The path to flight is interminable yet I, Minoru of Silvermoon, shall trek on with tenacity. I am so close I can almost taste it, the taste of the wind as it flows briskly past, the taste of freedom from my earthly limits; however, I still have a long way to go. Even when I reach the end of this path there will be more ahead for me. I often dream of flying upon the legendary netherdrake; I become so pensive I can almost feel myself lifting off the ground, heading toward the sky.
“No,” I thought, shaking my head, “I must refrain from any more thoughts of that sort; they are irrelevant to the matter at hand.”
I was so kindly asked to do a few favors for the people of Garadar who recently granted me asylum from a terrible beast. Of course I could not refuse, no matter how tedious the tasks may be.
I have been sent to purge the area of ogres from the many settlements in the area, The Burning Blade Ruins, Warmaul Hill, and The Laughing Skull Ruins. I do not so much mind the exterminating so much as the locating. One might think that three clans of ogres three times my size would be a bit easier to find. They seem to have a proclivity for dark, dank places, yet others have been found to live in villages much like my own. It is simply ludicrous that these atrocities are able to conceal themselves so well and wreak the havoc that they do.
As this thought crossed my mind I felt an ominous presence draw near to me. I have reason to believe that my companion, Solaria (a wild cat), felt it as well, for she stood, ears pinned back, poised for attack. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my back. Blood was pouring profusely from my left shoulder. I spun around to see one of the Boulderfist guards trying to regain its balance.
Solaria had thrust it into an oak tree with such force that a shard of the tree flew and pierced my shoulder. For but a moment I found myself unable to move from where I stood, staring bewildered at the behemoth as it moved toward me. It raised its bloodied club in preparation to remove me from this world and I could only stare. Luckily Solaria pounced on it before it got the chance to swing at my head.
I jumped back and quickly bandaged my shoulder before grabbing one of my arrows. I drew my bow and, with deadly aim, stuck the ogre where its heart should have been. It was not enough. I shot arrow after arrow imbued with my arcane magic until finally, with the help of Solaria, it fell with a thud that shook the earth beneath me.
Solaria took the first step towards the corpse; I followed only after I was certain that it was not getting up again. As I inched over to the body I noticed the rancid smell that permeated from it. This would now make finding the rest of the ogres significantly simpler.
Following Solaria’s nose we quickly found the ruins of the Burning Blade. As we made our way into the settlement I was assailed with the sight of ogres. There must have been one or two hundred at least and I had to kill every single one of them.
Despite being a skilled hunter, I was quite glad to have Solaria by my side. She saved me from quite a few life-threatening injuries while we partook in battle. We took them out two, three, and occasionally four at a time. I was quickly exhausted and in need of rest yet I persevered until the last ogre fell. “One clan down.” I sighed as I collected what remained of the Burning Blade.
We continued on, Solaria leading the way still following the pungent scent of dung and blood. Hours passed as we walked in search of the remaining clans. It seemed as though we would never find them, that we would wander the plains of Nagrand until we collapsed from exhaustion. That is until we heard a thunderous roar from atop a nearby tor. Finally we found Warmaul Hill.
I would never have thought that I would be so relieved to find a clan of ogres, especially the Warmaul. These, though fewer in number than the Boulderfist, were far superior in strength. This task would be no less arduous. I quickly ducked behind a rock before a group of the ogres walked past. I would have to plan a more strategic attack than my last.
