Gladesbale Grove Book 2 - Chapters 49,50,51 (Patreon)

Chapter 49 Hunting for Dungeons A foreign willpower hit Rud like a truck. Once the message flashed up, he felt the strain of the dungeon’s s

Chapter 49 Hunting for Dungeons A foreign willpower hit Rud like a truck. Once the message flashed up, he felt the strain of the dungeon’s s

Chapter 49

Hunting for Dungeons

A foreign willpower hit Rud like a truck. Once the message flashed up, he felt the strain of the dungeon’s soul pressing against his mind. It was like holding back a truck with his pinky at first. Then something else joined him, bolstering his efforts with an iron will. The world around the druid was a rush of muffled sounds and blurred sights until that supporting effort of an unknown force came swooping in.

It took him too long to realize it was both the guardian and heart of his grove.

“Hold fast, Rud.” Nulsa’s voice washed over him once the fuzzy sound in his ears faded. “Don’t let the dungeon beat you.”

“What’s going on?” Rud asked, his knees buckling.

“We don’t know,” Mint said. When had Mint arrived?

“Be strong, custodian,” Dean said.

“Yeah, do the thing!” Sarya said.

Major grumbled and Taz yawned.

Rud didn’t know when it had happened, but the entire grove had come out to support him. The weight of the dungeon’s enormous power seemed lessened. While it did its best to crush down on him, his soul pushed back. Something flitted through the edges of the druid’s consciousness, but didn’t encroach. Instead, the combined might of Gladesbale Grove battered the dungeon down. Soon it faltered, flagged, and fell until that opposing will was nothing more than a fading wisp.

Sagging to the ground, Rud finally let out a breath. And a message appeared.

[Kobold Dungeon Soul Absorbed]

Your [Custodian’s Twig] has absorbed a dungeon within Gladesbale Grove’s borders. This artifact has gained +1 Strength, +1 Mind. 

The [Kobold Dungeon] has been destroyed.

The sound of stone dragging against stone issued from the crumbling dungeon portal. Rud looked up with a hooded gaze, his mind unable to track what had just happened. The entire grove watched as the dungeon collapsed into the ground, the twisting portal in the center sucking in on itself until it blinked away with a snap. A long silence settled in over the rocky base of the cliff, punctuated only by staggered gasps drawn by the druid himself.

“Well, that was super-duper cool,” Sarya said, sticking her butt in the air and growling. “Do it again.”

“I don’t think he should do that again anytime soon,” Ban said, putting an end to the excited wolf’s fun.

“Perhaps you won’t be such a pushover forever.” Mint shifted into her human form, clapping a hand on Rud’s shoulder and laughing. “What does it mean to absorb a dungeon’s soul?”

“I dunno.” Rud shrugged. He didn’t know enough about how dungeons worked to tell them the truth. Something about his weapon had drawn in the power stored within the dungeon. Since dungeons were accumulations of magical power, it made sense on a conceptual level… But he simply didn’t know enough about them to give an honest opinion. “I don’t think that’s what you intended, Nulsa.”

“Not at all.” The owl sailed from the branch of a tree, landing on Major’s head and hooting. “This wasn’t the outcome I expected. I thought the staff responded to the power of the grove… Instead, it was the power of a dungeon interacting with the grove. Interesting.”

“We could theorize about this all day. I suppose we know who should deal with the dungeons from now on,” Ban said.

As long as they were within the borders of the grove. Rud didn’t think the staff would work otherwise. And those dungeons had to be weakened. This meant he still needed the adventurers to do half the job. From what he understood, they could use some technique to destroy the dungeon from within. Perhaps this was an example where the dungeon was too strong for them to take it out in one go. No matter. It was now officially dealt with.

“Get this man some more dungeons!” Sarya shouted.

“There are none within the borders.”

“Except we didn’t detect that one,” Mint corrected.

Ban went silent as the group realized the frightening truth about that. Everyone who had gathered turned slowly, looking at Rud with expectations.

“Well, you found the first one, right?” Mint raised a brow as she gazed at the druid.

“Would you look at the time?” Rud asked, stretching and yawning. “Getting mighty late.”

“It isn’t even mid-morning! Find more dungeons! Become powerful!” Mint grabbed Rud by the shoulders and shook him. “More powerful than anyone could imagine.”

The forest spirits were very excited, but there was a lot to consider with this new power. One of those last statements really affected him, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Rud had always been impressed by Ban’s ability to sniff out things within the grove, but the dungeons were sneaky. They often shrouded themselves from her sight, relying on his ability to use the observatory to find them. But the one he just destroyed hadn’t even shown up in his magical sight. Those dungeons he had marked for a good smacking had been damaged by the adventurers.

