Another Odd Jobs [Job/Solo/Part 1]

Ivris waited patiently at the docks, Osiris next to her, as she waited for the woman to appear. This was her most recent task, which she didn't necessarily enjoy to perform; she would must rather be helping the citizens of Heliohapt and defending them from the evils that were abundant in the day to day life of the city. But she had been tasked with the protection of this dignitary from Kou, and so she would do her job at the best of her abilities. She simply hoped that nothing bad would happen; she didn't need any more surprises or strange things happening after having dying and come back to life just recently. She hadn't seen Tenma since then... it might be because of a strange, lingering feeling that she couldn't quite place. While she'd planned to see him soon, the city guard had asked her to handle this matter, and even though she told them about the fact that she'd lost her magic, they didn't really seem to care. They could see the large snake accompanying her and could tell that she was by no means defenseless.

So now, here she was, watching as the large ship docked and let off its passengers, the first and foremost who must have been the noblewoman from Kou. Bowing slightly, a gesture to show respect even though my rank here nearly qualified me as her own, I did not speak to her to avoid any awkward scenarios. I'm sure she didn't even know who I was, and furthermore, she probably didn't want to know. The city guard had hired me most likely on her behalf, so she had no reason to care or know who I was. She had other things on her mind, and so the first came began without a single word spoken between the two of us. After leaving her belongings at one of Heliohapt's most famous inns, she began the rest of her day, dragging Osiris and I across the city; the rest of her entourage, save one man who seemed to cater to her every whim and desire without even needing to be told, who followed her everywhere it seemed, had been left behind. And we walked through the city without end, or at least, the area of the city that the noblewoman wanted to see. Visits were made to people that had close ties to the Pharaoh, long hours spent in their homes chatting as I nearly fell asleep in boredom. And like that, the first day came and went. When we at last returned to the inn, I was relieved of duty for the day by the inn's private guards, which was just fine by me. After a long day of moving about in the sun, without anyone asking if I would like some water, which I certainly would've enjoyed, I was exhausted, and it was about time I got the rest I deserved. I just hoped that after all that had happened, that I could sleep. The nightmares had begun... and I was absolutely terrified.

511/1125 word count

The second day she paid a visit to the Golden Palace, a structure I'd never been into in all my life in Heliohapt. Although my family was of the aristocracy, even we had our limits, for the Pharaoh and his palace was quite beyond anything we could ever hope to be on personal terms with, except for the few here and there who had familial or other ties to the Pharaoh. However, this woman was not important enough for the Pharaoh; she was simply here to speak with one of his advisors on a matter between Heliohapt and Kou, likely something to do with trade or something like that. Standing outside the door, feeling pointless due to the safety and security of the Golden Palace; after all, there were guards at practically every corner, and it felt like I was always being watched at any time. However, the longer I stayed in the Golden Palace, the longer I felt something was off. It seemed there was a dark, looming presence that I just couldn't shake. And when at last the noblewoman was done with her business, as I turned to escort her out, I swear I could see the swish of strange robes, the edge of a white hat, and strange laughter coming from the darker hallway to my left. But it might just be my exhaustion; I hadn't slept well last night, and had almost been late in my duties as the guard for the noblewoman because of it. Thankfully, however, I'd been just on time, although I could tell the noblewoman had counted every second since the minute she'd asked if things were ready to her servant, who seemed to despise me all the more no matter what I did. In any case, however, the day went on; the woman feasted at a restaurant in town and went to some of the higher-end shops to buy what caught her eye, careless as could be. I was more or less relaxed; there hadn't seemed to be any threats, other than the sinister presence I'd felt earlier which I wasn't even sure had been real. However, I still kept my guard up. One never knew whether there might be someone desperate to rob a guarded individual, and I wasn't going to let them get by me at any chance. However, as the sun began to set and the day came to an end, it seemed as though nothing had happened. And so the woman went back to her inn, guarded as per usual, while I returned home, Osiris curling up around me after I got ready to sleep and got into my bed. It was good that nothing had happened so far, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the presence, that dark, villainous presence I'd felt earlier, had been real. I worried for the next day and what it would hold as I drifted off, just hoping nothing would go wrong. Needing a good night's sleep, I tried to put myself at ease. But the nightmares would always come back.

1022/1125 word count

The last day was finally upon me, and even though I was exhausted from a lack of sleep, I got up to finish the job I'd been assigned. Thankfully, when I arrived at the inn, it seemed that the noblewoman was ready to be done just as much as I was.
[Job Word Count 51/1125]

---

Her servants were bringing her things back to the ship, and it seemed as though she was only going to be making a short trip to the temples today before heading off. Good news for me; I just wanted to relax, and guarding her was just giving me a headache what with her desire to go everywhere that she might want to in the city, which obviously didn't include the lower parts of the city.

In any case, we finished up our visits to the temples, and as we were heading back from the Temple of Ra, finally finishing the noblewoman's tour of Heliohapt as I brought her back to the ship, that's when my bad premonitions finally came true. A group of assassins, or so it seemed, had surrounded us, causing the noblewoman to scream in fear of her life. Her servant was of no help either, it seemed, so it was completely up to me. As it to remind me of my duty, the noblewoman shouted, "Don't just sit there! Do something; this is why I hired you!"

