Dr. Reid's Breakthrough

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 27, Post Number 668

-Motor City, 9:00 A.M., Outside Dr. Reid's Laboratory-

Wearing her green, white, and gold outfit with black bike shorts on underneath the skirt, Ses Revanche in her right boot, and backpack of supplies on her back that included her iLac, Leona had traveled to Motor City at Dr. Reid's request. The doctor claimed that she had a "breakthrough" that would bring the Atlas Project back online much sooner than the eight-month estimate she had given Leona a while back and wanted the Wizard Saint to come to her laboratory so she could talk about it. Leona had brought Ancient Knight with her to both begin honoring her promise to show him the world and for protection since all she had was a knife in her right boot. Ancient Knight had put his sword in a scabbard so that he did not frighten people by carrying it openly, but he did not need a weapon since he was so intimidating that people kept a respectful distance from both him and his Wizard Saint companion.

Speaking of him, Ancient Knight was in awe of Motor City. He was obviously impressed with all the modern buildings made of glass and concrete and looked at them with wonder. Another aspect of Motor City that astounded him was all the vehicles on the streets. He was amazed to see people driving cars and trucks and riding motorcycles because he had no idea that such modes of transport were even conceivable, let alone a reality.

Seeing her companion's wonder at Motor City and everything in it reminded Leona of when she had first arrived in Fiore. Slightly over three years ago she had been the newcomer to Fiore and she could hardly believe that there was technology in the world like cars, iLacs, and computers. She had come from a backwater village in Desierto and had no idea of the world outside the desert, no idea except what little her father had told her. Her father had told her a little about the wonders of the modern world, but nothing could have ever prepared her for seeing them in person.

"I can't believe how much the world has changed since I was alive, Leona. I never could have imagined anything like this existing." Ancient Knight said to Leona. He looked and sounded like a person who was way out of his depth. Leona looked at him and smiled a little.

"I grew up in a remote desert village and came to Fiore when I was eighteen, so I know where you're coming from... to an extent. I haven't died before, though." Leona informed the knight. During her many adventures she had come close to death a couple of times, but she had never fully crossed over to the other side. Taking her mind off of that subject, Leona focused on the intercom grille to the right of the door.

"I'm gonna let Dr. Reid know I'm here." Leona informed him before reaching over to the button and pressing it.

"Password?" Dr. Reid asked. Ancient Knight looked at Leona in amazement.

"Clarke." Leona gave the password without having to look at the message Dr. Reid had sent to refresh her memory.

"Excellent! I'll open the door for you shortly!" Dr. Reid said. Leona turned to Ancient Knight, who looked at the intercom grille with wonder.

"I can't believe that you can talk to someone who's not in front of you and hear each other so clearly." Ancient Knight said to Leona about the intercom. Leona smiled. He would probably be at a loss for words if she ever showed him how her iLac worked.

The door opened and Leona and Ancient Knight turned to face Dr. Reid. She was wearing a wrinkled pink t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts with brown boots. Her hair was messy and it looked like she had woken up just a few minutes ago. In her right had was her mug of Motor City Nitro.

"Oh... hello there." Dr. Reid greeted the tall knight. She had clearly not been expecting to see him standing beside Leona. He looked down at the scientist and greeted her.

"Hello." The knight greeted the doctor. Leona made eye contact with the doctor and spoke to her.

"He's a companion of mine, Dr. Reid. I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to tell you that I'd be bringing him with me." Leona apologized to the doctor for bringing an unexpected guest. The doctor smiled.

"It's no problem, Leona. He's got to be a pretty good guy if you brought him with you." Dr. Reid replied in a cheerful tone. The doctor did not seem to have a problem with him, but Leona was not sure whether that was because she honestly did not have a problem with the knight or if she was just tolerating him because he was a companion of Leona's. The Wizard Saint decided to just go with it.

"Anyway, why don't you two come inside? I've got something to show you!" Dr. Reid said to them. She stepped aside and Leona walked in first followed by Ancient Knight, who had to lean down to avoid hitting his head on the doorframe as he walked in. As soon as the two were inside Dr. Reid shut the door behind them.

