Maid of Fantasy

[Itkatsu Kiyoko]

~The Master~
Vritul Balthazar, the 15 year-old nephew of the legendary Archmage of Mur, Sohrab Balthazar. This sadistic-natured novice wizard resides in an underground dungeon, where he is somewhat surround in mystery due to the lack of a viewable character sheet.


~The Maids~
Yuka
Katherine Victoria Batlis
Diana Lucerne


~Act 1: Arrival~

Vritul Balthazar grinned in a manner that only a truly wicked child could, amused at what terrible things he might unleash on the new batch of maids being sent to him. He didn't know who to expect, but they had passed screening, so it would take him a while to break them to his whims. The journey was always much more fun than the destination, so he wasn't the type to feel discouraged by that notion.

The young black-clad wizard climbed the stairs of his fortified dungeon and rose out to the fresh air of the entrance, patiently awaiting his new maids.

A small black carriage pulled up to the entranceway to the dungeon, stopping a safe 20 foot distance from the young master's doorway. The driver turned around to glance inside at the maids, and his features portraying a sort of grim farewell, nodded. "This is it, ladies. Take care of the young master, and try not to give him an excuse to cause you any pain..."

"Ah, go blow it your ear!" came from the youngest in the group. A deceptively cute girl with bright pink pigtails climbed down the carriage's ladder and dusted off her uniform. Hands on her hips she surveyed the premesis. "This is the freakin' place?" she asked in shock at the sight of the entrance.

Another, older and taller one just... strode straight down in one step, pursuing the younger. Her voice was cold and she had metal antennae for ears... and deep golden hair. "This is his residence. For all that that matters."

"Thankyou for the safe journey," Katherine Victoria Batlis responded to the driver in a more polite fashion than her younger counterpart. Gathering herself up and exiting the carriage she stood beside the pair of maids, casting a weary eye over the rather dreary premesis before them. "Hmmf, all that matters indeed..."

"That said, I'm out of here. Take care." Nearly as quickly as it had arrived, the carriage charged away, in a manner that made it unclear if it was the driver or horses that were trying to urge the other one on.

"Forget that! This place looks like a dump," Yuka observed with a pout. She shoved open the doors and headed down inside.

Diana trailed behind Yuka, looking... impatient. Or annoyed. Or maybe just emotionless. She glided over the ground with footsteps matching a hovering shadow, and made it clear how she felt about this whole matter. "So be it. We are here to clean it and..." She paused, remembering her core production function. With annoyance. "...Serve the master."

Vritul scratched the small amount of fine bright red fuzz on his chin, gauging the newly arrived staff, and placed his free hand on the head of the young girl as she passed through the door. His other features were well concealed with his wizard's hat and a bit of magical shadow, since it never hurt to really try to freak out new staff. "Welcome, welcome. And don't worry, it only looks like a dump. It's actually a dungeon."

To that comment, Diana just stared coldly, dryly commenting right back at Vritul as her rainbow eyes stared into him. "Semantics."

The pink haired girl hopped back at the touch and swung a fist uselessly in the space between them. "Hey! Getcher freakin' hands offa me ya punk!" she loudly complained. "I'm here to sweep the cave, not be your freakin' pet."

Katherine raised an eyebrow at the appearance of their master, his shrouded look seeming to match the general atmosphere of his lair near perfectly. Curtseying, Katherine made her introduction "Our Master, I presume? Katherine Victoria Batlis; please excuse the apparent rudness of my compatriates, they are just a little overwhelemed it seems..." she shot a sharp look to the other maids.

"Hey, don't hurt yourself too too much. That's my job." Vritul chuckled at Yuka's actions, before glancing back at Katherine. She seemed so familiar, but he didn't really remember any prety girls from his childhood before inheriting the Bailey when his uncle moved. "Say, have we met?"

Yuka crossed her arms quite miffed, but glad his attention was away from her. "This guy is the freakin' Master?" she breathed, indcredulous that the young man was the owner of their new workplace. She had expected someone older to be in charge.

