Job; The Hunter: Event Horizon: B Rank: Private

Night had started to settle on the town of Hargeon and with it the typical effect of many turning in for the night began. The celestial summoner known as Samira had delayed partaking in the common nightly ritual of sleep, having lost track of time during the time spent practicing using the pair of chakrams Kali had given her as a way to defend herself. No longer did she hit everything but the target, but that was likely due to the magic within the weapon guiding her aim. Still, she took pride in her ability to wield them even as a novice. She would be a better asset rather than be categorized as a damsel in distress with each task she took on.

“It’s not good to stay in a bathtub forever, you know. You humans tend to get all pruny.” Sitting on a cushioned chair in front of a pearl colored vanity desk was the scorpion tailed spirit known as Serqet. Curiously she rummaged through an antique chest that was placed upon the desk and began to pull out different shaped keys from within it. While they were keys that belonged to celestial spirits they remained dormant until such a time that Samira became powerful enough to wake the spirits connected to them. "When are you going to get more spirits? The others are starting to get boring.”

Samira said nothing in reply towards the comment of her bath taking too long. The physical strain of the day had exhausted her and the warm water was relaxing. "When I am stronger," she replied through the slightly open bathroom door with no real emotional tone within her voice. It was a simple fact she had been told countless times by her other spirits. “You’re sure taking your time doing that.” Samira could only sigh in exasperation at the spirit’s comment. Rushing was not a habit she wished to have, especially where increasing her own power was concerned. No comment was made in reply and instead she just stood up within the tub and exited the water as she grabbed a nearby folded towel.

Once she had dried herself off enough, she slipped herself into a white colored night gown and brushed through her damp and smooth hair. The door to the bathroom opened fully and, as she stepped out into the room, she slowly walked over to the vanity where the chest was and closed it. “I do not think they would appreciate you playing with their keys,” Samira scolded the more carefree spirit, who frowned deeply before pushing herself out of her comfy seat. “Fine, fine. I won’t play with the sleeping keys.” A large grin formed on Serqet’s face as she held up the magic keychain that held Samira’s active spirits. “Can I play with these instead?” The summoner’s hand immediately went for the accessory and as she grabbed hold of it Serqet disappeared in a puff of small yellow colored lights. As playful as ever. The keychain was then placed next to the chest and on the other side of the desk she lit a small candle. Sleeping with some form of light was comforting for her, and so it had become customary to provide it for herself if she desired a good nights rest.

With the candle lit, Samira turned off the actual lights of the room and made her way over to the bed within the room, taking the small candle and placing it on the nightstand beside the bed as she neared it. She flipped the covers open as she climbed into bed, slipping her form in between the sheets and soft blankets. As her head hit the pillow she closed her eyes and began to doze off, expecting full slumber to take over within moments. Unfortunately, her expectations of a deep sleep were destroyed the moment she heard someone within her room say her surname. Green eyes shot open and with a gasp she quickly sat up and went for the candle beside her so she could better see who had entered her room. A man wearing some sort of ninja garb was in the middle of her room, head bowed and on one knee as if in submission. The mask also caught her attention, being similar in design to another she knew of.

Samira cautiously left her bed, holding the lit candle in one hand, and stepped closer to the stranger. He did not seem to be there as a threat. The words he spoke reached her and gave her pause. She could assume that there was some connection between Kaori and himself, but she did not like to draw huge conclusions. “What sort of message?” She inquired, showing a small state of confusion. Silently she was shown and presented with a rolled up letter which she gently took hold of with her free pale hand. An instant later, the man had vanished. Her normal day was turning into a rather eventful night.

Turning on the bright lights of her room she placed the candle on her vanity desk, unrolled the letter, and attempted to make sense of the words upon the page. Well, assuming the lettering could even be called words. There were massive amounts of letters jumbled and bundled together, and anyone trying to actually read it would end up with quite the migraine. Her guess lied in the general area of it being some form of code. If the letter was related to who she thought it did then it made sense to use such a tricky method of communication. The details of the edges of the paper were noticed as were the symbols on the corners. The answer to the puzzle had to rely on what the symbols had in common. “Aries, Leo, Sagittarius…” As if a light bulb lit up above her head, she shouted an excited “oh” as the similarity between the signs dawned on her. The Zodiac signs had elements tied to them in modern day astrology. There were seasons as well from more ancient times, but neither of the signs shared the same one. All three shared the element of fire. Now with that figured out what was she supposed to do next? The thought of burning it crossed her mind, but first she picked up the candle once more and held the page in front of the small flame.

