Emerging from the Depths

-Shoggoth-

Shoggoth was suspiciously absent after dinner, Ruddy noticed.

Which meant it was likely planning something else. Something nefarious or manipulative, most likely.

But as long as the Trifecta benefited, Ruddy would endure. This may be his greatest trial, but he is not unfamiliar with the heavy mix of suffering and despair.

Such feelings are always lessened in good company, which Ruddy was still not sure if the people of Mesolefko counted. Many still didn’t believe in Shoggoth, many still spoke its name just to reap the benefits, but most he encountered day by day were people that were either thankful to Shoggoth, or genuinely starting to believe in it.

Still, people needed help, and Ruddy would help them, even if it also helped a strange entity.

“Thank you, little one.” Ruddy said with a smile, as he took a small doll offered by a young child, a devil many in ‘proper society’ would call them. Cambions, they would call themselves, though the blood of their winged ancestors had long been so diluted that they lack wings, and merely possess horns and inhuman skin colors.

Many of those with horns end up getting called ‘devils’ or ‘demons’ sadly.

Though this child was so young, his horns were more like nubs, and his smile was bright like the sun. He had offered a straw doll he had made, even if the doll was poorly made, so Ruddy took it. “I am sure Shoggoth will be pleased by your gift.”

As the kid ran off, Ruddy looked at the doll in his hand, clearly supposed to represent him, though he didn’t have horns. Not that anyone could tell, with his face always concealed.

Still, it was cute. Reminded Ruddy of the doll Galen once made him, when he was younger, lost, stuck in his head, and ashamed of the injuries that marked his flesh.

Mesolefko was well on the way to prosperity since the arrival of Ruddy and Shoggoth.

It seemed like every day, there was a new house under construction. Clay and stone buildings being supported by sturdy wood from the forest. The clay wasn’t perfect, due to the pollution of the river, but the houses were a far cry better than what people had been living in.

Fields of green, revitalizing fields and even creating a resurgence of natural vegetation across what once felt like barren land.

And with natural vegetation, many smaller animals were returning too. Hunting was being restricted, to allow the animals to breed and grow, but it was getting more and more common to see red meats on the tables these days.

Not to mention the fish. Though the amount of fish never was the same as when Ruddy conducted that ‘ritual,’ a simple prayer to Shoggoth saw any fisherman come home with a good catch, leaving them Shoggoth’s strongest believers.

Since Shoggoth wasn’t around all night, and even still missing in the morning, Ruddy assisted people in whatever way he felt right. Typically just giving advice or helping with a small task.

And when Ruddy wasn’t being ordered to do this or that, he liked to walk around the ancient city, looking at the crumbling architecture and layout. Something Shoggoth encouraged frequently.

Today, he took note of the river in the city, usually murky and weak, but now surprisingly strong and clear, with many rocks floating down. Did something happen further north in the mountains?

Ruddy turned around on a dime, his hand drifting beneath his cloak towards his sword. Someone was watching him from the shadows. Not Shoggoth, who wasn’t that stealthy when you got used to it, and not a suspicious local seeking something from him.

No, Ruddy couldn’t see anyone within the shadows. Even with the blessing the god of shadows gave him, he couldn’t tell who was spying on him, eyeing him up like a delicious meal.

Someone was blessed by Shadows in this city.

Someone Ruddy was unfamiliar with.

The presence faded away when a familiar silver slitted pupil popped up in his shadow. Ruddy found himself letting out a sigh of relief before he could stop himself.

“You might want to head down to the docks.” Shoggoth stated ominously. “Something’s going on over there. Something big.”

“What did you do now?” Ruddy groaned as he began moving towards the docks, his grip on his staff tightening.

“I was passing messages along to the Son of Stone, in lieu of Ash, due to his injuries.” Shoggoth stated as if it absolved it of any wrong doing.

“Wait, what happened to A-”

A deafening roar struck the city, causing even Ruddy to cover his ears. Buildings shook, and many crumbled just being near that ungodly noise.

“Get to the docks, now!” Shoggoth demanded, their voice clear as day even when Ruddy’s ears were ringing.

With a quick mental prayer to Silence, Ruddy could feel himself think again, and with staff in hand, ran towards the docks. Countless people were panicking, many struggling to even move as they covered their ears.

Those closest to the docks were afraid for another reason.

Ruddy didn’t even need to be at the docks to see something large moving in the water.

At least two fishermen’s bodies were floating in the water, dead, from just the sound waves of this thing approaching the city.

It was hard to visualize what this thing was, though unlike Shoggoth, it was clearly visible, and moving.

The closest thing Ruddy could compare it to, was a whale. He had seen beached whales before on the beaches of northern Raedenia.

This was several times larger, with pure black skin. But Ruddy’s mind couldn’t quite wrap around it, as it seemed to keep getting larger and larger as it moved closer.

How far away was it? How big was it? What do you do against it?

To make matters worse, tentacles like a squid thrashed at the water, until a crude watery ring formed around each tentacle, and a storm began to form overhead, the sun disappearing behind angry clouds and oncoming storms. The waves became harsh, making the docks creak and groan and shift.

“It can do magic?!” Ruddy wheezed out, his world-view shaking.

Magic was always associated with the gods. It was a blessing the gods provided to those with their blood or favor. Since it required conscious will to activate, only sentient species were capable of magic.

