Forged of Western Rock IC

The Narrows, Safron Province
Left! Left! Right! Left again, forward, twist, right there…! An opening…!

Leo’s foot came into contact with the soldier’s skull, smashing it straight into the ground with abnormal strength. The other soldiers raised their guard, but it was too late, their formation had been broken. Leo was free to move. “Rah!” Leo yelled in effort as he dug his fist in a man’s kidney with more speed than his opponents could react to. Pushing the man aside, he leaped from his previous surrounded position to join with his comrades.

“Sir!” a messenger shouted with urgency. “Battlemaster Hanin!”

“Gah!” Leo was off before the messenger could relay any more. He would hear from Lea herself. His soldiers would deal with the situation there. Reshaping his body into lightning, Leo leaped across the battlefield to Lea’s half of the caravan. He finally spotted her, surrounded much like he had been. He darted to her location, reforming his physical body. Still half-composed of electricity, Leo executed a flying kick into one of Lea’s foes. That should impress her, thought Leo. Leo proceeded to launch a barrage of somewhat fanciful attacks, disrupting the group about Lea. Rather than face two nonhumans, the enemy broke off to regroup and prepare for an attack in better conditions.

“I was fine. You should have held your half.” Lea spoke coldly.

“Geez baby, you don’t gotta lie to me.” Leo wondered what she was really thinking, feeling. He would rip apart that apathetic barrier of hers. “I accept your thank you, but really it dudn’t even matter. I’ll always be around.”

Lea ignored the words, her body displaying no deferment. “Imperial Agent Honlo?” she pointed out.

Leo gritted his teeth. Now that she mentioned it, he hadn’t seen a trace of the imperial, despite the fact Leo had charged through the entire battlefield. “He ain’t around.” Where was the agent anyway? It was Honlo who drove the food caravan provided by the empire for Cadkis through the Narrows, an area well-patrolled by Safron. Imperial aid was so bittersweet. “How long do you need?” asked Leo, changing the subject to more immediate concerns.

“Not long.” she replied. Some of Lea’s bodyguard appeared. Oh, and where were you when Lea was in danger? Leo didn’t appreciate their appearance.

“You four,” he said. “Go figure out our opponent. I’ll guard Lea until we know that much.”

“Sir!” the soldiers complied. Suddenly, one of the soldiers pulled back his comrade sharply enough to hurt him. “Back!” he warned. Leo reflexively tackled Lea to the ground with sufficient force to roll them aside. The ground the group previously occupied found itself decimated by explosions.

“Excellent work soldiers! I now know who’s attacking us.” And Leo wasn’t in the least bit happy about who it was either.

Drillmaster's Office, Cadkis Bloodfort
Bullwinkle worked in the illumination of the Bloodfort, red tinted light glimmering from its ruby-like surface. His office, like every other room within the Bloodfort, was shaped irregularly. The Bloodfort hadn’t been raised by Cadkis for people to live in; it had been raised to kill. It was later adapted to the ‘fort’ purpose as its bloodstone composition couldn’t be damaged by conventional means. The Bloodfort actually resembled an internal organ more than a structure, complete with random valves, chambers, and veins, which were used as doors, rooms, and corridors respectfully. The floor could change elevation drastically over a short distance, and not all corridors seemed to have a purpose. Sometimes valves appeared in the middle of a room. It was all random, even the surface itself could become incredibly jagged in nondescript parts of the Bloodfort.

Bullwinkle favored those jagged parts. He had learned in his early days as a drillmaster that dragging the face of some incompetent recruit across the jagged surface could create competency where it didn’t exist before. He hated his office though, it was one of those chambers without a valve so you could hear all the humans clamoring in the corridor. Worst of all, their stench easily permeated into his abode. Of all things in the world, a human’s stench was the worst. It was a constant reminder of the day Bullwinkle’s homestead had been burned and his kin either murdered or enslaved. Minotaurs were not meant for human work, it was difficult for Bullwinkle to even write at his desk.

