Book Browsing

Wearing her green-and-gold outfit with backpack and Argent Gloves, Leona entered Capital Crocus in her long-delayed quest to finally find the book entitled To Infernus And Back. It was the biography of Carl K. Blaskowitz, a man famous for entering a portal and singlehandedly beating back a demonic invasion that was aimed at taking over Earthland and turning it into a wasteland overrun with demons. Later in life Blaskowitz traveled all across Earthland and made it his business to wipe out demonic cults to prevent a second invasion attempt. After many more adventures he achieved a feat that few demon hunters could claim... dying of old age at 90 years old. He was buried with honor in Silent Cemetery and his tomb was one of the most frequently visited in the cemetery.

Leona walked around the city until she finally found Jobaasa's Rare Tomes. The mage remembered that that particular bookstore was where the young woman named Claire worked. Leona encountered the redhead while trying to find Eero... she saved Claire and her boyfriend Charles from a bandit gang just outside the city and was rewarded with a business card that had the bookstore's address printed on it. Leona had put off this personal mission long enough. Today was a good day to find To Infernus And Back.

-Inside Jobaasa's Rare Tomes-

A bell ringed as Leona entered the bookstore and found wall-to-wall shelves positively crammed with books of all shapes and sizes and shadows dancing on the floor due to the old-fashioned lamp light. The shelves were dusty but packed with old books, most of them clearly having been written long before she was even born because their covers were old and cracked. She walked through the store until she found a man wearing a gray robe, presumably the store's owner. However, the owner was no ordinary man. He was an orange cat-person who had a fur pattern that was virtually identical to a tiger's.

"Jobaasa bids you welcome, young one." The cat-man greeted Leona. His bright yellow eyes turned to Leona's Argent Gloves, which shimmered in the lamp light. They glimmered in recognition.

"My brother S'aiq told me about a blonde human girl with bad fashion sense and a blue-haired girl with an attitude saving my village from starvation several months ago. The blonde was given those gloves as a reward." Jobaasa said to her. Leona immediately recognized that story. She and Aura Sparks had traveled to the Unknown Lands and recovered a shipment of food from a bandit camp, saving a village of cat-people from imminent starvation.

"The blonde had an unusual name. She was named in honor of the lion. I wonder if you are her." Jobaasa inquired about the mage's identity in a roundabout way.

"I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, if that's what you're asking." Leona informed him. His eyes widened in recognition. A radiant smile formed on his lips.

"Jobaasa is honored to meet the one who helped save his home. I have heard much about your adventures across Earthland. I have also heard that a few months ago you rescued one of my employees from a terrible situation. For all of your deeds I thank you." Jobaasa said appreciatively.

"It's no problem." Leona replied. She was devoted to standing up for the common man when no one else could or would. She fought threats that few others could take on. That was what she did.

"Those gloves... they once belonged to a hero of my village. You honor us by wearing them, Leona. May they continue to keep you safe." The cat-person expressed his wish. He may or may not have already known how many times those gloves had saved her life up until this point. They had been with her on many adventures and had become a vital part of her equipment.

"I've lost count of how many times they've saved my life.I hardly ever take them off." Leona informed him. He smiled again. Then he politely changed the subject.

"Now tell me, Leona. How can Jobaasa help you today?" He asked.

"I'm looking for a book called To Infernus And Back. I was told that you might have it in stock." Leona replied.

[Word Count: 700]
[Total Word Count: 700/2,000]

Jobaasa's eyes narrowed. He looked like he was trying to remember the title and whether he did have it in stock. After a minute he spoke.

"Jobaasa has many books. Jobaasa cannot remember all of his inventory. I fear that you will have to search the shelves yourself. I would call for an employee to assist you, but Claire called in sick today." Jobaasa said regretfully. That was no problem. Leona would simply search the shelves herself. The blonde had time. A lot of time.

"I'll look for it. If you can point me in the general direction, that'd be a big help." Leona said hopefully. Jobaasa gave her a pained smile. What he was going to say was probably not going to be something that she wanted to hear.

"Jobaasa cannot remember exactly where such a book would be. I know that it is a biography. However, I have not organized my shop in some time. Jobaasa apologizes." He answered. Leona kept a straight face. That was no problem.

"I'll just look for it. I'll come back when I find it." Leona informed the owner.

"Jobaasa wishes you luck." Jobaasa said in encouragement. Leona gave a friendly wave and began browsing the shelves. This was going to take awhile. It was a good thing that the blonde was on a mission and could devote the entire day to searching for a needle in a haystack. She started in the left corner of the bookstore and began scanning every shelf.

-45 minutes later-

The left corner had many old and interesting books, but they were nothing that Leona was after. The subject matter was mostly about famous old wizards of some realm named Meso-Terra with oddly spelled names like Kaan-Dauph, Saahruumahn, and Saahrahn. The writing style was archaic and aimed mostly at scholars of the arcane. They also went on and on about a golden ring, a very short man named Nohdo Sackkins, and his quest to destroy the ring before it destroyed Meso-Terra by corrupting powerful figures with great magical power. They were undoubtedly an interesting read, but Leona was after something else.

