Chapter 47: The Calm Before the Storm

Kelrian averted his gaze from the fire and looked at the bowl in his hands. He couldn't bear staring into the fire for too long because it reminded him of the nightmare, he had the previous night. He had hoped that the mixture Sen'za had recommended to him had helped him permanently but it had only worked temporarily. He had stopped consuming it a week ago and in the six nights that had followed, he had not had a single nightmare. But during the seventh night, a nightmare had plagued him.

Like the last times, he had dreamed of the same fire which would consume Azeroth and all the other worlds. A fire which couldn't be stopped. The nightmare had been horrible. He could still remember how the fire had consumed the bodies of his loved ones. It had been horrible to watch. Fortunately, it had not been real, it had just been a nightmare. A very horrible nightmare.

He knew he had to consume the mixture to prevent these nightmares from continuing to bother him. He didn't want to consume it but he had no other choice. He should have told Sylvanas about his nightmares and this strange medicine. But he hadn't wanted to worry her so he hadn't told her anything when they had met two days ago. He should have done it but now it was too late. He had to wait until he would meet her again if he would ever see her again.

He closed his eyes and ignored the increasing headache as best as he could. The nightmares didn't return alone. They brought along annoying headaches, which appeared from time to time and didn't leave him so quickly. His skin was itching from time to time and sometimes he felt cold. He was feeling cold at this very moment but it was the cold night which was responsible for that this time. He was used to the mild climate in Quel'Thalas. The nights were quite warm in Quel'Thalas while the nights in Lordaeron were much colder.

He was shivering, his nose was running and his throat felt dry. He was even coughing from time to time. He had caught a cold. He wore warm clothes but he had still gotten sick. It was nothing bad nor did it hinder him. It was just annoying. He hoped it would go away before the orcs would attack Lordaeron. He didn't want to fight while feeling sick.

It may not restrict him during the battle but he still wanted it to be gone. He just hoped he wouldn't feel weak when the orcs would attack. He wanted to be in top form when the attack would happen. But he will give his best no matter how he would feel. He will fight for the Alliance no matter what will happen.

Kelrian took another sip from the warm soup, then he looked up from his bowl and turned his head to the person next to him. Ranger-Captain Sweetblossom sat next to him and slurped her soup. It still surprised him that she had decided to come with them to this outpost.

They were in the most eastern outpost in Tirisfal Glades near the end of the mountain pass the orcs must cross if they wanted to reach the capital city of Lordaeron one day. The outpost's purpose was not to stop the orcs. It was not very large and not enough men could be stationed there to do that.

It was a small base surrounded by a wall made out of thick tree trunks which tips were sharpened. There was a lookout tower in the middle of the outpost. The task of the soldiers stationed there was to check the surroundings and keep an eye out for a signal from the next outpost in the east.

Such a signal would mean that one of the outposts had spotted the enemy. Then the soldiers had to make similar smoke signals to the ones they saw. That way, the capital city will be warned soon enough so the soldiers could prepare everything. If the orcs would pass this outpost, they would reach the capital city of Lordaeron within three or four days but the soldiers of the Alliance will be prepared then. Prepared to fight for their homeland.

Normally, only a Ranger-Lieutenant was required to man the outpost with their group. There was no reason for Vara to be there but she had decided to go to this outpost anyway. Kelrian hadn't dared to ask her for the reason nor had anyone else from her unit. Not even rangers of the same rank as Alleria. She had just accepted her decision and sent Ranger-Lieutenant Velon, who would have been originally stationed there, to Brill, which was located in the north of the capital city. It was not unlikely that the orcs would attack the villages in the north first before they would attack the capital city.

Many groups of soldiers were patrolling or manned lookouts. The citizens who lived in the north would be evacuated as soon as the Alliance would find out that the orcs were planning to attack these villages. Security measures were taken in advance. The soldiers knew what to do in every possible situation.

Kelrian recognized that Vara looked back at him once she had noticed his staring. She gave him a small smile and emptied her bowl, putting it on the ground. Like him and three other soldiers, she sat around the campfire in the middle of the base and warmed herself up. She didn't mind staring into the flames. She liked the orange and red colour of the flames.

Unlike Kelrian, she didn't get flashbacks whenever she stared into the fire for longer than a few minutes. She had also witnessed the crushing defeat during the first siege of Zul'Aman. She had seen her comrades burn and turn to ashes in front of her eyes but that hadn't traumatized her. Unlike Kelrian, she wasn't plagued by horrible nightmares. She was lucky, unlike many others who couldn't just forget what had happened.

