Marik expected the clients to be showing up soon but he could see a decent distance from the vantage point on top of the large boulder he and Sai were sitting on and there were no other people in sight at the moment. Since they were waiting, he decided to help Sai work on her arcanistries. She would probably be able to figure out how to modify her arcanistries in whatever ways she desired but she seemed to not have had any thoughts on how she wanted to do so. It seemed she was a genius at following through with something and figuring things out only as long as someone pointed her in a direction to go first.

"Okay. Since it seems like we're going to be waiting for a little while, let's start figuring out how, or at least what, to make those flame variants. Like I said, we'll leave your original alone for now but do you have any ideas you want to try? I mean, where exactly have you been having difficulties in making the new versions?"

"Well. I thought about your ideas of changing the color or adding the effects you told me before. I even tried adding some soul sorcery to it to see what happened like you asked. I just don't know what to make exactly..."

"Oh ya. What happened with the spirit material? I'm calling it spirit more than soul these days, by the way."

"Okay, spirit, got it. Umm. It kind of just stuck to most things."

"Not all things?"

"No. It went through some rocks and stuff still. It wouldn't stick to the ends of my rope-sash, either. Only the rope part kept it on it."

"Hmm. So, only organic material, I guess? It kind of makes sense now that I think about it. Anyways, let's look at what all we might be able to do with your stuff. My thoughts about it went something along the lines of adjusting the colors to match what you want to do with it so that I, or any ally, would know which you're using. Of course, it would also allow enemies to figure it out, too, but hopefully they'd be taken care of by that time."

"What do you mean by matching the colors?"

"Well. Let's say you do my cold fire idea. You'd probably have to find some spells that make people think something that's hot is actually cold first. You could also add some of that spirit material like you've done before and make it stick to whoever you hit with it so you don't have to control it yourself after that. Ah. Sorry, I'm getting off path here. The question is what color comes to mind when I say 'cold fire' or even just 'cold'?"

"Umm. Maybe blue?"

"There you go. So if you made a cold fire arcanistry, you should make it blue. If you think you might make some other blue one, whether soon or much later, then make it either a lighter or darker blue so you can have both eventually. Matching colors."

"Okay. I think I got it. I'm not sure what else to make, though."

"Hmm. How about a dark fire? Instead of producing light it could absorb light. Add some ice sorcery to make it cold, maybe a little extra space and some spirit to make it act more like a normal fire but just with everything about it reversed. That could be pretty cool if it works."

"Oh, oh. What about a one that has canceling effects so I can break other people's mystic arts? I'd probably make it green?"

"Well, since your arcanistry seems to be rather simple by itself, you might even be able to add some countering effect to it as well to make it really hurt."

"Hmm. No. I think I'd rather just make that one separate. Maybe purple?"

"I'm not really sure how you would use it though unless you already have it cast and ready. At that point it might be better to just use the green one."

"I see. I wonder if I can change it some and use it to protect someone."

"Maybe. Make it cover someone or something so it can reflect mystical attacks? I don't know. Seems like you'd have to a lot of alterations on that one."

"Wouldn't I just have to make it act like your blur?"

"Hmm. I feel like there's more to it than that, but you're the genius when it comes to this stuff. Now you have a bunch of ideas you can play around with. Did that help?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"Great, because I think we might be out of time to talk about it more for now. I think that group of people coming this way is who we're waiting for. Remember, if they're rude or anything just ignore them and I'll try and deal with it."

"Right."

Marik started to stand up so he could go down and greet the client. He double checked everything about himself to make sure he was presentable and had the necessary proof. His biggest hope was that this particular group wasn't as snobbish as many other similar groups. He'd done a few group guard jobs like this but the alchemists were always among his least favorite clients. If it happened to be herbalists then it might not be as bad since most of them seemed a lot less inclined to try and insult everyone all the time.

