Desert Temple Trouble

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 27, Post Number 666

-Desierto, Nebdoui, early afternoon-

Landing on the outskirts of Nebdoui and dismounting the Winged Lion while concealed by a cloud of dust kicked up by the lion's wings, Leona waited until the cloud dissipated before dusting off her green, white, and gold outfit. She had originally planned to go on a much-needed vacation to Crescent Island, but Chief Elijah had called upon the Wizard Saint for a job that was in her wheelhouse. It was a job that would be a lot easier than mingling with the hostile and insular upper crust of Capital Crocus and bidding a sultan's ransom for a single bottle of rare wine.

Five days ago Chief Elijah had been informed about a potential hideout of the Crimson Sashes by the scouts of the Regudo tribe, who had tracked them from Central Desierto to a temple in Southern Desierto. The royal army had been attacking the Crimson Sashes almost non-stop for a month and a medium-sized band of the raiders was forcibly separated from the main army and forced to go into hiding until the pressure from the royal army subsided. Due to her numerous encounters with the raiders in the past, Leona had been hired by Chief Elijah to find their temple hideout, enter it, and kill any Crimson Sashes she could find within.

Leona dispelled the Winged Lion and walked towards the desert village she called home. As her boots crunched through the sand and the middle of her Silver Longsword slapped against her left thigh she could hear the familiar sound of a blacksmith's hammer clanging on an anvil... her brother Leonidas was at work on yet another blacksmith project for the village. She wondered if the iron ore resupply Nebdoui had purchased a few months ago was still holding out. She assumed that it was sufficient for the time being because she had not yet received another letter describing how dire the supply situation was, but in her experience things could change in an instant.

That would have to wait because Chief Elijah and Joshua were still negotiating with Berreb, Regudo, and the Blue Sky Clan for the manpower needed to take the mine. Today Leona's job was to locate and wipe out a pocket of Crimson Sashes members before they could rebuild their numbers and rejoin the main body of outlaws. She passed by the blacksmith's tent and glimpsed Leonidas hammering a scimitar into shape before focusing her attention forward onto the chief's tent. She walked past her mother teaching adults and children to read from scrolls and opened the flap to the chief's tent, going inside the tent after a brief pause.

-Inside Chief Elijah's tent-

"Hello Leona!" The village chief greeted her from behind his wooden desk. Leona raised her right hand in greeting and looked towards the map of Desierto positioned in the right corner of the tent. Chief Elijah got up and made his way over to the map, then traced his finger down a dotted red line leading from Nebdoui to a point in Southern Desierto that had been marked "Old Temple" and circled with a red marker.

"The Regudo scouts tracked the Crimson Sashes force to an old temple in Southern Desierto before being forced to break contact to avoid discovery. It's a temple to ancient deities that was built centuries before the sultans took power, so no one knows what's inside. Aside from the Crimson Sashes, there could also be old mechanical traps built in as defenses, so be careful!" Chief Elijah told her.

"I'll be careful, Chief." Leona assured him. Chief Elijah nodded and resumed speaking.

"You'll be going to the temple alone, Leona. Our allies are busy guarding their villages from outlaw attacks and our militia's still being organized and trained. Southern Desierto's safer than Central Desierto, but don't be fooled. There are still outlaws roaming the region, so be careful!" Chief Elijah warned her.

"About how long do you think it'll take for me to get there on foot?" Leona asked.

"About six hours... if you don't stop for anything." Came the answer from the village leader. Leona hmmm'd.

"Looks like I'd better get going then. I'll be back as soon as I can!" Leona bade the chief farewell. Chief Elijah waved goodbye and Leona left the tent behind to get started on the lengthy journey to the old temple. She would have to travel through desert that was not quite as dangerous as Central Desierto but was still home to quite a few outlaw groups. Aside from the threat posed by human enemies, there was also a stretch of desert that was as inhospitable as any in the desert country. Treating Southern Desierto lightly just because it was not bandit-infested could spell the end of Leona if she did not travel with all her supplies and keep her guard up.

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

-Southern Desierto, the outer perimeter, six hours later-

After having walked through a long stretch of Southern Desierto without encountering any roving outlaws or dangerous animals, Leona found herself standing on the outer perimeter of the temple with a good deal of sunlight left. The Wizard Saint was sweating profusely from the exertion and the heat, so she definitely needed a break before she ventured into the former house of worship turned bandit lair. Leona took off her backpack, put it down, and pulled out her canteen for a drink of water. She also brought out the Charm Grenade that she had just bought and put it in a black side pouch that she secured to her hip via a webbing belt around her waist. It could come in handy if she needed to flush Crimson Sashes out of a hiding place, but she needed to be careful when using it lest its effects work too well and she be swarmed by amorous men.

