sniffing at him before it exhaled a foul breath through its snout. It then leaned forward slightly for its rider to look at him.

"Warchief." The great shaman genuflect in submission before his leader. "Your presence—"

"Where is your army, Ner'zhul?" Grom Hellscream's question cut off the shaman leader. "Why is this human 'castle' still standing in defiance before the Horde?"

Ner'zhul could feel tens of thousands of eyes looking at him in disdain. Their once respectful gazes were no more.

"Th-they fled, Warchief…" The words made him burn with shame.

"Fled?!" Grom shouted so loudly that some of his spittle landed on the shaman. "You commanded an army of over a hundred thousand of our warriors, along with a renowned blademaster, and they FLED?"

"T-the humans proved tougher than anticipated—" Ner'zhul tried to explain but trailed off when he sensed Grom's oppressive gaze on him. It was time for him to admit the truth. "It was also because of a human well-versed in Draenei magick that contributed greatly to our—my, defeat."

"A human defied our Horde?" Grom hissed in anger. "Do you take me for a fool?!"

"I'm all but certain that it was the same human that Gul'dan tried to have killed, the one that he had sent his pet assassin after," the old orc defensively said. "I'm also starting to think he had something to do with how Gul'dan was defeated."

Ner'zhul knew that it might not amount to much, but it was all he could say in his defense. He was expecting another outburst from Grom, but after a few moments of silence, he dared to look up.

"A human with mastery over the Draenei's foul magicks, you say?" Grom Hellscream then looked at the wall. "Show him to me."

Ner'zhul gazed up at the wall where the humans appeared to be shouting at each other and moving quite chaotically. He could almost taste the humans' despair, but under the watchful eye of his Warchief, he soon spotted the human and pointed.

Grom eyed the humans as if committing him to memory before he raised his greataxe, 'Gorehowl'.

"Warsong!" Grom Hellscream's voice cut through the battlefield. "It is time to show all the other clans how a true warrior clan fights! We will succeed where they failed!"

The Warsong orcs stomped their feet and pounded their chests in reply. Even their wolves howled in anticipation of battle. Grom then pointed his axe toward the wall.

"Warriors of Warsong!" he roared. "We shall teach the humans the true meaning of fear! Attack!"

The clan had only one response to Grom's urging.

"For the Horde!"

+++ Stromgarde Keep+++

"Oil! Get more oil up here, damn it!" I shouted as the militiamen huffed and puffed, carrying what little oil we had left to the ramparts. The newly arrived Warsong clan had begun to surge toward us. "What's the status of the civilian evacuation to the royal keep?"

I looked behind into the city to the final defense between us and the Horde.

"Most have gotten to it, milord," a footman whose name I didn't know replied. "The volunteers are still outside barricading the other district entryways."

Stromgarde Keep had a pretty funky layout, but that was due to its age. Unlike the more modern cities of Stormwind or Lordaeron, which separated its districts into a neat and orderly manner, the ancient castle had to be built as it grew. It had originally started with the keep and to protect the Arathi's royal family and their loyal soldiers. During the Troll Wars, it served purely as a military structure and rallying point; afterward, however, people from all walks of life began gathering there for safety.

Pretty soon, a small town grew around it, and due to the paranoia of the time back then, the Arathi royal family erected a wall. Then another town grew outside those walls and yet another wall was made around that. Walls meant security and as a result, more humans kept flocking to it. Eventually, one of Thoradin's descendants restructured the castle to what would be its modern-day iteration.

A grand sixty-foot wall would be erected around the entire area to be Stromgarde Keep's main defense. From there, they carved up the keep's inside into sections like residential or military areas. Each walled district would have smaller iron gateways so the people could move about, but the royal keep was different. Because it was the seat of the royal family, it had reinforced wooden gates and was situated at a higher elevation so the rulers could survey their holdings. Unfortunately, high elevation meant shorter walls because it had to be even with the main outer walls.

Instead of a nice tall sixty-foot wall, the royal keep only had a twenty-five-foot one. Another part of its design was for the royal keep to have a main roadway to the main gates. That made the road slope downward from the royal keep and allowed them a very good view of the gate. From my position, they can see all approaching enemies.

"Everybody brace yourselves!" I ordered. Without waiting for his acknowledgment, I turned back to the incoming Horde and muttered under my breath. "We've run out of time."

They were coming at us in full numbers like the very first day of the siege. Unlike the first day, our defenders were no longer fresh, and our lines were very thin. We had run out of arrows, save for a few dozen amongst all the archers. To add to our dire situation, our catapults' original payload of stone and wood was also empty. Even our priests were only at half the number we started with. Worst of all, we didn't even get any time to catch our breath from the last attack.

