Gladesbale Grove Book 2 - Chapters 7,8,9 (Patreon)

Chapter 7

Baths

Rud looked over the work he had done with pride. He etched words into a sign, giving the building a name and setting out the rules for passing mortals. They would need to contact him to fill the baths, and donations were always accepted. With his ten boilers and fireboxes ready to go, he could accept mortals at any time. Nodding at the sign for the Cozy Bear Bathhouse, he fixed a few last things before the building was ready. Benches, chairs, tables, and so on were required to make it feel homey.

“I have some observations about the errant magical energy,” Nulsa’s voice came floating down from the front wall of the building.

Rud had locked in the concept of a bath open to the air. Some boughs from nearby trees blocked the sky above, but the cold still rushed in. The owl tilted his head to the side, waiting for the druid’s response.

“Observations,” Rud repeated, clapping his hands. The sound helped him divert his mind away from the baths. “I have a few notes of my own based on the other grove.”

“Hagsbane, right?” Nulsa asked. “Has the energy decreased where she is?”

“Yeah, and we don’t know what it means. The best I can think of is some collective pulse emitted by the groves.”

Nulsa flapped his wings, soaring to land on the edge of a bath without making a sound. “A natural expulsion of energy, perhaps…”

“Oh, the bear is gonna wake up soon,” Rud said. “So, we gotta name him.”

“Anything in mind?”

Rud had a few names in mind, but had settled on something that matched the creature’s massive stature. “Yeah. Do you think he’ll join?”

“Most likely. More advanced beasts will be attracted to the grove. We can feel the power and understand how it will help us ascend. One day, we will gain forms like Mint.”

“So, this is like a stable job for smart beasties? Sacred Beasts, as everyone calls them here.”

“That’s right. The bear will likely accept. Especially given the proximity we have to dungeons.”

“Do bears like fighting?” Rud asked.

“Most do.”

Another combat-capable Sacred Beast for the grove… At least he had Nulsa, who seemed uninterested in fighting. Rud needed to find some more beasts to add to his group. Perhaps one that enjoyed knitting sweaters, rather than fighting. Perhaps a deer or something. For now, he wanted to test the bath at full capacity. First, he checked that the draining method was functional. This was the only step that required him to use Construction Magic. Instead of a complicated drain, he just drilled a hole in the tub's bottom with the Shape Plant spell.

Rud let the water rush into the boilers, watching as each filled to capacity. The flow was powerful enough to see the job done quickly enough. Then it was only a matter of lighting the fires underneath, spreading the Fairy Peat throughout the fireboxes and watching them go to work. Steam rose from the top of each boiler, filling the air with the scent of minerals. The steam intensified as the water boiled. The water rushed through the pipes, filling the first tub to capacity.

Scampering around to the main entrance, Rud shed his fancy enchanted equipment before jumping in. The water might have been too hot if the air outside wasn’t so cold. He soaked into the tub, sinking up to his chin and letting out a sigh of contentment. The tips of his ears were chilly, while his toes were boiling in the hot water. Testing the bath by himself was a good idea. Rud shaped several pieces of wood into buckets, placing a few by each tub. If the adventurers wanted to wash themselves, they would need to have a few on hand.

“I could swim around in this,” Rud said, looking over his massive bath. Even if he didn’t fill all four tubs, he could cycle the boilers to keep the water within one hot for longer. Again, the idea of modularity and expansion remained important.

Soaking in the tub brought important thoughts. The next stage of his expansion of amenities for the traveling adventurers. Snacks. Dried, salted, or smoked meat would be the easiest. Mint was happy to go out hunting, giving the grove a steady supply of protein. While that fact , at first, had struck Rud as odd, he soon learned the importance of balancing nature. The grove was a safe place for all animals, but the lands outside weren’t so heavily managed.

With no desire to bake, and absolutely none to expand his farming efforts to support crops, Rud would need to find other things to include in his travel rations. Dried fruits and nuts made the most sense to fill out the rest of his offerings. It would be like trail mix, which was in the middle tier of all road foods. That meant sourcing local nuts and berries. Which meant getting out of the hot bath.

“Maybe later,” Rud said, pushing out to the middle of the tub and floating on his back. He floated there for some time before he heard the muffled sound of something nearby. “What?”

More muffled speech. He floated upright, treading water as he spotted Mint standing in her wolf form outside of the bath.

“I said you’re a busy little spirit,” she said, pointing at the new building with her nose. “You’ve created a fancy bathhouse.”

“What do you think? Honest opinions only.”

“I think you’ve done a great job. This is for the mortals, right?”

“That’s right. I think they’ll appreciate nice things as they’re moving through the grove.”

“It should help soothe their minds. You know how damaging long-term exposure to this place can be for them…”

“About as much as being away from the grove is for me.” Rud nodded in agreement. He could spend a few hours outside of a Sacred Tree’s influence, but not much more. When he visited Cliffs of Mog—Basil’s grove—he didn’t feel his strength waning. It must have been something about magic plant energy or something. “But they seem fine if they stay on the path. Or sleep in my structures.”

“I think you should drain the bath. You should settle in for dinner.”

“Are you concerned about me, Mint?” Rud asked, blowing some bubbles in the water.

“Yes. A custodian’s job is important. We cannot survive without you.”

