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

A fire crackled in the longhouse's hearth. Rud sipped another cup of tea, forgetting the problem with the giant bug monster. The sun was just rising above the horizon, but he didn't feel tired. It might have been the tea or the excitement of the fight, but he felt ready to meet the day. Even if the other members of the grove were coming up with a plan to destroy the bug monsters.

This was a problem that Rud had considered in the past. The power of the grove rested within the grove. They relied on the spirit animals to range outside, taking care of any problems. But even they were weaker out there. The grove needed to expand, and that wouldn't happen anytime soon. With the cursed objects as the source of this problem, Rud wasn't sure how he should approach it. Since the monsters were dangerous enough that he would fear for the life of adventurers, he couldn't lean on them. This was a problem resting squarely on their shoulders.

"Try not to worry about it too much," Ban said. "Mint is fine."

Rud stood, bringing his cup of tea with him. He left the longhouse, making the short walk to Ban's clearing. It wasn't as though her voice spoken into his mind was impersonal. He just enjoyed hearing it aloud.

"Any thoughts?" Rud asked. "I guess my technique worked, didn't it?"

"It did," Ban agreed. She had that motherly tone that meant he was missing something, or that this wouldn't be enough to keep the monsters at bay. "We need to find another solution."

Yeah, there it was. One way Rud could help was to expand his power. He could rush for Rank 1, taking advantage of everything that came with that. He doubted it would be enough power, but it might help. Gaining levels for the grove might help, but making Ban sprint through her ranks wasn't gonna work. It seemed the best way to move forward was to collect and purify all the cursed objects around the grove. What a pain.

"Maybe if I can understand more about the cursed objects, I can do something about them," Rud said, turning away from Ban. "Gonna go study some dangerously cursed stuff. Be back later."

Ban's giggles followed behind as Rud made his way through the nearest bush. He arrived at the logging camp shortly after, watching as the sky above was stained with brilliant shades of pink and orange. The druid took a deep breath, soaking the feel of the magic around him. Nature magic—plant magic specifically—soaked into the area. It was no surprise with how often he cast his Plant Growth spell here. An underlying tone of corrupted magic sung in a lower octave, barely detectable with his senses.

"You're up early!" a cheery voice shouted from afar.

Rud dragged himself out of his thoughts, looking up to see Mira bounding over. She was in a better mood than normal, smiling and waving as she approached. "Good morning," he said, taking a sip of his tea. "Anything interesting happen with the cursed trees?"

"Nope." Mira's head swiveled, her eyes locking onto the trees. "Should something have happened?"

Rud shook his head, approaching and placing his hand on one tree. He could feel the energy better this way, soaking in some of that strange cursed energy. The origin of these objects was still a mystery, as the Sacred Beasts often didn't have the full picture. He doubted a wizard had destroyed the moons, but it was hard to say. Ban was often more reliable than the others when it came to mortal affairs. The only thing he was certain about was the state of the cursed objects. It would take a while, but each object was having its energy dissipated into the air.

"No, I'm trying to understand them better," Rud said, running his hand along the smoothed bark of the cursed object prison. "If only I had a… Hey, Dean!"

The wolf came bounding through the forest moments later, trotting to a stop. When things got crazy in the grove, Rud always forgot what he was doing. His plan to get stronger was thrown to the side, along with the one person he knew that might know more about cursed objects. "Wanna head into town?"

"Yes. The spirits are done meeting."

"Want a ride into town, Mira?" Rud asked.

Mira held up her hands defensively, wincing. "No, thank you. I'm humbled by your offer, Great Spirit, but…"

"Yeah, it isn't a fun ride without the saddle. I didn't want to have kids, anyway," Rud nodded with agreement. Dean could be rough. Especially if they weren't traveling on a road. He gave her some finger guns. "Okay. Stay safe, you cool cat."

Rud shifted into his squirrel form, taking his perch on Dean's back. The wolf was off without another word, dashing southward. They would follow the well-trodden path established to the east of the frozen lake. It was one of two approaches to get to Barlgore, and this was the smoothest ride. The other path was overland and didn't have much of a road. At least they got to see the giant frozen island.

The icy island was shrouded in a layer of mist, as though a constant snowstorm was blowing. Despite Rud's predictions, the snow hadn't come. There were some gray clouds in the sky, but not enough for a significant storm. There was still time today, though.

Dean made good time to Barlgore, dashing as quickly as he could. Rud dismounted from the wolf, shifting into his true form and shaking out his limbs. As always, the guards let them pass without question. The druid had trouble remembering where Elm's tower was, but after passing over a hill he spotted it. The wolf walked alongside him, sniffing at the air as they went. There were plenty of interesting smells to sniff within the mortal town. They had spices, after all. Lots of them.

