Good News From The Doctor

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 41, Post Number 1009

-Motor City, outside Dr. Reid's House, 10:55 A.M.-

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit with black bike shorts and boots that matched the outfit plus her Argent Gloves on her hands, Leona had left all of her weapons at home except for Ses Revanche, which was stashed in her right boot. She had gotten a letter from Dr. Reid about five hours ago that informed the Wizard Saint that the doctor had some "good news" for her. Leona wondered if that good news had to do with the Atlas Project. She hoped that the doctor's project had either been completed or was drawing very close to completion, but Leona had not been told any specifics in the letter... in order to get more information the Wizard Saint and the doctor would have to meet in person.

After walking all the way from Silver Wolf Guild Hall to Motor City for a change and reaching the doctor's house in the late morning Leona was standing outside the door to Dr. Reid's house and was facing the intercom grille. The Wizard Saint did not waste any time in pressing the button that would let her speak to the doctor.

"Password?" Dr. Reid asked.

"Technologic." Leona replied without hesitation. Leona had memorized the password long before leaving Silver Wolf Guild Hall and was able to recite it without any trouble.

"I'll open the door shortly, Leona!" Dr. Reid said in excitement. The Wizard Saint took a step back and faced the door, then waited patiently for it to be opened. Within three minutes the door was opened and Dr. Reid faced the Wizard Saint.

Dr. Reid was wearing a pink tank top and khaki cargo shorts with brown work boots that were slightly stained with what looked like oil on the toes. For once her long blonde hair was immaculate and she had a wide smile on her face. In her right hand was her mug of coffee full of Motor City Nitro.

"Hi Leona! I've got some great news for you! Let's go to the mini-kitchen to talk about it!" Dr. Reid exclaimed. Before Leona could respond the other blonde reached out with her left hand, seized the Wizard Saint by the left wrist, and pulled her inside the house. The door was slammed behind them.

-Inside the mini-kitchen, Dr. Reid's Laboratory-

After being pulled inside the house and being practically dragged through the house Leona was now standing in the mini-kitchen with Dr. Reid. Leona was standing in the doorway that led back into the house while Dr. Reid had set her cup of coffee down on the small square table a short distance away and was pulling out a plain white mug. She then walked over to the coffeemaker sitting in the upper left corner of the counter and poured coffee into it, then turned and walked towards Leona.

"Here you go, Leona! A warm cup of Motor City Nitro! I made it about fifteen minutes ago, so you don't have to worry about it burning you when you drink it!" Dr. Reid announced. Leona wordlessly extended both hands outward and received the cup of coffee, then carefully raised it to her lips and sipped from it. True to the doctor's word the coffee's temperature was warm enough to give the beverage a pleasant taste but not warm to the point of potentially burning Leona's lips or tongue.

"I'm sure that you want to hear the good news I told you about in my letter. Now that you're here I can tell you all the details." Dr. Reid started off. Leona lowered the cup of coffee and made eye contact with her hostess.

"I'm interested, Doctor. Tell me everything about it." Leona replied calmly. She took a sip or two of coffee while waiting for the doctor to start talking again.

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"Certainly!" Dr. Reid said. She took a long sip from her cup of coffee, a gesture which made Leona begin to worry that the "good news" might not be so good after all. After lowering her coffee cup and making eye contact with the Wizard Saint the doctor began to speak.

"OK, here's the deal. The Atlas Project's being worked on because after conducting some tests I learned that the new power generator could cause considerable problems if it was left as it was." Dr. Reid explained.

"What kind of problems are we talking about?" Leona asked.

"Overheating and a very real possibility of the excess heat melting critical electronic components." Dr. Reid stated plainly. Leona was not very well-educated to begin with and knew even less about electronics, but even she could deduce that on some level what she had been told was bad news.

"That could be a problem." Leona concurred in a huge understatement. Dr. Reid, having made her point, took another sip of coffee before making eye contact with Leona again. Leona supposed that that gesture was the doctor's way of making a big point, but she also supposed that she could be giving the gesture a meaning that was simply not there.

"At least it's easy to fix. It'll take me three weeks at the most, but that's only because I want to make absolutely sure that the repair work is thorough. You don't want to run the risk of critical electronic components overheating at the worst possible time." Dr. Reid gave an optimistic statement about the time needed to make the fix.

"All right then." Leona commented. She did not know what else to say to the news, so she opted to at least give verbal acknowledgment of what she had been told.

"The status of the Atlas Project is not the only thing that I wanted to tell you about. There's something else that you should know." Dr. Reid stated. Leona was not expecting that and made eye contact with the doctor, waiting for the latter to tell her the next bit of news. While waiting she took a careful sip of her coffee.

"I've recently connected with a fellow scientist named Dr. Madison. During our conversation she found out that I knew you and asked me to send you her way the next time we met." Dr. Reid informed Leona. Leona took another sip of her coffee before lowering her mug and speaking.

"I've met Dr. Madison a couple of times before." Leona informed her hostess. The Wizard Saint knew a little bit about Dr. Madison from the courier work she had done for Mr. Bank in the past. However, Leona only knew the doctor's name, not what her specialty was.

"Did Dr. Madison say what she wanted from me?" Leona asked her hostess. The other blonde shook her head.

"Not at all, Leona. I suppose that what she wants from you is something for you to discuss with her in person." Dr. Reid stated. Leona was hoping to get a little more information on the matter before she walked all the way to Dr. Madison's house to speak with her, but it seemed like that Leona would not be able to learn anything else from Dr. Reid. That was OK, though... this was not the first time that Leona had gone into a situation without having all the information she needed.

"All right then. Once I'm finished here I'll be heading to Dr. Madison's place later today." Leona said calmly. Leona was not sure what Dr. Madison wanted from her, but the Wizard Saint would find out later once she had concluded her business with Dr. Reid.

