Chapter Summaries

Rhode convened a meeting with his regional leaders to plan roads, towns, sanitation, patrols, and education across his territory. He ordered the creation of Greenfield Town and ended the meeting by scheduling the clearing of Alterac Castle once the other projects were underway.

• Rhode proposed building Greenfield Town in the western region as a dedicated herb-growing center and instructed the leaders to plan its roads and cross-shaped layout.
• Rhode ordered towns to adopt organized housing, house numbers, public toilets, and fines for public defecation, then assigned Major Drake to organize standardized patrols with an initial budget of sixty gold coins.
• Rhode asked about literacy in Southshore and ordered more schools and teachers, prioritizing children while expanding basic education throughout his territory.
• Rhode said work on clearing Alterac Castle would begin after the other matters were settled and dismissed the meeting.

Rhode took Nat Pagle and the girls to the western coast to gather seafood and showed them how to harvest and cook oysters, clams, crabs, and other sea creatures. After Nat Pagle discovered how delicious the seafood was, Rhode decided to expand coastal harvesting and appointed him to lead a new town, which he named Seafood Town.

• Rhode asked Nat Pagle to help develop Southshore’s coastline, and Nat explained that the rocky western shore was poor for fishing.
• Rhode took Nat Pagle, Sally, Kienlo, and Lilia to the coast, where they gathered seafood after the tide receded.
• Rhode taught Lilia how to harvest oysters and showed Sally how to cook the gathered seafood.
• Nat Pagle overcame his dislike of oysters after tasting the seafood feast and agreed that the coast deserved to be harvested.
• Rhode planned to recruit more fishermen and enlist Bumpelba’s murlocs, then offered Nat Pagle leadership of a new town.
• Rhode named the new town Seafood Town.

Rhode began turning felweed into Runes and designed a Hearthstone system with separate card boxes and a mana-based update connection. After repeated failures, Lilia helped him spot the key nodes in projected Rune Spell Models, and he learned to connect them with nearly perfect efficiency at close range, leaving long-distance transmission to solve later.

• Rhode processed felweed into four Runes and began building a new Hearthstone version with Rune-powered card boxes and a possible update server.
• Rhode repeatedly failed to connect Rune Spell Models until Lilia noticed a distinctive sphere in his projected model.
• Rhode identified the sphere as a key node and connected two Rune Spell Models by sending mana between their nodes.
• Rhode practiced until close-range transmission reached almost one hundred percent efficiency, making card-box gameplay and deck editing feasible.
• Rhode found that transmission losses increased with distance and decided to continue working on the update server later.
• Rhode told Lilia that after finishing the shrimp, he would let her edit her own deck.

Rhode tested the new Hearthstone console at the Southshore Tavern, where Lilia’s astonishing pack openings exposed a bug in the pity system. While inspecting the console, Rhode recognized a Spell Model pattern resembling spatial teleportation, giving him an idea for developing a spell.

• Monica struggled to serve the crowded tavern as spectators gathered around Millhouse Manastorm and Stalvan playing Hearthstone.
• After Stalvan conceded, Rhode encouraged him to open packs, and Stalvan received an epic Mountain Giant without finding a legendary.
• Lilia opened packs and pulled multiple legendary cards, including a golden Lorewalker Cho, while the crowd cheered for more.
• Rhode inspected the console and discovered that a Spell Model connection bug made the pity system repeatedly produce legendaries.
• Rhode recognized that the faulty connection resembled the stages of spatial teleportation and realized it might help him develop a spell.
• Rhode ended the game test and told everyone he would return with the console after fixing it.

Rhode investigated the continued failure to grow Dreamfoil and suspected it needed a sustained source of magical energy, while Greenfield Town’s Ghost Mushrooms and Grave Moss flourished. After learning that people who had gone to Alterac had fallen seriously ill, Rhode headed back to learn what had happened.

• Mayor Bevaril reported that Tarren Mill’s farmers had failed to grow Dreamfoil, and Rhode reassured him before teleporting toward Greenfield Town and borrowing a horse after exhausting his mental energy.
• Old farmer Rain apologized for failing to keep Dreamfoil alive, and Rhode told him to rest while Kienlo suggested the herb might not rely on soil to survive.
• Rhode suspected Dreamfoil needed a sustained supply of magical energy, possibly from an artifact, but realized he lacked enough magic herbs and runes to create such a source.
• Kienlo told Rhode that Ghost Mushrooms and Grave Moss were thriving and that the apothecaries could begin producing low-grade Necromantic Potions for testing.
• Kienlo confirmed that Plague Flowers still could not grow in Greenfield Town, and Rhode agreed to test the low-grade potions first.
• A farmer told Rhode that people who had gone to Alterac had become seriously ill, so Rhode prepared to return and investigate.