Bullwinkle sighed and stopped his writing. Why had it come to this? He wondered how Lea was faring under her new warmaster. Before his unconnected thoughts could go on, a human passed through the hide that Bullwinkle used as a door. “You?” Bullwinkle exclaimed, a bit surprised. “What are you doing here, prisoner?” Bullwinkle’s voice carried malice.

“I… I was sent to inform you the recruits have gathered in the assembly chamber.”

Bullwinkle rose from his desk and walked to the door. He then lifted his battleaxe from its mount on the wall. “And who sent you, exactly?”
“Warmaster Mileen.”

“Oh, is that so?” Bullwinkle grinned in such a way as to unnerve the Safron prisoner. “I’ll have to thank her later.” The prisoner had hardly the time to scream before the axe passed through her neck. The blood splattered the office walls, only to be absorbed by bloodstone. “Curious, I’ll clean up later,” was all the prisoner would ever receive as a eulogy, her death almost forgotten as Bullwinkle made his way to the assembly chamber.

Assembly Chamber, Cadkis Bloodfort
Kav stood uncomfortable, nervous, and ultimately, scared. Two steps in any direction would bring him to some figure as capable and as dangerous as himself. Kav was used to being the big dog, but here, in the crowded assembly chamber, it was anyone’s game. More disturbing was the concept that the Cadkis military was able to keep this power in check, since half the people in this room were unwilling conscripts. Kav himself was still split on the issue. On one hand, he could not stand having his freedom ripped from him on threat of his life. Yet, on the other, where else could he gain the strength to take back his lair if not this room of skilled combatants? The ratio of nonhumans to humans was way out of proportion, and any human in the room had a look in their eyes that said they belonged.

A wall, or rather valve, as Kav had been told, opened up and admitted two figures. One, a minotaur, and the other, a being that appeared to be a walking corpse, death-colored skin with a fatal gash arcing from collarbone to waist. The minotaur began speaking as soon as he entered the chamber. “I am Drillmaster Bullwinkle, and this dead man is Drillmaster Janthir. Amongst our unreal amount of duties it is our job to train conscripts.”

“However,” Janthir butted in with a raspy, decaying voice. “You would not be in this room if you were not already expected to be an excellent candidate for the military. It will not be long before you begin service.”

“What little time you spend here,” continued Bullwinkle, “will be spent determining how you are best to be used.” It was at this moment nearly everyone but the two drillmasters experienced the flight or fight response as small objects shot up from the ground in front of the new recruits. Kav was no exception, taken aback by the blood-red parchment that had appeared in front of him. It fell back to the ground before Kav gained enough sense to retrieve it.

“The letter addressed to you has instructions on how to reach your room from here. It also tells you how to get to either mine or Bullwinkle’s chamber. Finally, some of you have been placed into random squads. The race and name of your squad mates will appear on the letter. You share a room, get to know another well. You life may depend on it.” Kav’s own letter gave instructions to Janthir’s chamber, and listed his squad mates as ‘Areol – Mitotic’ and ‘Min Coek – Human.’

“Don’t get to homey though, we will unmake and remake squads as we see fit,” added Bullwinkle.

“Your official evaluations begin tomorrow. Until then, feel free to wander the Bloodfort or rest in your room,” said Janthir, as a matter of closure.

That closure did not satisfy Bullwinkle. “You should go to the training grounds where the normal troops spar. You could learn there, and get ready for tomorrow. The instructors there will answer your questions, so ask them before you come to Janthir or me.” With that, the two drillmasters departed the assembly. Kav made a mental note that Bullwinkle wasn’t one that got too personal, and was rather relieved that he would be dealing with Janthir. How could someone like Bullwinkle become drillmaster? Whatever the reason, Kav had others things that should be on his mind. He read the letter again, making his way to his room.