His new staff could sniff them out better than anyone else. Perhaps that was simply another duty he had to add to his long list of chores each day. He wouldn’t complain, though. It would keep the grove safer if he could take care of the dungeons before they became a problem. He remembered back to the Construct Dungeon that had brought terror to his home.

The chatter among the forest spirits was becoming overwhelming. Rud closed his eyes, trying to shut them out for a moment before he finally yelled.

“Okay, I get it! The staff is really cool!” Rud drew deep breaths, looking at the surprised expression on all the faces around him. “And we’re gonna do cool stuff with it. But everyone chill out.”

“Mastery over the staff will take time,” Nulsa said, bringing a voice of reason to the rabble. “It’s best if we leave him alone to do what he normally does, rather than pestering him the way we are currently doing.”

“Yeah, everyone calm down,” Mint said, as though she hadn’t just been freaking out five seconds ago. “Give the man some space.”

Rud wouldn’t say anything about it, though. He was happy that peace had returned to the grove, if only for a few minutes. Everyone had a theory about the best way to use the staff and how to grow it. But Rud didn’t really care about that right now. Throughout the entire tumult of shouting spirits, there had been an aggravating point. Ban wasn’t freaking out about it. If anything, she exuded the energy of someone slightly amused by such a shrieking arrangement of forced spirits.

Eventually, the spirits dispersed when they learned Rud wouldn’t be performing party tricks for them to watch. Only when it was him and Nulsa did he turn his attention back to the staff’s dungeon-finding powers. As always, the owl was a constant rock in the druid’s life. He was calm no matter what.

“It isn’t actually that hard to use,” Rud said, closing his eyes and focusing on a strand of energy. He felt it stretch into the distance, wrapping to the west. Although he couldn’t tell how far it was, he could sense that there was a dungeon in that direction.

“Of course not, but you don’t want to traipse through the woods with three wolves, a bear, and a dwarf,” Nulsa said with a chuckling hoot.

“Right now, we need to mark where the dungeons are and send that information to the adventurers,” Rud said. “Once they weaken the dungeons, we can absorb their power. But how about we go check one out to see if we get an error message for trying to absorb a full-strength dungeon?”

“An excellent plan.”

Rud didn’t use Thicket Travel to find the dungeon. He feared he would lose track of it. Shifting into different forms didn’t impede the power of the staff, though. It might have transformed into an artifact staff, but it was still soulbound to him, which meant he was effectively still holding it as he glided through the air in his squirrel form. He plucked at that thread of energy, jumping from tree to tree, until he saw it down below in a gully near the southwestern side of the grove. It was within their borders.

“Ban missed that one too, didn’t she?” Rud asked, clinging to the side of a tree. He craned his little squirrel neck, spotting the collection of rocks down below. Unsurprisingly, there was a gathering of small green creatures before the dungeon’s entrance. Monsters.

“I’ve made note of this dungeon’s location,” Nulsa said. “Do you detect anymore?”

Rud had many questions about how this power worked and how he had missed these dungeons from his observatory, but Nulsa was right. They should get to work. The sooner he could assemble a team of adventurers to weaken the dungeons, the sooner he could absorb more power. Not only would he grow stronger, but he would also keep the grove safe, which was his responsibility.

Instead of worrying too much about it, he went on a little adventure with the Owl. They flew through the grove, discovering different dungeons. By the time noon rolled around, the druid was getting exhausted. They had already spotted ten hidden dungeons that absolutely no one was aware of, and there didn’t seem to be an end in sight. If there were so many dungeons springing up, how had they missed them? Even without considering magical senses, wouldn’t the sacred beasts have stumbled upon them?

“The grove is vast,” Nulsa said, answering Rud’s concerns before he could even express them. “To cover the entire area would be difficult. But I’m afraid you should rest.”

“Yeah, using the staff to find these dungeons is taking something out of me,” Rud said, letting out a small, squirrel-sized sigh. “Maybe it’s time for some tea.”

True to his word, Rud made his way to the longhouse and put on a cup of tea. It didn’t escape his notice that Nulsa wanted to be near him, perhaps due to his protective nature or his curiosity about the operation of the staff. When he heard a familiar voice outside, he poured himself a cup of tea and rushed out as quickly as he could.

“Daffodil!” Rud shouted, skipping over to the deer-horse and patting it on the head. “Where’s your mommy?”

“Oh, she’s just talking to that wolf,” Daffodil said, sputtering. “They’re coordinating their efforts to assail the labyrinth, if you can believe it.”

“Well, that sounds like a good thing,” Rud said, petting the creature on the head. “How have you two been doing? Is the ice problem under control?”

