Opportunities And Meetings
I am eventually lured back to the waking world by Beth. The doll smiles at me as she sits next to me and kisses my cheek. I smile back at her and listen as she begins to speak.
"Good morning master! I thought it would be for the best to wake you up. Raquel is out in front of the wagon, and a few of the amazons have stopped by. Raquel is using your little helpers to help serve them." Beth informs me and I get up and chuckle lightly. I feel time begin to slow as I open my mouth to speak, my gamer powers activating again, and I shake my head and will this particular one to leave me alone for a touch.
At the same time I place new powers in the slots provided to me by passive abilities like "The magic of living", a perk that allows me to always be training some of my powers. One of the abilities I place in the throes of that particular power is a potent merchant ability named "Universal Bartering" which is a strange, but handy power that allows me to transform money into raw materials. As handy as this ability is there is an important tradeoff that can only be overcome with training: at first it will cost way more to get materials using this power then it should. I endeavor to train this ability since now I'm actually going to be getting money and could potentially use that money to make a range of raw materials, which can in turn be used to get more money.
"Okay, I had better get up." I remark, time returning to normal as I forcibly shut off the ability. A part of me is somewhat surprised that I can do that so easily, but I am grateful that I can do so. Especially since the power seems glitched and didn't activate last night during the escapades I got up too with Raquel and Beth.
I take a beat to get dressed before slipping out of the room located near the back of the tavern. As I exit the room I spot tables that are already occupied with amazons and their human friends and spouses, some of whom are male and others of whom are not. I can also hear the keen sounds of my curious staff hard at work, using a fraction of my own skill to expertly prepare assorted orders. I reach the front, public-facing part of the tavern and I nod at the amazons who are seated throughout the place.
Raquel is taking orders at a nearby table, and when the amazons who are giving her their orders spot me they grin and wave. I hear Raquel greet me in my mind, and note how proficient she is at using the non-physical connection we share. Beth greets her sister in our shared mental space and I grin as I wave at the amazons who waved at me.
I quickly go to where the kitchen is and begin to take command of the food preparation. We have multiple orders and even though Raquel appears to be a proficient leader she lacks my supernatural crafting and preparation abilities. In minutes I am guiding the curious beings who have aided me in the preparation of various meals, and I am quite happy to be lending them my skills.
The menu is basic, and as I work Raquel informs me of each of the things she is offering hungry customers. At the moment she is offering them rather simple breakfast foods, and I am delighted to devote my powers to the creation of such foods. The prices of such foods were determined by Beth, the amazon not the doll, and Alexa who were among the very first of the people to spend the night to awaken and happen across Beth, the doll not the amazon, and Raquel before I awoke.
I eventually use the latest ability to powerfully manifest within me to speak to Beth and to order her to go and help her sister. The doll is happy to do so and in doing so enables me to have two sets of eyes out in the tavern when I begin to practice making use of the bizarre connection that ties me to my dolls. I hone my skill with this strange new ability, eager to have a chance to grow familiar with the ability given how unusual it is to be able to connect with someone else on a mental level like this.
We have to work for a full hour before the customers stop coming into the restaurant with hungry eyes, and shortly before the last customers, including people who spent the night, leave Ophelia emerges from outside of the tavern, having been one of the few people who came over for dinner with the strength of will needed to slip out of the tavern last night. When I'm finished preparing food I leave the kitchen and head over to the table where the priestess is sitting and waiting for me.
"Good morning Mateo! I'm happy to see you." Ophelia tells me as I sit down in front of her.
"Morning Ophelia. It's a delight to see you, as always." I reply, grinning brightly at the lovely amazon.
"You're a charmer aren't you? Are you also, by chance, a bard? If you aren't, you'd be capable of fooling me." She quips rather playfully.
"I wanted to come by and officially welcome you to Oceanos. You performed a great service for the city and we are happy that you are one of our neighbors!" Ophelia reveals, shortly after her round of playful banter.
"I don't know how long you want to stay in the city before you head home, but I would love for you to pick your brain for a while." She explains, and I smile at her.
