Chapter 5: On The Hunt

"I cannot believe that the Scourge only targeted Stormwind and Undercity. It would have made more sense if they would have attacked all capital cities with more than just a few hundred minions," Kelrian said to Sylvanas at the end of the meeting.

"I bet they wanted to test our defences. The result is that we didn't pass the test. The Scourge came way too far and caused too much damage. We need to upgrade our defences. We need more guards that are patrolling through the capital cities but also through the kingdoms. I'm more than just glad that we recruited new Forsaken but they are still not enough to cover all corners of Undercity and the most important regions of Tirisfal Glades," Sylvanas told.

Kelrian waited until every other leader of the Alliance had left the meeting room. Even Alleria left. They were alone. "And with the skeletons, ghouls and undead humanoid creatures that you order not to burn?" Even though no one was in the room, Kelrian still decided to keep his voice low. He preferred to be very careful.

"I can't send non-intelligent beings like skeletons and ghouls on patrol, not without a necromancer to guide them. As you know, I don't have many of them left and I don't want to risk them getting killed outside Undercity by Scourge assassins or some fanatic humans that still hate my people."

"I thought the Scarlet Crusade no longer poses a threat," Kelrian said surprised.

"They are not but there are smaller formations still out there that want to do the same the Scarlet Crusade wanted to achieve before we stopped them."

Kelrian shook his head in disbelieve. "I wonder if the living will ever stop holding a grudge against the Forsaken."

Sylvanas sighed. "I don't think so. There will be always narrow-minded creatures that do not want to accept the truth. They will never understand that the Forsaken are not their enemies."

"Let's hope that these formations will let us in peace."

"I hope so too."

Kelrian stretched his arm out and offered Sylvanas a hand. "Shall we go?"

"Where do you want to go?"

"To Undercity, of course. I need to go to the Plaguelands, remember? Because you don't want to keep me around too long. You already grew tired of me," he said jokingly.

Sylvanas softly nudged him with her elbow. "I could never grow tired of you. Stop saying that."

"I was just joking."

"Not a funny joke."

Kelrian chuckled and put a hand on Sylvanas' face, caressing her cheeks. "I'll stop joking then."

Sylvanas stared into his eyes, saying nothing as she enjoyed the warm touch. Kelrian did the same and they stayed like this for a while. Only when Alleria entered the room and cleared her throat, they averted their gazes.

"A portal to Undercity is open," Alleria said. "You should take it before it gets closed."

Kelrian and Sylvanas walked to her and followed her, spotting the blue vortex not far from the entrance of the Violet Hold. They didn't hesitate to step through it with Alleria, arriving in the ruins of Lordaeron.

"You are going back to Silvermoon, aren't you?" Sylvanas asked her sister.

Alleria nodded. "As much as I love spending time with you, I need to go back there. I have to assemble a group of soldiers to support Kelrian in his new mission."

"To be honest, I'm not looking forward to hunting down a powerful necromancer but it must be done if we want to weaken the influence of the Scourge in the Plaguelands," Kelrian replied.

"Sometimes we don't have a choice but to do what is necessary," Sylvanas responded.

"You are right. We are doing this for the greater good."

"I wish I could join you but I have to stay in Undercity."

Kelrian gave his wife a small smile. "I will handle this threat."

"I have no doubt you will," Sylvanas replied, pecking him on the lips.

"The mission starts in two days, right?"

Sylvanas nodded. "Yes. We have two more days for us before you have to go. Two days in which we can have lots of fun," Sylvanas said, wrapping her arms around Kelrian's body and pressing herself against him. She didn't feel ashamed as she rubbed the area between her legs against his crotch.

Alleria didn't blush when she cleared her throat. "I'm still here, you know."

Sylvanas only pulled away after nearly a minute. "I know," she said and gave her sister a cheeky grin.

Alleria rolled her eyes. "It's funny that you still behave like a horny teenager even though you are more than one hundred years old."

Sylvanas chuckled. "What can I say? I'm always horny for my man."

Kelrian caressed her cheek but said nothing about it. Neither did Alleria. Only after a few minutes, she chose to say something. "Anyway, I should go back to Silvermoon. See you soon, both of you." She approached them and hugged her sister first before she hugged her brother-in-law. She left kisses on Sylvanas' cheeks, receiving kisses in return.

"Have a great day, Lady Sun."

"You too, Lady Moon."

Sylvanas waved at Alleria and watched her made her way to the Orb of Translocation. She touched the red crystal and disappeared a few moments later.

---

"The Western Plaguelands are much uglier than I remember," a voice next to Kelrian said. He turned his head to look at the creature that had just stepped to him. It was a tall female night elf Kelrian knew pretty well. A warrior in blue and golden armour, the colours of the Alliance, with long naturally blue hair, the lower part of which was dyed purple. Like Kelrian, she leaned on the railing and looked down at the landscape from the top of the left tower of the Bulwark.

