Cold Weather, Warm Armor

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 30, Post 740

-Silent Glaciers, 10:00 A.M.-

Leona had arrived in Silent Glaciers roughly ten minutes ago and she made certain to dress for the weather. She was clad in her white camouflage winter clothing with gloves to cover her hands and a white balaclava to cover her face plus polarized snow goggles to shield her eyes from the sunlight reflecting off of the snow. She also wore her new Arctic Armor, which was a white cuirass with a backplate to which a special backpack was attached. The backpack contained the power supply for the armor and also had a spacious compartment in which to carry items in like a normal backpack. Rounding out her gear was the Ranger Laser Rifle slung on her right shoulder and Ses Revanche concealed in her right boot.

The Arctic Armor was doing a good job of keeping Leona warm despite the climate. The chestplate had manual controls on them in case the automatic setting either provided insufficient heat or was simply not to her liking, but right now Leona had no need to adjust the heat manually. One of the few shortcomings of the armor was that it did not have pauldrons, but that was a minor shortcoming considering that the lack of pauldrons allowed Leona to raise her arms above her head without any trouble whatsoever. Whether being able to raise her arms above her head was worth the loss of protection for her shoulders remained to be seen.

Speaking of her armor and the weather, Leona had come to Silent Glaciers to test the Arctic Armor. This was one of the best places to test it because it was cold enough to require the armor's heating ability and there was plenty of space in which to travel and get accustomed to the armor's fit. Even though it was custom-made for her Leona still needed to get used to how it fit on her before doing any serious traveling with it. The armor's heating ability was certain to be put to the test in this area.

Leona walked through the snow towards the frozen delta a short distance in front of the cave and saw the cold river that separated her from the delta. The water was flowing fairly fast and was approximately waist-deep, which would be bad news for Leona should she go into the water. The Wizard Saint was not stymied by the problem for very long. Leona raised her arms to the sky and called upon one of her summons.

"SKY CHAMPION RAFALE!" Leona called out. Within seconds the summon arrived and landed beside her.

"What did you need?" Sky Champion Rafale asked Leona.

"I need to get across this river. I'd like you to fly me across, please." Leona replied, requesting a lift from the summon. Sky Champion Rafale wordlessly walked behind the Wizard Saint and grabbed her waist, then flew straight up into the air and paused for a moment before flying forward and across the river without any trouble. Once they were well past the river Sky Champion Rafale set her down on the other side.

"Thanks. That'll be all for now." Leona thanked her summon before dispelling him. He waved goodbye as he vanished into thin air. Now that Leona was across the river she could focus on traveling deeper into Silent Glaciers, but she had better be careful not to get lost. To minimize the chances of getting lost Leona would need to mentally make notes about where she had been and make note of any landmarks she passed by on her way deeper into Silent Glaciers.

Speaking of landmarks, Leona walked towards the cave a short distance from the delta and stopped in front of it once she had reached it. She turned around and looked out over the delta. Just like the last time she had seen it the delta was filled with clear and beautiful water that flowed slowly, a sight that was mesmerizing to the Wizard Saint from Desierto. Just like last time Leona found herself staring at it for longer than she had intended, but she did not mind.

This was one of those sights that never got old.

Besides, she had no official time limit since she was here on a personal errand, not a job. She could stand here and look at the delta all day if she wanted. However, that was not why she was here, so the Wizard Saint forced herself to turn right and begin walking into the snowy region.

She would need to observe her surroundings for any landmarks she could use as a reference to find her way out once she was finished with her errand. Right now it was daylight, which made navigation fairly easy. Ideally Leona would be out of here by nightfall, but her natural night vision ability gave her the ability to see even if it was nighttime. That meant that while travel at night would be difficult it would not be impossible.

Leona would cross that bridge if it came. Right now she needed to focus on her task, so she kept moving forward while looking for landmarks. So far her new Arctic Armor was keeping her warm... the automatic heat setting was more than sufficient to keep her comfortable. She would see if that was still the case when she moved deeper into Silent Glaciers.

