Gladesbale Grove Book 3 - Chapters 1, 2, 3 (Patreon)

Chapter 1

Let’s Build a Theme Park

Wind blew through the forest of Gladesbale Grove. Trees swayed to one side, their branches dotted in sections with flowers that glowed. The lights twinkled even around noon, brightening as the powerful mana blew from the north. Whatever chill had settled upon the forest today was anything but natural. Normally, this cold energy would’ve come from the icy island to the east. But today it blew from the north—a wind driven as though by the breath of the dwarves themselves.

With no place in the assessment of the grove’s latest addition, Rud found himself ranging to the northern reaches of Gladesbale, looking out over a footpath. It was the same path Taz had taken to reach the grove and the one that led to their mountain homes. The tower had appeared over the labyrinth yesterday, sending not only his grove but all others into a frenzy. System-generated structures were one thing, but for two rare structures to appear one on top of the other was another matter.

“I wish to know your thoughts,” a familiar voice said. The sound of a not-so-massive wolf padding over the soft soil came next. Then Sarya’s slight whimpering.

The young Sacred Wolf was scared. Rud didn’t need any of his druidic powers to know that. “We say ‘penny for your thoughts’ back on Earth… Although I really don’t know why,” Rud scratched his head, trying to remember if he knew that bit of trivia. It only served to remind him how he needed to beat Dean at a night of trivia. Another time, perhaps. “I’m just taking a moment to think. It feels like we were really kicking butt with the grove.”

“What do you mean ‘were’?” Sarya asked. “We’re still kicking butt. We just have a new tower. Towers are cool, right? You spend a lot of time in your tower talking to your girlfriend.”

“She’s not… Doesn’t matter. That’s a different kind of tower!” Rud shouted, his voice echoing over the path before him. The forest ate the sound before it got too far. “Hard not to worry about a giant doom tower, ya know?”

“Doom tower, underground city, labyrinth… Who cares?” Sarya asked. “I ate a chicken today.”

“Where did you find a chicken?” Rud asked.

“Doesn’t matter. Point is, we got food and friends.”

“And tea,” Rud said, nodding. “And squirrel cheese.”

Sarya made a face.

Rud patted the wolf on the head. She closed her eyes, grunting with each pat. “You’ve cheered me up, Sarya. Yes, that quickly. No reason dwelling on what we can’t change when there’s so much to do. I want to make new kinds of cheese. There are nuts to roast, baths to run, and an absolute wild idea for the grove’s center I need to work on.”

“Oh! A new project?” Sarya asked, her tail beginning to swish.

Rud nodded, growing more resolute. “The answer to all our problems is obvious, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah! Super obvious!” Sarya said, bouncing around with her butt in the air. Her tail wagged furiously. She paused. “What is it?”

“More attractions for the mortals,” Rud said, rubbing his chin as he nodded. “We get some more adventurers in here, and we don’t have to worry about the tower or labyrinth.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah, I understand completely,” Sarya said, jumping around a few times and letting out a low growl. “But, uh… Maybe explain it anyway.”

Scratching Sarya behind the ear, Rud shook his head. She might not have understood, but she was a good dog. “Adventurers love this kind of stuff. If the tower works how I think it does, it’ll be an amazing chance for them to get stronger. If we build cool amenities, that’s all the more reason for them to come.”

“Yeah, duh… Hah! I knew that,” Sarya said, dashing off into the forest. She paused behind a tree, sticking her head out and whining. “I still don’t get it, but do you need any help?”

Rud nodded. “I think I will. As long as you’re not busy with the tower business, I could use someone to go over all our buildings and pathways.”

“Oh, yes. That works. I’m on guard duty!” Sarya struck a proud pose. “Which means I just wait to feel for intruders. There have been none.”

“Perfect!” Rud clapped once. While he was eager to build new things for adventurers, he couldn’t forget about upgrading Ban so she could get them portals working. He cleared his throat, pointing eastward. “Let’s start at the start!”

“Onward!”

Rud shifted into his squirrel form, jumping onto Sarya’s back. If he was as light as a squirrel, his weight wouldn’t be too much for her. Clinging on for dear life—since Sarya didn’t understand how to run without bouncing up and down like a rodeo bull—the trees whipped past him until the over-eager wolf ducked into a bush.

