A month had passed, and Varrus was sitting in his office in Silvermoon going over the successes and concerns of the Gilnean campaign.
Taking a sip of some tea, Varrus massaged his eyes, and began to write down what he had accomplished so he had a reference for later.
Starting with the successes:
By backing Tess as the new monarch, Varrus had secured a new vassal state to the Covenant, and a new front of attack for their slowly mounting assault against the Scourge.
In that month, Varrus did much to secure Tess's rule, and leave the Gilneans dependent on Elven diplomacy/trade.
For one, he had eliminated all of the nobles who balked at her rule, and replaced them with cousins or distant relatives more sympathetic to the cause.
Whilst Gilneas had adopted a isolationist policy for the last 7 months, they were closed no longer. Varrus set up a Rune Stone, and used it as an anchor to set up a portal to Silvermoon.
Now, traders, nobles, and craftsmen could pay a fee, or with a pass enter the Trade Bazaar district in Silvermoon. Where they were free to trade their goods with Elves, and Kobolds.
As a result, Gilneas had easy access to high quality food, low tier enchanted gear, raw materials, and other luxury items such as silks or enchanted items mimicking refrigerators/stoves. In exchange, they provided alchemical ingredients for Starbottle's potions, and sturdy ironwood, which was a favorite for Elven bows and vessels.
Syra had also been a huge help in stabilizing the young monarch, and acted as a teacher for Void magic studies. Tess was understandably unstable as a leader, considering she was a teenager who spent the majority of her life within a dark room locked away from others. Syra and her were both incredibly awkward with social interactions, but their shared trauma served as a basis for Syra to sympathize. His beautiful wife truly took this as practice for when they eventually had a child, and worked Tess to exhaustion. The raven haired teen wasn't quite on their level, but she was a solid Hero with room to grow.
As for the Worgen issue, there were still many peasants who had fallen to this curse. With the help of the Darkfallen Prince Valanar, they had learned how to control themselves, and had become forcefully recruited as soldiers. This was a somewhat unpopular stance amongst the populace, but the pay was good, and a pro-Worgen campaign had been launched throughout the nation. By and large, anyone who wanted a shot at a better life, or had a bone to pick with the Undead signed up to the Wolfs Brigade.
In terms of concerns, Varrus had gone on this campaign with few scouts, and his Plan A had completely evaporated with the actions of the Worgen. Secondly, leaving Tess to duel her father was a huge gamble that almost didn't pay off. If it weren't for his cheating, and Syra's tutoring, then the state of Gilneas would be looking quite different at the moment. Lastly, Tess was an emotional young lady, he would have to watch Gilneas carefully, as the slightest breeze might topple her over, and all that hard work would have been for nothing.
Shaking his hea at the complete cluster fuck that was the Gilnean campaign, Varrus rubbed his eyes. Glancing to the side, a stack of papers loomed tall, and awaited his perusal.
'Fuck me.' Varrus internally bemoaned.
As the leader of a noble House, liaison for two other countries, operator of Mana Stone distribution, and First Seat of the Convocation, Varrus received a metric ton of missives and reports all the time.
During this month-with the exception of reforming the nobility-Varus acted more like a CEO of a company than an adventurer, and was busy directing a ton of meetings, and getting the ball rolling on a dozen different missions.
Thanks to the Rune Stones linking together a grand teleportation network, he spent his time porting between Silvermoon, Gilneas, and the Kobolds home so he could oversee the plans, production, and the safety of these lands.
The paperwork was never ending, but if he was to effectively destroy the millions of Undead within the former kingdom of Lordaeron, he couldn't afford to be sloppy about it, like he was with his Gilnean endeavor.
In his capacity as a CEO, Varrus observed the trends of the world, and acted on his foreknowledge.
While he had been playing around in Gilneas, he had sent out many orders, and missives. At this point, he was 99% certain Archimonde was sent back to the Twisting Nether, and Varrus had acted accordingly.
He had sent the priest, Dawnbringer south into the plaguelands, to prepare for his eventual co-opting of the Forsaken movement. Illidan would use the Eye of Sargeras any day now, and weaken the Lich King. So Varrus was preparing for this eventuality by sending the Undead he trusted most.
Faedra, unknowing of Illidan's plan, had joined in on the fun, and presented Varrus with an enchanted rod, that when it struck someone-whether living or dead-it removed any compulsion placed upon them.
Effectively, this rod removed the Dreadlords and the Lich King's hold on the Undead!
Varrus didn't know how to interpret this move from his mother-in-law, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Thanks to the inherent kindness, and leadership traits of Dawnbringer, this former colleague of Old Man Vandercross had already gathered a low-key following numbering in the thousands thanks to Faedra's contribution.
