Exploring the Cave

The cave entrance was not particularly narrow, wide enough for two people to pass side by side. Weeds and thorns grew around it, and there seemed to be nothing suspicious.

But as Kale followed Thisalee toward the entrance, he immediately felt a cold wind blowing out from inside. It carried the distinctive foul stench of satyrs.

Kale's expression changed. "There really are satyrs here. I just don't know whether that bastard Ordos is inside. If he is..." He tightened his grip on the Crescent Staff, his eyes glinting with focus.

With Thisalee leading, the two of them and the saber carefully entered the cave. Thisalee remained in her Black Raven form, flying low to scout ahead. Kale gripped his staff, ready to cast a spell at any moment, while Big Black crouched low and followed behind them with light steps, like a shadow.

The cave was pitch-black, and they couldn't hear any creatures moving. Only occasionally did a cold wind blow from deep within, making a strange, mournful howling sound.

Judging by its structure, the cave had originally been a naturally formed cavern, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites scattered across the floor.

But it had later been renovated by hand. Narrow passages had been widened, and the uneven floor had been smoothed out, making it easier to travel through.

The two of them wound their way through the cave for a while. The passage ahead gradually widened, expanding from a corridor that could fit only two people abreast to one wide enough for four or five adults to walk side by side.

As Kale wondered how much farther they had to go before reaching the enemy's lair, Thisalee, flying ahead, suddenly stopped and used Shadowmeld to enter stealth.

Kale and Big Black hurried to a halt as well, following her into stealth.

In an instant, the two of them and the saber vanished from sight in the passage.

A few seconds later, strange roars came from around a bend ahead. They were low and hoarse, as if they came from the depths of a dark hell, and sent chills down the spine.

Kale tensed when he heard them. He recognized that sound. He had heard it on the night the Satyr Rebellion broke out in Moonshadow Village forty years ago.

The creatures that made that sound were demons known as Felhounds.

In the Warcraft game, small Felhounds were barely any bigger than puppies, and their attacks weren't particularly strong. They were easy to kill.

But in reality, even the smallest Felhound was bigger than a Saber. These creatures were vicious and swift, and could devour magic. They were practically a mage's worst enemy.

Kale hadn't expected to run into one of these monsters in the passage. He was so scared he hardly dared breathe.

At his current strength, dealing with one or two small Felhounds wouldn't normally be difficult. But in a narrow passage with no room to maneuver, it was a different matter.

Thisalee clearly had no intention of fighting several Felhounds in the passage, either. She stayed hidden in the darkness for a long time, only reappearing after everything ahead had gone completely quiet.

She looked back at Kale and gestured for him to stay put. Then she flapped her wings and flew ahead to take a look. When she returned, she said, "All right. Those Felhounds are gone."

Thank goodness, they're finally gone. Kale let out a breath of relief and emerged from stealth. Big Black appeared behind him as well.

The two of them and the saber waited quietly in the darkness for a while, calming themselves before continuing onward.

The appearance of those Felhounds had startled them, but it hadn't frightened them off. If anything, it made them more eager to find out what was hidden inside the cave.

From then on, they proceeded with even greater caution. Every time they advanced farther into the cave, they scouted carefully. At every junction, they concealed themselves and waited in silence, watching.

As the two of them and the saber ventured deeper, the path ahead grew wider and wider. A faint firelight began to appear, and strange sounds could be heard coming from up ahead now and then.

Kale knew they were close to the enemy's lair. His nerves tightened again, and his hand gripping the staff was almost sweating.

Fortunately, the mighty Thisalee remained calm and showed no sign of unease, giving Kale the confidence to keep going.

They went on a little farther and finally reached the end of the passage.

To be safe, they didn't venture far from the passage. Instead, they hid behind a boulder beside it, taking Big Black with them as they watched.

They discovered that the passage opened into a large natural cavern that had been renovated by hand. An underground river ran along the right side, while a huge platform built of brick and stone stood on the left.

Several blazing torches stood around the platform. In their light, they could see many demons and satyrs gathered on it.

At the very edge of the platform were small Felhounds and Imps, assigned to keep watch and patrol. The low-ranking demons kept moving around the perimeter, warily observing their surroundings. In the middle were ordinary satyrs and Felguards, most of them drinking, eating meat, or wrestling. At the center were powerful satyrs and Succubi who seemed to be discussing the meaning of life.

Thisalee and Kale hadn't expected so many demons and satyrs to be hiding in the cave. They were both stunned.