The first stop on the tour of the grove was the eastern logging camp. This was the place where Rud had first encountered the mortals of the land. They were taking lumber from the nearby forest, and when contacted, were quite respectful of the spirits that inhabited the grove. To the southeast was a small mortal town called Barlgore. Most who inhabited it held the same respect for the groves as everyone from the mainland. That made things easy.

"Here we have a bunch of cursed objects," Rud said, just turning out to a field of strange-looking trees. They were swollen and spherical in the center, as he had reshaped them to house cursed objects. "I don't think we have to do much with this area, but of course, we should always be concerned about turning more squirrels into cows."

"Those creatures aren't right," Sarya said.

"Right you are, my dear wolf," Rud said, turning to look back at the path that led into the grove itself. Shortly after delving into the thick forest of the grove, a person would encounter the road. Walking upon this road granted mortals access to the grove itself, ensuring they would experience none of the deleterious effects that plagued the mortal mind once within. “Any suggestions for improvements?”

"We're trying to get more mortals, right?" Sarya asked, tapping a claw on the ground as she gazed off into the distance. "Perhaps we should have a friendlier entrance. This is where all the mortals come into the grove, isn't it?"

“That’s right.”

“Sorry, but the cursed objects just give off a bad vibe,” Sarya said. “We need something that puts off a good vibe.”

Most mortals took the eastern entrance to the Grove to pass through. It was a straight shot to the west, and heading north was easy enough. The road within was strong enough to hold not only people passing on foot, but also those riding mounts or dragging a cart with a beast of burden. Of course, the wolf was right. The cursed objects were sealed not only by the trees themselves but also by a purification spell. Still, there was a strange sense in the air.

"Excellent point," Rud said, rubbing his chin. "Perhaps we could build a structure, some kind of welcome center."

“Oh! And we could serve cookies,” Sarya said, putting her butt in the air and growling again. “I love cookies.”

“When have you ever had cookies?”

“We should serve cookies,” Sarya reinforced.

Instead of arguing with it, Rudd withdrew a length of paper from his storage bag and made a note. On the eastern side of the Grove, it would be best if they had some kind of welcome center, preferably one that served cookies. If they could find a way to keep them hot, that would be even better. At least they had the milk situation sorted, which would allow visiting mortals to dunk those cookies, potentially increasing the number of adventurers willing to come tackle the tower.

“Next,” Rud shouted as he pressed forward along the path. Shortly after, the pair delved into the Grove itself and walked over the raised living platform. Sections of this platform were dotted with the glowing plants that hovered at night. Many sections of the road still lacked them, but since this was the primary avenue the mortals took, it was the best place for everything to look nice and pretty. "The road is, of course, the most important feature of the Grove, as far as the mortals are concerned. As long as they stand on it, they won't go mad and get lost in the woods. Fortunately, we already have all cardinal directions covered, and they all lead to the center of the Grove."

"And you have the rest areas,” Sarya added. “Can't forget about the rest areas."

"Right, we have small areas where they can rest along the way. This isn't a big deal for those with mounts, but for those traveling on foot, it's almost a necessity. Depending on their pace, they could take days, if not a week, to travel the length of the grove. I suppose that just depends on how fast they walk."

“I walk real fast.”

Rud had first considered doing his tour of the Grove by directionality. Now he reordered his thoughts, instead considering which building he believed was most important. He passed through a nearby bush with Sarya and appeared outside a tower that was just southwest of the Grove's center.

"We're not going to tour the individual rest area buildings, and we'll leave the resort area for last," Rud said. "But the observatory is the second most important thing I maintain. This gives us a sense of where all the animals are within the grove, along with all the strange magical energies that seem to swirl around here. It also provides me with a line of communication with the other groves. It is incredibly important."

“This is also where Nulsa hangs out.”

Rud made a note. He saw no changes that needed to happen with the observatory, aside from maybe upgrading the building. He clapped his hands together. “Now, we have a whole class of production buildings.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Sarya said, bouncing around.

