Chương 30: Chapter 26

Krivax unfurled the selectively edited map of Northrend that Azjol-Nerub had provided the delegation to present to people of the Eastern Kingdoms. Immediately, several scholars from the various kingdoms were taking in the map with hungry expressions, eager to learn more about the parts of Northrend that they had not been able to explore. Krivax stepped back to allow them time to inspect the map and prepared himself to answer their questions. The past few weeks had been…

hectic for Krivax, especially since he was effectively left as the one in charge of the delegation's day-to-day diplomacy. Anub'rekhan spent most of his time recently doing his best to learn about a variety of subjects that could be important to Azjol-Nerub from a military perspective, such as guns, the Eastern Kingdom's history in relation to war, and the Light.

There was no shortage of curiosity and interest about the Light from Hadix, Crinis, and Anub'rekhan, although both of the Viziers seemed content to leave the investigation into the new form of magic in the Spiderlord's hands while they handled their own priorities. Obviously, Krivax fully expected Hadix to take a much greater personal interest in the Light after he eventually learned the effect it had on the Void.

Vizier Crinis had immediately run off to consult with Lordaeron's mages in regard to the strange disturbances that were making it more difficult to cast spatial magic in the Eastern Kingdoms than in Northrend. Apparently, when the Dark Portal was first opened, every creature in the Eastern Kingdoms that was attuned to magic felt ripples coming from the portal, though nobody was really able to detect the source.

It was only after Stormwind's refugees arrived in Lordaeron that everyone finally had a full picture of what was going on. One of the Weavers sent by En'kilah was busy evaluating the various materials native to the Eastern Kingdoms that were not available on Northrend. While the leadership of Azjol-Nerub had not yet officially decided to establish a trade agreement with the governments of the Eastern Kingdoms, discussions were supposedly trending in that direction and they wanted to be prepared.

The other Weaver had been delegated to assist Trixie, Malzie, and a Lordaeranian scholar in the creation of a Nerubian to Common dictionary. Masruk, predictably, was learning as much as he could about the Eastern Kingdoms fighting styles, and occasionally sparring with whoever was willing to fight him. Vizier Hadix had stuck around for a while but had soon snuck away to begin his investigations into the Void's influence in the Eastern Kingdoms.

There was a limit to how much Hadix could do while they were under such heavy surveillance, but this was only his initial investigation. As a result, Krivax was left as the guy that the various kingdoms went to first when they wanted something from the delegation. He had expressed his worries about being left unsupervised with such responsibilities to Hadix, but the older Vizier had simply said, 'Don't share secrets. Don't promise anything. Don't get us banished from the city.

Don't bother me if it's not important.' It didn't help that the things that Krivax wasn't to do the most—such as negotiating trade deals or convincing the nerubians to help fight the Horde—were not currently feasible due to issues on both sides. There was also the fact that the rulers of the human kingdoms were dedicating the majority of their attention to the Council of Seven Nations.

Therefore, the various members of the delegation were putting most of their efforts into gathering more information about the Eastern Kingdoms. Of course, the governments of the Eastern Kingdoms were not foolish enough to simply hand out all of this information without receiving anything in return, which was why he was now sharing an edited map of Northrend. Krivax turned his attention back to the present as he was pulled out of his thoughts by an excited voice, "Vizier Krivax, is this truly accurate?"

One of the scholars was pointing to a portion of Dragonblight that had been circled in red to signify it as an area that was considered extremely dangerous. An accompanying document that explained the danger of each of these areas had been translated into Common and laid out next to the map.

"Yes, that is one of the specific areas that dragons frequent to the best of our knowledge," Kirvax confirmed to the excitement of the scholars. The people of the Eastern Kingdoms had already known that dragons frequently traveled to Northrend due to many recorded sightings and the numerous dragon bones found in the area. However, it was not easy for them to actually confirm exactly where they traveled due to the extreme difficulty of exploring the frozen continent.

Not only was Northrend much larger and more dangerous than what was depicted in the game, but there were also no convenient roads or paths that led people to where they wanted to go… above ground at least. It certainly didn't help that Wyrmrest Temple and the various Dragonshrines were all warded against non-dragon visitors.

"And these, Vizier Krivax?" Krivax held back a wince after he looked over to see the scholar pointing at the portions of the map that were circled in black.

"Those are areas on the surface which Azjol-Nerub forbids outsiders from entering," Krivax said reluctantly.

