Departure

The chestnut mare snorted! Nathanos snapped out of his reverie and heard some noise.

Ranger Vareesa had already nocked her arrow without her noticing. The surrounding forest was silent, showing no signs of danger. This was within Lordaeron's borders, absolutely safe. There wouldn't be any Orcs or Troll roaming here. Not far away was a small inn, with nothing but a stable boy carrying hay.

"Are you here?" Nathanos walked past her and stood in front of her.

"They're here?" Vareesa looked around. A strand of silver hair blew in front of her eyes, but it couldn't obscure her sharp gaze. A pair of clear blue eyes monitored everything around her. Two long, pointed ears strained to catch every sound.

But she still didn't understand what Nathanos meant. What came? Who came?

Seeing that he didn't speak, Vareesa glared at him, the words of reprimand already on the tip of her tongue.

"Were you waiting for me?" a deep voice suddenly rang out in front of Nathanos. Vareesa immediately aimed her arrow at the figure that had suddenly appeared.

Faced with such a threat, the fiery red-haired human who appeared out of nowhere was not afraid. On the contrary, his green eyes looked at the calm human and the murderous Female Elf with suspicion.

"They told me there would be an Elf Ranger waiting for me here, but it seems there's someone else here now."

"Rhonin?"

"Yes, may I ask who you are?"

"Marius, the one who is acting with you."

The two humans shook hands, completely ignoring the angry Female Elf that swept over them.

"So, there are two people protecting me?"

"Plans can't keep up with changes," Nathanos replied. "Having another person will make you safer."

"I think so too." Rhonin gave a slightly sarcastic smile and looked at Vareesa, whose bow and arrow could pierce her throat if she let go.

"You're that mage?" the Ranger finally asked.

Rhonin stretched out his hands. "Doesn't it look like it?"

Vareesa lowered her bow and arrow, relaxing slightly. "They told me a mage would be coming. But you're three days late!"

"Of course I need to prepare some things," the mage replied, glancing at Nathanos, and continued, "Besides, you haven't been bored these past three days, have you?"

"I don't know this guy at all!" The Ranger glared at Nathanos. "I don't even know what he does for a living. He's been sitting on that rock like a log for three days."

Rhonin looked at Nathanos with disbelief, unable to believe what Vareesa had said. "Is what she said true, Marius?"

"Haste makes waste," Nathanos replied, taking a deep breath and looking up at the sky. "I have everything prepared; we should set off."

"Prepared? What are you preparing?" Vareesa glanced at him, her melodious voice sounding angry.

"Route, weather changes, and when ships will depart from Hask Port..."

"What?" Vareesa and Rhonin were both taken aback. The Female Elf was the first to react and scolded, "What a joke! You haven't moved an inch in the past three days. Don't tell me you did what you're talking about while I was sleeping."

Nathanos crossed his arms and replied coldly, "I arrived here a week ago, but I had everything prepared four days before you arrived."

Vareesa stared, speechless. Nathanos ignored her astonishment and turned to Rhonin, asking, "Do you have a mount?"

"No." Rhonin shrugged. He thought Nathanos would accuse him, but the human in front of him said the opposite.

"Excellent. The route we're going to take might be a bit rugged and not suitable for horses." Nathanos glared disdainfully at Vareesa's chestnut mare.

"What?" The Female Elf looked at him with displeasure. "What do you mean by this? Why are you going to take the route you designed instead of the main road?" Vareesa expressed her dissatisfaction with great anger. But Nathanos only replied with five words.

"Faster and safer!"

"You!"

Rhonin almost burst out laughing. This Marius was completely unafraid of the enraged Female Elf. He knew that Elf were intimidating to humans. They were taller than most humans, like Vareesa. Rhonin had to admit that traveling with someone like her would make the mission much less unpleasant.

"I think Marius is right, safety is the most important thing."

The Female Elf watched the two humans working in concert, and she strongly suspected that this was a pre-arranged plan. She tried hard to suppress her anger.

"Fine, five days. I'll only give you five days. If you don't reach Hask Port within five days, don't blame me for abandoning you and letting this guy take you to your destination!" Vareesa didn't argue further, but led her horse towards the small inn. She had no choice but to leave her beloved mount there temporarily.

They traveled together for four days, and apart from some annoying insects, nothing else was unpleasant along the way. The constantly changing scenery made the journey quite poetic, but the humans and Elf remained mostly silent. Rhonin truly treated Vareesa as a protector, but with Nathanos, he found himself able to converse with this fellow human. Surprisingly, Nathanos seemed different from those noble Paladin; he didn't mind that Rhonin was a mage at all. Whatever he asked, did, or even needed, Nathanos would fulfill his demands. Vareesa, equally puzzled, was also puzzled by Nathanos's unusual behavior—this man had completely become the mage's caretaker.

Furthermore, Vareesa was very curious about Rhonin's mission. Indeed, Kaz'Modan had always been a rather dangerous place due to the presence of dragons and Orcs, but the Alliance consistently maintained a group of well-trained scouts operating in and around the land. Vareesa estimated that Rhonin's mission was quite important; otherwise, given the mages' inherently high self-regard, the Kirin Tor wouldn't have sent someone like them on such a risky mission. However, had they really given this guy serious consideration? Surely there were more capable and trustworthy people out there? Perhaps his gaze and tone directly led to him being assigned such a dangerous task.

