Over there breakfast they talked, “A supreme spell is a real mark of status … amongst the mages tower, the real power is held by just six exalted masters. They report directly to the king anything of substance is decided by them”. Vivian idly wondered “what are there supreme skills”? “I don't have any concrete details. One has a spell that helps to buff all allied spell casters a support ability, another can channel magic from a group and focus it. That would be good for the defence of the city, two more have heavy hitting offensive spells, two of them have powerful defensive spells”.

Vivian wondered, “each big city has a heavy hitter like ghost as part of the garrison forces, the capital having the majority of them, how do the hunters treat exalted masters”? Martins experiences were second hand tales, “It depends on the person but they are usually considered to have performed some grate service for the creator god to be rewarded so. The lay orders are generally willing to follow an exalted master”.

“It is often a good way to land a job as the spear head of a crusade, or a long slow death behind a mountain of paperwork trying to coordinate our forces against the vampires. I remember sir Reginald refer to it as a death by a thousand paper cuts”.

Martin turned the question back, “what about an exalted master with the mercenaries, how are they viewed”? “They get paid the big money they have better skills experience connections. They often start their own company rather than work for someone else. Or they buy up their contract and freelance”.

Vivian paused thinking, “Our comprehensive training ability cannot be overstated, to train imperial troops, that could match the troops that the first emperor had, that is our strongest power. Not that anyone could afford to maintain an elite imperial praetorian guard in the hundreds anymore, they were the fist that conquered the central plains and the south land’s once. But a mercenary could train up a core of powerful high-level guards. With time and equipment, they would be an asset, an expensive asset but one none the less. Rank and file men like that are not seen any more.

Alice finished her breakfast, “we all gain something from …reaching level 100 my strong ability to analyse magic is rare. As far as I am aware only six others possess it and they are all in the capital”. “I can see what you mean different rare advantages with our different classes, my divine judgement blessing is about half as powerful as my supreme. My third rank vitality makes me a lot tougher these were benefits I got from my 100th level”.

David felt that bit behind, Alice teased, “don't worry your only …one level behind the rest of us, would we have the bad manners to rub It in”? Martin joked, “Yes we would, remind you that you’re always the last one to get anything”. He was irritated, “hang on that's not quite right”. Vivian defended him, “most of the rest of us focus on dealing damage not just defending ourselves, it would be slightly harder for him to keep up when he has to constantly defend the front rank, Alice casts one spell Martin a single blessing, David has to block each blow or he would soon be overwhelmed”.

She remembered one detail, it clocked with Vivian as a way to change the conversation. They had her fun with David, “I forgot to mention one very potent ability a secondary effect, a five second stun to an opponent I hit”. Martin finished his food; they could pretty much see the thoughts plastered over his face. “That would be effective against an opponent trying to get away. You remember when we hunted the vampire Islington, he got away the first time dived into an underground river. That would have stopped him giving us an opportunity to get the reward first time”. Alice could see the battle lines being drawn, a set up a knock down, “so Vivian your supreme might be best left in reserve …to stop an opponent getting away until we can cripple them. Martins ability hand of god can knock an opponent down so that would help as well”.

Alice looked about the group, “In the end we all what Bismark dead, he almost destroyed my mind. It gets me thinking about a different …tactic to employ. In this scenario then Vivian could stun him. Then I could use my supreme to start delivering a variety of spell probably a duel cast mana lance, Martin you can drop your own supreme and your chain smite, the last time the sunlight did more damage to him than we did, next time we hit him hard”.

David had to wonder, “How strong is your mana lance spell”? Alice was rightfully proud of her spells, “at the moment over seven hundred points of magical damage a second. It could really go higher if duel cast, Also I am starting to …study a book the devouring flame. It teaches the use of this spell. How to train it up to the grand, grater and finally master level. At that point it would be able to deal 1300 points of magic damage a second. I believe high level vampires have some magical resistance, but this should easily overwhelm that”.

Vivian looked to Alice, “I tried my supreme technique with David yesterday, putting a plank of wood up on the tower as a target. My supreme was accurate, at maximum range I could still hit something about the size of a person. It was very similar to Martins attack. The force was overwhelming remember what was left of the first blade. With this bow I hit really hard anyway, with the supreme martial art it’s on a new level. I have to try it with a moving target David can help me with that and some more scraps of wood”.

Martin had an idea, “if we had a troll or a siege ghoul as an example do you think that you could one hit kill something like that”? Vivian remembered their perilous battles with such creatures, “probably yes if I put an arrow somewhere sensitive like an eye. I could cause a critical hit strong enough to shred its brain, against the undead I am not so sure unless I knew the focus location”.

