Relief from the Light Part 3

-Shoggoth-

Three more days later, in the morning, Shoggoth took Ruddy out of his usual schedule again, and bid him to set out for the woods.

There were many trees only a bit away from the city. Once, logging was a thriving business in Mesolefko, to the point of the forests being nearly wiped out. But as the city became more and more abandoned, and centuries passed, the forests have returned. The expansion was only slowed down by the few lumberjacks creating firewood, or the rare repair.

No dirt paths cut through the forest, no frequently tread ground. This forest was powerful, and ancient. Ruddy had seen it before. A place protected by nature spirits. A place where people who didn’t respect nature shouldn’t linger. Even the lumberjacks cut down only the closest trees, and thus the newest trees, and fled before trouble found them.

And yet, despite the irregular terrain, the high concentration of magic, and the feeling of entering another world, Ruddy didn’t feel on edge, even when he should.

He had a blessing of Shadows, yet the darkness here felt almost inviting.

He had a blessing of Silence, yet it didn’t feel like he was making any sound as he moved.

Only his blessing of Blood felt familiar. Keeping his heart calm and his breath steady.

“Just keep moving forward. There’s something you should see.” Shoggoth spoke softly, the shadows seeming darker for brief moments. Yet no eyes or smile appeared.

Ruddy kept walking, over roots and under branches, until he heard the sound of running water. A secret river, hidden within the forest, untouched by man for ages.

And protected by a spirit of the forest. Ruddy was quick to pull out his staff, keeping it at the ready as he approached the mystical clearing ahead of him.

But she struck first.

A large branch from a tree swiped at him, moving to grab him. Ruddy ducked under it, and whacked the tree trunk with the tip of his staff, silencing the magic within for the moment.

Another tree swiped, with faster but thinner branches. Ruddy didn’t even dodge this time, just holding out his staff, and letting the tree hit it, silencing the magic while his staff ate the momentum.

Not wanting to stay on the defensive, he hopped onto a shadow, and disappeared from sight, sliding towards the clearing.

Two more trees tried to block his path, sensing him somehow. They weren’t moving, just bending over with their thick branches in the way. There was no point in silencing the magic, they’d still be in the way.

So he changed directions. The trees weren’t blocking him off everywhere yet, and when he emerged from the shadows in another area, he moved instantly, suddenly appearing behind two trees before they could close him off.

The blessing of Silence. Perhaps the strongest divine blessing there was.

Silence meant no need for prayers, so magic was instant and unpredictable.

Silence meant quieting others, so magic could be canceled and blocked if he sustained contact.

Silence meant no sound, so his sneaking was unheard.

And Silence meant actions spoke louder than words. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say ‘there was no need for words.’ If a fight was a language, then those blessed by Silence can move without speaking.

In layman’s terms… Ruddy’s attacks could not be read. And thus, came seemingly instantly. Even a lunging strike against a nonexistent opponent.

Ruddy rolled to a stop in the clearing, just barely stopping before his boots could get wet. His eyes quickly scanned around him, checking for threats and any dangerous plants.

It was a pond with crystal clear water, a tree overhanging it, ripe with the juiciest fruit. Flowers and herbs grew in abundance here, with many bees and other insects flying about.

And a woman, radiating natural magic, stood above Ruddy. Her skin was a pale green, clothed only by wooden undergarments. Her legs and arms were covered in this same kind of wood as well, with her feet ending in tips with smaller tree roots sticking out of them, digging into the fertile ground. Her fingers, coated in wooden opera gloves, were very human, even if the wood was impossibly flexible.

The nature spirit’s face was beautiful, with forest green eyes, and long hair made of leaves in shades of green.

A shame such a face was looking at Ruddy with disdain. “Another mortal, dare seeking what should have been left well-enough alone? I must commend you for making it this far, child of man, but now you should serve as fertilizer for my garden!” Long wooden tendrils like tree roots grew out of her fingers, ready to impale Ruddy.

Ruddy however was more than ready for this, his staff already coming for her knee.

And to both’s surprise, Shoggoth’s shadowy form burst from the shadows formed between them, pushing them away from each other. “Now now, that’s no way to greet a new friend.”

“Wha-” Before Ruddy could even question Shoggoth’s motives, the nature spirit’s mood did a complete 180.

“Lord Shoggoth! You’re back! You should have sent a message ahead of time! Oh, I wasn’t prepared for this!” She turned around, kneeling down before the water as she seemed to collect water in her hands to splash on her hair.

“Sorry, Rose, but I figured I’d introduce my two allies together. I felt so bad about keeping Ruddy here in the dark while I got everything ready for our plan.” Shoggoth’s voice did its usual thing, appearing from everywhere and nowhere, within your mind and from everyone’s tongues. But Ruddy was surprised that Shoggoth was appearing in a place with so few dark shadows.

Until he realized that a dark cloud had rolled up overhead, giving Shoggoth cover to slink into the water, where his eyes were visible under the shade of the tree and the distortion of the pond.

“Shoggoth, what is the meaning of this?” Ruddy found his voice, shaking the image of what he saw briefly in the shade of the cloud from his head, like the occasional scratching in the back of his mind. “Who is this?”