"I'll be transparent with you, I planned my trip with a variety of contingencies and caveats in place that I… did not need. I had considered the possibility that I'd not be able to enter the city at all, the possibility that my wares would not be sellable, and a half dozen other scenarios. I did not consider the possibility that I'd spend the night in the city in the wake of being one of the key figures who stopped an attempted invasion of it." I reply, and Ophelia laughs lightly as she nods at my assessment.
"I still want to sell my wares, beyond the food I've made. I mean, I'm glad that my food was well-received, but I do want to be a… regular merchant, not a restaurateur." I explain, and Ophelia grins at me as she weighs what I've said against whatever knowledge she came here with.
"So… in that case, why don't I offer you a reward for your aid in the defense of our city? I mean, to be clear I'm going to give you a reward one way or another, but your remarks are of pertinent interest to me as I attempt to mentally craft an ideal reward that suits your actions." She tells me and I silently wait for her to finish mentally constructing whatever offer she has in mind. It takes her a brief moment to come up with what she wants to offer me, a period I spend smiling at her even as some of the pets I have acquired come over to the two of us. I lightly pet one of the wolves that is now sitting next to the booth as Ophelia begins to speak.
"So the city's clergy were among the key defenders during yesterday's poorly planned invasion and we have been some of the people working to rebuild already. As a result of this our queen, who is even now overseeing efforts to assess the damages dealt by the pirates, has awarded us the lion's share of the goods we're going to salvage from the remains of the ships and the corpses of the pirates. I would like to give you some of this, enough to reflect your pivotal status as one of the key defenders of the city. In fact no singular individual did as much as you did according to what Atlanta told me, and then confirmed by accounts from the other amazons you saved." Ophelia tells me.
"I think you deserve a lot. Truthfully what you did, as far as I can tell unaided by any deity or spirit, is the sort of thing I'd need a miracle from Aphrodite to pull off. You saved the lives of amazons, animals, and even rescued kidnapped and dominated amazons! I believe that no good deed should go unrewarded, so I am asking you to stay long enough for us to sort through the mess left behind by the defeated pirates and let us reward you properly." She says, seriously. I contemplate her offer and let my face be a neutral mask, not betraying my thoughts or feelings on the matter.
I like Oceanos but I wasn't planning on spending tonight here. Truthfully I wanted to head back home as soon as possible so that the dolls and I could work on crafting new gear and then go out and find their sisters. Still, the opportunity to cement my bond and relationship with this city is pretty darn critical, and there's the matter of me getting my reward… Nonetheless, I do want to get out of here as soon as possible.
"Okay, I want to accept your generous offer. That being said, I also want to sell my wares. I have an idea and I'd like to run it by you." I state, causing my companion to smile at me curiously.
"I can move the tavern over to the area damaged during the invasion, and I can sell my goods while I offer my aid to those seeking to survey the damages and to those trying to figure out what the city gained by repelling the invasion. Thanks to my skills with the paths I can wield I can fix things with a touch. To some extent at least. I can make stuff easier for you all, and in doing so further justify your decision to award me some of the loot awarded to the temple." I offer, and this offer intrigues Ophelia. She considers it, giving me a contemplative look even as I place my hand on the table and ready to fill it, and thus the rest of the item, with some of my power.
"You know what? That actually sounds great." She says, accepting my offer. I grin at her and will the tavern to get ready to move on its own, making use of one of my merchant powers. I explain what I can do, vaguely, to Ophelia and I ask her to guide me to where we need to be.
She and I get out in front of the vehicle and I begin to will the thing to move on its own. The vehicle doesn't have to go far, and when we reach the edge of the harbor we get to see many faces hard at work.
Countless figures, including a rare handful of men who are shorter than amazons but similarly built, are hard at work studying the damages done to the harbor and the area just past it. I telepathically order Beth and Raquel to work as my employees for the time and Ophelia and I physically part from my mobile home and head over to confer with some of the amazons already here. In less than two minutes I am standing beside several gigantic women, some of whom eye me curiously, while others are focused on the matter at hand.
