4. Hermits in the Valley --- Brothers of Greedy Wolf for the Sect Leader [17/30]
Caolan's Dagger, this is a mountain highland located at the border of the Alterac Mountains and Hillsbrad Hills. From here, you can enter the cold Alterac Mountains through the foothills. This is also the current chaotic Alterac Mountains.
It is one of the only places in the Trunk Kingdom that still retains order.
Many farmers who were forced to flee by bandits were hiding here, but it was not the long-dead royal power of Alterac that protected them. On the contrary, it was a group of dwarves who protected these helpless people in this chaotic country.
Poor people who have no home to return to.
The Stormpike dwarves are one of the large clans of the Bronzebeard dwarves. Their ancestors have lived in the Thelsama area in the southeast of the wetland for generations. They are one of the best clans among the dwarves who are good at prospecting, digging and casting. In Thelsama
When the iron ore was about to be mined, they were eager to find new veins, so many Stormpike dwarves explored all the way to the north of the continent, and finally discovered extremely high reserves of various minerals in the cold Alterac Mountains.
So the Stormpike dwarves took root here, but it is said that their relationship with the former royal family of Perenold was not friendly. King Aiden prohibited the dwarves from exploring the depths of the mountains, and several conflicts broke out between the two sides.
.
In order to avoid the intensification of the conflict, the dwarves evacuated Alterac for a while. However, after Aiden's death and when Alterac was about to usher in a new rule, the wise Lord Presto invited
The dwarves came to share the minerals, so the Stormpike dwarves returned to Alterac, but the good times did not last long. After Lord Prestor mysteriously disappeared, the entire Alterac quickly fell into chaos.
Bandits were causing chaos everywhere. In order to protect themselves in the chaos, the Stormpike dwarves had to bring back many soldiers from Ironforge. There was even a fully equipped steam tank regiment. Those lawless bandits once tried to attack Kaulan.
dagger, but was beaten by the mortars of the dwarves. After coming and going, it became a temporary residence for many refugees.
The dwarves only care about their own minerals. They have no intention of helping the refugees in exile. They only allow them to live near Kaolan's Dagger. However, as a result, many new farmlands have been opened near the highlands. Farmers use crops and
The dwarves exchange supplies, and the carefree dwarves do not resist this, so in the past year, almost all the farmers in Tarren Mill have gathered here, and even "moved" the entire town here.
But now, Thales is covered in black robes and walking on the streets of New Tarren Mill. His face looks a little weak. In the past week alone, he has been ambushed 22 times by more than 200 people.
Chasing him made the high-level assassin very mentally exhausted. Although he was not injured, he really couldn't hold on any longer.
He looked around at the emerging town around him. Human life here looked pretty good. Some vendors were selling goods, and many dwarves carrying muskets and wearing military uniforms could be seen in the crowd. It seemed that dwarves and humans were here.
The relationship is still very good, but out of an assassin's intuition, Thales can spot a lot of prying eyes in the crowd.
"It's really haunting!"
He cursed, wrapped his black robe tightly, and walked quickly to the end of the town. The fact that the dwarves did not directly intervene in the rule and management of the New Tarren Mill region meant that there must be many spies from various forces here. He was here
The activity must be very unsafe.
"We must go to the valley as quickly as possible."
Thales gritted his teeth. At the end of the town, he patrolled left and right, quickly shook off the "tail" following him, and then walked into an ordinary warehouse as quickly as possible. The assassin was eager to escape.
I didn't realize that the name of this warehouse was "Taresha and Sal's Cabin".
"Hey guest, what do you need?"
Thales pushed open the door of the warehouse and heard a crisp greeting. He raised his head and saw a human girl busy in the warehouse. She had beautiful long brown hair and looked to be only 15 or 6 years old.
She looks like she is wearing a simple blue dress, she has cute freckles on her face, her light blue eyes are very gentle, and she has a feminine delicacy.
Faced with this greeting, Thales did not answer. He just strolled towards the girl in front of him. The latter seemed to feel something was wrong and took a few steps back. She looked at Thales warily and held the hands behind her.
Tighten a handful of iron fibers used to open wooden boxes.
"What do you need? Guest? Don't come near me again!"
The girl let out a scream, and the next moment, Thales' figure suddenly disappeared from the girl's eyes. When he reappeared, a cold dagger was pressed against the girl's neck. Thales whispered in the girl's ear:
"I'm sorry, kid, take your hands away from the iron fiber. That thing can't protect you, but I don't want to hurt you... As long as you do me a small favor, tell me, who are you? This warehouse
Who does it belong to?"
"My...my name is Taresha, Taresha Folkston."
The girl was a little scared, but contrary to Thales' expectations, the girl calmed down quickly. She raised her hands and answered softly:
"This warehouse belongs to me and my brother Thrall. We transport some medicinal materials and minerals between New Tarren Mill and Alterac Valley. Mr. Barton, the commander of the Stormpike Dwarves, often comes to visit me. I don't want to mess with it.
Trouble, sir, I don’t want to know what happened to you. Look, the gold coins are in the cabinet. You can take whatever you want. Don’t hurt me, okay?”
"Um?"
Thales pursed his lips and whispered:
"You don't behave like an ordinary girl. Maybe...maybe you are also the eye of some force planted here. Do you think I should kill you?"
"You are joking, sir."
