Ukyo kept her word and began to make Okonomiyaki for Tyrande's cadre of Sentinels. She was allowed to put up a small Okonomiyaki cart, right next to the entrance of the Temple of the Moon. She didn't bring any ingredients with her, but since Teldrassil was home to hundreds of different kinds of food, there was more than enough that Ukyo could work with.
"You know, the troops' morals have actually improved ever since you started cooking for them," Tyrande smirked as she stepped out of the temple, walking up to the busily working chef. "Are you sure you're not using any magical ingredients?"
"Nope, never needed any magic to whip up Okonomiyaki," Ukyo smirked. "You want one? This deer Okonomiyaki is about finished..."
"I... think I have some time for a snack," the Night Elven High Priestess smiled.
Suddenly, another Night Elf woman, clad in a Sentinel armor that seemed more impressive than what the usual guards around the temple were wearing, came running up to Tyrande. A heavily-armored man with a huge, two-handed sword strapped to his back was following her.
They came to a stop and the elf woman saluted in front of Tyrande, visibly out of breath. "Tyrande! Thank Elune that I managed to reach Teldrassil..."
"Shandris?" Tyrande wondered. "What are you doing here? You and your cadre were positioned in Feralas..."
"Yes, but... it's horrible... Feathermoon Stronghold... it was under attack!"
"Under attack? By whom?" Tyrande asked grimly.
"A... a Frost Wyrm, mylady! It came out of nowhere... it killed so many of our kind..."
"A Frost Wyrm?" Tyrande gasped. "How could a single Frost Wyrm have beaten a complete cadre of my most skilled Sentinels, lead by you, the Sentinel General?"
"It... it wasn't just any Frost Wyrm," Shandris explained. "It was gigantic... and on top... it had a rider..."
"Whoever could ride on a Frost Wyrm?" Tyrande wondered.
"Can't you imagine?" Shandris frowned. "It was a Death Knight of the Scourge!"
"Ah, yes... I should have known. But what interests could the Lich King have in our outpost? Then again, what Death Knight would attack a Night Elven outpost all by himself, with only a Frost Wyrm as a backup?"
"This Death Knight... wasn't like the others we've seen before, Tyrande," Shandris whispered. "At first, she was fighting from th back of her undead minion. But then, it seemed like this was beginning to bore her, and she jumped to the ground, engaging our Sentinels in direct combat. Not a single blade or arrow could pierce her armor... and our warriors fell under her war hammer like flies. The only reason why we were able to put up a fight was because this noble human warned us in time." She gestured over to the armored man who was standing behind her.
The warrior took off his helm, revealing a gruff face with a bushy mustache. "Halvar of Stormwind, my lady! I was in Kalimdor to support our allies in Theramore, and one of Lady Proudmoore's missions brought me to Feralas. I was told that there was a Night Elven outpost in the area, so I decided to head there. Before I reached the stronghold, however, I heard loud screams and roars coming out of the forest. When I decided to investigate, I could see a Tauren village that was attacked by an undead dragon and its rider." Halvar shuddered. "It was a massacre... the Tauren and their allies stood no chance against the feral beast and its dark mistress. Knowing that such creatures are only found in the service of the Scourge, I hurried to reach Feathermoon Stronghold, to warn the Sentinels."
"Of course, our scouts have already heard the commotion in the Tauren Camp Mojache," Shandris explained. "But none of them had actually seen the Frost Wyrm and the Death Knight. When we learned that they were heading in our direction, we were able to prepare ourselves for battle, Sir Halvar joining our side when the monster attacked... still, so many fell... we couldn't defeat it after all."
"At least you are still alive," Tyrande sighed. "Sir Halvar, I have to thank you for saving one of my best warriors and my trusted friend."
"In the service of the Alliance, my lady!" Halvar saluted. "But I worry about my fellow humans in Theramore..."
"I will send a messenger hippogryph to warn Jaina Proudmoore at once," Tyrande said. "Could you find out where they wanted to go next?"
"No, I'm sorry," Shandris said. "We were a bit busy with escaping... they didn't fly over our heas while we were heading north, though. If Teldrassil was their target, they would have already passed us."
