"Is that you, Eitrig!" The orcish overseer was incredulous, rubbing his eyes as he strode forward to grasp Itrig's thick arm.
"Saurfang!" Eitrig recognized the burly, green-skinned orc at a glance.
Saurfang embraced him tightly, overjoyed. "It really is you! I never thought I'd see you alive again; we all thought you were dead! Tell me, how did you escape from the humans?"
Eitrig sighed. "It's a long story, but I didn't escape. I was sent back. There are human envoys with me, sent to negotiate with the new Warchief. Your soldiers are surrounding them. I need to take them to the new Warchief!"
"Negotiate?" Saurfang's eyes widened.
"Yes, negotiate!"
… …
"Prince Danath," Aiden said, patting the shoulder of the Stromgarde prince beside him.
"What?" Danath turned abruptly, as if startled.
"No need to be so tense." Aiden noticed the sweat beading on his forehead and the hand gripping his sword hilt. His guards also looked as if they were facing a great enemy.
While Aiden and Fordring's men were also wary, they weren't as nervous and maintained a normal demeanor.
Danath smiled sheepishly. "A conditioned reflex—usually, in situations like this, humans and orcs are already fighting. We've all fought orcs; they—they're tough opponents. Especially with so many of them."
"Relax, if a fight does break out, we'll ensure your safety," Aiden reassured him.
After a while, Prince Danath finally relaxed a bit. The orcs hadn't taken any further action, indicating that they were willing to reason. He shook his slightly sore wrist and gestured to his guards to relax as well.
He chuckled wryly. "It seems that years of fighting have made us forget about negotiation as a peaceful way to resolve disputes."
Subsequently, their party of forty-odd riders, under the "escort" of several times their number of orcish warriors, headed towards Hammerfall. To prevent any accidental conflicts, Itrig returned to their group once more. Both sides sheathed their weapons and maintained a relatively safe distance.
The orcs they encountered along the way cast surprised glances at them, but there were no overly aggressive actions. They safely reached the outskirts of Hammerfall by noon.
By this point, there shouldn't be any more problems. Aiden and his group set up their tents and started a fire to cook within the boundaries of the camp designated by the orcs. Itrig went ahead to meet the new Warchief, Thrall. After all, the old orc had been away from the tribe for ten years, and he wanted to see if the new Warchief was as wise as Saurfang had said.
"Aiden, do you think these negotiations will be effective?" Danath asked, sidling up to Aiden.
"Yes."
"You're so sure?" Danath was a little surprised. "Do you have that much faith in the orcs?"
Aiden replied, "It's not that I have faith in the orcs, but that I have faith in their Warchief, Thrall."
"He's a formidable character?" Danath had heard Fordring mention last night that one of Aiden's kinsmen was a great prophet who had seen the future of Azeroth. He immediately made the connection.
"Very honorable," Aiden said with a smile.
Fordring joined them, interjecting, "I also think the chances of a successful negotiation are high. As for whether we can convince them to send troops to attack the Lich King, that depends on our performance." He looked at Aiden. "Aiden, do you think it's possible?"
"I really don't know about that," Aiden said honestly. "But even if we persuade the orcs to send troops, how do we convince the other human nations to eliminate their prejudice against the orcs? You all know that the two races have deep-seated grudges, which cannot be resolved with just a few words. Forcibly inserting the orcs into the Alliance will likely cause a lot of dissatisfaction, which may be detrimental to internal unity."
This was Aiden's greatest concern. Thrall was undoubtedly a very wise Warchief, but not every leader in the Alliance was as reasonable. At least, the King of Kul Tiras was extremely hostile to the orcs—he lost his son and countless brave soldiers in the Great Sea Battle. His hatred for the orcs was deeply rooted and could not be erased by a mere treaty.
Varian of Stormwind wouldn't be much different—his kingdom was destroyed by the orcs.
Almost every nation had some degree of hatred for the orcs. It wouldn't be easy to get humans to accept the orcs.
This would take time.
And now, the thing Azeroth needed most was time.
Only when the external pressure completely outweighed the hatred between humans and orcs would the two reluctantly unite. Clearly, it hadn't reached that point yet. So, at this stage, Aiden and Terenas shared the same view: negotiate first, then talk about the rest.
As they were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. They quickly exited the tent and found humans and several orcs in a standoff.
"What's going on?" Fordring asked loudly.
His subordinate reported, "Some orcs are trying to break into our camp!"
