Data Recovery For Mister Burke

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 8, Post Number 189

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's Residence, 5:40 P.M.-

This morning Leona had gathered supplies and taken care of other needs for the next elemental stone search in a location she believed to be Fat Monsterland. She had finally bought some soup bowls so that she no longer had to eat it straight out of the can unless she wanted to for whatever reason. She had also rearranged the wardrobe in the Albatross to achieve a perfect balance of t-shirts, tank tops, and crop tops. Speaking of clothes, a quick shopping trip to Capital Crocus Mall had produced a navy blue tank top, olive green cargo pants, an olive green jacket, and two more pairs of khaki cargo pants for her wardrobe. After all of that the Wizard Saint planned to call it a day and set out for Fat Monsterland tomorrow afternoon, but fate had had different plans.

Around 2:00 P.M. Leona had received a message from her old client Mister Burke that her help was needed with a sensitive matter. She decided to postpone her trip to Fat Monsterland in favor of helping an old client and earning some money in order to get back what she had spent on shopping for clothes and supplies lately. Now she was in the meeting room on the third floor of Mister Burke's residence and was facing him as he stood behind a computer desk. Dressed in the olive green jacket buttoned up over a black tank top and olive green cargo pants with boots, Leona also carried her Scout Laser Pistol and Silver Longsword.

"I will dispense with the pleasantries and get to the point. Some sensitive data was stolen from my company less than a day ago and the tracker on the case containing the data indicated that it was taken to Haunted Castle. I need you to retrieve it." Mister Burke informed Leona of what she had been hired to do.

"Haunted Castle, huh?" Leona asked rhetorically. She suspected that she had been hired to go there because none of Mister Burke's other helpers could go there and stand a chance of returning alive, let alone finding the data they had been sent to retrieve.

"Yes. I suspect the thief took it there because few would dare to go to that location and even fewer would dare to actually enter the castle. That is where you come in." Mister Burke answered the rhetorical question with a confirmation of what she had suspected. Leona was fine with that. She had been looking for an adventure anyway and here was one being handed to her on a silver platter.

"I'll go there right away." Leona informed him that she was accepting the job. He stooped down, opened up a drawer, and pulled something out, then set the object on the desk for Leona to see. It was a small black device reminiscent of a smartwatch.

"Excellent. Here is a tracker for the tracking device that was placed in the case containing the data. It will help you find an approximate location, but be warned that it will not give an exact location in buildings. You will have to do the legwork necessary to retrieve the data." Mister Burke told her what the object was and warned her of its greatest flaw. Leona was not going to complain about the device's shortcoming. Some help was better than no help at all. Leona walked over to it and put it on her left wrist, where it immediately came to life and a green grid flashed on the screen.

"I'll head to Haunted Castle right away." Leona repeated. Mister Burke smiled.

"Excellent. Do be careful, Miss Jarnefeldt. I need not remind you of the dangers of that place." Mister Burke bad her to be careful while searching for the data.

"I'll be careful." Leona assured him. With that she turned and left the meeting room. Once she was out of Mister Burke's home and outside of Shirotsume she would summon Winged Lion and fly to her destination. Winged Lion was how she had gotten here and that was how she was going to get to Haunted Castle.

-Outside Haunted Castle, 8:38 P.M.-

Leona landed ten meters away from Haunted Castle on the back of Winged Lion. She climbed off of its back and dispelled the summon, then faced the tracker on her wrist. There was a red dot on the green grid and it was inside Haunted Castle. She had no idea where exactly in the castle the case containing the data was, but that was what she was getting paid to find out. Leona took a quiet breath and began to walk towards the castle as the night wind picked up, blowing cold air that almost punched through her new jacket.

Leona ignored the cold and walked until she got to the wooden double doors, then opened the right one and went inside. Once she stepped through the door shut behind her, leaving her standing in the castle's foyer.

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[Total Word Count: 834/11,000]

-Inside Haunted Castle-

Standing inside the castle foyer on a literal red carpet with gold borders, Leona looked ahead of her and the first thing she spotted was a large tapestry of an unfamiliar design hanging in front of her... there was a shield that was black and had two swords crossed diagonally behind it. She noticed four words at the bottom woven in black letters and read them silently.

NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT

Leona did not recognize the language the phrase was written in and thus did not understand what the phrase meant. It was prominently displayed on the tapestry, so it must have had some special meaning that she was failing to pick up on. She did not know and was not going to waste time on trying to decipher it when she had work to do.

Leona looked up and noticed that the area was lit by a brass chandelier with actual wax candles burning behind protective globes. She looked towards the tapestry again for a few moments and then looked to the left and to the right. Two paths lay ahead of her and both of them had a red carpet rolled out for her. Leona raised her left wrist and consulted the tracker, which showed her that the red dot was positioned diagonally up and to the right of her current location.

The Wizard Saint took the right path and began to walk down the right hall. As she walked she noticed masterfully made oil paintings hanging in frames that were placed on the wall along both sides of the hall at five-meter intervals, but their quality was not the only thing she noticed about them. She also noticed that all of the paintings had a theme of death.

The first painting she saw featured an hourglass sitting on a wooden table with a human skull to the right of it. The sand in the hourglass was almost all in the bottom except for a few grains that clung to the top half as if not wanting to fall. Despite its grim subject matter Leona found herself impressed enough by the painting to stop and look at it because of how skillfully painted it was. The light of the hall seemed to reflect off of the hourglass in the painting and the grain of wood on the table looked so realistic. After a minute or two Leona had to force herself to move on lest she waste valuable time staring at the artwork.

When Leona resumed her walk she looked up and noticed more brass chandeliers lighting the hall with a gentle glow from multiple candles behind polished glass globes. She looked at more of the paintings and noticed that on the left side of the hall there was a quintet of paintings that started with an infant with pale blonde hair in its crib. The second painting was one of the same infant now as a young child wearing a yellow dress and holding a doll that was wearing a tiny white dress. The third painting was of a young woman with blonde hair and green eyes wearing a white dress and holding a bouquet of flowers while looking towards a young man who also had blond hair and green eyes and was wearing a black suit.

