Chapter 4 The Last Guardian Chapter 3 Preliminary Results

You can get started with your work slowly," said the astral mage across the dining table, "we will go to the library later and tell you how to organize the books inside. " Khadgar put down his porridge and sausage and nodded.The topic of this breakfast chat is about what's going on in Dalaran.For example, what is popular in Dalaran, what is the fashion in Lordaeron, and what are the councilors of the Kirin Tor arguing about recently.Khadgar addressed a philosophical question that is hotly debated in Dalaran right now: If you magically conjure a fireball, does it count as your creation or was it summoned from some other fire?

Medivh was angry, and put down the breakfast in his hand: "One word, stupid! They don't know how to think about the problem from a different angle, if not...then what do you think?" "I think..." Khadgar immediately found himself in a trial state again, "I think it might be for some completely different reason." "Very good," Medivh said with a smile. "When faced with a dilemma, think about whether there is a third one. Obviously, what you mean is that when you make a fireball, you actually blow the air in the surrounding area." The free flame essence concentrated in one point, is this the real reason for the fireball?"

"Well, yes," Khadgar went on, "I thought so too." "Very good," Medivh wiped his beard with a napkin, "Your mind is quick and you are relatively honest. Then let's see how good you are in library management. Moros will guide you." The library occupies two full floors and is located a third of the way up the tower.The staircase in this part is exposed, embracing the outer wall of the tower, in order to free up the huge space of two full floors.There is a circle of cast iron platforms on the second floor.The narrow windows in the room are covered with barbed wire to reduce the natural light entering the room to a level similar to that of a torchlight covered by a lampshade.On several large oak tables on the ground floor, there are many crystal-made Azeroth spheres, covered with thick dust, giving off a blue-gray luster.

The whole house looks like a ghost has entered the village.Books were thrown on the floor, and scrolls were strewn about on the chairs.The writing paper was so dense that it was as dense as the fallen leaves on the ground in the woods.Even so, there are still some books left on the shelves—just "in"—stuffed together randomly, and some books are even barely hanging on the shelves by one or two pages, the action is similar to interrogation room to hang prisoners. Khadgar finally recovered from the visual shock in front of him, and smiled awkwardly: "You can get started slowly," so it was, he said.

“I can help you pack and go home in an hour,” says Moros in the hallway. Khadgar picked up a piece of parchment that he had stepped on.This is an old letter from the Kirin Tor, the Overmind Mages are kindly requested to reply to their most recent letter.On the reverse, there was a large crimson smear, which Khadgar thought was blood at first, but upon closer inspection, he discovered that it was just a piece of melted sealing wax. "No," Khadgar said, patting his small notebook bag, "it's just a harder challenge than I expected." "A lot of people said that before."

Khadgar turned around to ask more questions, but found that the old servant had already left. Khadgar moved through the "ruins" with burglar-like caution.It was as if there had just been a major war in the library.Some have broken spines, some have covers torn in half, some have wrinkled pages, and some have lost even their authors.These are relatively well-preserved, and the worse ones have the entire cover torn off, and the dust on the table is all over the inside pages of the book.Some of the books were open, but others had apparently never been read because the sealing wax had not been removed.

"Actually, an astral mage doesn't need any assistants at all," Khadgar muttered as he cleared the end of a table and pulled out a chair. "He just needs a wife." He glanced toward the door to make sure the butler was It's gone. Khadgar sat down, only to find the chair wobbly.He stood up to check, and it turned out that there was a book under one leg of the chair, and Khadgar's pull just now had just pulled the chair onto the book.It was a heavy ancient book with a metal cover.The cover is quite ornate and has a silver border. As soon as Khadgar opened the book, he felt something move inside, like a drop of mercury passing through a glass tube.There appears to be a dislodged piece of metal in the spine.

Books suddenly start humming... Khadgar hastily closed the book.The book made a strange, short screech and then returned to silence, some mechanism within it being reset.Khadgar carefully placed the book on the table. He also found several scorched marks on the chair he was using and on the floor beneath it. "I probably know why you hired so many assistants." Khadgar said to himself, and continued to walk inside. Things weren't much better inside.Books were spread across the backs and arms of the chairs.From Khadgar's point of view, the further he went, the worse the situation became.Some animal has already built a nest in a corner of the bookshelf.Khadgar knocked the nest off the stand, and a gopher skull fell out of it, smashing to pieces on the ground.The upper floor of the library is more like a stacking room. There are no books on the shelves. The piles of books on the ground are piled higher and higher, forming rolling hills, rolling mountains, and unreachable peaks.

