Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

When she was finally able to breathe again, Vereesa gasped violently.The fear of being buried alive subsided as she gasped for air.Gradually, she regained her composure and opened her eyes—only to find another terrifying sight awaiting her. Right in the middle of this little cave, three guys are huddled around a small fire.The firelight shone on their already bizarre bodies, adding to the eerie atmosphere.She could see the ribs beneath their rough, mottled flesh.She could also clearly see their sickly, elongated faces and their beak-like noses.She also noticed those elongated, evil eyes and pointy fangs in particular.

The three guys were only wearing aprons made of some rags.They all had throwing axes by their sides.Vereesa knew that the skill of these guys with this weapon was enviable. Even though she was trying to keep quiet, the slightest movement of her body must have picked up those long, pointy ears that reminded her of goblins.One of the guys suddenly looked in her direction. "Dinner woke uh," he said.His mutilated left eye was covered with a blindfold. "I think it's more like dessert," the second guy replied.His head was completely bald, while the other two had messy rooster comb hairstyles.

"Definitely dessert," the third guy smirked.He also wore a tattered scarf that once belonged to one of Vereesa's kind.He looked more lanky than the other two, and he spoke with an irrefutable air.Then, he is the leader. He is the leader of these three "hungry" trolls. "The nearest prey are too thin," continued the scarfed one. "But now we can finally have a good meal." An object on the right of Ranger suddenly burst out a word—if it wasn't for the effect of the gag, it would have been a resounding swear word.Vereesa turned her head and saw Falstad.He was still alive, too, but she didn't know how long he had been awake.Rumors began circulating long before the Troll Wars that these ferocious creatures would regard anything alien as tasty prey.Even those orcs who ally themselves are often admonished to always be on the lookout for such cunning monsters.

Fortunately, after the troll war and the war with the Horde, the number of their bloody race has dropped sharply.Vereesa had never seen a troll herself, and knew them only from pictures and legends.And she prefers to continue to do so. "Be patient," said the scarfed troll in a mocking tone. "We'll let you go first, dwarf! You go first!" "Gerry, can we begin?" the one-eyed troll begged. "Why not start now?" "If I say no, I won't do it! Sinai!" As he said that, Gerry suddenly hit Sinai on the jaw with his fist, making him roll over.

The other troll jumped up, inciting both sides to continue fighting.Gerry fixed him at once, his piercing eyes making him sit back.At this point, Sinai crawled back to his place by the small fire, looking totally resigned. "I'll give you drippers!" Gerry patted his chest with his thin paw. "Understood, Sinai?" "Gerry, I get it! Got it!" "Clear, Walsh?" The bald guy just kept nodding. "Yes, Gerry, you're our dripper! Boss!" Like elves, dwarves, and humans, trolls have many branches.A small branch of them is as good at sophisms as the elves, and they chatter even before cutting off the heads of others.The others are mostly of the uncivilized type, especially those that haunt burrows.However, Vereesa very much suspected that there were lower creatures than the three trolls who captured her and Falstad, and they obviously had more evil plans.

The three guys returned to the fire, discussing something in a low voice.Vereesa turned to Falstad again, and the fellow was staring at her.She raised an eyebrow, and he responded by shaking his head.Well, even a dwarf as strong as he could not break free from the tight ropes.She shook her head too.Although these trolls are uncivilized, they are still experts in knotting. Trying to look bold, the Ranger looked around—but there was really nothing to show her.They appear to be in a hastily dug tunnel, probably dug by these trolls.Vereesa thought of their long, thin claws—perfect tools for handling stone and dirt.These trolls are well adapted to this cave life.

Although she could guess the result in advance, the elf still tried to find a place where the knot was looser.She twisted her body as carefully as possible, even the skin on her wrist was torn, but it was still useless. There was a sinister laugh.Those trolls have seen her every move. "Desserts are so alive," commented Gerry. “It sure tastes good!” "Where did the rest go?" Sinai complained. "It's long overdue!" The leader nodded, and continued, "Haug should know the consequences if they don't obey orders! Maybe he—" The troll suddenly picked up the throwing axe. "A dwarf is coming!"

