Shadow Trails in Azeroth

Nanhai Town is very lively these days.

The residents who had no work at hand seemed to suddenly fall in love with the sport of fishing. As long as they had free time, they would drag their families to the town's pier to throw a few poles.

Of course, fishing is fake, but watching the fun is real.

Two young men, Nat Pagle and Joe Hal, who left town six months ago and went out to explore, came back a few days ago. Not only did they return to their hometown safely, they also brought back something quite strange.

For a time, it became a new gossip "hot spot" for urban residents.

"That elf sister is so dark."

On the pier in the afternoon, a little boy with his father on his shoulders wore a fishing hat, waved his fingers, and shouted something innocently, which caused laughter from several guys who were fishing around him.

"It's impolite to speak like this. Don't say it in front of others!"

The little boy's father was a little embarrassed. He put him on the ground and scolded him, but he couldn't help but turn his head and look at the long bridge next to the pier.

Hal and his elf wife were sitting side by side fishing. The two were sweet and exchanged words in words that the townspeople could not understand from time to time.

Next to them, there were several lovely children of the Night with bare feet carrying small buckets, busy helping Uncle Hal load the fish.

"That elf is really dark."

The group of fishermen who were "strongly watching" in the central part of the pier were also communicating privately, especially a group of young people about the same size as Hal, who couldn't stop talking about this elf.

"I was drinking with Nat at the bar yesterday, and I heard Nat talking nonsense. This elf is not a white elf from the north, but a black elf living on a big island in the sea.

It is said that they have a kingdom on the island with a beautiful and magnificent city. Nat boasted that he had fished in that city and said that there were millions of black elves in the city. "

A young man with a mustache grabbed the fishing rod and said eloquently to the "fishing friends" around him:

"Nat also said that the fleet he is currently working for will be going back in a few days, and I plan to go with him. Although my fishing skills are not as good as Hal and Nat's, I am much stronger than them, and I will definitely be able to join the fleet. Find a job here."

"Huh? You asked so much just to do hard work on the fleet?"

Someone next to me teased:

"Are you afraid that you also want to find a black-skinned elf to be your wife? This elf is not good-looking. It is really not as beautiful as the white elf in the north."

"You young people know nothing."

The old man who brought his son to "fish" threw out the fishhook and imparted "life experience" to this group of restless young people disapprovingly.

With an ambiguous smile that all men understand, he glanced aside and commented in a low voice:

"The Quel'dorei elves in the north are white and beautiful, but they are too thin and don't have much flesh on their bodies. Although black elves like Howl's wife look average at first glance, their figures are much better than those of white elves. .

Look at those breasts and those legs. Hal's waist was probably broken by her. And don’t you think the lines on Madam Vereny’s face look pretty good if you look closely?

You kids can only look at faces, but real men know that. Ahem, kids, don’t listen, just go and pick up crabs to play with. "

The big brother spoke with great enthusiasm, and the eyes of the young people next to him lit up. They "listened" attentively with humble faces, intending to learn some life experiences.

But when the elder brother turned around, he found that his youngest son was also listening with a blank look on his face.

He immediately took off the pipe from his mouth, waved his hands as if to hit him, and drove away the little bastard who had not learned well since childhood.

The little boy wasn't angry either, thinking that he would complain to his mother when he got home, saying that his father was peeking at Uncle Hal's elf wife again.

Speaking of which, in the past few days since Uncle Hal came back, the uncles and aunts in the town seemed to be quarreling more and more.

Uncle John next door had a fight with his wife yesterday, and his wife took the child back to her parents' house. She really couldn't understand the complicated world of adults.

But Uncle Hal's elf wife is really tall. She stands a head taller than Uncle Hal. It would be great if I could be this tall in the future.

The little boy's desire was so pure.

His happiness is also very simple.

It is always easier for children to make friends. Within a few minutes, the little boy carrying a small bucket to catch crabs made friends with several children of the night.

They were barefoot and laughing, carrying small buckets and going to the beach to pick up shells.

