Two uses of the Plant Growth spell and an empty pool of mana later, and Rud was standing outside of his massive mushroom. Ban’s attention had turned to him, brushing against him with amusement. He could feel her watching him as he dug through the pile of rusted tools delivered by Mint. With some consideration, he selected a toothed hand saw that must have been used for trimming trees. It felt too big in his hands, but was the smallest of all the tools available.
Slightly woozy from the loss of mana, Rud got to work carving out sections of the mushroom. The only advantage of cutting through a mushroom was that it was quite soft. But the fibrous material inside of the stem was heavy. The druid went back and forth, dragging piles of it outside, creating neat stacks to dispose of later. By the late afternoon, he had carved out a small door and hollowed out most of the interior that he could reach.
“I could use a ladder,” Rud said, scratching his belly.
Although he had only carved a rough interior, there was plenty of room within the mushroom. But everything inside was slightly wet and smelled strongly of mushrooms. While that was to be expected, it wasn’t ideal. A forest guardian’s mushroom house should smell like pungent herbs and spice, or a wood-burning stove. There should have been drying herbs hanging from the ceiling, along with tinctures resting on poorly made tables.
“Mint,” Rud said, taking advantage of the wolf’s ability to hear him wherever she was. “Could you get me a few things?”
Mint appeared at the clearing’s edge, padding over to look up at the mushroom. “Wow. That looks kinda cool.”
Rud wouldn’t mention that the building would rot away when the mushroom died. He spouted his list of things, to which Mint dutifully noted. She wasn’t annoyed that he wanted so many strange things. Since the grove held three parts, keeper, guardian, and heart, he was one part of a triumvirate that made things tick. She dashed off into the forest, taking her job seriously.
“Do you feel that?” Ban asked, chuckling with amusement. “Someone is interested in your project.”
Rud looked around, unable to detect anything abnormal. When a message appeared, he realized what she was talking about.
[Spell Obtained!]
The Treefolk Spirit Basil has taken notice of you. He has gifted you with the Lacquer spell.
“Are they watching us at all times?” Rud asked. Once again, he didn’t find eyes in the surrounding forest. Only trees and the brush.
“Some are. Others aren’t powerful enough to access such abilities.”
“Good to know,” Rud said, inspecting his new spell.
[Lacquer]
Rank 0 Druid Spell
Construction Magic
Components:
Imbued Leaf
Nut
Fistful of dirt
Description:
Any living plant is a structure if you’re creative enough.
Effect:
Channel this spell to apply a hard coating to any living plant surface. The resulting surface is as hard as oak.
The plant this spell is affected with will enter a state of low-energy hibernation.
That was a funny list of components. But this was the exact thing he needed to make his mushroom house idea. Beyond that, he could create more houses within the grove. Every time he thought about asking Ban to create buildings, he got worried that she would enter another state of hibernation. With this, he could carve out a bunch of mushroom buildings. The folks passing through to fight the dungeons would need a place to stay, and this was a great way to provide accommodations.
“There you go,” Ban said with a chuckle. “You can create an imbued leaf by channeling your mana into any mundane leaf.”
“Easy enough,” Rud said, scooping a leaf from the ground. The forest was filled with leaves, dirt, and nuts. He held the leaf for a few moments before looking up at the tree. “How do I do it?”
“Focus your mind. Imagine the mana flowing into the leaf.”
Rud did just that, not thinking about it too much. He felt something tickle in his chest. Moments later a stream of steady glowing green liquid flowed from his palm, soaking into the leaf. Five mana spent later and he had a glowing leaf. “Neat!”
The druid placed the leaf on his head, and gripped an acorn in one hand and a pile of dirt in the other. Just like with his other spells, he only needed to focus on casting it. The leaf pulsed with light and he knew what to do next. Rud smeared the dirt on the mushroom wall, pinching the acorn in his other hand. The places that he stained with the dirt took on a darker hue. That one fistful of dirt covered a large area, but it didn’t treat the inside of the building.
“I have returned,” Mint said, appearing in her human form and dropping a bunch of crap on the ground. She tossed a wooden ladder and it clattered to the ground. “Goodbye.”
Rud rummaged through the pile of junk. He didn’t know how she carried it all, but wouldn’t question it. She had found the wood stove he wanted, along with pipes that would allow him to run it through the roof of the mushroom house. The chairs she found were far too large for him, but he hadn’t specified. But the wooden stool she brought would work for that purpose. Tables, chairs, pots, pans, cups, mugs, and other assorted household things were arrayed on the ground. The druid had to wonder if she didn’t rob someone’s house, rather than coming upon it in some abandoned town.
With a ladder, Rud could now reach the high places within the mushroom house. If he based the dimensions on his height, there was plenty of room to create a second floor. There were some logistics with that which he couldn’t figure out, but for now he would just carve the whole interior out. By nightfall, most of the interior was carved, but not treated. The druid sat by a fire, started by Mint, and stared up at the stars poking through the boughs. He caught sight of something that might have been a moon, but he couldn’t tell. The wind picked up after a breath, and he saw two shattered moons above him.