"My mare is one of the fastest mounts the stables of Theramore had to offer," Halvar said. "But it can't keep up with a dragon... may it be alive or undead."
"I wonder what Arthas is up to..." Tyrande murmured. "I'm sorry, Ukyo, but it looks like I have to postpone this meal... we have to call for an emergency meeting. Looks like the Scourge is on the move again..."
"Is there any way I can help?" Ukyo asked, coming forth from behind her cart. "I told you I can fight." And she twirled around her battle spatula.
Halvar huffed. "I beg your pardon, young madam, but I'm afraid that we need more than the help of a cook."
"I'm not just a cook!" Ukyo said angrily. "I'm a martial artist! And I won't sit around doing nothing while Malfurion's people are under attack!"
Shandris suppressed a gasp. Where had that girl the gall to call the Arch Druid by his first name?
Tyrande thought about it. "You know, there is something you can do for me... and if you are willing to help, I would be glad if you assisted her on that task, Sir Halvar!" she said. "I'm sure Lady Proudmoore would have sent you on the same mission."
Halvar frowned. The High Priestess wanted him to travel with a common cook? Well, he had promised to serve the Alliance when he began his journey, so he would do what he was told.
"I will go wherever you send me, High Priestess!" he saluted. "For the Alliance!"
Ukyo frowned. "Shouldn't we ask first where she's going to send us?" she wondered.
"I don't know if a mere cook will ever understand this, but a warrior is always ready to fight for the glory of the kingdom he is serving... and for the glory of the Alliance, too!"
"The mission itself is an easy one," Tyrande said. "It's just that the journey will be long, and dangerous. And if the female Death Knight didn't come alone, it might be that agents of the Scourge might be wandering the forest of Ashenvale, and the Barrens."
"The Barrens?" Halvar frowned. "Where is our designation? What is our mission?"
Tyrande smiled. "I want you to travel to Orgrimmar and warn Warchief Thrall of the Scourge's presence on Kalimdor."
Ukyo just blinked at these news, but Halvar's gloved hand instinctively reached for his blade. "Do you... do you know what you are demanding?" he grumbled. "Orgrimmar is a Horde city. And not just any Horde city... it's the capital city of the Orcs!"
"I would advise you to keep your tongue in check when talking to the High Priestess of the Night Elves," Tyrande glowered at the warrior. "And the Orcs you are talking about were our allies in the Battle of Hyjal, against the Arch Demon Archimonde!"
"But that's ridiculous!" Halvar blurted out. "With all due respect, mylady, but do you think they will just let two humans wander into Orgrimmar? The Orcs do not trust the humans... many of them even hate us for what we did to their kind after the Second War. They would attack us on the spot if we only show up in front of Orgrimmar's gates..."
"Enough! See this?" She produced a small envelope out of nowhere. "This is a declaration of neutrality. Show this to any member of the Horde, and if they are loyal to Thrall, they won't attack you. It proves that you are going to Orgrimmar on my behalf, and the Warchief won't send you away. The Scourge is a threat to both the Alliance and the Horde, Halvar! The Death Knight Shandris described is a dangerous threat, and if we need the Orcs' help in this battle, I don't want to be unprepared."
"The royal army of Stormwind can take on any undead scum that is threatening our allies," Halvar proclaimed. "Just give me the word and I will inform our king, so we can prepare our ships and..."
"And when will they arrive?" Tyrande asked. "Stormwind is on another continent, warrior! I will send a message to Stormwind as well, of course, but I can't wait for their army when the Orcish capital is much closer. And may I remind you how long it took the army of Stormwind before they helped the population of Westfall against the Brotherhood of the Defias? And Westfall lies just West of Stormwind, as far as I can remember!"
Halvar seethed. In his eyes, the Night Elf woman's words were an insult to the kingdom, but he knew better than to talk back to the woman whose people had fought against a powerful Arch Demon. "As you wish..." he grumbled and put his helmet back on." He turned to face Ukyo. "I will be waiting for you in Rut'theran Village, at the harbor... but keep me waiting for too long, and I'll go by myself!"
