Gladesbale Grove Book 2 - Chapters 34,35,36 (Patreon)

Chapter 34

Checking the Storm

Problems appeared in Gladesbale Grove often enough. Rud wasn’t surprised that weird stuff was going on. But to have so many problems cropping up at the same time was indeed strange. His three biggest problems were the labyrinth, twelve cursed objects, and the thing on the island. Out of all of them, the labyrinth was the least threatening. Next came the cursed objects, then the island. The druid ate breakfast, giving his morning report to the other custodians, and settled into his comfortable habit of working on the road.

That helped him take his mind off of things.

Working on the road was meditative. But Rud was drawn from his concentration when he heard hooves thumping against the forest floor. He turned, spotting Elm on Daffodil thundering through the grove.

“Oh, no you don’t, missy!” Rud shouted, shifting into his squirrel form. He found the nearest bush, using Thicket Travel to appear right above her. The druid soared, landing on her shoulder.

“Oh, gods!” Elm shouted, pulling hard on the reins. Daffodil skidded to a halt, rearing up and almost throwing the elf from her back.

Rud glared at her for a few moments, ensuring she wouldn’t run away until he had a word with her. When he was sure she was going to stay still, he jumped off and shifted to his true form so she could understand him.

“Where ya going?” Rud asked, sing-song.

“To the labyrinth. For my research,” Elm said, still looking shocked by the squirrel-based intervention. “Why?”

“I need your magicness,” Rud said, folding his arms. “I got a big old magical storm on an island and no clue how to fix it.”

“Pardon me?” Elm said, blinking a few times. “Care to elaborate more than that?”

Rud took a deep breath, explaining everything he had seen on the island in one breath. Elm watched with wide eyes, nodding along as though his rapid way of speaking tangled her thoughts.

“That’s… concerning,” Elm said after a long pause. “But my research on the labyrinth… Gods, I can’t weigh which one would be more important.”

“I see it like this,” Rud said. “Mint can keep the energy of the lab down. But there’s a fact about the frozen island which is hard to avoid. The cold is spreading, and it’s gonna reach Barlgore before long.”

Elm’s face turned from shock to concern. “How quickly is it spreading?”

“I can’t estimate exactly,” Rud admitted. His observations with his Farseeing skill were inconclusive. “I don’t think it is expanding at a set rate. Instead, the storm is spreading in surges.”

“How long do you think before it hits the town?” Elm asked, reining Daffodil in and pointing her in the right direction.

“Anywhere from a week to a year, depending on how fast it spreads,” Rud said. “So, care to come take some magical readings for me?”

“Of course!” Elm said. “Had I known, I would have gone there right away. But my expedition was draining… Great spirit, I apologize.”

“Nah, you’re just excited. I get it. Now, let’s hoof it,” Rud said, shifting to squirrel-mode once again and jumping onto Daffodil’s head. “I’ll direct you.”

“Greetings little squirrel,” Daffodil said. “Could you move to one side? I cannot see.”

From their position west of Ban’s clearing, it would take at least a few hours to ride to the lake. Rud still wasn’t sure how big the grove was, but he would rely on the deer-horse’s speed to get them there quickly. Daffodil took off at a gallop, jumping and dodging around the trees of the grove with absurd grace. The druid was amazed at how easily she moved on such uneven ground. Perhaps she didn’t even need a road…

By foot, it would take a person anywhere from a week to two weeks to move through the grove. That depended on how swiftly they moved and their use of the roads. Adventurers had increased attributes, which meant they often moved at a run, cutting down the time to travel to only a day or so. On a decent mount, a mortal could cross the breadth of the grove in a day—less with better mounts. But Daffodil was something else. She moved at such a pace that Rud was certain she could clear the entire thing in two hours. Maybe less.

The wind whipped by as the horse-deer charged ahead, jumping from high cliffs and landing without breaking stride. Elm was no less impressive, moving with every motion as she stood on the stirrups. She leaned to either side as they traveled, never missing a beat laid by the mighty steed. It was extremely cool.

“I can feel the chilled wind,” Daffodil shouted over the sound of rushing wind, almost breathless. “How far are we from the lake?”

“Hard to say. It should come into view soon enough—” Rud shut up as Daffodil jumped from another cliff, sailing through the air and making Rud feel as though his stomach had dropped out his butt. “You sure can move!”