The throwing ax passed through the tunnel, flying within inches of Vereesa's face. A scream followed. From the walls of the tunnel came suddenly short, stocky figures, roaring and brandishing hatchets and swords. Gerry picked up another, longer axe, this one obviously for hand-to-hand combat.Sinai and Walsh, these two got down on their stomachs and threw their throwing axes.The elf saw a crouching attacker hit by Sinai's weapon, while Walsh's missed.Then these two guys imitated their leader and picked up two huge axes, ready to meet the encircling enemies. Vereesa counted six or seven dwarves, all dressed in rough furs and rusty armor.Their helmets are all round, of good size, and free from unnecessary ornamentation such as horns.Like Falstad, most of them had beards, though shorter and neater than Falstad's.

These dwarves are skilled and precise with axes and swords.The trolls felt that the distance between the three of them was getting smaller and smaller.Sinai fell first.His one eye did not see the warrior rushing from the blind spot.Walsh warned him, but it was too late.Sinai swung wildly at the oncoming enemy, completely missing his aim. And the dwarf plunged his sword into the thin troll's belly. Gerry was the worst fight ever.He flipped one dwarf first, and nearly beheaded another.Unfortunately, his ax broke when it hit one of those good long-handled axes.So he clutched desperately at the handle of the dwarf's axe, trying to wrest it from his little foe.

Then another sharpened ax fell on the troll leader's back. The elf felt almost sympathy for the remaining troll now.That Wash, eyes wide open in the face of the impending doom, was on the verge of tears.Despite this, he was still swinging his ax at the dwarves beside him, and even almost caused a bloody scene.However, he still couldn't stop the enemies who kept rushing up with a knife and ax in hand, shrinking the encirclement. In the end, Walsh could only suffer the fate of being fished. Vereesa couldn't bear to witness this scene, so she turned her head away until a hoarse and steady voice said, "Oh, no wonder those trolls beat so hard! Jim! What do you see?"

