Prelude to Many Chapters (Job, Solo)

For the first time in ages Samira now had the chance to visit Oak Town. It was surprising really. The town was known for being very historical and had a massive library of knowledge that was even larger than Lamia Scale's when it was a guild based around that sort of thing. With as many times as she had to go to the library for one reason or another one would have thought that she would visit the place for an easier time researching or getting aid from those much smarter and experienced than she was with historical items and stories. However, she never did. The last time she was in Oak Town was when she was a child and was playing tag along with her grandfather. Maybe that's why she never went back. Only her inner self really knew but her more conscious self was having none of those thoughts. They were pushed back so she could focus on why she was there. An old contact and researcher friend of her grandfather had got in touch with her and requested that she come to town. The reason? Well, it seemed her standing among mage society was not as much of a joke as she thought. People actually took it seriously instead of assuming it was a mistake. It was weird in her mind, but it was what it was. She was apparently assumed to be smart and just as educated as her grandfather... because what Wizard Saint was dense and clueless half the time? Certainly not her! Other than that, her adventures in Pandora to recover a piece of some grand artifact was also noteworthy among the team that were researching it. Her experiences were assumed to be helpful. Would it be though? If not, she was going to be in yet another awkward situation, but what else was new?

Samira made her way through the town and to where she was supposed to meet her contact, client, friend and coworker of a relative? What he was supposed to be referred as she wasn't quite sure, but it seemed apparent with the more she got involved then the more of them that were going to show up from whatever side of the world they were hiding away on. Past the townsfolk, past the houses, past even the great library the town was known for. All the way through the town until she reached the point of one of the noteable monuments of Great Wizards that were scattered around. She looked around and concluded that she was the first one there and would have to wait a bit. Was she too early? Or maybe he was just not one to care much for being on time and preferred being late. Disappointing, yet at the same time it worked in her favor. The downtime allowed for her to study and observe that particular monument and the others that were nearby.

She did just that, starting with the nearest one. It was a statue that was likely built in the image of the notable mage from long ago. There were many built in a similar way, and many had their names engraved at the base of where the statue stood so all would know who it was to represent. Although, unless someone studied the history of mages to the fullest it was unlikely that the oldest of names were commonly known. Even Samira did not recognize many of them. Soon, the Wizard Saint came across an even taller monument that was not a statue of a particular image. It was more of a pillar with words written on it, starting from the top and going down towards the bottom with a large blank space to add more if needed. On closer inspection they too appeared to be names, many of them from the very statues Samira had already seen. There were others there though that she had not seen, but then, it was likely the statue the names went with were on the other side of town.

(Word Count: 675)

"The names of many Great Wizards throughout the ages." The voice of an elderly man spoke up casually, as if he had been there the entire time and his sudden presence would not be a surprise at all to anyone. It was the opposite though, even to Samira. She had not sensed him until his voice was heard, and upon turning around to look at the one that interrupted her observations she realized that she had not heard the cane tapping on the ground either. Yet, there he was, walking closer to the monument to stand at her side, the bottom tip of his cane clacking against the concrete to create a noise that she should have heard from quite a distance away. He didn't seem at all magical either. Was she really just that tuned out a moment ago, or was he more than what he appeared to be?

"Yes. I concluded that much. This town is known to have monuments dedicated to many wizards, and I have already seen some of the names of the nearest statues on this one. Although," Samira began to say as she faced the monument again. "Some names seem to be missing." Thus far, many of the Wizard Saints of the recent past didn't have their names on the monument. One could assume the current ones weren't listed on it because they were very much alive and only the dead got their names engraved. But, many of the Saints of the recent past had disappeared without a word as far as she knew. They may as well have been dead by that point and so had their names added onto it. "There are plenty of Wizard Saints that are not listed here."

"Hmmm?" The man shook his head and then tapped the monument with his cane. "Bah! Not every name on this monument was a Wizard Saint, and not all Wizard Saints have their names added to it. This monument is for the Greatest of Wizards! Title or no title! Not even the Magic Council's chosen are guaranteed to be remembered by having their name here. They have a good chance to be, but not guaranteed. The missing names are examples of that."

