Chapter 139 Hero Bird (1/2)

[Return of Isla Fra'sa to the Ain'Dhassi]

Summary: During the Mere Stone Conflict, the territory of Isla Fra'sa was conquered by the Su' Dhassi and the Fir' Dhassi forces. The Fir' Dhassi has maintained possession of the Island long after peace was declared. The Mere Stone Mine that lay at the heart of the conflict is no longer producing any Mere Stone.

[Approving Opinion: Serai Del Tali]

[Dissenting Opinion: Tura Raine Xai]

/Guild Officer: Nix: These two butt heads fairly often on dockets. The Ain'Dhassi and the Fur' Dhassi have never gotten along. The Su' Dhassi will on occasion form temporary alliances if it suits them.

Nix selected the Approving Opinion.

[Serai Del Tali]

The territories of our three races have long been established. Never before has the conquest for land be allowed in Oasis. The mine on this island no longer is active and the land is used as a staging area for raids. This unbalances the power between the races.

/Guild Officer: Nansu: Wow... Is this what you guys do? I never thought Officer meetings might be interesting.

/Guild Officer: Pon: We all seen what Tura Raine is capable of, perhaps it would be wise not to piss her off too much right away.

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Sounds like the Mere Stone war was actually beneficial to her. The Fir' Dhassi gained some land and thousands of captives. If checks and balances aren't applied, this world could very quickly fall under one races rule.

”Maybe so.” Nix clicked on the Dissenting Opinion and the image of Tura Raine filled his hud.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Let's see what Tura Raine has to say.

[Tura Raine Xai]

There's been a long-standing agreement between the races that precious resources must be shared. Both the Fir' Dhassi and the Su' Dhassi approached the Ain'Dhassi with trade offers for reasonable quantities of Mere Stone. The Ain' Dhassi saw the Mere Stone as a way to expand their power and refused both races. The Fir' Dhassi expended vast resources in the Mere Stone war. The acquisition of the mine and Isla Fra'sa is our just compensation.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Small movements like this are often part of carefully laid out plans. If the Fir'Dhassi gains power to the point where they don't have to worry about the reactions from the other two races...

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Then they will rule Oasis.

/Guild Officer: Pon: Logical.

/Guild Officer: Wind: Bad for us if they manage it.

[Approve:76 Dissent:146]

Nix selected the vote icon.

[Cast 75 votes for Approve?]

”Yes.”

/Guild Officer: Nix: That's about it. You can stay for this last part if you like.

Nix walked back to the couch and lay down with his head on the pillow.

[Ice Sparrow]

The small bird appeared on the couch cushion and then quickly hopped onto Nix's elbow.

/Guild Officer: Ronnie: Pretty.

/Guild Officer: Nansu: Woah... That's really nice.

/Guild Officer: Semmi: I'll open the window and wait. The Ain'Dhassi camp is NW of where you scouted earlier.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Hopefully they won't shoot me.

Nix flew out the window and this time headed toward the orchards. He perched comfortably in a tree for sometime before moving to another tree.

/Guild Officer: Ronnie: What you seeing Nix?

/Guild Officer: Nix: Nothing yet, doing the bird thing in the orchard.

/Guild Officer: Nansu: What's the bird thing.

/Guild Officer: Nix: You know, flying from branch to branch and pecking things.

Nix hopped off the branch and took to the air, keeping low he passed through the barrier and headed North.

Within a few minutes, he passed over the ambush site, according to Semmi all the Dhassi races maintained a camp outside of Parliament. The Parliament was supposedly surrounded by a large neutral area where conflict isn't allowed. The assassination attempt of the Ain'Dhassi youths was a clear violation of that agreement.

Nix gained as much elevation as he dared, making sure to use the upper branches of the forest trees as cover. The sounds of blades clashing caused him to pull up and land quickly on a branch.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Fighting...

It only took a moment to zero in on the combatants. Two figures chased a third through the woods. Nix took to the air and closed in, it was a running battle that showed just how fast and agile the Dhassi are. From the sounds of their grunts and curses, all three were male. The pursuit managed to catch their prey twice but each time he fought them off.

/Guild Officer: Nix: All three fighters are masked, perhaps that's normal for Dhassi.

Finally, the fleeing warrior made a mistake and took a deep cut to his chest. He backed up to the river that Nix had flown over a few days earlier.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Jump in idiot...

The assailants spread out, backing him up to the river. The more aggressive one leaped out and slashed at the wounded Dhassi. ”We'll see if Raine keeps leadership without your backing old fool.”

The wounded man leaped backward into the water, submerging himself while his enemies cursed loudly and pursued. Nix left the branch and climbed quickly.

/Guild Officer: Nix: Hopefully I have some clout with the Ain'Dhassi camp.

It only took Nix a few minutes to find the camp, he had been forced to go above the trees for a few moments to spot it. Once he knew the direction he flew straight for the camp. The Ain'Dhassi camp was set up where the river curved, forcing the current to slow quite a bit. There were dozens of white tents.