The group looked upon the outer walls of Northport, from the land it was certainly an impressive fortification. Especially around the gate house there were tubs of oil high up on the battlements that could be poured onto an attacking force and ignited, arrow slits covering every angle. There were several small siege weapons, bolt throwers with militia crews above the gate.

If some monster was hiding amongst the traffic into the city they were in trouble. As the group approached the gate in there coach, there was quite a cue of traffic. Each waggon going into the city was checked thoroughly by a group. A low level priest a tamer with a sniffer dog and a couple of guards with a bit of training.

As they got close one cart driver was busy arguing with a guard over a fee or a fine for some misdemeanour. There coach looked suspicious to say the least. A dozen human bodies piled on top and tied to the rear of the coach. With the heads and other bits of four large basilisks beside then topped off with a mad looking vampire hunter sitting in the middle of the mess.

The sergeant who approached them looked like he desperately wanted to go back to bed. He took a deep breath then looked at the coach driver then Martin. “Let me guess your survivors of a basilisk attack?” Martin dropped off the roof of the coach, the guard sergeant took a step back his hand on his sword. “A good supposition but you are incorrect, these bandits attacked us thinking that we would be easy prey. They were led by a tamer the basilisks were his pets, they picked a fight with the zealot”.

The guard looked over there presented paperwork, he had heard stories of four masters working for the bishops of Good-ford Alexius. They had killed a dragon a powerful elite vampire and dozens of other creatures. The Zealot and Malice were partially well know. He gestured to the driver “go to the front of the cue, present your paperwork to the lieutenant on duty”.

The lieutenant checked their paperwork then a Priest at the front door used his discern blessing. He had a reliquary to hand so he was able to use the blessing as many times as he liked. He did feel something off about Martin, but as the letter explained Martin was suffering from a curse to be treated. A clerk had a magic grimoire that could be used to cast the identify spell a simple back up, as agents they were exempt. A scribe briefly check there paperwork and confirmed that it was the genuine article. A tamer with two large St Michael’s war hounds sniffed over them. The hounds didn’t like Martin but then they didn’t go berserk either.

Any one going into the main entrance of the city would be checked this way, vampire’s criminals and other unsavoury groups were always trying to hide in plane site. Their coach was diverted to one side, they were sent off to see the deputy sheriff, about any bounty on the bandits that attacked them.

Geoffrey Weston was the deputy sheriff, a man at arms by training carried a heavy mix of steel chainmail and iron plate armour. He looked over the face of the dead bandit. The priest at the gate had confirmed the identity with his discern blessing.

Martin and David were outside the coach going through the paper work with him. “I am sorry to hear that one of your companions fell to the attack. This group of bandits has been a problem attacking small groups of one or two coaches or carts, they would use narrow points on the road, we called them the basilisk boys. Pity you couldn’t have taken one alive we could have found there base and the stuff they stole”.

“Well they are no more, that’s excellent for the local roads, they had a 20 silver bounty on the leader you can pick it up later. After I get it from the merchant that sponsored it, I’m sure the bishop can fix your friend right up, I have seen him perform that blessing in front of the congregation an amazing sight to stir the heart, they call him the healer”.

The coach moved towards the inner wall that divided the poorer part of town from the richer part. The wall was higher than the one before, another ten feet on the outer wall but quite a bit thinner. There was even a number of ballista’s and bolt throwers on the inner walls, mounted on towers and crenulations. A quick check of their paperwork and they were into the harbour proper and there was the full view of the cathedral citadel. It was a fortress that had just enough room to shelter the entire population of the city, if the outer and inner walls were overrun.

The harbour was quite a site to see ships of all types from the old fashioned fishing vessels. The old ways endured slender and flexible able to carry a reasonable load, easy to repair and manoeuvre flexible in construction. The more modern galleys used for the merchant routes to the western colonies the central and southern lands far better designed for a long haul. There were one or two of the stout slow dwarven ships, they looked like a castle made out of wood with some metal reinforcement, there crews didn’t spend long on land.

