Chapter Summaries

After securing the Silvermoon Council’s support for his plan against the Amani Trolls, Ye Ting traveled with Alleria to Aerie Peak to recruit the Wildhammer Dwarves. The dwarves welcomed them warmly, and Alleria won Falstad and Kurdran’s friendship by matching them drink for drink.

• Ye Ting’s public-opinion campaign persuaded the Silvermoon Council to approve his plan for a joint strike against the Amani Trolls, with the High Elves promising later aid to the Alliance.
• Ye Ting left Silvermoon with Alleria to negotiate with the Wildhammer Dwarves, whom he expected to support the plan because of their close ties to the Bronzebeard Dwarves and High Elves.
• Falstad Wildhammer and the dwarves welcomed Ye Ting and Alleria to Aerie Peak with a banquet and repeated toasts.
• Alleria drained large tankards of ale and challenged Kurdran Wildhammer, winning the brothers’ friendship and cheers from the hall.

At Aerie Peak, Ye Ting won the Wildhammer Dwarves’ trust by drinking with them, then decided to retaliate with a powerful distilled fruit liquor. He introduced his brandy as a gift and challenged the dwarves to try it, leaving Kurdran eager to drink.

• Falstad invited Ye Ting to drink, and Ye Ting accepted despite disliking alcohol.
• Ye Ting drained a mug of ale, and the Wildhammer Dwarves warmed to him and welcomed him into their banquet.
• After enduring the dwarves’ repeated toasts, Ye Ting brought out a barrel of brandy he had distilled from elven fruit wine.
• Ye Ting described the brandy as exceptionally strong and challenged the Wildhammer Dwarves to drink it.
• Kurdran opened the barrel, savored its aroma, and called for a drinking contest.

Ye Ting shared his potent brandy with the Wildhammer Dwarves, who praised it before drinking themselves unconscious. He carried the drunk Alleria to her room, but just as he tried to leave, something unexpected happened.

• Kurdran drank Ye Ting’s brandy, praised its strength, and called him brother.
• The Wildhammer Dwarves and Alleria drank cup after cup of brandy as Falstad tried unsuccessfully to control the crowd.
• The dwarves got drunk and collapsed, while Ye Ting remained standing.
• Ye Ting carried the drunk Alleria to her room and laid her on the bed.
• As Ye Ting tucked Alleria in and prepared to leave, something unexpected happened.

Ye Ting was caught in a drunken, increasingly physical encounter with Alleria, framed as a duel between a lancer and a barbarian. After repeated rounds through the night, Alleria finally brought them both down in the last battle.

• Alleria, drunk and convinced Sylvanas was competing with her, pinned Ye Ting to the bed and tried to seduce him.
• Alleria tore at their armor and clumsily tried to take the lead, so Ye Ting took initiative and attacked as a lancer.
• Alleria countered with brute force, and Ye Ting defended himself while wearing down her stamina and exploiting her weak points.
• Alleria recovered and challenged Ye Ting again, but her reckless berserk attacks ended in another defeat.
• Alleria launched one final assault and, after most of the night, managed to perish together with Ye Ting.

After waking beside Ye Ting, Alleria accepted that their relationship had changed, while Ye Ting pressed her about their future together. Later, Falstad agreed to join the Alliance against the greenskins and began negotiating a brandy trade with Ye Ting.

• Alleria woke beside Ye Ting, recalled their drunken night, and accepted their new relationship.
• Ye Ting asked Alleria to visit his room that night, and she fled in embarrassment.
• Ye Ting and Alleria formally asked Falstad to join the Alliance against the greenskins threatening the Wildhammer and Bronzebeard Dwarves.
• Falstad agreed to join, signed the Alliance documents, and asked Ye Ting to discuss a brandy trade.
• Ye Ting and Falstad began negotiating the brandy business.

Ye Ting assembled a coalition of Lordaeron, Quel'Thalas, and the Wildhammer Dwarves to begin a campaign against the Trolls. The Alliance army launched its assault on Zul'Aman using Ye Ting's plan to counter the Amani Trolls' forest ambushes.

