Chapter 242 - Core'dium

"That's not something you see every day." Nix stood with his two Aquarion guildmates and stared at the life-sized wood carving of Alpha Team that had been placed in the Center Square of Tysta City. The rendition showed Nix standing heroically in the middle, flanked on either side by Fajii and Semmi; Pon and Wind seemed to ready to jump into action on the borders of the group.

Milat stared at the sculpture; in particular, he noticed that Fajii no longer bore any resemblance to an Aquarion. This was something he had understood for quite some time, but the reality hit him harder than he would admit. "I agree. Not Pon's best side."

Nix laughed at the words and let a very enthusiastic Vy pull himself down the boardwalk. The Shipwright had greeted them warmly and led the trio through the crowded streets of Tysta. The roads were paved with crushed bluish rock, and all of the buildings were made from wood. Izzin citizens of all ages would place hands on their shoulders and thank them while they walked by.

Intricate boardwalks connected the streets and buildings of Tysta; it was by far the biggest city Nix had seen in Colonial. "What kind of government does Izzin have?"

Vy continued to hold his hand while they walked. Nix noticed that this seemed typical since pairs of people with mixed and same genders were also walking that way. "The five Cities have elected officials that make up the House of Izzin. The Monarchy oversees the House."

Nix watched the Izzin navigate quickly through the crowded streets. Their crab-like legs enabled them to move in any direction quickly. "Can we stop here for a moment?"

Vy looked up at the sign that Nix was pointing to. "Bolo's Tailor shop? You have an interest in Tailoring?"

Nix nodded, "I do."

Bolo was a shop that specialized in dresses and formal wear. The Izzin typically wore a skirt-like garment on their lower bodies. Nix hadn't seen anyone wearing pants; although pants with six legs might be challenging to make, it certainly wasn't impossible.

"Welcome to my shop!" An Izzin man with blazing red hair and a mult.i.tude of freckles greeted them when they walked in.

Nix shook the man's hand; most of the Izzin were short and slender; this man was neither. "I'm Nix, the Guild Leader of Inferno and a Tailor."

The Izzin's pale face turned beet red. "A Tailor did you say? Let me show you something, Mr. Nix!"

The Izzin disappeared into a back room and reappeared a few moments later carrying a piece of parchment. "I see you are wearing pants. I have this recipe for Izzin pants that I've kept all these years; would you be interested?"

[Quest Available: Izzin Work Pants]

Make Bolo 10 sets of work pants.

Reward: 3 Unique Izzin Tailoring recipes.

"Yes, I can do that." Nix glanced at the recipe; it was comprised of things that he already had.

[Learn the recipe: Izzin Work Pants?]

"Yes."

He felt Mina pull at his arm and turned to find the Aquarion smiling at him. "What?"

Mina shrugged slightly. "It's nice to see that you never change." She glanced at Milat before sharing a laugh at their Guild Leader's expense.

"Whatever... It's work-pants! Those are very useful." Nix waved goodbye while Vy ushered him out the door.

Eventually, they stopped at a large channel with a retractable footbridge. Nix stood on the boardwalk, watching as the bridge retracted. A roar proceeded the ugly looking Inferno version of the Moon G.o.ddess as she made her way down the narrow channel. There was some sort of pulley system installed in the ca.n.a.l, a rope attached to the hull was clearly the reason for her progress.

Nix clapped along with everyone else; it was a good effort by Lena to build a ship. "Where are they bringing her?"

Vy watched the ship pa.s.s; she nodded to herself several times. "To the shipyard to be properly outfitted."

[Quest Successful]

You have shown the Izzin that you are capable of artisans. The Moon G.o.ddess has been upgraded.

[Moon G.o.ddess: Legendary Ship]

Master Carpenter Lena has become Shipwright Lena.

/Inferno: Nix: Thanks, Lena!

/Inferno: Lena: No need for that. This comes with a t.i.tle and a house here in Tysta!

"Tomorrow you'll meet the Royal Family if it isn't a problem I'd like to visit all five of our cities tomorrow." Vy waited until the footbridge extended and led the group across. "You asked to access our library?"

