Shadow Trails in Azeroth

Four days before the departure of the magic delegation from Narthalas College, a group of strange "guests" quietly landed on Tol Barad Island under the night on a steamboat sent by goblins to deliver supplies.

There are wild rumors from the outside world that this island is now occupied by a group of vicious pirates. These unknown pirates also capsized several Gilnean ships in previous conflicts with the Gilnean fleet.

Although Gilneas officially denied this embarrassing news.

But in private, various gossips are flying all over the sky, and those with intelligence sources are spreading rumors that the retreat of the Gilneas fleet is not a return voyage to resupply as they said.

It was because the Gilneans realized that they had misjudged the strength of these pirates and were forced to retreat in embarrassment by the wild pirates.

"So, the Gilneans cannot fight."

On the dock of Tol Barad Island, the old dwarf Brian Bronzebeard, wearing the standard hunting attire of the Explorers Association, was teasing Greb, the pet monkey he accidentally got in Stranglethorn Vale, while looking at the man who was taking the distance next to him. Looking through the looking glass at the humans around him, he said:

"Their army is not bad. I have seen the Gray Wolf Brigade fighting in the Burning Plains. They are a group of fierce and good soldiers. But their navy is far behind, let alone compared with the Kul Tirans. Even the Lordaeron navy is much more powerful than them."

"This is true."

The human wearing a black dress next to Brian put down his telescope and nodded academically and said:

"But it's not the fault of the Gilneans. The biting reefs on their peninsula waters are too troublesome and severely restrict their naval development. But the war between the navy and pirates has nothing to do with archaeologists like us.

We are neutral. "

"Haha, you are always so naive, my friend Harrison."

The old dwarf stroked his beautiful beard and threw the chirping pet monkey into his backpack. He stood up and said to the dozen or so fellow travelers behind him:

“Brace yourself, guys.

Today we are going to trade with a group of extremely vicious pirates. I have seen the samples they sent to Ironforge. They are all very precious cultural relics, with almost perfect historical and artistic value.

We will definitely be able to find more ancient secrets about the Elf Empire and the Trolls from those cultural relics.

Hold on to the muskets in your hands and carry the exploration picks with you. Although the pirates say they welcome us ‘distinguished guests’, pirates are pirates and you cannot believe a word of what they say. "

The well-informed old dwarf paused and said:

"We have also dealt with pirates in the South China Sea. If something goes wrong, everyone will know what to do."

A group of elite members of the Explorers Association behind the old dwarf responded in unison.

But in fact, they don't have to be too afraid, because among their companions, there are five fully armed Ironforge royal guards.

These muscular men are the bravest and most elite warriors among the dwarves. The armor on their bodies is forged by themselves and enchanted by human mages.

Wearing double axes on their waists, carrying warhammers and long-barreled muskets on their backs, their waists were filled with short-barreled muskets, and they were all armed to the teeth.

If these five dwarves went crazy, ten times as many pirates would be slaughtered by them, not to mention that the dwarf explorers were not powerless scholars.

These people dig around the world and always encounter trouble of one kind or another.

None of the elite explorers are easy to mess with.

They all dared to follow Old Brian and go deep into the wild jungle of Stranglethorn Valley without any guards, and they were all chased back by the savage troll headhunters.

This shows how fierce the fighting power of this group of "archaeologists" is.

Just pirates, hey, if they dare to go back on their word, just blow their heads off with a pickaxe.

"If there's going to be a real fight, you'll hide behind us."

The tough old Brian skillfully loaded his beloved double-barreled shotgun and said to Harrison Jones, the elegant human archaeologist beside him:

"You, a scholar who does theoretical research all day long, really shouldn't come here this time."

"Hey, don't underestimate me."

Feeling that he was being despised, Harrison shrugged helplessly and took out a short-barreled musket made by a dwarf from his bag. He said to the old dwarf:

"I have also done field work. Although I am not as good as you guys who travel all over the world, I saved you when you were doing archeology in Redridge Mountain."

"That's when you got lucky."

Brian was a little embarrassed, grabbed his adventure hat, and said:

"That vulture can't hurt me. Even without your shot, I can still smash its head with a pickaxe. Besides, when you joined the Explorers Association, I told you that archeology is not just a job. Go hard in the library.

Lost knowledge is scattered all over the world, and our mission is to dig it up and put it in museums.

Shhh, they're coming, get ready! "

At the reminder of the old dwarf, everyone held their breath and tightened their weapons.

