Chapter 36: Zul'Aman

"So, this is Zul'Aman, the largest fortress of the Amani trolls?" asked Nathanos as his green eyes scrutinized it.

Sylvanas regarded it with suspicion but also with respect. "Yes, it is. We will defeat the trolls if we conquer it and capture Zul'jin."

"It's larger than I've expected. The troll bases we have conquered so far are nothing compared to it. Zul'Aman's walls are a lot thicker and larger. I bet it's at least ten times larger than the largest troll base we have conquered so far."

"Just wait until you get in there. Thousands of trolls are awaiting us," responded Verena as she stepped next to Sylvanas. Kelrian joined her and also regarded the massive fortress.

"It won't be easy to break through that massive gate," commented Alleria.

"It won't be easy but we have to if we want to defeat the trolls. I hope the humans manage to hold the orcs back this time. I don't want to get flanked by them from behind," said Sylvanas. She turned to her younger sister, giving her a questioning look. "Is our army ready?"

Vereesa nodded her head. "The men are ready so are the siege engines. The catapults, ballistae and glaive throwers are standing on the right spots and are manned. Enough soldiers are ready to push the battering ram to the gate. The dragonhawk riders, gryphon raiders, mages and archers are ready to kill the trolls on the walls. Basically, everyone is ready."

"Alright, inform everyone. We will attack in thirty minutes."

"As you wish," responded Vereesa. She looked at her role model one last time before she turned around and hurried away.

"I'm going with her," spoke Verena and followed the youngest member of the Windrunner sisters.

Sylvanas looked at Nathanos and Kelrian as soon as her younger sister and Verena were out of her sight. "This is your first battle where siege engines are needed. More than one thousand trolls await us in Zul'Aman. The battle will be bloody and we will lose lots of soldiers but that's unavoidable. We have to win this battle to weaken the Horde. Then we can help the humans with the orcs and defeat them as well. Are you ready? Remember that it's okay to be nervous."

She noticed the nervousness which was reflected by their faces. Nathanos bit his bottom lip while Kelrian tapped his fingers on the pommel of one of his swords. The comforting smile Sylvanas gave them helped them to calm down so their faces didn't reflect their nervousness anymore.

"Everything will be alright, you just have to believe in yourselves and always pay attention to what is happening around you," she said.

The rangers nodded their heads. "Which groups will we join?" Kelrian asked.

"You will join Verena's group while Nathanos joins Vereesa's group." Sylvanas turned her head and looked at Nathanos. "Do me a favour and keep an eye on my sister. I don't want to lose her. I know she can take care of herself but I rather have someone who looks after her. You are younger than her but you are as good as her so I believe you will be a fine addition to her team."

Nathanos put his hand on his chest. "I will do my best, Ranger-General."

"And I will make sure Zetai won't do anything stupid and charge in a group of trolls alone. It has become more difficult to control him. His undying rage will be a problem in the future. I have to discipline him or send him to a therapist who can help him handle his anger problems," said Sylvanas.

"It's best for us if he manages to control his anger. He can't charge into battle whenever he sees a troll. Maybe it is better if he won't join us in battle until he has proven that he can keep a cool head," spoke Kelrian.

"I get your point Kel but we need him. He is one of our best rangers. We need every good soldier we have. We have to leave a third of the army behind to defend our borders and villages so we really need talents like him for the siege. We need him so we have to take the risk that he sacrifices his life for nothing. This may sound irresponsible but I can't exclude someone who managed to slay twenty trolls alone. Not in this war and not against those enemies. We have to be victorious by any means," replied Sylvanas, looking at him with a serious expression on her face.

"I agree with you, Ranger-General. You made the right choice," crawled Nathanos.

"I know. Anyways, I wish you good luck. I put my trust in you and hope you will make it out alive and slay as many trolls as you can."

"We hope the same for you, Ranger-General," said Nathanos, smiling at her.

Kelrian didn't say anything. He just nodded at Sylvanas whose smile was meant for him.

"Go to your groups and wait for instructions," she ordered. The two rangers obeyed and walked away immediately. Sylvanas regarded them for a few moments before she looked at her sister who regarded her with a small smirk on her lips. "What?" Sylvanas asked, giving Alleria questioning look.

