His Father's Whereabouts

The two chatted for a little while longer. After finishing their drinks, they went to their rooms to rest.

Matt was still caught up in the excitement of their victory. He hummed an old Warsong Clan song as he walked, while Kalei, weary and lost in thought about the future, slowly made his way to his bedroom.

Kalei had been busy for a day and a night, and he was so exhausted that he could barely keep his eyes open. As soon as he lay down, he quickly fell asleep.

In his dreams, he seemed to return to that spiritual realm. But this time, there were no strange eyes—only a tranquil starry sky and a vast expanse of white ground.

By the time Kalei awoke, it was already late the following night.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he heard a familiar voice say, "You're awake."

Kalei turned his head and saw a large black raven perched by his window, preening its feathers.

Moonlight shone on the raven's sleek feathers, giving them a faint shimmer that made the bird seem mysterious and elegant.

Kalei hurriedly said, "Thisalee, you're back. Did anything happen? What became of the Satyr leader?"

Thisalee replied lazily, "Unfortunately, I followed that guy a long way north, but he still managed to get away. You don't need to worry about it, though. I've already informed the Cenarion Circle. They'll get in touch with the Forest Keepers of Moonglade and have them monitor that area to keep the forest safe."

Kalei's heart stirred. "When you say north, do you mean Ironwood Forest?"

Thisalee shook her head. "Not Ironwood Forest. It was farther north. I mean Fractured Scar Valley. The terrain there is complicated, full of ravines and steep cliffs—perfect for hiding."

"Fractured Scar Valley..." Kalei said. "I suggest you keep searching farther north along the valley. When I was following Ordos, I heard him mention a place north of Fractured Scar Valley. I think it was called Fel Fire Path. The name sounds like it might be connected to Fel Fire Valley. Maybe it's another Satyr stronghold."

"Fel Fire Path... That place does sound suspicious," Thisalee said. "All right, I'll pass this along to the people in Moonglade and have them investigate."

Kalei added, "You'd better tell them to be careful. The place might not be as simple as it seems."

"Understood. Let's put that aside for now. How's your curse?"

Kalei stretched. "It's gone. Priestess Laria purified me."

"Really? That curse was no simple matter. Did you run into any trouble?"

Kalei shook his head. "No, everything went smoothly." He didn't tell her about Xavius for the time being, in case Xavius came after her too.

As they were talking, a sudden commotion rose outside.

"What's going on out there? Why is it so noisy?" Kalei asked.

Thisalee chuckled. "What, you haven't heard? News of the Sentinel Corps' great victory in Fel Fire Valley has spread through town. The people are getting ready to celebrate in style."

So that was it. Kalei wasn't surprised. Night Elf society was like that: much like their High Elf cousins, they threw a feast to celebrate at the drop of a hat.

Thisalee teased him, "You don't seem very interested. You're one of the heroes this time, after all."

Kalei was taken aback. "I'm one of the heroes?"

Thisalee laughed. "You were the greatest hero of this battle. Who else would be the main attraction?"

Kalei hurriedly waved his hands. "Don't tease me, Thisalee. I wasn't even part of the battle."

"You may not have fought in it, but you discovered the Satyrs and risked your life alongside me to gather information about them. Who could say you didn't contribute to the victory?"

Kalei laughed. "I suppose I did contribute a little. But enough about me. What about you? If we're talking about contributions, yours was the greatest."

Thisalee made no effort to be modest. "I did play a crucial role in the battle, but I won't be attending the celebration. I have a lot to do, and I can't waste time here."

Kalei was surprised. "Did you come to say goodbye?"

"Yes," Thisalee said with a smile. "I'm glad we got to share this adventure. I hope we'll get to work together again someday."

Kalei hurriedly replied, "It would be my honor."

Thisalee flapped her wings twice. "All right, I have to go. Farewell, Kalei." As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished from Kalei's sight.

Kalei raised a hand. He wanted to ask, "What about my Magic Backpack?" But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Just then, a palm-sized object fell from the sky and landed right beside his bed.

It was a delicate little bag, embroidered with intricate runes that glowed faintly in the moonlight.

Kalei snatched it up and weighed it in his hand. A grin spread across his face.

"You have discovered the magical item: Magic Backpack."

Name: Magic Backpack

Quality: Excellent

Ordinary Effect: Can hold items totaling 2 square meters in volume

Special Effect: None

Description: A spatial backpack made using the technology of the ancient Elven Empire. Cannot store living creatures.

