Ch 30: Local God

The roof spirit is believed to have been an ancestor of someone within Moonfallow that died falling off a roof. Many claim to be his descendants, but there has been no definitive proof of ancestry from any of them, nor has the original claim been verified. What has been verified is that the use of the green shingles in Moonfallow does result in his blessing. Their roofs can last as long as fifty years without issue. Ironically that means that local craftsmen rarely have the work a leaky roof can create.

• Local Gods of Moonfallow

Solomon left doctor Isaacs’s with a gold piece to pay for his treatment. He also left him with Colm’s payment along with several extra silver and a note encouraging him to avoid the woods in the short term given what had happened and offering him work at the manor if he needed it in the meantime. After that he walked back out to the carriage where Duncan was waiting, leaning on his walking stick harder than usual. The stitches stung with every breath and movement. The doctor had offered a treatment for the pain and he’d agreed to only a quarter of it. He wanted to keep his focus.

He had Duncan head for the Estate with a brief stop at the guard garrison to ask that more guards be placed at the entrance to the wood. At the estate itself Solomon went to his room with only a few nods to each of his servants and a request for a pitcher of water and something to eat. There were a number of stares at his torn and bloodstained coat as well as the fact that he was shirtless and bandaged beneath it, but none of them asked questions.

Solomon finished buttoning a fresh shirt when he heard a knock on his door.

“Come in,” he said.

Melissa entered with a pitcher of water and a cup. She walked over to his desk and poured the cup before standing off to one side.

He drank from the cup slowly, trying to pace himself though he wanted to simply grab the pitcher and throw back all of it at once.

“Solomon,” said Melissa, using his first name for the first time. Her tone was almost scolding.

“I was attacked by something in the woods. Colm was hurt as well. Probably just some frightened animal. I already saw a doctor, I will recover without issue.”

She nodded. “I’ll have your food brought to you, and I’ll have the coat mended and washed. Please rest.”

“Thank you,” he responded, handing the coat to her.

She took it and refilled his water before leaving. Once she was gone he grabbed Local Gods of Moonfallow from the corner of his desk and opened it. His more general research into the town had been put on hold for some time, but given what he’d just experienced he felt he needed to broaden his understanding of Moonfallow. He’d initially attributed the Mayor and his wrongdoing to the terrestrial and mundane, but given what he’d just seen he needed to amend those expectations.

He opened the book and began skimming it. Gods could take many forms. They could be powerful spirits, extraplanar entities, guardian ancestors, or even devils. Most villages had a minor god or two with a small shrine, and major gods had cathedrals in major cities. Some of them relied on mana, others were powered by energies beyond mortal understanding. The only thing that marked an entity as a god was that it required worship or sacrifice from mortals. It was quite possible that the creature he’d seen in the woods wasn’t a god, but as he only had limited resources he felt that he should look into them first.

Looking through the book he found that near moonfallow were a number of river and lake spirits, as well as a spirit of good roofs that was honored by using a particular kind of green tile. It wasn’t until he was near the middle of the book that he found a short listing that might be applicable.

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