“You can burn that?” Rud asked with a grimace.

  “Yup!”

  Mint held a handful of dark wet dirt in her hand. It looked like dirt, anyway. When the wolf-woman handed it over, Rud recoiled. After she shoved it into his hand, he realized how unlike dirt it was. The Fairy Peat had a structure to it, and after enough time he realized it was more like moss than anything else. Spongy but firm with a distinct acrid, earthy scent to it. The druid refused to place it in his nice backpack, holding it out from his body.

  “How much of this stuff is around here?” Rud asked.

  Mint gestured to the bog behind her. “The swamp is full of the stuff. Burns hotter than wood or charcoal. Might not be as hot as coal, but we don’t have coal.”

  The Fairy Peat clearly needed to be dried before it was used. There were enough sections of the forest that had good sun coverage to make that happen. Extracting the peat moss wasn’t too hard, either. This would be one problem solved if he could get the extraction process working. As always, Mint’s nose went to the wind after a few minutes. She dashed off without saying anything, leaving him with his thoughts.

  Rud teleported to the mine, grabbing his shovel and the buckets. He would use the wooden buckets as containers for the peat, not wanting to dirty his pristine backpack. Well, it wasn’t entirely clean. He dumped out the clods of dirt that had clung to the bottom from when he collected the tea plants. With a shovel in hand, he approached the bog. The Fairy Peat was easy to identify. It looked like solid pieces of mud, but flecks of pink-purple were scattered both on the surface and throughout the moss.

  Rud dug rectangular sections of the peat out of the bog, dumping them in the bucket. He transported those to the section of land where Ash had removed the dungeon seed, laying them out to dry in the sun. The area had been killed off by the seed, making it perfect for the task. He went back-and-forth doing this until his fingers were tired, retreating to the mushroom house when the entire clearing was filled with Fairy Peat. He returned home, only entering the mushroom house after watering his tea plants outside. A message appeared, bringing with it another level-up.

  [Skill Gain!]

  Your Plant Care skill has increased to level 4!

  At the threshold to his house, Rud groaned. He shambled to the brush near the forest’s edge, traveling to the enchanted pond to wash up. Once he was cleaned and dried well enough, he returned to his house. Only to stoke the fire, get some tea going, place mushrooms and nuts on the stove’s top for cooking, and finally collapsing into his makeshift chair. As he rested, he cast his Detect Animals spell over and over until he was out of mana. The attached skill didn’t gain a level, but at least he tried.

  When the mushrooms were cooked well enough, and the nuts were cracking near the sides, he brought them over on a flat wide leaf, placing them on his lap to eat. With a metal mug filled with tea in his hand, Rud relaxed before his fire. Dirt was becoming a problem. Washing in the enchanted pool was fine, but the dirt still clung to the hair on his arms, he didn’t smell great.

  “Mint. Stick your big head through my door, please,” Rud said, not even getting up from his chair.

  “Are you too lazy to get something yourself?” Mint asked, her muzzle appeared through the threshold in an instant. She licked at the food he had, not getting close enough to be a threat.

  “I was thinking about those metal containers I asked you about earlier. Could I fit in one?”

  “Certainly, I saw one that would be large enough. You are small.”

  “Does the dead town also have soap you could steal?”

  “Very likely.”

  “When you get a sec, could you head over and grab me—and she’s gone.”

  Rud ate most of his food by the time Mint returned. Something clanged outside, and a sack of something pleasant-smelling fell on the ground before him. “Thank you, Mint. I love you.”

  Mint growled at the doorway, pressing one eye against the threshold. It flicked around the room, finally locking on the druid. “I love you, too. But not in the way you desire, Talon Por.”

  She was gone before he could say otherwise. Rud grabbed a stick and pulled the sack closer to him, using his toes to bring it to his hands. It was filled with lumps of soap that seemed to share no common shape. But they all smelled like rosemary. Looting all his supplies from the dead seemed messed up, but he smelled. The dead would understand if he needed to freshen up, especially since he had to deal with the mortals. No one liked a stinky forest spirit. Except maybe other stinky forest spirits, but there were none of those here.

  Rud grunted, shoving his weight against the copper tub that Mint had given him. He had fallen asleep in his chair last night, filled with mushrooms and tea. After watering his plants, and the Sacred Tree, he began rolling the tub up the hill. When he asked if Mint would help him, she refused. Not because there were monsters to kill, but because she believed he needed to strengthen his body. What she really meant was that he needed to build up his muscles, and work on being less scrawny.