I, currently enrolled and disguised as a young human male named Vallen Uther, am slightly relieved to see that my superiors are nonhumans. I'm quite eager to meet the Minotaur, having not seen one in nearly 100 years, as both of our ancient clans have always held a strong tie and love for the land. I un-crumple The note And start to Read off the names... Great... i get to bunk with a Human... And that damn Goliath i saw earlier... This might not be all bad. I make my way through the crowd toward the training grounds, cleverly avoiding the dirty humanlings, to maybe get a glimpse of what my upcomming life in the Bloodfort has to offer.

"This place reaks of decay..." Vashantihr relaxed herself alittle as the sweet iron like scent of blood seeped ever so gently into her nostrils. Her body tightened as she strengthened her will. She would not succumb to the thirst again, or at least that was what she told herself. Her eyes shifted to the instructions firmly grasped in her hands and she couldn't help but wonder if it was even worth looking at. She sighed and unfolded the paper looking at the names of her chamber mates. "Kröss, human, male... Finik, human, male" *SIGH* "Bredrick, human, male... Granderog,"Her eyes widened as she continued to read the paper. "I'm roomed with a male goliath." She mumbled as she stuffed the paper into her pocket. "Well shit. This may turn out to be very unpleasant." She turned around and shuffled through the crowd of people toward the exit that had been mark sparring pit. "Like hell I'm going to be stuck in a room with a bunch of Elder forsaken, hormone driven, hairless monkies." Vashantihr stopped. "Then again they could be nice people and one of them might be handsome... Nah screw it I want to train." With that said she walked through the valve of the passage into the courtyardlike room of the training area.

Throughout the speach of the drill masters Granderog sat there picking his nose with an uninterested look.
"Granderog getting hungry"
he said as he opened the paper and put it into the hood on his back without a second look.


I wonder where the mess hall is?


Granderog just stood there looking over all the people for a bit before he left to find food.
Lets hope they made accomidations for size.

A i Wander the bloodHalls it occurs to me that i know just about nothing about the Goliaths. I have met a few of them but other than their huge size and a few legends, our clans have never really seen the need to meet. We inhabit the Forests and Valleys While they Roam the Mountain-tops. I contemplate this as i roam the Crimson fort, following the rather poor instructions scribed on the walls apparently pointing towards the training grounds.

I Turn a Final corner and final arrive at my destination. A Huge scared room furnished for blood sweat and tears. I count about Forty men in all, all clad in Armour and weapons. Along with a few absolutely terrifying obstacle courses, a Sparing pit, and a dozen or so men marching i Spot an Archery Range and Make my way towards it.

As i approach the Archery Range and spot a figure adorned in officer's clothing. standing at about 5'6" with a very slender body i cant shake the feeling that somethings a bit off about her. The suddenly it Clicks! An Elf! Shes and elf.

Incredibly foreign to this land, Its recommendable that one should even recognize a humanoid as an Elf. Native to a Section of land Far far away, the Elf's flourish in there primal magic and hardly ever venture out from there clan. I've actually never seen an elf before, only ancient tales of mischief and magic.

As i approach her our eyes meet and i greet her in the traditional human fashion and introduce myself. A Handshake... So much touching with these Humans... Disgusting. I ask her if she would be so kinda as to instruct me on the Way of the Archer, so that i might get in some practice before tomorow.

Vashantihr wandered about for awhile, following the stench of stale blood. she had reached her destination and she looked over the crowd of about 3 and 1/2 dozen people clattering in armor and using training blades to beat eachother senseless. It was obvious that most of these people were the recruits and rookies of this military, however she did see a group of what looked like veteran soldiers sparring together. She smiled at the opportunity to fight someone that had capability. As she strode over to them she let out a seductive sentence from her lips to attempt to cull them into the pit with her. "hey boys," she said softly. All of the soldiers looked up and most of them bore a smile that screamed for an attempt to get handsy with her. She knew she had them right where she wanted them. "So I was thinking that, if you boys want, I could, maybe, spar with you?" Most of them began nodding their head when suddenly a half orc shoved Vash backwards almost hard enough to ground her.