“No kidding!” Daffodil shouted back, whooping with excitement. “There! I can see it in the distance.”

Not that it was difficult to miss. The storm was now a cyclone that dominated the lake’s center. Anyone in Barlgore that missed it was blind or willfully ignorant. Daffodil navigated the treacherously rocky shore, angling for the shore. She reared upon her approach, streams of frozen breath coming from her nostrils as she stopped. Clouds of mist rose from her body, driven by the extreme cold. When the druid jumped from Daffodil’s head, he shifted back into his true form. The cold hit him immediately. Not even the cloak could hold it back.

“Oh, that’s not good,” Elm said, shaking her head. “The cold from the island has never been this bad.”

“Wanna cast a spell?” Rud asked.

“I’ll need protection, of course,” Elm said.

“Got it.”

Rud summoned Major and Dean for the job. The bear wasn’t happy about stopping whatever it was he was doing, but he came.

“Guard duty again?” Dean asked, tutting. “The jobs are getting far less interesting.”

“Come on. Giant storm? That’s pretty cool, right?”

“I guess,” Major snorted.

“Standard detection spell,” Elm said. She was already working on the magic circle. “I can see the school of magic, and perhaps the source. This will also give me a baseline to compare any future changes again.”

“Yes, those sound like good things,” Rud said, nodding. “But I’m just here for moral support.”

“Right. I’ll get started.”

The spell Elm intended to cast was more complicated than Rud had expected. She displayed an ornate array back in the grove, but it was nothing compared to this one. It wasn’t just a single magical circle, but several that had to be placed around the bank of the lake. Although he didn’t understand what was going on, he could watch, appreciating as she went to work on this spell. They were placed at each cardinal direction, and the druid was happy to follow behind on Dean as she did her work.

“That should do it,” Elm said, double-checking the last array before invoking her spell. “Now, in the event that something goes wrong, I would recommend fleeing as quickly as possible.”

“Pardon, is that a possibility?” Rud asked, feeling a sudden flash of concern rush through his body.

“With magic, that’s always a possibility,” Elm said with a heavy sigh. “Now, let’s get started.”

With a fair amount of worry in his chest, Rud watched as Elm started the first part of the ritual. This involved her placing magical objects in the center of those circles and ended with her chanting something at the westernmost one. He stood at a healthy distance, watching as arcane magic flowed from the circle. It interlaced with the other arrays in the area and joined above the massive storm. A pulse of power radiated from the storm, and the elf tutted.

“That’s significantly more power than I had expected,” Elm said, tapping her chin. “We’re dealing with a particularly nasty piece of magic here.”

“Any idea about the origin?” Rud asked.

“This is likely an old mage’s artifact or a cursed object. I can’t tell which one. One thing is for certain: I can’t hope to diminish the power alone. I’ll need some help.”

“And how hard is it going to be to get some help?” Rud asked.

“It threatens the colony, so the locals will get on board quickly, as long as I can get them moving. We shouldn’t have many problems.”

With how much the storm had grown, Rud seriously doubted that. Instead, he expected only problems from the situation. He had to remind himself that the best person for the job was currently working it and dismissed any errant thoughts that would threaten the quiet of his mind. He placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

“If you need any help from the grove, just come find us,” Rud said. “I know it’s a bit of a ride, but we’ll offer any help we can.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll still be visiting the grove,” Elm said. “Once the arrays are set up, I’ll continue my work on the labyrinth. Don’t think you can get rid of me so easily.”

It appeared as though Elm truly didn’t need any help from the grove in this matter. Rud didn’t want to admit he couldn’t handle the problem by himself, but it wouldn’t be the first time. If only he were as gifted in the arcane arts as he was with druidic magic. At least they wouldn’t need to ride through the entire grove to return to the center. The druid rode on Dean’s back as they made haste back to town. A few adventurers were passing through and yelped in surprise as a squirrel riding atop a wolf appeared out of nowhere.

“Sorry about that,” Rud muttered after shifting to his true form. He jogged over, placing his hand on the bark of the Sacred Tree. “You still kicking, Ban?”

It took a moment for the tree to respond. He felt a wave of turgid energy roll off of her, as though she was shaking off a stupor.

“What is it, my custodian?” Ban asked.