[Post Word Count: 896]
[Total Word Count: 896/7,000]

-Deeper into Silent Glaciers, thirty-five minutes later-

Leona had long since left the delta behind and had proceeded further into Silent Glaciers, but she soon realized something. Everywhere she looked she saw snowy terrain with no distinctive features that could pass as landmarks. Leona stopped where she was and put her hands on her hips while she began to think about what to do from here. As she thought about her situation a thought began to form and almost immediately began to assert itself.

Maybe coming here had been a mistake.

She had only been to Silent Glaciers only once before and that occasion was a few years ago, so she was not very familiar with the area. However, it was safer to come to an area she had some familiarity with instead of going somewhere she had no knowledge of because there was a chance she could find her way out of Silent Glaciers. She might not have that luxury in another area. Leona frowned as another thought hit her.

Maybe she should have tested the Arctic Armor in the Phoenix Mountains.

The Phoenix Mountains was familiar territory to her and she could find her way around there a lot easier than she could in Silent Glaciers. Leona was disappointed with herself for doing something so stupid. She should have known better than to trot off to unfamiliar territory just to test a suit of armor. Oh well. She was not too deep into Silent Glaciers, so there was still time to turn back and head to the Phoenix Mountains for the test.

With that Leona turned around and followed the trail of footprints she had left. The wind was picking up and starting to erase the tracks by blowing loose snow over them, so she had better keep going while the trail was still present. While she had the approximate direction she needed to travel in order to find her way back to her starting point, she would rather have the convenience of being able to follow the trail instead of having to do guesswork and possibly wandering off in the wrong direction.

-Silent Glaciers, forty minutes later-

Leona had followed the trail back to the area that was very close to her starting point. She could see the delta off in the distance, so she was on the right track. All Leona had to do was cross the river, then keep putting one foot in front of the other until she got out of here. That train of thought was derailed when she thought she heard screaming in the distance.

The Wizard Saint paused in place and listened out for it again. The wind was picking up, so there was a possibility that she might just be hearing things. Leona listened carefully for the screaming and soon heard it again. It was coming some distance from the left... she could not pinpoint the exact location, but she knew for certain that it was coming from her left. Leona looked that way and did not see anything, so she faced forward again and had just taken two steps forward when she heard the sound a third time.

She could brush off hearing the sounds the first two times as a coincidence or as the product of an overactive mind, but hearing it a third time compelled Leona to follow the sound to its source. She turned towards the approximate source of the sound and began to move towards it, taking the Ranger Laser Rifle off of her shoulder and holding the weapon in her hands in case she was heading towards a dangerous situation. Leona kept walking and as she walked a cave came into view. She kept her eyes on the cave and kept her ears open for the sound of screaming.

Leona was not sure what to expect once she reached the cave, so she had a weapon at the ready. If she got there and it turned out all she heard was the wind all she would have lost was time, which was something that she had in abundance considering that she was on a personal errand instead of a job. If she did hear screaming and happened to find someone in distress she would be in a position to save the day. Either way Leona had nothing to lose by going to investigate the source of the noise.

[Post Word Count: 734]
[Total Word Count: 1,630/7,000]

-In front of the cave-

After a brief walk Leona stood two meters away from the cave entrance with her Ranger Laser Rifle at the ready in case there was danger lurking within the cave. She peered into the darkness and listened out for the screaming that sounded like it had come from the direction of the cave, if not from within the cave itself. Leona waited in silence for the screaming to sound again, but after a few minutes of waiting the only sound she had heard was the wind howling.

The Wizard Saint was not sure whether to take a chance and go in the cave or not. On one hand, the screaming sound could have just been the wind. On the other hand, if someone was in danger, she did not want to leave them behind if they could be saved. Not wanting to charge headlong into danger like she tended to do in the past, Leona hesitated for several moments before making her decision.

She would go inside the cave and see if anything was in there.

With her mind made up, Leona took a deep breath before walking into the cave with her weapon at the ready.

