Chapter 14. There’s A Shoggoth In My Bath!
Wracking my brains for an explanation... Match found. Dreamwalk. This is a magical ability inherent to elves. A capable mage is, theoretically, able to enter someone else's dream and interact with the dreamer there. Normally, dreamer won't realize it was anything more than a dream, unless dreamwalker elects to inform them otherwise. This ability is not really exposed in the original game much, and translation avoids the mention entirely. Considering Selene is not a full-blooded elf, but rather "of elven descent", it probably means that Selene is not capable of it. Moon Unit, on the other hand, both is, and likely was trained in it, like all members of Conclave. This ability is heavily featured in one of the DLC routes, however... and that makes me worried. DLC adds three new routes to the game, and if I were to sum them up laconically, I would term them as "very fucked up".
Why fucked up? Well, all of the routes involve Protagonist becoming a very disturbed and monstrous individual, with only one out of three having any glimmer of redemption in the end. To sum it up, there is "elven route", which happens if Protagonist becomes a target of anti-elf racism. This is the one with dreamwalking being a big thing, and ends in nothing less than elves an mass embarking on genocidal conquest of Champagne (and possibly the rest of the world). This happens when racism becomes too much for Protagonist to handle and she decides that the only way for her to be happy and free is to eradicate humans. To do this, she abuses dreamwalking to take control of Conclave and essentially forces her own brother to become her consort. As I said, very fucked up and extremely incompatible with my plans for brighter future for everyone.
One of the other two routes is "TransBalcan route", where Protagonist becomes a sadist reveling in bloodshed and eventually ends up being proposed to by "The Impaler", also known as Vlad Tepes, the king of Vallah. Yes, an expy of Drakula. Yes, he has a fetish for impaling people on pikes as a method of execution. Yes, he literally creates fields of impaled people in his quest to unite all of TransBalcan under one banner. Yes, this ends badly. In the end of the route, Vlad and his bloody queen perish together when united Champagne-Kraut army under the leadership of Hiram and Alistair crushes the Vallah forces and collapses the king's castle by catapult bombardment and magic. No, they don't even try to capture it, they are so terrified of the couple they just reduce the whole castle to rubble to get rid of them.
The last one is an "Ork route" which involves abduction, a lot of rape and eventual descent into berzerking bloodlust. Ironically speaking, this is the only route with any kind of good outcome in the end, as after wholly exterminating the tribe that violated her, Protagonist is found by a different tribe, nursed back to health and ends up falling in love with the chieftain.
On one hand, none of those routes are likely an option for Selene, because DLC was deemed too disturbing to translate. On the other, the very thought of Moon Unit going through any of this fills me with black rage. NO. Not fucking happening. NEVER. But, and I have to be honest about this, the route with dreamwalking is one I can do the least against. My best hope is simply not to allow Moon Unit be targeted by racists. Which should be eminently doable, as my status is on the steady rise and my physical abilities are so much out of scope I might as well be considered immutable for the purposes of combat.
While I think and worry, my object of consideration comes into view. She's wearing some sort of tunic, presumably her nightgown, and barefoot. Well... thanks. Now I have to deal with lust on top of worry. I don't even HAVE a stomach as a shrubbery, and it's still doing flips. Fuck. She's not going to give up on this. I need to talk to her. But... Oh look, a distraction!
Being in full control of my dream is certainly convenient. I cause a hefty branch to fall off one of the trees behind her with a crash and while she whirls around to investigate, I resume my human-shaped form. Sort of. Why my body is the hardest thing to control in the dream? Gah. I SQUISH the extra eyes, forcing them to my back and calves before she turns around.
"OOh, here you are. I was looking all over this place for you." - she coos, narrowing the distance to hugging range as she does. And then she goes for a hug. Shiiiit! I BARELY manage to shift the eyes out of the way of her hands, concentrating on taking as human a shape as I could. It's... An effort. It's like my subconsciousness wants her to find out what I am. Wait... Oh fuckbaskets on a bloody stick, this is IT! The fucking light magic. The truth aura! In reality, it's just making her sensitive to lies, in here everything is subject to it! My only saving grace is that I'm not trying to deceive her, just avoiding the whole truth.
