Chapter 528: Into Peril (1/2)

[Bone Fortress, 2345 hours Ice Faction: 8,884 Undead: 412]

Jun Li has activated [Recall: Nix].

Morti sat on his haunches, watching the mound of dirt before them. In the two days since Nix left, they flushed out the rest of the opposition from the Peril Burrough mountainous area. Additionally, they claimed the graveyard and added nearly two hundred people to their forces. Instead of forging ahead, they paused to strengthen their position; once the prisoners from Peril were executed, it was likely they'd be attacked by both the Honor and Courage Burroughs.

The old fire mage gripped his staff, staring at the ground like everyone else in their small group. After two minutes, he glanced up at Semmi. ”He's coming, right?”

The blonde officer shrugged and looked at Jun Li. ”Did you get some kind of message?”

Jun Li nodded without looking up. ”It said that 'Nix has answered the call.' Could he have been sent somewhere else?”

Edi shook her head slightly; the Inferno Leader's death had come as a surprise to everyone. Neither Pon nor Morti could offer a solid explanation for his death. Immediately they grabbed a cleric to see if he could be resurrected, the entire camp breathed a sigh of relief when they learned he was on the standard 48 hour counter.

Ronnie stood next to Fajii, one hand resting casually on her shoulder. ”Don't worry; he's coming.”

As if on-demand, the mound of dirt shifted slightly. A moment later, a black nose pushed upward from the grave; two black paws thrust clawed through the dirt as the elongated head of a predator made its appearance.

/Inferno: Pon: The fuck is that thing?

It was black as night, with four dangerous-looking claws and teeth that were made for rending flesh. Its body was long and ended with a flesh-colored tail. A menacing growl filled the air as it spotted Morti and took a step toward him.

”Huh?” The Titan cub turned his head slightly, making his helm slide to one side. He reached up with a giant paw to straighten it out. He eyed the giant rat-like creature as it took a handful of steps toward him before collapsing lifelessly on the ground.

An instant later, the ground exploded upwards, showering the group in black dirt. Standing in the hole was a powerful looking skeleton, bathed in pale green flames. He studied the group with yellow eyes before bursting into laughter. ”Got you!”

Morti's rumbling laugh joined in immediately. ”That was scary, Nix.”

/Inferno: Pon: Lame... I wasn't scared.

/Inferno: Semmi: Stepped in front of me though, very heroic Pon.

Nix caught the [Thine Enemey] ring Jun Li tossed him and promptly put it on. Instantly the skelly vanished to be replaced with his human form. ”Missed you guys.”

/Inferno: Wind: Um... Boss?

/Inferno: Semmi: Naked Nix strikes again.

/Inferno: Ronni: Very impressive, that's how you show up.

Fajii approached with the armor that she had prepared, waiting until he equipped it before wrapping him up in a hug. ”Welcome back.”

/Inferno: Jun Li: We've been waiting for your arrival to have another meeting. Semmi has prepared a brief for you to look at.

/Inferno: Duran: Welcome back, Rat-King! What was that thing?

/Inferno: Nix: Cross between an Orion and a Nether Rat. Awesome right?

/Inferno: Morti: Scary.

Nix stepped away from the group to hug Morti's big head. ”Still able to use chat?”

Morti nodded. ”Yep. Figured it out. I have a guild tag now and everything.”

Nix scratched the cub's ears, smiling when Morti stuck a wet nose in his face. ”While I was in Haven, Tai'Qui explained about the Insurrection mutation that elementals could access.”

Pon finished dusting off the dirt that he'd been sprayed with as he remembered the form Nix used when fighting the Putrid beast. ”Was it part of the Salamander branch?”

Nix nodded. ”Apparently, its expiration ends in your death. Every spell you use hits you with backlash, and when the fight is done, it terminates the user.”

The old mage shrugged nonchalantly. ”Hit's like a damn freight train, though. We could barely scratch that thing before you started using it.” Pon favored his friend with a grin. ”I'd say it was worth it. Got you two days off. Bet you spent those getting drunk and eating Hyai's cooking.”

”Ya got me. That's what I did.”

*******************

Nix read the briefing while half-listening as Jun Li and Semmi started the meeting. Morti was sitting next to his father; they were nearly the same size while in bone bear form.

[Situation]

We are currently in control of the Peril Burrough. We've been carefully guarding our prisoners while fortifying our position. As long as they are alive, the Courage Burrough to our east cannot attack us. This is also the case with the Honor Burrough to our north, although the mountains will impede honor's ability to attack us by land.

After discussing it at length, we've decided that Bali's strategy is the most likely scenario. We believe that both Courage and Honor are currently empty, and the moment we step foot into Honor, we'll be facing a large force consisting of troops from Courage, Honor, Dawn, Misery, and Agony.

****Author's Note***

Going to recommend you reference the Bone Fortress Map in discord. There's a small error, where two Burroughs are named Honor. Only the snow Burrough should be Honor; the other would be the Courage Burrough.

*********************

[Objective]

We will take control of the Courage Burrough but will steer clear of the Honor Burrough. If both Burroughs are empty like we think, then we can use the Courage Burrough as a staging area without worrying about an attack from the three Burroughs bordering Honor. As long as we don't cross Honor's border, we can't accidentally claim it.

Nix finished his reading just as he felt the nudge of a soft muzzle against his arm. He stroked the Orion's sleek fur, causing it to purr like a house cat.