Druids

It must be said that the prison where Illidan was held was the most conspicuous of all the prisons Nathanos had ever seen. Unlike the Sewers prisons of Kingdom of Lordaeron and the magical prisons of Dalaran, the Night Elf prison not only had no guards outside, but also a distinctive structure— Owl Statues. This was likely a sign; Nathanos guessed that the guards used this method to warn others who attempted to approach the prison that outsiders were not welcome.

Following the stone statues, Nathanos easily found the prison entrance: a circular stone door with concentric rings of intricate patterns on its surface, each ring containing a green gem. Nathanos knocked on the door, but there was no echo, demonstrating its sturdiness and weight, making it impossible to force open. After careful observation, Nathanos was certain the door wasn't opened by any mechanism. He searched the area outside for a long time, meticulously examining the trees, the Owl Statues, and even a small stone on the ground, but found no trace of any mechanism. Therefore, the door must be controlled by some kind of spell.

Now that things had come to this, Nathanos could only stay outside for the time being, waiting for the Elf inside to come out, or for other Elf to go in, which suited his plan perfectly. The prison was very complicated; not to mention how to deal with the guards inside, Nathanos wasn't even sure how to get around, but he had a way of figuring out the right path.

He was dead, needing neither food nor sleep; his boundless energy allowed him to stand guard outside the prison indefinitely. A good hunter should possess ample patience.

Two weeks later, Nathanos grew anxious. The deadline the Lich King had given him was fast approaching, and the stone gate remained unmoved.

'Are the people inside dead too?' Nathanos cursed inwardly. Perhaps the stone door heard his thoughts, for finally, movement came from within. Nathanos heard faint sounds, many footsteps gathering on the inside of the stone door, indicating that someone was about to emerge. Soon after, the gems on the door lit up one by one, the patterns on the door swirled and rolled to both sides, and the prison gate opened. Only now did Nathanos realize that the door was constructed from three massive stones.

A tall figure leaped out first. Nathanos stood motionless on the tree, his eyes rapidly scanning the Elf's appearance. He had always thought that only Paladin would envelop themselves in armor, but the Elf who entered his vision was clearly not Paladin. Her entire body was concealed by a long green silk robe, even her long ears were tucked into her helmet, and she wore crescent-shaped ornaments on her shoulders, like her weapons. Nathanos had never seen such weapons before; the disc-shaped blades seemed capable of being used as boomerangs.

This Elf's attire was quite distinctive compared to the Elf who followed; she was Elf leader. Her soldiers were all women, without robes, but equally fully armed. Besides the Moon-blades, they carried daggers at their waists, on their legs, and on the outside of their boots.

Even without fighting these Elf, Nathanos knew they were not easy to deal with.

"Sisters," the leading Female Elf spoke softly, but unfortunately Nathanos could not understand this language, which was similar to Sauras language.

"We must act swiftly in this mission and capture that dangerous individual as quickly as possible," she said. The other Female Elf nodded in unison. Then she walked toward the open stone door. Nathanos had finally waited for this moment. The Elf raised her weapon, aimed it at the prison entrance, and chanted the incantation. "Ash'la mixi mi dro'la."

The prison's stone gates closed up once more, returning to their original state.

"Let's go!" the Elf leader said, and she and her soldiers quickly disappeared into the twilight.

They walked for almost two hours before Nathanos jumped down from the tree, doing so to ensure that the departing Elf would not turn back, and also to see if anyone else would come out.

"Time is running out," Nathanos reminded himself. Just like half a month ago, he once again stood before the stone gate. However, this time he carried a cloth bag and a piece of wood. The bag was filled with rats, rats he had caught in the vicinity over the past few days.

He imitated the Elf from before and recited the incantation.

The stone door opened, revealing a dimly lit interior, though moonlight provided some illumination from the outside. This was precisely the kind of environment Nathanos needed. Rats love to move from light to darkness. After Nathanos untied the bag, the pesky little creatures swarmed through the stone door, and he stood outside to ensure all the rats went inside. Then he stepped into the prison and closed the stone door behind him.

"It's pitch black," he muttered, the words echoing back. The rats seemed bewildered by the new environment, scurrying about in all directions, while Nathanos remained rooted to the spot. He continued to wait, and then heard the rats squeaking in agony from the darkness before him.

"Perfect." Nathanos smiled, and only after all the noise had subsided did he light the piece of wood with a flint. The firelight illuminated the prison passage, revealing the marks of axe work and the stone slabs paving the ground.

"Was this man-made?" Nathanos was deeply skeptical. He soon found out—this wasn't a man-made prison, not even a proper prison. The passageway was narrow at first, then widened. Of course, along the way, he saw rats dead from the traps. These rats couldn't disarm all the traps, but they could help him identify what kind of traps were there. After walking for a while, he reached the exit, and Nathanos finally saw the entirety of this so-called prison. A natural cave, very spacious, formed by nature. Natural crystals grew on the stone walls above, faintly glowing and illuminating the path ahead. Some Kobolds blocked his way, but they were no match for Nathanos. Seeing their leader pierced through the skull by this intruder's arrow, they scattered and fled.

"How can there be two directions?" Before long, Nathanos encountered a fork in the road, and he remembered not seeing such a situation in his imagination.

"There was a lot of breathing behind the hole on the left, which should lead to the direction where Illidan is being held."

"Go to the right!" Half a month later, the Lich King spoke to him again.

"Um?"

Nathanos frowned and stopped. He rarely made mistakes when it came to directions. Since he didn't know what lay ahead, he had to question the Lich King's guidance.

"Why? Do you know what's on the left?"

'To the left is the path to the Druids' eternal rest.'