Rud passed through the thickets of the forest, appearing near the stump field. He brought two buckets filled with enchanted pond water, ready to take care of whatever diplomatic event was going down and the trees in one go. He heard people working in the distance before he broke through the treeline. Hammers banged on something, someone else shouted orders. These were sounds that hadn’t been heard in the forest, and it was unsettling.

  When he broke through the treeline, Rud saw men and women working to clear the land. A path snaked behind them, rolling over the hills and down toward their logging camp. Mira was leading the group, shouting orders and pointing fingers. The druid approached, holding a bucket of water in his hand.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Rud asked, craning his neck to get a look at what they were doing.

  Mira placed her hands on her hips, gesturing to the vast road behind her. The workers were leveling out the earth. The unfinished sections of the road revealed a layer of gravel and ditches on the road’s side for drainage. Atop that was laid hewn stone bricks, set into place with perfect precision.

  “Do you like it?” she asked.

  “Oh, I love a good road,” Rud said, nodding politely. He didn’t understand its purpose, though. “What is the road for?”

  “Ah! This is excellent,” Ban spoke into his mind.

  “I almost have approval, little spirit,” Mira said, beaming down at him. “When the final signature is signed, we’re going to build a road through the grove.”

  “And the purpose of that road?” Rud asked. Ban giggled into his mind. She already knew what it was for. They really needed a handbook.

  Mira came over, kneeling to be at eye-level with Rud. “Back home, in Sparwyn, there’s a road that passes through Lord Bent’s grove. All are welcome to travel the road. Leaving the road is a crime punishable by death.”

  “Ah, that makes sense. I guess we should have some rules for traveling through the grove, huh?”

  “Yes, indeed!” Mira shouted, clapping her hands and yelling at a worker who had stopped placing bricks. “A solid road to the west is needed if we’re going to help you with the dungeons. If the Sacred Tree is in the center of the grove, we’ll create four roads total.”

  From each cardinal and to each cardinal, all joining in the center where Ban was. That was a great idea, actually. This way, Rud wouldn’t need to worry about the mortals straying where they didn’t belong as they passed through the area.

  “I shall consult with the sacred tree,” Rud said, holding his hands into the air. “O Sacred Tree. Hear my call. Can we build this road, or naw?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

  “Please, Sacred Tree,” Rud said, pumping his fists in the air. “We need this road to prosper!”

  “You alright? I already said it was fine.”

  Rud fell to his knees. “PLEASE!”

  “Do you need to take another nap?”

  “We have the tree’s blessing,” Rud said, dusting himself off as he stood.

  Mira touched her fingers to her forehead, then bent at the waist. “Thank you, keeper. When will we have permission to enter the grove?”

  “When they clear this dungeon!” Mint shouted into Rud’s mind.

  “When the fire dungeon is cleared,” Rud said, bowing in response to Mira’s bow. He still didn’t know how to respond to their signs of reverence.

  “Yes, we’ll get that done soon,” Mira said. “I promise.”

  Mira wasn’t the kind of woman that chatted. She turned away to yell at her people some more as he watered the plants. Rud cast Plant Growth twice on trees that were ready for it, tying red ribbons to them. That got a series of impressed sounds from the workers, who paused long enough to watch the druidic magic. He performed a dramatic bow before heading off, collecting the two cruddy crystal fragments in his mailbox. The druid stepped through the underbrush, appearing back at the smelter.

  “That went well,” Mint said, padding around the building.

  Rud checked to make sure his Aspect of Aegael was still active. It wasn’t, so he touched the statue again. “Yeah, I like the idea of traveling mortals coming through the grove.”

  “It is a common practice in Sparwyn. Other areas… not so much.”

  Rud placed a tiny amount of Fairy Peat under the smelting device. It had an opening that he could shove a bellows into, but he didn’t think it would be necessary. The coal he had brought was still smoldering, so he used that to light the fire. The rush of fire singed the hair on his fingers, but the smokeless fire was lit. He closed the cage door under the smelter and stepped back. It would take a moment for the thing to heat up.

  “Once the dungeon is gone,” Rud said, retrieving his shovel. “You can watch the mortals in the grove, right?”

  “Yes. I can monitor all interlopers.”

  “Good. I have a squirrel army that can help, too.”

  “So long as you feed them nuts.”

  Rud shoveled from the first pile of ore, climbing a small ladder near the smelter to dump the load in. He left the larger rocks behind, going for the stuff he had smashed into a fine gravel when he was mining for the fragments. After depleting the pile, he used the small hammer Mint had brought him to crush those larger rocks, then added those to the mix. He closed the lid and stepped back.

  “I guess I just wait,” Rud said, turning to find that Mint was long-gone. “Oh, if only there was some awesome salamander dude that wanted to give me a new spell. Maybe one that let me enchant some copper so I can actually sell it.”