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-Inside Dr. Reid's mini-kitchen-

Upon being granted entry to the doctor's house the trio had made their way to the mini-kitchen, where Leona and Dr. Reid were standing at the counter drinking Motor City Nitro. Ancient Knight was standing with his back to the garage watching the two blondes drink coffee. Leona noticed that he looked like he might want some coffee. Leona looked at him, then looked at Dr. Reid.

"Hey Dr. Reid, mind if I pour some coffee for my companion?" Leona asked the doctor. Dr. Reid smiled.

"Sure, go ahead." Dr. Reid replied. Leona set her cup on the counter, walked over to the overhead cabinet, and pulled out a clean mug. She then walked over to the coffeemaker and carefully grabbed the coffee pot, then poured a mug for Ancient Knight. She walked over to the armored man and handed him the mug.

"Here you go. I don't know if you're familiar with coffee or not. This coffee's also kinda strong, so I don't know if you'll like it right away." Leona warned Ancient Knight before handing him the mug. The tall man gave a small smile.

"I've drank worse, Leona. I've drank awful beer before. I mean the really cheap, watered-down beer that you wouldn't give to your worst enemy." Ancient Knight informed her as he took the mug into his right hand. He examined the mug, then slowly raised it to his lips and took a sip of Motor City Nitro. His eyes narrowed.

"This is some strange-tasting water." He commented gravely. Leona was not liking the sound of that because it sounded like he did not like the beverage. He took another sip of the coffee.

"It's really strong. I've never had anything like it before." He commented again in the same serious tone of voice. He then took a third sip.

"And you said that this strange-tasting water is called coffee, right?" Ancient Knight asked Leona. The Wizard Saint nodded.

"It'll take some getting used to." He commented in a less serious tone of voice before turning to face Dr. Reid.

"Thank you for letting me drink some of your coffee." The knight thanked the doctor. Dr. Reid smiled at him.

"It's no problem." Dr. Reid assured him. She then turned her attention to Leona, who had finished her mug of coffee. She did not need or want any more for the time being, so she rinsed out her empty mug in the sink and faced the doctor.

"Would you like to see what I brought you here to see?" Dr. Reid asked Leona. Leona nodded.

"Sure, Doctor. Whenever you're ready." Leona replied. Dr. Reid finished her current round of coffee, then walked over to the coffee pot and grabbed it, then poured out another cup of Motor City Nitro. Once she had finished refilling her personal mug she walked towards the garage door and Ancient Knight stepped out of her way. Leona followed the doctor and Ancient Knight was not far behind the Wizard Saint.

-In the garage-

The trio stepped into the garage to find boxes upon boxes lining left and right walls of the garage. Lying sideways against the wall a short distance to the right of the door was a cot with a pink blanket and a pink pillow lying on it. The cot was unmade, suggesting that the doctor had slept in her garage. The doctor walked over to the Atlas 2.0, which was sitting in the middle of the garage. Its chest panel was open and was empty except for some wiring that was hanging out of it.

"I've been working day and night on a new power generator for the past few weeks. Even the new one you went to get for me a month or so ago was not powerful enough to power the Atlas 2.0, but recently I was given the blueprints to make a new one." Dr. Reid informed the pair. Leona listened without any change in facial expression, but Ancient Knight was puzzled by the doctor's statement.

"The late Dr. Howard Abel left me some of his projects that he never got around to finishing before he passed away at eighty-four years old. One of those unfinished projects was the design to a new power generator. According to the blueprints and the power requirements for the Atlas 2.0, it should be more than sufficient to power all of its systems." Dr. Reid informed Leona on how she had come up with the new power generator. According to the blonde doctor, she had inherited the blueprints and was working from them. Leona was not going to judge Dr. Reid for that.

"So you think that building and installing this new generator will bring the Atlas Project back online sooner than you expected?" Leona asked the doctor while Ancient Knight looked on in confusion.

"I think so, Leona. The generator was the biggest problem with Atlas 2.0. It just wasn't strong enough to run everything, but the new generator should be able to meet the Atlas 2.0's power requirements." Dr. Reid replied. Leona was pleased to hear that. Dr. Reid had worked hard on the project and Leona wanted to see it finally work without yet another problem popping up and setting the project back yet again. Hopefully the new generator would finally spell the end of the problems plaguing the Atlas Project.

