After a moment's thought, Aaron left the cabin, found a random knight to ask where Rhonin was, and headed straight over.
When Aaron entered Rhonin's room with his permission, he saw "I'm not happy" written plain as day on Rhonin's face.
It seemed that although the red-haired mage understood perfectly well why the Paladins treated him so badly, he was still angry about it. After all, mages had almost as much pride as the high elves who taught them the wisdom of the arcane.
After offering Rhonin a few words of comfort, Aaron saw that it was about time, and the two left the room to get dinner.
Following the aroma of food through the camp, they reached the dining hall and saw the Paladins seated around the tables, enjoying dinner.
Just as Aaron had expected, the knights were all hovering around Vereesa, especially Duncan. The camp's commanding officer practically had his eyes glued to her.
Once Aaron and Rhonin sat down, the atmosphere at the table began to turn somewhat strange.
The Paladins were intent on pleasing the beautiful elf, while Vereesa handled these overly enthusiastic fellows with practiced ease. Aaron even wanted to lean over and ask her, "Why are you so good at this?"
But considering that no one in this world would likely understand that outdated meme, Aaron kept it to himself.
The expression on Rhonin's face beside him made Aaron worry that the man might lose control and challenge Duncan to a duel. Would he have to side with his employer then? Aaron hesitated. To prevent that from happening, he could only find things to talk about with Rhonin to distract him.
But just then, Duncan suddenly brought up something that interested all three of them: the Orcs' raids had been growing more frequent lately.
Perhaps this was what they called a cornered beast still putting up a fight. The main forces of these green-skinned monsters had long since been routed by the Alliance, and their sole connection to their homeland-the Dark Portal-had long since been closed. Yet they still roamed the vast lands of Khaz Modan unyieldingly, occasionally sending troops out to harass the surrounding areas.
The Alliance, however, was exhausted by years of war. With powerful members of the Red Dragonflight still in the Orcs' hands as well, it did not seem particularly enthusiastic about helping the dwarves reclaim their lands.
But all of that was Aaron's own speculation. Duncan was merely giving a brief account of the fighting in recent years, though of course he slipped in plenty of boasts about himself along the way.
Taking a sip of wine, Duncan continued, "Three days ago, Uryen Camp was attacked by two dragons. More than half the residents were killed. Those cunning bastards fled before the Gryphon Riders arrived."
"That's truly terrible," Vereesa said quietly, before asking Duncan about the details of the attack.
After briefly recounting what they had learned from the camp's surviving residents, Duncan added fervently, "But all of this will be over soon! Our troops will soon enter Khaz Modan and fight all the way to Grim Batol, ending the threat of those green-skinned monsters and making them pay in blood for their atrocities!"
"Yes, and many more people will die," Rhonin suddenly murmured. Aaron was praying that no one had heard him, only to see the old knight glaring furiously at Rhonin's sneering face.
Looking at Rhonin, the old knight said, stressing every word, "Yes, many people will die. But unless we make the necessary sacrifices, those green-skinned bastards will certainly keep hurting more innocent people!"
Frankly, Aaron did not think Rhonin failed to understand that. But how should he put it? A jealous man's heart was scarcely bigger than the eye of a needle, and his intelligence was probably much the same. He heard Rhonin continue in that voice that begged for a beating, "But before that, the dragons are the most pressing problem to solve, aren't they?"
"We will certainly deal with those great reptiles and drive them back to their homes underground, so long as you..." Before the old knight could finish his furious outburst, Vereesa stopped him. Aaron watched the elven ranger give a smile of boundless charm, then deftly divert the Paladin's attention with words and manners so different that she seemed like another person entirely.
Aaron felt certain Rhonin was about to explode, while also finding himself feeling a little jealous. The feeling was so faint, however, that he paid it little mind.
Greatly encouraged, the old knight began talking at length, at Vereesa's request, about his experiences before and after becoming a Paladin. Only then did Aaron learn that Knight Duncan had actually been a lord's son before becoming a Paladin. In theory, the Paladins beside him should have heard the old knight's stories countless times, yet they listened in rapt fascination, even forgetting to lavish attention on Vereesa.
Vereesa offered a few words of admiration at just the right moments to encourage the old knight to continue. Aaron watched in astonishment. He had thought the young ranger was the quiet type, never expecting her to have this side to her. But on reflection, it made sense. High elves ought to be much better at this sort of thing than humans, after all. These long-eared folk had a frighteningly long history.
Vereesa had clearly captured Duncan's heart completely-a heart that, despite all it had weathered, remained restless-and he continued telling his stories without pause. Frankly, Aaron did not think the old knight was much of a storyteller, and had no idea how Vereesa managed to look so utterly engrossed.
Just then, Rhonin abruptly sprang to his feet, forcibly suppressing his anger as he offered a seemingly polite apology for leaving the table.
For the mage, staying in this dining hall was simply too torturous, so Rhonin chose to leave.
Aaron was quite certain, however, that their hosts-the Paladins-were either engrossed in Duncan's stories or enchanted by Vereesa's charms. Probably only he had noticed Rhonin leave.
Thinking of Rhonin's true mission and the attacker they had encountered that day, Aaron sighed, said a word to the fellows who were already utterly bewitched by Vereesa, and went after Rhonin. Judging by the earlier attack by that Red Dragonflight member, Aaron felt that his employer badly needed a protector at his side. If members of the Red Dragonflight attacked under cover of darkness, Aaron feared he would have a hard time handling them alone.
Seeing Rhonin walk up onto the camp's wall looking thoroughly dejected, Aaron followed him.
By the camp's lights, Aaron could see several knights keeping watch on the wall, while Rhonin had deliberately kept his distance from them. It seemed the red-haired mage had not completely lost his reason; at least he would not clash with these Paladins for the moment.
Feeling the breeze blowing in from the vast wilderness and watching the swaying shadows of the trees in camp, Aaron quietly approached his employer.
It seemed Rhonin's resentment had yet to subside. He had not noticed Aaron's arrival either, merely giving a cold snort from time to time. As for what he was angry about... Aaron believed that question needed no particular answer.
After venting at the empty air for a while, however, Rhonin finally calmed down. He first greeted Aaron, then took a small, deep-red crystal pendant from his pocket. Seeing Aaron's curious gaze, Rhonin explained, "This can help me contact Kr... My supplies were all destroyed by that dragon. This is the only way now."
Although Rhonin had glossed over the name, Aaron already understood whom he wanted to contact—Krasus, the Red Dragonflight member hiding in Dalaran, one of... the Red Dragon Queen's consorts. Rhonin's mission to rescue Queen Alexstrasza this time had presumably been assigned by this royal Red Dragonflight consort.
According to Aaron's hazy memories, Krasus seemed to have quite a large role to play later, but Krasus-or Korialstrasz-met an end that could only be described as utterly dreadful. Still, Aaron had only a vague impression of it. As for the exact circumstances, he had long since forgotten them.