[Horde] Chapter Five: Session Thirty-Three

Appearing Characters: Arthak Saurfang, Dargrul, Dugmore, Ebonhorn, Mayla Highmountain, Navarrogg, Nyxxa Murkthorn, Oakin Ironbull, Rak'Symma, Smelinda, Sol'chi, Ularogg Cragshaper, Zar'Kaa

November 28th

Mayla stepped forward as Dargrul dropped the weights, and she grabbed the same two he had lifted. She hefted them over her shoulders, and then dropped them again, triumphantly lifting them.

Arthak then stepped forward. He grew to his larger size, and also grabbed the same two weights. He lifted them with minimal strain, and then set them back down with a nod to Dargrul.

Ebonhorn stepped forward and effortlessly lifted the largest weight. He was not looking to match Mayla, but it was evident he probably could have.

Oakin Ironbull approached the smallest weight and quietly gave himself a small pep talk. He managed to lift it up with a great deal of effort, and he laughed quietly as he realized he managed to actually lift it. He dropped the weight back on the ground and shook his hands, realizing he may have strained something, but the other Rivermane delegates patted him on the back as he returned.

Zar’Kaa stepped forward and lifted the largest weight. It was a bit heavier than what he typically lifted, but he was strong enough to do so. He gave a confident nod at the drogbar and then dropped the weight and stacked the weights on top of each other just to prove that he could.

Sol then stepped toward the middle weight, and he also successfully lifted it. He was not as strong as he used to be, but he at least remembered how to lift heavy things, and that expertise guided him through.

Nyxxa stepped up to the smallest weight. She was not a weight lifter by any means, but she had trained her body in many ways, and she had watched other people. She tried to copy their techniques as much as possible, and she managed to successfully do it. She looked surprised at herself. As she stepped back, Lantresor put a hand on her shoulder and told her she did a job well done.

Rak’Symma stared at the stones with a very impassive face, and she looked at Dargrul, but then approached the biggest weight. She crouched down and started to try and lift it, but then she cast [Shatter] and broke the largest weight into smaller pieces, that she picked up into her arms.

Ularogg scowled and declared Rak’Symma cheated. Rak’Symma looked up at them.

Rak'Symma says: I will not be considered weak because I do not have physical strength. Sometimes, a larger problem is better handled piecemeal.

Ularogg demanded that this was not the challenge, but Dargrul declared he would allow it, and he growled at the other drogbar that tried to argue. He locked eyes with Ularogg, who scowled at Dargrul, and then Symma, but he used his magic to repair the rock.

Dargrul, however, looked at Rak’Symma with an amount of respect.

It was declared that it be allowed for all delegates to speak so that the stage could be set before individual grievances were aired.

Arthak took a step forward first and introduced himself.

Arthak Saurfang says: I played a role in facilitating this meeting, but I am not of Highmountain and these are not my lands. The grievances between you are not my grievances. The interest of my people and the reason I am here is simply that the hammer remain in the hands of Highmountain. I simply seek to stop the Burning Legion from getting a foothold here. Thus, I would propose I act as a third party–a mediator and facilitator among all sides, as I am neutral in this. Whatever matters to me is that peace happens, and I will facilitate that with every ounce of sincerity.
Ebonhorn says: I will second this motion. It was his suggestion to bring about this peace. Are there any gathered that have grievances against this?

There was silence, and Dargrul even nodded.

Dargrul says: He has proven himself to be impartial before. I don’t see why not.

Many other leaders on both sides nodded. Ebonhorn gestured for Arthak to stand between the two groups, off to the side. Mayla smiled at Arthak, who stoically nodded. Ularogg did not look happy.

Zar’Kaa then stepped forward and introduced himself.

Zar'Kaa says: I travel with the Horde, thus our goals align that we are here to dismantle and defeat the Legion presence. To that end, I have been intertwined with this conflict. I have learned much, yet there is much I don’t know, and there is much I don’t know about handling peace and nurturing it. As much as this meeting will be about me learning, I think I too can help in facilitating these negotiations. I wish to help uplift those voices that might be more difficult to hear. In that sense, I want to ensure all points are acknowledged, and regardless of the outcome, that all parties are represented fairly and as they wish to be seen.

Ularogg scoffed.

Ularogg Cragshaper says: Do we really need two arbitrators from the uplanders?
Dargrul says [drogbar]: Are you really upset they have two less people on their side?

Ularogg scowled, but did not say more as Zar’Kaa took place across from Arthak.