Other than this inroad into the Plaguelands, Varrus had sent an envoy westward, to the isle of Kezan. Bilgewater Port, capital city and meeting homeland of the Goblin nation was their destination. Their mission was to entice the Goblin mercenary group, the Blackfuse Company to join him. Siegecrafter Helix Blackfuse was the brilliant mind behind the Iron Horde's tech, and as far as Varrus was aware, the only person in Warcraft to create an assembly line with conveyor belts.
While Varrus could produce weapons at an insane level thanks to his Smithin ability, and the Skyrim UI, he couldn't make as of yet anything all that advanced on the tech tree.
As someone who worked with rockets, mecha golems, and other tech heavy weapons, Blackfuses's addition would be quite welcome in the upcoming campaign against the Scourge.
During this same month, Varrus had revived/paralyzed Rommath repeatedly so that he could question him about restoring the Sunwell with different types of energy. He then shared these notes with Kael, and they slowly worked out an optimal path for the restoration of the Sunwell.
The young King had kept in contact with Varrus, and the Undead Amani had all but been dealt with. At the same time, Nightsong had secured the Ghostlands, and rid it of any roaming ghouls, skeletons, or abominations.
During this interim, Telonicus was hard at work on the Rune Stones, and both he and Tae'thelon had been studying the Rune Pistol that Varrus had obtained from Lorna Crowley.
The pair of researchers were greedy for Mana Stones, but Varrus didn't mind. They were an odd pair, but didn't seem to be particularly power hungry. In Tae'thelon's case, he seemed obsessed with fame & prestige, whilst the engineer, Telonicus had so many new ideas, he was like a nerd who wanted to keep pushing the boundaries of science forward as much as possible.
It was Varrus's hope that one day, he could combine their knowledge with Blackfuse's, and make an assembly line of Rune-based weapons. But he still had to make a contract with Blackfuse, and R&D took time. But that didn't mean Varrus couldn't dream of such a day.
Finally, Varrus had brokered peace between the Crowley's, and the Greymane family. While he could never trust Crowley, he had a powerful army, and actively wanted to retake the part of Gilneas that was separated on the other side of the wall. In short, Crowley wanted to do exactly what Varrus wanted Gilneas to do.
The only hang up Varrus had with the guy were his Alliance sympathies, and his willingness to rebel. But all in all, this peace was good, and Varrus could always find a time and place to eliminate him if he became a problem.
All the pieces were coming together, and a noose was slowly forming around the Dreadlords necks.
Golem production was at an all time high, powerful iron works were being sold to the Gilneans, and the Rune Stones required to mask the Sunwell were almost all ready to go.
Whilst Varrus was deep in his thoughts, a knock on his door brought him out of his fugue.
"The Blackfuse Company is here to negotiate with you, sir." Rho'dan called out.
"Send him in." Varrus said authoritatively.
A moment later, a small green man with pointy ears, and a large head stepped inside.
Helix Blackfuse was a grey haired fellow who wore welding goggles on his head, and sported a cigar in his mouth. Unlike the typical Goblin Trade Princes, this company man didn't wear a suit, or formal attire. Instead, he was wearing a thick apron, and wore thick gloves. Based solely on his clothing, Blackfuse gave off the aura of a crafter, which was atypical when considering most Goblins in a leadership role dressed themselves in business suits.
To Varrus, this was a good thing. He had sought out an engineer, not some manager that would sit around all day.
Besides, this was a Goblin. Even if he wasn't wearing a suit, Varrus could trust Blackfuse would be greedy. This was something Varrus would keep in mind during this negotiation.
Just because Blackfuse was dressed like a craftsman, didn't mean Varrus would discount him as a nonfactor. Canonically, this guy piloted a mech suit against adventurers during the Siege of Orgrimmar. He was a proven mercenary that stuck to his word, Varrus desired such capable people in his retinue.
"Helix Blackfuse, please, take a seat." Varrus gestured towards an open chair.
The Goblin hopped up on his seat, and eyed the mountain of paperwork with a wide grin. When he opened his mouth to speak, it was a gravelly high pitch tone, and reminded Varrus of a stereotypical New Yorkers accent.
"Hah! Good to see some mess for once. I was walking through yous city, and everything was spotless clean! It's refreshing to see even a man of your stature can muck about. Names Helix, put'er there " Blackfuse leaned forward, and presented a blackened, oil stained glove.
Varrus saw Rho'dan's shoulders shake as the large man stood guard at the door, and Varrus couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes, I am quite the busy man, Blackfuse. My name is Varrus Vandercross, First Seat of the Convocation of Silvermoon, it is a pleasure to meet you." Varrus smiled, and cast a cleansing spell on Blackfuse, then reached his hand out for a shake.
"Oi, what you do that for? You know how important a Goblin's grease is for his work? It'll take me months to get this glove back to perfection! Your man's promises of gold were enticing, but if we can't shake hands man to man, how can I trust you will deliver on any contract?" Blackfuse pulled back his hand, and at Varrus.
