20 - Weighing the Risks (Patreon)

“That’s impossible,” Phoenix said, looking towards Patricia in her rising panic as she pleaded, “That is impossible, right? I didn’t give permission or sign another contract or… you know…”

“Oh, that’s an interesting idea,” High Priestess Deserin interjected thoughtfully, as if in response to a mental communication, and Phoenix felt her heart fall into her gut as the woman confirmed her fears, “Parent says they can help take care of the newborn in exchange for a mark of Favor. They weren’t sure if any suitable opportunity would ever arise with your… well, busy lifestyle and lack of interests.”

“Interests?” Patricia asked with a raised brow, and Phoenix felt her face flush in embarrassment. This was not what she wanted to be discussing with a bunch of people when there was a much more concerning problem standing right in front of her and begging her to carry them.

The big, pleading blue eyes shined up at her, reminding her too much of the way Paul had last gazed up at her as he lay dying beside her. She bent and attempted to lift the construct. Despite its aura reading like a weird magical construct like her own [Night Blade], the toddler looked and felt like a human, which was strangely disconcerting as the tiny legs wrapped around her waist and the child fit snugly against her hip.

Her party was beside her by the time she straightened, all four of them trying to get a better look at the newest orphan among them. Dazien was the first to say what she had already thought, “They look like a toddler version of Paul. Do you think the ship did something when he was here last?”

“Like copy a part of him?” Rayna clarified.

“He was bleeding all over the place,” Uriel pointed out.

“Are you going to name the child?” Saiya asked her, making everyone turn to look at the Healer, “What? They don’t have a name, and they obviously believe Phoenix is their mom for some reason.”

“Wait… Who’s the father?” the bard asked, causing everyone to look back at the Wayfarer and Paul-clone.

Phoenix’s face flushed red again as she retorted, “I said that’s impossible! The only time I was near this ship was when Paul was dying and when Everin and I exploded the ritual room.”

Then they all turned to look towards the rainbow voxen a couple of meters away –who was obviously paying attention to them– and he gave a wide, mischievous grin before saying, “I’m not sure if I should be flattered that you think I could seduce the un-seducible or insulted that you think I would take advantage of her like that in the short time we were sabotaging this place.”

Dazien then turned back to address the toddler who was clinging to Phoenix’s dress and asked in a light and friendly tone, “Why do you think she’s your mama, young one?”

The toddler pointed into the doorway, and Phoenix only took a quick glance to see the reassuring nods of the others that they would follow as she entered the vessel. It was brighter inside than she had been expecting, with warm lights making up the entire ceiling of the plant-lined hallways they walked through, following whichever direction the tiny finger pointed in.

As they neared the center of it, they came to the large room Phoenix and Everin had initially discovered the Corrupted Reality Seed. In its place was the wide trunk of the twenty-one-story tall sapling open to the blue sky high above them and letting in the natural light.

When the child’s hand dropped back to hold onto her, the alien music stopped. The surrounding structure seemed to come alive in a strange combination of various electronic devices moving around –which were embedded in the surrounding walls of the structure among the plants. A shimmer of magic filled the air before them as the space around the sapling became overlaid with an illusion.

She saw herself being held in Everin’s arms like a bride, and the bard said, “So it was that sneaky bas–”

“He was holding me so I wouldn’t fall to my death after using my ability, Rayna,” Phoenix cut off.

As they watched the recording, it seemed like it had been switched to slow-motion as her [Supernova] began exploding out from her, destroying her waiting portal along with the surrounding pieces of the ship. Then the border of destructive magic reached the nearby seed that had been dormant when she had first come across it and seemed to simply wash over it at first, not affecting the Obsidian Caste object in the slightest, but it began to fall as the floor supporting it crumbled.

A moment later, another wave of magic and fire swept across it, and Phoenix said to the others watching, “I think that’s the result of the ongoing ritual backfiring, which caused the chain reaction of explosions within the ship.”

When they saw the illusory image of the giant seed seem to crash into the ground, runes began to glow all over it. That seemed to be the spark that set off the chaotic mixture of magics, ramping up everything and causing a swirl of colors and flashes in the recording like a kaleidoscope of fireworks.

“That’s what caused the magic to go wild,” Everin said from behind them, “Your magic was still lingering and swirled in with it. Looks like the vessel thinks that since you started it all, you’re the one responsible for its existence.”

“But why do they look like a baby Paul?” Rayna asked, eyeing the little construct toddler.

The recording suddenly changed to replay the scene of Phoenix kneeling next to Paul from a point of view that none of them had been in at the time, and Paul’s voice filled the space as the recording said, “–my hope… my daughter.”

Then her voice echoed out, “You can’t die… you’re my dad… you promised.”

“I’m sorry, love,” Paul’s last words rang out, and she felt her heart catch in her throat as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes.

“Why are you showing us this?” She managed to choke out, her eyes never looking away from one of the worst moments of her life so far.

“Mama love mama-papa,” the toddler said, pointing towards the now frozen image of Paul and then pointing that finger towards itself. “Mama love mama-baby.”

Everin placed a tie-dye hand on the child’s head as he moved closer and said almost fondly, “It looks like they believe that if they appear like your father, then you will love them just as much. Scholar says their thoughts are a bit fragmented but almost like a newborn that’s slowly absorbing a Knowledge Tome.”

“Tome for what?” Dazien inquired curiously.