Leona then fished out her canteen to drink some water. She twisted open the cap and drank from it, then twisted it back on and put the canteen in her backpack. She put the backpack on before proceeding any further. After putting it back on and facing forward Leona noticed her objective looming in the distance.

The temple entrance was at least 1,500 meters away with numerous stone columns flanking a sandy central thoroughfare that led to the steps of the temple. Leona spotted what looked like scenes of processions chiseled onto the columns... the artwork made them worth a closer look. Leona approached an upright column to her right and examined the scene painstakingly chiseled onto it.

The scene had been worn down by the passage of time and sand carried on the wind, but just enough of it survived for the Wizard Saint to discern what was being depicted.

A procession of bald men in linen skirts was carrying bowls of offerings of food, jars of wine, and gold bars into the temple. Below the scene Leona noticed some worn-down letters of ancient writing that had been chiseled into the column with the same care as the scene itself. Careful examination of the writing allowed her to make out the squiggles of Court Heiromesh.

"OFFER... BOUNTY TO... KI... SAARGHON" the inscription read.

Leona frowned. Not this guy again. King Saarghon had been everywhere during Leona's first ventures into the field of archaeology and here he was again. Chances were high that the temple she was going into was one that was dedicated to the late king.

She left the column behind and resumed the walk towards the temple. Along the way she noticed that the columns all had the same scene chiseled onto them along with the same inscription at the bottom. Leona kept an eye out for signs of people who had passed through before her or the telltale shimmer of mages using Invisibility magic, but the Wizard Saint found nothing, not even a single footprint. The Crimson Sashes must have completely erased all their tracks before entering the temple... Leona would just have to be careful.

After a lengthy walk, Leona was standing outside the entrance to the old temple. It was a tall structure flanked by statues of a man seated in a throne and gazing down in judgment at anyone who approached the temple. Fortunately the Wizard Saint was not intimidated by the statuary and proceeded into the temple.

-Inside the temple-

Leona stepped into the cool interior of the temple and immediately spotted signs of occupation. Off to the left and right were blankets laid on the floor and at least six small "campsites" with kettles hanging from poles over extinguished campfires. There were also wooden bowls and eating utensils laid in front of them. The campfires had been extinguished for awhile, suggesting that the Crimson Sashes had extinguished them and were either exploring deeper in the temple or had set up an ambush deeper inside.

Leona walked past the makeshift living area and continued down the open hall that stretched for at least 500 meters. All around her were stone walls carved with expressions of praise for King Saarghon and against the walls were more statues of the man sitting in a throne and looking down on visitors. The only light came from medium-sized square holes cut high into the walls, but when combined with the midday sun enough light was let in to permit Leona to clearly see everything in front of her. What lay in front of her was a large stone double door much like the one she had encountered with Theo during their first mission together. She hoped that the lever to open it was not hidden in a pit of snakes concealed beneath the floor by collapsing floor panels.

Leona really hated snakes.

[Post Word Count: 810]
[Total Word Count: 1,620/7,000]

Leona stood in front of the double doors and began to think on where the lever to open it would be hidden. Using some of her brain cells and probably causing them to be strained from lack of use, she decided to look for an obvious solution to the problem and looked nearby for a lever. She walked away from the double door and began looking around the sitting statues that dominated the room. She was willing to bet that the lever she needed was placed near one of them.

The Wizard Saint examined the statues closest to her and did not find anything on either side of the statue to her left, but the statue in front of the left one had a lever on the left side of it. Leona walked over to it and pulled it down with both hands. A moment later the sound of stone grinding against stone came from the doors as they opened to show a lengthy hallway devoid of anything but some kind of scenes chiseled on the wall.

"Huh. That was easy." Leona mused aloud. Suddenly she felt cold and felt like she had just jinxed herself. There was no way that the temple's designers would place the lever to the double doors within easy reach without there being some kind of defenses in place. Then again, why would a place of worship need mechanical traps to defend it? Maybe it had to do with the treasure housed in the vault.

Pushing the nagging thoughts out of her mind, Leona walked through the double doors and into the hallway to go deeper into the temple.

-Inside the hallway-

Leona looked down the hallway and immediately noticed three things about it. First, it was wide enough to accommodate eight people walking side-by-side. Second, it was roughly 600 meters from entrance to the next set of double doors. Third, there were carvings of a tribute scene that extended all along both walls. Like with the columns outside the temple, the carvings prompted the Wizard Saint to examine them for any clues about the building or the deities to whom it was dedicated.

