Gladesbale Grove Book 3 - Chapters 4, 5, 6 (Patreon)

Chapter 4

Thank the Spirits

Rud had little trouble readjusting the paths for the adventurers. He knew the house was good enough for them for now, but if they didn’t have a walkway between where they were and the nearby dungeons, they would get lost and possibly die. He only needed to connect a few of the dungeons to keep them busy for a while, making his job effortless. When he was done, he headed to the observatory first before planning to grab some dinner.

The radio clicked on with a familiar hum of static, and he announced himself, waiting for the voice he expected on the other end. His heart fluttered slightly when the custodian from Hagsrise spoke.

“Jim said I missed your call earlier,” Maria said with a sigh. “Sorry about that. As I’m sure you are aware, we’re dealing with some extraordinary circumstances here. Any update on the supplies? We could really use some.”

“We’re getting very close to making that work,” Rud said. “But we’ll need to get our tower and labyrinth under control before I can make the building.”

“So, you’re just going to make a teleporter building? Must be nice…” Maria trailed off for a few long moments, leaving only the sound of static behind. When her voice came back through the radio, Rud was startled. “Anyway! Enough doom and gloom. We’re working on looping in some other custodians. Some never got the tower building and some have other complications. So… yay!”

Although she had delivered the news as though it were any other facet of her grove, Rud understood how monumental this was. Getting the other custodians on the line had been nearly impossible. If she had found a way to pull them into the fold, everything would go much easier. He understood that the power of the groves was not as singular entities but as connected things. The more connected they were, the better.

“That’s awesome,” Rud said, letting go of the microphone for a moment to clap his hands like an idiot. He picked it back up and thumbed the button once again. “How many have you contacted?”

“Just one, but that’s the start I needed,” she said.

They chatted for some time, but eventually, the conversation fell away. The day was getting later, and Rud found his brain frazzled from the events. The sudden appearance of the tower had sent him off-kilter, and he wanted to settle down and get some food. After signing off, he jumped from the balcony, soaring in his flying squirrel form in a lazy pattern. While he soared, he summoned his attribute sheet to check his progress.

[Rud]

Main Class:

Rank 1 Level 1 Druid

Subclass:

Rank 0 Level 6 Grove Custodian

Attributes:

Health: 143

Mana: 218

Strength: 10

Agility: 8

Vigor: 13

Mind: 20

Affinity: 15

Titles:

[Keeper of the Gladesbale Grove]

It hadn’t changed the last time he had checked it, but his attributes were growing at an absurd rate thanks to his artifact weapon. He had 32 extra levels’ worth of attributes, which made him feel monstrous. Yet, for all that power, he could do nothing but manipulate plants, turn into a squirrel, and so on. Still, it was good to see progress.

Rud swung the door open to the longhouse and his mouth dropped open. Major, the massive bear that he had found in the cave, was sprawled out on the ground. Dean, the direwolf of the group, was in a similar state. Even Mint, the guardian of the Grove, looked as though she had been through an ordeal. Each had wounds that varied in intensity.

“Gonna just gawk?” Taz asked. The dwarf was pressing a mossy mixture into Mint’s side, flecks of blood and dirt across his face.

Rud scrambled, surging forward in a panic and tripping over his own feet. He fell on his face but soon rose back to his feet and slid to Dean’s side. Dean seemed to have the worst wounds. In an instant, Rud called upon his Nature’s Restoration spell. Green light flowed from his hands, soaking into the wolf’s body and getting to work, stitching his wounds closed.

“What happened?” Rud asked, rubbing his hands together as he rushed to the next downed animal. He cast his spell again before Taz could even tell the tale.

“These idiots decided to run the tower,” Taz said, shaking his head. “They thought they could conquer all 100 floors by themselves, but look where that got them.”

“Seriously, you guys?” Rud asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he moved to the last spirit animal. He would have to rotate between them since his healing spell had yet to be upgraded. It was still working at rank 0, but each beast was at least rank 1. Still, if he cast enough times, their wounds would close. “Come on. Tell me what you were thinking, Mint.”

“I was thinking it would be no more difficult than the labyrinth,” Mint said from her prone position on the ground. She didn’t even lift her head to speak. “We entered the first floor, and it seemed normal enough. It was a very large dimensional space themed around goblins. Goblins are easy enough to kill, so we cleared the floor and went to the next one. But by the fifth floor, we were facing powerful orcs. It wasn’t just their power that bogged us down; there were hundreds of them, and we had to retreat.”

