' = Internal dialogue

ยจ= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

-Chapter 30 Start-

As we both land on the ground, several people were staring at us, all wearing different colored bandanas. They wore worn and destroyed clothes and had no shoes, practically looking like beggars.

Soon after we had landed and I was done analyzing them and the area around us, I realized we had ended up in the slums, or no, it turned out we had landed on top of what seemed to be a bandit camp INSIDE the slums of Stormwind.

One of the men pointed a shaking hand at us and said, "Wh-who a-are -yo-you? A-are you fr-from th-the brotherhood?" The masked man's tone had turned hopeful towards the end of his sentence.

I just stared at the man in front of me. By now, at least ten people with bandanas in the area were side by side listening to our conversation. Most of them were as tense as a bowstring, grasping their weapons.

Valeera was utterly calm and nonchalant about the whole situation. She had noticed these men were untrained and unskilled just by their posture and confidently let me deal with whatever happened next. So she stood by my side with an amused look, just waiting for shit to hit the fan.

"No." was the only word that resonated in the slums at that moment, and everything froze. Every single bandana-wearing thug was frozen up to their neck in a thick layer of ice. It was non-lethal, as I made some breathing room for every single one of them. No way to get out except for me releasing the ice, though.

I looked at Valeera and asked, "Can you find a patrol or a guard while I question these... people?" Valeera nodded and calmly walked out of the dark valley that linked the slums to the rest of Stormwind.

Then I turned back to the man who had asked me if I were part of the brotherhood. After getting the information, I sighed. Which was pretty easy. Turns out these hoodlums are just here to riot and disturb the city's locals, not going further than just threats.

Thanks to the immigration after Lordaeron fell, the city was now in deep debt with the Stonemason guild, so much so that their families in Westfall and nearby towns had no way to supply their families with food without taking extreme measures.

In other words, Stormwind as a city was drowning in debt, and as a result, the other areas around the region were in economic ruin, and with the recent fall of Lordaeron and immigration numbers ballooning to insane numbers caused riots every day due to hunger and unrest.

'This reeks of the Black Dragonfight... so this was how Onyxia did things. I could almost mistake it for a plot from Deathwing. It's almost identical to his attempt to ruin the capital of Lordaeron...'

'Like father like daughter, I guess.'

I look back at the people before me and sigh, 'Why do I have to be one of those...'

Then released the ice covering them and said, "If this comes back to bite me in the ass, I have all of your mana signatures memorized, and I will find you, and I promise I will not be as pleasant to deal with as the torturer you'd initially be sent to if It wasn't for the kindness I am showing you now." And I theatrically blared my magic into the air, willed it to hit the area around us, and shouted, "Leave!"

And all the masked farmers ran off as fast as their semi-incapacitated legs could take them, as the ice had numbed several of them. They didn't even look back as they ran deeper into the dark valley, leaving all they had behind.

I sighed again. I was close to putting entire families in prison, most people here were only farmers, and I honestly couldn't be bothered.

We wouldn't be around too long to get further into the city's conflicts either, and it would be hypocritical of me to let a few farmers go but refuse to deal with the root of the problem, but whatever.

'I would have to deal with that Black Dragoness soon enough. However, I feel that robbing her lair in Dustwallow March first is the way to go about it. An angry Black Dragoness chasing you around instead doesn't sound too bad.'

Even though I am sure of my own capabilities handling Onyxia right now was a bit of a stretch, even if Varian and his...*Adventurers* fought and killed her in the future just as if it was an everyday thing.

'Now that I think about it, it's a bit sketchy that Mannoroth was one tapped by Grommash from what I could recall from this as a... game... Is it just plot?

{Or lazy writing, who am I to judge... I didn't even write that fight here, haha}

But now, as this had become my world... I would not be taking chances or unnecessary gambles for short-term profit. I have my trump cards, but having to use them felt like a loss for me. I wanted to grow more powerful, experience new things, and not be deterred by the murder world called Azeroth or any plot machinations the gods of this universe throw at me.

So the plan I had to piss off the dragon even further when I heard Jaina could make us a portal to Stormwind was what I was going to be doing soon. After plenty of nagging from Belmont and Calia, I would do this one good deed before angering the big bad dragon while in the city.