There is only a small area where people can stand, but it seems that this area has been overheated before, maybe it is to reduce the number of books.Khadgar looked at the charred spot and shook his head—something else had obviously been burned here, for there were a few burnt pieces of cloth on the floor, possibly from a mage's robe. Khadgar shook his head and went back to the place where he put the notebook bag just now. From the bag, he found a wooden pen holder, a pile of pen refills, a penstone, a soft-edged paper (parchment) knife, a A box of octopus ink, a small saucer of ink, a bunch of thin flat keys, a long ruler, and something like a metal cricket.

He grabbed the cricket, turned it away from him, and teased its back with a glowing pen lead.This was Jazibah's reward for Khadgar after he completed his entry-level scroll scribe training. It played a great role in Khadgar's exploration of the inner secrets of the Kirin Tor.It contains a common but very useful spell - it can warn of potential traps within the field of vision. As soon as Khadgar put the nib on, the metal cricket screamed at an unprecedented high decibel.Khadgar was so startled that he almost dropped the cricket from his hand.Then he understood that the loudness of this sound is directly proportional to the potential danger.

Khadgar looked around at the pile of books, silently chanting the body protection spell.Backed all the way to the door, and then stopped teasing the cricket.He conveniently took out the thick book with a metal cover that he had noticed before, and placed it on the ground at the door. The cricket's alarm sounded again for the book, only softer than before.Khadgar placed the dangerous book on the left side of the door, and took another book from the room to test. This time the cricket did not make any sound. Khadgar held his breath, hoping the cricket would detect all forms of traps, magical or otherwise, and opened the book.Inside is a treatise on the elf government three hundred years ago written in a feminine and beautiful font. Khadgar placed the handwritten book to the right of the door, and then went into the room to find the next book to be classified. "I know you," Medivh said over sausage and cereal the next morning. "Khadgar, my lord," the young man responded. "It's the new assistant," said the old mage. "Of course, I'm sorry, but my memory is a little fuzzy. I don't know if my memory is true. So many things have happened over the years, and I don't know what will happen in the future." Woolen cloth." "Is there anything I can do, my lord?" Khadgar asked. The old mage seemed to mull over the proposal for a moment, then said, "The library, young trust. How are things going with the library?" "It went well," Khadgar said, "quite well. I've been busy sorting books and falling papers." "Ah, by subject or by author?" Asked the star mage. Killing and not killing, Khadgar thought, but said, "By genre, I think. Lots of books without authors." "Hmm," Medivh seemed satisfied, "a name represents a person's glory and reputation, and works that dare not even sign their names are not trustworthy. Very good, keep going. Tell me, the mage of the Kirin Tor What do you think of King Lane? Have they mentioned him?" The progress of the classification work was as slow as the melting of glaciers, but Medivh didn't seem to care about the completion time or even the tidying of the library itself.In fact, every morning he seemed to routinely surprise Khadgar alive, happily and mildly, and then move on to other topics of interest to him after a little talk of progress. "Speaking of libraries," he'd say, "what's up with Querigan, librarian of the Kirin Tor?" "What do the people of Lordaeron think of the elves? Have they appeared there?" "Is there any legend about a person with a bull's head in Violet City?" About one day in the second week of Khadgar's stay here, Medivh suddenly didn't show up again. "Let's go," Moros explained. "Where did you go?" Khadgar asked. The old butler curled up, and Khadgar could even hear the sound of bones loosening in his body: "He is not someone anyone can tell clearly." "What the hell is he doing?" Khadgar demanded. "Nobody can tell." "When does he come back?" "Nobody can tell." "Is he so relieved to leave me alone in the tower?" Khadgar asked. "Is he not afraid that I will keep those books that everyone covets...?" "I can stand aside and watch you," Moros said, "if you want." Khadgar shook his head, but he remembered something else: "Moros?" "What is it, young sir?" "Those illusions..." The young man didn't know what to say. "Do you need a blindfold?" the old servant asked. Khadgar shook his head again. "Are they revealing the future or the past?" "All of them, I mean the ones I've noticed, but usually," Moros said, "I'm used to ignoring, ignoring." "So those future images, will they really come true?" the young man asked. Moroes let out an eerie exhalation, which Khadgar thought could only be him taking a deep breath: "From my experience, yes, young sir. Once Cook had a vision of me calling Broke