Shadow Trails in Azeroth

After leaving the city of Lordaeron, head south, ride along the shores of the huge Lake Lordaeron for half a day, and then you will enter the vast Silverpine Forest.

This resource-rich forest is already the border area of ​​the Kingdom of Lordaeron.

It is divided into two parts with the small city named Serbocher as the middle line. The northern part belongs to the Kingdom of Lordaeron, while the southern part belongs to the Kingdom of Gilneas.

However, the boundary line demarcation of Silverpine Forest is a very complicated system, because there is a part of the forest near Lake Lordamre, which is also part of the Kingdom of Dalaran.

Although this magical kingdom only maintains the scale of a city-state, the territorial issue is no small matter.

Therefore, three armies from the three kingdoms are stationed in the Silver Pine Forest all year round. In peacetime, they occasionally have some minor frictions due to border issues.

But after the orcs invaded northern Xinjiang, the three forces here began to unite with the outside world.

During the period when the orcs were ravaging the Hillsbrad Hills, the Silverpine Forest was also a place that was seriously invaded by the orcs. This forest and the hills were bordering each other, and it was almost undefendable.

Therefore, the Gilneans shed all their blood here to prevent the orcs from rushing into their peninsula.

However, the orcs attacked from the hills and invaded the southern part of the Silverpine Forest. The situation in the northern part was not dangerous because it was close to the city of Dalaran.

Serbocher, a city on the border of Lordaeron, served as a logistics base for the Three Kingdoms Alliance during the war, housing many homeless Gilneans.

Some residents who migrated from the Kingdom of Stormwind also live here. When fighting the orcs, these exiles are extremely ferocious.

A group of Stormwind Kingdom rebels headed by the Stonemasons Brotherhood brutally killed the orcs in this vast forest and avenged their compatriots who died in the war.

Now, the orcs have been driven back to the battlefield in southern Xinjiang, and the situation in the Silver Pine Forest battlefield has suddenly stabilized. The residents here have endured great pressure due to the war, and now they can finally return to the peaceful life of the past.

This made them cheer.

Therefore, when Blake rode a horse and arrived at the dock on the North Current Coast outside Serbocher City in a dusty journey, the place was full of drunkards.

There were also some drunk guys who insisted on dragging him along to celebrate.

The pirate didn't mind having some wine.

But the thing is, he didn't come here just for sightseeing, he had something serious to do.

"Sir, this way!"

After seeing Black appear, Red-haired Jack, Ravenholdt's intelligence agent in Dalaran City, quickly came to his side. Today was the day of the appointment.

Everything is ready, but we must not delay the important event.

"Is anyone from Dalaran here?"

Blake gave a bottle of good wine as a gift to Jack, who smiled and put it into his luggage. When he heard the pirate's question, he nodded, pointed to a few houses beside the small pier in front of him, and whispered:

"There are quite a few people coming, and they are all well-trained battle mages, commanded by a mysterious high elf. I have never seen her in Dalaran.

My lord, who are those people? "

"It's a secret, don't ask any questions, for your own safety."

Blake made a gesture and Jack immediately shut his mouth.

Having stayed in an organization like Ravenholdt for a long time, Jack knew very well that knowing too many secrets was not a good thing in most cases.

"Where is the person I want?"

Blake asked as he walked towards the dock:

"How many people did you recruit who were willing to be sailors?"

"Time is a bit tight, sir."

Jack said a little embarrassed:

"I can only search as hard as I can. Fortunately, the orcs have completely destroyed the farms around Dalaran City. There are people everywhere asking for a bite to eat. I have carefully selected four hundred people for you.

The contract has been signed, and the settlement fee has been converted into food for their family. The external name is to go to Tol Barad to reclaim wasteland. No one will doubt this reason. "

"Good, that's enough."

Blake nodded with satisfaction and said to Jack:

"Don't be so casual in subsequent recruitment. You continue to help me search around Dalaran.

You can contact the stronghold in Gilneas. If there are skilled sailors or captains who are unemployed and don't mind experiencing the life of a pirate, you can introduce them to me.

I will leave some people to do business in Gilneas."

Having said this, Blake glanced at Jack, thought for a moment, and said in a relaxed tone:

"Have you been in Dalaran for a long time? Do you want to change places? I think Dragonbone Harbor in Gilneas is very good. It is suitable for doing big things there."

"My lord, I."

Jack, being such a smart person, certainly knew that this was Black trying to win over him. He showed just the right amount of confusion and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Black's wave of his hand.

The pirate smiled and said to Jack:

"It's okay, I understand your concerns.

I need talents like you, so when I get the title of Master Assassin and can establish my own faction, I will leave the first spot to you.

During this time, you can also think carefully about your career and life plans.

It is to stay in Ravenholdt, work hard all your life, spend twenty or thirty years to be promoted to regional director, and then work for another ten years and retire, and use the last twenty years of your life to recall the past where nothing was accomplished.

Or join my faction and challenge the sea with me.

This life is dangerous.

Joining my faction means saying goodbye to your peaceful life. You may die in a conspiracy or robbery at any time.

But I can guarantee it, Jack.

As long as you survive, the entire Endless Sea and the entire world will praise your legend, and everyone will feel fear when they hear your name.

But what's wrong with living a life of being feared by others? "

He patted Jack's shoulder and said in a gentle tone:

"Think about it carefully. I look forward to your answer. Okay, I'm going to meet the mages of Dalaran. My ship will arrive in a while. You assist my men and send the sailors aboard.

