[Exemplary] Family of Steel - Carved from the Blighted Oak

[Proto Man]

After an hour more of travel, Proto Man came to a small ridge that overlooked a shallow valley. From the indicator on his HUD, the data puck would be waiting for him down below.

At the sound of the voices drifting up from ahead of him, he slipped behind a relatively sturdy tree corpse and tried to steal a look down into the valley. A quick gaze before dipping back into cover revealed six night elves pacing around. Given the fact that they were armed with weapons and light armor, the robot figured them to be scouts of some sort.

“Why are we out this far?” One of them shouted, her voice easily carrying up to the android. “I had a sister on one of these scouting parties, and I have no intention of mirroring her fate.”

“We are out this far because the High Priestess has willed it!” A second night elf rasped. This night elves’ tone was that of a superior addressing an irritating subordinate, and a quick glance revealed that she indeed had much fancier equipment than the other five Sentinels.

“I apologize, Watcher, but how can we be certain that the prime in question is even still in the Green? He may have left,” a third elf inquired.

“We know he’s been following the trail of the Machine Treant, who spent several days camped in this location. We will remain here until we intercept him or receive orders to return to our original post.”

“Does the High Priestess really believe that a child can help stop the Blight? Those two other primes failed, and they were both skilled combatants.”

Proto Man scowled as the realization set in that these night elves were waiting for him to arrive. Based on his last encounter with one of the purple-skinned women, he had no desire to chat with a few heavily armored versions.

“This prime can access the records of the Machine Treant, and nothing is more important than understanding what that robot learned about the Blight. Nothing,” the commanding officer snapped back.