Battle of Searing Gorge

The efforts in the Battle for Blackrock benefited the Empire of Thaurissan and the Grand Alliance. Prior to the Siege of Orgrimmar the Hand of Thaurissan had begun engaging Blackrock Orcs who had attempted to re-join the New Horde; increased movement through the Sea of Cinders and the Dustfire Valley causing the Hand to deploy in full force, halting the Blackrock Clans advance into New Kargath.





Reinforcing Othdin’s Vigil






Deployment
Marching from Ironforge, the Hand of Thaurissan advanced to their encampment, Othdin’s Vigil, located within Dustfire Valley; Murgus Kilbane had ventured ahead with his flying machine. As they approached the entrance of the Stonewrought Pass they discovered Murgus’s machine a smoking wreck. Though Murgus had survived with minor injuries he reported of a large storm over the Searing Gorge resulting in his crash). After a long march through the mountain passage they entered the Valley, immediately assaulted by the violent winds; the air thickened with embers, dirt and ash. They began their slow advance towards to camp ; battered by the elements they journeyed along the jagged cliff paths of the Dustfire Valley.

As the group marched into the encampment they had found it buried under a layer of ash and dirt, the camp completely abandoned. Quickly they began scouring the camp for signs of their brethren, others fixing nearby structures and scouring for supplies. The Storm had made it impossible for tracking; Khazgolan and a small group set of into the storm in hopes of finding a sign of their comrades’ whereabouts. General Wildfire remained back at the camp with a handful of troops quickly assigning duties and setting a perimeter as they prepared the camp for use; members created fires and began to cook meals.







First Encounter
The scouting party slowly worked their way through the narrow cliff passages of the Dustfire Valley, their progress slow as the windstorm assaults their path. They would soon discover sets of extremely fresh tracks, though not the ones they were looking for. they quickly had their weapons drawn as the presence of Orcs was known throughout the party. At the time the Gnome Valdoron Spazzrachet was working with the Hand and the Gnome volunteered to inform the remaining troops back at camp as the party ventured forth.

The group of dwarves continued to follow the tracks; eventually stumbling upon a seemingly small band of Orcs the group would slowly trail the beasts as they awaited their kin. The small Gnome fought through the storm, his tiny legs moving as fast as they were able, he would arrive at the camp heaving and gasping for air. Finally managing to speak after a s h ort break, those within the camp would immediately spring to life, the remaining troops mobilized and began marching to aid the scouting party.

As the scouting party awaited their kin they continued to track the Orcs until they reached a small valley. Observing the Orcs from the cliffs, the beasts seemed to halt their movements and began to set up camp. Small groups of Orcs began to break off, scouring the area and some covering nearby entrances. It wouldn’t take long before a small group began to head in their direction. They waited as long as possible before engaging the Orcs, flanking the group they were able to dispatch the beasts with ease, though the sounds of battle had echoed throughout the Valley.

Narrah and her troops arrived shortly after the scouting party had dispatched the small group of Orcs; quickly those within the Infantry division would rush to the front forming a shield wall to await the beasts in the tight mountain paths. The battle lasted fifteen minutes, those in the front lines held their footing, allowing one or two orcs to break through their shield wall periodically so that those behind may pick the lone Orcs off with ease. Eventually as the Orcs moral and numbers declined the group would run down as the retreated into the valley, few would manage to flee the Hand. The group was exhausted; they rested amongst the Orcs camp, celebrating in their victory.



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Outcome
<p class="MsoNormal">After rummaging through the Orcs goods they would discover that the group was more than a hunting party, carrying their personal possessions and a large number of weapons. The group would march back to their camp to discover Grimiar Ravenbeard and the missing guards of Othdin’s Vigil. The camps guard had been attack and after defending themselves they had pursued their aggressors to the border into the Badlands. The two groups rested as the Ravenbeard brothers planned their next movement.

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Initial Deployment
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<p class="MsoNormal">After trailing the Orcs to the border, Grimiar had suggested the Hand march towards the Iron Summit and speak with Mountain-Lord Rendan. Few members would remain at the camp, keeping watch over Stonewrought Pass instructed to fire two cannons if they required aid. The group began their march towards the summit; with the taste of Orc blood on their blades they were eager for more combat.

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March through the Sea of Cinders
<p class="MsoNormal">Their march had been quiet since they had left Othdin’s Vigil, as the group broke into the large plain known as the Sea of Cinders; the Hand witnessed large amounts of smoke arising from the Iron Summit. The group quickened their pace; as they began to near the ongoing battle they quickly found themselves under attack. Orcs ambushed them along the road and though the group took relatively minor damage, fighting began along the ash covered plane as both sides bellowed cries and howls; the dwarves slaughtering the Orcs.

<p class="MsoNormal">Quickly reforming the group broke into a full sprint towards the summit, the injured tending to their wounds as best they could. Though they had easily dispatched of the Orcs, the beasts had prolonged their aid. From their view the group could spot a full force raiding party, the defenders of the summit fighting on the upper platforms though slowly losing ground against the might of the Orcish horde.

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Battle of the Iron summit
<p class="MsoNormal">Arriving at the Iron Summit the group would quickly engage the Orcs on the lower tier, arrows raining upon them from the platform above. The group, tired from their sprint across the plain, they fought to the best of their abilities though they had lost a handful of troops early in the battle. Eventually the group would slowly gain ground and begin to siege upwards to the second tier. Thankfully the young sorcerer Frimlor managed to deal with the Orc archers, allowing the group to fight more aggressive, storming the second platform with a second wind. As they crested the platform they were met by a small group. In the distance the remaining Orcs could be seen charging the Iron tower.

