Blackfathom Deeps

Andy pondered for a while. During that time, Larsen kept cursing the Tauren, while the other team members dug a pit and buried the dead Elf.

"I still think we should look around for clues. It's not right to jump to the conclusion that the Tauren did this." Andy furrowed his brow. Though the Tauren looked like beasts, from what he'd heard from the other team members, they were rather honest and decent.

Larsen glanced at Andy and sneered. "What do you know? Only the Tauren could have gotten here. And to put it plainly, they're exactly like those Orcs!"

"Then what's their motive?" Andy asked. "Why attack an Elf outpost? What would they gain? They'd get nothing out of it except our anger and retaliation!"

Larsen's eyes widened. He rushed up to Andy and snapped, "Who are you, anyway? Are you even an Elf? Why are you always speaking up for others? Keep this up, and I won't go easy on you!"

"You think I'm afraid of you?" Andy shot back. "You've been targeting me this whole time. What did I ever do to offend you? And what are you going to do about it? Go argue with the Tauren? Can you even understand what they say? Or are you going to take the few of us straight to Thunder Bluff and challenge a whole tribe of Tauren?"

"I..." Larsen faltered, left without a reply. Andy was right. He really didn't understand the Tauren language, and they couldn't just go straight to Thunder Bluff. That would only cause trouble.

Just then, the other Elf Warriors came over and tactfully tried to smooth things over. "Lord Larsen, calm down. We're only here to investigate. Let's search the area first for any other clues. If the Tauren really are involved, we can report it afterward."

Andy shot Larsen a look and turned away. Larsen was so frustrated that he angrily lashed the ground with his whip, then went off in the other direction.

The Elves spread out and carefully searched the outpost, now reduced to ruins, for any suspicious traces.

Andy joined the search. There was almost nothing around, just waist-high weeds and thick trees.

An hour later, they had searched a large area. Andy was getting farther and farther from Maestra, and farther from the other Elf Warriors as well.

Another half hour passed. A trace of blood stained a patch of weeds. Andy crouched down to examine it. The blood had dried completely, so it had clearly been there for several days.

The blood wasn't confined to that spot. It continued farther ahead. Andy followed the trail for about fifty meters, but still hadn't reached its end. He suspected something was going on.

"There's something here!" Andy retraced his steps a little and shouted to the Elf Warriors in the distance.

Hearing Andy call out, the Elf Warriors all ran over. Even Larsen, who had been in a foul mood, hurried over.

"Here!" Andy led them to where he'd found the blood and said, "The trail keeps going. I followed it for a while and could still see it."

"This isn't Elf blood!" Larsen crouched to look, then suddenly said, "I don't know what it is, but it definitely isn't Elf blood!"

"Whatever it is, it shouldn't be here, right?" Andy said. "We have no other clues. We might as well follow it."

Larsen hadn't wanted to listen to Andy's suggestion, but when he saw the others nodding discreetly, he stood up and nodded too.

Andy and Larsen led the group, carefully following the bloodstains on the weeds, while the others brought up the rear and kept watch.

"That's it?" Larsen dusted off his hands. "Looks like we wasted our time!"

Andy looked puzzled. He stood up and glanced around, then suddenly asked, "What's farther ahead?"

"The Endless Sea. You don't even know that?" Larsen sneered.

"The blood trail can't just stop here," Andy said with a frown.

"I'm not following you on any more wild goose chases!" Larsen said. "It could be an animal's blood. Maybe it got hurt and passed through here, leaving some blood behind!"

"Captain, you'd better come take a look!" While they were arguing, one of the Elf Warriors had walked a short distance away.

Larsen glanced at Andy, then turned and headed toward the Warrior.

A corpse lay curled up in a patch of flattened grass. It had already started to rot, and its stench was nauseating. Maggots kept wriggling in and out of its flesh. Larsen covered his nose and grimaced.

"A Naga?" Andy came over, covering his nose.

"You know about the Naga?" Larsen asked, surprised.

Andy gave a snort, which was answer enough. He didn't want to tell him that he'd once been killed by a Naga!

"Why is there a Naga corpse here?" Andy asked, puzzled. "We're still some distance from the coast!"

"This isn't a sea-dwelling Naga," Larsen said proudly. "It's a Naga that's lived on land for a long time. But how did it get here? They never leave their habitat!"

"Maybe it's time to break that tradition. Finding a Naga corpse here is already highly unusual." As he spoke, Andy crouched and prodded the corpse a couple of times with a stick.

A long gash ran across the corpse's abdomen. It wasn't immediately fatal, but it would have caused rapid blood loss. The Naga's entrails had spilled out across the ground, giving off a foul stench.

Andy prodded the Naga's shoulder with the stick, then tilted its head up. Its face had begun to rot. Its eyeballs dangled in their sockets, and corpse worms crawled in its mouth. Andy gagged and started to pull the stick back. Suddenly, pale green gas billowed from the Naga's mouth, glowing faintly.

"How can there be something like that!" Andy cried in alarm and flung the stick far away.

Larsen and the others were also startled by the sudden puff of gas. "What is that?" they asked in surprise.

"Fel! That's Fel!" Andy looked at the corpse with disgust, stood up, and stepped back twice. "This evil magic is what made the Orcs invade this world! Where is this Naga's habitat?"

Larsen also stepped back twice and stared at the corpse. All the weeds around it that had been covered by the green gas had withered instantly.

"They live in..." One of the Warriors hesitated, about to explain.

"Mata, have you forgotten the taboo?" Larsen suddenly interrupted the Elf Warrior, glaring and shouting.

"What taboo?" Andy asked in surprise.

"It's an Elf taboo. We must have no further contact with those Naga!" Larsen said.

"What taboo could be more important than the crisis we're facing?" Andy nearly jumped up and slapped Larsen. How could he be going on about taboos at a time like this?

"Think carefully, Larsen!" Andy took two steps closer. "This is the heart of Elf territory, and we've found Fel here. What could matter more than our very survival?"

Larsen looked up at Andy, conflicted. The racial taboo had been ingrained in him for thousands of years.

"We call the place where they live Blackfathom Deeps," Larsen finally said with a sigh. "It was once an underground altar they built. We don't know whether it's still in use, but this group of Naga has always lived there."

"Blackfathom Deeps!" Andy furrowed his brow. From what he knew about this world, the Naga weren't the only ones in Blackfathom Deeps!

"You know where they are, don't you?" Andy asked.

Larsen nodded.

"We have to go there and take a look," Andy said. He couldn't allow such an unstable threat to remain.

"What?" Larsen was startled. "No! Elves aren't allowed to go there!"

Andy looked around at the group. Everyone wore the same startled expression. They were clearly very reluctant to go there.

"All right." Andy sighed inwardly. "Wait here. Give me the location of Blackfathom Deeps, and I'll go alone!"

Larsen suddenly turned toward Andy, grabbed him by the collar, and roared, "You can't go either! This has to be reported. No one is allowed to go there on their own!"