Phoenix Phire

Chapter 55 - Gearing Up

Nix sat with Sharl and Ronnie at a corner booth in the Kindled Spirit. Hyai was busy with the dinner crowd so he decided to eat with the sisters. "Shae said to bring Wilo to the Temple, elemental advancements are very dangerous. She will make sure nothing happens."

Ronnie nodded, her bright smile flashing. "Thanks, Nix."

He glanced at Hyai who was serving customers. "Hey, Sharl... How can you tell the players from the NPCs?"

Sharl followed his gaze, she had often wondered herself. "Outside of asking them, I'm not sure if you can. Colonial is an open-world game if you choose to become an innkeeper..."

Ronnie leaned forward and lowered her voice. "I read something interesting on the forums a while back."

Sharl rolled her eyes at her younger sister. "Not this again."

Ronnie nodded, "listen... suppose Colonial got rid of all the computer NPCs. Your someone looking for employment, hey come work as a palace maid or even a King."

Sharl had to sit on her hands to keep from wacking her sister on the head. "You couldn't keep something like that quiet Ronnie. Role-playing an entire life span? From the birth of a character until their death?"

Nix listened with interest, "what about someone like Shae then?"

Ronnie grinned, at least Nix listened. "She'd be a person too. What we call a deep-stay."

Nix took a long drink and then sat the mug down. "What's a deep-stay"?"

Sharl had nearly forgotten that his game knowledge was very limited. "Some people stay in stasis for years longer than the standard 3-5 years. A deep-stay would be anything longer than ten years."

"I see." Nix waved at Pon who walked in the door with Wind. "Scoot so they can sit with us."

Wind and Pon squeezed into the booth. Right away Wilo hopped onto the table and stared at Wind.

Ronnie covered a laugh. "She wants to see the gecko."

Wilo stood patiently waiting while King Lubo was summoned. The gecko noticed her right away and hopped off of Wind's shoulder onto the table.

Nix shook his head, "let's not fight in Hyai's inn."

Instead of picking a fight, Wilo smiled sweetly and stroked the tiny gecko's head. Ronnie nodded in approval, "Nice job Wilo."

After a few seconds, the King had enough and hopped back on Wind's shoulder before disappearing. The wisp tried to follow him but he had disappeared.

Pon had been watching the interaction with interest. "Was he able to pass the companion trial?"

Wind nodded, "of course, he's the King. Although I can't tell what his new abilities are yet."

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

Nix sat comfortably at his workbench, he was examing the Titanic Kraken skin he had received after the Sea-Beasts death.

[Do you wish to process the Kraken Skin?]

"Yes."

[14,721 Kraken Leather have been sent to your inventory.]

"Hmm... that's a lot. Let's see what it looks like."

Kraken Leather: Legendary

Description: Made from the

skin of a legendary beast. Anything

made with this leather is given a

+100 AC rating and + 50 to Strength

"That's a game-changer..."

/Guildchat: Nix: Moki are you still around?

/Guildchat: Moki: I'm in my shop working on tomorrow's product.

/Guildchat: Nix: Could you come see me? I'm in my shop."

/Guildchat: Moki: Right away Nix.

A minute later he heard the front door open and footsteps walking toward his shop. Moki was an average looking man, his only standout feature was the enormous afro he wore. "What's up boss?"

Moki liked to call everyone boss, so Nix didn't say anything about it. "You're the armorer in the guild, I want you to take a look at this."

Moki picked it up and immediately almost dropped it. "Are you kidding me?" He was examining the leather in detail, "I could make the best leather armor in the game with this. Not only that, by adhering metallic scales to the leather, I could make a scale armor that would rival the best plate armor in Colonial"

Nix nodded, scale armor was a hybrid between leather and plate armor. "Could you use any scales for adhering? Or does it have to be metallic?"

"Anything that has appropriate hardness and strength." He handed Nix back the Kraken leather, "do you have something in mind?"

"Not yet, but we'll look for an appropriate scale, until then could you concentrate on making leather armor for us? Two hundred sets ought to do for starters."

Moki grinned when he was handed 400 Kraken leather. "I'll design something really nice Nix!" Without another word, he walked rapidly out the door.

A short while later Nix was looking at his crafting setup. He was experimenting with different enhancement techniques. He discovered he could shorten sleeves or robe lengths without affecting the characteristics of the outfit.

[Custom: Wylie] Shirt, [Qty] 1, Material [Kraken leather] Tool [Titanium Needle] Thread [Composite] Enhancements [Salamander Skin, Green Silk] Additional characteristics [Sleeveless]

[Custom: Wylie] Pants, [Qty] 1, Material [Kraken leather] Tool [Titanium Needle] Thread [Composite] Enhancements [Salamander Skin, Green Silk]

Unexpectedly both recipes were successful on the first try. He had never experienced that before, perhaps because of the legendary material? He held up the shirt, "Woah... that's really nice."

