The archway disappeared suddenly, causing everyone in the group to jump. They stared at the emptiness in disbelief for several seconds. During that time, the sky grew brighter, and the temperature of the air rose several degrees.

[Quest Updated]

Deep Winter War

Objective: Charge into Khione's stronghold and find the Goddess of Winter.

20 person raid, no NPCs allowed.

"Well... Let's move on then." Nansu spoke softly, but the sound of it carried to all of the officers. The Dire Wolf puppet glanced toward the North, where a column of light had suddenly appeared. "Time for the next step."

"Nansu..." Ronnie stared at the LifeStyle player, her dark eyes openly hostile. Are you..."?

"She's right." A familiar voice interrupted from the direction of the trading post, his boots crunching softly on the ice and snow as he trotted toward them. Nix offered the group a smile before scruffing the dire wolf's ears.

Nansu nosed his face before stepping back. "Worked really well. I couldn't even tell the difference."

Nix nodded in agreement before facing the column of light. "Couldn't have done it without you. I guess we should finish this then."

"That wasn't you..." Shae's confused expression slowly faded; there's no way he could recover or rez if it were. "Then who?"

"Khalam'Zur," Nix said the word like it explained everything; a sudden flash of silver announced the arrival of his mount. Then, without looking back, he leaped onto the shoulder of the silver dragon.

Shae rushed up behind him and held onto his waist as Fey shot into the air. "What does the Dragon Graveyard have to do with this?"

/Officer: Nansu: Initially, we thought Khalam'Zur was the Dragon Graveyard; it's actually a legendary graveyard. We went there to make Titan puppets.

**********Author's reminder******

In chapter 404, Nix took a break from his training at the House of Tempest and took a LifeStyle group into Khalam'Zur to gather materials and create Titan puppets. After pairing up with Nansu, they were able to finish ahead of the deadline.

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

/Officer: Semmi: You made an Emerald Salamander puppet.

/Officer: Nix: Yep, I made an Emerald Salamander puppet, smart girl.

/Officer: Nansu: We made one!

/Officer: Nix: Right, "we" did. Half credit goes to Nansu, maybe quarter-credit.

/Officer: Nansu: Don't be so stingy, let's stick with halfsies.

/Officer: Jun Li: Forming up the raid now.

While the small group of officers flew towards the lit-up area, the rest of the raid busied themselves with clean-up.

[Whisper: Nix to Jun Li] Remember, no NPCs for this one.

[Whisper: Jun Li to Nix] I know. We got this.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Here's the raid sheet for the next step. Sorry if you're name was left off; I could only use 20 of us.

[Raid Sheet]

Sharl: Tank

Banz: Tank

Jun Li: Alt-Tank/ DPS

Nix: CC, Melee/Range DPS

Sila: CC Melee/DPS

Semmi: Melee DPS

Wind: Melee DPS

Gideon: Melee/DPS

Pon: Range DPS

Donri: Range DPS

Ronnie: Range DPS

Chael: Range DPS

Dalton: Sniper

Moki: Sniper

Darsi: Sniper

Pinky: Healer

Tess: Healer

Nezbit: Healer

Nebs: Healer

Gypsy Rose: Healer

/Inferno: Sharl: We're heavy on heals for once. It's nice to have my girls back.

/Inferno: Tess: Thanks!

/Inferno: Gypsy Rose: She's talking about me...

/Inferno: Tess: Gypsy and I will focus AE heals on our group; the three tanks will have their own healer assigned to them; Banz & Nezbit, Sharl & Pinky, Jun Li, and Nebs.

Nix removed a rectangular crate from his inventory and placed it on the lake bed. The rest of the raid stood in a circle staring up at the glowing entrance that hovered a hundred meters above the ground. "Given me a hand, old man."

Pon nodded and accepted a small dagger from Nix; together, they started prying up the wooden lid. "Remind me again... What the hell is this?"

"Siege tool." Nix motioned toward Wind, who was returning from the entrance on his bone crow.

/Inferno: Wind: When I try to fly in, it says that I'm not using the proper device.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Wasn't this thing meant for the mountain fortress?

/Inferno: Pon: The one we sabotaged? What if we can't get inside?

/Inferno: Nix: Then we're back in Haven in time for dinner.

[Escalator]

A tool of war meant for assaulting mountain fortresses. Limit 5,000 troops.

[Do you wish to use the Escalator to enter the Fortress?]

