Windrunner Outpost

When he saw Alleria, Shane took two extra looks at the fair, beautiful neck exposed above her chainmail.

"Dawnblade mage, no matter what backing you have in Silvermoon City, you must obey me in the Ghostlands. Understand?" Alleria was as domineering as ever. She lifted her chin slightly and stared at him.

A stern, capable officer; an excellent ranger leader. Shane could see that her displeasure came from her background. Perhaps his mentor had used connections to pressure her, and her attempt to put him in his place had failed. Ha, if it were me, I'd be annoyed too.

"Dawnblade has always taken obeying orders as its duty." Shane's lips curled upward. Seeing Alleria grow even more displeased, his smile widened.

"Lor'themar, you and the others, leave." Alleria dismissed everyone else, leaving only herself and Shane in the room.

Is there going to be a female ranger's roar? Shane muttered to himself.

But Alleria's voice was calm, edged with ice. "In the Ghostlands, I will tear off your mask and strip away that shallow disguise of yours. Vereesa will discover that you are nothing but a coward. A coward! Someone like you isn't worthy of my sister, understand?"

"If you wish, please, be my guest," Shane replied.

The two of them demonstrated the standard conversational posture of Dawnblade and Windrunner. Only their positions had been reversed; usually, it was the Windrunners who said, "Be my guest."

Alleria was furious. Since when had Dawnblade gained the upper hand? "Go to Windrunner Outpost. Immediately!"

The mother tyrannosaur was about to erupt, so Shane hurriedly left. Only after walking out of the ranger barracks did he remember that he did not know the way to Windrunner Outpost. That Lor-something fellow stepped forward and offered to lead the way, smiling exactly as he had when they first met in Silvermoon City.

The two did not exchange a single word along the way. The puppet Taigo easily kept pace with the hawkstriders. Sitting on its back, Shane even had spare time to practice. He had looked into Windrunner Outpost while in Silvermoon City. Sylvanas was the current commander, with one hundred rangers stationed there. Their duty was to monitor activity around the troll city of Zul'Aman, and they called themselves the Sentinel Vanguard.

They arrived after three sunrises and sunsets. The outpost stood amid dense broadleaf forest. As they approached, they happened upon a returning ranger patrol, with Sylvanas at its head.

"All three sisters are here at last." Shane craned his head out from atop the puppet. Sylvanas wore a high elven female ranger's outfit. She rode a red hawkstrider, her long legs tracing graceful lines from knee to thigh and revealing a healthy, rounded beauty at their roots. Her collarbones rose in delicate curves. Shane appraised her. "You could probably balance an egg there."

She did not yet have the purple skin from his previous life. Her complexion was now pale with a rosy flush.

Either way, she's beautiful, Shane judged.

At that moment, his gaze met Sylvanas's in midair, but he could not tell what attitude she held toward him.

"User, defensive barrier detected. Functions: concealment, isolation."

The outpost was hidden within the forest by magic; only high elves could see it.

Sylvanas used the runestone hanging at her waist to open a passage through the barrier, and the group of elves entered. The full layout of the outpost came into view: four buildings, three large and one small—the main building, stables, warehouse, and a two-story cottage.

The outpost had been built slightly higher up, atop a leyline nexus, relying on the ley network's energy to maintain the barrier. More than a dozen runestones were embedded in the ground, serving as the magical carriers of the barrier.

"Analyze the composition of the runestones and decipher the spell. Can we obtain the barrier key and the method for making the runestones?" Shane had a deep impression of runes. During the Second War, Gul'dan had invaded Quel'Sera for runestone technology.

"The manufacturing method can be obtained."

"Begin analyzing the barrier now."

"Understood."

Once inside the outpost, that Lor-something fellow left him and saluted Sylvanas. From their conversation, Shane learned that he was Sylvanas's adjutant.

A ranger led Shane to a two-story detached building at the edge of the outpost. He pointed inside, indicating that it was Shane's room.

But no one spoke to him. Shane understood that he was being excluded. Alleria had probably been gloating for days already.

That Lor-something fellow had deliberately taken him by a roundabout route, giving Alleria time to convey her intentions.

"Damn Windrunners." At last, Shane voiced the sort of complaint a Dawnblade ought to make. That female elf probably wanted him to be unable to endure it and leave of his own accord, so she could boast before Vereesa. "See, little sister? That male elf is nothing special."

