The moment Rud stepped through the portal, back to Gladesbale Grove, he had the wind knocked out of him. Two wolves, and a dwarf piled on top of him, driving all the air from his lungs. He gasped for breath, but the hugs that followed only worsened the situation. The druid only drew fresh air when the tangled mess of fur and beard removed itself from him.
“How was the trip?” Mint asked, bouncing on the spot.
Sarya mimicked her. “How was it?”
Rud looked over his grove, finding the sight confusing. An icy wind blew from the north and it was midday. When he left Basil’s grove, it was early in the morning. The druid should have felt tired, but he had gained a second wind. “It was confusing.”
“Let the man rest,” Ban said, her voice echoing into the minds of all those gathered. “I doubt he has slept.”
“I haven’t,” Rud said, looking up at his Sacred Tree with renewed appreciation.
“Well, the mortals are back in the forest. Doing their lumbering stuff. One even wandered into your village,” Taz said, clapping a hand on Rud’s back.
“Ban is right,” Rud lied. “I could use some rest.”
Sarya led the way to his mushroom house, bouncing on the spot and growling with excitement. Rud entered his house, leaving the others behind and shutting his door. He would need to replace the doors made by Mint, but didn’t know if he had the heart. The fire in his house was already burning, and there was food and hot tea waiting for him. He devoured the meat and mushrooms and sipped the tea, letting out a great sigh.
“Not sure why you didn’t tell me, Ban,” Rud said, looking up at the ceiling. The fire cast shadows up there. They danced with each crackle of the flame, four black lines representing the grate on the stove.
“It was better that you found out this way,” she said. “Not sure if I have the level of vanity needed to claim I was special. Let alone to claim that you are special.”
The silence that set in was comfortable. Rud listened to the sound of the fire crackling, feeling tiredness overwhelming him.
“Basil was nice. He taught me some stuff,” Rud said. “Wish I had known that all the custodians were from Earth.”
“I never want to overwhelm you with information, Rud,” Ban said. “You’ve always been reasonable. How would you have reacted if I told you everything all at once?”
“I would have run out into the forest, screaming and pulling my hair out,” Rud said.
Ban laughed. “Perhaps not that dramatic. But I agree.”
The techniques Rud had learned were great. But there was more knowledge given to him by the experienced members of the grove. A person’s level was tied to their skills. If he wanted to increase his class’s level, he needed to upgrade all his skills. When it came time to go from Rank 0 to Rank 1, at least three of his skills needed to be at Level 10. If he wasn’t careful, his Grove Custodian subclass would fall behind. Jim went from nothing to Rank 1 in a week, putting the druid to shame. But a broad base of knowledge at low ranks was a good sign. According to Basil.
“How are your energy levels?” Rud asked.
“They’re fine for now. But I’m going to create a new expansion before we sprint for Rank 1,” Ban said.
Rud nodded to himself. She wanted the Nodules expansion, which he didn’t fully understand. But he knew it would help her store and process energy, which could only be good. The druid didn’t want to move from his chair. He was full of good food and ready to call it a day. Although things begged for his attention, he ignored them. He could take care of them after he rested.
###
Rud stood on the edge of the stump forest, watching as mortals struggled to process the massive trees he had grown. Mira wasn’t around, but the mortals that were there greeted him with the same gesture of respect as she used. More importantly, there was a letter in his mailbox. A letter from Elmera.
She had scrounged enough high-quality crystal fragments to trade for five of his enchanted metal bars. Rud had almost forgotten about those metal bars. Things had been moving at a weird pace over the last week since she left, and the ordeal with his rare metal had slipped his mind. But unlike Mira, she couldn’t return to the grove every day. Instead, she listed a date that he couldn’t understand and claimed she would return then and camp outside of the grove.
Rud approached a lumber worker, who jumped with fright when the little forest spirit man approached him. “When is this?” Rud asked, pausing for a moment to amend his statement for clarity. “In relation to today.”
The human took the letter and read the date. “Tomorrow,” he said, performing the sign of respect by touching his forehead and bowing. “Bless the grove.”
“And bless you too, my dude,” Rud said, grabbing the letter and walking away.
Elmera could hang out in the grove tomorrow. She might be interested in the way his Growth Magic was progressing. That made him think about how he had neglected his subclass. It was nothing a little hard work couldn’t solve.
