Conqueror Pyron

Masley lunged toward the ground. Before his arms touched it, fur sprouted from his purple skin, his arms turned into feline claws, and his head and torso took on the shape of a black panther. He glanced back to find Khanifa studying him curiously. In fact, this was not its first time seeing a Night Elf transform into a panther, but the sight still aroused its intense curiosity every time. It looked in puzzlement at this fellow panther that could change back and forth, occasionally sniffing him to familiarize itself with his scent. This left Masley rather embarrassed. He bobbed his round head, signaling for Khanifa to follow him. A few seconds later, as though acting on an unspoken agreement, the two panthers' silhouettes gradually faded, seemingly vanishing into thin air.

The two people and one panther-no, now it was one person and two panthers-edged cautiously forward, moving from one patch of shadow to another.

These Dark Iron Overseers did not look particularly attentive either. Much of the time, they were merely going through the motions. In truth, the Dark Iron Dwarves had never imagined anyone would have the sheer nerve to infiltrate this city of lava deep underground. It was those stupid Blackrock Orcs they had to guard against, but those brown monsters clearly had yet to figure out how to get a large force across the natural chokepoint of the suspension bridge.

But Diago did not just have these Dark Iron Dwarves to watch out for. They also had to take care not to be spotted by the slave laborers. You could not always hope to encounter a warrior of such noble character as Tharnok Frosthammer. Human nature could not stand being tested. Slaves who discovered their presence might help them, but they might also report them immediately, even for a reward as meager as a small piece of black bread. Sometimes, the enemy of your enemy was not necessarily your friend.

Although Diago, Masley, and Khanifa were already moving as slowly as possible to avoid making noise-in fact, Masley felt that a mouse running across a carpet would have been louder than they were-accidents in this world always happened when you least expected them.

Just as they rounded a corner and planned to catch their breath in its shadows, a dog-headed creature with spots all over its head suddenly appeared before them. It had been hiding in the shadows of that very corner, slacking off. The encounter was so sudden that both sides froze. But before the stunned adventurers could recover and act, a piercing shriek rang through the mine.

"There are living people here!"

The upright, half-bestial creature charged at them, swinging a pickaxe. Foul-smelling drool ran from the corners of his mouth, as though he were anticipating the rotten meat the Dark Iron Overseers would reward him with.

Generally speaking, ordinary people had trouble telling Gnolls and Kobolds apart, but to those familiar with Azeroth's intelligent races, there were differences between the two creatures. Gnolls usually lived in hilly regions. They were stockier, looked fierce and savage, and enjoyed robbery and theft. Kobolds, meanwhile, generally lived in mines-usually mines with poor deposits, since most rich veins were occupied by other, stronger races. They were more cowardly and timid, enjoyed digging, and were born miners.

Azeroth's creatures did not necessarily live up to their names. Murlocs looked like fish, but Gnolls looked neither like jackals nor wolves. In fact, they looked more like so-called "earth wolves"-hyenas, in other words-but to distinguish them from Kobolds, that name would have to do.

The Gnoll before the adventurers was about as tall as a Dark Iron Dwarf, his body covered in shaggy, spotted gray-green fur. His head made him look just like a hyena, with yellow teeth and blood-red eyes. His eyes were small and set close together. Even in an environment as dry as Blackrock Depths, they still gave off a distinctive body odor.

A fondness for robbery did not mean Gnolls were particularly capable fighters. One swift sweep of Masley's claws slit his throat. With his pickaxe raised high, his chest was wide open, and he had no time to block or parry.

But this was only the beginning of their trouble. The overseers had been alerted, though fortunately not all the Dark Iron Overseers had noticed what was happening here.

"You lot, go see what's going on over there," someone who looked like a foreman ordered from a distance.

Four or five of the nearest Dark Iron Dwarves drew their weapons and strode over, cursing as they came. They probably thought it was merely a fight between slaves.

Masley looked back at his companion, his face full of aggrieved protest: "I did my best. You really can't blame me for this." Behind him, Khanifa arched its back slightly and gave a low rumble in its throat, ready to fight.

"I hate surprises!" Diago grumbled. He took several fist-sized tin canisters from his bag, pulled the metal rings off one end, and tossed them around him.

White smoke bombs were Engineering devices that required Netherweave Cloth and elemental blasting powder, specialties of Outland that Diago did not have on hand. He had, however, made a few using Runecloth, salt of the earth, and a small amount of dense blasting powder. Although these substitutes could not match the genuine article in either coverage or duration, they would just about do.