Leona stopped and began poring over the scene on the right wall. It was a scene that featured the same bald, linen skirt-wearing priests from the columns outside holding the same bowls of offerings, but this time Leona could see the object of the tribute. On the far right was a seated man with a stern bearing looking at the priests in judgment. Leona looked for any Court Heiromesh characters to tell her who the seated figure was, but there was nothing but smooth wall.

She turned away from the scene and began moving slowly down the hallway, being sure to check the floor for pressure plates or panels that fell away to expose a pitfall trap. Leona slowly and carefully moved down the hallway, tapping each section of floor in front of her with the toes of her right foot before she placed her full weight onto it. By doing this Leona made it to the end intact and stood in front of the double doors, but this time she did not have to embark on a search for the lever. It was just to the right of her.

"This is way too easy." Leona said to herself. She was progressing through the temple way too easily. She pulled down the lever with both hands and stepped away as the doors began to open up to a really large room that had more statues of the same seated figure from the entrance. She could also see another set of stone double doors looming ahead, but there was more to the room than just that one feature. The only way to find out was to go in.

Leona walked through the doorway and into the large chamber.

-Inside the chamber-

Leona found herself inside a large rectangular chamber with a high ceiling that housed multiple copies of the seated statue and another set of double doors, but this time there were also wooden doors on the far left and far right that led to other areas. She noticed that they had conventional metal fittings and opened normally instead of requiring a lever to open and close. Aside from the statues there was nothing of immediate interest in the room, so the Wizard Saint decided to go left and see what was behind the door. Maybe she could at least find some Crimson Sashes to fight.

Leona strolled across the room while listening to the sound of her footsteps echo through the large chamber she was in and passing under the watchful gaze of the statues. She wondered what could be behind the door and why it was made of wood as opposed to stone. Maybe that was a clue that whatever was behind it needed to be easily accessed. Leona put her right hand on the large metal ring that served as a doorknob and pulled it open without any trouble. She stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her.

-Inside the room-

Leona looked down the hallway and saw that she was in a jail of sorts. There were numerous wooden doors to her left and right with small metal bars covering slots in the door set at eye level. An eyeball count showed that there were two dozen cells on each side of the room for forty-eight total. Leona was stumped. What would a temple need a jail for?

Was the jail for thieves caught trying to steal the temple's treasure or was it a more recent addition put into place by the Crimson Sashes? A cursory examination showed that the wooden doors, the metal fittings, and other features of the detention block were far too new to be centuries old, but they were not exactly off-the-shelf new. This had to be the work of the Crimson Sashes. At that moment Leona had a thought that gave her cause for concern.

This was not a place the outlaws retreated to because they had nowhere else to go.

The old temple was a place they had taken over decades ago!

[Post Word Count: 1,032]
[Total Word Count: 2,652/7,000]

-Inside the jail-

Leona stood inside the jail searching the walls for a single key, a ring of keys, or some way to open the cell doors that loomed in front of her. Even though it was not an official part of her mission and doing so would cost her valuable time, Leona was not going to leave innocent people prisoners of the Crimson Sashes if she could help it. If she could free even one person, the side trip would be worth it because there was a decent chance they could tell her at least a little something about the outlaws, whether it had to do with their numbers or the layout of the temple-turned-base. Hopefully the Wizard Saint was not too late to rescue anyone captured and imprisoned by her tribe's greatest and oldest enemy.

Leona began looking along the walls for cell keys hanging on a peg but was not spotting any yet, so she began walking down the path between doors looking for a key. Leona passed by six of the cell doors without spotting anything useful but was determined to keep looking. It was then that she heard the door she had entered through open and a pair of bearded Crimson Sashes walk in!

The two men spotted her at about the same time she spotted them and drew their weapons. Leona instinctively drew her Silver Longsword and held her ground as the men advanced to meet her. She raised her left index finger and focused silver magic into the tip, then fired a marble-sized Wind Bullet that slammed into the chest of the first man and knocked him into the second, sending them both falling to the ground and their weapons falling from their hands. She then hurried over to the startled men and stabbed both of them in the chest repeatedly before they could get up to fight back or run away.

Wiping off her bloody longsword on the black clothing of the first man and putting it away, Leona then searched their bodies for keys and quickly found what she was looking for around the waist of the first man. She grabbed a silver ring of thirty-six keys that were unlabeled. She frowned... matching the right key to the right door was going to be a guessing game, but with the two Crimson Sashes dead, she might have bought herself a little time to search before more of them came looking for their missing colleagues. Leona moved the bodies aside so that the door would not be blocked.

With the ring of keys in hand and the bodies out of the way, Leona began to sift through the keys when she heard knocking from inside a cell and some shouting coming from somewhere down the right side of the jail.

