The next morning Lightening woke him up, it took a splash of water to wake him from his stupor. He sat bolt up immediately holding his head.

"Ow, I sat up to quick. Good morning to you too." He said grimacing and rubbing his pounding head

Lightening laughed and tossed him his shirt.

"You even said we left out early tomorrow. Shouldn't have drunk so much. At least I know how to wake you up, eh?" she said watching him get dressed from a chair by the door.

He stood and stretched, trying to shake the headache, before they walked out. He knocked three times on Kharn's door as they passed, signaling to get up and get moving.
Outside the inn the sun's glow was chasing away the night sky, dimming the few remaining stars in the sky. Mist and Lightening walked close to each other through the empty market district. Mist was carrying her pack for her since he had left his on the boat that night.

"Hey Mist! Wait for Kharn!" Mist turned to see Kharn with a barrel of mead strapped to his back and a large pack in hand.

They paused to let him catch up. Mist took the pack and the three of them continued on to the docks. The area around the dock was barren and the buildings outside burned and scarred from the fire the Thalmor had set fifteen years ago when they took the city. The three companions paused at the dock taking in the sunrise, the last one they would see on land for at least a week.

"Well, lets get this voyage underway." Mist said breaking the silence.

He strode forward, followed closely by Lightening, and Kharn who remained back a little, unsure if Mist could actually convince the captain to let him come aboard. The crew was already prepping the ship for departure when they crossed the gang plank. The crew took little notice of them going below deck to their quarters, Marcus gave Mist an approving nod but that was it. After locking away Lightening's and Kharn's packs they took the mead up to the captain's quarters.

"As you requested captain I have some mead." Mist said Opening the door.

The captain was sitting at a table with a map , goin over his course one last time before the departure. He looked up when Mist walked in, followed by Lightening and Kharn set the mead down waiting for a reaction.

"Well I only asked for a bottle and another able bodied worker. You bring a barrel of mead, one argonian woman, and the kajhit who tried to rob us." he said slowly, drawing out each item.

"She is as capable a worker as i am and she can out cook anyone on this ship. As for Kharn he will cause no problem. If he does I'll throw him overboard myself. He is an old friend of mine I haven't seen for over a year, and I can vouch for his ability to work."

The captain stared him down for what seemed to Mist a minute. At length he threw his hands up in defeat.

"Fine, we need a cook." the captain said looking at Lightening.

Turning to face Kharn, "As for you, tread lightly and do only what your told." He faced Mist now, "Or your friend will bear the weight of your punishment."

"Kharn understands, you will not regret this, captain." Kharn said bowing at the waist

"Good, now that we have an understanding you all need to get to work. Miss, the kitchen area is on the bottom deck. Mist, Kharn, talk to my first mate see if you can help. They probably won't need you till we hit the Ghost Sea. Dismissed!"

The three of them filed out of the captain's quarters and went towards their respective areas. On deck Kharn and Mist helped where they could, mostly moving rope and buckets out of the way. Lightening took time to familiarize herself with the kitchen and began working on the sailors mid-day meal, a filling potato soup with a recipe that had been passed down in her family for generations. While the soup was cooking she went above deck and helped Kharn, who was still trying to gain his sea legs.

"Hey, Mist!" Marcus called from the helm, as was his station, "Something is caught in the rudder, can you clear it real quick. We have one more bend in the river before we make it to the open ocean and i need it to make the turn."

"It'll be clear in a minute, let me get my knife." Mist said and ran below deck.

He took off his shirt and boots, belted his knife, and ran back up to the deck. Looking over the rear of the boat he could see a rope and a bucket dragging through the water a few hundred feet behind the boat.

"Looks like someone forgot to pull in the water bucket, Kharn got that rope?" Mist said tightening his belt.

"Here, should be more than enough. Kharn has already anchored it to the rail."

Taking the loose end of the rope, Lightening tied it to Mist's belt and wished him luck. Wanting to show off a bit Mist stood on the rail and did a backwards dive into the water below. He saw just below the water's surface until he grabbed the trailing rope. Following it he made his way to the rudder.

"Tell him to hurry up, I can see the bend ahead." Marcus said to Lightening.

"No use, he's below the water. He'll get it cleared though." Lightening said peering over the rail

Mist found the knot that had caught in the rudder and cut it free. He surfaced again with rope in hand and swam clear of the rear of the ship.

"It's clear, Marcus." Lightening said

Mist tied the rouge rope to his belt and climbed back up the rope tethering him to the rail. At the top Kharn helped him over the edge and started rolling up the tether.

"Good job, Mist, looks like the captain was right in letting you aboard." Marcus said still focused on navigating the channel.