“I’ll just list those here,” Rud said, writing each one down from memory. “The smithy, smelter, and mine. Those basically belong to Taz now, which I’m cool with. Those provide us with insanely valuable ingots and items I can barter with.”

“So, they’re the most important?” Sarya asked.

“Yeah. Next come the perishable goods. Cheese and tea,” Rud said. “Our Creamery is going to churn out some extremely useful food for the adventurers and us.”

“Hardy har-har.”

“And the tea workshop can’t be understated in importance. The mortals absolutely adore our teas. So, we also have the raised tea farm,” Rud said, scribbling some notes. “That isn’t recognized by the system, but that’s okay. Our tea production shot through the roof with that one.”

“Is that everything we have?” Sarya asked.

Rud shook his head, gesturing for the wolf to follow him through the nearest bush. They teleported miles away, appearing at the small resort he had constructed for the adventurers. It had a small compound that looked like a campground. On the other side of the road was a bathhouse with enchanted water directly from a powerful magical well. Right now, the adventurers still needed to ask the custodian to run the bath for them, but it had been a hit.

"This is where our entire plan starts," Rud said, holding his arms wide as he looked between the bathhouse and the campground. "It isn't enough that the Grove is a place where people come to slay monsters or that they simply pass through. It needs to be a destination, which means we need more things like this."

“Oh, what about a big old slide?”

Rud narrowed his eyes at the wolf. She flattened her ears. Reluctantly, the druid withdrew the sheet of paper once again. “Okay, that’s not a bad idea,” he grumbled. “But we need more than a slide to attract people. We need everything a resort should have. Food, drinks, entertainment…”

“And a giant tower!” Sarya said, tipping her head to the tower looming in the distance.

“Can’t forget the giant tower filled with murder-monsters.” 

“Battle beasies!” Sarya adds.  Rud said, nodding along. “Okay! While the other members of the grove worry about monsters pouring out of the tower and eating our legs, we’re gonna build a theme park!”

“Yay!”

Chapter 2

I Have Concerns

Despite grand proclamations of a theme park, there were things the druid had to do. He held a unique position in the grove as the custodian. There were always three parts of the grove: the heart, the guardian, and the custodian. His job was to do everything he could to ensure that things ran smoothly. It was the most flexible position within any grove. It had afforded him a lot of freedom in his duties, yet he still had responsibilities.

One such responsibility was serving as a sounding board for Ban’tanthein. From what Rud understood, she was the reincarnated soul of a sacred deer spirit. She had been given the form of a sacred tree and the heavy weight of Gladesbale Grove. Yet with everything she did, she did it with joy. Even now, he could feel it radiating from her. As he approached the barricade he had created around both the labyrinth and the tower, he noticed a gaggle of spirit animals assembled outside, discussing the best steps forward.

They mostly ignored him as a mental connection was made between him and the tree.

“Just when I thought things were going our way, we got a tower,” Ban said, giggling into Rudd's mind. “Nothing we can't handle though, huh?”

"Oh yeah, I eat monster towers for breakfast," Rud said, striking a pose and flexing a few times. That earned him a few more amused giggles from the tree. Often, he postured for others to gain confidence. Perhaps it was a trait learned from spending so much time with the spirits. But he knew that both the Ban, and the mortals loved the goofy behavior. He lived for the tree’s laughter.

"With your artifact weapon, you might not be far from the truth," Ban said, her melodic voice echoing through his mind. “When Bent showed up to confirm that you had the artifact, he was… Well, I'll just say he was surprised. The potential for growth that thing has to offer is immense. You'll be bypassing the normal route most adventurers take and seizing power by consuming dungeons.”

“I’ll put it to good use. By that, I mean I’m gonna build an enormous slide.”

"That's not even the greatest power of the weapon,” Ban corrected. "It is its ability to consume dungeons that makes it strong. For mortals, it's something that requires a significant amount of energy. They must invest a lot into destroying a single dungeon core. We've seen this recently with the appearance of our many dungeons. You can destroy them instantly, and you don't need to rest."

“And I get stronger-er when the weapon eats them,” Rud said. “So, what made the tower show up? Was it when you messed with the labyrinth’s core?”

