A Desert Debut

To return to a desert so soon after he arrived in Fiore was not what Damian expected. However, when approached by his mentor Leona with an offer of coming with her on a job and a bit of magic tutoring he couldn't very well say no. Especially as they were to search for a fabled ancient ruin! Ooooh, he felt as if he might fly apart at the seams with how curious THAT had gotten him. He could only imagine the intriguing texts, traps, and most importantly the wildlife that they might encounter. After all, his current most powerful spells were ones he manufactured from studying the desert scorpion species of his homeland! He had begun to form new spells based on the spiders around the guild hall, but they did not come as naturally to him. Perhaps, despite his unfondness for the desert, he had an affinity for its' creatures.

So here he stood, atop a dune in the midst of the Forgotten Desert. Side by side with his mentor and guild mistress, as they stared out over the glimmering sand sea. She herself was from Desierto if he remembered correctly, which he usually did. However, he could never quite discern whether that made her more or less pleased when the country or deserts in general came up. He wanted to ask, but something he could not verbally explain seemed to prevent him from doing so. He didn't understand why, but whenever he tried to talk to Leona about anything other than work or magic he got tongue tied. It was incredibly odd. Perhaps this trip might alleviate some of that feeling!

Scanning the wavering horizon, he found he could not pinpoint any such ruin or sign of any building at all in fact. Granted, in a desert it could be as easy as cresting the next rise in order to find an oasis. Damian supposed he could fly up and check from the sky, but he was somewhat unsure that would solve their problem. After all, he was far and away from being unique in his ability to fly using magic. Surely if it were that easy this ruin would have been confirmed long ago. No, there had to be something more to it. Tapping on his chin, Damian pondered what the answer might be. He turned his gaze to Leona. Perhaps she had some clue. "Any ideas where to start, Leona?"

WC: 404/404
TWC: 404
@Leona Jarnefeldt

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit with black bike shorts on underneath the skirt plus Argent Gloves on her hands and Silver Longsword on her left hip, Leona stood beside new Silver Wolf guild member and her second apprentice Damian V. Beckett. They were in the Forgotten Deserts region looking for a fabled ruin that was supposed to be here, but there was nothing in sight. Yet. Leona felt the wind blow through her hair and looked towards Damian, who had asked her for advice on where to start looking for the ruins.

"In my experience some ruins aren't always on the surface. Sometimes the entrance is hidden beneath the sand." Leona said to him, recalling her experiences with Dr. Anna in this very region and her discovery of ruins a short distance from her home village of Nebdoui. While that was a start, he would need better advice than that. He had likely figured that out for himself long ago, so she needed to come up with something more helpful to tell him. Now was the time for Leona to set aside her lone wanderer personality and guide Damian through words and example.

"For starters I would pick a certain area that you suspect something's in, mark it off with whatever means you have, and then search it thoroughly before moving on to another area of interest. By an area of interest I mean something that stands out. For example, if you find something solid hidden in the sand like a lever or pressure plate, it could conceal a hidden ramp or staircase." Leona suggested as she looked out over the sea of sand that was similar to the sea of sand back in Desierto. This area would not be quite as easy to search because this patch of desert did not have any natural landmarks like lines in the sand that formed a bird when viewed from above.

"I also suggest reaching out with your ability to sense magic. If there's any magic artifacts or magical hotspots nearby, you should be able to pick them up. If you pick up a magic signature, a good idea is to go and investigate... carefully. I suggest having a guildmate, Pet, or summon with you until you get strong and confident enough to work on your own." Leona gave another piece of advice gained from experience. Speaking of summons, maybe she or Damian should have a summon take to the sky for them in order to get a better view of the area.

"If you can't find anything of interest on foot, then I suggest either taking to the sky yourself or having a Pet or summon take to the sky for you. I've found that getting a different perspective can help searches go a lot smoother." Leona suggested, thinking back to Tsubasa and Ahab and how they worked as a team to find Weather Front's base and guide Ozwald and herself to it. There there were numerous cases where Leona had either used the Harpy Sisters or Ramses to spot something from above and inform her where it was so that she could find it on foot.

