Nathassa seethed with rage as she chewed her meal, staring ahead at the peaks of the icy mountains that they would soon traverse through. She shrugged the thin blanket from her shoulders and tore the rest of the dried meat from the rabbit's leg. Tossing the bone away, she looked towards her companions.

Eve and Nialas stood side by side, holding a map in between them. Both of them were in a heated discussion about which route they would take to get to Ymirheim. The Argent Vanguard had sent them out to assassinate a valuable member of The Cult of the Damned. If their informants were right, she was supposed to be in Ymirheim the day after next. Nathassa had her thoughts about the safest way to get there - but her opinion was unwelcome, and Eve had made that very clear.

"Nialas, I cannot see the wisdom in travelling straight through Icecrown. Roaming packs of scourge, blizzards, frost wyrms... everything can and will go wrong. The mountains provide better protection."

Nathassa snorted. Eve could easily have made the final decision right then and there, being that she was of highest rank in the group. Hell, when she was with Collins and Xarlug, there was no argument as to where they were going. The young Paladin was beginning to get suspicious. She was beginning to believe that Eve and Nialas had a past together, and that made her jealous.

"Eve, we could save half a day. I know it's not a concern for you, but trekking through the mountains will be much more difficult for Nathassa and I. We need to eat -" Eve cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"Very well, Nialas. I am warning you both, we will run into something foul on this little detour of yours. There is an old bear cave here, we will rest there before the final leg of the trip." With a sneer, she began covering any signs of their stay. Nathassa took this as a sign to pack up and began to do so, even though she would have liked another few minutes to relax.

If Eve was being truthful with the group, she would have told them that The Lich King had eyes everywhere, that stepping into his domain was like a dare, an invitation to be destroyed. Eve knew he wouldn't step off of his icy throne to dispatch of their small group himself, but he had followers that they could never hope to match.

If Eve was being truthful with herself, she would have admitted that she was terrified of any encounter with her former master. She feared the mental anguish that frosty visage was capable of inflicting. Nialas and Nathassa had no idea. She hoped they never did.

Yet here they were, trekking through Icecrown. With the exception of a few close calls near Mord'rethar, the journey had gone particularly well. Eve's mortal companions had exhaustion lining their faces and could be called ragged-looking at best, but she couldn't blame them. They had spent a sleepless few nights trying to skirt the Northeast of Ymirheim undetected. Their group needed to be on the western side, and Eve dared not go anywhere near Icecrown Citadel.

Nathassa shot Eve another tired glare. She ignored it. The Deathknight had an idea of what was eating at her. It seemed that every time Eve and Nialas had any sort of interaction, she huffed and puffed in her makeshift bed. The young Paladin, while quite talented, had little to no experience on missions such as these. When she suggested they light a fire when they settled into the vacant bear cave, Eve almost smacked her silly little head.

"A fire? You're either stupider than I thought or have a very particular death wish." She hissed. Nialas was smart enough to keep to himself. Nathassa was stunned into silence. Eve had thought the matter over, but when she turned her back Nathassa set to muttering. Eve heard.

"If you want to light a fire, be my guest." She said calmly. Nialas looked at Nathassa pointedly and shook his head. The Paladin smirked, thinking she had won this one.

"You might be a frigid bitch, but I'm not." She harrumphed. Eve was still for a moment. As the Paladin set to unpacking, Eve marched up to her, seething, and grabbed her upper arm in a death grip.

"You light a fire and I will break your fucking legs and leave you here screaming. I'm not sure what will find you first, but I can promise you it will be more frigid even than I." She hissed, inches away from Nathassa's wide eyes. She pushed her to the ground and stalked out of the cave. Nathassa looked at Nialas. He shrugged. The Paladin gathered herself, wiping the dirt off of her behind. Truthfully, she was mortified. She wanted one good swing with her hammer aimed at the Death Knight's skull.

"You can have some of my jerky." Nialas offered. He began unpacking himself while Nathassa raged internally.

"She's a terrible leader. She doesn't listen to anything I have to say, but she listens to you." She snatched the jerky from Nialas' hand and gnawed a bite off. It was salty and smoky, and she loved it. It was the tastiest thing she had ever had, even if it did make a paltry meal.

"With all due respect, this is your first assassination mission. This is more serious than a simple scouting mission." Nialas said in between bites of his own jerky. Nathassa rolled her eyes.

"I'm a trained Paladin, Nialas. If they didn't think I was capable of doing this-"

"You're the granddaughter of someone important. You're on this mission because someone owed pops a favor." Nialas snapped. Nathassa's mouth dropped open. How dare he! That was… a lie! Her trainers had called her a prodigy! She was gifted with the light. A protector of the innocent!

"I worked for what I have. You jumped in the sheets with your superiors!" She accused. It was out. She had finally said what she had suspected this whole time. Nathassa was actually surprised at herself for her gall. Nialas' mouth was set in a hard line, his face unreadable.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Nialas said softly, staring towards the mouth of the cave where Eve sat, dark hair whipping in the bitter Icecrown winds. To Nathassa, that was as good as an admission of guilt. Nialas loved Eve, it was obvious now to her. Whether or not Eve was capable of anything other than blatant disdain remained to be seen.

The young Paladin began removing her armor. If she were to sleep, she wouldn't be able to do it in her heavy, uncomfortable plate armor.

"You should leave that on." Nialas suggested, mouth full of jerky. She rolled her eyes.

"It's uncomfortable. I can't sleep. What would you know? You wear leather armor." She said, very matter-of-factly. Nialas shook his head.

"Just a suggestion." He offered. Nathassa felt a pang of guilt. She liked Nialas. Why was she being so rude to him? She chalked it up to how tired she was.

