Gladesbale Grove Book 3 - Chapters 13,14,15 (Patreon)

Chapter 13

The Tide

Before dinner was officially over that night, Elm had joined the forest spirits at the longhouse. She seemed exhausted from the road, and Rud didn't blame her. Even taking the road he had constructed, he understood the journey was long and tiring. She looked ready for a nap but had arrived for some food, which she happily ate. After the druid got her settled for the night, he himself went to bed.

When the next morning came, it seemed like any other.

Rud had many responsibilities in the Grove now. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, he was bound to care for his various plants and animals. He was not even included in his job as a custodian. After watering his tea, he went to the observatory to make his morning report. It seemed as though most of the cold weather was gone, and he didn't know if that was the effect of the frozen island being fixed or something he didn't quite understand.

“Anybody on the air?” Rud asked, depressing the button on his microphone and setting it down as he waited. He had to write notes for the town to ensure they were aware of some foul weather forming on the coast. It was his job to watch the weather, so watch the weather he did.

"Maria here," a pleasant voice came crackling through the radio. "Feels like I finally got a handle on my monster situation. How are you faring over there, Rud?"

He paused for a few long moments before responding. The druid's impression was that everyone else needed him and that they were hopeless without his expert opinion. However, as he thought about it, it seemed ridiculous. Of course, Maria could take care of herself. She had been in this world for quite some time. Maybe she didn't have the perfect Grove, but she wasn't stupid. You had to assume that the dwarves residing in that underground cavern were the same way. They weren't dummies. They would make it on their own if needed.

"That's good news," Rud said. "Surprising news, but good."

"Well, when you have an army of dwarves showing up on your doorstep to reinforce you, things tend to go your way. But you didn't answer my question. How is Gladesbale doing?"

"Better than most, I imagine. We are contending with the monsters just fine. The biggest problem is, of course, the dungeons themselves. I've got a small team of adventurers clearing their way through them, but it's slow going. I wish they could do it faster."

"I find myself thinking about the other groves constantly," Maria said. "If they don't have a functional observatory, what are the chances they've got the means to defend themselves? Again, I don't want to besmirch the name of the other groves, but they really aren't using their time in this world well. We'll have to pull them out of the fire. You understand that, right?"

"Unfortunately, I am well aware of that," Rud said, trying not to let it affect his mood too much. "And I'm almost there. I've got my wizard, and I’ve got my magical power source to fire the portals. I'll be sending delicious tea halfway across the world by the end of the week."

“That’s a big promise,” Maria said. Her laugh echoed over the radio, crackling with static.

Truth was, Rud had little else to update her on. Instead, he used his far-seeing skill to scan the forest, looking for any blips that could inform him about the hidden dungeons. Even with his new form, he doubted he and Nulsa could search the entire grove in a reasonable amount of time.

The pair skirted away from conversations related to the endless waves of monsters and instead discussed more pleasant topics. As always, Maria had a few hypothetical situations she wanted to run by him, and the druid was more than happy to listen. They joked as he scanned the forest, taking notes to remember the positions of the various dungeons when something strange entered his magical sight.

"Hold on, I've got something weird here," Rud said, squinting his eyes and shifting his gaze to spot a massive mortal body flooding into the Grove. Following closely behind them was something he really didn't want to see. "I gotta go."

Rud didn’t wait for a response before clicking his radio off. He shifted into his raven form and hopped out the window, taking to the air and finding the nearest cluster of bushes. He burst forth from a tree on the western reaches of the Grove. This was the same area the adventurers had departed to assess the orcish situation. When the druid had a good view of everything below, he opened his mana sight and let out a low caw.

Following closely behind the adventurers was a tide of orc monsters. They flowed over the landscape like water jumping over rocks, tossing improvised spears at the fleeing people. Ban had apparently not missed the sudden invasion of befouling energy into her territory. The instant the orcs crossed into the Grove, roots sprang from the ground, destroying scores of the monsters. The druid could hear the adventurers cheering from below, and he circled down to them, spotting a friendly face and shifting back into his true form. 

