"Tyrygosa, you... why are you here?" Seeing the blue dragon girl before him, Kalecgos's voice stammered slightly.
"Why shouldn't I be here? Is there a problem with a girl coming to protect her own fiancé?" The blue dragon girl smiled playfully. "Heaven help us, look at the state of you. Please, Kalec—it was just a common adventuring party, and you let them wound you like this." Tyrygosa said, looking a bit exasperated.
"Tyri, I can take care of myself. I don't need protection. Did Father send you?" Kalecgos asked.
"In a manner of speaking! After all, it's hard to miss a magic source this massive," Tyrygosa said, her eyes shifting toward Rhodes and the others. "A team of human adventurers... I suspect you aren't ordinary people. Regardless, I thank you for saving my fiancé."
"I was just about to investigate them. That human girl's identity is likely unusual," Kalecgos said, pointing toward Anveena, who had golden hair. To keep her identity secret, Anveena had shifted into a human form; having mastered Krasus's magic, she could now switch between human and elven states at will, an ability quite similar to the dragons' own.
Rhodes and his companions gave the blue dragon girl a standard human salute. Rhodes recognized her immediately. While novice players might confuse her identity, he knew better: this was Tyrygosa (often shortened to Tyri), Kalecgos's former fiancée. She was a prominent blue dragon who appeared in both the novels and the manga, first in the Sunwell Trilogy and later in the Shadow Wing series. In the Burning Crusade timeline, she even fell for the human paladin Jorad Mace.
Rhodes knew her well—she was a much more capable fighter than a certain "five-stack-of-war-trash" dragon. In fact, Dar'Khan's first death in the original lore was at her hands.
"We are currently on a special mission to lure out an evil necromancer and eliminate him," Rhodes explained. "We were waiting for the 'snake to leave its hole' when we saw your fiancé get sniped by dwarves. We came over and saved him as a courtesy."
"I see. Ambushing a necromancer? Would you like my help?" Tyrygosa asked. She felt something was off about these humans; though she couldn't put her finger on it, their appearance and demeanor didn't match. What kind of "ordinary" adventurer stays this calm in front of two dragons?
"As far as I know, the Blue Dragonflight—and the five flights in general—don't usually spend time mingling with humans," Rhodes said with a shrug.
"The Scourge is the enemy of all the living. In Northrend, they have even defiled the remains of our kin. I have a perfectly valid reason to assist you. Besides, you are traveling with a powerful source of magic; I need to find out exactly what she is," Tyrygosa stated.
If the Blue Dragon King, Malygos, hadn't suffered a mental breakdown, and if the flight hadn't been decimated since the War of the Ancients, the Scourge wouldn't have dared touch their dead. Recently, the ancient blue dragon Sapphiron had been slain by Arthas and raised as a Frost Wyrm. The Dragonflights loathed the Scourge; many blue dragons had begged Malygos to launch a crusade against the Lich King, but their King was... compromised.
Furthermore, a new force was desecrating dragon remains. The Forsaken had a Highlord Death Knight named Strongke and a Banshee named Sylvanas, and their mount was reportedly a skeletal dragon. Investigating whether these were defiled blue dragons was part of her mission.
"If you two are that interested, I don't mind. I just hope that when we start the fight, you two stay on the sidelines and just watch," Rhodes said with a grin. This blue dragon girl was a catalyst for many events, and her presence was always a sign of big things to come.
As they spoke, Kalecgos walked over to the charred remains of the dwarven leader and pulled out a blue crystal. "No wonder they found me. This is a Dragon-Sensing Crystal. They were coming for me."
Rhodes let out a snort. In the original plot, Dar'Khan gave them that crystal. But Dar'Khan's true goal was the Avatar of the Sunwell. Why bother the blue dragons? Perhaps he hoped the dragon would lead him to the prize.
"I think they were using you to find the girl," Tyrygosa noted. "We blue dragons have a powerful sense for magic. He likely planned to use you."
"Use me? How? I would never help a necromancer," Kalecgos said indignantly.
"You're so naive, Kalec. He doesn't need your 'help.' He'd kill you and use your heart or other parts to forge an artifact to pinpoint her location. If I'm not mistaken, that girl is the manifestation of the Sunwell. The High Elves—pardon me, they call themselves Blood Elves now—actually let her wander around out here?" Tyrygosa remarked. She didn't mention the even more direct method: turning Kalecgos into an undead wyrm to serve as a puppet.
"What? You're saying she's the Sunwell? That's impossible! The Sunwell was restored; we both felt that terrifying surge of magic two weeks ago."
"Nothing is impossible. The evidence is standing right in front of you."
As the dragons bickered, Rhodes's View Earth magic detected a massive horde of undead closing in. With a rustle, swarms of skeletons, zombies, ghouls, and several massive Abominations surrounded them.
"Found you, Avatar of the Sunwell. Today is a glorious day. Not only do I get the Sunwell, but two blue dragons as a bonus."
Dar'Khan Drathir stepped slowly from the shadows of the forest. He maintained the poise of an elven mage, but his pale skin and the flickering blue fire in his eyes betrayed his undead nature. His greedy gaze locked onto Anveena like she was a priceless treasure, before sweeping over Kalecgos and Tyrygosa. If he killed the dragons, he could craft powerful Frost Wyrms. During his time with the Scourge, he had learned the art of draconic reanimation from Kel'Thuzad himself.
"Arrogant corpse! You defile the dignity of the living, and now you dare covet the power of dragons?" Tyrygosa spat. She stepped forward, arcane energy swirling around her. Unlike Kalecgos, her stance was sharp and aggressive; this "mother dragon" was fierce.
Kalecgos also entered a combat stance. Though drained, Rhodes's healing and Tyrygosa's arrival had bolstered his confidence.
"The guest of honor finally decided to show up. I thought you were going to keep playing the rat in the shadows," Rhodes said with a chuckle. About time! If you stayed hidden any longer, I would've gotten bored.
Dar'Khan ignored the taunt, his eyes fixed on his prizes. "Hmph. Sharp-tongued human. Once I turn you all into my undead puppets, we'll see how arrogant you remain."
"Is that so? I hope you can keep that energy up in a few minutes. You two dragons—no need for you to lift a finger. Anveena, it's your time to shine." Rhodes sneered and instantly dropped his disguise magic.
The human mercenary in tattered leather armor vanished, replaced instantly by the Vice-Commander of the Order of the Silver Hand, clad in gleaming golden plate and wielding Holy Light's Judgment.
Anveena stepped forward, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You'd better play with me for a long time, Mr. Necromancer."