A small pack of Worgen have been on a journey across Azeroth for quite some time.

Long enough for them to think they are some of the most powerful beings in the land. For the most part this was no joke. Fully clad in armor and robeing of noble elites, there was no fear in this group about crossing paths with anything out there. They were indeed quite fearsome to deal with.


Their sense of smell and direction allowed them to always know the way home. Yet where they went, they did not know. You could say because of this flaw, they ended up at the outskirts of lost isles.

As it approached nighttime, the faint smell of wood and ocean brought hunger among the tired traveling pack of Worgens. It was time to setup camp.

                    ---

He came running out of the bushes so fast he almost knocked over his two friends. “COME. NOW!” he snickered, trying harder than usual just to speak clearly. With that he ran back away, knowing curiosity would kill the cat with them.

It always does with Goblins.

They found him hiding behind bushes up on a small hill “Will you two SHUT UP!???” he hissed at them as they clunked their way through the shrubbery towards their friend up above.
They popped their heads out from under the same dark green bush as their own skin, and saw a sight that seemed to trigger more laughter from the first Goblin.

Wiping tears from his eyes he exclaimed “Ok ok…. So these Worgens…. Im guessing they are trying to prepare Westfall stew... Problem is they have been attacking this little Murloc for what seems like an hour now. They snagged a few before…but this little guy…” and with that he choked into more muffled laughter.

“I mean… LOOK at them… Elites… and they cant take down this one little Murlock… They are too stubborn to leave him alone and go after other prey.”

His two friends focused in more intently after hearing the last bit of information, and it was true. Try as they might, the little Murloc parried each one of their attacks. Obviously the damage he was causing to them was all for null, but the fact of the matter remained.

They could not take down this unusually small Murloc.

The first goblin smacked one of his friends so hard his eyes could have popped out of his head. “HEY! Remember Joe talking about that one Murloc he spent A WEEK trying to take down? I THINK THIS IS HIM! Hehehe, LETS GO!!!”

And with that the first Goblin took off running into the field. He was always doing stupid things but he knew his friends were always by his side, and regretfully, they just got pulled into another one of his mis-adventures.

                    ---

They were beginning to tire. Try as they might this little Murloc would not succumb to their attacks, and with rage and stubbornness setting in, they continued their assault, unknowing of the three elite armored Goblins running at them.
The mage of the group perked and without hesitation informed his other two friends of his new findings from across the field.

 “Im out of mana and a pack of elite Goblins is coming at us. We need to retreat. NOW.” And with that the three wolves ran off into the night, upset.
On all their minds, tonight they would have to settle for leftover spider legs.


The Goblins pulled up on the little Murloc, he was jittery as a squirrel that got into some Dwarven moonshine ale.

“HAHAHAHA, did you see that? They ran! HEY LITTLE GUY, don’t your mama tell you not to talk to strangers? HAHAHA”
Little Grunty turned around to face three Goblins, expecting another attack he gurgled out incoherent babble and begin to swipe at the loudmouth who was stepping closer.
“HAHAhoo, stop that now, come with us, I have something I want to give you” And with that he handed the little Murloc a handful of beans. “Come on!” he beckoned at little Grunty and took off again, back towards The Lost Isles, with the two other Goblins following close behind. They were getting a little tired of their friend’s random shenanigans.

                    ---

Little Grunty sat in the corner, the two Goblin friends watching him suspiciously as he twitched and garbled in the corner, shifty eyes darting everywhere, gnawing on a old fish head that was given to him.

“What in the hell are you doing Paul? Why did you want to bring this little rat back here?” Sneered the tallest of the three, irritated as his friend sat behind a pile of ratchets, gears, and other metal junk the professional engineer had been hording like the Goblin he was.

“This little guy deserves something. Did you see the way he took on those Worgens? HAHAHA, Ive been saving this broken metal for a while now. Most of it is too damaged to make into a full set of armor… But enough of it is intact to make something for this little guy, HAHAHAAA” Paul was transforming into one of those maniacal weird gnomes again…

“HERE!” and with that he stepped from behind the rubble, holding almost a round ball of blue unidentified metal, along with some sort of peewee gun.

Goblin and Murloc alike stepped back in agreed confusion. This Goblin was nuts with a capital N.
Surprisingly the little Murloc allowed Paul to outfit him with this strange suit, technology grafted into it that was obviously not of this planet.

The Suit hummed with an internal power of its own. “Now little guy, See this red button? Yea…. I don’t know what it does.”

What should we learn from this story? Never tell a Murloc what NOT to do.

Within that instant, little Grunty mashed his webbed paw over the small glowing dot and begin to fade away. The last thing he remembered hearing was: “Good going Paul. Next time teach him how to walk right into Ironforge…”

                    ---

“CAPTIAN RAYNOR! We just had a teleport at base!”
“And?”
“…And its not human… But it has our armor, modified.”
“Im on my way”

Shortly after Jim Raynor walked outside onto the dock, marines standing all over crowed around a small creature decked out in Terran armor, twitching and glancing all over.

“What is it?”
“We don’t know sir, but he seems friendly.”

Just then, sensing the rip in space, a lone Zerg came out from behind a large group of rocks, hell-bent on blood.

Grunty Tweaked and twitched, babbling and bouncing all around, empting his entire clip into the hydralisk until it was no more than a mutilated carcass, Grunty babbling away, clicking on an empty trigger.

“Hey little guy, you fight well, I don’t know where you come from, but your more than welcome to join our cause.”
Grunty just gave him a blank stare and pushed the now empty gun in Raynors face.

“I don’t know who makes ammo that small, so here.” And with that, Raynor grabbed the little gun and handed him a standard issue assault rifle.

“First post, take the new recruit with you out into the field, see how he does.”

“Yes sir!”





To be honest, Grunty was a little too dumb to ever really figure out what just happened. Growing up in a marsh with other Murlocs, his constant questing finally got the best of him.
Back on Azeroth Goblin and Worgens alike talked of the elusive Murloc that would just not give up. Newspapers articles began to be written about him, yet no one ever saw of him again. On this world, it was just another story lost in the wind.

Grunty made a good addition to the Terrans though, and continued his twitchy life on this new planet, completely content with blowing up anything that looked at him the wrong way.

By: Apollo1579

Contest entry

Grunty the murloc

The story of Grunty starts out at a small murloc village off the coast of the Anaheim woodlands. The family just got started and they had found a little murloc boy and named him Grunty. This was a fitting name for this murloc because of its small size and embarrassing features. This family of murlocs was blessed by the gods of Azeroth for this gift of a murloc child falling from the sky. They were unable to have kids themselves so this was the perfect opportunity for the parents. Years go by and Grunty thinks that he is a normal murloc. This all change when the murloc started to socialize with the other murlocs around him. He was not accepted by the others and quickly hated among all the murloc clans in Anaheim woodlands. After his peaceful years in his parent’s murloc hut he finally got a taste of real murloc life.

A few years after the hatred started, for the small murloc, he was chased out of the city. In the process of this his parents were slaughtered in front of him and hung out in front of all the huts. This mad Grunty run for his life and as soon as he found a safe place in a rock beside a camp and traveling merchants he cried. The next morning Grunty awoke to the smell of salted venison on the fire of the merchant’s camp. He longed for the venison but knew if he showed himself he would be killed instantly. Grunty stayed there until the merchants left. As they packed up a merchant selling small scale guns and armor that work drop and full set of training armor. Grunty saw this as a stroke of luck that the world’s smallest armor and weapon merchant would be so close to the smallest murloc.

He tried the armor on and instantly he was flooded with memories from his past. He could see fighting, endless war and destruction from his past. Grunty shook off the memories and began to train to get revenge on the murlocs that killed his family. Every night Grunty would make small ammo for his gun and shoot at targets in the forest were no one could see him. After a few months of intense training Grunty had another glimpse of his past. This memories he could see his old family and friends. He could see has old armor and semi auto machine gun. This brought hope to him for getting revenge on the murlocs that killed his parents. The night after this memory Grunty snuck back into his old hut that he lived in for his recent years. He searched all the contents of the hut for information about the day he was found in the Anaheim woodlands. He found pictures of a crashed pod in the forest. This intrigued him to go find the contents of the pod that he came here in.

 So the next day he awoke with a smile on his face. He set out for the woods the look for his crashed pod. Where ever it is he needs to find it to ever get back to his home. He spent the day looking in caves and under rocks but he had no luck until; he stumbled on a goblin encampment. Within the camp he saw his old pod. This is bad. Grunty waited the day to figure out how to get his stuff back. While trying to figure it out a goblin spotted him and grabbed him before he could escape. After explaining himself the goblins he was allowed a meal. The goblins felt sympathy for this tiny murloc and they want to help him with is revenge on the others. That night the goblins attacked the murloc village. This battle was over before it started. The goblins came in and left nothing alive inside the village. After the battle Grunty was invited to follow the goblins on their journeys around the new world. Grunty agreed later that day he examined the pod. He told the goblins it was his and they believed him.

They left his home away from home and set off on an adventure through Kalimador. While on the ship he tried to get the pod open and it was stuck. Years past traveling with the goblins. Grunty is exalted With Orgimmar, Thunder Bluff, and Undercity. He spent days helping these factions because of the items he needs to fix his pod. Thunder bluff had a module that is used to power the engines on his pod. Under city had the nuclear fuel used to power the module. Orgimmar had a certain type of ore that can withstand space travel. This was an epic adventure for Grunty and he was trained by the goblins in engineering. With all his training in Azeroth he is on his way back to the lost isles. Once he got there he assembled a team to help him fix the pod. This project took 6 days. Once it was complete he could finally open the pod. He found his armor and his machine gun in the pod. He put it on and was respected amoung the goblins for his heroic deeds to Azeroth.

They fixed his pod and Grunty was ready to take off once again back to his home. The goblins through him a going away party and tears were shed for the leaving of Grunty. After the party he took of only to see that the Worgen were attacking goblins. By this time Grunty was already gone. He swore to himself that he would come back and help the goblins.

10 years later Grunty was back at home and he was the finest murloc Marine the fleet has ever seen. He assembled an elite squad of marines called Orbital Drop-shock Murlocs (ODSM). Grunty was going to full fill his promise and come help the goblins for all that they did to help him get back home. Also coming with is a portal murloc to set up communications between the two worlds. The set off for the lost isles and got there quickly. Upon their arrival they saw that the Worgen enslaved the goblins. They landed and were immediately confronted by the Worgen. They explained themselves and war broke out. 21 ODSM against hundreds of Worgen. The battle raged and Murlocs owned all the Worgen. Pushing the Worgen back into the castle Grunty unlocked the goblins' chains. Now the ODSM and Goblins assaulted the Worgen slaughtering all that stand. It seemed all was going well until the Worgen king came out of the throne room. Grunty charged and jump in the air. The king threw and spear and it pierced Grunty through the chest. At the same time Grunty shot the king in the head and the battle was over. Grunty was killed in the name of ODSM and the goblins.

The rest of the ODSM and the goblins held a ceremony to honor Grunty in his epic heroism coming back the save the goblins. After the war the 20 ODSM left stayed to protect the goblins in to honor Grunty. These 20 ODSM are still in Azeroth.

GO fk ya self i just want "grunty" xD

Hi my name is Grunty, and I'm an alcoholic.... (crowd yells "HI GRUNTY")

I grew up as a child of two alcoholic murlochs... My parents with drink Grog and then my mother used to beat my father.  It wasn't easy.... Then at the age of 5 (we murlocks don't live THAT long) I joined the marines... the horors I saw... no wonder I drink!!

While in the service of the Horde, i came a cross a small troll town, where I met a man making tiny ammo...  so like any good drunk murlock, I killed him, took the molds and all his supplies, and now manufacture my own ammo!.

I don't really want to be here tonight. unfortunately I was court ordered.... seems there was an unfortunate episode involving me and an Org (don't really remember it, but we both were woken up naked by the cops...)  Any way... that's all i have to share..

(Crowd yells, "Thanks for sharing, Keep coming back)

Who makes ammo that small?

We set out to find out as much as we could about the origin of everyone's favorite pet. While researching Grunty, in the oldest of archives here at the Curse HQ, we came across a newspaper clipping from the Azeroth newspaper about a mysterious little fella found in the woods by a group of Worgen and Goblins who were heading home from Blizzcon 2009! Unfortunately the article comes to an abrupt end without telling us what happened to him after the Worgen and Goblins found him, take a look:

Date: 2505. Location: Onboard the Starship cruiser Murky.

As Sgt Grunty walked from his quarters to the command deck he thought about his mission. How was he supposed to accomplish this?

A seasoned fighter in dozens of battles, earned the medal of Lurky for his heroism in the battle of Eren'Ta, the Murloc still couldn't believe what he was asked to do.

As he entered the command deck, General H.D. Rurky approached him. "Glad you came, Grunty" He said with an almost unnoticeable smile. "I know you have some doubts about this mission, but it's the only way, and you are the only one who can do it.

Grunty looked over to his side and armed his weapon "What is he doing here!" He yelled as he was barely holding himself from blasting away.

"At ease Soldier!" Commanded General Rurky . "Murkimus is your partner on this mission."

"I don't need a partner, Sir." Voiced Grunty while staring at Murkimus.

"Just relax Grunts, this isn't what I'd call a top 5 dream team either." Smirked a laughing Murkimus.

"Don't call me Grunts. Answered Grunty and turned towards the General.

"We're losing this war." General Rurky started his pre-written speech. "The Zerg are gaining more territory as we speak. The Protoss are destroying worlds just to stop them and the Humans...Well the Humans can't handle this. We've stood in the shadows until now hoping for this war to bypass us and end quickly. We were wrong. We should have acted earlier...quicker...But The Elders...The Elders thought it was not the right time. Right time...heh..Like THIS is the right time!"

"But sir, I don't understand what we are doing here. Earth is nowhere near the combat zone." A confused Grunty asked while still holding his blaster close.

"What you are going to hear now is one of our stories that passed from generation to generation and as the years went by History became legend, Legend became Myth and eventually all knowledge about our past was about lost."

"The Elders know of a story, one of our earliest stories that dates to the time of The Great Cataclysm!" The two young Murlocs gasped as the General uttered those words.