Mist grunted in response as he dumped out the water in the bucket he hauled up. Just as the captain predicted they reached the open ocean by mid-day. The went below in rotations to eat and each group praised the dish more than the last. At length Mist an Kharn went last, except Marcus who Lightening brought a bowl to the helm for him as soon as it was done. The three of them were joined by the captain who had also elected to wait.

"Well you were right, Mist. Armed-with-Lightening is the best cook we've ever had the honor of having on this ship." the captain said after tasting the soup.

"You are too kind, Captain. It is just one of many recipes my family has passed down, and almost the only good thing that has come of my great grand-mother being a servant."

"I am sorry to hear that about your ancestor. At least you are free now though. With food like this, I doubt that a foul mood will settle upon this ship until you leave. And Mist, good work on the rope earlier, without that repair on the move we would have had to take down the sails and drop anchor before even starting to clear the jam. You saved us at least three hours."

"It was no problem at all, captain. I enjoy a good swim." Mist replied

"And, Kharn." the captain said setting down his spoon, "You've made a fine addition so far. I think I have a position for you that won't involve you walking so much. You don't exactly have sea legs."

"Kharn would be very grateful, captain. I am not as used to the water as you or my friends."

"How's your eye sight first off?"

"Kharn can see very well, captain, especially at night. Do you need someone to keep watch at night?"

"Actually, yes. What do you say?"

"Of course, Kharn will keep watch starting tonight."

They finished their soup and returned to the deck. Most of the sailors were checking the knots, making adjustments as Marcus or the captain called out. One group had started gambling on the bow of the ship, which is where Kharn headed too, and a few had passed out in random places on the deck. Lightening found a book on Skyrim below deck and was reading it overlooking the rail. Mist was sitting next to her, honing the already keen edge of his knife. Marcus kept the ship within sight of Black Marsh's shore for the rest of the day following Tamriel's coast northward. The captain came up every now and then to check on everything, and Mist discovered the captain had an evil sense of humor.

One sailor had been asleep ever since the mid-day meal. The captain recruited two of the sailors who had lost most of their coin to Kharn to aid him in a prank. They went below deck and came back with a long crate, not much longer than the sailor was tall.

"Oh no, not again." Marcus said trying not to laugh.

Mist walked over to the helm to get a better view.

"What is it?" He asked Marcus as the captain removed the box's lid.

"The one asleep there, Jenkins, is scared to death of being buried alive and the dark."

"This is going to be golden, Lightening watch this!"

Lightening looked up from her book and joined Mist placing a hand on his shoulder. They turned the empty crate upside down and placed it carefully over the sleeping sailor. The other two sat on the crate and the captain started banging on the lid. Almost instantly the box was lifted off the deck a few inches and a stream of obscenities and death threats began to flow. Jenkins soon devolved from coherent words to screams, higher pitched than would have been expected. The captain got the other two off the crate and they picked it up off the screaming crewman who soon realized the prank and blushed a bright red. The captain, struggling to control his laughter, helped him up and gave him a tankard of mead to soften his mood. The sailor raised the tankard to the crew and vanished below deck to safer areas.

"That never gets old," Marcus said grinning, "Its our ritual. At the start of every voyage some how we get him in or under a crate, that crate actually."

"Well whatever brings you luck, friend." Mist said looking out at the distant shore.

Lightening went back to reading her book till the sun had almost set, then she went below deck to prepare another batch of soup much to the crew's delight. Mist passed the time watching Carin rake in the last few coins from the crew.

"Kharn wishes you better luck next time." Kharn said pouring the coin into his coin purse.

The sailor, glared at him and got up from the board.

"You know, you could have waited till tomorrow before you beat everyone." Mist said after the crew went below deck for supper.

"What? They challenged my honor. I had to."

"And how did they do that?"

"They called me scared when I tried to refuse to play."

"And after you beat the one who called you scared?"

"Well they all wanted to try and beat me. They will win it back tomorrow though."

"Ah, gonna let them get their money back just so you can win it again on the last day?"

"You still know my tricks, friend." Kharn said getting up.

They made it below deck where Lightening had served the rest of the crew their soup and saved them seats with her at a small table in the corner. That table became where they ate for the duration of the trip. After they finished Kharn went back on deck and took his post at the bow. Mist stayed below and helped Lightening clean the dishes and the kettle she used to cook in while the crew that had worked the morning made their way to the bunks and the ones that had slept went topside to work the deck through the night. After Mist and Lightening finished cleaning they retired to their bunk.

Kharn was humming a song to himself while he watched the waters for any sign of danger. It would be a long night since he had gotten little sleep the night before and stayed awake most of the day. His keen eyes saw clearly in the night and he was confident he would notice anything amiss before it threatened the ship. It was a waning crescent moon that night and the moon was beginning its trek westward across the sky. In the distance to the north Kharn thought he saw a boat, like it was made of moonlight it glowed softly on the horizon. Kharn rose to his feet about to get Hides-in-Mist with his bow, but as he turned the ship vanished. He accounted the ship as a the moonlight playing tricks on him so he kept the incident to himself.