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"OK. That sounds promising." Leona calmly replied. She wanted the generator to work so that Dr. Reid could keep the Atlas Project moving forward, but considering all the problems that it had run into over the past several months, it was hard for the Wizard Saint to muster enthusiasm for this new development. She was halfway convinced that this new generator would have problems that would set the Atlas Project back even further.

"I'm hoping that this new generator works, Leona. I've put so much time and effort into getting the components necessary to build it. I've also spent quite a bit of money on them, more money than I care to admit. And I don't even want to get started on all the time I spent studying the blueprints." Dr. Reid told Leona and gave an inkling of the trouble she had went through up to this point. Leona remained silent and let the doctor talk.

"If this new generator doesn't work I'm gonna have to make a hard choice. I need it to succeed or I may have to stop the project." Dr. Reid informed Leona that this new generator had better work or the Atlas Project might be shut down. The Wizard Saint remained quiet. As much as she enjoyed testing the Atlas, she was not going to dissuade the doctor from doing what was best for her.

"OK. You do what's best for you, Doctor." Leona commented. Judging from the scientist's words, the doctor had done all the necessary research on the subject and she had reached the conclusion that the new generator would determine the fate of the Atlas Project. If it worked the project would continue. If it did not work the project would be shut down.

"I've put so much into the Atlas Project, Leona. So much time, so much money, so much effort. I want this to work." Dr. Reid said in a weary voice. At that moment the Wizard Saint could almost feel the doctor's months of exhaustion. The doctor had worked so hard and had seen several tantalizing glimpses of success only to see them snatched away by unforeseen difficulties.

"I'm hoping it works too, Doctor. I'm sure it will. You do a good job building things and checking everything to make sure it works." Leona replied in an effort to encourage the doctor. Dr. Reid gave the Wizard Saint a small smile.

"Thanks, Leona." The doctor replied. She then smiled a little wider.

"It'll take a few weeks for me to actually build the generator. I'd say two to three weeks." Dr. Reid gave an estimate before the Wizard Saint could even ask the question. Leona took a few moments to think before speaking.

"All right then. Is there anything you need me to do for you today?" Leona asked the doctor. The Wizard Saint had been looking forward to showing off the Atlas 2.0 to Ancient Knight, but right now it was just not going to happen. Maybe the doctor had something for her to do so that this trip had not been for nothing.

"Actually, there is. I need you to take something to a friend of mine who lives in Magnolia Town." Dr Reid informed Leona. The Wizard Saint was pleased to hear that. This trip sounded like it was about to get somewhat interesting, if only because she was getting a chance to show Ancient Knight more of the world.

"OK, what did you need for me to carry and who am I carrying it to?" Leona asked her fellow blonde. Dr. Reid smiled a little wider.

"You're carrying a book to one of my oldest friends, Dr. Katelyn Taylor. It's a book on electronics I borrowed from her several weeks ago and I kinda forgot to take it back to her." Dr. Reid told Leona, saying the second sentence in a sheepish tone. Leona did not mind that she was doing yet another menial task for the doctor. The Wizard Saint was glad to be able to do something other than talk to Dr. Reid for a few minutes, then turn around and go back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

"All right then. I'll go to Magnolia Town and take the book to her. Is there anything I need to know about your friend before I show up on her doorstep?" Leona asked Dr. Reid. The doctor's face visibly brightened. It seemed that she had finally shaken off the unhappiness brought about by discussing the new power generator the Atlas 2.0 she was going to start building soon.

"You'll like Kate, Leona. She's a friendly person who gets along with anyone and she doesn't talk down to you when she's talking about her field of expertise, which is electronics and computers." Dr. Reid replied in a cheerful tone. Leona was glad to hear that. This was shaping up to be an easy job and Leona liked easy jobs.

