Lost And Confounded

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 30, Post Number 748

-Mysterious Canyon, early afternoon-

Wearing her tan outfit with Saint Sinner Valentine slung over her right shoulder and a hydration pack on her back, Diana was here to rescue a young woman named Amanda Smith. Amanda was from Magnolia Town and was said to have an atrocious sense of direction. One anecdote told to Diana by Amanda's older sister Meredith was that Amanda was sent to the grocery store in Magnolia Town and somehow ended up in Hargeon Town several hours and many, many meters away from her intended destination. Meredith had told Diana that Amanda was supposed to go to a friend's house in Clover Town but the last iLac call that Meredith had received a few hours ago indicated that Amanda had somehow ended up in Mysterious Canyon.

Diana was truly puzzled by that kind of mistake.

How could Mysterious Canyon possibly be mistaken for Clover Town?

Diana had no idea. Her job was to find Amanda Smith and bring her back to safety, not wonder how she had ended up here. She began to look for Amanda while keeping an eye out for trouble. The blonde had fought bandits in this region before and was wary of another ambush from any surviving members of the Marauders. She had reason to suspect that not all of them had been killed by her or by Ben the caravan guard.

Diana entered the mouth of Mysterious Canyon and looked on the roof of the canyon for anyone lying in wait for her or for other travelers. She did not spot any would-be snipers in the area, but that did not mean that there was no danger in the canyon. There could be trouble further in the canyon and Amanda could have walked right into it.

The huntress continued onward into the canyon, walking towards the cave where she had taken refuge from the Marauders and where Ben had come to her rescue after she had gotten cornered within it. Diana decided to check the cave in case Amanda had taken refuge from the heat in there. Once she reached the mouth of the cave Diana activated her night vision and stepped into the cool cave to try and find Amanda before she got herself even more lost in the inhospitable environment of Mysterious Canyon.

-Inside the cave-

Diana stepped into the cave and switched to infrared vision to see if Amanda had left any recent footprints that the huntress could use to track the missing young woman. She looked towards the ground and saw tiny footprints consistent with those made by the local wildlife, but she was looking for human-sized footprints. Diana focused on the ground and saw human-sized footprints leading towards the underground pool where she had holed up several months ago. Walking carefully to the left of the prints, the huntress followed them down the tunnel to the left at the fork in the path and made sure not to step on them and accidentally ruin the trail she was following.

-At the underground pool-

After approximately three minutes of walking Diana arrived at the underground pool and saw the cold footprints go around the pool before stopping at the edge. Diana saw a discarded blue shirt nearby and immediately surmised that Amanda had somehow lost her shirt. The young woman was missing and Diana immediately began to look for more footprints after picking up the shirt.

Where could Amanda have gone?

Diana looked for footprints to show her the way and found another set that went around the right side of the pool. They were cold and what looked like splotches of dried water sat near them. Diana took the fact that she was holding Amanda's shirt and came up with a hypothesis.

Amanda had taken a swim in the water to cool down. When she had cooled off enough, she got out of the water and left the cave.

Diana did not have firm proof of that hypothesis, but based on the shirt and the footprints, that was the only sensible hypothesis she could come up with. However, that bit of detective work was only filling in details, not helping her find Amanda. The huntress still had to find Amanda before she could pat herself on the back.

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[Total Word Count: 712/2,500]

-Outside the cave, Mysterious Canyon-

Diana followed the footprints in the cave to the outside and was standing back in the canyon with no further clues as to where Amanda had went. The ambient temperature was far too high to make good use of infrared vision and any wet footprints would have been dried by the heat of the sun. Diana looked around the immediate area in case Amanda had realized that her shirt was missing and was coming back for it but did not see anyone in the immediate area. Diana was the only person around... even a glimpse at the top of the canyon wall opposite her position did not show anyone. Then the blonde thought about something.

If Amanda's feet were wet, she should look at the sand in front of her. Wet feet would make tracks until they were caked in dirt. Even then the dirt would show signs of having been walked upon.

Diana looked down and saw that to her left there were footprints that led into the distance. The blonde walked to the left of the trail and began following it away from the cave and deeper into Mysterious Canyon. There was no telling how far Amanda Smith had managed to travel in the few hours between getting here after going horribly off-track and Diana getting here to find her.

