A Lonely Perspective

"Whatever happens, until the master returns, we must keep the Forsaken's emotions stable. All work will continue as usual." Belmont offered a symbolic conclusion, leaving no room for other options. It made one wonder whether the Forsaken's future had not truly been taken seriously. "Right now, we have an even thornier problem."

He handed over a tightly bound scroll. It went first to Veronalara, who was nearest to him, then was passed around. The moment the Dark Ranger saw the wax seal, her eyes widened. It was a red wax seal bearing the Horde's emblem.

She immediately knew who had written the letter. "The Horde? This does not seem to have come from our spies."

Belmont nodded. "Indeed, it did not." His orange eyes fixed on the letter in Veronalara's hand. "This is a letter from the Horde's Great Chief."

"Grommash?" Prefist was startled. "What does it say?"

"Read it yourself." Veronalara handed the letter to the Death Knight. While he read it, she said, "More than its contents, I want to know the Witherer's attitude. He must have anticipated this step, hadn't he? Not only did he leave alone, but before leaving, he revealed his identity to the world. We knew nothing about any of it."

Prefist grimly handed the letter to Nathos. The Death Knight commander stood with his hands on his hips, casting Belmont a suspicious look. Clearly, he agreed with Veronalara.

By the time Nathos passed the letter to Tatsel, and Tatsel handed it to Meryl, the mage waved it away. He already knew what it said.

"Regrettably, the master gave no clear instructions."

"Then we cannot make this decision ourselves." Veronalara rose to her feet. "What matters is how we should reply to Grommash."

Stormwind City

"Shaw, do you have any new information?"

"The