Nix nodded. Although the Izzin library wasn't part of the Oasis Great Library system, their civilization predated Parliament and was likely to have a lot of information on many things. "In my world, we came across a peculiar race of fur-covered people. No one seems to know anything about them."

Vy's intelligent eyes stared intently at Nix. "Core'duim? Were they miners?"

"I'm not sure. However, they did dig a large network of tunnels in a relatively short period of time. What is Core'dium?"

"Core'dium literally means core-dweller. There are a few different races that exist in the Great Core; if no one from your world knows of them, then they could be from there."

Nix walked beside their escort; occasionally, someone would pat his shoulder and wish him well. "You aren't talking about the Nether, are you?"

Vy shook her head. "No, the Nether exists on a separate plain. The Great Core is part of all the plains, except for the Nether."

"I see... How do you access the Core'dium?"

"Oasis used to be able to access the Core'dium through the Phana'solom crater. However, according to the new knowledge that's been made available to me through the heads up display (hud) technology and Great Library System, that is no longer possible."

Nix frowned at her words. "Why?"

"It's now a glacier. Vy opened a set of double doors and ushered them into a long single-story building.

Nix whistled softly when he stepped inside. The library itself had more windows that any building Nix had ever seen. There were dozens of rows of shelves. "Will you add this to the Greater Library System?"

"I can answer that. Absolutely not." An average looking man with gray hair scurried down the aisle toward them; he was followed closely by a teenage Izzin with short brown hair and huge mouse-like ears. "This is a personal a.s.set of my family. Although we have opened it up to the public and you, the Bergi family has no desire to include the rest of Oasis in our generosity."

Vy held up a hand to stop any further chatting. "You are wasting our Allies valuable time. Bring us to the Core'dium area."

The old librarian bowed low. "I meant no offense, Shipwright Vy."

[Whisper Mina to Nix] She's the Minister of Naval Defense. Why does everyone refer to her a Shipwright Vy?

[Whisper Nix to Mina] Being a Shipwright in Izzin has much more prestige.

A small section that took up half of a shelf were the only books that mentioned Core'dium topics. They were invited to sit at a nearby table while the relevant books were loaded onto a cart and brought to them.

/Inferno: Milat: What are we looking for here?

/Inferno: Nix: Keywords would be Spectrum, Dragon, Mining, and Core'dium races.

[Whisper Jun Li to Nix] Sharl and I have finished our Planar trials! We have met up with Donri and are proceeding with our search to locate the Cabal.

[Whisper Nix to Jun Li] Great job, Junie. Keep me posted.

"Excuse me while I check in with Ronnie." Nix stood up and moved to a small open area.

[Direct Contact: Ronnie] A life-sized holo of Ronnie appeared in the library. Nix could tell by her serious demeanor that something was wrong. "Report."

"We've been attacked while searching the city. A single gunshot that resulted in only minor injuries. No one saw the a.s.sailant nor has a search turned up anything useful."

"There might be some survivors from the original inhabitants. Find and lock down all the gating platforms. The City was on lockdown when it fell out of the sky, that doesn't mean it hasn't changed since then."

Ronnie nodded. "Thanks for the advice. Don't worry about this, Nix; I will definitely handle it."

"I know. Going to send you a tracker from the Ain'Dha.s.si; that way, there won't be any surprises sneaking up on you." Nix gave her a thumbs up and then closed the holo.

[Direct Contact: Locas] The Ranger Captain appeared in front of him a moment later. "I need a tracker, Captain. The best that you've got."

Captain Locas scowled at the words. "Are you sure you want the best? That would be Ranger Bali."

Nix laughed at the ranger's obvious distaste. "I'm borrowing Ranger Bali for the next three months. Is that okay?"

Captain Locas's scowl turned into a wide smile. "Okay? That's perfect! Although I wouldn't say no to six months."

[Create Breach: Loki: Everspire: Elynmoor]

[Whisper Nix to Bali] I'm sending you to a secret place. You will not mention this to anyone. Investigate the situation to the best of your abilities. I'm expecting progress. Report to Ronnie, from now on you answer only to me.

[Whisper Bali to Nix] I'm on it, Nix!