Chapter Summaries

Rhode secured Blackmoore’s permission for Lilia to train with Thrall, while recognizing that he would need to win Thrall’s trust. Back at the Magic Tower, Rhode began adding a combat module to his Arcane Golem, but his final experiment ended in an explosion.

• Blackmoore agreed to let Lilia practice with Thrall at the Castle, and Rhode thanked him.
• Rhode observed Thrall’s uncertainty toward Blackmoore and resolved to make winning Thrall over a priority.
• At the Magic Tower, Rhode decided to strengthen his forces by giving the Arcane Golem combat capabilities.
• Rhode tested four ways to link the combat spell model to the Arcane Golem, but the first three attempts failed.
• Rhode’s final test caused the Arcane Golem to explode and vanish.

Rhode connected two different Spell Models and successfully programmed an arcane golem to perform a preset combination attack. He then told Katel to seek muskets from Dun Garok so he could arm the beggars and form a Musket Corps.

• Rhode found a hidden node linking two Spell Models and activated the connection with mana.
• Rhode tested the linked Spell Models by commanding an arcane golem to batter a training dummy with a preset combination attack.
• After working late, Rhode went upstairs to rest.
• Rhode asked Katel to send someone to Dun Garok to find out whether the dwarves would sell muskets.
• Rhode explained that he wanted to arm the beggars and form a Musket Corps, since he needed a reliable force of his own.

Rhode ordered Katel to form a hundred-person Musket Corps and gather anyone interested in learning magic so Rhode could select new apprentices. Katel’s fear and distance toward Rhode gave way to a strong sense of belonging and loyalty.

• Rhode told Katel to seek muskets and ammunition openly, recruit a hundred beggars, and begin drilling them in disciplined formations.
• Rhode planned to train the Musket Corps himself, with Katel serving as its captain, and use the beggars as workers in peacetime and soldiers in wartime.
• Rhode asked Katel to gather adults and children who wanted to learn magic so he could choose new apprentices for the Magic Tower.
• Katel was stunned when Rhode confirmed that commoners could become magic apprentices, and he felt like one of Rhode’s brothers and a loyal follower.

Rhode realized Sally Whitemane was better suited to becoming a priest than a mage and offered to arrange for Brother Joshua to teach her. Sally accepted, though she had mistaken Rhode’s career advice for a romantic confession, and hurried back to work.

• Rhode told Katel to announce that selected magic apprentices should not join the Musket Corps and returned to the construction site.
• Rhode watched Sally struggle with Mage Hand and realized she might have priestly talent instead of mage talent.
• Rhode visited Sally and offered to introduce her to Brother Joshua so she could study the holy light.
• Sally mistook Rhode’s opening words for a confession, then agreed to become a priest after hearing his proposal.
• Rhode said he would ask Brother Joshua to teach Sally at the Magic Tower, and Sally rushed out to return to work.

Rhode selected eighteen people with mana surge to become magic apprentices, then began forming the remaining beggars into a Musket Corps. He left the new recruits practicing basic formations under Katel’s guidance, intending to build their discipline before weapons training.

• Rhode sensed mana surge in the candidates and selected eighteen people, whom Sally took upstairs to register as magic apprentices.
• Rhode found that the Musket Corps recruits were mostly beggars who were old, young, or poorly nourished, but decided to train the hundred people he had.
• Rhode told Katel to begin training the recruits and demonstrated how to stand at attention and at ease.
• Rhode led the beggars through formation drills, including dressing ranks, facing forward, and counting off.
• Rhode explained to Katel that he wanted to establish discipline and teamwork first, and said he would write down the training routine.

Rhode sparred with Lilia and discovered that her Pummel could interrupt his casting and silence him for several seconds. Lilia claimed victory, then asked Rhode to continue telling her the story about the ring’s journey.

• Rhode noticed that Sally was busy learning priest skills and teaching apprentices, while Lilia was training with Thrall under close guard at the lord’s castle.
• Lilia returned excitedly and told Rhode about the new warrior skills she had learned, including Charge, Mortal Strike, and Pummel.
• Rhode challenged Lilia to a spar in the laboratory, but caught her with Mage Hand when she charged at him.
• After Rhode explained that Pummel had to hit while he was casting, Lilia interrupted his Fireball and silenced him for several seconds.
• Lilia declared herself the winner, and Rhode agreed before taking her upstairs to hear the unfinished ring story.

After the dwarves of Dun Garok refused to sell muskets because they faced an enemy, Rhode decided to travel there and help them so he could equip his Musket Corps. He prepared for the journey with Lilia, and they set out from town.

• Katel told Rhode that Captain Darren Ironmount had refused to sell muskets because the dwarves needed their stored weapons to defend against an enemy.
• Rhode decided to go to Dun Garok and help the dwarves, while telling Katel to continue training the Musket Corps.
• Rhode prepared himself and Lilia for the trip, bringing their equipment and helping her put on her Silver Scale Breastplate.
• Lilia refused Rhode's offer of a new sword or a shield, saying she wanted to fight as a Fury Warrior like Thrall rather than become a Protection Warrior.
• Rhode and Lilia ate bread and milk, then left town for Dun Garok.

