The other Night Elves and a few Naga peered curiously into the sky, but they saw nothing out of the ordinary; the heavens appeared empty.
In truth, upon entering the Broken Isles, Rhodes had cast a spell of invisibility to avoid unnecessary trouble. It was enough to deceive ordinary eyes, but it couldn't fool a Demon Hunter. Though Illidan was blind, his spectral sight allowed him to see things hidden from common men.
To Illidan, Rhodes was perfectly visible. Realizing this, Rhodes dropped the ruse and revealed his true form. A massive Wyvern Monarch suddenly materialized above the group.
"Long time no see, Illidan."
The moment Rhodes appeared, the Night Elves on the ground notched their arrows, aiming directly at him. Several Naga raised their staves or drew various ranged weapons—some even wielded two bows at once with their four arms. Among the Naga, due to Queen Azshara's influence, females generally held the dominant positions of power, while males occupied a lower status.
"Lower your weapons, my followers. He is not our enemy," Illidan said, raising a hand to quell their hostility.
Rhodes steered the Wyvern Monarch to a landing and approached Illidan, extending a hand for a friendly greeting. Illidan, however, clearly wasn't interested in being overly polite and gave him only a perfunctory touch.
"I believe I told you, Rhodes—now is not the time for us to meet. Our 'best' moment to reunite should be after you return," Illidan said.
"Don't be like that. I'm here because I have business with you. I've accepted a new mission, and I'm actually here to help," Rhodes replied. He gave a small smile to Lady Vashj, Illidan's rumored confidante standing nearby. However, the Naga lady's face was frozen in a cold, stiff expression—perhaps due to racial traits, or perhaps something else.
Her four arms were tucked uncomfortably behind her back, and the octopus-tentacle hair atop her head whipped about frantically. Vashj seemed to be struggling to restrain some inner reaction; she even turned her head away. She felt an odd tension—she didn't know this man, so why was her body reacting with such instinctual agitation?
"Is this the work of the one behind you? Tyrande... is she alright?" Illidan asked suddenly, his thoughts jumping to a certain conclusion.
The one behind Rhodes, in Illidan's mind, had to be the Goddess Elune. Had the Great Goddess given Rhodes a new mission after ten thousand years? Could Tyrande's body handle the strain? Rhodes, you bastard, if anything happens to Tyrande, I'll be the first to tear you apart. Wait—something was off. Rhodes was supposed to establish that connection ten thousand years in the past. At this current point in time, he shouldn't have traveled back yet.
"Yes, a Great Titan Watcher gave me a task. I know why you're here: to find the Eye of Sargeras and eliminate the Lich King, right?" Rhodes said with a grin.
"A Titan Watcher? Why would you accept a mission from those guys? Aren't you—forget it. I shouldn't talk too much with you. If you want to follow, then follow," Illidan said, checking himself.
"Aren't you going to introduce the lady? She seems to be the leader of these Naga," Rhodes asked, looking at the towering Vashj.
"You two are actually old acquaintances. Vashj, this mage is named Rhodes. Does it ring a bell?" Illidan asked, a playful, mocking smirk playing on his lips.
Back in the day, the Highborne nobility had a very "active" social life, and Rhodes had spent quite some time mingling in those circles. Vashj should have known him.
"Who are you? I... I feel a sense of familiarity, but I can't place where I've seen you. This is strange. Are you sure we know each other, Lord Illidan?" Vashj asked, her voice filled with confusion.
Looking at her current self—four arms, octopus hair, a giant serpent tail, and fish-like gills—she felt she had no face to show an old acquaintance. Furthermore, she had no conscious memory of Rhodes, yet she felt an instinctive urge to hide her appearance from him.
"Strictly speaking, I'm not the Rhodes you remember. It's complicated. You've heard of time magic; I've traveled back to the future from ten thousand years ago," Rhodes explained with a shrug.
"Oh! So you don't know me yet, but I knew you ten thousand years ago? That is... truly strange. But why do I have no memory of you at all?" Vashj asked, clutching her head.
"Don't worry about it. Not many people knew my true identity back then; I was very low-profile," Rhodes said.
Standing aside, Illidan let out a cold snort. You? Low-profile? That's the funniest joke I've ever heard.
The reason Vashj didn't remember Rhodes was simple: a powerful being had cast a memory-alteration spell. Currently, the only ones who retained memories of Rhodes—aside from supreme deities—were the demigod Cenarius, Malfurion, and Tyrande.
However, the Queen in the deep sea surely remembered. If Azshara knew Rhodes had returned, things would get interesting. She would likely hunt him down to skin him alive and eat his flesh.
Back then, Rhodes was highly favored in Azshara's circle, but when she was preparing to welcome Sargeras and dreaming of becoming his bride, Rhodes had stabbed her in the back.
He had even mocked her as a "gold-digging bitch." Illidan still felt a thrill of satisfaction remembering Rhodes' insults to the Queen.
Phrases like, "Sargeras just needs a maid to serve tea; you'd fit the part perfectly. You can lick his boots like a dog." or "Look in a mirror once in a while." Azshara hated Rhodes to her very marrow; even after drowning in the deep, she cursed him for ruining her "perfect marriage" and her chance to be the Queen of the Burning Legion.
Illidan glanced at his Naga followers. They weren't core members and had no way of contacting Azshara. As long as he kept quiet, word of Rhodes wouldn't spread.
"Fine, I see," Vashj said, nodding to Rhodes. The name sounded familiar... why couldn't she remember?
"So tell me, Illidan, what's the plan?" Rhodes asked.
"First, I want to know one thing: How do you know about the Eye of Sargeras?" Illidan asked, genuinely curious how Rhodes knew of this specific artifact.
"That's a secret. You know who I have backing me," Rhodes said, acting mysterious.
Illidan nodded. If it was the "Goddess's" will, he wouldn't pry further. He began to outline his plan. "I need it to destroy the Lich King. It's hidden in the Tomb of Sargeras ahead, guarded by many dangerous demons. I planned to lead my followers in, but now that you're here, perhaps the two of us are enough."
Originally, Illidan intended to use the Naga as cannon fodder to clear the tomb. But Rhodes was essentially a one-man army. Two people sneaking in would be much faster and more efficient.
"We're on the same page. Let's go in together; I'll help you clear out the demons," Rhodes said. Those demons were walking resources to him—gold, artifacts, and rare units. Plus, in front of Illidan, he could finally unleash some of his more "special" troops, like his undead.
"Then it's settled. Your companion... she's a mage, right? Let her stay outside with Vashj. That mad woman [Maiev] has been chasing me; they can hold her off and buy us more time."
Rhodes looked at Illidan. "That's fine, but are you sure you want to let things escalate with Maiev?"
The Night Elves and Naga were mortal enemies. The Night Elves held nothing but contempt for these "fallen" Highborne.
"Do you have a better idea? You know how obsessed that woman is. Her only goal is to drag me back to that dark barrow. Unless... would you rather stay here and deal with her while I lead the troops inside?" Illidan snorted. He remembered Rhodes spreading plenty of rumors about him and Maiev in the past. It was a shame she didn't remember Rhodes—he'd have loved to see her hunt him down too.
"I'll pass. I'll let Jaina stay and help delay her," Rhodes said. He definitely wanted inside that tomb for the "loot."
Illidan nodded and began organizing his defenses, preparing for the inevitable arrival of Maiev Shadowsong and her Wardens.