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[Total Word Count: 1,258/10,000]

Leona sipped from her cup of coffee while waiting for Dr. Reid to bring up anything else that the two blondes needed to discuss. The Wizard Saint waited in silence for at least seven minutes but when nothing was brought up she concluded that Dr. Reid had exhausted everything she wanted to talk about. Leona took another sip of coffee as she was plotting her way to Dr. Madison's house for their conversation when she heard a loud buzzing noise coming from in the garage.

"Oh, another guest!" Dr. Reid exclaimed. She hurried into the garage with her cup of coffee still clenched in her right hand... she must have had a lot of practice in running with a cup of coffee because she did not spill a single drop of the beverage while running. Leona stayed where she was and continued to drink her coffee until her cup was empty. Once it was empty Leona walked over to the coffeemaker and poured herself another cup, then walked back to where she was standing and stood there for a moment before taking a careful sip from the new cup of coffee.

For the second time in a row the temperature of the beverage was just right.

Leona heard footsteps approaching at a running pace and looked towards the door to see Dr. Reid running by.

"Dr. Madison's here!" Dr. Reid told Leona as the former ran by on the way to the front door. Leona took another drink of coffee and remained where she was. She had not anticipated Dr. Madison coming here, but neither had Dr. Reid.

"...Yes, she's in the mini-kitchen." Leona overheard Dr. Reid say to her new visitor. Leona lowered her cup and looked towards the new arrival. Dr. Madison walked into the mini-kitchen and faced Leona.

"Hello, Leona. It's been awhile since we last met." Dr. Madison greeted the Wizard Saint in a friendly tone. The doctor was dressed in a blue turtleneck sweater and knee-length black skirt with black dress shoes. Leona wondered why Dr. Madison dressed so formally, but she did not give it too much thought and she certainly did not ask the question aloud. It was none of her business anyway.

"Hello Dr. Madison." Leona calmly greeted the other scientist. The Wizard Saint wondered what compelled Dr. Madison to travel all the way here just to speak with her, but Leona doubted that the well-dressed scientist was here on a social call. The Wizard Saint raised her cup of coffee to her lips and took a drink while waiting for Dr. Madison to tell her why she was here.

"Dr. Reid told you that I wanted to talk to you, right?" Dr. Madison asked Leona. Leona lowered the cup away from her lips and made eye contact with the doctor.

"Yes, Dr. Madison. Dr. Reid told me that you wanted to speak to me a few minutes before your arrival." Leona replied in the affirmative. The doctor smiled when she heard that.

"It seems that my timing was perfect." She remarked in response to Leona's statement. Leona let the remark pass without saying anything in return. Dr. Reid took the opportunity to chime in, an intervention Leona was grateful for because Dr. Reid might be able to steer the conversation to where it needed to go.

"So Dr. Madison... what was it you wanted with Leona? Are you able to tell us here or is it something between you and her to be discussed at your laboratory?" Dr. Reid asked her fellow scientist two important questions. Dr. Madison turned to face Dr. Reid and Leona waited in silence to hear the answers to the questions. Whatever was going to be said next was going to have Leona's undivided attention.

[Post Word Count: 628]
[Total Word Count: 1,886/10,000]

A few seconds passed before Dr. Madison finally spoke, but when she did Leona's attention was on her and her alone. Leona watched silently as Dr. Madison turn to face Dr. Reid. Leona watched and listened to Dr. Madison's words.

"It's something I'll have to discuss with Leona at my place." Dr. Madison broke the silence with her announcement. Leona wondered what the big deal was in order for the doctor to insist on such secrecy, but curiosity soon took a backseat to the need for coffee. She raised her coffee mug to her lips and took a sip of her drink while Dr. Reid kept the conversation going.

"All right then. If Leona has to go to your place to discuss whatever it is you want to discuss with her, then I won't press the matter. It's between you and her." Dr. Reid assured the other doctor. Leona was a bit surprised by the brevity of the conversation, but she supposed that Dr. Reid had better things to do with her time since the matter was settled in the first few seconds of the "discussion." She was not certain if the term "discussion" was appropriate for the brief exchange of words, but she did not know what else to call it.

"Thank you, Dr. Reid. I can't tell you details, but I can tell you this much. What I need help with is above board." Dr. Madison stated. Leona was not sure what to make of all this. She was used to dealing with Dr. Reid, who was open about everything she did with Leona. Dr. Madison, on the other hand, seemed to be a secretive sort who was wary of others in her field. Leona lowered her coffee cup and looked at Dr. Reid.

"Is there anything that I need to do for you, Dr. Reid?" Leona asked her hostess. The blonde mage sensed that the conversation was about to end and that she would have to follow Dr. Madison to her home soon. With that possibility in mind Leona had decided to ask if there was any kind of task Dr. Reid needed help with before leaving for Dr. Madison's place.

"There's nothing I need from you today, Leona. I just wanted to let you know that Dr. Madison wanted to talk to you." Dr. Reid replied, omitting the details of the Atlas Project. Leona started to speak before realizing that her hostess might want to keep the Atlas Project a secret from Dr. Madison. The Wizard Saint, thinking that that was the case, opted to say something else instead.

"All right then. If you don't need me for anything I'll get ready to set out for Dr. Madison's laboratory." Leona said before raising her coffee mug and drinking from it. She was not going to give away Dr. Reid's secrets if she could help it. Leona had a few secrets of her own she would rather keep under wraps, so she understood the need to avoid giving anything away. Dr. Madison turned her head to Leona and made eye contact with the latter.