-Inside the cave-

Leona entered the cave and paused for a few moments to let her natural night vision ability take effect before she went any further. Once it took effect she looked around to find that she was now inside a tunnel that had a ceiling that was about eight feet high and was wide enough to accommodate three people walking side-by-side. She was surprised by how spacious it was, but she did not have time to admire it. She began walking and seven meters later reached a point where the tunnel curved to the right. Leona followed the curve and soon arrived at a dead end in the form of a cavern that had the same dimensions as the entrance to the cave.

Leona looked around her and saw nothing interesting. There were no signs of humans having ever been here. It was just an empty cave and what she thought was screaming was just the wind blowing.

Having nothing to show for her efforts, the Wizard Saint turned around and began to retrace her steps out of the cave while feeling more than a little foolish. She had expected to find someone in danger, but there was no one in here. At least she had made the effort to check out the source of the sound, so while she felt foolish she could leave with a clear conscience knowing that she had not left behind anyone who was in danger.

-Outside the cave, seven minutes later-

Leona emerged from the cave and stepped out into a cold wind that was starting to pick up, but her Arctic Armor continued to do its job and keep her warm despite the slight but noticeable decrease in temperature brought about by the wind chill. The Wizard Saint turned left and almost immediately spotted the delta that was the most prominent landmark in the area. She needed to go in that direction and cross the river again before she could start the trip out of Silent Glaciers and go back to the Phoenix Mountains for a test of the armor in more familiar territory. Since there was no danger Leona slung the Ranger Laser Rifle back onto her right shoulder before walking towards the delta.

The Wizard Saint walked through the area and listened out for the screaming again but did not hear it. By this point Leona was convinced that the wind was to blame for what she had heard. By the time she reached the delta she heard the screaming sound yet again and immediately stopped in place, then looked all around her to be absolutely certain that no one was in need of rescue. She looked all around her and saw no one in the area, so there was only one logical conclusion to make.

It was the wind.

Since there was no time limit for this errand and there was plenty of daylight left the Wizard Saint allowed herself to look at the delta for a few minutes. Leona looked forward at the water again and marveled at how clear and beautiful it was. While she looked at it she began to think.

Leona was not sure whether she should stick to her original goal of testing the Arctic Armor in Silent Glaciers or go to the Phoenix Mountains to do so on familiar ground. Each option had its pros and cons and she needed to carefully weigh them before committing to either course of action. She had already wavered once and she did not want to waver a second time.

[Post Word Count: 796]
[Total Word Count: 2,426/7,000]

Having looked at the cold and clear water a lot longer than she should have, Leona had to make a decision soon. She had weighed the pros and cons of each approach and was finally about to pick a course of action when she heard screaming yet again. By this point Leona was certain that it was just the wind picking up. She had looked all around her and did not see anyone, so why was she hearing that noise?

Leona looked to her left and saw someone walking towards her with their arms crossed and rubbing their hands against their arms in an effort to stay warm. Leona blinked. That person was not there several minutes ago. She highly doubted that the newcomer was the source of the screaming.

Wherever they had come from, they were here now.

The stranger was a young blonde woman about Leona's height wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt with blue shorts and white tennis shoes. The young woman's most distinctive feature was her hairstyle, which was done in twintails. Leona saw the other blonde walk towards her while rubbing her hands on her arms and muttering something that the Wizard Saint did not understand.

Leona turned to face the stranger and began to walk towards them. The stranger saw Leona coming and screamed loudly while putting her arms out in front of her to protect herself. Leona sighed as she approached the stranger, who made no attempt to flee from the approaching Wizard Saint.

"DON'T GET NEAR ME, GHOST!" The young woman shrieked as Leona stopped in front of her. Now the Wizard Saint comprehended why the stranger was acting the way she did. She thought that Leona was a ghost due to her white camouflage clothing, white, balaclava, and white Arctic Armor. However, Leona was not sure how she could be confused for a ghost while wearing polarized snow goggles and carrying the Ranger Laser Rifle.

"GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" The young woman shrieked at Leona. The Wizard Saint sighed and took off her polarized snow goggles, then took off her white balaclava to show her face to the young woman. When the young woman saw the Wizard Saint's face she realized that she was not dealing with a ghost after all.

