Ogres.
So many Ogres.
Ogres were something Da’leshar struggled with, not with their mass or size, not with their culture as primitive as it was. But with their territorial nonsense. An ogre couldn’t walk past something without trying to claim it as territory for it’s ruler, a ruler that someone could replace just by killing the previous ruler. Hedris had somehow had entire conversations with them and even traded with them for some of their rum, as his older sister she had always advised against such behavior but she was the last person he would take advice from.
Now she found herself hiding in a tree, waiting for a lumbering mass of idle mindedness to stroll away so she could continue her plan.
The Handmaidens of Elune had been shattered by the chaos of the last few years and was blooming towards it’s Rebirth, a rebirth that she was going to be a part of, and part of that was to make a show of faith in mother moon and reclaim one of her long lost temples in Feralas. Part of the struggle facing this however was the ogres that made their home not too far away. Half of Kalimdor had been invited to attend but the grounds were far from ready, she had tried to slay the ogres to thin their numbers and drive them away, but all that had earnt was the lumbering fools moving closer to the temple to find where their comrades had gone. It was why she had turned to alternative methods in her pursuit of securing the area.
Thankfully the ogre stomped away, returning to what menial task it had been given by one of the two headed of its kind, with the cost clear she shimmied back down to the forest floor and returned to the satchel she had hastily abandoned beneath a bush of fadeleaf.
“What’s the plan?” Hedris asked, stepping out from behind the same tree she was hiding in.
“Wh- How did you get here!?” Da’leshar replied, “I had the area covered, there was the Ogre and… What are you doing?”
“Thought you might need some help, i speak ogre you know?” Hedris replied.
“You don’t speak ogre, dear brother, you speak drunkard which is the main language of these oafs.”
“Partly true… “
Da’leshar shook her head and returned to her satchel and retrieving a number of vials and a long length of cord. She had devised a plan to drive the ogres away by manipulation, of making them believe a set of untruths that would distract them long enough to create a safe environment around the Temple. She knew too well that various Sentinel groups had ravaged the ogres numbers in the area, so much was evident by the ogre skulls that could be found around the bases of trees and hidden in burrows. But as always they repopulated, flowing out of Dire Maul like an open wound that could never heal, coming from the deep hidden passages of the fallen city.
“If you want to help, take some of these.” she said, handing a few vial over to the Monk.
“What’s the plan, sis?” Hedris replied.
“The plan, dear brother, is that you take as many as you can of these and get up into the tree again, time is limited and i will explain in due time.”
“Incase an ogre comes?”
“Yes, incase an ogre comes.”
“There’s one coming.” Hedris said, pointed to the confused looking Ogre not ten feet away from them. Da’leshar had been distracted so much by her brother that she totally missed it.
“By Elune,” she grumbled as she got to her feet and bared her blades at the oaf, she sprinted over and tumbled past it, springing back to her feet as she got behind it and jumped onto it’s back, a quick single press of her blades in to the back of its neck and and it was done. The lumbering oaf crashed to the ground with a pained gurgle and the former sentinel bounded off it back towards Hedris.
“Efficient,” he commented, clearly a little impressed.
“Vials, up the tree, chop chop.” she said with a grin.
With their items collected, the siblings traversed the high rising canopy, jumping from branch to branch as their kind were known to do. Crossing perilous drops with the agility of a nightsaber, only once did either of them falter, a quick use of Chi propelled the monk back to the tree and they continued on. It wasn’t until they reached a large clearing overlooking an ogre encampment that they stopped, Da’leshar took a moment to scan the area, inspecting how the ogres had infested the expanse of the temple of Isildien.
“Here’s the plan, brother. We are going to create conflict between the ogres, one that should occupy them for some time.”
“Want me to go down and call them names?” Hedris asked, as helpful as ever.
“No, we are going to shake up these vials and toss them into groups of them, they will explode and cover them in a gas that should stick to their skin.”
“And melt them?”
Da’leshar just smirked, “Much worse, it will make them smell like a different ogre tribe.”
Hedris eyes widened and he broke into a wide smile, “Ok, that’s quite clever, i see where this is going.”
Carefully they planned out their line of attack, indicating spots between gatherings to target. Once all were accounted for, the duo split up and got into position in the tree’s overlooking the clearing and when the vials started to fall, the ogres reacted in utter confusion before returning to their mundane tasks.
“That didn’t do much…” Hedris uttered.
“That is because we are not done, follow me lead.”