"We'll leave for my laboratory as soon as you're ready." Dr. Madison said to Leona. Even though the words were not said Leona took that statement as her cue to hurry up. She wordlessly raised her coffee mug to her lips and drained what little coffee was left in it, then walked over to the counter and gently set the empty mug on it.

"I'm ready to go now, Dr. Madison." Leona reported. Now that she had two cups of Motor City Nitro the Wizard Saint was ready to follow Dr. Madison to her laboratory. Without further delay the trio made their way to the front door of Dr. Reid's home.

-Dr. Madison's house, thirty-seven minutes later-

After a somewhat lengthy but ultimately uneventful walk from Dr. Reid's house to Dr. Madison's house Leona was now standing on the left side of Dr. Madison's living room. The living room was as pristine as the last time she had visited it. Her hostess was standing across from her on the right side and facing her.

"Now that it's the two of us, I'd like to tell you about the matter I need your help with." Dr. Madison started off.

"All right. I'm listening." Leona replied and waited for the doctor to give the details on the matter that was so sensitive the latter had insisted on bringing them to her house to discuss it.

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[Total Word Count: 2,636/10,000]

"I need you to do something for me." Dr. Madison cut straight to the chase.

"What do you need me to do for you?" Leona asked Dr. Madison.

"You're going to help me keep my word to a friend. I have a friend who's a paranormal researcher. They lost a digital camcorder inside Haunted Guild while looking for ghosts. I told them that I knew someone who could get it back without any trouble and you're the one I picked for the job." Dr. Madison told Leona. Leona was underwhelmed by what she had just been told. With the way Dr. Madison had acted earlier the Wizard Saint was expecting to be dealing with something as secret as Dr. Reid's Atlas Project, but she kept her mouth shut and took the request seriously. She took a few moments to place herself in the right frame of mind before speaking to the doctor.

"I'll retrieve the camcorder, but I'll need to go back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and get my Silver Longsword. Haunted Guild is home to ghosts and I won't get very far without a weapon that can hurt them." Leona informed the doctor that she would take the job, but she needed to get a weapon that could hurt ghosts before she would go to Haunted Guild. Dr. Madison did not object to the Wizard Saint's plan.

"That's a good idea, Leona. If my friend's right you'll have more to worry about than just ghosts. My friend reported spotting men in robes deeper in the Haunted Guild before they dropped the camcorder and ran for their life, so you'll want to gear up before you go. I don't want you to go in unprepared and get killed over an electronic device." Dr. Madison agreed with Leona's idea and gave her a little more information on what to expect. Leona wondered if the "men in robes" she was told about were part of the cult she had been fighting on behalf of the Order of Lightbringers. She supposed that she would find out when she encountered them.

"I'll go back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and get my weapons, then I'll go to Haunted Guild." Leona stated. She should have brought her Silver Longsword just in case she needed to fight something. She had Ses Revanche in her right boot... it was good for use against mundane enemies, but it was useless against ghosts and she was not anticipating having to explore anywhere that was home to ghosts today. Maybe she needed to look into getting a silver knife or a similar weapon that could harm supernatural entities and start carrying that in her right boot in place of Ses Revanche.

"Excellent. My friend didn't put a time limit on the job, so you don't have to worry about beating the clock. Just go in, find the camcorder, and get out of the building alive." Dr. Madison laid out the parameters of the job. There was no time limit, so Leona could go to the guild hall, get her weapons, and then go to Haunted Guild without penalty. She might not always have that luxury, but today her lack of preparation would not cost her anything other than time.

"I'll get going immediately. I'll be back with the camcorder as soon as I can get my hands on it and get out of the Haunted Guild." Leona assured Dr. Madison and turned to face the door.

"Good luck, Leona. And be careful." Dr. Madison bade her farewell. Leona waved goodbye to the scientist and exited the house. She had a long journey ahead of her, so she had better get going now. She was already making a mental list of the weapons which would be best suited for the job.

The Silver Longsword was a must-have because it was one of the only weapons she had that could hurt ghosts. Should she run into the "men in robes" Dr. Madison's friend spotted the Scout Laser Pistol would be handy: it was a good weapon for situations where she needed to attack distant targets but did not have enough time to cast a spell. Finally she would keep Ses Revanche as a backup weapon like she always did because having a knife available was never a bad idea. Those three weapons should be more than enough to see Leona through the exploration of the Haunted Guild.

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-Outside Haunted Guild, eight hours later-

Landing over thirty meters away from Haunted Guild while on the back of Winged Lion, Leona climbed off of the summon's back and dispelled it. She looked up at the night sky and found it to be mostly clear with only a few clouds here and there. She looked down and faced the building just as a cold wind began to blow and move her hair around. Leona did not take the wind for a bad omen because she had arrived prepared for conflict with mundane or supernatural threats.

On her left hip she had the Silver Longsword in its scabbard. On her right hip she carried the Scout Laser Pistol in its holster. In her right boot was Ses Revanche. On her hands were her Argent Gloves.

Now that she had completed a mental checklist of everything she had brought with her Leona began walking towards the Haunted Guild. She had been here several times before, so she was not feeling apprehension about entering the building. Instead she was feeling a bit disappointed that instead of doing work related to science she was going on yet another mission to retrieve something from Haunted Guild. The secrecy Dr. Madison had insisted on at Dr. Reid's place had led the Wizard Saint to believe she was going to learn more about the vast potential of science, but here she was on another mundane errand.

At least there was the potential for fighting.

That made the job a little more interesting than it would otherwise be.

Leona reached the short flight of stairs that led up to the entrance and walked up them. She then put her right hand on the doorknob and twisted it, opening the door. She then went inside the building and gently closed the door behind her.

