Nix closed his eyes with a long-drawn-out sigh. After a good night's sleep and a large breakfast, Tai had invited him to soak in the mudbaths of her nursery before his meeting with Pon. "Thanks, Tai. I needed this."

The Earth Dragon's bare shoulders brushed against his. "No need to thank me. I enjoy your company."

Nix nodded in agreement. "Same... Could you open a direct contact for me with Iriset the Blue."

Tai turned toward him, her brown eyes showing surprise. "How do you know Seti?"

"Seti?" Nix grinned suddenly. "That a nickname? I approve."

Tai pursed her lips slightly when he didn't answer her question. "Are you involved with her somehow?"

"Just physically." Nix gave her a deadpan expression. "Want the details?"

Tai shook her head slightly, immediately understanding that he was joking. "I will contact her at your leisure."

Nix muttered a curse under his breath. "You used to be more gullible. Now works for me."

Tai paused for a moment. "Don't you want to get dressed or perhaps move away from me?"

"Nope. Bring her up." Nix waited until a life-sized holo of Iriset the Blue appeared over the bubbling mud directly in front of them. She looked exactly the same as she had the day before.

"Tai'Qui?" The surprise was evident on her face, although she knew the Earth Dragon. Apparently, the contact was unexpected.

"Hi, Seti. I'm contacting you on behalf of my friend, Nix." Tai gestured to the man sitting beside her.

"Nix?" Seti's tone changed slightly as her green eyes focused on the Inferno Leader. "Do we have business together, Guild Leader Nix?"

Nix nodded. "I want you to pass on a message to the rest of the Dragon Council."

Seti stared at him for a long moment. Could he know about the vote? Council members were forbidden from disclosing closed sessions. "What's the message?"

Nix smiled pleasantly. "If the Dragon Council attempts to abduct Fey, I'll destroy the Tembai Academy."

Seti's holo seemed to lean forward, her green eyes losing all sense of friendliness. "Do not threaten the Dragon Council."

"That wasn't a threat; it was a response to a six to six vote from yesterday's council meeting. You're a water elemental..." Nix jumped slightly when he felt Tai's hand squeeze his thigh. "To be honest, most of your ilk are complete bitches. Fuck around with my spirit companion and..."

Before he could say anything else, Tai covered his mouth with a slim brown hand while closing direct contact before an angry-looking Seti could respond. She held her grip for several seconds as she leaned against him. "What was that about, Nix?"

Nix shrugged out of her grip and leaned back against the edge of the mud pool. "Yesterday, the dragon council voted on whether or not to bring Fey into the Academy forcefully."

Tai narrowed her eyes as she started putting the pieces together. "Seti is on the council. Somehow, you learned about the vote?"

Nix nodded slightly. "I'm the new Adjunct Council member."

Tai's pretty face split into a wide smile. "Jargon Kane's position? I can't say that I'm not pleased. How is that possible? I wonder..."

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

The lake of molten rock bubbled slightly, emitting a bluish-colored gas that immediately burned out of existence with a brilliant flash, the moment it was exposed to the air. The orange glow from the landscape was the only light in the naturally formed pocket deep beneath the surface. A large serpentine head emerged from depths, slowly exposing a long neck and muscular scaled body that was a few hundred feet in length. It was black as night; the heavily armored eyelids blinked open, exposing a creature of deep intelligence.

Deidra has developed a new dread flame.

An orange glow surrounding the enormous beast as it shot flame high into the ceiling, instantly causing the affected part of the cavern to splash into the pool. Her toothy jaws snapped shut with a powerful bang that echoed through the underground. An instant later, she morphed into human form.

A hundred meters away, a second form rose from the inferno lake bed. This one was humanoid in shape; the molten rock ran freely off of her reddish-brown skin. Two sets of brown wings flapped gently as she took a moment to examine herself.

Fajii has activated her Bloodline, Second Form: Dread Archon.

Her once brown skin now held a decided red color and felt slightly scaly to the touch, like a reptile. The pointed ears were slightly longer than before; her warm brown eyes still held verticle irises.

"You are much stronger now, Fajii." Deidra dressed herself with a wave of her hand and opened a breach to the surface. "Will you return now?"

Fajii nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

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

Do you wish to enchant the Thermo-Ice ring with the Rat King animation?

"Yes."

[Critical Crafting]

"Critical crafting? I wasn't making anything, just enhancing it..." Nix removed the ring from the crafting interface and examined it.

