Devil's Bodyguard [Zhoren/daisandrena]

[Zhoren]

Maou tilted his head slightly at Maryel's response.

While what she said was all well and good, that was not exactly what he had meant. While it was true that a properly executed strategy could mean that a war can be won without casualties or bloodshed, sometimes strategy called for sacrifices; no matter how good a soldier was, in the strategist's war-book, he was naught but a pawn -- an important pawn perhaps, even an asset, given the right circumstances, but a pawn nonetheless. Of course, he also realized that both nobility and honesty were virtues, so long as one managed to stay alive with it.

But it seemed that fate decreed that her virtues be tested sooner than he anticipated, and far sooner than he had prepared for. However, he doubted that one would make it to the rank of 'head' of a guild without having lived through several such trials; as such, he was not concerned overmuch. Of course, this was also a chance to make his debut before his Lord, so it was certainly not one to be thrown away in vain either.

The thing in common about cocky people, was that they all tended to make him want to yawn. So his reply to the Elvaan's witty comment was an attempt at stifling a yawn.

The conversation between the two almost made it seem like this was well planned, but a glance around the room did not reveal the presence of any Ruby or Alfonso. Of course, he had been wondering for sometime as to why there was an Elvaan man amongst the otherwise Human staff of the Guild Hall, now it seemed he was was one of the accomplices whose names Maryel mentioned. Looking around also revealed several crates of what looked like cotton on one side of the room, and some barrels of oil; and of course there were chandeliers hanging overhead, not to mention the wooden chairs and tables. Given the right circumstances, the entire building was a bomb waiting to go off, provided that he triggered it in the right manner.

However, Maou was relatively certain that his prospective new Lord would not be receptive to that kind of strategy.

As alternatives, he was carrying his bow and quiver as always, and a hidden knife; the only other thing of note he had were a newly bought pack of cigars and a lighter. Given the various items spread around the room, all of those were quite useful equipment, and it was likely that a hybrid strategy of sorts could be used. Thus all that remained now was to prepare and await the opponent's next move and/or a command from Maryel. Of course, there was also the possibility that the Captain Luzel had never actually left in spite of Maryel's direct order to the contrary. After all, he wouldn't be much of a 'captain' if he were to leave his Lord alone to perish; but perhaps the customs of this land were different, he wouldn't know either way.

For the time being, the best way to prepare would be to light a cigar; quite simplistic he'd admit, and yet...

Maou coughed slightly and cleared his throat as both his hands entered his pockets.

"May I have permission to smoke a bit?" He asked, while attempting to stifle another yawn.

[daisandrena]

Maou's request seemed to make Maryel blink as she was not used to someone being so calm in the face of danger like this person. It baffled her but on the same token it also made her curious. She would definitely not turn this one away. She looked over at the elf she had called Mavellris.

"When will you all learn...and tell Borus that I am not interested for the millionth time. You all need to leave us alone."

Mavellris began to chuckle as he reached to his back and pulled off the bow placed there, it was no ordinary one and looked to be enhanced by some magical properties.

"Now Maryel...you know just as well as I do that Borus doesn't take no for an answer. You also know its nothing personal, I just do as he commands. Stop making trouble for us and just accept his proposal. It would save everyone a large amount of trouble, especially you."

Maryel looked to Maou and nodded as if in response to his question, or did her nod mean something different. After she nodded, she smiled at Maou, yes it definitely meant something different, she was giving him the go ahead to display his worth. She was putting her trust into him and only after a few moments of talking to him. This woman was a strange one indeed.

[Zhoren]

BGM: Shiyuu

He had already taken out the lighter and a cigar by the time Maryel nodded at him, and he was in the process of lighting it when she smiled. Maou couldn't help but smile back. He could guess what her smile meant, and yet he was certain that she was not assenting to too much collateral damage; so setting fire to the entire building was probably not an option.

'Yeah... damn me for not being prepared.' He thought.

"Duck." He whispered, before unlatching his bow from across his shoulders and taking three arrows from his quiver.

Notching the arrows in quick succession, he shot the first one into the chandelier just above Elvaan man who was standing amongst the other dumbstruck guild hall staff. The second one, he shot towards the chandelier at the entrance, right above Mavellris, and the third one, he shot into the stack of crates with large amounts of cotton.

The first arrow managed to hit right at the base of the chandelier, shaking it up violently and causing it to fall down. The resultant panic from the guild hall staff meant that it was impossible to determine the fate of Mavellris' accomplice who was standing right under the object.

The second arrow missed the base of the chandelier at the entrance, but managed to hit it square in the side instead, shaking it up violently. As for the third arrow, it penetrated one of the cotton crates.

Maou narrowed his eyes at the apparent misfire of his second arrow, but a contingency plan was already set in motion. Hoping that the fate of his accomplice and the threat of death from above would give Mavellris some pause, Maou covered the distance between himself and the crates with a single dodge roll, before standing up and plucking the cotton-tipped arrow from the crates and dipping it straight into the barrel of oil just beside the crates.