"How much further to Hask, Marius?" Rhonin asked, following behind Nathanos.

"If nothing unexpected happens, you should be able to get there by tomorrow morning. You'll still have time to have breakfast or take a shower."

"Excellent." Rhonin smiled, and couldn't help but wonder about Nathanos's background. "Marius, where are you from? You look like a native of Lordaeron."

"Yes, my home is south of Stratholme."

"No wonder you're so familiar with this place. So you..." Rhonin's words were interrupted by the noise from the sky. He wanted to ask Nathanos who sent him, because logically speaking, the only person who could escort him was Vareesa.

"It's a dragon!" Nathanos exclaimed. The other two immediately became alert. Vareesa had already nocked her bow.

"And Gryphon!" he added, then surveyed the surroundings, chose the tallest tree, and skillfully climbed it. Vareesa had never seen such a nimble human before; his tree-climbing movements were even more impressive than her own. "Stay down here, I'll go check the situation," Nathanos said to the two below, then looked up. About a kilometer away, three Gryphon were attacking a Red Dragon.

The battle seemed to be in the hands of the Gryphon Rider, though they hadn't yet launched a full-scale attack. The three constantly circled the Red Dragon, disorienting the massive creature. It struggled to focus its attention on one of them, but the other Gryphon continuously diverted the dragon's gaze. Only once did the flames narrowly miss one of its winged adversaries.

Suddenly, a Dwarf raised his giant axe, its blade gleaming in the twilight. He and his mount flew close to the dragon, and as they neared the back of the beast's head, they swooped down.

The claws dug deep into the dragon's neck, tearing through its scales. Just as the dragon was enduring the sudden, excruciating pain, the Dwarf swung his giant axe.

The blade pierced deep inside. While it wouldn't kill the dragon outright, it was enough to make it scream in agony.

Although much smaller than the red behemoth, Gryphon compensate for their size with their enormous, sharp talons and beaks capable of piercing through muscle. In the sky, they can move more swiftly and nimbly, turning at angles that dragons cannot match.

'They know dragons have terrible tempers!' Nathanos was completely oblivious to the astonished and incredulous looks he was receiving from the humans and Elf below. He was standing on a very thin branch. Vareesa initially thought he would break the branch and fall, but apart from a slight sway, nothing else happened, and Nathanos remained firmly on it.

'They are completely disorienting the dragons,' Nathanos remarked. He recalled that when the Kurdran dealt with the Red Dragon, they relied on brute force, but now, the Wildhammer Dwarf had clearly found a way to deal with Red Dragon.

The Gryphon surrounded their enemy, forcing it to constantly turn from one direction to another to determine which Gryphon posed the greatest threat. The Orcs had long known to be wary of the Gryphon, but without its rider, the dragon seemed somewhat bewildered. The Dwarf quickly expanded their advantage, maneuvering their mounts to and fro, increasing the dragon's frustration. The wild Dwarf's long beards and ponytails swayed in the wind as they laughed as they faced their colossal foe. That roaring laughter only enraged the dragon further; it frantically clawed and bit, spewing ineffective flames.

"Let's go," Nathanos said, jumping down from the tree.

"How is the situation?" Rhonin asked anxiously.

He glanced at the sorcerer and replied, "That dragon is doomed." Then he continued to lead the way, gesturing for the two of them to follow.

The three of them pressed on together. In the sky behind them, the figures of the dragon and the Gryphon grew smaller and smaller, partly because the battlefield had shifted in the opposite direction from Vareesa and his companions.

"Strange..." Nathanos heard the mage mutter to himself.

"What's wrong?"

He spoke first. "Why is this dragon here?"

Vareesa was enraged. "If you hadn't been late, we wouldn't have encountered these monsters."

The mage narrowed his emerald green eyes. "I'm sorry, but it seems we haven't been attacked."

Who knows what will happen next?

Rhonin shook his head, ceasing his argument with Vareesa, and turned to Nathanos: "Marius, what do you think?"

"Someone saw the dragon and reported it. The Dwarf were just doing their job," he considered. "I know there are still some Orcs in Grim Batol putting up a last stand, trying to rally other resisting Orcs and those besieged territories."

"Who can explain what an Orcs is thinking? This is clearly an undisciplined raider. Humans, this isn't the first time they've attacked the Alliance like this," Vareesa pointed out.

"No, but I want to know if..." Rhonin didn't finish his sentence because they suddenly noticed something moving in the woods... in every direction.

The Elf Ranger immediately drew her sword from its scabbard. Beside her, Rhonin reached into the folds of his mage robes, clearly preparing to cast a spell. Nathanos made no move, simply stopping to watch the men surrounding them.

Six burly knights suddenly appeared in the surrounding woods. Despite the dim light, their silver armor still gleamed.

Their faces were concealed by helmets adorned with lion heads. As a Ranger, Vareesa wondered how they could move alone in such attire, seemingly unaffected by the ongoing war; the six-man squad on saddles appeared completely at ease. Their tall, grey warhorses, also clad in armor, appeared unfazed by the heavy burden imposed upon them by the knights.