"Moon Unit. What are you doing in my dream?" - I inquire as blandly as I can manage, making her recoil and stare at me in befuddlement.
"How!?" - she yelps, reddening and suddenly seeming very self-conscious of her attire.
"I'm aware of dreamwalking. Not something I can pull off myself, for obvious reasons, but I am entirely lucid within my own dream." - I offer an explanation. Again, it is not a lie, but more of a misleading by omission. She seems to buy it.
"...Ohh. Oh. Well. This is really awkward." - she offers, hiding her eyes - "I'm sorry. I... I just got so curious about you! I wanted to... to..."
"To know what I'm dreaming about?" - I finish for her, shrugging - "Well, when I do dream, it is about you." I admit, I'm teasing a lot, but this, as far as I'm concerned, is an appropriate payback for getting into my dream without asking. As I wave my hand, the environs abruptly change. What was a park is now an onsen, complete with a gently steaming rock pool. "Since you are already here, let's make the most of out it, shall we?" - I offer to her as she looks around in amazement.
"But... this is a bathing house?" - she inquires, turning to look at me. And abruptly turning away, as I have had taken the advantage of her distraction to shift my body to nakedness.
"Consider it a little payback for invasion of my privacy, m'dear." - I quip as I step into the pool and sink in to the neck. Ooh, yes. The water is nice. Also, because it keeps bubbling, I can relax a little more. Why, yes, I'm a cheating cheater who cheats her own subconsciousness by letting it exhibit myself in a way that precludes my companion from actually seeing anything odd. Now, I wonder, would I be able to... bwuh.
She is blushing hard. I can clearly see this, because in spite of embarrassment, she sheds her tunic and steps into the pool, quickly sinking into the water to match my pose on the opposite side. It takes a little bit of silent soaking, but her expression gradually shifts from "I'm smiling to hide my discomfort" to much more natural and pleasant "ooh, this is actually really nice". Naturally, I can't resist the urge to tickle her sole with a tentacle. She pulls her foot back with an embarrassed giggle.
"Alyssa..." - she drawls, half-accusingly and half-playfully - "...yes, well. This was ill-considered of me, and I concede that your payback was both inspired and appropriate. A bit of privacy for a bit of privacy seems like a fair exchange. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, I really should have asked permission first. But I just can't help myself. The more I find about you, the more it seems to me that you are like.. like... like a mushroom."
"Ehh?" - OK, that was pretty weird. Mushroom, really? Are you going to keep me in dark and feed me bullshit, honey?
"I mean... I have this feeling, you know? That the lady Gillespie everyone can see is just a tip of someone really vast. Like a hand-tall mushroom is really just a tip of mycelia that spans half the forest." - she explains. Elves. Always thinking of things in plant terms. Heh.
"I have a question for you." - I interject - "You are aware that you can sense lies, right?"
She nods. "Well, yes. This is a common thing for those who's alignment is light magic, no?"
"Indeed it is. The bigger question is, are you aware that this sense expands enormously within a dream?" - I continue and she nods again, looking sheepish. I sigh. "Moon Unit. Please, don't take this the wrong way, but you just did a horribly reckless thing. You are already sensing I'm more than I show, and if you press for answers further, you will have to be a part of my plans. A part of my life, even."
She nods thoughtfully. "I understand that now. You're not a human, are you?" - she offers - "I had thought you might be a talbot, but you just don't show the malice they harbor against all living."
Talbot, by the way, is the child-snatcher myth I have been wary of. They're rumored to be capable of flowerless magic and replace newborn children, slowly feeding on the parents until they grow weak and die. Thankfully, talbots are fairly well understood, and barring very unusual circumstances, they are discovered and dispatched of early. Unfortunately, there is no way of recovering newborns that have already been replaced, because talbots consume them. Natural look for a talbot that is not imitating anyone is a spindly humanoid with gray rough skin. They have lamprey-like mouths. Disgusting creatures.
