Maestra

Andy stepped outside the tent and locked eyes with the Elf leading the group. Both of them froze in surprise.

"It's you!" Larsen cried out. How could it be that brat Andy?

Andy was only startled for a moment before regaining his composure. "I never expected it to be you, either."

Larsen ground his teeth in secret. When he'd received Andrebos's order, the general had said he was adding one more person to Larsen's team. Larsen hadn't thought much of it. So this was who the general had assigned to him. He glowered at Andy, then snorted and turned away. If Andrebos hadn't given him a strict order to redeem himself through good service, he would have been sorely tempted to go back and turn down the assignment.

"Come on. How much longer are we going to wait?" Andy said with a pout. He really couldn't understand it. When he'd first arrived in Darnassus, he hadn't even known this Larsen. So why was Larsen always giving him trouble? Was it fate that he'd ended up with someone who could annoy him every single day?

Larsen called out and rode off in silence on his Sabers, with Andy beside him. Andy took a careful look around. Including him, the squad had only ten people. That was more than enough to investigate what had happened the previous night. But if something unexpected happened, could so few of them really make any difference?

Larsen and Andy rode at the front, one on either side. Behind them, the other eight looked from one to another, not daring to say a word. The group made their way toward Maestra in silence.

Just as Andy was on the road, an unexpected visitor arrived at the Horde orcs' camp!

"I want to see Orgrim!" an elderly-looking orc said rudely to the camp guards.

"Bold words!" the guard roared. "You dare call the chieftain by name here?"

"Hmph! And what of it?" the old orc replied. "Hurry up and announce me!"

"Impudent!" the guard shouted. Then he yelled into the doorway behind him, "Everyone, get over here!"

Orc Warriors were training in the camp, eagerly sparring with one another. At the sudden shout from the gate, they hurried outside.

"This is the one! He called the chieftain by name here! What insolence! Seize him!" the guard roared, pointing at the old orc.

"What? Someone would do that?" The orcs weren't much for subtlety. They all roared and charged forward, baring their teeth and claws.

The old orc looked at the ring of Orc Warriors around him, the corner of his mouth twisting into a sinister smile. Suddenly, he raised his hand and rapidly chanted something. Then, a ring of flames burst from around him, spreading outward like a wreath.

The orcs who had rushed him were caught in the sudden blaze. The Orc Warriors cried out in pain and scrambled backward, but it was too late. The flames swept over their bodies, scorching every bit of exposed skin with a sizzling hiss. Soon, all they could do was writhe on the ground.

"This was just a little lesson. If you're rude again, I'll kill you outright." The old orc spoke with a cruel smile.

"Enough! Who dares cause trouble here?" Orgrim had heard the commotion outside from the command post, so he came out to see what was going on. Seeing the orcs writhing on the ground, he demanded angrily, "Who are you?"

"What, don't you recognize me?" The old orc looked up, then undid his robe at the chest, revealing a string of prayer beads made from infant skulls hanging around his neck.

"It's you lot!" Orgrim sucked in a sharp breath. He then motioned to a few orcs to carry away those still writhing on the ground, and sighed helplessly. Gesturing for the old orc to enter, he said, "Come inside and sit down."

Andy's journey passed without incident. They traveled by day and camped at night for three days before finally reaching the edge of the outpost, where the flames had risen.

"We're close. Pick up the pace!" Larsen suddenly sounded impatient. Andy glanced at him in confusion. What Andy didn't know was that Larsen had already begun to sense something was wrong. Normally, sentries patrolled the entire area around the outpost. At this distance, they should have been within range of their patrols. But they hadn't seen a single sentry.

Andy urged his Sabers on to catch up with Larsen and the others. He noticed that everyone else looked grim, too.

Larsen and the others rode for a few more minutes before reaching the edge of the outpost. The sight before them made the Elf scouts' scalps tingle. The walls surrounding the outpost had been utterly demolished, and the watchtowers had been razed to the ground. Even the command hall inside had been reduced to a pile of ashes by the flames.

"..." Larsen dismounted in silence and slowly walked into the outpost.

Maestra Outpost lay near the other end of Ashenvale, deep in Elf territory, so it wasn't heavily staffed. It had only one company, about three hundred soldiers. From Maestra, you could clearly see the highlands south of Ashenvale, where Thunder Bluff lay.

Thunder Bluff was the territory of a reclusive people on this continent. Since they had the heads of cattle, they were called Tauren. For thousands of years, the Tauren had lived in peace, never leaving Thunder Bluff. But the Elves couldn't afford to let their guard down around them, so they kept watch just in case.

Larsen stared at the outpost, which had been burned by the flames. It hardly looked like an outpost anymore; it was nothing but scorched earth. But where were the Elf soldiers who had been here?

"How many people were stationed here?" Andy turned to ask.

"Three hundred!" Larsen replied through clenched teeth.

"Three hundred, and now not one is left. The outpost has been burned down, too." Andy glanced around and sighed.

"Captain, I think you should come take a look over here!" one of the scouts said, emerging from behind a pile of ashes.

Larsen looked at him in confusion, then turned and walked to where the scout had been. What he saw made him furious; his blood boiled. Behind the pile of ashes lay a heap of charred bones. Judging from them, they had belonged to Elves.

"..." Andy sucked in a sharp breath when he saw them, too. "Who the hell did this?"

Several scouts used their swords to sift through the bones. They could make out more than a dozen bodies, but what had happened to the rest?

"It looks like this place was attacked," Larsen said grimly. "Send a message to the camp and report what happened here. Tell the general that, if necessary, I'll act without waiting for approval!"

One of the scouts answered and went outside the outpost. He took a carrier owl from his mount, wrote a message and tied it to the owl's talon, then released it into the sky.

"It must have been those Tauren from Thunder Bluff!" Larsen said bitterly.

"The Tauren?" Andy asked in surprise. "Were the Tauren really from this world originally?"

Larsen looked at him as if he were crazy. One of the scouts said, "That doesn't seem likely. The Tauren rarely leave Thunder Bluff!"

"We should find out what really happened. We can't jump to conclusions," Andy said.

Larsen glanced toward Thunder Bluff. "I can't think of anyone else it could be. Don't forget, this is deep in our territory. Who could slip past so many outposts without anyone noticing, only to come all the way here and destroy an outpost?"

After hearing Larsen's reasoning, Andy fell silent, lost in thought.