Like magic the massive amount of letters vanished and revealed a different message, one of a more fancy script. Such writing she had only seen in records and research of elven culture. While her grand father was a well researched man she was not and therefore could not translate the message at first glance. She placed both candle and paper on the desk and walked over towards a bookshelf where a series of research notebooks were lined up. The index finger of her right hand gently glided over each binding until she found the one she was looking for. Once the book left the shelf she quickly opened it and flipped through the pages and went to work on translating the hidden message. “Ancient…ruins.” One part down, another to go. “Bring bandages?” The letter K was also at the bottom of the page. She knew it. It was all related to Kaori, after all.

While the message was certainly vague Samira knew that was how the other woman operated. With the request for bandages it was apparent there was likely going to be some sort of danger in the specified location. That possibility did not phase the summoner, however. She was curious and wanted to know what was going on. More than that, she was also worried. Within moments Samira had dressed herself and gathered her things, bandages included, and left the guild halls to make her way to the location listed in the message.

As she arrived at the entrance of the ruins, a small fire was there to greet her, as well as a monkey. Peculiar. She took notice of its eyes as it invited her to sit and she recalled having seen the effect once before back in a different set of ruins. She sat down near the fire, taking the straps of the small backpack she had brought off her shoulders and placing the bag next to her. Kaori then made herself known and Samira instantly found the answer as to why the bandages were requested. Opening her bag, she dug through its contents until she found them and handed them to the other woman. She watched silently at first as Kaori was bandaging herself but Samira felt the need to assist her with it. While the assassin did do well to hide her pain Samira had her doubts on how much pain she truly was under. “Let me help you,” she offered gently and then took over bandaging the other’s wound.

Samira listened to her spoken words, having no comment even for a few moments after silence took over. The crackles of the flame were the main source of sound until the green haired woman had finished her task in applying first aid. “Do not worry. I have no intention on barraging you with countless queries at present. Let us start with what happened. You did not make this injury yourself.”

(Word Count: 1552)

It would seem even after offering answers to questions Kaori was still going to be as vague as ever and leave out the core details of the attack. Still, Samira was pleased and relieved that she had gained some form of trust with the other. She watched as the rectangle was drawn upon the dirt of the ground and then listened to the explanation of the item's significance. Many questions circled within the young summoner's mind, but due to what she had said earlier she fought the temptation to ask. "So, we are to find this room then, and with it the item you seek." Samira concluded as she too stood up, grabbing the backpack she had brought with her in the process. "You did mention that these foes would not be of similar strength of those within the ruins of the desert. It is unlikely you will have to use as much of your strength as you did then, and I myself have weapons of my own this time as well as my spirits. There is no need to apologize."

After finishing her sentence she opened her backpack once more and pulled out a pair of thin rings approximately twenty centimeters in diameter. Their golden color glistened in the fire's light and even though they looked very thin and fragile the metal was strong and the edges as deadly as any other weapon. The chakrams, as they were called by Kali for Samira herself had no idea as to what weapon they were before being introduced to them, then took their place and were hooked upon the belt she wore until she was ready to use them. Her other weapon was a dagger but was unlike that of the typical ones most were accustomed to. The one she owned took on a transparent blue and seemed as if it were made of light rather than any metal. Brightly colored spheres were also within it, visually looking as if it were a miniature constellation. Samira kept hold of that particular weapon due to the fact it provided a small light source, something that would benefit them as they traversed the ruins of old. Torches would likely of been better, but she wasn't exactly a survivalist and she had no time to look into how to make one, nor was she ready to call forth a spirit that could light the way. The straps of the backpack were then tossed over her shoulders so she would be wearing it once more. More bandages were within it as well as a few other supplies that may prove to be useful along the way.

"These ruins in particular have had many legends throughout their history," Samira started to speak as she turned towards the entrance and held out her dagger to make use of its small light. "I believe the room you are looking for revolves around the legend of the original ten wizard saints and the treasure they hid away long ago. I have been led to believe that no one has ever found it." She took a step within the ruins with the entrance opening up into a darkened corridor ahead. More steps were taken with each echoing loudly and the sounds of her keys and accessories jingled as she moved. Stealth was of no concern, its importance being overwritten with the anxiety that was taking over the moment she entered the place. "You have the information concerning the location of the item, but I do not suppose you know how to navigate the ruins to find the room itself, do you?" Kaori had mentioned she knew little of the ruins, but the summoner felt the need to ask that important question anyway. If the answer was no then it would be quite a challenge to do what others before could not. Unless, of course, they came across the mercenaries that had been hired, assuming even they knew what they were doing. Ancient ruins and locked treasure rooms often came with traps or difficult puzzles. Samira walked slowly for this reason.

(Word Count: 680
Total So Far: 2232)

Samira's walk came to a stop at the answer she had been given and just stared at the other woman quizzically. There seemed to be no worry over the possibility of exploring the ruins for ages or getting lost, something that worried even her. The set of ruins they were currently in were more ancient and mysterious than the ones within the desert and there they were without so much as a basic map or way to navigate through its walls. Kaori had then stepped closer to her and demonstrated why she was not concerned about navigation.