• Ye Ting secured the Wildhammer Dwarves' alliance and arranged a brandy trade with them through the Windrunner family.
• Lordaeron, Quel'Thalas, and the Wildhammer Dwarves agreed on their troop contributions, and Ye Ting became commander-in-chief of a force of more than ten thousand.
• Ye Ting set a strategy to defeat the Amani Trolls in Zul'Aman before driving survivors toward the Hinterlands' tribes.
• The coalition gathered on Quel'Thalas's border with Zul'Aman, where Ye Ting organized rangers as scouts and archers within infantry legions.
• Ye Ting assigned Kurdran Wildhammer's gryphon riders to patrol overhead as scouts, messengers, and support for the infantry.
• The Alliance army began its assault on Zul'Aman, advancing through the forest in coordinated formations to deny the Trolls room for ambushes.

The Alliance army, commanded by Ye Ting, steadily swept through Zul'Aman, frustrating the Amani Trolls' guerrilla tactics with its numbers, cautious infantry formations, and Gryphon Riders. After a week of limited casualties, Ye Ting concluded the leaderless Trolls were gathering for a decisive battle, and questioned whether that conservative choice would help them.

• Ye Ting ordered the Alliance legions to advance methodically through Zul'Aman and purge the forest.
• The Amani Trolls' concealment, infiltration, and ambushes failed against the Alliance's dense formations and aerial patrols.
• The Alliance used human infantry to draw out Trolls while High Elf rangers killed those exposed, though daily casualties soon fell below fifty.
• Troll hunters began withdrawing to their stronghold to gather for a direct battle after repeated setbacks.
• Ye Ting inferred that Zul'jin's absence had left the Trolls under collective rule, producing slow and cautious decisions.

Ye Ting led the Alliance to Zul'Aman and ordered the surrounding forest cleared to prevent the Amani Trolls from exploiting their woodland fighting skills. As the Alliance completed the isolation zone, the Trolls gained unprecedented power from the Loa, and battle was about to begin.

• The Amani Trolls gathered their forces in Zul'Aman, while Ye Ting advanced through the forest with the Alliance.
• Ye Ting ordered Alliance workers and soldiers to fell trees around the ruins and build defenses from the timber.
• Gryphon riders spotted Troll ambushes, and High Elf legions repelled each attack.
• Warlord Daakara and other leaders urged an immediate forest battle, but Hex Lord Malacrass and Shaman Priest Akil'zon prevailed in favor of defending the city and relying on the Loa.
• The Alliance completed an open isolation zone around Zul'Aman, while the Trolls received unprecedented power from the Loa and prepared for battle.

Ye Ting prepared the Alliance camp for an Amani Troll assault during heavy rain, which weakened the Alliance’s ranged weapons and fire magic. When Amani Bear Riders charged the gate, Ye Ting’s Swamp Spell slowed them enough for the shield wall to hold, leaving the Riders trapped in close combat.

• Heavy rain forced the Alliance to postpone its planned attack, and Ye Ting ordered increased patrols to watch the Amani Trolls.
• Sylvanas reported that her rangers had found Troll tracks, and Ye Ting ordered the camp to prepare for battle.
• Amani Bear Riders charged the camp, shrugging off much of the rangers’ arrow fire with their armor and regeneration.
• Ye Ting and the mage corps cast Swamp Spell in front of the gate, slowing the Bear Riders and reducing the impact of their charge.
• The Alliance shield wall held, and the Bear Riders became entangled in close combat with the infantry.

The Alliance routed the Amani Trolls and captured much of Zul'Aman, while Hex Lord Malacrass revealed four champions infused with the power of the Loa. After learning that these transformed Trolls had devastated an Alliance force, Ye Ting rode to the altar to confront them as the Windrunner sisters gathered reinforcements.

• Ye Ting led the Alliance in pursuit of the fleeing Trolls and breached Zul'Aman, where Alliance forces swept through the city.
• Daakara warned Malacrass that the Alliance had entered Zul'Aman after an ambush routed the Troll army.
• Malacrass revealed that he had infused four champions with the power of the Loa: Nalorakk, Akil'zon, Jan'alai, and Halazzi.
• An Alliance soldier reported that the powerful half-beast creatures had nearly wiped out his unit at the central altar.
• Ye Ting ordered the Windrunner sisters to gather mages and elite forces, then rode to the altar while Sylvanas encouraged Alleria to seek reinforcements.