While Rud appreciated how much Mint was worried about him, he was fine. His responsibilities around the grove were less demanding than in his old life, even if he was busy for the entire day. Because the things he was busy with were things he wanted to do. Caring for goats, working in the forest, interacting with mortals, and so on. It was more of a vacation than he could have imagined.

“Understood. Just after I get the evening report going,” Rud said, hopping out of the bath. He shook, soaking Mint and everything around. She didn’t seem to mind though, watching as he drained the water from the tubs.

“Anything interesting to note?” Mint asked.

“Kinda? More weird energy no one knows anything about. If the other custodians had radios, I’d have a better picture.” Rud sighed. He still didn’t understand why only Maria manned her radio. The old timers were just too set in their ways.

“Keep me updated.”

It wasn’t as late as Mint had said. Rud made his way to the Observatory anyway, clicking his radio on and signing in. While he waited for Maria to respond, he accepted the building’s aspect and scanned for anything interesting. The south was always a weird mix of powers mingling just over the horizon. He had to wonder what rested right outside of his Farseeing skill. From what he understood of the region, it was mostly forest until one hit the coast. He couldn’t estimate the distance based on second-hand information, but it was a few hundred miles. At least.

“Maria here. Anything fun going on?”

“I made some baths,” Rud said, making note of new swirling energy to the southwest. It appeared near a lightly trodden path heading west, which connected to a passage through some small mountains. Beyond were the lands the adventurers sought to explore… Filled with orcs and other nasty monsters.

“Baths? More than one?”

“Yeah, I’m adding stuff to make the mortals more comfortable. As long as they follow my path, they don’t get lost. So, that’s good.”

“We had a similar problem, but it's so narrow down here… We have few dwarves to get lost.”

Rud narrowed his eyes, pushing his farsight as far as it would go. He watched as the energy pooled together, creating a flash of magic in the distance.

“Nulsa,” Rud said, not activating his microphone. “I need you to run an urgent message.”

The owl appeared outside of the tower’s window, landing on the railing and hooting softly. “What is it?”

Rud pointed to where he saw the energy collecting. “Can you see that?”

“It is too distant for me to see. Would you like me to scout, or run a message?”

Rud took a moment to study the energy before he responded. The power was familiar enough to be a dungeon, but he couldn’t recall if he had seen a dungeon form in real time. “Could you scout first, then return here? The energy is too dense for me to make anything out.”

“I’ll be back in a moment.” Nulsa left without making a sound.

“You there, Rud?”

“Yeah, sorry,” Rud said, picking his radio up again. “I’m studying some seriously weird magical energy. I have more dungeon magic blowing in by the day. The mortals need a break.”

“Everything went back to normal here. No new dungeons, and the dwarves are finally in line.”

“Good to hear, but I don’t know what to make of any of this. You know, this is kind of my dream job.”

“Being a druid?”

“Yeah. Being a druid, living in the forest, watching out for fires.”

“The fire watch thing,” Maria said, laughing. “Yeah. This is very similar.”

The sounds of the forest as the day wound down were pleasant. Rud felt a sense of comfort wash over him, even with the cold of the fading light spilling in through the open door of the tower. The birdsongs would soon give way to the sound of insects, chirping the night away. The constant hiss of the radio added to the ambience, a constant wash of noise to drown the noise outside. As a breeze blew from the north, rustling the trees of the grove, he let it all soak in.

“Hold on, my owl is back,” Rud said, watching as Nulsa flew in from nowhere.

“A dungeon is forming,” Nulsa said. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one come into being like that.”

Rud withdrew some paper and wrote some notes. Using the position of the other dungeons—those destroyed by the mortals—he could give an exact location for this dungeon. But he couldn’t see that it was a dungeon, yet. His farsight only allowed him to see so much, and it all just looked like energy to him. It mingled with the earth and the air, creating a swirling vortex thick enough to be confusing.

“Any idea on the dungeon’s strength?” Rud asked.

“None. Nor do I know the type of monsters it will create.”

“Of course,” Rud said, adding that as a note. He looked skyward, studying the energies up there. “Might as well include a weather report. We’re going to have rain tomorrow, I’m certain of it.”

“Aren’t you helpful.” Nulsa said.

“You’re picking up too much of Mint’s sass,” Rud said, winking at the owl. “Just kidding, I love you.”

Rud finished his note, folding it up so it wouldn’t unfurl during flight.

“Where am I taking this note?” Nulsa asked.

“There’s a guy named Peter in the town of Barlgore. He goes by Feather sometimes. Just look for the biggest, most fancy house. The letter says its for old Pete, so they should get it to him.”

Nulsa hopped into the tower, grabbing the note with his talons before turning to fly off into the forest.

“Sorry about that,” Rud said, sighing into the microphone. “Dungeon problems, am I right?”

“Okay, I have another scenario for you…”

Rud smiled to himself as Maria posed another absurd situation. He listened along, giving his thoughts on the ‘button of pain’ before signing off for the night. Mint’s warning about nightfall in the grove was made manifest, and his stomach growled in objection to the lack of lunch or snacks. There was still a good amount of work to do near the grove’s center, including creating his shop and figuring out how to make trail mix. He left the tower, stepping through a bush to appear near the longhouse. He froze, watching as Mint faced off against a massive figure.

Rud almost peed his pants as he looked up at a bear, standing on its hind legs and swatting at the air. “Bear!” he yelled, stammering before stopping. “Oh, that’s my bear.”