"OH! IT'S LEENA JARNAFIELD!" The young woman said in recognition and lowered her arms. She then hugged herself for warmth while Leona blinked. That was a total butchering of the Wizard Saint's name, but Leona let it slide. Saving the young woman's life was a lot more important than how Leona's name was pronounced.

"Yes, it's me, Leona Jarnefeldt. You look pretty cold." Leona confirmed her identity and spoke to the young woman, noting that the other blonde looked to be cold. She nodded feebly.

"Yeah. I'm cold. Really c-cold." She confirmed. Leona tried to think of a way to keep the young woman warm long enough to get her to a warmer climate. It did not take the Wizard Saint long for her to come up with an idea. She set her snow goggles and balaclava on the ground to free up her hands for what was to come next.

Leona deactivated the Arctic Armor and took it off, then set it on the ground. She took off her coat and gave it to the stranger. Fortunately Leona was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt underneath the jacket. While she was colder without the jacket, the Arctic Armor was more than enough to compensate for taking off the jacket.

"W-what's this?" The young woman asked Leona.

"It's my jacket. Put it on and it should keep you warm until we get to some place warmer." Leona informed the stranger. Within seconds of the explanation the young woman put the jacket on and zipped it up. The Wizard Saint then put her Arctic Armor back on and activated it. She then grabbed her snow goggles and balaclava off the ground and put the balaclava back on to protect her face from the biting cold.

"T-thanks. I-I'm Amanda Smith." The young woman introduced herself to the Wizard Saint.

"How did you get all the way out here, Amanda?" Leona asked the other blonde.

"W-well, I was on the way t-to R-rose Garden, but I took a wrong t-turn. I turned too s-soon a little past R-river Village." Amanda explained how she ended up in Silent Glaciers. Leona wondered how someone could make such a mistake in navigation. Maybe Amanda had gotten distracted on the way to Rose Garden.

"I have a really bad s-sense of direction." Amanda added an explanation of how she could make a mistake of this magnitude. Leona let the remark pass without comment. Instead she changed the subject.

"OK Amanda, are you ready to leave this place and go somewhere warmer?" Leona asked the other blonde. Amanda nodded before rubbing her hands together.

"I'm r-r-ready. J-just lead the way." Amanda replied.

"All right then. I'll get us out of here. Follow me." Leona said. She then started walking towards the river and Amanda followed close behind.

[Post Word Count: 848]
[Total Word Count: 3,274/7,000]

-Magnolia Town, outside the Smith residence, five hours later-

It was mid-afternoon when the blonde duo arrived outside the Smith residence after completing the trip from Silent Glaciers to Magnolia Town. After getting across the river thanks to the help of Sky Champion Rafale the pair had walked the rest of the distance until they were just outside Silent Glaciers. From there Leona summoned Winged Lion and the pair flew to the outskirts of Magnolia Town. Once they had landed on the outskirts Leona dispelled Winged Lion, took off her white balaclava and snow goggles, and turned off the heating system of the Arctic Armor... now that she was out of Silent Glaciers she had no need for a face covering or heated armor.

Once she had taken off and put away the balaclava and snow goggles in her backpack the pair finally walked into Magnolia Town proper. With the toughest part of the trip behind them the last thing left to do was going to Amanda's house. Amanda led Leona through Magnolia Town and managed to guide them to her house without getting lost.

Approximately an hour after landing the pair were standing outside the house and taking a few moments to recover from their trip. The rescue mission was almost over... all that remained to be done was for Amanda to go inside her house and the unexpected rescue mission would be finished. Amanda knocked on the door and turned to face Leona.

"Thanks for getting me out of Silent Glaciers safely, Leona." Amanda thanked the Wizard Saint for her help and said her name correctly this time. The mage chalked up the earlier butchering of her name to Amanda being in the cold and not being able to think clearly. Besides, Leona had been called worse names before.

"It's no problem, Amanda." Leona assured the other blonde. Amanda had a look of realization on her face and unzipped the jacket she was wearing, then took it off and handed it back to Leona.

"And thanks for loaning me your jacket. It helped a lot!" Amanda thanked the Wizard Saint for loaning her the jacket back in Silent Glaciers. Leona accepted it and slung it across her right shoulder.