Ye Ting confronted the four Loa-powered giants attacking the Alliance soldiers and used Polymorph to raise a legion of stone statues against them. The statue legion drew the giants away from the fleeing soldiers, and Akil'zon's storm and lightning barely damaged the stone defenders.

• Ye Ting saw the bear-headed, eagle-headed, dragonhawk, and lynx giants slaughtering Alliance soldiers and recognized them as Zul'Aman's Loa-powered bosses.
• Ye Ting activated the Diadem's thought overclocking mode, charged into battle, and ordered the Alliance soldiers to retreat.
• Ye Ting used Polymorph to turn four massive stone totems into towering rock giants and animated the nearby building reliefs into a statue legion.
• The statue legion attacked the four Loa giants, forcing them to abandon their pursuit of the Alliance soldiers.
• Akil'zon unleashed gales and lightning, but his attacks only cracked a few statues and did little harm to the legion.

The Loa-powered warriors discovered that physical attacks could destroy the statues, but the towering totem giants turned the battle’s focus toward themselves. As Ye Ting watched the fight, Malacrass cursed him, triggering Ye Ting’s protective ring and revealing the witch doctor as his attacker.

• Jan'alai's flames barely affected the statues, while Nalorakk and Halazzi charged in and shattered them with their physical attacks.
• Akil'zon and Jan'alai joined the slaughter, but the four totem giants entered the battle and attacked the divine warriors.
• Akil'zon dodged a giant's stomping foot and swinging hand, and the divine warriors focused on the towering rock giants.
• Malacrass watched the battle with satisfaction until Ye Ting animated the statues, then Daakara began ordering Trolls to smash the remaining statues.
• Malacrass cursed Ye Ting, whose mithril ring triggered its automatic Remove Curse spell, allowing him to identify Malacrass as the attacker.

Ye Ting exposed Malacrass’s betrayal and the sacrifices used to steal power from the Loa as the Alliance fighters reached the temple. The temple’s destruction revealed the horrors of the sacrificial abyss, throwing the remaining Trolls into chaos.

• Alleria and Sylvanas hurried toward the temple with Alliance fighters as the divine warriors defeated the stone colossi.
• Malacrass blocked Ye Ting’s Arcane Missiles and claimed that the Loa’s power made Ye Ting’s spells worthless.
• Ye Ting accused Malacrass of betraying the Loa and sacrificing Trolls to obtain their power, unsettling the Amani Trolls.
• Ye Ting used Fossil to Sand to destroy the temple, revealing the altar and the abyss beneath it.
• The Windrunner sisters recoiled from the abyss’s horrors, and the remaining Trolls fell into chaos.

After the temple collapsed, Ye Ting and the Alliance discovered that Malacrass had sacrificed tens of thousands of Amani Troll women, children, elders, and animals to gain the Loa’s power. Malacrass began draining the Troll warriors as well, and Ye Ting sent his allies to hold off the four Loa-powered champions while he sought a chance to stop the ritual.

• Ye Ting and the Alliance saw the mass of sacrificed Amani Trolls and animals in the abyss, and Troll warriors recognized their dead relatives.
• Malacrass bound the Troll warriors with shadow tentacles and declared that he would sacrifice them to gain the gods’ power.
• Malacrass’s blood channels glowed as the ritual drew on the power of the four Loa, and Ye Ting realized he was trying to claim all of it.
• Akil'zon, Nalorakk, Jan'alai, and Halazzi blocked the Alliance while Malacrass continued the ritual.
• Ye Ting ordered Alleria, Sylvanas, Kurdran Wildhammer, Shals Vodoun, Sarksis, Dawnslayer Lelora, and the mages to delay the four champions while he tried to interrupt Malacrass.

Ye Ting used group-enhancement and elemental-resistance spells to help the Alliance withstand the four Loa-powered Troll warriors. With his companions barely keeping the giants occupied, he turned to Malacrass and sought a way through the shadow barrier to stop the sacrifice-powered ritual.

• The Alliance struggled against Nalorakk, Halazzi, Akil'zon, and Jan'alai, whose Loa-given strength and resistance overwhelmed ordinary attacks.
• Ye Ting cast group spells that strengthened his companions and helped them withstand wind and fire attacks.
• Shaliss and Sarksis dodged Nalorakk and Halazzi more effectively, while Kurdran and Leilora the Dawnslayer held their ground against Akil'zon and Jan'alai.
• The Alliance fighters and rangers were startled by the strength and number of Ye Ting's support spells.
• Ye Ting turned his attention to Malacrass and tried to find a way through the shadow barrier, whose power came from a bloody sacrifice ritual.