"I see." There wasn't much else to be said in reply to that. The words were true enough. She had known at least one person that was labeled as a Wizard Saint in the past but was actually anything but... saintly. There were reasons behind certain actions taken, and said person was always leagues above even herself in power and experience, or at least that always seemed to be the case. There does come a line between what is acceptable of a hero of a nation, however, and what is not. Whether the Magic Council knew of certain deeds that were far past the line that separated acceptable and extremities or not it was hard to say. Said person had not been removed of her title by them nor had there been any warnings or punishments that Samira was aware of. The name not being on the monument could have been convincing evidence that they did have some idea and so did not rush to add the name. There were also other past Wizard Saints from the former guild of Black Rose that did not have their names engraved. There had been some disturbing rumors concerning that guild, but whether they were true or not who could say? She wasn't going to judge based on that alone, and there was always another side to stories. Still, that would explain why their names were also missing. There was no telling how many others throughout history were also not on the monument.

(Word Count: 620
Total So Far: 1295)

"Will your name be on there someday? You are among the newest Gods of Ishgar, yes?" The old man asked curiously, wondering what her answer would be.

"No." The answer to that question did not require any thought at all by that point. She had already questioned enough in the past why she was a Wizard Saint at all. And not just a typical Wizard Saint, but one of the top four that had their own special titles of Gods. It was title upon title, many she thought were quite unnecessary for herself and were at one point something she thought was out of the realm of reality. She didn't think that she changed that much, but apparently that was far from the case if the Magic Council was giving her of all people a title, multiple even. That or they were rewarding someone with an unusual and quickly growing magical prowess to ensure that she remained on their side of the legality spectrum. "There are many others that deserve to have their names here well before my own, title or no title. It is also not my intention to ever be remembered in this way or at all." Perhaps that was the wish of others; to be remembered throughout history for many centuries after they passed. Samira was very indifferent to that aspect. Being well known to the world by name or title was never on her agenda, but it seemed she somehow managed to make it on a list alongside many influential and powerful mages regardless. "I do not think either of us are here to talk about me though, at least not in this way." It was time to change the subject and get to the point of why she was even there. The old man had been the only one she saw near those particular monuments, and so she could only conclude that he was the one that she had been waiting to arrive. "You are Tobias Reed, I presume?" She turned her emerald gaze on him again, still not smiling and keeping her neutral frown. If he wasn't the correct person then she was going to have to start wondering if she needed to just find Mr. Reed herself instead of standing there waiting. "If you are then we should discuss how I am supposed to help here."

The old man shooh his head and sighed. He turned away from the monument, tapping his cane on the ground as he used it to walk towards a nearby bench and took a seat on it. "To business so quickly, I see. You cannot even humor an old man with small talk beforehand. Very well, Saint of Humility. I am this Tobias read you are waiting for."

Samira took a few steps herself to be closer to the bench but she neglected to take a seat on it. Standing was just fine. More-so being called by a title made her cringe inwardly. "That title is not necessary."

"Very well, God of Ishgar."

(Word Count: 505
Total So Far: 1800)

Somehow Samira felt that she should have expected that as a response and she could sense a proverbial sweatdrop at the back of her head. Perhaps she should have specified and made it clear that NO titles were preferred. "Just Samira is fine." Then she had to add on a question a few seconds later because her curiosity of that particular ridiculous reference got the better of her, and the gentle smile of the old man seemed to also give off subtle sarcasm. "Do you always refer to people by their titles? How would you even refer to me if all four of the Gods of Ishgar were in the same room?"

"By your secondary title of course! I did just use it." The old man feigned offense as he scoffed and looked away. Then he shrugged his shoulders and entered a moment of thought. "Or maybe just the letters." He looked back at the young woman with wide eyes as if the cliched light bulb had appeared over his head with a spectacular epiphany. "Did you know that if you take the first letter of each of your saint titles along with the 'G' of God and 'I' of Ishgar and mix them around you get 'rights'? Unfortunately I can't come up with a word that included the 'O' of the middle word 'of' but no matter. 'Rights' seems a fine word to make from resilience, humility, tranquility, and strength. I have high hopes for this set of four and this is a sign that all of you being on the list is right. Right? Hahahaha." The short moment where Tobias lost himself in thought returned. He rubbed his chin as he began to mutter to himself quite clearly. "Or maybe I should just drop the 'G' and have the combined word be 'shirt'. It is evenly balanced with the 'I' for Ishgar right in the middle."

