19 - Support Team (Patreon)

Phoenix smiled at the sight of the Emerald Caste voxen speaking with another priest she didn’t recognize so she decided to forgo distracting him and stayed with her party as they were arriving at the Western district’s small portal grounds. She hadn’t seen the man since he had cleared her for duty during the battle for Tulisuda after she had wrecked her body in a fight against a Sapphire archer.

Everin Starlark was a playful Spirit Advocate Class, who filled the role of a Healer, and was also a Cleric of the Rebel, who was one of the first gods that had marked her soul. Apparently, the presence of her aura was enough to distract the man as she felt his brush along hers. Ice blue eyes slid towards her and he seemed to half-drag the other Caster he had been talking with over to her.

“Noble Phoenix Wayland,” the five-tailed voxen greeted, “How good it is to see you here, alive and well.”

His words reminded her that this man knew about her [Waypoint] ability and likely knew exactly what had happened at the end of that last expedition. His next words all but confirmed her suspicions, “Let us hope it remains that way for the entirety of this expedition.”

“Cleric Starlark. Acolyte Barrett. It’s good to see both of you again. Will you be joining our mission?” Dazien asked, saving her from an awkward response of arguing that it wasn’t like she planned on dying… most of the time.

The Emerald Caster shook his head, his white-furred ears falling slightly to help emphasize his heavy sigh of sorrow, “Alas not. I will be joining Lord Paladin Wayland this afternoon in taking down an Emerald monster far to the west.”

Her eyes went wide at that news, “He didn’t mention that,” she murmured, finding herself rubbing the little golden bead on her bracelet, which vibrated in response a moment later and gave off a soft glow as Paul returned her tiny gesture. She could sense him to the south, likely at the AOA building, and wondered what the range limit might be on the bracelets. She doubted a Crystal Caste item could sense opposite sides of the tundra.

“The report only came in about a half hour ago,” Everin replied, “But Emerald monsters move fast and our information moves frustratingly slow. Acolyte Barrett here will be joining you, however, and he should be plenty capable enough. Not that Lady Saiya needs the assistance. She is an excellent Healer for a kit.”

“For an Adventurer,” Dazien corrected firmly, “Forgive my ignorance, Cleric Starlark, but if not for the expedition then why are you here?”

Everin gave the party leader a wicked vulpine grin, “I doubt there is much ignorance to forgive, Mister Smithson, but I merely stopped by to give Acolyte Barrett some… words of advice and to speak with your Striker, Lady Rayna.”

The entire party looked surprised at that proclamation, turning to look at the bard who seemed just as startled as they were, “Me?” the pugilist clarified, pointing a single tiny claw at herself.

The Cleric nodded in confirmation, “Yes,” he said, then as Rayna seemed about to decline the man added, “If your party leader will allow it, that is.”

Dazien raised a questioning brow that Phoenix agreed with, it wasn’t like an Emerald Caster would need that kind of permission but it became clearer what the cunning voxen’s angle was when the bard gave a loud scoff, “Daze doesn’t get to choose who I’m allowed to talk to,” then Rayna gave the Defender a soft punch on the arm and walked forward to join the Cleric to talk away from the group.

Phoenix turned to look at Dazien and said, “He’s almost as scary as you when it comes to convincing people to do whatever you want.”

The gemite chuckled, “I’m not positive what you might be implying, Princess. I merely speak the truth and the people agree with my logical conclusions.”

She gave him a disbelieving, “Mmhmm,” then turned towards Saiya to ask, “Is Everin from your homeland? From Epa Toivo?”

“I don’t believe so. I’d never seen his coloration on the dunes before we met on the road leading here,” the Healer replied with a shake of her head.

Uriel spoke up with more speculation, “He’s likely a Moonsong voxen. They’re said to have pale skin and white fur like that and normally reside in northern Alkupera.”

“How do you seem to know more about voxen than an actual voxen?” Phoenix asked incredulously. She vaguely recalled him knowing what type of voxen the twins had been when they first met them too.

The tall cinderen simply shrugged and said, “It was mentioned in a book I read. They roam the same forest that gryphons do.”

