115 Chapter 55: Merely A Setback

"Your sudden appearance can only mean that you saw the same vision as me," commented Exadius as Kelrian stepped into the room. "Your father plans something bad. We have a huge problem if he succeeds."

"You saw it too?" Kelrian asked surprised. "How is that possible?"

Exadius tapped his temple with two fingers. "I assume our telepathic connection is responsible for that."

"Makes sense," Kelrian responded.

"We shouldn't waste our time figuring out why I saw what you saw. We have to act quickly."

"I think we should analyse it first," said Kelrian.

"There is not much we can analyse there. Your father said clearly what he is planning," replied Exadius.

"You know that not all of my visions of the future come true, do you?"

"It's not a vision of the future. It's a vision of the past."

Kelrian tilted his head and raised a brow, giving his partner a confused look. "How do you know that?"

"Xertus just returned from his mission. I ordered him to keep an eye on your father. What Xertus saw matches the vision. It's safe to say that this is a vision of the past. Your father has the Cipher of Damnation and I doubt he will use it for good purposes."

Worry appeared in Kelrian's eyes. "With the elemental lords under his control, my father will try to claim Outland but he won't stop there. He wants to make our people addicted to fel magic. He wants them to serve him. If everyone changes as badly as Elena, my father and his advisors...I don't want to imagine what will happen then..."

"Nothing good. That's all we know for now. Your father has to be stopped. He will doom your people if we won't stop him before it is too late. The sin'dorei will become as crazy as these fanatics we fought not so long ago. Your people will become a danger to every other kingdom of the Alliance if Kael'thas' plan succeeds."

Kelrian looked more worried than before. "I get that we have to stop him but how? We can't just sneak into Tempest Keep without deactivating their security system first. But to be able to do that we have to wait until Shandris returns from her meeting with the draenei and tells us what she found out. We don't know when she will return..."

"We don't have that much time. We must act now. The earlier we stop him, the better it is. We just have to steal the Cipher of Damnation from him."

"We don't know where he is. He could have enslaved the elemental lords already and prepare the next step."

"He is still in Tempest Keep," responded Exadius. "His advisors are still looking for the elemental lords while he stays in the keep with Capernian and waits for their return."

"In the vision, he said he would return there with her but how can you be so sure that he is still there?" Kelrian asked.

"Xertus managed to get into the keep unnoticed. With his help, we will get inside without anyone noticing," explained the dreadlord.

"You want us to sneak in and steal the Cipher, don't you?"

Exadius nodded. "Maybe we can even capture your father. It would be great if we manage to do that."

A thoughtful look appeared on Kelrian's face. "This sounds dangerous..."

"It is dangerous. There is no way to deny that. We have to be very careful and move slowly. We have to trick their security measuresand reach your father unnoticed."

"That sounds easier than it is."

"You are not wrong about that, partner," responded the nathrezim.

"Shouldn't we inform Sylvanas and the others about what we know?" Kelrian asked. Doubt was clearly hearable in his voice.

"Normally yes. But too much valuable time will be wasted before we have gathered the majority of the leaders. Not to mention that they will need ages to come to an agreement. Until our allies made a decision, your father will have put his plan into action. We have to act now," said Exadius insistently.

"So what do we do?" Kelrian asked. He had no idea what they should do in this situation. He had the urge to inform the other leaders of the Alliance. Together they would be able to make up a good plan but that plan would be useless if his father would succeed and enslave the elemental lords of Outland. He knew that Exadius was right. They had to stop his father before it would be too late.

"We will enter the keep and destroy the Cipher. We will see what we will do about your father once this dangerous item is destroyed."

"My father is very powerful."

"Not as powerful as you are," replied Exadius. "Not to mention that Xertus and I are with you."

"He has lots of people who follow him," reminded Kelrian. "They will fight for him and give their lives for him if necessary. They follow him blindly."

"The mission has its risk but I have no doubt that we will be successful," responded the former king of the nathrezim.

