Watching Over Novice Mages

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 28, Post Number 698

-Magnolia Town, outside the Gardner home, 2:00 P.M.-

Wearing her usual casual outfit of black long-sleeved shirt with long white skirt and brown boots along with her backpack and Shining Light in its holster on her right hip, Lucia stood outside the Gardner home. She had been called here by Mr. and Mrs. Gardner, who had hired her to go with Alicia and a friend on a job that the novice mage had taken. They wanted an experienced mage to go with them on a job that would take them on a journey from Magnolia Town to Silent Cemetery.

Lucia rung the doorbell and then stepped back to wait for a response from either Alicia or her parents. Within moments the door opened and on the other end stood Mr. Gardner, who was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans with brown deck shoes. He looked at Lucia for a moment as if he had seen her somewhere before but could not quite place her. Once he recognized her he smiled and began to speak.

"Hello, Miss Winchester! Please, come on in and I'll tell you about the job Alicia's taken!" Mr. Gardner greeted Lucia and bade her to enter the house. Lucia obliged and entered the house.

-Inside the Gardner home-

Lucia wiped her boots off on a welcome mat just inside the door and entered the Gardner home, which had a small but comfortable living room with a brown leather couch on the right wall, a brown cloth couch against the center wall, and framed family pictures on the walls. Mr. Gardner took off his shoes, then spoke to the Luminous Rose mage.

"My wife and I are worried about Alicia going on this job. She's learned a few spells from her brothers ever since that time she got trapped in Abandoned Cabin and you rescued her, but we're still worried about her. As you know, she and a friend are traveling from here to Silent Cemetery, where they've been tasked with retrieving a weapon left by an explorer who dropped the weapon while fleeing from a threat inside the cemetery." Mr. Gardner told Lucia. Lucia quietly listened as Alicia's father continued to talk.

"Silent Cemetery's a dangerous place, but we can't keep our daughter at home forever. Her brothers do freelance mage work and it'd be hypocritical of us to let them roam Fiore at will but not let her travel. That's why we hired you to go with Alicia and her friend. You're a more experienced mage and we need you to protect them both from whatever's in there." Mr. Gardner explained why she had been hired to help Alicia and her friend. At the risk of sounding self-serving, the Gardners were right to hire her. Silent Cemetery was a dangerous place that could overwhelm a novice mage if they succumbed to fear.

"I'll do my best to protect them, Mr. Gardner. I've been to Silent Cemetery a few times before and it's not a place for novices." Lucia remarked. She was not trying to make Silent Cemetery sound more dangerous than it was in order to justify her inclusion in the party for this job. The Luminous Rose mage had firsthand experience traveling there and knew of the danger that lurked in that place.

"I'll call for Alicia so that you two can go get her friend and start the trip to Silent Cemetery. With any luck you three will get there before the roads are crawling with bandits." Mr. Gardner said. He turned and raised both hands to his mouth to call to his daughter when she walked into the room from the left hallway. She was dressed in a blue jean jacket over an orange t-shirt with blue jeans and white tennis shoes. On her back was a brown leather backpack.

"I'm right here, Dad!" Alicia announced to her father. She turned and looked at Lucia. The shorter blonde waved.

"Hi Lucia! I'm glad you could join me and my friend!" Alicia greeted Lucia.

"I'm glad that I could be here to help, Alicia." Lucia replied. She recalled what had happened to Stella Herschel's friend Natalie Williams when the latter had went to Haunted Guild by herself. Since Lucia had been called to help Alicia from the start, she was in a position to keep Alicia and her friend from getting hurt... or worse.

Once the greetings were out of the way Alicia turned to face her father.

"OK Dad, I'm going to go pick up my friend from her house." Alicia said. Mr. Gardner nodded.

"OK Alicia. Just be safe out there!" Her father bade her. He then turned to Lucia.

"And you be careful too, Miss Winchester." Mr. Gardner bade her.

"I will, Mr. Gardner." Lucia replied. She and Alicia then began walking to the front door to start their trip. Once they picked up Alicia's friend it was going to be a long trip to Silent Cemetery.

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[Total Word Count: 828/11,000]

-Magnolia Town, outside the Stuart home, 2:35 P.M.-

After leaving the Gardner house the energetic Alicia had guided Lucia to the part of Magnolia Town where her friend Mina Stuart lived. It was a fairly nice single-story house that was made of brick and had a clean exterior. The door was a simple gray door and it had a brass doorknob.

The two blondes approached the door and Alicia stepped up to it, then knocked on it with her right hand. Within seconds the door opened and an athletic-looking young woman with shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair wearing a yellow t-shirt, blue jean short shorts, and white tennis shoes greeted them.

"Hey Alicia! Who's your friend?" The bespectacled blonde asked Alicia. The orange-clad mage smiled.

"Her name's Lucia Winchester, Mina. She's a mage who rescued me from Abandoned Cabin several months back when I went there to explore and got in way over my head. She's going with us to Silent Cemetery to watch our backs. You can trust her." Alicia told Mina who Lucia was. Mina smiled at the Luminous Rose mage.

"Alicia told me about you, Lucia. She said that you really went out of your way to get her out of Abandoned Cabin when it got surrounded by zombies." Mina told Lucia what Alicia had said about her. Lucia smiled at the strawberry blonde.

"I wouldn't say that I went out of my way to rescue Alicia, Mina. I just helped Alicia when she was in need and I arrived at just the right time." Lucia put it more modestly. Zombies were not the toughest opponents to face and she had two special advantages against the undead. Her magic hit with greater force against them without any special effort on her part and she had a Holy handgun that could hurt them as well.

"You said it." Alicia commented on Lucia's version of events. She then turned to Mina.

"Ready to go to Silent Cemetery, Mina?" Alicia asked her friend. Mina nodded.

"Yeah, Alicia. Lemme change my clothes, grab my gear, and let my parents know where we're going." Mina replied. She turned around and went back into the house. Alicia and Lucia obligingly waited for her outside.

-Twenty minutes later, outside the Stuart home-

After twenty or so minutes Mina emerged from her home wearing a black hooded jacket over her yellow t-shirt. She had also changed from blue jean short shorts to khaki cargo pants. Finally she carried a black backpack on her back.

"OK guys, I've got all my gear and I told my parents where we're going. They were worried, but when I told them I wasn't going alone they were totally on board with it." Mina told the blonde mages. Alicia smiled.

"Great, Mina. We'd better get going now. It's a long walk to Silent Cemetery from here." Alicia told her friend. Mina walked ahead of the blondes.

