The Stone In The Sand Pt. 1

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 4, Post Number 81

-The Forgotten Deserts, 8:00 A.M.-

Having landed on the northwestern edge of the Forgotten Deserts after flying from the Phoenix Mountains thanks to Winged Lion, Leona dismounted the summon and dispelled it. She was wearing a pair of goggles to keep the sand out of her eyes. She was also wearing her Desert Survival Armor over her short-sleeved green crop top and wore khaki cargo pants with her tan boots. Leona was tired of wearing her green, white, and gold outfit over and over and wanted to give it a break today. She had went on a shopping trip to Capital Crocus Mall not too long ago and decided to wear a different outfit for a change.

She carried her backpack with more clothing such as shorts, skirts, and shirts slung across her left shoulder to give her options because even with the cooling ability of the Desert Survival Armor it was inevitable that the shirt underneath it would get sweaty. She did not care too much about the short-sleeved green crop top and had chosen it as her travel shirt because the armor would cover it and it did not matter if it got sweaty during her walk through the desert, but she would need those extra clothes because Eleanor Crouch had invited Leona to assist her with some digging she was doing at a site in the desert and the endeavor was predicted to last for at least four days. Leona would need more modest shirts if she wanted to look decent around the freelance archaeologist.

In terms of weapons Leona carried her Scout Laser Pistol in its holster on her right hip. In its scabbard on her left hip sat her Silver Longsword in case she encountered any supernatural threats that neither her other weapons or her magic could harm. In her right boot was Ses Revanche in case she needed a backup weapon or a knife for everyday use.

Leona faced the Forgotten Deserts and looked into the sandy expanse. She then began walking forward into the sand to make her way to Eleanor's camp, which was located roughly 700 meters in the middle of the desert. It was quite a distance, but for someone who did a lot of walking it was an attainable goal with time being the main problem. She did not have to worry too much about water because her Desert Survival Armor could collect moisture from the air and convert it to purified drinking water.

As she walked Leona pulled the map to the archaeologist's site out of her right cargo pocket and looked at it. It was a fairly detailed map that had a route marked for her in a bright red line. Inside the black square at the end of the red line was her destination. Leona looked at it for a few moments, then put it back in the pocket and continued walking.

As Leona walked she began to think about her reason for being here and that reason was not just to help the daughter of one of her Crocus Magicka University contacts. She had read one of the riddles that Morgana Ravenholm had written down for her that would hopefully guide her to an elemental stone and the wording gave her cause to suspect that one of the elemental stones was here. She recalled the riddle that had caught her attention and led her out here.

Beneath the shifting sands next to the city where magic has no hold one will find a key to the vault.

"The shifting sands" could possibly have referred to Desierto. As appropriate as it would be to find one of the elemental stones in her home country, Leona read the riddle a few times and thought about the meaning of the words. When she saw the part about "The city where magic has no hold" she believed that it was not in Desierto. The city in question had to be the Neutral Grounds and the sands had to be The Forgotten Deserts.

Leona thought she had solved the riddle, but she would not know for certain until she held one of the elemental stones in her hands. She hoped that by helping Eleanor Crouch with her work she could attain her goal as well. She would find out once she got to the latter's camp and made contact with the freelance archaeologist.

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[Total Word Count: 732/11,000]

-The Forgotten Deserts, three hours and twenty-three minutes later-

Leona had followed the map all the way to her destination and was now standing outside a tiny camp composed of two medium-sized rectangular canvas tents. The last time she had helped Eleanor there had been only one tent and that one had belonged to Eleanor. That made Leona wondered if Eleanor's father Edward had decided to accompany her on this expedition.

Leona approached the small camp and saw her client standing just outside one of the tents with her back to the approaching Wizard Saint. She was clad in a white tank top that was positively soaked with sweat, khaki shorts, and tan work boots. Her glasses gleamed in the sun and the gleam made it very hard to miss her.

Leona continued to walk until she was halfway to the archaeologist before the latter turned around and spotted Leona. Eleanor waved at Leona with her right hand held high in the air. Presumably she was doing that to make sure Leona saw her.

"HI LEONA!" Eleanor shouted a cheerful greeting to the Wizard Saint. Leona raised her right hand and waved back at her client. When she got close enough to be heard clearly Leona returned the greeting.

"Hi Eleanor." Leona calmly greeted the freelance archaeologist. Eleanor looked over the Wizard Saint's armor and weapons, then made eye contact with Leona.

"I'm glad to see you, Leona. I got here about five hours ago and it's been really, really hot. At least I have enough supplies to last for two weeks. Food, water, and more water... I even brought you your own tent, Leona." The bespectacled blonde told Leona about the temperature and commented that this time the supply situation was much better than it had been the last time they had met.

"My own tent?" Leona asked. Eleanor pointed towards it with her left hand.

"Yeah, your own tent. I figured that you wouldn't want to sleep with me in my tent and you wouldn't want to change clothes around me either." Eleanor explained why she had brought and set up a separate tent just for Leona. Leona found both of those reasons to be sound reasons and did not argue with her. She chose to thank the young woman for being so thoughtful and generous as to provide a separate living space.

"Thanks for setting up another tent for me, Eleanor." Leona thanked Eleanor for going to so much trouble for her. The archaeologist smiled.

"It's no problem, Leona. Now let's find a site to start digging at. I'll go get the pegs, tape, and shovels for us." Eleanor accepted the gratitude before going to get the supplies the pair would need to mark their dig site and the shovels needed to do the digging.

"I'll go set down my backpack so I don't have to worry about it flying open and my clothes falling into the sand while we work." Leona informed Eleanor of what she was going to do. Leona then walked towards her tent as Eleanor walked towards hers. She wondered if all she got was the tent or if she got a cot and a few other pieces of furniture like a table and chair.

-Inside Leona's tent-

Leona opened the flap to her tent and peered inside. There was a cot positioned along the right wall and a small circular wooden table just a few feet away from the cot. At the table was a wooden chair. It was a spartan setup, but Leona was not going to complain because all of this had to be an additional burden for Eleanor to bring out here.

Leona walked over to her cot and set the backpack of clothes on the left side, then took off her Desert Survival Armor and set it on the cot. She turned it around and carefully accessed the armor's internal water reservoir, which was slightly over three-quarters full. Leona realized that she had not brought a cup to drink from and she was not going to ask Eleanor for one, so there was only one option left.

