- Job Information:
Job Title: Samira’s Journal: Tale of the Spirit Experimentation Failure
Rank: A
Player Requirements: Samira Nassar + 1 B rank or higher
Job Requirements: 15,000 words
Job Location: Spooky Forest
Job Description:
With certain events concluded Samira has been able to return to normal life while also continuing her search for clues as to the missing spirit Anhur’s whereabouts. It appeared all leads led to dead ends until one day she receives intel from a researcher that was close to her grandfather. He tells her where she might find some more clues; a hidden research facility that had been thought to be abandoned, but still had some documents that were never removed. It turns out the facility is not abandoned and is in fact in the middle of a crisis that puts any who go inside in danger. Too bad she’s got to go inside anyway if she wants that information.
Enemies:
Weak: Crazed Researchers
Men and woman spread throughout the research facility that have lost their sanity. There is no recovery for them and the majority of them will be hostile.
Normal: Celestial Serpents
Serpents that reign from the darkest parts of the celestial world. As a result of the experiment gone wrong, the facility is covered with them and they have no intentions on returning to their world. Each one contains magical properties and powers that make them more difficult to deal with than serpents of the normal world.
Strong: Failed Spirit Experiments
Past failures from other experiments. They have been set loose from the chaos and are quite hostile, knowing nothing about morals or communication since they are merely creations that have been locked up. They have no true solid form and often appear as nothing more than a lightly glowing fog. Difficult to attack by normal means, but light magic is their weakness.
Boss: Spirit Clones
Experiments that are on the border of failure and success. They are created copies of Samira’s spirits, but are impossible to control. These spirits have no master and do as they please. They have the same abilities as Samira’s as well as additional ones that have been given to them during creation. Each one that gets in the way must be defeated before the team can enter the main office that has the information they seek.
Reward:
-1x A Rank Spell Slot
-10k Jewels For Each Boss Rolled (cap 5)
-Coordinates for the location of the next job in the series
Somewhere On Earthland:
A group of men and women dressed in business suits and labcoats sat in chairs spread around a large rectangle shaped table that took up the majority of the room. On one of the walls were several screens displaying different points of the town of Hargeon. None of the units used to capture the images showed on screen were within the town itself, but were rather set outside of town. There had been complications with getting anyone on the inside due to the rumors and intell of certain mages that tended to stay within the town, particularly those that aligned themselves with the guild Lamia Scale. The leaders of the current meeting were cautious and did not want to be over confident and assume their forces could infiltrate without being found out. That led to them using advanced technology from Mirai rather than the simple lacrima magic tech that had been growing in Earthland. They had noticed the Arc of Destiny had been missing for quite some time, but unfortunately the target they preferred to watch kept leaving the country time and time again since its absence. The screen flickered so all screens combined into a larger video of a certain green haired celestial summoner. She was currently leaving the guild hall with some other local guild members and heading further into town, possibly helping on a small job that was posted on the board.
Woman One: "So, she has not changed locations for over a month?"
Man One: "She has remained in town since her return from Minstrel, aside from that one anomaly where she disappeared entirely for a few days. We are still not sure what that was about."
Woman One: "That does not matter. This just means those friends, assuming that is what they could be called, are no longer dragging her around across the world. I have had enough of their interference."
Man Two: "Hm, their problems being pushed onto our agenda has been a setback, but it did do some good. Samira's power levels have increased faster than we anticipated because of it."
Woman One: "Where is she on locating the missing spirit?"
Woman Two: "No where, ma'am. It seems there has been no progress on that. I think she is out of leads to follow."
Woman One: The lady that seemed to be in charge and running the meeting sighed. "We are going to have to risk going in then. It is clear we will have to leave some sort of clue for her."
Man One: "You intend to give her the theorized location?"
Woman One: "Heavens no. I intend to send her where she can get the coordinates for herself, as well as prove just how strong she has gotten. We have not been able to gather that kind of information since that day she fought that woman from Midi. Surely she has obtained more power since then."
Woman Two: "If you are sending her- wait you don't mean?! You can't!"
Woman One: "I can, and I will. Contact Mr. Foxwell immediately. We're setting up a meeting."