"It's good to see you, Velsana. It has been a long time since we met, whenever that was."

"The last time we met was during the celebration of Illidan's defeat," Velsana responded.

"So, almost a year ago."

"Exactly."

"How are you doing?"

"I can't complain, to be honest. I'm feeling great, things between me and my girlfriend are better than ever."

Kelrian smiled. "That's good to hear. You and Vissia really make a cute couple. Where is she? It surprises me that she won't join us."

"She is on another mission. The day after the Scourge got inside Stormwind, the Defias Brotherhood showed up and caused trouble."

"The Defias Brotherhood? I thought it was disbanded when Edwin VanCleef was captured."

Velsana raised an eyebrow. "Didn't anyone tell you that he escaped when the Scourge raided the stockades in Stormwind?"

Kelrian shook his head. "No, nobody told me about that. King Varian didn't mention it in the slightest during the meeting two days ago."

Confusion could be seen in the night elf's eyes. "Weird. Anyway, Vissia and a group of rogues and rangers went out to find out where VanCleef went. King Varian doesn't want him to be free after everything he did."

"I understand. I wouldn't want a dangerous criminal to be free either. Especially not one with power and influence. Let's hope that Vissia and her group find him and bring him back to Stormwind."

"She can do it. She is very clever, agile and skilled. Not to mention that she has a lot of battle experience."

"Night elves usually do, especially the high ranked ones."

"Most of these high ranked ones are pretty old, that's why they have so much experience. But they still look thirty even though they are several thousand years old. I'm glad that I was born a kaldorei. If I would have been born human, I would lie beneath the ground for thousands of years," Velsana responded.

"I'm also glad I was born as an elf. We sin'dorei, or quel'dorei as we once called ourselves, might not get as old as your people but three thousand years on average is still longer than the average human life."

"The average life expectancy has become much lower over the past years. And when I consider the battles that will come in the near future, most of the younger kaldorei will never reach my age. War claims too many lives. War is the reason why the average life expectancy has decreased so much." A small amount of sadness could be heard in the warrioress' voice.

"War will claim more lives in the future. Thousands at least. Many will die but their lives will not be in vain if we defeat the Lich King," responded Kelrian. He sounded very self-secure.

"If," repeated Velsana.

"We can defeat him if we work together. If the kingdoms of the Alliance work together."

"We are strong together but nothing is guaranteed yet. The Scourge is one of those enemies that shouldn't be underestimated."

Kelrian nodded. "We underestimated Arthas and his army when he invaded Quel'Thalas and we paid the price for it. We could have sent messengers to the other kingdoms, but we didn't because we thought he would never be able to breach the first Elfgate. We only asked for aid when Arthas and his army made their way to the capital city, but it was already too late then. Help arrived too late. The king, the queen and Sylvanas were already dead when reinforcements from Stormwind arrived. It was already too late for them to do anything. They fled in horror as the undead approached them..."

Velsana was silent for nearly a minute. "So, you experienced first-hand how deadly the Scourge can be, so you know better than to underestimate them."

Kelrian nodded, saying nothing else in return.

Velsana chose to remain silent as well, not knowing what to say after what Kelrian had told her.

It was Kelrian who broke the uncomfortable silence after a few minutes. "We should set off, we already spent enough time in this base."

"You are right. The more time we waste, the more evil that necromancer will spread."

Kelrian stepped away from the ceiling and went to the opening in the middle of the floor, climbing down the ladder that led him to the next level. He took the spiral staircase and came to the bottom of the tower, leaving it without hesitation.

His gaze fell on the dozens of soldiers that were gathered in the middle of the base. Forsaken, humans, high elves but also dwarves, draenei and even night elves were among them. Rangers, priests, paladins, mages but also warriors, rogues and even two warlocks. The group Kelrian would lead to battle couldn't be more diverse. But that was not a bad thing. Every single one of them had their strengths and weaknesses and it was up to Kelrian to make use of the strengths and find a way to deal with the weaknesses.

He approached them and cleared his throat to get their attention, noticing the curious looks he got from them. "Our scouts reported that the necromancer we are looking for was last seen near Hearthglen. We will start looking there. Maybe we find him, maybe we have to keep looking for him elsewhere. We will see. Any questions?"

No one seemed to have a question. "Very well, we will leave now, soldiers."

---

The past four days had not been very eventful. Kelrian's group had crossed a few patrolling groups of Scourge minions but none of them had been large enough to pose a threat to them. They had killed and burned every Scourge minion they had encountered without losing anyone. A few soldiers had been injured but the priests and paladins had treated all of their wounds.

They were getting closer and closer to Hearthglen but the city was not in their sight yet. At least the mountains that surrounded the city could be already seen from afar.

