Summer 47, 124
"The two end furnaces are a good place to start if you have any magic that could help. We need to get them started since they went out, unless you can do it for us."
Sjal found several men standing around as she descended to the end. He gestured to the front of the furnace. She nodded, gesturing for the men to back off. Prioritizing her energy, she selected the most effective technique before starting. She started requesting energy from her father. She felt the energy forming on her side. She thought these thoughts as she opened her mouth that started to glow slightly.
She inhaled deeply and cupped her hands over her mouth. As she released her breath, a thick gout of flame shot out of her mouth and into the hole. She kept exhaling until she was out of breath, withdrawing her hand as she inhaled again, unsure of how hot it needed to get. "Is it that good?" she inquired. The man nodded and gestured to the other furnace.
"Just need that one started," he said to Sjal as she approached. Sjal began to request energy once more. Breathing in, she repeated. Once more, fire shot from her mouth for a few seconds until her breath left her. "I wish we had people like you around here more often, these damn things burn out all the time," the man grinned and nodded.
She caught her breath and her boss turned to face her. "Excellent work," he remarked. "We can wrap this up now, and you can report back."
Sjal wondered what to do first as she wandered back into the streets. She decided it would be best to just stroll around seeking trouble, and that's exactly what she did. Sjal saw nothing of interest as she strolled down the 'market' street of the town. She turned down a small street and walked slowly up the hill, listening for anything intriguing, but she didn't hear anything. This was the state of affairs for the first hour of looking around for more work. Dull, uninteresting, and most importantly, unfulfilling.
Sjal started to think to herself, "I'm so bored. This town is a joke," and she stepped back from her dark alley. She continued forward at her usual slow pace, ignoring the rats and the small amount of litter that had been thrown. Sjal was about to turn around, disappointed that even this shadowy corner of the town could not provide her with anything. It wasn't surprising – it was a small place and she could go to another city… but she'd done a lot of work today and didn't want anything too difficult.
Then, she heard someone scream from down the alley. She dragged her sword into her hands and went flying, seeing herself as if she were a damsel in distress. As she turned the last corner, she discovered the victim. It was a little boy, maybe nine years old, who fit the description of "round" to some extent. The boy appeared to be cornered by a dog, with ragged, grayish-muddy hair sprouting all over it. The dog was just staring at the boy with a sheepish expression in its eyes, without actually attacking.
Sjal charged the potentially rabid animal, yelling angrily at the mutt, which whimpered and bolted down the alley and into the street. Sjal asked the boy, who was now trying to help her up, what had happened. The boy took out a drumstick from his pocket after merely saying that the dog had been attempting to "kill him" for no apparent reason.
Sjal sighed, realizing that the dog was merely asking for food, and put her right palm on the boy's face before turning the corner and heading into the busier street, leaving the overweight boy alone with his meat.
Sjal saw a small group of people congregating near a spot by the side of the road as she continued down the street. Whatever they were watching had the small crowd roaring with pain and cheering. She saw the commotion as she jogged up, her sword resting on her shoulder. Now, two middle-aged men were grappling with each other on the muddy stones. Sjal pushed the throng aside and grabbed the two men, tearing them apart while yelling, "what's the problem here?" When the two men realized what was going on, they finally calmed down.
The person on the left just gave Sjal a quick glance and apologized outright, explaining that it was all just a misunderstanding. Conversely, the man on the right started to writhe and yelled something so vile Sjal had to push it from her memory.
Sjal released her hold on the man and turned to face him. "Could you please shut up and calm down?" she asked.
"He seemed to be a beggar but then he jumped on me!" the man said, glancing first at the other, then back to Sjal, and finally back to himself.
Turning to face him, the other man bellowed, "You only got what you deserved," with sudden intensity. The man never made it very far because Sjal struck him in the head with the flat of her weapon, knocking him unconscious.
She placed the man down gently and propped him up in a sitting position against the wall. The other man heard her say, "you can go." After a long wait, the man startled to consciousness. As he turned to face Sjal, he abruptly got up and started running down the street while yelling more absurdities.
Sjal shook her head and wondered why the hell she was doing this for free. Did she just like keeping the peace? She had no authority yet she still patrolled. She decided to just keep on walking. Everything seemed to calm down in the small town. That was, until she saw man who was rushing through the throngs of people heading home before dusk. The man ran at a breakneck pace, knocking over an elderly man, a number of women, and children.
Sjal simply blinked into the throng and grabbed the man by his shirt after sensing with her better judgment that he might be up to no good. The man's legs were taken aback by the abrupt loss of momentum, causing him to perform a near-complete backflip before landing hard on his back. The man rose, groaning in agony, and turned to face Sjal.
"Grabbing me by my...," he said, pausing when he recognized Sjal as the one who had broken up the earlier fight. "I apologize. I have to get home before my wife does, or she will kill me!"
"Slow down a bit next time," Sjal said, nodding in agreement. The man cowered and stalked off into the crowd.
Considering how late it was and how exhausted she was, Sjal was relieved that the remainder of the night went without incident. Late at night, she finally made her way back to her inn room.
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