Going Beneath The Canyon Sands

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 9, Post Number 225

-The mouth of Mysterious Canyons, 6:42 P.M.-

Having manually flown the Albatross at a slow speed to the point just outside the mouth of Mysterious Canyons, Leona had engaged the autopilot to land the craft without incident. Leona had left Silver Wolf Guild Hall over three hours ago and the slow speed had cost her valuable daylight, but it had allowed her to learn to control the craft manually with little fear of slamming into the ground thanks to having plenty of time to recover from mistakes. Once it had safely landed Leona had went to the Pilot's Quarters and gathered her gear. She then exited the ship with Mortemer and the cargo bay ramp rose on its own and locked behind her.

Now Leona was standing outside the ship with her undead companion Mortemer. Dressed in a blue t-shirt and khaki cargo pants with brown boots, Leona had her backpack of food, water, and spare clothing on her back and Argent Gloves on her hands. On her left side was the Silver Longsword in its scabbard and in its holster on her right hip was the Scout Laser Pistol. In her right boot was Ses Revanche.

Ahead of Leona loomed a canyon that opened onto a vast dry area and a fair distance to the left was a cave opening that looked like it could lead her beneath the canyon. She would investigate there first before taking her search into the canyon proper. She took a glance at Mortemer, who looked back at her with menacing red eyes.

"I'm going to go into that cave, Mortemer. It might lead me to where I need to go." Leona told her mummy companion. He was holding a deactivated Lacrima lantern in his right hand.

"I'll go with you. You might need someone to light the way!" Mortemer told her. Leona had natural night vision, so she did not need to carry an external source of light. However, since she was going into a cave she had never explored before, she might need his help.

"All right. Follow me, Mortemer." Leona bade her companion. While the late day sun was still hot, it would not be a problem for much longer. She walked across the area with her faithful companion following to her right while clutching the lantern.

-Inside the cave, 6:46 P.M.-

Leona entered the cave and within moments her natural night vision took effect. Moments later Mortemer turned the lantern on, casting a soft yellow glow over the area. Ahead of the pair was a tunnel that had a ceiling that was about the height of one in a normal house and was just wide enough for people to move through if they went single-file. Leona was glad that she had worn a t-shirt instead of another shirt because the cave was more than a little cool... had she worn a tank top, crop top, or tube top she would have been in for an uncomfortable exploration.

"It's kinda cold in here." Leona observed.

"It's a good thing I'm already dead because I can't feel it!" Mortemer cheerfully replied.

"True." Leona commented laconically. She then moved forward and the mummy followed suit, the light illuminating the area behind them. She walked through the tunnel until she saw an opening to the right and stopped in place, then turned and walked through the opening while Mortemer followed a short distance behind. The new tunnel was as narrow as the one she had just walked through, but she quickly noticed that it sloped gently downward into the earth. This might be the way she needed to go to find the elemental stone.

Leona walked slowly to give Mortemer time to catch up with her. The slope was gentle enough that she had little fear of losing her footing and the ceiling was high enough she did not need to stoop down to walk. The acoustics of the area were so good she could hear the soft sounds of Mortemer's bandaged feet on the stone floor behind her as she walked. Leona wondered how far down the tunnel went, but her mind was taken off of that subject when she noticed that the further she went the colder it got. She wished that she would have thought to bring her olive green jacket in her backpack, but it was hanging in the wardrobe on board the Albatross.

Leona would just have to do without it because she did not intend to go back to the aircraft if she could avoid doing so. She rubbed her hands on her arms as she proceeded down the gentle slope at a slow walk. She looked ahead and saw that she had quite a bit of walking to do before she reached the bottom, where the terrain leveled out into flat ground again. There was no time like the present, so the Wizard Saint kept going and so did Mortemer, who was close behind her.

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-In the tunnel, twenty-one minutes later-

Leona and Mortemer had been walking for almost half an hour and had seen nothing but tunnel, tunnel, and more tunnel. Thankfully the temperature had remained constant... maybe she was just getting used to the cold instead of it getting warmer. She really should have gone back and gotten her jacket from the Pilot's Quarters, but she thought she could do without it. Her recent intelligence boost had not done anything to reduce her tendency to go into a situation without fully preparing. No wonder of technology could fully eliminate Leona's questionable decision-making abilities, but technology should not have to do all of the work... she needed to learn to think things all the way through instead of trying to "wing it" through everything.

"Are you OK, Leona?" Mortemer asked the Wizard Saint.

"Yeah. I'm a bit cold, but otherwise I'm fine." Leona told her mummy companion. She continued to put one foot in front of the other while hoping that she would find something interesting soon. She peered ahead of her and saw that the tunnel seemed to go on forever.

-Twenty-three minutes later-

The Wizard Saint had reached a branch in the tunnel. One path continued straight ahead. The other led to the right. Leona looked at each path for clues that could indicate which one she needed to take but was currently not seeing anything. Leona folded her arms across her chest for warmth while she looked at the walls.

Leona looked around while Mortemer held up the lantern to give her more lighting to work with. She looked left and right but did not see anything. She then looked at the floor and spotted jagged letters carved into the ground. She stepped back to get a better view.

"I see writing, but I can't read a word of it." Leona commented on what she was seeing. She wondered if the same group who hid the elemental stones had carved the letters she was looking at. Dr. Ravenholm could translate it, but she lived all the way in Capital Crocus and did not go out into the field for anything, so having the good doctor translate was not an option.

She looked at the tunnel floor on the path straight ahead and did not see any writing, so maybe she should go down the path to the right.

"Which way do we go, Leona?" Mortemer asked.

"I say we go right." Leona answered. She did not understand what the message beneath her feet said, so she could be walking into a hallway of traps or other danger. However, she lacked any other clues to go on, so she was willing to risk traveling down the tunnel.

"OK!" Mortemer readily agreed. Leona went first and Mortemer dutifully followed behind her.

-Down the right path, thirty-three minutes later-

Leona had been traveling for over half an hour and was not sure if she was getting any closer to her objective or was just wasting time going down the wrong path. However, she noticed that the tunnel ahead was wide enough for two people to travel side-by-side and it sloped gently downward like the tunnel from earlier. Mortemer wordlessly walked at her left and the light illuminated the area ahead of them as they walked.

