The party wasn't successful if the sheep were correct. The party ran for their safe zone the moment that sheep transformed into their true forms, the half-sheep, half-human minotaurs. As per RADAWC Dungeon Creature Guidelines, they did not pursue the chase once they passed the threshold on the beach where the party is safe. There they will have to wait eight hours before they can attempt the quest again or quit. Because there can’t be more than one party on an island, this is the biggest opening they will have to get Silas out of the cave and to get the help he needs.

  She folded up her compost pile blanket and stuck it in her bag, just in case she needs it in the future, or Silas does after she leaves. “We have about eight hours before you need to be back in this cave ready for them,” she said, guiding him out of the cage. Without her, there is no way he could navigate out of his cave and find his way to the sub quest offices.

  “Storymancer’s not going to like this. I’m not even allowed to leave to sleep,” he warned behind her, keeping one of his large hands on her shoulder gently.

  She clenched her jaw at the thought of him not being allowed to leave the cage and cave for any reason, including sleep. Making another note, she continued navigating Silas out of the cave. “Leave the storymancer to me.”

  Knowing that the party won’t be leaving the beach any time soon didn’t ease her anxiety as she walked Silas along the wall of the cave. The last thing she needed was for them to notice and make a complaint that they didn’t see a cyclops in the cave, or worse, accuse her of stealing their quest.

  The stiff roots that she felt were holding her chest tight loosened the moment she saw the sub quest office building. Silas didn’t appear to have the same worries about the party seeing them. Either he knows they can’t see the cave from the beach, or he couldn’t see where they were.

  The sub quest office building was a smaller version of the main office. The walls were beige, pockmarked with windows. It stuck out against the scenery like how mushrooms stick out in an office. The office isn’t visible to adventurers. In fact, some quests don't allow adventurers to travel too closely towards them. This quest took the approach of sticking the building in an area where the adventurers have no need or motivation to go.

  The HR department was a small room in the basement, similar to that of the Neverburrow quest. It shared the basement with the accounting department. It's clear this office wasn’t built with the accommodation of larger employees in mind. Silas had to descend the stairs sideways with a hunch, and in the HR department office he had to crouch to avoid hitting his head. In the small waiting area there were no chairs large enough to seat him.

  A well-dressed woman in a pencil skirt wearing very pointy shoes stalked towards the empty desk. She had faintly dryad-like features, with lily-green skin and her leaf-like hair pulled up into a bun.

  “Hello Silas, I wasn’t expecting you today. And who is this?” She asked, her gaze quickly flicking between the two. Her eyes reminded Keylynn of a murky swamp.

  “Salutations, I’m hoping you are the local sub quest HR representative, Penny Iliad. “I’m Keylynn, an HR consultant from the seventh here on case file HR-600-1I-N2B-C,” she explained professionally.

  The partial dryad frowned and sat at the computer as she typed. “May I see the case file number again, please?”

  Keylynn nodded and showed her the file case number on her matrix tablet. The woman nodded and turned her gaze back to her computer. "Thank you. By the way, I am not Penny." She casually corrected as she typed.

  "My apologies." Keylynn bowed her head.

  "It's an understandable mistake. Penny works in the main office for Ody's Path. I'm Nessa, the temp floating between three different sub quests." She explained while she worked. She stopped with a frown. "According to my records, it was rejected by Ody himself a week ago. When were you assigned to it?"

  Keylynn frowned at that. It wasn't standard protocol to cancel HR requests at the Storymancer level when they reached the main office. “Yesterday. The previous rejections were on grounds that break current HR regulations and show a startling lack of health and safety concerns. Presently there is a party in their safe zone, giving us a very rare window in order to get Silas’ needs taken care of,” Keylynn explained, showing the sub quest status to Nessa.

  She frowned at her computer screen again. “You’re right, this is the perfect time, and I can’t guarantee when another will arise, but I’m not supposed to authorize anything without Penny’s permission.” She chewed on her lip, torn between corporate protocol and adhering to her boss's orders.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “Then don’t authorize anything. I will. As an HR consultant, it is well within my ability to authorize it on your behalf. All I need from you is to fill out the Relinquishment of Authority Form—2E—for outside consultants.” She explained, pulling out her clipboard of paperwork. She found the form she was looking for easily. This form removes all authority from Nessa, freeing her of blame should her boss be irate over how things transpired. All Nessa has to do is explain the reasoning, which in their case is a valid use of this form.