"It's nothing, really."

"You have something in your mind, otherwise you wouldn't smile at me like that. C'mon, spit it out already."

Alleria stepped to her. "I noticed the way Kelrian and Nathanos look at you. I know about you and Kelrian but what about Nathanos?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sylvanas, looking at her confused. One of her eyebrows was raised.

"Even Vereesa has noticed that Nathanos has a crush on you"

"Most people have a crush on me. High elves, humans... Even trolls find me beautiful... It's not unlikely that someone has a crush on me."

"I know sister. I know you are the most beautiful woman in our family. You don't have to rub my nose in it."

"I'm not doing that," justified Sylvanas. "I just said that it's comprehensible that Nathanos really likes me like all the other guys."

Alleria lifted her hands in surrender. "I'm just curious, Lady Moon. You and Nathanos do you have...?"

Sylvanas' facial features distorted in disgust and then her expression changed to anger. "Of course not! I'm in a relationship with Kelrian. Why do you even consider that?"

"To be honest, there was a time where you weren't very loyal to your partners. I just want to make sure that you don't do that again."

"That was the young Sylvanas you are speaking about. I was young and dumb back then. I'm not anymore, I have changed. I was not perfect back then and I'm not perfect these days but I will never cheat on him, no matter what will happen."

"I hope that for you and for him. I have never met any of your other boyfriends. The only lover you ever introduced to our family besides him was Verena. I don't know how many lovers you had before him and I don't really care. I just want to tell you that you are happier than ever since you met him. Don't do anything stupid."

Sylvanas rolled her eyes. "I'm not stupid, Alleria. I'm aware of my own feelings and I know that having an affair with Nathanos won't end well. Unlike you, I don't sleep with humans."

Alleria laughed amused."With humans? Turalyon is the only human lover I ever had. Before I met him, I only dated Quel'dorei. If he and I would ever break up, I don't think I would look for a human partner. I mean, I don't prefer one race over the other but being together with a high elf is not so complicated than being together with a human. I guess I would look for a partner of our race then. But I don't plan on leaving Turalyon. I love him and he loves me."

"I'm happy for you as long as you are happy, Lady Sun."

Alleria smiled at her. "I have to meet Turalyon as soon as this battle is over. I have to apologize to him for my behaviour. I was not myself on that day and the following days. I would have cheated on him if you hadn't come in the room and prevented that I would kiss Verena and... I'm sure you can imagine the rest."

"I know how sex between two women works but the question is do I want to imagine the rest," joked Sylvanas.

"Probably not," responded Alleria.

"Let's change the topic. The battle is about to begin. We have to make sure that everything works as we have planned it. This will be one of the most important battles of this war. We have to win and conquer Zul'Aman. That would be an important step towards victory."

Alleria nodded in agreement. They talked for a few minutes then they became silent and stared at the fortress until Verena and Vereesa returned. "Everyone is ready," announced Verena.

"Alright, tell the artillerymen to fire everything they have at the enemy base. They should aim for the gate and the walls next to it. The battering ram should try to reach the gate and destroy it. Our archers, mages, dragonhawk and gryphon riders should distract the trolls on top of the wall so they won't try to destroy the ram. The mages should also wrap barriers around the archers and groups of soldiers who are getting close to the fortress. We must protect as many as possible from their archers and spear throwers."

"As you wish," said her best friend before she hurried away. Sylvanas turned her head, looking at her little sister. "Your group will always stay behind mine. Follow us and don't do anything on your own. Just listen to my orders and everything will be fine."

Vereesa nodded her head, giving Sylvanas a confident smile. "I will cover your back, sis."

Sylvanas smiled. "I don't need anyone to cover my back but it doesn't hurt to have someone who watches over me and my group and help us for the case that groups of trolls would try to flank us from behind."

"Is there anything any of you want to say before we begin?" Sylvanas asked the small didn't say anything. Instead, she stepped forward and hugged Sylvanas, resting her head on her shoulder as she caressed her back softly. Sylvanas smiled at her as she ran her fingers through her hair.

