Kul'thran's Introduction - Part 10 - The True Enemy

And it was true, Zalazane did not bother the Darkspear Tribe any further. Many of the tribe believed (or rather, hoped) he had died from his wounds. A day after Kul'thran returned, scouts were sent to search Echo Isles for the witch doctor. They did not find him. Instead, all they found was death and the horrid stench of rotting bodies. It would be awhile before the tribe would return to Echo Isles and rebuild their villages there.

As for Kul'thran, despite his heroism, he was still chastened by Vol'jin for going off on such a dangerous adventure.

"You would haff gotten kill'd, mon!" he said. "It be a miracle dat yer alive. Dun ever do sometin' like dat again unless somemon tells ya to do it. Got it?"

"Right," Kul'thran responded soberly.

However, the majority of the tribe was grateful to the hunter for his courage to take on Zalazane and defeat him. It seemed that he was regaining the respect of the tribe and they were proud to have Kul'thran as a member of the Darkspear tribe. The only ones who didn't respect him were the ones who bitterly hated elves and anyone who anything to do with elves.

Now, Kul'thran was outfitted with a larger axe, though still one-handed, and covered in leather armor with thick leather shoulder-pads. A purple cape lined with red cloth was tied around his neck and hung out behind him. It was a short cape, one that only extended to his knees, but it suited him well. He wore thick leather bracers, and brown leather gloves. He was well-armed and better equipped for battle.

One day, Kul'thran was invited to Grommash Hold in Orgrimmar. The invitation was not signed, but Vol'jin gave his assurance that it was not a false message. Soon after, the Darkspear Chieftain left for Orgrimmar while Kul'thran was packing for the journey For him, he felt some sort of thrill that he hadn't felt since he faced Zalazane on Echo Isles. Something was going to happen.

Thus, Kul'thran made his way to Orgrimmar by foot while Kulvir followed his new master.

When he arrived at Grommash Hold, Kul'thran saw that Thrall and Vol'jin waiting for him at the warchief's throne. Upon entering, the hunter bowed before the Far Seer humbly.

"Arise, Kul'thran!" Thrall said. "Take a seat over here." He gestured to some cushions around the fire, facing the warchief. The hunter stood up and walked over to where the cushions lay. Without a single thought, he chose a red one and sat down on it. "You have grown," Thrall commented. "And become very strong."

"Tank you, warchief."

Thrall nodded. The orc looked rather grave, and it made Kul'thran very curious. "I've heard of your battle with Zalazane," the warchief continued. "And thought you might be the best person to help me with this problem I'm having."

"Problem?" the hunter asked, petting Kulvir next to him.

"Hrmm... you know the current war between the Horde and the Alliance?" Kul'thran nodded. "Well, there are other wars, wars you would never dreamed of within our own ranks. The Searing Blade, the Burning Blade, the Argus Wake... you've heard of them, haven't you, Kul'thran?"

The troll hunter nodded. He recalled some demonic corruption he had to face in the Valley of Trials over a year ago. There, he had faced a leader of a group called the "Burning Blade." They were summoning demons, only minor ones at the time, but they were summoning demons nevertheless. Kul'thran and a group of other training warriors put a stop to the Burning Blade's plans by slaying the leader there, and his horde of demons.

Now, Thrall had raised the troll's curiosity and alarm. "Is dere someting wrong wit' da Horde?" While he still respected the night elves and the humans for aligning with the Horde to save the World Tree, he blamed the Alliance for starting the war between the two factions. But were there other enemies?

"In a way, yes. Those factions I just mentioned are all part of one being: The Shadow Council. The other factions are just tools to deceive others into thinking that the council does not exist. Yet it exists. I want you to know that the first and foremost thing about this council is that it is our enemy. You may think now that the Alliance is our primary target, but the Spirits tell me that worse things are to come. Orcs and humans can create networks similar to one another when driven by greed and power."

Kul'thran was mystified by all this. What possibly was worse than the current war? He had thought they defeated forces like the Burning Legion and Scourge at Mt. Hjyal. Then, he remembered Zalazane; the words he said, and the things that he did to his own race. Anything was possible now.