Rud didn’t waste time. He gave the tree an update on what had happened with the storm on the island. She listened attentively, humming into his mind every so often as he explained the complexities of what was going on.

“Thank you for the update. I am, unfortunately, having trouble with the labyrinth.”

“What are you trying to do?” Rud asked, folding his arms. She wasn’t one to keep secrets unless they were fun secrets.

“I’m trying to interface directly with it. If I can take any small amount of control, I can siphon vast amounts of power from the structure,” Ban said. “I’m almost there. I just need more time…”

Rud could take a hint. The tree was busy, and she didn’t have any time to deal with him. That was fine. There had been times when he had to operate autonomously for a while when she went into one of her slumbers. After a few tense moments, he let her get back to her work.

“Well, I don’t know how useful my road’s going to be now,” Rud said with a shrug, turning to Dean in search of any kind of validation.

“Your roads are fantastic,” Dean said reassuringly. “We should finish the one you’re working on to give Elm an easier path, especially if she’ll be traveling all the way from the mortal town.”

“That’s true,” Rud said. “When do you think we’ll get Mint back? It feels like we’ll be dealing with her running the labyrinth from now until eternity.”

“She’ll grow bored when she reaches the end, or a section of the labyrinth she can’t handle by herself,” Dean said. “She is a wolf who enjoys a challenge, and one has finally arisen on her doorstep. You can’t blame her for that.”

That was fair enough. Red didn’t want to think about it too much, so instead he went and inspected the tree itself.

[Ban’Tanthein]

Rank 1 Level 3 Sacred Tree

Upgrade Energy: 12%

Reserve Energy: 40%

Energy Nodule Efficiency: 90%

Upgrade:

[Thicket Travel]

[Root Spears]

Expansions:

[Mining Workshop]

[Smelting Workshop]

[Blacksmithing Workshop]

[Energy Nodules]

[Unified Grid]

[Observatory]

[Barn]

Rud added a few fragments to increase her energy. He was surprised to see that she had gained two levels since the last time he checked. This was all passive level gains from her energy cultivation. Thanks to the upgrades they had selected, she was siphoning energy from the healthy trees within the forest. Although the druid had neglected his duty to clear out some of the diseased trees recently, the amount she currently had was enough to provide some experience.

The grove was just too massive for him to clear out all of those diseased trees, so he was satisfied with the progress he had made. It was also nice to have Dean lingering around with everyone else so busy. Rud feared for his safety, especially considering a system building had been generated so close to the heart of the grove. He suspected the wolf was feeling defensive for his custodian.

“How are the goats doing?” Rub asked. “Nobody ever talks about the goats. Thought we were going to get some milk.”

“Don’t look at me, I don’t have hands,” Dean said, looking down at his forepaws. “I don’t know how I would be expected to milk them, let alone care for them.”

Rud shrugged. The goats had been an acquisition Mint made and were quite the burden until Ban selected the barn expansion. Now the goats are happily eating whatever they can find in a paddock. Yet the goats still weren’t producing a lot of milk, and the druid didn’t know what he could do about that. As long as the creatures were happy and healthy, he wouldn’t try to force anything.

“Guess we should get back to work on the road,” Rud said.

“That is an excellent idea.”

Chapter 35

Grove Reinforcement

The light sound of bats squeaking echoed through the cavernous caves. Rud held a lantern up high, slinking past the sleeping creatures as he approached the passageway through which Major had originally arrived. The musty scent of the wet cave wafted to his nostrils as he poked his head through the opening. From behind him, the bear growled.

“I’m not certain why I’m the one who needs to join you on this misadventure,” Major grumbled.

“Because you’re the one who came from the caverns,” Rud said, “you should know them better than the others, right?”

“Yes, but there were monsters down here,” Major countered, seeming less willing to join in the plan by the moment. “Can’t we just go back and have some tea? Don’t you have a road to build?”

“The road’s gonna get built when it gets built,” Rud said. “Right now, I want to figure out if this is connected to the labyrinth.”

Rud had suspected there was some connection between the labyrinth and the caverns beneath the grove when it first appeared. He had been constantly putting off exploring this place since most of the sacred beasts were busy, but there was a small amount of downtime and Major wasn’t doing anything, so he figured this was as good a time as any. He had done his chores that morning and even checked in with the other groves before concocting the scheme.

