[Officer Meeting: Guildhall on Glory Island]

/Guild Officer: Nix: We have two tough challenges to finish the week . The 79th floor and 7 . 9 in Mermaid City . Preferences?

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: I prefer to head up the Mermaid City team .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Same here .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Those who want to take on the Mermaid Tower raise your hand .

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: That means Pon, Wind, Banzi, Nix, and Chael will take floor 79 .

/Guild Officer: Tess: With no heals? There's a five-person limit, so if you want me to go someone will have to swap out .

/Guild Officer: Sharl: Let Banzi come with the Mermaid City group, Morti can tank that floor .

/Guild Officer: Tess: Yes! I'm in!

/Guild Officer: Nix: Okay, I'm sending everyone a short letter from a group called the Cabal . Please read and then we'll discuss .

Nix,

We would like to congratulate you and the members of Inferno for your incomparable work in Colonial, the Emba.s.sy and Oasis . We've been observing the progress you have made these past few months, we feel that Inferno has all the parts necessary to become an Ascendant Guild . You're only a mid-tier Guild now, yet you wield more power than any of the Upper-Tier Guilds . Oasis is an important part of that journey, however, the Emba.s.sy is an equally vital piece . The Emba.s.sy was built to put the pieces in place for an Upper-Tier Guild to advance to the next level . We did not foresee that it would be Inferno that took the prize .

Continue to advance and weigh your options carefully . At this time we can't offer you anything other than encouragement .

Regards, TC

/Guild Officer: Pon: That's some vague s.h.i.+t right there .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: The 70th floor is key in progressing pa.s.sed the Upper-Tier level?

/Guild Officer: Wind: That would mean that the strongest Upper-Tier Guilds should have been battling to finish the 69th raid rather than the Escalades Bridge?

/Guild Officer: Nix: I've been studying this a few days . Beating the 69th floor gives us the ability to cross the Escalade and come back through the Parliament . That must be the key to this higher tier .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: I get it . There must be something on the Emba.s.sy Upper levels . Something really big .

/Guild Officer: Pon: Resolute was trying desperately to beat the 69th floor, Caza told me that Sulane was pus.h.i.+ng them every day, wipe after wipe .

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: We made choices that no one else thought of . The Aquarion Spirit companions and the Nemesis Allies, we were able to step pa.s.s Resolute and take their prize .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Look at the chain reaction of some of our steps . The battle of Espana Bay, the Faction Event, even Nix uncovering the Cai'Song Artifact conspiracy . All of these together brought us to a key place .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Nope . . . you lost me, Sem .

Advertis.e.m.e.nt/Guild Officer: Pon: Same here .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: What would you say was the biggest single factor in beating the 69th floor .

/Guild Officer: Nix: There were several factors, but when it comes down to it . . . I'd have to say, Mortimer .

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: The key place was Shangri?

/Guild Officer: Sharl: A bear cub, that can stand off a Salamander Nemesis and Ced' Far . . . None of the tanks could have done it . At least not at the mid-tier level .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: That's why it should have been an Upper-Tier Guild that grabbed the prize . We are strong, but we aren't there yet .

/Guild Officer: Ronnie: Shangri was where Nix found him .

/Guild Officer: Nix: I wonder if Sulane received a letter like this one . Perhaps that's why Resolute remained behind while the other Upper-Tier pushed forward into Oasis .

/Guild Officer: Ronnie: That's a good theory Nix! I'm so jealous .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Something to think about anyway . Next item . . . Have all the members of Inferno reserved homestead plots?

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Yes, thankfully there aren't any disputes over land .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Let's go ahead and let everyone use their Homestead Tokens on the plots they've reserved .

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Sounds good . I'm going with a nice farm . Golden fields of Wheat .

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Going to build a Vineyard .

/Guild Officer: Wind: Cattle ranch .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Horse Ranch .

/Guild Officer: Ronnie: Water Park .

/Guild Officer: Sharl: Oh G.o.d . . .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Nice Ronnie, I'm backing you up .

/Guild Officer: Pon: A Toma Brewery .

/Guild Officer: Wind: F*ck . . . That's a good one .

/Guild Officer: Sharl: I should have thought of that .

/Guild Officer: Jun Li: Oi . . . Is that why you set up so close to Semmi? You two are going into business?