a crystal, so she hid them all. A few months later, the owner suddenly wanted the crystal, so she moved it out, and I broke it by accident two minutes later. Totally Unintentional." He sighed again, "She went to get the pair of quartz glasses fitted the next day. Is there anything else?" Khadgar said nothing at the time, but was lost in thought as he made his way to the library.He had done his best to organize the library to this extent.And Medivh's sudden disappearance made him feel very empty and lost his further direction. The young future apprentice enters the library.One half of the room is now piled with those books (and fragments of books) that Cricket presumes to be "safe", and the other half is piled with those that are considered to be traps (these books are usually preserved relatively intact). There were noticeably fewer papers and unopened letters spread across the large tables, piled into two semi-formal piles.The bookshelf has been completely emptied by him now, like a prison without any prisoners. Khadgar could start sorting the papers next, but obviously putting the books on the shelves was relatively simple.The problem is that most books don't have a title, or have a title but the cover is peeled off, torn, frayed and in any case illegible.The only way to confirm the contents is to open them. And this will make the mechanism start again.Khadgar glanced at the charred marks on the floor and shook his head. He began to observe, first looking at the books with traps, then turned his eyes to those without traps, and finally found what he was looking for-a book marked with a key pattern on the cover. But it was locked, and a thick metal strip was around it, holding a lock.Khadgar rummaged through the library and couldn't find a key, but that wasn't too surprising.The seal was strong, but the book cover itself was a sheet metal with a red leather sheath. Khadgar tried to pull the metal plate out of the sheath, but the large lock held them securely.Finally, with the scraping of his pocket knife, Khadgar got the book out of the lock, and it didn't tick horribly when he carried it home. Khadgar glanced at the cricket on his desk, which showed no signs of danger either. Holding his breath, the young mage opened the thick book, and a unique smell of ancient books rushed into his nose. ""Trap and Lock"," he read aloud, these ancient words are quite difficult to read, "how...how to become an excellent...protection mechanism...breaker...." Khadgar moved a chair across the room (shorter since he sawed off three of its legs for balance) and began his reading. Medivh had been gone for two weeks, and in that time Khadgar had taken the library completely for himself.Every morning he got up and had breakfast, casually briefed Moros on the progress of the work (in fact, neither the old housekeeper nor Cook had shown any interest in this matter), and then buried himself in the treasure house.Lunch and dinner were brought to him, and he often worked late into the night by the light blue glow of the planetarium. He also gradually adapted to the special environment in the tower, and there were often various phantoms in the corner of his eyes, and one of the figures in a tattered cloak would disappear when he turned around to pay attention.There are often unfinished words floating in the air.Sometimes I feel a sudden cold, or an inexplicable change in the air flow, as if the doors and windows were suddenly opened.Occasionally, the tower itself sighs in the wind, its ancient rock aged through countless centuries before it was built. Slowly, he began to learn one thing, and that was to decipher the traps that covered the most valuable books in the library.This research was helpful in his recent tidying up work.He soon became as expert at deciphering and erecting magical traps and heavy traps as he had been at dealing with the mysteries within Dalaran's thick gates.In fact, there are many things in common between the two. For example, in order to avoid being discovered, he needs to create the illusion that the trap has not been cracked on the cracked book.Deciding how to break a trap (whether it's very powerful or just a small mechanism or completely unprotected) is only half the battle. Without exception, the books that he cracked with various means and that dexterous knife were far beyond the scope of his knowledge.Their contents were already of the highest order, and Khadgar was determined to understand them one day, whether using his own knowledge or knowledge from Medivh. When he recalled this incident a long time later, he still felt very confused. What did Medivh use this library for?No matter how you look at it, it seems that he has never really used it at all, except to litter the floor with precious books and old stationery.The mages of the Kirin Tor basically have more or less protection of their files and materials, and they will definitely hide the most precious ones well.But Medivh threw everything together like he didn't really need them at all. Unless it was a test, Khadgar thought, a test to keep