"I was injured a little while ago, so they assigned me to come along with the grain convoy. They should have launched their operation by now." Liadrin said this to Vereesa as they walked toward Quel'Lithien Lodge.
Liadrin sounded rather frustrated as she spoke about it, seemingly very unhappy about being assigned to escort grain. Compared to this sort of seemingly harmless mission, Liadrin appeared to prefer facing Trolls head-on.
Reality, however, had clearly taught Liadrin a lesson. Even an escort mission like this could turn dangerous with the slightest carelessness.
Aaron, meanwhile, was thinking that Lor'themar, the ranger forces' second-in-command, had probably made this arrangement specifically to keep Liadrin out of danger. Unfortunately, Liadrin did not seem particularly appreciative.
After she finished complaining to Vereesa, Liadrin turned and gave Aaron a strange look. "Mr. Aaron, why do you keep looking at me?"
Aaron waved a hand and looked away, muttering inwardly, Liadrin doesn't look old at all. Why does that skin of hers in Hearthstone look like some middle-aged auntie...? Then again, according to the lore, High Elves shouldn't have any ugly people among them. That auntie version of Liadrin in Hearthstone probably offended the artist.
"Liadrin is very pretty, isn't she?" While Aaron was lost in thought, a sudden question reached his ears, and he answered instinctively, "Yes, very pretty."
"Mr. Aaron, thank you for the compliment." After a moment of surprise, Liadrin responded with a smile.
Aaron glanced awkwardly at Vereesa, only to find the girl wearing the delighted smile of someone whose prank had succeeded. Not knowing what to say, he could only change the subject stiffly. "Miss Liadrin, you mentioned earlier that Lor'themar was preparing to retaliate, but I remember General Sylvanas being the Ranger-General..."
Aaron did not finish, but his meaning was clear enough. Why was Lor'themar planning and arranging such a major operation? Had Sylvanas been stripped of her authority?
"That's because my second sister has been staying in Silvermoon City lately," Vereesa said matter-of-factly. She then explained the reason to Aaron: as commander of all the rangers, Sylvanas had to spend a considerable stretch of every year in Silvermoon City, primarily handling such work as recruiting newcomers, reporting budgets, and collecting allocated funds.
"I think the reason my eldest sister refused to take the position of Ranger-General was that she found dealing with Silvermoon City's council too much trouble," Vereesa suddenly said after briefly explaining Sylvanas's duties.
As the supreme leader of the ranger forces, the Ranger-General inevitably had to deal with the council members in Silvermoon City who ruled the entire kingdom. Those old fellows could practically be called the most stubborn people in the entire High Elf race, and dealing with them was sheer torment. Given the choice, fighting the Trolls in Zul'Aman would be easier than handling those Grand Archmages in the council.
"That wasn't me saying that. My second sister said it," Vereesa hastily explained when she saw Aaron and Liadrin both looking at her in surprise.
"Haha, it's hard to imagine that ice-cold second sister of yours saying something like that." Liadrin shook her head with a laugh.
The three chatted as they walked with the group and soon returned to the outpost. After handing over the supplies, the elves responsible for escorting them decided to head back, though for safety's sake, the Ranger-General also assigned a squad of rangers to protect them.
Although this left fewer than twenty people at the outpost, according to that Ranger-General, Trolls rarely came here. Relations with the humans were rather strained, but they were still allies, after all, so the outpost was actually quite safe.
For safety's sake, the convoy members did not refuse the ranger captain's kindness. The group of nearly thirty set off in a sizable procession along the main road toward the Elfgate.
The group encountered no danger along the way, but this was clearly abnormal. The Trolls had still been roaming this area that morning, even pursuing and trying to kill elves, yet now the woods were utterly quiet.
"Something's wrong," an elven ranger told his companions after scouting the surrounding area. "According to our allies, the Trolls withdrew after noon as if they'd received some sort of order. They seemed to be gathering to the northeast."
"Northeast? Farstriders' Camp?" the rangers exclaimed. Northeast of here lay roughly the southern shore of Lake Elrendar, the front line of the rangers' battle against the Trolls and the location of Farstriders' Camp. Just under half the rangers were gathered there.
If that was the Trolls' target, the elven rangers there would undoubtedly face tremendous pressure. Although they knew their dozen or so people could not affect the situation, that did nothing to stop them from worrying about their companions, who might be under siege by Trolls.
But these elves' duty was to garrison the Elfgate. Unlike the dispensable Quel'Lithien Lodge, the three Elfgates were vital checkpoints protecting Quel'Thalas, and the elves stationed here absolutely could not leave lightly without orders.
After discussing it, the elves finally decided to send a few rangers to Farstriders' Camp to confirm the situation. Vereesa also had to report there after completing her mission, so Aaron naturally went along with them.
After passing through the third Elfgate and entering woods that remained in their primeval state, almost entirely untouched by logging, Aaron, who had never received training in moving through dense forest, was at something of a loss. Had Vereesa not been patiently guiding him the entire time, he would probably have gotten lost deep in the woods.
Aaron's only consolation was that Liadrin was not particularly accustomed to traveling through the forest either. At least he was not the only one embarrassing himself.
Seeing that the other rangers had already vanished without a trace, Aaron sighed and looked at Vereesa. "How about I just fly over? You can show me the way."
"But can your gryphon carry three people?" Vereesa asked, glancing at Liadrin beside them.
Aaron shook his head. Judging by his previous few experiences riding through the air, the gryphon he summoned was not much stronger than those raised by the Wildhammer Dwarves. It was not that it could not fly with three people aboard, but its flight speed would be a serious concern.
"Never mind. Take Liadrin and fly over. I'll catch up with them myself." Vereesa sighed, then gave Liadrin, who was struggling through the forest, another strange look as she spoke.
"All right, we'll get going, then." Aaron summoned the gryphon and motioned for Liadrin to climb aboard.
Liadrin looked surprised. "Wasn't this gryphon burned to death?"
It seemed Aaron's previous fall from high in the sky had left a deep impression on the Countess.
"You talk too much. Hurry up and get on," Aaron urged, simply refusing to pick up that thread of conversation.
Once the gryphon rose into the air, Liadrin pointed in a direction and said, "Just fly that way."
Looking in the direction Liadrin indicated, Aaron could just barely make out a gleam of water partially hidden among the trees. Presumably, that was Lake Elrendar. By Aaron's estimate, they could probably fly there in about an hour. As for the rangers, even if they could move through the forest as easily as over level ground, they probably would not arrive until after sunset.
"This is my first time flying. I never imagined this was what it felt like to fly through the air." Even the fierce wind howling at that altitude could not curb Liadrin's excitement at her first flight, and the Priest patted Aaron's shoulder excitedly as she spoke.
It was not as though the High Elves lacked an air force. The Trolls had gained their experience fighting aerial enemies against the High Elves' Dragonhawk Riders. But unlike gryphons, which could carry several people, Dragonhawks had relatively delicate bodies. Carrying one High Elf in light armor was their limit; there was absolutely no way they could take another person into the sky.
As a Priest, Liadrin had naturally never experienced flying through the sky like this, which seemed to have left the female elf a little overexcited.