By this point, Demi was familiar enough with the surrounding woodlands that she felt comfortable gathering on her own. They were quite safe.
Almost immediately after the house had been raised, the dryads had suggested that Demi put up a protective barrier around the farm: a veil of protection. The beaver work crew knew where the farmhouse was, after all, and while no one suspected any of them of anything nefarious, tall tales about a beautiful house in the forest had the potential of drawing unexpected (and potentially dangerous) visitors.
She had no desire for another Leggity-Leg to come visiting, after all.
Of course, Demi had no idea how to raise such a barrier on her own, but it was the sort of warding fairy magic that dryads were good at, so they walked her through the process, going along with her as she paced out the perimeter of the barrier.
When Demi had strayed too near the southern boundary of her domain, the dryads had been quick to turn her back.
“You don’t want to go down there!” Vata had insisted. “It’s super gross and smelly.”
“Ah yes, it would be better if you didn’t get too close to the road,” Soa had gently agreed.
“If you put the boundary too close to the road then it has the possibility of interfering with transit,” Seri had explained, pushing her nonexistent glasses up her nose.
“It’s nicest to stay in the middle of the woods!” Tina had cheered.
So Demi had taken their advice about where to set the southern border of the barrier. She had enough to occupy her on the farm and in the woodlands anyway, especially with all of the documents she had to organize for the Rosebrook canal project.
By walking it all out, Demi got a good idea of the lands surrounding her farmhouse. Ultimately, she and the dryads decided to include a substantial part of the dryad forest that was in easy hiking distance of the farm inside of the farm’s barrier.
The dryads actually had their own barrier up around the rest of the forest, but it functioned a little differently and was not quite so restrictive. The barrier that they had helped Demi raise used confusion, misdirection, and even some minor teleportation to keep interlopers from realizing that the farm even existed. Even someone with a knowledge of the farm’s existence would keep going around in circles, always ending up directed away from it. On the off chance that someone did manage to penetrate the lost woods aspect of the woodland surrounding the farm, there was also a reasonably substantial physical barrier that would keep out all but those Demi allowed inside. She had already set permissions for all of the people she knew and trusted, so they could come and go without any inconvenience. The wildlife she had allowed could come and go as they pleased. They had been there before her, after all, and they seemed to be great fans of the farm.
Demi regularly saw bunnies and deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and had even begun making friends with a couple of very chatty foxes.
She did recognize that allowing domesticated animals in freely might create a loophole allowing their masters in as a matter of course, and so she had decided to set their permissions on a case-by-case basis, much as she had with the people.
The worksite where the beavers were engaged in surveying and preparing the land for the canal lock and the place that had been designated for the new fox settlement were both outside of the veil of protection, but close enough that her friends could visit when it suited them or when they had business with her.
Because of all of these precautions, Demi was unlikely to encounter anyone or anything she did not already know on one of her little rambles.
It did feel a little strange to be without either Glimmer or Dollop, but Glimmer was not always disposed to go cavorting about the woodlands, and she had sent Dollop along with Finella to the worksite because she knew that Tina was due to be there that day, and both girls loved playing games with the slime.
Demi wanted to do what she could to encourage their healthy emotional development. She still felt vaguely guilty about employing child laborers in her civic projects, even if the children were both enthusiastic and magical.
She at least wanted to make sure they had a good time and played as much as possible. It was good for Dollop too. The little slime always seemed to be trying their best to help out in any way they could, but fun and relaxation were also important responsibilities! Demi wanted them to grow up healthy and happy too.
And she was trying to follow her own best practices. A walk in the forest was relaxing, but also exciting and interesting at the same time. It was a perfect leisure activity for her, and even she was self-aware enough to know that she probably needed to take more rests than she did.
Demi enjoyed her walk as she always did, gathering mosses and mushrooms, admiring wildflowers, smelling the scent of the trees, stopping to watch birds or squirrels as they moved about on their business.
One of the best things about being a Harvest Goddess was that animals treated her as if she belonged among them. Sometimes they followed her with interest, and other times they simply went about their activities without concern for her presence. It felt very much like being a fairy-tale princess of the woodlands, and she loved every moment of it.
And like a proper fairy-tale princess, sometimes she sang as she walked. The wildlife didn’t mind this either, and she appreciated their understanding.
Sometimes she sang about how the hills themselves rang with music, and sometimes she sang about the wild mountain thyme, or what might be found on the other side of a rainbow.
But today she sang about country roads, and where she hoped they would lead her.
Demi enjoyed singing, and she was good at it. She had taken extensive lessons from early childhood, because as a young lady of the aristocracy, it was expected that she be both accomplished and diverting. Since she had been in the habit of singing to herself as she wandered the grounds of the estate as a child, it just felt natural to do it. She was more used to singing a cappella than she was to any sort of accompaniment (other than karaoke, since she had often enjoyed belting out anisongs with her mother).
Since Demi did not have to actually carry a gathering basket on her walks, nor any supplies—not even snacks—her forays really were leisurely strolls through the woods, which meant there was plenty of time for singing, for watching birds, for looking at interesting beetles, and simply soaking up the woodlands.
More perks of being a goddess, she thought to herself.
She was just standing up from having collected some bark when she heard an unfamiliar sound.
It sounded—strange. Like the popping of a balloon combined with a rapid clicking or ticking, and then a heavy sound, as if something had fallen to the ground.
The air felt tense, perhaps a little electric, and she caught the faint whiff of an uncomfortable smell.
The sound had come from somewhere close by.
After a moment of hesitancy, Demi decided to investigate. She was just at the base of a small rise, so if she climbed to the summit, she would have a better view of what might have caused the noise and the smell.
And as Demi came up over the little rise, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
There was something on the ground only a few paces away that she didn’t recognize. She still wasn’t familiar with absolutely everything that lived and grew in the forest, but she still instinctively understood that this was a thing that did not belong.
It was a dark, misshapen lump, and at first, Demi thought it might be some sort of strange animal that she was unfamiliar with, an interloper from outside the forest. Then she thought it might be a pile of fabric or rags. There was that strange smell in the air, wet and musty, almost metallic. It was not a pleasant odor, and there was the faint whiff of decay, something her mind immediately categorized as rot, disease, death.
And it was only at this point that Demi realized that she was looking at a body.
The realization pushed her into action without thought. She didn’t consider whether or not the body lying unguarded there might have been left as a trap, or that the thing that had caused this situation might still be nearby and capable of doing something similar to her.
Whoever that was, they obviously needed her help. They probably needed a lot more than her help, but she would do the best she could.
It was all she could do.
She immediately rushed down the slope, skidding in the soft loamy dirt, and dropped to her hands and knees. The shape twitched feebly. This person was still alive. The dark encompassing shape turned out to be a cloak, and once Demi pushed it back she finally caught sight of what she was dealing with.
It was a man.