The Beastmaster subclasses have been a subject of controversy over their effectiveness and overall fit in a standardized military force. Idil has dedicated forces such as the Rocketeers, comprised entirely of Beast Tamers that are provided their griffin. Their skill and power have made them one of the most iconic task forces amongst Idil's military. Their strategy consists of staying in the sky and deploying heavy fire through magic, spells, and ranged weapons until their enemies are completely demolished. Even fighting them on the ground proves to be a difficult task, as the griffins possess incredibly sharp talons that can rend steel.

~ A study on the Rocketeers, by Searl Grey

"Well, I can understand the delays, but would you mind telling me more about it?"

Tony Copperpots adjusted his glasses nervously. "Well for about a few months now some pesky monsters took hold off the adamantium mines. It's been affecting our supply chains and we're not able to divert the Wisperium guardians because it's not a part of their job nor are they equipped to deal with the underground monsters. We've barricaded the mines for the time being but slowly they are expanding and pushing our soldiers back."

Chester mouthed out 'Robots?' to the vampire and he shrugged. Damien turned his head to the dwarf and spoke. "Can you take me to the Wisperium soldiers? Please, explain to me more about these monsters in the mines."

He complied and began walking west, further away from the industrial section of the city. During the journey, they passed by dwarves absorbed in their craft, and many more selling their wares and encouraging adventurers to come to take a gander at their products. They all looked fantastical, a sharp increase in the average quality and for roughly the same price they had seen in Elway. Chester was more focused on the female dwarves. The majority of them mirrored their gendered counterparts, with wide heads and extremely thick bodies. The illusionist was beginning to feel pent up and wondered about the odds of finding an attractive female in Welton.

'If it comes down to it, maybe I'll just go with one of the dwarves. Gotta slay a couple of dragons to get a princess, right? Ha!'

While the man was off thinking about various other scenarios, Damien focused on Tony's words. The surroundings were a mere distraction in his eyes, and he smoothly maneuvered through the crowds without bumping into anybody.

"At first they were minor, but the metal constructs quickly adjusted to the guards in the mines and evolved. It was a massive oversight, and now the problem has escalated to this. I'd say the only ones who could pose a threat is General Drake, but her skill set is not suited for battle underground."

"What about the Church of Pernatia? Surely their paladins are deployed here?"

"There are about a half-dozen stationed here, but due to the current situation, the church has been spread thin. An Archibishop is here but he has been explicitly ordered to only act in cases of emergency such as a full-scale invasion. Although the paladins are strong by themselves, a particular Named variant among the metal construct has been nigh undefeatable. It's stolen several pieces of equipment to augment itself and is impossible to defeat with our current resources."

Damien narrowed his eyes. Wisperium had several prominent families along with the Rose clan. Although they were all technically descended from Dracule, exceptional vampires of the past started their clans and branched off for a variety of reasons. The Drake family was a talented bloodline and he could only recall one member being deployed here as part of the treaty with Welton. He hadn't seen them in a long time and was curious to see if they were still stationed here.

To confirm his theory, they arrived at a massive barracks. The crowds changed and many of the surrounding people were armored. A smattering of vampires and dwarves populated the area, making Chester pump his fist. He was certain that there'd be an attractive female around the area, and he knew that vampires tended to be more beautiful than others. The barracks were high-class; even the quality of the equipment the soldiers had was on another level in comparison to Idil or Elway. Adamantium, mithril, and orichalcum were the common theme. Chester even spotted the familiar surface of star steel on humans that bore the insignia of Pernatia; an ornate golden skull.

An open training ground was clearly visible, showing multiple soldiers sparring or doing their selective workouts. It was intense and impressive to see the work ethic some of the people had. Many of the vampires shared similar traits and proved themselves to be superior even from the short display of training they did alongside humans and dwarves. All of the nocturnal creatures moved with grace and focus, but Chester could see they were quite lacking in comparison to his younger companion.

Tony led them further in, and many whispers and stares were directed at the group. It seemed as though they were aware of Damien's presence. His armor, along with Maxwell at his side made for a sight. The illusionist eaves-dropped on their gossip, curious as to what they were saying about the boy.

"Is that Damien Rose? Wow, he's truly a wonder. Sense that power? He even has a familiar! As expected of Lord Gideon's bloodline."