"HELP!" The muffled voice cried out. Leona hurried over to the twenty-fifth cell and put the key held between her right index finger and thumb into the lock, then twisted it left. The lock opened without any issue whatsoever. Leona smiled a bit at her luck as the door opened, but the smile was quickly wiped off of her face with a punch to the right cheek followed by another to the mouth. Leona staggered away from the open door and a flash of pink surged towards her.

Leona tossed the keys aside and shielded her face with her arms as the punches flew in earnest. They kept coming for roughly fifteen seconds as she stepped back to put some distance between her and the unknown attacker and the attacker kept pursuing the Wizard Saint to pummel her into submission. Eventually the punches stopped and Leona mustered enough courage to lower her arms to look at the person she had freed.

"You... you're not one of them, are you?" A red-haired young woman in a simple tan dress and brown sandals asked Leona. Leona rubbed the left corner of her mouth with the back of her right hand and felt a little blood on it. She examined it briefly before turning towards the young woman, who was looking at her with brown eyes.

"No." Leona answered with a bit of irritation, spitting a bit of blood off to the left side. The young woman looked over Leona and as she did slowly realized who she had just tried to beat up.

"I-I can't believe that I just tried to beat up a Wizard Saint!" The young woman exclaimed. Leona was a bit miffed at being mistaken for a Crimson Sash before she realized that the young woman had been imprisoned for an unknown amount of time and was desperate to escape before the Crimson Sashes came back to kill her... or worse. The Wizard Saint calmed down and let the incident pass. It was not the first time someone had punched her and it would not be the last.

"It's OK. I'm here to get rid of the Crimson Sashes. I'm also here to rescue you." Leona said to the person in a calmer voice than she had used a few seconds ago.

"You're Leona Jarnefeldt, right?" The young woman asked.

"Yes." Leona answered calmly. The redhead smiled.

"I'm Roxana. I was on my way to visit my family in the Tri-Council City when those goons captured me." The redhead introduced herself to the Wizard Saint. Leona started to speak when she was abruptly cut off before she could get a single word in.

"I've been in here for four days. FOUR DAYS! Four days with nothing but stale bread and water! Four days in that cell with nothing but a moth-eaten blanket on the floor and a wooden bucket to... to... YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S USED FOR!" The redhead ranted about the conditions she was kept in like she was reviewing a hotel. Leona blinked and let Roxana finish the rant before speaking.

"I hate to sound insensitive, but be glad the Crimson Sashes took you alive. In the past they didn't take prisoners at all." Leona calmly said to the angry young woman. Roxana was still angry, but she calmed down enough to ask the Wizard Saint a question.

"What do we do from here, Leona?" Roxana asked.

"Unless you're a good fighter, I'd prefer to get you out of here. I'm about to go deeper into the temple and I can't guarantee your safety." Leona answered truthfully.

"Me? No way! I'm a dancer! If you need a fighter, you'd want my older sister who lives in the Tri-Council City!" Roxana hurriedly explained while emphatically waving her arms in front of her.

"OK, let's get you out of here then." Leona said before passing the open cell and heading for the door. Roxana, not wanting to be left behind, quickly followed the Wizard Saint past the open cell and past the bodies of the two dead outlaws. Leona opened the door to the large chamber and the pair left the jail behind.

[Post Word Count: 1,162]
[Total Word Count: 3,814/7,000]

-In the large chamber-

"I'm glad to be outta there!" Roxana said to Leona as the latter took a quick look around the chamber for any more enemies looking to bar their way out. The Wizard Saint was worried that the scuffle with the jailers and Roxana's loud and angry rant had attracted unwanted attention, but so far no other enemies had come to investigate the disturbance. That was good because if what the chief had told her was true there were still over thirty Crimson Sashes in their temple hideout. In a worse-case scenario Leona could fight them all at once, but it would not be prudent to do so because she was only one person against over thirty angry men who all wanted her dead. Even her summons could only level the playing field so much and the smarter outlaws would not bunch together long enough for Tempest Avian's Steel Flechettes to hit them all at once.

"Don't relax just yet, Roxana. We're still in Crimson Sashes territory and I don't know if they're all in here. They may have sent out patrols that are due back any minute and I don't want to get caught between them, so let's get going while we can." Leona said to the dancer. Roxana frowned.

"Way to give someone hope." Roxana remarked. It was Leona's turn to frown.

"I'm not trying to ruin your mood, Roxana. I'm being realistic. I've been fighting the Crimson Sashes ever since I was twelve years old and over the years I've learned a few things about them. One thing I've learned is to never underestimate them." Leona replied to the redhead. Roxana's face sported a look of curiosity.

"How old are you now?" The redhead asked.

