Nightmare

"Oh, perhaps each kingdom has its own customs. We human nobles have a follower system," Dirithis said.

"What is a follower?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"Followers are professionals who attach themselves to nobles for all sorts of reasons. Once they pledge their loyalty to a noble, they generally won't change their allegiance, and doing so is difficult. Once the arrangement is confirmed, a solemn follower ceremony can be held in a church. Followers who betray their master suffer a certain curse. They endure unbearable pain and ultimately die a miserable death," Dirithis said.

"Something like that actually exists?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk's eyes widened.

"Of course. There have been quite a few such cases, so followers are generally very loyal," Dirithis said.

"In that case, it sounds like a good solution." Yu Lin Bloodhawk thought it could work. Although no humans currently lived permanently in Quel'Thalas, didn't Prince Kael'thas have feelings for Jaina? What if they got together? There had to be a first time for everything. After some thought, he said, "Looks like I need to find a few high-level rogues to take on as followers. Marquis Dirithis, do you have anyone to recommend?"

Dirithis smiled mysteriously without saying a word.

"Oh, I get it!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk slapped his forehead and laughed. "Name your price!"

Dirithis held up three fingers. "You're asking for high-level rogues."

"Thirty gold coins? Deal!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Do you want all five?" Dirithis asked.

"Five? That many?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk was astonished. Since when had high-level professionals become as common as cabbages?

"They retired just this year. For certain reasons, they'll have a hard time staying alive without someone to protect them." Dirithis gave a cold smile. "Intelligence work makes enemies easily, you know."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk stared at him for a moment. "You aren't really an intelligence officer, are you?"

"You said you'd treat me as though I weren't," Dirithis said.

"Then they're..." Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"They used to be my most capable subordinates, but this time, even I can't protect them." Dirithis sighed regretfully.

"The other party is that powerful?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"Yes. Very powerful," Dirithis said.

"Oh, then about the ceremony..." Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"They aren't followers. They're my subordinates. Even if they became my followers, I still couldn't protect them. But you're different. The other party has no authority in the Kingdom of Quel'Thalas. Besides, you have a magical barrier there. They couldn't sneak in to assassinate them, either," Dirithis said. "I'll arrange for you to hold the follower ceremony at a church."

"I'm solving your problem for you, and I still have to pay you a fortune. What a loss." Yu Lin Bloodhawk sighed. "You really know how to work an angle."

"Actually, my three fingers meant three Quel'Thalas gold coins. Who knew you were so rich that you'd insist on making me a fortune?" Dirithis burst out laughing.

...I really do have too much money. Yu Lin Bloodhawk smiled bitterly, but he could hardly go back on his word now. His heart ached as he thought, I never imagined I'd see the day when I could throw money around just because I was rich.

In truth, this happened because he still didn't fully understand this world. He still carried the people-first mindset of his previous life, without understanding how cheap human lives were in an age of cold steel. It was perfectly normal for a commoner's life to be worth less than a horse. Most professionals were simply somewhat more capable commoners. There couldn't possibly be that many people like Arthas or Jaina.

The docks weren't far from Lordaeron City. With one man beaming and the other looking miserable, they reached Dirithis's home within half a day. After having someone arrange accommodations for Yu Lin Bloodhawk, Dirithis left, saying he had business matters to settle.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk entered the room the steward had prepared for him and speculated about Dirithis's identity. He felt there was at least a seventy or eighty percent chance that the man really was an intelligence officer. Yet on closer consideration, some things didn't seem to fit. He couldn't be certain.

Then he thought, What does it matter whether he's an intelligence officer? As long as I accomplish what I came here for, isn't that enough? But I'll have to watch those so-called followers carefully. Otherwise, I might end up bringing in spies instead of trainers. That would be no laughing matter.

He hadn't wanted to throw his money around today, yet he had ended up doing just that. Although he didn't really think he had lost out, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable, so he went to bed not long after nightfall.

In his hazy sleep...

He walked alone into Tirisfal Glades. At first, the sunshine was bright, and he happily watched the little animals hopping about everywhere.

Fluffy squirrels in the trees and rabbits on the ground bounded merrily through the woods, blinking their little eyes at him from time to time. Beautiful butterflies fluttered over clusters of flowers, showing off their lovely wings.

He ran and ran joyfully through the forest, then lay down on the ground when he grew tired. The grass was thick and soft. Lying on it felt like lying on a cloud. He let out a contented groan, his whole body sinking into the foot-high grass.