“Yes, get your bear under control,” Mint growled.

“He isn’t a Sacred Beast?” Rud asked, activating his Clear Communication upgrade. “Holy crap.”

“How you manage to attract a Dire Wolf and a Dire Bear is beyond me. He’s on the verge of attaining that Sacred status, but you must calm him.”

“Hello, bear,” Rud said, waving like an idiot.

“Pain,” the bear said, growling. “Pain!”

“Ah, crap. He’s in pain,” Rud said, trying and failing to think. “Just calm down big guy.”

The bear roared some more. Rud spotted Dean in the distance, ready to pounce. Sarya was likely somewhere nearby, prepared to do the same. He had to think quickly. The Nature’s Cleanse spell should have driven anything out of the creature that might harm it. It dispelled curses, diseases, infections, and magical effects.

“Where is your pain, buddy?” Rud asked, holding his hand out as though to disarm the giant creature. It must have been ten-feet-tall.

The bear fell onto his forepaws, growling with a sad noise. He lowered his head, revealing nothing for Rud to see. “Here. Head. Behind ear.”

Rud approached with his hands out, nodding. The poor bear wasn’t just fighting off a status effect. He was still injured… somehow. Perhaps this was a thorn in the lion’s paw situation. “I can get it out, bud. You just need to stay still, okay?”

“Druid,” the bear said, lowering his head further. “Help me.”

“I got you, bear,” Rud said, placing his hand on the bear’s head. He couldn’t see anything wrong behind the creature’s ear. As he didn’t want to reveal his hand, he cast Nature’s Cleanse before the beast knew what he was doing.

The bear slumped forward, then tipped to the side. Within moments, the beast snored loudly and the guardians of the grove relaxed. Rud got to work, parting the creature’s fur where it had indicated pain.

“That’s cold-blooded, Rud,” Mint said, padding over. “Putting him to sleep like that.”

“Yeah, there’s no way I could look at this with an enraged bear… Do you see anything?”

Mint shifted into her human form, kneeling near the bear’s massive head. She helped Rud part the fur, searching for anything strange. As she probed the creature’s skin, her brow rose.

“There’s something just under the skin. Here.”

“Hah. I knew it. We have this story back on Earth—”

A dagger flashed into Mint’s hand. Rud didn’t see any sign that she had damaged the beast’s hide, but an instant later she held a finger-length brick of metal. She held it up, her face locked in a look of concern.

“What is this?” Mint asked, tossing it over to Rud.

He caught it—barely—and inspected the object. It looked like a piece of plain gray metal. Perhaps iron, or steel. Rud yelped, shaking his hand hard enough to send the piece of metal skittering across the ground. “It shocked me.”

Mint stood, a sword flashing out to spark against the object. Rud was pretty sure those swords were for show up until that point. But at least one was functional. “That strike would have split the bear himself in half.”

“Cursed object?” Rud asked, narrowing his eyes at the bit of metal.

Mint nodded. “Cursed object.”

“How did a cursed object get inside the bear?” Rud asked.

“Shall I destroy the bear?” Dean asked, loping over to bare his teeth.

“Please don’t. He was just in pain,” Rud said.

“You must contain this object,” Mint said, picking it up. She winced, getting a jolt of electricity. 

“To the containment area!” Rud shouted, striking a pose that got a polite clap from Mint and a giggle from Sarya in the distance.

The group traveled to the new containment area. If there was to be a collection of cursed junk here, he needed more signs. But the others helped collect the reagents needed for the spell as the Rud created the structure. He cast the Purification Ritual spell, and sealed the piece of metal away. The group returned to Ban’s clearing just after dark.

Rud watched as Mint dragged the bear under a tree. They would need to be careful when he woke up. But the bear was just like Sarya when she first arrived, just on the edge of becoming a Sacred Beast. He would just be glad to be in a state where he wasn’t constantly electrocuted.

“Anyone hungry?” Rud asked. “I’m hungry.”

“Yes,” Mint agreed. “Let’s get some food.”

Chapter 8

Enchanted Bathwater

Rud stood in his tower the next morning, standing at the threshold that led to the balcony outside. Rain drizzled down, first soaking through the boughs above then dripping onto the forest floor. His radio hissed as he gazed out toward the forming dungeon. Nulsa had done a great job taking the message to town, and the mortals had already mobilized. He just wished they didn’t have to do so on such a foul day.

“I just don’t believe you rescued a horse-sized bear,” Maria’s voice came crackling through the radio.

“It’s true,” Rud protested. “After I beat back the advancing army of goblins, I had to save my Sacred Beasts single-handedly. I used my druidic powers to summon a beast from legend, and… Well, the giant bear pledged itself to me.”

“How much of that is true?” Maria asked, her voice dripping with doubt.

“Almost none of it,” Rud admitted. “Oh! My Farseeing finally hit Level 6.”

[Skill Gain!]

Your Farseeing skill has increased to level 6!

“Things get really slow after Level 5, don’t they?”

“Yep. Everything gets harder…”

“And I’m not even Rank 1… Why would they start us at Rank 0?”

“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t make the system.”

Rud watched from above as a group of adventurers from Barlgore made their way down a forested path. They had stopped messing around, and had fallen into the habit of sending large squads to take care of the dungeons. When he first arrived here, the mortals had trouble accessing the Fire Construct dungeon that had formed inside the grove. That was before he built roads for them to travel on. But the dungeons that had been appearing did so to the south, in a location where they could access.

