"You can't be serious." The Su'Dhassi Ranger stared at the War Council as if they lost their collective minds. "This idea beyond stupid." The woman's dark face was narrow and scarred from a lifetime of battle and hunting. The tip of one pointed ear had been sliced off and replaced with a piece of silver jewelry. Three long scars ran down the side of her shaved head, courtesy of the same creature that took her ear.

"You've met the Inferno Guild Leader; moving forward, the Su'Dhassi aren't properly represented in the Deep Winter War hierarchy."

"Met him? I shot him with my bow while he was assaulting the Aquarion House by himself!" Eri Dale grimaced at the memory. She got the jump on the yellow-eyed intruder only to be charmed by his companion. Those few moments where she wasn't in control of herself still caused her sleepless nights. To make things worse, she lost Silver Fang, a powerful bow that had been given to her by Deidra, the Dragon Master of Solomon City.

*********Author's Reminder**********

In chapter 218: House on Fire (part two), Nix and Ducky had a brief encounter with the Su'Dhassi Ranger named Eri Dale. She was spying on the House of Aquarion for an undisclosed house.

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

The older man glanced at the other members of the council before standing up. "Both the Ain'Dhassi and the Fir'Dhassi have placed people in Nix's Inner circle. You're an ugly woman, but your fighting skills may gain his attention."

Eri frowned at the elder but didn't reply. The older Dhassi's skin was dark from many seasons spent in the sun; his wrinkled face placed his age somewhere beyond 'fucking-old.' She turned toward the door of the fur lodge, pausing at the door to pull the thick hood of her coat over her head. The cold of Deep Winter hit her in the face when she exited a moment later.

/Sand-Killers: Eri: Assemble at once, we are heading to Loki.

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

The connection you share with your spirit companions has been fortified.

Ducky's strength has improved.

Soup's strength has improved.

Mortimer's strength has improved.

Fey's strength has improved.

Nix stared at his hud screen, stifling a yawn while eating a breakfast consisting of a few eggs and many ghost peppers. "Is there actually eggs in mine?"

Shae smiled pleasantly and used a free arm to embrace him while she dished her own plate. The salamander looked very pleased with herself; Nix had woke up a few minutes before midnight, giving the couple plenty of time to themselves. "You seem tired; those peppers will give you more energy."

Nix ate a mouthful, his mouth instantly going numb. "So would sleeping more than two hours."

Shae's smile slipped slightly, her tone turning serious. "You killed a dragon yesterday."

Nix met her eyes and nodded, he wasn't a hundred percent certain, but since his character stats now listed [Dragon Soul] under his fire abilities, he assumed he had.

Shae ate in silence, scooting her chair closer to him until their legs touched. She found the warmth of contact comforting.

/Inferno: Nix: Let's postpone the Guild meeting by two days. Have Alpha team ready to go.

/Inferno: Semmi: Understood Nix. I'll post the change to the Guild Announcements. Anything else?

/Inferno: Nix: Yes. Contact the Dhassi War Council. I want to meet with them.

/Inferno: Semmi: Location?

/Inferno: Nix: Undisclosed at this time.

/Inferno: Semmi: Understood. I'll head to Oasis now. Does anyone want to come?

/Inferno: Del: I will.

Shae placed a hand on her companion's leg. "I'm going to the nursery, time to share some of my new dread flames with the next generation."

Nix finished off his plate and stacked it on top of hers. "Let's walk together; I need to talk to Sinfaya."

Haven's mid-morning warmth made the stroll to Deidra's nursery very comfortable. The two said their goodbyes, and Nix headed further north.

He arrived at the entrance to Sinfaya's nursery a few minutes later; the wards that would normally prevent anyone from intruding ignored his presence as he entered her sanctuary without effort.

The Spatial Dragon's nursery was warm; the slight smell of something minty hung in the air. She had two hands placed against the emerald-colored dragon egg when she noticed his arrival. "Good morning, Nix."

"Morning." Nix didn't often talk with Sinfaya; he found her sulky personality too bothersome to engage. "Do you know someone named Ethoryst?"

Sinfaya nodded. "We learned spatial magic from the same Master. I don't like him."

"He's tracking Fey through a piece of fabric that she wore. I was told that when she leaves Haven, he will be able to pinpoint her."

"Hmmm... That coincides with the rumors I've heard concerning his current abilities." Sinfaya removed her hands from the dragon egg.

"I want to find Ethoryst and kill him. Is there a way to locate him?"

Sinfaya considered the question for a long moment. "My strength has improved thanks to the Draconian element you gave me. That aside, my abilities fall short of Ethoryst. Can you even kill him?"

"Is he stronger than Gharon the Black?"

"Gharon is much stronger than Ethoryst."

"Then it won't be a problem. Let's solve this issue first. I need your help."

Sinfaya's dark eyes stared at the ground. Unlike other dragons, her personality was somewhat vulnerable. "I want to, but I can't."

"Bullshit." Nix grabbed the dragon's wrist and pulled her toward the entrance. "Let's take a short walk."

