Shadow Trails in Azeroth

"I hate land, I hate this feeling of being grounded."

Black said the same words for the twenty-seventh time, causing Tiga Evil Eye who was following him to sigh helplessly.

The smart orc warlock knew that his captain had stayed at sea for too long. Even though it had been several days since he returned to land, he still couldn't adapt.

Maybe the rumors in the human kingdom are true.

The blood of the Proudmoore family is naturally of the sea.

On land they become weak, and being away from the ocean makes them sick.

Stormy waves flow in their veins, and they can only feel satisfied if they sleep on the waves of the sea.

"Well, Captain, you should probably get back in the carriage and get some rest."

Evil Eye chose his words carefully.

Then he reached out and pulled the reins of the hell horse that was not very obedient under his crotch. This mount summoned by the warlock from a demonic plane was taller and more fierce than an ordinary war horse.

Its eyes, nostrils, and hooves are all burning with fire and brimstone, and it has a fierce temperament. It always wants to knock the rider off the saddle and then trample him to death.

This thing looks like a horse.

But it is actually a kind of demon, and it is also an option that warlocks will contract with as a means of transportation.

"Huh? Carriage?"

Blake, who was also riding on the back of a hell horse, looked back at the black carriage following behind him.

The Gilnean-style carriage was something they got from the goblins in Stranglethorn Vale. It was pulled by four tame horses, and there were old lanterns hung on the four corners of the carriage.

It looks like a vehicle that only people with status would ride on.

His second-in-command, Razak, was driving the thing. The masked troll held a long rein in his hand. On the seat next to him, sat a tall Ravage Orc.

There were three equally fully armed orcs crowded on the seat behind the carriage.

The four of them formed Blake's "Captain's Guard". They usually helped the pirates with groceries, bullied the weak, and held up a scene. They were not needed in real fights.

To put it simply, it is the atmosphere group.

"There is a coffin in that carriage, damn it! Evil Eye, do you mean to let me lie with the dead in the coffin?"

Blake said in an irritable and unkind tone:

"Maybe I should put you in a coffin and lie down."

"Ah, Captain, that's not what I meant."

Seeing that the flattery was slapped on the horse's leg, the warlock immediately defended:

"It's just that after we left Booty Bay, the deeper we went into the mainland, the more anxious you became, Captain. I just thought that maybe you should take a rest and stop yourself from being so nervous."

"Shut up!"

The pirate snorted and glared at his idiot, bitch.

I thought that it was a mistake to bring this guy out three days ago. Maybe I should leave the eyeless orc warlock in the fleet and let him follow the Alpaca to the Vashj'ir Sea.

But then I thought about it again.

Although Maimu is smarter, he is not as good as the evil eye when it comes to observing words and emotions. These orcs are so damn stupid that they can't even say nice things, which is really frustrating.

However, the evil eye was right.

After leaving Booty Bay three days ago and heading towards Dusk Forest, Blake's mood and state were indeed not good.

The main reason is that he has become weaker.

Being far away from the sea and his own fleet, losing the dual talent blessing of Proudmoore's bloodline and the shadow of the black sail, Black's upper limit of combat power was reduced by two out of thin air.

Not to mention, there were two annoying guys chattering beside him that only he could see.

“It’s frustrating to feel weak, right?”

Warnie, a female troll with handsome mohawk hair, lay on Blake's shoulder in a ghostly manner and said softly to him with an ambiguous movement:

"After you set foot in this forest, you haven't slept all day and night. Are you afraid that you will be attacked by someone after you fall asleep and be unable to fight back? Don't be afraid, you are a member of our Golden Teeth Gang, and Manzur and I will stay by your side.

If anyone wants to attack you, they have to get through us first.

Go get some sleep, Blake.

You can't go on like this. "

Blake remained sullen and silent.

On the other side of him, sitting cross-legged in the air, following the hell horse floating forward at a constant speed, the gloomy male troll Manzur also said:

"Before we left the bay, Larnka told us mysteriously that he could always smell the smell of sea water on you. At that time, I thought he was saying in disguise that you were all rotten.

Now, I know that our crazy leader is saying that your blood contains the power related to the sea.

Staying away from the sea will indeed make you weak.

Land is not the paradise you should be in.

But things are already like this, and you have to do it again, so it's useless for you to be so anxious all the time. Listen to Warnie and go get some sleep, Blake.

See if your eyes are red, just like a rabbit. This will affect your thinking. "

"You two are idiots. You don't know anything. Don't guess what I mean. The reason why I can't sleep is because there is 'something' hidden in this forest."

Blake grabbed the reins of the hell horse. He looked left and right, his eyes searching the dark and gloomy woods around him. Any disturbance would make him alert.

He said softly:

"This forest was not like this a few years ago. At that time, it was a famous and fertile place in the entire Kingdom of Stormwind. At that time, it was called Sunshine Forest. The scenery was outstanding, and many nobles had their own holiday estates here.

But after Medivh was assassinated, things changed here.