"I still don't like that plan."

"Do you have a better plan?"

Kelrian shook his head. "No, I don't."

"See. My plan is the best we have. I will use my telepathic abilities to reach Xertus and tell him to create a portal to this place so that we can get into the keep."

Kelrian was not convinced by Exadius' plan but he knew they had no other choice. They had to act before it would be too late. Every second mattered. "I hope you have an idea of how we'll trick their security system."

"Have trust in my abilities and in yours as well."

"I don't doubt my abilities or yours. It's just... I'm not sure if we should go alone..."

The tone of Exadius' voice became a bit stricter and harsher. "We don't have the time to convince any of our allies for this mission. We are wasting too much time already. Now come before it is too late."

Kelrian said nothing for a few moments and then sighed. "Alright, let's do this."

Exadius' expression didn't change. There was not even a slight smile on his lips, signalizing Kelrian how serious the situation was. Exadius usually always slightly smiled but at this very moment, he didn't. He was not amused. He knew what had to be done and what would happen if they would fail. He knew how important their mission was.

The dreadlord closed his eyes and muttered a few words, pressing two fingers against his left temple. A few moments passed in which nothing happened but then a fel green portal appeared between them. Exadius opened his eyes and looked at his partner whose eyes still reflected worry.

None of them said a word as they stepped through the portal together. They came out in a small room which was barely tall enough for them and Xertus who was disguised as a Sunfury soldier, a loyalist of Kelrian's father. He held a shimmering object in his hand. "No one will see and hear us as long as this object is active," was the first thing Xertus said.

"The radius is not very large, right?" Kelrian asked.

"You are right about that, Lord Sunstrider. The dome created by it is large enough for us but we don't have much room for manoeuvre."

"Tell me what you know about this place. What do we have to keep in mind?"

"As long as we don't leave this dome, there is nothing we have to worry about."

"Can't we use spells that make us invisible?"

"Invisibility spells won't work in this place as long as the security system is active. The cameras will see us no matter which spells we use. So will their floating eyes. Only this certain artefact is able to hide us from the sights of these creatures."

"Floating eyes? You mean these demonic tentacle creatures which have countless eyes?" Kelrian asked irritated.

Xertus' gaze fell on his father whose facial expression had not changed. He looked back at Kelrian whose eyes were widened. "My father didn't tell you?" he asked irritated.

"Tell me what?" Kelrian hissed annoyedly.

"I discovered that your father..." He stopped and looked at his father who remained silent. He looked back at Kelrian who looked upset. "Your father made a pact with Kil'jaeden."

Kelrian's eyes were even wider than before and the shock was written all over his face. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He couldn't believe it because he didn't want to. He knew that the fel had made his father insane and unpredictable. Nevertheless, Kelrian had never imagined that his father would join the Burning Legion after everything that had happened.

The Burning Legion had created the Scourge which meant they were jointly responsible for the fall of Quel'Thalas. They were responsible for the destroyed lives and the suffering the sin'dorei had endured. They were responsible for Sylvanas' death and the deaths of numerous members of Kelrian's and Sylvanas' family. They were responsible for numerous bad things that had happened on Azeroth. They were the greatest evil in the universe and Kael'thas had decided to join them.

Kelrian was speechless. He felt betrayed. His father had already betrayed their people one time but now Kelrian had discovered that he had done it again. It felt like his father had hit him directly in the face. He could not believe that his father joined those who were responsible for the death of Sylvanas. His father's wife and parents died during the Scourge invasion. He should have every reason to hate the Burning Legion but it seemed he didn't hate them. On the contrary, he was working for them. Kelrian was sure that his father was nothing but a pawn for Kil'jaeden. A pawn he would drop as soon as he would no longer need him.

Kelrian was disappointed in his father, very disappointed. Before the discovery, he had asked himself if a part of the man he had looked up to still existed in his father. But now, after the discovery, he highly doubted it. His father would have never allied himself with the Burning Legion. He was gone. Kael'thas was nothing more than a madman who toyed with a power he didn't understand.