-Inside Haunted Guild-

Leona turned around and put her right hand on the grip of her Silver Longsword as she looked around the entrance area for threats. She had been here several times before and knew the layout fairly well, so she knew where exactly to look. The hallway ahead of her looked to be clear... it was hard to tell since she could not see ghosts while they were invisible. She did not see any robed men, so the hallway in front of her was definitely clear of them.

The Wizard Saint took a quiet breath and heard silence that was intermittently broken by the sound of the wind blowing forcefully outside. She looked left towards the stairs that led down into the basement and did not see any enemies waiting for her at the top of them. Taking her right hand off of the longsword's grip for the time being, Leona walked over to the stairs and began to slowly and carefully walk down them, giving her natural night vision time to take effect. Her footsteps echoed all around her as she descended into the darkness waiting for her at the bottom.

-Haunted Guild, the basement hallway-

Leona arrived at the bottom of the stairs without incident and reached for her Silver Longsword on instinct because the area had suddenly grown cold. Her natural night vision allowed her to see through the darkness and she saw that there were no enemies in front of her... yet. She drew her Silver Longsword so that she would already have a weapon out if ghosts suddenly materialized to block her path. Armed with her anti-ghost weapon and ready for a fight at any time, Leona began to walk down the hallway at a pace that was hopefully slow enough to let her react to any sudden ghost appearances.

The Wizard Saint had only made it fifteen steps down the hall when a ghost that was dressed in an old style of clothing from long ago appeared in front of her less than three feet away. Leona did not hesitate to attack it. She quickly drew back and swung her Silver Longsword in a right-to-left two-handed horizontal slash aimed across its body; the blade cut through its midsection with no resistance whatsoever. When it was cut in half the ghost screamed and disappeared within moments of its appearance. Leona stood in place and waited to see if the commotion would attract any more ghosts or any of those robed men that Dr. Madison's friend had reported seeing.

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[Total Word Count: 4,102/10,000]

After sending the first ghost she had encountered back to the great beyond Leona waited a few minutes before moving forward. She was expecting a small army of ghosts to hear the commotion from the previous fight and come after her, but she was not seeing any more ghosts in the immediate area. She wondered if they were already in the area but were currently invisible, so she decided to remain where she was a little bit longer and wait for them to appear so that she did not walk right into an ambush.

As she waited Leona breathed quietly and listened for any sounds that would tell her that she was about to have more company. She listened carefully and the only thing that she could hear was the sound of metal clinking... if she had to guess what was making the sound she guessed that it was a chain. Leona resisted the temptation to investigate and remained where she was, instead looked all around her with her Silver Longsword at the ready in her right hand.

Leona stood in place for what seemed like an eternity and the only sound she had heard the entire time was the sound of the clinking metal. Having not seen any ghosts nor heard any sounds to indicate the arrival of more, the Wizard Saint decided that the coast was clear and started to move forward again. She began walking slowly and carefully on the left side of the hallway, making certain to stay away from the open doorways on the right side. Leona walked down the hallway and as she neared the first open doorway the clinking she had been hearing got louder and louder.

Overcome by curiosity, Leona stopped on the left side of the hallway a good distance away from the front of the open door and saw a chain attached to the wall clinking like something was moving it. However, nothing was there to move the chain. Leona saw a pale blue human shape materialize inside the small room. It darted towards her at human running speed with its arms outstretched and Leona quickly attacked with a one-handed diagonal left-to-right chop with her Silver Longsword. The sword cut through the ghost with no resistance and sent it back to wherever it came from.

After making the "kill" Leona stayed in place and watched for more enemies to appear. She listened out again and this time did not hear anything, not even a chain clinking. She was expecting her progress to be impeded by constant ghost attacks, but so far she had been encountering ghosts one by one. She was a bit surprised by that, but she was not complaining.

Leona had not been attacked in minutes, so she decided to keep moving forward. She resumed walking and held her breath each time she passed by one of the open doors on the other side of the hallway, but nothing happened. She reached the end of the hallway without incident and approached the bend to the right while gripping her Silver Longsword tightly. She walked towards the door and reached out with her left hand while keeping her sword ready with her right hand. The instant her left hand touched the doorknob she twisted it to the left and the door opened... Leona stepped inside the room and closed it behind her.

-Inside the library-

Leona turned away from the closed door to find the old library of wall-to-wall bookshelves she had passed through the last few times she had visited the Haunted Guild. The bookshelves were still as dusty as they were full of books. There was still a rectangular wooden table in the center of the room with wooden chairs positioned at the ends. Leona was on familiar territory, but she did not have time to hang around and browse through the books.

She looked forward and started to walk towards the door on the other side of the room. She reached it and opened the door with her left hand, then walked through it. When she was on the other side she shut the door behind her.

-In the hallway-

Leona turned away from the closed door and found herself staring down a long hallway with nothing special about it except empty torch sconces on the walls. Since there was nothing else interesting to take note of and the hallway was devoid of enemies she began to move towards the door at the end of the hallway. Maybe she would be able to find the digital camcorder and bring it back to Dr. Madison without having to fight anything else.

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Not knowing what to expect, Leona proceeded down the hallway with her Silver Longsword clutched firmly in hand. She moved slowly and watched for more ghosts to appear, but she did not see any. She looked down at the floor from time to time to make sure that she was not walking by the digital camcorder she had been sent to retrieve, but she did not see the device either. Reaching the end of the hallway without incident, Leona put her left hand on the doorknob and opened the door, then passed through it and shut the door behind her.

-In the next hallway-

Leona stopped just outside the door she had closed and looked ahead of her. She spotted another long hallway with empty torch sconces on the walls, but that was not all that had attracted her attention. She spotted multiple metal doors that looked like prison doors in the hallway and she heard a banging noise from within one of them. Leona did not remember those doors being here, but it had been a while since she had last explored Haunted Guild, so it was possible that she had forgotten about them. At any rate she paused in place and listened for the banging noise again.

