The wretched Death Knight Champion hacks relentlessly at us with his deadly war axe. The cold air around us has the nauseating scent of fresh blood. However, it's not the blood from our wounds, instead it is clouds of our essence being drawn from within our bodies by the horrifying power of Deathbringer Saurfang, Champion of Arthas, and son of our beloved High Overlord Saurfang. As he absorbs the blood into himself we can see he is physically getting larger and stronger.
"Bloodlust!! Tear him down now! We must end this or we are done for!!" Squish screams over the chaos of the battle.
The lithe Blood elf paladin holds her shield high and takes the brunt of Saurfang's assault. I stand at her side, in the form of a bear, tearing and scratching at his ornate armor with my claws.
High above us in the air hangs Overlord Saurfang and his elite guard. They are held at the neck by some nefarious power of his traitorous son. It's clear that if we fail here, the life will be choked out of him, and the Horde will lose a great leader.
"I have become... death!!" Deathbringer Saurfang roars as he grows to an incredible size. Clearly, his absorption of our blood has brought him to a pinnacle of unholy power.
Suddenly, Squish is knocked backwards as her shield takes the brunt of Saurfang's assault. I step forward to block him from finishing her off, and continue ripping and mauling him with all my strength. To my dismay, I make very little headway against his unholy armor.
Behind Saurfang I can see the hardened veterans of the warband; Doklahar, the Deathknight, traitor to Arthas and the Scourge, and our guide through the twisting halls of Icecrown Citadel. He viciously tears at the back of Saurfang with his axe, with a cool, stoic expression on his face which hides his venomous hatred of the Scourge. Next to him stands the Orc scout known as Poklix. A veteran of countless wars and battles across Azeroth and beyond. He deftly hacks and slashes with his razor sharp hand axes. Also in my view I can see Charibdys as she focuses her magic into life giving waves of energy. It is her and the other healers of Bloodlust that keep us alive against all odds.
A magical hammer soars over my head and into the thick, ornate helmet of Saurfang. As it does, Squish rejoins the battle with renewed strength. She slams her shield hard into the Scourge Champion, and swings her light-infused sword at him with deadly precision. The blade slicing through his armor at the hip and tearing a long gash into the cold flesh beneath.
Deathbringer Saurfang suddenly lurches to the side and lets out a sickening scream. "I... Am... Released." he hisses as he falls to the frozen, bloodsoaked floor.
Before our eyes we watch as he slowly shrinks back to his normal size, the stolen blood flowing from his body like a river of gore. Meanwhile, Overlord Saurfang comes crashing to the ground as the magic that held him and his guard is dispelled. They cough and gasp for air.
"It is done." Squish says softly as she walks away from the scene and to the edge of the balcony. "Poklix, sharpen my sword" She hands her blade to the Orc, who also serves as her personal assistant. The scout takes the blade carefully and begins to dig in his bags for his sharpening kit.
The rest of the warband spread out, trying to find a safe and comfortable place to eat a little and to get a handle on the horror of the situation.
As I stand there, Overlord Saurfang gets up from the ground and walks to the broken body of his son. I confess now that I have never seen an orc cry. Tears roll from his eyes and turn to ice on his ancient and leathery face.
"You will have a proper ceremony in Nagrand next to the pyres of your mother and ancestors." he says as he slowly lifts the broken and bloody corpse of his son off the floor.
As always, I can't help but think of my Meekha. My last memory of her was the horrified look on her face as she watched Garrosh cut me to pieces. It seems like a lifetime ago, yet my love for her has not faded and I yearn to see her again. I can't believe that she is alive, and she thinks I am dead. I wonder if she mourns my death or if she even remembers me.
Saurfang turns and somberly begins carrying his son back to the Orgrim's Hammer airship docked on the edge of the balcony. As I watch him in sorrow, he turns to me and nods. I can't help but feel his pain over the loss of his child. Even if we are warriors of the Horde, destined to die in battle at the whim of our Warchief, the pain of such a loss is nearly unbearable. It is a pain that Meekha must have felt when I died.
"Honor, young heroes... no matter how dire the battle... Never forsake it!" Saurfang says in a slow and somber voice.
Honor... I remember that day. The day that Meekha asked me what gives a person value. I told her it was not treasure or riches or titles, it is honor. But, have I lived with honor? These past few days I have served the Horde and our warband by doing what is expected of me. Fighting hard in this struggle with the Lich King. Yet, I must confess that it is not patriotism or loyalty that has driven me, it is the desire to see Meekha again. Squish promised me that if I survive this campaign that she will take me to my adopted daughter.
But, I wonder if this is honor or is the leverage that this Blood Elf has over me what drives me?
