The Saar's chieftaincy sits in a house surrounded by stone walls. The room was cold, but he liked it - orcs weren't hardy creatures, and they didn't feel comfortable staying here, but Thrall wanted that. When the house was first built, he told the workers to make the stone walls thicker, and not to install windows, and to use lanterns instead of torches for lighting, because the latter released too much heat.

But the cold is not so unpleasant. He didn't want people to be too casual when they visited the chiefs, but he didn't want them to suffer too much. Sal has gone through a lot of hardships to get to where he is today, so he cherishes it a lot. He always tries to do what he loves when he gets the chance, even if it's just a small thing.

Today he is going to meet the shaman Karlser and his right-hand man Berks. Now the two of them stood before him, and Thrall sat on his throne of hides. The throne was made of the skins of the enemies he killed on the battlefield.

"Humans are still left in the North Outpost. Recently there have been some troops in the area, and I think they have probably strengthened their defenses. ”

"Probably not," said Sal, leaning back in his chair, "Queen Prodmore just sent some men to verify Captain Bolick's testimony. ”

Burks stepped forward: "Do they think a warrior can lie?"

"Burks, I'm sure they don't believe us as much as you don't believe them," and his throat was low and hoarse, and his green skin was a little pale and wrinkled with age.

"Humans are such a despicable bunch of cowards!" Burks said contemptuously.

"The humans of Theramore don't fall into that category," Thrall said, leaning forward, "I don't want to hear anyone speak ill of them to my face." ”

Burks stomped his foot hard. Sal couldn't help but laugh at him. This kind of action always reminds him of the appearance of a human child losing his temper. Although to orcs, this is just a normal gesture used to express anger. He was now the chief of the tribe, but sometimes he remembered that he hadn't spent his childhood here.

"This is our territory! Thrall! Our! Humans have no right to intervene! Let them get out on the other side of the Endless Sea, where they should be. Then we can live as we used to - as if the devil never appeared. ”

Sal shook his head, believing that the idea should have died two years ago. "The territory of humans occupies only swamps, and the area is very small. Except for the Dust Swamp, they gave us everything else, Gianna and his people—"

"Gianna?" Burks disagreed.

Thrall stood up: "Be careful. Burks. It's Queen of Prodmoor, Gianna, who I admire, and you make me look down on me more and more!"

Burks was a little timid: "I'm sorry, Chief—but you should understand. You were brought up by them after all. Sometimes, this may be -- it will make you lose sight of the truth. But for us, things are clear. ”

"I didn't lose sight of the truth, Burks. Don't forget, it was I who made the orcs realize that they could no longer be at the mercy of the demons. It was I who freed the orcs from human slavery, and I was the one who taught you how to live. So don't say anything about me-"

Their conversation was interrupted by a young orc who suddenly barged in. He shouted breathlessly, "Thunder lizard!"

Sal blinked. Thunder lizards, these creatures should stay far from here—but if they show up in Orgrimmar, it's going to be a disaster.

"Where?" Burks asked.

It's a long way from here, of course," said Carlser listlessly, "or it wouldn't have been a hairy boy." ”

The creep that broke in had a lightning-shaped nose ring, indicating that he was a messenger. He must have come from the Thunder Mountains to report to Thrall. Go on. Sal said to him.

"I'm coming from the Dry Valley, chief. The thunder lizard ran out of the mountains. ”

"How is that possible?" Burks asked rhetorically.

Thrall glared at him, "Let him tell him that we need to know the details." He said to the young man, "Please continue." ”

"There was a farmer named Türk who heard a loud noise. He called his son to drive the thunder lizards out of the fields before they could destroy them. Because no one had heard of the Thunder Lizard running out of the mountains before. So he called his son, his next-door neighbor, and his next-door neighbor's son to the mountains to see what was going on. ”

Sal nodded. The Thunder Mountains are separated from the Dry Water Valley by a lush forest. The trees in the woods were all sharpened, and the thunder lizards couldn't get by. While orcs can move through the woods with care and agility, the Thunder Lizards can't.

