“Fit as a dragon!” Mint shouted, dashing off through the forest.
Rud stood in the clearing, holding a chunk of meat and watching as the wolf tore off with incredible speed. He took a bite out of the meat, sharing a concerned look with Taz. They shook their heads and turned away, both understanding that the energetic response was Mint being Mint.
The druid made his way to the enchanted pond, washing up with soap but not taking a full bath. He seemed to stay mostly clean, as long as he wasn’t constantly getting wet. He once again thought it was because of his self-cleaning clothes, but couldn’t prove it. Rud finished washing, splashing cold water on his face and grabbing his staff. In a moment, he was standing in the empty stump field.
After watering the plants in the stump field, Rud turned his attention to the road. With no mortals to talk to, he focused his efforts on this new freecasting concept Ban told him about. He started by considering the spell itself and how easy it was to cast. With a mushroom, stick, and a leaf, he pulled trees over the way he always did, weaving them together to create a road-like structure atop the ground.
“That was normal casting,” Ban said. “Try focusing on the elements of the spell.”
Rud grumbled but nodded. This wasn’t something that would happen right away. But the good news was that the cost of the Shape Plant spell had gone down significantly. Before, his imbued leaf and stick would last about fifteen minutes of shaping. That was about fifteen minutes of work for about 40 mana, which wasn’t horrible. But now the cost was 20 mana, which was more than enough for his staff’s regeneration to take care of. As long as he had sticks, mushrooms, and leaves, he could shape the plants until he passed out from exhaustion.
“Just keep trying. Cast it like normal and you’ll get it.”
While Rud had been annoyed by the vague instructions at first, that was all he needed. He twisted trees from near the road, pulling vine-like pieces of them off and weaving them into the road. For now it was bumpy. But the Lacquer spell would smooth them out enough that people could travel by foot, beast, or car if they wanted to.
Through the unforgiving forest, it was about a three hour walk from the center to the stump forest. Most of that time was spent avoiding drops in the landscape, or surmounting unforgiving hills. Rud steered his road for hours, adding more sections as time rolled on. Each piece wove into the last perfectly, creating a seamless living road. He approached the first challenge of the road as a sudden drop.
Rud trudged to the bottom of the ravine, using his Plant Growth spell to create behemoths. They sprouted up, past the edge of the cliff to meet the line of trees at the top. “Oh, this is awesome,” he said, rubbing his hands together.
One tree he had grown was in the center of the path, half-way between either side of the span. Rud shaped the center, creating a hole large enough for three human-sized people to stand on each other’s shoulders. Vine-like sections of nearby trees snaked out, weaving themselves together. The druid could control more than one plant at a time by now, splitting his focus between them and wrapping different pieces together at the same time. It looked as though someone was playing footage of growing vines at speed.
“Looking pretty good,” Rud said, slapping his hand on the first section of the bridge. It wobbled slightly when he jumped on it. “Reinforcement…”
Vines poked through the bridge itself, wrapping around and creating supporting braces like a suspension bridge. Rud guided them to wrap around that one massive tree, creating a webwork of support that wouldn’t fail. The next time he stepped on the bridge, it was perfectly stable.
“Hey, Mint,” Rud said. “Could you jump on this thing? I’m not fat enough.”
“Are you calling me fat?” Mint asked, bursting from the bushes behind him. She looked to the half-bridge before her, pausing for only a moment to appreciate it. As always, she didn’t want to express too much admiration. But she didn’t just jump on the bridge. She pounced, putting her full weight into both paws. The bridge didn’t budge. “Excellent work, custodian.”
Rud looked over his good work. This ravine was wider than most within the grove, spanning almost two-hundred feet in total. He imagined how long it would have taken the mortals to accomplish what he had done and smiled to himself. It took him about an hour to get everything sorted. He slapped Mint’s side, noticing how she didn’t wince.
“Thanks, Mint,” he said, hands on his hips. “Glad you’re feeling better.”
Mint nodded before dashing off into the forest. Rud got back to work, crossing to the other side of the ravine by foot, which took a while. It was better to use trees that were rooted in solid ground, rather than manipulating their branches to span hundreds of feet of distance.
“I wonder when he’s going to notice that he already understands freecasting…” Ban said, humming into Rud’s mind. “We might never know!”
“What?” Rud asked, climbing up a rock. “Was I freecasting?”
“You broke the bonds of what the spell should do. You were freecasting.”
“Really? That’s all it takes?”
“You’ve been at this for six hours,” Ban said. Her voice was flat this time, as though she was shocked he hadn’t noticed.
Rud looked to the sky. He couldn’t see the sun through the trees. “Time flies, huh?”
