Arthur sits up abruptly. "What?!"
"Yeah, Art. Mom and Thea were supposed to shop there today — it's Thea's favorite place. Sam didn't tell you? He never forgets to report something this important."
Arthur exhales. "Yeah, I think he did." He picks up his phone, checking if there's any news from Sam. Nothing.
"But he hasn't reported anything. His watch has Mini Arcatherm. He should be able to detect it as well."
Julian, still staring at his personal station. "I doubt it. The signal is pretty weak. I guess if he's close to the source, he could detect it. Otherwise…" He shrugs.
Arthur sits back down. "And judging by his non-existent report, I guess he's not close."
Julian looks at Arthur. "What do you want to do? Take a team and swipe Montclair? I have the portable Arcatherm, we can try to search the Pavilion with it."
Arthur shakes his head. "Not a wise move. Your portable Arcatherm is not exactly small. It'll attract attention."
"Yeah, but still… If I can detect it, those Blackwoods can detect it too. We do nothing?" Julian tries to convince Arthur to… do something.
Arthur frowns. "We don't know who owns it. It's easier to check which team explored which dungeons recently. If we can get that information, at least we'll know who possesses it."
"Art, 100% is no joke. If the stone is not handled properly, it can decimate Arvion. Easily. This is a very serious matter. One company cannot and should not handle it alone. And the fact that it's in a shopping mall?! We don't know if it's stable or not!"
Arthur is about to answer Julian's concerns when a knock sounds on his door. Sarah, his second assistant, peeks her head in.
"Sorry to disturb you, Sir. But you've tasked me specifically to pay attention to world's news, about abnormal incidents in particular. And you've given your permission for me to disturb you anytime to report it." She says this in one go, for she fears Arthur's wrath.
Even though she's his second assistant, she rarely deals with him. Sam was the one she usually deals with.
And Arthur is famous for being strict with his employees. It doesn't make him a bad boss — quite the opposite. It makes him a good one. His employees are very clear on what they should or shouldn't do.
The punishments and rewards are clearly defined too, which makes most of his staff follow his instructions to a T.
Arthur nods. "Yes, I did say that. Come in." He's still online with Julian, which isn't unusual. Julian ignores what's going on at Arthur's end, too absorbed in his own work.
Sarah enters the room with a tablet in her hands. "I've sent the news to your tablet, Sir. I found two abnormal incidents, but I'm not sure if they're what you're looking for."
Arthur frowns. "Why is that?" He glances at his tablet—and his face changes.
Noticing the shift, Sarah asks cautiously, "Are they what you're looking for, Sir?"
Arthur nods. "Yes. Keep monitoring the world news." He dismisses her.
She exhales, disappointed. "Yes, Sir." She turns to leave.
"Sarah."
Sarah turns, hope flickering in her eyes. Arthur looks up and smiles slightly. "Good job."
Sarah can't hide her grin. "Thank you, Sir!"
She leaves the office on a high note.
"Wow, Art, you really know how to praise your people," Julian mocks.
"Shut up, Jules. Look at the news I just sent you."
------------------------------
Sarah is smiling like an idiot at her desk. She can't explain why hearing "Good job" from her boss makes her this happy. She feels like dancing and silently promises herself to keep watching the news and not miss anything.
When her desk phone rings, she jumps slightly and automatically picks it up. "Do you need anything else, Sir?"
"Delay the video meeting with the Emeralians for ten minutes. I need to make another call," Arthur's voice comes through.
"Yes, Sir." Sarah nods out of habit. Idiot! He can't see you nod, dummy!
Arthur hangs up and immediately makes another call on his mobile. Julian is still online; it almost feels like they're in the same room working together.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end sounds sleepy.
"Dumar? You asleep? I thought there's a giant wind and fire pillar in front of you?" Arthur sounds more amused than alarmed.
"Sleeping?! What the hell are you talking about, Montrose?! I'm tired! This is not me sleepy — this is me tired!" Dumar yells into the phone. His mood is foul; his sleep was interrupted, he's been busy evacuating his people only to find that the pillar isn't moving, and now this bastard has the nerve to accuse him of napping.
"You sure you're not sleeping, Zarathi?" Arthur chuckles, further aggravating Dumar.
They go way back — two lunatics who snuck into exploration teams to harvest heartstones. Dumar was fifteen, Arthur was only eleven at the time, and Dumar nearly had a heart attack when he found out.
Since then, they've bonded over near-death experiences during explorations and stayed close friends through the years. Arthur still refuses to explore or clear new dungeons without Dumar. He doesn't trust anyone else to watch his back.
It all changed about a year ago, when Dumar married Zora and was made Chief by his tribe. He had apologetically told Arthur that he wouldn't be able to join explorations anymore. Since then, their meetings had dramatically decreased.
Seeing his good friend finally find love and peace, Arthur fully supported his decision to retire. He even attended their beautiful wedding and gifted them an Aegis Ultra — powered by the highest-purity heartstone he had ever found.
Dumar cried until snot ran down his face. With that stone, he could protect his tribe from almost any threat.
That shield was the reason Dumar hadn't panicked when he saw the giant pillar. Still, he ordered an evacuation, because it was the wise thing to do — only to find out it wasn't really necessary. The pillar didn't do anything except be there and look terrifying.
"Fuck you, Montrose!" Dumar explodes through the phone.
Arthur laughs from the heart. He had missed his friend.