NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92: Snake
"Ladies and gentlemen, mystics and mages, adventurers and explorers, welcome to our humble slice of the extraordinary—World Walker Park!"
Luka smiled through the applause awkwardly. No matter how many times he'd opened the park, it still felt awkward. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward. What was more awkward than standing in the open air, welcoming blank-faced guests?
Well.
There was one thing. Luka subconsciously tugged at his collar and forced himself not to look to his left toward Ressen. Instead, he scanned the crowd, finding the numbers a bit thin. It was understandable, he knew. People didn't like snakes, and well, there was now a massive snake living in the park.
Subtly, Luka stole a glance. There—wrapped around Ressen's trunk was Snake. The snake, named Snake, was young despite his massive size. He coiled around Ressen a half-dozen times and still had neck left over to raise himself above the trees and watch Luka open the park—with a particular interest, might he add.
Snake was the color of emberwood. He meshed into the forest and camouflaged into Ressen's bark, disappearing in plain sight… except when he slithered his tongue, tasting the air, or blinked his football pitch-sized eyes. He was a newborn, one that decided his own name. What better to call him than what he was!? If Jear was to be believed, that was. As it turned out, translating ancient snake wasn't her best talent.
With Luka's words, the gates to the park opened. No one moved.
From the petrified crowd, a certain demonic journalist spoke up. Stell, wearing a pair of dapper sunglasses—if Luka might humbly add—asked, "Uh, what's with the snake?"
Standing on open air, Luka replied with honesty. "I've been told every world tree needs a guardian. And well, the world created Snake to fill that role."
It was silent.
"You named the snake, Snake?" Stell asked.
Someone dryly coughed.
"He named himself Snake," Luka replied.
Slowly, as a collective entity, everyone looked toward Ressen, finding Snake. His forked tongue darted out and he adjusted his coiling, shifting himself behind the World Tree shyly.
"Is it safe?" Stell asked the question on everyone's mind.
Luka scratched his chin. "Let me put it like this: my son in law and Ressen are actively feuding over root beer—a ridiculous statement, I know. But Snake has not killed him… yet. So, I'd say, unless you try to firebomb Ressen, you should be fine."
Deep within the crowd, Mayor Tram facepalmed.
***
"'Salamander River Cruise?'" Ren asked, gnawing on a piece of rock candy. "Sounds dumb."
"Is a salamander like Snake?" Nicole asked. "Because if a salamander is like Snake, then we need a really big river."
"Salamanders are this big," Ren gestured shortly with his hands. "And they're best served grilled with a squeeze of citrus." The kid orc then paused, took a second to himself, and added, "The ride name still sounds dumb."
Luka forced himself not to show any annoyance. Kids could be brutally honest, not that Ren was wrong in this situation. All the names he'd come up with for the new park expansion were lame. Still—hearing it from the mouth of someone else trampled Luka's ego.
"What would you suggest instead?" Luka asked, pen at the ready.
Together with Nicole and Leo, Luka and Ren sat at a picnic table near the edge of the park. Most of the village orphans stayed around the periphery in small groups, content with entertaining themselves—playing in the mud, catching bugs, tossing a ball back and forth, or taking a dip in the lake.
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The park was fun. Very fun. But there were only so many times a kid could wait in line for a ride before the ride just wasn't worth it. So, they ended up at the edge of the park after school, forming life-long bonds with each other and many, many memories.
"What's a river cruise?" Nicole asked. In one hand, she carried Mr. Sticky, the wooden stick-doll. In the other, she held a hunk of rock candy on a stick, licking it like an ice cream cone, and dyeing her mossy tongue in the process.
"It's a guided tour through a river," Luka explained. "There'll be a skipper, and they'll point out points of interest while stating facts and jokes."
"What facts?" asked Ren. "You're making up an entire land. There won't be 'facts.'"
