NOVEL NEXT 1.51 - Off With His Head
Off With His Head!
Rud lounged in Ban's boughs. Now that she was awake, the grove seemed more still than normal. He had assumed his flying squirrel form and climbed up her, finding a place that wasn't so thick with the glowing flowers. Today hadn't been difficult, but there was a lot of work to do. There were too many plants that needed attention for him to keep up, resulting in an exhausted squirrel splayed out on the branches of a Sacred Tree. The tree herself had taken notice of his mood, and not just the exhaustion.
"What's on your mind?"
Rud almost fell out of the tree when he heard her true voice. It was surprising to hear her talk out loud and he wondered if he would ever get used to it. "I want to link the groves. Give the other custodians a chance to move around."
"A custodian's job is within a grove."
Rud fought back the impulse to interrupt her as she spoke. "I'm not talking about moving. The custodians need a vacation."
"Maria needs a vacation."
"Ugh, why do you see through me so easily?"
"We're connected. And I'm older than I look," Ban said. She issued that girlish giggle that betrayed her age. Wait, how old was she?
"You're about a month old," Rud corrected.
"This body is… But this soul? I've been through it. So has Mint."
Rud realized why everyone in the grove got along. They were all old people. "Fair enough. Can we do it?"
"We'll need to have a specialization in energy generation. And a two-way portal that only draws power from one side. Basil has one that pulls power from both, but…"
Ban fell deep into thought. Rud could feel her mind churning. He wouldn't consider how a tree could form thoughts. That was a fruitless effort.
"We can do it. There are a series of expansions I need to take to do it, but we can link the groves."
"Really?" Rud asked. "Just like that?"
A wave of comfort spread through Rud's body. It was like a warm smile from a motherly figure. A tingle spread up his spine, filling him with hope and excitement for this new feature.
"Just like that, Bent worked on creating a powerful grove for hundreds of years. We have the potential to become the most powerful grove."
"Sweet. What's our upgrade path? How do we make it happen?" Rud asked.
"I'm already a few steps into the spatial manipulation tree. Hehe. But the grove teleportation upgrade is locked behind Rank 2. Before that, I'll need two other upgrades… meaning I won't get the option to take it before Rank 2 Level 5. You did a great job taking the Energy Flowers upgrade."
"Thanks!"
"We have our path. How strong is your stockpile of crystal fragments?"
"I'm hoarding almost one-hundred at this point. Heh heh heh. Mostly from tea sales."
"Get more tea. I'll need every fragment if we want to reach this goal."
Ban had some more things to say about her plan, but she was on board. More than just a fun thing for the custodians, the ability to transport grove members between groves was a powerful tool. Not even Basil had gone into that specialization as his upgrade tree differed from the one in Gladesbale. It wasn't as though energy generation was a bad thing, either. Generating excess energy was awesome and was the only thing keeping the tree alive. More energy also meant she could support more expansions. Each one drained a small amount of energy and would exceed her ability to produce after a time.
"Guess we're set, then," Rud said, stretching. The timer on his shapeshifting form expired, and he tumbled from the tree. In the air, he pulled a leaf from his coat and transformed again, gliding to the ground harmlessly.
Since Elmera was hanging out in the longhouse, Rud wanted to spend his night there. She was easy to talk to, since she talked little. But she was the only mortal there. Taz had a bowl ready for Rud before he even arrived, sliding it across the stone hearth as the druid found a seat. Sarya and Dean were gnawing on bones near the fire, but Nulsa and Mint were nowhere to be found.
"Nothing better than a roaring fire as the cold sets in," Taz said, grunting to a seated position near the fire.
"Indeed. How did you find yourself here, dwarf?" Elmera asked.
"Same way you did, right? We're all drawn by the power of this place." Taz stretched and yawned, basking in his lie. Rud considered how hard it would be to face the idea of being an apostate.
"I heard about Barrow's problems with the orcs. The west might become a battlefield."