/Guild Officer: Semmi: Yes .

/Guild Officer: Pon: Yep .

/Guild Officer: Nix: Let's take the day off from raiding so everyone can start their builds .

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

/Go Fish/ Jun Li: Start the build and then hit the spot?

/Go Fish/ Semmi: I'm in .

/Go Fish/ Nix: Me too .

Nix whistled as he walked through the woods . He had found the place a few days earlier, a small clearing right at the base of a two hundred foot cliff . Nix placed his hand on the smooth granite wall . When Shae eventually returned, she could make as many caves as she liked .

The Homestead Token pulsed with power when Nix activated it . A large menu of different types of buildings became available and he scrolled down the list until he arrived at Horse Ranch . The main house would be a traditional ranch style . He chose a sprawling two-story ranch house with a large kitchen and dining area . There were six bedrooms and a balcony that wrapped around the front of the home . There were three other buildings that accompanied the ranch . A large barn with a corral . A horse stable for a dozen horses and a bunkhouse for ranch hands to stay in . Nix envisioned a place teeming with workers and horses .

Nix adjusted the locations of the bunkhouse, he wanted it closer to the grazing area and he moved the barn a bit further away from the Main house . He definitely didn't want to smell fresh manure when he was eating or sleeping . When he was satisfied he activated the build Icon and walked away . His countdown said 14 hours .

Flash came down to visit him as Nix walked toward the fis.h.i.+ng spot . There were five mares following him . "Must be nice to be King . I expect some production from you guys sooner or later . " He took out an apple from his inventory and fed it to the black stallion . It was a habit he had started and it made Flash more approachable . He gave one to each of the Mares as well, no need to play favorites .

Semmi and Jun Li were already waiting when he arrived at the river . Their fis.h.i.+ng hole had evolved a bit in recent days . Each of them had their own chair and their rods had been upgraded . Nix's fis.h.i.+ng skill stood at 52 while both Semmi and Jun Li were at 46 . Even though Jun Li's skill was lower than his, she seemed to have the best luck fis.h.i.+ng .

/Go Fish: Semmi: Welcome Nix, we were waiting for you .

/Go Fish: Jun Li: What's the cook time on your ranch?

/Go Fish: Nix: 14 hours . You guys?

/Go Fish: Semmi: 8 hours .

/Go Fish: Jun Li: 10 hours .

/Go Fish: Nix: How does it work with production type builds?

/Go Fish: Semmi: With grain fields, it clears the area I chose for fields and then auto-plants the first-year crop . I'll have to do the harvesting and planting after this .

/Go Fish: Jun Li: It's the same for my vineyard . I'll probably have to find some hands to help with the harvest .

/Go Fish: Nix: Got a label name for your wine?

/Go Fish: Jun Li: Junie .

/Go Fish: Nix: I like it .

Nix baited his hook and cast his line into the river . The s.p.a.ce they had chosen was sheltered from the wind, he leaned back and let the mid-morning sun s.h.i.+ne on his face . "Either of you been to the Guild Office in Parliament lately?"

"Nope," Jun Li replied .

Semmi smiled at her two fis.h.i.+ng buddies . Jun Li didn't like politics and Nix had been spending his Oasis time in Haven .

"I go every morning for a few hours," Semmi admitted . She loved paging through the dockets and reading the different arguments . "There are two important votes coming up, make sure you read them Nix . "

"I will . "

The trio sat quietly most of the time, fis.h.i.+ng was steady enough to keep Nix from falling asleep in the sun . A few hours pa.s.sed by, the sound of Nix's horses approached caused all three of them to turn around .

Semmi liked the look of the black stallion . "Is he as fast as he looks?"

Nix nodded . "I've ridden him a few times, he's like the wind . "

/Inferno: Hyai: You around Nix?

/Inferno: Nix: Sure . Need something?

/Inferno: Hyai: Can you come to the Inn?

/Inferno: Nix: Sure . On my way .

Nix reeled his line in and then stowed his fis.h.i.+ng gear . "Sorry, gotta cut it short . "

Semmi smiled, "I like Hyai . "

Jun Li nodded, "if you need help with anything just ask . "

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

A few minutes later Nix walked into the Kindled Spirit . He waved at Hyai from the door, but then stopped short when he noticed her companions . A slender woman with dark hair and serious face stood motionless while staring at him . There was a man with her, he was about the same age and had the same black hair .