Shane would not give up so easily. Since no one wanted to speak to him, he fully displayed the spirit a mage should possess and treated the outpost like his own little home. Hadn't he spent so many gold coins for precisely this in Silvermoon City?

Carpets, furniture, Venetian blinds, kitchen utensils, and an alchemy table—none could be missing. The many household spells saved him considerable effort. A huge hole had been broken through the second-floor ceiling, making it uninhabitable. Shane planned to turn it into an observatory. When calculating the world's curvature, he had wondered whether he could build a model of Azeroth's star system. It would be nice for stargazing between daily training sessions.

"User, surveillance personnel have departed."

He went to report to Sylvanas. I really am receiving special treatment. The more he was excluded, the more comfortable Shane intended to make himself. The ingredients he had bought in Silvermoon City were lying fresh inside his magical pocket.

Tonight, deep-fried electric eel. The tenderest portions were sliced thin, briefly fried in hot oil, then immediately removed and drenched in a secret spiced sauce. The flavor was incomparable. Most magical of all, traces of electricity remained in the meat. One bite was enough to make one's tongue dance. Shane deliberately added extra spices and used a gentle breeze spell to blow the aroma toward the other side of the outpost.

The rangers ate around several large pots, filled with broth made from meat and leafy vegetables, which they used to dip white bread.

"Ah~~~~" Why did elves have to hurt one another? He had earned even more resentment.

"Continue watching him. See what other tricks he has."

Sylvanas listened to her subordinate's report. The male elf Alleria had asked her to deal with was not simple. Ordinary elves would either fly into a humiliated rage or panic in unease when faced with this treatment. Yet he dealt with it leisurely. It seems Vereesa likes him?

For several days, Shane lived his own life, while the rangers did not even call him along on patrols. Then Halduron Brightwing arrived outside the outpost as a ranger. He brought Shane one hundred and fifty gold, the reward from the troll hexer they had exchanged last time.

"I'm a ranger now, Mage."

He had kept his promise and become a ranger. He also brought news that Hawkins Flamehawk was about to get married.

"That is a sad story," he said. "The Quel'Thalin wanderer never returned." Then he hinted that someone had dealt him a blow, and that he wanted to settle down and live a stable life from now on.

Having someone to chat with and relieve the boredom was nice, but the good times did not last. After Halduron Brightwing clashed with that Lor-something fellow, he was transferred away.

"Could you bring me some magical materials?" Shane saw him off, handing over a list and returning the one hundred and fifty gold.

"I would be delighted to serve you," Halduron replied without hesitation. He did not even look at the list before slipping it into his robes.

"Even among rangers, such filth exists. I'm leaving. Farewell, Mage Shane! You will win." He said it with a somewhat lonely figure as he departed.

Shane had a plan to hunt troll spellcasters. He had originally intended to hunt with the Sentinel Vanguard, but now he could only act alone. The Eye of Truth had provided the method for making a barrier key. Otherwise, to leave Sylvanas's outpost, he would have to blast open a gap; he could not even get through the barrier. He had bought some magical materials in Silvermoon City, but the variety had been insufficient. Now he only needed to wait for Halduron Brightwing to deliver the materials before crafting the barrier key.

Arcane crystals, malachite, tigerseye, mithril, thorium, sturdy stone slabs—the materials were worth far more than one hundred and fifty gold. There was also a ton of magical glass. Knowing that Halduron Brightwing engaged in smuggling, Shane was still slightly surprised.

"User, the materials are sufficient to make a runestone. Immediate production is recommended. Obtaining pure energy one day earlier will greatly improve the user's strength."

"Agreed."

Shane also wanted to increase his strength sooner. The opportunity to leave the Ghostlands might well lie within it.

With the Eye of Truth guiding him, crafting it was not difficult. The alchemy table stood in a blind spot beyond surveillance, so he did not fear discovery. Shane's barrier key looked even smaller than Sylvanas's and, hidden in his magical pocket, posed no risk of exposure.

Sylvanas went out on patrol as usual. With the barrier in place, she had left no one behind to guard the outpost. Shane's opportunity had come.

He held the barrier key in his hand. Its fluctuations connected with the runestones embedded in the ground. Silently reciting the command, The Sunwell shall never perish, he opened the barrier and rode the puppet Taigo out of Windrunner Outpost.