"Ha, Lom! Much better than this one I found!" A pair of big hands supported her to sit up. "I'll try to see if I can untie these ropes without hurting this perfect body!" She looked up and saw the red face of a dwarf.The dwarf was at least six inches shorter than Falstad, but also sturdier.Although they seemed clumsy at first glance, the dwarf's way of untying the knot quickly convinced the ranger otherwise, especially after seeing the speed with which they took down the few trolls. As the dwarves approached, Vereesa noticed that their clothes looked even worse.It wouldn't surprise her at all to say that the dwarves lived by stealing orc supplies.A unique smell also shows that bathing has been a rare enjoyment for them for a long time. "you're free!" The rope slipped from her.Vereesa immediately removed the gag that the dwarf had ignored.At this time, a series of swear words from the side indicated that Falstad was also untied. "Shut your stinking mouth or I'll gag it forever!" Jim shot back. "Hmph, want to defeat one of our dwarves from Eagle's Nest Mountain? You must bring at least a dozen copperbeard dwarves!" A commotion broke out among the dwarves.If the Griffin Rider doesn't speak anymore, these dwarves who rescued them will become their new captors at any time.At this moment, Vereesa accidentally fell to the ground, and only then did she realize that this tunnel is really not good for her height.So she shouted hastily: "Falstad! Be polite to our friends! After all, they saved us!" "You're right~" Rom replied. "Those bloody trolls, they'll eat anything with flesh! Live or die!" "They also mentioned that they have accomplices," Vereesa suddenly remembered their conversation, "maybe we'd better get out of here before they get here—" Lom raised his hand.His wrinkled face reminded Vereesa of a vicious old dog. "There's no need to worry about those accomplices. It's because of them that we found these three guys." He was silent for a while. "But you are right! This group of trolls is not the only ones in this area. Those orcs are also used as hunting dogs by them! Except for the orcs, other targets wandering in this wasteland will become their prey-their nature When I started, I even tried to capture an orc from the mountains!" The image of those trolls feasting on them flashed through Vereesa's mind. "It's disgusting! Thank you for arriving in time!" "If I had known in advance that we were saving you, I would have ordered these people to hurry up!" The one called Jim—whose eyes always drifted in the direction of the elves, too—speaks. "Zoji is dead. His body is still at the entrance of the cave. Nunn is seriously injured and needs to be bandaged quickly. But the other wounded can continue on the road~" "Then let's go! Well, including you, useless guy!" Obviously referring to Falstad.However, when the latter heard this strong insult to the dwarves of Eagle's Nest Mountain, he didn't attack, but his hair suddenly stood on end. The dwarf softened a little after Vereesa patted him on the shoulder; but he still glared at the others until they set out on the road.Vereesa noticed that the copperbeard dwarves stripped the dead of anything useful, not only the trolls, but their dead companions as well.Nor did they intend to remove the body.And when Rom noticed the strange look in Vereesa's eyes, he had no choice but to shrug his shoulders helplessly. "The war dictates that some customs must be abandoned, Lady Elf. Zoji will understand. We will bring his relics to those closest to him, and they will share some extra spoils... nothing else Yes, sorry..." "I didn't know there were any of you left in Khaz Modan. It is said that all the dwarves withdrew after realizing it was impossible to hold the area." Rom's wrinkled face suddenly became very cold. "Yes, everything that can go is gone! But we can't evacuate all, you know! Those tribe guys came like a plague and cut off all our lives! We had to hide more and more underground Deep. Many died then, and more continue to die!" She scanned the group of dwarves. "How many of you are there?" "My tribe? Forty and seven, but it used to be hundreds! We have contacted three other tribes, two of which are older than us. There are more than three hundred of us in total, but it is less than One-tenth of the original amount!" "Three hundred and over is a lot," muttered Falstad. "If I had that many people, I would have attacked Grim Batol long ago!" "If we can fly around like bugs in the sky, maybe we can interfere with them, so as to gain a chance to attack~ But on the ground and underground, we are still at a disadvantage! They only need to send a dragon, and they can take the whole The forest and the soil beneath it were all burnt to charcoal!" The hostility between the Wildhammers and the Bronzebeards seems to be breaking out again.Vereesa hastily separated the two. "Enough! The orcs and their lackeys are our enemies! If you start a fight yourself, wouldn't it be in their favor?" Falstad whispered an apology to her, and Lom followed suit.But Vereesa didn't want to stop there. "Not good enough. Turn around and swear to each other that you will only fight for everyone! Swear you will always remember that the orcs killed your brothers, and the orcs made you lose your love!" She didn't know the past experience of the two dwarves, and she said that based on a common understanding: all people in war have lost their cherished people, people or things.Rom must have lost many comrades in arms, and Falstad, the reckless and brave Wildhammer dwarf, is believed to have suffered the same. Gryphon Rider stretched out his hand first. "She's right. I agree." "You agree, what else can I say?" Two hands clasped together.The copperbeard dwarves next to each other whispered for a while.A friendly scene like this is almost impossible to see except in a pinch. So the group continued on their way.This time it was Lom who asked the question. "Now we've left those trolls behind. Elf lady, can you tell now how you came to this wounded land? Is it as we hoped—the counterattack against the orcs has begun? Ka Will Zmodan be free soon?" "That's right, the counterattack against the orcs has already begun." The dwarves cheered softly when they heard the news. "The main force of the Horde was routed months ago, and Doomhammer is missing." Lom was a little confused. "Then why are the orcs still dominating