Destination

Inside the underground tunnels of Grim Batol, Rhonin led the way. In truth, he didn't know which way to go either; some tunnels he thought would lead to their destination suddenly changed direction. And, to make matters worse, he had no idea where he was.

During that time, Krasus didn't speak a word to him again, which made him even more helpless. He inwardly resented Krasus, thinking that Krasus should at least guide him to the place where Alexstrasza was imprisoned. What on earth had distracted the Archmage?

In a completely dark tunnel, the group finally had a chance to sit down and rest for a while.

"The surface of this tunnel's rock is slightly warm; we have indeed entered Grim Batol." Alleria took a sip of water from her pouch and passed it to Sylvanas, then gently touched the tunnel floor with her hand. The conclusion was that no one had set foot here for a long time.

"That's strange. The Orcs have occupied Grim Batol for so long, haven't they ever been to any of these places?"

Falstad sniffed the surface of the wall; it had a familiar smell—the smell of steel being forged in the fire.

"These tunnels must have been dug by the Dark Iron Dwarf. That explains why the defeated Dark Iron guys mysteriously disappeared many years ago when the Bronzebeard and Wildhammer tribes attacked this place."

Rhonin was still trying to contact Krasus, but to his surprise, the communication on the other end wasn't shut down, but rather blocked. He was somewhat worried; Krasus might have encountered trouble, and some powerful force was forcibly preventing him from contacting him.

"No offense intended, Lord Falstad." Alleria smiled, her tone as gentle and pleasant as ever. "I think we should thank those Dark Iron Dwarf now; it was thanks to their tunnels that we were able to get in here. And they did a pretty good job with the tunnels; we didn't have to stoop to get through."

"Although I hate to admit it, you make a good point, madam." The Dwarf nodded.

These few minutes of relaxation will allow everyone to clear their minds so they can continue their journey through the cave.

After the fifth failed attempt to make the call, Rhonin was somewhat annoyed. He recalled the approachable manner the chief mage had shown him when he first approached him in Outer Dalaran. The two had chatted pleasantly, and before they knew it, Krasus had brought up the topic of dragons, then drifted to Alexstrasza's imprisonment and her forced to bear the ferocious Red Dragon for the Horde. Although the Horde's main force had been crushed, as long as she remained imprisoned, the Orcs of Kaz'Modan could continue to wreak havoc on the Alliance and slaughter countless civilians.

Just then, the idea of releasing the Queen of Dragons suddenly popped into Rhonin's mind. He felt that only he could have come up with such a brilliant plan. Now that he thought about it, it seemed absurd, Rhonin sighed.

He remembered how deeply the idea had influenced Krasus. In fact, Rhonin recalled that the old mage had spent a great deal of time discussing the mission details with him and had often encouraged him. Now he had to admit that if it weren't for the mage's strong persuasion, he might have long since abandoned the idea. In some ways, this seemed more like Krasus's mission than his own. Indeed, it was strange that this Kirin Tor senator, who always kept his true nature hidden, had suddenly approached him.

Rhonin shook his head. If he continued to be asked these kinds of questions, he would soon come to believe that Krasus was actually the Blackhand behind the whole thing, and that he was influencing him in some way, leading him and his men to make the decision to venture deep into enemy territory.

That's absurd!

The sudden noise startled everyone to their feet. The sound of wheels turning came from deep within the tunnel.

Are there enemies?

"It shouldn't be. It sounds like a truck. But it's impossible to transport a truck in such a narrow tunnel."

"That makes sense, but that doesn't mean there aren't any enemies nearby." Falstad carefully held the Storm Hammer in his hand, in a neutral rather than offensive position.

The group didn't linger; they continued onward, with Rhonin still leading the way. Sylvanas assumed he had received instructions from Krasus, but in reality, Rhonin wanted to investigate himself. Since Krasus hadn't responded, perhaps these sounds could lead him to the secret chamber where the Dragons queen was imprisoned.

