' = Internal dialogue

¨= Normal speech

* = Sounds / Etc

-Chapter 64-

After finishing looking through the reports, I was going to go back to Belmont's assistant, Deylia, and tell her the truth about his current condition, as she looked pretty worried when I visited and demanded documentation about Calia's recent assassination attempts.

She had clearly heard about his return but did not dare to ask me directly when she saw my steely gaze, instead she sent a rogue to ask around.

Though all pondering was put on hold when I saw who came through the entrance door to the tower; Jaina and Calia entered with a crate each, which was filled to the brim with clothes and other necessities.

Calia seemed ready to collapse at any moment from pure exhaustion and gave me a tired smile. I returned the smile and told her, "I prepared the guestroom on the same floor as the master bedroom; it's the most secure floor in the entire tower. Have a good rest, princess; you've earned it."

She nodded weakly in thanks and replied, "I... I'm sorry to intrude. I had hopes that this... would come to pass without having to take such drastic measures..."

Jaina summoned a water elemental and made it carry the crate before hugging Calia again. After taking the crate from her hands as they approached the teleporter, Jaina only smiled at me before they departed to the third floor.

I sighed when they went out of earshot and pondered, 'It's like someone is systematically targeting the higher-ups of our city... I better ask Aegwynn to see if she can make a trinket to keep Calia safe if something like this would happen again...'

So, I returned to what I was doing and informed Deylia of what had happened. Even if she might know from the spies all across the city, it would still be better to hear it from my mouth. Grabbing one of the VIP tokens and pocketing it, I rose to my feet.

As I, for once, ignored the teleporter and made my way toward the shabby-looking house at the end of the street toward the east, I could feel their eyes on me; dozens of rogues sat in the dark corners of the street following me with their curious gazes, I looked back as I could now see them in the dark, surprising many but they still instinctively waved, and I waved back.

After so many visits to their headquarters, this had become a habit that they had developed a game of *How to avoid the city lord but still be able to shadow him.* It was initially annoying, but annoyance faded eventually as I got used to it. Still, the kids enjoyed it, and I let them continue this as some sort of training.

When I finally reached the door to the building for the second time today, I heard chaotic footsteps from within. As I entered, the hall turned silent, and I saw Deylia conversing with five other black-covered figures who were now gazing at me.

Judging from their heights and stature, it was Belmont's students, and their eyes were now following my every move.

"Deylia, do you have a minute? I do not mind if these five want to join the conversation." I asked in a somber tone.

Deylia nodded and looked toward the group, who nodded at Deylia. Then, we all followed her into the office as the door shut behind us.

"If I may ask, is this about Sir Belmont?" Deylia asked. I nodded, making her and the group dressed in black cloaks slightly tense up.

"He has contracted the same plague you all have probably read about from the information he gave you after we set up here in Azshara. There's also more bad news... there is no known cure." I said in a calming tone as they listened intently.

After a brief pause, I continued, "The good news is... we have the most qualified mage researching the plague and is working on a solution right now." I stated calmly, making the kids unclench their fists; suddenly, one of them let out a weak *hic* before the arm of a fellow cloaked rogue covered her shoulder.

So I continued, "The plague won't fester more due Belmont being in magical stasis, but that means he needs to stay this way until we figure out what to do, and I hope that you, Deylia, can take over for Belmont's station for the foreseeable future.

You need to take over his place in the meetings between the church, dwarves, tauren, humans, and gnomes. From what I remember, there was... a furlbog chief? Yes... You are now given free access to the tower floors except my own, and you will have the same authority Belmont has.

And I presume Pained will wake soon, unless something happens, she will surely help you if you need it, but I think if there was anyone to take over Belmont's position when he has become indisposed... It would be you. He would likely have asked you for the same if he was here."

Deylia had her hand over her mouth in horror when I mentioned the plague. She did know of it and truly knew the horrors it detailed. Her expression softened as my explanation went on, and I could see a fiery glint in her eyes when I asked her to take over Belmont's position. In the end, she nodded with determination in her eyes as I held the token I brought with me from the tower in my hand.

The five figures only stood there momentarily as they gazed at Deylia before she looked back and nodded, then turned to me and eyed the token.

She took it and firmly closed her hand around it. The five other cloaked figures in the room slowly went into the shadows, and even if I could see them, they still dashed at impressive speed toward the windows and one even went toward a small trapdoor behind the desk.

