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Orik wiped snow from his brow as he clambered atop the Ularian Ridge mountains.

Icicles were forming on his broad axe as he fought the cold wind breathing against his small, burly form. Alex was trooping beside him with a rather large pack, the cold taking a toll on the magician.

"Orik, are you absolutely crazy?"

"Some o' the folks say," he grunted.

"Well, I don't know how you stand the horrible climate up here," Alex complained. "If I were you I'd be at Lonea Lake, soaking in the sun."

"Get o'er it, ya snivelin' baby."

Alex grimaced. "That's easy for you to say." He muttered a magical phrase that ignited a flame in the palm of his hand. He cupped both his hands together and blew into them. "That's better. Do you need some warmth, Orik?"

Orik grunted in disapproval. Alex then released the flame into the snowy air around them.

"Look," Orik pointed out. "Shelter."

The two approached a small cave upon the peak of the mountain. Snow capped the roof of the cave, but the inside was bare stone. "Finally," Alex said with a sigh. Orik grunted yet again.

The two friends stepped inside, grateful for the protection from the cold. Alex threw down his pack and rested against the cavern wall. "Cold is not my friend at the moment," he said through chattering teeth. He unzipped his pack and extracted a few small logs, then raised his hand above the stone floor, raising surrounding rocks. Alex again muttered an incantation and erected a small fire. Alex smiled at his creation and the warmth it gave him.

Orik gave him a sideward glance before settling down. He merely opened up his flask and took a swig. "Aye," he said happily, "that's better." He took another look at Alex. "Why ye be needin' a fire an' all? Ye can't handle a wee bit o' cold?"

Alex smiled. "Of course not. You, Orik, of all people should know that."

He grunted and took another drink. "So, what ye think we be doin' next?"

"I don't know. Hang here until the weather sets off."

"Fat chance o' that," Orik replied. "Weather at these here mountains stay nippy year 'round."

"You're kidding!" Alex was dismayed. "So, what've you been up to recently, Orik?"

"Nothin' no'able," he said. "Just with the clan, doin' what we be doin' best." Orik thought of his fellow clan members, probably drinking and singing dwarfish tunes. "What have ye been dealin' with? Monsters? Battles?"

"Actually, none of the above. I've been in training with the academy."

"Wha'?" Orik was surprised. "I thought ye were a Top Class magician?"

"I am," Alex replied. "I'm training my new apprentice. The academy elders pinned some kid on me to learn the ways of magic. The little brat won't adhere to my lessons. See, magic is all about concentration, strategy, and development. You can't move on to the next level without mastering the first, and this is what I'm trying to get across to him. Be he's all about power. He wants to know the next level spells and such when he hasn't fully grasped the material in front of him. Don't get me wrong, the boy is talented, but he's too bent on strength."

"Aye," Orik put in, "ye'll be gettin' yerself killed when yer fixed on brute strength."

"Absolutely. And I've tried to talk to him about it, but he won't listen. It's only a matter of time before he breaks."

"Or goes the wrong way," Orik said darkly. He peered out to the growing blizzard outside the cavern. Alex noticed the storm also.

"Maybe we should cover the entrance," suggested Alex. Orik nodded in agreement. Alex stood up and walked to the entrance. Raising both arms, he shouted an incantation. A stone slab shot up from the ground, concealing the outside. "That ought to do it," Alex said, content with his work. "Wait," he said abruptly. He leaned against his creation and let his ear against the cool stone. He jumped back in shock.

"Wha's goin' on?" Orik asked.

"Someone's screaming. In trouble." He leaned back against the stone slab. "It's not far from here." Alex roared another incantation, destroying his wall. "Grab your axe. Let's go!"

"Aye," Orik muttered, "I been waitin' for somethin' to happen." He picked up his axe and shouldered it, following Alex into the brewing blizzard.

[reaper9383]

Reaper climbed up the stormy mountains i was freezing weather no longer hurt him but he could still feel the freezing cold temperatures on these mountains. Reaper Reached near the top when he got distracted by a screaming sound he headed toward the sound but it was blurred out by the raging blizzard he closed his eyes and tried to concentrate..he sensed two living things in a cave he knew where they were but not what they were. Reaper ran toward the area he sensed them in he came to a cave with a pile of broken rock towed the entrance. He walked into the cave seeing what seemed to be a dwarf and a human he looked at them waiting for something anything.

