A Pointless Probe

Northrend rarely enjoyed such fine weather: clear skies, gentle breezes, and thin clouds. Yet this pleasant day was filled with a bleak, murderous atmosphere. The open plain was packed with soldiers, facing a fortress that was just as crowded with people.

Though it was only a feint, they had to put enough pressure on the enemy or the enemy would spot the ruse. So Garrosh and Bovar didn't sit back and wait; they first tested the defenses from underground and from the sky.

The main force attacking underground was the Nerubians. Their powerful, nimble forelegs spun like drills as they rapidly dug through the earth before them. But their usually vaunted tunneling skills had met a worthy rival: the Alliance dwarves.

Dwarves spent their lives smithing, which meant they needed vast quantities of ore for smelting. Since much of it lay underground, they spent their lives working in mines, too. When it came to digging tunnels and shafts, they truly were no worse than the naturally gifted Nerubians.

They might not have strong, agile forelimbs for digging, but their tools made the work faster and easier. And their cousins, the gnomes, also made their living underground. The gnomes' contributions further improved the dwarves' equipment, and for a time, the dwarves' digging work even surpassed the Nerubians'.

Of course, they weren't digging tunnels as a competition. They were trying to find out whether the underground fortress built by the Crypt Fiends had any weak points.

Unfortunately, the Nerubians and the Crypt Fiends shared the same origins, and the Crypt Fiends had thought of every place the Nerubians could. So whenever the Nerubians and dwarves dug their way beneath Utgarde, one or more squads of Crypt Fiends would rush out. Fortunately, the Nerubians and dwarves had prepared in advance and quickly withdrew