Master and Disciple

Jaina pulled a small crystal ball from her pocket and placed it on the table. Antonidas leaned in with curiosity, joining the young girl to watch the magical projection of the farce that had just unfolded.

The two watched with rapt attention, from the moment Jaina jumped off the carriage to the point where Liam Greymane pulled a little trick and turned to flee. Throughout the entire playback, neither of them uttered a single word.

"If it is him, then it may not be mere empty talk..."

Antonidas's remark, which broke the silence, left Jaina utterly bewildered. She looked at her mentor with curious eyes, unable to fathom why her teacher seemed to have known this person all along, even though she herself had met him twice without ever learning his identity.

In truth, aside from the subjects of the Kingdom of Gilneas, very few people on the continent of Azeroth knew Liam. As it happened, Antonidas was one of them.

When Liam was still a child, Genn Greymane had once brought him to visit Antonidas. The purpose was to test young Liam's aptitude to see if he could remain in Dalaran to study magic as a disciple of Antonidas.

The next day, a lethargic little Liam failed the first round of mental aptitude tests. Deemed to have no talent, he returned to Gilneas with King Genn to begin his training as a warrior.

As the holy land of mages, Dalaran was a place most noble children naturally aspired to enter. Only the heirs of the great kingdoms could trouble someone of Antonidas's stature. That was why, upon seeing the striking resemblance between Liam and King Genn, Antonidas had recognized him at a glance.

In fact, ever since Kel'Thuzad had shown an unusual interest in the Book of Medivh, Antonidas had been keeping a close eye on this "unstable factor."

After all, the book was the work of the two most powerful spellcasters in the world. Even Antonidas himself could not resist the evil temptations within it and had been forced to lock it away. Whether a younger Kel'Thuzad could resist it if he came into contact with the book was an unknown variable.

Furthermore, Kel'Thuzad's obsession with the magic in the book seemed too intense; it did not look like he was being passively tempted, but rather that he was actively seeking the knowledge within.

Thus, when Antonidas heard the name from his young apprentice, he was startled, fearing that Jaina had become entangled in some conspiracy.

Now, seeing that the source of the information was actually Liam Greymane, Antonidas immediately wondered if there was some hidden agenda behind the total isolationist policy that the Kingdom of Gilneas had adopted three years ago.

After all, for the crown prince of a nation that had walled itself off to be running around the world, while simultaneously holding the most cutting-edge, classified intelligence of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, it was impossible for Antonidas not to think twice.

"It seems Gilneas is not entirely disengaged from foreign affairs. It appears there is at least one intelligence organization operating abroad, and this organization is likely under the name of this prince."

Antonidas naturally attributed the leak of Kel'Thuzad's clandestine activities to some mysterious intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Gilneas.

Dalaran stood aloof from worldly affairs and rarely participated in external disputes, and since its members hailed from various kingdoms and races, gathering intelligence was not a difficult task for them. It was not surprising that other kingdoms would do the same; the Kingdom of Stormwind had just been rebuilt, and hadn't that SI:7 already begun infiltrating every corner of Azeroth?

"Even an outsider can see it; it seems the problem with Kel'Thuzad has become quite severe..."

If this were a ploy to sow discord, the method was far too clumsy. Antonidas already believed eight parts of the information regarding Kel'Thuzad and was convinced that he would have to take action soon.

If Liam knew that Antonidas had been so deep in his calculations as to link his offhand remark to the isolationism of the Kingdom of Gilneas and a hypothetical "secret service politics," he would surely have marveled at the "far-reaching" vision of politicians—one truly had to admire them.

"Mentor, is there something wrong with this person?" Seeing the old mage fall into deep thought after such an inexplicable comment, Jaina asked with a sense of trepidation.

She did not know why, but she found herself hoping from the bottom of her heart that the appearance of this "liar" was not merely to trick her.

"Not at all." The old mage, unaware of his beloved apprentice's inner thoughts, answered casually. He then paused, realized something was amiss, and quickly added, "Although there is nothing wrong with him, it is better for you to stay away from him. This person's background is complicated; he is not the same kind of person as us."

Thinking her teacher had misunderstood her relationship with the "liar," Jaina's face turned bright red. However, Antonidas was merely offering well-intentioned advice, implying only that since Gilneas had withdrawn from the Alliance, they were no longer on the same path as the kingdoms that remained. He was completely baffled by the sudden change in his apprentice's expression upon hearing his words.

The master and apprentice had been talking at cross-purposes, and they never quite managed to get on the same page. One had to admit, the generation gap was a truly terrifying thing.

Two mages from Dalaran were discussing Liam, while Liam himself had absolutely no impression of Antonidas.

In his memory, he had indeed visited Dalaran once under his father's guidance when he was young. A white-bearded old man there had a large study and a very strange book of magic.

He had spent an entire night secretly reading books in that study, and by the next day, he was brought back to Gilneas by his father while half-asleep.

Whether or not he could become a "noble" mage was unimportant to Liam; after all, there was nothing good about being in a wretched place like Dalaran. Not only were they constantly targeted by the Burning Legion, but they also kept a prison full of "inmates" waiting to riot. These people had nothing to do all day but think of creative ways to break out.

The city was filled with all sorts of riffraff, yet the mage lords living above only cared about their magic and turned a blind eye to it all, though they were excellent at maintaining neutrality.

As a result, Dalaran would eventually become a giant crater, and after that, they would move house whenever they had nothing better to do, never staying in one place for more than a few years. That could only be blamed on those mages being far too fond of playing games.

But that was all in the past. In any case, Liam was already sprinting down the path of becoming a pirate, and it was too late to turn back. It was best to forget these things that no longer concerned him.

Moreover, his chance encounter with Jaina today had solidified his resolve to visit Kul Tiras. After all, he now had a free ride, and it would be a waste not to take it.