"Eighteen." Leona replied truthfully. Roxana recoiled at that factual statement.

"What? That's all? Your body makes you look older than that!" The redhead expressed disbelief that the Wizard Saint standing in front of her was only eighteen years old.

Leona could not help but to laugh a little at the remark about her body. She had a feeling that her looks were all down to luck of the draw and genetics had dealt her a winning hand. Leona had a figure that a lot of guys and a few girls were drawn to, but it was not something that she had worked towards. Everything just fell into place as she aged and she had lucked out big time.

"I got lucky. Now let's get going before more outlaws get here!" Leona urged Roxana. The redhead nodded and together the pair began to make their way back to the entrance before they were spotted. Once Roxana was clear Leona would turn back and complete her mission, but getting the dancer clear of the area was the Wizard Saint's first priority.

-Outside the temple-

The pair stood just outside the temple entrance under the watchful gaze of the seated statues. They had managed to exit the temple without any outlaw encounters, but now they had a new problem. The trip from Nebdoui to here was a six-hour affair and that was without any interruptions. The trip from here to the Tri-Council City would be even longer. How was Roxana going to get back to the Tri-Council City without running the risk of dying from dehydration, getting lost in the desert, or getting recaptured by the Crimson Sashes?

Leona recalled her experience at the iron mine in Central Desierto and had an idea.

"Are you afraid of flying?" Leona asked Roxana.

"No... why?" The redhead asked in return.

"You could fly on one of my summons back to the city. You'd be safe traveling that way. If you travel above the ground, unless you run into bandits who can fly or bandits who can sling magic, they won't be able to touch you even if they see you." Leona answered with a few facts that might tilt the conversation in her favor. Brown eyes looked into her face as Roxana thought over what had just been suggested. It did not take long for Roxana to make up her mind.

"OK, I'll go for that. It'd take almost half a day for me to walk back to the Tri-Council City and I don't have half a day of sunlight left. It's gonna be night in a few hours and that's when the bandits come out to play." Roxana stated her agreement to Leona's idea.

"OK then. Lemme call out one of my strongest summons." Leona said. She raised her hands into the sky and focused magic until she was able to call upon the Winged Lion.

"WINGED LION SUMMON!" Leona thought. A few moments later the Winged Lion appeared from the sky and landed close to his mistress. Roxana shrieked at the sight of a lion that could fly.

"Don't worry about him, Roxana. He won't eat you. He's my way of getting around without having to walk everywhere." Leona reassured the redhead that she was not on the menu. Roxana relaxed a little but was still reluctant to approach the lion.

"...O-OK, if you say so. I'll climb onto its back then." Roxana said before cautiously walking up to it and climbing on board. Once she was on board the Winged Lion spoke to Leona.

"Where am I going with your passenger?" The Winged Lion asked aloud, causing Roxana to shriek a second time.

"To the Tri-Council City." Leona answered.

"Wait! I don't think that I can make it that far!" Roxana objected.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Leona inquired. She had hoped for a simple in-and-out run, but now Roxana claimed that she could not make it to the city. What did she mean by that?

"I'm kinda tired, actually. I'm also really, really hungry." The redhead explained why she said what she had. Leona thought about the matter for a few moments and came up with another idea. Why not send Roxana to Nebdoui?

"Hey, why don't I send you to my home village of Nebdoui?" Leona asked. Roxana blinked.

"It's only six hours walking distance from here and it's even faster if you fly. It's got a decently sized militia to defend it. You can spend the night there if you'd like." Leona offered temporary lodging to the redhead.

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[Total Word Count: 4,864/7,000]

Seated safely on the back of Leona's summon, Roxana tilted her head as she thought over the proposal. It looked like she wanted to get home as soon as possible, but on the other hand she looked too hungry and tired to make the half-day trip, even if she was flying on the back of the Winged Lion. Leona could understand where the redhead was coming from. Flying in itself could be taxing since all one did was sit on the back of a flying creature and wait to reach the destination. Unless something happened between takeoff and landing, there was nothing to do but sit and wait.

Leona wanted Roxana to make a decision soon. The Wizard Saint needed to get back to the task of clearing out the temple and every second she spent standing outside gave the Crimson Sashes a chance to either fortify their base or evacuate and move to a safer location. As much as she detested the Crimson Sashes for what they had done to her village and to people all across Desierto, Leona did not want to have to chase them all over the desert. She would much prefer to deal with this group here and now while she had the chance.

"OK, I'll take you up on your offer. I know I can't last the flight to the Tri-Council City." Roxana finally conceded. Leona was glad to hear that. Now she was one step closer to being able to get back to her mission.