"All right then, ladies. Follow me. We're going to Silent Cemetery!" Mina said with a smile. Alicia and Lucia fell in behind the strawberry blonde and the trio finally began their trip to Silent Cemetery.

-Outside Silent Cemetery, 10:35 P.M.-

After a long walk because none of them had thought to take the train to Ace of Spades to save time, the trio finally arrived outside Silent Cemetery. At least they had taken rest stops along the way. They had also taken a break in Ace of Spades before making the final push to Silent Cemetery, so they were not nearly as tired as they could have been. They stood ten meters from its gates and took a break.

"We shoulda taken the train to Ace of Spades and gotten off there to continue the trip on foot instead of walking all the way here." Alicia lamented the group's lack of foresight. Lucia silently agreed with that assessment. She should have been the one to suggest taking the train, but for whatever reason she forgot to mention that simple and time-saving idea. At least she had saved some face by suggesting that they take rest stops along the way instead of powering through the trek without stopping like Alicia had wanted to do.

"Yeah, but at least we made it here safely and in pretty good shape thanks to Lucia. We've got plenty of time for the job. We just take a break for a few minutes and we go into the cemetery in fighting shape." Mina commented on the solution to their fatigue. Alicia nodded.

"Yeah Mina, you're right. It's not like that weapon's gonna walk off on its own. It should be safe to take a break with Lucia watching over us." Alicia agreed to the suggestion to take one last break before going into the cemetery. Alicia and Mina sat on the ground while Lucia remained standing. The Luminous Rose mage remained standing partially to make it easier to keep an eye on their surroundings and partially because she did not want to make her white skirt dirty if she could help it.

Then there was her apprehension about entering a cemetery.

No matter how many times Lucia came here she was always apprehensive about entering Silent Cemetery. Every time she came here she fell prey to the same unsettling thoughts. Those thoughts were that she had no place among the living and that she should return to her rightful place in the afterlife.

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[Total Word Count: 1,730/11,000]

-Twenty-five minutes later-

"OK guys, we'd better get going. We don't have all night to find the weapon that our client hired us to retrieve." Alicia told the trio. She and Mina got to their feet while Lucia took a quiet breath. She too was ready to go into the cemetery and be done with it.

"Hey Alicia, what kinda weapon are we looking for? A fancy sword or something?" Mina asked her friend.

"We're looking for a fancy bolt-action rifle, Mina. It's been in this guy's family for decades and he really wants it back. I mean REALLY wants it back." Alicia revealed what the trio had been sent to Silent Cemetery to find. Mina shrugged her shoulders.

"OK, so it's a fancy rifle. What's so special about it? I mean, why hire three mages to go after it?" Mina continued to ask Alicia. Lucia was also curious as to what made this weapon so special that the client went to the expense of hiring three mages just to retrieve it.

"It's a special rifle, Mina. It was made with the ability to hurt ghosts, werewolves, that kinda thing. It doesn't even need special ammunition to do it." Alicia answered. Mina and Lucia were satisfied with that answer.

"OK then. I won't keep asking questions 'cause time is money. Let's get going then." Mina commented. Lucia took the lead and walked to the gate, then drew Shining Light from its holster with her right hand. She waited until Alicia and Mina approached before putting her left hand on the gate. Lucia then made eye contact with both of them.

"I'll go first. There might be zombies waiting on the other side, so stay behind me until I take them all out. Watch my sides for me and let me know the moment you see a zombie." Lucia told the two novice mages. Both of them nodded. Certain that they would comply with her orders, Lucia faced forward and pulled open the right gate, then went in first.

-Inside Silent Cemetery, the first section-

Lucia went in first and found a zombie dressed in a rotting blue suit standing approximately three meters away from her on the main path and facing her. She raised Shining Light in a two-handed shooting grip and aimed for the head, then fired a single shot at the head. The shot hit it in the forehead and killed it instantly. It fell backwards and Lucia heard Alicia's voice.

"Lucia, two zombies to the left!" Alicia warned the pistol-packing mage. Lucia turned left and found two female zombies roughly four meters away from them. Lucia killed them both with a single headshot apiece fired three seconds apart from one another.

"Nice shooting, Lucia!" Alicia complimented Lucia's marksmanship.

"No zombies to the right!" Mina reported. Lucia looked in front of them for any more targets. Once no more zombies presented themselves Lucia lowered Shining Light and turned around to face her partners.

"OK, you guys can spread out a little now. It should be safe for the time being." Lucia informed them. The two obliged, spreading out and moving forward until they flanked the Luminous Rose mage. The tall blonde then faced forward and addressed Alicia without looking at her.

"Alicia, do you remember if the client gave any directions as to where he dropped his rifle while fleeing from whatever scared him badly enough to drop the rifle?" Lucia asked Alicia. Lucia heard the crinkling of paper as Alicia did something to her left. After a little more crinkling the blonde pulled a folded-up piece of paper out of her left pocket and unfolded it, then raised her left index finger and created a marble-sized white ball of light that floated up off the tip of her left index finger to help her read by.

A minute or two passed in silence before she spoke.

"Yeah, he did. According to the guy, he dropped it somewhere in the right side of the cemetery. He said something about a large statue of an angel." Alicia told Lucia exactly what she needed to know.

"OK, that helps quite a bit. Otherwise we'd have to go down one of the branching paths up ahead and hope that we chose the right one." Mina said. The strawberry blonde was telling the truth. Without the client's instructions to narrow down where they had to go the trio would have spent a lot of time wandering about the cemetery hoping to stumble across the rifle. Alicia then folded the paper back up and jammed it in her left pocket before snapping the fingers of her left hand and dispelling the ball of light.

"Yep. We go right and explore the cemetery until we find what we're looking for!" Alicia boiled it down for her partners. The trio was about to start moving forward down the main path when they heard howling in the distance. Lucia stopped where she was and her partners followed suit.

"What's that noise?" Alicia asked her partners.

"Dogs?" Mina asked a question of her own. Lucia nodded grimly.

"Yes, Mina. Zombie dogs." Lucia finished the sentence and put an emphasis on the threat that was heading their way. The exact source of the howling was hard to pinpoint, but it sounded like it was coming from the left side of the branching path. Lucia raised Shining Light and pointed it down the main path in anticipation of the dogs appearing at any moment as the howls soon turned to barking.

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[Total Word Count: 2,652/11,000]

Having received early warning of the impending attack thanks to the dogs making so much noise, the trio was waiting for them in the most easily defensible position available to them. Mina began to channel gray magic into both her hands while Alicia channeled orange magic into her hands. Lucia raised Shining Light in a two-handed shooting grip and waited for the dogs to appear. It did not take them long to show up.