  Ban had promised that he would get the spell, but nothing came. Rud turned his attention to the ingot molds. There was a slot on the smelter where he could hook the mold, allowing him to pour the molten metal without burning himself. Mint had also found a big metal rod he could use to poke the metal while it was melting within the smelter. She had thought of more things than he had, bringing more tools than he had uses for.

  Rud added more peat underneath the smelter, then got to work organizing the workshop. He found a home for every tool, making sure that everything was within arms’ reach for any specific task. After a while, he realized that the Fairy Peat needed some help, and attached the bellows. He was too weak to work them by hand, but found a way to jump from the ladder to compress it. The fire roared under the smelter, licking the bottom of the device.

  There was one thing Rud was relying on. It wasn’t his skill at melting raw metal, or the tangible skill given to him by the salamander. He needed the smelter to be magical. The slag had to either go to the top, or the bottom. Anything else would create a pot of ruined metal that he couldn’t salvage. A mix of metal and rock that any discerning person in a fantasy world would reject for quality. But the melting process was slow. And boring. The druid checked the contents once more, still finding them to be only partially melted, and headed off to collect more tea plants.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Make sure the workshop doesn’t burn down, Ban,” Rud said, passing through some bushes.

  “It is part of me. I’ll know,” she said.

  One sweet tea and one citrus tea plant wasn’t enough for Rud. If the mortals wanted to buy druid-brand tea, he needed more to sell. The mediocre fragments in his bag motivated him to find other ways to instigate trade. He found four more plants, two of each, along the stream and brought them back to his mushroom house to plant. Without the mana to force them to grow, he gave them enchanted pond water and returned to the smelter.

  Rud added more peat below the smelter before checking the contents. It was a swirling mass of black with red, orange, and white visible underneath. He poked with his poking stick, finding that not all the ore had melted. But a thick crust of slag had formed on the top. Not the bottom, but the top. The druid didn’t know if that would make things easier or harder, but he shrugged. As he descended the ladder, a prompt appeared and he cheered.

  [Spell Obtained!]

  The Salamander Spirit Aegael has taken notice of you. She has gifted you with the Imbue Crafted Item spell.

  “Awwww yeah,” Rud said, rubbing his hands together. He pulled up his Druidic Spellbook and inspected his new spell.

  [Imbue Crafted Item]

  Rank 0 Druid-Grove Custodian Spell

  Crafting Magic

  Component:

  One crafted item (crafted by the spellcaster)

  Mana Cost:

  15

  Description:

  Act as a conduit for a Sacred Tree, imbuing a crafted item with its power.

  Effect:

  Impart the aspect of a Sacred Tree into one crafted item.

  The spell was awesome, of course, but it came with an interesting concept. It wasn’t just a druid spell. It spanned both his druid class and his custodian subclass. The description of the spell revealed more information. It pulled from the power of Ban to give an item special properties. His role as a keeper of the grove had been interesting enough. But the more Rud did for his new family, the more he realized how many hats he would wear. Would Ban create a blacksmith, expecting him to create stuff with the metal he poured? What about a woodworking station where he made trinkets for passing mortals? The list rolled on through his mind, and he couldn’t decide if it was a good thing. Perhaps those burdens would be lessened over time, but for now it seemed overwhelming.

  It took way longer for the ore to melt than Rud had expected. By the time everything was molten within the smelter, noon had turned into the late afternoon. One last swish of the poking pole through the mixture revealed that it was ready for pouring. The layer of slag still rested on the top, and he could feel nothing but the hard metal container below.

  “Guess we’re ready,” Rud said, using the tongs to place the ingot mold near the lowest gate.

  The druid twisted the lever, releasing a steady stream of molten copper into the mold. He moved it to the side, filling all five slots before bringing the item to rest on the ground. It would need to cool before he handled them, but he had more than enough mana to cast his new spell on each newly crafted ingot. Rud held his hands over the still-molten metal. Flames jumped from his hands, slamming against an ingot to produce a hissing sound. The orange metal gained bands of deep red. While he didn’t have enough mana to enchant any more ingots, Mint had brought him more than one mold.

  Two hundred pounds of ore produced about twenty ingots. Those ingots were just under the length of Rud’s forearm and almost impossible to handle with the tongs once they were poured. He suspected that his new Smelting skill helped him move them around. After pouring each mold, he gained a single level in that skill which helped him out. He also gained a level in Crafting Magic, which reduced the cost of the spell to 13 instead of 15. But the ratio of ore to ingots hardly seemed to matter. Rud was exhausted.

  “I’ll get those tomorrow,” he said, stumbling out of the smelter. The fire was out and he had let the slag splash onto the floor. That way, the smelter wouldn’t get clogged the next time he fired it. The druid arrived at his mushroom house, half-heartedly watering his tea plants before falling onto his back.

  “You did well today,” Ban said.