“I’ve got a squad of big bad adventurers going to take care of a dungeon right now,” Rud said, smiling to himself. “Just like sending out some foresters to take care of a wildfire!”

“I’ve never met someone as excited as you for this job. Did your new body come with a broken brain?”

“God, I hope so. This is awesome!”

Maria giggled politely as the conversation spread to other topics. Rud sipped his morning tea, detailing his plans to create some trail mix for the passing adventurers. She knew little about what grew on the surface, and could only recommend mushrooms for the mix. The druid didn’t have the heart to tell her that mushrooms didn’t belong in trail mix.

“What’s your favorite snack on the road?” Rud asked.

“Peanut butter.”

“Surely you mean peanut butter cups. The chocolate and peanut butter candy.”

“Nope. A jar of peanut butter in the cup holder.”

Rud recoiled, shooting side-eyes at the radio. “I think I need to go.”

“Wait! You need to hear me out on this.”

“Actually, you’re breaking up. I think I’m having some magical interference,” Rud said, making static sounds with his mouth.

“Okay, here it is. Peanut butter is extremely filling, right? And you can just scoop it out with a spoon.”

“These are words. I understand that, but I’m still aghast.”

“Listen, stinker… You just take a bit of peanut butter. Not a big glob. Peanut butter is filling, and it gives you the protein you need to push forward during a long trip.”

“I’m going to judge you for the rest of my life. I think the smell of peanut butter would seep into the upholstery of my car… And the mess!”

“What about you, smart guy?”

“Oh, I always bring a steak with mashed potatoes,” Rud said, leaning against the wall and gazing out at the adventurers. “You should see me on the highway cutting that bad boy.”

“Come on! Seriously, what do you like?”

“A Yoo-hoo, a pack of Ding Dongs, and a big bag of chips.”

An extended silence came in over the radio. “You were kinda chubby back on Earth, weren’t you?”

“The word you’re looking for is ‘enormous,’ actually.”

“My dwarves need me… They’re going to riot if I’m not careful.”

“Alrighty. Nice chatting with you, peanut butter girl.”

“Talk to you tonight, Ding Dong.”

Rud smiled to himself as the radio went silent. He flicked through the channels, hailing each one with no success as he watched the progress of the adventurers. They were still quite far from the forming dungeon, but were making good time. His meditative observation was disturbed when Nulsa cleared his throat from the banister outside.

“The bear is awake,” Nulsa said. “He’s looking for you.”

Rud spun, shifting into his squirrel form and leaping through the window. Nulsa made a surprised hoot, but came following. The druid soared from Ban’s boughs, doing tight circles as he assessed the scene below. This time, the bear had his head bowed in reverence, rather than standing upright as though prepared to fight. Mint stood there in her wolf form, looking down at the beast.

“Hello!” Rud said, landing before the bear. He shifted back into his true form. “How are you feeling?”

The bear growled.

Rud activated his Clear Communication upgrade. “How are you feeling?” he repeated.

“Feeling well,” the bear said. “Better. You saved me.”

“All in a day’s work for a druid,” Rud said, sticking his chest out and thumping his staff on the ground. He looked back at Mint. “Can I invite him to the pact?”

Mint gave him a look that said ‘yeah, of course you can, you idiot.’

“Would you like to join the grove?” Rud asked. “You’ll serve as a guardian of the Sacred Tree, Ban’tanthein.”

“Not worthy,” the bear said, lowering his head.

“You’re worthy,” Rud said, stomping over to pat the bear on the head. “Right now, you’re just a little guy. But if you join the pact, you’ll grow in power. It should only take a few days for you to push into Sacred Beast status.”

“Really?” the bear asked. “That quickly?”

Rud reflected on how easy this was compared to Dean. When the dire wolf first showed up, he tried to eat the druid. The bear was the complete opposite. He had come to the grove wounded, through some cave system underneath. And he only lashed out when he was in pain. Rud got the sense that the bear was a gentle soul who might not be suitable for combat. Which was weird, seeing as he had to weigh… what? A thousand pounds?

“Indeed. You’ll have food, shelter… whatever you need.”

“I accept,” the bear said, finally raising his head.

“Mint, could you offer this guy a contract?” Rud asked.

“Normally? No. But I’m getting stronger…” Mint left that eerie message there as her eyes went glassy.

A moment later, Rud felt something warm spreading through his chest. She had offered the pact, and he accepted. Gladesbale Grove now had another powerful protector. One that he could help grow into whatever the beast wanted to be. Rud gained a sense for what the creature wanted, but it was vague. That wasn’t important right now.

“I shall name you!” Rud shouted, hoisting his staff into the air.

“I want to name this one,” Mint said, pouting.

“Absolutely not!” Rud said, still holding his pose. “You are henceforth known as… Major!”

“Isn’t that a military rank?” Mint asked, shaking her head.

“I love it,” the bear said.

“I’m naming him after a constellation back home, Ursa Major. Since I know he’s going to shine bright like a star!”

“Like a star,” Major repeated, his eyes glittering. “Thank you.”

“Allow me to teach this one,” Mint said, giving the bear an appraising look. “He’s further from Sacred Beast than Sarya was.”