“Are you talking about the island Mommy has been fussing over?” Daffodil asked. “I suppose she’s done. She rode me here earlier, so I guess she’s finished. She left quite a few mages behind, though.”

“Good to hear,” Rud said, placing his staff in his bag. He wasn’t ready to show her the item yet. How would a studied mage like her respond if she saw such a powerful artifact in his possession? It was hard to say.

Once Rud was done chatting with Daffodil, he ran off to find Dean. As expected, the sacred beasts weren’t getting much done today. The excitement over what had happened still rippled through the grove, and it wouldn’t subside anytime soon.

“Care to go for a ride?” Rud asked, patting the great beast on the side.

“Is there much else to do?” Dean asked. “Everyone wishes to gossip rather than take care of their responsibilities. Are we headed into town?”

Rud could have written a note to Feather, but he wanted to deliver the news personally instead. Not only would this give him experience for his subcore, but he could also convey it more effectively in person. Since he wanted the dungeons weakened as soon as possible, he needed to make a good impression.

The duo left the heart of the grove shortly after, leaving behind whatever scuttlebutt was spreading through the ranks. It was entertaining to watch everyone lose their minds over something so significant. But outside the forest, the world was different. The ice island had not changed at all. The guards at the gate of the town simply nodded and granted them passage within.

Rud found Feather in the southern part of town, on the same rise that the leader always seemed to occupy. Once again, the scent of the sea entered his nose, stinging it slightly as he was unaccustomed to it.

“You always bring something interesting to my doorstep when you visit,” Feather said, turning and offering a weak smile. “Yet, sometimes that news is grim. As grim as I see it painted on your face now.”

“You’re very perceptive,” Rud said, nodding with approval. “I’ve found a few dungeons I need some help with, but not the standard kind of help.”

“A few dungeons?” Feather asked, raising an eyebrow. “We’ve been clearing about two a week. How many is a few?”

Rud withdrew a sheet of paper from his bag and looked it over. “We’ve got about twelve,” he said.

Feather choked on his spit. “Twelve dungeons? Where did those come from? I’ll call the guard right away.”

“Just your normal adventurers are fine,” Rud said. “I think these are very young dungeons, but I’ve just discovered a way to detect them if they’re within the boundary of the grove. Also, I don’t want you to destroy the dungeons. Just weaken them. And now I’m realizing I don’t know exactly how you guys destroy dungeons.”

“We can do that… Although, that’s an odd request,” Feather said, narrowing his eyes at the druid. “We destroy the dungeons by overloading the cores with mana. If we don’t have a mage, we instead bash it with something heavy.”

“Really?” Rud asked. “That’s all you guys do? Smack it around a bit?”

“Well, we use calculated smacks, but… Yeah,” Feather said. “A damaged dungeon core will spawn fewer monsters, and prevent it from leveling up. While destroying it is mostly impossible without a mage, this technique buys us time until a team of mages can move in.”

“Okay. Can you do that for these dungeons?” Rud asked, holding his slip of paper out.

“Not sure if my people will know where ‘right near that rock that looks like a butt’ is,” Feather grumbled.

“The butt rock?” a nearby adventurer asked. “We know the butt rock.”

Feather turned, giving his people a flat look. “I stand corrected. If you only need them damaged, it won’t take long. These people are itching to get out there and gain some experience.”

A ripple of excitement spread through the adventurers nearby. Rud realized if he could feed them the locations of dungeons they couldn’t find, the adventurers would benefit greatly. There was one problem, though.

“These dungeons are within the grove,” Rud warned. “So when you send your people, make sure they understand how dangerous it can be. Stick to the forest’s edge, or they could go… kinda insane.”

“‘Kinda’ insane?” Feather asked, rubbing his face. “Okay. We’ll be careful.”

Chapter 50

Has He Died?

Keeping the visiting adventurers from going bananas was only a matter of making sure they understood the rules. Mortals entering the grove wouldn’t lose their way or their minds immediately. It took a few days, depending on the willpower of the person entering the forest. Anticipating the way information flowed down from Feather, the druid made his way to the forest’s edge and waited.

It didn’t take long for the adventurers to arrive.

“Wow, you were right,” Nulsa said. “They’re eager to tackle the dungeons.”

“Yeah, they’re little fiends for experience and items,” Rud said, laughing as he watched a group of humans approaching. “Hello, folks! Got a few ground rules for you. If you could share them with all your adventuring friends, that’d be great.”