The fourth painting was one of the woman in late middle age holding a young child with blonde hair and green eyes while the husband stood to her right. The sequence ended with a white-haired old woman lying in a bed with people who were presumably her family gathered around her. That was a subject that was too emotional for Leona to think about, so she looked right as she neared the halfway point of the hallway. The next piece of artwork that caught her eye was that of an ominous figure in a black robe standing behind and to the left of a smiling woman in a white dress holding a child in her arms. The figure was reaching out towards the woman's left shoulder with a skeletal hand and was only inches away from touching her.

Leona kept walking and did her best to ignore the rest of the artwork, which was not very cheerful. When she reached the end of the hall she looked at the staircase and noticed one last piece of artwork that was much simpler than the preceding pieces. It was a plain black canvas with a phrase painted in brilliant red letters that captured the ambient light.

MEMENTO MORI

Leona had no idea what that phrase meant, but she got the impression that it was a warning. She promptly headed up the stairs, being careful not to hit her head on the ceiling as she ascended the staircase.

-On the second floor, 8:53 P.M.-

Leona walked out of the stairs and turned right to find herself staring down another hallway that had a split. Again she had a choice between either left or right. Leona raised her left wrist and looked at the tracker for the direction she needed to go in and saw that the red dot was still to the right, so she would continue to head right. She began to walk down the right hall, her footsteps sounding on the bare wooden floor beneath her feet. There was no carpet here to muffle her footsteps, so she would have to be careful because someone or something might hear her.

[Post Word Count: 912]
[Total Word Count: 1,746/11,000]

Leona tried to be as quiet as she could, but the wooden flooring was creaking with every step she took. She had reason to suspect that the choice of wood with no carpet to cover it was intentional, but there was nothing she could do about it. Anyone or anything within earshot would know that someone was heading down the hall, but she was ready for a fight if one came her way. Leona put her hand on the grip of the Silver Longsword in its scabbard on her left hip and kept moving down the hall, which had several disruptions in the light coat of dust that indicated that artwork once hung on the walls.

What happened to the paintings?

Were they the ones she had seen in the hall on the first floor?

Leona kept going and soon reached the halfway point. It was then that she felt the sensation that someone was watching her. The Wizard Saint paused in place and looked behind her to make sure that she was not being followed. She thought she saw the edge of something black dart down the hall to the branching hallway, but she was not sure that she really had seen something. Maybe she was just seeing things.

She lingered for a few moments longer before continuing. When she was satisfied that nothing was there she turned around and began to walk down the hall until she came across a staircase that led up. Leona lifted her left wrist and consulted the tracker... the red dot was just above her current location, so she was definitely headed in the right direction. Leona lowered her left wrist and began to climb the stairs.

-The third floor-

Leona emerged from the stairwell and found herself standing inside a rather large dining hall with bare wooden floors and a large rectangular table dominating the center of the room. Hanging in the approximate center of the room was a golden chandelier with candles burning inside protective glass globes, bathing the room in a soft light. Leona looked left and noticed several large tapestries hanging on the wall... in the center of them was a larger version of the same tapestry with the black shield with crossed swords she had first seen in the foyer. She wondered why it had been placed in the center of the different tapestries, but she did not have time to figure out the significance of its placement because her eye was drawn to the table.

Objects gleamed in the light and the Wizard Saint's curiosity compelled her to investigate. She carefully walked over to the table and looked closer at it. It was a table made out of dark wood, but it was not a mass-produced table like one she could find in a furniture store. It looked like it had been made by hand and had been crafted with great care. She did not see any rough spots or tool marks anywhere on the table, which meant that someone had went to a lot of trouble to avoid damaging the piece of furniture during its creation.

Leona looked on top of the table and noticed plates that were made out of a metal that looked like actual silver. She looked down at the plate closest to her and noticed that it had been carefully cleaned... it was so clean that she could almost see her reflection in it. She reached out to touch the plate when the hair on the back of her neck stood up and she got a strong feeling that she was being watched. Leona quickly drew her hand back and spun around to look for anyone in the area.

Her right hand went to the grip of her Silver Longsword as her pulse quickened. She looked everywhere in the area behind her but was not seeing anything. Leona then looked up at the ceiling in case something was trying to literally get the drop on her, but there was nothing on the ceiling except the chandelier chain and its support. The Wizard Saint lowered her head and turned back to face the table and spotted something lying on its side on the ground about two meters behind and to the right of the chair at the head of the table.

It looked to be a square object, possibly a briefcase. Leona raised her left wrist to look at the tracker and the moment she saw the red dot in the direction of the object she knew that she had found what she was looking for. Leona lowered her left wrist and walked briskly over to the object, which was indeed the briefcase containing sensitive data. It was a black one with silver corners and a small metal combination lock with four small dials to turn. She quickly set it upright and grabbed the carrying handle with her left hand, then paused and looked down at it.

Leona was tempted to open the case and make sure that its contents were inside so that she was not hauling an empty case back to Mister Burke, but then she decided against it. He had not given her permission to open the case, even to check its contents. However, she did not know the combination, so she could not check it even if she wanted to. Not wanting to anger the client by tampering with the case in any way, Leona abandoned the idea and looked up to face the stairwell she had taken to get up here.

Now that she had the case in hand it was time to go.

[Post Word Count: 936]
[Total Word Count: 2,682/11,000]

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's Residence, nine hours and twenty-seven minutes later-

Aside from feeling a strong sense that she was being watched Leona had not encountered any difficulty leaving Haunted Castle after getting the case she had been hired to get. Now she was standing inside the meeting room on the third floor of Mister Burke's residence and was facing the man himself. He seemed pleased to see the case clutched in her left hand.

"I see that you brought the case. Excellent." He said to Leona. Understanding the unspoken request, Leona walked over to the desk and set the case down in front of him, then took a step back. She watched as the client turned the combination lock towards him, then moved the dials until a soft CLICK sounded. He opened the case and looked within for a few seconds before closing it and gently moving it aside.