“You only made it to the fifth floor?” Rud asked. He had to pause to wait for his mana to regenerate. It was a good thing his staff restored two mana a second, replenishing what the spell cost in 15 seconds which made it easy to rotate between the downed beasts. “How is that possible? Aren’t you strong?”

“I am exceedingly strong,” Mint said, finally lifting her head to growl at him. “But the tower that has been seeded within our grove is even stronger than I. That is concerning.”

“’Concerning’ is one way to put it,” Ban’s voice filled the longhouse, rattling Rud’s teeth in a way it never had before. “The amount of magical energy contained within the tower is more than I had expected. Tapping into the labyrinth’s core doubled my energy output, which means most of the mechanism that creates the tower’s energy is shielded from me. I can’t even imagine how strong it is at the top.”

“Sweet, so the tower is powerful enough to defeat our guardian. What does that mean?” Rud asked. He cast another healing spell, and Dean finally lifted his head, stumbling to his feet and shaking his entire body. The druid was covered in mud and flecks of blood.

Nobody responded at first, but Rud recognized the pensive look on Mint’s face. She was rolling their options over in her mind. When a predatory smile spread across her face, he thought he knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“We’re going to run the tower every day,” Mint said, gaining the attention of the other sacred beasts in the room, who looked concerned about the proclamation. “You’re going to be here in the longhouse or outside of the tower to heal us when we come out. We can petition the spirits to upgrade your healing spell, and your skill will increase quickly enough once you’re healing us daily.”

“Whoa, doesn’t that sound risky?” Rud asked.

“While I don’t enjoy seeing those under my care injured, it would be a way to increase the power of our sacred beasts more quickly than stated. If they’re willing to endure the pain, they’ll rise through the ranks quickly.” Ban’s voice was tingled with both excitement and concern. Rud couldn’t tell which side she leaned to.

“We can endure,” Major said, finally rising. “So long as I may still have my naps.”

“Can I come!?” Sarya asked, bouncing around like a crazed wolf.

“You may attend the first few floors,” Mint said, regarding the youngest wolf in the Grove with a look of concern. “But you have a long way to go.”

“Oh, boy!” Sarya shouted, doing laps around the longhouse.

The group discussed a plan for the future. The entire time Rud was healing the wounds of his friends, he expected River, the spirit responsible for his Healing Magic skill, to give him the next rank of the spell. Maybe he could figure it out on his own, but Healing Magic wasn’t his specialty. But no new spell came, forcing the druid to cast the spell roughly ten billion times. At least it brought his skill up.

Eventually, the group settled down for some dinner. Taz was all too eager to dish out some food, and Rud was hungrier than he ever remembered being while within the Grove. The dark mood that had settled over the longhouse vanished, giving way to the same joyous atmosphere he had come to love. While everyone dug into their food, Rud checked the skills attached to his main class.

[Druid]

Rank 1 Level 1 Class

Description:

Druids commune with nature to command spells and shapeshifting effects. The closer a druid is with nature, the stronger their abilities.

Skills:

[Animal Communication] R1 L1

[Growth Magic] R1 L1

[Detection Magic] R0 L1

[Construction Magic] R1 L1

[Healing Magic] R0 L7

[Crafting Magic] R0 L7

[Shapeshifting Magic] R0 L9

[Plant Care] R0 L8

Abilities:

[Druidic Spellcasting]

[Druidic Attunement]

[Grove Specialization: Plant Magic]

Healing magic at level 7 was pretty sweet, but it would be far more useful if he brought it all the way to rank 1. The same went for shape-shifting magic. Once he got those to the next rank, he could gain an ability for each. Those upgrades were incredibly useful. Although he was investing a lot of effort in increasing the level of his main class’s skills, he still needed to be concerned about the skills associated with his subclass. He inspected his subclass next.

[Grove Custodian]

Rank 0 Level 6 Subclass

Description:

Grove Custodians dedicate their lives to tending to Sacred Trees. They gain adaptive abilities, depending on which form their bound tree takes.