She heard it coming from five doors down the hall. She hesitated to move forward for a moment because she was not certain if the cell was occupied by a person in need of rescue or by a ghost looking to lure her into an ambush by pretending to be someone locked in the cell. Leona heard the noise again and decided to go see if she could help whoever was trapped inside the cell.

Leona moved forward while keeping an eye on the door at the end of the hallway and when she reached the door the noise was coming from she looked at it. The door was held in place by a thick metal bar on the front and that bar could be lifted. Leona grabbed the bar with her left hand and lifted it up, then moved it all the way to the right. She then grabbed the metal ring that served as a handle and pulled the door open.

Out fell a young woman who was dressed in all black. She wore a black long-sleeved shirt and black skirt with brown leather boots. She had waist-length black hair that hung freely. The young woman rolled onto her left side and looked up at her rescuer.

"I didn't expect a Wizard Saint to rescue me!" The young woman blurted out.

"I didn't expect to find anyone to rescue here." Leona replied, keeping the details of her mission to herself. The Wizard Saint's admission did not faze the young woman at all.

"I'm just glad that you're here. I've been trapped in that cell for almost two days now. I was here looking for ghosts because I'd read all about them but I'd never seen one for real. I found some ghosts... and some strange guys in robes." The young woman said. Leona now had a witness support what Dr. Madison's friend had claimed... there were robed men lurking in Haunted Guild.

"I was caught and thrown in the cell you found me in. They said that I was going to be the first of many sacrifices. They didn't say who or what I was going to be sacrificed to... not that it really matters. Dead is dead no matter who or what I'm sacrificed to." The young woman told Leona. Leona did not say anything to that. She now suspected that she might be dealing with the cult she had been fighting on behalf of the Order of Lightbringers.

After that statement the young woman looked at Leona with light blue eyes.

"Do you mind cutting the rope on my hands?" She asked. Leona put away her Silver Longsword and reached down into her right boot, bringing out Ses Revanche. She then walked behind the young woman, knelt down, and carefully cut away the rope keeping her hands bound. Leona then stood up and put Ses Revanche back into her right boot while the young woman sat up and soon got to her feet.

"Thanks! I thought that I wasn't going to leave here alive!" The young woman thanked Leona for the rescue.

[Post Word Count: 726]
[Total Word Count: 5,602/10,000]

Having rescued the young woman from the clutches of the strange men who had taken her captive, Leona had received the former's thanks. The Wizard Saint had a question to ask of the newly freed young woman and that question pertained to the numbers of the robed men who had taken her captive. Leona looked around them for ghosts or robed men and when she did not see either she turned her attention back to the young woman.

"Do you know approximately how many of those men I might be going up against?" Leona asked the young woman the first and most important question she had. The latter shook her head.

"I have no idea how many of them there are. It was all so sudden. I was exploring the library and looking for more ghosts. While I was doing that the door on the other side of the room opened and before I knew what was happening I was taken prisoner." She replied and gave a brief rundown of what had happened before being captured. That was not very helpful to Leona, but if that was all the young woman had to offer then that was all she had to offer. Moving on to her second question, Leona decided to ask whether or not the young woman needed help getting out of here.

"Do you need me to help you get out of here?" Leona asked the dark-haired young woman. This time the young woman nodded.

"Yes, please. I've had enough of ghost hunting for awhile and once I get out of here I don't plan on coming back if I can help it." She answered. Leona was here to find and retrieve the digital camcorder belonging to Dr. Madison's friend, but the Wizard Saint was going to put that mission on hold in order to escort the dark-haired young woman out of Haunted Guild. Leona was sure that the doctor would understand the reason for the delay that the change in plans would bring about.

"All right. I'll make sure you get out of here safely." Leona assured her. The young woman kept eye contact for a few seconds longer.

"We'd better get going. I don't want to be here when those strange men get back!" She said to Leona. The Wizard Saint jabbed the index finger of her right hand towards the door that led to the hallway she had just passed through. The young woman got the meaning behind Leona's gesture and looked towards the door.

"Do you want me to lead the way to the library or do you want me to watch our backs?" Leona asked.

"You should watch our backs... at least until we get to the library. You can take the lead from there. I don't have any weapons to fight the ghosts with, but you do." Came the reply. Leona was fine with that. She would hang back a bit in case the robed men came after them and once the pair passed into the library she would take the lead and use her Silver Longsword to take on any ghosts that got in their way.

"All right then. You go first and I'll bring up the rear." Leona voiced her agreement to the plan. Without further delay the young woman started walking towards the door that led to the hallway Leona had passed through minutes ago. The Wizard Saint quickly followed behind the young woman and watched their backs as they moved towards the library door. With any luck this unexpected rescue would be a quick detour and the Wizard Saint would soon be able to get back to her real mission.

[Post Word Count: 612]
[Total Word Count: 6,214/10,000]

-In the basement, past the library, seven minutes later-

Leona and the young woman had emerged from the library without encountering anything hostile. That was good because the moment Leona took the lead and rounded the corner she spotted three ghosts floating towards her from the stairway. More of them were emerging from the open cell doors to the left. That meant that the pair would have to sprint to safety past a lot of ghosts to get to the stairs that would lead them out of this place.

"Get ready to run and don't look back. We're gonna have to run past them because there are too many of them for me to stand and fight." Leona instructed her charge as she readied her Silver Longsword. She heard the other person walk to her left side and stop, then heard her speak.

"OK, I'm ready to run when you are." The young woman assured Leona. The Wizard Saint faced forward and began to count aloud.

"On the count of three." Leona instructed the young woman to get ready to run on her mark.

"One." Leona said.

