Why Should I Trust You?

The Temple of Elune remained solemn and majestic. Tyrande, draped in white, stood upon the high dais with her back to the group that had just entered.

Hilar and Andrew stood to the side, confused by the atmosphere. Andy, unable to contain his impatience, stepped forward and spoke up: "High Priestess, I..."

"Andy, wait a moment." Tyrande turned around, her beautiful face composed. "Larsen, tell us the intelligence you brought back."

Larsen shot a defiant glare at Andy before speaking: "Yes, High Priestess. While my squad and another were patrolling the coast, we discovered the creature we brought back yesterday. Well... how should I put it? It would be more accurate to call it a beast. It was unconscious when we found it, as if it had just drifted in from the sea."

Larsen caught his breath and continued: "We didn't think much of it at the time, nor did we find any other similar creatures nearby. But just as we were searching, the beast woke up and attacked us, wounding two of the brothers guarding it. This beast possesses immense strength and walks upright. By Elune, I have never seen such a creature. Fortunately, Lord Malfurion was patrolling nearby and used his nature magic to subdue it. Lord Malfurion ordered us to bring the beast back first, saying he would follow shortly."

"Nothing else?" Tyrande asked, frowning.

"Nothing else," Larsen replied, bowing his head.

"Then where did it come from?" Tyrande mused. "It clearly didn't come from the sea; the only monsters in the sea are the Naga, and this is no Naga."

"High Priestess, I am sorry, I do not know where it came from." Larsen lowered his head even further.

Tyrande did not press further. She trusted that once Malfurion returned, all questions would be answered; she had absolute faith in him. "Oh, Andy, what did you want to see me about?" Tyrande noticed Andy standing to the side and finally remembered he had come with a purpose.

Andy's heart was filled with struggle; whether to speak or remain silent was a dilemma. "High Priestess, what I have to say may be difficult for you to understand, and you may not necessarily believe me. But I still implore you to hear me out and trust me as much as you can. It is for the good of the Elf Race." Andy gathered his thoughts before speaking.

Tyrande instinctively frowned, feeling that Andy was acting strangely today. Ever since the boy arrived in Darnassus years ago, though he had been under her and Malfurion's care, he had never taken the initiative to approach her like this.

"Hmph, you're nothing but a liar!" Larsen interjected from the side. "You only know how to spout nonsense to deceive others! High Priestess, I beg you, let me throw this little liar out!"

"I am not a liar!" Andy shouted, glaring at Larsen.

Tyrande raised a hand to stop Larsen, warning him with a sharp look. "Andy, tell me what it is you wish to say."

"It is about the beast in the cage outside!" Andy stared at Tyrande, enunciating every word.

"Still claiming you aren't a liar? Even people as learned as the High Priestess and Malfurion don't know what that thing is. What could a brat like you possibly know?" Larsen mocked.

"Larsen, silence!" Tyrande was clearly growing angry. She did not know why Larsen held such hostility toward Andy, but regardless of the reason, it was not a good sign.

"You keep calling me a liar, so fine, I'll ask you!" Andy walked up to Larsen. "Do you know what that creature in the cage is? Do you know where it came from? Do you know why it came here? Do you know what all of this is about?" Andy's voice rose as the distance between them shrank.

Suddenly, an ethereal, heavenly sound drifted into Andy's ears. The rage that had surged to his head was instantly suppressed, and his mood gradually calmed. Andy turned to glance at Tyrande, casting a look of gratitude. The Monster Spirit whispered in his mind: "Tyrande used a soothing spell on you; otherwise, you would be brawling with that Larsen right now. You must realize that you are currently a commoner. Attacking a captain of the Sentinel Unit will result in punishment, and you aren't even guaranteed to win."

"Andy, are you saying you know the details?" Tyrande asked with a faint smile.

"Not all the details, but I know some." Andy stepped back and glared at Larsen, deciding that if this fool made another stupid sound, he would flatten the bastard's nose, punishment or not.

"Although it looks like a beast, it is far more than that. They are the Orc race. They are far more advanced than beasts; they have intelligence, strength, and some among them even wield magic," Andy said. "The Orc you captured comes from the continent across the sea, the Eastern Kingdoms. And I have heard that Stormwind City has fallen!"

"What did you say?" Tyrande stood up from her chair in shock. "Stormwind City has fallen? Conquered by whom? Could it be these so-called Orcs you speak of?"

"Yes, it is those Orcs!" Andy replied.

"I have traveled the continent myself, yet I have never seen or heard of an Orc race," Tyrande said.

"They are not from this world to begin with. They came from another world," Andy explained.

"How do you know this?" Malfurion asked as he walked into the Temple of Elune. "Why should we believe you?"

"Lord Malfurion!" Larsen bowed in greeting.

"Teacher!"

"Teacher!"

"Oh, Malfurion." Tyrande walked down the steps to meet him. "You have returned."

"Yes, I patrolled the coast once more, which is why I am late," Malfurion said, then turned to Andy. "How do you know these things?"

"My teacher told me about the fall of Stormwind City!" Andy said, being somewhat evasive.

"Your teacher?" Malfurion looked puzzled. "Oh, Nathas! Is he well?"

"Teacher has already left. He said he was going to deliver a message to the High Elves!" Once Andy said this, Malfurion's attention was finally diverted.

"Delivering a message to the High Elves?" Malfurion said. "So he went back after all. He finally went back."

Tyrande's expression darkened, and she sighed softly. "Perhaps it is not a bad thing," she said.

"Andy, it is not that we don't want to believe you, but we have no way to do so," Tyrande said. "When even we cannot verify the truth, we dare not trust the words of others."

Andy sighed toward the heavens. "I knew it. No matter what I say, no one will believe me. You are unable to believe it!" Andy wore a bitter smile, looking at Tyrande and then at Malfurion, finding them both looking at him with helplessness. Andy smiled, turned, and walked toward the temple exit. After a few steps, he suddenly stopped, turned around, and ran back, speaking urgently: "I know you may not believe what I say, but there is one way to verify that everything I have said is true!"

"What way?" Malfurion asked.

"Go and ask the commander of Stormwind City, Lothar!" Andy said. "Lothar knows the truth. He can prove that everything I said is real!"

"But the Elves and the humans have long since ceased contact," Malfurion said.

"But now is not the time for racial prejudice! Regardless of whose fault it was in the past, we must cast aside our biases now," Andy rushed up to Malfurion. "The one you captured is merely a scout. Once they get the intelligence, the Orcs will definitely invade. When that time comes, everything will be over!"

Malfurion looked at Tyrande, who nodded at him. "I think Andy is right. We should go and find out the situation from the humans!"

"Andy, how do you know of Lothar?" Tyrande asked. "That human's name is not something a child like you should know."

"My teacher told me!" Andy said. Andy had figured it out; pushing all the reasons onto the departed Nathas was a brilliant move. No one could find Nathas to verify if Andy was lying.

"Very well!" Malfurion nodded. "Larsen, return immediately and notify Patrio to prepare the defenses. As for the matters Andy mentioned, I will go and verify them myself!"