Rewards

Next, Kalei had no intention of giving up his pursuit of Ordos.

That afternoon, he went to the village chief's house and borrowed a detailed map of the area around Moonshadow Village. He wanted to figure out what was in the area where Ordos had disappeared, and found a familiar name there: Fel Fire Valley.

He remembered that when he'd played the game, Fel Fire Valley had been crawling with Fel Fire Satyr. Could that mean there were Satyr living in the valley now?

He knew that in the game, the Satyr had only become active after the Battle of Mount Hyjal. So where had they been hiding before then? Could they have been in Fel Fire Valley all along?

Kalei thought it was entirely possible. At the very least, he couldn't rule out the possibility that Satyr were hiding in Fel Fire Valley.

For now, though, it was only a guess. To confirm it, he needed to gather enough evidence.

Even so, this one lead was enough for him to take action.

But the night before he was due to set out, an unexpected message threw his plans into disarray.

His teacher, Matt Hardwood, sent him a letter from the Cenarion Circle's headquarters by owl courier. The letter approved his membership in the Cenarion Circle and praised his contributions to the Night Elves. In recognition of his past efforts on their behalf, the Circle had decided to reward him with a standard-issue Druid robe.

Kalei beamed as he held the letter. He hadn't expected everything to go so smoothly. Not only had he successfully joined the Cenarion Circle, but he'd also earned a robe.

He hadn't seen the robe in person yet, but he knew Night Elf equipment was never junk. Especially the Cenarion Circle's standard gear, made specifically for Druids: it would be at least of excellent quality and significantly enhance spellcasting.

When his mother, Velina, heard that her son had joined the Cenarion Circle, she was happy but not surprised. She had already decided that her son was blessed by the goddess, so any achievement he made seemed only natural.

Of course, as his mother, she couldn't give all the credit to the goddess. She believed that it was her son's constant hard work that had moved the goddess to grant him such good fortune.

Kalei didn't care what his mother believed. As long as she had faith in his path as a Druid and wasn't anxious about his safety, he wouldn't shatter this beautiful misunderstanding. He knew his mother needed something to believe in to ease her worries about him.

Kalei had originally planned to go to Fel Fire Valley alone to investigate and search for Ordos.

Now that he was a member of the Cenarion Circle, he decided to change his plans. He would go to Maestra first, talk things over with his teacher, collect his equipment, and then decide what to do.

When Velina learned that her son was about to leave home again, she couldn't help feeling sad. Ever since her husband had disappeared, her son had been her only family in the world.

Part of her wanted him to follow in his father's footsteps and go further down the path of the Druids. Another part wanted him to stay by her side and never go anywhere, let alone put himself in danger.

But in the end, the traditional wisdom of the Night Elves helped her understand that she couldn't keep her son by her side forever. He was grown now, with his own mission and responsibilities. She shouldn't be a burden to him, but a support that helped him soar.

So she forced down her reluctance and began preparing Kalei's things for the journey.

Kalei was in such a hurry to get to Maestra that he didn't notice his mother's conflicted feelings at all.

With his mother's help, he carefully tidied himself up and changed into clean travel clothes. Then he picked up the Crescent Staff, mounted his loyal Saber, Big Black, and said goodbye to his mother beneath the moonlight before setting off for Maestra.

After several hours on the road, he arrived at Maestra before dawn.

This time, the one waiting to greet Kalei at the entrance wasn't the mischievous Dinia, but his teacher, Matt Hardwood.

Matt Hardwood wasn't surprised that Kalei had arrived so quickly. He knew this student was a man of action: once he made up his mind to do something, he acted at once, unlike other Night Elves, who often dragged their feet.

They exchanged greetings and went into the living room together. Matt took two wooden cups from the cabinet and filled them with refreshing dew drink. They sat by the window and chatted in the moonlight.

Kalei asked with a smile, "Teacher, where's Dinia? I haven't seen her."

"She's at home, playing," Matt replied.

"Oh, has she stopped training?"

Matt shook his head. "No, she hasn't given up on becoming a Druid. But unlike you, she isn't so focused on her training. She and her father agreed that she'll study with me only four days a week. She can spend the rest of her time as she likes."

