Chapter 642

Chapter 642: Gradually Diverging

Jesse drank late into the night with Greed. By midnight, needing to sober up enough to crawl into bed, they took a break and stepped outside the tavern for some cool air.

Leaning against the inn’s wall, Jesse listened to the clamor from the windows and remarked, "Seeing how packed the Deepwater Inn is, I doubt we’ll get a room. Should we find an abandoned shack to sleep in tonight, or… wait, how long have you been here?"

"About two days," Greed replied.

Jesse pressed, "With the Deepwater Inn this crowded, did you two find somewhere to stay?"

"Not the inn," Vereesa said, glancing toward the fortress within the city walls. "We stayed inside."

Jesse asked, "They let you?"

Greed tapped his chest. "I’m a Nethergarde veteran—somewhat famous, Jesse. And this Farstrider is the Ranger-General of Silvermoon City’s sister, not to mention a Farstrider captain. The war’s over, the fortress has empty rooms—they wouldn’t make us sleep on the streets."

"That solves everything," Jesse said. "I was worried about where to stay if it kept raining tonight. I know no one here."

Vereesa studied Jesse’s expression. "Did they promise to restore your name after this task?"

"The mage did. Krasus," Jesse answered.

"You met Krasus?" Vereesa, who’d just pulled a handful of crushed nuts from her pocket, clenched them in her palm. "They say he’s the most mysterious of the Kirin Tor Council. What’s he look like?"

"Tall, with pale gold hair," Jesse said. "Beyond that, nothing stood out. Maybe I can’t tell your Quel’dorei apart."

"He visited Quel’Thalas," Vereesa noted. "Sylvanas mentioned he once asked the Farstriders for a ranger’s help on a Kirin Tor mission, but she refused. Was it about Grim Batol?"

"Likely. Why did she refuse?"

"Too many Farstriders died or were wounded at the Dark Portal," Vereesa explained. "And no volunteers stepped forward."

Greed let out a belch. "Aren’t the Kirin Tor Council the rulers of Dalaran? Such powerful mages should command respect in Quel’Thalas too. Why the cold shoulder?"

"I’m not sure," Vereesa mumbled, chewing a nut. "Long before my sisters were born, he served on the Silvermoon Council. Since he’s stayed in Dalaran all this time, I suppose he’s shifted his loyalty there. Many see mages like him as traitors. Both the Silvermoon Council and the Magus’ Platform treat them poorly."

As Greed and Vereesa discussed Krasus’ legends, Jesse’s thoughts drifted to the Dark Portal battle—where Sylvanas and her Farstriders hunted Eredar Wizards alongside human soldiers, holding the line against demons.

At Nethergarde, he’d often wondered whether that brutal clash even happened in the other timeline. So many heroes fought, even a Pit Lord emerged at the end. Why was it never mentioned there?

Jesse revisited his nagging suspicion: eliminating Teron Gorefiend early in Azeroth had altered the conflict between the Draenor expedition and Ner’zhul’s clan. That divergence made closing the Dark Portal far harder than it should’ve been.

But beyond that discrepancy—in the original timeline, Deathwing’s minions only spotted the Dalaran mage Rhonin *after* he left for Grim Batol. His report in Lordaeron about rescuing the Red Dragon Queen drew Deathwing’s attention.

Here, Jesse sensed Deathwing’s gaze the moment Krasus sought candidates. Once Jesse was chosen, the dragon invaded his dreams without delay.

The contrast couldn’t be starker.

He’d pondered this since leaving Stormwind’s port. Only one figure had the means and opportunity to cause such a shift: Archmage Kel’Thuzad. He must’ve recommended Jesse to Krasus, then immediately leaked his name to Deathwing.

But in the other timeline, hadn’t Kel’Thuzad allied with the black dragons? Shouldn’t he have warned Deathwing about Krasus’ plans? Unless…

Perhaps there, Kel’Thuzad hadn’t yet earned Deathwing’s full trust. Their partnership might’ve been fleeting—a product of the chaos when the Eye of Dalaran was stolen—before betrayal or parting ways.

Games, novels, films—none mentioned this. Or had Jesse forgotten?

If no alliance existed there, how had Kel’Thuzad forged such deep ties with the black dragons here? Unless… he personally stole the Eye of Dalaran from the vaults?

After Jesse and Greed helped Lordaeron’s soldiers slay the black dragonlet Mafra in Southshore, the pursuing Quel’Thalas Farstriders lost their quarry. Stuck guarding Dalaran, they complicated Teron Gorefiend and Deathwing’s plot to invade the city. So the plan shifted: Teron’s Death Knights would draw the Farstriders’ attention while others slipped into the vault to steal the Sacred Tool, the Eye of Dalaran…

Jesse always assumed Deathwing did the deed. Now he wondered if Kel’Thuzad had stolen the Eye himself and delivered it to the Army of the Black Dragon.