"Out of curiosity, what would have happened if I was a talbot? I imagine getting into their dreams is not a good idea." - I quip. I'm actually curious, she had shown no worry on that front so I assume she has some way to deal with them.
"Oh, they die the moment you try to walk into their dreams." - Moon Unit explains with a smile - "I have killed four ever since I left Evergreens. Dreamwalking is light magic, ultimately, and they can not bear a touch of light so deep."
Hm. That... Actually meshes well. But raises more questions. "Wait a moment. If that's how it goes, then you knew I couldn't be talbot when I showed you how to make the cure for cold. It is also light magic, after all." - I offer thoughtfully - "Unless, you just threw this disgusting bit out as a distraction. So... what did you think I am when you decided to dreamwalk?"
"Ah, well, that's just it! I don't know." - she offers - "You don't quite fit any creature I can think of. Can you blame a girl for being curious about a potential paramour?"
Oh. Huh. That's really still on the table? Phew. "Fair enough." - I offer - "But, and this is important. I understand that in your heart you are a scholar, and therefore, you feel you must know. I... think I do not mind you knowing what I really am, but I have to warn you. It will be very hazardous for you. I can not guarantee you will come out of this dream sane if you push further than this."
She sidles closer and puts her hand on my stomach. GAH! This is a forbidden move, you know! No taking advantage of lusting shoggoths, missy! No fair!
"I'll risk it." - she offers simply, her fingers stroking a circle around my navel - "I have a feeling you're worth it."
And that's when I lose it, and let my real voice leak out.
"TEKELI-LIIII!...."
Oh fuck a duck. Did I just... mating call on her?! So. FUCKING. EMBARRASSING!
Ok. Oh shit. OK. No panic. OK. I just let her hear me in full range! OK. Hold it together.... NO PANIC!
Her eyes are glassen. She's stiff. She... oh shit. Please please please no, I did not fuck up my elven waifu on the first night together. No way. No.
"....You are full of stars!" - she breathes out just as I'm about to give in and start panicking in earnest - "You are like... like a person-shaped hole in the world! WHAT ARE YOU!?"
Damn. This. Is gonna be a bitch and a half to fix. I try not to react as she backpedals frantically, pressing her back against the opposite side of the pool.
"My kind are usually called SHOGGOTH." - I offer, letting more of my full vocalization slip out to impress the gravity of the situation on her - "We are not native to this existence. Please understand that I am just a BABY/SEED so far. I do have capability beyond RIGID-ORDER-FLESH-BEING-LIMITED, but not an external agency. Think of me as foundling that HIGHER-ENTITY-CONCEPT-EMBODIMENT put into this world to further their goals. There is no other of me in THIS-HERE-WORLDSTACK, to the best of my knowledge. We were ENGINEERED/CREATED/DEVISED to be universal labor, to comprehend and advance the PRODUCTIVE-ORDER-FACILITATION of LESSER-ENDEARING-SOCIUMS."
"...YOU ARE THE TOOL OF GODS!" - she shrieks, practically vibrating in her seat. The wariness melts off her visibly, replaced by mounting excitement and joy - "This... I... Oh gods and stars, I can't believe... SO... CURIOUS!"
"Mm. Calm down. Tool of Gods? What's that?" - I quip, scaling back my vocalization to human ranges as I do.
"The Tool of Gods is the name our scholars are using to call the divine messengers that were directly placed by gods to improve the world." - she bubbles giddily - "Not the divinely inspired people, mind. The Tools of Gods were said to be towering entities with many limbs and eyes, capable of enormous creation. The legends say it is terrifying to behold one, but those who can stand the burden will be given knowledges beyond mortal ken. To think that I know that the right name is Shoggoth. That alone would earn me a place in the Thread of Creation!"
Now Thread of Creation is a thing I actually know about. It's a huge tapestry that is a record of the world's history from antiquity to modern days. It is maintained by elves and kept in Evergreens. They used to permit human scholars to view it as a great honor in the past, but that kinda tapered off in recent years as elves grew more insular. Now, do I really mind if Moon Unit wants an accomplishment to be recorded? Nah. As the saying goes, happy waifu is happy laifu.
