Winning Trust

With Windsor in tow, whether he wanted to come or not, Yinsen and the others swiftly left Shadowforge City and returned to the outside of Blackrock Mountain.

Though it was just as dry and stifling outside, it was still better than the depths closer to the lava. At the very least, the air was fresher…

"Peh, peh. There’s not much difference between outside and inside. Damn Burning Steppes, where do we go next?"

Logan had already slung his weapon over his back, then took out a cigar to ease the sulfur taste filling his mouth.

This battle had felt rather like a home invasion. Their group had been uninvited guests barging into someone else’s house, slaughtering their way through it, taking an important possession, and striding away.

But then, Logan did not look remotely like a dwarf. His loyalties naturally lay with humanity.

"Who exactly are you people?"

Windsor had initially assumed Yinsen and the others had been sent by the Stormwind Kingdom, but now he no longer thought so. He had some standing in the Stormwind Kingdom, after all. Why did this group show him no respect whatsoever?

Could they be foreign adventurers hired by the kingdom? That seemed possible. These people only worked for money. Their sole objective was to rescue him; whether he thanked them or had anything he wished to do afterward was none of their concern.

"My name is Yinsen. I’m a mage traveling the world." He pointed at the people beside him. "They’re my companions."

After briefly introducing their names, Yinsen did not elaborate. He merely emphasized, "We weren’t sent by the Stormwind Kingdom. We rescued you for another reason."

"What reason?"

Every one of his guesses had been wrong. Windsor found the matter increasingly strange. Could this group have rescued him for some unspeakable purpose?

"Varian Wrynn has disappeared. You know about that, don’t you?"

"Of course I do."

The king had been missing for quite some time. It was after Varian Wrynn disappeared that the Stormwind Kingdom gradually descended into chaos. It was precisely because Windsor had sensed those hidden undercurrents that he had gone to the Burning Steppes to command the few troops stationed there, only to be captured by the Dark Iron Dwarves in battle.

"I intend to bring Varian Wrynn back."

Windsor, who had been listening silently to Yinsen, abruptly rose to his feet and stared at the young man before him in shock.

He had thought this group wanted to use him to do something harmful to the kingdom. He had not expected to hear such an answer.

"Do you know where His Majesty Wrynn is now?"

From the way Yinsen had referred to the king earlier, Windsor could tell that these people were not from the Stormwind Kingdom, nor did they have much respect for Varian Wrynn. He did not believe they wanted to seek out the missing Varian Wrynn out of admiration for His Majesty Wrynn’s character or anything of that sort.

"What exactly do you want?"

"What I want, His Majesty Wrynn will give me, and it won’t harm the Stormwind Kingdom." Yinsen did not even need to ask to know what the Marshal was worried about. "I can even help you and His Majesty Wrynn eliminate the greatest scourge of the Stormwind Kingdom."

Windsor’s pupils contracted slightly. He did his best to control his emotions, unwilling to reveal even the slightest hint. "What do you mean by that?"

"Let’s be frank. Didn’t you already know that the Countess is a black dragon?"

Windsor had refused to leave Blackrock Depths because he already knew Onyxia’s identity. Without a way—or more conclusive evidence—to prove it, he was unwilling to return only to die at the hands of that black dragon.

In the original game storyline, aside from recovering the intelligence seized by the dwarves after his capture, they also had to find the tablet that could dispel the magic allowing the black dragon to assume human form. Only after obtaining that item would Windsor agree to leave Blackrock Depths and return to Stormwind City to confront the Black Dragon Princess.

Windsor was finally certain that the young man before him knew a great many things. It was not a pleasant feeling. Perhaps the only consolation was that this man seemed to be on his side.

"Since you also intend to deal with that black dragon, then we should immediately return to Blackrock Depths."

His target was naturally that tablet, but Yinsen directly rejected the idea. "No. The most important thing right now is finding Varian Wrynn. Your Majesty is not in very good condition at the moment."

Yinsen carefully recalled what he knew about Varian’s disappearance, but the result was rather confusing.

In the original game storyline, this part of the plot had barely been explained. It was only briefly mentioned that King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind had vanished while on his way to sign an agreement, then he simply appeared in Stormwind City after a later expansion was released.

Back then, Yinsen had been curious about this matter and specifically looked into that storyline. Naturally, he had assumed it was a special circumstance with the Chinese servers that had left part of the plot unavailable, only to later learn that the developers had simply dug a plot hole and never filled it in within the game.

