A/N
As a bit of trivia, the idea for this stemmed off Plague of Undeath-the very first Warcraft fic I ever posted and subsequently deleted for a variety of reasons. Still, gems can still be found among junk and a record of the Plague of Undeath's initial stages was still set to feature. As such, I took the idea and made a oneshot out of it.
Outbreak
Lord Antonidas,
The following diary was retrieved from the ruins of Anglasic, a small town located to the northeast of Stratholme and seemingly one of the points of origin for the Plague of Undeath. Although the Scourge seems content to rest on its laurels, the absence of Prince Arthas prompts us not to do the same. While even in the aftermath of Stratholme I have faith that the prince will return safely from Northrend, it beholds the Kirin Tor to keep watch over our lands.
Knowledge is power. May we use it well.
(Sorry for the blood stains. That's how we found it.)
Day 1
The following is the diary of me, Laura Runelight , begun in the summer or the Year 20 ADP in the year of my eighteenth birthday, to be continued to the day of death.
...Now I have to find something to write about. Fat chance of that ever happening.
Day 2
I suppose that as normality is what is to be expected in the Northlands, normality is what I should write about. Spoke with Saul today, the prat going on about how the elves are apparently trying to poison us with magical chemicals sent down the River Olysses. Not sure where he got those ideas from but then again, he's always been one for conspiracy theories, how King Terenas is trying to become emperor of the Eastern Kingdoms or given his age, raising Prince Arthas to take his place, how...
...ugh. I don't think I can handle any more of his stupidity.
Day 3
Saul can be such an ass when he feels his beliefs are vindicated, today being such an example. A company of knights did us the 'honour' of gracing our village today, looking for recruits to join Lordaeron's Army. Something about orc uprisings in the Southlands and how it's our duty to king and country to suppress the Horde before it grows into the juggernaut it once was. Some even claimed that it was only a matter of time until a "Third War" began. Saul certainly thought so, albeit a third war in the sense that the king would make his move to bend the other kingdoms to his will, that Alterac was only the beginning.
I decided to remain quiet at this point. More than a handful of lads headed back south with the knights. Unlike Saul, they deserve our respect.
Day 4
I bought such a pretty dress today!
Um...yeah, that's about it.
Day 5
Helped with the harvest today. The amount of teens who left didn't seem like much, but in a village of a few hundred, it still takes a toll on our manpower. True, our neighbouring villages always help us out as we do to them, but similar recruitment drives have occurred there as well. To my frustration, Saul helped out as well, specifically in close proximity. Got to hand it to him, he's certainly a good work hand, but listening to him yammer on and on about how the king wants to starve us into submission for his future takeover kind of offset this.
There's still more work to be done though. Something's wrong with the grain...it's all...sickly, somehow, and the soil content seems to have diminished. Oh well. Andorhal demands quotas, we give them it. Quality was never mentioned.
Day 6
Something's in the air, I can smell it. Proverbially that is. The church's clerics were wandering the streets, urging us to stay indoors, that the Light will guide our path, blah, blah, blah...Not that any of us paid attention, the harvest having priority over religious nonsense, a fact that Saul and I agreed on for once. He's nice enough really, as long as he isn't going on about conspiracy theories. Then again, the clerics kind of made up for that today...
Day 7
Seems this outbreak of faith isn't confined to our village alone. I met a few traders who'd come down from Linceus, mentioning how the town's clerics have also lost their nut. However, it's not just the clerics up there, the town guard are also on patrol, wearing cloth over their noses and mouths, urging people to stay indoors while delivering grain.
Is there some kind of epidemic going on? It seems a bit farfetched, but Mum mentioned that if similar conditions are imposed here, we should go along with them, that it's better to be safe than sorry. Right...
(Certainly hope they're not imposed. Saul would go through the roof.)
Day 8
Whether there's some kind of plague going around or not, people certainly believe there is. I hear such talk everywhere, explanations ranging from the sublime (an airborne flu) to the ridiculous (some cult obsessed with undeath stalking around). If the town guard know the truth they're not telling, shutting down all points of congression aside. Can't say I'll miss the pubs much, though Saul...well, he'd changed, in that he was no longer his theorizing self. He believed that the authorities knew more about what was going on than we did, but didn't seem to mind.
Day 9
Two rumours are spreading around as to the nature of the plague-that it's magical in nature and that it's the Horde's doing. Not sure about such ideas, but the recent presence of Kirin Tor soldiers in the town suggests otherwise.
Day 10
The town is now under quarantine! Those Dalaran bastards are blocking us in while investigating our grain supply. They don't care what we do, as long as we don't leave the town. They admitted that they're acting without authorization but the situation demands that they use initiative while messages are sent to the Capital City and the Violet Citadel.
This is ridiculous! Hell, none of us have even died yet!
Day 11
Now there is no grain being delivered! This is worse than the Stone Age. Oh, and that a group of teens were killed while trying to leave town doesn't help matters. As much as I hate to admit it, maybe Saul was right. Without the harvest, we're liable to starve to death, provided we don't fall victim to the plague first. People definitely seem under the weather, but it doesn't seem too bad.
Day 12
Mum went out today, managing to find some food, grain included on the black market. Good news offset by bad news really, considering that some of Saul's neighbours passed away last night, their bodies buried in their gardens. As the graveyard is beyond the town outskirts and there was apparently some kind of magical incident with cultists there (at least according to the Dalaran fascists), we have to dispose of the dead ourselves.
I hope it doesn't come to that in my case...
Day 13
By the Light, some people are sick! I met with Saul today, who told me that the graves dug yesterday have been upturned, the bodies missing! He was almost hysterical, going on about how the graves had been upturned in such a way as if the bodies came out of their own accord without the soil being removed from the surface first. I told him to calm down, but this only seemed to have the opposite effect. He stormed off, telling me to go to Hell for not seeing what's in front of me.
I see what's in front of me...a jackass who only wants to make a bad situation worse.
Day 14
I don't feel so good. Not physically, but mentally...it's as if something's at the back of my mind, like a splinter I can't scratch. Mum isn't feeling too well either, though her symptoms are definitely physical. Oh by the Light, I hope it's not the plague...the Kirin Tor have pulled out, so at least we're free to do as we desire now, but in light of what's happening that's still cold comfort. There are so few people out on the streets now...there couldn't have been that many deaths...
...could there?
Day 15
Screams in the night.
Mum worse.
Saul dead.
The voice is still in my mind...
I feel ill...
Day 16
Mum dead.
Saul and the rest of the town mostly undead.
Fire. Lots of fire. More screams.
Day 17
In the basement. Mum's at the door. Can't let her in. Won't be like her...I'll die first, for what good it will do.
The voice...it continues...the voice of the Lich King...
Day 18
Day is gone. We are in the dark.
The Lich King is my master.
I will open the door. I will embrace undeath.