"So it looks like we were able to avoid the worst possible damages. Judging from the reports I've read it looks like the woman guiding the pirates wasn't a strategic powerhouse and instead relied on the power of her paths." One of the women, someone I've never seen before, says as Ophelia and I reach her group.
"The pirates used ranged attacks, cannons mostly, when they were enormously far from us, but the majority of that level of tactical thinking disappeared when they approached the city. Because of that the main damages we've sustained are injuries and not a huge amount of structural harm. A small blessing, given everything, but not the smallest we could have received." The woman, a towering figure by the standards of humans as far as I can tell but only of average height among amazons, tells her companions.
"Still… Repairing what damages were done to the city will take weeks, if not months. Even with as little as a glance I can determine that much." The woman remarks, before turning to face me and momentarily examining me. She is wearing simple work clothes but as I study her I can feel the regality of her presence and the remarkable power flowing through her thanks to subtle and simple perks in my possession that empower my passive observational skills.
"Good morning, you must be Mateo. I am Queen Penelope, the monarch of this particular group of amazons. I am happy to have a chance to thank you for your role in the defense of our city, but I must ask… why are you here, right now?" She asks, even as the others with her turn to examine me. One of them, a man a bit taller than me and built like an amazon himself, places his hand on a sword on his person and I can feel his wary body language. I smile at the group before I begin to speak.
"Yes, I am Mateo. I'm happy and honored to meet you, your majesty. I was invited here by the oracle who was at the battle, Ophelia, to come and see the damages and also to see if I could offer even slight aid to those tasked with repairing what was harmed or destroyed. I'm a merchant and also a few other things, and I believe I could be of assistance." I explain, causing the group to relax and for some of the people to regard me with increased interest. As a multiple path power wielder there are many different ways I could engage with the carnage before me.
A quick example that comes to mind as I study the area just past where I am standing is that I simply do away with much of the garbage that litters the ground by either claiming it for myself and shunting it into my internal vault or use "Reclamation" to turn it into money directly. Things like the fallen weapons of foes, the shattered remains of cannonballs, and even the bits and pieces of wrecked armor are scattered throughout the floor. I could also directly repair the places that have been damaged, instantly so if I have the support of the city and access to potions that can restore my magic…
I decide to demonstrate what I can do by motioning for the group of what must be overseers of some sort given the queen's presence here, as I walk over to a fallen sword, one still tainted by corruption and pick it up. Vague memories begin to fill a part of my brain as I hold the blade while readying myself to use one of my perks.
I smile at the group and will the blade to vanish, transforming it into cash through the usage of "Reclamation". The cash, coins with faces on them, does not appear in my hand but instead appears in my vault and makes me laugh lightly when I learn this. This action makes the amazons gathered before me smile and nod in respect.
"I… I definitely think I can help," I say, with a smile. "And I can actually do a bit more than this! I have items for sale goods I created myself, as I wanted to come to the city to trade with my neighbors." I explain, even as I subtly nod in the direction of my vehicle.
"I'd be happy to sell goods to friends working to repair the damages done to this fair city by the pirates." I state, with a proud smile. I elicit interest in my wares with that remark and I can feel that multiple members of the group are interested in my aid. The queen herself contemplates my remarks, having seen me use my ability to do away with one of the weapons once wielded by an enemy of the capital city of her queendom.
"Hmm… Well, I shouldn't turn down extra aid. If you wish to aid us, go and do so as part of Ophelia's faction. It seems that you and her have a connection anyway." The queen remarks, causing Ophelia to smile at me. We thank her for her wisdom and walk away, heading deeper into the harbor where amazons are directly working to note the damages done by the pirates. As we walk I turn to Ophelia and ask her something.
"So, I noticed that some of the men here are large. Like in the rough ballpark of the amazons yourselves. How is that possible? It seems like amazons are something… else. Something not human. Are those men male amazons?" I ask causing Ophelia to let out a small laugh.
"You know… Kind of, actually. Though I doubt they'd appreciate the comparison. Those men are unique figures who have undergone trials and tests and become gargareans; a group of men blessed by the gods and empowered to have the same social status as amazons." Ophelia explains.
