Gladesbale Grove [druid, litrpg, town building, slice of life, cozy]

Rud clung to Dean's fur, having shifted into his squirrel form. The wolf padded through the forest, confused but willing to help whenever the druid asked. He had already run the latest report about the dungeons to the mortal town, returning to eat a hearty breakfast and perform the duties given to him.

"What is it we're doing?" Dean asked, not even slightly short of breath despite his speed.

"We're looking for the perfect home for some badgers," Rud said. "They're in the way of my tea farm. Also, stop if you see anywhere that needs some more trees."

"The entire grove is trees."

Rud blew raspberries, an action that was harder in his squirrel form. "You need to focus your mind. Think like a tree. See that spot over there? Yep. Not enough trees."

Dean changed his direction, angling for the spot Rud had mentioned. When they stopped the druid shifted back into his true form, withdrawing a pinecone from his bag. He stomped it into the ground and cast his Plant Growth spell before watering it. The tree shot up, skipping several stages thanks to his Spiritual Infusion upgrade for Growth Magic. It went from a sprout to a young tree in an instant, draining away the druid's mana.

"Let's plant a few more," Rud said, looking at the area. Mossy rocks and a nasty slope marked the area, angling southward in this section. "Why don't you look for the badger home while I plant?"

Dean nodded, dashing off into the forest.

Rud would need to clear about twenty trees for his new tea farm. Instead of planting only the ones he took, he planned to catch up on some planting. He could only cast the spell twice before he needed to rest, but the power of the grove and his tea helped him along. This area of the grove was southwest of the center. Most of the grove had a mix of pine and oak trees, all clinging to rocky soil. Only the areas closest to the center had a lighter mix of stone. This section seemed wet all the time, the blanket of moss providing a catch for the rain.

"I have located an area," Dean declared, emerging from a bush. "To the north."

With about half of the original twenty trees planted, Rud figured that was good enough for now. He jumped on Dean's back, not having the mana to shift into his squirrel form. They dashed off, passing through a bush and arriving in a vast clearing. The sun shone from overhead, breaking through the sparse boughs to paint the forest floor below. The ground here was soft, giving plenty of room for the badgers to dig their holes.

"Gotta make sure this place has worms," Rud said, using his fingers to dig into the soil. The dirt was a rich brown color, dotted with bits of black. It only took him a few scoops to pull a wriggling worm from the soil. "Wow. I think we found Worm Hole Hollow…"

"The soil here is rich," Dean said, gesturing with his nose to the north. "There is a stream that runs from the mountains. Perhaps that has something to do with it."

Rud made a mental note of the area's location within the grove. It was easy to do, thanks to his connection to Ban.

"Hey, Ban. Is this a good badger spot?" Rud asked.

The tree's senses swept across the grove. Rud felt his hair stand on end as her focus shifted to him. He could feel her giggling from afar.

"And why not?" she asked. "You're the custodian."

"Well, I wanted to ask… You know. Just in case this was some sacred site owned by the frog people."

"The frog people haven't been in this region for years."

Rud blinked a few times, narrowing his eyes. "The frog people don't exist, do they?"

"Nope."

"Do the badgers require us to dig their holes?" Dean asked.

Rud tapped his foot. Was this his first time relocating animals? It was. He had tried to do something with the bats, but they were jerks. No offense to bat-kind, but they were worse than the squirrels. He looked up to the boughs above, spotting something that looked like a robin. Perhaps some other red-brown bird that lived in the area. "I don't think so. We're going to destroy their dens, so I want to make sure this works. We'll escort them here if that's okay with you."

"A badger's den is called a sett."

"Does it matter?" Rud asked. "We're not even speaking English!"

"Correct word usage is important."

"Okay. Operation Badger Move is a go." Rud struck a pose. Dean watched him with interest, knowing he couldn't perform such an action. "When you get your human form, you can pose all you want."

Rud jumped onto Dean's back, and they were off to the nearest bush.

"I won't gain my human form for quite a while. I'm not certain you understand how powerful Mint is."

"Well, that's the question. You were a monster, right?"

"Something like that."

"Does that mean Mint was a monster?" Rud asked.

"I can't say. Sacred Beasts like her are more than monsters, though. Most have been gathering power for thousands of years, if not longer. An upstart like me cannot compare to her. Not in power or experience."

"What about souls like Ban?" Rud asked.

"I don't know."

"Taking an interest in me?" Ban asked, speaking into Rud's mind.

"No, I was just thinking about where everyone comes from. I had a theory. Perhaps we're all aliens!"

"You see yourself as an alien?"

"I'm not from this world, am I?" Rud asked. He spotted a badger coming out from a hole ahead. It was asking about worms. "That makes me an alien."

"I think you're an old soul destined to join Asevar and the grove."

