Make Azeroth breathtaking

Thanks to Gazlowe's efforts, Ratchet Port's expansion has taken shape, transforming it from a small port that could only accommodate a few hundred people into a small town with nearly a thousand residents. Some wandering merchants have started businesses in this emerging port city, while others who couldn't make it in the Eastern Kingdoms have bought expensive tickets from the Gadgetzan Group to come here, hoping to make a name for themselves in this new continent. Naturally, Ratchet Port has become a melting pot of all sorts of people, and the difficulty of maintaining order has increased several times over.

However, all of this has absolutely nothing to do with Gazlowe's adopted daughter, a five-year-old girl named Tennys. Right now, she is in her adoptive father's workshop, enthusiastically assembling a thing that looks very ominous.

At one year old, she disassembled an alarm clock; at two, she pieced together a primitive gear mechanism from scrap materials; and at three, she completed a perfect connection of a simple circuit. Gazlowe realized that his adopted daughter might have a talent for mechanics, so he gave her some of the simplest engineering drawings and some safe enough materials to give it a try. And he was pleasantly surprised.

"This is incredible! The other children are still asking their mothers for food at this time!"

So, Tennys got a workbench in her adoptive father's workshop, where she could make some small gadgets—at first, Tennys only tinkered with small parts, but as time went on, the things she made became more and more exquisite....

"Yes, it's done..."

Tanis placed a small, square, rudimentary robot supported by tracks on the ground and watched it slowly move around the workshop after being wound up. A satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"As expected, this memory of a celestial being... is not false..."

II. The Young Girl of Ratchet

Who am I?

After regaining her senses from her dazed state, Tannis had been pondering this question.

She learned about the world she was in from the name of her adoptive father, the name of the continent beneath her feet, and the information from the non-human humanoid creatures coming and going around her.

Azeroth, a world that haunted her dreams, a friend who accompanied her through her youth.

However, she couldn't recall any history related to Azeroth—although she vaguely remembered some key things, those things were like a veil, inaccessible to her. She also couldn't remember what kind of person she was before coming to Azeroth, a man or a woman? She also couldn't be sure whether the series of DNF mechanical blueprints remaining in her mind was an illusion caused by her confused memories, or something real.

But now, there's one thing she's certain of.

Tanis laughed happily as she watched the little robot, wound up and wandering aimlessly on the ground.

"Tannis! Someone from Lordaeron is coming over today. You're coming with me. Wear your best clothes...wait, what's this thing?"

Gazlowe walked into the workshop, his eyes immediately drawn to the little robot running around on the ground. As a goblin tinker, he keenly sensed the value of this little robot!

"A self-propelled robot, a little gadget I tinkered with using some blueprints."

Tennys' answer instantly piqued Gazlowe's interest. He crouched down and began to carefully observe the little robot, watching its every movement.

A few seconds later, he carefully picked up the self-propelled robot, which had stopped moving due to the unwinding of the spring, and examined it closely once again.

"Not bad, not bad. Although it's a bit simple, it has great potential in all aspects! Daughter, how about you sell me the blueprints for this? Cash on delivery!"

Tanis pulled a blueprint from under the workbench and unfolded it. Gazlowe took a small bag of silver coins from his pocket and placed it on the blueprint.

stare……

"Haha, this is your pocket money, and this is for buying the blueprints."

Gazlowe chuckled twice, then pulled out a slightly larger bag and placed it on the table. His adopted daughter had grown up with them and the other goblins, and was already familiar with some of the rules among goblins!

"That's more like it..."

Tennys put the money away, casually wiped the oil off her hands with a rag, and jumped off the chair.

"I'm going to change my clothes now, Dad!"

——————————Half an hour later————————

Tanis sat on a small stool, munching on snacks like a hamster. Meanwhile, in the center of the banquet hall, Gazlowe was chatting and laughing with several middle-aged men; clearly, they were up to a big deal.

'But these people don't seem to be from Lordaeron.'

Tanis glanced at the humans chatting happily with her adoptive father out of the corner of her eye, a question swirling in her mind—the Gadgetzan Consortium had trading towns all over the world, and if the Kingdom of Lordaeron had any trade needs, they could have resolved everything on the continent of the Eastern Kingdoms, without having to take such a huge risk to cross the Endless Sea to Ratchet!

'Gululu.'

Unable to understand, Tanis calmly drank her juice until Gazlowe brought a well-dressed human man to her side.

"Holy Light, is this your adopted daughter, the princess of Ratchet? She's absolutely adorable!"

“Of course, my judgment has always been accurate. Tannis, this is Earl Phili, a nobleman from the Storm Kingdom.”

Gazlowe's face was full of smiles, but Tanis inexplicably felt a chill. She vaguely felt that her adoptive father was brewing a 'terrible' conspiracy.

'Stormwind Kingdom? I remember it was wiped out by an orc raid about six months ago, and most of its inhabitants fled to the Kingdom of Lordaeron. Why does this guy look like he's in pretty good shape?'

As Tanis made fun of the man, she kept an eye on his gaze, and then realized... Count Phili's attention wasn't on her at all, but on her clothes!

"My dad...could it be?"

The next second, her guess was confirmed.

"This is the fairy handmade fabric you described? The actual product is even more wonderful than you described!"

“You should trust the reputation of our Hot Sands Consortium, Count, you see…”

Gazlowe lifted Tannis's left hand, a bracelet on her wrist reflecting a dazzling light.