"Oh?" Aiden thought, 'We're in their base camp, would the orcs really "break into" our camp?' There must be some misunderstanding.
He pushed through the crowd and stepped forward, finding both sides tense and ready to fight.
"Stop!" Aiden shouted, stepping between them and grabbing a Demacian soldier he had brought with him, asking, "What's going on?"
The soldier quickly replied, "Reporting to the commander, these orcs want to enter our camp, but we can't understand what they're saying!"
So, it turned out to be a problem with language communication.
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. If they were to fight over such a small matter, it would truly be a great injustice. He quickly waved his hand to disperse the soldiers: "Put away your weapons, fall back, all of you fall back!"
Even the knights of the Silver Hand knew that Aiden held a lofty position, revered by their commander Tirion Fordring, and was also a genuine Alliance General. So, upon hearing his order, everyone put away their weapons and retreated.
Aiden turned to face the orcs and asked in Common, "Does anyone speak Common?"
One of the orcs stepped forward and said, "I, Rogan, speak a little, can."
"What are you here to do?" Aiden asked with the most concise words.
"Warlord Saurfang, send food, for you, give. No fight, not come fight!" the orc Rogan stammered.
Aiden still understood his meaning: "Are you saying that Warlord Saurfang sent you to bring us food?"
"Yes, yes, food, behind." The orc Rogan stepped aside, revealing several orcs carrying large iron pots. One iron pot contained stewed raptor meat, and the other contained smoked venison legs, emitting an enticing aroma of meat.
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully it was explained clearly, otherwise, if a real fight broke out, it would really be unmanageable.
"Come in, you guys."
Seeing the orcs bringing food into the human camp, everyone's gaze towards the orcs was no longer as wary as before.
Based on the principle of reciprocity, Aiden also ordered people to bring out some human food as a return gift.
The orc Rogan looked at a pile of roasted bread, cheese, and biscuits, grinning foolishly, "Cheese, good eat! Biscuit, good eat!"
"Thank your Warlord for me!"
After seeing the orcs off, Fordring and Danath gave Aiden a thumbs up.
Aiden said, "You've seen it, most orcs are actually quite simple and honest, not savage beasts."
Fordring said, "Now I am full of confidence in the peace talks."
"Me too." Prince Danath expressed his support for the matter for the first time.
However, it was precisely because they were too simple that they were easily incited.
Aiden thought of Garrosh, the future Warchief of the Horde in the original history, who committed countless war crimes driven by ambition, yet there were still a large number of orcs willing to follow him and blindly obey him. Excessive worship of power and obedience to the strong was also a major flaw in the orc's character.
After eating, the orc Warlord Saurfang came to the human camp. This time, there were no more misunderstandings like before.
The straightforward commander said bluntly, "The food you sent was delicious."
Fordring replied, "We also thank you for the meat you sent."
Saurfang said, "I heard from Eitrigg that you saved his life. He and I are friends of many years, and I am very grateful for that." His Common was much smoother than the orc warrior Rogan just now.
Fordring said, "I was just following the instructions of my heart, doing what I should do at the right time. Moreover, speaking of which, I didn't help much, it was Aiden who saved both me and Eitrigg."
Saurfang turned his gaze to Aiden: "I've heard of you, you're the human who spoke up for Eitrigg in court, right?"
"Yes." Aiden sized up the legendary Saurfang the Great—not yet. This orc's position in the hearts of Horde players was like Tirion Fordring in the eyes of Alliance players. And the two had many things in common:
Before the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj, Saurfang the Great led the armies of the Alliance and the Horde, shattering the conspiracy of the Old God C'Thun. And in Icecrown Glacier, Fordring led the armies of the Alliance and the Horde, defeating the Lich King Arthas.
Both had experienced the pain of losing a son. Saurfang the Great's son died in front of the Wrathgate, resurrected by the Lich King into a death knight, and he personally ended that fallen life. And Tirion Fordring's son, Taelan Fordring, became a puppet leader of the Scarlet Crusade, and was killed by his mentor Isillien when he was about to reunite with his father. Tirion then killed Isillien to avenge his son.
Now Saurfang was still a Warlord, he looked wise and full of confidence, completely different from those ordinary orcs.
"I also did what I thought I should do." Aiden smiled.
"Then let's go, Chieftain Thrall has agreed to meet you."
Looking at the sincere Saurfang the Great, Aiden decided to forever bury the matter of him reminding the paladins to beware of the orcs' prison break in Stratholme in his heart.