Tirisfa has never been a friendly land. Even though humans have lived here for many generations, little is known about her. Year after year, the farmers of Lordaeron plough outward, but beyond the fences of the farms, deep in the deep-rooted forests, there are still vast areas that have never been disturbed. Ancient secrets lie asleep there, neither known nor known by humans.

Arthas grabbed the edge of his saddle and leaned slightly to avoid the currents whipped by the griffin's wings, and looked down. As they flew westward, leaving town after town behind, the fields tamed by civilization became scarce, and all that was left as far as the eye could see was the endless jungle covering the mountains. He had never been so far away, even though it was nominally part of Lordaeron's territory.

He sat up straight and looked around. Dinen and Gianna were to his right and left, followed by the dwarves hired to care for the griffons and the escort led by Farrick. The faithful veteran insisted on accompanying him on the trip. Arthas knew it was well-intentioned—and his father's orders—but was still slightly annoyed. He was sure he could take care of himself, but no one seemed to agree with that.

He put this childish aback and asked Dinein, "How long will it be before we arrive?" ”

Although Alsace consciously raised his voice, he still underestimated the strong winds that would blow up during the flight. His voice was almost druffled, but luckily Dineen heard it. He turned his head to look at Arthas, as if he hadn't made any movements, and the griffin leaned sideways. He was the only human in the group who seemed to be as comfortable as the dwarves. The others were inexperienced in how to ride the beast and had to devote most of their attention to preventing themselves from falling. At this point, the long-standing friendship with Muradins did not help Arthas. After all, the Copperbeard Dwarves only consider griffons to be a type of pack beast for daily use, and do not have the same strong preference for them as the Brutehammer tribes. They don't let their feet leave the earth easily unless they have to.

"It is said that there is a lake at the end of the woodland," Dinen replied. He put himself upwind so he didn't need to raise his voice too much, "We're going to get there." ”

He pondered for a moment, measured the map in his memory with his hand, and said, "You'll be there at sunset." ”

He's right. As the sun approached the summit of the mountain ahead, the forest finally receded behind them, revealing a lake surrounded by mountains. It was as if I had finally struggled out of the blanket, and it was heart-wrenching, and the suffocating feeling caused by the monotony of flying was suddenly swept away.

Dineen looked at the situation below, then raised his hand. When he noticed that most people were awkwardly pulling on the reins, he lowered his hand and let out a whistle instead. His mount folded its wings and swooped down, and the other griffons scrambled to follow. From the rider's point of view, it was as if the earth was rushing straight towards them. The oncoming wind beat them in the face, making it almost impossible to open their eyes, so they had to hold on to their saddles and resign themselves to their fate. It seemed as if at the last moment that the griffons stopped their descent and glided forward for a while, before landing on the edge of the lake.

"Hey." Noticing that several of the guards were rolling off the griffin's back, Dineen said thoughtfully, "I should be slow next time." ”

Arthas rolled her eyes at him.

After handing the reins to a dwarf, he turned his attention to his surroundings. The sun was slowly setting, and the afterglow was shining on the surface of the lake, reflected in the dazzling brilliance of the lake, but it was powerless to drive away the darkness that spread under the lush foliage, and the leaves whispered in the cold twilight wind, and there was no sign of animals. An eerie uneasiness struck him.

The few words that Dineen found did not tell them what would happen to Soladin. Arthas imagined him falling asleep at some point during his journey, never to wake up, weapons and armor at his side, buried with respect and sorrow by the guards. It's the decency that a king deserves with a hero, but it sounds overly perfect and unrealistic.

But if not, then what brought him down? What kind of terrible enemy could conquer such a brave leader? On his deathbed, will Soladin be victorious and at peace, or will he face a more tragic situation?

Arthas glanced at his friend. Dinen didn't seem to think much of it, and he was busy rewarding his mount with fresh meat while muttering something to it in dwarven language. For a moment, his eyes seemed too bright in the fading twilight. But before Arthas could get a good look, he turned his face to the other side, to avoid the griffon's wings. When he turned around, everything looked normal.

"Are you okay?"