"You haff ma attention..." Kul'thran said quietly.

"Good," Thrall responded. "Here, take this." The warchief took out from his pouch a flat, oval stone with rough edges and a strange insignia marked with bright orange on both sides. He handed it to Kul'thran. "This is something one of my rogues was able to get off a Burning Blade member. It's an insignia of a Burning Blade Lieutenant. The Shadow Council seems to be siding with the Burning Legion--our old foe that we thought was extinguished-- and could be intent on bringing the Legion back yet again. However, I can not be sure yet, and rush into the situation without further proof."

He pointed to Kul'thran. "This is where you come in, my friend. I want you to go to the Cleft of Shadow here in the city and approach an orc warlock named Neeru Fireblade. He has sworn complete loyalty to me, but I've seen through his mask. He is the leader of the Burning Blade."

Kul'thran blinked. What? I thought the guy I killed in the cavern back in the Valley of Trials was the leader. He must have been some officer. It looked like the Burning Blade had not been put out yet, and was still strong. The troll hunter listened more intently to Thrall, for he was interested in removing the demons from his new home.

Thrall continued, "I want you, Kul'thran, to gauge him and see if he will believe you are one of his men in the cult. That insignia should be the key to getting into the brotherhood. Understood?"

Kul'thran nodded. "Yes, sir."

"No questions at all then?"

Kul'thran paused and thought about it for a moment. "... What does he look like?"

"Ah, good question. He has yellow-skin, has a thick brown beard, and thin head hair. He wears a red shirt and a carries a staff with a crystal tip on the end." Thrall said. "Do you believe you will be able to find him?"

"Jah," Kul'thran responded. "Jah, mon. I should be able ta find him den. I got da picture in ma mind already."

"Good. Very good, my friend."

As the hunter stood up, Vol'jin spoke to him, "you be careful in dere, Kul'thran. No mon be knowin' what Fireblade haff up 'is sleeve."

After acknowledging his guardian, Kul'thran bowed before thrall again before leaving Grommash Hold. He ran down the Valley of Wisdom and into the connecting highway of Orgrimmar called "The Drag." It connected all of the sections (often called "valleys") of the city together. Taking a left around the Drag, Kul'thran eventually came upon a cavernous section that went down into the earth below. According to the totem signs, this was the entrance to the Cleft of Shadow.

Heading down into the caves, Kul'thran found himself twisting around corners until he got to the bottom. There, numerous orcs and a few trolls seem to be "working" there with strange magics that sent chills throughout the hunter's body. They were just unnatural energies that made the troll uncomfortable.

Walking down a ramp, the hunter peered around for Neeru Fireblade. At the end of the ramp, he turned a corner to see the large opening of some sort of cavern that went even deeper into the earth below. The cavern's opening was like a law maw, waiting for some hapless person to walk into its merciless throat. At least, that was the impression Kul'thran got from just looking at it; it was very eerie.

As he took a step forward, he heard a loud, "what do you want!?" coming from his left. Turning in that direction, Kul'thran was surprised to see Neeru Fireblade (exactly as Thrall had described him) glaring at him.

"What are you doing here? Don't you know that cavern is dangerous? That's Ragefire Chasm," Neeru explained. "You could get eaten alive in there. As one of Thrall's loyal servants, I have to make sure no one goes in there for their safety unless our warchief gives the 'okay' to go in."

"Really now?" Kul'thran asked. A sly smile passed over his face. "Ya know, ya can be speakin' freely about Thrall, Neeru."

"What are you suggesting?" Fireblade said, sounding suspicious.

Conspicuously, Kul'thran pulled out the Insignia of the Burning Blade and showed it to Neeru. He spoke in a whisper, "I be one of yers, mon."

Neeru moved his eyes to left and then to the right. "Ah... I see. Well, follow me... hunter," he added, probably noticing Kulvir. He turned around and went underneath the ramp into a hidden place that the troll had not noticed before. Bracing himself, Kul'thran, with raptor in tow, followed the fiendish orc into the hidden location.