Leona gradually shifted focus to the entrance of the bookstore. She wandered back to the entrance and began reading the titles of the tomes that were haphazardly placed on the shelves. The subject matter on the shelves was a grab bag of topics like marine biology, human medicine, elven medicine, geography, history, and even a couple of books on a sport practiced in faraway lands named golf. Again, that was all interesting reading, but it was not relevant to her needs. She was looking for biographies.

-One hour later-

Leona had migrated to the bottom right corner of the bookstore and was combing the shelves for what she needed. She was starting to find a few biographies here and there, books on people like Thomas Beckit and Isabella Anderson, a female cleric who accompanied Beckit on his holy crusade. Leona's mood picked up. She was starting to find biographies of famous demon hunters like two brothers named Stanley and Don Remington and a half-demon man named Aligheri (which was often shortened to "Al") who turned against his own kind and hunted them with the aid of his infernal powers and an enchanted longsword named Iscariot. Maybe this would be the section where she finally struck paydirt.

-One hour later-

After much digging and nearly inhaling a lot of dust, Leona finally found a large, heavy book with a rather striking cover. The cover depicted a man in green armor standing on a hill and shooting down at demons with a weapon of some sort. The man was fighting alone against the demon horde and was holding his own. The blonde's eyes darted across the name of the book.

To Infernus And Back: The Untold Story of Carl K. Blaskowitz, Savior Of Earthland

This was it! Leona clutched the book to her chest and hurried to the counter. She carefully set the book down on the counter.

"Jobaasa can tell that you have found what you seek, Leona." Jobaasa said to her with a smile.
He took the book and placed it into a large canvas bag with the store's name on it.

"I certainly have." Leona replied laconically.

"This book is a limited edition. In fact, it is an original copy with Mr. Blaskowitz' signature. Your total will be 10,000 Jewels." Jobaasa said to her. Leona wordlessly took out the required amount and handed them to the surprised cat-person without a second thought. She had saved up so many Jewels that money was rarely an object.

"Deal." Leona said laconically. Jobaasa smiled widely and handed Leona the bag with her purchase. Leona politely took it.

"Do tell your friends about me, Leona. Jobaasa will be glad to serve all their needs." He bade her.

"I'll certainly do that, Jobaasa. Your bookstore's a lifesaver." Leona confirmed that she would do as he wished. His bookstore had just saved her personal research project from languishing in a list of projects that would never be completed. That was easily worth 10,000 Jewels. Leona left the bookstore and began the long trip back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

[Word Count: 868]
[Total Word Count: 1,568/2,000]

[i]To Infernus And Back[/i] Cover:

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall-

Leona sat in her office eagerly reading her new purchase. In contrast to the book in which the work was mentioned, To Infernus And Back was written in a modern, engaging style. It was also loaded with liberal quantities of profane language, but it was not anything one could not hear in a bar or in a harbor full of sailors. It described how Carl K. Blaskowitz discovered a portal to Infernus and took it upon himself to close the portal before the denizens of the realm it led to could invade Earthland and take it for their own. After reading vivid descriptions of some of the horrors that Blaskowitz encountered, it was no wonder that he went on a personal crusade to wipe out demonic cults.

Leona read about appalling things like the sacrifice of humans and profane altars dedicated to unknown entities that were heaped with bloody skulls with the flesh of their owners still on them. She also read about the many types of enemies Blaskowitz fought. One among them was an armored skeleton with rocket launchers mounted on its shoulders that fired rockets with a degree of tracking ability. They were named "Rocket Ghouls." Another was a class of demon shaped much like a bull but with blood red skin. They were called "Bloody Bulls."

After several hours spent reading, Leona learned some about the various artifacts that Blaskowitz used in his attack on Infernus. One that he frequently mentioned was called the Aggression Pack. It was a black box with a red cross that granted the user a boost in health and boosted their speed and strength but turned their vision blood red and gave them a desire to harm any living thing in sight. Another was the Orb of Specters, which made the user partially invisible and threw off the aim of their enemies. Still another was called the Orb of Empowerment, which healed the user and provided them with a shield that protected against physical and magical damage.

Leona was eager to see if she could claim one of those artifacts for Silver Wolf. However, she was not sure if they even existed anymore. They had likely disappeared into the hands of bandits or had found their way into the spacious homes of wealthy collectors. Still, Leona would try to find them. She would have to wait until her crusade against the cult encountered in Beanstalk Village was finished before paying a visit to Silent Cemetery.

Leona shut the book and carefully put it on the neatly organized bookshelf to her right. She would have need of it when the time came to visit the Cursed Lands. The blonde left her office and went to get something to eat in the guild cafeteria.

[Word Count: 464]
[Total Word Count: 2,032/2,000]