"Hey, buddy, today's a big day."
Hogger pushed open the door and entered Robbie's room. He wore a crisp black nobleman's suit, a black top hat trimmed with lace, and a little red flower on his chest. He looked outrageously flamboyant.
Robbie's room was a complete mess, with papers covered in writing everywhere. Even the snow-white walls had not been spared, covered in modeling formulas that looked like graffiti.
Robbie lay fast asleep amid a pile of research notes, dressed in wrinkled pajamas. Hearing someone push the door open, he opened his eyes alertly, got up quickly, and grabbed the Cursed Torch.
"It's me. Relax, relax."
Hogger waved his hand, frowned, and touched his teeth, which he had brushed white, while trying to find somewhere to put his feet.
He usually paid little attention to oral hygiene, and his chokingly bad breath was a formidable weapon in its own right. He had made a rare effort today, so it really did seem to be a big day.
"Hogger, look at me. Has anything changed?" Robbie pointed at his face and asked mysteriously.
After applying for twenty days of leave, Robbie had shut himself away and studied Whispers of the Old Gods almost without sleep or rest, with remarkable results.
Hogger rubbed his eyes and examined Robbie closely. "You seem weaker, and your beard's grown. Don't tell me you've been trying to lose weight?"
"Lose weight, my ass." Twenty days of research had indeed been a bit excessive, leaving him in less than ideal physical condition. His beard and hair were a mess, and he had had no time to tidy them.
But compared to what he had gained, none of that mattered.
He snapped his fingers softly, and more than a dozen golden runes circled around him.
Condensing a full set of retribution paladin runes with mental power was what Robbie had gained.
By the standards of strength on the continent of Azeroth, mastering most of the skills in one specialization of a class counted as excellent grade. Robbie's strength had finally made him a full-fledged adventurer.
Unfortunately, Robbie had picked the wrong person. Hogger clearly knew nothing about rune casting. He nodded with great solemnity, looking as though he understood perfectly.
"That's a nice trick."
"What do you know? These are Spirit Runes, an Old God casting technique..."
Robbie felt as though he had nowhere to put his strength. On second thought, he gave up. Explaining rune casting to a Gnoll would be like playing music to a cow!
"Listen, you need to get yourself cleaned up. Today's the big day the fortress is completed." Hogger took out a brand-new formal suit and handed it to Robbie, then left the room to wait outside the door.
After washing and dressing, Robbie looked like a new man, full of energy. His crisp formal suit gave him an elegant bearing. Perhaps because he had spent so long around the commander, seeing and hearing her, there was now a trace of noble refinement in his every gesture.
On the big day of the fortress's completion, however, Vanessa, the commander, was nowhere to be seen.
The ceremony was being overseen by a human woman named Marisa Dupé. Like the brainwashed nobleman, she was a mid-level officer of the Brotherhood.
Marisa's face was full of worry. It seemed she had not seen many occasions this grand, and her lack of experience had left her flustered.
The brainwashed nobleman was acting as her assistant, running himself ragged and just as busy.
As soon as she saw Robbie, Marisa's face lit up with delight, and she hurriedly waved him over. "Capor, you miser, get over here! We've been waiting for you!"
Robbie Capor had met Marisa during his days in Westfall and seemed to have even pursued her. The two could be considered old flames, but unfortunately, Marisa's heart had always belonged to the nobleman who was running himself ragged. His love had gone unreturned!
"Oh, isn't this Marisa? Long time no see. You've gotten prettier." Robbie joked without a care, only to receive a huge eye roll in return.
"I'm busy enough to drop dead, and you're still in the mood to joke." Marisa looked quite serious as she said, "The People's Militia has sent troops to take charge of the fortress's defense. I don't know who would be suitable to receive them. The commander said to come to you with any problems and let you decide."
No way. He was flattered.
"Why the People's Militia?" Robbie asked.
"They're on our side. We can count on them when it matters," Marisa explained.
