After stepping through the portal, what appeared before the eyes of Andreas and the others was a vast expanse of continuous, white snowy mountains.
When Onyxia was conveying the information, Andreas already had certain suspicions about this snowy region located in the middle of the Eastern Continent. Not far from the Wetlands and being a mountainous snowy area, this should be the Dun Morogh Great Snowy Mountains, which would eventually become the home of the Dwarves and Gnomes.
Due to its high altitude, the Dun Morogh snowy mountains have only one season year-round—winter.
Swaying snowflakes covered the surrounding mountains with a layer of pure white caps. As far as the eye could see, everything was a blanket of white; even the small lake at the foot of the distant mountain was frozen into an ice lake that refracted sunlight due to the extreme cold temperatures.
"Hiss!"
Andreas and Leticia had both experienced the cold climate of Winterspring before. After putting on their cotton and wool coats, the two quickly adapted to the extreme temperatures here.
However, Celeste had lived in areas with moderate temperatures since childhood. Entering such a cold region with heavy snowfall for the first time, her movements in putting on her outer garments were noticeably half a beat slow; her trembling left hand was still hanging outside, not yet tucked into the sleeve.
Celeste's companions, Onyxia and Leticia, hurriedly helped her put on her coat. While they did so, Celeste , with shivering hands, managed to cast an enchantment on the coat for warmth. After a brief moment of frantic commotion, Celeste , whose body temperature had finally risen, let out a long sigh of relief.
Saragosa shielded her eyes from the wind and snow with her hand as she looked around, a complex expression appearing on her face.
"Snowy mountains, is it... It seems that even if Malygos's mind is unclear, he still subconsciously looks for an environment similar to his home to live in."
The blue dragon's lair, Coldarra, is located in the Borean Tundra in the southwest of Northrend. That place is similarly a cold snowfield where goose-feather snow flies year-round.
After a brief rest and reorganization, Ysera, Alexstrasza, and the others all returned to their dragon forms.
With Onyxia leading the way, the five dragons and three elves braved the wind and snow and extremely low visibility, struggling to find traces of Sintharia and Nefarian within the Dun Morogh Great Snowy Mountains.
As a young drake, Onyxia could not carry all three of them. The Green Dragon Queen Ysera, who was closest to the Night Elves, simply invited Andreas and the other two onto her back.
Andreas originally wanted to transform and fly himself, but since a powerful figure was willing to carry them, it saved him the trouble of struggling through the wind and snow. He settled down comfortably on Ysera's back to proceed.
Following Onyxia's guidance, the group flew through the blizzard for over half an hour before finally landing on a hilltop beside a frozen river in central-eastern Dun Morogh.
Nefarian was lying in a cave halfway up the mountain in his dragon form, while Sintharia remained in her Night Elf form, which showed no bare skin.
The atmosphere was not harmonious when the two parties first met. Saragosa first bared her sharp teeth at the mother and son duo. If Ysera hadn't intervened from the side to persuade her, this Blue Dragon Consort might have pounced and fought with the innocent-looking Nefarian.
In fact, Nefarian was indeed quite innocent. Deathwing's betrayal was something that even most members within the Black Dragonflight were kept in the dark about, let alone the other dragonflights.
When their own boss suddenly used the Dragon Soul to blast their kin, the black dragons present at the time—except for a few of Deathwing's confidants—were all stunned by the sudden turn of events.
At that time, Nefarian had only just reached adulthood and his strength was still weak; he hadn't even earned the qualification to fight on the front lines. It was only after the break between the black dragons and the other dragonflights that he learned the news from some adult black dragons who were present.
Sintharia appeared relatively calm. Given the crimes Deathwing had committed against the Blue Dragonflight, it was only natural for Saragosa to act this way; as a fellow victim, she felt the same.
"Saragosa, put away your hostility for now. We and Deathwing are not of one heart."
"Hmph!"
