Taking Action

Although Thorin Oakenshield had always been manipulated by Nefarian, there was no denying that he was an excellent warrior. So when he returned to Blackrock Tower and pledged his loyalty to Nefarian, Nefarian appointed him captain of the Dark Iron Dwarf patrols, both for the strength Thorin could bring and to demonstrate his own magnanimity. He placed all the Dark Iron Dwarf defenses in Blackrock Tower under Thorin's command.

The Dark Iron Dwarves had never truly submitted to Nefarian. With Thorin—a natural leader who held a grudge against Nefarian—at their head, the patrols had long since slipped out of Nefarian's control.

With Thorin in their grasp, Leiluo and his group, aided by Thorin's half-hearted cooperation, easily evaded the Black Tooth Orc patrols and safely infiltrated Blackrock Tower. They made their way to the top floor, where Nefarian and Onyxia were.

"Anduin!"

When Lo'Gosh and Varian saw the child in the arms of a disheveled, deranged woman, they almost cried out. Fortunately, Regar and Brol stopped them before they could give themselves away. Having spotted their child, Lo'Gosh and Varian both looked to Leiluo. Here, only Leiluo had the power to stand against the black dragon.

Lo'Gosh was powerful, but his strength was flawed, and he had suffered from old injuries for a long time. He couldn't bring even eight-tenths of his full strength to bear. Varian had no old injuries and was strong enough, but he lacked Lo'Gosh's keen battlefield instincts and couldn't seize the right moment. Nor did he possess Lo'Gosh's mastery of combat techniques, which kept him from fighting at full strength. And he lacked Lo'Gosh's fearless courage and forward drive. Courage, after all, often decided the outcome of a battle.

Leiluo glanced at Varian, whose legs were trembling, then at Lo'Gosh, whose eyes blazed with battle lust.