On the Eve of Change

"They're here!"

"King Terenas shouted. The Horde's army swam across the water like ants, rapidly approaching the city walls. Terenas was astonished by their sheer number; these savage beasts filled his eyes. They were the size of the strongest humans, with massive muscles and beast-like heads. But Terenas discovered they had no siege equipment whatsoever, only some heavy logs, axes, and blunt swords, along with iron hooks and ropes."

The city walls were as sturdy as ever. No one had ever been able to breach its defenses, and Terenas was certain that this time would be no different.

Lordaeron truly had no time for adequate preparation. These soldiers were hastily summoned, mostly former city guards, along with some conscripted farmers, including Nathanos's father. Supplies were of paramount importance, so the inhabitants outside the city simply slaughtered large numbers of livestock, keeping only what was of little use. The guards did their best to ensure nothing was left outside the closed gates. However, most could only carry some clothing on their backs, and a few tools and possessions they had to take with them. Their homes were destined to be destroyed by the Horde, and Terenas assured them that it would take a long time to help them rebuild after the war.

He looked around at his best soldiers guarding the city walls. To defend such a massive wall, he had far too few men; most of his army had been sent to Lothar. But Terenas didn't regret it, for they needed to stop the Horde. Of course, he hadn't anticipated the Horde's advance, nor had he received any warning or information.

The crisis came suddenly, but that didn't mean Terenas would abandon the city. He glanced down again, and felt the Orcs were close enough. On the walls, he could see their fangs, their necks, their arms, and the bones and medals hanging from their heads—clearly spoils of war.

"Very well, they will find this battle will be more difficult than any they have ever faced. Whatever happens, the Horde will fail," Terenas said.

"Prepare to pour the hot oil!" Terenas shouted, and the line of Melef and the other soldiers below him nodded in agreement. They activated the mechanism, pouring the boiling oil from the cauldrons on the wall directly down. The Orcs at the front were almost clinging to the wall when the hot oil was poured over them, completely soaking them. They screamed in agony as the oil scalded their flesh, writhing and convulsing on the ground. Some managed to struggle to their feet, but most collapsed.

"Prepare more!" Terenas commanded. The soldiers quickly began preparing, lifting heavy cauldrons with thick wooden poles and carrying them away. It would take some time to refill the boilers, heat them, and then remount them on the walls. But Terenas suspected these Horde were now omnipresent. This wouldn't be a single attack or a brief conflict; it would be a long siege, and he was thankful the city had enough food and water to last for weeks. The oil would run out in a couple of uses, but this was only the beginning of the defenses. Terenas also had other strange things for these Orcs invading his kingdom.

Sorath Thoradin moved effortlessly through the mountains. His boots, studded with heavy cleats, traversed the wind-driven granite walls as if they were flat ground. His soldiers followed behind, each climbing the mountains with equal ease. Stromgarde was a mountain kingdom, and its children learned from childhood how to scale rock faces and cross mountain peaks.

Ahead of him lay the mountain paths of Alterac. Thoradin could see something moving through the snow in the distance. These heavily armored figures moved slowly but steadily. Clearly, these Orcs were not adapted to the altitude or the mountain itself. They were traveling along a trade route. Thoradin and his people disliked these mountain paths. They preferred to climb to where they wanted to go, unlike these Orcs trapped in these narrow passages. These routes were too easy to blockade and too easy to attack.

Baine gestured to his soldiers, then lay prone, gripping his sword tightly. Just a hair's breadth... now! He leaped from the cliff face, landing gracefully between two Orcs, launching a surprise attack. His Tokal flashed, decapitating one Orcs and snapping the neck of the Orcs in the instant he regained his senses and tried to retaliate. Thoradin's Warrior swooped down, cutting Execute Orcs one by one in the narrow passage. Each leap killed more Orcs. After clearing the path, they continued their assault on other Orcs traveling along the way. In just a few minutes, they had slaughtered Orcs on both paths, the passages now overflowing with corpses.

Thoradin and his Warrior piled up the Orcs corpses into a heap that looked as high as a small mountain. Then he left ten soldiers to scramble up and down the mountain path, continuing this tactic to block the way up, while he continued onward with the rest of his Warrior.

"Very well," Thoradin muttered to himself. "This road is blocked." They would reach another mountain path within an hour. This path was also crowded with Orcs, so Sorath attacked them in the same way. Thoradin could sense that these Orcs were fearsome Warrior, tall, strong, and savage, but they were ill-suited to the mountains and the cold, and could not withstand Thorbeth's attacks as he leaped down from the rock faces.

"These Orcs seem completely unprepared; they must have thought there wouldn't be any ambush here." Sorath stroked his chin, now even more certain that Perenolde had told the Orcs this.

The second path was easily cleared, as was the third. The fourth, however, was slightly more troublesome, being wider than the others. It allowed four orcs or three Orcs to walk side-by-side. So Thoradin and his Warrior dismounted in groups of four at a time. After a while, this path was also blocked, and they rolled down boulders to confirm that it was completely blocked.

The fifth mountain path had also been cleared—at least no Orcs were using it anymore. Thoradin saw some Warrior stationed there, but they were human, dressed in orange Alterac uniforms. They guarded the path both above and inside.

"Halt!" shouted a patrolling Alterac soldier, aiming his spear at Thoradin. "State your name and why you're here!" Several soldiers behind him ran up to him.