Vivian lead them to her room. She removed the keys and laid them out. “Alice you spoke about your analyse magic skill, what can you tell us about them”? She spent several minutes handling them, “I get more detail, but it still feels like a jumbled mess. There are two sets of enchantments on the keys one that was put there when they were created worked into their very fabric. The second much newer it still feels about a hundred or more years old, if I am sensing it correctly”.

David picked them up, “those keys they look like they are part of a set. Or even parts of the same key, and you need them together more than just touching to read them right”? She nodded, Martin looked at the slots and grooved that ran down the back of the keys they would interlock in a specific way. Martins hands moved as he slotted three of the keys hesitating on the last, “yes it seems that the four keys slot together back to back”. David saw him hesitate, “What happens if we do that”? Alice held out her hand almost as if she was tugging on something inside the object “, I can’t read it, I am not sure what exactly would happen, but something might”.

David pushed the last key into place, “in for a penny in for a silver”. There was a green flash of magic as something activated. Vivian slapped David on the back of the head for his impulsiveness. “Alice can your analyse magic sense anything”? She reached out with both hands it was as if she was gripping something invisible. “I am detecting some key spells they ... work with a magic lock, part of the spell is on each one of the four pieces. There are some spells to make the keys tougher more durable a version of a self-sharpening spell that keeps the key strait in working order”.

Vivian was cautious, “what about the flash of magic”? Alice reached into the air around where the spells visual glow had been, “that was something else added on later, I can sense … give me a second”. She reached around almost like she was scraping something out of the air, “Some sort of message or sending spell … that enchantment is spent. Something has been set in motion”.

Martin glowered at David, “did we just release a golem army or sound a great big diner gong”? Alice stopped him in his tracks. “No, this key was split up by someone handed out to several parties, an agreement from a long time ago”. Vivian continued the line of reasoning, “maybe several nobles or mages had to agree to act together to use a weapon, a defence for this city. I assume its locked up in a vault of some sort”. Martin held up the key, “a weapon from the first emperor, that would fit perhaps the triune repurposed it”.

Martin looked round, “we need to know what we have in our hands. This is going to be a slow one we have to do some research”. Alice picked up her staff, “we have to go through the guild library's, I don't exactly trust the local leaders to play this completely strait”. There next stop was the hunters house Francis gave them access to the library.

After searching and cross-checking Martin addressed the rest, “the hunters have references to the ancient city that was hear before the vampires. It had a powerful defensive ability. The first king appointed a warden of the long sea to oversee the port. A lot of the tribute to him was shipped through hear”. Vivian pulled up the reference, “it talks about them having a tireless bodyguard, could that mean golems or just some really good armour”?

The headed to the local chapter mages tower, as an exalted master though not officially recognised, Alice had access to all the texts. “These ancient records indicate …that the elven city of, I can’t pronounce this to save my life. It’s the elven city near Ulysses crossing didn't pay any tax for nearly 100 years, but did ship a dozen large caravans to North port”. Vivian pulled out another old ledger, this one is a copy from the teach family archives, “I found a bill for the housing and feeding of around 200 dwarven craftsmen at around the same time. Supposedly they worked on the duke’s palace before it was rebuilt into the more defensive structure it is now”.

They checked the duchess's archives her steward letting them in. Martin nodded, “these old records include dwarven mechanists’ smiths stone masons’ enchanters”. Alice could connect the dots, “note these stone masons are mostly structural, skilled at building heavy walls no decorative carvings”. Vivian was convinced there was certainty and conviction in her voice, “I am sure they built a vault for whatever the elves created”.

David was not that good with his history, “how long ago are we looking”? Martin focused on making vampires history, he had some rough idea of what they might have seen. “The blood alchemists empire would have fallen, with the dragon revolt. The vampires would not have started their civil war just yet.”

Vivian threatened to thump David with a history book, “its basic, the first king or emperor however you translate it would have been on good terms with the western colonies the dwarves and the elves, the central plains and southern lands partially conquered”. David nodded if not quite getting it all in line, “at that time there was not much to oppose him”.

Vivian rechecked the book, “well the southern alliance was in effect and they were starting to argue with the first king on trade and tribute”. “What did the Southern lands have” She checked her book. “According to the history books druids of stone weather and life, specialisations of the druid job they were also competent skirmishers and monster tamers. Slightly better than the central plains they were focused on iron rather than bronze weapons, nothing that would compete with Damascus steel”.

Alice the most scholarly of the lot finished the tail without even looking at the book, “I have read enough of that to know what happened next. The alliance flat out expected Ulysses to send an army when they refused to send tribute. Instead he had already planted a weapon called the stone burner in the centre of his embassy in their capital city. Then there was the sundering and he turned the centre of their land into the great glass desert”.

