#valiance keep

[houseildanan]

The Calm

The scent of coffee soothed his ragged nerves, the steam rising from the mug wreathing his face.  The first light of sunrise was starting to paint the sky purple in the east, the wind off the harbor as bracing today as it had been three days ago and three days before that.  His ear twitched slightly at the slight sound of a boot against one of the cobbles.  He didn’t turn.

“How was it up there?”

“You heard me coming?”  Concern and amusement braided together in her voice as she finished her approach.  The ease with which the woman wore her armor belied both the weight of it and the relative slightness of her frame, reminding him briefly of another, miles away to the south.  Quin cradled a mug of coffee between her hands as she came to stand beside him, staring off over the harbor.  “I’ve gotten sloppy since regaining my sight.”

“Maybe,” the medic murmured, inclining his head.  “Or maybe I’ve just grown used to listening for every scrape of a boot, every whisper of something out of the ordinary.”  He glanced toward her, his brow arching slightly.  “You didn’t answer my question.”

Her gaze flicked up to need his, the wry smile she’d been sporting fading like mist burning away with the dawn.  “Are you sure you want to know?”

“I asked.”  His shoulders shifted slightly in a shrug and he suppressed a sigh, looking away, back to the harbor, the water, the sunrise.  “We don’t have enough numbers, do we?”

“The threat is much larger than anticipated,” Quin said softly.  “I don’t know what forces we’re going to be able to marshal against it.  That’s above my pay grade.”

“But not by much.”  One corner of his mouth twitched up into a smile that faded as quickly as it came.  “You know all of this better than most.”

“Both sides—at least, the other side in the before times.”  She exhaled, scrubbing a hand over her face.  One of her fingers twitched slightly, unconsciously, a reminder of torments long ago but not far away at all.  “What do you make of it, Tyr?  You must have theories.”

“As do you,” he said before he took a slow sip of coffee, gathering his thoughts.  “This is a threat that won’t be easily handled, no matter how much we wish it might be—and if it can be kept bottled here, then that’s what all the powers that be will try to do.  The world is weary of war.”

“The world is weary of world-threatening threats.”  Quin sighed softly.  “But that’s not something we get a vote in, is it?  The world has other plans.”

He nodded slowly.  “It does.  Will they be able to hold?”

“They’ve reinforced the grounds considerably,” she said.  “It should hold.  It has to.  That’s the better infrastructure and higher ground.”

“Of course, we assume the threat will be in Icecrown,” he murmured.

“You don’t think it will be?”

“I don’t know what to think anymore, Quin.”  For a second, he stared into his cup of coffee, trying to ignore the raw ache inside.  “Nothing has turned out the way any of us expected.  We shouldn’t be back here fighting a new war against the same enemy.”

“No,” she agreed.  “We shouldn’t.  But here we are.”

“Aye,” he whispered.  “Here we are.”

She reached up to squeeze his shoulder.  His hand covered hers, fingers wrapping around her hand for a moment.

Then he sighed, gaze drifting back to the horizon.  The sky was turning bright pink over the water.  “A storm is coming,” he murmured.  “Can you feel it?”

“In every bone that was broken,” she said softly.  “You too?”

He nodded.  “In every bone and muscle, too.”

“Have you told her?”

“Not yet.”

“Should we?”

“You know her better.”

Quin sighed, nodding.  “I’ll tell her.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you going to stay out here?”

“A little longer.  I need some air.”

“All right.  Don’t stay out too long.”

One corner of his mouth twitched toward a smile.  Quin’s brow arched.

“What?”

“You sound like her.”

She stared up at him for a moment, then smiled wryly.  “I’ll take that as a compliment.  Don’t stay out too long.”

Tyr simply nodded.  Quin’s hand slipped from his shoulder as she turned to head back inside while he lingered there on the overlook above the harbor.  The clouds above were dark.  The wind was cold.

A storm was rising.

It was only a matter of time.

[kaponothepeaceful]

Valiance Keep, the Alliance's harbour base in the Borean Tundra! My zeppelin ride here from Orgrimmar was pleasant and uneventful. I got some good sleep through most of it. Getting out of Warsong Hold after arriving was a surprising small challenge (they seem to have a nerubian problem), and I had to take this S.E.L.F.I.E quickly before being chased away by dwarven guards. But otherwise I was already enjoying the beautiful sights and fresh, cold air of this new continent. Onward to Icecrown Citadel! Earth Mother watch over you.

