A secret that was no secret

"Is Dar'Khan in the Tower of the Stars right now?" he suddenly asked.

"Dar'Khan, the Arcane mage? Yes!" Sylvanas said, puzzled. She did not understand why Lin Yu had suddenly brought up this Arcane Archmage. Could he have some connection to Lin Yu? Could Dar'Khan be his backer?

Naturally, Sylvanas did not think this military operation had much to do with Dar'Khan, an Arcane Archmage and member of the Silvermoon Council, so that was the only explanation she could think of.

"That damned traitor. Too bad I won't get a chance to see him!" Lin Yu sighed and muttered to himself. He had always believed that the decline of the high elves was directly connected to that archtraitor, Dar'Khan.

As a diehard Blood Elf player in World of Warcraft, Lin Yu naturally remembered the old bastard. Killing him rewarded players with a beautiful two-handed sword, the Sin'dorei Warblade.

That made the fellow hard to forget, but it did not mean Lin Yu liked him. In fact, the old bastard was also a must-kill target for players leveling Horde alts, for no other reason than that Sin'dorei Warblade.

"Traitor? What traitor?" Sylvanas asked sharply. "What do you know?"

"A secret. A secret that concerns the life or death of the high elves." Lin Yu smiled mysteriously.

He had made up his mind. Rather than simply sleeping until the dream ended, he might as well end it on a happy note. If Her Majesty was interested, he would lean in to whisper in her ear and seize the chance to steal a kiss.

If she caught him, this scheming queen would probably give him a thorough beating. The NPCs here were far too lifelike, far too emotional. After getting beaten up, he might wake immediately. That was something years of dreaming had taught him.

Of course, he might not wake up, either. But he would not feel pain in a dream, so he could keep pestering her. He was dreaming, and it would not really hurt. What was there to fear?

Still, it would be best not to let her notice. If he entered this dream again, their next meeting would be awkward. This dream was so strange-who knew whether she would hold a grudge next time?

"A secret?" Sylvanas looked at Lin Yu skeptically. "What secret could a mere baron like you know?" Her voice carried a note of disdain.

"Heh. Something very, very big. It won't affect me much, but for you, your family, and all of Quel'Thalas, it will be a major event." Lin Yu smiled darkly.

"What a sinister smile," Sylvanas said with disgust. Naturally, she was not afraid of Lin Yu's malicious grin. Even if ten more of him appeared, she had both the confidence and the strength to crush them one by one.

"Don't you want to know?" Lin Yu coaxed, like the wolf dressed as Grandma. Aren't all women intensely curious about secrets? Why does this NPC seem completely uninterested? Damn it, those so-called experts are going to get people killed.

"If you're talking about a secret concerning Zul'Aman, then I'd be interested."

"As for your other secrets, keep them to yourself," Sylvanas said coldly.

She simply did not believe that a mere baron could know any truly important secrets.

"A secret about the Trolls of Zul'Aman?" Lin Yu rested his chin in his hand, his index finger moving lightly beside his mouth. Meanwhile, he frantically searched his memories of Zul'Aman.

Could this idiot actually know something? Sylvanas wondered, watching Lin Yu sink into thought.

So she did not disturb him. She simply sat there, quietly watching him pace back and forth, with a faint hope that he really did know something about the Trolls.

Before the Dark Portal opened, the high elves had fought a massive war against the Trolls. In the end, the high elves invited the humans to form an allied army and defeated the Trolls.

To preserve their last shred of glory, the Trolls retreated to Zul'Aman, their most prosperous city, and established a new defensive line around it to protect it.

That defensive line consisted of the three Troll bases now known as Zeb'Nowa, Zeb'Tela, and Zeb'Sora.

Of these, Zeb'Watha and Zeb'Tela were heavily garrisoned, while Zeb'Sora was somewhat less well defended. Although the allied army ultimately failed to break into Zul'Aman, the war still counted as a victory, and the Trolls never recovered from the defeat.

