Demonaro watched his brother in awe. He had always known of Ashenrock's brute strength but had never had to witness it first hand. As the first swipe from his massive bear paw almost seperated an elf's head from her body, the second paw tore through a rangers gut as if it were jelly. The sheer ferocity of his attacks was simply mind numbing.
"Get your head with it, Demo!"
The words snapped Demonaro back into the present. He quickly sent a bolt of lightning through 3 of his closest foes, and then turned his attention to healing his brother...as if he needed healing. Ashenrock shrugged off 5 attackers as if he was merely dropping a cloak to the floor. His bellowing roar sent 4 of his would be assailants scurrying for the woods. Demonaro frost shocked one of them so that his brother could charge him and finish the job.
When the dust settled, the lodge at Qual'dani lay silent of any elven voices. They were all dead. While Demonaro collected anything of value from the corpses, Ashenrock assumed his cat form so that he could track the missing troll children that had been kidnapped by the Elves.
"Such a pity that they could not be reasoned with." Ashenrock said solemnly as he sniffed the air. "Such a senseless loss of life."
Demonaro was intrigued by the remorse his brother showed. "They were the instigators, Rock. You had to do it if we were to save these poor children from harm."
"It doesn't make any sense, Demo. Why so much fuss over a simple brood of Revantusk? Since when did the elves deal in this kind of treachery?"
"That is in the past, brother. The only answer that needs to be resolved is the matter of where these children are so that we can get them back to the village before any reinforcements arrive...or worse...any alliance sympathizers."
"I've got them!" Ashenrock said as he assumed travel form and darted behind the lodge. There in a small house were 22 young trolls cowering, well, almost all of them were cowering.
"Ya got `em right in da nick o time! A minute o too mo' and I woulda' been free ta tear dese pale bastads an new openin'!" Jin'tal certainly stood out. Not only because of his boisterous attitude but also because his face was oddly marked. Almost all Revantusk Trolls had dark green skin. Jin'tal was almost completely blue except for a strange ring of green that encircled his face.
"We're all leaving this place. Are you all able to walk of you're own accord?" Demonaro no sooner spoke these words than all of the trolls dashed out of the hut and climbed on the two kodos waiting for them. "I'll take that as a yes..."
"...an den da bastad smacked me in da face wit a broom handle." Ashenrock let out a long sigh. They had been traveling for close to 20 minutes and Jin'tal had yet to take a breath between words. Demonaro sat on his kodo with a grin on his face. He loved watching Rock squirm.
They had not been asked to rescue these children, but had taken it upon themselves to help the moment they had heard the news from a passing warrior. The brothers new it was the right thing to do. Ashenrock had long been a friend to the Revantusk tribe. He spent a lot of time in the village as the coast of the Hinterlands was of his most favorite places. The cool sea breeze, the abundance of nature, and most importantly the absence of the war...for the most part.
As they approached the gates of the village, Demonaro remembered fondly how he had been reunited with his brother here. Demo had stumbled upon the village while trying to escape a band of Witherbark Trolls. At first he thought he had run smack dab into a Witherbark compound. He was about to turn to the sea for escape...having already cast a waterwalk spell, but it was at the last moment he spotted a familiar Tauren bolting towards him with 2 troll warriors following closely behind, obviously ready to aid him. The mere sight of his unlikely reinforcements had sent the Witherbark backtracking. Suddenly he heard a voice say: "Mom and Dad would be so proud to see their young elementalist fleeing so fiercely!". It was then he looked his chuckling brother in the eyes for the first time in 10 years.
The colorful memory was quickly interrupted by a distant cheer. That was shortly followed by a mass of trolls streaking out of the village to greet them. They were quickly mobbed amongst squeals of joy from happy Elders. When they finally arrived at the village they were further greeted by Primal Thorntusk, leader of the Revantusk tribe.
"Ashenrock an' Demonaro. I shoulda' been knowin' dat it would be da two o' ya dat be bringin' us back our younglin's."
Ashenrock bowed before the powerful elder "We would have been devastated if any harm had come to your kin, Primal. You have long opened your gates to us and helped us in our cause. It would have been wrong of us to stand idle during this crisis."
The Primal opened her arms wide and embraced the two brothers as a show of her gratitude. "Many o da people o dese lands t'ink dat we be monsters. Dey see da overwhelmin' mass o da troll tribes and t'ink dat we be butcha's and tieves. Ya neva passed ya judgement on us, Rock. Ya an ya brother `ave earned yaselves a place in dis tribe for now on. Consida yerselves Captains of our ranks. When ya be here, ya be are protectas and family. In turn, ya know ya can always count on us ta lend ya aid when we be able."
Ashenrock and Demonaro both bowed again before the Primal against a backdrop cheers from the villagers. Demonaro was the first to speak "We have long considered this place home, Primal. Now it is official". Ashenrock smiled broadly...one of the few times he felt comfortable doing so. "Thank you, Elder. Our honor is bound to you as it is our own tribe of Mulgore."
The celebration that followed lasted well into the early hours. None of the participants could have ever know that darker plans were being drawn up in that very village by sinister forces. A conflict was close at hand...a conflict that would draw the two brothers into the great war, but a conflict that would also net them their fiercest ally.