Vera and Ryno had promptly left the Crystal Cavern base after Reech’s new assignment for the two. For Vera, traveling with Ryno had been quite the difficult challenge. He was constantly getting distracted and acting a nuisance, and it took everything she had to keep him managed and on course.

  Many times, Ryno would exclaim how he could just ‘bolt’ to the temple, get the flowers, and leave. As always, she would remind him that they had to follow John’s orders.

  As they headed to the south, Vera held the reins of a horse drawn cart while Ryno sat in the back, bored out of his mind. The novelty of conversation had worn off long ago, and at this point it stayed fairly silent between the two.

  At the moment, Ryno laid on his back in the cart, staring up at the canopies of trees as they slowly glided down his field of vision. They had made decent progress so far, but there was still much land to cover.

  Finally, Ryno sat up, looking around at anything he could find interesting.

  “You know, they ought to put a train going south!” Ryno yelled out.

  Vera shrugged. “Maybe mail Syloville and ask them.”

  Syloville was the third largest city in Grandom, and its developer was a massive corporation called Sylotech. They were the leading innovators in technology, centuries ago they had developed the steam engine, and in more recent times the combustible engine. They were the company responsible for creating the first trains.

  Rails were expensive to lay, but after many years, a trade route connecting Arkana, Emporus, and Syloville had been established, a rail line running east to west.

  Both Vera and Ryno had ridden on the trains a few times at this point, due to missions constantly sending them around the continent. It was unfortunate that a north and south line hadn’t been built yet.

  “They’re not gonna listen to mail! You know how many letters they probably get a day? I’m gonna go down there myself sometime and demand it be done,” Ryno responded in a tone that sounded more like a promise than a threat.

  If Vera knew anything about Ryno, it was that he might actually try such a thing. If he showed up shooting electric bolts in every direction, they might agree to his demand just to get him out of the vicinity.

  “STOP THE CART!” Ryno ordered loudly. Before Vera could even turn around to see what the matter was, he hopped out of the cart and fell to the road.

  Vera pulled the reins of the horse, signaling the command to halt.

  “What’s going on?!” Vera yelled back in fear, looking down at Ryno crawling on the cobblestone path.

  “I found a new friend! He’s a lil’ lizard! A lil’ cute guy!” Ryno was on his knees and arms, watching the green lizard scatter by.

  Vera sighed. She wasn’t surprised. She almost got upset with herself for allowing herself to think there was an actual issue unfolding.

  “Ryno, get back in the cart,” she ordered.

  “Hold on. I want to follow him home and see where he lives,” Ryno said as he crawled on the ground, watching the new green friend go about his business.

  “We don’t have time for this!” Vera cried out. She climbed off her seat to grab the old man and guide him back into the cart.

  This was ridiculous. Vera felt like she was babysitting a child.

  A very volatile and unimaginably strong child.

  “Aww c’mon Vera! At least let me take him with me!” Ryno pleaded as Vera forcefully grabbed his arm and yanked him up off the ground.

  “I swear, I almost feel like Reech assigned me with you as a sick joke!” Vera was quite frustrated.

  With much pleading and convincing, she finally got Ryno to get back into the cart and depart from his new reptile friend.

  “...Are you sure he’s going to be alright?” Ryno asked Vera as she grabbed the reins of the horse again.

  “He’ll be fine. And you can’t make friends with everything you see!”

  “Why not?”

  Ryno stared at the little lizard as Vera instructed the horse to continue on. He was quite sad to say goodbye as the cart started moving away. All of his recently developed dreams of having a pet lizard were shattered from Vera’s cruel commands to leave it be. Ryno hoped that Gizmo the Lizard would be okay.

  Gizmo was the name he just gave it.

  Be good, Gizmo. Eat lots of… whatever you eat. And have a nice nap on a leaf somewhere, he thought.

  Ryno was already holding back tears. He felt like he had known the reptile for years now, and was now departing from it forever, never to see it again.

  Then in a flash, a hawk dove down and snatched the helpless lizard in one fell swoop.

  “NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

  Ryno launched himself out of the cart with the thrust of electricity, shattering the entire back half of the carriage that he was sitting in. It freaked the horse out, and it began running, splintered pieces of the cart still attached to it.

