The results from Lark’s floor seven investigation took weeks to make themselves known. Each day she worked on the benign assignment that Akzer assigned her team while her team focused on being productive. Each day when the midday bell rang, her team would walk to the Cup Stop together and have the soup of the day.

  She sat through every morning meeting and the singular impromptu evening meeting that Akzer held just for her team. She held her tongue unless she was required to speak. She accepted the endless flood of digitizing and the occasional grunt work from another team silently. They were running out of places to store the boxes of paperwork, and the office was becoming excitedly frustrated with the boxes. But none of that mattered.

  In short, they did what Demetra called the bare minimum, not to be confused with the bear minimum. All bears have a minimum tolerance of how much food they consume to survive winter, and that’s not quite what Demetra meant.

  Waiting felt torturous.

  All of the emails she sent to Lark received the same response: he was working on it. When she tried to ask human Eugene, all he would tell her about was the various desk projects the records staff have. He even found someone to help with his elven wine project.

  Their waiting came to a crashing halt when at least half a dozen paladins walked in wearing their corporate standard navy blue suits. They stopped, and presumably their leader knocked crisply on Akzer’s office door.

  Everyone in the office stood to get a better view of the paladins. Akzer opened their office door, and all the paladins disappeared through the door. The office filled with the soft buzzing of murmurs asking, 'What's going on?'

  It felt like an eternity later that the office door opened, revealing Akzer being escorted out of their office with their arms shackled behind their back. A paladin led the procession with two paladins on each side of Akzer and lastly one following in the rear.

  The paladins walked Akzer to the elevating chamber. While their team escorted Akzer inside, the leader turned and faced the office. “I have been instructed to inform the office that you can take the rest of the day off. I’ll personally ensure that you will be compensated for the day, should you decide to leave the office. You can expect to return to the office tomorrow morning. I thank you all for your cooperation in this matter and have a pleasant day.” He bowed briskly before stepping backwards into the elevating chamber.

  The stunned silence of the office ended the moment the elevating chamber’s doors slid closed.

  “Holy shit! Did you see that?” Tsunami whispered loudly.

  “Yeah, the boss got arrested by the paladins. They took all precautions. Shackles and a full escort team,” Inferno chimed in.

  “I don’t think the boss will be returning tomorrow,” Demetra muttered.

  “The Mushroom Boss got the Snake Boss arrested!” Inferno cheered loudly. To Keylynn’s surprise, several cheers erupted from their coworkers around them.

  “I don’t think you should be shouting that; besides, it’s not true,” she chided softly. She was uncomfortable taking the credit for the joint effort of everyone who was part of the floor seven investigation. Lark should be the one receiving these cheers and credit, but he wasn’t here.

  “It was all due to Lark, as it was his investigation,” she added.

  “Yeah, but you also got Zukyov his dream job! I saw him smile the other day,” Inferno countered.

  “It was eerie seeing him filled with joy,” Tsunami added.

  Ragna pulled out the flask that she’s seen more often than not recently. “A toast to your boss’s immediate departure!” He took a big gulp from the flask before holding it out for Demetra.

  “That flask won’t be returning to the office tomorrow,” she ordered sternly. She feared making a terrible first impression with the new floor manager, whoever that will be.

  Ragna nodded. “As the mushroom boss decrees.”

  Demetra gulped from the flask before offering it to Tsunami and Inferno. Neither took the flask. She shrugged and handed over another mouthful.

  Half the office had the same idea her team had: leave the office. There was no point in staying if their boss wasn’t in the office and they were being paid either way. Her team was one of the first to reach the elevating chamber.

  Keylynn was impressed with the dedication of everyone who chose to remain in the office. Maybe one day she will have half of their dedication.

  “I expect to see each of you on time tomorrow. It’s our chance to have a fresh start,” she explained the moment the elevating chamber doors closed. She turned her gaze to Demetra, who was still drinking from the flask. “And please don’t come in sick from drinking fermented fruit juices.”

  Demetra rolled her eyes. “The term you are looking for is hungover, and if I choose to get stupid drunk tonight to celebrate, I’ll be the adult who gets a healer to remove her hangover before coming into work.”

  Keylynn had no idea what a hangover was, but Eugene never hung over anything when he was sick from consuming an excessive amount of fermented fruit juices. But she didn’t want to fight with Demetra about how she spent her evening, just as long as she won’t be sick tomorrow. “Yes, exactly.”

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Catch you tomorrow, Mushroom Boss.” Tsunami said as he walked out of the building.

  “I will be catching you tomorrow,” she agreed, hoping that she said the phrase correctly.

  “You’ll get there,” he comforted her with a gentle pat on her arm. The gesture reminded her of a parent comforting a child.

  She walked towards the Cup Stop while her team walked towards their day of celebratory fermented fruit juices. She wanted to do nothing more than share the good news with Zukyov and Tiv before taking advantage of her free day.

  Because it was shortly after the start of their workday when the paladins arrived, it was well before the midday rush. The Cup Stop had a few of its regulars scattered around the cafe, leaving her preferred seat at the serving counter empty.

  Tiv looked at her confused. “What brings you in this early?”

  Keylynn couldn’t help but smile. “When the corporate paladins walked and took Akzer away in shackles, we were informed that we could leave the office for the day, and we were personally assured that we would get compensated for a full day of pay.”