"You will not spar with us temptress," It said. one of the otehr soldiers butted in.
"Come on Silis. She just wants to have a friendly sparring."
"She has not earned it," silis responded. His hand jerked hard as he pointed across the room. "Go to the random match ballads and enter your name. If you don't lose miserably like i know you will, then you can return." One of the younger soldiers interjected but Vash didn't here was he said as she was already off toward the ticket entry. She reached the podeum and scribbled her name ona slip of paper with frustration and slammed it into the box. Now all she had to do was wait.

The Woman Elf officer then, quite noticeably, laughs at me. A hint of disbelief and disappointment crosses my face as my very first contact with an elf seems to be going downhill, very fast. As i attempt to talk/ suede her, She continues her smugish snickering and condescending comebacks until she directs me over to a podium saying that in order to get ANY Respect, I must prove my worth and win a few matches first. I reluctantly Sign my name on a slip of paper and patiently Wait for my turn.

After about 4 rounds of fights the call came. "Vashantihr! Report to the central ring!" Vash got up and walked over to the pit and hopped down its short wall into the sand. As she walk toward the center she heard the name of her apponent yelled out. "Recruit Vallen you will be fighting recruit Vashantihr!"

As i heal my name i slowly make my way to the Ring. As i step in the ring the officer directs me and opponent To a rack of training Weapons. Having absolutely no prior training with any martial weapons, i Take the opportunity to suggest that Civilized beings have no need for sharpened steel to Prove Worth. "What say you Challenger?"

Vash simple smiles and nods in agreement to the decision. 'The fool doesn't realize how fast I am, I feel sorry for him' She thought. She crouched down and closed her eyes, her senses strenching out, ready for the combat. She prepared herself to every degree expected of her. She knew blood would be spilt and she resisted its succulent smell even now. Without the smell of thick, warm, red iron she would not be in any danger to lose herself.

"Begin!" before the word was even finished Vash was half way toward her target. He stood still with little expression on his face. 'He really thinks that I'm going to hit like a girl doesnt he? Well he'll learn' Vash's arm swung out in a blurred arch to catch the stupid human only to somehow end up empty handed. "What the-" her words where cut short as a fist found purchase in her lower rib cage knocking most of the air from her lungs. 'Well this is interesting'

Dammit that Bitch is fast! Im barley able to dodge her sudden charge and deliver a blow to Her gut. But not fast enough. I go for the second Strike, But the Human jumps away with such Grace and finesse it leaves me almost in shock. I Throw myself at her. Jab! dodge! Punch! Miss! I give her no time for a counter attack as i come at her with the Fury of a rabid Mongoose. I Punch again! But alas she is to quick for my untrained fists. But wait! and opening! As i lung for what would seem a critical blow, she Gracefully maneuvers herself in such a way They leaves Me completely open and exposed.

'Got you you bastard' The heel of Vash's foot smacked hard into the cheek of her opponent forcing him to tumble back and fall onto his back. She took the advantage and lunged at him, but before she even reached him he was already up and ready. She swung hard with both of her arms aiming in slightly different directions. One of themstruck hard against his nose and Vash could smell the sweet coppery tang of his blood as several of the capilaries in his nose popped from the hit. She continued her assault ignoring the smell. suddenly without warning she felt a blow to her cheek, then another and another. somehow her opponent seemed to have gotten a foothold and was releasing a series of blows across her face. "ENOUGH!" she yelled as clapped her hands around his ears with all the speed and force she could muster. Her opponent let out a yelp as his vision was blurred by the discombobulation. Vash smacked her head against his as hard as she could and then she knew it was a mistake as the sweet taste of his blood seeped into her mouth. She stepped back from her opponent and tried her best to resist the urge, but she wanted it, she wanted to taste the iron, she wanted to feel the warm vital fluid dripping across her face, she wanted blood.