Yet the Trolls had never abandoned their desire for revenge. After years of rest and recuperation, they regained their strength. They had once planned a large-scale attack against the high elves, but for some unknown reason, the plan ultimately fell through: someone who had appeared out of nowhere killed some of their leaders.

Apart from that one incident, the Trolls never seemed to pose another large-scale threat to the high elves. Could this be that incident? Whether it was or not, one thing was certain: the Trolls would no longer inflict any great harm on the high elves!

The corners of Lin Yu's mouth lifted. "The Trolls? How much of a threat could they possibly be?"

Lin Yu sneered. "The Trolls should be planning a large-scale attack against Quel'Thalas right now. If they manage to launch it according to plan, it really will cause a great deal of trouble. But there's no need to worry. They won't be able to launch it, because their leaders will die under mysterious circumstances."

"How do you know all this?" Sylvanas looked at Lin Yu suspiciously.

"I already told you, it's a secret. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore!" Lin Yu said with an inscrutable air.

"A secret from Silvermoon City?" Sylvanas asked.

"More or less!" Lin Yu said. Anyway, how those Troll leaders died and who killed them were all a mystery. Who knows whether Silvermoon City had anything to do with it?

"Then what's this major event you mentioned?" Sylvanas asked, half believing him.

"You want to know?" Lin Yu smiled wickedly.

"Am I allowed to know?" Sylvanas countered.

"Yes! In fact, every high elf has a right to know about this, but now isn't the time. A few people might have their suspicions, but I'm the only one who really knows the truth," Lin Yu said.

"What if I say I want to know?" Sylvanas asked with a smile, still skeptical.

"I can tell you! But at least until the situation gets worse, or until there's evidence, don't make any rash decisions. That would only hurt you.

"Also, you must keep this to yourself. Perhaps Lor'themar can know, too. If too many people know and the other side gets suspicious, things will become difficult," Lin Yu said.

"What exactly is this about?" Sylvanas frowned.

"Promise me first that you won't ask how I know. Otherwise, I won't tell you, because I don't want the trouble," Lin Yu said.

I'd better get her to agree first. Otherwise, how am I supposed to explain myself if she keeps asking? Wouldn't that be a real

pain? Wouldn't it go on forever?

Little did he know that the more he said things like this, the more Sylvanas believed the secret was real! If anyone learned that Lin Yu had leaked it, someone in the upper ranks would come looking for trouble with him.

So she nodded solemnly and said, "I won't ask."

Lin Yu walked over, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Kandalar is a great traitor to the high elves..."

Lin Yu spoke quietly for a long time, telling Sylvanas how Dar'Khan would pry into the Sunwell and the Rune Stones, how he would eventually learn the Sunwell's secrets from Lor'themar, how he would destroy Quel'Thalas's magical barrier and allow the undead army to march straight in, and the wretched state Quel'Thalas would be left in.

When Lin Yu vividly described the appearance of the Wretched from his game, adding his imagined symptoms of drug withdrawal, even he could not help shuddering. But he did not mention Sylvanas becoming the queen of the undead.

After hearing Lin Yu's account, Sylvanas trembled all over, her face deathly pale. It was not that she lacked courage; the future of the high elves had terrified her.

The miserable fate of the Wretched after the loss of the Sunwell, in particular, sent a chill through Sylvanas. She did not even notice when Lin Yu secretly planted a kiss on her cheek.

"How do you know what will happen in the future?" No sooner had Sylvanas spoken than she realized she had asked something she should not have.

"Don't ask so many questions!" Lin Yu shrugged and said casually, "I only know a few rough fragments. I don't know the details, either. But there's one thing: you need to give that guileless deputy of yours a warning.

"If he ever learns the Sunwell's secrets, make sure you sew that big mouth of his shut. To be honest, although he was the one who ultimately killed Dar'Khan, he still bears responsibility for the disaster that befell the high elves."