After the Fabulon family fell ill near Alterac Keep, Rhode discovered that plague flowers were growing among the ruins and that the demonic plague there destroyed his reconnaissance robots. Unable to cleanse the area himself or rely on Kienlo, he decided to seek help from the shamans of the Frostwolf Clan.

• Mayor Marebu told Rhode that the Fabulon family had become sick after approaching Alterac Keep, and Rhode questioned the family at the Healing Department.
• Theodore Fabulon explained that they had gone near the keep to pick a brightly colored flower, and Rhode suspected it was a plague flower linked to the fel bombs.
• Rhode brought Sally, Kienlo, and Lilia to the ruins and used reconnaissance robots to find patches of plague flowers inside.
• The plague destroyed every reconnaissance robot, so Rhode abandoned his plan to send arcane golems in to gather the flowers.
• Rhode asked Kienlo to cleanse the plague, but she said she had not learned Plague Cleansing and knew no other druids who could help.
• Rhode remembered that shamans could cleanse the land and decided to seek Drek'Thar and the Frostwolf Clan in Alterac Valley.

Rhode and his companions found the Frostwolf Clan in Alterac Valley, where Thrall earned the water elementals’ recognition and became a true shaman. Drek'Thar invited the group to visit the clan’s home.

• Rhode led Lilia, Kienlo, and Sally through the Alterac Mountains and found large footprints near a lake in Alterac Valley.
• A water elemental rose from the lake and attacked Rhode, mistaking the travelers for intruders.
• Drek'Thar and Thrall arrived and stopped the fight, while Lilia reunited with her teacher Thrall.
• The water elemental recognized Thrall and bestowed its power on him, completing his trial and making him a true shaman.
• Rhode cast a Language Comprehension Spell for the group, and Drek'Thar invited them to visit the Frostwolf Clan’s home.

Rhode persuaded Thrall to bring his people to Alterac Keep and help cleanse its fel corruption, offering them a home and promising to work toward freeing the orcs in the internment camps. Thrall agreed to lead his people there, while Drek'Thar chose to remain with the Frostwolf Clan.

• Rhode asked Drek'Thar for shamanic help cleansing Alterac Keep, and Drek'Thar said Thrall could use the water elemental's power to cleanse the fel.
• Thrall explained that he had planned to lead his people to Kalimdor, but Rhode offered them a place at Alterac Keep with food and clothing.
• Drek'Thar encouraged Thrall to go with Rhode and said he would stay behind to lead the Frostwolf Clan.
• Thrall asked Rhode to seek the release of orcs held in internment camps, and Rhode promised to raise the issue with the Alliance and prioritize the Arathi Highlands camp.
• Thrall agreed to lead his people to Alterac Keep, and Lilia celebrated the prospect of learning swordsmanship from him again.

Rhode learned that the Shamans would need a week to cleanse Alterac Keep, then persuaded Thrall to preserve a small patch of corrupted land for a felweed-growing experiment. Meanwhile, Thrall urged the Orcs to build a peaceful new home and reject the plundering ways of their past, leaving them to embrace his call with growing enthusiasm.

• Thrall told Rhode that Water Totems were cleansing Alterac Keep and that the work would take about a week because the Fel Bomb's power had been trapped inside.
• Rhode realized felweed might grow in fel-corrupted soil and convinced Thrall to contain a field-sized patch for an experiment, with Shamans and an Earth Shield protecting him.
• Rhode teleported away to fetch felweed seeds, impressing Thrall and the Orc Shamans with his ability.
• Thrall announced to the Orcs that Alterac Keep would become their new home, supplied with food and goods from nearby settlements.
• Thrall reminded the Orcs of their mistakes and called on them to live peacefully with their allies and rebuild according to their shamanic traditions.
• Drek'Thar began applauding Thrall's speech, and the Orcs in the hall soon joined him.

Rhode taught Junior Apprentice Class students to understand and summon basic magic constructs, preparing them to use more advanced magic mechs. After class, he checked the felweed experiment near Alterac Keep and found that seedlings had successfully grown in the plague-tainted soil.

• Rhode introduced constructed-creature magic to Jack, Lucy, and their classmates, explaining how spell models could make basic constructs accessible to beginners.
• Rhode gave the apprentices repeated drawing exercises and quizzes, and Jack and Lucy eventually learned to summon magic brooms.
• Rhode told Jack and Lucy that magic mechs required extensive knowledge, rare materials, and energy, and said he was preparing the resources for them.
• Rhode teleported to the experimental field at Alterac Keep, where Glenda Wolfheart guarded the plague-tainted ground with water totems.
• Rhode found vigorous, magically infused felweed seedlings growing in the field and concluded that the trial cultivation had succeeded.
• Rhode asked Glenda Wolfheart to protect additional herbs he planned to plant, and learned that Thrall had become chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan.