[houseildanan]

Sunrise

The sunrise came later and later these past few mornings.  He knew that was a side-effect of both latitude and the change of seasons but somehow it still felt oddly like a herald of things to come.  He tried to shake the feeling of creeping doom, the dread that sometimes curdled his stomach, but it was hard—harder than it had been once upon a time, harder than it had been during his last stint here with the Argent Crusade, now a decade and more past.

The chill of the salt wind ran its fingers through his hair, but the medic did not shiver.  There was a freshness to that wind, one that chased the lingering smell of death away.  The last group had gotten far closer than they should have and in numbers larger than they’d expected.  There was no lingering doubt, now.

Something intelligent and powerful was out there in the wastes and was testing their defenses.

“Are you all right out here, Grimstryke?”

He didn’t turn toward the sound of Frost’s voice, instead letting his gaze sweep over the fog hanging over Valiance’s harbor.  One slow breath and then another before he answered the question.  “Zen’tavi and Maracuso should be recovered enough in a few days for light duties.  We should ship Starwhisper home.”

“He’ll argue against that. His sister’s still on patrol.  He won’t want to leave.”  She came to stand beside him, dressed in slacks and a leather vest over a woolen shirt.  The mage rested a hand lightly on the pommel of the blade hanging at her side, following his gaze out toward the water.  “Will it hurt to let him stay?”

The medic sighed softly. “Not if he stays put and we don’t have to evacuate in a hurry.”

“The work you did with Roiya on the wards suggests that we’ll have time for something more orderly if that moment comes,” she said.  The wind tugged red hair free of her braid, whipping them around her face.  “Path of least resistance, no?”

“I suppose,” he said, then shook his head.  “He won’t be able to fight for weeks—at least he shouldn’t.  Hell.  He shouldn’t be out of bed for at least a week.”

“Are you going to be able to keep him there?”

“I’m going to have to, aren’t I?”  He glanced at her sidelong, frowning slightly.  “No new orders?”

“Nothing yet,” she said. “Either it’s only a matter of time, or we’re the ones being left to hold this post while they martial forces for some kind of counterstrike—not that any of us seem to have any idea what we’re counterstriking against.”

A shiver crept down his spine.  “Well, that sounds familiar.”

She snorted softly, a wry smile kicking one corner of her mouth skyward.  “Business as usual, isn’t it?”

“For some,” he admitted. “More or less complicated for others.”

Her smile faded, her brows knitting.  “I never asked—”

“I’m fine.  I’m fine, they’re fine, it’s all fine.”

“Even with—”

“It’s fine,” he whispered, looking her square in the eyes.  “Leave it. Please.”

A trace of pain washed through her expression, one that vanished behind a stern mask a moment later. She gave a firm nod, then pivoted. “Come inside before you freeze.  I put some coffee on and the scones should be ready shortly.”

His chin dipped slightly. “Yes, ma’am.”

She gave him one last measuring look before she turned and walked away, back toward the inn that had become their headquarters.

Tyr’s breath steamed in the chill.  His hands curled into fists.  He held his breath for one count, two.

Then he exhaled, closed his eyes, and bowed his head.  From one duty to the next.  There was work to do.

There was always work to do.

With one last glance toward the first rays of sunrise, he turned and followed her back to the inn.

[commanderbragh]

Final Mission

Braghaman walked into the room, his left arm wrapped tight to his side, and looked at the two dozen young paladins. They had been sitting together, talking energetically about what they had learned over the last four days. They knew that they were scheduled to return to Stormwind the next afternoon and they looked forward to sharing with the other recruits what they had seen. When they noticed Braghaman enter, the group hushed and turned towards the elder paladin.

Bragh inwardly grinned as he scanned the room and then eased himself into a chair at the front of the room. He waited a few more moments before he spoke to the group.

“We’ll be heading back in the morning,” Braghaman began.

“I thought we were going back after midday,” one of the trainees interrupted.

“Yeah, we had one more exercise tomorrow,” another trainee added.