"Tonight..." I said, which made Deylia pause and look at me before I continued, "I will be visiting Stormwind to deal with Lady Prestor. Do you have anything to add before I leave, temporary Spymaster Deylia?" I asked, which seemed to make her stiffen in surprise before she went over o the desk and became thoughtful for a moment, she then nodded and explained, "Recent reports say that Lady Prestor had just returned from her usual journey only two days ago and that she has brought back numerous black armored knights, their numbers are above eight hundred, closing in on a thousand, making it a verified battalion, the defenses have been significantly increased after her slander of your person and the news of our kingdom kidnapping the prince, the black knights have been placed all around the city, even among the city guard patrols."

She looked me in the eye with evident worry and said, "Be careful, lord Medan. From what I gathered from our spies, these black knights are at the level of Lordaeron's previous elite military, but that is only what the rumors said, which could obviously be falsified information in order to let their enemies guard down."

I smiled as I turned and walked to the door, then I said with my back turned to her, "There are not many that can play at the same level as me anymore, Deylia. I thank you for your information... and your concern; I knew I could put faith in you to take the reins Belmont left you, and I know you'll do great. See you around, kid."

I exited the building with at least twenty different sets of eyes on me throughout, most waved their hands at me when I spotted them as I walked through the dusty hallway.

I chose to walk back to the tower at my own pace to gather my thoughts, and I returned within fifteen minutes, even if it would normally take around five.

As I entered the tall building, I saw that Lanira were heading into the kitchen before she caught sight of me, "Half an hour, father, the top floor is clean, and the food is almost done" Lanira explained while giving me a soft smile.

"Sounds good, looking forward to it. By the way, have you seen Valeera?" I asked while smiling at her; this made the dryad look thoughtful for a moment, then replied, "She's still on the top floor and preparing the tables."

I nodded, gave Lanira a warm smile, then approached the teleporter, and I turned to face her once more and told her, "See you on the top floor in a bit then, looking forward to the feast." This statement made dryad return a smile filled with warmth as she turned around and walked toward the kitchen.

The teleporter at the top floor was placed before a short stairway that led upward in a spiral pattern for a few dozen or so steps until you reached a wide-open circular room with glass walls where you could see the city from.

On the ceiling were traces of our previous lightning conductor test, which was just an experiment to see if we could convert electricity into mana; this was Aegwynn's idea after she had been checking to see how much lightning my body could take.

The answer was... infinite. Even when my mana filled itself to the maximum, the residual lightning covered my body as a blanket, turning into a makeshift barrier made of pure lightning.

The so-called barrier did not last more than a brief second after the lightning exposure ended, so it would be useless in a fight without a surplus-like flow of elemental lightning.

I then walked at the beginning of the spiral stairway and began my I ascent up the stairs, and just as I entered the wide floor, I spotted Valeera leaning into the window with one foot dangling off the edge as she studied her dagger. And she seemed to have noticed my approach as she sheathed her dagger and looked at me curiously.

I sat down beside her and sighed, then I looked out the window where I could see all the way to the distant walls at the end of the city, then turned to Valeera and said, "I'm leaving for Stormwind tonight... and I did promise you that you would join the next time I went on a so-called adventure... but I'll make it clear, that this will probably be one of the most dangerous adventures you will have up to this point.."

Valeera visibly perked up at my words and was going to speak. Still, I interrupted her as I continued speaking, "I have a mission for you as I will single-handedly make my way through the city and annihilate that dragoness's reinforcements. That means you will go ahead, perhaps one hour or so before I start my assault." After that little tidbit, I was silent momentarily to let her absorb what I just said.

Then I continued, "Don't tell Calia if you see her, though. She will probably protest as much as she can at the notion of me rushing through the gates of Stormwind openly challenging the entire alliance because of the fact that a flying lizard is seducing their king... yea... that sounds even worse when I say it out loud...

Obviously, our relations with Stormwind and Ironforge will take a hit from this... but it will be worth it if we can remove the lizard from their capital. I have let the situation deteriorate enough as is, and I no longer feel like holding back on preventing a problem like this from festering any longer."

I finished saying as I turned my complicated gaze to the city that was being covered in darkness as the sun now started to fall behind the mountains.

We sat there in silence for some time until Valeera asked questioningly, "What happened? You usually never go out of your way to do things like this without reason... as much as I enjoy chaos sometimes... no... I enjoy chaos, period. Though... something is telling me you're angry about... something..."

I gained a complicated smile at her words and answered, "Calia was attacked by assassins of several factions, humans, a dwarf variant I encountered on my quest in Tina's home city, and... the undead, and she was ready to collapse today when we were dealing with... a complicated matter. The human and dwarf assassination attempts are probably Lady Prestor, aka Onyxia's fault, and the undead... that is a much more complicated matter."