They moved on to scan through a library in the church, “so we have found out that a long time ago the old nobles. The warden of the long sea, part of the ancestors of what is now the royal faction commissioned elves to make golems for them”. “Not just some workforce but soldiers an ace in hole for the monarch” Martin continued.

David tried to work it out, “if it came to a war between the elves and the first king wouldn't the golems turn on him”. Alice put down her book, “no he had them made separate from the elves system. They were more akin to siege machines that living servants, according to this note, the name of the half elf was Hefestus lee, the architect a forger of golems. The elves taught him, he worked on a lot of projects. You still now might find a few enchanted plaques to him, he designed some of the dry docks in the city as well.

Vivian carefully laid down a faded velum map, “this plan might be of the vault. See the lay of the land the way the land slopes, I put this map of the city over it. You see if you adjust for the shape of the land” Alice grinned, “the vault is right under the warden of the sea's power base”.

David had one thought seeing the layout of the map, “I have a radical idea, do you think the first king had this force hear to secure his route of retreat, if he ever lost the Northern lands to external invasion or internal rebellion he could get to North-port get on a ship and head for the western colony's”. Martin nodded surprised not by the idea, but that David thought it up, “that makes a lot of sense”. Then again David was trained as a mercenary there was a certain amount of strategic thinking expected.

They moved to the duchess residence they found a quiet room, Vivian looked around making sure they were alone, “until we know more its best, we don't mention this key right”? “I would say it’s a bad gamble to open the vault”, David was not willing to gamble on disturbing the vault. Alice remembered the one broken golem that they had fought, “I am all for power …but we need to be able to understand it, I don't understand enchanting I don't understand golems. If I had several levels in the enchanting skill, I might have a different opinion, but I don't”.

Martin made it unanimous, “we are here to fight monsters. Look at what happened to the elven city states. These golems could be worse than vampires inside the city”. Vivian tapped her golem eye and lead them to a particular spot in the building, “look at the stonework a couple of rooms down and the vault is definitely beneath the ducal palace.

In private they continued to debate the issue, David asked a simple question with a complex answer, “where do we keep the keys”? Martin mulled over one of the options, “the church would keep them locked up in the cathedrals vault. But that would cause a lot of resentment from the nobles and might tick off the merchant’s guild”.

Vivian took another option, “the merchants guild solution of splitting them up might be best”. Alice made a point, “whoever we align with we potentially ostracise two thirds of the triune”. They could make things worse by doing anything. David ran a hand over his mithril shield, “we could destroy these things. We might need a mithril forge to do it. But it would end the issue once and for all”.

Martin could see a legal procedure a chain they could follow, “we are agents of the bishop of good forge, technically we can surrender these items to him. Then it’s up to him to work out what the hell to do with them, that would be the precedent I believe. That favours the church I suppose but, we still work for Alexius, we might still be wounded if not for him, we would certainly be less well equipped”.

Alice tried to apply wisdom to the situation, “let the trade talks conclude first, this could be a massive disruption. The elves don't like golems after what happened to their original cites. The last thing they want to see is us fighting over the keys to the vault. When it is over, we could bring the keys back to Alexius”.

“Whatever we do we cannot let these keys fall into the hands of the vampires, hidden hand or anyone like that” Martin was right. Vivian slid the key apart, “So we split the key up into four, each one of us has a part of it, we are each strong fighters”. David paused, “could we just end up effectively giving the keys to something that is stronger than all four of us”. Alice looked at him, “something like that would have been able to take the keys anyway”.

They decided to go to a restaurant and enjoy some central pains cuisine, in one of the merchant districts of the city. They noticed a chain gang made up of sharks and crimson lotus members. They were carrying stone and mortar, working on the sea wall. David did wonder, “do they ever sabotage what they work on”? Vivian was quick to answer “I spoke to the deputy sheriff; an architect or mason checks their work at the end of the day. If they did something like that the entire group would have a week added to their sentence, and remember they are chained together. One person making it worse for the lot of them has nowhere to go, if something gets past the walls they suffer as well.

David trailed slightly behind the group he noticed something. The conman that had tried to sell him a treasure map a few nights ago was set up by the side of the road. He was trying to sell goods from a stall that was really just a few planks balanced on a crate. He had changed his attire, but David recognised his face now clean shaven.

Martin and Vivian were close behind. The conman swallowed, “Anything I can help you with”? A quick assessment of his merchandise made the man sequel, he realised he had been caught again. Alice turned up she went through some badly made luck charms, “the sign says these are enchanted ... I can’t sense any magic”. Martin looked at two poorly repaired pots that would barely hold together. Pots that would leak cloth patched to the point it would decay at a stiff breeze. Pottery corked with wax, so it looked whole. Food that had started to rot covered up with a cheap spice to hide the smell.