the would-be apprentice in the dark. Now all the books have been put back on the shelves. The most valuable (and also the most unseen) books are placed on the upper floors and protected with iron chains. The scrolls are also placed here, from the most common purchase and sale of items in Stormwind to the most precious epic records, and finally the information about Aegwynn, who Medivh claims to be his mother, of particular interest to Khadgar. If she really lived eight hundred years, she must have been a powerful mage once, Khadgar thought.Those spell-protected books on the upper shelves may have more information about her.So far, however, the books had resisted all his attempts, and attempts to break their seals and traps had brought him no further.Every time he couldn't hold back and tried to open those books, the trap-detecting cricket always let out a terrifying wail. Still, there were plenty of other things to do, such as collecting and restoring lost pages, rebinding volumes that fell apart, and sorting (or at least reading) correspondence.The most recent letters were written in Elvish, including a script Khadgar didn't understand at all (probably some sort of secret language, from all sources).The lacquered markings on those letters indicated that they came from different places around the world, Azeroth, Khaz Modan, and Lordaeron, even places that have never been marked on the map.Khadgar saw a vague outline: a huge secret organization was communicating with each other in encrypted letters, and Medivh was one of them... Several ancient grimoires have also been encrypted with this ciphertext, most of the content has been processed into slang and the alphabetical order has been reversed.None of the ciphertext deciphering methods that Khadgar knew could be used here.Perhaps they organically combined various encryption methods to create their own ciphertext. As a result, Khadgar finally found the way to decipher those ciphertext grimoires one afternoon by gnawing at the elven and dwarven elementary tutorials in the library—and at the same time, Medivh suddenly returned. Khadgar neither heard Medivh nor felt any movement, and the air around him suddenly changed violently, like a herd of animals fleeing a forest fire had just run by.The young mage turned around on the chair and looked, who was it if it wasn't Medivh? His broad shoulders filled the entire hallway, and his robe and cloak were flapping and rattling in the air current. "My lord, I..." Khadgar stood up halfway from the chair, and was about to report the situation with a smile, only to find that the master mage's hair was disheveled, and his usually soft and bright green eyes were staring angrily at him. Own. "There are thieves!" Medivh yelled, pointing at Khadgar. "Someone has broken into the tower!" The astral mage pointed at his assistant and began to chant spells in a terrifying voice that was impossible is what humans can emit. In desperation, Khadgar raised a hand and drew a protective mark in front of him.But in the face of Medivh's spell, all his efforts were essentially nothing more than making some rude gestures indiscriminately.A wall of air formed in front of Khadgar, enclosing him and the chair.The grimoires and tutorials rolled across the table like ferries caught in a strong storm and fell to the ground.Scattered note papers are flying and circling in the air. The startled Khadgar was pushed back by the wall of air, crashing into a bookshelf behind him.The bookshelf trembled, and the would-be apprentice feared that it would topple over, defeating all his efforts so far.Fortunately, the bookshelf maintained its balance just right, but the invisible force pressing on Khadgar's chest grew stronger and stronger. "Who are you?!" Medivh yelled, "What are you doing here?!" The young mage struggled in vain in the air wall, resisting the heavy pressure on his chest and said: "Khadgar," he gasped for breath every time he said a word, "assistant, sorter, library, your order." At the same time, he wondered whether Moros's curt style of speaking was also due to the same reason. Khadgar's words made Medivh look dazed.Suddenly, he collected himself like a person who just woke up from a deep sleep, and then slightly waved his hand, and the air wall immediately disintegrated.Khadgar knelt down on the ground with his legs limp, panting heavily. Medivh approached him and helped Khadgar stand up, "I'm sorry, kid." He was a little embarrassed, "I forgot you were still here... I thought you were a thief..." "A burglar who left the house tidier than when he arrived," Khadgar said, his lungs aching as he breathed. "Yeah," Medivh looked around the room and nodded with satisfaction (of course, ignoring the chaos he himself caused just now), "it's not bad. I believe I still remember clearly: before no one Can do it as well as you." "I've sorted out the books," Khadgar said, still breathing heavily and standing unsteadily, "on your left are history books, including epics. The middle part is legends and legendary materials, classified by language and