Phoenix Phire

The old mage glared suspiciously at the Dhassi group lingering near the Gemini Temple portal. He ran a hand through his thick white hair while considering if he should make them leave.

"Whatever you are about to do, stop now." Semmi glanced up from the dagger game she had been playing with Wind. "If that group is in the Temple, then they are cleared to be here."

Wind hid a smile and put his blades away. "I dunno, Pon. Those Su'Dhassi look shifty to me. Let's push them a bit to make sure they aren't up to something."

Pon nodded in agreement and strode toward the group.

Semmi punched Wind in the arm. "The hell are you doing? Never agree with anything he says!"

Wind shrugged helplessly. "Just a bit of fun... Relax Sem."

Pon's wrinkled face was the picture of innocence when he approached the group while whistling a soft tune.

/Alpha: Wind: Is that the 'Yellow Rose of Texas?'

/Alpha: Semmi: Yep. He whistles that when we're making beer.

Pon stopped a few strides away from the group as if realizing they were there. "Su'Dhassi? I didn't realize we let slavers into the Gemini Temple."

/Sand Killers: Toxin: Eri?

/Sand Killers: Brell: He's picking a fight.

/Sand Killers: Eri: That's Pon, also known as Pon the Magnificent. Do not respond to his baiting.

A wiry Dhassi stepped forward from the group, his dark eyes darting from the old man to the two Inferno members behind him. "We are not slavers, honorable Mage. I am Corm, a Su'Dhassi Javelier."

"Jave-fucking-what?" Pon's sharp eyes gave him the once over. He was a short, wiry dhassi with dark skin and crossed cropped hair. His age could have been anywhere from late teens to early twenties.

/Sand Killers: Brell: He's insulting.

"Javelier..." A second dhassi joined the conversation; his looks were identical to Corm; without a doubt, they were twins. "I'm Retric, my brother, and I are both Javeliers. You would call us ranged fighters."

Pon scowl deepened slightly. Both dhassi had large quivers strapped to their backs; they were filled with javelins. The projectiles were about a meter in length. "Anyone here from Beco?"

The twins shared a glance before nodding cautiously. "We were both raised in Beco," Corm answered.

Without warning, the entire area was suddenly bathed in bright orange flames. A terrifying heat pushed at everyone within a few meters. The old man stood at the middle of the inferno, his dread flames making approach impossible. "I burned Beco to the ground a few months ago. As I remember, it was filled with Slavers and vermin."

/Alpha: Semmi: Time to stop, Pon. These Dhassi had nothing to do with Ayla's abduction.

/Alpha: Wind: Ease back, old man. Nix must have brought them here for a reason.

/Alpha: Pon: Two of them are from Beco; maybe the entire fucking group is...

"You're the one who destroyed Beco?" Corm took a step forward, despite the waves of heat pushing him back. "Thank you, Honorable Mage!"

Retric bowed lowed beside his brother. "Thank you."

"Huh?" Pon's flames died out suddenly. "Don't kneel like that. What's wrong with you two?"

"They were both slaves, brothers that escaped from Beco together." Eri pulled the Javeliers to their feet. "Beco was a pox that we weren't allowed to touch."

Pon shook his head slightly. "You bow your heads too easily. Now that you've joined us, put that shit behind you."

***************

"Everything smells nice in Haven." Nix inhaled deeply, the scent of fir trees lingered in the air offset only by the flowering buds of the undergrowth. Although not an expert in botony, the smaller trees looked similar to high-bush cranberry trees he'd seen growing up. "I'll have ask Nansu about them, perhaps Hyai could make some jam."

"Everything comes down to eating with you." Humor hung heavily in the white feline's words.

"Food and sex... maybe burn some shit in between." Nix stumbled slightly when the Stalker nudged him with her nose. "Hopefully, Sinfaya is done."