"Anyone who enters these areas will be killed without warning."

"But why? I thought your people's kingdom was entirely below ground."

"We are, aside from certain portions of En'kilah," said Krivax.

"Azjol-Nerub will offer a more detailed explanation of these regions at a later time." The scholars looked to one another with unwilling expressions, but none of them chose to push the issue. The majority of those forbidden places were areas with large concentrations of sleeping vrykul. There had been a vocal minority among Azjol-Nerub's leadership that had been opposed to sharing information about the vrykuls with the humans out of fear that the humans could intentionally seek to awaken them.

The majority, however, was not very worried about this for a number of reasons. Aside from the fact that before they went to sleep, the majority of vrykul had a policy of systematically killing humans, there was also the fact that actually awakening the vrykul was not exactly a simple endeavor. After all, if the vrykul were not awakened by the Great Sundering, then it was probably next to impossible to awaken them accidentally.

The places where they slept, such as Gjalerbron, were all protected by powerful magical defenses. Still, there were a few nerubians who were worried due to humanity's status as descendants of the vrykul, so the leadership decided on a compromise. These areas would be further fortified by Azjol-Nerub so that none could enter. Only after this fortification was complete would Krivax be allowed to share information about them.

Azjol-Nerub had never considered the possibility of not telling them at all due to the fact that it was fairly well-known information in the kingdom… and because Krivax and Masruk had already shared stories about the vrykul with the tuskarr. Krivax was sure there would be an explosion in the number of humans traveling to Northrend to learn more about their ancestral history after the war. Krivax spent the next hour sharing what information he was allowed with the excited scholars.

They had started out visibly nervous to be standing in the same room as a giant spider mage who towered over them, but they gradually relaxed as the conversation went on. Unfortunately, the discussion was very suddenly interrupted by a servant hurriedly striding into the room.

"Pardon my interruption, but I'm afraid there's a situation in the hallway outside of the kitchen that requires your attention, Vizier Krivax." Krivax released a put-upon sigh before turning to address the anxious servant, "And what exactly is the situation that requires my attention?"

"It seems that a noblewoman has fainted after seeing one of your… countrymen eating a rat in the middle of the hallway," said the servant, sounding more than a little baffled. I told them specifically not to do that! Krivax quickly excused himself and started making his way to the hallway outside of the kitchen. One of the most frustrating parts of his job was mediating the frequent incidents caused by… cultural differences.

Especially when he'd specifically already told everyone in the delegation not to eat random wildlife in front of the humans! After the incident with the sailors of the Sea Cutter complaining about the nerubians catching and eating birds in front of them, Krivax made sure to talk to everyone about it. He really didn't want to end up dealing with the amount of trouble that would come if someone decided to eat an Archmage's favorite cat!

Krivax ignored the guards that were following behind him, he had already grown used to them following him everywhere he went in the palace. It didn't take him very long before he reached the correct hallway where he found himself looking at a group of disgusted servants watching a skitterer calmly chewing on a rat while a few guards hovered over a noblewoman laying passed out on the ground. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Krivax quickly apologized to the servants for the disturbance before pulling the skitterer away to the room that had been designated for him and the other Viziers. He was feeling pretty annoyed right now with the skitterer; it would be more understandable if this was one of the delegation's nonsapient ones, but this one was definitely sapient and should have known better. As soon as they were alone, Krivax turned on the skitterer and immediately began interrogating them.

"What were you thinking, Tizit?" asked Krivax, his tone one of extreme frustration.

"I told everyone specifically not to go around eating the local wildlife. Why would you do exactly what I told you not to do?"

"I fail to see what I did wrong," said Swarm Leader Tizit.

"I was removing vermin that was in close proximity to the food storage stockpile."

"I already explained to you that doing it makes the humans uncomfortable," said Krivax.

"Why would you think that was acceptable?" Tizit shuffled nervously for a moment before responding.

"I thought you were mistaken," Tizit said reluctantly.

"I saw that the humans have small domesticated creatures that do the same task. They even reward and congratulate them when they bring them their catches. I was attempting to be a good guest." Krivax's annoyance fizzled out after hearing that explanation, and he simply buried his face in one of his four palms and let out a bone-weary sigh.

"I understand that you had good intentions, but that is not how the humans think," explained Krivax with as much patience as he could muster. Krivax spent the next few minutes explaining to Tizit why humans felt differently when they saw a harmless pet catching and eating a rat compared to when they saw him doing the same thing.