The adventurers shared a look, eventually shrugging and settling in to listen to Rud’s rules. They were simple enough to follow. Unless it was made on the road itself, no one should camp within the grove. Trips within the forest should be kept brief, lasting no more than a few hours. He also impressed the importance of respecting animals and plants while within their borders, otherwise the Sacred Beasts would get real mad.

“And that’s about it,” Rud said, clapping his hands together when he was done speaking. “Oh, last thing. Have fun! Experience is awesome, right!?”

That got a hearty cheer from the adventurers. As expected, they were interested in getting as much experience as possible while they were there. The appearance of so many random dungeons would represent a boom for those people. They were often cloistered in Barlgore, waiting for Feather to give them orders to head out. Now they had a ton of dungeons on their doorstep.

The grove was funny like that. Taking a trip through the forest would take forever, since the landscape didn’t lend itself to travel. The road fixed that problem within the grove if one were traveling in a straight line. But the road the adventurers took to get to the dungeons today ran south along the grove, outside of its influence. Here the landscape was even, with few tricks to trip up a tired traveler.

“Look at them go,” Nulsa said. “They arrived quickly, too. What was that? Four hours?”

“That group had mounts,” Rud pointed out. “And the road they used is nice and smooth, even if they only have a dirt road.”

“I didn’t notice the horses,” Nulsa said, rotating his head a bit too far.

“Yeah, cause you can’t hear them screaming about oats… Like, seriously… You think they would scream about anything else. I’m turning off Clear Communication.”

The sound of the horses screaming in the distance faded into the sound of whinnying.

Rud felt a faint tingle in his mind as a member of the grove approached. Taz stepped from a bush in the distance, dusting his hands off and sauntering over. “So, I’ve got a problem.”

“Another problem?” Rud asked with a smile. He clapped a hand on the dwarf’s shoulder when he had finally crossed the distance.

“Well, this is your problem more than mine,” Taz said with a scoff. “Too much milk! I’ve got buckets and barrels of the stuff taking up space. I need room for my meat, Rud.”

“Ah, crap,” Rud said, his brows knitting. “Uh… Got any options?”

“Two. Ya gotta make cheese or ya gotta help me expand the storage area,” Taz said. “I can’t do any mining down there unless you get those bats outta there.”

It had been a while since Rud had assumed the Aspect of Gug to do some mining. He had recently gained one point in Strength thanks to his staff. It wasn’t a lot, but it would help a lot more than no points in Strength.

“Let’s do some mining,” Rud said. “My mining skill isn’t terrible.”

“Yeah, and I made some new picks,” Taz said, jerking his head back toward the grove. “Let’s go.”

Nulsa departed there, leaving Taz and Rud to it. Traveling through the thicket, Rud accepted the Aspect of Gug before joining the dwarf in the mine. He was handed a pickaxe, and he activated his Clear Communication upgrade once again. As expected, the bats were silent for now.

“Sorry, guys,” Rud said, wincing as the bats stirred. “We’re going to do some mining.”

“For what?” one bat asked.

Rud’s new upgrade, Understanding, was already doing work. They didn’t shriek at him, confused why he was there. He told them he was going to be doing something, and instead of freaking out they had at least some understanding that he wanted to accomplish his own goals without disturbing them too much.

“We’re expanding our cold storage area,” Rud said, gesturing back toward Taz’s freezer. “It will be noisy, but you won’t be harmed.”

“Loud? Loud is fine,” another bat said.

“We can deal with loud things. Thank you for the warning, spirit.”

Rud turned to Taz, giving him the thumbs-up. “Hey, that worked really well. Also, are those new bats?”

“How can you tell?” Taz asked, scratching his beard. “They all look like bats to me.”

Rud looked back to the bats, raising an eyebrow. That was a good question. The bats looked distinct enough to him, and he didn’t see some bats he had seen before. But when he went to ask them where the others had gone, he saw they were all asleep yet again. Better not to disturb them, especially since they were cool with them doing some loud work in the cave.

“Best not to ask,” Rud said. “So, do we have a plan?”

“We’re going to expand the room,” Taz said. “So, we need to drag all that stuff out and smack away. I’d like to double the size of the room, if not more. Our current needs exceed our storage capacity.”

That made enough sense, and Rud didn’t want to question it. This was Taz’s area, and he would do whatever the dwarf wanted. They started by moving all the preserved meat from inside the impossibly cold freezer, placing them on tables the dwarf had arranged outside. Then Taz stood in the freezer, stroking his beard as he planned the job out in his head.

“We’ll take this down a level, angled to the south. Then go to either side. That should get us some more cold,” Taz said. “The milk can freeze, right?”

“The milk is magical,” Rud said, hoisting his pickaxe. “It can survive. Show me where to dig.”