“You sure know how to make an entrance,” Rud said, crossing his arms as he glared at Tuft. The tiger-person was bloodied from the fight, the wounds over his body visible under layers of matted fur. “Organize your injured and I’ll get to work.”

Tuft could only breathe, “thank you,” before collapsing to the ground.

Whatever battle happened right on the border of the Grove was unknown to the druid. All the forest spirits joined in, and even Taz stood on the front line with a pickaxe and a large shield on his back. Rud concerned himself only with healing the injured, expending all his mana and waiting as it ticked up two points at a time. He couldn't even guess the total number of orcs currently outside the Grove, but it didn't take long for them to route, fleeing back to the west from where they came from. Once he had stabilized every adventurer, he once again found Tuft and sat next to the wounded man.

"You know how to make an entrance," Rud said, laughing as he withdrew some snacks from his bag. He handed over some trail mix and a chunk of cheese, which Tuft was happy to accept.

"Minimal casualties too." He said this with a grim look on his face. "I hope they find their home with the spirits. But you really saved us. You know that?"

"That's what we're here for, I guess," Rud said, holding the line against the orcs. "I really have to wonder how the town would do without us."

“Wow, and you’re modest too,” Tuft said in a slightly mocking voice. If he hadn’t done so with a smile on his face, the druid might have suspected that he was actually upset. However, as he looked over the injured adventures around him, he realized it was a sensitive moment, and a bit of levity was exactly what they needed.

“Extremely modest!” Rud shouted. “Also check this out.”

The druid shifted into his bird form, doing a few loops above the adventurers before shifting back again. “Pretty neat, huh?”

Tuft clapped politely. “I am beyond impressed. Wish I could fly…”

“Oh, flying isn’t what everyone thinks it's gonna be. Sure, you feel weightless and you see the entire world below you as though it's some miniature thing you could hold in your hand and everyone looks so small and you feel super powerful and free like life is gonna be good forever… But it makes my arms cramp.”

“The trials you suffer…”

Rud joked around with Tuft for a bit longer until the adventurers were ready to walk, while the other spirits drove the orcish army away. The druid led those adventurers deep into the Grove. They could have stayed at the way station on the western reaches, but he would feel more comfortable if they were deeper within the borders. Once they were far enough away, he took one of the existing rest stops and expanded it, adding more houses for the people to stay in. Each time he created a new building with his potent plant magic, he received a cheer of excitement from the group, which only motivated him further. He struck as many poses as he could think of, dazzling the mortals with his display of awesome druidness.

“Light the fires,” Rud said, nodding toward the new buildings. “I’ll be back with some food.”

Tuft clapped a hand on Rud’s shoulder as he was turning to leave. There was a look of pure sincerity in the man’s eyes. “Rud. Thank you. Seriously, you saved our lives.”

Rud gave him a thumbs-up. “All in a day’s work, ma’am,” he said, shifting into his bird form before Tuft could correct him.

Wasting no time while in the air, Rud spoke to Ban directly. “Bad news bears, mama tree.”

“I know,” Ban said. “The energy of the orcs woke me from my slumber. I didn’t know there were so many in the west… And we’ve got our own problems. There’s no way we can send any spirits out to take care of the problem.”

“How about we equip the adventurer with our gear?” Rud asked. “Same plan we have for the other groves, just for our local adventurers.”

Ban took a long pause before responding, and Rud could practically feel her concerns. Creating weapons and armor for the mortals was a tricky proposition in her mind. The druid had a problem with this concept at first, but had warmed up to it in recent times. At first, he was concerned they would be all evil and stuff. But as the months rolled on, he realized everyone who came to the grove was loyal to the spirits.

“I have concerns,” Ban said. “Let me work on something first. I have an idea that might solve that problem.”

“Care to share with the class?” Rud asked, banking to loop around the top of the Sacred Tree.

“I think I can create an effect for your Crafting Magic. It’ll make it so the items you use it on can only be used by those loyal to Gladesbale,” Ban said, taking another long pause. “Just like the whitelist you have for the Grove itself.”