The next five days passed much like the first. Lightening introduced the crew to a few more of her family's cherished dishes, much to the crew's praise. The captain became more active with the crew lending a hand when needed, checking knots himself, taking over the helm when Marcus wanted to stretch his legs during the day. Mist had started sparring with a few of the crew, Michael, Thomas, Bill, and Jenkins; after mid-day meals sometimes taking on three or four at a time. On one such occasion he had decided to make things fair and only use one hand, the four of them tried to rush him to over take him only to have their feet knocked out from underneath them and the wooden sword knocked across the back of their neck simulating decapitation. After that they stuck to one-on-one duels that turned into lessons for the crew that elected to watch instead of being turned into "what-not-to-do examples", which Jenkins seemed to fill the role quite well. In the evenings after he ran out of willing sparring partners he would gather up swords from the hold and keen their edge making sure they would be battle ready for whoever bought them.

Kharn continued to see the moon-beam ship, as he called it, off to the north every night. It got steadily closer every night. The night before it had gotten close enough for him to see on deck, it was crewed by skeletons all glowing the same as the ship. He saw their crewman in the crow's nest point towards their ship and call out to the crew below. Kharn was afraid they were about to ready for an attack but the ship vanished again.

The captain assembled the crew on the deck the morning seven days after their departure from the Imperial city.

"We've made good time this past week and we've entered the Ghost Sea ahead of schedule." The crew cheered glad to hear they were ahead of schedule for once. "That being said, this sea is known for strange things happening. Ghost ships, pirates, islands appearing out of thin air that are on no map what so ever. We have Kharn on watch at night and Jim on watch during the day. Mist, you've proven yourself an able bodied fighter and I've heard from Armed-with-Lightening and Kharn that your skills with a bow are equal if not better than your skills with a blade. I need you to be ready at the first sign of danger no matter the time."

"I'm always ready captain. No enemy will board this ship and live to regret it." Mist said confidently receiving a few cheers from his trainees.

"Just what I like to hear. If we keep time like we have, we should dock at Solitude tomorrow just after sun down. I would have liked to get there before nightfall, they have a lighthouse but it has been know to be targeted by marauders who put it out leaving incoming ships blind. Everyone keep on your toes and don't trust anything you see in the fog, it will play tricks on you if you let it." With that the captain turned and went back to his quarters.

The crew dispersed leaving the day shift crewmen on deck. Lightening, Kharn, and Mist went to their bunks below deck where Kharn told them about the moon-beam ship.

"Until last night, Kharn thought it was just a trick of the light. Tonight there will be no moon though, this one is afraid that they will attack." Kharn finished lying on his cot.

"Well we will be ready, we have at least a handful of competent swordsmen, and two mages. You still know a good many destructive spells don't you Kharn?"

"Yes, Kharn can slow down any boarding party that tries to take the ship, but you would have to deal with them once they hit the deck. Who is our other mage?"

"I am, I thought my name would give it away." Lightening said sitting next to Mist on his cot.

"Well it makes sense. You specialize in lightening spells then?"

"Well I specialize in healing, but I am especially adept at lightening. That said though I know a good deal about fire magic as well. I am probably going to put a fire rune or two on the sides of the boat come sundown. They get close, that ought to make them at least think twice about jumping aboard."

"And I'll be on deck with my bow taking down anyone, or anything, trying to cast spells or shoot arrows at us. Sounds like we have a solid plan of defense. I'll make sure at least three of the crew I've been sparing with are on deck as well. They can handle a blade better than the rest."

"Even Jenkins?"

"Aye, he just needs the right motivation and he would be a fearsome opponent."

They discussed different scenarios and things that could go wrong until it was near mid-day. Mist found his sparring partners on deck and he told them the plan. They agreed to be on deck with him that night without much persuasion. They were all confident they could handle anything that was thrown at them. They had a hardy mid-day meal of potato soup and buttered bread, the captain even rolled down the barrel of mead for the crew to enjoy as it was supposed to be their last full day on the water.

Darkness fell swiftly that evening. Mist and his group ate a light and quick supper then went above deck to join Kharn who elected to skip supper altogether. Mist joined Kharn at the bow of the ship and the others took positions, Bill at the stern, Jenkins at starboard and Thomas at port. Mist strung his bow and nocked an arrow, ready to fire at the first sign of danger. The night wore on and there was no sign of the moons. At first Mist was beginning to think there would be no light when the sky brightened quickly. Broad swaths of green, orange, and yellow danced across the sky like giant snakes slithering through the stars.

"Wow..." Mist said under his breath watching the colors dance.

