Gunfire in the Hills Once More
After a simple dinner, everyone rested, and just as Trag had assured them, they slept soundly through the night until dawn. 69ᏕᏂᏬጀ.ፈᎧᎷ
The sun in Alterac seemed to be cold. As agreed, Zul'ra had Kangsen lead Velinde into the Alterac Valley to find her fellow tribesmen who had gone into the mountains. Before leaving, Velinde thanked Zul'ra again.
"Zul'ra, thank you." Velinde looked at the tall Trolls, trying to look into his eyes, but her gaze couldn't help but dart away.
"No need, just remember to turn the sickle back to me. Also, be careful." Zul'ra looked at Velinde's slightly swaying silver pupils and nodded with a smile.
"Ande'thoras-ethil (May time heal your sorrows)." Velinde looked at the smiling Trolls, finally opening her arms and offering the Kaldorei's farewell words.
"... Ash karath!" Zul'ra looked at Velinde with open arms, somewhat taken aback, but still opened her arms to hug her back. Before she could even fully feel it, she felt the female Elves in her arms pull away and follow the female assassin Kangsen and others into the Alterac Mountains.
"Your friend is gone!" Trag's voice came from behind as Velinde's figure disappeared into the distance.
"I'm leaving too. Have you all made up your minds?" Zul'ra asked without turning her head, watching Velinde walk away.
"Valima refused; he doesn't want to go to Undercity. What's your relationship with that Kaldorei?" Trag stepped forward and stood beside the Trolls, watching Velinde disappear into the departing crowd.
"Friend." Zul'ra blinked and turned to look at the chieftain who was gazing into the distance.
"Friends?" Trag repeated.
"Of course, didn't you just say that?" Zul'ra nodded in affirmation. The very first thing he said was that he defined Velinde as his "friend".
"Uh-huh!" Trag suddenly choked.
"Alright, what about the others in your manor?" Zul'ra didn't press the issue further, but instead brought up another matter. There were still more than twenty surviving women, young and old, in the manor. If Valima and Trag didn't want to leave, should they leave as well?
"I just asked around, and they've all decided to leave. It's the right choice, and you won't let them down, right?" Trag spread out his large hands. The survivors in the manor were naturally eager to leave, knowing that someone was willing to take them away.
"Of course, you said it yourself, their choice was correct." Zul'ra glanced at the Modis Manor behind her. The manor looked beautiful, but it had lost its vitality; living people shouldn't live here.
"That would be wonderful. The food and wine in the manor would be enough for me to eat for many days, and I wouldn't need to go hunting all the time." Trag clapped his hands, seemingly relieved.
Zul'ra watched the black-maned Tauren clapping and cheering, and couldn't help but twitch his eye. He didn't know if the guy was genuinely relieved or hiding his fear. If the living people left, he would be left alone with Valima.
"There's only Valima in this manor, Undead, right?" Zul'ra suddenly remembered something: how many Undead were there in the Modis Manor?
"Take a guess?" Trag maintained his usual humor, letting Zul'ra guess for herself.
"I can't guess, is he in the manor now? Should I say goodbye before I leave?" Zul'ra raised her eyebrows and shook her head, asking rhetorically. The Undead are different from other things; if you deliberately avoid them, they might not be able to sense you.
"You're quite witty, but it's alright, he's always alone. He might occasionally lead a hunting party, but that's probably his only hobby." Trag shook his bull's head, laughing as he declined Zul'ra's request to say goodbye.
"Never mind then, but I really have to go now." Zul'ra shrugged as she listened to Trag's seemingly serious but actually joking words.
"I'll go and get them to come with you."
Seeing that Zul'ra was really leaving, Trag stopped chatting and laughing, turned around and followed Zul'ra back to the manor, gathered the survivors together, and told them to leave with Zul'ra's group to live in the safety of Durnholde.
"Come visit me in Durnholde sometime. I'll be staying there unless something unexpected happens. You can mention my name, and if I'm not there, someone will remind me." Zul'ra said goodbye to Trag and left her address before leaving. This guy seemed special; she could try to befriend him.
"If I could go to Durnholde," Trag said with a smile, accepting Zul'ra's address. He would definitely visit if he could get to Durnholde.
After saying goodbye, Zul'ra led his team away. This Modis Manor was not a place to stay for long, so it was best to leave as soon as possible. Besides, there were things waiting for him in Durnholde on the other side.
Heading southeast back to Durnholde, Zul'ra did not return along the same route. Instead, he led his team quickly away from the temperate zone of Alterac Mountains and back through a more secluded area. They were on high alert along the way. The first night of their return journey went without incident, but on the morning of the second day, just as they were approaching the Darrowmere River, a gunshot rang out from the hills.
The sharp gunshots echoed through the hills, and before the sound had even faded, another series of crackling explosions followed, five or six in a row, before gradually subsiding and the entire hillside fell silent.
As the gunfire subsided, Zul'ra looked at the Syndicate assassins who were with him. He hadn't heard the sound of guns in a long time. The last time he heard it was in Hillsbrad Foothills, when a group of Dwarves were heading to Alterac Valley. He had even extorted some money from them back then!
"It's Dwarves." The assassin leader who succeeded Kangsen, Ge Gaoli, was a gloomy man. He quickly judged from the loudness and timbre of the gunshot that it was a high-quality musket, and there was more than one. Among the many races that manufacture firearms, only the Dwarves could produce a large number of high-quality muskets.
"I think as long as we don't encounter Undead, it'll be fine!" Zul'ra looked back at the panicked civilians of the Modis Manor. He wasn't sure if they were Dwarves, but as long as it wasn't an overwhelming horde of Undead, it would be alright. They were carrying a burden and weren't suited for fighting.
"The Undead don't use guns," Ge Gaoli replied sullenly.
"Should we go over and take a look?" Zul'ra turned to look at the gloomy male assassin.
"You decide." Ge Gaoli looked at the King of the Amani without saying a word, leaving the decision entirely to him.
"Well!" Zul'ra looked at the cool Ge Gaoli and blinked. Given the current situation, it was best for him to stay out of the fun, but he felt he couldn't suppress his curiosity and wanted to see what those Dwarves were doing!
"You lead the men forward, Ge Gaoli, you and I, go and see what the Dwarves are doing?" Zul'ra thought for a moment and made a decision, letting the Syndicate assassins watch over the group as they moved forward, while she and Ge Gaoli went alone to investigate the direction from which the sound came.
"... Okay, no problem." Ge Gaoli looked at the Trolls who had suddenly become excited, remained silent for a while, and then quickly waved his hand, signaling the assassins to lead the team forward, while he and Zul'ra went to check the situation.