After a little over half an hour in flight, the dragonhawk landed on a small mountain peak.
"Here we are. Good luck, you two!" The dragonhawk rider dropped them off, then took to the skies.
"This is Quel'lithien?" Halduron exclaimed in surprise as he surveyed the rather desolate peak.
"Yes. Welcome to Quel'lithien!" a woman's voice called from behind them.
Both turned to find a female elf priest. She was beautiful, though she seemed quite old as well. Her whole body appeared bathed in the Holy Light; she had to be a powerful priest.
"Lady Aurora..." Halduron called out excitedly at the sight of her. "I'm Halduron Brightwing, a ranger from Sun Crown Harbor. I've heard stories about you and Lord Hawkspear since I was little. It's an honor to meet you!"
"Is that so!" Aurora smiled. "General Sylvanas wrote to tell me that two brave Farstriders had volunteered to come to Quel'lithien and help us fight. That would be you two, then... Come with me. Everyone's resting in camp. I'll take you to see Hawkspear!"
Halduron hurried after the priest, with Karin following behind him.
"Looks like General Sylvanas let us save a little face!" Halduron whispered in Karin's ear.
Karin curled his lip but said nothing.
Aurora led them to a small hut and asked them to wait a moment.
Conditions here were poor, and the hut's furnishings were crude. Never mind Silvermoon City-it fell far short of even Tranquillien.
"They're heroes of the Quel'dorei!" Halduron rattled on in a hushed, excited voice. "The two of them have led the Farstriders in defending this outpost at Quel'lithien for over a thousand years! They say they've fought off tens of thousands of troll attacks! Even General Sylvanas salutes them out of respect when she sees them!"
"So you got your wish and became one of them?" Karin remarked casually.
"I... I'm still a little afraid of dying..." Halduron wilted at once.
Karin shook his head. Those two names had stirred his memories as well.
Ranger Lord Hawkspear and High Priest Aurora Skycaller had led the Farstriders of Quel'lithien in refusing Kael'thas's order to drain magic from mana wyrms. Under the twin threats of magical addiction and the undead, they had held out for six long years... only to become Wretched in the end, every last one of them!
"Welcome to Quel'lithien, both of you!" A hearty voice rang out from outside the hut. "I'm Hawkspear, the ranger lord of Quel'lithien!"
A ranger walked in. He was powerfully muscled, with a deep scar across his face and what looked like traces of blood still on his hands... He picked up a towel and wiped them clean, then turned toward them.
"It's been a long time since Quel'lithien had any new Farstriders. Oh, and a mage, too!" Hawkspear said in surprise. "Now that's rare-a mage joining the Farstriders!"
"Hello, Lord Hawkspear. I'm Karin Sunfury," Karin said calmly.
"Halduron Brightwing!" Halduron added.
"Very good, Mr. Karin, Mr. Halduron. Conditions in Quel'lithien aren't the best, so please bear with us!" Hawkspear said with a hearty laugh. "The trolls frequently cut our supply lines, after all. Dragonhawk riders have to risk their lives to bring in precious daily necessities!"
"It's fine, Hawkspear!" Halduron stood and thumped his chest. "We were already prepared for that before coming to Quel'lithien!"
Karin found it rather amusing... Halduron acted less like someone exiled to Quel'lithien for causing trouble and more like someone who had volunteered to join the Farstriders here!
"All right, then, Mr. Karin, Mr. Halduron! Come with me. I'll show you your posts!" Hawkspear rose to his feet.
Karin and Halduron hurried after him.
When they reached Quel'lithien's defensive positions, Karin began to understand a few things.
This was a mountain peak, and an extremely steep one at that... It stood alone, surrounded by open ground stretching as far as the eye could see, with almost no cover. In other words, any trolls who dared show themselves in those open spaces would be easily riddled with the rangers' arrows.
Not far in the distance, he could make out troll buildings with a distinctly Native American style... That was Zul'Aman, capital of the forest trolls. Quel'lithien lay very close to it, only twenty minutes away by hawkstrider, with flat terrain all the way between them!
"Perhaps you still don't quite understand Quel'lithien's importance!" Hawkspear's expression grew serious. "Our presence is crucial to Tranquillien and to the ranger-general!"
"Quel'lithien is close to Zul'Aman. Very close..." Hawkspear said slowly. "On hawkstriders, we can reach it in less than twenty minutes! So if the trolls ever march out in full force against Tranquillien, I can lead the rangers straight into their home! As long as Quel'lithien stands, the trolls won't dare commit all their forces against Tranquillien, and Tranquillien will remain safe!"
"But what if the trolls attack us?" Halduron asked worriedly.
"Heh, they've been doing that all along!" Hawkspear laughed. "Unfortunately for them, they've never succeeded! Who knows how many attacks they've launched against Quel'lithien? Thanks to the terrain, I've driven them back every time... Besides, if Quel'lithien comes under attack, I trust the ranger-general in Tranquillien won't abandon us. Caught between two forces, the trolls won't have any chance of victory!"
Mutually supporting positions... An old term from Karin's previous life suddenly came to mind.
"Halduron, you can take Quinn's position for now! Follow me..." Hawkspear considered for a moment. "He was put out of action two days ago, and no one's filled his post yet!"
"What happened to him?" Halduron asked curiously.
"Ah, he took a troll headhunter's spear through the head!" Hawkspear shook his head and lowered his voice. "Those monsters have grown smarter after so many battles. They rarely attack Quel'lithien head-on anymore... Instead, they send headhunters and rogues to ambush us under cover of darkness. The moment we let our guard down, we suffer heavy losses..."
Halduron left with Hawkspear.
"Mr. Karin, come with me, then!" Aurora said softly. "I may need a little help from you!"
"At your command!"