Rud completed the other side of the bridge before spending some time shaping the tree in the center. He wanted an imposing image of the grove so he took his time. Once the tree looked impressive enough, he shrunk some trees under the bridge, ensuring that everyone would get an awesome view of the forest. After that, he added handrails to the bridge in case people weren’t as safe as they should be. He leaned on the handrail, looking over the dusky forest below with a smile. His squirrel army chittered words of encouragement.
Taz found Rud before he got to work on the next section of living road. The dwarf burst from some bushes holding two plates. Both were laden with mushrooms and roasted meat.
“Woah,” Taz said, blinking as though he didn’t believe what he saw. “Where did that come from?”
Rud smiled to himself, gesturing with his stick and mushroom. A nearby tree reformed into the shape of a table and two chairs perfectly sized for them.
“Let’s eat,” Rud said, taking a seat.
Taz sat down, testing his weight on his chair before sitting. “Not sure I’ve seen something like… that.”
He was talking about the bridge. Rud had no sense for how strong his class was, but had suspected that he was empowered by the Sacred Tree in all things. Considering the concept of shared intent within the grove, it was no surprise that they had developed powers to entice mortals. The druid wasn’t incredibly social back on Earth, but he had friends. He felt stir crazy if he didn’t talk to someone for too long, even if it was just a few passing words. No matter how much he saw himself as a lone man in the woods, that wasn’t the life for him. He looked over the food that Taz brought and nodded. Some pleasant company was what he needed.
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“A road, huh?” Taz asked, stuffing his mouth full of meat. Rud could barely understand him afterward. “How long?”
“How long is it going to take?” Rud asked. “A few more days at least. I have a few more bridges like this to make, which is going to take the most time. It’ll be functional after that, but I have to lacquer the entire thing.”
“I’d offer my help, but I wouldn’t be much use.”
“Actually, I could use some gravel for the village I’m working on. I want a gravel yard for them to walk around in.”
Taz nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”
Rud enjoyed his meal far more than Taz. The dwarf didn’t like being around trees so much, but he endured for the druid’s sake. As the sun dipped lower, there was another topic on both their minds.
“Did you get that class yet?” Rud asked.
Taz offered a sheepish smile, shaking his head. “Nope.”
“Ban, why doesn’t this man have his class yet?”
“That’s for the gods to decide. I’ve held up my end of the bargain.”
“We should send them a strongly worded letter,” Rud said.
“I’ll draft it.” Taz rubbed his hands together. “Dear muck sucker… It has come to my attention that you are a son of a frog. Please pitch yourself off the nearest celestial cliff.”
Even Ban laughed at that one, but Rud felt himself growing resentful to whoever was in charge of these things. Taz had earned his class already. He put himself in a state of extreme discomfort to fit in with the grove. He was a fish out of water, having lived his entire life underground. The druid related to that, but he wanted this life. The dwarf didn’t.
Dinner went on until the sun fell below the horizon. Rud considered continuing his work on the road, but it would be there tomorrow. He checked his mailbox again before bed, but found nothing. He stood in the stump field, gazing off into the distance. Somewhere to the east, there was a logging camp. South of that were the mortals he had met. Each was in a state of limbo, as he didn’t know if they had survived the monster attacks. He hoped they were safe. Especially Mira.
###
Trees twisted in on themselves as Rud formed another section of the road. The sun was low in the eastern sky. The light that pierced through the canopy cast long shadows on the trees, bringing with it a lingering chill. Today felt colder than the day before it, and the day before that. Despite the temperature, no tree within the grove showed signs of giving way to the changing seasons. He was interested in the ecological impact of that, but had to focus on the road today.
Rud had refined his freecasting ability. He tossed and turned before falling asleep last night, imagining ways he could exploit his newest upgrade. His technique had been to pull sections of trees off, elongating them along the ground to join with the others. Now he focused on the roots of those plants, or simulating roots by sending portions of the tree underground. A few hours of shaping more trees later, and he settled on a combination of those approaches.
Four trees twisted into new shapes, shooting underground and rising to join with one-another. Rud stood with his eyes closed, feeling those trees rather than seeing them. He stepped forward, conducting them with his stick as he took purposeful steps. Even the surface of the road was smoother on the top, which would require less of the lacquer spell. He didn’t open his eyes when a message popped up, announcing his advancement from Level 5 Construction Magic to Level 6.
As long as Rud had his staff tucked between his back and his backpack, he gained the mana regeneration effect. That meant he could walk in a straight line, pulling the trees together without end. Only the sound of an approaching wolf brought him out of his meditative spellcasting. His eyes opened, scanning over the area as his concentration focused on the road.
“I have a report. Woof,” Sarya said.
“What is it?” Rud asked, capping off one section of roots and pulling from another tree.
“The mortals are moving outside of Barlgore.”