Across the balcony I see Squish. She is standing at the edge looking out across the frozen expanse of Icecrown. Her confidence and smug demeanor reminds me of the arrogance of the Alliance soldiers I have killed. Her noble air reminds me of my father. He would have never sacrificed everything for his son, as Saurfang has done this day, as I would gladly do for Meekha.
In one fluid motion I shift out of my bear form and walk across the balcony towards her. The hissing grind of Poklix's sharpening stone seeming to keep in time with the icy breeze blowing up from the glaciers below.
"Squish, I want to talk to you." I say as I walk up behind her.
The Blood Elf barely turns to sneer at me.
"I am tired of waiting, I want to see Meekha. I want to make sure she is okay and I want her to know I am alive." I say firmy
Squish turns around to face me, as if she is ready for a confrontation.
"Why don't you shut up bull boy and do as your told! I didn't bring you here to think, I brought you here to fight." she replies in a threatening tone.
A primal anger stirs deep within me. An anger that I have not felt in a long time.
"Squish" I say with a growl "She is the closest thing I have to a daughter. It is a matter of honor that I find her. It will only take a few..."
"I said shut your mouth." she interrupts, as her gauntleted had strikes me hard across my face. "I don't give a crap about your little whelp or your damned honor, this is about glory, my glor..."
Without even thinking my hands suddenly wrap around her throat and I lift her into the air. My indignant rage drives me to choke the life out of her. As she kicks helplessly and gasps for air, her hand instinctively goes to the empty scabbard at her waist.
"Calmfury!!" Poklix shouts behind me as he drops the sharpening stone and sword and grabs his axes.
The warband springs to life as they see me strangling our leader. They quickly gather around behind me, uncertain about what to do. As they draw near, I step up on the side of the balcony and hold Squish over the edge.
"So hep me, put er down yah stuupid Taureen or ey'll cut yeu in two!!" Poklix shouts
Doklahar runs forward and grabs Poklix on the shoulder. "And if you do Orc you'll send them both falling to their deaths" he says in his chilling voice.
"And.. " Charibdys interrupts with a callous chuckle "Calmfury can turn into a Stormcrow, so he won't be killed in the fall."
The entire warband stands helpless for a moment, pondering the situation as Squish gasps for air.
"Calmfury, you don't want to kill Squish, you want to put her down." Doklahar says in a calm, soothing tone as he holds out his hand in friendship.
"No I don't" I say through gritted teeth as I look into Squish's bulging eyes "I want to see my daughter."
Earthmoon, the indomitable Tauren shaman steps forward. "Calmfury, we all want to see our families again." he says in Taurahe, the language of our people.
He doesn't understand that this is different.
"Either I see my daughter, or I kill Squish and fly away from here." I say with grim determination. My traitorous ultimatum settling on the warband like a lead weight.
"Ya do dis and ey'll hunt ya wheereva ya go Taureen" Poklix says with a hiss.
"Camfury, don't do dis Mon" Jezi says in a pleading tone.
Squish's lips turn blue and her eyes begin to roll back in her head.
"Calmfury, we need to go back to Orgrimmar for supplies anyway." Doklahar says with urgency "Put her down and we will all go. Squish, tell him we will go."
All eyes turn to the barely conscious face of Squish as she does her best to nod in agreement.
"See, she agrees, now please put her down." Doklahar says.
A very tense second goes by as I ponder wether I want to drop her off the edge or onto the balcony. Then, I realize that word may get back to Orgrimmar before I do and someone could kill poor Meekha before I get there.
I turn and drop the little elf in a heap on the icy balcony.
Suddenly, Poklix leaps into the air, slashing with his axes, and cuts off one of the dangling ponytails at my neck, drawing just a faint trickle of blood. I turn to fight the determined orc as he quickly rolls and comes to a stand a few yards away from me.
"Dat was just a warnin Taureen. Ya touch Squish agin and ey'll drive mah axe thru yah throat." he says with a hiss.
"Stop!!" Doklahar shouts
"You got one day" Squish says as she stands up and trys to catch her breath. "We'll get your stupid little runt. But then we are back here and renewing our assault. Do I make myself clear?"
The warband looks at me as I nod in agreement. Everyone but Poklix breaths a sigh of relief as Squish turns around, picks up her shield and sword, and heads to the airship. Then, they begin gathering their belongings and chattering about how much they will drink when they get to Orgrimmar.
As I stand alone in the frigid wind I can't help but wonder if I did the right thing.
"I didn't think you had it in you Calmfury." Charibdys says with a smile as she approaches me. "I was starting to worry that you lost your Balance again."
She hasn't smiled or even spoken to me since we entered the Citadel.
"I don't know what to say to Meekha when I see her. I'm afraid she won't remember me." I say
Charibdys chuckles a bit. "I'm sure she will remember you. I'm just not sure how she'll recognize you."