 

[Revolver]

~Act 2: Haunted~

It was morning in the Bailey, based on the quality of light coming through the narrow window-slits near the ceiling, and all was well. Vritul was busy amusing himself by blasting a straw dummy with large shards of ice, attempting to pass the time by pretending he was inflicting such cruel assault on something a bit more alive, while Yuka and Diana cleaned the long brown stone hallways of the fortified dungeon. Katherine had been sent out on errands in the nearby village, to replenish their stocks of essentials, which had been neglected for some time and were nearing depletion. All in all, it was surprising well kept and the addition of tapestries seemed to remove some of the unwanted blandness, though it was still quite dank and humid from condensation and large clouds of mist rising up from adjoining caves.

"Daaaaaawwwww..." An odd sort of drawn out groan came from the depths of the dungeon. It was somewhat muted, but still loud enough to pick up if one was paying attention. Before it could be dismissed as merely the wind, it was followed up with a "Grrrrrrrrr..."

Diana turned slightly on one foot, glancing downwards. "You did hear that. We must investigate at once." And... she stormed off, heading towards one of the dungeon's access points.

"Yeah, run off while I continue cleaning. That's just freakin' great," Yuka mumbled and grumbled as she continued to toil on her hands and knees trying as best she could to get the stones clean. "Cleaning dirt off of dirt. You're certainly moving up in the world," she continued to complain to herself.

Valentina groaned again. "Ohhh...fiddlesticks. There's more mud in this hall, too!" She hovered over the muddy footsteps, which covered the floor of the hall. She dropped the bucket with slight splash. "Who tracked in all this mud? Those zombies had better not be back again..."

"Hey, maybe if you rip the dirt off, you'll find hardwood floor." Vritul chuckled at Yuka's lamentations, balancing a sliver of ice on his index finger. "Now I suggest you go with Diana to make sure she doesn't get roughed up by whatever caused the racket... alone."

It was at about that point that Diana moved in, her calm, artificial motions sliding through the musty, nasty halls of the dungeon as if she didn't even care. Then... She sensed it. She was more than a machine - she, too, was not... quite living in other ways. For now, though, she hid behind a wall to listen in...

"Zombies. Why is it always zombies!" Valentina complained aloud as dunked the cloth in the bucket, then rung it out. "Why can't we have something nice, like a puppy. Or better yet, a ghost puppy. No mess..."

"Yes Master," Yuka responded, resigned as she stood and bowed to Vritul. She took off after Diana, relieved at the break from scrubbing. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to protect the older maid, but as a matter of her own safety, she called ahead when she spotted Diana. "Hey! Is everything okay down there?"

Diana turned to Yuka, and... her eyes seemed to dim in their light, as if she was doing a substitute for sighing. "...Hold on."

Valentina glanced up as she heard footsteps. Being very much accustomed to the dark, as a ghost and all, she immediately spotted Diana. Putting the cloth down, she stood up and straightened her costume. "Oh, hello. You don't happen to be a zombie, do you?"

Alright then, Yuka thought as she checked back behind her to see if the Master had followed them. She leaned up against the stone wall and took a much deserved break while Diana took care of whatever nonsense was going on. If she needs me, she'll tell me, the young maid was certain.

Diana nodded plainly, rainbow eyes flickering as if she were processing something. "No. I am a... The technical term is auto-anima. I am a spirit machine in service to the master of this dungeon. And you are?" Her voice was... very cold. This couldn't be emphasized enough.

Vritul took his time in catching up to his two maids, preferring to think of ways he could intimidate or blow up the trespasser, than anything else. Besides, was he going to let his maids think he was in somehow going to work for them?

"I'm part of the staff here, naturally. One of the only ones left from the old staff to be precise." Valentina hovered over to Diana and floated around her, studying her so-called machine body. "I'm Valentina. Yourself?"

Terse and direct. "Diana." She internally mused at the idea of leftovers of his staff. She knew he was a sadist - this is in part why she is how she is - harder perhaps to torment... maybe. "Either way, I do not know if he'll accept that. Assistance would be... appreciated."

Spotting Vritul coming down the hall, Yuka trotted up to him. "Ah, Master, this isn't something you need to bother yourself with. Diana has control of the situation."

"Right, right. Let me take a look myse-" Vritul said nonchallantly, before suddenly stopping in his tracks. "V-V-Va-Valen-tina? Didn't I kill you?"

