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

Rud emerged from a bush, brushing the leaves away from his face. He had used Thicket Travel to arrive in a glade to the south. With only a few points of data to go by, he had to do his best to find the source of the various infections. His two-phase plan was fairly simple, but required him to cast Nature's Banishment enough times to make his head spin. The second phase of the plan was prevention. What good was casting the spell—even if it made the animals more resistant—if he didn't fix the source. He would need to draw on his knowledge from back on Earth and the things the local spirits knew.

"Phase once," Rud said, reassuring himself of this course. "Look, Major. Badgers."

"They are annoying creatures."

Stepping away from the bushes, Rud cleared his throat. The heads of several badgers swiveled, locking onto him. It was too difficult for him to see if the animals had any biters on them, and the other diseases were invisible. But if he couldn't get the badgers, squirrels, and other forest creatures to work with him none of this would work. Those he hadn't treated would become carriers.

"Greetings fellow badgers," Rud said, using his Clear Communication upgrade. "We're all out here searching for worms, aren't we?"

"You're no badger!" one badger said. "Begone!"

Rud looked back at Major, shaking his head. "Yeah. These guys suck." He cleared his throat. "I suppose I'll just toss this large pile of worms into the lake, then. What a shame."

"Worms?" another badger said, poking his head out of his hole. Rud supposed those holes were called setts. According to Dean, anyway.

"Ah, yes. Just a big handful of worms," Rud said, holding out the clumped soil in his hand. There might have been a few worms within, but nothing like the bounty he promised.

With the badgers lured in, Rud worked his healing magic. As expected, the badgers had just as many diseases as the deer. They didn't even seem to notice how few worms he provided, accepting what they got without complaint. One even complimented him on making them feel better. So the diseases they had weren't just latent things, but points of pain for the creatures.

"Have you fine badgers been anywhere strange recently?" Rud asked.

"Strange? No. Just our holes," one badger shot back. "More worms?"

Rud tossed the frumpy badger another worm. He had treated 10 badgers total. "You're certain? Each of you had the biters."

"Don't look at me!" another badger shouted.

Rud nodded, giving away the last of his worms. He inspected the area around the holes in the ground, looking for signs of biters. Ticks on Earth always clung to plants, waiting for something warm to go by. That's when they would latch on, biting an unsuspecting person or animal. If he couldn't find the source of the biters, this entire affair would have been for nothing.

"They drink from puddles," Rud said, standing back as he watched the badgers talk about the day's events. "They roll in mud, eating worms. I can't think of a stronger vector for disease."

"You've yet to explain the biters," Major countered.

"There's only one vector I can think of…"

It would be one thing if all the animals he treated passed through the same area. Perhaps a common watering hole or something like that. But the badger and deer population was separated by a great distance. If a roaming creature were to drink from one source of water, then another at another time, that might explain how this nastiness was transmitting. Rud had two culprits in mind. The squirrels, or the wolves. Not the spiritually imbued wolves, though. He had already confirmed that Mint, Dean, Sarya, himself, and Major were resistant to the disease. And the biters.

"We're talking about squirrels or wolves dragging this crap around," Rud said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd put money on the problem coming from squirrels. They get around."

"What about birds?" Major asked, nodding upward to the boughs.

"We're screwed if the birds are transmitting it. They refuse to talk to me, and move around way too much."

"No. Consider them as the… what did you call it?"

"Vector," Rud said, gesturing as though moving forward.

"Call it a source. What if they're picking stuff up and dropping it at common watering holes?"

Rud scratched his chin. Phase one would take a while. He was restricted by the amount of mana he had, making it hard to cast his spell repeatedly. "Okay. Let's get some help on this one."

"The wolves?" Major asked.

"The deer," Rud said, tapping his head. "They know all the good sources. Let's split up. Go question the deer and we'll work from there."

"Got it," Major said, dashing off into the nearest bush.

Rud shifted into his flying squirrel form, giving a bird above the stink-eye before vanishing himself. He returned to the spot with the deer he had first cured, but found them gone. After some gliding and searching, he found the same herd and questioned them. The deer migrated around the grove, moving in a circular pattern to avoid naughty wolves. Although Mint had done well to keep the trouble-makers out of the grove, that didn't stop the deer from developing a fear of errant predators. The stag among the group listed all the sources of water he could remember. Which was a lot for a mundane deer.

"For the future, could you ensure your herd is only drinking from running water?" Rud asked.

"Why?"

"Stagnant water is more likely to contain diseases. I'll be checking up on your herd to ensure you remain without illness, but it won't hurt."

The deer bowed his head low. "Thank you, Great Spirit."

