Gianna invites Egwen and Lorena into the diner to rest. This restaurant is usually reserved for high-ranking military officers or important ministers. In the view of Delphi, the woman in charge of Gianna's daily life, the so-called important ministers really consisted of only two people: the recently deceased Christophe and Queen Proudmoor herself. However, the young mage also granted Egwen in, and Delphi began to disagree with her in doing so, but Gianna told her that the Guardian was higher than the head of state.

Gianna returned to the council chamber. Although she also needs some food, she can only eat while she works, as she tries to find out the whereabouts of the warlocks. She wanted to rush to the North Outpost, and if Thrall couldn't stop the war, she could turn the tide, but she couldn't. First, she believes in Thrall; Moreover, if she encounters Zmodor and his slaves, she needs Lorena to stay by her side to protect herself, especially if Kristof moves the elite guards to the North Outpost.

But now, she needs to think calmly alone. So she invited the old Guardian and the young Colonel into the dining room.

An attendant walked in, and Egwene ordered a salad and juice. Lorena ordered a meat plate and a boar spirit. Egwene had never heard of this wine. Lorena told her that it was an orc wine.

Egwen let out a long sigh: "Time can really change a qiē!"

"What do you mean?"

"Not so long ago, orcs were slaves to demons, and I have dedicated my life to exterminating them. These beasts roam the countryside, ostensibly under the banner of Gul'dan, but in fact they are working for Sargeras. At that time, if a human drank the wine of an orc, he would at least be considered a ...... Extreme behavior. ”

Lorena smiled, "Yes, but compared to someone of your age, 'not so long ago' was really a long time ago. ”

Egwen giggled, "Makes sense. ”

"Are you really a thousand years old?"

Egwen said proudly, "It's only a hundred years apart." ”

Lorena shook her head, "I've never understood magic, I hate it, and to be honest, I hate it when I use it myself." ”

Egwen shrugged, "Ever since I was a child, my greatest wish was to become a mage. Whenever those adults ask me over and over what I want to do when I grow up. That's how I always answer. They always looked at me with strange expressions on their faces—because mages have always been men. The tone of the last word was full of bitterness.

"It's the same with the fighters. I have nine older brothers, and they are all warriors like my father. I don't understand, why can't I?" Lorena smiled slyly, "People look at me weirdly, really. ”

Soon. Lorena's drink came up, and so did Egwen's salad. Lorena raised her glass: "Would you like to taste it?"

Wild boar spirits smell as disgusting as its name. Egwene wrinkled his nose and shook his head politely, "I'm so sorry, I haven't touched a strong liquor in a long time - it's been centuries. A mage can't lose his sane and sober mind, so I wasn't interested in it for a long time. She held up her glass. At first glance, you can see that it is a juice made from three or four kinds of fruits. "This juice is strong enough for me. ”

"That makes sense," Lorena smirked. "When I was a recruit in the Kul Tiras Guard, I always drank the men in our barracks under the table. Later, I competed and drank with other battalions, and I was always the secret weapon of our battalion. Lorena laughed, "I won three times as much as I made that year just by drinking. ”

Egwene nodded and smiled as he took a small bite of the salad. She found herself very fond of talking to this woman—a day before she didn't believe she was capable of feeling, and a series of blows had made her feel like she was no longer useful to anyone.

The waiter served an assorted meat plate. Egwene recognized only a few of the meats, which she guessed might be due to the fact that the livestock grown on the continent of Kalimdor were different from the rest of the world. She hadn't eaten meat in years, though the wine Lorena ordered didn't taste very good. But the aroma of this plate of meat is very enticing. As a mage, meat is her faithful companion - it costs a lot of body to cast spells regularly, so she needs to replenish protein in time - but since she exiled herself to Kalimdor, she no longer has the mana to catch animals, and she no longer needs to consume body lì. She became a vegetarian all at once.

"Mind if I eat a little?" Egwen asked timidly. This startled Egwene herself—she never believed she could be timid.

Lorena pushed the plate to the middle of the table: "Please." ”

Egwene greedily chewed a piece of boar ham-like sausage. Lorena couldn't help but ask, "Magna, I want to ask—how's that?"

"Call me Egwene," Egwene said, taking a bite of sausage, "I'm no longer a Guardian since I passed on my magic to my son." So I simply can't take on the responsibilities that this title calls for right now. Egwen swallowed the meat, "How's that?"