Everyone was well aware that the wall that had become our home for the past month but now our protector, was going to fall. Though in truth, it wasn't the wall that failed us but rather we who failed to protect the wall. If that was the case, then I wasn't going to let the Horde have an easy go of it. So on the fly, I concocted what I hoped was a clever plan. No one else had any better ideas.

"All the oil jars are spread out, my lord!" said a slightly winded Falconcrest. "The trap is primed, sire!"

All along the wall, every ten yards or so, was a jar made of clay around knee-high that was filled with oil or cooking grease. The civilians had been kind enough to help us gather the substance shortly before I had ordered them to evacuate.

"Priests, get your blessings out now and fall back to the royal keep!" I commanded.

From my position, I observed that many of the priests did just that and gave out last-minute blessings to our troops. Well, correction, not all. Nearby, a certain elven priestess was taking care of my section along with hers. I didn't ask her to do it, but I understood her intent. Quickly done, she turned to look at me with an indomitable expression.

"I'm staying with you, Callan," Liadrin said in a tone that brooked no argument. Too bad for her, I was going to do just that.

"Lia," I said softly. I then placed both of my hands gently on her shoulders. My eyes bore into her green ones so that she could see that this was not meant to be a slight against her. "I need you to get the people situated and away from the wall. We won't be far behind."

"The Ranger General is staying with you," the priestess pointed out. Her eyes flitted to where Sylvanas was sharpening her twin daggers. "I can be just as valuable as her."

"Of course you are," I agreed. "But that's not the point. You are needed more by the people in the royal keep."

I saw the pretty elf priestess give me a doubtful look as her eyes flitted over to Sylvanas.

"Lia," I called out to her again. "Now, more than ever, the people need the Light so that they do not lose heart. I can think of no one better than you for that job."

"But I…"

Our eyes met once more as if in a staring contest. Nothing existed in this moment, not the beating war drums of the Horde or the defenders' last-minute adjustments. The world only had us, and in the end, it was the high priestess who backed down first.

"Promise me you will survive," Liadrin demanded. I saw a flash of gold behind those green eyes at her words.

"Yes, yes, milady," I said, using the lowbrow version of addressing a noble on purpose. "This mere peasant of a priest shall do as you command. Now, will you go?"

It was a blink and you missed it, but I saw her lip curved upward a bit before she nodded to me. I watched her leave and saw her briefly stop to talk with Sylvanas about something. Both pairs of elven eyes turned toward me before the Ranger Commander nodded to the elf.

'What did she say?' I wanted to ask, but now was not the time since the Horde was approaching closer.

"Catapults!" I shouted to the siege engineers behind me. "Release at will!"

"Release!" The catapults began flinging hastily cobbled wood and furniture over the wall.

We were using the broken pieces of the stones that made up Stromgarde as a payload, but the Horde never got a chance to cause that much damage. Worse, I could only watch helplessly as the catapults from the newly arrived Horde began to fling their explosive payload at the main gate.

"Did we get enough debris to block the inner gate yet?" I asked my right-hand man.

"Yes, sire," the future assassin answered. "Though we were light on the oil, we had enough tar and pitch to make it more of a hindrance."

"Good," I replied. Looking down, I saw the orcs had arrived at our wall. Like Ner'zhul's orcs, they began to use those goblin-made ladders.

The first wave of orcs climbed onto their ladders while those below them pushed them forward onto the walls. Some of our soldiers rushed to the embrasure of the wall and had spears and swords protruding out to catch those orcs. However, that placed them in precarious positions that allowed spears from the orcs to reach them. Still, they had to do it as the ladders filled with orcs loomed closer and closer.

This was it.

Taking a deep breath, I addressed my forces. "Soldiers of the Alliance! Trust in each other and remember the plan! For Azeroth!"

"For Azeroth!" the outnumbered soldiers shouted.

All along the wall, it practically rained orcs onto the battlement, but the defenders, battle-hardened and experienced, created a forest of swords and spears for them to fall on. It was something we as a whole learned over time when we fought Ner'zhul's Horde. Of course, Ner'zhul's Horde no longer fell for such easy attacks, but Grom's Horde had never faced us. They jumped without looking and paid for it when they were impaled on an upraised sword or spear.

Many orcs died from it while the rest coming from the ladders were surprised by the trick. The only drawback was that orc corpses tend to be heavy, so it took time and effort to toss the orc corpse aside. Those that were free, however, rushed the invaders on the ladders. Once again, experience had been a great teacher here as they stabs into narrow openings were the best way to push the orcs off their ladders.

