Robbie led the way, with Qiana Moonshadow following behind in the form of a doe.
"Say, that deer has a saddle. Can I ride you?" Robbie ventured.
"If you want your head planted in the ground, go ahead and try," Qiana Moonshadow threatened.
"Since when could Druids turn into wolves?" Robbie's tone was unmistakably malicious.
"You saw wrong," Qiana Moonshadow denied firmly. "Remember, I was surrounded by a pack of wolves, and then you rescued me. All right, keep my secret, and I'll let you ride me, just once."
Robbie had no perverse desire to ride a Druid, especially a female elf Druid who had lived for more than eight thousand years.
He was only testing her.
He wanted to see if he could get some leverage over Qiana Moonshadow, and it seemed to have worked rather well.
A Druid who turned into a wolf, the Scythe of Elune, and a Night Elf taboo.
Inside the stronghold's Town Hall.
Robbie, Vanessa, and Qiana Moonshadow sat together.
Mili had been taken away by Hogger and settled in the stronghold's inn. Robbie had also wanted to go back to sleep, but Vanessa stopped him and wouldn't let him leave.
"The stronghold is very well built. To achieve this much proves you're a woman of great resolve, and the Defias Brotherhood's influence runs deep among the people," Qiana Moonshadow said, slipping in a subtle compliment.
"Not at all. That's all thanks to the People's Militia's standing."
For once, Vanessa was being modest.
Qiana Moonshadow's expression grew grave. "I can tell you everything I know, but you must also tell me the truth."
Vanessa was somewhat puzzled, but she nodded anyway. "No problem."
Qiana Moonshadow looked solemn. "Of the three groups that assaulted the Dark Portal, there's no need to say much about the first. They were a bunch of insignificant cannon fodder, sent to test whether the Dark Portal was stable and make an initial assessment of the Iron Horde's combat strength."
Bastard, looking down on cannon fodder! Anger welled up in Robbie.
As a member of the cannon fodder force, he felt he ought to say something.
Vanessa stood up for Robbie and said with the hint of a smile, "Don't underestimate the cannon fodder. There were talented people among them too. One of them nearly beat Thrall to death."
"I know about that. I heard it was someone called Defiler Kapol..." Qiana Moonshadow suddenly understood and turned to stare hard at Robbie:
"So he's your subordinate. Were you helping him behind the scenes?"
Vanessa made a face and merely smiled, giving no direct answer.
Qiana Moonshadow shrugged and returned to the matter at hand:
"The second group was the main force, the true elites of the Azeroth Continent: Hogger of Elwynn Forest, you from Westfall, High Inquisitor Whitemane and Renault Mograine of Scarlet Monastery, Professor Krastinov of Scholomance..."
Heavens, what am I hearing? Was the second group a gathering of dungeon bosses?
Robbie could no longer remain calm.
Come to think of it, the Iron Horde had been at the height of its power, and the seven great leaders of Draenor were no pushovers. It was indeed a little odd that just fifty people had fought their way in and out several times.
Hogger had said he took part in the assault on the Dark Portal. Apparently, he had been telling the truth.
Vanessa raised an eyebrow and said proudly:
"Most of us can't show our faces in public, and rumor has it we've long been dead. But there's no denying that every one of us has exceptional skills and astonishing combat strength. We're especially good at staying alive. We succeeded in drawing away the Iron Horde's main force, disrupting their plans and marking a route for the third group. We also suffered the fewest losses. Otherwise, you wouldn't have completed your mission so smoothly."
"I admit you're powerful!" Qiana Moonshadow stared at Vanessa. "But I heard a rumor that something went wrong with your portal during the retreat."
Vanessa said furiously, "You're right. We fought for Azeroth out of a sense of justice and helped make you famous. No, I should say we made Khadgar, Thrall, and the others famous. That would have been fine, but Khadgar deliberately screwed us over. The other side of the portal he prepared led to the Twisting Nether."
"You have my sympathy." Qiana Moonshadow was still wary as she asked anxiously, "You wouldn't do anything to Khadgar..."
"You're asking whether we'll take revenge." Vanessa gave her a strange smile:
"Khadgar doesn't share our beliefs. He thinks scum like us should be eliminated. Don't worry, we won't go straight to his doorstep. That would only benefit the Iron Horde. But we won't let this grudge go so easily. There will be revenge, but not now."
Qiana Moonshadow was visibly relieved. "All right, now for the crucial question. Under those circumstances, you didn't board the ship, and your escape route was cut off. How did you survive? It's very suspicious. What exactly happened during that time?"
"You suspect we surrendered to the Iron Horde and were sent back as spies?" Vanessa finally understood Qiana Moonshadow's concern and demanded an answer in a fury.
"Although I don't want to admit it, that seems to be the only way you could have survived." Qiana Moonshadow emphasized, "That's why I refused to have contact with you."
The two women glared at each other, tempers flaring, neither willing to back down.