  Vera had flown off the side and landed on the road from the sudden jolt.

  Ryno had thrust himself into the air, in pursuit of the predatory bird that was about to enjoy its lunch.

  When Ryno saw his grand leap was not enough to nab the bird, he let loose a bolt of lightning that easily struck the bird, exploding it into a shower of feathers.

  The injured lizard was now in a free fall, Ryno as well.

  With no regard for himself, Ryno smacked back down onto the road. It was a bit painful, but nothing his hardened body couldn’t manage.

  Once he realized what had happened, Gizmo landed in front of him, belly up.

  If the piercing talons of the hawk hadn’t killed it, the fall must have. The corpse of the reptile laid on the ground, unmoving.

  “...Little guy?” Ryno said with tears welling up in his eyes.

  He poked the lizard’s stomach.

  It didn’t respond.

  “NOOOOO!!! NOOOO!!! Nature is a cruel bastard!!!!” Ryno pounded the ground with his fist several times, actually creating a crater with his immense strength. He then was on his knees, wailing towards the sky.

  The whole series of events unfolded so quickly, Vera was just now grasping what the heck was happening.

  “Ryno!” Vera yelled, trying to get his attention.

  He couldn’t hear it. Ryno was so consumed in despair, nothing could bring him out of it. He let out more cries, loud enough for anyone within a mile to hear. They were in the same intensity as if a man just lost the life of his son.

  “Ryno!” Vera tried again, grasping his shoulders. She felt bad for him, but the display he was putting on was unacceptable.

  Ryno shook Vera’s grasp off of him. He stood up, and walked away. Tears causing him to barely see straight.

  “I’m sorry that happened!” She cried out. “But you really should get a hold of yourself!”

  Still wailing, and spouting out incoherent nonsense, Ryno punched a thick, towering tree. The force of the punch instantly broke it off from its base, and the entire tree in one piece went flying over the horizon.

  Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, Vera thought as she ran away from the terrifying sight, fearing for her life. He’s in a full meltdown. What do I do?

  From behind another tree, Vera watched Ryno storm into the forest, arms flailing. He walked far enough in that she lost sight of him.

  She crouched down behind the tree, hands over her face as she thought about what to do. The cart was destroyed. The horse had ran off to somewhere. Ryno had taken off, and she wasn’t sure when he’d be seen again.

  The best play was to let him get his anger out, then go find the horse. How long would that take, though?

  Suddenly a loud, crackling sound of electricity flooded Vera’s ears.

  She turned around to the direction Ryno had walked, and in the sky, a flood of lightning had been shot up into it.

  If Ryno wasn’t careful, he could jump start a thunderstorm.

  If enough electricity was pumped into the sky, a portal to the tempest could be opened.

  That usually took a dozen skilled electricians to do, but Ryno was known to be able to pull it off all on his own.

  Ryno was alone in the forest, the weight of his agonizing despair finally bringing him down to the ground. He balled alone in a fetal position, crying for the passing of Gizmo the Lizard.

  You had your whole life ahead of you, man. You didn’t deserve that, man. Don’t worry though, I avenged you. I killed the man who killed you, he thought.

  Ryno’s heart ached, his chest tight with the heavy emotions he felt.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Time passed, but eventually, he felt someone’s hand on his shoulder.

  “...Ryno?”

  It was Vera’s calming voice.

  “Go away,” Ryno said back.

  “A little birdie told me that Gizmo’s in heaven,” Vera tried.

  “BIRDS CAN’T TALK!” Ryno yelled, jerking his shoulder.

  Vera sighed. She had half a mind that would work. This was her first mission with Ryno, and she was starting to find out how severe his mental issues were.

  At this point, Vera felt nothing but pity for him. Up until now, she thought Ryno was partly insufferable due to his own desire to be so. Either that, or a lack of wanting to take anything seriously.

  It had become apparent though, that Ryno genuinely had no control over who he was.

  She knelt down besides him, and began comforting him.

  “It’s going to be okay. How about we give it a funeral?” Vera offered.

  Ryno sniffled. “That would be nice.”

  After Vera was able to calm him down enough, the two of them got up, and returned to the main road, where debris of the wooden cart and Gizmo lay. Ryno scooped the deceased animal up, and dug a small hole for him.