It didn't really seem like he understood, but he still reluctantly accepted that he couldn't eat the local wildlife, especially in front of the locals themselves, and Krivax eventually sent him away. He was almost tempted to send Tizit to apologize to the noblewoman, but he had a feeling that the woman would just end up fainting again. Seeing that he finally had some time to himself, Krivax decided to go over to the web hammock that he'd spun in the corner of the room and lay down.

He needed to take every opportunity he could to relax while there was not any crisis or any kind of important meeting that required his attention. Instead of relaxing, however, Krivax couldn't help but turn his thoughts to his future plans as he sunk into the hammock. Up until this point, everything that Krivax had done was in the pursuit of making it more likely that both he and Azjol-Nerub would survive the Lich King.

Now that he had finally succeeded in his efforts to establish diplomatic contact between Azjol-Nerub and the Eastern Kingdoms, the likelihood of survival was already much higher. Even if the governments of the Eastern Kingdoms did not decide to send aid after hearing about the Lich King, their contact with the Church of the Holy Light was already a game changer. Not to mention the fact that Azjol-Nerub would actually have somewhere they could flee to if the situation became dire enough.

Now all that was left to do was to continue his efforts to save as many lives as possible and prepare for Azeroth's many future crises. Given that the Alliance had not yet formed and the Horde still had not yet conquered Khaz Modan, he still had a little time left before he needed to make a move to change the events of canon, although that time was quickly running out.

Soon after the Horde succeeded in conquering Khaz Modan, they would capture Alexstrasza with the Dragon Soul and forcibly use her as a broodmare so that they could supply their forces with dragons. These dragons would then be used to completely devastate the Kul'tiran navy and allow the Horde to push all the way to Lordaeron, which was something Krivax was determined to prevent.

The easiest way of doing this would be to warn Krasus so that he could prevent Alexstrasza from being captured, but if Krivax wanted to be able to warn him without revealing himself, then he would need to be smart about it. He would first need to actually find out where Krasus lived, most likely Dalaran as he was a member of the Council at the moment, and he would also need to learn more about how to prevent a mage from just casting a spell on an anonymous letter and instantly figuring out who sent it.

It was a good thing that Archmage Antonidas had sent them an invitation to speak before Dalaran's ruling body. He also wanted to find a way to protect Masruk from mind magic, so that he would actually have to option to share secrets with his friend if he so desired. Fortunately, Vizier Hadix had expressed an intention to speak with him later in the afternoon about the initial findings of his investigation.

Reaching into his spatial pouch, Krivax pulled out the introductory spellbook on transmutation that Hadix gave him, a long thread of silk covered in insects and a filled waterskin, and began studying while also enjoying a snack. Having four arms was extremely convenient. While he might want to just take a nap, it was too important for the sake of his future that he used his free time to learn as many useful skills as possible, and transmutation was a very useful school of magic. …

"Wake up, Vizier Krivax." Krivax was startled awake by an annoyed voice that pulled him out of the pleasant dream he was having about the giant Lordaronian crabs he'd eaten a few days ago. He looked to see Vizier Hadix looking judgmentally down at him, the spellbook that was stuck to the side of the hammock, and the puddle of insect-filled water on the floor.

"Vizier Hadix, how has your investigation been going?" Krivax asked as calmly as he could while he pulled himself out of the hammock and began cleaning up the mess. In his experience, the best way to avoid an awkward situation was to pretend it never happened. Hadix stared at him with an exasperated expression for a few moments before he sighed and seemingly came to the conclusion that it would be best to move on.

"The investigation has gone well enough," said Vizier Hadix.

"I have not been able to find any evidence that the locals are aware of the existence of the Void from any of the books that I have been able to gain access to." Krivax didn't find this to be particularly surprising; as far he was aware, the first priest in the Eastern Kingdoms to study the Void systematically was Natalie Seline, a priestess from Stormwind who went to study the orcs' dark magic after the kingdom's destruction to be able to better combat them.

He vaguely remembered that there was also some mage in Dalaran studying shadow magic, which is what the lore used to call Void magic, during this time period, but he couldn't recall the exact details.

"However, I have yet to examine what Dalaran has to offer," Hadix continued.

"Until I have done that, we cannot make any real conclusions. In addition, I find some of the reports about the magic of these 'orcs' to be highly concerning. I intend to look further into this matter when I have the opportunity."