Samira was beginning to ponder whether the entire meeting was a joke or not. She thought about turning around and leaving altogether while he was distracted with his silly word game. The spirits connected with her mind could see and hear everything, and she could hear them snickering in the background. The top four Wizard Saints reduced to the word of "shirt". Their secondary titles probably should have been picked better just to avoid those that had a habit of playing word games.

'When put that way, it sounds like a terrible team name for a band of those ridiculous super heroes in child fiction.'

'Heeeyyyy! Don't call my collection of super hero action figures and comics ridiculous. They're very cool.'

'You mean the Wizard Saints aren't some band of super heroes? I... kind of bought all of the current action figures. Just got one of the newest Saint, Leona Jarnefeldt. I had to actually fight to get one. People go nuts for the new releases!'

'Actually, I feel like doing something stupid. Follow along.' That same spirit poofed into the mortal realm, standing behind the bench and taking a heroic pose like some over-exaggerated wannabe super hero. "Strength!" The other less serious spirits quickly caught on to what he was doing and decided to play along, each of them also crossing between realms and having their own heroic poses.

"Humility!"
"Resilience!"
"Tranquility!"
"Together we are the Gods of Ishgar!"
"That battle evil while wearing fancy shirts." And with that each of their clothing instantly changed into super hero costumes with overly fancy shirts.

(Word Count: 582
Total So Far: 2382)

"Ohhhh!" Tobias had turned his attention to the spirits as they did their routine. He was very amused and enjoyed their take on his mutterings. It was fun. "Now that is how you humor this old man!" He said as he pointed his cane at them and looked at Samira... and then realized that she had already made quite a distance away as she had turned away and begun leaving the moment he had become amused by her spirits' actions. "Oh... she left. Can one of you-" He had begun to ask the spirits if they could go retrieve her but he was left with a surprised reaction as they vanished in multi colored swirls of particles. "Oh, what a predicament," he said quietly to himself. He lifted his cane and begun to wave it in the air as he shouted towards the summoner that had now distanced herself from him. "God of Ishgar! Come back!"

She did not stop or even turn around. She at least decided to give him a response, however. "It is Samira! Only Samira!"

"I promise to get to the point of why you were sent here if you come back!" That didn't seem to be overly convincing. "Please?!" Still nothing. "I'll get you access to the restricted section of the town's famous library!" That seemed to do the trick... a little too well actually. He had only took a moment to blink and she was already right there standing in front of him with an excited gleam in her eye. "Really?!" She then realized she might have been a little more than happy at that promise and regained control of herself and let her smile turn back into a neutral expression. "I will take you up on that promise. Now can we proceed to the real business?"

Tobias was actually kind of stumped on why that worked so well. With her position she could have just gotten access to that section herself with zero effort. Was she really so blind to the power behind that title? Or was it that she just never bothered to use it? Eh, whatever. It got her to come back and he wouldn't actually need to do much of anything to get her access. In fact, she would probably require to make good use of that area considering what he needed help with. He used his cane to push himself up from the bench and then started to slowly walk and lead her elsewhere. "Such eagerness to get to work. Very well. Follow this old man then."

Samira did as told and began to follow and adjusted her pace to be match his. The walk was silent at first and it gave her time to develop a dangerous inquiry. "Out of curiosity that I should not have, what word do you have for all of the combined Saints?"

"...."

"...?"

"I couldn't think of one! I'm adding that to the list of things I need help with!"

(Word Count: 498
Total So Far: 2880)

Some time later Tobias had led the summoner to a large fancy building. The very library the town was known to have. They went past the main desk, past by all the books, past the other people that were in there. There were some glances and murmurs, but for the most part the library was as one would expect, quiet and the people in there doing their own reading or studying. They passed by a reinforced door that had a magical seal glowing on it. "That there is the entrance to the restricted section, but we are not going there just yet." Tobias told Samira as he stopped and pointed to it in case she was curious about either the reason for the seal or of where that section was in the library. The two went farther back into the library that was more cut off than even the restricted section. They came across another sealed door, which became transparent and lost its solid form as soon as Tobias tapped it with his cane and spoke a code word. They stepped through the illusion of the door and as soon they did the door reformed to prevent anyone else from following.