"Two." Leona said next. She felt her pulse quicken as her tongue fell on the syllable of the next and final number.

"THREE!" Leona shouted. She began to run forward with her Silver Longsword gripped tightly in her right hand. She heard footsteps behind her as the young woman did her best to keep up. Leona focused on the first three ghosts, who had started floating faster to try and cut her and her temporary companion off. She got within range of them and slashed through the middle one while on the run, eliminating it and clearing just enough room for the dark-haired young woman behind her to get through the gap while the ghosts reached out for her.

Leona kept moving and "killing" ghosts as they drew within sword range, cutting apart another that emerged from the cell closest to the stairs. Her charge continued to run for the stairs while the Wizard Saint cleared the way. More and more ghosts were pouring from the cells behind them, making retreat impossible. They would either have to get out of here or become ghosts themselves.

The pair were at the stairs when more of them began to pour out of the wall just in front of the stairs, causing Leona to shout instructions.

"GO UP THE STAIRS WHILE I HOLD THEM OFF! HURRY!" Leona ordered the young woman, pausing to kill two of the ghosts that were moving towards the stairs.

"I'M GOING, I'M GOING!" The young woman shouted back before running footsteps going up stairs sounded behind the Wizard Saint. Leona continued to fight off the ghosts until she heard shouting from upstairs.

"I'M UP THE STAIRS, LEONA! HURRY AND GET UP HERE!" The young woman called out. Leona killed one more ghost who had just emerged from the wall with its hands stretched out towards her throat, then turned around and ran up the stairs herself while clutching her Silver Longsword. There was no time to put it away, so she held it out ahead of herself to reduce the chances of a fall resulting in a lethal accident.

-Outside Haunted Guild, six minutes later-

Leona and the young woman were now outside of Haunted Guild and standing twenty meters away from it. They had managed to outrun the ghosts and shut the guild hall door behind them. They were now taking a break from the exertion of running from them in the basement, then running up stairs to make good their escape.. Leona put away her Silver Longsword and faced the young woman she had rescued.

"Where will you be going from here?" Leona asked the young woman once the blonde had finally caught her breath.

"I... I live in Magnolia Town." The young woman informed Leona in between shallow breaths.

"Do you need me to escort you home?" Leona offered to make sure that she got home safely. The young woman nodded.

"Yes, please. I'd... I'd like that." She answered after a second or two. Leona had no problem with going out of her way to help the young woman. The young woman's safety mattered to Leona a lot more than recovering a digital camcorder did. While she was taking a big risk in leaving the digital camcorder to take a stranger to safety, protecting people was Leona's job as a Wizard Saint and protecting people had to take priority.

"All right then. We'll get going whenever you're ready." Leona said.

"I'm... I'm ready now." The young woman said between shallow breaths and began slowly walking past the Wizard Saint. Leona quickly caught up to her and walked by her right side. After escaping from the ghosts in Haunted Guild the pair were now on the way to Magnolia Town.

[Post Word Count: 812]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,026/10,000]

-In Magnolia Town, four hours and thirteen minutes later-

It had been a fairly long walk to Magnolia Town from Haunted Guild, but now Leona and the young woman she had rescued were now in the town. They had arrived safely without encountering any bandits or other dangers and were now outside the young woman's house, which was a nondescript single-story apartment made of brick with a brown wooden door. The dark-haired young woman stopped outside the apartment door and turned to face Leona.

"Thanks for the rescue, Leona. I won't be going back to Haunted Guild again if I can help it. I've had enough of the supernatural for a long, long time." The young woman thanked Leona for the helping hand and promised to stay away from Haunted Guild.

"I'm glad that I was able to find you in time to help." Leona replied. It was a matter of luck that she had found the youth in Haunted Guild. The blonde had traveled there looking for a digital camcorder but had found a captive completely by accident. She doubted that the rescued person would complain very much about the timing, so she decided to let it go at that.

"Me too. I didn't think I was ever gonna get out of that building alive!" She said to the Wizard Saint. She then turned to face the door and lifted her right hand, forming it into a fist. She almost knocked on the door when she stopped and turned to face Leona.

"I just realized something. I forgot to tell you my name! I'm Annabelle. Annabelle Dixon!" The young woman finally gave Leona a name to put to her face. Leona decided to roll with the late greeting.

"It's nice to meet you, Annabelle." Leona replied to the young woman. Annabelle smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too, Leona. And thanks for the rescue. I'll get going now so that you can get back to what you were doing." She replied, bidding her rescuer farewell. She then turned towards the door and knocked on it three times. Leona began walking away as the door opened and she heard another woman joyfully greet Annabelle. Her work here was done, so now she had to get back to Haunted Guild and hope that she could still find the digital camcorder Dr. Madison had sent her to find. She would go to the outskirts of Magnolia Town and summon Winged Lion, then fly back to Haunted Guild to try and pick up where she had left off.

-Outside Haunted Guild, two hours later-

Landing on the back of Winged Lion after summoning it on the outskirts of Magnolia Town to fly back to Haunted Guild, Leona climbed off of the summon's back and dispelled it. She stood twenty meters away from Haunted Guild and took a few moments to get ready to go back inside the building. Once she was ready she walked towards the front door at a brisk pace and when she got to it opened it with her left hand, then went inside.

-Inside Haunted Guild, the first floor-

Leona shut the door behind her and drew her Silver Longsword to ready herself for combat against the ghosts who lurked in the basement. She expected them to be waiting for her when she got downstairs, so she wanted to have her best and only means of fighting them already in hand when she went into the basement. Walking over to the stairs, she held her Silver Longsword away from her body as she began to go down the staircase.