"Its more beautiful than the books lead me to believe! I could watch for hours." Lightening said joining Mist at the bow, bringing him his shirt because the night was cool on the northern sea.

They were all beginning to think nothing would happen when directly to port, not twenty feet from the ship, the moon-beam ship materialized. A deathly cold swept the deck as it seemed life itself was being driven from the presence of the ship. A gang plank dropped soundlessly against rail of the IceRunner. Thomas ran back to the mast and readied his blade for the boarding party. Mist stepped towards the mast to give Kharn room and readied an arrow. The first of several skeletons began crossing. Half-way across the fire rune exploded breaking the ghostly gang plank in half and setting fire to the other ship.

Mist sent an arrow flying into the archers that were taking positions at the helm of the moon-beam ship. It crumpled to deck as did two others before they even could begin to fire. Lightening and Kharn were sending lightening bolts flashing across the gap between ships holding the skeleton crew at bay and keeping any more planks from being sent across. Mist had soon eliminated all of their archers and started aiding Lightening with a particularly tough group carrying a wide plank to the edge. The rest of the crew, brandishing weapons from the hold, began to come topside expecting the fighting to be on deck only to find the would-be attackers still held to their own ship.

"Well if you have this under control, Mist, we'll just go back to sleep!" Marcus said firing his own bow at the group Kharn was whittling down.

"Go ahead, they'll give up soon enough. I already killed their archers and they can't even get a plank to us!" Mist replied laughing.

The skeleton crew was soon destroyed. The last fell to a bolt of lightening from Kharn. The whole battle, well shooting gallery, took about ten minutes. The ghost ship still sailed next to them even though no sign of life was to be seen.

"Hey Marcus, bring me that rope, and a grapnel." Mist said walking over to the port side of the IceRunner.

"What are you thinking, Mist?"

"I'm going to check out the ship. At least recover a few arrows, those things weren't exactly easy to make!"

Marcus retrieved the rope from the stern of the ship and anchored it to the railing next to Mist and tied the grapnel to the other end. Mist tossed the hook across landing it on the moon-beam ship's railing. Testing that it would hold he tied off the loose end of the rope.

"Hope you don't plan on going alone, Mist." Kharn said joining the crew on the deck.

"Actually I did. No sense in risking a group of us for a few arrows." Mist said climbing over the railing.

"Kajhit follows, you know this." Kharn said climbing over on the other side of the rope.

"Fine watch my back while were over there and see if they have anything worth taking back below deck."

"With pleasure."

"I'm coming too, I'll man the helm, make sure we don't drift too far away or smash into the IceRunner." Marcus said.

Not waiting for an argument he climbed across the rope and planted his feet on deck. He ran over to the helm and motioned for the others to follow. Mist followed next and nocked an arrow keeping an eye on the entrance to the ship's lower deck. He looked back to see Kharn trying to cross on the top of the rope, a very slow and difficult method, and Lightening with her palms on the rail, ready to get across at a moment's notice. The rest of the IceRunner's crew was gathered on the edge watching and the captain was at the helm.

Mist walked carefully over to the pile of skeletons nearest him and began sifting through the pile of bones and ancient weapons. Kharn made it across, much to his relief, and snuck over to the entrance to the ship's lower deck. He signaled to Mist to come after him in around five minutes with a double tap to his wrist and holding up five fingers. Mist nodded and Kharn leapt down the steps, landing with an almost inaudible thump on the wooded planks below. Mist scanned the deck the entire time while he collected most of his arrows.

It had been about five minutes by Mist's figuring when he heard the thumps of heavy laden footsteps and clinking of gold falling on wooden planks. Kharn appeared above deck wearing a crown and two or three circlets heavily embedded with jewels. He had a massive sack slung over his shoulder that was spilling gold pieces and gem stones.

"Kharn found the treasure room and picked all but two locks! They are yours to pick, Mist, for they are weapon cases. Go down two levels and hang right." Kharn said grinning like a small child that just discovered the joy of sweet rolls.

"Well done, Kharn! I was just about to come after you."

"No need to worry, nothing lives or moves below. All the rooms are empty, well they are now!"

Mist laughed and slapped Kharn on the back as he walked over to the rail causing more gold to spill. Below deck the soft glow of the ship itself illuminated the way. Mist went down to the next level and hung a right into a store room that had pretty well been emptied by Kharn. On the far side of the room were two upright lockers that had been left closed. Mist picked the locks with little difficulty, he had always been a natural at picking locks and had steady hands even by argonian standards. It the locker on the left was a heavy war hammer of a long dead design and a chest plate of the same make that glowed softly with some enchantment. The right locker contained two single hand axes and an entire suit of armor that shared the soft glow of the chest plate. Mist stuffed the armor in a sack he found by the door, belted the two war axes, and carried out the war hammer in his left hand with the sack in the right.

