Outside Influences

Orseis proudly strode over to their slain foes, her new most favorite spear clutched tightly in her tentacles.

“So, do you think–” she began.

“No, you can’t eat them,” Bel responded quickly in a frazzled voice. “They’re half human and so are you. That’s cannibalism. Cannibalism is bad.”

Orseis resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Bel’s stern tone. After a brief pause, she grinned with mischief instead. “But let’s say we only found half a body in the woods and we didn’t know where the other half came from. What if we roasted it up, but later learned that it came from a half-shrimp, half-human person. How would we know?”

Bel groaned and forced herself to her feet again so she could stomp over to the shorter girl. She waved her finger angrily as she went, quickly launching into a lecture.

“We don’t eat random halves of bodies that we find in the woods, okay?” She aggressively prodded Orseis’s stomach. “And You just ate,” she finished.

Orseis waved her tentacles and flashed a submissive pattern over her color-shifting skin. “Okay, okay.”

Orseis did her best to suppress a grin. It was just too funny when Bel became serious and tried to act like an older sister. It made Orseis feel like she was part of Bel’s weird, adopted family. On the other sucker, Bel’s new friend was more inscrutable.

Orseis risk a glance at the winged beauty, assuming that Cress would be staring at Bel in rapt fascination as usual. She couldn’t help a small feeling of panic when she found the other woman looking at her instead. For a moment Orseis almost looked away, but she resisted the urge.

Nope, stay tough. If I look weak she may try to get rid of me.

Orseis grinned back at the woman before gesturing to the strange half-man creature that she’d managed to spear. Crecerelle looked back with a curious expression, but that was it. The other gorgon clearly thought Bel was something special, but she didn’t seem to understand why Orseis was hanging around.

Orseis pointed at the corpse again and gestured to her chest. The gorgon’s eyebrows went up slightly before she stepped away, clearly making room for Orseis to crack open the man’s core for his delicious essence. Her second core was already full of course, but now that this latest round of action was over with she was anxious to form her third core.

“Hey Bel,” she called out over her shoulder, “did you have a chance to ask your mom about a good patron for me?”

A big frown spread over Bel’s face like a oncoming storm. A pit formed in Orseis’ gut at her response. That looks like bad news.

“Lempo said to stand up for yourself and your goals, or people in the Old World will eat you,” Bel said gravely.

Orseis almost laughed. “Did she really say that? Are you sure?” She strode over to the body while she decided whether or not Bel was overreacting. Overreacting to things was a typical Bel response. “I thought your stance on cannibalism came from James? Is cannibalism actually really popular in the Old World?”

Bel’s forehead creased with frustration. “Of course they don’t eat people there. I’m just worried that they may not think of you as people.”

Orseis looked down at her tentacles as they writhed across the dead man’s body.

“That’s why I wanted a patron who could help me look good,” Orseis responded defensively.

Bel’s mouth twisted with concern. “Survival is more important than looking good, Ori.”

Orseis scowled. She’s not taking me seriously. I’m not a little kid! I survived in the ocean all by myself!

She pointed an accusing tentacle at Bel. “You don’t get it,” Orseis insisted. “And stop calling me Ori.”

Orseis cracked open the man’s core and pulled out a healthy dose of essence, but she hardly appreciated the usually satisfying feeling.

She gave Bel an angry look instead to make sure the older woman would understand how upset she was. “Since you don’t want to help out I guess that I’ll just dive in there and ask Ishmael for whatever he would recommend.”

“Ah, no, wait, Ishmael isn’t there!”

Orseis pouted and flopped to the ground, ignoring Bel’s protests. “I’ll be quick,” she called out.

As the dark space folded around her, Orseis started thinking about Bel’s words.

She’s just worried about me. It’s why she gave me the spear, even though I could tell she really, really wanted to keep it.

Ah, maybe I do act like a child sometimes.

Orseis’ tentacle twitched and she was surprised to find the weapon still in her grasp, even in the spiritual plane. Her gaze fell on her shortened tentacle, a good chunk missing after Nebamon’s attack. She’d survived, sure, but only because Bel and Crecerelle had saved her.