She was going to drink straight from the collection canister.

Leona took it in both hands and lifted it almost to her lips, then changed her mind. She slowly raised it just above her head and slowly poured the water into her mouth. She did not want to put her mouth on the canister itself because she did not know how clean it was and she did not want to risk causing it to malfunction and deprive herself of a portable and consistent source of safe drinking water. While she was sure that the armor's manufacturers had accounted for a lot of potential sources of damage and had worked to make the armor resistant to all of them, Leona was going to play it safe with her main source of water.

Once she had drank enough water to satisfy her immediate needs Leona inserted the canister back into the armor and put the armor back on. Her shirt was not quite as sweaty as she had imagined it would be, so she could get away with wearing it for the rest of the day. Once the armor was on Leona walked back outside to begin helping Eleanor with setting up the dig site.

[Post Word Count: 892]
[Total Word Count: 1,624/11,000]

-The Forgotten Deserts, thirteen minutes later-

Eleanor had staked out an area approximately twenty meters away from the camp to dig in and had made a medium-sized square out of tent stakes. Now that the preliminary work had been done now Eleanor and Leona had to start digging. Both blondes had shovels and plenty of energy. Leona had the advantage of a specialized armor that kept her cool, but the bespectacled blonde did not enjoy that benefit. That did not seem to bother her because the latter was the first to plant her shovel in the sand.

"We've got everything set up. Let's get started!" Eleanor said with enthusiasm, driving her shovel into the sand. She scooped up a shovelful of sand and then moved it behind her and to her right. Leona walked over to a place about a meter away from the archaeologist and began shoveling sand right on the imaginary border made by the tent stakes. This promised to be slow and tedious work, but if she wanted to have a shot at finding the elemental stone that was supposed to be here Leona would have to help Eleanor with her work.

-Thirty-three minutes later-

The work had proven to be slow and tedious. Both blondes had dug out an area that totaled to only a quarter of the square that Eleanor had marked and they had nothing to show for it but piles of relocated sand. The bespectacled blonde was not dismayed, though. She kept shoveling and so did Leona.

"It's hotter than I expected. It's a good thing I brought plenty of water this time." Eleanor remarked on the temperature. She planted the blade of her shovel into the sand and reached for the canteen on her right side. She twisted off the cap and drank from it, then put the cap back on and twisted it closed. Leona did not comment on the other blonde's observation. The Wizard Saint was from Desierto and was accustomed to the hot climate of a desert.

Speaking of the desert, Leona's Desert Survival Armor was performing wonderfully. She hardly felt the heat on her torso and the rest of her body benefited too, albeit to a lesser extent than her torso. Her legs were a bit sweaty from the combination of heat and long pants, but they were not nearly as sweaty as they would be if she were not wearing the Desert Survival Armor.

Leona kept digging and soon heard a soft CLANK. She gently raised her shovel and saw what looked like a piece of pottery dangling from the end. Eleanor spotted the Wizard Saint's find and hurried over to the latter.

"STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" Eleanor ordered, forcefully snatching the shovel handle away from Leona and setting it on the sand. Leona frowned as the archaeologist produced a pair of white cotton gloves from her left pocket and put them on, then carefully picked up the strange object. She raised it to eye level and began to examine it from different angles.

Leona took a quiet breath to remain calm and to keep herself from saying something she would regret. She was not upset by the archaeologist's insistence on claiming the item. Instead she was upset by having the shovel snatched away from her before she could lower it to the sand herself. Leona felt that she was being treated like a child and took another quiet breath to keep the negative feelings under control.

She was not supposed to feel this way.

She knew what she was getting into when she chose to work with Eleanor Crouch.

"This is a shard of pottery!" Eleanor confirmed what Leona had suspected when she first spotted the object dangling from the end of her shovel.

"I'll have to take it back to my home to fully analyze it, but in the meantime I'll go put it in a special package to keep it safe when we eventually take it home!" Eleanor stated what she was going to do next.

"I want you to start digging somewhere else, Leona. I don't want you damaging any other potential finds in this segment of the square." Eleanor gave some instructions to Leona as an afterthought. The archaeologist's attention was fixed on the shard of pottery and she did not even look at the other blonde when she gave her instructions. Leona clenched her teeth.

"All right." Leona tersely agreed to follow the instructions and moved towards the top left corner of the square to resume her work. Eleanor walked off towards her tent to put away the find before she would return to sift through the spot where Leona had found the pottery. Leona hoped that the bespectacled blonde's rudeness was a result of her being overly focused on the find instead of it being a part of her personality.

[Post Word Count: 810]
[Total Word Count: 2,434/11,000]

-5:00 A.M., Day 2-

Leona was lying on the cot in her tent and facing the right tent wall. She was in that odd phase between asleep and awake where she could hear her surroundings but lacked the energy to really focus on them. Leona had taken off her armor and weapons before lying down because she doubted that the cot could support the weight of someone wearing armor and carrying weapons. That was of little concern because she still had her magic and Ses Revanche in her right boot in case a clever intruder thought they could get an advantage by stealing her weapons.

Leona rolled over to face the left side of the tent. She was covered by her desert cloak, which acted as a blanket. It was not a very thick blanket, but it was good enough for the job. She had made a pillow out of her backpack, which was still stuffed with her spare clothing. That reminded her... she needed to change her shirt today.

She would do it later when she was about to get on her feet and start working again. Speaking of work, Eleanor had found quite a few shards of pottery where Leona had started digging before she had found the first shard. For the rest of the day the archaeologist had been beside herself with joy at the find and was making plans to study the pottery more extensively when she was back in Capital Crocus. Leona wished that she could have been half as happy as Eleanor Crouch had been yesterday.

The flap to Leona's tent opened and Eleanor walked in.

"Good morning Leona!" The archaeologist chirped in a sickeningly sweet voice. Leona looked at the bespectacled blonde for a moment before slowly sitting up. Unless there was an emergency it was too early for this.

"We found a lot of pottery shards yesterday. I don't have the equipment I need for extensive study, so all I have to go on is a hypothesis. My hypothesis is that they came from a clay pot used for storing either food or drink. I'm thinking that it's the former, specifically a grain of some type." Eleanor filled Leona in on the source of the broken pottery she had found yesterday. Leona was too tired to fully focus on the conversation, but she was doing her best to follow along.

