There was fighting in the streets. Training determination skill plans it all went out the window in a frenetic melee. A group of knights backed by men at arms and militia pressed forwards against a solid wall of crusaders and clerics. Supported by vampire hunters with assorted weapons and monks with staves. The clash of weapons left no side with the upper hand and the group split apart assessing their stale mate.

Watching them were mercenary’s bounty hunters and other professionals that served the merchants guild. They bided their time waiting for their moment to strike to fight to bleed. Ultimately the churches forces pushed the nobles back step by step. Blow by blow they had healing blessings and the few mages that the nobles could bring to the rear were low level, little more than apprentices and there healing was not impressive.

Finally, the noble’s forces were pushed back over the chalk line. A whistle was blown, and a flag raised. That stage of the exercise was ended, the church forces moved back to their starting location. The merchant’s guilds fighters moved over and took up the line. The mercenaries with their various abilities were tougher than the knights. This final round would be far harder to decide. Alice set about healing the wounded. Being bludgeoned over the head with a wooden practice sword could still hurt a lot and leave you with a nasty bruise despite the helmet.

David checked the groups were ready then blew the horn the last part of the training exercise began with their lighter armour and shields. The crusaders crossed the gap faster than the front line of mercenaries. Both were forbidden to use there more powerful attacks; they were just sparing not trying to kill each other.

The heavily armed clerics took more time to arrive but rapidly reinforced the church militants ranks. There various orders could be quite formidable when mobilised. The merchant guild had a few aces in the hole a few dirty tricks, a dozen smoke bombs went off and the bounty hunters appeared trying to flank the standard lines of engagement. There were already hunters and monks there filling in the gap a push backwards and forwards, it ended in a draw.

Alice set about more healing putting as many back together as was needed she had used less than a sixth of her reserves of mana when the training was over. David discussed the training with Alice, “it’s a good way for people to blow off steam”. Vivian looked over the mingling teams, “a few more days, an accord will be struck, and the trade talks will be over”.

David grinned his voice light, “was it a joke I heard about the duchess trying to invoke some ancient trial by combat to settle this”. She nodded, “yes I am pretty sure that was a joke”. Alice wandered past, “one of the scribe advocates …told me that rule was taken out of the legal books after some lord nominated his pet griffin as his champion”. David nodded, “I can see why such a thing is frowned on. It’s not really a test of who is right but who can hire the best fighter”. “1000 years before that they made such matches to the yield not to the death”.

One of the Levi's acting as a messenger ran up to them, “please the deputy sheriff needs you there has been a sighting of wyvern”. Alice grabbed her staff and harried over. Martin finished splinting a woman's fingers and headed over to join the group. David dropped his practice sword and got the real thing. Vivian put down the training bow and practice arrows, they ended in padded balls of cloth. Her real bow and quivers ready they headed out.

The deputy sheriff met them, his look was grave, “we spotted it from the highest tower ten minutes ago. A black spined wyvern I are worried that it might be some sort of scout. Perhaps a thralled creature, a vanguard for a force yet to come”. “There is not chance it is one of ours” Vivian asked. “It is not the regular patrol we have sweeping through, the cost there are six snub winged wyverns on the judgement, they are a day’s flight away their area a few others on the warships patrolling the coast we are fairly certain it’s not ours”.

He paused thinking, “We don't know, it could even be a wild wyvern that has been pushed into the area, we need a sharpshooter to bring it down if that is the case. Controlled or wild, it could cause a lot of damage left to range around the area. If it sees the hint of a few other wyverns it could flee giving the intelligence to an enemy or making it a problem for another”.

“If it moves away, especially if it starts to target the smaller settlements it will be a nightmare to deal with. “We tackled one a few months back that got all the way from grey forge to forge hold while wounded”. “Vivian you are the best bet to take it down and you have the best chance of making a good clear identification. Also, Martin and Alice have some formidable ranged abilities. If you could bring it down David could easily hack it to pieces”.