"OK, the Winged Lion will take you to my home village. Tell them your story and tell them that Leona Jarnefeldt sent you there. They'll keep you safe and give you a place to stay until you can make the trip home." Leona informed Roxana. Seeing that the redhead needed provisions even if she was flying, Leona dug for anything essential before handing the backpack to the startled Roxana. Keeping only her canteen full of water and a holder for the canteen that attacked to her webbing belt, the Wizard Saint had left six plastic bottles of water and an equal number of prepackaged meals for the youth to consume. There was nothing top-secret or irreplaceable inside, so the backpack was safe to give to the redhead.

"You'll need provisions for the trip. Take my backpack. It's got enough food and water for you to make the trip." Leona said to the amazed youth as she handed the backpack over, slipped the metal canteen in the holder, and fastened the holder to the left side of her belt. Roxana acted like she was getting a gift from the deities; considering her circumstances prior to being rescued, a gift of food, water, and safety could qualify as a divine gift.

"T-thanks. I won't forget what you did for me!" The surprised Roxana said as she fished out a bottle of water and opened it. The Winged Lion looked at Leona and spoke to her.

"Go now. I will take her to your village. She will be safe there." The Winged Lion assured her. Leona nodded and hurried back into the temple before the Crimson Sashes could fortify their base. Behind her she heard the sound of wings flapping as the Winged Lion set off to fulfill his duty to transport Roxana to safety.

-Inside the large chamber, 10 minutes later-

Leona hurried back into the temple and reached the large chamber without any difficulty whatsoever. She had expected an alert outlaw to find the two dead men in the jail and sound the alarm by now. She had expected to fight her way through stiff resistance as the garrison gathered its full strength to fend off their greatest enemy, but no one had challenged her re-entry, not even a single new recruit who had more guts than sense. Had they all fled the temple or were they waiting for her deeper inside?

Leona looked to the wooden door on the right and her curiosity took over. What could be behind it? There was only one way to find out. She had taken seven steps towards the door when the giant stone double doors opened up and a pair of men strolled through them. Leona turned to face the Crimson Sashes and ran towards them.

"THE WIZARD SAINT'S HERE! SHUT THE DOORS! SHUT THE DOORS!" A slender outlaw with a covered face shouted the alarm and drew his scimitar as his partner drew his weapon. The stone doors were quickly shut behind them and they prepared to fend off the Wizard Saint of Courage by themselves. Leona drew her Silver Longsword in mid-stride and the outlaws stepped forward to meet her.

Leona ducked under a horizontal slash from the first outlaw and plunged her sword through his chest. She picked up his scimitar and engaged the slender outlaw in a blade lock after his downward chop was blocked. She met eye-to-eye with him and saw that while he was afraid of her, he was determined to hold his ground and buy time for help to arrive or for every other outlaw to get to safety. He ended the blade lock with a kick to her left shin and spun backwards two full revolutions to get away from her.

He faced her and drew a throwing knife that he threw at her chest with a smooth draw-and-throw motion. Leona dodged the gleaming blade with a sidestep, quickly focused magic into her left hand, and pushed her left hand outward to cast a Wind Blast. The outlaw did a one-handed cartwheel to the side and avoided the concussive blast, then deftly drew and threw another throwing knife that whizzed past Leona's right ear. This guy was good.

He was deliberately avoiding her and keeping her at a distance so that he did not end up on the business end of her borrowed weapon. Leona attempted to close the distance with a Zephyr Dash; she had just finished the "flash step" and was almost within sword range when the outlaw spun away from her and threw a white sphere to the ground at her feet. Leona saw it flash and put her left hand over her eyes to mitigate the worst of a primitive but effective flash grenade. Just after she shielded her eyes she felt a kick in the stomach and a strong hand grip her wrist to disarm her.

Leona was able to see just enough to punch the outlaw in the face with a Mach Straight from her left hand and avoid serious injury from the outlaw's weapon. She even retained control of her weapon, but not of the situation. The stone double doors opened and eight more Crimson Sashes arrived to do battle with the Wizard Saint, including four of their best fighters.

"Get outta here! We'll handle her!" A burly man with a thick black beard and a golden crossed swords pin on his turban instructed the slender outlaw with whom Leona had been dueling. The slender Crimson Sash nodded and sprinted for the door as the eight men approached Leona with murder on their minds. Leona was in no position to stop him and he slipped through the door just as it began to close. Now she was alone with eight men who wanted her dead and would gladly risk death themselves to make it happen.