  After a proper burial ceremony, Ryno gave a lengthy speech about the courage and authenticity of his fallen friend, Gizmo.

  After that, he found a twig, and stuck it into the ground just beyond the buried spot of Gizmo.

  Ryno was finally satisfied.

  After a deep breath, he became composed again, and was ready to continue the mission.

  “Let’s go find the horse,” he stated.

  After an easy cleaning of the cart debris from Ryno, both of them began walking down the path to find the horse.

  It took a bit of searching, but the still unsettled horse was found further down the road. It had just ran in the direction it most easily could, and that was indeed the cleared cobblestone pathway in the forest.

  At the sight of Ryno, it tried running again. Ryno quickly leapt to it, and grabbed the reins to stop it from running any further.

  Not many people could stop a horse from fleeing with nothing else than the strength of their arms, but Ryno pulled it off quite elegantly.

  After that, he hushed it, stroked its face, and got the steed to calm down.

  Ryno then detached the remainder of the cart splinters from dragging behind it, and offered for Vera to ride the horse as he walked along the side of it.

  He apologized again for the careless destruction of their transport vessel, but assured her it was alright that he walk.

  “I do it most of the time, anyways. In fact, I think I like walking more than sitting in a cart,” Ryno stated.

  With everyone calmed down, including the horse, the journey continued. Following the road south, they were on their way out of the forest and into drier areas. Ahead would be a vast savanna and eventually the sandy Ubora Desert, a land mostly desolate, minus a few settlements and wanderers.

  Before they could enter all of that though, the sun was beginning to set, and a tavern or inn of sorts would have to house them for the night. Due to the number of travelers and merchants who frequented these routes, they were not too uncommon to find.

  Near the edge of the forest, Vera and Ryno spotted one, and she agreed that it would be a suitable place to stay the night.

  After stabling the horse, Vera read the sign of the building near the door. The inn had a cute name called Melon Bridge.

  Inside the tavern, she took note of the large amount of men conversing and drinking ale. They all took a gander at her, appreciating her looks. This was one of the few times she was thankful to not be alone.

  While Vera could defend herself with the crystal element she had, it was not something she would enjoy. It likely would have happened in this setting, if it weren’t for the fact Ryno was with her.

  “I’m going to purchase a room, and stay in there, writing notes. Why don’t you get yourself an ale?” She offered, feeling like he deserved it from the sad event he experienced earlier.

  “Really? Well, if the boss says so.” Ryno then walked over to the bar with open arms, embracing all the tough looking patrons.

  “FRIENDS! You are all my friends now!” He declared.

  While Ryno distracted everyone with his unusual personality, Vera slipped away, purchased a room, and shut the door behind her.

  Alone and secure, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled her messenger bag off her shoulder, and landed it on a table near the bed.

  Vera was quite keen on writing down every detail and event of the missions she took, and Reech appreciated it greatly. The entire stunt with Ryno and the Lizard was getting written down for sure. Maybe after John Reech read the story, he would think twice about sticking anyone with him.

  With a lit lantern, Vera sat, and began writing. Her stomach growled half way through the report. She would have to take a break soon and eat before finishing.

  Leaving the room, what Vera witnessed was quite unexpected. Ryno had actually made friends with everyone in the bar. They all sat around him as they cheered him on to continue drinking.

  Ryno chugged a glass pint of ale. Beside him were a dozen empty pints that had contained the same golden-hue drink at one point. When he finished, he slammed it down, and everyone cheered at the conquering of a thirteenth mug.

  Ryno let out a loud belch.

  “Bartender! Bring him another!” One of the bald tough patrons ordered.

  “Yes! Another! Bring me more so I can make more friends!” Ryno agreed.

  Vera had half a mind to cut all the nonsense out, but if it was keeping the rowdy men occupied – especially Ryno – and no one was getting hurt, it was fine by her.

  She sat at the edge of the bar, and ordered a meal. While she ate, she continued to watch the display.

  How was Ryno able to put it all away? She had never seen him drink before, and it was starting to become apparent why. After downing yet another pint, he slammed it down so hard, the glass shattered.

  Everyone cheered even more.