I sighed again, and after seeing she had her undivided attention on my words, I looked to the horizon and continued, "Belmont was infected by the plague and brought into the church today. We managed to halt the infection as I put him in stasis. Though you already know what I am talking about as you eavesdropped in on the meeting.

I then turned to Valeera, who was intently listening to my words while nodding, I continued, "After these recent setbacks... and close calls, I decided to stop being as passive as I have been concerning our enemies hiding in plain sight and directly rip out the root of the problem, mainly Onyxia, her brother, and whoever is leading the undead on this side of Azeroth."

'Though dealing with Nefarian will happen later, as he probably cowers inside his mountain and is doing foul experiments on his subjects right now...'

"...What do you need me to do?" Valeera said with an intense glint in her eyes. I smiled at the determination in her voice and replied, "Kidnap the prince for a second time, of course, just in case Lady Prestor will attempt to use the boy as a hostage when shit goes down."

This statement shattered the tension of the seriousness thus far as she started cackling. She had also read the document of us presumably kidnapping the prince as Lady Prestor's men had, and I quote, 'Saved him from our filthy grasp.'

It was honestly hilarious, but the populace probably swallowed that news whole, and as a result, it painted a horrible picture for the Alliance concerning our newly developed city in Azshara; it wasn't as if it would be the end of the world, it was simply an annoyance we could do without.

After fine-tuning Valeera's mission and describing the mission with her, which was more her stating things than I was, as she had prior experience in breaking into the prince's quarters.

We sat down and silently enjoyed the remaining sunset as it fell behind the mountains. An orange glow spread through the hills before it disappeared entirely, leaving the last rays of warmth as the moon peaked from the distant ocean.

We were both startled when we heard the teleporter go off as Lanira and Jaina both came toward us carrying two large plates of food.

Soon, they put the food on the table. I lit the giant fireplace in the middle of the room with a white-ish purple flame that reflected a mesmerizing color throughout the floor. Both Jaina and Lanira stopped to admire the hypnotic flames flickering gently.

As we all sat down around the table, I asked Jaina, "How's Calia?" She took a sip of water before she replied with a sigh, "She passed out on the bed the moment we arrived at the room. I also put up the defenses on the windows and door, though I highly doubt they will be able even to get close to the tower as we would know the moment an arrival comes uninvited..."

"If I ever find one of these... uninvited ones... may I bring them to Bluey? He is finding his food quite... bland as of late..." Valeera added as her entire demeanor went cold for a brief moment.

This statement made Jaina look at the teenager with a raised eyebrow, then at me who simply smiled while I reached over and patted Valeera's head which made the high elf blush as she was brought out of her vengeful mood.

The dinner continued for two full hours as we joked and had a very warm atmosphere in the company of one another, almost... like a family.

—

After cleaning up and telling Valeera to meet me at the portal hall within three hours, only Jaina and I were left. We sat on the ceiling on a newly brought-up leather couch while we enjoyed the a brew that Jaina had prepared for the occasion.

As she laid her head on my lap, I studied her clear blue eyes, which seemed to shine with the same intensity as radiant sapphires. She smiled back, "So we're official, huh?" I said As I lifted a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, "I guess we are, not that I mind. I have just had the two greatest days of my life if you look past the situation with Calia, Pained, and Belmont..." She replied thoughtfully before reaching up with her hand, gently stroking my cheek, and continued, "I can see that something is on your mind... what's wrong?"

I sighed as we sat there and relaxed for a moment before replying, "I'm going to Stormwind tonight, and I might be shaking our standing with the alliance, if not indirectly going to war until I get rid of the dragoness that has Varian Wrynn wrapped around her finger..."

My statement made the gentle caress of Jaina's hand stop for a moment before she continued and replied after a drawn-out sigh, "I knew something like this would happen..." Then she smiled and asked, "What can I do?"

I then leaned down and kissed her, which she returned in kind, and afterward, I told her in a warm tone as I gazed out the window and smiled, "You being here is already enough. I'm bringing Valeera with me, and if all goes according to plan... we might have the prince in our custody during all this... I would be glad if you could receive him and Valeera when she manages to get him out of his quarters."

After squirming around in my lap, she gave me a brilliant smile and said, "Of course, when will all this take place?"

"Around three hours from now, I'll send Valeera from our portal room into Old Town, and if all goes well... she will have the prince out by four, and that will be when I enter the frey as Onyxia's guards are mixing in with the local guard." I explained.

"I would have entered by portal directly into the keep, but I realize that if Onyxia truly can live up to her being a schemer, she would have prepared for such a situation... so I decided to give the alliance a show of strength instead, it would work in our favor if we are to be enemies in the scenario Varian Wrynn turns into an utter idiot and declares war on us," I said with a sigh as I brushed my fingers through her hair as she had her eyes closed while enjoying the pleasant silence and the feel of my fingers massaging her head.

