oops
Shiawase watched the townsfolk arriving from behind a bush on the far bank across the river. With sober consideration they stepped into their new homes, inspected what remained of the old parts of the town, and took note of what had been lost to them forever. The young Druid spotted Whitemoon among them, holding his daughter in his arms. He stepped into the house that had been rebuilt for him and disappeared behind a wall. What would he think of it, Shia wondered. It certainly wasn't the home he had left. No matter how much Shia wracked his brain to ensure that the building standing now was in every way the same as the house that had burned to the ground, little details here and there seemed to turn it into a sad model of something that had gone forever. The tint of the wood was off. The fabric on the windows didn't feel right. The warmth of the kitchen fire was now nothing but a stark stone pit. Shia clenched his jaw as he looked over the house from his hiding place. No, it was nothing like its predecessor at all.
A bell rang and everyone turned from their hushed conversations and inspection to make their way to the meeting house.
"Are you coming?"
Shia jumped. Stormrage was towering behind him, looking down at the younger Druid with his usual steely expression.
"Ah, yes sir, I was just, ah..."
Without acknowledging the reply, Stormrage turned and made his way back to the road. Shia followed him at a distance, his feet digging light ditches into the dirt.
The meeting room was quiet when they arrived. Stormrage made his entrance from the front, and Shia was obliged to follow him, slinking sheepishly into his seat. The townsfolk were all sitting, their faces impassive with lingering shock, while one or two of the Elves kept their heads down with eyebrows furrowed, and a young woman in the back, the dead innkeeper's sister, was crying silently into the arms of her husband.
Sentinel Thenysil and Raene Wolfrunner were standing together at the front of the room. The Sentinel still had an arm wrapped in bandages, and patch on her forehead to keep a healing gash clean. They had been speaking, but when Stormrage and Shiawase stepped in they stopped and turned to the Druids.
"Ah, there you are." Raene stepped forward and looked at Shiawase with a smile. Shia bowed lightly and did not bring his gaze back from the floor. "Please have a seat.
"Darnassus has agreed to send us a number of Sentinels, as well as a small group of adventurers from an outside, mixed race force. We can expect them to be arriving in a matter of weeks."
"What about magic?"
"The group sending us aid is well aware that we will not be abiding Mages or Warlocks of any sort in this town. We're here to protect the forest, not to add to its degeneration."
"And will we be able to support this force?"
"There will be supplies coming from outside of the town. We're not expected to provide entirely for the people who come, although we will need to find them a place to stay."
"And the logging camp? Are they going to get rid of that?"
Thenysil and Wolfrunner exchanged glances.
"The people that attacked this village were not under the employ of the Horde. If we retaliate by striking at a vital Horde supply point, the tenuous peace we've managed to establish here would most probably shatter completely."
"So we're just going back to waiting?" A number of Elves mumbled amongst themselves. The meeting room was beginning to fill with light whispers.
"No, we won't just put ourselves in the same vulnerable position again, but we can't just mount a charge against the lumber camp."
"Why not?" Young Faldreas stood up. "We'd have a strong enough force to sweep in and take those slimy bastards, and with the Druids here," he motioned towards Shia and Stormrage, "our victory is assured. Our surveillance says that the lumber camp hasn't altered its defenses much since those furblogs last attacked, and that means there are only a dozen or so real warriors in the whole lot. The rest are grunts."
A number of the Elves nodded. Whitemoon stood up. "Faldreas is right. The monsters that attacked us last time might not have had direct orders from Thrall, but who knows who's going to strike next? What if the lumber camp thinks we're weak now and plans to get rid of us once and for all? I say we get rid of them first!"
Shouts of "That's right!" and "Here Here!" rose up from the crowd. The somber silence at the beginning of the meeting had been replaced with an angry buzz that seemed to reverberate off the walls and send everyone tingling with nervous energy. Sentinel Thenysil rose her arms in an attempt to impose some silence, but the room was just growing louder and louder. A few Elves were getting out of their seats and talking excitedly with their neighbors. Others wore looks of nervous supplication as they tried to talk their friends out of doing something drastic. The meeting was deteriorating into a mob as Faldreas pumped his fist into the air and shouted, "The forest has waited long enough. Let’s take back what is ours!"
The crowd cheered and as a body began to make its way to the door. Stormrage and Shiawase were the only two left seated. Shia made to stand up, but Stormrage immediately put his hand on the young Druid's shoulder and pushed him back into his chair, only to stand up himself.
As the townsfolk began to push past on their way to the door, Stormrage stood upon his chair and raised his hands. The group turned to look at him and grew silent.
"Are you coming with us brother?" Faldreas asked.
"I am not."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Faldreas and Whitmeoon frowned and glanced at each other.