The fragrance of woodland flowers filled his nose, while birds sang clear, sweet songs in the treetops. Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, warming his body. He plucked a blade of wild grass, brought it to his lips, and gently chewed it as he slowly closed his eyes.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he suddenly smelled something foul. Hot breath washed over his face, making his skin crawl and almost turning his stomach.

He jolted awake.

An ugly hyena stood over him, its long tongue hanging out as disgusting saliva dripped onto his body. Its green eyes gleamed with greed and bloodlust, and its chilling teeth were already nearing his throat.

Terrified, he thrust both hands against the hyena's lower jaw while drawing up one leg, planting his foot against its belly, and kicking hard. The hyena flew into the air like a rag.

He scrambled up in fear and ran blindly, without caring which direction he took. The hyena followed like a ghost. No matter how he ran, it always stayed just far enough behind him, its green eyes flickering with cold amusement, as though mocking his ignorant, pointless struggle.

He ran until he was exhausted and had no strength left. Deciding to stop, he turned around, ready to fight the hyena to the death. But he discovered that Tirisfal Glades had somehow changed.

The bright sunshine was no longer lovely. It had turned the gray of gathering storm clouds before a rain. The woods were no longer lush and green, but a lifeless gray-black. The tender green grass had vanished as well, and the earth had turned black.

This was nothing like the black soil of a fertile vegetable patch. It was a blackness filled with evil. It devoured every trace of life upon the ground, making all of Tirisfal Glades dark and terrifying. Squirrels, rabbits, butterflies, wildflowers, green grass-everything that represented natural life had disappeared.

He couldn't understand why it had changed like this. He summoned his courage and stared hard at those green eyes brimming

with cold amusement and cruelty. As it drew closer, his heart rose into his throat.

Now he noticed that the hyena, which had looked fairly normal before, had changed. Its grayish-brown coat no longer shone, but had turned an ashen gray. Pus and blood oozed all over its body, and waves of rotting stench rose from it. Faint wisps of sickly green plague drifted from its body, corroding every living thing around it.

The hyena approached but did not attack. It stopped ten paces away. Its green eyes displayed a wealth of almost human expressions: mockery, cruelty, bloodlust, and madness. It raised its head and roared.

Yu Lin Bloodhawk heard rustling from every corner of the lifeless forest. Rotting zombies, reeking of corpses, staggered toward him from all sides.

He looked around in shock, and the courage he had just mustered for a fight collapsed in an instant. He turned and ran again, desperate to escape this terrifying place. As he ran, he spotted a town. Overjoyed, he plunged into it, and the horrifying plague-ridden hyenas and zombies behind him dared not follow.

He discovered that there wasn't a single person in the town. Wandering through it alone, he suddenly looked up and noticed the writing on an enormous sign. His attention caught, he walked closer to take a look. The sign read "Deathknell."

He seemed to remember something and lowered his head to think for a moment. Suddenly, he cried out in alarm and looked up. At some point, the entire town had filled with figures. These people seemed anything but friendly. They all stared at him hungrily, as though ready to tear him to pieces at any moment.

They were all zombies and skeletons, reeking of corpses. Whether they had once sold vegetables, sold horses, or worked in any other trade, there was no difference between them now except for the clothes that marked their former occupations. As though they had discovered fresh meat, the zombies and skeletons swarmed toward him.

Frightened, he turned and ran again, with the zombies and skeletons in relentless pursuit. After running for a while, he suddenly stopped. He realized he had reached Deathknell's cemetery.

This was where the dead were buried. Beyond it, outside the cemetery, stood more packs of zombies and pus-covered hyenas-Plague Hounds. He spun about helplessly, not knowing where to run. The zombies pursuing him drew closer and closer, and panic burned within him.

As he panicked, he noticed movement constantly stirring beneath the cemetery ground. He looked around in astonishment. Stark white skeletons kept climbing out of their graves, their green eyes turning as one toward him, the only living person there, with undisguised greed.

He was surrounded, with nowhere to escape.

Suddenly, he felt something tighten around his feet. Looking down, he saw five or six skeletal arms reaching out of the earth, gripping his feet tightly. He struggled desperately but could not break free. The zombies and skeletons around him pounced like vicious dogs fighting over food, burying him beneath layer after layer of bodies.

"Ah!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk jolted awake and looked around. It had only been a dream, but it had felt far too real. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and this time, he didn't dare go straight back to sleep.

He got out of bed and lit the oil lamp.

A knock sounded at the door. "My lord, are you all right?" someone outside asked.

"I'm fine. I had a nightmare," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"Is there anything you need?" the person outside asked again.

"No. I'll call you if there is," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. He knew the person outside was one of Dirithis's servants.

The person outside acknowledged him, and then all fell quiet.