Leona looked around them for any more letters carved onto the floor, walls, or ceiling as she walked and was not seeing anything. She turned away from that and focused on going down the slope without losing her footing... the slope was not very steep, but she did not want to fall and end up tumbling down the rest of the way. The pair managed to keep their footing until they reached the bottom, where the wide hallway opened onto an area that resembled a large room.

"Look, a wide space!" Mortemer stated, pointing his free hand towards the opening.

"I'm not sure if that's natural or man-made, but we'll find out." Leona replied. After walking through narrow tunnels for so long she was glad to see a space in which she could move a little more freely. The pair walked towards the area until they reached it.

-Inside the large area-

Leona and Mortemer now stood inside a large area that was about the size of a ballroom. The ceiling had stalactites as long as the blade of her Silver Longsword hanging down, but the area was devoid of other interesting features except for three tunnels... one on the left, one in the middle, and one on the right. Leona groaned when she saw them.

"Oh great. More tunnels." Leona complained. She knew that she should have expected to find more tunnels when traveling underground, but this was not quite what she was expecting. She was beginning to suffer from "decision paralysis", but all three tunnels were all wide enough to allow two people to travel side-by-side, so at least Mortemer could light the way and make it a bit easier to spot clues.

"Cheer up, Leona! I'm sure you'll find the right one!" Mortemer said to her. Leona folded her arms across her chest again.

"Yeah, you're right. We just have to start looking for clues like we did last time." Leona replied, cheering up a little bit. She started to walk around the room looking for any more letters carved on the ground that might indicate which way she needed to go.

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-The large area, seven minutes later-

Leona had looked around the area for clues but could not come up with any. It seemed like she would not find a handy hint this time, so she was just going to have to choose a tunnel to go down and see where she ended up. Leona stood with her hands on her hips while facing the middle tunnel.

"Which way should we go, Leona?" Mortemer asked the Wizard Saint.

"I say we go..." Leona started before trailing off to buy herself a little time to think.

"We go..." Leona said in an obvious effort to stall for time. She raised her right hand from her hip and moved it towards the tunnel she was going to pick before hesitation. She then moved her hand back and forth between all three choices until she randomly stopped on one and her selection was the one to the left.

"We go left!" Leona announced her choice.

"Great! Lead the way, Leona!" Mortemer said. Leona took the lead and began walking towards opening to the left tunnel while Mortemer followed behind.

-Inside the left tunnel-

The pair were now inside the left tunnel and were walking side-by-side with Mortemer to Leona's left. Leona looked around for clues or traps and did not find anything yet, so she focused on what was ahead of her. She saw a bend in the path that would take them right and when she got to it she rounded the bend without breaking stride. After rounding the bend she found herself facing another tunnel that went straight for a good distance.

Mortemer caught up with Leona and the pair began moving down the long tunnel. She hoped that she was heading in the right direction. She also hoped that she would find something interesting to break up the monotony of going through tunnel after tunnel that did not have any distinguishing features.

-Down the tunnel, eleven minutes later-

At the end of the long tunnel sat a large room with more stalactites hanging from the ceiling, but the most interesting feature in the room was another that was big enough for two people to walk side-by-side through. Leona instinctively looked for writing on the walls or the floor and did not find anything... yet. Mortemer joined her with his lantern and shed some light on the area. With the aid of the lantern light Leona renewed her search for clues and scoured the entire room but still came up short.

"Did you find anything helpful?" Mortemer asked Leona. Leona turned to face him and shook her head.

"No, Mortemer. I guess we'll have to go down that tunnel and see where it leads." Leona told him. The pair did not waste any time in proceeding into the large passageway... as usual Leona led the way while Mortemer followed close behind and to her left. Maybe they would find something interesting at the end of this tunnel.

-At the end of the tunnel, thirteen minutes later-

After traveling through the large tunnel the pair came across a ledge that opened onto a floor that was a good distance below with some stalagmites pointing ominously upwards. Leona's stomach turned at the sight and her heart rate skyrocketed. She slowly turned around to face Mortemer, who was a few steps behind. She was NOT going to go down the ledge if she could help it.

"Change of plans, Mortemer. We go back the way we came and try another tunnel." Leona declared. She began to retrace her steps back to the main area and Mortemer dutifully followed behind without protesting the change of plans. Going down this tunnel had proven to be a waste of time, so she hoped that one of the other two would take her where she needed to go.

-The central area, twenty minutes later-

Having retraced her steps without incident, Leona now stood in the central area she had started out in and was thinking about going through the center next. She was not sure if she should go that way yet, so she was going to take a break and think it over before committing. Leona sat down on the cave floor while Mortemer patiently stood nearby and waited for her to choose a direction to go in.

Leona almost instantly regretted sitting on the cold cave floor and hopped to her feet. Instead of sitting down she chose to stand in place for a few minutes while she went over her options... it was not like she had a lot of choices, so choosing between them should not take long. Mortemer did not say a word while she tried to decide between the center and right tunnel.

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-The right tunnel, nine minutes later-

After spending a minute or two in the large area deciding which path to take she decided to go right and Mortemer was right behind her. This tunnel went down and had a steeper slope than the other ones with a slope, so Leona was having to be careful not to lose her balance while going down. From time to time she would catch herself going faster than she wanted and having to backpedal a bit to keep from running down the slope and into whatever waited at the bottom. So far she was doing well, but she had no idea how long she would have to walk like this before she reached the end.

Leona kept going until she reached the bottom, where she stumbled for three steps from the sudden change to flat ground after moving down a slope but ultimately recovered before she did a faceplant onto the ground. Mortemer reached flat ground moments after she did and managed to stay on his feet, which was a surprise to her. He looked at her with his red eyes for a few moments before he faced forward.

Leona faced forward too and saw a long and wide room that had stalagmites jutting out of the floor and their placement had no rhyme or reason. Lying on the floor was a skeleton... and something lying next to the skeleton. Before she could think about what she was doing she instinctively walked over to the bones and stood over them, peering down at what was presumably a long-deceased explorer. Mortemer walked over and the lantern light let Leona see what she was looking at in better detail.