Rud did an army salute, shifted back into his squirrel form, and ran away. He passed through a bush and appeared at the first suspicious pond. It was nestled at the bottom of a rise on either side with a layer of scum on the top. Perhaps it was too cold for the algae to grow as much as it would in warmer weather, but the water looked foul. This was the most recent pond the deer had drunk from. The druid paused, reading over the description of his Nature's Banishment spell.

"Target," Rud muttered to himself. "That's a target, isn't it?"

Spells were funny like that. Ban had taught Rud early on about how spells worked. If it was in the description, he could do it. The system didn't obfuscate information. If he could target a person only, it would say. But if it used words like 'target' that meant he could cast it on anything, sentient or not. Perhaps some spells even separated sentience and sapience, but whatever. The pond was a thing and he could target it. Otherwise he'd just need to practice with freecasting.

"Here goes nothing," Rud said, taking in a deep breath. He held his hands out as the power of River flooded through his body. Floating orbs of light poured from his hands, dancing over the disgusting surface of the pond. It soaked into the water, scouring away the diseases it held in an instant.

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[Nature's Banishment]

Burrowing Worms removed from Standing Water.

Corrupting Bacteria removed from Standing Water.

Creeping Infection removed from Standing Water.

"There you are," Rud said, sagging slightly as half his mana was removed. He looked up, narrowing his eyes at the trees above. "Hey! You!"

"Me?" a squeaky voice said.

"Yeah, you. Come down here, squirrel."

"Why?"

"I've got some delicious food for you."

A red squirrel scampered down the tree, running up to Rud and pausing before standing on its hind legs. The druid fished a nut from his bag, tossing it over before casting his Nature's Banishment spell again. The squirrel glowed a shade of gold and green, all diseases removed. He stomped the biter afterward. Now came the unenviable task of getting information from a squirrel.

"Have you been anywhere strange recently? Somewhere you wouldn't normally go?"

"Go? I go!" The squirrel darted up the tree without hesitation.

Rud pinched the tip of his ear, grumbling to himself. That somehow went worse than he expected. "No, don't leave… he's gone. Yeah, the squirrels are moving these ticks around. And the ponds are the reason they animals are getting the diseases."

It took a few hours, but Rud cleared a few of the commonly used watering holes before linking up with Major once again. The bear spirit had discovered four distinct herds of deer, all doing their own things. Dean and Sarya seemed worse at cross-species communication, but Major was pretty good at it. Enough to get some information, anyway.

"Guess bear-language is close to deer, huh?" Rud asked, slapping the big bear on the side. "Learn anything fun?"

"Fun? Not really. I can only get a few words in with the deer before it all sounds the same."

"Well, you'll be happy to know the bird theory might be true. I've cleared a few ponds of the diseases, but I have nothing on the biters."

"Perhaps our search is in error…" Major trailed off, looking into the forest. "Let's expand our search. I have a theory."

"Really? I'd think the deer would know where to look. What's your big idea, big guy?"

Major turned, producing something of a smile. To Rud, it just looked like the bear was ready to attack by showing his teeth. "I know your aversion to leaving the grove. I'll round up the others."

"Good idea. I hate leaving the grove."

Major headed off to gather Sarya, and Dean. Mint was always too busy to help with small things like this. Rud didn't really know what she was doing, but it seemed important. The druid arrived in Ban's clearing, taking stock of the chores he had neglected for the day. Well, the tea farm could always use attention. And he was trying to make some serious improvements on his customer service skill.

The tea farm was doing great. Of course it was. With a constant drip-feed from the magical spring, the plants had grown larger than ever before. Spice, earth, citrus, and sweet all mingled together, reaching toward the sky. Rud selected the best leaves of each to pluck, stuffing them in his bag before moving on to the next. He nodded as he passed by the lightbulb plants, eager to get them in their planters. But that was a lot of work…

Forming new jars out of the mushrooms was therapeutic. But Rud doubted it would do much to increase his Construction Magic. Compared to when he first got the skill, he could now create finer details on his jars. 'Gladesbale Grove, Mint's Reserve' was emblazoned on the front of his current jar. He stuffed it with a generous helping of the mixture, packing the leaves within the jar but not crushing them. Whole-leaf brewing was popular, and if people wanted to crush the dried tea they could. Rud wouldn't stop them.

"I love the tea factory," Taz said, coming from nowhere. He was covered in a layer of soot and sweating, despite the colder weather.

"Well, if it isn't the resident blacksmith," Rud said with a wide smile. "Having fun?"

"More fun than I've had in years," Taz said, making the sign of reverence and bowing to the forest. "I'll pray to Aegael every day of my life. I swear it."

