Trial by Fire
Prologue: Synopsis
It was two days after both Simonee's meeting with the king and the funerals of Dince and Akall. The king had bade the group stay in Stormwind until after the planned Defias invasion, and so Simonee and his friends were able to rest and relax while simultaneously preparing. Simonee sat on the bed in the room he had occupied in the Keep, thinking over what had happened over the past three months of traveling.
Firstly, he thought back to Goldshire and the Lion's pride, where he had held his guild's inauguration. He remembered the one-hundred faces looking up at him in silent admiration and respect while he spoke; the thunderous shout of "HAIL SLAYERS!" and watching as they filed out of the inn and went on to their own adventures.
Simonee fingered the King's Crest, the medal given him by Varian with the grand ruby set into the center. He thought back to when he told the group of his original quest – to report to Baros Alexston – and asked that they join him on it. They had eagerly accepted, but now, he wasn't sure of their enthusiasm. Aubs, Aeriah, Dince, Dagerly, Hoardale, and himself. It was a motley crew, but they had followed him in faith as he led them from Goldshire to Stormwind; and then Stormwind to Westfall. He had been sent by Alexston to report to the knight Gryan Stoutmantle – leader of the resident People's Militia – who, in turn, sent them to the Deadmines. The Militia had captured a defector of the Brotherhood, and Stoutmantle asked that Simonee and two of his friends follow him to the Defias' stronghold in Westfall. He had chosen Aeriah and Dagerly to go with him, while Hoardale, Aubs, and Dince stayed in the settlement of Sentinel Hill. When Simonee and his chosen two reached the town of Moonbrook, they had found the mage Krionoso, enlisting his help. The others – according to Aubs' recollections – fortified the town's defenses in anticipation of an attack by the Defias. They had used wood cultivated from the sparse trees in the region, plus some pilfered from the opposing shore of Duskwood.
In the Deadmines, Simonee was charged with killing the Defias' leader, Edwin Van Cleef – who had been previously anonymous. Quickly moving through the mineshafts, the three and Krionoso did just that, taking his head as proof, and an unsent missive. Upon returning to Sentinel Hill, Simonee found masses of bodies lying dead on the ground, signs of battle. There were scattered fights, mostly one-on-one or one-on-two, filling the settlement's street. Simonee remembered fighting alongside the People's Militia clearly, slinging fireballs at the Defias that had invaded. Eventually, the Brotherhood was pushed back, but not without loss. Hoardale had been stabbed by one of the bandits, who had taken advantage of the warlock's staff shattering in half. After that was hazy in Simonee's memory. Ask any one of the residents of Sentinel Hill, and they would say that he conjured a fireball that could've dwarfed a sun, and that fireball had simply atomized the assassin.
This use of power, unfortunately, caused Simonee to fall unconscious, and when he woke again, he remembered inducting Krionoso into the Slayers of Destiny and giving him his tabard – which now had been hanging, torn, from a nail in the wall. After the group held a funeral for Hoardale, returned to Stormwind. A new councilmember, Akall, was chosen, and the seven returned to Alexston with Van Cleef's head and missive. From there, the group had been sent to the cheesemaker Elling Trias – who apparently had a trouble-making past – who then sent them to the fisherman Jorgen – another of Alexston's old time friends. After that, the fisherman told them to travel to Duskwood, where another important note had been hidden. Unfortunately, the group was waylaid by a raid on the city. The Horde had attacked the city with trebuchets and mass numbers, but were overtaken when the dwarves of Ironforge came and reinforced the Stormwind protectors. Simonee was once again knocked unconscious by a boulder sent flying by one of the trebuchets' impacts against the wall.
During his deep, long sleep, the rest of the group had gone to Duskwood in his stead. They found the note, and when Simonee awoke, Krionoso was there – as well as the note. When Simonee and his friends attempted to return to Jorgen, they found him dead, under the span leading into the city. With the fisherman dead, Simonee and his group had no choice but to find a translator able to decipher the code of the note. The perfect place, Simonee had decided, was back in the Deadmines.
The perfect opportunity, however, was given them by a mysterious note, telling Simonee to wait in the mines alone. He did so, and was captured by the Defias and dragged to the boat in the back of the mines, in the grotto where he, Dagerly, Krionoso and Aeriah had originally killed Van Cleef. Soon, however, he was rescued by both Dagerly and Krionoso – both of whom had been stationed at the rear entrance of the mines in the Dagger Hills. Between the three of them, they captured Simonee's assailant and brought him back out of the mines. From there, the entire group escorted him to Stormwind and Alexston. Witnessed by all, the Defias then deciphered the note, revealing a well-hidden secret.
Simonee remembered his shock quite well, as the assassin revealed that the Brotherhood had captured the king of Stormwind, Varian Wrynn. Alexston, also shocked by the news, the charged Simonee, Aubs, Dince, Dagerly, Akall, Aeriah, and Krionoso to bring him back. That began a long quest across the Great Sea, in Kalimdor - at Baros' suggestion. The group crossed the dry desert plains of the Barrens and walked through the forests of Ashenvale and Darkshore. Eventually, they found themselves in the night elves' capitol city of Darnassus.
Once in Darnassus, the group reported to the priestess Tyrande Whisperwind. They told her of what had happened to the king, and she agreed to send out scouts in search of him. In the meantime, the group had split and entertained themselves. After a few days, the seven regrouped, and Krionoso and Aeriah had come back with a new guild member - Garret Frosthammer. They then decided to check up on the situation, and being in luck, Tyrande told them of Defias activity in Moonglade. Following the lead, the group found it to be an ambush set up by the Defias Brotherhood. After a short duel with his latest assailant, Simonee found it to be his friend and fellow mage, Krionoso.
Simonee scoffed, looking at the battered remnants of the tabard hanging from the wall. Looking back through his memories once again, he continued running down the events that had led to this.
The group had returned to Lady Tyrande and from her, learned that her scouts had been killed and replaced by Defias assassins. However, she also told them that her scouts sent to the Eastern Kingdoms had come across a lead too prominent not to follow. So, at the suggestion of the Lady, they followed it, returning to Stormwind once again. The scouts then told them of the whereabouts of a small tent that had been pitched in Duskwood, and the group of seven made their way there. Once they reached the tent, Krionoso assaulted them, killing both Dince and Akall in a matter of moments before he could be subdued at Garret's hammerfall. The traitor mage then teleported away to lands unknown before Simonee could finish the job.
And after the two funerals, that's where things stood. Preparing for a full-scale Defias invasion. 'This is becoming ridiculous. And quickly,' Simonee thought, sitting on his bed. A knock on the door brought him back to reality.
A/N: Chalk this up as not being able to stay away for long. Heh. Anyway, next chapter will be not far away, and will be ACTION PACKED and full of INTRIGUE! LOL! Well, besides that, I've got absolutely nothing to say, except - for the first time this story - BE HAPPY!