"Everything is inside the case, Miss Jarnefeldt. I am surprised by that, but I will not question it." Mister Burke told Leona that the sensitive data was still in the case. Leona was also surprised by that. While she had not thought about it at the time, there was a chance that the case could have been emptied of its precious contents, closed again, and left behind to deceive whoever was sent to find it into taking an empty container back to Mister Burke. Now she knew that that had not been the case... no pun intended.

"Even though you were not hired to do so, I want to know something. Did you manage to find the thief?" Mister Burke asked the Wizard Saint. Leona shook her head.

"No, Mister Burke. I didn't find them." Leona told him. His facial expression did not change in the slightest.

"I see. Well, that does not matter now. The important thing is that you retrieved the sensitive documents and brought them back to me. Had they been delivered to the wrong party things could have gotten... complicated." He told her without really elaborating on what he had meant by "complicated." Leona got the impression that he was not going to explain any further, so she did not bother asking. Instead she would listen to him to see whether her services were still required or if she could call it a job and return to Silver Wolf Guild Hall.

"You have done your part for the time being, Miss Jarnefeldt. However, I will be contact with you very soon. Please keep an eye out for any messages I might send you because there might be more work for you to do." Mister Burke informed her that she could call it a job for today and also informed her that more job opportunities might be in the future. Leona would take her leave and return to the guild hall to plan her trip to Fat Monsterland and try to find the elemental stone that might be there.

"All right, Mister Burke. I'll be going back to the guild hall now. You know where to find me." Leona said to him. Mister Burke waved a little with his right hand.

"Goodbye, Miss Jarnefeldt." He bade her. With that Leona turned and left the meeting room to begin her trip home. Once she got home she would try to finish planning for the trip to Fat Monsterland... there were still a few details to work out such as whether or not she would take the Albatross there and whether or not she would take Ancient Knight or PG-13 for support.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, five hours and twenty-one minutes later-

After going to the outskirts of Shirotsume and summoning Winged Lion to fly back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall Leona was home. Now that she was back in her room at the guild hall Leona had changed into a casual outfit of black tank top and green, white, and gold skirt. She was now sitting at her desk while going over what she would need for the expedition to Fat Monsterland. After doing a little thinking Leona would not need a whole lot because the problem boiled down to whether or not she was going to take the Albatross so that she could transport Ancient Knight or PG-13 to her destination.

Taking the Albatross would ensure that she would not be fatigued by the time she got to Fat Monsterland. Not being fatigued would allow her to fight through the area's denizens with greater ease. She would also be able to transport her chosen companion with greater ease and speed since they could ride in the cargo bay or one of the Passenger's Quarters.

However, one major problem kept her from hopping into the Albatross and taking off with her chosen companion in tow. That problem was that the aircraft would take time to board because the cargo ramp needed to be lowered first. That was nothing to worry about if the coast was clear, but if Leona encountered one seriously tough opponent or a horde that was too large for her to handle and was chased back to her transport she would not be able to quickly board the Albatross and escape. Related to the main problem was the possibility that she would acquire some unwanted passengers if she was being pursued while boarding.

It went without saying that Leona would need to think the matter all the way through before committing to taking the Albatross to Fat Monsterland.

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[Total Word Count: 3,596/11,000]

-Leona's Room, 12:07 A.M.-

Leona was sitting at her desk and absentmindedly drumming the fingers of her right hand against the top of the desk while she tried to make a decision as to whether or not she took the Albatross to Fat Monsterland when the time came to search for the elemental stone. Both options had their advantages and disadvantages and she was carefully weighing them both before she made her choice. Either way it was going to be a tough call.

She could make that call later, though. For now she needed to sleep. Leona got up from the desk, pushed her chair in, and walked over to her bed, then sat down on it. She swung her feet over to the foot and reclined, then turned over and stared at her wall until she went to sleep.


-The next day, Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 1:00 P.M.

After sleeping for much longer than she had intended Leona finally rolled out of bed but must have been sleeping too close to the edge because when she rolled over she hit the wooden floor with a THUD. She quickly recovered and stood up, then brushed herself off. She smoothed out her black tank top and green, white, and gold skirt, then looked towards the door to her room and took a quiet breath. She was going to have to do some paperwork today to make up for not doing any yesterday.

-Leona's Room, 8:23 P.M.-

As it turned out Leona had more than just "some" paperwork to do. She had a whole lot of it to do... four giant stacks of paperwork were waiting on top of her desk in the office. She had taken her time doing each one because she wanted to make sure that she got everything right before declaring one stack finished and moving on to the next one. Now that she was finished with her administrative duties for the day Leona entered her room and found a folded sheet of white paper lying on the ground in front of her feet. Wondering if it was a message from Mister Burke, Leona bent down, picked it up, and held the bottom in her left hand while opening it with her right hand.

When she opened it she began to read what was written.

"Miss Jarnefeldt:

I need you to come to my residence immediately. Bring your best weapons because I will need you to travel somewhere dangerous." Mister Burke said in a simple message. Leona put the message away in her desk, then went to gather her gear and pick out some clothing. The wording of the message hinted that she would not have much time to spare, so she would need to move fast.

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's Residence, 11:43 P.M.-

Wearing her olive green jacket over a black tank top and olive green cargo pants with boots, Leona was also packing her Scout Laser Pistol and Silver Longsword along with Ses Revanche in her right boot. She stood before Mister Burke, who wore a rumpled grey suit with black tie that had not been straightened... it was obvious that he had dressed as quickly as he could and did not have time to make himself more presentable. His hair was also disheveled.

"Hello Miss Jarnefeldt. I apologize for calling you here at such a late hour, but I need your help with another important matter." Mister Burke greeted Leona with an apology for summoning her to his residence a short time before midnight. Without waiting for a response he continued.

