"Well, that explains a lot," Mavec said as he pulled himself from the muddy ground and unleashed a bolt of lightning at the grotesque monster in front of him. The space before it rippled, and the bolt of azure blue electricity slammed into the shimmering air and was scattered in various directions spraying through the sky harmlessly.

"Bait, be avoiding those shimmering patches of air," Illaria shouted as she pulled herself to her feet and closed distance on the monster. Drawing out her wakizashi, she fended off one of the large arms and deftly slashed into its side twice, drawing out a purple ichor. Bait did his best to line up a good shot, aiming between the shimmering pockets of air. He squeezed the trigger, and the bullets flew true; but the shimmering fields of energy shifted into the bullet's pathway, launching them harmlessly away from the creature.

"BA, DUMB GIANT," Bait shouted as he stomped on the ground.

"Naya, Echo, if I give you a boost, do you think you can help Illaria?" Alvec asked as he moved into position to hit as many of his allies as possible. In this case, it meant all of them, excluding the Lochmaster. Would his acceleration even affect the man? Could a machine even be affected, or was it strictly biological creatures who could benefit? Unsure of the answer he used the last target on Rem alongside the rest of his group.

The wolf and his master moved as one, rapidly closing the distance on the beast and laying into it with blade and fang. They spilled a great deal of purple ichor, which hissed and dissolved on contact with the air. The beast lashed out, striking at Naya and Echo first, as they had so swiftly and grievously injured it. They took the blows in stride, remaining on their feet despite the crushing blow from its oversized hands.

Mavec frowned; most of his spells were ranged, and some distortion caused by this creature was getting in the way. He could have Piccora rush in, but that would limit the amount of damage he could do. Then again, anything seemed better than the nothing he and Bait had scored so far. Regrettably, it was the best choice he had available. Piccora dashed in, and he cast through her once more; her body crackled with electricity before she barreled into one of its giant toes. The lightning roiled over it, causing a tiny bit of the mucus coating its body to evaporate.

Not liking how this creature seemed to redirect attacks, Alvec opted to cast his protection spell vs projectiles. It might not hold up to a full volley from Bait, but it would be much better than dying. He moved forward, motioning for Sarbie to remain close to him. He needed to get close enough to Naya, Illaria, and Sarbie to be able to trade out with them should the bullets become redirected.

Bait fired off a hail of bullets, his hands moving supernaturally quick. This time, the monster adjusted the spatial distortions, and a storm of lead headed straight for Illaria. Alvec moved quickly, throwing himself in the way. The bullets pelted into him, slamming into his back and knocking him forward. The strands of arcane energy protecting Alvec snapped in a matter of seconds. Only just barely holding the bullets at bay long enough for him to shuffle to safety. Had that connected with anyone else, they'd be dealing with a corpse. Blood pounded in his ears as he shouted out. "Bait, lay off the gunfire, this thing has some damned teleportation effect going on."

"Bah, Bait hate dis." He said as he stomped around. Unsure what exactly he should be doing. Was he supposed to go up and try to stab it? That wouldn't go over much better, but at least it made sense.

The Lochmaster returned to his feet and rushed into the fight, laying into the creature. It visibly recoiled from him as he lashed out at it. Going so far as to attempt to flee from the strange construct. Those engaged with it in melee combat took advantage of this, pushing their blades and fangs to draw more purple ichor from it.

Floating eyeballs began materializing in the sky further from the monster's central body. They fired off sickly yellow rays of light. Mavec took cover, throwing himself down the side of the hill staining his pants with grass, as energy roiled just inches from his head. He spun over, drawing out his wand, and returned fire most literally from the charred tip of his rod of scorching ray. His blast of hot air struck one of the eyes, which popped like a balloon.

Sarbie, standing much closer to this creature than she would normally have planned to, decided her best course of action was to simply pray for help. "Kushang, bringer of order and law, provider of life, may you guide our hands and foil our foes." She said as she let her magic flare out around her, encompassing her allies and foes. It wasn't an obvious power, and yet she couldn't help but feel as if they were just a little bit better prepared to handle this monster. It seemed to visibly shrink to her as if it was shaken by the power of her prayer and humbled before the mighty Kushang.

Emboldened by the power flowing through him, Echo bit into the creature, pulling hard at its stout leg. The creature stumbled and collapsed down with a mighty thud. Echo's tail wagged, any time he could pull something to the ground, Naya was happy. Happy Naya was a safe Naya.

Bait shifted his focus; Mavec was not the only one who could pop floating eyes. He took aim into the sky, pelting them with bullets. Each shot pierced them cleanly, wisps of purple mist gusted out of the holes before they fell deflated and melted to the ground. One of the eyeballs returned fire, its yellow light striking Bait. The same sensation he had felt before the spinny man attacked washed over him. He felt his stomach twist in knots as he lost focus. He felt like his mouth was too big, unhinged even. He hoped it was not. How eat cheese if mouth no work?