“I’m curious what brought him here,” Dazien said softly but gave a sidelong glance at Phoenix as he added, “I have my suspicions but it’s been months since he arrived and is only now interacting with our group outside of Adventuring duties. Either something changed or he’s a very patient man and I’m not sure which worries me more.”

“He knows about my resurrection talent,” she told them all through Dazien’s communication power, not wanting to risk being overheard out in the open like this, “He knew back in Tulisuda before I died. I think Rebel told him and he said he would keep it a secret but it makes me wonder how many other gods are keeping it a secret with their clergy.”

Her leader grimaced at that news, seeming to reassess the Emerald Caster who was chatting happily with Rayna and the bard seemed to laugh at something he had said. Then Dazien surprised the Wayfarer by turning to the silent stranger left beside them and asked, “Acolyte Barrett, thank you again for your help during the battle for Tulisuda. I admit it is a comfort to know you and your team of Sapphire Casters will be joining this expedition.”

The runeforged man seemed to become flustered at the praise and attention the group now paid him as he replied awkwardly, “N-no, I mean, I was merely doing my duty as a Healer and an Acolyte.”

“For the Cultivator, judging from your sigils,” the gemite gestured towards the emblems woven into the man’s green tunic, which Phoenix assumed was for her benefit but she was starting to recognize most of the prominent sigils that were separate from the runes that were used in reference to the deities within rituals and enchantments. The little sprouting seed on Barrett’s tunic matched the mark on her chest and was a common symbol for the Cultivator.

“A worthy path for sure. I’m curious, though, what does your duty as an Acolyte have to do with this mission or the last expedition we were in?” Dazien asked and, if she hadn’t known better, she would have believed it was just professional curiosity that drove his questions.

The Acolyte’s eyes sliding towards her spoke more than his words, however, when he replied, “My goddess cares about the survival and growth of this city and all of its inhabitants. She doesn’t want to see any life end before it can flourish.”

“Yeah, I don’t think he knows about your talent, so maybe it’s a Caste thing? Or perhaps because Starlark is a Cleric and not a mere Acolyte,” Dazien told the group mentally as he said aloud, “That is wonderful to hear, and makes perfect sense for her followers to choose an Adventuring life then.”

The runeforged smiled, “Yes. Aside from cultivating other things like plants or animals, my goddess is also strongly aligned with personal growth. Cultivating Aspect abilities is one of the most revered activities to perform within her domain.”

Phoenix was happy to hear that from the man. After Patricia’s introduction to what was done in the deity’s name at the Cultivator’s Citadel, she thought the goddess was only interested in her for making babies far far in the future.

Perhaps the goddess was more like the others in wanting to help her grow herself. She found herself wondering again why the gods gifted her with a Soul Mark and if there was anything she actually got out of bearing the social responsibility of it.

People had seemed in awe at her Noble Reveal and even her party seemed to understand there was great importance behind being “Favored” by the gods but she wasn’t sure what, if anything, was expected from it.

Her introspection was interrupted by Rayna returning with a slightly confused expression and Acolyte Barrett taking his leave to rejoin Everin. She was about to ask what the Emerald Caster had wanted with her when Dazien beat her to it by voicing his guess, “He wanted you to join the clergy of the Rebel?”

“Yeah. He said I would be well suited for it and made some really good points…” the bard admitted glancing towards the direction the Cleric had gone in, “I told him I’d think about it.”

“Are you going to?” Saiya asked, “I know I’ve talked about joining the Traveler but you never seemed interested in becoming a disciple.”

Everyone else turned to look at Saiya this time and Phoenix asked, “You what now?”

The voxen gave her a soft smile, “It’s not an uncommon choice for a voxen. We’re a very nomadic people. I’ve been contemplating it since long before learning you were Favored by that particular deity.”

“Alright everyone, gather around!” a cinderen woman called out, who Phoenix recognized as the high-level Sapphire Caster, Officer Wysmont, that would be leading this expedition, “Noble Wayland will be portaling us nearer to the rendezvous point. Then, once we arrive, I have some rather expensive items to hand around before we go on our individual routes.”