He lightly jumped down from atop the boulder and walked in the direction of the group to initiate introductions and get the job started. As he approached he saw the group more clearly. In the front and seemingly leading the group was an older foxkin man with greying hair. The pompous look on his face indicated to Marik that he had not gotten lucky and that this would be one of those more annoying clients. The group behind the foxkin man was filled with young adults of various races. There was a human man, a human woman, an elf man, and a woman who was either a dragonewt or dragonkin. Marik might have asked if he wasn't already technically on the job and trying to avoid any rudeness. He walked up to meet the older man.

"Hello. I'm from the mercenary guild. Are you, perhaps, the group that has requested a group guard?"

"Hah? Hmph. Leave it to mercenaries to not know proper manners. Coming right to an obviously esteemed member of society and higher class citizen such as I and not even giving a proper introduction."

"I don't randomly introduce myself to strangers, sir. Before I introduce myself properly, I would prefer to know I'm introducing myself to the right people."

"How uncouth. You seem to be barely a tenth rank of the guild, which would explain many things. In the future, if you wish to move up in rank, you should learn proper manners. Now, since you are here to guard us, provide the proof you've accepted the job and give a proper introduction with your name."

"Here's the appropriate document. I'm Marik and behind me is my partner, Sai. We'll be guarding you from now until either you return to the town's entrance or until evening falls, whichever occurs first. If you have any particular desire for us to not stop some particular individual from approaching for whatever reason then please let me know and as long as we have designated it as reasonably safe we can let that happen. Otherwise we'll assume hostilities and act accordingly. We'll be in your vicinity to do our duty and within calling range at all times should you need us but we will not be interfering or interacting with your group more than necessary. Are there any questions?"

"How rude can you be? Listen well, boy. You may not ever be able to be a proper member of society but you should at least learn to be a proper person. Not only did you not let your partner introduce herself, as would be proper, but your own introduction was short and followed with mere instructions as if I were some low-born cretin needing such. The rest of you take note. This boy here is a wonderful example of how not to act as you become proper alchemists."

"Right. It seems you have no questions about how we intend to do our job so I'll be with my partner."

"Wait. How dare you just go off and leave like that?"

"Well, I have a job to do. If you want to try and keep me here in discussion with you then I guess it's okay but supposedly your intentions were to head into a different area to do your own work and once the sun sets our job is over. At that point we'll be heading back to the guild."

"Look here. I pay my taxes appropriately. Guards should get paid from said taxes. That I had to pay extra for those who do the same job just to come outside the city is bad enough. If it's a problem with you getting paid then just use get paid from the taxes like you should have to begin with. Should I need to stay longer than I originally intended, you should proceed to act as my guard without any further complaint."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Unfortunately there's a signed contract that says otherwise. Now. It's time I get to doing my job properly. We'll be nearby enough for you to call out to us should you feel in danger."

Marik took one last look at the group before he turned away to go back to Sai. The leader of the group seemed to be angered by Marik's attitude. The two humans seemed quite flustered by the whole situation but were looking at the foxkin man with something akin to respect. The elf man was nodding with a smug look of approval on his face. What exactly he was approving of, Marik wasn't sure. The last member of the group seemed quite confused about what had happened or what was happening now. Most likely she was new to the group or to the job. Marik headed back to Sai, who had waited while standing a little further away so as not to interrupt.

He thought about the woman who was likely the newest member of their little group. He still wasn't sure if she was a dragonewt or dragonkin. He had heard and read some descriptions of each race but had never seen them. She had a set of draconic wings, a long and slender scaly tail, and a set of swept-back horns that flowed gracefully from her forehead to the back of her head with a light upwards curve at the end. He had read that dragonkin had similar appearances with some differences in the tail and horns, but he couldn't remember what those differences were. The only big difference that he remembered was that dragonkin could transform and dragonewts couldn't.

"So, ya," he said quietly to Sai. "They're assholes and we'll want to talk to them or where they can hear us as little as possible."

"I heard. So I'll have to deal with these kinds of people all the time, too?"

"No. I won't say dealing with this kind of thing isn't normal but it's not all the clients or all the time that it's like this. Don't worry about it too much, okay?"