Vereesa pulled away eventually, hugging her other sister. Sylvanas regarded them with a barely visible smile on her lips. She hugged Verena, allowing her to peck on her lips quickly. Sylvanas only allowed it because a huge battle was about to begin and she didn't know if any of these three women would survive. It was not unlikely that one of them would die so she hugged all of them tightly, wishing them good luck. The four women split up eventually, walking to their groups.

Sylvanas' group was waiting near the siege engines. Their task was to kill all trolls who would try to destroy the siege engines. Fortunately, no group of trolls dared to come any closer. Nobody prevented that the catapults, glaive throwers and ballistae could fire at the fortress.

At first, the troll shamans had prevented that any missile could hit the gate and the walls. They had created magical barriers or used the elements to destroy the stones and glaives which were thrown at the base. The mages managed to destroy all of the barriers the shamans had erected. The more dragonhawk and gryphon riders had raised in the air and the more archers and mages had started to fire at the defenders, the more troll shamans died. Lots of these winged beasts died with their riders but many trolls died on the other side.

Spear throwers, archers, voodoo priests and shamans fell. But more and more trolls climbed up the walls to throw their deadly missiles and spells at the flying attackers. Trolls were killed by spells, arrows, glaives or by massive stones. The walls got more and more damaged over the time so did the main gate. But neither the walls nor the gate fell within the first few hours.

The gate would have already fallen if the battering ram would have reached it but it had been set on fire by the shamans. The fires had been extinguished quickly but the crew which had pushed it forward had been attacked by numerous groups of trolls. Dozens of trolls fell but they managed to kill the Alliance soldiers who had pushed the ram forward. The ram was unmanned but not destroyed. The troll spellcasters were busy with the high elves' air support. Lightning strikes swooshed through the air, the wind was manipulated in the hope to carry the winged beasts away but the shaman's magic only helped them temporarily.

In the end, the winged beasts returned or were replaced by others. The trolls couldn't handle the flying attackers and the ground troops didn't make it easier for them. Hails of arrows rained down on them, killing dozens within mere minutes. The barriers, the mages had erected, protected Sylvanas' rangers from arrows, spears and most spells. Sometimes, a powerful spell broke through one of these barriers but it was weakened in the process so that most of the times the persons, who had been hit, were only wounded. But there had been a few shamans who had managed to kill dozens at a single stroke. Fortunately for the Alliance, they didn't live long. Most of those powerful shamans had been killed a few minutes after they had appeared on the walls.

The sky darkened a few hours later even though it was only in the early afternoon. Dark clouds came out of nowhere and covered the sky. The thundering became louder and louder and lightning strikes rain down on the attackers. It was the work of shamans, probably a group of the best shamans the trolls had. Sylvanas couldn't spot a group on the wall which was casting a spell together so she assumed that the shamans were somewhere in the fortress and performed the spell from a safe spot.

The lightning strikes hit several riders and two catapults within a short time, setting them on fire. The mages of the Alliance managed to extinguish the flames of the first before any significant damage could be done to it. But they weren't able to protect the second. It was out of their reach and burned down quickly. Too quickly. As they reached it, nothing but ashes were left behind.

The unnatural storm didn't stop but the elemental mages were able to conduct half of the lightning strikes. They were shot at the wall, hitting several trolls who were standing close to another. One of the lightning strikes hit a random spot behind the wall. Black clouds of smoke rose in the air, meaning that something had been set on fire. Probably a building.

Sylvanas noticed that some of the gryphon and dragonhawk riders flew behind the wall and went down to attack something or someone. She couldn't know what they were attacking but her assumption turned out to be true as the unnatural storm disappeared suddenly. Either the riders had managed to stop the troll shamans from casting or killed them. Maybe both. Only half of the riders which had dived in came back to attack the defenders on the walls.

Sylvanas and her rangers were firing arrow after arrow. Whenever their quivers were empty, new ones were brought by a recruit or a mage refilled the quivers of ten rangers with only one spell. An undefinable number of arrows had been shot since the beginning of the siege and more than two hundred trolls had died so walls got more and more damaged whenever they were hit by a stone. It was only a matter of time when the walls would fall.