-Deeper in Mysterious Canyon, forty minutes later-

About thirty-five minutes ago the clear footprints Diana had been following had turned into barely discernible tracks in the dirt, but they were tracks nonetheless. They seemed to be leading in the direction of Professor Fauntleroy's camp, ground that Diana had some knowledge of after working with him several months ago. Since the trail was still going and was still somewhat recognizable, Diana decided to follow it to the end and see if Amanda's atrocious sense of direction had led her towards that area.

-Deeper in Mysterious Canyon, forty minutes later, Professor Fauntleroy's dig site-

Diana reached the site where Professor Fauntleroy had established his camp and saw that while it was not the hive of activity it had been several months ago, there were still a few tents set up here and there. That must have meant that work was still ongoing at the site. Maybe Amanda had stumbled upon the site and had found shelter in Professor Fauntleroy's tent. With no other viable options and nothing to lose by taking a peek, Diana went into the camp and made a beeline for the professor's tent.

-Inside Professor Fauntleroy's tent-

"Hello? Professor Fauntleroy?" Diana called out as she peeked into the tent. Professor Fauntleroy was sitting at his table sipping tea when he saw the blonde's head looking in. He remained calm and set the tea cup down on the saucer in one of the only clear spots on the table and warmly greeted her.

"Hello, Miss Winchester! What brings you out to this neck of the woods? Er, canyon?" He asked her in a jovial tone.

"I am looking for a young woman who went missing in this area." Diana told him the purpose of her visit. The professor rapped the fingers of his left hand on the table and thought about what he had just been told.

"Hmmm... come to think of it, a young woman did come through here a couple of hours ago. She was a strange sort. She had long blonde hair in twintails was walking through here without a shirt on... it was a good thing she had a black bikini top on." Professor Fauntleroy told Diana. Diana blinked.

"Which way did she go?" Diana asked him.

"She was rather sunburned, so I put her in one of the tents to cool down. When I talked to her she said that she thought she was in Clover Town. I think the sun got to her." He answered before adding an opinion on the young woman's mental state. Diana was glad to know that she would not have to search the entire canyon to find Amanda... if the young woman was indeed Amanda and not another one who had gone missing in the same area as her. The professor noticed the shirt being held in Diana's hand.

"I see that you found her shirt. She mentioned leaving it by a pool and was going to look for it when I made her stay. I was afraid that she would go look for it and end up somewhere else entirely." He informed Diana. Diana blinked. While that was technically true, it had not been left by the pool of a hotel. It had been left by a pool in one of the more inhospitable regions outside of the Cursed Lands or Desierto.

"Thank you." Diana thanked the professor for his foresight.

[Post Word Count: 800]
[Total Word Count: 1,512/2,500]

"It is no problem, Miss Winchester. The young woman was acting strangely before the sun got to her. I dread to think where she would be had I not intervened. She might not be among the living." Professor Fauntleroy said to Diana, saying the last sentence with a tone of dread. He was not exaggerating to paint himself as a hero. The heat of the canyon was dreadful and there were precious few places to take refuge from it... even Diana had to dress in appropriate clothing and bring plenty of water to drink. Getting lost in such an inhospitable environment could be a death sentence for the unprepared, but the heat was far from the only danger in the arid canyon.

Diana was not sure how many outlaw gangs called Mysterious Canyon home or used it as their stomping grounds. She was also not sure how many of the Marauders were still out there, which was one reason why she carried Saint Sinner Valentine with her. She doubted that Amanda had worn appropriate clothing, carried water with her, or packed a weapon in case an outlaw gang came calling. Amanda's lack of preparedness, when combined with the possibility that outlaw gangs roamed the canyon, could have easily resulted in the young woman not leaving the canyon alive had Professor Fauntleroy not intervened.

"Which tent is the young woman in?" Diana asked him. The professor stood up, took a sip of tea, and began walking towards the entrance.

"I'll show you. Follow me, Miss Winchester." He said to her. Diana obligingly fell in behind him and walked out of the tent to go see the young woman she had been hired to rescue.

-Inside the medical tent-

While Professor Fauntleroy remained outside Diana entered the tent to see ten empty cots in the middle and crates of medical supplies sitting along the left "wall" of the rectangular tent. Sitting On the last cot was a young blonde in a black bikini top and blue shorts reading a map. The young woman lowered the map and saw that Diana was holding her shirt.

