Stable Cleaning (The Stables)

Leona heard that someone in Hosenka needed help with their stables. She took advantage of a lull in activity over at Silver Wolf Guild Hall to go do some freelance work. Not every adventure had to be fraught with peril. Sometimes it was nice to do an easy job for some easy Jewels. The stench that assaulted her nose made Leona reconsider her choice of job.

"Hi there stranger! You must be the mage from Silver Wolf who answered my job offer!" A middle-aged man in a red plaid shirt and faded, well-worn overalls greeted her in a friendly manner. The sun was just starting to set. According to the job ad, the stables had to be cleaned before morning or the farmer would face a stiff fine.

"Yes. I'm the one." Leona said to him. She rolled up the right sleeve of her olive green t-shirt to show her guild tattoo. The man nodded and she rolled her sleeve down.

"I'm glad someone answered my ad. My workers up and quit on me! They quit on me right when I needed them the most!" The farmer lamented his ill fortune.

"But you don't have time to listen to a farmer go on and on about his problems. You're here for the job. It's really simple." He started.

"I need you to shovel the manure into a wheelbarrow, then roll it down to my field and dump it. I'll spread it out for you. Simple, right?" He asked rhetorically. Leona nodded. She had done similar work back home in Desierto.

"Good. I don't expect you to get your good clothes dirty, so go and grab a suit!" He said, pointing towards a small wooden shed painted white. Leona went in and found a yellow garment that looked a lot like a hazmat suit. She slipped it on over her normal clothes, then zipped it and put on a pair of tall boots already caked with manure.

"All right then. Looks like you're ready. Here's your shovel!" The farmer said, handing her the implement. Leona took it with her right hand. Nighttime was almost here. She had better get to it. He was counting on her.

[Word Count: 365]

Refusing to back out and make herself or Silver Wolf look bad, Leona started on the unpleasant task. She would take a shovelful of manure and transport it to the wheelbarrow. Once it was full, she would ferry it to the farmer, who would then spread it over his field. It was a simple enough task, but it was repetitive. It was also rife with unpleasant odors.

It was nothing the blonde had not done before. She had frequently cleaned up after the village's pack animals back home. Still, shoveling manure was not a job she particularly enjoyed. She did it for the farmer because he really needed the help and Leona liked to help the "little guy" when they needed it. She carried her latest shovelful to the wheelbarrow and dumped it in.

She rolled the wheelbarrow to the farmer, who stood by waiting with his own shovel. The field was lit with some kind of hovering light magic. It illuminated the field in a soft yellow glow that was reminiscent of fireflies and was bright enough to see by.

"Hey there! That was fast for your first wheelbarrow!" He said in partial surprise.

"I did this kind of work back home." Leona replied.

"Oh? Where ya from?" He asked while emptying the wheelbarrow.

"Desierto." Leona replied. The farmer let out a long whistle.

"That's a long ways off, Missy." He mused. The wheelbarrow was soon empty.

"Yeah. It was quite the walk." Leona chimed in before handling the grips and carting it back to the stables.

Leona picked up the shovel again. She began the slow, tedious work of hauling the cargo to the wheelbarrow and dumping it in, then turning back and getting another shovelful. She was roughly an eighth of the way through. The moon was up in the sky. The blonde felt herself getting stronger and faster... it was just the boost she needed.

She kept shoveling until it was time to haul it off. She briskly walked with the wheelbarrow and dropped it off, letting the farmer do his thing. He shoveled it out and spread it onto the field with practiced ease. It was clear that the farmer had years of experience in his trade. She wondered what it was like to make a living by working the land.

Back at the stables it was business as usual. Manure everywhere. It was a stinking mess. A dozen shovelfuls later and it was time to take the wheelbarrow to the farmer for emptying. The moon was still hovering in the sky.

[Word Count: 427] [Total Word Count: 792 of 2,250]

Taking a brief look at the stables, Leona estimated that she was halfway through with the task. That was good because the moon was halfway across the sky. Time was ticking. She filled the wheelbarrow again and hustled to the farmer.