It took a moment for Phoenix to remember that she was “Noble Wayland” now but at least the name was already important enough to her that it caught her attention despite the momentary confusion.

She stepped forward at the prompting and the Officer described the ideal location along the Eastern Trade Road that they wanted to be near. She knew she could get them rather close, having a spot right by the road that Paul had told her to memorize as it was a common destination for giving mission directions from.

It took Phoenix a while to get everyone through, Bliss going first in her massive humanoid chimera form that always made Phoenix shiver a bit at the memories of pain that form could inflict when they trained. One of the Crystal parties went through next; with her [Transversing the Stars] ability at Crystal 9, she was only able to get one Sapphire and eight Crystals through before it was depleted and they had to wait another five minutes for her to cast it again. However, this was much quicker than the days of traveling that it would have taken them all on foot, even with their individual movement abilities the groups had been chosen for.

The Razorteeth Mountains they arrived at were a treacherous range of sharp cliffs and spikes that appeared as though they desired nothing more than to swallow the sun from the sky. When the nine parties arrived at the rendezvous point, they quickly organized their communication channels between them so that they could relay information as the six groups followed different paths through the mountains teeming with monsters and were rumored to be hiding Soul Reapers that were preparing to move against them.

Before they departed, however, Officer Wysmont cast a large ritual circle around a pile of scrolls that Phoenix was unfamiliar with as she asked anyone who might answer, “What does this ritual do?”

It was Noble Chriss Stratfured, Bliss’ party leader, who responded, the woman’s crystal-covered dress glinting in the light cast from the ritual lines, “It’s imprinting the scrolls to this location so that they will teleport the user here when used.”

Phoenix was almost not quick enough to react but the little chirp gave her enough of a forewarning as Tala moved from the perch atop her head to launch at the shiny woman, “No! Tala, no. We’ve talked about this. Not everything that glitters is for you to take.”

The noblewoman gave her a pitying look as she said, “I understand how taxing the whims of a Familiar can be. You are fortunate you can merge with her.”

The Sapphire Caster’s long iridescent hair vaguely reminded Phoenix of Dazien’s own shiny purple locks but this woman’s flowing tresses were a bit lighter and her rounded ears marked her as more likely to be a human than a gemite, which her aura also confirmed. Phoenix wondered if the coloration was from some kind of ritual or a Familiar effect.

The way Chriss had seemed slightly wistful at the idea of merging made her wonder where the woman’s own bonded Familiar had gone off to. Maybe it was a bird or something flying around the group or just too small for her to easily spot. Bliss then brushed against her leg, back in that usual kitten form while waiting to depart, and she obliged the chimera with some ear scritches.

Once the ritual was done and everyone except her received one of the scrolls, Phoenix was told by the cinderen leader, “I’m not giving one of these to you because you have your portal ability. Noble Stratfured was correct in recognizing that they are very expensive single-use mid-range teleportation scrolls,” the Officer glanced at the others and emphasized, “Only to be used in the event of an emergency. Every party has other means of moving quickly, so these are only a last resort. The others in King’s Dream received one in the event that you become… incapacitated.”

It wasn’t lost on Phoenix that the most likely means of incapacitation was her death but she assumed it was for morale that the Officer avoided the term. Then the leader gave them all one last order, “Now, you each have your team and route assignments. Follow those and if you find anything regarding the Soul Reapers you return here immediately and attempt to contact the others via Mister Smithson’s or my own communication networks. If you don’t find anything, then you are expected to return here by sunrise for some rest and roll call.”

As everyone acknowledged the order and began to split up, Chaos Summoners and King’s Dream began making their way further east down the trade road following the route they had been assigned. Phoenix’s party consisted of five Adventurers, one Cosmic Phoenix sitting amongst red curls, and one large Seagull that trailed after Saiya through the air. The other party was made of only four Adventurers but, other than Po, they each had a bonded Familiar following after them or on some part of their body.

At first, the two groups stayed to themselves, unsure of the others. That was until Polissa made her way to Phoenix’s side, pulling a more reluctant teammate along while the others followed the cinderen with amused smiles, and the woman started talking to the other members of King’s Dream; breaking the metaphorical ice between them by making introductions.