Grim Bathory?" "You still ask this kind of question?" Falstad interrupted. "First of all, the orcs still control the northern area of ​​Dan Algaz. Although some of them have already surrendered, the rest will not surrender unless they fight." "What else, man?" "Didn't you know they had dragons?" Falstad had a mocking look on his face. Jim snorted.Lom stared back at his adjutant, nodded and said: "Well, dragons. They are enemies that our ground troops can't face. We once got a dragon down and solved it-but we still lost two dragons. A brave fighter. Usually, they always fly above, and then we can only stare from below." "But you have fought trolls," Vereesa encouraged. "And orcs." "Well, I occasionally meet their patrol soldiers. Trolls, we have dealt a big blow to them too. But as long as our homeland is still under the rule of the orc battle axes, these efforts are nothing at all!" He said Look into Vereesa's eyes. "Okay, tell us now, who are you and what are you doing here? If Khaz Modan is still in the territory of the orcs, wouldn't you be committing suicide by running like this?" "My name is Vereesa? Windrunner, and this is Falstad, the dwarf from the Eagle's Nest. We're here because I'm looking for a human, a mage. He's young, tall, and fiery red The last time I saw him, he was coming in this direction." She deliberately omitted the part where the black dragon appeared, and was grateful that Falstad didn't add it for her. "Mages are generally stupid, especially humans; what does that guy want to do here in Grim Batol?" Lom looked at the two guests suspiciously, because what Vereesa said sounded too much. Far-fetched. "I don't know," she admitted. "But I think it has something to do with those dragons." Hearing this, the dwarf leader laughed. "Those dragons? What is he going to do? Rescue the Red Dragon Queen? She will be very grateful, and then she will be so excited that she will swallow him immediately!" The copperbeard dwarves thought it was ridiculous, but the elves didn't think so.To her relief, Falstad didn't join them in laughing, though he probably thought that Rhonin had already been swallowed by Deathwing. "I swore an oath, and for that, I will go on. I must go to Grim Batol and see if I can find him." Scenes of laughter were replaced by expressions of shock and disbelief.Jim shook his head, thinking he had heard wrong. "Ms. Veresa, I respect your sense of mission, but you have to know how ridiculous this is!" She carefully examined the group of dwarves.It was getting dark, but she could still see their tiredness and pessimism.They are all fighting, dreaming of the liberation of their hometown, but they probably all think that they will never see that day in their lifetime.Like all dwarves, they honor the brave; yet even in their eyes, the plans of the elves border on madness. "You and your people saved us, Rom. I thank you very much for that. But I have one more request. Take me to the nearest tunnel to the city of Grim Batol. Then I will Let's go." "You will not travel alone, dear elf lady," protested Falstad. "I've gone too far, it's too late to turn back now...and I must find some goblin and skin him for boots!" "You are all crazy!" But Rom found that their determination was unshakable.He could only shrug his shoulders and continued, "But if you want to know the way to Grim Batol, I will definitely take you there myself!" "You can't go alone, Rom!" said Jim. "There are trolls everywhere, and there are orcs around there! I'm going with you, and I have a watcher!" No sooner had he finished than the whole band of dwarves volunteered to follow their leader to protect them.Both Rom and Jim tried their best to dissuade them, but because the dwarves were more stubborn than the other, the leader had to come up with a better solution. "The wounded have to go back, and they need someone to take care of them—it's not negotiable! Nunn, you can't even stand still! The best way is to roll the dice. Which of you has a set on your body?" Vereesa really didn't want to wait for them to gamble who could walk with her, but she had no better way.She and Falstad could only watch the dwarves roll the dice, while Nunn and the wounded were left alone.No sooner had Rom finished asking the dwarves than there was a sea of ​​hands, and it was evident that nearly all of them had their own set of dice. The sight made Falstad laugh. "The dwarves of Aerie Hill may be different from them in many ways, but there are very few of them who don't carry dice!" He patted a pouch hanging from his belt. "Those trolls didn't touch my dice, which shows how scumbag they are! Even the orcs like to play dice, so it can be seen that they are still a bit more advanced than trolls!" After what seemed a long time to Vereesa, Rom and Jim returned with seven other dwarves.They all had determined expressions on their faces.The elf swears that at first sight they would definitely think they were all brothers--though there were two who looked a bit like sisters.Even female dwarves have many beards, which is a symbol of beauty in their race. "Ms. Vereesa, these are volunteers to escort you! They are all strong and good at fighting! We will take you to the cave at the foot of the mountain, but then you have to go by yourself." "Thank you—but, do you mean that the road can go straight into the mountain?" "True, but it's a tough road...and the orcs don't patrol alone." "What do you mean by that?" Falstad asked. Rom followed Falstad's previous example and returned a mocking expression. "Haven't you heard that they have dragons?" Crassus' residence was built in an ancient grove.The woods are even older than the dragons themselves.The residence was built by an elf, and later a human mage also lived there.It was long after it had been abandoned that Crassus moved into it.He sensed energies lingering beneath the ground there, and tried to use them occasionally.However, when the dragon mage discovered the secret passage hidden deep in the castle, he was also very surprised.The secret passage led to a glowing pool with a golden gem set in the bottom. Every time he entered that secret room, a feeling of awe would rise from the bottom of his heart.It was a very rare feeling for his race.The magic here made him feel like a fledgling human apprentice trying out his first spell.Krasus knew he had only touched a fraction of the pool's potential, but