Phoenix Phire

Morti roared for the tenth time in as many seconds before sitting down and nudging the Titan Warleader with his black nose. "Nope. Papa is still sleeping."

"It's fine, follow me." The Ravager scurried toward the door, where Fey and Del were talking. "Let's see how Donri is doing."

Nix had assigned the Necrofire Mage to try to break open the Black Ice Sculpture that encased Lilac Rem. An area was cordoned off where seven sleeping prisoners were being kept. Although they were outside, the six who weren't bound in black ice were shackled. The sculpture had been dragged a few meters away and was currently being bombarded with black flames.

"Damn it!" Donri released his flames with a look of utter disgust. "Fucking Black Ice is a total scam."

The Ravager arrived with Fey, Morti, and Del in tow. Nix advanced through the waves of heat rising from the ground. "I only know of two things that can break it."

Donri's face relaxed when he spotted the Inferno Leader. The Blackfire mage hated his bone form and had acquired a [Thine Enemy] ring from somewhere for his own use. "Would take a real strong flame."

"That's one way," Nix agreed. He studied the Blackfire mage for a moment; someone had given him a haircut. "Is that the Ronnie special?"

Donri ran one hand over the top of his head. The dark archer loved to give Mohawks. "Like it?"

"No." The Ravager approached the chunk of Black Ice. Although it had been bathed in flames for several minutes, it was still frighteningly cold to the touch. "Double paw, Morti."

"Yep!" Morti reared back on his back legs before coming down with both paws on the Ice Sculpture; the distinct cracking of ice echoed the loud slam of his strike.

"Good enough, step back and let the fire mages finish the task. Try not to roast the prisoner." The Ravager followed Morti a few meters away while silver and black flames enveloped the damaged sculpture. This time there was a visible melting as the chunk of ice started to shrink away.

"Hold her down, Morti." Nix returned to the frozen witch's side and started using his claws to break away the remains of the weakened sculpture. The bear cub plopped down on the other side of her and rested a huge paw on the woman's abdomen.

Within a few seconds, she inhaled deeply and then coughed. Her purple eyes blinked open as her faculties slowly returned.

The cub observed the witch. Her purple hair reminded him of Pinky's pink hair. "Hey, your eyes match your hair."

"W-What? Who are you?"

"Morti." The cub glanced at the Ravager, who was still clearing off the remnants of his black ice spell. "Don't move."

"The word you want is 'FREEZE.'" Fey pointed her long white staff at the prone witch. "Of course, she was already frozen." Fey smiled at her own joke, although no one else seemed to catch on.

Lilac's purple eyes focused on the bear cub. "Not going to hurt me?"

"I don't think so," Morti replied. "Unless you attack one of my friends. I'll definitely swat you if you do that."

"Where am I?" Lilac scanned the immediate area. There were two fire mages, a vicious looking creature that she couldn't identify and a monstrous black bear.

"Let me sum up." Ravager Nix moved closer to her head so she could see him clearly. "The trap that your Faction set up in the Honor Burrough was triggered with an unexpected result. The Blessed Viel is cycling across the width of Agony, Misery, and Dawn. Everyone that was in those Burroughs was instantly put to sleep."

"Put to sleep?" Lilac tried not to stare at the long claws of the bear holding her down. "Everyone's sleeping?"

The Ravager leaned against Morti's paw so that his yellow eyes were staring downward at the witch. "They were until I killed them."

"The Burrough Commanders? My Squad? They've all been killed?"

The creature's yellow eyes stared calmly as if he was discussing bird watching. "Welcome to Inferno, where we kill people who get in our way."

Morti's rumbling laugh caused the witch's already white complexion to look sickly. "We have a lot of sayings like that."

"True..." Nix held up a sharp claw. "I'm not above making deals if you act in good faith."

[The will of one of your companions has strengthened your resolve]

You have learned a new resistance.

You have been reconnected with your mortal anchor.

Guild and personal messaging have been established.

Nix glanced at Morti and Fey; neither seemed to be paying him any attention.

/Inferno: Nix: Looks like I'm back.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Outstanding! On my way. Are the others waking up?

/Inferno: Nezbit: No. I'm in the infirmary; everyone is still sleeping.

The Ravager puppet darted toward Fey's feet and then collapsed lifelessly on the ground. A moment later, Nix slowly sat up in the med-tent. "Off my feet, Del."

Del moved closer, pushing her soft muzzle into the side of his face. "Finally!"

You Kill count has risen to 3,143.

You have leveled up.

The Bone Density of your Skeleton form has been upgraded to 7.

You have received a new title. [Lich King]

You have remembered your Elemental Abilities.

[Fire][Earth][Water][Air][Lightning][Black Ice]

Nix [Gemini Lord]

Race Undead Lich King

Rank: 32

Kills: 3,143

Nix exited the tent and removed his [Thine Enemy] ring. Immediately his bone form burst into pale green flames.