"Before we left for the stars, before we had to find a new home for our race, we used to be a young race on this planet, on Earth Prime. The Legend goes that an old race of Humanoid creatures called 'Orcs' created a magical portal from their home world, whose name is long forgotten, to Earth in order to invade it. Even though its creator was very powerful, he didn't realize the portal's full potential and powers. The portal caused his home world to break apart and many died."

"What's that got to do with our mission, sir?" Asked Murkimus, while juggling his spear.

"Everything." General Rurky said while turning to stare at the glowing image of Earth which was viewable outside the deck.

"Those portals were not only a gateway between two points in space, but also between two points in time!" He said while turning back to face the two uneasy Murlocs. "Although the powerful Orc didn't know it at the time, the magical portals can be used to travel in time, to a time before The Great Cataclysm!"

"Your mission is to land on Earth and find the last remaining portal, activate it and go back in time to help us win this war!"

"But how will we do that, sir?" Asked a worried Grunty

"You'll have to activate the portal together. One of you will need to send power to the portal itself while another will have to use the Book of Medivh to create the rift in time."

"Sounds easy Grtuns." Laughed Mukimus, who was always eager to jump into unknown situations. "Don't call me 'Grunts' Murkimus."  Replied Grunty.

"While in the past you will need to find the ancient race of the Goblins and Worgens and prevent them from creating the future...This future from ever happening. You two are our strongest soldiers and each of you is essential for this mission."

"And once we're done with the mission how are.." Started asking Grunty but was stopped by Murkimus "This is a one-way ride Grunts.

There won't be a way for us to return home after we pass through."

"He is right." Said General Rurky  "I'm sorry Grunty and Murkimus. There isn't another way, it has to be done like this, and it has to be you. If you're still up for this mission, meet me at the Bay in 1 hour." Said General Rurky as he left the deck.

"Are you coming Grunty?" Asked Murkimus "I...I don't think we really have a choice. I'll meet you there." Said Grunty as he stared at Earth from the deck.

"This is the last time I'll be seeing you from here." Grunty thought to himself "The next time I'll view you, I will be standing on the ground."

1 hour later and onboard one of the stealth fighters that will take them to a distant island in the South Seas, Grunty and Murkimus both looked at each other as they were strapped in their chairs. General Rurky's voice was heard over the com system. "Good luck Murlocs. You've made the hardest sacrifice possible. It was an honor serving with you both."

"Thank you, Sir!" Both Murloc answered.

The landing was easy enough; Earth's stealth seeking technology wasn't good enough to detect them. They landed a few miles from their target, blew up their ship and started walking to the portal.

Inside a small jungle in the South Seas they found a huge stone structure. A structure you wouldn't guess might be a Time and Space gateway if you didn't already know that yourself.

Murkimus and Grunty started working fast, clearing the overgrown weeds and trees that were all over. Once they were done it resembled what General Rurky told them they'd find.

Murkimus, being the brute of the two, decided he'll be in charge of powering up the gateway with Grunty's blaster. A move Grunty would shot him in other day for, but only accepted because he knew there wasn’t any other way.

Grunty moved in to the circle they drew on the ground and started carving out on the ground the symbols required for the spell. When he was done he looked back at Murkimus and with a knowing look asked him if he was ready, Murkimus just smiled back and nodded.

It was now or never for the two young Murlocs. Grunty started the chant and the symbols started to glow. As he uttered the last words the portal energized itself with the power of Grunty's blaster and a Dark and alarming watery substance appeared to cover the gateway.

"It really worked Grunts" Said Murkimus.

Just as Grunty was about to answer his usual response about not calling him Grunty, they heard fighter jet engines and seconds later they felt the ground shake with laser blasts raining down on them. Apparently the opening of the gate caused Earth sensors to go off all over and they were discovered.

"Murkimus!" yelled Grunty "We got to get to the portal before they hit it! We have to pass through now!"

Grunty and Murkimus ran towards the portal the laser blasts were hitting closer and closer. Just as they were about to enter, one laser blast hit very close sending Murkimus and Grunty flying into the portal.

A few hours later in an unknown time or place, Grunty woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and saw only trees. Huge trees which were blocking the sun. After a few moments of trying to remember where he is, he remembered the mission. He remembered he was at the portal, about to enter and that the Humans discovered him and started to blast him…and Murkimus! He remembered he was with him also!

"Murkimus!" yelled Grunty "Murkimus, where are you?"

Grunty started searching for Murkimus. Yelling his name and looking all over the forest he was in.

Grunty searched all over the woods, turned every rock, even climbed a few of the bigger trees to see if he can spot Murkimus from the top. Nothing. No sign of Murkimus. Grunty started to doubt he even made it with him through the portal. Did the Humans capture him? Or worse…was he dead?

Grunty quickly dismissed those thoughts. His mission was the only thing keeping him sane. He believed it was his destiny to complete it. 'Destiney' he laughed to himself. What a strange twist. Just 10 years earlier at the battle of Eren'Ta, Murkimus told him it was his destiny to stop the war. He charged a Zerg command center with his entire platoon against Grunty's better judgment. He and Grunty were the only survivors that day.  It was the last time they both met until today.

As the hours passed, Grunty started losing hope. He hadn't seen anyone yet, nor has he found any trace of Murkimus.

He walked out of the trees and surprised the pack of Worgens. As expected of Worgen, they did not trust the Murloc, for they have met Murlocs in their past, and it was always trouble when you saw one around. However this Murloc was different. He could speak in Common.

Grunty told them that he was lost and couldn't remember where he was or who he is, except his name, Grunty, and asked if he could join them. The Worgen leader being a Shaman decided to trust the young Murloc and take him back to their village and try helping him gain his memories back.

On their way back to their village, the Worgen leader, Fenrod, told Grunty all about his home land, Gilneas, which was their destination. Grunty was curious to know where they were now and Fenrod, smiling, told him that they are in the Anaheim woodlands and they just left the Blizzcon event. They were sent their on behalf of the Alliance to make sure the Goblins, now proud members of the Horde, won't cause any trouble.

As the hours passed, Fenrod tried getting information from Grunty, why he was there, where he was from, what was that weird looking blaster he had, but Grunty, loyal to his mission, kept his mouth quite and told Fenrod that he doesn't remember.

Meanwhile…

Inside an Ancient arena, Murkimus found himself with his spear and a gladiator helm and shield. Just as the announcer announced him as the next challenger….

Lol :)

No birds chirped, no leaves brushed together, no wind passed over them as they walked. It was eerily quiet on that particular morning. A small pack of Worgen was making their way from Anaheim back to Gilneas. They smelled a stench all too familiar. The smell of war. In the distance, the patriarch of the pack heard a distinct noise that sent a chill up his spine. The worgen were walking along in their human state. Unfortunately, for them, that would pass quickly as the sound grew closer. A group of Lost Isle Goblins made themselves visible through the clearing as a rather oafish goblin hollered "...and that's when I told this little fella... I GOT WHAT YOU NEED! Look at him, he thinks he's so tough... I must've killed 5 or 6 HUNDRED Murlocs in the last 6 levels alone! Who does this guy think he is!?"

The worgen patriarch stepped up to the front of his pack. The goblins halted. There was a moment of uneasy tension that hung in the air like an orc fart. No one moved, they simply eyed one another. One of the goblins yelled "Random Dimension Portal Modifier! I choose you!" and hurled a chunk of metal into the space between them. A blue light shot straight into the air, and a swirling white gas pulled the air around the light downward into the Portal Modifier. From behind the front line of goblins came a small blue creature that appeared to be armored to the teeth... the worgen had no clue what was happening, and as such were torn from their flesh as they each transformed into their beastly natured worgen forms. The patriarch had seen enough, and leaped forward on all fours, attempting to grab the creature before the now swirling vortex consumed it. He failed, and there was a *Bloop!* as the blue creature disappeared... and then the patriarch. A goblin in the middle of the huddle bellowed, "Glad I could help! HA!"

The worgen pack all at once howled, and sprang forth in dark flight toward the goblins, and let loose an assault no one could have imagined. The gnashing of teeth, and tearing of flesh was more than the goblins n the back of the group could handle, and they began rummaging quickly through their packs for toys. A goblin screamed "Yes! Here it is! It's super effective!" and threw a similar device down on the ground below them. A red light swallowed them, more quickly than the blue light from the other device, and they were gone in the matter of just a few seconds. One of them, however, was spit back out and not even looking... well... quite like himself.

"Evil Twin Malfunction... lovely..." he muttered as the worgen examined their battlefield, noticing he was the only standing goblin remaining. Two worgen from the pack lunged toward him, and the goblin jumped in the air, using rocket boosters to propel him toward the skies... or so the worgen thought. A short worgen standing near a minuscule demon quietly announced "Fear" in the direction of the goblin, and his trajectory was thrown askew and he jettisoned toward the Blue light, fireballs trailing behind him. The small demon ran toward him to get another fireball off and turned to his master, yelling "This was NOT in my contract!" and threw one last fireball as the goblin disappeared in the same *bloop!* the two previous travelers had. The worgen assembled and howled in grief of their lost patriarch.


On the other side of the blue light the worgen patriarch awaited the damnation that he was sure to endure. The small blue creature was violently launching rockets, machine gun rounds, and hurdling obstacles as waves of little aliens came running toward them. "MurlgrulugURLGLRULGURARGLA!" was all that was heard aside from the sound of artillery and squishing alien slaughter. The worgen attempted to help as best he knew how. The few aliens getting through had only left a few marks on the little murloc soldier. He screamed and winced at every blow that hit him. The worgen could no longer stand by and let this small warrior fight this battle alone. He screamed "Shield!" and the murloc felt his soul lighten as energy surrounded him to protect him. The worgen priest said a quiet prayer, and the murloc heard a loud bell as holy light shot from the worgen toward him. A soothing wave fell over the priest came closer and said "May you be Renewed, my friend." The murloc felt his wounds healing as he continued to battle the zerg from all around him. He looked to the worgen and said "These baddies called Zerg. They not good. Bad to Terrans. Terrans good. Kill Zerg, Help Terrans!"

The Priest nodded and assumed his shadow form, calling upon the essence of darkness to surround him. He spotted two of the larger zerg creatures and whispered "Pain..." toward them. He then called forth a devouring plague upon them both, and focused his thoughts on the larger of the two. He focused on it's mind, what little bit there was of one, and Blasted it with an intense shock. There was a scream on the battlefield. He began to sear it's mind, and the enemies around began to fall.The murloc threw a grenade, and continued to fire upon the zerg waves approaching them. The battle raged.

There was a small *Bloop!* from behind them that neither noticed. The priest stopped in battle, and focused his mind on the presence of a new begin on the field with them, and attempted to view into it with his own eyes. With his mind vision, he could see his own back. He turned on heel, and Screamed into the consciousness of the goblin, causing him to run away. He tripped, and fell, his bag spewing goodies all over their nook. The murloc turned and fired two rockets, and streamed rounds toward the goblin. Without much need for explanation, the goblin did not get up. The priest gathered the bag's contents and recognized a Goblin Land Mine, and a few sticks of EZ Throw. He set the mines on the entry to their battle nook, as the murloc continued to cover him.

Upon finishing the setup of a portal device found in the bag, the priest called out "Come, my small friend! We must move quickly!" The murloc threw the last stick of EZ Throw and reared back to the portal, grabbing onto the priest as they both disappeared. Their defense line had broken, but the Goblin Land Mines did away with at least 35 zerglings that attempted to penetrate their nook. They were gone.

*Bloop!* and they were back in the forest clearing. The howling of the priest's pack was so loud the murloc peeled off his helmet to cover his head with his arms. The patriarch cried "Fortitude!" and the air was filled with Green Crosses that lit the sky. The pack stopped immediately, and turned to their patriarch. In dark flight they joined his side. "Brethren, this murloc assisted me in returning, and I him. We fought side by side on the fields of battle against an army I've not seen the likes of in Gilneas, much less the entirity of Azeroth or the Outlands. He fights with valor, brave and wise. Stature aside, I would do battle with this fellow any day, and yet still I know not his name. Speak, friend, and enlighten us to your insight.

The murloc stepped forth and opened his mouth with great care to speak in common. "My name Grunty. I work for Terran. I come from Azeroth, but go through blue portal in Gadgetzan many year back. Greenies pull me to big place from Zerg fight. Man sing with round glasses. Say 'Prince of Darkness'. They keep me in box. They mean. Murloc grows slow, I learn fast. Terran use me for... in... full... trate. Grunty good, Terran Good, Protoss Bad, Zerg Bad." The priest moved forward.

"The worgen of Gilneas owe you a debt of gratitude for your prowess on the battlefields with the Zerg. You are welcome to join us on our journey... to our home." The worgen shed the fur, their limbs snapping back into their human forms and their clothing changing shape as they went.

"Grunty like worgen. Worgen look like Terran sometimes. Terran Good. Worgen Good."

And so, the murloc stayed with the worgen patriarch. Many epic battle, pieces of loot, and Guilds later they can still be found fighting side by side in the Valley of Alterac... the Basin of the Arathi Kingdom, The Warsong Clan's Gulch, within the Eye of the Storm, along the beaches of the Strand of the Ancients, on the Isle of Conquest, and in any dungeon that dare tempt the likes of the worgen...

Without going into to much tremendous detail, Grunty had been taken in by the Goblins, where he learned to craft, steal or otherwise obtain his diminutive ammo. Laccking the skills to reapair or creat transportation of his own, he resigned himself to a life away from home, untill an extreem and exceptionally unlikely even happened. As it happens, a couple years ago, a blue clad Guard stationed in the Black Mesa Research facility fell in the lline of duty. Upon his death, he expected to be transported to the next realm within the Sierra domain, but, instead, he found his essence fragmented and distributed among the inhabitants of a foreign realm.

The same dimentional tears that destroyed Black Mesa, stole Barneys' essence and led to the creation of unlikely heros like Barneynomore, Blindbarney and Iambarneytoo in Nordrassil, now flashed down onto an unsuspecting Grunty, during breakfast, drawning him though Xen, the ruins of the reseach facility and along the residual trail of the noble Guards stolen essence. the last nonsensical thought that passed through his little mind was : " Who is Gordon and why does he owe me a beer??"