They walked toward the basin that had been filled with Dragon Marrow. Nix hadn't shared that knowledge with anyone else. Only, Leva and Haven's three dragons were aware.

"What's going to happen if we can't find a way to deal with Fey's issue?"

Nix scampered up the rockwall that marked the location of the basin. His companion leaped the distance with little effort. He could still sense the presence of all three dragons beneath the golden surface of the basin. "Fey will have to stay here until we deal with Ethoryst. Why did you stop?"

Del seemed frozen in place as she stared into golden depths. "This is... It's calling to me, Nix."

"Huh? You okay?" Nix watched as Del padded closer to him.

"She's reacting to the Dragon Marrow." Sinfaya's voice came from the middle of the pond, her bare shoulders created no ripples in the liquid as she made her way toward them. "I finished a short while ago, but it was pleasant to remain in the depths."

Del's blue feline eyes continued to focus on the depths. "Why do I want to go in there?"

Nix considered the question for a moment, turning his back on Sinfaya while she exited the pool. "Perhaps because part of your new form was crafted from a Dragon Egg? Come to think of it, I used dragon scale also."

"May I?" Del turned away from the basin long enough to glance at Nix.

Nix shrugged slightly. "You decide. You definitely have a strain of dragon in you, albeit a very small one."

The feline pushed against his side and padded toward the basin. She paused at the edge and looked back. "Perhaps I should wait? We were planning on heading to Eidengal."

"Go ahead. I have plenty of help." Nix didn't speak again until after Del disappeared beneath the surface. "How did you breath under there?"

"It isn't necessary if you are a dragon."

Sinfaya was dressed once again, there was a definite change in her appearance but Nix couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"Del isn't a dragon." Nix watched for any sign of distress from the golden depths.

"No. I dare say that being created from a dragon egg has changed her." Sinfaya smiled at the Inferno Leader. "I may be able to find Ethoryst."

"Really?"

Sinfaya nodded slowly. "He's using a piece of Fey's old robe to locate her. If she still has that robe, then I should be able to locate the piece."

Nix frowned at the spatial dragon. "Is this because of the basin?"

Sinfaya held back a smile. "No... Although I'm stronger now, this has nothing to do with that. I focused on our problem while absorbing the marrow. Ethoryst has probably set up safeguards to mask his location."

Nix returned her smile. "I see... You're saying he's sloppy."

"Yes. He was always over confident, making small mistakes that forced him to compensate. The safeguards would mask his presence, but its quite likely that he hasn't applied that protection to the cloth."

"Fey is at the Fire Temple." Nix brought up his hud, "expedite this as soon as possible."

Sinfaya nodded, watching as Nix vanished. Her body changed immediately after, extending and expanding until a sizable white dragon appeared. A single flap of her wings shot her upward into the sky, the sudden movement of air created a rippling effect on the golden surface. After a few seconds, the wind abaded and the basin was calm once again.

************

Nix and Fajii appeared on the Gemini platform at nearly the same time, the result brought a wide smile to both faces as they shared a quick hug before facing the group that seemed to be chatting among themselves. Semmi was talking to the two Su'Dhassi women while Pon and Wind sat quietly off to one side.

/Inferno: Nix: These Dhassi are going to be with us for a while, here's a worksheet on names and skills.

[Sand Killers]

Toxin: Tank

Brell: Shaman

Eri dale: Ranger

Corm: Javalier

Retric: Javalier

Ainsba: Sand Shadow

Dune: Sand Shadow

/Inferno: Nix: The last two are both specialized rogue classes, the twins are ranged fighters. The others should be self-explanatory.

Nix took a seat on edge of the platform and singled out the Dhassi leader. "I need everyones armor stacked in front of me, going to add a couple of quick enhancement's before we head to Eidengal."

Eri nodded and slipped out her leather armor. "Just the torso piece?"

Nix nodded and accepted it from her. "Thank you."

/Sand Killer: Brell: Your future husband is very polite, Eri.

