To kill a being like Cthulhu was impossible, so the Dryads did the only other thing they could do.
They fought and weakened Cthulhu and finally sealed him on the dark side of the moon with four pillars.
But even sealing Cthulhu forced the Dryads to make great sacrifices, and the action came with great consequences.
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Hearing that someone was looking for him, Alastair quickly put away his sword and stood up.
"Hello?" Alastair yelled out in response.
"Alastair!" Chris yelled out.
"Chris?" Alastair asked.
"Hey!" Chris said, "Is that you?" he asked, seeing Alastair through the trees.
"As me as I'll ever be," Alastair replied.
"How did you get so far away?" Chris asked, making his way to the clearing.
"Was thinking and I lost track of everyone else, how far away are we?" Alastair asked.
"Pretty far, you must have wondered at least a mile," Chris responded.
"Sorry, I heard someone whistling, and I got curious," Alastair.
"Was there someone else from the compound out here?" Chris asked.
"No, he wasn't from the compound, isn't that interesting?" Alastair said with a smile.
"Alastair! We're not supposed to talk to people outside the compound!" Chris exclaimed, "You've heard what the elders have said!" he said.
The elders were the main group who determined the rules of the compound. Alastair had never seen them in person, but they're the people who make all the rules.
"Aren't we going to talk to other people when we leave?" Alastair asked.
"I guess," Chris agreed.
"Anyways, thanks for getting me, let's head back," Alastair said while patting Chris on the back.
"Yeah, sure," Chris hesitantly replied.
As Alastair walked back where his friend came from, Chris turned around for a moment.
Looking at where Alastair was, Chris noticed a two-by-two block of dirt on the ground.
However, he paid the block no mind; there was another thing that was on his mind.
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"Hey mom," Alastair said while opening his door.
"Alastair? Where have you been?" Cailyn asked, looking over to Alastair, worried.
"I got a bit lost on the field trip," Alastair admitted.
"It makes sense, you haven't even left the compound up till now," Cailyn said, "Despite me complaining to the school that kids should leave the compound more," she murmured.
"Alastair! You're back!" Pablo said, seeing his son, "How are you doing?" he asked.
"Good, I'm doing really well," Alastair responded with a smile.
"I'm glad, now how about we-"
There were three large knocks on the front of the family's door.
Stopping what he was saying, Pablo got up and opened up the front door.
"Good evening," a man in a blue robe greeted from the other side of the door, "Is there an Alastair here?" the man asked.
"My son? Yes, he just got back," Pablo responded opening the door wider so the man could see Alastair.
"We have heard that your son has had a conversation with someone from outside the compound the man said, staring at Alastair.
"What?" Pablo exclaimed looking at his son.
'Chris ratted on me!'
"I did that. What's the problem?" Alastair asked.
There was no point in lying; they knew because Alastair told Chris. Trying to deny it would just lead to Alastair getting in even more trouble.
"Higher-ups wish to talk to you, come," the man said.
"Could I grab a quick bite to eat first?" Alastair asked.
"No,"
"Dang,"
Following the man, Alastair walked through the compound. He was led to a small building on the compound that he had never been in.
It was a little stone building that Alastair had never noticed, though Alastair had never looked around the facility that much.
With this little walk, not counting the building Alastair was going to now, he had seen at least five new buildings he had never noticed.
One of them looked like a library; he never knew there was a library.
———————————————————————
Alastair entered the building that he was led to; the man who led him there didn't step into the building.
"My job is complete," he said before turning around.
"So where do I go?" Alistair asked while looking into the building.
In front of Alastair was a very long and grey hallway made of stone.
Every eight feet or so, there was a windowless door. And at the end of the long hallway was a rather fancy set of double doors.
"Go to the end of the hall and knock," the man replied before leaving.
"And who wants to meet with me again?" Alastair asked.
The man who led Alastair to the building said nothing as he left.
With a worried sigh, Alastair walked through the hall and down the double doors.
As he walked forward, he heard people talking behind the doors. It sounded like people were being questioned.
Alastair guessed that these were the rooms where people were questioned, so they could leave the compound and preach.
He hoped that he could still take the test; taking the test was the easiest way to leave this place. As well, he wanted to make his parents proud.
Getting to the double doors, Alastair pulled his hand back to knock.
"Come in," someone behind the door said before Alastair could knock.
Putting his hand back down, Alastair opened the door.
The room wasn't too large; it had a circular table and five people sitting around it.
In the middle sat a cultist with a long beaked mask. The other four cultists to the left and right of the beaked cultist weren't wearing a mask but still had a long blue robe. There was also something hanging behind the cultists.
'Is that the Celestial Sigil!?"
With his eyes on the sigil, Alastair sat down in front of the cultists.
"Are you the elders I've heard about?" Alastair asked.
"Actually, the elders," the cultist on the far left began to say.
"No," the beaked cultist interrupted, "We are not the elders, I am the highest cultist, and these are advisers that were added by the elders," he explained.
"He means he's the highest cultist other than the elders," the cultist on the beaked cultist directly to his left said.
The beaked cultist didn't move his head, but Alastair could see his eyes look over at the cultist who talked.
"Remember how we get our food," the cultist on the beaked cultist whispered.
"Yes," the beaked cultist eventually said with a sigh, "That's what I meant," he said.
"Now we're here to discuss you talking to someone outside the compound," the rightmost cultist said.
"I was lost during the field trip, and I met an angler named Grayson, and we talked," Alastair explained, "That's it," he said.
"So did you know that he wasn't part of the compound?" the rightmost cultist asked.
"I did, I talked to him about how to get back," Alastair replied.
On a second glance, the sigil hanging above the cultists wasn't the same as the celestial sigil; it was probably the tablet the cultists pray to at the dungeon after the player defeated Golem.
"As you know, talking to other-"
"Interesting, is it not?" the beaked cultist said, "This tablet here is how we plan to free our lord," he explained, turning around to the sigil hanging behind him.
"Excuse me, will you please stop interrupting," the rightmost cultist said.
"Using the spirits of light and dark, we can bring the pillars that trap our lord here," the beaked cultist explained, "And yet, every time we try, some kind of golem awakens from the Jungle and kills the cultists before they can finish the ritual," he added.
"That is very interesting," Alastair agreed.
'Make sure Golem doesn't go out of commission, got it,'
"This has nothing to do with-" one of the cultists began to say.
"Leave," the beaked cultist said, standing up.
"What?" one of the other cultists said.
"Leave," the cultist repeated.
"This isn't something for you to determine!" the rightmost cultist said stand up, "Your father may have been the head cultist, but times have changed!" they told the beaked cultist.
The beaked cultist turned to face the cultist who stood to face him.
Without a word, the beaked cultist grabbed the hand of the other cultist.
"What are you doing?" the cultist asked, confused.
Before the cultist could take another breath, their hand was frozen solid.
"Next time, it will be your body. Now leave," the beaked cultist ordered.
Quickly and as efficiently as they could, though their efficiency was slightly diminished considering that they were scared, the four cultists ran out of the room.
Alastair then got up to follow them.
"Alastair," the beaked cultist called out, "You stay," he ordered.