Valdemar walked up the long road that had he had joined where it passed his home of Eastvale, and had turned north at Goldshire, heading for Stormwind, where he intended to find a way to fight against the predations of the Defias Brotherhood, bandits that had plagued him for most of his short life.
Valdemar (named after his grandfather, who had in turn been named for his grandfather, ad infinitum) had grown up in Eastvale, the middle son of a family of loggers that had relocated from Lordaeron when it had been lost to the Forsaken. At the age of three, Valdemar's family had been forced to relocate themselves to the kingdom of Stormwind, along with so many other refugees. They had settled in Eastvale, and turned their hand to logging.
Valdemar had grown up with the Defias Brotherhood as a threat all of his life. They occupied the area around Stone Cairn Lake in force, and the portion of the Elywnn Forest south of the road and watchtower were commonly acknowledged to be under their control. Like everyone in Eastvale, Valdemar had lost friends and family to their oppressive depredations.
The turning point for Valdemar had been when he had learned that the loggers in and around Eastvale were playing the Defias Brotherhood to leave their logging parties in peace; Eastvale depended on the lumbering of the Elywnn Forest, and the Defias bandits had made it cheaper in both money and lives to pay them to leave the lumber camps alone. That protection only applied to the lumber camps; people wandering astray in the forest were still at grave risk.
Valdemar had asked his father during dinner that night if it were true.
"Da, Jin and Rask Scoefield say that the lumber mill gives the Defias money to leave the lumber camps alone. Is it true?" he had asked, hoping that his father would tell him that Val was being silly, listening to such rumors, that the lumber mill managers were not craven traitors that would cave to threats without a fight.
"Well, Valdy, it's not as simple as all that... but yes, they pay off the Defias to not harass the camps," confirmed Vessrelmar, his father (commonly called Vess).
"... but the Defias are a plague! They want to destroy Stormwind!" objected Valdemar. "We can fight! We don't need to bribe them, especially when they still rob and kill... and worse!... anyone they catch in the woods!" Valdemar had objected excitedly,
"Calm down, Valdy... let me ask you this," his father had replied. "You go out with the lumber camps, and you usually are on procurement duty, right? They send you around to find rabbits and the like, enough so that we can live off the land, and not carry an extra wagonload with food, right?"
"Yeah...so?" Valdemar has said.
"And they send you out because you're a born hunter, lad - you can skewer a fly on a boar's rump at 100 yards with that crossbow of your, yeah?" his Da had continued.
Valdemar smiled. His Da had started an old family joke, and he knew the next line was his. "Da, I can't even see a fly on a boar's rump at 100 yards!"
"Don't worry, son..." Vess had started, and the whole family around the table joined in on the punchline "They're always there!". Everyone had laughed, and the mood had been lightened.
"Valdy, you're a dead shot with that crossbow, and you sneak around tracking your prey like a shadow in the night..." his father had said. Off in the corner, Val's hunting wolf raised her head, thinking that she was being called; the young wolf bitch and her siblings had been rescued by Valdemar and his siblings when discovered abandoned in the forest nearby. The three beasts had been adopted by the whole family, and Shadow had bonded with Val almost immediately, following him everywhere until people had started calling her "Valdemar's Shadow", which had quickly been shortened to her name.
"So... if you wanted to kill a Deifas in their bandit camp, and you snuck up until you could see them clearly in the firelight... could they stop you? Could they catch you?" Vess had asked, rhetorically. "Not unless they got really lucky, and you know it."
Valdemar nodded. It was true - Valdemar and Shadow were successful hunters, patient and silent.
"So... if you did that every night, how long before they was all dead?"
"Well, they'd set out sentries!"
"Yeah, and what would you do then"
"Kill the sentries."
"Right... and if they didn't know where you lived, who to strike back against, you'd kill a good many of them before they finally caught you, right?"
Valdemar thought about that. While he was still thinking, Vess added:
"So, how many of us do you think are worth not paying the Defias for safety? Yeah, its a lot we pay - but how many of your friends, or the family of your friends, are worth dying? The Defias aren't stupid, lad... they know, almost to the copper coin, how much we can pay while still making a profit."
"It's not a matter of courage, son... of we fought back, even if we were successful - Eastvale can't move around like they do. If they wanted, they could burn and kill our homes and families - we would make it cost them a lot, but they could do it if they wanted revenge hard enough - and that's just Dead-Tooth Jack's bunch by the river! No, we can't do much to stop the Defias on our own... and the Crown in Stormwind does what it can, but is mostly busy killing the Scourge or the Korde or the demons of the Burning Legion. So we do what we can, and then do what me must, neh?"
The next day, Valdemar and Shadow had taken their gear, and left a note saying that if stopping the Defias was a Stormwind task, then he was heading to Stormwind to see how he could help; he felt kind of cowardly, but he knew that his Da would try to talk him out of it, try to stop him, and Val felt that he wouldn't be stopped, and didn't want to have a series of bitter arguments about it, he was going, and it would be easier to earn his family's forgiveness than their blessing.