The most enterprising of the dwarfs would make the journey from there islands to the central plains, around the southern lands around the other side of the central plains up to north port and back. Trading from port to port hugging the coast and avoiding the open sea with its kraken leviathans and other hazards.

From the port city states of the central plains there triremes and biremes could be seen. They could row their boats without the need for sails if the wind was lacking. A regular trade of goods came backwards and forwards. There were a few ships from the southern lands they were like the biremes but quite a bit thinner. They held fewer goods but also looked like they could easily navigate canals and thinner inland rivers.

They arrived at the cathedral a deacon and a cleric let them in. A volunteer helped Martin carried Alice on a stretcher. They were sent to a polite young priest who read the letter from the bishop announcing them. They were lead to a small herb garden, it looked like a peaceful island. An area where Martin guessed the bishop had the raw ingredients for some medicine grown. The bishop himself was sitting in a chair going through correspondence. They put Alice down on a table David guided Vivian they both saluted the bishop. Martin respectfully nodded and made a small blessing the bishop returned the gesturer then shook them by the hand.

He briefly skimmed over the letter that they presented to him, “Four masters Martin Vivian David and Alice, I am Bishop Christopher Gyfford known as the healer, I understand that you have done a great service to my colleague Alexis. As a result of this I can aid you swiftly, there was a farmer who caught his arm in a plough and lost it above the elbow, today I was to restore that to him, instead I will restore this arm to you”.

The bishop slipped on a white outer robe, he picked up his crook and gestured for them to follow him. He stepped out down a corridor past several doors and into the main hall. There were hundreds of people about, the bishop knew how to keep the faithful alert. To show the power of the creator god as a way to remind people of his churches presence.

He banged his crook on the ground “listen to me my congregation, today I was to restore to a man what had been lost, that will have to wait. There is another who's need is greater as we need his arm to help defend this land, behold my children the power of the creator god”.

David nervously held out the stump of his arm the bishop placed his hand on the limb he made the sign of a blessing muttered a few words “regrow limb”. There was a blinding searing white light David found himself on his knees. He had caught himself was it pain, was it shock he was not sure rather than one hand he had two. That which the vampire had deprived him of the bishop Gyfford had restored to him. A glow faded from his hand he admired it, new no blemish or scar the shade just off from his original hand.

The bishop offered his hand to David using his crook to support his weight and his balance. The bishop moved David to the side of the cathedral alter. “It will take you a few weeks to get used to it, even though it is the same as the limb that was taken from you. Adapting to having it removed then restored will take time, practice as much as you can and everything will fall back into place, the limb is new it will be weak for a while”.

He looked over Alice “blessing insight”, “my brother bishop was very close to saving her. She is trapped in her own mind. A restorative potion combined with my blessings should do the trick. He pushed a funnel into her mouth and emptied the contests of a small blue bottle from his robe down her throat, “greater blessing of the mind”. She started to shake and twitch. Vivian whispered “what is that potion”? The bishop answered quietly. “Something psionics use to restore their minds after they over exert themselves. It invigorates the mind with a few side effects, I have dealt with a lot of people whose minds were damaged by the vampires over the years”.

Alice felt her mind accelerate she felt giddy as thoughts were accelerated. Inside the mental construct of her mind, the representation of the library tower her reading accelerated, she was getting closer. A book to her left glowed she abandoned the pile of books she was reading through she got up and walked over to the book pulling it out. She flipped through the pages finding what she needed.

A simple line read `You are Alice Coster it is time`. She felt herself falling the library fading away then she hit her own body. The link between her mind and body was restored it felt like a bump and impact at the bottom of her spine and back almost like a short fall. Immediately she was coughing up some sort of bitter medicine that she had taken, she was in an unfamiliar church or cathedral.

She looked up at what must have been a bishop he held a hand out to her, Alice’s thinking was disjointed “how long was it”. “If you mean how long were you out then it was around four days from what I understand”. “How long is recover”? “If you mean how long until you regain your full abilities I don’t know, it can take weeks or months but you are young and your mind is strong”.