There were no clothes, weapons, or gear, but there was an empty meta container about the size of Leona's fist near its left hand. Leona surmised that it was a container for water, but she had no way to prove it. The body did not have any wounds from weapons or show signs of any other cause of death, so she presumed that the person had died of dehydration and had laid here for who knew how long. It had to be a very long time because there was nothing left of them but bones.

Leona looked forward and saw another path to go down, but it looked like it went deep into the earth. She took a quiet breath and began walking forward until she got a chance to look down the tunnel, which went at a gentle slope but went on as far as the eye could see. She lingered at the edge and waited for Mortemer to catch up before moving into the sloping tunnel and beginning the gradual descent.

-Inside the sloping tunnel, four minutes later-

Leona and Mortemer had been going down the slope for a few minutes when the incline suddenly and unexpectedly got steeper and their speed picked up. The pair struggled to control their momentum as they staggered and got faster and faster despite their best efforts to slow down. Eventually they tripped over their own feet and pitched forward; Leona landed on her chest and began tumbling down the incline and Mortemer followed suit. After rolling for several seconds they reached the bottom. Leona lay in place because her chest was hurting from absorbing the worst of the fall, but Mortemer was already back on his feet and was facing her.

"I'm sorry, Leona. The Lacrima lantern got broken in the fall and it's no longer any good." Mortemer apologized for losing the light he was carrying for her. Leona sat up and took a few moments to catch her breath before saying anything.

"It's OK, Mortemer. We can always replace a Lacrima lantern. I'm just glad that you're OK." She told him that the light was replaceable. She was glad to still have the mummy with her because his presence meant that she was not alone in the tunnels. That also meant that if she got into trouble he might be able to save her. Leona took a loud breath and checked her limbs for any injuries like breaks, fractures, or other wounds that might force her to abandon the search and return to the surface.

Her arms and legs were just fine: the worst that had happened to her was losing her breath during the fall and the impact that her chest took. She continued to sit on the floor while recovering from the tumble, barely noticing the chill that sitting on the cold floor was sending throughout her body. She was lucky that she did not break a limb in the fall... or her neck.

"Are you OK, Leona?" Mortemer asked, his red eyes cutting through the gloom and looking directly into Leona's eyes.

"I'm fine, Mortemer. I'm just going to need a few minutes to recover." Leona informed him while remaining seated. In a few minutes she would get up and resume the search, but for now she was just going to take a break while she was sitting down.

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[Total Word Count: 3,370/11,000]

-Twenty-one minutes later-

Leona's chest was still hurting after taking the brunt of the fall earlier, but she had gotten up and moved on. Now she was standing inside a large cavern with no stalactites or stalagmites and a large stone door in the center of the back wall. That stone door was obviously not a natural feature, so Leona approached it to study it. It was a pair of large stone doors with a prominent clock motif in the center... were the doors to open each one would have half of the clock on it.

The clock itself was carved in great detail. It had numerals and the appropriate markings for the hours and minutes. It even had hour and minute hands positioned at 12 o'clock. They would never move due to being a static piece of art, but someone had gone to great lengths to make the clock as accurate as possible.

"That's an interesting door design. It's carved in such exquisite detail!" Mortemer mused aloud. Leona studied it closer and saw a phrase inscribed beneath the clock.

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.

"Time waits for no one." Leona recited the phrase aloud. She then folded her arms across her chest and looked at the phrase closely. It clearly had something to do with the clock above it, but what the significance was escaped the blonde.

Leona remained silent she looked at the clock on the door. Mortemer looked at her without saying a word. Leona's stood in place a few moments longer before she busied herself looking for other inscribed phrases that might help her decipher the meaning of the one on the door. She began to walk around the perimeter of the room heading to the right at a slow pace so that she did not miss anything she could possibly spot.

Leona looked along the walls and floors but did not see anything on the right side of the room, so she kept going. She circled around to the entrance and did not find anything, so she continued left. She went past the left wall and saw nothing that could help her, so she returned to the stone doors where she had started and stood in place while Mortemer looked on in silence.

The Wizard Saint looked at the words inscribed below the clock again and tried to figure out the special meaning behind them. She put her hands on her hips and looked at the phrase, studying it closely. A few moments later she voiced another hypothesis.

"I wonder if there's a special time-sensitive lock on the door that opens only at a certain time of day?" Leona asked Mortemer. She really did not expect him to know the answer, but she asked him anyway because he was the only one around to talk to.

"I have no idea. I can't tell you the answer, but I'm sure that you'll figure it out, Leona!" Mortemer assured Leona that the latter would be the one to solve the mystery of the door. The Wizard Saint studied the door yet again and read the inscription yet another time.

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE.

Leona thought about the meaning as she looked at the clock carved onto the doors, then the doors themselves. She began to think about what she had read and got an idea. Maybe she was not supposed to wait around after all. Maybe she was supposed to take action and force her way past the obstacle.

Leona, having a flash of intuition, wordlessly walked over to the double doors, placed one hand on each door, and pushed on them, applying the same amount of pressure to each one. She was not wearing her Argent Gloves, so she did not possess the enhanced strength she would have if she were wearing them. She did not expect to get very far by pushing on stone doors with her bare hands, but it was worth a try even if she ended up looking stupid.

To her surprise they were opening without the resistance she had expected them to give her. She was pushing them open like they were made of wood and her ears were under attack by the loud sound of stone sliding on stone. Leona soon pushed the doors far enough apart where she and Mortemer could pass through them and stopped when she was certain they would not close on her.

"You did it, Leona! I knew you'd find a way to solve the riddle!" Mortemer complimented Leona on getting the doors open before stopping on her right side.

"I made a lucky guess." Leona calmly asserted. Past the doors loomed another long tunnel that gently sloped into the earth. The Wizard Saint could not see the end of the tunnel, so she had to assume that it went on for a good distance. She wondered how much further she would have to go before she found the room containing the elemental stone.

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[Total Word Count: 4,200/11,000]

-Inside the tunnel, eleven minutes later-

After solving the riddle of the stone doors with the clock carved onto them Leona and Mortemer were now in the next tunnel. They had been walking for some time and they were about to finish traversing the gentle slope, which they had traversed without incident. Ahead of them lay another passageway that was level, which was good because she was getting tired of having to walk carefully to avoid stumbling and rolling down another slope.

