//------------------------------//
// The Elder 
// Story: In Want for a Wand 
// by Leila Drake 
//------------------------------//

"You wished to see me?" The Elder elegantly sat down on the chair closest to the fireplace and eyed the Commander.

"Yes, my Lord. I have assessed the situation and I still believe the pony is not a threat to us. However..." The Commander hesitated.

"Continue", demanded the Elder, nodding. The glowing embers illuminated the back of his hood, keeping his face in the dark.

A bead of sweat ran down the Commander's neck. It was simply too warm in this room. The Elder always insisted on keeping the fire going and the door shut. It would have been no different if it had been summer. In fact, the Commander doubted that the Elder ever left the tower at all. There was no way to argue over matters like this with an elf who was more than two hundred years older than you. It would have been highly disrespectful. So the Commander straightened up, hands folded behind the back.

"However, knowing that he can move freely about Undercity and that we are currently only allowed to send a single diplomat and one Paladin teacher there, we should consider using this opportunity to investigate certain... rumors. To see how much truth lies behind them."

"Rumors? You are not talking about the ridiculous claim from our source? I had not taken you for such a gullible one, Commander."

"I am rather sceptical about it as well, my Lord."

"Yet you still claim that the creature is intelligent."

"Yes, sir, I can confirm that. He is definitely sentient, and, apparently, not born as the result of magic. So it makes you wonder whether the rest might be also true. And several reliable sources claim the same thing - that there might indeed be a cure. This is the perfect chance to place an unwitting spy in their midst."

"You don't say." There was not a hint of irony in the Elder's voice. He hummed, thinking for a while, then gently folded his slim hands. "I agree. Proceed. If you are right, we may gain knowledge we have been seeking for since... Lordaeron. But if you are wrong, Commander, you will eliminate the proof of our intrusion before it is discovered. You must make sure to retrieve the information in both cases and bring it directly to me. No one else must know of this until we have results. You may choose a small group to complete the misson. Is that clear?"

"Yes, I understand."

"You may go." The Elder closed his eyes and rested his chin thoughtfully on his folded hands as the Commander left the tower, the footsteps barely audible above the crackling of the fire.