"Sorath Thoradin, the kingdom of Stromgarde," Sorath replied curtly. Even though he knew they were merely following orders, he glared at the Warrior. "Where is Perenolde?"

"The King is in his castle," the soldier replied arrogantly. "You are now crossing our territory without permission."

"And what about those Orcs?" Thoradin retorted with a sneer. "Are they intruders, or guests of Perenolde?"

"We will not let the Orcs through," another Warrior declared. "We will defend this place with our lives!"

"Very good," Thoradin said, "So they're not here; they're on the four roads to the south."

These words startled the soldiers, who exchanged bewildered glances. "We were assigned to guard this place," one of them said, full of doubt. "The King said the Orcs might be traveling through here."

"But they didn't," Sorath roared. "They're calmly crossing these snowy mountains and heading towards Lordaeron. Fortunately, my men have blocked the other roads, but many Orcs have already passed through and are now attacking the Alliance headquarters." Among these men, an older-looking veteran turned pale upon hearing these statements. Sorath saw him and asked, "Where is your general, Hass?"

"He's with our main force," the soldier replied. After thinking for a moment, he added, "I'll take you there."

Thoradin knew the way there, but he also knew that it would be easier for him to see Hass if he were escorted by this veteran.

It took them an hour to arrive. King Stromgarde saw Hass talking with several officers, but he waited quietly until the old soldier led them inside and informed the burly officer.

"General." Thoradin had always admired Hass. He was a strong Warrior, highly strategic, and unlike his master, he wasn't opportunistic. "Orcs are crossing your southern pass," he said bluntly. "I'll intercept them for you."

Hass's face turned ashen. "Our southern passage? Are you sure?" He gestured for Sorath to remain silent. "Of course you did. But... the King told me they might pass through the north instead of the south. That's why he had us guard this place."

Sorath looked Hass up and down carefully and said, "You are an excellent commander and an honest man, Hass, so you are not good at lying. You know the truth, don't you?"

The Alterac general sighed, then nodded. "Perenolde deceived everyone," he admitted. "We traded freedom of passage for peace."

Thoradin nodded and then asked, "And you agree with doing this?"

"We have no choice!" Hass replied solemnly. "They might completely destroy us and then slaughter our people! No one will help us!" He shook his head, indicating that he did not want that to happen. "Perenolde prioritizes the safety of Alterac. His actions are unforgivable, but it was also for the sake of the people."

Hass is indeed an excellent general of Alterac, and he is still defending his King, but Sorath will not let him off easily.

"He's only trying to save himself!" the Mountain King roared, completely disregarding the fact that his opponent was a general from another country. "What will happen to the people of Lordaeron? What will happen to the Alliance?"

Hass stared at him, remaining silent.

Sorath paused, leaned closer to Hass, and continued, "If the Horde fails to conquer Lordaeron, what will happen to Alterac?"

Hass dropped his baton, his resolve wavering. If the Horde failed, the Alliance would surely hold Alterac responsible. "I... don't know," he replied weakly, shaking his head. "I advised Perenolde not to break his oath. But he wouldn't listen. I swore allegiance to him, and I must obey him."

"You gave up honor for loyalty?" Sorath questioned.

Hass frowned. "Protecting ourselves is more important than protecting our allies. If we can't protect our own people, what can we protect?"

"Isn't stopping the invaders protecting the people of Alterac?" Sorath shouted, not only reminding Hass, but making everyone here realize this. "General Hasse, if the Alliance fails, Alterac may survive, but you will all be slaves of the Orcs. Your fate will no longer be in your own hands. You will be confined to the snow, living in constant fear of a sudden Orcs attack."

Hass clenched his fist. Sorath was absolutely right; what good would it do them even if they survived? They would be easy prey, Horde could devour them whenever they wanted. "Our honor must be reaffirmed," he cried, trembling, "This must end!"

He turned to his soldiers and ordered, "Corporal, gather the troops! Full speed ahead towards the southern passage! We are going to aid our friends at Stromgarde, and together we will defend these passages and drive out the Horde Orcs!"

"But, sir..." an officer tried to stop him, but Hass forced him to drink.

"Go now!" he roared, then turned to Sorath, hesitating for a moment. "He's inside that castle," he didn't need to explain to Sorath who was inside. "His bodyguards are inside too, but there are only about twenty of them. I can lure him out."

But Thoradin shook his head. "I won't go," he said. "If I go there, it will be an invasion. And if you go, it will be treason. The Alliance will deal with him, but right now we need to hold off the Horde."

Hass nodded in agreement. "Thank you."

On the other side

"Damn it, we're too late!" Turalyon tightened the reins on his warhorse and looked down into the valley below.

He, Khadgar, and several other cavalrymen were marching without stopping, followed by the advancing infantry. Their best course of action now was to continue westward, cross several mountain peaks, and then appear north of the Capital City. If all went well, they could join forces with the capital's soldiers to ambush the Orcs before they could establish a foothold.

But now, looking down from the cliffs on the mountainside, across the valley connecting to Lordamere Lake, Turalyon saw swarms of Orcs. This meant his plan had failed; the Horde was already there, filling the valley and surrounding the city. Now the entire city was teetering on the brink of collapse.

Marius Farm

Nathanos kicked Grot into the Sodori River, Orcs cursed loudly.

"Give yourself a good wash to get rid of the smell," Nathanos said, glancing at the setting sun. "Then I'll take you to Lordaeron, and if we act quickly, you'll witness the final battle."