"The night elves are getting involved too?" Josh frowned when he reconnected with Abbendis, who explained that Tyrande herself was heading to Unfallen City and had said she would "join" Abbendis' Broken Isles expedition.
"Yes. According to Tyrande, they've always kept outposts on the Broken Isles to watch for strange movements, and they know a bit about Highmountain. They say they can help us find the Highmountain tribe," Abbendis nodded, though with a mocking smile.
Tyrande's so-called help was really just another form of watching.
The night elves clearly didn't want Abbendis' power to spread too far into the Isles. It wasn't because they wanted to own the land, but because the place was already unstable enough. Even at the peak of their empire, the night elves couldn't clear out all the threats hiding there.
What worried them was that if Abbendis, a powerful human lord, really stepped into the Isles, it could blow the powder keg wide open. Naga, nightborne, dragons, demons, the Nightmare—too many forces crammed into one chain of islands, more chaotic than the Balkans on Earth.
"Busybody elves," Josh snorted. He knew that for more than ten thousand years, the night elves had kept an eye on the Isles—especially the Cenarion Circle. Val'sharah had been the front line against the Burning Legion in ancient times, and also the birthplace of druidism. The night elves had never truly let go of that land.
So Josh had guessed that Abbendis' landing might stir them up. But he hadn't thought they'd react this strongly—barely a whisper of news had spread before Tyrande herself showed up.
"Not a big problem," Josh finally said after thinking it through. "Our real targets on the Isles are the four Pillars of Creation—except for the Tear of Elune—and the body of Sargeras' avatar, plus the nightborne of Suramar. None of these things can be taken by armies alone. You just lead the Bloodhoof tribe to the Highmountain tribe and draw the elves' eyes. Leave the rest to the Ancient One."
He left out the Tear of Elune for one reason: he didn't want the goddess Elune to sense anything.
The other Pillars were safer—since Sargeras had slaughtered the titans long ago, only Eonar's spirit had hidden on Azeroth. The others were trapped on Argus, far away from meddling in Azeroth.
"Ancient One?" Abbendis was surprised. Josh rarely spoke with such respect.
"Yes. Ancient One. One of the greatest powers of my world, once our greatest protector. Her strength is at least as great as Aegwynn or Medivh, if not greater. You must not take her lightly," Josh said with rare seriousness.
"I understand. I won't." Seeing Josh so solemn, and knowing that the ally he was sending was stronger than legends, Abbendis grew serious too.
"There are others as well—powerful people from my world. My youngest son Ben is among them. But there's also one exception: a very annoying boy named Loki. If he irritates you, feel free to beat him up a few times. Just don't kill him," Josh added.
Yes—besides Ancient One, Josh was also sending Loki.
It was both a chance and a test.
Azeroth was full of treasures. With Ancient One leading, Josh would have gone himself if he could. Since he couldn't, he gave Loki the chance.
If Loki couldn't seize it, then… hmph.
"I understand. I'll take care of him," Abbendis replied. He already knew Loki—Josh had complained about him before, even joking that if they weren't from different worlds, he'd rather have Abbendis as his son-in-law.
After all, Abbendis was someone Josh had watched grow up. Sure, he could stir up trouble sometimes, but emotionally, he was nothing like Loki, that "outsider." And though Abbendis had never met Josh's three children, in a way they were like his younger siblings. As the older brother, he naturally felt it was his "duty" to test his future brother-in-law, Loki.
So the two exchanged a glance, grinning slyly, and quietly sealed Loki's fate.
–
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the day before Abbendis' fleet was to set out. A few small night elf warships arrived at Unfallen City. These night elves would act as "guides," leading Abbendis' fleet to the Broken Isles and directing them to land at the border between Val'sharah and Highmountain.
It was clear their real purpose was to watch Abbendis, but their guidance also saved the fleet a lot of trouble. The Isles had been dangerous ever since the War of the Ancients.
Even though Abbendis had built ties with some naga tribes, landing safely was still no easy task. After all, naga territory wasn't on land, and most of their control was over the perilous Broken Shore.
Josh and Abbendis were very interested in Sargeras' avatar's body, yes—but that didn't mean they wanted to charge headfirst into danger. Ending up like Gul'dan was not part of the plan.
But before the fleet departed, Abbendis received a very special group of guests in his residence.
"Greetings, Ancient One, and to all of you," Abbendis said respectfully, bowing to the leading figure.
There were nine in total—new arrivals from the Marvel universe, sent by Josh through the system.
At the front was Ancient One, the one leading the Azeroth mission. The others were: Josh's youngest son Ben Kahn, the highly promising Four Divine Powers Warrior Bresta, the Ten Rings master Xu Wenwu, the dark sorceress Shadow Weaver—whom Josh had subdued after defeating the He-Man siblings and the Hord Empire in Eternia, the high elf artificer Thalorien—once sold away by Abbendis himself and the naga witch Narathas, and the troll priest Malacrass, also returning home.
And, of course, Josh's would-be son-in-law—Loki.
Other than Josh himself, the still-missing Margaret, and the not-so-strong Loki, Josh had basically sent his most loyal and powerful allies.
The only real exception was the few high elves Abbendis had sold off long ago. Other than Thalorien, who now treated Josh as his faith and no longer cared about race, the rest—led by Vereesa—still longed for their homeland, and had no idea they might return to Azeroth.
Though most of the group came from the Marvel universe, especially Earth-born figures like Ben, Xu Wenwu, and Ancient One, all carrying traces of Tiamat's power, Ancient One knew how to hide such things.
The pact of the Supreme Sorcerers only forbade open invasions, not all contact with other worlds. Ancient One had plenty of experience concealing her aura, and before coming she used spells to mask the group's presence. Normally, there was no need to worry about Azeroth detecting them.
"The honor is mine, Lord Abbendis. We will be troubling you for some time," Ancient One replied with a polite nod.
The rest followed her example, bowing in respect.
Josh had warned them all beforehand about Abbendis' importance as host.