During the four weeks that had passed since we returned to our city in Azhara with Jaina in tow, I had come clear with plenty of relevant information about what would happen in the near future to both Belmont and Calia in hopes that we could brainstorm a proper way to use it.

And this right here in Stormwind... was one of the most important things to do, according to both, after hearing what would happen.

The plan to fulfill it was... questionable at best, risky, but worth it.

I was interrupted from my recollection of the previous events when I heard five footsteps approaching my location.

Valeera had come with several guards who looked skeptical at what they had heard but froze in their tracks when they saw me waiting for them.

Then they grabbed their weapons and shouted at me, "Who are you?! Identify yourself!" Valeera stood by the side looking really amused; apparently, she hadn't told the guards that I would be here, only the fact that there were suspicious thugs in this part of the valley linked to the slums.

I direct a deadpan look at Valeera, unamused for a moment, before I turned to the guards, "Some thugs were attempting to rob us while my *Daughter* Over there went to get some helpful guards to deal with the situation, but it turned out she simply forgot to tell you." I told them and smirked at Valeera, who looked shocked momentarily before rapidly nodding when the guards turned toward her.

And the four guards sheathed their weapons, and one asked, "So where are these... thugs? All we can see is an empty dark valley?" I pointed towards a table beside the guards and said, "Somehow, they heard you all coming and left that behind in fear of being caught."

A few documents were laid out on a small table, and from what the drawings indicated when I briefly looked at them, it was of a job for saboteurs. Simply put, it was a plan to raze one of the unused houses in a popular district to cause distress.

The guards all nodded, and one wanted to ask me in for questioning but was stopped by another guard mid-sentence. 'Huh, that one is sensitive towards mana and has had his eyes over the small puddles of water and then to me several times since he arrived.

'... That man...'

"What's your name? Just in case I have something else to report and might require fast assistance and a name to use." I asked the guard.

The guard turned back to me after they all were heading out of the alley with the scroll of paper in hand. The one I asked had a hidden gleam in his eye, "Officer Samuelson."

'Something about that guard... is wrong...'

The officer called Samuelson, and the three guards exited the alley after that, and Valeera was still standing there with wide eyes looking up at me.

She whispered, "You... see me... as your daughter?"

'Oh, now that I think about it, she has become something like that...'

I nodded with a smile and was going to say something until Valeera jumped towards me, both her arms snared around my neck into a bone-crushing hug, which silenced the words I was going to say, and I returned the hug, not the bone-crushing part though.

Valeera had been moved to tears; apparently, this had been nagging her for quite a while, and the fact, she had already seen me as a father figure since we had left Lordaeron and was worried I wouldn't reciprocate.

After that touching moment, she went into the shadows behind me as we walked through the streets to see how the city was doing.

It turns out Stormwind was not doing too well.

Thousands of immigrants from Lordaeron were still trying to get through the gates.

People were begging for food as their children stood on the side malnourished, as nobles passed by them on the streets, not giving them any attention.

People were also rioting at the local bakeries, butcheries, and fruit stalls, ruining their businesses and making even more people hungrier. In short, it was chaos.

People were selling all their belongings for a few scraps of bread or cheese. Pandamonium is the word I would use in the situation in front of me. Guards were punishing kids for attempting to steal food to feed their siblings by slamming their hands with an iron mace, effectively breaking all fingers on one hand as punishment.

Fathers were dragged into wooden frameworks with their heads and arms locked in place before guards would pick them up and drag them towards the Stockades.

Mothers were prostituting themselves openly in the valleys while in tears to feed their children and try to stay alive.

It was almost as if a switch had turned on within me as I observed all this. I felt something invade the air I was breathing, and I could almost barely see red and black in a haze above the street.

I felt frustration, sadness, anger, remorse, hate, and resignation all at once. It almost felt as if something wanted me to react to this.

My hands clenched, I could feel raw emotion coming from the streets, and it was overwhelming me, whispering and tempting me to do something about it.