As they moved through the cave, the sounds grew louder, as if the entire Grim Batol had awakened. The Orcs seemed to be in a state of panic. Rhonin was certain they were in trouble. Then, sounds came from all directions.

"I don't want to stumble into the Orcs Warrior's training grounds or their mess hall," Falstad muttered.

"Shut up!" Sylvanas glared at him.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar drowned out all other sounds. The roar was loud and quickly subsided, but it made everyone crouch down like startled birds.

"It seems that not all the dragons are kept in the same area. Following this sound, we might be able to find some dragons. Perhaps we can even find some traces of Nathanos there," Falstad added, half-jokingly.

Alleria he considered the easiest to talk to, suddenly turned her head and glared at Falstad with a cold, sharp look. The Dwarf felt a chill run down his spine and stared wide-eyed at the completely transformed Alleria. She then turned her head, a worried expression on her face, not blaming Falstad for his rudeness, after all, he didn't know about her relationship with Nathanos. Sylvanas touched her sister's slightly sweaty hand, nodded gently, silently telling her: Nathanos will be alright.

Encouraged, Alleria continued traversing the tunnels. They encountered no trouble. It was now certain that most of the Orcs were far away, busy with some massive project.

"Are they preparing for war? The Alliance should be advancing on the Orcs forces north of Kaz'Modan right now," Vareesa guessed.

Alleria shook her head. "Probably not. I haven't received any news in Quel'Thalas that the Alliance army is preparing to attack Grim Batol. But if that's the case, it would be very advantageous for us. The Orcs would have to focus on preparing for war, and their numbers would be much smaller. Soon, the Dragon Knight and their Red Dragon would also set off for the north."

That's, of course, an ideal situation. Alleria was just saying things to comfort herself.

They passed through several more passages without encountering anything unusual. However, they soon discovered a brightly lit entrance to a passage ahead, from which a growing commotion of voices was emanating. They were forced to move more cautiously, slowly approaching the junction of the two passages, while the leading mage peered out from around the corner.

Rhonin then realized that what he had thought was a passageway was actually the entrance to a large hall on the right. Inside the hall, a group of Orcs were busily loading all sorts of things into carts. It seemed they were about to embark on an expedition and wouldn't be returning anytime soon.

He told Alleria and the others what he had seen.

The Female Elf frowned and began to doubt the accuracy of the previous battle reports regarding the northern front. If the answer was yes, why were the Orcs still leaving? Not just the dragons and their riders, but the Orcs wanted to empty the entire Grim Batol.

Just then, two Orcs came into Rhonin's view. They seemed to be carrying something heavy. They clearly wanted to put it down, but were afraid for some reason. In fact, Rhonin felt they were being unusually cautious, as if the weight were made of gold.

Seeing that no one was looking in his direction, the mage boldly moved his head forward a little, trying to see clearly what the Orcs cared about.

It was round, or more accurately, oval! Its surface was somewhat rough, and it seemed to have thorn-like spikes. It could only remind Rhonin of one thing!

An egg.

More accurately, a Dragon Egg.

He quickly shifted his gaze to the vehicles. He was now quite certain that several of them were filled with Dragon Egg at various stages of development. Some were smooth, round eggs, while others had even more scales than the previous one, eggs that were almost hatched. And...! Rhonin squinted, ignoring the soreness in his eyes, trying to see clearly. There appeared to be two Dragon Egg covered in red spots, with smooth surfaces. They were practically anomalies among the pile of eggs.

"The importance of these dragons to the Orcs is self-evident. Why would they risk taking such precious goods on the road?" Alleria asked curiously after Rhonin shared what he had seen.

"This looks like a practice session. Are they practicing their retreat?" Falstad tugged at his beard. The others ignored him without a second thought.

'Rhonin ...'

"Gram..."

The sudden voice in his head almost made Rhonin scream. He quickly suppressed his impulse, his mouth trembling. He knew without a doubt that the insignia Krasus had given him was glowing.