Another minute later and the pair were now standing on level ground... they did not break stride as they continued to move. There was nothing special about the passage in front of them. There were no carvings on the walls, no skeletons of long-dead adventurers lying on the ground, nothing. She was sure that there would be something interesting once they reached the end, so she kept walking.

-Fifteen minutes later-

At the end of the passage was another large room that was lit by light blue glowing crystal formations about the size of a human head sitting along the floor of the room and hanging from the ceiling. Leona was mesmerized by the sight and so was Mortemer, who looked around the room slowly. She wondered if these crystals were natural or not, but regardless of their origin they were undeniably beautiful.

"This room's so pretty." Mortemer said in a voice that indicated he was mesmerized by the crystals. Leona looked around for a few more seconds before turning her attention to the door, which had four skeletons lying in front of it. She drew her Silver Longsword in case the skeletons decided to rise when she got close to the door and slowly moved towards the door. When she got to it she looked down at the skeletons and expected them to rise up to attack, but they remained motionless on the ground.

Leona looked at the doors, which were double doors just like the ones in the room she had left behind a while ago. On them was carved a triangle with thin borders and what looked like rays of light emanating from behind it... just like the clock on the previous door the triangle was placed so that it would be evenly split between the doors when they opened. Underneath it was an inscription that caught Leona's attention.

SHOW YOUR POWER AND THE WAY WILL OPEN.

Leona looked down at the skeletons lying near the doors and noticed they they had brought metal pickaxes. She noticed that the pickaxes were all broken, so there was no way she would be able to use one for herself. There were also twenty-five empty cloth bags that might have held food and forty-two water containers like the one she had seen earlier, suggesting that they had spent quite some time attempting to get through the doors. Perhaps the quartet had exhausted their supplies by staying and exerting themselves swinging pickaxes even when it was clear that their method was not going to work. Maybe they were convinced that they could get through if they just kept at it, but obviously that did not happen.

She looked up at the door, put away her Silver Longsword, and walked towards it, then put each of her hands on a door and began to push on them with all her might. They did not budge at all.

"Let me help you, Leona!" Mortemer called out. He moved towards the left door and stopped in front of it, then placed his bandaged hands on them. Leona looked at him.

"Let's push together!" Leona suggested. Mortemer faced the door in front of him and Leona followed suit with her door. They pushed on the doors with both hands at roughly the same time. Despite both of them applying their full strength to the task nothing happened.

"We're not getting anywhere!" Mortemer observed after stepping back. Both of them tried one last big push to force the doors open and that attempt failed. When that did not work they both stepped away and faced each other.

"OK, that didn't work." Leona made her own observation. She looked near the bottom of the door and saw many marks where the pickaxes had struck but no signs of them even getting close to punching through the door. Leona looked up at the inscription and began to think about its meaning.

Did the inscription mean that anyone who wanted to pass needed to show their physical strength?

Leona doubted that that was the meaning. She and Mortemer had just pushed on the doors and nothing had happened. The long-dead adventurers had tried to use metal tools to get through and they had failed. She would need a bit of time to think this one through since no flash of intuition came to her like it had at the previous door. Leona folded her arms across her chest and began tapping her right foot on the floor as she thought over the meaning of the inscription.

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-Twenty minutes later-

Leona had been thinking about the words she had read and was still no closer to figuring them out. She briefly had the idea to use one of her techniques on the door, but she was not keen on punching or kicking a set of thick stone doors if she could avoid it. After nixing that idea she stood a short distance away from the doors and glared at them. She was getting nowhere until she re-read the inscription and a burst of inspiration hit her.

What if the "power" that the inscription spoke of was magical power?

Deciding to give it a try since she had nothing to lose, Leona raised her right hand towards the door. Since she had no idea how much power would be necessary to move the doors she decided to use her Air Pressure spell, which was one of her strongest spells. She prepared the spell and fired at the center of the doors where the triangle sat. The horizontal column of air hit the center of the triangle and she watched as the spell was seemingly absorbed without any effect on the doors.

Did she use enough power or did she needed to use Silver Tempest?

Moments later the triangle began to glow silver and so did the lines radiating out from it. Leona watched the light show and when it ended the doors moved backwards until they came to a stop. Mortemer turned to face Leona.

"You did it, Leona! You opened the doors where those other people failed!" Mortemer praised Leona for opening the second set of doors. The Wizard Saint faced her mummy companion.

"Solving that one took me a bit longer than the first, but that's OK. We can get moving again." Leona told him. Mortemer did not say anything else and faced the open passageway while Leona looked down at the skeletons of the dead adventurers. It was more than a little sad that their adventure had ended the way it did, but that was a possibility for anyone who chose to travel the world. After a moment of silence for the long-dead quartet of adventurers she proceeded through the open doors and Mortemer followed to her left.

-In the next chamber, twenty-three minutes later-

The tunnel after the second set of double doors was nothing to write home about. It was a straight and level tunnel with no special features, not even a gentle slope or a turn at any point. Now Leona and Mortemer were standing in a large room lit by crystals just like the ones from the chamber they had left behind less than half an hour ago. In the center wall of the room was yet another set of stone double doors and Leona knew what that meant.

"Another set of doors, another inscription to read." Leona mused aloud. She walked over to the doors and looked at them to see what she could find out.

This set was decorated with what looked like a carving of a high mountain range with ground below. The ground below had no special features... it was just flat terrain. A short distance below the ground Leona located the inscription she was looking for and began to read it.

GET DOWN TO EARTH AND YOU WILL FIND THE WAY FORWARD.

Leona folded her arms across her chest and began trying to even imagine what that could mean. She looked at the ground beneath her feet for a clue like a hidden floor panel that might contain a lever or other means to open the door in front of her. She was not seeing one right away, so she knew that she would have to search the entire chamber. Leona left Mortemer standing in front of the doors as she walked until she stopped several feet away, then turned right and started walking.

The Wizard Saint was going to start her search at the perimeter and walk a gradually tightening square until she reached the center of the area. She walked right along the walls and kept her eyes on the ground as she moved. Once she had searched the perimeter and come up with nothing she began to tighten the square as Mortemer watched her from afar.