-In the basement-

Leona finished going down the stairs and stood in place a few moments to let her natural night vision activate, then looked down the basement hallway. She did not see any ghosts, which was a surprise to her. She had expected a few stragglers to be hanging around on the chance that she came back, but she was not seeing any of them. That did not mean that they were not there... they could be invisible, so Leona was going to proceed slowly and carefully down the hallway until she reached the library.

Leona walked carefully, making sure to keep far away from the open cell doors on the right side from which the ghosts had emerged hours earlier. She heard the sound of chains clanking in the cells but did not see any ghosts standing in the cells or preparing to emerge from them, so she kept walking down the hall until she was past the cells. Once she reached the bend she faced the metal door that led into the library and walked up to it, then opened it with her left hand and went inside.

-Inside the library-

Leona shut the door behind her once she was in the library and looked around her. The library was exactly as she had left it... all the books were still on the shelves and there were no robed men around. Leona stood in place a few moments and wondered how deep she would have to go into Haunted Guild to find the digital camcorder she had been sent to find.

[Post Word Count: 864]
[Total Word Count: 7,890]

-Inside the library, seven minutes later-

Having taken a quick break inside the library, Leona was now ready to push deeper into Haunted Guild in search of the digital camcorder. She walked around the thick wooden table that dominated the center of the room and resumed her quest. When she got to the door that led back into the hallway that led to the one in which she had found Annabelle she opened it with her left hand and went through.

-Inside the hallway-

Leona shut the door behind her and looked ahead. She did not see anything that she needed to fight, so she began walking forward towards the door on the other end of the hallway. As she walked she felt a chill in the air she had not felt before this point, not even before the ghost ambush that she and Annabelle had to sprint through earlier. She ignored it and kept walking. Maybe there was no special significance to it and she was making something out of nothing.

Leona kept walking until she reached the door, then stopped in front of it and reached out with her left hand. She opened the door and went through, then quickly shut it behind her.

-Inside the next hallway-

The Wizard Saint took a quiet breath as she looked down the hallway in which she had found Annabelle. The cell door was still open exactly as they had left it, something which gave Leona pause. She had expected someone to be searching Haunted Guild for the escaped sacrifice. She had also expected to run into guards this deep in the building, but to her surprise she had not found any robed men standing guard or on patrol. Leona paused in place and put her left hand on her hip as she began to think.

Where were those men that Dr. Madison and Annabelle had warned her about?

The Wizard Saint had no idea. She stood in place and tapped the tip of her Silver Longsword against the ground as she continued to try and think of where she could find the mystery men. Her best guess was deeper in Haunted Guild, but how deep in the building was what she was trying to figure out. She sighed.

Why was she wasting time on this?

Leona got in motion again and began walking towards the door on the other end of the hallway. She walked briskly towards the door and got to it in a minute or so. She opened it with her left hand and walked through, then shut it behind her.

-Inside the next room-

Leona turned from the closed door to find herself in a large room with a vaulted ceiling, empty torch sconces on the walls, a wooden door on the left and right side of the room, and large wooden double doors in the center of the room. The doors were badly damaged in the center and looked like they had been blasted open by a powerful force such as a very strong spell or maybe an explosive. She felt like she had been here before, but she could not quite place her finger on it. She would sort out why she felt deja vu later... she needed to find the digital camcorder.

Leona looked around the room for any signs of the device and did not find anything of interest. Maybe she would have better luck searching in the room behind the large double doors. Leona began to walk forward but only made it four steps before the doors on the left and right sides of the room opened and out poured a small group of slightly over a dozen robed men wearing black robes with a red skull on the front. They hurried into the room and surrounded Leona while one of them, a man in black robes with a silver skull on the front, hung back and raised his hands. He created a shimmering violet barrier that blocked both the door Leona had come through and the large double doors in front of her.

So what she had been told about the robed men was true.

It looked like she would have to fight after all.

Once the barrier had been set up the men quickly surrounded Leona and began to move towards her, but she had just the spell to get her out of that predicament. She put away her sword and channeled silver magic into her right hand, then dropped to one knee and punched the ground, casting a Storm Impact spell. The dome of wind expanded outward and hit all of the men simultaneously, giving her enough space to dash between them with a Zephyr Dash and escape the encirclement.

After reappearing roughly three meters away from the men Leona turned her back to the shielded double doors, raised her right hand, and prepared a Wind Blast spell as the men recovered from the surprise of her disappearance and reappearance. When it was ready she cast the spell, sending forth a blast of concussive wind that hit ten of the small group and knocked them to the ground. The rest continued to charge at Leona while the man in the black robes with the silver skull prepared a spell to cast in the Wizard Saint's direction... violet electricity arced between his hands, which were held out in her direction.

Leona had to act fast if she wanted to avoid getting shocked.

[Post Word Count: 912]
[Total Word Count: 8,802/10,000]

Focusing on the enemies in front of her, Leona counted three men who had managed to avoid the Wind Blast charging towards her. Leona saw them drawing closer and was about to act when out of the corner of her left eye she saw a bolt of violet lightning heading straight for her. Leona jumped to the right and landed on her feet just in time to fight off one of the men charging her with his hands reaching out for her throat.

The Wizard Saint took a step forward and punched towards the black-robed man with a Mach Straight technique, hitting him in the face and sending him staggering backwards for a few steps. The second man charged in seconds later and Leona met him with a Tornado Kick technique. At the height of the spinning jump she kicked out with her right foot and caught him on the right side of his face, causing a sharp and sudden twist that broke the man's neck and sent him falling lifeless to the ground.

The third man took a different approach. He hung back and his hands glowed red before he pushed them forward, firing a fireball the size of a human head right at her. Leona dodged the fireball with a jump to the right and heard it explode behind her when it hit the barrier, causing a shower of sparks that made her run forward to avoid getting burned. She sprinted forward and drew her Silver Longsword as she ran, running towards the man she had hit in the face with the Mach Straight technique.