“Well we can’t do that now,” Braghaman started to explain.

“Why not?” another trainee broke in.

“ I’m not exactly in the best shape to lead you guys out into the field.”

“We can handle it, sir.”

“Yeah, we’re ready!’

“You think you all are ready to go out onto a battlefield like what we have outside?” Braghaman asked, scanning the group. The young recruits looked at each other and then turned back towards the paladin, nodding and voicing their agreement.  “And what happens if something unexpected comes up?”

“We’ll improvise.”

“We need the experience anyways.”

“Besides, we’ll be out there to watch each others back.”

“Just like you taught us, sir.”

Braghaman quietly listened to the trainees as they continued to make arguments for why they should continue on with the morning’s plans. Finally the trainees stopped talking and waited for the paladin respond. Bragh shifted in his chair slightly and nodded slowly.

“The plan tomorrow was to take on a nerubian nest that seems to have started just outside the gate,” Braghaman began, watching as the young men and women started looking at each other.  “You all have your group assignments. I’ll give you three hours. Come up with a plan. Choose your leaders and come to me with your plan. If I think its reliable, we’ll consider,” he paused, emphasizing the last word, “going forward with it in the morning. But it better be a good plan with good contingencies.”

“You’ve got three hours,” Bragh added as he pushed off the chair with his good arm and stood.  As waited until he had turned and left the room before he let himself smile.

[roxannahthewarrior]

Fragment 8 - High Commander

Gerosan was sloshed. I had to remind him a few times who I was. After a few lashes of the tail he got the idea. Human paladins are hilarious when drunk. Blaming other people, claiming to be sober, saying it was the High Commander's orders, saying it would be what The Light wanted. Damn, just have a good time and stop trying to justify sipping some fermented vegetables. He pointed me in the direction of High Commander Lenea. His description of her location contained far too many left turns and one too many 'over the bridge near the puking dwarf', but I found her in the end. Her hair was a mess as always, but her fine regalia had at least been recently washed and pressed, so she stood out from the rest of the crowd. I saluted and asked for permission to speak in a rather solemn manner, but she gave me a smile and a pat on the shoulder. Sweet, disorganised Lenea. Despite her lack of time for me, I can't dislike a woman with such a good heart. We chatted, she asked about my knee and how I was spending my leave. She seemed surprised to learn that her chief of staff had sent for me to collect the Talbuks, but I knew she was trying to save my feelings. I pretended I was glad. Then the worst part of all. She confirmed my thoughts, the Divine Shadows were officially standing down from active service. King Wrynn* was only keeping certain sections of his armies in Northrend.... I tuned out at this point. A painted smile covered my face as she joked about getting back to normal life. I went back to the tavern to see if Gero would lend me some gold for a drink or two. I awoke this morning half in and half out of a barrel in the tavern kitchen. The barmaid kindly let me have a wash in her dorm basin. She gave me an odd wink as I left, that made one of my tentacles shiver.

[roxannahthewarrior]

Fragment 7 - Valiance

Valiance today was a bit of a shock to the system. Absolute chaos. The first time I ever saw this city it was the very picture of stern organisation. Now the streets are awash with merry faces, everything from pack horses to siege machines are piling up around the docks waiting for transportation. Jubilation. The taverns are over flowing with thirsty soldiers eager to celebrate for as long as possible. I made my way into one such tavern in search of a familiar face. A barmaid was standing on the bar singing a rendition of The Alliance Never Walk Alone with her skirts pulled up to her knees. The mob were throwing copper coins at her as if they feared she may stop at any moment and a tiny gnome was scurrying around trying to pick them all up. A coin hit the poor girl in the face and there was an awful moment where it looked like she was going to fall off the bar. But she quickly recovered herself and went on singing. I edged my way up to the bar and placed a coin near her feet and gave her a respectful nod. She shimmied her skirts and I caught a flash of her stocking tops. She winked at me, but I just stood there for a moment, then turned to leave. My composure these days is truly admirable, maybe the Naaru have really answered my call for aid in this delicate matter.

I made my way up the stairs and onto the bar landing where I caught sight of a face I recognised.

[roxannahthewarrior]

Valiance Keep, Alliance Base of Operations, Northrend.