The world around Samira and Kaori began to change the moment she had been touched and a magical energy spread throughout her body. The dark and old ruin walls faded and morphed into a large room that was very familiar for the celestial summoner and one that she had not seen in a long while; her grandfather's study. Many bookshelves were along the wooden walls, filled with old text and research. Glass cases were also on display around the room featuring dug up relics and artifacts from other lands, and aside from one large desk in the middle of the room the person that owned the room kept it organized and was the meticulous sort. The desk itself had many piles of paper upon it and opened journals, but the centerpiece was that of an old small chest, unlocked and opened. The girl standing in front of the desk was a much younger version of Samira; short, cute, and lacked the style of attire she was known for in present day. The white dressed girl had been curious about the new relic that had been given to her grandfather to research, but upon looking within the chest there was not one but many. A collection of keys was within, old in design but lacked any signs of age or evidence that they had been abandoned for who knew how long. The girl touched one key and found it to just be that of a normal key. However, by the time she got to the fourth key it began to resonate with a sort of energy and began to glow brightly. A gentle voice spoke in her mind and even with it being a memory the present day Samira could still hear traces of it as Kaori made her explanation of her ability. The end of the event would be the first time she had summoned the magic spirit Isis and formed a contract and with it contracts that bonded her with the spirits of Chaac, Agni, and Geb as well. She had become what others would call a celestial summoner that day and would had been the start of her mage career if she had not delayed her own progress.

The vision of her past came to an end, causing the familiar room to fade back into that of the dark and ruined passageway they had been in before. Kaori was right in that such an ability would be invasive to many and go beyond the borders of privacy. Samira was not exactly one of them. She considered its uses to be beneficial regardless of that fact if the situation called for it. The ends justifies the means as they say. Samira knew not everyone felt the same way in that regard and had their limits. Invading privacy was just one of Kaori's and she held no negative judgement over it.

Upon being asked if there were any questions of her own, Samira gave a small nod before speaking. "Just a couple to better understand the ability. It is probably not wise to linger here longer than that," Samira advised, vaguely pointing out that while they were both alone at that moment there were still the mercenaries mentioned before within somewhere. If they did not find one to interrogate or make use of the memory ability then they at least needed to be able to follow their trail. "Are you able to choose which memory to bring forth? It would seem such an ability can be complicated and difficult to perform with any sort of accuracy. I wonder if it is even possible to explain how such a thing even works. Unless you view all of the memories at once until you reach the one you desire, I suppose. Secondly, does it work on the dead?" The woman had heard Kaori mention the ability could be used on locations, objects, and other beings, but she was not sure if the dead was included in the design. Using a skill on the realm of the dead seemed like something that would backfire.

(Word Count: 778
Total So Far: 3010)

The surrounding world changed once again as Kaori explained how her ability functioned. Many screens reflecting the memory and point of time for the example appeared in the space-like environment, and as Samira observed them she took note of the violence. That was her eleventh birthday? Even as a child she had already been killing and nearly meeting her own end. The viewing was the tip of the iceberg that could explain the way she was. Was there really so little peace for her even through childhood? Samira thought as the answer for her second question was given. She could not imagine living such a life or even comprehend what it took to do so. Regardless, with the answers that were given, the summoner was satisfied and stored it within her memory. The ability had useful benefits and she found it interesting enough to wonder how rare it was. Further research of magic would be required.

The journey through the ruins continued until voices of a few men were heard. They were getting close as the shadows from her dagger's light and that of their own light source could be seen. Samira came to a stop just as her companion did, and upon Kaori suggesting a plan, she gave a small nod and prepared herself. She wasn't sure on the whole killing the men aspect of it since at that moment they were hardly deserving of that fate, but she knew that was how the assassin operated. Better to kill off potential enemies than to let them live and be a bother later. It was a logical thought process and safe. However, she could not bring herself to do such a thing until they had made their choice to be a deadly enemy.

