"This is very nice." Hyai sat across the small table from him while the two of them enjoyed dinner by candlelight in his room. Apparently they didn''t do things like this in Colonial.


    Nix smiled and took a long drink of his beer. "This reminds me of my childhood."


    "Oh? Did you enjoy candlelight dinner when you were a boy?"


    Nix nodded, the smile on his face growing. "There used to be these terrible storms in Camden during the summer. The lightening would cause us to lose power and my mother would break out the candles. Of course, without power, we''d eat sandwiches or cold leftovers."


    Hyai knew all about his two sisters and parents. He would often talk about them when they were alone. "The older sister. Beverly was it?"


    "Good memory. We called her Bev or Bevvy. Unless she was in trouble, then she was Beverly."


    Hyaiughed softly. "Couldn''t Bev visit you here?"


    Nix stared at his te, using a piece of bread to sop up thest of the gravy. "I suppose she could."


    *****************


    A gentle shake caused Nix to wake up. Hyai was sitting on the bed next to him, already fully dressed. "You asked me to wake you, hun. Morning meeting right?"


    Nix yawned and sat up in bed. "Yep..." He tilted precariously, his eyes still not opening.


    Hyai leaned closer and kissed him before standing up. "You''re going back to bed aren''t you?"


    "Hmm... maybe." Nix teetered there for a moment before finally opening his eyes as the door closed behind her. "I''m up... I''m up."


    /Inferno: Semmi: It''s a full house Nix, report to Guild Hall when you get up.


    /Inferno: Nix: How many showed up?


    Nix started getting dressed, smiling when he saw that Hyai had left him breakfast.


    /Inferno: Semmi: 36, every single person I spoke to is here.


    /Inferno: Nix: That''s more than you said yesterday.


    /Inferno: Semmi: I approached the Upper Tier guilds that are still here but were qualified to leave.


    /Inferno: Nix: Smart. Thanks, Sem.


    A half-hourter Nix stood in front of three dozen mid-tier guild leaders. "Semmi already told you our offer. In exchange for registering your Upper-Tier guild. You will pay the cost of registration and sign over your votes."


    "That''s a bit harsh isn''t it?" A woman dressed all in ck spoke. She had recently been appointed Guild Leader of the mid-tier Smander Guild since their previous leader had been executed.


    Nix tried not to scowl, Necromancers put him on edge. "If you think so then leave. This is only a proposal, although I won''t negotiate, no one is forcing you."


    A man sitting toward the back of the room stood up. "How would this work Nix?"


    "I will have a 2-part contract set-up. The Guild Leaders in Oasis will receive a notification asking them to give their votes up in exchange for registration. If they agree, they will receive a second notification asking if they agree to have a Guild registered in their name. If they pay the fee, this will conclude the contract."


    A red-haired cleric who was the first to arrive raised her hand politely, she was the Guild Leader of an Upper-Tier Guild called The Red Hand. "What about the guilds who haven''t left yet?"


    "Same as the others. The only difference is that we''ll take care of it right when you cross the Escdes." Nix smiled pleasantly like he was giving them a good deal. "You''ll arrive without having your Guildmunications disrupted. You''ll be able to build a Guildhall and take on Guild raids."


    /Inferno: Semmi: Even when their guilds are registered, they still won''t be able to ess Parliament. Unless the Fir''Dhassi opens up the travelnes for humans.


    /Inferno: Nix: Should we ask for their Guild office too?


    /Inferno: Jun Li: That''s a bit much probably.


    /Inferno: Semmi: I agree.


    Semmi moved to the front of the room and stood next to Nix. "You''ve heard our proposal. This offer expires in a week, so contact the higher-ups within your organizations. We will register all the guilds at the same time."


    Nix didn''t say a word as they slowly filtered out.


    /Inferno: Nix: How many votes are those guilds worth?


    /Inferno: Semmi: Two each. We would have two also, but we received a bonus for being first.


    /Inferno: Jun Li: The Upper-Tier guilds aren''t big like the mid-tiers. They streamline, focusing on quality rather than quantity.


    /Inferno: Semmi: If they all agree, we''ll end up with 75 votes, counting the three we already have.


    ******************


    Mai Lee picked up her cereal bowl and walked into the living room. The small Asian woman was dressed in a white tank top with matching underwear and since she lived by herself was unconcerned about offending anyone. She sat back on her couch and put her small feet on the coffee table. "That bastard Nix has us by the balls!"