The deputy sheriff grinned, “I am sure that the forces of this city will rest easier knowing you’re out there. Not in hear making them run laps around the cathedral”. David sneered “ha ha” they left the city getting a coach with driver and a few mercenary guards. Investigate area where the wyvern was supposedly seen. They stopped finding a tree with several of its topmost branches torn off, Vivian checked her bow, “that wyvern flew low hear, I wonder why perhaps it was injured”.

They stopped to look at a dark pool of liquid on the ground, “blood look at this stuff, it must have caught itself on a tree”. The coach kept going two hundred yards down the road Vivian's golem eye focused on something else. “A torn bit of fabric blue and grey I wonder if this is a domesticated beast” Martin looked in detail, “possible we think before we shoot”.

David shrugged “that could be a scrap from something else, its lunch for as an example. But then I do want something to fight, there is only so much cheer I can drum up from practice battles”. Their coach moved on there was a gigantic bat far larger than any alpha they had ever seen before. It was coated in caustic burns its wings skin and bone burnt away obviously more was going on than they had originally thought. Martin nodded, “Bats fighting a wyvern this should be good, giant bats only pick a fight with something big like that if they have a vampire guiding them”.

They approached a clearing, there had obviously been a fight in the clearing. Branches were broken small trees flattened even a few larger ones bent fractured and clawed. There was a ball of black spines scales and wings. It had been brought down by giant bats a few were scattered around it. The beast was unresponsive curled in circle around something possibly protecting it. The beast was quite beaten up a torn saddle and a tabard that matched the scrap of fabric could be see,

David looked around, “what is going on where are the giant bats”? Vivian checked with her golem eye, “all around us this is a trap”. Martin grinned, “some wyvern rider was driven hounded by the bats close to the city then herded away. They were brought down to ground so that they would send someone out to investigate someone powerful”. Vivian shrugged, “it’s still daylight what can be out hear”? There were huge swarms of bats rising up from the forest around them something really hellishly large a vampire bat, not a literal vampire. But still a blood sucking monster almost as big as the wyvern appeared leading them.

The bat transformed its body seemed to warp and shift its animal features became humanoid. Its wings became more compact clawed hands formed it stood upright on two legs. Alice used every fibre of her being to keep herself in check, not to panic there and then. It looked demonic but the size was that of an overlord not a simple demon. Its face looked like Bismark its voice boomed, an artificial sound, “you dared to survive you dared to flee you dared to resist the will of the Empress of shadows I will kill you now”.

“So, you can possess your creatures and warp them into a form you can use, a strong supreme skill”. Alice clapped the praise only seemed to enrage the vampiric monster. “What do you think that you know of such matters? Martin looked at him, “we have some of your story. We met one of the dyads you corrupted, another one of your supreme skills must allow you to corrupt natures guardians correct? “...” The twisted mockery of warped flesh had enough expression to look surprised. Martin nodded, “I will take that as a yes”.

David pointed his sword at Bismark, “that bat creature must be enough for a breakthrough let me take it”. The vampire assumed that David was insane, “you are arrogant enough to take me on alone, you will not be alone when you are sharing a grave with your friends”. Though he might have underestimated David's level by a good 25 ranks.

Bismark used his ability ultimate possess creature to force the monstrous bat into an even stronger more vampiric form. The Man-bat form even grew hair and facial features to resemble Bismark in even greater detail. It dived up in the air to stop David chopping it off at the kneecaps. It had servants lots of bats, they were more like a storm than a swarm with their numbers mixed in with larger and more powerful matriarchs and alpha's they attacked.

lots of bats, that flashed in Alice's mind as she flinched and starts to breath irregularly. Immediately Vivian thought about getting more arrows she would run out soon, she needed to carry more.

David focused on his target it was a bad match up, the creature screeched hitting him with a low powered sonic attack, he had an enchantment that resisted most of the attack he laughed back at the confused enemy. It had thought him stunned and received a wound for its arrogance.

David used his ace, “rallying command” the air around David seemed to shimmer as his body was boosted the rest of the party found themselves equally affected by his supreme skill. It would make their fight against the horde of bats more manageable, as they were boosted in defence attack durability.

Alice let herself go slinging fire balls in every direction at the massive swarms of bats. Vivian used her supreme skill to take out the largest giant bat matriarch she could see. The shot was not quite enough to kill it but as it hit the ground it landed on a rocky precipice; its back broke the creature began to bleed out no recovery possible.