Vicious attack after attack, The sparing Continued. As if secluded from everything else room we went at each other. The ever increasing roar of the crowd was all but silent compared to our adamant focus. All that mattered was Her next Attack, my next dodge, her next counter. Never have i seen a Human fight with Such vicious vigor.. Such a fierce endeavor to Strike, Attack, Kill. Suddenly a blur of movement and im forced back, Blood dripping on my face. Who's Blood? I really didn't know or cared. All i cared about after coming to was her slight hesitation after her last attack. With reckless abandon i Charge my foe only noticing the sheer look of Primal Lust moments before we clash.

"NO!" Vash wanted to yell, but she couldn't the only thing taht came from her throat was a growl, deep and savage. She lept forward at her foe, controled by the Red Thirst that had haunted her people since the dawn of their birth. Her primal nature ferious with hunger for blood, she tackled the oncoming foe with such force that it should have broken someones bones. They crashed to the floor with Vash on top. Her eyes wild with feral intentions as her finger nails grew thick and sharp. Her canine teeth decended as she brought her mouth closer to the shoulder of her enemy. His eyes wide with realization of what she was he resisted her with his arm across her throat, pushing her back, but she kept getting closer and closer.
"Pakt-sesh," he managed to say. Vash's eyes twisted as doubt and self hate filled her mind.
'I am not Pakt-sesh. I do not deserve such a title.' Her coherent thoughts of doubt where drowned in the deep scent of the blood flowing beneath her adversaries skin, only inches away from her mouth. 'I am a beast'
Her hands stabbed down his body into his ribcage and her nails dug painfully into the cartilage between the bones. His grip on her loosened as she continued to push deeper into his body. That was all she needed. With a final push her fangs found the flesh of their victim and she bit down releasing a torrent of silky vitae from his body. The scent was comforting and the taste was... was not human.
Her eyes suddenly no longer of a feral nature she tore herself from the man just in time to catch a glimpse of a club swinging down at her head. "Cail'is." she muttered as the club struck her into unconciousness.

Relief in the form of a Club! My blood gushing and my heart pounding as i lie prone subject to the blood lust of the most vicious of natures spawn. I had fallen victim to the Red thirst that all Elderborne are subject to. I hadn't seen a display such as this since my childhood, when our clan had us Children tag along with a group of Elder's during a hunting trip so that we could better understand nature's whim. As i struggle to keep my limbs attached, im relieved as a club, as if granted by the Gods, falls from the sky and bashes against my blood-thirsty foe. As i fought the ever pressing urge to pass out i attempted to repair the absolute worst of the damage before anyone has the chance to notice. Im able to heal the Seemingly (Considering a Human's Anatomy)"Fatal" wound to a lesser "near fatal" injury. I then succumb to the ever inviting joy of rest.

Meanwhile

Granderog finds the mess hall easy enough.
The mess hall is located in a large room shaped like a "T" that you enter at the bottom. The entire length of the T is filled with tables and at the end is a counter where the food is served.

Granderog ducks under the doorway and heads straight to the food, ignoring the people he plows through until he reaches the counter.
"Food".
A young man steps out, double takes at the man’s size before serving him without a word.
"More." Granderog said with a scowl.
“Only one serving at a ti…”
“More!” Granderog demanded not listening to the small man.
“I’m sorry but I am afraid I can’t.”
Granderog just sits there towering over the man sending chills up his spine.
“Please I really can’t…”
“It wouldn’t be fair…”
“I…” The man could hear the slight bending of the metal try from the giants’ hands.
“… Ok” The man reluctantly puts more food on the tray.
“More.”
Than man puts more food on the tray.
“More”
“Please” said the man in pleading voice, “I really can’t give you any more.”
"Now, that should be enough?"
Granderog smiles and say “Thank you!” Before proceeding to a nearby table to devour his food, occasionally throwing vegetables into his hood.
The man clutches his fast beating heart and lets out a sigh of relief.