“For everything the ship knew, I assume,” the rainbow voxen replied simply, “I hate to say this, and I fully understand if you wish to claim the child and protect them from this… but we probably should get the Magi involved to study them along with whatever else this vessel and tree is capable of. If they are growing as rapidly as the surrounding magic levels are, then I believe the knowledge that lay within these walls will be priceless to the entire world.”

Phoenix glanced down at the toddler, who was trying its best to convince her to protect it… but could she trust everything that was being said and shown? Was it just trying to manipulate her? It wasn’t just a product of her magic and the seed’s going wild but whatever the ship was also comprised of… what the Soul Reapers had created.

Everin’s voice became quieter as he leaned over and whispered in response to her thoughts, “I would not condemn the innocent over the fear of others. That speaks to an unhealthy level of paranoia that I would recommend a Mender for. However impossible it seems, this vessel is only a child.”

“For now,” she muttered.

The Avatar gave a small smirk, “Isn’t that true for every child?”

The Wayfarer gave an annoyed huff, not denying his logic but not liking it either. Phoenix glanced to her party members for input and help weighing the risks between the options before them. She knew she couldn’t deal with any of this alone.

Saiya grinned widely and asked, “So, what’s their name? Keep with the Wayland tradition of starting with a P?”

That caused her to laugh –glad she wasn’t the only one to notice that tendency– and the tension began leaving her body as she shook her head at the excited Healer, “They’re not my kid, Saiya,” she said, causing the shorter woman to frown.

Then Phoenix reluctantly added, “But we can make sure they stay safe and taken care of. I’m thinking the Parent’s offer might actually be the best choice for this. What do you think, Dazien? Uriel? You both dealt with their temple the most.”

The two men looked at each other in silent questioning looks before Uriel simply gave a shrug, and Dazien said, “The Parent’s sole purpose is in protecting and supporting children as they grow. I don’t think you could find a better route in this situation if you don’t plan to parent the toddler yourself –which, for the record, I don’t think you should feel pressured to do. This is a weird magical fluke that you had zero say in. I don’t think any of us are equipped to handle raising a sentient vessel of an alien tree.”

“I am in agreement,” High Priestess Deserin said as she walked towards them from deeper down the hallway they were in, “There’s no shame in asking for help from those who have the knowledge, skills, or experience that you lack.”

Phoenix looked between the priestess and the toddler still in her arms. Despite everything that the others said and her own proclamation that she wasn’t a mom, she still felt responsible for the child asking her for help.

She gave a relenting sigh before clarifying, “In exchange for the mark of Favor, the Parent will ensure they stay safe and well taken care of, right? Help them grow up to be good? To learn to help others and protect themselves?”

Deserin smiled and nodded, “To the best of our abilities. We won’t let the little one be abused or enslaved. We will help, support, and guide them as you have requested.”

The Wayfarer readjusted to face the toddler and said, “Hey, I don’t know if you’re understanding any of this. Are you going to be okay with letting Priestess Deserin take care of you? I can’t stay here all the time. I have other duties as an Adventurer and… well, I have this whole quest thing.”

The toddler nodded and said, “Mama important. Mama traveler. Mama Chosen hero.”

She internally cringed at the last word but nodded, wondering if they got that information from some kind of recording or her aura, “That’s right. I have to go help a lot more people, and I think she’ll be able to help you better than I can.”

“Mama come back?” the toddler asked with those big puppy eyes.

Completely falling under the spell of adorableness, she found herself unable to say anything other than, “Of course I will. I’ll make sure to check in on you.”

The vessel’s construct surprised her then by wrapping their tiny arms around her neck and squeezing her in a gentle hug. It was such a human gesture that Phoenix absently thought that even if they weren’t actually a human –or other sentient species– it didn’t really make a difference in how they should be treated. They were human enough to be considered as such.

When she awkwardly returned the hug, music began playing throughout the ship again. It was softer but still sweet and happy sounding with that electronic tinge to it. She found herself smiling and whispered into the child’s ear, “How about the name Presley? That was the name of a pretty famous singer from my world. It can be yours now. Does Presley Wayland sound good?”

The soft red curls tickled her cheek as the toddler’s head nodded before pulling back to look at her with a happy grin. Phoenix then moved to hand the child over to the Parent’s Priestess and said, “It’s a deal then, High Priestess. I’m counting on you to take care of Presley.”

The heavy feeling of a divine aura filled the space as the Parent appeared next to her, looking like an older middle-aged version of herself as they said, “Thank you for making the wise choice of what is best for the child. We both know you don’t require my mark to shift this responsibility to others, but you chose to trade yourself to protect them over trading them to enrich yourself. You have my gratitude and respect, Phoenix Wayland.”

The redhead flushed slightly at the praise. She hadn’t thought about trying to sell the kid to the OOM or whoever might be interested. That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind, but the deity was right; she would rather bear another mark and know they would be safe.

That’s exactly what happened then as the Parent touched a finger to her chest for a moment, and the strong hands of her friends steadied her from the surge of divine energy coursing through her to alter her Chosen One title further along with her Soul Mark. At least any orphans would be taken care of in whatever alternate or pseudo-realities she visited.

“So why the name Presley?” Rayna asked, breaking the silence that had descended once the deity had vanished.

“They seemed to like singing, and it was the only singer name I could think of that started with a ‘P’ and was fairly gender neutral,” she explained, “They were a pretty famous one in my world, and I have no idea what gender a magical alien tree-vessel identifies as…”

Kara’s voice came echoing down the hall the next moment as the Obsidian Caster yelled towards them, “Great news! The cargo hold has amazing barrels! The kid is gonna have a blast with them!”

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