Ner'zhul's Horde learned how to deal with it; Grom's Horde stared stupidly as Falconcrest's sword was shoved right into his mouth. The sword easily exited the back of the orc's head before Falconcrest withdrew his sword and stabbed at the next orc. Many of the orcs' first wave were killed in the same manner before they began to wise up and use their weapons to shield or parry such attacks. Eventually, the first orc landed on our rampart and was immediately swarmed, but then a second joined, followed by a third. Slowly yet surely, despite their losses, the orcs were gaining a toehold on the battlement.

Our soldiers, knowing the stakes, did not give the orcs a second to set their feet and get used to the terrain. Instead of engaging in a grand melee, our defenders paired up in twos or threes, working in small units to fight off the invaders. The strategy frustrated the Warsong orcs since they desired true battle and got in each other's way trying to find it. A scene to my left showed how an orc jumped on a shield , only to be met with two swords coming at his sides.

On my section of the wall, I was surprising Grom's warriors with my enhanced Light strikes. Orcs tended to expect being able to overpower someone of my size, but the Light, being the great equalizer, proved them wrong. When my weapon struck the first grunt axe full on, it was his axe that rebounded out of his control while my arm pushed forward. The result was a large gash that exposed his intestine. With ease, I angled the blade and finished him off with a gut stab that pushed through his spine.

Another orc roared and jumped at me, and another, but using my versatility, I sidestepped the first attack and spun to avoid the second. I then fired off a wave of penance that took the two orcs off guard. My two opponents had no chance and died a moment later; I spared them no more thought as I worked on the next orc, and then the next. Despite the unrelenting assault, I was surprised to find that our morale was still holding steady. If we continued on like this, then it would be wonderful, but I didn't think it was likely.

As expected, the orcs began to surge forward with more and more ladders. Green heads were crowding on the embrasure and now was the time to execute the first phase of my plan. Stepping back into my lines so that Falconcrest and the soldiers around me could protect me, I reached out for the Light. Dipping into my reserve of holy energy, I molded a spell with great care, knowing it would tax me. Clapping my hands together as if in prayer, I felt Light suffuse my body before I cast the spell.

"BARRIER!"

Unlike my previous iteration of this golden dome, I forced myself to extend it over all the soldiers on the wall.

"Soldiers, clear the wall!" I ordered

The orc grunts roared and rushed the defenders, intending to pry a gap in our defense, at least until they swung their axes. My intention for my 'Barrier' was clear in who I wanted to protect, so when the first orc axe swung down onto a footman, he was surprised when all of that momentum did little to harm his foe. Instead, the footman attacked his exposed body with a powerful strike before moving on to the next. The orc died without knowing why his weapon failed him.

Barrier was a powerful spell, as it softened any and all incoming strikes, but it was also very taxing, especially when cast on such a large scale like I was doing alone. I mentally urged the soldiers to work faster to clear the walls, and as if they heard me, they fell upon the orcs like an unstoppable tide. The orcs on the wall despaired as their attacks were rendered useless and found themselves unable to retaliate effectively. Eventually, after a few minutes, all of the invaders on the walls were killed and the ladders were pushed off. I immediately released the spell and leaned against the merlon, taking deep breaths.

With the walls clear, it was time for the next step.

"Execute the plan!" I commanded before I smashed the closest jar of oil. The scene was repeated up and down the wall as other soldiers did as I instructed. The black substance flowed and—intertwined with the cooking grease—began to spread out. With that done, I turned to Falconcrest. "Sound the horn, and fall back."

The Alteraci noble reluctantly put the Stromgarde battle horn to his lips and blew a deep, lingering note. The soldiers all looked reluctant to leave the wall, some even extended their hands and patted it as if it were a living thing. They all then looked at me before making their way down the ramps or through the gatehouse. Those who went through the gatehouse shut the entrance and reinforced it on the other side.

"My lord, it is done," Falconcrest reported, but he was lying. He and the soldiers in my section had not left yet. He saw my accusing gaze and tried to argue his case. "Please let us stay with you for this part at least."

I heard the future syndicate leader's request, but I moved my gaze past him to Sylvanas, who appeared to have the same idea. With a shake of my head, I gestured to where I needed her and her rangers to be. Our eyes locked, and very reluctantly, she tilted her head forward, but she did not look happy about it. With her retreat, I then looked at the Alterac noble and sighed.

"I'll be fine if I don't have to worry about your lives," I told him bluntly. The men around me looked hurt at my statement. After all, we had fought and bled together, and now I was telling them that they were a liability to me. "You are all someone I would trust implicitly to watch my back, but not for this. I need you all to go so I won't have any distraction."