"I'm glad that I wasn't too late to help." Leona replied. Leona deliberately omitted the part about hearing screaming in the area because Amanda did not need to know that. Besides, admitting that might make Leona look like her mental state was not the best.

"You were in the right place at the right time, Leona." Amanda said. The door opened behind her and in the doorway stood a young brown-haired woman wearing an orange t-shirt and blue jeans with no shoes. She looked at Amanda, then looked at Leona.

"Um, Amanda... why is that blonde standing here beside you?" The brown-haired woman asked Amanda. The twintailed blonde sighed.

"I got lost again. I wanted to go to Rose Garden, but I turned right just past River Village and kept going until I wound up in Silent Glaciers." Amanda explained to the brunette how Leona ended up standing beside her. The brunette blinked and stared for a moment, then gave a small smile.

"You get lost in the strangest places, Amanda. I'm just glad that you made it back safely thanks to that young woman. By the way, who is she?" The brunette asked Amanda. The twintailed blonde smiled.

"You're looking at Leona Jarnefeldt, the Wizard Saint of Courage!" Amanda proudly introduced her rescuer to the brunette. Amanda then faced Leona.

"Leona, meet my older sister Meredith!" Amanda introduced Leona to the brunette. Once the brunette realized who she was looking at she was at a loss for words and took a minute to finally come up with something to say.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Wizard Saint!" Meredith said to Leona. Leona waved at the brunette with her right hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Meredith." Leona calmly replied. Amanda smiled at both Meredith and Leona.

"I'm glad to be out of Silent Glaciers. It's way too cold there for my liking!" Amanda said to Meredith and Leona. Meredith put her hands on her hips.

"I'm glad you're out of there too, Amanda. Who knows what would have happened if the Wizard Saint hadn't been there to help you?" Meredith asked her sister a rhetorical question. Amanda sighed.

"I know, I know. I need to learn to read a map better. That and don't forget to take my iLac with me when I go somewhere." Amanda admitted.

"And don't forget to charge your iLac either. You have a bad habit of forgetting to charge your iLac." Meredith chimed in. Amanda sighed again.

"That too. iLacs work better when you have them with you and they're fully charged." Amanda admitted sheepishly. Meredith took her hands off of her hips.

"I won't keep beating you over the head with your mistakes, Amanda. I think I've made my point." Meredith said before ending the lecture she had been giving her sister about carrying her iLac with her and making sure that the device was fully charged before leaving home. Amanda turned to Leona and smiled.

"It's been a long trip from Silent Glaciers to Magnolia Town. Would you like to come inside our home and rest for a moment, Leona?" Amanda offered Leona.

[Post Word Count: 894]
[Total Word Count: 4,168/7,000]

Leona thought about the offer for a moment before making her decision. Part of her wanted to rest here awhile, but the other part of her wanted to get back to the guild hall and rest there. After a few moments of thought she finally announced her decision.

"No thanks. I'll just get going back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall." Leona informed the Smith siblings as politely as she could. She had wanted to test the Arctic Armor in the Phoenix Mountains, but she decided against it. The Wizard Saint had had enough adventure for one day. Besides, she had already tested the armor in Silent Glaciers and it had kept her warm in the cold climate. When she had loaned her jacket to Amanda the armor had kept her torso warm without much difficulty.

While her arms had been a bit cold without her jacket to cover them, Leona's torso remained warm. The temporary loss of her jacket was a minor inconvenience thanks to the Arctic Armor, which more than made up the difference in the loss of protection on her torso. Those were good enough results for one day. She could always do more testing of the Arctic Armor another day.

"All right then, Leona. We won't hold you up any longer. Thanks for rescuing me!" Amanda said to Leona. The twintailed blonde then turned around and walked towards her house while Meredith got out of the way to let her sister in. Amanda disappeared into the house and Meredith faced Leona.

"Thanks for rescuing Amanda for me, Leona. She gets lost easily and she gets lost frequently, but she's my sister. I don't want her to get lost and get hurt or worse." Meredith thanked Leona for rescuing her younger sister from Silent Glaciers.