You don't have to worry about what happens after that. "

After saying that, Blake straightened his clothes and was about to leave, but was stopped by Jack. The red-haired assassin took a step forward and said:

"Sir, after you left Dalaran, there was a girl who took the initiative to inquire about you. It was the girl you saved, Caitlin Ruinweaver, the eldest daughter of Archmage Ruinweaver's family."

"Oh, is it so?"

The pirate narrowed his eyes and asked:

"Then how did you answer?"

"Haha, I told her everything."

Jack said softly:

"Things she should know."

"Very good. It seems that little Caitlin will eventually embark on her destined path of destiny. I really want to see the expression on old Ansrem's face at that time."

The pirate laughed and said:

"Don't pay attention to her. If she comes to you next time, tell her more stories about me. You can tell her everything about pirates.

Also, remember to get rid of the magic wand in your hand quickly and don't leave it in your hand. I don't want to see the talent I found die in an accident. "

After saying this this time, Blake walked towards the dock hut without stopping again.

Jack behind him had a horrified look on his face. He touched his pocket and made up his mind to go back to Dalaran and sell the wand to the dwarf mage who paid the highest price but seemed to be mentally disturbed.

What's that little guy's name?

Mana storm?

——

"Master Merry told me about you, Lord Pirate."

In the hut at the dock, Blake saw the high elf who was protected by more than a dozen battle mages. The latter, like all high elves, had a tall figure that made human women extremely jealous.

She has cascading blond hair and delicate facial features.

But those slender eyebrows always feel weird.

"You can call me Ellie, I am a descendant of the mage from the Council of Tirisfal."

This high elf was very polite and took the initiative to reach out to Blake. She introduced herself:

"I always thought that the Council of Tirisfal had been disbanded, but it wasn't until I received the call from Master Merry that I realized that I also had the opportunity to serve the cause of the Guardian just like my ancestors."

"That parliament really should be dissolved. After all, they haven't done anything good in the past eight hundred years or so."

The pirate shrugged and took the hand of the high elf in front of him.

He said:

"But if Merry can trust you, then I can trust you, and my crew will soon transport the relic here, and it will go with you to Dalaran City.

Until the holy object is placed in the magic treasure house with the highest security level.

Additionally, they may leave some guardians behind.

Hopefully this won't interfere with the functioning of the Council of Tirisfal. "

"No, Your Excellency."

Ellie showed a strange expression and said:

"Really speaking, I am the only living person left in the Tirisfal Council. The other members have all died over a long period of time, but Master Merry used a special method to summon their dead souls back. .

In other words, part of the summons came back.

Staying with a group of unusual dead souls, to be honest, the scene was quite captivating. "

The high elf made a fearful expression and said:

"I wish there were more living people joining us. At least I could have a companion."

"Uh, this is it."

Blake sorted out his words and said to the overly optimistic Ellie in front of him:

"I don't think the high elves' aesthetics can accept my weird-looking subordinates. Maybe you will regret this decision."

"Don't worry, Your Excellency, our High Elf mages have traveled throughout the world."

Ellie said confidently:

"My ancestor was one of those explorers. The handbooks he left behind contain illustrations of all kinds of weird creatures. I won't be scared."

The pirate didn't say anything about this, but he just felt that the elf's confidence was a bit blindly optimistic.

It wasn't until half an hour later that a human merchant ship slowly docked. Blake, Ellie, and the battle mages were on the cleared dock to greet the visitor.

The snake-man prophet Warwick was also in full dress today.

After all, this is the first real communication between the snake people and foreigners.

The prophet hopes to leave a good impression on the human spellcasters.

However, no matter how gorgeous the clothes are, they can't stop the snake man's naturally fierce and gloomy appearance.

All the battle mages were stunned when they saw a large group of heavily armed snakemen walking off the ship carrying their sacred keystones.

Ellie next to Black even hid behind the pirate with a whoosh.

She lay on Blake's shoulder and secretly looked at the snake people who walked upright and held lightning weapons. When she saw their cold eyes and the snake messages they kept spitting out, her body trembled even more.

"Well, Miss Ellie, aren't you well-informed?"

Blake asked in a low voice:

"Although this snake man is a bit ugly, it won't scare you, a high-level mage, like this, right?"

"I'm not afraid of being ugly!

They are much prettier than the kobolds. In terms of appearance alone, these snake-men are actually very good. I have also seen the crocodile-men of Northrend in the manuscripts of my ancestors.

Those guys are the real ugly ones. "

Ellie emphasized her courage loudly, then lowered her voice and said:

"But I'm naturally afraid of snakes, and I can't control myself. Neither you nor Master Meili told us that the people who brought the holy objects were a group of snake people."

"Aren't women and snakes the best of friends?"

Blake said in a strange tone:

"I advise you to be calm. These snake people have strong self-esteem. If you behave like this, they will think it is racial discrimination. Don't be nervous, I lied to you.

Snake people don't care about that.

They are the most vicious killers and the most ruthless stalkers, and they will regard anyone who is rude to them as prey. Did you see the blow dart on the waist of the snake warrior?

That thing is called the Thorn of Cytalis. It is the most powerful assassination weapon I have ever seen. It is also coated with poison, and even the mages can't withstand it. "

"You stinky pirate, don't scare me."

Ellie's voice was shaking nervously.

The unscrupulous pirate laughed, reached out and slapped Ellie's butt politely, making her stand up straight with a red face, trying hard not to show fear.

"Warwick, my friend, the treasure trove of Dalaran is already in place."

Blake stretched out his hand and said to the prophet who was spitting out a snake letter in front of him:

"And what I promised you, in the magical city of mankind, you will see those secrets, and then you will truly believe that I am the messenger sent by the mysterious mistress to help you.

And you.

Will be truly willing to become my friend. "