Drillmaster's Office, Cadkis Bloodfort
Janthir huddled in a corner of his small office, doubled over in pain. Face pressed against the wall, Janthir clutched the gash extending from his collarbone to his waist with both arms. The gash, so kindly delivered to him by Bullwinkle, had been acting up a lot lately. Mark’s spirit drew close, Janthir had to get things under control. But he couldn’t, the pain made him want to cry, but his body couldn’t produce tears. He imagined sobbing in his head, hoping that would alleviate the pain.

An infinity passed before Mark entered the room. He yelled some word of concern, but Janthir could not make it out. It took all Janthir had to do his duty. “Mark, do you understand the meaning of a superior’s orders?”

“Drillmaster?”

“I recall ordering you never to pass me a necromancer conscript. On my desk is a parchment with the names Arthas and Mark written on it.”

“I am sorry, I just thought…”

“Bullwinkle!” shouted Janthir, suffering from another spike of pain.

“Drillmaster…”

“Bullwinkle is the only necromancer I will ever deal with. Take Arthas’s papers to Bullwinkle and offer the man your apologies. Bring Arthas himself with you to get his instructions.” And to take a bit of Bullwinkle’s wrath off your own shoulders.

“Yes, master,” said the instructor solemnly. “I bring another letter, this one from a Sezzoru. I’ll leave--“

“What!?” Janthir shot up instantly, regretted it, and then told the regret to go stay back in the corner. Sezzoru? Did that mean Warmaster Leo had been captured? Janthir’s favorite student, Leo, defeated over food? That would also mean Bullwinkle’s Lea… he could not be allowed to find out. Janthir began gathering his things. “Mark, you will preside over my matches tomorrow.” The healer grunted, like all healers he was already over tasked. “You will tell Bullwinkle that I am not headed for Ravil, but instead Safron, and I am departing immediately.” Janthir exited the door. “Oh, and one more thing.”

Janthir’s blind gaze turned to look into Mark’s eyes. “The name Sezzoru never entered the Bloodfort. That is an order you will not disobey.”

Wow! This place is huge! There are so many people here! Arthas thought to himself as he reached the internal part of the Bloodfort. Hopefully I can find someone here that can be my friend..

As Arthas walked around, looking clueless at every step to where he was supposed to go, he could feel a strong energy within the fort. This is very strange.. I've never felt a power like this before. "ARTHAS! ARTHAS MENETHIL!" an unknown voice called out, almost angrily. A man approached Arthas, stopped him, and studied him.

"Are you Arthas Menethil?" The man asked.
"I am," Arthas replied, "is there something wrong, sir?"
"Come with me. You and I may be in some pretty hot water. Hopefully it is you that gets the bad end of the axe and not me." The man said as he turned around. "Follow!" he ordered.
Sheesh, what an a**hole. I hope everyone here isn't like this.. Arthas thought to himself as he complacently followed the order.

They came to leather hide cover of which the man stepped inside and introduced himself. "Enter." came a monstrous voice from inside. Arthas complied, and when he entered came face to.. well, chest with a minotaur. "So you're the one of the new recruits, eh? A necromancer you say? What a puny little thing. I can't believe I'm doing this... But here are your orders. I'll take it from here Mark.." "Yes sir, thank you sir." Mark said as he exited the room rather quickly. Arthas turned back around from watching the man named Mark exit, only to be met by an unsettling glare from the Minotaur. "I am Bullwinkle, a Drillmaster here at the Bloodfort. Now that you know who I am, let us go. I no longer wish to look at you. Follow me."

Bullwinkle leads Arthas to his bunk, and before leaving hands him a piece of paper. "Here are your squadmates. I want you, along with them out on the training field in the morning. You understand that?" Bullwinkle said with such a harsh tone, as turned back and walked away. So far.. not so good.. Arthas opened up the paper and read "Vallen - Human. Granderog - Goliath". I've never seen a Goliath before.. Hopefully these two will be a little more friendly. And there Arthas sat all alone, pondering what the next day was going to bring. That is.. until his squadmates returned to the bunk..

