They gathered at the gates of Stormwind and found Squire Rowe.
David and Susie's parties were still working through The Princess's Surprise, but Gabryell did not plan to wait for them. He would finish the most famous part of the Onyxia attunement questline first. Once they reached the final step, everyone could gather together and head to Upper Blackrock Spire.
Squire Rowe said, "I knew you would come. Before we begin, you should gather allies. After all, we're facing a dragon."
"Damn," Igor said. "We're fighting a dragon? Is five people enough?"
"The five of us probably aren't even enough to get stuck between her teeth," Hugo said.
The NPC made it sound terrifying. Players doing this quest for the first time would easily think they actually needed to gather a raid and fight a dragon right there in Stormwind.
Gabryell just laughed.
"This is Stormwind. If a dragon starts trouble here, do you really think we're the ones who have to handle it? Let the big NPCs earn their salaries."
Bolvar Fordragon might be an idiot, but he was not weak. His strength was real. A few elite black dragonkin were nothing to him. Even if Onyxia herself showed up, he would at least be able to hold the line long enough for the city to react.
After the conversation with Squire Rowe ended, Marshal Reginald Windsor rode up to the city gates on horseback.
"This guy walks slow and rides slow," Carlos said.
"Wait," Hugo said. "Where did he even get the horse?"
When Windsor reached them, Gabryell spoke to him and triggered the event.
From this point on, the quest became a raid-style event. As long as the party leader or raid leader talked to the NPC, everyone nearby with the quest would receive progress together.
"As you have no doubt worked out by now, Lady Katrana Prestor is Onyxia," Windsor said. "She is one of Deathwing's brood, and the sister of Nefarian, the tyrant of Blackrock Spire."
"She has been manipulating our kingdom for far too long. Even Highlord Bolvar Fordragon has been led around by her schemes. Today, it ends. Her spell will be broken."
Windsor dismounted and began walking through the Valley of Heroes toward Stormwind Keep.
Gabryell and the others followed closely.
Halfway through the Valley, Windsor shouted, "As was fated a lifetime ago in Karazhan, monster, I have come! And with me, I bring justice!"
Lady Katrana Prestor's voice rang out almost immediately.
"Seize him! Seize this vile criminal and his accomplices!"
General Marcus Jonathan, commander of Stormwind's defense forces, arrived with a squad of guards.
"Reginald," Marcus said, "you know I can't let you through."
Windsor did not draw his weapon. He simply spoke.
He reminded Marcus of who they were, what they had fought for, and what honor still meant. He spoke of duty, old comrades, and the oath they had once carried as soldiers of Stormwind.
By the end, Marcus could no longer meet his eyes.
"So we just watch?" Igor asked.
"Watch," Gabryell said. "This event is long. Stay close to Windsor. If you get too far away and fail the quest, we'll be stuck waiting for the whole thing to reset."
For this story event, another group could only start after the previous event ended. If they wandered too far from Windsor and caused the quest to fail, they would waste a ridiculous amount of time.
Marcus was finally convinced.
He turned and shouted for the soldiers to stand aside. Then he lowered himself to one knee before Windsor and placed a hand over his chest.
"Go, Reginald. May the Light guide you."
The soldiers followed him, kneeling one by one in respect.
"Damn," Igor said, staring at the scene. "Did Windsor just become the main character?"
It was not just him. The players standing nearby were stunned too.
Most of them had no idea this was a quest event. One moment, NPCs were gathering near the gate. The next, soldiers were kneeling on both sides of the road while an armored marshal walked straight into the city like a returning hero.
That was enough to blow up public chat.
"Everyone get to Stormwind gates! No idea what's happening, but all the guards are kneeling."
"Some elite NPC just showed up in Stormwind and is marching toward the keep. Soldiers are bowing to him. Is this a coup?"
"Something huge is going down in Stormwind. Get over here. Feels like a boss is about to spawn."
Players started calling friends and guildmates. In no time, the disturbance in Stormwind drew the entire city's attention.
Gabryell followed Windsor toward the keep and ignored the growing crowd of spectators.
This event caused too much noise. There was no way to keep the Onyxia attunement chain hidden anymore.
"Ogabs, did you guys start whatever's happening in Stormwind?" Dreamshade whispered almost immediately.
Then SmokeDemon messaged him too.
"Ogabs, what did you do? Are you actually trying to overthrow the king?"
Inside Fearless Guild, people were also asking questions nonstop.
Gabryell gave Dreamshade and SmokeDemon a quick explanation first.
"We're doing a quest. It's the attunement chain for the 40-player raid Onyxia's Lair. The Stormwind commotion is part of the story event."