It was a dimly-lit room with several orc warlocks in it. They were performing some sort of dark ritual in the center of the room. There was a purple glyph on the ground, and the orcs had encircled it. When he walked inside, Kul'thran felt a painful retching feeling within his soul. The whole place was filled to the brim with demonic magics that seemed to make his spiritual side sick.

Neeru, who seemed to have noticed the hunter's reaction, laughed. "It takes some getting used to, doesn't it? You must be a new lieutenant, otherwise, you'd be able to withstand our magics. Also, you're a hunter, not one to fiddle with magic of any sort. Even those blasted shaman arts."

"Uh... jah," Kul'thran said with a cough. "I be new. Dat's why I asked about Thrall." He was intent on handling whatever Fireblade had to say, even if the magic was overpowering him.

However, the troll was not, at all, ready for what Neeru was about to say. He began to speak openly and frankly about the warchief. Fireblade obviously hated Thrall with a fiery vengenance, and the warlock almost startled Kul'thran when he mentioned a plan to assassinate the warchief! Trying to keep a straight face, the troll continued to listen to the orc warlock's plans.

He spoke of Ragefire Chasm, and how it was a home to a couple of the Searing Blade's leaders. There was an orc warlock named Jergosh the Invoker--and even more shocking--a saytr named Bazzalan. They were the head of the Searing Blade, a subset of the Burning Blade, and very dangerous beings. Neeru did not recommend a new lieutenant enter into Ragefire Chasm to speak with them. It seemed like Fireblade valued them highly and that if they were lost, the defeat would be catastrophic to the Shadow Council.

This was the real reason to keep people out of Ragefire Chasm. Neeru didn't want to risk their deaths at the hands of some hidden assassins sent by Thrall. He boasted, however, that Thrall knew nothing about the Searing Blade's leaders and soon they would initiate their plan to take over the Horde.

"That's all you should know... for now... as one of the newer members of the Burning Blade, hunter," Fireblade said, finishing his speech.

It was good timing, too, because Kul'thran was about to faint from exhaustion due to the overwhelming power of the dark magics in the atmosphere. "Ugh... yes, sir," he managed to say. "I need ta be leavin' den... I haff important work to do."

"Already? Hmmm..." Kul'thran was suddenly worried. Would Neeru see through his ploy? Fortunately, the warlock answered him, saying, "they assign you tasks rather quickly these days, don't they?" The troll nodded at Fireblade. "Well then, get to it! The faster it's done, the better! Good hunting... hunter," he chuckled.

Not wanting to risk his soul by laughing, Kul'thran merely nodded and left. Kulvir followed him behind. Interestingly enough, the raptor also looked sick. Perhaps he shared more of a kindred spirit with Kul'thran than he originally thought? Nevertheless, once they had left the hidden place under the ramp, the troll felt much healthier, and his pet appeared to be better.

I've got to get back to Thrall at once!

§

"I see... so, this is what you found," Thrall said grimly when Kul'thran returned.

An orc shaman with green skin, and a white wolf's coat was tending to the troll and his raptor while they talked. When he entered, Kul'thran's spiritual stench from the dark magics was sniffed out by Vol'jin. And for a moment, the Shadow Hunter thought the hunter was an enemy. Kul'thran was still feeling a little ill from his encounter with the dark warlocks, and Kulvir still coughed every second or so.

"I'm sorry you had to experience such awful exposure to demon magics, Kul'thran," Thrall said. "You must have a lot of stamina for a troll like yourself. I'm very grateful that you withstood the magic long enough to get this amount of information to me."

"Yer welcome," Kul'thran responded. He was beginning to feel the effects of the demonic magics lift from him as the shaman purged him with small sparks of lightning. "Ah... I be beginning ta feel better. What do we be doin' about dis Bazzalan and Jergosh?"

"We need to kill them, and soon," Thrall responded. "Kul'thran... I know I'm asking a lot from you, but can you sneak into Ragefire Chasm and assassinate the two leaders there for me?"

