Nix considered the brief statement. "How do we get our friend back?"
"You can''t. No one else may use the Bone Throne until the person who transported leaves or dies." Ati''s dark eyes stared longingly at his throne. "Since it is currently inactive, the traveler must still be alive."
Two me strands shot out from Nix''s hand, each wrapping around a ck antler before Ati was yanked into the air. "If there is no way to get her back, then I will vent on you for a while."
"The Coven!" Ati''s voice raised to a high pitched scream until the strands released him to fall heavily onto the floor. "He has the key and may send reinforcements!"
Wind grinned when the Warlock pointed at him. "I do?" The Gemini Thief knelt on the floor and took out a ck chest. "Didn''t have time to look at the loot yet."
Key of Solomon: Unique [Inactive]
Description: Enables the holder to send reinforcements to battle the undead at the Bone Fortress.
Caution: [Undiscovered Result]
ck Cat Scroll: Familiar [Unbound]
Description: This ck cat can be difficult under the best of circumstances. The extent of her abilities is unknown.
ck Dagger: [Unknown Rating].
Description: Plunge this dagger directly into the heart of your enemy, and they will never return. You may only use this once.
Cloak of Shadows: [Witch yer Only]
Description: Instantly move between shadows; line of sight only.
Witch Token: Hidden ss [Unidentified]
Description: Set this token on any temple''s altar to add a random Witch ss to the Temple''s job list.
Semmi whistled softly while she linked everything to guild chat.
/Inferno: Jun Li: What kind of sses do Witches have?
/Inferno: Semmi: Never even heard of them.
Wind grinned while examining his loot. "It''s good! What does this mean? Undiscovered Result?"
Ati shook his head slightly. "I do not know; it never said that before. We use to send reinforcements regrly, but it has been nearly a year since the fire was lit."
"What fire shithead?" Nix scowled at Ati; his patience for vague answers was running thin.
"There is an eternal me in the center pentacle of the Coven. It turns ck when they want reinforcements, we can send up to thirteen at a time."
/Inferno: Nix: Suggestions?
/Inferno: Pon: Let''s light this idiot''s feet on fire. He knows more than he''s saying.
/Inferno: Semmi: We need to relocate to the Coven.
/Inferno: Jun Li: Sasi was sent recently, we should hurry.
/Inferno: Nix: Agreed. She is resourceful, but I''m worried. We''ll head to Mocai.
After talking it over with Deidra and Uta, it was decided that Inferno would head into the Coven along with a few of the elites from the House of Tempest. Sinfaya would study the Bone Throne while it remained under guard.
By the time they arrived at the Coven entrance a short whileter, Ronnie had found a brief description of the Bone Fortress and linked it into Guild Chat.
[Ronnie''s Library]
The Bone Fortress is thest vestige of Undead within Colonial. They have been tirelessly battling the Ice Witch for many decades. Although their origins are unknown, unlike the denizens of ice, the undead numbers are limited. Slowly but surely, the army of the Undead is being defeated by the forces of Ice. When thest undead soldier of the Bone Fortress is in, the Seed World will be part of the Ice Witch''s domain.
Wind shook his head in wonder as he took in all the changes that had urred within the Sanctum. The hallways'' maze had disappeared into a single square hallway that housed an enormous round chamber at the center. There were dorm-type bedrooms, arge kitchen, andmon area big enough for a small force to live quitefortably. Two spacious bath chambers finished it off.
/Inferno: Pon: The hell is this? You setting up some kind of Harem nest?
/Inferno: Wind: It looked nothing like this when I was here yesterday.
Nix approached the me at the center of the circr room. There were small pentacles drawn on floor near the outside wall, thirteen of them in all. "You said the fire turns ck when they need reinforcements? How do we transport?"
Ati pointed at the thirteen circles. "We''ve never done it without the ck me, our people would each stand inside of a circle, and then the key of Solomon would be activated.
/Inferno: Nix: Everyone step into a circle, unsummon that clown before we try this. We''ll take Mimi and Rabi with us.
Nix stepped onto the first pentacle, the me in the center of the room immediately turned green; when Pon stepped into the next one, it red even brighter. However, when the third person stepped up, the me died outpletely. There were no further changes as the raid members took their ce on the rest of the pentacles.