After enjoying the silence for a while longer as we just sat comfortably on the couch in each other's company, the peace was broken as the teleporter activated to reveal Aegwynn, who, for once, looked a bit worse for wear. Still, when her eyes landed on us, she slowly made her way toward us, sat herself down on a chair, and grabbed my half-full can of carbonated soda.

She drank the whole thing in one sip and was going to say something else before her eyes widened as she eyed the mug with fascination, "Who made this!?" She practically shouted.

I snorted at her reaction, and so did Jaina, but I ended up replying, "Little Tina did, the one I saved in Gnomeregan, she gifted me this before my departure."

This made Aegwynn go wide-eyed as she looked at me and muttered, "Gnomish intelligence cannot be underestimated..." Then she sat herself down on the opposite end of the table and paused.

Then she leaned back into her chair and sighed before she looked me in the eye and said, "Alas, what I am here for, dear Medan, is that I am the bringer of bad news."

This made me tense up slightly as she continued, "After going through the typical ways of removing lesser variants of fel with the natural arcane, it turns out what our dear spymaster has gotten is of the more.. of an invasive variety, at least according to how I can see it react to his flesh and blood... his body is reacting to the infection in a way I could never seen before... It is as if his body is devoid of mana, which should not be possible, as it is an impossibility because... every, living, sapient creature has mana.
And without mana, every creature would have been would have been born either stillborn or worse."

Then she continued as she was gazing at the glass ceiling, "I will admit... I have no way to go about this; if his body could take in natural mana, I would have a way to research this... but it won't work without killing the damn idiot in the process of you taking him in and out of stasis."

"What I am trying to tell you... is that it's not possible to remove by any scientific or magical means, at least not of what I am aware of, but perhaps given enough time... we might have a chance to cure it, though for now, even I can't even start to find a way to cure the infection."

'Fuck... why can't things be easy for once...' I thought as I gritted my teeth in frustration. Still, this news only fueled my anger at our enemies, which was by now a smoldering rage, and when I found the ones responsible for doing this to Belmont, there would be hell to pay.

I was brought out of my thoughts when I felt Jaina grasp my hand, and my tense shoulders released the pent-up tension as I looked up at the ceiling. 'One enemy at the time... for now... Onyxia, the next time... the one responsible for this situation...' I thought to myself.

"Well... bad news aside, I'm going back to my lab, if there is anything you need, you know where to find me," Aegwynn said as she rose to her feet and started heading back to the teleporter with can of cola in her hand. Apparently, she had gained a taste for it.

After a short while, as Jaina and I relaxed in each other's company, she said, "I think it's been around three hours. Valeera is probably waiting for you, even if I would have enjoyed this treatment I am getting for the rest of the night... there are things more important. You better get going... I'll be there soon. I'm just going to check up on Calia first."

I nodded, got up from the couch, then walked over to the teleporter and smiled at Jaina before appearing outside the master bedroom; a neatly decorated box underneath the bed reflected the moonlight from the crystal window directly at the box.

It was what I had remaining from my previous endeavors and the small success I had in having the dragonhide made into a decent armor set. The set consisted of the following: A dragonhide leather vest, pants, a pair of gloves, a headpiece similar to my previous ones, and a gray-black cloak with an enchanted hood that hid my face.

Then after quickly equipping all of these except the headpiece, went over to the teleporter, returned to the first floor, and exited the entrance door. I then made my way toward a tall structure in the distance. It had glass doors, showing clearly who was on the inside, a few mages, and a squad of Peacekeepers on their scheduled patrol.

I entered as a bell clung as it registered my entry, which made most people look at me suspiciously for a moment before they realized who I was. One familiar figure was standing behind the squad of Peacekeepers, a large mace in one hand and a behemoth of a shield sticking out from his back.

"Didn't think I'd see you so soon, Lord Medan, so what kind of escapade are you up to now?" Tigor, the tauren from earlier, told me with a smile, which made me greet him back by raising my hands placatingly and replying, "Whatever do you mean? I haven't done anything for nearly two months now, Tygor."

My statement and attempt at acting innocent made the large tauren chuckle, which made his squad of two humans, a night elf and a dwarf, look at the two giant beings in confusion before shrugging as they went back to converse with one another.

"Jokes aside, since your squad is here and seems to be responsible for the area for a while longer, I'm going to assign you all a quest for the next couple of hours," I explained in a commanding tone, which made the squad turn toward me, alongside the few mages responsible for the portal hall.

