The Prisoners Briefing . " Following the battle at Caer Darrow , a number of renegade Alterac soldiers were captured . " " A crew of Alterac sailors were also caught assisting the Horde during the battle and have been placed under close guard . " " Under the edict of Lord Lothar , you are to restrain the prisoners until they can be escorted to the capital of Lordaeron for interrogation . " Background . Milan ' s force was ordered to closely guard a number of orcish soldiers who were captured , along with the infamous warlock Gul ' dan , as well as the crew of Alterac sailers ( both humans and elves ) who were caught assisting the Horde during the battle . Since they would need ships to carry out their orders , their first building priorities was a lumber mill , a blacksmith , a barracks , and , of course , a shipyard . There was a plentitude of gold and lumber in the area , but they needed many workers to collect it . When the labor force had completed the shipyard , they discovered that enemy transports were unloading orcs to the south of town . Although the few troops they had trained could deal with them for the time being , spies reported that they would soon arrive in increasing numbers . At the south edge of town they erected several cannon towers to deal with them , and fortified those with farms and archers for good measure . Once the town was reasonably secure , they concentrated on a foundry for production of battleships . Getting the captured sailors was no easy task . A small Horde village separated the main body of water from the river snaking toward the prisoners , so they prepared an amphibious group of three battleships and two transports loaded with footmen , ballistas , and a couple of peasants . First , they sent the battleships in to take out the tower and draw the catapults closer to shore for their destruction . Once the coastline was clear , they moved their warships close to shore and landed the transports . As soon as they unloaded , ogres began pouring in from the settlement , but in their ignorance the monsters tried to concentrate on the Alliance catapults while footmen and cannon fire cut them down . When the smoke had cleared somewhat , the peasants built two cannon towers close to shore and the remaining ogres were drawn in to their deaths . The rest of the village fell quickly ; the ballistas made quick work of the enemy juggernaughts anchored on the river . In order to recover the prisoners , they first had to construct another shipyard on the river . From there , they launched three more battleships to deal with the numerous enemy cannon towers set up along the river , and only then did they launch a single transport to pick up six of the captives . The rest were promised safe passage later , but at that time it was imperative that they get a few of them back to town . They were hurried from the river to the waiting flotilla on the sea , and were escorted back . They then forced four of them to stand on the mysterious Circle , which glowed brightly for a time , then faded . The prisoners simply stood dumbfounded until they were locked up in the town hall . Later , they received word that their memories had been thoroughly inspected from afar , and what had been found was not to Milan ' s liking . The traitor nation of Alterac was to be destroyed for its crime . Milan was deeply ashamed and angered that those of his own race would betray the Alliance . He did not mourn their demise . . . Aftermath . Gul ' dan managed to escape , by unclear means . He would later turn traitor to the Horde , and lead a force to the Broken Isles .