It was an official, cautious, textbook answer. Sylvanas could hardly fault it, but it was not the answer she needed.
She continued, "Then do you think Quel'Thalas owes humanity anything? Or, more specifically, did Quel'Thalas incur any debt to humanity during the last Troll Wars?"
"Owes humanity? What do we owe humanity?" Lor'themar did not understand why Sylvanas was asking. He frowned. "How could Quel'Thalas possibly owe humans anything?"
Although the humans had helped Quel'Thalas defeat the troll invasion in that war, Quel'Thalas had secured that help by offering them magic in exchange.
Otherwise, humans would still have no idea what magic was, not to mention that Quel'Thalas had helped them establish Dalaran, the city of magic. Surely all that was enough?
"Is that your personal opinion?" Sylvanas asked. In truth, she thought the same way.
"Yes! That's my personal opinion, and I believe most high elves share it," Lor'themar said.
"How do you know most high elves share that opinion? Are you just guessing?" Sylvanas asked.
"I am, but I can prove it to you right now." Lor'themar stood, went to the door, and had a guard summon ten soldiers. He lined them up and asked each of them the question. Their answers were astonishingly unanimous.
Lor'themar sent the bewildered squad of soldiers away, then turned to Sylvanas. "Well? I wasn't wrong, was I?"
"You have a point," Sylvanas said with a nod. "But that's still too few people to represent public opinion in Quel'Thalas. I have a task for you: investigate what the people of Quel'Thalas think about this, and what humans think about it."
Sylvanas suddenly gave a cold laugh. "Perhaps we think we owe humans nothing, while they think we owe them a debt we can never repay."
"Humans think we owe them?" Lor'themar asked in astonishment.
That couldn't be true, could it? If it was, humans were far too greedy. They must have known back then that the troll threat wasn't aimed solely at Quel'Thalas. If Quel'Thalas fell, they would be next.
"Then why don't we investigate it now?" Sylvanas asked with a smile.
"Does what humans think really matter that much to us?" Lor'themar asked.
"Knowing is better than not knowing," Sylvanas said. "What if those old fossils in Silvermoon City all think like you and make decisions without understanding the situation? If war really breaks out and we have to honor the agreement, we might find ourselves at a disadvantage."
"Another large-scale war is coming?" Lor'themar frowned.
Any war that required elves and humans to form an allied army would undoubtedly be enormous, perhaps even a war that could destroy a kingdom. But nothing major had happened lately! Could it be the trolls in Zul'Aman? He carefully considered Sylvanas's words and realized she definitely did not mean the trolls in Zul'Aman. She meant something on the human side.
"Possibly. I'm not entirely sure either. But we still need to prepare," Sylvanas said. "At the very least, I want those old fellows in Silvermoon City to know that humans aren't all that reliable."
"All right, I'll get started shortly!" Lor'themar agreed after a moment's thought.
"I hear His Majesty Terenas, king of the human Kingdom of Lordaeron, doesn't have any children yet," Sylvanas remarked, seemingly offhandedly.
"I'm not too sure about that," Lor'themar said. "I think he only married his queen last year. Given how quickly humans reproduce, if they want children, it'll probably happen within the next year or two. Admiral Daelin Proudmoore also married last year. He invited plenty of people to the ceremony and made quite a grand occasion of it."
"A moment of silence for our king," Sylvanas said. "If they really do have children, His Majesty will have to send two lavish gifts."
Lor'themar laughed. "That's true."
"Would you like to take the opportunity to visit them? You could investigate while you're there. Don't just keep asking ordinary people. The views of human nobles will give us a clearer picture of the truth. Just investigate discreetly. Don't let them notice what you're doing and feed you a false answer. Opportunities like this don't come along often."
"Then thank you in advance, Commander. It's been a long time since I last had an extended leave," Lor'themar said happily.
"First, investigate our own people in Silvermoon City, and keep an eye out for any news on the subject while you're there. I'll handle what comes next. I believe the Windrunner family still has enough influence to get you into a diplomatic delegation," Sylvanas said.
"I really hope those two put in some effort and hurry up with those children," Lor'themar said with a laugh.
Sylvanas smiled and continued, "What do you think of Quel'Thalas's shipbuilding capabilities?"
"Shipbuilding? Not particularly good, but not too bad either!" Lor'themar said.