And they fell eventually. There was a huge hole in the left wall, through which the members of the Alliance could enter the fortress. It was large enough that dozens of soldiers could step through it at the same time. The armoured knights and spell breakers were the first ones who started to move towards the huge hole. Regiment after regiment of the Farstriders started to move towards the wall, shooting at any troll who dared to climb on the walls.

Sylvanas' regiment was the second which entered the fortress while the other three regiments were killing the remaining trolls on the walls. The trolls had noticed that they wouldn't be able to hold the elves back so they had drawn back their forces from the walls and stationed them somewhere else. Sylvanas knew she would find out soon enough where Zul'jin had redistributed his troops.

The rangers hid behind barricades or houses as soon as they entered the base. Dozens were killed by a hail of arrows and spears but the invaders fired back, shooting everything they got at them. Alliance soldiers fell so did the trolls. Enough dragonhawk and gryphon riders flew through the air, attacking the defenders from above. The trolls couldn't hide behind their covers because they got attacked from above but they couldn't charge at the elves, humans and dwarves without losing lots of soldiers. Lots of them would be killed by volleys of arrows before they would reach the soldiers of the Alliance.

Nevertheless, the berserkers and warriors tried it. Half of them died before they got close to attackers, the other half was killed by warriors, paladins and other melee fighters. Soldiers of the Alliance fell as well. The trolls were still larger and physically stronger than them so they were superior in one-versus-one combat. One precise axe swing was enough to kill a human, elf or dwarf. The berserkers didn't wear much armour so they died quickly but they also killed their foes quickly when they got the chance.

The first skirmish inside the troll fortress was bloody. Corpses landed in the ocean of blood which covered the ground. Those who didn't die when they got hit were either crippled or seriously wounded. Teeth were knocked out, limbs were separated and blood was spilt. Screams and commands echoed through the air. War cries, pained cries, cries for help or mercy were also hearable.

The trolls showed no mercy nor did the soldiers of the Alliance. Not even Sylvanas herself spared anyone. No troll man, no troll women not even teenagers who were participating in the war. After her brother's death, she had sworn to not spare any troll or orc. She had promised her mother that she will kill as many orcs as possible.

Her arrows were deadly. One arrow was enough to kill a berserker. She needed two arrows at maximum to kill a troll which wore more armour. Two to three arrows were necessary to kill an orc shaman or voodoo priest. Several rangers were necessary to kill a dire troll. Most of the times at least two members of the alliance died for each dire troll which was killed. Only Sylvanas and Alleria were able to kill those gigantic beasts alone. Not even Zetai or Nathanos could take them out alone. Kelrian didn't even try to hit them.

Instead, he focused on the healers which showed up from time to time to heal their wounded comrades. Some people regarded it as dishonourable to kill a healer but Kelrian didn't care. He wanted to win the war by any means so he didn't shrink back from killing those who only wanted to treat the wounded.

Any troll who would be healed could be a danger for Sylvanas. He wanted to protect her by any means. Killing the trolls before they could kill Sylvanas was the only solution. He didn't care about honour. He just wanted to win the war and hope that as many members of the Alliance as possible would survive.

Kelrian picked up the arrows of his deceased comrades whenever his quiver was almost empty. He focused on his enemies and didn't get distracted by anyone. He was aware of what his enemies were doing but he also paid attention to what his allies were doing. He killed many trolls. He didn't know how many he had killed so far but he didn't care at the moment. What mattered for him was to kill as many trolls as possible. The trolls had crippled his mother and he avenged her by killing as many of them as possible. Whenever a troll died by his hands, he became happier.

The Alliance pushed forward and drove the trolls back to the next barricade they had erected. Kelrian was not able to define the exact number of trolls which were hiding behind the cover but he assumed there were many. The fortress was very wide and the barricade didn't seem to have an end. Kelrian didn't see their ends at least. He couldn't know that the barricade extended from the west side of the fortress to the east side. He couldn't know either that there were more barricades which were as long as this one.

The barricade looked very thick and was mostly made out of woods, meaning it was inflammable. He turned his head, spotting a group of human mages from Dalaran who stood in a circle behind a building. None of the trolls could see them, let alone attack them. They took their time, continuing to cast a spell.

