Private with Mercer

[Tombstone]

The one problem with being a lightning mage was you couldn't use electricity to block water. Being he didn't have his shield or buckler on him he might as well been helpless. The water hit him and all Mercer could do was let out a hearty laugh. Once he was done he start running his hands through his hair to try to return it to its original shape. It wasn't that hard to do and only took him a few seconds. "Never mind missing me, well get you to where you can hold it, aim, and shoot it back with powerful force. You are better than I thought, I swore it would have gotten at least another 2 foot (62 cm in metric) closer to you. Perhaps I shouldn't give you a warning next time? That way I can have a shot at getting even." He said as he smiled with a devious grin. Then he want back to readjusting his hair because one part refused to stay up.

 

[FluffyFox]

I giggled softly, it sounding like little bells as I reached over and pushed his hair up a little."There, that should stay up." I said and smiled. I look across the square to see the man almost finished with getting new horses."He looks like he is almost done." I said and sighed, I had wanted to stay a little longer. I was finished with my food but I was having fun with Mercer. Once he paid we walked back over and climbed in. I had to sit beside Mercer as another person was riding across from us.

 

[Tombstone]

Mercer was a bit thrown off when she fixed his her but he tried not to think about it. He then finished his meal and paid his tab. Once he got back to the carriage h found that they would be joined by another rider. This irritated Mercer, he generally hated traveling with strangers, Seria being the odd exception. Probably because she was fairly quiet and didn't pry like so many others. When he saw the man he immediately didn't trust him. Something about they way he held himself and how his eyes carfully analyzed everything sent Mercer a red flag. Once they were seated Mercer retrieved the alchemy journal and began taking notes in it as usual. After a while he looked at Seria and said, "Look at this, it's intriguing." What he showed her was the scribbled message "I don't trust this guy. Be ready."

 

[FluffyFox]

I was sitting next to Mercer and I could feel the mans stare on me. I lean against Mercer a little more as if I was trying to hide myself, I didn't like this man. I looked over at Mercer when he said to look at something on a page and I blushed and looked at my hands."I can't read." I said softly my blush growing deeper from the embarrassment."My father said it wasn't a necessary skill for me to learn so I never did." I didn't like that I couldn't read, it was just something I couldn't fix, no one would teach me once I got away from my father.

 

[Tombstone]

You have got to be kidding me. Mercer thought to himself. Thats another thing we'll have to work on. Mercer then nodded and slowly began taking notes again. Then he scribbled out a small stick figure picture of he and the other guy. The man had a sinister expression on his face while Mercer shot lighting from his hands at him. If this didn't put the message across to her he didn't know what would. "Here," he said, "I drew a diagram of the reaction. Perhaps it will help. He showed her the journal yet again. Unlike Seria, Mercer stayed completely calm in the situation. He had been in much worse before so it was nothing. He tried to keep his posture to give off the noble aura which was taught to him during his youth. This should only relax the other man and make Mercer look like a target than anything else. Still the diary business seemed to make the other man curious.


(Im thinking he should be a stage coach robber, but Im open to suggestions.)

 

[FluffyFox]

(I was thinking that as well, maybe has a tiny bit of magic as well)


I looked at the picture he had drawn for me and nodded to him. I gulped when the man looked at me his eyes landing on my chest for a moment before he looked around the cabin we were in. I hid my face against Mercer as the man slipped a hand in his pocket. I noticed a little shine of metal sticking out of his pocket and then suddenly I felt a dagger at my neck the man was smirking at Mercer."If you don't want your friend to get hurt you will get out here." He said the carriage had stopped two men coming out of the bushed had thrown our driver off and were climbing up onto the top.

 

[Tombstone]

The situation went just about how Mercer figured it would, minus the knife. In truth he was expecting a gun or something more deadly. Oh well, It just meant that the job would be easier. He opened the door just like the bill an wanted him to. Mercer knew if he truly exited that Seria's chance of survival would be next to nothing. It wasn't the first time he had heard a story like this. Instead Mercer thrust two fingers into the man arm and let out a shock that would cause his muscles cramp up temporally (Like a taser). He knew his speed wouldn't give the villain enough time to react, heck it would be the complete opposite of what he would expect. As the villains arm went limp Mercer grabbed him and the two tumbled out of the carriage.


Mercer more or less landed on his feet while his opponent hit the ground hard. It seemed the driver had noticed the commotion as he had turned the carriage around. Mercer drew his twin rapiers and tossed one to the man. "Get up," he called, "Come on you swine, get up. You know you should have just killed me when you had the upper hand instead of playing with the girl. Now fight me, I plan to have my fun before killing you."