“Hello, everyone. Phoenix and I met at her Reveal but I’m Polissa Teras. My Class is Garrison Overseer and I mostly provide our party Defenders,” the noble said, then tugged at the arm of the man she had practically dragged over as she added, “And this is Tanner Neired, our party leader.”

Tanner was the runeforged who had suggested Paul do their mission the day before and also the appointed leader of their combined group, being both higher Caste and a more veteran Adventurer than Dazien. He was being followed by what Phoenix recognized as a Sivatherium, the silvery-hooved avals that looked like a cross between a moose and a small giraffe and were often used to pull wagons since they had a more docile nature. The man gave a roll of his eyes and stated disinterestedly, “I’m a Pack Harbinger, in charge of our general strategy and providing our Strikers.”

Then a chipper girl that seemed to be covered in blue plants, whom Phoenix could only assume was one of the dryads she had read about based on the unfamiliar aura, bounced forward to greet them, a tiny icy sparrow-like bird sitting on a small branch protruding from the girl’s blue hair, “Hi! I’m Mohala Pelenus, a Scout Nest. I provide mostly birds that are good at providing combat support and, obviously, scouting.”

Phoenix gave a small bow in greeting, thoroughly intrigued by the presence of the dryad. It was her first time actually meeting one in person and she was internally fangirling over the being that was merely a myth in her old world. The woman’s skin looked like silky blue petals and had eyes that were solid blue without any whites or pupils. The hair was the most intriguing thing, however, as it was long and entwined with vines and leaves that were pale blue. The plant parts actually seemed to grow with the woman’s hair and were covered in a layer of frost.

The Wayfarer wondered what kind of plant the dryad resembled, trying to recall the various subspecies names from the encyclopedia she had gotten from the Scholar a while ago. She had slowly been making her way through the massive book having covered dryads earlier under “D” and the one she thought likely fit was the [Frostrose] that was also a match for one of the flowers Paul had shown her among the rooftop garden of his home.

She smiled shyly, “H-hello, Mohala. I’m Phoenix, um, Wayland now, I guess,” she added awkwardly, definitely not used to the new surname she was meant to include.

“Oh, we know,” the soft-looking woman replied with a grin, “Po hasn’t shut up about you since the battle for Tulisuda.”

“And that’s enough out of you,” Polissa said and quickly shoved the dryad back behind Tanner to pull forward a shy cinderen boy instead, who had similar markings to Po’s and a shimmery blue serpent with tiny wings wrapped around his left arm, “This is my little brother, Simmon. He provides most of the healers and casts some heals of his own.”

“What do you mean by ‘provides’?” Rayna asked curiously, the slitted amber eyes assessing all of the other party members but lingering on the clearly out-of-place dryad.

“We’re all summoning specialists!” Mohala piped up excitedly, grinning broadly as she added, “We’re basically a one-party army!”

Dazien returned the enthusiastic woman’s grin as he chuckled, “Well, it sounds like we can count on you to clean up any monsters we come across then.”

“Indeed,” the runeforged leader said as he turned away from them and continued leading them along the route, obviously done with socializing.

Po winced slightly and gave them an apologetic look, “Please forgive Tanner. He’s great at planning but not so great at people. We can walk and talk, though. Shall we?” the summoner asked with a gesture towards the direction the group leader went and held out a hand in an obvious offer for Phoenix to take.

The Wayfarer stared at the hand for a moment as though it might bite her but a gentle nudge from Saiya behind her had her lean forward and accept it gently as she allowed Po to lead her through the snow. The woman launched them into chatting about random things as they walked eastward.

When they came upon their first pack of monsters, it turned out that Dazien’s joke hadn’t really been wrong as the other party's horde of summons and familiars decimated the pack of rock elementals.

Meanwhile, King’s Dream stared in stunned silence at the spectacle and all of them suddenly wondered why exactly they had been paired up with a party that obviously didn’t need five extra Adventurers. Then they remembered that Phoenix had their portal and Dazien had their communications and realized that they were the support team.

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