What the hell? Aren't we the Defias Brotherhood? How can the People's Army be on our side? Robbie muttered inwardly.
In Robbie Capor's memories, Marisa was a decent person who took her work seriously. Unfortunately, she was set in her ways, rather rigid, and unable to adapt.
As for the brainwashed nobleman, he could not even remember his own name, so he could not be counted on either.
Robbie thought for a moment, then pulled over Hogger, who was eager to volunteer at his side. "Let Hogger receive them."
"Hogger? Can he handle it?"
Marisa stared at Hogger's shameless grin and asked, somewhat uncertain.
"Don't underestimate Hogger." Robbie patted him on the shoulder. "As a Gnoll who lives extremely well, Hogger has connections everywhere, a silver tongue, and a real knack for dealing with officials."
Of course, Robbie did not mention the main reason. Hogger loved to spout nonsense and could tell anyone what they wanted to hear. He was born for reception work.
Hogger bobbed his head. "Heh heh, leave it to me. Marshal Gryan Stoutmantle of the People's Militia is a good buddy of mine. Every officer under him has had a drink with me."
Marisa took out a small notebook and wrote down that Hogger would receive the People's Army's soldiers.
"There's another problem. There are too many buildings in the fortress, and we need a lot of hands to look after them."
Robbie looked surprised. "The commander doesn't even handle personnel appointments?"
Marisa sighed and spread her hands helplessly.
"Our young lady never concerns herself with such trifles."
Robbie shrugged and said helplessly, "Who from the Brotherhood came?"
"They're all here." Marisa handed him the roster, looking a little dejected, and pointed at the brainwashed nobleman. "The three of us are the only human subordinates. The situation is dire!"
What is this, a complete guide to Westfall's rare monsters?
Robbie carefully leafed through the roster, his expression gradually relaxing. He smiled slightly and said with confidence, "What could be simpler? Put everything to use and assign everyone where their talents fit."
Marisa pursed her lips. "Easy for you to say. Take the mines on the Four Great Farms, for example. The veteran miner Johnson would have been the best person to manage them, but unfortunately, he went off to start his own operation. I heard there's a blademaster in the Firebrand Clan in Nagrand who's exceptionally good at mining. Which of the three of us should go invite him?"
"No need to go to so much trouble!" Robbie opened the roster and pointed. "Put the Kobold digger chief in charge of the mines. As the mining genius of Jangolode Mine, he's more than qualified."
Marisa blinked. "All right, the digger chief is very good at mining, though he's a bit sloppy. But surely we need to invite someone to tend the flower beds? There's a priest named Fiora in Shadowmoon Valley who's very good at..."
"Too much trouble. Put the Reaper 5000 in charge of the flower beds."
"The Reaper 5000?" Marisa froze.
"That's right. The Reaper 5000 is the latest model of harvester. Taking care of flower beds will be a breeze."
"All right, we'll do that your way too. The Reaper 5000 will take care of the flower beds." Marisa thought carefully for a while. "Who'll manage the fishing grounds? No one in the Brotherhood is an expert angler. I suggest we go to Pandaria and invite Pat Nagle. I wonder what sort of gift we should prepare for our first meeting..."
"Pat Nagle is too big a name. It would be hard to persuade him to come." Robbie's eyes shifted. "Put Old Murk-Eye and the brothers Slark and Brack in charge of the fishing grounds."
The brainwashed nobleman joined in. "Those three are murlocs. They don't know how to fish."
Robbie smiled. "They don't know how to fish, but they know how to catch fish. Netting fish is better than fishing with a rod, and jumping into the water to catch them directly is better than using a net. One Old Murk-Eye is worth ten Pats."
"All right. Work at the lumber mill is heavy, and we're short-handed."
"Put Sneed the lumber foreman in charge of logging, with Captain Claw of the Riverpaw Clan and his subordinates assisting and handling the lumber processing."
"The inn needs a head chef."
"Cookie can handle it."
