Mission Taken - Whac-A-Mole:

Kaia Mai hadn’t been home very long from her last mission escorting the merchants before she found herself being handed another mission scroll. She didn’t mind in the slightest, of course, because she enjoyed being kept busy. She had gone to sleep that night, looking forward to some rest since she had spent the past 36 hours wide awake. She had slept through the night rather well and awoke to the sunlight streaming in through her window. However, since her alarm clock hadn’t gone off yet she knew she was making good time.

She yawned and stretched before sitting up and rubbing at her eyes. When she was finished she pushed her hair out of her face and got out of her bed. She took the tip to make it, hitting the button on the alarm clock when she was finished to silence it before it could even begin to go off. She then turned to her dresser and pulled out a fresh outfit; a black tank top with a white t-shirt to wear over top, some black shorts, under garments, and her sandals. With her clothing in her arms she walked out of her room, across the hallway, and into the bathroom.

A quick shower later and she was drying off and getting dressed. She brushed her hair and put it into a ponytail before brushing her teeth. She then crossed back across the hallway, steam billowing out into the hallway from how hot she had had her shower, and back into her bedroom. She tied her village headband around her head; the thing pushing her bangs backwards.

Fully ready she headed to the kitchen to grab a bite of food before leaving for the day: her growling stomach was demanding such after all and a good hot meal was in order. She found a plate of food waiting for her; steam still rising up off of the eggs and bacon and the butter on the toast still melting. She grabbed her plate and sat down at the kitchen table where she began to eat: her appetite more than pleased by the delicious food. When she finished she rinsed her plate off in the sink, washed it, and then put it in the drying rack to air dry.

She headed out the door and to the location she would be working at that day…

Word Count: 395 / 1,000

Kaia Mai moved through the village quickly but she didn’t much herself. She followed closely the directions to the farm she was to go to, thinking of the task ahead of her. One of the local farms had a mole infestation that they needed help getting rid of: it wasn’t a glorifying job such as escorting the merchants had been but she was not after glory: she just wanted to be as helpful as she possibly could no matter what the task happened to be. Besides, there would be plenty of time for the more dangerous missions in her future when she ranked up and got older.

It took her roughly ten minutes before she was on the edge of the main portion of the village and heading towards the farm lands. Another five minutes after that and she was running up the dirt path that led to the farm house in the distance. As she moved she could see very well the destruction that the large mole infestation had caused and it caused her to frown. These people needed their farm to survive, both to provide them money and to provide them food, and these vile creatures were causing them to lose money, to lose food. She would definitely have to put a stop to it, no questions asked.

She skidded to a stop as she jumped up on the front porch. She knocked and then took a step back from the door, hearing footsteps inside as she waited coming closer to the door. The door opened and an elderly woman stepped outside. “Hello dear. Have you been sent here to help us with our mole problem?”, the elderly woman asked her.

“Yes, ma’am.”, Kaia Mai responded politely.

“Good, we need the help. I’m sure you saw the damage those creatures caused when you were coming up the lane. Do whatever you can to get rid of them, but try not to damage our crops any further or our land, please.”

“Of course, ma’am.” Kaia Mai responded. “May I ask? When was the last time you watered your crops? I had an idea of flooding the creatures out, but I want to ensure I don’t damage your crops…”, Kaia Mai asked and explained. Her idea was simple enough: find the mole holes and shove a watering hose down them and then flood them out – one of two things were likely going to happen, either the moles would drown and die and be broken down as fertilizer for the plants, or the moles would escape and go elsewhere. Either or, it would solve the problem for the farmers.

“No, we have not watered them in quite a few days, honestly. You’re more than welcome to use our hose and try and drive them out. It’s one of the things my husband has not tried yet. I’ll be inside if you need anything, dear.” And with that said the elderly woman went inside, leaving Kaia Mai to figure out and solve the problem.

Word Count: 502 + 395 = 897 / 1,000

Kaia Mai turned her attention to the water hose that was coiled at the side of the house. With that located she turned her attention to the field, noticing a series of holes nearby. She found the deepest one she could; using a stick to measure the depths, and then turned her attention back to the water hose. She returned back to the house and uncoiled the hose, dragging it with her as she went. She stuck the hose down into the hole and then went back and turned on the water.

From there it was just a waiting game as the holes began to flood with water. It truly was like killing two birds with one stone: she was watering the farmers crops while beginning to flood the moles tunnels – which all seemed to be connected given the water that was beginning to squirt out of several of them like a little water volcano that was erupting.

She could hear the angry and frustrated cries of the creatures as they were ran out of their holes; sent scurrying off into the local woods. She kept the water running for several minutes afterwards, ensuring that every tunnel she could find was filled: meaning its occupants had either fled or drowned: neither of which mattered to Kaia Mai so long as she got her job at hand completed.

When she was sure they were dead she shut the water off and then coiled the hose back up; putting it back exactly where she had found it. She returned to the front porch where she knocked and waited for the elderly woman to reappear. “I’ve driven out the moles, ma’am. If they return I will personally come back an flush them out again. I hope the water is enough to keep them from coming back though. I also watered your crops in the process.”

The woman nodded with a smile and Kaia Mai turned, heading on her way to turn in on her mission completed: all while hoping the moles found a nice new home to live in that wouldn’t affect any other farmers.

Word Count: 352 + 897 = 1,249 / 1,000