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The creature, now splayed out on the ground, found it impossible to gird its vitals against the two women lying into it with blades. It tried to twist its alien form to defend itself, but Naya and Illaria were relentless, slashing deep into flesh and sinew before it could even retaliate. With a hiss like a steam engine, the creature succumbed to its wounds. The air around them slowly returned to normal, the strange shimmers disappeared, and the eyeballs faded away as well. Leaving only the party, bruised and a little bloody, standing with the Lochmaster with an external gyroscope for a head. Without the illusions, his face wasn’t as capable of displaying emotions, but the plates moved slightly, as where its lips should be pursed into a frown.

"So, you want to tell me a little bit more about yourself?" Mavec asked him as he walked closer.

"Forgive me, I meant no disrespect hiding my true nature from you. It was necessary." The Lochmaster replied.

"What the hells are you?" Mavec asked.

"I am my master's creation. The shepherd of his last flock." He said, casting a glance towards a hilltop on the horizon.

"And that means?" Mavec asked.

"Hey, before we interrogate the construct, can we maybe take stock of what just happened?" Alvec asked.

"I agree; this be a concerning development. Do we be suspecting that this was an intentional attack? Or was this just a coincidence?" Illaria asked.

"The timing is suspicious," Mavec noted. "We only just learned what these were and decoded the journal."

"But we don't know that, do we?" Naya asked.

"OH, OH, Bait know. We go check farm near Archer's Market. If no monster, dis intentional. If monster... maybe not?"

"Ah, I see what you be saying, Bait; if there isn't a monster at Archers Market, where we sleepwalked, then it's more than likely this was intentionally directed at us at this moment. If there is a monster there, it could mean that it happens anywhere the sleepwalking occurs. Doesn't be ruling out that its directed, but it could give us a sense for it." Illaria said.

"Are we sure he doesn't just want us to go see Ben?" Naya asked.

"Oh, I'm sure he do be wanting that, we can do both," Illaria confirmed.

"Alright, is that enough processing for you guys?" Mavec asked before pointing at the construct before them. "Now, I believe we were at the part where you told me what happened to Alusai and answering what you are," Mavec said.

"My master is no more. I am the shepherd of his lesser children and the keeper of his grave." The Lochmaster replied. His voice projected from somewhere in his chest.

"You said his lesser children, like the ones who attacked us on our way out of the Tsuhomma downs?" Alvec asked.

"Precisely, not all of us are blessed with a level of intellect which allows us to think with the clarity of mortal minds. There are others like myself, but we are rare, even amongst our master's works. There are many more models, models that sit empty. Their casings are made, but they do not have the spark of life needed to empower them. So many children never born." The machine cast its gaze back towards the horizon of Sha-Laial.

"You secured your disguise from the child of Akrixi, who lives in the swamp?" Naya asked.

"Indeed. It is a less than fortuitous time for me to return there. Someone recently broke into our master's shop. Its defenses are so strong that it now refuses to recognize and permit me entry. If any of the townsfolk were to wander there now, it would result in their death. Yet I can't steer them away without the help of the spirits." the Lochmaster said.

"Isn't it obvious? We'll go in and disable the defenses." Mavec said.

"I can't allow you to just trespass on my creator's grave." The Lochmaster replied.

"I have no intention of trampling over Alusai's creations, but not long ago, we found a lost prophecy from a diviner, saying that one of the only hopes for the future was Alusai and his creations. If he's gone, then we can only hope that you and your kin hold the keys to saving us." Mavec said.

"Based on how that thing recoiled from you, I'd say there might just be some truth to the prophecy," Alvec said.

"Are those what threaten this land?" The Lochmaster asked.

"Vato called them intruders. They're corrupted forms of humans and spirits." Naya supplied. "Though we're still working out what exactly is causing them to become corrupted."

"I see, if we could save the land my master loved, then perhaps it would be best to let you in. You have already demonstrated yourselves to be heroes of opportunity and commitment. If we are able to deactivate the defenses, I would not mind sharing my master's discoveries with you." The Lochmaster said. "Though, there is one matter we still need to attend to. In success or failure, I won't be able to go back into town until my disguise can be restored. I would like you to tell them a pleasant lie, if you could, as to why I won't be coming back."

"I've got a simple one that should work. You fell in love with a wood nymph and have taken to traveling with her to visit the deep forests of the empire." Illaria said.

"Won't people just think the nymph magically compelled him?" Naya asked.

"We'll say Alvec and Mavec met her and didn't detect any tampering," Illaria said.

"Bait think dat dumb. He run away to become cow herder make cheese."

"He... you know what, let's just ignore that. How does that lie sound to you?" Mavec asked, rubbing his temples as if trying to massage out Bait's words.

"I rather like the idea of having found love. It's a nice lie." The Lochmaster said.

With that small detail wrapped up, the group proceeded to follow the Lochmaster to Alusai's last workshop.