Sakama stood weighing her options in front of a small message board located in a newer looking building in central Era.  She was not the only mage here looking at the board holding multiple job opportunities, but she certainly seemed to be the weakest.  Her eyes scanned over the easier job opportunities, leaving the higher ranking ones to the more experiences mages.  Taking a job was the last thing that Sakama wanted to be doing currently, but after only a week in Era, she had found her pockets were feeling a bit empty, something the young female was not entirely used to.  Her face turned to that of displeasure as her hands hovered over a listing to the far left, posted by one Augustus Tavalar.  The request seemed simple enough, guard a caravan for a night while his guards had their fun on the town.  Tearing the paper from the wall, she glanced around the building to find an older looking man with matted looking hair.  He well resembled the man posted on the listing.  Taking confident strides towards the sketchy looking man in the corner, she found herself dreading the job.

The man gave her a simple smile as she approached.  “I see you’ve found my listing.  The caravan will sit on the edge of town tonight.  The job is simple, relieve my men for the night, keep my wares safe, and I shall pay you for your duties in the morning.”  The man said simply, taking the listing from her hand.  She stood still for a moment, questioning the nerve of the man.  Had he just expected her to take the job with no questions asked?  Seeing that the mage was still standing before him moments later, he sighed.  “My men will not wait all night.  Now shoo.”  Instead of slapping the rude man across his face, she bit her tongue and began making her way towards the caravan, as the sun had already begun sinking to the west.  She drank a steaming cup of coffee as she walked.  The wind was blowing that evening, making it much colder out than she first thought it would be.  She pulled on the jacket that she had luckily stuffed into her bag that day before invoking on her journey to find work.

Once Sakama had made it to the caravan, the men had already began their drinking for the night.  Mumbling about their relief taking too long, they scurried off in search of something interesting to entertain them for the night.  The female, on the other hand, settled in for a long night.  She had luckily remembered to bring her sketch books, the only things keeping her sane during long nights alone.  She glanced out along the horizon, the moonlight the only thing aiding her in seeing her surroundings.  The sounds of animals scurrying along the ground around her made her uneasy.  She had never liked the dark, yet she very much enjoyed the night.  Her fingers tightened around the pencil in her hand and she put the pencil to the paper, beginning the long process of bringing the world around her to life on a piece of canvas.

The minutes ticked by feeling like hours.  She glanced down at her drawing, almost completed, and then back at her watch, seeing that only four hours had gone by.  She had a while to go.  Deciding that it was time for a round, she jumped down from her spot, perched on top of the caravan and took to the edge of the clearing, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary.  She would stop every few feet at the sound of an animal running through the forest floor, or a limb that she herself had stepped on.  She had officially begun psyching herself out.  With a shake of her head and a sigh, she continued on her walk around the caravan.

The sound of a bush rustling stopped her once again, only this time, the sound came from something larger than a friendly forest creature.  Closing her hands tightly into fists and readying herself, she walked slowly and silently towards the sound.  The rustling had not stopped as she neared the bush.  An animal would have been able to sense her, and would have took off into the forest. Gently pushing a limb out of her vision, she peered into the darkness, seeing the silhouette of two people.  She was ready to defend herself if need be, but, as she neared the two, she heard the sharp giggle of a female.  The mage stopped in confusion and watched the two a moment longer, a bright pink blush covering her cheeks as she realized it was simply a couple trying to enjoy alone time together.  She had watched the male place a tender kiss to the female’s throat, and she knew it was time to leave, that was not something she had wanted to watch any further.

Leaving the couple alone, she wandered back to the caravan and pulled herself back to the top, sitting on the edge of the merchants waggon.  She had figured that the couple was of no harm to the merchant’s wares.  Her face was still tinted slightly pink at the invasion of the couple, but she was able to quickly shake off the uncomfortable feeling and resume her watch.  After all, if that was her, she would not want to be interrupted in that situation.  Thankfully, the sun had began to rise over the horizon, making it easier for her to see her surroundings.  Taking out her color pencils, she began to sketch one more masterpiece before her watch was over.  The sunrise was, after all, not something that Sakama arose to watch everyday.  It was a rare occasion that she was up before nine in the morning.

Her pencils glided across the page skillfully, painting it colors of red, orange, and a slight tinge of purple.  The shadows hiding behind the trees were the most difficult part of her entire drawing, and she found it was a challenge even to herself to get the image transferred to the page.  At about ten in the morning, she finally heard the sounds of approaching men.  As they came into view she realized that none of the faces belonged to the man who was supposed to be paying her.  With narrowed eyes, she approached the most sober and awake looking one of the men.  Before she could even mutter a word, the man held out a pouch to her.  Looking down at it, she took it from his hand, weighing it.  Nodding with thanks, she collected her belongings and left the caravan behind.

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