"Some more sensitive company data was stolen less than fifteen hours ago and it was taken to Sombras Manor. I will provide you with a tracker to give you an approximate location of the case, but that is all the help I can give you." The client told her. Leona did not need much more help than the tracker. She had been to Sombras Manor several times and knew what to expect and she also had a Silver Longsword with which to deal with any supernatural entities she encountered.

"I'll head there right away." Leona informed the client. She walked over to the desk just as Mister Burke set the tracker down for her and took the device, then attached it to her left wrist and powered it on. She then turned to leave the room and started walking when the client called out to her.

"Good luck, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke bade her. Leona turned around.

"Thanks." Leona said simply. She then turned around again and left the room.

-Outside Sombras Manor, 3:03 A.M.-

Having flown on Winged Lion's back from Shirotsume to Sombras Manor, Leona climbed off of her summon's back and dispelled it. She was now outside Sombras Manor and felt a cold wind blow as she looked at the building. Leona supposed that the thief thought they would find refuge in the manor until they could deliver the stolen case of sensitive information to their client, but just like with Haunted Castle they would not be able to stop her from tracking down what was Mister Burke's and reclaiming it. Leona took a quiet breath and approached the building and when she got to the door opened it, then went inside.

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[Total Word Count: 4,478/11,000]

-Inside Sombras Manor, the first floor-

Leona shut the door to the outside behind her and turned around, then stopped and listened out for anything unusual. She did not see anything right away, but she was not going to assume that she was alone here. She peered down the dark hallway ahead of her and her natural night vision took effect, allowing her to see clearly. Ahead of her on both sides of the hallway were suits of plate metal armor on display stands and along the baseboards of the bare wooden floor were quite a few dust bunnies.

She did not see anything dangerous ahead of her, so she took a few steps forward and stopped before looking down the hallway to the left. Unlike the one in front of her this one was empty except for dust bunnies along the baseboards, so she faced forward again and consulted the tracker on her left wrist. The red dot was straight ahead, but she did not see a case at the end of the hallway, so she knew that she would have to go up.

Leona lowered her left wrist and began to walk down the hallway while keeping her right hand firmly on the grip of her Silver Longsword. The bare wooden floor creaked with each step, making any attempt at stealth futile. Leona continued to walk while keeping an eye out for danger and when she approached the first suit of armor on the right its right arm suddenly dropped inches in front of her at chest level, causing her to jump back and draw her sword. The Wizard Saint felt an adrenaline surge as she prepared to fight for her life, but she did not see anything other than the suit's arm barring the way.

Was something trying to warn her to turn around and leave while she still could?

If something was indeed trying to warn her Leona was not going to heed it because she had no choice but to continue her mission. Leona took a quiet breath and walked around the metal arm, then proceeded down the hallway while eying each suit of armor. As she approached each one she expected another arm to fall down in front of her, but nothing happened. She passed by them all and soon found a staircase to the right and put away her Silver Longsword, then began to climb the stairs.

-Sombras Manor, the second floor-

Leona emerged from the stairs and looked straight ahead. There was a hallway with a few old wooden chairs positioned at odd intervals and several doors on each side in front of her. To the right was another hallway with a few gold-framed paintings hanging on the walls. Unsure as to which direction to go in, she decided to consult the wrist-mounted tracker and lifted up her left wrist. She looked at the screen and saw the red dot positioned to her right.

Leona walked to the right and soon came across a painting on the left that had to do with farming. The subject was a simple farmhouse sitting a short distance away and to the left of a field of what might have been wheat. Leona could make out individual plants in the field and could almost see the individual boards of the farmhouse. She wondered who the artist was but decided against moving the painting to find out... it was best for her to keep moving.

Leona walked away from the painting and continued moving down the hallway, passing by a detailed painting on the left of a verdant forest sitting at the end of an open field of grass that was painted like it was waving in a gentle breeze. The next painting was on the right and showed a herd of horses running free in a prairie. Finding them to be less compelling than the painting of the farmhouse, Leona moved swiftly down the hallway until she reached a staircase on the right and began to ascend it.

-Sombras Manor, the third floor-

Leona emerged from the stairwell and looked around her. Unlike the previous two floors there was only one direction to go in this time... straight ahead. The hallway was barren except for a few wooden chairs like the one on the second floor. Leona noticed that there was an open doorway straight ahead and to the right... she drew her Silver Longsword and began to walk towards the door and when she reached it she peered inside the room to find a library with wall-to-wall bookshelves, a rectangular wooden table in the middle of it, and a carpet beneath the table.

Deciding to investigate for any signs of the data thief, Leona walked into the library.

-Inside the library-

Leona stopped a few steps away from the door and looked around the room. The bookshelves she had seen were so tall that one needed to use a rolling ladder to get to the top. They were also liberally coated with dust, but Leona was not here to browse at the books or clean the bookshelves. She was searching for the thief.

Putting away her Silver Longsword for the time being, Leona began to search the room for any signs that her quarry had been here.

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[Total Word Count: 5,360/11,000]

-Inside the library, twelve minutes later-

Leona had searched every shelf and every corner of the library and had come up with nothing but dust to show for it. She had found no sign that the thief had been here, so it was time to look elsewhere. She decided to consult her wrist tracker and raised her left wrist to check the location of the red dot. When she looked at it the red dot was in her area, but something was not right until she remembered that the device gave only an approximate location, not an exact one.

According to Mister Burke it lacked the ability to indicate direction, meaning that it was most likely somewhere below her. If Sombras Manor had a basement the case was there because she was standing on the top floor and it was not here. It looked like Leona was going to have to retrace her steps to the first floor and look for a staircase that led to the basement. Leona walked towards the exit door and walked through it.

-The third floor-

Leona was outside the library and began to retrace her steps to the staircase when she felt a shove from behind that sent her staggering forward for four steps before she regained her balance. The Wizard Saint spun around to locate the source of the shove but did not see anyone. She strongly suspected that a poltergeist was in the area, but since she did not have any special ability to see the supernatural she could not prove it, so she would have to be careful as she made her way back to the first floor. Well, as careful as she could be considering that her attacker was one she could not see.

