Interlude - Of dead towns and damned people

The ruins of Strahnbrad nestled into the valley below; fresh patches of snow covered the ground here and there, despite it being barely autumn. A thick layer of mist had settled over the mountains, surrounding the dead town from all sides. An oppressive sight, Eireannan thought.

Strahnbrad had once been a prosperous town. Being so far to the south, the Plague had never reached it. However the orcish attack at the beginning of the third war had thinned its population and afterwards, with the fall of the entire Lordaeron, the remaining inhabitants had fled to escape the advance of the Scourge. Of late, the Syndicate was rumored to have established a base of operations around there, but whether it was true or not, they kept a very low profile.

It was…quiet. Houses with stout wooden shutters stood deserted on both sides of a paved street in surprisingly good condition. Eireannan reined his felsteed at a pace along the King’s road. He could never make this journey through a dead land without remembering the events before the war and a sense of dread – as if was all going to happen once more. Today though, even that bitter remembrance felt better than the sharp pain nestled in his heart. A chilled wind wrapped him tightly, bringing the sting of tears to his eyes. Despite his heavy fur-lined cloak, Eireannan shivered as he started again north.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The party advancing from the southern edge of the village was composed of only ten men – all of them soldiers, except for a captain, a lean fellow with a placid look on his face, as if he had seen all there was about war and nothing else could impress him. A young paladin – easily recognizable by his gilded armor and the stout hammer of war on his back and an equally young woman, with blonde hair and mischievous eyes made an odd group aside.

A strange mix of emotions, the strongest of which seemed to be irritation and relief, flashed over the paladin’s face as he saw the elf.

“Eireannan!”

“My Lord.” He nodded towards him quite unceremoniously. The woman earned a much more respectful salute. “My Lady Jaina.”

“Let me guess”, the sorceress said with a delicious smile. “Arthas sent word to you too, to join our investigation…”

“Not…really”, Eireannan shrugged. “I’ve heard some …things and decided to see for myself…” He gestured ambiguously towards the small group of priests at his back. “It’s not much help due the circumstances, but still…” Jaina Proudmoore gave him a sympathetic smile. She knew Arthas’ temper as well as he did - rumor had it the two were secret lovers and there was some truth in it, Eireannan thought. Not much…not really. A time on, time off relationship, more like it. She was too dedicated to her magical studies to have permanent time for a man in her life, which frustrated Arthas to no end. “

“If you two have finished exchanging pleasantries”, Arthas interrupted, “we have work to do.” His expression was annoyed and the reminder made Jaina’s mirth subside almost immediately.

“Have you found anything of importance so far?” Despite his unruffled appearance, Eireannan felt exhausted. He had made in four days a journey of six – and what they had found in that village was --

The paladin gave him a sour look. “We have marched from Strahnbrad as fast as we could. Uther heard the news that…well…something is wrong.”

“Terribly wrong”, Eireannan added softly.

They had resumed their walk towards the village as they spoke – yet only a couple of yards further Jaina stopped suddenly with a shocked gasp. Corpses littered the ground, some of them hardly looking human anymore. Large chunks of flesh were missing from arms and legs as if a rabid beast had been tearing at them. A stench of rot wafted in the air, strong enough to make everyone’s stomach knot.
Arthas shook his head in dismay as he gazed at the sprawled bodies. “We were told it was a plague. But this…seems beyond imagination…A whole village…What in the name of the Light did this?!”

“Well…the villagers themselves…”, Eireannan said quietly.. “They have been killed by the plague and somehow…raised again...” The man and the woman looked at him as if he were mad. Even the captain’s eyes seemed to bulge in surprise. Eireannan took a deep breath and proceeded to break the bad news he had gathered on his way there.