"I'm glad that I was able to help Amanda." Leona said to Meredith. While the Wizard Saint was not convinced that fate had kept her from deciding to venture deeper into Silent Glaciers several hours ago, her decision to look at the water in the delta put Leona in a position to save Amanda from the unrelenting cold. Had the Wizard Saint decided to travel deeper into Silent Glaciers she might not have been able to save Amanda before the latter got into trouble. Amanda was not dressed for travel in Silent Glaciers, so it would have only been a matter of time before the lost blonde started coming down with hypothermia.

"Oh, you certainly helped Amanda. I don't think she would have been able to get out of there on her own. She probably would have gotten even more lost trying to find her way out." Meredith added. Leona let the remark pass without comment.

"Well, I won't hold you up any longer. Good luck out there!" Meredith bade Leona farewell before shutting the door. When the door was shut Leona faced left and began to retrace her steps to the town outskirts. With her work here being done there was no need for her to hang around Magnolia Town. She was going back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall to find another way to pass the time.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, three hours later-

Having returned to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and made a beeline to her room to change out of her winter attire, Leona was now wearing her green tank top and green, white, and gold skirt. She doubted that she would have to leave the guild hall for the rest of the day, so her casual outfit would suffice for wear around the guild hall.

However, just because she did not plan on going anywhere else today did not mean that there was nothing to do at the guild hall. She was sure that there was paperwork waiting on the desk in her office that needed to be taken care of. If she did not feel like doing that there was reading more of the book Dr. Taylor had given her a few weeks ago. Or if she did not feel like reading about magical plant ingredients there were other books she could study such as her GED exam study books or her computer programming books.

After weighing her options Leona decided to do the responsible thing and handle the paperwork before pursuing any of her personal projects.

Leona put her socks back on and then got the boots that matched her skirt. She put on the footwear so that she was not walking around the guild hall barefoot. Now that she had dressed to look somewhat decent the Wizard Saint left her room to go to the guild cafe and get some coffee before going to her office to handle the paperwork that was likely waiting on her. Leona almost always make time for coffee before tackling any administrative responsibilities. Unless the paperwork absolutely had to be taken care of right away, this time would be no different.

[Post Word Count: 822]
[Total Word Count: 4,990/7,000]

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Office, three hours and fifty-five minutes later-

As Leona had feared the stack of paperwork left on her desk had been large. It was so large that it had taken her almost four hours to complete, but the herculean task had been completed. For now, anyway. More paperwork would likely arrive on her desk within the next few hours, but unless it pertained to something urgent she would deal with it when she stepped into her office tomorrow.

Leona stood up from her desk, pushed the chair in, and walked out of the room. With her administrative responsibilities complete for the time being, the Wizard Saint had a few hours in which to sleep, read a book, or whatever else she wanted to do before a new day started. Leona would make her decision once she reached her room. Chances were high that she would try to go to sleep instead of trying to do anything else today.

-Leona's Room, four minutes later-

Having returned to her room, Leona walked over to the edge of her bed, sat down on it, and removed her boots and her socks. She set her balled-up socks into her boots and placed the footwear in the space between the head of her bed and her desk. She then sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her desk while trying to decide whether she wanted to try and sleep or try and read the book Dr. Taylor had given her a few weeks ago.

Leona looked at the desk and was seriously considering studying the book for a little while when she felt drowsy. That drowsy feeling decided the matter then and there. Leona knew from experience that she would gain nothing from reading the book when she was tired. Trying to study when she was tired would only be a waste of time and effort.

Deciding to do the smart thing instead of trying to power through the fatigue, Leona chose to call it a day. She swung her feet up onto the foot of the bed and reclined. It did not take the Wizard Saint very long to go to sleep.

-The next morning, 8:00 A.M.-

Leona woke up the next morning feeling like she had just been hit by a bus, but that was nothing new for her. She tended to keep late hours, so that unpleasant feeling was to be expected. She sat up, swung her feet over to the floor, and stood up. Leona already had an idea of what she wanted to do with her day. She planned to walk through the Phoenix Mountains to test the Arctic Armor.