Kaori had made her move and all the men had become distracted by whatever it was that they were seeing. As she listened to their confused voices and watched their motions Samira concluded that they were hardly a threat. They were likely the lowest of rank within the mercenary group. There was no point in killing them. If knocked out they were likely to remain unconscious for hours. Samira made her presence known by getting closer to the group and throwing her dagger into the air above them all. The little lights within it began to expand and after a few seconds several beams of bright light were shot out from the small weapon and struck the men. With the dagger in the air Samira had her hands free to grab onto both of her chakrams and threw them upward. Her own aim was not necessary to make a hit. As long as she had a target in mind the chakrams were guided by a magical force and altered their direction for near perfect accuracy. The target of choice happened to be what seemed to be a few loose stones on the ceiling. Samira theorized that with enough impact they would come loose and fall upon the group of men enough to disorient them further and with the attack they had already received it would not take much more than them falling over themselves or being hit by a rock to complete her task of taking care of them. The weapons smacked upon the hard surface of the ceiling and with the sounds of creaking and shaking they stones loosened up further and fell to the ground. The mercenaries had yet to recover from the light beam attack and the crashing of the stones put them off balance. One had managed to catch his bearings and evade but the other three either fell and bumped their heads or got hit by a couple of rocks that provided the same unconscious effect. The one that had got away was promptly taken care of by Kaori with her telekinesis.

"I guess you will be further demonstrating your ability?" Samira inquired as both chakrams and dagger returned to her. That was the only possibility she could think of in regards as to why it was suggested only taking care of three rather all four. They did mention something about some Harper fellow and a line concerning a labyrinth. Hopefully the man left conscious had some answers.

(Word Count: 706
Total So Far: 3716)

Retribution of the Stars CD - 4

Samira watched the way Kaori handled the four men silently, as she seemed to always do. She held no amount of sympathy for the men, nor did she feel guilty for standing by and doing nothing as three of them were disposed of. It did seem like a waste of time though, as well as a waste of life, when Kaori could have just used her ability to get information instead. It was hard to understand someone that valued privacy so much that they would rather just kill the person rather than use the ability against them. Like with what had occurred during their time traveling to the desert ruins, one man was allowed to leave alive and for the most part unharmed; the same man that the assassin had taken time to heal before the shooting started. The actions were too strange to make any sense. Perhaps since he had given information there was a sort of honor code that had to be met. Then again would he not be considered a loose end due to the fact he was alive? They may as well have all been killed to prevent any future attacks or warnings. They had began the mission once more but soon came to a stop. With the other speaking, Samira also felt it necessary to also speak. "I understand you have had to live through a kill or be killed sort of life, but I do not approve of what just happened. They were hardly a threat and you could have obtained that information easily even without your ability." Samira's tone was not one of anger or shock. Her voice was calm regardless of what she had witnessed and was more like someone stating a basic everyday fact. The young woman may have been a legal mage, but she wasn't a saint that would condemn her companion for her actions. It was another form of logical reasoning and in some situations Samira would likely come off as the cruel one. The value of enemy life and how they were dealt with was just going to be something they would disagree on.

"As for the leading, there is no point in apologizing for that. We are here for you, and I am sure you recall that. It is only natural and habitual for you to automatically lead." Still, with the fact Kaori had insisted and with her being injured, Samira got in front. There would be no point in arguing over it and she trusted the assassin's skill to watch her back. Although it was likely what was in front of them that would be an issue seeing as the only enemies behind them were either dead or running in fear. Soon, they were met with a three way intersection. Angry voices could be heard in loud echoes. Probably the result of frustrated mercenaries who had also lost their way in the labyrinth but had taken a different route than the team they had met. Screams then followed as the passage leading to the left began to come together and sealed it off, crushing anyone that had been in between. "So, there appears to be traps here after all. I suggest we watch our steps closely from here. If luck is with us the enemy will have activated the traps and met the intended fates themselves instead of us having to deal with them."

Samira's green eyes then turned towards Kaori, who still had the map. "The left route is now inaccessible so I doubt that was the way the mercenaries we met had gone unless they somehow avoided that trap. What does the map say? From what they said that is where they split from the right hand man of this person named Harper. We get his map then we find that secret room. In theory, of course."

(Word Count: 643
Total So Far: 4359)

Retribution of the Stars CD - 3

Edit 4-7-20
Posts above and part of this one completes the 7000 B Rank WC for Original Turn In 3164 + 3836

New WC: 523

"He should be available," Samira replied, agreeing with the suggestion made as the best course of action to avoid the traps that waited ahead. She had no real suspicions of the slight anger and turmoil that was brewing within the other woman, and as such her focus remained on navigating through the ruins without getting into any sort of danger they could not handle. Her hand went down towards her hip where the key chain that held all of her keys hung, and in doing so her gaze also lowered until she looked upon the key that connected to the portal spirit. As her fingers grasped onto the item, it came off the chain easily, and all that was left to do was the quick summoning ritual. “Open, gate of the Avatar, God of Portals! Janus!” The key was used to make a split into the air that opened a portal between realms, and soon the familiar form of Janus appeared.

"Off on another adventure through dark and abandoned ruins, I see," the portal spirit said with a small smile as his entry portal faded. "I am not sure it is a healthy hobby for young ladies to pursue."

