[Fehrant]

The door finally opened. Lucifer stood still in the darkness. Bored out of his mind, he decided to play a little prank, albeit a test of the sorts, to see how his tardy companion would react. By act of his thumb finger, he catapulted the coin in the air aimed directly towards the newcomer. The coin span endlessly announcing its presence by its distinctive noise. Calculated with careful precision, the coin would meet its target as soon as the door had fully been opened.

And so it did. The coin bounced on the newcomer's forehead, and made him fall flat on his ass. "Ouch," he complained.

Lucifer couldn't help but laugh. His mighty companion had been defeated by a deadly flying coin. How ironic, he thought. But his laughter quickly vanished as he realized how his time had gone to waste. He got up, bracing the dust off his elegant tunic. He walked to the man who was still rubbing his forehead, seemingly unaware of what had just assaulted him.

"Who are you?" Lucifer asked right to the point, his patience wearing thin. The man on the floor had commoner's clothes, and a commoner's face. In fact, while appearances were indeed deceiving, especially in this guild, this man looked genuinely stupid, Lucifer told himself.

The man glanced up and met Lucifer's critical gaze. "Lu.. Lu... Lucifer Nosferatu...?" He stammered.

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. Had he not come here knowing who he was? "Yes...?" He replied.

"I co...come here t...to deliver this," the man on the floor, a simple messenger, handed a sealed piece of paper. Lucifer picked it up, breaking the generic seal with his fingers. The guild only used its emblem for intimidating purposes. Other than that, they would not dare give away their identity. The content of the letter was short:

"Lucifer,
The target has been delayed by a day due to unexpected circumstances. The rest of the members have already been informed. Expect the gathering at the same time tomorrow."

He reread it again in mix of disbelief and frustration. Finally accepting its contents, Lucifer crushed the paper underneath his fist until it became a tight, round ball. "Unexpected circumstances," he repeated with disdain.

"If you'll excuse me," announced the messenger who was standing on his feet now.

"Yes, yes," Lucifer dismissed annoyed. "Be on your way."

He picked up the coin, and stored it in one of this pockets. Looking one last time at the empty room, he closed the door and left. Having no real plans for the rest of the day, Lucifer decided it would be in the best of his interest, although not necessarily imperative, to check out the area where the ambush was going to take place. Although a calculating, rational man by nature, he had undertaken several missions with little or no preparation.

It did not take long to reach the designated place. The first thing Lucifer realized was the vast, open field. Absolutely no cover whatsoever as far as the eye could see, except for a dense forest that extended itself not too far away from the road. That left them two choices: a frontal attack, or using the surrounding trees to assault them unprepared. Since the group was going to literally await the carriage's arrival to this position, sitting on the road casually would arise suspicion. Although if part of the group waited on the forest, and the other just strolled casually in their direction...

Lucifer played with the possibilities in his head. As much as he despised teamwork, he would carry his mission with success. "If I need to coordinate a group of good-for-nothing oafs, so be it," he said. "Everything is very straight forward and clear here, except for what lies inside that forest. I might as well check to see if there are any unexpected... guests."

His magical senses detected no imminent presence, yet he felt an unwelcoming feeling as he entered the forest. "Well, this feels like a meeting with a certain group of higher-ups," Lucifer joked. "Anyone care to offer a cup of wine?" The forest remained silent, so he pushed deeper inside. He digged his hand in his pocket, as his fingers touched his deck of cards. He pulled out one of them randomly.

"The Shield," it read. It had a picture of a white and red shield. "Protect. Defense. Cover." Lucifer recited its possible connotations. "'Protect'... am I invading someone else's territory?" As if replying a question, a growl came out from an unknown position between the trees. "Ah," he said delighted at his prediction, placing the card back with the deck. "Not today, beast. I shall leave your residence, though tomorrow... you better prepare some tea for your guests," Lucifer laughed deeply on his way out of the forest.