The person who came was Rick.
This time, Rick was not badly beaten up by his best buddy, but the sullen and dejected look on his face was clear as long as one was not blind.
“Rick, what is it? Did VanCleef reject you? Or did he not believe that Onyxia’s your real enemy?” Sean asked as he was puzzled.
‘Is VanCleef a fool?’ He wondered.
Rick smiled bitterly. “VanCleef believed me. He’s not dumb, and has always had his own channels and informers, so he’s aware of the movements in Stormwind City better than anyone else. After hearing what I said, VanCleef linked it with many other clues, and believed me very quickly. The problem is that he doesn’t trust Stormwind City!”
‘I knew it!’
Sean frowned. “He doesn’t trust Stormwind City? Is he thinking of destroying Onyxia himself? Does he really think that the Defias Brotherhood is powerful? Does he have a way to defeat the flight-capable Lady of the Black Dragonflight? Heh, she’s a legendary creature!”
Rick sighed. “VanCleef is actually a very proud person, and he’s also very stubborn… He said that even though Onyxia’s the culprit, the fact that Stormwind City was manipulated by her so easily can only mean that the nobles are her accomplices. He’s not going to let the mastermind and her accomplices off!”
Sean crushed him after hearing that. “Does he want to fail in his revenge? Is he out of his mind? Onyxia and Stormwind City, which one of those can he defeat?”
Onyxia was a legendary creature, and her lair had plenty of whelps and drakes that were at least the equivalent of someone with a Mid Rank Profession. Even if she did not make a move herself, VanCleef would suffer a huge loss. Besides, Onyxia, who was in Stormwind City, almost had control over half of the city. How could VanCleef go against her just like that?
In that case, going against Stormwind City was not to be mentioned. It would only be a vain attempt if VanCleef actually thought about building a juggernaut to blow up the city. So what if he was skillful enough to build a tough one?
Before it could get close to Stormwind City, it would probably be noticed by the Sentinels and the Gryphon Riders! For all VanCleef knew, his juggernaut would be blown up first!
Moreover, Stormwind City had numerous Mages. They could easily cast a few large-scaled Spells together to destroy the juggernaut, and what could VanCleef do?
The Defias Brotherhood seemed huge and powerful as they had infiltrated Stormwind City, Westfall, Elwynn Forest, Duskwood, Redridge Mountains, and some other places. It had wormed its way into almost every corner under Stormwind City’s governance.
However
That was because Stormwind City was in a mess at the moment, thus nobody had the energy to deal with them. If the city was serious about handling the issue, SI:7 could simply uproot the Defias Brotherhood until nothing was left of them.
Never overestimate the Defias Brotherhood. It was an organization that had only been established by a bunch of stonemasons a few years ago, so how capable could it be?
Rick felt very helpless too. He said with a frown, “That’s what VanCleef said, but he also said that he won’t join hands with Stormwind City unless…”
Sean sneered. “Unless what?”
Rick smiled bitterly. “Unless King Varian apologizes to him personally.”
‘What?’
Sean inhaled deeply.
He finally understood how stubborn and proud VanCleef was, as well as how deep his hatred toward Stormwind City was.
‘He’s asking King Varian to apologize to him?
‘VanCleef, are you dreaming?’
Leaving aside the fact that King Varian had, at the moment, been split in two by the Lady of the Black Dragonflight through Dark Magic; the strong-willed one was sent to Orgrimmar by Rehgar Earthfury to become a professional gladiator, whereas the cultured and reserved one was still in Stormwind City, but was being deceived and manipulated by Onyxia. There was no way that he would apologize to VanCleef.
Even if King Varian was intact, how could an arrogant, tough, and hot-tempered person like him apologize to VanCleef if he was at fault? On top of that, his wife, Queen Tiffin had been killed by Stormwind City’s Stonemasons.
The enmity between VanCleef and King Varian was complicated and had too many ends to tackle. It was good enough that it had been suppressed thus far, so getting the latter to apologize to the former was out of the question!
That said, it was not exactly impossible…
Sean thought of somebody.
King Varian’s only son, the young prince, Anduin Wrynn was only 9 years old at the moment, but was very knowledgeable, and opinionated. Varian highly valued his son’s point of view…
Another person who could influence Varian was Jaina Proudmoore, the Ruler of Theramore. She was a powerful Archmage, and a person who was misunderstood and blindly believed in by many…
If Anduin was aware of everything, if a meeting with Jaina could be done, if King Varian’s strong-willed half could be saved, if his cultured half could be convinced, there was a slight possibility that Varian would apologize to VanCleef…
Then again, if all of those could be achieved, VanCleef’s involvement in killing Onyxia would not be important at all.
Nonetheless, if VanCleef could let go of his strong hatred, the Defias Brotherhood would, in turn, stop burning, killing, and pillaging. With that, Westfall’s public safety would finally be on the right track, and the people in Elwynn Forest and Duskwood could live comfortably…
“So am I supposed to make a trip to Stormwind City? But how can I meet the young prince, Anduin, and how can I visit Theramore to meet Lady Jaina? Traveling by a gryphon isn’t feasible because that was just in the game. Not to mention that Westfall did not have flight paths, nor did it have large-sized war creatures like gryphons. The beasts wouldn’t fly from Westfall to Theramore without eating or drinking anyway…
“The two places are separated by an endless sea! If a comparison has to be made, it’s equivalent to the Pacific Ocean or the Atlantic. Show me how you’re going to fly?
“So, the way to travel from Stormwind City is by boat.
“Okay, now comes the problem.
“Stormwind City is still under Onyxia’s control. Almost everyone in the high management has been fooled by her. It’s impossible to leave by boat without being noticed by her, unless we can hook up with a real member of the high management…
“But looking at the current Stormwind City, who can be trusted? Who can still be trusted?
“Regent Lord Bolvar Fordragon?
“Though he’s a Paladin, he was hoodwinked by Onyxia too…
“Archbishop Benedictus from the Cathedral of Light? He’s the real mastermind, the one who’s actually behind Onyxia…
“This is a mission impossible!”
Sean complained to Rick, hoping that Rick would get rid of the thought. At worst, they could wait for King Varian to return, and for Onyxia to be executed before finding a way for VanCleef and King Varian to make peace.
However…
Rick replied after hearing what Sean said, “Actually, you know that I was involved in Stormwind City’s reconstruction, right? I was acquainted with quite a number of people from the city’s high management…”
Sean shook his head. “How high? As high as Onyxia?”
Rick answered, “Not that high, but there’s someone who has high status, and has quite a lot of authority. Most importantly, he’ll definitely be willing to help VanCleef and King Varian reconcile because not only does he know VanCleef personally, but he used to be very close to VanCleef…”
Sean’s eyes lit up. “Who’s that person?”
Rick uttered with a look of admiration and yearning, “Mathias Shaw!”