Major stood to his full height on four legs, holding his head high. “Teach…”

Now that Major was in the pact, Mint could understand him with ease. She seemed to have some ability to speak with other animals, but not as well if they weren’t wolves. Perhaps the bear language was too far from her native tongue… Communicating with animals was easy with magic, though. Rud’s Animal Communication skill made it simple enough for him, but it wouldn’t be a problem. Once Major hit Sacred Beast status, his speech would become fluent.

Mint led Major away—toward the Sacred Tree. She would teach him the basics of being a guardian within the grove. That gave Rud a breath to think about how their grove was shaping up. Basil’s grove had a lot of tree people and other beastfolk. He knew Gug’s grove had a lot of mushrooms and dwarves. But Ban’s grove would contain a lot of Sacred Beasts and trees. Perhaps they were aiming for a more balanced grove, but it was still early. He just hoped Ban would wake up soon enough.

“I like him,” Dean said, coming to sit beside Rud. “What a fine addition.”

“Agreed,” Rud said. He was just happy that things worked out for Major. Rain pattered overhead, dripping in large drops from the leaves. The sound of footsteps tore him away from the scene. He turned, spotting two adventurers coming down the path.

A sheepish human man offered a nervous smile. “We couldn’t figure out how to work the bath. Then we read the sign…”

“He’s impulsive,” a human woman said, shaking her head.

“A customer!” Rud shouted, pointing at the mortals. They chuckled nervously. “Follow me!”

Rud was glad he had put a roof on the boiler room. The rain was light enough that it wouldn’t influence the temperature of the bath too much. Anyway, if the adventurers were seeking only to get clean, they wouldn’t be in too long. He led them to the entrance of the bathhouse, pausing to spin and clap his hands.

“Do you two need one or two tubs?”

The man shared a look with his companion. She shook her head. “One is fine.”

“That makes things easier. It’ll be just a few minutes. Feel free to relax under cover while I get the water started,” Rud said, scampering off.

Rud loaded the boilers with water and started the fires. He was certain Fairy Peat would burn in a hurricane, so he wasn’t worried about it getting wet. Although he had put a roof on the boiler room, it was pretty leaky. The boilers had already been slightly filled by the rainwater. Not that it mattered, it was all being boiled anyway. Once it was up to temperature, he released enough gates to flood the first tub in the system.

“There we go,” Rud said, kneeling near the tub’s edge to check the temperature. The adventurers came over to inspect the water, nodding with approval.

“I don’t think I’ve seen system-recognized water before,” the man said, shrugging his way out of his armor.

Rud pretended like he knew that all along. “Oh, yeah. Only the best. Enjoy!” He discretely inspected the water before leaving.

[Enchanted Bathwater]

Rare

Description:

Drawn from a magical spring and repurposed for ultimate bath time relaxation.

Effect:

Water will hold at a temperature for longer.

Soaking in this water for at least fifteen minutes greatly reduces fatigue.

“Magic bath water,” Rud muttered to himself, leaving the bathhouse.

That explained why the bath was so refreshing. It could have been the grove imparting some of its magic onto the water, or the system recognizing the work he put in to heat it in boilers. Whatever the case, this was a massive boon for him. The first effect on the water explained why it had remained so steamy for so long.

“Rud.”

The druid froze right outside of the bathhouse. He shifted into his squirrel form, dashing down the road and jumping to hug Ban. “You’re back!”

“That took longer than expected,” Ban said, her voice echoing through the clearing. Rud always enjoyed hearing her voice aloud rather than spoken directly into his mind.

“Did it go well?” Rud asked.

“I could use a few crystals…”

Rud didn’t hesitate, digging into his bag to find his emergency crystals. Ban let out a sigh of relief. The bad weather wasn’t helping matters, that much was clear.

“Is the new building useful? Where is it?”

“Underground,” Ban said. “Inspect it.”

Rud did exactly that, pressing his hand against the tree. Unlike an upgrade, Ban could support a lot of buildings. While upgrades required levels, buildings only required energy to support them. He didn’t know what would happen if they ran out of energy, but had no intentions of finding out.

[Unified Grid]

Rank 0 Level 1 Sacred Tree Building

Upgrade Progress: 0%

Description:

Allows a Sacred Tree to connect their roots to nearby trees, creating a unified network. The trees that may be connected to this network must be within the grove.

Effect:

Grants access to the unified tree grid.

“Is this good?” Rud asked, remembering the warning Ban gave earlier. When she connected with another tree, it should provide a net-positive amount of energy. Unless that tree was sickly. Then it would drain Ban’s energy.

“The upgrade is better than expected,” Ban said. “I can expand out as needed. I’ve already connected myself to the trees in the immediate area. And, of course, there’s a problem.”

“What’s the problem? What can I fix?”

“Of the two-hundred trees I’ve added to the network, twelve are diseased.”

Rud rolled his shoulders, clearing his throat. He struck a pose. “Sounds like a job for me!”

“You can attempt to heal the trees, but replacing them might be easier. I can send the information into your mind, if you like.”

Rud nodded. That would make things easy. “Let’s do it. I don’t have anything else going on today.”

Without prompting, a rush of knowledge flooded into Rud’s mind. He had a general understanding of where the twelve offending trees were. They were near enough that he could get to them with ease. He scampered off, diving into a bush and appearing near the first tree.