The World Walker held off from sighing. Luckily it was then Leo chose to return a slobber covered ball. Luka picked it up, brushed off some of the dead grass, and threw it as far as he could. Leo, with ears perked straight up, watched the ball sail through the air, bounce off the ground and continue deeper into the forest.
"Ready?" Luka asked the little beasty. "Go!" Leo took off like a rocket, curling his ears back and his snout cutting through rushing wind.
"There will be 'facts,'" Luka then said, continuing the conversation. "But they will be made up facts."
"So, lies."
Even Nicole stared incredulously at Ren. She said, "Not lies! Because fiction! Like a story!"
Luka snapped his fingers. "Exactly. And every good story needs a title—which is why I've come to you two for help."
Ren puffed out his chest. "I knew this day would come."
Luka couldn't help himself. "I was mainly coming for Nicole. You were just nearby."
Ren deflated, glared, then noticed Luka's smirk, puffed out his chest again, and brutally crunched his stick of rock candy.
Luka shivered.
With a sigh, Nicole asked, "What's the ride's tone going to be?"
Luka considered for a moment. "Mostly pleasant, but then the salamander god's going to run riders out of the temple."
"You mean 'boaters?'" asked Ren, sarcastically. "Since it's, you know, a river cruise?"
The others pursed their lips at him, then promptly ignored him. "Why a salamander?" Nicole asked.
"No reason. Just thought it'd be cool."
The little dryad girl hummed. "How about something like 'Temple Run?'"
"I think that's a phone game or something."
"What?"
Luka shook his head. "The name needs to invoke the river cruise part of the ride. Otherwise, people won't know what they're getting themselves into."
"Salamanders…" Nicole licked her rock candy. "How about leviathan instead? Cooler than simple salamanders."
It wasn't bad. But it didn't fix the problem. "Sure, but 'Leviathan River Cruise' isn't much better. The 'river cruise' part needs work."
Leo returned with the ball, and Luka chucked it again. Leo then promptly returned, dropping a big stick proudly at Luka's feet.
"Where's the ball?" he asked.
Leo blinked twice at the stick, then slowly looked at the forest. Oh, he forgot about the ball. With urgency, Leo darted into the trees, sniffing the ground for the ball's trail.
"Leviathan Wakes?" suggested Nicole.
Luka hummed. "No… sounds too sci-fi."
"You're just making up words now," Ren muttered.
"Leviathan… River Voyage?"
That one was actually pretty good. Or, at least better than anything they had thought up prior. "I'll pencil it in," Luka said, moving on to the next name on the list. "What about 'The Stag's Safari?'"
Nicole snorted. "That's terrible!"
"I know! That's why I need help!"
Ren gnawed on the sweetened stick part of the candy. "Wildhart Expedition," he said.
Luka froze. That was… actually good. Like very good. He looked at the small orc boy. "Where'd you come up with that?"
He shrugged. "My father used to tell me stories about the Wildhart Stag Gilded Beast. Said she was as beautiful as the frosted forest she protected."
A pang of guilt blasted Luka's heart. He often forgot these kids were all parentless. Hearing stories of their loved ones seared his soul—especially since he had a way to remedy the situation. Luka tightened his fist—he had a way to remedy the situation, but stuff kept getting in the way.
Hopefully Blomfum kicking the Guilds into high gear would solve things. In a way, it had. Shipments for alchemy reagents were already arriving in the park. The issue was that the reagents needed for a potion of reincarnation were rarer and more esoteric, making them harder to source. The Guilds could do it—and their contracts reflected it—but it would take a bit longer, sadly.
Luka patted Ren on the head. "It's a good name." Then, with a heavy heart, he said, "There's going to be three restaurants in the Bestial Grove—one sit down and two quick service. What do you think for menus?"
Ren's eyes went as wide as Ressen's base. "What are the themes!?"
"Beast…ly?" Luka hesitantly asked. "Meats, mainly. Maybe some stuff for the more adventurous eaters."
The little orc chef deftly rubbed his hands together. "Now this is the day I knew would come!"