That weekend, Aubriet took a long drive southwards. He was headed to no other place than – Stonehenge. The distance from Grantham where Aubriet lived to Salisbury was 185 miles and took more than three hours to reach Stonehenge.
It was relatively quiet for a weekend. Afterall, the CoViD-19 pandemic was still rampant across the country. Most people were staying in, and there were few tourists seen at this time. Aubriet parked his Renault at a distance and strode into the Stonehenge landscape – a property of The National Trust on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Covering 2,100 acres, the centerpiece none other than the 83 remaining stones making up the mystical national heritage. The stones themselves were roped off, keeping visitors from touching the stones themselves. Aubriet found himself circling the perimeter of the legendary site, imagining some bolt of lightning might hit the stones and reveal a portal or something. In his third pass encircling the stones, Aubriet stumbled on an unusual rock.
Strange. Aubriet thought. I didn’t see this rock when I passed this spot minutes ago. Did it just appear?
Curious, Aubriet bent down and attempted to lift the rock, which was about the size of a pillow. Grunting, he only managed to shift it by a few inches, revealing a dent on the soft ground. Something caught the sun’s rays and reflected the light in Aubriet’s eyes momentarily. Even more perplexed, Aubriet reached beneath the rock to see what the item might be. Touching and grasping beneath the rock, he managed to pick out four shard fragments. Elated, he dusted off the dirt from the shards to have a closer look.
These crystal-like pieces look like they were broken off from a larger shard. Aubriet pondered. Just then, the sky began turning dark. Rain clouds had quickly formed, and Aubriet hurriedly tucked the shards into his jacket. As he made a dash towards his car, the winds had picked up and leaves and debris were being churned – creating quite the spectacle. Aubriet was too excited to concern himself with the impending storm. He had figured out what this was about – it was a Party Quest! He smiled. Years of role-playing adventure games pointed to no other explanation. He picked up his pace and sped the entire journey back home.
***
Ok, now to assemble my quest party… Aubriet woke to the idea. Who shall I recruit first?
In his dream, he distinctly remembered Merlin’s instructions to find Riadok in Mascon.
Well, Aubriet considered. I need my very own Riadok in this real world too.
And I know exactly who Riadok is for me right here in this office building!
Aubriet had tendered his resignation and made flight arrangements to be at the United Pharma Far East office in a month’s time. It was Monday morning, and getting into the lift, Aubriet pressed level 7, Food Science Research Lab.
Rian Douglas, you are the man for the Quest.
As Aubriet entered the dimly lit room and approached his friend, the only one in the lab at this time, he could see Rian gingerly pouring some liquid from flask to flask. Bent over test-tubes and other strange looking equipment, a humming sound from a device somewhere could be heard.
Careful with those tubes Aubriet. Stop fiddling with them. Rian scowled.
Bespectacled and sporting a chubby frame, Rian was a research genius who could solve complex mathematical problems that confounded most of his peers. Dubbed the Rubik’s Wizard by those in his circle of researchers, Rian was the only one Aubriet knew who could solve a 17x17x17 Rubik’s cube in under ten minutes – while having salad for lunch. Apparently, the world record for this feat was a blazing seven-and-a-half minutes, a timing Aubriet believed Rian could better if he chose to do it!
Aubriet walked up to Rian and said, “Hey Doug,” Aubriet had developed a habit of calling his buddy by his last name which baffled many around them. “I’ve resigned and will be joining the Far East Joint-Venture office.”
Not bothering to look up from his bubbling flask, Rian muttered matter-of-factly, “Yeah, I heard. Kinda brave, aren’t you?” Aubriet shifted a little and lowering his voice, he inched closer to Rian and posed the question directly, “Well yes, and will you join me?”
Rian Douglas gasped and accidentally spilled a greenish-looking liquid substance he was pouring from a test tube. Fortunately, it spattered into the sink – and instantly coagulated.
***
As Aubriet tucked into bed that evening, he was grinning. Rian had gone into a fit and reprimanded him for disturbing the final phase of his experiment. Doug was making unusually large arm movements and pacing the floor back-and-forth in double quick time as he chided Aubriet for making such a brash decision and attempting to drag him into it. That went on for a full ten minutes, longer than the time for Rian to complete the Giant Rubik’s puzzle.
For the entire duration, Aubriet knew better than to butt in and chose to remain silent, and merely nodded and pouted his lips from time-to-time.
This is how Doug is when he’s thinking hard about a problem, Aubriet mused. Before he left the lab, Aubriet had shown Rian one of the shards from his Stonehenge adventure, and presently slipped it into Rian’s lab coat pocket.
Here – check this out ASAP. Aubriet insisted as he left the lab. Then, we talk.
Workplace Coaching Inquiry by Coach Tom: You’ve uncovered your lifetime mission. Who would you choose and how will you persuade them to join you?
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