“Anyway, don’t you have darklight vision?” Major asked.

“Yes, when I’m within range of the effigy of Gug, but I suspect these go deep, and that aspect will fade away. Come on, which way should we go?”

Although he was reluctant, Major led the way into the tunnel. There was a ramped section that led deeper into the network, and once the bear got going, he seemed less reluctant to lead the druid. Fortunately, the cramped corridors didn’t last very long. After descending a few levels, it opened up, revealing caverns larger than the ones occupied by the bats. Rud took a moment to appreciate them, listening to his whistle echo off the walls.

“Now, the labyrinth should be that way, right?” he asked, pointing at one of many branching tunnels.

“Yes, but these paths have many twists,” Major said. “To go southwest, we must first go north.”

Rud put his faith in the bear and followed along. The paths were just as winding as Major had promised. The druid cast his Detect Life spell a few times as they walked, spawning a few more bats, but nothing much else. They walked for what felt like hours before anything interesting happened. They were approaching the mouth of another cramped corridor when the sound of rushing water filled their ears.

“This is a passage where I drank water from several times,” Major explained, heading out to the open room.

Rud held his lantern high, squinting against the darkness as he illuminated the slick surfaces. Every step was a treacherous one, especially as he drew closer to the waterfall. The light caught the particles of water in the air, creating wisps that cast themselves onto the ground as soon as they appeared. The water smelled fresh.

After marveling at the waterfall for some time, the duo took another passage, which brought them to a place deeper still. A chilled wind blew from deeper in the cave system, howling over them and bringing with it an unexpected scent. The druid cocked his head to the side, but Major didn’t seem to think anything of it. They pressed on for another hour before they reached the source of the scent. Rud shook his head, laughing.

“Well, that changes everything,” Rud said, offering a half-hearted shrug as he gestured to the wide-open cavern.

The cave they found themselves in was massive. The walls were painted with a fungus that produced a faint illumination. Pale green lights shone over every slick surface, but more importantly, plants grew on the far end of the cave. The druid rushed over, running his fingers along the pale leaves and looking back at the bear with a large smile on his face.

“Yes, those are quite tasty,” Major said. “Are you hungry?”

“I think you’re missing the point,” Rud said, shaking his head. “This is living plant matter within the bounds of the grove. Do you know what that means?”

“That you’re responsible for taking care of them,” Major guessed.

Rud clicked his tongue. Maybe the bear had to exist within the grove for a while longer before he understood how interconnected everything was. Instead, to display his point, he walked into the tangle of stunted plants, and a moment later appeared on the surface. He took in a sharp breath of the forest’s air and spread his arms wide to catch what little sunlight burned through the trees above. He turned and passed through the same bush, appearing down in the cave once more.

“It means we unlocked a fast travel point,” Rud said, beaming at the bear in the darkness.

“Hmm, I wonder if you could carry a potted plant and exploit the thicket travel upgrade,” Major said. “Since the system doesn’t care if the plants are surface plants or not, maybe that would work.”

“Now that’s not a bad idea,” Rud said. “But for now, we can rely on these little bushes to travel between the surface and the caverns. We won’t waste four hours walking in what feels like circles.”

“I’m less upset about this journey now,” Major said, nodding his massive head. “Come, the deeper you get, the more plentiful these plants are. We’ll have more of your ‘checkpoints’ up ahead.”

The Thicket Travel ability worked in a loose way. Rud didn’t have an interface that appeared, allowing him to select travel points. Instead, he threw himself through intuition. He imagined the place he wanted to go, and then he passed through a bush, arriving there. The only conditions he was aware of were that he had to be able to imagine the spot or a general location, and that he had to have intent. Laying eyes on the plants down in the caverns was apparently good enough to unlock them.

Both members of the expedition knew that they wouldn’t reach anywhere near the labyrinth today. It would possibly take weeks to find anything interesting, and that wasn’t even considering the idea that the labyrinth itself could have been a dimensional space. It could have absolutely no footprint in the underground, meaning that this entire exercise was useless for its purpose. But the druid had wanted to understand these caves since he had first discovered them.

They passed through several more large, open spaces that held a variety of plants. Rud held a secret hope that he would find some kind of underground tea plant, but that didn’t come true. As the hours of the day wore thin and they entered the mid-afternoon, he decided to call it quits in another underground, bush-filled room. His lantern was getting low, but it was clear that Major had spent all of his energy for the day.