It hurt to accept the truth but Kelrian had no other choice. He had no time racking his brain about it. Their time was limited and they had already wasted too much time talking. Kelrian looked at Exadius who regarded him curiously. "We don't have time to argue about this. We will talk about why you withheld this important information from me later. We must hurry now."

Exadius nodded and looked at his son. "Follow me," said Xertus and walked to the room's exit. Kelrian and Exadius stayed very close to him as they followed him. They left the broom closet and came into a long corridor which floor and walls were purple. Due to their special eyes, they spotted lots of hidden cameras and special crystals in the ceiling and the walls. They were recording what was going on in the corridor.

The absence of a ringing alarm made Kelrian and Exadius realise that the object was working. No recording object saw them. They were able to follow the course of the corridor quickly without getting seen by anyone or anything.

They came into a hall in which dozens of Kael'thas' men were gathered. They talked, practised their skills or did other things. Some of them looked very strange. The green colour of their eyes was much darker than the colour of the eyes of the sin'dorei on Azeroth. Their bodies were much taller than the bodies of those who were not serving the former king of the sin' most obvious differences were the skin colours of those individuals and the small horns that came out of the foreheads of some of them. Their skins showed brown, light blue, grey and even dark-red colours. Their appearances looked anything but natural.

"By the Sunwell..., shouted Kelrian and covered his mouth immediately. His heart stopped for a moment but then he realized that these elves couldn't hear them due to the object Xertus was holding.

"This is proof enough that your father made a pact with the Burning Legion. Kil'jaeden showed your father how to make his men stronger and much deadlier. The fel corrupted them and turned them into these creatures," told Exadius.

"Except for the horns, they still look humanoid...But their skin...Maybe they are not totally lost..."

Exadius looked at his partner, signalizing him to move faster. Kelrian obeyed without hesitation. "We don't have the time to worry about them. We will prevent your father's plans and then we will figure out if we can help these... felblood elves."

They left the hall eventually, walked through another corridor and arrived in another hall. They spotted more felblood elves and other creatures that were far eviler than them. Demons. There were lots of them. Wrathguards, imps, succubi, mo'arg, observers, satyr and even shivarra.

Kelrian's face was a mask of shock. "By the titans... Look how many demons he gathered..."

"There are more of them in other halls and rooms. Kil'jaeden gifted your father an entire army which will pose a serious threat to the Alliance if he brings the elemental lords under his control," explained Xertus.

"We can't allow him to succeed," Kelrian replied strictly.

"No, we can't," said Xertus.

"You are too slow," scolded Xertus' father. "The more time we waste, the higher the chances are that Kael'thas' advisors return. It's very likely that your father will leave this place as soon as his advisors tell him the location from which he can summon the elemental lords. We have to reach him before that happens."

They walked faster, coming to a staircase eventually. They took the staircase and arrived in a small hall. Half a dozen loyalists and two crystal golems guarded the empty hall. As expected, not even the golems with their magical vision could see them. Kelrian and the nathrezim walked through the hall's exit and followed the bothering corridor. The corridor split into three corridors which were much thinner.

Xertus pointed at the right corridor. "This way leads to Kael'thas' private chamber. He was often there the past days. When he was not there, he was either in the library or in the main hall."

"We should check his private chamber first," said Exadius.

"I agree with you," responded Kelrian.

They followed the corridor, passing more felblood elves, demons and crystal golems. At the end of the corridor was ahuge door in front of which a dozen felblood elves and five wrathguards stood. The door was closed, meaning that they could not enter the room without the guards getting suspicious. They had to find a way to sneak into the room.

"What do we do now?" Kelrian asked.

"That's a good question," muttered Exadius.

"I might have an idea," said Xertus.

Kelrian and Exadius looked at him. "Go ahead and tell us what you have in mind," they demanded.

"One of us can impersonate Kael'thas and enter the room freely," told Xertus.

