The Great Thief

“Why, why did you kill my husband! Now my child will be born without a father! You’ve ruined the lives of my father and my child…”

The players were astonished by the turn of events.

“We’re sorry to have made this mistake, but your father believed that you were under the influence of magic and he misses you dearly. Now, will you come with us back to Ironforge?”

Why she didn’t say so earlier too? Why did she have to bring up the topic after they had slain her husband. Wasn’t this a bait?”

“Thaurissan was a great king, one that was worthy of respect. He was also a good husband; I will not return with you all,” Princess Moira declined the players’ request.

The players who had received the quest were upset; their mission had totally failed.

“I can guarantee you, this child will be the next successor to Ironforge,” Princess Moira said, then angrily added, “But you and your kind will pay someday for what you have done today.”

A feud had established; the players had no interest in staying any further. One by one, they all left with their Hearthstones.

Lu Li didn’t go as he still had quests to complete. Water Fairy didn’t leave immediately either; it seemed as if she had been influenced by the storyline. She stared blankly as Princess Moira cried beside Emperor Thaurissan.

“Surely, my father was disappointed that I was born a girl. It was if I had done something to wrong him and I was constantly reminded about it. It made me want to escape.”

“He never believed that I fell in love with a Black Iron Dwarf. He thought the only possibility was that I was influenced by some sort of magic charm from my husband. Sure, he did charm me, but he did so with respect. He listened when I spoke, and he believed that I would be able to rule this country alongside him, even if I was a girl.”

“When my father shut me out, the Black Iron Dwarves welcomed me. This was the only magic that they casted on me.”

“My father thought that they were all lowly animals, that all they understood was battle and murder, but they were Dwarves, and they were no different to any other Dwarves. They were all descendants of mother Earth, and this was what I planned to do – to remind all other Dwarves about this…”

Princess Moira spoke softly to the corpse of Emperor Thaurissan, unconcerned about the two players that had remained behind. Perhaps it didn’t matter to her whether they stayed or went. These were enemies who had slain her husband and ruined her happiness.

“So, this is the truth…” Water Fairy said as she lifted her head. Her eyes were wet as she stared at Lu Li and asked, “Was this why you wouldn’t let me help you interrupt Princess Moira’s healing?”

At first, it was the Thieves’ job to interrupt the skill, and if their skills were on cooldown, Lu Li would sometimes accidentally miss the spell. However, he didn’t let Water Fairy help him.

Water Fairy was curious, but she didn’t ask about it at the time.

“This is just a game,” Lu Li replied.

“But it’s been made to seem so real. If I knew this was the story, I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to continue with the dungeon,” Water Fairy laughed spitefully. She felt that she really related to Princess Moira. They were both an eyesore to their fathers, and this would inevitably cause a relationship problem in the end.

“The gaming company did this on purpose. No one else can impact the storyline,” Lu Li said, trying his best to comfort her.

Water Fairy cursed the gaming company with rage for a while, but she was still a little unhappy. This was a rare sight for her.

It was usually the unexpected that tended to touch people.

“I still have an uncompleted dungeon quest. Do you want to come with me?” Lu Li asked as he waved the quest item in his hand.

“Alright, what’s the quest?” Water Fairy’s attention was drawn by the quest and she agreed to leave with Lu Li.

“It’s about Marshal Windsor,” Lu Li’s said, his expression suddenly turning a little strange. He remembered that Marshal Windsor’s storyline wasn’t all that pleasant either. He had only just dragged Water Fairy out of Princess Moira’s story, and now he was about to take her into another one. Lu Li wasn’t sure if they were allowed to change the storyline for Marshal Windsor either.

Shortly after, they arrived at the position of the cell. The monsters weren’t enough to stop two strong Thieves.

They saw that the guards had been killed by a middle-aged man who wore ragged clothes and was locked away inside a dark cell. The other inmates helped Marshal Windsor find his clothes. Water Fairy couldn’t believe that he was the Legendary hero.

“I knew you’d come! Glad to see you, friend!” Marshal Windsor cried out as he waved at Lu Li.

“If I didn’t return, you would live…” Lu Li sighed deeply as the paper he held became even more scrunched in his grasp. He knew better than anyone else the fate of Marshal Windsor. If he gave up on letting Marshal Windsor out…

The System would still pass the quest to other players who’d be willing to do the quest.

For the current storyline of Dawn, the thing that Marshal Windsor was about to do became extremely important. If it wasn’t done, the following dungeon could not be made available.

“Give it to me, my friend/ Why are you afraid?” Marshal Windsor asked as he held out his hand to Lu Li.

Lu Li had to pass over the quest item.

The quest item gave some hints; Marshal Windsor and his subordinates took great risks to obtain it. However, he didn’t get to see the end to it before his subordinates sold him to the Blackrock Dwarves.

“As expected, the hints are on the two slates. Let’s go and find my equipment and mount first. I’d assume the Black Iron Dwarves have been taken care of by you two. You two are the best,” Marshal Windsor said as he walked out happily with large strides. He had no clue about his worrying fate.

Lu Li and Water Fairy followed; there were still some monsters along the way.

Marshal Windsor’s equipment was military-style and his mount was a very weak, old horse. After he wore his clothes, he finally looked a little like a hero and soldier.

They quickly arrived at the two hidden spots that held the slates he was looking for. The slates were covered in old inscriptions which gave them a mystical quality. Marshal Windsor stared at them for a long time, then rode his old horse and charged out.

“Let’s go! Towards Stormwind City!”

Lu Li told Water Fairy how he had gotten to know Marshal Windsor as they chased him from behind. There were some monsters along the way, but the three of them easily cleared them out. People likely didn’t think that Marshal Windsor would be able to escape, so there wasn’t much to stop them from reaching Stormwind City.