"You should know that there are actually two types of amazons. One type of amazon are naturally occurring and are the offspring of an amazon mother, while the other type of amazon are women who are not descended from an amazon but have undergone intense training in preparation to survive a ritual created by a goddess named Otera, the first amazon. She was once a demigoddess, but ascended to true divinity after a lifetime of extraordinary, supernatural deeds. If women survive the ritual they become amazons and any children they have after that point will be amazons themselves. We consider both types of amazons to be equal in every respect." Ophelia tells me as we walk. I grab fallen goods as we walk and destroy them using "Reclamation" to snag some quick cash.
"Gargareans are men who have undergone training and also endured the ritual. Long ago there was a whole tribe of gargareans but when you reproduce with an amazon your child is guaranteed to be an amazon so that would naturally get it in the way of producing natural gargareans. That, coupled with the fact that gargareans do not automatically father more gargareans, even when they mate with non-amazons, has caused the number of natural gargareans to vary pretty significantly depending on a number of factors. That said, male citizens of amazonian queendoms are always allowed to undergo the ritual and become gargareans." Ophelia tells me, and then she gives me a curious look. It takes me a second to realize she must be wondering what I'd look like as a gargarean.
The question is an interesting one. I have a slender look so if I were to get the muscles of one of those hulking figures I think it'd look a bit odd. Curiously I actually have access to two seperate origins that might allow me to someday look like them: that of a "Warrior" and a "Chi-Manipulator". In both cases I know and possess two perks.
As a warrior I possess the "Born to be mighty" and "The will to live" perks. The first of those two perks is one that grants me a warrior's physique. The second perk enhances my willpower. The blade I used against the pirates is an item from this particular origin!
Ophelia and I quickly begin to discuss other matters before we reach where her followers and direct allies are gathered. As soon as we reach the part of the harbor that has been assigned to the city's temple to help clean, repair, and otherwise oversee, we get to work. All the while people begin to approach my allies and enter the tavern as well as express interest in the goods we have for sale.
I am told to freely roam the part of the harbor that was assigned to the temple and to help when and where I can. I accept my orders and get to work right away. In minutes I am exploring the part of the miles-wide area where I can roam, making use of my supernatural abilities to do things like clear an area of trash or to even something small to repair. I must work for nearly two hours before a boisterous, and familiar, voice warmly calls out to me and distracts me from my work. I turn to greet Atlanta and when I see her I almost freeze as I admire her beauty.
Atlanta is positively massive, a true amazon in physique. She is also a warm, powerfully feminine, figure despite her powerful muscles. She has curves on curves and is currently wearing a green and yellow outfit that perfectly accentuates the parts of her that would appeal to people not quite interested in her muscular form. She's also accompanied by her sister, who is dressed in much plainer clothes but is also quite happy to see me.
"Hey! It's so nice to see you two." I say, returning the rather impressive greeting Atlanta used to get my attention. The two reach me and begin to ask me what I'm doing causing me to grin at them.
"Well I'm actually… kind of helping with the initial recovery efforts." I explain, before placing a hand on a wall with a cannonball sized hole in it that is, now that I've turned to face the sisters, behind me and using "Repair Man" on it. There are two aspects of this handy enchanter perk; the first aspect is that I know how to repair anything and can do so through mundane means such as patching up a hole in a ship's hull. The second aspect is that I can expend supernatural resources, such as my stores of arcane energy, to fix things nearly instantly. How much energy I expend depends on a number of factors with the two biggest being the extent to which I am fixing something and the size of the thing in question.
I internally shudder as I feel some of the stores of arcane energy I possess, be consumed for the sake of me demonstrating my powers. A second later the wall begins to heal, regenerating from the damage the cannonball did to it, in moments. This causes my companions to gasp in surprise, their eyes widening as they witness one of my more sillier, and yet in this case extremely handy, powers.