"Bah!" Taz shouted, kicking at the stone hearth. "Nothing a company of armored dwarves couldn't handle. Send word to my people and we'll flatten them in days."
Rud suppressed his laugh as the dwarf continued to brag about the strength of his people. Taz always got straight to the point, but the druid had never seen him boast like this. It took him too long to realize what was going on. The dwarf was trying to impress the elf. Rud had to turn his face away from the pair to contain his laughter, finally heading over to eat his food near the wolves.
"I can't," Rud said, leaning against Dean as he ate his soup.
The bragging went on for as long as Elmera would allow it. When she was done with her food and tired enough to sleep, she unfurled a bedroll and placed it by the fire. Rud kicked back and leaned against Dean, finding that the wolf's warmth was enough to see him through the night. That and the blazing fire before him. The wolf didn't mind. Sarya came and curled up closer after a while as the group fell asleep.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Rud woke early the next morning on the cold wooden floor of the longhouse. Dean and Sarya had left some time in the night, leaving him to fend for himself. His coat was half-off and his cloak was nowhere to be found. The druid rummaged around for a while, finding his cloak somewhere near the door. At least Taz and Elmera were still snoring away near the fire. They had drawn frighteningly close during the night. The druid shifted into his squirrel form and scampered away from the scene without eating soup for breakfast. There were enough nuts and mushrooms in the forest to get him through the morning.
"Okay!" Rud shouted, posing in front of the tree. "What's our first step to get you to Rank 2?"
"You're a bit too eager for this early of an hour," Ban said. As she spoke into his mind, her voice sounded sleepy.
The sun had barely poked over the eastern horizon, bathing the grove in its early morning glow. Ban's flowers were sucking energy from the air while her leaves worked to extract as much energy from the sunlight as they could. A low haze hung throughout the forest, driven by high humidity and the threat of rain. While the tower claimed they were clear from such a fate, Rud wasn't so sure. To top the situation was the dropping temperature, becoming uncomfortable enough that even the magical cloak wasn't keeping him completely warm.
"I'm like a dog with a bone! Gotta go fast!"
"That doesn't make sense… Well, you could increase our stockpile of crystals and dungeon core fragments. Sarya collected some Monster Cores… perhaps you can beg for the spell to enchant those."
"Which spirit do I beg?" Rud asked.
"Aegael. She has spells that can reforge the cores into something our buildings can use."
"Right!" Rud shouted again. If a tree could wince… He dashed off without another word, heading directly for the Smelting Workshop.
Aegael was the spirit that had granted him the Imbue Crafted Item spell. She was also the aspect he accepted when working the smelter. If he wanted to impress her, the best way would be to work at the smelter and make puppy dog eyes at the sky. Other than that, he had no other ideas on how to coerce her. No matter how big he made his eyes, it didn't work.
"Ah, well," Rud said, getting to work on a batch of copper ore. At least it was easier to work with the upgrades to the smelter. It heated more evenly and took far less to get to temperature. He lost himself in the work and forgot about the Monster Cores.
Fortunately, Sarya brought them along after a few hours of work. She held a burlap sack between her teeth and dropped them on the floor. The wolf had nothing to say and darted away. At least the Smelting skill rose to Level 6. Even if the Grove Custodian subclass didn't budge.
Rud paused at the door to the workshop, closing his eyes as the chilled breeze washed over the sweltering interior. Even with both the front and back doors open, it was too hot. The contrast between the two environments was staggering enough to give him a slight headache. But a break was necessary and he went to inspect the work Ban had done to create the Smithing Workshop. It was progressing much like the other buildings she had created and was currently a tangle of roots that seemed eager to become a proper building.
This section of the grove had long-since been the 'industrial' section. Rud popped a mushroom in his mouth as he thought about that. The only other sections within the grove were his houses, roads, and his tea farm. "All that smelting, and Aegael hasn't noticed me… what a shame."
