Nix stepped into hismand tent, his eyes ncing at the ck Orion curled up on his bedroll. "Rule number one, if you''re tagging along, keep off my bed."


    Del moved to a nearby cushion and sat with her back toward him.


    /Alpha: Chiba: Is that the Ain''Dhassi you saved in Ever me?


    /Alpha: Nix: Yep.


    /Alpha: Wind: You said Sinfaya''s people are leading the rebellion? What was his name?


    /Alpha: Nix: Cathor. We''ll find him as soon as I get a report from Darsi.


    Raine Xai has joined Inferno.


    Pon''s old face split into a wide grin when he read the message. "Looks like Fajii had that talk with Tura Raine."


    "Shut up, bastard." Nix essed his inventory and pulled out the Eidelgal armor. It was tinted green and had base stats superior to his Nether King Armor, but he hadn''t bothered to mod it since he wasn''t nning on using it.


    "New armor boss?" Wind smiled slyly, "or is that a betrothal gift from the Xai n?"


    "Very funny. My armor melted off... Damn it that still pisses me off." Nix sat on one of the cushions and applied a sound dampening, Camo-ovey onto his new armor. "Guess I should be happy I didn''t lose my weapons too."


    The ck Orion slinked closer and sat next to him. Her crystal blue eyes watched while he worked. "Why would the Xai n give you a betrothal gift?"


    Nix shrugged slightly and kept working. "Just a misunderstanding."


    "Did you lose your puppet forms too?" Wind shook his head. "That basilisk form was bad-ass."


    Pon nodded his head in agreement. "It was f*cking awesome. I loved seeing ass-hats turned into statues."


    Nix let the scowl on his face slip into a grin. "Well... good thing I wasn''t wearing these bad boys during the blood fusion!"


    Ashobel wz [Faction Based]


    Must be an ally of the Ashobel.


    Description: A soft brown leather


    glove that is bothfortable and


    durable.


    Activation: Upon activation the user''s


    primary path temporarily bes melee


    and the gloves be the hands of an Ashobel


    warrior.


    [Enhancement: Miniature Animation .25] Desert Basilisk


    "I lost my Sea King [Turtle] and Orion [Feline] enhancements that I ced on my old armor, but that''s it." Nix finished his work and then equipped the new armor. The beauty of the Nether King set was that it could resemble normal clothes, and had the Nether Walker ability. "I should talk to Leva; maybe she can find me the Nether Walker enhancement."


    [Direct Contact: Darsi]


    A holo image of Darsi lying prone on some rocks appeared in the middle of their tent. She held her sniper rifle in one hand while looking through the scope. She didn''t bother to look up when she epted the call. "Thought you forgot about me, Trip-7."


    "How is that possible? I have a new team in ce and am ready to proceed." Nix could tell from the scenery around her that she was on the edge of a cliff.


    "Directly northeast of your position is a series of ravines that could offer coverage for arge force. I observed them traveling that way a few nights ago." Darsi mumbled something under her breath and turned slightly to look at Nix''s holo. "Aledo is there, and so is someone called Raya, both of them are guarded by a force I don''t recognize."


    Wind''s head turned toward the entrance as the gecko he''d been ying with disappeared. "Someone''s here, boss."


    A momentter, the tent p was pulled to one side, and Cathor stepped through.


    /Alpha: Pon: This is Sinfaya''s champion, right? Her dragon spawn?


    /Alpha: Nix: Yes. I''m not sure what his strength is like, but probably not as strong as Commander Mtui.


    /Alpha: Wind: He a caster? Do we need to protect him?


    /Alpha: Nix: No, he and his forces will have to protect themselves.


    Del has joined Alpha.


    /Alpha: Del: Thanks.


    Nix stood and shook Cathor''s hand when he offered it. "We''re going to assist you by cutting off the head of the snake; however, you''ll be responsible for clean-up."


    Cathor nodded. "We received reinforcements from the forces you brought earlier."


    /Alpha: Pon: He means Breach Commander Mtui?


    /Alpha: Nix: Yeah. Cathor is incognito, Sinfaya''s forces will remain here in Btora after we leave.


    /Alpha: Chiba: He''s handsome. Ask if he wants toe to the Harvest Festival with me.


    /Alpha: Nix: He''s not your type.


    /Alpha: Chiba: I see. Thank you for taking care of me, Apprentice.


    Cathor nced at the holo. "Is this your scout?"


    "Yes, she''s pinpointed the location of our target. We''ll go in and deal with the heavies when that''s done; I''ll breach your people in." Nix closedm and motioned for his group to get moving. "Five minutes, we''ll head out."


    A half-hourter, four stealthed Daiken circled over Darsi''s position. It was obvious from the air that she was using her monocr to track them.


    Darsi has joined Alpha.


    /Alpha: Nix: Any change?


    /Alpha: Darsi: Nothing important. Aledo is bunkered down in a small cave with only one entrance.