"Then I suppose it's a good thing that our tour of Dalaran is scheduled for next week," said Krivax, holding back a yawn as he finished clearing up the mess.

"Does that mean you'll be handling the delegation's day-to-day affairs until then?" he asked hopefully.

"Why would I do that, Vizier Krivax?" Hadix asked dubiously, immediately crushing his student's hopes.

"You are doing a well enough job on your own thus far, and it would be terribly rude of me to take away such a learning experience from you while also denying you your chance to make your mark on the world." So what you mean to say is, 'why wouldn't I leave the annoying task of dealing with the humans to you so I can do my own thing?' Krivax thought with a sigh.

"I understand, Vizier Hadix," said Krivax in resignation.

"While you are here, I have a question in regard to magic. Has the Order developed any of its own methods in protecting itself from scrying and other forms of Divination magic?" Krivax felt like it was pretty likely that an organization as secretive and as old as the Order of Kal'tut would have put significant efforts into protecting its secrets from magical information gathering.

"We have," Hadix confirmed easily before his tone turned inquisitive.

"Do you have a specific reason for asking? Your mental defenses are sufficient protection to guard yourself against casual attempts to discover your secrets, and I am fully capable of protecting you from more thorough efforts."

"It is very likely that I will continue to face much worse than 'casual attempts', especially since we are soon going to be visiting Dalaran," said Krivax.

"If I am going to continue to be the face of this delegation, it is likely that there are many who will continue in their efforts to learn everything that I know." One of the problems that Krivax had was that he simply did not know everything that was possible with arcane magic, but he could imagine many ways someone could learn something they shouldn't.

How was he supposed to protect either Azjol-Nerub's or the Order's secrets in a world where a mage could simply walk into his room and cast a spell that looked into the past or something equally crazy?

"Hmmm, their leader, Antonidas, is of… considerable power," Hadix said reluctantly, humming aloud as he clicked his clawed fingers together.

"And even if he has no direct equals, those he views as peers are likely a potential threat you are in no condition to face directly…" Having decided, Hadix reached into his spatial bag without any further hesitation and pulled out a completely blank book.

"It is fortunate that I considered matters of your continued education before we left Azjol-Nerub," said Hadix as he handed the book over to Krivax.

"This spellbook contains much of what the Order has developed over the years. The portion dedicated to protecting oneself from Divination magic should prove sufficient for your needs. I had intended to give this to you at a later time, but your arguments are sound." Krivax perked up in excitement and immediately began flipping through the spellbook until he reached the section that Hadix had mentioned. While it had been blank before, it had suddenly become filled with writing as soon as he had touched it.

Krivax assumed that there was some kind of touch-based ward that would only allow it to be read by members of the Order, but he had no idea how it had actually determined that he was a member.

"Thank you, Vizier Hadix!" said Krivax gratefully.

"Is there any spell in here that would allow me to protect someone else from mind magic?"

"Elder Malab's Advanced Ward of Mental Protection should be enough to guard the mind of your little warrior friend," said Hadix knowingly.

"Though I do not see why you would bother. I know you are not half-witted enough to share secrets that are not yours to share. That would be very unwise of you, after all."

"Of course not," said Krivax quickly, responding to the Vizier's implied threat.

"I just… worry, is all."

"Hmph. Very well," said Vizier Hadix, moving on from the matter.

"If there is nothing else, then I shall leave to evaluate Vizier Crinis's investigation into the spatial distortions emanating from the so-called Dark Portal. Given what I have seen so far, it is very likely that the High King will decide that it is in Azjol-Nerub's interest to establish a permanent portal link between this land and Northrend."

That made sense to Krivax; while the kingdom was not overly worried about the Horde, they did want to have a way to deal with them just in case they did eventually prove to become a threat. Not only that, but he knew that both Hadix and Crinis had been surprised and impressed by Antonidas's display. Couple that with Anub'rekhan's interest in the Light, and it was no surprise that there was growing interest in the Eastern Kingdoms.

"Of course, Vizier Hadix. I'll just go and start studying while I still have the chance."

"Hmph. Try your best not to fall asleep again." As soon as the Vizier left, closing the door behind him, Krivax made his way back to his hammock and eagerly opened up his new spellbook, determined this time to do as Hadix said and not fall asleep. Krivax did not know for certain how much time he had left before the invasion of Khaz Modan, but he did know that if he wanted his plans to succeed, then he couldn't afford to waste a second.