Explosions ring in my ears like a hellish chorus. The grunting and groaning of the wooden deck beneath my feet gives me pause, as burning chunks of metal and debris fall all around me. Across the expanse of the frozen skies of Icecrown I see the grim faces of the dwarves aboard the Skybreaker. They fire and reload their rifles with practiced skill and determination. Behind them stand the grenadiers, working quickly to aim and launch their deadly rockets on the deck of the Ogrim's Hammer. At their command stands the mighty Dwarf known as Muradin Bronzebeard. It is rumored that Muradin was once a close associate of Arthas himself.
"You DARE come aboard my ship!!" Warlord Saurfang shouts as a portal opens up above our heads, and Alliance marines begin jumping into our midst.
Saurfang is the most noble and awe inspiring Orc I have ever met. He commands the Horde forces in their assault on Icecrown Citadel and is subordinate to the wretched Garrosh Hellscream. It was earlier today that I was impressed by Saurfang, and filled with a new hope for the leadership of the Horde. While assaulting the lower halls of the Citadel we heard the echos of Arthas torturing a human by the name of Bolvar. Apparently, this human is a close friend to the King of Stormwind, and Saurfang ordered us to rescue him in order that we may ease the tensions between the Horde and the Alliance.
"Charibdys!! You must focus your heals on Calmfury!" the burly Tauren Shaman by the name of Earthmoon shouts at me above the explosions.
I nearly topple over as the Ogrim's Hammer lurches to one side. Meanwhile, Calmfury launches into the fray, swiping and mauling the human marines with his gore soaked claws.
Suddenly, the cannons aboard our ship burst to life, spraying fire and shot into the hull of the Skybreaker. All the Horde give a rousing cheer as the Alliance ship begins to burst into flame.
Calmfury lets out a roar as the marines slash and cut him with their swords and axes. Though they seem to have little effect on his stubborn hide, I do see blood coming from his wounds.
All this time I have followed him, at the behest of Master Hamuul. To look for any sign of evil corruption that we suspect he is harboring. To decide if there is good in him, or to just kill him in order to hide our shame. I can't help but think how easy it would be to just let the Alliance Marines do the job for me.
"Charibdys!! heal Calmfury! If those marines get loose we are done for!!" Squish screams from across the deck.
One of the marines plunges his sword into the side of the beastly bear, and Calmfury lets out a miserable scream.
I don't know if I have seen good or evil in him. Ever since I found him at the tournament grounds he's been little more than a ghost. Moping about, barely eating, he only becomes animated when there is a fight. It's almost as if he is little more than a mindless zombie, only becoming alive when Squish wants him to.
Calmfury stumbles a bit as blood begins to flow from his deep wounds. He coughs up a wad of foamy blood out of his mouth, and then rises up on his back legs to maul one of the marines.
I feel a hand grab me hard on the shoulder. Spinning around I see the beautiful and sultry Troll shaman Jezi. "Charibdys Mon!! Snap out of eet before yah git dah Calmfury killt!!"
I look her deep in the eyes, and she sees that I have already made my decision not to heal him. Who could blame me? I am tired of fighting. I don't care about Arthas, the Scourge, or this stupid war. I just want to run free, to hear the wind in the trees, and to feel the warmth of the sun.
The ship lurches again as a rocket plows into its side and sets the deck ablaze. I fall on my butt, and sit there as I watch the Marines begin to finish off Calmfury.
"Don't ya be worryin Mon!! I'll heal dah smelly beast mah self" Jezy shouts as she focuses her shamanic healing power. A green arc of electricity leaps from her hands and infuses Calmfury's body with life. I watch in despair as his wounds close up and he leaps back to life.
Another explosion rocks the Ogrim's Hammer. This time it is one of the engines powering the Skybreaker. It bursts into flames sending pieces of metal and wood flying in all directions. The Alliance airship then lurches hard to the side, sending Muradin and his Dwarven riflemen into a panic to find a handhold. Once again the Horde gives a rousing cry of victory.
As the Skybreaker peels away from us we can see that the damage to her hull is immense, much more than we thought. Her crew works hard to get the craft under control and get the fires put out. But, from our perspective it looks as though she is going down.
"What the hell is wrong with you!!" Squish bellows at me as the small little Blood Elf grabs the front of my jerkin. "You stupid Tauren bitch! You almost got us all killed! I brought you along to heal us, not enjoy the scenery."
"Easy Mon, Can't yah see shes been shot? Move aside sos dat I can heal her." Jezi says as she grabs Squish by the shoulder.
I look down at my torso, and sure enough it seems that I caught a bullet in the stomach. Funny, it doesn't even seem to hurt.
"Dere, dats eet, lay yerself down now and let Jezi tend yer wound."
As I lay flat on the deck I suddenly feel a dull, heavy pain in my guts. I can't help but let out a groan.
"Yer lucky tah be alive mah deery." Jezi says as she looks over her shoulder at Squish. "Just gimme a second ta git dat bullet outta yah."
I look across the deck to see Calmfury, still in bear form, eating a lump of bread that he clawed from the bag of a dead marine. He looks at me with his dead, unexpressionate eyes as if he knows what I did but doesn't care.
"By the Ancestors!!" Saurfang exclaims as the Ogrim's Hammer pulls up alongside a balcony at the upper reaches of the Citadel. There stands a hideous looking Orc Deathknight garbed in ornate armor and holding a massive axe.
As all eyes turn to our lone host, he just stands there without a sign of fear.
"My son" Saurfang utters under his breath, just loud enough for us to hear.
I feel a sharp pain followed by gentle relief as Jezi pulls the bullet out of me and focuses her healing magics on me. "Dere yah go Mon, good as new. Now git up, it look like we got a fight commin."
As the crewmen work to secure the airship to the balcony, Saurfang, his Korkron guard and the grizzled veterans of our warband move forward to face our next adversary.
"Join me, father. Join me and we will crush this world in the name of the Scourge. For the glory of the Lich King!" the Deathknight shouts at Saurfang.
Saurfang grimaces for a moment. "My boy died at the Wrathgate. I am here only to collect his body."
Squish looks back at us. "Bloodlust, prepare yourselves. This is gonna get ugly." she says as she grips her shield tightly in one hand and unsheathes her sword.