The duo passed through an underground bush, arriving near Ban’s clearing a moment later. The bear let out a heavy sigh and went to rub his back against the sacred tree. He grumbled as he hit just the right spot.

Ever the busybody, Rod couldn’t sit idle. He felt his construction magic skill getting closer to rank one by the moment. So instead of taking it easy, he went to work on the road, and only an hour after starting, he was rewarded for his efforts. He had seen many system messages concerning leveling both his skills and himself, but the one that appeared before him was novel.

[Rank Up!]

You’ve performed enough actions with your Construction Magic skill to gain a new rank!

Construction Magic is now Rank 1, empowering the skill even further…

Your Construction Magic skill has reached a milestone! Please select from the following upgrades…

Gaining a rank meant that he had to select a new upgrade for the skill. The first upgrade Rud had picked for his construction magic was called Grove Weaver. That made absolutely everything about casting that school of magic easier, so long as he was within the Sacred Grove. He was presented with a list of potential upgrades and sifted through them, finding the ones that would have synergy with his existing skill. More than anything, Rud wanted access to skills that would make building stuff easier, but there were a few that fell in line with his current goals. He narrowed it down to one, eventually.

[Grove Reinforcement]

Construction Magic Upgrade

Description:

Empower structures with the energy of the sacred grove.

Effect:

Allows you to imbue structures created within a sacred grove with your mana. This will strengthen that object, so long as it remains in the grove.

On the surface, the upgrade didn’t seem like much, but it ticked a few boxes that Rud was interested in. First, it was an upgrade that was aligned with the grove, just like his Grove Weaver upgrade. And second, it would help him create stronger structures to contain things like the labyrinth. With more weird stuff like this happening, he had an interest in creating defensive structures. The last thing that made him go for the upgrade was memories of helping the mortals defend against dungeon attacks. His brambles had been incredibly effective, and this would make them doubly so.

Rud now had his first Rank 1 skill. It wasn’t anything flashy, but he was proud of it. He remembered the hours of work he had put into creating structures for the Grove, and smiled to himself as he reflected.

“What’s the point of getting a new upgrade if you don’t test it?” Rud said to himself, rubbing his hands together. He still stood on a bridge section of the road and simply couldn’t wait to put the upgrade to use.

He placed his hand on the railing and felt the upgrade respond in an instant. He knew—without knowing how he knew—he could flood that part with his mana, and he understood what it would do. Not only would it make the section of railing resistant to damage, it would increase its strength, too. Perhaps he could create more elegant buildings now…

But the mana cost required to reinforce such a large section was vast, unlike his mana pool. Without hesitating, Rud traveled through the thicket, arriving at the labyrinth’s entrance. His defenses had gone undisturbed, but somebody had left the gate to the front open. He tutted, but inspected his brambles. He placed his hand on one of the sharp spikes and infused it with mana. The tip gleamed with power as it was hardened and strengthened. Those deadly points would drive into the flesh of attacking monsters better and would be less likely to break off.

After spending a little time reinforcing his choice of spikes for the brambles, Rud felt a rush of excitement. That was the first of three skills he needed to get to rank one in order for his class to roll over. That would give him access to another ability, which he absolutely couldn’t wait to get his hands on. He felt himself pulled in several directions as he considered the best course. So, he shapeshifted into a squirrel form and headed through the nearest bramble, finding a group of deer grazing in the northwest section of the grove.

“Wussup, my deers?” Rud said, careening through the air as he landed near the herd of deer. The stag, who was in charge, assessed him and then bowed his head.

“It has been a while since you have paid us a visit,” the stag said, his head still lowered.

Rud scanned the area, finding a few nearby diseased trees. He shifted into his true form, patted the stag on the head, and got to work chomping the trees down. “I hope you guys are doing well,” he said. “Timber!”

The deer must have truly been used to the druid’s presence, as they didn’t scatter when the tree fell. It cracked through the canopy, taking a few branches with it as it fell, but still the herd remained where it was. Now that was a level of trust you couldn’t get unless you were on good terms with a group of flighty creatures like them.

“We are doing very well. Thank you, Keeper,” the stag said, finally raising its head. “May I ask what exactly you’re doing?”

