Bane nodded respectfully at the group of Nether creatures exiting the Kindled Spirit tavern. The Marshal''s bald dome shone in the mid-afternoon sun of Glory City. Among its residents, the Nether had quite arge poption; however, they were by far the least problematic of the Colonial races. They frequented the Kindled Spirit because Nix was known to visit often.


    "Good morning, Marshal Bane." A young girl in ck pigtails waved from her seat on the dock.


    "Hmm... How''s crafting this morning, Shana?" Bane nced at the dock-front shops; as usual, there were lines out the doors.


    Shana favored him with a toothless smile. "I made a dress for one of my dolls. Somehow the stitching was wrong. I''m taking a break."


    Bane''s smile faltered as a cold chill ran down his spine. Within moments, the blue sky darkened to ck. Without pausing, he grabbed the young girl and sprinted toward the tavern. The cold continued to increase; before he cleared the dock, he could already see his breath.


    /Glory CIity: Marshal Bane: This is a city-wide Alert! All personnel are to head to the nearest shelter!


    The Tavern door was pushed open, a woman at the door was waving for the running Marshal to hurry. By the time he stepped into the building, the snowfall had begun.


    "What''s going on, Bane?" B took the scared Shana from her husband''s grip. She had taken over management of the Kindled Spirit while her mother remained in Haven.


    "No idea." Bane walked toward the nearest window; it was already started to frost up. "How''s your resupply of firewood?"


    B shook her head. "Don''t have any; we use an innate Fire seed given to us by Shae. Don''t worry about the heat."


    ***************


    Delyn Xai pped his hands in appreciation while his best apprentice sheathed her sword. "Your skills have really improved."


    Raine bowed politely to her sparring partners before stepping out of the circle and bowing respectfully to her teacher. "Thank you, Master."


    Delyn didn''tment further. Raine''s time with Inferno had forced her out of stagnation. The best sword among the Fir''Dhassi had found herself a step behind Inferno fighters like Nix, Pon, and Chiba. The newfound insight gained from fighting beside them resulted in improvements in nearly every aspect of her martial abilities.


    The old sword master motioned for the next group to start sparring but then stopped them before they could begin. "Something..." The air temperature around them dipped suddenly as the Fir''Dhassi felt the stirrings of great power. "Everyone! Take cover immediately."


    *******************


    Turtle House, The Great Desert 1600 hours


    Nix sat on thefortable couch while studying the long list of Bone Fortress Crafting Skills he could choose from. He wanted something that wouldpliment his Taxidermy skill. A quick nce at the time caused him to close the interface and stand up. Initially, he hade to the Turtle House to pick up a few of the Emperor level puppets that he stashed here.


    *Chime*


    [Alert: Nix, The Turtle House is sensing the build-up of World Event Magic.]


    "Huh?" Nix nced through the window into the Great Desert. "Why are the house shields up?"


    [Nix, The Turtle House has deemed this area to no longer be safe. Please evacuate the home and prepare for transport.]


    Nix stepped outside; just after the house shifted suddenly, four holographic legs sprouted from the four corners of the home as it stood up and immediately began to shrink. Within a minute, it resumed its original size from when it had been originally awarded to Nix. The Inferno Leader picked up the turtle-shaped artifact from the sands; although immune to cold, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.


    [Create Breach: Great Desert, Haven]


    Nix stepped onto the grassy teau next to the Gemini temple. A small herd of horses grazed nearby. He could see several figures running into the giant Dragonfir tree that Inferno used as a Guildhall and auxiliary housing.


    /Inferno: Nix: Does anyone know what''s going on? My Turtle House just retreated from the Great Desert. It almost seemed like it''s going to snow.


    /Inferno: Tai''Qui: It''s World Magic, something that even dragons can''t manage. There''s nothing to do until it runs its course.


    /Inferno: Semmi: Glory City is already nketed with a foot of snow, along with the rest of Colonial.


    /Inferno: Raine: Oasis is also affected; the snow is falling so thick that you can barely see.


    /Inferno: Nix: Oasis, Colonial, and Everspire?


    /Inferno: Jun Li: Officer meeting?


    /Inferno: Nix: No. We just finished a major objective, time for Inferno to take a few days off.


    /Inferno: Semmi: I agree. Let''s bring our members into Haven and rest for a few days.


    [Whisper: Pon to Nix] Does this seem like an attempt by the devs to give Khione a hand up? Since we keep kicking her ass?