Now I feel guilty for yelling at her when she was just worried about me.

Orseis sighed.

Wait, what did she mean when she said that Ishmael is gone?

The thought had barely formed in her head when she heard the faint sound of someone shifting behind her. The soft, sibilant sound sent a shudder up Orseis’ back. She whirled around and found a cold, haughty gaze examining her with apparent disdain.

Orseis scanned the woman – the goddess – from top to bottom. She wore a heavy helmet topped with the plumes of multiple birds. It was tipped up, but it still shaded enough of her face to leave her face covered in shadow.

A long war horn was slung over her shoulder and she was casually leaning on a long, thin spear with a wicked point. As if one weapon wasn’t enough, a long whip hung from one hip and a sword hung from the other. Her body was covered in an armor made of bones and scales that left her lower legs bare, and a patchwork leather cape swirled against her body. When Orseis looked at its details she realized that the cape was woven together from the skin of multiple faces.

Orseis blanched and she struggled to keep her body from flashing a terrified color. Her eyes travelled back to the woman’s armor and she realized that the bones came from many sources, but some of them were human skulls. She set her teeth to stop them from chattering and forced herself to look back up and meet the goddess’ heavy gaze.

The goddess snorted and began to slowly circle around Orseis.

“Who–” Orseis tried to speak, but her voice cracked.

She cleared her throat and tried again. “Who are you?”

The goddess stepped too quickly for Orseis to follow. She whirled around to find the goddess at her back, but another step once again took her out of Orseis’ view.

I feel like I’m being hunted, Orseis thought with a shudder.

“Me?” the goddess replied. “I am the creator of that weapon you carry.”

The goddess kept moving and Orseis couldn’t do better than just barely keeping her flapping cape in view, no matter how fast she spun.

“I wonder if you are worthy of such a divine weapon,” the goddess mused.

“Why are you here?” Orseis asked. “What happened to Ishmael?”

The goddess laughed. “Perhaps you should have listened to your friend,” she said harshly. “A lack of planning is hardly the trait of a good soldier.”

The deity came to an abrupt halt and Orseis nearly tripped on her feet as desperately tried to keep up with the goddess’ circling.

“I am Bellona,” the goddess finally introduced herself. Her fingers toyed with the whip at her waist as she looked Orseis up and down, like a butcher considering the slaughter of their herd animals.

I think she’s one of those gods that everyone in the Golden Plains warned me about, Orseis lamented internally. This is why I wanted Bel to ask for someone safe!

Bel had managed to give her a bit of advice, at least. I’ve gotta stand up for myself.

Orseis straightened her back and gripped her spear for support. “I’m not interested,” she declared in a loud voice. “I’m looking for someone who can help with my image.”

The goddess laughed derisively. Orseis couldn’t help noticing the unnaturally sharp and pointed teeth that filled the goddess’ mouth and her composure crumbled.

“And here I thought that you wanted to be strong, little half-human. You would rather be gobbled up?” Bellona licked her lips. “Sea food is considered a delicacy by many, and there’s quite a bit of meat on you.”

The goddess grinned hungrily in Orseis’ direction, and the cuttle-girl shivered at the sight.

“I-I’m n-not going to be g-gobbled up,” she quavered.

Get a hold of yourself, she screamed internally. This goddess will absolutely eat the weak.

Bellona rubbed her thumb over one of the skulls that made up her breastplate, clearly enjoying Orseis’ discomfort.

“You’re a cute little morsel, aren’t you? Not worth my time though,” she said mockingly. “Someone as weak as you is beneath my notice, but the events that have swept you up are rather interesting.”

The goddess’s face turned serious. “Still, you aren’t really my type of follower.”

Orseis felt a small sense of relief. Maybe she’ll leave me alone?