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-Magnolia Town, outside Dr. Taylor's home, five hours later-

Having received the book that she was tasked with carrying back to Dr. Reid's friend in Magnolia Town, Leona and Ancient Knight had traveled to Magnolia Town on foot since Ancient Knight was a bit too heavy for Winged Lion to carry. The trip was long but uneventful and they arrived outside the doctor's house, which was located in a nice part of Magnolia Town that was approximately in the center of town. The doctor's house was a modest building with a white exterior and a white wooden door with a brass doorknob. On the top part of the doorframe a phrase was spelled out in golden letters.

Scientia Potentia Est

Leona recognized that phrase from somewhere before, but she could not readily recall where she had seen it. She shrugged her shoulders and approached the door with Ancient Knight walking behind her and just to her right. Once Leona reached the door she pressed the glowing green button for the doorbell and a gentle chime sounded. Within approximately two minutes the door opened. In the doorway stood a tall young woman with jet-black hair in a ponytail, green eyes that were as green as Leona's own eyes, and black-rimmed glasses.

She was dressed in a pale blue long-sleeved shirt, black knee-length skirt, and black dress shoes. She looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties.

"Hello... you're Dr. Taylor, right?" Leona asked the young woman. Having learned from her first unpleasant experience with Dr. Harrison, Leona did not automatically assume that she was talking to the doctor's assistant. The black-haired young woman smiled.

"Yes, I'm Dr. Taylor. You must be Leona Jarnefeldt! My friend Loretta told me that you'd be dropping by!" The doctor greeted her warmly.

"I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, the Wizard Saint of Courage." Leona confirmed her identity to the doctor.

"Come on in, um... I can call you Leona, right?" Dr. Taylor invited Leona and Ancient Knight in before asking if she could call the Wizard Saint by her name.

"Certainly, doctor." Leona gave the woman permission to use her first name. The blonde was not big on using titles unless the situation called for it and this situation did not call for it.

"Come on in, Leona!" Dr. Taylor repeated her request to the Wizard Saint. Leona wordlessly complied and she went inside the doctor's house followed by Ancient Knight, who had to duck to pass under the doorway. When both of them were inside Dr. Taylor shut the door behind them.

-Inside Dr. Taylor's house, the kitchen-

After passing through the living room the trio walked into a small kitchen. The kitchen was of a standard layout with white tile floor, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances on the counter such as a toaster oven and a toaster plus an oven positioned to the left of the door that led into the living room. Towards the back of the kitchen sat a single small circular wooden table with four chairs pushed under it. Dr. Taylor walked over to the chair facing the living room, pulled it out, and sat down in it. Leona and Ancient Knight stood a short distance away from the table with their backs to the living room.

"Loretta told me that you were returning a book I had loaned her several weeks ago. She's so thoughtful!" Dr. Taylor said to Leona. Taking that as her cue, Leona wordlessly took off her backpack, opened it, fished out the book, and handed it to Dr. Taylor. It was a medium-sized book with a green cover titled The Various Applications Of Electronics. When the doctor received it from the Wizard Saint she smiled a little.

"I remember loaning this to Loretta some time ago. I don't even remember when I told her I needed it back by, but it doesn't matter. I'm glad that she got some use out of it!" Dr. Taylor told Leona. The dark-haired doctor put the book on the table in front of her and faced Leona again.

"I don't know if Loretta told you this, but she and I go way back. We went to the same schools together ever since elementary school. We even chose the same career path... independently of each other, of course!" Dr. Taylor explained how she and Dr. Reid knew each other. Leona took the opportunity afforded by the pause at the end of the sentence to speak up.

"Dr. Reid didn't tell me that, Dr. Taylor. She just told me that you two were old friends." Leona spoke up. Dr. Taylor laughed.

"Oh Leona, we're more than just old friends! We're practically sisters!" Dr. Taylor commented, speaking to the Wizard Saint like they had been friends since childhood. Leona listened without comment as Dr. Taylor talked more about her friendship with Dr. Reid.

"We did a lot of things together. We studied together, we went clothes shopping together, and we went to parties together. We were virtually inseparable!" Dr. Taylor continued to discuss her friendship with Dr. Reid. Leona settled in to hear more when Dr. Taylor suddenly stopped talking and blushed.

