Nathaniel Bosh sat at his desk in the RRET office located in the Jurona District of the city of Strohl. He adjusted his glasses slowly slipping from his nose. Strewn across his desk was a map of the Central Region as they knew it, with all of its rolling hills and sparse forests. Another pencil mark here, a finalizing pen scratch there, and finally a sigh. Bosh simply crumpled the map and tossed it into a corner, where several failed iterations had begun creating a mountain beside the wastebin. From under his desk he pulled out another clean copy and made new routes, muttering to himself all the while.
"Here… and if we go here… an Unpo would have smelled us by then."
He sighed as he subjected this new map to the same fate as the others. Nathaniel paused for a second to rub his neck before he stood up. He went over to his office window and pulled up the blinds, expecting to see the starry night sky. Instead, the full force of the morning sun slammed into his face, magnified by his glasses.
"Ah- OH-!"
Nathaniel hastily threw up his hands in front of his face as he retreated backwards into his desk, slamming his hip on the side of it. In the same motion his glasses had been thrown off somewhere on the floor, he had heard it hit one of the many discarded maps. Nathaniel settled after this ambush from the dawn, retrieving his glasses calmly just in time for a knock at his door.
"Nathan?", a voice called, "You all good in there? You didn't stay up all night again, did you?"
"No—NO—not at all." Bosh rubbed his temples and hurriedly swept discarded maps from the floor.
"Alright, well, am I good enough to come in?"
"Uh—just a second, Amber! Give me a moment to—gah!"
Nathaniel had hit the same spot on his hip. The desk, a gift from his father—wider and sturdier than his old one—might have been too sturdy.
He pulled a small hand mirror from the drawer and sighed at the sight of his ear-length ivory hair standing at wild angles. Drool stains streaked the side of his deep blue skin. He wiped them away just in time for Amber to enter with a clipboard and a cup of coffee.
"That noise sounded bad, so I—ah. You stayed up all night didn't you, Nathan?"
"Absolutely not. No. Not at all. What makes you say that?"
Amber tilted her head, her curly crimson hair bouncing. She pointed to the opposite corner, where a neat row of empty coffee cups lined the floor like solemn little tombstones.
Nathaniel groaned silently and sank into his chair, removing his glasses to rub his eyes.
Amber chuckled and hopped onto the side of his desk, setting the coffee within reach.
"This is for you. Probably a bad idea to give you another, but I need you awake for this next part."
"If I had a rev for every time I heard that—"
"Oh hush. It's interesting."
"And if I had a rev for every time I heard that—"
Amber swatted his hair. They laughed.
"I'm serious. Good news or bad news first?"
"Bad news is always first."
"The bad news is your ranger for the survey is…" Amber raised her eyebrows with a half-sincere, half-apologetic smile.
"…Chrissy Taniel."
Nathaniel spit out the coffee and choked. Amber thumped his back with her clipboard, laughing.
"TANIEL? We won't make it past the city border with her—"
"Nathan, she's certified!"
"She's a HAZARD!"
"She's smart, knowledgeable—"
"And will get us devoured by an Unpo, squashed by a Goliath Beetle, or trampled by a herd of Capridae! And if not one of those—all three in any order!"
"Nathan," Amber sighed, "wait until you hear the good news."
Nathan inhaled sharply, centered himself, adjusted his glasses, and folded his hands in mock prayer.
"Fine. The good news then."
Amber handed him the clipboard. "I noticed the slot for 'Regional Checkpoint Journal Transcriber' was still open. Now you have someone who will meet you when you return to the airship!"
Nathan glanced down, unimpressed—
then froze.
"Amber June Vastera."
Amber kicked her legs and smiled like a child surprised with cake.
"How did you—?"
"Oh please. Who wants to be known as the person who transcribes someone else's adventure? Not a single resonant soul - that's who. But for a free airship ride across the known world?"
She shrugged. "Worth the sacrifice."
Nathaniel grinned and handed back the clipboard as he stood to finish cleaning.
"You didn't have to come, you know?"
Amber puffed out her chest dramatically.
"And miss the opportunity to accompany the son of the legendary Ulysses Bosh?"
They laughed as he stacked the empty coffee cups one inside another.
"Things were always different before he got put in a book."
