Supernatural Sleuths

-Outside Haunted Castle-

Standing outside the Haunted Castle after a lengthy walk from Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona stood and marveled at its impressive size... it towered over the trees of the nearby forest. The Sultan's palace in Desierto had nothing on this place. The Sultan's palace was meant to impress visitors with its opulence, but this castle was built for war. Its turreted towers and solid stone walls were built to withstand siege weaponry and the test of time. She wondered if the castle had ever seen action... if only the walls could talk.

Leona was not getting paid to admire architecture. She was here to aid an Order of Lightbringers knight named Diana in a search-and-rescue mission. From what the Order had told her in the job notice, a film crew for a documentary lacrima series called Supernatural Sleuths had decided to explore the Haunted Castle to film an episode. They had traveled deep into the castle against Diana's orders and had not returned. While it was doubtful that the film crew was still alive, the Order was duty-bound to search for them anyway... due to her experience in fighting the undead, Leona was called in to assist Diana in locating the crew and bring them back if possible.

Wearing her green-and-gold outfit, Leona brought her backpack, Nightshade Machete, and Argent Gloves. She figured that Diana would recognize the distinctive green-and-gold outfit on sight and not mistake her for an enemy. Leona walked up to the castle's wooden double doors and opened the right one. The door creaked open and she stepped inside, upon which the door slammed shut behind her and hit her on the backside. A surprised Leona yelped and briefly rubbed her backside with both hands before recovering from the embarrassment of such an undignified entrance.

-Inside Haunted Castle-

Leona's night vision soon took effect, allowing her to see through the gloom darkening the castle's interior. She was standing on a red carpet and facing a pathway lined with paintings that led straight ahead. To her left was another pathway lined with old suits of armor on display stands. Leona was not sure which way to go first, but her first priority was linking up with Diana. Having a partner was sure to come in handy for this job.

Opting to go straight ahead, she slowly walked down the hallway while looking for any signs of the knight or the film crew. The eyes of the paintings seemed to follow the blonde's every step as she walked on the carpet. The paintings were old, dusty oil paintings of men in old-fashioned clothing that somehow retained their vivid colors despite hanging for so long and having gone a long time between cleanings. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there were no windows at the castle entrance, so the artwork was not exposed to the damaging ultraviolet rays of sunlight. She was not sure who the subjects of the paintings were, but they could have been former castellans of the Haunted Castle.

They had to have been rich and important to afford the commissioning of such fine portraits of themselves. Leona looked away from the artwork and focused on the path ahead. She spotted the outline of someone standing in the distance. From her recent experience in Fulci Cemetery, the blonde knew that shadows lurking in the distance were almost always bad news. Hopefully it was not another one of those pale zombies that could move with inhuman speed and summon more zombies to its side.

Leona slowly approached the figure, unsure as to whether she had been seen yet. The figure moved and drew a weapon. Moments later an arrow whistled by Leona's head, causing her to scream and drop to one knee. The figure rushed at her and grabbed her by the collar before she could draw her machete. The tip of a rather large sword was poking into Leona's forehead.

"Who are you?" A pink-haired woman with blue eyes and a pink outfit asked while holding the blonde at arm's length.

"L-LeONA Jarnefeldt!" Leona choked out. The woman set Leona down and put the sword away.

"I am Diana, a Knight who serves the Order of Lightbringers." The pink-haired woman introduced herself without an apology. Diana was taller than Leona and a good deal more muscular. Her sword was almost as long as Leona was tall. It was small wonder that she had been assigned to escort the film crew.

Diana:

[Word Count: 750]
[Total Word Count: 750/8,000]

"I told the film crew not to go deeper into the castle, but they refused to listen." Diana spoke up. A frown was on her face and her arms were crossed.

"It's called Haunted Castle for a reason. This isn't the Castle of Rainbows. Magic and the supernatural are real things. Magic and the supernatural are real things that are very dangerous." Leona opined.

"This is what happens when a bunch of teenagers are put in charge of something. They ignore authority and do whatever they want. They think that they are invincible and that nothing bad can happen to them." Diana ranted. Leona was somewhat surprised. Teenagers were the film crew for a documentary lacrima?

"I tried to tell them of the dangers in this castle. I tried to warn them of the undead rumored to inhabit the castle, but do they listen? No. They get excited and charge ahead, leaving me behind." Diana continued to rant. Leona was sympathetic to the Order knight, but she wanted to get on with the job. How could she politely get Diana to focus on the task at hand?

"They do not have Holy weapons or magic. Those foolish teenagers charge straight ahead into danger without being able to defend themselves. Who gets to pull their fat out of the fire? I do." Diana continued her bitter diatribe against the film crew. Leona smiled and nodded. She really needed to change the focus of this conversation.