content. On the balcony are those professional materials—alchemy research notes, spell explanations, and theoretical hypothetical books. In addition, those books that are too powerful for me to look through and confirm the content are also placed there, maybe You need to check them out yourself." "That's right," Medivh focused on observing the tidy library, and didn't listen to Khadgar's words at all. "It should be said to be great. You did a great job. Very good." He looked around the library again, with an expression on his face. Like regaining purpose in life, "That's really cool. You did a great job. So, come with me now." The master master walked to the door, stepped on the stairs to the upper floor, then turned his head and asked, "Are you coming?" Khadgar was stunned by a fireball now: "Come? Where are you going?" "On top," said Medivh curtly, "come on, or we'll be late. Time is of the essence!" The old mage took the lead and went upstairs quickly. Under his inspiration, Khadgar's steps also became brisk. "What's on the top of the tower?" On a platform near the top, Khadgar finally caught up, out of breath. "Fly," Medivh snapped.Then he stopped again, seemingly hesitating for a while.His shoulders suddenly loosened.At that moment, the anger in his eyes seemed to have burned out: "I must apologize. I have committed an old mistake again." "My lord...?" Khadgar was dazed by Medivh's strange transformation-like behavior. "My memory is very confused, and I don't know if what I remember is the truth, young trust," said the star mage, "I should have remembered that you were still in the tower. But I don't know what happened, I suddenly I assume you're a..." "My lord?" Khadgar interrupted. "Time is life, eh?" "Time..." Medivh nodded, turned his face away, "Yes, time is life. Come on, we can't waste time!" As he said, as if to carry out his words, the old man started to step over two gears Up the stairs. Khadgar realized that the haunted tower and its cluttered library weren't the only reason why Medivh's assistants had left voluntarily.He followed quickly. The old butler was waiting for them in the observatory at the top of the tower. "Moros," Medivh yelled as soon as he arrived, "blow your golden whistle, if you will. That is your right." "Ah," replied the servant, and he took out a small whistle and blew.The rune seal written in the dwarf language was engraved on the side of the sentry tube, shining brightly in the light of the fire. "Rights are exercised, sir, here they come." "They?" Khadgar asked tentatively.Before he finished speaking, the sound of several pairs of giant wings blowing the air sounded above his head.Medivh looked down at the buildings below the tower, while Khadgar followed the sound and looked up. Several giant flying birds descended from the sky, and their wings shone brightly under the reflection of the moonlight.No, it wasn't a bird, Khadgar saw clearly - a griffin.They have the body of a giant cat, but at the same time have the head and front claws of an eagle, and their wings are golden. Medivh took one of the giant beasts and grabbed the rein on its head: "Choose one yourself, let's go." Khadra looked at the behemoths.The one closest to him raised its head and let out a scream, and tapped lightly on the stone brick floor with a giant claw. "I never..." The young man was at a loss, "I don't know how..." Medivh frowned: "Doesn't the Kirin Tor even teach this? I don't have time to spare now." He raised his right index finger to touch Khadgar's forehead, and silently recited a spell. Khadgar screamed and fell backward in horror.The touch of the old mage made him feel that a piece of hot iron had been forced into his brain. Medivh said, "Now you know. Ride on, now." Khadgar touched his forehead and let out an exclamation.Now he does know, knows how to properly drive and ride a Gryphon (even one without a saddle), and can ride both standard dwarven and non-dwarven ways.He knows how to turn in the air, how to hover in the air, and most importantly, how to make an emergency landing. As Khadgar mounted his griffin, he felt another dull pain in his head. The new knowledge seemed to push the old knowledge in his brain to take a permanent place in his head. "Ready? Keep up!" After setting off, the two giant beasts stretched out their bodies, flapping the air and rising slowly.These gigantic creatures can easily carry a fully armed dwarf, but a robed human weighs close to their limit. Khadgar maneuvered his griffin expertly, following Medivh in a weaving descent, adjusting to a position a little higher than the treetops.The sharp pain in his head continued to spread around the point that Medivh touched, and now he felt light-headed and dizzy.Still, he could follow the movements of the astral mage exactly as if he had spent his entire life on the back of a griffin since his birth. The young mage tried to catch up to Medivh, asking him where they were going and why they were there, but couldn't get past him.Of course, even if he did, Khadgar knew that the loud noise of the wind would swallow his