Topside he found that the crew of the IceRunner had laid a gangplank and were waiting for his and Marcus's return. Once across they lifted the gang plank and the ship vanished once more.

"Well then, that was either a close call or it waited for us to leave." Marcus observed

The crew had all dispersed, content that there was no danger to be had. Kharn took his loot to the bow and began sorting everything.

"Hey Kharn, who's keeping watch?"

"No one, why?"

"Lightening and I will sort your loot and keep it safe. Get back up there in case it decides to attack again." Mist said sitting down next to the sack.

"Fine, but Kharn knows what he took." Kharn said standing and walking to the mast.

Lightening took a seat next to Mist and let her head rest on his shoulder while he kept sorting like Kharn had began: coins, rubies, sapphires, garnets, amethyst, circlets, necklaces, rings. She watched the light from the sky reflecting off Mist's scales thinking there was no jewel that could rival what beauty she saw in him. A certain circlet or copper and emeralds caught her eye but she was too drained from the numerous spells she had cast earlier to do more than rest against her partner's shoulder and let the sound of his breathing, the rhythmic lapping of waves against the boats hull, and the gentle clinking of jewel on jewel pull her towards sleep. Mist noticed her falling asleep next to him and he helped her to her cot, setting a copper and emerald circlet on the table next to her.

"I'll consider that your sorting fee, but nothing else goes." Kharn said as Mist returned to sorting the sack.

Mist finished sorting it all into separate piles in another hour. Then he got a sack for each pile from below deck filling them each. When Kharn turned his back, Mist pocketed six flawless amethyst while he was putting them in their sack.

"There, all done! You made quite the haul my friend."

"Just in coin alone Kharn could buy a house and livestock and still have enough left over to furnish it! You should take a quarter of it. For safe keeping i mean."
Generosity was rare among kajhits, Kharn was no exception. That much gold would total to about five thousand septims.

"That is too much, Kharn. I couldn't take that from you, friend."

"Kharn insist! You got Kharn on board this ship, helped this one earn an honest reputation among the crew, and you have been nothing but kind since we met on that slave caravan."

"Fine, but I'm setting it aside for you. Not using it to spend unless we have no other alternative."

"Have it your way, its yours to do as you please." Kharn said looking out on the ocean towards the now grey east.

Mist knew there was more meaning behind Kharn's sudden generosity than he let on. Mist also knew he wouldn't get it out of him tonight, or until the gold was spent. Kharn's relief arrived just as the sun was rising over the horizon. The two of them carried the divided bags and Mist's still unsorted haul down to their room. Lightening was still sound asleep and they were careful not to wake her as they locked away the haul. Mist knew that she would sleep for a while after casting so many spells over so short a time so he went to the kitchen and cooked a hearty breakfast of venison gravy and cat head biscuits for the crew, not as good as Lightening's cooking but they admitted that it was better than the last cook they had. Kharn wasn't amused at the biscuits but he ate them greedily since he had skipped out of supper the night before.
Lightening joined Mist, Kharn, and the captain at their table in the corner. She was wearing the copper and emerald circlet which fit surprisingly well though Mist hadn't adjusted it for her any.

"You trained Mist here right, miss. He's not half bad as cook!" the captain said making room for a chair Mist was bringing over.

"It was harder than you would think, he would burn water trying to get it to boil when I first met him." She said sitting and taking a plate Kharn had brought over.

"Hey! That only happened twice, it wasn't my fault either."

"Adding fire salts to get the water to heat faster wasn't your fault?"

"Fine I thought that if I reduced the amount the second time it wouldn't react so... violently." Mist admitted, the exposed skin on his neck blushing some.

"He tried to bring alchemy and cooking together at first, although using ice salts and ice wraith teeth to preserve the vegetables and fruit on the go was a pretty good idea." Lightening explained

"Well I hope the three of you have enjoyed your voyage on the IceRunner. You will all be sorely missed, especially you, Armed-with-Lightening. The men will be sad to see the best cook they've had go."

"I have a good meal planned to cook tonight if they will stay on the ship and not go into town."

The remaining crewmen in the mess hall all gave a resounding yes to staying on the ship before the captain could even finish the question. Kharn retired to his cot soon after he finished eating, as was his habit since he was forced to stay awake all night on watch. Lightening helped Mist clean up the kitchen then the two of them went on deck. Lightening brought another book, detailing the wildlife of Skyrim, with her and Mist found a spot at the stern that was out of the way enough to take a nap which he did promptly upon getting topside.