That would solve all their problems with the adventurers. If they could only use the items if they were loyal, Rud could live a care-free life. “That’s a great plan,” Rud said, allowing his excitement to flood through their connection. He felt something come back from her end, and it made him pause. “But you’re right. Our concern is the groves first, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. The orcs aren’t a problem for us. They’re a problem for the mortals,” Ban said. “Still, it wouldn’t hurt to put Taz to the task of creating weapons and armor. I’ll speak to him.”

There was only one thing Rud could do at this point. He dove, spreading his wings wide right before smacking against the ground. Navigating through the dense trees, he found the house Elm was staying at. He hopped onto the open window and jumped through, landing on her head.

Rud squawked, jumping on Elm until she stirred.

“Five more minutes,” Elm complained, swatting at him. “Begone, you foul bird.”

Rud made more raven noises, jumping and flapping until she finally rose. She blinked—one eye at a time—and regarded him.

“Has anyone told you you’re annoying?” she asked. “Some of us require sleep. And some of us cannot turn into birds and go where we please.”

“No time to complain!” Rud shouted after shifting into his true form. “We’ve got portals to craft!”

Elm let out a heavy sigh. “We’re crafting Gates… Not portals.”

“Whatever! Come on!”

Chapter 14

Mystery Meat

Beneath the shade of the Sacred Tree, Rud sat with Elm on the dirt ground. Etched into the earth, the mage had created a bunch of words and symbols. The druid understood some of them, but anything that was too magical flew over his head. But that didn’t stop him from doing his best to figure it out.

“Shouldn’t you help with the orcs?” Elm asked, her voice filled with concern.

“Not much I can do about it,” Rud said with a shrug. “I’m a lover, not a fighter.”

“Fair enough… I guess.” Elm scratched her head, looking down at the symbols she had already drawn. “So, where were we? Right. I’ve narrowed down what kind of Gate you’ll need to construct, which saves us a lot of trouble. You just need to learn a few symbols while the Grove handles the rest.”

Rud was once again reminded how tireless Elm was. He focused as hard as he could, going over the symbols he had to know and their importance. Elm was patient with him, reinforcing the concepts of those symbols until they were burned into the druid’s skull. It still took longer than he was willing to admit for it to click.

“I get it,” Rud said after a few hours of study. He went rigid as the last piece clicked in his mind. “You’re right. This is extremely easy stuff.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to say.” Elm sagged, tipping over backwards to rest on her back. “Teaching you anything related to magic is a pain. I’ve met warriors with more arcane potential than you.”

“Arcane magic is hard, dude!” Rud shouted. “Druidic magic is all about loving squirrels, saving the environment, and eating questionable mushrooms. Arcane magic is about working hard and learning stuff. Yuck.”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Elm said. Yet she didn’t get up from her position on the ground.

Rud joined her, relaxing on the ground to look up at the beautiful flowers above. Looking at Ban’s flowers had a way of relaxing him. The wind blew, swaying the branches and creating a pleasant sound that radiated in the druid’s soul. He could feel the energy of the wind moving through, as it left behind a streak of faint magic. With Elm’s lesson weighing heavily on his mind, he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to waste the day away below those branches, the talented elf nearby. Both dozed off a few times over the next hour, the occasional snore waking the other.

Elm sprung to her feet, blinking away her tiredness. “Okay. I need to move around or I’ll fall asleep,” she said. “I’ll be around if you need anything.”

Rud waved as Elm headed off to the rest stop to do whatever it was mages did. The druid now had some work to do. His thoughts went back to when Basil had teleported him over to Cliffs of Mog and knew his process would be different. The current plan was to build a permanent structure he could use to do his item teleportations. Gladesbale couldn’t hope to match the other Grove for sheer power, but they could be clever about how they designed their Gate.

“Let’s see,” Rud said, licking his finger and putting it into the air.

“What’s the problem?” Ban asked.

“We gotta find a spot with some decent magic,” Rud said, speaking through their link. The air was basically a cloud of magic. A man couldn’t swing a squirrel without hitting a collection of potent druidic energy.

“Pick a spot, any spot!” Ban said.

“You’re feeling cheery,” Rud said, walking off in a direction that felt promising. He didn’t have much to go off of except the instructions he had been told by Elm. The spot he needed to select for the Gate required conditions that were just right. And those conditions were judged based on feel. “The confluence of magic in an area is important, but I need a place where your roots are central. Elm told me about how the magic is gonna rush in, so we need maximum bandwidth.”