Alice looked at the others. Vivian had bandages over her eyes David was clutching his arm as if it was brand new and Martin looked like he had eaten a pound of grit. He was cursed perhaps, considering how potent a poison would need to be to even phase him. His aliment would more likely be mystical rather than chemical.

Seeing the bishop personally restore two people to health the crowd cheered, Martin handed Alice her staff she gripped it and used it to steady herself. They moved from around the alter and back into a side room. The bishop worked his strongest arts where people could see, it helped install in them a robust faith in their religious leader.

Gyfford turned to Martin, “while I cannot help you I can direct you to one that can. There is only one that I know of , you had best move very soon or that emissary will be gone from the area or worse and you will have to search again”. David looked grim, “I assume whoever it is that they are forever doing dangerous work. So as needs must” David had his priorities, “however we need to wait another day or two to restore Vivian”. The bishop held up a letter “Not so, I give this to you Alice it was sent to me”.

Alice read the note and grinned she put her hand on Vivian’s shoulder “lady Imoline has provided”. A militia man led them to the local mages tower chapter house. It was a large one with four dozen mages. There appeared to be a couple of dwarven enchanters in town swapping notes with an ancient tower mage.

Martin had never seen a dwarf before, they carried metal staves much like their own mages they had long thick robes that would do well to turn the cold or a blade. One dwarf was larger and had a frizzy beard the second was thinner more elegant, there beard was straight and finer. When the thinner dwarf spoke it was clear that she was a woman, she didn’t have a perfect grasp of the northern commons but she could be understood.

They were pushed forwards like the gorking tourists that they were. Anne Thornton was the chapter head a level 50 master mage and a level 25 veteran enchanter. She focused on long range high damage spells and similarly adding damage to weapon enchantments. She greeted them formally “the four master’s welcome Alice Vivian David and Martin”.

Alice curtsied Vivian and David saluted and Martin offered a brief blessing. “My colleague and fellow chapter master lady Imoline said that you needed to get back on your feet as soon as possible. That a powerful vampire was hunting you for slaying his servants, I see that the bishop has restored two of you to some degree of health, though full recovery can take a while”. “When will it happen”? Alice asked. “I took a similar hit form a vampire elder twenty years ago, it took me three weeks to wake up and two months before I felt like me again”, Alice was resolute, “time will tell”.

She guided Vivian to sit and removed a box from a shelf behind her. “For you I have something taken from a high level golem. An Octium golem eye, it would normally add a bonus of + 3 perception above a normal human eye, even then this one should negates all of the penalties of fighting with just one eye”.

Anne unwrapped the bandages from Vivian’s face, she carefully cut away the crude stitches. She put some drops of a potion into Vivian’s eye socket then she took out the golem eyes. It sparkled like the octium blades or arrow tips that Vivian carried, it almost looked like a mechanical puzzle. Anna cleaned it with a silk cloth then put on some white gloved she put some of the same potion onto the golem eye. “Hold out you hand I need a drop of your blood” With a needle she gathered one tiny drop. She placed it onto a small crystal attuning it with the drop of blood. She placed it onto the back of the golem eye.

When she was confident the two were joined together she used a probe to hold the eye socket open. Vivian twitched “fucking … hell sorry” as the mage pushed the octium eye in gently. She charged it with a little of her mana. “It will need to be recharged every week Alice can do that”. With a couple of adjustments the eye started to track and to work making a little ticking sound, the mage added a drop or two of oil and the ticking decreased.

Slowly Vivian could see light rather than dark, then she could make out grey shapes that slowly came into focus. She held out her own hand processing the sensations, she could see the colours faintly at first then she could see in detail. The view was off putting just having her right eye.

Vivian saw David he looked like he was about to cry, She reached out grabbing the mage and David in a bone shaking hug. She got a good look at Martin he looked ropey, Alice looked like she had her mind in some other place, though there were flickers of her old self. Vivian caught her reflection in a mirror the horrible scar sunk in. The unnatural eye so prevalent a tear fell from her right eye. Martin looked at her distress, it was his nature to assist where he could, “give me a few minutes I can stich a patch for the other eye just a temporary thing ok”.