Sol'chi says: I’ve been assisting the Horde for a long time. And I’ll continue to do so.

Sol also walked next to Arthak. Ularogg said it was getting ridiculous at the sheer number of people that felt themselves worthy to preside over Highmountain matters. Dargrul said they would allow it, but he was not going to allow anymore.

Symma took a deep breath and looked at Mayla and Ebonhorn, nodding to say what they had to say first.

Mayla Highmountain says: I know that both our peoples have a great deal to speak on. I will not speak on those until it is my time, but I simply wish to thank all of you for coming and meeting in this way. Likewise, I must thank our friends… for had they not given us this idea, we may have been meeting as enemies first and foremost. I’d rather peace have a chance. Even should this meeting fail and our people be forced into war, I believe us giving this a chance is worth recognizing.
Ebonhorn says: Like the warchief, my greatest concern is the safety of Highmountain itself and the security of the hammer of Khaz’goroth. But… I’ve watched Highmountain flourish for many years. As a Spiritwalker, it is my duty to safeguard the spirit of Highmountain. That is why I am here. But I echo the sentiments that have been shared here this day, and I truly hope that peace can be found. There are greater enemies for our sides to face than one another.

Several other ambassadors from the tauren group also spoke, including Oakin Ironbull.

Rak’Symma then spoke up.

Rak'Symma says: I cannot fathom the challenges you face so far from the sky and so far underground. Yours is not a world I understand, and I will not begin to pretend to. Neither can I speak for the shu’halo in Highmountain. I can only speak as an outsider, because I have existed in their shadow on the outside of their society simply because of what I am. But without them, the tenuous peace that we have achieved via aid they gave me to fell the Crawliac and rid the lands of her rot and disease would not have been possible. Then to find the shu’halo amenable to peace with the very harpies that were harrying them and killing them not hours before… it means more than words can describe. And these were not things that were possible before Mayla was chieftain. If you have grievances or troubles, Mayla has proven herself able to listen, and the shu’halo will listen to her.

People on both sides nodded, acknowledging everything she said as sensible.

Dargrul says: I am here to speak on behalf of all drogbar as Dargrul the Underking. You know me, and I know you. That I have come here at the behest of outsiders and uplanders and ronir… I recognize that this may seem to some that are blind or fools that I am here to give ground, that I am here to surrender, but that is not the case. We are drogbar. And we will be heard, and we will be seen, and we will not be forgotten.

There was chest pounding and stomping in agreement from the other drogbar.

Navarrogg says: I speak for the drogbar who did not want this war. I am not a king. I am but a humble chief of one of many glittering gems in the deep. King Dargrul, you do not speak for me. Not now. Your actions have been a disgrace to drogbar, but it is my hope that you may speak for all drogbar by the end of this. Even those who you have forgotten, and you have not seen.

Ularogg stepped forward as if to say something, but Dargrul put a hand on his chest.

Dargrul says: We do not speak of our grievances yet.

Arthak said that now that statements had been made, it was time for the airing of grievances. Dargrul stepped forward first to begin.

Dargrul says: It was I who caused this meeting to be a necessity. We are here. The drogbar, in time before time, before any of us were alive, before our parents were even thoughts in our ancestors’ eyes. Drogbar and shu’halo fought side by side. Your kind may have suffered under the Earth Warder’s tyranny, but our people were forged by that abuse. Were molded by it. And without us, without my ancestor, your precious Highmountain would have never chased that beast from our lands. Igrul the Scalebane! You know his name, as do we! Yet, all too often, you topsiders forget about that. It’s always Huln Highmountain this and shu’halo that! You toss crumbs into the earth hoping it’ll be enough for us to stop us from fighting you again! You invite us to your meetings to placate us! But I know what your people think of us. What they say of us. Just because we don’t see the light of your beloved sun god, that we’re not good enough to be a part of what you built. And nothing is more evident of that than how you’ve treated this!

He gestured with the hammer.

Dargrul says: For generations, you’ve watched the hammer. Kept it. You refused to use it. You refuse to understand it. Knowing what it could do for our people. And that’s one thing. But then, you invite me to one of your meetings, and you start floating the idea of passing it into topsider hands! You ignore us. You forget us. And when we become inconvenient for you, you make us the enemy. So I became an enemy. I took what was being taken from us. I’m here to show you what happens to those who forget the drogbar, those who have suffered under earth and stone and who do not fear the deep places. Who banished Deathwing, the Earth Warder. We have the respect of Huln Highmountain, and if I will not have the respect of his ancestors, I will have their fear or their heads.

