Osrik is a character from Emu777's story Guardian. I have his personal permission to use Osrik, and have his approval on the interpretation of the character.

Chapter Thirteen

Trouble With the Staff

The breakfast served in the inn wasn't very good. The food was well prepared, as the desk clerk was a reasonably skilled chef, but there was absolutely nothing special about it.

When Yura asked about it, the big man replied "we don't get a lot of imports here anymore. Business is so bad that the merchants can't stock up on quality ingredients. The stuff you've got is the best I can round up from the market. I'd have better stuff if I could find it."

Yura patted the man on the shoulder in sympathy. "Keep at it. Hopefully, my friends will have the problem taken care of, and then the town will come back to life." The man nodded his head, and went over to help one of the few other customers in the room.

"Well, let's get moving, shall we?" As the group left the inn and turned towards the harbour, Yura maintained a cheerful face. None of his companions missed the fact that a little bit of the spring in his step was gone, and his eyes didn't shine quite so brightly.

Yura only got more sombre as they approached the harbour. He hadn't seen before. No, that wasn't that simple. He had chosen not to see. With its primary industry dying, the town was also dying.

The streets were poorly maintained. Litter was scattered all over the place and there were ruts and lumps in the soil that should have been raked out weeks ago.

The buildings were falling into disrepair. Paint chipped off the walls, and many shingles were sitting askew. In some places, windows were boarded up and doors hung off their hinges.

Very few people were in the streets. Many had left to try and find work elsewhere. The few that remained in this end of town looked unhealthily thin, and unwashed, though in general these people didn't look desperate yet. They sat on the edge of starvation and extreme poverty, but hadn't fallen there yet.

Things only got worse as they got closer to the harbour. The Yoma problem must have been going on for a long time for things to have deteriorated this much. The investors probably left at the first mention of the word Yoma, and the state of the town had just gotten worse from there.

It wasn't all that surprising to Yura that it took so long for help to arrive. Malamar was a small town, and not high on the organization's priority list. With only one warrior having to cover a large area, places like this were often overlooked for long periods of time, sometimes being wiped out completely before help would be sent.

An Awakened Being was also a good excuse to put off sending aid.

A brief surge of loathing passed through Yura. If the lord had just been willing to pay a bit extra, this problem would have been dealt with quite quickly, rather than stagnating just to save himself some money. He also disliked the organization for letting places like this slip between the cracks.

But at least there was something being done now, and the town wasn't dead yet, so better late than never.

Clare and Raki walked a ways back of the rest of the group. Clare was as calm and collected as ever, but Raki was quite nervous. "Clare, do you really have to go on this hunt? I mean, last time you fought an Awakened Being, you were beaten up pretty badly."

"Of course I have to go. It is an assignment from the organization, and I can't refuse them." Clare turned her head slightly and looked at Raki from the side of her eyes. "Don't worry. I now have some experience fighting Awakened Beings, and I understand the abilities of my team mates. This battle should go more smoothly than the last one."

Raki nodded his head and stared at his feet. "I guess so. But I still don't like it."

"You wouldn't be yourself if you weren't concerned. Try not to worry too much. We should be back within a week of leaving, if we find the target at all."

Once more Raki nodded his head and continued on in silence.

After what seemed like an eternity, the group arrived at the Water Sword Fisheries, so named as it once specialized in swordfish.

It was the only fishery still in business at the moment. It still looked shabbier than it used to, but unlike most of the other run-down buildings along the water line, it looked like it was still maintained.

Yura looked around at the other decrepit structures. "Well, this place held up far better than I expected, all things considered. Maybe that letter bashing the manager wasn't deserved after all."

They made their way inside. Though it wasn't exactly a hub of activity, there were still people there. The numbers were sparse, but a number of the fish cleaning stations were still in use. Men and women gutted and de-boned the fish, while others took the scales and tossed the fully cleaned chunks of fish into barrels.

A short, thin, balding man looked towards Yura and the warriors. He climbed down the ladder which came down from the observation post that he stood on.

When the man got a little bit closer, Yura got a better look at his features. With close-set eyes, a long nose and his hunched way of walking, the man looked to Yura much like a weasel. The lanky grey hair didn't help the effect.

The man walked right up to Yura. He stood inches away, though he had to look quite far up to meet his eyes. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" the little man growled in a raspy voice.

He poked Yura in the stomach with a crooked index finger and said "This is private property. You've got no right to barge in here, especially bringing these witches with you."

For the moment Yura saw the man, he didn't like him. Yura forced himself to maintain a cheery appearance, took the man's finger and shook it up and down gently, like a polite hand shake. "I'm Yura. It's nice to meet you."

The weasel-like man's already pasty skin drained of all of its remaining colour. "Y-Yura. As in owner of this fishery Yura?"

Yura snorted with amusement. "So, you've heard of me? Now, who are you?"

Colour returned to the man's face and he adopted a smile that was almost too exuberant. Yura knew instantly that the man was simply trying to flatter him, the employer, the man who determines his salary. "My name's Gerald, sir."

The excessively cheerful voice only deepened Yura's dislike of the man, but if he was doing a good job, then that wasn't intolerable. Gerald continued saying "I was the head accountant working under Bernard, and took his job after he retired last year. I think you'll be really impressed with the way things are going."

And indeed Yura was impressed. Though the fishery wasn't working at anywhere near full capacity, it was doing much better than he would have expected. "How have you managed to keep things running so smoothly? No fishermen are really willing to go back out to the ocean right now, so where do the fish come from?"

