Cry of the Warsong (WC3 Orc)

Cry of the Warsong
Location	The Barrens
Result	Horde victory
Belligerents   Orcish Horde Warsong clan   Human Expedition Gilneas Brigade Lordaeron Corps Kul Tiras Elite Corps Stromgarde Brigade
Commanders and leaders   Orcish Horde Thrall Grom Hellscream   Human Expedition 2 Unknown Archmages 1 Unknown Mountain King 1 Unknown Paladin
Casualties and losses   Orcish Horde Moderate   Human Expedition Heavy
Previous	The Wreckage of Lordaeron The Long March
Next	The Spirits of Ashenvale

This article contains lore taken from Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the manuals, and/or official bonus maps.

Cry of the Warsong is chapter 3 of the orc campaign, The Invasion of Kalimdor.

Loading screen

Five days later, near the foothills of the Stonetalon Mountains...

Creeps

• 1 Berserker Wildkin
• 1 Centaur Khan
• 5 Centaur Archers
• 1 Centaur Drudge
• 4 Centaur Impalers
• 3 Centaur Outrunners
• 2 Centaur Sorcerers
• 2 Enraged Wildkins
• 1 Harpy Queen
• 2 Harpy Rogues
• 2 Harpy Scouts
• 1 Harpy Storm-hag
• 1 Harpy Windwitch
• 2 Lightning Lizards
• 1 Quilboar
• 1 Quilboar Hunter
• 3 Razormane Scouts

Quests

Main Quests

Establish a Base

• Build a Great Hall
• Thrall must survive

Establish a Base over the remains of the Human settlement by building a Great Hall.

Secure Zeppelins

• Destroy all hostile units at the Laboratory
• Return two Goblin Zeppelins to your base

In order to safely reach the pass that leads to the north, you must purchase two Goblin Zeppelins and return them to your main base.

Optional Quests

Pacify Humans

• Destroy the Human bases

Hellscream has attacked the humans against your direct orders. Now the humans are attacking your base in retaliation, leaving no choice but to fight your bitter enemies once more. Destroy the human settlements to halt their attacks against your forces.

Transcript

Intro

Thrall and his forces are seen running through the desert.

Grunt: Warchief, we've been trudging through this wasteland for a week with nothing to fight but centaurs and pig-men! We need real enemies to test our mettle!

Thrall: Yes, boredom and the beating sun have put us all on edge. But we must push on! All will be made clear once we meet the Oracle.

Grunt: As you say, Warchief.

Bells ring from the distance. Thrall's forces arrive at a scene of Grom Hellscream and the Warsong clan assaulting a small human base.

Grunt: Look! It's the Warsong clan! And they're battling humans!

Thrall: What? Lok-Tar, warriors! Hellscream needs help!

Archmage: Wretched orcs! How dare you follow us to this land!

Grom Hellscream: Save your breath, human! You'll need it to scream when I start tearing off your limbs!

During the Mission

Thrall: Grom, what was this about? And how the hell did these humans get here, anyway?

Grom Hellscream: Same way we did, little brother. Apparently, a frail girl named Proudmoore leads them. Her forces have cordoned off the pass that leads to the north.

Thrall: Well, we must make it through the pass despite her. I'll send our hunters to scout the area while we establish a base. Until then, the humans are not to be touched!

Grom Hellscream: Whatever you say, Warchief.

Headhunter: Hey, boss-man, we spotted multiple human encampments nearby. There also be a goblin laboratory protected by a base to the north.

Thrall: Interesting. If we can reach the goblins without incident, we can hire their zeppelins to fly us above the pass.

Grom Hellscream: I can wait no longer. The humans must be slaughtered!

Grunt: Warchief, the Warsong clan is attacking the humans, despite your orders!

Thrall: Damn it! There's nothing to do now but fight! Tighten our defenses! I'll deal with Hellscream later.

Grunt: Warchief, the Warsong Clan is attacking another human encampment!

Thrall: Perhaps this is our destiny, to go on fighting the humans forever...

Outro

Thrall's forces board the Zeppelins.

Thrall: With these, we can reach Stonetalon Peak by morning.

Grom and a few Warsong orcs arrive.

Grom Hellscream: A true warrior would simply take the pass from the humans.

