With the plan settled, the main force immediately marched north. Meanwhile, Patrick had already informed the Order of the Silver Hand of the plan, and Tirion Fordring said he would personally contact the Alliance and the Horde to deal with the Wrathgate together.
The Alliance and the Horde had not sent troops to Northrend out of any sense of the greater good or desire to follow the crowd. The Scourge recklessly used plague to poison living beings throughout Azeroth, and the plagued grain they produced threatened all life on Azeroth. Had the Lich King not been so aggressive, had there been even the slightest room for compromise, neither the Alliance nor the Horde would have sent troops to Northrend. They would have sat back and watched Lordaeron and Quel'Thalas bleed themselves fighting the Scourge.
This was also one of the reasons Patrick had made Sylvanas abandon her research into plague alchemy. As far as the Horde was concerned, Sylvanas's plague research was her own business. Even if the Forsaken grew a little stronger, Thrall would turn a blind eye. The weaker Horde had to survive amid powerful enemies on all sides; it was a measure taken for lack of any alternative.
But to humans, plague meant something entirely different, especially in Lordaeron. They had suffered more severely from it than any other nation, without exception. In their eyes, openly using plague at will was essentially no different from what the Scourge did.
Whether on Azeroth or Earth, plague was something that drew everyone's hostility. If Sylvanas were ultimately allowed to inherit the Scourge's legacy, Thrall would not move against the Forsaken as long as she did nothing out of line.
Patrick had also discussed his arrangements for the Scourge with Sylvanas. If the opportunity arose, he would absolutely hand the