“That was a natural buildup of energy from the labyrinth. We’ve decided it was going to happen eventually. I just made it happen sooner,” Ban said. “What I need you to do is keep your eyes open for more dungeons. Coordinate with the mortals to destroy them as soon as possible. Think of the dungeons as being similar to my energy nodules. They store power, allowing the tower and labyrinth to strengthen themselves. If you destroy the dungeons, you cut off their food supply.”

Rud hadn't thought of it that way, but it made sense if he squinted really hard and tilted his head to the side. Mostly, he was just eager to take whatever advice the sacred tree gave him, and so he would carry that out. If his job was now to destroy every single dungeon, he would do so with a smile.

“I can do it.”

“Good. Because you’re the only one that can. I must go into a slumber, now. On and off while I work on the tower. Good luck.”

Rud felt as the presence of the sacred tree faded away slightly. He could still feel her there, but she was distant, just as she had been when she had gone into those slumbers in the past. During his brief chat with the tree, the other spirits of the Grove had gone off to carry out tasks assigned by the Guardian. Only Mint was left, the massive wolf standing in her bestial form, looking up at the tower with hungry eyes.

"Acorn for your thoughts?" Rud asked, walking up beside her and presenting a single acorn. The wolf dragged her gaze away from the tower, looking down at the acorn and then into the druid's eyes.

"I'm a carnivore," Mint said, snorting in his face. "I want to run the tower. I want to climb its heights and conquer it."

“Does it work just like the labyrinth?” Rud asked. “I know you're restricted from running dungeons, but is this in your wheelhouse?”

“Indeed, I can run the tower,” Mint said, a predatory smile spreading across her maw. “But I must remain in the Grove for now. Ban has instructed me to rally the troops, so to speak. We need every dungeon within the Grove destroyed.”

Well, that was going to be a problem. The only person who could clearly communicate with the mortals was Rud. The division of labor on this one would be tricky since he couldn't send one of the spirit animals to the mortal town. Or could he? How reluctant would Taz be, the grove's only dwarf, heading to the mortal town to rally those troops? A smile spread across Rud's face as he thought about it. The dwarf hated riding wolves.

“We got this!” Rud shouted, pumping his fist in the air. “I’m going to my tower. Bye-bye.”

Before Mint could say another word, Rud scampered away, guiding his steps with his artifact staff and passing through the nearest bush. He appeared at the base of the tower once again. Sarya had left him for the day, off to join the others in search of whatever they were looking for. It was an all-hands-on-deck situation, so he wasn't opposed to dropping his amusement park idea for now. At least that gave him some time to plan it out in his head before he started the actual work.

Although he hadn't been instructed to do so, Rud's plan was first to contact the other Groves to collect information on how they were doing. If they were also experiencing strange happenings, perhaps he would have a better idea of what was going on. He sat before the radio, cracked his knuckles, and listened to the hum as the magical machine turned on.

“Gladesbale for Hagsrise,” Rud said, thumbing the radio.

Static came over the radio for quite some time. The voice that came next wasn’t the one Rud had wanted, but it would do.

“Jim here,” the man in charge of the Cliffs of Mog Grove came in over the radio, his voice sounding tired. “What’s up, Rud?”

The other custodians—those that actually used their radios—were already in the loop about the tower situation. Of course, it was a big deal, since the system didn’t generate things like towers and labyrinths randomly. For them to appear in multiple groves at the same time meant something big was going on. But Rud wanted to ensure they had lines of communication between the custodians, observing things the guardians and hearts might miss.

“I’m collecting information to get a better picture of what’s going on.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

Rud only had a few questions for now. According to Jim, Cliffs of Mog had experienced a slight increase to their number of dungeons. Basil’s approach to handling those dungeons was to encase them in trees that would eat the dungeons over time. It was some advanced-level plant magic the druid could only hope to replicate. Maria in Hagsrise Grove employed her army of once-drunken—now sober—dwarves to handle the dungeons. It was hard not to worry about the other groves, but until they got on the line he could do nothing to help them.

“Are you any closer to the portals?” Jim asked.

“We’re getting close,” Rud confirmed. “My tree won’t tell me the numbers, but we have access to a massive power source now. We should only need a building, then I can send supplies to the groves. Any luck contacting anyone else?”