Rud knocked awkwardly on the iron gate separating the tower from the rest of the town. "Think anyone is home?"

The gate swung open before Dean could make his response. It was kinda spooky. Rud pressed forward, trusting that Elm wouldn't do anything too frightening. She liked him, because he gave her fun enchanted items. He knocked on the wooden door of the tower itself next, waiting only a few breaths before the door swung open.

"Rud!" Elm said, clasping her hands before her chest. She had thick brown hair that looked as though it hadn't been brushed in a while. Depending on how excited she was about whatever project she was working on, she could swing from being just as bubbly as Oak to being dour and unreachable. Today, she seemed to be between the two states. "What brings you here?"

Rud bowed his head as he entered the tower. He could tell she wasn't surprised it was him when he saw a kettle already boiling on a magical fire. The druid found a seat to jump onto while Dean rested himself near the magical fire.

Withdrawing an enchanted ingot from his bag, Rud placed it on the nearest table and smiled. "I need some information."

"Wow. You're far more serious than normal," Elm said, pouring three cups of tea. She placed the first two on the table, and the other on the ground for Dean to drink. "How can I help?"

Rud sipped the tea. It was his tea, which made him laugh. Of course, people would want to drink magically enchanted tea. Why just drink regular tea when you could drink magical druid tea? He cleared his throat, trying not to laugh more. "I have a cursed object issue?"

Elm paused mid-sip. She raised a brow. "Certainly not."

"Yeah. Not even a normal amount of cursed objects, either. We've found three so far."

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Elm sputtered, almost spilling her tea. "Certainly not—No, that can't be right."

Rud shared a look with Dean, but the wolf offered no advice. "Okay. My guess is that these are supposed to be rare."

"Cursed objects are rare and dangerous enough for a city to evacuate," Elm corrected. "You found three? I'm happy you're not dead, but you'll have to elaborate."

Rud told her about how they had found the objects and the spell he used to purify them. The spell wasn't exactly rare as Elm knew of it, but those that could cast it were few in the world. Someone with a god-aligned priest class could do it with ease, but that meant transporting those objects. And that could apparently end in disaster.

"This is curious." Elm had been playing with the bar of enchanted iron since Rud started his story. Her eyes went unfocused as she thought. "I'd like to offer my services to you."

"Oh. Really?" Rud asked. "I was just gonna ask for a way to detect the objects."

Elm rose from her seat, heading upstairs and leaving the pair alone for a moment. Rud and Dean shared a look, both of them shrugging after a bit. But the elven mage returned a few minutes later, several books held under her arm. She sat back down, flipping through the books with determination.

"There are specific tracking rituals I can try," Elm said, searching through three books at once. "The resource cost is high, but I'm sure we can come to an arrangement."

"More ingots?"

"Exactly," Elm said. "Here we go. A ritual tracking spell for detecting godly magics."

"God magic?" Rud asked. "What's that?"

"Things left behind by the gods. I'll combine this with the spell to detect necromantic energy. I think that should work."

"This sounds a bit… intense."

Elm looked up from her books, offering Rud a gentle smile. "Leave the wizardry to me. This is perfectly safe. Just as I'd trust you with druidic magic."

Rud nodded along. What good were the contacts he had built if he wasn't going to use them? "Okay. How long will it take you to get the stuff to cast this spell?"

"I already have it. Wait here."

Elm left again. Rud pushed himself out of his chair, heading over to see the books she had been looking at. He couldn't understand a single thing scrawled on those pages. The diagrams of magical circles were so complex as to be indecipherable. Reading the text on the pages was like cracking open a physics textbook in another language, landing on the hardest topic and trying to figure out what was going on.

"An aspiring mage?" Elm asked, chuckling as she descended the stairs. She had a leather bag that looked weighty slung over her shoulder. "Well, are you ready to go?"

"Now?" Rud asked, looking up from the pages and blinking a few times. "I mean… yeah, of course! Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Absolutely," Elm nodded. "Detection rituals are low-risk. Come, I'll bring my mount, Daffodil."

Dean's ears twitched, but he didn't raise his head.

"Oh! You have a beast companion?" Rud asked. "What kind?"

Elm smiled, stuffing the books in her bag and grabbing a few more things before they left. She drained her cup of tea, yelled something up the stairs, and headed for the door. Rud followed behind as she led the way to a small structure on the tower's grounds. When the doors cracked open, they revealed the form of a graceful beast.

The mount within the stables was something between a horse and a deer. It had antlers atop its head, a mane of hair, and deer-like hooves. The creature's body was elegant—perfect for an elf. It was almost pure white with bright pink eyes. Rud activated his Clear Communication upgrade.

