Who Dared Ambush the Mountain King?!

Whatever lives the orcs far away in the Alterac Mountains were leading, and whatever plans they had, Arthas had no interest in them. All he wanted was for the orcs to leave the Eastern Kingdoms.

On the little island in Stone Cairn Lake, Jaina held a bouquet of white chrysanthemums and gently laid it beneath the largest stone monument at the center.

Resting her hand on the cold marble, she whispered, "History will remember everything you sacrificed for humanity. May you rest in peace."

Arthas put his arm around her. "They will, and we will always remember them."

Jaina nestled into his arm. "Sometimes I really don't understand why our world suffers so many disasters."

"The cold universe is more merciless than anyone, Jaina." Arthas looked up at the azure sky, his gaze so profound that it seemed to pierce straight into the endless void. "But we will protect all of this, whatever the cost."

"I'll always be by your side, Arthas." Jaina could feel the weight of the prince's words. She knew that the strongest support she could offer was to stand beside him.

Beep, beep, beep, beep!

Jaina's expression froze. She stared at Arthas. "What's that sound?"

"Uh..." Arthas pulled a Communication Orb from inside his clothes and gave her a sheepish smile. "Sorry, this thing is ringing."

"Is someone looking for you? If they're contacting you directly through a Communication Orb, it must be pretty urgent."

"Let me check."

The moment Arthas activated the magical runes on the Communication Orb, a booming, gravelly voice rang out.

"Hey! Can you hear me? Why isn't there any sound?! You over there, lad! Check whether this thing's broken!"

The shouting nearly burst Arthas's eardrums. He answered irritably, "Muradin, stop shouting so loudly. I can hear you."

"Oh! You can hear me? Good. I thought this mage contraption had broken again." The dwarf's trademark booming voice showed no sign of quieting. Muradin practically shouted at Arthas, "Weren't you coming to Ironforge, lad? When will you get here?"

"I might stay here in Stormwind City for another day or two. Give me another couple of days."

"Bah, what's so fun about Stormwind City? They only just rebuilt the place! Come to Ironforge. I'll treat you to baked cakes and dwarven spirits!" Muradin chuckled.

"Muradin, don't think I don't know what you're after. You've got your eye on that bit of rare metal ore I have, haven't you?"

The dwarven prince felt no embarrassment at having his intentions exposed. Instead, he bristled, his beard twitching as he glared. "I've got my eye on your measly thorium ore? Even my stool is made of thorium!"

"Then I'll ask His Majesty Magni to help me instead. You can carry on with your adventures."

"Ha! My big brother has his hands full with affairs of state all day. No need to bother him!" Muradin faltered, then tried to change the subject. "My skills might not measure up to Magni's, but I can certainly handle a little thorium."

Jaina took the Communication Orb from Arthas and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Muradin. Arthas will definitely come to see you."

"Jaina? So you're with him! No wonder the lad doesn't want to come to Ironforge to see an old dwarf like me." Understanding dawned on Muradin. "Then it's fine if you come a few days later, lad. I'll be in Ironforge all winter. That's that. We'll talk when you get here. Bzzzt-"

Jaina handed the orb back to Arthas, looking pleased with herself. "There, I solved that for you. How will you thank me?"

"Hmm..." Arthas pretended to think for a moment. "I'll treat you to dwarven spirits too?"

"Who wants to drink that bitter, burning stuff?" Jaina rolled her eyes at him. "Take me with you when you go to Ironforge."

"In a couple of days. Let's enjoy ourselves here first. Once I get there, I might have to stay for a week or two."

"That long? I'll be back in Dalaran by then." Jaina's face fell. For a moment, she felt that the leave her teacher had given her was far too short.

"When I head back to Lordaeron from Ironforge, I'll visit you in Dalaran. Then I'll stay there with you for Winter Veil. How does that sound?"

"It's a promise!"

Ironforge was the city of the dwarves.

When the dwarves had awakened among the mountains of Khaz Modan, they had made their home amid those towering peaks. Ironforge was a reflection of their ancient civilization.

Skilled at excavation, the dwarves had hollowed out one of Khaz Modan's peaks and built Ironforge from steel and stone. At the city's center stood the Great Forge, the heart of the mountain-a natural furnace formed by surging, molten lava.

