Any chance of the soldiers believing the Princess' claim went right out the window. No one who was vile enough to attack an unarmed woman would have a phoenix in their party, let alone have a strong enough bond to pull off what the Shield Hero did.
The other Heroes were slightly upset that the soldiers were burning the monsters...the Spear hero particularly. He seemed to think they were entitled to the remains to upgrade their weapons.
Unfortunately the Captain of the Queen's Guard happened to agree with the Shield Hero. It was better to burn the remains and make sure they were dead, then to let a living one remain and possibly get stronger to come back and kill you.
They still had no idea what his actual name or how strong he actually was, magic wise.
He was clearly a higher level magic user than the others though, if only because of the spells he used during the fight.
The Shield was currently sleeping off the spell he used with the Phoenix, who was currently inside the philorial's feathers. Apparently it got along with the armored bird. And wasn't that a kicker...according to the hero's companion, they had been armor shopping mere minutes before the wave actually hit and had come prepared to armor up their recently hatched philorial!
Almost like the hero had known that his newly hatched pet would grow at an abnormal rate and that it would need armor once it was big enough.
When the Shield hero woke up, he ate some of his food to restore the energy he had used up. He showed Talia how to feed the baby phoenix. Knowing his luck Fawkes would be back up and flying in a couple of days.
A guard came in.
"The Captain wishes to speak to the Shield Hero. Alone."
"He's not one of those people who believe the King is he?" asked Crow slowly.
"He's the Queen's Guard, not the King's, and she didn't believe a word her daughter said when she made those claims you assaulted her. Particularly since you proved you weren't even in town."
"Talia, you're in charge of Firo and Fawkes. Don't let his baby form fool you, he's older than I am."
"Yes sir," said Talia with a mock salute.
Crow looked at the guard.
"Lead on."
Crow noticed the respectful looks he got from the other soldiers, he nodded in return. When he got to a single tent with two guards outside, he waited before going in.
The Captain of the Queen's Guard was someone he liked immediately. A no-nonsense attitude and strength that had been earned with blood and sweat and not granted by magic.
"Shield Hero," he said.
"Captain."
"I must admit, we never expected the hero that everyone believed to be the weakest of the four to do more damage than the other three put together...let alone have enough strength to heal almost everyone in a storm of phoenix fire."
"It helps that I was a mage before I came here, and that I had training in battle magic for ten years."
The Captain gave him a long, evaluating look.
"You're not like the others. They seem to treat this like a game, not caring about those they lose. Even the Sword Hero believes that he is in some sort of dream that he can wake up from."
"They're young, naïve and in the case of the Spear, a complete idiot. Wait until it's their ass about to die, and then we'll see if they treat this world like a game."
"We never heard your name. Even when the King ignored you, you never said a thing and merely left before the others could approach."
"I understand one fact those three didn't. Perhaps understand isn't the word... I've...experienced...a fact that they have yet to realize."
"What fact is that?"
"The only thing people, no matter what form they take, enjoy more than a hero...is seeing one fall from grace. They will adore you while your star shines in the eyes of those important, but the moment you do or say something that angers those high up, they can't drop you fast enough. And unfortunately for that red-haired twit, I knew her game the second I looked her in the eyes. My ex-fiancee was of a similar type."
The Captain looked at the Shield Hero with renewed respect. This was someone who had seen war, real war, and come out alive. He had been through hell and back, and learned the hard way not to give a damn and to only give trust to those who genuinely deserved it. He knew the value of preparation and planning, and the cost of winning.
Truly someone worth working with.
"Cyril," he said holding out his hand.
"Call me Crow. Mage, Shield Hero, and all around annoying pest to those that are up to no good," he said, shaking it firmly. "I've mostly been called the Man-Who-Just-Won't-Die by those who've annoyed me."
Cyril grinned.
"I could use a man like that. So tell me, where did you come across a phoenix? They're harder to find than dragons these days."
"I didn't find him. He used to belong to someone I respected a first, but learned wasn't worth my trust. Fawkes agreed to come to me if I ever called him when I was only twelve, and I figured he could use a break from people trying to turn him into their familiar."
"Well I'm glad you did. Thanks to you almost all the wounded were saved, and the village was relatively untouched. What level are you?"
"You mean as an Adventurer or as a mage?"
"Both."
"I'm only 37...but apparently my abilities translated over to something that would make even that fool king of yours think twice about pissing me off to the point I took him seriously. You sure you really want to know?"
"If only so I know where to put you during the next wave. I prefer to have a place for those who can do real damage."