"Really?" Leona asked laconically. She was too tired for this kind of conversation, but she had to play nice with the client.

"Yeah. I'm not sure how old they are, but my guess is at least one hundred years old." The bespectacled blonde continued.

"We're gonna keep the dig site in the same area because I don't think we've found everything we can find yet. I'm gonna have you keep digging while I examine the area you started out in yesterday." Eleanor gave Leona her assignment for the day. Leona was in a somewhat better mood than she was yesterday, so she was willing to listen.

"All right, Eleanor. I'll dig where you tell me to." Leona replied calmly. The resentment from how she had been treated yesterday had been set aside for the time being. She was giving the archaeologist the benefit of the doubt and believed that the rudeness was a product of her being fascinated by what she had found instead of a normal part of her personality.

"Great! We'll get going in a few hours! It's still too dark to really do anything and I'm not much good without a morning cup of tea!" Eleanor said. She then exited the tent, leaving Leona to try and sleep a bit longer before the archaeologist deemed it time to go to work. That was easier said than done, though.

-8:00 A.M.-

"Wake up, Leona!" Eleanor said moments after entering Leona's tent for the second time today. She need not have bothered with a wake-up call. Leona was lying awake on her cot and was about ready to get up and put on her armor. She had thought about it and had decided to be lazy by wearing the same clothes she had worn yesterday. Eleanor entered the tent and she was still wearing the same clothes, so the Wizard Saint was in good company.

"I'm already awake." Leona stated before taking off the desert cloak that she had used as a blanket and gently tossing it onto her backpack. She swung her legs over the edge of the cot and sat up. She was ready for this.

"Great! Meet me out at the dig site when you're ready! Don't take too long to get ready, though!" Eleanor said before turning around and walking out. Leona would not need long to get ready. All she needed to do was put on her Desert Survival Armor and put her Scout Laser Pistol belt on. She could leave the Silver Longsword here.

Leona put on the armor and grabbed her pistol belt from the small wooden table, then put it on around her waist and buckled it. Once it was on she walked out of the tent to go meet Eleanor at the dig site. Today was likely to be another busy day for the two blondes.

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[Total Word Count: 3,308/11,000]

-Four hours later-

Leona had finished digging up her assigned area about an hour ago and was now busy digging another square that Eleanor had marked out for her. The new square was about five meters away from the first one and Leona's task was to dig the new square by herself while Eleanor went over the first one with a fine-tooth comb. The Wizard Saint obliged and had just finished up the top left corner of the new square. She was about to start digging towards the top right corner when she got the need for some water.

Leona planted her shovel blade-first in the sand, then unbuckled the pistol belt for the Scout Laser Pistol. She then took off her armor and gently laid it down on the sand so that she could get to the water collection canister. She detached the canister from the armor and stood up, then slowly raised the reservoir just above her head before slowly pouring some of the water into her mouth just like she had done last time. Once she had had enough to drink for the time being Leona placed the collection canister into the back of armor, secured it, dusted off the bottom edge, and put the armor back on before picking up her pistol belt and putting it back on.

Once all of that was finished Leona picked up her shovel again and got back to work. It was only a little past noon and she still had a lot of work to do before she could call it a day. Leona looked towards the first square and saw Eleanor going over it slowly and carefully in search of either more shards of pottery or some other item of value. She hoped that the bespectacled blonde would find what she was looking for out here. Leona then resumed shoveling sand in her area.

-Three hours later-

Leona had finished digging the new square and had not made any lucky finds this time. As far as she knew she had just cleared the way for Eleanor to search the area once the latter had exhausted the potential of the first square. That was fine with Leona. As long as she completed the job she had been hired for she could live with doing some menial work. However, Leona hoped that she would be able to find an elemental stone out here so that money was not the only thing she walked away with once the job was complete.

Leona stood around for a moment with shovel in hand as the wind blew for a few moments and moved her hair around a bit. It did not move around quite as much as it normally would since her hair was sweaty, but she was not too upset. She was just glad that the wind was blowing a bit so that her face could cool off a bit. Leona had packed a lot of gear for this trip but had forgotten to pack sunscreen... oh well.

Leona had done without it back in Desierto and she would do without it now.

Leona's thoughts were interrupted by Eleanor walking over to her with another four stakes and some yellow florescent tape. The Wizard Saint assumed that she had another square to dig.

"Hi Leona! I see that you managed to finish the second square, so I'll mark out a third square for you to dig for me!" Eleanor assigned Leona yet another square to dig. Leona was not expecting to have to dig another square so soon, but she was willing to help out. She might get lucky and find the stone she was looking for while digging the third square.

"All right. Show me where I need to go." Leona replied. Eleanor started walking to the right and Leona followed right behind her. Leona wondered how many more squares she would have to make before the day was done.

-Twenty minutes later-

Eleanor had marked out the third square and Leona was busy digging the top left corner out. She stole the occasional glance at the other blonde and noticed that the latter had moved onto the second square. The Wizard Saint guessed that Eleanor did not find anything else in the first square, so she was trying her luck in the second square. Leona looked down at the sand beneath her feet again and got back to work.

The wind was now blowing a little more regularly and it was blowing hard enough to kick up a little sand. However, the wind was nowhere near strong enough to make the sand blow about in a full-fledged sandstorm. Leona was grateful for that because she had left her sand goggles back in her tent. As it was the sand blowing about was just a momentary distraction.

Leona kept working without paying the small clouds of sand much attention. She hoped that the wind would keep blowing at its current strength so that her face could cool off a little. She had been out in the sun for awhile and her face was starting to get almost as sweaty as her hair.

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[Total Word Count: 4,168/11,000]

-Day 2, Leona's tent, nighttime-

It had been another long day of shoveling sand and sweating under the sun. The Desert Survival Armor had done an excellent job of keeping Leona's torso cool, but her face was red and her hair was sweaty. The next time she went to the desert she was going to pack some sunscreen. That would be a good idea because right now it looked like she had fallen asleep in the sun.

Leona had taken off her armor and set it on the ground beside her cot. Her pistol belt was lying just to the right of the armor. She was glad this day was over, but barring any unforeseen occurrences like a major sandstorm or tomorrow would bring more of the same. Eleanor had not found anything new today in any of the sites Leona had dug, so the Wizard Saint had filled in the sites for the archaeologist. Now Eleanor was planning to go farther beyond their camp in search of new sites to excavate.