Eira floated along in the hall way, staring away into space. What was she supposed to be doing again? She knew there was somethi- Bump. Hey it's a person in the way! Or...a ghost? Yes, it must be a ghost since Eira had bumped into them, otherwise she would've just phased through.... right? "Sorry... nyan?" Who was this? The person Eira had bumped into seemed familiar. Va-something. Or was it Bob?

"I got better...a little. But isn't this wonderful, master? Even in death I can serve you." Valentina floated over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She paused for a moment, then looked back. "Well, myself and Eira. Poor girl, I think you traumatized her."

Yuka took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Alright, so this place was haunted as well. Suddenly she really felt like having a drink might be a good alternative. But, she really didn't want to get on the Master's bad side, especially if this was how former maids ended up.

"Well I... err..." In an uncharacteristic manner, Vritul actually blushed for a moment, before attempting to play it off by coughing into the closed fist of his left hand. "I didn't expect the freeze spell would be that powerful, especially after you two managed to survive the fireball... aha. But it's.. err... nice to have you back."

Diana coolly commented on the whole thing, though. "It is. Assistance is appreciated. Are there orders?"

"Who're you again? Aren't you Bob? Nya~" Eira asked Valentina. The faced seemed familiar, she just couldn't place it to a name. Wait... who's that man talking? "Nyaaaa... Bob, could you tell me what's happening?"

Valentina pulled away from Vritul and floated over to her ghostly counterpart, Eira. "No, I'm Valentina, remember? Hmm...I wonder if maybe another blow of the scythe would help jar your memory."

"...OH! Valentina! Nyaaaaaaa~" Eira flew into Valentina, giving a full on glomp. Eira giggled as she clung to Valentina. "Hey, how many times have you hit me with that scythe anyway?"

"Erm... please don't let g- I mean do that, Valentina. I guess... you can all break for lunch and resume around the castle." Vritul said quite forcefully, attempting to remind himself that he was sill in charge. Was he already losing his touch, after just one hug? "Well... Eira, Valentina. You can resume your duties while I see what I can do about resurrection spells or something to prevent you from being sent to the afterlife. It's... nice, to have you back."

Break for lunch? Hallelujah. "About freakin' time," Yuka exclaimed. "Master!" she called after Vritul, "Do you have any preference for what you want to eat today?" Cooking was ten times better than cleaning up dusty old dungeon halls.

Diana bowed slightly at the offer for going to lunch, before turning to the rest of them. "Well indeed. I shall..." She wondered just what she should do without a need to eat. "...assist in preparing your comestibles." She glanced at Yuka. "You will assist me."

"..." Vritul seemed to really be out of it, but snapped to attention when Yuka spoke to him. "Our stocks are a bit empty, so I'll go with whatever you find. Just go easy on the spices...ESPECIALLY turmeric."

"Freakin' right I will," Yuka agreed with a nod. As odd as she was, Diana might be the closest thing to a friend that the pink-haired maid had in these old halls. Well, there was the master, too, but he wasn't really a friend, per se.



~Act 3: Lunch~

Vritul waited patiently in the Bailey's lounge, perhaps the most comfortable room in the entire dungeon, though it would probably pass for little more than a nicely decorated prison hall in any other residence. The maids had been sent off the kitchen, where they finally arrived, to prepare lunch for the master and themselves. Because the stocks of food were depleted, it might take a bit of scrounging in the cupboard to find anything vaguely edible...

Valentina floated above the room, sticking her ghostly head through various high cupboards to check their contents. "If we really can't find anything," she said with a muffled echo as she checked a cupboard, "I can always show you where the rats nest in the dungeon..."

"Yuck," Yuka responded to the ghost, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Like we'd freakin' eat rats." She wasn't too happy with what she was finding in the cupboards herself, unless they wanted to be happy with plates full of eleven herbs and spices and nothing else.

Meanwhile, Diana was methodically pulling every door open, placing objects in neat piles, and basically tactically reducing the kitchen into an organized system.

Eira stood aside, just staring on. 3 people searching for food was enough wasn't it? Besides, she couldn't remember what the master... what's his name... liked anyway.

"Has anyone took a freakin' moment to look in here yet?" Yuka wondered to herself aloud as she opened up the doors to the walk-in pantry and stepped inside.

Diana's head turned. She looked for a brief second before... continuing to file away the ingredients by food category.

There was a sudden rustling behind a large set of burlap bags, before a large shrouded and hooded figure leaped out though the doorway and into the kitchen, attempting go through Yuka. An assassin had been hiding in the cupboard!