But Kelrian was not envious. He was not envious that she could sleep without waking up in the middle of the night. He had accepted how things were so he wasn't envious on everyone who didn't have to deal with the problems he had. He just hoped he would find a better solution for his nightmares. The mixture was not ideal, especially because he always had to consume it, otherwise, the nightmares would return.

Kelrian noticed the sadness in Vara's eyes as she continued to stare into the flames. He moved closer to her and offered her half a loaf of bread. She thanked him as she took it.

"You have something in your mind, haven't you, Ranger-Captain? You try to cope with the death of a certain person, right?" Kelrian asked. She turned her head and looked at him. A frown was visible on her forehead and her left eyebrow was raised. "How do you know?" she asked after a few moments.

"I see it in your eyes and the way you are staring into the flames. I can also see it in your posture. It also seems you are often lost in thoughts. You think about Salna, aren't you?"

Vara noticed the comforting look on his face and the soothing tone in his voice. She assumed he just wanted to help her get over what happened in the past months. She was sure he wanted to comfort her as best as he could but she doubted it would help.

She felt so empty since Salna's death. A part of her died that day when she had seen the corpse of her sister. She felt broken, shattered but mostly empty. Since the death of her parents decades ago, Salna had been the last member of her family. Now she was lonely. She had no one. Most of her friends died during the war and those who survived were either haunted by nightmares or horribly crippled so she couldn't do much with them.

The purpose of her life had always been to protect her people and her sister. She had known that her sister could take care of herself, nevertheless, she had sworn to protect her. She had failed. She hadn't been there when the village in which Salna had been stationed had been attacked by the trolls. She hadn't been there to protect her. Her sister had been a powerful mage but even she hadn't been able to repel the superior number of trolls who had attacked her. She had been killed by these bastards but at least they didn't defile her. They didn't rape her or torture her. Zetai had told her that her death had been clean and quick.

A spear right through her heart.

Anger but also grief overcame her when she thought about her. Her sister had been pregnant. It had not been visible because she had just been in the second month, but she had been pregnant. The only chance to expand their family had died with Salna. The doctors had told her hundreds of years ago that she couldn't reproduce. Her family would die out when her last day would come.

She could only hope she would live long enough until the doctors would find a way to cure the diseases that prevented that she could have children. There was still hope but she didn't believe in it. She had already accepted that she was the last member of her family.

Kelrian didn't comment the tears which ran down her cheeks. Vara didn't wipe them away. Others would do so others wouldn't see it. They would do because they don't want to show weakness. But Vara didn't care that others would see her tears. Showing emotions was not a weakness for her. She was not weak. She was a strong woman with a strong will. The trolls were defeated so the only way to overcome her grief was to kill as many orcs as possible. She was looking forward to slaying as many of these green invaders as she could. She will make sure that the orcs would wish they never went to Azeroth.

"I miss her so much," Vara admitted with a weak voice. Kelrian put a hand on her back and stroked it carefully.

"I can understand you. I'm so sorry about what happened to her. I didn't know her at all but she didn't deserve that."

"No, she didn't. She was such an innocent woman. She could never harm a fly or any creature as long as it wouldn't attack or threaten her. She only used magic to defend herself or others. She was a good girl...," her voice became weaker and weaker untilit trailed off. More tears ran down her cheeks. Kelrian looked at the others around the fire, noticing that they also felt bad for her. He looked back at his superior, noticing that she was staring at her feet.

"Zetai avenged her," said Kelrian. "It was morally reprehensible to kill the troll queen but he avenged her and made Zul'jin pay for his crimes... It's just... Taking an eye for an eye is usually not the optimal solution. I do not feel bad about the troll queen. She deserved it but the unborn child in her belly didn't."

"Salna's unborn baby didn't deserve it either," responded the Ranger-Captain.

"You are right about that," Kelrian replied quietly. He didn't say much more because he didn't know what else he should say. He didn't know what else he should say to comfort her and make her feel better. Normally, he was pretty good at comforting others but at this very moment, not the right words came up in his mind that might have comforted her. He remained silent and regarded her with a worried look on his face.

Vara wiped her tears away eventually, stood up and walked away from the campfire. Kelrian wanted to stand up as well and follow her but he saw no point in it. He had no idea what else he should say to her. He decided to go to her once he had found the right words.

