March of the Scourge (WC3 Human)

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

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"March of the Scourge" is the fifth chapter in the Human Campaign The Scourge of Lordaeron. It involves the player defending their base from a large undead assault. There is also a Side Quest in which the player is given the option to go out and destroy a caravan of plagued grain before it infects all the outer villages.

Arthas Menethil and Jaina Proudmoore arrive at the village of Hearthglen where they discover the inhabitants are preparing for battle. The commander of the town guard tells Arthas that an undead army is coming to attack the village. Arthas tells Jaina to go and find Uther while he stays and defends the town. Jaina reluctantly obeys and teleports away.

Arthas then notices some suspicious-looking crates nearby. He asks what was in those crates. The commander replies that it was just a shipment of grain from Andorhal and that the grain has already been distributed amongst the villagers. Suddenly, several the villagers fall into a strange sleep and are transformed into zombies. Arthas realizes that the Scourge plague not only kills people, it brings them back as the undead.

Arthas and his troops swiftly dispatch the zombies. Soon afterwards the Scourge army arrives and begins its assault on Hearthglen. Arthas rallies his men and they fight off wave after wave of undead.

In the middle of the battle, Arthas learns that a caravan of plagued grain is passing through the area infecting other villages. Arthas and a small group of men track down the caravan and ambush it. They slay the undead escorts and destroy the Meat Wagons carrying the plagued grain. Arthas and his troops then hurry back to the village.

As the siege of Hearthglen continues the undead grow stronger and stronger with every attack. The defenders are slowly being whittled down. Finally, the undead launch a massive assault against the town. This attack is led by a pair of Liches who use their destructive powers to breach the defenses. Countless undead pour into the town and start overwhelming Arthas' forces. Arthas is on the verge of defeat when suddenly Uther and Jaina arrive with an army of Silver Hand knights. With the undead now caught between Uther's forces and the remaining town defenders, the tide swiftly turns in favor of the humans.

After the last of the undead are defeated, Uther and Jaina meet with Arthas to discuss the situation. Despite having won the battle, Arthas is humiliated that he almost lost. Uther sternly tells him that they can't afford to let pride distract them. What happened here was only the beginning. Arthas argues that the best way to defeat the Scourge is to kill their (supposed) leader Mal'Ganis who resides in the city of Stratholme. Uther warns Arthas that he can't do this on his own. Arthas retorts that he is going after Mal'Ganis with or without Uther's help.