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As Orik and Alex shot out of the mountainous cave, a man approached them. Orik stopped.

"Who'n the blazes are ye?" he roared over the blizzard to the man.

Alex shot at Orik, "There's no time for this, Orik. We need to find the person in danger." Alex began to slope down the mountain.

Orik grunted in agreement and followed suite, casting a short glance back at the man. He returned his attention to where he was going and continued after Alex. "Where are we headed exac'ly?" he shouted.

Alex looked at his friend while running. "Just down the pass. I'm not sure what's happened, but we need to get there faster." Alex stopped short with an idea. "I've got it!" he exclaimed.

Orik stopped as well, almost losing his balance. "Well?" he inquired.

"Grab hold of me. I'll transport us there." Alex grabbed Orik's small form and yelled an incantation.

Orik wasn't ready for the ride, but it was too late. Orik took in the scenery of the mountains before him and the snowy treetops, and blinked. When he opened his eyes, he was beside an icy lake, the mountains far behind him.

Alex was next to Orik, then suddenly collapsed on the snowy ground.

"Alex!" exclaimed Orik. "Are ye all right?" He rushed to his friend's aid.

"Transporting the both of us so far consumed much of the magical reservoirs within my body." He continued weakly, "it was an amateur mistake, something only a novice would attempt. I'm sorry, old friend."

"Ye'll be fine," Orik said, his heart racing. He looked up from his friend and gazed into the frozen lake. There was an oddly-shaped block of ice upon the lake, and a creature next to it. Orik recognized it as an Icewolf.

The Icewolf was looking at Orik with hunger, hate, and mistrust. Orik knew the nature of the Icewolf: bitter anger drove its actions and it used Ice Magic to deplete any threat posed to it or its pack. If there was one, there was sure to be more.

Orik wielded his axe, braced for battle. "Come on, ye ruddy beast."

The Icewolf pounced off the ice without hesitation, headed in Orik's direction. Orik rolled to the side and readied his axe once more, the ice glistening on its head. The Icewolf continued to where Orik was a moment before.

To Alex.

No! Orik thought as he ran toward the Icewolf. He cast his axe at the creature and slashed the tail of the beast. He Icewolf howled and recoiled back, away from Alex. In defense, the Icewolf cast its magic at Alex, and he began to freeze. Orik pleaded in his mind for the Icewolf to stop its attack, but it did not relent. Alex's weak body began to freeze over, making it incapable for him to move or wield magic. Orik lunged at the beast with axe once again, and cut it in the middle. The Icewolf roared and retreated to the nearby woods.

Only Alex's head was visible due to the ice casing, and Orik rushed to his side. Alex whispered, "Orik, please, help me. I cannot die here without achieving my destiny."

"Right," Orik grunted. Orik studied the ice casing that enveloped Alex's body. Once he had carefully analyzed it, he took the blunt of his axe and forcefully tapped the ice. In one motion, the ice casing shattered, releasing the magician. Orik helped him to his feet and brushed some snow off of him. "Are ye all right? Fit to move?"

"Yes, Orik, thank you!" Alex exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"I've been in the mountains many a moon an' have had to deal with ice an' the like," he answered.

"Well good thing." Alex peered toward the iced lake. "What do you suppose that is?" he asked, motioning toward the block of ice.

Orik looked at the block. It took the same shape of when Alex was encased in ice.

"A body."

[Aithne Breagh]

So cold.

Elysillien's thoughts were fading fast as the ice encasing her fragile form began to freeze her from the outside in. She had almost given up hope that there would be any way of getting free, yet the thought of the Icewolf spurred her anger to incredible proportions. Needless to say, she hadn't expected the animal to have such magical skills, and it had surprised her in the feeble attempt that she had made for her escape. What had she been thinking?

That's the last time I eavesdrop on a couple of drunken bums.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe. Moving was completely out of the question. Or was it? Ely fought hard against the increasing chill, silently willing her body to move. Anywhere. Fingers that were drained of whatever pallid coloring they'd began with wiggled intently for a moment, responding to the insistence of her brain. The ignoble beast had fled. It had been the last thing she had seen before her eyes had closed against the frost that was settling in. She didn't want to die, not like this. Again her fingers wriggled as she fought for some manner of control. Her slender hand worked back and forth over and over until she finally freed it from its icy tomb.

