Ugo

Although everyone could see that Uerga meant them no harm as they traveled, the Night Elves and the Bristlelimb Furbolgs had long since severed ties, and no one could say how the other Furbolgs would feel about them. So they remained on their guard the entire way, hands on their weapons and ready to deal with anything unexpected.

Following Uerga, they climbed through the rugged mountain forest for ten or twenty minutes before a valley came into view. It looked like a Furbolg hideout.

Just as they were about to enter the valley, a brown Furbolg with normal-colored skin suddenly charged out from behind a boulder beside it. Swinging its thick arms, it roared as it barreled toward them.

Everyone jumped in alarm and immediately took up fighting stances, ready to strike back.

Uerga hurried forward and stood in front of the brown Furbolg, then made a few muffled calls.

The brown bear froze. It looked at Uerga, then at the group. Though its gaze remained hostile, it eventually stepped aside.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Uerga apologized to everyone. They had already expected something like this to happen, so they didn't mind.

Under Uerga's lead, they continued toward the valley. Along the way, they encountered several more hostile Furbolgs, but Uerga drove them off.

The group watched carefully and realized that Uerga's father must have held great prestige among the Furbolg tribes. The others obeyed Uerga for Ugo's sake; otherwise, getting inside would have been difficult.

A few minutes later, Uerga led them to the entrance of a huge cave.

A brown Furbolg nearly three meters tall crouched at the entrance. Judging by its size, it clearly had Ursoc's blood in it as well—a Furbolg berserker.

When the berserker saw them, he didn't charge at them in a rage like the other brown Furbolgs had. He first spoke quietly with Uerga, then said in somewhat halting Darnassian, "Welcome, visitors from afar. Welcome. I am Ulu, captain of the Bristlelimb Tribe's guards. Please tell me why you've come."

No one was surprised that Ulu spoke Darnassian. In fact, ever since the War of the Ancients, the Night Elves' Darnassian had been almost universal among the intelligent races of the Kalimdor Continent. Over time, though, a simpler form of Darnassian had replaced it as the common tongue.

Arenia thanked Ulu for his welcome and asked to meet the Furbolg chieftain.

Ulu neither accepted nor refused their request. He told them to wait by the entrance, then took Uerga and went inside the cave.

They waited at the entrance for more than ten minutes before Ulu came back out. Grinning, he said, "The chieftain will see you. You may go in, but you'll have to walk. Please leave your mounts at the entrance."

Seeing such a huge Furbolg grinning at them made everyone feel uneasy. They even wondered if it was some sort of trick.

But they had come all this way and couldn't turn back now. They dismounted and left their mounts by the entrance, then followed Ulu into the cave.

Contrary to what Kalei had imagined, the Bristlelimb Furbolgs had fallen on hard times, but they had somehow managed to retain the dignity of an intelligent race. The inside of the cave was spotless, with none of the rank stench he had expected. Only a faint scent of herbs lingered in the air, growing stronger the farther they went.

They realized that the Furbolg tribe's witch doctor must be using herbs to treat the chieftain.

The truth was, herbs made by races that lived in the forest all their lives often worked wonders on injuries. It was just a pity that ordinary herbs couldn't heal the Furbolg chieftain's wounds.

They hadn't gone far into the cave before they reached a fairly large chamber.

A fit of violent coughing came from inside, followed by a few whimpers.

At the sound, Ulu quickened his pace and entered the chamber.

After a while, a female Furbolg with red-rimmed eyes and unusual attire emerged from the chamber with the young Furbolg Uerga.

The female Furbolg looked the group over and nodded, then started to lead Uerga away.

Uerga wanted to stay, but couldn't resist her tugging. He greeted the group, then left reluctantly.

Ulu came out after them, looking sad. "The chieftain is unwell and can't see so many people. No more than three of you may go in. The rest will have to wait outside."

The group exchanged glances and agreed.

Arenia had the four members of Linda's group stay outside. Then she took Jinli and Kalei and followed Ulu into the chamber.

Inside, the chamber looked nothing like the rest of the cave. Thick furs covered the floor, soft and comfortable underfoot. Several fist-sized night pearls were embedded in the walls, casting a gentle glow that illuminated the whole room.

By the light of the night pearls, they saw a huge Furbolg lying on his side atop the furs.

This had to be the Furbolg chieftain, Ugo Bloodclaw. Just lying there, he looked even larger than the two corrupted Furbolg berserkers they had encountered at the village entrance.

