Treasure Bay

The morning mist over Treasure Bay had yet to disperse. The salty sea breeze, carrying the stench of fish and the clamor of a distant tavern, swept over the weathered planks of the docks. Deren stood beside a merchant ship that had just docked, dressed in the men's clothing Onyxia had brought him—a dark brown coarse linen shirt and black trousers. The fabric was hardly fine, but at least it was clean and intact, far better than the rags he had worn before.

He bent down, scooped up a handful of seawater, and vigorously scrubbed his face. The icy water washed away the grime, revealing his pale skin and eyes that were far too bright.

"Are you sure this will work?"

A cool voice came from behind him. Deren turned and saw "Selina Morningstar"—Onyxia in the form of a High Elf mage—leaning against a crate on the dock. Her silver-white hair shimmered in the morning light, pointed ears peeking through her locks. A Dalaran insignia was pinned to the collar of her deep-blue robe, and she exuded an elegance and aloofness entirely out of place in Treasure Bay.

Deren grinned, water dripping from his chin. "Of course it'll work! Look—" He straightened his back, trying not to appear quite so gaunt. "I'm a minor noble who escaped when Lordaeron was overrun by the Undead. My family has fallen into ruin, and this is all I have left. And you—" He winked at Onyxia. "You're the mage advisor my family once hired at great expense, and now you have no choice but to protect me on my travels."

The corner of Onyxia's mouth twitched. Her slender fingers lightly tapped her staff, and beneath the illusion, a trace of impatience flashed through her draconic vertical pupils. "So your so-called 'great plan' is making me play along with this childish little game?"

"It's called discreet infiltration!" Deren lowered his voice and pulled a handful of gold coins from his clothes. "Look, we have these. In Treasure Bay, gold is the best passport."

He suddenly leaned closer, close enough to catch the faint scent of dragon scales on her—even in elf form, that oppressive presence remained. Deren lowered his voice. "Think about it. If we started off making a grand spectacle of searching for clues about Old Gods or dragon secrets, your father's spies would notice immediately. But two ordinary adventurers? No one would care."

Onyxia narrowed her eyes. Morning light fell across her illusionary elven face, tracing its flawless contours. Suddenly, she reached out and pinched Deren's chin, her sharp nails nearly piercing his skin. "Remember this, human. If I find that you're wasting my time—"

"My head will end up hanging at Stormwind City's gates. I know." Deren met her eyes without fear and even smiled. "But first, we need somewhere to stay."

He deftly slipped free of her grasp. By the time he turned around, he had already adopted the bearing of a young nobleman, walking proudly toward the busiest tavern in the dock district. Onyxia watched his back, a complicated emotion flashing through her dragon eyes.

This frail human somehow carried himself with the elegance of a fallen nobleman. It was as though another soul lay hidden beneath those rough clothes.

"Interesting," she murmured, tapping her staff lightly against the ground before following him.

At the tavern entrance, a Goblin missing one front tooth was shouting, "Fresh-baked pies! Five Copper Coins each!" Deren stopped and rubbed his stomach—he could no longer remember the last time he had eaten a hot meal.

Onyxia noticed his hesitation and snorted. "Don't tell me you—"

Before she could finish, Deren had already pulled out some money. "Two!" He turned and handed one to Onyxia. "Want a taste? They say Treasure Bay's pies are the best in all the Eastern Kingdoms."

In her High Elf form, Onyxia stared at the greasy pie as though she were looking at something filthy. In the end, though, she took it, carefully pinching the edge of the oily paper with her fingertips.

Deren had already taken a huge bite. It was so hot that he kept hissing through his teeth, yet he still refused to spit it out. He mumbled through a mouthful of food, "From now on, I'm Deren Losen, and you're Selina Morningstar. Remember our new identities."

Watching this "young nobleman" with grease all over his mouth, Onyxia suddenly felt that perhaps this absurd little performance would be just a bit more interesting than she had imagined.