"Of course, warchief," Kul'thran said with a smile. He looked at Kulvir, he was looking much better now that he was getting treatment from the shaman. "But I dun be sure I can be goin' alone in dere. Fireblade may not haff lied about da dangers in dere."

"Indeed." The warchief looked at the orc shaman. "Til'jaden?"

The shaman looked up, surprised. "Yes, warchief?" he asked humbly.

"Please, if you would, go with Kul'thran to Ragefire Chasm," Thrall said. "He'll need your healing powers to keep him alive. Him and his pet raptor."

"Yes, I can do that," Til'jaden, the orc shaman replied. "But what of Kul'thran's condition? If the demonic energies are strong in the chasm like they are in that secret place where the warlocks meet, then Kul'thran will not be able to withstand it, even with the powers of the spirits I control."

"You raise a good point," Thrall said. "Vol'jin, come. You and I will combine our spells to create a protective barrier around your ward and his pet so that they won't suffer illness from the the demonic influence."

Vol'jin nodded. "What about da shaman?"

"Til'jaden is well-equipped to protect himself from it. Only Kul'thran and Kulvir need it right now."

Vol'jin nodded again and walked over to where Kul'thran and Kulvir were sitting. Thrall stepped forward and began to channel shamanistic energies while Vol'jin channeled his Shadow Hunter powers. Kul'thran felt a wave of energy pass over him. Compared to the dark magics that he had faced in the Cleft of Shadow, the spell Thrall andVol'jin made was soothing to his spiritual side.

"There, that should do it." Thrall stepped back towards his throne, but did not take a seat. Kul'thran figured that the announcement of his own assassination was not sitting well with him. The hunter was determined, however, to stop the Searing Blade, undermine the Burning Blade and prevent them from killing one of his heroes. Now, it was Kul'thran's turn to protect Thrall.

Vol'jin took a step back. "Ya be feelin' all right?"

"Jah," his ward replied. "I better get ta Ragefire Chasm as soon as possible. Dere, I will end dis."

Thrall smiled. "Indeed, you have grown, Kul'thran."

"Tank you, sir..."

§

It was not long after that Kul'thran, Kulvir, and Til'jaden were deep in Ragefire Chasm. It was extremely hot inside, and even with the protection, the hunter could feel the demonic influence as if it was trying to touch him, but could not.

When they came to a crossroads, the group's worst fears had been confirmed as they watched a large demon, armed with a huge serrated sword, standing in the middle of a bridge over a lava pool.

"Dat's not our target, but what do ya tink dat is, Til'jaden?" Kul'thran asked in a soft whisper.

"It is a Fel Guard, Kul'thran," Til'jaden explained gravely. "A servant to the Burning Legion."

The Burning Legion. So, it was true, the Shadow Council was trying to restore the legion to full power. Kul'thran grit his teeth angrily, many orcs, trolls, taurens, night elves, humans, and dwarves had sacrificed their lives to stop Archimonde, especially the hunter's best friend, Mah'kajor. He could not allow the legion to overtake the Horde.

Kul'thran wanted to kill the Fel Guard, but something told him it would be better to avoid it if possible. "Let's see if we can be sneakin' around dis big fellow, mon."

"Right."

Kul'thran, quietly, gave the order in his native tongue to Kulvir. From what he could tell, the raptor seemed to understand the troll language, but could not respond intellectually back. Regardless, Kulvir seemed to get the gist of the message and stayed close to his master.

Slipping past an edge across a rocky wall, Kul'thran slid away from the demon towards a ramp that was behind the group. Til'jaden and the raptor followed close behind the hunter as he ascended the ramp. At the top, he saw three orcs, one was a warrior, the other a mage, the other a warlock. Kul'thran got the feeling that the warlock was Jergosh. It was only a haunch, but these were the first orcs they had seen for ages. Instead, they had been fighting snakes and imps in every place of the chasm so far.

Kul'thran motioned to Til'jaden and Kulvir. "All right, 'ere's what I tink we should do, I take da insignia and trick 'im into tinkin' I'm one of da Burning Blade. Ya will come wit' me, and I be sayin' dat I captur'd ya tryin' ta sneak in. When we get close, I'll stab Jergosh in da heart and we'll take care of da mage and warrior. Sound good?" Kul'thran asked.

