The road north was long.
Braving the biting wind, Alleria Windrunner walked alone along a trail in the Blade's Edge Mountains.
The land looked somewhat desolate, with almost no sign of any creatures nearby.
As an excellent ranger, she remained cautious throughout her journey, even in such a quiet, deserted land.
Her pointed ears suddenly twitched, and Alleria's gaze instantly sharpened... She raised her longbow like lightning, aiming at a patch of brush ahead to her right.
"Come out!" Alleria shouted sternly at the brush.
The brush rustled, and then a very strange-looking creature emerged.
"Squawk!" the strange creature cried out in alarm.
He was about the same size as Alleria, but beneath his hood was a very strange bird's head. His entire head was covered in feathers of all kinds-red, purple, and gold-as though they were hair.
"What are you, and what are you doing skulking in the brush?" Alleria demanded, not relaxing her guard in the slightest.
"Grizzik, Grizzik, yes, he means no harm, Grizzik is hiding in the brush!!" The creature spoke in a strange, quavering voice, like a parrot mimicking speech, but Alleria could just about understand him.
Making those strange cries, he darted two steps toward Alleria.
The elven ranger's bowstring instantly drew taut, and her arrowhead aimed at the monster's head.
"Grizzik... Grizzik means no harm, no, no harm! He only wants to know-who are you? What have you come to do?" the monster continued to shriek, retreating several steps.
Alleria narrowed her eyes. She really did not sense much hostility from this monster.
"Your name is Grizzik?" she asked softly.
Seeing the monster nodding incessantly, she continued:
"I am Alleria Windrunner, a high elf! And you? What exactly are you? An orc?"
"No, no, no, Grizzik is not an orc, Grizzik is an