The Wizard Saint was halfway through the expedition with Eleanor but was no closer to finding the elemental stone that was hinted to be out here than she was when she started. While her personal goal had not been met at least she was helping Eleanor with her work, which was part of why she had taken this job to begin with. Maybe tomorrow she would either find the stone or find something else that the archaeologist could take back to her personal lab to study.

Leona sat on the edge of her cot and grabbed her desert cloak to use as a blanket. She then swung her feet over to the foot of the cot and reclined, putting her cloak over herself. It was going to be another long day of shoveling sand tomorrow.

-Day 3, 5:15 A.M.-

Leona was alternating between periods of sleep and restlessness when she saw the tent flap open and saw Eleanor enter the tent. The Wizard Saint suppressed a sigh. She knew that she was not going to get any sleep now.

"Rise and shine, Leona!" Eleanor said in the same sickeningly sweet voice with which she had greeted Leona yesterday. Leona clenched her teeth. It was way too early for this.

"Is it daylight already?" Leona asked Eleanor.

"It's almost daylight, which means that it's time to get going! We've got a lot of work to do!" The archaeologist replied in a cheerful voice. Leona resisted the urge to give a cutting remark about how she seemed to be doing most of the work and got up from her cot, putting the cloak on top of her backpack/pillow and swinging her feet over the edge in order to face the other blonde. She really needed some coffee right now.

"Do you have any coffee?" Leona asked Eleanor. The latter shook her head and Leona narrowly avoided groaning in frustration.

"All I've got is tea. Sorry." Eleanor apologized for the lack of coffee. Leona stood up and reached down to grab her Desert Survival Armor. She put on the armor and then grabbed her pistol belt, wrapping it around her waist and buckling it. Once she had her armor and pistol she faced Eleanor.

"I'll be fine. I'm ready to go when you are." Leona informed the archaeologist. She might as well go ahead and start the workday. Eleanor smiled brightly.

"Great!" Eleanor exclaimed. She left the tent and Leona followed close behind.

-The Forgotten Deserts, fifteen meters away from the camp-

The two blondes had headed to the west and stopped once they were fifteen meters away from the camp. Eleanor quickly staked out a new square and within six minutes she had marked the area Leona was to dig in. With the area marked for her Leona started at the top left corner and began to dig in a straight line towards the top right corner like she had done yesterday.

Leona had only dug two meters towards the top right corner when she heard her shovel strike something with a CLANK. Eleanor must have heard it too because she hurried over to where Leona was and practically shoved the Wizard Saint aside to get to the shovel the latter was holding. Leona clenched her teeth and watched the bespectacled blonde gently move the shovel out of the way to see whatever it was that the tool had struck.

She watched Eleanor put on the white cotton gloves and reach down. Leona heard the sound of sand shifting and saw something gleam in the rising sun. The object was far too long to be an elemental stone, so it had to be something metallic like a weapon or a tool.

"I've found a sword, Leona." Eleanor announced what she had found to the waiting mage. Leona forgot her irritation and moved closer to get a better look at the weapon Eleanor had found.

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Leona looked at the sword that Eleanor had just found and did not see anything special about it. It was an ordinary longsword that was vaguely reminiscent of the Wizard Saint's own Silver Longsword but lacked the silver... or any sort of decoration, for that matter. It was also dull-looking like it had lost its edge long before it had ended up buried under sand.

"I'll have to carry this back home with me to study. I didn't expect to find this much on my expedition. This is turning out to be a fruitful expedition!" Eleanor expressed her satisfaction with the way things were going for her. Leona, on the other hand, was not so thrilled. She was doing most of the hard work for the doctor and she was nowhere close to reaching her goal of confirming or disproving the existence of the elemental stone hinted to be here.

"Well, break time's over. Back to work!" Eleanor chirped. Leona began to dig again while Eleanor trotted towards the camp to put the sword in her tent. The Wizard Saint continued to work and listened carefully for anything else her shovel might find. She hoped that she would not hit any more pottery today.

-The dig site, three hours later-

Leona had managed to finish digging out the square and stood nearby while Eleanor finished marking off another site for Leona to begin work on. The new site was three meters away from the one she had just finished. Leona wondered how the bespectacled blonde was so energetic despite being out in the sun for so long and lacking the special armor that the Wizard Saint was wearing. Maybe there was something in the tea that Eleanor drank so much of.

"OK Leona, you know the drill. You dig, I look for artifacts at the square you just finished." Eleanor gave the Wizard Saint her next orders. Leona wiped the sweat from her forehead using the back of her left hand before responding.

"OK. I'll get started." Leona said before grabbing the shovel in both hands and starting to dig like she had done so many times before, starting off at the top left corner and working her way to the top right corner. She felt the wind pick up a little and cool her down a tiny bit, but the wind was not nearly strong enough to really cool her down. The Silver Wolf mage continued to sweat as she dug the newest square for Eleanor, who was busy sifting through the newly dug square in search of any artifacts she could find.

-Three hours later-

The second square had been dug and Leona was standing off to the side with shovel planted blade-first in the sand. She had taken off her pistol belt and began taking off her armor to get to the water collection canister on the back for some much-needed water. When it had been removed she set it down on the sand, then knelt down and began to remove the collection canister. After removing it Leona slowly raised it above her head and held it steady before slowly tilting it to pour some water into her mouth.

When Leona had drank enough for the time being she put the canister back into the backpack, then put the armor back on, then finally picked up her pistol belt and buckled it on. Once she was geared up again the blonde grabbed her shovel and stood by to await instructions from the client. It did not take long for Eleanor to walk over to her and make contact.

"I see you've finished the second square, Leona. I'd like you to fill in the first square that you dug over here. I didn't find anything in it." Eleanor requested of the Wizard Saint.

"OK. I'll go fill it in." Leona said. She walked over to the first square while Eleanor stayed behind and took charge of the second square. Maybe once she filled in the square she would be able to stop and breathe for a few moments without getting yet another task to do. However, there was still plenty of daylight and still plenty of chances for yet more work to be given to the sweating mage.

