The pair began their meditation under the light of the morning sun, just as it crested the hills of Red Rocks in the northeast reaches of Mulgore. The dew still clung to the grass, the gentle breeze making their long, tauren manes shift and shimmer in the sunlight, the quiet, lapping waves of Stonebull Lake providing a gentle backdrop. It was the peace and serenity that Ahtomo and Vivillin lived for. Yet, there was something unsettling in spite of the beauty of the early hours.
Ahtomo sensed it first. Something on the breeze, acrid, distant. Standing up from his spot in the dirt, his hooves just barely touching the water of the southern edge of Stonebull lake, he asked the elements to guide the wind his way but for a moment, hoping they would tell him of the disturbance. The light breeze turned to a great gust, and the rush of wind did exactly as he hoped. Whatever it was came from the north, just past the lake and beyond the reaches of Bloodhoof Village. It was the smell of fire and the burning of the dead.
“Come,” he said, nudging Vivillin who was lying on her back in the grass, spreading her arms out to enjoy the splendor of nature. It felt wrong to disturb her peace, but it could be dire news.
She sat up slowly, blinking emerald eyes matching the plains. “What is it?” she asked. As she sat up, the spot she was lying in had actually grown longer instead of being pressed flat, such was the power of a druid. That, and more grass had found its way to tangle into her hair, a trait Ahtomo always found endearing. “We had only just begun our meditation. Is it urgent?”
“I cannot say. The Earthmother has told me only that something is wrong. What that something is, I do not know.” Ahtomo grunted, just as frustrated as his druid companion that their meditation was broken. “We should tell Baine immediately.”
Vivillin smiled at her partner, seeking to calm him. “Let’s not act too quickly. We might as well inspect it ourselves before we report it. At the very least, we get a walk around the lake together.”
Ahtomo paused for a moment, letting the chill of the morning air calm his nerves. He was not afraid to fight for the honour of his tribe as he had done in the past, but he was wary of rushing in unprepared. While the ancestors and the elements had given him tremendous prowess in battle as a shaman, even a powerful tauren can be bested by many enemies. His hand went instinctively to his one broken horn. Long ago, he had charged in recklessly against a marauding band of centaur that was attacking a tauren village. Realizing too late that the odds were against him, he was quickly surrounded. Fighting valiantly, he was rescued by chance and fate as the orcs led by Warchief Thrall had arrived in Kalimdor to support the hard-pressed tauren. They had been honourable, loyal allies since. Ahtomo had never forgotten their friendship, nor the lesson he learned that day.
Vivillin didn’t miss Ahtomo’s thumb reaching the broken end of the horn, and could quickly sense his thoughts. “We’ll move carefully. We have the ancestors, the elements and the power of nature on our side.” She patted his arm. “Plus, big tauren muscles.”
The shaman smiled warmly. She was right. “I could use the walk anyway.” Behind them, a group of plainstriders ran effortlessly through the tall grass. “There are worse ways to spend a morning than a stroll through Mulgore.”
--
They could see the signs well before they saw the wreckage. Drifting smoke arose out of a broken caravan. The transport was toppled over, wreckage strewn about the area. Such a peaceful spot of tranquillity spoiled by such violence.
“Can you get a closer look?” Vivillin asked.
“Always,” Ahtomo replied. His eyes glossed over as he used the gift of far sight to scout the camp at a distance. A number of goblins and ogres, the former guiding the latter, wandered the wreckage. They were attempting to stamp out the fires that were left behind in an attempt to salvage whatever goods still remained. From what he could tell, the fires were started not by them, but by the tauren. There had been a battle here, of which the Bloodhoof appeared to be the victors. Having travelled from Camp Narache the previous night, they had not yet heard the news of any fight, but the signs were clear.
Emblazoned on the side of the caravan were big, bold letters: “Venture Company,” he said aloud for Vivillin’s sake.
She knew them well. They were the antithesis of all that she believed in. Where she gave thanks for every gift the land bestowed upon her and her tribe, they saw fit to strip it bare of any resource it held. They’d ravage the landscape, tearing it asunder for the sake of their own personal gain, regardless of whatever inhabitants - be it tauren, human, or even other goblins - lived in the region. Their greedy little fingers reached for everything of value. She gritted her teeth at the thought of the morally bankrupt creatures. If the Venture Company refused to abide by the law of the land, then she would see to it that they pay dearly for every inch they tried to take.