"You are on the verge of bankruptcy, Mr. Blackfuse." Varrus gave the Goblin a deadpan look, and refused to buy into his negotiating tactics.
"So yous did your homework, eh? I may be close to broke, but I gots my pride. A handsome fellow like you may have a pretty face, and tons of coin, but me and the boys won't tolerate disrespect." Blackfuse crossed his arms, and narrowed his eyes.
"You have moxy speaking like that to me, Blackfuse. This is what happened to the last fellow who jabbered at me too much." Varrus gestured to Zul'Jin's head that was mounted on the wall.
"Ahh, an Elf that speaks my language! So many of you lot speak out your asses, it's nice to finally get such a naked threat for once!" Blackfuse slammed the table with a laugh, then reached forward, and poured himself a glass of wine.
Varrus blinked. This guy didn't give two fucks! He guessed what they said about geniuses and madness was true, they really went hand in hand.
Chuckling to himself, Varrus removed a gag from the Troll head, and Zul'Jin began to curse up a storm.
"I be gettin real tired of dis mon! You be makin a mockery of me every chance ya get! I be havin enough!"
"You're not locked up anymore, are you?"
"...ya mon, but dis is no way to live!" Zul'Jin rebutted.
"And you ate Elves. Spare me your sob story." Varrus rolled his eyes, and put the gag back in place.
"I am not an unreasonable employer, but respect is a two way street my little green friend. You come into my house, insult me with a dirty handshake, drag muddy boots on my floor, and help yourself to my refreshments. I realize you are testing my patience, hence my current calm, but be warned, Mr. Blackfuse, any further pushing may result in a similar outcome to Zul'Jin here." Varrus calmly sipped on his tea, and eyed Blackfuse with a look of aloofness.
"See, that's the kind of arrogance me and the boys can't stand. I'm almost broke, and came all this way knowing yous might gut me, I've got nothing to lose. So might as well see what the measure of my potential employer is." Blackfuse shrugged his shoulders, and took a big gulp of his drink. "So far, I'm unimpressed."
"As an Elf, I could be silently drinking water, and you'd think I was looking down on you." Varrus chuckled.
"But that is neither here nor there, Mr. Blackfuse. I say you do have something to live for." Varrus steepled his fingers.
"Oh hoh? Go on, wow me, I'm all ears." Blackfuse raised his goblet, and gestured for Varrus to continue.
"Revenge. You were a founding member of the Venture Company 30 years ago. You were on track to act as their CEO, but got ousted by your long time partner, no?"
"Like I said, you did your homework. So what if you are offering me revenge, what good is that? Can I eat it?" Blackfuse toyed with his cigar, and laughed as if Varrus had gone mad.
"I am offering you land, money, and a stockpile of raw goods like you've never seen. You are a creator, Mr. Blackfuse. Your shredders cut lumber, and farmed crops, generating huge amounts of cash. Unlike the fat cats swimming in coins, you spent what money entered your coffers immediately on experiments and new inventions. Yes, Mr. Blackfuse, I offer you revenge. Not the kind that sees your enemies dead on the ground, but the kind that has them weeping and begging in the street. When they see your success, they will have wished they kept you."
"That does sound nice, but the way I sees it, is you need me more than I need you. I know about the Undead crisis yous find yourselves in. Let's just say my services ain't cheap."
Varrus grinned at Blackfuse, and Blinked behind him.
"What the fuh-"
Blinking several more times in quick succession, Varrus took Blackfuse to a tower overlooking an open field.
"Bleh! The fuck you think you're doing?" Blackfuse wretched from the rapid teleportation, then reached for his pistol, only to find it being toyed with in Varrus's grip.
"Do I need you?" Varrus asked rhetorically, and gestured forward.
Down below, tens of thousands of Worgen were being fitted with armor, and were busy training with weapons.
Men were practicing loading muskets, and gunpowder cannons, Elves were practicing their magic, and ten thousand Iron Golems sat idly by.
Hovering over the field, a dozen Elven structures floated by. They were bristling with Mana Cannons, and had several round boxes worth of explosives ready to be dropped at any time. Men were practicing parachuting off of the levitating buildings, and Dragonhawks patrolled the sky.
"You are a piece of the puzzle, Mr. Blackfuse, but the services of one down and out Goblin are hardly the lynchpin necessary for my victory." Varrus spoke with an arrogant pride as he observed the formation of the Covenant's new army.
"You're a right bastard, aren't you, Vandercross?" Blackfuse eyed the scene for a moment longer, then took off his glove and presented his hand.
"And you're a little green shit, Mr. Blackfuse." Varrus grinned back, and shook his hand.
"So how much is the pay?" Blackfuse dropped his grin, and looked at Varrus with a deadly serious expression.
"Enough." Varrus's grin spread wider as he trolled the little man. "I'll have your contract prepared on the morrow. Welcome to the Covenant, Mr. Blackfuse."