‘Proper’ society considered all nonhumans ‘monsters.’ Whether they were dragons, orcs, or slimes. There were exceptions made for animals, but for the most part, this classification affected every nonhuman, even those called ‘demihumans’ face discrimination at times due to this.

But an orc was not the same as a slime. An orc can pray to gods, and be blessed with magic.

A slime had no gods.

No intelligence to pray.

Just feral instincts.

To see this… behemoth of a sea creature cast magic, even if it appeared as a crude version of the goddess of water’s own sigils…

Ruddy didn’t want to think of the implications.

“A leviathan.” Shoggoth's voice echoed, even in the chaos and panic.

“A what?!” Ruddy yelled louder than necessary, his ears still ringing from the roar of the beast.

“It’s a leviathan, a deep sea beast, told in old tales for thrashing ships and destroying civilizations.” The voice explained, a tense calmness.

“Then why is it here?!” He shouted at the eye in the shadows.

“Why do you think society failed here? Why did people leave?” Shoggoth spoke cryptically. “The leviathan was always nearby, and our actions have angered this old threat.”

“So what, it’s all over? All the work you had me do is done? What about the followers you promised?! What about the people living here?! People are going to die because of your actions, Shoggoth! Their lives ruined, their homes destroyed!”

“No, Ruddy.” Shoggoth’s eye seemed strangely determined. “People are going to live because of your actions.”

“What? What do you expect me to do?”

“Why do you think I chose you to enact my will? Why do you think I chose this city over all other ruined civilizations to recruit from? Because of this moment, right here. No one else is as suited for this fight than you.”

Ruddy took a step back, reeling from what Shoggoth was suggesting. “You… you want me to fight… that?!” The leviathan was getting closer. “Do I look like a demigod to you?”

Shoggoth was silent. “You look like the person who would charge into it anyways, because innocent people will die if you don’t.”

Ruddy gaped at that. He wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t like the demigods who protect their countries from the front lines. He was nothing more than a commander in charge of an army of rebels, outcasts, and criminals.

And most of those people killed innocents.

Ruddy was not a good person.

But… as Ruddy looked at the people petrified in place, unable to move their hands from their ears as the roar of the leviathan shook everything, Ruddy couldn’t help but remember when he was the child in the alleyway, never knowing a family, until Galen took him in, protected him, and taught him that he deserved to live.

His staff struck the ground hard, the sound somehow ringing through the endless roar. Then, Ruddy raised it up high, and called upon the god of Silence in a wordless chant.

Projected onto the storm clouds above, a flashing symbol of a crossed-out mouth appeared, and the roar went silent.

People slowly began to move again, no longer restrained by the ungodly noise. Ruddy was about to order them to leave, but Shoggoth had another suggestion.

“Lead them.”

“What?”

“You doubt your ability to win. You’ll fail like that. But you aren’t alone. This city is full of families who would fight for what they’ve captured in their claws. Many strong fighters have fled here, escaping persecution. Why not fight alongside them?”

People were fleeing in droves now, pushing over each other. A few had given up, collapsed on the ground, wide-eyed and shivering in fear.

“I can’t ask them to fight that.”

“What makes these people different from the innocent ones who make up your army? You’ve sent innocent lizard-people and hawk-folk to slaughter farmers, but asking people to defend their home is too much?”

Ruddy hated that Shoggoth had a point.

It was one thing to gather people for raids.

It was another to gather people to defend their homes and families.

So, he jumped onto a rooftop closest to the docks, and spoke loudly. Silence wasn’t just used for canceling magic. It was for standing up for the silenced, and many times that required your voice reaching everyone.

“My friends!” Ruddy started, his voice catching many people off guard, as it spoke directly to them. Many kept running, but some slowed down, some stopped.

But everyone listened, whether they wanted to or not.

“I came here, not long ago, to assist you all, in the service of Shoggoth! Many of you have enjoyed full bellies, fertile fields, or prosperity to your jobs since then, thanks to Shoggoth! But now-” Ruddy gestured with his staff to the approaching leviathan. “Now is our chance to prove to Shoggoth that we are thankful! That we are deserving of the blessings! That we are deserving to live, even when all others abandoned us!”

“So fight with me! Fight not just to prove yourself, but fight to protect your homes! Your families! Your lives! For this threat will not just stop at terrorizing, but making sure nothing remains of our existences!”

By now the leviathan was close enough its tentacles were able to begin striking the docks and the boats nearby.

Most boats were already abandoned, or smashed up by the tumultuous waves. But one boat still had a fisherman on it, hanging on for dear life as he tried to escape the shaking boat.

And one tentacle, as big as a house, was about to strike him down.

Until Ruddy jumped off the building he was on, towards the tentacle. With a flash of his staff, he struck the tentacle, but was unable to even remotely stop its movement.

That was okay, because he used the energy to bounce off the tentacle towards the boat, grab the man, and disappear into the shadows to appear at a safer distance.

Before everyone’s eyes, the sigils around the leviathan began to fade, the magic being cancelled, as Ruddy stood valiantly before those frozen before the monster.

He raised his sword up high. “My friends! What will it be?! Fight or die?!”

What other choice was there but to let out a battle cry and charge forward into death?