Chapter 582: Warmth of the Phoenix

Vic arranged the stock on his display shelf for the third time in as many hours. His General store had been a hub of activity before the Deep Winter came; now, he could count the daily customers on the one hand. He checked the time and headed toward the front door; Vic made an hourly trip outside to chip away the ice that gathered on his door and sidewalk. "How much longer will we be able to survive like this?"

He was slipping into his thick coat when he saw the glow through his iced-over front window. Without thinking, he shoved open the door and stepped outside just as a wave of hot air washed over him. The feel of heat nearly brought tears to his eyes as he stepped onto the walk to get a better view.

In the distance, he could see the majestic bird as it flew away. Its wings seemed to be a mixture of bright red and orange flames. He heard several other shop doors open up as curious onlookers came outside. "What was that thing?"

Less than a minute after it first passed by, he could see it gliding back toward him, engulfed in fire and pushing the cold away in a shimmering wave of heat. He couldn't help himself; when the second blast of heat pushed against him a few seconds later, he found himself cheering loudly.

"Did you see that?" The young seamstress who owned the shop next to him smiled widely; her hands held out into the air as if to catch the warmth. "It's coming back again!"

And so the bird passed them again. It flew down the middle of the street only a few meters above the center of the road. It took a route down Market street before turning toward the front gate, where it banked and repeated the process.

After watching a dozen of so fly-bys, Vic tossed his coat inside the shop and left the door open. Word of mouth spread quickly down the length of market street; the firebird had come from Ravine's House of Pleasure.

The first sign of traffic showed up a half-hour later, a horse-drawn wagon with a handful of people in the back. It stopped at the corner near Vic's General Store and unloaded. Out of curiosity, Vic approached the group.

When Vic arrived, they were setting up a large cauldron next to a table full of bowls and flatware. "Do you know anything about that firebird?"

One of the women looked up. She wore a full-length wool skirt with a tweed overcoat. Her hair was worn up and kept in place by a warm-looking hat. "You mean the Phoenix? That's Nix, the Guild Leader of Inferno."

Vic sniffed the air, the scent of whatever was in the pot made his mouth water. "Who are you guys?"

The woman who spoke remained behind with one other female while the rest continued down the road.

"I'm Tessa, one of Madam Ravine's girls." Tessa smiled at the shopkeeper. "Bet you're hungry?" She picked up a bowl and ladled a helping before handing it to him. "Spoons are on the table; please bring both back when you're done."

Behind the House of Pleasure, a fire roared as an old mage cut up the packages of AF meat that had been delivered via a breach. "Fuck this! Nix is flying around doing jack shit while I'm slaving away making stew!"

Pon used his own flames to brown the meat before adding the dried vegetables and potatoes. The old man didn't season anything since whatever meager supply they had would have run out immediately.

"Want to switch out?" Aja's voice came from the back door. Like the rest of the fire elementals, her tolerance for cold weather was very high.

Pon nodded and cut up the package of meat that he had already opened. "How's it going out there?"

Aja gave him a friendly nudge to one side and picked up the knife he'd been using. "We're at six different areas along Market street. The lines are very long; families are starting to come out with their children."

Pon shook his head in amazement. Could they really feed everyone? "Do they need help in the kitchen?"

"Not sure; they have a half dozen girls washing dishes."

The work continued throughout the day; just before sundown, a rumor circulated that the Phoenix would only make a few more passes before stopping for the day. Citizens and shopkeepers were asked to return to indoors' warmth; the Phoenix and Ravine's girls would return in the morning.

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

An hour later, Nix sat at a round table with Pon, Darsi, and Aja. Rico and Voonie were continuing to make clothes for the Ravine's girls.

Darsi's expression showed her good mood, despite being tired. "We made a good start, but we have to figure something out. You can't fly up and down the street all day, every day."

Nix nodded in agreement. "Trying to do too much is going to hurt our cause. I want to make Market Street warm and continue to let the House of Pleasure lead the way."

Pon snapped his fingers. "Fire seeds! Even the smaller ones can last years, if we could gather enough of them..."

"I could make something that houses Fire seeds, perhaps even amplifying them a bit." Darsi brought up her crafting interface and started cycling through artifact designs.

"Fire seeds don't grow on trees." Nix considered the length of the street. "Depending on how much heat they release, we could need anywhere from twenty-five to fifty.

Darsi was already designing a housing artifact for the fire seeds. "You work on the seed, and I'll take care of the rest."

Nix stood up and motioned for Pon to follow. "We'll head back to Haven; perhaps one of the Dragons have an idea."

"Thanks for the hard work, old man." Nix and Pon off of the Gemini platform. "Did you turn in your quest?"

