Goblins

Kaz'Modan

Rhonin explained at length to Sylvanas, hoping the Female Elf understood rather than simply saying "I don't understand," and she eventually agreed to his request. This didn't necessarily mean Sylvanas had forgiven Rhonin; she just believed this mage or Dwarf might have an unexpected purpose, and she knew in her heart that all three, including herself, had their own motives. Her own motive was to save Nathanos, while Falstad and Rhonin's were definitely not. In fact, she was right. Rhonin's goal was to save the Queen of Dragons, and Falstad was the one he had brought along, telling him that if Alexstrasza was rescued, the Orcs would lose their ability to control the Red Dragon, and the Gryphon Rider would no longer face Dragon Knight. Hearing this, Falstad genuinely agreed to Rhonin's suggestion, but he was only there in a personal capacity because he still had some doubts about Rhonin, after all, he was a mage.

"There's nothing in the sky," the Dwarf said, lying on the ground after eating. "We can't guarantee there aren't Orcs around."

"Are we going to take turns keeping watch?" Rhonin asked.

"Of course, mage." Falstad glanced at him. "Who goes first, you or me?"

The Dwarf excluded the Elf because they thought Sylvanas wouldn't agree to keep watch, and besides, it was ridiculous to have a lady act as a bodyguard for two slumbering men.

Unable to sleep due to her distress, Sylvanas awoke from her meditation and offered to take the night watch. Falstad and Rhonin exchanged a glance but did not object. Despite the perilous situation, the Dwarf immediately closed his eyes and fell asleep within seconds. Rhonin admired this ability and secretly hoped that he too could complete his mission and sleep peacefully like Falstad.

Before they knew it, the first half of the night had passed. Falstad's snoring was deafening all day, and Sylvanas barely resisted the urge to strangle him. He was too noisy; even without a campfire, the Orcs could easily come running at the sound. So, somewhat reluctantly, she walked towards her companion...

The Elf suddenly stopped. At that moment, she heard a faint sound of a dry twig snapping. Was there someone or an animal moving around nearby?

Sylvanas glanced at Falstad on the ground for a few seconds, but didn't wake him, lest she alert the intruder. She walked past the soundly sleeping Dwarf and humans, her back to the direction from which the noise came, pretending she was merely gazing into the darkness.

Her long ears were constantly picking up the subtle sounds coming from behind her.

'These footsteps belong to only one person, and the other person isn't very big, so it's not Orcs!' Sylvanas wondered, could she have guessed wrong? Perhaps it was just a rat, or some other small animal.

A faint sound came again. Then came a wild, piercing scream, and a large beast charged down. Sylvanas immediately drew her sword, realizing it was a Gryphon, but clearly not the one that had approached earlier.

"What's going on?" Falstad woke up with a start, rubbing his eyes and shouting. At that moment, Rhonin also woke up.

"Is that my Gryphon? He's back? I just sent him off to hunt on his own."

"There are footsteps in that wood! Your Gryphon went after them," Sylvanas explained.

"Okay, then we'd better hurry. If we don't stop it in time, it will eat that thing up in one bite."

In the darkness, Sylvanas could make out the outline of the Gryphon, but it was so large that she couldn't see what it was chasing. However, the Ranger could hear another sound, not from the Gryphon, but from a language that offered no resistance whatsoever.

"Wait, no, no! Get away from me, don't chase me, I'm not food!"

The three of them quickly ran towards the direction of the shouts. The person captured by the Gryphon clearly didn't intend to fight Gryphon. Sylvanas had thought the voice sounded familiar from the start, and now she knew what it was.

"Back off!" the Female Elf shouted to Falstad's mount. Those two words were enough to make the Gryphon feel the pressure. Sylvanas's pale blue eyes were fixed on it, causing it to slowly retreat and reluctantly let out a shriek, believing that the creature it had captured belonged to it.

A short man who had fallen to the ground immediately got up and ran in the opposite direction. But Sylvanas was faster, grabbing the uninvited guest by the ear.

"Ouch! It hurts! Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!"

"Goblins?" Rhonin caught up and took a look.

"I've never heard anyone scream like that before. Shut up, you green-skinned monster! Or I'll knock some sense into you with this hammer. You're going to call all the Orcs around here, aren't you?"

Falstad threatened. Sylvanas inwardly thought his snoring was far louder than the Goblins's groaning.

The uninvited guest immediately shut his mouth.

"When did Orcs start using Goblins as spies?" Rhonin muttered.

"No, no! I'm not a spy! I just heard snoring coming from deep in the woods, so..."

Falstad swallowed hard, immediately drew his Storm Hammer, and prepared to teach this guy a lesson.

"Enough!" Sylvanas stopped him, pulling the Goblins a little closer. "Answer the question if you want to live."

"Gently, gently! Please, just let go of my ear."

Are you a friend of the Orcs?

"Uh... well... not exactly friends, just business partners, business partners." The Goblins's legs trembled uncontrollably. He prayed that Sylvanas wouldn't kill him Sylvanas he gave the answer. Elf hated Orcs the most, thankfully she didn't.

"Second question, did you see a black dragon, a dragon as dark as the night?"

"Yes, yes! I see him, I see him! And he's with a human. He's very tall, as tall as a black dragon! Black hair, I don't know his name, I haven't heard his name, he's imprisoned in Grim Batol." The Goblins wriggled. Sylvanas didn't let her guard down. Goblins were not only cunning, but also possessed strength disproportionate to their size.

"Wait a minute!" Sylvanas's lips curled into a slight smile, then she immediately pressed her sword against the Goblins's neck. "You're lying. Deathwing clearly had that human firmly in his grasp. How could you possibly have seen that?"

"I saw it! I really saw it!" the Goblins cried out hastily, his eyes wide with fear that the sword might take his life at any moment. "I saw him hand that human over to the Orcs, really, really!"

"What? Deathwing is connected to the Orcs of Grim Batol?" Rhonin exclaimed in surprise.

The Ranger scoffed, "What's so surprising about that? The Orcs and Dragons have been allied for a long time." Her eyes flashed with anger. Rhonin could clearly sense Sylvanas's hatred for Dragons; everyone knew the extent of the damage the Red Dragon's flames had inflicted on Quel'Thalas during the war. This was why Rhonin hadn't told her his true purpose for this trip was to save the Queen of Dragons.

"The Red Dragon is not the same as Deathwing."

"Is there a difference? Deathwing is just a little more powerful than those red guys."

The mage shook his head, not wanting to argue further on the matter. Getting back to the point, he asked the Goblins, "You said that human was as tall as the black dragon?" Rhonin narrowed his eyes, letting the Goblins explain his words.

"Uh... I, I didn't say that..."

"Ha! You cunning fellow." Falstad gripped his Storm Hammer tightly. "There are three of you here, we all heard you. How dare you lie! I don't need this lady's sword; one blow from my hammer will splatter your brains!"

"No, I was wrong... wrong! I'll tell you, I'll tell you..." The Goblins trembled even more violently than before. "That dragon hid its wings, it turned into a human, and it's giving orders to those Dragonmaw Orc."

"I see." Rhonin understood. No wonder the Goblins noticed everything; the appearance of a human in Grim Batol was indeed a surprising thing.

Sylvanas nodded. "Do you remember what kind of human Deathwing became?"

"I remember, I remember, of course I remember."

"Excellent!"