Once she reached the stairwell Leona began to slowly and carefully go down the stairs while hoping that her unseen adversary would not pick that time to give her another shove from behind.

-The second floor, three minutes later-

Leona emerged from the stairwell and turned left, then proceeded down the hallway with the gold-framed paintings. She walked past them and was halfway through the hall when she got another shove from behind. This one was forceful enough to send her sprawling to the floor, where she landed on her stomach and had the wind knocked out of her thanks to her right hand being forced into her stomach by the angle at which she landed. She was glad that she had put away her Silver Longsword earlier or she would have sustained a nasty injury, if not a fatal one.

After taking a few moments to get her breath she picked herself up and looked around, an activity that was an exercise in futility considering that she could not see her attacker. Leona's thinking was that it might get overconfident from getting away with its attacks and show itself long enough for Leona to at least spot it. If it was going to show itself at some point the time was not now because Leona saw nothing but empty air.

Leona soon gave up on trying to see her invisible adversary and turned around, then began walking again. She walked down the hall until she reached the staircase that led to the first floor, then turned left and began to walk down it. As she began to descend Leona took quiet breaths to get back the air she had lost from the fall in the hallway.

-The first floor, five minutes later-

Leona reached the first floor none the worse for wear, but when she turned left to face the hallway that would take her to the front door she noticed something had changed.

The helmets on all of the suits of armor had been turned to look right at her!

Leona shuddered a little when her eyes met the empty eye slits of the helmets and she felt a sensation like something was peering right through her. Trying to focus on the mission, Leona looked straight ahead and began to walk by them and as she passed by the first pair she heard metallic creaking noises. That caused her to turn around and see that the heads of the first two suits had turned to watch her walk away.

Leona shuddered again at the sight of black slits where eyes would be. The Wizard Saint quickly faced forward again and began to briskly walk towards the front door and did her best to ignore the metallic creaking that was coming from behind her as she moved. When she got past the final two suits of armor she turned around to see that every helmet was looking at her again, a sight which prompted Leona to turn and briskly walk for the front door, then turn right at the branching hallway and go down it.

When Leona rounded the corner she felt the piercing gazes stop and she stopped and took a moment to take a few breaths and try to focus again.

[Post Word Count: 832]
[Total Word Count: 6,198/11,000]

Leona took a few moments to let the uneasy feeling dissipate before she continued looking for the briefcase of sensitive information. She was so glad to be away from those suits of armor that it was hard to put into words. While she was not terrified of them, being watched by inanimate objects that did not have eyes was an experience that the Wizard Saint was not keen on repeating any time soon. The fact that their heads had turned to follow her made the situation even creepier, but it was over for now.

Once she was ready to move on Leona walked down the empty hallway until she reached the corner, where she turned right and paused in place. Ahead of her was another empty stretch and a couple of doors and a staircase that led down into the basement. Leona raised her left wrist to look at the tracker and it showed that the red dot was to the right. She lowered her left wrist and walked over to the staircase, then peered into it and saw the basement floor.

Leona began to walk down the stairs at a slow pace so that she did not miss a step and send herself tumbling to the floor below.

-Sombras Manor, the basement-

At the bottom of the stairs Leona turned right and looked straight ahead. Ahead of her loomed a fairly long hallway that was wide enough for four people to walk side-by-side without any trouble. The basement was empty except for a body near the back, a briefcase, and a couple of doors on the far end. She suspected that the body lying on the floor was the thief who had made off with the sensitive information Leona had been hired to retrieve.

Leona approached the case and the closer she got to it the more it felt like something was off about this whole situation. The presence of a human body ought to have clued her in that there was danger here, but since Leona was an experienced adventurer who frequently went into dangerous situations she was not as alarmed by the sight as she should have been. When she reached the body she stopped an arm's length away and took a look at it.

The deceased was a slender man of average height with close-cut black hair wearing a gray trenchcoat and black shoes. Since he was lying on his stomach Leona could not get a good look at the rest of his outfit, but she got a look at his face since his head was facing left and noticed that it had a look of terror frozen on it. Since he did not show any visible signs of a violent death like bruising, wounds inflicted by weapons, or other bodily trauma, she guessed that he had died of a heart attack. Perhaps he had fallen prey to ghosts, a cause of death which was possible since Leona had gained the unwelcome attention of an invisible tormentor less than an hour ago.

Leona looked up from the man and saw the case just to his left. Maintaining a careful distance from the body, she walked over to the case and picked it up with her left hand. She saw that it had the same combination lock as the one she had recovered from Haunted Guild. Now that she had the case it was time to leave while the going was good.

Leona began to walk away and had made it five steps when she realized that it might be a good idea to search the body of the suspected thief for possible clues as to his identity and/or employer. She turned around and walked towards him, then stopped and knelt on her right knee before beginning to search through the deceased man's pockets.

-Three minutes later-

Leona had searched every one of the man's pockets and had come up with no information on the man or his employer. She had spent long enough here, so it was time to go. Leona stood up and began to walk away a second time when she felt a chill in the air and saw a pale blue human shape appear a few steps in front of her. She instinctively drew her Silver Longsword with her right hand and was ready to fight just as the ghost moved towards her.

Leona attacked with a one-handed left-to-right slash across its waist and it was cut in two. It screamed and vanished into thin air, leaving the Wizard Saint alone for the time being. She highly doubted that she was out of trouble yet, so she paused in place and waited for another ghost to appear. Her patience was "rewarded" when more of them appeared a short distance in front of her and blocked the way to the staircase.

Leona took a quiet breath and prepared to fight her way out of the basement.

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There were about twenty ghosts blocking the way to the staircase. They had voids where their eyes should have been and that made them a little intimidating, but Leona was not going to die at the hands of a bunch of random ghosts. She had a Silver Longsword and she knew how to use it.