Arthak then looked at the shu’halo and requested a verbal confirmation that they heard Dargrul’s grievances. Mayla spoke up and said they heard them, and she swore that the grievances will be addressed as there was truth in his words, and it shamed her and all of Highmountain.

Dargrul took a step back, some genuine shock on his face that was quickly covered again.

Mayla Highmountain says: But, it is only fair that I speak out against the sins committed against my own people. I will not bring up the conflicts of the past. My father and the chieftains before him… the sins against them are not my own. But the sins against me and my people today, these are the ones I must address and bring here today. The sins of my father are mine to bear, but his sins alone. But Dargrul… your treachery, your betrayal… it cannot be forgotten easily. You were invited into our home and struck out against us in a time of peace. Though fewer lives were lost due to the intervention of our mediators and their allies, many lives were lost, least of all my father, the former High Chieftain. I will not ask a surrender, but nor will I forget this.

Mayla stepped back as well.

Zar'Kaa says: If I may, there are sentiments on both sides that echo out in similar ways. The pain, the great and terrible pain, of both the drogbar and shu’halo… of lives lost over the course of years and decades. That pain, and the weight of it leading us here… there is betrayal and unfairness potent in this room. As each side has aired their grievances and acknowledged the ways they have been wronged, let us all consider not who was right or wrong, but the significance of the words. So that we may hold their speakers in higher regard.

Arthak looked at the drogbar and once more asked for verbal acknowledgement of the shu’halo’s grievances, and Dargrul confirmed he had heard Mayla.

Sol asked over the telepathic bond if Levia had the spell that she used to commune with Mayla’s father prepared, in case bringing forth Igrul’s spirit would be relevant. Levia was caught off guard and said she could maybe prepare it, but it would be hard because that was very old.

Arthak asked for other grievances, and Rak’Symma stepped forward.

Rak'Symma says: Dargrul, I know what it means to go unseen. I know what it is to feel ignored. I know what it is to live on the actions you do and hope they hold merit, but why we are gathered today is because you and your actions have left a crater in this world. I cannot begin to fathom what drove you to it, or if you were persuaded to do so… but you are seen now. You struck and felled the chieftain of Highmountain. Mayla was kind in her own defense here, and my words may not be as such. You have written a new chapter in a story that will be told for years. One of pain and desperation as you felled a chieftain on the tides of war. You left a vacuum where a new chieftain had to prove herself and face an evil that has been plaguing the topside for decades, and it was fortunate for all of us that there was help that came to assist and subvert the threat, or the world would have been changed beyond recognition. I don’t know if you meant it to be cruel, but it was a cruelty, and still the chieftain is giving you the benefit of the doubt and hear your side.
Ebonhorn says: Your misuse of the hammer of Khaz’goroth, an artifact you seized, nearly destroyed Highmountain. You’ve seen this. You felt its power firsthand. And you now know why we have protected it. You are mighty, no one will disagree, but even you must have seen this.

Dargrul grit his teeth.

Dargrul says: If cruelty is the cost for us to be seen, then it is a cost I have gladly paid. But… you are right. I did not mean for the hammer to cause the destruction it did. It was not my goal to take the former High Chieftain’s life.

Ularogg shot a look at Dargrul, but Dargrul disregarded the look.

Ularogg Cragshaper says: Our king is gracious in admitting what he perceives as a mistake. But all that I see is fear. We know how this will go. Your people are afraid of us. You’ll give us scraps to ameliorate us. Then, as soon as it becomes inconvenient, those lifelines and platitudes will wash away. We will repeat this cycle over and over again. Maybe not while we’re alive, but those that come after will do the same thing. You topsiders will never understand what it takes to live beneath the sky. You’ll never understand what it takes to be drogbar, and I, we, will not be fooled by such false niceties.

Zar’Kaa said that it seemed people didn’t understand what it meant to be drogbar, and suggested those present might benefit from knowing. Mayla said that she heard Ularogg, and she would do what she could to prove it to him.

Navarrogg actually spoke up. She explained that to be drogbar was to be resilient and to be stone. Stone was them. They had come from the stone, and they died by the stone. Rock and stone were their way of life and existence. They relied on it, were wary of it, and it was both their master and servant. To be drogbar was to know what it was to be strong, for if you are not strong, the strong will make you into something else. To be drogbar was to remember those that came before and the sacrifices that led to the lives they lived. To be drogbar was to be unafraid of what tomorrow might have brought, and unafraid to change things and break chains. However, to change the mountain was to change the range.

