Phoenix Phire

/Alpha: Wind: Incoming! There's another group to the south of us.

/Alpha: Nix: Shit... Get ready to fight.

The new group had already spotted them, evident by the way they changed their course. They were all heavily armored, eight of them on horseback.

/Alpha: Semmi: Trifecta.

/Alpha: Nix: Gigs up. Let's go.

Before Alpha could move toward Trifecta, an ear-splitting screech sounded from above. Chupa swooped down with the entire raid's Bone Crows in tow. The Raven's claws closed around an armored figure and, with several powerful flaps, bore him into the night sky.

Nix sprinted toward the group, but the entire group was gone before they could catch up. Screaming armored fighters fell from the sky like raindrops, splattering on the cold hard ground of the Dawn Burrough. "Check for survivors. Lilac! Get your ass back under cover!"

Lilac and her group had moved toward them, but Nix's shout was all they needed to retreat.

/Alpha: Semmi: I want that bird, Nix. Please give it to me.

/Alpha: Nix: You mean Supa Chupa? No longer an option. Let's make sure everyone is properly dead.

/Alpha: Semmi: Search for any device that looks out of place!

Nix knelt next to the nearest corpse; the Trifecta member was wearing plate armor that looked like it had recently been smithed. Outside of an impressive-looking Great Sword, the only other object he carried was a choker.

/Alpha: Pon: Necklace thingie looks like the device.

/Alpha: Wind: Got one here too.

/Alpha: Fajii: Here also.

Nix unclasped the choker and slipped it on, immediately hating the feel of something pressing on his throat.

*All surviving Dawn squads, the Undead Faction has established a beachhead; keep an eye on the sky! A second group is airborne!*

*Command, this is Tabor Squad Leader Lilac, awaiting orders.*

*Squad Leader Lilac, rendezvous with Trifecta and join the beachhead assault.*

*Yes, Sir. Understood*

/Alpha: Semmi: Kill Tabor squad now?

/Alpha: Nix: Yep.

Alpha walked back to where Tabor was taking cover. Nix gestured for the enemy squad to join them. "Let's go; sounds like those Inferno bastards are at the beach."

Nix has cast [Black Ice Sculpture].

Lilac Rem has been encased in Black Ice.

Lilac Rem's familiar has collapsed and is unresponsive.

Nix dodged to one side as the Tabor squad's rogue showed great reflexes with a throwing knife that narrowly missed.

[First Strike][Backstab]

Semmi has landed a critical strike on Gulo Howl.

[Rock Slam]

Fajii has landed a significant strike on Tebi Stout.

[Void Strike][Backstab]

Wind has landed a critical strike on Qudro Xen.

Pon has cast [Fire Nado].

Gulo Howl has been caught up in a flaming twister.

Tebi Stout has been caught up in a flaming twister.

Qudro Xen has been caught up in a flaming twister.

Mesquite Dom has been caught up in a flaming twister.

Three emerald strands flew out of Nix's upraised hand, impaling the nearest enemy and yanking him out of the twister. He hauled back on the strands and slammed them into the ground.

Mesquite Dom has been slain.

/Alpha: Semmi: Something coming from the east, Boss.

/Alpha: Pon: The fuck is that?

Nix turned toward Misery, a curtain of light that seemed to span the entire Burrough was making its way toward them.

/Alpha: Semmi: Run?

/Inferno: Bali: DO NOT LET THE CURTAIN TOUCH YOU! ALL FORCES RETURN TO BASE!

Nix shook his head. "Shit, there's no cover!"

A quick glance over his shoulder told him there was no way they'd be able to outrun the disaster. The curtain passed through their own mounts who had just turned back for another pass; instantly, they fell lifelessly out of the sky.

With his attention behind him, Nix stumbled suddenly, crashing heavily to the ground. Immediately, a strong grip pulled him upright. Fajii squeezed his hand; her eye's filled with confidence despite their situation.

Without considering, Nix pulled out his Ravager puppet. The curtain of light washing over them just as he stared into it.

As his own body collapsed, the Ravager kicked free and landed on the ground, unaffected by the event. The creature's sharp eyes scanned the immediate area; the phenomenon seemed to affect both factions. His own body lay motionless on the ground, next to Fajii. The Ravager sniffed his own face, not dead but also not conscious.

Several moments of quiet passed while he considered the best way forward.

"First things first." The Ravager found a small stand of brush nearby and dragged Alpha team inside. He added to the natural camouflage by dragging some loose foliage over the bare spots. Unless someone was actively looking, they wouldn't spot the group.

/Inferno: Bali: Dawn and Agony raid leaders. Report in!

/Inferno: Bali: Jun Li? Nix?

/Inferno: Nix: What was that thing?

[Your body has been incapacitated. Guild and personal communications through extension entities have been disabled.]

"Extension entity? Your mom's an extension entity..." The Ravager sat down next to Fajii, nudging her with its long snout. "You always come back for me, no matter what..."

The Burrough was eerily quiet; the puppet's sharp ears could hear nothing but the crackling of burning flames. Was that curtain the trap that they were trying to avoid? A movement to the west drew his attention back toward the coast.