So that was it. Kalei smiled helplessly. He wanted to urge the girl to work hard while she was young, before she ended up regretting it, but this was the prevailing attitude in Night Elf society, and there was nothing he could do to change it. After all, what did wasting a little time matter to an immortal race?

Matt turned to business. "You got the letter, right?"

"I did. But honestly, I can't believe I was able to join the Cenarion Circle so quickly. I thought those old fellows would be so conservative that there'd be a few more hurdles."

Matt smiled. "Your instincts were right. In fact, as far as I know, your admission wasn't smooth at all. Quite a few Archdruids thought you lacked experience and wouldn't be able to handle a Druid's duties after joining the Circle. They opposed letting you in."

"Fortunately, Archdruid Broll Bearmantle had read your report on the Furbolg crisis. He thought that although you were young, you'd shown extraordinary courage and wisdom during the crisis. So he overruled the others and insisted that you be admitted."

Broll Bearmantle? He was the formidable figure who would later win the Crimson Ring championship in the arena alongside the human king Varian and the legendary High Elf assassin Valeera. It gave Kalei a certain glow of pride to know that Broll had taken a liking to him.

But he had no time to think about Broll Bearmantle right now. They were too far apart, and it would be hard to form any connection in the short term. What concerned him most was how the Furbolg crisis had been handled, especially whether anyone had investigated the Nightmare's power.

Matt didn't know why Kalei cared so much about this, but he knew Kalei had shown unusual wisdom since childhood and never did anything without reason.

So he answered patiently, "The power of the Nightmare you mentioned caught the attention of two Archdruids, including Broll Bearmantle. They wondered if it was connected to the Emerald Dream, but most of the Archdruids dismissed that idea. They hadn't detected anything similar happening in the Emerald Dream."

"They also didn't think anything could threaten the Emerald Dream with Archdruid Malfurion and the Green Dragons guarding it, let alone a bunch of Satyr hiding in the shadows."

"But they agreed that the power was terrifying. They believe some Satyr must have gained it from a frightening being somewhere. They've already ordered the senior members, myself included, to investigate and hunt down the Satyr leader."

Kalei shook his head helplessly. He couldn't help recalling a famous saying from his past life: "Weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival. Arrogance is."

The Night Elves' strength meant they feared no enemy, but it also made them quick to overlook weaker foes.

Ever since Satyr King Xavius had been defeated by Malfurion, the Night Elves had often purged Satyr, but treated them as nothing more than bothersome beasts. They had never taken them seriously.

They had no idea that these very Satyr, hiding in the shadows, would eventually bring the greatest disaster upon the Night Elves.

Kalei was disappointed by the Circle's approach, but he also knew that nothing would change overnight. They would have to take it slowly. After all, it wasn't easy to make a race that had endured for ten thousand years change its ingrained way of thinking.

The two chatted about recent events for a while. Taking the opportunity, Kalei told Matt what he had discovered in the village.

He told him about the whereabouts of the Satyr leader from Bearclaw Valley, Ordos's suspicious behavior, and the potential threat in Fel Fire Valley.

Matt was stunned. He hadn't expected his student to come home for a holiday and make such a major discovery: not only had he found the true mastermind behind the Furbolg crisis, but he had also located a possible enemy stronghold.

Matt took this very seriously.

After thinking it over, he said, "Your discovery is extremely important. If Satyr really are occupying Fel Fire Valley, we'll have to send in the Sentinel Corps to clear them out. But to deploy the troops, we need detailed intelligence. We can't act on speculation alone."

"Get some rest first. I'll go speak with Darian Lightwind, the Cenarion Circle's local representative, and ask her to send a capable assistant with you to Fel Fire Valley to investigate and gather evidence."

Kalei nodded. "All right. Please hurry, teacher. Ordos has already noticed that I'm tracking him. If we give him too much time, he might move his hideout or prepare for our investigation."

Matt smiled. "Don't worry. Your teacher isn't like those old fellows who do nothing but drink afternoon tea." He set down his cup and got up to leave.