"So you suggest that one of us takes his appearance and acts as he does, right? That person will walk to the room and the guards will open the door. The others will be still invisible and slip into the room as soon as the door open. Am I right about this?" Kelrian asked.

Xertus nodded. "You are."

"And what if the guards see through our trick?" Kelrian asked worriedly.

"Then we have a problem," replied Xertus.

"Many of them will be dead before they even realize what is happening. I have no doubt we can deal with them," said Exadius. He was bursting with self-confidence.

"Three against seventeen...I'm not sure about that."

"They won't be seventeen when the fight really begins. If we act quickly, we can kill at least seven of them before they notice that we are here. We should strike as soon as we notice the first signs of doubt on their faces," responded the golden-eyed dreadlord.

"I'm not convinced of the plan but it seems that we have no other choice," Kelrian said. "Who will take his appearance?"

Xertus pointed at himself. "I watched your father for quite a while, so I should be the one who pretends to be him. I studied his behaviour, his quirks and took a closer look at the way he moves. I even know how he speaks and stresses certain words. I know which sentences he would say often and which not. I'm familiar with his linguistic style. I have no doubt that I can imitate him and convince the guards that I'm truly him."

Kelrian thought about it for a few moments. "We have to try. I just wish we had more time to plan everything. Things would be so much easier with backup."

"We have no other choice. And we don't have much time. Let's do it now," said Exadius strictly. He gave his son a demanding look, receiving a nod from him. Xertus' shape began to change, the transformation proceeded much faster than Kelrian had expected. Xertus looked exactly like Kael'thas and he even sounded like him. "I'm tired of standing in this boring corridor, let's go to my room."

Xertus gave Kelrian the object, stepped out of the dome and walked around the corner behind which they had been hiding. He walked straight towards the room, a small smile could be seen on his lips and his face reflected self-confidence.

Kelrian and Exadius followed him, noticing that Xertus was indeed moving the same way as Kael'thas had in the vision. He was impersonating him well so far. Kelrian was certain that if he wouldn't know the truth, he would believe that Xertus was his father. He could only hope that the guards would also believe it.

Xertus came to the guards who bowed to him and greeted him. Xertus nodded at them but didn't say anything. He looked at the door which was opened a few moments later. He stepped through the entrance and so did Kelrian and Exadius. The door was closed a few moments later.

Kelrian let his gaze wander. The private chamber was much larger than his father's former private chamber in Sunfury Spire. The walls were crimson red, the floor was covered by a purple carpet. The windows on the right side of the room were made out of purple crystals. There were lots of shelves on the opposite side which were filled to the brim with books.

The room's furniture looked very expensive, lots of opened books were scattered all over the huge wooden table in the middle of the room. Lots of tiny felstones that were part of the huge chandelier illuminated the room. Kelrian had expected to see more green objects in the room. But except for the chandelier, nothing else in the room was green. The room was furnished similar to Kael'thas' former room in Silvermoon.

Kelrian's eyes fell on the king-sized bed on the other side of the room. There was an elf lying on it but it was not the elf they were looking for. It was Grand Astromancer Capernian who wore fewer pieces of clothes than Kelrian and the nathrezim had expected. Except for her crimson red g-string, she was totally naked. Kelrian's eyes fell on her large breasts, his brain automatically compared them to Sylvanas' breasts which were slightly smaller. His gaze rested on her rounds longer than he had wanted but he managed to avert his gaze eventually. He fixed his gaze on her beautiful face, preventing himself from examining her nude form once again.

He noticed that even Exadius had troubles to keep his gaze on her face. That didn't surprise him at all. He knew that Exadius had had a relationship with his former mistress Alyssa Felspeaker when he had served the Legion. It had not been a romantic relationship. Kelrian knew that Alyssa hadn't had any romantic feelings for him. She had just used him to satisfy her lower desires and Exadius had done the same.