Thrall: Have you lost what's left of your mind, Grom? I gave you a direct order to leave the humans alone! What the hell is wrong with you?

Grom runs up to Thrall.

Grom Hellscream: Don't lecture me, pup! The wretches deserved death! Don't you feel it, Thrall? It's like the old days... like the demons are near.

Thrall: I don't know what's come over you and your men, but this bloodlust is a liability that I can't afford.

Grom Hellscream: I'm sorry, Thrall. You're right. I... I can handle it.

Thrall: I can't take that chance, Grom. Take your clan into the northern forest and build us a settlement. I'll come and find you after we've reached the Oracle.

Thrall and Grom part ways, with the warchief boarding one of the Zeppelins as they take off while Grom runs off in the other direction.

The battle

After days of marching across the barrens, Thrall's troops are growing restless. Thrall, however, assures them that all will be well when they reach the Oracle.

Suddenly, they stumble upon Grom Hellscream and his Warsong Clan battling a group of humans. Thrall and his warriors rush to Hellscream's aid and the orcs defeat the humans. After the battle, Grom tells Thrall that the humans, led by a "frail girl", have blockaded the passage to Stonetalon Peak. Thrall decides that they should look for a means to bypass the humans. He orders Grom to leave the humans alone for the time being.

Grom returns to his camp while Thrall constructs his own base. A short time later, a troll scout reports that there is a nearby Goblin Laboratory selling Zeppelins. If they can acquire the Zeppelins, the orcs will be able to fly past the human forces. However, as Thrall makes preparations to secure the Zeppelins, Grom gives into his bloodlust and starts attacking the humans. The humans launch a counterattack against the orcs forcing Thrall to fight back.

After fending off repeated human attacks, Thrall leads his forces toward the Goblin Laboratory. They are forced to destroy at least one human base blocking the way. The Goblin Laboratory itself is surrounded by hostile centaur and harpies. Thrall defeats these creatures and hires the Zeppelins he needs. He then flies them back to his base.

Despite having achieved his goal, Thrall is greatly upset. Many lives have been lost in a battle that could have been avoided. Thrall confronts Grom and angrily rebukes him for disobeying orders. Grom is defiant at first, but then backs down and apologizes for his disobedience. Thrall, however, is not convinced that Grom can control his bloodlust. He orders Grom to take his clan to the northern forests and construct a settlement while the rest of the Horde seeks out the Oracle.

Forces

Orcish Horde

• 1 Far Seer
• 1 Blademaster
• Orc Grunts
• Orc Peons
• Troll Headhunters
• Orc Raiders
• Kodo Beast Riders
• Catapults (Classic) / Demolishers (Reforged)
• Goblin Zeppelins

Human Expedition

• 2 Archmages
• 1 Mountain King
• 1 Paladin
• Human Footmen
• Peasants
• Militias
• Dwarven Riflemen
• High elf Priests
• High elf Sorceresses
• Dwarven Mortar Teams

Trivia

• There was an early idea for this mission where the player could stop Grom from attacking the humans or complete the mission objective fast enough without killing humans. If the player successfully accomplished this, there would've been benefits later when the orcs and humans ally.
  • A similar concept was considered for The Spirits of Ashenvale where the player could complete the objective with or without killing night elves.
• If the player places items on Grom, they will go in his inventory and carry on into future missions.
• If the player chooses to kill Grom, the Warsong Clan will turn hostile. As a result, Grom will sometimes attack the player's base as well as the humans'.
• According to World of Warcraft: Chronicle Volume 3, the fights between humans and orcs happened in Ashenvale.

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reforged.

• In patches 1.33, the enemy random heroes were given unique names referring to World of Warcraft NPCs:
  • The archmage heroes vary between Archmage Xylem, Archmage Tervosh, and Horace Alder, but only two are present on each playthrough.
    • Each may be a member of the Stromgarde Brigade or Human Expedition on a different playthrough.
  • Brother Karman of the Lordaeron Corps
  • Torq Ironblast of the Gilneas Brigade
  • There's a new path on the left side of the map to avoid the last human base. Entering it spawns a group of quilboar.
    • Patch 1.36.1 reverted the names and the new path, but patch 2.0 restored the new names, but not the path.