<p class="MsoNormal">The dwarves barrelled into the Orcs that defended the rear of the advancing group, dispatching them with relative ease. As the last Orc was cut down, a Dwarven howl from atop the Iron tower echoed, Lord Rendan fought with a large Kor’kron Orc alongside a small handful of his remaining kin. The Hand charged up the tower, the Orcs using the narrow passage to their advantage, shrugging off the charging dwarves blows. As the two sides fought General Wildfire, with the aid of her brethren, was able to climb to the upper portion of the tower. Lord Rendan seemed dead at Narrah’s first glance, the Kor’Kron standing over his body with axe drawn.

<p class="MsoNormal">General Wildfire roared in fury, charging the large Orc with her axe held high; with a mighty arching swing the two clashed. The Hand continued to battle their way past the defending Orc group, the two mighty warriors fought for what seemed like eternity within their eyes. Evenly matched the two exchanged blow after blow, dodging or blocking with expert precision as Narrah delivered a fury of wild slashes, sending the Kor’Kron commander stumbled over a fallen dwarf as he backed away to avoid the fury filled women. Though minor it was enough for the General to deliver a minor wound to his right leg, bringing the beast to a knee.

<p class="MsoNormal">As she charged the wounded Orc she was met with a fist to the right side of her head, the Kor’Kron commander still able to attempt to turn the tide of the battle, swinging his axe over his head in attempt to deliver a death blow. As the axe soared towards her, she would quickly roll at the last moment, the axe inches away from her head. As quickly as she had rolled, she had tossed her hidden dagger into the Orc commander’s neck, as he stumbled to his knee clenching his wound Narrah would stand eye to eye with the beast. Reeling back her fist she punched the Orc square in the temple, what life remained now ceased within his eyes, the Orc lay dead atop the tower.

<p class="MsoNormal">As part of the group picked off the remaining Orcs, the others broke off to check on injured warriors and Lord Rendan. Though they had thought him dead he had only suffered minor wounds and knocked unconscious. The Mountain Lord awoke some time later; caring little for the aid they had provided, he allowed the Hand to rest the night, offering them minor supplies and food.

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Outcome
<p class="MsoNormal">Though suffering greater losses than they had expected, the Hand had halted the Blackrock Orcs from overrunning the Iron-Summit and hopefully gained some trust from the self-proclaimed Mountain-Lord. Along with halting the Blackrock Orcs, the appearance of a Kor’Kron within their lands alerted the Hand to the importance of the Blackrock clans’ migration.

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Holding the Pass
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<p class="MsoNormal">With the Kor’Kron now involved, the Hand moved to blockade the main passaged towards New Kargath. Recuperated they set off from the Iron Summit in a modest pace, the groups eyes scowering the distance. As the group passed the slain bodies of the Orcs, the sad reminder of their fallen touched many. The fury stirring in their hearts, they pushed on.

<p class="MsoNormal">As the Sea of Cinders disappeared from their view they entered the narrow passages that weaved into the beginning of the Duskfire Valley. As they reached the Narrow pass, Khazgolan sent word to those at the encampment. As they awaited reinforcements they begun to set up defense using natural objects surrounding them, though the landscape of the Searing Gorge offering little for verity and forced the troops to use boulders and the scarce fallen trees to build a barrier stretching across the passage way.

<p class="MsoNormal">With their numbers the group remained behind their wall, awaiting response from their kin, what supplies they had brought greatly diminished. Select few ventured out in search of food; as the hours passed, they had spotted a lone Raven in the sky and within its talons they could spot what seemed to be wrapped parchment. As the Raven landed, Khazgolan unraveled the message, breaking the seal of the Ravenbeard Clan, to his surprise the Hand has been summoned to aid in the battle of Orgrimmar.

<p class="MsoNormal">As the Thane pondered his choice of action, the shouts of nearby dwarves echoed throughout the mountain passage disrupted his train of thought. The Orcs attacking in full force charged the makeshift barrier. As the Dark Iron readied themselves, though most still in shock at the sudden attack, they rushed to the defense hoping to reinforce it before it became overrun. The Orcs fighting what seemed in desperation, were relentless in their assault; young and old fighting in their ranks they flooded the walls like locus. Those with heavy armor and shields blockaded the wooden entrance while the others used the rocks to their advantage. Hungry and dehydrated, the Dark Iron pushed on, though the waves of Orcs ceased to press forward and both sides suffered losses as the battle progressed.

<p class="MsoNormal">As the tide of battle seemed to favor the Orcs, like a blessing from the Titans, the echo of Dark Iron blunderbusses filled their ears. Grimiar and their Kin rushed the Orcs flank; hope filling the hearts of the defenders they pushed passed their barricade, slowly pushing the Orcs between the two groups. Eventually left with far too dwindled numbers, the surviving Orcs could be seen sprinting with their backs turned retreating into the nearby hills, seemingly chased by the chanting and howls of the victorious. <p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Along with their aid, those from Othdin’s Vigil brought with them fresh water and food, the grumbling of hungry stomachs almost drowning out the cries of victory. As they celebrated, they also mourned for those they had lost, each fallen Dark Iron worth a hundred Orc lives. The officers discussed their next plan of action, the honor to march alongside the Grand Alliance being too vital to pass up. They had decided to send a small contingency to the war efforts in Kalimdor lead by the Thane, while Grimiar would hold the pass until there return; still leaving enough troops to defend Othdin’s Vigil if attacked. It was a gamble the Hand must take if they hoped to further their acceptance amongst those in the Alliance.

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Outcome
<p class="MsoNormal">The Hand simply continued to block large amounts of migrating Blackrock Orcs, which sought to reinforce Garrosh’s ranks, from reaching New Kargath, risking their kin’s lives in efforts to further their acceptance from those within the Grand Alliance.

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