Ahtomo blinked and allowed his sight to return to his body. Vivillin grabbed him by the shoulder; to send one’s vision to another spot was always briefly disconcerting, and he would always appreciate a hand to keep him steady. Shaking his head to reorient himself, his long mane shimmered with small feathers he had tied into it, a representation of the honour and pride of his people. He looked to the druid at his side. A simple nod was all it took from each of them. They both knew in an instant that they would be raiding the camp and ridding the land of those that sought to profit from its gifts.
“Five goblins, poorly equipped. One ogre. All I could see.”
“You handle the ogre, I’ll take the little ones?” Vivillin asked.
“Yes. Lets go.”
---
“Fizsprocket will have our heads if we don’t find those blueprints!” the lead goblin called out, having returned to the place he had hardly escaped from with his life. Already, the losses of goblins and supplies would be enough to get his supervisor in hysterics, but to lose the means to create the drill they had buried deep in eastern Mulgore? He’d rather walk into the tauren village than report that. “It’s in a safe. The thing’s fireproof, keep looking!” His words were pointless. They all knew what they were searching for already, and being a part of the same crew and thus susceptible to the same punishments, they were no less frantic.
“Agh!”
Oh, what now? They only had so much time to find it before they were expected to meet Fizsprocket. He pulled out another piece of rubble and threw it away, seeing the small safe was not in that spot. Thinking it best to ensure the other goblins were working and not lying down on the job, he looked just beyond the still smoldering ruins of the caravan to see what had caused the commotion.
Razzik lay face down with three sharp cuts deep across his back.
Blasted wildlife. I don’t get paid enough for this… the goblin thought. Opting not to alert the rest of the goblins that seemed still diligent in their search, he opted to leave that one to whatever animal had killed him. He’d still be dead in a moment anyway, and as the goblins say, time is money.
“Ahhugh!”
“Oh, what now?” he called out, running to the other side of the caravan where the new call had come from. He saw a glimpse of a great cat running back into the tall grass. In its wake was the body of another goblin - what was her name? Hardly mattered - strewn about the ground. Lucky him, though! Right near her body was the safe! It turns out the mission was a success after all, just so long as he could get it back to Fizsprocket.
He ran over to it, prying it out of the dirt and debris. Just as he unearthed it, another goblin cried out in pain. At this point, he wondered if he had been encircled by a whole team of predators. “Where’s that ogre? Ogre! Here!” he yelled, trying to find the big oaf that was brought here as both carrying muscle and protection.
The lumbering ogre ran up to him, its massive belly shaking with every step. “Somethin’ killin’ our guys, boss,” he said. “I wanna stomp ‘em!”
“Look, big guy. You can forget the other goblins. This baby is all we need!” he said, patting the safe. He opened it to remove the plans inside, tucking them safely into his vest. “What you’ve got to do is get me out of here. If the rest of the goblins don’t make it, well, less of a prize to divvy up. Now let’s split before we get split! Head to the mines!”
They took off, hearing another goblin groan in pain behind them. He hardly made it ten steps before a jolt almost knocked him off his feet. He looked behind him to see his ogre momentarily stunned. A bolt of lightning had shot towards them not from the sky, but rather from just across from them - a tauren shaman, not twenty yards away. “Well, go get him, you lummox!” the goblin called, slipping into the grass and running off. That tauren was awfully big, and that lightning bolt packed a punch. He wasn’t even hit and it almost knocked him off his feet. He decided to leave the ogre to fend for himself. After all, he had plans to deliver.
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--
The ogre rushed forward, having recovered from the lightning, albeit a bit singed. Ahtomo called upon the spirits of fire to help him once again, blasting the ogre in the chest with the power of the elements. Still, it came forward, swinging a huge mallet, one that could easily squish a goblin and still break the bone of a tauren. He came within feet of him before Vivillin returned, her presence marked by a beam of brilliant light that descended upon the ogre and burned his skin - the fury of the moon itself. Suddenly, the ogre looked unsure who to attack. Bolts of green energy flew from the hands of Vivillin as streaks of lightning ripped through the air from Ahtomo. The hesitation meant the ogre didn’t stand a chance. Their combined assault felled him quickly as he stumbled and toppled backwards into the high grass.
“There was another,” Vivillin said. “He looked to be the leader. He ran off towards the east, through the grass.”
Again, they needed not say another word. In sync, they transformed into their animal forms, the druid into the cat from before and the shaman into an ethereal wolf. Both travelled the plains much faster than the small legs of a goblin, and try as he might, he would not escape them. It wasn’t long before they caught up to him, making short work of the fleeing goblin. He had almost made it; they arrived at the entrance of a mine shaft, the clanging of tools and the smell of smoke and soot flooding out of the opening. It was here that the Venture Company had set up camp, and it was here the goblin went to deliver whatever he had with him.