Til'jaden nodded. "A wise plan."

"Wise... if you didn't speak so loudly."

Kul'thran turned around sharply to see Jergosh staring at them with his minions at the ready.

"How wonderful," the orc warlock said sarcastically. "Thrall has sent assassins to kill me. It's a shame you won't be returning to him at all. Kill them."

Kul'thran and his team readied their weapons as the warrior charged and the mage began to cast. "Kill da mage first!" He looked at Kulvir, and spoke in his native tongue to him, "distract the warrior!"

With a loud roar, Kulvir charged the warrior, and the two collided with each other at high speeds. Knocking each other over, Kulvir and the warrior got up and began to fight. The raptor used his claws and teeth while the warrior used his axe.

Meanwhile, Kul'thran dipped an arrow tip into some serpent venom and then fired the arrow at the mage. The mage was too busy concentrating on his spell to notice an arrow fly into his gut, releasing the poison into his body. Obviously, his constitution could not handle the poison and he fainted.

"We cannot have any living witnesses unfortunately!" Til'jaden exclaimed. Kul'thran was reluctant to agree. If any of their enemies lived, they would report to Neeru of what happened and describe Kul'thran, Kulvir and Til'jaden, breaking the hunter's cover! For Thrall's sake, they had to kill them.

Immediately, Til'jaden ran up the ramp to the mage and stabbed him through the heart with his hand claw. Kul'thran heard the mage grunt before dying. One down, two to go! The hunter went over to Kulvir to see how he was doing, only to see the raptor's jaw locked on the warrior's arm. With a strong lunge of his head, the raptor threw the orc warrior over the ledge and into the lava below.

"Noooo!" The warrior cried before splashing into the lava pool, which quickly began to melt him away.

"Good boy," Kul'thran said, tossing Kulvir a small piece of meat (which the raptor caught in his mouth). He turned his head to the warlock. "Yer cornered now, Jergosh."

"Not quite, my trollic friend," Jergosh responded. He waved his hand to his side and there appeared a satyr with a sword in hand. "Allow me to introduce my friend, Bazzalan. He and I will kill you, your pet, and your shaman friend. Let the combat commence!"

Kulvir immediately rushed the satyr, and grabbed his arm with his jaw. He began to pull Bazzalan towards the edge when the satyr merely kicked the raptor in the stomach knocking him flat on the ground and dangerously close to the edge. The satyr walked up to the fallen raptor and raised his sword to behead the beast.

"No!" Kul'thran cried out. Dropping his bow, he rushed forward with his axe out and jumped in front of his pet. Clang! The axe and the sword met, each being held in place by their masters. Kul'thran tried to push against the satyr's might, but Bazzalan seemed to be overpowering the troll hunter. Bazzalan slowly pushed the sword down upon Kul'thran as the hunter struggled to keep up with the satyr's power.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kul'thran saw Kulvir beginning to slip off the edge. No! If he falls, he'll either hit the ground and die or fall into the lava and be lost forever! He needed to think; he had to save his pet from sudden death. Before he could decide to sacrifice himself to save Kulvir, Kul'thran saw Til'jaden fire a bolt of lightning at Bazzalan, which knocked the satyr back and freed Kul'thran from the interlocked weapons.

Dropping his axe, Kul'thran grabbed the sliding Kulvir's tail. The raptor let out an angry scream, but the hunter ignored it. Instead, he pulled the raptor to safety on the ledge. Kulvir was about to claw his master for pulling on his tail, but stopped as Bazzalan picked up Kul'thran's axe with his other hand. "You shouldn't drop things like this, troll. Heh heh heh."

Backing up, Kul'thran picked up his bow and countered, "at least I be havin' back-ups. Kulvir, strike!" He nocked an arrow and fired it at the satyr. It flew too fast for Bazzalan to dodge and was hit in the left shoulder. Immediately, Bazzalan rushed Kul'thran and attempted to cut him down with his own axe and the sword. Kul'thran ducked under the axe, but was sliced across the shoulder by the sword. He lost feeling in his left arm and realized he was now weaponless--there was no way he could use his bow.