The afternoon sun in Treasure Bay was merciless, glaring off the rusted metal roofs along the docks. Deren raised a hand to shade his eyes, then elegantly brushed nonexistent dust from his collar. Onyxia—no, "Selina Morningstar" now—followed half a step behind him, her staff tapping softly against the ground, her face wearing the cool indifference and arrogance unique to High Elves.

"Ah! Honored guests!"

A shrill voice sprang out from beside them. Deren looked down to see a Goblin decked in gold and silver, rubbing his hands together as he gazed up at him with a broad grin. The Goblin's green skin glistened with oil in the sunlight, while two gold teeth gleamed whenever he smiled.

"I'm Rizk Goldhand, the most professional guide in all of Treasure Bay!" The Goblin gave an exaggerated bow, the feather on his hat nearly poking Deren in the nose. "You two have such extraordinary bearing—you must be new here, yes? What service do you need? Sightseeing? Shopping? Or—"

"Lodging." Deren cut him off, pulling out a Silver Coin and rolling it deftly between his fingers. "We need somewhere quiet, comfortable, and... private."

The gleam of the Silver Coin reflected in the Goblin's pupils. His eyes followed it around twice, and his smile brightened further.

"Oh! You've come to exactly the right person!" Rizk snatched the Silver Coin in one swift motion, as if afraid Deren might change his mind. "I happen to have several fine properties on hand! They'll absolutely meet your requirements!"

Deren nodded with feigned reserve. "Lead the way."

Rizk led them through the noisy market, his mouth never stopping the entire way.

"How about this one? An ocean-view home! You can watch the sunrise every morning!" He pointed to a rickety wooden house whose second-floor balcony railing was already half broken.

Deren's mouth twitched. "A bit... too well-ventilated."

"Then what about this one? Right in the city center! Convenient transport!" Rizk pointed to another house right beside a tavern, from which drunken howls and the sound of smashing cups were pouring out.

Onyxia's frown deepened.

"Do you have somewhere... quieter?" Deren gave a dry laugh and produced another Silver Coin.

The Goblin's eyes lit up. "Ah! You should've said so earlier!"

He led them down a secluded alley and finally stopped before an unremarkable stone house. It was not large, but its structure was sturdy. Several drought-resistant desert plants grew by the entrance, lending it a barely passable touch of elegance. Most importantly—it was far from the bustle of the harbor, and there were scarcely any pedestrians nearby.

"This was originally the residence of an alchemist, but later he... ah, had a little accident during an experiment." Rizk pushed open the door with an awkward grin, sending dust drifting down. "But it's absolutely safe! And reasonably priced!"

Deren looked around. The furnishings were simple, but complete. There was even a workbench in one corner, still marked with dried traces of potions. He looked at Onyxia, and she gave a slight nod—this place barely met her standards.

"This will do. We'll rent it for three months." Once Deren had settled the price, he turned and gestured to the female bodyguard behind him—Onyxia reluctantly pulled out a money pouch and counted the coins.

Rizk took the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and grinned from ear to ear. "A wise choice! If there's anything else you need, just say the word!"

Deren thought for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice. "By the way, I'm somewhat interested in alchemy... Are there any reliable merchants selling alchemical materials nearby?"

The Goblin's ears perked up. "You've asked the right person! My cousin's shop is in the dock district. Genuine goods, honest prices!"

Deren smiled. "That's perfect. I'll take a look later."

Once the Goblin had left, Onyxia finally could not hold back any longer.

"Have you lost your mind?" She grabbed Deren by the collar, dragon eyes flashing beneath her illusion. "We're not here on vacation! You spent all that money just to rent this dump?"

Unhurriedly, Deren pried her fingers open. "Calm down, Lady Selina." He deliberately emphasized the title. "We need a base of operations now, and this place is perfect—secluded, inconspicuous, and..." He pointed at the workbench. "It even comes with experimental equipment."