Behind the door was a short dark hallway that quickly opened up to a larger room that was circular in shape. There were several bookshelves as one would expect of a library, but Samira got the idea that the room was actually being used more as a home. There was a bed and a dresser that was isolated from everything else and on the other side was a chair and a smaller table with a vertical lacrima light beside it. A place to sleep and a spot to relax. There was also the feeling of the room being homey. It didn't have the dull and empty feeling of boredom that some people would have had with libraries. Samira herself was normally at home in them, but the room gave it an extra touch that was comfortable. Aside from the scrolls that seemed to be scattered around and open notebooks that were far from being organized. That wasn't even going into all the dust. She preferred a cleaner and more organized reading area, especially if she lived in it. But alas, that was not her room and so she kept those thoughts to herself. She poked one of the books on a nearby shelf and confirmed for herself that it was indeed covered in thick dust that was likely to make her go into a sneezing fit if she so much as tried to remove the book. "Some people like to say that they live in libraries. I did not normally think for a second that someone could mean that literally."

"You guessed that I live here then? Technically correct. I have a home. I just sometimes forget to go back to it. I've been locked inside the library so many times that they just let me sleep here when it happens."

"They do not just make sure that you have left before locking up?"

"They did once. I refused to leave. Hit the librarian with my cane, I did! And his friend too! Making me leave when I was on the verge of an important discovery! Blasphemy!"

(Word Count: 548
Total So Far: 3428)

"That is understandable, I suppose." It was unreasonable actually, but that was just how some people were. Waiting until opening hours in the morning was an impossible request. Breaking in after everyone had left would have been a better option than violence, and would have been her chosen route, but not everyone was as sneaky or had the magical capabilities to go through walls unnoticed. "So, why are we here? Is there something in this room of importance? I am not here to clean it, am I?"

"To me everything is important! But to you the more intellectual items would be of interest. And no, you are not here to clean. This room is just the way I like it!" Tobias laughed, knowing full well that normal people would have been driven insane by the mess. Samira included. He moved on from the topic. "You remember the relic you were asked to retrieve from that lost island? The one with the temple and its unkillable guardian?"

"It is not an easy mission to forget. The relic and temple aside, I had other matters to take care of back then. I was not the only one after the relic."

Tobais had reached the larger table in the center of the room and had flipped open a tome that was lying on its surface. "Ah, yes. Amirah." He nodded, recalling the reports he had read of that incident. "I remember that detail now. So then, you also remember the one that tried to steal that same relic some time after?" He looked up at Samira as he spoke his inquiry.

Samira took a step forward. Now she was a bit more interested. It was clear that while her sister and the unknown person were after the same thing that they were not actually working together. The events that transpired when the relic had been stolen were evidence of that. "I do. Is that why I am here? Do you know why either of them were after it?"

"Not a clue!" Tobias had burst that bubble quickly and knew that he did for he did it on purpose as soon as he was aware Samira became more interested in the topic. It wasn't his original intent, but he may as well have a little fun. He smirked as he saw the summoner's eyebrow twitch in aggravation, though she said nothing of it. "But you will be happy to know that they have nothing to do with why you were called here or why I need help. A good thing too. They would destroy my precious home! But now I will be a bit more serious. Have a seat." He gestured towards one of the chairs, which also happened to be covered in dust. The only one that wasn't was his own. A clear sign that he usually did not have much company... or really cared. Samira dusted the chair off as best she could before taking a seat, sneezing a few times as she did due to the particles that swarmed the air temporarily.

(Word Count: 511
Total So Far: 3939)

"You are aware the research behind that relic was started by your grandfather. Jacobs and Easton had notified me of that much, although the real details behind that research have not been given to me until recently. Before it was locked behind secrecy even amongst old friends."

"My grandfather had a lot of projects. I am not very familiar with any of them. Though twice now they have come to haunt me because of his absence."

"That's true. His research is scattered throughout the known world. Maybe even between realms. I would not put it past him to make use of the celestial world or even deeper into the unknown to hide certain things. I do know that some of his research was given to myself, Jacobs and Easton, you, and some others. That is but a fraction of the knowledge he had obtained and written down."

