The Town of Hor was a relatively new population center constructed at the edge of the Great Forest of Halla. It was under the aegis of Baron Heraclius and had lumber as its primary export to other towns and cities in the kingdom. Surrounding the Town was a rather sprawling agricultural community with farms and farmland as far as the eye could see. Most of the actual workers were on these farms instead of the lumberyard, as the town needed the food to survive.
On this morning acolyte Helena Penchard was late, to be fair this was not exactly an unusual occurrence for her but this day it was more egregious than usual. After all, there were only a few days before the Yoss festival and she was very much needed for the preparations for it. Helena was planning to use the very poignant excuse that she had just gotten a new pillow yesterday and it was too good not to sleep on when she met with her master Priest Yorich.
The streets were not as busy as they would normally be in the morning as the majority of the working men were busy out in the fields preparing for the harvest that would be a key part of the upcoming festival. Still, as she passed by the grocer she heard a yell being tossed her way.
"Late again Helena? I think I saw your master pass by here and he was not happy so you better hurry up and get to the temple before the scolding he has planned is upped to a beating."
Rather than give a reply to Amfrid the Gossip with words, Helena just gave her an apologetic wave and a sardonic smile before upping her pace. The old woman on her just chuckled before turning to continue her haggling with Green Grocer Carl. Thankfully, it wasn't far from Helenas home on the outskirts of Hor to the Temple of Old Yoss.
It was a building made entirely out of wood and with a thatched roof, the walls of the building were covered in intricate markings that had then been filled with moss. Which all in all made the temple look like it was both a house and a living boulder in the forest. Inside it was exceedingly simple, hardpacked dirt with tufts of grass was what made up the floor. From the ceiling dangled various farming, forestry, and other agricultural items with barely visible strings. At the center of the spacious room lay the sacrificial stone. An ancient stone that had been there for countless generations, it was said that the Temple of Old Yoss had been built around it rather than it being moved to the temple.
The stone table was simple and solid, it almost looked like a sarcophagus more than an altar or a table, but it didn't have a crack that would indicate that it could be opened. It had some rather simple glyphs and carvings placed along the sides of it, but it was mostly unblemished. Polished and yet largely untouched by human hands. What made the stone remarkable was that it seemed to convulse and undulate in the light like a pond. Yet when touched it would be as solid and still as a mountain.
Yorich was in the back of the spacious temple room, he was overseeing some of the temple helpers carrying in sacks of grain and other offerings that had been sent by the local farmers. When Helena skitted to halt as she ran through the doors into the temple the old man turned his attention on her. He was a withered figure with the sort of build that told the story of a man who had once been a strongman, whose power had been ground away by age. Yorich had a long beard with tufts of grey hair in what must have been an awe-inspiring red in his younger days. His gnarled hands were wrapped around a long stick and his piercing grey eyes focused on Helena with a type of quiet intensity behind that ordinary people could not replicate.
"You are late, again. The Old One would not appreciate your tardiness at the best of days and this is not one such day. We have a lot of work to do and it is not for you to laze about now that the festival is coming up."
"I'm sorry Master, but in my defense...I have just gotten a really nice new pillow. So blaming me for oversleeping is a bit unfair. After all Old Yoss does encourage us to find rest when we can so we can work harder later."
This eminently reasonable argument did not lead to the old man nodding approvingly or smiling with an understanding glint in his eye. Rather he grunted in annoyance and seemed to contemplate hitting her with his stick before turning to look at the helpers carrying sacks of grain. Suddenly a wide grin appeared on his face as he turned to Helena.
"Well said, my young acolyte. Find rest when we can so we can work harder later. Well, I am an old man and my old bones cannot handle the strain that they could in my youth. And since you have been so diligent in resting you can now work harder and take on one of my old duties before the festival. You are dressed to work after all."
Like her the old man was dressed in simple workman's clothing, Old Yoss was not a man who believed his clergy should wrap themselves in finery unlike a lot of other gods. After all, he was the first farmer to have settled in these lands, and while most farmers that Helena knew loved to dress themselves in as many colors as possible, Old Yoss was much more in the vein of simple greys and browns.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Helena frowned at the sudden change in demeanor from her Master as she tried to sense the trap in the words before he continued.