On the outside, the tree didn’t look bad. The bark was gnarled, twisting in spots, but it didn’t look diseased. But as Rud looked to the boughs of the tree, he could see how sparse the leaves were. This one would be a drain on Ban’s power, and they couldn’t have that. Even now, it was sucking away her life instead of adding to it. The rain likely didn’t help.

“Do you think we can expand your Energy Flowers upgrade to these trees?” Rud asked.

“While that’s my plan, we’re too far from it. Right now, I need you to ensure each tree is in perfect order. And this one is too far gone.”

“Poor tree,” Rud said, shaking his head. “We shall grow a new one in your place… But I need Taz.”

Perhaps there was a way for Rud to cut the tree with his Shape Plant spell. But that seemed to go against what the purpose of the spell was. Aside from that, bonding time with Taz was always nice. He wasn’t the kind of surly dwarf present in Maria’s grove. He was a hard-working guy with a love for stone. The druid passed through the brush, appearing outside the Blacksmith’s Workshop. The sound of a hammer ringing out against the anvil sang. A keening chime radiated from the interior, loud enough to stifle bird songs throughout the forest.

“Hey, buddy!” Rud shouted, watching as the soot-covered dwarf turned to stare at him. “I need help.”

“Of course ya do,” Taz said, shaking his head. “Come have a look at this.”

Rud approached the anvil, spotting the fine work Taz had already done. Thick iron brackets rested in a pile, holes punched into them to secure them to wood. “Support braces for the mine?”

Taz shrugged. “Since you filled it with roots, I don’t think that’s needed. This is practice.”

“You did this without skills?” Rud asked, stopping himself from pressing further. “Of course you did. Mundane artisans exist, right?”

“Exactly right,” Taz said, gesturing to the bracket he just finished. “Simple things like this are great to practice on. You get to figure out drawing the material out, doing a basic bend, and even punching holes.”

“You sound more experienced than you’re letting on…”

“I have some experience. But I did my share of watching back home. A lot of that stayed with me. Anyway, what do you need?”

“This should actually be easy. We have a few diseased trees I need help chopping down. I think I can use my Shape Plant spell to make it easier, but that seems like a perversion of the spell.”

“Really? Never stopped you from twisting nature to your will before.”

“Oh, come on. We don’t even need to chop the logs up or anything. We can leave everything on the forest floor. Circle of life and all that.”

“You’re lucky I have fun chopping down trees,” Taz said, pushing the burning Fairy Peat to the forge’s edge. “Grab the axe. I’ll get some saws.”

Chapter 9

Prune

Rud put his back into the swing, chipping a small amount of bark away from a massive oak tree. Just like the worms, he was happy trees couldn’t talk. Being a druid that destroyed trees would have made him feel bad. But as badly as he felt about destroying nature, he was comforted by the other side of the process. This diseased tree would be replaced with one that would support the grove. One that was healthy.

“This is why we use the saw,” Taz said. “Otherwise we’ll be here all day.”

“Agreed,” Rud said. “And I suddenly don’t feel so much reverence about my spells…”

“Bah. Let’s go.”

Thanks to Taz’s Strength attribute, it wasn’t difficult to saw the tree down. Rud did his best to push and pull the tandem saw, but he felt more like a helper than anything. The first tree fell soon enough, crashing into the forest’s floor. Instead of harvesting the wood, they would leave it there for nature. It would support critters, mushrooms, and other life forms found all over the forest’s floor. While the druid got to work planting another oak, Taz leaned against another tree.

“Some things seem like a contradiction in the grove,” Taz said, stroking his beard. Rud knew it was time for some well-worn dwarven wisdom. “Chopping a tree and planting another in its place. Making sure the badgers are happy. Burning what the forest provides to heat our water, smelt our ore, and fuel our forges. But that’s looking at our grove from an outsider’s perspective. We on the inside know it takes an intelligent hand to keep things moving.”

Taz was just confirming Rud’s own thoughts on the matter. He cast his Plant Growth spell, watching as the seed rose into a young tree in a moment. “As long as we trust our Sacred Tree, there’s no reason to think we’re doing the wrong thing. We’ve got production, which is true. But everything feeds back to our tree. We’re here to support her, and the other way around.”

“Let’s chop another tree,” Taz said, pushing off from the tree. “Although I agree with you, I don’t want to be out here all day.”

“Seriously. If only a certain Sacred Beast—HINT HINT, BASIL—were to give me a fancy spell to quickly chop trees… Any time now!”

“Nothing happened, did it?” Taz asked after a long pause.

“Nope,” Rud said, pressing on. “More trees to chop.”

The pair chopped and regrew their way through the forest. Taz told tales about his old home in the mountains and the way dwarven society was organized. They had a veneration for their ancestors, and were fairly stuck in their ways. That included which gods they worshiped and how they worshiped them. While Taz wouldn’t explain what he had done to be labeled an apostate, he claimed it was not that bad. Perhaps he went into the forest and hugged a wolf pup, judging by how much he enjoyed living in the grove.

They spent half the day removing those twelve trees and growing their replacements. Rud felt a sigh of relief spread through the grove, the trickling rain still hampering Ban’s ability to draw power. She would have been fine today with the crystals she had been fed, but some sunlight would have been welcome. At least the flowers were there to back her up.

“Is that it?” Taz asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Yeah, thanks for the help.”

Taz shrugged. “Least I can do for letting me use that workshop. I haven’t had this much fun in a while.”