"Most of the things left for me was not really research. It was more of a diary log. The research that was there was just common archeological notes. Nothing magical or anything that would relate to the recent and current events of today."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Tobias slid the book in front of him towards Samira before taking a seat in his chair. "We know the relic you obtained has some secrets that we are still trying to find out. We know it works as a locator to other pieces. That is about all we know. We do not know what happens when all of it is gathered, why the pieces were scattered, the history of it, why he was even researching, or how he came to know of its existence."

"If you are implying any of that is mentioned in what he left me then-"

"That is exactly what I am implying! It may not be easily seen on the surface. Maybe it is in code. Or perhaps even hidden by a magical enchantment."

"I would sense if it was magical I would think. Or maybe my spirits would if I could not. As for a written code, I would not be able to guess how to crack it."

"Oh really? Okay then."

"...You are dropping it that quickly?" Samira was at a lost for words. She had assumed that was the reason she was there. To decode the notes she had been left and give answers to those questions. But it was dropped so easily! Did that mean she could just walk out and never hear from anyone again? It was starting to get to the point where that would be a lovely option to take. She was getting wrapped up in way too many things that weren't even any of her business. It was the work and mysteries left by a long dead man.

"Well I never did ask if you even still had the notes he left. Why would I continue pestering you about it if you didn't even have them? Are you a God of Ishgar or aren't you? Really now. Have some sense. I do not have time to waste annoying you over notes you may not even have! Who keeps research notes of an old man that was in one too many secret clubs? That's dangerous!"

"Yet you still have time to waste annoying me by wasting my time." Samira thought aloud with a soft sigh. "Are you ever going to get to the point or are you just going to keep making up reasons for why I am here that are completely false?"

"Well I do still need a word that combines all of the Wizard Saint letters together..."

(Word Count: 604
Total So Far: 4543)

Samira stood up, using the table to push herself up and away so she could backtrack out of the room and leave. Jacobs and Easton were going to get one polite yet nasty letter for sending her there at all.

"I'm only joking! Kind of. I need some help translating some things, and also with something else."

Samira stopped and slightly turned, although she wasn't sure why. The translations were quite possibly some type of word game that meant absolutely nothing. "Translating what?"

"Looking at you standing up is exhausting. Sit back down and I will explain. Truthfully this time. The diner around the corner not only has the best specials but also have fantastic musical performances. I'd rather not miss it because I am here entertaining you."

"Entertain is one word for what you have been doing. Not entirely the correct one, however." Against her better judgment, and against the spirits that told her to either leave or feed the man to a random monster, she made her way back to the old chair and took a seat. Tobias pointed at the book he had slid in front of her earlier but had gone ignored due to the conversation and his silliness. Her emerald gaze looked downward and studied the pages for a few moments. "I do not comprehend any of this."

"Oh?"

"No." Samira flipped the current page over to begin looking over the next one. What she tried to read still did not make any sense to her. Granted, it had been some time since she really looked at foreign languages. She was very rusty. That was proven the last time she was in Minstrel, but she did not have the time or need to really study up on that language or any other that was currently used in normal society. These days she was more used to the language used in Pandora, both modern and ancient. "It is in another language but a strange one. In some areas it is familiar and makes perfect sense, but then it is as if the language changes midway through. Or is even backwards. Even some of the words themselves are partials of words in other languages mixed together. From what I can tell with the basics. I am not really that well learned in all languages, however. As a child I was being tutored for it, but that stopped several years ago when my grandfather passed. What is this supposed to be?"

"Another one of your grandfather's research books that was left with me. I have no idea what it says! I have tried cracking it, but I am at a loss. I am beginning to think it is his own made up language that he made for giggles on his off time."

(Word Count: 464
Total So Far: 5007)

"Is it really that important? Or are you just curious as to its contents?"

"Both, really. Turn to the page-" Samira had begun flipping the pages as he began his sentence and only a few seconds after did she reach the page he meant and he motioned for her to stop. "Yes! That one. See that image?"