"Grandderog still hungry." Said Granderog as he patted his stomach.
"Did you hear what happend in the training ring?" said a soldier behind Granderog to another. They say a human woman and man were sparring and the woman went crazy and began to drink the other guys blood!"
"A vampire?" said the other man. "Aren't they supposed to be peaceful?"
"Peaceful? A monster that lives off the blood of others peaceful? Ha! Did you not listen to what I just said? She just ripped into that poor mans gut and tried to suck him dry!"
"I suppose you are right, what happened to them?"
Well they had to smash her head in with a club to get her off. They then dragged her off somwhere and carried the man to the infermary."
"An Elderborn here? Hmmmm, this place will not be as boring as I thought."
Granderog stood up.
"Granderog sleepy."

"*sigh* alright, might as well check out the room and get settled before I pursue this futher."
Granderog walks out of the room leaving a giant mess and a bent tray on the table.

"Who the hell thought it would be a good idea to put a Goliath's room at the end of such a small god damned hallway!!!"
Granderog stood there looking at the door to the rooms, unnable to reach it.
"Grangerog stuck." He said.
"No shit!" said a voice... or several voices for that matter.
Poor 9 foot over 500lb Granderog was stuck in the small doorway that led to the rooms, making it impossible for others to pass causing a large crowd of angry people to gather behind him. The Goliaths' neck was bent at an odd angle to allow room for his head, both legs were bent in strange ways and his shoulders were squished from the walls.
"Curse this god forsakin place!"

What's all the commotion outside? As Arthas stood up, hearing the increasing yells and shouts from outside. I might as well go take a look.

As Arthas opens the door, and peeks out, he notices the corridor seems a little darker than what it was before. He walks down the hallway a little further, only to seem a huge man stuck in the corridor. "What the heck?" That is thing is huge! Hmm.. Could it be? "Umm.. hi there. You wouldn't happen to be Granderog would you?"

"Son of a bastard monkeys first born child!" Ok if I move the arm here, twist this way and... huh?"
Granderog looks up at the call of his name to see a decayed man.
"I am Granderog." He said to the decayed man.
"How does zombie man know Granderogs name?"

[Sorry about the huge delay...]

"My name is Arthas. I'm apart of your squad. Is there anything I could do to help?"

"Granderog stuck..."

"I can see that, let's see if I can help you out." Arthas closed his eyes and lifted one of his hands. A little rumbling sounded on the other side of the Goliath. "Where the f*** did those things come from?!" Was the cry from the other side.

"What did you do zombie man?" Granderog asked very puzzled.

"Hopefully you'll get to see in a moment. Push!!" Arthas yelled out. At first it seems like nothing was going on. I hope this works...

"Umm.. Zombie man, it feels like someone is touching Granderog."

Suddenly Granderog roared out as his body was forcefully shoved through the opening, his limbs bending every which way to make it through.. Luckily the corridor opened up some as it reached the first rooms of the living quarters. Standing behind the Goliath's body stood two pretty large skeletons. "Thanks guys, that'll do." Arthas said with a smile. The skeletons bowed their heads, and shrunk back down into the ground. Arthas looked up to see a mob of people staring at him in disbelief. Hmm.. Seems like it's time for me to leave.. Arthas turned and walked back to his room.

"Thanks, zombie man." Was the mumbled reply from the behemoth laying face first on the floor.

My, he is a talented one. This place just keeps getting more and more interesting.
"Floor cold" said Granderog in a mumbled voice.
Well lieing on the floor is not going to help.
Granderog stood up, the people behind him still a little confused and what just happened.
Elderborn and undead constructs, oh my.
Granderog began to make his way twords the room.
This room?
Yea, this should be it.
Granderog opened the door and entered (forced himself) through the door and fell onto a bed. The bed made a loud crack followed by snoring from the giant.

Out of the hood of the giant poped up little furry head, a rabbit. He sniffs the air and hops onto the back of Granderog and stares at Arthas a bit before curling up and going to sleep.

