Sunset coughed as the uncorked vial before her released a pungent smell. Waving her hand in front of the purple cloud that drifted into her face, Sunset quickly muttered a series of spells whose purposes were to ensure that nothing inherently harmful had entered her system.
Once the check was done, she quickly emptied the contents of the vial into a nearby cauldron, which she then tossed a handful of herbs and powder into, causing the red liquid within to slowly become a sickly green. Holding both her hands out, she gestured and grabbed ahold of the handkerchief and ladle that appeared in thin air.
Holding the piece of perfumed silk to her nose, Sunset gingerly dipped the ladle into the foul smelling liquid and quickly took it across the dimly lit room to a row of open topped cages, where she quickly tipped the ladle and poured the vile concoction onto the corpse of a dead rat within one of them.
As the green liquid seeped into the small furred body, Sunset watched intently, her eyes keeping track of any unusual activity, however, when no immediate results were shown, she waited.
And waited.
And waited…
Sighing, she strode to a small desk next to all of her alchemical equipment, retrieving a quill and book from it, before beginning jotting down her findings within it. Or as she would put it, her ‘methods of failures’.
It was nearing the end of winter, a season that she had spent almost the entirety of on her master’s fruitless endeavors to find the secret to immortality. Truth be told, she might be a bit too impatient here, while their progress was small, the fact that there were any progress at all was actually enough cause for celebration.
Especially seeing that the Kirin Tor, or actually Archmagus Antonidas had actually been tightening the noose around his colleague. Firstly, there were the new policies enacted that required a much more stringent checks on products being brought in not only delayed the shipments that Kel’Thuzad had been eagerly awaiting, but also forced him to quickly divert part of his resources so that those alleged ‘contraband’ could make it to him safely. Then, there were the much more frequent call to arms made by the Alliance Army, which had more often than not, called Bronjahm, Helcular and her away to other duties, leaving only the hedgewizard Ras, who holds no allegiance, to aid her master with his experiments. And considering how inept Ras had been, to say that they were short of manpower was but an understatement.
As such, whenever she returned to the Violet Citadel, she either found herself quickly spirited away to the dungeons or some far-flung hidden warehouse where her master would quite brutally overwork her, often to the point of exhaustion. Only twice a week would she be allowed to return to her room to Dalaran, where she was then expected to continue honing her magic.
Thank the princess that Antonidas was much, much more understanding when it came down to her circumstances. While the Grand Magus was not above blackmailing others to help do his bidding, at the very least, he not only keeps a close eye on his agents, but also takes good care of them. After all, it definitely was not a coincidence that her three assignments so far during each month of the long winter was quite lax when compared to Helcular and Bronjahm. And then there were the subtle rewards whenever she delivered the location of a hidden laboratory (which she had made sure would not implicate her master in any way) to the Grand Magus. Sometimes, she would return to find an ancient tome upon her desk, other times, a simple scroll would be on her desk, detailing how to find a certain book within the Library, or how to locate it and disable the seals to retrieve it. Then, there were the findings on the research of a particular portal, which he had Jaina passed to her.
No doubt these were all ways to gain her loyalty, and the thing was? It’s working. If not for the fact that Sunset still retained her gratitude to Kel’Thuzad, she may have very well given all the information she held over to the Master of Dalaran in exchange for more status, prestige and most importantly, power.
Not that she would do it now, however. Sunset Shimmer owed Kel’Thuzad far too much to even want to betray him. Not to mention that while she might be disliking his methods more with every passing day, the prospect of immortality was something that was still far too enticing to pass up.
Especially when immortality would inevitably lead to Alicornhood.
Sunset smirked as she returned to the cauldron, she could almost picture the look on Princess Celestia’s face when she realized how much more powerful and knowledgeable Sunset Shimmer had grown, and then regret her decision to throw away a pupil of such potential.
The thought considerably cheered her up, and Sunset Shimmer returned to her work at hand. She had a good feeling about this next batch of potion, perhaps she should alter the concoction just a tiny little bit?
There were few magi who would have not heard of, if not know of Rhonin Redhair, the Hero of Grim Batol. It never ceased to amaze him, how one single successful mission might change his life so drastically. It was hard to believe that all those years ago, he was a man who was so fixated on atoning for his sins by any means necessary.
Now? There were just too much that he hold dear that he could not even fathom dying in a way of his own design. Perhaps that just goes to show how much he had changed.
Shaking his head, Rhonin tore himself out of his thoughts as he continued walking down the corridor. In approximately twenty-four hours, he would be leading the delegates on a trip to Quel’Thalas, the Kingdom of the High Elves, a job that he was apparently chosen for by none other than Prince Kael’Thas himself.
He should be honored, as much as he knows that he was one of the few humans that the elves hold in high regard. Still, he could not help but be annoyed at such a large responsibility being thrusted into his lap.
It was, quite frankly, a pain to deal with.
Sighing, Rhonin looked down the corridor. According to Archmage Kel’Thuzad, his apprentice would be accompanying the delegates under the supervision of Archmage Modera. That apprentice would be Sunset Shimmer, a young girl that Archmagus Krasus, his benefactor, was extremely intrigued in. And by extension, the young girl had garnered Rhonin’s attention. After all, he knew Krasus far better than any other mortals in the world, and those things that could catch the elder magi’s attention were few and far between.
Still, he had been wandering around the area for quite awhile, and had to see even a trace of the girl. Surely, she had not forgotten about the trip?
It was about then when he smelt it, the pungent smell of something rotting. Turning around, he immediately scanned around for the source and found it in the shape of a young girl hurrying down the corridor to her room. A young girl who, upon seeing him, expressed quite a phenomenal amount of shock on her face before blushing furiously.
“Sir Rhonin.” She immediately bowed as she slowed herself down to a stop.
“Just Rhonin would be fine.” He nodded. “Sunset Shimmer, was it?”
“Yes sir.”
“Lab accident?” He guessed. Judging from her reaction, he probably hit the nail on the head. Sunset looked at him awhile, before nodding hesitantly.
“Right, you would probably want to ensure that you get that smell dealt with before you join us tomorrow.” He smiled reassuringly.
Sunset, for her part, merely nodded, blushing slightly at the remark.
“On a more serious note.” Rhonin continued, procuring a book from within his robes, handed it to the flame-haired girl. “You will have to memorize these.” At the girl’s quizzical look, he clarified, “A book on Quel’Thalas which you would have to memorize before our arrival there.”
The tome was a rare one, one that detailed the customs and trials of Quel’Thalas. Translated into common by none other than his companion, Vereesa Windrunner. There were only a total of fifty-three copies in existence, though Archmagi Antonidas had been attempting to obtain permission from the High Elves to produce more of these.
“Understood,” Sunset bowed to him, “permission to take my leave?”
“Uh…” Rhonin fumbled, no one had ever bowed to him before, “You may…?”
Nodding, the flame-haired girl hugged the tome tightly as she left his presence, departing through the wooden archway into her room, leaving him standing, slightly perplexed, in the corridor.
“Huh.” Rhonin said at last, before turning away and striding down the corridor to his next duty.