-Fifteen minutes later-

"I don't get it. I've searched this entire chamber and found nothing. What does that inscription even mean?" Leona asked Mortemer from the center of the room, her voice carrying to him thanks to the acoustics of the area. The mummy walked over to her while facing her, his red eyes clashing with the light blue glow filling the chamber. He stopped at arm's length from her and spoke.

"Don't worry, Leona. You'll decipher this inscription like you did the first two!" The mummy offered some words of encouragement to Leona, who needed that encouragement to figure out the meaning of the inscription she had read. This one would likely take a good deal longer than the second to decipher.

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[Total Word Count: 5,876/11,000]

-Forty-five minutes later-

Leona had walked the perimeter of the room looking for clues and she had found nothing to help her. She was genuinely stumped by the inscription... she knew that in this situation going "down to earth" had nothing to do with being practical, but other than that obvious bit of information she was not getting anywhere. Considering the double meaning of the past inscriptions, this one had a meaning that she was not yet able to understand.

Leona took her backpack off of her back, opened it, grabbed a bottle of water, and began to drink from it as she looked around the room for anything she might have missed. She did not see anything that caught her eye, but the crystals made the chamber glow a beautiful light blue that had a calming effect. Her eyes turned towards the door and she began to examine it. She walked towards it to get a better look and stopped when she reached Mortemer's side.

Just like when she had first seen it the carving on the doors showed a high mountain looming over the flat ground below. There was not much detail to it, but there had to be some special significance for it to be put there to begin with. Leona took another sip from her water bottle and thought about the inscription and the carving as her eyes wandered to the former and then stopped.

GET DOWN TO EARTH AND YOU WILL FIND THE WAY FORWARD.

Leona glanced at the carving again and noted the mountain looming over the flat land below. She then looked at the words, then back at the mountain. That prompted her to begin thinking in a way other than literal and she soon pondered the words from a new angle. Maybe they were not talking about a change in personality... maybe it was a change in perspective that was needed.

Motivated to test her hypothesis, Leona put the cap back on her half-empty bottle of water and jammed it into her backpack, then zipped it up and slung it on her back. She walked back to the center of the chamber, then took a knee and began looking around the area from that perspective. She saw nothing straight ahead of her, so she stood up, turned left, and knelt again. Nothing.

Leona stood up, turned, and faced the way she had come in before kneeling a third time. For a third time she saw nothing. There was only one direction left to face, so Leona repeated the process and faced right. This time she noticed a hole in the right wall that had blended in because she was not looking at it from the right angle.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to crawl through that tunnel." Leona said aloud with a lack of joy. She was glad to have finally found a potential solution to the problem, but the hole led to a tunnel that looked pretty low. It looked so low that she was going to have to crawl on her stomach to get through it and that was going to be a bit of a challenge thanks to her large chest.

Leona groaned before walking over to Mortemer and taking off her backpack, sword belt, and pistol belt. She handed each item to the mummy, allowing him time to take each piece of gear and arrange it in a way that would let him comfortably hold it for her. Once he had all three pieces of gear she walked away from him and went to the hole in the wall, then got on her hands and knees before lowering herself to her stomach. She was not looking forward to this.

"Good luck, Leona!" Mortemer called out as Leona began to crawl into the low tunnel.

-Inside the low tunnel-

Leona was having a rough time moving forward because the tunnel was so low that she barely had enough clearance to move. The ceiling was so low that each time she moved her back brushed against it and the sides were so close that her sleeves brushed against them. Despite those obstacles Leona continued to crawl forward the best she could.

At the halfway point Leona had to finally stop and take a break. Her chest was starting to hurt from being crammed into the small space and she needed to pause before she moved on. The blonde hoped that the tunnel would not collapse with her in it because she would have no way to free herself. Mortemer could not help her either. She also hoped that there were not any snakes in here either because if one slithered in front of her she did not have her Scout Laser Pistol and she could not reach Ses Revanche in her right boot.

After a minute or two spent lying still Leona started to move forward again. As she drew closer and closer to the end she realized that she might have to make a turn to the left. Leona began to slow down when she drew closer to the end and saw that the tunnel did indeed feature a curve to the left, something that made her groan in frustration. It was all she could do to move in a straight line and now she was going to have to somehow make a turn since the curve was almost at a 45-degree angle.

This was going to be tough.

[Post Word Count: 910]
[Total Word Count: 6,786/11,000]

-Inside the low tunnel, seven minutes later-

Leona had tried to turn herself enough to make the difficult turn to the left, but doing so was tougher than expected. Her large chest worked against her and so did her backside. The Wizard Saint had tried twice to force herself through the turn but had failed each time. She was hoping that she could make it soon because while she did not have claustrophobia she certainly did not want to stay in this low tunnel any longer than she had to. It was starting to get rather uncomfortable in here.

Having moved back far enough to line herself up for another attempt, Leona slowly crawled forward and when she reached the turn twisted her torso to the left and turned her lower body a bit to the left to try and help herself pass through the narrow space, but again she was unable to complete the passage before getting stuck. Leona slowly extricated herself and slowly backed away to try to get through for a fourth time.

This time she took it slow and steady, easing her upper body into the turn before following slowly and carefully with her lower body. This time she passed through without much difficulty and continued moving forward, picking up a bit of speed now that she was through the difficult turn. Ahead of her was another length of low tunnel, but this one did not have any more turns... it was a straight passage that would hopefully have an end at some point.

-Outside the low tunnel, eight minutes later-

After a fair amount of crawling Leona finally emerged from the low tunnel and lay on her stomach for a minute or so. She was finally out of the narrow passage and was now in a larger tunnel where she could stand up and walk. She looked up and spotted a lever on the wall in front of her, which she assumed would open the doors in the room she had left Mortemer standing in. After remembering the presence of her mummy companion Leona forced herself to her feet, slowly walked over to the lever, and pulled the lever down. Her guess was accurate because the doors to the left opened inward and in walked Mortemer.

"You made it through that low tunnel, Leona! I knew you could do it!" The mummy praised Leona for her ability.

"It took me awhile, but I made it through." Leona told him, deliberately omitting the part about how her body had worked against her in the narrow passageway. He did not need to know that. Besides, he could probably figure it out if he wanted to.

