Soil's Story Part 2: The Tree
When you're as fast as a satyr, you'd think finding the Campgrounds would take less time. Well, you'd be wrong. Turns out that if the Campgrounds doesn't want to be found, you won't find it. See, for some reason, I have papa Zephy's memories. I know everything that happened to him, I remember him eating the moon, then that's it. But I think that for some reason, the Campgrounds thinks I AM him. And it remembers what Zephnos did.
"But Soil!" you whine in your bratty voices, "You made it here! You're here right now, telling us this story!" Well yeah, but that doesn't mean it was easy.
So how do you convince a magical location that doesn't want to be found to stay in one place? No amount of running could catch up with the dream that just moved every time you blinked. And I'll be honest, for a long time I didn't have an answer for you.
So for a while, I just kind of bummed around the Forest. Saw the sights. Found a few interesting things. Until one day I even found papa Zephy's old home.
If it wasn't for my old man's memories, I wouldn't have noticed it. He really hid it well, covered in ivy and other plants. Wait, did I just complement that THING? Fuck, I'm getting sentimental. Anyway, plant powers activate! Or deactivate for once in my miserable life. Point is, I got in no problem.
Now my memory is really fuzzy about this place. Dad didn't spend much time at home, so there wasn't much. He'd made a ton of stuff during his two years, and had even gotten somewhat good at cooking. Mostly vegetables and stews though. Dear dad never did like the idea of killing other creatures. Well, at least until he got turned into a monster. But what really interested me was the contents of the small fireplace he had hidden down here. Sitting in on top of a huge pile of firewood, shielded from the rest of the structure, was a spark of Salamander Fire.
I stared at it, dumbfounded. This thing was why Zephnos had killed that human. His obsession with it was his whole reason for living. And he'd left it behind? It didn't make any sense. I mean, sure, he wasn't in his right mind when he obtained it, and certainly wasn't going to be again, but there was zero chance he'd just let it go after nearly burning to death to get it.
I decided I'd stay in the home for the night. No sense in turning up a mini-Campgrounds if I couldn't find the real thing. Besides, I'd never had a real safe haven before now. I kind of wanted to see what it was like. Was a lot better then worrying about Zephnos finding me again.
Oh right, that had been happening too. Every time I stopped moving, Zephnos somehow caught up with me. Call it "familial magnetism" if you want (please don't, that's gross), but I was getting tired of it. I'd tried to get him off me a few times. Run him by other monsters, tried hiding, climbing trees. Somehow he always caught up. Maybe he wouldn't be able to get down here, with his fat horny ass larger than the tree. My own personal "Fuck off dad" bunker. I smirked. Just needed some spray paint.
Huh. That's not something I should have known about. Zephnos hadn't. Who was I? First time I'd gotten some time to think about that. Last thing I remembered, I (he?) blacked out after I (Zephnos?) ate the Moon. I felt my horns and looked down at my legs. Not a goat's horns, but a cow's. Definitely still a satyr, but different from both Zephnos and the other satyrs he'd seen. Huh.
It didn't take me long to fall asleep pondering these oh so important questions. Like it mattered...
A giant eye, descending from the treetops. A tree, mutilated, its marrow cracked open for all to see, sap gushing from unending wounds. The eye fixed on me, and shadowy tendrils emerged from it, wrapping me in their power. I struggled to free myself, but for every binding I broke, more took it's place. Eventually, cocooned in this thing's power, It held me up to it's solitary eye. "What are you, little godling? In all of my years in this Forest, I have seen nothing like you. Born of a half-god without a spark of divine power, and yet you carry his memories." I grinned. "Might need more than one eye if you want to see anything in detail gramps. Or maybe a monocle." It laughed at that. At least it appreciated jokes. "I doubt even the Ants will find something that would fit me." Its vines loosened, and it gently lowered me to the ground. "Apologies, but you are the first creature I have ever spoken to. I wasn't going to let an opportunity like that pass me by." It paused, then grumbled,"Though I rarely have much of a choice in the matter..." Disentangling myself from the rest of the vines, I remarked, "Dude, if you just want a conversation, best not to start off with BONDAGE as your first topic. I wasn't even sure you had a brain." Tossing away the last vine, I looked around. "Well, that's a bit of a let down. We're in a dream yeah?" I looked back at the eye, and noticed the branch attaching it to the tree. "Wait, I've seen you before. You were that tree Zephnos found earlier. The one covered in flowers and leaking it's guts all over the forest floor. How are you not dead?" Another laugh, deep and echoing, coming from everywhere at once. It was beginning to irritate me. "I would die if I could, but that is not my fate. In another life, I committed sins too great for death to be a just punishment, and so now I am cursed to watch in eternal agony as that sin is committed over and over again." I grinned at that. "Metal! Didn't think I'd actually encounter something so awesome in this Forest. It's way too dark all the time, it's sort of boring." Again, the laugh. "I am not surprised you would respond that way. But how are you here? Only through dreams can I speak, and you are the first one to ever speak to me." The eye swung to a basin in the giant tree's roots. Sap poured from one of its numerous gaping wounds, filling the basin and hardening in seconds. "Oh, huh. I guess that is the question." An idea occurred to me. "Wait, what do you know about the Salamander Flame? I fell asleep next to a spark of it." The eye snapped back to me. "More than I dare to tell. And yes, that would explain why you are here. I believe I know the spark you refer to. You must never let it touch you, understand? That fire is a curse more than a blessing." Startled by the Tree's sudden insistence, I quickly responded. "Sure, whatever you say Gramps, I won't touch it." Satisfied by my response, it moved back to its pool. I walked over to the roots, and was surprised to find an image of the Campgrounds within the pool. "Watchya watching Gramps?" "An old memory... something that doesn't belong to me anymore... but maybe... " The Tree pauses in thought. "Maybe it could be one of yours... You are lost in the Dark Forest, like every other traveler right now. Maybe I can help you find your way out..." It stops, then stares intently at me, focusing on my horns and goat legs. "Even though you look like him, maybe there's a loophole. Something the Dark Forest never accounted for. I don't sense the Binding Laws on you." The image in the pool changed, moving back, whizzing between the ancient trunks of the Forest until it focused on another tree... the same one I was currently sleeping in. A cold presence enveloped me, and I began to feel uneasy. "When you wake up, follow the directions you just saw. The Campgrounds will not move. Take the spark of the Salamander Flame with you. Do NOT, under any circumstances, touch it. And never show it to the Salamander. Whatever happens, it must never see that spark again." I frowned. "Gramps... why are you helping me? I just met you, I'm a total stranger. I appreciate it, but... you're seriously creeping me out. You don't owe me anything, you have zero reason for this." Chuckling, the Tree stares at me again. "That's where you're wrong my child. You've done me more good than anything else in this Forest. Consider it my thanks for giving me a conversation for the first time in hundreds of years. Now go. You've stayed still too long, and if you don't leave now, you may not get the chance." The mist of the dream thickened, and I was jolted awake.