Upon the legendary anvils of the Great Forge, masterful dwarven smiths had forged countless weapons and suits of armor worthy of epic tales. The greatest smith among the dwarves today was their king, Magni Bronzebeard.

Under this wise and mighty king's leadership, the dwarves had driven back the Frost Trolls in the mountains and resisted the orc invasion, keeping their homeland safe.

The moment Jaina and Arthas emerged from the Hall of Mysteries in Ironforge's outer ring, they felt the dry, scorching air. Jaina had to lower her hood and use frost magic to cool herself down.

"Do you need a Frost Shield?"

She looked at Arthas, gathering a mass of frost energy in her hand.

Arthas shook his head. Though the conditions here were unbearable for ordinary humans and mages of average physical constitution, they had little effect on him. There was no need to waste Jaina's mana.

The mage dispersed the magic in her hand and looked around the magnificent city of Ironforge. Built into the mountain in a series of circular tiers, the city had a full eight levels. They stood on the fifth level, which connected Ironforge to the outside of the mountain and formed the city's central district.

For dwarves who stood only as tall as an ordinary human man's waist, their city was remarkably grand and towering. At least in the human kingdoms, Jaina had never seen such a vast space.

"This is spectacular." Jaina blinked. This was her first visit to Ironforge, and the dwarven city was utterly unlike any structure she had ever seen.

The two of them stood outside the Hall of Mysteries for a full ten minutes, yet Muradin, who had so confidently promised to meet them, never appeared.

"That's strange. Didn't Muradin say he'd come to meet us himself? Where is he?"

Just as Arthas was wondering about the missing dwarf, a dwarf wearing a fishing hat and sporting a long reddish-brown beard came running toward them, panting and waving as he ran. "Ar... Arthas!"

"Brann?" Arthas looked at the dwarf in surprise. He was Muradin's younger brother, the youngest of Magni's three brothers, and a dwarf determined to become the greatest explorer in Azeroth's history.

Brann Bronzebeard took off his hat and drew a ragged breath. "Damn Muradin! I'm going to yank out every hair of his beard! Sorry for the wait, Arthas, and you too, Jaina. That idiot brother of mine fell asleep hugging a keg!"

Having heard that Arthas was coming, Brann had planned to drop by Muradin's home and join the fun. But when he entered, he found the dwarf slumped over the table, snoring away with a half-empty keg tucked beside him.

When he heard his brother mumbling in his sleep about having to meet Arthas and Jaina, Brann realized they were probably still waiting for the sleeping dwarf to come fetch them.

Brann had tried giving Muradin a hard kick in the backside, but he could not wake his soundly sleeping brother at all. With no other choice, he had run over to find Arthas himself.

"Well..." For a moment, Arthas genuinely did not know what to say.

"I apologize on his behalf. Let me take you to his place first."

Splash!

Muradin sprang up from the table, instinctively reaching for his warhammer as he roared, "Who dared ambush the Mountain King?!"

"The way you're drinking, even a troll whelp could twist your head off!" Holding an empty bucket, Brann mocked his older brother mercilessly.

With his hair and beard dripping wet, Muradin stared at Brann, who stared right back. Then he noticed Arthas behind him, his mouth twitching, and Jaina covering her mouth as she struggled not to laugh.

"Oh, Arthas, you're finally here!" Muradin pretended not to care as he wrung the water from his beard, then shot Brann a vicious glare and lowered his voice. "Couldn't you have found a more dignified way to wake me?"

"I tried. Kicking you in the backside, for instance. You didn't react at all."

Muradin covered his face with his broad hand. Damn it, how had I fallen asleep after a little drinking? Now I've really made a fool of myself!

A little later, the old dwarf sat beside the fireplace, drying his soaked beard as he said to Arthas, "Well, I'm really sorry. I only meant to taste the stuff, but I accidentally drank too much in one go."

"I've only been back in Ironforge a few days. It's been ages since I had such proper Thunderbrew." Muradin gave an awkward smile.

Arthas did not mind that Muradin's drinking had delayed them. Instead, he asked curiously, "You only just got back to Ironforge? Where did you run off to this time?"

"I went to see a few old friends. We're planning to find a time to visit Northrend. I heard someone discovered something incredible there."