"Thanks… but I'm okay." She said, settling in to catch as much sleep as she could.

Nialas usually had immense trouble sleeping. Nightmares plagued him as soon as he shut his eyes. That evening, however, was different. For the first time in a long time, sleep came to him quickly. It had half to do with the sheer exhaustion and half to do with the fact that Eve stood watch. While he never felt safe during missions, he knew that she would remain vigilant.

He woke to a cold hand over his mouth. Eve was motioning for him to get up. He slipped from under the thin cover and drew his daggers. She did the same with Nathassa, who began whispering. A small light glowed in her palms and her weapon began to faintly glow. She moved to don her armor, but Nialas grabbed her arm and shook his head. It would make too much noise.

It was pitch dark in the cave, but Nialas' keen ears picked up the sound of sniffing. Eve drew her runeblade and stepped to the forefront of their trio. The sniffing turned into grunts and growls. A shadow passed across the mouth of the cave, and Nialas held his breath. A horrendous creature stood with its back turned to them, lit by the pale Icecrown sky. In its rotting left hand it held a small bone. A rabbit leg bone.

Eve motioned for Nialas to follow her. Nathassa stepped forward as well, but Eve angrily motioned for her to stay in the cave. She was right, Nialas thought. Nathassa without her armor was more of a liability than anything.

They crept to the forefront of the cave, where the creature had his nose to the snow not but a few feet away from them.

"Pustulent Horror. Welcome to Icecrown, Nialas." Eve whispered into his ear. It was a patched together thing, held together by thick stitches. A foul liquid dripped from its mouth and landed sizzling in the permafrost. The odor was overwhelming, and it was big. It stood several heads taller even than Nialas.

It had sniffed them out and knew they were here. Nialas and Eve shared a glance and a nod. Their only advantage right now was surprise.

Eve ran at it, brandishing her weapon. The monster heard her and turned around, grunting in delight. It swung at her, but she ducked and landed a savage blow on the monster's chest. Nialas soon followed. He ducked a missed swing and dived. He slid right under the creature and popped up behind him. He sliced at the thing's calves and backed away quickly, waiting for Eve to regain its attention.

The Deathknight swung her sword again, but the Horror smacked it away, leaving her exposed. In one fell swoop, it scooped her up in its hands, glee evident in its glowing yellow eyes. To the creature, Eve was nothing but a doll. Eve kicked it in the nose repeatedly, but this had no effect. Nialas watched in horror, shocked, as the thing began to squeeze. Eve's armor buckled and she continued kicking.

A holy blaze of light prompted the monster to drop Eve, who hit the ground and rolled towards her weapon. The Pustulent Horror turned to the Paladin, who was as white as the snow and shaking. It lumbered towards her and Nathassa froze.

Nialas ran and pounced on its back, barely able to hold on to the soft, rotting flesh. The monster paid him no mind and began gurgling as it stomped towards the shocked Paladin. Eve ran in front of it and pushed Nathassa out of the way just as a putrid stream of liquid erupted from the Horror's mouth. It splashed over Eve's arms just as Nialas drove his daggers into either side of the thing's neck.

The monster roared, but before he could pluck Nialas from his perch, he viciously sawed the head off. Nialas tucked and rolled as the undead creature fell limply to the ground. Without missing a beat, he rushed over to Eve.

Her bracers had melted away and the liquid had burned away much of the skin on her forearms. Nialas reached, but she pulled away and turned to Nathassa.

"You nearly got us all killed with your naive, senseless meddling! We had that!" She raged. The Paladin stood, brushing herself off. She had nothing to say to Eve. She had, after all, saved her life.

"We have to move." She ordered, picking her runeblade up from where it lay glowing.

"Eve, your arm…" Nialas grabbed her hand and examined it. She allowed this, surprisingly.

"She owes me new bracers. Pack up, we're leaving." She said flatly, pulling her arm from his grip.

Eve closed her eyes to concentrate. The pain was terrible, but she didn't really mind. After all, she had been through much, much worse.

She whispered softly, drawing upon her runic power for healing. By the time Nathassa and Nialas emerged from the cave ready to travel, her skin had mended itself. It was still red and slightly blistered, but at least she couldn't see her muscles anymore.

Nathassa caught up with her as she led them away from the cave.

"Thank you… for saving my life. You didn't have to do that." Her eyes were cast to the ground, and Eve could tell her precious pride was wounded. 'Good. Let the mighty fall.' She thought

"You're right, and next time I won't. You owe me new bracers." Eve said. Nathassa fell back, properly reprimanded.

"Oh, and Nathassa? Next time, pick up your fucking trash." Eve said without turning around. Nialas was striding next to her, and Eve saw him smirk from the corner of her eye. She chuckled at him. He was beginning to grow on her.

"We will be there by dawn. This mission is mostly tailored for your skills. I'll help if needed, but this is more of a… stealth thing. You're good at that." She said. Nialas nodded, looking grim. Eve clapped him hard on the back, causing him to stumble forward a little.

"I had a good teacher." He looked down at Eve with a warm smile, who kept her gaze straight. She wasn't going to give into his nostalgic blathering.

Slowly, coldly, they made their way to their target location. Luckily for them, there were no more mishaps or close calls. Eve knew her armor was on its last legs. She was two or three well aimed strikes away from being nearly defenseless, not to mention her bare forearms. That was an amputation just waiting to happen.

Eve looked back to make sure their Paladin companion was still with them. She looked furious and indignant, but indeed, she was still there. She was giving Eve what was probably supposed to be her most menacing glare, but the girl still looked half a child.

Eve rolled her eyes. 'She probably couldn't fight her way out of a damn paper bag.' She thought, chuckling to herself.