Though he was enormous, the muscles beneath his skin had withered and sagged. His once-glossy brown fur had turned dry and yellow, completely dull. Deep wrinkles covered his face, and his once-bright eyes were now lifeless. The shadowy power had clearly tormented him terribly.

Kalei checked his level from behind and found it was 56. But in his current condition, it was hard to say how much of his strength he could actually use.

When the three entered, Chieftain Ugo greeted them in a voice that was extremely weak but more fluent in Darnassian than any other Furbolg's. "Welcome, Night Elves, our former allies. Welcome."

Arenia stepped forward and performed the special greeting Night Elves used among allies. "It's an honor to meet you, chieftain of the Bristlelimb Tribe, our former allies. I'm Arenia, a Night Elf Sentinel squad leader. These are Jinli, a ranger, and Kalei, a Druid."

Once they had introduced themselves, Ugo asked bluntly, "Night Elves, have you come here to bring war to this land again?"

Arenia thought for a moment. "No, chieftain. We've brought hope."

"Hope... hope... yes... the Bristlelimb Tribe needs hope now. But we can't endure another war. We have only women and children now, and too few warriors. Without enough warriors, we can't take part in a war."

"I understand your difficulties, chieftain," Arenia said. "But you still have thirty or forty warriors. We have a plan, and it's a workable one. We don't need you to fight on the front lines. We only need you to draw the enemy's attention at a crucial moment. We'll destroy the source of the disaster that has befallen your tribe."

Ugo listened in silence until Arenia finished. "Uerga told me about your plan... It's a good plan, but you've underestimated the enemy's strength. You've underestimated..."

He suddenly began to cough. After several long, labored breaths, he continued, "You don't understand how powerful the enemy is. You can't complete the mission."

Jinli couldn't help but speak up. "Chieftain Ugo, forgive my bluntness, but what are you trying to say? Just say it."

Ugo raised his eyelids and glanced at her. "You Night Elves are a powerful race. You should send more and stronger forces, not just a few Sentinels, one ranger, and a youngster who's barely an adult..."

Jinli widened her eyes. "Are you saying you look down on us?"

Ugo gave a slight shake of his head and said nothing, but his meaning was clear.

Jinli snapped, "Chieftain Ugo, the Night Elves are indeed powerful, but each person has their own battles to fight."

"We came here, so this battle belongs to us. We're fighting for our people, not for you. If you don't want to contribute and just expect our people to fight for you, then you're mistaken."

Ulu, who had remained so reasonable ever since the group arrived, seemed to have been provoked. He shouted, "But this whole mess was caused by you! Those damn Satyrs, that damn Magic Tree—they were all created by the Night Elves! You brought one disaster after another upon the world for the sake of greedy power, and now our tribe is facing extinction!"

For an ordinary Night Elf, Ulu's accusation would have left them speechless.

It was true: from the War of the Ancients to the present, many of the disasters that had struck the Kalimdor Continent had been tied to the Night Elves. Many intelligent races had suffered for no reason because of them, and the Furbolgs were one of those races.

The Furbolgs had once lived peaceful, stable lives under the leadership of Ursoc and Ursol. Because of the Night Elves, Ursoc and Ursol had died, the Furbolg tribes had splintered, and they had then been tainted by dark forces and driven into ever worse circumstances. They didn't even know whom they could turn to for justice.

But Jinli wasn't one to back down. She gave a cold laugh. "That's right. Some of our people made mistakes in the past. Anyone who makes a mistake has to pay for it, whether it's the individual or their race."

"We paid the price last time. But what about this time...? Was this incident entirely our fault, too? If your priest Wumu hadn't colluded with the Satyrs, how would that Magic Tree's seed have been corrupted? We bear responsibility for this, but don't you?"

"Since we're both responsible, this isn't just our problem. You need to do your part, too."

"Of course, I know your tribe is in a terrible state right now. But if you don't keep fighting, what else can you do?"

"Or are you saying that you, the great Ursoc's offspring, have been tormented by the shadow's power until you've lost your courage to fight...?"

"Enough!" Ugo, who had been lying on the furs and gasping for breath, roared as he sat up. He glared at Jinli with eyes as large as copper bells. "No one... no one can question my courage!"

Jinli didn't back down. "Then get up and show your courage by fighting on."