I could feel Valeera's anger at this too, but she had nothing to aim it at except that was what she imagined her situation would have been like if she hadn't met me in Hillsbrad that day.

I let out a shuddering breath and turned to Valeera, who was currently invisible in the shadows, "We're leaving. Let's do what we came here for." I told her, frustration apparent in my voice.

'What the fuck is going on with me? I wasn't able to sense ... emotion before. I really hope becoming an Eternal didn't mean I'm an empath... Though It's almost as if something or someone is pointing out the wrongness around me whenever it is inconvenient.'

After a brief hesitation, she appears at my side while looking at the chaos and says with a low tone, "Can you not help them? You are the strongest person I know, isn't there... any way to help them?

I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment before saying, "I'll try, but I won't promise anything."

Valeera grabbed my hand and turned her gaze back to the people in the street, "Thank you..."

Then she returned to the shadows shortly after as we started walking towards the large keep towering over what the signs indicated were Old Town.

While walking toward Stormwind Keep, I asked, "Valeera, can you locate the prince and give him these three items?" I pull out a bag containing a carefully packed stone, a small necklace, and a note.

This was the rough part of the plan, as the prince was undoubtingly well guarded at these times, so I would ask for an audience with the king or any leader within the keep.

After seeing the true extent of the situation in Stormwind, I decided to help the immigrants from Lordaeron and others, so I made Valeera try to find the teenage prince.

I informed Valeera to meet me back at the building we first arrived once she was done.

The reason for me handing him the stone and necklace was Calia. After hearing what I had told her about Onyxia, she had practically begged me to give him the means to defend himself or escape capture from the Black Dragoness. I hadn't told her about Onyxia's plots, but I played along to prevent his kidnapping regardless.

I was not entirely sure how the shrewd dragon would respond to us taking people away from Stormwind, delaying her plots severalfold and ultimately pissing her off in the process.

She no doubt will try to antagonize me or perhaps point an angry Varian Wrynn my direction for one reason or another.

After we parted ways, I approached a large opening into a somewhat empty cathedral. What I meant by empty was that only a few were coming or going from there except guards on each side of it all the way in. I counted at least fifty guards just near the entrance.

I felt all eyes on me as I walked up the cathedral hall. I was quite dressed for the occasion, a complete set with dark-colored armor and a black-ish gray cloak. Luckily, I had unequipped my helmet before arriving in Stormwind because I would have been target number one regarding suspiciousness. After all, looking like an assassin while waltzing into the royal cathedral sure would not provoke any suspicions... Not at all.

As I closed in on the top of the royal cathedral, I noticed a man equipped fully with golden plate armor with lion insignias on his pauldrons and a sword crossed through the shield on his back.

And another man with even more fancy-looking armor talking with each other, almost shouting as they both looked frustrated over something.

But I was stopped by a guard who stepped between me and the path toward the top of the cathedral and stated, "Halt! Who are you, and have you an audience with the council?"

As I stood in front of the elderly guard, I shook my head. The guard was ready to dismiss me as he started, "Then you have no business here. We are not-

I interrupted the guard, "No, but I might have a way to help with the current immigration from Lordaeron."

That got the attention of the two men observing the chat curiously from the large table in the middle of the room.

The guard looked angry at my interruption and even more furious at the implication that the situation outside wasn't manageable for the council.

And he began while grasping his weapon, "Return from where you came. We do not need your -"

"Stand down!" two voices echoed. The two men with fancy armor started making their way over to us, as the guard stilled and stood straight with a salute for a brief moment until he walked back to the side of the cathedral wall.

The two men now stood before me, studying my features briefly before one asked, "We're listening."

I looked at both men wearing golden armor and said, "My name is Medan, and Calia Menethil sent me here."

This makes both men look at me in bewilderment until the one becomes... angry?

Just as I was going to continue, the bewildered man looked me deep in the eye and asked carefully, "Do you speak the truth? Did she really survive?" I nodded as the man came closer.

The other man grasped his weapon, pointed it at my throat, and demanded angrily, "That has to be a lie. We confirmed all, but the betrayer had perished among the royal blood of Menethil! What's the real reason you are here!?