Leona moved towards the first one and when it got in range slashed at it with a one-handed chop right down the middle, cutting it in half at the head and causing it to scream as it vanished. Leona kept her momentum going and used a horizontal left-to-right slash to deal with the next ghost, defeating it as well. She could not use both hands to wield the sword since she was carrying the case in one hand, but she did not need both hands because it was strong enough to defeat the spirits without her having to put a whole lot of strength into each swing.

With two ghosts down Leona continued to move forward so that she did not lose her momentum. She wanted to stay on the offensive and keep fighting her way towards the exit, so she kept moving. The next enemy moved towards her with its arms outstretched and hands aimed at her throat, but Leona was ready for it. When it drew within sword range she lashed out with a one-handed diagonal slash that cut the ghost from its left shoulder to its right hip, cutting it in half diagonally and giving her a little space to move.

The Wizard Saint walked forward for fifteen steps before the next enemies blocked her path. While the rest remained in front of her six of them approached from both sides, but Leona knew what to do to counter that tactic. She prepared a Silver Revolution ability and when it was ready held it out at her side before initiating a spin attack that lasted for five full revolutions. The Silver Revolution hit all six ghosts closing in on her and cut all of them in half at the waist, defeating them all instantly.

Leona ignored the screaming of the departing spirits and focused on the enemies in front of her, which now numbered eleven. She spotted one rush at her at roughly human running speed and she swiftly dispatched it with a one-handed horizontal chop to the waist that cut it in half. The rest of the ghosts, perhaps sensing that they were outmatched, vanished from sight. Leona did not know if they were going to leave her alone or if they were just waiting until they could renew the fight on terms more favorable to them, but she was not going to linger in the basement. She began walking briskly towards the staircase and walked twenty-one steps when she broke into a run to hasten her departure.

Leona reached the stairs after a few moments of running and began to jog up them, not even bothering to put away her Silver Longsword.

-Sombras Manor, the first floor-

Leona emerged from the stairwell and quickly looked around her for ghosts who might have been waiting on her. To her left was a single ghost that spotted her around the same time she spotted it, but she did not wait for it to make its move. She rushed at it and when she got in range stopped and slashed at it with a diagonal slash, cutting it from its left shoulder to its right hip. It was eliminated in one slash and it screamed as Leona began to run again.

She ran to the bend in the hallway and turned left, then sprinted down the hallway towards the exit. When she reached the end she turned right and quickly put away her Silver Longsword, then reached out with her right hand and grabbed the right doorknob. She quickly opened the door and hurried through it, then shut the door behind her and started running away from Sombras Manor.

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's residence, six hours and thirteen minutes later-

Leona had traveled on foot until she reached a safe distance from Sombras Manor at a point between Sombras Manor and Rose Garden. Once she was certain that she had not been followed by angry ghosts she summoned Winged Lion and used it to fly back to the outskirts of Shirotsume. Once she landed she dispelled the summon and walked to Mister Burke's residence and was ushered to the third floor meeting room where he was waiting.

"Ah, welcome back Miss Jarnefeldt. I see that you managed to recover the sensitive information from Sombras Manor." Mister Burke greeted her. He still looked as disheveled as he had looked hours ago and he looked more than a little stressed, so she quickly walked up to his desk and sat the case down. He quickly pulled it towards him with both hands, set it on its side, and put in the combination to the combination lock. When he opened it he looked inside and smiled.

"Everything is still there. Excellent." He commented with satisfaction and his facial expression lightened, but only a little. He shut the case and made eye contact with Leona.

"You have done well, Miss Jarnefeldt. I knew that you would be able to brave Sombras Manor and get the job done." He praised Leona for her work in retrieving the case from the manor. He paused for a few moments before speaking again.

"I would like to ask you something, Miss Jarnefeldt. Did you happen to encounter the thief this time?" Mister Burke inquired. Leona nodded.

"I encountered someone I strongly suspect was the thief. They were a man of average build with short, close-cut black hair wearing a gray trenchcoat and black shoes. They were dead when I found them in the basement lying next to the briefcase... I think the ghosts in Sombras Manor killed them." Leona reported her grim discovery to the client.

[Post Word Count: 994]
[Total Word Count: 8,014/11,000]

"I suppose that takes care of that particular thief." Mister Burke remarked on Leona's report with a dry tone. The Wizard Saint kept a neutral facial expression and kept her mouth shut. In a way the client was right because the problem had sorted itself out in a grim fashion. The very place the thief had sought to use as a refuge from anyone sent to retrieve the information had proven to be no refuge at all.

"Perhaps this will be the end of the thefts that have been giving me no small amount of trouble lately." Mister Burke said, breaking the silence after several moments. Again Leona kept quiet. She knew better than to tempt fate by seconding his sentiment.

"Again I thank you for your hard work, Miss Jarnefeldt. It is no understatement to say that you saved a lot of people some major headaches." The client thanked Leona for braving Haunted Guild and Sombras Manor and retrieving sensitive information.

"I'm glad that I could help." Leona replied simply. Haunted Castle and Sombras Manor were dangerous places and she could have gotten into a lot more trouble than she did. While she had not been hurt she had been more than a little creeped out by some of the things she had seen, especially those suits of armor in Sombras Manor that had managed to give her the impression they were staring at her despite not having eyes.

"There is nothing else to be done at the moment but wait and see if any more thefts occur. If anything happens I will send you a message." He said to her. Since there was nothing else for her to do Leona was going to go back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall and sleep for awhile, then find something to do like paperwork in her office. She was sure that there was plenty of that to do. She took off the tracker on her left wrist and returned it to him.

"I'll keep an eye out for your message, Mister Burke." Leona assured him. He gave her a faint smile.

"Thank you again for your services, Miss Jarnefeldt." He said to her. Leona waved goodbye with her right hand, then turned to leave the room. It was time to go home and crash for awhile before waking up and waiting to see if Mister Burke would send her a message requesting her help once again.

