Chapter 666

Chapter 666: The Oddity of Bartol Mountain

The dragonlet flew so high over the mountains of Khaz Modan that the people on its back shivered with cold. By then, Jesse had almost forgotten the terrible experience of being roasted by the flames of the black and red dragons at Grim Batol; all he could think about was warming up fast…

Greed kept trying to make the dragonlet fly lower, but it seemed not to understand Dwarven or Common at all and didn’t respond.

At first, Jesse thought the dragonlet really couldn’t understand them, until they passed a mountain near a huge stone dam, and a high watchtower suddenly appeared from the clouds below.

The dragonlet looked startled by the tower and quickly flew higher to get out of sight, almost throwing the riders off its back.

Then Jesse remembered that in the Alliance’s eyes back then, the red dragon was still a mount of the Dragonmaw Orcs. Sure enough, they soon heard Gryphon Riders behind them. After the sound of a lightning warhammer, Greed cursed loudly, but the dragonlet rose fast and shook off the Gryphon Riders before everyone froze to death.

Though it felt bad, it was hard to blame those Gryphon Riders. After all, the Orc War had only ended a few years earlier, and Khaz Modan was one of the worst-hit places by the Horde’s attacks. When the flight steadied, Greed recalled that even he had hated the red dragon fiercely not long ago.

So when they were about a mile or two from Thelsamar, the dragonlet quietly landed near a pine forest. It couldn’t go closer without being seen by the mountaineers near Thelsamar, making escape hard.

After sending the dragonlet away, the three stood among the pines, looking back at the distant smoke near the lakeshore.

Evening was near, and lights glowed in the dwarves’ dome-shaped stone houses. Knowing these were homes of Bronzebeard Dwarves, not Dragonmaw Orcs, felt reassuring.

"Will they kick me out?" Vereesa asked. "I’m an ‘elf,’ right? They don’t like outsiders like me."

"How many Orcs did you kill at Grim Batol, Vereesa?" Greed asked.

"Thirty-seven," Vereesa replied.

"Good," Greed said. "You killed thirty-seven Orcs in such a short time. When you tell that in the tavern, they’ll treat you like a hero. The length or thickness of your ears won’t matter then."

Jesse said, "I don’t remember how many Orcs I killed."

"Don’t bring it up," Greed said, tilting his head to look at him. "Vereesa can say she shot arrows through Orcs’ throats and eyes… It might not sound as brave as an axe or hammer, but it’s close. But you, my little Jesse…"

"Used awful magic to drain the Orcs like goblins," Vereesa added, raising her eyebrows.

"That’s my point. No one in the Bronzebeard tavern wants stories like that," Greed said. "Strictly speaking, they don’t want the hero of such tales around them instead of locked in Dalaran’s prison."

Jesse sighed, "Fine."

The three talked about Grim Batol as they walked into Thelsamar. The Bronzebeard town was noisy as ever at night. When they entered the tavern, a dwarf spotted Vereesa and came over, asking, "Hey, elf, do you speak Common?"

"Of course," the ranger said. "Why?"

"Good!" the dwarf went on. "You came from the north, right? Do you know about Grim Batol…" Hearing Grim Batol, Jesse and Greed looked over as they sat at a nearby table.

"What happened there?" the Bronzebeard Dwarf said. "This morning, a patrolling friend told me it’s all gone, like a meteor blew it up. All fire and… it looked evil. He said a new Dark Portal might open deep in Grim Batol. By your look, you’re a Farstrider? You must know something, right?"

"Uh," Vereesa glanced at Jesse and Greed, seeming unsure.

The dwarf looked at the table where the elf was, then at Jesse, saying, "Mage, are you with her?"

"Yes," Jesse moved closer and said, "Grim Batol is in trouble. Seems the red dragons they raised went wild. We meant to check, but it was too dangerous. It looked like a disaster from the Dragonmaw Orcs’ dark magic—too risky to go near. So we’re warning people to stay away from the eastern Bartol Mountain near the Wetlands for now."

"I see," the dwarf frowned. "That’s scary. Grim Batol was always cursed. I knew the Orcs were asking for trouble going there! Well, I thought a second Dark Portal was coming. Does that mean no more Orcs to worry about?"

Jesse said, "Many Dragonmaw Orcs escaped Grim Batol. Some might roam near Menethil Harbor or here. But that fortress… has no Orcs left."

"So we still need to be careful," Greed said.

"Be more watchful for small attacks than usual, but no big army invasion to fear," Jesse added.

"Thanks a lot, Mage," the dwarf raised his eyebrows, went back to his table, and started talking excitedly with friends. Jesse nodded, then saw Greed and Vereesa staring at him oddly.

"What?" Jesse said. "Shouldn’t we get food?"

"Did you make that up now, or plan it ahead?" Greed asked.

"Uh," Jesse said, "I don’t know. Probably just now."

"Vereesa," Greed said softly, "you’d really trust someone who lies so smoothly?"

Vereesa said, "As long as he doesn’t lie to me, I don’t care who he fools."

Greed leaned in. "Did you forget he talked to Orc soldiers like a real Orc at Grim Batol? Without that sword, I couldn’t tell who was who…"

"Now you mention it…" Vereesa nodded.

"So where did I lie?" Jesse asked. "Was what I said wrong?"