Withdrawing the arrow, he notched it onto his bow, and used the flaming end of his cigar to set the cotton-tipped arrowhead alight. With a smirk, he aimed at the chandelier he had missed earlier and let the fiery arrow take flight. The scenario of what should happen next was clear in his mind -- barring some unforeseen occurrence, the flaming arrow should hit the already shaking chandelier and the impact should cause it to fall, causing flaming splinters of wood to obliterate the entryway to the guild hall. However, without waiting for the consequence to happen, Maou quickly put the cover on the barrel of oil before using both his hands to tilt it towards himself, with the intent to roll it down towards the entryway should Mavellris somehow still continue to fight. The resultant explosion from the large amount of oil touching the flame and the wood splinters would likely decimate that part of the guild hall altogether, thereby eliminating all hostilities without fail.

However, Maou was not about to take such a drastic action by himself. Instead, he looked at Maryel for her assent, hoping that she would be able to catch on to what he was about to do, and its consequences. However, he doubted that it would be necessary; after all, there was no need to reveal all the aces up his sleeve, just his first one should be more than enough to deal with this pesky menace; the barrel of oil being the second one, and a glance towards the far end of the hall revealed that the third one was in place as well.

[daisandrena]

Seeing all the events going on, Maryel looked quite impressed. She nodded to him once more for the go ahead and had ducked when she was told to avoid any flying arrows which Maou or Mavellris might shoot. She watched Maou doing what he was doing with a grin on her face thinking to herself that she had just found her new bodyguard. She saw Mavellris duck out of the entry way to avoid the falling chandelier not looking very pleased at all. Once it had fell he knocked an arrow himself but seeing all the other things that Maou had done gave him pause to reconsider, and do so he did before quickly making his escape. The other chandelier would only barely miss the elvaan man who also looked none to happy with Maou but fled the scene also.

Maryel waved to Maou and pointed to the back exit out of the guild hall which she herself began to make her way towards. She had scene both Alfonso and Mavellris flee the scene but had as of yet to see Ruby. She knew the trio always traveled together and was wondering where she was. She soon got her answer when she saw the red haired female atop the guild hall in the rafters, a long and sharp looking piece of metal in her hand which she seemed to have set to fire at Maou. Before Maryel could warn him, the projectile was already on its way to its intended target.

"Look out!" Maryel called out to Maou, hoping that her warning would give him enough time to evade Ruby's attack. Outside of the guild hall Mavellris called back inside

"Ruby, leave him! Let's go!"

With that the woman put a hand to her lips and blew a kiss to Maou before leaping up and out of sight, amongst the rafters and dark shadows it cast.

[Zhoren]

Mavellris seemed to have recognized the threat and made his escape before Maou could roll the barrel down the hall; not too long after, he noticed the Elvaan's accomplice scurrying to safety as well. Apparently, they had managed evade his hastily formed deathtrap, which was just another problem with not being prepared.

"Ah well... them's the breaks, I guess." He muttered under his breath, letting go of the barrel.

But just then, he heard Maryel's warning from somewhere to his side. Without wasting time to figure out what was going on, he quickly ducked behind the barrel. A sound of metal piercing the wood of the barrel and that of Mavellris calling off his accomplice soon signaled the end of the threat. Standing up, he managed to take a good look at the assailant before she left. There wasn't enough time to observe her features properly, but he had caught on to the name.

'So... her name is Ruby... is it?' He thought, as he proceeded to the front of the barrel and plucked the projectile out of the wood.

He was slightly impressed by the fact that she had managed to remain undetected even though she was sitting right on top of his third ace. He would admit that both parties were lucky in the sense that they didn't have to go so far as using the last part of his makeshift plan, or he might have accidentally put an arrow through her while revealing the third ace up his sleeve.

'Don't worry,' he smirked, observing the projectile, 'the Devil always pays his due.'

He wrapped the metal projectile with some cotton and put it into his pocket for further appraisal at a later time. He was not yet used to the weapons and armaments of this continent, nor the overly frequent use of magic and enhancements. So far, this lacking had not proved too harmful, but that might change in an instant if he wasn't diligent in his observations.

Carefully putting out the cigar so as not to light up another firework, he progressed towards the back exit where Maryel was waiting. He bowed low towards her in gratitude for her warning. Since she had earlier put her trust in him even though they had just met, he too had put his trust in his new Lord and heeded her warning without question. Apparently, this had turned out well for both of them, and in his opinion, this boded quite well for their prospective Lord and retainer relationship.

'Right,' he thought, 'few thousand coins of collateral damage aside....'

'Let's continue from where we left off....'

Or so he thought. Unfortunately, all the action meant that he had forgotten what they were speaking of.

'Er..'

"I rest my case." He said casually, raising his head to meet Maryel's eyes.

[daisandrena]

Once all the danger was over, Mary breathed a sigh of relief. However when she heard what he said she began to laugh.

"Fair enough. You are hired. Come on, I'll take you to our guild's manor. I'll also have a private room prepared for you."

She then walked over to the guild hall's master and began to apologize for the damage and gave him some gold coins which seemed to calm him down. She walked over to the exit and waited for Maou before they began to make their way off to the Phoenix Manor.