Crow snorted.
"Why did you think I let the children play with the Chimera? They needed the experience, whereas you needed the help more. If I were to have joined them, the thing was liable to have run crying home to it's mother. A little adversity and near-death fights is good experience for them."
Cyril couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," he said in genuine amusement.
"But in terms of placement, front to mid lines is best, or close to the wounded. I prefer to heal and train rather than fight if I can help it and I hate killing humans. My policy is that unless it tries to eat, maim or otherwise pisses me off, it's not my concern. I can deal massive range damage, and as you likely saw with the dragon made of fire, I can do a lot of collateral damage if given time. And if I'm in the air, you'll find that I am quite literally untouchable by mortal means."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"I can shape shift to a limited amount, and I have never lost an aerial battle."
"Good to know. The King had invited all the Heroes to a feast in thanks for dealing with the wave."
"No doubt he plans to pull a fast one and generally make himself look like an idiot. And he'll likely use the Spear Hero as his chosen fighter, considering they're both fools," said Crow tiredly.
Cyril snorted in agreement.
"So where exactly can we get horses?"
"Philorials are superior to horses, and faster to boot."
"Well, at least that solves one headache."
Firo, as it turned out, was faster than any broom he had ever owned when he flow low to the ground. Then again, it didn't help that he was used to high speeds...whereas poor Raphtalia apparently had severe motion sickness. The tiny form of Fawkes warbled to at least keep her from throwing up.
Crow wondered if he could train Firo to fly. Be interesting.
He made a point of avoiding the other Heroes and their parties, and sticking close to his group. At least that had been the plan until the Sword boy somehow managed to drag him into sitting within talking distance.
Apparently he was wondering how he had acquired a phoenix and made such a large dragon.
Okay, so Sword Boy wasn't nearly as annoying as Spear, even if the Bow kid was somewhat anti-social towards him.
Either way he was glad there was an entire table's length between him and that red-haired pest and her lover.
"We never did get your name," said the sword boy.
"That's because I never gave it. I've learned it's better never to get too close to people, because whenever I do they have a habit of turning on me later. And I find it's easier to deal with the deaths of others if I don't have their names," said Crow.
The Sword Hero didn't know how to take that, so he carefully asked "You've seen a lot of death then?"
"I was in a war, and won it. After that I've mostly been treated like a mercenary," he said in a flat tone. Almost like he was commenting on the weather.
"Why didn't you show up to deal with the Chimera?"
"None of you bothered to fortify the town, despite the fact that they sent advanced forces to destroy it. Besides, the soldiers needed the help and you three need the experience more than I did," said Crow.
"...Are you the reason why the shopkeepers are always so eager to help us find dungeons and rare items?" asked the bow kid finally.
"I tip very well for that information. I find that coin gives people a reason to divulge information they would normally keep to themselves unless asked."
The bow kid nodded to himself.
"I thought it was weird how they kept dropping hints about where to find dungeons with interesting monsters and had very rare items," he said.
"They never tell me anything! It's like they can't get rid of me fast enough, especially if the owner is a woman!" complained the Spear kid. And that attitude went double if Mein was with him. It was baffling.
Sword boy looked at him.
"I never said anything but the truth, though that rumor about me ditching that red haired fool of a companion of yours for a Raccoon girl is true. I couldn't get rid of her fast enough," said Crow easily. Seeing the girl up her glare towards him and Talia was totally worth those counter rumors.
Spear boy looked pissed.
"I heard you were traveling with a slave girl," he sneered.
Raphtalia looked insulted.
"He saved me from that life and told the slave owner not to put the mark on me! He is far more chivalrous than you!"
"I bet the seal is making you say such things!" declared Spear boy.
"Oi, Mr. I-have-major-impotency-issues-so-I-use-a-spear, can you at least have the decency to let us finish eating before you drag us into something asinine and annoying?" Crow called out. Bow and Sword choked on their drink while trying not to laugh. Crow thought a little better of them because of it. Spear boy looked pissed.
"My name is Moyotama!" he snarled.
"Whatever you say...ma'am," he said, making a pointed look at the long-ass ponytail the idiot had. Sword and Bow were definitely trying not to laugh now. So were their companions.
"I'm a guy!"
"Is that what you told your boyfriend next to you?"
Now the annoying red head was growling. Crow was having far too much fun with annoying them, all with a lazy drawl.
The king however, was going to spoil his fun. At least for the moment.
