Andy had been staying at the camp for several days when Tyrande explained the situation to the old general Andona and took back command of the Sentinel Unit from him.
Tyrande first sent a unit to spread out among several outposts in Ashenvale and guard the border between Ashenvale and the Barrens to the south.
There was an elven outpost at a crossroads in the Barrens. However, she had no way to station more troops there.
Not a blade of grass grew in the Barrens. Even the drought-resistant plants were absent, leaving nothing but endless yellow earth. When the warm wind from the south blew across the Barrens, it turned into a sandstorm intensified by scorching heat.
The Dark Elves didn't like staying in places without plants, and transporting supplies there was also a problem. It gave Tyrande a terrible headache. In the end, she still sent a small squad. Their job was to give warning: if they spotted the enemy, they didn't need to fight. They were to retreat quickly to the outpost in Ashenvale and report back.
After securing the defenses on land, Tyrande took two of the four remaining battalions with her. Their destination was Azshara.
Andy sat astride a Sabers mount, fidgeting uneasily. Every so often, the Sabers turned its head and bared its teeth at him.
Tyrande's owl continued scouting ahead, returning every so often to report.
Overall, the Sentinel Unit had done a good job establishing itself here. The woods on either side of the road were already free of magical monsters, leaving only ordinary beasts.
The dim forest environment favored the Dark Elves. The battalion moved quite quickly. Half a day later, Andy emerged from Ashenvale's shadowy forest and set foot in Azshara.
Azshara had once been not only the center of the Elf Race, but also the center of the entire continent. This region had been named after the Elf Queen Azshara.
Andy gazed at the ruins of temples and abandoned palaces in the distance. Every brick here told of its glorious past.
The High Elves had once discovered a magical spring on the continent: the Well of Eternity. They had then built palaces here, making the whole world look upon this place with reverence.
It was the High Elves' stubbornness and excessive demands on the Well of Eternity that had given the demons an opportunity.
Tyrande looked at the palaces in the distance and sighed.
"This place was once so prosperous. Now it's become this!" Tyrande lamented.
It reminded Andy of the ancient history of Azeroth. Though they had successfully stopped the demons' actions, they couldn't stop the Well of Eternity's magic from surging. The eventual explosion destroyed Azshara's temples and brought down its palaces, turning the entire region into a rocky reef off the coast. Queen Azshara and most of her High Elves had sunk to the bottom of the sea, becoming those disgusting monsters.
The next task was to prepare defenses throughout this abandoned region. The ruined temples and palaces served as natural cover. All they had to do was clear away the broken stone beams and decaying rafters.
The coast of Azshara was rugged, with sharp rocks submerged beneath the water serving as a natural shoreline defense. Tyrande still didn't think it was reliable enough, so she had people plant stakes dozens of meters from shore.
At the temporary camp they had set up in the rear, Tyrande sent out her owl every day to scout the sea. Strangely enough, it hadn't spotted a single Orc within the area it could cover. Tyrande nearly thought they had all perished in the Maelstrom.
Andy and Hilar had nothing to do, so they spent their days wandering around the area.
Outside what appeared to be a grand building, Andy and Hilar sat on a broken stone beam, watching the other soldiers clear out the inside of the ruined structure.
"Ah!" A loud shout startled everyone nearby. Andy and Hilar stood up too and headed inside the building.
"Saria, what the hell are you doing?" Tade, the squad's captain, scolded furiously. "Why are you shouting for no reason?"
"It's not like that, Captain." The young soldier named Saria replied aggrievedly, "A shadow just whizzed past."
Andy knew the young warrior. He had a burly build and served as the squad's shield-bearer. Judging by the shield on his back, he was an Elf of immense strength.
"You're built like a giant, but you're as timid as a mouse!" Tade said. "You're even more cowardly than one!"
Andy chuckled, patted Tade on the shoulder, and asked Saria, "Where did the shadow disappear?"
Saria got up from the ground, dusted off his backside, and said, "Over there!"
Andy looked in the direction Saria pointed. It was a dense forest. The trees along its edge had been cut down and planted by the sea, leaving a field of short stumps behind.
Andy nodded, gestured to Hilar, and headed toward the forest.
Only after entering the forest did Andy understand what a dense forest really was. The trees stood almost shoulder to shoulder, and the ground was covered in thick layers of leaves, all speckled with bird droppings.
Andy trudged through the forest. The tree canopies intertwined overhead, letting no light through and making the woods seem even darker.
As he walked, Andy kept an eye out for the shadow Saria had mentioned. Suddenly, a low chant reached his ears. It seemed to come from somewhere up ahead.
Whoosh! A shadow swept past the back of Andy's head.
Hilar, walking behind him, shouted, "Andy, behind you!"
Andy spun around. There was nothing there, though he had just felt a chill.
Andy took the bow from his back, nocked an arrow, and held it ready. He nodded to Hilar, then turned and continued toward the source of the chanting.
After walking for a few minutes, Andy thought he could see the far edge of the forest, with light filtering through gaps between the trees.
"Hilar, hurry!" Andy called, breaking into a run.
"Ah!" Hilar saw Andy run ahead and hurried after him out of the woods. But the scene before him made him cry out in alarm.
This wasn't the edge of the forest at all, but a large clearing within it. In the middle of the clearing stood a huge structure resembling an altar. A group of white shadows drifted above it like ghosts.
Hilar's shout didn't make the shadows stir, which meant they weren't ghosts. They were arranged in a peculiar formation above the structure, and low chanting kept coming from them.
Andy lowered his bow and shook his head. "They look like Undead, but they have no minds, and they aren't corporeal."
As he spoke, Andy circled the altar, but found nothing of value. The Monster Spirit, however, started clamoring in his mind: "There's something good on that altar!"
Andy hesitated, but decided to take a look. The altar stood nearly three meters high, with a flight of ten steps on each side.
Andy slowly climbed the altar and saw an ancient-looking pendant resting on a round stone tray at its center.
He walked over and picked up the pendant. It felt cold to the touch. The pendant was dark green, with a gold chain attached. It wasn't very big, about as long as an adult's thumb, but it was rather heavy. Andy couldn't tell what it was made of.
"High Elf relic discovered. Agility +10, Intelligence +10." The Monster Spirit's voice sounded in Andy's mind.
"High Elf relic?" Andy muttered. "What's that?"
Andy looked at the attribute panel that appeared before him. Agility and Intelligence were glowing. He tucked the pendant away, and the shadows overhead began to flicker as if they were running out of energy.
Andy glanced at the shadows and thought, It seems they're connected to this pendant. Without it, they'll have no source of energy.
"Let's go!" Andy jumped down from the altar, tugged at Hilar, who was still stunned, and spoke.
Before you continue