As a believer in the Light, it is naturally impossible for a paladin to be allowed to enter the altar of the elemental spirits. He wanted to stay where he was and wait, but Sal offered him an invitation.

"You can stay with me." The orc said sincerely, "Come and see how my people live, friend." ”

Albert gladly accepted. On the one hand, it was out of his curiosity, and on the other hand, it was also because of the subtle tension in Sal's voice.

He had expected to be met with fierce hostility when he appeared in front of the orcs. But no. He could feel those hostile and wary gazes, but that was about it. The frostwolf orcs chose to avoid them rather than challenge them. This amazed him.

"I thought the orcs were very ...... Hot-blooded. You know what I mean, right? Albert said this as they made their way through the camp unharmed, and finally sat down on a log bench by the campfire.

Sal smiled back.

"But there has to be some time to rest." He said.

The paladin was thoughtful.

"Looks like Dineen is right, you've had a good fight, man."

"Perhaps, but it won't be the last battle."

"I don't think you need to worry. Look at their attitude. I'm sure if I'm not here, someone will come up and talk to you. ”

Sal looked up and hoped that Albert was right. But he just sighed in the end.

"Maybe. But I still have a lot of time to spend with them. And ...... with you" is not much.

Albert was also aware of this. They are about to part, and it is unknown when they will be able to see each other again. If he was an ordinary friend, he could have written or invited him to come over. But in the case of Saar, it is not good. If fate had been a little more cruel, this time would probably have been a farewell.

"We're ......," he hesitated, "we'll meet again, right?" ”

"Of course," Sal affirmed, "don't forget that Blackmore and I still have a settling account." ”

"Ah, then you need to hurry up and prepare." Albert smiled, "You're not the only one who wants to settle accounts with him." ”

"So you're ready?"

The paladin spread his hands.

"You know what he was going to do, right? Use orc captives to overthrow the kingdom. I wrote about it in the letter that Brand had brought to the royal city. Although there is no tangible evidence that nothing can be done with him, his life will not be easy - my father has tolerated him for a long time, and it is time to give him some hardship. ”

"And when he's in a hurry," he said...... he looked meaningfully at Sal.

The orc naturally understood what he meant, and smiled heartily: "Then it's my turn!" ”

They laughed together. Albert liked the feeling, and it made him feel the strong friendship between them, and this tacit cooperation made the enemy less afraid. Once, he could only feel this feeling of mutual support in his colleagues in the Silver Hand, but compared to the paladins who had only met a few times, the sense of security that Dinen and Thrall had been fighting with him was even stronger.

When you know there's always someone standing behind you, you'll be relieved to stride forward.

"I'll keep an eye on Dunhold." "And what are you going to do next?" ”

"It's like you know. We're going to Stratholme. Dinen says that the Cursed Cult's lair is there, and that they are planning something big. ”

"And you're going to wreak havoc on them." Sal laughed, "I wish I could be there." I've had enough of running in Talenmere, and I should be switching to them this time. ”

"When they run wild like rabbits, I'll remember to tell them there's your share."

"That's great."

Thrall was about to say something, but just then, a dull thunder rolled across the sky. They looked up together and found that the originally clear sky was suddenly completely covered by dark clouds. The surrounding light quickly dimmed, gloomy like a prelude to a rainstorm.

"I thought it was only snowing in this place." Albert said in amazement.

"Rain or snow, we'll have to find a place to ......," Sal stopped halfway through his sentence, staring in one direction.

Albert followed his gaze. A series of lightning bolts suddenly exploded from the clouds, slashing straight at the mountain peaks below. At the same time, they felt a slight tremor in the ground, and the stones were all shaken. Then another wave of lightning lit up the increasingly gloomy sky.

Such a dense flash of lightning obviously could not be a natural phenomenon. Albert suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

And Thrall, who reacted faster, had already hurriedly shouted, "That's the direction of Dinen and Drektar!" ”

The two men glanced at each other, and without discussion, they rushed in that direction together.

***

As they climbed the ridge, the changes around them became more and more drastic. Frequent thunderclaps were close at hand, the ground beneath his feet shook violently, and the oncoming wind was as cold as a knife, and the cloak was immediately covered with a thin layer of frost. The only good thing is that this change is intermittent, and there are more calmer times. Albert, Thrall, and a few other orcs who had come with them took advantage of this opportunity to get closer.

On the way, they found Draketar's little retinue, Packa. The young orcs were obviously frightened, and only calmed down with the reassurance of their clansmen. But he couldn't tell what was going on, only told them that Drektar had sent him back to the camp to find outsiders.

Something must have happened to Dinein. Albert and Sal are more and more sure of this. After a brief conversation, the orcs agreed to take Paca back to camp while the two of them rushed to see what was going on.