Angrily, the human warrior turned around and stormed off.
Shandris sighed. "Don't be too upset with him, Tyrande. He is a brave and noble warrior and his actions today saved me and a couple of brave Sentinels... without him, we would be all dead by now. It's just that he, like many humans of Stormwind, can't let go of the past. In his eyes, the Orcs and their allies are still the savage brutes they fought in the Second War... and like all warriors, his thirst for glory is blinding him."
"I know, but I still hope I didn't make a mistake by sending him to Orgrimmar," Tyrande said. She turned to face Ukyo. "I will give you provisions and all the equipment you need for such a journey. You also should put on some armor... these clothes don't look like they grant you more protection than a robe."
Ukyo, who had seen Halvar's armor, scratched her head. "But such armor would be way too heavy for me. A martial artist needs to be flexible in battle..."
"At least try on some leather armor," Tyrande said. "Rogues need to be flexible in battle as well, and their armor still protects them better than any cloth armor would."
"Fine, I guess I can give it a try," Ukyo sighed. She still didn't like the idea of putting on leather pants like some sort of dominatrix. She liked her outfit, dammit!
Shandris accompanied her to the armory. "Um... while we're at it, have you considered arming yourself with something else? A cooking utensil is not the most effective weapon..."
Ukyo clutched her spatula to herself. "No, I will keep this!" she grumbled. "A spatula is a good weapon!"
Shandris sweatdropped. "Well, if you say so..."
Akane smirked as she looked down at the smouldering ruins of Feathermoon Stronghold. The whole island is was situated on was one single burn mark, and not a single living elf was left on it.
"That was fun!" she said, petting her Frost Wyrm's bony neck as they were hovering in the air above the island. "Good job, W-chan! So, where shall we go next? Any idea?"
Cyan felt obliged to serve his new mistress, so he said: "North of here is Desolace, where there are both Alliance and Horde settlements, mistress! To the northeast, there's Mulgore, where the Tauren capital, Thunder Bluff, is situated..."
For a while, Akane contemplated attacking Thunder Bluff, but she knew better. If it was that easy to take down the capitals of either faction, Arthas would have conquered both Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms a long time ago. "We'll head for Desolace first," she proclaimed. "Any other factions that live there?"
"Well, there are four different Centaur tribes in the region..." Cyan began to explain. But while he was talking and flying, Akane's mind began to wander.
'Arthas' other generals certainly are weak if they don't even manage to win against such puny enemies,' she thought. 'Both camps we attacked weren't much of a challenge, even by myself... I need a bigger challenge than this! Okay, there are the capitals, but I'm not crazy. What I need is a single opponent, a challenger worthy of my new power...' She giggled. 'Too bad Ranma's not here... I would LOVE to show him my new battle skills. I'm so powerful that even he can't beat me yet. I'm done with this whole fiancee business... he can keep those bitches Ukyo, Shampoo and Kodachi. Weaklings, the bunch of them! No, the only man I will ever stay with has to be stronger than I am... and I know of only one man like that! Arthas... I will stay with you forever!' She tightened her grip around her hammer. 'And I will all your enemies for you, just you wait!'
"What are you saying?" The elderly, but still powerful Cairne Bloodhoof, Grand Chief of the Tauren, rose to his feet when the messenger arrived in his tent. "Camp Mojache has fallen?"
"Yeah, mon!" the messenger, a pale blue troll, said. "Da Tauren stood no chance, da undead dragon an' da female Death Knight slaughtered them all, including a good couple of my brothers. Bad mojo, I'm telling ya..."
"This is serious..." Cairne muttered while pacing back and forth inside his tent. "A single Death Knight that is powerful enough to destroy an entire camp..." He shook his head with sorrow. "I could hear the sorrowful cries of the nature spirits coming from Feralas, but didn't know what happened... the Lich King must have found a new champion..."
"The last time the Lich King chose a champion, it doomed the fate of thousands of living beings," said the druid Hamuul Runetotem, who stood next to his friend. "Sorrow and death for the humans of Lordaeron and the elves of Quel'thalas. And it heralded the arrival of the demons... if this is an omen, we need to be prepared what comes."