"Then...we will do as you command," Falconcrest said, even as we could hear the orcs putting the ladders back on the wall. Funnily enough, no grunts jumped from it this time; I guessed they learned their lesson. "We shall see you at the royal keep!"

With that, the Alterac noble collapsed my arm, nodded firmly before leading the soldiers down the ramp, smashing the jars on those ramps on the way out.

I was alone now.

Right above the gates where the payloads from the orcs' catapults were smashing into it. Judging from the way the gates were cracking and groaning, it was only a matter of time before they fell. From my vantage point, I gave a sarcastic cheery wave to Grom Hellscream and Ner'zhul before giving them the double bird.

It might have been unprofessional and childish, but after everything that happened, I simply didn't care anymore. Honestly, I wasn't even sure if they actually understood it. Peering over the wall, I was greeted by lines of orcs scaling their ladders, and for a moment, I wondered what that would look like to the people on the ground. Perhaps they saw lines of green ants climbing? The thought amused me just as the first of the orcs cautiously peeked over the wall's embrasure.

His face twisted in alarm as my sword stabbed him right in the eye, and with a practiced motion, I pushed his ladder off my section of the wall. I heard the orcs spitting out angry curses on the way down, and that gave me a measure of satisfaction. Unfortunately, with the other walls undefended, the first of the orcs climbed over. The orc was likely happy with his achievement right up until he slipped and fell face forward onto an axe left over from a dead orc.

What a stupid way to go.

Several more orcs fell from the slippery floors, but as always, the orcs adapted. Upon seeing the wall undefended, they took their time to secure their footing. It was only a matter of time before an orc spotted me and pointed in my direction. I pointed back and made the orc gesture of insult from the game in my old life. Some of the orcs closest to me charged at me, only to slip and fall on their asses. It was too bad that the wall had a double-sided enclosure, preventing them from sliding to their death.

Some of the smarter ones knew it was a trap, but not what kind. As such, they cautiously approached my position. I did a taunting dance in place, showing them that my spot was relatively safe. Then, extending my arm, I motioned for them to come get me. At this point, they completely gave up trying to take the middle section of my wall and just let the catapults do their thing.

I looked to my left and my right, seeing a line of green orcs approaching me. Some of the others noticed the ramp leading down, but the smooth surface slicked with oil made them slide right off. If not to their death, then to heavy injury. I just hoped it was fatal since it would be one less thing for my people to deal with.

"So, you fine rational gentlemen wanna talk it out?" I asked as they were less than ten yards away from me on either side. Their crude axe drawn and their face twisted in a cruel happy grin. "No? You sure?"

The lead orc had been bracing his steps on the merlon to approach me cautiously, but hearing my taunt, he let out a loud war cry. That set off a chain reaction as the other orcs also took up the cry, proving that Hellscream was not the only one with a loud mouth.

"SYLVANAS!" I yelled as the orcs threw caution to the wind and charged at me. "NOW!"

Sylvanas and her remaining rangers, staying hidden until this moment, revealed themselves and let loose fire-tipped arrows onto the battlements, igniting the oil. The flame spread out like a wave, burning the panicked orcs on the spot. Faced with the spreading inferno, some of the desperate orcs opted to jump off the wall rather than take their chances. Those closest to me saw what had happened and rushed me trying to at least take me down with them.

The two sides were almost upon me when I called upon the Light and cast a spell I had not needed until now. Light covered me and coalesced right at my back before surging outward and taking shape. The orcs were confused by the light show right up until two golden wings sprouted from my back. Then, without me ordering them to do so, they flapped themselves and lifted me up into the air just before the orcs would have collided with me.

The aerial part of the spell was out of my hands, but the next follow-up was solely within mine. I raised my hands and infused them with power to such a degree that they glowed like twin mini suns. Then, from my luminescent hands, dozens upon dozens of penance orbs fired rapidly in waves. The penance orbs no longer needed my guidance but instead acted like homing missiles, hitting the orcs closest to me and never missing a single target that they locked onto.

Those beneath me died, while the rest fell back while holding up their weapons in an attempt to block the magical attack. The 'Ultimate Penitence' spell drained me quite thoroughly, but as I landed back on the ground among the dead orcs and flame, it gave me the breathing room I needed. The orcs, seeing my spell was over, rushed at me with desperation. I had wounded them once again, and they needed to see me dead.