"Michel the Woodsman and I usually go into the forest together to find the necessary offerings for the festival. But as it happens I am now old and weak, which makes it only natural that my young and spry apprentice takes my place this year."
With the trap sprung Helena suddenly came to regret her early morning nap as the task became apparent to her. Every year at the Festival large sacrifices were given to Old Yoss. Bounty from the harvest, the choicest cuts of meat, newly created tools, old keepsakes, and finally a heart from a forest monster along with an assortment of berries and herbs. So not only would Helena have to go into the forest and deal with the dangers of harvesting the heart of a monster, more importantly, she had to carry the said heart and the herbs all the way back to the town.
"Well, now Master be reasonable. I can't leave you alone when we have all these important preparations to be done. As you yourself pointed out you are old and would need me by your side. Michel can probably handle the work himself and that would make the festival preparations more effective...right?"
"No. Michel will need you there and the harvesting has to be done to the exacting standards that our God requires. You will actually put all of those hours I have spent teaching you to some actual use and help Michel to the best of your abilities. I am sure it won't be too strenuous to carry the heart and herbs back from the forest. Now be off with ye, I have important work to do and I won't spend any more time arguing with a youngling."
Yorich held his stick up threateningly and Helena scampered out rather than getting thwacked on her shoulders over the disagreement. So without more preamble, Helena began to sourly wander to the other side of town where Michel the Woodsman lived. At least Michel was a nice man if a bit weird, people said that he claimed the forest spoke to him. Which Helena could empathize with since Old Yoss spoke to her on occasion, working on his property usually granted you that privilege. Like it did with most other gods based on what she had heard from traveling priests or family heads that had to lead the rituals to their household gods long enough that they heard a few words now and then.
Michel had a son who was sweet on Helena but she was both uninterested and occupied in all senses of the word. Not that she couldn't appreciate the attention, but boys were uninteresting to her. Thankfully, if she ever decided to find herself a boy for more than some fun then she knew that Old Yoss didn't object, unlike some weird gods that apparently cared way too much about what their followers were doing in the sheets.
The house where Michel lived looked more than a cottage than a townhouse, without the classical thatched roof that one usually saw in the area. It was a simple wooden construction that to Helena seemed barely capable of holding out a stiff breeze let alone the cold grip of Winter. And yet Michel and his family seemed to thrive where they lived and nobody had ever heard any of them complain about their accommodations.
Michel was sitting outside on a stump that he used as a makeshift chair while sorting through a myriad of supplies that was laid out on a table in front of him. Knives, rope, a hatchet, a bow and an assortment of arrows, bandages, leather bags, two waterskins, a mortar, a pestle, and even more items that Helena had no conception of what were. Michel looked up at her from where he was seated and he grunted rather than verbally giving voice to the question.
"Master sent me in his place because his bones are old and weak."
Helena couldn't keep the sour tone out of her voice as she explained her presence which caused the handsome face of the older man to crack into a slight smile. Michel was a lean and rather short man, his woodsman clothing was always in a pristine condition and his blonde hair was more lustrous than Helenas in fact. He had inviting hazel eyes which offset the notable scar going across his forehead which was said to have come from a Briar Bear.
"Well then. I have provisions for myself and tools, but I am sure you have your acolyte needs. So meet me at the forest road in two hours and we will begin our trek. Remember, we might be out for days so you better have prepared for a longer trip than a single day."
It took Helena all of her willpower to not sigh audibly at this pronouncement and it took her a few seconds of mentally composing herself before she nodded solemnly to show that she had understood the instruction. As she knew that Michel rarely bothered talking before he was actually out in the woods she just turned and began walking back to her home. Helena could already imagine the reception that she would get from her mother once she was home and had to explain that she had to take food out of the larder because she was going out into the forest for potentially multiple days. But it was better to get it over with rather than waste time so Helena sped up for once in her life as she made her way home.