Notebook Recovery

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 38, Post Number 944

-Outside The Haunted Guild, midnight-

Wearing his usual outfit of white t-shirt, olive green cargo pants, and black boots, Leonidas carried a flashlight in his left hand and his Silver Falchion on his left hip as he faced a fairly large building called the Haunted Guild. Tonight he was going to do his first "real" job. Tonight he was going into the Haunted Guild to retrieve a notebook of research left by a so-called paranormal investigator from Magnolia Town named Simon Wright.

Five nights ago Mr. Wright had decided to investigate some rumors of ghost activity in the downstairs library and record his findings. While in there he had encountered something that frightened him so badly the man fled from the library and left his notebook on a wooden table. It was up to Leonidas to go into the basement, find the library, and retrieve the notebook for the client. It promised to be a fairly simple job because Leonidas had brought both a flashlight and a silver weapon and the idea of encountering ghosts was not particularly terrifying to him, but he was still going to be careful. He had been given permission to flee the building and return to Mr. Wright without the notebook and without penalty if he felt that he was in danger of being overwhelmed by any spirits he encountered, but Leonidas did not plan on leaving the Haunted Guild without the notebook.

He was not going to disappoint the client who had given him his first "real" job.

After mentally reviewing the details of the job Leonidas heard a loud scream and looked around for its source while putting his right hand on the grip of his Silver Falchion. He looked around for a few minutes but could not locate the source of the sound. Maybe he was just hearing things or maybe he actually heard a scream... he had no way of knowing for certain. Leonidas eventually gave up on finding where the sound had come from and started walking towards the Haunted Guild. He made his way up the front steps and opened the door with his right hand, then entered the building.

-Inside Haunted Guild, the first floor-

After closing the door behind him Leonidas drew the Silver Falchion and looked in front of him for any ghosts who might be waiting for visitors. He did not see any right away, but he did see a pale blue orb of light float down the hallway in front of him and go right. Leonidas remained in place and waited to see if he could see the orb again but after a few minutes decided to move on. He was getting paid to retrieve a notebook, not look at pretty blue floating orbs.

Leonidas looked ahead of him and saw a staircase a short distance to his left. The stairs led down into the basement, which was where he needed to go. He slowly walked forward until he reached the stairs, then turned on his flashlight and began to carefully go down them while shining his flashlight on the stairs to light the way.

-At the bottom of the stairs, the basement-

Leonidas reached the bottom of the stairs and moved his flashlight around, cutting through the darkness with each motion. After his initial sweep failed to turn up ghosts he focused his flashlight ahead of him and saw a few metal doors lying on the floor several meters ahead of him. He wondered what had caused them to end up there when his thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a pale blue humanoid figure in the distance. Leonidas tightened his grip on his Silver Falchion and peered into the gloom, keeping an eye on the figure and looking for any more of them that might be further down the hallway or coming down the basement stairs while he was distracted by the spirit in front of him.

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Leonidas looked to his right and did not see any spirits coming down the stairs towards him, so he began to cautiously move forward with his flashlight in his left hand and his Silver Falchion in his right hand. The pale blue humanoid figure saw him and began to float towards him at a running pace. The blond man continued to walk and when the ghost got within range he suddenly stopped and slashed at the ghost with his weapon. The ghost was cut from the left shoulder to the right hip and screamed before vanishing.

Leonidas had just killed/banished/gotten rid of his first ghost.

Leonidas was surprised by how quickly the "fight" had went. He had expected a prolonged fight where the ghost phased in and out of tangibility and did everything it could to kill him, but he had defeated it in one slash. Either the ghost was that weak or the Silver Falchion was that strong. There was no telling, but he was glad that his weapon could harm ghosts because it had made his purchase of the Silver Falchion worth every Jewel.

Leonidas paused in place and looked all around him for more ghosts who might be heading towards him. He looked behind him and he looked in one of the small rooms that looked like a prison cell to his right, but he did not see any more ghosts. However, he heard the clanking of chains and when he turned his flashlight to the right saw a chain that was hanging from the wall moving back and forth like its end had just been touched by something. Leonidas observed the swinging chain for a few moments before deciding that it was best to move on. He then faced forward again and began walking down the hallway again.

He reached the halfway point of the hall and saw another pale blue humanoid shape up ahead, so he prepared himself for another fight. Leonidas moved slowly as the ghost spotted him and floated towards him at a speed consistent with an average human's running speed. Just like last time he stopped and waited for the ghost to get close to him, then attacked with a left-to-right horizontal slash that cut it across the waist and bisected it. The ghost screamed and disappeared.

Leonidas had just defeated his second ghost.

Again he paused and looked around to make sure that he was not being approached from behind or the sides. Again the coast was clear, so the blond man began moving forward. He walked to the left side of the hallway past one of the metal doors lying on the floor. He paused to look at it and noticed that it was a thick metal door that had no way to open it from the inside. Leonidas heard the sound of rattling chains nearby and decided that it was prudent to keep going, so he looked forward and kept going.

Leonidas reached the end of the hallway without further ghost encounters and turned right. He  used his flashlight to light the way and saw a metal door with a doorknob. Considering where he was and the instructions he was given by Mr. Wright, that had to be the door to the library. Leonidas walked up to the door, then put his flashlight in his left pocket to free up a hand with which to open the door. He put his left hand on the doorknob and opened the door, then went inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

-Inside the next room-

Leonidas found himself standing in a medium-sized library with wall-to-wall bookshelves loaded with books that were much older than he was. In the approximate center of the room was a thick rectangular wooden table made out of dark wood. On that table was both an empty brass candleholder and an open notebook with a pencil lying next to it. Leonidas had just found what he had come for. Suddenly the hair on his arms stood up and he felt very cold.