Would anyone notice?

Come on....fight.

Her thoughts seemed erratical, as if they were becoming distant and unnatural to her. One thing was for sure, if she got out of this mess she planned to pay two sotted slobs a visit. They definitely wouldn't like what she would say. The hope of getting free to do just that, however, was quickly dissipating. With the last bit of strength left to her lithe body, Ely gave movement a final try. Her hand squirmed from one of the sides of her cold casket, seeking something...anything...that would renew her optimism.

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"A body?" asked Alex, bewildered. "Are you sure?"

"Aye," replied the dwarf. Orik took off and ran to the victim. Alex followed suite and was close behind him. I hope we can help whoe'er's in there, Orik thought.

The duo arrived at the encased body. Orik studied the casing: It look basically like the one Alex had been trapped in except this one covered the whole of the body. Maybe he could use the same technique to free this person. Orik took a steady posture and once again took the blunt of his axe to strike the ice. There was a resounding note, but nothing had happened to the shell. There was not even a crack or chip. Orik then looked up to Alex. "Ye got any ideas?"

"Maybe." Alex looked hard at the ice block. "The easiest way would be to use fire magic, but then we'd chance at harming the victim further."

"Well," Orik replied, "we need to do somethin' now or else we're gonna lose whoe'er's in there!"

"I know, I know!" stressed Alex. Orik could tell he really was trying, but they needed to act now, or else the victim would perish. Orik couldn't do anything; if he used the sharp of his axe, he would most likely hurt the person within. It was up to Alex now.

"I've got it!" exclaimed Alex. "Orik, take your axe and crack the ice so I can get to some water."

"Got it." Orik raised his mighty axe and slammed it into the ice. The ice weakened and cracked.

"Again, Orik!"

Orik once again struck the ice with his axe, creating a fair-sized hole which revealed icy water.

"Perfect!" said Alex. Alex magically drew the lake water and formed it into a thin blade of ice. He raised him arms and threw the blade into the edge of the encasement. A section of the case broke off.

All right! thought Orik.

Alex kept up with his ingenious plan until the body was almost free. "Try your technique again, Orik. It'd be too risky for me to continue with this blade." He melted the blade back into the icy water and magically smoothed over the area where Orik broke the ice.

Orik nodded. He took his position once more and struck the ice. This time, the case broke, revealing a human female. Although this human had some distinct features, such as pale skin. When Orik looked into her eyes, he was taken aback. Her eyes were as blue as the icy prison in which she was held captive. Alex was too busy inspecting his fingernails to notice who had been released from the ice.

"Alex," said Orik, "look at what was underneath the ice." Alex appeared at his side and inspected the woman.

"A woman," Alex observed. He took the time to look into her glacier-blue eyes. "We--we--" he stammered, "need to...help her."

Orik agreed. "Let's get her to shelter," he suggested. Alex nodded and magically lifted the woman on an invisible stretcher. The two clambered back up the mountains to the cave they inhabited earlier that day.

[Aithne Breagh]

Thump.

The chilling sound reminded her of the fact that she was encased in ice. For a moment Ely thought she could hear voices, but they were so faint.

Thump!

She was jarred awake again by that same noise. Delicate fingers curled once...twice before stretching out. Got to get out of here.... Elysillien paused a moment as she listened intently for any sign that there were indeed rescuers outside. The resounding clink of ice on ice filled her ears and suddenly her whole arm was free. They're coming, Ely thought to herself. Over and over the chilly casing was forced to part from her frozen flesh and in one final motion she was free.

Ely started to shiver as her body fought to regain some semblance of warmth. From her position on the ground, she looked up into the faces of those who had saved her. She didn't recognize either one. Thank Aziluth. One of them stammered something about helping her, and Ely wasn't about to argue. The only thing that frightened her was the sudden upward motion of her body before it leveled. A slender hand lowered to feel beneath her before she tucked it back against her chest. One thought filled her mind. Magic user.

Whoever they were, they didn't belong to the group that had been tracking her through the forest. The tenseness left her body as she relaxed against the stretcher of air. Pale eyes glanced over Orik, inspecting him before moving on to Alex. Her teeth chattered as she muttered two words.

"S-so.....c-cold."