Diana's head turned. AGAIN. This just wouldn't be tolerated and... she slipped against the wall, seeming somehow to completely evade notice. And one of the large cooking pots seemed to have gone missing. She maneuvered nearby, waiting for a chance to crush her some skulls.

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me!" Yuka exclaimed as the assassin burst out of the the sack. "Diana! Duty mode!" she called out, hoping that that was the right one where the more battle capable maid would deal with mortal threats to the master's life.

"Oh, an assassin! How grand. I thought we were fresh out of meat!" Valentina conjures up her scythe and floats to Yuka's side, ready to defend. "I think if I quarter you, you'll be able to fit into the big pot!"

"What the...?" It's a person... Eira didn't know. Nothing new. But they sure looked menacing, and she wasn't about to die... again. Her mouth chanted away, a magic circle appears. Out plops... a bunny plushie, that promptly faceplants. It picks itself up, ready to fight.

Diana, for the briefest moment, showed herself to the other maids, making hand gestures that seemed to suggest she was going to draw the attention of the assassin. Then... At the right moment, she'd suddenly appear behind him, poking him in the back with that same dead neutral look on her face.

Eira picks up the plushie, which promptly started squirming out of surprise with a serious 'WTF?' expression on it's face. The ghost then lobs the bunny at thy foe, which was naughty within her sight and should snuff it. The bunny projectile clearly missed the target, though it did run into a nearby shelf, knocking over some pots and pans.

Yuka's jaw hit the floor as one of the new ghost maids (new ghost, old maid) flung a stuffed animal with sniper precision and buried the would-be assassin in assorted cookware. "I don't freakin' believe it," she whispered incredulously.

"GARSHHH!?!" The pans struck the surprised assassin in the head, tearing off his face covering, revealing beneath it... a blue fish face. He growled viciously, and attempted to hop away so that he might be able to finish off the Master before he was put down by the maids. "THE FISH MAN WILL NOT FAIL HIS MISSION!"

Of course, Diana had already faded into the shadows again, evading the attack's fallout. She... turned to Yuka, and nodded. "So it happened. Let us dispose o-" She dimmed her eyes slightly, and began to lunge towards him with her giant cooking pot raised. "Working."

"But what about supper? That just won't do, Mr. Fish. Now be a dear and get into the pot!" Valentina flies forward with her scythe poised to strike.

Meanwhile, the clanging sound produced by the pots falling had frightened Eira, and caused her to run off.

The assassin was a seafood lunch on legs? That was too much for Yuka who was practically drowning in her own drool just looking at the tasty biped. She lunged in conjunction with her fellow starving servants and attempted to scoop the fishman up with her frying pan and land him right ready on top of the stove and good to fry.

Diana meanwhile gathered the spices, and using some random mechanical device in her finger, began VERY precisely measuring out small, delicate quantities of spice, which she worked into a fine marinade...

The fish man narrowly avoided Diana and Valentina's attacks, but by doing so had placed himself in the perfect position to be scooped into the already heated pot. He screamed in agony and thrashed about before suddenly ceasing his movements as he realized the futility of struggle. "GARSSHH... IT'S A TRAAAAAAP!" He, the hunter, had become the prey, and would become sustenance to the boy he was meant to kill. With the last of his breath, he reached up from the pot, his eyes calm and acceptant of death. How ironic... I do hope they serve me Creole-style. I want to die like my father did.

"I can help too...a bit." Valentina piped up hesitantly as she picked up two bottles of sauce. "I mean, my sense of taste isn't what it used to be since I don't really eat, but I think I remember how to cook fish. I think. Just add a little of this and that..." She poured a small amount of each into the pan.

Yuka herself added a splash of her favorite bottle into the pan as the fishman fried. She whistled to herself as he cooked and sent a delicious odor throughout the kitchen.

As they all worked together, the marinade mixing with the other fixings, and simmering in the booze, the dish began to take shape. With artful cuts and chops, a well-made seafood cutlet dish was made up, and the maids worked together to shuffle out to where the master was waiting, food and table settings in hand...

