Reclamation of Duskwood

While the bulk of the Stormwind Army was occupied with fortifying the realm, Duskwood fell further into darkness. The Night Watch, the citizens' militia that formed in the void of order left during Katrana Prestor's corruption, lost significant ground in their fight against the feral worgen of the province. To make matters worse, more undead sprung up throughout Duskwood than ever before without a known source.

After receiving a plea for immediate reinforcements in March of 620 K.C., King Varian Wrynn ordered the nearby first regiment to investigate the matter and bring peace to the region. The first marched to Darkshire, where they immediately began to reinforce the town and send out patrols into the wilds.

The regiment encountered feral worgen throughout the surrounding countryside, and met them in fierce battle. The plate armor worn by the footmen could not be pierced by the worgen's bites, sparing them from being infected by the worgen curse.

On orders to secure the mine southwest of Darkshire, the regiment encountered the strongest of the feral worgen in its collapsed tunnels. Many soldiers perished in the assault, but the mine was eventually cleared out and reopened for iron mining.

Missing in Action
The victory was glossed over when an entire patrol section lead by Sergeant Carith Halfien went missing on orders to scout western Duskwood. Marshal Maxen Montclair ordered for the first regiment to march on the town of Raven Hill to investigate for clues that might lead to the section's whereabouts.

As soon as they arrived, the regiment found Raven Hill completely abandoned - save for the rotting corpses of its former inhabitants. Many of the bodies found were ripped apart and half eaten, assuredly by feral worgen. However, a select few which appeared to be only recently dead bore burns and wounds that could only be inflicted by magic and weaponry.

Each of the buildings were scoured for survivors. In Raven Hill's inn, the regiment's soldiers heard scuffling noises and muffled cries from the rooms above. Storming up the stairs, they witnessed a portal closing in the midst of a grizzly scene.

Soldiers of the crown lay in pieces around the room, disembodied limbs hanging from chains on the ceiling and blood covering the floor. Sergeant Halfien sat naked and bound against a wall, her jaw barely hanging from her face by ligaments and her body crisscrossed with recently inflicted gashes. She was still alive. The regiment's healers did what they could to mend the Sergeant's wounds, but her face retained the torture inflicted upon her through many prominent scars.

The Cult of Ner'zhul
Sergeant Halfien narrated in harrowing details how cultists ambushed her patrol and butchered her men. The cultists, covering the floor in blood, were preparing a necromantic ritual and chanting in demonic. While she was bound and tortured, Sergeant Halfien recognized one of the words they repeated in their chanting; "Ner'zuhl." The orc responsible for the creation of the scourge.

Marshal Montclair ordered for an immediate investigation of the Raven Hill cemetery, which adventurers had cleared of undead years ago. The regiment stormed its crypts, finding necromancers raising the dead and carrying out rituals similar to the one found in the Raven Hill Inn.

After nearly seven hours straight of fighting, the crypts were cleared of undead and the cultists were forced to retreat via portals. While investigating the leavings and rubble left behind by the cultists, soldiers found scrolls and letters addressed to the "Dark Mother," outlining their human sacrifices and hailing Ner'zhul.

Such was how the Cult of Ner'zhul was identified. Despite the regiment's victory in Raven Hill, the cult would live on to fight and disrupt the efforts of the Stormwind Army for years to come.