“There are several lines you could take advantage of,” Ban said. In Rud’s vision, he saw glowing lines appear on the ground. “I’d pick that one. That draws the most energy from around the network and it has a direct line to our new building.”

Rud rubbed his fingers together. The area he picked was on the western side of the clearing. There was a nice platform already built near the road, so he got to work right away. Bigger might’ve been better, but the larger this Gate was, the more power they would need to keep it running. The druid made the rough outline of the archway, forming it from a nearby tree he had grown with his new powers. The tree made a potent base, and working with it was a pleasure.

“What a fine tree,” Rud said, standing back to inspect the base of the arch. This version of the Gate would only allow small things through, so he only built it about up to his waist. They could slide some boxes through without an issue, but if any person wouldn’t go through they’d have to crawl on their hands and knees. “And that was the easy part…”

Using the Shape Plant spell to etch stuff into the surface of plants had become an art for Rud. His nose was practically pressed against the arch as he scratched the sigils in. This was only possible because Elm had drawn them out for him on sheets of paper. They were quite easy to draw on paper, but the druid found them hard to impress into wood. It took several attempts to get them looking even remotely good, but when he stood back, they still seemed slightly wrong.

“Keep trying,” Ban said, her comfort soothing him. “This style of magic is alien to you. I wouldn’t expect you to get it on the first try.”

“How do we test it?” Rud asked, leaning close to see the minor imperfections in the sigils caused by the grain of the wood.

“I’ll hit it with a minor jolt of my energy. If you made them correctly, the sigils will glow.”

That was easy enough. Rud got back to it, using his spells to smooth the surface once again. When he was finished etching the sigils yet again. When he stepped back this time, they looked more correct than last time. But he knew it wasn’t quite there.

“Give her some juice, Ban,” Rud said, squinting as he stood back.

“Juice incoming,” Ban said, her voice radiating through Rud’s mind.

The druid watched as power flowed from the base of the archway, snaking its way through the roots and into the structure. Like water, the energy soaked into the sigils. Some symbols glowed while others didn’t.

“Where did I go wrong?” Rud asked, leaning in to inspect his work. “Is this seriously what mages do with their time?”

“Yeah, it really is. They sit in stuffy towers all day and read books. Yuck,” Ban said. “There are a few things the Groves support that use arcane magic. This is one of them.”

“Lame. We should have a way to teleport between the groves,” Rud said.

“There might be a way,” Ban said. “But you’d have to become the world’s foremost expert on Plant Magic to accomplish that.”

Rud felt a pose coming on, and shook his limbs out. He thrust his staff into the air, striking the most heroic pose he could think of. “I have worked with arcane sigils for exactly five minutes and I hate it. Therefore, I shall become the world’s best Plant Magic user! Even better than Basil!”

“To be fair, Basil has a specialization in Construction Magic, which is slightly different,” Ban said. “But your grand proclamation isn’t lost on me, little one.”

“This arcane magic just really isn’t working with me,” Rud said with a shrug. Still, he got back to work on the sigils. Another two hours went by before Elm came to check on him. Ban or Mint must’ve told her where he was, because she approached with a broad smile on her face.

“Having some trouble?” she asked, sauntering over.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it,” Rud said, his shoulders slumping. “I stink at wizard magic.”

Elm laughed, slapping him on the back as she looked over his work. “This isn’t bad for your first time. People spend their lives studying stuff like this and still fail. Your main issue is the positioning. Here, let me guide you through it.”

Rud wasn’t sure what they would do without someone like Elm around. This whole plan would fall through, and he had to make sure she knew they appreciated her help. There was a big pile of enchanted metals waiting for her if she wanted it. Or maybe some gems? He suspected Taz was hiding a bunch of gems, so the druid would need to pilfer those stores when he had a chance.

Elm was extremely skilled at the runework. Her ability to understand the complex interaction between each one was on display right away. She guided him through the process, directing each line he made into the wood, and correcting him when he got something wrong. Even with her help, it was night before they got it working. Both stepped back, waiting for Ban to send yet another flash of mana through the arrangement.

