Ban had already gone into her slumbering state by the time Rud woke up. His lack of sleep hadn’t caught up with him until that night, and he slept like a log. When he woke, the mushroom house was filled with the energy the Sacred Tree emitted when she was working on an expansion. The druid had breakfast, washed up at the enchanted pond, and checked in with Taz, Mint, and Sarya. They weren’t worried about the tree at all, which put his mind at ease slightly. But they weren’t the ones managing her consumption of fragments.

  “I got this!” Rud said, assuring himself more than anyone else. “As long as you can find more fragments, Taz.”

  The dwarf offered a half-hearted shrug as a response.

  “Yeah!” Rud shouted, not letting his enthusiasm die. He marched off, entering the nearest bush. He arrived at the field of stumps in an instant. The sound of woodworkers doing their jobs hit his ears before he cleared the bushes.

  Rud removed himself from the tangle of undergrowth, spotting Mira standing with Elmera. They were gesturing toward the house he had just built, deep in conversation. The druid adjusted his cloak, guiding his path along the field of fallen sticks and stumps with his staff. They saw him approaching, and nodded their heads politely when he struck a pose.

  “Do you have my crystals?” he asked, cutting to the core of his concerns.

  Elmera brushed strands of hair from her face, nodding and withdrawing a clear crystal fragment from a bag. “With the monster attack, it was harder to get a hold of. Let us discuss the exchange.”

  Elmera was all about haggling this way or that. Rud didn’t care. Not even a bit. He’d chop off his hand and offer it if it meant more fragments. Her original quote on the trade was two to three fragments per bar. The constant spinning of the mortal world—namely the monster attack—brought that price down to a fragment and a half. For the Druid, this was a renewable resource. There was more ore in the mine than he could extract, and Ban came before anything else. He settled on the price and handed over ten bars of copper for fifteen fragments.

  “Nice doing business with you,” Rud said, patting the stack of crystals in his bag.

  “I have a buyer, but I’m keeping some for myself. Once I can get more crystals, I’ll trade you for more ingots,” Elmera said, rolling one bar over in her hand. She smiled, running her fingers over the surface of the metal.

  Mira pat Rud on the head. “Those workers love the house you built them. Said they haven’t slept that well in their entire lives. A few are staying here instead of at the logging camp.”

  Rud barked a laugh. “Magical buildings have a way of soothing a mortal’s mind.”

  The trade with Elmera was great, but it didn’t solve the problem. Rud didn’t like being at the elf’s whims. If she decided not to pursue the venture, he was screwed for fragments. What the grove needed was mortal traders passing through their grove. Not only would that bring offerings, as was a Sparwyn tradition, but they could engage in trade. From what he understood, money couldn’t be exchanged. But they could barter for goods, which was a strange loophole. As long as he got his fragments, it didn’t matter.

  Then there were the buildings he needed to upgrade to consider. Dungeon Core Fragments were rare enough, and he didn’t have his spell to enchant Monster Cores. Not that he had access to those cores.

  “Tall woman,” Rud said, pointing up at Mira. She laughed. “I’m going to make another road. Which direction do you want?”

  “From the center of the grove? It has to be west, right?” Mira asked, turning to look at Elmera.

  “A road cutting east to west through the grove would be a boon,” she confirmed.

  “That is my answer, little spirit,” Mira said.

  “Excellent. I got to spend a day with Basil, so I’m better with my building magic.”

  Mira’s eyes went wide. “Lord Basil?”

  “Yep. He’s really cool.”

  “When did you go? How did you even get there? Did they try to kill you?” Mira asked, mouth hanging open after she asked.

  “A few days ago. Teleported. No.”

  “You’re full of surprises,” Elmera said. But she looked bored. Which was her default expression.

  “Alrighty. Time to get to work on the western road,” Rud said, patting his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He adjusted the straps. “I’m going to post a list of rules outside of the grove. You can let people in Barlgore known they’re free to visit us.”

  “Really?” Mira asked.

  “Hey, I’m the keeper here,” Rud said, making sure to use the word the mortals used to refer to the custodian. “I’m basically the boss.”

  “Surely not,” Elmera said.

  “Yup. I’m the CEO of Gladesbale,” Rud said, turning on the spot and marching away. One pair of footsteps followed close. “Behold my power!”

  Rud snagged the nearest tree with his freecasting Shape Plant spell. He formed it into a broad rectangle and scrawled his message with magic. Writing messages was easy enough, thanks to Basil’s instruction, but it still looked messy. The druid had given it little thought, but he wasn’t writing in English. Something about his transition to this new world had imparted knowledge of a local language. The letters were blocky, combining to mean words bigger than the parts. They stacked on top of one another, little dots showing tenses and… a whole bunch of weird rules he didn’t care to think about.