Giving my wall 'companions' the two-finger salute, I turned around in the direction of the royal keep and climbed the merlon. The orcs were confused by what I did; after all, I had nowhere to run. In front of me was a steep sixty-foot drop to the inner gate filled with debris and oil. They had me cornered—or so they thought. With little fanfare, I jumped as high as I could off the wall and cast one of my most unlikely spells. I could feel them watching me dumbly as my fall speed slowed and I began to float down toward the ground while they were still stuck on the burning wall.

The 'Levitate' spell was one of the more obscure and unique spells in the Priest class arsenal. I believe the mages of Dalaran could do something similar, only they called theirs 'Slow Fall'. Pulling off my best impression of Mary Poppins, I floated away from the wall in the direction my inertia took me. Screams of dying orcs could be heard behind me as the fire finally caught up to them. My time in the air allowed me to survey the rest of the keep, and I was happy to see my soldiers already on the royal keep's walls in defensive formations.

It did not take them long to spot me, as I was the lone human in the air slowly drifting to the ground while burning orcs were jumping off the battlement in desperation. To my eternal embarrassment, the soldiers, along with those of Falconcrest, had lined the walls of the inner keep and were pointing at me.

'Kill me now,' I thought in humiliation. Thankfully, after a few minutes, my one-man show ended when I landed on the main road halfway between the main gate and the royal keep.

Turning back, I watched as the fire completely engulfed the battlements and, ironically, formed a wall of fire in its place. Even the ramps leading up to the walls and the gatehouses were on fire. If there were any orcs left, they would be too wounded to continue any attack. Sure, the fire would eventually burn itself out, but it would deter the orcs somewhat and buy us a few more hours we didn't have before.

My feeling of victory didn't last long as a loud groaning sound was heard by the main gate. My eyes flitted over just in time to see the gates that had kept us safe all these weeks finally buckle under the unchallenged flaming attacks by the Horde catapults and shatter wide open. The orcs could now rush into the keep and work on the secondary gate that was a bit thinner than the main one. Or they would have been able to, had we not littered the path between the main gate and the inner gate with debris and oil.

Their fiery payload ignited our trap and sparked another blazing inferno, denying the Horde a chance to bum-rush into our keep. Exhaling, I walked to the royal keep and saw the gate open before Falconcrest exited, taking the lead in being my honor guard. Our situation looked grim, but no matter what happened, I was not going to let this be our Alamo.

I intended to make this the Horde's Thermopylae instead.

+++ Orc Encampment +++

Grom was furious.

"Dishonorable curs!" Gargok, his blood guard, spat.

They could only watch as the honorless humans set fire to their warriors and retreated like cowardly pups with their tails tucked between their legs.

"All machine workers, bring the second gate down now! They will not escape us!" Grom ordered as the goblins' contraptions began their assault. The warchief of the Horde then turned his eyes to Ner'zhul and, to the shaman's surprise, appeared…understanding. "If they fought you with tricks like this, it is no wonder you lost."

Ner'zhul blinked before he swallowed and corrected the Warchief.

"There were no tricks used, Warchief," Ner'zhul replied with an unreadable look in his eyes. "The humans faced us blade for blade, magic for magic. This—"

Ner'zhul waved toward the fire curtain on the unmanned wall.

"—is new," he continued. "Even this morning, they fought us directly, outnumbered as they were."

Grom blinked before he searched the great shaman for any sign of deceit. If what Ner'zhul said was true, then they gave Ner'zhul's forces honorable combat even when cornered. Yet, these humans not only refused to engage in warrior combat, but used low tricks like this to hurt him. Raw fury coursed through his veins.

How dare these humans insult him so?!

For now, his forces were stymied until the goblins' contraptions destroy the second gate. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became at the humiliation. He silently promised to tear the human's leader limb from limb!

TBC…

AN: And all will know that 300 + A few thousand Akadians - :P

Ahem. Cough First off, thanks to Icura for working extra hard on editing this despite fighting his demons!

A big shout out and to my patron supporters. I am forever grateful for your help and it does help especially since I am starting up a new job this week. Thank you again!

So, thanks for the discussion from the last chapter :P I glad you guys enjoy it! What can I say about this chapter, it speaks for itself and yes, I went there with Uther. . There. If you don't like it, feel free to meet me at your local sonics or, in my case because of my region, waffle house. As for the siege, Hordes at this time have double standards. During the WC2 novelization, Doomhammer talk of honor while simultaneously attacking the human kingdom. Likewise Grom use the same skew sense of code of conduct. I chalk it up to an orc thing and hope to show their contradictory nature. As for Callan and his allies, their backs against the wall now. :D

As always please consider supporting us on patron, at "icuraandVahn"

Finally, as always C+C welcomed, discussion eternally appreciated!