In a small, dark out of the way alley, there are four robed figures. One bears a black robe, another is purple, the third is blue, and the last is blue. The black-robed one says, "Contact with Father Plaga has been cut off." 

This was met with snorts of amusement from the other figures. The Blue one, in particular, seemed to chortle with such joy. As the black-robed man turned toward his fellow conspirators, he felt a tingle run down his spine. They were dangerous.

The red robe of Mr. Ceades could barely contain the sheer amount of muscles this individual had. The Blue robe of Mr. Insidiae wriggled and writhed on its own every so often, revealing pale blue flesh underneath. Then there was the Purple-robed figure.

It was always a mystery to him; all he knew was that it went by Libidine. However, it had a sexual appeal to anyone interested in the carnal arts. Thankfully he was safe from that due to his Master's blessing.

The Black-robed man turned away from his fellows towards a map. "Without our ally Father Plaga and his band, the northern gate will not be attacked. This will set us back a few days. Thankfully in twenty-seven days, there will be an eclipse. At that time, we shall attack the town.

There are many creatures nearby that can be bought for our use. Libidine, please go over to the goblin caves to the northwest and get them to be our fodder." this earned a nod from the purple robbed individual.

"Lord Ceades will travel the South like before stirring the bandits into a bloodlust, preventing reinforcements." He could hear the red robbed one chuckle with mirth at this.

"Then Lord Inside, your work in the capital must continue. But if you can, make a spot for me in the academy after all this settles down. I wish to spread our ideas in fertile soil." The blue-robed individual bowed at this.

After that, the robbed individuals shined brightly before disappearing until the black robbed one was left alone in the alleyway. Silence met his ears, but he did not care. It was just another minor setback.

"Well, I shall find out if I need to make another Father Plaga now." With that, he set out due north towards the bandit camp. Whistling a tune with such happiness in his step.

…

Lord Cullivan was awakened by the stir in the air, the window opened, and he heard the latch click, and he looked over to the offending window.

There he saw two beautiful figures; their slight greenskin and plantlike hair gave them away. "So, what can I do for two rogue dryads?" He got up and out of bed completely naked.

The two were startled at the boldness of this man as he walked towards them. The younger one shielded her eyes, blushing profusely. While the other looked at the human up and down, a faint blush appeared as she noticed his chiseled body marred by scars and burns of war.

He calmly walked past them and grabbed some clothes from his armoire. His face was a serene facade, masking his intentions as he slipped the clothes on; he turned around as he noted the hidden dagger in the shirt's left arm.

He smiled humorlessly as he spoke, "Well… I am waiting; why are you here in my private chambers." The older one looked shocked and amused, "You are surprisingly calm about two beautiful scantily clad women in your room." 

That got a chuckle from the Lord. "If you wanted to jump my bones, then you can do it; however, I think that you have other thoughts than that. I am no stranger to the charm spell." Lord Cullivan smiled grimly at that.

"Good," he thought, "I am making them nervous." Lord Cullivan then spoke again. "Now I want to know why two dryads thought it would be a good idea to deprive me of my sleep. I am a very busy man and have many things to take care of."

The two winces, but it was the younger one who spoke first. "My lord, we were told that you had issues with the enchanted forest next to your town." This made the Lord scowl, "And who told you this?"

The older one grabbed her sister's shoulder and looked into her eyes warningly. The younger one shrugged off the hand of her sister. "A Federation Mercenary, they said that the forest had a lot of magic herbs and that you sold them at a low price to him."

This stunned the Lord, "Who was this mercenary, and where did you find them?" the older one just shrugged and pointed to the younger. Who replied in a timid voice. "The mercenary said that he came from your town, Lord."

She looked down, but the older one looked at the Lord and spoke. "Forge-" The Lord shook his head. "So, you met a Federation trooper, and he told som-" The younger one then shouted, "He did not lie, Lord."

The Lord looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "And your proof?" she blushed. "There is a large amount of magical energy coming from the forest, though it is infested. The mercenary was right; there is a blight there."

This gave the Lord a moment of pause. "Did this mercenary have a mechanical eye?" The two nodded solemnly. This caused him to release a sigh of relief. "Alright, I understand. You are not allowed to talk about the man with a mechanical eye."