"This is also the craftsmanship of the elves. I believe you would need to pay a much higher price to buy it in the Eastern Kingdoms, but here, you can buy two—no, even three—for the same amount of money! Although the continent of Kamlido may look barren, its pristine environment guarantees its abundant resources!"

Seeing the gleam in Count Phili's eyes, Tannis sighed.

'I'll offer you a moment of silence; your father has already led you astray.'

That evening ———————————————————————————

"Dad, I have a few questions."

Inside the workshop, Tannis, who had changed back into her work clothes, absentmindedly fiddled with some small parts while speaking to Gazlowe, who was struggling with a piece of iron with a file.

"Was it the transaction that took place around noon today?"

"Well, as far as I know, the Storm Kingdom is on the verge of destruction. How could their nobles still have the money to cross the Endless Sea to buy luxury goods here?"

“They traded with us using land deeds.”

Gazlowe's words made Tannis's eye twitch.

"Let's not even talk about whether those land deeds are still valid. The Stormwind Kingdom's territory is practically overrun with orcs now, isn't it? Father, are you planning to use human land deeds to behead orc officials?"

"It looks silly, doesn't it? This is long-term investing, daughter."

Gazlowe put down the file, sat on a piece of iron, and took a sip of water.

"Are you betting that humanity will fight back?"

"Anyway, I didn't give anything good in return. This kind of business is a huge profit if you make it, and you won't lose much if you lose it. Only a fool wouldn't do it. I only told them about the elves in Camlido by accident."

"...Wait a minute, didn't you say that everything you sell is genuine, Dad?"

“I never said that all the fabrics I sold them were hand-woven by elves—you know how difficult it is to even meet those old-fashioned elves in Ashenvale.”

"......"

"It's easy to get some not-completely-rotten elven fabrics from the scavengers in the ruins of Azshara for a little money. Just find a good spot on a decent piece of clothing and sew these things on. Wouldn't that make the clothes genuinely elven handmade fabrics?"

"...What about the jewelry?"

"Um... Kamlido has some minerals... that look a lot like some gems from the Eastern Kingdoms, but the production volume is on a completely different level. All you need to do is buy some elven ornaments that have been soaking in water for who knows how long, polish them up, make them look nice, and then set them in—anyway, what they're asking for is elven craftsmanship, the stones on them are just a bonus, right? Besides, why would elves have the same aesthetic sense and values ​​as humans?"

"...Aren't you afraid they'll find out it's a fake when they get back?"

"Nobles care about their image. They come here to buy things to restore their aristocratic airs with luxury goods. The luxury goods brought back from Kalimdor are the most convincing evidence—as I said before, they are made with elven craftsmanship. Even if they authenticate them, they wouldn't dare to say that what I said is false!"

"Then aren't you afraid they'll renege on their promise later? After all, what you gave them..."

"Ah... daughter..."

Gazlowe smiled and patted Tannis's head.

"No one in this world dares to owe the goblins of the Hot Sands Group a debt."

III. The Bill of Ratchet

With the departure of the human caravan, the father and daughter returned to their daily routines. Gazlowe continued his busy schedule, shuttling between the construction site, the office, and the workshop. Tanis, aside from sleeping, spent all her time in the workshop trying to recreate the celestial technology in her mind and integrate it with goblin technology. In short, life was peaceful and fulfilling.

until one day.

"What? The trade princes are demanding that all goblins stop selling weapons to the Alliance? Don't they know that they can make money by helping those in need?"

This news nearly made Tennys fall off her workbench.

"To be precise, it was the trade prince of the Rustwater Consortium who initiated the note, demanding that the other princes at least reach an agreement with him."

Gazlowe calmly polished his latest creation, a pocket factory capable of slowly producing small clockwork goblins, his tone utterly unmoved.

"Did he treat the other princes as his subordinates?"

"There's no way around it. The Trade Prince has a basic principle of consensus on major issues. This time, Rustwater bypassed the Prince Council and acted unilaterally. Our Prince and several other princes from other conglomerates were also surprised. However, since the Rustwater Conglomerate made a fortune from the war last time, it's normal for them to make the same choice this time."

Gazlowe threw the handkerchief into the bucket, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture.

"What are Hot Sands Group's thoughts?"

Tennys, recalling the Rustwater Consortium's rise to power from fragmented memories, began to ask questions.

Gazlowe gave a disdainful laugh.

"It's true that Rustwater is the number one conglomerate, but Hot Sand is at least number two. Do you think we can just refuse to sell because he says so? Are we putting all our eggs in one cage? What if something goes wrong?"

"However, according to the agreement with the Trade Prince, if the Hot Sands Consortium sells weapons to the Alliance..."

“We’ll be fined, we’ll be sanctioned? You’re right, so of course we can’t sell these things openly.”

Looking at her father's expression, Tannis realized what the Hot Sands Consortium was up to.

"Does the Hot Sands Group want this?"

"It's exactly what you're thinking of. Because the matter is so big, the conglomerate has allocated a portion of the shipping routes to us barons. We are responsible for our own profits and losses and do not need to report to the conglomerate. Of course, if we are caught, the conglomerate will cut our losses decisively. High risk, high reward."

Gazlowe walked up to Tannis and pulled out a well-protected document from his person.

"Because of its rapid development and its location on a major transportation route, Ratchet has been allocated two air routes. Although I planned to let you get involved in these things after you turned 10, you are surprisingly precocious. From today onwards, you will learn with me how to manage Ratchet's accounts."

--------office--------

"I'm going to die..."

Tanis lay sprawled on the small table, looking utterly exhausted, with a thin notebook beside her.