"Warm clothing, food and water, tents... What else? Albert asked.

"Bows and arrows, ropes, pointing pins, it would be better to find a more detailed map. The flint and steel are already there, so," Dinen pondered, "do you think we can find the whistle?" I did it myself without it. ”

"Oh, if you can, I'd suggest you do it yourself." Albert shrugged, "Don't forget that we're planning to change weapons, are those gold really enough?" ”

"Of course not. But they were probably all the little girl's assets. Dineen touched the money bag on his waist, thinking that this was probably the first time in twelve years that he had a headache about running out of money—normally, when he ran out of money, it happened to be when supplies could not be exchanged for money.

"Teresa is a good girl." Albert said sincerely, "Sal is so lucky to have met her." ”

Dineen looked up at him and agreed. Only he knew what the girl would go through in the end, she gave everything for this alien brother. Her death frees Thrall from his fear of Blackmore, but it also entireties Sal completely with humanity - Gianna is his ally, but not his relative.

But he immediately reminded, "Don't mention Thrall again." Who knows if the news of Dunhold has reached here. ”

Albert nodded in understanding.

They are now walking on the road leading to Talenmere, and although there are not many pedestrians, they will encounter one or two from time to time. The trip to Talenmere was only to prepare supplies for the entry into the Alterac Mountains, and it was best not to get out of the way, so Sal had to stay alone in the camp, with Dineen and Albert on the trip.

"Speaking of which," said Dinen casually, as they could see the fence and bright red roofs around the town from afar, "have you been to Talenmere?" ”

Albert scratched his chin: "Almost." ”

"Huh?"

"I passed through here a few years ago when I was on my way to Dalaran, but for some reason I didn't stay in the town, but camped in the wilderness." He looked at Dineen, "What about you?" ”

"Probably."

"Huh?"

"I know I've been to this area, but I'm not sure if it's Talummir."

Dinen was talking about his experience twelve years ago, when he fled the suddenly fallen city of Lordaeron and made his way south to Minethil Harbor to take a boat to Stormwind. At that time, the entire kingdom was swallowed up by the frenzy of natural disasters, and most of the area was reduced to ruins, and Dineen didn't even know where he had gone, all that remained in his memory was despair and fear, and madness that he didn't know who to point to.

"So, actually, we don't have an impression of Tarummir?" Albert smiled helplessly.

Dinen shrugged, "I think what's more interesting is that we all seem to have passed through this town. "It's a little bit cheaper.

In the middle of the conversation, they had already walked into Talenmir.

Connecting to the main road is the main road in the town, the gravel pavement is clean and tidy, and the passers-by carry logging axes and hoes home for lunch and greet each other warmly. The houses on either side are haphazardly arranged, mostly one-story huts, with insect-repellent herbs drying outside the windows, and the aroma of toast and stewed meat slipping out from behind the wooden doors.

"Good craftsmanship." Dineen commented.

Albert looked at him amusedly: "Are you hungry?" ”

"Not yet." I just feel that the laid-back atmosphere around me is relaxing. Peacetime towns are always filled with this carefree feeling, which reminds Dineen of his childhood. Even in the depths of memory, even the details have faded, leaving only vague light and shadow and hazy emotions. But he can still feel the overflowing comfort and happiness of that time, as if he owned the whole world.

— but those were eventually lost.

Dineen quickly retracted his thoughts, unhappy with his sentimentality. He looked at the signs on both sides of the street, focusing on business: "If you want something to eat, at least wait until you're done shopping." ”

"We shouldn't have any money left."

"In that case, how about I recommend you to help out at the mill? The salary is paid daily, and one meal is also managed. Dineen gestured to the windmill outside the town, "I'll be there to cheer you on the whole time, I promise." ”

Albert simply gave him a roll of his eyes and pointed to the other side: "I might as well go there and ask." ”

Dineen looked in the direction he was pointing and saw the cross standing at the top of the building. He wrinkled his nose in disgust: "Then you can go by yourself." ”

"What about you?"

"It's better for someone like me with a dark heart not to set foot in the territory of the Holy Light, in case there is no scum left to be purified, won't you feel guilty?"

Albert looked helpless. He knew that Dineen was irascible and disregarded for life, but such extreme emotions were common in soldiers who had been in a state of war for a long time or adventurers who were on the verge of life and death, and he had heard and seen many examples of this. As for the darkness in the heart, it is completely a pretext.

"Can I ask," he couldn't help himself, "why do you hate the Light so much?" ”

Dinen stared at the young paladin blankly for a moment. Just when Albert thought he was probably trying to beat himself down, he unexpectedly got an answer.

“…… Words don't count. His partner muttered.

"Huh?"

But Dineen turned his head away, signaling that the topic would be over. Albert could only follow him, pondering what was going on—those who were able to communicate with the Light must be priests and paladins, and Dinin was clearly not. So he should be referring to the human being and not to the Light itself. But honesty is one of the necessary virtues, and it is common for a person to fulfill his vows even if he lays down his life.

Is it a last resort, or is it beyond our reach?

But in any case, this must have left an extremely bad impression on his partner.

Just when the young paladin was determined to take on the responsibility of changing his partner's negative impression of the Light, Dinen stopped and raised his arm to stop Albert, who was almost stumbling on the threshold because he was too attentive.