But the spirit wouldn't relent. She remained distant, refusing to bestow him with the spell. Another day, perhaps. Rud finished up with the smelter, imbuing as many ingots as he could with the Imbue Crafted Item spell. They shone with the familiar bands of color, joining with the already-massive pile. The druid shifted into his squirrel form after the smelter had cooled and dashed off. He activated his Clear Communication skill and climbed the nearest tree.
"Squirrel friends!" he shouted. It took them a while to gather, but a dozen red squirrels assembled to investigate the strange flying squirrel in their part of the forest.
"Interloper! He's hideous! Someone think of the children!"
"No, I'm one of you. Don't you remember?"
"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"
Rud shifted back into his true form, perching on the branch to glower at the squirrels.
"The man who gives us nuts is back!" one squirrel cried. "All hail that guy!"
"Good lord… Alright. I need some help finding more tea plants," Rud said. He could use his tower to accomplish the task, but Animal Communication was stuck at Level 5. Any chance to combine that skill with Shapeshifting Magic was worth the effort. "Are you in?"
The squirrels cheered in response, the sound warbling between all-too-human sounds and the chitters of rodents. The creatures dashed off, not batting an eye when the druid shifted back into his flying squirrel mode and headed for the Sacred Tree. His goal wasn't to join with the squirrels in their search. He used Shape Plant to rearrange the fence for his farm, expanding it out significantly. This project was growing past a point where he could care for it on his own, but there were no other options. Rud needed the tea if he wanted to reach his goals with Ban. It had provided more fragments than anything else they had done.
Before long, a cadre of squirrels approached the clearing. Rud produced the required payment by dumping a large pile of nuts on the ground.
"That's the good stuff. Gimmie! Yum! This way!"
The squirrels gathered what they could before dashing off, leading Rud in the right direction. Red-furred figures dotted the area near the creek. The squirrel scouts had placed one squirrel near each of the plants, allowing Rud to find them with ease. Transfering the plants had never been an issue. Even if he broke a few thick roots while he was digging with his hands, the tea plants never cared. Once they were planted near his mushroom house and increased in size with the Plant Growth spell, they were fine.
Rud had no desire to go small with this new expansion. He spent a few hours going back-and-forth between the mushroom house and the creek, trickling a trail of nuts wherever he went to keep the squirrels working. hard. It was hard to tell if they actually cared about the nuts. Almost every tree nut was shoved into the ground after the critters grabbed them.
The druid's hands were filthy by the time he had doubled the size of his tea farm. A few plants didn't take well to their new home and were wilting even after being hit with the Plant Growth spell. Rud would give them a chance and double-checked that he had watered them with the double-enchanted water. After plucking leaves, placing them on the drying shelves, and relighting the fire in the building it was time for a bath. Filling the giant copper tub was easy enough, but waiting for it to heat over a bed of Fairy Peat wasn't.
"A little too hot," Rud said, sliding into the bath. But once he had entered the water fully, he appreciated how well it fought off the cold. The druid sighed with contentment, relaxing after he had washed himself.
"You look content. Even if you didn't get your spell."
Rud waved lazily, shrugging as he sunk lower into the bath. "Can't force a lizard to give me a spell, can I?"
"I suppose you can't."
"She will give me the spell right when I need it. That's how it works, right?"
Ban was off balance for only a moment before she laughed. "That's right."
What would the future of the grove hold if Rud kept this up? Things were going well enough, and the future was bright. It appeared no matter what happened, everyone within the protective area of that forest was willing to give it their all. The druid was ready to push for Rank 1, leveling whatever skills he needed to achieve that goal. The better he could support Ban, the faster he'd get the teleporters up to the other groves.
Then he could finally see the others. Not just Jim from Basil's grove through the custodian exchange. Not just for a day to show off whatever progress they had made. A meaningful exchange between the groves would help each one grow. But there was nothing wrong with taking a relaxing bath or enjoying some fine tea. Those little things were the bookends to Rud's time within the grove.