Thrall didn't stay with his people.

He sat alone on a hillside not far from the campfire. It's just the right distance, and it doesn't make those who haven't moved enough feel constrained just because they want to be quiet. He rested his chin on his hand and smiled as he watched his clan bask in joy, continuing to experience the same joy as they did.

Then he saw his human friends walking across the edge of the camp. Thrall had a vague premonition, for he had never seen Albert look so gloomy and suppressed anger, while Dinen had a rare wry smile and more nonchalance. Normally, this should be the other way around.

Believing that he would soon get an explanation, Sal stopped thinking about the hypothesis for a moment, but got up from the stone and welcomed it with open arms.

"Good evening, guys." He asked in a relaxed tone, "Don't tell me that you came to me to protest because you couldn't sleep?" ”

At first Albert looked like he didn't want to respond, but after looking at him with a scrutinizing gaze for a moment, the paladin's expression softened a little.

"A little." He reluctantly said, "It's not a big problem. ”

Now Sal could determine what was going on. Albert rarely spoke so hard. Yes, for him, this is already not a tactful degree.

He stealthily cast his inquiring gaze at Dinein—who was apparently on the same side as him—and said, "Then I hope you can accept my apologies." My people were indeed a little too excited, after all, it had been a long time since something so worthy of celebration had happened to the Frostwolf Clan. ”

His sincere attitude made the paladin a little embarrassed, and the vague sharpness disappeared. Dinin pushed him aside as expected, and then said, "If you continue to stay here, it will be no different in the future." Dragons don't come every day. ”

"I know. But we also have nowhere to go, do we? "It's the only place that humans don't want to set foot in, it's barren and boring, but it's peaceful." ”

"Humans don't have as much of a range as you might think." Dinen pouted, "We only occupy two-thirds of the Eastern Kingdom. There are elves in the north and dwarves in the center, and they cross Stormwind all the way south to the end of the continent, where trolls and goblins are located. And if you have a ship, the world is even wider. Sail west from any port, through the Endless Sea, around the maelstrom, and you'll find—" he gestured, "Kalimdor. ”

The other two were attracted by the unfamiliar word. "Is that a continent?" Sal asked.

"Yes, as wide as the ground beneath our feet."

"I think I've heard about it," Albert recalled, bitterly, "there's a piece of land on the other side of the sea—but I don't remember who said that." And not many people seem to be willing to go and find out? Otherwise, it will spread. ”

"Because the land is wild, barren and dangerous—at least in the eyes of outsiders. Those who live in it do not like to explore and modify their surroundings, and they prefer to live in peace with nature. At this point, Dineen raised his gaze, "Just like a frost wolf." ”

Thrall urged him to continue with a curious look.

"I'm not here tonight to tell you a story, man."

"But what you say is inseparable from what you are about to say." Sal said with a knowing smile, gesturing for them to sit down, "And I like this part." Please go ahead, my friend. The night is still very long. No matter how long the story can be told. ”

Dineen shrugged helplessly.

"It looks like you're in a good mood tonight, so hopefully you'll be in that mood while we're down to business." He said.

Dineen then spent quite a long time describing a distant continent. This almost completely deviates from his purpose in the first place. But when he spoke of the snow of the Winterspring Valley, the trees of the Ash Valley, the steppes of Mogaure and the desert of Tanaris, the way of life of the generous and simple Minotaur tribe, the world tree of pride of the noble and closed Night Elves, the remnants of a city that was prosperous and now forgotten thousands of years ago, and the wild nature that thrived despite all the changes, his heart calmed. It was as if a gust of wind had taken away everything that he had been haunted by a moment ago, created by civilization. The youthful hatred subsided, replaced by an ancient and long song of life.

His audience felt the same way. When Dinen was silent, none of them spoke immediately. The small area fell silent, and all that could be heard was the powerful sound of war drums around the campfire. This sound of the occasion instantly made the sense of wildness extremely strong.

Thrall sat quietly, his hands on his knees, his eyes shining with a strange light. He looked in the direction of the campfire, then let out a long sigh.

"I wish I could have gone there." He said, with a hint of anticipation in his voice.

What humans consider barren and dangerous land is a good place to resemble their homeland in the eyes of orcs. The harsh climate tempers the will, mighty beasts are the target of glory, vast lands to gallop on, away from the oppression of shameful history and malevolence, and another race so similar to them once that they could be leaders and loyal allies of orc clans.

My people will love it there. He thought.

"Why not?" Dineen asked rhetorically.

Sal guessed that he was knowingly asking, but he explained carefully: "We don't have a ship, we can't sail, we can't get there on our own." It's too risky. ”

"And you won't leave the other clans behind." Dinen looked directly at him, "As long as your fellow citizens remain in captivity and curse, you will not be able to enjoy your happiness in peace?" ”

Sal was taken aback. He didn't actually think that far. So far, he has only been in contact with the Frostwolf Clan, and he belongs here. So he naturally limited his thinking to this small group of orcs.

But can I really abandon them? Sal asked himself. We are a tribe and part of the same family. We have been united, even if the purpose is not good, but there is nothing wrong with unity. Every orc should be my brother and sister, and I can't just put them aside.

"Looks like I'm right." Dineen said with a sigh. There was no need to answer, Sal's expression said it all.

He couldn't say what he regretted, but Sal's fate was sealed. His character and character, as well as the current state of the orcs, determined that he would be a great leader.

"Then you should be interested in my next proposal." He continued, feeling as if he was talking about a business, much to Dinein's annoyance. So he tried to be as concise as he could.

