Andy stayed awake until dawn, barely closing his eyes. He simply wasn't in the mood to sleep. Though the Sentinel Unit had only captured one Orc and brought back no news of a larger Orc force, this was already a dangerous sign. It meant the Orcs had noticed the continent. Whether the captured Orc made it back or not no longer mattered to the Orcs' invasion plans. He might have been a scout, a sacrifice.
Before long, the Orcs' commander would follow the trail of the missing Orc to this continent. They must have had some way to cross the Maelstrom in the middle of the Endless Sea. Then the peoples of Kalimdor would face endless warfare and Fel corruption.
After thinking it over, Andy decided he should tell Tyrande. But he worried that the Elves might not listen to him. After all, he was just a boy. If even Tyrande, who was closest to the Moon Goddess, didn't know about this, would anyone believe him?
When Andy saw that it was already light, he got up and went for a run around Darnassus. But his mind was still full of the Orc invasion.
"No, I have to tell them, whether they believe me or not. If the Orcs attack and we aren't fully prepared, there's no way I can stay out of it!" Andy had made up his mind, so he ran toward Hilar's home.
Andy wasn't a fool. Even if he wanted to tell Tyrande the truth, he needed someone he knew to go with him.
"Hilar, Hilar, come with me! I have something to tell you!" Andy hurried into the little courtyard where Hilar and the others lived, but the scene before him was less than ideal.
"Uh... let me introduce you." Hilar pointed to the young Elf beside him. "This is Larsen, a squad leader in the Sentinel Unit." Then he pointed to Andy. "Larsen, this is Andy. You saw him when you came back."
"Did I?" Larsen tilted his head and stared up at the sky. "I don't remember him."
Andy sneered inwardly. Larsen was none other than the Elf who had led the group back to the city yesterday. Andy had even wondered aloud why they were so arrogant.
"Hmph. Squad Leader Larsen must have forgotten. Important people have a lot on their minds, after all," Andy said with a sneer. "Hilar, come with me. I need to talk to you!" He didn't waste time arguing with Larsen. He was already burning with impatience.
"How could you not have seen him?" Hilar exclaimed. "He was standing right beside me yesterday."
"Oh? Now I remember. I thought he was a farmer you'd hired. So he's your friend," Larsen said, his tone anything but friendly. "As it happens, I need to talk to you, too. I'm free today, so let's go for a walk."
"Uh..." Hilar hesitated. Andy had come rushing over, so he'd probably run into some trouble. His face was full of worry. But he also didn't know how to turn Larsen down. What was he supposed to do?
"Andy, what's going on?" Andrew asked, appearing from who knew where.
"Big Brother Andrew, you're here too?" Andy said in surprise. He'd thought Andrew had gone out.
"Yeah. Come on, let's walk and talk." As he spoke, Andrew took Andy by the arm and led him outside before he could object.
"Hey, why are you dragging me?" Once they'd walked some distance, Andy pulled free of Andrew.
"If I hadn't pulled you away, you two would've ended up fighting," Andrew said with a wink.
"Forget that. Why does Larsen act so high and mighty? Is he like that with everyone?" Andy was fuming.
"That's just how they are. They guard the outer reaches of the Elf lands, after all." Andrew sighed. "It's not just you. They look down on even low-ranking Elf officials. High Priest Tyrande has always been kind, and our teacher hasn't disciplined them enough. That's how things ended up this way."
"Enough about that. What did you come running over for? Why are you in such a hurry?" Andrew asked, puzzled.
"Oh, Big Brother Andrew, forget that for now. I need to see the High Priest!" Andy said.
"What did you say?" Andrew stopped and asked. "Did I hear that right? You want to see the High Priest?"
"Yes, I need to see her. I was afraid the guards there wouldn't let me in, so I came to find Hilar," Andy said.
"You can't just see the High Priest whenever you want. Why do you need to see her?" Andrew was baffled.
"It's urgent. Extremely urgent!" Andy said anxiously. "It concerns the safety of the Elf people!"
"You're not joking, are you? This isn't something to play around with!" Andrew said sternly. "If you're just trying to scare people, you'll be in serious trouble!"
"I'm absolutely not joking. Big Brother Andrew, please take me there!" Andy was nearly beside himself with worry.
Andrew furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then nodded. "I can take you there, but I can't guarantee the High Priest will see you. The priests are gathering for their morning prayers now, so we'll have to wait a while."
Andy nodded and followed Andrew toward the Temple of Elune.
The priests had just finished their prayers at the Temple of Elune. Andy and Andrew had already waited at the entrance for nearly an hour, and at last the time had come.
"Hey, Weiwei!" Andrew greeted her with a smile.
"What are you here for now?" Weiwei asked, looking disgusted.
"It's not me. It's him!" Andrew pointed to Andy. "He wants to see the High Priest!"
Weiwei looked at Andy. The Elf boy before her, around sixteen or seventeen, no longer looked as young and inexperienced as he had a few years ago. "Why do you want to see the High Priest?" she asked.
"I have something important to tell her," Andy replied.
"Tell me first. I'll pass it along, and then the High Priest can decide whether she wants to see you," Weiwei said.
Andy thought the Elves were dragging their feet. Even the Elf leadership might not believe what he had to say; what good would telling a low-ranking Elf do? But judging by Weiwei's expression, she wouldn't go in and report it unless he told her. What was he supposed to do?
"Well, well, who's this?" a voice called from behind Andy.
Andy didn't need to turn around to know it was that obnoxious Larsen. Could he stop being such a jerk? Why was he always picking on Andy?
"What's a little brat like you doing here?" Larsen asked. He ignored Hilar's warning glance and kept needling Andy.
Andy saw Andrew signaling him to let it go, so he decided to ignore Larsen. That way, he wouldn't put Hilar and Andrew in a difficult position. "Weiwei, could you please tell the High Priest I'm here? It's really urgent!" Andy said.
"Why don't you go home and play? The High Priest doesn't see just anyone who asks," Larsen said.
Andy spun around and glared fiercely at Larsen, then turned back to plead with Weiwei.
"You little shit, how dare you glare at me!" Larsen reached out to grab Andy by the collar.
"Larsen, behave yourself!" Weiwei grabbed his wrist. "Do you know where you are? How dare you speak so rudely in the Temple of Elune!"
"I'm sorry. I lost my temper and said the wrong thing! This kid made me mad!" Larsen protested.
"Save it. What are you doing here?" Weiwei asked.
"The High Priest summoned me, so I've come to report," Larsen said, giving the Sentinel Unit's salute.
"Wait here!" Weiwei said, then went inside.
"Kid, you just wait! I don't have time to deal with you today, but just you wait and see!" Larsen muttered to Andy.
"Fine. I'd like to see what kind of person a squad leader in the Sentinel Unit really is!" Andy shot back, no longer caring about Andrew's warning glance.
Andy figured he might as well give up for today. This was already difficult enough, and with Larsen causing a scene, there was no point in trying anymore. After glaring at Larsen, he turned to leave.
"Wait!" Weiwei came out of the Temple of Elune. "Andy, the High Priest wants you all to come in!"
Larsen was the most surprised to hear this. He couldn't understand why the High Priest would want to see a kid like Andy.
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