The woman stared at the picture. Then tilted her head to the side. She saw it but she wasn't quite sure what she was looking at. She grabbed onto the book's cover and lifted it. In a circular motion she turned the book to see the image from all angles. "Is that?" Samira brought the book closer to her face, probably too close, but it was neccesary to see the small detail. She even had to squint her eyes! "The relic from that temple?" Well, more like the relic she had obtained for the council for whatever purpose they wanted it for along with several other pieces attached. The image must have been what the full relic looked at with all the pieces combined. The response she was given was an enthusiastic "YES!" from Tobias, along with the book being slammed into her face as he hit it with his cane for further emphasis.

"I assume that is the relic in full!" He continued cheerfully, ignoring the emerlad glare that was sent his way once the book had fallen from her face and onto the table.

"I see..."

"Heh heh, I thought you would! Now you understand why I need this translated and why I think it is important!" Tobias' enthusiasm faded as the earlier thought of the book being all a joke came into his mind once more. He set his cane horizontally on his lap and he crossed her arms over his chest. He then huffed and grumbled. "Although, if I find out that this book was written in a joke language with his idea of a doodle I will be very annoyed, and I will find a way to put a curse on him even if he is in a grave!"

"I assure you that he would have done no such thing," Samira told him calmly, resisting the urge to comment that, that sounded like something Tobias would do. In such a short time of knowing him, she was already predicting, with what she knew was one hundred percent accuracy, that he would certainly waste his time doing something like that. Definitely. No doubts about it. Well, maybe some doubts. He would probably actually do a lot more than make up a language and make some doodles. Thankfully, she was dealing with translating something of her grandfather's, which she could take a lot more seriously. "Now how do you propose I translate this when you could not?"

(Word Count: 467
Total So Far: 5474)

"I might have missed something while going over everything in here. A second pair of eyes is needed. Everything in here is at your disposal, and a great many of the scrolls and research books in here were your grandfather's before they were left with me. You can also make use of the restricted section. I am not very magical so anything in there that could help with translation is out of my reach." He noticed Samira's arched eyebrow, knowing full well she was wondering why he didn't just ask for some local mage to try and use the magical translation spells and devices. "Don't look at me like that! I couldn't trust just any mage with this! Asking for help would have been ridiculous, and I was not letting those council fools take it. They'd never give it back! No. These stay here and require only the most trusted to look them over and help me. That means people close to your grandfather. Relatives. Amirah's mind is a little too twisted for my liking. That leaves you, God of Ishgar."

"Samira."

"That too." Tobias stood up from his chair and slowly started to make his way around the table, past Samira, and in the direction of the room's exit. He gave the code word for the restricted section as he walked and then added on, "Oh, maybe make use of those spirits of yours. They're supposed to be somewhat ancient, yes? With that and their cultural diversity they may be helpful in this. Toodles and have fun! I'll check in, in the morning!"

"Yes, 'helpful' is the correct word to describe them if I set them loose." Tobias did not even know what he was saying with that remark. Her spirits were anything but helpful when it came to menial tasks. Well, most of them anyway. Some were gentle and tame enough, but most did not have the patience and preferred to be useful in combat. The last time Samira had them in a library they not only caused issues for the other people in the library, but also made a mess of things! It was a wonder that it was not destroyed. That wasn't even going into their failure of a simple mail delivery job. In short, they just could not handle something so... simple. Having them help go through several dozen research books and scrolls was just asking for more trouble than it was worth. No. Samira was going to have to do it alone. One book and idea at a time. They could help her by remaining where they were and just seeing everything she saw and make comments from that. Although, since they had not said anything in a long while she was wondering if they were even paying attention. Actually... wait a minute. She never even agreed to help in the first place! "Wait. I did not-" She turned around in her seat to try and stop Tobias from leaving and explain that he shouldn't assume that she had taken the job. Too late. Even as slow as the old man was Samira was still too late to stop him before he disappeared through the magic doorway. Oops. "Oh, okay. I suppose I will... do this then." Fantastic. She supposed there wasn't anything else to do at that time so she may as well try to decipher what was being discussed in those notes, if anything at all. It was good to know either way. If there was something too dangerous or something that should not be known to others, she would be the one to know and would be able to fib a little. She was the Wizard Saint of Humility, not Honesty. Silly titles.