"I'm so sorry, Leona! You didn't come to hear me talk about my good friend Loretta all day long!" Dr. Taylor apologized for the faux pas.

"It's OK, Doctor." Leona accepted the apology without difficulty. Once Dr. Taylor heard that she recovered from her embarrassment and smiled again.

"Speaking of Loretta... I have a book that I want you to take to her. I've been meaning to do it myself, but I haven't been able to make the time. Would you do that for me?" Dr. Taylor asked Leona to make a delivery on her behalf.

"I'd be glad to take it to Dr. Reid for you." Leona accepted the request. The Wizard Saint was going to head back to Motor City once she was finished here, so it was not like she would be going out of her way to deliver the book.

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-Inside Dr. Reid's laboratory, six hours and five minutes later-

It had taken Dr. Taylor a few minutes to find the book that she had wanted Leona to take to Dr. Reid because she claimed that it was buried under stacks of papers on a desk in the doctor's lab, but she eventually found it and gave it to the Wizard Saint for transport to Motor City. It was a book on robotics entitled Robotics And Electronics. It was a medium-sized book with a gray cover with the title in gold letters and it fit neatly into Leona's backpack.

After a long but uneventful walk Leona and Ancient Knight were standing in the doctor's mini-kitchen along with the doctor, who was having her eighth cup of coffee for the day... or what she claimed was her eighth cup of coffee for the day. There was no telling with the blonde scientist. Dr. Reid sat at the square table facing the pair while Leona and Ancient Knight stood in front of the door that led into the doctor's house and faced Dr. Reid.

"Hi Leona. I see that you took the book back to Dr. Taylor for me." Dr. Reid said before taking a sip of Motor City Nitro.

"Yes, Doctor. I took it back to her and she appreciated you returning the book. And Dr. Taylor sent another book to you." Leona replied and took off her backpack. She unzipped it and fished out the book in question while Dr. Reid raised an eyebrow. Leona then walked over to the doctor and set it on the table in front of her. The scientist reached for the book with her left hand and pulled it over to her to examine it more closely.

"Hmm... this book looks kinda familiar. I might have borrowed this from her before. Did she tell you why she wanted you to carry this to me?" Dr. Reid asked Leona. The Wizard Saint shook her head.

"She didn't give me a reason, Doctor. She just asked me if I would mind carrying a book to you and I said I didn't mind." Leona replied. Dr. Reid remained silent as she opened the book and skimmed through it for a few moments while the Wizard Saint and her companion watched.

"Yeah, I've read this one before. I don't remember the last time I read it from cover to cover, but it was some months ago. I'll read over it again anyway." Dr. Reid said to Leona and set the book down. Leona was relieved to hear that she would not have to walk back to Magnolia Town to return the book after having just given it to Dr. Reid.

"Did Dr. Taylor say exactly when she wanted the book back?" Dr. Reid asked Leona. Leona shook her head.

"She didn't say anything about a return date, Doctor. I don't know if you two have an unspoken arrangement of some sort or she just doesn't care when it's returned just as long as it's returned." Leona replied with uncertainty. Dr. Reid smiled.

"We normally don't attach return dates to things we loan each other, Leona. And if we do specify a return date we make it a generous one. It's not uncommon for us to give each other at least a month before the item has to be returned." Dr. Reid explained that the two indeed had an unspoken arrangement when it came to loaning each other books.

"OK then." Leona said laconically. Dr. Reid looked at Leona.

"So, what did you think of Kate?" Dr. Reid asked Leona her opinion of Dr. Taylor.

"I liked her quite a bit. She was very friendly and talked to me like we were old friends." Leona gave her opinion of Dr. Reid's friend. Deciding to make a statement, Leona quickly added a remark about the friendship between the two doctors.

"Dr. Taylor told me that you two are such close friends that you're practically sisters." Leona added, omitting the fact that Dr. Taylor talked about Dr. Reid a lot during the Wizard Saint's visit. She talked about her friend to the point it sounded the dark-haired scientist had an obsession with Dr. Reid. The blonde scientist laughed a little.