"Not good." Ravager-Nix cursed their luck; the curtain of light reversed direction at the water's edge and began moving east across the Burrough. Without any real plan, he decided to follow the curse that managed to defeat an entire Burrough. Although his hybrid puppet was fast, he was soon outdistanced as it continued into the Misery Burrough. "All three Burroughs? Could it really have taken out Dawn, Misery, and Agony?"

Instead of continuing toward Misery, Nix doubled back toward the Dawn beach until he ran into Delta group. Chiba's old face seemed in peaceful sleep, her silver sword was in one hand, and a gold one was gripped in the other. A few minutes of searching was all he needed to drag all of them into a small ravine. By the time he finished dragging brush across the entrance, the curtain of light had once again reversed direction and passed over him again.

"Roughly ten minutes to travel the width of the three Burroughs and then return... That gives us a small window."

After taking care of his people, Nix turned back toward the Misery Burrough. This required him to pass close to the Honor Burrough, the Inferno Leader stopped and stared at the destruction. The entire Burrough was blackened and withered as if all the life were suddenly siphoned out of it. "Fuck... I've seen something like this before. The Thornwood curse... sucked the life from the land. Does the land power the spell?"

The short journey across Misery showed Nix what he already suspected. All of the enemy forces in the Burrough were unconscious. "I need someone versed in witchcraft."

/Inferno: Ronnie: I'm assuming Command of Inferno. We will continue to hold Fury, Peril, and Courage until we understand what we are dealing with.

Half an hour later, Nix found the ten members of the Agony Raid. The three Titans had fallen together, so the Ravager opted to drag the rest of the members next to them. They were in the open, but there was no way he'd be able to move Morti or his father.

"Messing with my bear..." Nix used his teeth to pick up Morti's helmet that had become detached when he fell. "Big fucking mistake..." He perched the metal helm on the Titan cub's overly large skull and then quickly headed south toward Honor.

Nix smelled the Orion before he even remembered she was in Honor. He activated his thermal vision and immediately spotted her crouched near the entrance of the Thorn Graveyard. Either the curse didn't hit Honor at all, or she was immune the same way the Ravager puppet was. "Del!"

The Orion unstealthed when she heard his shout. It ran towards him with easy cat-like grace, not stopping until she pushed her soft muzzle into his face.

"Nix! I didn't think anyone survived."

"Are you the only Inferno member in Honor?"

"Yes. Why haven't you answered the guild chat?"

"I'm unable to. Although I managed to escape the curse, my body did not. Since that's my anchor, I'm at a slight disadvantage."

Del fell in beside him as they walked toward their base camp. During the ten minute journey, he explained everything he'd seen as well as his suspicions.

***********

"How long can it last?" Ronnie addressed Alfie, the only person with any real familiarity with witchcraft. "Seems like it would take a lot of power to generate something like that."

Alfie shook his head slightly. "I probably only know a little more than you. It's obvious that something went wrong; perhaps someone tried to modify it when we didn't cross into the Honor Burrough."

Bali sat between Nix and Del, one pale hand on each of their necks. "What now? Can you capture a witch for us to ask?"

"First things first. Gather our forces and prepare to extract our people." Ravager Nix turned to Bali while he considered their best option. "Bring up a map of the three Burroughs; I can no longer use the hud interface."

Bali nodded and did what he asked. "You said you gathered all the teams together?"

"Yes." The Ravager's razor-sharp claws pointed at a point on the hud. "Here in the open. Right here in a small ravine, and here in a stand of brush."

As he spoke, Bali marked the locations and updated the guild map. "Isn't getting them risky?"

"We don't know how long it will last. Could be a few hours or a few days." Nix felt his mouth getting dry, and a familiar ache starting in his stomach. Putting those thoughts on the back burner, he continued. "Once the curse passes an area, it takes about ten minutes to return. If we move into position, we can get our people out with plenty of time to spare."

Ronnie smiled for the first time since his return. "I'm gonna get my sis out, so I'll head up that group. We can fly in on our Bone Crows and remove them in one go."

Nix shook his black-furred head. "All three titans are going to need several people each; we'll take them out first."

Ronnie studied the map. "Fifteen per each Titan should be enough; we'll rig some sort of gurney that we can carry or drag."

"Have Nezbit try to heal or rez them. I doubt it will work since they definitely aren't dead or injured." Nix considered the sheer mass of the three Titans for a moment, they were much lighter in Bone form, but he doubted they'd be able to move them in one go. "Our safe zone is seven minutes. Wherever you are at that time, retreat out of the Burrough and wait until the curse passes again."

Ronnie nodded and headed toward the tent's exit. "I'll take fifty people and head into Agony. Bali and Alfie will take a smaller group and head into Dawn." The dark archer paused at the door. "What are you going to do?"

"Gather my thoughts for a few minutes and then return to the Keep. Someone knows what's going on."

Del's black ears pricked forward. "Perhaps I'm unaffected by the curse also."

"If you can't cross borders like me, then we should assume that you're susceptible." Nix fixed her with a yellow-eyed stare. "What do you eat? I feel like I'm starving and dying of thirst at the same time."

"Bali brings me meat, and I usually drink from the stream." Del moved toward the exit, stopping to glance over her shoulder. "Come on, we'll feed the beast first, and then you can think clearly."