"It is not a hobby," Samira said with a small sigh and a shake head. "It just happens to be that many items of importance are hidden away in ancient structures. Particularly those with traps as an extra form of security."

"Ah, and you want me to get you past some of them." The silent nod given in reply by his summoner confirmed his guess. He took pride in the fact that his abilities were useful even if he did not specialize in combat, but even providing his support would have Kali complaining about helping Samira too much. No doubt getting through all of the traps would be categorized as another form of training for that spirit despite it being far too dangerous and unpredictable. It was a good thing she would not find out for a while due to being busy in the celestial realm. "Consider it done! Where should I place them?"

"There is a path over in that direction that should allow us to avoid all of the traps. Could you make teleportation portals for us?" Samira pointed in the direction Kaori had done a few moments before. Janus let off a small laugh as if the question was absolutely ridiculous. Of course he could do it! He had the ability to do so, his summoned had asked him to, and there was no angry female spirit waiting back in the celestial realm to chop his head off. A bright and glowing blue portal was made on a wall close to the pair of women and another portal that connected to the original was made off in the distance. Where it actually led to was anyone's guess, but it avoided the path of the current traps.

Samira walked over to the open portal, but before stepping through it she turned her head and looked over at the mechanical looking spirit. "I would like you to stay for as long as you can, Janus, just in case we run into anything else." Once the instructions to her spirit were given she glanced over at Kaori and was going to tell her to stay put until she checked things out on the other side, but a blade of a sword came through the other side of the portal and lightly stabbed her above her left hip. The mystery portal on the other side had gained the attention of the small group of enemies near the location, and with them having no clue what it was took to using their weapons against it. She just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. A startled gasp escaped her as it happened and as the sword began to be pulled out, Samira backed up until she fell against the wall on the other side. Her wound was luckily not that serious and she still had the energy to grab onto one of her chakrams and throw it in the direction of the portal. The throw was lazy and weaker than when it was used against the first group of mercenaries but that did not matter. The weapon altered its speed and direction on its own and disappeared through the portal to take care of the mercenary directly in front of it.

"Oh dear, this was a bad idea after all. I will shut down the portal immediately!" Janus had gotten worried after the attack and thought the best course of action to be just trying a different route. However, his plans were stopped as Samira ordered him to stop. Her second chakram was thrown and like the first it went through the portal to seek one of the targets on the other side. They were not going to waste time by shutting down the portal. The enemies beyond could easily be taken care of.

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Total So Far: 5195)

"As far as spirit ages go, you are likely to be quite young," Samira commented in reply to Iron Fist's words as she stood up. Her memory had returned to the time in the desert in which he had explained the old Aquarius had died and he took her place. While the original version was likely ancient, Samira doubted the replacement predated even some of her own spirits. Of course, she was clearly overthinking the statement completely and did not seem to even notice. "I do think it is for the best that Kaori rests the way she is while we proceed. We probably should not have begun the search for the room while she was injured to begin with. It was a careless mistake to think nothing would happen even when dealing with trivial enemies." The summoner's own pride had taken a stabbing just as her body did. Her hand could feel that beneath the torn clothing that the sword pierced the wound she had received was completely healed, but now she felt emotional pain, and she was angry with herself for allowing herself to get hurt. That only caused Kaori to go into some form of emotional meltdown and use too much of her power, and no telling what was on the other side of the portal. The enemies that were beyond it were likely dead from the attack the assassin had unleashed upon them. It was silent except for the magical hum of the swirling portal.

Once the small group had made it through the portal and onto the path void of traps, Samira could only frown at what her eyes let her see. The small group of mercenaries were indeed dead as she had predicted, frozen solid in an large block of ice that would be their tomb. That time she could not disapprove of Kaori's actions. She had acted out of emotion, and if Samira had not made the mistake of assuming the portal was safe the damage would not have occurred to begin with. Although whether they would of been dead regardless was a matter of uncertainty. As usual the young woman had inquired about the magic that had been used, and as she reclaimed her weapon from the ice spikes Iron Fist had answered as best as he could. He knew the obvious, but not much more than that. Well, that was just how it was going to be. Samira had already learned before that the spirits Kaori had did not know much about their summoner and seemed to only know the things she had wanted them to know. It was the complete obvious of her own relationship with her spirits who knew practically everything. The concept of keeping secrets even from them seemed lonely and incomprehensible.

"Janus, do you know anything about it? You are pretty old." Samira fixed her gaze on Janus, who had begun curiously tapping on the ice block. He had no concern for those dead inside. All he cared about was that they were no longer a threat. The portal spirit could feel the stare of his summoner and with that quickly composed himself. "Oh, yes, the magic. For that it is more exciting to find the answer on your own than to have someone tell you." Samira could only sigh at that response. "Is that your way of saying you have no information or theories about it?" The master of portals could only chuckle as he decided to start the journey down the new path of the ruins. "Not even we have all the answers, my dear. Maybe if you tell the details to Isis she'll be able to tell you something. She is the one that specializes in magical guidance, after all! I am just an old spirit that can make traveling a little bit easier."