The day was clear and the sailing fair, the sea was unusually according to the stories they had been told. A few gulls flew along with the ship as they passed Dawnstar's docks that evening. The captain stood at the bow, where Mist and Lightening joined him as the sun began to set. The captain was looking towards the far side of the river the IceRunner was entering. A dense fog could be seen rolling in from the river further inland and soon it obscured the far shore. The sun was setting rapidly as the fog enclosed the ship, cutting visibility down to almost nothing from the bow.

"Captain, where's that lighthouse at?" Mist asked uncomfortably shifting his weight.

"It should have been lit by now, somethings wrong and we can't stop or turn back. Go below and rouse the crew, tell them to brace for impact we could run aground at any minute." The captain said not moving or taking his eyes off the direction the IceRunner was heading.

Mist and Lightening ran below deck, Lightening roused Kharn and began repacking her and Mist's supplies. Mist went from bunk to bunk waking everyone and telling them to get ready in case they ran aground, the lighthouse was out. Most looked panicked with the news but kept calm. After he made a second sweep he grabbed his gear, which had been laden with his armor haul and the gem stones from Kharn haul, then joined Lightening and Kharn who were with Marcus at the helm. He left the warhammer deciding it wouldn't be worth the effort. The crew on the deck was deathly quiet, all looking for signs of danger.

Suddenly off to port a low tree branch sliced through the fog. Marcus cut the rudder hard to starboard but it was to late. Mist grabbed hold of the railing and to Lightening who was next to him and braced for impact. The ship halted suddenly as the bottom ran aground sending most crewmen flying forward and sending the captain over the bow. Marcus' head slammed into the wheel splitting his forehead. Kharn had started to fall but his claws bought traction on the wood and he held firm next to Mist. Below deck crewmen screamed and the sound of wooden beams splitting with the sound of thunder filled the hull. The ship settled on the rocks and Lightening ran over to Marcus. She checked for a pulse and looked up at Mist gravely.

"I'm sorry, he's dead. There... There isn't anything I can do for him." She said, sounding shaken

"Its alright, nothing we could have done. Kharn help me find the captain. We need to lower the loading planks onto shore and start getting the wounded off." Mist said taking charge of the situation.

Kharn readjusted his pack and ran down on deck to enlist some help getting the plank over. Mist and Lightening went below to check on the damage to the hull. The lowest level had water pouring in but no one was down there during the crash, it would take months to get the ship ready to sail again.

"Mist! Mist we need ya'll to get to solitude and bring another cargo ship to load all this stuff on. We can handle the wounded till you three get back. Lightening when you get there go into solitude to the jarl and tell her whats happened. Kharn... well go help Mist." the first mate shouted from below deck.

"Consider it done! We will return by dawn." Mist said adjusting his pack for the run.

The three of them slid to the ground using a rope that had been thrown over the side. Lightening took the lead of the group since she had looked at the map and saw an over land short cut to get them to the city faster than following the river. They made their way up river until it narrowed enough to cross swiftly.

"No, Kharn will not swim. Kharn does not like the water." said Kharn planting his feet firmly on the shore.

"Come on its just a quick swim across, you'll be dry by noon!" Mist said already waist high in the water.

"No, I'll keep watch here. I can see if anyone comes from upriver or crosses from the opposite shore."

"Fine, mind watching the packs then? We can get there faster if we don't have them."

"Kharn will guard them like they were his own."

Mist took his and Lightening's packs and set them by a tree. They crossed the river and kept a slow jog, slowed by Lightening wearing a dress. The night was fading into dawn when the docks came into view. Sheltered under and just upstream of a massive natural arch that spanned the river sat the protected docks of Solitude. There were two other ships docked there and the docks were empty of workers. A little further down the road, a wooden stair case ran down to the docks below.

"Lightening go ahead and head up to Solitude. I'm gonna go down to the docks see if I can find a captain that can get down there quick." Mist said stopping at the top of the stairs.

"Good luck, wish me luck as well. I'm afraid I may have to wait till later in the day before I can get in to see the jarl." Lightening said stopping next to him.

Mist ran down the steps two at a time and jumping down half a flight to get to the bottom. Lightening watched him from the top of the steps, knowing she needed to get to the jarl as soon as possible, when he made it to the bottom he looked up and gave her a smile then ran down the dock towards the East Empire Company warehouse. She turned and jogged up the road, past a path that lead to a lumber mill and past a small farm. When the main gate came in sight she stopped jogging and fixed her dress, making sure she looked acceptable enough to appear before the jarl. Once she was satisfied with her appearance she walked the rest of the way into the city.

Mist rounded the corner at the end of the dock and nearly tackled one of the guards to the ground. He ran head long into him but caught him before he hit the planks of the dock.

"Sorry! You all right?" Mist said helping him to his feet

"Watch where your going, lizard! Whats the rush?" the guard said fixing his helmet.

"I was a crewman of the IceRunner, we ran aground after the lighthouse fire was never lit. We have injured and dead crew and they sent me and another to get help."