Skills:

(LOCKED) [Mining] R0 L6

(LOCKED) [Smelting] R0 L6

(LOCKED) [Smithing] R0 L4

(LOCKED) [Farseeing] R0 L8

(LOCKED) [Animal Husbandry] R0 L4

[Custodianship] R0 L7

(LOCKED) [Cheesemaking] R0 L1

Abilities:

[Efficient Custodian]

Aspect:

NONE

This one needed a lot more work for him to get up. It was difficult to level, as he had shunted the responsibilities of mining, smelting, and smithing off to Taz. Instead, he was now focusing on Farseeing, Animal Husbandry, Custodianship, and Cheesemaking. He suspected he could also unlock an ability for Tea Making, but that hadn’t shown up yet. Either way, it was slow going. If he wanted to increase the rank of his Grove Custodian subclass, he needed four skills at Rank 1. To move from Rank 1 to Rank 2, he had to have 5 skills at the next rank., and so on.

The conversation within the longhouse had grown more lively. With all the tension drained from the room, Rud could finally enjoy himself. But not for as long as he would’ve liked. Before the group broke for the night, he headed to pilfer their stores. He collected tea, cheese, and a spare wood-fired stove from their storage area. As promised, the druid returned to the temporary storehouse he had constructed for the adventurers and loaded it up.

The mortals were scattered over every available surface, snoozing the night away. Rud tried not to giggle to himself as he placed comically large wheels of cheese atop the chest of one sleeping man. He grabbed it, rolling onto his side.

“Good night, cheese-snuggler,” Rud whispered as he left the building. He took a deep breath of the night’s air. The day was finally done and he could get some rest. “Thank the spirits.”

Chapter 5

Rud’s Plan

Rud had a restful sleep that night. At first, he had worried about things in the grove changing, with the sacred beasts getting serious about running the tower. He was concerned that the mood would have soured, but by the time he arrived at breakfast, he saw his worries were unfounded. Everyone was there, eating breakfast and talking amongst themselves with the same cheery tone he loved. He got a bowl of the perpetual stew, took a seat, and went over his plans for the immediate future in his head.

Interfacing with the mortals was his most important job. Therefore, the item highest on his list was ensuring that the few adventurers they had were given easy access to the dungeons. For this task, he needed to scout the new dungeons and create pathways to them. As he was doing this, he also needed to remove the old pathways. Otherwise, it would become a tangled web that no adventurer could hope to traverse. Of course, part of this task also included him destroying the dungeons, which was something he looked forward to. It meant he could also increase his attributes, making it a win-win situation.

The next item on his list was an ever-important task. There were diseased trees spread throughout the grove that were sucking power from the sacred tree. He needed to cut those down and replant them with healthy ones. The last item on his list was working on the theme park idea, which he could do in between the other tasks, and it really wasn’t that important. Getting new adventurers into the Grove wouldn’t be a matter of creating attractions so much as making facilities so they could run the tower and elaborate.

“Rud, could you handle the cows today?” Taz asked, rolling his shoulders. “I’ve got a situation in the mine.”

Rud snapped back to the moment, nodding to his friend. “Sure. What’s going on in the mine?”

“Nothing to worry yourself about,” Taz said, holding up his hands. “I don’t want to pull you off your projects. I had a minor cave-in. Just a small one, mind you.”

Rud pursed his lips. A cave-in didn’t sound like a minor situation, but he could see the flash of pride in the dwarf’s face. Although Taz had integrated well into the Grove, there were still times when he was the same stubborn dwarf that stumbled through the woods half-starved. The same apostate that had been cast out from the Dwarven Homes to the north. The druid nodded, fighting back the urge to spring into the mine and reinforce every single wall with living beams of wood.

“You know what really wouldn’t take long with my new specialization…” Rud said.

“Please let me walk on my own,” Taz said, shaking his head. “I want to do this.”

“Okay, but if it gets out of hand, let me know. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

Taz grumbled for a moment. “I like that one…”

With his long list of things to do, Rud still had other responsibilities. He started the day after finishing his breakfast. He began by heading to the tower to make his report. There was nothing unusual happening in the other groves, despite the appearance of the system structures. No one had any trouble with the sudden appearances of monsters, as Ban had expected. The dungeons that appeared throughout the area were acting more like batteries rather than things intended to create monsters.

“Just make sure you clear those dungeons, okay?” Rud asked, thumbing the button on his microphone. “Are we any closer to sending messages to the other groves?”

“Yeah, we’re trying,” Jim said. “Problem is, getting Bent’s attention is like teaching a toddler calculus. Right when you think he understands integrals, he craps his pants.”