  “Gladesbale Grove,” Mira read aloud. “Rule one. Do not kill the wildlife. Well, that just makes sense.”

  Rud nodded, scrawling the next line.

  “Rule two. Bring your own food, but food will be provided upon request at any designated rest area. Rest areas are free for anyone to use for any reason. Rule three. Do not stray from the wooden path. You. Will. Die. That’s a bit forward, isn’t it?”

  “Just the truth,” Rud said.

  “Rule four. Flash photography is strictly forbidden around the Sacred Tree. Do not touch, lick, headbutt, or otherwise disturb the Sacred Tree. You will be eaten by wolves.”

  When there was no question about Rule four, Rud turned around, narrowing his eyes at Mira. “You guys know about photography? Weird.”

  He didn’t wait for her response before finishing the sign with a few flourishes near the bottom. He tapped his chin, feeling as though something was missing. Rud added a note near the bottom.

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  “If you’re feeling dizzy, or otherwise lost, please find your nearest rest area. These will be marked on the path with estimated arrival time based on foot travel,” Mira read. She nodded with approval. “Very thorough.”

  “Thank you,” Rud said, bowing slightly. “I try my best.”

  “How long will the road take? Since you’ve taken it upon yourself to finish this project.”

  “About four or five days. I have some other things to attend to. Any news from the mortal world?”

  “Just some general interest in the grove. People are excited that we have one, but weren’t aware we could have a through-road to the west. That will open a lot of options for the locals.”

  “Hooray. We’re doing good!” Rud said. A small dance later and he was ready to leave the area outside of the grove. He bid farewell to Mira and stepped through a bush after checking his mail. No one had left him messages this time, because the only people who would try to contact him were Mira and Elmera.

  Rud linked up with Taz who—surprise—was working in the mine. He grabbed the Aspect of Gug and his pick, heading inside to help with the habitat part of the mine. The dwarf had made progress, taking advantage of the upgrade on the mining building. He was working on a small room for storage when the druid arrived.

  “There’s no feeling like being down in a mine,” Taz said, taking a steady breath and letting it out. “But I need more support beams.”

  Rud gave him a flat look. “Just mine, miner man. I need some experience in my subclass.”

  “Oh, fancy Talen Por freckled man coming in here with his subclass,” Taz mocked. “Wish I had a class.”

  Rud got to work, ignoring the comment. He was as frustrated as Taz. Why hadn’t the gods made good on their promise to him? The druid didn’t know a thing about politics with the gods, but being an apostate couldn’t be good. Maybe there was more paperwork than they expected. Maybe it was all a lie. Swinging the pick made him feel slightly better, and he toiled away with the dwarf for a while, even gaining a level in his Mining skill, bringing it to Level 6.

  The duo took a break in the early afternoon, finding a comfortable spot to sit outside the mine. The progress they had made was slow, hampered mostly by the transportation of stone. Taz had more nuggets of wisdom to deliver about mining, and Rud had to wonder how prolific he was before losing his class.

  “I’ll get on my knees and beg if I need, Rud,” Taz said, grumbling and running his fingers through his beard. “Could you please shape some trees for the support beams?”

  “Oh, if I absolutely must,” Rud said, pretending to faint. “I’m just so tired.”

  “Get off your butt,” Taz said, hoisting Rud to his feet and shoving him toward the nearest tree.

  The last time Rud tried to shape trees into boards was fairly easy. But this time, it was almost effortless. His Grove Weaver upgrade had him creating massive fork-like trees. All Taz needed to do was cut them down, saw off the tines, and remove the bark with a draw knife. With no desire to let the wood dry—which might have had future implications—he would take them into the mine and reinforce the passageways.

  “Once Ban gets up, we can talk about a blacksmith,” Taz said, hoisting a beam on his shoulder. “Then I’ll be happy with the stability of the mine.”

  The pair worked for the next few hours, generating enough lumber that Taz could reinforce more of the mine than he could ever hope to reinforce. Rud had to replant the trees he took, finding better spots for the saplings to live than on the commonly used path. It took longer than he wanted, even with the mana regeneration granted by his staff. The Plant Growth spell was still a bear to cast, and he hoped for an upgrade like Grove Weaver for the skill.

  With too little time and too little energy to start work on the road, Rud headed to the communal spot where everyone had been gathering for dinner. Taz arrived shortly after, the leg of some creature slung over his shoulder. Sarya lingered nearby, howling a few times as the sun dipped low. Mint was in her human form, picking at her nails.