Vivian picked up her bow and arrows “now for the real test, can I function, can I shoot”? She used a tree for practice aiming at a knot in the wood. She was not using a full power shot and not an arrow that would be a loss if destroyed. The first iron broad head missed the tree by a yard. Vivian squinted and gripped her bow. Her second shot was closer but still missed the trunk by a foot.

Her third shot hit the outside of the tree and bounced off, her fourth shot was five inches off and her fifth shot hit the mark right into the knot in the wood. After just five practice shots she had a degree of confidence. Vivian aimed for a tree further away she was a little off centre but the shot hit, a second arrow and she was dead on.

Alice identified the magical item they got from the bandits, the plaque of the tamer. It would boost a tamers skills by the equivalent of 10 levels. Making it easy to control more than one mid-level creature they sold it to the guild master for 5 silver. Alice looked at the guild master getting the idea from Vivian “suitable place, target practice”? The local mage nodded “We have a few blocks of stone surplus building materials in the court yard you can use that”.

Alice tried her magic it took her a little longer to cast the spell but her acid strike aimed at the block of stone was as potent as it had been before. She repeated it with a fire bite spell. It would take her mind a time to settle, but she felt better.

The party made a quick visit to the merchant’s guild to sell the equipment and monster bits. With the money the bandits had and the five silver for the magic item they could not use, they now had 30 silver pieces. They returned to the cathedral a deacon scribed a letter back to Good-ford. To be sent with 30 silver pieces and Rose's ashes. They saw the deputy sheriff, for the bandits he yielded the promised 20 silver, for the bounty on their leaders head.

They went back to the cathedral, the bishop looked them over, “good I see you have a full team. My scribe has arranged lodgings for you and a fresh carriage and horses to take you out on your way. The sooner you get Martin to the emissary the sooner you can get him cured. May the blessings of the creator god be with you, the last thing I need is him to lose control and have to send hunters out after the equivalent of a level 75 werewolf! Vivian gripped her bow “it won’t come to that” Alice and David nodded.

Martin grabbed a few bits of leather. The rest of their stuff was left with the first coach driver who dropped it of at their assigned lodgings, he would then get to take a rest his duty done.

They took a newer faster carriage with one driver out to a village Spring Wall. It was a brave coachman to drive out into the night, but then there were four masters backing him up. He was as well defended as he could be. Martin worked the scrap of black dyed leather into a patch for Vivian so she could cover up the scar and her other eye as much as possible.

Spring Wall was a very small place around three hundred people, as they neared they realised that it was under attack. It looked like the work of archanists, there were a dozen greater walkers outside the settlement blocking the road. The zombie like creatures made of brass iron and alchemical mixtures started to move forwards, the party ripped into them.

Martin used his four barrelled pistol unloading it into the first walker, two shots to the iron and brass dome of a skull two shots to the centre of mass. Down the creature went. Martin used his focus reload ability to reload his weapon in a blur. Alice threw a duel cast fire ball at one end of the line the conjured heat and flame roasted the three on one end eliminating them.

Vivian let lose a mithral arrow with an adrenalin power shot, bringing the bow to almost its full pull weight. In an instant the arrow crashed straight through the centre of the walker she was aiming at and landed, imbedded itself in the dirt behind. The walker missing a good chunk of its insides fell over green fluid draining out from its body. Vivian aimed head and heart for the rest mithral arrows quickly shredded two more.

David closed in on them using an adrenalin shield shrike to knock three of them over like skittles. His mithral blade was awkward in his hand, but it didn’t lack raw power beheading one greater walker bisecting a second horizontally. The third was almost to its feet when he slashed through it cutting its right shoulder and head clean off.

Martin emptied his pistol into the last two, two shots per head seemed to be enough anything else was over kill. Martin ran forwards reloading his gun as he went his fingers blurring, Vivian and Alice close behind. They moved through a wrecked section of the wooden stockade it looked like some explosion had cracked the wood and earth fortification. “I guess its fate that we are hear” he nodded to himself, “the creator god moves in mysterious ways”.