words.So he obediently followed Medivh, flew over the approaching mountains, and turned east. Khadgar couldn't tell how long they had been flying. He had dozed off intermittently on the griffin's back, but his hands were still holding the reins tightly, and his griffin kept pace with Medivh's.When Medivh made a sudden right turn, Khadgar suddenly woke up from a deep sleep (if that can be called a deep sleep), and followed the astral mage to turn and fly south.Khadgar's headaches had completely disappeared.All that remains is the first glimpse of the pain. Khadgar now found that they had flown out of the mountains and were flying over the open fields.Below their feet, countless pools and lakes reflected broken moonlight.This is a great swamp or wetland, Khadgar thought.It was already dawn at this time, and the eastern horizon had already turned white, welcoming the coming new day. Medivh lowered his height a bit and raised his hands above his head.Chanted a few incantations on the back of the griffin, Khadgar Of course, Khadgar couldn't see Medivh's face, so the incantation was just his speculation.Khadgard's brain told him that he knew how to emulate it, how to manipulate the griffin with hands free and knee movements alone.But in his heart he didn't feel comfortable doing so. They were still flying forward, but Medivh's body suddenly shone with a bright light, and his figure was reflected by the bright light like a god, making Khadgar's griffin look like an insignificant black spot in contrast.Below them, the young mage spotted a military encampment on a hill that stood out against the surrounding swamp.Khadgar could hear the clatter of armor and the clamor of emergency weapons as they skimmed the camp at low altitude.What the hell is Medivh doing? After flying over the camp, Medivh began to ascend again, and made a circle turn, Khadgar followed suit one by one.They were back over the camp once more, and it was much brighter now—the fires here and there had been fueled and glowed brightly in the night as they circled back.Khadgar could see clearly this time that it was a large patrol, perhaps even a company.The Commander's camp was large and ornate, and Khadgar recognized the banner of the Kingdom of Azeroth. The army of Stormwind.It must be, because there are rumors that Medivh is close to Lion, the king of Azeroth, and Lothar, the heroic knight of the kingdom.Khadgar had expected Medivh to land here, but the astral mage knocked the side of his mount with his knee and ordered the griffin to continue flying.The wings of the two giants beat the night air, and they began to climb again, this time to the north.Khadgar had no choice but to follow, and Medivh dropped his hands and took the reins again, the glare from him gradually fading. Flying over the swamp again, Khadgar noticed a slender strip below. If it was a river, it would be too straight, and if it was an artificial ditch for irrigation, it would be too wide.It must be a road, running through the swamp and out to the outside lot. Then there was another ridge on their horizon, another dry patch, and another camp.There are also flames in this camp, but they have long been extinguished.This camp must have belonged to the same army as the previous one, and they were scattered over the wilderness.As the two flew closer, Khadgar spotted several wagons on fire in the camp, their cargo scattered around, dotted with charred black human bodies that looked like children's. The sandy ground of the camp was littered like toys. As before, Medivh flew over the camp, rose again, made a turn and flew over it a second time.Khadgar followed suit, the young mage leaning over the side of his mount to get a better view.It was like a convoy that had just been looted and then set on fire, but the cargo was still there.Why didn't the robbers snatch the goods or even drag them with the truck?Are there any survivors in the camp? The last question was immediately answered, shouts came from a small bush near the camp, and several bunches of arrows were shot into the sky. Medivh pulled back the reins without haste, and his griffin squeaked and swiveled away from the arrows.Khadgar tried to do the same, the warm, false, comfortable memory in his head telling him he knew the right way to turn around.Unlike Medivh, Khadgar was riding too far forward. He hurried to pull the reins, and the griffin managed to turn around in the air, but it couldn't dodge the arrows. A barbed arrow pierced the right wing. Try to flap your wings and rise to the position where the arrow can't hit. Khadgar immediately lost his balance, and no amount of skill could compensate.His heart rate reached the limit, his hands slipped off the reins, and his legs failed to hook the mount.Feeling the weight lessen, the griffin moved even more, throwing Khadgar completely off his back. Khadgar flailed his hands to regain the reins.The leather rope only touched his fingertips, and in the next moment, it flew high into the night sky together with his mount. And Khadgar fell straight down, engulfed in endless darkness.