499 Saboteur (1/2)

[Whisper: Pon to Nix] It's nice that the brains of the outfit has finally arrived.

Nix chuckled but didn't protest the sentiment; Semmi and Jun Li were great at long-term tactics while he excelled in sneaky one-time maneuvers.

”Nix?” Skeleton Raine took a seat on the same boulder that he was sitting on. ”Are you used to this already?” The Fir'Dhassi held a bony hand in front of him and wiggled the fingers.

The Inferno Leader nodded. Even without the guild tags over everyone's head, he had no issues telling Ronnie from Sharl or Nezbit. Individual personalities seemed to shine through, even when smiles, frowns, and other expressions were impossible. His yellow eyes glanced toward Ronnie and Sharl, thankful that his own face was unreadable. After their recent escapade together, he had figured out the sister's math. Separately they were both attractive and personable, but the closer their proximity to each other, the more difficult things became for him.

”Do you like me, Nix?” Raine's warm voice could have melted butter.

Nix nodded and answered truthfully. ”What's not to like?” She was smart and very easy to be around. Besides that, she had killed and roasted that fucking goat; the bastard had tasted so good.

Raine stared at him for a moment, her glance following his until Sharl and Ronnie came into view. ”Same here. Once we get our bodies back, I'm going to handle things differently.”

Nix nodded again like he understood what she meant, but of course, he didn't.

Over the next hour, the small group talked quietly among themselves while the guild tacticians drew up their initial plans. When they were finally done, Semmi stepped forward and sent everyone a short brief on their first few objectives.

/Inferno: Semmi: Let's ignore the precincts and talk about the individual Burroughs. There are sixteen of them that we've labeled 1-16. We must take all sixteen Burroughs before we can touch the Bone Fortress. In each of these Burroughs, there is a graveyard that we must claim. Thanks to the hard work of those who were already here, we currently hold the Sandcrab Graveyard in the Xander Burrough.

/Inferno: Jun Li: We should be able to move forward on our first three missions within 30 days. However, time isn't really important here. We will only move when we are prepared for the next step.

[Objective 1]

Continue to fortify and build. The Sandcrab Graveyard means that we should be able to take all of the Xander Burrough. We'll stay here for a few days and then take out the rest of the Burrough.

[Objective 2]

[Objective 3]

Bear Creek Precinct Graveyard in the Fury Burrough.

Dark Wood Precinct Graveyard in the Peril Burrough.

/Inferno: Semmi: There's one thing to keep in mind as we move forward. Currently, the Undead Faction is controlling most of the sections within the Sandcrab Precinct. Because our largest territory is a Precinct, only bordering precincts within the same Burrough may attack us. Once we claim the entire Burrough, all bordering Burroughs may attack, regardless of which precinct they come from.

/Inferno: Nix: Here are our current numbers.

[Bone Fortress, 1100 hours. Ice Faction: 12,545, Undead: 23]

Nix would have been wearing a wide smile had his lips been present. The only thing they were missing was some clerics. The odds were good that Tess, Pinky, and Gypsy Rose would be revived before Inferno stormed into the Keep. He stepped onto the small platform and stood behind the pulpit. As soon as he touched it, a hud activated in front of him.

[Sandcrab Precinct Graveyard: Undead Faction]

Current Gravestones: 200

Current Fighters ready for recall: 194

Do you wish to activate Recall?

Nix glance to one side where Alfie and Edi were watching. ”Yes. Activate Recall.”

A screeching sound like fingernails running down a chalkboard reverberated in Nix's skull. He covered his ear holes against the unpleasant sound and watched as a skeleton hand punched upward through the unspoiled turf of the cemetery.

/Inferno: Chiba: Shit... This is making me excited.

Dozens of skeletons clawed their way out of their graves, Inferno stood silently while their numbers increased gradually. Within a minute the skeletons were all standing in front of their freshly dug up graves.

Alfie moved to the front of the stage. ”Undead Faction, FORM UP!”

Skeletons from all basic classes double-timed toward their leaders and formed up into three ranks. From front to back they were Melee, Mages \u0026 Clerics, and Archers.

/Inferno: Semmi: It should be noted, that Undead who fall in battle will respawn here after one day. According to Mortimus, that probably only includes the native Undead.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Heroes will most likely respawn in Everspire and have to wait.

[Whisper: Nix to Semmi] What's that mean for NPCs like Fajii or Shae?

[Whisper: Semmi to Nix] Not sure.

/Inferno: Nix: Try not to die... Mostly I'm talking to you, Pon.

/Inferno: Pon: The hell does that mean? I'll be the last one standing!

Over the next three days, Xander Burrough was gradually turned into an active HQ for the Undead Faction. The prisoners were kept out of sight in the cavern prison. The scout team of Sasi, Rabi, Alfie, Del, and Rhy turned up no further enemy within their borders. All Inferno members had been briefed regarding the Ring of Tides and its ability to create rule-bending artifacts.

With the help of Shae and Fajii, Nix created a large kiln that was capable of making large ceramic molds for golem making. Raine stopped by and helped with features, although Nix felt they were unnecessary, he liked some of the faces that the Fir'Dhassi was able to create.

”I didn't know you did some sculpting.” Nix watched from his crafting queue as Raine carefully carved out a new head. She seemed especially gifted at making the scarier looking ones. Because of his Everspire experience in crafting, he was starting to pull away from Pon who hadn't bothered with crafting before. His golem making had improved to 149 while the old mage was still in double digits.

”I have many hidden talents.” Raine used the edge of a sharp rock to carve out the cheekbones for the facial mask. Once put into the brown flamed kiln, it would become as hard as armor. ”We could use this kiln to make real armor if we had an alchemist to treat the ceramic.”

”Thanks for the help.” Nix stared at her for a long moment. ”What's wrong with your rib?”

Raine glanced down at her left side, the tip of one rib had been neatly cut off. ”I was stabbed once while undertaking my training. It's a bit odd that I can see it now.”