A large pack of them ran in from the left path and Lucia counted at least sixteen zombie Dobermans heading for them. Alicia's hands began to shake.

"I-I-I don't know if we can handle that many of them!" Alicia said in a panicked voice. Mina, on the other hand, remained calm.

"Lemme deal with it. You two might wanna step back." Mina said with confidence. She actually strode forward to meet them as her body began to glow gray.

"MINA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE GONNA GET YOURSELF KILLED!" Alicia screamed while Lucia watched the strawberry blonde strode forward without a care in the world. The zombie dogs ran to meet her and the frontrunners prepared to jump at Mina. Mina paused a short distance from them and raised her hands to the sky. She then brought them down to her sides and her entire body turned gray. Out shot numerous spikes from her body just as some of the dogs began to leap at her.

Lucia heard pained yelps as six of the dogs impaled themselves on them.

The spikes then receded and dropped the animals that had impaled themselves on them. Mina began to move while still coated in gray magic. She kicked at the dogs and caught one squarely in the muzzle, sending it flying all the way to the middle of the path. It landed on its back with a yelp and rolled over to its left side, then lay motionless. Mina then raised her right foot and stomped down on the skull of another dog, killing it instantly.

Lucia began to aim and fire at the dogs surrounding Mina to try and help the strawberry blonde mage. Lucia aimed carefully and fired at the head of one of them, but she only grazed its back. The injured animal turned to face Lucia and growled, then charged at her while three other dogs eagerly followed. While Mina continued to fend off most of the pack Lucia and Alicia began to deal with the four dogs who had decided to go after them for an easier meal.

Lucia aimed carefully and fired a single shot from Shining Light, taking down the leader of the quartet as it ran towards them. Alicia raised her trembling hands and channeled orange magic into them, then cast a spell consisting of an orange ball of magic the size of a basketball. The ball hit a charging dog in the head, knocking it back towards Mina and sending it skidding past her along the ground.

Lucia aimed at another dog and fired at its head, bringing it down within five meters of her. The last animal continued to charge at Alicia, who stepped forward and swung her right foot at the animal in a powerful kick. Her foot caught the dog under the muzzle and sent it flying backwards with a yelp.

Mina had taken care of the rest of the pack, leaving the stragglers that Lucia and Alicia had dealt with. Mina quickly located them and dispatched them with a forceful downward stomp to the skull. Once all the dogs were dead the mage's skin returned to its normal color and she wobbled while walking towards Lucia and Alicia.

"MINA!" Alicia called out and ran towards her friend, catching her just as the latter began to fall. Lucia briskly walked to a position just in front of them where she could watch the path behind them for any more trouble.

"I'm OK, Alicia." Mina assured her friend. Lucia looked at the two younger mages for a moment and listened to Mina.

"How did you do both of those things you did earlier?" Alicia asked Mina.

"That's easy. I used my Iron Maiden spell followed by another spell called Iron Maiden Form. As you saw, they're strong spells. And as you can see, they burn through a lot of my magic power. Until I get stronger I can't use them in succession without burning through most of my magic power." Mina explained how she had managed to defeat the dogs despite being badly outnumbered. Lucia was impressed that Mina had managed to win without taking a single scratch.

"We'd better not get in another big fight any time soon because I can't use those spells again until my magic power regenerates." Mina warned the blonde mages that she could not bail them out a second time in a row if they got into a big fight right after this one.

"We'll be fine, Mina. Just don't try and play hero again, OK?" Alicia asked Mina. Mina laughed a little.

"OK. I won't try and play hero again." Mina assured her friend. After the conversation between the friends had ended Lucia faced the two mages and spoke to them.

"Splitting up is way too dangerous because there's no telling what lurks deeper in the cemetery, so we're going to pick a direction and go in it together. From here we can go left or we can go right. Which way do you two want to go?" Lucia said to them, asking them which way they wanted to go first. Alicia thought about the question for a moment before giving her response.

"I say we go right." Alicia replied.

"I say we go right too." Mina seconded her friend's choice.

"OK then. We're going right." Lucia replied calmly. Now that the choice had been made the trio began walking forward, carefully stepping over the bodies of the zombie Dobermans they had killed. They walked forward until they reached the branching path, then turned right without hesitation. They proceeded down the chosen path until they walked into the next section of Silent Cemetery.

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[Total Word Count: 3,674/11,000]

-Down the right path, in the next section of Silent Cemetery-

After putting it to a group vote and all three of them choosing to go down the right path, Lucia, Alicia, and Mina were now standing in the next portion of Silent Cemetery. Ahead of them loomed a long stretch of cemetery roughly 200 meters long, but it was all straight until they made a left turn at the end. The Luminous Rose mage immediately recognized this area as the place she had met and acquired Lumie, her spirited candle companion she had not seen in awhile. How she had managed to misplace a talking candle with a blue flame was beyond her, but she would find him sooner or later.

Lucia felt a bit nostalgic upon seeing Mortimer's grave in the rows of graves on the right side of the section, but her nostalgia was outweighed by apprehension about the voices, the voices that told her she should quit denying that her true home was in a cemetery. Lucia ignored them and began walking along the path that was lit by the lanterns positioned at twenty-five meter intervals on top of tombstones along the path.

"Who set up all these lanterns?" Alicia asked no one in particular as she and Mina followed a short distance behind their Luminous Rose guide. Lucia would have liked to know the answer to that question herself. However, there was little time to ponder that question because further down the path lurked a zombie dressed in a black burial suit with old-fashioned black top hat.

"Hey look, a zombie!" Mina warned the trio and pointed out the zombie... not that she needed to point it out for them. It was standing right in the path about ten meters away and had spotted the trio thanks to the strawberry blonde's loud warning. Lucia stopped and quietly raised Shining Light in a two-handed shooting grip, taking careful aim at the zombie's head. She squeezed the trigger and fired a single shot that punched through its forehead, killing it on the spot.

"Way to go, Lucia!" Alicia complimented Lucia on her swift disposal of the zombie in their path. Moaning sounded a fair distance away and Lucia held out her left hand in a "Stop!" gesture.

"There are more zombies nearby!" Lucia stated the obvious to her partners. The sound of Shining Light being fired had alerted other nearby zombies to the presence of the three mages, but firing the pistol had a silver lining. By moaning loudly like they had in reaction to the gunshot the zombies had given themselves away, allowing the trio to prepare for them. The moaning sounded again.

