Clearing The Forest

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, afternoon-

Leona had just exited the hot springs and dried off. She put on her white t-shirt and desert camouflage shorts. It had been awhile since she had worn that particular outfit. Ever since her promotion to Ace, the blonde had tried to improve her wardrobe. Since there was no official uniform or badge, Leona tried to dress slightly better so that she did not look like a bum while on guild business.

She had just entered her room when she heard knocking on the door. She opened it and found a female staff member bearing a letter. Leona glanced at it. It appeared to have been hastily written. The handwriting was scrawled and the grammar and punctuation were rather bad.

"It's for you, Leona. It's from a man named Gary. Gary Barnsworth. He claims you helped him in Beanstalk Forest a day or two ago." The young woman told Leona as she handed over the letter. Hearing the name "Gary" was all Leona needed to know. She took it and read it herself.

"Deer Leena, if youre reading this theres trouble in the forst outsied beenstalk village. Come quikly! Meat mee n my daughterin Margrets shop! It read. Leona was concerned. Things must have taken a turn for the worse since her last visit.

"Thank you. I'll set out at once!" Leona thanked the staff member, who nodded and went on her way. Leona walked briskly into her room and quickly donned her Argent Gloves, grabbed her backpack of supplies, put on a pair of socks and boots, and grabbed her ram dao. She raced out of the room, but then turned around and barged back in, rummaging through her closet. She seized her olive green t-shirt and crammed it into her pack. Since her clothes tended to get damaged a lot, packing an extra shirt was never a bad idea.

-Beanstalk Village, late afternoon-

Running as fast as she could go, Leona arrived just as the sun was starting to lower. Daylight was running out. This was going to be a night operation. She knocked on the door to Margaret's shop and was greeted by a blue-haired young woman. She wore a blue tube top with white shorts and blue socks with white tennis shoes.

"Oh! You must be Leona! Come on in!" The young woman said. Leona walked in and the young woman shut the door behind her.

"Yes. I got a letter from Gary Barnsworth. Are you his daughter?" Leona asked.

"Yes. I'm Amanda Barnsworth. My father told me that you were a great help to him." She replied. Leona noticed a strange device attached to Amanda's head. It had a small green screen that sat in front of the eye and was secured to her left ear.

"Do you like my Observer? I made it myself." Amanda started.

"Oh, Leena! You made it!" Gary welcomed her. Margaret popped up and waved too. Leona waved back.

"It's terrible! Something's happening to the forest! Something's made a siphon!" Gary launched into a panicked outburst.

"Calm down, Gary. What's happening?" Leona inquired. Gary took a sip of some herbal tea Margaret provided. He almost immediately simmered down.

"Sorry about that, Lena. It's simple. Something's draining the life energy and mana from anything that enters the forest. Amanda's been helping me observe and analyze the taint that's responsible for the drain. According to our model, there's no limit to how far it can go if it isn't stopped." Gary gave a grim analysis of the situation. Leona spotted a corkboard festooned with papers covered in calculations that were too complex for her to understand. Beside them was a map of the forest.

"We think there's some source behind it. Something obviously magical. Your job is to go in there and find it. When you find it, destroy it." Amanda said to Leona.

"Be careful, Leona! People have been going missing in the forest! The town guard has been patrolling the village and can't spare any men to investigate. Be ready for anything!" Margaret cautioned her.

"OK. I'm on my way." Leona informed them. Amanda accompanied her.

"Be careful." Gary said to Leona and Amanda.

[Word Count: 700] [Total Word Count: 700/500]

Amanda Barnsworth w/Observer:

Leona and Amanda walked to the entrance of the Tainted Forest. The sun was just about to set. Once they reached their destination, the pair faced each other for a conversation.

"We've heard talk around the village that no one's seen any animals in the forest." Amanda started.

"There were plenty in the past few days. I ran into a lot of wolves and one bear in town, then two whole packs of wolves in the forest when gathering plants." Leona dryly remarked.

"Margaret told us about that. We don't get it. There should be animals everywhere, but there aren't any. What could have happened to them all?" Amanda asked.

"I bet it has something to do with whatever's tampering with the forest." Leona replied, ram dao propped on her shoulder.

"No doubt. As I said earlier, your job's to go in there and destroy the source before it's too late." Amanda reminded the blonde.

"Is there anything else I need to know before I go in the woods?" Leona asked the blue-haired young woman.

"Yes. We've heard that quite a few people have gone missing in the forest over the past few days. Hunters, mages, farmers... they've gone in but never came out." Amanda answered.

"Do you think I'll find them alive?" Leona inquired. Amanda gave her a look that indicated she was doubtful that those who went missing were still living. That was not good.

