The Sacred Covenant Was Just a Business Contract

Upon entering the room, Yu Lin Bloodhawk immediately introduced himself.

"I never expected you to be a baron of Quel'Thalas," Dirithis said in surprise. "As far as I know, elves from Quel'Thalas rarely visit the Human Kingdom. Why would a baron like you come out alone to do business? Please forgive me. I mean no offense; I simply find it very unusual."

"It's nothing special," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a smile. "I was bored, so I came out to travel. Surely you don't think I can bring an armed guard into your Human Kingdom whenever I please!"

"A large force would certainly be out of the question, but wouldn't you be safer with at least a few attendants?" Dirithis asked.

"If someone wanted to harm me, what good would a few people do? If they'd be useless anyway, wouldn't it be better to travel quietly on my own, have some fun, and make a little money doing business along the way?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a smile.

"You truly are an unusual elf, Baron," Dirithis said, smiling as he raised his glass.

"I don't much like being supervised, and I don't like having people trailing after me whenever I go out," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a smile. "You said you were interested in my business. I wonder if you meant it."

"I did. I heard everything you said to the innkeeper, and I really am quite interested. Would you mind telling me what you need so many wild bears for?" Dirithis asked.

"There's no reason I can't tell you," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a smile. "As you know, Quel'Thalas has been fighting the Shadowpine trolls of Zul'Aman for a thousand years."

Inside, however, he cursed. What are you, a cop checking my records? Or a state security agent hunting spies? What the hell does it matter to you what I buy them for? We're doing business. You give me the goods, I give you the money, and that's that. Why should I tell you what I'm using them for? Business intelligence isn't that easy to get. If I told you, wouldn't you cut in on my source of income? Dream on.

"Yes! Long ago, we humans even helped you repel a troll invasion!" Dirithis said with a smile. "Come to think of it, you high elves really ought to thank us humans."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk curled his lip and took a sip of wine. "You're right, but your help didn't come without conditions. You demanded that we teach you magic in return. Without our instruction, you humans might still have no idea what magic even looks like. Besides, we high elves helped you build the magical city of Dalaran. Even a few blue dragons have taken up residence there."

"You have a point," Dirithis said with a smile. "But without our help back then, Quel'Thalas might not exist today."

"Not necessarily! We crossed vast oceans from the distant continent of Kalimdor to reach what is now Quel'Thalas and establish a powerful nation. We weren't without resources of our own."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk raised his glass and gently swirled it, watching the red fruit wine slosh inside. "Without human help, our nation wouldn't necessarily have fallen, but many people would have died. Still, do you think the trolls would only have attacked us? If we could migrate once, we could certainly migrate a second time."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk watched Dirithis's expression out of the corner of his eye. "Once we left, humanity would have faced the trolls alone. The trolls back then weren't fragmented as they are today. They were a powerful, united empire. Ultimately, humans, trolls, and elves would all have been drawn into that war, because the trolls wanted every inch of land on the eastern continent. The alliance between humans and high elves merely brought humanity into conflict with the trolls sooner."

"Whatever you say, we humans still helped you high elves," Dirithis said.

"I acknowledge that, but we already repaid you. To put it plainly, it was a transaction. We provided magic, and you entered the war earlier. The accounts were settled long ago. The Sacred Covenant only still exists because both sides are considering further cooperation," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said casually.

"How can you treat an alliance between nations like a business deal?" Dirithis asked, slightly angered.

Seeing Dirithis grow irritated, he felt a surge of satisfaction. This marquis clearly wasn't someone easy to fool. He kept asking questions over a simple business deal, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk suspected there would be plenty of haggling once the actual negotiations began. Unsettling the other man a little could only work in his favor.

Still, he held Dirithis's argument in utter contempt.

If I don't look at it as business, how should I look at it? Isn't it just a contract anyway? To put it plainly, wasn't it a mutual aid treaty signed during wartime? Yu Lin Bloodhawk believed that once the war ended and humanity had learned magic, the contract had effectively expired. Both parties had fulfilled their respective obligations.

Besides, that contract was signed with the Arathor Empire. What the hell does it have to do with your Kingdom of Lordaeron? Apart from the Kingdom of Arathi, the successor to the Arathor Empire, we high elves have no treaty obligations whatsoever toward the other six kingdoms, all right? Split apart all you like. What the hell does that have to do with us? We're only responsible to the party that signed the contract.

If I owe your father a hundred coins, and he has six sons, surely I don't have to pay him and each of his sons a hundred, for a total of seven hundred? We haven't withdrawn the Silver Covenant delegation responsible for teaching humans magic in Dalaran. That's already going beyond our obligations. Even if we sent them anywhere, it should be Arathi, not Dalaran.

