Chapter 544: Crafting Day (1/2)

Fey smiled widely when the third group appeared in the frozen fields of the Honor Burrough. Since the Burrough was now part of their claimed territory, new arrivals to the Bone Fortress no longer had to make a trek across enemy ground. Even though she had never seen him in skelly form, the silver-haired mage waved wildly. ”MUNCIE!”

Floyd was standing with Sharl and Jun Li as they welcomed the newcomers. The Naga King was in his skelly form and had been sent specifically by Nix to fetch Muncie.

/Inferno: Floyd: Muncie made it in Nix. I'll bring him over.

/Inferno: Nix: Thanks, we're in the testing area.

Pon and Nix studied the latest test result in a small clearing far removed from the front line. A small impact crater less than a meter across.

Pon muttered a string of curse words. ”That looks the same as the ballistic round.”

Nix squatted in the mini-crater, his hands running down the smooth sides. ”It's burning on impact instead of blowing up.”

Over the last day, the two of them were working on rounds for the two golems Nix was constructing. Each could hold a total of 12 rounds. After some experimenting, they made a ballistic round that they could use when Inferno reached the Keep's walls. Their second type of round was less than successful.

”Maybe I need to raised my skill level.” Pon kicked up a cloud of dirt before lending Nix a hand out of the hole.

”No worries, we'll get it.” Nix considered the issue while walking back to the Golem. The ballistic round would be wasted on the standard battlefield. Unless the enemy were tightly grouped, the chances of taking out more than a handful were minimal. The two of them were trying to create a HEP (High Explosive) round, one that would detonate on impact and create serious chaos.

”Maybe the projectiles don't have enough ordinance.” Pon picked up a hollowed projectile from the pile they had crafted. It was shaped much like the standard rifle bullet but on a much larger scale. The explosive material was placed in the tip and then the projectile was attached to the charged shell casing. The casing itself also contained a charge, but its purpose was sending the projectile down the barrels they crafted.

”Woah... the fuck are those?” A voice from behind them caused both Fire mages to turn at once. Floyd waved at the pair.

/Alpha: Nix: You've corrupted that kid.

/Alpha: Pon: Me? It was you!

Nix smiled when he noticed that Fey had tagged along. ”Come with us.”

Pon and Nix headed to the southern path that exited the clearing. The two of them had set up a crafting area near the cave where they first found Alfie and Edie.

”Hey, this is where Alfie and his sister made their stand?” Floyd loved to hear stories, his memories were full of ancient Naga battles, but he found it difficult to relate with his inexperience.

”Yeah. Until the old man and I arrived, they held this piece of land by themselves. Then we modded it to use as a prison, now we've made it even bigger.” Nix entered the cave and then descended a short stairway that hadn't been there in the past. The truth was that he and Pon spent hours making it even bigger. A table, along with a few cots, made it as comfortable as any tent.

”I have the package,” Muncie spoke for the first time, only he and Floyd were in skelly form. From his inventory, he produced a small black box. ”Better step back.”

Nix shared a glance with Pon before backing away. ”Sinfaya made that box?”

Muncie nodded and joined them. ”It's keyed to your voice. Speak the name of Sinfaya's son.”

Nix eyed the small black box for a moment; he was expecting something grander. This was their attempt to get around the 'one item' rule. ”Cathor.”

An instant later, fifty feet of dragon puppet appeared in front of them. Everyone except Muncie took a giant step backward.

Muncie approached and lay a hand on the black scaled neck. ”The .25 miniaturization was a great idea, Nix. My control feels natural now, like I'm an actual dragon.”

/Alpha: Pon: I haven't seen it in a long time. This has basic wildling capabilities?

/Alpha: Nix: Yeah. Bite, flame, and fear, I think. Although Deidra says it might have a few hidden abilities that haven't been uncovered yet.

/Alpha: Pon: Why bring it here? We should have plenty of AirPower.

/Alpha: Nix: You haven't left the Bone Fortress, so you don't realize the type of changes you're going through. Every level of hardening is a major upgrade.

/Alpha: Pon: You want to toughen it up?

/Alpha: Nix: Yes, and the drakes also.

”Nix!” Fey's voice came from the other side of the dragon puppet. ”You should see this.”

”What is it? Don't even say it's damaged.” Nix hurried around the puppet only to stop abruptly when he saw them. ”Was this Shae's idea?”