Chapter 23: Bear on a Boat

  The adventurer vessel was reminiscent of the grand ships of legends and stories. It had several large masts bearing massive sails and dozens of smaller ones. There were holes along the hull hinting at the potential for oars. Keylynn doubted that her small team would be able to sail the impressive ship. She expected a whole crew to be present on board, but there wasn’t. Entirely powered by magic, the ship pulled free from the dock and began sailing while she and her team stood around the deck.

  After a quick tour, she concluded that they were the only ones on board. Each of the living quarters gave them all the conveniences of the modern world that they have grown to expect. There were even matrix tablets disguised as tomes in the ship’s library that allowed them to order various weapons and adventuring gear, something she would have killed for during her time in the FrostMaiden. There were matrix tomes available in the ship's library. Tsunami was the one who took advantage of the delivery service first, ordering himself a standard staff, just in case he needed it. It was delivered within an hour. A small bell in front of a cupboard in the ship’s library rang, and inside the cupboard was the staff.

  Aside from placing various orders, there wasn’t much to do on the ship. After the first few orders, it seemed to have lost its charm. Nothing came for free. The only thing they could do was wait for the quest to begin. Keylynn kept up to date on Dauven’s team and was pleased they at least had a stroke of luck. The new HR representative gave them authorization to access the records room on Ithika, streamlining the assessment for Dauven’s team and keeping them mostly unavailable to help her team. They had even better news: Dauven’s dear old friend informed him that the quest story was familiar because it followed the infamous quest of a heroic elf on his way to get home after winning a war. Ody stole an infamous tale that was so old no one knew if it was true or not.

  Keylynn found herself having time to focus on her leadership training. Dauven suggested that she use the time to be productive, and she didn’t have anything else better to do. The goals of a leader were shockingly different than the goals of someone else, according to the minds behind the RADAWC leadership programs. The goal of a leader should be aspirational, something they strive for every day but will never be able to achieve. Leaders, unlike other staff of RADAWC, have to always be looking to the future, and their goals need to reflect that. Some of the example goals she was given included: be the best version of yourself, lead with pride knowing you did the best you could, and represent your team every minute of your day. None of these seemed to be goals to her, but what did she know? She wasn’t in a leadership role yet.

  She then had to draft her own set of leader goals. Keylynn rolled her eyes, wishing for the quest to begin. What sort of nonsense was she supposed to say? The provided examples weren't goals. Goals were supposed to be something achievable, not a state of mind.

  Her tablet chimed, telling her she had a new email. Perfect, that was exactly what she needed. She copied the nonsense goals they gave her and changed the wording so it wasn’t obvious that she copied them before she moved on to her email.

  To: Keylynn

  From: Gil of the Gamesh Family

  Subject: Negotiation Failure

  Negotiations went as you expected. The negotiator wanted a rapid resolution. Akzer had spreadsheets and graphs outlining how much the dispute is costing the company! A spreadsheet and graph for each and every day of the dispute! Can you believe that slimy, slithering asshole?! Oh wait, snakes don’t have those… that cloaca-hole! The negotiator said if I didn’t reopen immediately, I would be responsible for covering the deficiency from my wages. Not to worry, I told em where they could shove that resolution (up the snake asses' cloaca).

  Thank you for the coffee cart. With a temporary coffee option, the office isn’t as against me as it was. Over half of the office is on my side after seeing the damage. You were right. I’ve even had workers from lower floors giving their support, and all of floor 5 are boycotting their break room.

  The rest of the Gamesh family have begun restrictive services in my support. I don’t know if this will affect the entire building. One can only hope. Anyways, hope your assessment is going better than my negotiations. As always, here are the official transcripts and the like.

  Gil

  She read through the official resolution proposal and negotiation transcript twice. The second time was to check that she was understanding them. The total sum they were claiming Gil owed the company was half a million gold pennies. The negotiator told him that he either opens his break room now or faces the financial penalties. Her corpse flower mushroom whipped several hyphae out in irritation before several carrion flies appeared.

  She sucked in a deep breath and turned her gaze over to the bed that she set up on her desk for her mimic. She didn’t have a name for them yet, but it will come to her. She tried to grow several different mushrooms for them to sample, but only small white mushrooms grew. The small rock mimic didn’t notice the problem when they cracked an eye open and focused on her offerings. She pushed all concerning thoughts from her mind as she returned to her matrix tablet; she has a brownie to help, and she can’t be distracted.

  She let out a deep breath and quickly typed up a reply to Gil, telling him to not back down on the negotiations. If he concedes, it will set a new precedent for negotiations going forward. The ship jostled, pulling her out of the email for a moment. She quickly told him that she will send another email soon before she hit send.

  The ship rocked violently, throwing her from her chair. Her corpse flower hyphae caught the baby mimic and gently placed it in her hands. She smiled and thanked her colony before slowly getting up.