The giant man-bat dive bombed David, he was quick enough to duck and dodge cutting the bat giving it a wound in response. The creature looked surprised as David's mithril shield blocked its attacks its claws and talons. He threw a rock that seemed to stun David only when it closed in for the kill David had been faking it and cut a good way into the beast’s right knee.

Martin used his pillar of fire blessing to tear through a swarm of attacking bats. The larger ones sacrificed the smaller to cover their retreat. However, Vivian could use this to put a solid adamantine arrow head into a choice target. She didn't have enough arrows to kill the lot but every alpha and matriarch that fell reduced the cohesion and coordination of the swarm. The fire balls from Alice's hands kept flying fear anger shame at being afraid. She kept throwing fire hot enough to incinerate every bat she could see.

Martin used his hand of judgement blessing to knock an alpha giant bat out of the sky. As it crash landed to the ground, he ran up to it and stabbed it right through the neck. Empowering his strikes with adrenalin and the divine retribution blessing.

David had a bad match up against such a creature it was airborne, it had a long reach many advantages against him. But he could resist its attacks a sort of stale mate formed as nether could quickly overcome the other. Its sonic attack did little and the vampire controlling it remotely had been arrogant enough to presume otherwise.

In the background Martin used a thermite grenade on a small cloud of bats. The burning light was enough to make the man-bat distracted for a second. David charged in with his shield hammering the beast prone for a second. He had a vial of holy water in his hand smashing it into the creature’s head burning away its flesh the possessed bat was far less durable and just as susceptible to holy water as the puppeteer controlling its body. He got a nasty wound in response but whatever link was controlling the bats was frayed from the holy dousing. He swallowed one of his healing potions and got back up.

Alice ran out of mana, she had burned through her reserves in less than a minute, she hit her timer and activated her supreme spell. Her body was filled with limitless power her emotions rose up in response. A faint pinkish grey aura surrounded her. She began to hurl fire balls with frenetic speed she had only got five minutes to eliminate the countless swarm, before she ran out of mana again.

Martin was trying to pace the use of his area of effect abilities, so he still had some way to fight the swarms. He used “pillar of ice” to flash freeze another swarm of bats. Vivian put one of her mithril arrows into the wing of an alpha giant bat it crashed to the ground rolling around in agony it crushed more of its companions with its enraged flailing that Vivian could ever hope to hit with her quiver of arrows. David had managed to badly wound the man-bats right arm I was missing two fingers and the elbow joint was stiff, bleeding from a cut the arrogant sneer was gone from its approximation of Bismark's face, just an air of concentration.

Alice continued unabated her fire balls blasting around her, she kept recasting a few protective spells. At one point a matriarch tried to charge her she switched to her mana lance spell cut it in half with a casual wave of her hand. About a ton of cauterized flesh hit the ground either side of Alice as she then set about flinging more fire balls at the bats, it was far less terrifying when there was a nice layer of mage armour and a shield spell between her and the bats. When they were dead at her feet then she could stop.

David kept his shield up occasionally batting a creature away that got between him and his main objective. The man bat crunched into his shield again. There was a grove three feet long cut into the ground where David braced his shield and was pushed back. Out of momentum the man-bat tried to launch itself back it the air. It was not quite quick enough as David's retaliatory strike sliced a chunk out of its flesh. He guarded himself with his shield and even used it to hide the swing of his blade.

An alpha bat attacked Martin shattering a minor defensive blessing. He hit it with a “pillar of salt” blessing that only turned so much of it into grit. The beast not quite dead, he hit it with the hand of Tesla. shooting a lightning bolt into it its open maw he cooked it from the inside out, it coughed up more salt and fell into the dirt.

Vivian was down to her regular iron arrows the bats acted as a screen, but the larger intelligent directing creatures could be seen through the vast swarm every so often. It took a few of the regular iron arrows to take down these foes. A shot to the wing to knock them off course a shot to the chest to knock the air out of them to send them spiralling down and when she could get a clear shot a head shot right between the eyes or right through the neck to finish them off.