Grunty. Years have passed since this loyal Terran made the ultimate sacrafice to the ongoing war with the Zerg. This is his story.

  He was once a normal man, with a wife and kid. That is until the Zerg invaded Chau Sara. He lost his family that day and vowed to do whatever it took to exterminate the vile creatures who took his life from him. He join the Terran Army and enlisted as a Grunt, what better way was there to get up close and personal with the monsters he thought. He fought battle after battle, taking as many Zerg down as he could. After a year of fighting, Grunty was a highly decorated soldier and had the respect of seniors and subordinates alike both for his ruthlessness and his strategic mind.

  One day, while Grunty was resting in his barracks room, he heard a knock at the door. Immediatly he grabbed his Gauss rifle, ammo, and stim packs and headed to open it. "Another battle, just what I was itching for. I hate when the higher ups make me take time off." As he opened the door, instead of seeing his squad leader, he saw two scientists. 

"I am Michael Taylor and this is my associate, James Green. We are with the Biological, Chemical, Nuclear, and Weapons Research Department. May we take a moment of your time? We have an offer you might be interested in." 

"Make it quick, I'm expecting to leave for Mar Sara sometime today to help clean out the remaining zerg."

"Right the point with it then? I knew there was a reason we picked you. In our department we specialize in new and more efficent ways of eradicating the Zerg. On top of that, we also experiment with different chemicals and drugs to help make the soldiers stronger, faster, and have a higher life expectancy. We have just developed a serum that will do all of that and more. Your senses will be hightened, your reflexes more honed, and you can shoot and run all day without feeling any kind of fatigue. Now, we come to you with this proposal because over the past month we have been watching you in combat. You outperform, and quite frankly outlive almost every other Terran on the field. This serum has not been tested on Humans yet, so we would like to offer it to you first. I know what you're thinking, that you are just another test rat. This is not the case, if it was we would find a more.....how should I say, expendable person. We have another serum that will reverse the effects if something should go wrong. If you say yes, we will begin immediatly. If you say no, you will never see us again and the offer will not be brought back to you. We will come back in one hour to hear your answer. Good day, Marine."

  As the two scientists left, Grunty sat down hard on his rack. He didn't know what to think, let alone say, about an offer such as that. Be stronger, faster, healthier....a supersoldier. Time seemed to stand still in that hour that Grunty had to contemplate. This was a life changing decision, one that he could not take back if he said yes. Or one he would be offered again if he said no.

  An hour passed and the scientists were at his door.

"Have you made a decision?"

"I have. When do we start"

"Right now. If you will just follow us."

"One sec  Doc, let me put my gear on. Just in case I have to leave in a hurry."

  Grunty followed the two. They led him through the building and outside. From there they boarded a shuttle which took them to the other side of the continent. Exiting the shuttle he was led into a building that reminded him of a Command Center, but he knew it was something far more important. Into the building and down a hallway they came to an elevator which took them to the top floor. Upon entering the new room, Grunty knew that more than just weapons were made here. Large cylinders were placed around the room with, what looked like, different animals floating in some kind of green fluid. Tables and computers were lined with men and women wearing white jackets, poking and prodding or typing furiously. No one in the room looked at the bewildered Marine as the two scientists he followed led him past and into a smaller, but no less imposing, room with a door at the other end with a window next to it. In this next room he saw shelves upon shelves lined with vials, pills, syringes, and stuff that looked like you could eat it. There was a small chair in the middle of the room. Normal looking, except that it was bolted to the floor and had ankle and wrist restraints on it.

"Well, here we are. We will begin in a few moments. I just have to get a few things in order. Please, have a seat and relax."

"N...No thanks, I'd rather stand if you don't mind."

  After a few minutes of standing in awe at where he was, the scientist Michael Taylor turned to him, with a vial of blue colored liquid that seemed to move on its own.

"We are ready. When you are ready, all you need to do is drink this. The effects, although you won't feel them, should take effect within a few minutes. After drinking we do request that you do sit. If something should go wrong it would be in everyone's safety if you were not standing."

 He handed the vial to Grunty with a shaky hand and a nervous look.

"Ok Doc, you're the boss."

 Grunty paused a moment, looked at the vial, and took a deep breath. He raised the vial to his mouth.

"Cheers!"

The liquid was drained in a matter of seconds, after which Grunty calmy sat in the chair. Minutes passed and Grunty felt nothing.

"Let's give it a few more minutes, shall we? Then we will begin some simple tests to measure your strength, endurance, and stamina."

"Well lets hurry this along as fast as we can. I'm still expecting to catch a Cruiser for Mar Sara today."

A few more minutes passed and Grunty started feeling an odd tingling sensation all over his body. He stood up and started to walk around the room in small circles.

"Hey Doc, is my body supposed to tingle like this? It feels as like my body is......AAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!"

 Grunty toppled over a nearby desk, sending the documents, vials, and other items crashing to the ground. His body started convulsing as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Foam and mucus started to flow out his mouth and nose. The scientists in the room tried to restrain him, but the convulsing was too much to control. They fled the room into the one with the window looking in where they watched the scene unfolding.

  The convulsing and fluid excretion stopped, but what was happening was far from over. Grunty felt his spine start to shrink and it began to arch in the middle, although he felt not pain. His legs and arms were shortening as well. As his body started to grow smaller and smaller, he noticed he could see more of the room than before. Reaching his hand to his face he tried to scream as he realized his eyes had moved towards the side of his head. In fact his whole face had changed, resembling that of a fish. His teeth had become razor sharp daggers in his ever widening mouth. The room began to spin and Grunty fainted.

 Grunty's vision and hearing slowly started to come back as he started to wake. He was on a gurney, being rolled down a dimly lit hallway. He heard people around him talking and recognized Michael Taylor's voice. He tried to talk, but no sound would come. He felt as if he would faint again.

"Let's get rid of the body, no will ever know what happened here. We will use the wormhole generator and send him anywhere but here. We can work on the cover story later. I don't think I have to remind anyone what the repurcussions will be if anyone ever knows the truth."

"Yes, Sir. My lips are sealed and I think I have the perfect place to send him."

 "Well, here we are. Let's get this over with. We have to perfect that serum. Minsk wants it in working condition by the end of the week."

 So he was just a test subject after all, he thought to himself. It all made sense. Minsk ordered the serum to be made, as to give his soldiers the advantage while fighting the Zerg and the renegade's loyal to Raynor. He knew he should have listened and went with the others who rebelled against Minsk. None of this would have happened. Now I have three more targets on my list, these two scientist and Minsk. As soon as I figure out how to get out of this mess, they're mine. He said in is head.

  The gurney stopped, and Grunty was lifted off. He was being carried to a big circular device.

"Power it up already. We have little time to waste. I want to be rid of this failure as soon as possible."

"Yes, Sir. The machine is powering up now. I programmed the coordinates for a place well out of our galaxy, maybe even our time."

"Don't tell me, it's better that only one of us knows. You know, I do feel bad about what happened to him. Grunty was a great soldier. Maybe we could send him with something to protect himself, at the least. Ahhh, I got it. The new Gauss rifle we have been developing. It's just the right size for him. We'll give him enough ammuntion to last a lifetime, considering he doesn't just shoot at everything that moves."

 "Sir, it's powered up and ready. Just lay him on the pad here and in a few seconds none of this will have happened."

  Grunty was layed on a square pad with a rifle and bag full of ammunition. What did they mean "just the right size for him?" The rifle was tiny, like a child's toy gun. He had little time to contemplate this as the pad he was lieing on lifted in the air and hurled towards the giant circle. Everything went black and Grunty knew no more.

  Days, months, years seemed to pass. Grunty finally awoke, dazed and confused. As his vision slowly came to him, he noticed he was in a forest and could see glimpses of the baby blue sky above him. He could see bushes and trees all around him. He was on an open patch of ground, in the shape of a circle.The faint sound of birds came to his ears. He lay still for many minutes, trying to keep himself concious. Suddenly he heard two voices coming from the left of him and getting closer. The first sounded high pitched and squeaky. The second voice sounded low and gurgled, like whomever was talking was growling.

"Boy am I glad to be out of there Lucas. That was too crowded, and people kept stepping on me!"

"Aye, I bid Blizzcon 2009 a happy farewell. Can you believe some guy tried to skin me? And then some hunter kept following me around mumbling about a Worgen Pet. I think he was trying to tame me! Let's get back to Azeroth, Blippy. Can you make us a portal?"

"Sure thing, friend. But it will cost ya! 5 gold and we have a deal."

"I gave you 5 gold to get HERE. That should cover all the expenses. Runes of Portal do not cost that much."

"Profit, my furry friend. It's all about profit. Now do you want to get home or not?"

"Fine, take the gold. But you will not get a copper more from me."

"Nice doin business with ya! Let's just get to the clearing and I shall start the spell."

  Grunty didn't know what to do. From what he gathered the one called Lucas was something called a Worgen, whatever that may be. The one called Blippy sounded like a small child with some sort of power. Maybe he could use the small child's power to get back to where he came from, and exact his revenge. Grunty tried to move, but his body still seemed sluggish and not willing to respond. He tried to set himself up, only to fall back to the ground. He grabbed his rifle and held it close as the duo he heard talking walked into the clearing.

"Alright Lucas, stand back while I.....wait a minute. Is that a Murloc? Wearing some kind of armor? Is that....is that a gun? Wait a minute, why would a Murloc be in Anaheim? They weren't invited to Blizzon 2009. Hey, you, Murloc. What are you doing here?"

  Grunty did not make sense of anything that was just said. Murloc, Anaheim, Blizzcon 2009. What were these things?

"It's okay little guy. Blippy and I won't hurt you. Are you lost? Where is your family? It's okay, you can talk to us."

  Grunty cleared his throat and tried to speak.

"My....my name is Grunty. I am not a...a Murloc or what ever it is you speak of. I am a Terran, of Chau Sara."

  He told the two the story of what had transpired. The Goblin and Worgen looked at him with a sceptical look. But after a few minutes they conversed in private, out of earshot of Grunty.

"Well, what do you think Blippy? I think he is tellin the truth. Sounds crazy, but after being at the Blizzcon I am ready to believe anything."

"I believe him too Lucas, he talks so proper unlike the normal Murlocs. He must have fallen into a cross-dimentional whatshoozit."

"Speak in Common, Blippy. Your big words hurt my head."

"Ok furball. He got portal from one world to another, just like we did. But it wasn't on his own will, so he does not have the means to get back unless we help him."

"Ahhh, thank you. Much better. So do ya want to help him? And don't say if he pays well enough. Look at him, he don't have anything."

"Well, working for free goes against everything I believe in but I think just this once I can do it."

  Blippy and Lucas told Grunty they would help him get home. They told him all about Blizzcon, Anaheim and Murlocs.

"You two aren't from here?"

"No, we are from a place called Azeroth. Blippy made a portal, much like what you went through, to get us here."

"Well can you make me a portal to Chau Sara?"

"Well, Grunty, it won't be easy but I'm sure I could. I just need to do some research. So for now, would you like to acompany us to Azeroth? From there we can work to get you home."

"If it gets me home. What can you tell me about Azeroth?"

  Blippy and Lucas told Grunty everything they knew. Azeroth, the Lich King, the Scourge, the Burning Legion. The Alliance and The Horde and their ongoing war with each other and the other forces.

"This Scourge sounds a lot like the monsters called Zerg where I am from. You say the Burning Legion created the Scourge? The Lich King controls them, but doesn't work for the Burning Legion? Sounds like you could use some help. Maybe I will stick around for awhile and explore Azeroth. I got an itching to wipe out some mindless drones and the Scourge sounds like a good target. Thank you for helping me, if I can ever do anything to repay you let me know."

"Don't worry, Blippy will. Greedy little goblins. Hahahaha. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship and a unique voyage. What do you think Blippy?"

"I agree, but call me little again and I will leave you here."

 Blippy made the portal to transport the three to Azeroth. Once in Azeroth, the trio explored the world fighting Scourge, Demons, and for some reason turkeys. Grunty never did make it back to his world. He stayed in Azeroth, the place where he finally found happiness. He organized the Murloc Marines, an elite army of murlocs. They train nonstop until the fateful day comes and they storm Ice Crown Citadel to take the battle to the Lich King along with Blippy and Lucas and the rest of the Horde and Alliance.

The Murloc Space Marine

Part 1

My name is Grunty and  I am a space marine in the army of the Terran Dominion. That was pretty much all I knew until recently. Neural Resocialization they call it, but brainwashing is a better word I think. It serves no other purpose then turning marines into obeying puppets so some general in his battlecruiser can send them onto the battlefield and to their deaths. The treatment, as I know now, is standard issue for marines. Your memory is wiped as much as possible and replaced by preprogrammed thoughts that make you susceptible to following orders and make sure you stay dumb enough not to rebel. So my past was a mystery to me. There were fragments ofcourse, but I didn’t know what was real or what was programmed. Sometimes I would try to focus,  try to understand who I really was and how I got here. But then the neural reprogramming would kick in and pull a veil over any scraps of memory I had left, leaving me with a blank mind and a headache. One thing I knew though: I was different from the rest of my fellow marines.

For a start: Im not human. I don’t even remotely look like one. I'm much smaller, my skin is pale and shiny, my eyes are huge and my throat doesn’t seem to be made to speak the human language. Not that I have to, because all I normally do is follow orders.
Right after resoc I was send off to a training facility on Tarsonis where I stayed in the company of numerous other creatures, ranging from neural enhanced dogs to toddlers with genetically aged minds. I was the only one of my kind though, which was starting to make me ever more curious. The only thing we all had in common was that we were small. The others spoke to me, but I had difficulty talking to them and couldn’t produce anything but some throat noise, so they simply called me Grunty.
The training facility was full of "freakshows" as our trainers would call us, and they treated us as such. The only person that ever acted nice to me in there was this human female. She was only there for a very short time, but I still remember her well. She had bright red hair and was a telepath. Sarah she was called I believe. I haven’t seen her since. I hope she is ok.