"Stixx?" The dark-haired woman ran toward him and hugged him tightly . "It's really you . "

"Hey Frog legs . " Nix smiled at his older sister . She would call him Stixx whenever she was mad at him when they were kids . He would respond with the dreaded 'frog legs' nickname .

"Nicky . " The young man spoke his name quietly, his eyes were s.h.i.+ning with emotion .

Nix c.o.c.ked his head to one side . "The h.e.l.l . . . Why are you so young?" He embraced his father, squeezing him tightly for a moment before letting him go .

His dad shrugged slightly . "Why not?"

Nix nodded in agreement, suddenly curious as to why Pon had chosen to make his character old as f*ck . "Welcome to Glory Island . " He turned toward his sister . "What are your names? I want to introduce you to someone special . "

"Bev, of course . I thought there would be less confusion that way . "

"I'm Ry," his dad introduced himself . His dad's actual name was Ryan .

"Right . . . Now I know where my creativity comes from . " Nix stepped away from them for a moment and grabbed Hyai's hand . "This is Hyai, she's Innkeeper here and someone I care about . "

Hyai understood that the people who came to Colonial from other worlds lived vastly different lives then what they experienced here . She wasn't the least bit surprised that Nix's father looked the same age as him . "Nice to meet both of you . "

"This is Bev of course, my older sister . The young-looking guy there is my dad . Seriously . . . Were you that good looking at my age . "

His dad nodded . "Yes . "

Bev grabbed his hand . "We can't stay Nicky, we bought a couple of six-hour pa.s.ses, most of that was spent trying to navigate our way through Jenzi . "

"Follow me . Back in a bit Hyai . " Nix led them upstairs to his room and motioned for them to have a seat on the couch . "So a day pa.s.s? Would you like to stay longer?"

Bev nodded, "I'd like to, but I just can't afford it, Nicky . "

"I can set both of you up Bev . " Nix opened up the Vasai Virtual menu on his hud . "I'm what they call a Deep-Stay . That means I'm in stasis for an extended period, in my case, it's ten years . "

His dad listened quietly . He had sold his tailor shop and moved out west with his daughter . He did some alterations on the side too keep busy, he was living an old man's life and he was not even fifty . "I know nothing about VR gaming Nicky . What would I even do here?"

"There's about a million things for you to do every day . " Nix accessed his sister's hud . "Fresno Virtual Center? You are both logged in there?"

"Yes . I took two weeks off from work and planned to visit longer, we didn't realize how expensive it is . " Bev squeezed his hand tightly .

"I got this Frog Legs . I'll set up a 10-day stay for both of you at Vasai Virtual in Canada . If you can manage to get your things in order in a few days . "

"Nicky?" His father stared at him, "can you afford that?"

"I can . This time I'll have a lifestyle player meet you and everything will be smooth sailing . " Nix leaned back slightly and smiled at both of them . "All you have to do is say yes and then show up . "

Bev nodded . "Okay, Nicky . "

The Phire family sat on the couch and talked right up until the day-pa.s.s expired, his father and sister logged off with the promise that they'd make the trip to Vasai . Nix used the hud menu to access Vasai Virtual and took a few minutes to set up a 10-day in each of their names, he paid the charges directly so they wouldn't be bothered .

[Whisper: Nix to Nansu] Going to need you to do me a special favor . My RL family will be coming to Colonial for a 10-day stay in 3 days . Neither one of them has any VR experience . "

[Whisper: Nansu to Nix] I will take care of everything . Will they be staying in Glory or Haven?

[Whisper: Nix to Nansu] Haven, I'll be taking 10 days off from raiding when they arrive .

[Whisper: Nansu to Nix] I'll meet them and then escort them personally .

Nansu was an expert lifestyle player and extremely knowledgeable about Colonial in general .

[Whisper: Nix to Nasu] Thanks, that's a load off my mind .

Nix leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, perhaps there was a chance for the broken Phire family . A soft knock at the door caused him to open his eyes . "Come in"

Hyai opened the door slightly and looked in . "Everything okay?"

Nix nodded, "I think so . They'll be back in a few days . "

Hyai walked in a closed the door before taking a seat next to him . "So . . . Nicky? That's really cute . "