Rhode and Lilia took a shortcut through the woods toward Dun Garok, where they rested beneath a huge tree and joked about whether it could move. When Lilia poked the trunk with her sword, the tree’s canopy rustled, startling them both.

• Rhode and Lilia left the main road and took a wooded shortcut toward Dun Garok.
• Lilia pretended to be tired so Rhode would carry her, and Rhode used Blink to speed their journey.
• Rhode and Lilia stopped beneath a huge tree and talked about Night Elves and their giant, magical trees.
• Rhode teased Lilia into testing whether the tree could move, and Lilia cautiously poked its trunk with her shortsword.
• The tree’s enormous canopy rustled, surprising Rhode and frightening Lilia.

Rhode and Lilia fought two carrion vultures beneath a great tree. Rhode killed both birds with Mage Hand and fireballs, while Lilia proved she could dodge and wound one of them.

• A carrion vulture burst from the tree and attacked Rhode, while a second one swooped at Lilia.
• Rhode struck the first vulture with a Mage Hand, seized its beak and jaw, and tore its mouth apart, killing it.
• Lilia dodged the second vulture’s attacks, jumped onto its neck, and cut a wound across its back before it threw her off.
• Rhode hit the fleeing vulture with a fireball, and after he reminded Lilia that it ate people, she agreed they should kill it.
• Rhode struck the carrion vulture with a stronger fireball, and it fell dead.

Rhode and Lilia searched the Carrion Vultures’ nest, collected coins and a silver Crown, then continued toward Dun Garok Fortress. Near the fortress, they found dwarves fighting a group of ogres.

• Rhode used Mage Hand to carry himself and Lilia up to the Carrion Vultures’ nest.
• Rhode killed the aggressive chicks, searched the nest, and took its coins and silver Crown.
• Rhode and Lilia left the woods, rested for the night, and continued south toward Dun Garok Fortress.
• Rhode and Lilia followed the dwarf road and heard the sounds of battle ahead.
• Rhode and Lilia saw dwarves fighting ogres on a flat stretch of ground.

Rhode intervened in a battle between dwarves and ogres near Dun Garok after discovering that the two sides could not understand each other. He froze the fighters and learned that Targ’s ogres were searching for the Crown of Will, while the dwarves had mistaken them for invaders; Rhode was left to figure out how to settle the dispute.

• Rhode declined to choose a side until he understood why the dwarves and ogres were fighting.
• Targ attacked the dwarves with lightning, and Captain Iron Mountain charged him while shouting that he would execute the ogre shaman.
• Rhode used Frost Nova to freeze Targ, Captain Iron Mountain, and the nearby fighters, then introduced himself in both languages.
• Captain Iron Mountain accused the ogres of plotting an attack, while Targ said the dwarves had stolen the Crown of Will.
• Rhode realized the battle began because the ogres’ search near Dun Garok had been mistaken for an invasion, and wondered how to resolve the dispute.

Rhode discovered that the Crown of Will had caused the ogres to attack the dwarves, and he used his knowledge of Ogri'la to convince Targ he had found it rather than stolen it. After Rhode returned the crown, Targ ended the conflict and led the ogres back toward King Magsol in the Alterac Ruins.

• Lilia suggested the crown Rhode found in a carrion vulture's nest might be the Crown of Will the ogres were seeking.
• Rhode showed the crown to Targ, who accused him of stealing it and ordered the ogres to attack.
• Rhode swore by Ogri'la and explained that he had visited the ogre homeland, persuading Targ and the other ogres that he was telling the truth.
• Targ asked Rhode to take the ogres to Ogri'la, but Rhode said he could not do so for now.
• Rhode returned the Crown of Will to Targ and dispelled the frost holding Targ and Captain Ironhill.
• Targ explained that King Magsol had lost the crown and was waiting in the Alterac Ruins, then led the ogres north.

Rhode visited Dun Garok to buy muskets after peacefully resolving the dwarves’ conflict with the ogres. He used mana to secretly expel most of the alcohol during a drinking contest, but eventually became tipsy and collapsed alongside Captain Iron Mountain.

• Rhode explained to Captain Iron Mountain that he had given the ogres a crown and cleared up the misunderstanding.
• Captain Iron Mountain invited Rhode and Lilia into Dun Garok and agreed to discuss the muskets over drinks.
• Lilia tried mead, spat it out, and Rhode devised a way to use mana to push alcohol from his body and evaporate it with a fireball.
• Rhode and Captain Iron Mountain drank barrel after barrel as they discussed the muskets.
• Captain Iron Mountain passed out, and Rhode soon collapsed over the table after becoming drunk.

After waking from a drunken night in Dun Garok, Rhode found a sword called Mira’s Song in the smithy and learned it was Coldsteel’s token of affection for a married bread vendor. Captain Iron Mountain’s interruption left Coldsteel’s unrequited longing exposed.