"It's coming from in front of us and to the left!" Lucia gave her partners a little more information on which direction the undead attack was going to come from. Lucia frowned a little when she mentally played back what she had just told Alicia and Mina. At the end of the path and to the left was the gate that led into the next part of Silent Cemetery, which was exactly where they needed to go.

"They're just zombies. We can take them!" Alicia confidently asserted.

"That may be true, but zombies rarely travel alone. There's probably gonna be a whole bunch of them waiting for us." Mina warned Alicia. Lucia appreciated the strawberry blonde having the good sense not to go hunt the zombies.

"Mina's right. Instead of going to them, I suggest that we wait and let them come to us." Lucia suggested an alternate approach.

"But they're walking corpses! They're slower than a snail! We can take them out with no problem!" She asserted to her partners, urging them to take the fight to the undead. Lucia shook her head.

"No, Alicia. We wait for them. Sooner or later they're going to come to us." Lucia politely but firmly shot down the idea.

"I'm going after them!" Alicia declared. She started to jog past Lucia when a large group of over three dozen zombies began emerging from the gate at the far end of the path, causing Alicia to scream and quickly reconsider her idea.

"Do you see now why I suggested we wait for them?" Lucia allowed herself to give Alicia a restrained form of the "I told you so!" remark. Alicia did not have a snappy comeback for that question.

"Yeah. I see now." Alicia meekly admitted that the Luminous Rose mage was right in not going on the offensive the moment they heard the zombies moan. Lucia did not take any satisfaction in Alicia's response. Lucia's reason for suggesting that they wait on the defensive was not to prove who was right, but to improve their chances of all three mages surviving this job. Mina was currently unable to use her Iron Maiden and Iron Maiden Form spells  to help Lucia and Alicia in this fight, so the Luminous Rose mage was being cautious when it came to fending off threats to the group.

"Don't be afraid, Alicia. Despite their numbers we can still win this fight. Liek you said, zombies aren't all that fast. Just aim for their heads and they'll go down easy!" Mina advised her friend on how to deal with the approaching undead.

"Don't worry, Mina. Lucia and I will handle these guys!" Alicia said to her friend. Lucia raised Shining Light raised in a two-handed shooting grip and aimed at the head at one of the zombies leading the group, a zombie wearing a three-piece gray suit with a golden monocle over the left eye. Lucia aimed for the head and fired, taking it down with a single shot through the forehead. It fell face forward and landed on the ground, never to move again.

That was one zombie down and thirty-five or so left.

Waiting on the defensive, the mage trio stood their ground and prepared to take down the rest of the undead horde slowly advancing towards them.

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Having made the decision to fight as a team, the three mages stood their ground and began picking off the zombies one by one as the shambling corpses shambled into range without regard for their losses. The zombies were being dispatched long before they could get close to the mages; the only real danger came from the fact that there were so many of them to deal with.

Lucia aimed and fired at the head of a zombie dressed in a tattered white wedding gown leading the undead procession and it went down in one shot through the forehead. It fell onto its face and did not move again. With the bride zombie down Lucia immediately looked for any more zombies who had gotten ahead of their fellows and picked them off as she saw them to buy Alicia some time to cast crowd control spells. Mina's role was to alert the two blondes to any zombies who might have escaped the killing ground in front of Alicia and Lucia before the survivors got too close for comfort.

Alicia began to power up a spell of bright yellow light by holding her hands above her head. Once the spell was ready she lowered her hands in front of her and pushed outwards, firing a bright yellow beam of light at the head of three zombies at the far left of the horde. All three of their heads burst on contact and they immediately fell to the ground.

With Lucia picking off zombies who had gotten ahead of the horde and Alicia using crowd control spells on the rest it was only a matter of time before the zombies were all defeated. Once the last walking corpse had fallen the trio released a collective sigh of relief.

"That was close. I didn't think we were going to be able to stop them all in time!" Alicia said to her partners.

"Sorry I couldn't help in this fight, guys. My magic power hasn't fully regenerated yet from the fight with the dogs earlier." Mina apologized to Alicia and Lucia for being unable to help fight off the zombies. Alicia faced the strawberry blonde.

"It's OK, Mina. You already did a lot for us by helping us kill that pack of zombie dogs. As far as I'm concerned if you don't fight again the rest of the night you've already paid your way!" Alicia assured her friend that she did not hold Mina's non-participation against her. Lucia did not hold it against Mina either. The strawberry blonde had been unable to help because her magic power had not replenished to the point that she could cast spells yet, not because she could not be bothered to help.

"I'm with Alicia on this one. You've already helped us a lot during the fight at the cemetery entrance. If it hadn't been for you doing what you did our exploration might have been stopped before it could really get started." Lucia seconded Alicia's opinion. Mina looked at both blondes and gave a small smile.

"Thanks, guys. Now let's keep going. That rifle we've been hired to find isn't gonna find itself!" Mina accepted the assurances of her partners before pointing out that they still had a job to do. Lucia faced forward again.

"All right then. Let's keep moving. We'll walk around the zombies we brought down a few minutes ago. They should all be dead, but I'm not gonna wade through the pile to find out if that's true or not." Lucia said to Alicia and Mina. The Luminous Rose mage began to slowly walk forward, giving the pile of zombies they had taken down a wide berth by walking to the far right of them. That meant gingerly stepping over tombstones or carefully weaving between them. That path posed its own set of problems, but it beat walking through the pile of corpses in the center of the path only for a zombie she thought was "dead" to rise up, seize her ankle, and take a bite out of her calf.

Alicia and Mina followed the Luminous Rose mage on the wide detour around the path. When Lucia finally reached the end of the detour she was facing the gate at the bend that led to the next section of cemetery. She turned left to see her partners walking towards her while carefully weaving between tombstones and then looked forward to make sure that there were no more zombies ahead of them. So far no walking corpses had been spotted.

After a few minutes of careful movement Alicia and Mina finally reached Lucia, who turned to face them.

"All right. We go straight into that next section of cemetery. Like last time I'll take the lead, but I'll walk sort of slow so that I don't get too far ahead of you guys." Lucia informed her partners of the game plan. They looked down the path, then back at Lucia.

"OK Lucia, we'll follow you." Alicia said to Lucia. Lucia faced forward and began walking slowly down the path in front of her with Shining Light at the ready.

-In the next section of Silent Cemetery-

The trio passed through the gate without incident to move into the next section of cemetery. The layout was a lot like the one they had left behind. There was a central path leading into the next portion of the cemetery while rows of tombstones were on the left and right sides of the path. There were even the Lacrima lanterns on top of tombstones at twenty-five meter intervals. The key difference here was that the path here was only half the length of the preceding path.