-Three hours later-

Leona had finished the task given to her and was waiting to be assigned another task. While she waited she leaned on her shovel and took a quiet breath. She had expected to do some of the work, but she had not expected to do almost all of it. She was not sure why Eleanor had stopped using her shovel after the first day, but after the first day most of the digging had been done by Leona. She would keep working until the job was done and after this job was done would do her best to avoid seeing another shovel for awhile.

"Hey Leona!" Eleanor cheerfully greeted Leona. The mage waited in silence for her next assignment.

[Post Word Count: 832]
[Total Word Count: 5,824/11,000]

-Day 3, nighttime, Leona's Tent-

Leona had done a lot of work today. She had dug and filled in more squares than she could count. She was starting to see squares in the sand every time she closed her eyes. At least it was over for today.

The blonde mage reclined on her cot and threw her desert cloak over her torso, not caring that it did not cover her legs. She was just glad she was not digging in the sand right now. She still had one day left, so she had better not celebrate just yet. She would celebrate when she was out of The Forgotten Deserts and back at Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

She was going to try and sleep for as long as she could before daylight got here and she had to take up a shovel again. Maybe she could sleep before then. The past couple of nights she had had difficulty getting to sleep and tonight promised more of the same.

-Day 4, 5:00 A.M.-

Leona was wide awake when the tent flap opened and in walked Eleanor. The bespectacled blonde had a wide smile on her face as she walked in, something that made the Wizard Saint worried. There had to be something in her tea for her to be this happy this early in the morning.

"Hey Leona! Rise and shine!" Eleanor greeted the Silver Wolf mage in the same tone of voice she had used for the past few days. Leona was not feeling like rising or shining very much and it showed in the fact that she was slow in getting up to face the archaeologist. The Wizard Saint had seen squares in the sand during the brief periods she could sleep and was not looking forward to today, which would doubtlessly add more squares for her to see in her sleep.

With great effort Leona managed to sit up and face the bespectacled blonde who was radiating a level of happiness that was unnatural.

"We've got work to do, Leona! This is no time to lay around, not when there are discoveries just waiting to be made!" Eleanor made another attempt to motivate Leona. Leona was not motivated in the way that the archaeologist would prefer the mage to be. Instead of wanting to grab her shovel and make more squares in the sand the Wizard Saint was fighting the urge to make a remark about the unequal distribution of work. It was easy for the bespectacled blonde to be cheerful and energetic when she was not the one having to wield a shovel all day long.

"Come on, Leona! There's work to do!" Eleanor continued to urge the mage to get to her feet. Leona set her cloak aside and stood up while fighting the urge to do more than make sarcastic remarks. The mage kept her mouth shut and got ready for another day of work. She hoped that there would be a big payoff to this other than money or goodwill with Eleanor.

-The Forgotten Deserts, thirty meters away from the camp, six hours later-

Eleanor and Leona were going to try for one last big find before they called it an expedition. Their last effort would be even further from camp than yesterday's attempt was... they had went thirty meters away from the camp and to the south. Leona had already dug two square holes that were ten meters apart in places Eleanor had picked out for her. Now she was waiting on the archaeologist to sift through the sand in search of something else to make the trip worthwhile.

For once Leona was not getting any extra work to do. All she had to do was stand by and wait for the archaeologist to finish her part of the work. As she waited Leona took a quiet breath of warm desert air and wondered if someone had already found the elemental stone that was supposed to be here. Dr. Ravenholm had warned her that the riddles were written a few hundred years ago and that the stones might have been found and moved by now. She hoped that that was not the case, but she could not rule that possibility out.

Leona watched the bespectacled blonde sift though the sand of the first square. It only took half as long for Eleanor to sift through the square as it did for Leona to dig it. When she walked out of the square Eleanor came up empty-handed.

"There's nothing here, Leona. Can you fill this one in for me while I search the second square?" Eleanor requested. Since it was in the form of a request instead of a demand and the work was being given at a more reasonable pace the Wizard Saint was happy to oblige.

"Certainly." Leona calmly replied. She went to work filling in the first square while the archaeologist began to sift through the second one. She hoped that Eleanor would find something of interest in the second square, something that would make the expedition worth her time and effort.

[Post Word Count: 850]
[Total Word Count: 6,674/11,000]

-The Forgotten Deserts, nine hours later-

Leona had dug three more squares for Eleanor and each square had been empty. All five squares she had dug today had produced nothing. Leona had just finished filling in the last one when the archaeologist walked over to her. The Wizard Saint stuck the blade of her shovel in the sand and listened.

"I was hoping that we'd find some other items to take back to my home, but I'm afraid that what we've found up until now is all that we're going to find. We'd better just call it a day and get ready to return to Capital Crocus tomorrow." Eleanor informed Leona. A couple of days ago Leona would have been beside herself with joy to hear that and she was still glad to get out of this place, but her happiness was tempered by the fact that she had not found the elemental stone. Her unwillingness to let the matter go without making a serious effort led her to come up with the beginnings of a plan.

She was going to make sure that Eleanor Crouch made it to Capital Crocus safely. Once that was done Leona was going to take a day or two off and plan for a return trip to The Forgotten Deserts by herself, preparing supplies and re-reading the riddle in case she had missed something. She would then go back to The Forgotten Deserts and search for the stone at a more leisurely pace.

Leona turned away from the square she had filled in and followed Eleanor back towards the camp. Soon they would be out of The Forgotten Deserts and go to somewhere where they could get a shower and change clothes for the first time in over three days. Leona could also get some coffee at the cafe in Silver Wolf Guild Hall, something which would make her as happy as being able to get a shower.

-Day 5, Capital Crocus, twenty-one hours later-

It had taken most of the fifth day to get to Capital Crocus from The Forgotten Deserts because Leona could not fly with both Eleanor and all of the former's equipment on the back of Winged Lion, so the two blondes had had to travel on foot all the way back to Capital Crocus and use some of Leona's summons to carry the gear. They had taken the northwestern route out of The Forgotten Deserts and passed through Era before reaching their destination. Now they were outside of Eleanor's house and she had just unlocked the door.

"Thanks for getting me here safely, Leona. I couldn't have made it back so quickly without you!" Eleanor thanked Leona for the escort home.

