Summer 46, 124
Sjal turned the first corner and started down the street. She was looking for some work to kill some time. She saw a commotion near one of the buildings and investigated. She pushed her way through the crowd and made it to a table. The man at the table scowled as he looked at her weapon, then at her clothes, and finally back at her face.
"And who are you?"
"Sjal. Are you hiring workers?"
"Yes, but not you."
"You sure?" she asked, gesturing to two sizable stacks of letters. "It looks like you're looking for deliverymen. I am an exodii, I could deliver these quickly."
"A mage?" he asked, taken aback. Sjal nodded, picked up the mail, and skimmed the first piece. "In that case, hrm, yes I think you can do the job. But leave me something, some assurance that you're not going to take the letters and disappear."
"Hmm? Oh, I could leave my sword." She propped it up beside the table and scooped the letters into a bag.
"Many thanks!" he shouted as she turned and blinked out the door. Sjal couldn't simply teleport everywhere, but she could use blink once in a while to help find houses. She started towards the first house, running down the streets she felt she'd been around before. When she got there, she rapped hard on the door frame and waited for a response.
She quickly took the first letter and slid it under the door while looking at the next one when no one arrived. With a groan, she realized that it was, in fact, in the opposite direction, in a tiny building that Sjal had just passed moments earlier. Acknowledging her error, she took a moment to sort the mail. She sorted the mail, keeping an eye on the roads, and hurried back out into the streets.
Sjal ran from house to house delivering mail, and so it went. Sjal was asked to come in for a quick drink on multiple occasions, but she declined each time. She would just slip the mail under the door, using enough force to ensure the letters were too big for the small slot, since houses were often empty. It was only the middle of the day.
As Sjal finally got closer to the end of the road, she took a last look at her load. Three letters and a large package, the only one of its kind from her stack, made up her remaining load. The first letter was addressed to a gracious grandmother who lived not far from Sjal's inn - the other letters were addressed to the same building, some homes a short distance away.
Sjal glanced back and forth in the elderly woman's outdoor garden, a tiny space next to her house where she raised flowers, as she got closer to the home. She went to her door and knocked, not seeing her. She waited patiently at the door, leaning against the frame, listening to the sound of shuffling feet. Suddenly, the door opened and an elderly woman stepped out. "
Sjal gave her the letter while grinning. "I'm acting as a delivery woman today. They needed help because they were short-staffed."
The elderly woman grinned and said, "Oh, that's kind of you. Would you mind stopping in for a drink, perhaps? If you're hungry, I'm cooking fresh bread right now."
"That's great to hear, but I have to drop off the remaining mail, so I won't have time for that. Still, thanks anyway."
"Well, honey, don't be such a stranger! I hardly ever get any visitors anymore."
Sjal nodded and feeling a little sad for the old lady. Was that how she would be when she got old? If she got old. She said, "Well, anyway, I'm off," and walked away down the street.
As she approached the cluster of homes to make her final delivery, she cast a sidelong glance. Two letters, one addressed to Aelfrund and the other to Yunfreid, and the package. She knocked on the described home for Aelfrund as she ascended the entrance steps, but got no answer. She knelt and pushed the mail under the narrow slot, just as she had done previously.
She made her way up another pathway to her last destination. She located the one she was looking for after turning the proceeding down the alleyway. She knocked loudly, but got no answer, so she did her usual thing and slid the letter under the door. Then it dawned on her. That slot would never accommodate the chubby package! She sighed and banged her head against the door, wondering why she had been stopped so close to finishing her odd job. She considered the possibility that she could sneak the package in through the windows, so she wondered if she could walk around back to get access to them.
She discovered the back exit stairs as she got closer to the back of the structure. As she ascended, she counted from one to four as she arrived at the third floor. As she approached the suitable window, she contemplated the potential drawbacks of leaving a window open in an empty home. With a shrug, she pulled on the window, which fortunately was already open. She exited and closed the window after slipping the package onto the desk.
As Sjal entered the streets, she considered going back the way she had come but changed her mind. As night fell, Sjal knew that the bars would soon be packed with boisterous middle-aged men - the ideal crowd to pick fights - and that she should stop.
Sjal turned a corner while jogging down the street and made her way to a bar near the inn. She could already make out the dim lights and smell the aroma of sweat and alcohol drifting into the street. Nothing seemed amiss when she first arrived at the building, but as soon as she got inside, she noticed people wandering around inebriated. A man near the bar was extending his hand, just inches from the back of a woman. Sjal squealed as she retreated from the man as he grabbed her.