So I went into action, pointing at two of the men in a signal of attack to Osiris. He thankfully understood, using his bio-electricity to Static Shock one of them.

[Training Static Shock WC 210/188]

---

Using Electric Zap on the other. They slowed down considerably, allowing us to take on the two that were headed for us. Before they could act, he struck one of them, knocking them to the ground. The other, however, used Parry to deflect Osiris's strike; however, by doing so he made an opening for me to jab him in the throat.

As the other two men approached, Osiris used Shed Skin to block the one who attacked with a Slash, for the other seemed to be holding his distance from the black snake in fear. I, however, had my hands full; my assailant attacked me with Slash, grazing my arm but drawing blood. The blood wasn't gushing, but the cut wasn't a good thing by any means, and all I could hope was that their blades hadn't been poisoned. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be. However, in the instant he had attacked, so had I. I winded him with a punch to the stomach, effectively knocking him out. Moving to help Osiris, he'd taken a Slash as well, but thankfully was otherwise okay due to his hardened scales. He struck one of the assassins while I dashed in and swept the legs out from under the other.
[Training Electric Jab Word Count 207/188]

---

As he tried to attack with Slashes aimed at me, Osiris blocked them by using Hooded Block, effectively negating their damage, allowing Osiris to whip him with his tail and knock him out. And just like that, it was all over. A city guard from the temple had heard all of the commotion, and was headed our way, and I'd leave it up to him to take the men to jail. Nodding to him, I turned back to face the noblewoman, who seemed to be overjoyed that I'd protected her.

"Ahh!" the noblewoman shouted. "My heroes! How can I ever repay you for saving me like that?"

"You can pay us and leave; I'd rather not have to fight anymore," I murmured, not in the mood to indulge her.

"Right, of course," she said, drawing the reward from her purse. "Here you are, let's hurry then shall we?"

I wasn't surprised she was finally not ignoring me now; after all, I'd saved her life, but it was still kind of frustrating to think that she'd viewed me as otherwise worthless. As she boarded her boat and waved good-bye, I put on a smile and said good riddance, glad that was all over and that I wasn't left empty-handed. Still, something bothered me. As Osiris and I walked back home, bleeding slightly, my mind wondered about something. Once we reached the house and got cleaned up, bandaging our wounds, it occurred to me that those assassins hadn't even tried to get past me and at the noblewoman. If she was their goal, why hadn't they even tried to just get around me? There was definitely something suspicious there no matter what way you looked at it. For one thing, they'd seemed to know exactly where we had been and had made no attempt to demand we give up and hand over the money we had. It was strange... what kind of thief wouldn't jump at the chance to get away without fighting? Osiris was beginning to look more and more imposing, so it only made sense that they would've at least tried to scare us into silent submission. No, what worried me, as I headed outside for some meditation, Osiris slithering next to me, was that they hadn't cared about any of what a normal thief would.
[Training Hooded Strike Word Count 375+/375]

---

They were assassins, no doubt, but even then, why hadn't they tried to go around me? An assassin wouldn't have wasted their time fighting us; they would have tried to sneak up and take the noblewoman from behind. It was obvious something was wrong, but I couldn't tell what. Could it have something to do with the evil presence I'd felt at the palace yesterday? As Osiris coiled next to me to keep from getting too hot, I sat down on the sand of the beach and tried to clear my mind of what was troubling me.

They were gone, at least for now. But there was definitely something strange about all that had happened, and I wasn't going to let my guard down at any time I was in the city now. If it was me they were after, then I'd make them regret the day they came after me. I wasn't going to die, especially not so soon after what I'd been through. So I began my meditation, which I hoped would relieve my nightmares, but found myself going back to the day of my death.
[Training Coil Word Count 188/188]

---

I trusted Osiris now, but it was still a lingering thought in my mind that I had died because of what he'd done. He again, as usual, Shed Skin next to me due to his continual growing. It honestly seemed like he never stopped growing. I wasn't sure why or how I'd come back to life, but I knew I couldn't waste the opportunity I'd been given. Life was too short to waste; I could tell you that myself first hand. But things had certainly changed greatly in the last few weeks, and it made me wonder if these things had happened for a reason. Could it be that my death had been decided, and that I'd found that egg because someone else had wanted me to go on that job? Had it been that the reason I'd been attacked today was another attempt to kill me, while I was still weak? It was hard to accept it all, but I knew there was definitely something strange about the whole thing. It was possible I was just making things up now, but I felt as though something wasn't right.
[Training Shed Skin Word Count 189/188]

---

Something inside of me told me that there was something else going on, and no matter what, I'd get down to the bottom of it. At last, I began to pull away from these thoughts, trying to find peace in my mind. But I knew that peace was still a long ways away, and that I'd be going through a lot more before I was ever able to truly help the world become a better place for those who lived in it with love and honesty. No matter what happened, however, I'd be ready.
[Job Word Count 94/1125]

1125+/1125 word count

180/250 magoi remaining

Abilities:

Osiris:

Profession Word Count Reductions: