A Trail of Stolen Magic

Kelsey then sees a kobold leaving the mine with books. McBride turns to Tordrin Sternblade, a hunter trainer newly arrived from Ironforge. Tordrin supplies a tracking kit, and the trail carries the investigation beyond Northshire to Marshal Dughan in Goldshire. Dughan already needs scouts in Fargodeep and Jasperlode; the stolen library gives those mines another significance.

In Fargodeep, the missing volumes include an elementary guide to working with elementals. Paxton’s warning is that its instructions are simple enough for a kobold to use. The later request for rare books refers to an apprentice already summoning an elemental, then raises an unanswered question: what might a more capable master accomplish?

Two further volumes, one about geomancy and another explaining arcane magic, are sought in Jasperlode and must be returned to Paxton. The quest trail connects the thefts to practical magical danger. It does not yet reveal a larger mastermind or establish what the supposed master ultimately does.