"She's right, Leona. We were close friends when we were children. And we're close friends as adults too." Dr. Reid confirmed her friend's claim without going into detail, perhaps because she assumed that Dr. Taylor had told Leona everything about their friendship when the Wizard Saint was in Magnolia Town. Leona had indeed been told quite a bit, so she did not press Dr. Reid for any more information on the subject. However, if Dr. Reid saw fit to volunteer more information, Leona would listen with genuine interest.

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-Inside Dr. Reid's laboratory, twenty minutes later-

It had been roughly twenty minutes since the Wizard Saint and the doctor had spoken. Dr. Reid had not volunteered any more information on her relationship with Dr. Taylor. She had also not said much else about the book Leona had delivered. The Wizard Saint felt that if there was nothing else for her to do here she would get going on the road to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and do something like pick up her research into plant ingredients for use in making magical weapons where she had left off.

However, Leona was not sure how to broach the subject to the doctor.

"Is there anything else you needed me for, Doctor?" Leona asked Dr. Reid, who was on her fourth cup of coffee since the Wizard Saint had returned from her trip to Motor City. Dr. Reid looked up from the book she was reading.

"Oh, I didn't notice you still standing there! No Leona, there's nothing else that I need you to do for me today!" Dr. Reid said to Leona. The Wizard Saint found it hard to believe that Dr. Reid could miss a blonde wearing green, white, and gold or a tall red-haired knight in black and yellow armor, but Leona did not have any room to cast stones. From time to time she missed things that were immediately obvious to other people.

"All right then, Dr. Reid. If you don't need me for anything, I'll be on my way then." Leona said to the doctor, offering the latter one last chance to give her any more tasks that needed doing. Dr. Reid smiled at the Wizard Saint.

"I don't need anything else from you today, Leona. Thanks for delivering the book to Dr. Taylor and bringing this one to me!" Dr. Reid said to Leona. Since there was nothing else to be done here, Leona would be on her way back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

"OK, I'll see myself out." Leona said. Dr. Reid waved at the Wizard Saint and Leona turned to face Ancient Knight.

"OK, let's get going back to the guild hall." Leona told her tall companion before opening the door that led to the doctor's house. Leona opened the door and the tall knight ducked under the doorway and followed her out of Dr. Reid's home.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, the guild cafe, six hours and twenty minutes later-

Having reached the guild hall after a long journey from Motor City to the Phoenix Mountains, Leona now sat at a table in the guild cafe with a white styrofoam cup of coffee within easy reach of her right hand. The Wizard Saint sat at a small square table near the back of the establishment wondering what she was going to do now. She was not tired enough to sleep, but she did not feel like picking up any of her research where she had left off either. Leona frowned and stared at her cup of coffee.

She really needed to finish her research into plant ingredients for magical weapons so that she could claim at least one finished research project to her name.

Leona stood up from the table and picked up her cup of coffee. She was not going to sit here any longer. She was going to go to her room and sit there instead.

The Wizard Saint pushed in her chair and walked to her room. Maybe she could find something to do there like read a book or finally get around to studying for the GED test she wanted to take in the future.

-Leona's room, ten minutes later-

Ten minutes later Leona was sitting at her desk and had still not found anything worthwhile to do with her time. She was still too energetic to sleep, something which was not helped by the coffee she had drank a little over ten minutes ago. Oh well.

Leona stood up from her desk and pushed her chair in. She was not doing anything productive here. She was not sure what she was going to do with her time until she could finally go to sleep. Maybe she would go to the guild library and bore herself to sleep trying to do some research.

With that goal in mind, Leona gathered up the notebook with her research to date and a pen, then set out for the guild library to do some research.

-The guild library, fifteen minutes later-

By consulting the notebook for her sources on the wolfsbane and garlic formulas she had jotted down some time ago, Leona had managed to locate her sources and had put them in a neat stack to her right at her usual table in the far left corner of the library. Now she was seated in front of the book named A Reference For Magical Ingredients and had opened it to the page containing the wolfsbane formula for use in making anti-wolf and anti-werewolf weapons. She was going to read over it again to see if she had missed any important information during her first reading.

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-The guild library, one hour later-

After having read the section in question over and over for at least an hour to look for anything she might have missed Leona concluded that there was nothing new to learn from A Reference For Magical Ingredients... at least as far as the formula for anti-wolf and anti-werewolf applications went.