Under the persuasion of Ysera and Alexstrasza, Saragosa finally suppressed the irritable anger in her heart. Huffing, she walked into the cave and pushed aside Nefarian, who was a size smaller than her, lying down in the most comfortable spot in the cave to rest with her eyes closed.
Nefarian: "???"
Nefarian, who had been squeezed into a corner, was full of question marks. Under the mocking gaze of Onyxia, he helplessly transformed into his Night Elf form and, like a mistreated little bride, hugged the cave wall to avoid Saragosa and slipped toward the entrance.
His pathetic appearance caused Sintharia's brow to twitch violently. The Dragon Queen began to wonder if there was something wrong with her educational policy for her son.
The antisocial Soridormi stood alone at the very back. Her eyes remained fixed on Sintharia, the look of doubt and confusion never fading from her face.
Seeing this, Andreas laughed inwardly, 'As they say, even good swimmers can drown; bronze dragons who think they can control time usually trip over their own specialty, and even the Timeless One, Nozdormu, is no exception.'
...
The dragons present, except for the two juniors, were either Dragon Aspects, Queens, or Consorts; they had long been familiar with one another.
Having preliminarily confirmed Sintharia's stance, Alexstrasza and Ysera began to ask her about Malygos's whereabouts.
Although Saragosa was still lying on the ground with her eyes tightly shut, acting as if she wasn't listening, her ears were very honestly adjusted in their direction.
"Malygos's temporary lair is near the ice lake to the north. Mountain goats and other animals often approach the water source; these animals are the prey he uses to fill his belly."
Andreas silently compared the current Dun Morogh with the map in his memory.
The area they were currently in was within the mountains northeast of what would later be Gol'Bolar Quarry, and the ice lake Sintharia mentioned was not far north of this cave—one could see it directly by poking their head out of the cave.
Having located Malygos's trail, the next thing to consider was how to knock him unconscious and bring him back.
The Spell-Weaver Malygos was still a Dragon Aspect after all. Even if his physical combat ability couldn't match Deathwing's, he would have no problem suppressing the still-recovering Sintharia and Nefarian.
With the addition of four Dragon Aspect-level figures, defeating the mentally unstable Malygos wouldn't be a major issue; the most important thing was how to prevent him from turning and fleeing if he saw things going poorly.
Andreas, Celeste , and Leticia did not join the dragons' discussion; this kind of battle between Dragon Aspects was not something they could interfere with anyway.
"Once the Dragon Aspects finish their planning, capturing Malygos shouldn't be a problem. After that, we'll head north all the way to Tirisfal Glades."
Speaking of this, Andreas poked Leticia's forehead in annoyance.
"It's all because of this idiot who set the flight route in the north of the Eastern Continent, making us have to travel all this way over mountains and rivers."
Leticia rubbed her forehead aggrievedly. "How can you blame me? It was Dath'Remar himself who made the decision."
"Fine, stop acting pitiful. Use your brain and see if you can deduce where the fleet's scheduled landing point is."
"I know..."
...
At the same time, deep within Blackwing Mountain (Blackrock Mountain) in the center of the Eastern Continent, painful wails echoed through the massive cavern.
The surrounding black dragons looked up upon hearing the sound but soon buried their heads back in.
"Roar!"
The scream came from a massive, armored black dragon. His chest area was cracked, and molten lava flowed out. Troll slaves who had been captured were working hard under the urging of dragonspawn to hammer the giant spikes connecting the armor plates on his chest.
"Where are Nefarian and Onyxia?! Sabellian! Where have my cowardly and incompetent son and daughter hidden themselves? Find them for me!"
A black dragon several sizes smaller than Neltharion lowered his head respectfully and replied, "Prince Nefarian said before he left that he wanted to travel the world to find better materials to help fix your body."
"Princess Onyxia is still in her growth period and should be hiding in some secret lair to sleep."
"Find them, find them all! I have important matters to instruct them on!"
"Yes, your subordinate will lead a team and set out immediately."