Meanwhile, several hundreds of arrows along with hundreds of spears and axes flew through the air. Most of them hit the barricades but there was a small group of rangers who had figured out a way to hit the trolls even though they were taking shelter behind the wooden construct.

These rangers raised their bows higher and shot their arrows in the air. The arrows flew in a catenary arch over the barricades. They hit several trolls, injuring them and even killing some of them. The other rangers made impressed faces when they noticed that the idea of Sylvanas' elite team had worked. They didn't hesitate to do the same, killing more trolls. But the trolls tried the same, killing at least forty soldiers of the Alliance within a few exchange of missiles lasted for a few minutes until the group of mages finished their spell.

The barricades on the trolls' side caught fire which spread out quickly and jumped over on some trolls which had huddled behind it. Loud screams were hearable as the burning trolls ran around in panic and collided with other trolls. The fire consumed the barricade but also the bodies of the affected trolls. The rangers didn't kill the burning trolls, instead, the focused on those who weren't on fire. They had stepped away from the barricades which meant they were unprotected.

Volleys of arrows flew through the air, killing dozens of trolls within no time. But the trolls didn't get distracted by the fire for too long. Unfortunately, they caught themselves faster than the Alliance had hoped for and shot missiles at their foes.

Not much time had passed as the barricade, behind which the Alliance was hiding, was set on fire by troll shamans. The magical fire spread quickly, forcing the elves, humans and dwarves to step away as well. Thanks to their mages, they weren't unprotected like the trolls but there weren't enough mages to create barriers around every group. Not to mention the shamans did their best to destroy the magical barriers.

There was a mage in Verena's group which had created a barrier around them but it was destroyed a few minutes later. The mage with the short brown hair gave his best to create another barrier but he was hit by a lightning strike before he could finish the spell. The group's healer rushed to him but there was nothing she could do for him. The lightning strike had burned the mage's body. The smell of burned flesh stung in Kelrian's nose. That reminded him of the conquest of the first troll base where a ranger next to him had been killed by the same technique.

Kelrian struggled hard but he managed to not vomit at the sight of the burned body. Nevertheless, he managed to shoot arrow after arrow at the defenders. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Sylvanas doing the same. Vereesa moved while she was aiming and shooting, reducing the chances that someone would hit her.

Nevertheless, someone would have managed to hit her with a spear if Kelrian wouldn't have rushed to her and pushed her to the ground before the weapon's tip would have pierced through her left hip. She had grazed her knee when she fell but unlike Kelrian she hadn't hit her head on the ground. She got up and spotted the spear which stuck in the ground not far away from her. Her eyes widened as she realized what would have happened if Kelrian wouldn't have pushed her away.

She looked for the ranger, spotting him about ten feet away from her. He was back on his feet but the back of his head was bleeding. But that didn't bother him at all. He shot arrow after arrow, not caring that his head was hurting. It was only a small laceration, nevertheless, it shouldn't be ignored. He was only losing a small amount of blood but it needed to be treated sooner or later. He might feel dizzy if he would lose too much blood. That would only happen if he would leave the wound untreated for too long.

Fortunately for him, there were a few priests in his near. But he didn't call them, not yet at least. There were others who needed their help more urgently. Arrows, axes or spears stuck in the bodies of some of them. Body parts of others were covered with burns. Corpses lied here and there, blood flowed and weapons were spread over the ground.

Kelrian saw soldiers from both sides burning, heard their pained screams and saw their pain-distorted faces. He could hear the clanging of steel all the time.

Steel cut flesh and bones, separated limbs and ended lives. Wounded people, dead people and uninjured people fell to the ground. Soldiers gathered the remains of their strength to charge at their foes and fought by every means to defeat their opponent.

In the end, lots of them were killed by another opponent who had come out of nowhere. The battle was bloody. There were no rules. No honour. The battle was not honourable. Nobody cared about honour anymore. Each side wanted to win and defeat the other side by any means.

Kelrian saw allies die in his near. He saw rangers, he had met once or twice in his life, die. He saw dragonhawks and gryphons falling to the ground after they had been hit by multiple spells or missiles. He saw large dire trolls which squashed the heads of their foes with their bare hands.