Samira said nothing more and took the lead once more while being aware of her surroundings and listening for any sounds that may belong to a foe. Repeating the same mistake as before was not going to be an option. It was still difficult to remain focused even when she was determined to. Her thoughts kept going back to the emotional Kaori and the magic that had been used. She had noticed the other woman shaking during her attempts to heal, and for a moment Samira had been connected enough to feel senses of fear and loss that were not her own. There were also questions. Who was Shara? Was it someone precious from Kaori's past and in her emotional state had gotten reality confused with the past?

"Oh my, we seem to have hit a dead end," Janus' spoke up, his voice bring Samira back to reality fully. There really was a dead end, but she could tell it was not by design. The wall in front of them had outlines that had firelight coming through and therefore signified it was more of a doorway. "There appears to be something on the other side," Samira noted for the rest of her party to hear. "Janus, open a portal there, please." Quickly another portal was created from the spirit along the wall that blocked their way, and, after waiting a few moments to see if anything would come through, Samira took a step into the room beyond.

The new room was just that. There were no passages connecting to it that she could see and there was no vast treasure of old lying around to indicate it was the special room that adventurers and treasure hunters had yet to find. What was there were many tiles on the ground with different colored runes on them as well as taking on different shapes. There was also a man standing in the middle of the room and he seemed to be quite frustrated, although how he even got in was a mystery for another time. It was clear he had been injured and judging by the way the tiles reacted as he stepped on them the reason behind the injuries were clear. With each misstep the tile would do some form of magical damage. It was a trap that had a puzzle tied to it. Although why it needed to be solved was beyond her. There was nothing there unless something magically appeared afterwards.

"Excuse me," Samira said, loudly enough for the man to hear her over his frustrated mumbles. Upon hearing the voice, the man became alert and as an instant reaction created a bow and arrow out of crystal and shot at the woman. The arrow was parried by a thrown chakram that came back to her just as the man was getting ready to fire again. "Who are you?" He demanded as he glared on. "You would know that if you did not attack and interrupt me. I will now skip that step and instead ask if you are the one that has the map of this place." The crystal make mage just laughed, amused by the question. "I have it, but soon to be corpses don't need it."

"Hmmm, so that would mean you do not need it then. You will kill yourself in due time by walking so casually through this room. Did that map really not have the answer?"

The man seemed to get even more upset at the question. So, it was a no then. "That bastard Harper never said anything about this room!"

"And it just so happens that conveniently he is not here. You seem to have been played and given a map that would trap you here until your death while he makes off with whatever treasure he finds." Samira walked upon the tiles as she talked, seeming to have already figured out the pattern to them due to her receiving no damage at all. The runes beneath her feet just lit up and as she continued her way across the room the lit tiles made a safe path. "Hey! How are you doing that!" The only answer he was given was just one that was a fact; she putting one foot in front of the other. Logic! The mercenary did not really like that answer so he created another arrow and shot again, and then another. Samira was quick to dodge the first one as she jumped onto the next tile and the second one required her throwing a chakram. Her second chakram was thrown towards the mercenary, aimed for the hands that held the bow. It made its cut and the bow turned into crystal bits as it hit the ground and shattered. The route Samira was taking was bringing her closer to the man and as soon as he noticed this he made a large axe out of crystal. The summoner came to a stop as her eyes fixed upon the tile that was in front of the man. It was the only one of its kind. A unique shape as well as a unique color. Most people would assume it to be a special tile that was the solution to the puzzle due to the way it stood out, but Samira had reason to believe it was made that way as a trap. It was just too obvious. "I would no-" Too late. Just as he took a step forward and onto the unique tile to get closer and gain momentum for a swing of his axe the tile lit up a dangerous shade of red and a cage materialized around the man, trapping him. He screamed and shouted, and his axe even disappeared. The cage bars had a sort of magic within them that made it impossible for him to use his magic. Oh well. Samira shrugged her shoulders and continued her way through the room.

"Get back here!" The mercenary yelled angrily. "I'll be taking this!" Janus had followed along the lit path safely, humming along as he did so as if it were nothing but a lovely stroll through a sunlit park. While the trapped man was busy focusing on the summoner, he had managed to reach inside the cage and take a rolled up parchment that was likely the map. Apparently the magic neutralizer only affected those that were silly enough to step on the tile and so Janus himself was unaffected by it even though he was a being of magic.