"*sigh* Okay. Now what? We just follow them around and stay quiet for the rest of the day? Sounds boring..."

"Pretty much. It's a good first job for you. There are exciting jobs, too, but it's better to know how dull or frustrating a lot of the jobs can be. Just remember to keep all living creatures, intelligent or otherwise, away from their group until we're done. Other than that you can do what I usually do when it gets boring like this: work on improving my use of special stuff that people can't see. I did only teach you those things recently, so why don't you try and work on how good you are with it a bit?"

"That still sounds kind of boring..."

"It's better than just sitting there and staring at them."

Aside from a few pointers and some light instructions from Marik, Sai spent most of the time just walking in a circle around the client group. Marik tried to leave most of it to her while he made sure she did things the way he was taught as the right way and made sure they were always far enough away from the client group for them not to bother each other. Other than a few small animals here and there, which Marik told Sai to take care of, almost nothing happened. They only took care of small critters because it gave something for Sai to do and it would help their case later if complaints were made about how they hadn't been doing their jobs. The most exciting thing that happened was probably the one time that Sai used her weapon and knocked down a squirrel that was determined to go visit the client group for whatever reason, which caused the young dragon-something race woman to make an excited voice before getting scolded.

As sunset came, they all headed back to the town without Marik having to announce that the time for his contract was nearing its end. Once they were almost at the entrance where the guard station was, Marik gently led Sai slightly ahead of the group to check in first. Once they were done checking in they moved to the side and waited to make sure the whole group also checked in and started to go their own way back to the guild to report the completion of the job. Normally they should have some proof but Marik was sure The Bear would understand. Before they made it far away from their former clients, however, Marik heard the old man calling out to his followers.

"Alright. I have to head over to that den of ruffians to make some complaints. You all are off for the rest of the day. I'll bring what we collected back myself. I would say it's a good chance for you all to learn how to deal with such murderers and bandits yourselves for when the day inevitably comes that you must but I'm sure today has been tiring and I, alone, should be enough for this quick business of getting the money back from such a useless service."

He sighed heavily and proceeded to walk to the guild anyways. The least he could do is try and prepare himself, Sai, and the guild for the inevitable headache that was coming. After he walked into the guild building he asked Sai to go wait in the bar area while he talked to The Bear. Sai went to sit at an empty table as Marik noticed that there were a decent amount of people there that evening.

"What's wrong," The Bear asked him as he approached.

"Oh, you know how it goes. An alchemist sees a young merc and regardless of how the merc did, the stingy alchemist..."

"Right. Guess I'd better get ready, huh?"

"He's bound to be here within a few seconds, I think."

"Wow. Must be one of-"

"Hello?! I demand to speak to whoever's in charge of this bandit guild!"

"Speak of the demons, and they shall appear. Sit back a bit, lad. I'll try to take care of this."

Marik did as asked and backed off to the side a little ways in order to let The Bear do his thing. The Bear suddenly let out a shout towards the unwanted visitor.

"Hey you! Rude guy insulting our business while making demands! Ya, you! I'm in charge here right now, what do you want?"

"Well, I never," said the old man as he approached the desk. "To think I'd be shouted at instead of properly welcomed. To think you call yourself a business!"

"You're the one who came in here rudely shouting. Guess that's to be expected when one sniffs too many strange plants for too long, though. Soon they forget their own manners and actions and blame others. So, what do you need?"

"I...you...how dare you insult my profession! Do you have any idea who I am?!"

"Ya. The guy who came in here shouting and insulting everyone while claiming we're rude when you didn't even give a proper introduction, first."

"Hmph. I thought it would be obvious. I am the lead alchemist of the House-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. You're not nobility or royalty, so I don't care. What I want to know is what you want."

"Well then. I came to file a complaint about services rendered but perhaps I should talk to the guards instead."

"No clue what the guards have to do with anything. What's the complaint. If it's a proper complaint I can start filling out the forms."