  As she spoke, a large grin grew on Tiv’s face, flashing her tusks. “To celebrate, everything is on the house today for you and your team!” She cheered. “Hold on, I’ll go get Zukyov so you can tell him the good news!” She left the towel on the counter and briskly walked to the back.

  She returned quickly with Zukyov, who looked at Keylynn with concern.

  “I wasn’t expecting to see you this early? Is everything okay?” Even concerned, he looked vibrant, almost as if he was glowing. His skin looked fuller and less pale, as did his eyes. She gently reached out with her magic and felt that his bear didn’t feel like a caged animal.

  “Everything is well, Zukyov. I came in to inform you that Akzer was taken away by the corporate paladins today.”

  His concern melted away, leaving behind a smile of pure joy. “About damn time.” His eyes scanned around the cafe. “Where are the others?”

  “Demetra said something about getting stupid drunk to celebrate, and I didn’t want to know more,” she answered. She still wasn’t sure what ‘stupid drunk’ meant, but she decided that she really didn’t need to know.

  “Yeah, that sounds about right,” he nodded. “I’ll see them later then. Are you hungry at all? I can make you a special mushroom soup to celebrate the victories of the Mushroom Boss.”

  “I would be honoured to have a bowl of your mushroom soup.”

  He nodded with a small smile before returning to the kitchen.

  “He’s been doing well since he started,” Tiv stated. She had started making coffees for them. The coffee machine was already steaming, which meant she was close to finishing their coffees.

  When Tiv finished their coffees, she walked around to take a seat next to Keylynn. She set a mug in front of her gently. “So what does this mean for your office?”

  She lifted the mug up to her face and breathed in the warm aroma of coffee, caramel, and steamed milk. “I’m not entirely sure. This isn’t a common occurrence as far as I am aware. I assume that there will be a new floor manager assigned, as we are expected back in the office tomorrow.” She would hedge a guess that someone on the floor was selected to take over as floor manager before they took away Akzer. If she could pick someone to be the new floor manager, it would be Dauven; she was biased after all.

  “You’re going back so soon?” Tiv frowned. “That seems fast. Back when I was working as an escort for travellers through the swamps, it would take at least a week to get things straightened out.”

  If Keylynn worked for a less corporate company, she would expect to have a week to turnover, but that would be too great a loss for the RADWAC powers that be to accept. She doubted they would take away Akzer until they had a replacement ready to step in. “Corporations excel at prioritizing productivity. Everything would be arranged before they dared remove a floor manager. Even with a questionable floor manager, the floor is still more productive than without a manager at all.” Never mind that her team felt disheartened every single day they were waiting for something to happen. The needs of the company's bank vault override the needs of their employees.

  “Corporate dickbags at their finest,” Tiv remarked bitterly. “It’s why I wanted to make my own business.”

  Zukyov and Biscuit, each carrying a tray, joined them at the serving counter by the time Tiv finished her second cup of coffee. Biscuit set out a basket of fresh-baked buns, while Zukyov brought out enough bowls of hearty mushroom soup. Unlike other soups, this one wasn’t cream-based; instead, the broth was a hearty vegetable broth that sang in harmony with the flavours of the mushrooms. Each mushroom that he used in the soup worked together to make a vibrant soup that reminded Keylynn of a lively forest. He called the soup Forest’s Bounty.

  She finished her soup and bade her friends farewell in time to miss the midday bell rush, something she never wished to experience since Zukyov started his soup of the day. The rest of her day will be spent getting to know the new mushroom colonies that she brought home from Moly Island.

  The first fungal colony sample that she worked with and acquainted herself with was one that she found draped between branches of trees. The fungus itself formed long bioluminescent filaments that appeared to be almost fuzzy. Their hyphae were thicker than most, suggesting they were accustomed to attaching the fungus to tree branches. All along the filament are small tendrils that release digestive juices. She suspects this fungal species feeds upon unsuspecting insects that crawl down the filaments.

  She attached the hyphae of her new filamentous fungal colony to either end of a couple doorways, one to her green humid room and the other to her kitchen. She wanted to study the fungus a little more before she made any conclusions about it.

  Next she wanted to take a closer look at the strange morel species that she found. This morel was larger than ones she’s seen previously, and the holes in the cap were lined with a black crust. At first she thought the black crust was their spores, but when she collected the sample, spores were released from the gills underneath the cap. She had several warm, moist locations in her humid green room to cultivate the strange morels. She hoped that with enough time and observation she would uncover the mysteries of the black crust.

  The bright orange slime mould that she found on a decaying tree was an exciting find. The slime mould was incredibly corrosive to anything that came in contact with it, suggesting the role it played in decomposition. After placing it in a glass bowl, similar to the one that once held slime Eugene, she experimented. Everything she dropped inside the bowl was dissolved nearly instantaneously or in a matter of minutes. Its corrosive abilities were of the likes that she hadn’t seen before. The slime mould was one that she would like to take with her to the office to study more. The potential variants that she could develop or even the fungal forms that it could form were too exciting to leave the slime mould at home.

  She found homes for each of the fascinating specimens that she collected, including the wide shelf mushrooms that release a tangle of bright bioluminescent hairs whenever they are touched. For the bulbous mushrooms that reminded her of truffles, there was a particularly cool, moist corner that was perfect for them. Several new water slimes were added to her pond, which made her worried at first, but within hours a new harmony was found.

  The discovery of a tiny translucent mushroom growing out of little Pebble's head was the perfect surprise to end her day with. It was still far too small to determine if it’s a new fungal colony unique to Pebble or if it was part of the mimic.