The doors of the inn slammed open and we all turned to see who it was. A bloody wretch stumbled in and limped their way in. Their right foot dragged along the ground as they made their way over to the counter. I saw the red skirt and two katanas on the figure's back. Zeta wasted no time running over. "Alpha! What the hell happened to you!?" The figure flinched and looked up. He was blind in one eye from the gray film that covered it. Blood was caked in both of his ears. Recognition slowly appeared in his one good eye and both began to shed bloody tears. Alpha could only cough up blood, and that racked his body with pain. No sound came out from him. I walked over to him and said "He's in rough shape, Zeta. We have to go. Now." He nodded and picked Alpha up. He carried his comrade over his shoulders. I asked if there was a bathhouse nearby. There was one further in the city. "I will remember this hospitality. Thank you." I said as we left the inn. We made our way to the bathhouse and paid to use it. We got Alpha undressed and could see his whole body covered in wounds.
Using my Lay on Hands ability, I was able to close most of the wounds. Because of my high ranking, I could also tell what was wrong with him. Alpha had been cursed a whole lot. He was struck with the Bleeding, Deaf, Blind and Mute traits. His natural healing magic was only able to keep one eye from being permanently blinded and still alive. Even then, it was only blurs and shades of gray that he could see. My five charges got rid of the biggest wounds. He was still bleeding all over the place from the less serious cuts. We got the dirt and grim off of him and cleaned ourselves up as well. We put his outfit back on him. He was able to walk on his own now. Zeta guided him to the docks. We were going to go back to the inn. There was another of the Protector- Black Ops there. It was the orange one. "Beta!" Zeta called out. Beta did not hear us. He was being surrounded by people. "Where is my brother, you freak!?" on yelled. "I want my son back!" another screamed in his face. Beta looked at them in a state of pure confusion. He was punched in the face and he staggered back a step.
Zeta ran to his comrades defense. "Beta! What the hell happened to you and Alpha. Where are the others!?" Beta pulled him closer and yelled "Zeta! You came back for us." He was not speaking at a stable pitch or volume. It was a sign he had also gone deaf. Beta was also bleeding from his wounds. We also took him to the bathhouse. I saw he also needed immediate attention. Once there, I told Zeta how to use Lay on Hands. He was able to use it twice. He focused on the Bleeding and the Deaf traits. I saw that Beta was able to use his own magic to heal himself fully. It made me look like an idiot. "What the hell happened to you!?" Zeta asked him. Beta shuddered and said "It was horrible. We broke through the gates and were doing fine. Most of the guards even stood down. The ones that fought were easy to get past." "What's so bad about that?" Zeta asked. Beta said "That was just the beginning. We got to the courtyard where Master stayed. She opened the doors and unveiled three new Protectors to fight. She called them the 'Omega Warriors'. They were all twice as strong as us."
