by Leona Jarnefeldt 22nd September 2020, 10:42 pm
-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room-
Having arrived at Silver Wolf Guild Hall less than four hours ago, Leona had just finished folding up all of her freshly laundered clothing from her lengthy adventure in Midi under the watchful eye of PG-13. She had just put them away in her closet when she heard knocking on her room door. Wearing a white tank top and "chocolate chip" desert camouflage shorts and no boots, Leona answered the door to find a staff member standing on the other side holding a manila envelope.
"It's for you, Guild Mistress. It came in from Desierto less than an hour ago." The middle-aged man said to her. Leona looked at it and saw an old-fashioned red wax seal with C.M.U. stamped on it.
"Thank you." Leona replied. The man nodded and went on his way, leaving the guild mistress to read the contents of the envelope. She walked to the desk and carefully opened the red wax seal, then carefully reached inside the manila envelope and gently pulled out a letter. It was on Crocus Magicka University stationery and was addressed to her from a Dr. Edward Crouch.
Leona recognized that name. He was the "old money" professor that Dr. Anna had warned her about. He was the one who she claimed saw little place for women in academia other than as secretaries. Leona gently opened up the letter and began to read it.
"Dear Wizard Saint:
I'm working a site in Central Desierto that you helped explore a few months ago and we've discovered an ancient archives. Ordinarily I'd go explore it myself since I don't need a skirt-wearing tart like you prancing around ancient ruins, but the sultan insisted that I contact you for help with this find. Since the sultan signs my paychecks, I'll give the man what he wants. Meet me at the site as soon as you can and don't be late! Also, keep your mouth shut and don't tell anyone where you're going because the sultan wants secrecy!
You can do that, right? I hope so... if you know what's good for you!" The letter read. Leona frowned. This Dr. Crouch guy sounded like a real jerk and that was just in his letter to her. She was sure that he was even more unpleasant in person.
Leona walked over to her closet and dug out her blue, gold, and white outfit, her green, gold, and white outfit, and her khaki cargo pants. She then dug out her white, green, and blue athletic shirts. She finally took out her black bike shorts to wear under her skirt so that Dr. Crouch could not complain about her wearing a skirt if the wind picked up.
She selected her white athletic shirt and blue, white, and gold skirt to wear for the trip along with her black bike shorts. PG-13, who had been standing near her desk, turned his head while Leona changed and turned it back once she had put her clothes on. She then grabbed a pair of socks and her boots and put them on, making sure that Ses Revanche was in its concealed sheath in her right boot.
Leona then put on her Argent Gloves and grabbed her Silver Longsword, putting the sword belt on and securing it. She then packed all her clothes in her backpack and put the letter in her desk drawer under her Daggerbook, which was still in its protective box inside her desk drawer. She lingered for a moment and looked at the sleek laptop.
Maybe one day she would get a chance to sit down and actually learn to use the laptop.
Until that day came the Wizard Saint would have to keep working, especially when it involved one of the sultans of the Tri-Council Cities. When the sultan said "Jump!" Leona was supposed to answer "How high?" Leona went around the room one last time to make sure she had everything, then bade PG-13 goodbye and left her room behind. She was going back to Desierto for the first time in almost three months.
-Central Desierto, three hours later-
Landing on the outskirts of the walled camp, Leona dismounted Winged Lion and dispelled him, then slowly approached the gates with her job notice in hand. The double gates opened and Leona was escorted in by members of the royal army. As soon as she was inside the double gates were closed behind her and her escorts.
-Inside the camp-
Leona was escorted past the tents of the workers and royal army soldiers and eventually reached a pair of rectangular canvas tents marked Crocus Magicka University in stenciled black letters. Standing outside of one of them was a skinny old man with white hair, gold-rimmed glasses, a long-sleeved khaki shirt, khaki cargo pants, and brown boots. He turned to her and spoke.
"Took ya long enough. What did you have to do, stop to put on some lipstick?" The man asked snidely.
"I had just gotten back from Midi a few hours ago when I got-" Leona began to explain herself before he rudely raised a hand to cut her off.
"Excuses, excuses. You're a Wizard Saint. You're supposed to be the best that the world of mages has to offer, but I'm not impressed with you." The man continued to chastise her for being "late" even though she had just gotten the letter from him not even five hours ago.
"Anyway, I'm Doctor Edward Crouch. I'm the one who asked for your help, but only because the sultan suggested that I do so. And don't you forget that!" The man introduced himself. Leona was not entirely surprised that the man could not hold off on his verbal abuse long enough to at least be polite to her. She decided to take the high road and be polite to him.
"I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, the Wizard Saint of-" Leona started her introduction before the doctor raised his hand to cut her off a second time.
"Yeah, yeah. You're the Wizard Saint of Courage. We know. We've all heard the stories about your exploits. Most of which had to have been exaggerated." He brusquely said to her before taking yet another cheap shot at the mage. The blonde took a deep breath. It had not even been five minutes and she was already starting to dislike the man. Working with this man was going to be quite a challenge.
[Post Word Count: 1,076]
[Total Word Count: 1,076/11,000]