Phealea The Ice Princess: Part Six

This is part six of the Phealea The Ice Princess story. It contains works by [Phealea], [Rob] and [Vonnacht]

Chapter Twenty-nine
by [Rob]

Several hours after he had left the apartment in Booty Bay, Rob carefully led his horse down into Un'goro crater. He had a premonition that he needed to check the area out after talking to Krelle earlier that morning.

Earlier in the week, Rob had been having problems with his com making constant, high pitched sound. It was driving him crazy and so he frantically spun the wheels and flicked switches trying to get it to stop. For a brief moment he heard Phealeas voice faintly humming though the static.

"..could use your help. No one knows Un'goro like you. Can you spare a moment?"

Rob drew his hands up and away from the com, thinking he might have made it work again. He thought he heard a higher voice peeping through, but then his com popped and went completely silent. He hadn't thought anything of it, but after talking to Krelle, Rob realized that that was the last he had heard from Phea, and since Krelle had seen neither her nor Talula in some time he began to worry.

"Ha ha ha! Kenne that beast go any faster?" a small, brown bearded dwarf shouted back at Rob.

Rob made a rude gesture back at the ram-mounted dwarf as he silently and carefully rode his horse down the steep path. The dwarf waited for Rob to catch up and then rode next to him as the ground leveled out.

"Ye still haven' told me what ye brought me doon 'ere for. We been friends fer a long time now, but ye never stop supprisin' me lad."

"You're the best tracker I know Borin," Rob said. "And I think a couple of my friends might have run into trouble here."

Chapter Thirty
by [Rob]

"Look 'ere lad," the dwarf said pointing at some muddy footprints around the tar pits. "There was a fight 'ere, that's fer sure. Saw a bit 'o blood back there, an' there's footprints everywhere."

"Can you tell who left the footprints?" Rob asked anxiously.

"Tha gnome was all over 'ere. Few Night elf and 'uman prints too. But look lad... this is tha best part." The dwarf leaned down, holding his beard to keep it out of the mud. He traced the outline of a large feline footprint, with mud raised up around the side.

"So what is it? They got in a fight with a cat?"

The dwarf took out a pipe and stuck it in his mouth. "Nah. Druid more likely." Standing up, he calmly lit the pipe and took a few breaths of smoke into his mouth. "Not many mammals in 'ere. Few gorillas, bein' tha exception. A feline this big would be unlikely."

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "I'd wager yer 'uman friend was standing 'bout ere. The night elf, who would be tha druid in this picture, likely attacked from over there an' got in a fight with the gnome. This part's got me stumped though... The track's just sort of end next ta where yer standin'. Some odd erosion goin' on over there too."

The dwarf blew a ring of smoke out of his mouth. "Might take me a while to figure this oot."

"I have to get back to Booty Bay by sundown. Think you can handle it alone for a bit? Shouldn't take too long I think," Rob stated.

"C'mon..." He held his arms out to the side with his hands open. "Who're ya talkin' to 'ere?" As Rob laughed the dwarf continued. "There's a cave just to tha north o' ere. I'll wait fer ye there."

"Right. Thanks Borin." Rob turned to leave and suddenly slipped in a wet spot of mud, sliding down closer to the pit. A grave expression came over his face as he looked down next to his feet and pulled a shiny mithril wrench out of a tar puddle. He wiped it carelessly on his pants. There was no mistake. "Talula..." he whispered.

Chapter Thirty-One
by [Phealea]

Phealea slowly opened her eyes and slowly lifted herself up to a sitting position. She gently put a hand on her head as a dull pain still persisted. Slowly she gazed about her surroundings to try and figure out where she was. A blast of warm air and red kicked up to remind her she still sat in Hellfire which caused her to frown. She rolled over to rest herself on her hands on knees as her strength began to return to her limbs. One of her hands hit a hard glass bottle with a few drops of a blue liquid inside and caused it to skitter away.

"Finally awake, huh?" A familiar choked.

Phealea turned to face Sarina with her long raven hair falling around her face instead of up in its normal bun. The arcane mage looked no worse for wear, except for a bandage about neck. She looked down at her weakened sister and frowned deeply.

"From the claw marks on your back, I take it you and the druid had a parting? Tch, that thrice-damned tree-bitch is lucky I showed up too late. She tried to get those blasted lizards after me." Sarina said as she shook her head.

"That knife trick was something though. A dagger coated with the same magic you used to persevere things. The wound was shallow and it still made me go numb. You have gotten better, for a few moments in that battle I thought you were really going to kill me. Good to know you did not lose yourself completely." Sarina said as she rubbed her neck.

Phealea looked at her sister for a moment and then smirked weakly. "Yeah well, one of my best friends is still missing because of me. The ritual is broken and now that sense of guilt is turning my stomach into a broken spell matrix. Now I suppose you are here to arrest me and take me back." She said as she rested herself on her knees.

"Phealea Spellfire, the second Spellfire in history to take a liking to the power of frost. Took it upon herself to attempt a ritual that only a handful of other mages have attempt. Succeed but with the same results as the others. During which time you broke almost every law of the Alliance and attempted another ritual that has never even been conceived through the use of both the arcane and the dark arts. Killing of bandits, orcs, demons and blood elves all in the name of study. Sheesh Phea, you got quite a list. Though in truth you have been busting the laws of the Alliance since you joined the Tigers." Sarina said as she looked up at the chaotic sky.