"Do you see those things up ahead? Those things the look like giant blocks on the left and right sides?" Mina asked Lucia and Alicia, pointing down the path straight ahead of them. Barely visible in the distance was what looked like giant blocks dotting both sides of the section looking ahead of them. Both Alicia and Lucia came to a stop.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure what exactly I'm seeing." Alicia said to her friend. Lucia took a few moments to look carefully before she finally recognized the structures for what they were.

"They're mausoleums." Lucia calmly told the pair what they were seeing.

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-In the next section of Silent Cemetery-

Lucia led Alicia and Mina into the next section of cemetery. There were mausoleums on both sides of the area and a paved path ran down the middle. 100 meters ahead was a gate flanked by angel statues with their arms reaching towards the viewer. Lucia shuddered as the voice in the back of her head spoke to her.

She should not have come back to life

She needed to go home again.

She did not belong among the living.

Lucia tuned out the voices and looked for any zombies that happened to be in the area. So far she was not seeing any, but the mausoleums looked like they could open at any moment and release their occupants on the trio of mages. Lucia hoped that they would remain closed.

"I don't like the look of this place, guys." Alicia said to her partners as they walked down the path and past a few of the mausoleums.

"Me neither, but we might be getting close to the rifle we need to retrieve. Besides, you said you wanted to go on an adventure like your brothers, right Alicia?" Mina asked her friend.

"Yeah Mina, I did. I wanted to travel across Fiore like my brothers instead of stay at home all the time." Alicia answered the question.

"And sometimes adventures take you to places like this, right?" Mina asked her friend another question.

"Yeah." Alicia replied. The trio was now at the 25-meter mark and none of the mausoleums had opened. Lucia remained silent and kept facing forward as she walked because she was on the lookout for zombies or for zombie dogs. She was also concerned that if she looked at any of the mausoleums the voice in her head would come back.

"If you want to be a traveling mage you've gotta get used to places like this, Alicia. You won't always get easy jobs in bright and sunny places." Mina told her friend.

"I know, I know, but this place is so creepy! There's zombies everywhere and if that wasn't bad enough there's zombie dogs running around too!" Alicia complained about the denizens of Silent Cemetery.

"At least we're with you for this one, Alicia. Having good and reliable partners with you can make tough jobs a lot easier." Mina commented as the trio reached the 50-meter mark.

"You're right, Mina. You and Lucia are good company. Speaking of company, I'm gonna start traveling with my brothers until I get strong enough to travel on my own. After we finish this job I'm not coming here for a good long while!" Alicia vowed to Mina and Lucia. Lucia was pleased to hear that Alicia Gardner considered her "good company" for a job like this. The Luminous Rose mage did her best to be a good representative of the guild she was part of.

"I don't blame you, Alicia. I won't be coming back here for awhile either, not unless I'm in the company of some strong mages." Mina made her own vow to not return to Silent Cemetery for some time after completing this job. Lucia listened in silence as the two mages continued to talk as the trio walked down the path. So far no zombies had appeared and Lucia hoped that it would stay that way. Maybe the trio had already gotten through the worst part of the job.

The trio reached the 75-meter mark and continued to walk towards the gate that led into the next section of cemetery.

"Do you think we'll find that rifle in the next part of the cemetery, Mina?" Alicia asked Mina.

"I'm not sure, Alicia. It might be there. It might not be there. There's no telling where it could be." Mina replied with uncertainty.

"I hope so. I don't want to have to go all the way back to the entrance and then go down the left path!" Alicia commented on the possibility that the path they had chosen might not lead to the rifle. Lucia did not comment aloud, but she too hoped that they would find the lost weapon somewhere on this path.

After a long walk the trio had finally reached the end of the path without encountering any zombies and now stood in front of the gate flanked by angel statues. Lucia turned around to face her partners for a quick talk before they moved on.

"OK, guys. We'll keep doing what we've been doing. I'll take the lead and walk slowly so that I don't outpace you." Lucia informed her partners.

"OK, Lucia. Lead the way!" Alicia gave her approval.

"I'm with Alicia. Lead the way, Lucia." Mina voiced her approval of the plan. Having been given their approval to continue doing what had gotten them this far, Lucia spoke to them again.

"All right then. Follow me." Lucia calmly replied. She then turned around and began walking slowly while keeping Shining Light at the ready. They had been lucky to get through this section of Silent Cemetery without a fight, but she doubted that they would be lucky twice in a row. She expected to do some fighting in the section they were about to enter.

[Post Word Count: 872]
[Total Word Count: 6,602/11,000]

-In the next section of Silent Cemetery-

The trio passed through the gates into the next section of Silent Cemetery and found themselves entering a large area with tombstones arranged neatly into rows on the far left and far right sides of the area. There were also more mausoleums, but the most distinctive feature of the area was a large angel statue on a pedestal standing in the approximate center of the area.

Its face and arms were lifted skyward and its wings were outstretched. The statue was so detailed it looked like it was about to take off and fly at any moment now. Lucia looked around the area for any zombies and spotted a few of them, but they were a lot fewer than she had anticipated. On the far right side of the cemetery stood five of them and they were spaced far apart from each other.

Lucia felt a few taps on her right shoulder and turned to face Mina, who was pointing towards the angel statue.

"Hey Lucia, I see something shining at the base of that statue!" Mina informed Lucia. Lucia gave the statue a second look and saw the gleaming object the strawberry blonde was talking about. It was fairly long and looked like a rifle, but she was not certain.

"I see it now, Mina. Thanks for pointing it out." Lucia thanked her partner for pointing out the object to her. The Luminous Rose mage then faced forward and turned right to deal with the zombies she had spotted. She raised Shining Light and aimed carefully at the head of the first zombie, a person wearing a tattered brown three-piece suit. She waited until the time was right before firing and when that time came she squeezed the trigger, putting a single shot through its left temple. It fell to the ground and landed on its face, where it did not move.

Lucia then dealt with the remaining four zombies in the same fashion. Once they were all lying on the ground she looked around her for any more zombies to the left or straight ahead. She did not see any, so it was safe for the trio to proceed towards the base of the angel statue.

"Nice work, Lucia!" Alicia complimented Lucia's marksmanship. Lucia turned and faced her and Mina.

"Thanks. Now let's walk over to the statue and see what that object is. I hope it's what we're looking for." Lucia said to her partners. With that the Luminous Rose mage began slowly walking forward while Alicia and Mina followed her. They reached the base of the statue without incident and they stood in front of the object.