They know best what kind of pirates they are. If this development hadn't been so amazing, decent people like them would not have dealt with these evil guys.

The thought of those precious cultural relics falling into the hands of a group of pirates made these archaeologists heartbroken.

Cherished antiquities should be placed on exhibition stands so that everyone can know the glory of past history they represent, instead of being sold as merchandise by greedy pirates.

What a waste.

To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the dwarves didn't have a navy, Old Brian would have thought of bringing a fleet over to snatch the precious cultural relics from the pirates.

"Hey, what's going on with you rude dwarves? Put down your weapons!"

The person who came to greet the dwarves was the fox captain Eudora. She was small and walked in front, followed by two powerful tauren pirate guards with antlers.

This strong contrast made Eudora look like a little kid, but looking at her wagging tail and wearing a captain's hat, everyone present knew that this little man was the one talking.

"Today is a transaction, not a war. Why are you so tense?"

The fox man put his hands on his hips and scolded:

"If we really have bad intentions, your crappy guns can't protect you."

As she spoke, Eudora grabbed a horn and blew a few times.

A few seconds later, amid the exclamations of the dwarves, a sea giant nearly ten meters tall suddenly rushed out from under the dark sea behind.

The guy wearing the weird shark head hat grabbed the rusty anchor in his hand and hit it on the beach with a bang, which made the dock shake. He shouted:

"What kind of bastard dares to attack Tol Barad! If you want to challenge the undead pirates, you must first pass the Rumbler level!"

"Did you see that?"

Eudora curled her lips, pushed up her blindfold, and said to the sluggish dwarves in front of her:

"If we can let you go to the island, it means that we are not hostile, otherwise your ship will not even think of getting close to Tol Barad. I warn you, Gork and his tribe have become addicted to cannibalism recently.

And they haven't tasted dwarfs yet, so you'd better be honest!

lay down your weapon! "

Old Brian wanted to retort and show this short fox man the indomitable courage of the dwarves.

But as the monkey pet Grebe behind him screamed like crazy, he glanced at the finely crafted double-barreled shotgun in his hand, and then at the sculpture-like sea giant staring at them behind him.

This gun is great, it can smash the head of a barbarian troll with one shot.

But no matter how powerful a shotgun is, it can't be used against sea giants, right?

"Ahem, we dwarves like shotguns. These are just decorations we carry with us. It is our cultural tradition! For example, as an archaeologist, it is normal for me to carry a digging pick with me."

Brian coughed a few times and waved to the dwarves behind him to put down their weapons. However, he did not drop the firearms, but said a few words to Eudora.

The fox man curled his lips and ignored this good-looking old dwarf.

She whistled, and the hyenas tamed by the vixen rushed over howling. These ferocious beasts had saddles on their backs. She said to the dwarves:

"Get on the horse and come with me. The fair will start soon. Those elves are much more punctual and more particular than you."

Eudora touched the magic jewelry hanging on her belt, narrowed her eyes and said:

"They also brought gifts for each of our captains. How could you dwarves be so rude and come here with guns?"

"Elf? Sacred Relic Society?"

When the old dwarf heard the fox man's words, he suddenly became excited. He frowned and said:

"Those bastard elves who are obsessed with money don't understand the value of cultural relics at all. They just want to take the cultural relics out and sell them. They are a bunch of bastards who have defiled the sacred archeology!

You can't sell cultural relics to them!

Also, who said we didn’t bring gifts? "

Brian rolled his eyes, took a few steps forward, handed the fine double-barreled shotgun to Eudora with both hands, and said:

"This is our gift! Now, the exquisite shotgun handmade by the dwarf master, a good thing that even money can't buy, is much more useful than the magic toys given to you by the elves.

Are you right? "

"Hey, this is good!"

The fox pirate touched the heavy and sophisticated firearm in her hand, and her tail waggled even more happily. She made a skillful aiming motion, turned her head and gave the old dwarf a thumbs up sign in joy.

explain:

“Okay, you dwarves are quite sincere.

Let's go, let's go, I will take you to my alpaca now. Those hypocritical elves are still trying to have a relationship with the commander. I will take you to see the goods first. "

The cunning fox man whispered:

"Didn't you just say that selling precious cultural relics to elves would be a waste? It just so happens that for the sake of this gift, you can go pick them out first.

I hope you brought enough money with you. "

"Don't even think about killing us."