She needed wolfsbane to make it. That requirement was something of a problem since she did not know any good sources for it. If she recalled some earlier research correctly, one possible location to get wolfsbane from was Spooky Forest, but she was not sure if gathering it from there was worth the trouble. She had not been to Spooky Forest in awhile, not since the last trip she had made in the company of Eero Saarinen. That had been a lifetime ago.

Leona closed A Reference For Magical Ingredients and gently placed it in front of her on the table, then picked up a book she had not had time to read the last time she had done any substantial research. That book was titled The Potion Maker's Guide To Ingredients and its title looked promising. Leona set the book in front of her and opened the notebook to a new page and jotted down the book title so that she could keep her notes straight.

Leona opened the book and coughed when a small cloud of dust was kicked up from its pages. The Wizard Saint coughed and waved her left hand in front of her until the cloud dissipated. Once the dust cloud had dissipated enough she looked down at the book and read the table of contents.

It was in alphabetical order. Leona skimmed through it until she found wolfsbane. She jotted down the page number for the ingredient in her notebook and then turned to the page in question. Leona then began to read through the page and looked for anything that might tell her where she could find the plant.

Leona learned that one of the locations she could find a decent quantity of wolfsbane was in Spooky Forest. Another location was Serene Cliff, though the quantity there was smaller than it was in Spooky Forest. Finally, the biggest supply was in Lycan Woods.

Leona blinked when the realization of what she had just read hit her.

Wolfsbane could be found in Lycan Woods.

Leona let the irony of that discovery sink in.

An essential ingredient for an anti-werewolf formula was found in a place infamous for hosting large numbers of werewolves.

Leona was so amused by that she laughed for a moment before dutifully writing down the three locations of wolfsbane in her notebook. She then flipped back to the table of contents and found a listing for mandrake. Suddenly Leona's interest in making a sound-based weapon was revived. Leona wrote down the page number for mandrake below the wolfsbane notes and flipped to the page.

Leona read over it and saw a warning for would-be harvesters not to harvest the plant themselves since uprooting it by hand could cause death or insanity when the mandrake shrieked upon being pulled from the earth. Since it was a repeat of the warning she had written down months ago, Leona did not bother to write it down a second time. Instead she skipped to locations for the ingredient. The first place she saw was Spooky Forest.

She jotted that location down and looked for any other possible sources of mandrake. Leona looked over the section and saw that Fat Monsterland was another place to look. She jotted that location down as well and skimmed for any more locations she could look in. However, there were none to be found, so Leona decided to move on from mandrake to something else while her enthusiasm for doing research was still high.

Recalling that one of the ingredients for an anti-vampire formula was rosemary, Leona decided to look that up while she was at it. Leona flipped back to the table of contents and found the page number for rosemary. She wrote it down in her notebook several spaces below mandrake and flipped to the page and began reading on where she could find rosemary.

Rosemary was readily obtainable in places such as Spooky Forest, Serene Cliffs, and numerous apothecary shops around Fiore. Leona was not sure if any type of rosemary would do or if she needed a specific variety of rosemary to make the anti-vampire formula, but so far she had several potential sources for the ingredient. Having a variety of sources was good because if one did not have it she could always go to another and try her luck there.

At this point Leona's enthusiasm for research was beginning to wane, so she decided to stop for the day. She closed The Potion Maker's Guide To Ingredients and set it on top of A Reference For Magical Ingredients. She then stood up from her table and picked up the books, then took them over to their respective shelves to begin putting them back in their proper places.

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-Leona's room, twenty minutes later-

Sitting at her desk with her notebook of research notes in front of her, Leona found herself in a conundrum. She was too tired to do research but not tired enough to go to sleep yet. The Wizard Saint was at a loss as to what to do with her time now.

Leona was rescued when a note was slipped under the door. Leona pushed her desk chair out, stood up from it, and walked over to the note. She picked it up and read it. It was from Dr. Taylor of Magnolia Town.

"Dear Leona:

I know it's late, but I'd like you to come to my home. I'd like to give you something that might help you." The brief note read.