For a moment Martin disappeared under the swarm of bats as they covered him in a layer three bodies deep. He used his “holy aura” as they swarmed him with their numbers, the bats flesh smoked, and they cried out dropping away in pain he brushed them off like a man brushing snow from his jacket.

Out of arrows Vivian was reduced to swinging her mace about battering the bats out of the air one by one. She was already buried in bats up to her knees and the tide was rising. Some kept trying to fight even when half crushed or bleeding out. Every swing hit one or two they were just that tightly packed just two close to her. She drew her dagger in her left hand a secondary weapon the fancy enchanted weapon saw little use, but she was reduced to fighting hand to bat now. An alpha bat tried to land on her, she dived to the right her mace crushing its wing her dagger hollowing out its eye socket the beast tried to get air born again.

Vivian griped it tight around the chest one hand plunging the dagger in, she used all her strength and felt ribs and bone split and crack the beast fought desperately as she griped tighter crushing the life out of it. Crushing one more opponent it screamed in pain and fear crying out to the swarm to help it as its own blood filled its mouth. It collapsed as its spine was finally snapped. She turned and started to batter away at the rest of the flock.

The man bat being remotely controlled by Bismark tried to scoop David up into the air to drop him to his death. David had done the unexpected and tackled the man bat as it dived at him. David clung to the giant bat and stabbed away for all he was worth. He could have tried cutting into the wings, but he didn't want to fall to his death just yet. As impressive as the beast was it could not hold up its own weight. The weight of all of David's armour and the blood loss it was suffering from. The beast ended up in what was meant to be a manoeuvre to spin David away but was more like a corkscrew of a crash, with David landing mostly onto of the beast.

Alice found her spells almost ended the timer went off she cast her healing aura on herself and added as many protective barrier as she could. The supreme spell wore off Alice was hit with an injury like taking a knife to the gut. She doubled over, empty confused it was like the energy was gone from every cell in her body, there one moment evaporated the next.

One moment she was an eagle soaring above the clouds, the next she was falling into the depths of ocean the water rising up ready to choke her. She was still surrounded by bats. She had a shield spell bonus vitality and mage armour active. She also had a curved dagger in her hand and no desire to be swarmed by bats, she crawled to her staff it was still charged. She could tap into that mana. Her fingers griped the staff and she greedily sucked it dry of magic. Her head cleared a little as the mana fatigue abated. She was back in business again if briefly. She could hit the few remaining pockets of bats with her poison cloud spell, that would clear them up.

David set about reducing his opponents’ capabilities, first to remove its ability to fly. He hacked and sliced at its wing membrane until he hit the joint and cracked the bone. The limb went half limp and the creature was not getting away again.

Martin pulled himself out from under a pile of bats using his divine favour blessing again and again he would able to keep fighting on his wounds partially healed. Alice was sure that she needed a bit of mana as a contingency she picked up her mages staff and began to swing it like a club. There was a certain grin plastered over her face under her mask at the crunch of each bat it struck.

The man bat established a death grip on David's shield trying to pull it away to twist. David brought his blade down cutting into the wrist then removing the hand with a spurt of blood. David charged into the man-bat knocking it prone with his shield his blade hit it in the knee once twice it howled in pain a third time and the limb was severed. It could not fly it could not grapple and it could not run it looked at David as if he was a small beetle, its warped features able to convey Bismark's distain.

Martin finished off the last of the alpha giant bats with four barrels from his pistol into its face. Bismark distracted the remaining few hundred bats scattered into the wilderness.

The creature twisted and scowled looking for any opening David had taken a pulverizing under his armour, but he was still standing and Bismark's avatar was not. The mage was out of spells the archer out of arrows, the dam vampire hunter had picked the minions not the monster. He hissed in frustration, “not possible for a human to defeat me even in this form...fu” David cut him off mid curse.

hundreds of miles away Bismark awoke from his trance enraged. He had gone to the effort and expense of summoning a massive swarm of giant bats, draining his own lands and calling in several favours. The two days perpetration to create the vampire creature he would use as a puppet. The blood mana and time wasted he was enraged; the humans might well finish their alliance with the elves. The trade would flow the enemy would grow stronger and he was to have been the one to crush it in the bud before it could flower.