    Her wristband hud vibrated and she answered it without thinking. A woman dressed in ck stared at her through the hud. Mai waved a spoon at her best friend. "Hey, Yams."


    The Necromancer smiled unexpectedly, "I should stream this moment to the entire Upper Tier."


    "Do it." Mai wasn''t worried, Yamica had been her college roommate and they were like sisters. "We''ll take the offer."


    Yamica stared at her friend. Not many people knew that Gideon, the manly Guild Leader of Upper-Tier Smander, was actually a petite Asian female named Mai Lee. "Is that smart?"


    "We are stuck Yams. We can''t enter any Guild instances, our only method ofmunicating is shouting and we can''t build a Guildhall. I don''t give a rat''s ass about some useless f*cking vote."


    Yamica sighed loudly. "It''s only been a few weeks, isn''t this hasty?"


    Mai nodded. "Of course it''s hasty. We were in such a rush to be first that we leaped without looking. Know what you call a tree without roots? Firewood. That''s what Upper-Tier Smander is right now, f*cking firewood."


    "Fine. You go back into Stasis soon?" Yamica logged off every night, but Mai just finished a 1-year Stasis a few weeks earlier.


    "Yep. I dyed a few weeks to meet with the Board and attend my brother''s wedding. I like the 12-month stay best."


    "You sure about this deal, Mai?"


    Mai finished the rest of her cereal and then sat the bowl down. "Mid-Tier Smander f*cked up by letting Jun Li and Semmi leave. We should have left Shae alone. Make the deal. Make sure they know that we are dropping the grudge. Clear?"


    Yamica nodded. "I will set it up."


    *************


    [Inferno Officer: Semmi: Oasis and Bonus Brief]


    All individuals from Inferno received 2 important rewards from being the first Guild to register in the New World. As you know, the New World isn''t our focus at the moment but we still have to be aware.


    [Item 1: Homestead Token]


    This is an individual home or house. ording to my research, it has at least a half dozen varieties. Everything from vegetable farms to livestock ranches. You can activate this on any freends or personal World Seeds. This includes World Seeds owned by Inferno.


    [Item 2: Pioneer Award]


    This award is an apaniment to the Homestead Token but will be applied to anynds you may own. The information is sketchy on this. Look at it as a "blessing" on your Lands. Better crops, livestock, etc.


    [Oasis World Seed]


    I included this on the briefing because it is very important. The World Seed that we currently reside in is actually Nix''s personal one. The Oasis World Seed is vastlyrger and offers many interesting opportunities. Every variety of topography can be found inside. Rivers, Lakes, Mountains, deserts, even minor weather fluctuations. This is probably the best ce to use your Homestead Token, but the option is yours alone so make your own decision.


    [Oasis Geography]


    Like Colonial, Oasis has seven Continents. The Inuit Continent is where Parliament is located. This is also the homnd of the Fir''Dhassi or Forest Dhassi. There are four smaller continents called Maitha, Shogu, Bazra, and Phai. This is where you will find the tribalnds of the Su''Dhassi or the Desert Dhassi. There are two pr continents in the far North and South Regions, Samoi and Esha. The Icecaps are the territory of the Ain''Dhassi or Ice Dhassi. Dhassi and Dhass are interchangeable, the second is a bit less formal.


    [Parliamentary Government]


    Individual Countries govern themselves, however, World governing is shared between the races and the guilds of Oasis, with each getting a certain amount of votes. As many of you know, we have 3 votes. ording to my research, the Fir''Dhassi have 90, the Ain''Dhassi have 63 and the Su''Dhassi has 69. This is the total of each race, for example, although the Fir''Dhassi has 90 votes, they often find themselves at odds with each other. The Xai n owns 32 of those votes, the next highest Fir''Dhassi n has 18; they don''t always cooperate when ites to World governing.


    /Inferno: Nix: Thanks for the info, Sem. We are bringing a 20 person raid team for Mermaid City 5.4, also known as the Prison Raid. The following people, please report to the docks at once.


    Healers: Nezbit, Pinky, Tess, Gypsy, Wylie.


    DPS: Mt, Zhava, Pon, Wind, Chael, Ronnie, Semmi, Mina, Darsi.


    CC: Nix: S, Fajii.


    Tanks: Sharl, Jun Li, Banzi


    /Inferno: Nix: If your name is not on the list, enjoy your day off.