"The situation's looking bad, Leona. The townspeople are on edge and the town guard's patrolling the village day and night to try and keep people calm. We have to stop this before it's too late." Amanda told her in a grim tone of voice.

"OK. I won't waste any more time. I'll see you later." Leona said to Amanda before turning towards the woods. The blonde thought that she heard moaning emanating from the woods. Moaning or not, she was going to go inside and put a stop to the threat before it took over even more land.

"One last thing. Don't go too far into the forest. I heard it borders the land of another guild, a guild that's very territorial. They won't take kindly to intruders. Once you destroy the source, get out and get out fast." Amanda warned her.

"OK. Thanks for the warning." Leona thanked Amanda before walking into the forest. In addition to stopping a taint that threatened the land and dealing with any hostile entities she encountered inside, she also had to dodge members of a potentially hostile guild. It would be a challenge, but Leona would persevere. The people of Beanstalk Village were counting on her to save the day again. Leona could not fail them.

[Word Count: 450] [Total Word Count: 1150/500]

-Inside the Tainted Forest-

Leona walked slowly through the woods. She was listening out for both the source of the moaning she heard earlier and any members of the guild Amanda had mentioned. So far she had found neither, but what she did find was bloodstains. They were strange ones... they appeared like their creators had bled out, then got up and shuffled off. That was not normal.

Then again, nothing in this forest had been normal for awhile. It was up to her to set things right. She kept walking and looking until she came across seven green-clad people standing awkwardly in place in a small clearing. They looked like hunters and were standing over a the body of a hunter clad in green whose severed arm was lying in front of him and was still clutching a longbow. One of them turned around and faced her, emitting an unearthly moan.

The remaining six followed suit, then slowly shambled towards her. Leona had found out what had happened to some of the missing people. They were now undead, but they were not rotting like a typical member of the undead. They looked almost human. What could have caused that?

Leona did not stop to think it over. It would be unpleasant, but she would have to eliminate them. They were standing in her way. She leapt into the air and used an Air Burst spell, showering them with balls of wind and knocking down three of them. Oblivious as to what happened to their teammates, the remaining four shambled towards her.

Undaunted by what was in front of her, Leona then used a Crescent Wave to stagger the closest one before cutting into it with her ram dao. She severed its head with a horizontal swing, instantly defeating it. She then stabbed through another one's chest and used a Mach Straight to the face on a third one closing in. The Mach Straight knocked it down and it did not move again. The zombie stuck on her sword moaned and vainly reached out for her.

Leona released the ram dao and finished it with a Mach Straight to the face, then turned and dealt with the last zombie in the same fashion. Leona did not cheer as she planted a foot on the zombie's chest and pulled out her ram dao. They used to be innocent people. All seven were now dead... maybe their souls had found peace.

After finishing the fight, she paused and looked around for any signs of approaching undead or live, angry guild members. Neither threat presented itself, so Leona forged ahead into the dark forest. It was a good thing she had natural night vision. It had allowed her to spot the zombies before it was too late. She would have need of it because her destination lay deeper in the woods.

[Word Count: 478] [Total Word Count: 1,628/500]

The deeper Leona went into the Tainted Forest, the more frequent that bloodstains became. She eventually came across a pile of battered and scratched corpses that looked like a trio of mages. She really could not tell because they were so badly mauled that even their clothing was in shreds. Were the Barnsworths sure that there were no animals in the forest? The blonde had doubts concerning the quality of their information... no human could have done that to the mages.

Seconds later she heard moaning, then spotted a trio of people wearing mage robes sprinting right at her from further down the path. They were moving at incredible speed. They were so fast that Leona barely had time to use a Smashing Crescent spell to stagger one of them before the other two were literally in her face. The force of one of them slamming into her made her drop her ram dao and almost knocked her over. While she staggered they rushed into hand-to-hand range and started clawing at her.

Faced with three clawing enemies attacking at once, Leona's arms were getting scratched badly after raising them in front of her face to defend herself. However, they were not really aiming their attacks. Her Argent Gloves were getting clawed as often as her arms were. She had to take the offensive before she was clawed apart.

Leona stepped back and used a Mach Straight spell to nail one of them directly in the face. It went down and did not get up. Its colleagues kept attacking with the same feral fury that they started off with, scoring hits on her arms and torso. Her shirt was getting shredded and bloody. She broke away long enough to use a Lion's Tail Sweep to knock down one of the two, then was set upon by the other.

Leona used a Mach Straight to its face and knocked it down. It did not move again. The last zombie struck her with a claw to the face and knocked her down with a charge. Leona barely had time to draw her knife before it knelt down and began clawing wildly. She let her left arm take the brunt of the attack as she moved the knife into position, then grabbed its neck and pushed its head back.

