The trip to Lordaemir Internment Camp had not gone smoothly at all. As a major Alliance facility for imprisoning orcs, the camp was closed to outsiders. When Rex arrived with Rona, his status as the Gilneas Prince did not earn him the treatment it should have. The guards at Lordaemir Internment Camp were all new recruits. The elite Veterans of the Second War had only been stationed here in the early days after the camp's establishment. As time passed, they had been rotated out and reassigned.
One of Rex's fears had become a reality today. There had already been signs of it when Jaina and her party returned. Antonidas, the elderly Archmage, still treated Gilneas with the respect it deserved, but the younger mages were different. They knew virtually nothing about Gilneas, and even if they had heard a few stories, they paid them no heed. Time was merciless. In such a short span, Gilneas, whose territory had once been smaller only than those of Lordaeron and Stormwind City, had lost every trace of its power to intimidate the outside world.
The recruits before him were an even clearer example. Even the Warden failed to recognize the Greymane Family crest. Rex saw the confusion in his eyes. A crest was a family's mark, representing its honor and status, and its design followed strict standards. The distinction between royal and noble crests, in particular, was vast enough to recognize at a glance. The Warden had determined that the crest belonged to royalty, yet he still showed Rex no deference. Gilneas had withdrawn from the Alliance and had nothing whatsoever to do with this Alliance-run Refuge.
Had a member of the royal Trollbane family from the Kingdom of Stromgarde been here, the Warden would have let them through. Though their kingdom, based in Stromgarde, had also withdrawn from the Alliance and declined in recent years, its prestige within the Alliance remained unparalleled. A statue of Danath Trollbane, one of the five heroes of the Dark Portal, stood in Stormwind City. As for Gilneas, its people were merely a bunch of recluses.
Rex sighed inwardly. If Arthas had come here, this would never have happened. The name Arthas alone was a pass that would let him go anywhere unhindered. Since his first plan had failed, Rex moved straight to the second. He took a little over ten gold coins from inside his clothing and began offering a bribe. Money could do anything. The instant the supposedly strict guard saw the coins, his stern expression turned into a smile. His hand moved no slower than that of Rex, a Ninth Rank Paladin. In the blink of an eye, the coins vanished.
Rex and Rona were allowed to tour Lordaemir Internment Camp, though naturally they had to be accompanied by a guard. Greedy as he was, a posting at the camp offered very few opportunities to line his pockets. All he could do was collect a little admission money from visiting Dalaran mages and people like Rex. Rex had been generous. A dozen or so gold coins was far more than most visitors paid, and the guard's attentiveness changed accordingly. As they walked, he began explaining things to Rex, much like a tour guide from Rex's previous life.
Rex shook his head slightly. He realized that the guards at Lordaemir Internment Camp had already become corrupt. For money, they would collect admission fees and turn no visitor away. The place had been made into a tourist attraction. This Warden had practically taught himself the trade, complete with admission tickets and guided tours.
Rex toured Lordaemir Internment Camp and did not ride away until evening. The orcs inside were exactly as the records described: listless and submissive. The guard had even given Rex a demonstration. These orcs had been thoroughly enslaved. Tell one to go east, and he would never go west. Coupled with their numb expressions, the sight had startled Rona the moment she first saw them. Gilneas's records described orcs as Green Monsters that came roaring into battle, aggressive, fierce, and skilled at war.
They had once destroyed humanity's mightiest kingdom, the Kingdom of Azeroth. Only when the entire continent united, with High Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and other races joining Humans in the Alliance, had they managed to withstand the orc invasion. Even then, it was only after a change in the Orcish Regime that an opening appeared, allowing them to seize the opportunity and win the war. The orcs Rona had imagined from those written accounts and the ones before her were polar opposites. The difference was simply too great. Even after leaving Lordaemir Internment Camp, astonishment lingered on her youthful face.
Humans had long since stopped seeing orcs as a threat. If they were all like the ones here, even an army of a million would be no match for an Alliance Army numbering only a few tens of thousands. During his visit to Lordaemir Internment Camp, Rex had heard the guards express their contempt for orcs more than once. They mentioned that Wardens at other Refuges had begun using orcs as laborers. No, it was not merely happening in a few places. It had already become common practice.
Had Rex not known the history yet to come, he would never have believed that these numb, servile orcs could rally once more and again become humanity's greatest enemy.
Lordaemir Internment Camp had very few guards. Just over a hundred men watched over tens of thousands of prisoners. If things continued down their current path, trouble would come sooner or later. The orcs would never revolt on their own. They had been tamed and had long since lost the will to resist. But if someone deliberately stirred them up, especially someone from the Blackrock Clan... Rex remembered that the famous Strahnbrad Defense would break out before long.
It was also in that battle that the young prince Arthas would formally step onto the stage of history. Rex was therefore far from optimistic about the situation at Lordaemir Internment Camp. If the orcs rebelled, how could they avoid attacking Refuges to increase their numbers? Even these numbed members of their race could swell their ranks and bolster their momentum, just as marauding bands in ancient times liked to force ordinary civilians into their ranks when attacking cities.
Unfortunately, Rex's warning earned only a sneer from the guard. He clearly took none of it to heart and did not believe that orcs could ever threaten humanity again.
After leaving Lordaemir Internment Camp, Rex returned to the caravan. He rested for a night and set out again the next day. Finally, after some time on the road, the magnificent city of Dalaran appeared before him.
(End of chapter)
Before you continue