There have been soldiers patrolling the area recently. A group of murlocs on the coast who were robbing homes were driven away by the murloc pirates a few days ago. The coast is very safe and the children are having a good time.

However, Hal and Vereny, who were "being watched", were a little embarrassed.

No matter what the couple does these days, they are always followed by a group of people.

Hal was very proud at first, but then he got bored. This is normal. No one can stand a group of men discussing their wives all day long.

"Shall we leave this afternoon?"

After following the fleet to the Broken Islands and wandering around Northrend, Hal has become much more mature than before. At the suggestion of his wife, he grew a beard.

This will swing out the fishing rod and say to Verenni, who is also fishing next to her:

"Take the fishmen's boat back to Tol Barad.

Nathalath Academy is recruiting students recently, and little Connie should be ready to give it a try. I think our daughter will definitely become a very powerful mage. "

"She's too young. It's better to wait a few more years."

Vereny gently helped Hal adjust his hair. She looked around and whispered:

"And I think you should be concerned about Nat. His recent situation is not optimistic. I have never seen a skilled person decline so quickly.

He has gone from a great fishing master to a slovenly drunkard.

He hasn't gone fishing with you for a long time, right? "

"Nat. His situation is more complicated."

When mentioning his good friend, Hal also looked sad. He held his wife's slim waist and whispered:

"Nat wouldn't let me take care of him. He told me to stay away from him. He also said when he was drunk that something was watching him and he would bring bad luck to everyone.

This is not something you and I can resolve.

But there are several troll witch doctors on the island, and there are doctors among the ancestor turtles. If that doesn't work, send him to the mages on the South Island. They can always find a way to treat him. "

"Perhaps we can ask the captain."

Vereny thought for a while, switched to Salas, and said to Hal:

"The all-powerful Captain must have a solution."

"Nat won't let me go to Captain Black."

Hal also switched to Salas with a human accent and said with a headache:

"He said there was something terrible about the captain, and I was not allowed to get close to him. As you know, Nat has magical abilities, and the ancestor turtles all called him 'Prophet' in awe.

He grew up with him, and I knew how strange Nat's abilities were, and if he said that, it meant that he really saw something that we couldn't.

Speaking of which, Vereny, I don’t plan to sail with the fleet in the future.

From now on, stay in Tol Barad and do the logistics work. I bought a house in Losberg Town without telling you, and we will live there from now on. "

"You are the head of the family, I listen to you."

Vereny smiled softly, kissed Hal on the forehead, and said:

"I lived a bad life in the first half of my life, and now I just want to live a peaceful life. Moreover, Nar'thalas Academy is in Tol Barad, so it will be convenient for our children to study in the future."

"child?"

Hal blinked and looked at Vereny's flat belly. He was ecstatic for a moment, but was thrown cold water the next moment.

"Don't think too much, it's not yet."

"No way? I've been working so hard lately and have to work until midnight every night. How can I do it again?"

"Idiot! Don't say such things outside!"

——

"How did you get yourself into this?"

While Hal and his wife were talking about things inappropriate for children, in the ancestral home of Nat Pagle in Nanhai Town, Blake, who came after hearing the news, was frowning and looking at the drunk Nat Pagle in front of him. grid.

His "fishing god" no longer had the fun and sunshine of the past. He was lying on the bed with a bottle of wine in his arms. His face was haggard, his hair was disheveled, and his eyes were dull.

There were empty wine bottles and dirty clothes stained with vomit.

Next to the pirate, the diligent little maid Taresha was clumsily directing the magic broom to sweep the floor. She rolled up her sleeves, folded Nat's clothes together, and planned to take them to the yard to be washed.

Blake stared at Nat, who didn't seem to see him at all.

His mouth moved slightly as if he was speaking, but he didn't make any sound. His posture was like that of a drunkard or a mentally ill person.

"say!"

The pirate scolded Nat, but Nat didn't respond. Black stepped forward and slapped Nat twice, knocking Nat awake. The latter glanced at the pirate as if he had seen something terrifying.