It could have been her imagination, but the duo seemed to pick up the pace as they headed for the side of the mountain. Where are they taking me? Ely thought silently to herself. She lifted her head and took a look around them before spotting what looked like the mouth of a darkened cave entrance. As they slipped inside, the welcoming warmth of their small fire was like a soothing blanket as it caressed her chilled skin. Ely took in a deep breath and exhaled with certain slowness. It seemed that luck was once more on her side. She felt the cavern floor come up beneath her as she was lowered down, and one of her hands flattened out to brace her and offer stability. They're going to have questions.

Ely's mind began to spin as she sought to concoct a decent story that would offer a valid explanation as to why she was out in the wilderness on her own. Unfortunately her mind wasn't working as clearly as it normally did.

She had learned throughout her life that when one wasn't certain there was only one thing left to do.

Improvise.

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Orik took a long swig from his flask. "Of all the things that happen," he said between drinks, "we find a woman frozen in an ice coffin." Orik was beyond thought. They rescued this woman, now they had to figure out how to heal her. Well, he thought, at least she's still alive. Orik gazed at the woman, who was now gaining consciousness. I've never had ter heal anyone before. I hope Alex knows what to do.

Alex stooped down to the woman, thinking deeply. "I'm not sure what ails her, but there may be something I can do." Alex selected a few choice words and chanted them over the woman. Orik noticed no change. "I've returned the warmth to her body," Alex explained. "That's all I can do for her now. From here, we wait."

And they waited. In the meantime, Orik lit his pipe and took a long pull, weary from the day's events. Alex simply paced around the cave, anxious to see how the woman was faring. It'll be a while before she's got the strength to do any talkin', Orik surmised. Let's just hope she's well.

[Aithne Breagh]

Ely felt nervousness flood her body as the male stood next to her and chanted his words. She half expected something terrible to happen, but when the warmth returned to her body in a comforting embrace she finally relaxed a bit. Her pale, icy eyes moved from first Alex to Orik. The two seemed kindly enough, even helpful to a degree. Once Orik settled in to puffing on his pipe, and Alex took to his endless pacing, Elysillien allowed the pent up edginess to drain from her body.

The warmth was good. So good, in fact, that it very nearly allowed her to drift off to sleep in the presence of her two new "protectors". If they could be called such, she thought to herself. Surely if they knew the circumstances of her predicament they might be a little less inclined to protect her from anything...or anyone. Well, at least they had allowed her some time to begin formulating a plan. The first sense of business would be to allay the curiosities of her fellow cave-mates. Give them just enough information to continue to care, yet not enough to turn them against her. And the second thing planned in the far recesses of her mind?

Get the heck out of the Ularian Ridge and put some distance between herself and it.

Ely stretched out a bit and tested the strength of her muscles. She was keenly aware of the other two occupying the cave, yet she took some time to make certain nothing had been injured in her unlucky run in with the icewolf. To her satisfaction she felt that she would continue to live without the inconvenience of a marred limb. Carefully she pushed herself up to a seated position and turned to watch the pair. Hopefully they would provide her with some information.

"You both have my eternal thanks...for saving me from that dastardly beast."

The tone of her voice was soft, a near bell's tinkling in the enclosing confines of the cave. She allowed her clear blue gaze to shift to Alex, watching as he paced over the floor. The two were an unlikely set of companions, if anyone was to ask her. Still, she'd seen more odd things in her past, and wasn't about to look her gift horse in the mouth.

"That...thing...surely would have killed me."

A tragedy, to be certain. Especially with the knowledge that she possessed, or so she thought.

"I am Elysillien, or Ely in short."

Risky business using one's own name. Then again these two couldn't possibly know who she was. Not from her name alone. She paused as she looked from one to the other and back again. They were a sturdy duo, capable of surviving such harshness as the wilderness just outside the cave's entryway. Ely found her own curiosities becoming piqued as to the reason why they were out there to begin with. Patience, she reminded herself silently. Given enough time they just might feel inclined enough to tell her their purpose for being there.

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Orik took in the woman's words. "Elysen...Elyslien....Eylisine..." he broke off, his dwarven accent unable to pronounce the woman's name.

"Elysillien," breathed Alex. His gaze on Elysillien was unbreakable; Orik didn't know what was happening. Alex shook his head and broke his stare.

Orik wobbled over to Elysillien and offered his hand. At least she's come to, he thought. "Glad we could help," he said with a smile.