"I'll help you—okay, it's us, don't poke me—liberate your people, and you help us deal with the Cursed Sect. And when it's over, I want you to be able to move to Kalimdor to live. I will also help in this regard. ”

After saying that, Dineh was much more relaxed. But he soon discovers that Sal's reaction is not as violent as he expected. Aside from a little surprise and confusion, he didn't seem to realize how difficult the offer was for them. The reason why I didn't make a decision right away was purely out of hesitation about the unknown.

"We ...... I mean, humans and orcs really should be separated for a while. Sal thought slowly, "This will make the hatred fade away." If my people can start a normal life and regain their ancient culture, it will also help to fight against the curse of the demons. ”

"Sounds like a good idea," he looked at Dineen, "but I have some questions. ”

Dineen motioned for him to listen, and poked Albert to stop him from being so nervous, but the latter ignored him completely.

"First of all, I don't feel like I can speak for the whole tribe and there is no guarantee that they will listen to me. The frostwolf orcs respect me because I am the son of a chief. This does not mean that other clans are the same. And that strange feeling of slackness has been haunting my people for a long time, and the orcs in the shelter, I don't know if they'll be able to pick up arms again. ”

Dineen disagreed.

"They respect you because of your abilities and conduct worthy of the status of Son of Durotan. Otherwise you're nothing. ”

When Garrosh Hellroar did not show the same strength as his father, but was weakened by illness and unable to fight, he was spurned by almost every orc who could fight. Orcs value bloodline, but care more about strength. The lack of power means that there is no way to inherit glory or wash away shame, let alone contribute, only to drag down the clan - such people do not even have the need to survive, they are semi-forcibly expelled from the clan, banished or isolated, and left to fend for themselves.

"Listen, Sal. You are the first shaman recognized by the elemental spirits after the Horde came to Azeroth. You can use this power to awaken the orcs and restore their thirst for glory. You are also their liberator, leading them to freedom from captivity. Your father, Durotan, is a member of the tribe, and his old man will support you. You are also capable enough to take on the position of leader—and you have to control them. I don't want these orcs to come out of the shelter and start slaughtering all of humanity. ”

His words made Sal think for a long time. For a moment Dineen was worried about why he couldn't let Hellroar or someone else be the leader, but the young orc seemed to have a vague sense of his fate. He didn't ask, but he didn't say anything right away.

"I think I need to try," Sal said slowly, "um... I guess you wouldn't mind if I went talk to Drektar, would you? He was my teacher after all, and I needed to tell him about it before making a decision. ”

Dineen was no surprise to him. Before Thrall was officially appointed chieftain, the overt caretaker of the Frostwolf Clan was Drektar. The frostwolf orcs trusted him more and were more obedient. There may be an older man who will challenge Thrall's authority, but the old shaman's words will not be questioned.

"I've said everything I want to say, just let me know when you make a decision." He motioned for Sal to please, "I hope your teacher will think about it 'well'." ”

Thrall rolled his eyes helplessly at his accent, and then hurried to find Drektar, who was resting in the cave.

The two men left behind were silent for a moment. Then Albert looked at Dineen, "How are you going to get them to Kalimdor?" ”

That's a population of thousands, and he really can't figure out how Dinen can conjure up a fleet and supplies with his bare hands. Crossing the Endless Sea without a chart is easy compared to the preliminary preparations.

"Don't ask me." Dining's eyes were half-closed, and he spread his hands in a broken jar, "If I still have a breath after solving the Cursed Sect, then think about this again." ”

Didn't Medivan give him nothing when he directed Sal to Kalimdor in the timeline he had experienced? The group of orcs who had basically never developed navigation skills almost crossed the endless sea with their bloody recklessness, and when they got there, they could save a troll, save a minotaur, cut a demigod, and cut a demon lord or something, and they didn't need to worry much about the strength of survivability.

But Albert didn't know this, and he frowned, unhappy at Dinein's irresponsibility. Glared at him condemnatively, the latter bared his teeth, half mocking and half mocking, and said: "If you really can't do it, you sacrifice it, let me kidnap you, and then ask your family for ransom, how about this?" ”

Albert was stunned for a moment, and then actually thought about it seriously.

Dineen was stunned by his unconventional reaction: "You can't really think about whether you're worth a fleet, are you?" ”

"......," Albert glared at him a little wordlessly, "I was just thinking, why can't you work with the kingdom?" ”

"What do you mean?"

"I don't like to say that, but it's not your responsibility to protect the kingdom of Lordaeron." The paladin looked a little sad, "Her administrators should have been aware of the Cursed Sect's plot sooner and protected the people from threats. ”

"But they can't, can they?" Dineen shrugged. In his mind, the nobility had no use other than to cause chaos. He didn't want to be in contact with that kind of person at all.

"Yes. So if you do it, you deserve to be rewarded. Albert said seriously.

Dineen stared at him in disbelief, wondering if he should knock the kid's head open to see what was inside.

"You want me to call the king a fleet...... To transport orcs? "He couldn't even control his volume. Just now Albert was accusing him of treason, and now he has no scruples about wanting to make this matter public? Did he find hanging too boring and wanted to try something else?

"At least it's a possible plan." Albert said calmly in the other party's "Are you in the holy light" gaze, "Your Majesty Terenus is a generous and enlightened king, and he chose to imprison the orcs rather than execute them all. I think he's the most likely to accept that condition – as long as we can make it. ”

This additional condition calmed down Dineen. Whether it is to ask the king for help, or to take a step and see the opportunity to act, this is a matter after defeating the Cursed Cultists. If he fails, there will be nothing left, and he will not be able to worry about these things.

"We'll have to say how we do that then, but—" Dineen took a deep breath, stared into his eyes, and said word by word, "We'll make it." ”

Have to.