Rud wasn’t sure what he thought about the analogy, but he nodded anyway. It was actually a decent assessment of how Bent worked. Ban might have made it sound as though she could communicate clearly with him, but the druids seriously doubted that the stag spirit was unknowable and impossibly powerful. Grabbing his attention was indeed like teaching a toddler calculus, except with more fear and terror involved. And the only one crapping their pants would be the one speaking to the spirit.

“Right. That’s a big problem,” Rud said. “Any suggestions on how we can communicate otherwise?”

“Yup. Portals,” Maria said. “Right now, we’re targeting Harg, Aegael, River, and Slouge. If we can establish portals there, we can send letters. According to your plan, Rud.”

“Right… My plan,” Rud said, scratching his chin. “The plan that I came up with. The plan to send stuff rather than people over to the other groves.”

“You’re making steps to complete the plan, right?” Jim asked, a tone of amusement in his voice.

Rud winced as he looked out onto the balcony. He waved as Nulsa alighted onto the banister and held up a single finger, asking for a moment to finish the call.

“I’m still in the research phase,” Rud said. “I’ve got a lot of the forest to care for before I can hope to approach the portal problem, but I’ll put it as item two on my to-do list.”

The group went over a few more things before the call ended. Rud sighed as he clicked the radio off, but he couldn’t help but focus on the feeling of warmth spreading through his chest. It came any time he talked to his fellow custodians over the radio, but especially when he heard Maria’s voice. She was so normal compared to everything he experienced in the grove. It was like having a slice of Earth at his fingertips.

“Do you require help?” Nulsa asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Scouting,” Rud said, allowing his eyes to go unfocused as he used his far-seeing skill. He turned his head to one side slowly, focusing on the pinpricks of light that appeared far in the distance. Nulsa waited for him to finish the scan. “There aren’t any more dungeons compared to yesterday. That’s a good thing, right?”

“Unlikely. Our biggest problem is finding the dungeons. As I have expressed, they are disguising their magical signature,” Nulsa said.

Rud gritted his teeth as he leaned back in his chair. His far-seeing ability was powerful, and it had helped him in more ways than he could count. Getting that skill to rank one might provide him with an upgrade that would make things easier. He could also upgrade the tower itself, but he had a feeling it wouldn’t help him penetrate the magical barriers that prevented them from detecting the dungeons. He also had to consider that the owl’s sacred beast was strong. Was there anything he could hope to do to aid Nulsa?

“What’s our biggest problem with detecting these things?” Rud asked. “A magical barrier is blocking our sight, right?”

“Correct.”

“Yet the dungeons have a physical form,” Rud said. “I can’t really scan the entire grove by eye with my Farseeing ability. The way it snaps from first- to third-person doesn’t lend well to that.”

“I have been flying patterns over the grove manually, attempting to discover these dungeons, but so far, I’ve only found one.”

“I can ask the forest animals to help, but the only ones I see being useful are the birds, and they are almost impossible to wrangle.” Rud said, “Perhaps if we found something intelligent, like a crow or a raven, I could convince them to do it, but I don’t believe I’ve seen that type of bird around here.”

“This region isn’t notable for its intelligent birds,” Nulsa said. “You should give it a try anyway. There is a species of bird that is intelligent enough; I shall describe it for you.”

The animal the owl described sounded like a magpie, much to Rudd’s dismay. There weren’t many owls in the region, but Nulsa suggested contacting them if he could find them. For now, he would run off and fly patterns over the Grove while the druid attempted to make contact with the birds.

“This plan is for the birds,” Rud said under his breath.

“What was that?” Nulsa asked just before taking off from the balcony.

“Nothing!” Rud said, shifting into his squirrel form and running away. He had used his Farseeing ability in conjunction with the Animal Tracking upgrade on the barn to find birds that seemed similar to the magpies. “Aren’t magpies crows? Ugh, whatever. They’re fantasy-versions of magpies, anyway.”

A small flock of magpies was lingering near the southern reaches of the Grove. Animals often used the forested area as a refuge. They might not be very intelligent by sapient standards, but the protection of the Grove seemed engrained in all animals. They knew if they hid out, they would be safe. Unless they were a naughty wolf, then they were dinner.

Rud activated his Clear Communication upgrade as he landed on a branch. A group of black and white birds watched as he approached, all sweeping their heads from one side to the other to get a better look at him.