Hargeon Earlier That Day:
It had been approximately two months since locating Kaori and the Arc of Destiny. Unfortunately, the power used by the transportation amulet had cut the meeting shorter than she had intened. She wasn't even sure of Kaori's complete reaction to her words. The other woman seemed to go into zombie mode during her outburst, but Samira had no guilt for her actions. Kaori seemed to have a better state of mind and she needed to hear some form of scolding. Everyone else was either too afraid, too respectful, or just followed her due to being a leader. Samira herself seemed to be the only one to ever show any signs of disapproval and let her know about it.
During those months, Samira once again returned to normal life as she usually did whenever anything Kaori related was missing from town. Her life was rather uneventful without her and those that followed her. While she was worried about some of the others connected to team Kaori such as Ikuchi and Ashley, she did not look for them. Her part of the plan was over, and she did not feel it appropriate to be getting into their business unless requested, and that was assuming she could even locate them in the first place. Samira's place was with the guild for now, and during those months she got to know more of the members of Lamia Scale and even helped on a few jobs. Life was back to normal.
Samira entered her room within the guild hall after spending some time with some other members and upon closing her door she felt a heated glare pierce her back. She cringed, knowing full well it was the same being that had been bothering her everyday for two weeks. "I don't think playing around with other humans is part of my contract," a black cat that sat comfortably on her bed said. The cat ears twitched in annoyance and her eyes narrowed into thin slits as the summoner turned around with a sheepish smile. "Neither is acting innocent."
With a sigh Samira tossed her bag in such a way that it gently hit the ground against the wall. "I understand. I am behind on fulfilling my end of our contract, however, there are no leads to go on. You do not know anything, so how am I supposed to know? Am I supposed to be psychic?"
"You are the granddaughter of a great researcher in the field of magical artifacts as well as celestial spirits of our kind. Surely you can find the knowledge he did just as easily."
"If he knew the location of Anhur, do you not think he would have already gone there before he died? Also, his research journals mentioned nothing regarding it. I have nothing to go on anymore." Samira passed her desk while heading towards the bathroom, but stopped and retraced her steps when something caught her eye. A letter of some sort. She lifted it and turned it over to see "For Samira Nassar" written on it. "What is this?" Samira inquired with a blink of her eyes and then begun to tear an opening in the envelope.
"Oh, some guild member slid it under the door. I assume the mailman gave it to him to deliver in his stead. You really should apologize for Chaac tossing him around already. That happened a long time ago."
Samira barely listened to Mau, aka the spirit Bastet, as she read the letter that was in within the envelope. Her eyes widened slightly and she let out a small surprised gasp. It caught the attention of Mau but the feline said nothing as she continued sitting there in a Diva nose high in air pose. "It is from Professor Maxwell. I have not seen or heard from him since my grandfather was alive. He says he has some important information for me, although I do not understand what it could be. I barely knew the man."
"He was an associate of your grandfather, right? Maybe he will know things that were not written in the notes. You should go see him. Even if it is not about my contract the information may still be important. When do you go?"
Samira lifted the letter once more and skimmed it to get to that detail. "Later this evening. At..." Samira's face went blank as she stared at the destination for their talk. "Hibiscus." Honestly, a better place could not have been picked? The place was decent enough, but she really did not want to show up at a location that was connected to Kaori. At least, not until she returned. "Better get going then." A sigh of hopelessness as she prepared to leave her room once more.
Evening:
Around dinnertime Samira had left the halls of the guild and made her way to the restaurant known as Hibiscus. She was hesitant but it was too late to change locations, especially when she wasn't even the one that had picked it in the first place. Contact information for the professor wasn't exactly written down in the letter either. The summoner did not wear her normal attire since that was slightly too casual for the meeting. The last time she had seen the man she had been forced to dress up as fancy little girls should be. Her shorts, long boots, and casual top were not going to cut it if she went by experience, and she didn't want to offend the man when she needed whatever information he had. She instead wore a blue colored dress that didn't look overly fancy and also didn't appear to be too casual.
