The Great Thief

The dense fog of night time made this place feel like a ghost town.

Lu Li followed Remulos into the ruins. Only their footsteps could be heard, apart from the disgusting squelching when they stepped on a rotten corpse. This place was the Blood Fang Ruins – the origin of the Blood Fang Worgens.

A pack of werewolves sat quietly under the moonlight. Anyone that saw them for the first time would be shocked and left speechless.

However, for the players, they were merely mobs from Shadowfang Keep. They were known for their savage and irrational nature, and were designed to hunt and kill mindlessly. As such, it was quite a rare scene to see them sitting down quietly and resting.

"The moon is beautiful tonight," Remulos said, breaking the silence in the night. He wasn’t nervous at all and strolled towards them casually.

He approached the biggest Worgen, who was most likely the leader of the pack, and they sniffed each other.

Lu Li knew that this was their custom – it meant that there was a close bond between the two and was a form of greeting like a handshake. If their relationship wasn’t solid enough and he sniffed him, it would have resulted in a bloody mess.

"It’s not as beautiful for us anymore."

One of the Worgen opened his eyes and also sniffed Remulos.

His pupils were different from any other werewolf that Lu Li had met before. The werewolves from Shadowfang Keep had blood-red pupils filled with destruction and madness.

However, this Worgen had a brown pupil with streaks of silver.

Lu Li wasn’t sure whether his pupils actually had a silver streak, or if it was reflection of the moonlight. The moon was even brighter and more beautiful here than in the Moonlight Forest.

"Yeah, you guys are used to it now," Remulos sighed and began talking seriously, "Lord Krug, I come here seeking for help."

"Please don’t refer to me as Lord anymore. Most of my people have been taken away from Leila." Lu Li could see anger and a thirst for revenge in the werewolf’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.

Leila...

Lu Li felt like he has heard this name before. Leila was the first name, but what was the last name?

Leila, Bloodfang Ruins, Leila Blood Fang...

Lu Li put two and two together and remembered who Leila was. She was part of ancient Druid sect called the Druid of the Scytheor and was also known as the person who had caused the downfall of Bloodfang.

Many thought that the Mage Arugal was the one who used Dark Magic to summon Worgens and caused them to spread in numbers.

But where did he summon these Worgens from originally?

Lu Li read in a book that the Worgens originated from the Druids in Kaldorei. These Druids used the power of Goldrinn the Wolf God, which allowed them to shapeshift into werewolves to defend themselves against the Burning Legion.

However, because of the wild and untamed nature of the wolves, the Druids lost control. This forced Malfurion to use an item to banish them into the Emerald Dream, submitting their energy to the Scythe of Elune.

Years later, Ur, a Mage of Dalaran, found the Scythe of Elune and worked with Arugal to summon Worgens.

After this, Leila created a religion known as the Bloodfang Worgens. Many people of Gilneas betrayed their own country to join this secret organisation. They acted in secret without the knowledge of the King of Gilneas, spreading the curse to more and more people.

This was the impression that Lu Li had of the Bloodfang Worgens.

The group of Worgens before him were a different pack that disagreed with Leila.

"No, you will always be the leader of the Bloodfang Worgens. Leila walked a on path of evil and you’ll be remembered as the one who resisted against her."

"Why did you come here for today? I have nothing left besides the moonlight," Krug asked as he looked at his claws.

"I need to borrow your altar," Remulos said, then continued before he could be rejected, "I brought some materials that you need. It might not be much, but these were all collected by this young man."

"Greetings, faithful worshippers of the moon." Lu Li knew that these Worgens weren’t infected by the curse.

They needed the moonlight in order to neutralize the violent and savage nature in their blood which was why they were gathered here. Calling them the faithful worshippers of the moon was extremely fitting.

They were evidently pleased that they had been addressed like this. Krug reached out his claws and placed them on Lu Li’s shoulders.

Lu Li brought out the materials, as well as the Gold-grade Staff. Altogether, there were 16 pieces, which was exactly what Remulos had ordered. Including the Blood of the Bosses that he had killed before, there were 40 or so pieces.

He didn’t feel the need to collect the blood of Bosses that were a higher level because that would be a waste of time.

The bosses from the Burning Legion expansion were impossible for him to even attempt right now.

He had seen the Demon Vanguards yesterday which were the weakest monsters in the dungeon and didn’t even have the guts to aggro them.

Every Worgen opened their eyes wide, including Krug, and Lu Li saw a faint redness in their pupils.

It was obvious that this pack of Worgens was struggling to get by.

"These materials are very important to me. I can’t lose any more of my people," Krug sighed as he accepted all the materials.

With Remulos around, Lu Li wasn’t afraid to get scammed.

Krug led the way, followed by Lu Li and Remulos, as well as four other Worgens.

"Lord Krug, maybe you can grant a quest to this young man. He is a smart and brave child."

Remulos began recommending and praising Lu Li as an adventurer.

Lu Li had to complete the quest in order to build trust and reputation in the Dark Abyss area.

"Him?" Krug glanced at Lu Li. It was obvious that Krug thought the small rogue was weak.

"Don’t judge a book by its cover Krug. You’ve got nothing to lose," Remulos said with a smile.

"In order to thank the Bloodfangs for letting me borrow the altar, if there’s anything you need me to do, I’ll try my hardest to help you. I have many other friends that can help me," Lu Li offered.

Krug thought about it and came to the conclusion that this wasn’t such a bad idea.

He was impressed with Lu Li’s humble and grateful attitude.