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

Problems appeared in Gladesbale Grove often enough. Rud wasn't surprised that weird stuff was going on. But to have so many problems cropping up at the same time was indeed strange. His three biggest problems were the labyrinth, twelve cursed objects, and the thing on the island. Out of all of them, the labyrinth was the least threatening. Next came the cursed objects, then the island. The druid ate breakfast, giving his morning report to the other custodians, and settled into his comfortable habit of working on the road.

That helped him take his mind off of things.

Working on the road was meditative. But Rud was drawn from his concentration when he heard hooves thumping against the forest floor. He turned, spotting Elm on Daffodil thundering through the grove.

"Oh, no you don't, missy!" Rud shouted, shifting into his squirrel form. He found the nearest bush, using Thicket Travel to appear right above her. The druid soared, landing on her shoulder.

"Oh, gods!" Elm shouted, pulling hard on the reins. Daffodil skidded to a halt, rearing up and almost throwing the elf from her back.

Rud glared at her for a few moments, ensuring she wouldn't run away until he had a word with her. When he was sure she was going to stay still, he jumped off and shifted to his true form so she could understand him.

"Where ya going?" Rud asked, sing-song.

"To the labyrinth. For my research," Elm said, still looking shocked by the squirrel-based intervention. "Why?"

"I need your magicness," Rud said, folding his arms. "I got a big old magical storm on an island and no clue how to fix it."

"Pardon me?" Elm said, blinking a few times. "Care to elaborate more than that?"

Rud took a deep breath, explaining everything he had seen on the island in one breath. Elm watched with wide eyes, nodding along as though his rapid way of speaking tangled her thoughts.

"That's… concerning," Elm said after a long pause. "But my research on the labyrinth… Gods, I can't weigh which one would be more important."

"I see it like this," Rud said. "Mint can keep the energy of the lab down. But there's a fact about the frozen island which is hard to avoid. The cold is spreading, and it's gonna reach Barlgore before long."

Elm's face turned from shock to concern. "How quickly is it spreading?"

"I can't estimate exactly," Rud admitted. His observations with his Farseeing skill were inconclusive. "I don't think it is expanding at a set rate. Instead, the storm is spreading in surges."

"How long do you think before it hits the town?" Elm asked, reining Daffodil in and pointing her in the right direction.

"Anywhere from a week to a year, depending on how fast it spreads," Rud said. "So, care to come take some magical readings for me?"

"Of course!" Elm said. "Had I known, I would have gone there right away. But my expedition was draining… Great spirit, I apologize."

"Nah, you're just excited. I get it. Now, let's hoof it," Rud said, shifting to squirrel-mode once again and jumping onto Daffodil's head. "I'll direct you."

"Greetings little squirrel," Daffodil said. "Could you move to one side? I cannot see."

From their position west of Ban's clearing, it would take at least a few hours to ride to the lake. Rud still wasn't sure how big the grove was, but he would rely on the deer-horse's speed to get them there quickly. Daffodil took off at a gallop, jumping and dodging around the trees of the grove with absurd grace. The druid was amazed at how easily she moved on such uneven ground. Perhaps she didn't even need a road…

By foot, it would take a person anywhere from a week to two weeks to move through the grove. That depended on how swiftly they moved and their use of the roads. Adventurers had increased attributes, which meant they often moved at a run, cutting down the time to travel to only a day or so. On a decent mount, a mortal could cross the breadth of the grove in a day—less with better mounts. But Daffodil was something else. She moved at such a pace that Rud was certain she could clear the entire thing in two hours. Maybe less.

The wind whipped by as the horse-deer charged ahead, jumping from high cliffs and landing without breaking stride. Elm was no less impressive, moving with every motion as she stood on the stirrups. She leaned to either side as they traveled, never missing a beat laid by the mighty steed. It was extremely cool.

"I can feel the chilled wind," Daffodil shouted over the sound of rushing wind, almost breathless. "How far are we from the lake?"

"Hard to say. It should come into view soon enough—" Rud shut up as Daffodil jumped from another cliff, sailing through the air and making Rud feel as though his stomach had dropped out his butt. "You sure can move!"

"No kidding!" Daffodil shouted back, whooping with excitement. "There! I can see it in the distance."

Not that it was difficult to miss. The storm was now a cyclone that dominated the lake's center. Anyone in Barlgore that missed it was blind or willfully ignorant. Daffodil navigated the treacherously rocky shore, angling for the shore. She reared upon her approach, streams of frozen breath coming from her nostrils as she stopped. Clouds of mist rose from her body, driven by the extreme cold. When the druid jumped from Daffodil's head, he shifted back into his true form. The cold hit him immediately. Not even the cloak could hold it back.

"Oh, that's not good," Elm said, shaking her head. "The cold from the island has never been this bad."

"Wanna cast a spell?" Rud asked.

"I'll need protection, of course," Elm said.

"Got it."

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Rud summoned Major and Dean for the job. The bear wasn't happy about stopping whatever it was he was doing, but he came.

"Guard duty again?" Dean asked, tutting. "The jobs are getting far less interesting."

"Come on. Giant storm? That's pretty cool, right?"

"I guess," Major snorted.

"Standard detection spell," Elm said. She was already working on the magic circle. "I can see the school of magic, and perhaps the source. This will also give me a baseline to compare any future changes again."

"Yes, those sound like good things," Rud said, nodding. "But I'm just here for moral support."

"Right. I'll get started."

The spell Elm intended to cast was more complicated than Rud had expected. She displayed an ornate array back in the grove, but it was nothing compared to this one. It wasn't just a single magical circle, but several that had to be placed around the bank of the lake. Although he didn't understand what was going on, he could watch, appreciating as she went to work on this spell. They were placed at each cardinal direction, and the druid was happy to follow behind on Dean as she did her work.