It snarled and kept clawing at her torso as she pushed its head back. When the position was right, she jammed the knife into its temple. It immediately stopped attacking and collapsed onto her. Leona shoved the corpse off of her and got up. Her white shirt was badly ripped and bleeding. Her arms looked like wolves had went to town on them.

"Damn." The blonde whispered as she took off her shirt and began to patch herself up. The three zombies had really did a number on her. She fished out some hydrogen peroxide and a roll of gauze. First she treated her arms and wrapped them in gauze. Then she treated her torso and stomach for scratches deep enough to draw blood.

After taking the time to clean up any dried blood on her body, she then treated her face for the scratch she had taken just a minute ago. The hydrogen peroxide still burned in the cuts on her arms and body, but it beat dying from complications caused by infection. Leona was still alive, which meant the mission was still on. Checking one last time to make sure that she was not bleeding and finding that she was not, Leona put on the olive green shirt she had brought with her, retrieved her knife and ram dao, cleaned the blood off of them by using the robes of the dead zombies, put her bloody and ripped shirt into a small trashbag that had somehow found its way into her backpack, and resumed the mission. It was a good thing that she had brought an extra shirt... the forest was cold and she did not want to go around shirtless.

[Word Count: 668] [Total Word Count: 2,296/500]

After the fight with the fast zombies, Leona kept walking until she came across a giant obsidian pillar sitting in the middle of a barren circle; the setup reminded her of a sundial. That was NOT a natural part of the landscape. It had to have something to do with what was happening to the forest. She did not have much time to confirm or disprove that theory because a tall, slender man wearing black robes with red designs on them stepped out from behind the pillar. The robes also had a skull pattern on the front and the hood.

"So you're the one who stopped our assassin from killing that nosy old herbalist in that backwater village. You've caused us a lot of trouble. But you won't trouble us after tonight!" He said to her. He took notice of her bandaged wounds and snickered.

"It seems you've run into my friends." He commented.

"Yeah. They're dead... again. You'll answer for what you did." Leona retorted.

"Like I really care. They were just random people who wandered in. I can make more any time I want. In fact, I'm starting with YOU!" He shouted before raising his hands and firing three black spheres at her. Leona attempted to dodge them, but they adjusted flight course to follow her every move. The best course was to run away from them. Leona turned to run but was struck by all three before she could move.

Leona recovered and fired a Crescent Wave spell at the man. He swiftly dodged it with a sidestep and ducked a follow-up Wind Ball. Leona threw a Fast Ball spell at him as he stood up and struck him in the chest, causing him to groan. She then used an Air Burst spell, but he recovered in time to dodge all but one of the eight balls, taking the hit on his left arm. The cultist was certainly fast.

He raised his hands again and fired another trio of spheres at her. This time Leona got a running start and managed to run before they hit. She noticed that as she put distance between them the spheres shrank until they faded away completely. After they disappeared she swiftly performed a sliding U-turn and sprinted towards the cultist, but he had called in backup. A pair of the fast zombies were racing towards her with outstretched arms!

Leona skidded to a halt and raised her right hand, focusing magic until it glowed silver. She then used a Wind Blast spell, knocking down the runners and forcing the cultist to duck behind the obsidian pillar for cover. The zombies did not move again. Leona started running again before he could cast another spell but was too late. A trio of spheres were already hurtling towards her.

Leona ran straight into them and fell forward in mid-run, dropping her ram dao in the process. She landed on the ground and rolled to a halt. Her body began to glow red as she felt weaker. The cultist laughed as his superficial wounds were instantly healed by a stream of red energy flowing into his outstretched hand. Leona deduced that he could heal himself with that particular spell at her expense.

"You're in over your head! You should just give up and accept your death!" He taunted. Leona clenched her teeth. She was not finished. Not until she stopped the drain on the land. In between fighting the fast zombies and fighting him, she was feeling a bit weak.

She had to finish this quickly. Rising to one knee, Leona raised her hand to cast another Wind Blast. Seeing this, the cultist ducked behind the pillar for cover. While he retreated she pulled out her knife. He emerged and raised a glowing black hand... seconds later a skeletal hand erupted from the ground, but Leona raised her Argent Gloves in front of her, crossed them in an X pattern and activated the Ruby Dome.

The dome had activated just in time. The skeletal hand slammed against the dome and shattered, much to the cultist's horror. He was clearly surprised.

"What? HOW?" He asked. Leona answered with a Smashing Crescent that sent him staggering back. Leona followed with a Crescent Cutter that hit him in the arm, causing him to bleed. He was on the back foot now. Leona was moving in to finish the job.

"Killing me won't end the drain! It's just beginning! One day all of Earthland will be engulfed by it!" The cultist ranted as Leona drew closer. As she grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the pillar, he smiled at her. This felt familiar.

