They turned into a fork in the road to the north, and the group was somewhat apprehensive about the alien race they were about to face, but Masrae seemed to be at ease, as neighbors for nearly 10,000 years, the Night Elves and Minotaurs got along fairly well, but Christopher? Farrar was much more nervous.

"My lord, do you really think that this minotaur is credible, and not that he is leading us into a trap?" He whispered as he followed Diego.

"I'm not sure, but we can only hope for now that Ms. Prodmore and Sal's friendship is really as strong as we thought it was." Diego replied.

They walked for about a quarter of an hour, and among the sparse trees, they saw a camp enclosed by thick stakes more than a man tall, by the height of the minotaur. Due to the hot and humid climate, these sharp wooden piles are covered with flowery moss and ferns, which is where the name of the place comes from, Fern Wall Village.

Through the open gates of the camp, they saw many people sitting around the campfires, and the atmosphere seemed very lively - in the hazy, damp and wet dust swamps, a roaring bonfire was more popular than anywhere else, day and night.

They made their way to the campfires, which were surrounded by a motley of people, including orcs, minotaurs, and ogres. This is not unusual, in fact, the ogres are the masters of this village, and they have relocated here after their village in the southern part of the Dust Swamp was destroyed by the Black Dragons - which is a big reason why they are willing to help in the expedition to Onexia. It is worth mentioning that the Stonemallet Ogre is one of all the ogres in Azeroth. The only clan that can live peacefully with other races instead of using them as food. Half-ogres, the Beastmaster, have been allies of the Clan since they defeated the leader of the Stonehammer Ogre and took charge of the Clan.

Most of these people have their arms bent. Despite the hot and humid climate, they wore animal skin tunics that had been simply tanned and their fur turned outward. Some also have thickened metal armor plates inlaid in important parts. They didn't care about sleeping on the ground or on steaming, damp straw, but more were crouching in front of the burning pyre. Some were laughing and laughing loudly, others were humming a minor tune to pass the time, and they were beating the huge bones so that its cavity made a strange clattering sound to accompani; Others beat leather drums or plucked taut bowstrings. Play a tune full of exotic atmosphere.

The stand on the campfire was strung with large pieces of oily animal flesh, and from the outline, it looked like a whole skinned velociraptor dragon. Some resemble swampy bay crocodiles. They took knives and cut off the half-cooked slices of meat that were still bloody, puffing out their blue lips and blowing the hot air from above. At this time, by the light of the fire, you can always see the huge fangs protruding from the corners of their mouths, whether ogres or orcs. Give somebody the creeps. Christopher prefers to pigeon these fellows among the beasts. Rather than counting them as intelligent beings.

Those orcs were different from the ones Diego had seen before. Their eyes were black instead of red, and they were full of optimism and passion, not at all full of hatred and madness like the dragonroar orcs Diego encountered in the wetlands. But Diego still can't guarantee that the single horse will be safe to walk through them, because even if the influence of the demon's blood has faded, the orcs are still a savage and irascible race, as opposed to the later Grand Chief Garrosh? Hell Roar can be seen by the support of so many people.

The fat of the beast's flesh dripped into the fire, emitting a pungent scorching smell. and the foul smell of burnt hair, roasted furs, coats and boots, and raw skins and blood. It's disgusting, and I want to cover my nose and run away. In the enclosure in the corner of the camp, dozens of wolves and Kodo beasts huddled together, and from time to time let out a uneasy howl.

Overall, the camp was noisy and chaotic, not at all as quiet and orderly as a human settlement, but the atmosphere here was warm, full of the wild nature of the minotaurs and the unrestrained spirit of the orcs. But when they noticed the arrival of Diego and his party, the camp gradually fell silent, and both ogres and orcs stopped their movements, quietly watching the humans passing between them, and even the most dull person could feel the anger and hostility in those eyes—the hatred accumulated from decades of hostility and war was not so easy to eliminate. Diego suddenly had a headache - two hateful teams on the same mission? If you don't fight, it's already a blessing of the Holy Light!

"Please come over here." Minotaur Dezko? The Morning Chaser—Diego and the shaman had already introduced each other by name—led them to the northeast corner of the camp. Unlike the rest of the camp, it is also very basic, but there are a few rudimentary wooden sheds for resting.

It may have been rudimentary by human standards, but Diego noticed that it was already the best place in the whole village of Fern Wall, and that the tribe had treated them well, and had brought them a cart of animal meat and a handful of carrots and cabbage, and what could he ask for in this place where all the living creatures had either sharp claws and fangs or poisonous dust swamps?

"I hope you can live comfortably, but it's the best we can offer," Dezko said apologetically. For the hospitable Minotaur, such shabby hospitality did make him a little unable to raise his head.

"No, no, that's enough," said Diego in a loud voice, they were here to fight, not to travel, and comfort was not in the first place.

"There's going to be a meeting tonight to discuss our next plan of action, and I hope you'll be able to attend."

"I'll be on time." Diego said.

The two of them exchanged a few more pleasantries, Dezko didn't stay long, and left quickly, he still had a lot of things to do - in the tribe, there are many tough guys who can dare to fight, but there are not many who can lead a team with good brains, and when he is not there for an hour, the short-tempered orcs can beat each other's brains.

Diego and his party began to work on their own dinner. However, the firewood and ingredients were readily available, and the campfire was soon on fire. Diego found that humans were much more civilized than orcs, because they had at least one of the cauldrons on the march.

After hastily scribbling something, Diego and Masrae, led by a minotaur sent by Dezko, made their way to the council hall of Fern Wall.

It is said to be a council hall, but it is actually just a larger cave, and there are many such raised knolls in the dust swamp, and most of them have a large or small cave underneath, and the cave is inhabited by wild beasts, and of course, sometimes some of the more threatening inhabitants move here, as is the case now.

To Diego's surprise, the inside of the cave was much drier than the outside, and there were several torches stuck in the walls around it, which provided ample lighting for the place. Between the diagonally bracing sticks, hung a red rag with a stone mallet depicted in white clay, which Diego guessed was the emblem of the Mallet clan.

Except for Dezko in the cave? Outside of the Morning Chasers, an ogre and a green-skinned orc sat talking around a rocky tabletop, each with a large oak wine glass in front of them. It's an old tradition of the tribe, who like to have a few drinks during meetings, and while this tradition seems a bit out of tune to humans, few of them want to change, whether it's orcs, trolls, minotaurs, and ogres.

Behind Diego, the Night Elves' golden eyes suddenly burned. (To be continued.) )