Something strange was going on here.

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Leonidas ignored the cold feeling and walked over to the notebook lying on the table. He reached for it with his left hand and picked it up, then began to peruse the first page he saw. He saw the name "Simon Wright" at the top of the page and knew that he had found the item he had been hired to retrieve. Besides, it was the only notebook in here. Leonidas gently closed the notebook to protect what was written in it and held it in his left hand and started to turn away from the table when he spotted a ghost materializing in front of him to try and block the door.

He had the presence of mind to slash at the ghost with his Silver Falchion and watched it fall apart from the diagonal slash going from its right shoulder to left hip. It screamed and vanished, leaving Leonidas alone in the library. He doubted that he would be alone for much longer and had gotten what he had come here for, so it was time to get going while the coast was clear. Leonidas walked briskly for the door, then put the notebook under his left arm to free up his left hand to open the door. He opened it and moved through, then closed it behind him.

-In the hallway-

Leonidas awkwardly held the notebook under his arm as he fished the flashlight out of his left pocket and took it into his left hand in order to light the way. Once he was holding it he swept the flashlight in front of him and surveyed the area in front of him. No ghosts were present at the moment, but that did not mean that they were not nearby. Deciding to leave while he still could, Leonidas began walking briskly forward while keeping a watch out for ghosts. He had only made it a quarter of the way down the hallway when he saw another ghost appear in front of him and start floating towards him.

Leonidas waited until it drew closer, then slashed at it with a horizontal left-to-right slash. He cut the specter in half at the hip and watched it scream before disappearing. He swiftly resumed walking towards the stairs that would take him back to the first floor while doing his best to hang onto the notebook wedged under his left arm. As soon as he got back to Capital Crocus he was going to shop for a backpack so that in the future he would not have to carry objects under his left arm.

He reached the halfway point and kept moving towards the exit without stopping for anything. He felt the hair on his arms stand up again and felt the temperature grow suddenly cold. He also heard moaning coming from behind him and turned to face the source. There was a small army of ghosts standing less than twelve meters away and there were too many of them to count, let alone fight. Leonidas put his Silver Falchion back into its scabbard, then transferred the notebook to his right hand so that he did not drop it when he started running.

Once that was done he sprinted towards the stairs as fast as he could go. The beam from the flashlight bobbed up and down as the blond man ran for the stairs and jumped over the metal doors lying on the floor as he reached them. The small ghost army was only three meters behind him and they were closing in fast. After a frantic sprint for the stairs Leonidas reached them and began to jog up them with his pursuers not too far behind.

-Haunted Guild, the first floor-

Leonidas soon emerged from the basement clutching the flashlight and the notebook. No longer having any need for the flashlight, Leonidas turned it off and put it away in his left pocket. He then hurriedly transferred the notebook from his right hand to his left, then began walking towards the front door. He touched the doorknob with his right hand right as he heard moaning coming from behind him. He did not dare to look back as he flung the door open and ran out of it.

-Outside Haunted Guild-

Leonidas shut the door behind him and jumped down the stairs, landing on his feet. He kept running for fifty meters, only stopping when he was absolutely sure that he was not being followed by any ghosts. Only then did Leonidas turn around and look back at the place he had just escaped from. He looked at the Haunted Guild and took a few deep breaths.

The blond man was glad that his brief trip into the Haunted Guild was over. He was certain that he would return to the place on another job, but that would be at a later date. Right now he needed to get back to Magnolia Town and give the notebook to Mr. Wright. With that he turned around and began the long walk to Magnolia Town.

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-Magnolia Town, Simon Wright's house, eight hours later-

It had taken a long time to get to Magnolia Town partially because Leonidas was tired and partially because he was traveling on foot, but after the long trip from the Haunted Guild he was now inside his client's house. He was standing in what might have once been a living room but was now a library/command center/combination of both. Behind him in the left corner was a map tacked to a corkboard that had been marked on with red and black markers and to his right was a couch that had been loaded down with books arranged in haphazard stacks that looked like they were going to collapse at any moment. In front of him was Simon Wright himself, a tall and lanky man with short blond hair wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans with brown sandals.

"Welcome back... um, Leonidas, was it?" Simon greeted the blond man.

"Yes, Mr. Wright. My name's Leonidas." Leonidas replied, leaving off his last name so that the client did not think he was using his relation to his sister Leona to gain an advantage in the interaction.

"You can just call me Simon." Simon said to Leonidas. Leonidas walked forward and handed the client his notebook. Simon took it with both hands, then opened it and began to check it to make sure that his writing had survived the journey. Once he was satisfied that the notebook's contents had survived he smiled at Leonidas.

"Great work, Leonidas. My notebook's in great shape and I can read its contents." Simon pronounced himself satisfied with Leonidas' work. Leonidas was pleased to see that his client had found no problems with his work.

"I don't have anything else I need you to do for me today, Leonidas. In the future I might need your help again, so I'll keep in contact with you." Simon told him. Leonidas was pleased to hear that he might have gained a client who needed him for more than one job.

"Thank you, Simon." Leonidas thanked Simon for the possibility of getting more work in the future. Simon smiled again.

"You're welcome, Leonidas. I'll see you later." Simon said to him. Leonidas waved goodbye with his left hand and turned towards the door. He reached it and opened it with his right hand, then went through it. He gently closed it behind him and began the long trip back to Capital Crocus.

His first "real" job had been quite an experience. Leonidas had "killed" three ghosts and he had possibly gained a client who would call upon him should his services be required again. It had been a good starting adventure, but Leonidas was looking forward to the day that he would be able to go on jobs that were very challenging and very lucrative. He would have to work to get to that point, but one day he would be going on adventures that he could have never dreamed of back home in Desierto.

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