World Walker Park [Magical Amusement Park Base-Building]

There were many questions Luka never thought he would have to ask himself. Some were benign in nature, like why do guests often prefer the back of rollercoasters to the front. Others were more profound, such as the lack of tangible Earth gods compared to this world. There were also questions that were simply too strange to even grace his forethoughts—and it was one of these questions that plagued him this morning.

What was the best way to covertly invite a village of people into a World Tree penthouse suite to reincarnate their long dead loved one?

Sure, the question was bizarre, but in the end, it made sense. Moreover, it had to be asked. Most villagers would follow Luka's or Tram's orders, especially when it came to shift scheduling or such. Some, however, were suspicious of randomly entering Ressen, as the request had not previously been talked about in park meetings. Others were simply afraid of heights and refused outright.

Additionally, there were questions that had to be asked by Luka and Luka alone. It was no hidden fact that he had the least skin in the game when it came to reincarnating the dead villagers. He knew none of them prior to their deaths, and while he wanted them alive as quickly as possible, there had to be some measure of responsibility… which sounded very dark when he thought about it.

The question became as such: What if the alive villager did not want to reincarnate their dead relative or, in a more likely case similar to Annie's mom, what if the alive villager did not think the dead villager would want to be reincarnated?

They were tough, unpleasant questions, but ones that needed to be asked. There was also scheduling to think about—all the villagers couldn't leave their shifts at once. Besides harming the logistics of running the park, it would also be suspicious. And the gods made sure to tamp down all potential suspicion for the two weeks before the faithful arrived.

Which, in Luka's mind, was another thing. On Earth, amusement parks often held annual holiday festivals, decorating the landscape and adding additional seasonal shows, food, and fun. This pilgrimage of the faithful was World Walker Park's first holiday bonanza.

"Maybe I can rope in some gods to help…" Luka muttered to himself as villagers filed into the penthouse.

It wasn't a true penthouse, Luka knew. But it may as well have been. The floor in Ressen was fourth from her top, oversaw everything around, and was furnished almost exactly like the other penthouses. So, was it not technically a penthouse—maybe. Luka wasn't fully caught up on hotel vernacular. Was he going to continue to call it a "penthouse?" Yes, yes he was.

"What was that?" Eve asked, sitting beside him.

Luka glanced at her. Orcs were beacons of stoic strength and muscle. They literally punched people in greeting, unflinching from the pain. They were warriors, even in a world without war. They were strong when the strong did not necessarily rule. They were fearless. Fearless and confident.

Eve was shaking.

Her leg bounced like a broken waterwheel; her chin practically glued to her knuckles. She sat with her elbows on the table, her head propped up. She scanned everyone who entered, growing more and more annoyed with each villager who wasn't her brother. Franky was missing! The most important day in either of their lives, and he was missing!

Luka gently patted her on the shoulder. "He'll show up."

Eve pursed her lips, then moved to stand. "I'll go find—"

"No." He pushed down on her, keeping her in the seat. "He'll be here. Trust him."

Idly, Luka silently cursed the bald orc. Franky missing was an issue. One that, in all honesty, had a simple explanation. But then again, his parents were about to be reincarnated… so. Still, Eve was obviously upset and Sol too. Luka glanced at Sol. She was darkly staring at a coffee table lined with potions, counting them again and again.

"If he's not here in five minutes, I'll go find him," Luka said quietly. "Why don't you go sit with your aunt? This is an important day."

Eve hesitated; her bouncing knee froze. Sol and she had their issues, but now more than ever it was time to rectify things.

"You'll sit with us once Franky gets here?" she meekly asked.

"Of course. Besides Annie and Vlad, you and Franky are my family."

Eve's smile slashed her stress, she lifted herself out of the chair, suddenly not so heavy. Then she strolled over to Sol, gave her a hug that surprised both of them and sat down on the floor beside the potion-filled table.

By now, the first round of villagers were mostly gathered. "The kids come first," a statement that Tram said without room for discussion. The orphans, much to their delight, got to leave school early to be here. A tray of snacks helped them settle in. Also in the room were a few key villagers, the ones Tram hoped would help out when the dead no doubt caused issues.

That was another hard question, Luka realized. What do you do with the newly-not-dead for two weeks while waiting on a festival to announce their reincarnation to the masses? The obvious answer was board games… Luka just had to make them. He sighed and got back to creating fake money and square game boards.

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"What are we doing here?"

Luka turned to the voice, finding little Ren standing slightly too close. Reaching out and nudging the boy orc back a step, it was then Luka noticed Nicole and several of the other orphans watching. Of course, they realized something was off—skipping school, Sol and Eve's odd behavior, the table of potions. Ren and Nicole were the two kids closest to the World Walker, and thus, they were the sacrificial question-askers.

Instead of answering outright, Luka asked, "Ren, do you remember one of the first times we talked, you told me about your mother's food? Mind telling me about her again?"

Ren tucked his chin close to his chest and stared at Luka like he was born of brimstone. "Why?"

There were few things taboo in this village, and while Luka knew he just stumbled into one, he did it purposefully. Ren only spoke once of his mom, and there was pain and darkness in his words. She had left him, and little Ren did not understand how it wasn't her fault she was gone.

"Tell you what," Luka said, "I'll answer why by nightfall. In the meantime, you tell me about her and—"

"No."

