The day after Prince Galen arrived, the lingering rain began to clear. The sky was a sheet of blue without a single cloud, and sunlight streamed down from above. Two days later, outside Lordaeron City, the Expeditionary Alliance had surrounded Lordaeron so tightly that nothing could get through. Its vast army stretched out in a dense, unbroken mass. As the saying went, an army of ten thousand stretched beyond sight-and the army gathered here numbered far more than a hundred thousand.
To ensure Gilneas's victory in this Northern Expedition, King Genn and Rex had taken a tremendous gamble. Of the hundred thousand-plus troops stationed at the Greymane Wall, they had left only the remainder behind and sent a full hundred thousand north. Of all the forces in the Expeditionary Alliance, Gilneas's was by far the strongest.
By the time the army reached Lordaeron City, the light was already fading. The setting sun painted the horizon gold, a sight that could make anyone reluctant to leave, but it held no appeal for Rex and the others.
After making a show of force outside Lordaeron, they began setting up camp. It was already too late in the day to launch a siege.
Inside the Expeditionary Alliance's command tent, Rex occupied the seat of honor while Sylvanas, Galen, Reed, and the others took their places around him. They sat in a circle surrounding a sand table. Such things were hardly unusual in Azeroth. With Azeroth's magical civilization, they could even go a step further and conjure an illusion instead, though that would cost somewhat more.
The sand table was remarkably lifelike. At the height of the Kingdom of Lordaeron's prosperity, Lordaeron City had flourished, with merchants and travelers arriving from every region each day in an endless stream. Its broad streets were never