“That should do it,” Elm said, clasping her hands together. “I hope…”

Energy gathered at the base again, flowing over the bottom of the archway before working its way up the top. Rud watched as each sigil filled with magical energy, glowing faintly in the darkness of the night. He counted them off aloud as they went, gritting his teeth as it got to the final three. Each lit successfully before energy gathered in the Gate’s center. Then it fizzled out, falling to the ground as a cloud of mist.

“We did it!” Elm shouted! Jumping into the air. She turned, pulling Rud into a big hug. “The amount of mana required even to activate those sigils is absurd! You’re an absolute monster, Ban!”

“Yes, I know,” Ban said, her giggle filling the clearing.

Elm hit the deck, clutching her head.

“Whoops. Sorry.”

“Ban said she’s sorry for scrambling your brain,” Rud said, helping Elm to her feet. “She forgets that you mortals are so squishy.”

“Feels like a psychic attack,” Elm said, keeping one eye closed. “If she wasn’t so beautiful, I’d be afraid of her.”

“I think we should still be afraid of her, no matter how gorgeous she is,” Rud said, turning to wink at the tree. “Come on. We gotta go get some food. I’m absolutely starving!”

The duo left the archway where it was. Rud wanted to do some test runs on the Gate before he sent stuff through it, and now wasn’t the right time. He’d need the cooperation of another grove, likely Maria’s. For now, he could only think of the scent of roasted meat he smelled on the air. He followed his nose to the longhouse, Elm following close behind him.

“Fresh tea,” Elm said, dancing over to the table and falling into her seat. She didn’t seem to notice the gaggle of other adventurers there, and poured herself a large cup of tea.

“Fresh meat!” Rud shouted, rushing over to pluck some meat from the fire.

“I ran some supplies over to the other adventurers like you asked,” Taz said, appearing from behind a group of adventurers. “Snacks, meat, cheese, milk. You know.”

“I might’ve forgotten that I asked you to do that. Thanks,” Rud said, offering only a weak smile. He loaded up on a lot of roasted mushrooms and a good amount of meat. “No tea for me, though. I’d like to fall asleep within the next month.”

Elm drank deeply from her tea mug. “Not me,” she said with a contented sigh. “I’ll stay awake for a year if I need to. These magical anomalies are just too interesting.”

“Don’t forget the roasted meat, Elmera,” Rud said, poking a fork at the smoldering fire. “Taz is very good at roasting meat.”

“That’s right. Best in the Grove,” Taz said.

Elm glared at Rud, shaking her head. “Don’t call me that. But I will accept a big pile of meat. What kind are we having tonight?”

“Mystery meat!” Taz shouted.

Chapter 15

When You’re Right, You’re Right

No matter how prepared Rud felt to start the gate and send supplies to the other groves, there was the reality of Ban’s energy. He might have created the archway and helped upgrade the building to supply it with power, but if the tree wasn’t ready, she wasn’t ready. After taking care of his chores and making his report the next morning, he scoured the grove, cutting down old trees and replacing them with stronger versions. All of this added to her net energy, but it all felt like a drop in the bucket.

The adventurers had mostly recovered and were now retreating to places deeper within the grove. It was Rud’s responsibility to escort them, at least part of the way there, and he wouldn’t complain. The more he helped those people, the more he increased his custodianship skill, which had reached level 9 and was now close to ranking up. With his Farseeing skill not far behind, he now focused on bringing his subclass to rank one. Of course, that would have to wait until he was done settling in each adventurer, which meant housing and feeding an army. It was a task the Grove was oddly prepared for.

“We really couldn’t have expected that many orcs,” Tuft said, following closely behind Rud as he led the way along the wooden path.

The druid smiled to himself. He could have set them on their way and observed them from afar, but with the sheer number of adventures he had to ensure the safety of, he wasn’t eager to leave them on their own. If just one of them wandered from the path, he worried about what might happen.

“Worry not, fair citizen,” Rud said, thrusting his chest out and listening to the rhythmic tapping of his staff on the wooden path. “As long as you’re with me, you’ll be safe.”