-The next day, Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's Room, 2:07 P.M.-

Wearing her black tank top and olive green cargo pants because she was too tired to change before going to sleep, Leona finally woke up and rolled to the edge of her bed, then sat up and put her feet on the ground. When her legs were steady enough to support her weight she stood up and faced her room door. She paid close attention to the ground and did not see anything yet, which was a good sign. She would have some time to grab coffee and do paperwork... after she changed into clothes that were not wrinkled from being slept in.

-Leona's Room, 8:26 P.M.-

After changing into a green tank top and her green, gold, and white skirt Leona decided to do the paperwork first and went to her office. There she found three large stacks of paperwork waiting on her desk and walked around her desk to her chair. She spent six hours doing all of them and making sure everything was right before getting up from her desk.

After finishing her administrative responsibilities Leona made a beeline for her room, where she now sat on the edge of her bed. She had checked her floor and did not see a message lying on it, so she took it that there had not been another theft from the company Mister Burke worked for. She would see if tomorrow brought a message when she woke up.

-The next day, 12:23 P.M.-

Leona slept a bit later than she intended, but she was not bothered too much by that fact. It was not like she had anything urgent to do. That was what she thought until she saw a white envelope lying on the ground under her door. Curious as to who sent the message, Leona got up and walked over to it, then bent down and picked it up.

She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the message within. She put the envelope it came in under the message, then opened the paper up and read it.

"Miss Jarnefeldt:

I would like you to meet with me today at your earliest convenience. I would like to talk to you about a reward for your efforts over the past couple of days." The message read. Leona walked over to her desk and put the message away. Leona was going to Shirotsume.

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[Total Word Count: 8,824/11,000]

-Shirotsume, Mister Burke's residence, the third floor, 4:37 P.M.-

Wearing her green tank top underneath her olive green jacket and khaki cargo pants with boots, Leona's outfit looked like it was thrown together in a hurry. That was because it was thrown together in a hurry, but the client did not need to know that. Leona stood in front of Mister Burke, who was behind his computer desk and looking at the Wizard Saint. He seemed to be in good spirits because he looked a lot more relaxed today than he had looked for the past couple of days.

"I have some good news, Miss Jarnefeldt. The thefts have stopped... for now." Mister Burke told Leona in his usual to-the-point manner.

"While I am certain that the person who hired the last thief will hire another thief to try and steal company secrets, our tightened security measures should make it more difficult for them to make off with sensitive company data." He told Leona that he expected more trouble at some point in the future and hinted at increased security. Leona was not going to ask what he meant since it was none of her business. She did not expect him to tell her company secrets just because she had done some work for him in the past. Still, she could not help but to wonder what Mister Burke's company made that was so valuable that it was worth the risk of stealing.

Mister Burke bent down and reached under his desk. Within seconds he put a small circular blue object on the desk. It was small enough to easily fit in the palm of Leona's hand. She looked at it with curiosity.

"I present to you the Genetic Expression System." He told her what she was looking at. Leona blinked.

"It allows you to change your appearance at will. It changes your appearance based on how you would most likely look if the physical expression of your genes had been just a little different than how they actually turned out." Mister Burke gave her a brief description of how the device worked. Now that Leona understood a little more about the device she was interested in it. She was still a bit puzzled as to how exactly it worked.

"You said that the change was temporary, right?" Leona asked him.

"Yes, Miss Jarnefeldt. When you use the Genetic Expression System you can undo the change whenever you like." Mister Burke informed her that she could change back to normal any time she wanted. He then pushed it towards her.

"Try it now." He said to her. Leona walked over to the desk and picked it up, then looked at it for a moment. She had no idea how she was supposed to use it.

"It opens in the middle, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke gave her a hint as to how to open it. Leona saw a space in the middle of the object where she could put a finger and put the tip of her right thumb into it, then gently lifted the top open to see a small mirror under the top half. On the bottom half was what looked like a place to hold something.

"All you have to do to use it is look at yourself in the mirror and tap the bottom half where makeup would go." Mister Burke told her. Taking the hint, Leona looked at herself in the mirror and tapped the bottom half of the device. The mirror gleamed and seconds later Leona's appearance had changed. She now had longer blonde hair that went down to her shoulders and bright blue eyes.

"The transformation last for as long as you want. Whenever you want to go back to normal all you have to do is repeat the process." He told Leona how to reverse the change whenever she wanted to go back to normal. Leona looked at herself again and noticed that aside from longer, lighter blonde hair and blue eyes not much had changed about her. She still had the same body proportions and the same height, but that was fine with her. Leona took a moment to look at herself in the small mirror and was somewhat pleased with how she appeared.

"I see that you like your new look." Mister Burke commented.

"I do like it. It's not too drastic a change from my normal look." Leona told him while angling the mirror to see herself from different angles. She already had an idea in mind for the new look given by using the Genetic Expression System. She planned to use it as a disguise of sorts for whenever she wanted to go somewhere without having to worry about people recognizing her.

"The device works thanks to a combination of science and magic that I cannot even begin to understand, but I know this much. The Genetic Expression System only works on mages, specifically female mages." Mister Burke informed Leona that the Genetic Expression System had a limit on who it could affect.

Leona's New Appearance:

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[Total Word Count: 9,668/11,000]

"Why does it work only on women?" Leona asked Mister Burke the burning question that had come up a few moments ago. The man shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no clue, Miss Jarnefeldt. You would have to ask the science division for details as to why that is the case. All I know is that they spent half a year and quite a bit of money trying to solve the problem but in the end they could not solve it, so they gave up and moved on to other projects." Mister Burke replied with a group at which to direct that question if she wanted a detailed answer. Leona might have to actually ask them some day... if she could ever get a meeting with the science division. She was not counting on getting a meeting because she was not an official employee of the company Mister Burke worked for.

Leona looked at herself in the mirror and pressed the place on the device where makeup would go and the mirror glowed again. Within seconds Leona was back to her short-haired and green-eyed appearance. She closed the Genetic Expression System and held it in the palm of her right hand.

