Chapter 66: Am I the Accomplice? |
"Wow, such a cute cat!"
Jaina's eyes were quick and her hand shot out to pet the black cat.
The black cat tilted its head slightly and stepped back half a pace. Her fingers barely brushed the tip of its ear and missed.
Jaina's lips instantly pouted.
"You won't even let me touch you?" She glared at the black cat, a flash of dissatisfaction in her eyes. "Catch it for me!"
Paval and a few personal guards exchanged looks. Although they found the mistress's command somewhat baffling, they still obediently lunged forward.
The first guard leapt out, arms wide, about to scoop the cat up——
The black cat nimbly jumped aside. He grabbed nothing and crashed to the ground.
The second guard charged from the side, aiming for a bear hug. The black cat crouched and slipped between his legs, flicking its tail as it went.
A group of big men rolled into a mess at the corner, tripping over each other and looking utterly ridiculous.
The black cat sat on a nearby step, looking down on them from high ground.
It licked its paws with a graceful, nonchalant motion.
After licking, it suddenly seemed to realize something, paused for a moment, then spat several times, "phth phth phth."
That expression, that attitude—pure disdain. Did those paws just step in something filthy?
The guards' faces flushed crimson.
They swore the cat was looking down on them.
Absolutely looking down on them!
The black cat gave them a contemptuous glance.
After turning into a cat, he found this body unexpectedly handy.
He could have reverted at any time, but he did not want to—at least not yet.
Because this body was better suited to watching that corner than a human form.
No one would suspect a cat crouched grooming itself by the roadside was a spy.
He even felt more agile than usual; those clumsy guards couldn't even touch his tail.
Too bad this was a blind-luck trigger of wild magic. Normally, Polymorph cannot be used on oneself.
Why can't you use it on yourself?
Bad design.
He was smugly scratching his chin when a chill suddenly washed over him.
Frost Nova!
Centered on Jaina, a layer of frost erupted outward.
Jaina controlled the force precisely. A pale-blue cold surged across the street, instantly freezing a thin sheet of ice on the ground.
Before Allen could react, all four of his paws were frozen to the ground, immobilized.
Seriously?
You used Frost Nova to catch a cat?!
And didn't you say you just learned Frostbolt??? You just learned Frostbolt and you already handle Frost Nova so skillfully?
Jaina walked over with buoyant steps and cradled the black cat in one arm.
With the other hand she waved, and the frost elements she had summoned scattered like tiny sparkling stars.
The ice on the cat melted.
But Jaina's arm remained tightly wrapped around it.
Soft, warm, carrying the temperature of a young girl's skin.
The black cat wanted to hiss at her to show its anger, but the hand began to stroke him.
From the top of his head down to his back, from ear to chin, the motions were gentle and practiced, bringing a certain... soothing...
The cat's body went limp uncontrollably.
Night fell.
The bright moon hung high, silver light spilling across the streets of Menethil Harbor.
Jaina had long since left, but the black cat still crouched in the shadowed corner.
Today’s matter should be buried forever.
If any third party learned of today’s events, Allen would smash that person's head until they lost their memory.
At last, a furtive figure appeared.
The man wore a drab, coarse robe, hunched and looking around as he approached the wall corner.
After scanning his surroundings and confirming no one was near, he took a rag from his chest and wiped away the bleeding eye mark on the wall in two or three swipes.
Then he hurried away, glancing back every few steps.
He didn't notice the elegant black cat trailing him in the shadows.
Hobert hurried back to his shabby rented room, locked the door, pushed to make sure it was secure, and only then breathed out.
He blew out the oil lamp nervously and groped toward the table in the dark to pour a cup of water to calm his nerves.
Creak—
The door opened.
Hobert's hand trembled and the cup nearly fell.
What the—?
This can't be! He remembered clearly locking the door!
He slowly turned his head.
Moonlight poured in through the open doorway, casting a silver stripe across the worn floor.
In that light, a huge black silhouette slowly stretched, growing nearer and nearer——
Hobert's heart threatened to leap out of his throat.