He recovered enough to raise his hands to cast a spell, but she did not give him that chance. She stopped in front of him, brought out her Silver Longsword to her right side in a two-handed grip, and swung for the side of his neck in a right-to-left horizontal slash. The blade cut through the neck and decapitated him on the spot, leaving her with a headless enemy at her feet and several more standing in front of her.

The men she had knocked down with the Wind Blast spell had gotten back to their feet and were beginning to try and fight from a distance. She saw them begin to cast fireballs at her in an effort to keep her away from them. Leona sprinted through the hail of fireballs and felt one singe her left shoulder as she closed with the enemy who had cast it. She stopped in front of him and swung her sword in a two-handed right-to-left slash that removed his head from his shoulders.

The other enemy mages saw the decapitation and hurried to get away from her before the same fate befell them. Leona sprinted towards one of the men who stood his ground and jumped to the right to avoid the fireball he had cast at her, then rushed at him, stopped, and stabbed at his chest with the gleaming sword. He yelled in pain as the sword pierced his heart for an instant kill. Leona planted her right foot on his chest and kicked him off of the sword, then faced the black robed-man with the silver skull on the front.

Her next target took a few steps back, then began to mutter an incantation as his hands glowed jet black. He continued to chant as Leona turned away from the other men and ran towards him to try and stop his spell before it could be cast. By the time she could get in sword range he finished the spell and black light surrounded him, causing her to jump back to avoid getting caught in whatever spell was being cast. When the light faded he was gone.

Leona blinked.

He was right in front of her and he had vanished in the blink of an eye.

Leona turned around and saw that the rest of the robed men were gone too, leaving no trace of their existence aside from bloodstains from the dead men who had vanished too. She wondered if they had really vanished or if they had just cast an invisibility spell to fool her into turning her back so that they could cast a fireball or bolt of violet lightning into it. She stayed in place with her sword held in a two-handed grip just waiting for an ambush to be sprung, but when she looked around she noticed that the violet barriers in front of the doors were now gone.

This was really weird.

Leona decided to believe that the robed men were really gone and changed her grip on the sword to a one-handed grip with her right hand. She then allowed herself a minute or two to let the adrenaline die down before she resumed her search for the digital camcorder. She had no idea where it could be, but she was going to keep looking for it. Leona walked towards the large double doors that had been blocked earlier and soon moved past them into the room beyond.

-Beyond the large double doors-

Leona walked into the room and noticed that it was dimly lit by Lacrima lanterns hanging on the walls from metal hooks. The light was just bright enough for her to see three doors on the far side of the room. She also saw a raised platform on the right side of the room that had what looked like dried stains of some kind on it. Leona felt a chill when she looked at it and wondered how the platform had gotten to be here and what it was used for.

She faced forward and saw a gleaming object lying on the ground about eight meters away from her. Leona began walking towards it and as she got closer her excitement grew. Maybe this was what she had been searching for. She eventually reached it and bent down to pick it up with her left hand, then examined it.

It was an object with a small viewscreen on hinges that were on the left side of what looked like a camera. This had to be it. It was the only such item she had come across in her search, so this had to be it. Leona would examine it closer when she got back to Motor City.

With her prize in hand Leona turned around and immediately began retracing her steps out of this area and towards the exit to Haunted Guild. She was headed for Motor City as fast as she could go.

[Post Word Count: 1,092]
[Total Word Count: 9,894/10,000]

-Motor City, Dr. Madison's home, six hours and fifty three minutes later-

Leona had been so busy wondering why the robed men had fled Haunted Guild that she had walked all the way to Motor City before she realized what she had done. It sounded utterly stupid to have done that, but she was really not sure why they had teleported away from her. Maybe they had realized they were hopelessly outmatched and chose to flee while they still could. Maybe they were part of that cult she had been fighting, but she did not have time to think about that because Dr. Madison was examining the device Leona had found deep in Haunted Guild.

"This is the digital camcorder my friend left in Haunted Guild." Dr. Madison confirmed. Leona was glad to hear that she had not gone to so much trouble only to find out that she had retrieved the wrong item. The Wizard Saint watched the doctor examine the item and check to see if it had suffered any damage from being dropped or was otherwise not working. A minute or two later the doctor made eye contact with Leona.

"It's in perfect condition. No problems with the device." Dr. Madison reported to the Wizard Saint. Again Leona felt relief that her work had not been in vain. It would have been a major disappointment to retrieve the device only to find that it was not working.

"Thanks for helping me get this back for my friend. They'll be glad to see their digital camcorder again." Dr. Madison said to Leona. The blonde was glad to have completed another job even if it was not the most exciting of work. At least she had gotten to rescue someone from being used as a human sacrifice and had gotten to fight evil for a short time, two unexpected things which had made the job worthwhile.

"No problem. Is there anything else I need to do?" Leona asked the doctor. She had been traveling for quite some time and wanted to go back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall to look for her next job, but she would not go back if there was still a need for her services. Dr. Madison raised the index finger of her left hand as a cue for Leona to wait.

"There is something else to be done, but not for me. Dr. Reid wanted to speak to you again when you were finished helping me." Dr. Madison replied. Leona was intrigued by that.

"OK, I'll head to her place right away." Leona stated. Dr. Madison waved goodbye with her left hand.

"Thanks again Leona. My friend appreciates what you've done for them." Dr. Madison bade Leona farewell. Leona waved back with her right hand and saw herself out of Dr. Madison's house. She shut the door behind her and turned around, then began making her way towards Dr. Reid's home. She wondered what the coffee-addicted doctor wanted from her.

[Post Word Count: 496]
[Total Word Count: 10,390/10,000]