Ahtomo flipped the tiny goblin corpse over. “What cowardly creatures to abandon their comrades and flee when they were most in need,” the shaman said with open disdain. “There’s no honour in these goblins.”
“Only greed,” Vivillin agreed.
Ahtomo searched the goblin and found the blueprint. They looked over it together, seeing a scrawled image of a massive drill, the required parts, the means to put it together, and any number of important details.
“Now this…” the druid said, “This may be a time to return to Baine and tell him what we’ve found here.” They were lucky to have found it. The entire cliffside was covered in dense tree cover, so much so the entrance could hardly be seen. It was good fortune that the goblin had happened to lead them right to it.
Ahtomo scowled. With each clanging of metal on ore, he could hear the earth suffering, calling out for aid. The Earthmother had provided him with everything he had. To abandon it now, even for a time, even if he meant to return, he would feel he would be no better than the goblin who fled the fight the same way. He looked out to the rolling hills, the towering mesa of Thunder Bluff looking down upon him, the heavy feet of a pack of kodo that marched proudly across the landscape. “I cannot. I have to go in. I have to put a stop to this, here and now.”
Vivillin grabbed his hand and held it tightly. “The earth calls to you,” she said knowingly. Ahtomo nodded grimly. “I’m not in tune with the elements as you are, but I am with the land as a whole. The nature of this place is being disrupted by these invaders. It seeks my aid as well.” She took a deep breath, sure that the decision she was making was the right one. “I’m coming with you.”
“Together, then,” Ahtomo agreed.
“Always together.”
---
Tauren could only move so quietly, their large frames not allowing the possibility of stealth. Still, they came within a casting distance of the two sleepy goblin guards outside the entrance of the mine, growing complacent in their tedious guard duty. Vivillin motioned a count of three, and they each fired a bolt of their respective magic gifted by the earth towards the goblins. They never knew what hit them.
The inside of the mine was dark, dusty and hot. Goblin chatter and the rolling of mine carts created a loud, claustrophobic atmosphere, so out of place in a vast, empty land such as Mulgore. However, even in the dark, two large tauren in a sea of goblins were far from inconspicuous. The first that saw them abandoned their posts and ran hollering for guards to support them. Soon, wave after wave of goblins came after the pair.
Ahtomo fired another bolt of lightning at the first that approached, the elemental force spreading from one goblin to the next and felling three in one brilliant motion. Vivillin fared just as well, beckoning forth roots that had dug into the earth as deep as the opening of the mine shaft and beseeching them for their aid. Quickly, the roots expanded and reached the feet of the goblins, holding them in place as they watched helplessly as she destroyed them with druidic magic.
“There are many!” Ahtomo called out, both he and Vivillin growing weary from the endless casting. Images of the centaur surrounding his ill-fated charge years ago flooded his memory. He shook his head. It could not happen again.
Knowing they had to slow the attacking force, Vivillin took the form of a powerful bear, her fur enough to ward off most of their blows. But only most; working in tandem, Ahtomo summoned a totem of the earth to make their skin as tough as stone. Now, the goblins had two deterrents to their tiny weapons; the mighty fur of the bear and the totem's enhancement enough to make her all but impervious to their attacks.
Still, to ward them off they needed to stay on the offensive. “Winds, guide me!” Ahtomo yelled as he enchanted his mace with the spirits of air. The element was fickle, however, and only occasionally would it bless him with its power, making his swings so swift as to strike multiple times in the blink of an eye. When it did, the raw power of several blows at once would almost crush a goblin flat.
Vivillin, meanwhile, knew the dust was clouding their vision and the darkness of the mine obscured the tiny figures running around them. She shifted out of the form of the bear and doused the attackers in faerie fire, making them easily visible and lowering their defenses. Easier to target, they made short work of them. The last goblins finally fled at the sight of the exhausted, powerful tauren force, working so brilliantly as a cohesive whole.
“Together, as you said,” Vivillin remembered.
“As a team,” Ahtomo agreed.
“Still more to go, however. The goblin we had chased - I heard him mention a foreman by the name of... Fizsprocket.” The goblin names always confused her. “If we stop him, we may yet put an end to the Venture Company in Mulgore.”
“Then you know what we must do.”