"That should do it," Elm said, double-checking the last array before invoking her spell. "Now, in the event that something goes wrong, I would recommend fleeing as quickly as possible."

"Pardon, is that a possibility?" Rud asked, feeling a sudden flash of concern rush through his body.

"With magic, that's always a possibility," Elm said with a heavy sigh. "Now, let's get started."

With a fair amount of worry in his chest, Rud watched as Elm started the first part of the ritual. This involved her placing magical objects in the center of those circles and ended with her chanting something at the westernmost one. He stood at a healthy distance, watching as arcane magic flowed from the circle. It interlaced with the other arrays in the area and joined above the massive storm. A pulse of power radiated from the storm, and the elf tutted.

"That's significantly more power than I had expected," Elm said, tapping her chin. "We're dealing with a particularly nasty piece of magic here."

"Any idea about the origin?" Rud asked.

"This is likely an old mage's artifact or a cursed object. I can't tell which one. One thing is for certain: I can't hope to diminish the power alone. I'll need some help."

"And how hard is it going to be to get some help?" Rud asked.

"It threatens the colony, so the locals will get on board quickly, as long as I can get them moving. We shouldn't have many problems."

With how much the storm had grown, Rud seriously doubted that. Instead, he expected only problems from the situation. He had to remind himself that the best person for the job was currently working it and dismissed any errant thoughts that would threaten the quiet of his mind. He placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

"If you need any help from the grove, just come find us," Rud said. "I know it's a bit of a ride, but we'll offer any help we can."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll still be visiting the grove," Elm said. "Once the arrays are set up, I'll continue my work on the labyrinth. Don't think you can get rid of me so easily."

It appeared as though Elm truly didn't need any help from the grove in this matter. Rud didn't want to admit he couldn't handle the problem by himself, but it wouldn't be the first time. If only he were as gifted in the arcane arts as he was with druidic magic. At least they wouldn't need to ride through the entire grove to return to the center. The druid rode on Dean's back as they made haste back to town. A few adventurers were passing through and yelped in surprise as a squirrel riding atop a wolf appeared out of nowhere.

"Sorry about that," Rud muttered after shifting to his true form. He jogged over, placing his hand on the bark of the Sacred Tree. "You still kicking, Ban?"

It took a moment for the tree to respond. He felt a wave of turgid energy roll off of her, as though she was shaking off a stupor.

"What is it, my custodian?" Ban asked.

Rud didn't waste time. He gave the tree an update on what had happened with the storm on the island. She listened attentively, humming into his mind every so often as he explained the complexities of what was going on.

"Thank you for the update. I am, unfortunately, having trouble with the labyrinth."

"What are you trying to do?" Rud asked, folding his arms. She wasn't one to keep secrets unless they were fun secrets.

"I'm trying to interface directly with it. If I can take any small amount of control, I can siphon vast amounts of power from the structure," Ban said. "I'm almost there. I just need more time…"

Rud could take a hint. The tree was busy, and she didn't have any time to deal with him. That was fine. There had been times when he had to operate autonomously for a while when she went into one of her slumbers. After a few tense moments, he let her get back to her work.

"Well, I don't know how useful my road's going to be now," Rud said with a shrug, turning to Dean in search of any kind of validation.

"Your roads are fantastic," Dean said reassuringly. "We should finish the one you're working on to give Elm an easier path, especially if she'll be traveling all the way from the mortal town."

"That's true," Rud said. "When do you think we'll get Mint back? It feels like we'll be dealing with her running the labyrinth from now until eternity."

"She'll grow bored when she reaches the end, or a section of the labyrinth she can't handle by herself," Dean said. "She is a wolf who enjoys a challenge, and one has finally arisen on her doorstep. You can't blame her for that."

That was fair enough. Red didn't want to think about it too much, so instead he went and inspected the tree itself.

[Ban'Tanthein]

Rank 1 Level 3 Sacred Tree

Upgrade Energy: 12%

Reserve Energy: 40%

Energy Nodule Efficiency: 90%

Upgrade:

[Thicket Travel]

[Root Spears]

Expansions:

[Mining Workshop]

[Smelting Workshop]

[Blacksmithing Workshop]

[Energy Nodules]

[Unified Grid]

[Observatory]

[Barn]

Rud added a few fragments to increase her energy. He was surprised to see that she had gained two levels since the last time he checked. This was all passive level gains from her energy cultivation. Thanks to the upgrades they had selected, she was siphoning energy from the healthy trees within the forest. Although the druid had neglected his duty to clear out some of the diseased trees recently, the amount she currently had was enough to provide some experience.

The grove was just too massive for him to clear out all of those diseased trees, so he was satisfied with the progress he had made. It was also nice to have Dean lingering around with everyone else so busy. Rud feared for his safety, especially considering a system building had been generated so close to the heart of the grove. He suspected the wolf was feeling defensive for his custodian.

"How are the goats doing?" Rub asked. "Nobody ever talks about the goats. Thought we were going to get some milk."

"Don't look at me, I don't have hands," Dean said, looking down at his forepaws. "I don't know how I would be expected to milk them, let alone care for them."

Rud shrugged. The goats had been an acquisition Mint made and were quite the burden until Ban selected the barn expansion. Now the goats are happily eating whatever they can find in a paddock. Yet the goats still weren't producing a lot of milk, and the druid didn't know what he could do about that. As long as the creatures were happy and healthy, he wouldn't try to force anything.

"Guess we should get back to work on the road," Rud said.

"That is an excellent idea."