"Who's the peasant behind him? Some sort of servant?"

He shot a nasty glare at the vampire who said that. Chester flipped him off before continuing to follow. It wasn't long before they reached their destination. Going through the soldiers' encampment, many beasts and animals were being fed or tended to. A majority of them looked magical and powerful; from stallions almost twice as large as the average horse in Stillwater, to a slumbering panther with six legs rivaling Android 02 in sheer size. A lone, slitted eye and made contact with Chester. For a brief moment, he felt the hairs on his skin stand straight up; an instinct that was leftover from his time in the Arcadian Forest. Signals in his head warned him almost at the same urgency as the monstrous Ankheg Queen did.

But just as soon as it made contact, it closed its eyes as if dismissing him. Its dark grey chest seemed to expand, before sighing loudly and returning to sleep. Maxwell perked its ears up and took a gander at the stunning beast that looked as though it could swallow an adult whole.

Inside another building, Tony knocked politely on a metal door, making a sharp clanging noise with his meaty knuckles.

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"Come in."

They opened the door to reveal two females inside of the basic office. A few trinkets and trophies hung along the wall. The one seated behind the desk was a vampire, evidenced by the pale skin and black hair in a tight ponytail. She wore tight, black leather armor that seemed to be more ornate than it was for protection. Her hands were covered in rings of various kinds. The beautiful and neutral face turned into one of recognition and surprise. She got up quickly and greeted the Prince of Wisperium casually and excitedly.

"Damien?! It's been so long! How are you, sweetie-pie?"

The fact that he was wearing heavy armor didn't seem to do much. She lifted him like he weighed nothing, a feat that both Damien and Chester keenly noticed. The smile on her face along with the lack of tension on her arms showed that she possessed strength beyond theirs.

"Agh! It's nice to see you too, Natalia. Please et go, this is quite embarrassing." He flushed as she nuzzled him and rubbed her cheek on his. The boy was aware of her bubbly personality for more than a decade. An older relative of his that he tended to avoid, he couldn't deny her talent and power. The most talented beastmaster of Wisperium, Natalia Drake. Compliant, she set him down and provided the perfect opportunity for Chester to slide in and interject. The illusionist slinked over behind the boy and gave her strong eye contact.

"Damien, why didn't you tell me you knew such a-" He looked her up and down slowly, before letting out a stupidly wide grin. The criminal waggled his brows. "-beauty? My name's Chester. A pleasure to meet you, miss..?"

Natalia stared at him for a second before returning her attention to the vampire boy in front of her. "Damien, why is your slave acting so familiar? You need to remind them of their place every once in a while."

"I'm no slave, baby. But if you want me to, I'll oblige." The illusionist took it in stride, giving her a wink. Seeing just how fine the woman was made him refuse to back down. Chester knew that persistency was key when it came to attractive women.

"Don't bother." The second female in the room said. Her appearance was vastly different from the sublime vampiress. She was short, visible even from a sitting position. But unlike the female dwarves, he had seen before, her face was proportional like a human and conventionally attractive. Curly, ginger hair braided into a coil fashioned at the top of her head made for a very medieval sight. "She'd rather roast you over an open fire than willingly flirt with a human."

Chester sighed. He turned and saw that the vampires were completely ignoring him, and so he turned his attention to the dwarven woman.

"Well, it was worth a try. I suppose you've heard my introduction already. What's your name?"

"Alda Bloodsong. You've got balls, I give you that."

Damien was focused on getting to the bottom of this. He wanted to know if Elric's operations were still active and wanted to resolve it as soon as possible.

"There's trouble with the adamantium mines?" He asked Natalia. She gave him a nod, slowly moving back to her luxurious leather seat, lips set in a firm line.

"Yep, from what I heard they're a real pain in the neck. I'd go down there myself but I'm spending half the day battling paperwork and the hordes out these walls. Today's a slow day., and even then I had to deal with a bunch of assassins going for the Vault."

"Do you have any reports with the metal constructs? I'd like to see them."

Natalia flipped through the papers on her desk and pulled out several sheets with a rough depiction of the constructs they were facing. Damien gingerly took them away and scanned the documents through to confirm if Elric's constructs were the ones truly responsible for the ongoing crisis.