"You may have won this round, but I still won't tell you anything. Like my brother before me, I'm taking my secrets to the grave and there's nothing you can do!" He taunted as his brown eyes met hers and he shifted his jaw a little. Then she heard a CRUNCH. He had bitten into a suicide capsule!

"See you... see you on the other side!" He bade her farewell as the capsule's contents took effect. He slumped against the pillar and convulsed. Thirty seconds later and he was dead. Leona cursed under her breath. Any clues she could have gotten died with him... or did they?

Leona searched the deceased cultist for anything useful. She discovered a coin like the one on the assassin from Beanstalk Village. She also found a book bound in black leather with a title written in a language she did not recognize. She even lifted the left sleeve of his robe and found a strange tattoo on his the bicep of his left arm. The tattoo was of a red arm brandishing a red whip that circled around until the tip was under the fist.

She did not recognize the tattoo. Oh well. It was time to smash the pillar. She put away her knife and took up the ram dao, swinging it against the pillar. The obsidian did not break... it did not even chip.

Leona prepared and fired a Gale Cannon spell. The basketball-sized projectile exploded harmlessly against the structure. The blonde was stumped. She even tried a Mach Straight but it only succeeded in hurting her hand. The pillar was unbreakable.

Spotting what looked to be humanoid shapes gathering in the distance, Leona ducked behind the pillar, pocketed the coin and hastily put the book into her backpack. She gripped her ram dao and started running back towards Beanstalk Village. If they were from the guild whose territory was nearby, Leona did not want to be around when they investigated the area.

Mysterious Tattoo:

[Word Count: 1,110] [Total Word Count: 3,406/500]

-Beanstalk Village, Margaret's Shop-

A weary Leona knocked on the door to Margaret's shop. Amanda answered and granted her entry. She gasped when Leona walked into the light. Leona ignored it and pulled out the book she had procured from the cultist.

"You're right, Amanda. Things ARE bad. I discovered an obsidian pillar I think is behind the whole mess. I tried to break it with my sword and I tried to destroy it with magic, but it didn't budge. It didn't even show a scratch." Leona began explaining. Gary and Margaret walked in and gasped when they saw her. This time Leona decided to address it.

"I found the missing people. Unfortunately, they were turned into undead. I had to kill them. But the fast ones put up a fight." Leona said, unwinding the bandages on her arms to show the wounds. Amanda screamed and Gary turned pale. Margaret quickly opened a cupboard and produced a blue potion, which she handed to the blonde. Leona produced the coin with a skull and the book. Gary walked over and took them both while Leona drank the potion.

"I had to kill a black-robed man too. Well, I would have if he didn't kill himself with a suicide capsule. He didn't give up anything." Leona remarked as Gary took a seat at Margaret's wooden table and studied the coin and the book.

"Did he happen to have a tattoo on his arm?" Gary asked her.

"Yes. A red one, a red arm with a red whip that circled around to the fist." Leona answered. A look of recognition flashed across his face. Amanda took the book and looked at it.

"Huh. The title's Unyielding Death. I haven't seen this language since university. It's a dead one, so only academic types know about it anymore." Amanda announced calmly. Gary then looked at her. She looked at him for a full minute. The old man then turned to Leona.

"What we're dealing with is a cult. The man you defeated was a cultist, possibly one placed in charge of the cult's plans here. That book's a religious book of sorts. But its contents are nothing but bad news for Earthland." Gary explained to Leona.

"That pillar's unbreakable. I couldn't even put a scratch on it. What can I do?" Leona asked him. Gary frowned. He looked reluctant to even talk to her about the subject. Then he relented.

"There's nothing you can do right now, Leena. You've done more than enough for today. Go home and recover. We'll need your help for what's ahead." Gary told her.

"I'll talk to some old friends of mine and see what information they can come up with. You go home. We'll take it from here." Gary assured her. Leona turned to Margaret and Amanda. The pair looked at her.

"It's worse than we feared, but we'll work through it. You've already done a lot for Beanstalk Village. We'll be in touch, but for now... thank you. Thank you, Leona." Margaret thanked her. She then handed a bag of Jewels to Leona. The blonde was already starting to feel better thanks to the potion. The wounds on her arms were beginning to close up. The wounds on her torso and stomach were too.

"Thanks, Leona. It's no wonder my father chose you for this job. I didn't expect it to be so dangerous, but you came through for us. For Beanstalk Village." Amanda complimented her.

"It's no problem. It's what I do." Leona said in a modest tone. She then pocketed the Jewels and turned for the door. She had to get going. The road would be swarming with bandits, but Leona would find a way to surmount the difficulty. That was what she did.

[Word Count: 628] [Total Word Count: 4,034/500]