Edwin VanCleef Edwin VanCleef is one of the greatest human engineers in history , the unquestioned leader of the Defias Brotherhood and one of the most important criminals that threatens the kingdom of Stormwind . Biography . Early life . Edwin VanCleef was once a " roofwalker " in Stormwind with a specialty in defeating mechanical defenses . Yet , when the Horde destroyed the city , he was called upon because of the skills he learned as a child at the side of his father , a master stonemason , and was one of the first to offer his talents to rebuild Stormwind City . The reconstruction of Stormwind . Edwin VanCleef was originally one of the architects that worked on the rebuilding of Stormwind City at the end of the Second War . The reconstruction of Stormwind was an arduous task , but with such a genius as VanCleef masterminding the operation , the project was completed smoothly and in less than ten years . However , the House of Nobles refused to pay the Stonemasons Guild for their work . Some of the more senior of the Stonemasons , including VanCleef , were offered governmental jobs if they ’ d just be quiet and play along . However , Edwin VanCleef was not willing to betray his workmen . He spat on the floor and walked out of the halls he ' d built , vowing that he ' d make the city pay one way or another . Shortly afterward , at VanCleef ' s urging , workers rioted in Stormwind City . Several people died , including the King of Stormwind ' s wife Tiffin Wrynn and VanCleef with other artisans were the first to be cast out of the city gates . VanCleef took the group of artisans and tinkers sitting in the mud outside the gates of Stormwind and turned them into the Defias Brotherhood . The Brotherhood begins . After teaching the Stonemasons the skills he learned from the city ' s thieves , he helped them adapt to the wild until they had perfected their ability to ambush travelers . When the Stormwind Guard began to respond , VanCleef and the tinkers in their group augmented the abilities of the renegades with mechanical devices and weapons . VanCleef then turned to more ruthless tactics : Merchants who brought goods to Stormwind were robbed , farmsteads that provided Stormwind with food were razed , or infested with harvest golems . As VanCleef strangled Stormwind , stone by stone , he used the money he stole to pay for bands of mercenaries . Some of his men were captured , but VanCleef played even that to his advantage ; inside the Stockade of Stormwind City , his men gathered a force for rebellion . Stormwind and its loyal townships found themselves under an unexpected siege , and thanks to sinister machinations of others , the towns ' cries for help went unheard . VanCleef ' s search for a secure location where he could build a tinker ' s works led him across Westfall to the Deadmines . Once his laboratory was constructed , he entered the mines . The brotherhood hired bandits and captured the goblins of Westfall at Edwin ' s command . Mercenaries , brigands , criminals , soldiers , outlaws and rebels also joined the brotherhood , and buoyed by his success , VanCleef christened his gang Defias Brotherhood . And so , the Defias Brotherhood was created , founded as an instrument of revenge . VanCleef and the other commanders prefer its members to master a wider variety of skills than those of a pure soldier . Later on , the Defias Brotherhood , led by Edwin VanCleef , attempted to take Elwynn Forest but failed . After the Third War . He has rarely left the Deadmines in more than two decades , yet he knows of everything happening across central Azeroth , particularly where the Brotherhood is involved . Rumors say that in recent years he has grown particularly zealous in his belief in technology ' s means to defeat Stormwind . Beneath the famed Deadmines of Westfall , located beneath the former Alliance town of Moonbrook , VanCleef commissioned the reconstruction of a huge war machine , an ogre juggernaut from the First War . In World of Warcraft . From aboard the ship located deep within the Deadmines , VanCleef awaited the moment at which he would strike at his hated foe . Before this could take place , however , adventurer s of the Alliance , having previously learned of the headquarters of the Defias Brotherhood , entered the Deadmines and assaulted VanCleef ' s ship . After a battle , they managed to defeat VanCleef . The adventurers took his head to Gryan Stoutmantle , who said that this event marked the end of the Defias Brotherhood . Yet they were left with the disconcerting worry that not all matters with the Brotherhood were yet resolved , subsequent events would prove that despite VanCleef ' s death , the plans of the Defias Brotherhood were underway . VanCleef ' s death was later informed to King Varian , who informed Jaina Proudmoore of it and they thought that the Defias was broken . But Jaina later discovered that the Defias were still active , even in Dustwallow Marsh . In Wrath of the Lich King . VanCleef returns as a part of Argent Confessor Paletress encounter in Trial of the Champion , where players face random memories , including him . In Cataclysm . VanCleef was previously expected to appear in the new heroic version of the Deadmines in " " . Lorewise , Edwin VanCleef is dead , but the Defias Brotherhood did not die with him . His daughter Vanessa , hiding under an alias , has arisen to become the new leader of the Defias Brotherhood . She has unleashed a plot to bring down Stormwind after witnessing the assassination of her father some five years before . Description . Small and wiry , the man has a mousy look about him . He wears the sweaty , oil - stained clothes typical of a peasant laborer , along with a short cloak and thick leather gloves . The man ’ s overall appearance is so common , in fact , that he would be almost instantly forgettable if not for the spotless , scarlet bandana fastened around his neck . Despite his unseemly appearance , he has a cunning look in his eyes and a partially concealed blade sheathed underneath one arm . His face is now wasted and hollow ; he is no longer the noble figure he once was , but is obviously corrupt . Edwin VanCleef relies on his unassuming appearance to avoid most fights . When engaging in battle , he always prefers to take the offensive ; he is known to frequently retreat from combat only to circle around and strike a few minutes later when his enemies have lowered their guard . VanCleef uses his longbow to surprise enemies from a great distance away , then draws his rapier and sneaks to a second hiding spot . When his enemies approach , investigating the location from which the arrows originated , he springs forth and attempts a sneak attack . He prefers to strike at lightly armored targets first in the hope that he might be able to incapacitate or kill them outright with a single sneak attack . Quests . He is involed in the following quests :