Chapter 667 - I Fell Into, A Burning Ring Of Fire

Nixilei's perspective

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The angle wasn't great but she could make do. Nixilei's eyes took in all the information she could even as her mind was already trying to work out a plan. The first and most obvious thing was not the fire, but the river off to the side. It would be an important feature… if it wasn't for the fact that it seemed to be the one area of the city that wasn't currently on fire. Still, it would be worth keeping in mind once the water mage showed up. Nixilei's eyes then moved to the fires. There were three distinct sections she could see burning.

The first was a small fire closest to them and off to the left. It wasn't large right now but because of the densely packed houses she could see, it likely wouldn't remain that way. *I'll probably need to send Kat over there… or maybe Gareth? Summon a bunch of earth to try and smother the fire without causing too much damage… hmm… I don't know if Gareth has the mana for that… even for such a small fire… and if he does he'll be out of the fight afterwards for quite a while. Hmm… I don't know who to send… maybe them both?*

While Nixilei was formulating that plan she looked over at the other two fires. The second was right behind the first though some distance away. She couldn't really get a good look at it with the smoke from the first in the way and the lacking angle. All she could really tell was that there was a second fire behind the first and not much more. *Guess I'll have to send Green over that way. Get her to do some reconnaissance and report back. Or maybe send Kat? Dammit Kat's flight ability is useful but her strength and speed might be more so… part of me also wonders how well her demonic fire would work against regular fire but we promised not to use that. Hmm…*

Finally the third fire was obviously the largest. Once again, it was hard to see from the angle but from what Nixilei could make it out seemed to be in the industrial area of the town. Somewhat close to the river by the looks of it, but just far enough away to be annoying. *Hmm… the fire there is already quite large but if the town is built by anyone with half a brain the industrial area should keep the fire somewhat contained either by a wall surrounding it or just the big roads needed to cart the supplies. In terms of fire damage it's the safest to leave… but if they have volatile stuff over there the risk could be high. Hmm… that might be a reason to just leave that one for now. Focus on dealing with the two that seem to actually be in town. 

Then again… do I trust this backup whatever it is? Maybe… with two water mages I really want to just flood the industrial fire and hope for the best… but if it gets into oil or something… dammit. Such a pain. It's not like I'm an expert in fighting fires. Still… that is the closest to the river. I guess I'll just have to hope for the best.* 

"Kat take us down, we have things to discuss with the others!" said Nixilei firmly, though she did have to supress a wince at how loud the request turned out to be. Kat didn't seem to mind though, dropping her wings and letting herself drop. Nixilei felt her stomach revolting against the treatment but pushed it down easily, a reaction long since ingrained into her. The landing was soft as always. *I really do wonder how she manages to take so much of the impact from landing. It should be at least a little jarring. Aw well, perhaps I can investigate it later.* 

Nixilei didn't bother leaving Kat's arms. She was much slower than Kat and knew that the demon would have no trouble carrying her around the place. "Ok listen up. We've got three fires and frankly I already hate this. Kress. I want you to head off to the industrial area. It's towards the back right of the town near part of the docks. I'm not sure if you'll be able to contain the blaze at all. It's the largest of the three, but what I want you to focus on is evacuation. We don't have the resources to tackle it right now, so I'm trusting you to get everyone else out. Depending on when the reinforcements arrive, I might be heading your way as well, so be aware of that."

Kress nodded and headed off, understanding that time was of the essence. Next, Nixilei turned to face Gareth as gracefully as she could manage while being princess carried by a demon. "Gareth, I want you heading towards the closest fire. That's where Kat and I will be heading shortly. If possible I want you to smother it with rock walls but I don't know if you'll have the mana for it. If you get there before us and can tell you want have the mana, do what you can and start evacuating the people as best you can.

"Green, I want you to head off towards that back fire. With the restrictor band on Kat she can't fly high enough with me in hand to find out anything about it. Save people if they're in immediate danger but what I really need if for you to scout the area and then wait for us to get there. Hopefully between the three of us we can take out the first, smallest fire, but it might take us some time."

The two nodded and headed off to work. Gareth had in fact already left, though Green sped off and quickly overtook him. "Well, now it's just us two Kat. What I want to know is… are you faster in the air or on the ground?"

Nixilei watched a thoughtful expression come over Kat for a few moments before a response came. "Truthfully I'm not sure Nixilei. In normal circumstances I think flying would be better but with the bracelet and you together… I can't fly smoothly at all and I can't raise in height so I'd be locked into however high I could climb. I think running would be better for us."

Nixilei nodded. "Ok that's fine. What I want is for us to follow the main roads, help people as we go and ask them about the wells in the city. I don't really know if they'll be any help but just knowing where we can find water for the mages later on will be a big help."

Kat nodded and they to were off. Nixilei felt Kat accelerate smoothly before reaching a soft limit. The demon's steps stuttered slightly as Kat seemed to be pushing through something before their speed started to smoothly increase again, not as quickly as before but still noticeably. Nixilei kept her eyes on the surroundings, looking for people truly in need of healing but the nearby crowd were all just running away. Nobody was being left behind due to injury… but it would likely get worse.

The main street they were following was starting to diverge away from the first fire as well. They'd seen a water fountain a bit back but it was all dried up. *Can't even keep their basics together. I hope we don't waste time looking for wells only to find them all empty.* Nixilei glanced around and saw a turn coming up. It wasn't as large as the main street but seeing their current trajectory Nixilei felt she had no choice, "Take that left Kat. Let's start heading for the fire."

Kat easily managed the turn, flaring her wings slightly to glide around the corner rather than rely on her feet changing the direction. Nixilei kept her eyes out for anything strange or any wells but wasn't seeing anything useful. The most interesting thing so far was a blacksmiths shop that had been shuttered but they weren't likely to have any useful tools.

A few sharp turns later though and Nixilei found herself staring at the first fire. It looked like the nearby bakery had exploded. Perhaps someone drop a sack of open flour near the fireplace? Regardless, the result was a set of two flaming streets. The fire had exploded out from the bakery catching the nearby houses, the houses behind the bakery, and one house on the street over. Gareth hadn't arrived yet, Kat's speed vastly eclipsing him.

*I hope Gareth can get here soon. If he can crush that lone house before the fire spreads we might be able to contain this without trouble. I can have Kat demolish the houses towards the ends of the row and try to contain it to just this small section of buildings.. Should I get her working on that? Or get her to investigate the buildings currently burning for anybody inside. She's fire proof, right? I feel like I remember that from the first time around…*