Black Bluffs, Ravil Province
It was strangely refreshing to watch the Five at play, as if their lives weren’t things of horror and slaughter. They ran and jumped around the cliffs with abundant energy, near naked as always. They were purely primal creatures, one of the aspects that made them so frightening. The scenery of the Black Bluffs fit them well, the ash covered rock leaving black traces on their bodies as they fought.

“Victory! It is my fish!” hollered Jacob, holding the prize over his head that he had plucked from Black Bluff’s polluted rapids.

“Yeah, but you’re on my rock!” Mina laughed as she sprung her trap on Jacob, kicking a rock straight into the rock Jacob stood upon. Jacob’s footing shattered to pieces with the rock, and he lost grasp of the fish. Daemon and Petri rocketed towards the fish, but clashed before they could reach it. Daemon got the advantage, and was able to rip Petri’s hands off. It was too late though, Mina had reached the fish. “True victory is mine, boys!” Mina said the word with spite. It was hard being the only female in such a rowdy group, she had to continually prove her worth.

The children returned to the rock where Remes had been watching them from. “I won!” Mina repeated, rubbing it in.

“Of you did Mina. How could any boy beat you?” His comment instantly instigated a fight between Mina and Jacob. Remes’ attention was elsewhere, however. Petri had gone straight for Joseph.

“Why didn’t you play?” Petri demanded of Joseph, placing his newly regenerated hands on his hips.

“Didn’t feel it.” Joseph replied. He had been down lately, for some reason. Of the Five, he was the softest, but that was like saying he was a serial killer who had a fondness for butterflies. His depression bothered Remes, Joseph had proven himself to be the most vulnerable of the Five emotionally.

“Your just sad ‘cause we haven’t got to kill no one,” said Daemon.
“Yeah!” Apparently the fight between Mina and Jacob had already end. “When do we get to go back out? I wanna kill Cadkis!” whined Jacob.

“You know you can’t do that,” disciplined Remes. “If I were them, I would just fire the Bloodfort at you, even if I had to sacrifice a village. You can play in Safron all you want.”

“Safron is boring,” complained Mina. “They just run around and we never get to fight.”

An idea struck Remes. “There’s a rebellious village nearby. You should teach them a lesson.” Light entered all of their eyes, even Joseph’s.

“Can we kill all of them?” asked Jacob.

Squad Chamber, Cadkis Bloodfort
Kav placed his hand on his room’s valve door, exerting small pressure to cause the valve’s four parts to recede into the surrounding walls. He found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes, which, he imagined would be beautiful, had they not been distorted by their position behind two square, flat glass panes. “Hey teammate!” shouted the eye owner with excitement. She was tiny, even for a human, standing somewhere around five feet. Her hair was blonde and had been trimmed down to a boy cut. From the looks of it, she likely did it herself without looking.

“Hello,” responded Kav. “My name is Kav Kerlash.”

“Well no duh! Neither of us look like dragons now do we?” Kav did not like this girl, Min Coek. This was the response he got for manners? Regardless, she had a point. She, a human, was very much not a dragonborne. Areol, who had not yet moved, was farther from being a dragonborne than a human. So that’s a mitotic. Kav had never heard of them before. Areol was two large, vertically interconnected balls of green goo, and was translucent enough so that one could peer into his insides. At the center of the connection was a small purple mass, and throughout the creature a number of tan strings seemed to be free floating.

“Hello Areol,” said Kav. The slime jiggled and made liquid noises as a reply.
“Yeah, he can’t talk. I’ve been working on communication with him, you know, for battle stuff. We are going to be fighting together, after all. That jiggle pattern means he’s happy. He must like you!”
Was Min always this excited? “It’s good to see you’re thinking about our job,” praised Kav.

“Of course I am! Oh! That reminds me! We’re to report out to the outside training grounds tomorrow morning. We’re probably going to spar with another squad, so you should learn how to talk slimy tonight!”
Kav didn’t look forward to it. “Anything else I should know?”
“Yep!” She rested her index finger on the glass in front of her eyes. “Don’t let my glasses fall off.”