The developers did release novels and comics to fill in that part of the story, but many details did not entirely match the information in the game.

That was why Yinsen had lingered in Goldshire for quite some time earlier, even considering taking a trip to Stormwind City.

Once he confirmed that this world’s Varian Wrynn had not been split into two people by Onyxia’s magic, he could conclude that this world’s storyline should follow the game’s framework.

Not being split into two had its benefits. They only needed to remove the magic that had made Varian Wrynn lose his memory. They would not have to struggle with how to perfectly recreate the coincidental circumstances that had reunited him, or use some other means to resolve that awkward situation.

"So we need to find Varian Wrynn as soon as possible. Once we deal with the trouble afflicting him, we can go deal with that black dragon."

Windsor said nothing. He very much wanted to point out that the black dragon practically controlled all power within the Stormwind Kingdom. Without convincing evidence, there was no way to deal with her completely.

Even if His Majesty Wrynn returned, it would likely be difficult to remove her entirely unless the Stormwind Kingdom launched a massive purge. The number of people implicated would be enormous.

"Making a black dragon reveal her true form isn’t a difficult problem to solve."

Only then did Windsor understand. It was not that this young man had failed to consider the matter; he simply did not think much of that tablet.

"I have one last question."

"What is it?"

"You could have gone directly to save His Majesty Wrynn. Why did you come rescue me?"

From Yinsen’s account, Windsor truly seemed dispensable. In fact, to Yinsen, he was not an indispensable figure at all. Other than being on the way, the only reason Yinsen had rescued him was that they were outsiders, and bringing Windsor along would make it easier to win trust.

"Because we’re going to Theramore."

"Theramore?"

Though Jaina Proudmoore liked to cause trouble for her father, she was a very shrewd mage. They were complete outsiders, and they wielded a power system entirely different from that of this world. It would be easy to arouse the mage’s wariness or even hostility. Yinsen did not want to create trouble for himself, while Windsor’s reputation could help Yinsen and the others gain trust.

"So we’re heading to Menethil Harbor now?"

"Yes."

After taking a brief rest on Blackrock Mountain, the group set out again. Windsor was still wearing the clothes from the Prison Cell. He was not in very good shape, but no one wanted to remain in the Burning Steppes any longer. They only wanted to leave the place as soon as possible.

They could leave the Burning Steppes via the mountain paths of Blackrock Mountain and enter Searing Gorge… Well, that was not exactly a pleasant place either. The group could only endure it and continue northeast. Things did not start improving until they entered the Badlands. Afterward, they could turn north, and once they reached Loch Modan, the climate became far more pleasant.

"This has been a painful journey."

After wandering through such barren, scorching lands for so long, Yinsen felt that his clothes were saturated with the strange mixed stench of sulfur and sweat.

Everyone, including Windsor, whom they had become slightly more familiar with, discarded the clothes they had worn during that time and simply burned them. Even though they could have used magic to clean the clothes, none of them wanted to wear them again. It was as if doing so would help them forget that miserable experience.

After changing into fresh clothes and arriving in the more scenic, temperate Loch Modan, the group continued north. They did not need to go to Dun Morogh, sparing them the "thrilling experience" of leaving a steamer only to enter an icebox. They merely had to keep heading in this direction, and they would soon reach the Wetlands. Then they could follow the main road, turn west at the fork, and continue to the end of the road, where they would arrive at Menethil Harbor.

At this time, the only way to reach Theramore was by ship from Menethil Harbor. Stormwind City did not yet have a harbor, and the planned multipurpose port remained only a plan. The nobles, wholly sunk in pleasure-seeking, were unwilling to spend vast sums of money on such matters.

That was also why Yinsen and the others had to travel so much farther, all while enduring Windsor’s endless muttering along the way.

Even after boarding the ship, the former Marshal kept prattling on. Yet no matter how he tried to fish for information, he could not learn Yinsen and the others’ true origins.

Here, Yinsen did not dare casually say that they came from Other Worlds. If he revealed where they came from, Windsor, who had been chatting pleasantly with them one moment, would draw the Side Sword at his waist the next, shout "Glory to the Alliance!" and fight Yinsen and the others to the death.

After all, outsiders did not leave a good impression on the people of this world. Whether it was the Burning Legion or the Orcs, they had brought nothing but devastating war to this world.