"But, I am just a Minister of the Land. I am no agent of the Kirin Tor nor law agent of the Alliance and I would certainly not dirty my hands with the arresting of a criminal. Plus we Spellfires would never do such a thing. No witnesses and all that so who would testify against you in court? Things may have been different if you had acquired that demon heart, but then you would have been strong enough to kill me and go about your machinations." Sarina said with a odd smile as she turned back to her sister.

"Don't bullshit with me. I have no where to go. The druid escaped me, Lula is still gone, and I am weakened. Plus, I can't go back to everyone. I will bring more turmoil to them and only hurt them even more." Phealea spoke in a soft voice as she looked down at her hands, holding back tears.

Sarina stood up from her rock and grabbed Phealea's torn shirt and quickly dragged her up to her feet. She then brought her fist across Phealea's jaw which caused her to fall back to the red earth.

"Quit being stupid Phea because you don't have time to play the self-loathing little girl. Yeah, your friend is gone so go and get her. Isn't she important to you? So what is more important to you right now? Running away or getting her back? You are a Spellfire, no time for weakness damnit!" Sarina scolded.

"Plus you haven't lost any of your powers, you just expanded all your energy when your body reacted to the frozen shell breaking. You did what few frost mages have done. You survived that damned ritual. Most either stay emotional-less automatons or go crazy when the heat of their emotions touches the ice of their powers. " Sarina said as she turned her back to her sister.

Phealea looked up as she held her mouth. It was then that the muck had been wiped from her mind and a startling clarity came to here and she knew what she had to do. She slowly got to her feet and nodded at her sister.

"No rest for the wicked. So that druid must be pretty damn tired, easy prey." Phealea said wickedly.

"Hey, you slit that bitch's throat for me. Now quit your slacking and get going." Sarina said with a grin.

"Sometimes Rin, I wonder whose side you are on." Phealea smirked as she pulled out a rune stone.

"Why, the same team I was always on. The Three Troublemakers of Spellfire." Sarina winked as she took out her own rune stone.

The two women exchanged a quick hug and warm expression. Then both vanished into the ether.

Phealea appeared some ways away from the Bay. She gritted her teeth as she pushed her batter and wounded body past the guards of the port city and up to her door. The wounds on her back still ached but she refused to let that interfere right now. She fumbled with the lock and once it was open she stormed inside and cursed as Krelle was no where to be scene. She ran up to the lab and pushed things aside as she searched for a spare com to replace her ruined one. Once she found it she clicked it to a private channel and contacted Von.

"Hey, this is Phea. This is a emergency Von and I need to see you right now."

Chapter Thirty-two
by [Vonnacht]

The white cat thundered along the gravel path, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Von was headed to Honor Hold, to see if Nightshade had been seen in the area. As the castle came into view, a staticy message rang in his ears.

"-y...is Phea...Emergency...Von...need...see..-ight...now."

He hauled on the reins of the big cat, peeling it off the road and towards the Dark Portal. A large crowd of demons stood in his way, weapons drawn. Von spurred on the cat, charging through the middle. As he shot up the steps, the portal nearing, he glanced behind with a smile, seeing them far in the distance.

Coming through the portal, he reactivated his comm.

"This is Von. I'm in Azeroth. Where do you need me, Phea?"

Chapter Thirty-three
by [Phealea]

Phealea frowned deeply as she made her way through the house to her room. She began to rifle through some of her old notes as she waited. Her back still ached and she realized she was hungry but there was still work that needed to be done.

"No rest for the wicked." She reminded herself as she chewed on a pencil.

She slammed one of her books shut in frustration when a voice popped into her ear.

"This is Von. I'm in Azeroth. Where do you need me, Phea?"

"Fel Von, where were you? No matter we got problems, druid problems. Nightshade captured Talula and then she escaped from me when we fought on Hellfire. She was wounded from our fight but she flew off. You are a damn good tracker and you know Nightshade. The trail should only be about two, maybe three hours old." Phealea said as she scrambled to throw a few of her notebooks into a bag. She swore she heard Von's jaw tighten at the sound of the druid's name and that caused her to curse softly. She then bolted from the house to make her way to the wind rider.

"I will meet you at the Dark Portal. If she crossed over you might be able to find a spot where she landed or lost some feathers. If not we will cross over to see if we can gather anything that may help us in tracking the druid." Phealea spat out quickly as she twisted around people to avoid a collision that would send her into the Bay.

Chapter Thirty-four
by [Rob]

The weekly guild meeting at the Booty Bay office had gone as badly as Rob expected. He had intended to keep what little hid did know to himself, a least until he knew more. When the subject was brought up and people started expressing concern however, he felt it would be cold of him to keep everyone in the dark. Everybody got upset... flew into a panic. Precisely why Rob wanted to keep his mouth shut about it.

Rob pulled his wide-brimmed hat down and walked along the wooden docks covering the city. Smelling the air, he was suddenly reminded of how much he hated fish. The last ship of the night would be heading to Ratchet soon.

---

Phealea dashed through the streets in a hurry. "Watch it lady!" an irritating voice shouted up from somewhere behind her. Making her way through a crowd of local fishermen returning home for the evening a hand suddenly wrapped around her arm, pulling her off to the side. She looked up angrily, preparing some harsh words for the fool wasting her time.

Rob let go of her arm and tipped his hat. "Evenin' Phea. There's some folks looking for you."