"When they got there, they found that the whole forest had been razed to the ground. The lizards ran out of the mountain with ease. Now, farmers are worried about their crops. ”

Sal's mind was not stuck in front of him: "Razed to the ground?

"The trees were cut down. The stump is about the width of a hand's palm from the ground. ”

Burks asked, "Where did the felled trees go?"

The little soldier shrugged: "I don't know." They didn't see the branches and leaves, they saw only the stumps. ”

Sal shook his head and said, "How is this possible?"

"Chief, don't think about how it is possible," said the soldier, "and it has happened, just as I said. ”

"Good job. Thrall saluted the creep, "Go get something to eat." Eat and drink to your heart's content. Let's answer our question again. ”

The soldier nodded, "Yes!" chieftain. He turned and ran out.

"It must have been a human doing," Berks spoke as soon as the creep left the throne room, "don't even think about it. They mentioned it several times

The trees of the Thunder Mountains. No orc would have made it look like that anyway. ”

Although Sal was reluctant to believe this speculation. But Burks was right. No orc would have made it look like that. "There's no way they're going to get that much wood from the Thunder Mountains to the sea without being discovered. If they're by land, they'll be seen - unless they're by air. ”

"There's another possibility. Carlser said.

Thrall sighed and shook his head, "It's magic." ”

"Yes, it's magic," said Burks, "and the most powerful mage in Theramore is your Queen of Prodmore, Gianna." ”

"It won't be Queen Prodmoor. "It's reprehensible." Humans are not going to do that yet, although they can. ”

"What do you mean by that?" Burks was furious.

"You're like you're playing riddles," Sal said, laughing, "as usual." ”

"But there must be magic at work, Thrall," said Karser, "very powerful magic." ”

Berks stomped his foot hard. "Queen Prodmoor's magic is so powerful that the humans have coveted the wood for a long time. With this timber, they can build stronger ships - better against our merchant ships. Doing so would also release the Thunder Lizards and make a mess of our farm. Burks walked up to Thrall and leaned his face in, their fangs almost touching each other, "Makes sense. You should get the idea. ”

Thrall said in a deep voice, "Berks, don't forget that Queen Prodmore even disobeyed her father in order to maintain the alliance between Durontal and Theramore. Do you think she's going to turn her back on us for the sake of those trees?"

Burks stepped back and shook his hands: "Who can tell what humans think." ”

"I can. As you pointed out earlier, Berks, I have been raised by humans—I have seen all kinds of humans, from the noblest to the most despicable. I can tell you now that even if it were certain that a human did it, it would not be Gianna Proudmoore. ”

Berks crossed his hands over his chest and looked at Sal defiantly, "But apart from her, Kalimdor has no other human mage. It's not who she would be. Chief?"

"I don't know," Sal said with a smile, "Blackmore has always raised me as a human being. He made me read many papers on philosophy and science. Of all the papers, one of my favorites is that to be wise, you must first learn to say, 'I don't know'. Whoever doesn't say this doesn't learn anything. I'm glad I'm a very good learner, Berks. He stood up again. "Send a few teams to the Dry Valley. Let them find a way to put the lizards in the corral and provide assistance to the locals as much as possible," he said, looking at Carlser, "help me get the magic talismans." I'm going to talk to Queen Proudmoor. ”

"We must act!" Burks stomped his foot in a hurry. At this moment, Karl Cer was slowly walking out of the room as Sal had commanded, "We don't have time to talk!"

"Chatting is the second step in learning, Berks. I need to know who did this. Do as I tell you. ”

Burks wanted to say something, but Sal wouldn't let him speak.

"There's nothing to do with you here, Berks! I know exactly what you mean, but I think you should agree that Dry Water Valley is in danger right now. Please do as I tell you right now, before our farmstead is completely destroyed. ”

"Yes, Chief. Burks saluted like a soldier and left.

Sal hoped that his defense of Gianna would make a difference. He thought it should have worked. But if it wasn't for Gianna Prodmore stealing their trees and letting the Thunder Lizards go—who would it be? (To be continued.) )