While yesterday's test in Silent Glaciers was a promising start, Leona felt like she needed to take the Arctic Armor through a slightly tougher environment before she decided whether to continue using it or not. It was one thing to walk through flat, snow-covered terrain while wearing the armor. It would be another thing to walk through a cold mountain area while wearing it. Taking it through the Phoenix Mountains should be a sufficient test of the Arctic Armor's abilities to settle the matter once and for all.

Having thus decided what she was going to do today, Leona began to gather her clothing and gear for another walk in the cold. She doubted that she would need her Ranger Laser Rifle, but she would carry it anyway. On the off chance that she encountered trouble she would have a weapon available.

[Post Word Count: 590]
[Total Word Count: 5,580/7,000]

-Outside Leona's room, twenty-five minutes later-

Having geared up for a walk through the Phoenix Mountains, Leona closed her room door behind her and was about to set out when she saw a guild staff member leave her office and shut the door. The Wizard Saint did not need to be a psychic to guess what was waiting on her in her office. There was likely a tall stack of paperwork waiting on her. Deciding to do the responsible thing, Leona postponed her walk through the Phoenix Mountains and headed for her office instead.

-Inside the Guild Master's Office-

Leona opened the office door and saw that her prediction had been accurate. Stacked neatly in the center of her desk was a large stack of paperwork that looked like it needed her immediate attention. The Wizard Saint walked towards her desk while taking off the Arctic Armor and set it in the back left corner behind the desk, then took off the Ranger Laser Rifle and set it in the back right corner behind the desk. She then took off her white camouflage coat and put it on the back of the chair. She was going to be here awhile.

Leona sat down in the chair, moved it forward until her feet were under the desk, and then began to stare down the mountain of paperwork confronting her. She was not sure what all was in it, but there was a whole lot of paper to go through. The paperwork was not going to take care of itself, so Leona had better get started on it.

-The Guild Master's Office, three hours later-

Having dealt with all the paperwork that had been waiting on her desk, Leona gently pushed her chair out from the desk and stood up to push in her chair and gather her belongings when a guild staff member walked in and dropped off a stack of paperwork as large as the one she had just completed, then left the room. Leona sighed.

It looked like she was going to be here for another three hours.

Leona pushed the chair back towards the desk, took a moment to assess the task ahead of her, and moments later got started on it.

-Three hours later-

Leona had finished the second large stack of paperwork and was now ready to do something other than administrative work all day long. Two consecutive three-hour sessions was more than enough for the Wizard Saint's liking. She began to push out her chair to stand up when she remembered what had happened the last time she had assumed her work was over and stopped, then sat in place while watching her office door. She waited a few minutes and watched for it to open, but when it did not Leona pushed her chair out, gathered her Arctic Armor, white camouflage jacket, and Ranger Laser Rifle, and left the office before she had to do still more paperwork.

-Outside the Guild Master's Office-

Leona shut the door to the Guild Master's office behind her and looked around for any guild staff members who might be ferrying yet another large stack of papers her way. When she did not see any she quickly walked to her room in order to have some place to put her gear back on in peace. Leona quickly opened her room door and stepped inside, then shut the door.

-Inside Leona's Room-

Leona walked over to her bed and set down the white winter camouflage jacket, the Arctic Armor, and Ranger Laser Rifle. She then grabbed the jacket and put it on, then zipped it up. Next came the Arctic Armor. Finally came the Ranger Laser Rifle, which she slung onto her right shoulder.

Now fully dressed and ready for her trip, Leona left her room to go on a walk around the Phoenix Mountains.

-Outside Leona's Room-

Wearing the Arctic Armor and other gear she would need, Leona left the comfort of her room to begin her long-delayed trip. Leona had just taken three steps forward when she looked down the hall at her office and saw a guild staff member exiting the office. The Wizard Saint took a deep breath and hesitated for a moment.

She was not looking forward to spending most of the day in the office. Leona wanted to test the Arctic Armor in the Phoenix Mountains so that she could get an idea of how well it fit her and how it performed on long trips through cold terrain. She was not going to be able to test the armor in her office.