"You say the fire was never lit?" The other guard asked

"Aye, never was lit last night. We swung further east to avoid hitting the far shore. Needless to say we overcompensated." Mist said, beginning to wonder if they would trust him.

"Your story sounds good, but before we send aid we need to see the wreck. Can you take me to it?" The guard Mist had ran into asked.

"Yes, if you can keep up at least. We should be able to see the wreck from across the river and its an hour or so run."

"We'll need a row boat then. I can't run like I used too, took an arrow to the knee during a bandit raid a few years ago." the guard said climbing into a small rowboat that was tied to the corner of the dock.

Mist sighed thinking he was going to have to listen to old war stories as he rowed the boat down river. He was right, as soon as they cast off the guard proceeded to tell Mist about his dungeon delving days and his brief work as a mercenary. They were closing on the tree where Kharn was at when Mist heard Kharn yelling something he couldn't make out.

"What's wrong with that kajhit?" the guard asked turning to see Kharn on the shore.

"I don't know. He's part of the crew though, we left him there to keep watch for marauders." Mist said rowing the boat closer to Kharn.

"The Icerunner! They're attacking! Mist they're attacking!" Kharn was shouting at the top of his lungs.
Kharn looked back towards the ship and dove behind a rock just in time to dodge an arrow that had been sent his way.

"Get us to shore! I'll deal with these bandits." The guard said rising to his feet.

Mist ran the boat into the shore and jumped into the water, hoping to stay hidden until he could see the attackers. The guard readied his bow and picked off the archer that was focusing on Kharn. Mist saw two of the marauders running up the shore towards the guard, but Kharn stood up and shot them down with a chain lightening spell. Mist saw one more in the scrub brush trying to get a bead on the guard. Making his way out of the water silently Mist got into position to attack. He drew his knife and crept up behind the archer. Mist seized him by the head, covering his mouth so he couldn't scream and stabbed him at the base of the neck then slit the throat causing blood to spurt out of the archer's neck when he hit the ground.

"Not bad, argonian." The guard said walking over to him with Kharn close behind.

"Kharn, how many did you see?" Mist asked wiping his blade clean.

"Only three boats, but they came from the sea and there could be more."
Mist went over the odds in his mind and they weren't looking good.

"Kharn stay with the packs, send up a fireball if you see any more coming. Guard, can you go get some reinforcements?"

"Of course, but they'll be gone before i can get back. I'll be more use if i stay here and take down as many as i can." he said nocking an arrow.

"Alright, you draw their attention from the land, lead them back down this stretch so Kharn can give you some back up. Once they're distracted i'll go aboard, take out anyone on board, and lead the survivors in a counter-strike."

The guard nodded in approval and Kharn didn't protest, which was usually good enough. Mist ran into the river and swam down to the wreckage while the guard ran down the shore. Mist got to the stern of the ship and surfaced to listen for the attack to start. Directly in front of him were three bandits. Mist was about to slip back under the surface of the water when an arrow stuck through the furthest raider's neck, killing him instantly. The others turned to face their attacker but couldn't see him. One spotted him on the deck then tumbled into the water, an arrow in his eye socket. They had spotted him and soon eight bandits were charging off the boat to assess the situation. Mist acted quickly, running over to the gang plank and slipping onto the deck of the ship, having to quickly dispatch a marauder coming up from below deck.

Once inside Mist went from room to room making sure they were clear of the marauders. The kitchen had three marauders in it, Mist reversed his grip on his knife and knocked on the door frame while staying off to the side. He raised his knife up to strike. The first marauder walked out and turned right, opposite Mist. The second one Mist stabbed at the base of his jaw on the right side and flicked his wrist cutting across the neck and crumpling the marauder. Mist ducked inside, the third marauder was shocked to be attacked and fell quickly and noiselessly. Mist positioned himself by the door and killed the first one that had walked out without a sound. Mist continued his sweep of the ship and came to the lowest and half-flooded deck.

Walking down the steps the two marauders saw him before he got to the bottom of the steps. Mist heard a sword being drawn and a door being slammed shut.

"You shouldn't have come here, friend." the marauder said as Mist came to the bottom of the steps.

"Funny. I was just going to say the same to you." Mist said crouching down into a fighting stance.

Mist and the brute-of-a-nord marauder began circling. The marauder was a good six inches taller than Mist. His shoulders were broader and his arms were more muscled. He had a reddish-brown beard that was parted into two braids and came to his chest and hair to match. Mist was outmatched physically in strength, but he was already planning four or five different ways to take him down. The marauder lunged forward with a fierce battle cry, trying to startle Mist. Mist held his ground, jumping to the left at the last second. The blade sliced through the air not inches from his arm as he dodged to the side. The marauder wasn't expecting to miss and stumbled forward, embedding the blade into the planks of the floor. Mist acted quickly, slicing the inside of the marauder's left thigh from behind and bringing the blade up under his left arm, the blade biting deep at both cuts. The marauder cried out in pain as his left leg stopped supporting him and his left arm went limp, blood pouring from both wounds. He fell into the flooded area of the deck, rapidly clouding the water with blood. Mist jumped in after him, bringing the knife down in the middle of his chest and twisting the blade to ensure he died swiftly.