"I'm glad I could help you out, Eleanor." Leona replied. Eleanor then stepped inside her home and Leona's Harpy Sisters and Sky Champion Rafale began to carry in the tents that were packed up and tied tightly so that they did not come unfurled on the way home. Leona herself carried the wooden chair that had been in her tent. Eleanor carried the two items she had found while leaving the rest of her furniture outside.

-Two hours and forty minutes later-

Eleanor, Leona, and her summons had managed to move everything into the archaeologist's house and now Leona and her summons were standing outside. They could have done the job faster, but neither blonde wanted to damage anything, so they had taken their time to make sure that everything got inside safely. Now that that chore was done Leona was about to part ways with the archaeologist and return to Silver Wolf Guild Hall to get a shower, get some coffee, and plan her own expedition to The Forgotten Deserts.

"I can't thank you enough for the help you gave me over the past four days, Leona. I don't know if I'd been able to find what I did without you." Eleanor said to Leona. The Wizard Saint had had time to get over the frustration of the first three days, so any animosity she had held towards Eleanor for the earlier mistreatment had been forgotten.

"You would have found something, Eleanor. You're the one with all the training and education. I was just a helper." Leona tried to assure the bespectacled blonde in an attempt to let the past be in the past. Eleanor smiled at her.

"I'm just glad you were there to help me with the toughest work. You helped me a lot just by doing that." Eleanor chimed in. Leona remembered how tough all the digging was and decided not to say anything about it, choosing to focus on how she had helped Eleanor instead.

"I'm glad you were able to find something to show for your efforts." Leona answered simply. Eleanor smiled at her again and paused for a bit before speaking.

[Post Word Count: 810]
[Total Word Count: 7,484/11,000]

After Eleanor had expressed her gratitude for Leona's help the two blondes had run out of things to say. They stood in awkward silence for a minute or two before Eleanor decided to end the conversation. Both blondes were tired and wanted to get a shower and change their clothes.

"I'd better get going, Leona. I'm going to study the items I found first thing in the morning, which isn't too far from now. Thanks again for the help." Eleanor said to the Wizard Saint. Leona took that as her cue to get ready to head home.

"All right then, Eleanor. Good luck with your research." Leona replied. The archaeologist waved goodbye with her right hand and Leona followed suit, then turned away from the door after it was shut. She began walking for the outskirts of Capital Crocus with her summons following right behind her. Once she got there she would dispel all of her summons and bring out Winged Lion to fly back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall because she did not feel like walking the whole way.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, the next day, 1:00 P.M.-

Once she had finally made it to Silver Wolf Guild Hall from Capital Crocus Leona went to her room, took off her Desert Survival Armor, her backpack, and her weapons, and made a beeline for the shower. After she had showered for the first time in almost five days Leona returned to her room and put on her green tank top and green, white, and gold skirt, then did some laundry to prepare for her return trip to The Forgotten Deserts. She had already made plans to return there to search for the elemental stone, but first she needed to get her supply situation sorted out.

Leona would need sufficient food, water, and clothing to last the duration of the trip. She would also need a shelter of some sort to stay in, preferably one that she could put close to where she was searching. Finally she would need a shovel. As much as she did not want to see another shovel right away the truth of the matter was that she would need one. A trip to any hardware store could solve that problem.

Leona decided to keep on her tank top and skirt because she did not feel like changing into anything fancy for a trip to the hardware store. She put on socks and the skirt's matching boots so that she had some footwear on. Once she was dressed Leona left her room and began to walk towards the entrance. When she was outside she would summon Winged Lion and fly to the outskirts of Capital Crocus to pay a visit to that city and hopefully buy a shovel.

-Outside Silver Wolf Guild Hall, three hours later-

Leona landed outside the guild hall on the back of Winged Lion and dismounted it, then dispelled the summon. She was now the proud owner of a new shovel. The trip had gone smoothly... the most time-consuming part was getting to the hardware store. It was located in the heart of the city and the foot traffic was denser than usual.

Leona was about to walk back into the guild hall when she noticed a large olive green aircraft parked a short distance to the right of the structure. That caught Leona's attention and she immediately decided to investigate. The Wizard Saint walked over to it and approached from the front in the hopes of getting a glimpse at the pilot, but she was not seeing anyone. That was odd.

She continued to approach it while holding her new shovel. She did not see any sort of reaction like the aircraft taking off or hear a voice warning her to keep her distance, so she continued to approach it. Leona reached it without incident and began to walk around it when she heard a sharp HISS from nearby and froze.

What was that?

After waiting a few seconds for either someone to talk to her or attack her she continued her walk around it and found that a wide ramp had dropped down. Overcome with curiosity, Leona walked towards the ramp and ascended it into what looked like a cargo bay.

-Inside the aircraft-

Leona looked all around her and found a vast empty space that was most likely a cargo bay because it had places marked out on the floor for items to be put. It looked like she could fit quite a bit of freight in here... she could easily store the supplies needed for her trip and have plenty of space left over for other items. She looked around again and noticed a metal door at the end of the bay. Maybe the pilot was waiting for her further inside.

[Post Word Count: 804]
[Total Word Count: 8,288/11,000]

-Inside the aircraft, the cargo bay-

Leona walked towards the door at the end of the cargo bay and when she was two steps away from it it opened on its own, making her pause in place. She waited for someone to come out, but when no one came out she went through it with her shovel held in her right hand. This was more than a little weird... who would leave a perfectly good aircraft unattended?

-Inside the aircraft, the hallway-

Leona went through the door to find herself standing in a hallway of medium length that was wide enough for two people to walk through if they walked shoulder-to-shoulder. There were two doors on the left side of the hallway, two on the right side, and one straight ahead. Leona looked around a little more and noticed that the doors had signs placed above them. The signs were gold plates with what was behind them written on it.

The first door to Leona's left was marked GALLEY... whatever that was. The first door to Leona's right was marked PASSENGER'S QUARTERS 1. She walked down the hallway and looked at the next two doors. The one on the left was marked PILOT'S QUARTERS and the one on the right was marked PASSENGER'S QUARTERS 2. Leona wondered why there were two Passenger's Quarters, but this was not her aircraft. She was trespassing in someone's vehicle, so she had better find the pilot and explain herself as soon as she could.

