-The western edge of the Forgotten Deserts, Day 1, 11:25 A.M.-
Wearing her green tank top and khaki cargo pants with tan boots, Leona sat in the cockpit as Coleridge landed the Albatross after the flight from Silver Wolf Guild Hall to the western edge of The Forgotten Deserts. When the landing was complete Leona turned off the power to the engines and left the cockpit to go to her room and finish gathering her gear and supplies. Speaking of supplies, for her first extended expedition Leona had left nothing to chance.
Leona had spent the past two days shopping for anything she might need for her expedition. The day before yesterday she had bought two pairs of gloves to use while maintaining the Albatross' engines and had stashed one pair in the top drawer of the wardrobe. She had also bought plenty of florescent yellow tape and plenty of wooden stakes to use to mark off areas she wanted to dig in so that she did not have to rely on her memory if she got distracted by something like a thought or an encounter with a random traveler. She had also bought an extra shovel in case something happened to the one she had bought a few days ago.
Yesterday Leona had bought other essentials such as coffee mugs for the Galley, four more pairs of khaki cargo pants exactly like the pair she was wearing now, four pairs of khaki cargo shorts, and two each of green, blue, black, and white tank tops. Since she was not having to dress to impress anyone she could afford to dress a little more casually than she would otherwise. Her Desert Survival Armor would cover the shirt, so no one would know that she was wearing a tank top under the armor unless she told them.
To protect her arms and face from the sun Leona had brought plenty of sunscreen. While she had the Albatross to take shelter in if the heat got too much to bear, she was still going to protect herself from the scorching sun as much as she could. She had a dozen bottles of sunscreen stashed in the Pilot's Quarters bathroom so that she could use it as needed without having to worry too much about running out.
Finally she had brought almost three dozen bathcloths and towels so that she could take a shower at the end of each day and still have clean ones in reserve. That quantity might have been overkill, but the Wizard Saint wanted to be prepared for an extended stay in The Forgotten Deserts. She highly doubted that she was going to find the elemental stone in a day or two, so having enough supplies for at least a week was not a bad idea. She was hoping that it would not take that long, but she never knew what would happen.
As far as personal gear went Leona had her Desert Survival Armor, Silver Longsword, Scout Laser Pistol, and Ses Revanche in her right boot. She doubted that there would be any combat, but she was going to carry the Scout Laser Pistol and Ses Revanche with her in case she had to fight. Leona put on the armor and buckled the pistol belt around her waist before leaving her room to go to the cargo bay and pick up her shovel, roll of florescent tape, and tent stakes.
The final inclusion was Mortemer, her longtime mummy companion she had not interacted with for at least two years, if not longer. He was the perfect choice of companion for taking on this job since he was a mummy and the heat and sand could not hurt him... as far as Leona knew, anyway. PG-13 was sensitive to sand getting in its joints and Ancient Knight always wore a full suit of metal armor, so taking him into the blistering sun would just be cruel.
-Inside the cargo bay-
Leona walked over to the top right corner of the cargo bay where her shovel was and bent down to pick up the roll of florescent tape. She put that in her right pocket and bent down again to pick up a bundle of stakes, which she placed in her right side cargo pocket. She was about to head for the ramp when she heard a voice.
"
Hey Leona!"
Mortemer greeted Leona. Leona turned to face her old companion and soon spotted him. He was standing near the center of the cargo bay where Leona had stacked eight cases of bottled water. She thought he was in one of the Passenger's Quarters, but apparently he had spent the entire trip in the cargo bay.
"
Hey Mortemer. It's been awhile." Leona said to the mummy. She did not know what else to say to him since it had been a long time since they had last traveled together. Leona felt a little guilty about that, but most of the time she preferred to work alone so that no one could rightfully say that she only succeeded because she had powerful companions.
"
Are you ready to start your expedition?" Mortemer asked Leona.
"
Yeah, let's get going." Leona said to him. She put the shovel on her armored shoulder and walked towards the cargo bay ramp. It automatically lowered and Mortemer followed closely behind her. The ramp closed behind them and with that the expedition had officially started.
-Outside the Albatross, twelve meters away-
The weather outside was more than a little hot, which made Leona glad she had brought the Desert Survival Armor and worn a tank top under it. As a result she was doing just fine. She marked out a large square area with the tent stakes, wrapped florescent tape around the stakes to form a square, and then began digging in the bottom left corner while Mortemer watched the area around them for trouble.
[Post Word Count: 986]
[Total Word Count: 986/11,000]
Last edited by Leona Jarnefeldt on 13th February 2023, 10:10 am; edited 1 time in total