The larger of the two moons had been split down the middle, displaying an obvious gap of darkness between the two half-circles. A second moon had been shattered almost entirely, somehow maintaining some of its circular shape as dark cracks raced through its surface.
“Did someone blow up your moons?” Rud asked.
“A long time ago,” Mint said as though that was comforting.
“Most call the larger moon Aselan, after the world. And most call the smaller one Polt. But it is common to refer to them as the Shattered Moons.” Ban was always coming in with neat factoids.
“How did they get like that?”
“How else?” Mint asked with a scoff. “Wizards.”
“Dang wizards,” Rud said, shaking his fist at the sky. “Always blowing up my moons.”
“Did a wizard blow the moon up on your planet?” Mint asked, her ears perking up.
“No, but they could have.”
Conversation about the differences between Asevar and Earth went on for some time. Mint was interested in the way cities worked. The time she had visited Earth was her only time, as she was new among the great spirit animals of this world. While she marveled at the way skyscrapers worked, and how cars got around without being drawn, she had conducted herself professionally when she visited. That was more impressive than anything else. Rud grew tired as the conversation grew thin. As he was drifting off to sleep, he felt someone pick him up and carry him somewhere else. He was too comfy to wake up, and allowed himself to be deposited in the mushroom house.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
###
Running the pipe for the wood stove was easier than Rud had expected. He woke up the next morning and got to work right away. He gained access to the Construction Magic skill and even gained a level in the same skill. The effect was that he used slightly less dirt when he was applying the hardening magic to the mushroom. The druid stood, applying the last of his magic to the first floor, when Mint approached.
“I found these decorative stones,” she said, displaying an armful of rocks. It appeared as though they were freshly cleaned in water.
“Oh, thank you.”
“For the stove,” Mint said, dropping them on the ground. “Wouldn’t want your new house burning down.”
Rud nodded, thanking the wolf. He had already placed the stove inside, but planned to put the stones underneath and behind the wood stove. It was on the left side of the mushroom building right now, almost abutted against the wall. The pipe had some play in it, so he could scoot it out a bit. The druid got to work on that first, laying the stones under the stove and building a heat shield behind it. After that, he grabbed the ladder and brought it inside to lacquer the higher areas he couldn’t reach before.
While Rud had etched out small windows, he wasn’t sure how he would get glass in there. For now, he draped lengths of cloth over the opening, which kept out some of the cold. He thought about how he would build the platform to create the second floor, marking out the sections and carving windows for the second floor before he hardened it. The druid took a break at midday, finding snacks from the forest floor and stuffing his face.
“Would you be fine if I created another building?” Ban asked.
Rud’s mind went immediately to the mine. “Do you need more fragments?”
He felt a warm kindness that he took to represent a smile. “I would. By tomorrow, if you could.”
“No problem! My house is almost livable. Mint even found a small bedroll.”
“Just remember… I’m always here with you,” Ban said. Magic formed on her bark as she began creating something.
Rud wanted to take a break from building. He gathered water from the pond, using Thicket Travel, and headed off to the field of stumps for watering. He didn’t check the mailbox right away, although he did see a pile of things sitting under it. Part-way through his watering, a message appeared.
[Skill Gain!]
Your Plant Care skill has increased to level 2!
The trees that he had been watering were large enough to cut now. They weren’t as big as the trees near the Sacred Tree, but Mira and her people were welcome to cut them whenever they wanted. He turned away, slinging a bucket over each shoulder, and pulled the letter from his mailbox.
In Mira’s note, she claimed things were going to go wonderfully between them. The people who decided important things had already rubber-stamped an approval for their cooperation. She also detailed the things she left for him, including food, clothes, and an Earth Crystal Fragment as back pay for the trees they already cut.
“Are fragments really worth that much?” he asked, scratching his chin. With a shrug, he inspected the clothes she had left for him. “Someone has fancy taste.”
The first piece of clothing was a coat, perfectly sized for Rud. It was a finely tailored piece made from red and brown cloth embroidered in copper-colored thread. The next was a pair of slacks that seemed slightly too small for him. He set those aside for now. The last item was a leather backpack, embroidered to match the other two items. Rud slipped on the coat and the backpack before stuffing the pants into the backpack.
“Oh, my,” Rud said, fanning himself. A tingle of warmth spread through him as he donned his new clothes. Only then did he realize each item was magically enchanted. He inspected the backpack first.
[Enchanted Lowland Newt Leather Backpack]
Rare
Description:
Sourced from the finest materials, this newt leather backpack is fine enough to please a demon. At least it's not pink!
Effect:
Self-repair, self-cleaning.
This backpack has slightly more space on the inside than it should.
Items within this backpack weigh half as much as they should while within the backpack.
Yeah, that was a seriously magnificent piece of gear. This wasn’t just a peace offering, this was a gift fit for a king. He inspected the coat next.