Rhode organized trade caravans to acquire rare resources and salvaged a wrecked merchant ship near Seafood Town. Its cargo contained mithril, thorium, and magical gemstones, giving him the materials to begin making Magic Equipment.

• Rhode tasked Baturo with establishing trade caravans to purchase black lotus, magical gemstones, metal ores, and other goods.
• Nat Pagle told Rhode that a sunken ship had appeared near Seafood Town, and Rhode used Mage Hand to haul it onto the beach.
• Rhode and the artisans found slash marks, claw marks, and traces of blood inside the wreck, along with a locked chest.
• Rhode opened the chest and found mithril and thorium ingots covering rubies, sapphires, and yellow sapphires.
• Rhode realized the metals and gemstones could let him begin producing Magic Equipment, and he decided to keep the unexpected haul.

Rhode learned that trolls were attacking Aerie Peak and agreed to lead troops there, while clues linked Lilia to the High Elves searching the Hinterlands. He organized nearly two thousand soldiers for the march and set out with Sally, Kienlo, and Lilia.

• Rhode tested a magic item made from a yellow sapphire, but he could not tell what it did.
• Lilia mentioned a past incident involving a gryphon in the Hinterlands, and Rhode suspected she had ties to Quel'Danil Lodge.
• Dugan Wildhammer told Rhode that forest trolls were attacking Aerie Peak in greater numbers and strength than before.
• Rhode learned that the High Elves had sent their main force to search the coast for a ship and that their leader was Galinder Shalong, whose surname matched Lilia's.
• Rhode organized his forces into named units and chose nearly two thousand troops to aid the Wildhammer Dwarves.
• Rhode, Sally, Kienlo, and Lilia set off for the Hinterlands with the assembled force.

Falstad Wildhammer led the Wildhammer tribes in an attack on the Witherbark trolls after learning their ritual was reviving fallen warriors as powerful undead. The dwarves were close to defeat when Rhode’s forces arrived, leaving the battle poised to turn.

• Falstad Wildhammer told the lords that Zalaz Witherbark’s trolls were using a ritual at Zul'Shadra to revive fallen trolls and ordered an assault on the altar.
• Dugan Wildhammer reported that Earl Rhode of Southshore had agreed to send troops, and Falstad ordered the Wildhammer forces to attack before their allies arrived.
• Falstad led the Wildhammer cavalry against the troll berserkers, but the black-skinned warriors proved extraordinarily resilient and inflicted heavy losses.
• Falstad and Dugan were cornered by berserkers until a human mage killed one with spells and set another ablaze.
• Rhode’s Burning Legion arrived with human cavalry, and Dugan recognized the reinforcements as they charged the trolls.

Rhode’s army routed the Witherbark trolls with the help of Necromantic Potions, then hurried to Zul’Shadra to stop Zalaz Witherbark and Ras Frostwhisper’s ritual. As the Venomous Spider Queen began to emerge, Rhode discovered that his yellow gemstone greatly accelerated his spellcasting and formed an enormous Fireball.

• Rhode’s army overwhelmed the trolls, while the Necromantic Potions kept the Black Berserkers from attacking most of his forces.
• Rhode ordered the trolls’ bodies burned to prevent them from rising again, then led his army toward Zul’Shadra with Falstad.
• Ras Frostwhisper sacrificed Zalaz Witherbark and the troll witch doctors to gather death energy for the ritual summoning the Venomous Spider Queen.
• Falstad led Rhode’s army to the altar, where undead trolls and cultists blocked their advance as the spider began emerging from the pool.
• Rhode told everyone to fall back and formed an enormous Fireball, realizing that his yellow gemstone had accelerated his spellcasting.

Rhode destroyed the gigantic Poison Spider with Pyroblast, then defeated Ras Frostwhisper after Lilia interrupted the Necromancer’s attempt to transform. The Wildhammer soldiers watched Rhode’s victory end the immediate threat to their capital.

• Rhode unleashed a massive Pyroblast that blew the Poison Spider apart and killed the Cult of the Damned members around the pool.
• Ras Frostwhisper began a Lich Transformation, but Lilia interrupted the ritual, knocked him down, and left him for Rhode.
• Ras resumed the transformation and challenged Rhode to a direct battle, while Falstad urged the soldiers to attack.
• Rhode blocked Ras’s Frostbolts with Arcane Missiles, then struck him with successive Arcane Blasts.
• Rhode left Ras Frostwhisper motionless in a crater as Falstad and the Wildhammer soldiers stared in shock.