The old dwarf mounted the dangerous-looking coyote mount. He pointed at Harrison next to him and said to Eudora:

"We have brought the best scholar here, and he will be responsible for the valuation."

"No need for him."

The fox man snorted, grabbed the reins and said:

"We have prepared treasure appraisers, all of whom are the longest-living Ancestral Turtle Scroll Sages. Since you are archaeologists, you must have heard of the Ancestral Turtle, right?

In the profession of appraising treasures, besides my captain, who else is better than those ancestral turtles who talk irritatingly? "

"Are you still related to the Ancestral Turtle? That's awesome."

The old dwarf traveled all over the country and had a lot of knowledge. Naturally, he knew about the Ancestral Turtle, and he did not raise any objection to the pirates' arrangements.

But this time, his attention was focused on Eudora, and he said:

"When I was digging archaeological sites on the South China Sea Islands, I heard some merchants talk about you fox people. I heard that you only breed on Zandalar Island, so how could you join the pirates?"

"Don't try to trick me!"

Eudora glared at the old dwarf and said:

"The captain said that you, old Brian Bronzebeard, are the most cunning, and asked me not to answer any of your questions.

However, the captain also said that there are many ancient troll ruins in the Walton Desert, and the prehistoric ruins of Nazmir also need to be explored, but only the most professional archaeologists can find the lost knowledge.

So, if you are interested, I can sell you the ruins map drawn by our fox people.

I guarantee that you will be the first people to go to the desert for archeology.

There are so many secrets waiting to be revealed, aren't you excited?

After a while, I will send some people back to Zandalar to deliver supplies to my people. You and your people can go with you. "

"Really?"

The old dwarf's eyes were shining. He felt itchy in his hands and in his heart. It was a prehistoric ruin that no one had ever done archaeological work on! What archaeologist could resist this temptation?

But he said hesitantly:

"The Explorers Association also applied to the Zandalar Trolls before, but they did not allow us to set foot on their island."

"If they can control you, can they control us?"

Eudora snorted and said proudly:

"The fox people are the natives of the Wharton Desert. The Zandalari Trolls' golden fleet will not prevent our ship from entering there, so this opportunity is rare. Sir Brian, you must seize it.

Let me tell you, the troll ruins under the Vol'dun Desert are at least 16,000 years old. They can be traced back to the barbaric days before the establishment of the Zandalari troll kingdom.

The jungle ruins of Nazmir are even more impressive.

I heard those troll scholars say that it was the first city of Azeroth's native civilization!

It was much earlier than the time when the Elf Empire established cities. Among the products this time, there are things we brought from Nazmir. You can see it with your own eyes. "

"do not talk!"

Brian was breathing heavily now and said:

"Where's the map? Give it to me."

"Haha, where's the money?"

The fox man waved the old map in his hand and said:

"You don't want to have sex for nothing, do you?"

"this is for you."

The old dwarf grabbed his backpack, rummaged through it and found an exquisite and brutal style glove, threw it to Eudora, and said:

"This is a good thing I found in the troll capital Zul'Gurbri. It is a very powerful magic item. It should be enough, right?"

"this"

The fox-man hesitated a little. She turned around and took out a magic stone made by a mage from Narthalas Academy. She asked a few questions to the other side, then swung her tail and said to the dwarf:

"This thing comes in one set, and there is another one. Give me that one too, and I will give you the map."

"How do you know it's a set?"

The old dwarf curled his lips.

Somewhat painfully, he gave the other gauntlet to the fox man in exchange for a map of Zandalar's ruins. He was happily checking it out, but he didn't expect Harrison behind him to suddenly whisper to him:

"Things are in trouble!"

"Um?"

The old dwarf raised his head in confusion and said:

"what happened?"

"there!"

Harrison pointed to another road not far away and said:

"I heard a familiar voice. It was the notorious antiquities dealer Bud Nedlake. They were also invited. These pirates plan to sell the antiquities in their hands to three families at the same time!"

"Ah, damn it!"

The old dwarf's head also started to hurt. He thought for a while and said to Harrison:

"Don't be afraid, the money we brought this time should be enough to rescue the next part. It would be much better for the rest to fall into the hands of cultural relic dealers than to fall into the hands of elves.

At least they won't destroy precious artifacts to gain damn power.

Maybe, we can work with those guys.

You go contact them, Harrison. The artifacts should be placed in the museum in the Explorer Hall and must not fall into the hands of the nasty elves! "