Kul'thran glanced around quickly to see where Til'jaden was at. He found him dueling Jergosh in a battle of magics. Til'jaden fired a bolt of lightning, while Jergosh fired a shadow bolt. The two spells met in the center and exploded.

"Til'jaden! I might be needin' some healin' 'ere soon!" Kul'thran called out, just barely noticing Bazzalan's second attack with Kul'thran's axe. The hunter rolled out of the way of the axe and then shifted to avoid another attack from Bazzalan's sword. "Ya forgot dat I still haff one weapon, mon."

"Oh? And what is that? Your tusks?" the satyr mocked.

"No, dis!" With lightning speed, Kul'thran thrust an arrow into Bazzalan's stomach. The satyr let out a cry of surprise and a grunt of pain. As soon as the arrow pierced his flesh, Bazzalan dropped his sword. Immediately, Kul'thran got up and grabbed the sword with his right hand. "Die, mon!" He swung it with all the ferocity of a wounded beast, and cleaved the satyr's chest open.

"No...! I can't die now!" Bazzalan grabbed his wounded chest, breathing in and out heavily. He swung at Kul'thran again, but the troll was too nimble for him, and the satyr only sliced a part of his cape. Before Kul'thran could deal the killing blow, Kulvir took advantage of the situation and jump struck the satyr with his feet claws. Using his large scythe-like claws, the raptor carved lines down Bazzalan's chest and stomach until the satyr fell to the ground and died.

He dropped the axe, which slid over to the edge and fell over into the depths of the lava pool. Kul'thran would never be able to recover it.

On the other side, Til'jaden was still dancing magic with Jergosh. Finally, it seemed like the warlock had the upper hand as the shaman was blasted over and over again with bolts of dark magic. Then, the warlock released black lightning from his fingers and knocked Til'jaden to the ground. "Ha ha ha! Shamans are nothing to the might of the Burning Legion! Behold what powers my masters have given me."

"... and behold," Til'jaden coughed. "Behold, the strength my master has given me!" With a loud roar, the shaman jumped up and stabbed his hand claw into the warlock's chest. "Die!" And with that, the shaman channeled lightning through himself into the claw, electrifying Jergosh's body, and more importantly, his heart. The power was too much, and it killed the warlock.

Til'jaden removed his bloody hand claw from the warlock's chest and let the body fall to the ground. "Kul'thran... I'm sorry I did not heal you." The orc shaman looked very injured himself. Both of them were covered in blood and only Kulvir was without a scratch (save the ones from the rocky ledge that he was pulled across.) "I was... busy with the warlock."

"I understand, let's take a moment ta heal, but we must be quick before the other members of da Searing Blade come!" Kul'thran cautioned. He walked over to the edge of the ramp and then tossed down Bazzalan's sword into the lava. "I refuse ta be usin' a demonic weapon," he muttered to himself. He turned around and picked up his bow off the ground.

After a few seconds, Kul'thran's arm began to heal due to his trollic regeneration. The shoulder pad would need to be repaired, but at least his shoulder would be healed. The rest of his armor was slightly damaged, but it was nothing that a leatherworker could repair.

As for Til'jaden, his coat was torn, and burnt. He was rapidly casting healing spells on himself to close the wounds on his body. His hand claw was covered in rich, dripping blood while there were blood stains all over his wolf coat. "Kul'thran! Look what I found...!" He picked up some sort of stone with runes inscribed all over it. The troll took a look at the stone. It was rectangular in shape and was about as big as a human's hand. He could not understand the glowing runes on the stone.

"Let's be keepin' it. We'll show it ta Thrall. Quickly!" Kul'thran exclaimed. "Let's get outta 'ere before dey find us!"

"Right away!" Til'jaden responded. And with that, Kul'thran, Kulvir, and the shaman left Ragefire Chasm.

§

"So, you've returned... and not quite in decent shape I see," Thrall said.