They searched the cavernous mineshaft, walking along the planks set out for the movement of carts of ore and removing fragments of stone and rock. They had ravaged this mountainside, stripping it of its worth and leaving it hollowed and empty. Both of the tauren, for each their own reasons, similar yet unique, found the actions taken by these goblins reprehensible. They knew not one would give thanks for the bounty they received, not one would care of the damage they had wrought.
The goblins that now fled from their path should consider themselves lucky.
It wasn’t long before they came upon a vast, empty chasm. As they entered, they both stood aghast at what they saw. Countless goblins ran about, circling around a colossal drill in the centre, presently inactive. Atop a platform stood a single goblin, marked by a yellow hardhat. He called out to the others, sending them this way and that, clearly the lead in the grim operation.
“Fizsprocket,” Ahtomo said.
A few of the goblins spotted them and called to the others. Immediately, the whole operation came to a halt, all eyes suddenly on the two tauren invaders. Fizsprocket took notice as well, leaning casually on the edge of his wooden platform, one arm over the other. “Hey! What’d you two do to my guards? How’d you get in here?”
“They’re closer to the earth now than they deserve,” Vivillin responded coldly.
“Thinking that means you killed ‘em, eh? Ah, well, they were eating up money in their wages anyhow. So listen - you two found your way in here, clearly got the muscles, big strong tauren, I get that. How about I offer you a deal?” The rest of the goblins slowed, listening to a proposal instead of a call to arms. “How about you work for me? Replace those two guards out there! You two can be a part of something big!”
“And what use do you think gold would do us?” Ahtomo called out, incensed. “Will it help the grass to grow? Will the sun shine brighter in Mulgore?”
“Nah! But you can pay to get some shade!” The goblin laughed at his own humour, his cackling voice echoing in the empty chambers.
“I have an idea,” Vivillin whispered. “This whole place is covered with trees just above it. I can-”
“I understand,” Ahtomo interrupted. “Loud and clear.”
Vivillin called upon the spirits of nature to bring their roots up from the ground. She begged them for their assistance, knowing that this would indeed be a great sacrifice. As they did, the ground became loose, their anchoring roots no longer providing the structure they had once before. Ahtomo then called upon the earth to rattle and quake, tapping into the element’s anger at the goblin menace.
“Hey, hey! What’re you doing here?” the foreman yelled as rocks and dirt began falling from the rooftop. His wooden platform began to shake and shift, threatening to send him flying off it. “I’ll offer double! Triple! The life of luxury - you’ll have whatever you want!”
Finally, the roof of the cavern collapsed, bringing tons of dirt and debris atop the goblins and the terrible machine. While they dug into the land, they held no appreciation for the power it held simply by existing, the force of nature and the elements being stronger than even the greatest of goblin technology. Quickly, they fled before the tunnels that held them collapsed as well, certain the earth and roots would hold long enough for them to escape.
They left the mine coughing and hacking, covered in dust and dirt. Still, they were pleased. They had disrupted the mining operation and sent the Venture Company running. Exiting the mine, it all felt so normal again, the sun now high in the sky. Its warmth bathed them in brilliant light. Stonebull lake once again seemed peaceful in the distance, and the watchful eye of Thunder Bluff still remained at its rightful place at the top of the great mesas in the distance.
“Did you hear what the goblin offered?” Vivillin asked.
Ahtomo laughed, remembering now. “A life of luxury, I believe. What more could one want than this?” he said, drawing his arm across the beautiful, endless plains. “What a shame that some cannot see the beauty that nature provides.”
“That’s why we must fight for it. I fear we’ll always be fighting for it,” Vivillin said with a hint of sadness.
A touch of anger built up in Ahtomo, knowing that there would always be those that refused to show the proper respect for the gifts that the world provided. In his hand he pulled up the dirt and earth beneath him, grasping it tightly in a mighty fist.
Vivillin put her hand atop it. Using her druidic strength, she helped the plant life within it to sprout and grow, tiny buds peeking out from in between Ahtomo’s fingers. The earth he held, rooted in place by the plants nature grew, providing the nutrients in which those same plants flourished. Working in tandem, just as they did.
“I believe you’re right, Vivillin. We may be fighting our whole lives for it. But I can assure you, as long as I’m able, I’ll be fighting at your side.”
“And I, at yours,” she agreed.
They sat and watched the clouds pass over the quiet grasslands of Mulgore, content that they had brought it to peace once again. Finally, they had a moment of rest to enjoy the meditation from the morning. Quiet and serene, just as they liked it.