Rud stepped through a bush, arriving at the mine. He grabbed the Aspect of Gug and headed into the mine with a pick slung over his shoulder. As he expected, Taz was there working on the passageway near his bedroom.
“Look at this. The druid has come to grace my humble home,” Taz said with a hearty chuckle. “Let’s get into it, Rud.”
The concept of the hall was simple enough. Taz needed more support beams for the area, but Rud wanted to focus on mining. They got to work extending the hall, chipping away at the stone and searching for veins of ore as they went. After a few hours of hard work, the dwarf broke off to grab some lunch. The druid made his way to the smelter, accepting the Aspect of Aegael and entering the smelter. He checked his supplies, finding that there was plenty of Fairy Peat to fuel the fire.
Rud looked upon two massive piles of ore. Copper and iron were ready for melting, pushed into piles almost as tall as the druid himself. He almost forgot how aggressive the Fairy Peat was, removing a sizable chunk of what he had added under the smelter. The flames roared to life, filling the building with a flash of heat. The druid climbed the ladder, depositing shovels full of ore into the top of the smelter. When the material hit the bottom of the smelter’s cylindrical form, it sizzled as the moisture boiled away.
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Managing the smelter was the easiest job to do around the grove. Rud found a stool to recline on while the fire did its work. Partway through the process, a message appeared informing him of his skill’s advancement.
[Skill Gain!]
Your Smelting skill has increased to level 3!
Rud didn’t plan to increase only his smelting skill today. Crafting Magic was also a skill that needed a few levels. Like Smelting, it was at a low level. If Elmera wanted to buy more bars of enchanted metal, he had to get that skill up and the upgrade that came with Level 5. With his new staff it would be easier. He would spend less time waiting around for his mana to regenerate and more time imbuing ingots with druidic magic.
While the smelter did its trick, Rud got up from his comfortable chairs and imbued the ingots that Taz had created. They were just as good as the ones the druid had poured, if not slightly better. The bottoms were smoother, so that was a thing. He didn’t know if it was good or bad. He segmented the stacks of ingots between those infused with Imbue Crafted Item and those that were mundane. Counting his stock of Arcane Crystal Fragments, Rud realized how close he was cutting it. The ninety percent reserve energy he had left Ban with had faded quickly, dwindling to almost nothing.
Rud looked upon his stacks of ingots after pouring the copper and disposing of the slag. It was more than he could carry in his backpack, even with the expanded size of the magical item. He stepped through a bush, feeling the Aspect of Aegael fade from his body. No mortal stayed in the village he had created, which was a bummer. He teleported back to the stump field, checking his mailbox and finding nothing. Instead of lingering, he worked on a new project.
There were a few tall trees near the border of the grove. That distinct line that separated the enchanted place from the rest of the world was stark and marked with stacked stones. He nurtured a tree near the edge, growing it to an absurd scale with his Plant Growth spell. Several woodworkers scattered when they saw the tree grow, only to come back and stare at the druid doing his work.
With everything Rud had learned over the past few days, including those tricks Basil taught him, he formed the tree into a livable place. If they didn’t want to have a decent place to stay while they were within the grove, perhaps they would go for something on the grove’s edge. He took inspiration from the way that Basil made his structures, setting the foundation wider than he normally would have, and angling the length of the tree as it went up. The structure would have a cone shape, but it made more sense than the straight buildings he had been making. And redistributing the material within the tree was easy enough, especially while freecasting.
The Grove Weaver upgrade accepted that he was within the Sacred Grove, but that wasn’t entirely true. Rud felt no strain on himself as he called upon the upgrade, so he must have been close enough for it to count. He turned, hearing feet crunch over fallen leaves. He was almost done working on the first floor when several humans approached him.
“You’re building something, aren’t you?” the bravest one, displaying a magnificent beard, asked. “Can we help?”
Rud nodded. The structure was easy enough, but the area around it needed to be cleared. Large sticks and stumps littered the area, putting his work to shame. The druid instructed them to clear the area away, lining a dirt path with rocks. The path should span from the road to the tree, allowing people easy passage to the building. The four workers that had volunteered for the effort touched their foreheads and bowed, scattering and getting to work with more excitement than Rud thought possible.
Once the building had taken shape, including a small awning sticking out above the second floor to keep the rain out of the windows, the workers approached him again.
“Are you going to live here, master spirit?” the bearded guy asked.
“This is for you guys,” Rud said, slapping the side of the building. He turned to smile up at the man, leaning against his staff. “Twenty people should fit inside. So long as you don’t mind dorm conditions.”