“Nope. I think we’ll need to get Bent involved before that changes. Even then, some groves are outside of the scope of our mission,” Jim said.

Jim was talking about the Spirit of The Land, which was… weird. It didn’t follow the standard organization for Groves, so Rud doubted they could be roped into the scheme. They had a very clear path forward, though.

“The new plan is the old plan!” Rud said, tipping back in his chair as he laughed. “Good thing I came here to talk to you. But seriously, I’d love to talk to more custodians. Then we can share supplies.”

“Roger that, Gladesbale. We’ll collect as much info as we can over here,” Jim said. “Until then, over and out.”

“Farewell, good buddy,” Rud said, gaining only static for his efforts. Of course. ‘Over and out’ meant Jim was hanging up without waiting for a response. That’s what he remembered from back on Earth, anyway.

As Rud was already in the tower, he accepted the aspect and put his Farseeing skill to use. Although he had been working hard to entice the adventurers—creating wooden paths in the south of the Grove that formed a webwork between the dungeons—there were more dungeons appearing. Withdrawing his paper yet again, he took notes. The dungeons he spotted didn’t seem too magically charged, but they didn’t need to be, did they?

If Ban was right about how the dungeons would work for the tower, they didn’t need to be strong. There just had to be a bunch of them to act like a series of batteries. That wouldn’t happen if Rud had anything to say about it… Yet there was a problem. A bunch of adventurers had left from Barlgore to head west, striking out against a bunch of orcish monster jerks. Which meant there were few adventurers to deal with the dungeons.

From a bird’s eye view, Rud spotted each dungeon littered throughout the Grove. His Farseeing skill covered the entire grove, allowing him to document each one. Even after clearing as many as he did, the area was littered with them.

“I have concerns.”

Rud nearly fell out of his chair as Nulsa’s deep voice rumbled from the railing. “I already had one heart attack,” the druid said, clutching his chest. “Don’t need another.”

“I believe the dungeons are becoming… slightly aware. Or perhaps it is the force that drives the dungeons,” Nulsa said. “They’re evading my sight. It is harder to find them than before.”

Rud allowed his vision to fade, returning to the Farseeing skill. He scanned around, locking onto the various magical energies in the grove to look for something he might have missed. The best way to find dungeons was to scan the area while looking for their energy pattern. After locking onto that, he could use his bird's-eye view to pinpoint the location. Going on what Nulsa said, he scanned for more subtle energies. After spotting the least-concealed one of mana, he sighed.

“They’re even evading the power of my Farseeing skill.”

“That’s concerning,” Nulsa said.

Rud tapped his chin. There were a few approaches to the problem, but he didn’t know which would work. Perhaps once Ban woke up he could ask her. For now, the only thing they could do was to catalogue the dungeons and petition the town for some adventurers. The druid looked back at the massive owl and smiled. Nulsa looked like a great horned owl from back on Earth, except somehow more massive.

“Busy day!” Rud said, rolling his shoulders as he approached the railing. He looked over the edge, prepared to shift into his flying squirrel form. “Gonna be hard convincing people to help with dungeons. But you know those mortals. They love loot.”

Chapter 3

Hear Me!

Unlike Gladesbale Grove, the mortal settlement did not experience rapid periods of development. They had to build everything by hand and could not rely on druidic magic to make things happen. Barlgore was small compared to the massive tract of land that the Grove occupied, but it was jam-packed, filled with people from all parts of the world. There were elves, dwarves, and beastkin who all mingled together. Sparwyn, the nation supporting this colony, was an amalgam of cultures Rud knew little about.

These thoughts fluttered through the druid’s mind as he grumbled. Dean was too busy to take him to town. Rud sat atop a tree in his squirrel form. He was on the southeastern side of the grove, overlooking rocky hills that led toward the town. From this vantage point, he could see the lake, but the palisade walls were still too distant. Jumping from the tree, he soared, catching the wind and sailing most of the way to the lake. The rest of the distance, he had to run.