Rud had already taken notice, but all creatures in the Grove were gaining some semblance of intelligence. Those who were already on the path showed greater improvement. The deer were likely the smartest wild creatures within the grove, and the druid was happy that Mint was protecting them from random wolves. The truth was, most wolves didn’t grace the grove because they weren’t allowed to hunt there. Only peaceful creatures like badgers, deer, and squirrels called the place home. And goats. But they were transplants they didn’t count.

“I have some skills I need to level up, and these trees here are diseased,” Rud explained, gesturing to the sickly looking trees on the rocky slope.

“Should we avoid eating from those trees?” the stag asked.

“While I doubt you’ll get sick, it’s probably a good idea not to eat any nuts that fall from these,” Rud explained. “If it looks sickly, just avoid it. There’s plenty of space for your herd to graze, and if you really need food, please come to the grove’s center, and I’ll provide you with as many hazelnuts as you can eat.”

“A most generous offer,” the stag said, not even flinching as another tree fell.”I have noticed groups of mortals heading to the north, and I didn’t know if it was of concern to the grove.”

“Those are just people heading up to the dwarven mountains,” Rud explained. “I wouldn’t worry about any mortals traveling through, unless you see them off the path. Were they traveling on the path?”

“The ones my herd spotted were on the road,” the stag said. “But I have heard from other groups that there were mortals off the path to the southwest.”

That was a problem Rud was working on. There were a bunch of ninjas pushing into the grove, and he didn’t know exactly who they were. From what he understood, the beings to the west were mostly orcs. He didn’t think there were any fair races, and yet he had seen them. Perhaps there was a group of barbarians or something lurking in those icy mountains. Whatever. They had been driven off, and hadn’t caused any problems since.

“Just keep your eyes open,” Rud said. “I’ll do my best to check on you and your herd more often. Until then, watch out—another tree is coming down.”

Chapter 36

Sponsored by Suckerpunch Tea

Now that things had calmed down in the grove and Jim joined the daily custodian chat, Rud felt inspired. If you thought about it, the only thing stopping the groves from being connected was him. His efforts to provide the sacred tree with enough power would be the defining action that brought them all together.

That’s the way he justified it in his mind, to work even harder.

“If you were to gain a rank,” Dean said, watching as Rud felled more trees, “perhaps you could do this quicker.”

“Do you know anything about the ranking system?” Rud asked, using his Prune spell to cut deep into the trunk of another large tree.

“I know it will make you stronger. I know that’s part of the reason why Mint is obsessed with the labyrinth,” Dean said, snorting hard enough to disturb the leaves beneath the spot where he lay, “Other than that, I don’t have access to the same ranking system.”

Of course, the wolf was right. Gaining a rank had been on Rud’s mind for a while now, and he was actively working on it. In fact, one skill had just hit rank 1, and there were only two more to go. Both were incredibly close to rolling over. It would happen any day, so long as he kept up with his practice. Holding light conversations with whatever animals would come near, and casting Growth Magic on just about everything he could see, would ensure the druid’s skills were sent to the new rank.

Chopping disease trees down was the perfect task to increase that school of magic, though. For every tree he felled, he planted a new one and grew it as far as his magic would allow him. This resulted in the clear-cutting of large swaths of the forest that were then regrown in the blink of an eye. And even though Rud’s magical senses weren’t as good as they could have been, he could feel the air clearing around those spots in the grove. Each breath he drew came with a fresh scent and the pressure had subsided.

The druid whittled away most of the day, going between chopping trees and working on the road, and he made the time pass faster when he swapped between the tasks. Before the nightly check-in at the observatory, though, an expected system message appeared.

[Rank Up!]

You’ve performed enough actions with your Growth Magic skill to gain a new rank!

Growth Magic is now Rank 1, empowering the skill even further…

Your Growth Magic skill has reached a milestone! Please select from the following upgrades…

“Huzzah!” Rud shouted… Although there was no one around to hear.

The first upgrade for Growth Magic Rud had taken was called Spiritual Infusion. That upgrade fell in line with the others. The druid had targeted it to draw on the power of the sacred tree to make his growth magic more potent. In practical terms, this meant he grew trees faster than before. Although the description talked about imbuing effects into plants, he had only seen it operate in a way to make stuff quickly sprout from seedling to fully grown plant in only a few casts.