"Go on, sweetie! You know you need a man. You've been showing it off all day!" he got up and screamed at her.
After turning around, she hurried into the arms of a second man who was visibly intoxicated and said, "You dare to touch m ywife?" Reaching over, the man grabbed his bottle and threw it at the other man, saying, "I will teach you some manners!"
The other man was obviously too slow to react to the blow to the face, which broke his nose as he fell and spilled blood all over the floor. The other met the man when he slowly stood up and proceeded to beat him on the chest.
Sjal decided it was time to step in and pulled the other man off him as he staggered away from the deceitful inebriated man. "You stand up for this mongrel?" He reached over, grabbed a chair, and began to pick it up, but Sjal suddenly drew her sword and began spinning it around in her hand, hitting the man over the top of his head with the pommel. The man swayed in place, falling into a heap with his eyes rolling back.
Sjal nodded to the bartender and left. There must be other bars that require the same kind of cleaning. Sjal spent hours going from bar to bar, protecting defenseless women and knocking out drunks. Sjal was finally nearing the end of her patience when she heard someone scream and turned to go back. She noticed a middle-aged woman running around the corner. Judging by her sway, she was probably intoxicated. She cried, "He took my drink! Thief!" Sjal looked in the direction the woman indicated and saw a faint shadow fade away from her line of sight.
Sjal started to run and made it to the alley, turning the corner - she could see she was only a few seconds behind the thief. As she rounded the second corner, she saw a little boy, no older than ten, clinging to a bottle. Sjal held out her hand, demanding that it be returned, and the boy was trapped because the alley ended. With tears streaming down his face, the boy gave Sjal the bottle and ran away, sobbing.
Grinning at the innocent stupidity of a child, she turned and sauntered out of the alley, making her way toward the woman who was now perched on the curb. "My hero!" she sobbed as she gave her a hug and took the bottle.
She walked back to the building that had given her the packages to deliver earlier. It was almost time for it to close down, but she arrived just in time to receive payment. She chatted with them for a while and heard of yet another job that she might be interested in. Something to do with guarding the borders of the town. It was simple work, far below her pay grade as a powerful mage… but she didn't work often and could use the money.
Sjal turned and started walking down the road toward the town's entrance. Sjal was thinking to herself as she wound through the streets, "Great, so now I get to be bored sitting at the gate that was more like a fence that blocked off the road to travelers at this time of day." Sjal continued down the street and noticed the small building next to the gate - she could already see the guards there handling matters appropriately even if they were short staffed.
She was welcomed by a guard as soon as she arrived at the building, saying, "I've seen you running around today. I take it they sent you to assist us?" Sjal nodded and passed over a letter meant for him. "All right, let's get started. Head inside the building."
As Sjal entered the building, she didn't find much to be impressed by. Another guard was sitting at the desk directly inside, leaning back in his chair with his feet resting on it. "Yum, fresh meat, huh?" Sjal nodded and stepped forward. "Okay, girl. Please settle in and report anything to me directly while you stand next to the gate!" Sjal turned away and left the building.
As she arrived at the gate's edge, she leaned against it and gazed out over the forest. She could already see clouds gathering in the distance, which meant that another storm was probably approaching. A caravan led by multiple horses approached from a great distance. She turned around and called out for a guard to come have a look. The guard snorted as he jogged over next to Sjal. "Merchants, girl, just ask to see their papers!"
Sjal turned back after the man had left. The cart was going at a painfully slow pace. She watched it grow slowly for hours, until at last it reached the gate. Sjal started taking the papers she already had when the guard reappeared. "Look for the seal - is it visible there? Yeah, near the bottom." The woman moved aside as the rummaged through the merchandise and said, "You're clear after we check your caravan, ma'am." He said, "Those look like some delicious vegetables," through his mask. With a smile on her face, the woman removed a beet and tossed it to the guard. "For you, sir," she said, getting back on the wagon and proceeding through.
Just before leaving, he said, "Be nice to the people and they will be nice to you." Sjal glanced out over the horizon, hoping to see more guests. When she didn't, she started to lean against the wall.