"Listen to me, Rhonin. I will guide you to the Queen of Dragons's location; you must rescue her."

First, you've taken the wrong path. You need to go back to where you left off at the last fork in the road.

Rhonin showed no displeasure at Krasus's sudden disappearance. He continued to carry out orders. Despite some doubt, he followed Krasus's instructions and returned to the previous fork in the road. Rhonin hadn't paid attention to this place when he passed by earlier. Its entrance was quite narrow and unlit, suggesting it wasn't a very important location. The Orcs would certainly keep the important passages well-lit.

"Why are we back again?" Falstad asked in a low voice.

"Don't speak, just follow him," Sylvanas replied.

Why did Krasus know so much about the cave structure here? This question suddenly began to trouble Rhonin.

"Next, take the second passage on your left."

His guidance was flawless; he knew every path in the Orcs fortress perfectly, just as well as the Orcs Warrior inside.

Finally, after several hours of walking, the voice commanded, 'Stop!'

Rhonin didn't understand why Krasus had suddenly stopped him. After a moment of silence, Krasus allowed him to continue. At that moment, he began to descend into a tunnel, seemingly heading towards the heart of the mountains.

"Listen! Did you hear that?" Vareesa's long ears twitched. Not only her, everyone heard it. Heavy breathing came from below.

"I swear in the name of Aerie Peak, that's the sound of a dragon breathing. And several times larger than a normal dragon." Falstad pointed his Storm Hammer at Rhonin. "Red-haired monster!" he began to call Rhonin. "Where are you taking us?"

Alleria and Vareesa also became wary, but Sylvanas hadn't yet drawn her sword. Her indifference puzzled her sister Alleria; did Sylvanas know something?

"Please believe me, I will explain everything later."

"Explanation? You're leading us toward a giant." Falstad suppressed his anger, trying to avoid attracting the attention of other Orcs by raising his voice.

"I won't harm you."

"Trust him!" Sylvanas suddenly said.

"What?"

"Trust him!" the Female Elf said again, responding to the others who showed surprised expressions.

Alleria and she looked at each other for a while before sheathing their weapons, and made Vareesa do the same.

She said, "I trust your judgment, Sylvanas."

"Thank you, sister."

"And you, mage!" Alleria looked at Rhonin, who unconsciously tensed up. "I don't know what your purpose is, but for the sake of my sister, I will not pursue it for now. But if I fail to rescue Nathanos in the end, I will definitely not let you go."

Rhonin nodded, and Falstad lowered his guard. The voice echoed in the mage's mind again.

'It seems letting Sylvanas know about our secret was the right thing to do.' Krasus's voice sounded somewhat impatient. 'Two more passages to go. Then turn right. Keep going until you see the cave entrance on your left.'

Following his instructions again, Rhonin quickened his pace as much as possible. His nerves were on edge.

"Turn right and follow that path." Following the instructions of this absent guide, Rhonin thought he would soon see the cave entrance he had mentioned. However, he walked for about half an hour without seeing anything. Just as the mage was about to give up—he saw a glimmer of light. The light was faint, but definitely not an illusion...and it came from the left side of the passage.

Rhonin saw a glimmer of hope. Without making too much noise, he quickened his pace, knowing there were many Orcs guarding the Queen of Dragons. He had prepared some spells, hoping to save them for the last moment. But when he finally arrived, there was nothing there. The passage was empty, except for their group.

"Aren't there any guards here?" he asked in a low voice.

'At least, I smelled the devil. But don't worry, there's nothing here now.'

Rhonin nodded, no longer questioning whether he should go in. He was currently overjoyed at the prospect of finally meeting the Queen of Dragons.

Alleria followed closely behind him, still wondering if Nathanos was inside. However, her thoughts of her lover vanished completely the moment she stepped into the hall and saw the red dragon for the first time.

Alleria and her sisters, along with Falstad and Rhonin, all wore the same expression for the first time. Their eyes widened, their mouths agape, and for a fleeting moment, their thoughts vanished...