Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

Five equally huge and hairy wild bears of various colors roam the lush forests of Ashenvale.From time to time they stopped to snort or paw at something of interest to make it appear they weren't moving together.Bears rarely gather in groups.However, if one watches for a long time and follows their seemingly careless steps, they all seem to be heading in the same direction. You may also notice horns on their heads. They came to a mountain not far west of Stonetalon Pass.A giant bear, larger and grayer than its companion, scouted the surroundings for a while, sniffing vigilantly, then stood upright on its hind legs, its front paws raised to the sky.

The shiny black claws became long, powerful fingers.The brown and white fur fluttered and shortened.The bear's snout flares out, and its enlarged head has long horns and deep-set, calm eyes.Beneath the lightly furred skin, the bones and internal organs have changed.The hind legs became long, powerful limbs with bull's hooves instead of bear's paws.The short tail is long like a whip and ends in a tuft of hair. "I can smell them; they are coming," Hamuul Runetotem said to his companions. "On their own." The other druids around him followed suit, their bodies twisted from bear to tauren, but there was no sense of incongruity.They stood there ready, moving only their tails and ears now and then.

A moment later, five night sabers appeared on the top of the mountain, their fur showing various dark lusters, and they ran over swiftly and gracefully.They also change form almost immediately.From a slender, lithe feline to an equally slender, lithe body of a night elf.Their ears have grown longer, hands and feet have replaced claws, and their tails have disappeared entirely.They stood there, watching the tauren solemnly. Hamuul bowed deeply. "Arch Druid Reneveral," he said, "I am glad you are here, my old friend." "It's not without a second thought," says Irélice Renfral.Hamuul noticed that she didn't call him "friend" in return.With short green hair and purple skin, she is tall and elegant, but clearly battle-hardened, with lavender scars criss-crossing her skin.And her body is strong and muscular, not slender.

"Your spirit has guided you and your companions to this meeting, as my spirit has guided us," Hamuul replied. "The blood of the slaughtered Sentinels still calls for justice, Hamuul," Reflair replied.As she spoke, she walked forward to close the distance between herself and Hamuul. "And justice will be done," Hamuul assured her. "But unless we can talk, make peace, and heal wounds, there will be no justice." He took the initiative, plopping down on the soft green grass.The other tauren druids followed him and sat down.The Kaldorei exchanged glances, but when Refral sat down, they followed suit.They now form roughly a circle, although they sit on distinct sides according to race.

Such a cold and sharp division stung Hamuul.The gathering here is not strangers, but old friends who have known each other for many years.The ten of them had worked together in the Cenarion Circle for many years, and they shared a bond that transcended race and political affiliation.This relationship means contact with the beast spirits of this world through feral incarnations, becoming one with nature in a way that others cannot understand.But now the relationship is being severely tested.Hamuul silently prays to Mother Earth that their efforts today will reforge that bond, perhaps even make it stronger than before.

"I'm sure you've heard about Thrall's departure—temporarily. I'm sure you're aware of his mission." Reveal frowned. "Yes, we heard. We also know who he appointed to replace him." "Rest assured, Thrall doesn't intend to be away for too long, and he routinely persuades young Hellscream when he wants Kane," Hamuul said. "You know Thrall's wish is to live in peace." "Really? Really?" another night elf called out in an angry tone. "Then why did he leave? And appoint Garrosh to succeed the warchief? Garrosh openly questioned the peace treaty, and we believe he was behind the original attack."

Hamuul sighed.There is no definitive evidence that Garrosh instigated the savage attack on the Sentinels anyway.But those rumors are easy to believe. "Thrr was in Nagrand to better understand what happened to the elementals. Come on - we druids are closer to nature than most, even though we're not shamans. I don't believe anyone here thinks Our world is not suffering." These words seemed to calm the representatives of the night elves somewhat. "If Thrall can come back soon with a way to appease the elementals—and if Garrosh can refrain from doing any senseless killing," Renflair said, "then maybe it will bring some kindness."

"I remind you we don't know if Garrosh really did it. And thanks to this gathering, goodwill has come," said Hamuul. "And now, may peace begin." A variety of expressions flitted across the faces of the attendees: hope, worry, doubt, fear and determination.Hamuul looked around and nodded.Things were going as well as he'd expected, though not as well as he'd hoped. Deliberately and slowly, he reached into a small bag and pulled out a slender object wrapped in carved leather.He held the thing up high for a while, then got up and placed it in the center of the crowd, and unwrapped the leather wrapping.