Qiana Moonshadow's suspicions were not unreasonable. Robbie had taken part in the assault on the Dark Portal and had seen the vast numbers of the Iron Horde with his own eyes. He knew how brutal that battle had been.
Once the Iron Horde surrounded them, no one could have escaped alive.
Vanessa pondered briefly, then said, "All right. We were wary of Khadgar from the start and prepared several special ways to retreat, but every one of them was risky. Fortunately, the Holy Light favored us. I can tell you the truth, but you must swear not to tell anyone."
Robbie glanced at Vanessa, but she waved a hand, showing no intention of asking him to leave.
Qiana Moonshadow watched their interaction with a strange expression, then nodded.
"I swear in the name of Elune, the moon goddess."
"Good!" Vanessa's gaze sharpened:
"After we covered your boarding, Khadgar immediately ordered the ship to leave, without caring whether we lived or died. The portal he'd prepared in advance was a fake. We had to hide wherever we could. Fortunately, I had a skill called Shadow Veil, which concealed everyone from the Iron Horde. But more and more Iron Horde troops kept coming. It was only a matter of time before we were wiped out."
"The several escape methods we'd prepared beforehand had either been sabotaged in secret or simply didn't work. When we were in the depths of despair, we stumbled upon a human Paladin who had gone mad. He wiped out large groups of Iron Horde troops with a wave of his hand. His strength was terrifying. He was heading for the Dark Portal, so we followed him."
Robbie stared at Vanessa in surprise. What was she talking about? Why did it sound so familiar?
Vanessa smiled faintly and said mockingly, "That Paladin had turned himself into a flare. If I hadn't had enough smoke bombs in my bag, he would have drawn even more Iron Horde troops."
"What happened next?" Qiana Moonshadow listened intently.
"When he saw that the Dark Portal had been destroyed, the Paladin went even crazier. He killed over a thousand Iron Horde troops, throwing them into chaos and sending them fleeing in all directions. Then he jumped into a latrine pit and disappeared. We found the portal Khadgar had left behind at the bottom of the pit."
Robbie found it strange. If there really was such a powerful Paladin, why didn't I see him?
After all, Robbie had also escaped through the latrine pit.
"A powerful Paladin? Could it have been Tirion Fordring?" Qiana Moonshadow guessed.
Vanessa shook her head and deliberately looked at Robbie. "No, he was a very young Paladin, only around twenty. He wore a Warlock's robe, filthy and tattered, and smelled of Orcs. He seemed to have just escaped from prison."
Wait, a filthy, tattered Warlock's robe, escaped from prison—isn't that me?
Robbie's head rang.
How come I don't remember any of it?
Could it be...
That strange blood I drank contained immense power.
But the price is that I can't remember some of the things I did, and I even make up false memories to deceive myself.
That's the price of the power from drinking the blood, or at least one of the prices.
Then was I also the one who destroyed the Azeroth Whelp Smuggling Association in the Blasted Lands? Robbie did his best to appear unconcerned, but inwardly he was already in turmoil.
No wonder the Infinite Dragonflight showed me friendship. So there was a reason for it all.
Qiana Moonshadow thought it over carefully, then said in sudden realization, "I understand. He must be the Argent Dawn's secret weapon against the Scourge."
Is there really nothing wrong with your head? Why did you believe that so easily?
"These past few days, you've been following me, but I've also been observing you," Qiana Moonshadow explained to Vanessa. "I can confirm that the Brotherhood has no connection to the Iron Horde. Otherwise, I would never have entered your stronghold."
Qiana Moonshadow took a sheet of paper from inside her clothes and handed it to Vanessa. "This is everything I know. I swear to Elune that I haven't withheld anything."
Robbie stole a glance from the side. It was a list of the fifty people who had assaulted the Dark Portal, with extremely detailed descriptions. Each person's adventures, background, hobbies, and partner were included. Even their shady histories of cheating people out of game-time cards with black-market gold had been recorded one by one.
Elves really are terrifying. Their memories are astonishingly good. Perhaps a thousand years from now, we'll be among the people in her memoirs too.
It seemed Qiana Moonshadow had done her homework thoroughly.
Only the last adventurer had a row of question marks instead.
Vanessa read through it carefully, then pointed to the last line and asked, "Why is one person's information missing?"
Qiana Moonshadow sighed helplessly:
"That person was very mysterious and was always protected by Khadgar's Dark Visions. Whether they were male or female, Alliance or Horde, their class and race—I know none of it. I only heard they were a veteran adventurer, the one Khadgar valued most. They received special treatment more than once, and their importance was second only to Khadgar and Thrall. They survived in the end. I saw them fight, and their strength was decent enough."
Vanessa rubbed her forehead and said with some frustration, "What a shame. Our most valuable lead has ended just like that."
"If he's the person you're looking for, I can give you one more clue," Qiana Moonshadow said unhurriedly. "That mysterious person once went out alone on a mission and brought back a young Draenei woman named Yrel."