Taking a few deep breaths to slow his heart, Mist forced his breathing to slow and walked over to the now locked door. Instead of trying to pick the lock, Mist kicked in the door and rolled into the room ready to strike on the enemies inside. He was surprised to see a stunned female argonian standing there, looking more scared than shocked.

"Did, did you kill him?" She asked looking nervously at the door.

"Yeah I got him. Who are you?"

"They.. they took me just a few days ago. From my home in Riften. I managed to get the shackles off when he locked me in here." She said taking a few steps forward.

Mist couldn't tell any signs of being shackled from the one wrist he could see, she had a hand behind her back holding something. He was about to ask her to show him what she was holding when she drew a dagger and lunged for him. Mist jumped back just in time to dodge the blade. He tried to stab her but she spun away, trying to slice Mist as she did. Before Mist could attack she lunged again. Mist caught her by the wrist with one hand and brought his knife up at the base of her jaw and into her skull with the other. She fell limp to the floor.

Mist noticed a letter poking out of the waist of her dress and he took it. The letter detailed where to move the cargo to once the sailors had been taken care of. They had taken the chest from captain's quarters but had failed in moving the rest of the cargo before Mist arrived. Most of the IceRunner's crew had been killed but Mist couldn't find the bodies of his trainees or the captain. Going back above deck he saw lightening bolts and explosions of fire down the shore line, accompanied with the screams of those unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast. Mist retrieved a bow off one of the dead marauders and a quiver of arrows, then took a position on the bow of the ship. Three marauders came into view and he fell two before they could tell where they were being attacked from. The third ran into the bushes and stayed there. One or two more tried to retreat but they fell to Mist's arrows or Kharn's lightening as he and the guard advanced towards the ship. Kharn killed the one hiding in the bushes as they came into view of the ship.

"Well, that wasn't so bad." the guard said slinging his bow across his back.

"How many did you take on?" Kharn called up from the base of the ship.

"Five, let me guess you got two with those fireworks of yours and our guard-friend mopped up the rest?" Mist said unstringing the bow.

"More like I got three and his fire rune took out half of them. The rest we got with an arrow and his spells." The guard said as they came up the gang plank.

"Did you find any of the crew alive?" Kharn asked looking around.

"No, i found the bodies of a few below deck, most are scattered over the beach. No sign of the captain or the group I was training."

"You trained them well, I'm sure they'll be fine." Kharn said placing a hand on Mist's shoulder.

"Yeah, these guys are trained too. The guy in the bottom deck was good, he would have cut down any of them without much of a hassle. I barely got him."

"Good thing you were better than him then. Kharn would hate to tell Lightening you got yourself killed the first time she left your side." Kharn said walking over to the entrance to the lower decks.

Mist laughed to himself thinking about how quick she would kill Kharn for not keeping him safe.

"Trust me, you don't even want to tell her that I took on a ship of marauders by myself... She's gonna be pissed later." said Mist getting pale at the realization of how she would feel about what they did.

Kharn laughed at this and went below deck, followed by the guard and Mist, who recounted the assault on the ship. They made their way to the lower deck where the body of the marauder-brute was floating.

"You killed him with that knife of yours, argonian?" the guard asked with a slight tone of admiration slipping in.

"Aye, he didn't want to go down though. Cut his thigh, then in the arm pit, then stabbed him in the chest."

The guard nodded and crossed his arms. "I'm impressed, you could show us guards a thing or two."

Kharn walked into the next room and jumped back readying a spell as he did. Mist drew his knife getting ready for an attack. Then Kharn lowered his hands.

"Sorry, Kharn didn't expect there to be someone in here. You failed to mention you killed two down here."

"I'm not proud of it. I don't want to kill or even attack a woman. She came at me with a dagger and left me no choice." Mist said quietly, turning to go up the stairs. "She had a note on her that said where they took the chest."

"We should take that to your girl at the jarl's palace. They may lend you a few guards or even soldiers since the IceRunner had a weapon shipment on it."

With that they left the IceRunner on the rocks. Mist stopped at the bend and looked upon the ship once more thinking how proud it looked at the docks of the Imperial City. They loaded their gear onto the rowboat and began to make their way back up the river with Mist at the oars, Kharn at the stern, and the guard sitting at the bow telling them of a bandit raid this reminded him of.