After reuniting with her faithful mummy companion the pair faced to the right and saw a short length of tunnel that opened onto a large room that looked circular. That caught Leona's interest. Hoping that she could finally claim the elemental stone she had been looking for, Leona began to walk briskly towards the opening, leaving Mortemer to hurry after her while still holding onto all of her gear.

-Inside the circular chamber, three minutes later-

After a brief and brisk walk Leona stood inside a large circular chamber with Mortemer standing right behind her. Around the perimeter of the room were a few of the glowing crystals from the previous rooms that gave off just enough light to make everything visible. In the center of the room was a small circular platform with a rectangular object that faintly resembled an altar and on top of the altar sat a gleaming object.

"I think that's the elemental stone." Leona mused to her partner.

"Want me to go get it in case the area's full of traps?" Mortemer offered. Leona shook her head.

"I'll get it." Leona said, fueled by excitement at the prospect of her search drawing to a close. Before Mortemer could respond she began walking towards the platform and when she reached it stepped onto it and approached the altar. She stopped just in front of it, reached out, and grabbed the object. She examined it and found that it was an object that had a polished surface like glass and was of a golden color. On its front was a stylized image of the sun with rays of light emanating from behind it.

With her prize in hand Leona walked over to Mortemer and showed him the stone.

"I believe that this is the real deal." Leona said to him as she showed off the stone. Mortemer looked at it with great interest.

"It's so pretty." Mortemer commented on the appearance of the stone. Leona thought it was beautiful too. She thought it was even more beautiful than the other elemental stones she had already collected because of its color and the way it glimmered in the light. Speaking of elemental stones, she had gotten what she had come for, so it was time to go home.

"I'd say we're done here. I'm ready to leave this place whenever you are, Mortemer." Leona told her companion. His eyes moved away from the stone and met hers.

"Sure thing, Leona! Let's go!" Mortemer told her. The pair left the circular chamber and started their trip back to the surface where the Albatross was waiting. She would spend some time at Silver Wolf Guild Hall taking care of any paperwork that had been left on her desk before paying a visit to Dr. Ravenholm in Capital Crocus.

[Post Word Count: 916]
[Total Word Count: 7,702/11,000]

-Outside the cave, two hours and forty-seven minutes later-

It had taken Leona and Mortemer quite a bit of traveling to get out of the tunnels because the pair had gotten lost at least once, but they were now outside the cave and were heading for the Albatross. It was nighttime and the wind was blowing a bit, but the full moon overhead provided enough light for the pair to see the aircraft. After a minute or two of walking they reached it and the cargo ramp lowered automatically to allow them to board. They boarded the Albatross and when Mortemer made his way up the ramp Leona manually raised the ramp.

-Inside the Albatross, four minutes later-

Leona had left Mortemer in the first Passenger's Quarters while she went to the cockpit to set a course for home. She sat in the pilot's seat, placed the golden stone in her lap, fastened her safety belt, and set Silver Wolf Guild Hall as the destination on the navigational computer, then confirmed the choice and felt the Albatross begin the automated takeoff sequence. She jolted back in her seat and the aircraft began to ascend using its VTOL capability. Once it had ascended to a safe height it began to move towards the destination.

When the Albatross began to move Leona unbuckled the safety belt and took the golden stone into her right hand, then stood up and let Coleridge do the flying as she went to the Pilot's Quarters to lie down for awhile.

-In the Pilot's Quarters two minutes later-

Leona arrived in her quarters to see that Mortemer had placed her pistol belt, sword belt, and backpack on the bed for her. Leona cleared her bed off and placed the pistol belt and sword belt inside the footlocker at the foot of her bed and then set the backpack down inside. She placed the stone inside of the container and closed the lid, then went back to her bed and sat on it. Leona took off her boots and placed them next to her bed, then reclined on it and faced the ceiling.

She was glad that she had bought the Albatross and started using it as her primary means of transportation. She could lay back and let the autopilot do the flying if she were either unable to fly the aircraft manually or if she simply did not feel like it. She could also store a lot of cargo in the cargo bay, allowing her to carry much more than she could in her hands or in a backpack. While the accommodations aboard the Albatross were not the most luxurious available, they were comfortable enough for Leona.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, four hours and thirty-two minutes later-

Leona had arrived at the guild hall almost five hours ago and had taken a shower once she had put her belongings in her room. After drying off and changing into clean clothing she was now wearing her green tube top and green, white, and gold skirt and was about to go to her office to see how much paperwork she had to do. She intended to do some of it tonight so that she did not have as much to do tomorrow because she planned to visit Dr. Ravenholm in Capital Crocus to see whether she had found a real elemental stone or had found a fake. Even though she probably needed to sleep more than she needed to do paperwork Leona was not going to ignore her administrative duties... she left her room and made a beeline for her office to tackle those responsibilities.

-Leona's Room, seven hours and fifty-one minutes later-

It was almost daylight by the time Leona finally returned to her room. There were four giant stacks of papers waiting for her on her desk and she had spent almost eight hours taking care of it all. It had been rough going because of her fatigue, but she had managed to complete it all without making any mistakes. Now she could go to sleep for awhile before she went to Capital Crocus to visit Dr. Ravenholm.

Leona walked over to her bed and plopped down on it, then reclined and faced her room door before closing her eyes.

-Leona's Room, seven hours and twelve minutes later-

Leona woke up and slowly sat up on the edge of her bed, putting her feet on the floor before standing up. She was not sure how much daylight she had left, but she needed to get going if she wanted to make it to Capital Crocus before nightfall. Leona walked over to her wardrobe and picked out a clean pair of khaki cargo pants to change into, then fished out a clean pair of socks to wear. She took off her skirt and put on the pants, then sat on the edge of the bed and put on her socks. Finally she put on her boots.

Leona was just about ready to go, but she was needing to get her olive green jacket. She was going to keep wearing her green tube top because she was not doing anything that required a higher standard of dress, but she was going to wear the jacket in case she needed to cover up. She would be traveling in the Albatross, so if she needed to go and change her top all she needed to do was return to the Pilot's Quarters and get another one from her wardrobe.

