Although Alaric himself was capable of completing the mission alone, he still chose to recruit a few companions and form an elite squad for the task.
The reason was simple.
As a mage, it wouldn't be fitting to travel without some people—why should he do all the menial work himself?
If they ran into minor troubles on the road, like bandits or beasts, it was obviously his teammates who would handle them.
At night, when setting up camp, all the trivial chores naturally fell to his companions as well.
The mage's spells are powerful, but a mage only steps in at the critical moments. Without a few subordinates handling the smaller tasks, it would be better for the mage to stay in the mage tower.
When it came to selecting the squad members, Alaric had his requirements.
First and foremost, the squad needed a dedicated scout. It was preferable if the scout was also skilled in wilderness survival and other related areas.
The best candidate for this role was naturally an elven ranger.
These experts, compared to ordinary scouts, not only excelled in archery and melee combat but also possessed exceptional outdoor survival and combat abilities, making them valuable teammates on an adventure.
Thus, Alaric naturally turned to his two "sisters," Aurelian and Sylvanas, who were both rangers.
However, both of them were commanders in the high elven army—one led the volunteer forces, and the other commanded the regular army.
Both were busy with military affairs and had no time to accompany Alaric on his mission.
As a result, Alaric was politely declined twice.
—Well, if that's the case, don't blame me for contacting your younger sister.
With this thought in mind, Alaric sought out the youngest of the Windrunner sisters, Vereesa Windrunner, who had remained in Quel'Thalas.
In fact, it was Prince Kael'thas who had arranged for Vereesa to join the squad.
Considering Alaric's relationship with the Windrunner family, the prince had thoughtfully arranged for an elite ranger from the family to be his companion.
This arrangement not only aligned with Alaric's desires but also made Vereesa quite happy.
As the third Windrunner sibling, Vereesa, though young, had already become a member of the Farstriders.
Her remarkable talent had quickly made her the strongest ranger in her squad. However, due to her youth, she had never even fought against trolls.
Perhaps it was to protect her, or perhaps because they felt she wasn't yet strong enough, her two older sisters had deliberately left her behind in Quel'Thalas when they went to fight in the Orc Wars, leaving her frustrated.
Now, an opportunity had finally come her way.
Leading the squad was none other than Alaric, a well-known figure among the high elves and someone who had a good relationship with her two sisters.
Although Vereesa had never met Alaric in person, she had often heard positive comments about him from her sisters.
From their words, she even sensed an unusual bond between her sisters and the young human mage.
This piqued her curiosity about this human, and now that she had the chance to meet him, she was eager to do so.
In addition to Vereesa, Alaric's team naturally included Garona, the half-orc rogue who had always loyally followed him.
She even sometimes took on assistant and maid duties—though just household chores, not warming his bed (though Garona might be secretly hoping for such a task)—and she would be accompanying him once again.
Alaric had initially considered bringing a healer, but since priests tend to slow down infiltration missions, and all the paladins were still in training, he decided to take on the medical responsibility himself.
The final role needed for the team was, of course, a tank.
With the paladins still in training, warriors were the default choice for this role.
Though the Alliance had fewer top-tier warriors compared to the Horde, Alaric still knew several warriors who would be willing to follow his command.
After some thought, Alaric, much like the squad in the original story, chose a Dwarven warrior from the Wildhammer Clan as a companion.
However, he didn't choose the well-known leader of the clan, Falstad Wildhammer, who was busy commanding the Wildhammer's army.
Instead, he selected Kudran Wildhammer, a former subordinate with whom he had worked during a troll hunt.
The reason for choosing Kudran was simple—he needed to ride a gryphon for the mission.
Against the orcs, who possessed red dragons, traveling by land would not only be slow but also place them at a disadvantage against opponents with aerial forces.
Using gryphons as transport would at least allow them to outrun the red dragons.
Before completing the mission, they needed to avoid direct combat to prevent alerting the enemy.
As one of Alaric's old companions, Kudran readily agreed to Alaric's request. While mages were generally viewed as mysterious oddities by others, Kudran saw Alaric as an exception.
A human who could drink hearty wine with the dwarves and even invent brandy—he was undoubtedly a reliable fellow. Their past bond of working together was another reason Kudran joined without hesitation.
Despite the significant danger of the mission to Grim Batol, Kudran didn't hesitate to join.
The timing for the operation was carefully planned by Alaric. It would coincide with the orc fleet preparing to set sail, intending to attack the Lordaeron continent from the sea.
To keep their secret weapon hidden from the Alliance's scout ships, the Horde did not send out the red dragons too early.
However, based on the movements of the orc fleet, Alaric was confident that most of the red dragons from Grim Batol had already left the Dragonmaw Clan's stronghold to escort the fleet.
On the Alliance side, despite having Dalaran's fleet as the first line of defense, Admiral Daelin had already deployed his forces along the Hillsbrad Foothills coast, preparing to defend against a possible attack.
Meanwhile, the orcs' feinting forces were already at the Sadol Bridge, preparing for an assault, while the Stormguard army had positioned itself on the opposite side, ready to repel the orc advance.
King Solas Torben knew that any weakness in their defense would prompt the bloodthirsty orcs to turn their feint into a full assault, breaking through Stormguard to attack the Lordaeron continent they coveted.
Alaric, meanwhile, set out precisely at this critical moment.
The Wildhammer dwarves provided gryphons for the four companions to travel. To ensure their cover, the gryphon riders patrolled near the Stormwind Keep.
Although only three of them were dwarves, from the air, it would be impossible for anyone on the ground to identify them.
Thus, the four of them blended in with the gryphon riders' training squad, and when they passed through the Arathi Highlands, they left the group, flew across the strait, and headed for Grim Batol.
To avoid detection by the Horde, they flew over the eastern sea near Sadol Bridge. Once they crossed the strait, they would face endless mountains.
Apart from the Dragonmaw Clan at Grim Batol, no Horde forces were stationed in these mountains.
By the time the sky darkened, the four of them had set up camp in the mountains.
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