Gideon covered his face when he stepped through the Breach; he could feel the Inferno Leader staring at him. "Don''t even say it."


    "Say what?" Nixughed aloud. "That you''re fucking awkward when ites to talking to women?"


    Gideon sighed loudly. "This didn''t start out as my character."


    "Really?" Nix had taken them to the stall where Midnight was being kept. He opened the stall gate and slipped a lead over her head. "Come on, time to make a new friend."


    Gideon watched as Nix led the Demon horse to arge four-railed corral. A few hay bales and arge watering trough took up one small corner of the rectangr structure. "My brother started ying while I was in college. When his business started to grow, I sorta took the Gideon character over."


    Nix closed the corral gate and removed the lead from Nightmare. "And now Gideon is so awesome; you don''t want to start over?"


    Gideon nodded and slipped on her ''Mai'' ring. "This works good enough. Remember when I mentioned heading into Virtuna?"


    Nix nodded. "Baseball and partying, if I remember right."


    "Is tomorrow going to work? I know it''s short notice. While we were in the Bone Fortress, the World Series snuck up on us. It''s tied at three games each!"


    Nix held up a hand to halt the conversation. "Don''t tell me who''s ying! Can we change the venue to Vasai Virtual?"


    "Fancy, but I don''t have Vasai." Gideon smiled slyly. "I suppose you do?"


    Nix nodded. "I''ll send you my Vasai ID so that you can invite your friends."


    "It will only be my college roommate Yams, my brother, and his wife."


    "I''m bringing Pon, Semmi, and a childhood friend." Nix essed his inventory.


    [Token: Skeleton Mount]


    Activate Token?


    "Yes."


    A momentter, arge skeleton horse appeared in front of him; its eyes were as dark as coal. At seventeen hands, it was a bit taller than Nightmare, it''s front and back legs well proportioned.


    Gideon gawked at the bone mount. "That thing is way bigger than mine!"


    Nix moved closer, suddenly a bit disappointed that it was a skeletal mount. "He''s about the size of sh. Better keep them separated." He ced a hand on the horse''s head while Nightmare investigated with a curious nose. The skeleton stomped a forefoot in warning, causing the mare to back away. "Hey... Make friends! Let''s see what the details are."


    Barnabus: Skeletal Stallion


    Description: Barnabus was the mount of the Lich King, Blood Maw. It disappeared


    shortly after its owner was in by the Tautius, the Great King.


    Immune to Fire


    Endless Stamina


    The sound of Gideon''sugh made Nix turn around. "What''s so funny?"


    "They can''t mate, Nix. The Bone horse has no..."


    "Bone?" Nix smiled slightly but left the two horses in the corral and headed toward the gate. "I wouldn''t put money against it."


    Gideon slipped off his ''Mai'' ring and fell in step beside Nix. "How are we going to start an Offensive against so many at once?"


    Nix shrugged. "No shop talk. We''re resting and rxing, but the easy answer is; we kick one ass at a time until all the asses are kicked."


    "Catchy." Gideon turned at the slight motion just inside her peripheral vision. "Looks like my guys are here."


    Nix turned at the sight of Paco, Roto, and Jiggs walking toward them. He immediately shifted into his Basilisk form.


    Jigg''s round face widened in a grin. "That basilisk form is bad-ass."


    Roto nodded in agreement. "Hey, Gid. Where''s Nebs?"


    The Basilisk''s yellow eyes stared at the group. "Which one of you statues is responsible for my engagement to Raine?"


    Roto pointed at Jiggs. "That guy!"


    Paco made a gesture toward the Pathfinder scout. "Yep, it was Jiggs."


    Gideon nodded in agreement. "Sure as shit."


    Nix has activated [Petrify].


    Jiggs has been petrified.


    Nix shifted back into his human form. "Want me to open a breach back to North Haven?"


    Gideon nodded; he was struggling not tough at the expression of terror on the statue''s face. "Yes, please."


    Both Paco and Roto were nodding in unison, d to be leaving the vicinity of the Inferno Leader.


    Nix opened a breach to North Haven and then waited until they exited before turning toward the statue. "Everyone likes a jokester." Nix patted the scout''s rock-hard head. "Just hang out here for a bit; we''ll talkter."


    When he entered his Ranch house a few minutester, Semmi and Shae were sitting on the couch talking while Pon sat at the kitchen ind enjoying his beer. "Pon!"


    The old man looked up from his beer when Nix called his name. "Hyai left you a lunch-box in the fridge. She went off with Min, Fajii, and Nansu."


    Nix shrugged and made a bee-line for the fridge. "Want to head to Vasai Virtual tomorrow? Game seven of the World Series." He deliberately spoke louder than necessary so that Shae would overhear.


    Pon nced over to where Semmi and Shae were sitting; they had definitely heard Nix. "Same people as before?"


    Nix nodded. "Hopefully, the four of us and then Gideon and his buddies."


    Pon held up his beer in salute. "Fucking Awesome."


