The Great Thief

Under the night sky of Azeroth, far away from Earth, you would be able to hear the wind under your wings. Lu Li watched the land from high above and was once again amazed by the design of the game.

After he flew across Duskwood and Deadwind Pass, the scene became a dark-green swampland.

In all honesty, Lu Li wasn’t a fan of this place. The air was always foul, mixed with the stench of rotten grass roots and swamp creatures, which made it almost impossible to breath. He had to lower his senses by a few levels, which wasn’t a good thing in the Wild, considering that senses helped him detect the potential dangers around him.

He flew for nearly an entire hour until he saw the Blasted Lands. If he had the Wind Wielder with him, this would have only taken him about ten minutes. After all, the Wind Wielder could fly anywhere in the sky because it was strong, but Lu Li had to go around some danger zones.

The Dark Portal was located in the Blasted Lands.

The magic that leaked out from the Dark Portal twisted the Blasted Lands and left it with a desert-like appearance. There were no signs of life in this zone.

Nethergarde was located at the north point of the Blasted Lands; it guarded the only entrance into this zone.

It was built by Khadgar, who led the crusade into Draenor and disappeared within. All the Mages who lived in the zone now basked in the glory of this memory.

The Mages and the Warriors gave up their own enjoyment and fought against the Demons and the Ogres. Some thought that they were already a lost cause, but they still fought to protect this portal and Azeroth so that the other areas of Azeroth wouldn’t be in danger.

Because of the existence of the Dark Portal, this area had no other portals. Even supplies had to be delivered through dangerous methods.

Players could also obtain quests for delivering supplies. For some adventurers who weren’t doing so well, this was another way for them to survive. In Lu Li’s previous life, he had participated in such quests, but he was no longer interested in them anymore.

He had come to look for a soul.

If he was looking for a Tauren, this zone wouldn’t be a problem for Lu Li. He could see everything from up above.

Unfortunately, he was looking for a soul, so he had to land on the ground and search carefully. If he wasn’t careful about it, he wouldn’t be able to spot it. It took him about half an hour to find this almost invisible person at one of the spots suggested in the guides from his previous life.

“Hello, I’m an Elf from Mount Hyjal. How do I get to Nethergarde?” Lu Li asked.

The Spirit of the Horde Heroes quest wasn’t hard to activate, but this was for the Horde players. If Alliance players wanted to do the same quest, it would depend on their luck. Lu Li wasn’t much of a lucky person, but fortunately, he had a guide with him and knew exactly what to say to get the results that he wanted.

“Mount Hyjal? Is everything still well there?” the soul asked.

“The line of defense is strong as usual, but we’ve heard that the Blasted Lands seem to be in a bit of trouble lately. The Dreadmaul Ogres have attacked Northgarde many times this month. I’ve been commanded to come as a reinforcement,” Lu Li said half-truthfully. He had the quest on him, but it was the type of quest that required him to hit a certain level first.

“I see. Then you have no need to rush. The last battle happened yesterday; I saw the Dreadmaul Ogres leave, defeated.”

The soul was smart; it wasn’t just a simple form of grudge.

“That’s good, I can rest a few days before I join the battle. I’ve encountered a lot of danger along the way and it has surely worn me out. May I ask for your name and why you’re here?” Lu Li sighed and sat down.

“My name? There’s no need for it,” the soul said as it joined Lu Li.

Lu Li passed a bottle of wine over. This wine was made by the Tauren with methods passed down from Draenor. It was rare to see a soul still capable of drinking wine.

Without Lu Li’s asking, the soul began to share his story after a few sips.

“I was a member of an elite troop, one that was most trusted by Thrall himself. There were twenty of us. I once suggested for us to put down a sentry in the Blasted Lands, but my suggestion was never responded to, so I began to grow impatient. I had no clue what fearful monster awaited ahead of us… yes…I made a fearful decision. All was my fault…”

“Is there anything that I can be of help to?” Lu Li asked, softening his voice. He could tell that this sad soul was lost in some sort of regret.

“Regret, I’m filled with regrets. I’ve never considered what this wrong choice would have led to. I should have waited there and waited for the command. Perhaps it would have told us what it was, what fearful event awaited us in that damned place., or maybe it was going to tell us to head elsewhere. After all, it was my fault, all my fault…” the poor soul answered, then continued mumbling the same few sentences.

“What happened after?” Lu Li asked.

If this was someone who knew nothing of the event, they would have probably been annoyed by the storytelling ability of this NPC.

However, Lu Li knew the entire picture. There was no way he would let this Horde hero sing acapella by himself.

“I’ve been standing here, waiting for the command. I need to understand the situation; I need to find those commands. I never received anything, so something must’ve happened along the way,” he said, then finally looked up at Lu Li and asked, “Dispatch Commander Raug is located at Stonard. Find him and find out what happened to that command; this is what I want to know the most. Can you help me?”

“Gladly,” Lu Li said without the slightest hesitation.

He had just flown from Stonard, and now he had to head back. This seemed ridiculous, but Lu Li had to do so. It wasn’t a lot to ask to travel for quests. The worst situation was when you travelled to all these places but had no clue about how to continue the quest.

Just as Lu Li transformed into a crow and was about to fly away, he suddenly remembered the situation at Stonard.

“And one more thing – because I’m an Elf, the friends over there aren’t too friendly with me. Is there anything you could possibly do about it?”

“Those short-sighted idiots,” the soul scowled as a Badge formed in his hands.

Lu Li curiously took over the Badge, but he wasn’t so calm anymore once he checked its Attributes.