"Diana, I need you to tell me something. What do the missing crew look like?" Leona asked.

"Oh, them. They are three boys and two girls. They carried a lot of recording equipment. The leader was a blond guy with a microphone glued to his hand." Dana grudgingly gave Leona a brief description of her charges.

"Anything else I need to know?" Leona asked.

"Yes. I thought I detected the scent of alcohol on their breath. If I am not mistaken, they had partied the night before filming." Diana added. Leona was incredulous. The knight quickly picked up on that.

"I see that you share my chagrin. Those buffoons thought that it would be a good idea to drink to excess and go into Haunted Castle to film their show. Those poor idiots. They have likely encountered something far worse than a hangover." Diana expressed her disdain for the missing crew. Leona kept quiet and let the knight talk. It was clear that she was not happy with the situation that had gone beyond simple teenage rebellion and into suicidal stupidity.

"Well, we'll have to go and find them. What do you think we'll run up against?" Leona asked Diana, hoping to redirect her attention from the teenagers to the treats that the pair would run into.

"The gamut runs from ghosts to zombies to vampires, possibly even worse. I recall a warning about avoiding the basement because it was an underground prison and torture chamber. It had a very high concentration of dark energy emanating from it. Knowing those idiots, they ran straight to it." Diana gave a summary of the threats while taking one last jab at her charges. Leona did not like the sound of it, but she had a film crew to rescue. She only hoped that they were still alive to be rescued.

"We will begin our search on this floor and make our way downward. If you recall, there was a hall lined with old armor on this floor. I suggest that we start looking there. Follow me." Diana suggested before walking off without waiting for Leona to respond. The blonde hustled to keep up with the deeply unhappy knight. This was going to be a long and difficult job.

[Word Count: 620]
[Total Word Count: 1,370/8,000]

Leona followed Diana down the hallway with the armor on display. The pink-haired knight was not slowing down for anything. Leona suspected that her presence was not welcomed by the woman, but it was too late. She had already traveled all the way out here and had made contact with Diana, so she was going to see the job through. Diana would just have to tolerate her.

Diana stormed past the armor and walked further down the hallway until she came across a wooden door. She did not even wait for Leona to catch up before she opened the door and stared at something on the floor. When the blonde finally caught up and peered into the room, she saw what had captured Diana's attention.

"You will not like this. If you have a sensitive stomach, I suggest you turn away." Diana cautioned Leona. The blonde took a closer look anyway and saw that it was a decapitated body with the stomach ripped open lying in front of an old fireplace. The head was missing, but judging from the jagged marks on the neck the head had been ripped off the body. Entrails had been tugged out of the cavity and spilled over onto the dark red carpet. The blonde suddenly felt ill.

"She was one of the film crew members. It would appear that she did not make it very far before something overtook her." Diana commented without emotion. Leona could tell that the knight had become accustomed to scenes of carnage. So had the blonde. The feeling of illness soon receded and was replaced by morbid curiosity. What could have done this to the hapless young woman?

"It seems like she ran afoul of zombies. You can see where they ripped open the stomach to get to her entrails. The tears are too ragged for to be the work of werewolves." Diana gave some commentary. If the aim was to sicken or scare away Leona, it was not going to work. Leona had seen worse... she had come across desiccated corpses in the desert and could see the perfectly preserved agonized expression on their faces. It was kind of sad that the blonde could not feel much horror upon seeing a corpse anymore. Maybe she had gained the emotional armor needed to take on more dangerous jobs where she might not always succeed in saving lives.

"Where do you think the zombies went?" Leona asked calmly. Diana turned away from the corpse and looked at her.

"They are likely not too far from here. Be ready to fight." Diana grimly warned Leona. Leona kept a hand near her machete as the duo exited the room and went back into the main hallway. There was nothing that could be done for the dead crew member other than to remember the location to retrieve her body after the rest were found.

Diana and Leona shut the room door and walked back to the entrance, then turned left and walked back to where they had met. This time Diana walked at a pace where her "partner" could easily keep up. Together the pair faced a set of spiraling stone stairs that led up to the next floor.

"We should investigate upstairs first. I will take the lead. Watch my back. If you see anything, let me know immediately." Diana ordered Leona. The blonde nodded and followed the taller knight into the stairwell. It seemed that the Order knight had grudgingly accepted her presence, if only because it was too late to send her back. Maybe the knight wanted someone to watch her back... that was what Leona chose to believe as the pair ascended the stairs.

-Second floor-

Diana rushed out of the stairwell with her hand on her sword. Leona climbed the stairs backwards until she reached the top and bumped into the knight. A hand was clamped over Leona's mouth to keep her from crying out. Diana turned her around and pointed at a cluster of people standing in the hallway and swaying in place. Leona knew what they were.