Now he was faced with a long list of potential upgrades, and of course, he felt drawn to the ones that would make his life as a custodian easier. There might have been a path he could have taken to become some sort of combat-based druid, but ‌he was in too deep. He was a custodian through and through, and so he narrowed it down a single upgrade. At first, he had considered another upgrade… Until he found the one he eventually picked.

[Radiant Plantlife]

Growth Magic Upgrade

Description:

From the earliest stage, plants grown within the grove thrive to aid it.

Effect:

Plants grown with Growth Magic within a sacred grove you are bound to act as beacons. These plants will radiate latent energy at a much higher rate, going through stages. The first stage will release a low amount of energy, then more, and so on.

There were a few things to take away from this new upgrade. It would only affect new plants grown from a seed. That would limit its reach, but with how many trees are cut down and replanted, this ability made sense. However, it was the expanded description that really attracted him. Now, the plants he grew would put off more energy than before, which meant Ban could collect more energy. It was perfect for his purposes. Even if the upgrade worked in stages which weren’t defined by time, it would be worth it in the long run.

Rud made his way to Ban’s clearing to celebrate, starting with a poorly executed jig.

“Now that’s an upgrade I can get behind,” Ban said, her soft voice flooding through the clearing like a calming summer breeze.

“Now you’re awake again,” Rud said, striding over to the base of the tree and placing his hand upon the surface. He felt the warmth from within flood outward, filling him with a sense of renewed hope. “How are things going with the labyrinth?”

“Not as well as I would have hoped,” Ban said, producing the sound of a sigh in his mind. “I’ve successfully interfaced with it, but I’m not sure if I can draw any power from it, which, as you might have guessed, was the original intention.”

“Hey, you leave the power generation to me,” Rud said, striking a heroic pose. It seemed as though it was harder to impress the sacred tree with his poses as of late, but he supposed she had a lot on her mind. “This new upgrade should go a long way to helping with that. Also, drawing power from a labyrinth sounds dangerous.”

“Only if I’m clumsy about it,” Ban countered, “And I am anything but clumsy.”

While that was fair enough, Rud didn’t think they had enough information to make that decision. He sighed, nodding along as he considered the way the system structure that spewed monsters could harm the grove. And yet, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to the idea of meeting up with other custodians whenever he wanted. That was the dream, even if it was still fairly far away.

“What other structures or upgrades do you need to make the portal?” Rud asked.

“I can create a portal structure,” Ban said, “which isn’t as costly as you would think. Again, the biggest problem is going to be power generation, which we’re working on. But I can create the structure within a day when we’re finally ready.”

“That’s encouraging,” Rud said. “Now, does it need a connected portal in the other grove?”

“Take your trip to the Cliffs of Mog as an example,” Ban said. “When you went there, we didn’t have a permanent portal on this end, but Basil had one on his.”

“So we can send a portal to any other grove whenever we want? And the reason Basil doesn’t do it is because it costs a lot of mana?”

“That’s exactly right,” Ban said. “The energy cost is about half if the other side has a portal structure ready.”

“Sounds like we’re on track to make this thing happen,” Rud said, nodding with a smile on his face. “The other custodians suggest we could create the portal structure and begin sending supplies as they’re needed. With the way Taz is becoming an adept blacksmith, we can consider sending weapons to those that need it. I’m sure you’re aware there are other groves dealing with system-generated structures.”

“I am well aware,” Ban said. “Aware enough that I know Bent is planning something on his end, even if he won’t share with us what it is.”

If the progenitor of all the groves was getting involved, things were serious. But Rud wasn’t worried. As soon as they could send junk through the portal, he’d be giving everybody a care package of tea. Maybe that wouldn’t help them fight against monsters, but it sure would brighten their day.

The druid was satisfied with the sacred tree’s response. She had a way of looking at everything in the long term, which meant she left the day-to-day stuff to him. It wasn’t his place to worry about what would happen in a month. No, he should only be concerned with what happened tomorrow.

Rud sniffed at the air, the scent of burning wood and cooking meat gracing his nostrils. “Taz is making food again,” Rud said, scrunching up his face. “Why is he cooking every night?”

“His freezer is full,” Ban said with a giggle. “Any new meat brought by the sacred beasts needs to be cooked right away, or it will spoil.”

Rud had trouble containing his laughter. “Yeah, that was something the dwarf would do.”