It was obvious that Exadius was attracted to elves. His son, on the other hand, was not. Xertus was not attracted to Capernian but he pretended to be flashed by her beautiful form. He knew that Kael'thas and the grand astromancer had something going on, so he acted as Kael'thas would act in this situation. He grinned at the female blood elf and regarded her body from head to toe, signalizing her that he enjoyed what he was seeing.

Capernian approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling at him. "You returned much earlier than I have expected. I thought you would stay in the library much longer."

"I decided to take a pause for now but I will go back to the library later," Xertus responded.

Capernian's grin became larger. "I'm glad you decided to come back to me."

Xertus put a hand beneath her chin and caressed it, returning her smile.

Exadius averted his gaze and looked at Kelrian. "Your father is in the library. We have to go now before he leaves it."

"What about Xertus?"

"He will stay here and distract Capernian."

Kelrian frowned. "Wouldn't Capernian become suspicious if we open the door and leave? Not to mention that the guards will be suspicious too if the door is opened but no one leaves the room."

Exadius looked at Xertus and Capernian. "She is too distracted to notice anything. She is not even looking in the direction of the door."

Kelrian looked at them too, noticing that they were kissing each other. "I suppose you take my father's appearance."

"Already done," Exadius said with Kael'thas' voice. Kelrian turned his head, noticing that Exadius looked like his father.

"We don't even know where the library is," exclaimed Kelrian.

Exadius smirked. "My son told me where it is. Telepathy is a very useful technique."

Kelrian exhaled. "Fine. We should go now."

Exadius stepped out of the dome and opened the door, leaving the room. Kelrian followed him quickly. They walked back and took the middle path this time. They rushed through the bordering corridors and arrived in front of the library. As expected, it was heavily guarded but the loyalists allowed Exadius to enter.

The library was huge, much huger than Kelrian had imagined. It was much larger than the libraries in Silvermoon and Dalaran. Quite a lot of knowledge was accumulated there. Each shelf was very long, reached to the high ceiling and contained hundreds of books. Kelrian wondered what all of these books were about. When he had been a student in Dalaran, he would have loved to spent weeks in the library and read in various books. This library would have been a paradise for him.

He knew he didn't have the time to take a closer look at the content of each shelf but he was hoping he could do that after they had stopped his father. He was sure he could learn lots of useful things.

Kelrian checked his surroundings, noticing that not many loyalists were in the first sector of the library. Exadius took a closer look at those he was seeing, realising that they were not looking at him. He let his gaze wander, checking the sector for cameras. He saw none, so he took advantage of the moment in which no one was looking at him and gave his partner a signal. Exadius stepped into the dome and became invisible. He changed his appearance and took his original form.

"Now we only have to find my father," Kelrian said.

"He must be somewhere. Try to find his aura."

"What if his aura has changed because of the negative influence of the fel?"

"Then look for an aura which is similar to his. I doubt that his aura changed that much," told the dreadlord.

"I hope you are right about that."

Against their expectations, they found Kael'thas within a short amount of time. He sat at a table on which many opened books were scattered. He was reading but he was not alone. His advisors stood around him and looked in different directions as if they were keeping an eye out for any intruders. All of his advisors were present, even Capernian. Kelrian's eyes were widened in surprise as he gave Exadius a questioning look. "Why is she here? She should still be in my father's room... Unless..."

"Either she teleported there or the grand astromancer we saw in the private chamber is someone else in truth..."

"If that's the case who is the one Xertus is distracting?" The confusion was clearly visible on his face.

"I have no idea... I scanned her with my eyes. She was not an illusion and I'm certain that no one took her appearance. At least no nathrezim. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

Exadius was silent for a few moments, a thoughtful look could be seen on his face. "Unless Kil'jaeden told my former subjects how to hide from me."

"Is that possible?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. You haven't noticed anything unusual about her, have you?"

"I didn't notice anything wrong about her. My right eye works the same way yours do. If they found a way to hide from your superior vision, then they can hide from me too."