"Oh, nice. I'm not too picky right now, so I'll take whatever you've got." Vritul said as the maids came out the meal, seated comfortably in a pile of red pillows. The young wizard gestured to the right, to a rich mahogany table with equally ornate chairs. "Normally, I'd tell have you set the table there, but I think I'd rather just eat here. Setting the table would take too long."

Diana effortlessly strode by with the platter, setting it down where he could reach it. "Affirmative."

Yuka followed Diana with a bottle and glass for the master as well.

Valentina quietly followed the others out of the kitchen and took up a place hovering over her master's shoulder, curiously awaiting his reaction to the food.

"Mmm... hmmm..." Vritul munched away at a small fishman cutlet. A smile burst onto his face. "Say, this is great. I'm surprised we had fish in our stores. You undried a preserved one with alcohol, right?"

"That's right!" Yuka lied through her teeth with a smile on her face as she poured a glass for the Master.

It was almost impossible to tell, but Diana had a slightly amused tone in her voice. "That would be a reasonable explanation, yes."

"No! We found it in the back of the-- I mean, yes!" Valentina nodded happily as she hovered over his shoulder, hoping he hadn't noticed her unintentional slip up.

"Well... if it isn't. I don't want to know." Vritul shrugged, honestly avoid ant of the truth at this point. If it was poison, he'd eaten enough to be dead already. "You've earned a chance to sit down and eat, c'mon."

 

[Revolver]

~Act 4: Refugees~

It was the third day since their arrival at Balthazar Bailey, and the maids serving the young Vritul Balthazar seemed to be getting by quite well. After an incident in the kitchen, the dungeon had found itself in a state of relative normality. Supplies were full, the cavernous structure was clean and unusually well lit. Simply put, things were pleasantly mundane, in the context of living under the employ of a neophyte wizard who seemed to have many dangerous hobbies and interests.

It was to be the third in a series quiet afternoons at the Bailey, but this was undone by loud, desperate bangings at the entrance to the dungeon. What might be on the other end?

At about that time, Diana was busy cleaning some strange fluted arch construction. When the knocking came, she just... kept cleaning, metal joints dully hissing and humming as she stretched to attend to them - and making it clear she was ostensibly too busy to answer.

Valentina sighed as she floated through the stone hallways, attempting to track down the source of the racket. It must be those old zombies making a mess again. "This time, I'll catch them for sure!"

Luckily Yuka was busy in a deeper portion of the Bailey, cleaning and arranging the various tools that Vritul used down in the dungeon depths and so was unable to hear the knocking.

The banging continued, and it became increasingly clear that it was at the gate. Between long periods of percussion against reinforced iron and wood, Valentina might even be able to make out muffled human screams.

"Doesn't sound like a zombie...I wonder if we have company?" Valentina muttered to herself, then in a louder voice said, "I'm coming! I'm coming! Oh, do wait just a moment." She pulled back the bolt and opened the door.

The banging was getting loud enough that even Yuka managed to hear it as far away as she was. She placed the tool she had been polishing back on the wall and started to head towards the front door. She heard Valentina yell out and briefly considered going back to work, but curiosity got the better of her. "Who would even choose to visit this freakin' place?"

Diana was being mindful, ready to slip into the shadows at a moment's notice... She was only lookingl ike she was paying no attention...

The visitors at the gates appeared to be assorted villagers from the adjoining settlement, being dressed in modest and worn clothing, and they seemed tired, frightened and a little roughed up. One of the crowd came forward to speak to Valentina, appearing a little less scared than the other. "You have to shelter us! Lord Berith is sweeping through the land and conscripting the locals to his service to fight the Sages of Mur.... and we thought that the residence of the Archmage would be a place to hide!"

Valentina hesitated for a moment. While she really shouldn't let a guest stand outside in the cold, the master might become rather cross when he found a small mob in his dungeon. And, well, they could be dangerous. "Just a moment, please. I'll see if the master of the dungeon is in." She hurriedly slammed and rebolted the door, then hurried down the hall. "Master, master! We have company!"

"Are we reallying going to let a bunch of freakin' bums into here? We just got it cleaned." Yuka wondered as Valentina sped past. She glanced over to Diana, curious to see what she was going to do.

Meanwhile, Diana smirked, glancing over to Yuka. "I have a better plan than that. If you'll excuse me, I have a query to intercept." And just like that? Gone, headed in the direction that Valentina was going. One mgith wonder how she can disappear so reliably?...

