/Alpha: Pon: 111 for me. Should I summon Lorenzo?

/Alpha: Nix: No.

/Alpha: Nezbit: 104! Nix is best! Morti is at 36!

/Alpha: Nix: Continue the mission. How's mana?

/Alpha: Nezbit: Holding at 90 percent.

Nix dodged to one side and then kicked the legs out of the Paladin that had attacked him from stealth. Before the pally could get back to his feet, a half dozen emerald strands wrapped around him and tossed him into the middle of a burning tent. Nix leaped into the flames without pausing and pinned the armored fighter to the ground with a knee. The screams of the burning fighter could be heard from nearly everywhere on the battlefield. After nearly a minute, the yellow-eyed skeleton kicked the charred corpse to one side and walked out of the tent.

The skeleton pulled a pathetic looking golem from his inventory and sat him on the ground. Without looking back, the figure bathed in emerald flames proceeded further into enemy territory, followed closely by the limping Blinky.

/Alpha: Sasi: Turn-down flame, Nix! Can see from another side of camp.

/Alpha: Nix: Gotta have bait when you fish.

/Alpha: Sasi: Fish is good, rat is better. Scary thing is here, come help Sasi.

/Alpha: Nix: On my way.

Nix walked through the burning camp, not bothering to hide. He spotted the 'scary' person from fifty meters away. The scaled figure was hunched over, with two sets of limbs on the ground and a third set holding an impressive two-bladed weapon. The Inferno leader couldn't decide if the middle limbs were arms or legs or perhaps something in between; several feet of snake body extended behind the rear limbs.

"Where did you come from, Skeleton? Your presence here is new." The black scaled skin shifted colors slightly as it advanced on four limbs. The long pole-arms weapon he held had jagged, sharp blades mounted on either end; it spun slowly in his expert hands with a low hum.

The yellow-eyed skeleton didn't answer; his emerald blade hissed and crackled in the night air while several emerald strands floated around him. Staring at the beast, Nix suppressed a shiver. It's wide shoulders flattened out to a rounded reptilian head that reminded him of a hooded cobra. "My presence?" Nix shook his head slightly. "You are the one who shouldn't be here."

"What are you going on about, Skeleton?"

"Did your racial memories suddenly fade last year? " Nix swiped his blade in the air; he'd spent too much time with Floyd and the Scorched Earth Acolytes not to know what the reptile was. "Or doesn't it work like that?"

"How do you know tha..." His question was cut off when he saw the hunched over golem standing between his legs.

"Boom." Nix keyed Blinky's detonation. There was a brief pause, then a shower of sparks erupted from its back, followed by a loud fizzle.

/Alpha: Nix: Damn you, Pon...

The scaled figure flinched visibly before laughing at the angry skeleton. It lowered its snake-like maw and chomped the golem in a bite that showcased its massive fangs before taking a step towards Nix. An instant later, an explosion took out one side of its throat and its lower jaw.

Bronthir, the Naga King, has received a mortal wound.

Sasi has pickpocketed Bronthir the Naga King.

"You've been blinked, dumbass!" A dozen emerald strands shot out and encircled the snake-man's weapon. With a vicious yank, the dual bladed staff landed in Nix's hands.

You have stolen Ice Wrath!

New User recognized.

New Abilities have been discovered.

[Blast] Close Quarter Combat only. (CQC) Cool-down 1 minute.

Ice Wrath has been converted to Emerald Fire Wrath!

The skeleton pushed Emerald flames into the polearm weapon; the weapon immediately glowed with bright green flames.

[Viper Strike][Quartered][Double Finish]

[Combination Partially Successful]

Sasi has scored a critical attack on Bronthir, the Naga King.

Bronthir, the Naga King, is immune to poison.

Bronthir, the Naga King, has been slowed by forty percent.

Sasi has landed a mortal strike against Bronthir, the Naga King.

Sasi has landed a mortal strike against Bronthir, the Naga King.

Sasi has pickpocketed Bronthir the Naga King.

[Bone Strike][Assasinate][Blast]

Triple Combination Successful.

Nix has landed a significant strike on Bronthir, the Naga King.

A fatal wound has been inflicted on Bronthir, the Naga King.

Bronthir, the Naga King, has been struck down.

A ball of green flame erupted from the end of Nix's weapon, striking the Naga in the chest and knocking him backward.

[King's X]

Bronthir, the Naga King, has staved off death.

A faint blueish glow formed around the reptile, all of its limbs raised off of the ground as its beady eyes stared at the skeleton. "What is your name?"

Bronthir, the Naga King, is temporarily invulnerable to damage.

"Pon, the Magnificent." Nix showed him how bony his middle finger was; a moment later, the Naga disappeared from the battlefield.

You have defeated Bronthir, the Naga King.

Sasi has defeated Bronthir, the Naga King.

Sasi froze in place for a moment, her tiny demon skull tilting to one side. "Nix! You hit the stupid, scary thing too hard!"

Skelton Nix shrugged slightly. "Blame Blinky; I barely touched that slithering fool."

The Undead Faction has claimed the Sandcrab Graveyard.

