The Dark Illusion spell stopped working once it was too far from its caster. That meant Yrel had most likely seen the person's true face.
"So it was Yrel."
Vanessa's brow smoothed, and she chuckled.
"She still owes me a favor. I happened to rescue her and helped her kill her enemy. Then I heard footsteps and left in Stealth, so I didn't notice what happened afterward."
"I'm glad I could help." Kiana Moonshadow began airing her grievances. "Commander, life in the wild isn't comfortable. I can't even take a hot bath."
Vanessa's eyes lit up. She stood and took Kiana's hand. "Welcome to the Defias Brotherhood, hero of the Dark Portal."
With the misunderstanding cleared up, Kiana Moonshadow naturally became Vanessa's Follower.
Vanessa personally assigned her a task: watch Yrel and keep track of everyone who came into contact with her. Then Vanessa disappeared again. Robbie was used to it by now.
Kiana Moonshadow looked after her friends. Finding the conditions good and her movements unrestricted, she brought her best friend over the next day: the Dwarf rogue Buma Swiftstone.
Another day later, Buma Swiftstone brought in a Night Elf Holy Priest, Dalila Crescent. Vanessa didn't seem to care much about any of this and took them all in as they came.
Vanessa might not have cared, but Robbie cared very much and grumbled inwardly.
Kiana Moonshadow had so brazenly formed a little three-person clique mainly because Vanessa didn't manage affairs, while Robbie, the acting commander, couldn't keep them under control.
A naturally purple Guardian Druid who had taken part in the assault on the Dark Portal, she was a seasoned adventurer. More than eight thousand years of adventuring experience was frightening to contemplate.
Compared with her, Robbie, Delvar Ironfist, and even Hogger were just wet-behind-the-ears brats. They could only concede defeat and had to go to her for advice when they ran into difficulties.
The better news was that these veteran adventurers valued their reputations. Their occasional displays of arrogance were within tolerable limits, and they were entirely serious when handling important matters.
Thus, the garrison's Followers increased to six, who split into three shifts to watch Yrel around the clock.
Yrel lived at the nearby Starfall Outpost. She had long since spread word that she intended to hire someone to escort her back to Embaari Village.
Moreover, she didn't trust ordinary adventurers. The escort had to be a commander in person.
The quest was intriguing.
In World of Warcraft 0, Yrel was an important character throughout the entire expansion. Accompanying the player, she grew step by step from a timid, cowardly Draenei nobody, eventually succeeding Prophet Velen as archbishop and becoming the leader of the Draenei of Draenor.
Yrel herself was a powerful Paladin and a disciple of the Draenei leader Prophet Velen. Her strength was certainly nothing to scoff at, and as a local, she should have been familiar with the roads here.
There was little danger along the route from Lunarfall to Embaari Village. Local Draenei made the journey regularly, to say nothing of a formidable figure like Yrel.
Of course, the more serious problem was that Yrel was unwilling to pay. She wanted something for nothing, so no commander was willing to take on such a thankless task.
"Yrel's quest is a smokescreen. She might fool others, but she can't fool me. She's definitely trying to meet up with the mysterious fiftieth person from the Dark Portal." Kiana Moonshadow displayed the wisdom expected of a veteran adventurer.
Robbie had no better suggestions, so he could only step up the surveillance.
Watching Yrel was no difficult task. Draenei had hooves, after all, and their footsteps were loud enough to be heard from far away. Once they learned the rhythm of Yrel's footsteps, they could tell what she was doing without even looking.
Every day, the hoofed girl wandered around Lunarfall, mining ore, gathering herbs, and occasionally killing and skinning a beast. She was, surprisingly, one of the rare people with three gathering professions. But she seemed timid and didn't dare venture too far from Lunarfall, so her hauls were only average.
The days passed, but watching Yrel yielded no results.
As Lunarfall grew day by day and garrisons sprang up one after another, quests multiplied, with loads of elite, high-reward quests waiting to be completed.
Kiana Moonshadow's trio coveted the equipment and gold, and their resolve began to waver. They suggested giving up on watching Yrel for the time being and concentrating on quests instead.
Adventurers risked their lives out in the world, loudly proclaiming all sorts of slogans: for Azeroth, for the Alliance, for the Horde, for the Holy Light, for the Earth Mother, for the glory of the Sin'dorei.
But in practice, weren't they still doing it for equipment, mounts, gold, achievements, and the like?
Kiana Moonshadow's little group consisted of two Night Elves and one Dwarf. If they weren't happy with the work, they could simply pack up and leave.
With their strength and reputations, Lunarfall's commanders would compete to recruit them.
Robbie was different. His interests were already tied to the Brotherhood's, and he knew full well that Vanessa had come to Draenor not to run a garrison, but to investigate the secret of the Wealth tablet in Stormwind City.
As a result, the two sides developed a serious difference of opinion.
Hogger proposed kidnapping Yrel and torturing her into revealing the fiftieth person's true identity.