"Do you have any means of flying or any flying Pets or summons you can use to conduct an aerial search, Damian?" Leona asked her apprentice. Leona had multiple summons to choose from, many of which could fly. She could select from Ramses, the Harpy Sisters, Griffin, Winged Lion, Sky Champion Rafale, Tempest Avian, and the Furies. The Wizard Saint had plenty of options, but she knew nothing about her apprentice's magic. She would find out about it soon enough.

[Post Word Count: 608]
[Leona's Word Count: 608]
[Total Word Count: 1,012/5,000]

Damian stood deathly still as he took in every word of advice Leona had to offer. He hadn't considered the possibility that the ruin would be underground, but once she mentioned it he felt stupid for not doing so in the first place. He had assumed something along the lines of illusion magic, or wards that turned people's attention away if they got too close. Something as mundane as simply being underground had not occurred to him. His parents would laugh were they there. They always told him he tried thinking too complex when simple answers were in front of him. He cast his gaze out over the dunes again. If it was underground that would make a lot of sense as to the difficulty of finding it.

Magic sensory was a good suggestion as well. Though Damian was not...terribly well versed in its' use just yet. He had already gained considerably more power than he ever dreamed, and gaining access to a whole new set of senses had thrown him off somewhat. He had been practicing in preparation for this outing, but a few hundred feet out was the best he could sense. The edges of that were hazy at best as well. He imagined that Leona could sense at least a dozen times the distance, so he didn't suspect his magic sensory was about to contribute any unless they split up. That was....unless...

His gaze drifted back to Leona. Unless this was a test to gauge his abilities for herself. Which he supposed would make perfect sense after she took him on as an apprentice of sorts. After all, how could she train him up if she did not know what she was working with. If that was the case then he should do his best even if it seemed redundant! Giving her a firm smile and a thumbs up, he began to cast a spell. For a few moments he glowed a sickly, green-tinged purple. As the glow faded he stood there, beaming happily, as a pair of paper thin, semitranslucent veined wings fluttered down the length of his back.

"Wings of the Cicada!" he said to her proudly. "One of the first spells I developed back home. Pretty cool, huh?" He shifted his wings slightly, gauging the wind speed and direction. He didn't have a summon or pet just yet, so if he found something he would simply have to report back to Leona and investigate with her leading on. After all, this was a B rank mission. Surely a Wizard Saint would wipe the floor with anything that tried to accost them at this level. Taking a running leap off the peak of the dune they stood on, Damian took flight.

Damian did a little twirl as he took to the air. Unnecessary, but for some reason he felt it would impress Leona in some regard and that was, oddly enough, plenty of reason for him. He evened out and ascended to what he figured was a sensible height to see over the desert sand in every direction, but not too high to sense things at ground level. He extended his magical senses, as well as began to slowly rotate in place as he scanned the desert. He felt nothing of note with his magical sensory, just the usual background noise of natural ethernano. However, he did spot a flicker of movement a short distance away. As carefully as he could, he flew closer to investigate.

Approaching the bottom curve of a sand dune was what appeared to be a single man clad in the familiar gear of a desert bandit. While there were a few obvious differences from the bandits he had witnessed in his home village, the overall attire was strikingly similar. As Damian closed the gap warily, his magic senses picked up a spell in action as the man extended a hand. After a short moment, sand shifted and writhed at the base of the dune. Suddenly a door took shape and the man walked through it as the sands settled back into obscurity behind him.

Well, that might not necessarily be the ruins. However, there was no harm in at least reporting it to Leona. After all, bandit activity was a nuisance to all. Even if it was just a bandit hideout, them clearing it out would benefit anyone who lived in, around, or passed through this desert. Alternatively, that lone suspicious man might lead them exactly where they need to go. Damian's chest puffed out slightly in pride. If this was a test by Leona, surely this would give him a passing grade for part one. However, there was only one way to find out the answer to any of these questions. Damian reversed course, homing back in on Leona atop the dune he had taken flight from.

He landed with a small expelled breath, and trotted over to Leona with a somewhat smug grin on his face. "About eight hundred feet that way," he hooked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction he had found the man, "there was a single bandit. He used some sort of sand magic on a dune and a door appeared. He went through it and the sand reformed behind him. Nothing about the dune or door itself felt magical, and the spell felt weak even in my opinion. Should we check it out?" He practically beamed at her in excitement. After all, he was practically about to live out most boys dreams of treasure hunting and doing magical battle with villains!