"I'm all warm and fuzzy," Rud said, dismounting from Dean. "And not because I'm covered in Dean's fur."

Rud cleared his throat, thrusting his hands into the air. "Beasts of Badger Den Zero-Zero-One!" he shouted, gaining the attention of all badgers in the area. "You are invited to follow the Sacred Beast Dean and me to your new home, Worm Hole Hollow! There you will find more worms than you can eat, attractive ground to dig in, and a view that will skyrocket your property value!"

A murmur spread through the badgers. What words Rud caught seemed positive. The creatures in the forest didn't trust Rud just because he was the custodian of the grove. But he was getting better at understanding the basics of Animal Communication. He had to offer them something they wanted if he would get what he wanted.

"We shall follow you, tall, hairless badger," a badger said. "Lead on."

Rud held his pose for a few more seconds before turning on the spot and marching off. Badgers of all ages followed behind him, forming a line as they went. "How far is this place?"

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Dean padded alongside him, keeping an eye out for any danger. There wouldn't be any danger, but it made the wolf feel better to do something as they walked. Ever-vigilant. "Several hours on foot. It isn't far from the grove's center."

"If only our badger friends could use Thicket Travel."

"If only."

An interesting thing to note about the badgers was their intelligence. Rud suspected the smarter an animal in nature, the smarter it would be when he used his skill to talk to them. Conversing with squirrels was like talking to a toddler who just slammed an energy drink. The bats were no better, closer to paranoid fiends than anything else. But the badgers spoke with eloquence, especially compared to the others. It was comforting to know he could have a conversation with some woodland creatures. Birds were a lost cause, though. Those creatures couldn't string together two words without interjecting with defiant squawks.

Rud considered shifting into his squirrel form, but decided against it. He had the trust of the badgers for now, but that might be too much. But to his surprise, they marched right behind him without a complaint. They maintained that straight line the entire way, shuffling around rocks and tumbling over logs as though this was something badgers did daily. Part-way through the expedition, Rud watched as Nulsa alighted on a nearby branch.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Rud asked. He turned, watching to make sure the badgers didn't flee from the woodland predator. As expected, they didn't. No fighting allowed inside the grove.

"I don't sleep all day," Nulsa responded. "I'm here to report a buildup of magical energy in the east. It seems potent."

"The east?" Rud asked, clicking his tongue. "That place is about as boring as my hobbies back on Earth."

"My guess is an interaction with an unknown element after the grove expanded."

"Thanks for the tip, Nulsa," Rud said, giving him the thumbs-up.

"I was certain you would see it after you talked to Hagsbane. But you didn't arrive for your check-in."

Rud clicked his tongue. Everyone thought there was some romantic intent between him and Maria, but they were wrong. He had been hopeless in romance back on Earth, and he wasn't ready to break that streak. Perhaps the truth was too much for the Sacred Beasts to understand, but he loved talking to someone from his homeland. If that was a woman, man, or a parrot with a convincing vocabulary, he didn't care. It was a connection he could hold onto, bringing him comfort during the rare times of doubt.

"I do miss her dearly," Rud said, sighing dramatically. "But someone has to move these badgers."

"Quite the gaggle of badgers," Nulsa responded.

"A group of badgers is called a clan," Dean corrected.

"Do you have Google at the ready or something?" Rud asked. "Is your class called 'actually…' or something?"

"Actually…. Maybe," Dean said, producing a hiss-like giggle. "I learned how to read recently and found some books."

"Well, when you have a chance, you can teach me everything you know from the fantasy version of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Perhaps I'll use words good after that."

"That's not… Ah, you're speaking incorrectly on purpose. I like it."

Nulsa didn't stick around for the badger march. He headed off to investigate the disturbance in the east. Something about the way he brought the problem to Rud's attention had him slightly worried. He couldn't remember a time the owl had willingly stayed up during the day. While he might have pretended like this was normal, Rud could tell he was worried about something.

"Are we there yet?" a badger asked.

Rud looked back at the clan of badgers. "Unless you want to live on a pile of rocks, no. We've got a ways to go."

But the badgers were about as silent as a child on a road trip who had just downed an entire bottle of chocolate milk. They asked for an update every few steps, and Rud got into the habit of answering as simply as he could. But their faith in Worm Hole Hollow never wavered. Especially not after Dean embellished the size of the worms they had discovered there.

"Worms as big as your snout," Dean claimed.

The badgers got excited at that, but Rud didn't know how much of the claim they could understand. Some Sacred Beasts could communicate with other animals on an intelligent level. Rud's understanding was they spoke to each other more with feelings than words. The last leg of the journey was easy enough, with only 58 instances of "are we there yet?" Rud counted.