Look at the dark power covered in this forest. The shadow I am wrapped in here is several times more active than the outside world. The magic escaping from the mage Takarazhan of the Deadwind Path fills every part of this forest.

It was the majestic remnants of the fallen Titan.

It makes the place dangerous, not to mention the fact that a race of dragons lived here for countless years before dark forces came into this forest.

Deep in the dark forest, there is also a real-life entrance to the Emerald Dream, a rare place where reality and dreams meet.

If this doesn't make you two understand our situation, then I'll tell you again."

Blake said to the two troll ghosts beside him in a sinister tone, like telling a ghost story:

"Since entering this forest, I have felt that someone is watching us. No, that is not accurate. It is a force that has the same origin as the shadow, but a power that goes deeper into the mystery of the shadow.

It's hiding in this darkness, and it's worse than I thought

Something dark has made its nest here. "

The pirate lowered his head and looked at the shadow power that was getting thicker and denser around him, as if it was coming to life. In his perception, there seemed to be something dark around him like a snake, snaking toward them little by little.

"Light the torch!"

Blake suddenly pulled up the reins, and the galloping hell horse stood up, neighing low in the dark night, and two more streams of flames spurted out from the horse's nostrils.

He shouted to the carriage behind him:

"Light the lights, don't let them go out!"

"Wow"

The orc warlock following Black reacted very quickly. He raised his left hand, and a ball of brimstone fire poured out of his hand, turning into four spots of light and scattering around the road.

As the sulfurous smell of evil energy surged, the surrounding darkness receded somewhat.

The four captain's guards on the carriage also hurriedly lit the horse lanterns hanging on the four corners of the carriage. The dancing flames shone around the carriage, illuminating the road ahead.

This sudden episode made everyone nervous.

The orcs were all looking at their captain. They didn't know what happened, but at that moment, when Black shouted to light the lamp, there was indeed an inaudible chill.

"What the hell is that?"

Troll Ghost Warnie quickly guarded Blake's side. She opened her hands and used the power of the undead to shape a troll-style two-handed serrated sword.

He looked around again and asked.

Black did not answer. He rode on the restless hell horse, took out the huge protective buckler from the magic bag, and held it in his hand.

At this moment, everyone noticed that there was a faint light shining on the surface of the ancient buckler in the hands of their captain.

Touches of runes that only Vrykul people could use formed a pale golden flash outside the shield.

This shield will not be effective in mortal combat.

Now that its magical power is activated, it means that the thing that was hiding in the darkness just now, spying on and trying to attack the pirate group, is not the power of the mortal world.

Blake glanced at the surface of the shield, frowned, pursed his lips, waved his fingers forward, and shouted:

"Keep going! Don't stop."

The pirate dangled his shield from the saddle of his hell horse.

After marching forward for ten minutes with the lanterns lit and the incompetent men holding torches all around, he felt that the darkness around him had calmed down.

The strange and terrifying fluctuations no longer emitted from the shadows.

"It's gone."

The pirate looked around and said in a relaxed tone:

"It seems that it can't figure out our details. This shield has bluffed it. It's good. Without that annoying shadow peeking, I can finally do it."

Blake covered his mouth and yawned widely.

He casually canceled the summons, sent his hell horse into the twisting void, moved his shoulders, walked towards the carriage behind him, and covered the top of the carriage with the large round shield used by Odin.

He opened the car door and jumped in.

"Evil Eye, and Zarak, don't turn off the lights or torches along the way, and pass through the Twilight Forest as quickly as possible. There should be a ruined human town ahead, and we will camp there tonight.

We can get to Deadwind Pass tomorrow. "

After saying that, the pirate slammed the carriage door.

In this quite large space, there is a coffin, a Western-style coffin, made of fine walnut wood, one and a half people tall, and quite spacious.

The interior is also thoughtfully covered with red velvet.

The half-lich body of the old mage Merry Dongfeng was lying in it, and above his head, there was the faintly glowing soul-inducing lamp.

"Squeeze and come to the side, Master."

Dragging his tired body, the pirate turned over and climbed into the coffin, pushing Merry Dongfeng's body to the edge, then stretched out comfortably and put his arms behind his head.

He glanced at the glass on either side of the door of the bumpy and sneaking carriage.

The faint light from the four corners of the carriage driving in the dark, reflected in the glass, seemed to be the only source of light in this dark forest.

The light was beating, much like the blue light dancing in the cabin of the Nagfar, and the up and down motion of the carriage itself made Blake feel like he was back on a sailing ship.

In the comfortable swing, the pirate closed his eyes and soon felt the call of sleep.

While he was half asleep and half awake, the light of the soul-inducing lamp above his head danced, and Merry Dongfeng's question rang out from it. The old mage asked softly:

"When the dark force that was malicious to us just approached, I heard some small sounds, which were very similar to the dark sounds I heard in the Nazmir jungle."

"I know."

Blake said in a tired, light voice about to fall asleep:

"I guess who that is, don't worry, Master. It's just a poor guy who is about to lose himself. There will always be a price for walking in the dark.

She thought she had paid the price.

But the night always longs for more."