The Great Thief

Gorosh and the two little guys discussed for a bit, and decided to follow the Dwarves to Steel Stove Castle.

They each bore their own injuries, and had sustained significant blows to their fighting ability. If they bumped into Defias Thugs, they might not be able to escape unscathed. They didn’t know at all that the Defias Thugs were being pursued and killed by the Night Watchmen.

Naturally, Lu Li and Water Fairy wouldn’t oppose this.

The reward for the Battle of Thandol Span still hadn’t been received. Thargas Anvilmar looked like he was poor; he probably didn’t have much to give. If they went to Steel Stove Castle, they were more likely to receive something valuable.

Moreover, their original intention was to participate in the storyline of the king coming back home.

A line of people carried the wounded and dead, walking in the mire of the wet land as they began their trek towards Steel Stove Castle.

Despite walking continuously for over half a day, they didn’t get far. Fortunately, Thargas Anvilmar brought a tent and pitched it before Lu Li and Water Fairy could finally log offline. Otherwise, they really wouldn’t have had the heart to spend so much game time to keep following them on.

This quest evidently wasn’t going to be easy to finish.

In terms of time, it would take at least quite a few days. Lu Li and Water Fairy really were just followers. As long as they could go offline when they set up camp, they could just take turns checking every now and then if they were ready to set off.

After arriving at Steel Stove Castle, the troops were given an enthusiastic welcome.

Of course, the target of the welcome wasn’t Lu Li nor Gorosh, but rather those Dwarves who were returning in triumph. The king of Steel Stove Castle, Magni Bronzebeard, personally went out to receive them.

Magni Bronzebeard was the eldest son of Madoran Bronzebeard, and was also a distinguished blacksmith. There was no one in all the continent of Azeroth who could compare with him when it came to metalworking.

To begin with, Magni had no interest in becoming king. He had participated as a warrior in the second war, but fate indeed mocked him by leading him to succeed the throne after his father died, and so he became the third Dwarf king.

For many years, Magni had always conducted his responsibilities without complaint, leading the dwarves to maintain the peace of Khaz Modan and the Alliance.

However, he wasn’t a competent father at all.

And so, Magni treated his only daughter Moira badly, leading her to leave home and marry the Iron Dwarf emperor Dragan Thaurissan.

Magni was so terribly hurt by this and felt extremely regretful.

The surprise attack of the valiant warriors of the Bronzebeard-led Alliance killed Dragan in Blackrock Abyss. When they tried to bring Moira back to Steel Stove Castle, she expressed that she was already pregnant with Dragan’s child, and refused to go back home. His daughter’s cold attitude made Magni feel even more dejected.

Afterwards, Magni sought help from the king of Stormwind City, Varian Wrynn, to fight against the Dark Iron Dwarves. However, Varian pushed him away, refusing him again and again.

This left him in an undesirable position, all the way until he saw Gorosh in the guest room.

“Thank you sir, for all you’ve done for Thandol Span. May I be so bold as your ask your great name?” Compared to Thargas Anvilmar, Magni was much more cautious. He wouldn’t just ask Varian what he was playing at right off the bat.

“I see your confusion, and this also confuses me,” Gorosh said. “I’ve heard that I look very similar to the king of Stormwind City.”

“No, not very similar – you are the king of Stormwind City, your highness Varian,” Magni said with certainty.

“Then who’s that one from Stormwind City?” Gorosh was annoyed too as his memory hadn’t fully recovered, but Magni was already very certain that he was Varian.

“I think, as long as we go to Stormwind City, everything will be sorted out,” Lu Li suggested.

“There’s always some sort of force stopping me. I don’t know if I can make it to Stormwind City myself.” Gorosh was an absolutely fearless warrior, but he wasn’t a reckless brute. As soon as he died, everything would become meaningless to him.

“Steel Stove Castle will send people to protect you on your way,” Magni offered.

He had this sort of power here. After Thargas Anvilmar buried his wounded brothers, he again took up a heavy responsibility, but Magni provided them with more top-quality auxiliary troops, replenishing and strengthening the power of this contingent.

Lu Li also began to summon his own forces to act as support for these troops.

They would support them regardless of whether it was the Defias Thugs, or those exiled players who wanted to try their luck. Normal clubs wouldn’t dare to brazenly go and attack Steel Stove Castle’s bodyguards.

Aside from this, there was another baffling force that appeared.

Lu Li even thought that an assassin of Ravenholdt Manor would appear. The Assassin league didn’t have one common leader, and they wouldn’t refuse the job of assassinating him because they were afraid of the revenge of Varian.

However, with the help of Thargas Anvilmar, Varian finally did make it to Stormwind City.

This day was going to be written in the history books of Stormwind City.

The two Varians finally met together in unavoidable confrontation. They followed each other closely before lashing out, with the situation growing all the more messier.

By the time the two Varians had exhausted themselves, and the others, all dumstruck, didn’t know who to help, a guard, taking advantage of the mess, seized Prince Anduin. With a strange laugh, he had turned into a giant black dragon.

Onyxia!

Princess of the Black Dragonflight!

Onyxia opened up her giant wings, flying away with a scream, her claws grasping the poor Prince Anduin.

Lu Li pulled back Water Fairy, who wanted to rush over. They weren’t powerful enough to stop all of this from happening, and after all, the two Varians weren’t a solution. Why not just go along with the storyline and go to Oxynia’s Lair to save his highness the prince?

The two Varians both had half of the characteristics of the king before he went missing.

Gorosh was impatient, direct and aggressive, not wanting to linger around and chat. On the other hand, this Varian, who had come back a few weeks ago, was refined, steady and even overly passive to an extent.

Although the two Varians were polar opposites, they realized that not only were they very evenly matched in their fighting, they also saw Anduin Wrynn’s safety as an important issue.

The two of them actually joined hands to set out a plan to go on to Theramore. Their final destination was Onyxia’s Lair.

As Gorosh’s auxillary troops, Lu Li and Water Fairy naturally followed along.

“The facts are hidden in a fog, but in the end, it will all be revealed.”

After Lu Li saw Jaina, he said something like this. He was pretending to be a charlatan; it was an exhilarating feeling.

It wasn’t just Jaina who had appeared; the former guardian Aegwynn had also been invited. She was Jaina’s closest attendant.

This was the first time Lu Li saw Aegwynn. As soon as Aegwynn saw the two Varians, she knew that neither was the real one, but that both Varians were real.

“This is the result of an evil ceremony, but the ceremony was interrupted, so it’s not perfect anymore,” Aegwynn said appraisingly.

“What can we do to solve this? These two both have completely opposite personalities.”

Lu Li couldn’t think of a better solution than to kill one of them.

“Didn’t you say that everything will be revealed in the end? Just let fate make the decision, disciple of Garona.”

Aegwynn actually knew who Lu Li was, but it just wasn’t known whether she acknowledged this Garona that she spoke of. In a way, Garona was her son’s wife, the mother of her grandchild.

“Actually, I already knew his highness ages ago,” Lu Li said.

He talked about how he had found ‘Aegwynn’s Tome’, as well as about how he gave this book to Medivh.

“Actually, that book should be your good luck. You can keep that book,” Aegwynn responded in a moment of daze.

“It really is my good luck. I’ll never forget that message on the title page,” Lu Li respectfully acknowledged.

“It’s too hard…”

Aegwynn shook her head sadly as she silently disappearing away from everyone’s view.

Over on this side, Varian and Gorosh had already set up a detailed plan of attack. Even Lu Li and Water Fairy had been given their own positions.

Everyone had already quickly left and arrived in Onyxia’s Lair to face off against the evil Broodmother.