Upon reaching the entrance she instantly saw the person she was to meet standing outside waiting. Professor Foxwell's scowl turned into a more cheerful expression as Samira approached, recognizing who she was instantly even though he had not seen her in over ten years. "Little Samira! For a moment I thought I was looking at your mother!" The elderly man placed his hands on her shoulders as he grinned from ear to ear. He appeared friendly enough, although as he pushed her inside the restaurant she had to add forceful to the description. She didn't even have time to get out more than a smile in reply before she felt his hand on her back and was guiding her inside. Foxwell was a researcher that had quite a bit of jewels to spare and as such he had a servant of his get a table reserved for them. Although the journey to it had been done rather quickly, it was rather smooth going and Samira still had trouble figuring out how she managed to get from point A to Point B. Nevertheless, she was in her seat with Foxwell across from her at their table. "I assume you are wondering why I picked this place to meet. It's rather unique and I have had colleagues tell me about it. This meeting knocks off two items on my two do list in one go. I do enjoy time efficiency."
Samira just smiled and tilted her head, wondering if she should even mention knowing the one that had turned the place into what it currently was. Best to go with no to avoid any unnecessary inquiries. "No, no. I was not wondering. It is nice. I am mainly concerned on what information you have for me. It has been ten years, and I am unsure as to why you seek me out. My grandfather died so there should be no reason."
Foxwell's brow arched as Samira spoke, but nodded in understanding. "To business then. A trait you inherited from him, I see." The man leaned over the table and spoke in a soft tone. "He may be dead but his research continues. You received that chest with his notes and some keys, correct?" Upon seeing Samira's surprised face he confirmed the answer for himself and nodded once more. "It was no coincidence that came to you when it did. Your little mistake of making contracts with your first four spirits has been known for years. I kept out if it thinking that you would be left alone, but things have changed. There are those that seek your keys and their power. Before you ask what I know and how, it is because of this." Foxwell straightened up and snapped his fingers, signaling for the servant that stood nearby to come over. The servant did, carrying a briefcase that he placed on the table and opened before walking away. Foxwell grabbed the documents inside and slid them over towards the summoner. "These were delivered to me a week ago. According to the delivery information it was sent from your grandfather. I assume he designed it in such a way that it would be delivered to me at a certain date regardless of his status." Foxwell slid a few of the papers away from the pile and pointed to one certain page. "This page here speaks of a research facility that was owned by him and some fellow colleagues. I do not know all the details about the research being conducted but it did have to do with spirits, and I do know it was shut down and abandoned sometime later. If you desire more information about your grandfather or what role your spirits have to play in all of this then I advise you go there."
Samira's gaze went down as she looked at the papers and skimmed over them. "I wonder, there is one spirit that was lost some time ago, but I have been unable to locate it even with another spirit that is closely linked with him. Do you think information regarding his location is there?"
Foxwell leaned back into his chair and gave a nod. "If you speak of Anhur I am certain of it. Your grandfather was obsessed with finding that key for a long time, and then suddenly he just stopped speaking of it altogether. I assume he found the location but was unable to go through with obtaining the key for whatever reason."
The green colored eyes of Samira lit up as she grinned, ecstatic that she found a new lead to fulfill one of her contracts. "Thank you, Professor Foxwell!" She then took the documents from the table and ran off towards the exit with the man raising his hand as if asking her to wait. It was too late though and he could only sweatdrop as she made her complete exit. She had apparently forgotten to actually enjoy herself and catch up before making her getaway. Oh, well. His mission was completed. With another snap of his fingers the servant returned, this time with an iLac. The contact was already on the other line waiting. "This is Foxwell. Yes, she has the location to the facility. The plan has been set in motion. Hm? I assume she would be going alone. She brought no one with her, and she left before I could ask about any other acquaintances of hers. Right away." The connection was cut off and Foxwell stood from his seat. "We're done here. Lets go." Foxwell then made his exit with his servant following. They didn't exactly order anything but he left a generous sum of money on the table regardless due to them taking up seats that could have been better spent on guests that wanted to be there.
Unless stopped along the way Samira would make her return to the guild hall and prepare to leave in the morning. Once morning came she would set out for the Spooky Forest, where apparently an entire abandoned research facility was hidden away.
(Word Count: 2478)