"I wish to get refunded. We were not protected in any way whilst we conducted our business."

"Oh? So you're saying the mercenaries didn't show up?"

"No, they arrived at the meeting area as specified but we were not protected from any threats."

"Huh. You don't look too hurt to me. Who in your group got hurt?"

"Nobody. Why would you believe we would get hurt during a simple survey and collection run?"

"Probably because it's happened before. So if nobody got hurt and your complaint is that they didn't protect you after you showed up then that means they left immediately after the meeting, right?"

"Indeed. Such a rude youth. I was in the middle of talking and he left to do something with his partner."

"I see. So you didn't see them anymore after that until you got back to the gate?"

"Huh? No no. They were quite annoying as they wandered around us the whole time, attacking woodland creatures and whatnot. It was very distracting and even caused one of my newest members to lose focus several times."

"In other words, they did their job and because nobody got hurt while they were protecting everyone you want your money back. That's not how it works. It's even in the contract. The exact details of what counts as breaking the agreement is all written down. I'm not hearing anything that sounds like it fits the bill here."

"How can-"

"Wow," a loud voice suddenly came from the doorway. "This place is awesome! By the flames, there's even a bar in here!"

Everyone looked away from the rather annoying argument to see the young dragon-whatever race woman standing just inside the door and gawking. Marik hadn't really taken much notice of her before but now that he looked a little closer he could see that she was actually kind of cute even in this dim lighting. Her dark hair tied back loosely and was long enough to be behind her shoulders, probably around the middle of the shoulder blades or back if he had to guess. She wore a fairly simple shirt that was wrinkled in a strange way, likely from the modifications it had to go through for her wings. Her wings and tail were also fairly dark in color and seemed to match her hair. She was probably a little shorter than Sai but had a slightly larger chest.

"Karinari," the foxkin alchemist exclaimed upon seeing her. "What are you doing here? This place is full of thieves and rapists! Your uncle would be most upset with me if something happened to you while under my care!"

"Oi," The Bear nearly shouted at him. "That's some serious accusations to make while attempting to convince me to unlawfully return your money. I think it's about time you leave unless you have someone to provide legal verification of you accusations."

"I knew this place was full of miscreants who can barely understand language but to think they wouldn't even understand that taking someone's money is theft. Very well. I shall bring this before a higher authority. Come, Karinari, we're leaving this disgusting slum building before you catch some disease that's assuredly floating around here."

The old foxkin quickly walked out the door, grabbing the arm of the girl and dragging her along as he went. Everyone watched the door in silence for a few moments before deciding it was safe to say they were really gone. As conversation began to flow once more, Marik walked back to the desk.

"Well, that was fun. Thanks for the assist. If we're good then I can wave Sai back over here so we can finish up our side of the paperwork and let you get back to doing you."

"Hm? Sai? Ah. Right, you're wife. Sorry, haven't known her long enough to remember her name, yet. Ya, call her over and let's get this out of the way. You need me to get the money now?"

"If it's too much trouble at the moment then we can grab it later. Just let me know how much so I can make sure our pockets don't get too light."

Marik waved Sai over and started filling out his part of the paperwork that The Bear put in front of him. It was mostly just a few signatures and filling in some minor details for the official reports. He helped Sai through some of it and then left the rest to her. He turned back to The Bear as he remembered something that he had forgotten while having to deal with the irritating alchemists.

"By the way, what's going on with my sister?"

The Bear looked at him for a moment before sighing.

"We're taking her for now. She's okay enough in a fight I suppose. As long as she has weapons, which she apparently doesn't. Everything else was borderline. My wife decided to take her in and try and teach her things are done for the time being. Shouldn't be more than a few days and she was promised a little pocket money and some cheap weapons to tide her over at the end as long as she does what she should."

"Is that how it is? Well, hopefully your wife can bring her up to par. She was sent to stay near me by someone I'd rather not argue too much with."

"Nah. Should be fine. My wife's good at raising up young people to be someone. You'll see."