[Zhoren]

"As you wish." He replied.

Putting his bow back across his shoulders, he lit another cigar. While drawing the cigar in small puffs, he observed as Maryel apologized to the master of the guild hall and settled the damages with some coin. The fact that she had enough humility to apologize for the actions of a follower pleased him; in his opinion, this was one of the given qualities that any Lord should have. Of course that did not mean that he himself was relieved of liabilities, and thus he decided that some apologies were in order for himself as well.

"I must also apologize to you for the damage caused by my actions," he said, while following behind Maryel as she left the guild hall, "being unprepared as I was, that display seemed the single most effective method of eliminating hostilities without coming to harm ourselves."

"One other thing you should know m'lady." He added. "I am not from these lands, and am not very well acquainted with the weaponry and tactics used here. However, I believe we should be able to remedy that soon enough with some aid from you."

[daisandrena]

"Oh do not worry about the damages. It's all taken care of."

She said as she smiled at him. For one who had a lot on her shoulders and dealing with being attacked and threatened as she just was, she smiled a lot. Once they arrived at the location there could be seen the very nice and kept up grounds the manor resided upon, with people working to maintain it. They all waved to Maryel when the two of them arrived and she waved back, telling them that they were doing a very good job.

"We have an area where the guards go to train and practice their craft. I'm sure that Captain Luzel would be happy to show you the ropes while you get used to things around the manor. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me and I'll tell you what you need to know. Well, let's go on inside."

They walked to the doors which were opened for them by one of the guards posted at the front door. She nodded her head to him in thanks and went inside. The first room they walked into was quite large. The walls were decorated with different paintings and other works of art, plants hung from different fixtures, and there was a large chandelier in this room, similar to the one he had knocked down in the guild hall. A very nice looking rug went from the door down the center of the room. There were a few different rooms connected to this one, the kitchen was clearly visible and what looked to be a study. The other rooms couldn't really be determined as they were dark with nobody inside. The manor itself looked very clean and was obviously well taken care of.

A few of the servants came to greet Maryel when she arrived and looked curiously at Maou.

"Who is this Lady Maryel?" One of them finally asked

"He is going to be protecting me personally from here on. Please get him whatever he requires." She said in a bit of a formal tone to the person who nodded and complied and then went over to Maou.

"Good evening sir. Our thanks for protecting Lady Maryel. We all care for her greatly." The person then bowed respectfully to him.

[Zhoren]

Maou nodded at her reply.

"As you say... then that is more than enough for the time being." He said, wondering whether Captain Luzel was a better teacher than he was recruiter.

As they moved through the manor, he had noticed that her infectiously cheery personality seemed to be well loved by her people. This was quite different from where he came from, where Lords and retainers always suspected one another of treachery, which made any form of bonding more than a little difficult. Things seemed to be different in this continent, or perhaps it was simply that things were different only as far as Maryel was concerned.

'..and why not,' he wondered, 'a smile solves all problems, doesn't it?'

'Er... No.'

This being the first time he had entered a half-decent building on this continent with the exception of the guild hall, Maou made sure to observe every detail of the infrastructure as they moved along. It seemed quite clean, unlike the idea of adventuring guilds that he had gotten from the mercenary group he had joined up with earlier. He couldn't help but smirk at the chandelier as he passed by it; the structure had obviously been of much help a while back. Had the chandeliers at the guild hall been the ground versions, things may have been a bit more difficult. At best, he would have to adopt another strategy; at worst, he would have to pull a tactical retreat, which probably would serve poorly for his debut before Maryel.

He was still busy observing the place when Maryel was greeted by the servants, so he was somewhat taken by surprise as the servants moved to greet him. As a strategist, he was usually like his Lord's shadow; whatever respect he received, it came to him through his Lord. In other cases, he had to claw his way to the top and wasn't quite used to being showered with respect and gratitude right of the bat like that.

"Eh... uh.. yeah." He muttered, before composing himself immediately

"I mean... I am honored to be granted this duty by Lady Maryel."

But he would admit that he was glad to be able to walk in the steps of a respectable Lord once more; he had almost forgotten how it felt like.

However, there was a certain problem with the current situation -- Maou wasn't used to acting formally for overly long periods at a time. Moreover, he was a little tired out from the unprepared display at the guild hall. He only hoped that his discomfort was not showing on his face.

'Eh.. I suppose I'm just a little tired.'

[daisandrena]

*Mary finished conversing with the populace of the room as they dispersed to attend to their duties. One of them remained behind at the behest of Maryel. She then turned to Maou and smiled, motioning to the one who remained behind.

"Riedra will show you to your room. If you have any requests for food or refreshment, please ask her and she will see to it that you get them. I am going to my study to do a bit of paperwork. Feel free to look around at your leisure."

She said as she nodded her head to Maou and walked into the study, sitting down at her desk and beginning to occupy herself with a few different parchments. The manor seemed to be in a business as usual feeling as the different servants and other non-servant residents went about their work.