The Twins Story

Bodyguard

Ardell stares across the table at Larsith with a rather unpleasant expression on his face, making it rather difficult to believe these two guys were actually friends. His long black hair being tied back made it easy to see the scowl he was wearing like a pro. Built like a true warrior, this man looked as though he could easily rip the noble apart, but he also seemed to be afraid to do anything that would make Larsith even a little angry.

"You do know that my license was suspended, don't you? I can't take on any Guild jobs until I get my probation period over with. How do you expect me to accept your request exactly?" Ardell looks over at Misoka, who is staring at him very intently. "Plus what makes you think I want a job as a babysitter for two kids? If you are that worried about them why not have one of your many servants look after them? They should be more than suitable for it. I mean they do look after you already."

Larsith suddenly sits up straight and gets a serious look on his face. "You're still suspended? I filled the paperwork to have those accusations dropped over a month ago. There should be no reason for you to still be suspended." He looks over at the twins, who are both examining Ardells blade. The blade and grip is like that of a katana, but the blade isn't curved like a katana. Little do they know that this specific sword is the only weapon Ardell has used for the past six years. "Well regardless of your suspension, I requested you for this job specifically for one specific reason. And you won't deny this request once I tell you."

"I will refuse your request either way. You can't claim my debt to be repaid with a job like this." Ardell leans back in his chair as the waitress brings his food and sets it on the table in front of him. "And don't think that just because I accepted your offer for lunch that I feel obligated to take on this job."

Larsith sits back and gets a smug look on his face. "These two opened up shop recently. They own that little Atelier down by the merchant corner."

Ardells eyes open wide as he looks over at the twins, who both look up at him with confused looks. "What's the big deal? Do you have some kind of attachment to our Atelier?" Misoka didn't hesitate to ask the question that Mikaso was wondering.

Ardell looks over at Larsith, who has a half cocked smile. He sits there for a moment thinking what he should tell them. "I happened to stumble upon that Atelier one day when I was younger. Back then I didn't know what an Alchemist was, much less an Atelier. I was expecting it to be like a traders shop or something, I had gone there looking for some cheap clothes after I got paid for a job." Ardell shows lets a smile that brightens up his face, causing Misoka to blush due to how handsome he looked. "The Alchemist who owned that Atelier ended up making me some clothes, and watching him had left me speechless. It was like watching somebody use magic. Upon making me a few outfits that were obviously worth much more than I had originally planned on spending I told the man that I didn't need any more clothes and I would barely be able to afford the ones he had made for me."

Misoka looks over at her brother to ask a question that had been bothering her since Ardell had started his story. "You can make clothes with Alchemy? Why haven't you made clothes before?"

Mikaso shakes his head before answering. "I didn't know you could make clothes. I always assumed you could only synthesize chemicals and compounds."

"You can actually make just about anything using Alchemy. You just aren't experienced enough to do much more than potions and other simple compounds at the moment." Ardell jumps into their conversation before continuing his story. "To continue my story, after I told the man I couldn't afford any more clothes he told me not to worry about it and made me a few more sets. He told me that instead of selling them to me he would exchange them for my help. He had me protect him when he went out into the wilderness to gather materials, and to help around the shop when I was able. He would repair my belongings if they ever got damaged, and free of charge at that."

"I spent nearly a year helping him when suddenly one day he told me he was shutting down his shop. I argued for hours before he finally agreed to keep it open for one more year to see if his sales would increase." Ardell stops talking just long enough to take a drink from the mug the waitress set in front of him. "We ended up staying in business for another four years before finally closing down. In that time I had seen that man make several things with the power of alchemy, ranging from small potions to weapons and armor and even a house in less than a day. Granted the house wasn't made all at once, he made it piece by piece, but he still had all the pieces made and assembled in only eighteen hours. It was hard work, but it was much easier and definitely faster than constructing a house under normal circumstances."

Mikaso gapes at Ardells story for a few moments before talking. "I need to get a few pointers from this alchemist that you are talking about. Do you know where I might find him?"

Ardell looks down with a sad look on his face. "He gave up on alchemy a while back. He won't talk to anybody about it, not even small basic tips for every day synthesizing. And he has gone into hiding, there are very few people who know where he is, and almost as few that even know who he is. He is protected by the nobility section of this city, that's all the info you can get about him."

The four sit around for several hours talking about various things before deciding to call it a day. As they are heading back to their Atelier, Mikaso and Misoka are stopped Ardell who is branching off from them to head to his house.

"I will meet the two of you by the main gate in the town square at nine in the morning. Be sure to bring a satchel each, if not full sized sacks. We will do some light gathering until you two make enough to get a wagon for some more serious hauls." Ardell walks off without saying anything else to the twins, leaving them gaping at his back.

They never even came to an agreement the entire time they were all talking, but Ardell just said he will travel with them in the morning. The twins ran home in high spirits to pack up all of the supplies they would need for the day out.