The level up hit their eyes glowed as they gained even greater strength, Vivian reached the 5th level of her man at arms job, her crippling shot was improved to level 5. Martin in a similar fashion reached level 15 of his crusader job reaching level 5 of his cleaving strike skill. Alice had not gotten through the 100 barrier, so she was still waiting. The next powerful opponent that they faced would be hers.

David was ecstatic he had beaten Bismark. Admittedly it was possessing a giant bat not Bismark directly. But it was still a victory by the scruff of his teeth. And more importantly he had broken through. He was sure of it he wouldn't be the last one this time. He had stepped up to join Vivian and Martin, Alice would have to be the last one of the group for a change.

David felt his mind blown, the little candle inside him. That flicker of life, it was like someone just threw a scoop of coal on it, could a soul grow? His essence shifted Vivian had already been through this had told him of it. A special action has been performed a feat of marshal strength has been achieved. You have defeated a worthy opponent; your level limit has been raised to 600.

He was now a man at arms, a level two man at arms. That beast was less impressive than the golem Vivian had slain. She had gained another level on him. He concentrated and unlocked the parry skill two ranks of it, the extra dexterity was useful, he was growing in strength.

Alice took the opportunity to heal David and Vivian, Vivian plucked up a hand full of arrows, so she was ready. Martin had a pistol in his hand they were prepared for any new surprises. David Martin and Vivian pulled the unconscious wyvern away from whatever they were protecting. There was a rider a woman in a mix of red leather and mithril chain-mail armour. Martin found a pulse, “divine favour” Martin activated the healing blessing and the rider started to stir. They propped her up and wrapped her black cloak around her, she started to breath less erratically her eyes were trying to open.

The cartridge slowly approached but stayed back, Martin hesitantly checked her mount he knew a little about humans. The only thing he knew about wyvern's was which bits could sell for a silver or two, not how to heal them properly. There was a slow erratic heartbeat, as far as he could tell. The wyvern had taken a hell of a lot of punishment. While he was looking at the beast the rider had regained some degree of consciousness. “snuffles is she ok”?

The woman's eyes were open, but she was not looking good. Martin assumed she might have been infected with something being bitten by a bat “purify, divine favour” the rider looked a little better her flesh was healed though her mind still seemed stressed. The mental fatigue of a battle could not be repaired so easily.

Martin held his holy symbol to the mounts head it was almost definitely infected after brawling with so many giant thrall bats “purify”. He gave her his considered opinion, “your mount is alive, I am not a veterinarian or a tamer I am unsure how to heal it. Who are you and what happened”?

“My name is lady Nichol Kamen I am a wyvern rider from grey forge, I was investigating a strange movement I saw. When I realised it was a swarm of bats I tried to get away. We fought killed a lot of them, snuffles ran out of acid and she went down under the weight of numbers, who are you”?

“Martin Alice Vivian and David, for the moment garrison troops stationed at North port. We are agents of the bishop Alexius from Good forge”. “You must have been powerful to survive that giant swarm”. She looked about, “Good god you must have destroyed most of it, how did you”? “We are all exalted masters with the strength that implies, how did you come hear”? “I am a message I run post to settlements faster than the coaches and scouts for the duration of the trade talks, I was sent to look into some strange occurrence”.

Vivian questioned her, “What particular strange occurrence? we have seen a lot from new archanist designs to a skeleton dragon in the last month or so”. “I can’t really divulge my mission”. “Who are you going to see”? “The duchess of the docks there is a matter I need to check up on”. “We have had the pleasure of being thrown out of her residence” David said wryly. Vivian glared at him.

Alice held her hand out towards the wyvern rider a small look of understanding crept across her face. “I am a mage with a keen sense of …analysing magic. I can read something on you, the other half of a spell I have felt before”. “I don't know what you mean”? “We found a key in the possession of a lich and a few others, there is a signal from the key a failsafe you have come to investigate correct”. She nodded bemused, “the royal faction has certain safeguards in place, we know what's under the duchess residents, with vault protection we cannot discuss the details”.

