Phoenix Phire

Nix stopped for a moment before entering. "Morti you keep an eye on Pinki, make sure she makes it back here safely."

Morti nodded his big head. "Got it Nix."

/Inferno: Nix: I'm going to the Guild Registrar right away. Expect that guild communication will be temporarily halted until that happens. If we are unable to communicate, meet back here in four hours.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Stay in groups please, let's not wander until we know more.

Nix entered the portcullis and a moment later stepped into the Parliament. The floor was covered with a red carpet-like material. The first he had seen in Colonial, or Oasis for that matter. He checked guild chat and received a message that said it was temporarily disabled. Shae had decided to accompany him for the first hour before branching out on her own.

"Looks like there's an upstairs, the signs are unreadable to me." The white walls were covered in impressive paintings of landscapes and fantastical creatures. Nix didn't recognize any of them.

"Should we ask that person?" Shae pointed to a dark-haired man who was standing next to what looked like a courtyard exit.

"Yep." Nix grabbed her hand and together they walked toward the door. She leaned against him, enjoying the closeness they shared.

"Greetings. I'm Nix, and this is my friend Shae." Nix gave the man a slight bow. He was definitely what Semmi had called a Su'Dhassi or Sand Dhassi.

"A human here?" The dark-haired elf must have missed their arrival, he returned the bow. "Nice to meet you both, I'm Faidal Naibi of the Su'Dhassi.

Nix noticed that Faidal was unarmed and wore only regular clothing. He could have passed for Ronnie's older brother. "Could you direct me to the Guild Registrar please?"

"Guild Registrar? Do you have the registration token?" His face broke into a wide smile when Nix nodded. "Follow me then, I will bring you there directly.

Shae slid her hand through Nix's arm, leaning against him while they followed the Dhassi. She noticed the man had a peculiar sweet scent on him. "Do you work in a garden? You have the sweet scent of an unknown fruit."

Faidal stopped outside an office that was very close to an exit. "You are very perceptive. Whenever I come to Parliament, I find myself spending hours in their orchards."

Nix glanced at the sign above the glass-paned door. "This is it? Sorry, we can't read this language."

Faidal nodded. "Be sure to stop by the library, there is a basic language token there that you may purchase or trade for."

Nix thanked him and waited until the Dhassi walked away. He had noticed that the Dhassi's eyes had strayed to his companion fairly often. Shae was wearing a red sundress that came down to her knees. Her long red hair was nearly the same length. "Let's do this."

Nix walked in and approached the man behind the counter. Semmi had been right, at first glance Nix would have guessed he was an Aquarion. He had white hair that was cut short and pale blue eyes. He was quite slim and stern-looking. Nix noticed that his ears seemed smaller than the other Dhassi he had met so far. "I'm Nix and this is Shae. We would like to register our guild."

The white-haired man didn't return his greeting. "Do you have the Guild Registration token or are you paying the fee?"

Nix held up his token and placed it on the counter before him.

The Dhassi picked it up and stepped away for a moment to grab a large piece of parchment. He dipped an antique-looking quill into a black jar of ink before looking up. "Name of the Guild please?"

"Inferno," Nix replied.

"Are you the Guild Leader Nix?" The man wrote on the parchment as he spoke, the scratching of the tip against the yellow paper seemed loud in the quiet office.

"Yes, I am the Guild Leader."

The Dhassi pushed the parchment in front of him and then handed him the quill. "Sign at the bottom, please. There is no fee since you have the registration token."

Nix signed the parchment, the Dhassi picked it up and blew on the signature a few times before carefully filing it away.

"Congratulations Guild Leader Nix, Inferno has now been registered in Oasis." He returned the token to Nix just as the World message was broadcast.

Oasis System Message: Congratulations to Inferno for becoming the first Registered Guild in Oasis.

Guild Chat has been restored.

Personal Messaging has been restored.

Inferno is promoted to 2 stars for being the first registered guild in Oasis.

Your Guild Office is located on the 1st floor.

All Inferno Members received the Pioneer Award.

A Homestead Token has been deposited in your inventory.

/Inferno: Ronnie: First.

/Inferno: Semmi: That's going to make some heads spin. I'm in the library which is on the second floor. Lot's of information up here. First, you'll have to pick up the basic language token. I traded a pair of archery gloves for it.

/Inferno: Ronnie: The gloves you won from me?

/Inferno: Semmi: Yep.

/Inferno: Hyai: There is a market in the East Courtyard.

/Inferno: Darsi: A crafter area too, there are a lot of enhancements I don't recognize.

/Inferno: Nix: Pick up any kind of technique you can. We'll compensate you when we return.

Nix grabbed Shae's hand and left the Registrar's Office, The nearest exit was on the Northside of the building. "Want to take a look outside?"

Shae nodded and let herself be pulled along. "I want to visit these orchards that Faidal mentioned."

They stepped outside into a bright sunny day, there were a few roaming white clouds but the day was pleasantly warm. The courtyard was paved with white bricks and lined with perfectly trimmed shrubs. Every so often a garden plot reserved for flowers was visible. There were a few dozen Dhassi of all subraces gathered in the area amongst a scattering of tables and chairs.

Nix pulled Shae toward the tables, she resisted slightly and pointed upward. Rhy was flying easily high above the courtyard. The Air Nemesis seemed to be enjoying herself while she put on a display of aerial maneuvers. She had the attention of every Dhassi in the courtyard below.

/Inferno: Shae: We are in the courtyard below Rhy.

Nix took a seat at one of the small tables nearby, it was then he spotted a familiar-looking drink. It was served in a glass mug and had a large head of foam on it. A well Su'Dhassi wearing all white stopped in front of their table.

"May I get you something to drink sir? The Sand Dhassi smiled pleasantly, "everything served here is complimentary."

