Tusha and Glocara both understood that, for the sake of evading pursuit, they didn't need to travel far, as the goblin bounty was meager. In fact, once they left Booty Bay, there was no reason for them to continue traveling together. Perhaps it was this unspoken consensus that led them to find a clean spot to sit down and discuss their future plans.
"Let's part ways here. You go your way, and I'll go mine," Glocara said. "The house, along with everything inside, is gone... I have no reason to be your employer anymore. Go on, Tusha."
"Miss Glocara, what are you talking about? We haven't even reached the Gurubashi Arena, and we're still within goblin territory. Unless you're a highly experienced adventurer, it's not safe to traverse Stranglethorn Vale alone. Didn't you see those two fully armed hunters traveling together just now?"
"I know this area is dangerous... with dragons and all. But if we go a bit further, there should be a human town or village, right? Since I have some gold coins, I..."
"Human town? Can you name one?"
Glocara remained silent.
"So, you don't even know. Thankfully, you agreed to sit down and talk before making any strange moves."
"Who's being strange?"
Tusha scratched his beard. "You've never been out of Stranglethorn Vale, have you? Also, you don't know much about the outside world."
"What can I do about it?"
Glocara crossed her arms. She wasn't too keen on having Tusha point this out face-to-face, but she couldn't refute it either. As someone who had lived in the lower levels of Booty Bay since birth, her experiences were limited to the jungle, the beach, and dilapidated planks. She knew about Stormwind City, the Alliance, and the Horde's animosity, but even this knowledge was surplus for her. In fact, those who moved into the lower levels from the outside world did so precisely because they wanted to choose an isolated little space to survive, even if the space itself was filthy but easier to understand.
"Listen, Miss Glocara, the nearest human town is Darkshire, and it's at least a month away on foot. You can choose to go alone, but you'll face beasts jumping onto the road from the bushes, accidentally stumble into ogre caves, or encounter some troll tribes—my kin. They may not have my benevolent nature. Moreover, with over twenty gold coins on you, you could become the target of bandits and adventurers in the jungle. And these are just the dangers within Stranglethorn Vale. Once you head towards Darkshire and enter Duskwood..."
"I get it, I get it. You don't have to say more. I know I can't make it alone. Alright?"
"Don't worry; these dangers exist for me too. I just happen to have experience traveling alone. Once we're out of Stranglethorn Vale and head west, we'll reach the Western Plaguelands. There are human settlements there, and if you're willing, you can settle down."
"Are you going to accompany me all the way there?"
"That's right."
"Why?"
"Firstly, it's safer to travel together, and secondly, because it's on my way. Besides, I need to continue heading north; human territories can't accommodate someone like me."
"You just mentioned that there are troll tribes in Stranglethorn Vale. Aren't you planning to join them?"
"Well, that's impossible, Miss Glocara. A couple of words won't explain the complex conflicts between our troll tribes. If I go there, I'll have three choices: become a laborer, be a sacrifice, or first be a laborer and then a sacrifice. Considering all the circumstances, it's better for us to travel out of Stranglethorn Vale together and then consider our next steps. If you're unsure, I can use leaves for divination..."
Glocara bowed her head in silence. Tusha asked "How about it?" again, but she suddenly brought up another aspect.
"Tusha, do you have a place you want to go?"
"Are you referring to a place I can settle down, or..."
"Just... literally. We'll leave Stranglethorn Vale together; I don't mind that. After that, do you have any plans?"
Although phrased as a question, Glocara used the same commanding tone she used to instruct Tusha to do chores like "go check on that patient" or "tidy up the plates." Tusha understood that Glocara was concerned not only about where he would go but also about his future plans.
With his right elbow on his knee, body slightly leaning forward, and squinting at Glocara, Tusha's clear scrutinizing look made Glocara regret it a bit. If she had to explain why she asked this way, besides her curiosity about her old assistant, she had nothing to confess.
"Miss Glocara," Tusha shifted his body forward a bit. "Have you heard of Hammerfall?"
"No."
"As expected." Tusha immediately cut off Glocara, who was about to show an unpleasant expression. "Hammerfall is a Horde outpost in the Arathi Highlands, far to the north. A very, very distant continent, and you have to cross a very, very large bridge."
"...Please don't use that storytelling tone meant for children."
"Anyway, even if we occasionally get transportation along the way, it would still take quite some time to get to Hammerfall. It might take half a year. Hammerfall is my hometown."
"I've never heard you mention it."
"Now you have. I've been wandering for so many years; I want to go back and take a look. I might not stay there, but I need to see it first. I'm sorry; I can't tell you why I left there in the first place. If I were to say something about my plans, that's it." Tusha nodded toward the ground.
"Is it really that far?"