“For some reason, I don’t doubt your spirit,” Tuft said with a soft chuckle. “Most of us felt better upon stepping into the Grove. Now that we’re heading to the heart, nobody is afraid of being attacked. But we have to ask the question: What are we going to do about the orcs? If they circle around the grove and attack, Barlgore will be in trouble.”

“Elementary, my dear Watson,” Rud said, turning and striking a dramatic pose. “We expand the grove far enough north and south so nobody can pass. Then we’re an impenetrable wall guarding the fair mortals against the monsters of this world.”

“I think that was slightly more impressive of a statement than you thought it was,” Tuft said, clapping a hand on Rud’s shoulder and moving past.

Once the adventurers were settled into the larger rest area near the center of the grove, Rud felt comfortable leaving them there. His first stop was down to the dungeons, which had been cleared by the adventurers over the course of days. They had gone through far more than he had expected, encountering far more attributes than he could have hoped. 5 Mind, 2 Affinity, 4 Strength, 1 Vigor, and 3 Agility. It was an absolute haul. The druid felt the power of his staff flowing through him, enhancing his attributes far beyond what should’ve been possible. He summoned his attribute screen to check.

[Rud]

Main Class:

Rank 1 Level 1 Druid

Subclass:

Rank 0 Level 7 Grove Custodian

Attributes:

Health: 149

Mana: 257

Strength: 14

Agility: 11

Vigor: 15

Mind: 27

Affinity: 17

Titles:

[Keeper of the Gladesbale Grove]

According to some quick math, he now had 50 extra levels of attributes, which seemed completely absurd. That would have put him at rank 6 at the least, but these were pure attributes and didn’t come with the enhancing effect of an additional rank. Still, he felt stronger and faster. His mana pool felt deeper, and his connection with spellcraft felt wider. Passing his staff through the air, he watched as a tree traced the exact arc. He channeled the shape plant spell and was amazed at how easily he could control his powers. Compared to when he had first arrived in the grove, he now felt strong.

Rud felt like taking a brief break. He passed through a nearby bush and appeared at the mine. He was unsurprised to see that Taz was working on something that would have made the druid recoil when he had first arrived. He was making armor and weapons, likely under Ban’s command.

“Hey dwarf, wanna wrestle?” Rud shouted, gaining the attention of the blacksmith.

Taz narrowed his eyes at the druid. His gaze eventually landed on the staff. “You absorbed a whole bunch of new attributes, didn’t you?” the dwarf asked. “So you sucked up a bunch of Strength and now you’re going to beat me up? No thanks.”

“Oh, come on. I bet Sarya would fight me if I asked her,” Rud said.

“Then go ask her,” Taz said, turning his attention back to the anvil.

Rud jogged over to the blacksmith, his ears ringing after each strike. “But I wanna fight a humanoid.”

“Find another humanoid,” Taz said. “This one is off-limits.”

“Bah. So, you’re working on some weapons? That’s not very druid-like, is it?”

“I’m a Blacksmith. Not a druid,” Taz countered. “These weapons are under Ban’s orders, so why are you so bent out of shape?”

“I’m not,” Rud said. “Ban mentioned she’s working on a spell that allows me to imbue them with magic. It’s not my normal kind of magic, but the kind that will make them usable only to those loyal to Gladesbale Grove.”

“She might have mentioned that to me,” Taz said. “I’m starting with a base of your imbued iron and working from there. This stuff is devilishly hard to work with, but I’m gaining a ton of levels for my skill.”

“You’re doing a fine job, humanoid,” Rud said. “Keep it up.”

Taz offered a half-hearted salute, too focused on the sword he was making to pay much attention. With nothing else to do for the day besides leveling his subclass and replanting old trees, Rud made his way back to the grove’s center. The northern part of the clearing was a section he had claimed for himself. His storage area and house were there, and he didn’t care to create any big projects in that spot. Instead, he decided that the best place for his latest tourism venture was on the eastern side of the clearing, south of the main road.

The first thing Rud would need to create this new feature was a massive tree. He got to work clearing out several old trees and then planted a seed after imbuing it with his power using the plant growth spell. He watched as it progressed through the stages without stopping. It only took a few moments for the tree to grow from a seedling to a towering oak. Although it didn’t rival Ban’s size in terms of total area, it certainly gave her a run for her money in terms of height.