  “You’re going to have to pay for that!” The bartender demanded.

  Vera thought it best to retreat to the bedroom before things got more out of control. After finishing her meal, she retreated back, and shut the door behind her.

  She had a feeling that Ryno wouldn’t concede at the bar, and at some point, she would indeed have to go out there and separate him from the patrons who were egging him on.

  She decided that in one hour she would do so. She figured by that time Ryno would have drank so much that he wouldn’t even be capable of refusing.

  With notes back out, she continued to write.

  Time passed, and after a well-written report of everything so far, she began studying the paperwork on Saanvoleg Temple once again. She read more about the state of the ancient temple, and how to navigate the inside of it to find the flowers.

  For some reason, Reech had exclusive handwritten notes on the temple that weren’t available in any textbook. For a moment, she wondered why.

  Eventually though, the sound of singing interrupted her thought process. Vera stopped reading, and looked to the door.

  Behind it, the singing was dull, but it began to grow louder. Whatever Ryno was doing, he had the entire tavern celebrating, singing, and probably dancing.

  She checked the time. It was getting close to when she would go and get him. She decided to do so now before the novelty of his drinking abilities ran out and he started pissing people off.

  When she left the room, and opened the door, once again, she was shocked by what she gazed at.

  Ryno was in the center of a line dance, all the patrons holding pints of ale, and singing a show tune she had never heard before.

  They all sang the tune about a woman they wished goodnight, but she would secretly sneak out and have an affair. The man apparently knew about her shenanigans, and that’s what the song was about.

  Near the conclusion of the song, it had become apparent how drunk Ryno had become.

  “Hey everyone, WATCH THIS!” Ryno launched a thick bolt of white electricity into the roof, shattering it, and causing a huge gaping hole in the establishment.

  Everyone cheered at Ryno’s might while the innkeeper was losing his mind.

  Vera began to freak out too.

  “Ryno! What the heck are you doing?!” She yelled out.

  Ryno happily turned to see his assignment partner.

  “Vera!” He happily exclaimed, one eye open more than the other. “They love me! I’m so over Gizmo! These guys are my new FRIENDS!”

  “You just destroyed the roof! You can’t do that!” She pleaded, now completely regretting the fact she ever let him drink. She only had so much funds for the mission, and now a large chunk would have to go to paying the innkeeper for repairs.

  “Hey don’t worry about it! I know the innkeeper loves me too!”

  The innkeeper definitely did not love him. He was yelling profanities at Ryno, a fear in his eyes that his poor inn would soon be destroyed by the crazy elemental.

  “It’s time to lay down, Ryno! It’s time for bed!” She ordered.

  “You hear that guys?!” Ryno yelled to the twenty-something men all equally drunk as he was. “She wants me to lay down to go to bed! You know what that means?!”

  “SHE’S GONNA HAVE AN AFFAIR!” The entire tavern roared in unison, referencing the showtune they had been singing earlier.

  Vera wasn’t sure what to do at this point. She began to believe Reech had no idea how bad Ryno truly was outside the base. He was much more conducted and orderly at the Crystal Cavern, but it seemed like out here, no one could tell him what to do.

  If Reech had any idea, surely, he wouldn’t have anyone do anything with him. She began to even wonder how Ryno was able to get stuff done on his own.

  As she stood there, motionless and silent, she tried thinking what her next move would be.

  Ryno noticed her again.

  “Listen Vera, I appreciate the concern you have for me, but I can assure you, I’m in good hands! This guy right here is my best friend!”

  When Ryno grasped the shoulder of the guy besides him, electricity erupted from his palm, shocking and frying the man he had grabbed.

  The guy fell over, dead. His entire body was crisped, like a well-done steak.

  Everyone in the tavern yelled in horror as they all ran in different directions, including Vera.

  “Aww c’mon guys! That was an accident! Hey, on the bright side, I have a new opening for my best friend spot! Who wants to apply?” Ryno asked.

  Everyone ignored him. They all ran out of the establishment, and took off in different directions.

  Ryno stumbled out of Melon Bridge Inn, seeing if anyone had stuck around.

  “You all are really gonna run from me over a small mishap?! I’m not that scary, am I?!” He shouted into the night.