“Not at all,” the bearded one said, bowing. “What did we do to earn your generosity?”
“No one wants to come in the grove,” Rud said with a defeated shrug. “If this is what I gotta do to make you guys comfortable while you work, I’ll do it. Just make sure no one cuts it down.”
The woodworker nodded, scurrying off to tell his friends. The mortals likely wouldn’t be able to cut the tree down. Rud would treat the base level with the Lacquer spell, rendering it as hard as stone. Basil had told him that was the best way. The upper sections of the tree and the roots didn’t need the treatment. But the trunk, where all the weight rested, would need to be structurally sound.
Rud knelt close to the stairs leading up to the front door, etching small patterns into the wood with his stick. They were cute but crude. A handrail on the stairs made sure the tired woodworkers could bring themselves inside and a wood hinged door gave them privacy. The druid stepped back, nodding with approval before engraving the name of the building above the door.
Stumphome. All are welcome.
“There we go,” Rud said, ducking inside to form the first floor furniture and stairs leading to the second.
Carving the inside of the homes was easier. Rud designated the first floor to a communal area, and both the second and third floor for sleeping. He designed a new awning for the third floor, having it flare out slightly less than the second floor one. When it was done, he stepped out into the bright sunlight, appreciating his work once again. It had taken most of the day, but it was worth it. The woodworkers were excited.
“We have this old stove,” one said, bundled in woolen cloth and hoisting an old rusted stove for Rud to see. “For warmth, you know?”
“Stack some rocks on the first floor. Place the stove on that. Do you have pipes?” Rud asked
Another held up an armful of old iron pipes.
“Perfect. Let’s get to work.”
Rud hooked up the wood-burning stove for the loggers. They marveled after entering the building, commenting on how everything was them-sized. The druid had become adept at forming the interior to cater to the big folk.
“Better than your tents, huh?” Rud asked.
“Far better, great spirit,” the bearded one said, bowing his head. “We’ll live in luxury when we visit your grove.”
“Just make sure everyone knows to keep this place clean. I’m not your maid.”
“Of course not, spirit,” one murmured, the others echoing the sentiment.
Rud left them to make comments amongst themselves. The building was nicer than the ones in his small village in the grove, but only just. There was only so much he could learn from Basil in a day, but his own skill with freecasting the spell had grown too. It wasn’t a palace, but compared to the tents it might as well have been. The only thing he would like for the mortals was fresh water, but it was a problem for another day. This had been enough work to keep his mind off of Elmera’s arrival tomorrow, and he could finally return to the clearing where Ban was feeling satisfied.
“Busy day,” Ban said, using her full voice.
Rud found a comfortable spot on the ground, wrapping his cloak around himself as he sat at the base of the tree. “Keeping my mind off things. Hoping I can get enough fragments for you before you work on the Nodules expansion.”
Rud felt a wave of acknowledgement in response. Ban wanted to ascend as quickly as she could and he felt like he was the only thing holding her back. That was part of his job, though. He compared himself to Jim and realized he was part of a more complete team than the other Earthling. If he couldn’t talk to Ban, things would be way different. This would be extremely hard, preventing them from coordinating.
“We should be fine with our current stockpile,” Ban said, some of her eagerness bleeding into her voice.
“I’m sure you’re right.” Rud made plans to hit the mines with Taz after Ban was down for her expansion. “We’ll make it work.”
“The mortals will return soon enough. If you work on more roads—those heading to the south and west—they’ll come. Then you can trade your enchanted ingots for fragments.”
“And we’ll be rolling in fragments before long!” Rud shouted, flopping down on his back. The orange light filtered through the boughs of the Sacred Tree splashed against the ground, staining it with sporadic blotches. “I had a good time at the other grove.”
“I knew you would.”
Rud’s strength was the diversity of his skills, even if he geared his Druid class toward magic that supported the grove. That understanding came with the fact that he needed to allow Ban to create more expansions and work on his existing skills. He let out a heavy sigh, and waited. Soon enough, Mint, Sarya, and Taz came around to make dinner. Rud helped start the fire while the others prepared meat from Taz’s freezer. The wolves weren’t happy about the meat being slightly frozen, but they approved of the concept of conservation.
The druid settled in for dinner, looking forward to tomorrow. Elmera would be here tomorrow, and he could rest easy with the fragments she brought.