“Ah, I suppose I should start with introductions. This fine gentleman is Ruddy, my priest.”

The nature spirit stood up straight, her hair seeming a bit of a darker green now, as she turned around, and bowed her head slightly. “Oh dear, I apologize for my brash actions, honored one. Know that this haven of nature is a home to you whenever you need it.”

“Uh…” Ruddy was really caught off guard by this, choosing to finally stand up, and dust the stains off his cloak. “It’s okay? I’m sorry for intruding on your… territory, oh… bountiful one?” Ruddy had very little experience speaking with nature spirits, as usually Galen would speak to and for them, being the god-chosen voice for those silenced by society.

It seemed to do the trick, as the woman smiled back, no hostility in her tone as she anticipated Shoggoth introducing her, and stood up straighter, hands clasped before her.

“And this is Rose, a… sympathetic dryad I recently acquainted, along with her sister, Nightshade.”

Ruddy had no idea when Shoggoth did this. They were so far away from the city at this point, it only made him feel dread just imagining how far Shoggoth can move in an instant.

“When… did you… meet them?” Ruddy looked around the clearing, taking in everything, wondering what Shoggoth might have done to ally itself with nature spirits. Nothing looked out of place. Even the water seemed perfect.

But then again, Ruddy had no idea what he’d even look for. What traces would Shoggoth even leave behind? Books? Scribbles on paper? A never-leaving shadow?

He shook his head to clear the intrusive thought.

“Well, the first night we arrived, I went around to get the lay of the land, see how things stack up.” Unlike usual, when Shoggoth’s smile and eyes might move and slide around the shadows, it seemed content to just stay in the shade of the pond. Occasionally it splashed some water, for some unknown reason.

“I followed the magic of nature here, where I found two dryads in need of help-”

Rose picked this opportunity to speak up, sitting under the fruit tree and dipping her feet in the water. “Our precious tree was dying, something was eating it alive. And it was tainting our pure water.” She patted the tree with one hand, and put the other on her cheek as she sighed. “We were about to make a decision we would have regretted, but when Shoggoth saved the tree, we knew we had to pay back such generosity.”

“In exchange for helping me out, I promised to use my powers to purge the forest of that fungus. Now the forest is livelier than ever.”

Ruddy doubted aspects of this story, but he didn’t dare press his suspicions. And he didn’t like the idea of what it would suggest about Shoggoth’s abilities. “I see. And what do they do for you?”

“Well, Nightshade is communicating with other forests, but Rose promised to lend me some of her power to enhance plant seeds.”

“Speaking of which, Lord Shoggoth, I have that pouch of seeds you requested.” She held out a familiar leather bag, which a shadowy tendril took, causing the bag to disappear within the shadows.

“Wait, wait, wait. Is the whole reason that those farmers’ crops were growing better than Persi’s because-”

“No.” Shoggoth sounded almost offended. “That was all me secretly empowering the plants. But I can’t do that for everyone’s plants all the time. This is the solution.” A gust of wind hit the tree, bending the branches, and Shoggoth took advantage, riding back to Ruddy’s shadow. “Now come on, we’ve got some fields to save. And I’m sure Persi has some choice words for us.”

“Bye bye, Lord Shoggoth! Come again soon~!”

As Shoggoth predicted, Ruddy had barely taken a step on the nearest road, before he was ambushed by Persi, looking rather irate. “What’s the big idea, fella? How come those others have bigger bushels or whatever than I do?”

Ruddy could even see it from here, the few farms he gave seeds to a few days ago now were brimming with large green bushes, overflowing with those green beans. The brown and barren fields were becoming more green every day.

Ruddy had yet to taste any ‘green beans.’ He didn’t quite trust them.

Following Shoggoth’s words, Ruddy answered calmly. “My friend, there is no need to rage or covet your neighbors’ boon.” A few of the other farmers, the ones who haven’t been blessed yet, were ‘secretly’ listening from a distance. “Your crop should have been just as good, did you forget to recite a prayer?”

“A prayer?! You didn’t tell me to recite no prayer!”

“Ah, I see, my apologies then. Then perhaps you should try tonight, and the next time you sow your fields. Nothing complicated, just a simple thanks will appease Shoggoth.”

“Uh huh… sure…” Persi seemed to not trust the words, and Ruddy didn’t blame him. The prayer had nothing to do with it! Or… did it? He was actively enriching the plants with magic… “But if it doesn’t work, I’ll be shoving my pitchfork up where the sun don’t shine, got it? Nobody gives ol’ Persi bad seeds!” The cat-man stomped away, and Ruddy sighed.

More work was needed, more seeds to pass out, more advice to give, all before dinner.

But people took notice when the crops did seem larger, more abundant when they prayed. And the word began to spread, fueled by petty envy.

Soon, the barren fields of Mesolefko were green with new life. Ruddy passed out more seeds, other than the green beans, creating more diverse vegetation. Even wheat was growing healthier in the soil.

Food, once scarce and expensive, was now becoming abundant. More meals were to be had every day.

Yet people still came to try more of Shoggoth’s unique dinners. A sense of community began to form around these events, laughing and sharing good grub.

And when it came time to thank Shoggoth, a few more voices were heard each time. Still quiet, still nearly drowned out in the silence, but getting louder.