"But brother,” Whitemoon asked, “aren't you tired of letting the unwashed Horde skitter about all over our lands? Isn't it time we drove them out for good?"
"And how do intend to do that? By throwing acorns at them? Think, -brother-, what major city is a stone’s throw from this lumber camp? Who is it that can dispatch a veritable army to sweep through Ashenvale at the drop of a hat? And which is it, Elves or Orcs, that must make a trek across an ocean and travel hours on foot before they can provide adequate reinforcements?
"Tell me, once you've driven the Orcs out of their camp, do you think Orgrimmar will not retaliate with a strike of its own? Do you think that a single skirmish will win you a war?"
Faldreas scowled. "It's better than doing nothing."
"Fine then. Throw yourself against the Horde forces and offer this town up to the Horde's wrath. See how long Ashenvale lasts after Astranaar falls and the last of its protectors are stomped out."
Faldreas slammed his fist into his palm. "At this rate the forest won't last regardless! What is wrong with you Druids? You're letting your own trees fall! What are you fighting for if you won't even protect the forest?"
Stormrage's expression remained unchanged. "We are fighting for the complete fall of the Horde and the proper rehabilitation of this land. We are not fighting for our misplaced emotions of desperation and revenge."
"You're too afraid to bring about change. That's what you are. The truth is you're afraid of Horde retaliation and would rather see your forest die than fix things."
Stormrage's eyes narrowed. "The truth is that if you raid the lumber camp, those who will be responsible for the fall of this forest will be you. If you want to be a hero throw yourself into the Gulch and see how well warfare serves to heal our land."
Faldreas shook his head and turned to the door. "We thank you for the service you've rendered us in protecting this town, brother Druid, but you're the same as Darnassus. You don't understand what it's like to live with the constant threat of the Horde looming over your head." The young Elf moved to leave, and the crowed shifted to leave with him. The furor had been sucked out of them, but a steely faced determination seemed to have replaced it.
Stormrage stepped down from his chair and cut the group off from the door. Faldreas and Whitemoon stopped mid stride and stared at the Druid, who stood solid, arms crossed and scowling.
"You will not attack the lumber camp tonight."
"You have no right to stop us." Whitemoon shot back.
"My duty is to the land. Neither my life, nor yours, is of any consequence in that cause. If you insist on heckling out the fiery vengeance of the Horde I will prevent you from doing that by any means necessary."
The crowd was silent. The two villagers and Stormrage stared at each other intensely for a moment, they with rising anger and Stormrage with a grim scowl.
Whitemoon turned to Shia with supplicating eyes. "Shiawase, you understand, don’t you? We have to do something." The rest of the crowd turned their attention to the young Druid, who had remained frozen in his seat.
Shia considered his toes as he replied, “I know how you feel, but an attack won’t solve anything.”
Faldreas scoffed. “This coming from an Elf who would rather dance about with men and Dwarves than protect his own people. Run back to Stormwind if you won’t help. We are going to fix things.” With that he pushed his way forward, making to shoulder Stormrage out of the way.
Shia heard the crack of the doorway and the groan of the eaves as they were rattled before he realized that Stormrage had grabbed Faldreas by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall. The hall grew dead silent. Even Faldreas eeked out nothing but a tiny squeak before he too was quiet, pinned against the wall with legs dangling, weakly clinging at the leather of Stormrage’s sleeve. Stormrage took a moment to consider every face in the room before turning back to Faldreas. His face was set in firm finality.
“You will –not- be attacking the lumber camp tonight. Do not think that I would hesitate in killing you if your foolishness became a danger to this forest. Do you understand?”
Faldreas groaned but nodded.
Stormrage turned to the other Elves.
"I want you to understand one thing. My duty here is to the forest. Above my own life, above yours, I serve the forest. It does not matter if it be my own kin, if you try anything that threatens the balance of this place and brings on the destruction of the nature here, I will stop you."
He glanced at Shia. Shia's throat immediately tightened. "We haven't the leisure to let our sudden urges take a hold of us like animals. If we follow our anger and fear blindly we'll find ourselves overcome with unforeseen adversary. If you want to save this forest, behave as you have been. Tend to the trees and the beasts. Serve Elune and battle the Horde's poison with your medicines."
When he had finished speaking Stormrage released his grip on Faldreas, who slid against the wall, down to his knees. The Druid cast one last glare across the crowd before turning and leaving the hall. The townsfolk stood dumbstruck for a moment before those closest to Faldreas began trying to help him back to his feet, and the rest of the townsfolk gathered into pockets of nervous chatter. Shia glanced at Whitemoon, flinging Faldreas’ arm over his shoulder, before turning the other way and slipping out of the meeting house himself.