Chrysanthemum Shirt: Legendary [Set 1 of 2]

Description: Beautiful green shirt blended

with the smoothness of silk, the fire resistance

of a salamander and the power of a Kraken.

+100 to AC. +50 to Strength. Mana Increased by

20 percent. +5 to all Stats. If both sets are worn

then the enhancements combine to +130 AC, +65 Strength

and + 8 to all Stats and Mana increased by 30 percent.

Chrysanthemum Pants: Legendary [Set 2 of 2]

Description: Beautiful green pants blended

with the smoothness of silk, the fire resistance

of a salamander and the power of a Kraken.

+100 to AC. +50 to Strength. Mana Increased by

20 percent. +5 to all Stats. If both sets are worn

then the enhancements combine to +130 AC, +65 Strength

and + 8 to all Stats and Mana increased by 30 percent.

"Heh... too bad they don't stack." Nix cleaned up his area and left the shop, instead of heading to the inn he entered the Cobbler shop. A light on in the back told him that Dalton was still working.

Dalton looked up when Nix entered, he was just cleaning up his shop for the day. "Need something Nix?"

"A quick order." He placed four Kraken Leather on the counter. "One pair of caster boots, please. make then green if you can."

Dalton nodded and picked up the leather. "Nix... this is legendary material."

"Yep..."

He sat the leathers back down. "Know what crafters use legendary material for?"

Nix shrugged, "making legendary gear?"

Dalton shook his head, "making difficult recipes that would normally be impossible."

"Huh? Wait, you put it in in the enhancement block?"

"Yes, legendary enhancements are very rare Nix."

"Doesn't seem very rare. I've got nearly 15 thousand of them." Nix laughed at Dalton's expression.

"These can be reused over and over as enhancement items. If every crafter in Glory had one, we could make a lot of really nice things."

/Guildchat: Nix: All crafters report to Dalton's shop, please. If anyone sees Kyla, have her come too.

A few minutes later all of the crafters in Glory were crowded into Dalton's shop. Nix had Dalton explain the benefits of legendary enhancements and then he handed one out to everyone. Moki didn't need one since he was already aware of the benefits.

"I want 200 complete sets of boots, armor, weapons, rings, bracelets. Whatever you can make. High defense against Water Magic is a must. When Shae makes more fire weapons in a few weeks, we'll be heading back into Mermaid City. Your payment for this order is the legendary enhancement you just received. If you feel it isn't enough, then hand it back and forget about what I just said."

Dalton waited a few moments, no one was handing back the Kraken leather. "I know it's troublesome, but if you have our guildmates come by the shops, we can make custom gear."

Nix nodded, "good point. Custom is always a bit better."

/Guildchat: Nix: I need everyone in the guild to report to the shops' area sometime in the next few days to put in their equipment orders. We now have the ability to make some legendary gear.

/Guildchat: Sharl: Cost?

/Guildchat: Nix: Our crafters have already been paid, so feel free to gear up.

/Guildchat: Nix: Also, tomorrow morning I'm taking a team into Lapu, this is a great opportunity for those without Manta mounts to get one.

/Guildchat: Ronnie: I'll come.

/Guildchat: Semmi: Me too!

/Guildchat: Jun Li: Let's make it a guild event then.

Finally, Nix crawled into his bed on his houseboat. He hadn't been able to meet up with Wylie, but he passed her a message through Wind. She would join them for the Lapu raid. Footsteps on his deck made him sit up in bed. Fajii usually walked in whenever she liked, so most likely it was her.

"Nix!" It was Fajii, but she was accompanied by Mina. The Aquarion Alchemist was being held up, her color was a deep blue.

"What's the matter?" Nix jumped up and gave Mina a hand, they carefully set Fajii down on the bed.

"She's very sick Nix." Mina covered her friend with blankets and stroked her head.

"Sick?" Nix didn't even realize that you could get sick in Colonial. "Like a curse? Or maybe poison?"

"I've no idea, I was wondering if perhaps since she spends so much time here..."

Nix frowned, "perhaps I got her sick?"

/Guildchat: Nix: Nansu, report to my houseboat immediately.

/Guildchat: Semmi: Very bold Nix... but Chael is going to flip out.

/Guidchat: Nix: Tess and Rose come also. Wind, could you get Wylie for me?

/Guildchat: Jun Li: That's all the healers Nix. Is something wrong?

/Guildchat: Nix: Yes. Please hurry.