"We will fight them together. Get ready!" Diana whispered to the blonde. Leona nodded and the hand over her mouth was removed. Diana drew her sword. Leona drew her machete. The pair crept towards the dozen zombies blocking the wide hallway.

[Word Count: 722]
[Total Word Count: 2,092/8,000]

Diana and Leona were almost to the zombies when the shamblers noticed them. One lifted a well-chewed arm and pointed with a finger before moaning in their direction. The others turned and began shambling towards them in awkward, uneven strides.

"Do you have anything that can hit them all at once?" Diana asked. Leona wordlessly cast a Wind Blast that knocked all twelve zombies over and onto their backs. They lacked the coordination to get back to their feet, so they were easy targets for the experienced fighters.

"Will that work?" Leona asked. Diana almost looked impressed. She closed with the zombies and began stabbing their heads one by one to put an end to them for good. Leona followed suit and began dispatching zombies that the knight had bypassed. Between the two of them they mopped up the zombies in about three minutes.

"Well done, but we have much more territory to cover before this job is complete. I will take the lead. Watch my back and if you see anything, let me know immediately!" Diana cautioned Leona. Leona nodded and the pair slowly walked down the hallway under the watchful eyes of more paintings; these paintings were of women in old-fashioned clothing bedecked in extravagant jewelry.

Diana led them to wooden double doors and placed a gloved hand on the door. She motioned for Leona to get behind her. The blonde obeyed the more experienced knight and got into place. Diana counted to three on her fingers and opened the door, then dashed inside. Leona could hear the sounds of combat as the knight was engaging more zombies with a glowing golden sword.

Leona raced in just in time to see Diana cut through the last of the undead with her glowing sword, which had reduced the zombies to ash. Diana relaxed and let the glow fade from her weapon before stepping respectfully over the ash piles. She then spoke to Leona.

"I have sent these zombies to their final rest. I hope that their souls will find peace." The pink-haired knight solemnly said to her. Leona looked around the room they were in and saw almost five dozen stuffed animal heads mounted on the walls of the room with small golden plaques beneath the heads noting when and where they were taken. The animals ranged from deer and stags to bears and tigers, even a pair of lion heads, one male and one female. She also saw seven antique flintlock muskets with powder horns mounted on wooden racks on the right wall of the room. In the corner of the room was a mannequin wearing a bright red hunting jacket with white pants and knee-high brown leather boots.

"We are in a trophy room. The castellans were no doubt avid hunters. They hunted animals all over Earthland." Diana commented, her calm face looking oddly sinister in the dancing lamp light. Leona glanced at all the animal heads staring down at them with glassy eyes. It was mildly creepy to the blonde, but the knight was unmoved. She inspected a wooden door in front of them and placed a hand on its handle.

Leona wordlessly got ready to fight as Diana opened the door. The pair went inside and found splotches of dried blood on a wooden table. Nearby were bloody tools like a knife and a bone saw. On a counter to the left were jars of formaldehyde. Just what was this place?

"This must be a taxidermy station." Diana tersely explained as a chemical stench hit their noses. It smelled almost heavy, if scents had weight to them. Leona was starting to feel a little lightheaded from exposure to the chemical. Diana dipped a finger into a drop of blood beneath the wooden table and knelt down to examine it.

"This blood is human. Human and fresh." She commented ominously while rubbing it between her thumb and forefinger. Leona did not like the sound of that. The bloody tools suddenly took on a new significance. Had a human taxidermy project recently taken place here?

"Do you think the blood belongs to one of the missing film crew?" Leona asked.

"Most likely." Diana answered after standing up. Leona was not comforted by the answer. She faced the pink-haired knight and waited for a response or a command.

"We can do nothing here. We should return to the main hall." Diana said as she strode past Leona.

"Gladly." Leona commented, leaving the taxidermy place as fast as her legs could carry her. The change from noxious air to clean air was so sudden that the blonde almost threw up. She was glad to be out of that place with the lamp light and the creepy animal heads and the ashes that had once been zombies.

-In the main hall-

"You are still with me? Good. We will inspect the next room. Follow me and do not be slow." Diana said before walking quickly down the hall. Leona scrambled to keep up. This job was getting stranger and stranger by the minute.

[Word Count: 843]
[Total Word Count: 2,935/8,000]

The pair walked down the hall with weapons at the ready. They had no idea of what to expect from this place. They walked until they entered a rather large banquet hall festooned with hand-woven tapestries emblazoned with the coats of arms of different families, none of which she recognized. Lining the walls were suits of armor armed with old weapons like pikes and halberds. The banquet table itself was a long, rectangular one made out of mahogany and covered with a beautiful white tablecloth.