"I mentioned this to Atlanta and Ophelia yesterday, before we met," I explain, speaking to Ari. "But I'm actually a multipath. Ophelia knows me as a cleric and a merchant, and that's not incorrect but it's also not the limit of my abilities." I state, as I glance at the wall and note that it is completely repaired. Doing that cost me a decent bit of arcane energy but in nanoseconds I begin to recover some of the expended energy. The two begin to ask rapid fire questions, and I laugh after a few of them and manage to enlist their aid, promising to answer their questions if they help me.
I end up spending the rest of the day accompanied by the sisters. We manage to work together fairly well and in hours we have cleaned and repaired a range of different objects and areas. During this time Ophelia occasionally stops by and sees how we're doing, all while a handful of the objects I constructed are purchased by amazons and a few gargareans. I have the dolls survey the customers who purchased the items and get some data that I can use to make intelligent decisions about how to market my wares and what sort of wares would do well in the city.
When night falls I offer the sisters a meal in the tavern, free of charge. They eagerly accept, and dine on a meal consisting of cooked veggies and also fine meats. They do not spend the night in my home, however, and return to their family. I spend the night with my dolls, engaging in some vigorous exercise but like the night before we dramatically finish in mere minutes due to our inability to fully control the strange connection that tethers the three of us.
When I awaken I work in the tavern for a few hours as the minute I exit the tavern, intending to go to work on the harbor there are hungry amazons and their families eager for more breakfast food outside of my unorthodox mobile home. During this time more amazons show up than before, and I actually have to order Beth to go and buy some food using some of our profits from the day before. We feed dozens of amazons and their kin before I have Raquel take over kitchen duties, while mentally noting that I need to make skill books to teach Raquel and Beth how to use my skills if not my abilities so that we can divvy up duties more effectively.
I work for hours with Ophelia's faction, and Atlanta, before Ophelia comes and gently interrogates me about the ocean spirits, and my interactions with them. I continue my work while answering her questions, and eventually explaining the offerings I made to the servants of Neptunia. I do not tell Ophelia about the grimoire I was given, nor do I tell her about my powers as a hydrokinetic, instead I opt to focus on the central idea that as far as my clergy-based abilities go I am a priest of nature and elemental spirits, which is how I can do things like manipulate water.
During this time my dolls continue to tend to the business side of things, revealing some natural skill with customer-service. While I endure the light grilling Ophelia is giving me the dolls manage to finish selling our wares, which I learn thanks to the potent telepathic connection I now have with the dolls. I inform Ophelia that I will be leaving tomorrow morning, and while this news shocks her she informs me that she will see to it that the reward I have earned will be prepared in time.
The rest of the day is a blur but I continue to work to help Ophelia's faction, something which I know causes more of her peers to like me. I work among the amazons and gargareans for hours, until the sun has nearly set, before I head to the place I'm temporarily calling home. I am accompanied by various amazons and gargareans, and Beth and Raquel and I end up working for several hours to make extra money and new friends by cooking many meals.
When the last meals have been made I eat a small one myself and then perform for my friends and companions. I regale the audience with a musical retelling of a story of forbidden romance from Earth, and am delighted to watch the peeps I'm feeding positively eat up the story. At its climax I get an alert informing me of a quest to gain access to a new pathway to power of mild interest to me: that of a bard. All I have to do is perform successfully in a few communities and I'll gain the ability to use the introductory level perks that all bards might gain.
Eventually the people who are gathered in the tavern begin to disperse, with many saying farewell since they learn that I will be leaving tomorrow morning to go back home. Atlanta and Ophelia are both genuinely sad when they say goodbye, and Ophelia gives me an enchanted bag that contains the treasure I have been awarded for my participation in the city's defense. She is teary-eyed while telling me to be careful when I begin to sort through the items I have earned, due to the impressive quantity of the loot I was given.
When the tavern is empty I have the dolls begin the journey back home. I go to bed alone tonight, and dream of the ocean. During my dreams I see a strange aquatic city deep beneath a placid ocean. I get to explore this empty-seeming city in my dreams for hours, and when I wake up my companions and I have returned to the home we left days ago, armed with a range of resources, knowledge, new connections, and ready to devote ourselves to a new mission: discovering what happened to Beth and Raquel's sister-dolls.