When Jaina arrived, three orcs with bruised and swollen faces and two wounded Paladin were already lying on the ground. Windsore was being held back by his lieutenant, and the old marshal's forehead was bleeding, but the anger in his eyes was more frightening than his wounds.
"Enough!" Jaina slammed her staff down, and Frost Nova instantly froze everyone's ankles. "I said private duels are forbidden in Theramore!"
"They provoked us first!" a Paladin shouted.
"You old codger, draw your sword first!" the orc retorted.
Jaina had a splitting headache. Recently, conflicts between Theramore and the Horde had increased, many involving Windsore and his Paladin.
"Take all the orcs away," she ordered the city guards, "And lock them up until they sober up!"
Windsore shook off his hand that was supporting him and walked straight to Jaina: "Madam, I need to talk."
Jaina gestured for the guards to deal with the others first, then asked wearily, "What is it now, Marshal?"
"These orcs," Windsore said in a low voice, "Are not ordinary laborers, they are Warrior."
Jaina frowned. "Orc soldiers always come to Theramore to play."
"It's different." Windsore shook her head. "They're marking important buildings and measuring street distances. I've been on the battlefield too long, ma'am; this is pre-battle reconnaissance."
"You're too tense," Jaina sighed, "Just because of a few drunkards."
Windsore suddenly grabbed her wrist, the old marshal's eyes gleaming eerily in the twilight. "Death is not terrible, madam. What is terrible is seeing danger approaching, yet being powerless to stop it from harming everything you swore to protect. I experienced that despair in Stormwind City —watching helplessly as the Black Dragon's plot succeeded."
Jaina was stunned. She had never seen this tough soldier show such a human expression.
"I will investigate," she finally promised, "But for now, please go and treat your wounds first."
Five days later at dawn, an urgent message alerted the entire leadership of Theramore. The fortress on the Barrens had been attacked by Horde assault team. Although the attack was repelled, there were many casualties.
Inside the meeting room, a map spread out in front of Jaina was marked with three red crosses.
"The attack points are here, here, and here," she pointed to the markers, "All key nodes in our supply lines."
Vereesa examined the casualty report, "Strangely, they don't seem to intend to capture the fortress; it's more like a probing attack?"
"Testing what?" Jaina shook her head. "I don't understand either. What's even stranger is—" She pulled out a stack of documents, "Yesterday morning, all the orcs in Theramore received letters from home, ordering them to return to Orgrimmar by the end of the month, or their relatives would be implicated."
"Forced conscription?" Vereesa guessed.
"The timing is too coincidental," Jaina suddenly thought. " Marshal Windsor warned about the unusual orcish activity just a few days ago." Jaina's finger unconsciously circled on the map. "But why? Could it be, as Deren said, that we've been maintaining neutrality, making the orc extremists uneasy?"
The meeting lasted for hours, and Jaina and her men were still clueless. They could only send more people and intensify patrols, as was their usual routine. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to happen. Finally, after the meeting ended, she teleported to Deren's house and explained the situation.
Upon hearing this, Deren suddenly stood up. "Where did Krasus go? If there's any problem, just check the Red Dragon's signal light first."
"They've already returned to Dalaran," Jaina said, "Saying there's an urgent meeting." She was startled.
"And what about Kalecgos?" Deren asked again.
"He disappeared last night. According to Teacher Aegwynn, he was forcibly teleported away! Probably summoned back to the Nexus!" Jaina thought for a moment, "This is too much of a coincidence!"
Deren paced nervously back and forth, and everyone in the room began to feel their heart race.
After a while, he stopped and approached Jaina, saying, "Perhaps I'm overthinking it, but I'm afraid the worst is about to happen." He beckoned to Jaina and said, "Take Aella and the others back to sleep. You'll sleep in their room tonight, understand?" The latter nodded, indicating that she understood. Then she cast Star Soul Barrier.
After Jaina returned to her room with her three Dragon Maid, Deren beckoned everyone over to sit together. He first said to Chromie, "I suspect history has been moved forward. The Blue Dragon have lost the Eye of the Storm. Garrosh is preparing to use it to bombard Theramore."
Everyone except Anveena gasped. The Bronze Dragon picked up her staff to check the Timeline, only to find it a chaotic mess. She immediately cried out, "My abilities are restricted! I can't see the past, present, or future!"
Deren sneered, "That's more like it. Let's get started. I'll assign tasks to everyone. Any questions?"
Jaina, Onyxia, and Chromie all nodded. Even Anveena, seeing the others' reactions, nodded in agreement.
Deren first told Jaina, "Teleport to Treasure Bay immediately and find Prince Rivendare, the Goblin Prince. Do everything you can to get him to find out if any goblins, especially those from the Rustwater Syndicate or Venture Company, have received any mercenary missions related to Blue Dragon or orcs. Have him send you Magic Transmission as soon as he has any information. After you've done this, come back to me."
Deren remembered that the novel contained a story about orcs and goblins cooperating to seize the Eye of the Storm. If history hadn't changed much, he could try to find out more from within the goblins, indirectly confirming his suspicions.
Then he said to Chromie, "Prepare a gift and go to Alexstrasza. Tell her you've received another share of the profits and you're going to visit her. I suspect there's a high chance you'll be detained and unable to move freely. If that's the case, talk to Alexstrasza about the stories of the three Red Dragon here. For example, tell her how much you miss the Queen and how you call for your mother in your dreams."
"Anyway, all the picture books you've read that tell stories of deep mother-daughter love are woven into the lives of Red Dragon. If she really knows—no, she definitely knows Garrosh's plan—that's why Krasus ran away ahead of time. Try mentioning these three Red Dragon as much as possible, and see if she'll come to take them away before the deadline."
Finally, he said to Onyxia, "Do we still have any of the Dragon Egg Rapid Transport Device we made last time?"
Black Dragon covered his mouth and chuckled, "Oh, you mean that high-altitude bomb! Two spare rounds and one Training Bomb."
"We have to get ready to go again! Just like last time in Dalaran, we'll thwart the Undead's plan to summon Archimonde," Deren said fiercely. "This time they want our lives, so don't blame us for taking theirs first!"
At this point, Deren added to Jaina, "Before you leave, send a message asking Lady Aegwynn to come to me. There are some plans that require her attention."
The situation in Theramore suddenly became unpredictable, with the threat of Eye of the Storm looming high in the sky once again.
First update.