"Hey guys, check out what's around us!" Alicia said. Mina and Lucia looked around them and noticed that the shining object was not the only thing in the immediate area. The trio noticed that there were a few dead zombies lying on the ground around them. The explorer who had hired Alicia and Mina to find the weapon had put up quite a fight before having to flee because Lucia counted at least twelve dead zombies on the ground, if not more.

"Hey guys, I think we found the weapon!" Mina said. Alicia and Lucia turned to face the strawberry blonde, who was holding a bolt-action rifle with a brown leather sling and a scope attached to it. The rifle had old-fashioned wooden furniture and looked to be an old model, but Lucia was no expert on rifles.

"Great! We can finally get out of this place and go back to Magnolia Town!" Alicia happily exclaimed. Mina turned to Lucia and held out the rifle with both hands.

"Hey Lucia, I've never held a gun before. Do you want to carry the rifle for us?" Mina asked Lucia. Lucia put Shining Light in its holster to free up her hands.

"Certainly. I'll take it." Lucia replied. Mina handed the rifle over to Lucia, who took it and immediately looked for a safety. She found it near the trigger and activated it, then slung the rifle over her right shoulder. Now that the trio had found what they were looking for it was time to get out of here.

"All right then. I believe that we found what we're looking for. Let's go back to Magnolia Town and return the rifle to its rightful owner." Lucia told her partners. They were visibly happy to hear that.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Alicia expressed her delight in getting to leave Silent Cemetery.

"I'm ready to get out of this place and go home. Lead the way, Lucia!" Mina chimed in.

"OK then. I'll lead us out of here." Lucia said to them. She then turned around, took Shining Light out of its holster, and began walking towards the gate they had passed through to get here. She kept Shining Light out and at the ready in case they encountered more zombies or zombie dogs on the way out.

-Outside Silent Cemetery, fifty minutes later-

After Alicia and Mina had passed through the gate Lucia closed it behind them, then made sure that it was shut. After confirming that the gate was firmly shut she turned and faced her partners, who were visibly relieved to finally be out of Silent Cemetery. They had not encountered any opposition on their way out, something which Lucia was grateful for.

"We made it!" Alicia exclaimed with joy.

"We made it out of Silent Cemetery, but we've still got a ways to go before we reach Magnolia Town." Mina reminded her friend that they still had a long walk ahead of them. Alicia groaned.

"You're right, Mina." Alicia admitted in a downbeat tone. She did not stay upset for long because seconds later she smiled.

"But at least we're out of that awful place! We don't have to deal with zombies any more!" Alicia said happily.

"Now we've got to worry about bandits on the way to Magnolia Town." Mina chimed in. Alicia groaned a second time.

"Miiinnnaaaa! Why do you have to be that way? Why do you have to be such a killjoy?" Alicia asked her friend in frustration.

"I'm not trying to be a killjoy, Alicia. I'm just reminding you that we're not out of the woods yet." Mina defended her behavior. Alicia groaned again.

"Well, I suppose you're right, Mina." Alicia conceded that her friend was right to be worried about bandits on the road. The blonde then turned to Lucia.

"C'mon, Lucia. Let's get going. We've got a long road ahead of us." Alicia said to the Luminous Rose mage.

"All right then. I'll lead us back to Magnolia Town." Lucia said. The trio immediately started the long walk back to Magnolia Town. They would have to be careful on the way, but with luck and vigilance the trio would make it to their destination in one piece.

[Post Word Count: 1,156]
[Total Word Count: 7,758/11,000]

-Magnolia Town, eight hours and fifty minutes later-

After a long walk that was spent constantly looking for bandits the trio finally arrived in Magnolia Town without having encountered any of them. The trio was more than a little tired after the long hike and they all wanted nothing more than to crash somewhere and go to sleep for several hours, but first they had to return the rifle to their client. Only when the rifle was returned to the client would the job be officially complete.

"Hey Alicia, where do we have to take the rifle?" Mina asked Alicia.

"We have to take it to 1900 Savannah Lane." Alicia replied with the address they had to go to.

"Where is that?" Mina asked her friend. Alicia walked ahead of Lucia.

"I'll take us there, Mina. Follow me!" Alicia said to her partners, taking the lead from Lucia. Mina and Lucia did not object and fell in behind the orange-clad blonde, who began walking deeper into Magnolia Town. Mina and Lucia did their best to keep up with Alicia, who seemed energized by the job being almost completed because she started to walk briskly ahead while her partners struggled to keep up.

-1900 Savannah Lane, twenty-five minutes later-

It did not take long to get to the address, which was in a middle-class part of town. The house they were standing outside of was a standard one-story house that was painted white and boasted a solid brown wooden door and golden numbers that spelled out 1900. The trio took a minute or two to catch their breath before Lucia approached and knocked on the door. It did not take long for someone to answer it.

The door opened and in the doorway stood a lanky middle-aged man with short light brown hair, brown-rimmed glasses, a gray sweater vest over a blue long-sleeved shirt, and brown dress pants with brown loafers. He looked like a university professor, an author, or a member of some other educated profession. He spotted the barrel of the rifle slung on Lucia's right shoulder and smiled widely.

"Welcome, ladies! I'm Mr. Henry Whitaker! I see that you found my rifle!" He greeted the trio. Lucia stepped back and Alicia stepped forward.

"Hello Mr. Whitaker! I'm Alicia Gardner, one of the mages you hired to retrieve the rifle you dropped in Silent Cemetery!" Alicia introduced herself to the man. He smiled at her.

"With me are Mina Stuart and Lucia Winchester, my partners on this job. I know that you hired Mina to help me, but Lucia helped me too." Alicia introduced the man to her partners. He warmly greeted both of them. Lucia stepped back and took the rifle off of her right shoulder, then walked forward and held it out towards Mr. Whitaker.

"Here is your rifle, Mr. Whitaker." Lucia said to him. He smiled and took it into his hands. He looked it over for a few moments, then set it aside.

"Thank you ladies for finding my rifle for me. That rifle belonged to my father and my grandfather. It's a specially made rifle that cost a lot of money... in fact it was custom-made for my grandfather at considerable expense. But that investment has paid for itself many times over because it doesn't need special ammunition to be able to hurt supernatural targets. That ability's one of the only things that got me out of Silent Cemetery alive... other than me running for my life, that is!" He explained to them why the rifle was so important to him. It was an heirloom weapon that had served three generations of the Whitaker family. It was also endowed with the ability to hurt supernatural targets just like Lucia's handgun Shining Light. It was no wonder Mr. Whitaker wanted it back.