[Enchanted Ogreweave Coat]
Rare
Description:
Slightly better than the half-ogreweave coat, this coat is sourced from thread spun by the ogre spider. Ogre spiders are known for their surly temperaments and their fondness of geese.
Effect:
Self-repair, self-cleaning.
Wearing this coat decreases the chance the wearer will be detected while unobserved.
While it wasn’t as awesome as the backpack, that was an amazing coat. Even if it only had the effect that cleaned and repaired itself, it was a good coat. Rud ran his fingers over the soft material and smiled. It felt good against his skin. He inspected the pants last, as he had no intention of wearing them until he dropped a couple of pounds.
[Enchanted Ogreweave Pants]
Rare
Description:
Fashion meets strength with this ogreweave pants. Ogreweave thread is known for its strength, unyielding as the giant horrific spiders that spin the thread.
Effect:
Self-repair, self-cleaning.
Wearing these pants allows the user to run longer distances without needing to rest.
Good thing the pants were the least impressive of the three things. Rud shoved them back into his pack and wrote a note of his own. He thanked Mira for her gift and urged her to let him know when her people wanted to come to a formal agreement about the dungeons. When he placed the fragment into his backpack, he realized that more could fit. So he put the buckets in as well. Along with a few stones and a couple of branches.
“Dimensional backpack,” Rud said, smiling to himself. “It truly is bigger on the inside.”
And the pack didn’t weigh that much. There was more junk within than Rud could normally carry. But he barely felt the strain on his back as he pushed through the underbrush, appearing near the pond to deposit his buckets. While he wanted to keep working on his house, there were more pressing matters. Mint and Ban always made things sound as though they were going swimmingly. But he didn’t want to be caught with his pants down again—even though he wasn’t wearing pants, but twine shorts.
Rud passed through the thickets again, appearing outside of the mine. He entered the mining building, obtaining the Aspect of Gug. His mind swirled for a moment as the Mining skill was unlocked, sending him tilting to the side a bit. Once he had his legs under him again, he gathered his pickaxe and headed into the mine. His eyes adjusted to the dim conditions in an instant, and he plotted out his course.
The area of the mine Rud had explored was a straight shot. From the revealed entrance to a fork in the path, there were seams of ore and little crystal fragments poking out from the rock. He hadn’t trudged down those other paths yet, but took time to do so today. The left path was the easiest to understand. It was a kind of switchback ramp that headed deeper into the earth. The right was another story, seeming to have been constructed with exploratory tunnels branching off in every direction. This mine appeared as though it hadn’t been in operation for long before it was shut down. There was too much ore resting in the walls, and too few avenues explored for it to have been old. Perhaps the miners didn’t have the means to delve deeper.
After exploring a little, Rud got to work pulling more fragments out of the walls of the mine. It didn’t slip past his notice that there weren’t many of them on the first level. He had pulled out a few, but the ones he could see were getting harder to access. Ban needed the fragments to expand the functions of the grove. But there was only so much a small Talen Por could do to get these things working. Especially since Mint wouldn’t help at all. That left a reliance on the mortals to bring them fragments, a fact that left irritating thoughts in the druid’s mind.
As he chipped away at the walls, a message appeared to relieve some of his worries.
[Skill Gain!]
Your Mining skill has increased to level 3!
Each level of the mining skill made it easier to see in the dark, easier to swing the pick, and less taxing to strike at the stone wall. Rud placed another fragment in his bag, bringing his total to three including the one gifted by the mortals, and headed out for some fresh air. He waited a few long moments before calling for Mint, who arrived in an instant.
“We have a problem,” Rud said, jabbing a thumb back at the mine. “That mine doesn’t have enough fragments for Ban. I wouldn’t have even brought this up if she wasn’t in her hibernation mode.”
Mint sniffed at the air, turning and nodding at Rud. “There aren’t as many fragments in there as we expected. Are there?”
“There might be fragments, but I’m almost done with the first tunnel. If there are more under the surface level of rock, I can’t see them.”
Mint growled a response, sniffing at the air again. Her piercing eyes went unfocused for a moment then she nodded again. “I have a solution, but it’s slow.”
“It?” Rud asked, scratching his cheek. He dislodged flecks of stone that had clung to his skin. “What do you mean?”
“A dwarf was promised a class awakening if he made the journey from the north. He is to be blessed by the gods with a Prospector class, but… I fear he might have been overtaken on the trip.”
Rud shrugged. “That doesn’t help us much.”
“Call that the backup plan. Perhaps I can assist in the mining,” Mint said, twisting her head to sniff the air. She growled again. “If I could have a solitary moment where monsters weren’t attacking. Think of solutions, Rud. I must protect our borders.”
Mint vanished on the spot, leaving the druid with his thoughts. What little he knew about mining said that surface mining was the easiest way to do it. That or finding existing caves and exploiting exposed seams of ore. Creating new tunnels was hard and labor intensive. He turned away from the mine for now, shrugging off the Aspect of Gug and approaching his mushroom house. Organizing his furniture would help him think.