Cairne sighed. "For all those years, we Tauren have lived isolated from the rest of the world... we didn't bother the Night Elves, we defended us against the attacks of the Quillboars and the Centaurs... and we never visited the other continent, so we didn't even learn of the humans, dwarves and Orcs for a long time. Not until Thrall came..."
"My old friend, this is not the time to indulge oneself in memories," Hamuul said. "We need to take action. As a member of the Cenarion Circle of druids, I know that the Night Elves will back us up. And I would never question the loyalty you have to the young Orc Warchief... still, they need to be informed. If the Scourge plans a bigger attack on Kalimdor, we must stand united to defend our lands."
"May the Earthmother guide us..." Cairne muttered. He sent a quick prayer to the spirits of his ancestors, and the spirits of the earth.
Which was when a small, black piglet came running into his tent and around his legs.
"Aaaah, no, don't run in there, little piggy!"
"Ryoga, you idiot! She said the tent on the left side, not the right!"
"Stop, you can't just barge in there, that's the tent of..."
Cairne blinked in confusion when a muscular Orc woman and a young human female came running into his tent. The Orc woman stopped at once as soon as she saw him, causing the human to collide with her backside.
"Ow! Gorsha, why did you stop? Ryoga will get lost even more if we don't..."
"Nabiki... we're in the presence of High Chieftain Cairne!" the Orc huntress whispered.
"Wha-wha-whaaat?" Nabiki gulped as she stumbled backwards. "Um, that is... heheheh... sorry 'bout this... your beefyness..."
Hamuul frowned when he heard that title, but Cairne had to chuckle. "At ease, young ones! I can see that you stumbled in my tent by accident." He gently picked up the little piglet that had run into his leg and was now dizzily lying on its back. "So, does this little pet belong to any of you?"
When Ryoga was able to see more than the stars that were spinning around his little piggy head, he saw the gentle face of his old friend and mentor Cairne in front of him.
"Well, partly," Nabiki said. "I came here because my friend convinced me to go..."
"Great Chieftain!" a female Tauren huntress gasped as she appeared in the tent. "I apologize on behalf of my friends... we didn't mean to intrude..."
"Man, it's gettin' mighty cramped in dis tent..." the Troll messenger mumbled.
Cairne's eyes lit up and he smiled. "Aren't you the young Cliffdancer from my home village? My son Baine always speaks fondly of you..."
Cliffdancer hoped the Chief wouldn't see her blush beneath her fur. "Errr... that's too kind, really. But actually we came here because..."
Ryoga couldn't take it anymore. He squealed loudly to get Cairne's attention and waved his little trotters around frantically.
The chieftain looked down at the piglet he was holding. "My, he is an excitable little guy, isn't he? What's his name?"
"Ryoga..." Nabiki sighed. "Ryoga Hibiki."
"What kind of name is dat?" the Troll wondered.
Cairne blinked. He looked into the little piglet's eyes, and Ryoga looked right back at him. 'Please remember me,' Ryoga mentally pleaded. 'Please remember me...'
Cairne's muzzle was split with a broad smile when he recognized the yellow, spotted bandana that was around the pig's neck. He gently petted his head and said: "Welcome back... my young friend! It's been a long time..."
"Say, mon, does dat mean you've been friends with a PIG?"
"No, I can feel this is not his true form," Hamuul Runetotem spoke up. "A polymorph spell?"
"Close," Nabiki muttered. "A Jusenkyo curse. Pour some water over him and..."
Cairne nodded. "I see." He faced the messenger. "Bring me some hot water."
"Um... ya really think dis is da right time to be eating soup, mon?"
"Just do it!"
The Troll shrugged and left the tent.
"I think I will leave as well, old friend," Hamuul said. "I need to inform the Cenarion Circle about what happened." And he walked outside as well.
Cairne sat down on the floor of his tent, but his frame still towered over the form of Nabiki. He carefully put Ryoga down on the floor next to him. "Now, why don't you have a seat and tell me how you met my young disciple... and what exactly is a 'Jusenkyo' curse?"
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(Posted Sat, 24 Jan 2009 15:44)
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