"It is a ceremonial pipe," he said, "to be shared by the congregation before the peace talks. It is a long-standing tradition of my people. I brought it with me when I first attended a meeting of the Cenarion Circle. smoking this pipe. Some of you here may still remember that party. Now I bring it again, to formalize my desire for restoration and unity." Reveal took a closer look, then silently nodded at her green head.Then she took out a cup and a water bottle from her bag. "It seems that you think the same as I do." She raised her glass and said softly.It was a simple clay goblet, gilded with blue glaze and inscribed with runes, but otherwise unadorned.Hamuul smiled.Years ago she had carried the glass as he had the pipe. "This is an ancient relic. We don't know who its original owner was, but it has been handed down since the cataclysm of the War of the Ancients, loved and treasured by people. And this bag of water was taken from the Temple of Elune, Pure and delicious.” She poured some water into the goblet reverently, then also got up and put it in the lap.

Hamuul nodded happily.The night elves take this meeting as seriously as the tauren.He could feel the tension disappearing, and respect and hope beginning to replace confrontation and hostility. He rose and bowed to Renfral, and took up his pipe.As he filled it with tobacco, he began to say: "After it is lit, this pipe will be passed in turn in everyone's hands." This was to explain to the young elf druids who did not know the rituals of the tauren. "When it reaches you, please hold it for a while. Think about what you came here to achieve. Then pass it to—" He froze for a moment.