"We're glad to help, Mr. Whitaker." Alicia replied. Mina and Lucia nodded in agreement with Alicia's statement. Mr. Whitaker smiled at them.

"Now, I do believe that I owe you three a reward for your services." He said to the trio. Lucia immediately objected.

"You don't owe me anything, Mr. Whitaker. You didn't hire me for this job. You only hired Alicia and Mina." Lucia voiced the grounds for her objection. She was not going to take money she did not earn. She had not been hired by him, so she had no right to be paid for the job.

"I see. I appreciate your honesty, Miss Winchester." He said to her. He disappeared inside the house for a moment and came out with two bags of Jewels. He handed Alicia and Mina one bag apiece. They thanked him for the payment.

"Thank you for going to so much trouble to find my rifle. I don't think I'll be traveling to Silent Cemetery ever again. I'm not as fit as I was when I was younger and I was lucky to get away when I dropped the rifle." He told the trio. The trio could sympathize with him. They had had their fill of Silent Cemetery for a while.

"It's no problem, Mr. Whitaker. See you later!" Alicia said and bade him farewell. He smiled and waved goodbye to the trio before stepping back inside and shutting the door. With their job now officially complete the trio could go home and get some sleep. For Alicia and Mina home meant their homes in Magnolia Town. For Lucia home meant the Luminous Rose Guild Hall.

"I'm glad that the job's over. Now let's go home!" Alicia said to her partners.

"Hey Alicia, I hate to ask you this, but do you mind walking with me to my house?" Mina asked Alicia.

"No, Mina. I don't mind at all." Alicia replied. The pair then turned to Lucia.

"Lucia, do you mind walking with us to Mina's house?" Alicia asked the Luminous Rose mage. Lucia shook her head.

"Not at all, Alicia. I'll walk with you two to Mina's house." Lucia replied. Alicia smiled at her.

"I'll lead us there!" Mina offered. When neither Alicia nor Lucia objected the strawberry blonde took the lead and Alicia and Lucia fell in behind her. Together the trio turned around and started the walk to Mina's house.

[Post Word Count: 1,038]
[Total Word Count: 8,796/11,000]

-Outside Mina's house, thirty-five minutes later-

After a fairly lengthy walk through Magnolia Town the trio finally reached Mina's house and had reached it without incident. Mina walked up to the door and reached out to knock on it, but she stopped. She turned around to face Alicia and Lucia one last time before going into her house.

"It's time for me to go home. It's been great traveling with you guys." Mina bade Alicia and Lucia farewell.

"Thanks for helping me to get this job, Alicia." Mina thanked her friend for helping her get hired to find the rifle. Alicia smiled.

"It's no problem, Mina. You were a big help!" Alicia told Mina. Mina smiled and faced Lucia.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Lucia. I'm glad that you were there to help us get through the cemetery!" Mina thanked Lucia for watching over the strawberry blonde while they traveled in Silent Cemetery.

"It was no problem, Mina." Lucia said to her. Mina then turned around and knocked on the door. Seconds later it opened and Mina stepped inside the doorway. She turned around and spoke to them one last time.

"See you later, guys!" Mina told them. She then shut the door to her house, leaving Alicia and Lucia standing outside. The two blondes faced each other.

"Well, now that Mina's made it home safely, it's time for me to go home." Alicia said to Lucia.

"I'll walk with you to your house, Alicia." Lucia said in anticipation of the question that was likely to be asked. Alicia smiled.

"Thanks, Lucia! I'm glad my parents hired you to go with us!" Alicia said. Lucia smiled back at her. Alicia then turned around and began walking towards her house while Lucia followed close behind.

-Outside Alicia's house, thirty minutes later-

After another fairly lengthy walk the duo had reached Alicia's house. It was time for the two blondes to part ways. Alicia approached the door and knocked on it. Within seconds it opened and Mr. Gardner stood in the doorway.

"Hello, Alicia! I see that you made it back from your job safely!" He greeted his daughter. Alicia smiled and held up the bag of money she had gotten from Mr. Whitaker as the reward.

"I sure did and it was thanks to Mina and Lucia!" Alicia said to her father. The man turned to face Lucia and smiled at her.

"Thank you for going with my daughter and making sure that she and her friend made it home safely. That means a lot to us." Mr. Gardner told Lucia.

"It was no problem, Mr. Gardner. I'm glad that I could help." Lucia told him. She was glad that she could get Alicia and Mina through Silent Cemetery without too much trouble. It had been a bit of a challenge in the beginning because of working with two novice mages whose magic and abilities she did not know about, but by the time the job had ended the trio made a fairly good team. Perhaps the trio would work together again some day.

"I'm feeling pretty tired, so I'm gonna go sleep now. See you later, Lucia! And thanks again for going on the job with Mina and me!" Alicia bade Lucia farewell and disappeared into the house. Lucia waved goodbye and then faced Mr. Gardner.

"It's time that I get going as well, Mr. Gardner." Lucia said to him. He smiled and waved at her.

"Thanks again for your help, Miss Winchester." He thanked her for her efforts in keeping his daughter safe. He then shut the door, leaving Lucia standing outside. Now that Alicia had made it home safely it was time for Lucia to head home herself. That meant a long walk back to Luminous Rose Guild Hall. It was going to be quite a hike, so she had better get going.

Lucia turned around and started retracing her steps towards the outskirts of Magnolia Town. Once there she would pause for a few minutes to figure out whether she wanted to press on to Luminous Rose Guild Hall or give in to fatigue and find a hotel to stay in for the day, then set out for Luminous Rose Guild Hall the next day. One half of her wanted to stop and rest for the day, but the other half wanted to keep traveling until she reached home.

Lucia had taken five steps forwards when she wobbled so badly that she almost fell onto her face. That told her that she needed to just stay in Magnolia Town for the day instead of risking the trip back to the guild hall. Lucia stayed still for a few moments to recover from the near-fall and to regain her strength before pursuing her new goal, which was to go find a hotel room to rent. Once she was sure that she was not going to fall on her face when she started walking Lucia began to look for a local to ask about local hotels.

[Post Word Count: 838]
[Total Word Count: 9,634/11,000]

-Two hours later, Room 450, Magnolia Hotel-

Once Lucia had regained the strength to walk in a straight line without falling on her face she started asking around about local hotels. While asking around she encountered a friendly local who not only told her about a place called Magnolia Hotel, which was located in a decent part of town, but also actually went out of their way to guide the Luminous Rose mage there. Once the two parted ways Lucia  walked into the lobby of Magnolia Inn. She rented a room in the hotel for the day, then staggered into the elevator that led to the fourth floor where her room was located.