He let out a roar from his mouth, and retreated to the corner of the bed in panic, hugging his body tightly, closing his eyes tightly, and wanted to bury his head in his chest.

"Well, it's really strange. He 'saw' me."

Xal'atath let out a small exclamation and whispered in Blake's ear:

"Your 'fishing god' seems to have 'awakened'. It should be the influence of that dim night pearl. He can now see the shadows of the void and hear the call of the abyss.

Unfortunately, he is just a mortal who is lucky or unlucky. His rational thinking cannot accept knowledge beyond imagination.

He wanted to understand what he saw and heard, but this exceeded the limits of his intelligence. His brain could not convert what he saw into something he could understand.

He was already showing signs of going crazy and wanted to relieve the alcohol-induced paralysis of fear. Tsk, tsk, a typical transformation path for believers of ancient gods. In up to three months, his body would become distorted by looking directly into the void.

If you don't intervene, he will end up becoming a Ksir. "

"I'm here right now."

The pirate sighed, snatched the wine from Nat's hand, opened the lid and took a sip into his mouth. He looked at the miserable fisherman and said:

"Is there any way I can help him?"

"Yes, a lot. But the results of my help basically end with him transforming into a void form."

Xal'atath made a cold joke, and then replied seriously:

"He became like this after coming into contact with N'Zoth's creation, so the way to save him must be found in N'Zoth's system. Maybe you can let him join the Church of Storms, where there will definitely be a way to heal the erosion of the void. .

And with his current super 'spiritual vision', he will definitely be able to thrive in that system, and maybe he will become an excellent tide sage in the future. "

"It's so troublesome? Can't you do a 'physical exorcism'?"

Blake rubbed his head and said:

"Use the Silver Hand, a sacred object stored by the Holy Light Church, to give it to him, okay?"

"Theoretically yes."

Xal'atath snorted and said in a contemptuous tone:

"But you have to consider the actual situation. Nat Pagle is just an ordinary person. If such high-purity holy light hits him, the void will indeed be purified, and he himself will be melted.

Of course, this can be considered a relief.

In addition, don’t even think about using your weird divine power extraction ritual. His soul will be extracted by you along with the void erosion. "

"Ah, trouble, it seems I have to ask my 'fishing god' to go to Kul Tiras."

Blake touched his chin, blinked and said:

"Since it's the problem caused by the Netherlight Night Pearl, can I help him complete the trial of the Night Pearl?"

"no."

Xal'atath explains:

"That thing can only be completed by Nat himself, and he must first obtain the basic knowledge of not going crazy when exposed to the void before he can complete the so-called 'Trial of the Fisher God' as you call it.

Ordinary people are in such trouble once they come into contact with the void.

They are too fragile and you cannot help them even if you want to. Although they are enemies of each other, I have to admit that it is indeed necessary for the Holy Light Church to choose to seal the existence of the void from the ignorant public. "

"Can you get him to wake up temporarily? I need to talk to him."

Blake said something.

"It's simple, just give it a scare."

Xal'atath made a nasal sound.

The next moment, as if to intimidate those cowards, she detonated her scolding in Nat's mind, causing the fish god to hold his head and scream, and vomited some disgusting things.

After a few seconds, Nat's eyes became clear.

He raised his head, looked at Blake, rushed over with disheveled hair, hugged the pirate's waist and cried.

The cries were full of grievance and fear.

Alas, it’s really difficult for this ordinary person.

But how to say it?

When Nat got the Night Pearl, the pirates had warned him. He chose to start this "trial" on his own, so he couldn't blame others.

"Captain, run!"

Black was about to comfort Nat, but unexpectedly, the embarrassed Nat raised his head and hissed a warning to him in a dumb voice:

“One of my seven nightmares last night was about you.

The short eagle-eyed Death has spotted you, his shadow cast in the burning flames, and he will hurl his sword of destruction at you.

There is also a group of burning green vines that are also surging towards you. They howl and march to hang you in the thorn forest.

Right in Hillsbrad Foothills!

Right here, two traps have been laid for you. They have found you, run!

Just run. "