Aaron Rosenberg - Beyond the Dark Portal

Danath felt a chill. "The orcs… wiped out a whole civilization?" He glanced up at Talthressar. "Sounds like the Horde did a practice run before they came to Azeroth."

"Indeed it docs. Except Azeroth did not fall to them as Draenor has. We were stronger."

"Luckier, maybe." He shook his head, his face hard. “A whole civilization of peaceful people. What a damned shame." He returned his attention to the arakkoa. "Keep talking. You said the draenei were peaceful, but also pow­erful, and that the orcs were primitive at first. How is it they were able to wipe out these draenei?" "The orcs…” Grizzik groped for words. "Come to­gether. No longer separate."

"The orcs do have different clans," Talthressar said. "It sounds as if they were not always a unified, directed Horde."

"Long Ears is right!" chirped Grizzik excitedly. At any other time Danath would have laughed at the of­fended look that crossed Talthressar's face at the insult. "Orc un… united. They grew strong, cruel. Skin turn from — hm, from this," and he pointed to a brown feather, "to this," and he indicated a green one.

"Their skin turned color? From brown to green?" Danath said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! Then green orc attack and slay draenei. Arakkoa say, we are next!" He pointed to the massive ruins just visible through the tires. "Auchindoun. Draenei dead sleep there. It is holy. Most—" It patted the soil.

"Most is below ground?" Danath asked.

Grizzik nodded. "Winding, below ground, yes. All dead now."

A thought occurred to Danath. "Have you been there? To Auchindoun? To these winding tunnels?"

Grizzik nodded enthusiastically.

"Do you know your way through?" Danath asked.

Grizzik nodded. "I have been down, down, many times. But… why you wish to go there?"

"I am Danath Trollbane, of the Alliance," Danath re­sponded. "We have pursued the orcish Horde here from our own world, and I intend to attack them on the morrow and see them dead and their threat de­stroyed. They're hiding in those tunnels. I'm going to find them. We… could use your help."

Talthressar looked disapprovingly at Danath, but the human ignored the glare. Grizzik seemed harmless enough, and he obviously hated the Horde. If he could save them from getting lost in a maze in a city of the dead, Danath was all for it.

"Griz — I. I know a way in. Way that even orcs who live there now do not know." He leaned forward. "I know where they live, and which passage new orcs will pick."

Danath and Talthressar again exchanged a glance. "That's incredibly useful information," Danath said after a moment. "We—"

"Ah!" The arakkoa got to his feet excitedly, staring at the gryphons which roosted in the trees, claws digging into the branches they had chosen, heads tucked under one wing. He hurried toward them.

"Magnificent!" he whispered, reaching out to stroke the nearest gryphon along a shoulder. The beast shud­dered slightly but did not wake up. Danath noticed that Grizzik's hands were more like talons than anything else, but his touch across the gryphon's feathers was gentle.

" 'Ere now, what are ye doing!" exclaimed one of the Wildhammers, hurrying toward Grizzik.

"Easy, Fergun," Danath said before the dwarf tackled their potential new guide. "They're called gryphons, from our world," Danath explained to Grizzik. "Each gryphon has a rider, a Wildhammer dwarf like Fergun here."

Grizzik had reached the last gryphon in line, a mag­nificent beast that stood shivering as if cold, despite the fact that it was a warm night. "She grieves," he said, stroking her shoulder and back.

"At's Sky'ree," Fergun said in a voice that was gruffer than usual. "Kurdran's mount,"

Grizzik clacked his beak and cocked his head askew, peering at Danath. "Sky'ree's rider, Kurdran, was the leader of the Wildhammers," Danath explained. "He … he fell in battle today."

Grizzik nodded. "Ah. Prisoner. I see him."

"Prisoner?" Danath exclaimed.

"The orcs bring captive with them into Auchindoun. Look like him," and the bird-man pointed at Fergun. "Red fur on chin. Blue drawn on skin. He very loud."

Danath felt a surge of excitement. Kurdran was alive? He turned to Talthressar. "We need to rescue him."

"The dwarf knew the risk," the ranger replied coolly. "And the mission must come before personal attach­ments."

But Danath shook his head. "Kurdran is one of Turalyon's most trusted lieutenants. The fact that he's even alive means that the Horde realizes he knows things about our forces that they'd find very valuable — if they can crack him. We need to get him out of there before that happens. And this… arakkoa can take us to him."

Talthressar sighed. "Grizzik. No doubt it is danger­ous for you to help us. Why do you do so?"

"Is simple answer. You oppose Horde," Grizzik replied with a decisive clack of his beak. "I too hate Horde, for what they have done to arakkoa, to our world."

Danath looked from Grizzik to Talthressar. The ranger nodded. It was the best chance they had — and if Grizzik did try to betray them, he'd pay, and quickly.

"Let's do it," he said.

By the time Grizzik had sketched out a basic map of Auchindoun and the various tunnels, and explained them in Common that grew clearer almost by the mo­ment, Danath had abandoned the idea of taking a small force in to rescue Kurdran. Instead, he had a far better plan.

Now he strode down a long, dark tunnel, only the torch in his hand providing any light. Grizzik was per­haps ten feet in front of him, and Talthressar was between the two of them, neither the arakkoa nor the elf requiring additional light to make their way.

And behind Danath walked fully half the Alliance army.

"Tunnels are wide — ten Alliance-people can go to­gether," Grizzik had assured him, "And tall. Even ogre only stoops! Draenei built them well. Explosion that des… destroyed central passages not reach the outer tun­nels. Still clean and dry and secure!”

That had convinced Danath, especially once Rellian had gone with Grizzik and reported back on the tunnel the bird-man had shown him. "It's like the long hall in a palace,'' the ranger had said. "Exactly as he told us, and I saw no other movement, not even vermin."

"We will divide in two," Danath had decided. "Half of our forces will follow me through the tunnels and up into Auchindoun. The other half will attack the front, sneaking in through the temple ruins and down to distract the Horde while we approach from behind. Once we're in position we'll strike and crush them be­tween us."

And now, less than an hour after entering the tunnel, Grizzik was stopping and gesturing toward a wide door set into the wall. "Behind this, stairs," the arakkoa ex­plained. "Lead us down into Auchindoun proper."

Danath scowled, remembering the maze the arakkoa had sketched out for him. "And you don't know where exactly the Horde will be, or where they've taken their prisoner?" he asked again.

Unfortunately, the bird-man's answer was the same as before. "I know way into Auchindoun," he said again, "but little beyond that." For a second the shadows of his cowl gave his long, sharp-planed face a sinister cast. "My people — we not truly welcome here. Draenei re­vere their dead, not appreciate intrusion. I wander, I ex­plore here — learn a little. Only a little, though."

Danath nodded. He'd known it was too much to hope that the arakkoa could lead him straight to Kurdran, but still he didn't relish the idea of wandering aimlessly through miles of tunnel while the Horde warriors crouched in ambush.

Grizzik reached for the door — and jumped back, beak clacking in surprise, taloned hands rising even as he crouched, as the door shifted and creaked open. Danath raised his shield and lifted his sword as well — and stopped, staring at the figure outlined in the now-open door.