Ye Ting struggled to break Malacrass's Shadow Barrier, then realized he could exploit the Loa's unwillingness to have their power used by the Trolls. The battle continued as he prepared to turn the divine warriors' own power against the ritual.

• Ye Ting tried several kinds of magic against the Shadow Barrier, but none could penetrate it.
• Garona attacked the barrier with the Kingslayers and weakened it slightly, but Malacrass sent shadow tentacles after her, so Ye Ting teleported her away.
• Garona insisted she wanted to become stronger and help Ye Ting, but he sent her to assist the others fighting the divine warriors.
• Ye Ting considered how the Loa's divine power might help him break the barrier and recalled that the Loa resented being controlled and exploited by their followers.
• Ye Ting realized he could use the Loa's opposition to the Trolls' use of their power as an opening against Malacrass's ritual.

Ye Ting entered the Emerald Dream to find the four Loa captured by Malacrass and discovered them bound and weakened in Zul'Aman's central temple. He offered to help the four demigods.

• Ye Ting reasoned that the four Loa were hidden in the Emerald Dream and prepared protective spells before falling asleep.
• Ye Ting gave Helena temporary control of his body and told her to wake him if his defenses failed.
• Ye Ting entered the Emerald Dream and saw Zul'Aman restored to its ancient, glorious state.
• Ye Ting sensed four weakened presences and followed them into the central temple.
• Ye Ting found the eagle, bear, dragonhawk, and lynx Loa bound in shadow chains and offered his help.

Ye Ting entered the Emerald Dream to locate the weakened demigods while Alleria, Sylvanas, and Garona kept the divine warriors at bay. The demigods revealed that their Troll followers had trapped them and drained their power, and Ye Ting agreed to help after learning how the ritual worked.

• Alleria worried that Ye Ting had been injured or cursed when he sat motionless, but Garona explained that he had entered a state of consciousness to search for the Loa.
• Alleria, Sylvanas, and Garona increased their efforts to hold off the divine warriors while Ye Ting searched the Emerald Dream.
• Ye Ting met four demigods, who recognized the aura of Lady Ysera on him and accepted him as trustworthy.
• The demigods told Ye Ting that their followers had trapped them with blood-sacrifice rituals and drained their power, and that the Trolls were preparing another ritual.
• Ye Ting agreed to free the demigods and asked them to explain how the Trolls had trapped them.

Ye Ting discovered that the wronged souls of the Trolls and beasts sacrificed by Malacrass powered the shadow bindings holding the demigods. He brought the demigods’ consciousnesses before the restless souls, who begged them for release.

• Ye Ting concluded that the souls bound by the ritual supplied Malacrass’s shadow energy and that influencing them could weaken his hold on the demigods.
• Unable to borrow enough divine power directly, Ye Ting linked his consciousness with the demigods and entered a layer of the Emerald Dream where he could see the souls.
• Ye Ting saw countless Troll and beast souls chained to the ritual, their suffering feeding Malacrass’s power.
• The restless souls attacked Ye Ting and Malacrass, but the shadow energy punished them when they tried to strike the witch lord.
• At Ye Ting’s urging, the four demigods appeared before the souls and revealed themselves to their followers.
• The souls gathered around the demigods, recounting their grievances and begging to be released.

Ye Ting persuaded the dead followers of the four Loa to resist Malacrass, weakening his control and forcing him to halt the ritual. Malacrass discovered Ye Ting’s presence on another plane and sent his divine warriors after the sleeping mage, prompting Alleria and the others to fight with everything they had.

• Ye Ting told the dead souls that the Loa required them to prove their faith by resisting Malacrass and his shackles.
• The dead souls united against Malacrass, cutting off the shadow energy that sustained his restraints and forcing him to pause the ritual.
• Malacrass discovered Ye Ting on another plane and ordered his four divine warriors to attack the sleeping mage.
• Alleria warned her comrades to protect Ye Ting, and they launched a desperate all-out assault on the divine warriors.
• Garona attacked with her Kingslayers while Alleria and Sylvanas unleashed the full power of themselves and their weapons.