"Well, sir, I personally noticed that nobody was killed 'til they got out to the ocean, so the fishing happens in the bay. Some people also fish from shore all along a few miles of coast."

Yura didn't believe that the man was telling the truth. Gerald's tone of voice didn't really sound sincere to his well-trained ear. And one would have to be blind to miss the accusing glares that the workers in earshot sent at Gerald.

Turning a suspicious eye back to Gerald, Yura committed himself mentally to speaking to the other employees.

But that would have to wait. Yura had more pressing business to attend to. "Now, Gerald, I'm not here just for one of my routine inspections. I actually do have a practical reason for coming here."

"And what's that, sir?"

"I need to take a boat."

"A boat? What for? What could you possibly do with a boat?"

"Well, it's not just for me. My associates – " Yura gestured at Osrik, Raki and the warriors, who had thus far just followed him and remained silent, " – and I are going to take it out to sea and try and kill the Yoma that everyone's been having so much trouble with."

"You're going to take one of my boats to try and kill a Yoma?" Gerald's face was flushing with anger. "I need all of those boats to go and catch fish! I can't lose one to a Yoma. I won't allow it."

Yura's formerly cheery demeanour vanished in an instant, replaced with a look of annoyance that a teacher might give a misbehaving child. "First off, it's my boat. You have no right to try and claim otherwise. I own this fishery after all and I only asked for the boat just to be polite. Second, if we kill the Yoma, you'll have the ocean to fish in again, so you should be happy to lend out a boat."

Gerald's face was bright red now. Veins were standing out on his forehead below his hairline. He started shouting "You have no right…" but was cut short by a sharp glance from Yura. The blood left from Gerald's face, replaced by a look of fear.

Yura smirked at seeing the man's face. "Thank you. Now, for my final point. I really don't like you, nor do I trust you." Yura looked around and saw the employees from the fishery gathering were gathering around, like children in a playground fight.

A pretty young woman in a green leather apron caught his eye. She had looked especially angry when Gerald had claimed credit for the current success. Yura looked at her and asked gently. "Ma'am, what's your name?"

The woman balked for a moment, green eyes looking at Yura nervously. She hesitantly said "I'm Cynthia, sir."

"Well, Cynthia, perhaps you could tell me. Whose idea was it really to expand fishing in the bay, and from the shore along the coast?"

"My sister's sir, Julie. She's busy at home today. Her son is sick. But it was her that came up with the idea. She even helped make the arrangements."

Yura smiled gently at her. "Thank you, my dear." He turned to look back at Gerald, once again visibly furious. "As for you, sir, you are henceforth removed from your position. I received a letter a while back saying that you were doing a terrible job as manager. I doubted that upon my arrival, but now I see it to be true."

"The letter complained that you were cruel and controlling to the people beneath you, and those people that those people managed to keep the fishery in tact in spite of you, not because of you. That letter was signed 'Julie' by the way."

Gerald stood completely dumbstruck. His unfocussed eyes stared off into space, as if he could not even begin to comprehend what had just happened. A moment later, life seemed to return to his eyes.

His face flushed once more with blood and fury was painted on his features. "You can't do this to me. I've worked here for fifteen years. Fifteen years! You have no right to just come in here and throw me out!"

Spit flew from the former manager's lips as he continued to rant. When the fury had finally burned itself out, Yura looked at the man as the colour drained from his face and his breath began coming in short gasps.

Looking upon the man with what could almost be described as pity, Yura said "you know, I was originally just going to demote you back to accountant. I knew the moment I saw you that you were terrible with people, but those years of service prove that you are very capable with numbers."

Yura sighed deeply. "What changed my mind was the fact that you lied about having come up with the new fishing strategy. It proves that you are untrustworthy in any position. I wouldn't be surprised if you had been stealing money from the fishery when you worked as an accountant." Gerald stiffened. Yura had struck a nerve on that point. "Now, as I said, you are fired. I want you out of here immediately."

Gerald looked ready to make one last argument, but a threatening look from Yura cut him off. Seething with fury, but also fearful of Yura for a reason he couldn't explain, Gerald shuffled out of the fishery as fast as he could.

"Now that this matter has been taken care of, who's in charge after Gerald?"

There was a period of silence. Finally a man in the back spoke up. "Gerald never appointed anyone as assistant manager. I guess he was worried they'd try and replace him."

"Well, I think that's for the best. Anyone he appointed would likely be as bad as him. Now, thinking back to my last visit, you and your sister were doing quite well weren't you? You both seemed very competent. Would she be interested in a management position? It was thanks to her that this place is still running, after all."

Cynthia stopped and gaped. Yura found that he was getting that reaction a lot lately. Cynthia quickly spoke up though, not letting the silence hang in the air. "Yes, sir. I'm sure Julie would be very happy o do it."

The other people in the fishery looked at each other with silent approval. They had all worked with Julie for quite a while, and thought she would be a good choice.

Yura smiled and nodded his head sharply. "Good. Women aren't given nearly enough opportunity in this world. Some towns would be up in arms at a woman having a job like this."

Yura thought back to when he, Raki and Clare had first arrived in the town, and the usually reviled Claymore was met with joy. "That's part of why I love this place. Everyone's so accepting."

And, as Julie's not here right now, I'm going to appoint you assistant manager. I think the former head of staff has caused enough trouble for one day. Shall we make the arrangements for that boat I need?"

"Right away, sir." Yura headed off to the fishery docks with Cynthia to look at the shipping charts, to find a suitable vessel. Osrik, Raki, Clare, Helen, Deneve and Miria headed back to the Bridge and Thorn Inn to make their own preparations for the trip.