"Huh... grah!" Vritul exclaimed as Valentina approached. He had been resting on a single, large pillow, attempting to guide a tiny fireball with his finger. The sudden disruption of his concentration caused the orb of flame to suddenly explode and go out, leaving the young wizard in a fine layer of soot. He pulled himself up and dusted soot from his face, feeling a faint blush when he saw his ghostly servant return. "So uh... what's up, Valentina?"

"Master, there is...ah...a large gathering of peasants that the door seeking refuge from Lord Berith's conscription." Valentina blurted out quickly. She realized her state of near panic and paused for a moment to compose herself properly. "Ahem. What would you have me do then, Master? Shall I send them away?"

Then, was the correct moment. Diana emerged from the shadows behind the master, intoning deeply, with a cold sound that yet carried an air of malicious amusement. "Or perhaps put them to bodily use in the vast dungeons below as recompense for the... gracious service we'd provide in sheltering them."

Then, she also commented. "Master, would you like me to clean your surfaces?" The malicious glee left her tone, but... it may well not have.

Yuka waited dutifly (and lazily) by the door, awaiting word from her fellow maids.

"Ah jeez... let them in. I figure my uncle probably would have done the same." Vritul said, as he stood up and dusted himself off. "We'll have to figure something out when we sort them out."

Diana commented lightly - "Affirmative." Before slinking back into the shadows again, only a slight whirring of her joints as indication. She returned to Yuka, with a... dull smile, directed at the refugees. "You may come in. The master of this dungeon has approved it. We have ample accomodations below the castle. Please enjoy our..." An unusual pause. "...Amenities."

"I don't freakin' believe it," Yuka muttered as Diana opened the door. But, like a good maid she bowed politely to the new guests. "Please, if you'll follow us."

Then, Diana slid behind Yuka. "Do note what is down there, dear Yuka."

Valentina stood behind the others and quietly lowered herself to the floor, so as to appear earth-bound like the others rather than a spirit. She kept quiet hoping no none of the guests would notice.

The refugees entered the spacious Great Hall near the entrance of the dungeon, huddling together in the center of the room. They were both awed by the size of the chamber, but somewhat unnerved by the darkness and dank feel it had.

Virtul himself again preffered to take his time in getting there, wondering if he had really done the responsible thing in letting those refugees in. He had decided to let them in because it was the sort of thing they could expect from the previous owner, but it wasn't like he could be expected to be responsible, could he? He had the feeling that he might live to regret his decision, that he had allowed an otherwordly kind of wrong into his residence. "Wait... it couldn't be, this feeling? I have to stop them-"

Yuka stagewhispered to Diana, "Just how are we going to freakin' convince them to head down there? It's not exactly resort accomodations."

Diana smirked again - this level of outward emotion was a Not Good sign. "I have, a plan."

Diana moved to the front of the team of refugees, bowing curtly - albeit stiltedly. "Ahem. It is in your best interests to move to the lower level of the facility. It is still undergoing repairs, but I assure you, it has ample space. This is only a temporary hardship. Please endure."

Valentina leaned over to the other maids and said in a low voice, "If we run out of room, there's always plenty in the prison chambers. All the prisoners are dead, or undead, anyways. So they won't mind."

Diana briefly turned to Valentina, keeping up the stagewhispering. "This was my intent to begin with."

"Kekekeke... I don't remember the Archmage of Mur being so naive." One of the members of the crowd said, stepping forwards to present himself to the maids along with three others. "Or quite so weak..."

Suddenly, Diana's eyes flashed with light, slightly. She stagewhispered back to the other two maids. "Threat detected. Suggest forcing him to controlled area with crowd."

"I don't freakin' believe it," muttered Yuka once again.

Augh! I can't let those guys have the pleasure of hurting my maids before me. The realization that he had allowed Berith's own men into his dungeon on a whim sinking in, Vritul began running towards the entrance, hoping to warn the girls he had tending to the arrivals.

Valentina hovered above the ground and pulled her scythe seemingly out of thin air. "You are a guest in this house, sir, and you will behave as such or suffer the consequences."

Diana... began to circle around the crowd again, and faded into the background, checking her surroundings for some kind of advantage. Was there a trap nearby? Was there some loud noisy object? Where was the master?