"If someone impersonates Capernian, my son might be in trouble."

"Let's hope he will deal with the situation."

"I have faith in him. I'm sure he can handle the situation," said Exadius. "We should concentrate on the mission, on your father."

"We must get rid of his advisors. Any idea of how we do that?" Kelrian asked.

Exadius let his sword appear. "Seems we have to solve it the hard way. It has been a long time since my sword tasted fresh blood. I will take care of his advisors while you will keep your father busy. I have no idea how powerful Kil'jaeden made him but I have faith in you. With your eye, your hand and Drak'tar, you should be able to defeat him."

"Well, defeating him is one thing but not killing him in the process is another story."

"Try your best. We have to stop him by any means, keep that in mind. If he dies, he dies. All that matters is that we destroy the Cipher of Damnation. Don't forget that."

Kelrian exhaled loudly. He was about to say something as a spell hit Exadius and threw him away. Exadius collided with one of the many shelves and rebounded, landing on the floor. He tried to get up but green energy tendrils appeared out of nowhere and wrapped themselves around his body. They kept him on the floor and prevented him from getting up.

Xertus and a woman Kelrian didn't know appeared next to Exadius. Xertus did nothing to help his father. He just stood there and looked down at him, a vacant look could be seen on his face. Exadius' eyes narrowed, anger was reflected by his face as he realized what was going on.

"Traitor...," he spat out. "You planned this from the beginning, didn't you? You lured us into a trap..."

His son's expression didn't change nor did he say anything. He just stood there and looked at him. Exadius gaze fell on the woman next to Xertus. "Alyssa... I thought I killed you..."

"I didn't die as you can see. I returned to the Twisting Nether after you stabbed me in the back."

"That's impossible. You are not a demon who was born in the Twisting Nether. You are just a night elf who was corrupted by fel magic. You shouldn't be able to return to it," hissed Exadius.

Alyssa grinned. "You thought you know me but in truth, you know only so little of me. You have no idea what Lord Kil'jaeden turned me into. I'm a full demon just like you. I'm no half-breed, I'm a full-breed."

"You cast the spell, didn't you? How did you see us?"

"Your son told me how to see those who use this special object."

Exadius didn't get the chance to say anything in return. Alyssa put a hand on Exadius' head and muttered a few phrases. Exadius resisted as long as he could but the tendrils drained his power, making him weaker and weaker. He became so weak that he was not able to resist the spell which made him lose consciousness.

"You are Exadius' former boss, aren't you?" Kelrian asked as he regarded Alyssa from head to toe. She was as tall as him, had crimson-red skin, fel green eyes and huge and curved black horns that came out of her forehead. She wore a fel green armour and carried a mace in her hand.

Alyssa turned around, looking at Kelrian. "I am. My name is Alyssa Felspeaker and I'm Kil'jaeden's right hand."

Scorn was reflected in Kelrian's eyes as they fell on his father. "So it's true what Xertus said. You made a pact with Kil'jaeden."

"I did. It's the only way to save the sin'dorei."

Kelrian snorted. "Save the sin'dorei... They don't need to be saved, especially not if it includes selling their souls to the Burning Legion... I thought you were a smart and reasonable man, father... Seems I was wrong...I can't believe you did this..." The disappointment was clearly hearable in Kelrian's voice and clearly visible in his eyes. He still could not believe that his father had allied himself with the Burning Legion.

"The sin'dorei suffered heavy losses in the Third War and more people will die in the approaching war against the Scourge. Only little of our people will be left when Arthas will be finally defeated. With the help of the Burning Legion, we will defeat the Scourge much sooner without losing too many people."

"The Burning Legion is only using you, father. You are nothing but a tool in their eyes. A tool they use to achieve their goals. Don't you realize that? It was the Burning Legion who created the Scourge and the Lich King. If it were not for them, our kingdom would still stand and the population would be larger than one million. Numerous lives wouldn't have been destroyed if the Burning Legion wouldn't have tried to conquer Azeroth."