Me and the rest of the trainees received the standard issue CMC-400 powered combat suits and gauss rifle, but in a miniature version. Our training was fully focused on infiltrating areas where space was limited, such as air vents and Zerg hives. Basically go there where human marines with their bulky combat suits cannot. I became part of the famous Alpha Squadron and saw my first real combat soon after training when we were sent to Mar Sara to evacuate the local population and hold off the Zerg. My reprogramming and training made me a natural born killer. The initial laughs about me being small and different soon ceased as I found I could move as swiftly as the zerg and kill with ruthless efficiency. I killed many of them. I hate them, and with each planet they infest I despise them more.

It was during the battle of Bhekar Ro that things changed dramatically for me. Until then my life had seemed nothing but one big blur of fighting. The Terran Dominion had been formed and our unit was send to the bleak colony world of Bhekar Ro to answer a distress call send by the local colonists. Some of them had found an alien artifact inside a mountain and accidentally seemed to have activated it, drawing not only the Terran Dominion to it, but also the Zerg and Protoss. So we were send there to investigate and to rescue the colonists if needed. As we arrived we found the Zerg and Protoss already locked in battle. Alpha Squadron jumped right in, guns blazing. It was a fatal decision as we were wiped out. I was cut off from what remained of my unit when we got the call to retreat. So I did what I do best and used my speed to run between surprised Zerg and Protoss troops, trying to find my way back to my unit. Things did not go as planned though, as a wall of Zerg forced me to turn back. Ultimately I found myself near an entryway into the alien artifact, on the opposite side of the battlefield where I wanted to be. With the battle still raging on I had no other choice but to head deeper inside it.
The interior of the artifact looked weird. Alive somehow. I was deep inside the artifact when the whole mountain suddenly started to shake. The sound was deafening and the walls started glowing with bright light. I turned and ran back the way I came as fast as possible. I could already see the sky outside when the sound and light engulfed me. It all went dark after that.

I regained consciousness again in a forest. I was lying on my back in a small clearing surrounded by massive trees. Every fiber in my body hurt. I glanced around. Gone was the artifact, gone was the mud and dirt of Bhekar Ro. Gone were also all the Protoss, Zerg and Humans. It was replaced by trees, a clear blue sky, warming sunlight and a gentle breeze. But where was I? Had I died and gone to heaven? I had certainly never seen a world like this during my time with the space marines, but it all still seemed oddly familiar somehow. I tried to understand the feeling of familiarity, thinking if this world could somehow be connected to my past. The resocialization kicked in again, its effect hammering in my head. I tried not to think about it again but instead focused on the heads up display of my combat suit.  The screen was showing all sorts of warning messages about possible joint damage and overstressed servos. I tried to get up but I couldn’t. The suit refused. As I tried again I suddenly heard people talking behind me.

I felt the ground around me for my gauss rifle, but it was nowhere to be found. Finally the strangers I had heard approaching loomed over me. I was glad to see that two of them were humans, both male. One of them had a beard and black and gray hair with the look of a seasoned warrior. The other human seemed a lot younger with bright blue eyes. The two weird looking creatures that accompanied them were clearly a male and female. They were not that much bigger then me but had wrinkly green skin and long pointy ears adorned with earrings. The bearded man asked where I came from and what I was doing here. I tried to explain to them that I was a space marine, who had been fighting the Zerg and Protoss just minutes before that, but to no avail. All I produced was some very poorly pronounced words that didn’t actually sound like anything.
The one thing I noticed about the humans and smaller creatures is that they did no show the usual surprise when people saw me for the first time. It was almost as if they had seen someone of my kind before. My combat suit did grab the attention of the small green ones though. They were poking and prodding it and discussing it with lots of excitement. The bearded human finally picked me up and put me on my feet. He showed surprising strength for his lean build and as he did something snapped back into place in the back of my suit. All the warnings on my display disappeared and I was once again able to move. I quickly scanned the clearing for my gauss rifle and saw it lying in the underbrush at the far side of the clearing. Too far away to get to it quickly. So far there had been no sign of hostility, but I did not feel comfortable without my rifle.
The bearded human that had picked me up now kneeled before me, introduced himself as Seridas and his human companion as Esamir. The two green skinned creatures called themselves Frazzle and Jubkin. My head was still pounding from the transition to this world so I barely managed to say my name. Seridas now looked at his companion and they discussed where to take me. They seemed to think I was an infant that was lost. Frazzle now  talked to the humans about something called Murlocs and a village that was nearby. He gestured me to follow him.
I was about to point out that I still wanted to grab my gauss rifle when suddenly Seridas turned and stared into the woods. He smelled the air and as I looked closely his face had now something distinctly wolf like. Frazzle and Jubkin had stopped their heated discussion about my combat suit and looked in the same direction, fear clearly visible in their eyes. The thick smell of sulphur filled the air.

Continued below in part 2

The Murloc Space Marine

Part 2

The demon strolled into the clearing almost casually, its eyes of green flame firmly fixed on Seridas. Large horns sat on top of its head and it had wings folded behind its back. In one hand it held a whip. Accompanying the demon was something that I could only describe as a large sort of Zergling with leathery skin and two tentacles sprouting out from its back. It growled and showed a mouth with rows upon rows of razorsharp teeth. There was no mistaking. These two were not here to have a chat. Seridas yelled something to Esamir that sounded like “Felbeast”. Much to my amazement the two humans transformed into wolflike creatures in the blink of an eye. With inhuman agility Seridas jumped on the felbeast while Esamir launched himself towards the larger demon.
At that point my training kicked in. I felt the rush of adrenaline like a switch that was thrown in my head as I was no longer thinking but acted on instinct. I lowered my visor and raced to the gauss rifle at top speed, the leg servos whining as they protested against the strain. Upon picking up the rifle I was happy to see it was undamaged. I turned around and kneeled, aiming for the felbeast. It was already bleeding from several claw marks on its body, but it had managed to attach one of its tentacles to the chest of Seridas. It almost seemed to suck the very life out of him. I could see the wolf man going limp so I fired a short burst at the tentacle, severing it. The beast roared and let go. Seridas rolled away, clutching his chest in pain. The other human did not fare much better. The demons whip was around his neck and he was in dire need of help. Frazzle and Jubkin came to his aid, but they were apparently unarmed except for some small knives.
The felbeast now focused its attention on me and with a roar it charged in my direction. I unloaded three short bursts into its front legs, the metallic spikes ripping away both flesh and bone. The felbeast dropped to the ground in front of me and howled in pain. I took a few steps back and took aim for the kill shot. Frothing at the mouth and driven mad by rage the felbeast managed to get up again and started crawling towards me on its hind legs and the remains of its front legs. Seridas had in the meantime recovered enough and jumped on the felbeast again. He ripped away the remaining tentacle and sank his claws deep into the beasts flesh, severing the spine. He tightened his grip until the struggles of the felbeast became lessened. With one final guttural noise it died. Seridas stood next to the beast now, covered in blood, ichor and breathing heavily from exhaustion.
At that moment a scream sounded and I saw how the remaining demon had now taken to the air, dragging Esamir and the two greenskins up with him. They were already several meters up in the air. I shouldered my weapon, aimed carefully at the muscles of the wings and unloaded the rest of my clip into it. The demon roared and let go of his opponents. Esamir landed heavily on all fours but was unharmed. The greenskins pulled parachutes from somewhere and safely drifted to the grounds. I quickly reloaded my rifle and took aim again but the demon was gone already.
 
With the threat of the demons gone we headed for the road and rested there for a moment. My head was spinning. It was difficult to try and grasp all the things that had happened today.  First the battle of Bhekar Ro, then the teleportation to another planet. After that wolf-men, small green skinned creatures and demons. Who wouldn’t be confused?
The two wolf men had changed back to their human. Their wounds seemed to heal as I looked at them. Seridas caught my gaze and explained that he had once been a human being, but that his home town of Gilneas was infected by a curse that had turned them into Worgen: wolf-men. The fast healing of wounds had been one of the positive side effects of the curse. The two green skinned creatures introduced themselves as Goblins that made a living by trading and making the best deals anywhere. The four of them had visited a big festival called Blizzcon in the nearby town of Anaheim. They had stayed around for a bit after the meeting to avoid the huge crowd and were now returning home. A flash of  bright light in the woods just to the side of the road had grabbed their attention and they had gone there to investigate, where they had found me.
After we rested for a while Seridas told me that they would bring me to the closest Murloc village. I didn’t know what a Murloc was, but I decided it was time to find out.
 
We travelled next to a stream for most of the time and I could not help being mesmerized by the beauty of the landscape around me. I was so caught up by it that I was shocked when my eyes finally fell on the familiar huts of the Murloc village. And yes, familiar it was. My mind raced. Images of a village like this showed up briefly, but they were all vague and tainted by the resocialization. Despite my mind going blank again I was sure now. I had lived in a village like this. I did not know if it was this exact village, but there was no doubt about it. This was my world. These were my kind. I was a  Murloc.
 
The village elder came out to greet us, but he stayed cautious. I don’t blame him, because we must have looked like an odd bunch, His eyes went wide when he saw me. Seridas asked him if I belonged to this village but he ignored the Worgen completely and walked over to me. In a crystal clear voice he asked me my name and where I came from. I tried to speak and much to my own surprise I found I could speak the same language as the elder. This language felt much more natural to me then the human language I had tried to speak so far. I didn’t know that I could speak this language, but the village elder speaking had apparently made that part of my past unlock in my head. At first it was difficult to speak but soon I was speaking as good as the elder was. Meanwhile the rest of the villagers had come out and were now standing in a circle around us, listening to me. I told all that I knew and the elder proved my suspicions were right. This was not the correct village. Nobody had gone missing from the village and neither had anyone ever heard of me. He also informed me that there were dozens of Murloc villages all over Azeroth. It would take a while to find the correct one.

The next day we were all up early to continue our journey. We said our goodbyes to the Murlocs and I thanked them for their hospitality. I had been overjoyed having been able to speak to my own kind, but the time had come to find my family. Both Seridas and Frazzle offered me their help in finding my family, but they had to go their separate ways now.
I had expected this and had been thinking about it that night. Frazzle had told me a lot about the Lost Isles, and it seemed like an appealing place. A warm climate, lots of water and Goblins that were always glad to help. But at the same time I saw this weird look in his eyes, as if he was not being completely honest about it. So I decided it was probably best to go with the Worgen. Even though my gut instinct told me it was the best choice I still remained uncertain. Seridas had not told a lot about the Worgen of  Gilneas except that they were negotiating to join the Alliance. So I chose to travel with the Worgen, something that Frazzle was very much disappointed about.
Not long after we had split up Seridas turned to me and said I had made a smart choice. Goblins were traders alright, but they trade anything and everything and may have tried to capture me to make money off of me. He laughed as he said that Goblins would probably sell their own family if it gave them a decent profit.

The road to Gilneas became darker and  more nightmarish with every step we took. Unseen things crept in the shadows and more then once we heard some animal scream in the woods. It did not seem to bother the Worgen but it caused me to jump several times, drawing my gauss rifle and aiming it at possible threats, but nothing happened.
Still I was glad when we passed through the gates in the Greymane Wall and I could see Gilneas in the distance. Dozens of buildings with light pouring out the windows welcomed us. But as soon as we entered through the main gate a patrol of city guard stopped us and ordered me to follow them to the city hall. Seridas and Esamir had to stay behind.
The city hall was an impressive building, and it was heavily guarded as if something or somebody important was inside. As I entered a large meeting room I saw three people sitting at the table that were in a heated discussion about something. They welcomed me but I could not help and notice their curious looks as they looked at me. The person on the left, a woman with blonde hair, got up and introduced herself as Jaina Proudmoore. The man to her left had fiery red hair and was called Rhonin. Next to Rhonin there was another person called Krasus. He resembled a tall human, but with pointy ears and an oddly pale skin. Jaina Proudmoore then explained that several strange things had happened throughout Azeroth the last few days which all seemed centered around my arrival. I needed to tell everything I knew.
 
I explained as best as I could what had happened to me. During my tale I could see the amazement on the faces of Jaina and Rhonin. I realised that in this world of magic, werewolves and demons my story would seem to be bordering on the impossible, but they believed every word I said. The expression on the face of Krasus however grew more concerned as I continued my story.
As I was speaking I ran into the blockade in my mind again. Krasus frowned as he saw me struggle. When I mentioned the resocialization process and the blocking of old memories he offered to remove whatever it was. I gladly accepted. He wasted no time, seemed impatient even. His eyes locked onto mine and his gaze seemed to look right into my soul. A chill ran down my spine. As I relaxed a bit I suddenly felt his presence in my mind. I was surprised to learn that the person Krasus as he was sitting at the table was not his true self but a mere illusion that he chose to use when he was among humans. In reality he was more then that, and far older then I could have possibly imagined.
Like a spider in a web Krasus tiptoed through my mind, looking for the key to unlock my memories. He made slow progress at first, but I did sense him steadily working his way to the core of the blockade. From time to time he managed to untie a memory pattern, which send ripples through my mind and causing fragments to emerge. I saw a Murloc village on the shore of a lake. It was different then the one I had visited. There was a cave. And a room with humans in white suits looking at me. It didn’t fit together yet somehow it had to be. Krasus finally found what he was looking for and he started working feverishly to solve it. As he succeeded I felt the veil in my head being lifted and my brain was being filled by a waterfall of returning memories. Everything finally fell into place.
 
I was born on the shores of Lake Everstill in Redridge. Like any young Murloc I had been adventurous and curious about the world outside the village. One day I had ventured far from the village as I fell through a crack in the rock wall that I tried to climb. I landed in a pool of water far below ground which saved my life. When I climbed out of the pool I marvelled at what I had discovered. There, between two crude pillars, was a swirling blue portal. Ofcourse back then I didn’t know what a portal was, so I strolled towards it. As I touched the portal I felt as if I stretched to infinite length. Time seemed to stand still for a moment before a blinding flash nearly knocked me unconscious. The first thing I saw again was a room full of humans in white coats who looked at me in shock. They had apparently been working on teleportation technology on Tarsonis but had somehow accidentally connected to the portal beneath Redridge on Azeroth. Since I had nowhere to run the humans managed to capture me quickly. They ran dozens of experiments on me and brainwashed me after they were done. The marines wanted me for their special projects as well so thats how I ended up becoming a space marine.
Now, several days after my memory has returned, I am about to go back to Lake Everstill to visit my family and village. They have already received word that I am alive and well and are waiting for me. The underground  portal in Redridge was destroyed to make sure nobody could ever come back through it. It would also mean that I could never go back to the Terran Dominion, but Krasus assured me that if I ever did want to go back that he could create a one-way portal to send me there.
 