"Oh no. We're not the guests, my ghostly scythe maiden... but the new occupants." The man said, as a cloud of convenient body horror-disguising smoke erupted around him and his three compatriots, leaving behind a rakish bark-covered monster and three large flan-shaped black oozes. "I suggest you surrender, so that we don't have an incentive to eat your friends."

"Well, everyone else that's not here to freakin' attack us, please continue down this way," Yuka told the crowd as she ushered them towards the passage to the dungeon.

Then, Diana struck, appearing behind the crowd, and smashing a random pot on the ground. Her voice was loud and threatening. "YOU WILL MOVE NOW. STAMPEDE THEM."

The crowd, who had armed themselves with pitchforks, clubs and shovels as they fled from their village were now driven into a charge by the maid's instigation, but soundly scared by Diana, and angered by the appearance of the monsterous servants of the demon loard that had chased them from their homes in the first place.

"WHAT?!? NOOOO~" The barkskinned demon screamed out as he and his gelatinous subordinates where soundly flattened by the oncoming charge of villagers, and based on the loud banging noises and large amount of dust kicked up by the scuffle, experienced quite a number of grevious injuries. As the dust settled and the villagers regained their composure, the large puddles and splintered pole on the ground seemed to be all that remained of the invaders.

"Freakin' great. And we just got this place cleaned," Yuka complained as she headed to grab the brooms and water buckets.

Diana calmly strutted forward, grabbing a stray broom off a rack on the wall. "Yet all is to our advantage." Indeed, she began sweeping, right away.

Valentina banished her scythe and let out a tired sigh. "I suppose, at least, the zombies will have something to snack on so they won't bother the guests. For now, at least." She lowered herself to the ground and took up a broom.

Vritul arrived at the great hall at the conclusion, panting loudly and bearing a large mark on his forehead. Despite being somewhat athletic, he had managed to trip and smack his head against the floor, setting him back several minutes. He couldn't help but grin when he noticed what could only be interpreted as what was previously a scene of carnage. "Hey, great job. I was worried those demons would be too much for you."

Diana bowed curtly, sweeping all the while. "Those demons made a critical tactical mistake. It was acted upon."

Spotting the Master and his injury, Yuka spotted an opening. She dropped the cleaning supplies she carried and rushed over to Vritul. "Master! You've been hurt. Let me take care of that for you!"

"Nnn.. that'd be great." The young master replied somewhat tensely, gesturing to the villagers. " I think I can have one of the other dungeon ghosts escort the villagers to a section of the Bailey that has been cleaned and secured. For now."

"Very well master. We'll take care of the rest; just leave it up to us!" Valentina smiled, and returned to her sweeping.

Diana nodded. "Of course. We shall clean. She let her eyes coldly focus on Yuka for a second, before dutifully sweeping.

Yuka pulled a small piece of cloth and a bandage out of her apron and bade the master lean down a bit so that she could acess his forehead better. "This should make you feel all better," she said in an all too sickly sweet voice as she first wiped the bruise with her handkerchief.

Vritul sat himself down in a lounge chair to facilitate Yuka's actions, and make it easier to reach for his face, considering he was quite a bit taller than her.

As she brought her head close to his, Yuka found that being this close to the Master was actually a lot more intense than she had anticipated. Her heartbeat quickened as she stared into his bright blue eyes and applied the bandage to his wound. "You really should be more careful, Master," Yuka admonished softly as she tuned away quickly so that he couldn't see her blush.

"Hey! I was just... unlucky. I might be a wizard, but I'm not some kind of weak bookwo-." Virtul glanced away himself once she was finished, hoping that she wouldn't notice that she had managed to make him blush. With a closer look, he was able to realize that when she wasn't scowling, the girl was actually quite pretty. He sighed inwardly, realizing that he was getting too attached to his staff. As a self-style black wizard, he had certainly managed to make himself feel like he had gotten soft in the span of a few days. "... uh, thanks. You can... get back to your duties now."

"Thank you, Master," Yuka said, bowing to Vritul and retrieving the cleaning supplies. She had been just trying to get out of whatever crazy experiments he had planned for later, but she never really considered that he was kind of cute.

Vritul smiled again, leaving the hall to return to his studies. The business with Berith's minions concluded, peace returned to Balthazar Bailey, and the residents were allowed to find normality, for some time.