After swiping the keycard in the card reader and staggering into the room Lucia mustered just enough strength to shut the door behind her and walk over to the bed, then take off her boots and set them in front of the nightstand to the right of the head of the bed. Lucia then put the keycard on the stand, took off her backpack and propped it against her right boot, then sat on the right edge of the bed and looked around the room.

It was a lot like the hotel room she used to stay in back when she was a Guildless mage living in Talonia. It had a bed on the right side of the room, a nightstand located next to the head of the bed, a flat-screen television on a stand positioned against the back wall of the room, and it had a walk-in bathroom just past the room door that was small but serviceable. Lucia did not need a luxury hotel suite because she was not planning on a lengthy stay in Magnolia Town. This room was perfect for her needs.

She swung her feet around to the foot of the bed, then lay on her back and looked at the ceiling. Lucia could not help but to be amused when she saw that the room even had the same "popcorn ceiling" as the hotel room in Talonia. After noting that amusing similarity to where she used to live before joining Luminous Rose Lucia settled down and did not take very long to go to sleep.

-Magnolia Hotel, Room 450, ten hours later-

Lucia woke up from her long slumber and sat on the edge of her bed, then put her feet on the floor. She felt a lot better now than she had when she had first entered Magnolia Hotel. She was not sure if it was day or night any more, so she stood up, slowly bent down and picked up her backpack, then turned around and set it on the bed. She opened it and fished out her iLac, then swiped on the screen of the device and looked at the time.

It was late afternoon.

Now that she knew what time it was Lucia set the iLac on her bed, then grabbed the backpack and set it back on the floor to the right of her boots. Lucia looked at the room door and thought about what she wanted to do from here. She wanted food, but she was not sure what options she had. Maybe the hotel had some kind of food on premises, but if she could not find anything here she could always go to a local restaurant and eat there.

Having made her plans, Lucia took off the holster of Shining Light and put both it and the handgun in her backpack. She did not want to alarm the other patrons by walking around with a Holy handgun on her right hip. She zipped the backpack closed and grabbed her keycard, then left the room to go see what she could find to eat at the hotel.

-Room 450, twenty minutes later-

Lucia returned with not much to show for her efforts except for a styrofoam container of salad that had set out on the salad bar for a few hours, a bottle of water from a vending machine in the lobby, and a white plastic fork and knife. Right now Lucia did not care that it was not gourmet fare. As long as it had not been sitting out for the past week and the lettuce was not wilting she could live with it. Lacking a proper table to sit at, Lucia set the bottle of water on the nightstand and set the container on the right side of the bed.

She opened the container and saw the salad sitting in it. Somehow it looked even less appetizing now than it did at the salad bar. That was what she got for sleeping through the main meal time... she had to make do with whatever was left over, which was not a whole lot. At least she had something to eat.

Lucia grabbed her plastic fork and knife and began to eat the salad, doing her best not to make a mess on either the bed or the floor. Eating a salad with a fork and knife while sitting on a bed was going to be tricky, but Lucia felt that she could pull it off without making a mess everywhere.

[Post Word Count: 868]
[Total Word Count: 10,502/11,000]

-Magnolia Town, the next morning, 11:00 A.M.-

Having slept for a good amount of time before checking out of her room, Lucia was now on her way out of town. She was going to make the trip back to Luminous Rose Guild Hall and see what was available on the job board. But first she had to get there, which was going to take some time. But before she left town she was going to visit a local coffee shop to get a large cup of coffee for the road.

Magnolia Hotel was a good place to spend the night, but its coffee was nothing to write home about. She had drank a cup before leaving and it was passable, but it did not leave Lucia feeling like she had satisfied her coffee fix. She would need to search elsewhere for a better cup of coffee. Perhaps a local coffee shop named Magnolia Coffee would have the kind of coffee she was after.

-Inside Magnolia Coffee, twenty minutes later-

After asking around it turned out that Magnolia Coffee was located less than thirty minutes from Magnolia Hotel. Another friendly local had come to Lucia's aid and gave her detailed instructions on how to get to the coffee shop. Now Lucia was standing inside Magnolia Coffee, which was a clean and modern medium-sized coffee shop with all of the features one could expect from an establishment of its kind.

As one walked in there were seating areas to the left and to the right that had square tables on the edges of the seating area next to the windows and small circular tables on the inside. There were no white pod chairs like there were in Capital Coffee, but that was OK. Lucia was going to get her coffee to go.

The counter where customers placed their order was a wooden one with the shop name in orange letters emblazoned on the front of it and behind the counter was a large list of what the shop offered. It featured a good variety of coffee types and several additions that one could make to their coffee to make it to their liking. Lucia glanced at the list and after a few moments of looking saw that double espressos were on the menu.

Perfect.

Having decided what she was going to order, Lucia got in line behind five other people who were her age and patiently waited her turn to order. It took roughly thirty-five minutes for everyone in front of her to order because a couple of first-time customers did not know exactly what they wanted and changed their minds once or twice before finally placing an order. Once it was her turn to order Lucia did not have that problem. She ordered a large double espresso to go and paid for it, then waited off to the side for her order to be brought to her.

Within ten minutes of ordering the double espresso Lucia received it from a young female employee who had brought it to her and thanked her for choosing Magnolia Coffee. Lucia thanked the employee and took a sip from her coffee in its white styrofoam cup with the shop name printed on it in orange letters. The double espresso was exactly what Lucia was looking for. She made a mental note to return to this place in the future whenever she needed a coffee fix.

Now that she had a large double espresso for the road Lucia was ready to begin the return trip to Luminous Rose Guild Hall. She left Magnolia Coffee and started the long and winding road back to the guild hall. It was a good thing that she had ordered a large beverage because she would need every drop of it to fuel her trip back to the guild hall.

Maybe she should look into acquiring a vehicle of some kind so that she did not have to walk everywhere she went. That would have to wait, though. Lucia needed to save up enough money to afford one and then she would need to shop around and find the right vehicle for her needs instead of buying the first thing she saw. For the time being she would continue to walk, a method of transportation which was free. All she had to do was invest time and effort to get to her destination, which was great when she was not in a hurry. But when time was of the essence, traveling by foot might not be the best way to go.

Lucia would solve her transportation problem one day. When she saved up enough money to afford a vehicle she would look for one then. Right now she needed to take things one step at a time and focus on getting back to the guild hall, then looking for another job.

[Post Word Count: 811]
[Total Word Count: 11,313/11,000]