A few more hours went by with little excitement because there wasn't any traffic, and then all of a sudden she saw a fast moving… something approaching at an incredible speed on the horizon. Normal people needed hours to reach from such a distance but they seemed to tear through the air much more quickly. It was a dragon, as it turned out. Small, young, but a dragon nonetheless. Sjal didn't know what the hell she was supposed to do, nor did she think a dragon was here to make trouble. It soared right over her head as it passed by.
She looked over to a guard who shrugged. Sjal could have at least tried to stop it… but she didn't think that would have ended well.
After several more hours, it was becoming progressively darker. It was early evening when she'd started and now it was nearly pitch black outside. The guard approached as they were leaving the building. "Is there anything off?" he enquired.
Sjal raised her hand and said, "No."
Through his mask, the guard said, "I see. Nice work, the day shift is over you can get paid now."
Sjal went back to the inn to sleep. When she woke up the next morning, someone was waiting at her door with a piece of paper detailing another job. She hadn't been planning on sticking around another day but… money was money. She got dressed then started to walk down the street, intrigued by the concept of helping with construction.
Sjal approached the first man in a workers clothing, saying, "Sjal reporting in, I've come to help."
The man gave her a strange look, then grabbed the paper and took out a pair of glasses, which he put on. "Oh, I see. I wasn't informed that assistance would be provided today, but I suppose having one more employee never hurts. Tell me, what kind of magic are you proficient in? They usually send a mage to help out from time to time. Elemental ones are the most helpful. Actually, we have three areas. In the metal shaping area, we are getting ready to replace the fence itself. There is the Earth shaping area, where shovels are used to dig to assist with the placement of the gates, and there is the other area, where workers carry various items to and from both sides. You choose if you're not very good at magic and it never hurts to have strong men assist you in the third area."
Sjal debated with herself whether or not to inform the man that she was capable of using magic at all. If she wore herself out she wouldn't be able to easily teleport to another location. She finally said, "Well, the truth is, I'm an exodii, so portals are my specialty. So I suppose I would be best moving things around."
He pointed past the gate and said, "Search out there."
Sjal nodded and turned to face the exterior. She saw what the man had described as she turned the corner. Men were using shovels to dig a trench, pushing a big boulder around, and using their powerful arms to move stone blocks. She approached a digger and inquired, "Where is the person in charge here?" The man pointed to a short, stocky man who was talking to another man while shouting and pointing back and forth at the wall and the blocks. Sjal approached the man, a determined expression on her face.
"Hell, exodii here to help," she said as she approached.
"I see. We won't need portals for a while, but since you're here, pick up a shovel and get to work digging, and I'll be over to pick you up soon."
Sjal nodded, reached for a shovel, removed her cloak, and placed it in the wall's nook. "Where are we digging to?" she asked the man who was closest to her as she approached the hole and leaped in. With a grunt, the man gestured ahead. Sjal nodded and started to dig.
Sjal dug for several hours without stopping. She could feel her hair dripping with sweat, and her bare feet were black with mud. After excavating for almost fifteen feet, the men were finally rewarded with a shout from above. "Alright guys, the hole's done. Come on up and assist with these blocks!" Sjal didn't have to wait her turn as the men ascended the nearby ladder one by one. She simply blinked to the top.
She started to move toward the blocks when a man grabbed her. "All right, I need these wood planks cut to size for another job. I require each of them to be two meters in length, neither more nor less. If you'd like, use your sword. If not, there's a saw between the wall and the opening nearer the gate."
Sjal nodded and pulled out her weapon. She didn't think it would do a good job of cutting through a wooden plank. Why would he even suggest that? Was he just making a fool of her? She shook her head and grabbed a saw. Sjal set to work, seeing as each of the hundreds of wooden planks probably required hours upon hours of work. As she worked, sawing each long plank into three pieces, the hours passed quickly.
It surprised her that when she finally finished the wood planks, she looked around for her 'boss'. The sun had already started to set, so she knew that her shift must be almost over. She walked up to him and said, "I've completed the task and even moved them to the right locations with some portals. What else do you need?"
"I know you're almost done here, but would you mind helping the metal workers before you go?" Yuuoi asked, turning to face her. "I would like them to finish a section before nightfall because they are almost there. Simply enter the gate and search for workers near the furnace who are constructing a metal slab."
Sjal shrugged. She did know a thing or two about smithing. She entered the building once more and soon found the men who were hammering at metal in front of some temporary furnaces. "What do you need help with?" she inquired as she approached one of the men who was pounding on.
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