A giant eye, descending from the treetops. A tree, mutilated, its marrow cracked open for all to see, sap gushing from unending wounds. The eye fixed on me, and shadowy tendrils emerged from it, wrapping me in their power. I struggled to free myself, but for every binding I broke, more took it's place. Eventually, cocooned in this thing's power, It held me up to it's solitary eye. "What are you, little godling? In all of my years in this Forest, I have seen nothing like you. Born of a half-god without a spark of divine power, and yet you carry his memories." I grinned. "Might need more than one eye if you want to see anything in detail gramps. Or maybe a monocle." It laughed at that. At least it appreciated jokes. "I doubt even the Ants will find something that would fit me." Its vines loosened, and it gently lowered me to the ground. "Apologies, but you are the first creature I have ever spoken to. I wasn't going to let an opportunity like that pass me by." It paused, then grumbled,"Though I rarely have much of a choice in the matter..." Disentangling myself from the rest of the vines, I remarked, "Dude, if you just want a conversation, best not to start off with BONDAGE as your first topic. I wasn't even sure you had a brain." Tossing away the last vine, I looked around. "Well, that's a bit of a let down. We're in a dream yeah?" I looked back at the eye, and noticed the branch attaching it to the tree. "Wait, I've seen you before. You were that tree Zephnos found earlier. The one covered in flowers and leaking it's guts all over the forest floor. How are you not dead?" Another laugh, deep and echoing, coming from everywhere at once. It was beginning to irritate me. "I would die if I could, but that is not my fate. In another life, I committed sins too great for death to be a just punishment, and so now I am cursed to watch in eternal agony as that sin is committed over and over again." I grinned at that. "Metal! Didn't think I'd actually encounter something so awesome in this Forest. It's way too dark all the time, it's sort of boring." Again, the laugh. "I am not surprised you would respond that way. But how are you here? Only through dreams can I speak, and you are the first one to ever speak to me." The eye swung to a basin in the giant tree's roots. Sap poured from one of its numerous gaping wounds, filling the basin and hardening in seconds. "Oh, huh. I guess that is the question." An idea occurred to me. "Wait, what do you know about the Salamander Flame? I fell asleep next to a spark of it." The eye snapped back to me. "More than I dare to tell. And yes, that would explain why you are here. I believe I know the spark you refer to. You must never let it touch you, understand? That fire is a curse more than a blessing." Startled by the Tree's sudden insistence, I quickly responded. "Sure, whatever you say Gramps, I won't touch it." Satisfied by my response, it moved back to its pool. I walked over to the roots, and was surprised to find an image of the Campgrounds within the pool. "Watchya watching Gramps?" "An old memory... something that doesn't belong to me anymore... but maybe... " The Tree pauses in thought. "Maybe it could be one of yours... You are lost in the Dark Forest, like every other traveler right now. Maybe I can help you find your way out..." It stops, then stares intently at me, focusing on my horns and goat legs. "Even though you look like him, maybe there's a loophole. Something the Dark Forest never accounted for. I don't sense the Binding Laws on you." The image in the pool changed, moving back, whizzing between the ancient trunks of the Forest until it focused on another tree... the same one I was currently sleeping in. A cold presence enveloped me, and I began to feel uneasy. "When you wake up, follow the directions you just saw. The Campgrounds will not move. Take the spark of the Salamander Flame with you. Do NOT, under any circumstances, touch it. And never show it to the Salamander. Whatever happens, it must never see that spark again." I frowned. "Gramps... why are you helping me? I just met you, I'm a total stranger. I appreciate it, but... you're seriously creeping me out. You don't owe me anything, you have zero reason for this." Chuckling, the Tree stares at me again. "That's where you're wrong my child. You've done me more good than anything else in this Forest. Consider it my thanks for giving me a conversation for the first time in hundreds of years. Now go. You've stayed still too long, and if you don't leave now, you may not get the chance." The mist of the dream thickened, and I was jolted awake.
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