Ularogg seemed unsatisfied, but a lot of the other drogbar seemed to agree. Dargrul also nodded and said that he heard.

The proceedings then moved on to demands. Mayla spoke up first, and she explained she had come to realize the world was a hard and difficult place. She could not speak to the failings of her ancestors, but she could see how the weight would weigh on them, and they did not carry the weight of Highmountain like the drogbar had. They simply thought they did, but they could only do so because of what the drogbar were doing. She wanted to stop what the drogbar had experienced at the hands of her people. What she wanted to see was a new Highmountain: one nation where all the people that lived there were united in an understanding of purpose and needs. She wanted the Council of Highmountain to be expanded to include the other people of Highmountain, including the leaders of the drogbar.

Dargrul said that it sounded too good to be true. He wanted to know about what would happen to the hammer.

Mayla admitted she didn’t know, as that was not for her to decide, as she believed everyone should have a say. But regardless of what happened, it was for Highmountain to decide.

Dargrul said that Mayla’s grievances were absent from the arrangement, and Mayla nodded in acknowledgement, and explained she didn’t seek his head, as she needed him. To seek his head would serve nothing, as if Highmountain was to stand, they needed strong leaders, and Dargrul’s strength was well-known. However, she could not ignore the damage done to her people. So she proposed restitution. For each life that was lost, she wanted Dargrul and his soldiers to save another. There was a lot of rebuilding that needed to happen, and she wanted Dargrul to appease the spirits of those wronged by helping those who survived. If he earned their forgiveness, she would have no grievances left. She was willing to sign that promise with blood oaths and laws so that they would never be forgotten.

Rak’Symma spoke up and asked Dargrul what mattered more to him: his pride, or the respect of the people that followed him. Navarrogg nodded, and it was clear the words were truly starting to get to Dargrul.

Arthak picked up that Ularogg was clearly unhappy about how things were going. He was building up to say something.

Nyxxa spoke up and said she understood the notion of not thinking they would come to the table and not be seen as people. However, they had come together to stop a war, and she hoped everyone could see everyone else here as people too.

Zar’Kaa spoke up and said that the only time they lived in was the present, and they needed to move forward together even if all wounds wouldn’t be mended. They had a path forwarded, and they needed to look towards it.

Sol also suggested that they have a cultural exchange so that everyone could come to appreciate each other, as there were at minimum sports that could be shared: potentially in a neutral place like the Diggindome. Dugmore was very excited by such a notion.

Dargrul says: Mayla Highmountain, do you really think this will work? Are you really willing to move past this in spite of everything?
Mayla Highmountain says: Yes. I am. Nothing would make me happier than for you to never have to feel like you’ve never been a part of your own nation. It’s been a long time since Huln and Igrul joined forces. But I don’t think it’s ever too late. Will you help me, Dargrul?

Mayla spit in her hand and held it out to him as Dargrul also did the same. There were cheers, and Navarrogg looked actively shocked.

Ularogg Cragshaper says: So. That’s it then.

Sol cut Ularogg off and informed everyone that there was something beneath the earth. Dargrul immediately rounded on Ularogg and demanded to know the meaning of whatever was going on, and Ularogg said he was ensuring Dargrul didn’t go back on his words. Dargrul was enraged, and Ularogg said that Dargrul was too cowardly to go through with what they decided.

The High Rendolence cleared her throat and announced she had found a drum. And she also had noticed their worm wards had been sabotaged. She wanted to know what was going on.

Ularogg Cragshaper says: You know, Dargrul. There’s a reason you named me Cragshaper. And that’s because I never lose. Not. Even. To you.

He wrestled his arm from where Dargrul had grabbed him. He brought his hand up, but then Arthak charged forward and cleaved Ularogg’s hand clean off. Sol then cast [Arcane Hand] and grabbed the hand. Something fell out of the hand, and they saw a small drum tumble out and hit the earth.

Dargrul says: What have you done!?

Ularogg laughed, bleeding profusely from his severed arm. Dargrul grabbed the Cragshaper and started to choke him as Ularogg continued to laugh at Arthak.