"There is that." - I quip wickedly - "A footnote on that grand tapestry is more than most scholars achieve in their life. Want to make it a chapter?"
She blinks at the seeming non-sequitur. "Are you offering to teach me?" - she ventures, looking more than a little bit like someone who just got told they won a lottery.
"Among other things. But honestly speaking, I'm more interested in the earlier notion you ventured." - I continue. She blinks at me slowly, still puzzled. "Do you still want to be my paramour?" - I offer bluntly. And that's when I get a faceful of tits, as she jumps on my lap and hugs my head. HNNNG.
...OOkay, she's not letting my head go. Fine, fine. If you're like that, then do kindly forgive me for taking liberties. Aaand she lets go of me with shriek and laughter as I lick her nipple.
"Oh, you!" - she admonishes, as she sits back into the water - "I... can't believe it. You are a legend. A myth. A world-changing existence. And I'm..."
"Beautiful." - I cut in before she can really get onto self-deprecating track - "Moon Unit, if you truly want this, then the first thing you need is to stop putting yourself down. Am I a benevolent eldritch abomination from beyond the stars? Sure. Does that mean anything about how much you deserve or do not deserve to be with me? Not really."
"I understand. I think. It's just... so much to take in at once." - she responds softly. (Mental note - prove to Moon Unit sometimes that she can take in so much more. Innuendo intended.) She swallows nervously, and continues - "May I... see you? Not the form you take in the world, but the real you?"
Darn. On one hand, she is not writhing on the floor trying to poke out her ears after hearing me SPEAK. On the other, seeing me is much bigger shock. But then again, if I really want her to be truly mine, I have to trust her to be able to handle the true me. And so...
...I...
....RELAX....
AND LET MY BODY FLOW FREELY. RAISING FROM the pool, MY MASS UNFOLDS. CURIOUSLY, I STILL MAINTAIN SOMEWHAT HUMANOID SHAPE ON TOP, LITTLE EYES STUDDING MY FORM LIKE LED STRIPES. MY LEGS MERGE AND SPLIT, BECOMING A WAD OF TENTACLES. THEY STRETCH THROUGH the water, LIFTING Moon Unit GENTLY, AND BRING her stiff form IN FRONT OF ME, HOLDING her IN FRONT OF MY FACE.
She's drooling a little. Thankfully, the shock is not so bad, and I can see her brain and body restarting. She shudders violently and stares at me, her eyes so wide I can see my REFLECTION in them.
LEANING IN, I KISS HER.
___
I have to amp things back rather quickly. A few minutes of making out is enough for a first exposure to ME. Compressing back into human shape (which comes without hitch now), I settle back into the pool, holding her curled up against me while she recovers from the EXPERIENCE.
She gradually drifts back into focus. I take my time playing with her hair, tickling her cheek with a lock while she gets her marbles back together.
"I feel so strange." - she finally offers, her voice raw and husky, as she cuddles close - "It's like.. like... Like the... I feel so much more powerful now. Why?"
"Ah. Well, you've become DEFILED." - I offer to her - "Or, rather, began to become one. As we get more intimate, it will grow."
"Defiled?... Oh. Oh. Wait. OF COURSE! You're inherently transdimensional, of course this happened! I should have realized." - she offers, much more lively - "Goodness, you're made of good things happening to everyone, aren't you? Terrifying too. I... honestly did not think this through. I could FEEL my mind breaking when I was looking at you."
"Well, that's the hazards of being with me." - I admit easily - "On the other hand, it will only get easier from now on. You have survived the first glance and kept your sanity, that's the most important part." That being said, I frown at her and bap her forehead - "And on that note, bad girl! I had been terrified I'm going to harm you pretty much the whole time you've been in my dream, you know?"
"I'm sorry." - she replies contritely - "But it did turn out good, didn't it?"
"That it did, my precious. That it did."