The wolf hooded Shaman placed her fur-armor in front of the Inferno Leader, a wide smile playing on her lips while the rest of the dhassi chuckled.

Nix looked up from his work. "Something funny?"

Eri shook her head. "Just stupid Dhassi stuff."

Sand Walker: [Eri Dale Only]

Armor Class: 600

+50 to Range Accuracy.

+ 10 to Agility

8 Percent chance of scoring a Critical Hit.

All melee damage is decreased by 5 percent.

All Ranger Abilities are increased by 20 percent.

"I wouldn't let my dog wear this shit." Nix frowned at the stats on the armor. "I don't have time for major upgrades. We'll go with Camo Fabric, Dragon Leather and one of the Orion puppets."

/Alpha: Pon: Giving these guys the good stuff?

/Alpha: Nix: Revenant puppets and a few tidbits. Nothing too amazing.

Camouflage Fabric V

[Enhancements]

Complete Invisibility

Sound Suppression: When applied to armor.

Sound Amplification: When applied to weapons.

Lightning Resistant: Extra protection against Lightning-based attacks.

Bonus: Material is completely immune to fire.

Nix quickly set up the queue for the first armor, his plan was to use the same enhancments all all the dhassi gear. "Got a shit-ton of Kraken Leather, guess I'll toss that in also."

[Sound Enhanced Camo-Overlay] [Sand Walker Armor] [Dragon Leather] [Kraken Leather][Orion Puppet: Revenant]

"Is a shit-ton a lot?" Eri's voice caused Nix to look up. She was kneeling nearby, watching intently.

"It is." Nix completed the task and tossed it to the Dhassi before starting the next.

The Ranger caught it easily, her face was void of expression but her dark eyes flashed with excitement.

/Sand Killers: Brell: Is it good? Show us!

/Sand Killers: Eri: It's good.

Sand Stalker: Shape Shifter Set [Orion]

Bound: Eri Dale

Armor Class: 3500

+100 to Range Accuracy.

18 Percent chance of scoring a Critical Hit.

All melee incoming damage is decreased by 15 percent.

All Ranger Abilities are increased by 30 percent.

+25 to all Stats.

+200 to Lightning Resistance.

Description: This armor is designed

for moving silently. All ambient sound

within one meter of the wearer is

completely suppressed.

Enhancement: Complete Camouflage

is activated at will.

Bonus: Armor is Immune to Fire Damage

/Sand Killers: Brell: No wonder they're fearless.

The rest of the armor took less than half an hour. After completing the task, Semmi gave the Dhassi group limited membership in Inferno. They couldn't access Haven, but they could use the Gemini Temple and utilize the extensive gating network.

/Inferno: Eri: Thank you for your trust.

/Inferno: Nix: Welcome. Hey old man, need you to summon Shuri for us. I need an update on their progress.

/Inferno: Pon: Bastard. You damn-well know I don't call her that.

/Inferno: Wind: Pretty sure I heard you say it a few times.

Pon stepped away from the group after making a rude gesture.

[Summons: Shur'icon]

A moment later, a woman dressed entirely in black appeared. Her purple eyes glanced at Pon before focusing on Nix. "I assume you want an update on our mission?"

Nix nodded. "How did it go?"

***Authors Reminder****

In chapter 565, Nix sent five POWs from the Bone Fortress to investigate the lower level of the Gemini Temple. They were Bensic (Paladin), Lilac: Witch (CC, Summoner), Shur'icon: Witch (Debuffs and Curses) and Cyra Yun: Shadow Ranger. Their mission was to find the members of the House of Aquarion that Nix had imprisoned there in chapter 217.

******************

"Mission complete, Sir. We've located Zeryn and her people."

Eri turned sharply at the mention of the missing Aquarion. The notorious Water Mage hadn't been seen since the fire. Did that mean that they were prisoners of Inferno? "If you have Zeryn. Don't ever set her free!"