What is this?

"It's getting late, Andy, we should head back!" The sun had already moved to the horizon, and the woods were growing dim as Hilar called out.

"Oh, alright." Andy carried the day's haul on his back: various beast furs, and of course, the Giant Owl meat he had prepared for dinner.

Hilar shifted into his panther form and ran ahead, with Andy following behind. Now that Andy was used to it, he could keep up as long as Hilar didn't use his unique abilities. This was all thanks to the large tree he climbed every day; even though Nathas had left, he hadn't neglected his training.

The two dashed out of the dense forest, speeding toward the gates of Darnassus. Just as they neared the entrance, a panther's roar echoed behind Andy.

Hilar's expression shifted in alarm; he quickly stopped, shifted back into human form, and pulled Andy to the side of the road.

"What's wrong?" Andy asked, confused.

"It seems we'll have to wait a moment!" Hilar said, frowning.

Another roar rang out, and Andy felt as if his eardrums were about to burst. If Hilar hadn't been holding him back, he would have already been preparing a trap. This was clearly not a sound an ordinary beast could make; judging by the sonic waves, one could tell this creature was certainly not small.

Andy stood on tiptoe to look down the road. Slowly, a Sabers the size of a horse approached the gate, carrying an Elf on its back. Following behind it was a small squad of similar Sabers riders.

"That Sabers is huge!" Andy exclaimed.

"They're coming through. Don't talk about them casually. We'll enter once they're inside the city," Hilar said.

Even at a walk, the massive Sabers moved with great speed, reaching the two in the blink of an eye. They didn't stop, though the lead Elf cast a deep glance at Hilar. As for Andy, who carried a longbow on his back, he was ignored entirely.

Near the back of the procession was a cart pulled by two Sabers, carrying something cage-like. A cloth covered the cage, which stood taller than an average person, obscuring everything inside.

Only after the squad had passed and vanished into the arched gateway of Darnassus did Hilar tug on Andy, signaling him to enter the city.

"Who are they? Do we really have to give them the right of way?" The thought of that lead Elf made Andy's blood boil; he had been so arrogant as to not even look at him.

"The Sentinel Unit of the Night Elf! They have priority passage and other special privileges. They are the warriors of the Elf Race, the protectors of the Elves," Hilar said.

"It looks like they brought something back," Andy noted.

"Yes, they are usually stationed in Ashenvale. They wouldn't return to Darnassus without a special reason," Hilar replied.

"Their Sabers mounts are so majestic. Tell me, can a Sabers really grow that big?" Andy asked.

"I heard from the senior apprentice that the Sentinel Unit's Sabers are selected from strong breeds, raised from cubs, and trained using Elven secret arts. They aren't just mounts; they are the combat partners of the Elven warriors," Hilar explained. "Alright, let's hurry; it's going to be dark soon."

The two entered the city, and Hilar left in a hurry, saying he needed to ask the senior apprentice about the situation. Andy returned to his little nook alone to prepare his dinner: roasted Giant Owl meat.

Once full, Andy grabbed the spoils he had brought back and headed toward a large tree in the center of Darnassus. The tree was exceptionally thick, though its canopy wasn't very high. Four large holes had been carved into the trunk, housing four of the city's long-standing shops. One of them was a leather shop, which served as the collection point for the beast furs Andy and his companion brought back.

Andy had come to turn in furs more than once, so he skillfully counted them, wrote his and Hilar's names in the registry, and turned to head back.

Rounding the tree, Andy saw from a distance that a crowd had gathered in the plaza, seemingly surrounding a cage. A cage? Andy remembered the one the Sentinel Unit had been pulling earlier and decided to go take a look.

"Excuse me, sir, let me through," Andy said, squeezing into the crowd. "Hey, ma'am, could you please move?"

Andy finally managed to push his way through, and he found that the cage was two heads taller than a normal adult Elf. The key was the thing inside the cage, which made Andy's jaw nearly hit the ground.

"An Orc!" the Monster Spirit exclaimed in his mind.

"No kidding, I can see that!" Andy cursed internally. How could it be an Orc? How did the soldiers of the Sentinel Unit manage to capture one? One had to know that an Orc's physical strength was on a completely different level than an Elf's.

Andy glanced at the people around him. Fortunately, the surrounding Elves didn't seem to recognize it as an Orc; everyone wore an expression of shock, so his own look of surprise didn't seem out of place.

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "Wow, what is that?"

Andy jumped, startled by the sudden scream. He turned to see Hilar and Andrew pushing into the crowd. Hilar had never seen an Orc before and was shouting in surprise.

"What is that?" Hilar stared at the Orc in the cage. "Is this some kind of beast that has gained sentience?"

The Orc in the cage bared its teeth at the onlookers, occasionally letting out a low growl. The Orc truly looked like a beast, except it had two arms and two legs. A massive, beastly head featured a gaping, blood-red maw, two eyes like wind chimes, and two tusks protruding from the corners of its mouth. Its skin was a yellowish-brown, and it was impossible to tell what kind of Orc it was.

The Orc wore a piece of leather armor, though it was really just a scrap of hide; most of its skin was exposed, barely different from being shirtless. Its wrists and ankles were locked in shackles made of iron chains as thick as a wrist. It would growl, tug at the chains, and look utterly ferocious.

"#@￥%@#"

"Was he just talking?" Andy asked the Monster Spirit in his mind.

"Yes, he just told you all to get lost!" the Monster Spirit acted as a capable translator.

"￥%#@@￥"

"He's telling you to get lost again!" the Monster Spirit said in Andy's mind.

Actually, Andy didn't need the Monster Spirit to translate; he could tell what the Orc meant. The creature was crouching on the ground, gripping the cage, baring its teeth, shouting, and shaking the iron bars of the cage with all its might.

The two Sentinel Unit soldiers guarding the cage saw this, first pushing the crowd back a distance, then using their staves to jab hard at the Orc inside. The Orc collapsed in the cage, roaring loudly as if in great pain. After they jabbed at it for a while, only heavy breathing remained in the cage.

Andy looked at the Orc a few more times, greeted Hilar, and turned to squeeze out of the crowd, heading toward his little nook. Only one thought remained in his mind: "There's no time left, they're coming!"