Yu Lin Bloodhawk's opinion mattered, and everyone took it seriously, but... his opinion... was rejected. And so the decision to build the Undead Underground City was officially finalized.
This round of trading with Calmyra proceeded as usual. A total of twenty thousand standard units of "goods" went toward reforging another two hundred High Elves. Naturally, the Quel'Danil Standing Army supplied their equipment and everything else.
Old Charlatan and the other mages actually felt as though they had met Mognathus, the old lich, far too late in life. They often gathered to discuss and research magic with great enthusiasm, which only strengthened Yu Lin Bloodhawk's conviction that they were all lunatics. Research was practically the only thing they cared about. The immensely complex gulf between life and death that mortals faced probably did not even qualify as something worth wasting their attention on.
Still, having this bunch of lunatics gathered together did spare Yu Lin Bloodhawk quite a bit of trouble. Once they started arguing over a problem, they would often go at it all day. At those times, there was nothing for him to do, and he could go off and do whatever he wanted.
The original plan to build a stable portal, however, was pushed back. The main reason was that Sylvanas, Old Charlatan, and the others thought the cavern was not spacious enough and would interfere with the future layout of their Undead Underground City. So the goblins and dwarves continued blasting away during the day, while at night Yu Lin Bloodhawk opened the Dark Portal to bring over masses of skeleton laborers with carts and tools, who hauled away the stone to build the city.
Sylvanas did not stay. She remained for only two days after the trade before hurrying off again. Before leaving, however, she reportedly