"Walk?" Sinfaya followed obediently, even though she could have resisted with her physical strength. A moment later, they walked side-by-side toward the mountains that separated a heavily forest area from the Emerald Desert. When she willing kept pace with him, he dropped her wrist. "Where are we going?"

Nix ignored the question and posed one of his own. "You told me that you were mutated from a Dragon Spawn in order to save your Grandmother from having to donate her marrow to your family's Dragon City."

Sinfaya nodded. "As I said, we only had one vial of the Draconian element. I was quite weak for a dragon until you gave me the second vial."

The path grew rocky and uneven until it ended abruptly near a granite ridgeline that seemed to divide the forest evenly. It was here Nix turned north into the deeper woods.

"Where are we going?" Sinfaya chose her footing carefully while following the Inferno Leader. Stumbling in front of Nix was the last thing she wanted to do. "Why don't we just fly? I don't mind transporting you?"

Nix ignored her words and continued walking. "Did you give any marrow donations before I linked the Dragon Cities together?"

Sinfaya nodded and then spoke when she remembered he was in front of her. "Yes, three times."

"Did you also donate marrow when you attended the Tembai Academy?"

"Yes."

"That makes four donations. Wouldn't this affect your abilities?" Nix arrived at a natural rock wall that was about double his height. He turned and waited for Sinfaya, who had been lagging behind slightly.

"Yes. In all honesty, my levels were low to start with. It's unlikely that I would have lasted more than another decade if my marrow was still supporting a Dragon City."

Nix clambered up the wall and then extended a hand down to help his companion up.

"Thank y..." Her eyes immediately spotted the golden pond. "Is that?"

"Yep. It's Dragon Marrow." Nix grinned at the sight of it. The rock basin they were looking at had contained rainwater as a result of the frequent rains. The weight of the marrow and caused the water to flow out. "Leva did a great job; I'll have to let her know."

Sinfaya stared longingly at the golden surface. "Did you bring me here so that I can recoup my losses?"

Nix nodded. "Is that possible?"

"Yes. I can recover what was taken, perhaps a bit more since I'm more developed now." Her words just happened to be echoed by her long robe falling to the ground.

"Right..." Nix was use to dragons taking their clothes off, Sinfaya was slimmer than Tai or Deidra, but many would find her beautiful.

Sinfaya noticed his quick glance; her confidence climbed slightly when she eased a barefoot into the marrow. "May I ask you a question, Nix?"

"Sure." Nix sat on the rock ledge while the woman lowered herself into the basin. "Deidra has inferred that the two of you are lovers. Is that true?"

"Fuck no."

"I see." Sinfaya moved away from the edge; only her head was visible. "What about Tai'Que?"

"None of your business."

"You should call both of them here. They were both City Masters for quite some time." Sinfaya closed her eyes and sunk below the gold surface.

Nix considered her words for a moment. Stronger dragon allies could only help Haven.

[Whisper: Nix to Tai] Can you bring Deidra to my location?

[Whisper: Tai to Nix] Of course.

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

[Loki 1300 Hours: Dhassi War Camp]

Raine stood in the middle of the Pathfinder group. She'd been hunting with them for nearly a week. The small group had managed to remove the Howler presence from Ain'Dhassi capitol of Fraya'Selene completely.

/Pathfinder: Jiggs: Going back to Haven today, Raine?

/Pathfinder: Raine: Yes.

/Pathfinder: Jiggs: Put in a good word for me with Nix!

/Pathfinder: Raine: No.

/Pathfinder: Gideon: Heh. You could tell him that you saved Raine's life twice!

/Pathfinder: Nebs: Which would be a lie, of course, since she ended up saving you.

Jiggs grimaced and slipped off his hood. Although Raine was usually part of the War Council, today, her Master was taking over that mantle since she was returning to Haven. His eyes darted to the group lingering close by. Without a doubt, they were following Pathfinder.

/Pathfinder: Jiggs: You guys suck... Gonna explore a bit.

/Pathfinder: Gideon: Stay out of trouble.

Jiggs approached the group; loosening his coat a bit, he grinned at the scarred woman that he assumed was the leader. "You seem very interested in us, or is it me in particular?"

Eri's head cocked to one side, unsure if the man was serious. "Why would anyone be interested in you?"

Jiggs forced a smile to remain on his face, suddenly glad that the rest of his group was out of hearing range. "Oh, my mistake. Sometimes I'm approached by Dhassi because of my relationship with Nix."

"Nix? You know the Inferno Guild Leader?" Eri didn't seem capable of smiling; however, her scowl dropped.

Jiggs nodded. "We're very close. In fact, I recently spent a week at his horse ranch." He didn't feel the need to add that he'd been a statue the entire time.

/Sand Killers: Toxin: He's lying; look at him. I've never seen such a dishonest face.

/Sand Killers: Eri: I know.

"I wish to speak with Guild Leader Nix. Could you arrange that?" Eri's eyes darted back to the Pathfinder group. In truth, they'd been keeping tabs on Tura Raine Xai. It seemed like the easiest way to approach the Inferno Leader.

Jiggs gave her a confident smile. "I'll see if he's available."