After Kienlo found a Moonlight Feather that could help her become a Balance Druid, Rhode and his companions celebrated with the Wildhammer Dwarves. Kienlo exposed a poisoned drink and Rhode uncovered the disguised Dreadlord Balnazzar, who ended the chapter taunting them about the Burning Legion’s real plan.

• Kienlo recognized a feather on the altar as a Moonlight Feather and explained that it could help her train as a Balance Druid.
• Rhode and his companions attended a Wildhammer banquet, where the lords toasted their victory and Lilia drank herself silly.
• Kienlo smelled poison in a tankard poured by Lord Flagar, and Rhode seized him while suspecting he was a demon in disguise.
• Rhode had Sally pretend to prepare an Exorcism, prompting Flagar to reveal that he was the Dreadlord Balnazzar.
• Balnazzar admitted that he had tried to poison Rhode, then warned that the Poison Spider was not the Burning Legion’s entire plan and offered to reveal their real plan.

Rhode killed Balnazzar before the dreadlord could reveal his plan, then investigated Quel'Danil Lodge and discovered that its inhabitants had become ghouls. Galinde Summerdrake's diary revealed that Lilia was her younger sister, who had run away after Galinde pressured her to study magic, and Rhode was left with the knowledge that Galinde still feared for her missing sister.

• Rhode blasted Balnazzar and explained to Falstad Wildhammer why he had not tried to interrogate the dreadlord.
• Rhode brought a small party to Quel'Danil Lodge, where Lilia recognized the empty defensive posts and the group found the lodge's residents transformed into ghouls.
• Rhode discovered Galinde Summerdrake's diary, which said the elves had come to the Hinterlands to search for a gemstone on the king's orders.
• Rhode read that Galinde had expected Lilia to become a mage, while Lilia preferred warrior techniques and repeatedly skipped her lessons.
• Rhode learned that Lilia had run away and that Galinde had grown frightened for her only remaining family; Rhode thought that Lilia had fled to his home.

Rhode discovered that the Thought Acceleration Gemstone came from a lost elven shipment and that plague-infected corn had been aboard its ship, so he rushed back to check whether it could endanger Southshore. He learned that Nat Pagle had burned the corn, leaving Rhode relieved that it had not spread.

• Rhode read Galinder's diary and learned that the gemstones had been found at a troll village, then sent aboard a merchant ship with Kaelan and a basket of corn.
• Rhode suspected that a disguised Dreadlord had used the corn to spread plague, killing the ship's crew and threatening the High Elves and Wildhammer Dwarves.
• Rhode warned Sally, Lilia, and the others that Southshore might be in danger, and promised Lilia he would do his best to find her brother.
• Rhode used the Thought Acceleration Gemstone to teleport to the beach near Seafood Town, where the shipwreck's corn had been brought ashore.
• Rhode asked Nat Pagle about the corn, and Nat Pagle said he had burned it all.

Rhode handled the Scourge Plague threat, organized the use of mature felweed runes, and crafted powerful gemstone equipment that made him an exceptionally strong Archmage. He then oversaw a new paper mill in Tarren Mill, where an unidentified visitor arrived.

• Rhode burned the infected corn, reassured Nat Pagle, and sent warnings about the Cult of the Damned and the missing Quel'Danil Lodge rangers to other nations.
• After Glenda Wolfheart reported that the felweed had matured, Rhode turned most of the harvest into runes and assigned students and teachers to make light Magic Mechs and Hearthstone equipment.
• Rhode crafted an Arcane Energy Gemstone and a Recovery Gemstone, boosting his magical output and mana recovery, and decided to postpone returning the gemstones to Quel'Thalas until after testing them in combat.
• Rhode oversaw the trial run of a paper mill in Tarren Mill, which used goblin machinery and magic to produce paper for his territory.
• An unidentified visitor found Rhode at the paper mill and greeted him as Earl Rhode.

King Genn invited Rhode to Gilneas to teach its mages, offering access to the Royal Magic Library. Rhode accepted but delayed his departure for a few days, while Lord Kandray remained convinced that Rhode's reputation and magical ability were fraudulent.

• Genn introduced Major General Falloden and Lord Kandray, then invited Rhode to teach Gilneas's mages and offered him the Royal Magic Library.
• Rhode dismissed the library's Spatial Teleport and other spells but asked whether it contained Mirror Image, Polymorph, and Ice Block.
• Rhode agreed to visit Gilneas in a few days, and Genn accepted the delay before leaving with Falloden and Kandray.
• On the journey home, Kandray called Rhode a fraud and doubted the battle reports about his magic, while Falloden defended Rhode's record.
• Kandray blamed his suspicions on Rhode's rapid rise and his own displacement as headmaster, and resolved to watch Rhode fail when he came to teach.