“Greetings, fellow animals,” Rud said.

“Not bird!” one magpie screamed. The others were quick to join.

“Ah, but I can glide. Which makes me half-bird,” Rud said.

The magpies shared a confused look then locked their collective gaze back onto him. “Half-bird!” they shouted back, squawking and jumping on the branches of the tree. “Welcome, half-bird!”

“Yup. So, are you guys interested in a job?” Rud asked. “I need to find something.”

“Finding! We are excellent finders,” a magpie said. Of course, the others repeated the message at double volume.

What did magpies like to eat? Garbage? The brains of unsuspecting folks in Australia? “For this task, I shall award you delicious nuts and seeds.”

“Seeds! Nuts!” the magpies chanted. “Seeds and nuts! Seeds and nuts! What are we finding?”

“A dungeon,” Rud said. “A dungeon that can shield itself from magical sight.”

“We shall search!” the flock shouted, taking off before Rud could say anything else. They scattered into the air, diving and cawing as they went.

The druid blinked a few times, unsure what he should do. After he regained his senses, he entered the nearest cluster of leaves and teleported to the southern reaches of the Grove. At least he could work on the pathways while he waited for the magpies to find what he was looking for. Naturally, the task was fairly simple. With all his boons, he removed and added sections of the living pathway as though he was simply waving a hand.

The adventurers had gone into one dungeon already, and it would likely take them most of the day to clear it. Rud checked on the supplies in their makeshift shelter, finding that they had dug into the cheese and made a few pots of tea.

It took a few hours, but Rud figured the adventurers were sorted out for a few days. Maybe a week depending on how quickly they worked. The cheese and tea would bolster them, meaning they would need less rest. What was better than the power of cheese?

Rud returned to the place where he had found the magpies before and was shocked to see a gaggle of the creatures waiting for him. They met him with a chorus of strangled squawks, each voice trying to overtake the last. Good thing the druid had stuffed his pockets with assorted nuts and seeds.

“We have delivered!” one magpie shouted, swooping and dropping something at Rud’s feet. Another came next, putting a perplexed look on his face. “Delivered!”

Rud bent over, plucking an object from beneath a leaf. Another one fell on his head, rolling harmlessly to the ground. “What is this?” he asked.

“A dungeon!” one magpie shouted, releasing something else.

“This is a button,” Rud said.

“What is the difference?” another magpie asked. “Where are our seeds? Payment from the half-bird!”

“Payment!”

Rud pinched the bridge of his nose, releasing a heavy sigh. He scooped up the treasures dropped by the magpies, shoving them in his pocket and exchanging them for various nuts and seeds.The magpies loved it, their voices filling the air to form a cacophonous noise that forced the druid to drop the Clear Communication upgrade. He rolled one button over in his fingers, brows knitting as he saw the chunk of fabric still clinging to it.

“Did you guys… steal this from Barlgore?” Rud asked, tossing handfuls of nuts onto the grounds.

He only got their calls in response, and quickly turned away in frustration. Rud didn’t know what he had expected. Nulsa talked him into recruiting the birds, but it had ended exactly how he foresaw. Birds weren’t like mammals. It was much easier to talk to squirrels. Just as the druid was passing through a bush to address another one of his responsibilities, the druid felt something strange flooding through his chest.

A message appeared in his vision.

Chapter 6

Raven

[Spell Obtained!]

The Wild Spirit Harg has taken notice of you. He has gifted you with the Shapeshift: Raven spell.

“Immediately, and without delay, we must build a statue honoring Harg,” Rud said.         

Rud wasn’t aware of the exact mechanisms the spirits used to spy on him, but he was grateful for it. Harg gifted him a form perfect for scouting the grove. Since the birds within the grove wouldn’t cooperate with him, this was the next best thing. If he spent a great deal of time in the raven form, he could increase the level of his shape-shifting skill. It truly was an amazing gift from the Wild Spirit. Without delay, he inspected the spell.

[Shapeshift: Raven]

Rank 0 Druid Spell

Shapeshifting Magic

Component:

Imbued Leaf

Mana Cost:

150

Duration:

Two Hours

Description:

Assume the shape of a raven. You’ll be super goth and you can fly. Win-win!

Effect:

You turn into a raven. All your clothes, equipment, etc are maintained in your true form and will reappear when you cancel this effect.

You retain all your attributes, but your abilities and skill usage may be limited.