I looked at the white-looking mace for a moment as my hand whipped towards the weapon so fast he had no way to react, then grabbed it and imbued fire into it almost to the point it would start to melt as it glowed bright red.

The man yelped in pain and dropped his weapon due to the sudden burning sensation.

Yet the calm man beside him did not react except a slight flinch and asked, "May I have proof that what you are saying is true?" I nod and slowly take out the letter Calia had made, then lift it into the air gently and hover it over to the man.

He took it out of the air and opened it carefully, then started to read as his eyes inner turmoil calmed down as he read. He nodded at me and said, "My name is Bolvar, Bolvar Fordragon. As the king is currently not attending these meetings, I have taken his place as Regent, the man beside you is Marshal Reginald Windsor. He has been dealing with the masses since things started to get out of hand, so excuse his reaction to your claims, as they were undoubtingly outlandish at first."

Then Bolvar handed the letter over to Windsor to let him read it, as the man took it into his hand roughly and started to read, then he visibly calmed down after confirming that the letter was, in fact, authentic.

Still slightly angered over my response, Windsor tossed the letter my way, which would have landed at my feet, but with the air on my side, I waved my hand as the letter flew through the air and into my hand, then I put it back into my bag and looked at the man briefly then I turned back to Bolvar.

This time Bolvar reacted to what Windsor was doing and said sternly, "There is no reason for you to antagonize our guest Marshal."

Windsor sighed, bent down, and picked up his weapon, which was now back to normal, then walked over to the table, sat down, lifted a large goblet full of wine, and chugged the entire thing in one gulp.

"I do not take people pointing weapons at me lightly, but I apologize." I told Windsor from a distance. The man waved casually and said, "No, that was entirely my fault. I overreacted." Windsor sighed and turned back toward us, "It's been a tough few days, and I am on the edge."

Bolvar nodded and said, "Marshal, you have been overworking yourself for weeks. Please take some time off after today. I will appoint someone to take over your duties so you can have some rest."

"No, I must do this." Windsor responded in a steely tone.

Bolvar sighed and turned to me, "Do you have any specific plan to help with the immigration?"

"Well, I would like your assistance getting the unrightfully imprisoned parents, teens, out of the Stockades. I would also like some assistance gathering the people who require it the most to a certain place so I can transport them to my city."

Then I went in-depth on what kind of people I wanted to bring with me and explained what I saw while walking through the trade district; it looked like Windsor wanted to rush out of the keep and do something about it just that instant, but was stopped by Bolvar and sat back down in his chair.

After Pondering this for a while, Bolvar considered what to say until he just sighed, "By all means, if the people want to come with you, then you can bring as many of them as you want." Bolvar waves a few guards over to us and instructs them to gather people in the Park district within the city and release the ones imprisoned within the stockades who had children and wives outside from the recent immigration.

The park was where Valeera and I had first arrived in the city, and I approved the area was open enough for what I had planned to do.

After Bolvar instructed the guards, Marshal Windsor decided to help double-check the ones within stockades. He had noticed that something was up with the recent arrests. Some guards acted suspiciously, which was why the Marshal wanted to join.

After our short meeting, Bolvar told me that he would make some short-term housing within the Park district and that they would be done getting the people over there by tomorrow.

I left the keep slightly relieved that I didn't see Onyxia or Varian because that would no doubt make this much harder to deal with.

Frankly, I was tired of dealing with complications and wanted to get out of the city as soon as possible.

Soon after, I left the keep and headed towards the Park district, where I told Valeera to meet me once she was done.

When I arrived under the large building we jumped from, I sat and waited for... hours.

'Valeera shouldn't take this long... did something go wrong?'

Just as I was going to make my way toward the keep again and look for her, I heard two sets of feet coming in my direction.

Then a voice from a child was heard, "See? I told you it would be fine, stop worrying!" then another voice was heard, "Uhm, I still don't think this was a good idea..."

As I look toward the newcomers, I facepalm and groaned loudly.

The two who were standing there were one proud high elf teen and one angsty human teenager with blonde hair, namely the prince of Stormwind, Anduin Wrynn himself.

'... Valeera... You had one job...'

-Chapter 30 End-