"We are getting closer," Velsana said. She had always walked next to him and not left his side, not even when they had fought Scourge minions. "A march of a day or two."

"We should be careful. There is something in the air... Something is odd but I cannot tell what it is."

"I have a similar feeling. Something is wrong. The scouts spoke of much more Scourge patrols. We didn't encounter half of the number the scouts spoke of."

"Either they are hiding or they moved away."

"I hope they are not hiding. I don't want to get in an ambush."

"We are travelling on open land, on wide roads. It's impossible to ambush us now," Kelrian replied.

"Maybe not here but once we reached the mountain chains... The road between the mountains is pretty thin." A small amount of worry could be heard in the night elf's voice.

"We need to be extremely careful then."

Kelrian's group walked for half a day, finally reaching the mountains. They stopped in front of them, Kelrian let his gaze wander to check the mountain peaks. He didn't spot any Scourge minions there. "Keep your eyes open. The chances that the Scourge might ambush us are higher than before," he announced.

He made the first few steps on the thin road, the steps he heard behind him told him that his men were doing the same. The road didn't allow more than three soldiers to walk in one line, meaning that the formation of Kelrian's group changed from a wide but short formation to a thin and long one.

The melee fighters were no longer on the front and the ranged fighters were no longer on the back. Kelrian had decided to mix the front and back lines in case the enemy would attack from behind. He didn't want to leave his mages, rangers and healers unprotected. He led his group while Velsana was in the middle and Sally at the back. They knew what to do in case a fight breaks out.

Fortunately, no one dared to attack them while they followed the thin path. Not a single Scourge minion showed up in the following hours. An outpost eventually came into their sight. An outpost that should be manned by the Scarlet Crusade. Kelrian didn't need much time to recognize that it was not manned.

"Where are the guards?" A male night elf warrior asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this," someone else muttered.

"No idea," Kelrian replied.

"Do you think they are..." The night elf didn't dare to complete his sentence.

"Dead? Probably. If the necromancer was near Hearthglen a few days ago, it's not unlikely that they attacked the post in the meantime."

"Do you think they are still here?"

"It's possible. We need to check out the outpost and kill every Scourge minion we find there. If there are any."

"Let's hope they didn't attack Hearthglen," another soldier said. A female human with short blonde hair.

"Hearthglen is heavily guarded. The Scourge would need an army to break through its gates. We would have heard of an attack already, so I doubt they attacked the base," Kelrian replied.

"That makes sense."

Kelrian let his eyes roam over the outpost once again. The walls and the large tower in the middle of the small base were still intact. They weren't damaged nor could he see any signs of battle. Even as they got closer, Kelrian couldn't spot anything. The base appeared to be abandoned for whatever reason.

"This is not good," he said quietly, a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Keep your eyes open," he said loud enough for everyone to hear. The archers had their arrows nocked, the soldiers who carried guns had loaded them and the mages had already prepared spells. He gave the rogues a signal and they didn't hesitate to do what they were told. They threw ropes with grappling hooks on top of the walls and climbed up as soon as the hooks stuck in solid places.

Kelrian climbed up the walls as well, obtaining an overview once he was on top of them. He didn't spot any soldiers in the outpost but he noticed something. The ground was freshly dug up. The first thought that came into his mind was that bodies could have been buried there.

"If the necromancer had been there, they wouldn't bury any corpses, would they?" the blonde human asked.

"They wouldn't," Kelrian statemented. "They raise anyone they cross."

"Maybe the defenders buried their deceased comrades after they defended the base," the night elf warrior threw in.

"That's very unlikely. They should know better than burying corpses when a necromancer is plying their dreadful trade in the Plaguelands. Every soldier was told to burn any corpse. Also, if they would have won the battle, they wouldn't have left the outpost."

"What if they have been ordered to leave it?" the woman asked. "For tactical reasons."

"I don't see a reason why anyone would order them to leave. I rather think the Scourge overran this base."

"Without damaging the walls or any building? That sounds very unlikely."

A thoughtful look appeared on Kelrian's face. "Necromancers are usually pretty smart, it's not impossible that they coordinated the attack well enough that nothing was damaged in the process."

"That still doesn't explain why the ground was dug up."

"I wish I have an explanation for this. But I don't have one, unfortunately," Kelrian answered.

"This smells like a trap," Velsana said as she stepped next to him.

"It stinks."

"What do you think is buried there? Explosives? Bodies?"

"Whatever it is, it's nothing good."

"What shall we do, Kel?"

"Tell the mages to create clones and order them to dig. We will keep our distance to the outpost until we know what is beneath the soil."

Velsana nodded and climbed down the walls quickly. Kelrian waited until every soldier had climbed down and then did the same, walking away with his men. He watched from afar how the mage clones climbed on the walls and threw shovels up there which they later used to dig holes in the ground. When he heard groans and screams, he knew what was buried beneath the soil.

