Four days ago, Orgrimmar, the Warchief's Fortress.
High Lord Saurfang walked into the hall, followed by Rokhan and a young Tauren named Baine Bloodhoof. The latter had come to Orgrimmar on behalf of his father to hear the Warchief's commands in person.
"Warchief," Saurfang began, "a female Troll named Hasana claims to have escaped from Stormwind. Accompanied by Rokhan, she has arrived in Orgrimmar after a long journey, stating she has vital intelligence to report directly to you."
"Rokhan?"
The Warchief frowned, knowing the weight of that name within the Darkspear tribe. He was the right hand of Chieftain Vol'jin, and had already been a formidable Shadow Hunter back when Vol'jin's father, Sen'jin, led the tribe.
His personal accompaniment meant that this intelligence was, at least in Vol'jin's eyes, extremely urgent.
"Send her in," the Warchief said in a low voice.
Soon, Hasana entered. Having never seen the Warchief before, she was momentarily confused as to who in the hall was the intended recipient of her salute.
The Warchief nodded to Rokhan and spoke to Hasana: "You may fulfill your duty now."
Hasana replied, "I can only report this intelligence to the Warchief."
The others in the room shared a faint smile. The Warchief looked into her eyes and said, "I am here, Warchief of the Horde."
Hasana was stunned. She immediately clutched her chest, dropped to one knee, and said in fear and trepidation: "I am Hasana, Quartermaster of the Argent Dawn stationed at the Bulwark. I pay my respects to the noble Warchief."
Thrall frowned slightly. "You are with the Argent Dawn? Your actions right now do not comply with the agreements we have made with the Argent Dawn and the Alliance, and they compromise the Dawn's neutral stance."
As Thrall spoke, Hasana felt a surge of awkwardness, as if her passionate loyalty had been splashed onto cold rock.
At that moment, Saurfang intervened. "Warchief, it may not comply with the agreement, but it complies with the interests of the Horde. Moreover, Vol'jin has shown his support for this Troll through his actions. I suggest you hear her out. If it proves trivial, we can simply exile her from the Horde afterward."
Saurfang then looked at Baine. He didn't want the son of his Tauren ally to feel that promises could be abandoned solely for profit.
Thrall said to Hasana, "Please, tell me the intelligence you have brought." He then sat upon the throne reserved for the Warchief.
The others stood on either side of him, watching Hasana with scrutinizing gazes.
Hasana began a detailed account of everything she had seen in Goldshire and during her escape. She told the assembled Horde leadership that a "Net Cafe" had opened in Goldshire, and that Baron Tyrosus of the Argent Dawn, along with key personnel, had established close ties with it.
By chance, she had secured an opportunity to accompany a human officer from her organization on a field investigation. She described in detail how she used "Savory Deviate Delight" to transform her appearance and, with the help of the human officer, quietly slipped into the net cafe.
She recited the names of the prominent and high-ranking figures from Stormwind and Ironforge she had seen and recorded while inside.
However, despite her lengthy explanation, the Horde leaders still couldn't grasp what exactly this "Net Cafe" was.
But Thrall and Saurfang understood one thing: the female Troll before them was describing the place where the Black Dragon had been repelled—the same location they had discussed with Eitrigg and tasked Lieutenant Bethsa of the Argent Dawn to investigate.
This immediately piqued Thrall's interest.
A day prior, Thrall had received an important report: a massive black dragon had landed in Dustwallow Marsh and vanished. Horde scouts believed the dragon had a secret lair in that muddy land where Theramore humans, Grimtotem Tauren, wild thunder lizards, and ogres coexisted.
However, blind infiltration was not a good idea. Everyone knew the Warchief had not only a verbal peace agreement with Theramore but also an extraordinary friendship with its ruler, Jaina Proudmoore.
Yet, just as these scouts reported to Thrall, other reports came flooding in!
One group reported a black dragon appearing in Stormwind Keep, flying off after a fierce battle. Another reported the appearance of two Varian Wrynn kings in Stormwind, nearly leading to internal strife. Most alarming of all was the report of a massive Stormwind naval fleet leaving the harbor and sailing toward Theramore for unknown purposes!
The dragon issue and the fleet's movement gave Thrall a headache. He issued emergency orders for armies to prepare for combat and put the navy on high alert while sending an envoy to Theramore to ask Jaina what was happening.
Eitrigg's opinion was: "Perhaps the Alliance is tired of peace and plans to settle the score with us once and for all."
Meanwhile, a reply came from the envoy visiting Jaina. He confirmed the existence of "Lo'Gosh," who possessed Varian's memories, but also stated that even Jaina had no idea why the Stormwind navy was approaching.
Despite various possibilities, as the supreme leader of the Horde, Thrall had to prepare for the worst-case scenario: that the Alliance and the Black Dragon had conspired to launch a massive surprise attack on the Horde. And the best way to hide such a plan would be to deceive even their closest allies.
However, Hasana's next words made everyone even more confused.
"How big is this building?" Saurfang asked.
Hasana thought for a moment. "Four stories high, but only the first and second floors accommodate guests."
"How many people can it hold?"
"About... forty or so."
"And what exactly do they do inside?"
Hasana struggled to find the words. She described it while gesturing with her hands, explaining that within a black, flat, square frame, many people would appear and build structures. Then, fully armed units of various kinds would walk out of these buildings, assemble into squads, and fight one another.
"A black square frame... and soldiers walk out of it?"
Saurfang's face turned pale with shock!
"Could it be... a Dark Portal?!"
As he spoke, Thrall's expression also turned grim.