Artifact Watch

-Hargeon Town, Dr. Anna's home-

Wearing her green-and-gold outfit with Adaptable Armor and Argent Gloves, Leona opened the door to Dr. N. D. Anna's residence and stepped out of the midday sun. She had been hired by the doctor of archaeology to watch over her home while the doctor paid a visit to the local library. Leona did not mind helping with that. She was hoping to enlist Dr. Anna's help in the future, possibly with improving the guild library with a few selected books that the archaeologist recommended.

Leona walked into the single-story home and heard the rustling of papers sounding from the doctor's office, which was crammed with books and papers just like it was last time. The corkboard with speculation as to the location of the mine of Saul Oman was still up and still plastered with papers pinned to the board. The doctor peeked her head out from around the corner and greeted the blonde mage.

"Oh, hi Leona! It looks like you've been quite busy since we last met!" Dr. Anna greeted her warmly. Leona raised a hand in greeting.

"Yes, Doctor. I've been quite busy. I've been to Desierto, to the Cursed Lands, all over the place." Leona said to the doctor.

"I heard about a few of your adventures in Desierto. That was a nice piece of work, finding the Book of Saarghon and Sand-Splitter. You don't know how long archaeologists have been looking for those things. Some poor souls spent their entire careers trying to find them and you find each one in less than a day's time." Dr. Anna complimented her.

"It wasn't easy, Doctor. I had to get through a lot of old traps and quite a bit of fighting to recover the items." Leona told Dr. Anna. The former then looked at her golden wristwatch with a brown leather watchband.

"Oh dear, I'd love to stay and talk shop, but I'd better get going to the library! My research is going to take awhile, so I'd better not delay! I trust you'll do a good job here! LATER!" The doctor called out before sprinting through the door. Leona was left alone in Dr. Anna's home and it was her responsibility to watch over it all. The blonde mage could handle this.

The biggest challenge would be the monotony of guard duty, but she could do it. She had stood watch at Silver Wolf Guild Hall before and she could do it for Dr. Anna. She was certain that the good doctor would make it worth her while.

Leona looked at all the papers and books stacked everywhere on every available surface, even on the tops of metal filing cabinets that had drawers stuffed with folders that were in turn crammed with papers. She may have been a famous archaeologist, but she was a terrible organizer. Leona wondered how Dr. Anna found anything in this clutter. It had to be an acquired talent.

-One hour later-

The blonde stood in front of the open door to Dr. Anna's office, which overlooked the large space that might have been a living room at some point. She kept a careful watch over the papers and books, paying special attention to the corkboard with the numerous squiggled notes about the mine of Saul Oman. The Wizard Saint wondered what was so special about this mine until she read a small note that read "JEWELS" and was underlined twice.

She also recalled from the last visit to Dr. Anna's home that the mine held a collection of valuable metals and gemstones that were of immense value. Another note read "GOLD BARS" and was underlined twice. Gold bars were certainly valuable items, especially if they originated from an ancient kingdom. She did not know what kingdom the mine of Saul Oman belonged to... she did not think that it was linked to King Saarghon because his kingdom lasted only a century before collapsing.

Leona looked at the board for any more notes that could confirm or disprove the connection of the mine to King Saarghon. There were no notes that could help. Maybe some of Dr. Anna's books could help, but the blonde did not want to invade the doctor's privacy any more than she already had. She would ask Dr. Anna about it at some point, hopefully before another desert journey.

[Word Count: 750]
[Total Word Count: 750/1,500]

-Six hours later-

It was getting dark outside and Dr. Anna was nowhere to be seen. The house had been quiet all through the day, which was a good thing because Leona had wanted a quiet job today. No visitors for the doctor had appeared and no one had tried to break in. She wondered when the doctor would get back because the street lights were just beginning to activate.

Leona sat down in an unoccupied office chair and watched over the achaeologist's kingdom of stacked papers and books to make sure that nothing would get stolen at the last moment. The Wizard Saint did not want anything to go wrong at the last moment and for her to be left having to explain to the doctor how the former had failed such a simple job. She stood up, pushed the chair back under a "desk" loaded with books, and began walking around the office again to stay focused on the job.

She peered into Dr. Anna's office to make sure that nothing had went missing out of that small space loaded with still more papers and books. Everything was in place down to the last piece of paper with a note hastily jotted onto it. She then walked to the front of the house and stood in place because she thought that she had heard activity coming from around the front. If the source of the activity was burglars looking for a quick bit of plundering, her presence alone should be enough to deter them.

The front doorknob began to turn repeatedly. Leona prepared for the possibility of facing criminals and slowly leaned down to draw the knife hidden in her boot, the only weapon she had thought to bring with her for this job. Thankfully a weapon would not be necessary because the person opening the door was Dr. Anna herself.

"Oh, hello there! I'm glad to see you, Leona!" The doctor said cheerfully as her face stuck out between two piles of books that were eight books high. Leona stood up and walked over to the doctor to help her carry the books to wherever it was that they were destined to go. The doctor motioned to go to her office and started trotting with a stack of books. Leona swiftly followed with the other stack in her arms.

The pair worked together to make sure that the books arrived safely. They were set on the floor just beside the doctor's thick wooden desk in a place between the desk and a bookshelf that reached to the ceiling and was crammed with books. The space the books had been set in was one of the few patches of office space not yet occupied with something. Now it had been occupied.

"Thanks, Leona. That was a close one. I was nearing the end of my rope and if you hadn't been standing there I might have dropped them all over the place!" Dr. Anna thanked the Wizard Saint for being in the right place at the right time. Leona was glad to have been able to help.
The doctor fished through a desk drawer until she came across a bag of Jewels that she handed to the Silver Wolf mage.

"Thanks for the help, Leona. Everything's in its place and no one broke in. I knew I could count on you!" The doctor gratefully said to Leona.

"Now then, I need to begin studying these books. I'm looking for clues as to the location of the Mine of Saul Oman. Or was it Solomun? I can't remember." Dr. Anna rambled briefly. Leona could not offer any help because she did not know either. The bespectacled brunette shrugged her shoulders and picked up one of the library books off of a stack.

"Anyway, I'd better start reading these books. Thanks again, Leona!" The doctor thanked her. Leona took that as her cue to get going and leave the archaeologist to her work. The blonde saw herself out and shut the door behind her. She would have to ask for the doctor's help some time later. For now it was time to go back to the Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

Leona wondered what it was like to be an archaeologist. It had to be nowhere near as exciting as what she had went through in Desierto. Most of the real work had to be academic in nature, a setting that the blonde was not yet familiar with and had not been educated to operate in. She was learning Court Heiromesh, but it was not in a "formal" academic setting and thus would not win her the accolades Dr. Anna and Professor Rosetta had earned through years of work and study. Still, the blonde was slowly starting to learn to do something other than fight and she was making steps towards becoming better suited to lead a guild with an intellectual focus.

With that in mind, the blonde called her Winged Lion summon and climbed onto its back, then took flight. Her destination was Silver Wolf Guild Hall. She was sure that there was more paperwork waiting for her to do. Leona was not a master of bureaucracy either, but she was starting to learn how to manage it. Thanks to the help of patient guild staff, she would get there.

[Word Count: 900]
[Total Word Count: 1,650/1,500]