Joining

At Marius Farm, ChristaSA answered all of Nathanos's questions.

The human stroked his chin, pondering the news he had just received—the Red Dragon was merely on patrol with that Orcs; the Queen of Dragons had been captured; the Horde possessed Dragon Knight, a formidable aerial force not to be underestimated; and the location was Grim Batol. Nathanos seemed to have heard Gudul mention this place once before, but it hadn't garnered much attention then.

Having learned so much, he suddenly became very interested in why the Queen of Dragons had been captured, but ChristaSA remained tight-lipped and refused to tell him anything, only saying that it was a secret that could not be made public.

After the questioning, Nathanos was considering whether to tell the Alliance about it. But it seemed the Alliance was also unprepared to face this new threat, so he decided to say nothing.

"I have one last question." He turned to the panting Red Dragon, whose eyes clearly showed displeasure, but she had to obey now, or Nathanos would not give her the antidote.

How many Dragon Knight do the Orcs have now?

ChristaSA thought for a moment and replied, "Besides me, there are eight other Dragon Knight, my compatriots Darotaz, Nias, and..."

"I'm not interested in their names," Nathanos interrupted her tedious reply. In any case, the small number of Dragon Knight was good news, but Nathanos had already witnessed the power of a single Red Dragon, and he could only hope that the other Red Dragon wouldn't be as powerful as ChristaSA.

"This potion can alleviate your symptoms." Nathanos handed a bottle to ChristaSA, who took it, examined it carefully, opened the bottle, sniffed it, and after confirming that there was nothing wrong with it, drank the emerald green potion and waited to regain her strength.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I suddenly remembered that this antidote has a side effect," Nathanos said to ChristaSA with a smile.

"What!" The Red Dragon roared in fury, having been tricked a second time, she could no longer remain calm. Although Alexstrasza had told her children that as guardians of life they must have enough tolerance, that did not mean others could trample on their dignity at will.

"Mortal, you're playing with fire and getting burned!" ChristaSA stood up, preparing to transform and teach Nathanos a lesson, as she felt some of her strength returning. But no matter how she tried to use magic, it was useless. "My power!" She looked at her hands in surprise; the magic within her was drying up.

As she looked up, Nathanos had already aimed an arrow at her, ready to pierce her throat with a single release.

"The side effect of this antidote is that it constantly depletes the user's magic while detoxifying. I've tried many times to solve this side effect, but it seems to have worked by accident. I have to thank the war for diverting my attention and preventing me from conducting potion experiments in peace. If you were to transform here, my house would be doomed."

"You...!" ChristaSA bit her lip, wary of Nathanos's arrows. "I told you I wouldn't hurt you."

"I've never dealt with Dragons before, so I won't trust you easily. Who knows if you'll eat me up once you grow bigger?" Nathanos put down his bow, a gesture that relieved ChristaSA.

"What a suspicious little fellow." She patted her chest, realizing that the side effects Nathanos mentioned were only temporary. Once her magic was depleted, she could feel everything slowly returning to normal. "Since you don't trust me, I'll leave immediately. Although I'm angry that you disrespected my dignity, it's a small matter compared to you saving me." ChristaSA smiled, which surprised Nathanos.

"Where are you going?" he asked, a question that struck a chord deep within ChristaSA. Where should she go? Who could tell her? She desperately wanted to rescue her mother, but the Orcs wielded power that even Alexstrasza couldn't resist. What could she do?

"It seems you don't know either."

"I will go and warn my fellow countrymen who haven't been caught yet," she said, answering Nathanos and herself. Yes, she had to let everyone know this.

"Please go ahead." Nathanos stepped aside from the doorway, his reaction puzzling ChristaSA. The Red Dragon had expected the human before her to stop her, but upon reflection, it seemed unnecessary. She had already answered all the questions, most of which were secrets and extremely important. She didn't know what use this human would have for knowing these things, but she was already glad to be able to leave.

"Thank you." The Red Dragon walked out; she couldn't transform yet and could only remain in this mortal form for the time being. After ChristaSA left, Nathanos sighed.

"These are truly turbulent times," he sighed. The situation was far from optimistic. How many secrets did the Horde still hold that remained unknown to others?

"Etc!"

He was clearing the table when he suddenly heard the dragon's voice again. ChristaSA stood in the doorway watching him.

"You're back again? What's up?"

"I have another important message. I know that humans are fighting the Orcs, so I feel it's necessary to tell you." She took a deep breath and said, "The Horde is attacking Aerie Peak."

Nathanos squinted at her after hearing this. What was so important about this? Why was she telling him? Did this girl see him as one of the same people as the Alliance?