    ******************


    After letting his NPC friends know that he was taking Pon and Semmi back to the Bone Fortress to reconfigure the ''Rule of War,'' the three of them Breached into the empty Bone Fortress and promptly logged off.


    /Logging Off: Colonial: Nix


    Nix found himself back in the now-familiar white room.


    [User: Henry Jones]


    Please choose from the avable options.


    [Vasai Virtual] [Virtuna]


    "Vasai Virtual, please, send Hara, Pon, and Semmi an invitation to join me."


    Understood, essing your Colonial Friend''s list, three invitations have been sent.


    [Logging you into Vasai Virtual]


    A Special Event Listing has been made avable for you. Do you wish to view it?


    "Yes."


    [World Series: Box Seats]


    Nix pped his hands together. "Let''s do it!"


    [Wee to Game 7 of the World Series featuring a match-up between the Anta Braves and the New York Yankees.]


    [Pick your team!]


    "Braves."


    The quiet room vanished around Nix, only to be reced with the roar of arge crowd and the smell of popcorn and pretzels. The room consisted of two rows of veryfortable look recliner chairs overlooking centerfield. Along the back of the room was a long bar. Each wall had tworge screens that offered viewpoints from both the right and left fields.


    "Holy crap." Nix noticed that he was wearing an Anta Braves jersey and hat. "Shit just got real."


    [Four of your expected party members have arrived: Mai, Yamica, Kenji, and Suzie.]


    Mai grinned when she saw Nix; she and her three friends were wearing Yankee jerseys. "Everyone, this is... What shall we call you here?"


    "My name is Henry, but Nix is fine. I don''t want to confuse anyone." Nix shook hands with Kenji, Mai''s younger brother.


    A dark-haired woman with a smirk on her face offered Nix her hand. "I''m Yams; we''ve met in Colonial a few times. I run Mid-Tier Smander."


    Nix shook the offered hand. "Necromancer? I remember."


    Yams nodded. "Did you enjoy taking Smander''s Parliament votes?"


    "Sure," Nix admitted.


    Mai caught his attention and pointed to a young woman with light brown hair and lots of freckles. "This wonderful girl is my sister-inw, Suzan."


    "Just call me Suzie, Nix."


    [Three of your expected party members have arrived: Pon, Hara, and Semmi]


    Nix felt a moment of dread. Since Gideon and Yams were both part of Smander, they would certainly recognize Hara. He let out a sigh of relief a momentter when he spotted the redhead. She had taken a few minutes to alter her virtual avatar slightly. Nix could still see some resemnce, but it wasn''t enough to make a point of.


    "Boo!" Mai booed the neers; all three were wearing Brave jerseys. "Nice to see you guys again."


    Semmi shed a bright smile. "Yankee fans?"


    Mai nodded. "Looks like we''re split evenly."


    Pon returned from the bar with a tray filled with empty shot sses and a bottle of Jose Cuervo. "My two favorite teams are ying!"


    Mai stuck out her tongue at the Texan when he handed shots to his friends. "Really?"


    "Yep. The Braves and whoever is ying the fucking Yankees."


    Nix clinked his ss against the one Pon was carrying. "A beautiful sentiment. Mai, this is Sahara, an old friend of mine."


    "Hara is fine." The redhead shook the Asian girl''s hand while Nix finished making introductions. "Let''s get some lime for our friend Jose."


    Mai followed Hara to the long bar and grabbed a few salt shakers while the redhead pulled a te of limes from the mini-fridge.


    Semmi took the tray from Pon and started handing out drinks; the game hadn''t started yet. "Want to y a mixer game?"


    Pon shook his head immediately. "No! No!"


    Semmi ignored Pon''s protests. "Ignore him; he''s from Texas. Nothing too embarrassing, just sit next to someone you don''t know and ask each other three questions. We''ll rotate every three minutes. A shot every time you switch."


    "I''m in." Nix took a seat in the first row and looked to his right. "Hey, Yams."


    Yam''s gave him the stink eye. "Don''t try the nice act!" She smiled suddenly and lowered her voice. "First question. I''m trapped in a small cave in Safaraza! Are you gonna get me out?"


    Nix shook his head. "No way. You''re fucked. My turn. Who snores louder, you or Mai?"


    "Mai!" Yams grinned at him. "How''d you know she snores?"


    "She fell asleep on my Virtuna couch during the Everspire patch." Nix nced to his right where Hara was talking to Kenji; they were bothughing at something. "Why not unbank and join upper-tier Smander?"


    "I''m getting paid as a Guild Leader, unbanking means quitting my job." Yams pursed her lips while considering herst question. "Is Hara your girlfriend?"


    "Sure," Nix admitted. "What''s up with the dark make-up? Aren''t you a bit old to be ying Goth?"


    Yams shook her fist at him. "How old are you? I thought you''d be thirty-something!"


    Nix thumbed his nose at her and stood up. "Your questions are up!"