504 Undercover part one (1/2)

/Alpha: Semmi: She doesn't know anything, Boss. Be vague; less is more.

”I'm Nicholas. We were told at the last moment that our enemy was vulnerable to air attack and that we were to end this once and for all.”

Cyra swore softly under her breath. ”That was obviously misinformation. Was it really a dragon?”

Nix shook his head slightly. ”Two bone drakes, we were able to put one down.”

[Whisper: Jun Li to Nix] I don't know the specifics yet, but the officer we were holding prisoner managed to get out of her cell and kill all the prisoners. It's a bloodbath down here.

[Whisper: Nix to Jun Li] Did she escape?

[Whisper: Jun Li to Nix] No, her body is covered with dozens of minor cuts, but no one had any weapons. Best guess is some sort of ritual was involved. News from the front is good. We lost eleven melee skellies compared to 345 of theirs. No other casualties.

Jun Li stared at the puddles of blood, glad for once that she didn't have a nose. The underground prison walls were splashed with red like someone had taken buckets of paint to them. ”What a mess. Thanks for the lift.”

Fey held the hem of her white robes with a bony hand; the sight of copious amounts of blood didn't bother her in the slightest. ”The marks on the other prisoners suggest she transformed into something with sharp claws.”

/Inferno: Sharl: Their frontal attack retreated a few minutes ago; everything is quiet.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Scout team head out; we'll maintain skeleton crews at the border.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Skeleton crews... Funny stuff.

Jun Li knelt beside the dead prisoner and turned her over. ”We'll examine each of these prisoners for clues and then clean up.”

Fey eyed the corpse; one slash had opened it up from neck to navel. ”Do I have time to change? I don't want to get my robes dirty.”

[Whisper: Jun Li to Nix] Going to stay out for a while?

[Whisper: Nix to Jun Li] Maybe... Let you know it a bit.

”How did your group get here?” Cyra leaned her bow against the bunk and removed one of the daggers from her belt so that she could sit comfortably.

”Tidal artifact, I'm guessing. Unfortunately, I wasn't privy to that information.” Nix motioned for his team to relax as he took a seat on the same bunk as the older woman. ”How did you open the border?”

Cyra shook her head slightly. ”I assumed it was done from the Fortress, or perhaps even the Undead. Fucking bone bastards.”

Nix didn't comment; the woman didn't seem angry despite her words.

”We didn't see much of the battlefield. My team was able to deal with one of the drakes. By the time we finished, the other one was chasing us.”

”You killed one of them?” Cyra studied each of the team members for a moment. ”Two mages, two thieves, and a spellsword? What did you hit it with?”

/Alpha: Semmi: Careful, she's using some sort of identifier skill.

Nix held out his sword hilt and pushed Black Ice into it. The dark blade emerged smoothly, causing the temperature around it to drop suddenly.

Cyra smiled when she saw the blade. ”Black Ice? That's pretty rare. I'm surprised you were allowed to come here.”

Nix returned her smile and let the blade retreat. ”Strictly speaking... I may have snuck into the group.”

”We're glad you did. Reports are coming in slowly; today wasn't a good day for us.” Cyra glanced at the rest of the group. ”Anything to add?”

/Alpha: Semmi: We should give her something, but nothing important.

”I'm Windal; just call me Wind. Something crossed the border and hid in the trees when we were fighting. By the time we were finished with the drake, it completely vanished.” Wind surprised everyone by speaking up; the Gemini thief shrugged slightly. ”It looked like a fiend, only much larger.”

/Alpha: Pon: Are you talking about Bigfoot? Who allowed you to speak?

/Alpha: Wind: I have a plan.

/Alpha: Nix: Good enough for me.

”Settle in and get some rest. You may be going back out soon.” Cyra gathered her things and walked toward the exit. She paused at the door and glanced back at Nix. ”No more trouble with Pelos; we need every person we can get.”

Nix grinned suddenly. ”No promises, but I won't do anything permanent.”

”Good enough.” Cyra chuckled at his words before exiting the tent.

/Alpha: Semmi: Has Jun Li contacted you?

/Alpha: Nix: Yep. The officer we had in custody escaped and wiped out the rest of the prisoners. She's investigating the 'how' part.

/Alpha: Semmi: If we could get our hands on an active roster and possibly troop movements, that would be really good.

/Alpha: Fajii: This Burrough is as surprised as we are that the border fell tonight. I'd like to ask around.

/Alpha: Semmi: I'll go with you. Nix, that Commander...

Nix nodded without saying anything. It would take a small raid to deal with him.

/Alpha: Pon: Cyra too, there are some strong people here.

/Alpha: Nix: What's your plan, Wind?

/Alpha: Wind: My ring companion, Atilla, can summon Fiends.

/Alpha: Nix: Are they strong?