He pulled back on the reins and Sky'ree lashed her tail, reared back on her leonine haunches, spread her wings and leaped upward once more, clear of the trees and back into the sky. Farand and the others were circling, their weathered skin blending into the tawny pelts of their mounts, and Kurdran rose to join them, his braided beard and hair streaming behind him, enjoying the sensation of flight even under these grim circumstances. Off in the distance he could see the massive stone carving of an eagle at rest, peering alertly and confidently out at the world, which was his own home and the heart of his domain. Aerie Peak. Yet the sight did not fill him with the usual pride and joy, for it seemed far too close for comfort given the activities occurring below him.
"Ye see, Thane?" Farand asked. "I told ye! Uglies in our forest!"
"Aye, ye were right," Kurdran told the scout. "They are ugly, and they are intruding. There be a lot o' them, though. And they'll be hard to hit as long as they stay beneath the trees."
"Are we just to let them traipse across our lands, then?" one of the other scouts demanded.
"Oh no," Kurdran replied. He grinned at the other Wildhammer dwarves. "We'll just have to be scaring them out into the open. Come on, lads, let's get back home. I have a few ideas. But don't worry, we'll soon be making it clear to those greenskins that they're not welcome in the Hinterlands."
"You there! Paladin!"
Turalyon glanced up as the elf slowed to a stop beside him. He hadn't seen the ranger approach, but that didn't surprise him. In the past few weeks he had learned how quickly the elves could come and go, and how silently. Alleria, in particular, delighted in startling him by suddenly speaking in his ear when he hadn't even realized she was back in camp.
"Yes?" He had been cleaning his gear but he paused respectfully.
"The orcs are in the Hinterlands," the elf reported. "And they're meeting up with the trolls there." That last was said with utter disgust. Turalyon had learned that the elves hated the forest trolls, and apparently the feeling was mutual. It made sense—both were woodlands creatures, and the forests here were not big enough for two such races. They had been enemies for thousands of years, too, ever since the elves had driven the trolls from part of the forest and established their kingdom there on that conquered land.
"You're certain they're allies and not just crossing paths?" Turalyon asked, setting his armor off to the side. He rubbed absently at his chin. If the orcs and the trolls really had formed a partnership, that could be trouble.
The ranger snorted in reply. "Of course I'm sure! I heard them talking. They've got a pact of some sort." The elf actually looked concerned for the first time. "They're planning on striking at Aerie Peak — and then moving up into Quel'Thalas."
Ah, that explained his agitation. Quel'Thalas was the elves' own homeland, and the trolls hated them. If they'd joined the Horde it made sense they'd direct the orcs there.
"I'll let Lothar know," Turalyon assured him, standing up. "We'll stop them before they can get anywhere near your homeland." The elf nodded, though he didn't look convinced, and turned away, jogging back into the trees and disappearing once again. But Turalyon wasn't watching. He was already making his way toward the command tent.
He found Lothar inside, along with Khadgar, Terenas, and a few others.
"The orcs are targeting Aerie Peak," he announced as he entered. Everyone turned toward him, and Turalyon saw several eyebrows raise in surprise. "One of the rangers just told me," he explained. "The orcs have allied with the forest trolls and they're planning to strike Aerie Peak."
Terenas nodded and turned to the everpresent map covering the tent's large table. "Makes sense," he admitted, tapping Aerie Peak 's location. "The Wildhammer dwarves are strong enough to put up a fight so they'd not want to risk an attack from behind. And if the trolls are with them, they'd want the dwarves out of the Hinterlands altogether."
Lothar was staring at the map as well. "It'll be tough taking the fight to them in the forest," he commented. "We can't deploy properly in there, and we'll be forced to leave our ballistae behind." He rubbed a hand over his forehead, thinking. "Then again, they'll not be able to marshal their forces well either. We can pick off smaller groups of orcs and not worry about them sending the full army to any one location."
"Plus the dwarves would make strong allies," Khadgar pointed out. "If we help them they may agree to help us in return. They'd make excellent scouts and first—strike units."
"We could certainly use them and their gryphons," Lothar agreed. He glanced up, caught Turalyon's eye, and nodded. "Rally the troops," he ordered. "We're heading into the forest to save the dwarves."
"By the ancestors, there are a lot of them! They're like fleas, only bigger and better—armed!" Kurdran cursed as he studied the scene below. He and a full hunting party were on the wing, wheeling high above to get a better view of these new greenskins. And what he saw wasn't good.
The creatures were marching fast and were already only a day's travel from Aerie Peak itself. At first he'd only seen a score or so, but then he'd noticed another group not far away, and a third beyond that. The others had reported much the same. Though these greenskins were spread out in groups of twenty or so, there were more groupings than they could count. Wildhammer dwarves were not afraid of anything, but if those creatures were half as tough as they looked they could crush the Peak by sheer numbers alone.
Not that they'd sit by and let that happen. Kurdran glanced around, and each of his dwarves nodded in turn. "Good," he told them, raising his horn to his lips. "Wildhammers, attack!" He blew a blast on the horn and then slung it back at his side, already guiding Sky'ree into position with his knees. She responded with a fierce cry of her own, spreading her wings and rising up before folding them back in for the exhilarating dive. They plummeted down, and as they did Kurdran unlimbered his stormhammer, raising the massive weapon high.
But for the moment his targets were not the greenskins themselves. Instead he struck out, pounding the nearest tree solidly across the trunk. The impact sent leaves and berries and needles raining down, which startled the bewildered greenskins. Kurdran struck out at two more trees, and those sent cones and nuts down on the creatures, hitting hard enough to leave welts. The greenskins ducked, raising their hands to protect their eyes, but the onslaught continued as the Wildhammers struck tree after tree, dropping foliage and fruits and nuts in a veritable shower. The greenskins did not know what to make of all this, but they didn't like it, and they responded by taking the simplest solution—since the trees weren't safe, they left them behind, jogging away from the threatening foliage and out into the nearest small clearing.
Which was exactly what the Wildhammers had been waiting for.
With a loud warcry Kurdran led the way, his hammer at the ready. The first greenskin had time to glance up and half—raise a large axe before Kurdran's hurled, lightning—wreathed stormhammer caught him full across the jaw, shattering the bone with a thunderclap and sending the creature flying. "Ye're too ugly to be in me forest, ye bastard!" he shouted as the creature fell. The hammer returned and Kurdran loosed it again, the blow smashing a second greenskin, and then Sky'ree's arc drove her back up and she raised her wings to carry them back out of range before wheeling about for a second pass. The rest of his lads were striking as well, and the forest was filled with hoots and hollers, curses and insults as the gryphons darted past.