One With Nature

The first sign of trouble: 3

When you see people suddenly drop on their knees out of nowhere and worship you, you feel a lot of things.

The first would be: awkward.

I kept looking in shock at the people kneeling down in front of me. I genuinely didn't know what to do in this situation. They don't exactly teach you how to react to worshippers at school.

"Great Forest God," the first guy spoke again from his kneeling position. "We offer you our gratitude in sparing our lives. Ask, and we shall-

"No, stop! Just... stop!" I said, waving my hands.

He looked up at me and his eyes were wide. "F-Forest God, have we done something wrong?" His question caused fear to spread amongst the people, probably thinking I was angry.

"No, that's not what I meant!" That seemed to calm them down, but only slightly. "What are you people doing?"

That question just got confusion from him. "We are offering our gratitude, forest God," the way he answered made it seem like the most obvious thing in the world.

"That's what I mean. Why are you calling me a god?" I definitely didn't think of myself as one. I was a normal guy not long ago before waking up here. There's no way I just suddenly became a god.

The guy seemed even more confused "Are you not? Surely only a god would be benevolent and merciful enough to save our lives when they are meaningless."

(Wow... just wow.) I honestly didn't know how to react to that. These people genuinely thought I was a god because I saved them. Either these people were incredibly primitive, incredibly desperate, or incredibly stupid.

Maybe all of the above.

"I'm not a god," I said to him, shaking my head. "I'm a..." That's when I stopped. I couldn't exactly say 'human' because there's no way they'd believe that. I didn't exactly even know what I am. So, I just bullshitted. "An Elemental spirit. That's right, I'm a spirit."

It's hard to make stuff up on the spot when you're incredibly confused and are stuck in an incredibly awkward situation. Thankfully, I became better at that later on.

"We would still offer our gratitude, great forest spirit," the guy finally stood up, which gave me a good look at him. He had tanned skin, black hair and eyes, and a beard. "We had thought that we would all meet our end at this dreaded forest, but we were fortunate enough to be saved by you."

"Why were you in this forest in the first place?" I asked. They obviously knew the place was dangerous, so I didn't understand why they came here.

"Where else would we go?" He asked as the rest of the humans started looking depressed. "We have no homes. Even if this forest is dangerous, we needed to travel to find a new home."

(So, they WERE refugees. Well, that answers one of my questions,) I thought to myself. These people were desperate for a fresh start, and the danger of possible death was something they were willing to risk if there was also a chance of success.

But that left the question of what am I gonna do with these people? If I let them stay here, I'm gonna have to Protect them, and that might just make them all the more into worshipping me.

I don't want to risk them starting a cult about me. Cults never end well for anyone involved.

"Do you know of any place where you can go?" I asked him. If they were purposely coming here, then they must have had a plan.

The man put a hand on his chin and began stroking his beard. "There is the kingdom beyond this forest... but we never managed to even make it past the treeline, and we have even less chances of surviving in the dessert surrounding the kingdom."

(So, they were planning to pass a dangerous forest AND dessert?) I couldn't help but look at the guy like he's crazy. (These people are seriously desperate.)

I put my hand on my head and began thinking. I don't really want these people to be my responsibility, and I definitely didn't want to tell them to go away when they were this desperate.

"Wait, you said that the trip to that kingdom is dangerous?" I asked and the man nodded. "What if... what if I protect you during that trip?"

That's right. I can just guard them along the way, leave them at the kingdom, and get back here without any guilt or responsibility.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," the man shook his head. "Even with you protecting us, great spirit, we don't have enough water to-"

"Don't worry. I'll take care of that, too. I assure you, you won't run out of water during this trip. Just make sure to pack food," I said to him. Apparently, my water form doesn't run out of water. I've tried shooting for a whole day once, and it didn't even get lower.

The man smiled in a way that made it seem like he just saw the sunrise for the first time before turning to the people behind him. "Brothers and sisters! The great spirit has offered to lead us to our new home!" The people began cheering while some of them began thanking the 'great forest spirit'.

(Why are you people cheering?) I asked myself but didn't speak it out loud. (I'm practically just getting rid of you? Is this how Shrek felt during his first movie? No wonder he was grumpy the whole movie.)

"We are forever in your debt, great spirit!" The man turned back and knelt down again. I really gotta tell them to stop that. "We can only hope that King Gilgamesh of Uruk is generous enough to accept us."

.............. "I'm sorry, did you say Gilgamesh of Uruk?"

That was the first of MANY times where I wished my ears were deceiving me. The amount of times they actually did... was incredibly low.