This insulted Martin to his core, as a former member of the bay city craftsman guild. He had spent most of his life keeping a certain quality to his work. This man was trying to catch people out who needed something when they were desperate. This time the con man was handed to a guard. A member of the merchant’s guild was summoned who drew the same conclusions that Martin did. Numerous violations of the guild standards regulations.

The guard had to hold the merchant back to stop him boxing the conman's ears. The con-artist would go into the stocks. He was probably going to get splattered with his own rotten merchandise in an ironic turn of events. If they really wanted to punish him, they would make him eat it. They had a nice meal at the Theosen themed restaurant. The place was decorated with a few bronze shields and a few statues of the nine gods’ champions, for a moment it was nice to imagine a world where they were free of the constant threat of attack and hostility.

Alice went to merchant’s guild; Vivian's recommendation was a good one. She briefly talked to a clerk at the front desk, “I am a mage …assigned to the city's defence for the duration of the trade talks”. “Your malice the mithril mask, the staff you took from a vampire. It’s fairly obvious who you are should I summon my senior”? She held up a hand “I am not after some rare and valuable potion, or a mystical powerful artefact, I have a spell that lasts exactly five minutes, I need to be able to time its duration precisely”.

The merchant disappeared and came back with a series of items. “A common problem in many crafts, what about one of these wall clocks”? She examined it critically, “they would certainly keep the time, but they are bulky, and I need to have the time piece on me”. There were other options, “what about these marked candles. They burn through quickly you can see five minutes precisely on the notch”. She explained a little more, “this spell is one I would be relying on in a life and death situation, I fear the candle would be forgotten”.

The merchant thought, “I have sand timers that denote a few minutes, this one is designed to be used by an alchemist for eight minutes for stirring a mixture. It has marks to denote the passing of time”. She inspected the item, “how tough is this …glass I am not sure that it would survive the adventures life”. The merchant disappeared for a moment, “I have something else designed for blacksmiths. The glass on this 5-minute sand timer is alchemically hardened and enchanted with durability. They use these as a measure for some heat treating and etching processes”.

Alice looked at the blue sand in the slightly red glass. It was marked precisely with a bar next to it the glass was tough, it was in a little cage all on its own. It was one possible solution she tried it a few times. She needed to keep part of her concentration on it that could be lethal in a fight. “Sorry I don't think it’s quite good enough”.

The merchant sighed, “I suppose you can’t have an apprentice or assistant holding it for you so you know when the spell would be over. We could build a lovely pocket watch for you. Damascus internals or if you really wanted something that would survive the adventures life mithril internals with an octium coil spring”?

Alice had a think about it, “There was a mechanist that my friend Martin saw. She …was able to fix something for him could I talk to her”? “I believe that Clarice handled one of the commissions for your colleague, if you follow me, we can talk to her”.

In Clarice's work shop she was busy repairing a clock. She carefully put it to one side and greeted the people entering her workshop. A mage with quite a bit of seniority she judged them correctly by their equipment. “I wish to look into commissioning …you” She had a quill and paper they talked for a few minutes with Alice outlining what she needed, how durable it had to be.

Clarice put together a proposal, a wind-up coil spring alarm with a five minute timer. Very simple in comparison to a clock with far fewer things to go wrong. There would be a butterfly winding handled on the back. A reasonably strong leaver on the side, so it could not be depressed. from the touch of this button it would activate. A lever on the face would show the time on a half dial, then when ten seconds were left an alarm would go off. Giving Alice enough time to prepare for her supreme spell to end. They agreed a delivery date and a fee for the device, an agreement was signed with the merchant’s guild clerk as a witness.

Its frustrated David no end he was so close to his own supreme. But there was not one thing to fight to increase his level. At the very lease he could bring that frustration to bare on doing something useful. He had the four squads that they were previously working with over in the duchess's courtyard for drilling practice. He was busy getting them into shape, with practice spears swords and shields they were doing well. The hard training might leave them exhausted, but it was what was needed to build them up. Though he would need Alice and Martin to help him apply a bit of first aid.

After Martin used a few good healing blessings he went to do a little training with Vivian. He stood on one of the towers and threw chunks of wood up for her to aim at. When she was certain she could do it she waved a torch. He picked up a particularly large plank and put as much force as he could behind it, making an adrenalin powered throw. Hurling it into the air a massive distance the board did a few rotations, then exploded into splinters as an arrow collided with it. Vivian's supreme skill worked quite well with a moving target.