Samira eventually made it to the end of the path and as she stepped on the last tile all tiles within the room disappeared except for the cage tile. Nothing else happened. At all. "This is peculiar," she commented to no one in particular and then set her eyes on the parchment Janus held. "Allow me to see that." As her hands gently took the paper from the spirit, she unrolled it and stared at the image upon it. After a few seconds she frowned deeply and rolled it back up. "I suppose this room was not a complete waste of time since we now have the map to find this Harper and with him the main room we are searching for, however..." Her voice trailed off and her eye twitched in annoyance. "This room is a complete dead end. The fool took a wrong turn." It was rare for her to get angry or even show it fully, but Samira was beyond caring. Her footsteps were heavy as she stomped her way back to the door she had come from.

"Hey! You're not really going to leave me here, are you?" The mercenary yelled from his cage, worried he would be left to die a slow death.

Samira did not pause her movement or turn towards him. All she said to him was, "It is a possibility." In actuality she was almost certain the room would reset at some point, which meant the cage would cease to exist. Someone else of his party may find him as well. It was not as if she were leaving him to his doom. If she were to be asked how she made it through the room unscathed she would simply state that the tile order was repeated upon the room decor. All that had to be done was memorize a few of the shapes and go from there. The colors meant absolutely nothing and just added redundant complexity.

(Word Count: 2054
Total So Far: 7249)

Samira said nothing as Iron Fist freed the man from the cage and had even invited him to join the crew that Kaori had been putting together. She had wanted to avoid setting him free in order to prevent the chance of further trouble or betrayal, but the man seemed grateful enough. There could of been a lesson to learn from it in regards to gaining respect and loyalty by showing such mercy. It would pass over Samira, however. As far as she was concerned the man had ended up in that trap of his own accord. She did not kill him, but she did not have to save him either. If they had not even stumbled upon the room to begin with he would of died anyway. To her there was a difference between the killings she disapproved of and leaving someone to the fate they had obtained by their own choices.

After some more walking their path intersected with another group of men, who were easily talked down by Jason, the man that had been freed in the earlier room. They thankfully left the group after having also been invited to Kaori's crew. Hanging around such types was going to make her develop the habit of smacking each one that talked. She was not used to such words as babe and hottie, and her face had flushed red in anger and embarrassment by just contemplating what they were truly thinking. Janus had nothing to say and just smiled in amusement. Iron Fist was more intimidating and seemed to handle them efficiently enough.

Within the next hour or so the small group had finally caught up to the one known as Harper. Samira's mood would sour further as she noticed the others donning ninja looking attire with golden wrist bands aside from the one with the black set. The expectation of only lowly mercenaries and treasure hunters being in the ruins was quite wrong. The interaction between Iron Fist and the ninja leader was listened to carefully. The leader, known as Saia, was apparently really the brother of her new friend. It did not dawn on her before that there was a family dispute under all of it. Curious indeed. It was yet another question to add to the long and growing list. Samira was uncertain about allowing Iron Fist to kill the brother to obtain the item he held, but she knew very well in a matter that personal it would not be up to her. He was also likely to be too dangerous to be left alive, especially if his skills were greater than that of Kaori's.

"Seems there is a fight about to start. I will take my leave, Samira. My place is not on the battlefield." Janus made his exit so that his summoner would have access to her more battle oriented spirits. Having him remain as a secondary would just drain her energy further. Samira nodded, understanding his decision. While Iron Fist was dealing with the group of ninja she would have her own task in defeating the lead mercenary. She took note of the familiar weapon he had created from a golden colored energy, but that was all. Right before the start of battle was no time to have flashbacks.

Harper moved away from where his client and underlings stood, giving them space for their own battle without him getting hit in the process. Samira had done the same as her footsteps matched the pace of his. "Well as annoying as it is that Jay joined your team instead of killing you all, at least it'll be damn easy to finish you myself while those guys go at it. Any last words, sweetheart?"

"Goldenshine."

The man looked puzzled for a moment, but then it clicked. Harper Goldenshine. One of many famous wizards in fiore due to his magic and the off the top way he tended to use it. He was also one of the more infamous wizards as far as researchers and the magic council were concerned. His face was one that was easily recognized if one paid attention to such things. "Ah, you're heard of me. Those annoying reporters and magic council do make my job harder these days. I guess misusing a few artifacts doesn't get you many brownie points."