"Very far. We'll pass through many places. So, if you don't plan to stay in Darkshire, we'll be companions for quite a long time after leaving Stranglethorn Vale. Of course, it depends on whether you're willing or not."
He said it was very far. We'll pass through many places.
Glocara stood up. Tusha was about to straighten up too, but she signaled him to stay seated. Then she walked to a nearby tree, turned around, and lowered her head slightly. With her left hand on her waist, occasionally tapping the ground with the tip of her right foot, she tried to appear as if she was waiting for something boring, hoping that Tusha wouldn't notice her inner struggle—although she knew it was impossible to hide it from him.
The dense forest in her line of sight, including the robust tree trunks bearing the marks of years and the scattered, differently shaded leaves on the ground, had always been an unpredictable sight—able to change into countless variations with just a gust of wind or a splash of rain, displaying different colors, textures, and scents. But this unpredictability held no surprises for Glocara. Isn't it just endless green? And the sea, isn't it just endless blue and white? She wanted to see something else. Every time she saw people who had just landed in Booty Bay at the pier, she would imagine where the fabric of their clothes was woven, where the provisions they carried grew, and the kind of roads their shoe soles had traversed. Red mountains, scorched yellow lands, purple ancient tree forests—these were not so hard to imagine, but she never had the opportunity to see them.
The white house in Booty Bay and its contents used to be Glocara's entire world. However, she had never considered whether she was destined to grow old in that cramped space. It wasn't that she hadn't foreseen this possibility, but she never had the leisure to contemplate it, as the busyness of life often desensitized people. Surprisingly, when she first got five hundred gold coins, she didn't think of using it to leave—now looking back, partly because of concerns about using her brother's legacy, and partly because the white house had nurtured her but was now restraining and consuming her. It was her responsibility and burden.
Now, a blaze not only burned down the white house but also the memories brought by "Lady Death" to the lower residents. Although it might be disrespectful to the casualties, the flames did burn away Glocara's burden. While the idea of "losing everything" still troubled her, that "everything" might not be all she was destined to have. Sometimes she wanted to say, "I've had enough. I'm tired of shamelessly lying in the corridor pretending to be a venomous insect. I'm tired of the lazy ones who linger despite being completely healed. I'm tired of the smell of disinfectant, and even more tired of the stench of corpses. I'm tired of taking negligible rewards from goblins. I'm tired of imagining where adventurers came from and what scenes they've witnessed every time I see one. I'm tired of a life with no other possibilities."
All of these were just "thoughts," but the fire said them out loud for her. Regardless, she believed the fire wasn't her fault. She hadn't really lost everything; she just unburdened herself. Thinking of this, her frustration almost disappeared. For so many years, dealing with hundreds of bodies, she never felt any moral burden toward them. So, she didn't need to shoulder anything for those who died in the unexpected fire. To embrace new things, she convinced herself to adopt this perspective.
Glocara's concern about traveling with Tusha was that both of them knew, although it seemed "safer to travel together" on the surface, she was unilaterally relying on him. She still couldn't figure out Tusha's purpose, but at least, he was willing to help her for a stretch of the journey, and that was unquestionable. Anyway, she decided to temporarily ignore these minor losses on her pride.
"Let's go," she said to Tusha, then walked quickly forward. "Anyway, let's get out of this cursed place. We can consider other things later."
"Don't be in such a hurry; you're still a patient, Miss Glocara." Tusha followed. "By the way, do you have any plans to stay in Stormwind? Once we reach the Western Plaguelands, Stormwind won't be far. Or, by that time, you'll probably have gotten used to long journeys."
"Stormwind... I heard MI7's den is there?"
"Yes, that's right."
"No, absolutely not. I don't even want to think about it."
The day when a MI7 agent brought news of her brother's death was the darkest day in Glocara's life. She didn't want to get close to those people again, not at all.
"Well, that's good, that's good. For a troll, the areas around Stormwind are much more dangerous than around here."
From Glocara's back and pace, Tusha understood that she had temporarily relieved the tension and sorrow she had shown in the past two days. Although it might make her less vigilant, there was nothing wrong with it. After all, their safety mainly relied on Tusha.
Moreover, without so many sensitive negative emotions, she wouldn't quickly notice that Tusha was lying—a lie about Hammerfall. Although it wasn't malicious, it was better not to let her notice it. Tusha casually mentioned Hammerfall just because he wanted a reason to go to the Arathi Highlands. According to the message left by the arsonist, he had to go there.
Having a human woman with him was okay, even though Tusha knew it would be more convenient to travel alone. And once something went wrong, the former employer might come in handy—she could prove that he was just a "helper" with no significant background; in the worst-case scenario, she could even become a somewhat valueless hostage.