Naturally, he had no reason to argue any of this with Dirithis.

"Oh? Is that so? I really hope that when the next war comes and you humans ask us to send troops, I can be one of our negotiators. I just wonder what you'll have to offer us high elves. Back then, we gave you magic."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk continued with a smile. "It wouldn't be right to ask us to send troops without giving us anything. Business is a matter of give and take. Back then, you absolutely refused to send troops unless we taught you magic. We ought to learn that trick from you."

"I doubt you'll ever have the chance to serve as that negotiator, so you high elves still owe us humans," Dirithis said with a smile. In truth, after thinking it over himself, he realized humanity really had little that the high elves would consider worthwhile.

"Let's hope so!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. "But none of that has much to do with the business at hand."

"You're right. But Baron, what do you need so many wild bears for?" Dirithis asked.

"Where were we?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked. Here we go again. Looks like this deal will be hard to close unless I give him a plausible reason.

"You were saying that you're still fighting the trolls of Zul'Aman," Dirithis reminded him.

"Right! Right! Where there's war, there are prisoners, isn't that so?" Lin Yu raised his head and asked Dirithis.

When Dirithis nodded, he said, "There are too many prisoners, and we high elves don't kill people and eat their flesh the way trolls do. So they've become an increasing nuisance. Keeping them fed is no small expense, either. Then someone came up with a new amusement: capturing wild beasts and making them fight the prisoners."

"An arena? You high elves indulge in that sort of thing too?" Dirithis exclaimed.

"We learned it from you humans. What else can we do with so many prisoners? We can't kill them, and we certainly can't release them just to have them come back and kill us," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"So that's why you want to buy wild beasts?" Dirithis asked.

"Exactly. Those trolls can put up quite a fight. As you know, we don't have many wild bears in Quel'Thalas. There are some lynxes, but they don't hold up in a fight. They die after a few blows, and they're hard to catch. So I'm taking the opportunity to make a little money," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a shrug. "My fief will be granted soon. I can't manage without money."

"How many wild bears do you want, then?" Dirithis asked.

"As many as you can get. Those people would love to hold ten arena matches a day. I'm just afraid you won't be able to find enough," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

"And the price?" Dirithis asked.

"How much do you want?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked. Finally, we're getting down to business.

"How about eight silver coins per bear?" Dirithis said.

"I can offer ten, but on one condition. You'll be responsible for delivering them to Sunsail Harbor in Quel'Thalas. Someone there will receive them and pay the balance," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.

Dirithis rubbed his chin and considered it for a while. The profit wouldn't be very large, but there was still money to be made. He nodded. "Deal. But I'll need a deposit."

"Of course. How much would you consider appropriate?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.

"Three silver coins per bear, with a shipment for every two hundred bears. How does that sound?" Dirithis asked.

"That works. If you have no objections, we can draw up a contract now, sign it, and stamp it with our personal seals. But I suggest shipping three hundred at a time. That would be more economical, since shipping is an expense in itself. Also, I'll pay more for certain unusual beasts. For example, on the road from Lordaeron to the Gilneas, there may be a particularly formidable bear. I've heard it's enormous."

Yu Lin Bloodhawk took out a civilian map he had bought in Lordaeron and circled the approximate area where that silver-elite bear roamed. "For one like this, I can offer five gold coins. And here in the Hinterlands"-he drew another circle-"there's a worg named The Ripper. Three gold coins for him."

Next, he marked the locations of Frostwolf and Iceclaw Bear in the Dwarf Kingdom, noting how many gold coins he would pay for each. He even marked King Bangalash and Goldenmane in Stranglethorn Vale.

Watching him mark one spot after another, Dirithis said, "You seem to know these places very well."

"I wouldn't say very well," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said with a smile. "I traveled quite a bit before becoming a baron. Otherwise, I wouldn't have thought of this business."

After they signed the contract, Yu Lin Bloodhawk handed Dirithis the gold coins for the deposit on three hundred wild bears, as stipulated in their agreement. Dirithis's eyes lit up, and he was delighted.

Gold coins from Quel'Thalas differed from those used in human nations. Though roughly the same size and weight, they were far more exquisite. On the black market, one Quel'Thalas gold coin could be exchanged for two or three human gold coins, because some people liked to collect the beautifully crafted currency.

Dirithis picked up a gold coin and asked, "Will all future payments be made in Quel'Thalas gold coins?"

Yu Lin Bloodhawk nodded. "Of course. Quel'Thalas gold coins are all I have."

To him, human gold coins and Quel'Thalas gold coins weighed roughly the same, so their value ought to be about equal as well. In fact, the official exchange rate was indeed one to one.