"That is a token of my gratitude for all the work you have done for me over the past couple of days. Perhaps it will come in handy at some point in your line of work." Mister Burke said to Leona. The blonde already had some ideas in mind as to how she was going to use the Genetic Expression System. She would need time to come up with more ideas... and to get some clothes that she could use for her alternate look, ideally some that could not be linked to her original appearance.

"Thanks, Mister Burke." Leona thanked the client for the gift.

"You are welcome, Miss Jarnefeldt." Mister Burke replied. Leona pocketed the Genetic Expression System and faced him again in anticipation of getting a job offer.

"I do not have any work for you today, but do keep an eye out for my messages. I may have something for you in the future." Mister Burke told her that there was no work today and reminded her to watch for any messages he might send her.

"All right, Mister Burke. I'll be sure to look out for them." Leona assured him that she would remain vigilant. She then waved goodbye with her right hand and turned around, walking towards the exit to the meeting room. Once she reached it she opened it, went out, and shut the door behind her.

-Silver Wolf Guild Hall, Leona's room, 8:03 P.M.-

After leaving Mister Burke's residence and walking to the outskirts of Shirotsume Leona had summoned Winged Lion and flown back to Silver Wolf Guild Hall. Now Leona was in her room and looking inside her wardrobe for outfits that she could wear with her new alternate look. She was seeing quite a bit she could use that was not linked to her original look.

Her green, white, and gold outfit and blue, white, and gold outfit with the skirt that matched each outfit were out of the question because they were the closest things Leona had to a signature outfit. Despite excluding those choices Leona still had plenty of other options such as shorts and a t-shirt, a pair of pants and a tank top, or some other casual look that she could put together. She had plenty of shorts and pants, but she did not have many skirts outside of her two outfit skirts.

Perhaps she needed to go to Capital Crocus Mall soon and look for some skirts.

Leona continued to look in her wardrobe and saw that she had plenty of shirts to choose from. She had short-sleeved t-shirts, tank tops, short-sleeved crop tops, and sleeveless crop tops; each style came in several different colors. All of those were viable options since none of them had acquired the "signature" status of her green, white, and gold outfit or her blue, white, and gold outfit. Leona tended to favor blue or green shirts, so for her other look she would need to pick a different color or two.

That could wait, though. She had some things she needed to do other than shop for clothing. One of those things was to prepare for her upcoming trip to Fat Monsterland to search for an elemental stone. Another was keeping watch for any messages Mister Burke, Dr. Reid, or any other client might send her. Leona closed her wardrobe doors and turned around, then walked over to her desk and pulled the chair out.

She sat down in it and looked at the wall in front of her as she began to think about how she wanted to travel to Fat Monsterland when she set out in search of the next elemental stone.

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-Leona's Room, 9:04 P.M.-

Leona had thought about the details of her upcoming trip and after much thought decided against taking the Albatross to Fat Monsterland. She had weighed the advantages and disadvantages of doing that and she had concluded that it would be safer not to use it. One of the major problems that had convinced her not to was that if she got into trouble and had to flee she would have to board the aircraft by lowering the ramp... if the area's denizens were hot on her heels they might board the Albatross just after she did, making it impossible to take off safely. She would have to fight in the cargo bay and clear them all out before she could depart and fighting a lot of zombies in close quarters was not an appealing prospect.

Another problem Leona had thought of was that even if she managed to get on board without being pursued she would acquire an entourage of undead followers once she took off for safety. She did not know how far they would follow her before giving up and did not want to risk them getting out of Fat Monsterland and attacking people. Leona would go in on foot and kill and zombie she encountered on the way in and on the way out of the area to reduce the chances of that scenario happening.

With that having been decided Leona had solved a major problem that had been giving her trouble a couple of days ago. The next problem had been whether or not to take a companion with her to help her fight her way through the area in search of what she was after. She had considered taking PG-13 or Ancient Knight on this trip to help her deal with the enemies she would encounter, but the problem with that had been the issue of transporting them.

Leona was going to use the Albatross for that purpose, but since she had decided against using it she would have to have them follow her on foot since neither of them could fly on the back of Winged Lion because they were a bit too heavy for that. Instead she would use her summons, companions she could call in on demand and who did not require transportation to take them with her. While that approach should have been on the table from the start, Leona had wanted to take one of her longtime companions with her on this trip. She would just have to wait for another day to take one of them.

Having decided those details, Leona finally got up from her desk, pushed the chair in, and walked out of her room in order to get some coffee at the guild cafe. The key details of the trip had been determined, so she was going to go get a cup or two of her favorite beverage before calling it a night. There was a little work to be done before she was fully prepared, but that work pertained to her weapons and she had already selected those, so she could afford to put that off for awhile.

-The next day, 1:25 P.M.-

Leona woke up the next day and sat up on the edge of her bed, then stood up. She looked towards the floor for any messages that might have been slipped under her door in the morning but found nothing, which meant that she was free to continue her plans. All she needed to do was gather which weapons she wanted to carry and that was an easy chore. She was going to stick with her usual triad of Silver Longsword, Scout Laser Pistol, and Ses Revanche.

Leona would do all of that when the day to travel actually arrived. For now she had other things to do, namely today's administrative work. She walked out of her room to get a cup of coffee at the guild cafe before doing any paperwork. Once that was done she would fulfill her administrative responsibilities and plan for her trip to take place in the next few days. Unless she got a job offer from one of her longtime clients or some other priority came up she was going to Fat Monsterland to try and find the elemental stone that was supposedly hidden there.

The Wizard Saint did not know exactly where she could find it, but she was going to find out. She would go into Fat Monsterland and fight her way to the center of the place, then begin the work of searching for what she was after. If she ran into enemies who were too powerful or too numerous for her to defeat she would leave and try again when she had better weapons, a strong companion, or a better understanding of what she needed to do to find her prize.

Having all but finalized her plans, Leona left her room and shut her door behind her, then made a beeline for the guild cafe to get coffee.

[Post Word Count: 840]
[Total Word Count: 11,322/11,000]