"Learned from me? When did I ever do anything like that? Where did you learn it?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked in bewilderment.
"My lord, wasn't that how Quel'Danil got its start after we captured the Troll city in Gutland?" the officer said. "These days, even back in Quel'Thalas, everyone knows the story of Quel'Danil's rise!"
"Oh! You mean Evil Spikes, Broken Tooth, and their lot!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk understood. "How is that the same? First, I had them slaughter all the old Troll nobles and priests in Gurossa, putting them squarely against the Vilebranch Trolls of The Hinterlands. Only after they'd proved their loyalty that way did I begin to trust them a little. Besides, I didn't send them out to visit friends and relatives until years later. Those situations hardly compare!"
"Is that so?" The officer seemed to see the light, but his next words were, "Still, I think it's pretty much the same!"
Yu Lin Bloodhawk nearly stumbled and lost his footing. He turned his head. "You... are you sure you think that's pretty much the same?"
"Yes! I think it's pretty much the same!" the officer said.
"Fine! Pretty much the same, pretty much the same! If you say it is, then it is!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk was utterly speechless. Even that counts as pretty much the same? How do these people's brains work? What a fucking useful phrase. A big shortfall in one respect, a slight advantage in another, round things off and cancel out the pros and cons, and the answer becomes 'pretty much the same'? He was certain that was how these fellows arrived at their "pretty much the same"! As for just how much difference that allowed, they probably held the exclusive right to interpret it. Their "pretty much the same" was simply