They made a rough count. There were at least two hundred visible to the naked eye alone. With their abilities, fighting that many demons and satyrs would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

Fortunately, the demons and satyrs with keen senses were all busy feasting and enjoying themselves, holding an orgy and making all sorts of obscene noises. This gave Thisalee and Kale time to sneak in and scout.

After observing from behind the boulder for a while and confirming the types and numbers of demons inside, the two prepared to retreat.

Just then, a commotion broke out among the demons. Two Felguards escorted a tall satyr from one side of the cave onto the platform.

The scene caught Thisalee's attention, while Kale was drawn to the tall satyr. He realized that the fellow was none other than Ordos.

But Ordos looked different from the way he had when Kale encountered him in the cave at Bearclaw Valley a dozen days earlier. Now, Ordos was bound tightly with thick ropes and covered in bruises. He had clearly been punished.

Kale thought it over and quickly understood. Ordos must have been sent to Bearclaw Valley by the satyr leader here to sabotage the Magic Tree with magic. But Kale and the others had ruined their plan.

As the one who had carried out the plan, Ordos naturally had to take responsibility for its failure. He had probably been afraid of the satyr leader's punishment, which was why he had stayed at his old home in Moonshadow Village instead of returning to Fel Fire Valley.

He hadn't expected Kale to track him down again, eventually forcing him to return to Fel Fire Valley to face his punishment.

Looking at Ordos's sorry state, Kale could only curse him silently. "You bastard. You brought this on yourself. Serves you right."

The two Felguards escorted Ordos past the drunken demons, who were staggering about, and brought him to the center of the platform.

A throne stood there, with a gigantic satyr more than three meters tall sitting on it.

At that moment, the satyr was discussing the meaning of life with two voluptuous Succubi. When the Felguards brought Ordos over, he didn't even bother to stop. He simply kept talking with the two Succubi, going deeper and deeper into the discussion until the floodgates burst, only then stopping. Throughout it all, the other demons on the platform kept their heads bowed in reverence, not daring to look at the throne.

The gigantic satyr waved away the two reluctant Succubi, then looked down at the satyr kneeling before him and spoke softly. "Ordos, you've let down my expectations of you!" Though his voice was quiet, it echoed throughout the cave, and every demon fell silent.

Ordos sprawled on the ground like a dog and pleaded in a hoarse voice, "Master Savatheras, please forgive me. I admit I made a mistake this time. I underestimated those pointy-eared fools, and that damn Ugo. Please give me one more chance, Master. I'll get it right this time. I won't let you down again."

Savatheras! Wasn't that the leader of the Fel satyrs in the game? Kale hadn't expected him to be causing trouble among the Night Elves this early.

He remembered that this satyr leader was over level fifty in the game. Even though the game wasn't reality, that still showed how powerful he was.

Kale used his detection ability to assess Savatheras's actual strength. As expected, the fellow had already reached the Heroic level and was incredibly powerful.

Thisalee seemed to have noticed that Savatheras was no ordinary satyr, too. She discreetly signaled Kale, telling him they needed to leave at once.

Kale wanted to seize Ordos right then and question him about his father's whereabouts, but he knew that charging out now would be like throwing an egg against a rock. He had no choice but to leave with Thisalee and find reinforcements.

But before the two could move, a seductive voice suddenly came from the passage entrance beside them. "Since you two are already here, why not stay and have a little more fun? There's no need to rush off."

Uh-oh. A Succubus!

They'd been discovered!

Kale and Thisalee's expressions changed at the same time. Behind them, Big Black let out a low, wary growl.

There was no time to think at such a critical moment. Thisalee immediately shifted into a white tiger and charged toward the passage entrance at lightning speed.

She had to deal with the Succubus before the other demons could react. Otherwise, once they were surrounded, there would be no escape.

The Succubus guarding the passage hadn't expected Thisalee to move so quickly and hurriedly used her Blink ability to dodge.

But Thisalee had fought Succubi countless times and knew all their tricks by heart.

The instant the Succubus's body began to turn transparent, preparing to Blink, Thisalee leaped. Her body traced a graceful arc through the air, and she landed precisely where the Succubus was about to reappear.

Before the Succubus could react, Thisalee raised a powerful paw and swiped hard. A sharp gust of claw wind flashed past, slicing the Succubus in half at the waist.

The Succubus let out a scream of "Ah!" Her eyes wide with unwillingness, she returned to the Twisting Nether.

As the Succubus's scream rang through the cave, the celebration on the platform came to an abrupt halt. All the demons and satyrs turned their heads and fixed cold, bloodthirsty gazes on the passage entrance.

Savatheras slowly lifted his head from the throne, a cruel smile flickering in his eyes. "Looks like we have guests."