"Was that just a howl?"
Though Teron Gorefiend's cry had left Tabek feeling dazed, he still stubbornly retorted, "Howling alone won't be enough to bring down Doomhammer's Guard!"
"We'll find out soon enough," Teron Gorefiend said coldly.
As Tabek was still trying to figure out what Teron Gorefiend meant, a commotion rose behind him.
"Could it be..." Tabek looked back in alarm.
"This is..." Malone's jaw dropped, too.
A vast army rounded the hill and hurried toward them.
"Teron, you..." Malone looked at Teron Gorefiend, unable to believe his eyes.
"I told you, you have to learn to trust your companions," Teron Gorefiend replied.
Only now did Tabek understand that the sound Teron Gorefiend had just made was a call to his companions—much like wolves communicating with one another.
"Lieutenant Tabek, we're surrounded!" An Orc warrior ran up to him and reported.
"Obviously! I'm not blind!" Tabek snapped.
The two dozen or so Orc warriors gradually drew together. Surrounding them were more than a hundred Death Knights.
Some of the Death Knights were unarmed, while others were fully equipped and carried scepters set with gems.
Though none of them attacked the Orc warriors or greeted Teron Gorefiend, Tabek knew they all took orders from him.
"Are you planning to betray our pact?" Tabek turned to face Teron Gorefiend, gritting his teeth.
"Just taking precautions." Teron Gorefiend actually shrugged. The very human gesture surprised Malone.
"Now, Tabek, if you don't want my Death Knights to tear you to pieces, tell me what orders the Warchief gave you."
Teron Gorefiend had asked something similar not long ago, but Tabek had threatened to cut off his head. Now...
"Doomhammer sent me here with his guard to look around. If the troublemaking Death Knights hadn't fled, I was to bring them before him."
Tabek was much more cooperative now. He answered Teron Gorefiend's question.
"Bring them away?" Teron Gorefiend seemed angered by Tabek's words. "You dare take my subordinates without my permission?"
Though he wasn't as close with the other Death Knights as he was with Malone, Teron Gorefiend would never allow anyone else to interfere in their internal affairs.
"I went to your camp to find you, but you weren't there," Tabek answered honestly.
"You can ask your men if you don't believe me. I just didn't expect you to be here."
Teron Gorefiend didn't seem to believe him. "Do you think I'm an idiot? If you lie to me again, I won't hesitate to break your fingers or slice off your ears and nose."
"I'm telling the truth!" Tabek hastily insisted.
"Would the Warchief bother with something so trivial?" Teron Gorefiend still thought Tabek was lying. He spoke angrily.
"All right, here's what happened... Can we go inside to talk? This is confidential."
Tabek warily glanced at the other Orc guards beside him, as well as the Death Knights.
"Stop!" Malone barked at Tabek. He knew that some heroes had fallen victim to the likes of him and their underhanded tricks.
"It's fine. He can't hurt me." Teron Gorefiend waved a hand, inviting Tabek in.
Tabek gave Malone a strange look, perhaps puzzled by his humanlike appearance, then stepped over to Malone and Teron Gorefiend.
Though the canvas had been torn away, leaving the shelter open on all sides, they were far enough apart that no one outside could hear their hushed conversation.
"Ah!" Tiffany cried in alarm. Tabek's entrance into the shelter made her very uneasy.
"It's okay, it's okay," Malone quickly reassured Tiffany in Common.
"Mm..." Tiffany nodded.
But she was still scared, especially with the Orcs visible outside the shelter.
Tiffany wanted to hug her knees and bury her head between them—at least then she wouldn't have to see these savage outsiders.
But her ankle was sprained, and even the slightest movement hurt. All she could do was close her eyes and hope Malone would hurry up and send the Orc away.
The Orcs and the Death Knights had also seen Tiffany.
The Death Knights mostly showed no change in expression, but the Orcs let out a series of heavy breaths.
Even Doomhammer's Guard were only stronger Orcs. For their kind, giving in to their instincts for slaughter and lust mattered most.
"What do you have to say?" Inside the shelter, Teron Gorefiend asked Tabek coldly.
"The Warchief is taking an interest in this trivial matter because a few major incidents have happened in camp recently," Tabek said quietly.
"Go on, quickly. I don't have time to waste here," Teron Gorefiend said, clearly annoyed by Tabek's hemming and hawing.
Tabek nodded and continued. "All right. We've had a few minor clashes with the Trolls these past few days. You know about that, right?"
"Mm." Teron Gorefiend nodded.
"Actually, the clashes have been pretty serious. You know how combative we Orcs are, and the Trolls are even more combative than we are. Sometimes it only takes a little thing, a bit of food or something else, and then... they start fighting."
Tabek's account took Malone by surprise. Trolls and Orcs, both members of the Horde, were actually clashing? He'd had no idea!
But when he thought about it, it was plausible. When conflicts broke out among the Orcs, they usually resorted to violence to settle them, and Trolls were among the fiercest, most combative races in the world of Azeroth. Though their alliance served their mutual interests, that didn't mean clashes between them were impossible.
"Get to the point," Teron Gorefiend said, still impatient with Tabek's rambling.
"A few days ago, a Troll cut off an Orc's nose during a clash. A lot of chieftains were already unhappy about it, but those two had been dueling, so the chieftains couldn't really say much. But last night..."
Tabek stopped there.
"What happened last night?" Teron Gorefiend asked curiously. He hadn't heard that anything had happened the night before.
"A small group of Orcs from the Bloodfang Clan clashed with Zul'jin's guard and got into a fight. Before we arrived, one of the Orcs had died."
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