He looked up to the gates of Stormwind - this was the beginning, the chance for Valdemar (and Shadow) to make a difference!
Valdemar (named after his grandfather, who had in turn been named for his grandfather, ad infinitum) had grown up in Eastvale, the middle son of a family of loggers that had relocated from Lordaeron when it had been lost to the Forsaken. At the age of three, Valdemar's family had been forced to relocate themselves to the kingdom of Stormwind, along with so many other refugees. They had settled in Eastvale, and turned their hand to logging.
Valdemar had grown up with the Defias Brotherhood as a threat all of his life. They occupied the area around Stone Cairn Lake in force, and the portion of the Elywnn Forest south of the road and watchtower were commonly acknowledged to be under their control. Like everyone in Eastvale, Valdemar had lost friends and family to their oppressive depredations.
The turning point for Valdemar had been when he had learned that the loggers in and around Eastvale were playing the Defias Brotherhood to leave their logging parties in peace; Eastvale depended on the lumbering of the Elywnn Forest, and the Defias bandits had made it cheaper in both money and lives to pay them to leave the lumber camps alone. That protection only applied to the lumber camps; people wandering astray in the forest were still at grave risk.
Valdemar had asked his father during dinner that night if it were true.
"Da, Jin and Rask Scoefield say that the lumber mill gives the Defias money to leave the lumber camps alone. Is it true?" he had asked, hoping that his father would tell him that Val was being silly, listening to such rumors, that the lumber mill managers were not craven traitors that would cave to threats without a fight.
"Well, Valdy, it's not as simple as all that... but yes, they pay off the Defias to not harass the camps," confirmed Vessrelmar, his father (commonly called Vess).
"... but the Defias are a plague! They want to destroy Stormwind!" objected Valdemar. "We can fight! We don't need to bribe them, especially when they still rob and kill... and worse!... anyone they catch in the woods!" Valdemar had objected excitedly,
"Calm down, Valdy... let me ask you this," his father had replied. "You go out with the lumber camps, and you usually are on procurement duty, right? They send you around to find rabbits and the like, enough so that we can live off the land, and not carry an extra wagonload with food, right?"
"Yeah...so?" Valdemar has said.
"And they send you out because you're a born hunter, lad - you can skewer a fly on a boar's rump at 100 yards with that crossbow of your, yeah?" his Da had continued.
Valdemar smiled. His Da had started an old family joke, and he knew the next line was his. "Da, I can't even see a fly on a boar's rump at 100 yards!"
"Don't worry, son..." Vess had started, and the whole family around the table joined in on the punchline "They're always there!". Everyone had laughed, and the mood had been lightened.
"Valdy, you're a dead shot with that crossbow, and you sneak around tracking your prey like a shadow in the night..." his father had said. Off in the corner, Val's hunting wolf raised her head, thinking that she was being called; the young wolf bitch and her siblings had been rescued by Valdemar and his siblings when discovered abandoned in the forest nearby. The three beasts had been adopted by the whole family, and Shadow had bonded with Val almost immediately, following him everywhere until people had started calling her "Valdemar's Shadow", which had quickly been shortened to her name.
"So... if you wanted to kill a Deifas in their bandit camp, and you snuck up until you could see them clearly in the firelight... could they stop you? Could they catch you?" Vess had asked, rhetorically. "Not unless they got really lucky, and you know it."
Valdemar nodded. It was true - Valdemar and Shadow were successful hunters, patient and silent.
"So... if you did that every night, how long before they was all dead?"
"Well, they'd set out sentries!"
"Yeah, and what would you do then"
"Kill the sentries."
"Right... and if they didn't know where you lived, who to strike back against, you'd kill a good many of them before they finally caught you, right?"
Valdemar thought about that. While he was still thinking, Vess added:
"So, how many of us do you think are worth not paying the Defias for safety? Yeah, its a lot we pay - but how many of your friends, or the family of your friends, are worth dying? The Defias aren't stupid, lad... they know, almost to the copper coin, how much we can pay while still making a profit."
"It's not a matter of courage, son... of we fought back, even if we were successful - Eastvale can't move around like they do. If they wanted, they could burn and kill our homes and families - we would make it cost them a lot, but they could do it if they wanted revenge hard enough - and that's just Dead-Tooth Jack's bunch by the river! No, we can't do much to stop the Defias on our own... and the Crown in Stormwind does what it can, but is mostly busy killing the Scourge or the Korde or the demons of the Burning Legion. So we do what we can, and then do what me must, neh?"
The next day, Valdemar and Shadow had taken their gear, and left a note saying that if stopping the Defias was a Stormwind task, then he was heading to Stormwind to see how he could help; he felt kind of cowardly, but he knew that his Da would try to talk him out of it, try to stop him, and Val felt that he wouldn't be stopped, and didn't want to have a series of bitter arguments about it, he was going, and it would be easier to earn his family's forgiveness than their blessing.
He looked up to the gates of Stormwind - this was the beginning, the chance for Valdemar (and Shadow) to make a difference!
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