The mayor and the sheriff of Goldshire quickly came out to greet Galen's team. There was no way around it, this team had too much clout. They were afraid that even the slightest negligence would result in blame from above, which they couldn't afford to bear.
Leading the group was the Crown Prince of Stromgarde, Grand Duke Galen Trollbane. This was a title of the Arathi Empire, with considerable weight. Even King Llane would have to treat him with respect.
In addition to him, there was also a Count of Stromgarde, a Court Count of Lordaeron, a High Lord, and a Viscount of Eastweald.
As for other titles like Baron, they weren't even worth mentioning, as they didn't rank in this group.
It was still early, and Galen didn't want to spend the night at the Lion's Pride Inn in Goldshire. After signaling to Varrokal, he handed the Archbishop's letter to the mayor, instructing him to pass it on to Stormwind.
Afterward, Galen didn't linger. He passed through Goldshire, heading straight for Northshire Abbey.
Northshire Abbey was the most important area for the Church of the Holy Light in the south. Not only were the patrols dense along the way, but its outer walls also used a double-walled structure for protection. The walls were built with heavy white stone blocks, tall and imposing.
The walls were grand yet elegant, topped with a ring of brown tiles, making them look very beautiful. The inner wall, in addition to the royal lion relief, was also covered with a lot of green vegetation, adding a lot of vibrant color to the gate of Northshire Abbey.
The abbey was not large. A Gothic-style church was built in this valley called Northshire, and a river flowed through Northshire, dividing it in two. This river was called Crystal River, originating from the tall mountains north of Elwynn Forest, and finally flowing into Crystal Lake north of Goldshire.
Northshire Abbey is the starting area for players who choose the Alliance in the game. Players spend their first few levels here before leaving Northshire Valley and heading to Goldshire.
Many famous human figures have emerged from this Northshire Valley. The Archbishop used to practice the Holy Light here, and the Guardian Medivh also slept here for more than ten years, making it famous throughout the world.
Bishop Natalie Seline of Northshire Abbey was leading a group of priests to greet Galen's team at the gate.
"Praise the Light, welcome brothers and sisters, I am Bishop Natalie Seline of Elwynn!" Natalie stepped forward and performed a ritual of the Church of the Holy Light.
"Praise the Light, Bishop Natalie, I am Galen, the person in charge of this trip!" Galen dismounted and returned a salute to the Holy Light clergy who welcomed him. The team members behind him also dismounted and bowed.
Afterward, Galen handed over another letter from the Archbishop, "The Archbishop received a revelation from the Holy Light in a dream, the search team is trapped in the southwest, we are here to rescue the brothers and sisters of the Holy Light, this is our proof of identity."
"No need for that, Galen, I have already received a message from the Archbishop, so I am waiting for you here. I can feel the power of the Holy Light from you, are you the Holy Paladin Order that the Archbishop spoke of?"
Natalie curiously looked at Galen and the group behind Galen: "It seems that there are a few familiar faces!"
"Good day, Bishop Seline, we are disciples of Archbishop Faol." Uther and the others, who had been by the Archbishop's side, had also seen many high-ranking members of the Church of the Holy Light.
"Brother Galen, I will have Samuel arrange for everyone to settle down first, and then we will go inside to discuss the rescue!" Then, Bishop Natalie invited Galen and the others into the abbey.
The group entered the third floor of the abbey under Natalie's leadership. This was a spacious room. In the middle of the room was a huge pulpit. Besides that, there was only a desk and a few chairs. The walls were inlaid with a bookshelf filled with scriptures and books.
The group sat around the table, and the sunlight shone through the glass on the windows, right onto the desk.
"Please tell us the detailed information, Bishop Natalie." Galen spoke first. For this operation, whether it was the Archbishop or Uther and the others, they had all defaulted to Galen as the leader.
"Five months ago, there were attacks by unknown creatures on the borders of the Kingdom of Stormwind. King Llane ordered the defenses to be strengthened, and the abbey also added several patrol teams, but accidents still happened. Some unknown creatures sneaked into the abbey and stole our holy relic, the 'Book of Divinity'. The only clue is some messy footprints. According to my deduction, the creature is more than two meters tall!"
"Our patrol team was ambushed during the pursuit, suffering heavy losses. Later, reinforcements came, and Sir Lothar and the members of the Brotherhood of the Horse replaced us and continued the pursuit, sent by King Llane."
"In the following five months, we lost contact with Sir Lothar. Just when we thought they had met with misfortune, Archbishop Alonsus sent a letter saying that he had received a revelation from the Holy Light that the knight was trapped in the southwest of the kingdom!"
After Bishop Natalie finished speaking, she quietly looked at Galen, who was deep in thought, waiting for him to digest the information he had just received.
Galen remembered that in the original timeline, the orcs' Old Horde, in order to weaken the army of the Kingdom of Stormwind, set their sights on the priests, who played an important role in assisting and healing in army operations. Stealing the 'Book of Divinity' would be able to strike at the morale of the clergy. The more fanatical the monks, the more obvious the effect.
And Lothar was ambushed by ogres and seriously injured. He and his team members were trapped inside the Deadmines for as long as twenty months before King Llane sent a new rescue team to get them out.
Perhaps he had changed some timelines, allowing the Holy Paladins to be born a few years earlier, and also allowing the Archbishop to foresee Lothar's matter in advance.
Things are troublesome. When he, Gandalf, and Aragorn discussed the Heart of Origin, they guessed that within the radiation range of the Town Hall, it had a certain ability to shield detection and perception, somewhat like the Psychic Amplifier from Red Alert to protect the base.
Now the butterfly effect has already occurred, and the timeline has changed a little bit. The Bronze Dragon won't come to check, will they? I hope not!
In the Hillsbrad region, outside the city of Dalaran, a gnome loli clenched her small fists, with an expression of finally catching you, and then dispelled the transformation magic, transforming into a huge cyan dragon, crossing the ocean, pointing directly at the south.
Galen didn't know that his novice protection period was over. At this moment, he was discussing with Uther and the others, preparing to rest tonight and head southeast tomorrow to search for news of Sir Lothar.
Everyone was at a loss. According to the western map provided by Bishop Natalie, this area of the Kingdom of Stormwind called Westfall was too big, and they had no clues.
Only Galen was calm and composed, with a plan in mind. He, who had played Warcraft, knew that Sir Lothar was trapped near Moonbrook in Westfall, in a place called the Deadmines.
That's right, it was the Deadmines of later generations, the dungeon that the Alliance can enter at level ten!