"It does not." Samira knew his crystal magic was going to be different than the magic used by his right hand man. Her dagger's magical attacks would be useless since they used light and Chaac's water was yet another disadvantage. Kali was also unavailable. She would have to use an element of surprise. A key was taken from her keychain but as she begun to say the magic words Harper laughed and with his magic created a rather oversized hammer above Samira that would had struck her dead on if she had not jumped out of the way. Instead the hammer hit the floor, creating large cracks upon it before turning into shards. "Yeah, sorry. I'm not letting you summon any spirits. Too bad your last one took off." Several more crystal hammers floated in mid-air and played a game of Whack a Mole where Samira was the intended target. She threw a chakram his way, but as the weapon spun towards him it collided against a crystal wall that was made near instantly. The weapon returned to her grasp and she was none too pleased with her limited options. As the hammers above continued their game the summoner made an effort to keep avoiding them. Eventually crystal animals were created with his make magic, but they were easily smashed into pieces with a single smack of her weapon.

The game continued as the amused Harper made use of his showy magic. It had been a while since he got to use his magic in such a way. Normally his low ranked mercenaries did the work for him. So amused was he that he did not take notice of the shimmering outline of an invisible spirit. It was not until he felt himself being stabbed through the back that he realized something was wrong. "Wha-how?!" He demanded as he started to feel a different sort of pain that slowly ticked away at his life. There was no way the woman had attacked him. In answer to his question, the scorpion-tailed spirit known as Serqet fully materialized right behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Funny thing about us spirits. We can appear even without all those fancy summoning tricks. Hint hint." The tip of her tail removed itself from where it had pierced the man and she made another stab with it before tossing him aside with a giggle.

Samira's eyes blinked, puzzled on Serqet's appearance without being officially called. She had seen Kaori's spirits do it plenty enough, but she did not think her own were the sort to accomplish that sort of thing just yet. She shook her head to retain focus. With Harper taking damage he had allowed his hammers to disappear. The chakrams she held began to glow a white-blue hue before they took to the air and begun to spin wildly around the mini battlefield belonging to Samira and Harper. The weapons created a mini tempest that Harper had now found himself stuck in. By the end of the attack, Harper would be lying on the ground in defeat with Serqet's poison ticking for more damage to hopefully keep him that way.

(Word Count: 1249
Total So Far: 8498)

Both battles within the large room had come to an end, and with it so had the task of retrieving the item that had been locked away long ago. It then dawned on the summoner that they had actually found the room of legend! In a way it was almost too easy, but at the same time her researcher blood for all things ancient and powerful went into excited nerd mode. The find would make history! Well not really. With the amount of damage that had been caused from the two fights, the room and the ruined corridors that surrounded it would likely collapse. Iron Fist's words were just further proof of that possibility. There would be no time to take notes and compile appropriate research. Such a thing could take weeks! Disappointing.

"Oh! Treasure! I get to pick!" Serqet ran off into the nearby room and began playing around as she quickly began going through everything. Samira could hear the sounds of items being tossed and broken as well as comments of things looking too dull or useless. There was still some form of hope that the spirit would pick something that was actually useful rather than what was the most shiny. Some form of hope. The young woman joined the rest of the group and shortly after Serqet joined as well. Shockingly enough for her the spirit was not covered with treasure nor was she holding tons of items in her arms. She had actually made it out with just one. Huh. The small form of hope that it was useful may had actually prevail.

The group was then teleported out of the ruins by some sort of magical gem that had belonged to Harper. Thinking that the gem was incredibly useful for the future, she was just about to ask where it came from and if it only worked on those particular set of ruins when Iron Fist complimented her and even gave her permission to use a boat that was stationed back in Hargeon. "The Sun rises over a field of embers..." Samira repeated the code words in a low tone, committing them to memory. She had no real transportation of her own and having access to the boat would most certainly be beneficial. More trust was being gained for her side and for that she was pleased. "I thank you, Iron Fist. Your willingness to allow me access to the vessel is most appreciated," Samira told him gratefully with a small smile.

A wave of delight coursed through Serqet once she too had been complimented, and by one of the zodiac spirits no less. As it replayed in her head a few times though her expression turned a bit sour. "Wait, I wasn't reliable before?"

"Take the compliment, Serqet, and say thank you." Samira scolded her spirit as she began to walk, leaving the ruins and making the journey back to Hargeon. She had cheated on her way to the ruins by getting a ride from a civilian she saw often in town. They had taken her most of the way and made it to where she did not have to walk all that long to reach her destination. The way back Samira did not exactly plan out thoroughly.

Once again a mission with Kaori had concluded, and once again Samira was leaving with more questions unanswered than when she had arrived. It would also be highly inappropriate to question the other Lamia Scale member the moment she woke, just as she thought it was when she first met the injured Kaori at the entrance of the ruins. Timing seemed to be an issue, and when there was time her experience was that the assassin would take off and disappear just as she did in the desert village. Perhaps being optimistic was the best route. Not all answers came quickly; they just required time.

(Word Count: 649
Total So Far: 9147)


Edit 4-7-20
New Samira Total: 5311 Starts Here

3500 for B Rank Freeform
1500 for C Rank Freeform