While Mary was contemplating her next move, someone made her choice for her when they fired the first shot.
Mary's world became a blur as she dodged air bluets and other such cloud weapons. Her royal fencing skills kicked in as she made quick work of the cloud men one by one.
Within a few short minutes, all the bandits were laying on the ground either unconscious or unable to move. Mary was breathing hard. She was lucky that she didn't get hit once.
"Well, it looks like the damsel in distress is not so helpless after all." A voice said.
Mary looked around frantically for the source of the voice. Eventually, her eyes played on a cloud man sitting on an grave stone. He was clapping sarcastically.
"Who are you?" Marry demanded.
The man had a sly smile on his face. "I am Slar, the Air Slinger. A mercenary who works for the Cloud Crawlers. I was supposed to look out for this particular raiding party." He pointed to the men laying on the ground.
"You certainly didn't do a very good job." Mary commented.
"The boss only told me to make sure they come back alive and report of our findings. And as far as I can see, none of them has disintegrated into mist. She didn't say anything about how I should do my job. What's wrong with just observing from the distance? It gives me an better idea of what I'm dealing with." Slar replied.
"She? The leader of the Cloud Crawler Gang is an woman?" Mary questioned.
Slar raised an eyebrow. "My, my. You're not just skilled, you're cunning to boot. Was that royal cloud fencing I just observed? You must have some kind of connection to the Sky King to have that kind of training. Maybe we should hold you for ransom and see what happens? So here's my offer. I can capture you and hold you for hostage or just hand you over to the Sky King... Or, you can join the Cloud Crawler Gang. Your sword fighting skills shows promise. I'm sure the boss will have a place for a competent fighter such as yourself."
Whatever happens, the king must not know that she left the village. That will spell doom for the people who took care of her. So her options are to either fight Slar or become one of the Cloud Crawler's members.
"Just one question. How far away is the Cloud Crawlers main camp?" Mary asked. If she's going to take a detour to the Cloud Crawler's HQ, then it should be quick. She's running on an time limit.
"I wouldn't be asking that question if I were in your situation. But to humor you, I'll tell you anyways. The main camp is constantly moving. But luckily for you, it's currently a two hour walk from here. If you plan on joining, I hope you plan on showing your dedication. Otherwise..." Slar made a throat slitting motion.
"And to make sure you're not planning on fighting me, let me show you my pride and joy." Slar pulled out a shot gun from the straps on his back. What made this particular gun special was that is was not made of clouds and compact air. It's a slightly dark color and looks a lot more solid then clouds. It looks just as solid as Isaac's body.
Slar was stroking his shotgun in a provocative mater. "See this? It's not your normal cloud shot gun. This particular variety is from the material plane. Got it from an lucky raid. It shoots solid bullets that can slice through clouds. So don't judge me by my looks and the way I act. I'm actually a really good sniper with this shot gun. I just need to be close enough to be in firing range. And would you look at that? The gravestone I'm currently siting on just happens to be within firing range from were you are standing. In fact, this perch is just the right height for me to fire anywhere in this area. And better yet, it's wide enough for me to not fall off of it from the shot gun's recoil. Point being, so as long I'm on this rock, you are guaranteed to get hit. Trust me when I say this, my aim and reflexes are really good. Don't expect to dodge my shots as easily as the other guys. I don't know what you are doing in this mansion's back yard, but once I'm done with you, It's up to me to raid this rich looking mansion. I'm sure material bullets can easily cut through the mansion's cloud walls." Slar gloated. He licked the side of his gun to make an point.
What should Mary do? Now that she knows that the Cloud Crawler's leader is near by, she could surrender for now and get an chance to talk with the gang's leader. Or she could risk fighting Slar. Just because he acts competently doesn't mean that he is. But... there is an third option. She could make an deal with this mercenary. Slar mentioned that he wants to break into the mansion too. Perhaps she could strike a deal with him and work together. His material gun might just be what she needs to break into the mansion. She'll just let him loot the mansion as payment... He does seem to be the flexible type... But there is no guarantee that he will agree to her conditions... The best she could do is try to negotiate with him and hope for the best.