“Go figure a dwarf would have fun working the forge.” Rud clicked his tongue, shaking his head. “Don’t worry. I like the forge, too. That place is so cozy.”

Rud did his check in at the Observatory in the late afternoon, happy to see the adventurers with a camp by the dungeon. They were taking care of it before it had enough time to take root and grow in power. It seemed the longer a dungeon stayed where it was, the more powerful it grew. But as long as he sent word to the town, and as long as they sent some adventurers out to take care of it, they could stop it before it became a problem.

Making notes of the weather clearing up tomorrow, and the dispersal of the energy, Rud had Nulsa carry his message off to the town. The day hadn’t been very long, but he knew there would be a lot of forest maintenance in his future. The area Ban had incorporated into her network wasn’t vast. It was some fraction of a percent of all trees she could command. While everything within the grove was linked, this was the first time it would be linked directly to her.

Perhaps it would be wise to inspect the trees before she integrated them. But that would require a lot of work, compared to the reactionary approach. When Rud returned to the grove’s center, he wasn’t surprised to find a group of adventurers eager to use the baths. He was surprised to see the existing water in the single bath slightly warm. Just above blood temp. But he ran them a new bath, pushing all of his boilers to flood steaming water into all four baths.

“Would ya look at this?” Rud said, scooping a bounty of crystals and a single Dungeon Core Fragment from his donation box. “The bath is already paying for itself.”

“I’m having a chat with Basil,” Ban said, speaking into his mind.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You’ll gain a spell soon enough. He’s having stored energy troubles of his own. But you should expect it soon.”

“I love new spells. Which one?”

“You’ll have to wait and see.”

“Alright then, Tree… Keep your secrets.”

Stored energy seemed to be the single largest problem a grove faced. Stocking up on crystals made even more sense, considering that. Before calling it a day, Rud took stock of his various projects and what he needed to move forward.

Major would be a great addition to the grove, but he had a feeling about that cute bear. That cute, thousand-pound bear… Gaining Sacred Beast status would only take a few days, assuming the creature absorbed as much energy from the grove as it could. Perhaps he could become a glorified truffle bear. Bears had very sensitive noses, and the right kind of claws to dig into the earth.

The bath was a smash hit. As expected. Rud’s tea farm had expanded enough to support a store, assuming he was diligent enough to keep both his farm and drying operation going without distraction. Combined with the bath, once he added the general store things would really pick up. Nulsa claimed they would see more people coming through the grove’s path, which meant more people to offer donations. But the druid still didn’t know what the average pace of a mortal was. They got tired easily, which might have been an effect of the grove itself.

The last project he had in mind were the portals to other groves. That was something out of his hands, but something he could influence. The more fancy crystals and dungeon cores he snatched, the higher chance Ban had to store her energy and use it to purchase portal-related stuff. This project tied directly to keeping the forest healthy. He only hoped Taz was up for chopping down half the forest to plant brand new trees.

Before heading to the longhouse for some food, Rud planted a few more trees and grew them. As he went along the forest paths, he scooped acorns and pinecones to add to his bag. Perhaps it was a good idea to keep them on him at all times, filling in bare patches of the grove as he went. At least he knew the trees he grew wouldn’t carry the diseases of those older trees.

“What’s for dinner?” Rud asked, bursting into the longhouse.

Taz sat alone at the long table, warming his toes before the fire. “Soup!”

“Excellent,” Rud said, rubbing his hands together. “I love soup.”

Taz laughed, gesturing for Rud to take a seat. “That’s good news. On the menu this week… Soup today, soup tomorrow, and guess what we have for the day after that?”

“What?”

“Soup!”

Rud shook his head, taking a seat at the table. He spooned himself some soup from the cauldron, taking a tentative sip. Each day, the mixture was slightly different. There was something zesty about today’s offering. Perhaps the dwarf had tossed an entire lemon into the mixture. He didn’t care. Soup was soup.

“So, I was thinking about making some road snacks,” Rud said, taking his first bite of the soup. He made sure to get a big hunk of meat in his first bite.

“Road snacks? Snacks for the road?” Taz asked. “I’ve got some suggestions.”

“Beer nuts, dried mushrooms, yak cheese,” Rud said, counting off the things he thought dwarves might eat on the road.

“One out of three,” Taz said. “Dried mushrooms. Have you considered it?”

“What for?” Rud asked. “Dry, flaking mushrooms… Yum!”

“Get serious. A traveling dwarf will always carry a pouch of dried mushrooms with them. Not for snacking, but for making a hearty soup when nothing else is at hand.”

That wasn’t as bad of an idea as Rud thought. Perhaps Taz wasn’t wrong about it. Growing mushrooms might be easy… Or perhaps there was a mushroom-sniffing bear that could help him. There was absolutely an upgrade Ban could take, but he didn’t want to waste her energy on that. He had another idea entirely. One that didn’t involve mushrooms.

“I’m going with the theme of collecting the bounty of the grove,” Rud said, holding his hands wide. “Which means I need nuts, berries, and other fun stuff like that.”

“I’m useless there. If you want me to dry some venison, I’m your guy.”

“Could you?” Rud asked.

Taz looked up from his bowl of soup, his mustache dripping. “Yeah. I guess I could… Are you serious?”

“Sure am. Don’t we have like… ten-thousand pounds of meat in our freezer?”

