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The Keep
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Keepers of Stromgarde
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New Recruits
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Ranks
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The Nation of Stromgarde
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A small band of Trollhunters and Imperial Guards patrolled the road from Stromgarde to Refuge Pointe. This was a dangerous task on the best of days, with Horde soldiers and messengers frequently crossing the patrol. However, ever loyal to Stromgarde and the Trollbane dynasty, they keep the road safe, day by day, in a patrol that has continued since the invasion of the Syndicate and Boulderfist.
The soldiers of Stromgarde maintained a second doctrine, as important, to aid members of the Alliance should the might of Strom ever be called to the field of battle. They took this oath very seriously.
It was a day unlike any other. The sun flew high in the sky and the winds rolled across the hills of Arathi. The metal shoes of the horses clicked and clacked on the stone road. Four axemen, clad in layers of leather and chain mail, and an officer, wearing chain and a few pieces of old steel plate armor from a war long past, rode slowly down the road, their eyes scanning the horizon. The day had been quiet, but the sounds of battle split the air. Stray bolts of ice and fireballs crested a far hill on occasion, and Orcish battle cries carried on the wind to the ears of the guardsmen.
"Sons of Stromgarde," cried the officer, raising his sword. "To battle! Death to the Black-bloods!"
As one, the patrol left the road and galloped with a fierce speed up the hill towards the battle. They crested the top, but the officer stopped before his men, causing them to pause and look down upon the field of battle. Before them, a single mage, surrounded by a dozen orcs from Hammerfall. Some were dead or dying, but the majority were still alive, and obviously infuriated. The officer sighed and sheathed his sword, confusing his subordinates.
"Sir," one of them asked, "Why have you stopped? Shouldn't we be riding to the aid of that mage?"
"Pay closer attention, soldier. That's no ordinary mage. That's a Knight of Stromgarde, a member of the Keepers. She is the last person who needs your help in battle."
The guardsmen turned back to the battle. The mage seemed to be engaged in some kind of bloody dance, she fought the orcs with such ease. The officer smiled and walked away, but the guardsmen persisted.
"Sir, it is our duty to aid those in battle with the Horde! Knight, Keeper, or otherwise!"
"Kid, if we marched down into that battle, you would merely get in the way. The Keepers are some of the finest fighters in Stromgarde, the world even. The Knights are amongst the greatest fighters and commanders within the Keepers themselves. Some even amongst the Guardians consider their skill a match. Think about it. They are in a league of fighting that few could possibly match, save perhaps for some Demons of the Legion, or the Dark Lord of Death. Don't distract them by trying to help them. Watch, and maybe you'll learn something."
By the time the commander had finished with his speech, the sounds had grown quiet, and when they looked, they saw the mage, alone, surrounded by the smoldering or frozen corpses of the Orcish raiders. The Knight dusted off her robes and approached the patrolmen.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she demanded, obviously angry at seeing patrolmen standing idle.
"Well ... uh ... you see ..." the patrolmen began, looking towards their commander, who smiled, "We were commanded not to aid you, Knight. We were told we would be a distraction and not to interfere ..."
"I don't care about that!" the Knight said, pointing towards the road, "You should have gotten back on the road! I was bored and found myself a proper distraction, but you DO have jobs to do, don't you?"
The patrolmen simply looked at each other, confused, but were roused from their stupor by the commander, who approached the Knight and saluted. They followed suit and saluted as well, then turned back to the road.
"Those Knights are incredible!" one of the patrolmen said, "How have we not taken back our city, with people like that on our side?"
The commander sighed and turned back onto the road, "We have people like that on our side ... but so does the enemy. We are in a war that extends past the walls of Stromgarde. The Syndicate and Ogres are a petty nuisance compared to the rest of the threats out there. The Knights are too busy with the true war to fight a battle that we can easily take care of ourselves. Remember that."
The rest of the patrol was rather uneventful, but was one of the most remembered by those who took part. |
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