It was not until the second day after the meeting that Yu Lin Bloodhawk sent his orders concerning the Crystal Mine Cave to Stranglethorn Vale. He had settled on this plan only after considerable thought. Although he had told the Old Charlatan and Sylvanas at the meeting that they would seize it, that had been little more than talk. They certainly had to secure it, but exactly how required careful consideration.
The situation in Stranglethorn Vale was complicated now.
The three major native powers currently visible in Stranglethorn Vale-the Gurubashi Trolls, the Bloodscalp Trolls, and the Skullsplitter Trolls-had been enemies for years, but ultimately, they all shared the same roots: they were descendants of the Ancient Gurubashi Empire. Their fighting was like brothers squabbling over the family inheritance. Fighting among themselves was fine, but if an outsider tried to grab a share, they might all join forces to beat him up.
The Crystal Mine Cave lay deep within Skullsplitter Troll territory. If Yu Lin Bloodhawk occupied it by force, things really might turn out that way. The goblins of the Venture Company at Lake Nefariti were one such example. They, too, had ventured deep into Stranglethorn Vale to drill for oil, but they had become the common enemy of all its natives. They were regarded as outsiders, and their prospecting teams were frequently attacked, suffering heavy casualties year after year.
Attacks on prospecting teams did not sound like they would cause many casualties, since a team generally consisted of only a dozen or twenty people. For a major power, losing a dozen or twenty people was indeed no great matter. Once or twice might not amount to much, but what if that bleeding continued year after year? Who could withstand that?
The goblin-run Venture Company had wealth and power to