"Lord Rhodes, we found these two while patrolling the forest," Varo'then reported with deep respect. "One resembles our kin but belongs to a race I have never seen; the other bears a striking resemblance to you."
Rhonin's eyes flared with excitement—he had finally found his man. His lips parted to speak, but Krasus nudged him sharply with his shoulder. Though the Red Dragon mage had lost part of his memory, his ten-millennium-old wisdom allowed him to instantly realize the situation was delicate. Rhodes's current status was clearly high-level and complex.
Rhodes already signaled us with his eyes to stay quiet; can't you see that, boy? We cannot expose his identity here, Krasus thought.
"These two creatures..." Rhodes paced forward, his voice clinical and scrutinizing. "They resemble a race I encountered during my astral travels. As for the other—you guessed correctly, Captain Varo'then; he is indeed of my kin. Where did you find them?"
"On the eastern border of Ashenvale, Lord Rhodes. Their appearance was accompanied by anomalous energy fluctuations," Varo'then replied. "I suspected it might be related to the recent disturbances in natural energy, so I brought them directly to you for judgment."
Varo'then was pleased with himself. Bringing them to the Queen's favorite advisor instead of Xavius was the right call. Surely, a reward was coming.
Rhodes nodded thoughtfully, his finger tracing a hidden Arcane rune in the air that sent a silent message to Rhonin's mind: Silence. Cooperate. Rhonin stiffened, then lowered his head, realizing his impulsiveness.
"Take them to the detention room in the side hall. I need to interrogate them privately. Keep this quiet; do not alert Xavius," Rhodes commanded. "You did well, Varo'then. I reward you with ten pounds of anti-magic metal. You may use it to forge a weapon."
Rhodes retrieved several ingots from his system space. These were low-tier anti-magic metals produced by his Iron Man units, but in this era, they were peerless treasures capable of resisting over 75% of magic. Varo'then was overjoyed; such metal was legendary, and fewer than ten weapons in the entire Empire were made of it.
"Thank you for your benevolence, Lord Rhodes! It is an honor to serve you," Varo'then said sincerely before leading the soldiers away.
Once the heavy doors closed, Rhodes cast a triple-layered isolation barrier. The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly.
"Alright, we can talk now," Rhodes said, waving his hand to dispel their restraints. "But make it quick. It isn't absolutely safe here. How did you get to this era, and how long have you been here?"
"Lord Rhodes! We only arrived today," Rhonin blurted out. "You've been missing for three whole years! Queen Calia, Lady Jaina, and Miss Anveena have been searching for you tirelessly. We detected a temporal rift, and while investigating, I met Lord Krasus. We were sent back by the Bronze Dragon King. Oh, and a green-skinned Orc came with us, though we were separated."
"Three years?" Rhodes mused. "I've been here for a little over a year. It seems time flows differently between the eras. Currently, I am serving as the Queen's Advisor."
Rhodes did the math. If three years had passed back home, plus the year he spent during the Frozen Throne events, he would likely return right as the official World of Warcraft timeline began—the era where the drums of war thunder once more. But things would be different now. Lordaeron was thriving, the Plaguelands were being healed by Druids, Kel'Thuzad was his secret operative, and even the Black Dragon in Stormwind had been dealt with early.
"By the way, Lord Rhodes, I have good news," Rhonin said, standing up and bowing. "Congratulations are in order. Your eldest son was born two and a half years ago. He is the Crown Prince of Lordaeron and has been named the successor to the throne by the Queen."
"My eldest son?" Rhodes looked stunned. "Wait... I have more than one child?"
Is it the one with the Green Dragon Queen? he wondered. But she promised the child wouldn't leave the Dream until I returned.
"I knew you'd have that look," Rhonin chuckled. "Two weeks after you disappeared, Lady Jaina and Lady Capornia also gave birth. You have a son in Theramore being raised by Jaina, and a daughter born to Capornia—a half-elf who inherited your bloodline. You're a father of three now, Lord."
Rhodes felt a surge of genuine joy. Returning to three two-year-olds was much better than returning twenty years later to strangers. He could still be a part of their childhood.
"That is... incredible news, Rhonin. Thank you. Don't worry, within a month, we will be heading back to our time."
Krasus looked concerned. "A month? Does that mean the War of the Ancients is reaching its conclusion?"
Rhodes nodded. "The portal to the Burning Legion is active. Sargeras is scheduled to descend in about twenty days. The resistance—the Wild Gods, the Sisterhood of Elune, and the combined races of Azeroth—is mobilizing. But there's a reason I'm staying quiet. Have you heard of the Grandfather Paradox?"
He explained to Rhonin why they couldn't simply kill the Highborne and stop the war now. If the Empire didn't fall and the Sundering didn't happen, the Eastern Kingdoms might never form, and humanity might never rise to prominence. They had to preserve the timeline Nozdormu sent them to protect.
"I understand, Lord Rhodes," Rhonin said softly. "I'm sorry for my shortsightedness."
"No need for apologies. Now, Krasus, you say you've lost your dragon form and much of your memory?"
"Yes," Krasus sighed. "I am but a humble mage for now."
"That's fine. I've already made arrangements," Rhodes said with a mischievous glint in his eye. "The war is about to peak. I plan to join the front lines as a Wild God to personally deal with Archimonde. But I need to stay here in the palace to keep up appearances with Azshara."
Rhodes leaned in. "I need you two to play a part. I'm going to use an illusion to make you two look like me. You'll stay here in my palace as decoys while I go to the front to crush the Legion."
The two looked at him, their heads practically sprouting giant question marks.