[Post Word Count: 1,229]
[Total Word Count: 6,093/7,000]

Faced with eight men who wanted her dead and more on the way, Leona knew that she needed to level the playing field fast. Her summons were the best way to do that. She raised her left hand and focused magic into it, then cast a Wind Blast that the more skilled fighters dodged with ease but staggered the less competent outlaw soldiers. That was all the distraction the Wizard Saint needed. She raised her hands to the sky, focused magic into them, and began to telepathically call upon her most powerful summons, the Furies.

"O THREE SISTERS OF UNRIVALED MIGHT, GRANT ME YOUR POWER IN THIS FIGHT!" Leona thought as the four members of the Crimson Sashes elite closed in. A giant tornado formed around Leona, giving the Crimson Sashes pause. The Furies descended from the sky and landed at Leona's feet in a triangular formation. The trio stood up in unison and took to the air.

"GET THEM!" Leona telepathically issued a simple order to the sisters. She did not care how the Furies took out the Crimson Sashes just so long as it was done. Leona would not even bother with taking them alive since the outlaws would not give her that "mercy"... if being a prisoner of the outlaws could be called mercy.

"It will be done." Tisiphone stated before the trio began attacking the Crimson Sashes with dive-bombing attacks, causing the less experienced outlaws to scatter. The two-to-one advantage that the outlaws had over her had been taken away, but Leona still had to fight them to complete her mission. The elite outlaws would not make it easy for her. They advanced on the Wizard Saint as a team.

Leona stood her ground and tried to think of a way to break them up so that she did not have to fight four-on-one, but no idea was forthcoming other than her tried-and-true method of waiting for them to close in before using Storm Impact to scatter them. They had not survived this long by being stupid, so they would not fall for that simple tactic. Leona needed to learn a new trick before the next fight with the Crimson Sashes.

They closed the distance and boxed her in, then began attacking in tandem. Leona parried a sword thrust from the front and barely dodged a lunge from behind; the blade grazed the left side of her ribcage as it passed by. The two stepped away from her and the men at her sides took their turn to attack. The man on the left made a downward power chop and Leona blocked it, then spun aside as the power chop from behind missed. She hit the man on the left with a horizontal slash to the left arm and ducked under a throwing knife thrown at her skull by one of the men. The quartet then boxed Leona in and the cycle began anew.

Leona parried an attack from the front and narrowly avoided being stabbed through the back from behind. The men spun away and the men to her sides began their attacks. Leona turned and got in a blade lock with the man to her left. The man at her right lunged; Leona felt the blade pass through the left side of her outfit and graze her ribcage for a second time. They broke contact and hurled throwing knives at her. She was forced to dodge the projectiles and give them time to trap her between them for a third cycle of coordinated attacks.

The Wizard Saint took a deep breath and patiently parried the attack from the front, then dodged the attack from behind with a side step to the right. The men on her sides began their coordinated assault... this was where Leona could get them. Again Leona entered a blade lock with the man to her left while the man to her right tried to run her through from behind. This time Leona abruptly dropped her sword and spun away, making the Crimson Sash accidentally run his partner through the stomach with his scimitar.

Taking advantage of the mishap, Leona aimed her left hand at the surviving man of the duo and formed a Wind Bullet, then fired it and hit him in the forehead, sending him head over heels to the ground. The remaining two fighters charged at her and attempted to overwhelm her that way. Leona drew the knife from her right boot and flung it at the man approaching from her right, hitting him in the chest and causing him to fling his sword into the air. She caught it by the grip and turned to face the bearded man to her left, who had thrown a punch at her face while she was busy trying to catch the weapon.

Leona ate the punch and parried a diagonal sword slash just in time, then blocked another slash. She ducked under a punch aimed at her face and hit back with a Mach Uppercut that he dodged by stepping left. The bearded man reached for her left arm and Leona retracted it, retaliating with a downward power chop that he avoided by stepping back. This man was good.

The stone doors to her right opened up and sixteen more Crimson Sashes poured in, but to her surprise most of them ignored the fighting and were heading for the wooden door a good distance behind her. Only four of them joined the fray. What could be in that room that was so valuable? Was it treasure used to finance the outlaw gang's activities? Or was it valuable weaponry that they could ill afford to lose?

"More of them!" Tisiphone reported.

"I see them, but there's nothing I can do!" Leona replied, stepping back to avoid getting her abdomen cut open. The bearded outlaw in front of her was not making it easy. He was joined by the four men who broke off from the main group, who were busy carrying wooden treasure chests loaded with valuables and bundles of some kind of sticks, but she could not get a good look at them because of the pressing need to defend herself.

The men with the treasure fled the room while the men with the bundles began setting them up on the inside of the doorway they had come from. What was going on here? Leona did not like the look of it, especially as more and more of them were being set up outside the doorway that led deeper into the temple. The coordination between the men who were carrying away the treasure and the men who were setting up the bundles indicated that this must have been a rehearsed plan, which upset Leona even more.