"Oh, there's my shirt! I knew that I left it somewhere but I couldn't remember where!" She said to Diana. The huntress wordlessly walked forward and handed it to the blonde, who set aside the map to put it on. Diana turned her back while the young woman put her shirt on and turned back around once she had finished dressing. Diana was facing a young blonde woman with blue eyes and with her hair done in twintails.

"Are you Amanda Smith?" Diana asked the young woman.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Amanda asked Diana.

"Your older sister Meredith sent me to find you. She said that a few hours ago you had made an iLac call to her saying that you had gotten lost on the way to Clover Town." Diana explained how she had learned the young woman's name. Amanda laughed.

"Yeah, I called her just before my iLac went dead. I forgot to charge it last night, but I figured that I had enough battery life to make it to Clover Town and have the friend I was visiting call her. As you know, I didn't have enough battery life to make it to Clover Town." Amanda said, pulling out a pale blue iLac from the pocket of her shorts.

"What would you like to do from here, Amanda? Would you like to go to Clover Town or return to Magnolia Town and try again another day?" Diana asked Amanda. Amanda studied the map a little before looking towards the huntress.

"I think it'd be best if we just returned to Magnolia Town while the going's good. By the time we get to Clover Town it'd be dark and my friend will probably be asleep. She sleeps like the dead, so short of doing something drastic like breaking down the door she won't hear us no matter how often we press the doorbell." Amanda replied. Diana looked at the blonde and saw that she was telling the truth about her friend.

"Very well then. We will set out for Magnolia Town whenever you are ready to go." Diana put the ball squarely in Amanda's court. The blonde folded up the map and stuck it in a side pocket, then picked up her iLac and put it in the other pocket. Amanda then adjusted her hairband and looked towards Diana.

"I'm ready to get going now. I'll let you lead the way back to Magnolia Town. I'd only get us lost again... we'd probably end up somewhere even more off-course like the Cursed Lands, Capital Crocus, or even Desierto." Amanda declared, passing the responsibility for getting them back to Magnolia Town to the huntress. Diana accepted the responsibility.

"Very well then." Diana said to Amanda. The pair walked out of the tent and took their leave of Professor Fauntleroy before beginning the lengthy hike back to Magnolia Town. It was going to be a long walk, but Diana was used to long trips on foot and so was Amanda. Maybe the huntress should invest in a decent vehicle, but she quickly dismissed the thought for several reasons.

First, buying a vehicle was a big purchase and big purchases tended to attract attention, especially the wrong sort of attention. Second, a vehicle was not something she could easily abandon if it became a liability. Third, vehicles were distinctive and anyone who paid the slightest bit of attention to her could link a vehicle to her even if she did abandon it.

With all of those issues it was best just to walk wherever she needed to go.

-Serene Cliff, six hours later-

Diana and Amanda had made it from the arid Mysterious Canyon region to the much more hospitable Serene Cliff region. The temperature was a lot cooler and both young women could breathe freely. It was starting to get dark, but the pair was making good time and there were no signs of hostile humans or wildlife in the area, so they kept going. Maybe they could make it to Magnolia Town before the next morning. Amanda had pulled out her map and was studying it as she walked just behind Diana, who was diligently making sure that Amanda did not wander off and get lost for a second time in the same day.

"I can't believe how lost I got. I was on the right track, then I took a wrong turn at Oshibana.  didn't even need to turn at Oshibana... I should have just kept going straight." Amanda said to Diana. Diana kept quiet and let Amanda talk. When the map-reading blonde talked Diana learned more about her family.

"I come from a family of people with a terrible sense of direction. Everyone on my mother's side of the family somehow winds up in weird places. My Uncle Larry once tried to go to a Halloween party in Rose Garden but ended up in Silent Cemetery. He thought that the zombies were just people in costume who were really in character until one grabbed his arm and tried to bite him." Amanda told Diana a bit about her family. Diana winced.

"Yeah. Uncle Larry managed to avoid being bitten by running away, but he has deep gouges on his left arm where he yanked it away from the zombie and got cut by its fingernails. He also hates anything to do with zombies, even the Malevolent Tenant video games." Amanda finished the story as they kept walking through the area. Diana kept quiet and continued to gently guide Amanda towards Magnolia Town while listening to more anecdotes from the latter about her family and the odd predicaments they ended up in. Apparently her mother and her mother's family had a sense of direction every bit as atrocious as Amanda's.

Amanda Smith:

[Post Word Count: 1,315]
[Total Word Count: 2,827/2,500]