"Yeah, the salamander is my favorite, too. Just kidding, River! I love you all!"

"Heard some talk about the diseased critters. Ever find a solution?"

Taz was becoming more and more a part of the grove as the days went on. There was some worry that a dwarf couldn't adapt to the wide-open conditions, but the man had done well for himself. He was spending more time out of his cave, and even helped with the customer service side of things. Well, before long there would be forged items in the store. Just not weapons. Rud still refused to export weapons from the grove—especially if those weapons were infused with his magical power.

"We're chasing down solutions. The spirits are searching for the bugs, but we've identified one of the major problems. Diseased ponds."

"A clean water source is needed for a happy home," Taz said, sighing with contentment. "Why don't they just drink from the spring?"

"Meh. The deer rove throughout the grove. Most like to be in constant motion. Easier just to clean up the ponds, I think." Rud sealed another pot of tea, setting it to the side. He got to work on the next after enchanting that one. Perhaps his Crafting Magic skill would go up if he did enough of these.

"Mind if I show you something?" Taz asked, cautious about his words. He had a goofy smile on his face and something hidden behind his back.

Rud cleared a space on his worktable, gesturing for Taz to produce the goods.

The dwarf up-ended a sack, spilling many metal items onto the table. Trinkets, buckles, and angled brackets all clattered together. They were brut de forge—not polished or finished. It gave them a rustic charm. Rud scooped up a bracket, nodding with approval. His low Strength meant he was unlikely to bend it anyway, but it seemed sturdy.

"Looks like some fine pieces," Rud said, tossing the bracket to the side. He picked up another piece, holding it out for Taz to see. "What's this?"

"A buckle."

Rud picked another piece up. "And this?"

"A clasp for a cloak."

"Oh! I see," Rud said, patting the dwarf on the shoulder. "Replacement items for adventurers. Dang, that's really smart."

Taz straightened his back, thrusting his chest out. "A lot of blacksmiths focus on making interesting things. But a lot of shops get by making the little things. Especially in outpost holds for the dwarves. You get adventurers passing through who have a broken buckle, or a destroyed axle for their cart. I was considering offering cart repair services."

Rud had been promised there would be people riding on beast-drawn carriages coming through the grove. While he hadn't seen them, he believed it. But the common items Taz had forged would be amazing for passing travelers.

"Oh! Perhaps you can offer sharpening services."

"I think it can be done," Taz said with a nod. "Only problem is, there is no path leading from the main road to the workshop."

"That's where I come in!" Rud shouted, striking a pose.

"Exactly. Think you could whip me up some signs and a path?"

"Absolutely," Rud said, gesturing to the pots of tea. "Help me finish with the tea and we can bang that road out."

Taz rolled his sleeves up, but was given a stern look from Rud. Once the dwarf had washed his hands, he came back and helped stuff tea into the pots. As each mixture of tea was exactly half of each variety, it was a simple job. They knocked out twenty pots of tea and stocked them in the general store. Rud collected the offerings from the passing adventurers before heading off to work on the road extension.

"First, we're going to need a sign here," Rud said, gesturing to the spot where the eastern road joined with Ban's clearing. "What do you want it to say?"

Rud worked on the requested sign. When he was done, he had woven a sign from the material of the road itself. It read 'Taznoz Coalbranch, Blacksmithing Repairs and Service.' The druid stepped back, appreciating his work. The sign included an arrow pointing straight ahead. They made another sign on the path that led to the north, and another at the fork that would lead to Ban's blacksmithing building.

"Look at you work your druid magic," Taz said, laughing.

Rud turned to smile at his friend. He wove the trees together, creating a similar road to the one he had already constructed. The woven pieces of tree weren't stable enough for a cart to ride on—or even for a person to walk on. But once he applied the Lacquer spell, the surface was smoothed to perfection. It wasn't so smooth that a cart couldn't find traction, though. He had found a perfect medium with his Construction Magic.

"And we can have a service area right here," Rud said, gesturing to the clearing in front of the smithing building. "What about a stable for the beasts? What do people use to draw their carts?"

"Badgers," Taz said with a nod. "Giant badgers."

Rud narrowed his gaze at the dwarf. "That's what dwarves use, right? What do the other mortal races use?"

Taz shrugged.

Rud whittled away the rest of the day, working on both the service area and the stables. He created a wide platform out of tree material, complete with simple structures for holding the beasts while the mortals waited for service. The pair stood back as dusk approached, appreciating their work.

"I don't know about you, but I could eat," Taz said, clapping a hand on Rud's shoulder. "You even made the stables big enough for a giant badger… if needed."

"Come on," Rud said, jerking his head to the side. "I gotta make my evening report then we can go get some grub!"