"Uh, thank you......" Albert looked up at the sign at the door, puzzled, "blacksmith?" ”

In the previous gladiatorial battle, the shadow left by inferior weapons was very profound, and he could naturally understand Dineh's urgent need for a good sword. But they really don't have enough money to buy all the supplies they need, and then they can choose three sturdy weapons as they want. So shouldn't it be to buy other things first and then see which ones are within their reach?

Dinen pointed to his waist: "The hilt of the sword is gilded, and the raw materials are not bad, but the forging technique is too poor, and it can be sold for a little price - otherwise why do you think I brought these two swords out?" ”

For this, Sal was left with only a dagger in his hand, which added a lot of risk to his wait. But he still expressed his understanding and trust in this, and he was sincere. If he wasn't an orc, Dinin would have been happy to know such a person, after all, everyone would be happy to deal with good people.

It's a pity that he is an orc, and Dinein's wariness of the tribe is engraved in his bones. Thrall would be a respectable enemy, but he wouldn't be Dinein's friend.

***

As with most blacksmith shops Dineen has seen, furnaces, bellows, and anvils take up most of the space, and the rest of the walls are covered with finished products. Open doors and windows bring in fresh air, but the roaring stove still keeps the inside hotter than outside.

There was no one in the room, and Albert was about to shout, but Dinen waved his hand to show that there was no need to hurry. He walked around the room, studying the finished products with interest. Not only weapons such as swords, axes, and hammers, but also farm tools such as hoes were picked up by him and knocked twice.

"You're interested in any of these too?" Albert tapped on the surface of the steel as he did, but heard nothing, "Are you going to grow wheat on the snowy mountains?" ”

"I'm not going to compete with a druid. Leave this to the avid nature lovers. Dineen pursed his lips and put down the farming tools in his hand.

Albert was about to ask what the druid was when a tall man carrying a hammer entered the room through the door leading to the backyard. He had thick arms and strong muscles, and his blue shirt was covered in dust and sweat. Looks like it's the owner here.

"Welcome." The man said in a rough voice, "What do you two want to buy?" ”

Albert was embarrassed for a second, and then Dinein said without looking back: "The bronze battle axes in the second row and three columns on the left, the ash bow in the top row, and the steel broadsword in the two columns to the right, two." ”

The expressions of both men changed. But the blacksmith was surprised, and Albert was stunned and then had a bitter look.

"Good eyesight." The blacksmith praised, "It's rare for someone to pick out all the good things in my shop so quickly." The eyes are really pointy. ”

"Thanks for the compliment." Dineh said nonchalantly, "Then let's talk about the price." ”

Albert's expression was even more painful - he knew that Dinen would definitely not be the first to consider the issue of money when he chose it!

But at this point, he had no choice but to negotiate the price with a blacksmith named Chamberlain. Albert came from an aristocratic family, and he had long been accustomed to leaving things to his attendants, and occasionally had enough money in his pocket when he bought things on his own, so he never tried to bargain with others. The young man blushed his face in just a few words, stumbling too embarrassed to continue, and could only scan Dineh's back with a condemning gaze.

Dineen steadfastly pretended not to feel anything—for a while, he was paranoid to the point of only being interested in making trouble for his enemies, and as a result, he developed a habit of having no interest in anything but the necessities of life. How much can I afford to eat and live at a civilian level? And his income is much higher than that of the common class, so Dinein will not bargain.

The difference between the two is that Dining is more authoritarian and does not like to reason, while Albert is a nobleman but at the same time a good-natured person. So this unfortunate errand can only fall on him.

However, Dineen finally threw away the long sword at his waist, which was considered to add a little bit of bargaining chip to Albert. However, it is not of much use. Even though Chamberlen was very generous in rounding them up and promised to convert the two swords into two gold coins, their money was still not enough.

“…… Dinein. Albert turned back resentfully, "Can't it be replaced by something else?" ”

Dineen also wanted to change to cheaper ones, but he couldn't look down on the cheaper ones. They all have wounds on their bodies, and when this strength cannot be fully utilized, the dependence on the performance of weapons is greatly increased. He doesn't need the sword in his hand to be able to sharpen iron like clay, but at least it should be both durable and balanced, right?

Knowing this, he shouldn't have been so cautious about taking only the essentials when he was in Dunhold. Dinen thought remorsefully, and pulled Albert to his side to explain the reason.

The paladin was silent for a few seconds, and finally couldn't hold it back: "Why do I think you think the quality of any weapon is too poor?" ”

"It's not good for the forging level." Dinen corrected. The materials used in the weapons they encountered were still acceptable, but they were not made to the full potential of metal.

Albert's forehead was bruised: "Seriously, man, did you grow up with dwarves?" "The average person doesn't distinguish between good and bad weapons, and the reason is because of material or technical problems. Only the master blacksmiths would pick and choose on this.

"Of course not." Dinen didn't understand what he meant, "Why do you say that?" ”

"Because I think you're as picky as a dwarf, it's up to me to build this step myself." Albert said through gritted teeth.

He meant nothing more than to complain. Unexpectedly, Di Jing looked at him quietly for a while, and actually nodded, agreeing: "You are right." ”

The paladin looked stunned.

But Dineh had already turned to look at the blacksmith and discussed with the other party, "How about two gold coins, plus those two swords, to borrow your stove and raw materials?" ”