In fact, Quel'Thalas had fairly good shipbuilding technology, and its propulsion systems were even more advanced than those of humans. Quel'Thalas used magical power, while the warships of human nations relied primarily on sails. After all, Quel'Thalas had an inexhaustible source of magic: the Sunwell.
However, Quel'Thalas's shipbuilding industry was not very large. This was mainly because its population was too small, nowhere near that of humanity. It might also have been because Quel'Thalas placed little importance on developing its navy. After all, its main enemies were the trolls in Zul'Aman, against whom a navy was of little use.
"Then how much gold and time would it take to build a large warship?" Sylvanas asked.
"Quite a lot," Lor'themar said. "I don't know the exact amount, but it would certainly be enough to equip and train four or five ranger units, perhaps even more. As for time, I'd estimate at least six months to build one, if not a year."
"That much gold? And that long to build?" Sylvanas was astonished.
She had always led ranger units and knew little about naval affairs. Quel'Thalas's navy was so small that it consisted of only three units of six hundred troops each, fewer than even the smallest auxiliary ground legion. It was practically invisible among the high elf forces, drawing little attention.
Their only duty was to take turns ferrying the troops stationed on Sunreaver Island, and even their warships carried few deck-mounted ballistae. The island was not very far from the mainland, so the Dragonhawk flying units were perfectly capable of guarding the route. The Silvermoon Council saw no need to spend too much money on it. After all, navies were notorious money pits. The gold needed to build a massive navy would pile up like a mountain.
"Of course! And that's a low estimate," Lor'themar said firmly. "I know someone at Sunsail Harbor. I can't give you exact figures, but I do have a general idea."
"Are human warships that expensive too?" Sylvanas asked. "I remember they have quite a few fleets."
"Human warships are even more expensive," Lor'themar said. "They're a little smaller than ours, but they have three decks and carry dozens of cannons. That makes them at least twice as expensive as ours, possibly more."
"The difference is that great?" Sylvanas found it hard to believe.
"Because their warships are mainly used for combat, while ours are mainly used for transport. They serve different purposes. Our ships may be bigger and longer than theirs, but in a fight, they're really no match. If our warships didn't all use magical propulsion, the difference in price would be even more absurd," Lor'themar said.
It was not that Quel'Thalas could not build those powerful warships; it simply had no need to. Unlike humans, elves did not wage campaigns far and wide. They only needed to defend Quel'Thalas. Moreover, a magical shield covered the entire kingdom, and they had Dragonhawk aerial units, so Silvermoon City would not spend vast sums on building them. Besides, the high elves' main enemies were the trolls in Zul'Aman, against whom warships were useless.
"When you have time, gather some information on ships for me. I'd like to learn more about them," Sylvanas said.
Privately, however, she made up her mind. If things really were as he said, and war broke out, and the humans invoked the agreement to demand troops from Quel'Thalas, she had to become a negotiator. She had to get a few warships out of them. She also had to find a way to get Yu Lin Bloodhawk into the delegation.
But he was only a company commander and a baron right now. His standing was too low. That could make things difficult when the time came. She needed to find a way for him to earn more military merit! Raising his noble rank would be difficult, but with military achievements, promoting him shouldn't be hard.
The trouble was that he was clearly unwilling to cooperate. Hmph, a nobody. If he hadn't told her those things, she really would have taken him for a nobody. But why had he told her? There were so many people more powerful and influential than her. Why had he told only her? This was the question Sylvanas could not puzzle out.
Lor'themar saw that Sylvanas had fallen into thought again. He was about to say something to remind her he was still there, but reconsidered and gave up. Just as he was about to leave, Sylvanas spoke again.
"Lor'themar, go ahead and start investigating this matter. Consider it an extended leave," Sylvanas said. "Wait for an opportunity on the human side, and finish the domestic part first. Write a detailed report. How long do you think you'll need?"
"That depends on how much time you're willing to give me, Commander, but at least a week!" Lor'themar said. He had not had any leave in a long time.
"I'll give you a month!" Sylvanas said.
"A month!" Lor'themar asked in surprise. Since when had Sylvanas become so generous?
"What, is that too much? I can shorten it!" Sylvanas said.
"Not at all! Not at all!" Lor'themar hastily nodded and left. Was she kidding? Who would complain about too much time off?
Lor'themar swiftly vanished through the doorway.
Sylvanas sank into another long stretch of contemplation.
Before you continue