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"Welcome to Dalaran, Rex!" A pleasant voice rang beside Rex's ear. A woman with golden hair falling loosely around her shoulders smiled as she spoke to him.
"Ulysses, find a tavern and rent the whole place for our lodgings!" Rex nodded to the woman, then gave the order to Ulysses beside him.
"Mm!" Ulysses looked at the woman, his handsome face betraying his awe at her beauty, and nodded.
"No need. I've already arranged everything. Das, take them to their lodgings," the woman said, parting her rosy lips.
"Then thank you for all your help," Rex said gratefully, accepting without fuss. In this world, people did not go in for excessive modesty and polite refusals. If you insisted on declining, it would only show disrespect.
"Come to Gilneas next time and experience our hospitality."
"I've always wanted to visit Gilneas. Everyone in Dalaran wants to know what things are really like behind the Greymane Wall that sealed off an entire kingdom."
"Go whenever you have time. Take this, and the gates of the Greymane Wall will open for you." Rex took a Town Hall out of his Spatial Ring and handed it to the woman beside him.
The woman reached out with her fair, delicate fingers and turned the Town Hall over in her hand. Feeling its faint magical aura, she looked surprised. It was a magical item, too.
"I was truly surprised to hear that you were bringing a caravan to Dalaran, Rex. Is Gilneas opening itself to the outside world?" Jaina asked.
Rex was not at all surprised by Jaina's question. It was something everyone in Dalaran—no, everyone in the Alliance—wanted to know. Among the seven human kingdoms, Gilneas had never been one of the weakest. Its strength had ranked behind only Stormwind City and Lordaeron. Its years of isolation had limited its growth, but it still counted among the great powers. With Stromgarde in decline, Alterac destroyed, and Dalaran a city-state consisting of only one city, only four great kingdoms remained: Lordaeron, Stormwind City, Kul Tiras, and Gilneas.
The internment camp's warden could afford not to care about Gilneas, as could Dalaran's ordinary mages. But as a princess of Kul Tiras, Jaina could not ignore the consequences of a sudden change in Gilneas's national policy. Her teacher, Antonidas, was also very interested in the matter. Of everyone in Dalaran, Jaina was the best person to ask the question. She and Rex were friends, after all, so it would not seem out of place.
"No, we're only beginning trade with the outside world. Opening the Greymane Wall will take another few years," Rex answered.
"So the Greymane Wall will open sooner or later?" Surprise flashed in Jaina's beautiful eyes. Clearly, she found it hard to adjust to the idea that Gilneas, so committed to isolation, might suddenly open its borders one day.
"Yes." Rex nodded. It really would happen within the next few years; he had not lied at all. He had little confidence that he could persuade King Genn to open the borders in that time, but he was confident he could get him to accept refugees. He did not mention that part. Opening the Greymane Wall would be very different from the opening Jaina imagined. Rex had long had his eye on Lordaeron's population. A strong nation needed people. Silverpine Forest would inevitably become Gilnean territory in the future, but at present, apart from Pyrewood Village, Ambermill, and a handful of other settlements, it was largely empty. Where would the people come from? Lordaeron, of course.
That subject strayed too far ahead; it concerned events several years away. Rex's immediate priority was to sound out the Bronze Dragonflight's attitude toward him.
"What was her name?" After Jaina left, Ulysses walked up beside Rex and asked.
Rex glanced at Ulysses. Apparently, that old cliché of love at first sight had actually happened to one of his subordinates. Though Ulysses was handsome and cut a dashing figure, he clearly had no chance with Jaina. She and Arthas were currently in the honeymoon phase of their relationship. Back in Stormwind City, Rex had seen how affectionate they were with each other. Still, he was not worried about this subordinate of his.
"Jaina Proudmoore, princess of the maritime kingdom of Kul Tiras and girlfriend of Arthas, prince of Lordaeron," Rex said evenly.
"What a shame!" Ulysses sighed and said nothing more about Jaina. He was a rational man; Rex had judged that from the moment they first met. Perhaps it was a hereditary trait of the Godfrey family. Vincent was the same, and so was Ulysses.
Rex's brief statement was enough to dispel any fantasies Ulysses might have entertained. Who was Arthas? These days, practically everyone knew. His initiation as a Paladin six months earlier, in particular, had carried the prince of Lordaeron's fame even into Gilneas. That alone showed how far his influence reached.
"Commander, should we start selling the goods tomorrow?" Ulysses asked.
"We don't need to handle that ourselves. Find merchants we can work with and sell the goods straight to them. We don't have time to waste here." Rex had no intention of opening a shop in Dalaran. In a few years, the city would be utterly destroyed. Just as a new shop began to thrive, it would be wiped out. Better not to open one in the first place.
"Take Rona out and relax for the next couple of days. It wasn't easy to leave Gilneas and come all the way to Dalaran. It would be a shame not to enjoy yourselves. There won't be many chances like this in the future." Rex's words carried a deeper meaning, but no one except him could have understood it.
"You and Rona only need to enjoy yourselves. Someone else will handle the caravan. Since you've finally had a chance to get away, remember to bring old Vincent some local specialties from Dalaran. I imagine it's been years since he last saw anything from here."
Watching Ulysses leave, Rex sank into thought. There was truth in the saying that the more you knew, the more you worried. To think that magnificent Dalaran would prove utterly helpless against Archimonde and be destroyed by him left Rex's heart cold, without a trace of warmth.
(End of chapter)
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