Lighting the hall were chandeliers made out of beaten brass with numerous lit candles in each one. They hung from thick, sturdy chains also made of beaten brass.

Stationed around the table were wooden chairs carved from an unrecognized type of wood that was as luxurious as the table they sat in front of. The table was set with plates, cutlery, and drinking cups made from actual silver. Leona did not have time to admire the banquet hall because Diana silently drew her attention to something with a pointed finger. One of the chairs at the front of the hall was occupied!

Leona looked closer and spotted a man in an old-fashioned hunting outfit much like the one that was on the mannequin in the trophy room. He sported the same red coat and wore a white shirt underneath it. His pants were the same white pants and he wore the same knee-high brown leather boots as the mannequin, but his were cut away at the back of the knee to permit ease of movement. On his face he wore a golden monocle, its single lens glinting in the light like a the eyes of a predator about to strike. On his lips was a welcoming smile.

"Good evening, ladies." A warm voice greeted them. Diana and Leona were surprised at the polite welcome they received. This had to be a trap.

"I am Henry Capella, the castellan of this wonderful architecture. My family has owned this castle for centuries and I am its most recent guardian." He introduced himself in the same polite and calm voice that he had used to greet them.

"You ladies are just in time. I was just about to begin dinner. I cordially invite you both to join me on this pleasant evening." He extended a welcome to them. He then snapped his fingers and two wooden doors behind him opened to allow six people dressed in black-and-white butler attire to come into the hall. In their white-gloved hands were serving trays topped with covers.
The two watched as the servants moved with precision, setting a plate in front of Henry, then setting plates in seats just in front of their lord. The servants then lined up behind their master and in marched three more servants bearing ornate silver wine cups filled with what looked like wine.

The three cups were set in place at precisely the same time without spilling a single drop. Leona was somewhat impressed with the precision with which the servants moved and worked. The tree wine-bearers then took places behind their master and stood to wait for further instructions.

"Well done, my servants. Please, leave me alone with my guests. You are dismissed." The man thanked them. They bowed in unison and disappeared back whence they came. Leona and Diana edged closer to Henry, who had taken a wine cup studded with rubies into his left hand and was sampling the beverage. He appeared unconcerned with the intentions of his guests.
He casually swirled the contents of the cup around before speaking to the two females.

"Please, join me for a drink. I instructed my servants to select my best vintage wine for this occasion." He bade them. The chairs pulled out by themselves. Diana and Leona felt a strange, irresistible compulsion to join their host. The young women sat down in the chairs and the chairs moved themselves back in place at the table. The man smiled again.

"It is so good for you to join me. I have been expecting you both. Now, let us get down to business." He said to them with the same calm demeanor that he had exhibited throughout the conversation.

"I understand that you ladies are looking for some missing people who visited my castle. They were here to film an episode of a documentary, were they not?" Henry asked Diana and Leona before sampling more of the crimson beverage. Leona felt oddly at ease despite the strangeness of the situation. It almost felt like she was welcome here. Diana did not show any signs of concern either. Then something occurred to the blonde.

Something was not right here... why would the castellan welcome intruders so readily? Why would he be so polite when a mage and a holy knight essentially barged into his castle? And what was the drink he had set out before them? Why was Diana drinking it without checking first to see what she was drinking? All kinds of red flags were going up.

[Word Count: 842]
[Total Word Count: 3,777/8,000]

Diana continued to drink as Leona's sense of "something is seriously wrong" kept growing by the second. Henry looked at them both with a knowing smile. Just what was he hiding from them?

"I am hiding nothing, Miss Leona Jarnefeldt. I will not harm you or your colleague." Henry announced without anger. He looked at her and began to elaborate on his statement.

"I have heard of you, Miss Jarnefeldt. Your story is quite an interesting one. You came to Fiore as a simple desert girl who had hardly been thirty miles from Nebdoui before your exile. Now you are a Guild Master and a former Rising Star that many look up to." Henry gave a very brief summary of the blonde's life story. Leona was not impressed. Her public profile had risen considerably after defeating Aven Alveron in the Fairy Tail Festival duel, so it was not too much of a stretch for Henry to have heard of her.

"I have read reports of your work in both the Cursed Lands and in Desierto. You often go into harm's way alone to help those in need. You are a hammer to the undead, to cultists, to bandits, and to slavers. You hunt them without remorse and without pity, hunting them until they are all dead by your hand. If I did not know any better, I would venture to say that you have a grudge against them." Henry added before taking a sip of his beverage. Leona was moved to comment.