    /Alpha: Pon: Lame and stupid. Let''s leave the idiot forst.


    /Alpha: Darsi: Raya is across thepound in hermand tent. As I said, I don''t recognize the elites protecting her.


    /Alpha: Nix: Figured out a starting point for us?


    /Alpha: Darsi: Yep. There''s a small peak slightly east of the camp, the backside of it butts up against a river. You should be able tond easily and sneak into camp.


    /Alpha: Chiba: Why not justnd on top of them? Everyone here in is an Archon, let''s put the mounts away and speed things along.


    /Alpha: Nix: Let''snd where Darsi rmended. Then we''ll go in hard.


    /Alpha: Chiba: Me and three hard men... It''s like a party.


    /Alpha: Nix: On me then.


    Nix''s Shadow Daiken dipped one wing and banked into a dive; itsted only a few moments before leveling off andnding lightly. Without pausing, he activated his Archon ability and sprinted toward the edge of their tiny peak.


    /Alpha: Pon: When did you be so fast!


    The Archon trio chased after him, Nix stooped in the air, hovering for a moment to give hispanions a chance to catch up; then, all four of them dived at themand tent.


    /Alpha: Darsi: I provide cover. There are three inside the tent, including our main target, three more elites outside.


    /Alpha: Chiba: I''ll get the door!


    /Alpha: Nix: You hold the three outside, old man.


    /Alpha: Pon: Cake.


    The swordmaster''s silver wing''s extended slightly as she banked and sliced opened the top of the tent with the tip of one wing.


    Nix shed through the top of the tent and dropped his winged form while casting [ck Ice: Sculpture]


    Raya has been locked in ck Ice.


    [Aura Ignition: Emerald Fury]


    A bright green light shed in the tent, illuminating two charging figures.


    Chiba''s silver sword shed out in warning, causing the nearest to skid to a sudden stop. They crossed des a dozen times in a few seconds, the old woman casually circling until she put herself in front of Nix.


    /Alpha: Chiba: Careful, one expert for sure.


    Wind alreadymitted to attacking the second target; before he could react, the man targetted him. An instantter, a thunderous boom filled the tent. The Gemini thief took the shot at point-nk range, his body blown into the air and out of sight.


    Pena has used [Scattergun]


    Pena hasnded a Significant Strike on Wind.


    Nix extended one hand; an instantter, a dozen emerald fire strands darted outward and wrapped around the gunman.


    Wind has cast [Spatial Shift][Backstab]


    The Gemini thief reappeared inside the tent, directly behind his target.


    Combination sessful.


    Wind hasnded a critical attack on Pena.


    Nix pulled back on his me strands and mmed Pena onto the ground, once... twice... and then a third time.


    Wind moved toward the fallen shooter.


    Wind has attacked with [Killing Strike]


    Wind hasnded a significant strike on Pena.


    [Unbnced Chain: Execution]


    Nix has followed up Wind''s attack with a mortal strike.


    Pena has been in.


    Yiri has used [elerant].


    Yira has activated Evacuate.


    Chiba cursed when her target disappeared in front of her. "She''s gone, Nix, along with the Ice sculptor."


    Nix grimaced and charged outside. Three headless corpses surrounded a pissed-off looking Fire Mage.


    /Alpha: Nix: Lost our primary target, opening a breach to Darsi''s position.


    The group joined Darsi a momentter in her sniper nest, more than a mile away from the camp.


    /Alpha: Pon: Damn you, Darsi!


    Darsi smiled at the old man, the blonde sniper shrugged slightly and raised her hands. "Don''t be mad. You were a good assist!"


    Nix nced from one to the other before noticing that Chiba was holding one arm. "You get hit, Master?"


    The old woman nodded, her hand clenched around a deep cut on her forearm. "I put a de in her side, but she had enough skill to make me pay." Chiba held up an engraved dagger with her wounded arm. "She dropped this."


    "Bring it with us." Nix brought out his bandages and started dressing the wound. "I''ll summon Shadai to fully heal you, but I need the practice."


    Chiba nodded in understanding. "There was something familiar about her; I just can''t ce it."


    /Alpha: Wind: Why are you staring daggers at our sniper, old man?


    /Alpha: Pon: I cast Fire-Nado, and she stole all the kills.


    Darsi stood up and stretched before stowing her rifle away. "Sorry, Pon, headshots for-the-win. How can I make it up to you?" The ponytailed blond winked at the fire mage, causing his wrinkled face to scowl.


    "You could have left me one!" Pon turned his back on her, his old eyes scanning the distant camp. It was now alive with activity. "What happened inside the tent?"


    "We killed one; the other two used some sort an evacuation skill." Nix exhaled the breath he''d been holding. "Let''s figure out where they went, and postpone Aledo since he knows we are here."


    Nix opened a breach back to theirmand tent and motioned for everyone to step through. "Round two will be in a few hours, let''s figure out our next move."