They reasoned that the people of the village must be hauled up in the church. Some had fallen there were a few bodies about but the church doors were held firm. Twenty greater walkers and one overseer turned their attention from battering the thick church doors towards the group of agents approaching them. David noticed the more complex overseer “I am the only one not to break through, let me have that guy you take the rest out”. Martin looked at him with his monocle “careful he is level 50 at the very least”.

David grinned that was perfect, he charged forwards. Alice didn’t see any ranged attackers but she was cautious casting a physical shield spell and illusionary allies. She targeted the greater walkers throwing fire balls into the ranks of the constructs determined to have some degree of violent satisfaction. Her mind was still full of cotton disjointed and incomplete the mana coursing through her veins, each spell she cast helped to push her that bit closer.

A step to completing her goal of recovery, to re-orientate her mind. It was not her eye Vivian could see the outline of mana, she guessed that was what it was a bit purple around each of the greater walkers. Perhaps it was similar to the way Alice’s magical senses worked, or how Martin's monocle functioned. Wither way she was sure that her octium arrows would work nicely against the greater walkers.

She shot with a controlled precisely applied power, the arrow flew from her bow. In an instant it imbedded into one of the greater walkers through the dome of their head through brass and steel into preserve bone and brain tissue. Then out the other side with enough force to leave it wedged all the way through the skull. The greater walker pitched forwards and landed flat on the muddy ground. The Overseer Primas made several alarmed whirring noises and the greater walkers began to advance with much more haste. Martin added his pistol four shots two apiece and there were two less greater walkers.

Vivian sent two more arrows into the ranks, the creatures were two slow to dodge relying on their thick armour. It was resistant to most steel weapons, harder metals they could not counter and subsequently they fell. Alice threw another fire ball into the approaching mass destroying three more. David knocked a group out of his way as he closed in on the Overseer Primas David sliced one greater walkers head off, before he confronted the group’s leader.

The leader grinned with his spring loaded jaw, teeth replaced by brass plates. The overseer brought up his chemical sprayer releasing a jet of toxic spray that harmlessly struck David’s shield. He had learnt from the last fight he attacked in response. The Overseer had to dive back to avoid losing an arm to David’s blade. “Query why attack this unit, you could be upgraded”!

Martin reloaded his four barrelled pistol and fired, two more greater walkers fell. His two regular pistols were filled with overload shots, a pair of almost point blank shots and another two walkers were down. Alice hit them with another fireball singing Martin slightly, Vivian finished off the remaining with a couple of octium arrows leaving nothing but the Overseer Primus that David faced off against.

The Overseer launched two cables at David. His shield blocked them an electric charge shot out, David was protected and grinned. The overseer looked dejected “elemental resistance enchantment lovely”. A foot long blade extended from his other hand and he tried to step in to skewer David only to get a shield smashing in the face, sending him staggering back. The chemical thrower attached to the overseers arm reconfigured itself with a click a light was there then the chemicals were ignited and sprayed all over David who blocked them again with his tower shield. The Overseer could hold the mercenary at bay with this tactic but it could not win.

David stepped in and smashed the Overseer with his shield, sending the construct reeling back. David’s sword dropped down damaging but not destroying the chemical thrower. The group watched as David cut into the construct. The Overseer grimaced there was a click from inside him and electricity started to flow through him causing his flesh to reknit, his limbs to straighten.

David was having none of it he hammered three power attacks into the overseer’s chest sending oil and gears and flesh flying, the electricity stopped flowing and the amalgamation of man and machine stopped repairing itself.

Another exchange of blows and the Overseer lost its left arm and the chemical thrower. It turned to run to make a mad dash for its mockery of a life. David struck low severing its left leg at the ankle joint. It howled in pain, a grinding grating sound. Then it tried to crawl two more power strikes to its reinforced skull and it dropped dead to the cold earth.