 

[FluffyFox]

When Mercer shocked the man the knife dug into my skin a little, drawing a little blood before falling away as the two of them tumbled out the doorway. It snapped closed and I moved across the seats to look out the back at Mercer and the man as they fought. The man's two friends were now driving the carriage and I jumped as one of them climbed inside and grabbed me pulling me outside he held a magic pistol to the back of my head."I wouldn't do that." He said as his friend who Mercer had hurt climbed back inside."I'll deal with you later." He told the man before he smirked and cupped my chin."Your a cutie maybe I should keep you." He said with a smirk.

 

[Tombstone]

Mercer was furious. So they would rather die like dogs then men, that was fine with him. He let out a sadistic laugh which began to echo through the forest. "Tsk Tsk So you chose to ignore my challenge, that won't do. You know you were dead the moment you pulled that knife. Facing an S-class wizard is generally considered a death sentence by most. Kill the girl, it won't change your fate. Though if you let her live I might consider letting you live. So come on fight me. Ill even give you the first shot, see how that goes."

 

[FluffyFox]

The man frowned and then pushed me away. I felt a jolt to my back."Ow!" I said before I stumbled forward into Mercer as the man jumped onto the carriage telling his men to go. I felt a burn on my back. I frowned at the pain and leaned against Mercer, luckily the bullet only burned me."Mercer, they are getting away."

 

[Tombstone]

Mercer clenched his jaw to hold back his anger. The jerks were getting away but they weren't his priority. He helped Seria, who was leaning against him, down to the ground. Mercer had to make sure she hadn't been injured badly. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small vile. Inside was a transparent red tinted liquid with healing properties. Because his magic was more or less limited to combat he carried a variety of alchemic compounds for jobs such as medical care. "Here drink this, it will help with the burn. We'll deal with them later."

 

[FluffyFox]

I nodded weakly as I took the vial from him I took a sip of it and then coughed at the bitter flavor. I made sure to drink all of it before I felt a small tingle on my back. I smiled at Mercer and hugged him gently."Thank you." I said and pulled away looking down the road at the way the men took the cart. I had a feeling they would have taken me too if Mercer had done what they asked.

 

[Tombstone]

Mercer sighed, it was his fault for giving the man a chance to fight him back. He should have finished him when he had the chance. The cart continued down the road as the criminals got away. Mercer pulled a small object out of his pocket, a grenade powered by a violent alchemic reaction. He had used this same tool to kill many deadly monsters, but by now the carriage was out of his throwing range. There was only one possible way to stop them now. Mercer stepped a few feet away from Seria and said "Stand back". He then began to focus for a moment or two. He channeled the electrons in the air around him through his body, and then let out a concentrated bolt of lightning from his hand. It struck the carriage and set the wood on fire. Inside the men should have been badly electrocuted. If not they would try to escape the burning carriage.

 

[FluffyFox]

I watched as Mercer called down a bolt of lighting and set our ride on fire. I saw the men passed out and I couldn't let them die. Before I knew I was even doing it I had made the rain start and it was pouring down hard. I got up and stumbled forward."They are hurt." I said softly as I looked at Mercer."And now we don't have a ride."

 

[Tombstone]

Mercer looked at his work. The carriage had been ruined, but as he anticipated the horses were just fine and still harnessed to the cart. He jogged quickly in their direction and worked to calm them down. "Don't ever assume I acted without thinking. We do have a ride, ever ridden bareback?" Mercer usually preferred to ride horseback as a means of transportation. But on his last assignment his horse was injured and he had to transport him to the city by train to see a vet. Mercer decided to take the long way back so he could pick up a few odd jobs on the way home. He liked to rid villages of troublesome pests and monsters if he could.


Once the horses were calm, turned his attention to the rain. So she decided to save them? He thought. Mercer was still angered that they tried to take Seria hostage and cared little for their safety. He would have preferred that Seria hadn't sent for the rain, but he was impressed that she was able to control her power to do so. The truth was that he wasn't known for being very soft, one of the reasons he never formed a team. He never had many enemies unlike most mages, because any he made never lasted long. Mercer drug the highway men to the side to the road, if Seria wanted them to live he'd make one exception this time. Mercer then looked through the carriage. He was able to recover Seria's pack, which some how survived, and a little of his own carry on. The journal he had been reading was singed around the edges, but he could probably recover the most important pages. When he was done he looked back over to Seria, "Are you ok?"

 

[FluffyFox]

I followed him over to them and looked at the horses. I smiled and pet one gently on the nose. When he asked if I ever ridden bareback I shook my head no."No, i've never ridden at all." I said and looked at my bag. I reached out and pulled it against me as I looked in the bag. I sighed and held the bag against my chest. I giggled gently as one of the horses pushed it's head against me. I look over at Mercer and smile."I'm fine." I say even though my back still burned. The rain made it feel better.