Everyone scorned the crude proposal and unanimously rejected it.
In the end, Kiana Moonshadow displayed the decisiveness expected of an experienced adventurer.
"I'll confront Yrel directly. Don't worry. How crafty can one little Draenei be? I guarantee I'll even find out what color underpants she wears."
At the garrison's inn, Kiana Moonshadow reserved a private room, treated Yrel to a grand meal, and prepared several jars of fine wine. No one knew what the two discussed. In any case, Yrel ate until her mouth was greasy, wiped it, and trotted off in high spirits.
Kiana Moonshadow, meanwhile, was trembling with rage and nearly overturned the table.
Robbie was very curious about what Yrel had said.
"Yrel said she was the mysterious fiftieth person."
"Yrel said Khadgar and Thrall cried and shouted and knelt on the ground, begging her to come out of retirement. They promised her a floating castle in Dalaran and a seaside villa in Orgrimmar before she reluctantly agreed."
"Yrel said she carried out the assault on the Dark Portal alone, defeated the Iron Horde single-handedly, and smashed the Dark Portal with one blow of her hammer. The seven great champions of Draenor trembled before her, weeping and begging for mercy, while Khadgar, Thrall, and the others were insignificant background props."
"Yrel said she's a naturalist and never wears underpants."
"Eight thousand years. A full eight thousand years of adventuring." Kiana Moonshadow took a deep breath. "What kind of weirdo haven't I seen? But I've never seen anyone so shameless."
That little hoofed girl Yrel was even harder to deal with than expected. She was impervious to persuasion and extremely thick-skinned, so Kiana Moonshadow's failure came as no surprise.
Kiana Moonshadow and the other two had their minds elsewhere, so Robbie, in his capacity as acting commander, sent them off to clear quests and told them they didn't need to worry about Yrel for the time being.
Robbie shut himself in his room, compiled the results of their recent investigation, and modeled Yrel's personality traits, hoping to find a way in.
Yrel's most prominent trait was her stinginess.
She was a rare triple-gathering-profession holder, and prices in Lunarfall were gradually rising. Herbs, ore, fur, and the like were in short supply, so she should not have lacked gold.
Unfortunately, that was simply her nature. Invoking her status as Prophet Velen's disciple, she freeloaded food and drink at taverns throughout Lunarfall, running up countless bar tabs with no apparent intention of paying them. As a result, many taverns in Lunarfall had been forced to put up signs at their entrances:
"Yrel and Hogger are not allowed inside."
To become as notorious in such a short time as Hogger, a longtime villain infamous throughout the Azeroth Continent, was quite an achievement.
Robbie picked up his pen, wrote down a slightly altered poem, and sent for Hogger.
"I left home young and returned in old age,
My accent unchanged, my tail hair urging me on,
The children who wished to see me did not know me,
And laughing, asked the stranger where he came from."
"Hogger, read this poem and tell me what you think."
Hogger bared his teeth, touched their gleaming surfaces, and stared at the poem for a long while. Then he shook his head and asked, "What's it mean?"
Robbie smiled. "This poem describes Yrel's present situation. She may look young and pretty, like a youthful girl, but Draenei don't age or die. Their true age can only be judged by how many times they've shaved their tail hair."
"Yrel has spent many years adventuring away from home, but not only has she failed to make a name for herself, she was even captured by the Iron Horde. She's ashamed to face the people of her hometown. She wants a commander to escort her back to Embaari Village not because she's worried about danger on the road, but because she wants to enjoy the spectacle of returning home in glory, surrounded by an entourage, raising her standing among the villagers and bringing some honor to her teacher Velen as well."
Hogger understood and nodded. "So the Night Elf's analysis was wrong. Yrel has no intention of meeting the fiftieth person."
"Exactly. This is just Yrel's vanity at work." Robbie spoke mysteriously. "I have a flawless plan, but there's one condition that must be met first. Hogger, you've seen Yrel fight monsters. How confident are you that you can defeat her?"
Hogger shook his head and said confidently, "I, Hogger, swear on the mane on my back that when it comes to fighting with our hands, Yrel and I are evenly matched. Neither of us can beat the other." Hogger bared a mouthful of sharp teeth. "But if I use my mouth and fangs, Yrel is sure to lose."
"Excellent."
Robbie patted Hogger on the shoulder. "Hogger, go back to the inn and find a spacious, bright room with excellent natural light. Make sure it's furnished as lavishly as possible. Use whatever good things you have, call it the Chieftain Suite, and set the initial price at eight thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight gold per night."
Hogger was startled. "That expensive? What sucker would fall for it?"
Robbie chuckled. "It's just a marketing gimmick to attract attention. I'll give you several dozen more Gnolls to hand out flyers. Make absolutely sure the news reaches Yrel."
"Easy," Hogger said with a laugh.
"Then we'll offer a free trial stay. Yrel has already been spoiled by Lunarfall's innkeepers. She's certain to fall for it."