Kael'thas tilted his head a little, silently regarded his son for a few moments before he responded. "You live in the past, my son. All you do is to consider the past and blame the Burning Legion for what they did. We cannot change the past but we can change the future. I'm convinced that the Burning Legion will help our people. They will help us to cleanse Azeroth from the Scourge and all unworthy races. They will help us to get rid of those who betrayed us and did not help us in the Third War. Humans, dwarves, worgen and all the other worthless races."

Kelrian shook his head disappointedly. "You are insane. Do you even realize what you are saying? Do you realize that only bullshit leaves your mouth? Every aspect of your explanation is wrong. It's just wrong. There are other ways to save our people. Making a pact with the Burning Legion was the biggest mistake you could ever make. You will doom our people, don't you realize that? They will be nothing but slaves who do whatever the Burning Legion demands from them. Kil'jaeden will use them as cannon fodder to conquer Azeroth. He doesn't care if all of us will die in the process. All that matters for the Burning Legion is the destruction of our world."

Laughter escaped Kael'thas lips. "You don't know Master Kil'jaeden at all. You have no idea what he is like and what exactly he said to me. He promised me to save our people and bring them back to glory. I will make sure that the sin'dorei will become as powerful and influential as they once were. I will redeem them and build an empire which will last forever."

Kelrian clenched his fist angrily. "You cannot trust a demon, especially not Kil'jaeden. He is called the Deceiver for a reason. He is lying to you and you are just too blind to realize it."

Kael'thas laughed again. "You are judging me for trusting a demon but you are not much better than I. You also trust a demon, don't try to deny it. You are trusting him with your life, aren't you? You see, the apple never falls far from the tree."

"Exadius is the entire opposite of Kil'jaeden. He never wanted to serve the Legion nor had he wanted to invade and destroy countless worlds. He is one of the few demons who are not evil. Unlike your master."

"Evil and villainy depend on the view of the observer. Your view is wrong. Kil'jaeden is not evil, he is our only chance to survive."

Kelrian spat at the floor, anger was reflected by his face. "Speaking with you is pointless. You will never realize how wrong you are no matter what will I say."

Kael'thas tilted his head. "You will never realize how right I am, at least not without help. But don't worry, I will convince you that I'm right. I will open your eyes and make you realize that working for Kil'jaeden is the only way for our people to survive."

Kelrian snorted and let his gaze wander. He was surrounded by Alyssa, Xertus, his father's advisors and serval Sunfury soldiers. He was strong but not strong enough to deal with all of them. His only chance to escape was to use the hearthstone he always hid in the sleeve of his armour. He moved his left forearm in a certain way, causing the hearthstone to slip out of the sleeve. He caught it and hid it in the palm of his hand. He let his gaze wander, noticing that none of them had noticed anything.

Kael'thas' advisors were coming closer but Kelrian would be somewhere else before they would reach him. At least that was what he had expected. His eyes widened as he realized that the hearthstone was not working. He ran his thumb over the runic symbol engraved in the object but nothing happened. His hearthstone was not working and he had no idea why. He remained calm, not wanting to show his enemies that he was troubled.

He tried to use the hearthstone for the third time but nothing happened. He could only assume that a powerful spell was preventing him from escaping. He had no other choice than to fight. He pulled his sword from his back but a spell hit him before he could do anything. The spell had flown so fast that he had not seen it coming. Kelrian was thrown away and landed on the floor.

He tried to get up but his body didn't obey him. His muscles tingled but his body didn't move. No matter how hard he tried to get up, his body didn't obey. He was paralysed. His father's advisors came to him and looked down at him. Even his father and Alyssa approached him and regarded him. A wide smile and a large amount of joy could be seen on his father's face. The mad king regarded his son for a few moments before he looked at Lord Sanguinar. "Bring him to Dr. Sivallah's laboratory and make sure he cannot escape."

Lord Sanguinar nodded. "As you wish, your majesty."