He turned his head as he heard heavy footsteps. Mixed expressions appeared on the faces of the other soldiers as Zetai came to the fire and sat down next to his best friend. Kelrian could see dislike but also sympathy in the eyes of the three other soldiers. Kelrian assumed by the way they looked at him, that two of them didn't mind that he killed the troll queen. But the third soldier didn't like him Probably because he had killed a pregnant woman who had been a prisoner of war. In the ranger's opinion, Zetai had contravened the honour codex of the Farstriders.

If only he would know that Zetai didn't care about honour. He just wanted vengeance. He wanted to kill as many orcs and trolls as he could to avenge his girlfriend, his family and his village. He could no longer control his hatred for his enemies and his thirst for vengeance. He wanted to make his enemies pay for everything they did to him, his family and his people. And he wouldn't let himself stopped by anything. He wouldn't stop until all orcs and trolls were either captured or killed.

Zetai regarded his best friend for a few moments before he looked at his bowl. He was silent as he ate so was Kelrian as he watched him. He wanted to talk to him but he didn't know how to start the conversation. He was not sure which topics he should talk about. He was not sure if he should approach him about the death of the troll queen. He was not sure if he should ask him if he found it morally wrong to kill a prisoner and if he didn't care that he had killed a pregnant woman.

He was wondering how Zetai would react. Would he respond to him or ignore him if he would ask him any of these questions? Kelrian decided to say nothing for the moment. He just looked at the other ranger, trying to ignore his hurting head as best as he could.

Zetai stood up once he had emptied his bowl and walked to the small house which served as the outpost's kitchen. He returned a few moments later with a full bowl of soup. He was about to sit down when a man deliberately bumped into him. The soup was spilt over the ground and Zetai's uniform.

A furious expression could be seen on Zetai's as he turned around slowly. It was unmistakable that he was not amused that his food had been spilt. "What is your fucking problem?" hissed Zetai as he looked at the man who had spilt his soup.

It was a muscular human who was almost as tall as Zetai. He was six feet and five inches tall while Zetai was six feet and seven inches tall. The two individuals, which were a lot larger than the average male of their races, stood not far away from another and looked at each other dangerously.

The human had a bald head, a brown moustache and several scars on his face. According to his armour, he was a soldier from Stromgarde. His tabard was red and showed the heraldic animal of Stromgarde. A white hawk that spread its wings. Kelrian was not standing far away from him so he noticed the clear smell of alcohol in his breath. The man was looking for trouble, Kelrian was sure about that.

Zetai realized that the man's intention was to provoke him. It would be best if he would just ignore the man but he didn't want to do that. He would only make things worse if he would do or say something in return but he didn't care. Zetai wouldn't say no to an opportunity to let off steam.

The man didn't say anything. He just stared into the elf's eyes, spitting right in front of his feet. Zetai tilted his head a little and regarded the man with narrowed eyes. "What is your fucking problem, human? Do you want to explain to me why you did that or shall I break your nose right first?"

"Try it, murderer," hissed the man. The dislike for Zetai was clearly reflected by his very deep voice and could also be seen in his brown eyes. It was clear that he was not very fond of Zetai. Kelrian wanted to go between them and stop them before the situation would escalate. He made the first step but wasn't able to come closer because two soldiers, who wore similar armour with the same tabard as the bald man, stepped in front of him.

They didn't allow him to pacify the quickly escalating looked at the soldiers who were still sitting around the campfire. They didn't move nor did they intend to step between the two alpha males. Nobody else intended to step between them and try to settle the tense situation because they were too afraid of these two men.

Zetai didn't do anything. He just stared at the bald man and watched his every move. "What is your problem?" he asked once again, his voice sounded more than just unfriendly.

"My problem is that I have to fight against murderers and rapists soon enough while I'm in the same unit as a man who is not better than our enemies," said the man.

"Say that again," hissed Zetai. He clenched his left fist and made a step closer to the man who didn't shrink back. The voice of the elf was dangerously low and his eyes were narrowed to thin slits.

"You are a fucking murdering piece of shit. They should hang monsters like you who kill pregnant women for no reason," responded the man and came closer.

"I had more than enough reasons to kill her. Zul'jin and his wife ordered the attack on my village. Everyone except for my sister died that day. They committed numerous crimes against my people. I had enough reason to kill Zul'jin's whore of a wife and his bastard in her belly," shouted Zetai.

