Nix sat across the kitchen island from Hyai and Mina. The Aquarion was bringing Nix up to speed on the Aquarion colony's construction that members of the Souza Accord had started. Although he was nodded and smiled whenever she paused, his concentration was elsewhere. What did that system message mean?

While visiting Tai'Qui's nursery with Hyai, things had taken an unexpected turn. A system message had popped up directly after.

[You have chosen Tai'Qui as your sponsor for the Tembai Dragon Academy]

[Hidden Quest Updated]

"Hun... You should visit them before heading back into the Bone Fortress." Hyai placed a hand on his, bringing him out of his thoughts."

"Huh? Yeah... I'll drop by later today." Nix let the two women talk, happy to be left with his thoughts. The Tembai Academy was where they competed on behalf of Una Chelonia. Their team managed to win two wildling dragons.

His hud buzzed a moment later; Nix answered it while still distracted. "Yeah?"

A dark-skinned man with dark eyes smiled politely at him. His elongated horns immediately marked him as a dragon. "Guild Leader Nix, you're a difficult person to contact."

Nix stared at the familiar face for a moment before recollection set it. "Triston Yor, right?"

The dragon's smile widened slightly, enough to show a sharp pair of incisors. "Correct. Thank you for remembering; it can be so awkward otherwise."

************* Note*********

There were two dragons in the stands during the arena fights at the Tembai Academy when Inferno defeated Dotha's team for the two wildling dragons; they were Triston and Roz Yor, from the House of Yor. Reference chapter 460. They asked to see Nix's Dread Flame.

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

"What do you want? I'm a busy man?" With formalities out of the way, Nix had no reason to let the conversation drag on. "Of course. Let me get to the point. We are short one dragon for an upcoming contest between adolescent dragons." Triston glanced over his shoulder as if someone was telling him what to say. Apparently, it wasn't appreciated; the handsome face broke into a scowl. "If you want to speak to Guild Leader Nix, you could have just contacted him yourself."

Despite his lack of interest, the interaction made Nix chuckle. It was exactly the kind of conversation he would have with Bev when they were teenagers. "Someone spit it out. What do you want? Last I checked, I'm not a dragon."

Triston recovered quickly with a small nod. "We need someone strong to accompany us; there will be a substantial reward even if we don't win."

"No. I'm too busy trying to keep the Goddess of Winter from turning the realms into ice."

Triston paused for a moment as if unable to process sarcasm properly. "I wouldn't want to take up your time, Nix. We are aware of the importance of your task."

"What do you want then?" Nix glanced at the two women since they both looked alarmed; he exhaled and left the rest of his reply unsaid.

Triston cleared his throat and continued. "We know you aren't a dragon. Our request is for Fey the Silver."

"The fuck you say?" Nix closed comms and then blocked any further contact from the young dragon.

An hour later, Nix and Mina were visiting a small Aquarion settlement that, oddly enough, was built on the shores instead of in the water. Several homes were built in what Nix thought of as courtyard pods, with each pod having six or seven homes and sharing a common center area. The buildings were made from simple brick, the roads and center square were cobblestones. In a relatively short amount of time, they managed to make a pleasant looking village.

Mina stopped near a statue that decorated the town square. It was the image of a Human and Aquarion holding hands. A wood-carved sign was attached at the base with the town's name, 'Union'. She smiled and subconsciously placed one hand on her flat stomach. "Is it a good likeness?"

Nix nodded, without a doubt, it was him and Mina. "I don't remember sitting for a sculptor. Who was the artist?"

"Fajii..."

He walked around the town with the Souza Accord's former leader, shaking hands and chatting with old friends while meeting new ones. According to Mina, twenty-five Aquarion girls were born in Union since they settled here.

Near the end of the day, Mina sat with him on the village's only dock. "You haven't asked why this settlement is on the shore instead of the water."

Nix shrugged slightly. "I figured if I waited long enough, you'd definitely tell me."

"So, patient." Mina leaned against him, splaying her webbed hand in the air. "Moving forward, we've decided to stay with our human friends on land. Our natural advantages in the water will help us harvest food from the lake; however, we will also hunt in the woods and till the land."

Nix stared at her hand; unlike Fajii's, the webbing went all the way to the last knuckle. "Cultural blending of our two races, something no one could have predicted a few years ago." Mina nodded in agreement. "I think it works well. Isn't Avalon following a similar path?"

"I guess so." Nix noticed how Mina still wouldn't say Ishna's name. Without a doubt, the former leader of the Souza Accord was still holding a grudge. Inferno had changed the name of Icaraphet to Avalon and invited Ishna's group to settle it as part of the 12 Pillar Alliance. At Ishna's invitation, it was then opened to all of the Human guilds as well.

Mina traced the surface of the water with her bare feet, the quiet between them extending, but neither found it uncomfortable. Shortly before sunset, the Aquarion let out a heavy sigh and climbed to her feet. "I promised Hyai to have you back by dinner. You'll be going back to Bone Fortress today?"

Nix nodded and accepted a hand up. "Later tonight, if they do it exactly at forty-eight hours."

************************ magic

A few hours later, Nix was working at the Kitchen island, partially listening to Hyai and Min talk about their childhoods. After finishing upgrading one of his Orion puppets to Emperor, he took out one of the Nether rats.

"Going to combine them?" Hyai was watching with interest while Mina decided to rummage through the fridge for snacks. "You did the same for Raine, right?"

Nix nodded and brought up the Mutator Animator Interface. "If I wasn't so damn busy with the Bone Fortress, I'd create something awesome."

Mina removed her head from the fridge long enough to peek at the two puppets. "Puppets can cross the borders?"

Nix nodded. "Yeah. It's how I was able to get into the Keep and free the Shitty Bard."

Mina removed a bowl of something that closely resembled fruit and moved back toward the island. "Isn't Del Tali currently inhabiting a puppet in the Bone Fortress."

*Blink, Blink*

Nix stared at the Aquarion for a moment before muttering a curse under his breath. "I didn't think to check whether or not she could cross borders. The rules might be different for her since her body is in Oasis."

"Almost time, hun." Hyai watched as he finished the Ravager puppet and then stowed it away in his inventory. "Think you'll be able to keep it?"

Nix shrugged slightly. "You keep one item when transporting; I'm going in naked with only this in my inventory."

The idea of a naked Nix arriving in the Bone Fortress made both women smile; the smiles continued a moment later when he hurriedly disrobed and stowed the Ravager away. "Cya soon."

[Create Breach: Haven, Cyphix Coven]

Nix waved at stepped through the breach.

Hyai watched him step through before turning to face Mina. " Think he knows that Gideon's Guild is guarding the Cyphix Coven?"

Mina shook her head. "Doubt if he'd even care."