But he also saw trolls which burned to death, were hit by arcane spells or crushed by massive ice blocks which fell on them out of nowhere. He saw dire trolls which eyes were scratched out of their eye sockets by the winged beasts. Trolls were riddled by arrows or by the bolts of the movable ballistae which had been moved through the hole in the wall and stood not far away from the barricade.

A massive dire troll fell backwards as he died, squashing five trolls under him. Another dire troll jumped in the air and landed on three humans, breaking all of their bones. The troll turned his head and looked at Kelrian, his ugly grey lips formed a wide smile. The troll charged forward, knocking a female human away which was thrown against the wall of the nearest building. The sound of cracking bones and the loud screams that quickly died away were enough to tell Kelrian that the woman was definitely dead.

The gigantic dire troll paved its way through the mass of enemies and allies, not caring that he was hurting his comrades. Of course, Kelrian didn't stand there like a statue. He was moving, shooting arrows at the massive beast. Vereesa and several other rangers also fired at the dire troll and injured him. But the troll didn't stop, not even when an arrow hit him in the left eye. He didn't even scream, he just kept moving, lifting one of his fists above his head. Kelrian jumped away and avoided the troll's punch but he didn't manage to dodge the beast's feet. He was thrown through the air.

He hit his head hard as he landed on the ground dozens of feet awayfrom the spot where he had been standing before. He felt dizzy, his head really hurt and his surroundings were blurred. His vision became black for a few moments and the noises he heard were muffled. But then his vision became clearer until he was able to hear and see clearly what happened around him again. His head still hurt but at least he was alive.

He gritted his teeth as he noticed the pain in his back when he got up. His left knee was bloody, the upper half of his uniform was damaged. His left lung hurt whenever he made a breath but he was able to bear the pain.

He hadn't noticed that he had drawn his sword. He was ready to fight the troll with his sword if he must. Fortunately, he didn't have to do that. The dire troll was already laid on its belly not far away from Kelrian. Its limbs were stretched out, dozens of arrows stuck in his neck, head and back. There was a sword which stuck in the back of its head. Zetai noticed his friend staring at him as he drew the sword out. He didn't say anything, he just nodded to him, signalizing him that everything was fine.

Kelrian's eyes widened as he saw the Amani berserker right behind his best friend. "Watch out," were the only words which escaped Kelrian's lips. But it was already too late. The troll's axe grazed Zetai's left hip, causing the ranger to cry out in pain. But the pain didn't stun Zetai. It didn't stop him from moving and reacting. On the opposite, the pain caused the release of a large amount of adrenalin. The muscular ranger moved on his own without realizing what he was doing. The troll's separated head landed on the ground before Zetai noticed what he had done.

A sigh of relieve escaped Kelrian's lips but the exhalation was rather short. His left lung was still hurting so breathing and exhaling were rather painful. He gritted his teeth and pulled himself together. He walked to his bow which didn't lay far away from him. A troll berserker stepped in his way before he could reach his weapon. Kelrian didn't know how but somehow, he had managed to kill the troll with only one sword while his body still hurt.

Another troll stepped in his way. It was a female who was larger and more muscular than him. She had short purple hair and an ugly scar which ran from her left eye to the right corner of her lips. She was rather ugly for a troll but looked strong. Stronger than him probably. She had two medium-sized axes in her hands which she whirled around. She showed off her talent with her weapons.

Her scornful smile became wider with each step she made towards him. But she never reached Kelrian because an arrow pierced through her head. Kelrian looked at the person who had killed her, finding out it was Nathanos who gave him a quick nod before he drew his sword from his belt and finished off a mortally wounded troll who laid right next to him.

Kelrian turned his head as he heard Sylvanas' voice. She yelled out orders while she kept looked at her, noticing that she was standing next to a pile of dead trolls. He assumed that she had killed them all one by one. Or at least most of them. She had help from her elite squad which surrounded her. Verena and Alleria were not far away from her, fighting side by side against two voodoo doctors. They finished them quickly and aimed their arrows at the nearest trolls.

