Rhonin brought the two of them to an inn on a street corner in Dalaran and booked a room for each of them. Aaron and Vereesa went into their respective rooms.
After entering the inn, Aaron felt that it was much better than the one in Hillsbrad. Not only was it clean, but the furnishings in the rooms were also much more orderly.
"Aaron, are you there?" While Aaron was examining the furnishings in his room, he suddenly heard someone knock on the door and call from outside.
"Vereesa? I'll be right there." Aaron briefly straightened his clothes, opened the door, and stepped out.
Vereesa had just bathed, and a gentle fragrance wafted from her. Seeing Aaron come out, she smiled and said, "Let's go, Aaron. Rhonin is still waiting for us downstairs."
Aaron nodded and followed Vereesa downstairs, only to see that Krasus had already arrived and was sitting there talking with Rhonin.
"You two, the members of the council are very interested in you. Do you have time to meet them?" Krasus reacted far faster than Rhonin, turning his gaze toward them just as they came down the stairs.
The council? The Council of Six? Who's on the Council of Six right now...? The moment Aaron heard the word "council," he thought of the Council of Six, which actually ruled Dalaran. But after turning it over in his head, he realized he had no recollection of who its members were at this point in time. He could only guess that Antonidas, Dalaran's supreme ruler, must be one of them. As for who the others were, Aaron had no idea for the moment.
"Dalaran's Council of Six? I'd like to take a look." Vereesa seemed intensely curious about all sorts of things, and the chance to see the true face of this mysterious organization sparked considerable enthusiasm in her.
"Young High Elf, I advise you not to get your hopes too high. The council members' identities must be kept secret from outsiders, so you won't be able to see their true faces when you get there."
What Krasus said was naturally true. Dalaran's principal inhabitants were mages, and apart from its public leader, Antonidas, it was the Council of Six that ruled Dalaran. These six were chosen from among those mages. To prevent people with ulterior motives from discovering and exploiting their identities, the mages had no choice but to conceal who they were, especially when dealing with outsiders.
"Oh, I see." Vereesa's spirits clearly sank a little, though she was not too disappointed. She simply stood beside Krasus and waited for him to lead the way.
Krasus, however, looked with some surprise at Aaron, who stood to one side with his head lowered, thinking about something. "Mr. Aaron, do you not want to go?"
Hearing the question, Aaron emerged from his thoughts and forced a smile. "Of course I'm interested in the Council of Six too. But I was thinking-you're probably one of them, aren't you?"
Krasus did not answer Aaron's question directly. He merely gave an inscrutable smile, then led the three toward the Council of Six's location.
"This is the Chamber of the Sky. It also counts as one of Dalaran's sights, though ordinary people never get the chance to admire it." Having dealt with the burden he had been carrying, Krasus was noticeably more cheerful and even felt like joking with them.
The so-called Chamber of the Sky was above Dalaran's Violet Citadel. They climbed the tall staircase in front of the Violet Citadel and entered its hall, where Krasus cast a spell. Aaron saw mist envelop the three of them. The mist beneath their feet lifted them as though it were solid, carrying them straight toward the hall's ceiling.
"Hey!"
"Master?"
"Krasus, what are you doing?"
All three cried out, not knowing what Krasus was doing. After their cries, however, they saw ripples spread across the ceiling overhead. They passed straight through it and entered the Chamber of the Sky.
The chamber had no walls. In their place was a mass of constantly flowing mist, within which five figures concealed beneath cloaks stood silently.
Aaron had never been here in the game. Looking at the scenery inside the chamber, he could not help thinking of Skywall, where the Titan Keepers had imprisoned the air elementals. The scenery was quite similar. Perhaps one of the mages had once entered Skywall.
"Esteemed councilors, I am honored to introduce the three heroes who completed this epic mission: the mage Rhonin, the paladin Aaron, and the ranger Vereesa Windrunner."
Krasus bowed slightly to the five figures and introduced the three to the council members.
After imitating Rhonin's bow, Aaron freely examined the five figures. However, the five mages had cast spells to conceal their identities, giving their forms an elusive, shifting quality.
Still, Aaron could barely make out a few clues from the small portions of the six people's faces visible beneath their cloaks. Of the five, the one with the distinctly imposing bearing had a great white beard and was presumably Archmage Antonidas. The others' identities were much harder to discern. Aaron could only tell that there was one woman and three other male mages: one tall and thin, one slightly plump, and one with no distinguishing features.
"Please allow me to congratulate you on behalf of Dalaran. You have accomplished a feat beyond what most people could imagine," said the old man who, judging by his tone, appeared to be Antonidas.
The tall, thin mage also offered Vereesa individual praise. The moment Aaron heard his tone, he judged that the man was probably a High Elf too. Dalaran had always cooperated with the High Elves, so having one on the Council of Six was perfectly normal. As for his identity... after a little thought, Aaron arrived at an answer. This fellow was probably Kael'thas, whose life had been tragic and who would turn dark even after death.
After the opening pleasantries, the five began asking the three about the details of their mission. There was no helping it; mages could basically be considered the most pragmatic group in all of Azeroth.
The three had already coordinated their accounts with Krasus, so this time they concealed the fact that Krasus was actually a red dragon. Everything else was recounted exactly as it had happened.
Only now did Aaron learn what had happened to Rhonin after they parted. After Deathwing captured him, Rhonin had been forced by the dragon to continue his mission. It was precisely through Deathwing's coercion and assistance that Rhonin, a physically frail mage, had managed to enter Grim Batol, which was occupied by the Dragonmaw Orcs, and meet Nekros, the orc warlock in command of them.
But the role Deathwing had assigned Rhonin was also that of a pawn. After using Rhonin to pass Nekros false information that the Alliance was about to attack Grim Batol, he had discarded him.
Without Deathwing's protection, Rhonin had suffered far more miserably. The warlock had beaten him severely before locking him in a prison. The injuries Aaron and the others had seen on Rhonin in Grim Batol had been inflicted by that orc warlock, Nekros.
And, just as Krasus had arranged, Rhonin's appearance had successfully misled Nekros into believing that the Alliance was about to send a vast army to wipe out him and his followers. That was why he had hastily organized that extremely rushed evacuation, which had resulted in his death. Still, having been schemed against by two dragons, Nekros could hardly complain about his end.
After listening to the three give their respective accounts, the five mages each asked about a few details, then spent some time exchanging their views.
After the archmage who appeared to be Antonidas thanked the three once again, they left the Chamber of the Sky under Krasus's guidance.
As for what the Council of Six would discuss next, that was not information outsiders like Aaron and the others, or a low-ranking mage like Rhonin, could learn. Their mission was now thoroughly complete.