  “Thanks… Oh! I guess I did real good today,” Rud said as a level-up notification entered his vision.

  [Ding!]

  You have gained a level in your Druid class!

  Level 3!

  You have gained one free attribute point.

  You have gained a level in your Grove Custodian class!

  Level 3!

  “Your hard work paid off,” Ban said with a gentle chuckle. “Your subclass is bound to your main class. You can never level your subclass higher than your main one.”

  “Interesting. Do you have a class?”

  “I do.”

  “What is it?”

  Ban only chuckled at his question. Rud rested on the ground. Mint started a fire in her little fire pit, and he could smell the scent of roasting meat before long. There must have been another forest creature that was out of line. Likely another wolf pushing into the grove to find easy prey. But the guardian had made it clear to the local animals not to violate the rules. But as Rud thought about it, he wasn’t certain that Mint could talk to animals. Maybe other wolves, but he didn’t want to ask. She would give him a non-response, the way she always did.

  “Sit up and eat, little one,” Mint said, forcing a strip of roasted meat into his mouth. Rud chewed idly, not wanting to rise to a seated position. She forced him up, and shoved another piece of meat into his mouth.

  “Thanks, mom.”

  “Not a problem.”

  Mint had taken her human form, which she often did when she was cooking. Rud got comfortable on the hard ground, wrapping his coat around himself for warmth. The longer the day drew on the colder it got. As night approached, he was prepared to weather the storm the way he had always done. Sitting in front of a warm fire, sipping tea, and sleeping.

  “What are you going to put your free point into?” Ban asked.

  While it was a good question, Rud didn’t know if there was any response other than ‘Mind.’ Mana had become a precious resource for him, and most of his daily actions were limited by it.

  “I suggest putting points into Strength,” Mint said, tearing a section of meat off the bone and chewing loudly.

  “There is value in that,” Ban said, her voice without commitment. “But our custodian is shaping up to be a strong spellcaster.”

  “Yet he needs to perform his duties, which requires physical strength.”

  “The aspects he gains more than make up for that,” Ban said, causing Mint to nod in agreement. “The difference between two and three Strength is minor. But a single point in Mind gives him five mana at this rank, and a pool that regenerates quicker.”

  Rud didn’t know what he thought about being talked about like this. He listened as the pair went back-and-forth about the matter. But he had already made up his mind, mostly based on Ban’s observations of the aspect system. He remembered how heavy the ingot molds should have been, and how light they felt as he worked with them. His mind went back to working in the mine, and how light the large pickaxe felt as he swung it. His Grove Custodian subclass made up for most of his physical weakness, giving him little reason to put points into physical attributes.

  “Then there is gear to consider,” Mint said with a sage-like nod. “If we find him Strength gear, he could wear a necklace, earrings, rings, and bracelets that give him the attribute. That’s at least six Strength.”

  “An astute observation,” Ban agreed.

  “I’m not getting my ears pierced,” Rud said, quickly grabbing his ears. They were more sensitive than his ears back on Earth.

  “Don’t be a baby. I will pierce them myself.”

  “I don’t see a big pile of gear around,” Rud said with a shrug. “How hard is it to get?”

  “Not as hard as you might think.” Mint cut more of the meat for Rud to eat, but also handed him roasted mushrooms to go with it. And a cup of tea. “I have collected some gear from the monsters outside of the dungeon, but nothing worthwhile yet.”

  “She’s hoarding the gear,” Ban corrected.

  Mint grumbled, glaring up at the tree. “Betrayer.”

  Rud didn’t care about getting more strength gear. He had decided on being a spellcaster-style druid after getting his first spell. Affinity wasn’t an attribute that anyone had explained, but if it fell in line with what he knew it would influence spellcasting. It was the Intelligence attribute from most RPGs. He would get his Mind to 10, then pump points into Affinity. After that, he would dump everything into Vigor until it reached 10. That was the attribute that gave him more health, but he assumed it increased his physical stamina. Accomplishing those goals would set him up well, and he could worry about gear after that.

  Rud inspected his attribute sheet after placing another point into Mind.

  [Rud]

  Main Class:

  Rank 0 Level 3 Druid

  Subclass:

  Rank 0 Level 3 Grove Custodian

  Attributes:

  Health: 56

  Mana: 95

  Strength: 2

  Agility: 3

  Vigor: 5

  Mind: 9

  Affinity: 7

  Titles:

  [Keeper of the Gladesbale Grove]

  Although Ban had mentioned it, Rud didn’t see mention of a mana regeneration attribute in the screen. He would take her word for it and worry about that later. For now, he was happy with his progress. The lively debate about how he should place his attribute points rolled on through dinner. It continued after the sun set completely, long after the insects began their nightly song. He retired to bed after a while, stoking the fire in his mushroom house and getting comfortable in his bedroll. One day, he would have that second floor to sleep on. For now, he was happy to have a warm fire.