"'Put in a book?' Nathan—he's retired, not dead."
"May as well be. He just sits. You know what he told me?"
Nathaniel lifted an imaginary pipe.
"Nathan. You never know what'll hurt you and what'll kill you. If you'd told me one Unpo bite would sit me down? Sure. But if you told me I'd never walk again? Unfathomable! What purpose is this life, if not to explore? Hard to do from a chair!"
"Has he seen a therapist or…?"
Nathaniel blinked slowly.
"Ulysses Bosh? A therapist?"
Amber snorted. "Fair. Hard to market that adventure."
"Ulysses Bosh and the Case of Finding Self-Worth," Nathan deadpanned.
"I cannot imagine that flying off the shelves. Other than that he's okay?"
"He's… bored. Not volatile. I promised I'd tell him how this survey goes."
Amber lifted something from the corner—a dusty safari hat.
"It's been ages since you wore this. Maybe give it a spin?"
"Absolutely not. That hat screams 'I have no idea what I'm doing.'"
"That was back when you didn't. That was cycles ago, Nathan. If you're escorting a Zenith, you have to look the part!"
"I didn't peg you for a brown-noser."
"Shush! We Cuvio have to make a good first impression! If not for you—do it for US."
"That was so long ago—"
"And the world doesn't forget," Amber reminded. "It holds grudges. Anything that helps people see us as Rovers instead of 'the race that almost brought about the end times' helps."
Nathan sighed, took the hat, and reluctantly placed it on his head.
"There we go," Amber declared. "There's Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh."
He blushed and looked away as she gathered her clipboard and retrieved his abandoned coffee.
"Rover Amber Vastera?" he announced in a regal tone.
Amber snapped into a ridiculously overacted salute.
"Reporting!"
"Let's go. Maybe we can get there early enough to plan an actual route."
"I thought you already had one planned?"
"Yes, well, I was using a tactic often found in the wilderness: 'pretending.'"
"You mean lying."
"It sounds much worse when you just come out and say it."
"It sounds much more truthful when you just come out and say it."
Both were laughing as Nathaniel locked his office door and made his way downstairs. As they moved towards the exit, Nathaniel looked at the gilded letters that hung above the doorframe, Rover and Rangers Ecological Team, with the RRET sitting comfortably above the arch. As he and Amber opened the double doors, he exhaled and held his head just ever so slightly higher.
The streets of Jurona District were alive as Nathaniel and Amber approached the bridge that connected them to The Vince. A short walk made longer with foot traffic and carriages bustling about. The smells of fresh pastries and raw fruits filled the air, and Amber took a deep breath on the top stair of the RRET building.
"Nathan, we have to get a mango tart. That is my price for escorting you. No, I will not negotiate."
Nathaniel raised an eyebrow as he took another sip from his coffee, "I wasn't aware I hired an escort. You're a little overdressed for the part."
"All just the service I provide. Authenticity. If we hurry, we can still beat the DLF patrol that crosses over. They always walk like they have nowhere to be."
Amber motioned for Nathaniel to follow her as they trekked towards their objective. Nathaniel looked all around at the sights of the morning in between the sips of the coffee.
All sorts of people went about their business in the busy streets. Despite The Vince being the most luxurious district in Strohl, the home base of the DLF was in Jurona. Everywhere hung DLF posters of all shapes and sizes -impossible to ignore.
Amber suddenly pulled him by the collar, yanking him to his left and nearly spilling his coffee. A voice from below:
"Excuse me."
"Pardon me," Nathaniel replied reflexively, expecting to be eye level with the passerby. His eyeline was met with space before he glanced down to see an Igosi man passing by, unbothered.
"I forget they live here sometimes," Amber chimed. "Watch your step, Nathan. The world is awake."
Nathaniel watched as the light blue Igosi kept his pace, unbothered by the world above him. They continued on their way to secure Amber's pastry and shortly arrived at Armed and Delicious.
"This is where you choose to get your payment from? The mercenary hub?"
"Is it my fault that their baker is amazing? I'll make it quick, promise."
Amber walked inside gleefully as Nathaniel stayed posted out in front, finishing the last of his coffee. He turned to throw away the cup into a nearby trash depository, but as he turned back Nathaniel had walked into the path of a Nadir man and his larger associate. Nathaniel adjusted his glasses as he opened his mouth to speak, but the Nadir man spoke first - his hand on his belt.