Rud shifted into his otter form, plunging into the lake and listening as the sounds faded away in an instant, giving way to the echo of his own heart and breathing. He made quick time dashing through the water, coming up on the eastern side of the lake where several boats were now patrolling the waters. Although the frozen island at the center of the lake was still cold, it was no longer encased in ice. It was thawing out, giving the people of the town access to the lake's bounty. Given the number of fish he had seen at the bottom, he figured they were in for a decent fishing trip.

Of course, it was always best to shift into his true form when walking through the town. Rud dropped his shape-shifting form and picked a path, eventually finding his way to the wizard's tower, where he was met with disappointment. Elmera, a local mage, had gone somewhere. Her assistant said as much, anyway. That meant that Rud only had one person he could turn to for help.

After knocking on the door of a stately manor only once, the door swung open, revealing the form of the local leader, a man who went by the name "Feather." Compared to his normally diplomatic demeanor, today he seemed giddy and beckoned for the druid to follow him inside without hesitation.

"Have I told you how much we appreciate you dealing with that island situation?" Feather asked, inviting Rud to the table. He then busied himself near the fireplace, putting on water and cranking open a fresh jar of the druid's own tea.

"Oh well, this is awkward," Rud said, kicking his feet as he sat in the chair. He wasn't as short as a dwarf, but he certainly wasn't as tall as the other human-like mortals in this world. Sometimes he liked to tell himself he was 5'4", but he knew he was likely closer to 5' even.

“Why would it be awkward to express gratitude?” Feather asked, pinching tea between his fingers and depositing it into the copper pot. He leaned close, breathing in the aroma and nodding with approval.

Rud took the deepest breath he had ever taken in his life and then spewed out the situation in one unbroken sentence. Feather watched in horror as the druid's face turned purple. When he finally drew his next breath, he had explained everything about the adventurers going west to fight the orcs, the tower appearing, and subsequently the scattering of dungeons that now plagued the grove itself.

"You knew you needed to learn to pace yourself," Feather said, the look of concern still on his face. "I wasn't expecting so many dungeons to appear so soon. And a tower… Are you sure?"

"We are sure," Rud said. "It's hard to miss the gigantic tower. So I wanted to know if you had some spare adventurers who might come along and help me clear these dungeons out. They don't have to destroy them. I can do that."

Feather took a very long time to consider this. That gave the druid time to think for himself. He remembered what Jim from the Cliffs of Mog had told him about the way Basil was handling the dungeons. There was plant magic that could destroy them, although it took a long time. The plants he could summon to encase the dungeon would both prevent monsters from coming out and drain the life away from it. Unfortunately, it seemed like a bit of magic that was outside of his reach for now.

If Rud couldn't seize that bit of magic for himself, he would have to find alternatives, the worst of which was going into the dungeons himself to clear them. That was a last resort in his book. His magic was tied so closely to the Grove that he wasn't sure he could do much within the dimensional confines.

"We have several retired adventurers," Feather said with a half-hearted shrug, "and people like myself who are in positions of power. If this becomes an emergency, I can mobilize them, but that's a last resort, you understand, Rud?"

"Right, you don't want to sound the alarm bell in the old folks' home until you really need to," Rud said, nodding along. His eyes went glassy as he considered the best way to approach this. "Is there any chance new adventurers are going to come in? Do you know how many stayed behind?"

Feather stood, claiming he had records of such things in the back room. He left, and by the time he returned, the teakettle was whistling. He removed it from the fire and poured out two cups of Deep Spice Galactic, which the druid was all too happy to drink. The energizing effects were immediate and welcome.

"We have 12 official adventurers still within town. According to my records, 8 of them are in your grove, still searching for dungeons. Then I've got about 15 unofficial adventurers. Perhaps we could mobilize them. As far as colonists go, we've got nothing. The mainland says they're not sending anybody for now." Feather paused for a few long moments. Long enough to take healthy sips of his tea. “How many do you think you’ll need? Do you have a count of the dungeons and their ranks?”

“We counted the dungeons, but I think there are closer to 20 active dungeons,” Rud said. Feather spit his tea all over the table, spraying it far enough for the fire to sizzle. “That was my reaction. I didn’t get as much distance, though… As for the ranks, I’d put them between 0 and 1.”