WC: 929/1,333
TWC: 1,941
@Leona Jarnefeldt

Leona saw her apprentice go airborne with a spell called "Wings of the Cicada" and was impressed with his claim that it was one of the first spells he had developed back home. He asked it if was pretty cool and the Wizard Saint replied in the affirmative.

"Yeah Damian, I like it!" Leona voiced her approval as her apprentice took to the air and did a little twirl. Unlike Damian, Leona had never made any of her own spells and she did not even know how if she wanted to make any of her own spells. The spells of Wind Strike Magic were great at what they did and had gotten her through many an adventure, but they were not truly Leona's, but instead a type of magic passed down from her mother to Leona and her older brother Leonidas. Wind Summon Magic was not of her design either.

Wind Summon Magic was found in Nebdoui's archives and was given to Leona because no one else in Nebdoui knew what to do with it. The scroll containing the magic was given to Leona as a reward for saving two of her childhood friends from the Crimson Sashes and helping two princes of the Regudo tribe, a tribe which ultimately sought an alliance with Nebdoui thanks to Leona's help. It was a helpful magic with many strong and versatile summons, but none of its spells were designed by Leona.

The Wizard Saint watched Damian fly off to scout the area from the sky like she had suggested and thought about joining him before deciding against it. She wanted to see how he handled working on his own. She also did not want to stifle his initiative by standing right behind him every step of the way and telling him how to do everything. If Leona had learned anything over two years of working mostly alone, it was learning how to do things for herself. However, Leona had now become a mentor to a guildmate and needed to start working with others.

Leona's thoughts were interrupted by Damian landing beside her with admirable precision before reporting on what he had found. The blonde turned towards him and gave him her full attention.

About eight hundred feet behind Damian was a spot where he had spied a single bandit. That bandit had used sand magic on a dune and a door had appeared, which he then went through. As soon as he had went through the dune had returned to its normal shape and size. No one would be any the wiser to the possible bandit lair's presence had Damian not seen it from the sky. However, Damian added that he did not feel anything magical about the door or the dune. He also commented that the spell used to reveal the door was a weak one.

Leona was intrigued by both of those findings. She did not know what to make of them, but they were intriguing nevertheless.

The report concluded with Damian asking if it was something worth checking out. Leona did not have to take very long to come up with her reply.

"I'd say that what you saw is definitely something worth following up on, Damian. Even if we don't find exactly what we're after, clearing out the bandits inside would be doing the world a favor. We'd also be getting rid of people who might either sell off local treasures or destroy them." Leona replied in the affirmative. The Wizard Saint made it a point to eliminate bandits wherever she encountered them so that they could no longer prey on innocent people. While she was not as familiar with Forgotten Deserts as she was with Desierto, she knew that wherever she went bandits were bandits and cleaning them out of their lair would be doing the world a favor.

"It tends to be dark underground, so if you have anything to help you see like night vision, a flashlight, or a torch, I suggest you use it. Sometimes bandits set up traps in their lairs to alert them to intruders and the last thing you need in hostile territory is to get a broken arm or leg or to be hit with a poison dart. I have a night vision ability that works whenever I enter darkness or it turns night, but I don't know if you have anything like that." Leona suggested to Damian to be ready for darkness when they ventured into the bandit lair.

"Once we're inside I'll take the lead. I'll do my best to handle most of the fighting, but I can't guarantee that a few of them won't get by me and go straight for you. Be ready to fight with whatever means you have." Leona told him. Damian was not quite as strong as she was and she did not know about his combat experience, so she would take the lead in clearing out the bandit lair. She was a lot more experienced and a lot tougher than Damian, so it would be best if she did the majority of the fighting.

"If you'd guide me to the hidden door we'll go from there." Leona told him. She was ready to do some underground exploring and fighting, but before they got going there was something else to take care of. She owed him a compliment for finding the bandit lair by applying what she had suggested.

"Good work on finding the bandit lair, Damian." Leona complimented her apprentice on spotting the bandit lair and reporting back to her with his findings. Damian had what it took to stand on his own and become a powerful mage. He just needed someone to guide him until he reached that point and Leona would do her best to make it happen.

[Post Word Count: 968]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,576]
[Total Word Count: 2,909/5,000]