In truth, Taz was far more skilled at digging than Rud. However, many hands make light work, and the duo got to it. They started by cutting out a rough design for the expansion heading south. The druid's job was mostly to shovel and carry the stones outside of the room. Since it was a big job, he called for reinforcements.

“Cart-dog ready for action!” Sarya said, skidding across the floor as she entered the wide cavern in the mine.

Rud scratched the eager wolf behind the ear, smiling to himself as he looked at the excitement on her face. Not only was she a hard worker, but she was also powerful. He knew he could load her cart with a ton of rubble, and she would take it away without a problem.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Rud said, leading her into the freezer and gesturing to the pile of rocks. “We've got to clear these rocks. Unfortunately, Taz is working like a machine, and I can't keep up.”

“Let’s do it!” Sarya shouted, growling at the pile of rocks.

Taz had made all new tools for the job. Rud often had to enchant the ingots produced by the smelter, but he knew little about what the dwarf did with them after that. He thought he was just creating tools to gain experience and a hope of evolving his class into something more related to blacksmithing. However, he had apparently been focused on creating useful tools. The shovel was of very fine quality and even had a system message when inspected. Between loads, when Sarya was off dumping a bunch of rocks in a random spot in the grove, the druid inspected his shovel.

[Spirit Iron Shovel]

Epic

Description:

A Spirit Iron Shovel, infused with the power of Gladesbale Grove. This shovel holds the signature of Ban’tanthein, an industrious sacred tree, and Mint, her guardian.

Aspect Effect (Mint and Ban’tanthein):

The durability of this tool has increased significantly.

Items held in this should feel lighter, and using this tool incurs less fatigue on the user.

Using the ingots enchanted with the power of the grove always produced better items, and Rud was happy to see that the shovel was no different. When Sarya returned, he scraped it against the ground, hoisting a load that would have thrown his back out. However, as he deposited it into the wooden cart, he felt as though it was barely more than the weight of the shovel itself.

"We've got a vein of something nice back here," Taz said, running his fingers along the stone before him. He had already etched out the first three of five stairs. It was a span of about five feet from side to side and took the storage room down another five feet. Soon, he would start working on the extra storage area, but the temperature had decreased significantly within the room.

“Do you know what kind of metal it is?” Rud asked, trying to use the senses granted to him by Gug, but coming up short.

"It might be mana crystals," Taz said, shaking his head. "It's too hard to tell. Whatever it is, the material is extremely reactive toward magic. That reminds me of something. I've got some gemstones. I wonder if we can do anything with those."

"You’re the prospector," Rud said with a shrug. "I thought you had uses for those."

"Mostly, it's trade material. We need to really make something interesting for anyone to buy it. Anyway, we're doing well. If we keep it up, I bet we'll be done before dusk."

Not that either of them could tell what time of day it was. There was no sunlight filtering into the cavern; they were simply too deep. The shape of the stairwell came quicker than the druid thought it would. Before long, they were shaping the downstairs storage area. Taz seemed to enter some sort of dwarven trance, smacking his pick against the wall without a break. Sarya and Rud couldn't keep up with his frantic pace. He shoveled loads of stone into the cart, only for more rubble to appear on the ground.

The sound of the bats flitting through the cave barely registered as Rud did his best to keep up. Night was falling outside if those creatures were anything to go by, and they had had no food. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the dwarf to cease his constant smacking. So he just rolled with it. Better to get the job done in a day rather than drag it out.

When the full shape of the new storage area was completed, Taz sagged to the side. Rud barely caught him before he hit his hard dwarven head against the stone floor. They had more than doubled their storage space. It was four or five times larger than before. He wasn't certain if they had enough tables and shelves to serve as storage racks, but the job was done.

"Just take a little nappy-poo here," Rud said, laying the dwarf down and turning his attention to the few piles of stone that remained. Sarya was still willing to continue her transport efforts, so they completed the job before turning their attention back to the unconscious dwarf.

“Has he died?” Sarya asked.

“Not likely,” Rud said, grunting as he did his best to pull the dwarf into a fireman’s carry. He failed, deciding to instead drag him up the stairs under the arms. It took great effort, but he dumped him in the wooden cart and dusted his hands off. With a sigh, the druid looked to Sarya. “Now come on. Let’s get the meat back before it thaws.”

“Right!”

Taz still insisted on living in the mine, but Rud wasn't comfortable leaving him there. After they transported the meat, he guided the wolf through the twisting tunnels, finally emerging into the nighttime of Gladesbale Grove. Smoke rose in the distance from the longhouse and the trio soon traveled through the thicket to arrive just outside of it. Several adventurers had taken up residence in the longhouse and were singing a merry tune. One of them played a lute-like instrument while another other banged on a drum. They all stopped as the party entered.

