To: Gil of the Gamesh Family

  From: Keylynns

  Subject: Re: Negotiation failure

  Salutations, Gil, I have read over the transcript and have included excerpts from both the current Royal Assessment Department and Adventurer Welfare Council Employee and Contracted Workers Handbooks that I feel we need to remind the negotiator of. In short, they cannot blame you for the incident and the fallout because of it. All employees signed the employee contract stating they will follow the rules and regulations outlined in their employee handbook and that they will treat contracted workers with respect. Furthermore, all contracted workers have the right to be treated as full employees for the entire duration they are in a RADWC office space.

  If the negotiator refuses to see reason, please direct them to email me.

  The coffee cart was my way to make reparations for the influence of my slime mould, Eugene. If you get the chance, I’ve heard Tiv’s spiral cinnamon pastries are decadent.

  I’m glad that my advice reduced office hostility towards you. It is my understanding and firm belief that most people, if given the chance, can be reasonable. Failing that, they can be persuaded.

  Unfortunately, I cannot provide a timeline of when I will complete my assessment. We are finding it as frustrating and fruitful as your negotiations.

  Have the strength and resilience of the oldest forest.

  Keylynn, HR consultant, Floor Seven

  Keylynn finished her email, satisfied with her argument. The negotiator's tactic broke corporate policy, and all she had to do was prove it. It wasn't difficult to find what she needed in both employee handbooks. She attached each handbook and noted the exact page number and section numbers. To be thorough, she read through every previous edition of both handbooks that she could find and noted the first instance of the policies that she reminded the negotiators of.

  If only Team Mushroom was as easy to understand. Inferno seemed as restless as a hive of bees, and Zukyov was the complete opposite. He was rarely seen outside of the ship’s kitchen or his rooms. She tried at first to give him the distance he craved, but she started to fear it was the wrong choice. She wished she had Gwen’s insight and help.

  His melancholy took turns with the upcoming quest gnawing at her. She assumed his desire for distance and space was connected to the old magic that allows him to become a bear. On the other hand, how would Ody dilute a quest featuring a witch that turns people into pigs to make it easier? She felt powerless to help her team, and she hated it.

  Her team slowly filed on deck dressed, for the first time in days, for work. Keylynn looked and saw a lush, lively island. She hadn’t noticed that their ship docked. She still didn’t have any answers for Zukyov or the upcoming quest.

  “Oh, I thought you were below decks,” Demetra said, joining her. “I did some thinking, and I think it will be best for everyone if you stay here while we do the initial assessment. I’ll send Inferno after a bit; he could use the run anyways.”

  Keylynn raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been busy.”

  Demetra ran her hands over her shirt and stood taller. “You haven’t? It’s all an illusion anyways, and the island looks like it’s filled with traps, and you’re only going to slow us down. So you might as well stay here, safe, until we need you.”

  “I understand you don’t want me to observe your assessment,” she stated casually and glanced over at Ragna. “I would appreciate if you were my eyes and ears for the assessment while I remain here, as per Demetra’s request.”

  Ragna gave her a sharp nod, ignoring Demetra’s sneer. Behind him, Inferno was pouncing from foot to foot. He seemed restless compared to the rest of the team.

  “Just like that, and you’ll stay here?” Demetra asked in disbelief.

  “Should I not?” She asked her with a teasing smile.

  “Well no, I just thought you’d argue more,” she answered, looking down.

  “You desire to attempt an assessment with my absence. I understand the feeling. I attempted to make Dauven ill so I could attempt an assessment on my own,” Keylynn mused with a smile.

  “Wait, hold on. You tried to poison someone when you could have asked?” Demetra asked incredulously.

  “I know what you are thinking. I think the same now. All I can say is I was younger. Besides, it was a terrible plot to make him ill, and he saw right through it. Anyways, the assessment was a complete disaster, one I needed in the end. I understand that desire, and I respect it.” She didn’t want to go into the details of how she offered to make Dauven a coffee, something she had never done before. The last time she offered to get coffee for someone, she did poison the beverage, and Dauven witnessed everything. She should have known he would have easily caught on to her ploy.

  “Right, okay.” Demetra nodded and turned to her team behind her. “We should get going before she changes her mind.”

  Inferno dashed ahead, smacking right into Demetra. She would have gone flying into the sea below if Ragna hadn't caught her.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Should have let him off first. He’s stir-crazy,” Ragna muttered with a sigh.

  The last to leave the ship was Zukyov, and Keylynn was shocked to see him leave the kitchen. Demetra must have approached him about the assessment and her plan. Maybe she shouldn’t have given him the distance he seemed to crave after all. If only Gwen were here. It’s hard to express the problem and her feelings in email. She tried; she thinks Gwen just doesn't understand.

  To Keylynn

  From Gwen

  Subject: I’m Lost

  Okay, so to be clear, you aren’t interested in him romantically at all? Right? I mean, you haven’t shown interest in anyone. I thought you and Dauven were secretly an item.

  If you can’t disclose why you think he needs space, I can’t tell you if the space is good or not. I did say he should be a chef. Maybe just let him cook and find some joy.

  I still don’t know how a bear is involved in any of this. Are you involved with a bear? Like a bear bear or a bear?

  Gwen, the confused but helpful puppy

  She didn’t know how to respond to Gwen’s inquiry, so she simply pretended she never got the email. Besides, it seemed like the wrong advice for Keylynn to let him stay in the kitchen, because it didn’t improve his mood at all.

  “Mushroom Boss!” Inferno bellowed as he stomped up the gangplank. “A woman! Pigs! Help!” He stammered out, sliding across the ship's deck.