The girl named Taresha's voice trembled a little, and she said softly:
"I am just an ordinary girl, but I have experienced more things than ordinary people. Believe me, killing me will only bring you more trouble. You said you need help? But your current attitude is not like that.
That's the attitude of a person who needs help. You can't scare me, sir. With all due respect, I've seen people 100 times scarier than you...so why don't we sit down and talk?"
"Well, that's a good suggestion."
Thales let go of the dagger pressed against Taresha's neck. He took a step back and leaned on the wooden box behind him. He looked at Taresha who was moving her wrist. A trace of appreciation flashed in his eyes. He said softly:
"You said that you and your brother Sal transport goods between the valleys? Then you must have a fixed trade route. What I want is very simple. Just hide me in your goods and send them to the valley...
As for the reward.”
"Shua"
Thales raised his wrist, and a dozen gold coins fell neatly into Taresha's open hand. The young assassin raised his eyebrows:
"Is that enough? My lady businessman, speaking of it, the name Sal sounds a bit weird. You don't know that it actually means "slave", right? Why did your parents give it to themselves?
What’s your son’s name?”
Taresha put away the gold coins, a dim smile flashed across her face:
"Because we are slaves...that's all, okay, sir."
The girl put her left hand on her waist and pointed at a row of wooden boxes beside her. She whispered:
"Find a comfortable box and lie down in it. I know what you are worried about, but your dagger can cut my neck at any time, and... you have secrets, and I have secrets. You don't want to cause trouble, and neither do I, so
For now, we can trust each other."
The eyes of high-level assassin Thales fell on Taresha's eyes. After a moment, he put away the dagger, opened a wooden box, curled up and lay down in it. The moment the box closed, he smiled slightly frivolously.
laughed:
"You know what? Girl, I appreciate you more and more now. I hope we don't need to say goodbye in the worst way."
Taresha responded with a gentle smile, brushed her long brown hair, and said with a smile:
"I'm starting to like you too, Mr. Generous Spender. Believe me, my brother Sal will also like you."
——————————————————
"Bang"
The cold war hammer roared through the air and struck hard on the head of an assassin who was escaping in a panic. With the support of the huge force, the heavy war hammer easily flattened the head, and the disgusting blood mixed with white brain matter.
It flew everywhere, and in the swaying wind and snow in the Alterac Valley, the lifeless body was violently thrown into the snow.
Orgrim stepped forward and picked up his warhammer from the ground. The former orc chief now looked very lonely. He was wearing linen clothes and his original black hair had turned gray. After escaping from prison in Lordaeron,
He has been operating within Alterac, and the pursuit of him has never stopped.
"Which batch is this?"
Orgrim wiped the blood of his war hammer on the corpse behind him. He sat on a stone a little tiredly and took out a piece of frozen meat from the package behind him. He ate it with difficulty to regain his strength.
While thinking about his own things.
He knew that it was dangerous for him to stay here, and he also knew that Grom and Fenris in the Arathi Highlands were sending people to look for him, but he was unwilling to respond. With the defeat of the Horde army, Orgrim had no intention of conquering this place.
Ci has long since lost interest. The reason he is still alive is to fulfill his promise to his former brother.
"Durotan...my brother, I swear, I will find Go'el."
Orgrim clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and cheered up his spirit again in the cold wind. After a while, he stood up and wiped his pockets with some regret. In a previous encounter,
, a group of human knights discovered him, and after a fierce battle between the two sides, Orgrim fled alone, but lost the most important thing on the battlefield.
It was a relic from Durotan that was given to him by Elder Drektar, the great shaman of the Frostwolf. It was also the most important token for finding his poor nephew, but now, it is gone.
The figure of the war chief moved away little by little in the snow. His body was already a little stooped, but he would not fall down. He was not searching hard in Alterac on a whim. The reason why he stayed
Here, I risked my life and traveled to every corner of Alterac in the pursuit of all forces, because the Frostwolf clan got the exact news.
In the past few years, the Frostwolf orcs living in the valley have occasionally sent out scouts to observe the movements of the Thunderpike dwarves on the other side of the valley. The orcs living in seclusion in the valley believe that these dwarves will discover them sooner or later.
At that time, it was hard to say whether a war would break out between the two sides, but during a certain reconnaissance, a Frostwolf scout who was lost in the snow saw a strange orc.
It was a very young green-skinned orc, probably underage, and he lived with a human girl. This news was brought back to the clan, and it quickly attracted the attention of the great shaman, because according to the scout's report, that
The young orc was just about the same age as Chief Frostwolf's lost son.
But the young orc was very vigilant. When the Frostwolf scout tried to approach him, he was quickly noticed. Then the former residence was destroyed by the young orc, and he and the weird human girl disappeared in Alterac.
In the valley, this made the great shaman feel disappointed, and Orgrim stubbornly stayed here because he heard the news.
He believed that the young strange orc must be the Go'ir he was searching for, the only descendant left by his brother Durotan who was murdered by the Shadow Council.
But he has been searching here for a long time and has not received any news. This makes Orgrim feel desperate. However, people like him will never bow to a bad fate. He wrapped his clothes tightly and braved the wind.
Xue walked forward. He was indeed old, but there was no trace of frustration in the shining light in his eyes. He was still as determined as the great chief back then.
"It's time to return to the Frostwolf Clan. I hope there is news about Elder Drek'Thar's search..."
"Gu'ir, no matter what, no matter what I suffer, I will definitely find you..."