"I've been a victim of bandits and slavers before. They terrorized my home village when I was a child. They killed and enslaved whoever they wanted with little fear of retaliation." Leona answered candidly. Henry seemed amused by the response.

"Oh? That certainly explains your zeal in bringing them to justice, one way or another." He responded. Leona did not comment this time. She let her host speak again.

"Since you were honest with me, I will be honest with you. I want entertainment on this evening. You and your companion will provide the entertainment I seek." Henry announced his intention with equal candor. Leona raised an eyebrow. Diana stopped drinking. What did he mean by "entertainment"?

"Permit me to explain further. I have captured the film crew that you are looking for. They are in the basement, alive and unharmed. Well, except for one. She escaped from me but ran into trouble on the first floor." Henry continued. Leona kept quiet. Diana set her drinking cup down.

"What do you want with them?" Diana asked.

"It is simple, my dear. I want to be amused. I watched you and Miss Jarnefeldt defeat my undead minions and I found your fighting spirit to be most interesting." He started another explanation. Both women paid full attention to his words.

"I will cut to the chase. If you can fight your way through my minions in the two basement levels and reach the end alive, I will free the crew and permit all of you to leave unharmed. If you cannot... I think I do not need to remind you of the consequences of failure." Henry offered to them. The two women looked at each other. It was not like they had anything to lose, but a new question came up. Could they trust him to keep his end of the bargain should they succeed?

"To be frank, I do not have any interest in harming the crew. I want entertainment. Provide me that and I will keep my word." Henry assured them. Leona and Diana looked at each other, then at him. They did not have very much choice but to accept because they did not know what the castellan would do if they refused.

"We will accept your challenge." Diana replied to the proposal. Leona nodded her consent. Henry set down his drink and clapped his hands.

"Splendid! I will watch the proceedings with great interest." He said before snapping his fingers. A manservant appeared with a silver falchion on a red cushion and walked over to Leona. He presented the weapon to her.

"Take this weapon from my personal armory, Miss Jarnefeldt. When I tired of hunting animals, I used it to hunt werewolves and other supernatural prey. You will have need of it for the challenges ahead. Do not worry... it is not cursed in any way. I am a sporting man." Henry assured her. Leona took the weapon into her hand and felt that it was balanced and easy to hold. The manservant bowed to his master and vanished.

"Now go. Your friends are waiting for you in the basement. I will be watching how you fare with great interest." Henry said to them, taking up his wine cup and sipping from it while watching them. Leona stood up and faced Diana. The knight got to her feet. The pair exited the banquet hall under the watchful eye of their host.

"And do be careful." Henry warned them as they went down the stairs and back to the first floor.

Silver Falchion:

[Word Count: 846]
[Total Word Count: 4,623/8,000]

-Downstairs, in the first basement-

Diana lead the way into the basement, which was dark and rather spacious. Burning torches lined the walls and provided enough light to see what the two were up against. Standing between them and the staircase to the next level was a small army of zombies, six werewolves, and five green ghosts. They were not going to get rid of themselves, so it would be up to Diana and Leona to show them out. They had a film crew to rescue.

Diana quietly raised a glowing golden hand and muttered an incantation. A circle rotated around her hand as she chanted. Five small balls of light glowed on her fingertips and the incantation was finished. The balls launched forward, homing in on the ghosts and then exploding on impact with the ethereal enemies. The five ghosts screamed in unison as their forms faded away to wherever it was ghosts went after their second death.

The zombies now shambled towards them as the werewolves hung back with their claws extended, letting their less intelligent colleagues serve as rotting meatshields. Diana led the way, carving into them with her golden sword. Leona followed and began to clean up the zombies that the knight had missed with the first swing of her weapon. The silver falchion helped her deal with two zombies and an overeager werewolf who had leaped in to confront the blonde by herself; one slash and one stab to the chest with the silver sword was all that it took to dispatch the lycanthrope.

Diana was continuing to carve through the zombies with determination etched on her face and glowing sword in her hand. Leona stood with her back to the knight to keep Diana from being attacked from behind while she dealt with enemies in front of them. The pink-haired swordswoman did not need much help with the enemies in front of them, so Leona contented herself with keeping the werewolves at bay. Three of them had grew bold and moved to attack while Diana was finishing off the zombies. Leona had killed one with a Mach Straight to the face followed by a stab through the chest; the other two had backed off and were circling her, testing the blonde's speed and reaction time.

"Werewolves behind you!" Leona quickly warned Diana in case the two wolves got bold enough to attack. One of them darted towards Leona and broke off to the right while the other rushed her. Leona stepped aside and slashed the werewolf across the back, causing it to yelp and turn to her with snapping jaws. It pounced at her and she stepped to the side just in time to get slammed from behind by the other werewolf, falling to the floor on her stomach.