  “Take a breath, collect your thoughts,” she said calmly, placing a hand on his arm. As he sucked in a deep breath, his bright glowing skin resembled molten rock, and the rivulets of magma flowed down his head, reminding Keylynn of cracking an egg on someone’s head.

  He swiped his hair out of his eyes. “They were all turned into pigs by… a woman. All of them are pigs, even Zukyov! Look at this place! She’s the monster, and she’s going to eat them!"

  She frowned. “The guardian of the island turned the team into pigs?” She asked, confused. That didn’t sound right. The famed witch of Holy Moly Island doesn’t just turn anyone into pigs. That also doesn’t make for much of a quest. Turning adventurers into pigs isn’t something they can solve or overcome.

  “Yes! Demetra knocked, and then the witch looked the team over, waved her hand, and boom! Pigs.” He explained as his hair erupted again, making more rivulets of magma flow down his face. He sighed and pulled his hair into a bun.

  She nodded slowly. It sounded like they weren’t on an illusionary island, which was a pleasant surprise. However, for someone to turn anyone into pigs without provocation is concerning. “What we need now is to remain calm. Calm minds are far more useless than racing ones. Now let’s go find our team,” she said with a confident nod. The last thing Inferno needed was for her to lose her composure. He was practically vibrating with emotion.

  The island was even more vibrant up close than what she saw from the ship. There were plants that she had never seen anymore. Some had broad purple leaves, while others were small red spires of red spikes. There were large, deep green vines and pale white leafy vines reaching for the sky. The trees had thick trunks, with broad sweeping branches laden with vines and moss. The sun was hidden behind an expanse of leaves and vines overhead. The air around her was moist and thick with life. If this island were an illusion, she would eat one of Gwen's new desserts that appear as office supplies.

  Every time she stopped to collect a sample of a plant or a strange fungus she hadn’t seen previously, she could feel Inferno’s impatience radiating off of him. She knew they should make haste, but the opportunity to make new cultivations was too good to give up. Besides, she doubted that her team was in any true danger because the quest they were assessing was marked as non-lethal.

  She glanced up at Inferno as he tapped his foot, waiting for her to finish. He was the opposite of calm, which could be a problem with dealing with the island guardian. “Inferno, I apologize for my many delays. I haven’t seen a jungle before, and it’s distracting.” She said slowly, standing and placing a sample jar filled with a luminescent moss in her bag.

  “Yeah, no, I get it.” He nodded. “I mean, who wouldn’t be distracted by… a jungle?” He trailed off slowly, looking around.

  She smiled at him. This might be the first time that he saw the jungle around them.

  “Indeed, there are many unique species that are only found in a humid jungle such as this one.” She gestured towards a small red plant nestled on a thick moss-covered tree branch. “Such as the sundew, a plant that devours insects. I’ve heard of some species growing so large that they can consume small mammals and another that prefers amphibians.”

  The flower of the sundew was a small, clear sphere with spikes radiating out from it. Topping each spike was an orb of glowing yellow dew. The flower is incredibly delicate and aromatic, attracting its prey. The spike tips are exceptionally sticky and hold on to their prey as it’s digested. She’s heard of some instances of the plant sticking so tightly to its prey that it got uprooted as the prey ran away. Because of the extended exposure to the digestive juices, the prey ultimately perished. slowly digesting it with every step. She wasn't sure how true that story was because of how delicate the plant was.

  Inferno looked up at the small plant and gazed at it, stilling his mind and body for once. This was what he needed: a reason to stop moving. “That little thing… wow. I can’t imagine seeing it large enough to eat a rat. Would you like a sample of it? I can climb the tree no problem.”

  “I have always wanted to study one,” she answered with a smile. She handed him one of her larger sample jars. “Be careful; do not touch the flowers. They are very sticky, and the dew will start to digest you. Its roots are delicate, as thin as hairs. They often root on moss because of this,” she instructed gently. She would rather collect her sample herself, but he offered, and it seems doing so will give him peace. “Try talking to it softly, as it helps if they are understanding what’s happening.” She added, unsure if the sundew will understand Inferno. If it does, then perhaps he has a drop of druidic talent that she can cultivate.

  He climbed with an ease akin to walking. He braced himself on the branch carefully and began the slow process of collecting the plant. Throughout the process he whispered gently to the sundew. He focused on loosening the moss's hold on the tree, a wise action to avoid harming the sundew. He gently eased the moss and sundew into the jars and climbed down the tree.

  “I think it heard me,” he smiled at her. “I can’t explain how or why, but I feel it did.”

  She almost took the jar from his hands. “Would you like to care for it until we return to the office? I can help you cultivate it and watch it grow,” she offered. She was going to cultivate a plant or two on her own, but she didn’t mind helping him discover a love for nature.

  Inferno looked down at the plant with a soft smile. “If you don’t mind. I promise I’ll take very good care of it.”

  “As long as the jar is intact, it will be safe. Once we are back at the office, I’ll show you how to ease it out of the jar,” she explained.

  He nodded, staring down at the sundew inside the jar. “Thank you. As strange as it sounds, I feel better.”

  Keylynn smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  She followed the path, stopping less and less to collect samples. She was running short on sample jars, and she started to recognize various plants and fungi that she already had samples of. She hoped she wouldn’t have to explain her delays to Dauven.

  Set at the end of the path was a picturesque cottage set in a meadow that appeared to be in the middle of spring. There were several tilled plots of land filled with rare herbs and plants often used in magic and potion crafting. The wide, squat building was covered in vines and looked almost out of place near the jungle.

  She knocked on the wooden door once before the door gently swung open, revealing one of the most beautiful humans that Keylynn had ever seen.