"Hey Missy, you said you were from Desierto, right?" He asked while getting to work.

"Yes." Leona replied in the affirmative.

"What's it like out there?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

"I'll be honest with you, Mister. It's a rough life. Water's hard to come by and the soil doesn't support very many crops. You have to work hard every day just to keep what you have." Leona told him with authority. The farmer gave a knowing chuckle.

"Sounds about right. I traveled out there once, but that was long ago when I rode on the back of a trade caravan. I saw a lot of sand. Nothing but sand." He recounted. It was Leona's turn to laugh. His account was not far from the truth. The desert was dominated by sand with the occasional cactus and oasis.

"Welp, better let you get back to the stables." He said. She took command of the wheelbarrow and wheeled it back to the stable. The task was a little less daunting now that it was halfway completed. Leona took in a lungful of foul-smelling air. Then she went back into action.

Another load carried off and she was back to it. It was fortunate for her that she got a power and speed boost at night. It helped make the tedious job a lot more doable. Lift the shovel, empty it into the wheelbarrow, rinse and repeat. She was about to take the next load when she looked into the sky and saw the moon three-fourths of the way across the sky.

Leona walked briskly with the next load and dropped it off. The farmer looked at her.

"You're doing pretty good, Missy. Er, what's your name?" He asked her.

"Leona." Leona replied.

"Leona, huh? I forgot to introduce myself earlier. I'm Jed." He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, Jed." Leona replied.

"Likewise." He said just as he emptied the wheelbarrow. Off to the stables she went. She had to get a move on. In a few more hours the sun would come up, town officials would arrive for an inspection, and the farmer would have to pay a steep fine if there was any manure left. Leona could not allow that to happen.

The air was actually becoming more breathable as the amount of manure decreased. Leona's hands and feet were beginning to hurt, but she could not afford to take a break now. She took a deep breath of slightly cleaner air and kept at it. Jed was counting on her to get the job done. She was not going to let him down.

[Word Count: 476] [Total Word Count: 1,268 of 2,250]

Two more loads carted off and Leona was three-fourths of the way through with the job. A small path had been worn in the grass where she wheeled the wheelbarrow to the farmer's field. It would likely be flat before sunrise. She followed the path back to the stables and picked up the shovel. The clock was ticking.

She shoveled until the wheelbarrow could hold no more. She wheeled it to the farmer, who quickly shoveled it off. She returned to the stable for another round of shoveling. When this job was over the blonde was probably going to dream about shovels. It would be tolerable as long as there was no accompanying smell of manure in the dream.

Leona's boots were caked with manure and the shins of her borrowed suit were too. This was no beauty contest. This was a dirty but necessary job. One that she would see through no matter what. With aching hands she gripped the shovel and began to dig into the filth.

She looked into the sky. The moon was beginning its downward descent across the horizon. She had to hurry up!

Leona shoveled faster. She filled the wheelbarrow and hustled to the farmer, who shoveled with renewed purpose. Once it was empty she raced back to the stable. Now was a race against time.

Shovel. Fill the wheelbarrow. Hustle to the farmer. Watch him empty the cargo onto the field. Run back to fill the wheelbarrow again.

She did it three times before she dared pause to look at the stable. It was almost clean. Just two more trips and it would be finished. A deep breath and she was back to it. She could not wait to be finished with this job.

Leona ran with the wheelbarrow, narrowly avoiding spilling the cargo in the process. Jed's shovel was ready. He quickly scooped it out and she ran back to the stable. One more load and this would be over!

Leona seized her shovel off the ground and shoveled with a vengeance. The end was so close she could smell it. She certainly did not want to taste it. It would taste like fecal matter. That was something she did not have time to dwell on.

Sunlight was just beginning to gleam across the horizon. Leona had filled the wheelbarrow one last time. She dropped the shovel, clutched the wheelbarrow handles, and ran for her life. Jed emptied the wheelbarrow with feverish haste. She did not blame him.