With Robbie making the arrangements, the main positions soon all had someone in charge.
The Goblin Helix Gearbreaker was put in charge of the gnome workshop, the ogre Glubtok was given the mage tower, and Mr. Smite, a Tauren who liked collecting weapons and equipment, was assigned to manage the dwarven bunker.
The trading post went to the shrewd Goblin Captain Greenskin, the Goblin smelter Kil'negg took charge of the forge, Jang Spotskin, leader of the Westfall Gnolls, managed the stables, and the ogre foreman Rakk'z volunteered to take on the barn. General Fangore, a worgen, would temporarily oversee the gladiator's sanctum.
For the remaining positions, such as those in the various profession buildings, they could recruit people gradually. There was no rush.
Now that the Brotherhood's officers had positions, they would not be idle and stir up trouble. Marisa let out a long breath, smiled with relief, and said to Robbie:
"Now there's only one task left."
"What task?"
"Receiving the guests!"
Marisa's expression darkened again. "Our fortress is being inaugurated today. Friends will certainly come to show their support, and enemies will surely come to cause trouble on purpose. We'll have to adapt to the situation and counter whatever they throw at us. We can't let anyone look down on us and tarnish the Brotherhood's prestige."
Robbie scratched his head. "As you know, I haven't been in the Brotherhood long, and I'm often out of sight. I don't know who our friends are and who our enemies are. You'd better give me a hint beforehand so I can be prepared."
Marisa broke into a smile. "No problem. If they're friends, I'll say, 'Keep smiling.' If enemies come, I'll warn you with, 'Keep a low profile and stay serious.'"
The fortress gates stood open, and the first to arrive with congratulations was the Cult of the Damned.
The Cult of the Damned was an evil organization in World of Warcraft, so they had to be enemies. Robbie was just about to grab a weapon when Marisa whispered calmly, "Keep smiling."
Are they friends?
The Cult of the Damned's envoy was very secretive, with a cloak wrapped around his head and face. He bowed respectfully, took his leave immediately after presenting the gift, and quickly vanished from sight. He had truly come and gone like the wind.
Robbie accepted the gift and glanced at it. It was the design plans for the flying fortress Naxxramas! That was a tremendous gift. Just what was the relationship between the Cult of the Damned and the Brotherhood?
The second visitor was an envoy from the Twilight followers.
When he heard the cue to "keep smiling," Robbie was already prepared for it.
The Twilight followers also had to stay out of sight. After presenting their gift, they left quickly, unwilling to stay a minute longer. The gift was a large sealed wooden crate labeled: frozen tentacles of C'Thun.
That was an extremely dangerous item. Robbie hurriedly had someone store it carefully.
After that, friends continued to arrive one after another.
From Gnomeregan, Mekgineer Thermaplugg sent twenty alarm robots; Scholomance's gift was a distinctive transformation item, Krastinov's Bag of Horrors; and an Undead envoy from Stratholme presented a Death Charge Warhorse as a congratulatory gift.
Princess Huhuran of the Qiraji Empire, one of the Qiraji in Silithus, claimed to be Vanessa's best friend and also sent an envoy with a congratulatory gift. It was another mount, a black Qiraji battle tank. Not to be outdone, the Firelands sent a fire crow mount, a local specialty.
Robbie felt a little uneasy. How was it that every one of these "friends" belonged to one of Azeroth's villainous factions? But when he thought about the Defias Brotherhood's reputation, he felt at ease.
Suddenly, a guard loudly announced the arrival of an envoy from the Infinite Dragonflight.
The Infinite Dragonflight was the Bronze Dragonflight's mortal enemy and one of the evil forces in World of Warcraft. Like the Bronze Dragonflight, they had the ability to alter the flow of time, and they had originally been corrupted Bronze Dragons.
What relationship did the Brotherhood have with the Infinite Dragonflight? Robbie looked at Marisa in confusion.
Marisa looked just as bewildered. She spread her hands, at a loss.