The change of wind direction brought a scent to the tauren's keen nose.Strong and familiar, it wouldn't be unpleasant at other times, but he knew that for now, at such a fragile critical moment, the smell would bring death. orc. "No! Stop!" Hamuul yelled in Orcish, but it was too late.Even before the words left his mouth, the deadly arrows screamed and shot out, and the two night elves fell cleanly through their throats. Shouts of rage and panic erupted from the tauren and night elves.Reveal turned around quickly, and gave Hamuul an angry and disgusted look, which pierced his heart like a spear. "We come here with trust!" She immediately transformed into a giant cat after saying this, and pounced on the orc closest to her.It was a burly, bald, crooked-toothed warrior with a huge two-handed sword.He was thrown to the ground by her, the giant sword fell from his hand, his abdomen was torn apart by sharp claws, and he lay lifeless on the grass. "Get rid of those purple skins!" their leader yelled harshly.Where did they come from?What are your intentions?Was it Garrosh's order?It doesn't matter anymore.Whether by accident or on purpose, the peace talks have been completely disrupted.All Hamuul could do was to protect the remaining three—no, another orc stabbed Renfral with a polearm, pinning her hard to the ground.Hamuul corrected himself - there were two living night elf druids left. He let go of his rage and pain, quickly transformed into a dire bear form, and charged at the closest orc in the savage band.His tauren companions followed suit, clearly changing into various beast forms.The female orc, wielding two short swords, was helpless against Hamuul's bulk.Her screaming stopped abruptly as his weight pressed against her chest.He wanted to bite her throat with his giant jaws, tear open her windpipe, and taste the smell of her blood.Yet he restrained himself, he was not of their kind. Around him, druids took on various forms to defend themselves—stormcrows, swooping down on the orc's face with razor-sharp claws; ; and the dire bear, the most powerful of the beast forms.The smell of blood splattered everywhere drove Hamuul crazy.He clings to the last ray of sanity in his heart, keeping in mind the purpose of his coming. They were once so close to the dream of peace, just a few short minutes before the violence. "Stop, stop, these are the tauren!" shouted through the bloody fog of battle.Hamuul restrained himself with all his might, let go of the orc he was fighting, and transformed into his true form. That's when he realized he was hurt; in bear form he didn't feel the trauma at all.He stretched out his hands to press the wound on his waist, and muttered a healing spell.His eyes widened in horror as he looked around. It was unbelievable, but all five night elves were killed and lay flat.Almost all the tauren were wounded, and he sadly saw one of them lying on the grass, with an arrow in one eye, and flies buzzing around the lifeless body. He turned to the orc who seemed to be the leader, "In the name of Cenarius, what have you done?" The light green orc didn't seem bothered by Hamuul's rage.He just shrugged, "We saw five dirty night elves running in cat form, and thought they might be attacking." "Attack? Just five?" The orc said nothing, but continued to watch him calmly.How could they be sure it was a druid and not a normal nightsaber?thought Hamuul. He got a little impatient with the orc's sullen, dumb look, and there was more anger in his voice. "Who sent you? Garrosh?" The orc shrugged again. "Who is Garrosh?" This is impossible.Hamuul could not believe that there could be such a fool.Love or loathe, everyone knows Garrosh.The orc must have been trying to fool him for some reason. "You interrupted an important secret meeting about the Horde's right to legally cut timber in Ashenvale without risking their lives! I will personally report your actions to Cairne Bloodhoof, and let this The incident was made public. The Horde's honor has once again been tarnished, and this was not my fault. These elves, these druids," he pointed at the cooling corpses with trembling fingers. "They came at my request. They trusted me to keep them safe. And now our hope of peace has died with them because you thought they were going to attack. What's your name?" "Gokorak." "Golkorak," Hamuul said the name, taking it to heart. "From now on, Gokorak, you will never rise above the Horde." Gokolak's expression changed slightly.His greedy eyes moved grimly and calmly from the night elf druid to Hamuul, and then to the back of the tauren, a sinister smile on his face.By the time Hamuul realized something was wrong it was too late. "Unless I kill you first," Gokorak yelled. Then Hamuul heard the sound of feathered arrows piercing the air. Gokorak, a member of the Twilight's Hammer, looked around in satisfaction. "I thought the druids were smarter," said one of his accomplices, pulling the longsword out of the body of a white-haired female tauren. "Destruction is coming, inevitable and beautiful, and anyone who refuses to convert is a fool," Gokorak said.He had given up the foolishness he had used to fool Hamuul. "We're going to bury the bodies, but not so deep that the scavengers can't find them. We hope someone will find them." He smiled darkly. "Eventually." He was glad Hamuul had mentioned Garrosh.This means that suspicions about the acting warchief have begun to spread.Already there were whispers that it was Garrosh who ordered the massacre of the Sentinels.Now they would also believe that Garrosh was behind the killing as well. "The Void awaits," Gokorak said. "Dig." Hamuul Runetotem slowly regained consciousness.He blinked back to life, then wondered if he was really awake.Where is he?what happened?He couldn't see anything, something was squeezing him all around.He was breathing hard, and the thin air smelled stale of blood and dirt.He tried to move his body, but found that he couldn't.He was aching all over, and thirst was scratching in his throat.He was still in bear form, and he guessed he changed form at that moment, just as he was shot— —from behind— — by members of the tribe. Memories poured in like an avalanche, and he suddenly realized where he was and what was weighing on him around him. He was in a mass grave. The rush of adrenaline rushes through him, restoring strength to his tormented body.Where is the top?The lifeless arms of the corpses rested on his shoulders, their cold bodies pressed against his back, as if to invite him to join them in their death.Hamuul opened his mouth with sharp teeth, desperately swallowing the foul-smelling air and dust, and pushed the corpses of his friends away with the sole of his foot.He dug up, the corpse bleeding slowly under his claws.He crawled in the direction of the cleanest air, shouldering as hard as he could to push away the corpses and the dirt until his head broke through the ground, gobbling the fresh air.At this time, he felt the pain of the wound again, so he couldn't help but hum.He crawled out of the ground and collapsed, his white and beige fur clotted with blood and other foul bodily fluids.The horror of the outrage made him gasp and tremble. He tried to return to tauren form, but the first attempt made him faint again.What seemed like minutes had passed since he woke up, when he was finally able to change form and heal his wounds, at least a little bit.Full recovery will take a long time. With a pained expression on his face, he stood up and walked a few steps, timidly inspecting the grave to see if there were any other survivors.It was late, but he didn't need sunlight to see the tragedy clearly. died.All dead.Night elves and tauren.He is the only survivor.His noble heart was broken.He fell to his knees, slumped at the edge of the pit where his friends lay, weeping for the killing, for the further damage this event had done to any hope of peace. He raised his head, tears welling up his face.He saw the ceremonial relics that he and Refral had brought with lofty intentions.That beautiful pipe, that simple old goblet, they were all broken.Trampled and crushed beyond repair by random footsteps and fallen corpses, his dreams of peace were equally shattered. Hamuul closed his eyes, staggered and tried to stand up again, raising his hands to the sky for help.An owl flew over, stopped on a nearby branch and whistled softly.Hamuul fumbled a piece of parchment from his bag.The inkwell he carried was crushed during the battle, so he wrote a note in his own blood.He tied the note to the owl's leg.It shook its head uncomfortably, looked at Hamuel displeasedly with twinkling eyes, but still endured the strange feeling brought by the note. Hamuul whispered Kane's name, picturing the elderly High Chief in his mind.Satisfied that the owl would comply with his request, he released it with his blessing.It goes straight to the southwest. That was the direction of Thunder Bluff. He closed his eyes with relief and gratitude, and fell silently to the ground, letting himself fall unconscious in the embrace of the earth.He didn't know if it would be for a while or forever.