Expending mana while in this form allows you to heighten your magical senses.

This was even better than Rud had expected. His other shapeshifting spells had the same text under the effects, except for the last item. If he expended a mana while he was in this form, he would gain increased magical senses, which meant he could spot the dungeons more easily. The only way this spell could have been better was if it somehow interfaced with his observatory. But he wouldn’t complain. Instead, he withdrew an imbued leaf from his bag and pitched it between his fingers.

“We’re going airborne, boys,” Rud said, forming the spell in his chest.

Whenever the druid used his shapeshifting magic, it was an instantaneous process. There was no gradual change from his full size to that of the animal, and this spell was no different. One moment he was standing in his true form, and the next, after a cloud of black and green smoke, he was a raven. Losing his four appendages brought a sense of confusion. He no longer had arms, but instead had wings. He spread them out to either side, giving them a few good flaps. The strangest thing of all was the sensation of his new beak.

But even with the strange feeling of now being a small raven, Rud couldn’t stop the excitement from rushing through his chest. He had never been a bird in the past, but assuming the shapeshifting form meant that he knew the basics of flying. He spread his wings wide and gave them a few more flaps before hopping. His first attempt wasn’t successful, resulting only in him tumbling into a tangle. However, the shapeshifting form helped him along.

With a few powerful flaps, Rud lifted off the ground. He searched ahead as the wind rushed over his feathers during his ascent. He tucked his legs up and pushed harder, soaring above the canopy of trees after narrowly dodging through their branches. In a few moments, the groves sprawled below him. He banked from one side to the other, then dove before spreading his wings wide again and catching a breeze. It was too exhilarating not to have some fun.

The sprinting speed of the raven form was impressive, but so was its cruising speed. Rud found himself locating the wind and settling into that stream, which pushed him forward with little effort. The higher he went, the easier it became, allowing him to cover vast distances with almost no energy. It took him a while to get his orientation in the air, but he eventually spotted the sacred tree and banked yet again before slipping into a dive. The wind rushed by his ears, ruffling his feathers. He slipped through the canopy and spread his wings wide again to slow his ascent before landing on one of Ban’s many branches.

“I’m a bird!” Rud shouted, bobbing up and down excitedly.

“Yes, I can see that,” Ban giggled. “I see Harg made good on his promise.”

“Aww, this was you?”

“Correct,” Ban said. “Harg has been impressed with how hard you’re working. He wanted you to be a shapeshifting specialist, but is settling for that being your second-favorite form of magic. Truth be told, he’s jealous of Basil.”

“Tell Harg I love him,” Rud blurted out, cawing.

“I’ll pass the message along.”

“Oh. While I’ve got your ear… Well, I know you don’t have ears but you know what I mean,” Rud said, ruffling his feathers. He found himself more flustered than expected. More than anything, he wanted to return to the sky. “How close are we to making a portal that can send items.”

“I don’t know. You tell me.”

Rud narrowed his black eyes, cawing. “That’s cryptic.”

“If you think so…”

Rud couldn’t figure out if this was a lesson or something else. Was Ban trying to say that he already had what was required within him and that all he had to do was believe in the power of friendship? No, she was speaking more practically. With his new specialization, he should be able to create the principles of a portal using his plant magic. The sacred tree would do the rest, but this meant that he had to understand at least a little bit about how portal magic worked. And his favorite mage wasn’t in town.

“So, you’re saying I can already do it. You have enough energy to support one,” Rud said.

“Exactly right.”

Rud tapped his scaly little foot, cawing in thought. “Okay. I’ll talk to Elm when she comes back to Barlgore. Until then…”

“Time to fly!” Ban finished his thought.

Rud cawed with excitement, taking to the skies.

Instead of starting in a logical spot, such as the western, eastern, northern, or southern edge of the Grove, Rud began in the dead center, working in a spiral pattern outward. His goal was to become more accustomed to flying and to understand how his raven form worked. One thing he realized right away was that, despite his increased attributes, flying was hard. He was placing a lot of demand on his shifted form, and flying against currents of air was a recipe for exhaustion.

Rud had only been searching for a few minutes before he heard the faint rustle of feathers behind him. He turned his head, using his strange bird vision to spot Nulsa flying right behind him. Despite the owl’s normally placid expression, he had a look of amusement on his face.