But this was more than just a regular tree. It had to be functional in other ways. Rud took the root bed on this side, closest to the clearing, and began forming it into a large bowl. Then he etched out pieces of the tree on the inside, creating a section where he could pump water. After that, he got to work on the slides. The design of the tree was locked in his mind, but after a few hours of working his concentration was shattered.

A novel message appeared after casting the Shape Plant spell for the hundredth time that day.

[Rank Up!]

Your understanding of the spell Shape Plant has expanded, increasing it to Rank 1.

Ranking a spell shouldn’t have been such a pivotal moment, but Rud understood the implications. Until this point, the druid thought the spells he had were the domain of the spirits. Basil, from Cliffs of Mog Grove, had gifted him the spell. His thought was that only Basil could upgrade the spell for him. But there it was, a Rank 1 version of the spell sitting in his spell list. There was no change to the description or requirements, but there it was. The implication was that he didn’t need the power of the other guardians to strengthen himself in the realm of druidic magic.

“But what exactly does it mean?” Rud asked himself, staring up at the massive tree he was only part way through finishing.

“It means you’re getting better,” Ban said, her voice floating across the clearing like a cool summer breeze. “I honestly didn’t expect you to break through that barrier so quickly, but there you are. You don’t give yourself enough credit sometimes, but you’re very good at this, Rud.”

“Do you think so?” Rud asked, his eyes still locked on the tree. “Sometimes it feels like we’re just living in the shadow of the other Groves.”

“Comparing yourself to another entity that has existed for hundreds of years isn’t good for your confidence,” Ban said. “You’ve been here for a far shorter time, and look at you. Your connection with nature grows by the minute, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you surpassed Basil himself soon enough.”

“Do you think so?” Rud asked, turning his attention to his staff. “How much of that is my cheat staff?”

“The staff isn’t a ‘cheat’ like you think it is,” Ban said. “It resonates with your soul. Druidic power draws from your connection with nature. The artifact picked you because of your connection. Your dedication to balance. That’s the key word here.”

“Balance,” Rud repeated with a nod. “Basil’s problem is a matter of balance.”

“Exactly. Balance is the reason Gladesbale Grove is so potent. We aren’t one thing. Basil has his plants, and that’s fine. But nature isn’t just trees. Nature is the land, the water, the air, plants, and animals. It is the sum of those things. Nature is kind and cruel. Strength and weakness all rolled into one beautiful package. It doesn’t hate or love. It just is.”

Rud let out a low whistle, nodding eagerly. “When you’re right, you’re right…”

Sometimes it seemed to run against the ideals of nature, the things Rud did around the Grove. However, life and death were as close to nature as spring and winter. He had to destroy parts of the Grove to build it up better. He was the conduit for the Grove’s power. In that moment, he realized that the connection between the Groves and nature was a thing relegated to those who inhabited it. They could choose to be beacons of the natural world, or to twist it into something else as Basil had. Not that the guardian in Cliffs of Mog had done it wrong.

Gladesbale was simply doing it better.

“That was a very poignant pep talk,” he said, letting out a heavy sigh. His eyes lingered on the staff in his hands. He felt more than ever that it was a conduit between him and the natural world. He couldn’t stop his mind from wandering to the other groves, the one inhabited by the spirit Land. It felt easier to understand the unknowable motives of Bent, even if his mind couldn’t wrap itself around the concept.

“I can feel your concern and confusion,” Ban said.

Rud shrugged. “I don’t know if I’m confused or if my eyes have been opened,” he said. “Attributes don’t change the way minds work, do they?”

“No. But your increased Affinity and Mind bring you closer to your magical source. Since you have absurd scores in both, you’re getting closer to the core of your power,” Ban said. “You’re becoming the star druid Bent knows you can become.”

“No pressure, huh?” Rud asked, shaking his head. He took a steadying breath, then turned to the Sacred Tree in the distance. He struck a pose. “We got this!”

“Yeah we do!” Ban shot back. “Now finish that water slide!”