A Melodramatic Story

The two Rogues indeed belonged to the Syndicate, and they were teammates. The thin Rogue was a newly cultivated close subordinate of the Syndicate leader, Duke Falrestrasz, and they shared a distant kinship. The fat one was a descendant of a minor noble family from Alterac.

Three months ago, Tirion Fordring returned in glory, a piece of news that sent his apprentice, Barthilas Jr., into a panic. He immediately sent word to his uncle, Barthilas Sr.

His uncle was an official serving under Haberion, the mayor of Andorhal.

Due to the war, certain local nobles in Lordaeron had lost control like wild horses breaking their reins. The House Barthilas had established a connection with Duke Falrestrasz, a noble from Alterac! He and his nephew began engaging in smuggling operations.

Back then, Tirion Fordring was not yet the Highlord of Hearthglen. He and Barthilas's father had both been generals at Mardenholde, and they were considered old friends.

When the Second Orc War broke out, they marched to the battlefield together. The result was that Barthilas's father died in the line of duty, while Tirion Fordring, due to his heroic combat, became one of the first Paladins of the Silver Hand. After the war ended, he was enfeoffed as the Highlord of Hearthglen.

Now that Tirion Fordring had returned, he was a man who always followed the law. At this time, Alterac had become a target of public criticism, and conducting smuggling business with nobles who had betrayed the Alliance was extremely dangerous! To keep Tirion from discovering this, they sent a family member to communicate with the Syndicate and temporarily halt these dealings.

As it turned out, this person took the letter and never returned. An anxious House Barthilas sent another messenger. Only after this messenger reached the Syndicate camp in Alterac did he learn that the first messenger had never arrived in Alterac at all.

The Duke had done a decent job; he did not want to lose this source of wealth. Thus, he agreed to send two men to find the missing messenger! The life or death of the messenger did not matter, but that letter was lethal! A noble's letter must bear a seal to be valid, and that letter bore one. Unfortunately, it was also written on stationery exclusive to the Syndicate.

If King Terenas were to find out about this—though the King could not manage the subordinates of his subordinates—if you were caught getting cozy with the kingdom's enemies, then do not blame him for exiling Barthilas to some godforsaken place to dig for potatoes.

The lucky fellows chosen to handle this were the fat one and the thin one. Relying on his relationship with the Duke, the thin Rogue always looked down on the fat one and never failed to order him around whenever there was work to be done. The fat one, however, could do nothing about it. Because the Syndicate's management was always lax and many of its members were spoiled noble brats, bullying was a common occurrence.

One day, a heavy rain began to fall. The fat one was sent by the thin one to fetch his lunch. By the time the fat one returned to their quarters, he was soaked to the bone. Bored and listless, he went to the "Lounge" and played a few rounds with the gamblers there. He won quite a bit of money right from the start! Feeling he had found a way to vent his frustrations and a path to easy money, he fought his luck until nightfall.

The result was that he not only lost his savings but also ended up owing 50 gold coins. Depressed to the extreme, he returned home and wrote it all down in his diary! The notebook Jaina had tucked into Taelan Fordring's pocket was none other than the fat Rogue's diary! The numbers in it were the money he owed and the names of his creditors.

Back home, the fat one stared blankly at the White Lady in despair. His soaked clothes, his life of being bullied, his dead-end job, and now the unpayable debt made him contemplate suicide.

At this moment, he thought of the thin one. He decided that before he died, he would settle the score with the person who had bullied him. As the flowing moonlight shone onto the dining table, he looked at the gambling debt note, and a sudden inspiration struck him—a new plan was born.

The next day, he borrowed some money and invited the thin one to go out and have a good time. The curious thin one followed him. On this trip, the thin one, just like the fat one before him, won a lot of money at the start.

The owner of the "Lounge" had a powerful backer. Although the thin one was a confidant of the Duke, in a casino, there are no fathers or sons! The ending was the same. However, this time, there were two people wanting to commit suicide.

The next day, as the fat one passed by the "Lounge," a woman inside pulled him into a small room. He thought he was about to have a stroke of romantic luck! But he was not the reader, so how could he possibly be entitled to such luck?

The flirtatious woman not only tore up his gambling debt note on the spot but also gave him 10 gold coins. The fat one understood everything in an instant. His life became comfortable. From then on, he would occasionally bring people to the "Lounge" to play!

If things had continued this way, the fat one could have lived until the Great Aspect flew over his head! But not long after, both he and the thin one were unexpectedly promoted. They became professionals. It was also the heavens being blind; the lucky thin one received a gift from the Duke, a weapon that made low-level Rogues go mad: the Barman Shanker!

The owner of the "Lounge" also had a son! He was also a professional, so the fat one received a deposit of exactly 100 gold coins. After all, a barman's shanker is not a "Lounge" shanker. As for whether he was reluctant to part with it, for a gambler whose eyes have turned red from losing, there is nothing that cannot be turned into a chip.

Just as the fat one was preparing to lead the thin one to the casino to make a killing, the Duke's order came down; they were sent out to find the messenger from House Barthilas.

Taelan Fordring thought of the letter in Jandice's hand and guessed that the fat one must have stealthed over to steal from a messenger, but unfortunately, he only managed to steal a letter!

Later, they must have opened the letter. Why was it the fat one who stole it? That was actually Taelan's guess. Because the thin one liked to order the fat one around and was greedy, the letter was likely kept in the thin one's possession.

As for why the fat Rogue did not choose to garrote the beautiful Jandice, Taelan Fordring still could not figure it out. Although Jaina's Frostbolt was more troublesome than the pure damage of a Fireball, Jandice was of a higher level and her spells were more powerful. This might have had to do with her keeping a certain distance from him throughout the entire battle.

Katherine could not figure it out either. For now, it was just a guess that the Frost Mage indeed caused more trouble during the battle. And she had taken the initiative to stay away from Taelan. After all, melee fighters who are slowed never have a good ending. The Frost Mage's Frostbolt, Improved Frost Nova, Cone of Cold, and Blizzard all involved slowing and rooting effects. This made it very uncomfortable for Rogues who relied on agility to win. She really should have been eliminated first.

Katherine asked, "How do you intend to handle this matter?"

"Should I tell King Terenas directly? Barthilas himself might not suffer much. His uncle will be dismissed and then exiled."

Taelan Fordring said, "Father won't say anything; at most, he will impeach the official Barthilas. This won't change anything. I will have Father keep an eye on him!"

Exposing Barthilas now would only delay the danger, and the result would only be reaping deeper hatred. It would not change anything.

Katherine asked, "Then what are you worried about?"

"Aunt, that letter from the Druid is even more dangerous!"

"Why? That's just the ramblings of a madman. I happen to know this person! He was the first Night Elf to visit Dalaran. He belongs to the Circle of Cenarius's Circle of Cenarius. That is a very famous extremist animal protection organization."

"He hit it off with Archmage Kel'Thuzad and promoted a 'Love the Cats' movement in Dalaran."

"Fine, but I think his trouble will be huge. I still suggest that the mages of Dalaran send someone to investigate Northrend. I read a book about the legends of Tirisfal at home a while ago, and my teacher, the Grand Astromancer Solarian, told me that those whispers are super troublesome."

"Four thousand years ago, the place where the High Elves first landed on the Eastern Kingdoms was Tirisfal! But after staying there for a while, many of them went mad, also because they heard similar whispers. And that Druid himself heard the whispers too!"

I have things to do today, so I will post first and edit later.