Glimpses

Beyond the distant, layered mountains, the sky was painted with the pale red hues of dawn, thin as gossamer clouds. As time passed, the edges of the emerald peaks were gilded by the sunlight. The dazzling sun revealed half its face from behind the mountains, bringing light, heat, hope, and vitality to the vast land.

In the early morning of Andorhal, most people had only just awakened from their dreams, but those living in the dock district had already begun their day's labor. Workers sweated for meager wages, merchants shouted to hawk their goods, and the entire wharf plunged into a bustling, fiery state under the bright morning sun.

Surrounding the dock district were houses built of cheap brick and stone. These crowded dwellings were packed tightly together, some wide, some narrow. Unlike the common residential areas, most of these were single-story bungalows with unadorned roofs; only a few places that appeared to be shops stood out from the rest.

Those special buildings mostly featured spacious steps and porches, looking quite grand. Through their wide doors, one could see counters and various items displayed on the walls—

Weapons and armor forged by dwarves from Dun Morogh, magical artifacts produced in the human magic kingdom of Dalaran, handicrafts made by the High Elves of Quel'Thalas, and all sorts of strange engineering inventions from the dwarves' neighbors, the gnomes. Almost every commodity from the civilized society of the Eastern Kingdoms continent could be found here.

However, these goods from different regions and races could not make the young prince and his attendant stop. Today was Alvin's first day "letting off steam" in this town. Although he hadn't slept very soundly last night, he still rose early and, without notifying Mayor Martin, snuck out with his guard to the busiest part of Andorhal.

The knowledge learned in the Lordaeron royal palace and his daily experiences had, imperceptibly, raised Alvin's standards. Most of the goods brazenly displayed in these shops were not high-quality items and could not attract the boy's attention at all.

The boy would wander into every shop with an open door, but no matter how shrewdly the owners tried to sell their wares, he wouldn't part with even a single copper coin. Living long in fear and urgency regarding the future, Alvin now only wanted to forget all his troubles and enjoy the relaxed, peaceful atmosphere of the present.

"Abberton, how about this?"

The boy casually picked up an amulet made from the teeth and bones of a beast from the counter. According to the glib-tongued clerk, this amulet was a magical trophy obtained by a group of mercenaries from Stratholme from a troll priest, capable of cursing one's enemies with misfortune.

Alvin weighed the item, which looked like nothing more than a shoddy piece of work, and turned to look at the guard who kept his armor shrouded beneath a cloak. The boy's flushed cheeks were full of excitement, just like an ordinary child who had just been rewarded with a delicious candy by an adult.

The prince's behavior, so like an ordinary child, caught the guard who had been following him off guard, but the young guard quickly reacted. To avoid dampening the prince's rare high spirits, he squeezed out a dry smile and whispered, "I think you could take it back and let your teacher have a look at this curious little trinket?"

Although Abberton did not explicitly object, Alvin knew he was subtly telling him that Archbishop Faol had no fondness for such strange, eccentric things. The boy shrugged, putting on a look of regret.

"Alright, I suppose I should think it over some more."

Having said that, Alvin put down the troll amulet, gave a shy smile to the clerk who had been eagerly waiting to fleece a fat sheep, and walked quickly out of the shop door under the clerk's conflicted gaze.

Although he had lived two lifetimes, the boy, who had always focused his time on improving his strength and acquiring knowledge, had not developed a thick skin in interpersonal relationships. Thus, he chose to walk away quickly to escape the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

The spring sun felt warm on his body, and the previously empty streets slowly began to see a small crowd. Ordinary residents stood in twos and threes at street stalls, haggling with vendors. Amidst the daily peace, Alvin, who had been walking with his head down for several minutes, encountered a major problem that troubled him—he was lost!

Well, this was his first time out wandering, and it was in a strange town like Andorhal that he had never seen before; being lost amidst the pushing and shoving of the street crowd was only natural.

Having figured this out, Alvin snuck a glance at Abberton, who was following behind, and breathed a sigh of relief. He had no intention of asking his guard for help. As long as his own safety was ensured, meeting the unknown at the next street corner was, in his view, a very fine pastime.

Besides that, he faintly heard a sharp shouting coming from outside, and that voice, so different from a normal person's, piqued his curiosity. Perhaps it was a creature he had never seen before?

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but after the boy turned the next corner with his guard, he truly encountered a group of creatures he had never seen before—

A creature shorter than himself, with deep green skin, pointed ears, and a long nose, was waving a long whip and shouting in a sharp voice at the crowd gathered on the street.

Behind it, there was a group of monsters bound tightly with ropes. They looked quite fierce, with necks hunched forward, mouths full of sharp teeth, and eyes glowing with a blood-red light. But upon closer inspection, one would find that these monsters were all frail, completely weak despite their fierce appearance.

Yes, the condition of these monsters did not look very good. Whether due to a lack of food or rest, most of them sat on the ground back-to-back, looking listless. Most of the monsters still had several conspicuous marks on their bodies—scars left by a specially made whip.

At a single glance, the boy could confirm that the green-skinned fellow who didn't look like a good person was a Goblin. Because that thing constantly waving a leather whip was just too similar to the green-skinned goblins in games—the same short stature, the same pointed nose, the same ugliness!

As for the wolf-like monsters behind the goblin merchant, Alvin was a bit hesitant. According to his experience and the descriptions he knew from books, these things should be Gnolls, but he had never seen the real thing after all. More importantly, the group of monsters before him was not as strong as the gnolls mentioned in books.

PS: In the new year, I wish all readers a happy holiday, and may the coming year be peaceful and harmonious.