Life in Alterac seemed entirely unaffected by the outside world...
At Stromgarde in the Arathi Highlands, Anduin Lothar led the Alliance's main force in a desperate battle against the Horde... Yet King Aiden Perenolde, just across the mountains, paid it no heed, as though nothing had happened!
General Meric Hass had full responsibility for Alterac's defenses. Although he was deeply worried about a Horde invasion, without the king's permission, he could not lead his troops east to provide support, however much he wished to.
The atmosphere within the kingdom remained as peaceful as ever... King Perenolde had thought the Alliance envoy would protest, or even put pressure on him. To his surprise, the envoy spent his days mingling with Alterac's nobles, enjoying himself immensely.
Naturally, Perenolde was very pleased to see this.
According to his Court Mage, Thalnos-the blue-robed mage Karin had seen standing behind Perenolde that day-the elven mage serving as the Alliance's envoy was even stronger than he was.
High-ranking mages were rarely willing to serve worldly powers, let alone a small kingdom like Alterac! Perenolde had only managed to hire Thalnos, a Sixth Ring mage, at great expense. If an Archmage even stronger than Thalnos became an enemy of the kingdom, that would indeed be troublesome.
Judging by the envoy's attitude now, however, that did not seem likely to happen.
The worry that had been weighing on Perenolde's heart finally eased.
Life gradually returned to the way it had been.
Just a few days earlier, Duke Aliden of the Barov Family had invited the king and the other nobles to join a hunt deep in the Alterac Mountains!
Quite a few wild beasts lived among Alterac's snowy mountains.
The famous Alterac Rams, for instance, as well as frost wolves, were favorite prey among hunters...
Of course,