Leona went straight for the door in the center and reached out for the lever that opened the door. She turned it right and the door opened to reveal a cockpit that was empty. There was no pilot in here, something that did not sit well with the blonde. She looked again and saw what looked like a note taped to the back of the pilot's seat. Leona's curiosity got the better of her and she walked over to the right side of the hallway to prop her shovel in the right corner, then returned to the cockpit and pulled the note off of the back of the seat.

-Inside the cockpit-

When she pulled the note off without ripping it she looked down at it and began to read what was on it.

"Dear Leona:

You don't know me, but I know you! Well, I know about you, anyway. This aircraft is called the C-128 Albatross and it's yours." The note read. Leona lowered the note for a moment. She did not know why she had just been gifted a fancy high-tech aircraft that she had no idea how to fly and she certainly did not know who sent it to her. The mystery made Leona more than a little concerned.

She likely owed someone a huge debt because there was no way someone would just give this to her without expecting something in return.

If it had not been Mr. Bank, Mister Burke, or Loretta Reid, who had sent the C-128 Albatross to her?

Hoping to find an answer somewhere in the note, Leona lifted the note up again and continued to read.

"I've left you basic instructions to engage the Albatross' auto-pilot so that the A.I. named Coleridge can do the flying for you. I've also left you a detailed set of instructions in case you want to try and fly it yourself. The Albatross is a good aircraft... take care of it and it'll take care of you!" The note read. Leona did not get an answer as to who had sent the Albatross to her, but at least the mysterious benefactor had left her instructions to get started.

Leona walked around the left side of the pilot's seat and found a sheet of paper sitting on top of a fairly thick three-ring binder. The pilot's seat was cushioned and had a set of straps that formed an X across the pilot's chest when in use. In front of the seat was a set of controls and an instrument display panel with several buttons. Just to the right of the instrument display panel was a medium-sized monitor that was currently blank.

Leona looked above the instrument panel and could see the outside clearly through the cockpit glass. She looked outside and took a minute or so to to come to terms with the fact that she was now the owner of this aircraft. She had never flown one before and now the Albatross was hers. This was an unexpected gift, but she would be able to make good use of it... if she could learn how to fly it manually.

That could wait until later. Right now she wanted to see the Pilot's Quarters, the Passenger's Quarters, and the Galley. Leona turned around and exited the cockpit to explore the rest of the Albatross.

[Post Word Count: 808]
[Total Word Count: 9,096/11,000]

-Inside the Pilot's Quarters, three minutes later-

Leona was now standing inside the Pilot's Quarters, which was roughly half the size of her room in Silver Wolf Guild Hall. It had a metal bedframe bolted to the floor that could accommodate a single-sized mattress, a metal footlocker at the foot of the bed, and a metal wardrobe to the left of the bed and against the wall that was half the size of the wooden one in her room. On the left side of the room was a small bathroom with stainless steel toilet, shower with olive drab shower curtain, and stainless steel sink that was separated from the rest of the room by a sliding metal door. The Pilot's Quarters was small but serviceable... she was especially pleased with the wardrobe because it allowed her to store clothes in something besides her backpack.

Leona would need to find a good mattress for her bed before she set out on her first flight in the Albatross. Now that she had seen her room she decided to check out the Passenger's Quarters so that she knew what she needed to get to furnish those rooms. She did not want Samira, Masha, or any other potential passengers to do without essentials should they choose to fly with her some day.

-Passenger's Quarters 1-

Leona entered Passenger's Quarters 1 to find that the room was similar in layout to her own room but had four bedframes bolted to the floor and spaced at regular intervals. There was a small bathroom just like hers on the left side of the room with all of the same features, but there was no wardrobe for clothing or footlocker in which to store personal belongings. Leona frowned and folded her arms over her chest.

This would not do.

She would need to fix up both Passenger's Quarters to include wardrobes and footlockers before she had Samira, Masha, or anyone else fly as a passenger on her personal aircraft.

Leona turned around and left the room to go check out the Galley. She had no idea what that was. She was going to find out, though.

-Inside the Galley, four minutes later-

After exploring the Pilot's Quarters and both Passenger's Quarters Leona was now standing in the galley, which turned out to be the kitchen. It was rather small and reminded her of Dr. Reid's mini-kitchen in terms of layout. The left side was dominated by a long stretch of stainless steel counter and above it was a wooden cupboard for storing dishes and cups. In the middle of the counter were two stainless steel sinks, one for rinsing dishes and one for washing them. On the right side of the counter was space and enough electrical outlets to accommodate a toaster oven, microwave, and a coffeemaker.

In the middle of the back wall sat a wooden pantry where Leona could put food and coffee. In the center of the galley sat two small and square metal tables positioned at even intervals and bolted to the floor. Each table could seat four people but there were no chairs. The Galley would need a bit of fixing up and needed a refrigerator and chairs and possibly an oven, but otherwise it was serviceable. She would not be making gourmet fare, but Leona could eat reasonably well and so could her passengers.

Satisfied with her tour of the Albatross, Leona left the Galley to exit the Albatross and go into Silver Wolf Guild Hall to begin trying to get together some supplies for her trip to The Forgotten Deserts. The Albatross was a gift from above. It could serve as both transport and shelter and while its Pilot's Quarters were not the height of luxury they were good enough for Leona. She would need to improve the Passenger's Quarters and Galley, but for now she did not need to worry about that because she was making a solo trip to The Forgotten Deserts.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 2:05 P.M.-

Leona was back in her room and thinking of everything she would need to supply the Albatross before she set out for The Forgotten Deserts. She would still need food and water, but now she knew she had a place to store it besides in the cargo bay. She could put dry food in the pantry in the Galley.

For her bathroom she would need soap, shampoo, and toilet paper. She would also need bathcloths and towels. She would need hand soap to wash her hands with and hand towels to dry them off on. She would also need hand soap and hand towels for the Galley, not to mention plates, glasses, and eating utensils. Furthermore she would need dish detergent to wash the dishes and glasses with.

Leona had quite a bit of shopping to do before she set out on her trip. It would be worth it, though. The Albatross promised to make life a lot easier because with it she had access to most of the comforts of home and a form of transportation in one convenient package.

[Post Word Count: 852]
[Total Word Count: 9,948/11,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 11:40 P.M.-

After returning from her supply run less than an hour ago Leona was now sitting at her desk and making a mental tally of everything she had managed to get today.