  The druid checked on Ban before settling in around the fire. He fed her enough crystals to keep her topped off during the expansion process. Rud inspected her before rejoining the others at the fire.

  [Ban’Tanthein]

  Rank 0 Level 6 Sacred Tree

  Upgrade Energy: 90%

  Reserve Energy: 12%

  Upgrade:

  [Thicket Travel]

  Expansions:

  [Mining Workshop]

  [Smelting Workshop]

  [Energy Nodules]

  At least she was holding back the ranking process. Rud suspected that would take a lot out of her. But there it was. The Energy Nodules expansion. She had wanted to take the upgrade for a while, but had been putting it off for his sake.

  “When were you going to tell me the other trees couldn’t talk?” Rud said, finding his seat around the fire.

  “Did you need to know? Nope,” Mint said, adjusting the beast’s leg on the fire. The fat drizzled down the side, dripping to fuel the fire below. “Finding out on your own is better. Not like you understand this world anyway.”

  “Fair enough. But Basil and Jim found out because I didn’t know.”

  Mint shrugged. “They’ll take it as a good sign. The important part is to grow strong enough before we’re burned to the ground.”

  That was the way things went in a grove. Both Mint and Ban wouldn’t admit it, but they were new. The youngest Grove Guardian after Mint was Basil. Seeing as his grove was over twenty years old, there was a gap littered with failed groves. Rud now headed this new venture with two newbies. He hoped the others were just as clueless as him, and feigned knowledge of the bigger picture.

  Dinner was pleasant, the way it always was. Everyone was quieter than normal, feeling the turgid waves of power coming from their Sacred Tree. They all had a connection with Ban, which caused them to feel some of the discomfort of growth. Conversation was light, and Rud turned in for an early bedtime after eating a respectable amount of food. Trimming down was going well enough, but now he was trying to bulk up a bit. Although he now had the slim build of a young Talen Por—or close enough, from what he had been told—he wasn’t there. No matter how much his new body changed, he still couldn’t fit those pants.

  ###

  Roots twisted onto themselves, snaking through the ground and forming the base of a road. Rud waggled his stick through the air, conducting the joining roots to form his pathway. He felt fresh and ready to meet the day after taking a bath by the enchanted pond. Taz had even joined him, coaxing Mint into finding him a tub of his own. After that pleasant soak, a few days of twisting trees together didn’t seem so bad.

  Rud was once again reminded of how little he had explored his own grove. Especially the western section. He only knew of the stream and the bog where he collected his Fairy Peat, along with some cursory surveying he had done in the past. If the eastern section of the grove had a slope downward, the western side sloped upward. The result was a tangle of ravines crossing through one-another to create impassable sections that would be impossible on foot.

  The druid made more bridges than roads over that first day, which wouldn’t be a problem. But his estimate for how long a mortal could last in the grove without going a little bonkers was about two hours. Half-way between the grove’s center and the western border, he would need to create a village. Anything else would put the mortals in mortal peril. But he didn’t cover that vast distance within the first day, finding it harder to create the bridges with large trees than it was to make an overland path.

  As expected, the Construction Magic skill went up to Level 7, reducing the cost of his Shape Plant spell and adding to the power of his Druid class. Rud didn’t know how he knew, but that class was on the edge, teetering as though it would tip to Level 5 at any moment. But tiredness won that day, forcing him to retreat to his mushroom house to rest. He took a moment to inspect his class.

  [Druid]

  Rank 0 Level 4 Class

  Description:

  Druids commune with nature to command spells and shapeshifting effects. The closer a druid is with nature, the stronger their abilities.

  Skills:

  [Animal Communication] R0 L5

  [Growth Magic] R0 L5

  [Detection Magic] R0 L1

  [Construction Magic] R0 L7

  [Crafting Magic] R0 L3

  [Plant Care] R0 L4

  Abilities:

  [Druidic Spellcasting]

  The low-hanging fruit was Detection Magic. Which sucked as a skill, since he rarely needed to know where animals were. They all came up to him when he asked. Except the bats. They were jerks. Crafting Magic was the next candidate, and Plant Care after that. While Plant Care seemed easy to level, it wasn’t as simple as casting a single spell until the skill rolled over. But another attribute point would be lovely, and it would come with a free ability.

  Rud settled down in his mushroom house, smacking his lips as he prepared to sleep. Mint, Taz, and Sarya joked outside, their conversation carrying on well into the early part of the night. The druid listened to the sound of the insects out there, drifting off and dreaming of bridges.