I don't know when Gianna was already standing beside him. She seemed to take a short time to tidy herself up after leaving her mount, but her blonde hair was still a little messy. Arthas glanced around, and saw that the others were busy unloading supplies and camping on the spot, not noticing, so he boldly reached out and helped her pull a strand of hair behind her ear.

Gianna blushed: "Oh, thank you. Then she cleared her throat, "You looked like you were a little worried. ”

"Just guessing what King Soladin has encountered here." Arthas told her, "This place makes me feel ...... Something terrible. ”

"Tirio says the Light strengthens his perception of danger, and perhaps the same for you." Gianna guessed. She smiled, "Don't worry too much, we already know that this place is not peaceful, and we have made a lot of preparations for this, haven't we?" ”

"You're right." Arthas agreed.

But deep down, he still doubted that they were ready.

Early the next morning, they conducted a preliminary survey of the nearby forest, but never found a suspicious location. The only suspicious finds were some pieces of metal scattered throughout the woodland. They were half-buried in the dirt, uneven in size and shape, covered with enthusiasm from plants, and looked no different from stones, until one of the guards slipped on top of one of them, ripped open the vines and rubbed off the moss. They have rare textures on their surfaces, and their texture is rather bizarre, the color is like gold and copper, but they do not belong to either. Dineen thought it was some fragment of the Titan's architecture, and Gianna was immediately intrigued.

"Don't be too curious, girl." Dinen frowned at her, "We don't have an army behind us right now. ”

"But what if that's what King Soladin came to seek?" Gianna retorted, "You know, there are very few things that attract people who have given up a kingdom. I can't think of anything more worthy of his pursuit than the Titan's trail. ”

Dineen snorted heavily.

"He's really asking for trouble." He muttered, but didn't object.

Over the next few days, they scour the forest as Gianna had requested, and found more similar pieces of metal. Gianna took a lot of notes, and as soon as she got back to the camp, she went into her tent and wrote the math. Dinen became acquainted with the guards—or conversely, with him. At first they tried to ask him to tell him about Stratholme's experience, but then they urged him to say more. Dineen wasn't against that, and he had nothing to do anyway. So every night, except for the sentries on duty, the rest of the humans and dwarves crowded around the fire.

When he narrates, Dineen never boasts of his bravery and cleverness, and the word he uses most is not "I", but "we". He doesn't deliberately create an atmosphere, but just tells the whole process in a straightforward way, what kind of environment he is in, what kind of enemies he faces, how to defeat them, and how many people died because of it. Even so, the unadorned cruelty was enough to make his listeners' hairs stand on end and their teeth chatter, while keeping the valuable experience in mind.

As Dinein's story became the most terrifying part of the day, Arthas gradually relaxed, believing that they would be able to complete the expedition without a hitch.

The ominous premonition that had been haunting him since he came here had a basis in reality.

***

"I'm not sure what it is, but I'm not the only one who feels it."

Dinen sat across from Arthas, wiping his sword as he spoke. The runes on the blade that had been newly carved by the enchanter lit up and disappeared as he moved, and his eyes lit up and down with the candlelight dancing in the tent.

"The day before yesterday, Tick complained that his feed bucket had been deliberately kicked over, because anyone who wasn't blind could see it standing there. I've looked at that location, and it's conspicuous to the people inside the camp, but not to the people coming in from the outside. Another dwarf said that the griffons were a little irritable at night, usually during the time when everyone had gathered around the fire.

"One of the guards secretly told me that he had seen people walking around outside the fence while he was standing guard, but when he chased after him and wanted to question why he had stayed outside so late, the man disappeared behind a tree. He searched the camp after daybreak, but never found the man he saw. ”

"As for me, I can always feel the sight of it. It's watching me, assessing my strength. ”

Dinen bared his teeth, which made him look like he was smiling, but he wasn't.

"A thief who can hide from me would never be so rash. This man," he tapped lightly on the blade of his sword, "there was clearly a sense of confidence that he would not be harmed even if he was discovered. ”

He looked up at Arthas.

"I've heard that paladins have a special sense of undead creatures."

"You think there's a ghost wandering among us?" Even though Arthas had an instinctive discomfort with this place, he shuddered when his premonition was confirmed. The coldness crept up his spine like a snake, as if a pair of eyes were watching them from behind.

"Maybe, maybe something else. After using all available means to rule it out, the conclusion will not be too far from wrong. ”

Arthas sighed.