Wind shook his head slightly. "No luck, boss. The key switched to Active when you and Pon were the only ones, but after that, it was deactivated."
/Inferno: Semmi: Let''s check something. Everyone off the circles except for Junie and me.
Wind waited a few seconds before nodding. "Active again. Looks like we can only send two people through."
The old fire mage pped his hands together. Since it was undead and Ice creatures, the two fire users were the obvious choice.
/Inferno: Nix: Quit looking so happy old bastard. It''s you and me; we''ll head in and then figure things out from there.
/Inferno: Semmi: You will probably lose contact, so work fast and look for a way to bring more of us.
/Inferno: Nix: Understood.
Nix and Pon stepped onto the two nearest pentacles; both mages were obviously pleased with the choices.
/Inferno: Nix: Time to burn shit, do it.
Wind activated the Key, and mes red up on the two pentacles. When the mes burned out a momentter, both mages were gone.
/Inferno: Wind: Shit. Not good.
/Inferno: Semmi: What?
/Inferno: Wind: The key changed.
/Inferno: Jun Li: Link it.
Key of Solomon: Unique [Inactive]
Description: Enables the holder to send reinforcements to battle the undead at the Bone Fortress.
Caution: If the ck mes aren''t present, and the soldiers aren''t of the blood; the reinforcements will be sent to the Undead side.
****************
[Guild and personal messaging have been disabled. You may not activate any portal skills or abilities. Nopanions may be summoned at this time.]
All ss and Crafting skills are temporarily hidden.
You have a new ss.
You have a new rank.
Ponnded face down on the rocks; a momentter, someone crashed onto his back. "Damn... get off me, punk bastard!"
"Heh... Thanks for breaking my fa..." Nix stared at the person beneath him. "Pon?"
"The fuck else would I be, jackass?" Pon crawled from under him, scowling until they came face to face. "Nix?"
The skeleton nodded. "Fraid so."
"Holy crap." Pon looked down at himself; he carried a single staff with no other gear. His fire seed was clearly visible within the stark-white bones of his ribcage. "Bet I know what that caution said."
Nix frowned and examined his own gear; unlike Pon, he carried only a sword hilt.
Nix has joined Skelly.
/Skelly: Nix: Funny... Link your stats.
/Skelly: Pon: Sure.
Nix
Race: Undead Skeleton [Elite]
ss: Spellsword
Rank 1
Kills: 0
Pon
Undead Skeleton [Elite]
ss: Fire Mage
Rank 1
Kills: 0
Nix could see his own emerald fire seed glowing brightly in his chest, so he knew he could still use some sort of fire magic. "Let''s see if we can..."
Wee to the Bone Fortress, new recruits. Your fellow undead wee you! If you bring up your hud map, you can find the territory that your faction currently holds. The ground you are standing on will remain neutral for the next hour.
Nix read the message that scrolled across his hud and quickly brought up the map. "Crap... Tell me we are the red guys."
Skelly Pon shook his skull. "Doesn''t look like it."
The map showed arge ind that was colored entirely in red, the Ice Invaders'' faction.
/Skelly: Nix: Looks like we stepped into a butt-kicking.
/Skelly: Pon: Wouldn''t be the first time. There''s a single spot of ck on the southern tip of this ind. Fuck... look at the count.
Ice Faction:13,340
Undead Faction: 5
Nix closed his hud and started checking out the surrounding terrain. It looked like a deep forest that had been suddenly snap-frozen; ice covered the trees, brush, and trails. As far as they could see, everything was white. "Let''s head toward that spot on the map."
/Skelly: Pon: Think that five undead include us?
/Skelly: Nix: Probably, let''s hope Sasi is one of them.
Nix pushed emerald me into the sword hilt, before clicking his teeth together. "Let''s get moving before the neutral ground timer expires."
Pon nodded and trotted after the first skeleton as it ran southward.
/Skelly: Pon: Hey, what did the skeleton say before serving dinner?
/Skelly: Nix: Bone Appetit.
/Skelly: Pon: Bastard.