    [Whisper: Nix to Pon] Heh... No doubt. They keep standing her up and we keep knocking her down.


    ***********


    Nix banked suddenly, putting distance between himself and his pursuit. The mountains behind his ranch shed by him as he headed due south. Within seconds he was clear of the range and into the far teau just east of where Pon and Semmi had their brewery.


    He dived steeply and then pulled out of it for a softnding at thest moment. Nix dropped his Archon form just before he was tackled into the tall grass. "Sore loser..."


    Shae shrugged slightly, her red hair falling into his face. "Using that burst ability is a cheat."


    The tall grass would have been nearly waist high if either of them had been standing. It swayed and rippled with the cool breezesing down from the mountains. As the crow flies, they were within a mile of the ranch.


    "I may put the Turtle house here." Nix pointed to where the grasnds butted up against the mountains.


    Shae leaned against him. From where she sat, there was a distinct border that separated the grasnds from the beginning of the wheat fields. "You love putting houses up against the mountains."


    ********Author''s Note******


    Map Avable, see Chapter Comments.


    *****************************


    "Suppose I do." Nix pulled up his hud map. "I''m heading to the Thieves Guild in a bit. Want toe?"


    Shae''s lips curved downward. "Aren''t you suppose to be taking it easy for the next week?"


    "I am! Check this out." Nix pulled Ball of Engima from his inventory and rubbed it. "Is Nix taking it easy today?"


    [Of course. Nix is going to run one short errand and then return in time for dinner.]


    Shae''s brown eyes sparkled slightly as she put her hand out expectantly. "Is this the Oracle Sem and Junie were talking about?"


    Nix nodded. "Go ahead and try it out."


    Shae bit her lower lip and rubbed the ball as she considered a question. "How long will Nix be in Mocai?"


    [No more than two hours.]


    "See? Let''s ce this house and you can help me settle in." Nix stood suddenly, pulling the smander to her feet.


    Nix has activated a [Turtle House] artifact.


    Arge area near the mountain range glowed slightly as the image of a gigantic turtle appeared over it.


    Do you wish to ce the Turtle House here?


    "Yes. Reinstate all permission settings from the earlier site." Nix barely turned around before Shae wrapped him up in a tight hug.


    "Be careful Nix. Mocai will be snowbound also." Nix activated his Archon form before replying. "I''m going to stop by the Ranch and pick up Del."


    Shae''s red wings formed quickly and she shot into the air. "A rematch then!"


    **************


    Less than an hourter, Nix and Del stepped through the Breach that opened into Thieves Guild. Unlike before, there were several people walking about. LuAnne was instructing a small group on the finer points of lockpicking.


    "Del!" A young girl''s voice sounded from the group as a slim figureunched itself at the Orion.


    LuAnne frowned at the young girl. "Witchie! We don''t rush off when I''m instructing!"


    Witchie''s thin arms released Del and turned back, her dual-colored eyes showing her obvious conflict. "Sorry, Guild Master."


    LuAnne sighed at the girl''s expression. "Fine, take Del into the next room while I speak with Nix."


    Nix kept a straight face while LuAnne watched her apprentices leave. She ran a hand through her short dark hair and motioned for Nix to follow her to the Kiosk.


    LuAnne opened the Kiosk, her pretty face showing the semnce of a smile. "I had misgivings about the recruits, but things have gone very well."


    [Wee to the Thieves Guild, User: LuAnne]


    I. Job Search


    II. Performance Review


    III. Recovered Items


    IV. Stolen Items


    V. Active Roster


    LuAnne disyed the Stolen Items Menu.


    IV Stolen Items


    1) Free Trader City: City Production Scroll -5 years. (Pending)


    2) Ever me: Flying Mount Stable Scroll -5 years. (Pending)


    3) Free Trader City: Mayor Huelix''s Journal -10 years. (Pending)


    4) Dragon City, Talumbir: Jargon''s Trident -15 years. (Pending)


    5) Oasis, Haven: Demon Horse -100 years (Turn-in Complete)


    LuAnne nodded as she read the screen. "We requested your help with Sentence Reduction. You were able toplete the Demon Horse job. That more than satisfies our reduction task. Will you be turning in the other pending jobs?"


    Nix faked a smile. The bastard Jargon Kane had actually petitioned the Thieves Guild to steal his horse. "No."


    LuAnne removed the pending jobs and then deactivated the Kiosk. "You have the backing of the Thieves Guild, Guild Leader Nix."


    Mocai Thieves Guild Quest has beenpleted.