With several soft pops, the abundant yellow phosphorus in the salt of the earth burned fiercely, releasing billowing clouds of thick smoke. Because the salt of the earth contained a jumble of substances, the smoke was not the standard white, either. Black, white, yellow, gray, and brown mingled in a riot of colors that looked eerie and terrifying. Although Diago knew the smoke was harmless, the Dark Iron Dwarves did not dare assume the same. Their first reaction upon seeing it was to cover their mouths and noses and retreat with long strides.

So by the time the smoke cleared, Diago and his companions had fled so far that not even their shadows remained in sight. The dwarves searched the area, but apart from a few burned-out tin canisters and a stinking Gnoll corpse, they found nothing. They could not even work out what had happened.

Diago and Masley hid in the shadows of a pile of metal crates and peered into the passage. Like all dwarven architecture, this passage was tall and spacious, more than three people high, over fifty meters wide, and more than three hundred meters long. A Fire Elemental wandered back and forth in its middle section. The creature completely blocked the way to Blackrock Depths.

This peculiar creature consisted of blazing flames gathered into a humanoid body, broad at the top and narrow at the bottom. Black metal bracers encircled its arms, and its lower end resembled a tail trailing fire. All elementals, whether summoned or having come to Azeroth of their own accord, wore a pair of magical bracers. These bracers automatically fastened themselves onto elementals the moment they left the Elemental Plane. They restrained the elementals that came to Azeroth and allowed them to survive outside the Elemental Plane. When an elemental lost its bracers, it also lost most of its power and would be banished back to the Elemental Plane by planar laws.

"Conqueror Pyron..." Diago murmured as though talking in his sleep. This was the most powerful creature he had encountered since crossing over into this world. Although he had killed it more than once in the game in his previous life, now that he actually had to face it, Diago still felt an uncontrollable surge of nervousness.

"From here on, you must obey my orders. To the letter," Diago said solemnly. He did not mention Khanifa. There was no need; he and his pet had reached the point where they could communicate with a glance. Diago knew that this kind of Fire Elemental had eyes, but their eyesight was truly poor. Much of the time, they had to rely on their senses to observe their surroundings. In his previous life, many players had often exploited this weakness to slip past it during gaps in its patrol. Now Diago decided to do the same.

"In Elune's name, I will," Masley vowed. He followed Diago and crept forward. The enormous flame monster drifted from the left side of the passage toward the right. In truth, most elementals had conical lower bodies, broad at the top and narrow at the bottom, with no separate legs, which made their movement look more like floating than walking. Diago crept in that direction as well, with the two panthers following his every step.

They stopped about forty-five meters away. This was roughly the limit of a Fire Elemental's perception; at this distance, they could "see" nothing.

Unlike the relatively mild earth elementals, Fire Elementals were creatures filled with hatred and cruelty. They delighted in causing pain. Fire Elementals set fire to everything they touched and burned away the air around them. This was also why dwarves were rarely seen in this enormous passage. Even Dark Iron Dwarves could scarcely endure their explosive tempers. This gave the adventurers a measure of convenience: at least they did not have to worry about being spotted by anyone else as they moved.

Pyron went all the way to the far right of the passage and stopped almost against the stone wall. He turned and headed left.

Diago stood utterly motionless, his face expressionless. He even held his breath, not daring to make the slightest sound. In fact, he felt so nervous that his heart seemed about to leap out of his throat. For a moment, he felt as though his gaze had actually met the Conqueror's eyes. His heart lurched, and he reflexively lowered his head, terrified that the other might sense his stare. The movement was so abrupt that even his neck gave a soft crack.

Fortunately, the Conqueror made no move. His gaze swept past the adventurers' position, but he seemed to see nothing, as though there were only air there. After all, this passage was completely empty, without any cover. The adventurers stood out as plainly as the World Tree atop Mount Hyjal.

But the adventurers had no time for surprise. Pyron had almost reached the far left of the passage and might turn back at any moment. Led by Diago, they crept quietly forward.

This flame monster was no longer an obstacle to them. In that city of fire deep underground, more enemies awaited. Their only advantage was that they were infiltrating it; the Dark Iron Dwarves and elementals were not yet ready to receive these uninvited guests.

Note: In fact, elementals have facial features similar to those of all humanoids-eyes, mouths, noses, and ears (look at Ragnaros the Firelord)-and can hear, speak, smell, and see. They can communicate rationally-though sometimes rather irritably-with other intelligent creatures. All elementals speak Kalimag, but sometimes summoned elementals can also speak the language of their summoner's plane.

Fire Elementals prefer close combat. They can set their enemies alight without taking fire damage themselves. At the start of a battle, they suffocate their enemies to weaken them. Fire Elementals are cunning foes and enjoy luring enemies into dangerous areas, such as dry forests that can be set ablaze. But honestly, in a place like Shadowforge City, where there is stone everywhere, there really is not much to burn.