This caused them both to become confused by the Lord. Finally, however, he turned to them and interrupted their thoughts. "I will allow you sanctuary in the woods with the shaman if you promise to aid him in getting the forest healthy again."

The two smiled, thoroughly confused but happy that they could get the sanctuary they so desperately craved. Though Lord Cullivan then asked. "Why were you two looking for sanctuary in my town?"

The two looked at each other, and it was the older one who replied. "Princess Willow. Sh-" The two dryads took a step back as murderous intent washed over them. "She didn't." Lord Cullivan spoke softly

The oldest then nodded, "She tried to take the young prince as a familiar, but he saw something in her and refused. When he refused her, she ordered the Great Tree to be torched." Tears fell from her face.

"Why are you telling me this?" Lord Cullivan was confused as they should be fleeing. "We know how you opposed her and her followers all that time ago. But we were going to the frontier. However, the incident with the mercenary convinced us to grow our strength instead."

Lord Cullivan nervously patted his side, then spoke. "Alright, leave me. Go to the forest from the nearest gate. Should you follow the path, the shaman's hut is along the way. Do not worry about him; he has a wife. Though please do not inconvenience him; he is a good man."

The two nod and leave through the window, promising that they will heal the forest. After the dryads went, a broad smile graced Lord Cullivan's lips. "Tarphus… Thank you." then he remembered the princess.

The smile was replaced with a frown as he grabbed a quill and paper. "This is going to be a long night." He started to send letters to some allies in the different counties nearby who shared his interests.

…

Tarphus looked over his options yet again and sighed. It was his responsibility to have his men with the best equipment. So he chose the following choices:

Utility Servo Skull unlocks repair kits and improves on kits and mobile stations down the road.

Battle Supplies: The timer will not stop even in the middle of a firefight. (If this is chosen, then Munitions Timer will be locked)

Acolyte of Mars: An acolyte of the mechanicus will volunteer their services. This Acolyte will not be under the User's direct command, meaning it is up to the User to ensure its loyalty.

The reason for each of his choices was simple. First, he chose the Utility upgrade for his summons because he would need repair kits and better medical supplies. Besides, all his enemies were easy to put down.

He got the Battle supplies because he remembered the challenge, where his squad was engaged in conflict after conflict time and time again. He also remembered how fast he ran out of ammunition during that period.

The Acolyte was something that he chose because he had a gut feeling about it. He knew that they were akin to priests that worshiped tech and were eccentric due to Kit's information about the group.

Those were his reasons, and after he spent the upgrades, he was locked out of his Status for one whole day. He looked towards his familiar in time to see a golden portal form and Kit to go into it.

This surprised his squad, but he just shrugged and told them to get back to working out. So they spent four days getting to the frontier. 

…

On the second day, he heard a ringing sound. "Status." He whispered.

Race: Human Class: Summoner

Stars: 3

Status: Green

Familiar: Utility Servo Skull

Summons: Unlocked*

Items: Unlocked*

Challenge: The time until the next challenge is 26 days

Upgrades: Unlocked

Tarps noted the asterisks next to the Summons and Items. He then tapped the Items list.

Items that can be summoned:

One heavy weapon: 

Shody Flammer with five tanks of promethium*

Poor Heavy Autogun with seven magazines of armor-piercing Autogun ammunition*

Crude Rocket Launcher with ten rockets*

Ammunition will be refreshed every twelve hours.

Tarphus noted that he had gained two more munitions for each of the heavy weapons.

Designation of light infantry

Each squad member gains:

1 Autogun

8 Autogun magazines*

1 Auto Pistol

6 Auto Pistol magazines*

1 Knife

1 Medkit*

*NEW* 1 Repair Kit*

1 Entrenching Tool kit

4 Ration Packs*

5 Frag Grenades*

1 Poorly made Flak Armor

*NEW* 2 Shody Mines*

Ammunition and consumables will be refreshed every twelve hours.

Tarphus smiled as he saw the new additions to his armory. The mines were beneficial for the challenge and were very fun to watch as they exploded. 

Tarphus then summoned his familiar Utility Servo Skull; it came out of the portal with several long dexterous wires and cables that held instruments in each line. He saw the needles and graspers. He did not mind them, but it seemed like Kit had a small printing press down there. He was not going to mention it, though.

Tarphus then clicked on the Summons button. 