Nix pointed to the person with the glass mug. "What is that?"

"That's a drink made here in Inuit. It's called Toma."

"Er... made from grains?" Nix crossed his fingers beneath the table.

"Yes, sir. Would you like to try some?"

Nix held up the peace sign. "Two please."

A slender hand squeezed his forearm. Shae leaned closer and kissed the side of his face. "You seem very excited."

Nix nodded. "The drinks sold in Inns and taverns are different from what I'm used to. That Toma drink looks like beer to me."

Shae flashed her white teeth. "Bear?"

Nix shook his head slightly. "Beer."

A moment later the waiter returned with two glass mugs and sat them down on the table. "Let me know if you require anything else."

Nix picked it up, nodding in approval at its golden brown coloring. He cautiously took a drink. A smile lit up his face. "Oh god... that's so good."

Shae took a drink, before sitting it down, her face turning sour. "Teasing me?"

"Nope. You don't like it?" Nix grabbed her mug and slid it over next to his. "More for me."

/Inferno: Nix: Anyone in the market area?

/Inferno: Hyai: I'm here with Kyla and Saji.

/Inferno: Nix: Could you see if they are selling a drink called Toma?

/Inferno: Hyai: I've already seen it. Large steel barrels of it, there are all kinds of drinks I've never heard of. Want a barrel?

/Inferno: Nix: If they accept credits, I'll take a dozen.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Is it good?

/Inferno: Nix: It's beer.

/Inferno: Chael What?

/Inferno: Pon: Bullshit!

/Inferno: Wind: For real Nix?

/Inferno: Nix: Yep. They serve it at the Northside Courtyard. It's free!

Nix smiled at Shae. "This won't take long." Nix took a long drink of his cold Toma while holding tightly to the second one that Shae had given him.

A few minutes later Wind, Banz, Chael, Pon, Sharl, Ronnie, Tess, and Gypsy could be seen walking quickly toward them. Nix held up his Toma and waved. At the same time, he started to notice that the amount of Dhassi in the area had tripled in the last few minutes.

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

"I'm never leaving this place Nix. Check me out of Colonial." Pon had quickly drained half of his mug, his old face looked like he had discovered heaven.

"Damn it." Wind was frowning at his drink. "Colonial is beerless, but this place has it?"

"And it's free," Nix added while pushing his empty mug away and gripping the second in his hand.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Is it really beer?

/Inferno: Pon: Confirmed. It's beer.

Rhy chose this moment to bank low around the seating area before landing softly a few meters away. The entire courtyard erupted in applause.

/Inferno: Chael: When did all the Dhassi show up?

/Inferno: Pon: Better get in there Nix.

Nix pushed his way through the crowd of Dhassi, some pushed back but quickly stopped when they realized that the human was quite strong. Three Dhassi had surrounded Rhy, although she did not seem bothered by it.

"Come be my guest in Fai'Dar. It is only a few hours north of here." A Fir' Dhassi man dressed in gold silk smiled at the Air Nemesis. He was flanked by two other Dhassi that were both wearing leather armor.

Rhy shook her head. "I'm afraid that I can't do that. My mate would find it very inappropriate." The dark beauty spotted Nix moving toward her. "Better make some room."

Nix bulled his way past the guards, jostling them and their leader. "Pardon me."

Rhy stepped closer, a black wing resting against Nix's shoulder. "I was just enjoying the sunny day Nix."

"Very impressive flying." Nix found himself curious about their location. "Any cities close by?"

Rhy's eyesight was several times sharper than humans. "Three large cities, a half dozen smaller villages and a lot of two and three home plots."

"I'm Ura Dar, This woman will be visiting me at my home in Fai'Dar." The Dhassi in gold spoke quietly, like someone used to getting there way.

Nix laughed loudly. "Wait... you want my wife to visit you? Are you an idiot? How about this, bring your mother and sister here and let them accompany me to my house. Would that be okay?"

/Inferno: Pon: Here we go...

[Aura Ignition]

Nix kept his flames from bursting out like they normally did. "I was told not to behave badly, but I gotta admit, you're tempting me."

"What are you doing Clansman?" A soft voice spoke from the edge of the crowd. A tall female dressed in common leather armor, her long blonde hair flowed down her back.

"Tura!" The Dhassi bowed deeply, as did the two guards he was with. "This man insulted me."

The Dhassi called Tura glanced at Nix briefly before turning back to Ura. "Do you think its a compliment to proposition someone elses mate?" Tura turned her blue eyes on the guards. "Beat your Master without mercy and then return him to Fai' Dar."

Both guards bowed low and grabbed their master by the arms.

"Guardsmen..." Her soft voice lingered in the air. "If you don't manage to break both of his legs, then I shall visit Fai'Dar personally. The peace of the Parliament is not to be dallied with by the third son of a second rate clan."

One of the guardsmen slammed his knee into Ura's stomach, dropping him to his knees. The other guard kicked him in the face knocking him to the ground. A moment later both guards were kicking and stomping on their Master. To his credit, although the Dhassi grimaced in pain, he didn't cry out nor try to defend himself.

/Inferno: Nix: Semmi you still in the library?

/Inferno: Semmi: Yes. Need something?

/Inferno: Nix: Apparently we have a guild office on the first floor. Meet me there in ten minutes.

The Dhassi woman left without speaking further. Rhy joined Shae and Nix at their table. The two Dhassi guards beat their master for a few minutes before dragging him away.

Pon, Wind, Chael, and Sharl had all grabbed a table and were enjoying their Toma.

/Inferno: Pon: That's hardcore right there.

/Inferno: Jun Li: We've been told that the Fir'Dhassi are hostile and very strong. Let's add merciless to that list.