"What a feeling it feels like to live so long. I'm a warrior through and through, and I knew from the beginning that I wouldn't live to be forty years old, but it's incredible that you've lived more than two or four hundred years. ”

Egwene let out a long breath - and could smell the boar ham. The taste of wild boar meat is still better than the taste of wild boar wine. "I never had time to reflect on these issues. Unfortunately, Guardians work all day. Long before I was born, demons were a constant threat to humanity. Later, they became more and more blatant in attacking humans, but this made it easier and easier to fight back. At that time, I didn't just have to stop their attack. and to conceal their wickedness, so that many do not know them - nor do they know me - Tirisfa would rather do so. Egwene shook his head, "It's strange that I'm against those old guys at every turn, but I'm sticking to this creed. I always wondered if it could be a mistake. If people don't know the truth, they may indeed feel a little more secure. In recent wars, people have suffered more casualties than before, but the demons have also fought back more forcefully. Your Queen of Prodmore and her orc friends have wreaked havoc on the demons as a whole, arguably the most powerful and effective in this millennium. ”

"That's because we're all aggressive mortals. Lorena looked smug, "As long as it's an enemy, we'll fight until the last breath, and we have to do that." ”

"Oh, Colonel—may I have another one?"

Lorena smiled and said, "Feel free. ”

Egwen picked up a piece of meat—she didn't recognize what it was this time—and wondered what it would be like when the qiē was over. She finds that returning to the hut in Scar Heights is no longer as attractive to her as it once was. Gianna was right - humans and orcs carved out their lives here, and that qiē originated in Medivan. Tracing back to the source, that is to say, it is all because of her, so if she now reaps the fruits she sowed back then, is it reasonable......

I haven't had time to think deeply. Gianna walked into the restaurant. "I've found them, we have to hurry. ”

The young mage looked exhausted. Egwene stood up and asked, "Are you alright?"

"It's a little tired, it's fine. Gianna was a little impatient.

Egwen pointed to the meat plate on the table, "Eat something - if you collapse, you're useless to anyone." I know better than anyone the consequences of not being able to concentrate when casting spells. ”

Gianna opened her mouth to say something, but closed again. "You're right. Of course, Magna. ”

Lorena leaned into Gianna's ear and whispered, "She doesn't like people calling her that." ”

Egwene couldn't help but laugh. She really started to like the colonel.

Gianna devoured a few pieces of meat—Egwene was surprised to find that Lorena had ordered the meat plate, but she herself had eaten the least—and after eating, Gianna said eagerly, "The Fireblade Clan is operating outside a giant cave in Ghost Mist Peak. ”

Lorena frowned, "Really, great!"

Egwen looked at Lorena and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"The name Ghost Mist Peak couldn't be more apt. The top of this mountain is perennially shrouded in an orange smoke. ”

Gianna said disdainfully, "It's nothing more than the remnants of an ancient demonic spell there. That's probably why Zmodor chose there - and its location, from where Orgrimmar is the same distance as Theramore. Either way, my magic will protect the three of us from the dangers of that layer of smoke. ”

"Okay. Lorena bit out the words hard.

"Also, DeFi can find us. Gianna pulled a familiar and opened scroll from her cloak and handed it to Egwen.

Egwene took it, noticing that the seal that had been broken was Tyrisfa's. She opened the scroll and laughed—it was hers.

Egwen handed the scroll to Gianna again, "This is a modified version of the exorcism spell I wrote. Three hundred years ago, after the death of El Selifer. I came to his castle. The thought of the old elf's study made Egwen's heart tremble. It's just a mess, countless books stacked in a mess, not at all organized. It took her and Elslifer's men ten weeks to clear out all the scrolls and sort them in. Egwene discovered a spell written by the legendary elven mage Czirth on how to move a target from one place to another, and she summarized them into a more effective exorcism spell. "I think if I had this scroll eight hundred years ago, we wouldn't have to deal with Zmodor today. ”

Gianna put the scroll back into her cloak. "In fact, it is not. I've checked, and your first spell to banish Zmodor was very successful. But when the Burning Legion returned, they recruited more demons, including those who had already been banished by Tirisfa. After the end of the war. The Burning Legion was repulsed, but some of the remnants of the defeated army remained in the world. ”

"Zmodor is one of them?" Egwen asked.

"Yes. Gianna nodded.

Lorena drew her sword and unsheathed it—she was now willing to join them in her arms, hesitating and scared—and said in high spirits, "Your Majesty, with all due respect—what are we waiting for?"

"One more doubt," Gianna said. "I can't do divination very close to them, I'm afraid the demons will detect it, so I'm not sure what protective magic Zmodor and the warlocks are using. We have to be prepared. Gianna turned to face Egwene, "Magna - Egwene - you don't need to come with us, it could be dangerous. ”

Egwene snorted softly. She really didn't know what to say now, as if it was the exact opposite of her earlier argument about the duty of a Guardian. Also, they thought she hadn't been able to expel Zmodor. But now they know it's not her problem. Despite this, she felt that she still had some responsibility. "Isn't it just a little devil? When your great-grandfather and great-grandmother were infants, I experienced something more dangerous than this. We are simply wasting our time. (To be continued.) )