It's not easy. As they approached, it was as if the whole world was in turmoil. The whip-like wind even drew blood on Thrall's bare skin, and Albert nearly fell down the hill from the sudden collapse of the road. Lightning danced wildly overhead, but fortunately it didn't fall on their heads. The two of them almost used their hands and feet to climb to the top of the mountain.

"Drektar!" Thrall covered his eyes with his arms in front of him, daring to open his eyes slightly, but he still couldn't see anything clearly. Despite his best efforts, his voice was blown away by the wind as soon as he spoke.

Thankfully, a powerful voice came straight into their ears: "Come here!" ”

Thrall dragged Albert along. After a few steps, it was as if they had passed through an invisible barrier and returned to the normal world. The wind was gone, the ground was solid, and the thunder was much quieter. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, straightened up and opened their eyes.

Drektar stood in front with his back to them, arms raised. The old orc that Thrall had seen before was gone, replaced by a powerful shaman. Almost visible power erupted from his body, stopping all the turmoil in front of him. Sal watched this scene in shock, and the awe that rose in his heart made him find his voice for a long time.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Sal, ask him where Dinen is now." Albert is more concerned about this.

Without a translator, Drektar understood his lingua franca. He opened a hand and pointed forward: "There it is." ”

"What do you mean......"

"That friend of yours," Drektar didn't turn his head, "I thought he was a warrior. ”

Now the faces of both of them changed.

"You said it was all Dining?" Thrall said incredulously, "But he's a warrior!" I've never seen him fight with anything other than a sword and a bow! ”

"And who am I fighting against!" Drektar roared impatiently.

"Wait, why would he do that?" Albert asked. The price to pay for this incredible power was just as high, and even if Dinen saw Drektar as an enemy, why would he use such a laborious way?

There was a hint of confusion on the shaman's face.

"I don't know what's going on. Originally, everything was normal, and the ceremony was fine. But all of a sudden, it all changed. All the elements in the area are in turmoil. I called out to the elemental spirits, but they remained silent. I can only try to reassure them, but as you can see, the situation is still getting worse. ”

"I don't know how he did it, he didn't even make a request to the elemental spirits! But he did have an effect on the elements, or more, in commanding them. I've never seen anyone do anything like that! ”

"Luckily, he didn't come for me. The power is too diffuse. I think he must have gotten out of control. But it's not surprising, how could a mortal use the power of the elements like an elemental spirit? His body simply can't withstand such exertion! ”

"What will happen to him in the end?"

"Will die." Drektar put it bluntly, "But before then, this uncontrollable force could kill us all." ”

"Then we must stop him!" Albert said categorically.

"Of course, that's why I called you."

"What are you going to do?" Sal asked.

"I'm not sure, but maybe you can wake him up." Drektar held a hand to the sky, "There is a powerful link between the shaman and the elements, and I can feel the anger and pain in it. The load that the elemental brought to him made him miserable, the pain made him angry, and the angrier he was, the more the elemental got out of control, and the deeper his pain became. You have to calm him down. Otherwise we will have to wait until he dies. ”

"There wouldn't be that 'otherwise'." Albert said firmly, "I'll bring him back." ”

"Let me go." Thrall took a step forward, "I'm stronger than you. ”

"But I have the power of the Light." The paladin patted him on the shoulder, "I think the light calms down Dineen—and the concussion probably doesn't work so well." ”

***

He is not without trauma. The feeling of sharpening a knife on the nerve center was familiar to him, and he endured it.

But this time is different.

It was as if someone was sucking his brain out of something, and his thoughts, consciousness, and all the liquid solids were mixed up and finally completely emptied. However, the suction did not stop after he was left with nothing, but continued to squeeze him, pulling out nerve bundles, veins and bones from this body one by one.

He wanted to howl loudly in pain, but he didn't know if he was making a sound. Even the ability to think has been lost. He felt nothing but pain. He fought angrily, roaring against the invisible enemy, but it was useless. The angrier he was, the stronger the suction, and the more he fought, the weaker his body became.

In the vicious circle of continuous, he vaguely heard something. But it was so faint that it disappeared in the blink of an eye, and he didn't even realize he heard it.

But the suction suddenly slowed down. Like the undulating waves of a rough sea. The voice broke through the chaos and shone in like a ray of sunlight.

"Dineh!"

Daylight brought warmth, and the slight relief from the pain allowed him to regain a small part of his ability to think. He was finally able to understand the meaning of the voice.

Dineh...... It's me. And who is the one who called me?

He didn't know, but the voice seemed to be there to help him. So he tried to listen, to understand.

"Relax...... Believe me... Calm ......"

The voice was so muffled that he couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could he relax? How can you be calm? He's fighting the enemy!

But the voice repeated over and over again, to the point of tiredom. Eventually, he compromised, though he didn't know why.

He relaxed his vigilance slightly, and found that the suction did not increase further. So he tentatively calmed down his anger. The suction decreased, and eventually after he had completely relaxed, the force he was fighting was gone.

There was no time to wonder or think, and the quiet darkness completely enveloped him.