"Tell me again Lord Diogenes, how did you come to be in the company of the Lich King?" the old and sour priest says with a sneer.
The battered and visibly exhausted man at the center of the small room tenses up and lets out a long drawn out sigh.
"I told you... I am not part of the Lich King's army. I have nothing to do with him, I have never even met him!!" the prisoner says in exacerbation. "I was part of an expedition that entered a place called the Halls of Reflection. I was... separated from my party and I managed to escape on my own."
The priest gives him a suspicious look for a moment, and writes something down on a piece of parchment.
"Lord Diogenes, you understand that I am employed by the Kirin Tor to interrogate prisoners. You should know that it is my job to determine when someone is lying and to hold them accountable to the Light!"
He stands from behind his desk and walks to the front of the man who is chained to his chair.
"Now, I will ask you again... What is your relation to the Lich King?!?" as he speaks a faint glow comes from his body, as if he is channeling the very essence of the Light.
The prisoner visibly flinches and turns away from the glow.
"I am not a servant of the Lich King... This I swear, on the Light itself if I must!!" the prisoner says through clenched teeth.
The old priest stands quietly for a moment in contemplation. Meanwhile, whatever power he employed seems to fade away as suddenly as it came. Then, he turns sharply and goes back to his desk.
"Very well Lord Diogenes, you tell a convincing lie. Lets discuss this expedition you were on into the Icecrown Citadel. Who was your leader, and what were you sent there to accomplish?"
Once again, the prisoner tenses up and looks down at the floor as if he is trying to craft a convincing story.
"Uh... Well, I am not at liberty to talk about it. You see, I am in the service of the Argent Crusade and Tirion Fordring. These are sensitive matters and you ask me to betray a trust."
The priest smiles like a snarling wolf that has caught it's prey in a trap. He sits down at the desk and writes something down as he shakes his head.
"Tell me Lord Diogenes, you are a mage of the Kirin Tor are you not?"
"I am not. I served as an apprentice for the Kirin Tor before Arthas sacked Dalaran. Afterwards I went home to Gilneas." the prisoner replies, holding his head up as if he is proud.
"I see... I detected a strange accent. You are from Gilneas? I thought the Kingdom was sealed behind the great wall? Didn't they all succumb to a curse or something?"
The prisoner shifts uncomfortably for a moment. "Not all of us were behind the wall, and not all of us succumbed to the curse you speak of."
Suddenly, the door opens and a small entourage of people enter. One of them is a stately looking Night Elf who hands a sealed letter to the priest.
"Inquisitor Wilkins, I bear a letter from the archives that I believe will assist you greatly in your interrogation" the tall elf says as he looks at the prisoner with thinly veiled hatred.
The priest, obviously disturbed by this sudden intrusion, breaks the wax seal and opens the letter. As he reads its contents, his face sinks into a deep frown. Finally, he looks up at the prisoner with anger on his face.
"So, Lord Diogenes you maintain that you do not serve the Lich King?" the priest says, as he once again rises from his desk and approaches the prisoner.
The prisoners dark skin goes ashen and his body becomes tense as he anxiously anticipates what he fears is written in the letter.
"Inquisitor, I swear that I am not a servant of Arthas. I have never served him in any capacity." he replies as his voice cracks with fear.
"Perhaps not Arthas, but what about Kel' Thuzad?!? Weren't you his apprentice?!?"
Suddenly, a blinding light erupts from the priest, and envelopes the prisoner. The heat of the holy aura seems to burn his skin as the prisoner screams and convulses from the pain.
"and it was you that used your necromantic power to possess the Elder Sylios in Moonglade!" the Night Elf interrupts. His voice rising to an indignant roar.
"NNNNOOOOOO!!!!" the prisoner screams in terror filled pain. The holy light causing his unnatural flesh to smolder and blister.
"Tell us the truth Lord Diogenes, tell us everything." the priest says calmly
The group of mages that came into the room with the Night Elf turn their heads in disgust at the torture of the prisoner.
"I will tell you!! Please, make it stop!!"
The priest lowers his hands and the glow fades from the room once again. Everyone goes quiet in anticipation. Meanwhile the prisoners skin continues to smoke and sizzle.
"I am waiting Lord Diogenes." the priest says.
The prisoner looks up at the group with tears rolling down his scorched cheeks.
"My name is Diogenes, I was once a mage of the Kirin Tor, before I left the order as a lowly apprentice to search for a cure for the Curse of the Worgen."
"Are you a necromancer?" the Night Elf says as he spits on the marble floor.
"No, I am not!" the prisoner shouts indignantly "I served the Druids at Moonglade, hoping that their mastery of shape shifting would help me control my curse."
The priest steps forward, a faint glow of light coming from him once again.
"How did you end up in Icecrown Citadel?" he says "and by the light you will tell us the truth this time!"
The prisoner flinches in horror. "I was part of an expedition. I entered as Calmfury, a Tauren Druid. We were chasing Lady Sylvanas, of the Forsaken, as she pursued Arthas. Something happened, and I was separated from Calmfury. The expedition was gonna kill me so I fled back down the tunnel from which we came. Then I was rescued by soldiers of the Argent Crusade."
"and how did you become bound to this Tauren Druid?" the Night Elf asks.
The prisoner looks at the Elf with a searing vein of hatred in his eyes. Meanwhile, the assembled onlookers stare at him in anticipation of his answer.
"I used..." the prisoner pauses, knowing his confession is about to ruin him. But, a fear of the searing light is worse than whatever else they can do. "I used unnatural and forbidden powers, that I learned in my time serving my former master." he says quietly and with dread.
A shocked silence falls over the room as the truth of the matter is finally revealed. As the onlookers look at one another the Night Elf stares at the prisoner with disgust.
"Master Ronin" the Night Elf says as he turns to a well dressed human standing at the back of the room. "This necromancer is wanted by Lady Tyrande and Arch Druid Fandrel in Darnassus for the murder of a venerated Elder and for attempting to spread his curse to my people. I demand that we be allowed to return him to answer for these crimes."
The stately mage looks at the elf for a moment and then opens the door and walks out. His entourage of the Kirin Tor council walking out with him.
The elf turns with a flourish to the priest. "Inquisitor Wilkins, prepare the prisoner for his journey." he says with a smile as he turns and follows the group into the hallway.
Outside, stands Ronin, looking out the window at the city of Dalaran far below. Meanwhile, the council walks away in a group down the hallway.
"Theklus, I never said I was turning Lord Diogenes over to you." Ronin says without turning around.
The elf flinches at the words of the Arch Mage.
"But, my Lord Ronin, he is a criminal of the worst sort. He must answer!"
"No Thelkus, he is not. That being in there is not the Diogenes you are after, he is nothing but a duplicate. Brought into being by the Lich Kings foul magics. He is a creature made into flesh from shadow. Nothing more. Trust me, we have seen this kind of thing before."
The Night Elf shakes his head in disbelief. "I don't think I understand." he says slowly.
"If you can't comprehend what I am saying then perhaps it is not given to you to know." Ronin says "Go back to Darnassus and tell your masters that the criminal you seek has not been found."
The Night Elf sneers openly at the mage before bowing and turning to leave.
Ronin stands in the hall alone for a moment, looking out the window. Far beyond the icy mist of the skies of Northrend he sees the dreadful spires of Icecrown Citadel.
"Now, what am I to do with this doppelganger?" he whispers to himself as he turns and strolls slowly down the hall.