“We have a lot, if that’s what you mean.”

“Jerky would be great. Especially some that’s been seasoned. What about cheese? Meat, cheese, nuts, dried berries… Those are some traveling rations right there.”

“Hmm. I don’t know how to make cheese. I guess we could figure it out, since Mint began stacking goat milk in my freezer like she owns the place. I mean, she kinda owns the place, but you know what I mean.”

In a fantasy world like this, he couldn’t imagine a better snack. And these were items Rud could get his hands on if he tried hard enough. Creating these items for the donation-based shop within the grove was a good way to help the mortals out. But exporting those items to town—where he was allowed to sell items for currency or to barter for other items—would make them a fortune. Not only would the food be of a high quality, but the mortals absolutely adored everything made in a grove. It was like passing by a souvenir shop right at the exit of a theme park with a cranky toddler being dragged through the gates. They couldn’t help but leave with an armful.

“Where is everyone else, anyway?” Rud asked.

“Nobody tells me nothing,” Taz said, pretending to be grumpy.

“Well, stop living in a cave.”

“Fair enough.”

“Anyway, hope you’re excited to chop some more trees. Tomorrow, if you have the time.”

Taz dropped the grumpy act, sighing. “I love that cracking sound they make as they fall.”

“That’s a satisfying noise, isn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

Before heading to bed, Rud had a bath. Filling a single tub at the bathhouse was easier than heating the vertical tub he had been using. While he would love a bit of automation, there was only so much a little druid could do to make it work. Since he wasn’t as tired as he thought, he returned to the longhouse. It was empty, but the ever-present fire crackled in the long firepit. The scent of burning Fairy Peat lingered in the air, wisps of smoke rising from dying embers. Taz would restart the fire in the morning, but there was no point doing so now.

Rud felt clean and satisfied with the work he had done today. He almost dozed off at the table when a tangle of roots rose from a section in the room. A portal appeared between those roots before vanishing a few moments later. The druid rubbed his eyes, narrowing them at the offending spot of the longhouse. After a few long moments he approached, finding what was left behind by the brief interdiction. He picked up a potted plant, pulling a length of parchment from the side.

“Huh… Dear Rud… Enjoy the plant. Love, Basil,” Rud said, holding the plant to get a better look. It took him far too long to realize what kind of plant he was looking at. “Thank you Basil!” he shouted at the ceiling.

“You should get your spell, too,” Ban said.

“I’ve wanted one of these plants since I saw them,” Rud said, holding the hovering light plant out. It was a stout plant with jagged fanning leaves. The most interesting part was the large bulb at the top. When conditions were right—as in, not inside of a longhouse and out in the open air—the bulb would spring open, releasing a light that hovered a few feet in the air. “We owe Basil something fun. Maybe a fruit basket.”

 “Sending a tiny plant over consumes far less energy than sending a sapient being. Far less than granting a custodian a spell, too.”

Whatever Basil had put into the act was worth it. Rud was already making plans in his head to line his path with these lights. If the mortals were too confused to stick to the wooden walkway, a bunch of hovering lights would see them through. His Plant Care skill gave him ideas on how to propagate his new plant, and he would clear space for it right away. It was very easy to keep a garden healthy when druidic magic was involved.

Instead of waiting for morning, Rud ran from the longhouse and headed for his tea plots. His frantic dash slowed as he passed under Ban’s boughs, watching as lights glittered between her flowers. Drops of mana floated as though in zero-gravity, passing between flowers or soaking into the branches of the Sacred Tree. After that momentary distraction, he found a decent spot in his plots. There were still bare sections he hadn’t filled in with tea.

Rud selected a few stems from the base of his new plant after setting it into the soil. A few applications of Plant Growth, and those four stems because plants of their own. Forcing them to create offspring now would be detrimental, likely damaging the plants beyond repair. Despite the application of magic, they still needed rest. But as he stood back, appreciating his five new lightbulb plant, they opened. Five orbs of light rose into the air, illuminating the area with a soft glow. The druid was surprised when that orange glow shifted to blue, and then light purple.

“This is awesome,” Rud said, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight. “Fancy plants for the fancy-pants.”

Fifteen minutes of plant appreciation later, and the promised spell arrived. Rud clapped his hands over his mouth as he read the message.

[Spell Obtained!]

The Treefolk Spirit Basil has taken notice of you. He has gifted you with the Prune spell.

“Prune? That sounds fun,” Rud said, inspecting the spell.

[Prune]

Rank 0 Druid Spell

Construction Magic

Components:

Imbued Leaf

Tree Branch

Description:

Part of living with nature is steering it in the right direction.

Effect:

Create a cut into any plant. The size and shape of this cut depend on the quantity of components consumed.

“That will allow you to cut trees down,” Ban said. “Without using the saw, of course.”

“That’s amazing,” Rud said, reading the spell over a few times. It only cost components, instead of mana. The real mana cost came in imbuing a leaf with his mana. “Guess I could do mostly the same thing with the Shape Plant spell…”

“This is more efficient,” Ban assured him.

Another spell to add to his arsenal. Rud felt more motivated than ever to get his booty in gear and push for Rank 1. Between pruning the forest and planting these lightbulbs, he would get plenty of skill levels to push him closer to that. But first, it was time for bed. No matter how exciting everything had become in such a short time, he still needed sleep.