Rat King's Environmental Ring: Artifact

Description: Adapts the heat signature of the wearer to whatever environment they are in. The combination of craftsmanship and quality components has yielded an unexpected result. Two of the Rat King's abilities are available to anyone who bears this ring.

[Rat Army] Summons all rats within range to fight on your behalf.

[Dead Rat] Pretend you're dead and lose all aggro.

Nix whistled softly and pushed Del's soft white muzzle out of his face. "Going to have to teach you about boundaries."

/Inferno: Pon: You coming, Nix?

/Inferno: Nix: Yep. Be there in a moment.

Nix stood up from his seat on the floor. "Coming, Del?"

The Stalker answered by activating her Guild Recall icon; a moment later, Nix did the same thing.

"About time you showed up!" Pon's wrinkled face was already set in a scowl. "Don't you know how to tell time?"

Nix has joined Alpha.

Del has joined Alpha.

/Alpha: Nix: We said noon. It's currently 1155 hours.

/Alpha: Pon: If you're not ten minutes early, you're late!

/Alpha: Nix: That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Let's head to New Dharta and talk to Felid Sah so we can plan our next step.

Nix activated the emerald-colored dragon icon on his hud and chose New Dharta from Dragon Cities' list. A moment later, he disappeared from the Inferno Guild Hall, leaving both Del and Pon to find their own way.

/Alpha: Pon: Shit... I forgot you couldn't use your Breach Commander abilities anymore. Now I have to walk to the Temple.

/Alpha: Nix: Now who's late?

Nix stepped off the New Dharta platform, his eyes scanning the small changes in the city. The shields were up, and the temperature was comfortably warm. A dozen soldiers guarded the entrance to the city. Felid Sah and Corporal Meriam Custer were standing next to one of the two automated turrets that were mounted next to the gate.

The rotund leader was dressed in bright purple robes; his white teeth flashed a smile at the Inferno Leader when he noticed him approaching. "Nix! Welcome back!"

Nix nodded respectively, smiling when Meriam offered him a crisp salute. She had taken over the duties of former guard captain, Tarot Finlow. "Getting enough supplies for the shops?"

Felid nodded slightly; since New Dharta had an active gate, they could travel freely to the Dragon Cities that Inferno already owned. Commerce would take a few days to start rolling, but the growth potential had returned. "Yes. Thanks to you and our friends from Inferno."

"Let's get started then..." Nix motioned for Meriam to return; she had walked off to speak with the gate guards while Felid briefed him. The Inferno Leader presented her with a short list of supplies that included a rough sketch. "Can you salvage these materials?"

Meriam examined the list with her good eye; someone had given her a patch to wear so that the sewn-shut eyelid wasn't visible. "Wood and leather scraps shouldn't be a problem. Nothing here that's really complicated. We have a carpenter that should be able to make this drawing.

Pon leaned over the guard's shoulder to read the list. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yep... It's a dogsled." Nix shrugged slightly, "unless you have a better idea?"

/Alpha: Del: Dogsled? I understand the two separate words, but what is it?

/Alpha: Nix: An elongated sled pulled by dogs, or in this case, it will be Dire Wolves.

/Alpha: Del: Are you serious?

/Alpha: Nix: Yes. You'll see, it will work fine.

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

[Haven 1600 hours, T.O.C.]

The Dire Wolf waited calmly while the rest of her pack gathered. Since Nix had personally assigned Bali to head up wolf recruitment, she was taking it very seriously. She rounded up the Trams, a handful of lifestyle players with no combat experience and whomever she could find. It would have been a motley-looking crew had they not been so beautiful. Her boss had insisted that they use his Dire Wolf puppets even though some of them had the same enhancement on their armor.

/Wolfpack: Bali: We'll be heading to New Dharta in five minutes.

/Wolfpack: Nansu: Will we be fighting?

/Wolfpack: Bali: Maybe some Howlers, but don't worry, Nix and Pon will be accompanying us.

Bali glanced down at her list before forwarding it to Nix.

[Dire Wolf Pack]

Bali

Chiba

Beta

Rabi

Sasi

Ginger

Wind

Theo

Mik

Donri

Rico

Deidra

Elan Mtui

Banz

The Ain'Dhassi ranger nodded to Tai'Qui, who was on hand to open a breach directly to New Dharta. A small breach opened up a moment later.

/Wolfpack: Bali: Everyone through, we'll head into New Dharta and then get briefed on our mission.