My name is Grunty. I am a Murloc space marine. I will return to Alpha Squadron when duty calls, but for now I will make it my mission to protect the inhabitants of Azeroth, Horde or Alliance, from any Zerg that dare show up.

---- Transmission Ends ----

my version of Grunty

Running as swiftly as her short squat legs would let her, Gavnor darted into the cover of the trees. Pressing her hand to her aching side, she surveyed the damage to her side and lower leg, she knew she was slowly dyeing, but wondered just how long could she hold on, she was pregnant, close to giving birth, which was why she was in the predicament she was in, she knew full well that she never should have gotten pregnant, yet here she was, and to top it off, she had been feeling the contractions for hours now, racking through her body. cursing softly, as darkness slowly surrounded her. she lay down, hoping against hope that they had lost her trail, for she knew if they did find her, it would be her death, for committing the heinous crime of getting pregnant.

Hours later. she bit her lip hard as another fierce contraction ripped through her body, and felt the young fry convulse and birth from her body, into this strange land that she now found herself in.
looking down, she looked through the litter of fry that she had just given birth to, realizing that none had survived, at least that was a blessing,  looking again, she realized her mistake as a lone one, began to wiggle and squirm among the dead fry, she quickly scooped it up and tried to raise up, grunting painfully, as the wound in her side made itself known again,  as quickly as she could, she moved away from the dead fry, hearing as she did, the forest noises around her, she knew she needed to seek some safety for the new young one she held in her arms, never would she surrender to anything or anyone on this strange planet, a merloc she was, and a proud one to, but in exile now for getting pregnant, but if she survived, she would deal with that later, after all, she was of the upper echelon of the murloc society and a proud marine warrior to boot.

Dais sat back, how could this happen to him, of all the things to happen, did someone hate him?, had his family disgraced him without his knowledge?
After all hadn't he shown them all how glorious his wagering and bargaining  was,  to be given this assignment, the disgrace was just to much to bear, he had been told he had to meet secretly with a Worgen for whatever reason, oh, how he hated the idea, a dumb worgen, why they were with the alliance, of all things, and how he hated the alliance, true they were in a kind of forced truce, but still, maybe he'd kill the cursed worgen after he received the dumb papers he was suppose to get, well, off to the meeting place, this blizzcon 2009 thing, no he didn't want to do that either, he just wanted to,, what?, to go and kill the bloody alliance and....

Kiera had no idea why she had been picked to meet with the Goblin, but she would do what she had to do, then go and return to her homeland, she sorely missed her beloved pets already, and wondered how long this would take, the blizzcon thing had just confused and scared her, but she had her work to do, she had found the little green goblin Dais, and now they were leaving Blizzcon and heading back, surprisingly she did find Dais good company, maybe this forced truce was a good idea, well, she and others would find out, but it would take years before anyone really knew, how well it had worked.,

Breathing heavily, Gavnor, surveyed the vast area she now found herself in, she knew that her body couldn't hold out much longer, how long had she been carrying her precious little fry, she didn't know, hours?, days she thought?. She had sensed and now  knew she was being stalked by some creature, knowing it was the blood from her wounds that had attracted it, she moved through the underbrush, feeling lost and alone on this hostile  strange planet. she knew the animal was behind her, whatever it was and that she was it's chosen meal for the night, could she out run it, no, most likely not, but maybe she could outsmart it, if she was quick and smart enough.

Wondering down the path, Kiera and Dais bantered back and forth, commenting and discussing several topics, both enjoying this strange encounter that in a thousand years Kiera knew she would have never figured she would be in, how fascinating this was. ,strange, that one could feel so alive, so close to nature. Keira, laughed at her wayward thoughts for whatever reason, she was enjoying herself more than she had in years.
The scream of a shadow panther abruptly brought Kiera back to reality, as she realized how close it was, most likely on its nightly prowl for food,  Kiera, smiled ,knowing the ways of the wild , again dreaming of her homeland, and being home again, 
Startled again by the sudden thrashing of the brush next to them,. both Kiera and Dais  jumped back as
 A blood soaked merloc came crashing out of the underbrush and ran straight into Dais, knocking him down, quickly followed by a flying jet black panther, which realizing that its dinner was now compromised, put up a feeble fight and ran back into the underbrush,
Kiera had no like for merlocs, nasty little creatures, that they were, but this one looked strange, wearing of all things, a shimmering blue body shaped peace of clothing, she looked down at the sprawled unconscious form, seeing the small fry in its arms, wondering how strange, a merloc wearing clothing and looking for all the world like it was trying to protect its young??
merlocs usually didn't take care of their young, they had no intelligence at all, and were usually at war with anything not part of their small villages, usually warring with anything and everyone.

Dais watched the Worgen bend closer to the foul smelling bloody merloc and wondered at the craziness of this night. But hunched his skinny shoulders in a shrug. accepting the strange chance encounter, along with all the strange things he was having to deal with this night,  Becoming friends with a Worgen had been a rather uncharacteristic reaction, but Kiera was like no one he had ever met, and she had such a warm personality. and now this merloc, it was just another part of the unnaturalness of the evening,

Kiera looked down at the unconscious unusual merloc, examining the small baby fry and tried to make sense of it all, coming to no conclusions, while quickly realizing that the merloc was injured, her healers side took over and she began to examine it in Ernest, looking over the baby also.  Soon realizing that the "mother?" was mortally injured and half starved, it/she had given birth maybe 2 to 3 days ago,  she tried to comfort the mother as best she could, suddenly realizing that she was staring into a pair of intelligent soft brown eyes, she backed away, in confusion and awe.

Gavnor looked up into a warm pair of caring green eyes, wondering who and what it was, she grunted in pain ,asking  the creature who it was, for she had never seen its like before, but could tell that it was intelligent, by the way it had been handling itself, as if that were not enough to already deal with, she then saw another creature, that resembled a katow, it was a small creature, greenish in color, small and squat, with squat features. she shook her head to clear away the dream she must be having,  only to open her eyes on the same picture as before. realizing she had little time left before her body gave out, she tried to lift her fry and talk, hoping that they would know her language, if either of them knew any language at all.

Kiera watched as the gravely wounded merloc tried to lift her baby and grunted, in a strange gurgling language, trying to impart something of great importance to her, but what she couldn't understand. slowly Kiera touched the baby, watching the mother, wondering if she was trying to tell her the name of the "child"?   trying to make sense of the words, she asked if the baby's name was Gunt, Gant, Grint, Grunt? Grunt, is your child's named Grunty? sensing that the mother was at the limit of her endurance and  wishing she could understand the mother, she took the child and layed it down beside it's mother while she tried to take care of the wounds covering her body, taking stalk of the wounds on her head, lower back, side and  upper leg, she wondered how she had lasted this long.  Kiera knew that the mother couldn't be moved without serious problems, and decided to make camp at the side of the road, and began building a fire, asking Dais if he would help, and either find or make something for them to eat,  Grumbling, Dais agreed, quickly moving off into the forest and soon returned after dispatching a small rabbit, and began preparing it for the fire

Gavnor knew she wouldn't last the night, silently crying for what she was losing, she knew that they did not understand her language, but hoped that they would take care of her little one, what had they called him,,  Grunty?  a strange name to be sure, but he was in a strange land, and would be living a strange life, far stranger than any she could comprehend

she could feel her life slowly leaving her body, knew she was now in fact truly dying, she wanted to leave  her child something to remember her by, but what does a marine leave a child, marines didn't have children, marines were not suppose to have any family, accept their parents and brothers and sisters,  no marine had ever had any fry that she knew of,  an emptiness enveloped her as she realized how much marines gave up, to become the fighters that they were,  an unknown anger began to brew up in her, an anger of how she had been deceived by her elders, slowly the life ebbed from her body, she turned to the tall slender creature who called itself  Kiera and again tried to talk to her, shrugging out of her uniform, trying to take it off, thinking of giving it to her only child, something that she knew would protect him always and  could  help him to remember her by, for her uniform was no usual uniform, but it was a marines uniform, it could do almost anything, become almost anything that a marine could want or use, hoping against all odds that the  Kiera one would understand her actions, Gavnor continued to slowly painfully try to remove the clothing.

Kiera looked down on the mother who was trying so hard to make her understand what she wanted, as the mother began to pull at her own clothing  trying to remove them, in stunned silence, Kiera began to comprehend the actions of the merloc. disbelieving that the mother  wanted her child to have her clothing, so she won't be without something from her, how odd, I never knew of a merloc to do something like this,  I guess this is no ordinary merloc, not ordinary at all. helping the mother out of her clothing, she began to undress her and rewrap her in a warm blanket, taking the wondrous blue fabric and soon swathed the child in it shimmering body shaped peace of clothe that its mother had worn, watching with awe and shock as the clothing began to rearrange itself as if by magic, to slowly reform around the child to fit it in size, as if it was made for the child,  she now knew that this merloc was not from around here, but from somewhere else, but where, she knew not.

That night Kiera dreamed and wondered about the small little baby and its mother that had been thrust upon her and her new friend Dais, of the unusual circumstances, and fate that had brought them all together, Slowly waking up to a mewling crying sounds, Kiera woke to find that the child was cuddled against her, and sadly that its mother had passed away in the night, curled up against both Kiera and its child. Crying softly for what she knew that both she and the child had lost, for the first time in her young life, Kiera found herself standing with an enemy Goblin, burying a very strange merloc and feeling desolate.

Dais asked Kiera what she was going to do with the child, because in no way could he take care of such a little thing, it would most likely die anyway, and he really had to be on his way. he was so sorry but he really had to go, but he would be in touch with her again, and gave her one of his precious talking stones, the other he would keep  so that if she needed him, she could get in touch with him, using the precious stone which , a mage, years ago, had given him, telling him of their special innate power, and to never lose them, for they would come in use years later, little did that old tauren mage know.

Kiera fingered the strange fabric that Grunty had been swathed in, when she had found him years ago, how long had it really been, 2 or 3 years?., and Grunty had surprised her, day by day, growing up with an unbelievable intelligence and curiosity that was unparalleled from anything she had ever known, he was far advanced than any of the other Worgen children twice his age, secretly she had taught him all she knew, and she knew vast amounts of knowledge, from reading every book in the  Stormwind library that she could lay her hands on. And his greed for more knowledge kept growing, he had began to play with some of her alchemy sets and then began working with Abel's engineering sets, when Abel had found out, he had been furious at first, but had softened toward the little scamp, for Grunty had grown on the old timer when he had met him that fateful first week when she brought him back home. 
Abel had been one of the first that was affected when the curse came to Gilneas, he had been a boy then, and years later, had traveled and had seen a lot of  Azeroth, he had been to both Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms and had been to the Outlands and to Northend, he had seen a lot, but refused to talk much about his experiences, except only to Grunty, for some reason, everyone found a soft spot for the little merloc, and Grunty was able to peer deep into the depths of any that he came into contact with.

the strange fabric that Grunty always wore, seemed to always fit him, and at times it seemed to meld to his individual thoughts and molded itself to his whims and fancy, he would wear other things, but always had on, as he called it, mommy's shimmer cloths, for Kiera had told him all about his mother, drawing pictures of her and telling him stories of what she remembered of that fateful night. Grunty had wanted to hear the stories almost every night and still craved anything he could find out about his mother, which unfortunately was very little.

His 7th year now passed, lazely, Grunty sat in the Big arm chair, again reading his favorite books about the land that he now called his own, going over everything he could find about the wars of Azeroth, and the inhabitants living within her sphere. He wanted to learn all he could and meet every one of its people, tho he called himself a Worgen, he wanted desperately  to meet and see all of the inhabitants ,the humans, dwarfs, night elves, gnomes and the Draenei, those from another planet, they were all his people, he had books that he had either found, or begged Abel to get for him, about them all, and Abel's stories, were the best, the ones he cherished more than anything, when Abel could be talked into telling him of his adventures, we became enraptured, listening to every word, living every sentence  told to him, so incredible was Abel's life, that , he wanted to hear and, experience all he could.  Grunty had decided long ago that he to would explore as Abel had, as much of Azeroth as he could, even wanting to experience and adventure to the horde cities and lands as well as the alliance, for the horde also exited him, he so wanted to meet a tauen, an undead, or even a troll, how exiting it would be to possibly meet a orc or a blood elf, he had met a Goblin, Dais, but didn't remember much from the encounter, because he had been a small fry at the time, but had talked to him using the talking stone that Kiera had, oh how he wanted to go exploring, thinking of these things, he fingered his treasured shimmy fabric, that was his mothers, feeling it move beneath his fingers, as it always did, and remolding to what his mind seem to want. looking down, he smiled at the shimmy blue then the neon green colors floating upon and in the fabric its self, he wondered at this marvelous fabric, for no other fabric could do what shimmy fabric did, someday he might test it, but not now, he was to attached to it to even think of destroying it accidentally while examining it, he knew the fabric gave him protection, for there were times that it had saved him from severe scratches and cuts from his explorations around Gilneas, and into silverpine forest. someday he would test it out, to see what it was made of, for now, it reminded him of his mother, making him wish he knew more about her, shifting his hand into a newly formed pocket, he fingered the feel of new paper under his touch, and realized that he was holding onto a peace of paper that hadn't been there a minute ago. pulling the paper out, he unfolded it and looked at the strange writing on it,  he ran to Kiera, his nana, and showed her the new paper, and how he had found it, Kiera looked the paper over, often wondering, how the fabric had the ability to contrive and manufacture all the pictures and pages that Grunty had found concealed in it over the years, all the pictures were of his mother, or strange places, most likely where his mother was from, and the pages with strange writing, she figured that that was the written language of this mothers to, maybe someday, Grunty would be able to read those letters and pages, and learn more about his mother.

