By the following evening, news that Guardian Khadgar had successfully intercepted the Kingdom of Lordaeron's ambassador to Stormwind City had reached Lucille.
Rowan read the mission details carefully and found that the report contained far more than met the eye.
From the interrogation of Duke Philip, the ambassador, Rowan learned that Arthas had used the power of the Maw to control the Royal Court. Not only that, Arthas had brutally sent every stubborn old man who defied his will into the Maw's River of Souls. He had then shown the ministers of the Royal Court the horrific torment those souls endured.
Arthas had used absolute power to silence every opposing voice at court. No wonder he had been crowned so quickly, without a single note of dissent in the Royal Capital.
The ministers with backbone were all dead. Those who remained were officials who bullied the weak and bowed to the strong, currying favor wherever they could. They had submitted to Arthas's tyranny, and they would kneel just as readily before a greater power.
Arthas could certainly reap enormous rewards from his power at this stage, but making examples of people to frighten the rest also planted dangerously unstable time bombs.
Second, Rowan learned from the mission report that a major power in the Shadowlands was cooperating with the Jailer of the Maw. (Rowan had crossed over to Azeroth during Version 8.0, so he knew nothing about the events of Version 9.0. He could only collect information and piece together the intelligence.)
There was a traitor among the Eternal Six. No wonder the Shadowlands had suffered such a tremendous anima crisis. Rowan quietly noted the betrayal of Sire Denathrius's faction in his little notebook.
He was not certain whether Denathrius had led the defection to the Maw, but at the