The Keep

The first attack on Stormwind was a disaster. Kali had stayed at the camp with some of the elderly and children, training and trying not to think about the battle that was happening. It wasn’t until several days after that they heard from one of the orcish scouts about the slaughter, his eyes wide and red, his face scared and bloodied, bruises about his head and neck. He told quickly of the defeat, of the human force being more powerful than they had expected, and of the deep fog that fell as they retreated. He hadn’t heard of the whereabouts of any of the leaders or orcs that escaped, though he had assumed the survivors would lay low for a few days until they were sure they weren’t being followed.

Those that remained in the camp quickly moved to action, packing up the camp, putting out the fires, trying to make it look as though this weren’t the resting place of a large army. They moved by night, scouts remaining in the surrounding trees to watch for the returning force to send them to the rest.

As the wounded soldiers began returning and telling of the terrible force of the humans, of how they were quickly pushed back, of the missing Gul’dan, Blackhand, Doomhammer, and the Bleeding Hollow’s own chieftain, fear quickly grew among those that remained.

Kali didn’t sleep for days, spending most of the time curled up in a tent, watched over by Grot. He held Lae as he coaxed Kali, looking every few hours for word of Grimmik or Lektu. She was far too young to be on her own, and though she sometimes wished of times without them, the fear of losing them overwhelmed her.

Finally, word reached the camp of what had happened, through the lips of Orgrimm Doomhammer. He rode a large steed into the camp, letting out a loud war cry and holding the head of Blackhand in his hand. A large gasp went through the crowd and Grot quickly ran to see what the excitement was about, holding Lae in his arms. His eyes widened as he took in the scene, quickly returning to rouse Kali from her reverie. The two young orcs stood side by side, their jaws dropped at the sight of the mighty Doomhammer holding their leader’s head. “Blackhand was corrupt!” he shouted to the crowd, gasps rippling through the group, their ability to speak hindered.

The orcs were now united under Orgrim Doomhammer.