Before long, the leaders all came over to Rhode.
"They seemed prepared," said Mathias Shaw, the head of SI:7. "Otherwise, it wouldn't have been such a coincidence that their army descended on us just after we landed."
"Of course." Genn Greymane, King of Gilneas, nodded, then smiled. "Unfortunately for them, they seem to have forgotten that we have Archmage Rhode."
Rhode waved a hand and said, "This land is Scourge territory. We already knew we'd face difficulties like this. Now we need to work out how to get Valiance Keep built and prepare for our future offensive..."
Arthas said eagerly, "Let the artisans stay here and build. Our soldiers can march straight north and crush them in one blow!"
Uther the Lightbringer smiled and shook his head at Arthas. "My boy, you're still far too optimistic about defeating the Scourge. We have a great deal left to do."
"Yes, we need to plan carefully," Rhode said with a smile. "As far as I know, there should be a Scourge stronghold called En'Kilah not far north of here. Today's attack most likely came from there."
Everyone nodded and watched Rhode, waiting for him to continue.
The frequent meetings during their month-long voyage had already revealed how familiar this newly appointed Archmage was with Northrend, so nothing Rhode told them came as a surprise.
Rhode had even drawn a rough map of Northrend for everyone to consult.
Although many places lacked detail, it still clearly showed the regions, the general connections between roads, and where mountains blocked the way.
That was as much as Rhode could manage from memory.
Of course, his explanation to everyone was naturally "the power of magic," something along the lines of "sensing the continent through its magical aura."
Everyone believed him without question.
He was an Archmage,