The Crimson Sashes were getting smarter.

The five men attacked Leona while their compatriots continued to evacuate the valuables. The Furies began to attack them, but there were too many men to completely stop the flow. Between attacks Leona saw the men strike matches and light fuses attached to the bundles. Once she finally realized what was going on, the sight made her blood run cold.

They were lighting the fuses to bundles of dynamite to try and bring the roof down on her!

The bearded outlaw looked back at the men, who had successfully evacuated their treasure. The same slender man with the covered face gave a thumbs-up to the bearded man before fleeing. He then turned back to Leona and smiled.

"It's too late, Wizard Saint! We've already won!" The man boasted as two of the men hurried towards the unconscious Crimson Sash and picked him up. He drew a white baseball-sized sphere and threw it at her feet, causing Leona to shield her eyes with her left forearm. She felt something slam into her stomach and saw her vision go blurry... she had just been hit with a poisoned throwing knife!

"If you don't hurry, this place will become your tomb!" He taunted before fleeing with his men, who had taken their wounded with them. They disappeared through the doors and down the hallway as Leona was helpless to stop them. She retrieved her Silver Longsword and knife, then turned and headed for the exit with her harpies in tow.

"What do we do about those men?" Tisiphone asked Leona.

"Forget them! Let's get out of here before the roof comes down on our heads! Leona ordered. The sisters nodded and followed Leona out of the room and towards the entrance to the temple. She was not sure how the chief would take the news of her partial success, but there was nothing she could do but get out of here and live to fight another day. Luna's lesson about not rushing into danger echoed in her mind as she fled.

[Post Word Count: 1,470]
[Total Word Count: 7,563/7,000]

-Outside the temple-

Leona and her Furies made it clear just in time because she heard a deep rumble from within the temple and knew that some priceless archaeological treasures had just been blasted into pebbles, but that was a sacrifice she had to make. There were too many bundles of dynamite to put them all out in time and it was not worth the risk. There would be plenty more temples to explore and plenty more chances to clash with the Crimson Sashes. Besides, Leona had been poisoned and needed medical attention fast. As much as she hated to let the Crimson Sashes get away, discretion was the better part of valor.

Leona removed the poisoned throwing knife and collapsed to her knees with a bad case of blurry vision and muscular weakness, dropping her weapons in the process. Her legs felt like jelly... she was not going to make the walk to Nebdoui. She would have to fly there if she wanted to stand a chance of making it in time. Megeara walked up to Leona and took the Wizard Saint into her arms.

"To Nebdoui." Leona said simply. The trio nodded and took off. Megeara held Leona herself while Alecto and Tisiphone carried Leona's Silver Longsword and knife respectively.

-Nebdoui, three hours later-

Having flown the distance in the arms of Megeara the Fury, the red-haired harpy gently landed feet-first on the sand just inside Nebdoui, where the Winged Lion was waiting for her. She was barely able to raise a hand in greeting before her mother, Chief Elijah, and some villagers rushed out to greet her. Sophia saw Leona being carried by Megeara and was not happy with her daughter's condition. Neither were the villagers, who saw Leona as a large part of the reason that Nebdoui was still standing and actually beginning to thrive instead of being a burned-out ruin in the desert landscape.

"What happened?" Sophia asked Leona.

"Did Roxana make it safely?" Leona asked her mother.

"Yes, she's fine and she's staying in our tent tonight. Now tell me what happened to you." Sophia answered before making a demand of her daughter. Satisfied by the knowledge that Roxana had made it here without incident, Leona relented.

"I've been poisoned by the Crimson Sashes. They dynamited the temple and fled. I couldn't stop them before they got away." Leona answered. Chief Elijah overheard the statement and spoke to her.

"It's OK, Leona. You did what you could. You drove them out of the temple. There will be more chances to fight them before it's all over." He assured her as Leona was carried into a tent for medical treatment.

Leona did not succeed in wiping out the Crimson Sash group, but she did succeed in driving them from their fortified base and back out into the desert, where they would be vulnerable to the desert heat, other outlaw gangs, and the royal army. She had also cost them almost a third of their strength, which was a pretty good result considering how many of them she was going up against. The Wizard Saint recalled Luna's advice and was glad that she had done the reasonable thing instead of trying to be a hero and chase them into a trap loaded with lit dynamite. The Crimson Sashes had failed to kill her with sword, throwing knife, dynamite, and poison... she had taken everything they could throw at her and she was still alive. As long as she lived would continue to oppose them until they were wiped from the face of Desierto.

[Post Word Count: 597]
[Total Word Count: 8,160/7,000]