Martin looked at the wyvern, “if you can show us what to do, we can help your mount”. They had gotten what they could from her. it was time to send her on her way as best they could. She got David to force the sleeping wyvern's mouth open and she poured some concoction down the beast’s throat and it seemed to be a little better. She showed Martin what needed to be done and he stitched the wyvern up with a leather working needle and saddlers’ sinew.

Alice healed the beast a few times, it started to wake up as its wounds started to close up. Lady Kamen gestured to the rest of the group to back away. Her mount shook itself awake it stretched over making a worried hissing sound. She reached out and it licked her on the side of the face, she griped its head making cooing noises. She scratched the beast behind the ears along the neck. Martin had an idea he used his “Purify blessing on a giant bat alpha” and dragged it over to the beast.

The wyvern sniffed the offering then trucked in eating away it let out a loud burp when it was finished then licked Martin in thanks. He used a few of his divine favour blessings to heal the beast a little more then the rider mounted snuffles after adjusting the saddle. She nodded to the group, “thank you” the wyvern ran forward and leapt in the air. She shifted and pulled her body weight a tap from her leg and the wyvern turned riding off towards North port, she would have to show a flag of recognition or be shot down then and there.

They looked around the remains of the clearing. Martin sighed “bat disposal duty”. Vivian looked over to David, “help me find my arrows”. Alice gathered up a pile of branches and Martin set them on fire with his tinder. Alice threw a handful of the smaller bats onto the blaze. She looked at the massive numbers. “this is going to take us all day”. “Yes, quite probably the rest of it” David spoke.

Martin started to drag an alpha bat over to the blaze, he looked at the head it would be a good trophy from there fight. David grinned, “Martin you have your own sword now you can ruin the edge on it beheading giant bats”. He turned to his colleague, “Vivian can I have the axe from your pack”. She reached back for her pack, “its why I keep lugging it about rather than bring extra arrows”.

Vivian gathered most of her arrows up one or two would need to be replaced but nothing that expensive. She looked at the coach guards, “you two help us get rid of this lot, we don't want to be fighting these again tonight as zombies”. They continued to work Martin purified a pile of the severed heads they were loaded onto the coach and the driver and one guard headed to North port, to get more hands and more carts.

They continued to work. David held out a hand , “that fire is burning hot still a lot to go” Martin looked at the pile of heads including the man bat, whatever you wanted to call that thing Bismark had twisted the creature into, Vivian nodded “we will need the cart along with the coach to transport all the heads”.

The coach and the cart picked up the rest of the head’s militia volunteers helped to clear the bodies. Priests purified the land and the people who had been handling the monsters. The group was left to wait it out for a final pick up with the pyres of dead bats slowly burning away.

The work over they drank and ate salted provisions left by the coach. David was exhausted, “well I can see why no one usually survives long enough to become an ascendant”. Vivian voiced similar concerns, “do you think Bismark realised that we are trying to all breakthrough and keep growing in power”?

Alice sounded reserved calm, “with the use of supreme skills and artefacts I don't think he has an exact gauge of our strength, other than we are better equipped than the last time he fought against us”. Martin sounded hesitant, “we have made progress but that was only a small manifestation of his complete power. It was just what he could move fast to try and disrupt this city”.

Vivian was more optimistic, “I think that he had the seed of doubt planted in his mind, you saw the look on his face when he failed not anger not pain, it was surprise”. Martin finished off his drink, “for hundreds, thousands of years he has only feared another vampire or an army on his doorstep”. David felt a glimmer of revenge, “could we take him like lexicon, set up the bomb from the ship. use the holy balm the bishop gave us dump all our supreme skills on him”? Martin gritted his teeth, “he still has two aces in the hole we don't know about. Best we keep an eye out we keep being cautious, now is not the time to rush in”.

David took a large bit of smoked meat, “I hate to say it, but the duchess is right. The vampires are not finished” Vivian gestured to the nearest pyre, “they only have what they can move quickly”. Alice shook at the thought, but her voice was strong angry, “we didn't get every single blasted fucking bat mores the pity, but their numbers are reduced to the point that they are irrelevant the militia and a dozen Levi's could handle the stragglers”. Martin looked thoughtful, “bats are not the only creature with wings”.