“No need to stop!” Rud shouted, clapping out the old beat they were playing. “Just a dwarf who can’t hold his grog!”

The adventurers cheered, resuming the jaunty melody.

Rud got Taz near the fire, laying him on an animal skin he found nearby. The dwarf wasn’t disturbed from his slumber, but he didn’t seem to get worse. Which meant he was fine. Probably.

Good thing Taz alway had a pot of perpetual stew on, because the visiting mortals were tearing into it. Rud watched as they spooned bowl after bowl of the stuff, sucking it down like it was their last meal. The latest incarnation of the stew had mushrooms bobbing here and there, so Rud got himself a bowl. Mushrooms always reminded him of when he had first arrived in the grove, and those that grew in the rotting trees of the forest had an intense woody flavor that paired well with the stew.

When an hour passed and the dwarf still hadn’t risen, Rud brewed a pot of tea. The adventurers went crazy for the tea, so he poured them each a cup.

“Someone help me force-feed him some tea,” Rud said, kneeling next to the dwarf. A brave adventurer volunteered, helping to prop Taz’s head up. They poured hot tea in his mouth, which made him sputter and sit bolt-upright.

“Where’s the fight!” Taz shouted. “Protect the mountain homes!”

“You’re fine buddy,” Rud said, patting the agitated dwarf on the head. “You just passed out in the mine.”

“I… what?” Taz asked. “Bah! I was possessed by the spirit of the mountain again. Last time that happened I ended up… Nevermind. Wait, did you feed me tea? At this hour!? Do you know how late I’m gonna be up!? And that stuff gives me the poops!”

“I did what I had to do,” Rud said, chuckling. “Now come on. You can play the drums, right?”

Taz grumbled for a moment. “Yeah, where are they at?”

Chapter 51

The Secret Potential of Cheese

Rud knew there was some magical nonsense happening with his attributes. His higher-than-normal Vigor attribute meant he needed less sleep. Yet he still slept as though he were a bear getting ready for hibernation. Falling asleep at dusk and waking at dawn made little sense for a man who realistically only needed 4 to 5 hours. Yet that was one great comfort he enjoyed within the grove. Unlike back on Earth, he didn’t really need to get up so early. He could sleep in, so long as his chores got done.

But the druid put his heightened attributes to the test after feeding Taz the tea. Once the dwarf got ahold of those drums, he wouldn’t let them go. A bard he was not, but that didn’t stop the adventurers from singing, dancing and playing their instruments along with the sound of that drum. There was much revelry. And dancing. Singing of the songs and so forth. But when midnight rolled around—notable for the two ruined moons in the sky and Mint’s complaints about the noise—they had called it a night.

Rud stretched on his front porch, a cup of strong tea in his hand and a rested mind. He had slept little, yet it didn’t matter. Likely a combination of his increased attributes and the ‌restorative effects of the grove, he was ready to tackle the day… And the flavor of the day was cheese.

“You’re gonna fill up my store room if you don’t get to work,” Taz warned, standing with his hands on his hips before the mushroom house. “And I was promised cheese, little druid.”

“I’m taller than you.”

“Ya think so!? Wait until I get my axe in your knees,” Taz grumbled. “We’ll see after that.”

“Do you own an axe?”

“I own a blacksmith’s workshop!”

Taz had a point, though. Rud could no longer pretend like he had better things to do. It was time to make some serious cheese. He had only put it off because of the complexities of cheese. He didn’t just want the one type of cheese, but a bunch that held different effects. Strength cheese, Affinity cheese, cheese that could make a man fly, and so on. Unlocking the secret potential of cheese required experimentation. At least he had a lot of milk to work with.

“After I make my morning report, that’s the first thing I’ll do,” Rud promised.

Taz might have had an interest in consuming cheese, but he was less interested in making it. For now, Rud made his way to the observatory to do his morning report. Compared to the nighttime report, the morning one wasn’t as important. The magical energies didn’t seem to change much, and a light drizzle he had predicted had already passed through the grove. Although Jim was missing from the radio in the morning, Maria was there. The druid chatted with her for a while, spending a bit too much time on the radio. As he spoke to her, he planned the upgrading of his Creamery. It was at rank 1, level 1, which meant he could get some decent upgrades if he spent some of their stored Dungeon Core Fragments.

“While it was nice talking to you, I have to deal with some dwarven outsiders,” Maria said. “They’re apparently adventurers, but we’ll see…”

“Good luck!”