"I'm going after the ones responsible for sending assassins after Calia Menethil and the lead figures in our city, that of which might lead to several complications with the alliance of the Eastern Kingdoms, and my quest for you all... is to keep this area clear of everyone and everything for the next five hours. A portal will open into Stormwind City, which will be kept open for a full hour; make sure that no one enters the hall or building for that duration. The exception will be Jaina Proudmoore, who will join me soon." I continued.

Tygor and his squad grew serious and gave a nod with firm gazes as they spread out, Tigor himself walked toward at the entrance at my side.

The mages, however, also came over and asked if there was anything that they could do. I shook my head and told them that as long as they kept the portal open, they would be rewarded the same as the squad of Peacekeepers, which made them nod and return further into the hall where the portal platform was placed.

I whistled before saying, "Valeera, it's time." I then looked toward a dark corner where one of the Peacekeepers jolted in his semi-relaxed stance as a medium-sized cloaked figure slowly walked out of the shadows toward me.

As she came to stand beside me, I said, "You didn't have to scare the guy though." She just at my words giggled and replied, "Of course I do. It's fun." While shaking my head at her antics, we both made our way toward the portal platform, where several mages were spread out in a large circle formation.

Walking up and standing on the platform, one mage asked carefully, "Where to Lord Medan?"

"Old Town, Stormwind, Abandoned tower in the residential area. You should have the coordinates from earlier use." I replied and the mage gave a brief nod before walking over to a large shelf filled with notes and started browsing.

After pulling up a few notes and reading them over, the mage nodded, and then the platform lit up with blue runes before a hole in space opened up, revealing the inside of the location where Valeera and I first made our visit to Stormwind.

I then turned to Valeera and warned, "If there is any danger you can't handle... activate the rune on the hearthstone."

I wouldn't risk her getting hurt if she found herself in a situation where she would risk being caught by our enemies; if I had to choose between someone else wellbeing or Valeera, I'd choose the latter in an instant.

"Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it," Valeera replied as she made her way toward the portal, entered the other side, and disappeared from view as she jumped out the window inside the abandoned tower building.

After twenty minutes, the door to the portal hall opened, revealing a combat-ready Jaina who wore a black-gray combat robe, long-sleeved black gloves, and an enchanted hood she hid her face under; the only recognizable feature she had was her intense blue eyes that lit up underneath.

When she entered through the door, the Peacekeepers held their weapons ready, and several mages seemed to prepare some sort of spell until I raised my hand and said, "Don't worry, it's a false alarm; Jaina Proudmoore has arrived in disguise..."

I looked at Jaina, who lifted her hood behind her head and smiled mischievously, then replied, "Oh, I had no idea you prepared guards for your little endeavor; when did that happen?"

I just nodded at her, "It was just one of those things that seemed right at that moment; a countermeasure if things go sideways doesn't hurt." I explained.

"Also, I guess you're coming along since you certainly seem geared for it..." I asked questioningly, and she just smiled and replied, "Well, after hearing you going alone and acting like a one-man army inside the largest human capital of the continent... I felt that it wouldn't hurt having someone back you up." Jaina replied, obviously smiling from underneath her hood considering how her eyes changed for a brief moment.

I sighed and smiled at her and suddenly noticed movement on the other side of the portal. A shadow lept through the window, this time shattering the glass violently before throwing itself toward the portal as a giant fireball flew past her into the sky outside the window, barely avoiding it, the figure who had a pale-looking prince on the shoulder crashed through the portal and went face first into the platform, leaving everyone witnessing the spectacle in silence.

*COUGH* *COUGH* "... Hehehe...oops?" Valeera added innocently as she gazed down at a passed-out prince who lay face first and groaned loudly in discomfort into the platform beside her.

I gazed from Valeera and back to the portal, where I now saw a heavily geared figure climb through the window with unnatural agility; he gazed at the portal through his helmet, and with my enhanced vision, I could see the blackened slit-like eyes underneath shifting unnaturally underneath.

Looking at Jaina, who nodded at me, I said, "Change of plans! As soon Jaina and I enter, close the portal; take care of the kids, Tygor!" That was the last thing I managed to say before our escapade to Stormwind officially began.

Both Jaina and I threw ourselves through the portal and directly into the figure on the other side, who I punched in the face with all my might, resulting in the black knight figure taking of like a ragdoll through the window, which shattered the entire wall as he flew at high speeds toward the next building.

A resounding *BOOOM* kept repeating itself in the distance as what was now a black dot finally embedded itself into a building before slopping into the ground with a splat.

'Oh well, improvising it is...'

-Chapter 64 End-