Summons:

1 squad of imperial guard recruits, having been taken from the Planetary Defence Force of a random planet, these 10 grunts are still considered raw recruits for the forces of man.

1 medic, 9 guardsmen

*NEW* Retinue: An Acolyte of the Mechanicus.

Land Vehicles: locked complete more challenges

Air Vehicles: Locked complete more challenges

Tarphus grinned at the retinue button. He did not feel the need to prolong his wait any longer, so he summoned the Acolyte.

A bright golden light shined inside of his wagon as he summoned the Acolyte. A golden portal formed in front of him; stepping out of the doorway was a red-robed individual. The robed figure bowed towards him. 

A robotic voice called to him. "The Omnissiah has called me to aid you, guardsman." Tarphus then walked over to the figure. "Please do not bow to me. I hope that we can become friends in the coming days."

This caused the Acolyte to straighten and stare at him. "I require your weaponry." This brought a smile to Tarphus's face. "You will have it. Ask the squad for their weapons as well. They should give you them as well." Tarphus handed over his weapons to the robed figure.

The Tech priest was calm about everything as the wagons rolled through the forests and then to the grassy plains. Tarphus sat with the person. The silence was comforting to the two of them. It surprised Tarphus how often the tech-priest got his hands on nick-nacks. 

He did not know how and where the tech-priest got them, but the small mechanical chuckles that the priest made were slightly amusing to Tarphus. Finally, the Tech priest spoke after two days of travel. "Why are you just sitting there?"

Tarphus looked confused at the Tech-Priest, who scanned his face. "Confusion detected administering explanation. Most guardsmen that the Mechanicus meet are in a constant state of worry and work, never slowing down and enjoying the process."

Tarphus smiled calmly, "It is because it gives me time to think and plan for what comes next." He raised a hand to stop the oncoming question. "I… We are not really liked at the place we are going to.

The locals will not trust us and will try to send us on death missions. So I must keep my oath to everyone here, to keep them safe." This stopped the Tech-Priest for a few moments, then he responded, "affirmative."

Tarphus was also curious about the Tech priest, and so he asked. "So, do you enjoy the view?" The tech-priest turned to him. "Answer: It lacks any industry, green things block the ground, and construction is nowhere. Retort: It is not the best, but I will make do." This caused the two to become silent for the rest of the ride.

… 

Tarphus expected the freed slaves to run to the closest guard when they finally got to the front. However, they stayed with his squad. He asked Gus about it. However, Gus replied with a smug smile. 

"Lucy can be very persuasive, especially with her 'sermons.'" A shadow of fear crossed over Gus's face for a split second. It was gone before Tarphus could recognize it. Tarphus then shrugged; it was not his concern as long as it did not affect his command, then he would allow his squad to do what they wanted.

Tarphus saw their destination and smiled; there was a village in the process of being upgraded into a town. It was this same village that was Tarphus's target. His father told him that a battle brother who fought with him in the Federation war would be here and guided him toward becoming a great mercenary.

Tarphus looked down to his pouch in it was the letter of introduction. He steeled himself for the oncoming crowd and then pulled the wagons into the village. He spotted the Mercenary Guildhouse quickly enough as it was currently the tallest building.

Tarphus saw a dwarf with a familiar house emblem on his shoulder; he was… short but built like a bulwark. His braid told Tarphus that this dwarf was a servant. He remembered fondly of his "uncle" Werthine Killigan. 

Tarphus remembers the emblem as a marker for Clan Killigan. This caused him to smile as he handed the reins to Gus. Tarphus then stepped off the wagon in front of the dwarf, who looked him up and down.

"Ye Tarphus Lorne?" The dwarf asked judgment chiseled into his facial features. Tarphus could only respond respectfully. "Yes, Mr. dwarf." The dwarf chuckled coldly. "The guild master is waiting for ye. Follow me, but keep yer dogs ere. Toby will be taken them to the stables."

Tarphus nodded and looked to his squad; they nodded as well. He had gone over this kind of thing with them, so they knew what to do. Tarphus turned and walked into the large building, Kit on his shoulder.

He was greeted by noise, laughter, and boasting shouts of joy and bloodlust. However, before Tarphus could take it in, he was dragged up the stairs and down the hall then thrown into a room; it was an office.

"Well, well well, Tarphus, my boy, it has been too long!" Tarphus turned toward the speaker, joy on his face. "Uncle Werthine!"