"Well, it's not the first time I've tried a course I haven't taken anyway."

He thought for a moment, then closed his eyes and let his mind clear. At first, all information is received by the senses. Dinein's breathing was long and steady, a bird was singing its night song on a nearby branch, the tree shook its leaves in the wind, and the armor under his palms gradually warmed from slightly cool. The more eager he was to perceive, the clearer the sensory feedback became, but it didn't help him.

"Relax," Dineen reminded, "your comrades aren't so focused on the battlefield." We have plenty of time, so we don't have to rush. Forget about the physical world and let the Light lead your spirit. ”

Alsace did so. Dinein's knowledge of paladins was sometimes more nuanced than he was as a newcomer. And this time is no different. As soon as he let go of his eagerness and stopped trying to absorb information, a warm current rose very slowly from the depths of his chest and poured into his brain, bringing him into a state of almost meditation.

"Uh-huh......" After a while, he opened his eyes and turned his head to look, "I think I do sense a presence somewhere, by the lake on the north side of the camp." ”

"Only one?"

"There's only one."

Dinen let out a low roar from between his teeth, and the anger that had been stored up for a long time instantly tore through the illusion of calm. He leapt to his feet, blade in hand, and rushed out of the tent like a tornado. Arthas had not yet completely detached himself from his meditative state, he was a few seconds slow before he grabbed the war hammer and followed, and he could no longer see Dinein's figure, only one sentry stood at his post, stunned as if he had been brushed by a storm: "Your Highness? ”

Arthas hesitated briefly, then decided to trust Dineen's abilities—and his fury: "Hold your post, Sentinel, we'll be back later." ”

He then ran towards the lake. Before breaking through the cover of the trees, the clanging sound of weapons clashing was already heard one step ahead. When he finally jumped between two ancient trees with tangled rhizomes and came to the open area of the lakeside, he saw Dinen and his opponent.

It was indeed a ghost, its translucent body shimmering with a pearl-colored glow in the moonlight. He was slightly shorter than Dineh, broad-shouldered, fully clothed in armor, wielding a huge two-handed sword in his hand, and still holding his pace under the stormy attack, maintaining his rhythm and not looking to be down at all.

The ghost spun in a half circle to dodge a sharp slash, and it was then that Arthas was able to see his face over Dinen's shoulder. Although the glimmer blurred the details, he managed to connect what he saw with the images in his memory.

"Wait, Dineh, come back!"

At the same time, Dineen finally broke through his opponent's defense, stepped forward with a heavy shoulder, and stabbed the ghost with a sword. Arthas's shout made him hesitate for a second, giving up on any further intentions, and rolling sideways to distance his opponent. The two-handed sword grazed his side, eventually hovering in the air. The ghost didn't continue to pursue, but took a few steps back, touched the invisible scar under his ribs, and let out a hearty laugh.

"God, you fight like a real highlander!"

"I'm from Lordaeron." Dinen growled. It was the first time Arthas had heard him say this, and he couldn't help but glance at his partner in surprise, "So you can speak." So why not just stand up and sneak a peek out on the sidelines? ”

The ghost shrugged.

"I haven't seen anyone else in many, many years. Besides, I'll have to see if you're really qualified to pick up my sword. ”

"Your sword?" Dinen said suspiciously, but his anger had eased.

"Sdomka. Of course. The ghost patted his two-handed sword, then nodded to Arthas, "I hear your friend praying to the Light that you will find it." However, we are warriors, and in the end, we have to judge in the way of warriors. ”

Arthas felt his face burn a little, especially when Dinen turned his head to look at him. He cleared his throat, made a brief introduction to himself and Dinein, and said, "Forgive our recklessness, King Soladin. At first we didn't expect to meet you here. ”

"Not for me either." "But that's not a bad thing. Maybe it's you all I've been waiting for. ”

"What does that mean?" Dineen asked.

"You've told a lot of great stories these nights, young man, and they make my heart flutter and I feel nostalgic for the good old days." Soladin turned his gaze away from them, looking into the distance, smiling at something on the other side of time that had long since disappeared, or even long forgotten, and that smile quickly faded, "But now, it's time for me to tell you my story." ”