  "Oh, that's good." Nessa cracked a grin at her. "I didn’t even think of that. Are you sure you are willing to take this on?" She started to fill out the form. "Ody is not someone to be trifled with. Did you know these sub quest offices are mostly empty, filled with floaters? He can’t keep his quest fully staffed. I'm only waiting for a better position to open up."

  "From what I've seen, he should be more concerned with me than I should be of him." Keylynn woke up her matrix tablet. "May I use your comments in a request for a complete assessment?" She asked about the decision made the moment Ness disclosed staff retention problems.

  "Oh, please do." Nessa said, handing Keylynn her clipboard back with the form filled out. Keylynn smiled and read through it quickly before slipping it in her bag. Keylynn took a moment to jot down everything Nessa said on her matrix tablet.

  “Do you have any healers on standby that are qualified for Cyclops examinations?” She asked, circling back to Silas's plight. All quests are required to have an appropriate number of healers on standby, and these healers need to be qualified to heal all personnel for that quest. Lacking one will trigger the emergency temporary cessation of all quest line activities until one can be found.

  Nessa’s eyes widened at the question, “We definitely should. Let me check.” She nodded and began rapidly typing as if the thought of a complete assessment request invigorated her.

  “I truly hope you do. Should you find one, please send an emergency request for a medical examination.” Keylynn ordered. Choosing to enlist Nessa's help rather than to displace her.

  She watched Nessa relax and rapidly type on her keyboard. “The healer, Teleke, had an opening and is on their way.” She announced triumphantly. Keylynn smiled. This is one of those moments that made her love her job, winning while playing within the constraints of the imposed rules and regulations.

  “Excellent, we will take a seat and wait.” She sat in one of the waiting room chairs. Silas unfortunately had to settle for sitting on the ground.

  While she waited for the healer, she began her complete assessment request on her matrix tablet. She has more than enough information to include in the request that she's confident that it will be approved. She sent a copy of her complete assessment request to Dauven before she submitted it. He should at the very least have noticed that she is kicking a rabid hornets' nest.

  “No need to ask who the Cyclops is, now is there?” The healer asked approaching them. “And that makes you Keylynn, the H.R. consultant who’s ruffling feathers.” The healer has clear goblinoid traits with big tusks jutting out from his lower jaw. He wore small spectacles that sat low on his face. His moss-green skin was mottled with dark splotches, indicating his ancestors were forest-dwelling, similar to hers. His white coat was wrinkled and billowed around them as they walked, revealing their brown sweater vest and slacks. “I can take you two in the examination room in the back,” he added before walking away.

  Keylynn smiled and helped Silas return to his feet. “Do you wish for me to remain out here? I am not required to sit with you during your medical exam.” She clarified, guiding him through the narrow passage.

  “Keylynn can come,” he answered with a smile. “She nice. Got me this medical exam.”

  All her anxieties about moving up to floor seven and her fear of Akzer melted away with his words. Helping Silas get his medical exam has been one of the most fulfilling things she’s done at her job in many years. His trusting smile made potentially losing her job worth it.

  Teleke’s exam revealed that aside from the eye, Silas was nutrient deficient and was suffering from some older injuries that never healed properly. He went above and beyond, laying the magical groundwork and healing Silas, but like everything, magic has limits. Silas will need at least 8 weeks off of work to recover completely, and going forward he requires some serious changes to his work-life balance to prevent him from slipping back.

  His eye sustained permanent damage from the repeated trauma that no healer, without divine intervention, can heal. He will need to wear glasses from this point on and is recommended to no longer take weapons to his eye or risk permanent blindness.

  With the help of the healer, she was able to get Silas 8 weeks of paid medical leave with backdated danger pay. The healer also approved Silas for danger pay due to the many eye injuries he has incurred throughout his time working on this quest. Upon his return to work, his role in the quest is to be re-evaluated, and steps have to be reviewed by and approved by both Keylynn and Teleke.

  After updating both his personnel file and his medical files, the healer wished them luck. Keylynn arranged for Silas's voyage off the island and escorted him to the ferry dock. She wanted him to start his paid medical leave as soon as possible because it's what he needs most to heal.

  She let out a deep, relieved sigh as the ferry left the dock. Silas is free and safe from this quest for 8 weeks. She hoped he wouldn't return until after a complete assessment was conducted.

  “Who the fuck stole my Cyclops?!” Boomed a voice from behind her. She schooled her demeanour from glee at getting to finally meet the infamous storymancer to that of a calm, cool, and collected HR consultant.