In Shadow Valley, Murphy and Triss were discussing the Black Disaster War with the shadow half-elf elders.
Considering that Adel had already handled most of the initial contacts, Murphy, as the Governor of Transylvania, just needed to promise these naturally cautious half-elves a few things to maintain a friendly relationship.
The "exploration team" of the shadow half-elves was ready to set off. They were sent through a portal to Wolf Castle and were to quickly tour Transylvania in order to decide the valley's subsequent actions.
However, these half-elves seemed to have choices, but in reality, their options were very limited.
Everyone knew that given the current situation in Shadow Valley, it couldn't withstand the jackal tribe from the Black Disaster. They might use their terrain advantage to stop the jackal tribe outside their valley, but once surrounded, with Shadow Valley's meager resources, these half-elves only faced starvation.