"PUSH THE ATTACK!" Sylvanas yelled again, pointing at a massive building on the other side of the fortress. Like all the other soldiers, Kelrian obeyed and moved forward, firing at his opponents. He only stopped to pick up the arrows of a fallen comrade and put them in his quiver.

Together with the other rangers, he pushed the trolls back to the next barricade where only a few dozens of trolls were standing and helped their retreating comrades to get over the obstacle. They threw their spears and cast spells but they couldn't stop the army of elves, humans and dwarves which ran towards at them.

Kelrian noticed that all his doubts vanished as they destroyed the next barricade and pushed the trolls backwards. He had been nervous at the begin of the battle. He had feared that everything would go horribly wrong. He had feared he would die, or Zetai. Or worse. Sylvanas would die. Or any of his friends.

But none of his friends died so far. He saw all of them. Zetai, Elena, Elonis, Nathanos, Kelia, Saith and Vendora. He also saw other familiar faces. Liadrin, Verena and Sylvanas' sisters of course. He even saw his older brother and older sister somewhere in the crowd. He hadn't seen much of them yet but he assumed they had healed as many wounded allies as possible.

He had a strong feeling that everything will turn out well and that they would defeat the trolls and capture Zul'jin. He was hoping for the best outcome but he also knew it was not over yet. They had only reached the middle of the fortress, meaning that a lot more trolls were awaiting them.

Sylvanas gave the order to split up so the established groups got together and started to move to theareas which they were supposed to clear. Kelrian followed Verena and her group, which consisted of twenty-nine people, to the left side of the fortress. They walked over a bridge and cross the wide lake in front of them. There were trolls on the other side of the bridge but they died before they were able to reach them.

They came to a large building made out of stones which had similarities to a temple. They entered it carefully, looking out for hidden traps. Even though they made careful steps and moved slowly forward, they didn't manage to avoid every trap. One ranger had stepped on a certain floor slab which had caused that a hole in the ceiling had opened and dozens of snakes had fallen onto the soldiers. The group had managed to deal with the snakes but two of them had been bitten. Fortunately, the two healers had managed to neutralize the poison with certain healing potions.

But there was another trap which was activated by accident. Another ranger stepped on a floor slab, causing that arrows were shot out of small, barely visible holes in the walls. Most of the group members managed to throw themselves on the floor and avoided getting hit by these deadly missiles. But not everyone was fast enough. Two rangers, a male and a female, were hit by many arrows. The male died before the priests could reach him but the female survived. The rangers helped her up and the healers removed the arrows carefully and started to treat her wounds. The female was not able to move very fast but she was able to shot arrows.

Two rangers supported her and helped her to walk. She was not very fast but the group adjusted their tempo so the wounded ranger could follow them. The group passed the corridor without activating another trap. They pushed the massive door open, expecting that something would hail down on them as soon as they would enter the room.

One of the two mages created a mirror image which entered the room a moment later. Another mirror image joined it and they ran circles around the door, checking the floor for hidden floor slabs which could activate any trap. They didn't spot any trap but a group of trolls instead.

Verena gave her group the signal to enter the room. The twenty trolls were armed to their teeth. Some of them wore armour while others were almost naked. Only the private parts of the berserkers were covered by leather cloths. Some of them wore necklaces, some of them had piercings in their lips or ears. Except for their different hair colours and hairstyles, they looked pretty similar to another.

There was only one warrior who stood out from the rest. It was a creature which had the body of a troll but the head of a lynx. Whatever this creature was didn't matter. The elves knew that this warrior was special and stronger than the other trolls. They never underestimated any of their opponents so they wouldn't underestimate the beastly warrior.

They had never heard about him before so they couldn't know that his name was Halazzi. He was the Amani lord of the lynxes, a fearsome and well respect warrior among the Amani trolls. He carried two massive swords in his hands.

The trolls regarded the intruders for a few moments, then they started to move. Loud war cries escaped their lips as they rushed towards the members of the Alliance. The paladins and warriors stood in the front line, ready to fight the berserkers while the rangers, mages and priests stayed behind and fired arrows and other missiles at the green-skinned creatures.

