Missing
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2002 2:56 pm
<br><br>"He's dead! And I don't want to hear another word on the matter." Flintrok growled to the wood-elf seated beside him on the rickety bar bench.<br> Thirteen mugs of ale had done nothing to improve the dwarf's temper, but it had at least allowed him to begin expressing his greif over the loss of a friend.<br> " 'ere now!" said a comely barmaid as she approached their table. "I've got just the thing to cheer you lads up." Beaming a smile she depostied two more full tankards of ale on the table and removed the empty cannisters in one gracefull movement, obviously honed by several years of practice.<br> Wien picked up the nearly full beverage and took a sip, wincing as the harsh tasting liquid slid down his throat. Humans were remakably adaptable as a species, so why couldn't they learn to make good ale? Karana knows they loved to travel so they must have tasted some of the fine beers from Kelethin or Felwithe. The elven brewmasters of would choke to death if they tried to drink something this foul, he thought. Warm, bitter, watery, and tasing vaguely of rotting wood, the tankard was nevertheless full and if Flintrok were any evidence the stuff would certainly get you drunk. And drunk was what Wien wanted to be. Drunk enough to forget. Drunk enough not to think anymore. Too much thinking and he'd be back where they had started. Back to wondering what had happened to Akaver.<br> "It's only been a month Flint." Wien said for what seemed like the fifteenth time in three hours.<br> "Aye," said Flintrok, "a month. A month of silence. A month of waiting. A month without a greeting, without a letter, without a message. A month as empty as my tankard!" He slammed the recently emptied tankard onto the table hard enough to overturn Wien's half-full mug, but was too far into his drink or his anger to offer an apology.<br> Wien calmly mopped up the liquid using some sawdust from the floor of the bar and signaled the bartender to send over two more ales. "And this means nothing," Wien asserted, "He may be under close scrutiny, he may not be able to send us a message safely. Trust your heart Flintrok! You have known Akaver long enough to know what he is capable of doing. He will come back to us I know it!"<br> "Rocks and Stones man, my heart says he is dead!" Flintrok roared, startling those sitting near them in the tavern. <br> Wien had known Flintrok long enough to understand why he was angry and why that anger was being directed at him. After all, it had been their idea, together, to send Akaver on the mission that with all apparent likelihood had claimed his life.<br> Wien had know the enchanter for more than 100 years. Not long between elves, but long enough to know his friend's abilities. Together they had faced terrifying creatures across the face of Norrath and lived to tell the tales. They had trusted their lives to one another. Gifted with the power to cloud the minds of others; smart, intuitive, and brave, Akaver possessed exactly the characteristics needed to survive as a spy in Neriak.<br> "Every week that was the plan," Flintrok spoke not to Wien now but to his mug of ale. "Every week he would contact us and let us know the status of his mission Wien. He didn't miss a single missive for two months and now?" Flintrok let the question hang in the air as he took another long swallow of ale.<br> Laying a hand on Flintrok's shoulder Wien said calmly, "We had to send someone Flint. We had too." Every report they had received from their network of informants had indicated that the Dark Elves were massing an army within Neriak. Some claimed they were planning to march against the human settlements in Freeport. Other's that they would make for Highpass and strengthen their control over central Antonica. It fell upon the Mystical Lightfighters to determine their true purpose and thwart it.<br> "I should have gone." Flintrok stared hard at Wien spitting his words out with fierce pried and a wounded heart. "It was my responsibility. I lead us, I should have gone!"<br> "And how would you have expected to pass the city gates dwarf." Wien felt his own anger rising at Flint's refusal to see sense. "As far as I know the Dark Elves do not exactly greet the folk of Kaladim with open arms and gifts of friendship. We needed someone who could blend in, someone who could pass unnoticed, some-"<br> "Someone like Akaver" Flintrok finsihed, his eyes misting.<br> Wien nodded silently. "Aye," he said.<br>Hefting his tankard Flintrok offered a final toast to their missing friend. "May Brell watch over his spirit and show him to the Light in the dark."<br><br>***** The End ******<br><br>P.S. I just wanted to let everyone know that I am not in fact dead regardless of my absence from EQ. I thought it would be fun to explain my dissapearance with a story. Been a busy summer, but I'm gonna try to be on a bit more regularly again soon. Hope everyone enjoys the story!<br><br>Akaver <p></p><i></i>