  The druid grumbled, shoving his weight against the tub. Rolling it up the hills was a pain and the Thicket Travel ability wasn’t working with such a large item in tow. It took half the morning to get the tub where he wanted it. Rud was panting for breath by the end, leaning against a rock and coming close to cursing the wolf’s name. Compared to his small body, the tub was massive. It looked large enough for him to sit inside for washing, although he couldn’t tell what its original use was.

  With a little more effort, the tub rested on piles of stones, high enough for him to start a fire underneath. He cleared an area around the tub, then ringed it in stones to prevent any fire from spreading. Since Mint didn’t burst from the forest to yell at him, he figured it would be fine. He traveled through the brush next, going to check on his Fairy Peat. His perfect rows had been disturbed by wildlife, but nothing within the grove had an interest in eating his fuel.

  Each section of peat was already dried throughout, looking more like bricks than moss at this point. Rud stuck one half-length into his backpack and returned to the enchanted pond. Using a coal from the fire in his mushroom house, he learned exactly how hot the peat burned. The entire log burst into flames, rushing upward as though driven by a mighty bellows. The druid hit it with a stick, removing a large amount of the peat before it burned through his tub. After he managed not to set the forest on fire, he filled the tub bucket by bucket.

  Mint rarely gave him a warning with magical fantasy world stuff, so he wasn’t surprised with how powerful the peat was. A small chunk of the material burned for quite some time, heating the tub as he dumped more buckets inside. When it was full, he grabbed a hunk of weird soap, bathed for a while, and finally lowered himself up to his chin to soak.

  “You’re having fun,” Ban’s voice filled his head after a while.

  “You’re awake!” Rud said, looking at the forest around him. “That took longer than I expected.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Supporting more buildings at a low rank is… trying,” Ban said. Her voice seemed thinner than normal. “But I see you’re on your way to making metal for trade. How did things go with the mortals.”

  Rud had to explain the dungeon seed and how the beastfolk had helped with that. He told her how the mortals were taking their time with approval for the dungeons, and the implications. As always, Ban responded with vague words that never revealed her thoughts on the matter. Things played out for her like pictures in a book, rather than a steady stream of time. Events were stamped on her mind, and she hardly reacted. Maybe that came with being a tree.

  “How is your progress? Are you leveling?”

  “Kinda. I’m only level 2. But my skills are growing. Plant Care and Growth Magic are almost at Level 5.”

  “That’s good. Once you activate your next aspect, I’m certain you’ll learn a new spell. I’m expecting a crafting magic spell.”

  That was something to consider. Rud had made his contributions to the grove like a true custodian. He watered the plants, fed the tree, and interacted with outsiders. Perhaps Ban wanted him to be more at the helm of those things, rather than a passive observer. He soaked in his bath, letting the silence of an ended conversation linger over the forest. The sun set and the fire under the tub went out. Before it got too cold, he got out and dried himself before retreating to the warmth of his mushroom house.

  Rud curled up in his bedroll, hoping that Ban wouldn’t go for another one of her long sleeps.

  The grove felt better when Ban was awake. The local critters showed no changes, but each tree seemed to gleam with potential. Even the tree herself looked peaceful without the ribbons of magic flowing from her bark. Rud found a spot near her trunk to eat his breakfast, sipping his tea and popping mushrooms into his mouth.

  “I think you’re gaining weight,” Ban said, her voice echoing through the forest.

  Rud placed a hand on his flat belly, looking up at her leaves and narrowing his eyes. “Are you trying to make me feel better about my scrawny Talen Por body?”

  “No. I think you’re gaining muscle. I’ve been asleep for a few days, so I noticed the change.”

  Maybe she was right, but that led to another question. Had Mint put him in a slightly chubby body to match his old one back on Earth? He was certain that he was far less chunky than when he was on Earth, but why hadn’t she used her fancy magic to fix him up during the move. What harm was there in making him look like a model, rather than this? Well, with the way he was eating random things from the forest, it wouldn’t be long before he got that jacked physique.

  Give it time, Rud thought, sighing aloud. Stick to the forest diet, and everything will be okay.

  “Let’s make sure you're at a higher level before you go to sleep again. Alright, Ban?” Rud asked.

  “I was hoping to create one more expansion…”

  “Come on. You’ll be out for weeks.”

  “I can only add one more expansion before I ascend to Rank 1. And you’re barely Level 2.”

  “What expansion did you have in mind?” Rud asked, unsure if he wanted to prod her in that direction. She was already on the edge of falling asleep right now.

  “Energy storage nodules. It would allow me to process and store energy better.”

  “But…?”

  “But it would be taxing. As you said, I would be out for weeks.”

  Rud nodded. “Yeah, let’s put that on the back-burner for now. I could use some guidance on what to do with these mortals.”