Luka bit his tongue. What was he doing? Obviously he was tormenting this child—but he didn't mean to. He truly didn't mean to.

"My parents died long ago," he said, "sometimes I think about them and what I would say if I ever saw them again. Do you know what I'd say?"

Ren flagrantly shook his head.

"I think… I think I wouldn't say anything. I would just hug them."

If Ren agreed or not, the little orc didn't show it. Instead he turned on his heel and dragged Nicole away from the strange human asking rude questions. He plopped down on a couch away from the other kids, his arms crossed. Nicole sat right beside him, whispering softly to him.

Luka internally cursed himself. Had he just made things worse? He didn't want whatever hangups Ren had to interfere with the love he no doubt held for his mother. Whatever child-like thoughts and reasons that made him blame her, hopefully, would dissolve the moment he saw her.

The door to the penthouse opened and Franky walked in, an uncharacteristic look in his eyes. His shoulders were slumped, and he failed to meet anyone's gaze.

Eve jumped to her feet and yelled, "There you are—"

She was cut off when two people entered. The first was Princess Alexandra, Franky's girlfriend. The second was Blomfum, Alex's uncle-not-by-blood, and a giant the size of a barn. With a quick flick of his massive wrist, he coated the room in magic, expanding the doorframe and raising the ceiling. Blomfum then walked through, space snapping back to the correct size wherever he wasn't.

"What are they doing here!?" Eve demanded.

Luka and Sol were also on their feet, along with Mayor Tram and Judge Ben. This, as the gods decreed, was supposed to be a secret event, one no one outside of the village was supposed to know about. A princess and the leader of the Guilds? That was the exact opposite of what was discussed.

"I, uh, invited them," said Frankly, his voice low and timid.

"Hi big man!" one of the kids shouted, causing a wave of giggles through the others.

Blomfum peered down. "Hello little child!"

The kids giggled even louder.

Tram stepped up. "Explain yourself, Franky."

And he did… slowly. As it turned out, the giant was about to head home, his job fixing the Guilds and Luka's contract finished. Except, not quite. There was one last thing Blomfum wanted to discuss—the Guild's expansion into the park, similar to the barbers and their private storefront. It was part of the contract, no surprises there, but it was also something that Luka didn't think was still going to be enforced after the whole debacle.

And it wasn't, not until Blomfum saw just how much Princess Alexandra felt connected to the park. In her short time living in the penthouse—and finding Franky—she had come to loath her return to her family's castle and looked for ways to push back her departure.

One such way, and something she discussed with her uncle over dinner last night, was using her as a liaison between World Walker Park and the Guilds. Blomfum loved the idea, and they instantly sought out Tram or Luka to tell him their plan.

But the park's upper management was nowhere to be seen, so they asked Franky. And since Franky did not want to be a bad boyfriend, he led Alex and Blomfum to the secret penthouse meeting. He did not tell them why everyone was up there, nor did he say a word about the potion of reincarnation.

Sadly, Blomfum was a master mage who had long declared himself "good" at all disciplines of magic. Including alchemy.

"My, my, my, what are those?" the gentle giant asked, staring heavily at the rows of potions behind a practically irate Sol.

Everyone else was staring daggers at Franky, so they missed the flicker of magic from Blomfum. One of the potions suddenly appeared in his hand, and soon he pulled an enchanted eyepiece from his pocket. He looked through the eyepiece at the bottle and…

"Potion of reincarnation!" Blomfum's surprise shook the penthouse.

"Great, Franky, this is just great," Eve muttered at her brother, who was scratching his head awkwardly.

"Tippy, Neb?" Luka called with a sigh.

The gods appeared without any fanfare, like a black cat stepping out of the shadows. Tippy was massaging her temples and Neb looked ready to throw Franky into the sun. Alex and Blomfum both gasped, falling to their knees and bowing their heads. The kids stared eagerly at the gods, somewhat used to this occurrence.

"Do you have any more candy, Goddess Tippy?" asked one of the kids.

The irritation fell from the goddess' face, and suddenly there was a mound of candy. The kids all jumped from their seats, practically diving into the sugar mountain.

"Um," said Neb, his voice dangerously cold, "Franky? What is wrong with you? This was all thought out and—"

"Stop it!" snapped Eve. "Only I can yell at my brother!"

Alex and Blomfum's eyes went wide, as did most of the adults in the room. Neb looked taken aback—when was the last time a mortal yelled at him!?

Eve turned on her heel toward her brother and yelled, "Franky? What is wrong with you? This was all thought out and we had a plan! I know you heard it, because we were sitting beside one another!"

Neb mumbled, "That was what I was going to say…"

Tippy sighed loud enough to draw everyone's attention—besides the hypedup kids—to her. "We're going with soul-binding, right?"

Sol shook her head softly. "I'll dry up the glyphs."

Alex then hissed at Franky, "We could have just waited an hour!"

Blomfum, on the other hand, smiled and headed over to the mound of candy. He shoved something into his mouth. "Ooh, lemon!" He turned to Alex. "Don't worry, dear niece, I am quite excited to see how this plays out! What's a soul-binding or two when such magics and divine energy flow through this room!"

Blomfum then gestured at the table of potions. "So, who are we reincarnating first?"

Ren, who stayed away from the candy for personal chef-like reasons, gasped. "My mom!" he demanded.