The bald man shook his head. "I've heard of you and your talent. You are Zetai Lightspark, the most promising ranger who killed the most trolls within the past months. You may be strong and you seem to be unbeatable but you are nothing more than a war beast. Fighting is all you can do. You are only good for killing our enemies and for nothing else. You are nothing more than a monster which is good at slaughtering our enemies." The human's tone was very provocative and his plan to provoke Zetai had worked.

Kelrian noticed that the anger started to overwhelm his best friend. He tried to calm him down by saying the right words to him but he wasn't successful. None of his words reached the ranger who had grabbed the other man by the collar of his uniform and pulled him closer. The man still grinned at him as if he was expecting that Zetai would hit him. He was looking forward to a good fistfight because staying in this outpost and doing nothing but looking out for a signal bored him.

Vara was not there to stop the squabblers and no one else dared to do it. Kelrian was the only one who wanted to try to stop them but the soldiers in front of him didn't allow him to pass. They moved whenever he tried to walk around them and prevented that he could step between his friend and the bald man.

Zetai didn't say anything in response. His punch came faster than anyone had expected. It surprised even the bald man who had expected that he could block the punch. Zetai's fist smashed his nasal bone, causing the man to cry out in pain as his head was pushed back. He staggered and fell to the ground as Zetai's left foot hit him in the stomach.

Blood flowed out of the broken nose of the man who laid on the ground and writhed in pain. He covered his nose with his hands and tried to get up. Zetai was about to kick him again and prevent that he could get up but the loud roar of a horn brought him out of his state of uncontrollable rage.

He stopped and looked at the tower from which top the horn had been blown, then he turned his head to look at the horizon in the east. Smoke signals were clearly visible which meant that the orcs had been seen by one of the outposts. He regarded the horizon for a few moments, then he looked up at the wounded human soldier who had gotten up in the meantime. He gave the bald head a triumphant grin then he walked towards Vara who had left her tent a few seconds ago.

She came to them, regarded the two males but didn't comment on the bleeding nose. "The orcs had been seen from the outermost outpost. We have to give the next outpost a signal. Zetai will make the smoke signals while Kelrian will bring Bjorn to the healer. She should take care of his nose before we will split up. Half of us will climb on top of the mountain range and wait until the orcs passed this outpost, then they will follow them in stealth. A mage will join them and make a portal to the capital city of Lordaeron for the case that the orcs are changing their course and do not attack the capital city first. The King needs to be informed quickly if that would be the case. The other half will return to the capital city right now and tell the king that the orcs are coming closer."

Nobody had any objects so the thirtysoldiers, who were stationed there dismantled the tents and packed up all supplies and other necessary items. They made themselves ready for departure. Kelrian brought the bald man to the healer who was no other than his older sister Sydori. Unlike the last time he had seen her, she didn't seem to be disgusted by his presence. She didn't look at him as if he was an unworthy creature. She didn't say anything to him, she didn't even insult him. She just gave him a quick nod before she walked to the man and took care of his broken nose.

She didn't say anything to her little brother once she was done nor did he say anything to her. They stared at each other for a few moments before Kelrian left the room with the man. He noticed that smoke signals could be seen in the air as he left the small wooden house. He walked back to the middle of the base where a portal had already been created.

Vara stood next to it and divided the soldiers into two groups. She winked Kelrian and the man over to her. She told Kelrian to join the group which will stay on the mountain chain and wait until the orcs would walk through the pass. He nodded to her and walked to the group she had pointed at.

He found out quickly that his sister was also a member of his group. He didn't say anything nor did she or the others. They just listened to the Ranger-Captain who held a short speech and ordered the other group to walk through the portal. The portal was closed a few moments after the last soldier had walked through it.

Vara walked to the remaining group, pointing at the path which led to the mountain chain's top. "We climb the mountain chain and pitch a provisional camp there which can be dismantled quickly. Fabienne, you will make sure that the orcs won't see us and the camp. We can't allow that they see us while we observe them from above. You also have to make sure that the spell lasts for a few days so we can follow the orcs without getting seen. The only ones who should be able to see us are ourselves. You can do that, right?"

The brunette human gave her a nod. "I will need some time to cast the spell but it should work as you have described. They won't be able to see us as long as no one attacks the orcs."

"Zetai went to Lordaeron so I don't expect that anyone would attack the orcs. I want you to swear to me that you won't try to kill anyone." Vara had looked at the members of the group one by one as she had said the last sentence.

"What about the Warchief?" asked the bald man.