"Four to six arms, nearly three to four meters tall...? These seem quite embellished. Are you sure they're correct?"

The female vampire crossed her arms and nodded, leaning back into her cushy office chair. "Those are our reports. Several eye-witnesses including some of the paladins from the church. There's a Named one that can talk in dwarvish, but it's been nothing but hostile. It provides warnings, so I suppose there's that."

Damien turned to Chester and noticed a cheshire grin on the man's face as he conversed with the seated dwarf. Her brow was raised in a taunting manner as they held a separate conversation from the nocturnal beings.

"Please, I doubt a skinny twig as you could do much. I'm a bit above your paygrade here." Alda rested her head on the bulky gauntlets she wore. The attire was fitting of a powerful warrior, and although Damien couldn't sense it, the air of confidence and general demeanor betrayed her true skill.

"I wouldn't say I'm skinny anymore, but I can guarantee that I'm very girthy down the-"

"Chester! Look at these reports, I think we have a problem."

He looked irritated at the boy interrupting his conversation with the pretty dwarf, but he took a peek at the reports Natalia handed over. He raised his brow at the unique appearance described and illustrated. The depictions looked like a nightmare version of the Scrap Bots they once faced and fought alongside with, but no mention of such variants existed from either Elric or the Androids.

"They're pretty standard for Scrap Bots, but I think they got the sizes and the arms wrong. Maybe it's a mutant variant?"

"I don't know. I think we should go down and see for ourselves. This might be a problem for Elric."

"Come on, I don't want to go underground! You can go yourself, I'll just stay here with Alda."

'You dolt, you're the main reason why we can communicate with them. Just do your thing where you magically convince them to go away!" He said in a harsh whisper. Damien witnessed first-hand just how powerful the man was at convincing one to his side. Although he didn't show it, he generally trusted the man's capabilities (but not his intentions) and usually didn't question any of the things he said.

Chester rolled his eyes. He seemed unwilling, but one annoyed sigh and he relented. "Fine. Can't believe I'm taking orders from someone who owes me two free passes. Three now, at this point."

The vampire noble fought the urge to whack him over the head, knowing that antagonizing the man would be detrimental to their efforts. He turned his attention to Natalia, who looked at him with a tilted head.

"We'd like to go to the adamantium mines. I think we have a solution for here."

"Um, Damien, I know you're strong and all, but I can't have you going down there. The paladins aren't a joke, and they still got their asses handed to them by the Named. Lord Dracule would have my head if anything happened to you while I was here."

The vampire noble shook his head. Although the remark about his lack of strength stung, he pushed through and did his best to convince her. "We're not going down there recklessly. Me and Chester over there, we've dealt with them before. I think we know a way to end it once and for all."

Natalia winced as though the idea of letting the noble go down to the mines was hurting her. She saw the look of resolution on his face. The female vampire could tell just how much the boy had matured since she last saw him in Wisperium. The way he held himself was reassured but far from cocky. Natalia realized that he was different from the kind, naive boy that she remembered as a surrogate nephew.

"Ha, shit. Lord Dracule's going to give me an earful once he hears about this. Take my Lieutenant General. He's not me, but at least I have some form of guarantee you won't get killed there. I need to stay up here."

She gathered herself and moved past the crowd around the door, shouting for her subordinate. After a few minutes, she found the man and pushed him onto Damien. The vampire was almost five inches taller than Chester and had a very manly face and stern eyes. He dipped his head down in respect upon seeing Damien. He was in a completely subservient position that showed little sign of arrogance.

"Hello, Prince Damien. I'm Jensen Vernicus. I am at your service."

"He'll be your guide in my stead. Oi, Copperpots. Make sure you get your best soldiers down there with them. Understand? If it's lacking I'm going to carve your testicles out with a rusty spoon. Tell a couple of the paladins to go as well. Those lazy asses need to work the amount they get paid."

The shorter man turned green upon hearing the threat. Chester shivered and watched as the dwarf ran off, intent on following the woman's orders to the best of his ability. Natalia swiveled around, a small smile on her face as she glanced at the younger vampire and his group.

"Now, let's see about getting you all ready for your trip downstairs, hm?"