His 12th year now behind him, Grunty listens to the noises of battle, forging on around him,  looking down at his shimmy armor, for that is what it really is, an armor suit, given to him by his mother, so long ago, all to soon, his world had come crashing down around him, by what others were calling the great cataclysm, true he had seen wonders, traveling to and seeing so many cities, and marveling at so many things, meeting hundreds if  not thousands of people,, he had been to Ironforge and to Stormwind, and was impressed with what he saw, he had met those in Exodar and learned so many things,  in those 5 years, his journey into horde lands had been a complete surprise to him, and he had met some memorable people there to, the Tauren, the orcs, both races overwhelming to say the least,  the ones he had learned the most from had been the Blood elf, a proud fierce people, but now so much had been lost, so many lives thrown in chaos, and his own people, again the curse was causing so many problems,  he had gone berserk when Kiera had been killed, had gone in a red rage, his suit undergoing a transformation that had scared many, and where the gun had come from, he had no idea. he had become almost mindless with rage and had gone on a killing spree that still scared him, how had he known how to handle the gun,  it had almost been a natural thing, all he knew was the gun was there, materializing out of the fabric of his suit, and his suit, shifting, layering and organizing over his body, becoming something he had never imagined. a protecting armor like no other he had ever seen

Kiera was dead, as was Abel, he swore he would avenge his nana and Abel, and the others that had befriended him, and he would help to get back the ones that had been taken prisoner,
this he swore to all, he would avenge the wrongful death of Kiera

This is an adventure that was told to me months later of the happenings for one of its witnesses, as I asked her of waht happened these nights, being I myself witness of the uncommon reunions they made at the Inn. I have already writed it down in my own language but wanted to write it in the Common Language because I suspect it will be important some day. Besides, as a Ironforge Dwarf, registering my personal history is registering History itself, we never knows when History is being made until its too late to have a real story and compile and confront many versions is the only way to know what happened.

I hope my squalid knowledge of Common will be enough to make this inteligible and ask for the reader to forgive me of any misspelling or grammar slip. Here is what happened then.

Early night at the Tavern of Duskwood, Darkshire.

Six Goblins and 2 Worgens sit around the same table, calling attention of all around.

They discuss how the worgens would pay a loan they had with Mittrix, the leader of the Goblings.

One of the Worgens was saying he got a job from the Duskwood Mayor and it would be enough for him to pay the debt with the Gobling and save some for him to get home before his military leave expired.

Gruuwolf, the Worg who was talking, then explained the mission, he was to go to the place where Duskwood road forks with the road that leads to Strangleton and deliver a message to the patrol camped threre. They then would give him a document as proof of his devlivery. On getting back to Duskwood Mayor he would pay him golds enough to make everybody happy. "Easy task, easy gold", he told them as a mean to finish the argument.

Mittrix, the aparent leader of the Goblings, wasn't that so sure about and looked at his own fingers for a long time, taking no attention at all to his mates, who talked together and loud enough to no one to understand what where they talking about.

He finally looked at Gruuwolf whith his smart gaze and a half smile and said that he wasnt going to stay put while Gruuwolf was out in the enemy infested woods, risking to die over an unpayed debt while completing his task, to the surprise and unhappyness of all other goblings on the party, who where planning to get some rest in this so agreable place.

Moody, a female young Gobling, told them she was then going to sleep, to get up early for the quest. Gruuwolf explained her and all others that, unfortunately, the orders where to go during this very night and he was already late for the job.

Half an our later the whole bunch was strolling past the pumpkin farm and the cemetery in silence. At this point lanterns where unlit, it was easyer to see at moonlight, even with the mists falling, and more dificult to be spotted for any unwanted company.

Gruuwolf and his friend where all ears and noose, and the goblings, usualy talkative, where surprinsingly quiet, weapons unsheated.

The road wasnt any problem and they reached the camp little past midnight. Gruuwolf produced a sealed scroll to the woman who was in charge. Then things started to complicate. The officer explained them she should wax seal the document Gruuwolf was supposed to bring back to Mayor, problem was that some field worgs atacked them at the dusk and, even whith no grave harm to no one, managed to stole a chest where the seal was.

After a coffe around the bonfire Mittrix asked more about the wood worgen in question. Eeryn, the officer in charge, told them they used to stay in small camps in the northern side of the hill in the other side of the road. She would be glad if she could lead a party on them, but she was ordered never to leave the camp and so she would do. Mattrix then asked his own group if they where willing to get to these worgen, excep for the worgen present, who would not want to fight their own race.

Gurtrag, the other worg, told them it wasn't any problem to him to fight these rebels and Gruuwolf agreed. He then wanted to make things clear, arguing he wanted an equal part of any loot that could result of this raid.

They all agreed, after some hesitation from the Goblings, of course, over minor details that could never happen.

Eeryn explained the worgen camps would be easyer to reach circling the hill to the west, but part of the way should be done by the road, because of wolves that lived in this region.

All agreed, they departed at one in the morning, lanterns unlit as before.

The tracker eye of Gruuwolf was set to the ground of the road side, looking for signs of the rebels leaving the road. Finally he spotted some signs and told his friends it was time to get to the woods. When they where about to leave the road they where attacked by a strange creature, enormous and white, using as weapon a kind of iron chain whipe with a spiked iron ball at the end. They could get to a safe place because they where warned on time. The crature maked such a noise while walking, stomping the ground loudly, that they realised danger and the way to flee on time. Moody noticed the thing has a third arm on its back.

Now they where on a open grassy wood and could hardly see where the hill was. They had to open their way through some spiders to get to a camp whoose bonfire they spotted. There where about five worgen, two sleeping, the others around the fire. Gruuwolf was suspicious about it looks so easy and asked the rest of the group to stay put while he left. Gurtrag asked everyone to be prepared to an atack and they got ready. Ten minutes later Gruuwolf was back with some coins on his hand and a ferocious smile over his face.

He told them the worgs in there where probably the same guys who atacked the Aliance camp, its tracks comming from that direction still fresh. They where seven in the raid he said. "Now I'm sure they're only five" he said smiling. They moved on after discussing who would do what and got to positions. The two worgen atacked first, as planned, getting all the atention of the enemy on them. The Goblings came later, swiftly taking most of them by surprise. The rebel worgen where fierce but surprise and number easily overpowered them and in some minutes of rough fight they where laiyng on the floor.

Exausted, all party but Gurtrag sat down to have a little rest. Some minutes later Moody started collecting the loot, while Gruuwolf looked around for the chest or any sign of it. He found it behind a tree, at the same time he heard a noise he never heard before, a kind of goorgling that he identified as some sort of crying or a help cry.

After signaling Gurtrag and handing him the chest, he got cautiously to the direction of the strange sound, following the base of the hill. His acurate powers of scout naturaly got startled by signs of fight on the floor, it looked like someone was chased in this place. Strange tracks, as if two giant frogs where being chased by at least four worgs from the camp they atacked. The goorgling sond had stopped for a while and he decided to follow the tracks to see what would them tell him.

After some minutes of comming and going around the track he got to the bodies of two yellow creatures, kind of a merging of a fish with a frog.

Signs around their bodies showed him there was a rather rough fight in the place. The creatures wore marks of rope around necks and wrist, one of them had a piece of rope around his neck. He wondered how such small beings could stand a so savage fight against worgen. Should be a realy savage and skilled kind.

He tough they deserved a proper buryal and came back to his friends to talk about it. They presented them warrior honor and buried them, rolling and placing a large stone boulder over the graves to mark the place.

After a little rest where Gruuwolf told them the tracking story Mittrix suggested it was time to go back. Gruuwolf wanted to stay a little bit more, cause he believed the sound he heard wasn't emitted from the dead guys, as they where dead for a while for the signs. After a little argument with Mittrix tey settled that twenty minutes would be enough, would Gruuwolf find the noises origin or not.

They came back to the worgen camp in silence until he, as well as most of the party, heard the strange noise again. Cautiously he tried to identify the direction of the sound and got to a bush, a little far from the base of the hill, surroundong a very old tree. There was a bundle, som sort of gray woolen cloth, hidden under the branches. As his hand got to it the thing made some movement, and the strange goorgling sound again. It was faint, as of some week creature where producing it. He reached to the bundle carefully and opened the wool tissue to reveal a tiny versio of the guys they had buried earlier. The poor thing had its enourmous eyes half open, was trembling and breathed with dificulty.

"Its a baby!" sayd Moody, as she got it to her lap. The others wondered if the buried guys would be this baby parents or guardians. Mittrix told them one of them was a female, he knew this creatures from some adventures in Barrens long ago. Most probably they had hide the baby and runned the other way so to get the worgen atention on them, hoping to save his life.

Back to the Darkshire guards camp they handed them the seal, that was found in the chest. At Duskwood Gruuwolf was paid for his job afte a long speech about bravery and commitment  by the Mayor, and things where settled between him and Mittrix.

Before going to beds they stayed by the fire talking about the adventure they had. Examining the woolen cloth Gurtrag could see strange marks on it. Again, Mittrix could identify these them as being identical as some marks he has seeing at The Exodar.

After Moody and the Innkeeper tryed diferent kinds of food the baby finally accepted some raw fish and pure water, and got to sleep. "Are you sure it will survive?" asked Moody to the Innkeeper, but she wasnt that hopefull. "I have seeing so many to die... Lets hope this baby will survive", she said in a sad way.

In the morning Gurtrag said farewell to the party and thanked all for the adventure whish he enjoyed. After breakfast he left Duskwood while his friends decided what to do with the little fishy thing they found. Mittrix was inclined to leave it to the Innkeeper, but she told them she was very busy and, even if she was willing to keep it, she couldn. Gruuwolf argued he was going to be in Darnassus as part of his errands and a ship to The Exodar wouldn't be any trouble. As Mittrix recognised the inscription on the cloth as being Draeney, they probably would know what to do with the baby.

After lots of raw fish and water the baby was now looking more healthy, Moody taking care of it as no Gobling present would dream she was capable of. It goorgled to her and looked to her when she talked something, forming in the little face something that resembled a smile. The Innkeeper and the maids deserved the same treatment from it, and would be around it as well, and during the nights there was allways one of them wake and at the baby's side.

As Gruuwolf was asked some more missons from the mayor and Mittrix was doing more business than he expectedwith the citizens and the army they stayed there for some more days.

Finally Gruuwolf had to go, if he wanted the time he still had to be enough for his last mission of delivering the little fishy friend to the Draeney. Mittrix and Moody announced they would go with him, to his surprise, while the other Goblins would saty to finish some of the bussiness they started there. The Innkeeper and the maids all said long weteyed goodbyes to the small creature they started calling Grunty, and nobody knew how this name came to be used.

Taking profit of Stormwind troops movements they left Duskwood with this unexpected but welcomed (and free of charge, as Mittrix noted) protection.

Walking in his proud manner through The Exodar Chaplain Maisyr went to his commander's bureau quickly, even if still thinking about the infected creatures problems and how to solve it. As he entered the chamber he was surprised to see there a Worg and two Goblings talking to his boss. The older Gobling was finishing a report over the reason they where at The Exodar and then asked for permit to make business there during some days.

Eysin'Otar introduced Maisyr to the guests and then stoped for some moments, holding his breadth and looking fiercly to his folded hands over the top of the table. "The inscription on the blanket says this creature was kept in one of our facilities for observation. It probably was born there, at least his mother has become pregnant inside this facility. We will make contact to know what exactly happened. They probably fled from there. Murlocs are prety smart creatures and its dificult to keep an eye on them all the time. The studies running there where about the possibilitie of making friendship with Murlocks and other species, to help us on the war struggle, once it is of their interest too. So the baby is to be delivered to the scientists to take care of it. There is probably some female murlock willing to take care of it."

Mittrix then made the question that was in his mind for days. "Is threre som kind o reward for us, for the trouble of bringing it bak to you?"

Eysin'Otar gave Maysir a suggestive glance while avoiding a smile.

"Yes, there is. Thats why Maisyr is here. We have not much gold, then i wanted to know if some goods would do."

After thinking for a while Mittrix glanced at his friends. Finally he spoke. "I want to thank you Druid Eysin for being so compreensive with us. Im not sure about Gruuwolf here, hes a warrios, not a merchant. So i propose him to pay in gold for his share and keep the goods. If its all setled i would be gald with some food and rest."

After the visitors left Maisyr looked at his boss with the astonished eyes he saved for the ocasion. The old Druid started laughing at him in a good humored way.

"Maisyr, I know you'll be fine on handling them. Just say the goods will have to be won from our enemies in a easy raid. You should make it as easy for them as possible under the circumstances, would you? As for the baby, nobody but you must know, at least for now, of our joint effort with the Terrans to find the right species that could produce good warriors that wold be help for them as well as for us. I dont know if you was aware of this, so keep it to yourself. As far as I know they where in an advanced stage of contact, even if some murlocks disagreed with any alliance. They got as far as to produce some armor and weapons that suited murlock body requirements." Maisyr got pleased to be worth to know such secrets and kept silent and attentive to his boss. As a sign of the end of the conversation the Druid talked again, but already looking for the many papers on the table. "We will handle him back to them in a quiet way as soon as possible."

Outside the door Moody started walking slowly in the direction of the nursery. She decided to saty with Grunty as much as possible, before it wasn't possible to stay. She was now glad to know he wasn't an experiment subject to be killed, and that was what she feared the most. She would keep it a secret while necessary, she knew Mittrix shouldn't know about it. He would start devising a way to take some profit on the situation and end up putting Grunty in danger. Ok, she wasn't Grunty's mother, but was the only one who could take care of his safety by now. After all, he was soooo cute, was't him?

Winksy12 , dedicated WoW player, is proud to present the red-hot action-drama-sci-fi-WoW based-Murloc Comedy that is:

GRUNTY THE MURLOC MARINE: The legend.