Bellona had other ideas. The goddess drew a small knife that Orseis hadn’t noticed before and examined her reflection in its polished surface. “I have other things to attend to, but before I leave I am going to give you a proposal. I think that you are unworthy, but…”

The goddess sighed in an exaggerated matter. “I do show favor to my followers, even if their ventures merely entertainment.”

“I’m n-not interested in your proposal,” Orseis managed to stammer out.

Bellona laughed. “You have a bit of backbone. That’s good. But refusing something when you haven’t even heard the details?” The goddess clicked her tongue as she sheathed her knife. “That’s not very smart. Maybe you should reconsider?”

The goddess ran her hand along the edge of her shield and Orseis noticed that it was made of overlapping vertebra.

Just go away! Orseis screamed in her head. Why are the gods so damn creepy?

Bellona tapped her regalia slowly, drawing out the moments and delighting in Orseis’ discomfort. Then she chuckled.

“Do not fret, little Orseis. It is not an offer from me. I have a former disciple who is interested in you.”

“Then why are you here?” Orseis asked suspiciously.

“The new rules gave me an advantage in the bidding,” the goddess explained. She gestured to Orseis’ spear. “You are wielding my divine gift.”

Orseis glanced at her wonderful weapon. “Oh.”

I guess that things that seem too good come with hidden consequences. People are always warning me about that.

“Well?” the goddess asked impatiently. “Will you accept my disciples’ patronage?”

“Shouldn’t I get to meet her first?”

The goddess grinned triumphantly. “I shall interpret that as interest!”

“No, wait – oh, hells,” Orseis cursed. The goddess had whipped her creepy cape around her shoulders and disappeared in a burst of what looked like blood.

In her place was a large, beautiful flower. Orseis took a step back. She trusted it even less than she trusted the bloodthirsty goddess.

A soft, feminine voice filled the space. “Hello, Orseis.”

“Um…” Orseis regarded the flower. It was twice as tall as Orseis and she guessed that it was probably quite colorful, although Orseis lacked the color perception to know for certain. The petals were large and soft, with an exotic spiky pattern that reminded Orseis of some of the plants she’d seen in the hot, humid environment of the second layer. There wasn’t much plant to the flower, just a narrow stem with a pair of serrated leaves.

“Hello flower,” she greeted it hesitantly.

The voice tittered. “You want to be beautiful, don’t you?”

The flower swayed as the voice spoke, but Orseis couldn’t see any visible mouth. She hesitated, feeling foolish speaking to the plant.

“Well, sure, I want to be pretty. But I need to survive too. I don’t know if a flower is the best patron for that.”

Can a flower even be a patron?

She quickly waved her tentacles as if to ward off the odd deity’s anger. “I mean, no offense, but I’m not a plant.”

The voice chuckled, full of mirth. “Why don’t you come closer and see what this plant has to offer?”

Orseis frowned. “No.”

“Oh? So you’re scared of a flower? But you were just thinking that I looked weak, weren’t you?”

The flower shifted, its petals tilting away from the center of the flower and Orseis took another uneasy step away from it.

“So your mouth says one thing but your heart tells you the truth?” The flower goddess tittered. “That’s smart. If you were foolish you would be a better candidate for a meal than for a disciple.”

The flower folded over and the illusion broke; the stem and leaves were a pair of hind legs and the petals were an insect’s body and forelegs. The center of the flower was just a colorful spot on a large insect’s head, with its antenna serving as two stamen. A head with powerful jaws emerged from hiding as the insect spread out its body, flexing her muscles after holding the deceptive pose. Its front legs had looked harmless as petals, but Orseis could now see that they were lined with spines.

One of the insect’s legs rubbed against its wing, creating the illusion of speech. “Deception can be beautiful as well as dangerous, little morsel, and Deception is who I am.”

Deception spread her wings and leaped towards Orseis, landing close enough that Orseis could have reached out and touched her. The cuttle-girl did her best to hold her ground, but she still stumbled back a step when she saw the serrated jaws on the goddess’ triangular head. Orseis’ spine weakened as the goddess’ large, unblinking eyes stared into her soul. She took another unconscious step back.