Rud made his way to the Creamery and stood outside the building. The building itself had been a surprise. He thought it would be a non-magical version, but Ban had enough spare energy to incorporate this within the grove. It was a feat he didn’t know she could pull off, but then again, he wouldn’t complain. The upgrades these things received were incredible, and he was eager to see the first three options it would provide based on his current amount of cores stored. He could comfortably bring it to rank one. As he thought about it, he realized he could likely bring all their other buildings up to that rank.

The druid didn’t waste time. He added cores to the building and watched as it progressed. Magic swirled around the tangle of trees, infusing it with more of the grove’s energy. Before long, it hit level 5, and the upgrade options appeared. Rud rubbed his hands together as he went through them. This time, Ban’s guiding voice wasn’t there. He had to pick them on his own.

[Hot Stuff Coming Through]

Creamery Upgrade

Description:

Any cookware used within the Creamery will maintain a temperature for longer.

Effect:

Heat loss within all cookware is reduced significantly.

Although the name of the upgrade was humorous, Rud didn’t feel it represented his best option, even before he reviewed the two others. Maintaining the temperature on the wood-burning stoves wasn’t that hard, although perhaps this was something that would become incredibly useful as he progressed through the tiers of cheese. For now, he dismissed the option and moved on to the next.

[Cheeses For Days]

Creamery Upgrade

Description:

Creating variations on standard cheese is hard. Not any more! Introducing the Cheeses For Days upgrade! With this one-stop-shop upgrade, you’ll have a sense for what kind of cheese you’re making. It slices, it dices, it makes cheese!

Order now by calling 1-800-CHEEEEEEEEEEZE

Effect:

You gain an innate sense for what makes cheese different while creating it.

Unless the next option is earth-shattering, this was the one Rud will go with. Currently, he didn’t know what made cheese different from the others, so this would be perfect. He was also certain the 1-800 number wouldn’t work, as it had too many ‘E’s in ‘cheeze’, but it wasn’t as though he had a phone to test it. He would consider this one the prime candidate for now.

[Potent Bacteria]

Creamery Upgrade

Description:

Bacterial cultures you introduce to cheese are more potent. You need less of it to get the job done.

Effect:

Cultures used to start your cheese are significantly more effective, meaning you need to use less to create cheese.

This upgrade was actually really good. Rud bit his lip as he read through it. The first stage of making cheese was heating the milk and adding a bacterial culture. This would mean he needed to buy less from town, and he wasn’t certain how much the town had in stock. If he started mass-producing cheese, he could run out. But the Cheeses For Days upgrade was still too tempting. If the next available upgrade for the Creamery wasn’t great, he would come back and select potent bacteria.

With the Cheeses for Days upgrade selected, he went back to shoving fragments into the building. Even now, he could feel that the structure was more potent. Cheesemaking actions within would be more successful thanks to the power of the grove. He couldn’t wait to make his first batch. Of course, that first batch would be massive considering the amount of milk they had on hand. If he didn’t get to work, it would all go bad.

Magic swirled around the building as the Creamery ascended to the first rank. The perceived power of cheesemaking actions within the building made Rud feel a weight in his chest that doubled, and the new upgrade appeared alongside those he had yet to select. He read through the newest upgrade and set his jaw. This would be a difficult decision.

[Supreme Grove Cheese]

Creamer Upgrade

Description:

Drawing on the power of Gladesbale Grove, you can empower your cheese even more!

Effect:

Magical effects applied to cheeses produced here are more potent.

Rud had two thoughts here. He normally jumped at any upgrade spell or ability that was tied directly to the Grove. However, his lack of cheese-making cultures gave him pause, but it was only for a moment. The concept of creating cheeses that were more potent than they should have been was too tempting. While he hoped to simply barter for those cultures, he could also explore another path to create them himself, even if he had no idea where to start.

Rud selected the Supreme Grove Cheese upgrade.

As if summoned by thought, Taz appeared a few moments later. He held jugs of cow’s milk, hoisting them over his shoulder and climbing into the creamery without prompting. He placed them by the wood-burning stoves and left without a single word, leaving Rud feeling confused and slightly warm and fuzzy on the inside. The druid resisted the urge to clap in appreciation as the dwarf passed through a bush, no doubt heading back to the mine to get more milk.

Rud wasted no time. He fired up the wood-burning stoves and prepared four copper pots to start. He didn’t think he could handle more than four batches at once, so that’s where he began. It didn’t take long for the creamery to warm up. It wasn’t exactly a chilly day outside, but the gray clouds overhead prevented the sun from warming everything up. So, the rush of warmth was appreciated.

Taz returned once more with two large containers of milk. He set them down and folded his arms as he watched the wood-burning stoves heat up.