The following day, just as Thisalee had said, the residents of Maestra Town built a huge stage in the central square and held a grand ball to honor the heroes who had fought the Satyrs.

Kalei was honored to be one of the main attractions. His old acquaintances Arenia and the ranger Jinli received the same treatment.

The three of them hadn't expected to meet again so soon after the Furbolg crisis. Arenia was still somewhat standoffish with strangers, though she was much friendlier toward Kalei now. Jinli, on the other hand, was much more outgoing and even said she'd take Kalei on an adventure.

After earning two great merits in the span of just a month or two, Kalei's name became well known throughout Maestra after the celebration. Whether they were street vendors, priests in the temple, or high-ranking officers in the fortress, everyone smiled and nodded when they saw him, their words full of admiration.

Kalei wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or a bad one. He did need some renown if he wanted to change the Night Elves' current state, but he was also afraid that too much fame would draw the attention of people with ulterior motives. As with anything, there were pros and cons.

Kalei spent three days attending celebrations in Maestra. On the fourth evening, unable to put up with the constant invitations from the townspeople any longer, he said goodbye to his teacher, mounted Big Black, and quietly left Maestra for Moonshadow Village.

Kalei had worried that the villagers of Moonshadow Village might have heard about him too. But in truth, he had underestimated how cut off the country folk were. They paid almost no attention to what was happening in a city more than a hundred kilometers away.

That was something of a comfort to Kalei. He spent a peaceful day at home with his mother, then set out the next day to look for his father near Fel Fire Valley, following the clues he had gotten from Ordos.

Kalei already knew the road from Moonshadow Village to Fel Fire Valley well. He set out at nine that night, riding Big Black. After an hour or two, they arrived at Fel Fire Valley.

Traces of the recent battle still remained throughout Fel Fire Valley. Kalei took a brief look from the outside, then continued along the mountains beyond the valley, searching for the waterfall Ordos had mentioned.

The area around Fel Fire Valley connected to the Mount Hyjal Range and was full of deep mountains and ravines. It took Kalei nearly an hour of searching before he found a waterfall north of the valley.

Kalei rode Big Black around the cliff above the waterfall a few times. When he found nothing, he followed the cliff down to the bottom of the falls.

Below the waterfall was a pool, and beyond it stretched a fairly large ravine, with steep cliffs on both sides.

Kalei dismounted and stood by the pool, looking up at the top of the waterfall. He estimated that the drop was around twenty or thirty meters. An ordinary human from Earth would have almost no chance of surviving a jump from that height, even if they landed in the pool.

But the intelligent races of Azeroth were different. Azeroth was a world of magic, and the physical abilities of its intelligent races were naturally far beyond those of intelligent races in an ordinary world.

Even the physically weakest of Azeroth's intelligent races, humans, were more than twice as strong as humans on Earth. Night Elves were stronger still. If someone jumped from the waterfall, they might survive if they were lucky.

Besides, Kalei's father was a Druid. Although he was only a novice, if he could cast a spell to protect himself as he fell, his chances of survival would increase significantly.

Kalei did some calculations in his head and decided that his father had a good chance of surviving. Still, to be cautious, he decided to inspect the area around the waterfall carefully.

Forty years had passed since his father jumped from the waterfall, so ordinary methods could no longer detect any traces. But Druids had their own methods.

Clearing his mind, Kalei sat cross-legged beneath the waterfall and released the natural energy within him, searching the area inch by inch.

He searched carefully for nearly two hours before finally getting a result. He opened his eyes, took off his coat, and jumped into the pool. After searching carefully, he soon found a huge vine, almost rotted through from being soaked, in a corner of the pool.

Holding the vine, he left the pool and climbed onto the bank. He looked at it and smiled.

Now he could be sure that his father had probably survived his jump from the waterfall. The vine was proof.

It showed that after jumping from the cliff, his father had immediately cast Entangling Roots on the rock face behind the waterfall. Then, as he fell, he had grabbed the vines that had grown out of the cliff thanks to the spell and landed in the pool below.

The vine had eventually snapped, so his father would still have suffered a considerable impact when he hit the water and might even have been injured. But an injury of that severity would probably not have been fatal to a Night Elf.

Kalei could even imagine his father casting Healing on himself as soon as he got out of the water, then running out along the ravine without stopping.

But if things had really happened as he imagined, that raised a new question.

If his father hadn't died in the fall and had successfully escaped from the Satyrs, where had he gone over the past decades? Why hadn't he come home?