Leona set the note on her desk and grabbed her backpack, then immediately set out for Magnolia Town. She wondered what Dr. Taylor had to give her that merited sending a note this late. Leona would find out when she got there.

-Inside Dr. Taylor's house, two hours and thirty-five minutes later-

Since she was not taking Ancient Knight with her Leona had used Winged Lion to get to Magnolia Town in a fraction of the time it took to get there on foot. Leona had landed on the outskirts of Magnolia Town, then dispelled Winged Lion and walked to Dr. Taylor's house through the practically empty streets of Magnolia Town proper. The few people on the streets kept a respectful distance from the Wizard Saint as she went on her way... as a result she reached the doctor's house without incident.

Now she stood in the kitchen and faced the doctor, who was seated at the kitchen table and facing Leona. In front of the doctor was a medium-sized book with a dark green cover.

"Hello, Leona. I'm sorry to call you here so late, but I'm glad that you came here anyway!" Dr. Taylor greeted the Wizard Saint warmly. Dr. Taylor had changed to a pale blue tank top and short black skirt and was barefoot. She was dressed a lot more casually than she had been earlier.

"Hello, Dr. Taylor. You wanted to see me about something?" Leona asked the doctor. Dr. Taylor smiled at the blonde.

"Yes, Leona. I have a book that I wanted to give you." Dr. Taylor informed the Wizard Saint. Before Leona could respond the black-haired doctor began speaking again.

"Loretta told me that you were doing research related to magical plant ingredients. I have a book on that very subject that a friend gave to me about three weeks ago. I don't have any use for it, but it sounds like you do." Dr. Taylor told Leona. She then pushed the book on the table towards Leona.

"This book's called A Modern Guide To Magical Ingredients. As the name implies, it's an up-to-date guide to magical ingredients and where to find them plus some applications for each and every ingredient. It was published about five months ago. It's written by a Crocus Magicka University professor named Dr. Flanders, so it's a solid reference." Dr. Taylor told Leona all about the book. The Wizard Saint was pleased to hear that a professor from Crocus Magicka University was the author of the book because that meant that everything in the book was rigorously researched and verified before it was published. Leona walked over to the table and looked at the bespectacled doctor.

"Thank you, Dr. Taylor." Leona thanked the doctor for the unexpected gift. The black-haired doctor smiled at Leona.

"It's no problem at all. I figured that you'd get a lot more use out of it than I would. I tend to stay in my lab most of the time and rarely travel in the wilderness, so a book on magical ingredients isn't very useful to me." Dr. Taylor replied. Leona took the book from the table, took off her backpack, unzipped it, and put the book inside. She then zipped the backpack closed and put it on her back.

"I've got something else to tell you, Leona." The doctor informed her. Leona listened quietly as the doctor began to speak.

"Loretta told me that you've been a big help to her. I need someone reliable to help me and I've chosen you. I might need your help from time to time, so keep an eye out for messages from me." Dr. Taylor informed the Wizard Saint that job opportunities might start coming her way. That pleased the Wizard Saint as much as the unexpected gift of an up-to-date guide on magical ingredients did.

"Thank you." Leona thanked the doctor for the good news. Dr. Taylor smiled.

"It's no problem, Leona. I won't keep you here any longer. It's already late and you probably want to go to sleep some time soon." Dr. Taylor replied. Leona was not terribly tired now, but she would more than likely be tired by the time she finally got home, so since there was no work that Dr. Taylor needed done Leona would head for Silver Wolf Guild Hall right away.

"I'll see you later, Dr. Taylor. I'll keep an eye out for your messages. I'll see myself out." Leona bade the doctor farewell and assured her that she would keep an eye out for any job opportunities that might be sent the Wizard Saint's way. Dr. Taylor waved goodbye and Leona turned around and exited the kitchen, then walked through the living room and towards the front door. She opened it and went outside, then shut it behind her and checked to make sure it was shut before leaving.

Once that was done Leona walked away from Dr. Taylor's house and started on her way back to the guild hall. Once she got there she would make a beeline to her room and try and sleep... or to read her new book if she still could not sleep after making the return trip to the guild hall.

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