"DIANA!" Leona called out as one of the wolves grabbed her by the ankles and began dragging her towards the back of the room and towards the stairs leading down into the next level. She could not be dragged down there without a weapon because that would spell death for her. Leona frantically rolled and fired a Wind Blast that buffeted the werewolf, forcing it to release her. The blonde rolled to her feet and hit the werewolf in front of her with a Mach Uppercut, causing it to stagger back right into Diana's waiting sword.

She cleaved it diagonally in half from the left shoulder down through its pelvis. It did not even have time to yelp before it fell apart. The wolf behind Leona pressed its attack, but the blonde was ready. She aimed and fired a Wind Bullet that slammed it into the wall next to the staircase and knocked it out. The three remaining werewolves looked at the two and bolted downstairs, dragging their unconscious companion with them.

"Not bad. I see that you have experience in fighting werewolves." Diana soft-of complimented the blonde as she returned the silver falchion to Leona.

"I fought some in the Cursed Lands. I was hired to help protect a village called Wolfsmane from attack by werewolves led by an alpha male. They had already destroyed another village called Lycuston." Leona listed her experience in fighting lycanthropes. This was the first time she had fought them since the Cursed Lands, but the principles were largely the same... stay out of reach and use silver weapons if one had them. Leona did not have a silver weapon then, so she had to use her magic and multiple slashes of Kasim's ram dao to do the trick. Her late friend's weapon served her well in that battle because it had the heft to lend impact to its swings. It killed quite a few werewolves, including the alpha male after a protracted struggle that was ended with the help of Mark and some of the village militia.

"I recall reading about that a few months ago. I appreciate what you did for Wolfsmane. You saved my hometown from destruction." Diana said to her.

"Glad I could help." Leona said to Diana. The latter actually seemed to warm up to the blonde a bit. Their bonding moment was interrupted by a portal opening behind them and a familiar face stepping through to pay a visit.

"Well done, ladies!" Henry Capella complimented them with a genuine smile, a low humming sound emanating from the portal that looked like a black hole. The two young women were not thrilled to see him.

"I was worried that when that werewolf grabbed Miss Jarnefeldt and started dragging her away, it would be the end of her. I am glad that I was mistaken." He added.

"Are you being entertained?" Diana asked dryly.

"Oh yes. You and Miss Jarnefeldt are providing me with an amusing evening. Never have I seen such determination and drive from two people. The way you fight together is art." He replied with sincerity. He then looked at the pair and spoke a warning.

"I must warn you... the second floor of the basement is much more of a challenge than the first. They will be expecting you, so be ready to fight with everything you have. I will be watching you, so do keep up the good work. Farewell!" Henry bade them before stepping into the portal backwards and disappearing. Leona and Diana looked at one another. They had to go down into the basement and finish the job.

"I will lead the way. Follow me... Leona." Diana said to the blonde. Leona nodded and followed the knight as they descended the stairs to get to their next fight. If what the castellan said was true, it was going to be a tough fight to finish.

[Word Count: 1,117]
[Total Word Count: 5,740/8,000]

-Basement, the second level-

When the two finished descending the stairs, they discovered that Henry was not lying to them. Downstairs was packed with zombies, werewolves, and ghosts. There were more than enough torches casting light to see by, so light was not an issue. What was an issue was if the pair could defeat all the enemies before they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of them. Diana stepped forward with a glowing golden hand.

"I will prepare a spell that can help us, but you must buy me a little time." Diana said to Leona. Leona nodded and stepped in front of the knight, stepping to meet two werewolves who were eager to be the first to sample human flesh. The blonde slashed them both across the chest twice and stabbed the first, killing it and forcing its packmate back. Leona used a Wind Blast to knock over a slowly advancing group of zombies like moaning dominoes and used her silver falchion to cleave through a green ghost with no resistance, sending it to the afterlife. The werewolf charged again and Leona met it with a stab through the torso, killing it this time.

The second werewolf had not even hit the ground when another pair leaped over the zombies and engaged her with their claws. Leona blocked one claw swing with her left Argent Glove and slashed the second werewolf across the face with her sword before jumping back to buy herself a little breathing room. One wolf went for Diana and the blonde intercepted it with a Zephyr Charge, slamming into the best and sending it headfirst into the wall just beside the knight. Its skull broke and it fell backwards with blood pouring from its nostrils and mouth. Leona killed another ghost and three zombies, but the oncoming horde seemed endless.

"Get back!" Diana instructed, pointing her palm towards the enemies. Leona broke free of a zombie that grappled her and killed another ghost before complying. Diana clenched her teeth.

