Lost and Found... Work! [Job/Juliana]

Job Information:

Journeying to Clover Town had been a most refreshing experience, with several new vistas to be had along the way. From cairns stacked along the road to feathered ornaments hung from the trees, the forest which separated this charming city from the others was a strange place. Thankfully, a road winded all the way through the mass of trees and wildlife to lead precisely to the gates of Clover; for this, Juliana was most grateful. She had a penchant for getting lost whenever it was possible, particularly while travelling alone. Lissy had also been appreciative of the path, but she had also criticized Julia’s sense of direction after she attempted to collect berries just a few meters off the side of the trail and ended up becoming nearly hopelessly lost. The two were now wandering around in the woods with discouraged attitudes, and the sun was preparing to set. How awful it would be if they were trapped in the forest overnight!

Anxiously staring up at the ever-darkening sky, Julia paused for a minute to consider her options. It seemed unlikely that she could find her way back simply by wandering around alone, but staying put would not bring any results, either. Nobody was aware that she was in the forest, so any means of leaving this place would have to be procured by either Lissy or the mage herself. With a single jerky nod of the head, Julia set off at as brisk of a pace she could manage, folding her coat tightly around her midsection in an attempt to keep warm. Just as nightfall began on its way, the temperature was steadily dropping. Nonetheless, it seemed that continuing to move was a good idea. That, or the mage and the magical spirit happened to have a stroke of luck, for they came shortly upon the edge of the woods, which lead into grassy, tall-stalked field with a single cabin situated in the center of the open plot of land.

She was hesitant to do so, since it could easily be a rude gesture considering the hour of the night, but upon being prompted by Lissy, Julia approached the home and knocked cautiously against the scratchy wood of the door. After on a split second of silence, it swung open to reveal a ruggedly dressed farmer, his eyes guarded and dark with suspicion. In his hands was gripped an axe, which promptly caused the girl to back up hastily, her own irises alighting with fear. “You’ve gotta be that mage, aren’t ya? Well, come on in... I was expectin’ ya earlier in the day, but ya can stay over the night and search for the chicken on the morn.” With a bit of surprise, the girl shrugged before slipping inside the house. She had ventured to Clover Town in order to assist a farmer with a job request, and it was related to a chicken, so perhaps luck had gone the extra step and favored her to the point of being led completely in the correct direction.

Bright light shone on the girl’s face through the open window the next morning, as the sun rose over the horizon.  Julia padded out of the spare bedroom, more than ready to officially begin her mission.  After writing a short note to the farmer, who was nowhere to be found and had likely already started his day’s work, the mage set off to track the humongous chicken which had evaded capture for so long.  With the help of Lissy, who was surprisingly skilled at spotting the marks left from the poultry’s feet, Julia was soon hot on its trail, so to speak.  The path seemed to stretch on forever, the tracks occasionally vanishing but often reappearing nearby various food crops, such as the vegetable plots which were scattered all over the farmland.  At first, she had believed chickens to only consume grains; apparently, this was a false statement, or at least did not apply to the gigantic, hormone affected variety.

Soon, Lissy also caught sight of the creature itself, munching away on a fallen cob of corn which had rolled into a patch of tall, barely waving grass.  Julia immediately called to the creature in her sweet voice, clucking her tongue with a slightly foolish feeling but maintaining her belief that it would lure the animal into following her back to its pen.  Surprisingly enough, it seemed that so long as she kept a reasonable distance, held out fresher corn in one hand, and sprinkled some on the path back with the other, the livestock animal had no problems with returning to the farm.  Sure enough, it walked directly back into its cage with all the compliance in the universe.  Breathing in a sigh of happiness that the nervous task was over, the girl ventured back into the house to find her pay stacked neatly on the table on top of a note left by the farmer, which simply read, “Thank you for your help.  Please lock the door.”  A huge beam spreading across her face, Julia giggled before scooping up the currency and depositing it neatly into her pocket, starting off on the way home after securely fastening the door closed.