Shoving aside what she wanted to do, Leona took a deep breath and headed for her office to do the responsible thing. It looked like she would have to save another test of the Arctic Armor for another day.

[Post Word Count: 808]
[Total Word Count: 6,388/7,000]

-The Guild Master's Office, nine hours later-

Earlier today Leona had hoped that she would not have to endure another two three-hour sessions of administrative work back-to-back. In a manner of speaking, she did not have to go through two three-hour sessions. She had had to endure three three-hour sessions. In a way her wish had come true... just not in the way she had anticipated.

Finally finished with her paperwork for the day, Leona hesitated to get up from her desk in case yet another stack was coming her way. Leona held her breath and waited for several minutes while watching the door for the arrival of guild staff. After roughly seven minutes of waiting the Wizard Saint hurriedly pushed her chair out, grabbed all of her gear, and hurried out of the room before any more stacks of papers were deposited on her desk.

-Leona's Room-

Shutting her room door behind her, Leona walked over to her bed and set down the Arctic Armor, her white camouflage jacket, and Ranger Laser Rifle. She then took off her boots and set them in the space between her bed and her desk. She took off her socks and balled them up, then crammed them into her boots. She then changed out of her winter camouflage outfit and into her green tank top and green, white, and gold skirt. Leona did not bother putting on socks and boots.

Once changed into what passed for a casual outfit with her Leona walked out of her room to go to the guild cafe and get some coffee to celebrate her small victory. She had endured a marathon session of handling paperwork without finding an excuse to get up and leave or otherwise find a way to postpone her duties. In her opinion that deserved a reward of some sort, so why not get some coffee?

Leona immediately left her room to go get a cup of coffee or two as a celebration of her ability to handle a lot of paperwork without trying to find a way to get out of it.

-The guild cafe, six minutes later-

Sitting at her usual table in the cafe, Leona sipped on her cup of coffee and kept an eye out for any guild staff members looking for her. She was the only one in the guild cafe other than the employees and she was wearing an eye-catching green tank top, so it was not like she was blending in. If guild staff wanted to find her they would be able to find her easily.

Leona sipped on her coffee as she silently lamented the lost opportunity to give the Arctic Armor a real workout in the Phoenix Mountains. She had wanted to do that while her enthusiasm for the project was at its peak, but circumstances had prevented her from doing what she wanted to do today. She would have much rather walked through the Phoenix Mountains than deal with all the paperwork she had had to do today.

The Wizard Saint sat her cup of coffee on the table and looked ahead for a moment.

While doing paperwork was boring and did not play to her strengths as a mage, it was a necessary evil. Besides, she was a Guild Mistress and she had obligations to fulfill. One of them was handling any administrative tasks that were her responsibility to handle.

Leona picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip from it while continuing to stare straight ahead.

Leona was just glad that this day was over. She was supposed to perform her duties without complaint, but the Wizard Saint wanted something more out of life. She wanted something out of life other than endless responsibility and endless work. Leona blinked when she thought about that last part.

Where did that train of thought come from?

Leona had no idea. She got up from her table, pushed the chair back in, and then made a beeline back to her room. She was going to go to her room and finish her coffee before trying to go to sleep.

-Leona's Room, ten minutes later-

Back in the comfort of her room Leona sat on the edge of her bed and drank the rest of her coffee, which did not take long since she did not have much of it left. Once the cup was empty Leona got up and sat it on the edge of her desk, then sat down on the edge of her bed. She stared at the empty cup for a moment before swinging her feet onto the bed and lying down.

Leona then stared at the ceiling and wondered what she wanted out of life. She briefly recalled the conversation with Masha a few weeks ago and was unable to come up with a solid idea of what she wanted then. A few weeks later and Leona still had no idea what she wanted. Oh well. She would probably find it one day.

With that the Wizard Saint stared at the ceiling until she went to sleep. Maybe she would find an answer some day. Maybe she would never find it. Who knew?

[Post Word Count: 864]
[Total Word Count: 7,252/7,000]