"Yes." Nix hugged Shae and Fajii before turning to his spirit companions that were gathered nearby. Fey, Ducky, and Soup were sitting on Morti's back. "Keep an eye on things here. If I can bring you guys inside, I will."

Morti waddled closer before pushing his enormous head into Nix's chest. "I'll protect them."

"Be careful." Fajii's tanned face was locked in a frown as she watched the metallic stairs soar upward for several seconds until it stopped at the instance doorway.

"Used to love these as a kid." Nix jumped onto the first step before Pon could beat him to it. It immediately began to move them toward the top.

Semmi smiled and offered a wave to Shae and Fajii. "Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to him." The blonde officer watched as the 20 members of the raid stepped onto the escalator; she and Jun Li were the last two.

"Did you know about the salamander puppet?" Shae fixed the Scorched Earth mage with a deep stare.

Fajii shook her head. "He keeps his secrets and does whatever he likes."

"We'll have to train him better." Shae glanced at the frozen lake bed that had long since been dyed red with blood. "Let's help with the clean-up."

/Inferno: Shae: Those who aren't part of the raid, please help with transporting the casualties to Haven.

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

[Quest Updated]

Deep Winter War

Objective: You've come so far, but there's no sign of your target. Continue your search.

"Wasn't expecting this." Nix took a moment to study his surroundings while the rest of Inferno entered the instance. They were standing at the edge of a vast ice field. Chunks of ice littered the ground, sunlight reflecting on the winter landscape made the Inferno leader struggle to make out details. "Damn, it's bright."

Pon shielded his eyes with one hand while his old face scowled in disgust. "Once we put this bitch down, I'm gonna settle down and make some beer. This ice bullshit is for the bir..."

The old mage stopped talking when the ground beneath them began to shake and rumble. The countless broken pieces of ice started shifting and sliding toward the middle of the clearing.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Range fighters retreat to flank. Tanks form a shield wall in front of the healers.

Instantly Inferno moved into action. Three enormous shields moved to the front of the formation while Ronnie and the Sniper team split into two groups. Alpha watched from the middle as an ice creature slowly formed.

[Ice Crater]

Indigenous Ice Creature: Great Lord

Description: Formed from the destroyed remains of the Ice Fortress, Ice Crater is a powerful existence that is consumed by hatred.

"INFERNO!" As soon as the mouth formed on the Ice Lord, it shouted at the raid group. Its lumpy surface gradually smoothed into a solid body before armor and weapons started to appear.

[Summons: Mortimer]

Spirit Companions may not be summoned for this battle.

Nix muttered a curse under his breath. "No companions for this fight."

Ice Crater resembled a perfectly sculpted statue. He stood four meters tall; his entire skin and armor was stark white, like a winter snowstorm. He held a long dual-bladed weapon with a long wooden shaft that was slung casually over one shoulder. The only part of him that wasn't white like virgin marble was his black eyes; filled with malice and contempt, it stared unblinking at the Inferno members.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Test him, Sharl. Let's see what we are dealing with.

The dark armored tank nodded and advanced slowly behind her enormous kite shield. When she was within twenty meters, the black eyes focused solely on her.

"Let me guess... You are Sharl, Inferno's Main Tank." A smooth, deep voice spoke with refinement, like a lord speaking at court.

/Inferno: Pon: The fuck...?

/Inferno: Ronnie: Boyfriend of yours, Sis?

/Inferno: Sharl: Don't think so.

/Inferno: Nix: Careful, Sharl.

Sharl nodded but remained on guard, her spear gripped tightly in one hand. "Be a good boy and expose your neck for me."

"TREMBLE AND DESPAIR!" Crater leaped suddenly, covering the distance between himself and Sharl in an instant.

Sharl has activated [Barricade].

The ringing sound of a blade striking steel echoed as the Inferno tank absorbed the blow without stepping back.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Let Sharl establish aggro. Keep an eye on her health.

[Battle Cry][Naga Scream]

Combination Successful.

Battle Cry is active; Crater must attack Sharl until she loses ten percent of her health.

Dozens of miniature, transparent Nagas attacked Crater, biting at his marble-like skin before disappearing.

Crater has been poisoned.

/Inferno: Ronnie: Naga Scream? Is that a Floyd legacy?

/Inferno: Sharl: Yep. Aggro is mine; beat him down.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Banz retreat and shield the healers. Nez join up with Pinky for rotational heals on Sharl.