Prologue: Abandoned by his mother, alone in the woods, the homeless, hapless murloc Grunty was... crying like there was no tomorrow. As we all know, the legendary screams of the Blue Coastal Murloc can break the sound barrier (assuming the murloc is not suffering from a hoarse throat, or if so, is not using Strepsils), and soon the screams attracted the attention of the rather coincidentally nearby Blizzcon '09 Paparazzi. While the people were amazed at this creature, straight out of WoW myth, Grunty was terrified, and after the 126th photo had been taken, Grunty snapped. He cried and cursed and screamed and slashed at all who came near. Then he bolted for the doors. The paparazzi set forth in desperate pursuit, only to be cut off by a Zhevra, who happened to be suffering from stroke. The Zhevra was promptly sued for all it owned by Blizzcon Authorities.

Part 2: For the Murloc!

After leaving Blizzcon, Grunty was soon overrun and surrounded by a huge group Worgens and Goblins. Both fascinated by this amazing coastal creature that lived in neither of their homelands, both demanded that Grunty be theirs to keep. Grunty, terrifed by this display, didn't put in a word until the two races were at each other's throats. They hurtled into battle, clawing and biting, shooting and swearing. Poor Grunty, who had fallen for the friendly ruse the Goblins had been putting on, was bound in electric chains. Eventually, though, it became obvious that the Goblins would take the prize home. Using their high tech rockets and silver cattle prods, they fought off the Worgen long enough to hurl the frazzled Grunty into their Flying machine. The Worgen howled as an innocent creature was taken from them, lost in the dark world of Goblin engineering.

Part 3: Apocalypse and Midgets

Upon arrival at the famous Area 52, top secret science facility in the Netherstorm, the unconscious Grunty was scanned, tested, and promptly sent to the dreaded Room 9. Room 9 was at the very bottom of the facility, half a kilometre underground, and it was were the Goblins were even know working on their greatest experiment, the creation and flight of the Netherstorm X-1 Rocket... Using their most powerful fusion technology, they bonded Grunty's flesh with their most powerful suit of armour. With it, they gave him the gift of a 21. Stock Ammo Sub-machine Gun (SASG). Then they woke up Grunty, strapped him into the X-1 as their prototype astronaut, and sealed the hatches. Soon, the world would be at the mercy of their spaceship and their army of Murloc Marines!

Part 4: Grunty's disgruntled thoughts...

Grunty, the poor stupid Murloc, was, at that very moment, screaming his head off once more. He was trapped inside a huge metal fire-tube, and he was surrounded by flashing lights and numbers AND he was covered in alien-armour! These were all bad things, because in the deep, sophisticated part of the brain locked away in Grunty's head, the facts were:

1. He hated big metal-fire tubes, because all he'd seen happen to those made by the little green idiots, was fly up into the air and explode.
2. Ever since he was an egg, Grunty had suffered from EME, Extreme Murloc Epilepsy, and the lights were NOT helping.
3. And finally... he had a reeeaaaally bad itch on his stomach, and he couldn't scratch through the stupid missle-proof armour (though it was a close thing).

Finally, as the flight took off, the safety straps were robotically loosened. Taking his chances with EME, Grunty proceeded to press, pull, or smash every flashing or lit-up thing within the vicinity of his hands. ( The cabin boy was aghast to find that his treasured bright-red cockroach, whom he had found in a broken engine and petted for many a happy hour, had been mercilessly crushed by Grunty. He sued Blizzard for implementing Murlocs into Azeroth, only to have it clash with the already white-hot case with the afore-mentioned Zhevra, instantly be dismissed, and come back into his mailbox along with a 500 gold fine for wasting court time).

Part 5: Epic FAIL!

T-minus 3, 2, 1....Blast off! The Goblins, oblivious to the commotion inside the cockpit, wasted no time in launching the X-1. With a roar it took off. It soared 10 metres into the air, over the walls of Area 52....and then crashed as Grunty promptly cut the engine.

Grunty, surprised to find that the fire-tube had stopped, was ecstatic at his newfound freedom, and leapt out of the shattered wreck of the X-1. The Goblins, furious to see their test-dummy escaping, ran through the gates of Area 52 after him...only to have their memories of Grunty erased by the Memory Wiper the cleaners fixed moments ago. Grunty gunned the surprised Goblins down with his....err, gun, and using the powerful batteries still intact within the rocket, he combined the power with his suit and teleported to Azeroth.

Warning: The following chapter does not contain the drama and comedy of the previous and later chapters. Read it only if you prefer more actiony, serious, marine-type stuff, as it may sorta ruin it for you if you don't. So, I guess we could call it, a Bonus Chapter.

Bonus Chapter: Grand Theft Grunty

With a flash of light and a soft burst of mist, Grunty the Murloc appeared. He gagged as the stench of his blackened armour washed over him. He was temporarily immobilised by the effects of porting, but within a few seconds he recovered. Suddenly he whirled around, acting on a unkown instinct. His visor flashed with information, GPS, and possible hiding places, while his brain major uncoded and rapidly absorbed the data in front of him. But in a corner of his brain, a wisp of doubt flickered unwaveringly. 'What is going on?' These instincts were strange, these strategist thoughts, unheard of, and as for the lightning-quick relfexes...WHAM! He unwillingly sidestepped just in time for a huge Ice Chimera to jump from the bushes. Fear and horror overrode Grunty's newfound militaristic intelligence, and he cowered as the Chimera turned around...

Grunty desperately tried to think of something, he lifted his little metal stick, and waved it around, he pretended to throw it away. He lifted it again and BANG! A tiny thorium bullet shot from the stick and gunned down the Chimera. 'It had cut open an artery, allowing blood to clog and spill undeterr-'. He shook his head. How did he know this? It was then that it struck him. The suit had granted him this information, these instincts. He rose to his feet, clutching his SASG tightly, he surveyed his surroundings. He knew that from now until he could figure out how to teleport again, until he could fix his suit, that he was alone. In the wild. But he was not afraid. He was fine. He would survive. Because he was, and forever would be, Grunty the Murloc Marine.

Epilogue

The Goblins and Worgen desperately searched for their lost Murloc, but to no avail. Grunty, desperate to live a normal life, had ported to Dalaran. For a time he worked as a Warden and Soldier for the defense of the Violet Hold against the problem of the Azure Dragonflight, which had, quite literally, sprung up overnight. He did his job well, but was terrified after a close call with an Outalnd-bound Goblin search party. He had been forced to miss his shift at the Hold, and the complaints were coming in.

Eventually, it became clear the Goblins were slowly but surely tracking him down. Regretfully, Grunty left his job behind, and with over 2 months wages in his pockets, he hired a portal to Ironforge. Disguising himself so as to not be compared with the Wanted Posters all round the city, he took the tram to Stormwind. He rushed to the High Throne, and throwing off his disguise he pleades with Jaina Proudmoore and the King to help him. He wished to open a portal to the future of StarCraft, where he could live properly and be recognised for who he was. King Varian thought it was a load of Murloc crud and prepared to kill him, but Jaina saw into the little beast's soul and was sorry for him. Together they worked in secret at a research facility at Dustwallow. Finally they perfected their teleporter. Grunty said farewell to the World of Warcraft, stepped inside the portal and...disappeared, just like that (Narrator snaps fingers dramatically)

Epiphany

Some say that Grunty was a monster, an insane, uncontrollable creature that should never have been released from Room 9. Others say that he was, just another Murloc, alebit equipped with marine-class weaponry. But a handful of people, those good hearted kind of people who DO leave the last slice of pizza for their buddy running late, who DO donate just for the heck of it, who want to make the world a better place, know the truth. They know that ever since Grunty was found in Anaheim, was captured by the Goblins and experimented on, achieved (and quickly lost) the position of Warden, and indirectly became the cause of one of the most scandalous lawsuits of all time, he has looked evil in the eyes, and wanted to stop it. Greenpeace praises him, Blizzard sings of his glory, and hyped up fans compare him to the legendary likes of Bigfoot. He is a hero of both man, and beast.

Grunty now lives a life of mystery in a galaxy not that far if you take a left, on a a planet that's actually not that big, fighting too secure peace for all of the universe.

The End

WARNING: Be warned, mortals. The Goblins did not strap  Grunty into a dangerous rocket without a failsafe. Eventually the mind-wiped goblins discovered that they had secreted away Grunty's DNA samples in their labds in Room 9. Already have they created the clones, it is too late to stop them. All we can do is pray, and hope that the codes to unleash these Murloc marines fall into the hands of those who would use them for good...we can only pray....

Good luck to you all. May this archive of information help you if the Murloc marines are ever set loose upon Azeroth...

By Winksy12

Disclaimer: The red-hot action-drama-sci-fi-WoW based-Murloc Comedy which is written above has been written for the sole purpose of casual entertainment. Any references, humorous or seemingly serious related to any gaming or real-life organisations/groups  are not meant to be offensive or taken literally in any way. Please take this into consideration when reading this player-made story. It was made for the purposes of entertaining readers and (hopefully) earning a name as one of the Murloc marine contest winners. Thank you for understanding.

Grunty, the best scout in the space marines, looked around to see no one. His squad all gone, his weaponry missing, even his armor was gone. He noticed a strange green creature appear out of the woods. He dodged their first glances by hiding within a bush. A wolf-like creature then appeared behind him. Startled he grabbed the nearest object, a rock, and hit it upside the head. The wolf-like creature stumbled backwards at the astonishment of Grunty's strength. The green creatures ran up to Grunty to calm him down. They introduced themselves as Goblins. Grunty barely understood them but luckily his translator was still intact, though damaged. The Goblins explained to him that they we're friends, not foes, and would help him get back to where he was from. The wolf-like creature, still in a daze, stumbled towards little Grunty. He tried to explain to him that he was a Worgen, not some beast. Grunty, a bit unbelieving, decided it was better to stay close to the Worgen rather than insult him and more than likely be killed by him. Grunty needed help, they all could see it, so the Goblins and the Worgen decided to help him out. They started off to Booty Bay for the Goblins had a little workshop there that they could use to make little Grunty some temporary gear until he could replace what he had. The Worgen thought it a waste of time to do such a thing. He said it would be better to try and send him back to where he came from asap the best they could. The Goblins threatened to use their knowledge of goblin engineering to blow him back to where HE came from. Grunty, obviously intrigued by the thought of explosives, wanted to hear more of the engineering. The Worgen felt insulted and left, deciding it was worthless and beneath him to try and reason with them. With the Worgen gone Grunty felt more at ease. Grunty and the Goblins found their way to the little workshop within Booty Bay and the Goblins went to work on gear for Grunty. Grunty decided to scout out the new area he was in. While walking towards a location with a giant fish of some sort hanging above it a tall tusked humanoid walked up to him muttering to himself. The humanoid tripped over little Grunty as he walked over him and became enraged. He screamed something about loot and Murloc boots. When the humanoid struck at him Grunty dodged and fought back with lightning speed. The humanoid fell into the water with a great splash screaming "ROGUE!" as he fell. Grunty decided to go back to the workshop. When he reached the shop he found the door broken open and no one inside. He found the gear the Goblins were making for him on a table along with a few mines, bombs, and a wind-up bomb that Grunty had never seen before but decided to take. The gear itself consisted of some metallic armor decorated with the Horde symbol and a nice gun with acceptable accuracy. He searched the shop for any clues that could lead him to the whereabouts of his new green friends. He sees claw marks and obvious signs of struggle along with blood stains everywhere. He finds a note with symbols on it he couldn't understand but noticed a crudely drawn map on the back. Grunty knew maps, he read and made them all the time. He followed the map to a cave off in the center of Stranglethorn Vale. Grunty went into the cave cautiously in case there were traps. He found more blood stains on the ground and claw marks, along with strange symbols on the walls. He was walking for about 20 minutes until he came to a corner with a purple glow coming around it. He heard growling and light mumbling that was to light to be understood. Grunty broke a piece of reflective metal off his armor to look around the corner. Just as he could see something a bolt of energy hit the metal and bounced off hitting Grunty in the mouth taking 3 teeth with it. Not letting himself show weakness Grunty jumped up, grabbed hold of his new gun, and ran around the corner ready to shoot anything that lived. He was shocked when he saw a glowing portal floating within a circle of more strange markings. He looked through and saw his home, just waiting for him to come to it. He then noticed the Worgen he previously got rid of standing there, a dead goblin in one hand and a thick glowing dagger in the other. Grunty felt anger rising inside his chest. He then heard whimpers from the corner and saw the other Goblin, the male, injured, barely alive. Grunty was infuriated by this. The Worgen saw little Grunty in all his rage and laughed. He said that Grunty should have watched the little green ones he traveled with. He then began to explain that he was going to end both the Goblin's lives but Grunty could go home through the portal. Grunty was shocked by this, why was this creature HELPING him? He looked more closely at the portal and his home disappeared and he only saw death. He saw that the portal wouldn't take him home, but to Icecrown Citadel and straight to the Lich King. Grunty knew that if he went through he would surely die also. He aimed his gun at the Worgen. The Worgen just laughed and threw the dead Goblin at him. He dodged the corpse but the Worgen held him in his grasp. The Worgen was deviously pleased but Grunty had something up his sleeve. He pulled the pin on a bomb he had with him. The Worgen was astonished at this view of courage. The bomb went off in a furious explosion but only dazed the Worgen. Grunty smiled as he opened his eyes and pick his gun back up. Just as the Worgen could see again Grunty fired. The furry corpse fell to the ground with a great thud. Grunty took the keys from the table next to the cage and opened it. The Goblin stumbled out and almost fell but Grunty caught him and lied him down. He then began to bandage the Goblin so he wouldn't die. The Goblin crawled over to his companion's corpse and weeped. Grunty felt sorry for the poor strange creature but needed to get home. He searched the Worgen's corpse and found a purple crystal. He held it up to the light and squeezed it. The portal suddenly became clear with Grunty's home. He looked at the weeping Goblin. The Goblin looked up and saw the portal. He said that Grunty should go through and quickly, before it closed. Grunty held his hand to take the Goblin with him, to help him, but he refused. The Goblin said that his place was on Azeroth and Grunty's was through the portal. Grunty felt sad but knew if he went through the portal he could build his full strength up and possibly come back to help his friend in the future. As Grunty stepped through the portal he said something in Orcish that the Goblin didn't quite catch. Then the portal closed. As the Goblin finished sobbing he noticed what Grunty had said, he had said the word "Friend" just before leaving. The goblin was filled with joy then.

