The Ectomancer scout was watching The Drifter eating blueberries within the 6-foot tall bushes. Being 6'5" and sporting a black Stetson, he was easily followed by the scout. What the scout could see, and The Drifter could not, was the presence of a very large grizzly bear eating berries within the same bushes. Neither the bear nor The Drifter had any idea of the others presence. Both were moving somewhat backward while harvesting these tasty little morsels.

To the surprise of both they backed into each other. While most considered The Drifter to be a gentle soul, this was not apparent at the moment. He whipped around and charged the bear. The bear rose to its full height of 9 feet and wrapped his razor-sharp claws around The Drifter hoisting him well above the ground. The bear roared, if you could call it a roar, sounds more like someone with dry heaves. The Drifter gave his patented high-pitched battle cry.

The Drifter reached out and grabbed the bear's ears and they nuzzled noises. It was The Drifter's way of saying hello. The bear swatted the drifter into the air and ran beneath the landing spot. The drifter came down right in front of the bear's shoulders where he again grabbed its ears. The bear was off and running at top speed of 35 mph. The Drifter was holding on to the bear's ear with one hand and waving his black Stetson in the air with his other while hooting and hollering. The grizzly reared to its full height with The Drifter hanging on tight.

The bear then lowered its head to allow The Drifter to slide off. The Drifter turned and faced the bear. Odd as it might seem, the bear sneezed in The Drifter's face covering it with stinky slimy bear snot. Both appeared to laugh their heads off. After much fun, both returned to berry munching with no further regard for each other.

The ectomancer returned to base and reported his findings. An ectomancer prime directive was to blend in with the native species. This meant figuring out the bear/drifter interaction and duplicating it. There seemed no indication that the drifter or bear had any prior knowledge of each other. So, a plan was developed, how can an ectomancer ride a grizzly?

As ectomancers come from different worlds, much the same as Messi and Renaldo, nothing on earth could kill them not to say they could not be injured nor suffer great pain. Each ectomancer has a stable full of genetically identical spare parts as well as real time brain data. You could squish an ectomancer with a 500-ton stone flatter than a frog on a freeway and still rebuild it with memories of the squishing pain intact.

The first attempt at bear back riding had a young ectomancer trooper just back into a grizzly in a blueberry patch and once the bear turned around it would give a high-pitched scream most certainly an invitation to begin the ride.

Well that is not how the bear saw it, nor how her cubs for that matter. Mama bear swatted the ectomancer's head and it flew off while being connected with a rubber band like spinal cord. The head snapped back but landed backwards. The bear none too pleased slashed the ectomancer's stomach and intestines spewed about like spaghetti but returned somewhat intact. The bear then charged the ectomancer and bit into its crotch. The previous two screams were impressive but this one was special. The bear charged the flapping body towards a cliff and threw it over not caring much about where it landed.

The troopers body was recovered and made whole again. Careful review of the video showed the obvious flaw in the plan. The trooper failed to grab the bear's ears. A trooper was sent back to make amends for his failed attempt. The details of the resulting action can be found in the Ectomancer Chronicles -- they keep meticulous records of all their exploits.

The problem was soon sorted out. The reconstructed trooper was to go back and grab just one ear while waving his hat in the air. This should bring to mind the saga of the mailman and the puppy. The mailman approaches the house only to retreat upon hearing the puppy's mighty bark, only for the mailman to return the very next day to a much more perturbed puppy. The dog and mailman never quite make it as friends. Such was the saga of the bear and the ectomancer.

As the ectomancers were scouting The Drifter, such was the case the other way around. The Drifter had a good laugh at each failure. The bears and The Drifter saw the pattern develop, so they played into the game. The Drifter would do five jumping jacks in front of the bear and an ectomancer trooper would answer in kind looking for the magic formula -- of course ectomancers do not believe in magic.

But in reality, the bears and the Drifter were acquiring much valuable intel on ectomancers -- their thought processes, how long it takes to rebuild one or more importantly how long one stays out of service given a specific injury.