Three trolls died before they even reached their opponents, five more got hit but were just wounded. They were still able to move and fight so they didn't stop running, reaching the humans eventually. The trolls were strong. Physically stronger than their opponents. Their blows and strikes contained a lot of strength but the soldiers of the Alliance had thick armours and large shields so they were able to deal with the berserkers. At least most of them were. Two humans died quickly but two berserkers died in return.

There were no barricades, no statues or other things in the room, behind which the rangers could hide. The rangers were not able to take cover while they nocked arrows and aimed. The mages had created barriers around all ranged fighters but the troll shamans and mages destroyed them quickly. The soldiers of each side were unprotected to spells and any other missile so archers and spell casters fell one by one until both sides had lost half of their ranged fighters.

Nevertheless, the Alliance had killed more foes than the trolls did within the first ten minutes. The trolls weren't defeated yet. Halazzi had transformed into a large lynx in the meantime. He was double the size of the lynxes in Quel'Thalas and his teeth and claws were a lot sharper. One of the two priests experienced it first-hand when Halazzi jumped on her and pushed her to the ground. The priestess wasn't strong enough to push the lynx off her nor were the surrounding archers and spell casters able to kill it fast enough. So, it was able to bury his teeth in the elf's neck. The priestess' loud screams died away as Halazzi tore her head apart and flung it through the room.

The nearest ranger was too shocked by the horrible sight in front of him so he stopped shooting and moving. A spear-thrower took advantage of that and hit him. A loud pained scream escaped the human's lips as the spear pierced through his chest. He fell backwards and stopped moving. He was dead so was the troll who had been killed by Kelrian's arrow.

The archers, the two mages and the last priest moved backwards, casting spells and shooting arrows while they did that. The mage managed to freeze the lynx's snout, preventing that it could bite off the arm of a dwarf. The second mage conjured a fireball and threw it at the lynx. Halazzi was able to avoid it at the last moment but he wasn't able to avoid the six arrows which hit him in the left side.

Halazzi's snout was still frozen so his opponents couldn't hear his painful roars. But he was still able to move faster than everyone had expected. He jumped on a human warrior, sending him to the ground. He tried to scratch him with his claws but the female rolled to the side and kicked him in the face. The lynx shrank back and ran to the last remaining trolls. Only a shaman, a wounded older berserker and a spear thrower were left. The rest had been killed by Verena's group which had lost twelve group members in total during the past half an hour.

The shaman melted the ice around Halazzi's snout but then she was killed by three of Verena's arrows which she had shot at the same time. The lifeless body of the young troll landed on the ground. The troll with the spear tried to kill Verena but the Ranger-Captain jumped to the side and avoided the long stick with the sharp tip. She pulled a knife from her belt and threw it at the troll in the same movement. The troll cried out in pain as the knife hit him in the left eye. He dropped the spear he was holding and enclosed his hands around the handle of the knife.

He intended to pull it out but he was never able to do that because Kelrian's next arrow pierced through his head. A clean shot and the troll was dead. The old berserker charged at the warriors who came closer, he focused the last remains of his strength to fight against them. He managed to ram his sword in the upper thigh of one of the warriors but he wasn't able to kill him. He died before he could draw it out and hit the warrior again.

One of the warrior's friends helped the survivor up and brought him back to the priest who started to treat the wound while the other soldiers focused on the lynx. A loud growl came out of the beast's snout. Halazzi bent his back, loud hissing sounds were hearable. He didn't wait long to attack, mortally wounding a high elf paladin. He ended the elf's life by breaking his neck with his strong jaw. But he was hit by a dozen arrows in return. Arcane blasts and ice splinters wounded him so did the swords, axes and hammers of the melees.

The mages froze the beast's feet to the ground, preventing that it could run away. Halazzi had no chance against the remaining sixteen soldiers. The group needed longer than expected to finish him off but he died without killing another group member. The mages burned the beast's body, then the group left the temple without walking into a trap.

They left the temple behind them,killing lots of trolls who rushed to them. They stopped as they noticed that the ground was shaking. They looked around but they didn't spot anyone who could cause the light earthquake. There were no troll shamans in their near.

But there was something in the air. Something dangerous. A loud roar was hearable. The roar of a creature Kelrian had never seen before but heard of.

The roar of a dragon.