Onyxia snorted and released him.

"I need to run some experiments. Knowledge is knowledge, but it still needs to be verified through experimentation," Deren explained. "I promise, it's all for the sake of defeating Father-in-law."

At first, Onyxia did not react, merely nodding in agreement. Then she processed his words and erupted with Dragon Awe. "What did you say? You little insect, you dare set your sights on a dragon?"

Deren immediately begged for mercy. "Just a joke, don't mind it, haha..."

Onyxia huffed and turned away, ignoring him.

Dust filled the stone house, and sunlight slanted in through the half-open window, illuminating the tiny particles floating in the air. Deren covered his mouth and nose and coughed twice, waving a hand in an attempt to disperse the dust, but to little effect.

"This place is even filthier than I imagined..." he muttered, bending down to pick up a battered notebook from the floor and flipping through it casually. Its pages contained hastily scribbled notes on some kind of alchemical formula, but most of the contents had been obscured by stains.

Onyxia stood in the doorway, her brows tightly furrowed. She raised a hand, dark purple light glimmering at her fingertips, and softly uttered a draconic spell.

In an instant, an invisible force swept through the entire room. The dust seemed to be seized by an unseen hand, rapidly gathering into a ball that floated in midair. The cobwebs fell away on their own, the stains on the floor vanished without a trace, and even the moldy bedsheets became as good as new.

Deren's eyes widened. "...You can do that?"

Onyxia gave a disdainful snort. "Mortals always prefer solving problems in the stupidest ways possible."

Deren grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. "As expected of the Black Dragon Princess. Even cleaning has style when you do it."

She ignored him and walked straight to the window. With a light swipe of her fingertip, it flew fully open with a bang, and fresh sea air rushed inside.

Deren sat down at the cleaned wooden table and dug several crumpled sheets of parchment and a quill out of his pack. He dipped the quill in ink and began writing and sketching.

Onyxia glanced over and found that he was drawing neither a map nor runes, but a strange table densely marked with times, locations, and names.

"What is this?" she could not help asking.

"A schedule." Deren did not look up, his quill racing across the page. "We need to act in stages—the first step is establishing ourselves, the second is experimenting with synthetic fertilizer, the third..."

His quill abruptly stopped, and the ink spread into a small blot on the parchment. He rubbed his temples, his eyelids growing slightly heavy.

Onyxia noticed his exhaustion—this human had not rested properly for several days. She narrowed her eyes, and a faint glow once more appeared at her fingertips.

"You should sleep," she said coldly.

Just as Deren was about to argue, an intense wave of drowsiness suddenly overcame him. His vision blurred for a moment, then everything went black, and he collapsed face-first onto the table.

Onyxia gave a gentle wave of her hand, and his body was lifted by a soft force, slowly floating over to the bed beside him.

When Deren woke again, night had already fallen. He abruptly sat up, feeling brimming with energy. But his empty stomach was protesting fiercely. Fortunately, he spotted a steaming cup of tea and a piece of bread stuffed with smoked meat on the table nearby.

He froze for a moment, then turned to look at the other side of the room.

Onyxia was sitting by the window, moonlight spilling over her silver hair and lending it a cold sheen. She held an old book she had found in the house, and without looking up, she said:

"Eat, mortal. Your stomach growled three times while you were unconscious. It was too noisy for me to focus on reading."

Deren blinked, then suddenly laughed. He picked up the bread and took a huge bite, saying through a mouthful, "Thanks. Never thought the mighty Black Dragon Princess would take care of someone."

Onyxia snapped the book shut and shot him a cold glare. "One more word, and next time I'll make you sleep on the floor."

Deren wisely shut up, though he could not hide the smile at the corner of his mouth. He finished the bread in a few bites, gulped down half the tea, then returned to the table full of vigor and continued refining his plan.

Onyxia watched his back, an unreadable emotion flashing through her dragon eyes.