'W-What? H-How can this be?'
Alden's eyes widened.
His face turned as white as a sheet, dread contorting his features.
The reason for his apprehension lay in the existence of three figures.
The first was tall with striking blue-grey skin that glowed subtly with an ethereal light. Countless strange, icy markings marred their figure - most prominently on their face. Their features were sharp, possessing high cheekbones and an equally sharp pair of ears.
The second had a stout and muscular body. Although not as tall as the first figure, their impressive strength more than made up for their lack of stature. Their skin was tanned, almost as if they were in constant proximity to a strong source of heat.
They held a wine gourd in their rough, calloused hands. A rugged beard and hair made up the rest of their appearance.
Finally, the last figure was the strangest of them all.
They had desiccated skin like a dried-up prune, cracked and gnarled. Atop their head, sat a nest of sticks and leaves, dull and lifeless.
Alden gasped internally, recognising the final individual.
'A Dark Dryad! Blasted Asterons!'
Why did he have to run into one now of all times?
Alden still remembered the experience of being chased by an angry mob of corrupted nature spirits.
It was not pleasant.
He unconsciously shivered.
Alden's eyes roved toward the two other figures, slowly recognising them.
They were:
A Dark Elf and a Dark Dwarf!
'What!?'
Alden had read descriptions of these two races before, but he had never seen one in the flesh.
…Until now.
His mind raced, wondering what in the Asterons the Dark Elf and the Dark Dwarf were doing in Nature's Grove. Both belonged to the Glacial Belt and Pyre Peaks, respectively. It was strange for them to be outside of their natural habitat.
What was even stranger was to find all three races gathered in one place. Each one was extremely territorial, and rarely, if ever, left their home environment.
So why did they do so now?
And what did it mean?
…Was it really a coincidence that three of the Sanctuary's enemies were so conveniently gathered like this?
Alden did not attribute what he had discovered to be a mere accident. No, something sinister was most likely at play here.
A flood of unease engulfed him.
Goosebumps erupted all over his body.
Thankfully, he had not been spotted yet, otherwise, things would have taken a really bad turn for the worse.
'Small blessings.'
He reminded himself.
With some measure of trepidation, Alden took a deep breath to calm down and watched the three eye-catching beings converse animatedly.
They all spoke in a language he did not understand, but he got a gist of what was going on through their body language. The Dark Elf was skittish, while the Dwarf appeared strangely overeager and the Dryad firm.
The latter also seemed like the de facto leader of the group.
Furthermore…
Alden internally rolled his eyes.
…The stocky little dwarf was incredibly drunk.
Alden's lips twitched at the volume of spittle that flew from the short-statured figure's mouth.
He realised then that the Dwarf was the source of the commotion that had attracted him to this place.
As if having the same thought, the Dryad shouted unintelligibly, smacking the stocky guy on the head with a shrivelled vine. The Dark Dwarf roared, the muscles on his neck visibly bulging.
Then, the drunkard swayed, and Alden froze.
"I, kant vait huntil I det de hitches of de ewmans."
Alden's gaze constricted, hearing the unmistakable dialect spoken within the Sanctuary - although very, very rough to the point of almost being unrecognisable.
A myriad of questions sparked to life in the young man's mind.
How did the Dark Dwarf learn to speak like humans? And most importantly, what were they trying to say?
Based on the drunkard's demeanour, it seemed as if they were mocking something.
The question, though, was what?
Alden turned over the Dwarf's words in his mind. He struggled to make sense of them.
Slowly, torturously, he racked his brain.
Until…
It suddenly clicked.
'I can't wait until I get the riches of the humans.'
That was what the Dark Dwarf had said.
Alden paled for a second time.
He swallowed nervously, a bead of cold sweat sliding down his back.
'That… that can't be anything good.'
Ignia cried worriedly through the link, nuzzling her beak on Alden's shoulder anxiously.
Maybe his anxiety had infected her, or maybe she instinctively sensed that the trio were not good news.
Either way, the result was the same.
Alden gritted his teeth, alarm and panic clashing tumultuously within him.
The Dwarf's ominous words and the fact that the three races had gathered together was a sign that something bad was about to happen.
Something terrible.
Something so utterly unexpected…
And unimaginable.
…Like the Dark Elves, Dwarves and Dryads launching a joint attack on the Sanctuary.
Once the thought popped into Alden's mind, it wouldn't stop festering in his mind, until it became all that he could think about.
Alden's anxiety burgeoned.
His heart rate quickened.
And so too did his breath turn rapid.
The young man quickly found himself overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the discovery.
It was just so incredibly astonishing that it left Alden at a loss. His mind turned blank, incapable of forming any thought.
Eventually, he broke out of his daze through a large belch by the Dark Dwarf.
'I have to go back and warn everyone.'
He realised with a hint of horror.
His hands trembled, the gravity of the situation finally crashing into him like a harrowing wave.
A desperate expression then appeared on Alden's face.
The young man turned around and dashed into the forest.
He didn't even stop to think about how the corrupted races would have to find a way to bypass the magical barrier to pose actual harm to the Sanctuary.
All he knew… was that he had to get moving.
And fast.