  “I’m sorry, little pebble. I think that’s the sign the next quest is starting. You stay here.” She gathered up the mimic's bed and tucked it into her bed, just in case.

  She raced through the lower decks to the main deck and saw her team standing in the middle looking up. Was the ship looking older, or was she seeing things? The deck looked splintered and weathered, and the sails were a collection of patches stitched together. Where there was smoothly polished wood, she saw an old weathered ship that had seen its fair share of storms.

  Her team was the only thing that looked the same, and the wind was attempting to sweep them off the ship. She reached her magic out to the wind and told it firmly that it will not be throwing herself off of the ship. With every step she took towards her team, the wind howled and bellowed around her, but her feet remained firmly planted on the splintered wooden deck.

  “Why are we looking up? I see nothing in the sky,” she yelled over the wind.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Wind elementals. We need to capture them,” Tsunami hollered back at her.

  Keylynn squinted up at the sky. She didn’t see anything in the clear sky. She waited, hoping more would appear, but she couldn’t see anything, not even the sun. How can she help her team when she can’t see what they are fighting? She can’t fight a wind elemental that she cannot see.

  “You two need to start doing something,” Demetra hissed, shoving a bag in both Inferno’s and Tsunami’s hands.

  “Can’t punch wind, dumbass,” Inferno snapped back at her.

  “Can’t fly either,” Tsunami yelled, his eyes darting across the sky.

  Keylynn shook her head, shaking herself from her panic. They were scared too. They needed her to keep a level head. She reached out with her magic, hoping she could sense the angered wind. If she can track the wind, she can find the elementals. All she could feel was the cold wind whipping against her face.

  “Everyone shut it. Mushroom Boss is making a bad face,” Tsunami said, bringing an end to the bickering.

  Keylynn sucked in a deep breath. They can see that she was rattled. She needed to be calm. “My apologies, it seems I won’t be much help in this moment.” For the first time in what felt like her entire adult life, she was useless.

  Inferno shot her a concerned look, then shrugged. “We have a plan anyhow. So stand back, Mushroom Boss, and prepare to be amazed.”

  Tsunami gave Inferno a nod, and they both took off running in opposite directions at speeds that were definitely not safe on a ship. Once they were out of sight, both Ragna and Demetra split up, running in opposite directions, leaving Keylynn alone. The wind calmed around her as she looked once again in the sky. She saw nothing. Where was Zukyov?

  From where she stood, she saw Tsunami bolt past Ranga before veering around out of sight. Ragna unsheathed a narrow-bladed sword and began slicing it through the air. In a sudden gust, Ragna lost his footing, and he went tumbling towards the sea. Acting purely on instinct, she reached out with her magic to cushion him in a bubble of wind, stopping him from falling into the violent swells of the sea below. She strained to control her bubble to set him gently on the ship’s deck. He dusted himself off, giving her a curious look.

  “I can see you, not the illusionary elementals,” she explained.

  He nodded and ran to go help Demetra, who was struggling to keep her feet firmly on the deck. She had one arm wound tightly with rope while the other flailed in the wind. Ragna wound one arm around her waist as he grabbed a thick bundle of ropes with the other.

  “Can you see where my daggers hit?” Demetra yelled at Keylynn before she tossed a dagger. Keylynn squinted and struggled to see the dagger before it disappeared completely.

  She shook her head, frustrated. “Wind Elementals don’t bleed,” she yelled over the howling wind.

  All around her, her team was struggling to stay on the ship, let alone capture an elemental. Tsunami was right; he can’t hit the wind. Ragna’s blade was useless, and so were Demetra’s daggers. There has to be an easy solution to their problem. Adventurers solve this quest several times a day easily. But they aren't a team of adventurers.

  A bear's roar echoed across the irate sea and travelled along the wind. She whipped her head around confused. Since when was there a bear on this ship?

  An impossibly large bear barreled from below and bellowed a roar at the sky. It swiped its massive paws in the air and snapped its powerful jaws. Keylynn’s heart skipped a beat. There wasn’t a mention of a bear in the quest.

  She knows that bear, which doesn't make sense. She hadn’t seen a bear this large in ages, and she didn’t remember that bear being anywhere near that large.

  The bear ran towards Demetra and Ragna and snapped its jaws at something. The bear looked ridiculous with its jaw propped open. There has to be something in its jaw.

  “Zukyov! About time you joined in on the fun! Let’s get this one in the bag.” Ragna released Demetra and pulled out a bag from his pocket. He wrestled the bag around the invisible creature held tight by the bear's jaw.

  She reached her magic out towards the bear. She was shocked to discover that Zukyov and the bear were one and the same, which was odd. She felt a small glimmer of old magic, similar to that of the trees of her forest. His bear transformation must be caused by an old magic persisting in his bloodline.