Da’leshar scaled down the tree, Hedris following not far. Once they reached they ground they slid into cover, picking their chances and blending into the shadows as they moved from cover to cover. Ogres paced back and forth, cutting at dead elks and preparing meat for the rest of the tribe while others sharpened weapons or trained in combat with each other, Da’leshar threw lose stones to distract the giants, sneaking past as their feeble minds processed what was happening and going to stare at thrown pebbles. Eventually they due ran out of cover and made a run to a small hill, heading for the cave they saw from above. Together they crested the hill and slid down the small embankment, getting to their feet and standing ready for the next part of the plan.
Da’leshar rolled her shoulders and checked her blades, ensuring they were securely fixed and combat ready. She gave her neck one last click, releasing any taut muscle and ensuring she had full range of movement. She knew she already had this from traversing the tree’s, but what she had planned next would push her further. Confidently they strode forwards, approaching the large ogre banners that gentle fluttered in the wind, with a quick slash of her blade she cut a deep gorge in the saber skin. She slid a hand to her belt and drew out another vail and tossed the contents all over it, giving it the same odour as the other ogres.
“Bandu Thoribas!” She cried out, her voice traveling between the hill and the cave entrance, causing a stir of action from inside.
She glanced back at Hedris, he stood ready and kept his eyes on their surroundings to prevent any surprises.
Two ogres stepped out from the cave and lumbered towards Da’leshar, once they caught sight of the torn banner, they charged in to attack.
The first strike of ogre battle hammer hit the ground with a mighty crash, churning mud and snapped roots into the air, already she was diving under the ogre’s reach and thrusting her blades into it’s chest. It bellowed in outrage and pulled it’s hammer back for another swing, she barreled away, leaping backwards and out of reach of the second ogres attack, a similar sloppy downwards strike that served only to churn the ground but before it could raise it’s weapon again, Hedris appeared on its shoulders and started to pummel his elbows into the beast’s head. Da’leshar watched as it only took three hefty blows to dent the giants head and sent it to the ground with its eyes rolling into the back of it’s head, against spun around the lazy attack of the first ogre but instead of heaving it up it reached for the elf, hands grasping towards her head. It only took two slices of her blades to remove the hand from the ogre’s body. One final blade under the chin stopped the ogre dead.
“Bandu Thoribas!” She cried out again, challenging the ogres inside the cave.
Three more emerged, Da’leshar turned to Hedris to see him nonchalanltly drinking mead from the bottle. She however had become accustomed to such behaviour and simply let it slide, the easier course of action.
The first ogre died in seconds, the spell it prepared to cast dying on it’s lips as the Handmaiden’s weapons pierced though it’s massive chest and directly into its heart, leaving it to stagger in confusion before crashing to the ground already dead. Hedris engaged the next two, expertly landed punches and kicks staggering the ogres and preventing them from forming a meaningful attack, all the while drinking his mead, swapping hands occasionally to accommodate his fighting. With the two engaged it was quick work to pummel her blades into one ogres spine before choking the other one with his own necklace.
“Bandu Thoribas!” She cried out one final time, this time her challenge was picked up by the ogre who ruled the hovel, one that stood high above the rest of it’s minions that slowly fanned out either side of him.
“Puny Elf! Why want die!?” it bellowed.
“Ogre big dummy!” Da’leshar replied, not seeing the need to over complicate her speaking with proper words.
“Ogre many! Elf only two! Elf die!”
“Elf fight for other ogre! New Boss Ogre better than you!”
“Nobody better than Gorkorgok!” the giant ogre roared, as he started towards them, it’s entourage gave chase, quickly gaining on them as they vaulted up the hill and surged down to ruins below. Da’leshar snatched the mead from Hedris and hurled it towards one of the ogres before pulling him into cover. They sat and listened as they heard it smash against one of the brutes, forcing an angry cry from the unsuspecting ogre. As it turned to see the band of cave ogres crest the hill, the cave overs in turn stared at them, weighing them up. It didn’t take long for the two groups to meet in the middle and resort to violence.
“Up the tree, Hedris,” Da’leshar whispered, the pair skirted away, clambering up the tree once again and observing from a branch as the ogres proceeded to beats seven shades of dreanor out of each other.
“That should do it,” Da’leshar said, watching as more ogres streamed from the cave to join the melee, “Whilst these ogres battle, their attention is drawn away from the temple and our work can go on uninterrupted.”
“What about those that aren’t pulled into the battle and still skulk about the temple?” Hedris asked.
“I’ll get my baby brother to carry away the corpses for me,” She grinned.
Their attention was stolen away by a sound from below, they looked to see Gorkorgok as he tore one of the ogre’s arms off and proceed to battle it’s head in with it’s own appendage.
Taking that as their cue to leave, the siblings traversed back to the grounds of the temple and celebrated the fact that it was currently ogre free.
![:slight_smile:](https://d1bg94bbsh66ji.cloudfront.net/en/wow/images/emoji/twitter/slight_smile.png?v=6" ":slight_smile:")