After leaving Holiya's Memorial, Unas went straight to the Druid's secluded hut. Just like before, there were still quite a few people outside seeking medical help.
He bypassed the crowd and came to the back of the house, where the Druids had planted a small orchard. Remembering the apples he had eaten last time, Unas's appetite suddenly increased.
He climbed over the fence, just about to get some fresh fruit to try, when a scream above him startled him.
"Brother Unas!" A petite green figure jumped down from the treetop, and he quickly reached out to catch her.
With a slight pull of his arms, he held the Elf girl's lithe body in his embrace. Beryl took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck, her silver eyes filled with surprise.
The girl's gentleness and enthusiasm were almost too much for Unas to handle, but he couldn't bear to let her go, so he continued to hold her in his arms and asked, "How have you been these days?"
"Very good," Beryl nodded vigorously, "Wendy and Oakleaf are both very kind!"
"Do you have enough to eat and use?" Unas felt like he was becoming Beryl's parent. His mother used to ask him this a lot when he came home from boarding high school for holidays.
"Teacher Oakleaf treats patients for free, and many kind people repay him by donating food and other things to us, including orchards, and the grain that Brother Unas gave us. I can also grow mushrooms," Beryl listed the sources of food one by one.
It seemed that these three Night Elves were the least likely to go hungry in this camp. Unas felt relieved and continued with his parental questioning, "How's your Druid knowledge going? Do you know when you can turn into a bird?"
Hearing this, the Elf girl pouted, "Teacher Oakleaf always says to take it slow, take it slow, and he's never told me the secret of Polymorph..."
"Ahem," two feigned coughs interrupted Beryl's words. The two turned around, and Wendy Nightmoon appeared at the Back Gate of the cabin. The Dark Night woman's expression was somewhat unpleasant, as if she was dissatisfied with the two's intimate posture.
Unas put Beryl down, waved to Nightmoon in a friendly manner, and the female Dark Night's expression softened slightly, returning the gesture with an Elf greeting.
Then she walked over and said in a reproachful tone, "Beryl, it's not fair to Master Oakleaf. Before becoming a formal Druid, the master spent a hundred years experiencing nature and understanding the Druid path. His subsequent training was measured in millennia. The Druid path is much longer than you imagine."
Beryl stepped forward and hugged her arm, pleading, "I'm sorry!"
Nightmoon patted Beryl's head, glanced at Unas, and then said to the girl, "You don't need to rush. We Night Elves have long lifespans to fulfill any dream."
I don't know if it was just my imagination, Unas felt that her last sentence was a sarcastic remark that Humans were all short-lived and opportunistic.
For the first time in his life, Unas felt racial discrimination and was extremely annoyed. "I haven't even complained about your purple skin and pointed face that's been disfigured by tattoos yet, you bastard!"
Since he wasn't welcome, he didn't want to stay any longer. He made up an excuse about having official business to say goodbye to the reluctant Beryl once again, and even Master Oakleaf was nowhere to be seen.
Nightmoon seemed to regret her words. Unable to persuade Unas to stay, she picked a bag of apples and insisted that he take them. Unas didn't refuse; why not take them?
However, it's impossible for this small favor to make him forget his earlier sarcasm. Fortune changes every thirty years, and one day you'll understand!
As for what he understood, he himself hadn't figured it out.
Unas's plan was disrupted. His original plan was for the group to have a good time chatting and forgetting the time, so he would stay overnight and then secretly go to resurrect Holiya when it was quiet.
Now we have no choice but to go find Stonebrow. Luckily, we still have some wine in our bag. If we get the Dwarf drunk, everything will be fine.
Dwarves are the second most numerous in this camp and are the closest comrades-in-arms of humans. Apart from their greed and bad temper, Human that produces blacksmiths, miners, Warriors, and adventurers. They are practically a race born for war.
Abbendis's expulsion order included the Dwarves, which was unreasonable. During times of war, they should have been won over. It's a pity to abandon a group of good allies for the sake of pointless anthropocentrism.
Unas easily found the Dwarf settlement, a Cave, and after giving Stonebrow's name, he was quickly led to the Dwarves.
The Steel Brotherhood was a loose organization composed of several Dwarf weapons trading groups. Stonebrow was the leader of one of the smaller trading groups. After receiving an order from the Alliance, he transported weapons to Lordaeron, but unfortunately they fell into the hands of demons.
When he was controlled by the Dreadlord, he was one of the leaders of the Dwarf captives. Now, with his cousin Redbrow's influence, he naturally took the position of the second-in-command among the Dwarves in this camp.
Stonebrow's status has risen significantly; she is no longer a prisoner guiding Unas, yet Unas has not been treated coldly.
Upon his arrival, Stonebrow remained warm and respectful, laughing heartily, "Captain Unas, it's been a long time since I've seen you, though I often hear your name mentioned. The legend of the Demon Slayer is the most popular story lately, and I've certainly contributed to that, haha!"
Comparing the two sides, Unas felt a surge of goodwill towards the Dwarves and quickly replied, "Of course, of course! Without your guidance, we wouldn't have dared to go down into the cave, let alone defeat the Dreadlord."
In reality, the Dwarves played a very small role in the Cave; Beryl and the Banshees were the main guides. However, since boasting was free, occasional mutual flattery was beneficial to the development of friendship.
Stonebrow was delighted to hear this. "I told my brother, but he didn't believe me. You must stay and have dinner with us today. My Dwarf brothers will be very much looking forward to Demon Slayer recount his heroic deeds."
"No problem," Unas readily agreed. He was just looking for an excuse to stay, and this was like a godsend.
However, exaggeration is also a skill; he needs to think carefully about how to artistically embellish the story, highlighting the Dwarves' contributions while making it more exciting and thrilling.
Of course, the most important thing is to highlight one's handsome, skillful, majestic, and tall stature without being offensive. This is really difficult. I wonder if there are any bards here who can help write it for you.
As dusk fell, the Dwarf brothers of the Stonebrow Merchant Guild returned one after another. Their main task now was to assist in repairing the city walls.
The arrival of the popular hero recently was warmly welcomed by the Dwarves. Unas generously distributed wine, dried meat, and more than a dozen bags of grain to the Dwarves, further fueling their enthusiasm.
Dwarves are known for their love of alcohol, and where there's alcohol, there's a party. The cheerful Dwarves infected Unas, and the unpleasantness he had suffered earlier quickly vanished as he spent a joyful night with them.