  The wind howled loudly overhead, threatening to whip everyone into the cold sea. Keylynn formed several walls of wind around her team, trying to keep them safe from the worst of the elemental's wrath. She won’t be able to keep the walls maintained forever, but, for now, her team won’t go flying.

  Ragna ran and leapt in the air. He got caught in the torrents of rage-fueled wind. She felt the rage of the elementals directed at him as he climbed through the air. He was surprisingly composed.

  Every time she tried to wrap her wind around Ragna, the wind elementals blocked her. She wasn’t strong enough to fight the elementals and maintain the wind walls around the rest of the team.

  She blinked her eyes several times. She saw two Ragnas in the sky, but that can’t be right. He can’t duplicate himself, and if he could, she wouldn’t be able to see it.

  She blinked again and saw three Ragnas.

  “What is he doing up there?” Tsunami yelled.

  “How is he doing any of that? Thought he was just a desk jock like Mushroom Boss over there,” Inferno said, gesturing towards her. “No offence,” he added quickly.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake. He’s stripping,” Demetra hissed.

  She smiled; he was removing his clothes, and she could see them. His clothes were getting caught in each of the elemental wind torrents, allowing her to see them. “There is nothing wrong with nudity, unless you find skin displeasing,” she stated, stepping closer to the flurry of Ragna’s clothing.

  The moment she could tell Ragna apart from his clothing, an overwhelming anger took hold. All of her feelings about how useless she was flooded her. She was just as useless as she was when she was in the FrostMaiden. She couldn’t help her trainees any better than she can help Gil. Her fears of her colonies withering away under the pressures of the preservation spells joined the tidal wave of feelings.

  She imposed her will on the wind, forming a bubble of wind around the elementals, Ragna, and his clothes. She felt the elementals throw themselves against the walls of her wind sphere like rabid beasts. She brought her sphere closer so that her large hyphae could reach it.

  Her hyphae formed stronger mycelium fibres before reaching for her wind bubble. Slowly they wrapped around her bubble, tightly overlapping each other, forming a thick tangle of dark brown mycelium. She dismissed the wind, as it was no longer needed to contain the elementals. She felt the hyphae start to absorb the elementals feeding her fungal colonies and filling her with satisfaction.

  Her anger subsided as quickly as it came. Slowly her mycelium fibres unwound themselves, revealing Ragna and his clothing within the bubble. Gently they set him on the ground as they began to return to Keylynn.

  “Thank you, Keylynn. I knew you wouldn’t let me die,” he said with a casual grin.

  “You’re welcome, although I’m not sure I did much.”

  “Your wall wind barrier followed me in the sky. It stopped me from falling,” he explained.

  She was too focused on watching him and maintaining the walls that she didn’t notice one had followed him. How could he have known it would have followed him? It’s been far too long since she’s had combat practice. “That was quick thinking with your clothing, not that Demetra approves of seeing your naked flesh.”

  “Figured since I’ve worn those since we arrived on the first island, they would be filled with things you could see,” he shrugged and turned towards Demetra, who was shielding her eyes.

  “I’m so glad you’re smart and alive, but please. Clothes,” she hissed at him.

  “Oh come on, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” he teased her, pulling his shirt on.

  “That was wicked. I didn’t know you could, like, walk on air or whatever you did!” Tsunami said running towards Ragna. “Also impressive.” He gave him a firm nod.

  Ragna’s smirk grew larger. “Why, thank you. I’m glad someone around here has good taste.” He slowly pulled his pants on.

  “And then Mushroom Boss took over the wind and ate the elementals. That was awesome!” Inferno joined them.

  Keylynn smiled and let them enjoy their victory. Tomorrow she will remind them of the paperwork they will need to do to assess the quest.

  Zukyov was separate from the rest, standing near the back of the vessel. He was still in his bear form as he gazed across the now calm sea. She sat down beside him.

  “Is your bear form why you are distant with your parents?” She asked softly.

  He turned and looked at her with his dark eyes. Slowly he nodded his head once.

  “I assume it’s something you share with your grandsire. I don’t know yours, but I do know mine. She would tell you there is nothing shameful about something you cannot change. You were born with old magic in your veins. If your parents can’t accept that, then find people who will. You don’t need their approval either. In fact, they need yours. It’s what she told me when we discovered my magic is tied to mushrooms.” She explained to him, meaning every word.

  His touch of old magic explains why Gwen felt he was miserable because he's trying to be something he's not. He will always have his touch of old magic, and he can't find true happiness until he can accept both halves of himself.

  “And I don’t think your friends care that much that you can turn into a bear. I mean, Tsunami is impressed by Ragna’s flesh, and Inferno thinks I’m the all-powerful mushroom boss,” she added softly. “I think they will love to know both the bear and the man.” She got on quietly and left him to his thoughts.