"You found a 40-player raid?" both of them asked, clearly shocked.
Since he had already mentioned Onyxia's Lair, Gabryell had no intention of hiding it anymore. There was no point.
Only when everyone started progressing Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair together, while Fearless still took the first kills, would the guild's strength truly be proven.
"We found two 40-player raids," Gabryell said. "Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair. Both require attunement quests. I'll post guides for them on the Azeroth National Geographic forums later. You can read them there."
Come on, then.
Let everyone progress Molten Core and Onyxia's Lair together.
Let them lose with no excuses.
"We'll wait for your guide," Dreamshade and SmokeDemon said excitedly.
As guild leaders, they understood what 40-player raids meant. Their appearance would open a completely new chapter for World of Warcraft.
Gabryell also explained things in guild chat and told everyone to stay calm. He would post the attunement steps on the guild forum later so everyone could follow them properly.
Windsor and Katrana traded threats the whole way to Stormwind Keep.
At last, they arrived in front of Lady Prestor and Bolvar Fordragon.
Katrana burst into laughter and declared that Windsor would be arrested and hanged for treason.
Windsor stood firm.
"The Dark Irons believed these tablets were encrypted," he said. "But this is no code. It is only ancient Draconic."
He raised his voice.
"Listen, dragon. Let the truth be revealed to the world."
Then he began chanting in the ancient tongue of dragons, the words harsh, heavy, and impossible for ordinary players to understand.
Katrana's expression changed at once.
"Guards!" she roared. "Tear them apart! Now!"
The spell took effect.
The noblewoman's disguise shattered, and Lady Katrana Prestor revealed her true form.
She was Onyxia.
The Black Dragon Princess.
Onyxia's rage filled the keep.
"Curious, Windsor. In that vision of yours, did you survive?"
She lowered her head, her voice dripping with malice.
"I ask because I can assure you of one thing. Today, you die."
A massive claw came down.
Marshal Windsor was killed instantly.
Highlord Bolvar Fordragon finally shook free from Onyxia's control just in time to watch his old friend die.
"No! Windsor!"
His grief shook the entire hall.
"Marshal Windsor!"
But it was already too late.
Windsor had died because Stormwind had been blind for too long. Because Bolvar had been deceived for too long.
The surrounding guards revealed their true forms as well. They were not Stormwind soldiers at all, but elite dragonkin from Onyxia's Black Dragonflight.
"Holy crap," a player shouted. "Bosses! Dragons!"
"Kill them! Loot!"
The moment the surrounding players saw Onyxia and a pack of elite dragonkin, their eyes practically turned red. Bosses meant loot. Loot meant gear. Gear meant everyone's brain shut off at the same time.
Onyxia vanished, and the crowd immediately charged at the elite guards.
"Don't go," Gabryell said, stopping his own party before they could get swept up in it. "Charging in is suicide."
Igor's hand was already twitching toward his abilities. "But they're elites."
"And we're in Stormwind," Gabryell said. "If a dragon starts tearing up the throne room, that's above our pay grade. Let the big-name NPCs earn their keep."
If Bolvar Fordragon did not show his strength now, people really would mistake him for a housecat.
A group of players rushed in first.
A few seconds later, they were all on the floor.
The elite dragonkin cleaved through them like they were training dummies and sent them straight to the graveyard.
Then Bolvar finally snapped.
He charged forward like a man possessed, grief and fury pouring out of him at once. His sword tore through Onyxia's guards one after another. The elite dragonkin that had just flattened a crowd of players were cut down in front of him like trash mobs.
"Damn," Hugo said quietly. "He's that strong?"
Only now did everyone realize that the Regent Lord who usually stood around in the keep looking unimpressive was actually a monster who could slaughter dragonkin by himself.
The elite guards fell.
Onyxia was gone.
Marshal Windsor was dead.
The story event ended.
Gabryell accepted the follow-up quest from Bolvar Fordragon: The Dragon's Eye.
Bolvar gave them a Fragment of the Dragon's Eye and told them they had to search the world for a being capable of restoring its power.
The only clue was that such a being existed.
Gabryell almost laughed out loud.
Exists?
That was the whole clue?
Bolvar Fordragon, you absolute idiot.
It was an awful quest hint. At this point, any normal player would be stuck for the second time, with no idea where to go next.
Only later, by sheer chance, would players carrying the Fragment of the Dragon's Eye wander into Mazthoril, the blue dragonflight lair in Winterspring. After using the runes inside the cave, they would be teleported above it and finally find Haleh, the blue dragon capable of restoring the fragment.
Without that knowledge, this quest was basically telling players:
Go search the entire world.
Good luck.