[Post Word Count: 920]
[Total Word Count: 8,622/11,000]

-Capital Crocus, The Ravenholm Estate, five hours and thirty-three minutes later-

Leona had landed the Albatross on the outskirts of Capital Crocus a little over four hours ago and it had taken her a little over an hour and a half to get to Dr. Ravenholm's mansion thanks to the dense foot traffic and by the time she had gotten there the daylight was fading. Now Leona was standing in the doctor's study a short distance away from the purple-haired doctor, who had just finished examining the golden stone and had turned to face the Wizard Saint. The older woman held the stone out towards Leona.

"It's real." She laconically announced.

"I'm glad to hear that, Doctor. I had to solve three puzzles to get to it and I didn't want to find out that I had went to all that trouble to retrieve a fake." Leona expressed relief that the elemental stone she had found was real.

"It's called the Sol Stone." Dr. Ravenholm told Leona the name of the golden stone. The older woman then stood up from her chair and approached the Wizard Saint, handing her the stone. Leona took it and placed it in her right cargo pocket.

"And if you want to find the other stones you'll have to solve some more riddles. The group that left the stones behind was fond of them. They wanted to make sure that only the worthy found the stones that unlocked the vault containing their treasures." The purple-haired woman volunteered another bit of information. Leona did not feel strongly one way or the other. She supposed that there had to be some difficulty in obtaining the treasures or the group would not have bothered going to the trouble of creating the elemental stones and a vault to begin with.

"All right." Leona answered calmly. Dr. Ravenholm made eye contact with the blonde.

"I don't know what you'll find when looking for the remaining stones, but be careful and be prepared for anything. Take plenty of supplies and don't be afraid to come back at a later date if you don't have what you need to get past an obstacle." The doctor advised Leona, reiterating points she had made weeks ago. Leona was going to be ready. For one thing she was going to look for a shatter-resistant Lacrima lantern to replace the one she had lost in the tunnels beneath Mysterious Canyon. For another thing she was going to make sure to take her Argent Gloves with her from now on.

"I'll be careful, Doctor. And thanks for your help." Leona thanked her hostess for the help she had given the Wizard Saint so far.

"You're welcome, Leona. If you need help with anything else my door's always open." Dr. Ravenholm told Leona to drop by if she needed assistance during the course of her search.

"I will. I'll see you later, Doctor." Leona said before turning to leave the study and Ravenholm Manor to go back to the Albatross.

"See you later, Leona." Dr. Ravenholm bade Leona farewell. Leona left the study and saw herself out. Once she was outside the mansion she began the return trip to the Albatross... she was tempted to swing by the mall, but she decided to save that for tomorrow because the sun had just set and she wanted to place the Sol Stone at the guild hall for safekeeping instead of running the risk of it being stolen by pickpockets by hanging around the city after dark.

-Capital Crocus Mall, the next day, 11:33 A.M.-

Dressed in her black tube top and khaki cargo pants with tan boots and olive green jacket, Leona had plenty of spending money secured in her pocket. She was here to buy more jackets to go with her shirts and possibly buy a pair of tennis shoes. Leona really needed to be deciphering the next riddle pertaining to the location of the next elemental stone or securing supplies to begin her first robotics project, but today she was going to be somewhat lazy and do what she wanted to do. Besides, part of her needed a break from constantly being on the go and she could think of few better ways than to go to Capital Crocus Mall.

Leona made her way through the busy entrance hall and turned right at the entrance to the food court, which was packed with people. First she was going to go to Earthland Eagle to see what was available. After that she would visit The Modern Woman on the second floor and The Athlete's Edge on the third floor. Once her shopping trip was complete she would return to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and get back to work.

[Post Word Count: 790]
[Total Word Count: 9,412/11,000]

-Capital Crocus Mall, 1:55 P.M.-

It had taken Leona almost an hour to get through Earthland Eagle because there were so many shoppers in that store that she had to walk slowly to avoid bumping into anyone. She emerged with two shopping bags. The first contained one pair each of white, khaki, and olive green capri cargo pants that were her size. The other contained a navy blue and olive green tube top of the conservative variety Leona was currently wearing, a navy blue one of the "tube" variety that would only cover her chest, and navy blue and black ones of an intermediate variety that would cover her chest and part of her midsection. All the other racks of shirts had been picked clean, but that was no big loss because she had found a casual style of pants to wear that was a somewhat modern style.

Now she was going to go to The Modern Woman on the second floor to look for some more jackets to go with her shirts. So far she only had the olive green one she was wearing and she wanted at least one more of a different color. However, the mall was quite busy and there was a steady stream of shoppers heading up the stairs that led to the second and third floors. She suspected that the second floor would be packed with people, but that would not stop her from looking for jackets. She waited until there was a sizable gap in the pedestrian traffic before heading up the stairs to the second floor.

-Outside The Modern Woman, 3:07 P.M.-

Leona had spent a little over an hour inside the store, which was teeming with young female shoppers like Earthland Eagle had been. She emerged with a single shopping bag containing a white jacket, another olive green jacket, and a khaki jacket. She was lucky to get those three items because the jackets were apparently a popular item... it did not help that there was a 25% off sale on them today. At least she had been able to benefit from it and save some Jewels on her purchase.

Now she was going to go to The Athlete's Edge on the third floor and see if she could find a decent pair of tennis shoes. She had not had any luck finding any the last few times she had been here, but maybe today would be different.

-On the third floor, 3:12 P.M.-

Getting up the stairs to the third floor had been a bit of a challenge thanks to an unexpected rush of shoppers going from the second floor to the third, but Leona was now on the third floor and was standing a short distance from The Athlete's Edge. She saw that the store was packed full of young male and female shoppers, a sight which gave her little hope of getting inside to browse at the shoes. Leona made a quick decision and decided to give up on the venture for today. She had already spent too much time and money here and she really needed to get back to the guild hall and do the paperwork that was likely waiting on her. Leona turned around and began to follow the crowd to the left that was heading for the stairs that would take them to the lower floors.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room 11:31 P.M.-

Leona had arrived at Silver Wolf Guild Hall over four hours ago and had set her shopping bags down on the bed in her room before taking off her jacket and leaving it on the back of the chair at her desk. She had went straight to her office and tackled the three giant stacks of paper that were waiting on her. The job had taken her a little over three hours, but it was done for the day.