“Have they finished their repairs?” Rud asked.
“No. Mint suspects they are coming here to request supplies. Lumber, mostly.”
The wood provided by the grove had magical properties. Rud didn’t know what those properties were, but he knew they were prized by the mortals. If they needed lumber to rebuild part of their defenses, they needed high-quality wood to prevent another disaster like last time. A part of him hoped that Mira would be the one to make contact, but it was hard to say. If things were rubber-stamped after the attack, it could be another official willing to make their way to the grove. He just hoped they had the good sense not to enter the grove without an escort. The last thing the grove needed was a mortal wandering around, only to die of starvation.
“Thanks for the update,” Rud said. He hadn’t stopped weaving the roots together, finding it easier by the hour to control his spell.
“Can I watch?” Sarya asked.
“Sure,” Rud said, seeing no harm.
The wolf took up a position near the road, her tail thumping against the ground as she watched. That provided Rud with a tempo to work by, which he found useful. There was some internal ticking in his mind that was unreliable, but the wolf’s tail beat like a metronome. She followed him over the hours that he worked on the road, until he spanned another ravine. The wolf scampered off after that, but returned occasionally to check up on him.
Over the next three days, Rud completed the road. He spent his days, from dawn until dusk shaping those trees into a perfect road. Lacquering was the hardest part, but the results were worth it. The uneven surface of the road was transformed into a perfectly smooth plane. It wasn’t slick, though. The road provided enough grip that people traversing it would gain traction if they needed it. Taz spent his time on various projects in the mine, asking for the druid’s help occasionally, but keeping mostly to himself.
After finishing breakfast, Rud stood in his village and admired the gravel yard. The plants he placed there made the place look lived-in. Pipes shot from each roof, representing the stoves that Mint had brought. All four buildings were ready for people to stay in them. With Taz’s cold storage area, they also had enough food to feed a small army every day without feeling as though they would starve. He walked along the road for a while, appreciating how it looked.
Traveling with the Thicket Travel upgrade was faster, but this was his first time on the road since it was done. The wood felt better underfoot than cobbles, as though it was imbued with something that made traveling over it comfortable. After walking over it for some time, he grabbed some buckets and headed off to the stump forest. As he had seen over the past three days, he expected it to be empty. His heart nearly stopped when he spotted a lone tent near the forest’s edge. And his heart sank when he didn’t recognize it as Mira’s tent. Hers was patchy and soaked in oil to prevent the rain from seeping in.
Rud sighed, approaching the tent. “Knock knock. It's your friendly neighborhood forest spirit.”
Rud couldn’t bring his hands up quickly enough to defend himself. He saw a blur burst from the tent, scooping him up and squeezing the life out of him. The druid groaned under the force of the attack, but was unable to remove himself. Just as he thought death was close at hand, he heard a familiar voice.
“We were so scared!” Mira said.
Rud glanced up, spotting the tears rolling down her face. She had released him enough that he could check. “What?” was all he could ask.
“When the monsters attacked Balegore, we were worried about the grove. I had to sneak out to check on you guys,” Mira said. Her voice was filled with sadness, but she pushed through.
“Release me,” Rud grunted, trying and failing to draw breath.
“Oh. Sorry,” Mira said, placing him on the ground.
“They didn’t send you to get materials?” he asked, finally drawing lungfuls of air.
“No,” Mira said, craning her neck to look into the forest. “Did the monsters even come this way?”
Rud shook his head. “Sarya and Mint made sure of that.”
“Mint? That’s the guardian, isn’t it? People said they saw a wolf in the battle, but I couldn’t be sure.”
Rud’s mind finally caught up to the reality of the situation. He had worked so hard on the road, he couldn’t help himself. The druid gestured for her to follow, leading her over the stone road. They passed through a group of trees he had cultivated for the mortals and noticed how Mira darted to the mailbox, stuffing the letter that was there into her bag. When he stopped, intending to question her about it, she gave him a sly smile.
“Enough of that,” Rud muttered, pressing into the forest. “Stay close, though.”
Mira nodded, forming the sign of respect over her forehead before she entered the forest. One-hundred feet within the forest, the stone walkway ended, turning into the twisted tree path. She gaped at the scene.
“How far does it go?” she asked.
Rud turned around, wiggling his eyebrows. “All the way. Wanna see the Sacred Tree?”
Mira swallowed hard. “Yes.”
thought I wrote the measurements of the grove down, but I guess I forgot to... Anyway, Gladesbale is about 25-50 miles through the middle at this point. That's a bit of a challenging walk if you're not doing it over a decent pathway. The Hornfen region isn't exactly easy to walk either, unless you're really far south near the coast. Even then, there's a hilly section half-way between Barlgore and a mountain pass to the west.
