Byron's training of both Embry and Teregan continued in earnest. He seemed more determined and less patient then before. Despite this, Embry and Teregan were rising to the occasion, learning faster then he had ever seen an aprrentice master the use of fire. It was as if is urgency were directly feeding their abilities. They always trained in secret, but Byron refused to tell them why there was so much need for secrecy. Teregan hypothesized it was to ensure his parents would not find out.
Like so many things though, it is impossible to keep a secret forever, and the day of their discovery was teh beginning of the war for this small band. A young gnome, just over twenty years old, hailing from Kharanos, a small dwarf village outside of Ironforge, had been hiking up the mainland toward the Alterac Mountains. At the base of the mountains was a base of sorts for the Rogues of SI:7. Tindry, as she had been called by those few she referred to as her friends, had always been a bit of an outcast. Her dark mood, and dreary outlook on life did not jive well with her fellow gnomes, and feeling alone, the transition to training in the ways of the rogue was very natural for her.
Her slight stature allowed her to go just about anywhere undetected as each footstep was silent. She had grown accustomed to watching people, learning that you never know when you will discover something of great value by simply watching. So she spent most of her time in Ironforge, in the shadows, spying on any and all she could see. Most of what she saw had proven pointless, but every once in a while, she would discover something of importance. These nuggets of information usually same in the form of internal threats to Magni Bronzebeard. Through her efforts to protect his kingdom, she had quickly risen in the ranks of SI:7 and was now prepping for a training session that would prelude her first true mission for the organization.
On her way to this meeting, she had taken a gryphon to the outskirts of Gilneas, and had met with some contacts she had their to get supplies and information. Even this deep into alliance lands, you never knew when a group or orcs might appear, and she wanted to know as much about their movements as she could to ensure safe travel to her destination.
After gathering all that she needed she began to make her way. Along the way, she passed by a village that looked deserted, but it was obvious by the crop fields nearby that it was not. She continued her journey, being careful to stay out in the open, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was a flash of some kind.
She looked in the direction the flash had come, but saw nothing, so she decided to move closer and try to find its source. As she moved closer to where she thought it had come from, nothing seemed to appear. Finally at the edge of a corn field, she saw an old man and two young children sitting the ground. The man was talking to the children, his movements mirroring that of a teacher deep in a lesson. The children's attention was focused on the man, and it was obvious they found what he was saying to be of the utmost importance.
Must be a good story, Tindry thought to herself, but resolving that there was nothing suspicous going on here and that she had likely not seen a flash and that her mind was playing tricks on her, she resolved to leave. As she began to step away, she saw the man stand up, put his hands together in front of him, and then thrust his right hand forward with great force.
At that very moment, a tree off in te distance lit up in flames. Tindry was shocked, and knew immediately the old man was a mage, and a powerful one at that. What she saw next though shocked her even more. The two children stood up, put their hands out in front of them, and curled their fingers inward as if they were trying to pull something in. The flames, that had been raging on the tree, left the tree and floated in the air towards the children, until it sat in a ball, above their hands.
He is training them to be mages...interesting...I thought that mages had to go to stormwind to be trained...Tindry thought to herself, but she took the information and deposited it in her head, along with so many other secrets she had learned, deciding to divulge it later, to the right person, and for the right price.
A couple weeks later, after finishing her mission succesfully, Tindry found herself in the local Stormwind pub, celebrating her success with the few people she called friends. She was on her third drink of the night, and the haze of drunkeness was settling on her mind lightly. As she sat at the bar, she looked over and saw a mage she had seen before, so she sidled up to the seat next to him and asked, "Doesn't a person who wants to train to be a mage come to stormwind for that training?"
The mage turned and looked at her. He was a younger man, with jet black hair down to his shoulders, and a crisp beard that went down to his chest, ending in a sharp point. The man clearly did not want to be bothered, but that had never bothered Tindry before.
"Yes, they can be discovered elsewhere, and there are even some other specialized places where the training can occur, but Stormwind and Lordaeron are where the majority of future mages go to train." the mage replied.
"Are there any training areas near Gilneas?" Tindry inquired.
"No, Gilneans would go to Lordaeron to train." he answered.
"Interesting..." Tindry replied while shelving that knowledge in her head again, certain that this information would be quite valuable to the right bidder.
Tindry drank another two pints, before deciding the time had come for her to return to her room at the inn and sleep off her stupor. Before she could get up though, a hooded stranger came up and sat next to her.
"I apologize for eavesdropping, but I couldn't help but notice your conversation earlier with that mage. Why did you ask him that?" The stranger asked.
"What's it to you?" Tindry shot back.
"I was just curious if you saw anything that would lead you to wonder if there was a training station near gilneas."
"What is it worth to you?" Tindry asked.
"Name your price and if the information helps me, I will pay it."
"50 gold pieces, and not a penny less." Tindry bartered.
"Done!" The stranger said emphatrically
"There is an old man, in a village near Gilneas, training two children to be fire mages."
"What ages were the children, and was either of them a girl?" the stranger questioned.
"There was a girl and a boy, the girl looked close to 10, and as for the boy, probably a year or two younger." Tindry answered.
"Perfect, your information has been most helpful." the stranger replied, handing him a bag in which he had counted out 50 gold pieces and sealed inside. "I would like you to have this too." The stranger said and handed him a small ball, that looked like an eyeball. "It is called an eye of kilrogg. Great blessings come to those who stare into its depths."
Tindry accepted the gift, and looked into the ball. Within seconds, her face was a blank stare.
The stranger looked at her with a devilish grin forming on his face. "I can't have you telling anyone else that. That's why I wiped your memory with that eye. Never again will you even know who you are, let alone what you saw."
The stranger dropped the bag of gold into Tindry's pocket, walked her back over to the mage sitting at the bar, and asked, "Would you be willing to port my friend to the Exodar. I am afraid he has drinken too much, and I think he would be better suited sleeping in his own bed instead of the inn tonight. I will gladly pay you for it."
The mage, despite appearing to not want to be bothered, perked up at the mention of payment. "Sure," he replied.
Then the mage pulled out a small stone, stated an incantation, and circular portal opened up before him and the stranger. The stranger gave him a few gold pieces, and took tindry through the portal. Once inside the Exodar, he dropped Tindry by a wall, and walked ack through the port, back to Stormwind.
As the stranger walked out of the bar, the mage heard him say, "Finally I shall have the ultimate power added to my collection!"
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