"Hello, deer-horse!" Rud said, approaching the beast and holding his hand out.

"Who is this outspoken creature, mother?" the mount said, snorting at Rud.

"Calm, Daffodil," Elm said, rubbing her on the head. The beast's voice was feminine, so Rud assumed it was a girl.

"My name is Rud. Your mommy is helping me with a problem," Rud said. Daffodil pulled back when he tried to pet her.

"Mother never speaks to me. Why can you?" she asked.

"I'm a druid," Rud said. "I can talk to all kinds of animals. Even deer-horses. Horse-deers?"

"Are your hands clean?" Daffodil asked.

"Yes, I wash them often."

"You may pet me."

Rud bit his lip as he stroked the mane of the creature. She was impossibly soft, even the normally coarse hair hanging over the side of her neck. The powerful musculature under her hide was clear, making it obvious how fast she would be on the open road.

"So, you can talk to my mount?" Elm asked. "Or are you just making horse noises for another reason?"

"I can talk to her," Rud said, continuing to stroke the mount's mane. "I don't think she likes me."

"Scratch behind my ear," Daffodil commanded. Rud did as he was told.

"She normally bites people," Elm said, preparing the saddle. She slung it over Daffodil's back, securing the straps underneath and checking the stirrups. "Does she have anything interesting to say?"

"She likes being scratched behind the ears."

"You're talking to mommy? Tell her I don't care for the green biscuits. I like the brown ones."

"She hates the green biscuits," Rud said.

"But she eats them," Elm said, seeming slightly dejected.

"Anything else, Daffodil?" Rud asked.

"Yes. Loosen the saddle or I'll buck her off."

"Ya might want to loosen the saddle," Rud said. "Daffodil said she will buck you off if you don't."

Elm swallowed hard, letting some of the tension in the strap out. "She has done that before. You know, this might be a way for you to make some money."

"I don't need money," Rud said, still petting the horse-deer.

"Still. You could help mounts and their masters get along better."

It wasn't a bad idea. Perhaps that was something Rud could do when people rode their beasts through the grove. It could go well with Taz's blacksmithing business. Daffodil's haughty attitude was hilarious, though. Especially as he watched Elm mount her. Despite the slender appearance of the creature, she took the weight of the elf well. The druid mounted his wolf and rode alongside the pair. Through the gate, and over the winding roads of Barlgore.

"Tell her I'm faster than her," Dean growled, looking over at Daffodil.

"This is Dean," Rud said, gesturing to the wolf under him. "He thinks you're cute."

"Oh, my…" Daffodil said. If only she had hands to fan her face.

"He wants to show you how cool he is by running really fast."

"Well, I'm not a slouch," Daffodil said, turning her walk into a canter. "I'll show this wolf what the grace of an elven steed is all about."

"Daffodil!" Elm shouted, pulling back on the reins. That only made the mount move quicker, dashing toward the nearest gate. Dean increased his speed to match.

Within moments, the two beasts were sprinting down the road outside of the town. To Rud's surprise, Daffodil was just as fast as she had advertised. Elm wasn't having a good time, but they made an excellent time back to the grove. An interesting fact of animal biology came into play once they entered the grove, though. The moment Daffodil's hooves hit the grounds of the grove, she gained renewed energy. Her breath slowed and her eyes focused as they galloped over the road.

A few hours later, they stood at Ban's clearing. Elm heaved breath, falling from her mount and gripping the ground as though the world would upend itself at any moment. Rud tried not to laugh, but it was hard.

"So, is she a new mount?" Rud asked.

"Yes," Elm groaned, pushing herself into a standing position on shaking legs. "Importing beasts here is expensive. I was able to afford it thanks to some research I had been doing."

'Hey, Taz," Rud said, turning to the forest. It took a few minutes, but the dwarf appeared a few moments later.

"What's going on?" Taz asked, setting eyes on the graceful horse-deer. "Ah. What a fine beast."

"Can you do horseshoes?"

"Of course," Taz said, coming over. He tapped Daffodil on the side, forcing her to kick her rear left leg up. "We can plant some enchanted iron shoes on her if you want, miss."

"Really?" Elm asked. "You'd do that?"

"I need the experience," Taz said with a laugh.

"Is Daffodil okay with it?" Elm asked.

Rud cleared his throat, turning to the horse-deer. "Dean said you're not brave enough to get new horseshoes."

"Hah! How wrong the silly wolf is! I am an elegant steed bred by the elves themselves. I am braver than he could possibly imagine. Lead the way, dwarf."

"She's good," Rud said, giving the thumbs-up.

Elm watched as her mount departed. "Okay. Let's get started on this ritual."