Grunty The Space Marine

In the days following the death of Jim Raynor, the Zerg had decided something special was in order. Spending months on end perfecting the right genetic process, the Zerg had turned what was left of Raynor's memory into an abomination. The specifics lay beyond Terran understanding, but it appears the Zerg had taken Jim's genetic code, and merged it with a Zergling. Leaving a being hunched, and amphibious. With the mental capacity for rational thought, and speech, but vocal chords only capable of the sounds "whir" and "lirl".

Upon waking to a world of slime, and throbbing purple creatures, this fresh marine knew immediately that this was not his world. He rebelled. He attempted to flee, but was quickly put down. With no weapons to speak of, and with what appears to be a bad leg, or perhaps just a permanent hobble, the marine was at a severe disadvantage. He was detained, and was kept in the very same room they stored our lost Hero. On inspection of the corpse, he found that Raynor's armor was made to fit him, and Jimmy's rifle simply felt at home in the young man's hands. Luckily, the green marine (not a testament to the marine's color, but instead to his experience) found the most important feature in the armor James left behind. The Sack of Unending Ammo. With his new found toys, motivation for freedom, and complete lack of knowledge about his surroundings, the marine gave a hearty grunt, and steeled himself for battle.

He charges the dirty, purple door, to find it gives way at he approaches, but not to him, the door had given way to a woman of exceptional beauty, for a Zerg. Without further consideration on the matter, and with a healthy grunt with each round fired of his weapon, our marine begins to systematically neutralize his foes. Starting with the woman, he fires with impeccable accuracy and doesn't wait to see if the round landed. Before he can blink, and with one final grunt, the marine discovers he'd downed a dozen of the purple bastards.

He feels a welling of energy in his head, and it's leading him to the north. Without realizing he's doing so, he follows the voice without words, destroying all he comes across along his way. He passes through a door larger than the rest, to find a massive gateway. He is drawn to the controls, where a vision appears to him, perhaps a ghost. It's a man, slightly larger than he, equipped with technology far surpassing his own, or that he's wearing. It's clear this man is from the race who build this gateway, and it's clear the man wants to help him.

"I am Zeratul, and I've seen you before. I know you wish to go home, but this place does not exist. I've drawn you here, though, not to portray bad news, but to instill hope. There is a place to which this world is linked. A place you resemble in appearance, but not in mind. I offer you this choice: You may stay in the world that will not accept you, or travel to the one which will accept you as something less. Your mind is too great for the body you inhabit, and you will never find home. But you may find comfort and care in another place. The choice is entirely yours."

The marine grunts, in his deep thoughts. The life of a pet, being undersold at every corner, and never being suspected of higher intelligence, or a life to use my brain, always on the run, always within moments of death.

He grunts again, and expresses a garbled affirmative.

Zeratul responds"I Obey. I pray you find a new home."

The vision of Zeratul turns back to the controls and decidedly inputs a few commands. The portal slowly turns from a light blue, to a dark purple, and the vision faces the Marine again.

"It is ready for you. May your grunts ring through history."

Zeratul attempts a very human gesture. He stands tall, and renders salute.

The Marine looks himself over once more. Decides he truly is an abomination, and takes his first step toward the portal, and the first step toward his new life.

"Before you go, Grunty, I need to express the possibility of side effects. The portal sometimes gets the reconstitution of atoms wrong. I fear you might find yourself changed on the other side."

Upon landing, forcefully, the young man takes a look to his surroundings. Finding this a world of giants, trees as high as his strained eyes can see, he hides. He chances on a cavern, and, racing against the sunset, he makes camp.

The new sounds, smells, and sights kept the marine awake the entire night, and it wasn't until the saftey the morning sun brought, that he was able to drift to sleep.

Brought awake by the sounds of a heated conversation, one he's quite surprised to understand, he works his way out of the makeshift home, to be stared down by an odd pair. The first seemed to be a beast, thrice his size, covered in dark fur and a bit of a temper. It's clear this creature is a beast built for combat. One of power, one who respects ability. The other is of a size comparable to his own, and clearly respects only money and status. The creatures continue their argument without hiccup.

The large one exclaims:

"You see?! It's creatures like this little thing that should be put on a pedastal! Standing tall from his own, to show his abilities outmatch those around him. This guy knows combat, and isn't afraid to show the fact!"

To which the green skinned retorts: "But where will that get him in life? Saving the weak, protecting the young, is that what you think the world is about? In the end, friends will bring him no comfort! Only money will bring the things that sooth the body. Only money can save him from starvation, can save him from living in a damn cave!"

"Would you listen to yourself? What will it get him in life? What could money ever do for a man without hope? When you find yourself on your deathbed, without a friend, what will money then do for you? And years after, will money bring you the honor of memory? The honor of fame? I would live in a hut with friends and family before I live in a mansion alone."

The goblin gives a short laugh. "Then your quality of death is higher than your quality of life? You life in a preposterous dream! I'll leave you to care for your newfound bretheren, your weak and your young, I have ventures to unfold, and schemes to see through."

The large beast finishes the conversation with:

"Be gone, and know I will live through my family for years past my leave. Know that my happiness is great, though my fortunes are small, and know that never will I know lonliness. In your darkest times, still, I will help you see the light of friendship. Until that day, though, I wish not to see your face."

The little marine listened to this conversation through ears that heard vulgarities and mispronuciations. His brain, far sophisticated beyond these two, translated for him into a conversation he could enjoy. Despite his needing to paraphrase, even for himself, he agreed whole-heartedly with the large one.

With a speech the big guy obviously fails to understand, he explains that he wishes to meet these friends and family. He wishes to know the happiness of which he speaks, and trots off to explore a new land, with a new family, and in a new home.

Some say he is the creation of evil scientists while others think he is the offspring of a Murloc father and a Gnome mother.  
 
 He was found in the woods by a group of Worgen and Goblins. Curious as to why the little Murloc was sitting alone in the woods the group asked him who he was and why he was there.  In response to those questions he just sat there and grunted earning him the name Grunty.   The travelers who happened upon little Grunty decided they could not just leave him alone in the woods they decided to care for the young Murloc but they could not decide who would take Grunty.  With both groups feeling they could better care for Grunty then the other they reached a compromise and decide it would be best to raise him together.  

 As time passes under the care of the Worgen and Goblins Grunty shows little interest in anything but the Goblin inventions and the Worgen ways of tracking and stalking.  Little by little Grunty becomes more comfortable in his new surroundings, and the elders of the clans become more weary of him.  Slowly Grunty begins to open up asking the Goblins if he can help with their inventions with his focus mainly on the weapons and explosives.  Showing a real knack for weapons Grunty quickly adapts and starts making modifications improving them.  

 As for his time with the Worgen Grunty spends most of his time playing hide and seek with the pups always wanting to be it to improve his tracking.  

 The clans gradually start asking Grunty questions about his past but quickly realize he remembers nothing before the day they found him. Not his name not where he is from. Nothing but the fact he wants to be a space Marine.  Upon hearing the news the elders now realize why they fear the young Murloc named Grunty.  Among the elders of both clans it is believed that you have to kill your family to become a space Marine.  As word gets around the clans, fear spreads with most trying to distance themselves from Grunty.  The pups no longer want to play with him and Goblin engineers no longer allow him in their labs.  Confused as to why everyone if afraid of him all of a sudden.  Grunty knows he needs to find answers.  To find these answers Grunty asks one of the few Worgen who will still talk to him, one of the Worgen that found him in the woods.  

 After listening to the words of the Worgen that he sees as his father Grunty assures him he would never hurt him but says he will leave for the sake of the clan.  Fearing the worst for young Grunty the Worgen pleaded with Grunty no to go.  With his mind already made up and no hope changing it he would leave for the good of the clans.  The Worgen, realizing this decided if he could not stop him the least he could do was to send him out prepared.  So he took Grunty to the best Goblin engineer around. At first he was reluctant to help but then the Goblin said OK.  They worked for hours modifying the best weapons for Grunty to use.  For extra protection the engineer also gave Grunty a newly designed suit of armor.  Fashioned in his new armor and weapons in hand Grunty said his good byes and made his way off.  Alone and no idea where to go Grunty heads off into the setting sun.  

 As the days turned into weeks Grunty continued to hone his tracking skills and practiced his marksmanship with an unyielding vigor that few could handle.  While out tracking an elusive and deadly creature known as hogger, Grunty came across a group of the ugliest most foul smelling creatures he ever saw.  These creatures, he found out by overhearing the locals were called orcs. After some time stalking these disgusting creatures they began to attack the locals, Grunty watching the slaughter could not stand it any longer and decided to take matters into his own hands. Using his stealth and cunning he learned from the goblins and worgen Grunty quickly devises a plan and begins to systematically destroy the vile orcs.  After he finished off the last orc the surviving locals came out and cheered calling Grunty the Savior of Goldshier.  

 Word Quickly spreads of Grunty's heroics and he is soon granted an audience with the king of Stormwind.  The king offers to make Grunty a knight of the Alliance but he declines telling the king he wants to be a space Marine.  The king smiled at Grunty and wished him the best and told him he would always be welcomed by the Alliance.  Grunty tired from his travels and decimation of the group of orcs decides to hold up in Stormwind for a while.  After a rest and a bite to eat Grunty decides to explore this strange new place.  He walks around enjoying the sights and sounds, finding himself in the auction house.  Grunty checks the weapons for sale hoping to upgrade but finding nothing useful at a reasonable price he leave to continue his sight seeing.  Grunty soon comes across of group of Gnomish engineers he went to see what they had for sale and quickly realized that the Gnomes unlike the Goblins where not masters of weapons and explosives. The Gnome however had some useful gadgets of their own. Quickly seeing the potential of the knowledge he learned in his time with the goblins, Grunty made a deal with the Gnomes to teach them to harness the powers of explosives and make new cutting edge weapons in exchange for use of their facilities and materials.  

 Over the following weeks Grunty developed amazing new weapons and the Gnomish engineering business roared to heights previously never thought attainable.  After arming himself with his new weapons Grunty again sets off to become a Space Marine.  

 Months after his journey to Stormwind and non stop training Grunty sees what he believes to be the first person he has come across in ages, but in the blink of an eye the shadowy figure disappears.  Deciding to put his skills to the test Grunty goes after the mysterious man in blue.  Weeks go by as Grunty relentlessly searched for the person in blue.  Nearly ready to give up his search Grunty sees out of the corner of his eye what he was searching for.  That blue figure from before sitting next to a tree.  Grunty sneaks up and playfully says "tag you're it".  Startled the stranger reaches for his weapon only to notice it's gone, he looks around to see Grunty carefully examining it.  Grunty looks at the stranger and says your hard to catch.  Handing the weapon to the stranger he says "hi my name is grunty".  Taking hold of his weapon the mysterious man in blue says "I am space Marine Major Dorko".  Unable to maintain his composure Grunty excitedly yells "I want to be a space Marine too".  The two talked for hours Grunty telling of how he was found by the Worgen and Goblins, and sharing his exploits of his travels And his meeting with the king of Stormwind.  Major Dorko Told Grunty how he was stationed on the planet to preform recon.  He also shared tales of his time as a space Marine. The duo fast becoming friends decide to travel together.  

 For months the friends travel teaching each other skills and tactics always training and pushing to become better.  During this time they come across many strange creatures and people with many encounters ending with the two having to kill to defend themselves.  At first it was hard for Grunty to kill but with time it became easier.  Not just easier to kill but to deal with having to take lives.  

 After a little more than a year of traveling and fighting most of the time the pair cross a river into an area Grunty vaguely remembers.  Not sure why he remembers this area he shrugs it off and continues to move forward.  The two come across a small crude encampment, while searching the camp for clues to who or what was here Grunty sees a familiar track and remembers where he is.  Just as he turns to Major Dorko to warn him from out of nowhere come dozens of attackers.  The ensuing battle is fast but fierce.  Grunty quickly readies his weapon and begins to shoot the assailants.  With his excellent marksmanship and the crude weapons of the mangy beast men Grunty easily finishes with the group attacking him.  Grunty looks in the direction of Major Dorko to see him finish the last of the attackers.  Major Dorko looks to Grunty smiling and says "you're getting pretty good, you'll make a fine space Marine" then walks to the corpse of one of the attackers to get a closer look.  

 Examining a corpse of his own Grunty gets a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, at the same time he hears a yelp. Turning and raising his weapon he sees a beast leap out and attack Major Dorko. Grunty unloads his weapon into the monster seemingly unfazed it turns and heads for grunty.  He reloads as fast as possible then fires again, again emptying his weapon.  This time the monster falls to the ground reloading one last time Grunty walks to the beast and puts two rounds into its head to be sure it stays down.  Starring down he realizes the beast is the deadly Hogger.  He sprints to Major Dorko to see the extent of his wounds, immediately he knows his friend won't make it.  Major dorko barely conscious knows it too.  With his lasts breaths he tells Grunty not to mourn him, but instead be strong and fight on to become the great space Marine he is destined to be.  Overwhelmed with grief and anger Grunty sits down to gather his composer.  After a minute he decides he has to go on, but first he must do something.  He removes the armor and weapons from major Dorko and buries him.

 Gathering the gear to head off he feels something is wrong, looking around he notices the body of Hogger is gone.  Low on ammo Grunty decides it's best to hurry up and leave.  Needing rest and supplies he makes his way to Stormwind.  

 Over the next few weeks Grunty works diligently with the Gnomes updating his arsenal and modifying major dorko's armor to fit him.  With his work done Grunty suits up and heads out to reach his goal of becoming a space Marine.

  Quote:

Originally Posted by Maziel

  Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkJedi66

What's happening here? Your articles are too long ^^

 

LOL

 

It said lots of detail. =D

 

Besides, some of us aren't from the US and couldn't get to Blizzcon for a Grunty Murloc. I'd love one, but I ain't flying to the US to attend Blizzcon for it. =D

Very good quality in your stories....Id pay for that hehe...... And also i'm not from US and Couldn't afford to get their, So This is a pretty nice thing that curse is doing...Allowing Lots of people too express their creativity and also win a little friend :)