Several hours ago Leona had paid another visit to Capital Crocus in order to begin procuring supplies for the Albatross. She had found a big box store that sold items in bulk and managed to find dish detergent, hand soap, bath soap, and toilet paper and had bought those items to put in the galley and bathrooms of the Albatross' living areas.

Leona had also found and bought several jars of coffee and a few cases of food that would last awhile without refrigeration like various types of soup in a can and saltines for the soup. She had also bought basic white plastic plates and clear plastic drinking glasses to go in the cupboards in the galley so that she and passengers would have something to eat and drink out of. For the finishing touch she had bought utensils like knives, forks, and spoons to eat with plus a microwave for preparing the soup and a coffeemaker for the coffee.

After purchasing those items Leona had taken it all home to Silver Wolf Guild Hall, then returned to Capital Crocus and went to a home goods store to look for bed sheets for the mattresses and hand towels, bath cloths, and bath towels for the bathrooms. She had found and bought a decent quantity of gray, white, and blue bath cloths and towels plus hand towels in those colors. The bed sheets she had managed to find were white and gray, which were not the best color options but were all the store had. Leona would furnish her quarters now and worry about getting better sheets for the others later.

Speaking of bedding, Leona had run into trouble getting mattresses for the living quarters of the Albatross. The only ones she had seen today were the inexpensive ones that would not last very long and she did not want those if she could help it. At each furniture store she had visited the best mattresses were out of stock due to being bought as many as three weeks ago. She would have to wait awhile to get good-quality ones and there was no reliable estimate on when they would be available again.

Despite that setback the supply run had been a success. She and her Harpy Sister summons had gotten quite a workout with back-and-forth trips to Capital Crocus, but the Albatross was stocked with provisions and Leona would be able to search for the elemental stone that was hinted to be in The Forgotten Deserts with most of the comforts of home available to her. That was a big step up for her since she would now have a home base to return to after a day of searching in the desert.

Leona was satisfied with everything she had managed to accomplish today. She was going to have to review the riddle pertaining to the stone she was searching for and make sure that she had not misread it. She could do that later, though. She was going to sleep for now and worry about the other details tomorrow.

-The next day, 10:04 A.M.-

Leona sat up in her bed and faced the door, then swung her feet over the edge. She stood up and looked at the door for a few moments before finally taking a step towards her wardrobe to pick out an outfit and get dressed. She had just gotten the idea to shop in Motor City for a mattress and was going to see if she could find one for the Pilot's Quarters. She was not sure that she would find one, but she would try anyway because the search for the elemental stone had piqued her interest and it was best for her to keep searching while she was at her most focused.

-Motor City, 1:17 P.M.-

Dressed in her blue t-shirt and khaki cargo pants with brown boots, Leona had arrived on the outskirts of Motor City ten minutes ago by using Winged Lion to fly her from Silver Wolf Guild Hall to the city. She had dispelled the summon and was now walking in Motor City to look for a furniture store or a mattress store. Maybe she should pay a visit to her friend and frequent client Dr. Reid. Dr. Reid would know the area much better than Leona and could point the Wizard Saint in the right direction.

-Outside Dr. Reid's house, twenty-one minutes later-

Leona had followed the path she had taken so many times that she could walk it with her eyes closed and was now standing outside Dr. Reid's house. She looked at the familiar intercom and walked over to it, then pressed the button.

"Hello?" Dr. Reid asked.

"Dr. Reid, it's me, Leona. I need your help with something, but it's nothing serious. I need your help finding a good single mattress." Leona informed the doctor why she was here.

"I'll be right there!" Dr. Reid replied. Within thirty seconds the door had been unlocked and opened. Dr. Reid was standing in the doorway wearing a pink tank top and khaki cargo shorts with no shoes and her ever-present coffee mug in her right hand. Her hair was hanging freely and she looked to be in a good mood.

"Hey Leona! Come on in! Your timing's perfect... I just made a fresh pot of Motor City Nitro and you're welcome to have some!" Dr. Reid bade the Wizard Saint to enter her home and partake of some fresh coffee.

[Post Word Count: 952]
[Total Word Count: 10,900/11,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 6:37 P.M.-

Thanks to the help of Dr. Reid Leona had managed to find a few single-sized mattresses of good quality at a furniture store in Motor City named Motor City Furniture. She had found three in total... in fact they were the last three of their kind the furniture store had in stock. With them Leona had been able to furnish the Pilot's Quarters and both Passenger's Quarters with one bed apiece, meaning that now if Samira or Masha was a passenger on board the Albatross for a long trip they would have their own bed to sleep in. That made Leona happy because she would be able to provide decent lodging for her family and friends.

Leona had found a message waiting on her personal desk. She had read it and it was from someone who lived on the outskirts of Motor City; they had included a set of coordinates to put into the Albatross' navigational computer to fly her to the exact location she was to meet her mysterious benefactor. According to the message they were the one who had gifted her the C-128 Albatross and they needed her assistance with a matter that they would only discuss in person. Leona was assured that it was a legitimate one and that handling it would satisfy the debt owed to them once and for all.

The Wizard Saint decided to postpone her trip to The Forgotten Deserts in order to fulfill the request and avoid having a debt hanging over her head. Once she had taken care of it she would be free to search for the elemental stones without having to worry about the Albatross being repossessed during an expedition and leaving her without transport or shelter. That was not something Leona wanted happening to her if she could help it because she did not want to lose any of the gear she would be storing on board the Albatross.

Leona would fly to the specified location in the morning. Right now she would need to gather her gear because there was no telling what the request would require her to do. She would be taking her usual gear of Argent Gloves, Silver Longsword, and Scout Laser Pistol along with Ses Revanche in her right boot. She would also take one of her special armors just to have one available if she was going to be heading into a danger zone. She hoped that she would not be going anywhere dangerous, but being prepared was never a bad idea.

With that the Wizard Saint began to gather her weapons and armor in addition to a few clothes to put in the wardrobe on the Albatross. She tended to take clothing damage during difficult and dangerous jobs, so having a spare set of clothing or two was not a bad idea. She might need to go on a trip to Capital Crocus Mall to buy more clothing so that she could have a wardrobe in her room at Silver Wolf Guild Hall and in the Pilot's Quarters of the Albatross. That could wait, though. Settling the debt was her priority.

[Post Word Count: 528]
[Total Word Count: 11,428/11,000]