The Graveyard will become usable in forty-eight hours.

Nix scanned the battlefield; there was no other enemy in their section.

/Alpha: Nix: How's the choke-point?

/Alpha: Alfie: It's empty. No further contacts.

/Alpha: Pon: The west side is mined, sending everyone the mine locations. Walk carefully.

/Alpha: Nix: Let's meet at the choke-point.

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

"How old are you?" Deidra removed her hand from Hyai's forehead.

"Not saying." Hyai frowned at the dragon. "It must be a mistake; I already have a grown daughter."

Tai'Qui shook her head slightly. "No mistake."

[Whisper: Tai'Qui to Deidra] It isn't polite to ask human women their age.

Shae smiled at Hyai and kissed the side of her face. The Innkeeper was still staring at them in shock. "You'll be fine."

"That can't be right. How did this happen?" Hyai was reclining on one of the comfortable chairs in the Sanctum common area.

"Well... I could make a guess." Semmi bit down on a smile; she'd been worried about the Innkeeper. "Back to Haven for you."

Hyai shook her head slightly. "I'm staying; it's way too early to be taking it easy. Goodness... At my age? What's Bela going to say?"

"We'll put the Thief Quest aside for now and stay here with you." Shae glanced at the two dragons, both of them nodded in agreement.

"I don't need help," Hyai started to protest. "Can you tell the gender?" The Innkeeper thought back to the story Nix had told her from the Black Gate. "A girl?"

Deidra and Tai both shrugged.

Shae fixed them both with a satisfied smile. "No, it's a boy."

Unexpectedly, Hyai's smile widened, and she started to cry.

"CRAP!" Semmi jumped up from her seat. "SHARL, JUNIE! The key is active!

Sharl and Junie raced in from opposite sides of the room. Within seconds, they were both standing on the pentacle.

Semmi shook her head quickly. "Off Junie!"

Junie muttered a curse and stepped off, waving to Inferno's main tank as she disappeared in a column of flames.

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

[Guild and personal messaging have been disabled. You may not activate any portal skills or abilities. No companions may be summoned at this time.]

All Class and Crafting skills are temporarily hidden.

You have a new class.

You have a new rank.

Sharl landed heavily on her feet, her shield digging deep into the soft ground around her. She glanced down at her bone feet. "Least, my diet is working..."

Welcome to the Bone Fortress, new recruits. Your fellow undead welcome you! If you bring up your hud map, you can find the territory that your faction currently holds. The ground you are standing on will remain neutral for the next hour.

Sharl checked her stats quickly. "Great... I'm a greek temple."

Sharl Exodus

Undead Skeleton [Elite]

Class: Pantheon

Rank 1

Kills: 0

/Alpha: Sharl: Hello? Anyone here?

/Alpha: Nezbit: Sharl!

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

[Bone Fortress, 0100 hours Ice Faction: 12,733, Undead 8]

Alfie: 21,134

Edi: 20,336

Nix: 187

Pon: 155

Sasi: 88

Morti: 57

Nezbit: 104

Sharl: 0

Sharl stood between Morti and Nix; the Inferno tank had received the Bone Fortress briefing and then gave them the latest guild news.

/Alpha: Edi: You're sure it was Bronthir you killed?

/Alpha: Nix: Yeah, wanna-be Naga King, my poor Blinky kicked his ass.

/Alpha: Edi: It's too bad you weren't able to capture him. He holds one of the tidal pool keys.

Sasi helped up a tiny bone hand. "No! Sasi stole it!"

[Key of Tides]

Description: Once a day, the tides may deliver their bounty. The value of objects will decrease after each use. Only the faction that controls the Bone Fortress may use the keys.

/Alpha: Pon: We can't even use that.

/Alpha: Alfie: No, but that's one less key they can use. Each of the Burrough Commanders has one.

/Alpha: Nix: Bronthir was a Burrough Commander?

/Alpha: Edi: Yes, but he shouldn't have been here.

/Alpha: Nix: How's the key work?

/Alpha: Edi: It generates a random object. When they were ours, we never used any of them.

/Alpha: Pon: Why the fuck not?

/Alpha: Edi: The results decrease with use, but that statement doesn't mention something important. It can be relied on to give you something useful. When you are at war, you will receive something you need to fight.

/Alpha: Nix: It might have enabled you to keep the Bone Fortress.

/Alpha: Edi: My father decided to win this war first and then start using the key during peace.

/Alpha: Sharl: I'm new here, so pardon my ignorance. According to the rules, certain lines can't be crossed. Reinforcements have to follow a system. Could these keys affect that?

/Alpha: Alfie: They have used all of the keys, many times over. By now, the items they are receiving would have much less value.

/Alpha: Nix: Put this aside for now. How many Ice Faction are left in Sandcrab?

/Alpha: Edi: Probably less than a hundred.

/Alpha: Nix: Nothings changed for now. Let's assume that the border and recruitment rules have become more flexible. Nice job taking the key, Sasi.

/Alpha: Nezbit: I can summon a companion now!

/Alpha: Pon: I can't.

/Alpha: Nix: Really? Damn you, old bastard. Bring Rhy in, Nez.