Ularogg Cragshaper says: If you seek to stand with all of Highmountain, then you’ll have to–

At that moment, Dargrul shoved Arthak away as the ground beneath Ularogg and Dargrul exploded. There was a terrifying screeching sound as stones were spilled in every direction, as a huge, bright blue, bioluminescent monstrosity burst from the earth–swallowing both Dargrul and Ularogg. The hammer was also gone.

The worm screamed and lurched, acid spraying everywhere. Its body hitting the ground sent tremors through the earth. There was a mixture of panic and scrambling as the High Rendolence shouted for harpoon launches.

It was Naraxas, the queen of worms. Forces were immediately dispersed.

Sol had his arcane hand try to punch the worm and then immediately ran over to Arthak and used [Dimension Door] to get them inside the worm. They immediately began to slide down the throat of the worm. Arthak and Sol’s feather tokens activated, and they tried to push further down the worm’s throat. They were splashed with acid as the throat compressed.

The worm released a terrifying, thundering shriek that ripped through the cavern. Rak’Symma screamed back at the worm.

Arthak continued to push further into the worm. He had reached the stomach, and was surrounded by acid and bile. He transmitted across the telepathic link that he had reached the stomach, and he plunged into the bile. He felt like he felt the presence of others down below, but then a stomach wall closed right before him. He started to try and hack through the stomach wall. With a second slash, he cut through the stomach wall and charged through. He saw Dargrul, who was severely burned and still beating the very dead body of Ularogg. The hammer was nowhere in sight.

Arthak smacked Dargrul to get his attention, and he looked at Arthak in shock. After a brief exchange, Dargrul signed that he wanted to try and kill the worm from the inside, but then pointed further into the worm, indicating the hammer had gone further.

The worm thrashed around and constricted its body. It managed to restrain Arthak and its body slammed down on Zar’Kaa, pinning him as well.

The ground beneath the worm started to tremor, and the diggindome began to crack and splinter. They heard a scream, and another massive worm erupted from the side of the building as it was summoned by the call of its mother.

Nyxxa managed to dart forward and strike against the worm. However, as she struck the massive creature, she realized the attack was not as effective as it should have been.

Zar’Kaa tried to free himself of the massive worm, but he was unable to.

Symma took the opportunity to use a [Jolt] on the worm, and she was able to channel the magic into a piece of metal that served as a lightning rod.

As Zar’Kaa continued to struggle, he managed to get himself free.

Zar'Kaa says: I do not fear this beast! I stand with the blood of the Darkspear, and I stand with Highmountain! I will not let it fall!

He hurled his spear up on the worm, and he managed to teleport up to the top of the worm’s neck and climbed up on it.

Down below, Arthak felt the creature constrict again as it got ready to lash out with its tongue. Arthak struggled against his restrain, and he tore into the creature’s flesh with his teeth, which interrupted the tongue that the worm was about to lash out with.

At that moment, Nyxxa darted forward and slashed into the worm’s flesh.

Dargrul managed to free himself from the constricting muscles of the worm, and he pulled out a spiked ball and chain and hurled it into the great beast’s fleshy stomach walls.

Dargrul says: I know where it is!

He swung again, trying to cleave a passage to the heart.

Outside, Rak’Symma used a maximized [Chain Lightning] and a terrifying crackle of brilliant lightning surged through Naraxas and the spawn of hers that had just arrived. Her eyes were fulling glowing with the sheer power of the storm.

Naraxas tried to fling its tongue at Nyxxa, who was able to to evade, however as it lashed its tongue around at Rak’Symma, as it leaped at her. Rak’Symma was able to dodge out of the way, but she avoided being swallowed.

Naraxas, however, continued to burrow into the ground. She was starting to burrow away from Marl. Nyxxa managed to nick the worm as it fled. Zar’Kaa was still riding it.

Ebonhorn says: We can’t let it get away!
Mayla Highmountain says: We need to make sure we don’t lose her trail.

She looked over at Ebonhorn, and he sighed and closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, his pupils were slit.

Ebonhorn says: Are you with me?

The group nodded, and Ebonhorn looked at those gathered.

Ebonhorn says: I promise to explain everything once this is dealt with!

His form faded into ash, and his body swelled in size, his wings extending from his back. He released a roar, and there were gasps of shock and surprise.

Ebonhorn says: Climb on. We’re going to bring them back.

They all climbed on Ebonhorn’s back, and he spread his wings and dove into the tunnel Naraxas had left. His eyes were closed, using his tremor sense to track his passage through the tunnel. Inside the worm, they were sloshed and churned as the worm burrowed through the earth.