Now she was back in her room and laying out her purchases on her bed. The tube tops were sitting on the left side, the pants were sitting in the center, and the jackets were sitting on the right. Leona was pleased with her purchases... while they might not have been a necessity, she was looking to expand her wardrobe to include more modern styles of casual clothing. The cargo capri pants were a good addition because they were fairly modern and seemed to be a style that was always popular. The tube tops were a little harder to defend, but Leona had taken a liking to the conservative style because it was good for wear around the guild hall or for casual outings.

The less conservative ones were being saved to wear for Masha or for the day when Leona grew comfortable enough with her body to wear something less conservative. She had already experimented with wearing sleeveless crop tops under her Desert Survival Armor because she did not care if they got sweaty, but she was not yet brave enough to use them for everyday wear without a jacket over them. Leona would have to take small steps towards that point.

After examining her purchases one last time Leona bundled them up and set them off to the left side of her bed. She would have to wash them before she put them in her wardrobe. For now she was going to break out the list of riddles and see if she could decipher one of them and learn the possible hiding place of another elemental stone.

[Post Word Count: 914]
[Total Word Count: 10,330/11,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 1:33 A.M.-

Leona had spent a little time looking at the list of riddles and found one that was of interest to her.

In the castle haunted by the unknown one will find the stone.

Leona was pretty sure that the castle in question was Haunted Castle. She had been there only once before and that was years ago when she was still working to establish herself as a Silver Wolf mage. A lot of time had passed since then... now she was the Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf and the Wizard Saint of Courage. She doubted that the job would be a simple trip down Memory Lane, so she was going to bring her Silver Longsword, wear armor, and wear her Argent Gloves.

Leona would prepare for a trip there tomorrow. She already had armor and weapons aplenty. She was going to wear her Adaptable Armor and Argent Gloves and she was going to carry at least one weapon capable of dealing with supernatural entities. Her Silver Longsword was great for dealing with ghosts and werewolves, but she did not know if Haunted Castle was home to vampires and was doubtful of its ability to harm vampires.

One option was for Leona to try that formula of garlic, rosemary, and holy water for a temporary anti-vampire solution she could apply to her Silver Longsword that she had researched months ago, but it would take fourteen days to prepare. Another problem with it was that once it was applied to her Silver Longsword she would have to race against time to make use of the weapon while the formula was active. Her memory was fuzzy, but she knew that it lasted only a few hours before wearing off.

Another option was to appeal to the Order of Lightbringers for aid. They had provided her with her Silver Longsword after her visit to Haunted Castle all of those years ago. Perhaps she could request a Holy weapon for use against vampires... her ideal weapon would be a Holy sword of some type, but she would settle for any Holy weapon they were willing to provide.

Thinking about swords made Leona remember something.

She had Shoki, the katana that had been loaned to her a few years back. It had proven useful against ghosts and zombies and if it could affect those supernatural threats it could likely harm vampires too. Leona was tempted to take it with her, but she wanted to take a backup weapon in case Shoki proved to be useless. She would talk to the Order of Lightbringers and see if they wanted her help with a task in exchange for a weapon that would work against vampires as well as ghosts, werewolves, and other threats. If they wanted money instead Leona was more than willing to pay for one.

She would pay the Order a visit either later today or early tomorrow. She probably could get by with using Shoki, but she wanted to be prepared and have a reliable backup weapon in case Shoki did not work against whatever might be lurking in Haunted Castle. Leona would do that later... right now she really needed to sleep.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 9:42 A.M.-

Leona woke up and rolled over onto her left side, then sat up on the edge of her bed. She had overslept like she did from time to time, but that was OK. The paperwork that was likely waiting in her office was not going anywhere. She would handle it as soon as she had had some coffee to drink and that meant a trip to the guild cafe.

Leona stood up and began walking towards her room door. When she reached it she opened it and walked out, then shut it behind her.

-Leona's Office, 10:22 A.M.-

The paperwork had been surprisingly light, but that was probably because it was still early in the day. If she gave it a few hours there would likely be more sitting on her desk waiting for her attention. As it stood Leona had finished the single stack that had been left for her and was about to get up when an elderly guild staff member walked in with another armful, carefully set the stack in front of her, and walked out. Leona was not pleased by the arrival of more paperwork, but it could not be helped.

She had just started on the new stack when a second guild staff member arrived and deposited another stack on the left side of her desk. Leona remained silent as a third person arrived with a third armful of paperwork and deposited it on the right side. The moment they left the room and shut the door Leona sighed.

It looked like today was going to be devoted to administrative work.

[Post Word Count: 810]
[Total Word Count: 11,140/11,000]

-Leona's Room, 8:44 P.M.-

Leona walked slowly into her room after a long day at the office, sat down on the edge of her bed, and reclined, then commenced staring at the ceiling. She was feeling every one of the hours she had spent taking care of paperwork. There had been a few times where she thought it was over only for another staff member to walk in with an armful of papers to deposit on her desk. Those times were tough ones, but she had made it through and now the administrative work was done for the day... she hoped.

Leona looked to her left and noticed the clothing she had bought still lying on the left side of the bed and still needing to be washed. She needed to do that sometime soon, but that time was not now because Leona did not quite have the energy to do laundry after more than a ten-hour workday in the office. She would just do it tomorrow.

The tired blonde got up, took the clothes into her hands, and walked over to her desk chair, where she draped them on the back of it so that her bed was free. She walked back over to her bed, sat down on the edge, swung her feet to the foot of the bed, and reclined. She then resumed staring at the ceiling.

If nothing else came up the first thing Leona would do tomorrow morning was gather her gear for a trip to Holy Castle. There she would ask what it would take for the Order of Lightbringers to part with a Holy weapon. Once she obtained one she would take a day to fully prepare for her trip to Haunted Castle before heading there in search of the next elemental stone.

With that Leona stared at the ceiling until she went to sleep, which did not take very long because she had done administrative work most of the day. Hopefully she would not have to do any when she first woke up tomorrow morning. After enduring a ten-hour marathon session tonight she wanted to do anything but stare at stacks of papers all day tomorrow.

[Post Word Count: 364]
[Total Word Count: 11,504/11,000]