[Summons: Nightmare]

Nix stroked the demon horse's head, causing her flame aura to ignite. When he swung into the saddle a moment later, her aura changed to match his Emerald Fury Flames. Nightmare broke into a brisk trot, heading toward Morti and Fey without asking.

"Lich King?" Lilac whispered the words, her eyes unable to look away from the burning skeleton and his demon horse.

"Let her up." Nix moved close enough so that he could see his own flames reflected in her eyes. "Seven greater spells, how were they used? My information says it would take the help of seven dragons."

"W-We were supplied with the hearts of seven dragon wildlings, adolescents that weren't fully grown."

Nix had dug up the canisters while in Ravager form; there was no sign of any hearts. "How would I break the spell?"

"The hearts are buried at anchor points, remove them, and the spell will be broken." Lilac found the courage to stand up straight, although she held a hand in front of her face to shield herself from the intense heat coming from the rider and his horse.

Nix considered the witch's words for a moment. "If your information proves to be accurate, I will make arrangements for you to earn your freedom with another task."

"Freedom from this place?" Lilac's voice trembled slightly when she spoke.

The Skeleton Mage nodded. "I'm assuming the spell wasn't supposed to consume Agony, Misery, and Dawn?"

Lilac shook her head slightly. "It was supposed to be contained to Honor."

Nix cursed under his breath. Something didn't add up. He needed Semmi and Jun Li's input.

/Inferno: Nix: Could you come see me Bali?

/Inferno: Bali: Me? On my way, Commander!

Nix had moved away from the prisoner by the time the Ain'Dhassi ranger arrived. He discovered recently that Bali was actually quite astute when it came to analyzing enemy strategies. "I want your take on something since Semmi and Jun Li are indisposed."

The already smiling ranger smiled even wider until it looked like her face might crack open. "Of course! What do you need?"

Nix spent a few minutes explaining everything he knew about the trap and what Lilac had told him. Afterward, he waited while she contemplated the puzzle. "My problem with this is simple. If the spells were supposed to be contained in Honor. How would that benefit the Ice Faction? Both sides would have been unable to enter without being affected."

Bali pursed her lips while her hand absentmindedly played with the string of her bow. "Unless someone is immune, it would result in a stalemate."

"Immune like a Ravager puppet?"

Bali nodded and then continued. "However, if the plan was to force a fight in Honor and then trigger the trap, most likely someone has a remote."

Nix's eyes turned toward the Keep. "Maybe someone at the Keep could have turned this off while both factions were sleeping away in Honor."

Bali knelt on the soft ground and started drawing. "Okay. I lay a trap in Honor and then line up my forces in Agony, Misery, and Dawn. When Inferno enters Honor and claims the Burrough by default, I rush in with all of my people."

"Effectively forcing the fight into Honor, but since we came from over the sea and used bombs to thin them out, that was a complete failure." Nix stared at the drawing in the dirt; it was actually a fairly good image of the Burrough. "The remote holder must have been alerted when the fighting started. And since it didn't trigger, they activated it remotely."

"Do you know who it is?" Bali stood up and dusted her hands off.

"No, but I bet I can find out." Nix continued the line of thought. "Lilac was holding back with her squad; she admitted that her people were to remain in the Dawn Burrough."

Bali nodded. "So... The Honor Burrough is filled with a few hundred sleeping Undead along with a thousand or so of the Ice Faction. Once the trap is triggered, they shut it down remotely, and then the reserves from Dawn rush in and kill the sleeping enemy."

"It's a bit thin," Nix admitted. "Why didn't they shut off the trap?"

Bali erased her drawing with a small booted foot. "The spell backfired, my guess is either the remote is useless, or something unforeseen happened to it."

/Inferno: Nix: Have those sleeping Ice Faction members placed in our prison. Ensure they are separated and put Lilac under guard until we figure out if her intel was good.

/Inferno: Ronnie: What's the plan?

/Inferno: Nix: Dig up the dragon hearts.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Are they hidden in the traps?

/Inferno: Nix: Yes. Bring some shovels to Honor. Time to put this trap to bed.

"Why didn't the spells work, Commander?"

Nix turned Nightmare towards the Honor Burrough. "They used wildling hearts as a catalyst for the Greater Spells. I'm only guessing, but the wilding hearts might have been too weak. A dragon's soul is in the heart, and the council of dragons strengthens that soul. They are called Greater Spells for a reason."

/Inferno: Alfie: Let's keep our exposure low. I'll send some troops to dig out the hearts and Ronnie will cover them with a squad of archers.

/Inferno: Nix: Going to take Fey and Morti. We should loot the battlefield. I want those Tidal rings that the Burrough Commanders carry with them.

/Inferno: Bali: Shouldn't you wait until we shut down the trap?

/Inferno: Nix: No need. The three of us are immune now.