"DIVINE SMITING!" She shouted before a beam of solid golden light surged forward, turning all the enemies the beam touched into ash. Some of the werewolves saw what was coming and attempted to either close in and stop the beam or run from impending annihilation. Leona met those who attempted to get to Diana with her gleaming silver weapon, which made short work of the wolves since they came in one-by-one instead of rushing her as a pack. Diana quickly moved her hand to the left and destroyed them too... soon the hallway was clear of all but a few stragglers.

Diana collapsed to her knees and clutched her sword for support on the cold stone floor. Leona finished off three remaining zombies and a werewolf before turning to the knight. She was sweating profusely and looked exhausted beyond words.

"I believe that will level the playing field. Leona." Diana said with a small smile. Leona heard howling as more wolves scrabbled open a door down the hallway and sprinted towards them. Eight more lycanthropes had entered the fray.

"Go. Save the crew." Diana instructed her.

"No. We're finishing this fight together!" Leona insisted. She fired a Wind Bullet that knocked one of the charging wolves down, but seven more were still coming their way. She was not going to leave Diana to die. Leona held her silver falchion and waited for them to draw closer.

When they were almost to her, Leona fired a Wind Blast that knocked three of them over before the remaining five closed the distance. Leona killed one with a stab through the chest and kicked it off, then cut off the arm of a werewolf that tried to claw her and knocked it back into a packmate with a Mach Straight. Claws gashed across her right arm for her trouble, but Leona got revenge when she cut it down the right cheek and forced it to back away before the next strike was fatal. Leona stabbed another through the heart as it grappled both of her shoulders and tried to pull her in for a bite. There were six more werewolves remaining and they were all coming after her.

Leona tried to stand her ground, but she was getting clawed from too many directions. The bloody blonde used a Storm Impact to stagger them with a wind dome and killed one more when she cut it with a downward slash that split the beast from its chest to its groin. She turned to another and decapitated it when it missed a charge attempt... its head did not even hit the floor before a werewolf grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall to the left of Diana. Her silver falchion dropped to the ground and she was slammed against the wall before being slammed to the floor onto her back. A werewolf kicked it to Diana, who watched the proceedings with horror.

"LEONA!" Diana called out. The knight forced herself to her feet and staggered to Leona's rescue. She cleaved her way through the first two werewolves without missing a beat but ran into trouble on the third one. The disoriented Leona forced herself to get up. She drew her Nightshade Machete and buried it in the chest of the werewolf who had slammed her onto the floor, then punched it three times and finished with a Mach Uppercut.

The blonde withdrew her machete and decapitated the downed lycanthrope with three downward chops, then strode over to the last wolf that had grappled Diana and was trying to bite her. Leona rammed her machete through its back, causing it to howl and turn to her. The pink-haired knight retrieved Leona's silver falchion and used it to deliver four lightning-quick slashes to the distracted wolf's back and finished with a decapitating blow then the wolf dropped to its knees.

"We did it." Diana said with exhaustion, returning the silver sword to Leona. The blonde wiped off her machete and put it away, holding onto the silver falchion to use as her weapon of choice. The door down the hallway beckoned to the pair. They hoped that all of the fighting was done because they did not have much left in the tank. The pair took a breather and pressed on, reaching the wooden door and opening it.

[Word Count: 1060]
[Total Word Count: 6,800/8,000]

-Inside the torture chamber-

Diana and Leona burst into the square room to find all manner of torture devices that had been well-used. Four racks, two iron maidens with dried blood running down their iron bodies, a furnace for heating irons used for burning people, and a wooden table table with a cat-o-nine-tails sitting on it. In the very back of the room were cages holding four humans, two males and two females.

"HEY! OVER HERE!" A blond male called out to them and thrust his hands through a gap in the bars.

Suddenly a portal opened and out stepped Henry Cabella. He was clapping and had a wide smile on his face. It seemed like he never stopped smiling.

"Well done, ladies! You have defeated all of my minions. I have been thoroughly entertained by you two on this evening." Henry said to them.

"Will you release the film crew to us unharmed as you promised?" Diana asked him.

"Of course, my dear Order knight. I am a man of my word." Henry assured her. He snapped his fingers and the manservants from earlier dutifully entered the room and unlocked the cages. The crew rushed out of the cages and to the side of Diana and Leona.

"What happens now?" Leona asked Henry.

"You six go free and go home. I have what I want. You two have what you want. Everyone wins." Henry said to her, his servants flanking him in case she tried to attack. Leona was wary, but she was not going to attack their host. She did not have much in the tank and she did not want to break the uneasy peace that prevailed.

"I take it you want your sword back?" Leona asked him, offering the sword back to him.

"Not at all, Miss Jarnefeldt. Keep it. You have earned it with your splendid performance tonight." Henry declined the offer, giving it to Leona as a gift. Leona wanted to remain silent, but she was moved to speak.