  “Fair enough, little custodian. Perhaps we can focus on increasing the level of our buildings first. Then we can worry about the nodules.”

  Rud pushed himself away from the trunk, looking up at the massive tree. He cocked a brow, wiggling his eyebrows at the tree. “The buildings have levels?”

  A gentle giggle ran through the forest. “Of course they do.”

  Rud threw himself back against the tree, folding his arms in mock-indignation. “You people need a handbook for this stuff.”

  Another giggle soothed his spirits. Mint was fine to talk to. She was like an overbearing sister that had too much of her own stuff going on. But Ban’Tanthein was like a gentle mother, always guiding the family in the right direction. The wolf was the guardian, the protector, but the tree was the heart. The core of everything that made the grove what it was. When she went into those sleeps, everything grew slightly darker in Rud’s mind. He let out a wistful sigh, pushing himself to his feet to don his coat and backpack.

  “The coat looks nice,” Ban said as Rud passed through a bush.

  “Thanks. The mortals gave me some gifts.”

  “Hopefully they give you more,” Ban said, her voice echoing through his mind. “Inspect my new building, Rud.”

  The smeltery was done. It was a large stone building with a ceramic slatted roof. It was open-air, appearing more like a great barn than anything else. Dominating the center of the workspace was a massive hunk of metal. How the tree had generated stone, metal, and ceramic came down to tree magic that Rud wouldn’t attempt to understand. The floor of the workshop was massive compared to the Mining Workshop. Mint had scattered the tools he requested nearby, leaving them to the elements. The druid approached the building and placed his hand on the side, knowing that his intent would bring up the prompt.

  [Smelting Workshop]

  Rank 0 Level 1 Sacred Tree Building

  Upgrade Progress: 0%

  Description:

  A workshop dedicated to the art of smelting, complete with smelter.

  Upgrades:

  NONE

  Simple enough, but Rud could now see the upgrade progress of the building. “How do we upgrade it?”

  “Dungeon Core Fragments or Imbued Monster Cores,” Ban said. She continued when she saw him looking up to the trees, tapping his foot. “Dungeon Cores come from within the dungeons themselves. Mortals can obtain them after clearing a dungeon. Imbued Monster Cores are easier to get, but you’ll need to learn ritual magic.”

  “Naturally. I’m gonna stand here and wait for a spirit to give me ritual magic,” Rud said, closing his eyes and holding his arms to the sky. His hands dropped to his sides when his arms got too tired. “Nevermind.”

  Rud thought about the smelting process as he went to collect his Fairy Peat. He passed through the Thicket Travel upgrade, bringing back fuel and storing it in a metal bin outside of the workshop. He didn’t know the right words for the metal smelter, but it was a tall, pile-like device with a closed space underneath for a fire. Along the length of the thing were gates which would open when a long handle was turned. If what Mira said was true, he would heat the raw ore at a certain temperature, release the slag at the bottom, increase the temperature, then pour the metal. Easy enough, right?

  “Right?” Rud asked himself, scratching his narrow chin as he inspected the device. “Easy, right!?”

  Rud approached the small idol, a glowing, roughly shaped thing in the workshop’s corner. When he touched it, he got a message prompt.

  [Aspect of Aegael attained!]

  Your Grove Custodian subclass has reacted to an effigy of Aegael, spirit of the flame.

  The Salamander Sacred Spirit has lent you some of their power. If you stray too far from the idol that granted you this power, it will dissipate.

  “That is the mark of the salamander,” Ban said.

  “I remember seeing it back at the party,” Rud said with a nod. He felt his mind expand as the Smelting skill attached to his subclass. It was an uncomfortable sensation that passed as soon as it came.

  The floor space of the workshop was large enough for Rud to bring in his piles of ore from outside. It was easier to use his backpack, but the process still took a while. After that, he did a dry-run of the smelter’s operation. The gates that would allow molten metal or slag to drop out of the furnace’s bottom were easy to operate. The bottom came out as well, which would make cleaning it out after a use easier.

  With his confidence high, likely from the Aspect of Aegael, Rud brought in some Fairy Peat to start a fire. He held a coal from his mushroom house between tongs, preparing to lower it to the peat below. Mint burst into the workshop, startling him bad enough that he fell over, the coal tumbling to the ground.

  “There are mortals in the stump forest,” she said, growling as she always did.

  “Alrighty. And what’s wrong with that?”

  “They’re doing something weird,” Mint said.

  Rud pushed himself to his feet. While he wanted to get the smelter running today, it wouldn’t end well if Mint bit the heads off the local mortals. He nodded, patting her on the head as he passed. “I’ll take care of this. Don’t worry.”