“I’m guessing the magpies weren’t cooperative,” Nulsa said with a hearty laugh. With a few powerful beats of his massive wings, he was flying alongside Rud.

“You guessed right,” Rud said with a laugh. “They brought me a bunch of buttons, but had absolutely no idea what a dungeon was. And I still had to pay them in nuts and seeds. What a ripoff.”

“Yet in exchange, you receive a flighted, shapeshifting form. I wouldn’t be too angry if I were you.” Nulsa went silent for a few moments, his head swiveling here and there as though he spotted something. “Have you had any luck locating a dungeon yet?”

“Negative, Ghost Rider,” Rud said. “I’m still getting used to flying. Honestly, I don’t know how you do it. It’s exhausting.”

“Years of practice,” Nulsa said. “Anyway, let’s split up, and we can scour the Grove together.”

The owl had a very basic plan for them. He had searched a tract of land to the west, and they would pick up where he left off. Nulsa would fly a tight pattern from north to south, while Rud came in behind him to fly a looser pattern with the mana-enhanced vision ability he had. He was better as a scattershot rather than a shot of precision.

Rud flew high in the air, and it was difficult to maintain his orientation. He flew behind Nulsa, banking this way and that. When he took his gaze away from the owl to look at the ground and use his mana-enhanced sight, he would lose track of him. Thankfully, using that same sight allowed him to spot the vortex of mana. Nulsa’s signature was powerful.

It only took Rud about four hours to become completely accustomed to his new raven form. During that time, he had to land and reapply the spell. However, thanks to the effect of his artifact weapon, he never ran out of mana. The pattern he was searching for with Nulsa drew him to the south, bringing him close to the group of adventurers. From the sky above, he watched through the canopy as they finally emerged from the first dungeon. As expected, they were injured. He banked, dove, and then landed right near the party, which caused them to go on edge and draw their weapons. Only when he shifted into his true form did they relax.

“If your goal is to make us soil ourselves, you’ve accomplished that,” the lead human said, a trail of blood tracking down his cheek.

“Speak for yourself. I haven’t peed myself yet,” the elf said.

“I come offering healing,” Rud said, holding his artifact staff high in the air. “Now line up, please. This shouldn’t take long.”

The mortals were all too eager to get their wounds healed, and it all fell into the druid’s plan. He needed them in perfect shape if they were to delve into the dungeon so frequently. Since he had access to the healing spell, there was no reason he shouldn’t abuse it. Compared to the wounds the Sacred Beasts had earned from the tower, the mortals were barely injured. One member of the party had a magical disease, which meant they had to head back to the shelter so Rud could cast Nature’s Cleanse. That would put them into a deep slumber for a few hours.

“He should be fine,” Rud assured them. “Hold on…”

Rud reached out through the Grove, feeling a general sense for what everyone was doing. He located a dwarf taking a break near the smithy. “Hey, could you bring five bowls of soup to my location?” Rud asked, pushing his thoughts through to Taz.

“You scared me half to death,” Taz responded. “Forgot we can speak into each-other’s minds… Yeah, I’ll bring your soup. Just a minute.”

This gave Rud enough time to finish up with the adventurers. He got them settled, even helping them start a fire and put a pot of tea on. That was just enough time for Taz to appear through the nearest bush, somehow carrying not five, but ten heavy bowls of soup. He arranged them on a table, placing wooden spoons near each and bowing slightly. “Your wish is my command,” the dwarf said with a sly wink.

“We are grateful forest spirits,” the human said, performing the sign of respect and bowing low. “The tea and cheese energize us, and we should be able to clear another dungeon tomorrow.”

Rud leaned in close and elbowed Taz and the ribs. “This means I get to eat another dungeon,” he whispered.

“Yummy. What’s on the menu?” Taz whispered back.

“What kind of dungeon was that?” Rud asked.

“Some kind of sludge monsters,” the human leader said through a mouthful of food. They were already digging in.

“Yummy sludge monsters,” Rud said, rubbing his hands together. “Wanna come along, Taz?”

The dwarf shrugged. “Sure. I’m taking a break. Might need your help in the mine aftward.”

Rud looked to the sky. He couldn’t see Nulsa, but he could imagine the owl giving him a disapproving look. “Hey, I got a lot of jobs around here,” Rud said, shaking his fist at the sky. “When you’re the custodian you can decide how to spend your day.”

“Who are you talking to?” Taz asked.

“Hoot, indeed.”