David waited patiently then kicked the body a final whir and it locked up. He felt a familiar sensation. The flow of time ground to a haul a message appeared in his mind’s eye

A special action has been performed feat of marshal strength has been achieved you have defeated a worthy opponent your level limit has been increased to level 75. The level up hit them a flash of change a hardening of the body and an expansion of the mind.

The Overseer Primus must have been quite powerful, considering David gained two levels from defeating it as well as the usual bonuses from levelling. He gained two levels in a skill counter armour, next time he fought an armoured opponent like the Overseer Primas the fight would be much shorter. He would be able to deal with its layered plating, the greater walkers would also be susceptible to such an ability with their layers of iron armour, David was now a level 52 mercenary.

Vivian gained a level from her contribution to the fight, going up to level 54 putting another rank into her shatter shield ability, it was now up to level 3. Alice felt her mind expand the extra wisdom making her thoughts that little bit clearer. She improved her illusionary allies spell to the grand version giving even more distractions to any attacking her. She paused for a moment something seemed to be beyond her grasp. She needed something with the clarity brought about by combat, she would recover the order of her thoughts.

Martin reloaded his pistols as he gained a class level at level 65 he gained access to an upgrade for his blessings to resist fire frost and electrical damage. He also gained a second use of them making him far more versatile, able to protect a second member of the group. Alice could cast her elemental shield on herself and another effectively they could all be protected against an attack.

A hatch in the church door opened eyes peered out. The hatch shut, the church door creaked as several heavy bars were lifted out of the way, there was a grinding clinking noise like a heavy weight being dragged, and then the doors to the church opened inwards. An old woman stepped out she looked rather austere but still relieved her clothes were markedly better than her contemporaries.

The woman’s eyes settled on Vivian whose mechanical golem eye focused on her. “You have my thanks for defending Spring Wall. If you were an hour earlier you may have saved those that fell. However if you were an hour later none might have been left for you to save, so I will thank you as best I can”.

Vivian observer her “are you the mayor of this village”? , “mayor is far to grand a title for this little place, I am the elder of the village put in charge at the apathetic will of the local lord, we have representatives of the church and guild as regular”.

Vivian looked about the majority of people seemed unhurt, other than the ones who didn’t make it inside. From the location of the bodies they were closet to the breach in the wall. “It is good to see most of you survived”. The elder looked over them, “to them we were ingredients to be harvested, your equipment the way you cut through those creatures of flesh alchemy brass and iron your more than veterans, your master or grand masters, you’re hunting whatever those things called master right”? “Not quite my companion Martin is ill he needs a certain skill set to cure him, the one chasing these creatures creator, we are after them hopefully we can find and help them”.

The elder priest and trader counted up there dead. Out of the 300 residents twenty five people had not made it to the church. The priest took stock of the situation and started to lead his congregation in prayer.

Martin David and Vivian set about dragging all the greater walkers’ bits into one pile outside the settlement. They pilled them up on clear ground, then brought wood a little splash of oil a flick of tinder and the pyre started. Martin had a little woodworking skill, he started to help repair the outer wall. David and Vivian helped to carry heavy timbers while Alice stood watch. Ready to rain down spells of fire and acid on any approaching threat, not that any came.

They ate a meal provided by the locals then took some sleep. They were exhausted and needed to rest. As they settled down in there makeshift bedding they quietly spoke. Alice finally turned in she tried to get comfortable, but there was a fear in the back of her mind. Irrational and unfounded yet she didn’t want to sleep. What if she didn’t wake up again, what if she ended up as she was before trapped in her own mind? She started to desperately cling to her conciseness to remain awake. Martin slept in his coat, his hands having a death grip around his holy symbol as he struggled to hold onto himself.

Having a werewolf sleeping next to her was not her first choice, but then if something was going to happen Martin would likely have succumbed to it far earlier. Finally the shier tiredness of her body overload her and Alice drifted into a shallow sleep. She gripped her mages staff its weight was a familiar comfort to her, allowing her a measure of reassurance as darkness overcame her.