"I had heard one of the heroes was using slaves as companions. I should have know it was you, Shield," he declared. Crow rolled his eyes.
"I demand a duel!" shouted the irate Spear hero. Crow wasn't going to bother remembering his name unless he did something to piss him off.
"So your impotency is so great you feel the urge to challenge the one hero who doesn't bother with conventional weapons?" he asked raising a single eyebrow. Seeing the rage in the Spear idiot's eyes, and the barely repressed anger in the King's, he sighed.
"Talia, hold my bag while I teach this idiot some humility. It shouldn't take too long," he said in boredom. Raphtalia accepted the bag easily, and waited by the Sword neatly kept the Knights from trying to gag her.
The dueling arena was, thankfully, outdoors and under an open sky. It gave him plenty of room to fly.
Spear boy growled at him and if he had been a weaker man, he wouldn't have been prepared for the sudden attack the moment the king gave the 'okay'.
As it was he neatly danced around the spear's sharp blade. A few minutes of that had him bored out of his skull, so he decided to let his Marauder heritage out to play.
He took a running leap towards the spear, before jumping as high as he could into the air and shifting into one of his secondary animal forms.
While his animagus form would always be a crow, he had discovered that one could shift into others provided they had the incentive and a clear image of what they wanted...and the magic to power it.
Considering he was the most powerful mage in the current world, and had read so many biology books he was practically a qualified vet, this wasn't much of a restriction.
Where the Shield Hero had been was now a massive Western-style dragon. Where the shield had been on his arm in human form, it now took the place of armor, covering his chest from any attack, yet leaving his wings free of constriction.
Needless to say the other three heroes stared in stunned disbelief.
A low rumble emerged from his throat, and a long, low roar caused the spear Hero to piss himself from fear of those long massive teeth. The stench of it's breath hinted at the fact it wouldn't mind eating him if he didn't do something.
Unfortunately the Shield protected the dragon from anything he tried, until the dragon had him pinned under it's deadly talons and staring at him with cold, disinterested emerald green eyes.
"I believe this is game, set and match. Next time you plan to piss off an arch mage, little boy, do make sure that they don't take you seriously enough to kill you," said the dragon. How it was able to speak human, they had no idea, but the message was clear.
Piss me off at your own peril, because I will not hesitate to end you.
"Winner, the Shield," said Cyril, seeing as how everyone was still too stunned to think. The amount of magic required to turn into a dragon was enormous, and there little doubt that Shield was an arch mage if he could pull THIS off.
"What sort of devilry is this?!" demanded the king.
The 'dragon' turned to face him with annoyance.
"I'm not the idiot who dragged an arch-mage level magic user with an emphasis on transformation and unknown battle magic into another world to fight for them. Next time you do a summoning, do a background check first," said Crow with a flick of his long and spiked tail.
Cyril made a low snort. He couldn't help it, because the king was just told off by a dragon.
"I love illusion spells, I really do."
After the utter beatdown he had given the spear hero and the way he humiliated the king by showing off his animal transformation (proving he was definitely arch mage class at least) people would have given the shield hero a wide berth. There was little doubt the king hated him now, and anyone on his bad side usually had soldiers at the door with chains.
Hence why Crow had Talia practicing her illusion spells. She hid his shield, his face and his natural hair color.
The blacksmith grinned when he saw Talia.
"How did the armor work out for you?"
"Very well. It saved me more than a few times while we fought, and Firo has made some good use out of the talon-guards."
"And our dashing young dragon boy?"
"Crow, actually. But with enough practice and the right amount of power you can learn to take other forms. Too bad Fawkes isn't big enough to try out his new armor," said Crow grinning.
"See you've set that idiot Spear hero and the princess on their ears."
"Oh yes, the fools thought I cared how they perceived me. I might actually tell the other two my name if they continue to amuse me and don't do something monumentally idiotic to annoy me."
The blacksmith laughed.
"So, what's this I heard about you having a phoenix?"
Crow reached into his bag and pulled out a half-grown phoenix. Giving the Spear hero a much needed wake-up call had given Fawkes a large enough boost to turn into an adolescent.
"This is Fawkes. He was the companion to my old teacher, until he bonded to me. If you ask nicely and bribe him, he might be willing to part with a few feathers you can use in your weapons," said Crow.
That got his attention.
"What kind of bribe?"
"Well, he likes dried fruits and seeds," offered Crow.
By the time they left, the blacksmith had four feathers and a small vial of tears to experiment with...with the agreement that none of the new phoenix line of weapons would go to the Spear Hero or the princess.