The sacred tree had a few more things she wanted to talk about, but it was mostly about the diseased trees in the grove. Although Rud had been doing a good job, there were still many more that needed to be replaced. She also wanted him to step up to deal with the various forest creatures. With Mint too busy with the labyrinth, the care of those animals fell to him. It wouldn’t be as big a deal now that he had the barn building from the tree. The Animal Tracking upgrade would allow him to detect where any animal within the grove was. It included a small snippet about their current health.

The menu served at the longhouse might not have been varied, but Rud appreciated the freshly grilled meat that Taz had prepared. Unfortunately, there weren’t any new adventurers in the grove today. He could vaguely sense some traveling on the road, but his connection with the grove still wasn’t keen enough for him to make out any details. Unlike the sacred beasts, he mostly relied on abilities and skills to do his job. Mint could tell them exactly how many people were on the road, what they looked like, and even, to an extent, what their intent was.

It took the wolf quite a while to arrive at the longhouse. Mint entered, her shoulders slumped as she was in her human form. She waddled over to the table and sat down before once again pressing her forehead into the wooden surface. “The labyrinth is hard,” she said after a long pause.

“I’m not sure if anybody ever said it was easy,” Taz said with a booming laugh. He stopped when Mint’s head shot up.

“Good thing we have had no monster attacks, otherwise we would have been in trouble,” Rud said with a laugh.

“Yes, that is a splendid thing,” Mint said, missing his sarcasm entirely. “The labyrinth is, well, it’s a labyrinth. It’s a maze with more twists and turns than I could have imagined.”

“Oh!” Rud shouted, clapping his hands together. “I almost forgot to tell you guys, but I found some bushes underground. I can use Thicket Travel from above ground and head all the way down there. It’s going to be very helpful when Major and I continue exploring the caves.”

“You guys are exploring the caves and you didn’t invite me?” Taz said, slamming his fists on the table.

“There are monsters down there,” Rud said in a flat tone.

“Oh, carry on then.” Taz said.

Like Rud, Taz was a non-combatant. He still had said almost nothing about his old life, but the druid was certain the man did no adventuring, and that wasn’t a bad thing. The grove only needed so many well-trained fighters. The infrastructure was too important, and Taz had taken the duties of blacksmith off of Rud’s shoulders, which was a great relief.

That left more time to grow and brew tea.

And that was the exact moment Rud realized something interesting about his newest upgrade.

How would Spiritual Infusion and Radiant Plantlife interact with each other? It might mean ripping all the current tea plants out of the ground and growing them once again, but Rud was willing to do so if his newest upgrade made his teas even more potent. When he got to thinking about helping the other groves, he could only fall back on what he was good at, and if that meant brewing specialized teas that would help them fight and defend their homes, he was happy to do it. He just needed to get to work on some new, empowered blends.

“I’m going to redesign the tea farm,” Rud announced, allowing his thoughts to settle before making the declaration. He had to explain his newest upgrade and the need to start over again with the farm, not that that would be a bad thing. The farm’s current location wasn’t ideal, even if he had to evict some badgers to make it happen.

“So long as you don’t stop production!” Taz said, his hearty laugh returning. “I can’t get up in the morning without a cup of Suckerpunch!”

“Please do go on,” Rud said, batting his eyelashes at the dwarf. And the dwarf did go on at length about how much he enjoyed drinking the tea. He claimed he had skipped his daily tea one day and dragged booty around the grove in a stupor. While the druid doubted that was the whole truth, he fanned himself the entire time.

“I see great potential in the teas,” Mint said. Some of her vigor returned as she ate the meat prepared by Taz.

“I think a lot about tea,” Rud said with a shrug. “They’re powerful because those plants grew within the grove, right?”

“That’s a decent theory,” Mint said with a shrug. “All plant life within the grove is stronger than those outside.”

And those plants would only get stronger when Rud hit them with his newest upgrade. He rubbed his hands together as he planned the new tea farm in his mind. Using his automated watering system was absolutely the best path forward. Then he could cross another chore off his list. Now, all he needed was a good place to build it…

“So, anyone up for a big project?” Rud asked, beaming at those gathered around the table.

Mint, Major, Taz, and Dean all averted their gazes.

“Oh, boy! I love projects,” Sarya said, wagging her tail. “When do we start?”