"The Scourge is here, we need to kill them all. Burn any corpses, the necromancer can still be here. Keep an eye on the ground, the enemy might break through it," Kelrian ordered.

His group climbed the walls again, Kelrian's eyes widened when he saw how many Scourge minions had already broken through the surface. There were skeletons, ghouls but also lots of undead humanoid creatures who wore clothes and armour that identified them as soldiers of the Scarlet Crusade. Former soldiers. They no longer belonged to the Scarlet Crusade. They belonged to the Scourge now. Kelrian's fears had come true. The Scourge had overrun this place.

"Stay on the walls," he ordered. "We don't know what else is buried there."

As Kelrian had expected, the Scourge minions made their way to the walls and started to climb up, most of them were killed before they reached the battlements but some managed to reach the top. They didn't live long. Kelrian and other soldiers killed them quickly before they could do any harm. They made sure the rangers, mages and other ranged fighters weren't disturbed by the undead. For some time at least.

More and more undead broke through the surface and made their way to the walls that were not too thick. There was not enough room for fighting. Kelrian realized quickly that his group will have a big problem once the Scourge would manage to get on top of the walls.

"We need to get down and keep these creatures away from the top," he announced.

"Didn't you say it's too dangerous as long as we don't know how many creatures are hiding beneath the ground?" Sally asked.

"I did but as you can see, the creatures that had been hiding near the walls already broke through. The chances that something comes out from there are pretty small. As long as we stay near the walls, no one should surprise us from beneath," Kelrian told.

"I still have a bad feeling about this," Sally replied.

"So do I, but we have no choice."

The white-haired woman nodded. "I will go with you."

"So will I," said Velsana, raising her battle axes. Kelrian gave them a small smile before he made his way to the staircase that led down to the ground. Skeleton and ghouls tried to climb the staircase but Kelrian and his companions got rid of them quickly. They arrived at the bottom and didn't hesitate to charge at the nearby undead creatures, killing them quickly. The battle endured for a few hours but Kelrian and his group were victorious. They slew and burned the last few creatures, sighing out in relief when they realized the battle was over.

"Did we lose anyone?" Kelrian asked as he let his gaze wander.

"Miraculously, no," Sally said.

"We have a dozen wounded but they will survive," added Velsana.

"No sign of the necromancer?"

She shook her head. "No."

Just as Kelrian was about to say something, he heard applause. He turned his head, looking in the direction where the applause was coming from. His gaze fell on one of the houses in the middle of the outpost. A person was standing on top of the roof.

The person wore dark leather clothes, their head was covered by a hood made of the same material, their face was hidden behind a skull mask. "My servants didn't exaggerate when they told me about your abilities in battle and your abilities as a leader. You know what you do."

Their voice was androgynous, their physique didn't tell Kelrian if the creature was a male or a female. They were tall, slim and not very muscular. They didn't look a warrior. Kelrian had no doubt the person was the necromancer he was looking for.

"You are the necromancer who's wandering through the Plaguelands, aren't you?"

The person bent their upper body forward, making a bowing gesture. "It's an honour to meet you, Chosen One." They stood straight again, regarding Kelrian. "You can call me Taskmaster if you want."

Kelrian raised a brow, a confused expression appeared on his face. "Nothing but ashes are left of your minions. There is nothing for you to gain here. What do you want, Taskmaster?"

"Just a little chatting."

Kelrian tilted his head. "A little chatting?" he asked confused.

"I wouldn't be here if Mistress Darkvein didn't send me."

"Who?"

"Mistress Darkvein. You might know her as Elena."

"Elena? What does she have to do with all of this?"

"She wants to see you."

"And I don't want to see her," Kelrian replied strictly.

"She has something that might interest you," Taskmaster replied.

Kelrian raised his other eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"If I tell you, then where would be the surprise?"

"I'm not in the mood to play games with you or with her. Tell me why I should consider meeting with Scourge filth like her."

Taskmaster fished something out of one of their belt pockets and threw it at Kelrian who caught it. He opened his hand and regarded what he had just caught. It was a necklace but not any necklace. It was a golden necklace with initials engraved on it. L.S.

He opened the round pendant, his eyes widened as he saw the faded picture. It was a small picture of his family. His mother, his brothers and sisters and him. He knew who the owner of the necklace was.

"Where did you get this?" he asked demandingly.

Taskmaster tilted their head but said nothing as they regarded him curiously.

"Tell me," Kelrian shouted.

Taskmaster chuckled. "You have to ask the mistress if you want an answer."

"I won't meet her. You can tell her that."

Taskmaster chuckled again. "We will see about that." They vanished the very next moment, leaving a confused Kelrian and his companions behind.

"What the fel was that?" Velsana asked.

"I have no idea."

"You recognized the necklace, didn't you?"

Kelrian nodded. "It's my mother's necklace."