She hustled back to the stable and found it to be completely clean. She breathed a sigh of relief. Jed walked up behind her and looked into his stables. He beamed with pride. She had done it.

"You did it, Leona! And just in time too! Here they come!" Jed commented while pointing towards the road. A trio of official-looking men in business attire holding clipboards rode in a horse-drawn carriage. Leona set down the wheelbarrow and watched as they opened the carriage doors and emerged with solemn looks on their faces.

[Word Count: 508] [Total Word Count: 1,776 of 2,250]

Leona and Jed watched as the trio approached. They all wore dark business suits with matching shoes. They looked more like members of an organized crime syndicate than city officials. Leona did not realize how much her hands and feet hurt until she had stopped moving. The men paid her no attention as their gazes turned to Jed.

"You are aware that if your stables are not clean, you will be fined 10,000 Jewels for violating the ordinance?" One of them asked. The man wore brown-rimmed glasses and had jet-black hair. Leona blinked. 10,000 Jewels? No wonder the farmer was so desperate for help.

"Yes sir." Jed said plainly.

"Now... let us see if your stables are clean." Another one said with a critical voice. The trio walked slowly and deliberately to the stables. Jed calmly watched them go about their work. They looked up, down, and around and scribbled feverishly on their clipboards. As the inspection progressed their businesslike facial expressions began to fade.

By the time they had finished the inspection their mouths were about to hang open. They turned to Jed. Jed had a wide grin on his face.

"How... how did you clean it up so quickly?" The glasses-wearing man asked him.

"Simple. When my workers quit, I hired someone else. I hired a mage from Silver Wolf!" Jed proudly answered.

"A... mage?" One of the other men asked. He had brown hair and green eyes.

"Yes sir. Leona here helped me out. She worked and she didn't stop until the job was done!" Jed boasted.

"If I may ask, where did it all go? She did not make it just disappear, did she?" Another one asked. He had brown hair and blue eyes.

"No sir. It was all taken to my field. It'll fertilize the crops!" Jed answered.

"I see." The glasses-wearing official answered.

"You can go to the field if you want. It's all out there." Jed offered.

"That will not be necessary. We only specified that you clean your stables. What you did with it afterward, provided you did not dump it on someone else's property, was not specified. Since the stables are clean, there is no violation here." The blue-eyed man stated.

"I bid both of you good day." The glasses-wearing man said before turning on his heels and walking away with the other men in tow. Jed watched until the men had entered their carriage and it had traveled out of sight. He then turned to Leona.

"We did it, Leona! I don't have to pay the fine!" Jed exclaimed jubilantly. Leona smiled. Her hard work had not been in vain after all.

"You can take the suit and boots off. In the shed, of course. Then go inside and get a shower. You don't need to go back to your guild smelling like a farm!" He suggested. Leona was quick to oblige. She went into the shed and took off the suit and boots, then went into the farmer's house for a shower.

When she came out, the sun was high in the sky. She wore her traditional white t-shirt and desert camouflage shorts. He washed her olive green t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts and quickly dried them in his washer and dryer. He presented them back to her and smiled.

"You're a life saver, Leona! I don't know what I woulda done without you!" He said to her.

"It's no problem, Jed." Leona replied. He fished out a small brown bag and handed it to her. It rattled when she received it.

"You've earned it. It's your payment for a job well done. You did more than clean my stables. You saved my farm. I mean that." Jed stated in all seriousness. Leona clutched the bag and put it into a side pocket.

"You're welcome here any time, Leona." Jed said to her. Leona looked down the road. It was time to go.

"Thanks Jed. Maybe we'll meet again some day. See you then!" Leona said to him before turning and leaving. Her work here was done. Despite all the hard and tedious work, Leona was satisfied.

Dueling Ior and fighting Jacob Goodnight had made her wonder if all she was good for was killing. Today Leona proved to herself that she could do more than fight and kill. She could save people without lifting a weapon.

[Word Count: 729] [Total Word Count: 2,505 of 2,250]