It had been a long time since Hallam had donned his Dalaran robes and wielded his stolen staff- well, stolen was not quite the right word, looted would be a more accurate term - but he felt it was only right that for his return to the continent of his birth he would wear the garments of his home city. They were in good shape, mended by a kind Gnome woman in Theramore, otherwise no matter the sentiment he wouldn't have brought them. Of course he now had an Argent Dawn tabard pulled over the fine cloth, but that couldn't be helped even if he'd wanted it gone, the other Argents would need a way to recognize him, besides; it was nice to feel as if he was a part of something greater.

Inspecting his reflection in the bowl of water one last time, Hallam made sure he didn't look as if he hadn't slept in days. This place brought back old memories, giving life to nightmares he'd had ever since the Fall. As of now he was running on a variety of potions and what he could scrape away from his few fitful power naps. He couldn't bring himself to sleep at night, so he'd taken shifts on the night watch as often as he could so he could have an excuse to nap in the day. Deciding that his latest attempt at sleep had been enough - and it had to be, because he ertainly wasn't sleeping anymore today - Hallam washed his face and left his tent to prepare for their assault on the city.

He remembered Stratholme, faintly at least, his aunt had moved there and occasionally his mother would take him to visit her family in the city. It looked nothing like he remembered though, everything here was rotted and dead. Even the stone was crumbling and weak. the trees were the worst though, they looked like they were screaming, or they did when there were trees at all, a large mushroom forest had sprung up looking for all the world as if it'd been there since the dawn of time. That was how entrenched the Scourge was, not just the Undead themselves, but their taint and corruption had long since gripped the very land itself and laughed in the face of the living as it twisted their beautiful homeland into an unrecognizable ruin.

Hallam fell into step with the others as the group began to gather around the Orc who led them. He was forced to hide his distaste, having never been fond of Orcs he found it especially frustrating to follow one's lead. Still, it wouldn't be in charge if it wasn't worthy of the position. He supposed he could trust it for now, so deep in enemy territory it was unlikely the Horde would turn on them, or at least not until they were safe again and out of the Scourge's reach. He kept a wary eye on it though, he'd heard stories of wild Orcs raiding villages back before the Scourge. They were trying only to free their brethren Hallam knew, but they certainly hadn't skipped any chance to take a Human life while doing so. He would do his best to make sure this Orc didn't get him killed in this campaign.

[quote]"All right," Rogrelg spoke, "my name is Rogrelg Shining-Hand, and yes, I am a Priest of the Holy Light; a Bishop under the Archbishop of Orgrimmar. That means that I outrank any Priests among you, even though I am a 'bloodthirsty Orc'. But, then again, most of us do have a tolerance for bloodthirst; otherwise, we wouldn't be at the Warfront." He then looked at Hallam Ramsey.[/quote]

[i]A Priest?[/i] Hallam thought, eyebrows shooting upwards in surprise. [i]As if I needed more proof of the Light's fallibility, here I have it.[/i] Hallam had never been the most devout follower of the Light, but he'd respected it nonetheless, had done so all the way up until the Fall. The Priests in Dalaran had been cut down like so much stumbling newborn calves, powerless against a Death Knight's blade, it seemed at every turn there was the Light, failing to help them, to save them. He'd traveled with a Priest in that year stranded in the Foothills, every day the man's faith had withered just a bit more until the Light no longer answered him. Now look at it, the Light was bestowing it's gifts to savage, bloodthirsty invaders? How ironic.

[quote]"You, you've experience with the undead, right? Not to mention that for now, you're the only one who stands out among this gang. So, I am appointing you my second-in-command." Rogrelg was blunt. "And, as for your first duty, I am going to ask you what option to take in the coming raid. The Argent Dawn has already created two seperate strategies for the Scarlet-held side and the districts held by the Scourge."[/quote]

Hallam flushed his suspicious thoughts, pulling his best professional persona to the fore. No matter that it was an Orc, there was a job to do and he was going to do it. Today they were united, and the Scourge would burn before them.

He listened attentively as Rogrelg outlined the Dawn's options here, explaining how it's own knowledge would aid them in their mission.

"The Scarlet's are our best option I think." Hallam said after a moment of though. "Our only option I believe. They are well fortified, which will allow us to swoop in and take over their fortifications. It will give us time to regroup before moving on the Scourge. Otherwise they would leap at the opportunity to fight us once we've cleared the Scourge, and out in the open we'd have no advantage against their defensive positions should they push at us from behind. Perhaps we could take them anyway, but I think it best we aim for every advantage we can get, needed or not."

He turned steely eyes on the other members of their party, sizing up their crew seriously. "I expect each of you to fight your greatest, pull out all your tricks and utilize your best abilities, because the slightest mistake here will see you a fate worse than death. The Crusaders will take you in for interrogation, but don't mistake the pretty wording, it's just an excuse to torture. Afterwards they'll burn your corpse- if you're lucky, they believe you're tainted anyway, they might just dump your body in the alleys for the necromancers to find. The Scourge though, that's the real threat. Their weapons are infested with the worst sorts of curses and diseases, their claws and teeth are especially painful when they rend flesh - do not give them a chance to try it! And should you fall, do not doubt you're fate; you [i]will [/i]serve the Lich King. You cannot hope for another lucky break as Sylvanus and the Forsaken got, and even then would that be any luck at all? They certainly don't think so. Be smart, be fast, be relentless. You carry the hopes of Azeroth in your charge, and you deliver the vengeance of the fallen in your assault." Not his most inspirational speech, but it got his point across. Anything less than everything they have would not be enough. He'd even pointed out two perfectly usable sources to draw further strength from; hope and revenge.