"I'm sure his shamans and mages will protect him from our arrows and magical missiles. Don't risk anything, otherwise, you will get us killed. I wouldn't mind giving my life for killing the Warchief but he will be protected by strong magical barriers. I'm pretty sure his men took precautions, so do us all a favour and don't even try it. I wish to stay alive, just you know. We can only fire at him when we are sure that nothing protects him. We won't try it if something protects him. Is that clear?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Good, now that we cleared that up, we can climb on the mountain chain. Is everyone ready?"

Once again everyone nodded.

"Let's go then."

---

The earth quaked beneath their feet. Beneath the feet of tens of thousands of orcs. Nearly fifty thousand orcs in the feet of the orcs were not the only pairs of feet which were hearable. Kodo beasts, war wolves and other terrifying beasts, which served the Horde, also marched over the dry ground. The army marched through the pass, which was not too wide so that they only advanced slowly. Too slowly for the Warchief's liking.

Doomhammer was frustrated that his army was taking so long but there was no other way to reach the capital city of Lordaeron. He had no other choice than guiding his army through the mountain pass. Fortunately, it was wide enough that the battering ram could fit through it. He wouldn't have the time to build one once his army would reach the capital city of Lordaeron. He didn't want to give the Alliance too much time to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle so he let his army move as fast as possible.

The war drums were loudly hearable as his army continued to move. They annoyed him but motivated his people so he allowed them to be played by the kodo riders. He knew they would march for at least two days so his people had to remain motivated. He didn't want them to lose motivation during the rest of the long journey they had started almost a week ago. They had made pauses every day and he had even allowed his warriors to get a few hours of sleep every day but other than that, they had been marching all the time. Some of them looked tired or exhausted. He knew he had to allow them to rest for at least half a day before he would attack the capital city.

He couldn't allow that he would lose the battle because his warriors would be too exhausted and too tired to fight. He expected the battle would endure for at least a few days so his warriors had to be in top form. Otherwise, the siege wouldn't last long. The battle would be lost quickly if he would send his half-tired warriors into battle. But not only the battle. The whole war too. The Alliance would overrun his army if he would lose too many soldiers.

The outcome of the upcoming battle was decisive for the outcome of the war. He knew that but he was not nervous because of that. He believed in his warriors and in himself. He believed in his strategic plans. The humans had failed to stop the Horde once and they would fail again. He was sure of that. He had managed to leave Stormwind in ruins so he saw no reason why Lordaeron would be an exception. They might have the support of the other kingdoms of the Alliance but Doomhammer still had more men than them. He had the larger army and much stronger warriors. Orcs were physically much stronger than humans, high elves and dwarves. Their brute force would be enough to defeat the enemy. He was sure about that.

He lifted his head and looked at the sky, noticing that the sun was setting slowly. He hoped his army would manage to cross the mountain pass before nightfall. His gaze wandered over the top of the mountain chains. He had expected that the Alliance would station archers there which would attack them but they didn't. Better for them. All of their archers would have died in the end.

Doomhammer had enough archers and spellcasters who would have taken care of any group of archers no matter who large it would have been. Mages and gunners would have been a much larger threat to his army but they would have been killed too. He would have also lost warriors but that would have been fine because his army would still have been larger than the armies of his enemies.

He shifted his gaze again, regarding the blue magical dome around him. The barrier made sure no enemy could attack him from afar. His death would mean the end of the orcish war campaign. Without him as their leader, his army would split into the several clans out of which it existed. He knew the leaders of the clans pretty well so he knew they would have discussed for days about what to do, but wouldn't have come to a conclusion how to proceed.

The Alliance would have an easy job with the split clans. They would take them out one after one until no clan would be left. That would mean the end of the Horde. He couldn't allow that. They were conquerors and no weaklings who wouldn't manage to deal with humans, elves and dwarves.

He had to stay alive so he had ordered his best mages to create a barrier around him which would protect him from any arrows, bullets and spells. They refreshed the barrier whenever it became weaker. That way, no one could kill the mighty Warchief from afar.

The soldiers of the Alliance had to face him in close combat if they wanted to try to kill him. And they would need at least a dozen of their best warriors if they wanted to kill him alone. But he was not alone. He had his army and his elite guards which always stood close to him and help him if he would need them. He knew he was a strong and fearsome warrior and he knew he could take care of himself. But he couldn't predict what could happen so he was glad he had his elite around him. He trusted them and they wouldn't hesitate to give their lives to protect him.

The imminent battle will be bloody and thousands of soldiers on both sides would die, but the Horde will win in the end. He was convinced of that.