Til'jaden and Kul'thran were a mess. Their hair was tangled and blood-stained, and their skin was wrinkled from the heat. Even Kulvir had suffered from the intense heat, his scales seemed to be glowing dimly with heat.

"We haff killed dem. Da leaders of da Searing Blade. Yer assassination will be failin' now."

"What of the caverns, warchief?" Til'jaden asked.

"I've already received news about the caverns," Thrall said. "They are in chaos since you killed their leaders, and I hear even Neeru is more irritated than usual. Unfortunately, despite your great efforts, I can only call this a small victory."

"Why's dat?" Kul'thran asked.

"Because their operations are much larger than we intended from what you told me," Thrall explained. In order to restore the Burning Legion to power, they'll most likely have other bases. Kul'thran, after you have washed up and repaired your armor, I want you to return to Neeru Fireblade. Try not to be too overt, and find out, whatever you can, about the Shadow Council's plans."

"I understand, sir." Kul'thran bowed and then left.

One shower, leatherworker, and tailor repairs later, Kul'thran returned to the Cleft of Shadow. There, he found Neeru Fireblade staring down Ragefire Chasm. As Kul'thran approached, Fireblade swiftly turned around and yelled, "What is it!?" making the hunter jump.

"Oh, it's you, hunter. Excuse me, my anger is like a rabid kudo sometimes, and it gets the best of me."

Kul'thran decided to act dumb. "What happen'd, mon?"

"It seems that both Bazzalan and Jergosh were killed by some of Thrall's do-gooders. I don't know how they sneaked past me, but without the Searing Blade, I cannot go through with the warchief's... assassination," he said, speaking more softly. "However, even without the Searing Blade, the Shadow Council has its schemes elsewhere. We have agents in the Barrens and Ashenvale. ... say, what happened to your axe?"

"Uh? Ma axe?" Kul'thran thought rapidly for an answer. "I left it at home, I tink. Ya know, I'm getting used ta havin' ma pet fight in melee combat fer me."

"Of course, of course. Just don't lose it, you're one of my lieutenants now! I will call upon you soon. That will be all."

"Very well, Neeru," Kul'thran said darkly. "I will be seein' you again sometime."

Returning to Thrall, the troll hunter relayed all the information he had heard about the Shadow Council from Neeru.

The warchief stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Ashenvale... Ashenvale... no. It does not ring any bells. I think I've heard of any activity by the Burning Blade or the Shadow Council there. Kul'thran, perhaps you could scout out that area for me?"

"Wait!" Vol'jin stepped forward. "He cannot do dat now! Look at da state he was in when he return'd from Ragefire Chasm, warchief!"

"My apologizes... I did not mean now. Kul'thran has earned some time to rest. I will send out spies to Ashenvale, and see what I can discover," Thrall said. "But later, would you scout out the area for me, Kul'thran? After you are feeling rested?"

Kul'thran's heat beat a little faster. Ashenvale. That was his chance to see some night elves up close! "Of course, warchief! Of course!" He wondered if he would catch sight of any beautiful women there, and it made him excited. "I definitely want ta be doin' dat."

"Good, good, rest now, you--"

"Warchief?"

The group turned towards the door to Grommash Hold. It was Til'jaden. He was now clean, and his coat had been cleaned and mended. Kul'thran recognized the object he was holding as the tablet they had found inside Ragefire Chasm.

"What is it, Til'jaden?" Thrall asked.

"It's this... we found it off of Jergosh's body. We managed to translate the runes... and the message is grim."

"Read it to me," Thrall commanded.

"Yes, warchief. It says: while the foolish Horde and Alliance war with one another, the Burning Legion, after licking its wounds, will rise up and crush the two factions from either side once again! This time, there will be no Hyjal or Stormrage to save them. Long live the Legion!"

Til'jaden looked up at Kul'thran and the others. The troll could not tell what the others' reaction was because he became lost in his own world. We're being used... used as a distraction for their plans. Now, Kul'thran had learned the identity of the true enemy to not only the Horde, but the entire world of Azeroth.