"Watch it."
Nathaniel noticed the Nadir man's hand on his belt and froze. A moment later the Nadir's associate towered above them both, a Dulim of the Peak. He calmly spoke:
"Remy, relax. It was a bump. It isn't personal. Let's move along."
The pores on the Dulim's enlarged forearms told Nathaniel that this man was from the Durib lineage -spellcaster. The Dulim put a hand on Remy's belt, a glint of the blade reflected into Nathaniel's eye.
A third woman bumped into the Dulim. The scent sacs on her green neck created a maroon pattern that ended with a single dot on her chin. Her head was down as she counted rev bills, and despite bumping into the large man, not a single one fell from her hand.
"Hey, what the -what's the hold up, Yaza? I'm trying to count."
"We're fine, Shiloh. Let's move along, Remy. It was an accident."
Nathaniel realized that the man known as Remy had been staring the entire time. The only thing more unsettling than his gaze were the scars on his grey forearms. Yaza simply nudged him forward into the establishment. Before leaving, Shiloh extended a hand towards Nathaniel. He looked to see she had handed him 50 rev.
"For your trouble. Have a nice day."
As the trio disappeared behind the doors, Nathaniel blinked in disbelief. Suddenly Amber appeared from behind him, snacking on a mango tart and holding another cup of coffee.
"And I thought I was the escort. Is there a reason you're taking money from random women?"
"This is why I don't like coming here. It's too unpredictable."
Amber snatched the fifty rev before folding it in her pocket, she placed the coffee in his newly emptied hand.
"Thank goodness you didn't make a career from observing things that could act erratically at any time. Sure would be terrible if that happened."
She smiled as she walked off the porch, waiting for Nathaniel to follow suit. He began to work on his new cup of coffee as he walked off with her.
After some time they crossed the bridge uniting Jurona and The Vince, the waterway below them bustling with gondolas, Therians of the Fin, and Cerulean Yervites alike. Nathaniel watched as one swam down the river at a cruising speed before bursting out of the water to walk inside a building.
After turning a corner Nathaniel and Amber were just down the street from The Vince's DLF office. It shined brilliantly in the morning sun as it reflected the gold plating. They entered the administrative section and proceeded towards the next set of double doors before a guard stopped them.
"Your identification and reason for visit?"
Nathaniel handed over the appropriate documents and waited as the guard checked with an administrative assistant.
"You're all good to go, Head Rover Bosh. And you ma'am?"
Amber handed over her papers with a flair, the guard took them all the same. After a moment with the assistant he handed them back to her.
"Sorry ma'am, you're not authorized past this point."
Nathaniel and Amber looked at each other with eyebrows raised.
"One moment please!" Amber said, wiggling a finger. She grabbed Nathaniel and pulled him to the side.
"Amber what are you-"
"Look at me. Repeat the words: Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh."
"Amber, what are you doing?"
"Getting you psyched up! Come on. Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh."
He looked around to see if anyone else was listening to what he was being subjected to before repeating quietly, "Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh…"
"With some spine! Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh!"
"Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh."
"A little more! Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh!"
"Head Rover Nathaniel Bosh!"
"HEAD ROVER NATHANIEL BOSH!"
"HEAD ROVER NATHANIEL BOSH!"
"THERE HE IS!"
"HERE I AM!"
Suddenly an arm extended between the two. It was the guard once more. The entire administrative area was staring at them. Amber fixed her outfit and straightened Nathaniel's tie.
"My job here is done! Everyone have a nice day!"
Amber quickly walked out of the building before waving to Nathaniel on the way out.
"Sir, I understand your task is great. I must ask you and your…wife… to not create such a disturbance in the administrative area."
"Right - sorry. And she's not my wife, just a coworker."
"Uh-huh. You can move along now sir. Coordinator Cooper is in his office."
"Thank you, sorry about that."
Nathaniel moved past the second set of double doors and made his way to Cooper's office. With another sip of coffee, he spread another map over the desk and focused. He had not noticed how much time had passed until he heard the door open again. It was there he came face to face with a familiar Igosi visitor.