that was enough to make him yearn for more.Those who become greedy in the face of magical power will eventually be swallowed by it, literally. Of course, Deathwing seems to have somehow avoided that fate. Although the pool is deep underground, the water there is not devoid of life—or, rather, something approaching life.Although there is no clearer water in the world, no matter how hard Krasus tried, he could not fully focus his attention on the small things swimming in the water-this phenomenon was especially obvious near the gemstone.He swore the little things were just little shiny silver fish.But the dragon mage swears that every now and then he sees arms, human torsos—and, on rare occasions—human legs. Today, he ignored the little life in those pools.Meeting with the Dream Queen gave him a glimmer of hope for help.He knew, though, that he couldn't factor that aid into the plan.Time is approaching moment by moment, and he can only rely on his own strength. And that's why he came here.There is much magic about this pool, and the water in it seems to be rejuvenating, at least for a while.The poison that had brought him to Ysera's realm had also worn him down.He now just wants to be able to respond as quickly as the situation calls for it. He bent down, cupped his palms, and took a little water from the pool.The first time he ventured to drink the water he tried scooping it out of a cup, only to find that the pool water repels any product.Krasus leaned forward, not wanting any drop of water to flow back from his palm.His reverence for the energy in the water had grown stronger over the years. Just as he was drinking the water from the pool, a ripple on the surface caught his attention.Krasus looked down at what should have been a perfect reflection of his own human form - only to find that the reflection had turned into something else. Ronin's young face appeared in front of his eyes, staring at him...but he just took it for granted.Then he found that Luo Ning's eyes were tightly closed, and his head was turned sideways, as if... as if he was dead. At this time, a thick orc palm appeared in front of Luo Ning. Krasus reacted subconsciously, reaching into the water, trying to pull the dirty palm away.However, he just shattered that picture.And when the ripples finally disappeared, he saw only his own reflection. "My God..." Pool had never shown this ability before.So why now? At this time, Krasus finally remembered what Ysera said when he left.Don't look down on those who you think are just pawns... What did she mean by that?Why would he see Ronin's face now?Based on the brief glimpse he had just had, the young mage had either been captured or killed by the orcs.If this is the case, Rhonin can no longer be of any use to Krasus—but he has obviously arrived in that mountain city and completed the real task entrusted by his guarantor. Krasus hoped that, along with the other signs he had deliberately let the orcs spot on, this event would confuse the commanders there into thinking a second wave of elite troops was creeping in from the west.Although the orcs have a strong army in the mountain city, the main force is the dragons... and their numbers are decreasing every week.To make matters worse, they had to send more and more people from the small number of troops to support the main force of the tribe in the north, which made Grim Batol lose almost all of its defensive capabilities.If they were facing an army with high morale and the same number as Dan Algaz's side, even if they had a good location, the orcs in these mountains could only surrender in the end, thus losing the opportunity to continue to tame the red dragon to fight. Without the dragon's hold on the Alliance forces in the north, the remnants of the Horde would eventually crumble under the continued onslaught. Raising such a force and marching in from the west would not have been a problem were it not for the general lack of cooperation among the heads of the Union.Most leaders, however, believed that Khaz Modan would be taken sooner or later; why risk another force?Krasus couldn't believe that they didn't split up to destroy the orcs.But it also proves once again how short-sighted these young races are.At first, he urged the Kirin Tor to present this strategy to other nations, but as they gradually lost influence over Terenas, his colleagues in the council changed their attitude and only wanted to keep Dalaran in the alliance location. So Krasus decided to give it a go, betting on the orc's suspicious commander.Just let them think an army is invading.Besides the rumors he and his people spread, give them some real evidence.They will definitely make incredible moves. At that time, they will definitely abandon that fortress, and they will also closely escort Alexstrasza to the north, and continue to tame the red dragon. At first the plan was a wild idea, but to Crassus' surprise he saw unexpected results.The orcs who ruled Grim Batol, he had been increasingly certain lately that their days on the mountain were numbered.The rumors spread by the dragon mage came alive far beyond his expectations. And now... those orcs found evidence in Rhonin.The young mage plays his role well.He let Nekros know that this seemingly impregnable fortress was also easy to sneak into, especially with magic.Now the orc commander must order Grim Batol to be abandoned. Yes, Rhonin had done a great job... and Krasus knew he would never forgive himself for taking advantage of this human being. What will his beloved queen think of him when he finds out the truth of the matter?Of all the dragons, Alexstrasza cared most about those mortal races.They are the masters of the future, she said once. "It has to be done," he snorted. If the image in the pool was meant to remind him of Rhonin's fate, it also made it clear to the mage that he needed to know more. Crassus bent over the pool, closed his eyes, and meditated.It had been a while since he had contacted his most powerful informant.If he was still alive, he would surely know something about what happened inside the mountain.The dragon mage sketched in his mind the appearance of the person he wanted to contact, and then sent out his thoughts to open the link between them. "Listen...listen to my voice...I have something urgent to say...the day is coming, patient friend, a day of freedom and redemption...listen to me, Rom..."