"Thank you." Leona said to him. Henry nodded and turned to his servants.

"And with that, I will leave you ladies to your business. As promised, I will permit you and your friends to leave unharmed. You know the way out." Henry said to her, taking up the same silver drinking cup that he had used in the banquet hall.

"I bid you ladies farewell. I thank you both for the magnificent entertainment. Do visit me again some time." He bade them before turning and walking into the portal, followed by his servants. When the last of them stepped through, the portal closed behind him. Leona, Diana, and the film crew were left standing there.

"Let us go before he changes his mind." Diana voiced the opinion everyone had. Leona took the lead and the others followed. As the castellan had promised, there were no enemies to bar their way or attack them from behind. The group gathered the remains of the fallen film crew member from the first floor room and left the castle. They were going to go to the Order's headquarters in Holy Castle to recover from the grueling experience.

-Holy Castle, twelve hours later-

Leona had never been so glad to see sunlight in her life. She and the others had hitched a ride on Leona's griffin. It was crowded, but the group got there alive and none the worse for wear.

"We made it!" The blond male exclaimed, jumping off of the griffin and helping his fellow crew off of the griffin. They then took the body of their deceased colleague and gently took it down from the griffin's back. Leona and Diana kept quiet as the team gently set the body off to the side. A man dressed as a priest and two dozen knights in gleaming silver armor greeted them.

"Welcome back Diana! And I see that you brought Miss Jarnefeldt and the film crew with you!" A blond middle-aged man with silver-rimmed glasses greeted them. Diana dismounted the griffin and helped Leona down. Leona dispelled the griffin and painfully walked towards Diana.

"Yes, Father Morris. We saved four out of the five people. There was nothing we could do to save the fifth one. She was dead before we even found her." Diana reported.

"That is unfortunate, but you two did the best that you could. What is more important is that you saved the others from meeting her fate." Father Morris consoled them. He was right. As much as the two would have liked to have saved all five, they did very well by saving four of them.

"I see that you and Miss Jarnefeldt are in need of medical attention. We will treat you both." Father Morris said. Four young women dressed in cleric's clothing walked to their side. Leona was glad to see them. She was concerned that she was going to contract lycanthropy since she had been clawed by several of them. The two followed the clerics into the castle for medical treatment.

[Word Count: 840]
[Total Word Count: 7,640/8,000]

-Holy Castle, the infirmary-

Leona sat in a chair with a torso and arms wrapped in bandages. Her outfit top had been shredded but restored to perfect condition by an Order mage skilled in Cloth Make Magic. She had been checked for signs of lycanthropy by the Order's healers and had come up negative, so the blonde did not have to worry about turning into a werewolf back at Silver Wolf Guild Hall. Father Morris and Diana entered the room.

"We are glad that you survived, Miss Jarnefeldt." Father Morris said to her.

"Me too. It got rough for awhile, but Diana was a big help." Leona admitted.

"From what she told me, you two helped each other." Father Morris gave his rebuttal. Diana stepped forward. She bore a long object wrapped in a white cloth.

"I am afraid that we destroyed the sword that Castellan Henry Capella gave you, Leona. We feared that it was cursed and could not take any chances. Please, accept this replacement from the Order's arsenal as a reward for a job well done." Father Morris said to her as Diana extended the object to her. Leona took it into both hands and gently unwrapped it. It was her own silver longsword!

"Thank you, Father Morris." Leona said to him. He nodded in acknowledgment. Diana spoke to her as she wrapped the blade back in the cloth it came in.

"I hope we meet again, Leona. It was great to fight by your side. You more than live up to your name." Diana said to her before turning and walking away, presumably to take care of the film crew.

"Stay with us for the night, Miss Jarnefeldt. You are too tired to travel. You will be safe here." Father Morris urged her. Leona was kind of beaten up from the ordeal and did not quite feel up to traveling. With Eero and Leila back at Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the guild could manage without her for a few hours.

"OK." Leona said to him. She sat in the chair as Father Morris smiled.

"Splendid! I will make the arrangements. You will be a welcome guest." He said to her as the Order clerics came back to check on Leona. Leona was not worried about staying here. The Order of Lightbringers and others patrolled Holy Castle around the clock. It would take a lot for werewolves or zombies to breach their walls.

Leona was glad that they could rescue four out of the five film crew. Hopefully they learned a lesson from this day and did not rush off into danger without an escort. She needed to take a vacation soon. She wanted a break from dangerous jobs for awhile. Maybe Leona would take a safer, easier job when she got back to the guild hall.

[Word Count: 470]
[Total Word Count: 8,110/8,000]