(Word Count: 622
Total So Far: 6096)

Some time had passed with Samira not making anymore prograss than Tobias himself had when he tried to do the translations and deciphering. Actually, she was pretty sure that she was doing even worse than him. The other research books and scrolls would have been helpful maybe if they were actually marked properly. She didn't know the room or its order, so finding anything that was useful was difficult. Some of the notes she had in her storage realm she could read, but as she predicted earlier they were not very useful. As far as she knew anyway. If they were also in some code she couldn't tell what sort of code it was or any clues on how to figure it out. She already had one thing to translate and so she didn't exactly have need for another one to be added to her task. The restricted section also wasn't much use. It mostly distracted her. Too many times she had spotted something worth reading and learning about. Whenever she wasn't busy trying to resist the temptation to take everything in there for herself with the intent on returning it later, she was learning that the magic translation spells and devices were also not much use. The language either was so old that it was not known even by magic, or it really was a made up language. That or the book was enchanted to not give any results when such spells were used on it. She didn't know. All she knew was that it didn't work. As for the aid of her spirits... they just didn't care. They could pick up on certain words here and there from their various cultures and even spot more older words that were being used, but as for the combinations they had no idea what the hell those were about. It had to be a code. A code they cared nothing for, especially when there weren't even talks about payment. Their summoner was helping just because it seemed. How dare she put them through boredom and not even get paid for it!

After even more time, sometime late in the night maybe, Samira was still trying to make some tiny progress before morning. The time was unfortunately lost by that point and there were no windows for her to guess the time of day that way. She didn't care enough to look for a clock or ask someone either. Tobias never returned so it wasn't true morning yet, although there was that slight wonder of why he wasn't returning until then if he had a normal habit of being locked inside the library and sleeping there. Well, she supposed that she didn't really care much about that either. She was defeated with the translation puzzle. Fighting the unkilliable guardian monster again would have been easier. The Saint slammed her head face first into the open book on the table. She did it even a second time. How was she supposed to crack this thing?

Deciding to keep going, Samira lifted her head and lazily used the palm of her left hand as a resting place as she used her free hand to casually flip through the pages to slowly read. Still nothing. It was starting to give her a headache, and she was starting to get bored herself. Finally.

(Word Count: 557
Total So Far: 6653)

In the middle of trying to pretend that her concentration was getting her anywhere, Samira felt a new presence within the room. She did not react whatsoever to it though. It wasn't a dangerous one, and it actually belonged to a spirit. A rare one that didn't come out on his own often, but was familiar all the same. The spirit of Vishnu. He remained silent long after the magic particle storm completed his form. The spirit just stood behind Samira, leaning over her to also read the book. It was starting to get... uncomfortably annoying. For several minutes this continued until she felt that he was silently judging her for finishing the pages well before her, causing him to have to wait. Eventually he just reached over and flipped the page himself. "You can just have a seat over there if you intend to stay here." She wasn't so much bothered by his presence as she was by him leaning over her. Maybe he could busy himself with reading some other material. There were plenty to choose from.

"Thank you for the suggestion, but I am just fine here."

So much for that. He must have been too interested in the book to go to something else. It was curious though of why he showed up in the way that he did. If all he wanted to do was read the book as well then he could have done that very same thing in his normal realm by using their mind links. She gave up her reading and slid the book to the side so he could have it all to himself. He wasted not one moment in taking the offer. "Why are you here anyway?" She asked curiously while watching him read.

"I was curious." Without looking away from the book, Vishnu nonchalantly grabbed a rolled up scroll that was lying on the table and lightly hit the green haired woman on the head with it as if she were a dog being punished for being bad. "Why is it that I am always never thought of? I alone knew the location of that lost ancient temple and instead of asking me about it you wasted hours of time finding clues by allowing those simpletons to roam free and destroy the library of your former guild. Now you waste time again reading this yourself instead of asking me to translate."

Samira blinked in confusion. Both from the hit on the head with the scroll and again when he brought that up. "I did ask if anyone knew anything. You did not answer."

"That is because I stopped listening and turned off the connection when Team Shirt became a reality that I hope no one dares repeat in the future."

"Then why are you-" Samira was interrupted by another scroll tap. At this point she was contemplating on readying herself for the next whack to her head. Vishnu would likely not enjoy being sent flying by the surge of energy he would release the moment he struck and hit her barrier instead. She let the thought slide away for now. "You could have summoned and asked me directly."

