C2 - Arrival

Over the subsequent week, my relationship with Mona, though initially peculiar, began to improve. I found myself cycling between feedings and diaper changes, the routine gradually numbing the initial awkwardness.

Once I grew accustomed to the routine and stopped feeling humiliated, I was able to focus on other things. I started to pay more attention, trying to gather information and answer the myriad questions swirling in my mind.

I made a strategic effort to endear myself to Duke Calo, who visited me once a day. During his visits, I aimed to be as adorable as possible, making cute noises and grabbing his finger whenever he offered it. I even practiced smiling broadly, hoping to elicit a smile from him.

The challenges of gathering information as a baby became evident. My vision was blurry and almost completely colorless, making it hard to focus on voices around me. Despite this, there was a significant improvement compared to my sight when I was first 'born.'

The rapid improvement in my vision remained a mystery, but I suspected it was linked to the quests I had undertaken. Typically, it takes babies months for their sight to improve to this extent, going from almost complete darkness to being able to see some colors and objects further away, albeit still blurry.

I also heard many voices, including those of Calo, Mona, and the butler, but without being able to attach faces to these voices, they all blended together. Most of the voices belonged to servants in Calo's household, but beyond that, I couldn't distinguish anyone else.

Despite completing a few mundane tutorial quests, such as "Raise your head," "Cry and scream for 2 hours straight," and "Make 3 people say 'aww' in 30 minutes," I still had no additional information about the strange system I seemed to be a part of. No one else seemed to be aware of the quest notifications, or if they were, they didn't react to them. It was during the gaps between Mona's visits that I had time to contemplate my situation.

Captain Xantis had mentioned that even a waiver of lifestyle rights would be problematic. The realization hit me hard. A waiver of lifestyle rights meant I would be kept barely alive, with rations measured in bites and sips rather than proper meals. I knew the Bellerophon was facing resource troubles, but could it be that dire?

As I sat stewing in my thoughts, raised voices from outside the nursery door caught my attention. The voices grew louder and clearer, presumably as they approached. The door opened, revealing Calo and another person engaged in a heated discussion.

"--and that's final," Calo asserted. The fear of being cast out or sent somewhere unfamiliar gripped me.

"Fine," the other voice replied stiffly. It was a voice I didn't recognize.

As they approached my crib, Calo appeared over me, his smile tired but warm. The other person was an older woman, roughly Calo's age, with high cheekbones and flowing blonde hair.

Her initial scowl softened into a slight smile as I deployed my deadliest weapon: a 1000-watt baby smile.

"He is pretty cute," she remarked, unable to resist my otherworldly charm.

Calo said, "I told you. One look was all you needed."

Her smile faltered with a sigh, as she replied, "Cuteness will not change the facts, husband."

Calo reached his finger into the crib and I instantly grabbed and squeezed as hard as I could. The familiar roughness of his hand was reassuring to me in this wild time.

Calo also sighed in response, "I know dear. It's just that this boy would mean a son." She looked at her husband with sadness. I could almost see a novel's worth of strife she faced as a woman painted on her face.

The duchess turned to Calo and studied him for a moment before replying, "I can't tell you what to do, just consider the consequences of your actions."

Calo huffed and said, "I have considered it."

He placed his hand on hers on the edge of the crib. "You know where he came from. Think of the potential benefit to the house if he was one of ours. Once he obtained enough power, the king himself couldn't stop us."

My eyes widened at the mention of "power," and a flurry of thoughts raced through my mind. Was this "power" referring to the system I have, or was it something entirely different? Could it be a different kind of power, perhaps political influence or something else entirely?

She sighed and looked at him scornfully, "He's just a baby! He has no power. It's possible he didn't receive Shani's blessing."

Calo shrugged and said, "It's hard to say if he did or if he didn't. The head priestess hasn't sent any messages." The duchess nodded as if she felt the conversation had swung to her side.

He turned to his wife and said, "Regardless, he's going to need a name. I wanted you to pick it." She turned from me to her husband and back to me.

"How does Damiano sound?" She said pensively, studying my face.

Calo grinned and replied, "Sounds perfect."

Being unceremoniously named, or re-named, was surreal for me. I stared back at the pair that hovered over my crib. Part of me wanted to exclaim "I already have a name."

Another part of me wanted to leave the life I lived as Cal behind. My Earth parents said that Callahan was my uncle's name on my mother's side. Damiano, on the other hand, was foreign and exotic, having never heard it before.

Maybe it was the limitations of the infant brain, but after all the drama I couldn't follow what Calo and his wife said after that. I let myself drift off into dreamland as they talked about kings and dukes. The dreams shaped by their conversation were fantastical and heroic.

I awoke sometime later to another visit from Mona. We went through our routine and I tried to think of the system that kept popping up. As if in response, a new screen appeared in front of me.

Tutorial Quest Received!

View the status window. Say or think 'Status' to view.

Reward: 10 EXP