316 Ever Flame

[Nether Walker]

"Nix!" Leva stood up when he appeared in her office a moment later. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I want to bring you to the Great Desert, you need to be able to open a Breach there." Nix handed her the golden razir and waited while she walked around her desk to sit on the couch.

"I have a team in the Great Desert looking for you." Leva focused on the small animal and a moment later her viewpoint changed. She scampered up Nix's leg and perched on his shoulder. "Shall I recall them?"

[Nether Walker: Return]

Nix stepped back into the warmth of the Great Desert, the full moon lit up the night. "No. Have them scout for high-level bosses in the area, find whatever they can and report back."

The golden razir collapsed on his shoulder and a moment later a breach opened. "Now that I can open a breach here, I will send more of my people here to help."

Nix stowed the razir. "Send me back to my house in Ionova."

Leva nodded and opened up a breach for him. "Anything else?"

Nix shook his head. "No, I'll visit soon." He stepped through the breach and disappeared from sight.

Hyai and Fajii were both sleeping when he stepped into the house a moment later. Yawning sleepily, he finished off the meal that was left out for him.

****************

A hand on his forehead pulled him out of a dead sleep several hours later. A familiar-looking Aquarion was watching him sleep. Mina's pale eyes showed a hint of amusement. "Did I wake you?"

"Why ask an obvious question?" Nix brushed her hand aside and rolled over in bed. "I"m not getting up yet."

"That's fine." He felt her move closer, one arm settling around him. "I stayed at HQ last night, I wish you had more room here."

Nix nodded happily into his pillow. "Yeah. Too bad, that way you could disturb my sleep every day."

"We think along similar lines," Mina agreed. "Beta contacted me, she wants to see you."

"Beta?" Nix nudged her arm aside and sat up. "I need to go to Ever Flame today. Do you have Ever Flame saved as a Waypoint?"

Mina nodded. "I do."

"What are you going to do today?"

"We are questing. Jun Li has asked that we try to uncover as many quests as we can." Mina stood up, pausing to make sure he didn't return to sleep. "You're up, right?"

"Yes. Hyai going with you?"

"Yes."

/Inferno: Nix: Anything I should know? I'm going to Ever Flame today.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Scarlett has requested you come to see her in Nescari, it can wait a few days. If you are going to Ever Flame, change your settings to anonymous.

/Inferno: Nix: Why?

/Inferno: Pon: It's a good idea Nix.

Nix brought up his hud and glanced over the personal settings.

[Personal Display Settings]

[x] Name [ ] Titles [ ] Guild [ ] Guild Rank [ ] Level [ ] Location [ ] Ghost

/Inferno: Nix: What's ghost setting?

/Inferno: Pon: It means no data will be available on you. It's like meeting a stranger on the street. Better go with that, or someone will probably mug you.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Right, that would be the shortest mugging ever.

/Inferno: Sharl: I'd pay credits to watch that show.

Nix changed his settings to Ghost and then closed his hud.

/Inferno: Semmi: HQ is fricken awesome, by the way. Tobias was living like a king.

/Inferno:Nix: I have some allies who will start searching the Great Desert for raid bosses.

[Whisper: Semmi to Nix] Stop by the new City Center tomorrow. There's an office for you there and Nebs has really been working hard. Maybe we should steal her from Salamander.

[Whisper: Nix to Semmi] I'll have to thank her personally.

*********************

Welcome to Ever Flame, the Gateway to the Everspire Continent.

Ever Flame was the starter city for the Ever Spire expansion. Although most of the Inferno members had been bogged down with quests the moment they arrived, Nix was thrown to the wolves in the Northern Territory of Titania.

Quest Updated.

Curse of the Ice Goddess

Objective: Find Tanner Benton in Market Square.

Ever Flame was considerably less crowded a week after the expansion went live. A large percentage of the players had earned the right to travel out of the immediate area. Ever Flame was a pioneer town. The walls protecting the city were made from waist-thick logs that had been driven deep into the ground and sharpened on the top. The streets were simple dirt, although they were fairly smooth.

Nix walked down the boarded walkway that lined both sides of Main street. There were a wide variety of shops, many of the owners were also crafting trainers. When he noticed the large Taxidermy sign, he decided to walk in.

The shopkeeper whistled when he saw him. "Well met sir, it isn't often I see experts here."

A few of the players in the shop looked at him. Nix nodded politely, "any tips for me?"

The shopkeeper was a stout man of average height, his massive hands and forearms seemed like they would be better served holding a weapon. He had a wide jaw and dark eyes, the man had definitely been a fighter at some time in his life.

"No. Look for a man named Wallace in Free Trader City. It's possible he could show you something."

The shopkeeper wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. "Tell him Lan sent you, that should be enough."

Nix looked down at the paper, "thanks, Lan."

Lan waved for him to follow and walked through a curtained doorway leading to the back. "Could I see something you made?"

Nix pulled out his golden Razir and handed it to him. "This is the only one I have on me. It's only a revenant level."

"That's better than I can make." Lan studied it for a few minutes, taking out a scratch pad to make some notes; after finishing he hands it back to Nix with a coin."

You have joined the Everspire Crafting Guild.

A few minutes later, Lan walks Nix back into the shop and shakes his hand. "Don't forget to look up Wally."

Nix nodded and exited, glancing down the coin as he resumed his walk toward the market area.

Everspire Craftsman Guild Coin

No-Drop Item

Description: This coin will

open doors and conversations

that might otherwise have been closed.

At the far side of the Market area, several freshly skinned hides were stretched out to dry in the sun. A thin man with hair the color of fire was carefully scraping the hanging hides. Nix approached him and watched him work. This man actually knew about being a Tanner, he didn't possess some crafting queue that he could experiment with.

Nix said his name when the man looked up. "Tanner Benton?"

The man looked up from his work, his face expressionless for a moment before breaking into a smile. "You've finally arrived."

"I was held up by an unexpected trip to the Forest of Titania."

The man looked somewhat skeptical. "What are the names of the Clan Leader and War Leader of the Titan Clan??"

"Scarlett and Mortimus."

Benton sat his tools down and extended his hand. "Sorry, I had to make certain. Do you have anything to show me?"

Nix showed him his Steward Crest and the Guild coin he'd received from Lan.

Benton scratched his head as if considering something important. "For these, I can reduce the favor you must build up by half."

Quest Updated.

Quest: Curse of the Ice Goddess

Objective: Many important people

live in lower Everspire. Find them and

increase your favor. You will need their support

in the days to come.

Objective: Find Zane the Blacksmith.

Objective: Find Bor Na the Oracle.

Objective: Find Enu Bak the Water Sprite