Dean passed through the thick brush first, followed by Rud and the badgers. The druid did some jazz-hands, giving a hearty "tada!"

"Worm Hole Hollow," one badger whispered. The group broke off, digging in the ground and removing worms to eat. Rud doubted the worms here were much better than the ones near the tree, but he had hyped it up enough to convince them. Worms didn't count as animals, since they said nothing.

"You have done well by us, forest spirit," one badger shouted, stamping the ground with its clawed paws. "We shall dig a mighty sett!"

"See? Told you it was called a sett," Dean said.

"Savor your victory," Rud said, narrowing his eyes at Dean. "We're gonna have a trivia night. And I'm gonna crush you… once I get my hands on those books."

"You may borrow them. But you shall not win."

The duo stuck around long enough to make sure the soil was good for badger homes. Rud had a fear about the water soaking into the ground from the stream, but it was fine. The badgers had a bunch of tunnels built within the hour, and were extremely happy with their new home. Digging near the tree was a pain, thanks to Ban's roots. But they had no problem chewing through the roots of the trees nearby in their new home.

Once Rud was satisfied with the badgers, he sent Dean off to help Nulsa and teleported over to the tower. He rushed up the stairs, accepted the tower's aspect, and clicked on the radio.

"Maria," Rud said, forcing himself away from calling her Hagsbane. "This is Rud, checking in."

The radio crackled as Rud turned his sights to the northeast. From this distance, the energy Nulsa talked about was a faint wisp. But thanks to the Farseeing skill, he zoomed in for inspection. There were some interesting interactions between magical energies over there. The grove's magic clashed against something near the old logging camp. The druid saw both Nulsa and Dean investigating the area, but they were looking in the wrong spot. Just off from the stone road built by the mortals, something was buried underground. It put off a pale purple energy that stained the air.

"Maria here," the radio crackled. "Didn't want to have coffee with me this morning?"

"I got wrapped up in badger affairs," Rud said, shaking his head. "Also, I still don't have coffee. The tea I make is far more potent, though."

"I could go for some tea," Maria said with a sigh. "I've got my monster problem mostly under control. Now that my dwarves are sober, they make a decent fighting force. Gug is helpful, too."

Rud bit his lip, trying to stop from saying something stupid. He knew he couldn't promise to fix everyone's problems, but he wanted to help. Even if he just sent her a crate of his delicious tea, it would make him feel better. But that project would take some serious time, and he knew Ban was nowhere near ready to make portals.

"You should take a trip to Basil's grove, Cliffs of Mog," Rud said, leaning in over the table. "Take a break from the underground."

"That's not a bad idea… if Jim would turn on his radio. I swear, we're the only ones who use this thing."

"We'll get the other custodians on board. That's what Bent would have wanted… Right?"

"I think so. Everyone has been circling the drain for a while now. But if Bent is making new groves, we all have something to be excited about."

Yeah, like a massive party with all the custodians. That's the idea Rud held onto, anyway. Excitement for something new meant the others could help, though. The druid wasn't alone in this. They might have been distant, but he had the help of the other groves, spirits, and trees. Trees and mushrooms. Maybe there was a Sacred Topiary everyone worshiped in some far-off land…

"While I have you on the line, I've got a question."

"Shoot."

"I figure you might know since you're always in the tower. I've got a strange energy signature in the distance. My grove just expanded to Rank 1, and when it did we spotted some… purple—maybe lilac—energy springing up from the ground."

"What does it smell like?"

"I haven't smelled it. Yet."

"If it smells like rubbing alcohol, it's a cursed object. But if it smells like pine nettles, you're dealing with the bones of an dead Sacred Beast."

"Wow. That's specific," Rud said. "What do I do about both situations?"

"Same solution for both. You need to purify it somehow. Since you have the Druid class, I don't think that'll be too hard. But be cautious, Rud. Cursed objects can do just about anything, and it often isn't good."

"Beware of cursed objects… Gotcha." Rud paused after thumbing the button, maintaining control of the channel. "I appreciate the help, Maria. I might need some more help with a future project."

"Things have calmed down over here. I'm happy to lend as much help as you need."

Rud was eager to check out the disturbance. But he chatted with Maria about whatever for a while. It always felt good to talk to a fellow Earthling. But the time came when Dean and Nulsa both sent him messages into his mind, using the grove's communication system. With a sigh, he signed off from the radio. At least he was getting close to earning a level for his Farseeing skill.

"I'll be right there, dads," Rud said, shifting into a flying squirrel and jumping from the tower. He passed through the leaves, arriving on the grove's eastern edge in an instant. The aspect granting him the Farseeing skill lingered, allowing him to pinpoint the location of the energy. He smelled rubbing alcohol in the air. "Someone grab me a shovel. We don't wanna touch this."