Pon froze in mid-stride, a scowl enveloping his wrinkled face. "Crap... I completely forgot about it. Remind me tomorrow."

Nix nodded as the two men fell in step and headed toward the exit. The warmth of Haven was welcomed after a day spent in the bitter cold.

The first tremor was only the slightest event, but both men stopped in alarm just as the second one arrived.

"The hell?" Pon cursed loudly as the ground tilted suddenly; when he noticed Nix changing into Archon shape and going airborne, he followed suit.

/Inferno: Semmi: What's going on?

/Inferno: Nix: Has to be the Temple constructions; we'll look into it.

Nix circled as he steadily gained altitude.

"Northeast of us, Nix." Pon pointed to the far northeast, where a swirling mass of dust and debris was gathering like a modern-day twister.

Nix flew towards the storm, his eyes quickly finding the second disturbance. "Southeast also..."

Pon could feel the build-up in power coming from both directions. "Going to be pissed if Haven blows up."

"Split up; you take the northern one. Keep in touch." Nix banked south, his eyes watching the terrain around the construction site. The eastern part of Haven was mostly flat and bordered a large sea. Given the sheer size of Haven and the relatively small population of Inferno, no one had settled the area yet.

/Alpha: Pon: I think this one is the Flame Temple. There's a bright flame at the center; it's definitely a dread flame.

Nix extended his wings and glided over the giant dust cloud. He could sense the earth element growing within it. The tremors went on for several minutes and then quieted, but the thick mass of swirling earth remained.

/Alpha: Nix: It looks like this is going to take a few hours.

Shae and Fajii joined him an hour later as he continued to monitor the developing situation. With each passing minute, the strength of the individual elements grew. By now, there was no mistake which Temple was which.

Fajii's alien eyes stared into the mass of earth; as a Scorched Earth mage, she could feel the throbbing energy being given off. Tai'Qui had already started training the Lamia Acolytes from the Scorched Earth temple; a few of them were already advancing to the Nemesis stage. "How long do you think it will last?"

"Not nearly as long as our temple," Shae answered. Perhaps the rules were different in seed worlds, or maybe the overpowering strength of two adult dragons influenced the construction. "It's already starting to recede."

Nix stared into the cloud. He could see no discernable difference from the last half an hour, but he trusted Shae's senses. "What will happen when you refine your flame?"

Shae glanced at the Inferno Leader. The truth was she didn't know. When they were back in Colonial, the Nemesis elementals had been considered powerful existences. "I'm heading north to check on the other temple."

Fajii faltered slightly; one wing dipped as her elevation dropped by several meters. "I have to leave, Nix. My earth element is being affected."

"Head back to the Ranch." Nix's own earth abilities weren't as strong as the Aquarions; he could sense that the fluctuating element was bothering her. He watched as she banked away, her brown wings flapping steadily west toward their residence.

/Alpha: Nix: Any change in the northern Temple?

/Alpha: Pon: No... Going to be very disappointed if I get blown up.

/Alpha: Nix: Heh...

Less than an hour later, the raging elemental storm began to calm. The cloud of earth that had formed shrank noticeably as the build-up of power peaked and suddenly lost momentum. Nix circled slowly downward; he was less than thirty meters off the ground when he spotted it.

"Holy crap..." Nix landed at the edge of an immaculately tiled area. A large statue of a dragon with its wings extended guarded the entrance. As he walked around it and peered through the cloud of dust that hadn't quite settled, he could see that there were no buildings. "It's all underground."

Behind the dragon statue was an archway with a brown marble stairway leading down.

[Colonial World Message]: Haven has constructed a Dragon Earth Temple. All pilgrimages to the Dragon Temple will result in a 72-hour buff. All Haven residents are granted [Earth Shield].

Earth Shield: The Earth Shield absorbs all incoming damage up to twice your existing health. Once depleted, Earth Shield requires 24-hours to regenerate.

[Colonial World Message]: Haven has constructed a Dragon Flame Temple. All pilgrimages to the Dragon Temple will result in a 72-hour buff. All Haven residents are granted [Ring of Fire].

Ring of Fire: While the Ring of Fire is active, your attacks become fire-based and do twice the amount of damage as normal.

Nix descended the stairs, one hand brushing against the smooth marble walls. The marble staircase spiraled downward for several meters before ending in a large circular chamber. "Tai'Qui?"

The center of the chamber housed a small mud pool; it bubbled as Nix approached. After several moments, a figure slowly rose from it.

Tai's perfect brown skin emerged gradually, the mud clinging to it for a moment before returning to the pool. Her reddish-brown hair hung loose down her bare shoulders. Warm brown eyes filled with mystery watched the Inferno Leader with obvious affection.

"Everything okay, Tai?"

Tai's brown lips curved into a smile. "Yes, thank you."