• Rhode woke with a hangover beside the sleeping Lilia, drank water, and tucked her blanket around her.
• Rhode went into the smithy and met the dwarf smith Elonus Coldsteel, who praised him for drinking Captain Iron Mountain under the table.
• Rhode noticed a sharp sword and asked Coldsteel whether it was for sale.
• Coldsteel explained that the sword, Mira’s Song, had been forged for Mira Thundersword, a bread vendor he longed for.
• Captain Iron Mountain told Coldsteel to stop pining after Mira because she had been married for ages.

Rhode acquired Mira’s Song for Lilia after Captain Iron Mountain convinced Coldsteel to let it go, then visited the armory to inspect the Dwarf muskets. He asked Bretta Goldfury how much a hundred guns would cost.

• Captain Iron Mountain urged Coldsteel to give Mira’s Song to Rhode, but Coldsteel refused to part with it.
• Lilia arrived, admired Mira’s Song, and began dancing with it; Coldsteel handed it to her.
• Captain Iron Mountain gave Mira’s Song to Lilia and led her and Rhode out, while Coldsteel returned to forging.
• Captain Iron Mountain took Rhode to the armory after Rhode won their drinking contest, and Rhode examined the Dwarf muskets.
• Bretta Goldfury demonstrated a musket’s quality, and Rhode asked her the price of a hundred guns.

Rhode bought a hundred Dwarf Muskets and extra ammunition from Captain Ironhill, then had Goldfury teach the Musket Corps how to use them. After the recruits proved the weapons’ power, Rhode suggested that Goldfury consider dating Coldsteel.

• Captain Ironhill sold Rhode a hundred Dwarf Muskets at one gold coin each, added ammunition pouches and extra bullets, and arranged for Goldfury to escort the delivery to Durnholde Keep.
• Rhode asked Goldfury to stay and teach the Musket Corps how to use their new guns.
• Goldfury demonstrated that a Dwarf Musket could punch through thick iron armor at the secluded grove outside the city.
• Katel and the other recruits quickly learned to fire their muskets and hit the target, showing how readily the beggars could become a fighting force.
• Rhode suggested that Goldfury consider Coldsteel as a partner, and Goldfury said she would think about it.

Rhode watched the Beggar Gang's Musket Corps train and returned from target practice, pleased that Blackmoore's spies had stopped watching him closely. After Lilia woke to the musketeers' loud greetings, Rhode decided to take her to visit Thrall.

• Rhode observed the Musket Corps training in the rain and reflected on how he was deceiving Blackmoore while preparing to win Thrall's cooperation.
• The rain eased, and the returning musketeers sang songs Rhode had taught them as they marched back from target practice.
• Katel assembled the two squads to show Rhode their discipline, and the musketeers greeted Rhode in unison.
• Lilia complained from a Magic Tower window that the musketeers were too noisy, and Rhode realized she had woken up.
• Rhode decided to take Lilia to Thrall's place for swordsmanship practice and a proper conversation.

Rhode sensed a hidden observer and deliberately entered an alley, where a black-robed woman attacked him with dark mist and Arcane Missiles. After Rhode narrowly dodged her spell, Lilia charged at the assassin with her sword.

• Rhode sensed concealed mana nearby and led Lilia into the last alley to draw out the watcher.
• A black mist engulfed Rhode, clouding his thoughts, and his summoned Arcane Golem was destroyed by Arcane Missiles.
• Rhode spotted a masked woman in black robes and dodged her close-range Arcane Missiles with Blink, crashing into the alley wall.
• As the assassin aimed at Rhode again, Lilia charged toward her with a raised sword.

Jandice Barov confronted Rhode to avenge her son Alex, using Mirror Image to surround him with nine copies. Rhode froze several images and tried to escape with Lilia, but Jandice polymorphed him into a sheep.

• Lilia recovered from the black mist and charged toward the assassin, who dodged and turned her into a sheep with Polymorph.
• Rhode faced Jandice Barov’s nine Mirror Images and learned she was Alex’s mother, seeking revenge for his death.
• Rhode stalled Jandice by talking until Blink came off cooldown, then cast Frost Nova and Blinked toward Lilia.
• Rhode reached for Lilia, but Jandice’s Polymorph transformed him into a sheep as well.

Rhode and Lilia defeated Jandice after she polymorphed Rhode, but Lilia accidentally wounded him while freeing him from the spell. After Rhode received treatment, a guard arrived to summon him to the lord.

• Jandice froze Rhode, broke free with Blink, polymorphed him, and began casting Arcane Blast.
• Lilia charged Jandice and interrupted her spell with Pummel, then stabbed her with Mira's Song as Jandice tried to flee.
• Lilia cut Rhode to break Polymorph, and Rhode killed Jandice with a Great Fireball.
• Rhode discovered that Lilia had wounded his buttock while freeing him, then went to the infirmary for treatment.
• Rhode declared that he and Lilia would eat lamb in revenge, but a guard arrived and summoned him to the lord.