"Now I'll go over the assignments for tomorrow's operation."
Several maps lay in front of Felix: a map of Stormwind City's sewers, a map of the prison, and a rough map of the city's layout.
"To draw away all the prison guards, Joseph and I will lead most of our brothers in launching the uprising in Old Town first."
Felix spoke with measured confidence. "Since it borders Stormwind Keep and has a large concentration of nobles, they'll have no choice but to come to the rescue."
"At that point, Bazil, since you know the prison fairly well, you'll lead some of our brothers through the sewers and into the prison, rescue Chairman VanCleef, then retreat toward the docks immediately."
"That fool Marcus Jonathan has imposed restrictions on the harbor, leaving plenty of ships stranded at the docks. You can seize any one of them, then sail southwest and take the chairman to the Gold Coast region. Since Stormwind City's navy is still relatively weak for now and can't even keep the weakest band of pirates under control, they definitely won't be able to do anything about you."
"What do you mean by 'still' and 'for now'?" Dudmore could barely contain his curiosity. "Are you saying Stormwind City's navy will become very powerful in the future?"
Well, that was indeed the case. Kul Tiras had withdrawn from the Alliance in year twenty-two after the opening of the Dark Portal, and the refugees from Lordaeron during the Third War had given Stormwind City's economy a powerful boost. That was when Stormwind City began building its own blue-water navy. But-
"Don't worry about those details, Dudmore!" Felix clearly had no intention of revealing his secret. "If things go smoothly, we can quickly defeat the troops left to guard Stormwind City, take control of Old Town, and wipe out all the nobles here."
"But the Valley of Heroes is a long, narrow passage, Felix. The troops guarding it will be extremely difficult to deal with," Lightfinger offered his view. "But if we want to seize control of Stormwind City before Varian returns to defend it, we'll have to take the Valley of Heroes, then use its terrain and our ranged weapons to hold back Varian's army."
"That's a minor problem, hardly worth mentioning." Felix analyzed the situation with a perfectly straight face. "Once we've dealt with Old Town, we can immediately surround Stormwind Keep. The troops guarding the Valley of Heroes will surely abandon their advantageous position of their own accord and rush into the city to help. After all, their queen and little prince live in there."
"There's one more thing," Vladimir said, pointing at the map. "Those old fellows in the Wizards' Guild are extremely difficult to deal with. And even if there aren't many of them and their overall fighting strength isn't great, they can still teleport a large group of people in from outside to fight us fairly easily."
"So, Dudmore," Felix turned his gaze toward him, "considering how you like to visit the Mage Quarter whenever you have time outside work, especially that tavern called The Slaughtered Lamb, and how familiar you are with the area, I want you to lead a group of brothers to bury these goblin explosives here, here, and here."
"Don't laugh!" Felix sternly stopped the red-faced Dudmore. This was no time for jokes. "Even if we can't blow up the magic arrays inside the Wizard's Sanctum, we must at least destroy the bridges over the canals in the Mage Quarter and Trade District. Do you understand?"
"Yes. I guarantee we'll complete the mission."
"The codename for tomorrow's operation will be 'Spark.' Does everyone understand their assignment?"
"Understood!" Driven by hatred, the stonemasons were all brimming with fighting spirit.
"Then the meeting is adjourned. Everyone, make sure you get some proper rest tonight. We'll assemble at four tomorrow morning."
However, after everyone dispersed, Felix quietly sought out Joseph and Bazil.
"Joseph, Bazil, keep a close eye on this fellow named Baros Alexston. The three of us had better take turns sleeping tonight-"
"What's wrong?" Joseph looked shocked. "Do you think-"
"Yes. I suspect SI:7 has already bought him off and turned him into those nobles' lapdog!" Felix nodded with a stern expression, then began making things up, saying things he didn't believe himself. "That day, when the chairman, he, and I were in Stormwind Keep, Bolvar promised to make the chairman an earl. I noticed Baros's eyes light up right then."
"I imagine the title of earl must be very tempting to him." Felix's tone was full of mockery. "And afterward, he went to see Wishock and Duke Lescovar alone. Who knows what they discussed?"
"Then we really do need to keep a close watch on him." Bazil's face turned livid. Clearly, for the vast majority of people, when it came to who was most detestable, traitors were invariably the most despised.
After everyone else had left, only Felix and Vladimir remained.
All the brothers believed that the purpose of tomorrow's operation was to capture Stormwind City, then hold its defensible positions, keep Varian's army outside the Valley of Heroes, and slowly wear down their supplies and morale.
But only Felix and Vladimir knew that this was utterly impossible. They actually had other arrangements.
First, the brothers, blinded by hatred, had nothing but hot blood. They had no idea how powerful Varian's army was. Even if the stonemasons had obtained a shipment of weapons through Katrana's funding, and even if they could defeat the second-line troops left to guard Stormwind City, they were no match for the kingdom's professional frontline army.
To defeat a professional army, the guild workers would at least need a year of training first, and the Kingdom of Stormwind's troops would have to go unpaid for several months;
Second, even if today's plan succeeded through sheer luck, and even if the supreme King Varian could not reach his loyal Stormwind City, the Alliance of Lordaeron would soon intervene.
After all, Terenas Menethil, Antonidas, and Daelin Proudmoore would never stand by and watch a regime controlled entirely by rebels emerge on the other side of the sea.
When that happened, the Brotherhood's petty thieves would have absolutely no way to contend with the elite marines, the Order of the Silver Hand, and the Dalaran Battle Mage Corps.
The mere thought of the Grand Admiral's elite guards in Warcraft III, with their hundreds of points of attack damage, made Felix's teeth ache. If only he could find a way to get Grand Admiral Daelin Proudmoore to work for him!
A meal had to be eaten one bite at a time. Acting too conspicuously now and ultimately provoking the Alliance into intervening was no move for a clever man.
So Felix's real plan was to draw away the troops guarding the Valley of Heroes first, allowing the brothers to escape Stormwind City through it, then flee to Westfall and quietly work toward their goals there, little by little.
This fertile land would offer plenty of opportunities.
The only reason he had spoken that way at the planning meeting was that everyone had developed an almost deranged frenzy for "revenge." Unless Felix sold them a grand vision, he would never satisfy their appetite.
-After all, a leader who couldn't promise the moon wasn't a good leader.
Before you continue