"Thank you," Nathanos replied. ChristaSA could tell he didn't care, so she nodded and turned to leave.

'He should tell his fellow humans this news,' the Red Dragon thought to himself, but the humans didn't seem to even consider it.

Aerie Peak

Several hours after the battle ended, Kurdran was welcoming the human leaders to his home. Their commander was the tallest man he had ever seen, with Dwarf- like beard and a long nose. He was a natural Warrior, and Kurdran could sense that this man had experienced more battles than he had. His blue eyes remained alert, and his shield with a golden lion's head and breastplate gleamed faintly.

Then Turalyon, the human I just rescued. He looks younger, has no beard, and doesn't seem very confident. But he wields the hammer with the agility of Dwarf.

When Kurdran's gaze fell upon Khadgar, he could only describe him with two words—calm. In this old man, Kurdran seemed to see his Shaman; perhaps he was a Shaman, but it seemed that humans had never had Shaman.

'Or perhaps some other being connected to the elements and the spirit,' the Dwarf leader thought. But it was clear that this fellow in the violet robes, with his short white beard and youthful gait, was no ordinary person.

Then came the Elf girl standing at the very back, beautiful and gentle, with emerald eyes. Alleria noticed the Dwarf looking at her, nodded in acknowledgment, and returned the smile.

Kurdran rarely saw so many interesting people, and he was always happy no matter the situation. Now, he was delighted to have met these people.

"Welcome." He said to his guests, gesturing for them to sit in the chairs that had been set out for them. "You are very welcome. We were very worried that those greenskins—the monsters you call Orcs —would destroy our homeland; there were too many of them! But your arrival has put an end to that possibility. We are extremely grateful that you have driven them out of the Hinterlands."

"No need for thanks." Lothar sat down in a chair closest to Kurdran, adjusting the Greatsword hanging behind him, and went straight to the point. "You lead Aerie Peak?" he asked.

"My name is Kurdran Wildhammer," Kurdran replied. "And I am the Highlord here, so the Wildhammer Dwarf will obey my commands."

"Very good." The Warrior nodded. "I am Anduin Lothar, former general of the Stormwind Kingdom, and now commander of the Alliance army." He then briefly explained the Horde, recounted his experiences in Stormwind City, and finally asked, "Will you join us?"

Kurdran frowned, tugging at his beard. "You mean their goal is to conquer the world?"

Lothar nodded and added, "And they also have huge black steel warships that are transporting thousands of soldiers here."

"And they've already crossed Kaz'Modan?" Kurdran shook his head. "We haven't received any news from our relatives in Ironforge for weeks. I was curious why, and this explains everything."

"They besieged Ironforge, seized the mines there, and built ships," Khadgar said.

"I see." Kurdran grinned, revealing his teeth. "We've had many conflicts with the Bronzebeard tribe, which is why we left Kaz'Modan. But they are still our brothers, our people, and no amount of hatred can change that. These vile creatures, Orcs! We attacked them, and now they want to destroy us. We were saved only because of your timely reinforcements." He slammed his hand heavily on the armrest of his chair. "We join you! We must retaliate against these Orcs until these Horde pose no threat to anyone!" He stood up and extended his hand. "The Alliance will receive aid from the Wildhammer."

Lothar stood up as well, his serious expression tinged with joy. He grasped the Dwarf's hand tightly. "Thank you," he said, but that was enough.

"Fortunately, we have driven them out of the Hinterlands," Turalyon said. "Your homeland is safe now."

"That's right," Kurdran agreed. "Indeed, but where will these Orcs go next? Will they return to Hillsbrad? Or head straight for Lordaeron? Or will they head north with their filthy companions?"

Perhaps he had said something wrong, for suddenly his new allies jumped up from their chairs. "What did you say?" Alleria asked. "The north?"

Marius Farm

Nathanos stared at the map of Newtland, which he had copied from the archives of the Lordaeron Library a few years ago.

"The Hinterlands," Nathanos murmured. He had initially thought the Horde simply wanted to stabilize their rear, but the Wildhammer Dwarf hadn't joined the Alliance and wouldn't invite trouble by attacking the Horde. So his assumption was wrong.

"What will the Horde gain after taking the Hinterlands?" Nathanos asked himself. "Gryphon? But their air power already includes Red Dragon, so... wait... Red Dragon!" Nathanos turned his gaze to another map, which showed his home— Marius Farm, the place where ChristaSA had appeared!

"Why did that dragon appear here when the Horde attacked?"

The map showed that crossing the Hinterlands would lead to the Sodori River, very close to Marius Farm. He looked up, sketching out the possible route the Horde might take. "North? Are they going to Quel'Thalas?"