“So this is kind of weird,” Rud said, rubbing his chin. “For all my other buildings, I get an effigy outside of a forest spirit. But which spirit do you think would be the aspect that made cheese?”

“Well, the Salamander Spirit runs the smelter in the blacksmith. Do you think it could be that one?” Taz asked.

“Maybe, but only if the salamander reigns over all crafting. Cooking seems different.”

“What about the River Spirit?” Taz asked.

The River Spirit, creatively named River, was primarily associated with healing aspects. However, Rud could see that working. There were also a few spirits he hadn’t seen represented in the grove yet, and he was excited to be introduced to them.

“I may have missed a detail about your new building,” Ban said, her voice flooding through the creamery. She wasn’t using her telepathic communication; instead, she was speaking with her true voice. “I want to hear you continue to guess, though.”

Rud cupped his chin in his hand and thought about it. From memory, he could recall a few of the spirits: Mint, Harg, Basil, Aegael, River, Gug, and Bent. But that was only seven spirits, and he was certain there were at least eleven, if not more. So that meant he was missing quite a few. Any of those could hold an aspect of crafting or cooking, but he didn’t think it was any he knew.

“My best guess is Mint,” Rud said with a shrug. “But I don’t think she’s exactly a crafting expert.”

“I’m going to go with the Tree Folks Spirit Basil,” Taz said. “He likes plants. Some people cook plants. That makes sense to me.”

“Those are very good guesses,” Ban said. “But I’m afraid this is a spirit you haven’t encountered yet. There is a new effigy outside of your creamery. Please assume the aspect, and you will find which skills it can grant you. Be warned. She is difficult to talk to or understand, so don’t bother.”

Rud made his way outside and found the statue. When he looked at it, he tilted his head to the side, raising a brow as he tried to figure out what exactly he was looking at. It was an abstract statue made of living wood, and he couldn’t make out any features of it. It was all nonsense to him. Still, he reached out and touched it, attaining the aspect of the spirit.

[Aspect of Land attained!]

Your Grove Custodian subclass has reacted to an effigy of the Land. The Land has lent you some of their power. If you stray too far from the idol that granted you this power, it will dissipate.

“No, the spirit’s name isn’t ‘Land,’” Ban said, chuckling into Rud’s mind. “This is more of a conceptual spirit that is incredibly hard to work with. I only call her ‘her’ because it’s more convenient. It may be difficult to obtain their skill, but at least we can say we tried.”

“Wow, you’re right. This is very weird,” Rud said, scratching his head. “Well, time to go make some cheese. Hopefully, a spirit representing something as abstract as land will give me a cheese-making skill.”

The aspects Rud assumed didn’t typically make him feel different, but this one filled him with a sense of interesting potential. He loaded his pots with milk and waited for them to heat before adding the cultures. Taz stood nearby, watching the process as though he were studying it. He could not accept certain aspects since he didn’t have the custodian subclass, but that didn’t diminish his interest in creating cheese. Or perhaps he was just there as a prison guard, ensuring that his charge did what he was told.

After he introduced the cultures, Rud felt a strange shiver of something flooding through his body. It made him look over his shoulder, as though there might be someone watching. But when he spotted no one but Taz, he figured it was the spirit that currently gave him power, watching over his actions. Hopefully, it liked what it saw.

Trying to make a good impression, the druid slaved away over the stoves. He felt the upgrade of the building flowing through him, guiding his actions. There were subtle differences in the cultures he used on the cheeses, even if they came from the same spot. Some pots were slightly hotter than others, and this influenced which type of cheese he would make. None of these pushed him too far away from the standard Grove Brie Cheese, but he could feel those faint shifts.

After Rud got the cheese to the pressing and forming phase, he finally saw a message he was starting to think would not appear.

[Skill Gain!]

You’ve performed enough actions in a Creamery blessed by the Land to earn the Cheesemaking skill! The Cheesemaking skill has been attached to your Grove Custodian subclass.

“That was fast,” Rud said, blinking as he stared down at his curds.

“You were granted the skill?” Ban asked.

“Yeah, I thought you said it was going to be really difficult,” Rud said.

“It should have been difficult, but I’ve been speaking to that spirit for a while now, and she finally relented.” Ban said. Her voice was filled with soft excitement.

“Do you think she could grant me a Tea Making skill as well?” Rud asked.

“If you construct a building dedicated to preparing tea leaves, then yes, I believe she’ll grant you that skill as well,” Ban said. “But just be wary if she speaks into your mind. Trust nothing she says until you run it by me.”

“That’s not horrifying or anything,” Taz said with a nervous laugh. “Are we in danger?”

“Only a little,” Ban said.