An interesting point. She could have if he were the type to actually answer calls, and if she even knew in the first place that he was not aware of what was going on. Still, she let it go and did not argue. There was little point. "Fine. Have it your way. You are here now and have read part of it. What does it say?"

(Word Count: 595
Total So Far: 7248)

Vishnu closed the book. "I haven't the faintest clue."

"..."

"You can't read something that requires a key to translate. I am assuming that you found nothing like that here or there would have been more progress."

"So you are about as useful as the others with this."

Vishnu smiled, amused with that comment. At least he didn't destroy the room or the library as a whole. He could have at least been given credit for that. "I did confirm that you are wasting your time. These writings are very similar to someone else I used to know long ago. I theorize that your relative took inspiration from that. It's useful for when you want to hide something, but in a case like this he may have went slightly overboard with it and hidden it too well. Thus far none of the people he trusted most have more than one piece to the puzzle, if any at all. Which means there have to be other contacts he had in the past that have the rest. Finding them all could prove to be difficult if not impossible. Though, the elder from earlier did mention something along thos-" He looked over towards Samira when he did not get a response like he had expected and had cut his sentence short. To his amazement, she had her eyes closed and had already entered a light sleep while he was talking. Rude! He prepared to smack her with the scroll to wake her, but Samira had set up her barrier and its knockback effect before she began to ignore him as a just in case measure. The scroll met the invisible barrier and blasted him across the room. Would he hold a grudge once he recovered? Absolutely. He'd get his revenge for that sometime later. Another day most likely. When she least expected it.

The short nap did come to an end, Vishnu having waited the entire time as he distracted himself by first fixing the mess that was made when he flew across the room, and then by looking over more of the texts that were around. Many of them interesting and quite old. Knowledge he mostly knew already, but there were some new things that proved him wrong on knowing everything there was to know. Once Samira woke, they got to work again. The two discussed further about the topic of the day and if other things relating to it such as past events and what other sorts of secrets and missions will come along the way if Samira kept getting involved.

(Word Count: 430
Total So Far: 7678)

Morning had approached, or Samira could only assume it was morning since Tobias had returned. He greeted her, by title naturally as he always seemed to do since the day before, and asked her about her progress. He was a bit confused on why she was just sitting at the table talking to herself instead of actually working but he would allow it to slide. Vishnu had already left the moment the magic door could be heard opening, but he continued talking mentally, which was why Samira seemed to be talking to herself. Not that Tobias really knew of that, though. And so, he was left to assume that she was just a little crazy. Or had been driven mad by only one night's worth of translating and research. Meh. It was all the same to him.

Samira explained that she made zero progress. There was no shame in it, and she said as much. To think that she could miraculously come up with a complete translated copy of all that was written in that book in just one night was silly. Maybe someone else could do it, but not her. He didn't seem surprised actually. He didn't even seem disappointed. Most likely he had already prepared himself for that sort of news. She moved on, asking him if he knew of any others that had been left or gotten a hold of her grandfather's research. Samira could only think of one person herself, and that was her sister, who had stolen some of it from the secret research base in the Spooky Forest. If there was anymore there then that would be unfortunate. The building had been destroyed and the downloaded data her friend had obtained back then was also lost. She would have to hope that Tobias knew of a lead that she could follow. If he wanted any progress made anyway. Technically she could stop right then and there and forget about the whole thing. Technically. As much as she wanted to say she didn't care where it all went or how it all turned out she still sort of did.

"Hmmmm, someone else that may have some of the research and might have a clue to translate that book." Tobias scratched his bearded chin and stared at the ceiling. "Ah! I got it!" His gaze lowered and a wide grin formed on his face. Progress had been made! "There is someone in Desierto. I think he has passed away now, but if I recall everything was left to his family. They might be able to part with it, or at least let you look at it long enough to make a copy. Who knows? Maybe they will also lead you to others. I said before his projects were scattered everywhere. There is no telling how long you will have to search."

'Terrific. The longest fetch quest inside a fetch quest ever.' The spirits were less than amused. Who actually liked fetch quests?

(Word Count: 496
Total So Far: 8174)