“Thank the spirits for that,” Feather said, dabbing the sides of his mouth. “I know you’ve come to Barlgore searching for aid. Yet all I have to offer is advice.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Eight adventurers isn’t a lot. That’s not enough for two dungeons. But if you work directly with them, you’d be in better shape. They’re all experienced and willing to work with a Sacred Spirit.”

Rud had to take a mental step back and figure out what was going on. He had already been aware of the adventurers in the southwestern part of the Grove. It was his magic that wove the paths, allowing them to camp near the dungeons and clear them out. Part of that was the power of his new staff, and another part was his latest ability, Grove Specialization: Plant Magic. He couldn’t tell if he had forgotten about those people or if he didn’t believe they were enough.

He wasn’t solving the problem standing around in Feather’s office, though.

“Thanks for the top tips,” Rud said, finishing his tea and standing. “I should have a new batch of cheese and tea coming up soon. Just so ya know. Also working on new variations of the cheese.”

“More cheese?” Feather said, rubbing his hands together and licking his lips. “How delightful.”

Rud said nothing about the cheese being from once-squirrels. He chatted with Feather for just a few minutes before heading out into the town. While he could’ve made a few stops, he wanted to get back to the Grove. And the best way to get to the southern section was via the road west out of Barlgore. The druid smiled to himself as he passed the brambles he had erected to defend the town.

The walk to the southern reaches of the grove was torturous. Rudd was not having a good time and complained in his mind the whole way until he set eyes on the grove once again, and all those frustrations melted away. He approached the nearest bush and passed through, teleporting around until he spotted a small group of adventurers. With no desire to waste time, he made himself known.

“Hear me!” Rud shouted, shifting from his squirrel form to his true form.

The eyes of several tired adventurers dragged to the druid, blinking lazily.

“What?” a human adventurer said.

"Sorry, I normally get a different reaction than that," Rud said, clicking his tongue in disappointment. "You are the adventurers clearing the dungeons, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and we're pretty tired," the same human shot back, reclining on the wooden platform and sighing. "The walkways you made us aren't long enough to get to the other dungeons. We keep getting lost."

Rud grimaced, not willing to dampen their spirits further by telling them it would be simple for him to extend the platforms. "I'm going to bring you guys some supplies," he said instead, deflecting from his own mistake. "Energizing tea and cheese that will help you push forward. I can also construct crude shelters for you to sleep in."

"I love cheese," an elven woman said, clapping excitedly. "Getting out of the weather would be nice."

"So it shall be!" Rud shouted, thrusting his hands into the air.

When Rud first arrived in this world, his abilities and skills were minimal. He didn't possess the Plant Magic skill, but since then, it had become his most powerful skill set. The Plant Magic skill itself was now at rank 1, and he had his Grove specialization, which meant that all his spell abilities and skills that influenced plants were bound to the Grove and dramatically more powerful. They cost less mana and made it far easier for him to manipulate plants.

Drawing on his Shape Plant spell, Rud reached out to a nearby tree and twisted it. Ribbons of green light wrapped around it as he leaned heavily on his collection of plant-related feats. The shape of the tree changed, the center hollowing out as roots burst from the ground to form a walkway. That path connected with the webwork of paths already existing, crude furniture springing up within the hollowed-out space within the tree.

“Behold!” Rud shouted, putting on a few finishing touches on the simple tree house. “We’re calling this one ‘home base’ because I’ll drop supplies here.”

“Not bad at all,” the human man of the group said, pushing himself to his feet and jogging over to the tree. “Hey, this is pretty spacious.”

“Please rest,” Rud said. “I’ll clean up the existing path, and create new ones to the dungeons we need to clear.”

“How many more dungeons?” the elven woman said, yawning and stretching.

“Only a few,” Rud lied. “But I know you guys can do it!”

That got a single hoot of excitement from the group. The elven woman was chipper, while the others were worn down to a dull edge. Rud winced as he watched them all pile into the tree, collapsing on the ground, tables, or whatever other surface was available.

“Yikes,” Rud whispered to himself, making a quick getaway.

If the mortals slept within a structure connected with Ban, they should recover quicker than normal. Combined with his tea, cheese, and trail mix, they would recover even faster. The druid scampered away from the scene with two new items on his to-do list. First was to get some food for the mortals. Next was to fix the pathways.