He gripped the cup, braced against the table, legs weak, with no strength to flee.
The black silhouette paused in the doorway.
Then it shrank.
A black cat stepped gracefully into the moonlight.
Hobert froze for a moment.
Then he let out a breath and nearly collapsed with relief.
So—so it's just a cat?
He was about to swear——
The black cat raised its head. Its amber eyes glowed faintly in the moonlight.
Then it spoke.
"Kneel."
The tension he had just released snapped back. The cat spoke in human language.
Its voice was low and authoritative, carrying an irresistible power.
Command!
[Saving Throw: Failed]
[Target Number: 20]
[Roll: 3 (6 minus 2 for low perception, minus 1 for being startled)]
[A cat spoke to him. A cat. It ordered him to kneel in human language. He thought he must be dreaming, but the force surged straight into his mind, compressing his will until he couldn't breathe. His knees bent involuntarily—thud.]
Hobert dropped to his knees stiffly, trembling. The cup in his hand smashed to the floor and water spilled everywhere.
Is he dreaming?
A talking cat?
Before he could fully react, two shadowy tendrils slithered from the void! The tendrils, like living things, coiled around his hands and squeezed until they hurt. The sharp pain made him realize—
This is not a dream.
This is real.
The black cat walked closer, each step threaded through moonlight, each step pressing on his heart.
"That mark," the cat said mildly, its voice filled with bone-deep cold, "who had you draw it?"
Hobert's teeth chattered and he could barely speak. "I... I... spare me! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"
He spilled everything in a panic. He was a fallen apprentice mage who came from Dalaran to Menethil Harbor to eke out a living.
That mark—the bleeding vertical eye—was something he had learned from an underground group back in Dalaran. That organization took in people like him, untalented and frustrated failures.
Allen thought, oh? Dalaran also has Teron Gorefiend's accomplices?
"The group told me... to come to Menethil Harbor. When a group came from the south, I was to paint this mark somewhere conspicuous." Hobert's voice broke with sobs. "Besides the corner, I painted on the docks too... I was only following orders, I don't know what they intend!"
People coming from the south? Could it be that you were coming to meet my people?
Am I an accomplice of Teron Gorefiend?
Wait.
Another ship also arrived from the south today!
That black speck he saw. That suspicious ship moored there.
The tendrils tightened, binding Hobert into a bundle. Allen controlled the tendrils and hurled him onto the bed, wrapping him with the blanket into a cocoon.
The black cat turned and dashed out of the room.
A flash of white light streaked by after a few steps.
Allen reverted to human form.
He stood in the moonlight, his mind racing.
Should he first wake Morgan and the others at the inn? Or warn Captain Daelin? Or notify the local garrison? Or go scout himself...
If the Bloodfiend mark was a signal used to pass information, what message were they sending?
Why act in Menethil Harbor?
Allen felt like he had grasped the edge of something, but he was still just short.
A suspicious ship, Menethil Harbor, Kul Tiras ships, the sea...
The Tomb of Sargeras...
The Tomb of Sargeras lies in the endless sea, surrounded by raging storms, so...
They want to seize a ship!
Orcs don't have large ships; they need vessels! They plan to seize a ship to sail to the Tomb of Sargeras!
They could move at any moment!
Allen sprinted toward the docks.
Night wind roared in his ears, buildings on both sides blurring past. He dashed through street after street, turned the last corner—
The docks lay ahead.
In the next second, his suspicion was confirmed.
He saw it.
Boom—!!!
A massive burst of flame leapt up from the direction of the docks! The shockwave trembled the ground, towering fire lit half the sky! Wood splintered, thick smoke billowed, and several ships moored at the wharf were already ablaze!
Amidst the towering inferno——
A black dragon soared into the sky!
It was an adult black dragon, blotting out the sky, its coal-dark scales flashing with a metallic glint in the flames. Its huge wings spread, each beat whipping up gale winds.
It reared its head and let out a roar to the heavens; the dragon's cry shook the entire city!