Chapter 174 The Lost Shipyard part one (1/2)
/Alpha Team: Nix: Gonna say it, this is impressive.
Binam brought them to an iceblock building outside of the city walls and opened the door to a small contraption that closely resembled a small skiff. It was enclosed and had three rows of seats. Yellow tinted glass-enclosed the ceiling giving the passengers a 360-degree view of the landscape. There were two long metal blades mounted to the bottom that elevated the undercarriage just enough to keep it off the hardened ice. Their guide deployed a small sail causing the Ice Skiff to jerk slightly before slowly starting to move.
Within a few minutes, the crosswind was pushing the transport steadily toward their destination. Binam had pulled his hood back exposing short white hair and bright blue eyes. ”Not much to see at the moment. We are crossing the largest freshwater lake in all of Oasis, of course, its been frozen-over for centuries. At our current speed, it will take about 2 hours.”
Fajii seemed fascinated by the ice and snow, her brown hand was pressed flat against the windshield while her eyes stared. ”This must be two or three times faster than a horse can run.”
Binam looked back from the pilot seat. ”You guys going to be okay with the temperatures? It will get well below freezing in a few hours.”
”We're fine.” Nix had made under armor for Wind and Semmi with high cold resistance. Since the other three members of the Alpha Team were fire oriented, they could keep themselves warm.
After two hours on the Ice Skiff, the terrain started to change, they entered a small canyon that was several hundred feet straight up, the trail ahead of them narrowed until there was scarcely 20 meters between the walls. At this point, Binam took down the large sail in favor of a much smaller one causing their speed to drop by a half.
After another hour, the Ice Skiff stopped and dropped them off near the entrance to a large tunnel.
”This tunnel leads to Fury Pass, the other side of the pass is where you want to start your search.” Binam shook their hands and wished them well. Alpha Team helped him turned the Ice Skiff around by hand and then waited until he was one his way.
/Alpha Team: Pon: He was really friendly for a dhassi.
/Alpha Team: Nix: He should be, our vote on the ”captives” docket released him from years of slavery.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: So we travel on foot through Fury Pass, then be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.
Pon was in the lead while Nix was bringing up the rear. They entered the tunnel and walked single file.
[Aura Ignition]
Bright Silver Flames enveloped Nix, lighting up the path that was steadily getting harder to see.
/Alpha Team: Nix: Just so you guys are aware, Fury pass most likely means there are Ice Wolves there.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: Why?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Ice Wolves are also known as Furies.
/Alpha Team: Pon: They are?
/Alpha Team: Fajii: Should I buff us?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Couldn't hurt.
[Flaming Rock Wall: Advanced]
The strength of Rock and Fire now protects your group.
[Charred Rock Blade: Advanced]
A powerful Scorched Earth modifier has been added to your weapon damage.
/Alpha Team: Fajii: Who wants the Shield?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Better give it to the old bastard.
[Scorched Earth Shield: Advanced]
Pon is shielded by the might of Scorched Earth.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: Should have done this earlier, your buffs are so warm Fajii.
/Alpha Team: Wind: I agree.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: Have you faced Furies before Nix?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Yes, their bite does Ice Damage, but they should be really susceptible to Scorched Earth.
Nix turned his flame off when they exited the tunnel twenty minutes later. The path widened and they spread out a bit.
/Alpha Team: Nix: Hold.
[Dragon Eyes]
Nix's yellow eyes slowly turned to orange and the landscape of white faded in his vision.
/Alpha Team: Pon: The f*ck is that? A dragon spell?
/Alpha Team: Nix: Shit! RUN!
Without questioning Alpha Team broke into a sprint, moving down the pass as fast as they could run. A moment later, the eerie sound of a dozen howls filled the air.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: Both sides Nix!
Nix could see White Ice Furies moving on either side of them, trying to head them off.
[Flame Snare]
Nix has slowed an Ice Fury Wolf by 40 percent.
[Flame Snare]
Nix has slowed an Ice Fury Wolf by 40 percent.
The two wolves closing on them slowed down drastically. Semmi, who was leading the group took a hard left and entered a small crack in the closest wall. The crack was barely wide enough for one person to run through at a time.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: Through here, we'll be able to fight them without being surrounded.
/Alpha Team: Nix: I'll guard the entrance, find us an exit.
[Gemini Flame: Lance]
Nix gripped the spear in his hand and flung it toward the entrance.
Nix has landed a critical blow on an Ice Fury Wolf.
A howl of agony sounded as the ice creature tried to retreat. Unfortunately, the push of its packmates trying to get in carried it forward instead.
Nix spammed three straight Fire Lances before targeting the entrance.
[Tides of Flame]
Emerald flames washed over the Furies that had wedged themselves while forcing their way in. The howls echoed in the small cavern to a near-deafening level as handfuls of ice creatures were roasted alive.
/Alpha Semmi: Nix! Stop Attacking!
Nix wrinkled his nose at the smell of burnt hair and roasted wolf meat. These furies were not as strong as the ones he had faced in Solomon City.
/Alpha Team: Nix: A bit late for that, they're all dead.
/Alpha Team: Pon: Well shit...
/Alpha Team: Wind: Better come see boss.
There was only one path that led deeper into the ice, after a minute of walking Nix found his team, he cursed loudly when he saw them.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: No way of knowing Nix. What could we do?
Nix cursed again and picked up one of the braver fury pups that pounced on his feet. The creature was as white as snow and was completed indiscernible from a rather large puppy.
/Alpha Team: Nix: It's a Den. No wonder they were willing to run through flames to get in here.
/Alpha Team: Semmi: I count six of them Nix.
Pon tried to pick one up, but the puppy squealed loudly and bit his hand with pin-sharp teeth.
/Alpha Team: Fajii: You're a Fire Mage Pon, even the pups can sense the danger.
/Alpha Team: Wind: How come they aren't afraid of Nix?
Three of them had decided to attack Nix's feet while he held their sibling.