The mantis pointed one of her hooked forelegs at Orseis’, lightly tapping her chest. “Deception could be your strength as well… If you can past your reliance upon brute strength.”

Orseis’ tentacles tightened around her spear, its solidity giving her strength. This sounds like a goddess making a sales pitch. I can handle this.

Orseis carefully cleared her throat as she organized her mind. “Sure,” she agreed, “I may be interested. Maybe you could you tell me more about what you have to offer?”

The mantis rubbed her leg against her wing again, responding with voice that had turned dry and raspy. “Before then, little one, let us talk about what you have to offer me.”

Orseis grimaced. Okay, maybe I’m not that good at negotiating. This sucks. I bet that Bel didn’t have to negotiate with her mom.

Bel watched over Orseis’ prone body, her face stretched with worry. She tensed up when the little cuttle-girl’s eyes shot open: her normally w-shaped pupils were dialated to their fullest and her skin turned a startled white. Before Bel could even ask what had gone wrong, Orseis wrapped a tentacle around Bel and pulled herself close for a shuddering hug.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t stop to listen to you, Bel,” she apologized timidly, “that was really scary.”

Concern gave way to exasperation and a reprimand built up on Bel’s lips. She opened her mouth, ready to scold the younger girl, but she looked at the fear and relief evident on Orseis’ face and she sighed instead. She gave Orseis a quick pat on the head.

“Well, I hope you’re okay. Did some god bully you?”

Orseis’ jaw set and she flashed an indignant purple. “Yeah! Who wears clothing made of people’s faces?”

“Some death god?” Bel guessed.

“War,” Orseis corrected. “And she didn’t even want me as a follower! She was just breaking me down before she foisted me off on a former disciple who recently ascended.”

Bel’s eyebrows shot up. “And how did that go?”

Orseis wave a tentacle dismissively, “oh, that was fine. Deception offered me a lot of interesting abilities.”

Bel frowned. “Deception? I thought you wanted to be pretty? Wait, you made a deal with a goddess of deception?”

“Why not both?” Orseis grinned widely, completely ignoring Bel’s concern. “That’s what Deception offered.” She leaned in closer to Bel and whispered, “look, she kind of made an offer that I couldn’t really refuse.”

Orseis curled a tentacle and braced it against her chin, thinking. “I’m not an idiot – I’m getting something out of the deal. Honestly, her abilities may be really suited to my biology.” Her eyes lit up. “Oh, I want to show you something!”

The rapid bouncing between emotions was starting to give Bel whiplash, so she glanced at Crecerelle for support. The other gorgon shrugged, clearly clueless about what was happening.

Meanwhile, Orseis shuffled back a few steps and pointed her tentacles at herself, making sure that Bel and Cress were paying attention. “Okay, watch this.”

Orseis wrapped her tentacles around her body, ducked down, and…

“You can disappear?” Bel wondered. She squinted at the spot. Her eyes could pick up telltale signs of motion, but she couldn’t see any details of Orseis, despite knowing that the girl was still there. “I can still kind of see you, but that’s way better than what you could do before.”

The ability ended and Orseis was visible again, crouched on the ground. “Yup! It’s a good start.”

She pointed a tentacle at Bel. “How about you? Did you take any cool abilities from your mom’s path?”

“Not yet.” Bel’s snakes writhed with discomfort. “They’re… they’re kind of scary. And weird.”

Orseis nodded. “Yeah. That sounds like your mom.”

“Hey,” Bel started defensively. Then she sighed. “Yeah, that’s basically what she does.”

Orseis looked around the empty space. Bel had liquified some rock to bury the dead and the cavern was back to its formerly empty state.

“So what have you two been up to?”

Bel pointed to a large drawing that she’d etched into the wall.

“Planning,” she declared proudly. “With Crystal and the last of the Dark Ravager’s cultists gone, there’s nothing between me and Technis.”

Orseis laughed. “Yeah, sure. Do you actually believe that?”

Bel shrugged. “James says that positive thinking is good, okay?”