MysidiaDrakkenbane

Some of you PMed me to continue this thread. Thank you for those who have taken the time to read. I have continued this thread over on the EQII forums. This was merely a place where I could "back up" my story in case they lost it on the new EQII Forums transfer. As a request, I've posted the new chapters here. Enjoy.


Everfrost was a different world in the early morning hours. Usually, the snows from the night before have filled in the divots and impressions left by the animals and humanoids that walked through the pristine whiteness. Now the freshly fallen flakes have cleaned the man made impurities, smoothing it out in a virginal blanket.

Hues of pink and purple began to paint their way onto the canvas sky as the sun started to do its traditional daily climb to the horizon line. Mysidia sat atop an icy ledge, looking down at her group mate's camp. She was in wolf form and the winds that shaped the jagged snowdrift dunes, blew powder flakes onto her muzzle that spotted into fuzzy slushy dew.

Mysidia was restless. The various sounds during the night kept her awake and instead of trying to fight for sleep, she merely took the job as night watch to ensure her camp's safety. Machene knew that Mysidia wouldn't sleep well. As much as her heart belongs in the outside open air, new places always made Mysidia edgy. She lived a life of constantly having to look over her shoulder. She never knew if there was an Iksar around the corner, ready to capture her at moment's notice. Old habits truly do die hard.

Bearsoul had led them all towards his hut in the mountains, where he said it would be safer than down in the valley. Barring the fact that the Barbarians in the camp get rather rowdy after hours of drinking down stale swill, ice goblins and wolves had a tendency to snatch an opportunity where it would present itself and drunken slumbered men were always such an opportunity.

No matter how much Bearsoul assured their safety, Mysidia was always up at the sound of every yip or crackle. Even the snaps from the firewood made her jump. Between living in slave pens and ceremonial Iksars, sleeping sound was a constant battle with her.

Machene rolled over and felt the furs next to him. He popped open an eye when he felt the cool temperature. He realized that Mysidia was up and had left some time ago. In peering outside of his tent, he scanned over several trails of muddy paw prints outlining the camp. She had been up for more than just a few hours.

Machene pulled on his fur cloak and boots and headed out into the frigid morning air. Wisps of breath rolled off his mouth as he gave a solid look around. From the looks of things, Mysidia had patrolled and paced most of the night. Over next to the fire, a freshly slain and cleaned elk rested, ready for cooking. Machene wasn't quite sure if it was Bearsoul who had caught such a large beast or if Mysidia had done it herself.

No sooner had the thought struck him that Bearsoul came yawning out of his hut. He gave a large stretch and scratched at his head through muffled gray hair. Machene noticed he only had on long johns and no shoes. He shivered just looking at him. Bearsoul noticed Machene and laughed.

"Antonica life has soften ye, boy.", Bearsoul said and continued to laugh.

Kryimsson stumbled out of his tent, obviously still inebriated from the previous night's activities. He peered at the elk that rested near his tent and grunted with a sloppy grin on his face.

Mysidia quietly padded her way down the ledge and towards the camp when she recognized several of them awake. She kept her distance until she was able to morph back into her usual form.

"Morning.", Machene said smiling at her.

"Morning.", she mumbled back. She did little to hide the exhaustion on her face. Machene knew that she'd sleep better when they were back on Raevenwolf's ship.

"You had an early start.", Machene began to say "Any luck in finding their trail?"

"It snowed during the night, so there is little as far as a footpath or trail I could follow. And not knowing their scent, I couldn't track anything. When we've had a decent meal, we can start heading out towards Permafrost and see if we can pick up anything along the way. Kaglaaz did say that it had been a few days since they were last seen.", Mysidia said.

"Was the elk your doing?", Machene said looking over at the kill.

Mysidia nodded. "It is an offering to Bearsoul for allowing us to stay at his camp."

"An' a fine offering it be, great lady. That'll last me a good month out here and the furs will fetch me a decent price at the harbor.", Bearsoul said smiling broadly. "I'll get to cuttin' it down now. Kryimsson, help me drag this."

Machene walked over to Mysidia and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?"

Mysidia sighed, the circles under her eyes confirming her exhaustion. "Yes. I'll be fine. We had better pack some extra rations with us if we're heading into the mountains. Some of those drifts are really quite deep and we'll be burning off more energy than we should be, out here."

Machene nodded. It was going to take them a good day's ride to get out to the Permafrost gates, and that was if the weather was agreeable.

"So...who's up for an Elk steak and eggs?", Bearsoul said holding up a thick slab of freshly skinned and sliced meat. A wide grin spread across all of their faces and they began to walk towards Bearsoul's hut.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Salty ice slosh wavered against the frozen wooden harbor. Seals and snowgulls dotted the oceanic scene as a large dark wooden ship made its way silently into the Everfrost Docks. The ocean was calmer today and barely rustled up a hiss from splashing waves. There was just something oddly eerie and calm about the weather around them. Not that this was unheard of, but it never took the "off" feeling away from it all, either.

Several of the shipmates had started to tack down and unload their cargo. Several of them had their proper documents in hand and a few of the Harbor Masters were giving a scrutinous eye since they had noticed the seal from Freeport had adorned the bow of the ship.

Akahsha, using her sneaking abilities, quietly moved passed the guards and towards the small boat that would carry her to the Barbarian camp across the way. It seemed that no matter how hard she tried, Mysidia was constantly two steps ahead of her. She didn't like that. She wasn't used to that. Akahsha proudly carried the title of Mistress of the Blade among her "collegues". Getting that title meant you were there waiting for the prey, not chasing after it.

She quietly placed her pack into the boat when a voice from the distance shouted towards her.

"You! You there!", a man's voice said in the distance.

Akahsha looked up and watched the man approach her with a swift step. She grumbled under her breath and withdrew her dagger that was hidden amongst the many layers she wore.

"Ugh. Too many variables.", she muttered to herself. She knew that a skirmish here would draw attention, so using her daggers was an extreme last resort. She was going to have to use some of that charm and flair she remembered hearing her mother used to have.

"You! That boat is not for the taking. You will have to rent it like everyone else!", the man said in a haughty tone. The moment he got to her, he folded his arms in a self righteous manner.

It took her great restraint to not just roll her eyes and stab him right there, but she could hear her mother's voice scream at her over and over "DIPLOMACY!" She kept her ire and merely batted her silver colored eyes.

"Oh, many pardons, sir. And where abouts would I give my deposit?", she asked in a naïve tone.

The man seemed to loosen his stance some when he realized that she wasn't going to be any trouble.

"That would be me, miss. I own this boat, here.", he said "It'll be 10 gold. Five each way."

She began to clench her jaw. Oh how she LOATHED being civil to someone who was subservient to her. When she was done with her mission, she thought she would make a point to come back here and force Mr. Boat Watchman into slavery. The thought of having him on his knees in front of her made her insides grin wickedly.

With a slight of hand, she withdrew her purse and sprinkled a topical poison on one of the coins. She wasn't going to get the money back, but that doesn't mean he should be alive to enjoy it, either.

And as she sailed quietly on the boat, she couldn't help but choke a giggle as she heard the human begin to gargle for his last few breaths. She paid a pretty penny for that poison and she was happy to know that her money was well spent. Pity, she thought, that she couldn't observe the effects first hand. Hearing it would simply have to do.

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